A/N: Okay, you all are awesome. I've never had so many reviews/hits/faves/alerts in such a short period of time. So thanks for that(:

The only problem is now I feel like I'm under pressure to write something that's good AND that you all will like…. So I hope you like it(: haha

AdrianPOV

"Rosemarie Hathaway. You are being arrested for murder, destruction of property, and fleeing from officers of the law." the guardian who'd grabbed Rose declared. Well damn, how asleep was I? Rose opened her mouth then and the beginning of a smile began to etch itself on my face.

"Three things. One, let go of me, you creeper. Two, I'm a guardian as well. I have the mark. So technically, I was fleeing from my equals, and three, if you want proof that I couldn't have murdered the queen, get a doctor, and have him examine me. I was busy sexing it up with Adrian all last night you pathetic damned jackass!" My half smile immediately burst into a full on grin. Then Rose fell to the floor in a faint. A half strangled choke ricocheted through my being.

"Rose!"

"Lord Ivashkov, please," one of the guardians sighed. I turned to face him with a questioning look. The one who'd yanked Rose away from me bent down and picked her up in a cradle like grasp. She awoke at once and punched him in the face, called him a bastard from hell, and yelled to never touch her again. I groaned at her dramatic theatrics, and wondered why on earth would she fake something like that.

An hour later, I ended up sitting in some office like room, next to a very awake, yet very pissed off, Rose next to me. We were being interrogated, relentlessly at that.

"Ms. Hathaway, were you or were you not with Lord Ivashkov the entire night? From… let's say six to six, or seven to seven?" the guardian who'd picked her up, Guardian Dobrev, wondered.

"I've answered that question four times already," Rose replied evenly, "We were either sleeping or having sex,"

"Lord Ivashkov, do you agree with her statement?" I rolled my eyes and nodded. We'd already been examined and it'd been confirmed that we'd had something going on last night.

"Were either of you drunk last night?"

"Guardian Dobrev," I began, anticipating his reaction. "Do you know who I am? Let's be serious, I'm drunk or have some amount of alcohol in my body around ninety five percent of the time."

"Yes… the reports mentioned your… problem." he glanced at the paperwork before fixing his eyes on Rose.

"So Ms. Hathaway. Your… boyfriend here was drunk last night, leading me to think that once he was asleep, he'd be pretty deep into sleep. Did you have any alcohol in your system? OR were you just waiting for him to pass out so you could sneak off and stake the queen?"

"Oh good God." Rose groaned, "If I was gonna kill the queen, or in this case, stake her, I would have done a much better job. For example, I wouldn't leave the damn stake in her chest. Doesn't that seem a bit planned? A little too obvious?"

"How do we know that you didn't purposely make it so obvious so that you could weasel out of it by saying that it was too obvious?"

"What the hell? That's the most fucked up logic I've ever heard. It's also the stupidest thing I've ever heard, just in general."

"Ms. Hathaway, please watch your language."

"No! I'm not going to be fucking framed for something I DIDN'T DO! Have you ever heard of the benefit of the doubt? What about innocent until proven guilty?" Rose shrieked at the Guardian and I glowed with pride. She was so strong, so opinionated, but also very smart and wise and deadly. I loved every bit of her.

"Ms. Hathaway," the guardian started, a smug look on his face, "You have been proven guilty,"

"By who?" she seethed, gripping the arms of the chair so tightly, I was afraid they'd break.

"Everyone who's seen your stake,"

"How the hell-"

"Doesn't your stake have a geometric pattern inscribed on the bottom?" the guardian interrupted her, obviously not being polite seeing as how she wasn't.

"Maybe. What's it to you?"

"That's the stake we found in the Queen had a geometric pattern on the bottom, something your stake is commonly distinguished by."

RosePOV

Well shit. Maybe they did have something. Then again, I'd found that stake in Russia, so maybe the person who lost it had made another one made just like it.

Oh who was I kidding? My (stolen) stake was probably the only one in existence (or at least within the court) with that pattern. Plus my fingerprints were all over it, etc. I sighed agitatedly and stared the guardian in the face, daring him to accuse me any further.

"Look. I will admit that it's my stake. I'm not going to admit that I killed the queen,"

"In saying that you just admitted it." Perfect, I thought sourly.

"I mean that I'm not going to tell a lie! Isn't that like, illegal in court?"

"Yes, it is."

"So then why would you encourage me to lie and say I killed her? Look, the doctor said it was very obvious that Adrian and I were going at it. Unless you're suggesting that Adrian helped me kill his favorite great aunt?"

"I would never even think about such a thing."

"But you just were,"

"Ms. Hathaway, please do not tell me what I am or am not thinking."

"Mr. Dobrev, please do not tell me what I did or did not do," I mocked, knowing I was getting in even more trouble, but apparently I was in enough of it already, so who cared?

"I would appreciate it if you referred to me as Guardian Dobrev,"

"Then I'd like you to refer to me as Guardian Hathaway. After all, I am a guardian."

Guardian Dobrev seethed and shot up from his chair and stepped forward as if to strike me. After a second or two however, he composed himself and sat back down, pretending as if nothing happened. I sat there, shocked. Either he was bipolar, or keeping his emotions in strict check, and embarrassed by the slip.

"Can I say something?" Adrian spoke up. I couldn't decide if it would be good or bad.

"Absolutely,"

"As a Moroi… I have a very precise, and very accurate memory. If you'd like, and I don't think you particularly would, I could give you very intimate, descriptive details of last night's… exertions." he smiled that big cocky grin of his. "Or you could just have Lissa compulse both of us separately and we could describe what wonderful, mind-blowing-"

"THANK you Lord Ivashkov. But I don't think that would be necessary." Adrian shrugged as if to say, your loss.

"- Guardian Hathaway. You will have an official trial in two weeks. If you're found guilty, you will be executed." Guardian Dobrev explained coolly and quickly.

He got up and left the room, leaving Adrian and I in a horrified, stunned silence.

I found Lissa in her room an hour later. She was sitting on the couch with Christian and they were both smiling and talking easily. An icy shiver slithered down my spine and curled into my stomach, staying there as I suddenly wondered how I was going to explain this all to my best friend.

"Hey Liss. We need to talk," I managed to sound relatively calm. She looked up, and I must've looked like hell, because worry shot through the bond.

"Yeah. I was going to find you, but I had no idea where you were. I mean, after we saw you running away from the guardians earlier…" she trailed off.

"About that…." I then told her the whole story, including my talk with Dimitri in the café, the fake faint, and how Adrian and I wound up being interrogated and I'd have a full criminal trial. "Oh, and if I'm found guilty then I get executed," I tried to add that last sentence to the conversation nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.

"What!" Lissa and Christian yelled at the same time. Memories flashed through Lissa's head. Memories of our whole friendship, from when I threw my book at our kindergarten teacher to Halloween when we were on the run, to the dance where I'd broken Mia's nose, to Spokane… everything.

"Yeah. Guardian Dobrev was a total ass. He smiled when he said I'd be killed. Bastard," I gave an attempt at a weak grin, trying to turn the situation into something funny rather than completely horrific.

"But you still might be found innocent right?" Christian wondered.

"I am!" I insisted, "But no one believes me!"

"We do. Everyone in this room believes you Rose," Lissa comforted.

2 weeks later…Adrian POV

"Rosemarie Hathaway, the court has named you-" the judge paused for what was probably supposed to be a dramatic affect. However all it did was make me even more nervous, "Guilty. Of all charges."

A murmur of agreement went through the crowd. I was shocked. I had known it would happen, was expecting it even, however actually hearing it somehow made it final. I bit down on my tongue, and clenched my fists tightly so as to prevent myself from crying.

"Ohmygod," Lissa whispered besides me. She started silently crying and Christian pulled her into a hug.

"You can't. This can't… they can't do this!" Guardian Janine Hathaway muttered beside me, a look of extreme worry and confusion on her face.

"Why not? Because she's innocent? Like they care. They just don't like her and found a pathetic excuse to get her out of the picture." I snorted.

"No because she's-" she started explaining but was interrupted.

"WAIT!" Rose suddenly cried. Everyone went quiet at once.

"Yes, Ms. Hathaway? Is there something you'd like to say?" the judge snapped irritated.

"You can't kill me."

"Miss Hathaway, the evidence is overwhelming. I know that you think this is a scam or conspiracy against you, however-"

"Shut up. That's not what I'm talking about." Rose replied tersely.

The judge breathed heavily through her nostrils very similarly to a dragon.

"Then what would you like to say?" her voice was clipped as though it took all her self control not have the guardians drag her out and shoot her right then.

"I'm pregnant,"

A/N: Sorry for the cliffy. I had to do it (:

Review! If I can get at least ten reviews, I'll update by Monday. If not, it will probably be around a week before I update again…(:

Thanks again for the reviews, faves, etc.!