Rose's Point of View

Knock Knock Knock

Ugh. Who could be calling for me this early?

I rolled over to make Dimitri answer the door, and was disappointed to find the bed void of a naked Russian.

What a terrible way to wake up…

I dragged myself out of bed and across the room to silence the offensive sound that had woke me, but when I opened the door, my irritation was replaced with shock.

Standing in front of me was a mess of brown hair and those emerald green eyes I knew so well.

"Is it true?" he asked, pushing past me and into the room.

What the hell!

"Adrian, do you have any idea what time it is?" I asked, my shock wearing off and returning to irritation.

Who did he think he was showing up like this?

"Its 6:30, now answer the question Rose. Is it true?"

I could have been kind and just answered; I knew exactly what he was asking. But the man stormed in here at 6:30 in the morning making demands and I wasn't exactly feeling friendly at the moment.

"You're going to have to be more specific." I told him, walking over to the kitchenette to pour a cup of coffee. Something told me I was going to need it.

"Cut the crap Rose! Are you marrying him or not?"

Wow. I can't remember the last time Adrian called me Rose. It was always Little Fireball or Flower.

For the first time since he arrived, I took a good hard look at his face and my heart wrenched a little at the desperation I found there.

Despite Tatianna's claims that he was madly in love with some human girl, I knew this news would be difficult for him to take.

"Yes Adrian….it's true." I finally admitted, and his face sank at my omission.

For half a second I wanted to cross the distance between us and wrap him in a hug. He might be a pain in the ass and a womanizer, but he had been there for me when I'd really needed him, and I never meant to cause him any pain.

Of course, two seconds later he returned to his usual asshole form and I was over it.

"You realize this is ridiculous right? In what world do you think my Aunt will ever be okay with this?"

"In what world do I care if your aunt is every okay with this?" I shot back.

It was true, what did I care what other people think? Hadn't I made that much perfectly clear?

"Rose…" Adrian started exasperated. "Look, I know you care about the guy, but this is your future we're talking about. You may not be able to see this right now, but the choices you are making now will affect your entire life! You're a possible contender for the Throne with Tatianna retires; do you really want to give all that up?"

What was wrong with these people? Did they not understand how little I cared for Moroi politics?

"I don't care about the throne Adrian, I care about Dimitri! And by the way, since when do you give a crap what other people think? Last I heard you were more than willing to go against the grain with that human girl."

His eyes hardened at me and his tone turned harsh.

"That's different and you know it! I'm the drunken great nephew of the Queen; people expect this kind of crap from me. But you…your father and the Dragomir's have been grooming you to be a leader you're entire life and now you're just going to throw it all away? And for what…love?"

"Yes!" I shouted. "I love him Adrian. I love him and he's worth it. Now unless you have something new to say, kindly get the hell out!"

I wasn't in the mood to defend myself right now, and there wasn't enough coffee in Colombia to deal with Adrian this early in the morning.

I could tell he wanted to argue with me further, but he didn't. Instead he just snorted before slamming the door shut behind him.

Falling back to sleep after Adrian left had been a lot harder than I thought.

I knew what he said shouldn't have bothered me, but it did and bringing the Dragomir's into it had only added to that guilt.

Growing up Eric had always encouraged me to stand up for myself. I was outspoken by nature, and he promised that it would serve me well in life. He'd told me the one thing all good leaders had in common was the strength to stand up for what they believed in. That as long as I stayed true to myself, I'd become a great leader myself someday.

I'd never had an interest in this politics growing up and little had happened to change that now. But a small part of me couldn't help but think about what I was giving up, and if Eric would be disappointed in me now?

Unknown Point of View

Everything was set.

The party was planned, the invitations were sent, and now all I had to do was wait.

I knew most people wouldn't understand this…how could they? This went against everything we fought for, everything we believed in.

But this was about business now… nothing personal. And as long as I kept telling myself that, everything would be okay.

This was the right thing to do…for everyone.

And now I just needed to see it through...