Chapter 11

That's when it clicked. These guardians work for the Queen.

The Queen was here.

"Yes, this is Rose Hathaway," Alberta answered; her tone was like steel. The look in her eye reminded me of the fierce guardian that she is.

With a nod, the man reached towards me. Dimitri instantly between us, "What are you doing?" He bit out, voice low and menacing. I don't think I have heard Dimitri talk to another guardian like that before.

"I am to escort her and the Princess to Her Majesty. Either move, or I will make you." The man warned.

He looked like he meant it. Taking a breath to steady myself, I stepped around Dimitri, "It's fine, comrade," I tried to smirk, showing off my false bravo, "I've got this." He clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to hold himself back. I slipped on my own mask, hiding all my fear and looked up at the guardian before me. "Let's go."

With a wave of his hand, two men moved behind me as the other two stood in front. They were using their bodies to cage me in.

And like that, we walked, following the leader to the Administration building, with Dimitri and Alberta at the back with Lissa.

I could feel her apprehension through the bond. Though I don't know how much of that was for her or me. Keeping my head high, I didn't let show my emotions that were raging inside me. Trying to ignore that it felt like I was walking to my death.

One of the guardians in front of me kept glancing back; he was bald but with a thick beard. Catching his eye, I smirked. He scowled, turning away.

Much to my displeasure, when we reached the Administration building, the four men marching me went in an opposite direction to the leader. When Lissa went to follow me, the guardian stopped her, "This way Princess."

"Where are you taking her?" Lissa demanded.

"She will be questioned first." He answered in a gruff voice. There was no kindness in his tone. "The Queen wishes to speak to you all first."

I glanced over my shoulder to see Dimitri standing torn for what to do, Alberta beside him just as unsure. I gave them a nod of encouragement, "I'll be fine." I called over, keeping my voice even.

A guardian behind me with blond hair nudged me forward, "Keep moving." They led me around the corner before I could see what the others did. With no other choice, I followed the Guardians.

At first, I thought we would be going to a room similar to when I first came back. My stomach dropped when I realised how wrong I was. They were leading me to the cells.

My breath caught in my throat, my lungs refusing to work. It felt like ice had filled my veins, an intense dread overtaking me until I was numb.

I wanted to fight, to scream, but knew that it would be useless against four giant, very well trained guardians. If I tried anything, I knew they would not hold back.

The creaking of the cell door almost brought tears to my eyes. I bit my lip and composed myself. I will not let them see me cry. I stepped in, glaring at the bald guardian that held the cell door open.

"Feel like a big man locking a girl in a cage?" I taunted. Not my best idea, but I was panicking, and anger was my coping mechanism.

They didn't take the bait.

Baldie locked the cell door, taking a stance next to it while the other three went back down the hallway.

The cell was small, with a bed, sink and toilet. No way I would even be using that. I walked the short distance of the cell twice before sitting on the bed. I was trying to remind myself to breathe, but I kept thinking back to the fact I was in a cell. An actual cell.

Two weeks ago, I would have readily accepted that this was my life now and resigned myself to it. But I had been told over and over I wasn't a prisoner and believed it.

Obviously, the Queen disagreed .

A feeling of claustrophobia washed over me. I never liked the idea of cells or cages. Even the ones at the zoo gave me panic attacks. And now, here I was locked up in a cell, feeling like the walls were going to close in on me.

Needing to get my mind off my surroundings, I let myself slip into Lissa's mind.

Lissa stood outside of Headmistress Kirova's office. Not surprising that's where Tatiana would set herself up. Dimitri and Alberta stood on either side of Lissa, which made me feel better knowing she wasn't alone.

Finally, the door to the office opened, allowing the three of them to enter. The room had three more guardians, Miss Kirova and, sitting at the desk, Queen Tatiana.

She glanced up at Lissa, a smile pulling at her lips, showing her fangs, "Ah Vasilisa, how good to see you."

Lissa bowed, "And you too, Your Majesty."

"How are you? Staying out of trouble, I am sure."

"Of course, if I may ask, where have you taken Rose?" Lissa asked. She wanted to demand but knew she had to play nice with the Queen.

Tatiana focused back on the papers in front of her and waved her hand, "Oh, she is fine, just precautionary measures, of course."

I scoffed. Lissa panicked, "What kind of precautionary measures?" It was bold of her to ask when Tatiana had seemed to have moved on.

This time Tatiana looked up with no smile, "Until I conduct my investigation Miss Hathaway will be under close observation in the Academy's cells."

Lissa took a step back. She was not expecting that. She quickly glanced over to Dimitri; his mask had slipped, showing his own disbelief and horror.

"All due respect, Your Majesty, but Rose is of no threat to anyone, keeping a student down there -" Alberta started.

"Yes, I did see you have tried to enrol her back into classes. Do you truly think that was a good idea?" She levelled her cold gaze on Alberta.

Appearing to be unaffected, Alberta continued, "Rose is not a risk; what happened to her is not her fault. She is a normal dhampir and should be treated as such."

"And what an extraordinary story of how she became normal again. Just a bit far fetched, don't you think?"

This time Lissa defended herself, "It isn't a lie. I healed her. There were other guardians there who can vouch for that night, Including Guardians Petrov and Belikov. I restored Rose."

"Be that as it may, she will stay there until I say so." Tatiana's tone was leaving no room for argument. No one could fight the Queen on this.

A tense atmosphere settled over the room. Lissa wanted to fight more and defend me, but she didn't want to risk making it worse. If the Queen didn't trust me, it would be better for Lissa to stay in her good graces to help me. It didn't stop her worries from growing, wondering if I was okay.

This was another time that I wished our bond worked both ways, and I could at least ease her fears by letting her know I was fine, relatively anyway. My own fear was making me want to hide in the corner. But I had to be strong and do everything to ensure that they know I am no longer a threat.

I had finally gained some of my life back, my friendship with Lissa, with my parents. And my relationship with Dimitri. I wasn't ready to give up any of that again.

Lissa drew me back in. Someone new had entered the room.

Adrian. He strolled into the office without knocking.

"Hello, dear Aunt." Adrian greeted Tatiana, earning him a warm smile.

"I had heard you were here." There was a hint of disapproval in her tone. She probably thought Adrian was here to gain my affections again.

Adrian lounged in the armchair in front of the desk. He was the only one in the room that looked unaffected by the current situation, "Well, it isn't every day your friend comes back from the dead."

Arching her eyebrow at him, "Do you think you could have achieved what Vasilisa claims?"

He pondered it for a moment, "I don't know, I haven't really tried." Before Tatiana could respond, he continued, "Though if anyone could achieve it, it would be the Princess."

Tatiana regarded him, looking to be considering his words.

"Bringing Rose back is a great achievement -" Cutting himself off, he glanced around the room, focusing on Lissa, "Where is Rose?"

Tatiana looked like she wanted to roll her eyes but maintained her professional demeanour, "As I was just explaining, Miss Hathaway will remain in the cells. I will be sending someone to question her soon."

"May Belikov be there when they do?" Alberta asked. Hope swelled in both Lissa and me. Just seeing him with my own eyes would help make my current situation a bit better.

"What would be the purpose for that?" The Queen questioned.

Alberta explained, "Having someone there she knows would help, considering you have a young girl locked up in a cell surrounded by people she doesn't know. She is no doubt terrified."

I pulled a face. Even though I am indeed freaking out, I didn't like others assuming that I am. I want them to think that I would stay strong in any situation.

"I would like to go as well," Adrian requested.

Tatiana glanced back between the two before finally settling on Adrian. Something she saw there made her give in, "Very well, you may be present for the questioning, but you do not interfere." She waved at the guardian that had led us here from the church, "Hans, take them down and explain the situation. Tarus should be there soon enough."

I felt joy from Lissa as well as myself. Dimitri will be close. She glanced back at him, giving him a subtle nod— look after her .

Hans exited the room quickly, followed by Dimitri and Adrian after a bow from them both to the Queen.

Lissa breathed a sigh of relief, feeling better, knowing I wouldn't be alone, though she was still concerned about how the questioning would go.

Tatiana moved her papers away from her, focusing her attention on Lissa, "Now then, Vasilisa, tell me exactly what happened that night."

"Hey!"

A loud voice pulled me out of Lissa's head. I shot a glare at Baldie; I decided that was his name now. "What?"

Most guardians tended to keep their faces completely blank, but Baldie did even try to hide his look of disdain for me. He pulled out a set of keys and opened my cell door, "Sit up and do as you're told, try anything funny, and I'll make sure you regret it." He stepped into the cell, the corner of his lips turning up, noticing my flinch from his words.

This guy was just a ray of sunshine. I stayed rooted in my spot on the bed. I gave a nod to show him I understood, not entirely trusting my voice.

He leant forward, gripping my wrist tightly with one hand, his other tugging a set of handcuffs from his belt. My eyes widened. I couldn't believe they were going to handcuff me. I wanted to yank my arm out of reach, but I knew that would end badly. I held as still as possible as he cuffed one wrist followed by the other.

The cool metal bit into my skin; they were tighter than they needed to be.

Deciding that I wasn't going to try anything, he waved down the hall. Two guardians, a Moroi man and Adrian and Dimitri, appeared outside my cell a moment later.

My heart clenched at the sight of Dimitri. His eyes were on me, searching my form for any sign that I had been mistreated. I could tell he was just barely holding himself back; it looked like he was vibrating. His eyes narrowed on my restraints, and I could see the fury build up in him. Trying to conceal it, his eyes locked on my own, giving me some comfort.

As promised, he and Adrian remained quiet and against the far wall. Surprisingly the Moroi entered, clutching a small stool and a clipboard. This must have been who Tatiana had mentioned. I recognised him as Reece Tarus, a member of The Council.

He placed his stool before me and perched on it, examining his clipboard. The brief glance I got at it, it appeared to be a checklist of sorts. Clearing his throat, he started his interrogation, "Rose Hathaway?"

My mind flashed back to Alberta questioning me that first night I was back, also asking my name. Biting my lip to stop myself from saying anything that would not help my case, I simply nodded.

"Good, good," He marked that off on his clipboard, peering back at me, he leant forward, "Now let me see your eyes."

I didn't enjoy him being in my personal space but didn't say anything. I just kept reminding myself to breathe. Just make it through this, and they will let me out .

And so it continued like that, him asking a question and me answering, check it off on the list. It was a lot of the same as what Alberta had asked. What happened? How was I healed? Though he had some of his own, that were unexpected.

"Do you crave blood?"

I blinked at him, "No."

"So you don't crave my blood?"

"No."

"What about their's?" he gestured to the others outside of the cell.

"No."

He hmmed to himself, "You don't wish to hurt anyone here?"

I took a breath, calming myself. I held his eyes so he could see I was serious, "No." I felt like I had said that word enough times that it was losing its meaning. I glanced at Dimitri; he looked as done with this as I felt.

He ticked off another one, "And can you go into the sun?"

I nodded, "I've been out a couple of times."

"Do you find the sun blinding?" Reece asked.

"No," I responded.

"What if you stared into the sun?"

I laughed, "Seriously?" Thinking this was a joke question or something, but the serious expression on his face said otherwise. "I would go blind, obviously." It took everything in me to not roll my eyes.

Reece didn't like my answer by the pursing of his lips but moved on. Baldie also didn't appreciate it, shooting me a warning with his eyes.

"Does a stake hurt you?" Reece asked, already waving for Baldie to pull his out, frowning but complied.

I held my bound hands out to him. This should be their last test.

With little hesitation, Baldie pressed the cool metal against my palm, pulling it away when there was no reaction.

Reece didn't appear satisfied, "Cut her with it." Everyone turned shocked eyes to him.

Dimitri moved towards the cell, ignoring the looks of warning from the other guardians, "That would hurt anyone, not just Strigoi." he argued.

"Strigoi's heal quickly. We can test both at once." Reece acted like it was nothing. He focused on me, waiting for me to deny him.

This was just another test I realised, either do what they say and let them stab me or say no and have it used against me. I had to make a choice. Gritting my teeth, I stood. I held my arms out to Baldie, "Come on then, can't roll up my sleeve myself."

Dimitri tried to stop me, "Rose, you don't have to do this."

"Step back, or we will make you." The blond guardian from before warned Dimitri.

I jerked my arm at Baldie again, giving my permission, "It's fine. If this is what the Queen needs, I will do it." I stared into Dimitri's eyes, trying to convey to him, to beg him to stop. I don't know if I could keep going through this if he wasn't there. Seeming to understand, he returned to the wall, though it was reluctant.

Bracing myself for what will undoubtedly be a lot of pain as the sleeve of my hoodie is pushed up my arm, exposing skin. Baldie grips the stake; he hesitated this time, unsure of cutting someone that wasn't a threat.

Reece nodded his head, "Get on with it then."

He swiped at my arm, cutting deep. I had to bite my lip to stop any sound from escaping. While my skin didn't sizzle or burn like a Strigoi's would, it was still painful.

Dimitri's jaw was clenched, barely containing his anger, as he watched the blood seep down my arm. I couldn't help but smile at the small amount of pride I saw in his eyes. I was staying strong.

After being quiet throughout, Adrian finally spoke, "Okay, she's bleeding. Are you satisfied? Now let me heal her." He made to step forward, but Reece held a hand out to silence him.

"We need to see if she heals quickly or not." He replied, still staring me in the eyes. I held them, refusing to look away. While I hated everything about this, I had to go along with it. And Reece knew that too. Whatever hoops he threw, I had to jump.

As the minutes dragged on, blood dripped in the space between us, creating a small puddle on the ground.

"Proof enough yet?" I grounded out, not even trying to hide my dislike for Moroi before me.

Reece turned to Baldie, "Wrap it in a bandage. We will check if the wound is still there in a couple of hours." He picked up his clipboard and left the cell without looking back.

My eyes widened as his words sunk in, "A couple of hours?" I asked incredulously. "You can't just leave me in here."

Baldie closed and locked the cell door behind himself. I threw myself at the bar, hoping it all to be a terrible joke. I turned frantically to Dimitri and Adrian, both looking how I felt.

"She has answered all your questions. There's no reason to keep her locked up." Dimitri called after the Moroi, voice thick with anger.

Baldie tried to stare down Dimitri, but Dimitri had a good couple of inches on him. "Until Her Majesty says so, she will stay here." He lowered his voice, once again warning Dimitri, "And if you want to be able to see her, then I suggest you calm down."

Dimitri took a step back. The realisation that he had let his emotions take control sobered him. With a breath, his face shifted back to his guardian masked. "At least let me tend to the cut."

Eying him for a moment, Baldie nodded, holding a small first aid kit to Dimitri, who all but snatched it from his hand. Dimitri moved towards me, opening the box. Adrian was not far behind him.

"The bastard, I'll talk to my great-aunt Rose; I won't let you just be stuck down here," Adrian assured me.

I stood as close to the bars as possible so Dimitri could thread his through to bandage the cut. "I don't know. They seem pretty out to get me. Maybe there is no getting out." I muttered to myself, eyes cast down. My hope of passing all their tests was dimensioning.

Dimitri's thumb rubs against the skin of my arm, it was subtle enough that no one else noticed, but I knew he was trying to comfort me. "It won't be much longer. Don't give up."

I shifted my gaze up to him, his concern for me evident and a little bit of regret. I couldn't be sure why or what he was regretting and didn't feel like trying to figure it out currently. I hadn't been up for long, but I was already exhausted. However, that could also be because of the blood loss.

Dimitri attached a metal clip to my bandage to hold it in place; satisfied with his work, he closed the kit. "That should hold, trying not to move around too much."

"Thanks, comrade," I drew my arm back and stepped away from the bars, not trusting myself not to try to reach for him. Dimitri opened his mouth to say something but is cut off by Baldie.

"You have to leave now."

A storm raged within Dimitri. I know he wanted to stay with me, to argue with the Guardian. But I needed him to not be in trouble, not when one of us was already in a cell. "It's okay," I called for him, holding his eyes, once again pleading for him to understand.

He looked broken, pained by his decision. With a nod, he relented, stepping away from the cell. He and Adrian slowly made their way down the hall. Away from me.

I watched them until they disappeared. My bottom lip trembled, so I bit it to stop. I was strong, and I can do this.

Never forget the strength you have.

My parent's message from my card played over and over in my head.

I lowered to the bed, shuffling back until my back hit the wall behind me.

I will get out of here, I told myself. I will not give in and just let them take me away. I just had to stay strong.