-Rose POV-

After I finished with relaying the story to Alberta – and after she scolded me for leaving campus – she sat thinking for a few moments before she silently picked up a phone and dialed what I assumed was Kirova's extension. She said a short message to Kirova before hanging up, "I need you in my office… and bring Stan."

I groaned out loud. "Does he, of all people, have to come here?"

"I take it you don't get along?" Jace asked me.

I shook my head at him. "Never have, never will. We've always butted heads pretty bad."

Alberta was just about to open her mouth to say something when the door burst open behind us.

And Stan walked in.

I could actually feel the snide comments coming. "Well look who decided to grace us with her presence! When we discovered you missing I thought you had gone gallivanting off to some other crowded city in an attempt to be childish."

My patience snapped, but I had learned a lot of self-control over the past year – he very well knew why Lissa and I left! - but I stayed silent with a small grateful look from Dimitri.

Kirova took over once she entered the room. "What is this last minute summoning for, Alberta? And nice to see you have returned to us Rose, I hope Alberta has already spoken to you," she said curtly. Kirova and I had never really gotten along either. It dawned on me that Alberta is pretty much the only authority figure I actually liked, excluding Dimitri.

The information was relayed a second time, but thankfully this time Alberta took care of the talking while the rest of us sat silently. By the end of it Kirova's face was impassive. "Will we be getting help in return?" she asked Jace.

Jace nodded his head in all seriousness. "Shadowhunters always repay their debts, and we usually do it quickly in efficiently for we do not like owing anyone anything."

Kirova nodded her head once in acceptance and she beckoned with us to follow her with one finger and a flash of her fangs. Stan looked like he didn't trust Jace one bit which only made me like Jace even more. If Stan didn't like him then he was my kind of person.

The day was just beginning and there were few people lingering at breakfast and stalling the class they needed to get to, they were mostly Moroi though. All the Dhampir's were already at morning practice, we were on a much more strict morning schedule than the Moroi.

I was beginning to wonder where Kirova was leading us when I noted that we were on the path to the Dhampir gyms. "I will show you what help you are asking for," she said with her back to us as she walked.

When she opened the door to the gym and ushered us in, the sounds of fighting hit my ears and instantly made we want to jump in to the fray and get going on sparring with my classmates.

I spotted Eddie off to the side just as he saw me. "Rose!" he exclaimed as he started jogging over to me. "I was wondering where you were! Lissa was too." A pang of guilt flooded me as I thought of Lissa trying to find me only to realize I was nowhere to be found.

"Back to training Mr. Castile!" Stan barked while Eddie glowered at him with annoyance before heading back over to the group he was with. He looked back a few time to give a questioning look to the newcomers.

All around us there were different groups of novices as they watched a pair fighting on a separate mat. Jace had his arms wrapped around Clary as they watched with interest. Isabelle looked like she wanted to jump right on in, Simon looked like he was trying to figure out this whole new vampire thing, Alec looked like he wanted to go home and Magnus watched as his cat-like eyes flicked from group to group.

"They look like very formidable opponents on the battlefield," Isabelle noted with enthusiasm. "I was to spar with them."

Alberta looked over at her. "Give it a go then, but these guys are not the ones you are going to be getting help from if we can help it."

"Why?" asked Alec, who had been completely quiet up until this moment. Which isn't entirely unusual for him.

"This Academy is for novices and underage Moroi. They are here to learn and train. Once they graduate Moroi will move on with a Guardian, if they are royal, and Dhampir's will receive their promise mark and be sent into the world with a Moroi to protect. The ones helping you fight will be Dhampir's who are much older and already graduated," Kirova answered Alec looking back at the group of us for the first time since Alberta's office.

Why do only royals get Guardian's? Don't every Moroi need one?" Magnus asked her.

Kirova continued. "There aren't as many Guardians' as there used to be. There is a shortage and royals are first in line to receive one, two and maybe even three if they are a prince or princess. Queen Tatiana has her own guard. Non-royalty receive Guardian's through a type of lottery system and they receive no more than one per family."

"That doesn't seem fair," Isabelle noted. "And Moroi don't even try to help fight? They just cower behind a Guardian who is pretty much exploited and talked about like an object instead of a person with feelings and desires."

Dimitri and I looked at each other both wishing that our world was different. I liked Isabelle more and more every time she opened her mouth.

"It isn't fair," Alberta agreed.

"Things are slowly looking like they are going to change soon," I said as I broke eye contact with Dimitri.

"How is it like for your kind?" Alberta asked Isabelle.

Isabelle looked her dead in the eye. "We may protect the world but we are free to live and love as we please so long as we do our job."

With that Isabelle gracefully loped over to a group of guys and they stopped to stare at her, their eyes opening wider a fraction of an inch wider at her beauty. Her looks were different from Dhampir's and Moroi altogether. Shadowhunters were new territory, although they didn't know what she was yet.

"Who are you?" Nicklaus, a novice that I got along pretty well with, asked.

She just smiled at them widely. "I'm here to spar," was all she said.

This was going to be fun to watch.

"After Isabelle is done with this we will stop the session and announce what is going on. I may have offered help, but that only goes as far as these academy grounds. If you want more help then we will have to appeal to the queen," said Alberta with a sigh.