Author's Notes:

Adult content in the second section.

-=o0/&\0o=-

I was walking across campus on my way to Dimitri's apartment when I heard my name being called. I turned to see Yuri running up to me.

"Oh, hey Yuri!" I said as he approached.

"I have that list for you of places dhampirs can go to be alone together at Court," he said, handing me a folder, "and I also grabbed a copy of the form to apply for joint housing at Court. I don't know how much you'll need that list once all of the paperwork from the joint housing application goes through, though. The form requires both your signature and Belikov's, as well as both of your charges and captain of the guard at Court - I think that's Hans Croft right now, but since you haven't actually moved in at Court yet, getting the actual housing logistics for the two of you settled shouldn't take long."

I opened up the folder and looked at the form. Yuri told me, "I took the liberty of filling out the top section, got the princess to sign it last night after the dinner party, and got Christian - excuse me, I guess he's Lord Ozera now - to sign it before the graduation ceremony this morning, so all you have to do is sign it yourself and get it signed by Dimitri and Guardian Croft. Getting Croft to sign it is mostly a formality, though, as long as you're not under some sort of disciplinary process."
"Wow, Yuri," I said, "Thanks, this is really incredible."

"Consider it a combined graduation and going-away present. You and the big guy deserve nothing but happiness. And I owe you both for all of the extra hours of gate duty and patrol shifts he took to get more time alone with you and to have me help mentor you when everything with you two being apart went down. Speaking of which, are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"It's a really long story," I told him, not sure how much detail I wanted to go into, even if Yuri had become a friend, "The short explanation is that Adrian Ivashkov had me under compulsion, though."

"Well, I'm really glad you crazy kids worked it all out," he said, "After seeing everything you went through together and how much you care for each other, I really feel like you and Dimitri are destined to be together."

I smiled. "Thanks, Yuri."

"Any time," he told me, "Just do me a favor: Dimitri is a lot more fragile than most people give him credit for. Don't break his heart again, kiddo. If you do, I might have to hunt you both down."

"Hunt us both down?" I asked.

"You for the beat-down and Dimitri for consoling," Yuri replied.

"Dimitri's never really been one to be big on the sharing of his feelings," I told him.

Yuri shrugged, saying, "I know. Neither of you have. But if he needs someone to talk to about you, I'd be there. When you two were apart, I'd stop by his apartment after shifts sometimes and just sit and share a drink with him. He never said much, but he told me it was nice to have a friend."

I smiled again, "I'm actually glad of that, Yuri. You know, when I first met him, he didn't really have any friends on campus. I'm glad you've become that. We're both really going to miss you."

Yuri pulled me in for a hug. "I'll miss you both, too."

-=o0/&\0o=-

A couple minutes later, I was knocking on Dimitri's door. We had talked last night about the possibility of being able to have children together, but I hadn't yet had a chance to update him on the implant I got this morning. Though we were both happy we'd get the opportunity to be able to have them eventually, neither of us wanted them right now.

Dimitri answered the door and looked at me with a darkened gaze. "Roza," he said, "Come in."

As soon as I was inside his apartment and the door was shut and bolted behind me, Dimitri pushed me up against the door and pulled me in for a smoldering kiss, cradling the back of my head with his hand. I dropped the folder Yuri gave me where I stood, yielding to Dimitri's heady kiss. His fingers clutched at my waist and the nape of my neck and I moaned as my tongue made contact with his. He drew out the kiss for a few more moments, then broke away, gasping for air.

"I know it hasn't, but it feels like it's been too long since we've had a chance to be alone together," he told me, as he began unzipping my blue jeans, "I need to make you come, Roza."

Before I realized what was happening, Dimitri was on his knees in front of me and pulling my blue jeans and panties down with him to my ankles. Dimitri began kissing the insides of my upper thighs, his mouth hovering dangerously close to my core.

"Roza," he purred, "Let me fix that now. Let me make you come. I need it." He continued kissing, placing light licks on my skin as his mouth moved higher still.

I moaned but couldn't find the words to say anything as I stood there looking down at my Russian god with his eyes closed, enrapt by the taste of my skin. I ran my hands through his hair and leaned my head back against the door, closing my eyes.

"Please, Roza," he asked as his tongue came out to lick along the outside edge of my center, "Please let me make you come." I looked back down at him and saw him looking back at me, his eyes pleading with me.

"Mmm, yes, Dimitri! Yes! Yes!" I cried.

His tongue ventured in and he began quickly flicking it back and forth along my pleasure button, dipping his fingers into me and furiously working them in and out. Dimitri moaned against my skin as I helplessly clung to the door to keep me upright. I could feel the vibrations of his moan surging upwards through his nimble tongue as his fingers continued to plunge. Dimitri went on, flicking his tongue faster and harder each moment, working me into a frenzy at a near-dizzying pace. I couldn't help but to moan uncontrollably at the motion of his relentless mouth and fingers against my body.

"Let go," he whispered against my throbbing heat as he continued to move his fingers in and out, "Come for me." Almost instantly, I began to feel myself tipping over the edge. "That's my girl," Dimitri murmured against my skin before one final long, slow lick. He continued to pump his fingers into me, riding out my release.

Once my heart began to beat normally again, Dimitri slowly stood, kissing his way along my front and pulling my jeans back up with him as he stood.

"I love you, my Roza," he said, just before his mouth met mine. He picked me up and carried me bridal-style over to his bed, laying me down.

-=o0/&\0o=-

"Did you finish packing, milaya?" Dimitri asked me as laid beside me and snuggled.

"Hmm," was all I managed. I was still too brainless basking in the afterglow to form proper words.

"Are your bags packed and ready for the flight to Court tomorrow?" he asked.

"What's to pack, Comrade?" I asked him, "Half of my clothes never came back with me when you hauled us back here from Portland. I only have a dozen outfits, a few pieces of jewelry, a couple of pictures, some undergarments, and my bag of bathroom stuff. I don't even have to pack birth control pills, since Doctor Olendzki gave me an implant this morning. It'll all fit in one suitcase."

"Roza, as much as I like that you can travel light, you deserve to have more. Once we get to Court, everything will change. I'd like the opportunity to buy you some things."

"Once we get to Court? OH!" I exclaimed, as I stood up and grabbed the folder Yuri had given me, handing it to Dimitri. "Look what Yuri gave me just before I came to your quarters."

"It's the joint housing form," he said, looking at the top paper in the open folder, "I've never seen one up close before." Dimitri pulled out the form and turned it over. "You haven't been officially assigned to guard Lissa yet, but I'd say that your trial score and your ranking have pretty much guaranteed that you will, as long as that's what you want. The form's already been signed by Christian and Lissa?" Dimitri's eyes widened as he turned his smiling gaze on me. "Rose, this is amazing! We could be sharing quarters in less than a week!"

"Yuri got them both to sign it between last night and this morning," I told him, "He said getting Hans Croft to sign it is basically just a formality. We'll have to send him a special 'thank you'."

"We can definitely send Yuri a 'thank you'," Dimitri said, "but I think he may have overstated the simplicity of getting Croft on board. Why don't you sign it and leave it with me? I think I might have better luck at getting him to agree to the housing when you haven't been allocated to Lissa yet. I've known him for a few years and he was part of the evaluation committee when I was moved to a level seven a few years ago, so I think I could persuade him."

"Deal, Comrade," I told him, taking the form out of his hands and walking over to the desk with it, "Where do you keep your pens?"

"Top right drawer."

I quickly signed the form and left the folder sitting on Dimitri's desk, then turned in the desk chair to face him. "So, did you want me to come here for something specific, or were you just hoping you would have a chance to grab me at the door like you did a minute ago?"

Dimitri smiled. "Mostly just the door," he said, "since the cabin is still a crime scene, but I was also hoping to give you something."

"What's that?" I asked him.

Dimitri walked over beside the desk and pulled a small gift-wrapped box out of one of the other drawers. "I didn't get a chance to give it to you in the cabin. It's a graduation present. Open it."

I unwrapped the gift box and lifted the lid. Inside was the rose necklace that I had worn the night of the charm. "What? How? Wait - is it still laced with compulsion?"

"After Lissa removed the compulsion charm from Adrian's cross, I thought about this necklace. I spent a couple of hours searching in the bushes on the ground outside my window before I found it. Lissa took the compulsion off of it for me after one of our Moroi training sessions a few weeks ago. I was actually a little tempted to just leave the compulsion on, since I knew a night of unbridled lust between the two of us wouldn't really be anything either of us would be against at this point, but I decided the charm could be a distraction if something were to come up while you were wearing it. I know that just being near you is already a pretty big distraction to me."

I got up and kissed Dimitri. "Comrade, I love that you did this! It's perfect. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Roza. Now, I'd like you to go to your room and pack, and get a good night's sleep. I will see you when it's time to board the plane."

"Okay, Comrade," I said, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Roza."

-=o0/&\0o=-

As I approached the plane waiting at the airstrip, my suitcase borrowed from Lissa in tow, I saw Dimitri standing there beside Alberta and a few other guardians I didn't know. Dimitri was standing there in standard guardian formation, his seeing-but-not-seeing guardian mask on his face, wearing his duster over his Guardian uniform on, with his hair flawlessly tied back at the base of his neck.

Christian and Lissa had already boarded the plane, and - I could tell from the feelings in the bond that were starting to gradually come back - were well on their way to doing things I had no interest in knowing about. When I got to the steps of the plane, I called out, "Liss, you might want to tune out the bond already! Otherwise, I'll be in there in five minutes!" and then turned my attention to the guardians.

"Well, Rose," said Alberta, "I know this isn't going to be a final 'goodbye', but I'm sure going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Al - I mean, Guardian Petrov," I told her, trying to show the respect I was beginning to understand she truly deserved.

In a surprising move for Alberta, she pulled me in for a hug, and then grasping both of my hands in her own. "Rose, you are every bit the Guardian I am," she told me, "Call me Alberta. Please. And don't be a stranger. You are welcome at my door anytime." Alberta slipped a strip of paper into my hand, saying, "This is my personal cell phone number. Feel free to call me, day or night, Rose. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a daughter."

"Thanks," I said lamely, finding myself at a loss for more significant words at her heartfelt goodbye. I hoped I'd see her again, but I had no real guarantee what would lay ahead.

I looked at Dimitri. "Ready to board the plane, Comrade?" I asked him, "I think we might be the last ones."

"I'm ready, but I'm not supposed to board until everyone else is on the plane and we're not the last ones yet. The Mastranos are coming on this flight and they're right behind you. Eddie Castile isn't here yet, though, and he will be boarding this plane, too," Dimitri told me, "He should be along shortly, though."

"Then I'll get on board and claim our seats while we wait," I told him.

As I boarded the plane, I noticed that Lissa and Christian were in the row furthest to the rear. They looked like they wanted to be by themselves, so I situated myself on the opposite side of the plane in the row in front of them. Jill and her parents boarded the plane just after me and took the seats one row in front of me on the same side of the plane as Lissa. Jill peaked back at Lissa and smiled, giving a tiny wave.

I glanced back at Lissa. The bond was still a little fuzzier than usual, but I could feel that she was in a much better place, emotionally, than she had been after meeting with Emily. Lissa smiled at Jill and gave a timid half-wave back to her. It's all going to be okay, I thought to myself, as I looked between Lissa and Jill.

A few moments later, Eddie came through the front door of the plane, huffing and puffing, carrying a massive suitcase. It was clear that he had been running to make it on board. I just grinned and shook my head.

Eddie stowed his suitcase and sat in the seat directly in front of Jill. "Jilly-Bean," he said with a smile, "what are you doing here? I thought I'd never get to see you again."

Jill looked at her mom, clearly unsure if she should tell him or not. Emily nodded. "Well, I'm sort of, umm, well, Eddie, I'm sort of ..." Jill paused, clearly uncomfortable telling him.

"Oh, just get out with it already!" I told her, "He's going to find out sooner or later. I mean, for all we know, he'll be the one who ends up being your guardian!"

Jill looked down at her hands and began wringing her fists together, but still said nothing.

"Jill, what is Rose talking about?" asked Eddie, "Why would you have a guardian?"

"Because Jill is my sister," Lissa said. All eyes turned to Lissa, just gaping, "Jill is the last Dragomir. And she deserves a guardian for protection."

Eddie turned to face Jill, asking with his eyes for her to confirm it.

"But no one can know," Lissa added, "We want to keep Jill safe. And that means keeping her identity a secret."

"But how? Why? When?" Eddie asked, "I don't understand."

At that moment, Dimitri boarded the plane, saying, "I think everyone is aboard now. Are we all ready to take off?"

I smiled, patting the seat next to me for him to sit, as Jill asked, "Guardian Belikov, sir, would it be okay if I switched seats to sit next to Eddie before we take off? I feel like we have some talking to do."

Dimitri dropped his guardian mask as he replied, "I think that would be fine, Jill," with a smile for her. I could tell that after all of the training together, he was starting to think of her as a little sister, like the rest of us had.

Dimitri sat in the seat beside me and smiled, taking my hand.

Before the plane could take off, a voice came on over the sound system of the plane. "We have just been notified that we are going to have another passenger, folks. Give us another fifteen minutes for takeoff while we collect our last person."

I looked at Dimitri and he just shrugged.

"I know it's only been since yesterday, but I missed you, Comrade," I whispered to him, as he began rubbing small circles on the back of my hand, "I know that officially, you are on duty right now and you can't, but I'd really like to be kissing you."

"It won't be much longer, Roza, until we can be together in our time off all the time," Dimitri told me.

"Do you think it will take long for our application for joint housing to go through?" I asked, "Do you even think Hans Croft will approve it, for that matter?"

Without any explanation, Dimitri put his guardian mask on and said, "I can't really say." Worry and doubt were filling me about what would happen when we got to Court, but I tried not to let it show.

Dimitri turned my face towards his and looked me in the eye. "This is really bothering you, isn't it, Roza?"

I nodded.

"I have a good feeling that it will all work out," he said.

I replied, "You're starting to sound like you described your grandmother to me. Are you turning psychic or something?"

Dimitri let out a little chuckle. "No, Roza, I just know the people involved. And I have faith."

"Speaking of psychics, what about the fortune-teller at Court? 'You will lose what matters most to you'? That didn't really happen."

"Didn't it?" asked Dimitri, gripping my hand more tightly, "When you were under Adrian's compulsion charm, I lost you. I almost gave up on us completely when I asked Yuri to start training you."

"I wonder what she would say to either of us now," I mused.

Dimitri smiled. "Probably that our struggles have made us stronger and that we will have grown because of them."

"Know-it-all," I said under my breath, as I leaned back in my seat.

The doors of the plane opened and I saw a tall man's back with dark hair and a guardian uniform walking onto the plane.

"Yuri!" I nearly shrieked with giddiness as he walked back to take a seat, "What are you doing on this plane?"

"Guardian Petrov gave the academy guardians notice that there's a special circumstance and that we're going to have an extra high-ranking royal Moroi to assign a guardian to. She said that whoever ends up with the royal as a charge will be coming back to the academy with her in the fall, so they needed to send an extra academy guardian back to be placed with another charge. They wanted someone who had a high guardian rank and several years of experience, who was willing to be potentially stationed with a royal at Court. Rumor has it that Castile was originally going to be assigned to the princess, but has been requested by that other high-ranking royal, so the person being reassigned might be helping to guard her."

Things began to click into place as to who might have requested Eddie. I smiled as I realized that Yuri was probably going to be my new guarding partner.

Yuri settled into his seat and buckled just as the plane began to take off. I'd taken my migraine medication before the plane took off and the headache never came, but I was happy and excited for what was to come, holding my Russian god's hand. I snuggled into his arm, pulled the jacket from my shoulders over me like a blanket, and closed my eyes, drifting off into blissful dreams.

-=o0/&\0o=-

Author's Notes:

There you have it. This is the last regular chapter. The next one is an epilogue, so that's about all there is. I hope it didn't disappoint. Thank you to all of you that have stuck it out through this whole long ride.

My last normal question of the week is this:

What did you think of this story? What was good? What was bad? Did you have a favorite part?

I'm just going to leave that right there for you to answer ... 

Please remember to comment and vote!