Epilogue: The New Old Me

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy

Enjoy!

RPOV

"Oh Crap!" I cried as I realized where I was. I had gone to bed blissfully happy wrapped up in Dimitri's strong embrace and then suddenly I was here. This was so not good. I recognized the waterfall and the grassy rolling meadows that I'd been to only one time before.

"Where are you?" I cried rushing towards the place where he'd appeared before.

"I'm not kidding around. Show yourself!" I screeched breathing heavily from running and from fear. They couldn't take me back, not now that my life was finally getting back on track. These past few months had been really good now that everyone I loved knew who I was.

"I didn't tell anyone! I swear!" I cried out hysterically. "Please don't send me back," I pleaded falling to my knees.

"Get up Rose," Mason's deep voice startled me from behind. I jumped to my feet, happy to see my friend, but dreading his presence at the same time.

"Why am I here? I didn't tell anyone. I didn't break the rules. Don't let them take me back."

His face softened into that smile I used to know so well.

"Stand up," he demanded holding out his hand.

I stood reluctantly, shaking a little as he pulled me to my feet.

"Are you afraid?" he asked wrinkling his freckled nose at me.

"Me afraid? Hell no," I said my voice wavering slightly.

He laughed. "Rose Hathaway is scared. Now that's a first. I thought you were too badass to be scared," he mocked me.

"Shut up! I'm not scared," I lied rather ungracefully. "Lay it on me. What's it going to be? Death by fire? Will they drown me, hang me, use a gun or a knife?" Whatever it is, I'm ready to accept my punishment," I said taking a deep breath, closing my eyes in anticipation.

"Could I have one request?" I asked opening one eye.

"What would that be?"

"Death by chocolate would be good," I said hoping he'd oblige.

"You know it isn't up to me to decide your fate," he reminded me trying and failing to hide the smirk on his face.

I sighed heavily. "I didn't think so, but hey a girl can try right?"

"Relax Rose, the powers that be didn't call you here to kill you."

"They didn't?" I asked skeptically, my heart still thundering in my chest.

He shook his head in negation.

"Then why?" I asked my breathing slowly returning to normal.

"They gave me the power to offer you a reward," he stated.

"A reward?" I questioned. "What for?"

"For following the rules and keeping Lissa safe. We all know how hard it is for you to follow the rules," he joked.

"So this reward, what is it?" I asked ever curious as to what they had to offer me. I already had my friends, parents and Dimitri back as well as more money and material things then I would ever be able to use. What else was there?"

"We can give you your body back," he offered.

My eyes widened in disbelief. "You can what?" I asked thinking I had not heard him correctly.

"You can be you again. They can rewrite history just this once and make it so that you didn't die that day. Everything else will have happened the same, but you will be you again and no one but you will remember what really transpired.

I couldn't believe my ears. "I can be me again? I can be Rose Hathaway?" I asked.

"Dhampir extrordinaire," he said smiling brightly at me.

"Dhampir extroirdinaire," I repeated letting out a breath of air.

"So are you ready?" he asked.

"You want to do it right now?" I gulped.

DPOV

I reached over to the other side of the bed to pull Rose back into my arms. She must have shifted during the night, but my hand hit nothing but air. I opened my eyes scanning the room. With the sunlight peeking through the curtains, I could make out that the other side of the bed was empty. The clock read two in the afternoon and that left me wondering where she could have gone.

I slipped on a pair of sweatpants and made my way out of the bedroom. I scratched my head in confusion upon finding the rest of the house was still dark and most definitely empty.

I wondered briefly if something had been amiss with Lissa, but dismissed the thought, as I know Rose would have woken me even in her haste to get to the Queen. I walked back to the bedroom and it made me uneasy to see her cell phone sitting on the nightstand just where she'd left it. I went to the closet to check and just as I'd suspected, her combat boots were still there. I rushed to the dresser and was not pleased at all to find her stake and her gun still nestled beneath her unmentionables. After an hour of waiting for her to return, I could deny it no longer. Something was wrong.

Twelve hours later, I stood pacing back and forth in our bedroom trying to figure a plan. I'd called all her friends, rang her parents, went to the gym to see if she was training and even checked the feeders, although I knew she wouldn't be there. She was nowhere to be found. No one had seen hide nor hair of her all day.

Lissa had half the royal guard looking for her and Adrian was attempting to dream walk her in case she was unconscious somewhere and still no luck.

I was about to go out and search again when I heard a moan come from the bed. I did a double take thinking I must be crazy because after twelve hours of mad searching the entire royal court, there she was laying in our bed like she'd never been gone.

"Where the hell have you been?" I cried in exasperation.

"Ugh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," she groaned sitting upright.

"Is that mud on the back of your legs?" I asked, perplexed.

She let out a huff. "Of course, I would be the one to come out of a dream and bring back the mud." She hopped out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

"Roza, where did you go and how did you get here?" I repeated standing in her path.

"What do you mean where did I go? I was in bed," she stated giving me a strange look.

"You have been missing for twelve hours," I told her.

She wrinkled her nose. "Those sneaky bastards really did take me," she mused.

"Who took you? What do you mean took you?" I asked perturbed at the thought of someone taking her.

She sighed. "Them," she said.

"Them?" I questioned confused.

"You know them, the ones that you know, sent me back," she explained pointing at the ceiling.

My heart leapt into my throat. "What? How? Why?" I gasped, realizing that if they were the ones who had taken her, that I could lose her all over again.

She shrugged. "Nothing serious, they just wanted to tell me what a good job I'm doing with my assignment."

I sighed in relief. "Are you sure that's all they wanted?" I asked, praying to God she was right.

She nodded. "That and to offer me a reward for my good work."

"Reward?"

She nodded, yawning.

"What kind of reward?" I asked, looking around the room. I wondered what they could possibly offer her.

"It doesn't matter. I'm back and I'm here to stay and that's all that counts right?" she asked brushing me off as she stepped past me into the bathroom.

Something was off about her and I was going to figure out what it was. There had to be more to the story than she was letting on.

"You know I don't like it when you keep things from me," I said placing my hand over hers as she reached for her toothbrush.

She took a deep breath before turning around to face me.

"If I tell you what they offered me, you might be upset," she said biting her bottom lip.

"I promise you, I won't be upset," I said leading her back over to the bed so we could face each other.

"They offered me my body back," she said quietly looking me in the eye.

"Your body? " I choked. "As in the one that got shot?"

She nodded.

"How is that even possible? I mean people know that you're, well you're uuh, well that you're.." I shook my head unable to finish the sentence.

"That I'm dead," she finished for me.

I nodded.

"They said they would erase people's memories. No one would remember that I died."

"They can rewrite history?" I asked uneasily. I was not okay with anyone having that much power.

"I guess," was all she said before looking away.

"So when is it going to happen? Will I remember?" I questioned. She remained silent.

"Wait, you said it wasn't a big deal. Rose, this is a huge deal." Having her body back and rewriting history was a very big deal. I couldn't wait to wrap my arms around her and run my fingers through her long dark locks.

"I told them no," she said not meeting my gaze.

"What? Why would you do that?" I asked utterly bewildered that she would turn down a chance to have her life back, her real life.

"Lots of reasons," she said.

"Such as?" I coaxed. I still couldn't comprehend what would possess her to turn them down.

"Well for one, you and everyone else would forget everything that happened this year and all the good that came of it," she started. "I can do so much more as Soraya Lazar than I ever could as Rose Hathaway."

"That isn't true," I told her.

"I know I don't want to admit that being a dhampir has limitations, but it does. People don't listen to us. No one cares about our opinion. We can't even vote. It isn't fair and I want to change things. In this body I have a chance to do something about it. I have power."

I thought for a minute. "While that's true, you shouldn't have to sacrifice who you are so that the rest of us can profit off of it. We will find another way," I said taking her hands in mine.

"Believe me Comrade, I'm not sacrificing anything."

"How can you say that?" Clearly she was still hiding something from me.

"You seriously want to forget the past two years?" she asked.

"Yes! They were horrible for me and for your friends and family. Just because you're back doesn't erase the pain we endured or the loneliness I felt as I slept without you every single night!" I shouted.

"What is it that this body can do for you that your old one can't? Is it about the money? The title? Is it the nice apartment?" I growled, immediately regretting my words as she became angry.

"You honestly think I'd prefer to be moroi? You think that I'd choose a title and money over my old life? You think I like drinking blood? You're unbelievable!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I thought you knew me better than that." The look of betrayal on her face was enough to make me cringe.

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it. Roza, I just don't understand. What is it that is so important that you want to stay like this?"

"Our baby is what's important," she said lowering her voice drastically.

My eyes widened and my breath caught in my throat at her words. "Baby?"

She nodded taking my hand and placing it over her abdomen. "Our baby," she repeated smiling at me through her tears.

"That's the one thing that this body can do that my old one couldn't," she said a tear running down her cheek.

"We're having a baby?" I asked still reeling from the shock.

"I just found out a few days ago. I suspected for a while, but I was afraid to take a test," she admitted.

"We're having a baby?" I repeated unable to wrap my head around what she'd just said.

"Are you okay Comrade?" she asked, nervously.

I looked at her dumbfounded. "We're having a baby," I uttered softly to myself shaking my head.

"I'm sorry," she said more tears creeping down her rouged cheeks. "I didn't try to get pregnant, it just happened. I understand if I isn't what you want, but I'm keeping the baby."

I finally snapped out of the daze I'd been in realizing that my stupor had caused her to think that I was unhappy about the baby and that wasn't the case at all.

"Of course we are keeping our baby Roza," I told her drawing her into my body hugging her tightly.

"I thought you didn't want it," she sobbed.

"That isn't true Roza, I want this baby more than anything," I said pulling back so I could look into her eyes.

"You do?" she sniffled.

"Of course I do."

"And you won't be upset if I never get my body back? You won't care if I'm a moroi princess for life?" she questioned.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter what you are on the outside Roza, you'll always be the woman I love on the inside and that is all I care about."

"I love you Comrade," she whispered snuggling up against my chest.

"I love you too Roza."

Seven months later we welcomed twins Ivan Alexandr Belikov and Alisa Adriana Belikova into our lives. In true Rose Hathway style the birth of our children and our subsequent nuptials were the talk of the court and quite the royal scandal. It wasn't every day a moroi princess married her guardian. Truth be told, I wouldn't have it any other way. We were happy and that's all that mattered.

Well that is all for this story. I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank all of you who have read all of my stories and have stuck with me all this time reviewing to keep me inspired. That being said, I am taking a break from writing FF for a little while. I need time to regroup and think of a new idea. I also plan to be very busy with my new babies. Don't worry I can't stay away forever. I love writing. I will attention this story when I decide to post another one, but it won't be for a while. Maybe in the fall.

Leave me one last review and tell me what you thought of the end. I know some people will be mad that she didn't get her old body back, but the point of my story is that true love knows no boundaries and that soulmates will always find each other no matter what.

P.S. What did you think of the VA movie? I wasn't too impressed. They made Rose seem like a ditz and Lissa was a little over the top. Dimitri was okay, but there wasn't that much of him in there. I would like to have seen more of them sparring. Not sure there's going to be a Frostbite with the lack of interest in the first movie.

Until Next time

~MadameRozaBelikova