Revisions: A Vampire Academy and Shadowhunter Chronicles Crossover

Chapter Two: Rose

Rose Hathaway felt that the inside of the Moroi Court church needed a little more flair. The stain glass windows were the most interesting feature in the building, and didn't even really catch the light. Rose imagined what the church would look like if the Russians had gotten a hold of it. The church would be bursting with color making the stained glass windows the lone semblance of dreary services. Normally Rose didn't become an interior designer when inside the house of God, but she lucked out getting the worship shift today. It wasn't as if guarding her best friend Lissa wasn't her favorite thing to do... There just wasn't a lot of action in a heavily guarded church.

She looked around for Dimitri. Nope, Rose guessed she lucked out of that too. That was the other reason why stained glass windows had become so interesting. Seeing his face put her at peace, the same peace he had said to have felt whenever in a church. Plus she really loved to study him... And the fact that she could study him.

Dating him for the past couple of weeks felt like a dream. Although they couldn't be around each other twenty four seven, the tiniest amount of time was enough for them. Talking, touching, making love: it didn't matter what they were doing as long as Rose could see Dimitri's face and he could see hers. It was the strangest thing to her after hiding their relationship for so long. So many times she would blank out (usually in places like this) and think 'Is this permanent?' Her life had always been a roller coaster of ups and downs and a pessimistic part of her just waited for it to go down again. It kept her on edge, but also made her value her time with Dimitri. Every last second.

To her relief the service finally ended and people started to process out the door next to her. As she turned to leave herself she felt a slight tap on her shoulder.

"Rose," Lissa breathed. Rose spun around and would have jumped, if training had allowed.

"Dammit Lissa, you know I'm not used to you creeping up on me!" Due to her second near death experience, Rose and Lissa were unbound from the bond that had formed from her first near death experience. Rose was still adapting to the loss of advantage she had. No more instant danger warnings or clear motives. Sometimes in a weird way she liked the challenge. Even if that weren't the case reading Lissa was still a second nature to her. Well at least when she could see her face to face.

Other times she felt like the bond was what made Lissa a part of Rose. It was her reassurance when Lissa was in trouble, but it was a also a good channel to flip to whenever she got bored. She missed being in Lissa's head and now that the bond was gone she felt disconnected and lonely. She knew that Lissa probably felt the same way, but she also knew she couldn't be the first to mention it. Negative thoughts and frustrations still led to bad things and 'they came first'.

"I need to talk to you..." Lissa's previous smile disappeared. Along with the severance of the bond, her new position as Queen transformed Lissa. She was Lissa, but every flaw in her grace was smoothed and she no longer held a hesitation in her words because now they meant something. Through it all, Rose was proud of her.

"I was just about to head out, do you need me to fill in the next shift?"

"God no, how many fill ins would that be this week? Six? You need to stop depriving yourself of freedom! You may be my best friend and guardian, but I know you have a life too!"

"Alright alright! I just feel... obligated you know?" And things were weird again. Rose had hoped taking more shifts would close the gap between them and now she wasn't so sure. The gap had then been a crack in the sidewalk, but now it was chasm. It had defined the guardian/ Moroi titles even more. Rose needed to change it.

"Obligated?! You're my guardian not my spawn! Rose before I get into more royal matters, are you okay? I know we haven't really talked in a while... and I miss my friend..." When Rose looked into her eyes she saw regret and a deep sadness she knew only she had caused. So much for the protecting her with silence.