Chapter 29: The First Monarch Test
Rose's POV
Lissa and I were sleeping next to each other peacefully. Dimitri was in the other bed in the room, but I'd slept next to Lissa because we hadn't done that in a while. Then our peaceful sleep was shattered by the sounds of movement in the room. As I opened my eyes, I saw a bunch of guardians surrounding our bed and Dimitri's.
"Whatever it is, we didn't do it." I groaned.
"This isn't an arrest. We need Vasilissa to come with us for her first monarch test." Hans said.
"In the middle of the human day?" I scoffed.
"It requires daylight." Hans shrugged. "Now come with us, princess."
"What?" Lissa yawned and rubbed her eyes, reminding me of a sleepy two year old.
"They want you to go take your first monarch test." I prodded her to get up.
"But it's the middle of the night." Lissa whined.
"Liss, wake up." I whacked her with a pillow.
"What was that for?" Lissa sat up and hit me with a pillow.
"It's time for your first monarch test." I repeated.
"Oh." Lissa blushed, noticing the guardians for the first time. "Let me get dressed."
"I suggest shorts and a short sleeved shirt." Hans said.
Lissa got up and scrambled to get her clothes in the bathroom. I got up too, but Hans held up a hand to stop me.
"You're not going. Only candidates for the monarch position are allowed to go." Hans said.
"Why?" I asked suspiciously.
"Because this test is to see if they're physically fit enough to rule. Besides, no one but the candidates are supposed to know what the tests are." Hans sighed.
"Are you saying that fat people can't rule?" I questioned.
"Firstly, have you ever seen a fat Moroi? And secondly, we aren't testing them in some kind of gym. It's kind of like when Dhampirs are tested on whether or not we can protect Moroi." Hans rolled his eyes.
Lissa came out of the bathroom looking ready to take on the world.
I grabbed Hans' shirt collar. "Protect her. Because if she gets hurt, you'll have to deal with me, and I'm a force to be reckoned with."
"As vicious as I'm sure you are, do you really think you could beat me?" Hans scoffed.
"In every sense of the word. When it involves Lissa, I'm lethal to anyone who threatens her. Plus, I was Strigoi for a time, and I was trained by Dimitri. Just the training makes me a lethal weapon, and the Strigoi part makes me more vicious than your average guardian. Besides, Janine Hathaway's also my mother. Even if I'm not the most vicious and deadly guardian in the world, you shouldn't underestimate me." I said.
"Unfortunately, you're right about that." Hans admitted. "But you don't have to worry. This test isn't deadly, and they're unlikely to get bruises or any other form of injury."
"You'd better be telling the truth." I warned.
"Cross my heart and hope to die." Hans rolled his eyes and drew an x over his heart.
"I'll see you later, Rose." Lissa said.
"I'll be with you." I gestured to my head.
Lissa grinned and left with the guardians. I tuned into her thoughts as soon as she left. Dimitri had somehow slept through all that, so he wouldn't be a distraction from the bond. Hans led Lissa to a tattoo parlor and asked her to sit down.
"I have to get a tattoo?" Lissa questioned.
"They'll use ink that ends up fading. It's infused with compulsion, and we use it to make sure you can't talk to anyone about the monarch tests that doesn't already know." Hans said.
Good thing I was getting an insider's look. Lissa would be able to talk to me. The tattooist traced a golden infinity symbol onto Lissa's arm. It was kind of cool, so it almost made me sad to know it would eventually fade. After that was done and she was bandaged, Hans escorted Lissa to a dark car. Including Lissa, about half of the monarch candidates were in the car with her, along with a few guardians.
"Where are the other contestants?" Lissa asked.
"In a second car." Ariana said. "Are you up for whatever they're having us do?"
"I don't even know what we're doing, so that's kind of hard for me to answer." Lissa admitted.
"That's okay. We're all a little nervous." Ariana smiled comfortingly.
God, if Lissa didn't become Queen, I really wanted Ariana to do it. The car drove for a long time, coming to a stop near a wooded area.
"You all get these cell phones so we can come and get you if you decide you can't go on any farther. You also get a compass, a map, and a backpack. The riddled items on the map are to help you on your way, but you don't necessarily need them. Anyone who makes it to the clearing at the end gets to advance to the next round of testing. Got it?" Hans instructed.
The candidates all nodded their heads. Lissa was nervous, but she was determined to do this. They were each sent into the woods on a slightly different path, depending on what their map dictated.
"What's going on?" Dimitri yawned. "Where's Lissa?"
"She's doing her first monarch test, and I'm watching." I said.
"The tests are supposed to be a secret." Dimitri said.
"Yeah, but we have a bond. Besides, who am I going to tell? The only people I might consider telling are you and Christian." I pointed out.
Dimitri looked nervous for a second before asking, "Will you tell me what's happening? As if you're narrating it?"
I grinned and patted the spot next to me on the bed. "Sit with me, Comrade."
I ended up narrating as I watched Lissa. Although, there wasn't much to narrate for a while. It was mostly just Lissa walking through the woods. She started to feel dehydrated after a while.
"Liss." I reached out through our reversed bond. "I can hear a river running somewhere in the background. Most rivers have fresh water that you can safely drink from. Find it and get a drink."
"How am I going to find it?" Lissa asked herself out loud.
"Follow the sound of running water." I advised.
"How do you even know that rivers carry drinkable water?" Lissa questioned as she walked towards the sound of the river.
"Guardians have to take classes on survival. We're supposed to be prepared for every situation." I said.
Lissa pushed through some bushes and found a small stream with water rushing by. She cupped her hands and took a drink. "Ugh, thank God."
"Don't forget to thank Rose." I reminded her.
"Thank you, Rose." Lissa snorted. "It's too bad I can't take the river with me."
"Find something to store water in." I suggested.
Lissa took a quick glance around and paused when she noticed a canteen just a few yards away. "Do you think this is a coincidence?"
"Well, either God's really on your side today, or the guardians figured someone smart would find the river and need water to continue." I shrugged.
"But you're the smart one. I'm just following your directions." Lissa frowned.
"Hey, you're still smart. Besides, now you know what to do if you ever run into this problem again and don't have me." I pointed out.
"The day I don't have you is the day I die." Lissa said as she filled the canteen.
"No, it's just the day that Dimitri takes over my job." I said.
"What if he goes first?" Lissa countered.
"Then Christian can protect you with his firepower. And don't ask me what happens if Christian goes first." I rolled my eyes.
Lissa sighed and continued walking, starting up conversation with me every once in a while so she wouldn't feel bored or lonely.
"It's strange to witness you communicate with her." Dimitri said.
"Trust me, you have no idea." I snorted.
Lissa found a few things that were riddled on the map—including the canteen—on her way through the woods.
"Should I make an Into the Woods joke to make you feel better?" I teased.
Lissa smirked. "The way is clear, the light is good, I have no fear, nor no one should."
"We need to watch that again later." I said.
"We should." Lissa agreed.
Then our joke was proven wrong. The way became unclear and we lost the light as a rain storm suddenly came on.
"Shit!" Lissa exclaimed as she ran for cover under a tree.
"Liss, it's okay. Just keep moving so you can get to the clearing. You'll get wet, and maybe you'll get a cold in the next few days, but it's worth it to finish." I encouraged.
Lissa took my advice and started running. That only resulted in her falling in the mud, so she went back to a fastwalking pace. After a while lightning started flashing in the sky above. The sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning kept getting closer.
"Liss, take cover! You need to duck!" I exclaimed.
Lissa wrongly took that to mean that she should hug a tree. That was the worst decision she could make, because the tree was suddenly electrified. Lissa was jolted backward and had a fit of seizures. I felt the same thing.
"Roza!" Dimitri exclaimed.
Then I wasn't in my body and Lissa wasn't in hers. I sat up and gasped, seeing the forest around me. I could feel it. I wasn't feeling it through Lissa, it was firsthand. I even lifted my hand and saw only Lissa's pale hand and felt her blonde halo of hair framing my face. I reached through the bond and found Lissa in my body, still having a seizure.
"Roza!" Dimitri tried to shake me out of it.
"No!" I exclaimed, hearing myself as Lissa. "God damn it Lissa, don't you dare die on me! I don't even care if we spend the rest of our lives in each other's bodies! Just live!"
Lissa was still seizing, unable to comply with my commands. I didn't know what I was doing, but I tried to send a burst of Lissa's Spirit magic into my body so she could live. I suddenly felt woozy and a sense of vertigo overcame me as I reentered my own body, looking up at a worried Dimitri. Then I passed out into blackness.
