So I now have a tumblr where I'm going to post drabble stuff, if people follow. You should come find me; overworkedandprocrastinating. tumblr .com

Also, still successfully procrastinating that assessment worth 60% of my grade. Thank you all for being a part of that.

A bit of a filler chapter, I guess.

I'd been hoping my weekend was going to be relaxing – some part of me had even been hoping to spend some naughty hours hidden away with Dimitri – but those hopes were dashed when Lissa heard about Anna.

"This has to stop!" she told me passionately on Saturday morning, her fist coming down onto the desk. "We have to find the Spirit user before anyone else gets hurt!"

"Alleged spirit user," I corrected. Christian rolled his eyes and Dimitri's lips twitched into a small smile. I was still the only one against the Spirit user theory, regardless of how much sense it made.

Lissa threw herself into the desk chair, exhaling sharply. "How are we going to find them?" she demanded. We'd told our charges about Dimitri's teacher theory, and Lissa had instantly taken is as gospel even though she'd been a little miffed she hadn't thought of it herself.

I shrugged. "We could drag you around campus and you could take a look at all their auras," I suggested.

"That would take forever, and we'd arouse suspicion," Christian argued from his spot on the divan.

"Who cares if people get suspicious?" I retorted. "We're looking for the person responsible for this mess."

"If there's a Spirit user here and they've been practicing their magic for a long time, they might be able to hide their auras," Lissa explained, shaking her head at both of us. "Adrian's almost got the hang of it himself, and I'm really not that good at reading them."

"Why would they bother? There's no one at this school besides you that would be able to recognise them," I asserted. "They're probably not wasting their energy."

"We could call a staff meeting," Dimitri suggested from beside me. "That way we could get most of the Moroi teachers in one place at the same time. If they do know how to hide their aura, all we've done is waste an afternoon. If they don't, then we've got them."

Lissa considered it. "What would we call the meeting for?" she asked eventually.

"The Mana attacks. Bring the teachers together and give them a spiel about being hypervigilant, watching the kids in their classes… that kind of thing. It's pretty common, I'm sure they've already had a few meetings like that this month."

Lissa nodded. "I'll speak with Kirova this afternoon. I also want to speak to Alberta."

"Why?" I cocked my head, trying to imagine what more the campus Guardian's could do to help.

"Because you said that Anna had a novice friend," Lissa explained, like it was obvious. "We've been overlooking the novices this whole time, but they're a huge asset. They've got Moroi friends and they're way more likely to know when one of them is acting suspiciously, or disappearing for 'after school activities'. Besides, you were the first one to get one of the Mana to talk last time – they're more likely to talk to other students than they are to teachers."

"I'm sure Alberta has already asked the Novices to come forward if they know something," Dimitri said, frowning.

"That's different from actually involving them," I disagreed, seeing Lissa's point. "I wouldn't have come forward with the information I had – I knew some of those kids, and I wasn't about to dob them in on some baseless suspicion."

"You didn't know what the Mana was capable of," Dimitri argued. "If you'd known the risks, you would have told someone. We can't get novices involved as agents in something like this. They're too young."

"In six months those novices are going to be Guardians, and in a year half of them will be dead," I retorted. "What are some Moroi going to do to them that they can't live through?"

"What if they hurt a Moroi? We saw what happened to Eddie when it was self defense! What happens if one of those Novices gets carried away, and someone actually ends up dead?"

"Better one Moroi life than thirty," I said hotly. "Besides, we both know there's only a slim chance of something like that happening."

"Slim chance or not, it's not happening," Dimitri snapped. "The Guardians will take care of it, and the Novices can help by coming forward with information – not by pursuing leads."

I wanted to stamp my foot or yell about how unfair it was, forgetting at some point in this argument that I was no longer a Novice and he was no longer my mentor. We were inches apart, staring each other down furiously. We'd both forgotten we weren't alone, with Lissa and Christian looking on in stunned silence. They'd seen Dimitri lose his cool in one or two of our public arguments, but it was still a rare event.

"I think Rose is right," Lissa offered timidly. Regardless of how close she and Dimitri had gotten since his transformation back into a dhampir, the man was fucking intimidating when he was angry. "I want to speak to Alberta about involving the Novices."

Dimitri huffed and ran a hand over his face. "She won't do it."

"I'm still going to talk to her," Lissa said, her words growing stronger. "It's been weeks since these incidences started. Obviously the Guardians need some help, and the Novices are the best chance we've got at figuring this out quickly."

I smiled smugly, but didn't flaunt my victory. I could feel the tension rolling off Dimitri in waves, and I didn't want to get into another argument in front of our friends. I'd probably push his buttons later though.

"So," I began, turning to face Lissa, "when are we going to set this staff meeting?"

Kirova begrudgingly called a staff meeting for the following Tuesday – a long time, as far as we were concerned. It only gave us nine days until Christmas break to figure out who our Spirit user was, and the after school timeslot made it impossible for me to attend. I was on ward rounds Tuesday afternoon. Thrilling.

Sunday passed at an agonisingly slow rate – I even slept in until about midday, but it did nothing to ease the restlessness that had me pacing my room impatiently, wishing there was something I could do to keep my mind busy. Dimitri had been on shift Saturday night and had gotten back late. He'd texted me a sweet message before he'd gone to sleep at ten in the morning, and I'd resisted the urge to go jump into bed with him. He actually did have to sleep.

He'd always been the kind of Guardian that sacrificed his own time for the sake of doing the job. It was something I admired in a colleague, but not so much in a boyfriend. I'd managed to convince him over the last few years that he should be coming home no later than an hour after he was officially rostered to leave, but now that he wasn't coming home to me, he'd fallen back into old habits.

I wasn't looking forward to trying to break them again.

I dropped by Lissa's in the evening, and felt a strong surge of sympathy for Christian, who was flipping through one of his newspapers again with a dead look in his eyes. Lissa was conferencing to her aides at court, and damn, she looked tired.

Even though Lehigh was officially on break, Lissa had her hands fuller than ever – running a monarchy from a bedroom in your old high school and trying to weed out an insidious torture organisation was bound to take its toll on anyone.

I took a long look at both of my friends, and made an executive decision. I snapped Lissa's laptop shut, cutting off the high pitched voice of one of her Aides. Lissa looked surprised, but she made no move to reopen the laptop.

"How long has it been since you went outside?" I demanded.

"Um…"

"I thought so. Sparky, get your ass into gear, we're going shopping."

Christian deflated.

I made the necessary calls, the first one being to Abramova. There really wasn't a 'head guard' of the Queens Guard, but Abramova was our universally recognised leader. As much as I thought I was a badass, Abramova put me to shame. I was yet to beat her hand to hand, although I knew I was a lot closer than any of the other Guardians. She and Dimitri had never sparred, both of them claiming they'd like to keep the mystery alive. My money was on Dimitri.

Abramova sorted out a few Guardians to come along with us – predominantly campus Guardians, but there were a few members of the Queens Guard as well.

Once I'd convinced Christian to get off the divan, I herded the two royals out the door and across campus, where Abramova had arranged for cars to meet us.

"This was fast," Lissa remarked. She was smiling easily for the first time in days, and I knew I'd made the right call.

"I said it was a matter of the Queen's mental health," I informed her, distractedly counting the amount of Guardians we'd pulled.

We wanted Lissa to be safe, but we also didn't want anyone to notice our group. There were six casually dressed guardians waiting for us, including Dimitri, who had obviously volunteered. I wondered if he'd done that to get some time with us, or if he was just trying to keep busy.

Another Guardian that had volunteered was Austin, and when he saw me approaching his handsome face broke into a broad grin.

"Figures it would be you pulling a stunt like this," he called when we were within earshot. "A last minute Sunday shopping trip?"

"Well, we've got to get that Christmas shopping done and dusted," I answered easily. I opened the door for Lissa and Christian to climb in to the SUV. There was a sedan parked behind it that would take whichever Guardians weren't going to fit in with us. To my great disappointment, Dimitri ended up driving the sedan.

The drive to the closest mall was the same one Lissa and I had visited in our senior year with Victor Dashkov. It was a two hour drive to Missoula, but Lissa hadn't lost her enthusiasm when we arrived. Christian hadn't perked up either. I was sure he'd prefer to be at home, with his wife's undivided attention.

I sniffed as he hopped out of the car and gave me an exasperatingly accusatory look. Really, he should be thanking me. I'd saved him from hours of certain boredom.

We rushed Lissa and Christian into the shade – it was probably only nine, but the sun was pretty strong for winter – and awaited the arrival of Dimitri. His passenger had ended up being Austin, which had seemed to be quite a disappointment for the young Guardian.

When their car pulled up moments after ours, Dimitri rushed out of the car, his eyes narrowed infinitesimally. He closed the car door with a tiny bit more force than usual, and moved towards us quickly.

To anyone else, it might have seemed perfectly ordinary behaviour. But I had known Dimitri for years, and if anyone had learned to read him better than me, I'd yet to meet them. He was pissed.

Austin tagged along after him cheerfully, oblivious to his companion's stoic irritation.

We arranged near and far guards pretty quickly – Austin and I would stay close to Lissa and Christian because we were all the same age. The other Guardians broke off into groups and hovered within a reasonable distance, maintaining a low profile, pretending to chat casually as their eyes darted here and there surreptitiously.

"Where should we start?" Lissa gushed. Her mood had improved so significantly that even Christian couldn't help perk up a little.

We ended up starting in clothing stores, much to the chagrin of the boys.

Lissa was in her element, and relaxing for the first time in months. It lifted a weight off my chest to see her so happy. Even though it wasn't my fault, I always felt guilty when I couldn't lighten her mood, or relieve the stress she was under. Well, not entirely my fault. Ihad basically been responsible for her accidental appointment as Queen.

We flipped through racks of clothing, but I wasn't paying attention. I was checking in with the other Guardians every two minutes or so, despite the ear piece working perfectly. Not for the first time, I was a little envious of Lissa's life.

She chatted away to me as we strolled from store to store, leaving Christian and Austin to reminisce about the old home ec. days. Christian was just barely pretending to be interested, but Austin had no trouble keeping the conversation rolling. He seemed like a friendly guy, but I thought he was a little too relaxed. I'd noticed the lack of molnija marks on his neck, and even though I tried not to hold that against him, I thought it might have something to do with his vaguely careless attitude.

Not that I was too concerned – Christian could very much take care of himself.

"Ooh, Rose, I should buy you a gift card for Christmas!" Lissa gushed, distracting me.

I held back my snippy reply about gift cards not really being presents and followed her pointing. Ah, Victoria Secret, my old friend.

"I've definitely got enough lingerie, Liss."

She gave me a dead serious look. "You've never got enough lingerie."

Not that I was really going to disagree, but I wasn't keen on spending my Christmas gift from Lissa on something that would turn out to be more of a present for Dimitri.

She didn't make us go in, perhaps thinking about the predominantly male escort nonchalantly trailing along after us.

"God Rose, you're such a killjoy," Christian teased. I rolled my eyes, knowing I'd probably cost him the part of this trip he would have enjoyed the most. "Isn't she such a killjoy, Austin?"

Austin blushed and mumbled something incoherently at the ground.

Ending up at a jeweller was the inevitable end of our shopping trip two hours later. Lissa was starting to get tired, but she insisted on dropping by. Eerily, it was the same store Victor had purchased the rose necklace he'd used to charm Dimitri and I. Lissa was slipping a piece of paper across the counter, and whispering to a shop assistant.

"What are you up to?" I asked suspiciously, peering over her shoulder. I just caught a glimpse of the design drawn on the paper, and I got the distinct impression it had been the result of Christian's creative hand, and not only because I could see the Ozera family crest drawn in it.

Lissa hastily pushed the piece of paper into the assistant's hands. "Don't be so nosy," she chided. "It's not for you anyway."

By the time we made it back to the car, it was almost midnight – well, for us at least. The sun was high in the sky, and stronger than it had been this morning. Austin actively requested to drive back with Dimitri, and I watched the muscle in his jaw jump reflexively. He didn't argue, and we all piled into our respective cars for the long drive home.

I spent the two hours reminiscing about the last time we'd driven back to St Vlads after a shopping trip in Missoula, and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when my mind started wandering nostalgically to all the secret moments Dimitri and I had shared during our time at the Academy. Lissa fell asleep against Christian, and I watched the trees flash by, pleasantly wrapped up in my own memories.

It was only when the cars were pulling up at the administration building that I realised I hadn't done any Christmas shopping at all.

Lissa piled up all of her purchases onto Christian while the other Guardians bade us farewell. Lissa thanked them individually, offering warm smiles to each that seemed to put them all in a pleasant mood. Eventually there were only five of us left – Austin was lingering by the sedan, engaged in what looked like a very serious discussion with Dimitri.

Dimitri, if possible, looked even more agitated than he had at the mall. Austin didn't seem oblivious to it, because he kept shaking his head, arguing in a low voice.

"If you two have nothing better to do than argue, maybe you can help us carry some of these bags," I called teasingly.

Austin cracked a smile, and something told me Dimitri really wanted to knock it off his face. "Actually Rose, I was wondering if I could talk with you," Austin said, making his way over.

With Dimitri looking as murderous as he did, I didn't have to struggle to put two and two together. "How about I help Lissa carry this stuff to her room and we talk tomorrow?" I suggested casually.

He seemed embarrassed that I'd brushed him off, but mumbled agreement.

I pointedly didn't make any firm plans. "Anyway, see you around."

Dimitri grabbed a couple of bags off Christian, who was looking dangerously like he was about to tip over, and the four of us started on our way back to the guest dorms.

"Wow, I wonder what he could possibly want to talk to you about, Rose," Christian drawled sarcastically. Dimitri scowled beside him. "I bet it's about how exciting shopping is."

"Don't be cruel," Lissa reprimanded. "He's nice."

Dimitri and Christian seemed to be in perfect agreement that 'nice' wasn't the word they wanted to use.

"Besides, he's had a crush on Rose since forever," she continued. "It takes a lot of courage to tell someone something like that."

"What do you mean he's had a crush on me since forever?" I demanded. "We didn't even know each other!"

"No, you didn't know him," she amended. "But believe me, his aura crackles all over the place every time you speak to him. That's not the kind of crush that develops overnight."

"He did spend the entire drive talking about you," Dimitri admitted.

"How romantic," Christian mocked. "Dimitri, you might have to fight him to the death."

Despite himself, Dimitri smiled.

"It doesn't matter how he feels," I grumbled. "I'd rather not be having that conversation tomorrow. What will I even say to him?"

"You've turned down guys before," Lissa said flippantly. "I have faith in you."

We dropped Lissa and Christian at their door before turning back to the Guardian dorms. Dimitri seemed in a better mood, but just to be safe I didn't bring up Austin again.

It was Dimitri who couldn't let the subject go as we moved down the hall to our rooms. "What are you going to say to him?" he asked.

I threw my hands in the air helplessly. "I don't know. I'll just tell him I'm not interested."

"That's what I kept telling him," he said, his voice faintly laced with amusement.

"You spent four hours telling him I wouldn't be interested?" I asked. No wonder he'd looked so pissed off.

"Three. The first hour he just kept talking about how great you were."

"I am pretty great."

We'd stopped at my door, and Dimitri gave me a slow, heated smile. "You are," he admitted. The hallway wasn't that wide, but Dimitri was still standing close enough to me that it would spark suspicion if anyone saw us.

He wasn't touching me, but my skin prickled under his hot gaze. Where usually his teasing was a little aimless, or playful, tonight it was dark and dangerously intense.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked, my voice low.

"Definitely."

Quick vote; next chapter I'm caught between a 2000ish word lemon/lime piece, or jumping straight to Tuesday for the sake of plot. Let me know which you'd prefer.