A/N: While I don't want to make excuses for why it has taken me so long to post this chapter, I want to apologise for the delay. It's been a few really hard months and I couldn't bring myself to write anything. I'm also sorry for any spelling and/or grammar errors in this chapter. I didn't have time to double check it.

PROPHESY

As we stepped out of the house a thought occurred to me, followed closely by another. Did I really want to subject my daughters to meeting the Queen? Did I want them to hear what she might have to say? The immediate answer was no. I didn't know why the Queen had summoned us, but I didn't count on it being good. My stomach churned as I stepped away from the door, I was at a complete loss as to what I should do. Take the chance of pissing off the Queen, or have my daughters subjected to whatever harsh and outrageous things she had to say?

"Stop...I can't do this," I said as I came to a standstill at the top of the stairs. "They need to stay here," I told Dimitri.

"The Queen summoned them Roza," he said hesitantly.

"I know, but I can't take them there, they need to stay here for now."

Dimitri simply nodded and I took the girls back inside. I briefly checked the bond so I knew where to find Lissa and headed in that direction. She was in the room she had picked as the nursery. It was bare, though she was already thinking colours, furniture, toys, decoration and anything else she could possibly fit in the room. As I entered the room I found Lissa with her back to us, her hands resting gently on her stomach. She was so happy to be pregnant, and for her everything was perfect since I was back.

"Liss?" I asked quietly, I didn't want to startle her. "Would you mind watching the girls?"

"Oh," Lissa breathed as she spun around to face us. "Of course not, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just don't feel comfortable with the twins meeting the Queen right now," I replied, hoping she would understand.

"But Mummy, we want to meet her," Kes whined.

"I know baby, and you both will meet her one day, just not today," I said as I looked pleadingly at Lissa.

"How about we go shopping girls?" Lissa said enthusiastically. "You can help me pick out furniture for the baby."

The girls squealed happily. I kissed them both on the cheek and thanked Lissa before I ran out the door to meet Dimitri again. I felt better knowing my daughters were safe with Lissa, and I could find out what the Queen wanted without the fear of the twins hearing it before we could tame it down a bit. I was sure she was going to banish us from court, or worse, she would force us into disgusting scientific testing. She'd probably get some sick pleasure out of either of those too.

Lissa had offered to call for her personal driver to pick us up, but I had insisted on walking and Dimitri had agreed with me. Sure the palace was on the other side of court, but I needed the fresh night air to help clear my mind. Dimitri held my hand, which helped lower my anxiety levels, but I couldn't stop my mind from wandering to who could have told the Queen about us. My main focus was on Adrian, and as much as I tried to convince myself that he wouldn't do that, his name kept screaming inside my head whenever I thought of who it might have been. Apart from Lissa, he was the only person I knew of who had a direct link to the Queen, and I was sure I'd know if Lissa had told her, her guilt would consume her. But Adrian had been at the meeting, I had stressed the importance of keeping it all a secret, and he had told Dimitri where I was so that the girls and I would be safe. Knowing someone had betrayed us in such a way made my blood boil, and I knew I would probably kill them if I ever got my hands on them. And that was no threat, it was a promise.

"You know I won't let anything happen to you or our daughters." Dimitri said, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I know," I replied as I noticed for the first time the looks we were getting from the moroi and dhampirs that passed us. It's not every day you see two dhampirs holding hands, definitely not in public.

"Then would you stop stressing?"

"Wish it was that easy," I told him. "What do we do if they banish us from court? How can we protect the girls without the safety of the wards?"

"If that was to happen, we would find somewhere safe Roza," he told me as he squeezed my hand. "Our family is my main priority, nothing will ever get close to you or our girls."

My heart swelled with his words, but they didn't fade my concerns of who had told the Queen about our daughters, or everything else that was pounding around inside my head. We walked the rest of the way in silence. It didn't feel as natural as our silences usually are, but I put that down to my nerves. I noticed Dimitri was standing straight as we entered the large entrance, his hand held mine firmly.

"Can I help you?" a burly guardian asked as he walked towards us. He was sporting a perfectly pressed guardian suit, and proudly wore a pin the left breast. The pin that announced he had been hand-picked by the Queen herself to be one of several guardians who were her personal protection.

"We are here to see the Queen," I replied as I tried to hold my sarcasm inside.

"And you are?" he asked impatiently.

"Rosemarie Hathaway," I replied equalling his impatience.

"You are supposed to be accompanied by your daughters, and not the guardian," he said eyeing Dimitri with a foul look.

"I didn't feel the need to include my daughters in this meeting, I can provide her majesty with all the information she may require," I told him with spite in my voice. "And Guardian Belikov is here whether you like it or not."

"Your funeral," the guardian muttered with a shrug.

He left us for a brief moment while he spoke to another guardian in the room. I watched as they spoke, and I saw each time they took a sideways glance at us, glances that almost mirrored the ones we had received on our way to the palace. It was taboo for a dhampir to be romantically involved with another dhampir. It happened, but not at court, and definitely not in public. But really, I couldn't care less. I wasn't letting go of Dimitri's hand.

"Follow me," the other guardian said a second before he walked towards a doorway.

We were led down a long hallway. Plush carpet cushioned our steps, the dark walls on each side of us were adorned with expensive paintings. A few I noticed were portraits for the Queen herself, one she was sitting with Adrian standing slightly behind her. Silence surrounded us, our footsteps were insulated by the carpet and I wasn't too sure whether Dimitri and I were still breathing. We passed at least fifteen doors before the guardian stopped and knocked on one. The door opened slightly, but the guardian was blocking my view as to who was there. A few hushed words were shared before the door opened wider and the guardian moved to stand guard at the side.

Dimitri entered the room first – it was as if he was on duty and I was his charge – and I was close behind him. The room was large and extremely extravagant, decorated in a way as I could only describe as royal like. Large, sturdy book cases lined each of the walls, they were filled with tens of thousands of books, all of them looked old and had a fine layer of dust covering them. In the middle of the room sat two rustic red velvet couches, a dark wooden coffee table sat between them with only a vase of deep red roses sitting on top. The windows peeked out between the dominating bookshelves and were open, allowing the cool night breeze to whisper around the otherwise quiet room. Standing in front of one of the windows was the last person I expected to be there. Yeva. Had she been the one to alert the Queen to my daughters and their abilities? I had trusted her, I had always believed her words to be true, I couldn't imagine her doing anything that she didn't feel was right, had she betrayed me?

"Her Majesty will be with us shortly," Yeva said as she watched over the busy streets below.

"How could you bring her into this when Roza stressed that she didn't want anyone else to know?" Dimitri demanded in a growl.

"I did what was required."

Dimitri and I stood awkwardly near the door as silence once again encased the room. I tried to make myself believe the words Yeva had spoken in her thick Russian accent, but my brain wouldn't let them soak in. Traitor, it was the only word that echoed through my head every time I tried to convince myself that she was on our side. I held tightly onto Dimitri's hand, without it I felt like I would lose all my strength and fall to the floor in a heap. As if sensing my distress Dimitri squeezed my hand slightly and kissed the top of my head, his lips lingered as he inhaled the scent of my shampoo.

Finally, a door to our right that had been hidden by the book cases opened and the Queen entered the room. She held every bit of grace you would expect from someone in her position, if not more, and in that moment I could see Lissa in her place, it was as if Lissa had been made to fill the role of Queen. She wore a light grey pant suit with a coral blouse underneath the jacket. She was showing her age, which was uncharacteristic for a moroi, they generally lived to be well over a hundred and looked good doing it too, but I guessed the stress of her status would wear even the toughest thin. I automatically curtseyed and Dimitri bowed slightly, Yeva however continued to stare out the window.

"No need for formalities," the Queen said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I was expecting two more, and yet one less."

She sat elegantly on the couch that was facing Dimitri and I. She had said there was no need for formalities, but I had no idea what was classed as a formality and what would have just been good manners – and lets face it, manners had never been a strong point for me. So in all I figured it was best to be invited to sit, and well, honestly…I wasn't sure if I could move.

"Please take a seat, we should get this discussion underway," the Queen said in a half dismissive tone.

Discussion? I scoffed internally as I sat next to Dimitri. Discussions only worked if they were two ways, and I wasn't exactly counting on that being the case here. The Queen knew information she shouldn't have, and I didn't really see her helping in any way, especially if she had nothing to gain from it. And what did she have to gain from my relationship with Dimitri or my daughter? Nothing good as far as I could see it. I felt like yelling and screaming, spilling out words that would defend my daughters from everything my mind conjured up, but my voice betrayed me, my hands fidgeting nervously in my lap. Where was the middle ground in a situation where one person clearly held all the cards?

"Yeva came to me yesterday, speaking of a parchment of paper I had completely forgotten I had in my possession," the Queen said as she rolled out an old piece of parchment paper. "It's a prophesy that speaks of…angels…yes that's the nest translation for the wording. It states that these angels will save our world from the darkness that is to come."

I forced myself to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat as I watched Yeva move from the window to sit next to the Queen. For a reason I'm sure I will never know, Dimitri seemed much more relaxed than I was. Perhaps he was just better at hiding his anxiety and tension.

"Now, before I continue, I must ask why did you not bring the twins when I summoned them as well?"

"I didn't know what this meeting was about Your Majesty, I didn't feel right about them being here without knowing what would be spoken about," I answered, struggling to keep my voice level.

"And what did you think this meeting would be about Rosemarie?" she asked with a coy smile.

"I don't think my assumptions are important."

"Okay, though it is important to know why Guardian Belikov is here. He was not summoned, though you obviously felt the need to bring him."

"Yes I did," I answered simply. I just wanted to get this meeting over with so I could get back to my girls.

"And your reasons for that would be?" she pushed.

None of your god damned business, the words screamed inside my head as I looked at Dimitri. He smiled slightly and nodded, giving me the okay to tell her the truth. They still weren't words I was used to saying out loud. I had held them in for so long they almost seemed foreign to me/ it had only been said twice since he had found me in Baia, and that had been hard enough for me. Now I was supposed to tell someone who was practically a stranger to me? I took a deep breath in, trying to steady my nerves enough for the words to leave my lips, but Dimitri stepped in, knowing the internal conflict I was going through.

"I am the twins' father, Your Majesty," he said smoothly.

"Well, that's as good a reason as any for your being here," she said with a slight laugh – and I mean slight, I almost missed it. "And please, just call me Tatiana, as I said before there is no need for formalities here."

She looked at the parchment of paper she still held in her hands, her eyes moving slowly as she read the lines. The only sounds to be heard in the room were as she oh'd and ah'd at different points.

"Well it seems the prophesy is true thus far, it states that the angels were to be born to dhampir parents who shared a love like no other, and you both are definitely dhampir," she said as she glanced up from the piece of paper. "Tell me more about your daughters."

"What do you want to know?" I asked, I didn't know where to start when it came to my girls, I also didn't know how much I should say.

"Everything of course," she said as if it was obvious that's what she was expecting, and I guess it should have been obvious, but I seemed to be missing at least half my brain at that point.

"Well…they are two and a half years old and can speak fluently in both English and Russian, they are incredibly advanced for their age."

"And?" she pushed, seeming to already know there was more.

"They have abilities," I said in a small voice, remembering there was a guardian standing in the hallway.

"I can assure you both that no one can hear anything said in this room, they wouldn't even hear me scream, which is why I have several panic buttons around the room in case the need ever arises," the Queen said, though it didn't do much to ease my worries. "Now, what are these abilities you speak of?"

"How do I know I can trust you?" I asked in the most direct tone I could conjure. Any worry I had about offending the Queen had flown out the window.

"Oh dear Rosemarie, the wellbeing and safety of the entire moroi and dhampir races is at risk, and if this prophesy is correct, which it has been as far as I've read, then both our races could be annihilated, and the strigoi would gain control of everything," she replied, her face showed the slight appearance of stress lines.

I thought back to what the strigoi had said on the last night we has spent in Baia. We know what they can do, they will aid us in our victory, he had said. A chill ran down my spine as I realised I had been disillusioning myself for the past few days when thinking that our situation only affected my friends and family, but it was so much bigger than that. The strigoi knew of a weapon that was powerful enough to wipe out not just everyone I cared about, but everyone in our world. And that weapon was in our possession – our daughters. Anger flared inside of me as I realised the error I had made, I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of this sooner. Suddenly Yeva's made complete sense to me, those who care must know what to prepare for. If not the loss will be greater than you could ever imagine, child. I had been so blinded by the fact that my friends and family were in danger that I couldn't see the entire picture, one fundamental that had been instilled into every novice that attended every academy in the world, you always had to look at the bigger picture. And as much as I might have hated it, I knew what I had to do.

"They each have their own ability," I started. "Tiannah has dreams of the past and future. The ones she has told me of the future have come true at some point."

"How amazing," Tatiana commented.

"Akeso can heal, only minor injuries really," I stated. "But it has become more enhanced since I first discovered what she could do."

"Incredible!" she exclaimed. "Is there anymore?"

I swallowed deeply and said a little softer, "They share a bond."

"Like the one you share with Princess Vasilisa?" she enquired.

"I don't really know exactly how it works except that they can talk to each other through it. I'm not sure if it includes thoughts and feelings, and whether it's instant or controlled." I told her honestly.

I had always wondered how the bond between the twins worked, but I had never been able to bring myself to ask them. What I knew of their abilities had always put me on edge, and I don't think I was ever truly ready to know any more about what they could do. Yes, I should have asked them, maybe it was some kind of integral part of them and who they were, but as a mother I couldn't bear to ask them.

"They sound like such extraordinary girls Rose, you must be so proud," she said, her eyes shone with light, which caused dread to hit the pit of my stomach. To me it only meant that the prophesy had been true, my daughters were the angels it spoke about, and it didn't seem like a great thing to me at all.

"Proud to be their mother yes, I wouldn't change it for anything. Though in all honesty I've been nothing but terrified since I noticed their abilities, I knew it meant they would never be safe."

Silence once again filled the room as the Queen went back to reading the prophesy. My fingers fidgeted uncontrollably with each other, and my feet wouldn't stay still. My anxiety levels continued to rise as my mind came to terms with what the meeting had held so far. My daughters, at the age of two and a half, were responsible for the lives of tens of thousands of moroi and dhampir. That part my mind found totally incomprehensible. They were too young for this kind of responsibility.

"It says in the prophesy that there is a man who can provide insight and training for the twins, so they can prepare for the battle ahead," Tatiana said as she gazed over the parchment. "He is located in Australia, it provides an approximate location for where to find him. I'll have a team of guardians prepare to leave within a couple of hours to find him, we're going to need his help."

"Yes, we will," Yeva said, speaking for the first time since just after Dimitri and I had entered the room.

I was beginning to lose control of the thoughts moving rapidly through my head. This meeting hadn't been like I had expected at all. I had shown up expecting to told we had to leave court immediately, but instead the Queen was going to help us? Sure it wasn't without benefit to her, but it was help all the same. My thoughts continued to tare through my brain, they were gaining speed rapidly, and I feared I was heading into another emotional breakdown. Dimitri squeezed my hand tightly, but it did very little to ease my thoughts, they continued on their path of destruction.

"Your…Tatiana," Dimitri began with a stutter. "Is there anything else you need to know?"

"Not for now, I would of course like to meet Tiannah and Akeso, but that can wait for another day, I am sure you would like to be on your way," she replied politely, I wondered if it was that obvious that I was heading for a meltdown?

"Roza has had a long couple of days and I really think she needs some rest before we continue," Dimitri told her. "Would you mind keeping us informed as to when the gentleman from Australia will be arriving?"

"I will be sure to pass on all the information I receive," she promised. "Get some rest Rosemarie, I fear we have some very difficult times ahead."

That's the understatement of the year, I thought as Dimitri helped me up from the couch. He guided me through the door and down the long hallway, the guardian who had been waiting at the door to the room we had been in stayed there. The cool air hit me like a tonne of bricks, it was the wakeup call I had needed. The thoughts didn't go away, but they were calmer then they had been, I was actually able to think with some kind of clarity. Not that I wanted to think, it was the last thing I wanted to do, curling up and hibernating sounded like a much nicer idea than confronting the unsettling thoughts crowding my life. Each thought was generally worse than the one before it. I rested my head against Dimitri's shoulder as we headed for Lissa's, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, providing the comfort I needed.

We entered the house and were greeted by two screaming girls running at us. Kes ran to me while Tia ran for Dimitri, instantly insisting they be picked up. I held onto Kes as though it was my last day on earth. I inhaled the scent of her hair, and memorised everything about both of them, from every scattered freckle to the slight dimple they had in the left cheek when they smiled.

"Were you both very good for Aunty Lissa?" I asked as I tried to hide my mental exhaustion.

"Yes Mummy," they replied together, I couldn't help but giggle at their fake angelic voices, they had surely been up to something.

"What did you get up to?" I asked, choosing not to follow up on anything they might have done wrong.

"We went shopping with Aunty Lissa and helped her pick out baby stuff," Tia told me with a huge smile. "It's all blue Mummy, and she let us choose the crib on our own!"

"Did you tell Aunty Lissa what she was having Miss Tiannah?" I asked with a laugh.

"It just slipped out Mummy," she pleaded with a pout. "I promise I didn't mean to."

"What did you do after shopping?" Dimitri asked once he had stopped laughing.

"We came home and had sandwiches for lunch, then Grandma came around," Kes said as she played with my hair.

I wasn't sure in that moment what I should have been focusing on more, the fact that Kes had called Lissa's house home, or the fact that my mother had been there, and for all I knew could still be there. After the day I had had, I wasn't ready for the talk my mother had promised me the day we arrived on court. I hadn't been avoiding her so much, I had just been hoping the talk would be nice and wait for a somewhat less stressful time.

"Is Grandma still here baby?" I asked once I was at least half sure my voice wouldn't falter.

"Yep, she's waiting for you Mummy," Tia replied.

"Can you take the girls Dimitri?" I asked him. "I'd like to talk to my mother alone."

"How about we go to the park girls?" Dimitri asked and was instantly met with two very excited squeals.

Dimitri took Kes from my arms and kissed me. He walked out the door with our two gorgeous daughters with a firm promise they would be back soon. I took a deep breath once the front door was closed and checked the bond. Lissa was in the sitting room with my mother and the strange moroi man who I had seen with my mother twice now. I made a mental note to ask her who he was. I set off in the direction of the sitting room, not ready to face my mother, but not prepared to run again.