Chapter 7

"Hathaway, I hope you have good reason to drag us all here last minute," grunted Lord Dashkov. "Get on with it, let us hear it."

Rose had Headmistress Karova call an emergency meeting with members of the court council, all of them currently staring, awaiting her to speak.

"We are all well aware of my absence these past two years, however, the reasons have remained speculation-"

Rose began, but was cut off.

"Honestly Hathaway, no one cares why a novice guardian ran off, if this is all you wanted to talk about today go get your attention else where," Lady Conta huffed.

Oddly patient, Rose continued on as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Princess Valissa and I had been stalked and harassed weeks prior to my leaving. We hadn't informed anyone at the time because we believed it was our peers just trying to scare us, but as the nature of the attacks got progressively darker we started to look into it more closely. There were, at times, messages written in blood for us to leave, for Lissa to give up on life, but some messages stuck out as odd. 'The court would never vote you queen' 'The strigoi want you'. Dead, mutilated animals started turning up, and our peers seemed to know nothing about it. The night before I left I was confronted by an ancient strigoi, named Isaiah, here on campus," there were audible gasp from the rapt crowd at her confession,"he told me that he wanted me to join him; together we would be powerful because of the bond I share with Lissa, and that Lissa, too, would turn. He said that she and I were too big a threat, and that he would give me a day to think it over, any longer and he would have us killed. If we were so big a threat it was a wonder he let us live at all, so obviously whatever threat we posed could also be an advantage for him. We realized something bigger was happening, most likely having to do with Valissa's strong spirit capabilities. The staff here at St. Vlads and the court have never been very forthcoming with information, and we also believe that someone inside the court is working with the strigoi, so I took matters into my own hands. In my two years I was hunted by Isaiah, if he wanted me dead I would be dead, which begs the question why does he want me alive so badly? And why hasn't he taken or hurt Valissa yet? I got my answers from Robert Doru."

"Robert?" scoffed Lord Dashkov,"The mans a recluse, I don't see how he helped you very much."

"Robert Daru is a spirit user, and is the only person to have ever restored a strigoi back to their former self. He helped very much indeed."

"That's not possible!" exclaimed Karova.

"The idea is absolutely preposterous!" seconded Lady Conta.

Carrying on Rose said,"Robert and I investigated for the better half of a year, and we believe that the strigoi need me alive for Lissa's sake, and need her alive in order to restore some of their health. Not enough restoration to make them dhampir or Moroi, but quite possibly enough to desensitize them to sunlight and return elemental powers to the Moroi who lost them when they were turned. Spirit has not been well studied or documented, especially in a case such as ours where the spirit user has an outlet for their darkness, allowing them to use much more power, much more frequently. No one knows with any certainty what is and isn't possible."

The room seemed to hold it's breath, the world momentarily standing still, while everyone processed the information. Dimitri looked over to Rose, who sat back straight, her face unreadable. She looked as if she had aged; the air around her exuded exhaustion. Again he was impressed by her, she was so young and yet she had accomplished and dealt with so much.

"Why is it you believe someone is helping the strigoi?" asked Karova

"Isaiah had access and information that he wouldn't have unless he had someone on the inside."

"What's to keep him from trying again?"

The question hung unanswered in the air, weighing heavy on the already overwhelmed atmosphere.

"Nothing," Valissa said, speaking up for the first time. "He's gotten into the school before, he can do it again. This time it's most likely he'll just kidnap us."

"The guardians will make all efforts to avoid such an event, Your Highness," Guardian Petrov declared, "It is obvious our security needs upgrading."

"Indeed," Karova stated, devoid of emotion. "Our security will be tightened and an investigation launched. Hathaway, I believe that's all for today."

Without pleasantries Rose left the room; Lissa, Dimitri, and Petrov hurrying to catch up with her retreating form.

"So what now, Rose?" whispered Lissa.

"Now, my dearest Lis, we prepare ourselves while the court shoves their heads even further up their asses."

A/N:

dun dun duuuuuuun.

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