Sorry for the wait everybody. I was camping this past weekend for my birthday on last Monday. Hope you guys enjoy :)

Chapter 29

I looked around the clearing. There were so many guardians there, it was unreal, but the one that surprised me the most was…

…Dimitri.

What is he doing here? I thought.

"Let's get started," Alberta announced.

All chatter stopped as soon as Alberta started talking. I seriously wondered what this meeting – or whatever it is – was about.

"We all have to stand against the Moroi government," Alberta's voice boomed through the clearing.

I gasped quietly.

"What was that?" someone asked. He had sandy brown hair and was a couple inches shorter than Dimitri. He looked to be at least 30.

"Probably just the wind," someone else told him.

Alberta waited until they stopped talking to continue. "They are ruining our freedom. We need to fight for that!"

Everyone nodded. Mainly Dimitri. I could tell what he was thinking. He wanted there to be a way to be with me without being criticized for it. Without people looking at us and glaring or shutting us out from what we're supposed to know and do.

Alberta continued. "We need to fight for our rights! We have guardians here who fell in love with other guardians," she gave Dimitri a quick glance, "and they get stunned for it. It's our right to fall in love with whoever we choose to."

"Amen!" someone from the crowd yelled.

"They treat us like we're their servants!" she continued. "They don't treat us like we're people. Mainly the arrogant, pigheaded royals!"

They all applauded.

Dimitri spoke up. "Most royals."

"What royal doesn't?" asked the sandy-haired guy from before.

"Vasilisa Dragomir," Dimitri said. "One day, she will become queen. I heard while at Court for Dashkov's trial that Tatiana was planning on making Vasilisa her heir. She'll fix all of this."

"How are you so sure she would fix this damn mess?" one of them growled.

"Vasilisa's best friend, Rose, is a dhampir," Dimitri explained. "She puts Rose first a lot of the time."

"What are you trying to say?" another one asked.

"What he's trying to say," Alberta said, taking over, "is that with Vasilisa as our queen, the dhampirs could have more freedoms and privileges."

"Are we planning on overthrowing the Moroi government?" one asked.

I silently gasped. What?! I thought.

"At the moment, no. We are out of time. We have to pretend that this had never happened," Alberta told him.

They all nodded. "Agreed!" they said in unison.

Alberta spoke again. "The next meeting will be same time, same place, just next week."

They all nodded again and started dispersing. I didn't know if I was to wait for Alberta or I was to leave on my own.

I sighed quietly and turned around, fleeing my bush. I hoped that nobody had seen me; otherwise, I would probably be in complete trouble. Not only with Alberta, but also with every other guardian here…mainly Dimitri.

I didn't know what to think of all of this. Overthrowing the Moroi government? Dhampir freedom and privileges?

All of this didn't seem to make any sense. Why would they want to do that? I mean, I'm, all for the freedoms, but overthrowing the government? I didn't seem to understand why they would want to do that. The government has been in place for centuries.

I heard a rustling noise from in front of my bush.

I looked up and found Dimitri there in front of me. "Rose? What are you doing here?"

Shit! Busted! I thought.