Hi everyone! My second story! Still VA/BL, of course. Whoever's reading this probably saw my last one. If you haven't, please do. And review. It's titled Between Bloodlines and The Golden Lily. Sorry, I just couldn't go without this ;)

Okay, so I'm sorry if this story has too much Adrian for anyone's taste, but the thing is I can't live without him. And I believe it should be that way, since it's Jill's POV. Yeah, it's a Jeddie story, if the summary hasn't told you that already. So, will they end up together or not? Are they meant to be? Follow the story and see! Muahahaha!

This all belongs to Richelle Mead's incredible Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series. Please, read first, because the story contains a lot of major spoilers. Oh, and could we just pretend the last chapter of Silver Shadows never happened? I know it's hard, but I had this story planned before I read the book or before it even came out. I did, although, include *The Big Thing* from chapter 20.

I beg you for reviews! With both stories! I need them, even if completely negative, to be a better writer, to have a strenght and inspiration to keep writing! I need to know if at least someone is reading this! You can post them on Twitter, tag me asv larchi77.

I'm sorry for all mistakes and missspelled words, English isn't my first language and I'm still learning. I'll go trough this eventually and try to fix as much as possible, but until then, please accept me being a human being and making mistakes ;)

Okay, this AU is probably too long for anyone's taste, sorry about that. I have nothing else to say than – enjoy!

I should probably be happy about it. It meant I was safe. I could go back to the Court. I was going back to the Court. But for unknown reasons, everytime I thought about leaving Amberwood, something stung in my chest. In the beginning it was horrible. But now, when I thought about it... It was better than the Court. I had friends here. I know, I was being silly. I also had friends at Court. Sydney and Adrian were already there. Was it weird it was probably the only part I was really looking forward to? I knew Adrian was happy he'd see me again too. Sometimes it was really great to have the bond. To know at least someone in the world cared about you when in doubts.
I was also going to see Lissa and Christian and Rose and Dimitri... But I didn't know what to think about them anymore. I didn't know if they liked me for real or only because they needed me for the throne. Lissa was my sister! But she never acted like it. Maybe... Maybe that was going to change. I wanted it to. And I liked Christian. He taught me how to fight with magic. I just didn't know what side he was on. Come on, Jill, there are no sides! You're being ridiculous!
Rose and Dimitri... I loved them. Okay, I used to. But then I got bound to Adrian when he had the worst relationship with them possible and it kind of all dissappeared. He got over it, but I got a different impression. I couldn't help it.
Okay, Angeline was comming too. That was a good thing. But Trey was also comming. I liked him, but it practically meant the same as if Angeline wasn't there. No, worse. It meant they were gonna make out the whole time. And that was... Good for them, but nothing good for me.
Okay, Neill. He was never my best friend or something. I mean, I guess he was okay, he was cute and all, but he was also probably gonna be busy with his love life. More specifically: Olive Sinclair. I was the only one single here.
Well, of course there was Eddie. He was single too. He was another reason to look forward to my time at Court. Right? He was also the reason I used to pretend I have a crush on Neill. But things were kind of awkward between us since we knew we like eachother.
And that kiss. It was... It was... It was... It was all I could ever think about. It was the reason I got up in the morning. It made me want more. I've kissed guys before, but it was different with Eddie. Yeah. Eddie. Since The Kiss happened, he was... He wasn't ignoring me, but... Back when everything was normal between us (even though Adrian claims he had a crush on me before), we had that joke about him being proffesional. I hadn't realised what that really means untill now. And I didn't like it. I just wanted another kiss. Or two or three.
So maybe Eddie wasn't exactly another thing to look forward to. But I had to make it such a thing! I really, really liked him. To the point where I could say I loved him. I knew him. We were friends. But this right now was just weird. Sometimes I was just thinking... What are we doing? We liked eachother so much, but still, nothing was happening. Like if everything would froze.
Back to the point. Why would I even think about how being back at Court would be? Yup. Lissa changed the law. Yaaay! I think. Sure, I was so happy about not being in life danger or the only thing that held the government together. But I had to leave Amberwood! I still liked St. Vladimir's better. But I spent one of the nicest years of my life here, in Palm Springs. I-
"Jill, look what I found!" Angeline yelled. She wasn' that far away, just a few stepps from me, searching trough her closet. She just... Mostly yelled.
"What is that?"
It was my old diary. Just as I remembered it. It was purple with sparkly pink butterflies. Yeah, pretty girly. I used to be like that.
"You didn't read that, did you?" I exclaimed.
"Um, no. I'm not that pathetic."
I laughed nervously. Maybe she wasn't. But she didn't want to know what I'd do if the situation was opposite. I definetly wouldn't hold back.
I pulled the diary away from her and opened it on a random page. I remembered how I always refused to write dates. Even without them I knew this had to be at least a year away.
Dear diary. Today I had the worst day ever. In the morning I had magic practise and something went wrong. I ended up completely wet. And then I met Adrian in the hall! He looked like he wanted to burst out laughing and I made a complete fool out of myself!
Oh, my god. This was back when I had a crush on Adrian. Thank goodness Angeline didn't read anything. I was so stupid back then.
And yet, I kept reading.
Of course everyone found it silly that I was wet in class. But I didn't have time to go change until after school. Then, the moment I got out of my dorm, I saw Brett making out with Christine Lazar! I tried to tell Aimee about it, but she didn't believe me. I only tried to help her, but she showed her gratefullness by calling me a jelous bitch.
Brett Ozera was my best friend Aimee's boyfriend back then. I actually started to remember that day and it was pretty shitty.
And then I saw Adrian kissing Rose in the cafeteria. I mean, I already knew about it, but it stung. Anyway, I just wanna curl up somewhere and go to sleep. Or maybe... Wait. Someone's knocking on the door. I wonder who might that be. After a day like this, it can't be good. Should I even open? Nah, I'm too curious. I hope I don't regret it...
Oh, so Adrian already dated Rose. I was getting more and more infromation about the timing.
Did I even want to read on? Of course, I've alread been trough it once.
Omg, this was the best day of my life! It was Adrian! I'm freaking out! He came in and made me blush like a lobster, but he totally ignored it. Then he said I looked a bit uptight today and started to rubb my shoulders! (sometimes I just don't know what's going on in his head... But I love it!) Then he listened to me go on and on about my best friend's love life for half an hour, looking interested the whole time! And then he said love stinks! I mean, that's tehnically no big deal. But I said yes and he meant Rose and I meant him and we had such connection and I know nothing can happen, but...
Okay! I stopped at that. Talking about mood swings. I was totally unbalanced back then.
And really, how could I fall for Adrian so bad? Sure, it's possible I only got over it because of the bond. And I knew lots of girls fell for him. They had reasons. He was awesome. Maybe I just knew him too well. Now I knew exactly what was going on in his head. No, I was pretty sure Sydney knew him just as well. I should just see it wasn't meant to be back then.
As I browsed trough the diary, I found exactly how could I fall for Adrian so bad. Wow.
10 reasons I love Adrian Ivashkov
1. He's so hot...
Okay, I had to admitt that was pretty much true. But I'd never fall for a guy just because of his looks.
2. He says absolutley the cutest things ever, like... omg.
That was true too. I still remembered I almost melted at all the things he said to Sydney or how he planned their wedding. How did he manage to do it so fast? I still felt sorry I couldn't attend that, but I was there in my mind the whole time, recieving many weird looks from my friends because of my awws and wows.
3. He calls me Jailbait. It's so... I have no words.
Yeah, it was pretty sweet, but clearly no reason to be head over heels in love with him. He had nicknames for everyone.
4. He's so funny.
He did make me laugh many times. But... And then I realised what I was doing. I had no reason to critisize myself so bad. I was just like that with Eddie right now.
5. He pretends to be confident, but is really insecure. I just know.
How did I know that before the bond? It was true, and I tried to help him get over it the whole time, but Sydney was the only one who really managed that.
6. He's so romantic with Rose. I mean, she has no idea...
Actually, to think now, I'm pretty sure she did have some ideas. But not the correct ones. I wouldn't call what he did romantic anymore, the better word is... Innaproppriate.
7. He actually doesn't treat me like a child.
Exept for calling me Jailbait. Come on, how could I ne so stupid? EVERYONE treated me like a child. Until I prooved them differently.
8. He can turn bad mood to good just like that.
Okay, maybe that was true too. We were friends before and that's how he took it too. I knew that since the first day of being bound to him. I just misunderstood it before.
9. You can't not love him.
That actually turned to be true for most people.
10. He rocks everything. He makes the scent of cigarettes and alcohol hot.
And at that point I started to laugh so hard, I recieved a suprised glance from Angeline. And she doesn't get suprised quickly. Except in lack of physical... In lack of fighting.
The scent of cigarettes and alcohol will NEVER be hot. How could I like that? Nobody can rock it. I was so happy Adrian stopped all of that shit.
"Weren't you suppose to be packing instead of... Nevermind, I'm getting pathetic. Show me watcha laughing at!" she yelled and jumped towards me, pulling the diary away from me. "Never!" I laughed, refusing to show her how embarrassed I'd be if she read anything. She was my friend now, but we weren't that close. We actually started a pretty good fight for the diary. But Angeline was the Dhampir.
In the end she was sitting on top on me on her bed, and I couldn't do anything to stop her from reading. Oh, well. There was nothing from now in it. I didn't really care if she knew about Adrian.
"Okay, this is the last page..." she said and took a dramatic breath.
"Dear diary. Looks like I'm a princess. I was so stupid before. I'm done with this silly stuff." Angeline looked at me dissappointed. "Really? I thought this was gonna be some good, juicy stuff. This? This is boring. Creepy even." I laughed and rolled her from my back. It kind of suprised me how relieved I was.
Not for long, it seemed. Eddie entered the room and raced my heartbeat to the point where I almost fainted. Our eyes met and we both immediately looked down. Angeline snorted. Everyone knew what was going on.
"Umm... Hi, guys. I... Just wanted to ask if you're ready to go? Cause Mrs. Terwilliger asked me if she could give us the ride a bit sooner," Eddie said.
Mrs. Terwilliger was giving us the ride to the airport. Since only Sydney and Adrian had cars and they were both away.
"Why? Does she have a date with Wolfe?" I asked. Angeline laughed and even Eddie, who lately attempted to be unnaturaly serious around me, had to smile. His smile lighted up the room.
Anyway, we all found our history teacher's love life - or better said romance with a one-eyed self defense instructor - extremly funny. Of course they had me to thank they even knew about it. I only knew because of Adrian.
Eddie was about to leave, but he came back from the front door and stopped in front of me. "Jill?" he asked. His eyes were in that warm brown color that lighted me up everytime. It was a bit like chocolate and...
"Yeah?" I breathed, not even realising what am I saying. "I, eh, told Micah we were leaving. He said he wants to say goodbye to you in... Person. I don't see a problem, but it's your decision to make."
Micah Vallence was my human ex boyfriend and Eddie's (I guess now ex) roomate. As I found out from Adrian, he looked exactly like Eddie's dead best friend Mason. I never knew him. Note to self: find out more about that.
I was kind of suprised Eddie even asked. "Sure, Micah's my friend now. You know that. I'm gonna say goodbye to all my friends." Eddie shrugged. He looked a little embarrassed, like he was on the verge of blushing. It was adorable. And I've also seen him blush before. That was just...
Man, him embarrassed made me embarrassed. This had to stop. There were those times when I just wanted to go towards him and tell him how the thing was, even though he knew already. I almost did it once or twice. But I always cowed in the last second.
So, yeah, I went to say goodbye to Micah. I even gave him a hug. Not because Eddie was there. Not at all. But I wasn't there often. Eddie's room... Eddie's bed... Eddie's bathroom... Eddie's smile...
It was pretty hard, actually. Saying goodbye. I loved Micah. He was my friend. We even went to his senior prom together for good old times' sake (Eddie refused to go. I didn't talk to him for a week.). I knew I was going to miss him just as mush as everyone else I already said goodbye to, if not more.
And maybe it sounds a bit cocky, but I know it was hard for him too. It was cute how he gave me a brave smile, but his eyes were sad. Maybe a bit dissappointed. He didn't know what our leaving was really about. We were only at Amberwood for a year. He probably thought we were just moving again. And maybe he kind of hoped I had at least a little saying in it and that I'd change my mind.
He had no idea.
I packed everything before I went to see Micah, so it wasn't a problem that I stopped a few times to say goodbye to other friends. Everyone knew we were leaving.
When I was almost already at my dorm door, carying a box of Angeline's stuff she left in Eddie's (and Trey's) room back when they were dating, Kristin Sawyer amd Julia Cavendish stopped me. I remembered them. They were Sydney's friends and really nice. When we roomed together, they used to hang out all the time. Of course, that was before things got complicated. I mean, really complicated.
"Hey, Jill," Kristin said. I nodded in response, thinking they'd let me go because of the box. I was wrong.
"So, wherever you're going, Sydney's already there for a few months, right?" Julia asked. "Yeah, she is. You know, she was accepted to colidge. The one she wanted to attend most. She already has enough grades, so she decided to leave overnight."
That was the story we told everyone. It was very likely, actually. And I knew Sydney would wish it was true. She'd definetly prefer it over some Alchemist prison.
"Can you say hi to her from us? And tell her we miss her and wish her good luck in colidge?" Kristin asked me. "Sure," I said and mentally added on the list of greets I had to deliver. I even had a few gifts, like from Brayden, the barista she used to date. Not sure what it was, but the box gave me the feeling it was an engagement ring. As if Adrian didn't hate the guy enough already.
Angeline was almost as suprised as I was at how much stuff she had left in the boys' dorm, claiming she didn't even know she owned the half of it. She even pulled out a blue sweater that was definetly not her size. Her face reflected sorrow and shock."Trey's cheating on me!" she announced. I took antoher look at the sweater. I knew Trey'd never do that. "It's mine," I realised. Angeline sighed in relief, but then she gave me a funny look from the side.
"I may not be good at math, but I'm not stupid. This would never fit me. It's from Eddie's room, isn't it? Jill, what didn't you tell me?"
I ignored the question and folded the sweater to as small as possible, but I still had to sit on my suitcase to close it.
"You know... I'm a bit afraid of flying. I flew before, but it was awful," Angeline said. In moments like this I felt sorry for her. It wasn't her fault, trapped in another culture with no one on her side. It was either this or living a barbaric life with the Keepers. I think she made the right choice.
"I get that. But you were alone back then, weren't you?" I asked. She nodded with anxiety in her eyes. She was clearly having a flashback. A plane can probably be pretty creepy when you're there on your own for the first time, not knowing anything about how it works or how safe you really are.
"Well, this time we'll be with you. Everything will be okay," I said with a soothing voice. She gave me a weak smile. But I wasn't as cool as I acted. Angeline might have been afraid of flying, but I was kind of afraid of flying with her. She was stronger than she looked, and I was sitting next to her on the plane. I didn't even dare to think about the metal detector, or what she'd do if they had to search trough her. She once threw a speaker at a guy because he pulled her hand. Not a computer speaker.
In the end the waiting became a bit annoying. My feelings were mixed when the guys knocked on our door. I touched every corner of the room I'd never see again with my eyes. From the coffee stain on the wall (Angeline's first day before Sydney got a new room) to the closet that was always too small. I just realised how much I loved this room, no matter how tiny and messy it was.
Then something happened that melted my already warmed up heart already. Eddie walked in and gently touched my hand. "Come on, we have to go. I'll miss this place too. Especially how happy you were here. All your smiles and..." He bit his lip. "Let's go." I nodded with a slight hope that things between us were going to get better.
The guys already had all their suitcases in Mrs. Terwilliger's car, so they could help carry all of mine and Angeline's. Mostly mine. And I carried too. The car was too small for all of us and our luggage, so she had to drive twice. The guys went first, so we placed ourselves on a bench while waiting, looking as ridiculous as possible with all the suitcases around us.
It was June in Palm Springs, a killing weather for a Moroi. As if it wasn't hot already, the sun was shining with its full power. I couldn't take it for very long, which was a shame, because I loved the sun. Except for the obvious.
It was really annoying the way my terrible hair was sticking on my forehead all sweaty and nasty. I hated the long brown bird nest even before summer started and I had to start washing it every day for it to look at least decent.
"You girls moving somewhere?" a familiar, but unwelcome voice asked. It was Greg Slade, the school's, honestly, #2 athleete and #1 jerk. He probably hoped his comment would insult us and that we were really just going on a holiday. "We actually are moving. News don't reach idiots, do they?" I asked kindly. "It's a good thing you're leaving," he growled and stormed away.
Angeline gave me a high five. She didn't like the guys either. He was Trey's biggest rival or something (Trey was the #1 athleete... because Eddie was holding back). And also Slade wasn't very likable.
Another idiotic person showed up. Laurel, 'my biggest rival'. At least that's what she thought. I didn't really care. She had a crush on Micah when he started to like me. Lots of unpleasant events followed, including her announcing to the world that I'm a vampire. Luckilly it turned out she was just bluffing. Then Sydney had a 'chatt' with her. It had to be something that freaked poor Laurel out, because ever since she's been acting like my best friend.
But she still meant trouble. At least for me. I didn't trust her, but as long as she left me alone...
"Hey, Jill!" she started with a voice so sweet it almost gave me diabetes. "Hi, Laurel," said Angeline just as nice. I just nodded in a greet. The poor girl had no idea what Laurel was like. When they met, she was already acting all nice and Angeline was deeply convinced into innocence of our world. She was clearly deluding herself.
"So, now that you guys are leaving," Laurel continued, "And your dear sister can't protect you anymore... I can be honest, right? You are the most annoying spoiled little girl I know! And stupid! I mean, you dumped Micah? I don't get you. Anyway, you guys were only together because he was always into charity and stuff. Someone as pale as you would never get a boyfriend. And by the way, don't count on him if you ever come back. I hope you don't, though. But he's mine now!"
Angeline was about to get up, but I pulled her down. I didn't mean to stay quiet, though. That bitch's gone too far. "Really, Laurel? If he was that into charity, wouldn't he see how desperat you were for him already? It's been months since I broke up with him. If he's really 'yours', why aren't you with him instead of trying to sell me your lies that I'll never buy? Maybe he's just not into fake hair," I said. The combination of her hair die and exstensions was almost a wig. She was perfect for Slade, actually. Her looks were just as fake as all of his sport trophies. That's why his succes fell so much after Nevermore was shutt.
Laurel flipped her hair back in rage and gave me a cold look. Her fingers clenched into fists. I think she was at the point where she'd hapilly add some of my hair into that wig. She'd pull it out with her own hands first, of course.
"Yeah? I'm suprised he's into vampire pale complexion, since it's not only last season, it's from 19th century! And neandertale cousin, you're probably going back into some cave where you belong, right? You should really change your shoes by now. Not that I care, but it's not only about how they look - and trust me, they're awful - but you're about to show your toes. And nobody wants to see how much dirt you carry there." Then she turned on her heel (what would I do for her to tripp in that moment) and left before I she could get involved into a real fight. Verbal or physical, both was possible.
"That goddamn bitch! I thought she was nice this whole time, but now this?" Angeline exclaimed. She wasn't wrong. I already got used to it, but Laurel had no right to say all those things about her. Angeline had improoved so much lately and gone trough a culture change and everything else that bitch had no idea about...
"So, um, how did you know I'm not into fake hair?" Micah asked. I had no idea where he came from, but it pretty much looked like he heard the whole conversation.
"I assumed you'd be all over here if you were," I replied. He smiled and I saw Laurel gasp a few feet away. She wasn't very far from us yet and Micah didn't really try to be discret with our conversation.
"Actually I have to agree with what Angeline saud earlier. It was really mean what she said about you two."
Okay, now he was already trying for her to hear him.
Maybe it was mean from me to think so, but when I saw the hurt expression on her face, I couldn't make myself feel sympathy for a hurt girl soul. She made my soul hurt for too many times. And Micah was just telling the truth. I'm sure he had reasons for her to hear him.
"Sorry if this came out mean, but she won't leave me alone!" Micah explained quietly.
I knew he had a reason.
We said goodbye again, but Micah left soon. I started to think to fast, which used to lead into talking too fast, but right now I was too nervous. My hearbeat was rising as one thought hitted my mind again and again: this is going real.
Then Mrs. Terwilliger's came into my sight, so I chased the overwhelming thoughts away and focused myself more into the physical work of folding luggage into the car.
"So, you're going to the Royal Court, right?" Mrs. Terwilliger asked and pressed the gas in her tiny little beatle. "Yeah," I said. "I can't wait! I mean, our people have prejudgments about the Court and royals and the queen, but as much as I know, this one isn't so bad for them and I don't really belong there anymore and from what I'd heard, the Court is a great place and now I'll be living there! I can't believe it!" Angeline shrieked.
Maybe she spent too much time with me. I talk like that sometimes. I kind of suspect it's annoying, even though some people say it's cute.
However, Angeline was turning into a modern, teenagy and girly girl. Thanks to me, I dare say.
Mrs. Terwilliger smiled. It wasn't one of those polite smiles when people really think what the... She wasn't that kind of a person. Most of the students thought she was weird, but I knew better than that. She was more than weird. She was a witch. Well. A Moroi princess probably doesn't have the right to say that.
"Could you please give this to Sydney? And tell her and Adrian I say hi and wish them good luck," he said and passed me a book so old it looked like it was about to fall apart. I swear, sometimes it was like Sydney was the only person in our 'family'.
"Sure," I sighed.
We arrived after ten or fifteen minutes. The guys were sitting on a bench with our plane tickets, looking slightly bored. That would never happen to me. I'd just talk.
Neill jumped up towards the car and opened first the car door on my side, making Eddie and Trey stare blankly at him in suprise. He was always a gentleman. I gave Eddie a naughty glance and sweetly looked at Neill, thanking him politely. Then I realised I was acting just like before The Kiss (that's how I'm gonna call it) happened.
Neill also hurried up towards Angeline's side of the car to open her door too, but she was already out, loking at him like she'd slamm the door on his hand if he tried. "I can get out of a car alone, thanks," she said and smiled trough her teeth.
"Someone's a bit grumpy," I muttered.
While waiting for boarding a bit later, I recieved a text from Adrian.
You sitting with Castile on the plane? *love is in the air*
I laughed, kind of happy to hear from him, even though it used to annoy me when he teased like that. I only knew he was extremly happy recently, but every time the bond was connecting well, was when he was making out with Sydney, making it impossible to contact him. We had a few phone calls, just to catch up, but we didn't talk for real like we used to. The distance was making it hard. I missed him and I knew he missed me too, even though everything else in his life turned right recently. Now I was comming too, and his calmness gave me more time to focus on my own problems. Especially the love related ones.
Haha, very funny. Actually, I'm sitting with Angeline.
We discussed our seats the moment we got the tickets.
Adrian's response came remarakbly fast: And...? There's a seat on each side. Are you the lucky one by the window?
That was actually Trey.
No, I'm by the transition, I answered.
So? Who's on the other side?
I didn't answer immediately. I knew he'd guess.
It's Castile, isn't it?
And he did.
Fine, it's him. But that doesn't count. Can we change the subject? I have other things to worry about, like Angeline's finger strenght when the plane rises.
I was pretty sure she was going to grabb my hand.
The gap between your souls is as wide as the transition between your seats was the answer. I snorted. Usually that kind of nonsense came from spirit and made me worried, but this time I knew he was just messing with me.
Another text came in a few seconds: You're not together now, are you?
No, I'd let you know, I replied.
R.I.P. your finger bones, he wrote then. I had to laugh at that, even though it was probably true. Unfortunately. You can still save them when we get there.
Saving the day, as always, he answered. I smiled.
Then they called us to board.
The boarding's starting, I wrote.
See you in six hours, he replied. I smiled and switched my phone to airplane mode.
We soon found our seats and tightened our seatblets. Angeline was exhaling loudly by some pregnancy/yoga methode to relax. I was smiling to myself. Then I realised I was automatically glancing at Eddie to see if he smiled too. He didn't, but he was watching me. We both looked away immediately and I saw Angeline's new methode of relaxing was making out with Trey.
Huh. The kissing I've been trough wasn't very relaxing. It was actually nothing or very, very exciting. Or, with Eddie, the highlight of my life.
I wished I'd be trough enough kissing with him for it to make me relax or to heat me up. Well, the last one already happened. Sometimes I regretted there were people around when it happened, because from what I felt and the exact same desire reflecting in his eyes, a lot more would happen if we were alone. And maybe I wanted more to happen. Not exactly yet, but I at least wanted a chance to get there some day.
The flight attendant told us her usual speech about her great crew and putting our phones to airplane mode. Then the plane moved. Angeline was already holding Trey's hand, but now her fingers clenched tightly around my hand too. "Don't worry, it'll be over efore you know it," I said. She just moaned.
I looked trough the window and watched Palm Springs over Trey's hair becoming smaller and smaller, until it completely dissapeared out of my sight. I was almost sure I'd never go there again. At least for a pretty long time.
A tear slidd down my cheek, but I harshly wiped it away. It wasn't suppose to sting so much. Then more tears bursted out and I almost sobbed out loud.
The flight attendant announced that we can untight our seatbelts. I did it immediately and ran into the toilet. Fortunately it wasn't taken. I was in there for a while. It didn't smell very nice, but I had no other choice until the tears stopped.
I couldn't let them see me cry. I didn't want them to think I was acting silly, even though I probably was. I didn't want Eddie to think I was just a spoiled little princess, crying because she couldn't get everything she wanted. I was pretty sure I wasn't. He probably wouldn't think so either, but I didn't want him to think my feelings for him were just as silly and meaningless as I was acting right now. They weren't.
I heard loud knocking on the door after a few minutes, but I didn't respond. I was trying to clean my face with thin paper towels and most likely not very clean water. Thank goodness I wasn't wearing makeup.
"Excuse me? Do you mind? You're not the only person on the plane, you know!" a female voice yelled. I looked myself in the mirror for the last time - the stains tears left were still visible on my cheeks and my eyes were red and swollen from crying - and unlocked the door. An unpleased woman in her thirties with a daughter only two or three years old was standing outside. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. The little girl looked at me with big brown eyes that almost brought me back to tears. The woman's expression softened when she saw my face.
I hurried back to my seat, recieving a suprised and worried glance from Eddie. "You okay?" he asked. I exhaled and nodded.
Angeline was asleep with her head on his shoulder. His arm was around her waist and I couldn't help it but glamce at Eddie with a longing look. He was looking down at his feet, obviously lost in thoughts. Then his look hit mine. We both turned around right away again.
A few minutes later I saw him talking to Neill. They both had ridiculously serious faces on and something told me they were talking about me. What else could they possibly be talking about? Except for the fact that they were both guardians and all that includes, they didn't have a single thing in common. And they were both my guardians. Well, they could be talking about something like food, but they'd probably be in a better mood.
Eddie nodded and said something, running his fingers trough his sandy blond hair that was always lying on his forehead in a perfect messy way that made it obvious he didn't spend a second dealing with it. His eyebrows were furrowed above his amazing brown eyes that were expressing a worried look. Even with such a twisted expression he was so...
And then I realised I'm watching him again. I looked away.
Angeline was still asleep. I spent the night lying in bed awake and a few rough days were probably in front of me, so it would be a good idea to have a nap. But I was restless. Excitment in me was growing. Palm Springs was behind me and I was starting to feel some of the greatness that going to Court always brought.
I still remembered the first time. My life became a mess. I found out I'm a princess, then Victor Dashkov kidnapped me, then I saw him die and then Adrian showed up. It was when I had a crush on him. Like I wasn't stressed enough already. I was as nervous as hell. But I was going to the Court! I can't say I didn't get Angeline.
Maybe I couldn't sleep, but I did close my eyes and escaped the stupid thoughts. It was one of the rare moments I didn't feel much.
As a result, I got sucked into Adrian's head. It was one of those times when it felt like I was him. I was looking trough his eyes and feeling his emotions. Sometimes the line between us blurred and I didn't even feel myself for a while.
Not this time, though. The feeling that you're kissing your 'sister' kind of numbs the effect. Like in the last few times.
"We should get dressed, you know. They're landing in an hour," Sydney breathed while Adrian was kissing her neck. "Nah, we have enough time. Especially if we get dressed as fast as we get undressed."
They weren't completely undressed yet, but it was pretty obvious they were about to be. And that wasn't exactly what I wanted to see. Again.
I tried to leave Adrian's head and after a minute or two managed to get into some kind of blessed state, in which I didn't see or clearly feel what was going on in their room, but his intense emotions were still getting to me. It felt so nice, peacefull and fierce at the same time. Except for witnessing it all, it was great how happy he was. I was pretty sure this was how drugs felt.
And then I smelled something that woke me up from the great feeling. Food. I haven't ate a thing for the whole day, and suddenly I was hungry. There was a knot in my stomach from all the anxiety, but by now I was craving for food. It had to be about 5 or 6 pm. The problem was I didn't have much money near me. The flight attendant already went down the hall, but I knew she was comming back soon.
"Eddie? You got any money? I'm broke right now!" I said loudly, leaning forward to his seat with my hair all over my face. I quickly stuck it behind my ear.
"Sure," he replied, seizing for his wallat. He knew I'd return his money. I always did. He was just the thoughtfull one, always having everything he needed around. Or everything I needed.
He passed me ten bucks and I thanked him with a smile. I ordered a sandwich and quickly finished it. Then the pilot told us to tighten our seatblets again.
"Oh, no! We're crashing! We're all gonna die!" Angeline screamed and reached under the seat for the life jacket. "I can't find it!"
I held her hand and looked into her blue eyes. "We're not crashing. We're just about to land," I said with a soothing voice.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Look, everyone else is calm. They wouldn't be if we were crashing."
They weren't really that calm. They were starting to stare at us.
"But... Why would they tell us to tighten our seatbelts otherwise?"
I desperately looked at Trey for help. Maybe he wasn't Neill, but he was man enough to take it from there. Anyhow, by the time the plane touched the ground in Pittsburgh, she was calm. As calm as she gets.
We left down the stairs and waited for our luggage. But the traveling wasn't over yet. We had to change to another plane. It was a private one and Lissa sent it just for us. The public ones didn't have access to the Court's airport. We only had a twenty minute filght in front of us.
And really, it wasn't long until the familliar victorian church-like buildings came into my sight. They were glorious, built in a historical, but suprisingly modern way. It was like a small city, full of official buildings for councill bussiness, but also many shops and restaurants and other luxury options for visiting tourists and royals with nothing better to do. That's what I'm going to be from now, I realised.
It was also the queen's residence and the place where all the laws were accepted. Where our faith and future were discussed every day. Wrapped in the protection of the guardians, looking as safe as possible, but full of secrets and intrigues. Hidden in the shelter of the green Pennsylvania woods, looking so calm, but really restless. There was aways something going on. I've experienced it myself before. It was magnificent. It wasn its own little world. Moroi Royal Court.
I could already see the airport. Our seats were shaking when we were landing nad Angeline held mine and Trey's hand again.
I looked at Eddie and smiled. He smiled too. We were the only ones here who knew what we were diving into. We've been trough it before. Except that the faith of Lissa's throne wasn't on me anymore. Not like the last time I came.
The knot in my stomach was bigger than ever when we walked trough the airport lobby. Then excitment and happiness hit me stronger than ever before. Joy was floating trough my every vene. It wasn't mine, but it spread quickly. And then a smile played on my lips too. I couldn't be sad in that moment. I ran so fast it felt like flying, straight into Adrian's embrace. He hugged me tightly and even lifted me and spunn me around. We were both so happy in that moment. I missed him even more than I thought and tears almost won me over again. Words weren't neccessary.
It only took a minute or two for me to notice the others. I was so happy all the doubts and second thoughts from before became history. I hugged Sydney next, probably because she was standing right next to Adrian. Her eyes were shining and her smile was almost bigger than her face.
"I'm so glad you're safe," I said. "I'm so glad you're back," she replied and paused for a second. "And... I'm sorry for everything you've been trough because of me. Thank you, I'd still be there if it wasn't for you. All of you." My heart was starting to melt. "You should see everything I have for you from Amberwood," I said, but my voice was kind of shaking.
Rose was the next one and when I saw her there with a smile as honest as Sydney's or Adrian's, I couldn't help but feel the admiration for her I used to when we first met. I wanted to be just like her. She was like a super star. Now she was also my friend.
Then I hugged Dimitri. It wasn't even uncomfterable. I got to know him better while he was in Palm Springs, even though Adrian's attitude for him prevented it a little bit.
Christian came next with the ordinary sarcastic grinn on his face. He used to teach me fighting with magic and I almost already forgot how awesome he was. "I missed you, you idiot," I said and hugged him. His grinn widened.
Lissa was standing there last. Nothing was holding me back from her anymore, no hard feelings. It was impressive that she, even as the Queen, she had no other guardians with her beside Rose and Dimitri.
I hugged her. She looked starteled, maybe even touched, but she returned my hug. And ut was just slightly awkward.
Everyone helped to carry our bags and Adrian pulled me forward. "So, how was..." He stopped and studied my face closely. "You cried. What happened?" he asked. Damn it! The stains of tears were still there for sure.
"Oh. That. You know, it gets to you a little when a part of your life ends right on front of you."
Adrian smiled and the feelings comming from him told me he really did know.
"Well then," he said. "Welcome back to the Court."

I really, really hope you liked this. Please let me know if you did or if you didn't. I do not know whne will I update, but I hope soon. Bye for now!