Disclaimer: I don't own VA or HoN.

Last night I realized I did not add Dimitri's POV in the last chapter. (ahem the kiss) and many people PMed me asking to write it. So, here it is! Enjoy!

Chapter 8 The Ritual

Dimitri's POV

Rose was getting better. I knew if I told her that, she would gloat about it but she had finally landed few good hits on me—one I was positive left massive bruise for tomorrow. She was getting ready to do her cool down laps and I surprised her by running with her. I stayed at pace with her and half was through the laps, I finally spoke.

"If things keep going at the same pace with your training, you will catch up with your class no problem." I smiled to myself and thought about what sassy reply she would come up with.

"Yeah? Maybe I don't want our training to stop. Maybe I'm holding back," She lied. If there was one thing I learned about Rose in our time together, it was she never held back. It helped that I knew when she was lying. I mean, we have been training for two weeks and the pain finally subsided—or at least she stopped complaining about it.

"Rose," I gave her a sideways glance that she returned. I was about to tell her off but she interrupted me. "I'm just saying, you never know, Comrade."

I gave a small smile and looked straight ahead. That was not a good idea. I felt something push into me just as I started turning my head toward Rose. She caught me off guard and I fell over unable to catch my balance at the full force of her. I was disappointed in myself, Guardians were never suppose to let there guard down. It was one of the things that made us deadly. Really, only Roza could get me to unknowingly let it down. Even Tasha was never able to do that. Rose held a smug smile on her face before she sprinted away from me. Really she was making this too easy. Her laughter finally let out and I smiled. I ran after her—tricking her—but I had a plan. The faster she ran, she forgot to check her surroundings. I ran across the field to where she would end up as fast as I could. She looked back when I was two feet away and she still did not see me. I placed myself on the track directly in front of her. As her head came back, her eyes widened and she had no time to react before I pinned her to the track. I used all my weight to keep her there without any ways to escape. But she still tried.

When her body finally stopped moving, I said: "Now Roza, that wasn't nice." Her Russian nickname was not intended to come out—it rarely did—but I was feeling particular affectionate towards her today and it slipped out. When I saw her eyes light up, it was worth the slip up.

"It was funny." She joked and her breathing picked up a notch as she noticed how close we were.

A lot of the time, I thought about the kiss we shared and how much I wanted to kiss her again. But I know my place, and it wasn't with her. It was being a Guardian.

I changed my grip on her quickly to a more intimate grip as I contemplated on what I was going to do. Making my decision, I lowered my face lowered to her, giving her plenty of time to say no. She didn't, instead she leaned closer to me. I let out lips meet and all of my self control slipped away. I only wanted than her. When the kiss ended, I helped her up and walked next to her to the girls dorms in silence. I was in deep thought.

Lissa and Rose now stayed in the same building but Rose was still guarded. Knowing how much she loves donuts, I ducked out the room leaving two guardians watching her to make sure she did not let the tiny freedom as an opportunity to socialize and run away again. I doubted she would again but she is protective of Lissa.

I grabbed the donuts I requested and when I got back, Rose saw me immediately and hopped into my arms. I was about to return the hug but she backed out before I could.

Rose's POV

When we finished my chapel duties, he led me to the place where the ritual was held. Neferet and Dimitri gave me instructions on things to do: sweep the floors, bring out the ceremonial candles, things like that. When Neferet gave me the right to leave, I noticed Zoey came in and speak to her group then Neferet. Lissa tagged along but all she was doing was socializing until the ritual started. Dimitri led me to my room and left without saying anything. I wanted to talk about that kiss but I felt a Lissa call to me and without a second thought, I sat on my bed and dove into her mind.

Dimitri's POV

I left her in her room alone, torn between telling her that would not happen again and kissing her again. My grandmothers words came back in my head and silenced my inner turmoil. My phone rang again, I quickly checked the caller id. Of course, it was my family.

"Hello." I said in Russian.

"Dimka! How have you been?"

"Vikotia, is grandma there? I need to talk to her?"

"Dimitri! I called you!"

I turned my head, forgetting she could not see me and said "I'm sorry Vika, I really need to talk to her about something. What's up?"

"Oh never mind." She paused for a second before my grandma said hello.

"Grandma, I don't know if I can follow my heart like you said." She silently listened to my rambling that only she could bring out. "You see, there's this girl. She's smart, funny, strong, protective...just amazing. But there's a problem. She's my student and she's only seventeen. And I—I kissed her."

"Dimka, you have to be strong. Listen to you heart Dimitri. What does your heart tell you?"

Zoey's POV

Why did she want to see me? Was it to torture me? Threaten me? Did she know I knew things? Rose left with Dimitri but never told us why she was so happy. Lissa looked like she knew the story but nobody pressed it. We all parted ways to get ready for the ritual.

Rose and Dimitri were already there, setting things up for us. They finished just as Neferet pulled me out of hearing from others.

"Are you feeling okay?" Neferet asked, looking at my face with concern. "You look tired."

"Me? No, I feel fine!" I said, realizing what she meant. Her eyes hardened as soon as I said "no".

"There is a problem with Aphrodite and I know you are not friends with her but you should know. It seems that Nyx has revoked Aphrodite's gift because of her behavior. It's highly unusual: once the Goddess touches someone, she rarely revokes what she has given." Neferet shrugged sadly. "But who can know the mind of the Great Goddess of Night?"

I looked around, uneasy. I did not believe she cared about my well being or my decisions. I did not believe she said anything about Aphrodite to benefit me either—Neferet is the heartless bitch of the Tulsa House of Night.

"It must be awful for Aphrodite," I said, more thinking aloud than really meaning to comment. I mean, we rarely had a civil conversation but I knew she was more than a heartless bitch. I looked up and remembered our last conversation about how to go about this ritual since it would be different than the rest. "I gave it a lot of thought—about our last conversation—and I have a plan"

"Good. What have you decided for plan's during your reign as the Dark Daughters leader?"

I pushed Aphrodite out of my mind and outlined my new plans for the Prefect Council and the Dark Daughters. I used my leader voice, the strongest one I had, and stared her in her cold, deceiving eyes. I told her my plans for tonight. She smiled in approval. I spent a lot of time researching the things I wanted to change.

I walked away back to my Prefect Council and Lissa. Lissa did not know what to do but I told her everything about it. When I was finished, I looked around for Loren—he usually opened for me when the music played. Loren was in his twenties and was the schools substitute if a teacher had to be off campus. Everyone knew he had a way with words and was the best actor the school ever seen. When he was a fledgling, (he changed two weeks after I arrived) he and I became close friends and flirted but lately I seen a change in him. He started acting weird and started avoiding me more often. I gave him a small smile but he didn't return it. He simply nodded my direction, telling me he was ready, like always.

The music was just about to begin when Neferet said she had something to announce. Just great.

"The Dark Daughters needs a foundation. Zoey Redbird will begin an era and a new tradition with her leadership. She will form a Prefect Council, made up of seven fledglings, she will be the Head Prefect. The other members of the Council will be Shaunee Cole, Erin Bates, Stevie Rae Johnson, Damien Maslin, and Erik Night. There will be one more Prefect chosen from Aphrodite's old Inner Circle to represent my wish for unity among the fledglings."

Holy hell! Her wish?! Goddess! That is utter bull crap! I gritted my teeth together and tried to find my happy place while Neferet paused to let the general sounds of celebration die (which included my friends cheering their brains out). Sheesh guys! Neferet was making it seem like she was responsible for ideas I'd sweated over for weeks!

"The Prefect Council will be responsible for the workings of the new Dark Daughters and Sons, which includes being certain that from this day forth all members exemplify the following ideas: they should be authentic for air, faithful for fire, wise for water, empathetic for earth, and sincere for spirit. If a Dark Daughter or Son fails to uphold these new ideals, the Prefect Council will decide a penalty, which could include expulsion from the group." She paused again. Everyone was very serious and attentive, which was the exact reaction I wanted to get when I announced this during the Ritual. "I have also decided that our fledglings should become more involved with the surrounding community. After all, ignorance breeds fear and hatred. So I want the Dark Daughters and Sons to begin working with a local charity. After much consideration, I decided that the perfect organization would be Street Cats, the rescue charity for homeless cats."

I was fuming! No way! No, no, no, no, no! That bitch! There was no finding my happy place now. I had to work hard to keep the scowl off my face and appear blank. Faking a smile would be too difficult with me in this mood.

She gave me a fake kind smile, which I made myself return. "I have a gift for the new Prefect Council."

She clapped her hands and five male vampyres I'd never seen before emerged from the shadows of the entryway. They were each carrying what looked like creamy colored, thick, rectangular tiles that must have been about a foot square and a couple of inches thick. They placed them at the floor by her feet and they disappeared back out the door. I stared at the rectangles.

"What is that?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Neferet's laughter bubbled around us, making me grind my teeth . Was I the only one who thought she sounded totally patronizing?

"Zoey, don't recognize your own idea?"

"No. I don't know what they are," I said.

"These are cement squares. I remembered that you told me you wanted each of the members of the Prefect Council to have an imprint of their hand prints made so that the fledgling's hand print will be preserved forever. Tonight six of the seven members of the new Council can do that."

I stared at her. Yeah, now she gives me credit—and it wasn't even my idea! Great.

"Thank you for the present," I said. "And it was Damien's idea to make hand prints, not mine."

Her smile was blinding, and when she turned it on Damien I didn't have to look at him to know that he practically wriggled with pleasure.

"And what a lovely idea it was, too, Damien." She said then turned her attention back to the room. "I am pleased that Nyx has gifted this group so fully. Blessed be, good night!" She left with an magnificent exit. Her exit left me standing in the middle of an un-cast circle feeling like I was all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Seeing everyone staring at me, I cleared my throat and tried to bring peace to the circle.

"Tonight, I wanted to change the type of incense burned and the abuse of our classmates." I spoke slowly, letting my words and the smoke mix with the listening group.

Under the leadership of Aphrodite, the incense used was heavily laced with pot, just as well as they knew that Aphrodite had loved bleeding some poor kid they called a "refrigerator" or "snack bar". They mixed the poor kids blood with the wine everyone sipped. I was not going to let either happen again if I had anything to do with it.

"I am burning eucalyptus and sage because of the properties the herbs contain. Eucalyptus has been used by the American Indians for healing, protection, and purification. They used white sage to drive out negative spirits, energies, and influences. Tonight I ask the five elements to empower these herbs and magnify their energy."

The air around me moved, drawing the smoke from the smudge braid with it. The smoke came out in curls and wisps, and encased everyone. The fledglings in the circle murmured in awe, and I sent a grateful, silent prayer to Nyx, thanking her for allowing my power over the elements to manifest so clearly.

When the circle quieted again, I continued. "The full moon is a magical time when the veil between the known and the unknown is thin, and can even be lifted. That is mysterious and wonderful, but tonight I want to focus on another aspect of the full moon-that it is an excellent time to complete, or end, things. What I want to end tonight is the old negative reputation of the Dark Daughters and Sons. As of this full moon night, that part of us has ended, and a new time has begun."

I walked around the circle that formed while I spoke. "From here on the Dark Daughters and Sons will be a group filled with integrity and purpose, and I believe the fledglings Nyx chose to gift with elemental affinities represent the ideals of our new group well."

I went on explaining who each fried represented their element. While it was important, I spent most of my thoughts trying to keep a clear, happy mind for the ceremony. I set the smudging stick don and took a deep breath before launching into the next part of my ceremony.

When I started talking again, everyone instantly quieted down. "Each of you who believes you can uphold the standards of the Dark Daughters and Sons, and will try your best to be authentic, faithful, wise, empathetic, and sincere-you may continue your membership in this group. But I want you to know that there will be new fledglings joining us, and they won't be judged on the way they look or who their best friends are. Make your decision, and see me or any of the other Prefects and let us know if you want to stay with the group." I caught the eyes of some of Aphrodite's old buddies and added, "We won't hold the past against you. It's how you act from tonight on that counts." A couple of the girls looked guiltily away from me, and a few more looked like they were trying hard not to cry. I was especially glad to see Deino meet my gaze steadily and nod. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't so "terrible" after all. I put down the purple candle and picked up the big ceremonial goblet I'd filled earlier with sweet red wine.

"Let's drink in celebration of a full moon, and the end that leads to a new beginning!"

Rose's POV

Lissa summoned me this time. She was scared about the Ritual. I saw through her eyes, elemental magic. And then a cup was passed around that had wine in it. She did not hesitate, but I sensed it in her. She was nervous but like always, she appeared calm and regal.

When it was over, she watched Zoey and interacted with everyone to be polite. Zoey walked over to the vampyre who spoke the poem in the beginning. She looked frustrated at whatever they were talking about but I saw a dead look in his eyes. Like something was controlling him. It wasn't the same look as compulsion and it appeared stronger than what even Lissa could do. I wondered what was going on but the man left, leaving Zoey open-mouthed.

Lissa excused herself from everyone and walked towards Zoey, only stopping when she was behind Zoey. Zoey turned around and jumped back, clearly startled that Lissa was there.

"Sorry I just-"

"No, it's fine." Zoey composed herself. "How'd you like it?"

"It was different. I don't believe in this though so I don't think I'll be back."

"Oh i'm sorry! I didn't even think about that. Neferet thought it would be a good idea and I should've known than to trust her."

"Oh," Lissa let the topic die, but I needed answers.

"Come on Liss! Question her!" I screamed through the bond. Lissa jerked up, surprised I was with her. I felt a smile come on her face upon hearing my demands. Lissa ignored me though.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing, we were just talking about the next ritual." Zoey said, dismissively. I did not believe that one bit.

"Oh okay."

Sensing there was nothing else to do there, Lissa spoke through the bond.

Rose, can you get away?

I don't know, maybe. I thought back, trying t figure out if Dimitri had me on heavy or light detail.

Let me know soon. I'm going to walk around the courtyard and clear my head for a little.

Okay, Liss.

I looked out my window and saw there was a Guardian watching the window. Crap. I looked away and listened for footsteps outside the door. I heard nothing. So I opened the door like I wasn't sneaking around. I saw nothing but I heard his voice.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri asked.

"Just getting a snack, Comrade."

He looked at me and I could tell he wasn't buying it. "Go back to bed, Rose."

On a normal day, I would've fought tooth and nail and bitched at him but suddenly, I felt tired. I started falling and I blacked out before I felt my back hit the floor.

I lost my copy of Tempted and a friend let me borrow hers while I was at her place today or else this would have been up faster. I'm really sorry this chapter took so long getting up! I had so much going on and barely had time to write this. Please don't hate me! Because it took so long, I figured you deserved a long chapter!

Thanks for the reviews and PMs! What do you think will happen now that Dimitri kissed Rose? Neferet is such an evil, heartless bitch. Stealing Zoey's ideas! And what do you think about Lissa fitting in the them? And why did Rose pass out like that? Hmm. Tell me your thoughts! Review or PM me! If you're luckily, I might upload a chapter before I finish this project due next Friday-but that depends on you (unless my excitement gets to me)!I am very open to constructive criticism so please, don't hold back! See ya soon guys!