CHAPTER 2

2 weeks before the 'Red Room' mission

London, UK

Dear Mom,

I can't believe I'm listening to Lissa and starting this stupid journal. It was either this or start therapy – guess what I picked?

It seems a bit childish to write my journal entries like letters to you but I read somewhere that it helps the 'therapeutic process' if you act like you are talking to someone and the first person who came to my mind was you.

Plus, it strangely feels 'right' – doing this. Probably because this was our main method of communication, from the time you enrolled me in the academy at the age of 4 until you died when I was 10.

I do wish we had spent more time together and that I could have had the same relationship with you as I do with baba, but I know that being a Guardian was far more important to you than being a mother or wife. Back then I hated you for putting your career before us – but now, since I became a Guardian myself, I kind of understand where you were coming from.

Even before graduation I had committed my life to protecting and guarding Lissa. Our relationship may have started as best friends but its evolved to so much more. Things also became a bit complicated when she chose to save me – instead of her family – in the car accident that occurred on our way back from the dinner her parents had organised for her 15th birthday. So now, not only do I have to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that she picked me over her own family, but I have to accept the fact that my soul is bound to hers – for better or worse, till death do us apart!

I also have the fun task of dealing with the side-effects of her powers, being pulled into her head during some seriously awkward moments and experiencing her emotions & physical pain like they were my own. I guess it's a small price to pay – since I literally owe her my life – and when I finally recognised that this was the way things were going to be, I promised myself that I would dedicate the rest of my existence to her and her alone.

You know better than anyone that my childhood may not have been the 'traditional familial' experience but looking back at it now, I have no regrets.

You may not have been the epitome of motherhood but you were always a letter or phone call away. And baba made double the effort in hugs, praise and gifts to ensure I felt loved and wanted. Then there was my 'academy family' – my 'surrogate mother' Alberta, my 'sister' Lissa and my two 'brothers' Eddie and Mason.

Mason.

Not a day goes by that I don't miss him.

You always warned me that fighting Strigoi in real life was a very different experience to what we are taught at the academy and I wish I had heeded your advice. Graduating first in my year had made me cocky and I thought I could hold my own if I ever came across these evil creatures.

Boy, was I wrong…

A simple late-night shopping trip with Lissa and Mia – our arch-nemesis now good friend – turned into our worst nightmare. We had been captured by a very organised group of Strigoi, who seemed to be on some crazy mission to eradicate or turn certain Royal Moroi. They took turns on using me and Mia as 'feed-bags' – leaving Lissa alone so she could decide whether she wanted to die or join their ranks.

Thankfully, Lissa had learned how to dream-walk – a Spirit ability – and the moment she could, she 'contacted' Mason and Eddie. Even though they were recent graduates, Alberta and Hans ordered them to remain at the academy while they put together the rescue mission. To this day I'm not sure what went through their heads, but they decided to go against their direct orders and set-out before the rescue team to see if they could reach and help us sooner.

It had worked to a certain extent – they had rescued us – and as we stumbled out, Mason needing to carry me slightly due to blood loss and lack of food, our captors appeared along with their mysterious leader, Galina.

The name Galina struck fear in the most seasoned of Guardians and from what baba finally told me at graduation – in relation to the details surrounding your death – you experienced firsthand why she was considered a legend.

But back to our 'unplanned rescue'…Mason and I were separated from the others, who had thankfully made it into the welcoming sunlight. Even though Mason was 2nd best in our year, he was no match for these monsters and it didn't take much effort from Galina to snap his neck. Seeing someone, who I loved as a brother all my life – well something snapped in me and in a haze of bloodlust & rage I grabbed Mason's abandoned stake and became a killing machine.

Lissa theorised that some of my 'out of control' behaviour was from her darkness – she had to use her powers to heal Mia – but I know it was seeing someone I loved die in a blink of an eye. Much to my annoyance, Galina escaped with minor injuries and it was on that day I vowed to kill her – not only for Mason but for you.

When I promised myself to seek out vengeance, a part of me knew it wouldn't be possible because of my other promise to always be there for Lissa, but big-mouth Eddie let it slip to both Lissa and Mia what I desired and so instead of enrolling in Leigh – as they had originally planned – they decided to join my mission, with Lissa insisting it was a favourable compromise, since I could now pursue my goals while looking after her.

That was 3 years ago and much to my frustration, searching for Galina has felt like a fool's errand. It hasn't been easy – going from one country to another, only to meet a dead-end and then start all over again. At times I wondered if my friends and I were being delusional – this Strigoi had alluded our Guardians, some far more legendary than us Hathaways, for centuries. It would take no less than a miracle for our crazy band of misfits to locate her.

And the miracle came from a very unlikely source – Lissa's adoptive uncle, Victor Dashkov.

His daughter, Natalie, reached out to baba to invite us all to Victor's 60th birthday bash. Normally I would have politely declined, but I knew Lissa would want to attend – seeing as Victor had stepped up to look after her family estate after their passing since she had been underage and residing at the academy. I knew she felt like she owed him for all those years he helped her, so she lovingly asked us all to take a 'break' from our mission to attend her dear uncle's birthday.

We arrived two days ago and after a brief shopping trip and polite pleasantries, Lissa let it slip why she had deferred college and was now seen as endlessly travelling around the globe.

It had annoyed me initially, as well… we were supposed to keep the mission a secret – only person outside our group who knew was baba. As you can imagine, since our mission wasn't exactly sanctioned by Court, if Hans or the Queen ever found out, they could try and pull the plug – deeming it too dangerous, especially since the last Dragomir was involved. But her Victor had been surprisingly understanding and willing to help and just this morning gave us some amazing news.

Galina was in Sydney, Australia.

How he came about the information he didn't divulge but he promised his source was credible. He also promised to find out more details about her whereabouts, but for the first time in a long time I feel hope.

I feel like I'm one step closer to achieving my destiny.

One step closer to fulfilling my mission.

And one step closer to finally getting you and Mason the peace you both deserve.

I love you mom and miss you every day.

Rose

PS. Unfortunately we have to wait a week before we can travel to Sydney, but hopefully the next time I write, it will be with some good news!

Rose released a long sigh and cracked her knuckles before she tapped 'save' and password protected her journal entry on her phone. Lissa had proposed she do it 'old-school' in a physical journal, but with all the travelling they did, Rose didn't want another thing she needed to carry. So, she decided to do things reflective of current times and keep an electronic journal that would be saved in a 'Cloud' and accessible from anywhere via her phone or a computer.

Just as she got up to make her way to the shower, a soft knock interrupted her course of action. Opening the door to reveal an excitable Lissa, who held two dress garments in her hands, Rose opened the door further to let her crazy companion in.

"You still haven't showered yet!? Come on, we don't have long before the party starts. And we still have hair and make-up to do…Thank God I helped Mia already, otherwise we would be late!"

Rose rolled her eyes at Lissa's theatrics. It was a freaking party – not some serious mission or conference – if they were a few minutes late, it wouldn't be the end of the world!

Thankfully, that wasn't the case and the foursome entered the large ballroom to find it was already filled with a mixed bunch of Moroi and Dhampir – from all walks of life.

Victor Dashkov was an enigma – named after a great, great, great, great uncle who had mysteriously disappeared in the 15th Century. Not much was known about his early life – except that his parents died when he was young, which forced him to be home schooled whilst in the care of some mysterious caregiver no one had ever seen. He suddenly came into the Moroi limelight when the last Dashkov died in a freak accident at an exclusive resort in Idaho.

He was located in the records and the Queen ordered him to appear before Court to take his rightful place as the 'Prince' of his family line. Since then, he had spent the last 20 years fighting for rights for all Dhampirs and non-royal Moroi, along with changing the way the vampire world interacted with humans.

But as far as Rose and Lissa were concerned, he was a gentle, kind surrogate 'uncle' who always gave them pieces of toffee whenever he saw them (no matter how old they were) and always seemed to fuss about their wellbeing and lives.

Rose watched helplessly as servers walked by with trays filled with strange looking fancy food – she had forgone lunch for some training and now was paying the price. Before she could swallow her nerves and grab the nearest unidentified food item, Eddie caught her attention and motioned towards the far wall.

She could have kissed him if he were standing closer.

At the far end of the hall a buffet was set-up and she could see most if not all of the Dhampirs (who were in attendance as guests) lined up to grab food. Clearly that was where she needed to be.

Giving Lissa a quick look, Rose practically ran to the line, slyly pushing in to where Eddie was already standing in the queue. Thankfully the other Dhampirs found her behaviour amusing – most knew of her as the late Janine Hathaways temperamental daughter, with only a select few knowing that she was also Zmey's progeny.

With a plate piled high with deep fried and greasy food, Rose and Eddie made their way to the nearest unattended table. They became so engrossed in shuffling down the food that they hadn't noticed the silence that had suddenly fallen over the room. Nor did they notice the awe-struck expression on Mia's face or how flustered Lissa was as they join them at the table. It was Lissa's bony elbow that finally got Rose's attention and when she looked up, she wished she hadn't.

Jesse Zeklos and his sleazy side-kick Ralph Sarcozy had just entered the room, and it seemed all the single ladies (and even some married ones) became enthralled by the Zeklos lord. Rose had the misfortune of being in the same year as the self-centred asshat – who had made it his personal mission to get into her pants since she appeared to be the only female in the academy who didn't seem to fall over herself to be in his presence.

Jesse knew he was handsome and came from a wealthy & influential family – right after the Ivashkovs. He'd had his fair share of girls since hitting puberty, but when girls – both Dhampir and Moroi – were willingly throwing themselves at you, things became mundane. That was until he came across Rose Hathaway and her rejection, and for the very first time in his life, Jesse felt challenged and so the chase was on to win the feisty Dhampir's heart (or at least go a round or two in bed).

The more she fought off his advances, the more determined and obsessed he became, which was why when his eyes locked onto her dark, brown orbs, he made his way directly towards her table like a hawk swooping down on its prey.

Rose felt nauseous – she did not need this right now. Looking around frantically for an escape route she spotted the dance floor on the opposite side of the ballroom with a convenient double door exit back into the main part of the house. Grabbing Eddie's arm, she pulled him towards the dance floor, ignoring his protests of not letting him finish his food. Mia and Lissa were too mesmerised by Jesse's approach to have noticed Rose's haste exit, but Jesse's eyes narrowed in irritation as he stopped mid-stride and watched as his 'prize' yet again walked away from him.

He was getting real tired with her constant rebuff.

"Are you gonna go after her?" Ralf whispered from behind.

A sly smirk appeared on Jesse's face as he watched Abe, Rose's father, cut in while she pulled a reluctant Eddie across the dance floor. Rose seemed to finally relax and even gave a small chuckle at whatever her father whispered in her ear.

"No Ralf, I think for once I won't go after her…I think I have finally found a way to make Rose come to me…"

A/N = A bit of a background chapter to introduce Rose and her story. We will get back to Romitri and co next chapter.

So, any guesses on who do you think Jesse and Ralf are (in relation to BntB)?