A/N: This is my very first fanfiction. If I get good reviews, I have other chapters that are ready to be posted and I'm currently working on more.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. It all belongs to the extremely talented Richelle Mead. I only own the plot and any characters I come up with.

-Sarah

Chapter One: Broken

Fear. Anguish. Hopelessness.

They execute traitors. Abe's words rang loud and clear in my head.

I was lonely. There was no denying that fact. Too bad I'm stupid and choose not to let any of the people I care about in to see me. I didn't want them to see me like this. I saw the list in my head . . .

Vasilisa Dragomir.

Christian Ozera.

Adrian Ivashkov.

Eddie Castile.

Mia Rinaldi.

I would've also wrote the name Dimitri Belikov if I thought that there was even a chance he'd visit. I've given up on you. Love fades. Mine has. Those words continually torchered me. It was as if each little letter had sharp edges. They just cut me over and over again.

In spite of those extremely harsh words, I knew -or maybe it was simply wishful thinking on my part- that somewhere deep in his heart, he still loved me. If he didn't love me, he wouldn't have defended me like he had at the cafe. He wouldn't have tried to single-handedly take out the entire Royal Guard so they wouldn't take me. We rarely ever needed words to convey our thoughts to eachother; that day, his eyes seemed to say that he wouldn't stop fighting until he was completely unconscious.

I thought about the late Queen's note. I felt like it was burning a hole in my jeans pocket. Who could I tell? Abe? Could I trust him with this secret? Maybe . . . but that was an issue for later.

I was so deep in thought that i hadn't noticed the two people standing outside my prison cell until one of them cleared their throat and broke me out of my reverie. I figured it was just Abe, coming to discuss the trial. But when I looked up, my heart stopped beating momentarily. It was as if my thoughts were calling to him. Because standing outside of my cell were Mikhail and . . . Dimitri.

At the sight of him, a thousand memories flooded into my head. The day we met. Practicing fighting. The many times his strong arms carried me to the school infirmary in one of the many times that I've been injured. The day he found me in Spokane. And finally . . . the cabin. Seeing him now, he took my breath away. That shoulder length brown hair hanging loose around his face. The intoxicating scent of his aftershave. Those deep brown eyes that I could get lost in . . . he was breathtaking. The way he stared at me with such concern made me feel warm inside.

"Roza . . ." was all he said.

"Hey Comrade, what brings you here to my lovely prison cell?" someone's sick sense of humor landed me in the cell that Dimitri had been in not too long ago.

He smiled at the old nickname. "I came to see if you were okay. How are you?" he asked.

Better now that you're here, I thought. Instead, I simply replied, "Well seeing as I'm in a prison cell for a murder I didn't commit, not very good." I gave him a small smile, surprise to see him smile back.

"Could we have a little privacy?" he asked to my guards. He shot a pleading look at Mikhail, who then sighed.

"We'll be down the hall." replied Mikhail. "You have 15 minutes."

"Thank you Mikhail." said Dimitri. He then turned back to me after the guards were out of hearing distance.

"Rose . . . Stop acting like this isn't a big deal." I looked at him, shock written all over my face.

"Can you really see through me that well Comrade?" I asked in a small voice.

"I guess I just know you." he replied with a little chuckle. I couldn't hold my emotions in any longer. I was on the verge of tears. He could see it too.

"Roza? What's wrong?" he asked frantically.

"I'm scared . . ." I replied in a broken whisper.

"What are you scared of?" he asked.

Thats when I lost it. "I . . . Don't . . . Want . . . To . . . Die . . ." I choked out between sobs. I walked up to the bars and reached his arms in to encircle me with them. I felt so weak to be crying but I couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down my cheeks. He didn't seem to look at me as a weak person in that moment. He looked at me with . . . love? It seemed too good to be true. I managed to gain a little control over that sobs that shook my entire body.

I peeked up at his face again. I was probably going to regret asking this, but I needed to know. "Dimitri? I have a question." I managed to say.

"What is it Roza?" he asked.

I took a deep breath. "Do you love me?" I whispered. I tensed myself for the answer I was sure I was going to get. It would probably include him pulling away from me.

He exhaled slowly. "Yes Roza, I do love you. More than you'll ever know. But I'm not good enough for you. I look at you and see all the horrible things I did to you . . ." he trailed off. His expression was pained, but at least he didn't let go of me. However, it didn't stop the uncontrollable sobs from erupting again.

"Oh Roza . . . Please don't cry. I can't bear it." he said, his voice giving away to the pain inside of him.

"S-s-s-s-s-sorry C-c-c-c-comrad-d-d-de." I mumbled. At that moment, Mikhail returned.

"I'm so so sorry but you have to leave now Dimitri. Your time is up." he stated.

"Don't worry Roza. I'll take care of everything." Dimitri said, pain replaced by determination. I crawled back to my cot, rolled up into a ball and with each step he took down that hall, my heart ripped into a million pieces.