When I woke up that morning, I was in a relatively good mood. It shocked me too, trust me. I'm not a morning person… at all. I got dressed and ready for training before heading downstairs. As I reached the bottom stair, and stepped off, someone stepped in front of me. I hadn't been expecting it, so my natural instinct was to swing. When I did, I caught him in the jaw, causing him to stumble backwards. When I realized what happened, I frowned.

"Oh my God, Landon… I'm so sorry." I said. He'd grabbed his face now. He looked up at me, and shook his head.

"This morning just keeps getting better." He muttered.

"Let me see it. I'm so sorry. You scared the shit out of me."

"It's okay." He said, removing his hand from his jaw. It was already starting to swell. "It didn't hurt that bad." He was lying. I knew how hard I'd swung. I touched his face, barely tracing my fingers over where my fist connected, and he flinched.

"Landon… Jeez…I'm sorry."

"It's fine… honestly, Rose." He said, placing his hand over mine for a second, and removing it from his face.

"Look, I'm late… I have to go. I'll make it up to you."

"How?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know… I'll figure something out, I'm sure. I'm really sorry though." I said, starting to walk towards the back door. "And Landon?"

"Yeah?"

"You… You may wanna put some ice on that." I said. He chuckled.

"Thanks." He muttered, sarcastically. I shook my head as I walked out to the track. Dimitri was there, obviously looking at me disapprovingly.

"You're late. I though you said you were going to try and make a habit of being early."

"I was… I was on time, I just got held up inside. I have a good excuse too… I swear." I told him. He gave me a look.

"What held you up inside, Rose?"

"Landon came around the corner when I was coming down the stairs, and he scared me…. And I punched him in the face. It was an accident, and I felt really bad, so I had to apologize like a gazillion times and make sure he was okay." I explained.

"You punched him in the face?"

"He scared me." I snapped, trying to defend myself.

"He scared you that bad?"

"I expected everyone to be with their guardian, and then he came around the corner and well… I hit him. I apologized. I'm gonna make it up to him." I said.

"How?" He asked, almost as if he was about as interested in it as Landon himself. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'll have to figure it out. I was already bruising when I left him to come here." I shook my head. "Geez, I make a friend, and then punch him in the face." I muttered to myself. This caused Dimitri to chuckle.

"So… I watched you and Landon yesterday."

"You did?" I asked. I knew that, so this was a really dumb question.

"Yes, and I must say… You did exceptionally well."

"Does that mean we can start combat soon then?" I asked, obviously excited. He shook his head.

"No… It means I'll expect more out of you when we get to that part of your training. For right now, you're running. This is what you need to focus on." He told me. I groaned, but nodded.

"Okay." I said, knowing nothing I could say would change his mind. I got on the fence.

"Just run the mile for now…" He told me. I just nodded. I knew I was getting off easy that way. I nodded and lined up on the fence, letting him count me off. It was then the door swung open, revealing Eddie.

"Emergency… now." He called. Dimitri looked at me, and started running for Eddie. I followed, walking inside behind him. All of the guardians were in a group in the main room, all the novices standing off to the side, staring. "There's been an attack at the academy. They need us." He told them all, trying to whisper. My heart stopped, and everything in the world suddenly became obsolete. Lissa was at the academy… meaning she was in danger, and I wasn't there to protect her. I slipped into her head to find her in her dorm, lying on her bed, curled up in a ball. Her sadness hit me like a tidal wave. She needed me. I could feel that she felt safe, but it didn't make her miss me any less. I maneuvered through her head, and found that she had a guardian guarding outside her door. That was good, atleast she wasn't unprotected.

"Alright, let's go." Dimitri told the guardians. They started towards the door, leaving two of them standing there, obviously not able to leave us all behind alone. I started after them.

"Wait… Dimitri, take me with you." I said. He turned to look at me.

"We don't have time for this, Dimitri… Come on." Eddie said. He met my eyes, obviously knowing how bad I wanted to go to her. I saw what looked like remorse pass through his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Rose. You need to stay here."

"No… Take me with you… She needs me. You promised." I snapped, anger coursing through me now.

"This is different. The stakes are too high. I can't take you and have you get in the way." He told me.

"Let's go guys." Eddie said, leading the rest of the guardians out. Dimitri stayed behind.

"I wouldn't get in the way and you know it. Please… Don't leave me here." I begged. "I need to be with her." I walked over to him. He laid his hand on my arm, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Roza… You'll have to stay here." He said, turning and running out. I stood there, at a loss. He left me. He was going to the academy to play hero with the rest of the guardians, while I had to stay here and do nothing. I had to sit here while my charge, my best friend was there in the cross fire. NO! I started running for the door when the two guardians that had stayed behind stepped in front of me.

"No, Rose…. You can't go with them."

"I have to… Get off of me." I said, trying to break free from them. I reached up and punched one in the face, as I broke out of their hold, and continued to run for the door. They grabbed me, keeping me from moving.

"Rose…hey… Calm down." Landon said, approaching me. His eye was black and bruised. He looked horrible. It pulled me out of my rage for a moment.

"Oh my god, Landon." I murmured. He smiled slightly.

"It's fine. It'll heal. Right now, you need to calm down. It's going to be fine." He said. He motioned for me to come to him. I took a few steps forward, towards him. When I reached him, I traced the bruising around his eye.

"Landon… I'm sorry."

"I'm fine… It's not a big deal… I told you that." He murmured. He touched my arm. "Are you okay?" My earlier rage flooded back, but it was dull now. I knew there was nothing I could do, and they were already gone. I just nodded.

"I'm fine." I muttered. I turned to the guardian I'd punched, to see him rubbing his face. I thought about apologizing, and shook my head. He shouldn't have tried to restrain me. "I'm just gonna go to my room now." I told him, turning to walk towards the stairs.

"Rose, are you going to-." I cut him off.

"I'm going to be fine." I said, before heading to my room. When I got there, I slammed the door hard, almost causing its hinges to break. I grabbed the first thing I came into contact with and slung it across the room screaming. He lied. He promised me he'd take me to her, and he didn't. He went to her, and he left me here, left me when she needed me, when I needed her. I thought I could trust him. I was obviously wrong. Once again, I'd made the mistake of trusting others. I ended up destroying my room in my rage fit. I sat on my bed for the longest time, angry tears flowing down my face. I finally decided to get some fresh air, so I headed downstairs. The sun was just staring to peak over the horizon as I opened the back door and walked out to the track. I ran it once, before walking over to the sidewalk, and sitting down. I sat there wondering what was going on, how she was doing. I debated on slipping into her head to see how things were going, but I knew doing so would only make me angrier that I hadn't been there with her when she needed me most. Instead, I sat there with my face in my hands, trying to keep my composure. It wasn't hard to set me off, but when you lied to me, it was like pulling the pin on a grenade. I wondered if I ran away, how far I'd get before they actually found me. When I first found out they were sending me here, I considered it, but I knew what it'd do to Lissa if I up and disappeared. Everything I did, no matter how big or small, was done with her in consideration. That was how I knew I was meant to be her guardian, and how I knew that one day, I would be no matter what anyone said. I heard his boots hit the sidewalk, but I didn't move. Instead, I spoke first.

"Look whose back." I muttered angrily. He hesitated.

"Rose, I didn't-." I cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it." I snapped at him.

"I couldn't risk taking you with us, Rose." He told me.

"No... You wouldn't have been risking anything, Dimitri." I snapped, jumping up and finally turning to look at him. It was then I realized how worn out he looked. He had bruises on his face and arms. He must have taken some pretty hard hits. "I can take care of myself." I finally said.

"I wouldn't have taken that chance. I wouldn't have been able to protect you and myself, plus whoever else needed it at the academy."

"I wouldn't have needed your help." I told him. He shook his head.

"You seem to be so sure. Rose, your stubbornness is going to get you killed."

"No… it isn't. Lissa needed me. You told me you would take me to her, and you lied. You left me here when you promised you'd take me to her." I snapped at him, angry tears threatening to leak down my face again.

"I wasn't going to risk your life to fulfill a promise, Rose. It was dangerous… You're not trained well enough to take on a strigoi, and I wasn't going to put you in that situation." He told me.

"NO. I wouldn't have been fine." I yelled at him.

"Rose, you wouldn't have." He snapped.

"You're fucking stupid. You have no idea what you're talking about. I'm an amazing fighter, and I would have been perfectly fine. You've underestimated me since the moment I got here, making me run fucking laps, while the rest of the novices are working on combat." I yelled at him. I was on a slippery slope, and I wasn't sure how long I could stay before I slid off the edge.

"I've never underestimated you." He said, simply.

"No, you're an idiot. Lissa needs me, she needed me today, and you left me here. I would have been a lot of help, but no… You left me here to sit and worry, to cower in the corner like a moroi." I was shaking I was so upset. I'd let him have it. He took a few steps forward, and took my face in his hands.

"Roza… She's okay. I know that you're upset that I left you here, but I checked on her for you, specifically for you. I wasn't leaving there without making sure she was safe. You have a right to be upset with me, but I made the best decision for you, whether you believe me or not, and you're wrong. I've never underestimated you. I know what you're capable of, but I also know that you're not ready to take on a strigoi alone, Rose. Guardians who have been promised for years still aren't ready. I wasn't going to risk you life." He explained, looking deep into my eyes. I got lost in his eyes, falling into their depths as he voices his concern for my safety.

"I was wrong to trust you."

"No… You weren't. I plan on making good on my promise… I just couldn't do it today." He told me. I shook my head.

"Your promises mean nothing to me now, Guardian Belikov." I started to walk away, but he called after me. I kept walking. Finally, he raised his voice. "I am your mentor, and you're to do as I say. I said stop." He barked. I froze. Regardless of how I felt, I'd remain loyal to the fact he was my authority. I stood there for a second, before turning to him.

"What?" I snapped.

"I made the best decision for you, Rose. I wasn't going to risk your life. Your life is too valuable to risk like that." He said. I shook my head.

"I'm not a moroi; you're not supposed to be concerned with my life, Dimitri." I snapped back at him.

"No… But you are my novice, and that makes you my concern. It's my job to look after you, Rose." He walked over to me, and bent down to meet my eyes. "Normal people would say thank you."

"Normal isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe myself." I said, smartly. He shook his head slightly.

"I know how hard it is for you to be away from her, but you'll get through it, and I'll help you."

"I don't-." I started to say, but he shook his head.

"Just nod, Rose." I rolled my eyes.

"By the way… Your room is a disaster. You know you have to clean that up, right?" He asked. I groaned and walked around him.

"Goodnight Rose." He called as I walked inside, the door slamming behind me. I threw a glance out the window as I started up the stairs to see him smiling. I continued into my room, and threw everything onto the floor, crawling into bed.