firstly, thank you for reviewing! And sincere apologies for such a long wait. No excuses, I need to be awake 24/7 to fit everything into my busy lifestyle. .

Dimitri's Secret Lover: She definitely has Christian's snark, but I guess she got tired of being the perfect role model, and now she's realised that she can use her persuasion in other ways. Being spoilt and obsessed over are her favourite things, until she is the one occupying that throne of power, heh heh heh.
bboop14: Ooh the orb is the beginning of something even madder than Adrian. ;) And I promise Rose will have her turn. Thanks for reading!


I was quick and nimble, as most Dhampirs had trained to be. Only, it was unexpected coming from someone with no such practice.

The only problem I had was that the royal pain was highly guarded, guardians throwing themselves before Serena in a protective stance. In that split second in which I thought my fingers might grasp a lock of that fair hair I was bounced back with a painful jut in my ribcage.

I curled over, shrieks and sharp cries out were vocalised, and yet they seemed so distant from me.

It was all madness. The audience was flustered, some tried to overlook the scene and the arising tension, and others watched with their eyes drawn greedily to the entertainment.

My fingertips prickled and I dared one glance to find them emitting with a purple glow. A scowl formed over my features, for now was most certainly not the right time to be experiencing a lapse in mental stability.

My dark eyes burned with ire as I striked my deadly gaze upon Serena's icy blue. I saw fear, it flickered briefly in her eyes before is disappeared and she was reeled back to the queen. Then there was a tug at my own arm, probably second guessing my attempt to hold back.

The sound of everyone else in the room soon drowned out and I lost all focus of the people around me. All but one. And that was where I focused my energy. She was bad blood, not I. She was cruel, and cruel people deserved to feel the pain they emitted to others.

The plate had flown, twice now, and I wasn't half as angry. But now? Nothing. Not one thing budged even a little bit, only the fury that raged within me like a wild bear rattling the cage. It wasn't meant to be caged.

I have to let it go.

It didn't. Whatever 'it' really was. And so I flew at her again.

I was enraged, feeling the wrath rile me up before it withered and died with one single touch. A touch that insisted I did as was told. My father's broad hands grasped both of my upper arms and restrained me. I would have kicked, but my senses were kicking in very suddenly. The flare began to burn out.

"I told you, she's crazy! I told you, I did!" Serena's voice was high pitched, fearful, but her pallid porcelain face was no longer in view.

"The only foolish one here is you. Assist her back to her room, will you?"

My mother was on guard, so I hadn't seen her and I never expected her to step in. Queen Vasilisa was her responsibility now, and I, much to my despair, was my father's.

"That's enough."

My father's voice was so soft and low but I recognised the authoritive tone immediately. It was unrelenting, and there was no other choice than to do exactly as he said. I was maddened with a craze, the torch that exploded within me and charred my insides, my lungs ignited ablaze; it was something so much more than a deep hatred.

I felt a power switch within me. I wanted Serena to hurt as much as her words had for me. To feel as sharp as her tongue, and burn as bright as the purple orbs that danced on my fingertips.

But I, I would never truly want that.

I could have held my head up high, and I could have sworn her death in my dark eyes, I could have pretended. I would have done so, but I was just so angry. The words were jumbled in my head and I could not recall exactly what I was thinking, and why I would ever dare to attack a Princess.

And here I was fighting for my right to be a guardian.

I groaned knowingly, for that would be well and truly tossed out of the Royal Court and buried for an eternity.

"If you resist, then I will have to restrain you. You are fortunate enough, now come."

I blinked in a quick succession, dark coffee coloured eyes darting up at my father's, and I nodded. I knew the best place for me right now was not to argue. And then I saw my mother, from the far end of the room. Lis- Ahem - Queen Vasilisa was buried within a private discussion and my mother's head cocked to the side, eyes wildly searching for her daughter. For me.

Might as well have fared against the Strigoi. This was the end as I knew it.

Her eyes, as mine, were dark and foretelling. You could see the sadness, the fear or the pride in them. Most eyes as equally dark were easy to get lost in, hard to suspect emotion. But unfortunately, it was all too clear to me when she spotted me and stared vacantly.

Disappointment.

My father tugged at my upper arm and I stumbled out of my trance, averting my eyes from my mother's and following after him quietly and briskly.

It was only after we had passed through the hall - my head hung as the dimly lit lamps flickered and made my shadows taunt me the entire way – and then up so many flights of stairs it was all I could do to distract myself and count them, 82, or was there more? That I was drawn into our tiny little home.

My father pinched the bridge of his nose and peered at me through the fall of his hair. Brows furrowed, I sheepishly turned away.

"What on earth are we to do with you Eva?" He shook his head over and over and began to pace, finding a way of calm within himself.

"I really didn't mean to –" I was cut off with a sharp intake of breath.

"Mean to thrust yourself at the Princess? To do so twice? You didn't mean to scream or to fight authority?" He quirked a furrowed brow. "Not at all?"

"No! I mean yes at the time but –" How was I supposed to tell him that my nightmares were awakening, that I was going crazy, and probably the Adrian kind, too. He would look at it as a petty excuse, I had no such luck but to bow my head and accept that I acted juvenile. "I was so mad, she has no right to put me out like the trash." My voice quietened and struggled to pronounce the last word.

"My dear child, that would never have happened. She was merely frightening you, testing the waters of her own authority. Which, I am quite sure has now been withdrawn."

A reassuring rub on my shoulders and then he drew me closer and I hugged him back. My father, being the affectionate one. He was probably just as mad as I had been, only he knew how to compose himself. And then he chuckled unexpectedly.

"Why are you laughing?" I frowned, contemplating. Would they lock me up for this? As precious as I was to the Moroi and Dhampir world? Such a treacherous act was punishable to anyone else, and I knew when my father told me I was fortunate, that he was very right indeed.

"You are your mother's daughter, Eva Rozalina."

"That's a good thing, right?" I tried to hide a smile, maybe I would be free. And would only encounter the wrath of my mother later on. Which I would avoid with an early night, if I could.

"Hmm," he played with words within his mind. And he knew that Rose as a mother would never let this slide. So he'd leave this one up to her. He had his years taming his own beloved, this time she would see to it herself. "You are still grounded for as long as your mother sees fit."

I gaped at my father. He never doled out those kind of consequences. Why leave a glass half empty, anyway?

"And you owe your sincerest apology." He waited, but I bit my tongue. "So you can use this time to come up with an acceptable and meaningful one."

I challenged him with my eyes, but remained silent. That was when a knock at the door jolted me into a stiff posture. Until I heard the rhythm of the rap, rap.

If a door knocker could sing.

"Iolanthe. How very nice to see you."

I groaned, and tried to sidestep away from the door.

He should have said, 'Now is not the time.' But he remembered, how unfortunate that was, how often I eluded the doll-sized Dhampir. "Dad wants me to send his regrets for his 'basically nieces' actions, he says."

Because now really was the right time, she supposed it could all be over sooner then.

Iolanthe appeared in the doorway before I could evade her vision and her dough brown eyes were wide and outlined with purple eyeliner. She flicked her braid back over her shoulder, her lengthy caramel coloured hair that always sat so perfectly on its own. She began rocking back and forth on her toes, bare footed but that was common.

"Isaiah would have come too, but he had somewhere to be." I wished he had, he was amusing at least. He would make light of the situation, but he and I weren't as close. For twins, he and Iolanthe were hardly alike. But then, I'd trade a sea urchin for her, any day.

"Perhaps you can pass some of your manners on to my daughter, and help her script her apology?" My dad offered, with a very brief, but knowing smirk at me. I just glared, and didn't feel like reciting something out of one of those human teletubbies episodes.

"Of course! And you know people say my dad has a way with his words, I'm sure he'll lend a helpful hand!" Iolanthe bounded up and down before skipping over and taking me by the arm.

My father chuckled and I sighed. Adrian sure did have a way with his words, and if I used his help I'd have a sure way out the door and onto the streets.

I let her pull me a long, for it was probably the only outing I would have for a while. As soon as we were out and the heavy door slung shut and I pulled my grasp from the hyper Dhampir who insisted I skipped to the rhythm of her humming – I realised why exactly she had brought me out here.

And I was thankful for it in so many ways.

Azure blue eyes swept over my distraught appearance and gave that all too familiar half-smirk where his lips raised at one corner and his eyes glimmered.

Evan.

I spied the tiny Dhampir hiding behind a tree trunk twice her size, it hid behind the balcony and I had to admire her swift ability, but not her inconspicuousness. I chose to ignore her.

"Close call. You certainly punctured my sister's ego. I tip my hat off to you!" He joked, a mocking gesture with an invisible hat.

He never got along with his older sister, but I still felt sorry for it.

"I lived to see that day." It was all the reassurance I needed.

"Why did you come?"

He took a step forward, and his smirk faltered then faded.

"I have to show you something."