Alrighty babes! I'm back with the update I promised!

In this chapter, we get to hear from Rose. It's nice and long and well over 2,000 words.. Which is kind of impressive for me.. Don't you think? So, I'll leave you to it, and I'm going to go get busy introducing the guys...

Also, be sure to check out the A/N at the end!

~DA2014

Let Your Heart Lead The Way

Chapter 2

"I'm so proud of you sweet girl. Never forget that."

Rose bolted straight up in bed. It had been 17 long years since that day. Most nights, her dreams were either filled with her deceased mother or a pair of hauntingly beautiful brown eyes. Rose normally didn't mind the pair of eyes. That, she could survive. Dreams of her mother, she could not. She didn't know where those eyes came from, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen them before.

But, none of that mattered. Tonight, Rose would be going on The Dhampir Report to do one last interview, before applications would come flooding in the palace gates. Then, one month later, names would be announced, men would be packing a few precious possessions they couldn't part with, and then they would be shipped to her front door.

A light knocking came on her door, before her two maids filtered inside to prepare her for her day.

"Good morning Princess." Jillian, the younger of the two, ventured. Jillian "Jill" Mastrano was a small little thing, with only her mother to care for her. She was fairly young, and very new to working in the palace. She was soft-spoken, but she had a personality to her, and smarts in her head. She had long, silky blond curls, and jade green eyes. Her mother had recently been hit by a bout of influenza, and with her aging body, Jill said it wasn't looking good for her mother. And it wasn't, until Rose intervened. Upon Rose's command, two royal guards and Jill had returned to her home one night, where they aided the widowed mother of one to the palace medical wing. Rose knew the pain of growing up without a mother, and she wasn't about to let Jill lose her own. Rose didn't want any child to know that pain, though there were plenty of orphans in the country. Once there, Rose got to meet Jill's mother, a kind elderly lady named Emily, and had her treated. Emily Mastrano, now back to full health, insisted on repaying the princess for her kindness, but had nothing to pay for. So, Rose simply instructed her to keep being a wonderful mother to the young Jillian. Rose had managed to save one child from facing that loss, but that didn't mean she would always be able to.

"Jillian, we don't speak with the princess, unless she has spoken to us first. And even then, it's never acceptable to look at her." That was Sydney, the elder of the two. Sydney had grown up around royalty, and took the rules very seriously. She was a tall thing, much taller than little Jill, or even Rose herself. Not by very much, maybe an inch or two, but she was taller. Her golden blond hair fluttered down to flirt with her shoulder blades. Sydney was the closest thing Rose had to an older sibling. Her brown eyes always watched over Rose, making sure she didn't need anything, and was always ready to lend the princess her hand or ear.

"Syd, get the stick out of your ass. This is my room, and you two are like the sisters I never had."

"But, my lady, it isn't-"

"I don't give a damn Syd. I've had a lonely life without Mom here, and Dad never remarried. He's barely looked at another woman, and then it's only because he must. He's poured all his time into caring for me himself or caring for the country. She wouldn't have wanted him to continue this way, but he won't listen. He never listens. That's why I'm even having a stupid Selection."

After the words left her mouth, the three girls fell into a hushed silence. Sydney and Jill went about the morning routine, running Rose's bath and preparing her for the day.

Before long, Rose was stuffed into her dress for The Dhampir Report. It was a beautiful floor length gown, the color of melon and coral. There were no sleeves, and the dress did wonders for Rose's figure. Of course, so did spending so much time in the gym, working out her frustration and pain.

Rose walked on stage, in front of the live studio audience, before taking her place beside her father. She walked with her chin high and her back straight. Rose was the picture of poise and grace. She was elegant in her own way, and she appeared to make it all look effortless. That was not the case. Her head had to be held a certain way, her back had to be so straight, it appeared that she might have had a rod in place of her spine. Her smile seemed genuine, but it was painted on. Rose had perfected her painted smile over the years.

Rose sat back and listened as her father and various advisers gave reports about how the nation was faring. Then, Rose was called forward to talk with Vasilisa Dragomir. She was young, but she was the top media adviser and the host of The Dhampir Report. Lissa, as she liked to be called, was Rose's age, and was following in her father's footsteps. He had been the host and media adviser until a few years ago, when he too had been killed in a rebel attack. On that unfortunate day, Lissa had lost all of her family members, including her mother and older brother. She heard someone talking, but it was lost on her. Her mind was lost in memories. Then, she felt a hand lightly touch her elbow, and she was ripped from her mind.

"Excuse me?"

"I think someone is a little nervous. I asked, Princess, how you feel about the upcoming Selection?"

" I feel this is going to be an interesting year. It's the first time in our nation's history to have a Selection for a princess after all. I feel like the guys are going to take the Selection to a whole new level, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I can't wait to meet them."

Lissa nodded, accepting the answer, before asking another question.

"What is your ideal guy?"

"My ideal guy? Oh, how you challenge me. I would have to say I want a guy who will listen to me. I want to be able to hold a conversation with him, and even argue. I mean, every relationship faces hard times at some point, and it's even healthy for a couple to argue, so there's that. I want someone who will do what's best for others, even if it means he sacrifices things himself. He has to have a kind heart, and be a gentleman, and looks don't hurt, am I right?" With that, everyone in the studio let out a light chuckle. "I guess he basically has to be a dream come true. I want him to give me a love story like my parents had." Upon using the past tense word relating to her mother, a single tear rolled down her cheek, before Rose excused herself and ran from the studio. She ran and ran until she ended up in the least likely of places. The library.

The library had always been her mother's favorite place in the palace. She couldn't remember it, but her father used to tell her stories of how her mother would read to her. All through her pregnancy, her mother would read stories of princesses in far away lands. When she was born, and before she slept through the night, her mother would tell her stories of her life, and her aspirations for Rose. Her father said he was never far away, for he loved his girls dearly. Then, the rebel attack came, and her mother was killed. Rose learned from an older maid that her father didn't even hold her for very long before he was off to be the King first, and her father second. She was told the tale of a boy, whose mother used to be a maid for the palace, and how he held her through the attack, and refused to let her go for the longest time. She was told how he watched everything around them, as if waiting for someone to try and take her from him. He wouldn't even release the tiny princess to the King. The boy held her in her sleep, clutching her little frame closely to his own, protecting her much like her mother had before being shot. Nobody ever gave the boy's name, but he was determined to see the princess safe. It was often said that he took her to her room, and placed her in her crib, before sleeping at her side that night, for when he finally went to release the princess, she latched onto his finger and could not be pried away.

If only they would tell me his name, Rose thought.

Walking to the couch where her mother loved to curl up, right in front of the fireplace, Rose let her fingers ghost over the spot the staff say her mother frequented. For the longest of times, Rose tried to get as close to her mother as she possibly could, but now it only felt to painful.

She'll never get to see these moments that mean so much. She'll never get to guide me through a hard time, or watch as I marry and have children of my own. My mother will never know me.

As Rose fell to her knees, tears consuming her cheeks, she felt a hand come to rest on her on her back. When she jumped and turned to see who it was, she saw her father. Rose turned away from him, and cried into her arms, and he sank to his knees right beside her.

As he swept the fallen hairs from her face, he pulled his daughter to him and held her close. Try as he might, Abe knew there was nothing he could do to bring Rose's mother back to her, for if there was a chance, he would have taken it long ago. Instead, he sat there in the library, on the floor in front of the fireplace, and held his daughter while sadness raged within them.

Before long, Rose had cried herself to sleep in her father's arms. He placed one gentle kiss on her forehead, before lifting her into his arms. A palace guard rushed forward to help the King, but Abe turned him away, saying it was fine. Then, he carried his little princess, for she would always be his little princess, to her room and laid her in bed. He took the shoes from her feet, and set them on top of the chest at the foot of her bed. He then removed the tiara that she had to wear every week for The Dhampir Report, and placed it in the jewelry box on her vanity and locked it away.

He walked back to his daughter's side, and looked down at her once more. The last time he had done this, she had been no more than 4. She had been plagued with a nightmare at the time, and had run to her father's room in fear. Upon her arrival in his room, her cries had awoken him, and he immediately jumped out of bed to hold her. That had been the last time he had really spent any time with his daughter. And now, as he stood looking down at her peaceful face that was structured so much like Janine's, he felt ashamed of himself. Janine wouldn't have wanted this. She was a bright, loving woman. She wanted to do so much good in the world, and she had been shot to death only a year after her daughter's birth.

I'll fix this, my sweet girl. I vow it to you.

Then Abe left the room, telling Sydney and Jill to remove her dress and get her in pajamas, and retired to his own room.

Did I do Chapter 2 justice? Let me know!

Drop a review on your way out.

I must be getting good at this writing thing ;)

So, on a different note, I've decided that I'm going to give you guys the chance to design a COVER PHOTO for this story. It MUST had the title, as well as my pen name. I'd prefer to see what you guys can do.. Cause I'm no good. Like, what-so-ever. So, help me out? The winner of the cover photo contest will: (obviously) have their picture as the cover to the story as well as get a special sneak peak at whatever chapter I may be working on at the time. If you are interested in submitting something, I'm on Pinterest (pinterest dot com slash da2k14) and Tumblr ( www dot tumblr dot com/blog/shadowhuntingdamphir2014) or you can shoot me a PM and I'll get you my fanfic email!

Looking forward to what y'all can make babes!

Kisses babe!

~DA2014