Heeeeeey guys! First of all, I want to wish you all Happy New Year! I hope that what is ahead of us will be better than what we leave behind!

Then, I want to thank you for your kind words and encouragements regarding this story! It means a lot to me

Lots of love!

CHAPTER 1 - I could make you a very happy man

20 years earlier

Randall's POV

"How are you feeling, Lord Yilmaz?"

He's not looking great, that car crash could have been the end of him too, but I cannot say I am happy he is the one who has survived. His son would have been a better suitor to still be alive, and with him gone, as of today, this man is useless to me.

He slowly lifts his hand off the hospital bed, and reaches toward mine. To my surprise, he is strong enough when he squeezes my hand.

"Our deal is still on, my king."

"Our deal?"

I am wondering how he plans to make it happen now that his wife and son are six feet under.

"My descendant will still be on that throne."

"And what descendant would that be?" he hit his head harder than I thought.

"My daughter."

"Your daughter?"

Throwing me a sly smile, he tries to get up, and I don't bother helping him. He still hasn't made himself worth my while, so he should hurry to give me some explanations.

"There might be someone I kept away from everyone's eyes, for the sake of my family. You see, she was older than Marek."

It seems like our plans aren't all lost, but I cannot just go along with his proposal.

"You might have the quorum to get your descendant on the throne, but you know I want a man up there." There is no way in hell I will let a woman rule my people.

"I know. And I have the perfect choice for that. My daughter will only be an accessory."

He means she'll be another instrument for us to get money from the court's treasury and any other benefit we can.

"And who would that be?"

"Lord Zeklos' son."

"He's giving away his precious son?"

I knew of Zeklos' ambitions of being king when he was younger, but I never saw his son be interested in that position.

Again, that sly smile spreads on his lips. What a man wouldn't do for money and a good life. Even on his deathbed, Yilmaz is conspiring. I wonder when he had the time to talk to Anton about all this.

"For some well-earned compensation, of course. And the boy is getting the throne and a wife out of it. Everyone's winning." Especially us.

Still, one thing concerns me.

"Will she be any trouble for us?"

Women always bring trouble. God forbid she starts believing she will actually have a word to say as the queen.

"Of course not. She has no idea about how the court works. She spent her whole life far from it all. She's just a silly girl. She will be completely under our control, just like that little Zeklos will be. He wouldn't dare disobey his father's word. Nor his father our word."

It's his daughter, and if he says she will not be a problem, then I'll believe him for now. After all, he came up with the solution to the problem I had.

"It seems like we have another deal, Lord Yilmaz. Let this be the beginning of a more fruitful collaboration."

Rose's POV

"You cannot leave me here!"

He might have found a way to bring me here from the hotel I've been kept into this past week, but to hell if I'm staying. They won't keep me drugged all the time to hold me here, won't they? A car ride so out of it that was enough. I am still feeling dizzy after that dose of god knows what, and I will not stand to be treated and manhandled that way again.

I fought him when they came for me, and I will continue to fight this man until the day I die. This man that all of a sudden has the audacity to expect me to play his perfect little daughter. I will give him the disappointment of his life. It's time for payback for coming into my already messed up life and destroying it three years ago. I will also make him regret the day he came back for a second time, to make such a stupid request from me.

"I can and I am. You have been a burden for me for long enough, Rosemarie. It's time you start acting like you should and stop bringing trouble anywhere you go. Being a queen-"

"For the millionth time, it's Rose! And I don't remember burdening you with anything since you ditched me for others to raise me!"

"You think I didn't look out for you all these years?! That I didn't invest in you and-"

"I don't care about your damned money! You invested in me? What am I, a fucking business?" I puff at the silliness of my question. "Of course I am! I mean, look at me, you're trading me like sheep to a stranger! Where have you been for the past five years, since my par-" a lump grows in my throat and I swallow it with difficulty. "You never fucking cared about me, not even a fucking bit! You only came up three years ago because you thought I was getting too out of hand and god knows what I might have done. But don't pretend you ever cared or that you do now."

"I had no other choice!" yeah, bullshit. The reason they gave me away is the biggest bullshit I ever heard.

"You could have kept me as your child, that was one of your choices! You never chose to be my parent, but now you expect me to act like I'm your daughter? And you want me to marry off some fucking stranger and on top of it all, become the queen?"

"It's your birthright."

"It's a burden!"

"You should be grateful. Your brother prepared all his life to become king! You've been offered that without any effort!"

"I never wanted this! I never wanted this life! I don't want to become queen, and I don't want to be your daughter!"

"Being a princess is a privilege! You're being ungrateful."

"And I should be grateful that what? That you use me now when my brother is dead? That you remembered I existed when there were no other means for you to achieve your goals? You would have let me die in that fucking wreck of a town if it weren't for that accident! You kept me there for three years and now you need me? I am not doing it! I am not going to be your toy. I'd rather die by a Strigoi's hand than do what you ask of me."

"You'd be doing this for the sake of our people!"

Oh, no, poor idiot, he is trying to appeal to my emotions.

"You mean the sake of your pockets. You couldn't care less for these people! And why should I care, they're not my people! I'm a guardian." And I will be one until the day I die. Just like my parents.

This is when I've stepped over the line and he gets a hold of my shoulders and shakes me.

"You are not! You are not that low kind of creatu-"

"Those low kinds of creatures are keeping you alive!"

"You are my daughter! You're a Moroi! And you'll be queen. That's final!"

"Fuck you! I won't help you! Ever! Go get Marek out of his grave and make him king! I won't do it!"

He slaps me and I wish I saw it coming, but I was too fired up to pay attention to his reactions. I laugh.

"Of course. Because this is the only thing you know what to do when someone says the truth. You slap them. But go ahead! Slap me once again." It's not the first time he did it anyway. "The truth won't change. You don't give a flying fuck about Moroi. You don't give a shit about me. You only want to be in the king's graces and to get all the riches you're capable of, then some more when I'll be queen."

"And to finally get rid of you, you selfish little shit, you forgot to mention that."

"I am the selfish one?"

"You are! I am offering you a life free of worries, full of riches and comfort, and this is how you repay me?"

"I sure am not going to fall to your feet soon."

"I'm glad that from today on, you're not my problem anymore, Rosemarie."

"Rose! My name is Rose!"

"Why? Because only your daddy dearest called you Rosemarie?"

"Fuck you!"

I lash at him and manage to put him to the ground before his guardian gets me off him. Of course, he didn't think to intervene as I was getting slapped.

"Let go of me! Let go!"

I fight him, planting an elbow into his jaw, and I manage to escape his grip. Only that my bad luck makes it as one of the guards around the house comes to help his fellow, and both of them manage to keep me in place despite my struggles.

"I am sorry you had to see that, guardian." My dad speaks with a sugar-coated voice. "My daughter is a little… rough around the edges. But she's a good girl. Somewhere very deep, deep, deep down."

Wow, that's how deep I was thinking of planting my foot up his ass! Only if I had the occasion.

"I hope you fucking die a horrible death! You won't get away with this, I promise it to you."

Again, my struggles are useless. He gets closer to me, and getting a hold of my chin, he obliges me to look into his eyes. It's scary how much they resemble mine.

"Don't you dare mess anything up or I'll kill you myself," he whispers to me.

I could have gone the words' way, but in my head, spitting on him sounded like a more impactful answer.

He smiles as he gets out a handkerchief and wipes himself.

"Ah, that's so sweet of you, Rosemarie. You always know how to make your situation harder." Throwing a look towards his guardian, he lets go of me, but not the other. "Guardian, please inform your Lord that his guest has arrived. And treat her nicely, will you?"

"Yes, Sir!"

And with that, he leaves.

The guardian is a smart one and strengthens his grip on my arm, and keeps things that way until that man that I should call father, gets far enough. I know that if I'd break free and I'd run I could catch him, but what would be the point of doing that? Breaking his nose last week didn't help me much. What I want is to break every bone in his body and I wouldn't be able to do that in a couple of seconds.

"Let go of me right in this very moment!"

"I will, just don't hurt yourself, alright, Princess?" that little mockery in his tone, makes me want to punch him.

"You… You… ugh! I hate you! I hate you all!"

The big entrance porch closes behind that Yilmaz shit's car, and looking around, there is not a single path I can find now that would get me to freedom. Still, that doesn't stop me from walking in the opposite direction than the house's entrance.

Of course, the conscientious guardian follows me.

"Princess, where are you going?"

That title again!

"Anywhere that isn't this place."

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that."

"Yeah? And how do you plan to stop me?"

A little smile creeps on his lips. "I would prefer not to show you."

"If you dare touch me again, I will rip your arm off."

He smiles wider, not believing me. I hate it when people do that.

"What if I show you to your room instead? After that, maybe I can get you to meet Lord Zeklos. He would be delighted to have your company for lunch."

"Not in a million years."

I am not spending another second in the same room as that man. When he came to meet me, I saw enough of him to develop a deep hatred for him. I was still feeling the effects of the drug after my first time being administered it against my will, and he very much took advantage of that, trying to walk his hand under my shirt.

Despite the fact that I warned him he will get his ass kicked if he touches me again, when I decide to get farther away from the house to look for a way out again, he decides to do just that. He gets a hold of my hand.

"I told you not to fucking-"

I swear I didn't want to pour my anger on him, but he was practically asking for it. Just like I did when I elbowed him in the ribs and twisted his arm behind his back, because he quickly switches our places and I get to be the one with her hands behind her back. He takes it a notch further and pressed me against a wall, to make sure I don't have the space to struggle. Damned drug, slowing me down. On a usual day, I would have caught his movement and deflected it.

"Princess, please. I do not like doing this to you."

"Then don't. Let me go. Pretend you didn't even see me. What do you win from keeping me here?"

"It's more about what I lose if I let you go."

"What do you lose?"

"My job, my head, you name it. The Lord was very strict about keeping you here. I guess he already knew you'd try to run so he told us to make sure we do everything to keep you on the premises."

"Oh, did he?"

I wonder why he thought that. Maybe because he is keeping me hostage here and wants to force me to marry his son?

The guardian tells me he won't let go of me until I promise him I've calmed down and I won't be running anymore.

"Fine. I will let you take me to my room. But I'd rather starve than meet that man. I'm skipping lunch, so I'm sorry if that will have any consequence on you."

I feel him shrugging behind me.

"It works for me. I'm ending my shift soon anyway. So you'll be out of my responsibility and my head will remain attached to my neck."

I smile as I get to face him once again. "Great. What's your name?"

"Volkov."

"Like… your first name."

He seems surprised I want to know what. "It's… Pavel."

"Nice to meet you, Pavel. I'm Rose."

I extend my hand toward him, and he is even more surprised by my gesture. Still, he takes my hand and wants to fucking kiss it, but I make it more than obvious that I just wanted us to shake hands. With a weirded-out expression, he smiles.

"Likewise, Princess."

I laugh. "I kind of doubt you'll be glad you met me in a week or two."

I hope this will be the longest time I'll need to get out of here.

2 weeks later

It's been two days since I fled Zeklos' house during a shift change of the guardians posted at the main gates.

Since then, I've been going around town looking like a complete hobo, and I even started to get acquainted with the smell of one, but at least the lack of showering is working out to my advantage. No one is questioning my whereabouts when they see me. They pay me the littlest of attention, as they suppose I'm an unpromised dhampir, or maybe they're afraid I'd ask them for money, but I managed that aspect by myself.

I survived until now with the money I stole from the house, as I broke into the Lord's office just before running away. But that supply is now running short as the price for the bus ticket to take me to the next town was a little too spicy. I may have managed to get to this town on foot, but there is no way in hell I'll manage to walk farther, not with my outdoor survival skills. I need to get there by vehicle. And fast, before someone thinks to look for me here.

I mostly bet on the fact that they'd think my royal ass was too pretentious to hide in a dhampir commune, and until now, I saw none of Zeklos' guardians roaming the town. But I cannot take advantage of that for too long. I need to move and hope that in the next commune I'll find a familiar, friendly face. I wonder if, after three years, people would still recognize me.

I cannot afford another night spent in the rental rooms on the upper floor of the bar, so I don't bother with finding another place to crash. I guess I'll spend the rest of my time hanging out downstairs, at the good old, shady, dhampir bar. It's a couple of hours until that bus arrives and I hope I can keep myself on the low until then. I already made some heads turn my way by asking the wrong questions and I promised myself I won't make that mistake again.

So now I am sitting at a table and ordering myself something to drink, trying to blend in with the scenery as I take in my surroundings. Along the Moroi that come to entertain the women and do their duty for the community, there are dhampir men around here too, and they are the ones I'm looking for. Guardian dropouts, unpromised, outlaws, call them however you want, they're the people I need now. The kind of people that get the money and don't ask any questions.

Working in pairs is better than dying alone, that is what they taught us in school, and it is true for so many reasons. First, I need to sleep. I couldn't keep an eye shut last night as I feared someone would bust my door open and would take me back to Zeklos' house. And if I am not in my best shape, then how could I make it out alive? Second, it is easier to fight off the bad guys. And considering how many of those might be after me, I need a partner.

But truth is, all these men I'm seeing here don't look trustworthy. Hell, I know I cannot trust anyone, but I still need someone to watch my back. Making it to the other town isn't such an easy deal as I would like to think it'd be. So many things could go wrong. If someone would ambush the bus, I could get lost in a forest in the middle of the night, or something. I would die in half an hour if that would happen. And it would be at the hands of any Strigoi, mind you.

Everything seemed doomed. Until he enters the bar.

It's a familiar face, but I doubt that if I'd ever seen him before I would have forgotten him. The man is a sight hard to look past. The sharp edges of his jaw are softened by his unclasped brown hair, that's long enough to barely touch his shoulders. Fast, agile eyes scan the bar, in the way only a guardian would. I guess some things never get out of habit, don't they? Neither does that black outfit he's wearing. Black cargo pants, black T-shirt, and combat boots. The only thing not in sync with a guardian is that brown leather duster he's wearing. Unless he's a rogue, no one would allow him to wear that, I swear. I mean, it's a fucking duster! No one in the 21st century would wear one, but this guy looks so good in it that he could bring back the trend with so little effort.

But I cannot deny it. That combination makes him look… deathly. And that is exactly what I need.

Heading for an empty spot at the bar, he carries himself like he owns the place and I know I need to talk to the guy right away. I shall waste no time.

Could he be a mercenary? Why not? A lot of unpromised men do a lot of shitty things for money. Could he try to get some advantages from me if he even starts thinking I'm a Moroi? Sure. Could there be a thousand other bad things that could happen? Absolutely. But he looks like he's performing some qualitative services without much fuss, so I don't think twice before I head his way. I just don't know how much money I can promise him for him to take me away from here.

Let's just see how much bullshit I can sell him to convince him. Of course, I pray that the jewelry in the pocket of my jacket will do a lot of the convincing for me.

When I sit next to him, he doesn't give me the littlest of attention. I'm a little hurt, to be honest. I mean, I made sure to arrange my hair and undo the zipper of my jacket. I even pulled my blouse down, to reveal some of my cleavage.

Oh, dear lord, please don't let him be on the other side of the barricade.

Thinking of a way to approach him, my eyes fall on a couple of guys that play with knives, throwing them at a target.

I could give flattery a try. What man doesn't want his ego boosted, right?

"You look like the kind of guy who would win that game."

He turns his head and looks at me. One point to me for that, but one point to the other side thing too, as his eyes don't even slide past my face. Good thing there is money on this earth to solve what physical stuff cannot accomplish.

"Is that so?"

Oh, he's playing the mysterious guy card. That voice is deep and unbothered. Not a single inflexion is present, and to my disappointment, he's not even a little impressed by my remark. But I am not the one to give up easily.

I try not to sound as excited as I am and mimic some assurance in myself, even though my palms are sweating. The man is my last chance, after all. And potentially a cold-blooded killer. So yes, I am nervous.

"Aham. You look like the kind of guy who could do a lot of things."

If there isn't interest I see in his eyes, I'll call myself delusional.

"Things like what?"

Yes! I got him! Now I only need to negotiate.

"Well, I don't plan to find out about all of them. But you could surely do one thing for me."

"Which is?"

"Before that… let me answer a question. What can I do for you?"

He's curious. His eyebrows lifted involuntarily for a split second, but it is enough for me to know I have his complete attention.

"What can you do for me?"

I take my time, wanting to let him boil for a second. I move slowly, arranging the strands of hair that remind of my bangs and I do it like there is no bother in the world, trying to put it behind my ears even though I know it would never sit there, and I eye him the whole time I do that. His gaze doesn't leave me either. I try to look flirty while I do it too, you know, just because I can.

"I could make you a very happy man," I say, and I even bat my eyelashes at him. Does this shit even work in real life?

His eyebrows lift once more and he doesn't try to hide it this time. But the question is, does he look interested in business, or did he get me wrong? Does he think I am flirting with him? Fuck. But maybe I could use this to my advantage too.

"And what do you propose?"

"What if we…" I take the time of the pause to lean in closer to him, and now I am sure he took a look at my chest. Got you! "Do some business?" I whisper to him.

He looks around us. "Do you think this is the proper place to discuss any business?"

There is no one close enough to hear us, but he's right. Anyone could hear us if they put in enough effort.

"We could… go outside."

I made sure to snatch a stake too, just in case things go south. And if he thinks I'm promising him something else other than money, mercenary or not, I know how to cut some flesh and a tall guy never intimidated me. The bigger the challenge, the bigger my ambition.

He smiles, and I would be a hypocrite to say I didn't like that.

"After you, then."

He takes me outside, to the back of the bar, and toward a car. I guess it is his and I can only wonder if he wants to get me inside. Am I fucked or could I use that car to my advantage and ditch the bus? Did I just get myself in trouble? If so, how bad is it?

The door of the car opens and out of all the bad things that could have gotten out of there, I see the worst option. Someone dressed in the guardians' uniform, but that's not all. On his chest, I see the Zeklos family crest.

Fuck, it's Pavel.

I convinced him to let me get out of my room, into the garden, all by myself, after I have come up with my escape plan. He hardly agreed and well, that was his first mistake, to trust me.

Oh, the way he looks at me. To say he is mad is an understatement. But to my defense, I did warn him I'll get him in trouble one way or another.

And hey, at least his head is still attached to his neck, so we both had something to win from that situation.

"Miss Yilmaz…" he greets me, through gritted teeth, faking cheerfulness.

"Fuck." I mumble as I look around for a way out.

But I am only greeted by the one who lured me out here.

"Princess, I am guardian Belikov and I am here to take you back to the Zeklos residence."