I'm all snuggled up, sippin' my coffee and listening to the cool seductress Sade, I am ready to write! But I did also burn my finger so it's not going to be very long, but i'll update soon. I own nothing.

ROSE POV

After I finished answering questions, us Guardians were allowed to leave and finally be given a schedule of the next two weeks. Alberta was supposed to do this when everyone first got here but some of us were late and the school officials needed to tweak their plans slightly for some reason. So now all of the selected Guardians, AKA, The Baddest-Bad-Asses of Guardians are all sitting in a conference room waiting for our assignments.

There's twenty of us all together, most i've never met but have heard of and to say the air is thick with competition would be an understatement.

In this life Guardians are a means to an end. To most Moroi, expecially Royals, we are good for three things. Fucking, protecting, and killing. I don't call us meat shields for a giggle.

But that doesn't mean we aren't people with feelings and ambitions.

If it were up to the Moroi, we would be only a step above robots. Unfeeling, with no voices and replaceable.

Well they got two out of three.

When you are so utterly unappreciated you have to find joy in something, uphold some semblance of pride. Most of us don't have our own lives to live, just our duties, so when we find something that can be ours, you can bet your life we fight for every morsel of an identity as we can. Maybe in a less corrupt world we could all just live peacefully, but in this one the only thing a Guardian can have, that means something, is like a currency to us, is respect.

You can imagine my ill thoughts to my mother go deeper than just her absence.

Our reputations and our pride are the only sources of respect we receive from Moroi and Dhampirs alike.

Sounds dangerous and toxic and plain sad, but it's true.

Which brings me back to the now. There are twenty very heavy hitters in this room(I don't know a few but that have got to be a big deal) and it's becoming suffocating, because for most, it's not about just being great, it's about being the best.

I used to want to be the best, but after all i've experienced, it just doesn't seem that important anymore.

A meat shield, no matter the fancy coat, is still only a shield of meat.

I still want to be respected, god I want it, and I will always prove myself when challenged, but I no longer go out looking for a fight, looking for glory. Maybe I'm jaded, or maybe i've finally grown up, but glory projected though others eyes on to you, isn't worth a damn if the twinkle doens't shine true in you own. Don't get me wrong, I get the high, but it never lasts.

Alberta walks in, nodding to the room made up of mostly guys ages 30 to 50. Actually I think I'm the youngest Guardian here. Besides myself, Janine and Alberta two other Female Guardians, sit clear across the table from me, glancing my way with disdain.

You would think girls would learn to stick together with these kinds of odds, Men to women; Dhampirs to Stigoi, but nah. Bitches will be what they are and what they are is themselves.

Alberta looks to us, face blank. Am I the only Dhampir that hasn't mastered the mask? Seems like it sometimes.

"Thank you ladies and Gentlemen, for your contribution to the studies of the novices." Alberta nods to us.

"I'll get down to it, usually we wouldn't start our Moroi protection training for another few weeks, but since you all are here, we have decided that now is the perfect opportunity to start field training. Dhampirs will be assigned their Moroi in three days and surprise attacks will begin, I would like for your participation."

A giddiness sweeps through me as I feel a smile break across lips.

Oh yes, this will be fun. I might not always ride my own glory train but beating shit up is also welcomed.

Back in the day I aced my field training, and beat the shit out of alotta Guardians I coudn't stand.

Good times.

"What's got you smilin' so pretty, ma'ma." A deep southern twang breaths besides me, making pretty sound like 'purrrty'.

I turn to my left to see one of the younger and definitely more handsome Guardians, grinning at me. Janine is sitting on the other side of him, but I don't look to her, knowing if I do she'll probably be glaring at me.

He's tan, even for a Dhamp, with curly blond hair and bright green eyes. Very handsome indeed.

"And you are?" I ask softly, expression defiant. It just makes his grin widen further

"Just a small town Texan boy." He says in a 'oh shucks' kinda way.

I shake my head, "Well, Mr. Texas, mind your business." I turn back to Alberta.

He chuckles lowly, making something low in me to stir. He's not as cute as the tall guy in Stans class, but not lacking anything either.

But I ignore him, the Texas Charmer

"You each will be given a group of twenty Novices, to train starting today. Well . . . train is probably the wrong word, we really want you to test them more than everything, but please by all means do with your group as you please, we all know you can never have enough training. Your groups have already been chosen, and are waiting for you in the stands by the track for you. Before you join them I would like to know if any of you would like to be a part of a contest?"

"What are you talking about?" Gibson asks, voice gruff.

"About three years ago we devised a contest for the novices; a fight of the fittest. They battle against each other until only one champion stands and then they fight a teacher of their choosing. The results have been amazing, it makes them work harder than i've ever seen. When they found out all of you would be here, a few students still in the running asked if the winner could fight one of you."

"If were are testing them we would be fighting them anyway, so what's the point?" Janine asks.

I hate to admit it but I was wondering the same thing. It's a great idea for the novices, I can only imagine how hard they are training to win, but they don't need a contest to fight us. We would be fighting in training any way.

Alberta smiles slightly.

"They want all of you to participate in the contest, against each other and then fight the winner."

Texas Charmer laughs loudly.

"The little Novices want to see us knock the snot outa each other?" He laughs again. "Demanding little shits! I'm in."

Everyone agreed, even Janine, which shocked the hell outa me.

Alberta told us it's just a little healthy competition, but even she knew she was talking out of her ass.

We are all playing to win and winning to Guardians usually means shoving a metal stake through the heart. Sparing to us is life, being able to continue living.

This is going to be a dangerous ego trip of epic portions and I am going to love every fucking minute. For a while, at least.

PLEASE REVIEW