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SHADOW HEART

Chapter One: So not good

He left me. For Tasha. That was my first thought every morning. It had been three years now. About six months after he left, I had my first born. Moroi births are shorter than the human span. Apparently, I could have a baby with a dhampir because of my being shadow kissed. I got up and took a shower. Changing into clean clothes, I walked over to my three year old Arianna. She was sleeping soundly. Not for long. "C'mon, Baby," I coaxed, shaking her gently. She groaned and said something that vaguely sounded like 'Go away, Mom'. "Sorry, Ari, can't," I said, using my favorite nickname for her. "We need to go to Aunt Lissa's house," I told her. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at me with her father's warm brown eyes that could swallow you whole and never release you. Sometimes I melted under that gaze, but I kept reminding myself to leave that topic alone. "I'm sick," she grumbled, flopping back down into her bed. "Oh, you poor thing," I said, going along with her little façade. She nodded. "I guess you won't get to have Uncle Chris's breakfast…" I trailed off. She shot up and called out to me. "Mom, I'm fine, I was joking," she answered. I turned around and picked her out of her bed and carried her toward the bathroom. After a quick bath, and a change of her clothes, we were ready to go. I walked through the doorway that connected Christian and Lissa's house. They had three of their own kids; Melanie, Jake, and Marisa. Melanie was the oldest at four years old, Jake was 2, and Marisa was 9 months. They were all adorable. Walking in, I got attacked by hugs from their kids. I heard a chorus of "Ari!" and "Auntie Rose!" "Hey guys," I greeted. "We were wondering when you were coming by," Liss said, sitting at the dining room table and talking to Christian, who was working over a stove. "Yeah, we can't eat all of this, you know," Christian snickered turning around briefly. "Thanks, Sparky, that means a lot. I feel so honored!" I said, sarcasm dripping off my voice. Christian smirked and turned back to the stove. I sat next to Liss and talked to her for a couple minutes while eating. I felt the nervous feeling through the bond, and finally decided to ask. "Ok, Liss, what is it? I know you're nervous," I told her, sliding closer. "DimitriandTashaarecomingover," she said so fast, I don't think she understood what she was saying herself. "What?" I got that twitch through the bond that told me I wouldn't like what was going to come. "Dimitri and Tasha are coming over," She said slowly, watching my reaction all the while. "Umm…Why?" I asked, surprising her with the calmness in my voice. "Because Tasha wasn't able to come to our wedding so she wanted to come by and see Christian." She said. Christian turned around from the stove and looked at me, concern in his eyes. No matter how many times I insult him, Christian really was a good guy. I was happy to have him as a brother…Sort of… "It's okay…I'm over him. And Christian, your aunt is a really good person," Wow, where did all of this forgiveness come from? Before they could say anything else, I felt a small tug on my shorts. "Mommy, can we come with you to the gym?" asked Ari, begging with her eyes. I glanced behind her and saw Melanie studying our auras with green steady eyes. Melanie was a spirit user, like her mother. She specialized early. We weren't sure what the other two were yet, it was too early to tell. I glanced up at Lissa. She shrugged, giving permission. "Alright," I said. Ari turned back to Melanie, a smirk of victory on her face. "We have to get going if we want to make it in time." I told them, picking Jake up and taking Ari's hand, leading her towards the door. All three of them loved to watch me fight. Ari's reason I could understand; she wanted to become a guardian like me. The Moroi's reason, I don't know.

The guardians' always had a group fight on Saturday afternoons. One person chooses two guardians' to fight it out. It's like a tournament of sorts. I walked into the gym entrance, and set the kids down on the bleachers to watch, warning them to stay there. "Ready for battle, huh, Hathaway?" someone greeted me. I turned around and saw Guardian Matthews walking towards me. "You know it," I said. I looked down at my black shorts, tight black tank top and black fingerless gloves. With my dark hair pulled back into a side pony, I looked hot and dangerous all at the same time. I saw Matthews give me a once over, like all guys do. I was used to this attention, so I turned around and walked towards the group of guardians that had gathered by the mats. After conversing with the other guardians, it was decided the Guardian Hanne would go against Guardian Matthews. Well, this was going to be a close match. Guardian Hanne came out of circling with a quick kick to Matthews's stomach. He blocked and punched Hanne in the jaw, sending him stumbling. The kids were cheering. Some guardians turned back and saw them, then looked at me.
"Vasilisa's kids, Melanie and Jake, and Ari," I told them. Lissa hated her full name, but some of the guardians weren't familiar with her Americanized nickname. The guardians nodded and turned back to the fight which Guardian Hanne had almost won. He has been at the royal Court for at least ten years, whereas Matthews has been here for a couple months. Still, he was a pretty good guardian. After the match, Guardian Hans chose the other two. "Guardian Hathaway," he had to pause because the kids were yelling when he said my name. "And Guardian Belikov," He. Did. Not. Say. That. I got pushed a little toward the mat, hearing people making bets. "I bet Rose is going to win." said one. "No way. Belikov was her mentor," When I got there, I saw a Russian God. Crap. "Rose," he greeted, his eyes full of longing and some fear. Fear? I had no time to study that, because Guardian Hanne yelled "Go!" I heard my daughter and her cousins cheering me on. "Go, Mommy, go!" yelled Ari. Melanie and Jake were yelling similar things. Dimitri spared a glance at the girl in the stands next to two Moroi, and then turned to me. I ignored his bottomless dark eyes, and started to circle him. A couple of seconds of that, and he lunged for me, going for a kick. Fortunately, I still knew his moves, because I never stopped using them. I blocked and came out with a punch which he blocked. I quickly crouched down and kicked his legs out from under him. He wasn't ready for that. He fell onto his back. I tackled him, trying to pin him down. But unfortunately, he was still already trying to get up. He struggled from underneath me, and managed to flip us over so I was on the bottom. I kicked him where it counts, and he fell from on top of me, holding the spot where I kicked. I flipped him onto his back and poked his chest. It was over. I heard guardians clapping, and kids screaming. An unexpected voice came through the crowds. "Rose! How are you?" Tasha screeched, pushing her way past the crowd and pulled me off the ground and into a bone crushing hug. I hugged her back gently. It was hard staying mad at a person who was so nice—oh no, I was furious. I didn't show it though. When she released me, she bombarded me with questions. "How have you been? Are those Lissa's kids? Do you have any kids? If so, who with?" She yelled at me. "I'm good. Yes, yes, and one night stand," I answered as truthfully as I could. Dimitri was technically a one night stand. But that first answer: No, I'm so not good.