Hi folks! Chapter 20 is here! I was going to post this on Adrian's birthday, but here August 3rd was over two hours ago and I wasn't done yet because I began to read Harry Potter and I read too much and wrote too little. (not that you can actually read too much) Anyhow, since I had so much done already and i tried really hard, I figured I might as well finish. So what if it's 2 am! So, happy birthday to Adrian Ivashkov, even though that was yesterday, or at least that's what his Wikipedia page says. Not the most reliable of all sources, but you take what you can get. Also, chapter names! I finally made it! Let me know what you think if you happen to leave a review! Everything beongs to the magnificent Richelle Mead (thank you for crating Adrian) and I am sorry for my mistakes. Enjoy!

How could he do that? Him of all people? How could be so ignorant about something that meant so much to me? Didn't I mean anything to him?
"Ignorant?" I whispered to myself. He wasn't being ignorant! He even suggested to go get the ring for me! And he literally just told me how much I actually meant to him. What was the matter with me? Maybe those were delayed side effects of Adrian's recent spirit use...
But Eddie didn't understand! He wanted to find the ring instead of me because he thought what I wanted was getting it. What I really wanted was to do something! I didn't want to be helpless and useless, with my only potential my royal title! But he'd never allow doing something dangerous, yet good, because he was too obsessed with protecting me.
I let out a quiet sob and ran further into the dark. Months ago at this time of the day Eddie and I set on our first date. The sun had been rising, now there wasn't a sign of dawn on the horizon. I rushed towards the only thing I saw in the pitch darkness - the edge of the forest. I just wanted to dissappear. Tears, still unshed, were blocking my vision and it wasn't long until I tripped. I collapsed into the snow, finally letting out the cries and tears.
It had been snowing nonstop ever since that disasterous morning in Ms. Malloy's class and the white blanket was over a foot high. I was freezing, kneeling in the snow, my jeans wet. The air was sharp, every breath mixed eith snowflakes felt like a thousand needles piercing my lungs. I was so cold... The only warm thing far around were the tears streaming down my cheeks. But instead of making me feel better, they were a painful burning contrast with the snow. They also reminded me of how hopeless my situation was.
I sobbed out loud again and dug my face into my palms. I could barely feel them; it felt as though my bare fingers are about to fall off.
A noise I barely heard over my cries echoed in the otherwise silent whiteness. It sounded like creaking of two more feet running. The noise was becoming louder, suggesting the person was nearing me. I wiped the tears off and turned around with as much dignity as I had left. The figure looked a horrible lot like Eddie. The blizzard of snowflakes raging around was veiling my view, but my suspicion was soon confirmed.
"Jill!" the figure yelled over the distance separating us. Its voice was supressed by the wind, but it sounded a horrible lot like Eddie. I felt like my own voice was taken away from me, I didn't have a response in my throat. The figure accelerated its pace and reached me in a few seconds. Now I was sure it was indeed Eddie.
"Jill," he repeated. He was only a little out of breath. He reached his hands towards mine to help me get up. I took them, but still said nothing.
"Jill, what happened up there? I only wanted to help-"
The rage from before bulked up inside me and I ripped my hands out of his. "Help, you say? Sure you do!" I screamed. "If you wanted to help me, you'd let me-" My own words were cut off by a loud sob. I covered my face and turned away from him.
"I don't understand-" he said incredulously.
"Gosh, just leave me alone!" I exclaimed. No matter my efforts, my voice broke. I pushed him away without doing any harm and ran off again, further between the trees. This time, though, he was right behind me. His fingers, cold as eyes, clenched around my wrists. I tried to shake him off, but his grip was too tight.
"No!" he shouted. His eyes on mine were telling me this is about more than the ring or my breakdown. "I'll never leave you alone. I'll never leave you! You'll have to beg me to leave. I want to be in every part in your life. I want to be in every part of your life. Not because I'm your guardian or because you need me, because I want to! I want to laugh with you and cry with you. I want to be the reason you laugh and the one to dry your tears." He cupped my face in his hand and looked into my eyes that were, how ironic, filling with new tears right now. He gently wiped one of them away and continued: "I may not understand what this is about, but I'm willing to listen and do all I can. You just have to trust me."
I nodded. "I do. I do trust you." I knew I got this touching speech because of how little time we spent together and because right now, I was pushing him away when I needed him most. He wanted to let me know he was there for me.
"Then what's the matter?" he asked softly.
"I don't want to be her!" I cried.
"Who?" he asked in perplexion.
"That... That perfect princess everyone's talking about!" Another sob came from my throat and I dug my face into his chest. His hands pulled me into a tight hug and stroked my back gently. I cried in his arms until I words came back to me, then continued.
"You know that about me, I don't want to be helpless, sitting around and waiting for help. I was on a good way there before I found out who my father is. Now everyone's protecting me like I just got a brand new value just because of the title, but how does that help me if by doing that they're stopping me from protecting myself?"
"I would've wanted to protect you even if you weren't a princess," he whispered into my ear.
"That's not the point!" I cried. "And anyhow, they wouldn't let you. I don't want them to! I love having you around, but I don't want you to do all the work for me if there are things I can do myself!"
He tried to say something, but I cut him off.
"I know," I said, "I'll never kill Strigoi like I once dreamed, or that no one will ever actually let me into a real fight. But if danger finds me... I need a way to defend myself, don't I?"
"Yes, you do," he admitted. "And that's why we practise fighting and magic and everything. You were perfectly capable of taking on your mad teacher. Trust me, she isn't the only person you'd take out. You're nothing like the rest of the royals. You're not defenseless when guardians are gone, you're far from it."
"Then why won't you let me fight?"
"Because..." He sighed. "Because I have to do something, don't I? I know you'd be alright on your own, but I still feel better if I can protect you myself. Don't think I don't trust you, but it is my job to keep you safe. And I meant what I said earlier: I couldn't possibly survive if something happened to you."
"But do you understant that I have to do something to prove myself I can? That I'm not weak?" I asked, begged practically, and fastened my eyes on his from below. It was one of the looks he couldn't resist, and I was acting against myself; I made myself look small and defenseless to get him to let my prove myself I'm not actually defenseless.
"I do understand," he said with a stickened voice. "But even if I'm with you, I can't let you go to Las Vegas and track Robert Doru down."
"Fine," I said shortly. "I won't push you anymore... For now. But keep in myind that I'm not goving up on this."
"Noted," he said and grinned. "Can we go inside now?"
I snuck out of his arms and took a look at him. Suddenly it was clear why his arms had been so cold. He was only wearing jeans and a hoodie, the only part of his attire that let me know it was winter were his boots.
"God, you must be freezing!" I exclaimed.
He only stroke his hand. "Nah, I'm used to it."
"Oh, come on, you can't be used to everything!"
"That's what happens in years, you know. We have to be ready for anything," he said and held his chin high in faked self-satisfaction.
"Anything, you say?" I teased. "Are you ready for this...?"
I stepped on my fingers and kissed him. He froze for a second, then kissed me back, so fiercly I knew he'd been holding back ever since he saw me at his doorstep today. I broke the kiss a minute later and took a step back, grinning wildly.
"You were right," he said, catching his breath. "This always catches me off guard."
We hurried back inside, running to keep ourselves at least a bit warmer. It got undeniably warmer since the kiss, but I was still freezing, even in my coat. I didn't dare to think how Eddie must've felt.
The first time I'd walked into Eddie's room in the guardians' building I couldn't help but gasp. It was enormous compared to my dorm room and even big next to my room at Court. There wasn't that much equipment - he was there to work after all - but it was pretty fancy. He had enough room for a small sofa, a king-sized bed that wasn't actually supposed to be double but was still very comfortable for us both, a huge TV, something Aimee and I could only dream about and a closet that was bigger than the one me and my best friend shared. It was half empty, though, and plenty of clothes in it were mine. The most dreamy of it all was his own bathroom that even had a small bathtub.
Of course, all of that was nothing next to the glamour we'd been enjoyimg at Court, but I'd grown up in humble surroundings and I was used to my dorm room most of all places, so a place like this was astonshing to me. To Eddie too, it seemed. He couldn't even believe the respect he was treated with as a guardian when we'd arrived.
I'd already gotten used to all that 'luxury' in the few months we were here, so I only sat on the couch when we arrived, glad we're in the warm again, and waited while he made us tea. Ironically, in the end he warmed up before I did.
"Your jeans are wet," he noticed.
I followed his look and learned he was right. That was probably the reason I was still cold. "That's from kneeling in the snow," I stated.
He nodded and dug into his closet, passing me one of his sweatpants. "Warmer than jeans," he assured me. I smiled and went into the bathroom to change. I came back laughing out loud. Eddie joined me the moment he saw me.
"You look like a rapper or something," he uttered through laughter.
"Or a clown in surprisingly discret clothes," I added and spunn around to give him a better look. His pants were only an inch or two too long, but much too baggy. They were probably too baggy on him as well, but I could've comfortably gotten both of my legs into each pant leg.
I placed myself comfortably into his lap on his bed. I was glad to see his hands were warm again. So were his lips.
We kissed for a while, then we just stared into each other's eyes. I didn't think of anything, I only let myself enjoy the moment and how gorgeous he was.
"Do you feel like everyone's taking you for a stuck-up royal because Ms. Malloy pressured you like that?" he asked out of nowhere.
I didn't know what to say for a second. I truly had no idea where my earlier words came from, but maybe Eddie had a point. Maybe from listening how conceited and haughty I am all the time, I actually began to believe it.
"I don't know. Possibly," I said, trying to make my voice sound as dissmissive and indifferent as I could. But even I heard I don't sound cold and Eddie's expression told me that one more time, as his words earlier said that he's worried about me.
"You have to know," he said and gave me one of the looks that felt like his eyes are piercing my skin, "That no one really sees you like that. Because you aren't like that."
"I sure hope so," I said so quietly I barely heard myself. But Eddie caught every word of mine and gave me another one of those looks. Brown met green, so powerfully I couldn't hold it. I looked away.
"It is so!" he exclaimed, almost desperat to make me feel better. "You're probably the most modest princess there ever was!"
That didn't calm me down because I knew Eddie's opinion wasn't very objective. He'd also say anything to calm me down. But I appreciated that and I hated him worrying so much about me, so I mustered a wan smile.
"And the most kick-ass," he added mischeviously.
"Then stop sugar-coating things for me and let me do something already!" I exclaimed, finally looking at him again. The stubborness shone clear in my eyes.
Eddie returned the look. He said nothing and I knew he was sad and exasperated. I gave him an apologetic smile and snuggled into his shoulder. It had no use ruining the night over something he'd never agree to. I really had no right to vent at him like that when I knew he could never let me risk my life. His job was to protect me. The only way I could sneak off to Las Vegas was without him knowing.
"I'm sorry," I said. "About earlier too, I know your job. Besides the obvious, you have to make sure I'm a good girl who stays out of trouble."
"I wish I could say you're wrong," he said grimly. "A clash of interests. My job is to stop you from doing what you want."
I shrugged. I had no better response, I was mostly trying to hide my thoughts were racing. A clash of interests, that was for sure. But there was nothing that could get him in trouble if he didn't know what I was up to. Did I nag him too much already? Would he guess I had no intention to let this go?
"You know, I can still try to get the ring for you if that's what you want. Or get someone else, from the Court maybe..."
He seemed to think my dismissive attitude was a sign of hidden dissappointment.
"No, that's alright," I said as cheerfully as I could. "You know, Robert probably doesn't even have the ring, I just wanted to do something heroic."
"I'm sorry about that," he said, regret clear on his face. But there was also a firmness to him, a firmness that signaled this was a closed subject for him. That was good for the plan forming inside my head.
"Well," I said and flashed an alluring smile. "Doing something heroic isn't the only thing I want."
I kissed him again, and again and again. In the beginning it was to hide my rushing thoughts, but with him making me feel as he always did, I soon forgot about them myself.
A sound of a phone ringing interrupted us. Obviously, Eddie had his priorities sorted out better than me. I'd keep on kissing him if I could, but he pulled back gently, stood up and picked up his phone.
"It's Aimee," he said. He didn't look nearly as surprised as me, but it was true that barely anything ever surprised him.
"Hello?" he answered. "... Yeah, she's here. ... Sure." He turned towards me and passed me the phone. "It's for you."
I nodded, got on my feet and put the phone to my ear. It was unpleasantly cold.
"Hi," I said, unsure what to expect. I didn't even know Aimee had Eddie's number.
"Hey! Where are you? I just got home and it's half an hour to curfew and you're gone with all your stuff here!" she exclaimed. Her tone was slightly accusive, and I understood why. I kind of ditched the plan.
"I know, I'm sorry! I went to Eddie's a while ago, it was an emergency," I said.
"Oh." Aimee paused, unsure what to say. Then she spoke again, her annoyace replaced by worry. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure, it all worked out," I said promptly. I made everyone worry these days.
"Well, what about your stuff? What are you going to sleep in? What are you going to wear tomorrow?"
"I could still come pick it up right now," I said slowly, in a way that sounded like a question.
"You can't," my roommate assured. "Maybe, maybe you would've made it here in time, but you couldn't possibly go back without getting caught. There absolutely isn't enough time and we're already-"
"I get it," I interrupted and stiffled a laugh. "Don't worry, I'll think of something."
"I'm sure of that," Aimee teased. Even though I couldn't see her, I could imagine her smirk clearly.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
"Bye," she chirped and cancled the line. I knew she was laughing in our room and I chuckled as well.
"What is it?" Eddie asked curiously.
"She was a bit surprised because I left earlier than planned. It's no big deal but I don't have my stuff," I explained.
He sat back on the bed and gave me one of the rare careless smiles I adored. "Oh, we'll take care of that," he said. "You have plenty of clothes here to wear tomorrow, you can use my soap and other bathroom stuff, and I'll find you something to wear at night."
"Thanks," I said and put on an idiotically wide grin. I sat on the bed next to him. He wrapped his arm around me and pressed me closer onto him.
"Now, where were we?" he asked and leaned in to kiss me. I even surprised myself by pushing him away, but our earlier position - him sitting on the bed and me standing in front of him - reminded me of something else we began and never finished.
"What's wrong?" Eddie asked, his face a picture of confusion.
"Nothing," I said quickly. I didn't want him thinking he'd gone too far again. "But I originally came because you said something to talk to me about?"
"Yeah... That..." he said evasivly. "We don't have to..."
"We do," I said sternly. "You asked me to trust you, what, an hour ago? Can you do the same?"
He smiled shyly. "Of course."
I gave him an encouraging nod and, feeling that I'd been forcing him enough already, said nothing else, waiting for him to speak.
"Remember how distanced I was with my mom?" he began. "Well, in that phase in the summer when you and I weren't really speaking, I, uh... I found a congratulations card she'd sent me for graduation. It was more or less the last contact we had. I decided to call her, and..."
He smiled, staring distantly into the wall on the other side of the room.
"She was really glad to hear from me. We talked for a few hours even, and we've been in contact ever since. I said I'd visit whenever I have the time. Back then I was free, but things were kind of tensed and I didn't even know where I'd be the next day... Now I'm with you, which I love... But..."
He had trouble forming his thoughts into a sentance. I already had a clue of what he was going to say.
"You're going to Detroit for the Christmas holidays, right?" he asked.
I nodded. "Along with Trey and Angeline." I hoped that would encourage him to say what was on his mind. I was right.
"So... Since you'll have them there... And since... Well..." He scowled as if he was in horrible pain. "I figured I'd - if you don't mind, of course - take a holiday and go home. For a few days, you know. If you're okay with it." He glanced at me almost with fear, as if he was half-excpecting me to jump at him, yelling how dares he betray me like that.
"Of course!" I said immediately and gave him a warm smile. I certinatrely hadn't expected what he told me. The last time we talked about his family, he told me he hadn't seen his mom in ten years. I was actually quite excited to hear he got back in contact. I believed no one should go that long without a mother, guardian or not. It stung me a little that I didn't find out until now - but of course I had no right for that, especially considering how hard it was for him to say this.
He really was funny like that. He was never in doubt in his life, except when asking for a favor, when doing something that was only useful for him He considered it a great mercy, I considered it a basic right. He thought he was abandoning me, I thought he was finally doing something for himself. In order to let him know that's okay, I had to be quick to support his idea.
"I really think you should go," I continued. "And not just for a few days, for the whole holidays. Or at least a week. I mean, not that I wouldn't miss you, but in front of my mom..."
He grinned wryly.
"And you haven't seen your mom in, what, ten years?"
"Eleven."
"Eleven! See, you should really go visit."
He sighed and leaned his head on my shoulder. I knew he was torn. But I'd been his first choice for so long it would be unfair to keep clamping him to myself. It was only two weeks anyway.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I really don't want to leave you alone. I mean, of course you won't be alone, but... I feel better when I can keep you safe."
"Yes!" I assured him. "Every guardian takes a holiday every once in a while. And besides, I'm gonna be on holidays too! No danger of mad teachers like in school. What could possibly happen in Detroit?"
He opened his mouth to argue, but I stopped him instantly.
"I've been there with only Angeline before and nothing bad happened. There, you see? Angeline's almost a guardian. And Trey's gonna be there too. I'll be perfectly safe."
He still looked skeptical.
"Look, if it worries you that much, I'll ask another guardian to go with me. I'll get Neil. Okay?"
"Okay," he said insecurely. Then a smirk crossed his face. "How come are you so eager on me going somewhere else? Do you want to get rid of me that badly?"
It sounded like a joke, but I sensed a glimpse of curiousity under the careless act. And it was understandable; I began to rable again. I had to be careful with my answer, it could change his mind in a blink of an eye. "Because... I'm glad you're finally doing something you want. Not something they're making you do."
"You know I really don't mind that-" he began.
"Yes, I know!" I interrupted. "But sometimes you just have to do something you decided to do on your own. It's good for you."
"I guess you're right," he said and sighed.
"So you'll go?" I asked, in a way that sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Yep." Finally, he smiled.
"Yay!" I squealed and hugged him. He pressed me close and kissed me eagerly. I could feel and taste his happiness; he was glad I convinced him.
"Is that what you were so tensed and worried about the whole week?" I asked later on.
"I was tensed and worried?" he chuckled.
"I was starting to fear there was a Strigoi attack no one bothered to tell me about," I said provokingly.
"Really? I was that bad?" he asked with fake horror on his face. His expression soon turned serious again. "But yeah, I was kind of worried about what you'd say. Actually, I think I was more afraid of leaving you than your reaction to it. I kind of knew you'd support me, but I didn't think you could make me okay with it."
"So now you're not feeling guilty about it anymore?" I asked, just in case. His words made the answer quite clear.
"No, I don't," he replied. I pressed closer to him in delight.
Somehow we got involved into a conversation about the cafeteria food. That was probably the consequence of the fact that we'd missed dinner. Then he noticed me yawning and checked the clock.
"It's late," he stated.
"We should go to bed," I suggested.
He nodded, then said: "First we should shower together."
We stared at each other for a second, both confused, then we bursted out laughing.
"I'm sorry, I'm gonna keep things like that to myself," he uttered, still laughing. He dissappeared into the bathroom. Which was for the best, because I was starting to like the idea.
I spent the time Eddie was in the shower lost in thoughts, mostly about getting to the ring. I hoped I could get a few 'followers' at the Court. But first of all, I decided, I had to make sure it even made sense. I had to call Robert.
That conclusion announced the end of my planning, because in that moment Eddie walked in shirtless. He was only wearing his pyjama bottom and something told me it was going to stay that way. I certinately didn't mind, it looked astonishing. All the training he did was now visible on his arms and chest. It was a picture that gave me goose bumps. Other than that, his hair was damp from the shower, drops trailing down his forehead. He brought an enticing scent of shampoo into the room when he opened the door. The flawless smile on his face completed the image. He was so stunning I forgot to breathe for a second. It gave me a feeling there's an angel standing in front of me.
"You don't have anything to wear at night, do you?" he asked.
Angels don't speak, do they? I quickly got myself together. "That's right," I said.
He opened the closet and leaned down to find something for me. "Hoodie or T-shit?" he asked.
"T-shirt," I said after a short moment of hesitation. I knew I wouldn't be cold next to him.
I hurried to shower as quickly as I could. As I reached for Eddie's soap, the scent brought back the vivid picture of him standing shirtless in front of the door. It made me rush even more, I wanted to see him again. I pulled his old gray T-shirt on when I was done, and my underwear under it. The shirt reached almost my mid thigs. I was sure it was a too big on Eddie too, but it still smelled wonderfully of him.
Eddie was already laying on the bed when I entered the room, uncovered. He smiled when he saw me.
"Not fair, you look better in that shit than I do," he said and faked a pout.
"Oh, too bad," I laughed. "What are you gonna do about it?"
He stood up and put his arms loosely around my waist, so that we could see each other's eyes. "I'm gonna hold you tight all night long, because I love you so much and I can't believe a girl this beautiful is mine."
"A girl so beautiful she looks better than you do?" I teased.
"Yes, and that's in my best T-shirt! I won it in a play contest, and you dare to look better than me in it!" he chastised me jokingly.
"Well," I said. "I personally disagree, but I won't turn a compliment down."
He smiled and kissed me again. Then we finally climbed into bed, over an hour after we announced we're going to sleep. I lay with my head on his chest, with his arm around me, with my hand tangled into his hair. I tried to stay awake for a little more to enjoy the sight and feel of him next to me, but sleep won me over after a few minutes.
Surprisingly, I woke up to find him still asleep next to me. He was normally awake far before me. I didn't wake him up now. He looked so peaceful and perfect I just couldn't. I sighed happily, calm as I hadn't been in a long time.
I had a feeling I woke up very early, but apparently I was wrong. The room around me was dark again, which meant it was morning, definetly after six. In the winter there almost wasn't an option to see the sun on vampiric schedule. It rose after we fell asleep and set before we woke up. One more thing preventing it were the thick white clouds that refused to dissappear. It seemed to be still snowing, although I couldn't see much through the frozen window.
Eddie stirred next to me. I turned my head towards him, careful not to make the cover rustle. My effort had no use. He was already awake.
"Morning," I said quietly.
"Morning," he replied. His voice was sleepy, his eyes bleary and his hair tousled, but it looked amazing on him.
We didn't cuddle for long, although I could've stayed like that forever. We both got dressed quickly and and set to breakfast. I'd woken up much later than I initially thought, it was 10 am. The cafeteria served breakfast longer on weekend mornings, but still not forever.
"Good, you've got your coat this time," I told Eddie.
We made a plan to wash us of every suspicion we'd spent the night together. He went straight to breakfast, while I went to my room before to take Victor's journal back and to change. The clothes I was wearing and had left at his place on some point were just an emergency exit.
"Everything went alright yesterday. No suspicion," Aimee 'greeted' me when I walked in. She didn't even look at me. Her eyes were on her phone, where she was apparently texting someone. Probably Reed.
"How did you know it was me? It could've been a teacher!" I teased.
She finally shot me a glance and smiled mischeviously. "I can smell the lovestruck from afar," she said misteriously. I laughed.
"I'm going to breakfast now," I said.
"I've already been," she said, her eyes back on the phone.
"Walk me?" I asked pleadingly.
"Sure."
The rest of the day passed with nothing worth a mention. Aimee left to the date she asked me to cover for at seven. It was so surprisingly early I got the idea maybe her and Reed were sneaking off from the school grounds. I said nothing. Reed picked her up and thanked me for helping them, then they dissappeared almost before I could wish them a pleasant night.
I sighed and set to the what I decided to do the night before. I picked the journal up, opened it on the last page and typed the written number into my phone with shaking fingers. I decided to call from a hidden number, just so that Robert couldn't track me down in any way. Not that I assumed he'd even recognise the number was hidden. Eddie gave me too much of his paranoia yesterday.
With great hesitation, I dialed the number. The longer it rung, the bigger war was rushing inside me. At the same time I silently begged Robert to answer and to ignore the call. After a few ten seconds passed, I began to think maybe the number was no longer valid or that it was fake in the first place. Just as I was about to cancel, a hoarse voice answered: "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Doru?" I asked carefully. My stomach was doing somersaults.
"Hello? This is Robert Doru," said the voice. I didn't know if Robert felt the need to repeat his name or if he was too confused to recognise what I'd said.
"Hi, Mr. Doru, I-"
"Who's there? Why are you calling me?" he asked. There was a dreamy taste to his voice.
"I'm calling to ask..." I realized I'd get nowhere with normality and an attempt of a normal conversation. "You had a brother Victor, right?"
"Yes, Victor... Victor was my brother... Then she killed him!"
I assumed by she he meant Rose and tried to ignore the dreamy tone of his voice turned into an agressive one.
"You spent some time with Victor before he died, didn't you?" I kept on asking.
"Yes, yes, I did... Before she killed him..."
I no longer understood why I had been so afraid of a crazy old man.
"Did Victor happen to give you a ring before he died?" I tried while Robert was muttering something about the 'murderer' and the 'payback'.
"Yes!" he suddenly came to life. "Yes, he gave me a ring... Two rings even!" He quieted his voice down to a whisper, as if he was telling me a secret. "He said I can't let them get into the wrong hands."
"Do you know why he said that?" I asked carefully.
"No... No, I do not... I never quite understood that..."
"He said that because one of the rings - the green one - belongs to the Dragomir family."
"The Dragomir family?" Robert said in surprise. "I thought the Dragomir family was extinct."
"No, there are two more of us, me and my sister," I said pationatelly. "And the ring belongs to us."
"Oh," he said.
"Could I come pick up the ring to your house?" I tried sweetly.
"Yes, yes, of course... If the ring is yours, I don't see why not..."
I almost let out a sigh of relief, but before I could do that, Robert became agressive again: "Why won't your sister come pick the ring up?"
"My sister is... Busy," I blurted.
"Busy with what?" he asked suspiciously. He suddenly sounded surprisingly floored.
"She's..." Couldn't I just say my sister is five or something? "It doesn't really matter, does it? The ring belongs to me just as much as to my sister, it doesn't matter which one of us comes to get it."
"Oh... I... I guess it doesn't..."
"So we're on?" I asked. "Can I come pick up the ring to this address..." I read the address drom the last page in the journal.
"Yes, you may... Wait." Oh, no, I thought. "How do you know my address?"
"Uh... Victor gave it to me," I said quickly.
"Before he died," Robert stated. "Before she-"
"Yeah, yeah, before she killed him. Can I come pick the ring up?"
"Yes."
I cancled the call immediately as I heard that and broke the weirdest conversation in my life. Now I had to get a few allies from the Court. I sent a text to Adrian to set a group video chat. I sat in front of my laptop half an hour later, looking into the familiar eyes of Rose, Lissa and Adrian himself, all three crowded on the couch in Lissa's living room.
"Sorry about the shrinked crew, everyone's somehow busy," said Adrian apologetically and widended his arms to demonstrate how helpless he is. "But hey, you got the Queen and her first asistant!"
Those words earned him a poke on the head by Rose. "I'm a guardian, not an assistant, you egghead."
"Did you poke my beautiful head so strongly you misshaped it into an egg?" he asked in fake horror. Rose only glared at him.
"The shrinked crew will do, thanks," I said with a lame attempt not to laugh.
"So, what is it?" Lissa asked curiously. Or maybe she had a meeting to attend ten minutes later, I couldn't really tell anymore.
"This," I said and held up the journal. Then I explained the contents of the journal in the shortest way possible, leaving out the part about how much of an accident that car accident actually had been. I also described my conversation with Robert, leaving out his murderous tendency towards Rose.
"I suppose you're saying you want to go to Vegas and get that ring from Robert," said Adrian. His voice was completely casual and innocent, but his expression and his uneasiness leaking into me told me he didn't think this wasn't a good idea. Not even Adrian was going to let me do this!
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," I said stubbornly. After all, this wasn't his decision to make. I ignored the fact that if even Adrian thought an idea was too crazy, everyone else would too.
"Jill..." Lissa said softly. "As much as I want the ring... I don't know. This just seems too dangerous. I don't want you or anyone risking their lives for it. I mean, from what you told me, its only purpuse is to control people."
"Yes, but..." I had no argument. And even if I did, Lissa was obviously decided. I knew she really did want the ring and that she didn't really care what its purpuse was. It was a piece of our family. But okay, if she was so against it as she claimed... I was too tired to fight her.
"Fine," I said exasperated. "I give up."
"That's it?" Rose asked. "That's the only reason you called us over?"
I nodded. She groaned in reply.
"Come on, I'm hungry," she said and stood up, so that the only thing in her camera were her legs in ripped black jeans. Lissa followed her. Adrian glanced behing them, then shifted on the couch and leaned closer, so that I saw his face better.
"Is that a dhampir thing?" I asked, thinking of Eddie. "Constant hunger?"
Adrian broke into a smile, although I saw he was trying to stay serious. "Well, at least they work for it. Who's gonna miss a little food?"
"I don't even want to know what you mean by 'work'," I said, pretending to be disgusted. He chuckled, then put the firm face I was more used in Eddie than him back on.
"Listen, Jill, I know you're up to something," he said. His worry leaking into me through our bond was touching. I shut myself down from it.
"Since when do you see auras through a computer?" I asked and pouted stubbornly.
"Please. I just want to make sure nothing happens to you." He was no longer firm, just sad. He noticed with no doubt I shut the bond down. I had no idea how he did that. If he noticed something as small as that, how wouldn't he read through a lie?
I put on the most honest smile I had and said: "I won't try anything, I promise."
Adrian sighed and disconnected.

That would be it. I'd give Adrian more appearances in his birthday chapte, but I've got the story planned now and i just could't do that. At least there's more Eddie! This is one of the shorter chapters, I know. But it would be just too long if it was the same chapter with the last one, as I initially planned. Also, I'm sorry if the quality is know, 2 am. So… I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible, happy August everyone!