InsaneJournal

"I love pity parties. I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes? If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long.”

In the opening week of December in 1992, Christian was born to Lucas and Moira Ozera. He had a close, loving relationship with his mother and father, and his aunt Natasha was more like an older sister to him, because of how young she was. However, the happiness would not last for long.

It was late summer of the year 2001, and Christian was nine years old. He and his parents were getting ready to leave the Royal Court for their country house. Lucas and Moira had been insistent on leaving Court before the Summer's End Ball, and were planning on bringing Christian along with them. Christian knew there were going to be fireworks after the ball was over, and wanted to stay at the Court to watch them. Before his parents and their guardian left, he lied to both the guardians to make them think he was riding in one of the other cars, and hid until they left. Tasha was still inside at the ball, but eventually came out with her guardian Vinh to discover Christian wasn't with his parents.

Tasha was worried that Moira might be mad that Christian had stayed behind. Their other guardian Nolan was with Moira and Lucas, so Tasha left a message saying that Christian was safe with her. Unbeknownst to Tasha, it was a good thing Christian had stayed behind. Had he been in one of those car, she might have never seen him alive, again. A few months prior to the ball, Lucas had lost two of his friends; one of them was killed by a Strigoi, and the other had suffered fatal injuries from a skiing accident. His mood changed frequently, following these events. One day, he'd be chipper and playful like he usually was. The next, he'd be obsessing over old pictures and going off on tangents about mortality. Lucas was afraid of death; as for Moira, she was vain and was afraid of losing her beauty and youth.

Moira and Lucas Ozera decided to willingly turn Strigoi. Once they were far away enough from the Court, Christian's mother drained the feeder riding with them while his father drained their guardian Nolan Orr and snapped his neck. One other guardian named Ira Locke was also killed, his body found by guardians in the bushes off the road, near an abandoned car. When Tasha, Christian, and Vinh had returned home, Christian was in bed and sleeping when guardians abruptly entered the Ozera's country home, demanding to know where Lucas and Moira were, and if Tasha was going to join them. The ruckus had woken up Christian, and immediately he knew what had happened and what had to be done.

Eventually Christian ended up at his uncle Ronald's estate in Poughkeepsie. Tasha seemed to think they'd be safe there, and he trusted her. He hid in a room, needing to process what had happened with his parents. He understood, but it was hard to come to terms with. Didn't his parents love him? He loved them, shouldn't that have been enough for them to stay alive for him? It was late, and he wanted to sleep. But now, he couldn't. He'd heard the scream of terror from outside, and the one from inside. He was scared, but eventually Tasha found him and they faced off against the now-Strigoi Lucas and Moira.

Tasha was injured severely by Lucas, as he had bitten into her face and mutilated her cheek, and tried to get Lucas and Moira away through the use of her fire magic. It wasn't strong enough to keep them at bay, but soon the guardians started pouring in with Janine Hathaway. Lucas and Moira Ozera were put to death that night, and what followed the young Lord for years to come was endless scrutinization, or complete ignorance of his existence. What his parents had done cast a shadow over the Ozera name, and many suspected Christian would follow in their footsteps once he was older.

In an attempt to get them to see he wasn't going to be undead any time soon, he started hanging out around the church. He attended regularly and hung out in the attic, mostly. When Lissa and Rose returned, he was already in the attic when he spotted Lissa coming in. They started hanging out, and eventually they developed feelings for each other. Eventually he caught wind of everyone talking about Rose and Lissa's 2-year stint from the Academy. An abnormally plump Moroi named Ralf Sarcozy made some rather rude remarks about Lissa that he didn't like, so he set Ralf on fire. But Ralf wasn't really on fire - Christian had developed so much control over his ability that he could cloak someone in fire without the fire ever touching their body.

Christian wanted to be with Lissa, but there were some complications - first, Lissa was using compulsion to get the students that harassed her and Rose to like them. Second, Rose told Christian that Lissa didn't like him even though it was a lie, then Lissa ended up getting with her old boyfriend Aaron to make a different Moroi named Mia jealous. After a nasty ending to a dance party at the school, Christian met Lissa in the attic to try and console her, but he was attacked by some guardians that worked for Victor Dashkov. They left him unconscious and kidnapped Lissa, taking her to a faraway cabin in the woods, so Victor could force her to heal his disease. Christian awoke, then stowed away in one of the rescue vans. Though Rose wasn't expecting Christian to be there, she wasn't surprised he was. He and Rose were about to get her out of there before they were attacked by some psi hounds. Rose was able to get away but Christian was left a bloody mess on the floor. Thankfully, Lissa healed him before he could die. After this, they started dating openly. Lissa didn't care what others thought of him and he appreciated it.

As the months proceeded, Christian and Lissa became more intimate in their relationship. Christmas vacation came and they all went to a ski resort in Spokane, where Christian and his aunt practiced using their magic offensively. Unfortunately there was a Strigoi attack at the resort and many people were injured or killed. Mia Rinaldi, Mason Ashford, Christian, Rose and Eddie Castille were all captured by humans working for Strigoi and held prisoner. They were only able to escape because Christian melted the plastic handcuffs off Rose so she could find something to kill the Strigoi that were keeping them captive. One of them killed Mason, which traumatized Rose. Eddie, Christian, Rose and Mia were all rescued and returned to the Academy safely.

In Shadow Kiss, the trials for the Guardians are nearing. Christian is assigned to Rose for six weeks, and he is not fond of having her following him around everywhere. Rose keeps seeing apparitions of Mason around the school and realizes the horrible truth: The wards around the school are weak, and the Strigoi could get in at any time. Not long after that, Strigoi invaded the school. She was walking around campus with Dimitri when they came. Christian was at the attic at the time, and saw that people were being attacked. When he got out, he saw Rose was about to be killed by a Strigoi and set it on fire, killing it. Together, he and Rose killed more Strigoi than all the other guardians. Christian stayed back at the Academy to protect Lissa and the Academy while Rose, her mother, Dimitri, Eddie and several other guardians trooped out to the cave where they were hiding. Some of the Strigoi got away, but they also took Dimitri Belikov with them. Rose left the Academy not too long after that and went to Russia to find Dimitri's family. She stayed with them for a while then left to go kill Dimitri, since he expressed he wished to die if he ever became a Strigoi.

Christian was with Lissa the entire time trying to help her cope with Rose leaving. Since he had done such a good job trying to protect the people in the Academy, students began asking him if he would teach them how to use their magic offensively.

A while later, Lissa wanted to go to the Royal Court, but Christian hated going there where all the other Royals could gawk at the "Strigoi wannabe". They came to an agreement and Jillian Mastrano went with Lissa instead of him. While he was at the Academy still, Lissa got drunk while hanging out with a new girl Avery Lazar, and kissed her ex-boyfriend. When they got back, Jill told Christian about what happened which pissed him off to no end. He broke up with Lissa because of her betraying his trust in her, and began hanging around the church attic again, not wanting to bother with the royals. When he broke up with her, Lissa started hanging around Avery and Adrian more, and began drinking heavily.

Rose wasn't around to absorb some of the insanity that came with Lissa's spirit powers, and she wasn't with Christian anymore so her life began a quick downward spiral. Little did she or Christian know, Avery was jealous of the bond that Rose had with Lissa and was also a Spirit user, though she went under the facade that she was an air user. She planned to lure Lissa into her trust, kill her, then bring her back to life. Back in Russia, Rose had been kidnapped by Dimitri who planned to keep her hostage in his new home until she agreed to go Strigoi with him.

She eventually escaped and staked Dimitri but she didn't fully kill him. When she got back to his family's house, she found out that Lissa was in grave danger and she wouldn't be able to get back in time. Dimitri's aunt was also a Spirit user and helped Rose get into Lissa's mind again since Avery was blocking Rose from seeing Lissa. Together she and Dimitri's aunt fought off Avery and fried her brain, which caused Avery to be sent to an asylum. Christian found out what happened with Lissa and Rose, and eventually he got back together with Lissa, even though he was having issues trusting her as much as he did.

After Rose got back from Russia, Christian and Lissa were both disappointed that she had left, but didn't bother her about the details of her trip. Now that she was back, she'd have to face the administer at the Academy and get herself back on track to become Lissa's guardian. Christian was still busy with training defensive magic, and now that Lissa had her little experience, Rose was even more protective of her.

Soon, Rose got a rather disturbing letter from Dimitri. She had thought he was dead but he made a rather demeaning remark, stating "never turn your back on your enemy unless you know they're dead". Since Rose had only heard of one person that knew how to restore a Strigoi, she had to break into a high-security prison and help Victor Dashkov escape. The plan went better than they thought, but they had to get away fast.Together Rose, Christian, Lissa, Adrian and Victor went off to Las Vegas, since Victor knew his brother would be there. When they got there, they rented a room from the hotel on the strip and found out how to restore Dimitri to a Dhampir.

Since they had convinced some guardians to come with them, Christian and Lissa were training to learn how to stake a Strigoi, since Lissa was the only spirit user who could do it. Rose, Christian, Lissa and their guardians were intercepted by the Strigoi and Dimitri, who kidnapped both Christian and Lissa. Rose gathered what people she could and went to go get Christian, Lissa and hopefully Dimitri. When they got there, the Strigoi were about to kill Christian and Lissa, but Christian put Dimitri on fire to distract him, and Lissa dug the stake deep into his heart, pouring as much Spirit energy she could into him.

A bright light appeared, burning all the Strigoi around them to death. When it faded, Dimitri was on the ground, weeping while Lissa sat in shock. He didn't want to be anywhere near Rose because of the memories of what he'd done. The remaining guardians took hold of Dimitri and escorted him back to the Royal Court's prison. Even though he was a Dhampir again, they weren't sure if he wasn't a Strigoi anymore. He wasn't burning in the sun, either. Not too long after, Queen Tatiana Ivashkov was assassinated, and because of Rose's unruly and wild behavior towards her, everyone was convinced that Rose was the murderer. She was sent off to the prison and kept in a holding cell until it came time for her execution.

The novel begins with Rose in her prison cell contemplating the charges brought against her and occasionally using the bond to slip into Lissa's mind to view goings-on at Court. During Queen Tatiana's funeral, statues outside the church suddenly blow up, causing chaos, and acting as a distraction for the guardians.

Rose is soon broken out of prison by Mikhail, Eddie, Adrian, Abe, and Dimitri. Dimitri takes Rose out of Court and they drive for hours until they reach Sydney, who is also aiding in the escape. They continue traveling until reaching West Virginia, where Rose discovers she is to be kept in a motel until her friends back at Court can clear her name. However, she insists on leaving and helping out, but after Dimitri halts her escape, Rose convinces him and Sydney to look for Lissa's half-sibling.

For safety, Sydney takes them to the Keepers, a strange group of Moroi, Dhampirs, and humans. Later, they find out the sole person who holds the information needed to find Lissa's sibling: Sonya Karp, who was once teacher at St. Vladimir's but is now a Strigoi. The Dashkov brothers invade Rose's dreams and they later meet up with her at Sonya's house in Kentucky, where Robert changes her back into a Moroi by stabbing her in the heart with a silver stake infused with spirit.

After recovering from the initial shock of being restored, Sonya leads them to Jillian Mastrano's house in Michigan, who is revealed to be the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. Not long after they arrive, Guardians raid the Mastrano house, forcing them to scatter and flee again and creating the opportunity for Victor and Robert to kidnap Jill. Using her spirit abilities, Sonya is able to locate where the brothers are hiding Jill and relays the information onto Rose. Upon questioning, Sonya also reveals to Rose that her and Dimitri's auras shine extraordinarily bright when they are around each other, which shows they are in love. This further confuses Rose about Dimitri's true feelings for her.

Back at Court, Lissa, Christian and Adrian try looking for Tatiana's murderer, and discover unsettling information about the Queen, her lover Ambrose and Adrian's own mother, Daniella. While at Court, Lissa is in the running for Queen, despite being ineligible as the result of being without a quorum. The process involves taking a series of tests to prove she is worthy of the throne, and after she passes, there is a huge debate among the Moroi about whether she can actually be queen.

Rose, Dimitri, and Sonya quickly find Victor and Robert and fight them to get Jill back. Rose battles with Victor, and in a spirit- induced rage, she inadvertently kills him. She becomes distraught as the group heads to a hotel to recover. In one of the rooms, Dimitri attempts to comfort her and tells her not to blame herself. He admits he loves her and regrets losing her, but refuses to take another man's girlfriend. Rose tells him she only belongs to herself, and she chooses Dimitri. The two embrace and have sex again, and Rose makes the decision to break up with Adrian when she sees him in person and not in one of his spirit dreams.

She tells Dimitri after they make love that in order for them to have a relationship, he must first forgive himself for the guilt he carries over his time as a Strigoi. That evening, the four leave to meet up with Mikhail near Court; Adrian comes along and witnesses a forehead kiss between Dimitri and Rose. More pressing matters are at hand as they head back to Court, Mikhail and Rose having just gotten information from Sydney and the Alchemists confirming who the killer is.

Back at Court and in front of the Council and assembled Moroi, Rose presents Jill as part of the Dragomir bloodline, arguing that this enables Lissa to become Queen. Then she reveals to everyone that Tasha is the one who killed the queen, as she hated Tatiana's policies about Dhampirs and Moroi. Rose also silently notices that Tasha has longed for Dimitri the entire time, which is why Tasha framed Rose for the murder.

As guardians attempt to take in Tasha, she grabs a gun and holds Mia hostage. Lissa hurries forward in an attempt to compel her to stop, but Tasha makes a rash decision, shooting at Lissa. Rose jumps in front of Lissa and takes the bullet in her chest. Her final glimpse is of Lissa and Dimitri standing over her as she blacks out.

A few days later, she awakens in a palace room with Dimitri by her side. He joyfully tells her that they have both received full pardons and their guardian statuses again—she is one of Lissa's guardians and he is Christian's guardian. Both are finally able to be open about their relationship.

When Lissa visits Rose, she realizes they are no longer bonded. They speculate that because Rose was at the brink of death and healed herself without the help of spirit, the bond was negated.

Lissa also won the Royal election, thanks to Jill being part of the Dragomir bloodline and making her eligible for the throne. Adrian visits Rose and confronts her on why their relationship failed; Adrian blames it on Rose's constant yearning for Dimitri but Rose tells him it's both that and the fact that they are so different and he depends on her too much, saying that she is his anchor to life. Rose spends the remainder of her convalescence healing and being with Dimitri.

The series ends with Lissa's coronation. As she is crowned the new queen, Lissa shares a humorous look with Rose in the crowd. Rose, embracing Dimitri and feeling happier than ever with his love and Lissa's triumph, tells him she thinks that the future will be good.