Hola, hola, how have all you been? Good? I'm glad.

Now, here is the next chapter, review, comment, all that jazz. Please and thank you!

Enjoy!

Simply,

Sam.

"Dimitri Belikov is the father of my cousin."

Those 8 little words are all it took for my life to go to hell. That's all it took. I always thought my life would go to hell when I go out in the real world and become a guardian, but no. The truth is, in the middle of a hallway at St. Vladimir's Academy, my life got on an express train heading straight for hell because of what Blake said.

I didn't know at that time the road my life would be going down, but it wasn't so great. The events immediately following those words are events I want to completely forget about, but also events I want to forever keep in my mind. They are events that make me cringe to think about them, yet bring me to life when I am at my lowest. They are the events that made me become who I currently am, the child of my mother and father, despite their faults. A sister. A niece. A cousin. A wife. A mother. A guardian.

I tripped and landed on my stomach, I pushed myself up with my hands, and almost got away but then I felt hands lock on my ankle and pull me down. Then, slowly, oh, so slowly, the darkness engulfed me. I opened my eyes, and instead of seeing the choking darkness from moments before, what I saw made those glimpses I caught while running seem like a walk in a brightly lit park. There were Strigoi, all around me, slowly creeping closer and closer to me, casting quick glances to those beside them, as if they wanted to be the first one upon me. Their eyes blazed, and they were horrible, like the worst nightmare a kid can have. My already pounding heart picked up it's pace, as if making up for the fact that I'm no longer running, but still trying to make an escape. My eyes can't settle on one place, trying to decide which one is the most dangerous, but I can't seem to think, I can't seem to move. It's like those people that wake up in the middle of surgery, but can't notify the doctor that they can feel every single thing. I want to close my eyes, but it'll be a sign of defeat, yet keeping my eyes open would be like watching my own death. I close my eyes for two seconds and then slowly reopen them…

I slam my hand onto the alarm clock that is beeping as if it's on crack. Even though I usually hate it, I'm glad today, because it pulled me out of my worst nightmare so far. I've been having the same nightmare every time I close my eyes, it seems, but the farthest it ever goes is me being pulled into the darkness. Maybe what Blake said really has gotten to me. It's been one week now and I can barely bring myself to look at Blake, let alone actually speak with him. Since we have all our classes together, it's kind of tough to avoid him, but I can handle it. After all, I am MacKayla Belikov, sister of Maksim Belikov, daughter of Rosemarie Hathaway Belikov and Dimitri Belikov… Who apparently has another child running around out there.

No! What am I thinking? If Dad had another child we would've know about it, or him or her. Mom and Dad would've told us. They would have told us. Right?

What am I saying? Of course they would have told us, we're they children for God sakes, they've told us everything about themselves! I think…

God! That Blake kid's got me doubting my entire life with just 8 stupid words. I hate him and his perfect hotness… And his abs… And his eyes and hair… And his fighting skills… And his abs… Okay! I've got to stop this. Some kid with no account parents is not going to make me doubt my entire life, I won't let him. Today, I'll confront him and ask him what his deal is. I mean, all he said was that one sentence, and when we asked him what he meant, he wouldn't tell us, he just stood there with his mouth shut, ignoring us, as if he were freaking Helen Keller or something. Finally, we just gave up, and Blake basically followed me around the rest of the day. I took him straight to his room and never took him to meet Lissa or Headmistress Ivoshkovs daughter. I just didn't have the energy to.

I'm lost in thought as I walk to my first class and that's why I don't notice the person following me until their hand lands on my shoulder. I spin around, eyes wide, and am about to do some serious damage before I notice it's Maks. "What do you want?" I sound rude, but I don't care. I'm just mad because I didn't notice him.

"Glad to see you too, sister dear." He says sarcastically. He notices my expression and quickly rushes to the point because while I may not be as scary as mom, I'm still pretty scary in my own way. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to tell you that this weekend I'll be going on a little trip. I'll come back as soon as I can, but I just wanted to let you know, in case anyone asks."

"Where? The trip, I mean?"

"Um… Alexei and I are going to England for a while.."

"Really? Why?"

"Er… No particular reason." Maks was never the best liar. I don't know who he gets it from, because our family is full of major liars, so I secretly think he was probably switched at the hospital. I'm just saying.

"Liar. You're just suddenly going to England a week after Blake Adair told you about his cousin? I don't think so. If you're going, so am I."

"No! Look, Mac, I've spoken to Blake, and I just want to meet his cousin, see if he's right in any way. It's nothing major, just a quick check up. Nothing interesting."

"I'm going." I say stubbornly.

"No, Mac, and that's the end of it." His Russian accent, also faint, but a little stronger than mine, becomes more pronounced as his voice becomes stern. His brown eyes have a heard look, and if I were anyone else, that look alone would make me quickly give up, but, luckily, I'm my parent's child. So of course I don't let it go.

"If you don't take me, I'm telling Mom." And okay, I'll admit, I sound bratty, but growing up that line always worked, and to this day it still does.

"No! You can't do that, Mac! It'll screw up my whole plan!"

"Then take me with you."

"Fine." He says grudgingly, with a sigh. See? Told ya.

"You made the right choice, Maks, you made the right choice. Now tell me everything Blake's told you."

And so he does. He tells me about Blake's' cousin, Emily, who never knew her father because he left her mother pregnant. Granted, the father never knew that Emily's mother was pregnant, but apparently, Emily still hates him for leaving. She hates that her father didn't love her mother enough to stay with her. She looked at her mother's old diaries (because apparently her mother was THAT kind of girl) and by reading them she figured out Dimitri was her father. Or at least, that's what she was thinking. The diary entries stop about two months before she was conceived (which is a gross thought, I'm just saying) and she doesn't have enough guts to go up to her mother and ask her herself. So now, we're going to go ask her mother. Yea, that's what the trip is all about, finding out who Emily's father really is.

"So how are we going to do this? I mean, we have no cash on us, we don't own our own plane. How are we going to go to England?" I ask the question that's been bugging me since Maks started his story. "I mean, I'd say we could ask Uncle Adrian, after listening to all those stories about when he was younger, but I'm pretty sure he'd tell Mom about it."

"Yea, that's what I was thinking too. So I asked my Moroi for some time off, and I told him that I'm going to England, and he said that since he's going at the same time I am, he'd be happy to take me with him."

"Really? That's so cool! You took him up on the offer, right?"

"Well, I told him I had to think about it for a bit, but yea, I think I'll take him up on the offer."

"Good."

"Hey, Adair. Can I speak to you for a moment?" Blake looks up, a suspicious look on his face, as if he's on to me, which is ridiculous. He can't know what I'm thinking. A familiar glint flashes in his eyes, but is quickly gone. I've seen that before, I just can't remember where.

"Can it wait until later? I'm eating breakfast, the most important meal of the day, you know." We're in the dining area, and while Blake is sitting by himself, there are still people around him, which means that, yes, those in hearing distance look up to see what's going on. They're probably hoping for a fight, which is usually the result of things that I'm involved in.

"No, actually, it can't. It's important and I need to talk to you right. Now." I say through clenched teeth. His calmness was getting on my nerves.

"And so is breakfast, or haven't you heard?" He widened his eyes in faux innocence, and that just about sent me through the roof. How dare he? How dare he treat me as if I'm nothing, and just dismiss me and be completely sarcastic to me, when I'm just asking him for a simple favor? He's like… Oh, well he's kind of like me… Actually, I do that all the time.. That's not the point. The point is this kid really knows how to play around.

"Yea, I have actually. Have you ever heard about what exactly I am capable of doing to your face? No? Well, you don't want to, trust me, so get the hell up and come with me." I say as calmly as I can, which is pretty calm, if I do say so myself.

I can feel the other students turn towards Blake, gauging his reaction. He stares at me for several moments before sighing. "I suppose I have no choice."

"No, you don't." I walk out of the dining hall, knowing he's following me the whole way. "Okay," I say, spinning around so I can look at him, "here's the thing: I'm going with my brother to check out your cousin, but he tells me you're going also."

"Yeah, I am."

"No, you're not. Do you know how suspicious it'll look if you just happen to disappear the same time we do?"

"Wouldn't it look just as bad if you leave by yourselves?"
"No, because we've done this before. We always just take off for a weekend and don't come back days, sometimes even weeks, later. But there has never been a new student who takes off the same time we do. You understand?"

"Well, I'm the new student that has a troubled past, which would mean it would be completely understandable for me to want to just run off to see my cousin, who just happens to be pregnant. No one would reprimand me for that, mainly because they wouldn't want me to have a breakdown of sorts. Do you understand?"

"Damn, you're good." And that's how it was decided that Blake Adair would accompany us on our trip to England.

Alexei would stay behind, to make up an excuse if someone found out, and also, to do some research if we needed him to. The rest of the week went on like normal. Plans were made, only I didn't speak with Blake Adair, Maks did.

"How's school been?" Mom asks from across the table. I'm at the usual Friday night dinner with Mom and Dad, with our two guests of honor, Maks and Alexei.

"Oh, like you don't know." Mom knows everything, not because she checks up on me or anything, but because if something was wrong, Cheri would've told her, since she is the Headmistress. "Where is everyone?" Usually, Uncle Christian, Aunt Lissa, the Dragomir sextuplets, Uncle Adrian, Aunt Cheri, and their daughter, Jane. Only they weren't here.

"Oh, they're going to bring a guest, so they said they'd be a little late." Mom answered. They were always late because of some guest, so this wasn't anything new, but it was a type of ritual to ask that question.

"And they're here." Dad said, standing from his seat next to Mom when the doorbell goes off. I don't see why they bother ringing the bell all the time. They end up opening the door before Dad gets to it, anyway. From the living room, I can hear their chatter, and it's just as odd as ever.

"Uncle Dimitri, please tell Olivia that when you punch, you don't punch with your thumb on the outside of your fist!"

"Uncle Dimitri, please tell Jonathon to find something better to do with his life besides harassing me!" Olivia and Jonathon were the youngest of the sextuplets and they were always fighting with each other about the most mundane things. But I know for a fact, if either of them had to choose between any of their siblings, they'd choose each other. They just depend on each other that much.

The chatter continues as they walk into the living room, and quickly, Maks, Alexei, Mom and I join in, but once Cheri introduces her guest, Maks, Alexei and I stare, completely dumbfounded. This would be a long night.

Our guest of honor was Blake Adair.

What did you like most? Least? What confused you? What would you change if you could? Do you like Blake Adair? Maksim Belikov? Alexei? Our narrator, MacKayla Belikov? Does calling her Mac and Maksim, Maks, confuse you? Did that question just confuse you? Would you like me to stop doing this?
Anyway, hope you enjoyed, please answer those questions. Oh, and would you like to see the awkward dinner, or would you like me to skip that?

Thanks again for all the reviews!

Simply,

Sam.