Chapter 24:

DPOV.

Today we are going to court. The jet is to leave in an hour. I wasn't looking forward to this.

When I walked over to the plane I saw the girls, Christian and to my horror Adrian. He gave me a big smile that was so smug it seemed personal, and suddenly I knew how the queen had changed her mind.

I didn't know where my inferiority complex regarding Adrian came from, but the fact he could so easily accomplish something that was important to Rose where I could not, was not helping matters.

I knew Rose loved me but I could not help but wonder what kind of life we would have together. Even if we find a way to be together. Life as two guardians would not be easy. But if she was with Adrian she could have the life she disserved. He could provide for her in ways I could not. He could give her a family. Sure their relationship would also be frowned upon, but I doubt both Adrian or Rose would care.

I met Rose's eyes when I sat down and she smiled at me. The smile was so filled with love that I knew I was being silly. Rose and Adrian might have happened in a different life, but as long as I am alive, he would not stand a chance. Rose only had eyes for me.

The plane took off towards court and I settled in reading my book feeling much better about Adrian than I had in days.

RPOV

I settled into the plane. The moment the plane left the ground I got a headache. The kind I associated with the early days of seeing ghosts. Damn why does this keep happening? I groaned and laid back into my chair. There she was again, Lissa's mother. She was trying to say something but I couldn't hear her. She looked straight at me, she wanted me to do something but I didn't understand what. The headache got worse and eventually I needed to actively put my guard up.

"Wow"

I opened my eyes and I saw Adrian looking at me funny. He was hanging over the seat looking down at me.

"What, wow?"

"Your aura, it was pitch black just a moment ago. I have never seen anything like it."

I could see Dimitri looking up. He probably thought it was about the darkness, but this time it wasn't. Well I suppose it was. Both my ghost seeing and taking the darkness were caused by the same event, me dying. I never understood why I had seen ghosts until Viktor told me I had died. It had happened when I had made my first kill and I had been petrified. I had worried I was going insane. It had also hurt like hell. I had had two days of extreme agony and ghosts pulling at me and my soul before I could block them. I hadn't known they were ghosts exactly, but I had known they were real and that I was connected to them. I also learned control, I never let them out on purpose. But now that seemed to be happening all on its own. I hadn't had to keep my control on as tight since coming back to the Academy.

Well, that wasn't true. Spokane had been an onslaught of my control, but I had blamed the stress of that situation.

"I am just in a mood, Adrian, that's all."

I saw Dimitri sitting down. If he did think it was about the darkness, he was willing to risk Adrian's skin over it. I had to internally laugh at that. Those two really didn't get along. Although I think if they really tried they would find that they might actually like each other. The way they acted around each other kind of reminded me of brothers. One always jealous of the other and one always boasting about it. Trying to compete for everything. Yeah definitely brothers.

On that hilarious note I fell asleep and hours later I walked down the steps of the plane and into the Moroi Court and soon Viktor would face justice.

And justice he did face, but not without making a suggestion at Dimitri's and mine expense. Nobody believed him though, idiots. Viktor had tried to manipulate us, but had failed. He was locked up now and would never be free again. I took great comfort in knowing that.

We all felt a little lighter after that.

That was until I got a call that I was called in to see the queen. Lissa had been in earlier, and she had discussed college options with the queen. The queen had made her a very nice offer. She was going to Leigh and could stay mostly at court in order to learn politics from the queen herself. I was relieved. Leigh was a dream college for Lissa and this would also mean that Dimitri could try and get a position at court. Good news all around.

So I didn't know why the queen had wanted to see me. Wasn't I a lonely Dhampir of no real significance?

I walked in a little nervous.

"Ah Rosemarie, please sit down."

She was having tea and biscuits. Oh my God. That was just too cliché to even be funny.

But I could not deny a direct command from my queen so I sat down.

She was swirling her tea with a spoon. When she was done she placed the spoon on the side of the cup. She didn't even bother to offer me a cup. Nor did she directly look at me.

"I shall come straight down to business. You will stop this ridiculous affair you have with my nephew before you tarnish his reputation."

I just sat there silently, not believing this is what the queen wanted to talk to me about, my shock getting the better of me. Apparently I took a little too long in answering, because Queen Tatiana's face went from royally uninterested to royally pissed off.

"I am not having an affair with Adrian, regardless of what people say, regardless of what even he says. We are friends, sort of, if one friend annoys the hell out of the other friend, but friends. There is nothing more between Adrian and me."

I couldn't quite read Tatiana's reaction. Did she believe me? She looked at me as if I misunderstood her. But she covered it up quickly.

"Good, your time is better spent elsewhere. You have a lot of catching up to do if you ever hope on becoming the princess's guardian. You don't have time to divert your attentions elsewhere. I hate to think what would happen to a Dhampir girl if she was denied a position as a Guardian."

Her eyes narrowed and I read the threat loud and clear. I was fuming on the inside. I was already on high alert with the trial and I had no patience left for the Queen. But screaming my head off against Tatiana wouldn't win me any points.

Dimitri would be proud.

"I have been working very hard. I have several kills and I am top of my class. I would sacrifice everything for Lissa. I would die for Lissa. My commitment has never been in question."

I think Tatiana wanted to question my commitment regardless. What did Adrian tell her? I was training more than my peers. I had a lot more experience. Although she didn't know that, she only saw the result. But she couldn't deny my skill.

She decided against slamming me more and simply dismissed me like only a Queen could.

"Good, that will be all, Rosemarie."

And she went back to her tea and biscuits.

Unbelievable! That rude cow. What the hell were people thinking was going on between Adrian and me?

I was fuming by the time I got back to Lissa. She saw me and wanted to know what the queen had wanted. I told her and I saw she was shocked as well. But then her frown transformed into a big smile.

"You know what you need? A little pampering."

She was practically bouncing.

I must admit, a bit of pampering sounded nice. But I had no idea what that actually was until Lissa brought me to a spa. She had booked us full body massages, but I convinced her to get some manicures instead. It sounded so ridiculously girly and decadent. Something I hadn't done in a long time. Something I probably will never do again as a guardian. Well maybe if I was guarding Lissa. She would drag me here all the time.

We walked into the spa. Although people looked a bit weird at me, they were very accommodating to the last Dragomir princess. They even threw in a foot massage. Ah, that sounded like heaven.

When our nails were done (I had picked a gold nail polish) we got our foot massages. I was surprised when a very handsome man came up to me and started to work on my feet.

I looked at Lissa questionably; I had seen the bite marks on his neck.

He is Tatiana's own personal treat. In more ways than one.

I scrunched up my nose in disgust, I so didn't want to know that. Very hypocritical of her too. Here she was forbidding me from seeing Adrian and she was harboring her own personal blood whore.

I looked a bit funny at the man.

"I know, you don't often see a male Dhampir as something else as a guardian, but could you stop staring?"

I looked at him apologetically, but I could tell from the smile on his face he didn't seem to take it all so seriously.

"Don't worry. I know what I do is frowned upon, but I didn't want to be a guardian and this way I can still be around my family and friends instead of ostracized in the human world."

"Must be nice to know you still have a place in this world."

"You sound like you are not sure of yours." He commented. I was surprised by my own admission. I have always known where my place was, at Lissa's side. But something over the past few months had changed. I also knew I belonged with Dimitri. We knew we both couldn't guard Lissa, but what of all the other options? What if he didn't get an assignment at court? Would I still choose to stay with Lissa, or would I follow Dimitri. I always thought I knew the answers. But of late I was beginning to have doubts. I couldn't live without either of them. They were the two halves of my soul.

The handsome man seemed to guess my hesitation.

"Come one, I know someone that can help give you some guidance."

Lissa and I both looked at each other. I was intrigued. I could feel through the bond she was excited as well.

And that is how we ended up following a male blood whore named Ambrose to the shady part of court into a blood red room with a fortune teller.

Lissa got some generic fortune about being a light in this world and her part in making it a better place.

When my turn came she asked me to pull some tarot cards from the deck. I picked three. One of them was upside down. There was a sun so bright the person in front of it had its eyes closed. As if they were harmed by the sun themself. The second card I didn't need her reading for. The card was almost all black. The person was barely visible, but one thing was clear. The little drawn man in the card was in agony. I was almost afraid to look at the third card. But it seemed a lot better. There was a small girl in a field of flowers. There was something very peaceful and full of life about that card. It redeemed the other two cards a bit. I hoped that those dark cards represented my past with the darkness and the girl in the field of flowers represented my life now, where I had Dimitri to fight off the darkness.

"The cards are ambiguous. You will be swallowed by the darkness. But on the other side there will be life. Very contradicting."

Although she made it seem like all those cards were in the future. Great. I knew the darkness all too well. I suppose it would eventually kill me. Maybe she meant that I would go to heaven afterwards. The field of flowers looked like how I pictured heaven.

But I didn't read too much into it. I didn't believe in fortune tellers. They were all very generic. I mean her fortune could mean anything.

"There you two are."

I was pulled out of denial at Dimitri's voice. He had poked his head around the corner of the door.

"Yeah, we were just getting our fortunes told. It is fascinating." Lissa was upbeat and clasped her hands together when she addressed Dimitri. He looked over at the elderly woman sitting behind the desk.

"Come young man. Let me tell you about your future."

I didn't think Dimitri was into that kind of stuff. Which is why it surprised me when he sat down and nodded respectfully at the older woman.

He pulled three cards and the fortune teller named Rhonda was staring at the cards. She looked at him and her eyes were sad.

"You will lose what you value most."

Dimitri had an intense gaze as he studied the women. She seemed to study him back. Neither of them said anything. After a few moments, it was Dimitri that pierced the silence.

"Thank you."

Dimitri stood up and he motioned for us to do the same.

"The plane is about to leave. We should be on it and on our way back to the academy."

We all walked back to the plane in a bit of a gloom. I didn't believe in fortune tellers but something about Dimitri's and mine fortune didn't feel right.

We sat on the plane and I picked the seat next to Dimitri.

"You believe that crock. I mean at least we didn't have to pay for her swindle." I tried to say it in my very flippant Rose voice, but somewhere fear took hold in the words and the statement went flat.

Dimitri looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

"You don't believe she has some insight?"

"You do?"

"Yes, she is a Vrãjitoare."

"A what now?"

He laughed.

"a Vrãjitoare. It's a kind of witch I suppose, although it doesn't really translate well into English. My grandmother is one. I was always taught to respect her gift."

I smiled a little at that. Who knew that Dimitri believed in something like that.

"So when you were bad, did she turn you into a toad?"

He outride laughed at that. And it seemed the earlier gloom from Rhonda's prophecies was forgotten.

"No, mostly she just sent me to my room, and I obeyed. She is scary."

Now I had to laugh. It was hard picturing this big Russian badass being afraid of anything. But as he recalled the memories of his grandmother I knew he spoke the truth. This must be an amazing woman. I wondered if I would meet her one day, and if I did, if I was going to survive her.