Chapter One

It was the middle of the day and the Academy's campus was deserted, like in one of those movies where the main actor arrives at a ghost town. The only sound was that of the leaves blowing around in the harsh Montana wind and my steps as they crunched heavily on the gravel.

The sun was glaring down on the world, but I was freezing. No one was outside. I could think.

And I needed to. For one thing, the field experience began tomorrow, which meant I'd been planning attacks with the rest of the guardians for the past two weeks. Then, a week ago, I'd been told that Alberta and some other guardians were needed to testify at Victor Dashkov's trial. I honestly couldn't understand why the guy needed one, but maintaining protocol was, apparently, necessary. So I was leaving in a week and worst of all, I couldn't tell anyone (which was killing me, by the way), least of all Rose.

Who, as it happens, was standing smack in front of her dorm.

She was breaking the rules, but I was stillglad to see her, though God only knew what she was plotting in the middle of the "night". So, because she was Rose and I was Dimitri and we loved each other but couldn't be together and the sky was blue, I decided to approach using humor.

Alayah rolled her eyes. Typical.

"Are you sleepwalking?" I asked, and not without good reason. Rose was only clad in blue pajama pants and a matching robe, her hair a huge tangle. She whirled around to face me and I could see the bags under her eyes that were making her look like the supermodel version of Frankenstein's wife.

"I was testing dorm security" She answered, running a tiny hand through the sexy bird's nest that was the top of her head "It sucks"

Ignoring the comment, I let my eyes rake over her and zoned in on the fact that she had drenched slippers on "You must be freezing. Do you want my coat?"

Rose shook her head, though I wouldn't have minded if she'd accepted, just so I could feed my obsession by smelling her on my coat every night before I went to bed.

Daemon stared. Wow. You're the kind of creepy stalker that ends up on the news for stealing girls' panties, aren't you? I can't say I'm surprised, though, and that's the really sad part.

"I'm fine. What are you doing out here? Are you testing security, too?" Rose asked, a tiny smile on her face.

I grinned "I am security. This is my watch"

"Well, good work" She blushed "I'm glad I was able to help test your awesome skills. I should be going now"

"Rose –" I caught her arm and a shiver shot through me. Anxious, I dropped it "What are you really doing out here?"

"I had a bad dream. I wanted some air" She said, and I believed her.

"And so you just rushed out. Breaking the rules didn't even cross your mind – and neither did putting on a coat" I stated, as serious and teacher-y as I could manage to sound.

She shrugged, sheepish "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up"

"Rose, Rose. You never change. Always jumping in without thinking" I shook my head fondly - yes, I am that whipped.

"That's not true" Rose replied "I've changed a lot"

I looked her over "You're right. You have changed"

And not all changes are good. The words hung in the air between us.

At that, she was silent for a moment "Well, don't worry. My birthday's coming up. As soon as I'm eighteen, I'll be an adult, right? I'm sure I'll wake up that morning and be all mature and stuff"

I smiled at her teasing "Yes, I'm sure. What is it, about a month?"

"Thirty-one days" Rose corrected.

"Not that you're counting" She shrugged again "I suppose you've made a birthday list too. Ten pages? Single-spaced? Ranked by order of priority?"

She started to speak but closed her mouth, then said quietly "No, no list"

"I can't believe you don't want anything" I plunged on "It's going to be a boring birthday"

"It doesn't matter" Rose announced uncomfortably, piquing my curiosity.

"What do you –" Because I suddenly understood, I stopped. If I could have anything, anything, I'd ask for freedom, because that way I could have her and get a peaceful life at the same time. And because we were more similar than I was willing to admit, I knew that was what she would've chosen, too.

Uncomfortable, I changed the subject "You can deny it all you want, but I know you're freezing. Let's go inside. I'll take you in through the back"

Surprise showed in Rose's eyes for a second. I wasn't one to shy away from awkward conversations, but this was clearly not the time or place for one, and she nodded.

"I think you're the one who's cold. Shouldn't you be all tough and stuff, since you're from Siberia?" She asked.

I chuckled "I don't think Siberia's exactly what you imagine"

"I imagine it as an arctic wasteland" Rose admitted.

I laughed at the idea "Then it's definitely not what you imagine"

"Do you miss it?" Rose asked, her voice soft.

"All the time. Sometimes I wish –"

Suddenly my name was shouted from behind us. I immediately recognized Alberta's voice. "Shit" I muttered, shoving Rose around the corner "Stay out of sight"

I spoke as soon as Alberta came into sight "You're not on watch"

"No, but I needed to talk to you. It'll just take a minute" She said, giving me no chance to argue "We need to shuffle some of the watches while you're at the trial"

Why does stuff like this always have to happen to me?

Because you're a star-crossed lover. Alayah answered. Things like this happen to them all the time. You'll see. It's just gonna get worse from here on.

And here I always thought you were an optimistic ray of sunshine. Daemon laughed.

"I figured" I said curtly, painfully aware of Rose's listening presence behind us "It's going to put a strain on everyone else – bad timing"

"Yes, well, the queen runs on her own schedule" Alberta sighed, exasperated "Celeste will take your watches, and she and Emil will divide up your training times. They say they don't mind the extra work, but I was wondering if you could even things out and take some of their shifts before you leave?"

"Absolutely" I nodded.

"Thanks. I think that'll help. I wish I knew how long this trial was going to be. I don't want to be away that long" Alberta looked far too stressed, and she sighed again "You'd think it'd be a done deal with Dashkov, but now I hear the queen's getting cold feet about imprisoning a major royal"

Fuck my life.

My heart stopped – quite literally – and I could not even begin to imagine what the Hell Rose was thinking from her place behind a bush. "I'm sure they'll do the right thing"

"I hope so. And I hope it'll only take a few days, like they claim" Alberta shivered and crossed her arms over her chest, her patience lost "Look, it's miserable out here. Would you mind coming into the office for a second to look at the schedule?"

"Sure. Let me check on something first"

"Alright. See you soon" I waited for her to leave and braced myself for the scene I knew was coming, turning the corner.

"Rose –"

"Dashkov?" She asked, her voice low and dangerous "As in Victor Dashkov?"

My shoulders slumped. This was gonna be bad "Yes. Victor Dashkov"

"And you guys were talking about… Do you mean... I thought he was locked up! Are you saying he hasn't been on trial yet?" Rose demanded, nearly hysterical with sudden understanding.

This was why I hadn't wanted to tell her, because the world was unfair and she'd only begun to see a part of it, because she was too goddamn young to have her innocence taken away like this.

And, well, also because I was pretty sure Rose was gonna kill someone by the time our talk was over.

Dude, your life is so fucked up. Daemon laughed. Seriously. You have the worst luck in the world.

Gee, thanks for all the support, here. Alayah said on my behalf. Come on. We're leaving.

But – Daemon looked terribly disappointed.

No buts. Out. Now. Alayah gave me a little smile and shoved the door shut.

"He's been locked up—but no, no trial yet" I admitted, then decided pacifying Rose was vital "Legal proceedings sometimes take a long time"

"But there's going to be a trial now? And you're going?" She pressed.

"Next week. They need me and some of the other guardians to testify about what happened to you and Lissa that night" I informed her.

"Call me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you?"

I took a deep breath "No"

"No?" Rose's voice was starting to get shrill with outrage.

"No"

Rose put her hands on her hips "Look, doesn't it seem reasonable that if you're going to talk about what happened to us, then you should have us there?"

I shook my head "The queen and some of the other guardians thought it'd be best if you didn't go. There's enough evidence between the rest of us, and besides, criminal or not, he is—or was—one of the most powerful royals in the world. Those who know about this trial want to keep it quiet"

"So, what, you thought if you brought us, we'd tell everyone?" Rose exclaimed "Come on, comrade! You really think we'd do that? The only thing we want is to see Victor locked up. Forever. Maybe longer. And if there's a chance he might walk free, you have to let us go"

Now, I personally agreed with her, but what she hadn't understood yet was that I had neither voice nor vote in this "It's not my decision to make"

"But you have influence" Rose protested "You could speak up for us, especially if… Especially if there really is a chance he might get off. Is there? Is there really a chance the queen could let him go?"

I sighed "I don't know. There's no telling what she or some of the other high-up royals will do sometimes" I grabbed my keys and tossed them to her "Look, I know you're upset, but we can't talk about it now. I have to go meet Alberta, and you need to get inside. The square key will let you in the far side door. You know the one"

Rose nodded "Yeah. Thanks"

She turned, clearly still angry, and began walking away.

So I called after her "Rose?" She looked at me over her shoulder "I'm sorry… And you better bring the keys back tomorrow"

Not waiting to hear her answer, I began the long trudge back towards the guardians' offices, certain my life had just taken a turn for the worse.

So, whaddaya guys think of the title and summary? And are you liking the way it's going so far? I'm updating on Sundays, now. If you're a new reader, welcome! Please read my story, Loving Little Rose, before you continue with this one.

I also wanna thank all my anonymous reviewers (like , Danielle Cave, Kate, kayla belikov, sorrowfilledangel, and ytrew, to name a few). I love your reviews, and I wish I could reply, but this is the only way I can think of of letting you know how much I appreciate them.

This review is from agony-fairy for chapter 16 and I thought it was hilarious enough to share: "I imagine it's like a condo in that part of his brain, a condo that Daemon built a chapel underneath and Alayah built a nightclub right next to, just to drive Daemon crazy"

So write your best in the reviews and I'll start putting my favs here in the ANs (but they all rock)

DISCLAIMER: The characters and plot are the author's, not mine. Well, except for Alayah and Daemon and THEIR side-story. No part of this may be reproduced without my permission. The dialogue may be the author's but most of the rest is mine, guys. No copyright infringement intended.