A/N: Here's the last one. I'll see you below :)

Disclaimer: All owned by Richelle Mead, the way she owns all of us.

Chapter Three: The Promise Mark

What I hate most about battles is when the fight hormones start to die down; I start to feel every single ache in my body. Adrian said it took about two hours for me to complete the Trials, but I felt it was forever. I studied my right palm curiously. It was bruised because of how tightly I gripped the silver stake. I also noted the little cuts and scrapes I got all over my body. Yet it was only the start of much more battle scars I have yet to experience when I finally start my career.

The hot water from the shower was addicting. I think I've been here for more than hour, just standing there, face upturned to the blast of water. The Promise ceremony would be starting soon but I still haven't moved an inch. I felt Lissa coming up to my room carrying an armload of dresses. Since getting back here, I had yet to buy proper dressy items since all I did was catch up with the training lessons. I would have to rely on my best friend's wardrobe for special occasions.

"Rose, aren't you done yet?" Lissa called as she entered my room and carefully arranged the second batch of clothes on my bed. "We still need to do your hair and make-up!"

I could feel she was itching to do something girly on me. I didn't show any interest on anything except single-minded training with Alberta for the last two months. I think I kind of scared Lissa in the beginning.

I turned off the shower regretfully and toweled my hair. Lissa was busy thinking what accessories to match with what. I haven't seen her so preoccupied with my style before. Or maybe that was because I had style before—now all I wanted to be in were gym clothes. Okay, that was indeed a little scary.

I wrapped my robe tightly around my body and stepped out of the bathroom. Uh.

The bond didn't do it justice. I was still astonished by the number of clothes lying on my bed, in all sorts of colors and fabric and price tags. I raised my eyebrows.

She laughed. "I may have been too enthusiastic."

I eyed the dresses. "You do remember that I have to wear that—" meaning the standard black blazer, white blouse and black linen pants folded neatly on my study desk "—to the Promise Ceremony right?"

She waved that aside. "Oh I know. This is for the celebrations after."

I groaned aloud. She was talking about Abe's plans for my celebration as a Promised Guardian. Turns out, they were sitting together on the bleachers, along with Adrian and my mother. And for some inexplicable reason, Lissa had taken a liking for my father. I think the whole cool mobster demeanor fascinated her. Or maybe it was just his flashy fashion style that made my father endearing. The logic escaped me.

"I don't know why you like my old man so much. He's not all nice and polite all the time, you know." I grumbled, thinking how he scared me so much with his threats to drag me home in Russia.

"And I don't know why you're so hard on him. He's here for your Trials and Promise, isn't he?" Lissa countered.

"I didn't ask for him to come. Or my mother, for that matter."

Lissa was surprised. "So you don't like them here, is that it?"

Do I? I sat on the bed, feeling the taffeta of a purple cocktail gown between my fingertips. "It's just weird. I mean, for the better part of my eighteen years, my parents are non-existent. Then they magically appear in a span of six months. Now my father wants to throw me a celebration and my mother has taken an interest in my career."

Lissa fell silent for a while. She was comparing necklaces but through the bond I felt she suddenly felt sad. I started to think what was it I said when she spoke.

She smiled at me, a beautiful, sad smile. "It's still good to have someone than no one."

Then it hit me: Lissa was thinking about her family. About no one would be here to see her graduate... because everyone in her family was dead. I cringed at how my words sounded. I tried to apologize but she moved on.

"And you know, I think good that your mom cares about your career. The odds aren't exactly with us and we need all the support we can get."

I doubted that very much. My mother may be influential in the Guardian world but Moroi Court is a different story. "I doubt she has any say on where and to whom I get assigned." I finally said.

She put down the necklaces with a resolute expression. "We have a shadow-kissed bond! They can't just ignore that fact and assign me some random guardian. We need to be together, they must see that. They can't just separate us."

Oh yes they can. The answer was the same in my head. It wasn't the first time I heard this from Lissa. In some ways I envied her steadfast optimism about the whole thing. "Lissa. I want to be assigned to you. It's all I ever wanted. But you must at least consider the possibility that it might not happen. You of all people should know how Moroi politics work."

I felt her fierce conviction that was not far from violence before she answered. "I do. And I will not allow it." she vowed.

I looked at Lissa. I've always seen her as my bestfriend, my sister, my only family. Then after seeing her interact with the other Moroi Royals, and Viktor Dashkov telling me that she was an agent for change… I didn't doubt it. In fact, I was beginning to wonder just how far Lissa could reach with her influence.

I didn't realize she was also looking at me. As the bond was one-way, she could only guess what I was thinking.

"Don't tell me you'll just give up on me?" Lissa asked, feeling hurt.

I playfully threw her one of the flimsy garments. "Of course not, Liss. Not without a mean fight."

She nodded approvingly. "That's the Rose I know."

Uh huh. Well then. "So how are you and Christian?"

Lissa flinched with the sound of his ex-boyfriend's name.

I ignored that and continued. "I don't see you making any progress with him."

She mumbled something like "I am trying."

"That's not what I saw in the field earlier."

Lissa twisted her fingers together. Waves of distress came from her but I wanted her to say it."I can't help it that I felt…" She remembered the feeling of Christian walking towards us, looking so beautiful without her... "---awkward. And besides, he didn't even look at me."

"You didn't look at him either." I pointed out.

She shot me a dark stare. "Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"No one's." I sighed. "Both of you made your stupid mistakes but no one wants to take the first step to fix things. It's silly."

She groaned. "I knew, I knew this conversation would happen right after you pass your Trials. Adrian warned me."

"You just told me not to give up on you." I reminded her.

"Ha ha. Very funny." She held up two dresses. One was black and simply cut, but the cloth looked sparkly and clingy, while the other was a fire-engine red dress that promised some major curves action. I guessed Lissa bought this with me in mind. "What do you think? Black looks sexy on you, but red is really your color."

"Hmm. I'd say…" I stared at the dresses, pursing my lip. "That's a really lame way to change the topic. It's good to now you still retained the innate goodness in you."

She put the dresses down dejectedly. "I am not changing the topic."

Curiously, I felt she really didn't want to change the topic—only she didn't know how to bring it up. Weird. Lissa never felt the need to hide things from me. Well, the truth was she can't really hide anything from the bond, but she knows very well she can tell me anything.

I studied her earnestly, not at all sure what I was picking up from her. "What's wrong, Lissa?" She didn't answer me, and faced the other way. I probed the bond further and was surprised to feel that she was… scared.

"I am scared." She finally said, her voice breaking. "I'm scared that you might not get assigned to me, and I'm afraid that Christian and I won't fix things before we leave here. There are so many things in Court that is out of my control and that might drive us further away from each other." She shook her head furiously. "I don't want to lose either one of you, and a few months ago I thought it was impossible, but now…"

It's a real possibility, I finished what she couldn't say in my head. The sad part was I knew what she meant so I couldn't contradict her. I felt that before, once. Underneath the trees in the grounds of this very school, with Dimitri's hands on my waist and we shared a kiss—the last one before he was turned into a Strigoi. Of course there was no way I could have known that kiss would be the last. The same way I couldn't have known that planning a future with him would be useless in the end.

Yet I could still summon that feeling—the feeling that I could have everything: Lissa, my career, and him. For a few seconds I felt whole. Then what? Then nothing.

I couldn't allow that to happen with Lissa.

I wiped her tears away and took her hands, squeezing them tightly in mine. "We won't allow that to happen. And that's even beside the point." I felt the fierceness in my tone. "No one can dictate what you want to do with your life, Lissa. Not me, not the Queen, not the Court, not even Christian. If you want him back, then fight for him with all you've got. It's your life, and you do whatever that would make you happy. Do you understand what I mean?"

She nodded slowly, a smile breaking through the tears. "Wow." Lissa poked my cheek, her green eyes half-teasing, half-awed. "You've really grown up, Rosemarie. Before, all you wanted was to get Jesse Zeklos have naked with you."

I snorted. "Yeah, that's what running away and killing a bunch of Strigoi can do to you. You should try it some time."

I instantly regretted my words—her thoughts automatically turned to Viktor Dashkov and the impossible task I've set on myself. I was bound to her promise that I have to take her along on my next adventure—which was no less than prison break. I was seriously considering backing out of the promise. The risk was too great for her. Who knew what Viktor has on his sleeve once he was out of the bars? I didn't even know if he had the information I wanted. Add that to the fact I don't even know why I was entertaining the idea of Robert Doru having the knowledge of Strigoi healing. It sounded like fairytales.

God knows I hated fairytales.

"Uh yeah." I cleared my throat. "About that—"

She had the nerve to laugh. I glared at her. "No, it's not funny, Liss."

Lissa shook her head. "I'm not saying what we need to do is funny. I'm saying you are."

I stared at her incredulously. "Since when did your humor started to get all twisted?"

The smile faded away from her face. "Since seeing you walk away from me and I had no idea if I would ever see you again."

I opened my mouth but closed it again. What was there to say? I did leave her by choosing to hunt down Dimitri in Russia. A lot of good that did—not that I regretted it. Still, I hurt her by my decision. I knew she had forgiven me for that… yet I can't help feeling guilty about it. I shouldn't have left her like that, as her guardian. More than that, as her best friend.

But this… I sighed. "You know I'll never do that again. But you don't understand. The danger out there—no guardians, no wards… and even if we do manage to get Viktor out, he is still danger to you. And Dimitri might…" The words were strangled in my throat. I couldn't continue. It was too horrifying to think about. Dimitri knows everything about me. How often have I thought before how he knew me better than I knew myself? How twisted things have become between us.

"I can't bear the thought of something bad happening to you because of me." I almost pleaded with her. "I have to know you're safe. Please understand what I'm saying."

Lissa waited until I calmed down before she spoke. "No. It's you who don't understand, Rose. Even if you didn't ask me, I would still do it for you. If you try and leave me again, I would follow you. Anywhere, anytime. You won't be rid of me. You should know what it's like without you here—you've felt it through our bond. I can't go through anything like that again. You need me, I need you. It's as simple as that."

It wasn't her words that told me—but our bond. She was determined. I can't convince her… because I know she had a point. I closed my eyes in defeat. "Oh Lissa."

She smiled wryly. "You just told me to fight for the ones I love. And it's not only Christian I want to fight for. I have to do this. Because you won't rest until you get that cure, correct?"

I opened my eyes but didn't answer. I wished I could say no.

"Good." She said, clapping her hands together in a pretty gesture. "We're in for an adventure then."

"You won't be telling me that once you sleep on the ground with leaves as your pillow in the wild." I muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

Lissa was shocked. "You did that?"

I tried not to laugh. "No."

"Mean."

"Gullible."

-0-0-0-0-

The Promise Ceremony was going to be held in the guardian's building. For a lot of the other novices, this was a rare and welcome treat. But for me, there was a good reason to think that I was probably one of the novices who got inside quite frequently. The first time was for my initial molnija marks for killing Isaiah and Elena who murdered Mason , the second was when I got into probation during field assignments and almost got me expelled. The last one was getting the star-shaped tattoo for killing more Strigoi during their attack on our school. All had unpleasant memories attached to each of them.

Hopefully this one would be better.

The doors were closed off to outsiders to the non-guardians while the ceremony as going on. I knew our family and friends were just outside, anxiously waiting to be let in after. Even so, there was a sort of familiarity with the set-up inside the main hall. The only difference was that it was a lot more crowded now with all of us novices who managed to pass the Trials earlier. It was weird seeing us all in identical clothing—and to realize that the uniform wasn't exactly flattering for everyone. Hmm. As if the Trials weren't enough, they wanted most of us to look bad after too.

They gathered all of us in the middle of the hall, with all the guardians arranged into the orderly ranks I've seen them before. My mother was among them, watching us expectantly, but silently. It could have been almost the same, except many were missing, like Celeste and Alan, who were dead. And of course, Dimitri, who was far from dead. Technically.

Our group was silent. I was sure they felt the power emanating from the stark white walls down to the blue carpet, like I did. That power would not change—we would only be joining them now.

Instead of one tattoo artist, there was now four of them waiting on each corner of the room. We were called one by one to sit on the stools and act like it didn't sting or anything.

When Alberta called my name, I approached without any hesitation, feeling my mother's eyes on me. What must she feel to see me being tattooed again? To my surprise, it was Lionel, the one who gave me my first molnija marks. He gestured for me to take a seat on the stool. Alberta stood near, because she had served as my mentor until the Trials. Not that the first one could make it here today.

"Miss Hathaway." He murmured. I saw him dip the needle in the black ink and I inwardly braced myself for the pain. "I must say, I have never inked a novice this often before."

I smiled. "What can I say? I'm a trailblazer."

Alberta laughed which she disguised unsuccessfully as a cough. Lionel smiled too, although it wasn't a light one.

"Yes, you've felt pain before." His fingers brushed the stray strands of my hair from my nape. "Pity it still wouldn't make the pain any easier to bear now."

He was right. It still hurt like hell. Felt a lot longer too, since it was no longer tiny lightning streaks he was inking, but an ornate symbol that I've always thought resembled a snake. After he was done with it, he held up two mirrors to show me his work. I nodded, figuring I'd study the design when it was healed and I wasn't smarting from the sting. He bandaged it gently.

Alberta helped me off the stool and hugged me briefly. "It has been a honor to teach you, Guardian Hathaway. I know you will be one of the best out there."

"Thank you Guardian Petrov." I mumbled, surprised by her praise—and my title. All of these was coming from the person who wanted to kick me out eight months ago. I smiled and turned to face my mother standing near us.

She didn't hesitate like I did; she pulled me into her arms and squeezed me tight. I hugged her right back. A hundred words came into my head. Maybe this was the time to apologize for every headache I gave her and that I didn't mean all of it and I was glad that she was here—

"Honestly, I never thought I'd see this moment come." She said, holding me by the shoulders now so we were face to face.

I grinned. "Yeah, I can really see the relief on your face right now." And the pride, tenderness and love. Most of all, the love. I shouldn't flinch away from it.

"Welcome to the ranks, Guardian Hathaway." She said, saying the words with obvious maternal pleasure.

"Mom…" I started, but she shushed me.

"I don't expect any less trouble from you just because you became a guardian." My mother said, arching an eyebrow, her brisk manner returning. "So hold on to the apologies for now."

Something like guilt twisted inside my gut. Of course she didn't know my post-graduation plans to stage a prison break of a maximum security prisoner. How long till I disappoint her again after this? Soon, I figured. If everything goes to plan. Nope, not the time to rain on her parade. I just grinned at her childishly which earned me an eyeroll.

When we were all finished, they had us gathered again in the middle of the room. The guardians filed in front, and Alberta moved forward to address us.

"Your necks now bear the mark of a promise our race made since the beginning of time. With this mark, you now accept that your life is no longer yours, but now dedicated to the protection of your future Moroi charge. With this mark you will honor the promise to put a Moroi's life above yours until your last breath, and no less. Always."

She went on, but my attention wavered. I noticed everyone looking at her with rapt attention, faces grim with seriousness that no longer resembled children. But her words… I already know this. True, there was a certain gravity of that meaning now; hearing those words while we felt the tattoo behind our necks. Yet I've understood that meaning a long time ago, when I realized I could never be as carefree as a normal teenager, when I realized it didn't matter what I felt, when I realized I couldn't just love anyone whom I wanted. Because Moroi came first, always.

I thought about Lissa waiting outside there, and the dread that crept up when I thought I wouldn't be assigned to her. I would have to deal with it if it happens. And even so… Lissa's life would always be above mine, not only because she was the last Dragomir princess. She was my bestfriend, my sister in all senses of the word. I will never ever forgive myself if something bad happens to her. I will protect her until my last breath, and this mark was only a reminder of my promise to her.

I willed myself to listen at Alberta again. If I tried hard enough, I could imagine Dimitri among the guardians standing at the back, watching me with his dark eyes full of pride and light and love. Strangely it comforted me.

"You will walk outside this school no longer novices, but guardians armed with the knowledge to destroy evil." Alberta went on. "We, your teachers, are deeply honored to have shared that knowledge with you." All of them gave us a bow. We bowed back.

We heard the doors open when the ceremony ended. Food was brought in and the mood shifted to something lighter and happier—now more like a celebratory mood. People started trickling in, families and friends of my classmates. As my mother was already inside with me, I thought that it was only Lissa who would bother to come. Instead, I saw Adrian, Jill and even Christian approaching my direction.

Lissa hugged me tightly like she hadn't seen me in a million years, when she had just acted as my stylist a couple of hours ago. She put both of her hands on the sides of my face.

"Rose. You look so…. Badass." She sighed happily.

I laughed. "Hey, I may be a little insulted. I'm always badass."

She rolled her eyes but laughed with me. Soon, more of my classmates came to us and I was drowned in all the congratulatory hugs and small talk. Eddie fought his way in the crowd so we can properly greet each other.

"You weren't kidding about the pain." He muttered in my ear.

"Just act like it doesn't feel anything." I wisely advised.

A flash of color and glint of gold caught my eye: my father was in the room good feet away from us, watching me with his dark eyes. In the background I noticed three burly-looking guardians hovering near him discreetly. It was then I noticed the dhampirs' difference from the guardians who were my teachers.

I stole a glance at my mother. She was deep in conversation with other guardians. I wondered if she knew he would be coming today. Yeah she probably did, but made no effort to approach him. Hmm, maybe the connections between them were not as well-known as I thought.

No way around it then. I excused myself from the crowd and walked to him. I saw him say something to his guards, and then they walked away. In reality, I didn't know what to say to him. Both of us weren't exactly fans of small talk.

After a few silent acknowledgments of our presence, he spoke first.

"You'd think they have more creative ways to spend the money I give here." He said, surveying the room with a critical eye.

"What were you expecting? Belly dancers and hookah?" I snorted.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Certainly anything but this. Which is why I've arranged something for you after. My people have prepared the necessary details to get you and your friends out of the gates for a short while."

Abe looked quite smug. I narrowed my eyes at him, mentally translating the meaning of details to money. I've told him off for doing that but he studiously ignored me.

"Uh, here's the thing. I don't know if that is a hot idea…" I started to reason. Out of the school gates meant getting out of the wards. Against my better judgment, Dimitri's words in his last letter came back to me.

"I will not let anything happen to you and your friends. You will be completely safe." He said, turning to me with a dead serious voice. For a brief moment it seemed he knew what I was afraid of. Maybe he did. The truth was I didn't know how far he knew about what happened—or didn't happen—in Russia. "Besides, it's not far."

I sighed. "I can't believe this idea flew by mom."

We both looked at my mother at the same time. Abe smirked. "It didn't. That's why she said she's coming with us."

"What?" I let out a small shriek. Bad enough that my father was in-charge with the celebrations, now my mother was going to act as a chaperone. Suddenly, facing a Strigoi or two didn't sound too bad.

Abe gave me an amused look. "I'll keep her away from you, do not worry. You'll still have your fun with your little friends." He waved me off. "Run along now."

Still feeling dubious about it all, I rejoined my classmates, who were now munching happily on little sandwiches and desserts served from the long buffet tables. Lissa was chatting with some of my classmates, who looked a little awed by her. I was about to join her when Christian and Jill caught my eye.

"Hey. Thanks for coming." I told them, but mostly I was talking to Christian. I had a vague impression he was studiously avoiding me for the last two months. He returned a knowing smile.

Jill couldn't contain her enthusiasm and assaulted me with a hug. "Congratulations Rose!"

"Oomf." I grunted with her weight. "Thanks Jill."

Her eyes were practically shining with excitement and admiration. "Wow. What's it like to finally have the Promise Mark?"

I considered. "Itchy."

Christian let out a short laugh, as Jill looked bewildered. I ruffled her hair. "Don't try to get one, kiddo. It sucks."

"Not as bad as going Strigoi hunting." Christian remarked.

"Of course you'd know." I grinned. "Want one too? I'd personally ink you."

"Uh, no thanks." He said, making a face. "I just came here to greet you. I should really go now."

"But we just got here!" Jill wailed.

He was so eager to leave. In some ways I was reminded of the old Christian Ozera I knew back when he was still a social recluse. I have to do something about that.

I cleared my throat. "Hey, listen. Abe Mazur wants to throw me a celebration of some sort, since he wasn't that pleased with our school's style. Come with us?"

Jill's eyes widened with joy, but she looked cautiously at Christian. He seemed taken aback by my sudden invitation and for a tiniest moment there, I saw him dart a look at Lissa's direction.

He exhaled noisily. "Thanks for the invite. But you know I'm not fond of parties. Jill, you can go if you want to, you don't have to come with me—"

"It's that the best you can come up with?" I challenged.

His blue eyes flashed at me. "Don't be a smartass, Hathaway."

"Then don't be a girl, Ozera." I countered. "We all know what's going on here. If you don't want to speak with Lissa, then fine. But I'm the one inviting you, not her. I'm not asking you to speak with her. You can even sulk there if you want… or help with the flambé or whatever." He laughed at this point. I think my attempt to remain casual about persuading him was working. "Just come. For old times' sake?"

Christian put a hand in his messy black hair, still unconvinced. "I dunno…"

"Please don't tell me you can't handle a little awkwardness between you two." I said exasperatedly.

He raised a hand to stop my blabbing. "For the love of God, stop with the goading already. I'm going."

Jill and I probably had identical smug grins because of that. I felt Lissa curious—understatement of the year—to what we were talking about. I resolved to explain to her the chance I had just opened up for both of them. With a little booze, things may just fall in the right places. Or so I hoped.

After a few hours, the crowd dispersed gradually. My mother advised me to go to bed early, on which I have no intention of refusing. The novices trooped back to the dormitories, all eager to sleep the exhaustion off. I may not wake up until Thanksgiving. There was still some chatting about who dodged what and the near misses and falls. Good for them, because I had no desire to relive the Trials.

Eddie, however, stopped me before I was able to enter the girls' dormitories.

"I heard you faced the Leonov guy." He said. "Must have been tough."

"Yeah. But I didn't know who he was till after." I said.

"Huh." He ruffled my hair. "Why do you always have to go through the toughest routes?"

Good question. Why can't I have it easy just for once?

"Because I'm awesome?" I grinned.

He shoved me off to the entrance of the dorm. "Sleep it off, Hathaway. I'll see you tomorrow."

I reminded him hastily of the celebration for tomorrow so he wouldn't forget, and I gratefully walked to my room's hallway. I was about to enter when I saw a thick envelope wedged in the space under my door. I picked it up and closed the door behind me.

The first rays of the morning sun were filtering through my windows. Sitting on the bed, I held up the envelope. It has postage marks from Russia.

I closed my eyes. God. Why is my brain suddenly thinking of the worst things? It could be Yeva, or Karolina, or even Mark and Oksana. They must have heard today was my Promise ceremony. This wouldn't be the first time I've gotten something pleasant from Russia.

Then again… I really didn't think this was one of these times.

My fingers felt another thinner box inside. I pulled it out. The box was square, wrapped in black shiny paper that felt expensive and tied with a crimson ribbon. My fingers trembled slightly as I undid the ribbon. The cover fell away.

I stared at the contents for a good few seconds before my hands were able to pick it up. It was the necklace of sapphires, all three of them quarter-sized. Of course I've seen this before, and I still couldn't tell if it was platinum or white-gold. Not that it mattered, because it only confirmed what I was dreading.

There was a card inside the box too. His handwriting. Personalized, as always.

My dearest Rose,

I thought I'd give this back to you. I was rather fond of this necklace against the color of your skin. I can hardly wait to fulfill my promise. Your blood will spill for me the next time we meet. Congratulations.

Love,

Dimitri

I let the necklace fall to the floor as I lay down on my bed, my hand still clutching the card. My eyes stared at the ceiling. Dimitri knows. This was his not-so-subtle way of telling me that he knows what was going on with my life. I read his note again. How funny that his handwriting stayed the same even after he was turned.

I closed my eyes. Let him come. For now I just wanted to sleep.

A/N:

Me too. A few words first:

No, there is no plan of continuing this (even though I'm curious myself on how the celebrations went down, Abe Mazur-style), unless I bump my head and write Alternative-Universe. And as I said, Spirit Bound is only in a few days and we'll all be put out of our misery—the true Trials as written by Richelle Mead will surely make my version appear like a parlor game. As it should be :p

Any more questions can be directed to my Formspring (link on my profile) or send me a PM :)

Thank you to all those who have been reading (based on the hits, I know you're all there even if you don't say anything :D) and added this to story alerts and favorites.

My eternal gratitude to those who took the time to review, it was nice hearing lovely words from you lot. :)

I'll surely miss writing from Miss Hathaway's point of view.

Anya