Author's Note
Hello! Sorry for the late update, but since chapter 2, I've moved! It was pretty sudden, and my writing time has been severely impaired. I'll do my best to get back on that daily writing grind, but I've hit a small wall. I also wanted to address a common theme in the reviews: chapter length. I've been writing this as I would for NaNo, with the intent of writing a chapter a day. Unfortunately, this leads to shorter chapters. If I can't hit word count a particular day, it throws everything off and leads to late updates like this. Since you all want longer updates, I'll leave it up to you. Which would you prefer more? 1,500 word weekly updates or Longer updates every other week?
When I awoke, it was as our small convoy was pulling into the airport parking lot. There was a small private jet that was waiting, one that I knew was for us. It was not the Academy's jet, as promised by his proclamation that we were not returning to the Academy, but undoubtedly one that belonged to whoever sent this party of guardians to find us out. As all three cars parked, Lissa and I were ushered out of the car and, hand in hand, followed the guardians toward our destination.
Considering we only had a small bag of essentials for each of us, there wasn't much in way of baggage. Miraculously, we didn't have to deal with any form of security. Even on the occasions that the Academy students went to Court, we still had to deal with as much security as at any human airport. We passed through quickly, and were on board the plane in less than twenty minutes. Once we were, the guardians insisted on separating us. I suppose it was going along with Belikov's earlier caution, making sure that we couldn't do anything against them, but there was still no use.
He escorted Lissa to the back of the plane and sat down beside her, his rigid movements the only indication that he was uncomfortable. Lissa still clutched her bag tight with fear, although I could see that she was trying to present her royal front. She didn't want to appear the frightened girl that she was, but her terror overtook her. My instinct was to run back and assure her everything would be alright, but the guardian that stopped me at my seat made it clear that there would be no way for me to do so. No matter how much I wanted to, I would not reach her part of the plane.
I settled into my seat, tucking my bag between my body and the wall. It would prove to be poor support later, but it slightly better than the alternative. I pulled my hair over my shoulders, hiding my neck from anyone who might pass, but aside from ensuring that I stayed in my place, they all gave me space. Honestly, it seemed like nobody wanted to be close to me for any longer than they had to. It wasn't until the plane took off and we were free to move about the cabin, as the pilot claimed, that I noticed somebody at my side.
"Were you really going to attack all of us?" I didn't have to look to know who the voice belonged to. The accent gave it away. I lifted my gaze to stare at the nothingness through the window, but said nothing. Taking my silence for an answer, he continued. "Doing that…protecting her like that – it was very brave. Stupid, but still brave. Why did you even try it?"
Was he that stupid? Did he really believe that I would let anyone – anything – come between my best friend and me? Would I let something happen to her? I turned to him suddenly, fixing him with a hard look. "Because I'm her guardian." I turned back to the window, signifying that I was done with this conversation. With any luck, he'd respect that. He sat next to me for a minute longer, either unsure of what to say or mistakenly thinking that he'd get anything else out of me. When he finally left my" side – presumably to return to Lissa's – I felt my body relax.
I wanted to hate the guardians for picking us up and "returning us to safety" as he put it. I hated that they couldn't understand what we were running from. I hated that we couldn't understand what we were running from. I hated that nobody took us seriously. It wasn't just nightmares and post-traumatic stress from the accident. It wasn't just teenage rebellion. We weren't simply being reckless and irresponsible. I had promised from the start that I would protect Lissa, that I would die for her if it kept her safe, and I did what I had to do to make sure that she was. As much as I wanted to hate them, I knew they were doing their jobs. Guardians had to follow orders. I could hate whoever gave the order as much as I wanted, though.
It was still dark when we began our descent, but the light pollution gave our destination away. The Royal Court of Moroi Order was located in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. To the human world, it was a prestigious private college. In our reality, it was one of the largest centers of Moroi life in the world. It was a small city, surrounded by magical wards to keep Strigoi out and the Moroi safe. The wards were invisible, but they were an integral part of society's safety.
As soon as the plane touched down, the guardians took to action quickly. Three of them split from the group and escorted Lissa from the plane, while the other three and I followed after. There was a similar security check coming off the plane as there had been getting on, with the addition of a stop at the security post. As we approached, I could hear the names, ages, and titles of everyone in the group. I was the last to be mentioned, and the only one without a title. The fact stung. Even Lissa got a title, and I was just Rosemarie Hathaway, age 17, dhampir.
After we passed through security, we were escorted to one of the buildings in the government sector. Court was neatly separated into districts, with the queen's palace in the center. Everything was built in old brick and reminded me of older style universities. It was easy to see how it would be mistaken as one. Despite the ancient brickwork on the outside, the interior was all very modern. The Moroi were exceptionally talented at preserving history and simultaneously pushing forward with technological advances. Court was the height of Moroi civilization, and they kept it decorated as such.
Even the sparse government buildings were highly decorated. There wasn't much, but everything gave off an air of expensive taste. Being a dhampir building, it was significantly less grand than any the Moroi were in, but it didn't seem like the guardians minded. They preferred things being functional over pretty. We were led down a hall lined with marble pillars and pictures of guardians who had made significant achievements until we got to the Head of the Guardian Council's office. Belikov breezed past the door without so much as knocking before entering.
"Ah, Belikov." The guardian behind the desk was one of the shortest and stockiest I'd ever seen, although I knew that meant nothing. If he was on the council, it meant that he knew his shit. I had to respect that, whether or not I actually liked the man.
"Guardian Croft," Belikov said shortly. "You requested to see them both?"
Croft nodded curtly, not rising from his desk. "As much as I would like to begin this meeting, we are waiting on a few others. In the meantime, have a seat." The invitation was merely a formality, but one he saw necessary to observe. Lissa looked at me before she took a seat, and I sat in the chair next to her. Belikov and one of the guardians that was along on the mission stood on either side of the door. I hadn't noticed the other four break off from the party, which was a stupid move on my part. Of course, we were at court, but if I wanted to convince everyone that I was serious about being a guardian, then I couldn't afford things like that to slip my mind.
We were sitting in tense silence for ten minutes before the final few individuals joined us in the cramped office. The first two Moroi through the door were completely unfamiliar to me, but I recognized the third through the whirlwind of blonde hair that launched herself in his direction. In all her eagerness, she still embraced the frail man carefully and pulled away to glance him over to ensure she hadn't hurt him.
"Uncle Victor," she breathed finally. Two more guardians followed him into the office, pulling up a third chair on the other side of Lissa for the man to sit.
"Prince Dashkov," I nodded. He wasn't really an uncle, not in the traditional sense. While the Dashkov and Dragomir families were close, and Victor had been a particular friend of Lissa's dad, the titles were more honorary. Victor was Lissa's uncle in the same way that I was her sister.
"I'm so happy to see that you are both safe," Victor said after sitting down. Lissa's worried expression lessened, but I could tell that so long as Victor was around, her features would never completely relax. He was only in his forties, but he looked easily twice that. Even with a boosted immune system, Moroi were not completely exempt from chronic diseases. They typically lived long lives, longer than humans for sure, but Victor's particular ailment would kill him well before even most humans would. "I was quite worried about the both of you. I did promise your parents I would look after you, Vasilisa."
Lissa looked down shamefully at her hands clasped in her lap, while I bit my lip. The disappointment in Victor's voice was clear, and it hurt, especially since he'd been nothing but kind to us. After Lissa's parents died, he and his daughter were there for us the entire way. Running away may not have physically hurt him, but I'm sure the stress and worry didn't help anything at all.
"Now that everyone's here, let's get started." For the first time, Croft stood up from behind his desk and I got his full image. He wasn't in his black and whites, but he still commanded respect without even opening his mouth. He was short, even for a dhampir, but I could see that he possessed a lot of strength. "As Prince Dashkov mentioned, it is remarkable that Guardian Belikov managed to find you both safely and bring you back here. The fact that he managed to do it in the space of a few short months is equally commendable." I glanced back at him, but if he heard the praise he gave no note of it. He was in full guardian mode, and that was enough to set me on edge. "There was a lot of discourse over what would happen after your retrieval. Of course, Vasilisa will need to continue her education, but as for Rosemarie…" He turned to me, fixing me with a hard stare as his perpetual frown deepened. "As a novice, you are seen as an expendable resource. Due to your delinquent record from the academy, you have been expelled. You will not be continuing your education at Saint Vladimir's Academy."