Rpov
I am in a large green field lying under the bright morning sun with my long hair flowing on the ground around me. The feel of the warm rays feel peaceful against my skin. I have always liked the sun, the warmth of it to the beautiful colors it becomes as it descends into darkness. This is what I want in life is to spend the rest of my life in this field, as peaceful as can be. Completely and genuinely happy.
"Hey, Little Dhampir." I look up and see Adrian standing over me with a smile on his lips, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. Looking deep into his deep emerald eyes I can see sadness. I stand up and give him a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck and laying my head softly against his chest. I may not love Adrian in a romantic way, but I love him as a friend and right now more than anything I need the comfort of a friend.
We stand like that for a few moments, each of us trying desperately not to cry. Crying would be a sign of weakness and right now we both have to be strong, for each other, for our friends and most importantly for Mason. "MOMMY!" He screams from behind me. I let go of Adrian and spin quickly on my heels to welcome Mason into my open arms. I hug him so tightly, knowing that this is the last moment I will ever be able to hold him, to kiss him, to see his smile and hear his sweet little voice.
"I love you so much, baby." I say holding him tight and safely in my arms. I sit on the ground and begin rocking him softly, enjoying every last second of being with him.
"I love you too mommy. When are you going to come see me?" he asks so innocently. Neither Adrian nor myself has been able to work up the courage of telling him the truth. It would break his spirits and I can't bear my last moments having him in tears and upset. It would break his heart and mine.
"Mommy is going to be away for a very long time, baby," I say softly in his ear. "Uncle Adrian will take care of you. He will never leave you." He looks up at Adrian and smiles such a sweet smile.
"When you come find us can I sleep in your bed with you and watch Cars like we did when I was a baby mason?" he asks me with a bigger smile.
"Baby when we see each other again we can do anything you want us to do." I tell him. After all it is the truth. When it is finally his turn to pass away we will be brought together again and it will be so perfect.
"I wish you didn't have to stay away for so long, mommy. I miss you lots and I want you to be with me."
"I know you do, but baby, everything will be alright. Uncle Adrian will be there for you forever. He won't leave you and he will love you like mommy loves you. If you ever get sad and you wish mommy was with you and you know that she can't be, just go get Uncle Adrian, go outside and look up at the stars. Mommy will be looking at them too wishing she could be with you too." His smile stays on his face as I rock him.
"Can Uncle Adrian be my daddy Adrian?" he asks softly as his eyes slowly start to close. I look up at Adrian and see the shock register in his face. He did not expect that Mason would want him to be a daddy to him, but deep down I knew it all along. Dimitri has never been a father to my son, he was never there as Mason grew up, and when he was with Mason, he let Tasha hurt him and abuse him. Adrian has always been the best father for him. I know he drinks and he smokes, but he has a passionate heart and he knows how to truly love someone other than himself. That is what he has with Mason. A special relationship.
"Yes, my baby, Uncle Adrian can be your daddy Adrian." His eyes softly close and I know he is returning to the real world. His body slowly starts to disappear and I give him a kiss on his head before he goes. Then just like that he is gone. My arms are empty and all of a sudden the sun feels like it has turned to ice. The whole sunny appearance becomes darker.
"Rose, I don't want to say goodbye to you," Adrian says pulling me to my feet and into his warm arms. I know he cares so much for me. I just wish I could return the favor.
"I know but there is no way around any of this. You know I would love to get out of her and be with you and Mason forever, but it will not happen. I am just glad both of you will be safe and together." I hug him one last time, as I see the surroundings get blurry. This is the hard part of knowing when you are going to die, watching everyone else's pain.
"I love you Rose."
"I love you too" I say as I wake up in my jail cell. The clinking of a big ring of keys being jingled as one is inserted into the cell door is what initially wakes me up. I look up and see my mother, Lissa and Christian standing beside three extremely masculine Guardians. I stand up, noticing that all three of them have red puffy eyes and dried up tear stains on their cheeks. I stand tall and walk towards them with a serious look on their face. I have to remain strong for all of them. I am the strong one here.
"Oh Rose," Lissa sobs.
"It's ok Lissa." I try to reassure her as my mother hands me a pair of my black jeans and a nice red top that has lace neatly put on it. They turn around while I quickly change. I look acceptable and that is all that is needed to plead my case. If I fail then I will lose my life. I dig in the box of my stuff and pull out the digital camera. The three guardians get into offensive poses like they are going to pounce on me if I make one wrong move. I hold up the camera so they can all see it.
"I have a video on here that might help my case," I explain to them. One guardian takes the camera from me.
"We will deliver this to your trial." He says sternly, putting the camera into his pocket. I didn't tell Adrian that there was a chance of me living through this because the chances of it are really slim. I didn't want to give him false hope. I nod to the guardian. He tugs my arms behind my back tightly and clasps two big metal handcuffs to my wrists. It is time. They shove me out of the cell and down the hallway past my family and friends.
"You guys are the best family I have ever had," I call back to them. I can hear the sob of either Lissa or my mom, but I can't tell which one. At least Christians there to comfort them. Everybody I care about has someone to lean on and in the end that is important; well all except one person. Dimitri doesn't have someone, but how he has been acting lately I do not think he will even care. He left me for Tasha after all even if it was under compulsion.
Finally we end up in the trial room. The guardians walk me into the room, or more like dragging me into the room, past so many Moroi and Dhampirs. There are thousands of people in the room and all of a sudden I get extremely chilled and nervous. What if I don't make it through this like I was hopeing I would? They take me and put me up on the stand immediately. Queen Tatiana, Adrian's aunt, looks down at me, disapproval already showing in her eyes.
"Rosemarie Hathaway, You have been charged with kidnapping the young Mason Belikov, seduction of a married man, and attacking an innocent family without cause or reason to. How do you plead?" Tatiana says loudly for the room to hear
"Not Guilty."
"You need to prove a substantial amount of evidence to prove your case or return the child to his parents or you will be hanged for your crimes. This is not your first offense, so the punishment is just."
"I have evidence that Tasha Ozera, kidnapped my son Mason Belikov from me, that she is using compulsion on Dimitri Belikov and that she lied so I would hang today," I say calmly, standing my ground. Almost everyone in the room gasps at what I said. I spot my mom and Lissa off to one side. They look shocked, and next to them is Christian, who has a mixture of shock and anger on his face. On the opposite side of the room sits DImitri, holding Tasha in his arms. He looks outraged while Tasha just smiles. Then unexpectedly she winks at me.
"Please provide the evidence." Tatiana says her face registering with annoyance more than anything else.
"The Guardian who brought me in here has a video recording of the entire conversation I had with Ms. Ozera yesterday, when she came to see me. " Tatiana looks at the Guardian expectantly. Tasha's face doesn't lose her humored smile.
"Ms. Hathaway did not give me any such thing." My jaw drops. The only evidence I had that proved anything is in that man's pocket and he says he doesn't have it. The whole thing is bullshit.
"You fucking liar!" I scream at him angrily.
"Ms. Hathaway, since you have no evidence to prove your case you will be hanged immediately." She hits the gavel on her podium. The Guardians come in and grab me forcibly by the arms and start dragging me out of the room.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I DID NOTHING WRONG!" I scram on the top of my lungs, trying desperately to wrangle myself out of the Guardians' grasps. It only creates a bigger hassle when two more Guardians come to grab ahold of me. I am led from the courtroom to an outside pavilion. In the center, they have an old fashioned looking gallows made of a sturdy wood and with two nooses tied across the top. They shove me up the steps as everyone from inside gathers outside to witness my death. One of the Guardians ties the noose around my neck tight enough where I won't fall out, but at the same time I can still breathe. They want to keep me alive to create a bigger show with my death.
"Rosemarie Hathaway, you have been found Guilty of your crimes and the punishment is death by hanging." Tatiana's voice bellows on a speaker system which surrounds the pavilion. The Guardian who tied the noose around my neck walks over to a lever on the left side of the platform. I feel like I am on stage putting on a show that will be remembered for a very long time. The Guardian puts his hands on the lever. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
"STOP! IF YOU HANG HER YOU HAVE TO HANG ME TOO. I HAVE EVIDENCE THAT PROVES ROSE IS INNOCENT," someone from the back of the crowed screams loudly. I open my eyes and gasp at who I see.