As I held up the remote in my hand I couldn’t help marvel at the power the little device contained. It glowed with an eerie blue light.

I fumbled in the dark for any other thing which might be of some use as the laboratory of Doctor Winnster was a treasure trove of weird little inventions.

Suddenly my dhampir ears picked up the sound of footsteps.

“Oh shit!” I muttered, tiptoeing to the window.

Getting caught breaking into the house of a human would cause a great inconvenience to our people.

I held the rope tied to the windowsill, and swung myself out. Looking down however a fear suddenly seized me and I stayed motionless, hanging in midair. It was ten floors to go down and suddenly I wasn’t so brave. But then a face formed in my mind’s eye and I knew I was doing it to get back the one I had loved and lost.

And that gave me a burst of energy as I scrambled down and ran.

“Guardian Merlin! What were you doing outside when the whole court is sleeping?”

I stopped dead in my tracks. That was the voice of Sydney Ivashkov. I had quite forgotten that we had a human on campus on who was on a diurnal schedule unlike us nocturnal creatures.

“Oh, it’s actually that I had some surprise to bring for Mia and so I thought it’s better to slip away while she sleeps,” I managed a dry smile.

“You do care about your Moroi,” she came, holding a bag of groceries as we fell into step. “Believe me, I’ve seen many kinds of loyalties. Our queen and Guardian Hathaway are the best example of that kind.”

“Of course they are, I just wish Hathaway valued her friends as much as her fiancé…”

“What do you mean?” she looked bewildered.

“I still can’t forget about Mason. He died for her and does she regret it? No. She’s happy with Belikov.”

Sydney was opening her mouth to speak.

“I respect them as a couple and I’m happy for them and you. I’ve heard the legends,” I interrupted. “You both went through a lot for where you are today, but in this melee, nobody ever thought of Mason. That day he saved Rose. None of these would have happened had Mason not saved Rose, right?”

She blanched, “I know, but it’s all fate.”

“Sure,” I mumbled and excuse myself.

I rushed into my room, to find Mia up and awake. She stood with her arms folded.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Because one change in the past can alter the entire future.”

“Nothing will change. I’ll just go back in time and save both Mason and Rose and everything will be fine,” I pulled her into a hug. “You were there that day, should he have died?”

“No but…” her words trailed off.

“So help me. I think Hathaway would be happy with one less thing to worry about. I bet his death bothers her still. They were so attached. She saw the Strigoi snap his neck. You don’t forget that kind of thing easily, do you?”

Mia shrugged in acceptance and I knew she was risking everything for our friendship, besides, she also wanted to get relieved of that nightmare. Nothing had changed even after three years.
She left the room.

I calmed my pounding heart, turning over the remote and set the place and time.

It reacted instantly and I felt a shove which threw me against the wall. The enormous energy field created as the time portal opened, paralyzed me temporarily. The device had never been tested on humans. The pressure could actually crush me but I was willing to take the risk.

With a prayer on my lips, I jumped and immediately was seized by the field. My eyes threatened to burst out of my skull as the device caught me and battered me, throwing me into the time tunnel. My vision turned dark.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the road, under the open sun. My head felt heavy but my guardian senses were alerted to Strigoi presence.

I jumped to my feet, scanning my surroundings. I was right in front of the building. Deftly I grabbed my stake and sprinted into the lair of the bloodthirsty creatures.

It was dark and dusty but if I went by the legends, Rose should be in this floor somewhere so Mason…

And just then I saw him. The same flaming red hair and those mysterious blue eyes I fell for. They were frantic now, no doubt searching for Rose.

Seeing him alive, my breath caught my throat and I made a dash for him and grabbed his hand.

He looked flummoxed and snatched it back.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

Of course we hadn’t met for almost four years then. He was kind of a distant cousin, besides my features had changed a lot with age.

“I’m Guardian…umm…Windsor.”

He didn’t seemed to notice my slip as he begged, “Please help me, Ma’am. Rose is there inside. And there are Strigoi.”

Just then the doors opened and a man rushed out. His bloodshot eyes rested on mine and I could see fresh blood on his lips.

He lunged for Mason, taking him to be the smaller threat. I deftly intercepted his attack, shielding Mason.

He stood frozen. Obviously he had never made a kill, he was hardly seventeen and I was twenty one, old enough to be his instructor.

I intercepted the Strigoi’s blow and with a bit of maneuvering, I was able to slide the stake neatly through his heart.

But another monster jumped on me from the back, strangling me, attempting to crack my neck. I tried to break free but suddenly I felt her hold loosen and there was Mason, standing fiercely with a sword in his hand and he had thrust it into her back. I flipped around, deftly staking her.

My mind could barely register Mason’s strangled cry, as we barged into the room.

My knees seemed to have turned to jelly as I sank to the ground, because there was Rose, white as sheet, lying motionless on the ground.

“You, you delayed me!” Mason cried, pointing an accusing finger at me.

Rose was dead because of me? The world spun.

“Rose!”
“Little Dhampir”

Two more voices jolted me back to reality.

The man with dark hair and green eyes dropped to his knees beside her.

“Why Rose…” he hugged her, burying his face in her lifeless form.

Suddenly I saw an aura of gold engulfing him. And I witnessed the surge of spirit as if the whole world had come to a standstill in front of us. The huge amount of magic blinded us.

When it all cleared, I saw Rose staring blankly at the ceiling. Adrian had brought her back from death.

“Adrian?”  She gasped. “Y…You’re a spirit user.”

“I…I don’t know,” he stuttered. “I feel so drained.”

He helped her up as she clung to him, “Why did you do it? I’m your shadow-kissed mate now. We can’t. Our lives are going to fall apart.”

“Nothing will change because I love you, Rose and I know that you do it too. This bond will bring us closer.”

“Liar,” yelled Mason, “Rose loves me. She said that herself.”

“No, you can’t betray me, Rose…”

Rose clutched her head, desperately struggling to explain.

“Mason I…”

“What?” he snapped, “You are a bitch who plays with the feelings of others.”

“How dare you, growled Adrian!”

“Adrian, Mason, It’s not the time. Why don’t you understand?” this time it was Mia. She had been stunned by all these, but now she reacted.

Just at that moment the guardian swarmed around us and I saw Dimitri Belikov force his way through, lifting Rose off the ground.

“Dimitri…I was dead…” she went all to narrate everything in detail.

He didn’t comment as he straddled her to his chest.

I saw the truth in Mason’s longing gaze. Even if he lived, Mason could never love another like he loved Rose.

I had failed.

Dejectedly I walked out when I heard hushed voices from the darkness.

It was Rose and Dimitri.

“You can’t do this to me.”

“Rose, it’s over. With Adrian into play, I can never be yours in that way again. He’ll know soon and that would endanger your career. I’m sorry,” his voice was grave.

“No, we’ll work it out.”

“I’m going away with Tasha, just as you wanted.”

“Fine go away, Dimitri!” she screamed walking away and ran to Adrian, throwing herself into his arms and kissed him.

Longing flashed in Dimitri’s eyes. He turned away.

The cold realization hit me.

What had I done? In my attempt to bring back Mason, I had separated them. The cascade of events would cleave apart our world.

I buried my face in my hands, numbed with shock.

1500 words completed...
Thanks for reading. ❤️💕

Written for the Fanfic boot camp contest by Fanfic. The story is in Vampire Academy world where the Canon characters Rose and Dimitri exist. One mistake rips the world apart. Hope you like it.

Dedicated to Pipigrin edelmeehan KashishBelikov teamhathaway dodsley TwilightGirl32 The_Dweeb louiseistyping my Vampire Academy team.