Well, here's chapter nine. I hope everybody enjoys it!

A/N: Anybody who has read my One-Shot, Operation Endgame, will find some references in here. If you haven't read it, I'd advise you do just to add some context.

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Richelle Mead owns all except my own characters.

Chapter Nine

I sat, stunned and frightened, wondering if I had been led into a trap or something like it.

"Identify yourself!"

The voice that yelled to us was strong, loud, and authoratative. It commanded respect, and whomever was behind it clearly had some authority. In response, Grissom let out a string of rapid speaking, first in English.

"Galverit, Grissom. Knight Guardian, 2nd Royal Guardian's Division. Serial Number One, Two, Four, Seven, Six, Two, Eight, Nine."

The rest of his scentence was in an incomprehensible language I assumed was native to somewhere in Europe. Then, the two dots dissapeared and the gate opened. As we drove inside, it shut behind us, and a man in a black uniform, carrying a rifle and with a pair of night vision goggles secured over his eyes came from the trees to greet us.

"Guardian Galverit," the man spoke with a thick Russian accent as he shook Grissom's hand, "I've been wondering when you'd be here again." He turned to me, "And I assume this is you new recruit. Here on her way to meet the Commandant."

Grissom didn't smile, he remained professional, "Yes, Lieutenant. And am I to assume everything is in order?"

The Lieutenant slung his rifle over his back and raised his night vision goggles, "Yes. Come with me. We'll walk the rest of the way, and my troops will take care of your car."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Grissom hushed me, "No, no Rose. Quiet. We must respect this place. It's not often someone in your posistion gets to see it."

I obeyed his order and followed him and the soldier to a series of military looking "prefab" buildings. We headed for the largest one, which was the only one that was obviously a permenant standing structure, and entered.

The building was cool inside, and by cool, I mean it felt like being inside a walk-in freezer. We headed for a set of stairs and, instead of going to the second or third floor of the building, we made our way down about three floors to a sub-basement. This floor somehow managed to get even colder, as if the whole building was one big walk in freezer.

"Rose, you stay here with Lieutenant Volkova. I'll be right back."

I obeyed and waited for several minutes while Grissom entered what appeared to be some labs and came back a few minutes later holding a small box.

"Here. Don't open it till we're at the car."

I again obeyed and followed him back up through the stairs and out of the building, but this time we didn't head for the same car we'd driven in, instead we approached what was definitely a fancier car, although I don't know any specifics beyond it being a Mercedes-Benz.

I jumped into the passenger seat and sat down as Grissom took the driver's seat and started the engine. He pulled out to the gate and we were let through without any more scary held at gunpoint situations. As we drove along the highway, I opened the box he gave me to reveal a silver ring with what looked like a coat of arms engraved on it and painted gold, blue, green, and red.

"Grissom," I started to say, but was cut off.

"Don't say anything. Just put it on and never take it off. I'm not allowed to tell you why you can't, but trust me on this."

I nodded and slipped the ring on without saying anything else. It fit perfectly.

Now that I had it on and he was satisfied, I examined the design more closely. It had a small golden sun in the background with rays drifting down from it. In the foreground was something sort of like that ying-yang symbol that is always associated with japanese culture. It had a hollow triangle, with each side painted a different colour, and a golden crown in the center.

Noticing my interest, Grissom elaborated on the design.

"The sun is sort of there as decoration. The meaning is all in the triangle. The red side represents anger, hatred, bloodlust, all the negative emotions. The blue side represents love, compassion, friendship, all the positive ones. And the green side represents the fine line we must walk between them. The crown, however, does not represent what you think it does."

I smiled, "I assume it represents the Queen and the Monarch."

He chuckled, "Wrong. Just like all the others. Long ago, our world didn't have one monarch. It had two. Whether it be two kings, queens, or one of each. But the important thing was that one was Moroi, the other was always a Dhampir."

I shook my head, "No. That's impossible. It would be mentioned somewhere in our history books if it was."

He chuckled, "Well, this is something that the Queen would rather you didn't know. See, both of them acted as checks and balances, ensuring the decisions of the other were just, and that neither race was misrepresented. Sort of like Ancient Sparta, but with Vampires."

"So what happened."

"Well, that's the sad part. The last Dhampir King was a wise young Guardian by the name of Daniel Delios. He was well known for pushing equal rights, considering he knew that Moroi lives were precious and was capable of using brilliant strategy to keep them safe. However, a very large and organized group of Strigoi emerged and began hunting down Moroi families one by one. The King's response of course was to go after them. There were a number of battles that led to many Dhampir lives being lost, and the Strigoi were eventually thinned out to a small group. At this point, Daniel had become an even more brilliant strategist. He and another Guardian planned an attack the Strigoi couldn't survive. He reasoned that attacking during the day and burning down the home they resided in would kill them all, and make escape impossible. Lets just say things didn't work that way."

"What happened?"

"The Queen refused the plan, instead ordering a large force of Guardians to be diverted to the command of Guardian General Veresa Tarsikova. The other Guardian that had drafted the attack plan. She was ordered to attack at dawn, and clear the house room by room. However, the Queen ordered them out too early, and they arrived almost an hour and a half ahead of schedule. The Strigoi spotted them, and it wasn't a battle. It was a bloodbath. Every Guardian, almost 100 in total, were cut down. Meanwhile, 25 Strigoi lived. The General retreated, beaten and weary, back to camp. About an hour after dawn, she was told that the Queen had ordered the original plan, now claiming it to be her invention, to action in retaliation for 5 Moroi whom had been killed during the attack."

"Veresa told Daniel, and they were both furious. Then, they both dissapeared. Along with almost half of the Guardians that had been in service. All of them having refused service after learning the truth. So, the crown in that crest is our commitment and honour to them and their brave service."

"Wow. I didn't even know those sort of things happened. It's sort of odd knowing them."

Grissom laughed, "Well. Imagine my posistion. Learning what happened to all those Dhampirs along with the fact I already hate the Queen. Trust me, you aren't feeling anything."

The rest of the ride passed uneventfully, and we arrived in Missoula after what seemed like forever.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it.

REVIEW!

Music I Was Listening to While I Wrote This

Alan Wake Official Soundtrack
The Poet and The Muse
The Writer's Dream
Welcome to Bright Falls
The Clicker

Pendulum - Live at Brixton Academy
Propane Nightmares
The Other Side
Tarantula
Hold Your Colour