Vampire Academy: 3rd Times the Prince Charming

Chapter 21 of my Vampire Academy story, enjoy :)

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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy belongs to Richelle Mead.

Chapter 21

CHRISTIAN POV

It had been a week since our double date. I was currently sitting with Lissa, Rose, Mason, and their friend Eddie. I had to admit, this was all unusual and alien to me, so used to being on my own as I was. Yet here I was, seated with friends.

'Friends…A word I never thought I'd ever use after what my parents did.' I thought to myself. 'Then again, I never thought I'd end up with Lissa either; strange how things happen sometimes.'

As I thought the last part Lissa leaned into me and I smiled, wrapping my arm around her waist. Rose was sitting next to Lissa and across from Mason; I had a sneaking suspicion they were playing footsie under the table. My suspicions were mostly based on their expressions, those knowing smiles despite not seeming to make physical contact. I continued to glance around, noticing there were a few people whispering and looking over at us, but they didn't concern me. I knew what they were talking about anyway.

I shook my head, thinking. 'Let them talk; I couldn't care less. Lissa made her choice; what do they truly know about it.' I smiled again as I turned to Lissa; she too was smiling although she raised an eyebrow, indicating that she had seen what I was doing. I merely shrugged and then, leaning closer, we kissed.

While we sat I noted that everybody did their utmost to include Eddie. He was the only one of us not dating anyone so we all tried to include him. It was good, that way he wouldn't feel like a fifth wheel; Rose had after all mentioned concerns regarding that. It was impressive too; I knew some groups who, once dating, would ignore other members of the groups. There were also those who did not intend to do so, but did anyway, without realizing it. Luckily that wasn't us. As I listened I noted that Eddie, Mason and Rose were discussing their latest training. I saw Lissa listening intently and leaned closer to her.

"What did I miss?" I asked her casually.

She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "What, you weren't paying attention, busy brooding again?"

I smirked back at her gentle teasing and shook my head. "Not brooding, I was…lost in thought."

"Oh is that what you call it?" I heard Rose exclaim.

I turned and saw Rose, Mason and Eddie all grinning at me and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, whatever guys." I replied, still cheerful.

I had to admit it took me a while, but I was beginning to get the hang of the way they spoke and carried on together, the gentle good natured teasing; the jokes and the way they always seemed so relaxed around each other. Still smiling I leaned back in my seat and looked around again; it was then I saw something that made me tense, and my cheerfulness was suddenly replaced with concern.

Walking right towards us was Mia Rinaldi. I immediately glanced over at Rose and my heart sank; the look on her face told me she had seen Mia, too. Everything had been going so well, now it looked like an argument was inevitable. I wondered if there was any way I might pre-empt this before things got out of hand. Mia stopped immediately next to our table and I noticed then that I wasn't the only one who was tense; the whole group was.

"What do you want, Doll-face?" Rose snapped.

I realized something was wrong when Mia didn't react to Rose's comment. I saw she looked nervous - she was looking around, playing with her skirt, and seemed at a loss for words. The others noticed too, including Rose. Suddenly the atmosphere changed as we all found ourselves wondering just what had disturbed Mia so much that she would pass up a chance to make some disparaging comment about Lissa or to argue with Rose. Finally Mia stopped fidgeting and stood straight; she seemed to find her voice at last.

"There's…Listen, there's something I need to tell you," she said, her voice a strained whisper.

We all shared a glance before looking back to her, even Rose. It was clear that whatever was bothering Mia was enough for Rose to at least temporarily forget her animosity to the other girl.

After a few false starts Mia cleared her throat and then explained what was bothering her. "There's been, whispers, of something strange going on at night. I don't understand it, but I think something bad is happening." She paused and then added, "I think it involves the Royals, but...Whatever's going on, it may affect everybody."

I looked over at Rose, as did the others. We all recalled her saying something about this before. Rose noticed our looks and nodded. "We know, we've heard it too." Mia started and stared at us, surprised.

"What, but, seriously…But everyone else I spoke they, they just scoffed and said I was making things up," she stammered.

"My mom mentioned something was going on, something that sounds a lot like what you were just saying," Rose explained. "She didn't give many details, mostly because she didn't have that many, but I think she knew Royals were involved but chose not to tell me. Damn, that changes things."

Mia seemed relieved to have found an ally, however unexpected, here. She nodded and sighed. "I wish there was more I could tell you; I just have a really bad feeling about this."

Rose nodded and added. "You and a large number of Guardians."

Mia nodded slowly, giving a weak smile, looking slightly relieved. After an awkward silence she turned and left, leaving us to ponder what she had just revealed to us.

The more we discussed and thought about Mia's revelations, the more several things seemed to make sense. The increased Guardian patrols, particularly at night; the strange behaviour of some of the Royals and, perhaps most importantly to me, the strange feeling of being watched Lissa felt. I had heard about the issues which led to Lissa and Rose fleeing the Academy; things had been quiet for a while, but that sense of foreboding had returned and Lissa was beginning to worry again. I, too, had noticed the feeling of being watched, whenever I was with her. It certainly put things in perspective, and we knew for certain that Mia's warnings should be taken seriously; otherwise something terrible might indeed happen and we would find ourselves completely unprepared for it. But how do you prepare for a danger that is all but invisible to you? None of us had the answer to that question and that worried me greatly.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.