Chapter One

"Rose?"

It was Lissa, I already knew she was in the walkway in front of my cell, hell I knew when she decided to even come and visit me, again our one way bound hard at work.

I was sitting on the one piece of furniture that my cell had, a metal framed bed. Well actually I wasn't just sitting; I had my knees pulled up to my chest with my head resting on them.

Lissa's feelings were coming through the bond so loud that they pulled me into her head. I saw what she saw, me. I looked pitiful, dejected.

She felt sorry for me that much was clear, also fear that I would be convicted not matter if I was guilty or not and then of course worry. But what really got my attention was how right in the back of her head was I small thought of anger. Lissa was angry at me, not because she thought that I was guilty but because I did look so pitiful, I seemed broken to her, something she never thought she would see in me.

With that thought I ripped away from her mind and for the first time in a week of sitting in my damn cell I looked at Lissa. Anger written all over my face.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Lissa said and took a step forward toward my cell bars.

"What's wrong?" I sneered "You ask me that, I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself." I also took a step toward the bars.

The two guardians that stood slightly behind Lissa moved up as well.

I stopped.

"Rose please, I'm so worried about you, you haven't even looked at anyone that's come to see you let alone talked to them, and you just keep sitting on that bed not moving."

I laughed, I couldn't help myself.

"You forget I can see your thoughts, and I can see that you're angry at me. You think I'm broken. The mighty Rose Hathaway is broken Lissa." I was ranting now but again I could help myself. "Don't you get it, there's nothing I can do. They are going to shoot me for something I didn't do, and as you are well aware I've done lot of things Liss, but I did not kill the queen."

Lissa tried to talk but I continued.

"They are going to shoot me and the one person I asked to come to see me didn't." Tears started running down my face. "He didn't come Lissa, he didn't come."

My knees went out from underneath me. I hit the ground.

I had sent a message to Dimitri straight after the hearing thinking he would come. I mean he had fought for me when the queen's guard had come for me, and was at my hearing, he looked into my eyes. And just that look had given me the kind of hope that nothing else could.

"But he didn't come" I sobbed out loud.

"Open this door." Lissa said the guardians.

They didn't move just stood there with blank faces.

Lissa turned around and looked at them.

"Open the cell door, NOW." She put compulsion behind her words this time.

The guardian to her left moved forward with only a little hesitation.

Lissa came in to the cell and dropped down to the ground next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Rose please, we'll get you out of this." She was pleading with me, through the bond I could feel that any sort of anger had left her, but I couldn't get the fact that it had been there out of my own thoughts.

I didn't talk, but I didn't move either. I just let Lissa hold me.

Aside from Lissa, id actually had quite a few visitors. All of my friends had come to see me, Christian had come with Jill, Adrian on his own, Abe and my mother had shown up as well. But Lissa holding me had been the first contact with a person that I had had since my arrest. It wasn't just the fact that I didn't move or talk to anyone, I wasn't allowed contact, something about how because I was a murderer I didn't deserve it. Ha, yay for me.

After about five minutes I pulled back from Lissa and I looked at her. She saw me as a larger than life badass, and here I was in a puddle of tears on the ground. Next to everything else I was feeling I suddenly felt like I was letting her down by acting how I was, but I just didn't have any fight left in me.

Usually it was me who had the plans, had the guts even to do some hair raising badass thing to get us out of the binds we had found ourselves in, but I was broken, like she had thought.

"Rose, I'll find a way out of this, I promise you. Even if it kills me I'll fix this."

"Lissa...." I started but this time she cut across me.

"No, rose, listen to me. I'll fix this. You have given everything for me, even when I didn't deserve it. It's my turn again."

Lissa had her determined face on and even in my state I didn't have the heart to tell her I didn't think she could.

So instead I just said "Okay."

Lissa helped me to my feet and backed out of the cell.

"I'm sorry I have to go now, I'll be back later though."

I just nodded my head and moved back to my bed.

The guardian that stood in front of my cell locked my door again, which made me feel even worse.

So I drifted off in to Lissa mind as she left. I hadn't spent a lot of time in her mind lately; I just didn't feel the need anymore.

But as she walked I felt lissa's resolve and with every step she took it got stronger and stronger.

As she walked through entrance way to the building her new guardians moved in behind her. I felt that she really wasn't happy about having them follow her everywhere, but the counsel had said it was non-negotiable. Ever since the queens murder anybody who was royal went nowhere without a guard even in court.

Just outside the door Christian was waiting for her.

"Did she talk to you?" he asked.

"Yeah she did, but I don't know, she's falling apart I've never seen her like this even after Dimitri was turned." Lissa replied.

"Well she is being tried for high treason and murder"

Lissa shock her head. "It's not that."

"What?" Christian was obviously confused by that.

"It's Dimitri; he hasn't gone to see her."

That stopped Christian in his tracks.

"Why, I thought now that he was back, they'd be all on. I mean I know you said he's got the guilt's, but Rose needs him. He's all about the 'damsel in distress' thing isn't he."

"I don't know, I mean he's not himself, he's just so sad. You should see his aura, it's so dark."

"Yeah but she needs him. I mean everybody heard about the cafe thing when the guards went to get her. I kind of figured that would be it and they'd be all on."

"I guess not, she asked him to visit and he didn't come." Lissa's feelings over came her then and she started crying.

Christian wrapped in her up in his arms, that made her feel a bit better.

"She just kept saying 'he didn't come, he didn't come'. I could barely stand it Christian I have to fix this."

Christian soothed her for a while, then taking her hand they kept walking. Neither one said anything more for a while but Lissa's mind was going 10 to the dozen, trying to think of a plan to get me out of this mess.

Lissa was so busy thinking that when they rounded a corner on the way to her room she just about walked straight into Adrian.

"Watch it...... oh hey." Lissa said looking up at Adrian.

I was startled to see his face. He looked so old and haunted.

"Oh hey." Adrian replied.

"Where are you going?" Lissa asked him.

"Where do you think? I haven't been over today." He looked down at the ground, so lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice Christian standing right in front of him.

"Have you been to see her today? Did she talk to you?" Adrian asked.

Lissa just looked at him for a moment not really wanting to tell him that yeah she had seen me and yeah I had talked, but that it was all about Dimitri.

"Yeah, I did. And she did talk a bit." Adrian looked at Lissa, a little hope showing on his face.

"What did she say? Is she alright? God, she won't talk to me."

Lissa was about to say something when Christian saved her the trouble.

"Not much really; you know she's pretty upset."

Lissa was totally relieved when Christian had spoken, she didn't like lying especially to Adrian.

They said their goodbyes after that and I dragged myself from lissa's head.

Back in my cell I tried to steal myself for Adrian's visit. I couldn't very well ignore him now that he knew that I had spoken with Lissa.

I had no idea what to say to him. He had been so wonderful to me, loving me when I couldn't really return it, putting up with my hair-brained ideas and even trying to get me a good lawyer. I did care deeply for Adrian, but he wasn't Dimitri.

Ah Dimitri. My love, my lost love.

I stopped my tears by gulping I would not cry I had to get a hold of myself.

Who was I kidding, I was a wreck.

I heard the door at the end of the corridor open and Adrian strolled down towards me.

He was walking like he used to around St Vladimir's, like he had no concerns in the world. He looked so different than how he had a few minutes before when I saw him through Lissa.