The campus ground was huge even for a semi large college. The sun beaming down on our heads were mercifully blocked out by passing clouds. The heat was so intense that I could feel sweat running down the front and back of my shirt. I looked over at Lissa. Her nose was buried in one of her school books as we walked along the school's weaving paths. I couldn't understand how she could read and walk at the same time. If it were me I would have…oomph!

I had run into something that knocked me on my ass. I looked up to see who blocked my way and my eyes fell on a young girl's face. Her red hair was fine and gently shifted back as if she were the only lucky person to have a breeze. She smiled shyly and stretched out her hand.

"I am so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was walking. I tend to try to multitask and nothing good ever comes of it. I'm pretty much a klutz of sorts. " Her rambling was kind of cute. It reminded me of Jill.

I took her hand and pulled myself up. In the light I could see her eyes were hazel and when the light hit them they took on a green color. I put on a friendly smile and tried not to seem irritated. "That's fine. No harm done." I dusted off my butt hoping I didn't get any grass stains.

Her eyes widened. "I know who you are." Her breath caught quickly and she whispered loudly. "You're Guardian Hathaway." She bowed her head quickly looking to Lissa, "so that makes you Queen Vasilia!"

Lissa's eyes shot up from her book and took in the young girl's face and she shot a side glance to me. I looked up again to observe the girl's face. There, just under her small smile I could get a peak at how she was trying to hide her fangs. I nodded to Lissa. She turned back to the girl and smiled. "Please to meet you but you needn't bow." Her smile was gentle and sincere. "You can call me Lissa."

"Oh I couldn't!" A bright pink tinged her pale skin and she looked like she might fall into cardiac arrest. "I'm so rude." She tried to straighten out the invisible wrinkles in her pressed white button up. "I'm Ally Badica." This time she only did a slight bow with her head.

I raked my hand through my hair. This girl fumbling over herself, it was cute. I put up my hand and smiled in amusement. I wanted to wipe off the awkwardness from the formal titles. "You may call us Rose and Lissa on campus, so we don't draw attention, Ally."

Lissa tucked her book under her arm and smoothed her platinum hair over her shoulder. "I don't want to be rude but we're in a hurry". She patted the book's spine. "Got a big test right now."

Ally's face grew disappointed and I felt guilt bubble up in my stomach. "But hey, if you want, you can join us after class. We're going to grab a bite to eat."

My invitation brought back sparkles to her eyes. Yeah, we were definitely celebrities in her eyes. "Sure!" She caught herself and cleared her throat, "I mean, I'd really like that. Thank you." She bowed her head again.

I threw a side glance at Lissa. She was already looking back at me and I could only imagine what Lissa would have sent me if we still had the bond. I turned back to Ally. She was still beaming from the invitation. "So, see you after class then." We started walking off to the nearby building and I could still hear her giggling excitement behind us.

When we walked inside Lissa sighed heavily. "Can't we have a normal day?"

"This is a normal day." I mused. It seemed to irritate her.

"I mean a real normal day. Where people don't recognize us, don't bow, or fall over themselves around us." She sounded exhausted.

I sighed now. "Come on." I pointed down a row of desks. "Let's just take our seats and we'll discuss this at lunch." My stomach growled at the mention of eating.

Lissa laughed gently. "You can go grab a snack now if you can't wait."

"I'm fine. I can wait." I patted my stomach. It made a hollow sound and I decided that I'd start bringing my own snacks to class with me from now on.

The class passed slowly. What only took an hour felt like it took days. I felt myself falling to sleep when the bell went off and I jumped up from my seat. Lissa's hand landed on my shoulder and brought me back down to earth.

"Are you alright?" Her tone was worried.

"I'm fine." I smoothed my hair feeling like it might be a mess. "Damn bell scared the crap out of me." This must have been amusing to her because she patted my shoulder and giggled.

We gathered our stuff off the desks and walked out into the warm campus grounds. The sun was lower and hiding behind some tall trees. The shade was a welcomed relief.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when we turned the corner and ended up face to face with Ally. She popped up a bit from surprise as well. Lissa was the least surprised. I looked down and noticed she was pushing my hand down. In the quick moment, I hadn't even noticed that I had gone for my stake. Instincts.

"Sorry". It was only the second time meeting this girl and already she's apologized too much.

This time Lissa took the initiative. "It's fine. "

I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "You girlies ready?" They both turned to me and both seemed to have the same soft smiles. I took that as a yes.

The cafeteria wasn't far from our building so we headed off to grab some food. I could already hear my stomach thanking me for the relief.

The line wasn't very long. Most people just drove off to restaurants or the mall. Lissa liked the quietness of the cafeteria seeing that hardly anyone was ever there.

"Lissa!" Right when we walked up to grab our food someone called out from across the room. Lissa spun around and caught her eyes on the one man that could make her heart burst. Christian.

And if he was here that meant… Dimitri. Sure enough my tall handsome Russian walked in after Christian. I ran full sprint at him and nearly knocked him over when I wrapped my arms around him. I buried my face into his chest. His arms encircled me and he tightened his grip. I could feel my heart racing and my face felt flush. My Dimitri was with me.

He pulled back just barely enough to look down at my face. He brushed a stand of hair off my face and his smile melted my heart. "Roza". I didn't realize just how much I missed his face, his words, his touch. He leaned down and our lips met. It was like they were meant to perfectly match one another. I wanted this moment to last forever.

"Hey Rose." I turned and saw Lissa and Christian in a similar embrace. Lissa's emerald eyes shone bright and sparkled even in this poorly lit room. Christian's face held the same pale blue color. He was just like we left him.

"Hey." My voice came out loud and excited. "What are you guys doing here?" I regretted sounding so rude but I was still in shock.

Dimitri's laugh rumbled through his chest. "To see you." He cupped my face and our eyes met again. I wanted to kiss him again.

"I should be going." Ally's small voice barely carried any volume.

I shook my head at her. "No, sorry." Now I was apologizing. "Guys, this is our new friend Ally."

Both nodded in acknowledgement and smiled friendly. "Hi". The unison of their words made her smile grow shy.

"Really, I don't want to intrude." She was rambling again and I could tell she was nervous. Her eyes looked back at the guys and she sucked in what seemed like too much air for her small body to handle. "Oh. My. God." She nearly fell over from her excitement. "You're Guardian Belikov!" Her head turned quickly, "And you're Lord Ozera!" This was clearly too much excitement in one day for her. Her face was bright red and she seemed to wobble on her feet.

I grabbed her arm and steadied her "Are you alright?" I walked her over to a chair. "Sit down before you fall over." She sat down with a thud and began fanning herself with her hand.

I looked back over to the others and smiled in amusement. "She's a big fan".

Lissa turned to Christian. "Why are you guys here?" Her puzzled expressions made him smile and he pulled her to him until there was no room to move.

"We are stealing you girls for the weekend." He turned to Dimitri and they nodded as if in agreement.

This made my blood burn. "Really?" I popped up and grab Dimitri. "Really?"

He laughed out loud again. I loved hearing him laugh this much. "Really."

Lissa and I began jumping up and down. Our shrieks and squeals could probably be heard from Court. We bounced up to one another and in unison we said, "We're escaping for the weekend!"

I quickly remembered Ally and grabbed her too. "And you can come with us."

"No I couldn't!" She was startled and still pretty star struck.

"Of course you can!" Lissa reassured her. Her smile was so big that her fangs were out in the open.

Now all three of us girls were bouncing in a circle, excited to be running away for the weekend. The guys just stared at us in astonishment. It was a funny sight to see if you happen to be walking by.

The flight to Court seemed to pass by quickly. Lissa snuggled with Christian at their window seats in the front. Both sipping some drinks as they just enjoyed each other's company. Me and Dimitri sat towards the back. My arm was looped with his and I rested my head on his shoulder. Every so often he'd twist a strand of my hair on the tip of his finger and let it fall. Ally watched us all in amazement and gulped down drink after drink. You could tell she was nervous but the excitement never left her face.

We were greeted by a swarm of guardians when we landed. They escorted us to the main building that loomed over the grounds like a great shadow. It felt like forever since the last time we came here.

Adrian stood in front of the building. He held a cigarette in one hand and the other was tucked in his pocket. His face was smug and his clothes, like always, looked designer. "Hello cousin." He opened his arms and Lissa hugged him.

"Adrian", she said as she looked at his face. "It's been quite some time." She stepped away and back into Christian's arms.

His gaze shifted to me. We were still a little awkward around each other but his easy face made me more comfortable. I wouldn't doubt if his drinking played a part in this. "Hello little dhampir." He opened his arms again and waited for a hug. I stepped forward and agreed to the hug. I quickly stepped back to Dimitri. "How have you been? All healed up?"

My hands went up to my fully closed wounds. It seemed like so long ago yet I could still here the shots ringing through the air. I could barely feel the small scars beneath my shirt but they were there reminding me of the horrible event. "All healed up."

"How have you been doing?" Dimitri's voice was smooth but I could sense the uneasiness of the whole situation.

Adrian shrugged. "I've been better." His eyes finally caught on to the extra person in our group. "Who's she?"

We all turned to the small girl behind us. She was twisting her hair on her finger and instantly dropped it when everyone turned to her. She dropped her arms to her side and smiled shyly. She was so cute when she looked nervous. I put my arm over her shoulder, "This is our new friend Ally. She goes to the same college."

Adrian's eyes looked the girl up and down. Her red hair beamed beautifully with the light and her flushing pink cheeks gave her pale skin a splash of color. His easy smile spread on his face and he extended his hand," I'm…"

"I know who you are, Lord Ivashkov." Her hand trembled as she reached for Adrian's hand. "It's a great honor." Her voice was shaky as well.

Adrian smiled at this. Their hands broke apart. "You can call me Adrian." His smile was sweet and sincere. He was trying to make her more comfortable. He turned back to the rest of us. "So, the guys succeeded in kidnapping you."

"You knew about this?" I was pretty surprised that Adrian would even want to know anything about me since the last time we spoke.

He looked shocked at my remark. "Of course. Christian told me."

Lissa elbowed his ribs. He just let out a small laugh and rubbed where she hit him. "I thought he'd like to hang out." He pulled out of Lissa's reach. "I told Jill, Eddie and Mia to come too." Lissa eyed him and scoffed.

"Come one Liss." I had to break this fight up before it began. I wrapped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her to my side. "It'll be the whole gang hanging out. Just like old times."

Christian joined in on our embrace. "Yeah! It'll be great."

Lissa looked disappointed when she looked back at him. "I was hoping to spend some alone time with you". She glanced at me "No offense."

I backed up with my hands up, "None taken." I leaned back against Dimitri. "I was hoping for my own little alone time." I winked at him and he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.

Adrian made a gagging sound. "Come on Ally." He signaled to her to follow him. "Let's go get the others and let the 'love birds' do their thing". She hesitated at first but then scurried off to his side.

She looked back at us, opening her mouth like she was about to say something. I lifted my hand to stop her. "Go. Have fun. We'll meet up in… two hours?" I looked around to everyone to see if they agreed.

They all nodded. Lissa spoke first. "Two hours is perfect. At the spa."

"Two hours it is then." I was so excited to get alone time. Finally. It had been a while since I last got to just be with Dimitri. From the look on his face I could tell he was pretty happy about the situation too. Then I looked back at Lissa. "So where are we all going?"

Lissa smiled widely, "the palace."

I clapped my hands excitedly. And we began to walk to the Palace. We were paired off. Lissa and Christian walked in front of us so that we could keep an eye on them. The other guardians that had stayed around walked ahead to secure the area. Same technique, different day.

When we finally reached our rooms Dimitri and I secured Lissa's and Christian's room first and then walked out. "Have fun you guys" I said just before I closed the door behind us.

Dimitri and I entered the room just adjacent of theirs. I threw myself on the big bed. The giant blanket engulfed me. I heard Dimitri laugh and plop down on the bed with me. He uncovered my face and looked down at me. His hand gently brushed away the stray strands of hair in my face. One hand slid behind my neck and tangled in my hair. The other traced my cheekbone.

" I miss this" His voice was like silk. His eyes were hungry and full of desire. I could feel his heart beating hard against me. He was definitely excited as I was. His lips met mine.

The moments seemed to blur together. Our bodies infused together and became one. My body tingled every time he ran his fingers on my skin. He explored my body endlessly and I left like the most gorgeous discovery ever found. His lips rested on my neck and it was better than any vampire 'kiss' I had ever experienced. It was pure, raw energy mixed with longing, lust, love, and desire that was long overdue. Our breathing was fast and I trembled with excitement every time he spoke my name. It was like honey.

I rested my head on his chest when it was all done. His fingers traced along my side. I could still feel the electricity running through us both. It was ecstasy.

"I love you, Roza." He kissed my forehead and tilted my head up to look him in the face.

Our lips met. Oh god, how I love the way he tastes. I pulled back reluctantly, "I love you too." And we kissed again.

A knock at the door made me nearly jump out of his arms. He smiled at me and pulled me against him again. He turned his head to the door. "Who's there?"

"All of us." It was Adrian's voice. But from the sound of all the murmurs I could tell that they already got the gang together. "You guys are late." His voice was muffled by the thickness of the door.

"We'll be out in a minute." Dimitri looked back down at me and kissed my forehead, my nose, and my lips. His voice came as a whisper. "Let's get going."

I pulled him back down as he tried to sit up. "No, let's not." We kissed again. It was intense and full of desire. We could have started the ecstasy all over again but the knocking at the door persisted.

Dimitri pulled away but I could see that he wanted to just lay with me just as badly as I wanted to lay with him. "We have to go, Roza." He sighed and raked his hand through his hair.

I kissed his cheek. "To be continued." He smiled.

Dressing would have gone smoother if we hadn't kept stopping to kiss and touch. It didn't even feel like two hours had passed but when I looked over at the clock it was confirmed. We were actually running late, as Adrian said. About half an hour late to be precise.

When I opened the door Lissa and Christian were walking out of their room as well. I shrugged at them and smiled. The others looked like they were happy to see us.

Eddie hugged me and Lissa under each arm. "I missed you guys!" He brought our cheeks to his and squeezed. He let go and smiled wide. "I'm glad I got the next couple days off or I would have missed your guys' visit." He really did look happy to see us.

"What have you been up to, Eddie?" I was still curious as to what assignment he got after the whole incident a couple weeks back.

He shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. "I got assigned to Adrian." He looked at Adrian. "I thought he would have told you." His words trailed off as he realized why Adrian hadn't told me.

"I requested him as a guardian." Adrian's voice sounded indifferent. "I needed one after all. My great-aunt was assassinated and I told the council that I felt my life could be in jeopardy as well." He patted Eddie's shoulder. "And after that brave stunt he pulled to save Lissa, they agreed that Eddie had the reflexes and guts to do what he had to in order to protect me."

I smiled. Adrian was clever and the heart break didn't change that fact. "Nice." I punched Eddie's arm. He gave me a nudge back.

Mia stepped out from the back. "Hey Rose". Her embrace was warm and welcoming. She had truly come a long way from being a scheming child she once was. Now she looked radiant, confident and her age. Her blonde locks were pulled back into a ponytail and her clothes were age appropriate. She looked like a new woman. "I missed you guys. The only companies I have are the guardians and lately Eddie." She blushed when she spoke his name. Something strange was going on here. "Queen Lissa". Mia turned and hugged Lissa. "God, I missed you guys. I finally get some girls to hang out with."

"I thought Eddie was like your girl friend." Adrian joked. His remark got laughs from us all including Eddie. He could take a joke.

"You know what I meant." Mia merged back with the gang.

"Hi sis." Jill's voice came from nowhere. She was basically hiding behind Adrian.

Lissa tilted her head to look at her. "Come out so I can see you." Her voice was sweet and comforting. She still wasn't completely comfortable with the fact that she had an illegitimate sister but she was still her sister none the less.

Jill stepped out. She looked the same except her hair was tame. She obviously had a hair stylist. "Hey Rose." She looked at me and her green eyes reminded me that she really was Dragomir. For some reason I still wasn't use to that.

"Hey". I hugged her and rounded up Lissa in the embrace as well. So it ended up being a group hug. Lissa wrapped her arm around Jill as well. I felt proud that she was at least making an effort.

Jill flushed. "We all missed you. I was hoping to spend some time getting to know my sister better." The word sister came out a little unsure. Like it was still a foreign word.

"Of course." Lissa nodded in agreement. "That's what the spa is for." A twinkle in her eye showed she had a surprise. I wish I had the bond so I could sneak at peak at what she was planning. She glanced over to Ally and Adrian. They nodded.

Christian caught on to the look as well. "Oh, no. What have you done?" His voice wasn't worried but it played as concerned.

I looked at Ally. If I could coax anyone into revealing the secret it would be her. I walked over to her as we made our way through the Court grounds to the spa. "So, Ally. What did Liss plan?" I waited and noticed that Ally pulled her lips in. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"Actually" Her voice was meek and nervous. "I promised Lissa I wouldn't tell anyone. She especially made me promise not to tell you." She swallowed. "No matter what".

"What?" My voice was way too loud.

Lissa looked back at us and smiled. "Is there something wrong?"

You know damn well something wrong! "No. We're fine."I calmed myself. "Ally just told me a funny joke." It was a lame cover and Lissa knew it.

"Alright" She shrugged and we all continued on the walk.

"Come on, Ally." I kept my voice just at a whisper. "Please? We're going to find out in like 5 minutes any way."

"Well then you can wait those extra 5 minutes." Adrian was at our side with one of his smug smiles.

Ally looked at her feet as we continued walking. I was trying to give her my uncomfortable stare but Adrian was pep talking her from the side lines about not giving in. Darn Adrian and his ridiculously good looks.

We were at the door but nobody was at the front desk. I looked around. "Where is everyone? Did you make appointments?"

Lissa's smile grew. "Ambrose." At that all the lights went dim. Lissa turned to Christian and whispered in his ear. He smiled and looked around the room. He looked back at her and cupped her face. His lips brushed her forehead and he walked ahead. Suddenly all the candles were lit. It gave the room a warm, relaxed, and easy feeling. She kissed his cheek on his return. "Thank you." They walked in hand in hand.

Mia and Eddie joined arms and walked in gingerly as if not to misstep with one another. Followed behind them were Jill, Adrian and Ally. Ally was still pretty shy but she held herself beautifully. I was kind of proud of her for blending in with us so well. My chest swelled as I looped my arm with Dimitri. "Shall we?"

Dimitri smiled and stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers. "Of course." It was an affectionate move which was rare for him in front of so much company. Maybe he just more comfortable in front of our friends.

When we reached the others Ambrose was there handing out drinks and putting out plates of snacks. On one tray I saw what looked like mini pizzas with chopped pieces of pepperoni. I looked at Lissa and she smiled. "Yes, they are tiny pizza".

Yum. I filled my plate with a bunch them. I grabbed a drink and sat with Dimitri in the end of the long table set out.

"Might as well have grabbed the whole tray" Christian laughed.

"Go fetch it for me then" I remarked. We all burst out in laughter.

The day seemed to pass slowly. I was enjoying every bit of time talking and catching up with everyone. It felt like an easy life. The horrors and hardship that had recently passed felt like they had happened years ago.

One by one everyone began to either make their way to the pool or another part of the spa until it was just me and Dimitri. I rested my head on his shoulder. "Don't you wish this could happen every day?"

He smiled and pulled me to him until our bodies were touching. "Only on our days off."

"Technically this isn't a day off." I assured him. We had been watching Lissa and Christian as we went through the day (excluding when we went into our rooms).

Dimitri stood up and pulled me to stand with him. "It's pretty close." Our lips met for a kiss.

We walked over to the table with drinks. "Want one?" I asked running my finger in the rim of a glass I wanted.

"Sure." His voice was low and sensual. He ran his hand behind my thighs. He brushed his lips on my neck and kissed me on my jaw line. "Roza?"

I felt the electricity building. "Yeah?"

His deep brown eyes met mine and I could feel the gaze burning into me. "I love you."

I smiled. "I love you." Our lips met again for an intense kiss. But he pulled away. I looked puzzling at him.

He looked down and then back up to meet my eyes. "Roza," he sighed my name and it made me nervous. "I want to spend every waking moment knowing you're mine."

My heart began to flutter and the world slowed. "I am yours." I kissed him gently.

He smiled and kissed my forehead. "Will you marry me?"

Shock ran through my body. My mouth went dry and thick. I wanted to speak but no words would find their way out of my lips.

"Say something!" A voice out of nowhere shouted. It jolted me out of my shock and it was then I realized all our friends were standing around the corner dropping in on the conversation.

Dimitri let out a forced laugh and looked expectantly at me. "Rose?" He tucked some of his lose strands of hair behind his ear.

I pulled him to me and kissed him passionately. It was all I could think to do. Between kisses I finally said what I tried so hard to say "Yes."

Everyone ran out cheering and whooping. Everyone but Adrian. He walked up slowly. Lissa pulled me from Dimitri and squeezed me. We started bouncing up and down giggling and laughing. Soon Mia, Jill, and Ally joined us. Lissa squealed "We're getting married!"

Adrian walked up to Dimitri and the room quieted down. He put out his hand and Dimitri took it. "Just make her happy."

Dimitri nodded. "Of course." Adrian's smile grew.

Once more noise filled the room. Everyone was cheering and throwing the word congratulations around as if it was newly in style.

Dimitri pulled me into his arms and our lips found one another. I couldn't get enough of his kisses.

Christian cleared his throat and we all looked at him. "So, I am going to be the best man right?"

Lissa jumped in, "Ooh, that makes me the maid of honor!"

From there everyone joined in and started making plans for the wedding.

I looked up at Dimitri "So when is the wedding going to be?"

He looked at the ceiling as if the answers laid there. He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I'm not too sure." He looked at me "Your dad said it had to be in May."

"My dad?" I didn't realize who all knew that he was going to propose. "Who all knew this was going to happen?"

Lissa took it from there, "He asked your parents on their hunting trip. Abe said your mom actually started crying!" She shrugged as if it were an impossible idea. "Your mom told me, I told Christian, he told Adrian, he told Mia, she told Eddie, he told Jill, she told…"

"Ok, ok" I interrupted. "So everyone knew but me. I get it."

"I didn't know." Ally added, "for that long."

Adrian laughed and placed his hand on her shoulder. "But she held up and did not break. Even under the stare of Rose." He said my name menacingly.

"You passed the initiation test!" Mia shouted. "Welcome to the club."

I laughed. I was a little upset that everyone was able to hide this secret from me but at the same time glad that nobody ruined the surprise.

Dimitri turned me to face him. His eyes showed how happy he was. It filled me and I felt like this was the happiest day of my life. Our kiss was full of so much emotion I felt like I was overrun by it. We both got a second chance and no way were we going to waste it.

I looked at him and winked "To the honeymoon suite?"

His smile widened, "To the honeymoon suite."

By Shadow-Kissed Mori