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Rose gets the chance to return to the Academy on a special mission. What she doesn't know is its going to be a trip that will change her life forever...

RETURNING TO THE ACADEMY

RPOV

I never thought I would be back here again.

Never thought I would see the mountains or the vast pine forests of Montana.

Never thought I would see the place I grew up – the only place I had ever called home.

No, that's not true, not any more, I thought smiling, thinking back to the Royal Moroi Court which I now called home. But still, it felt surreal returning to St Vladimir's Academy.

Sonya shivered next to me, pulling her parka close to herself, "Strange isn't it? Coming back here after everything that has happened".

I turned and smiled at her, trying to comfort her anxiety. The last time she had been here, she had tried to rid the darkness that was ever present with her Spirit powers and had purposefully turned herself Strigoi.

I grabbed her gloved hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze "Just focus on the reason we are here. Lissa has complete faith in you and knows you can handle this".

Sonya gave me a small smile, but I could still see the worry and stress. Without any further hesitation we both made our way to Kirova's office. The walk to the office made me think back to the countless times I had done this exact walk and the small smile on my face became an outright grin. I was a regular visitor to Kirova's office, ever since elementary school (when I threw a book at our kindergarten teacher for making me and Lissa spell out our names in full). It felt strange, coming to her now as an official guardian, on official Moroi business.

The door to Kirova's office was open, but I still politely knocked and waited for her to invite us in. Kirova looked up, and her expression became one of surprise when she saw who had knocked at her door. "Why Guardian Hathaway, I thought I would never see the day you would politely knock at my door, waiting for me to invite you in".

My grin grew wider, "Headmistress Kirova, I am no longer the 'undisciplined' girl you used to know and I try not to be too 'disrespectful' when I can. Unfortunately, I am still learning to tame my 'wild' side".

It was my turn to be surprised, when I saw a warm smile spread on Kirova's face. In all my time at the Academy I don't think I had ever seen her smile like that to anyone. Her expression changed to one of shock when Sonya followed me into her office. This wasn't a surprise visit, she knew we were coming, but she hadn't seen Sonya since her transformation (she hadn't been able to make the wedding) so this was the first time she was seeing her after her restoration.

"Sonya?"

I was startled to see the small tears forming in her eyes. Sonya replied her with a warm smile, and took the remaining steps quickly and before I knew it, both woman were hugging each other tightly. I looked away, trying to regain my own emotions and allowing them some privacy.

"Ellen, I am so sorry for everything. So sorry for what I put you through". I could hear the grief and guilt in Sonya's voice, as Kirova gently patted her back in an effort to soothe her. "It's all in the past now, dear. I am just happy to see you again".

I cleared my throat, reminding them I was in the room as well.

"Sorry Rose" Sonya smiled at me sheepishly as she moved back to where I stood. It gave Kirova the time she needed to pull up her professional, Headmistress mask into place. "Why don't you both sit down, so we can discuss the matter at hand".

Our visit to the Academy wasn't a social one. Word had gotten to Lissa that there was a student (who had transferred from another academy) that was displaying the same 'undeclared' signs she had, which could mean a potential Spirit user. Lissa had become excited and wanted to come herself to interview the student, but her royal obligations kept her at Court. So she sent Sonya instead to determine the truth. Being Lissa's guardian, I would have preferred to have stayed at Court (since now that I no longer had the Spirit bond to keep track of her well-being, it was very hard being away from her), but Lissa insisted I went with Sonya on this mission. "You know more about Spirit than any other guardian and I would feel better knowing you were there not only protecting Sonya, but also helping her with this mission. I also know you miss the Academy, so this way you get to see it again". I couldn't argue with that, and so here we were.

To be honest, I had another reason that motivated me to visit the Academy. Dimitri and Christian had been at St. Vlads for the last month, putting in place the new elective that was to being rolled out for Moroi seniors when the new school year started – Combat and Magical Defence. The Council had finally consented to an Academy to trial out the new elective, allowing senior Moroi students to learn basic hand-to-hand combat and ways they could use their specialised element as a weapon against the Strigoi. Depending on how popular (and successful) the elective went at St Vladimir's would determine whether it would get adopted by the other Academies. I was excited about this and really wanted to see how Dimitri and Christian were progressing. And secretly, I was missing Dimitri like crazy. Talking once a day (to catch up and wish each other goodnight) was never enough. I missed his smile, his warmth and most of all, I missed his deep, brown eyes.

Our meeting with Kirova took a little over an hour, as we caught up on our personal lives after the matter of the 'undeclared' student was discussed. In that time, more snow had fallen and the Academy looked even more beautiful than it had when we had arrived. It was bustling with life, as students made their way around the campus. Sonya and I started making our way to guest housing, when I stopped suddenly.

"What's the matter Rose?"

I looked wistfully towards the guardian administration building, biting my lower lip.

"Is it ok if I meet up with you later? I want to go see Alberta. I haven't seen her in ages".

Sonya smiled and nodded. Taking a deep breath, I made my way to Alberta's office. I wasn't sure if she would be there (after all I hadn't checked and the visit was last minute), but luck was on my side. Alberta had left her door open too and was busy filling out paperwork. I knocked on her door to divert her attention. Her head snapped up and a look of disbelief filled her face. Before I knew how to respond she was in front of me in a flash and had gathered me in a big hug. I struggled to breath in her tight embrace but more importantly, I was overwhelmed by her display of emotion. Trying to hold back the tears I attempted to diffuse my emotion with humour.

"Why Guardian Petrov, I didn't think you would be this happy to see one of your most disruptive, mischievous student?"

"Call me Alberta, Rose. You are no longer my student, but my peer", she whispered.

I pulled away from her and saw a grin on her face.

"I knew you were coming today with Sonya, but didn't think I would get a chance to see you till tomorrow".

Something strange flashed in her eyes, but before I could catch it, her guardian mask fell into place. But she still kept a small smile on her face as she gestured towards the chair near her desk.

"Please take a seat. Have you had a chance to see Belikov yet?" Her smile twitched at Dimitri's name, but again she kept her face stoic.

My eyes narrowed slightly at that little twitch. "No, we met up with Kirova the moment we got here. We needed to be debriefed about Lana Tarus".

Alberta nodded. "Ah, yes. The 'undeclared' Moroi transfer from St Basil's Academy. It made sense for them to transfer her to us, considering our experience on the matter. Speaking of Spirit, how is her Highness?"

"Lissa is great. I don't know how she does it, but she can somehow manage the Court and still get her assignments in on time. Not only that, but she has been toping every single one of her classes. I don't think I would have been able to manage everything like she has". I felt a surge of pride thinking how Lissa had found a way to be an exemplary Queen to her people and still follow her dreams. At the rate she was going, I didn't think she would be happy with just the one degree.

I lost track of time, as Alberta and I caught up on each other's lives and how things were faring at the Academy and at Court. I think our conversation would have continued further if it wasn't for a text that Alberta received. I could see her falling back to her blank face as she read the text but some other emotion was trying to get through. Her fingers flew across the phone has she replied back. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up at me.

"Rose, could I possibly ask you to do a little favour?"

I watched her carefully, wondering what she wanted to ask (and what she was trying to not say), "Sure, what would you like me to do?"

"All of the school guardians are currently busy on other matters, but it's come to my attention that a bunch of students are planning to skip class and have a bonfire party near the old guardian post – you know the cabin at the East end of campus. Could you please go there and check it out. And should you come across any students, well you know what to do".

I gave her a quick nod and left before the secret smile appeared on my face.

The cabin, our cabin.

Last time I had seen it was on my last day at the Academy before I had left for the Court to become a guardian. It felt like another lifetime. I chuckled at the thought of the reversal of roles I would now have to play – the biggest rule breaker, party girl this Academy had ever seen was now in charge of enforcing those very same rules and stopping students from having fun.

Being responsible and respected sucked sometimes.

My guardian eyes took in my surroundings as I made my way further into the woods, moving swiftly and silently to keep my presence hidden. The entire walk up to the cabin I hadn't seen any student activity – in fact the woods were silent apart from the small critters of the night. My boots crunched on the thick snow and I was glad my half-vampire vision, along with the moonlight, allowed me to see without the need of a flashlight. But as the cabin came to view, my breath caught in my throat.

Tiny fairy lights ran around the trim of the building, illuminating it in a beautiful glow. Small, white lanterns were laid out in the front of the door, making an aisle that invited me to enter a magical world. Slowly I walked towards the cabin, in a trance, wondering what was waiting from me on the other side. This was definitely not a student party I was walking towards. I felt butterflies in my stomach as I opened the door. A gasp escaped my lips as I took in the sight in front of me. Long and short white candles, emitting a soft smell of Jasmine, were spread out in the cabin - just the right amount to give a romantic atmosphere. Large vases, filled with deep, red roses were strategically placed around the cabin (taking up whatever room was left from the candles). And bent down on one knee, waiting for me, was the love of my life, my equal, my soulmate.

"Rosemarie Hathaway. Three years ago you blew into my life like a wild, raging storm. Pure, untouched power. I don't know how you did it, but you broke down every wall, every barrier I had ever erected in my life. No one has ever understood me as well as you have – you and you alone see what's in my heart and soul. It's doesn't surprise me because as far as I am concerned, you have them both. You have seen me at my lowest, at my worst and yet you still loved me. You have brought me back from death and despair. I owe you my life and so much more. If you allow me, I would like to spend the rest of my life, completely and utterly devoted to you. You are my goddess, my angel, my love. Oh Roza, my dearest Roza, will you marry me?"

I stood there stunned, not knowing how to respond. Tears ran down my face as my mind quickly recalled the last three years – the first time I saw him in Portland, him pinning me down after my surprise attack during training, the night of the lust charm, when he saved me from Natalie, our first passionate kiss, when he confessed he loved me, my first time in this very cabin… On and on the memories raced across my mind. So many memories – the good and the bad. One thing was constant – he was in every single one of them, he was my centre. I couldn't imagine my life without him and I didn't think I could love anyone as deeply as I loved him. To him it probably felt like forever before I answered his question, but the reality was my mind had showed me my decision through those memories in less than a minute.

"Yes" I whispered.

With the amazing guardian reflexes I knew and loved, he jumped up and grabbed me in a tight embrace.

"Oh Roza, my sweet Roza. You have made me the happiest man in the world!"

Tears glistened in his beautiful dark, brown eyes, as he pulled back to gaze at my face. He smothered me with countless kisses, making me giggle.

"Hey comrade, this is all good and everything, but where is my ring?"

He took a step back, giving me one of his dazzling smiles and took out a small black box. Inside was a ring that was truly Rose-worthy – a perfectly cut round diamond was set into a lacy square of platinum filigree that was edged in tiny blue opals. I felt more tears spring to my eyes as he carefully pulled the ring out of the box, and taking my left hand gently in his warm ones, he removed the glove and placed the ring delicately on my ring finger – amazingly it fit perfectly.

"Oh Dimitri, it's beautiful".

Before either of us could say anything more, I grabbed him fiercely and kissed him. I had never planned on getting engaged this young, but then again I had seen and experienced more in the last three years of my life than many had in a lifetime. Death, life, re-birth, imprisonment, new beginnings, what did it matter if I got engaged at the tender age of 20? Heck, if he asked me to, I would march down to a courthouse and marry him tomorrow (thought I may not openly admit this to him). This wonderful man, this amazing soul was mine, all mine.

Our kiss started to get more heated and I wanted to do so much more. I didn't want to waste the cabin and the romantic atmosphere, but Dimitri, it seemed had other ideas.

"No Roza, I have another surprise for you".

He released me gently, pushing away, just as breathless as I was. I couldn't help but pout at him. He gave a small chuckle as he took hold of my left hand and lead me out of the cabin, back towards the Academy.

I kept asking him to give me a hint, anything, on what his next surprise was. Frankly I couldn't see how he could possibly top what he had pulled off tonight. I soon realised he was leading me towards one of the rooms the Academy sometimes used for private functions. In fact, I recognised the room.

"This is where Abe held my graduation party. What's going on?"

The only answer I got from Dimitri was a small grin and a wink before he pushed open the doors.

"SURPRISE!"

I'd like to think it's very hard to take me by surprise, after all I am a deadly, well trained guardian. So you can imagine my embarrassment when I yelped very loud at the sudden outburst and the scene that was before me. Kirova, Alberta, Christian, Sonya, even my parents, were all here.

"Oh my God! What is going on? What are you two doing here!?"

I looked pointedly at my parents, who were grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. My mum spoke up, "Really Rose, you have to ask? This is your engagement party!"

I looked at them dumbfounded, and stared at the others.

"But how did you know? It just happened like five minutes ago!"

Dimitri pulled me into a hug, laughing into my hair "Oh Roza".

"Honestly Rose, did you really think Dimitri did all of this by himself?" Christian's eyes sparkled as he spoke. "We were all recruited to help make Operation Get-Rose-to-marry-Dimitri a success. Why else do you think Dimitri and I were at the Academy?"

I looked at him and Dimitri, confused.

"What about the new elective? Was that just an elaborate lie to help this proposal happen?"

It was Alberta, with a quick laugh that answered my question.

"No Rose, that wasn't a lie. We really are implementing a new defence elective for senior Moroi students next year and Dimitri and Christian have worked very hard to make this a reality. They just worked on the proposal in their downtime".

I spun around to face Sonya accusingly.

"You knew! All this time you knew! Was Lana Tarus a set-up?"

Sonya came over and gave me a big hug.

"No Rose, she too is real. But, we may have jumped the gun on thinking she was a Spirit user – turns out she declared in Earth magic yesterday. But we had the perfect excuse to get you to the Academy, so we kept up the façade".

I bit my lip, looking at one face at a time. Each one was filled with happiness, excitement or love for us. I stopped at my parents again.

"I still don't understand what role you two played?"

My mum spoke again, much to Abe's annoyance.

"I am here, because Dimitri wanted to ask your hand in marriage. It was a very noble thing of him to do. Of course, I was a bit annoyed to find out he had already asked your father for permission ages ago".

A look of utter shock came over my face as I stared back and forth between Dimitri and Abe. I settled on Abe.

"When did this happen, old man!?"

Abe, gave me one of his sly grins.

"Actually, my dear daughter it happened during our one and only exciting hunting trip. We discussed so much, that I guess this was just something that naturally came up. How could I possibly say no?"

His eyes twinkled in mischief. I turned my glare at Dimitri.

"You have been planning this for over a year!"

It was supposed to intimidate him, make him cower. Instead he and the others burst out into fits of laughter. And that was that. Everyone came and gave us hugs and best wishes. Abe, annoyingly even started to offer his fatherly services of paying for the whole wedding.

"Dad! We just got engaged. We haven't set a date yet, let alone thought about where, when, how we are going to get married!"

Suddenly a frown appeared on my face and Dimitri sensed my shoulders tense.

"What's the matter Roza?"

I looked at him and Christian, chewing my lip nervously.

"What about Lissa? It feels wrong to be celebrating this and all of you guys being here when she isn't".

Dimitri gave Christian a knowing look, prompting him to quickly disappear to the corner of the room where a laptop sat. As I saw him bringing it over, I noticed a web-cam had been strategically placed near the laptop that had been facing us the entire time. Typing in a few things, Christian quickly spun the screen around and I was suddenly face to face with my best friend.

"Eeeeeek!" Lissa squealed (made worse thanks to the computer mic). "I watched the whole thing! Congratulations you two! I am so happy for you."

I didn't think it was possible but Rose Hathaway was lost for words. My mind was stupidly sluggish at the moment and it took me some time to realise the implications of it all.

"You were the mastermind behind all this, weren't you!?"

Lissa's smirk was all the answer I needed. Of course, it made perfect sense. Dimitri, Christian, Sonya and me being at the Academy, it was all her doing and I wouldn't be surprised if she had some hand in my parents being here too.

"How on Earth where you guys able to keep this from me?"

I felt a pout forming, finding it hard to believe all of this was going on and I didn't pick up on anything, even with my keen guardian skills.

Lissa chastised me, "Oh Rose, don't be like that. Dimitri worked hard on making this possible. Don't ruin this for him".

It was true. A lot of effort had gone into making this night possible, and even though there were a lot of helpers, it was all Dimitri. I pulled him into my arms, suddenly shy at the audience we had. Everyone cheered and we continued with our festivities. It wasn't long before people started dispersing.

Kirova and Alberta were the first to leave, apologising that they had other Academy matters to attend to. Sonya left next, saying she was scheduled to have a Skype call with Mikhail (who was currently on a mission in Europe). Christian said his goodbyes too, along with Lissa, as he took the web-cam and laptop with him to have some private one-on-one time with the Queen. That just left the four of us. Before things could get awkward, mum gave Abe a gentle nudge and whispered something in his ear. A wicked grin spread on his face as he turned to speak to us.

"Well it seems your mother would like some private time with your father, and as our time together will be short, I do not wish to waste it. So we will leave you two kids to amuse yourself. I am sure you will find a way to pass the time".

And with that, before I could make any comment, he took my mother's arm, gave Dimitri a knowing wink and led her out of the room. I just stared at them, my mouth gaping open. What had stunned me even more, was my mum's blush as she allowed Abe to lead her out of the room.

"Where do you think they are going? What do you think they are going to do?"

Dimitri's response was one of his cool, patented one eyebrow raises.

"Do you really want me to answer that Roza?"

Nope. I didn't.

We made our way back to the cabin – even though we had a room at the guest housing (I had planned on staying in the same room as Dimitri). We walked in comfortable silence, Dimitri occasionally kissing my left hand in a constant reminder of what had transpired tonight.

"Who else knows? Jill? Eddie? Sydney & Adrian?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Only the people who were here tonight at the small engagement party. Lissa really wanted to be here in person, but she had the big Council meeting and too many important items were on the agenda for her to miss it or reschedule. Jill is still at Eddie's, and everyone who knows has been told to keep it to themselves. I know you would prefer the rest to find out from us directly than through the others about the engagement and I guess the perfect time would be at the Christmas dinner, when we will see them at Sydney and Adrian's".

I nodded in agreement as the cabin came into view and all I could think about was Dimitri and the heat that was burning inside me.

The cabin had remained frozen in time for us. It was still dark out and not all of the candles had burned out. Even with the reduced lighting, it was still breathtaking. Dimitri led me in and closed the door behind us. We helped each other out of our coats and gloves, allowing our fingers to linger on the other's arms. Reaching up slowly, tracing his fingers along my left arm, Dimitri brushed the side of my face. I shivered at his touch, feeling dizzy with a surge of pleasure at what was to come. The lovable fool thought my shiver was a sign of me feeling cold and pulled away to light a fire. Sighing, I went and sat down on the bed, allowing my memories of the last time we were in the cabin to flood me. I was so lost in them that when Dimitri returned and took me in his arms, I thought I was still wrapped up in my memories. It was his sweet voice that bought me back to reality, to the present.

"Oh Roza, you are truly one of a kind. So brave, so beautiful. How did I get so lucky?"

I turned to look at him, watching myself fall deeply into his dreamy eyes, "I don't know comrade, but let's just see how lucky you really are tonight?"

I gave him the biggest, seductive smile I could muster. His expression went from quick shock to one filled with deep hunger, as he pinned me down with a growl. We kissed deeply, as our hands worked fast on removing the vast layers of clothing we were wrapped up in – damn the cold weather! But it wasn't long before we were completely bare, our warm skins touching each other. The only thing I had on was my engagement ring and that was were Dimitri started his exploration of my body from – kissing each of my fingers, the ring, palm, he moved slowly along the wrist, arm, shoulder, neck… Each kiss set my skin aflame and the fluttering in my stomach increased.

"Stop taunting me…" I gasped.

I gripped his shoulders, wanting him to get on with it, to take me, my body, my soul. But he wasn't listening.

"Let me worship you, Roza. Let me savour every part of you. I can never have enough of you. You drive me crazy with your beauty – your dark hair (he kissed the top of my head, inhaling deeply), your piercing eyes (he kissed them both gently), your warm lips (he kissed me intensely, biting my lower lip gently), your amazing body…"

With that final declaration, his kisses exploded all over my body, making me moan in pleasure and growl with impatience. I wanted him inside me and I was not one who liked to be kept waiting.

Taking a page out of one of our many training sessions, I used his weight to flip him over and take control.

"Enough with the foreplay, comrade. It's my turn!" I growled.

And before he could protest, I smothered him with a deep kiss, and took charge of the night.