When Lissa Dragomir regained her sanity, she was immediately faced with a problem—one that seemed to have no solution. She could put off reclaiming her throne, but only for a short while. Once the Royals learned that she'd won her battle with Spirit's darkness, they would expect her to either take her place as their Queen or to step down and let them chose another.

She couldn't step down—ruling was her destiny. She knew that now as surely as she knew her own name.

At the same time, she had others to think about besides herself—she didn't want Rose and Dimitri to give up everything they'd built for themselves during the time she'd been… incapacitated. She refused to take them away from their children—but she knew that their duty was deeply ingrained into them; it was a part of their character that could not be dispelled or ignored. No matter how much they might long for a simple family life, it would destroy a part of them to turn their back on their charges.

It was a stalemate—there was an unbreakable wall standing between what they all wanted and what they had to do.

She thought about it nonstop during her convalescing—her mind conjuring up ideas and then immediately dismissing them, over and over again. She watched her best friends interacting with their children, feeling her heart shatter at the thought of taking them away—of putting them in dangerous situations that could leave the babies orphaned. It was unacceptable—she couldn't do it. She wouldn't, no matter what. Likewise, the thought of her niece and nephew being raised in an Academy the way their mother had been—never spending time with their parents, only seeing them on rare occasions—horrified her. She played out scenarios in her head—she could provoke a fight with Rose… or tell her that she didn't want her as a guardian—she could order them to abstain from duty. But those things would hurt them—and she couldn't bear the thought of doing that. They were her family—the people she loved most… the ones who had sheltered her, keeping her safe. They'd never given up on her, and in time, they'd found a way to give her back her mind.

What was she going to do?

As she mulled over the problem, she watched and listened to everything around her, drinking it all in and adding it to the troubles that were stewing in her brain. She saw the way Rose's eyes lit up whenever she talked about Baia—she heard the longing in Dimitri's voice when he reminisced about growing up in the small dhampir commune. The more she learned about the small town, the more she found herself longing to see it. She wanted to experience the slow, easy pace and the friendly acceptance of the dhampirs that lived there the same way Rose had—and maybe… just maybe… by exposing more people to the true nature of the commune, she could dispel the rumors and stigma about the women that chose to live there.

And just like that…. She knew what had to be done.

It was a monarch's prerogative to decide where their Court would be located—that was the custom of the Moroi people. The ruling Queen or King would settle in one place and the Royal's would uproot their families, relocating to the current seat of power and the safety guaranteed by living on the warded grounds that were owned by the Crown. But did she dare attempt such a change, after two years away? Could she reclaim her crown and immediately put forth such a monumental thing, expecting her people to accept it without question?

Yes. She could.

She just needed to formulate a plan. It was like calculus—she simply needed to find the proper equation that would make the dream a reality. So she thought and thought, making out lists only to discard them, until finally she realized that the answer she needed was the simplest one of all. The reasoning was sound—setting up two Courts would be more convenient for the Royals who had remained in the old country, hesitant to leave their homeland when Tatiana had moved to America. It would put the Moroi people in touch with the rich cultural heritage that was lacking in the states—and in splitting her time between two countries and varying the times she traveled, it would decrease the chances of a mass attack by Strigoi since they would never be certain where she might be at any given date.

Those were the reason's she'd give the council—and in part they were true—but what really motivated her more than anything else was her deep love and appreciation for two of her very best friends and the beautiful life they'd created.

When she mentioned the idea to Christian… he was thrilled, to say the least. He'd always hated living at Court—hated the way people watched his every move, as if they were just waiting for him to turn Strigoi. The thought of going back to the way things were haunted him—she could see it in his eyes. The concept of living in a place where people didn't judge him based on the transgressions of his family seemed like heaven on earth—if they moved to a new location, at least he could avoid the Royals that were bound to follow them and hang out with the locals instead.

So she would do what had to be—for all of the people she loved.

When she reclaimed her throne, Queen Vasilisa Dragomir—first of her name—would change the status quo by decreeing that during the remainder of her reign, there would be not one Royal Court—but two. Six months out of the year, the Court would reside in America—and the other six would be spent in Russia, where a new Court would slowly be constructed on the outskirts of the tiny town of Baia.

During the time she was in America, her best friends would be given leave; when Court was in Russia, Rose and Dimitri could serve—still having time to raise their daughter and son away from the prying eyes and gossiping tongues of the Royals. It wasn't the ideal solution—but it was a starting point. It kept the Belikov family together—that was the important thing.

As for how Rose Hathaway Belikov handle her best friend's decision…

That is another story in and of itself.

A/N: Super long one—I apologize in advance. Unfortunately, when guests leave comments that need addressing, I can't answer them in a pm— I have no way of responding other that leaving a note on the next installment/update. Ideally, I could make a post on tumblr addressing whatever it was and then post a link here, but since this site doesn't let me leave links, I'm stuck leaving a long, rambling author's note.

This 'story' is being posted much, much sooner than I intended. I wanted to post it later, once the events in Letting Go and The Mask I Wear unfold for two reasons: a) it's a spoiler, revealing that Lissa regains her mind and throne, and b) it sets the terrain for how my 'next generation' is structured. I couldn't wait because the comments left indicate that some things pertaining to the 'second generation' drabbles and one shots is unclear or confusing, which means I have to make one of two choices. I can either try to clear some things up or just not post any second gen stuff until I reach the point in the corresponding stories where everything is set up. The second is obviously not an option since people are wanting to read about the Belikov siblings now, so I have to go with the first—explaining things outright (which I hate doing, btw. I'd rather let the stories do my explaining as they organically unfold).

First let me say I completely understand wanting to see more Romitri interacting with their children—and it will happen, but from the start, you have to understand one very important thing: Rose Hathaway does not give up her career when she becomes a mother. Being a guardian is a fundamental part of her character, and to just give up being a guardian would be completely out of character for her. I don't do out of character. Ever.

Rose is headstrong, determined and (as her father pointed out in his latest piece) vindictive as hell. When she has children, she becomes resolute to one thing—proving to everyone (especially her mother Janine) that a dhampir woman can be a mother and a guardian without sacrificing either thing. She is determined to prove that she can have her career and raise her children without abandoning them by turning them over to be raised by an Academy full time.

What does this mean? Romitri are working parents. They want to spend all their time with Anya and Ivan (and later with their twins, Natalya and Nikolai)—but they can't. To write them that way would be unrealistic, removing all the obstacles they face. (I don't wax over the problems, I confront them as the story progresses—if you want fluff that glosses over major issues and derails characters, making them ooc, then I suggest you read any Bloodlines book that was written after The Golden Lily.)

From the time the kids are born until they are old enough to start attending an Academy, Rose and Dimitri work as little as possible, making their children their primary focus. Once the children start attending Saint Basil's, their parents start to slowly revert back to spending more time working. So far, all of the drabbles/one shots I have posted have been set after Anya was already in school. The first one I posted (in VA:Reflections) is when Anya is nine years old, and I haven't posted any showing her younger than that yet—so during the current time frame for what has been written and posted, Rose and Dimitri have returned to working 'full time'.

Like any parents who have a job that takes them away from home, during the time they are working, Romitri leave their children in the care of someone else—two people they trust, who don't have jobs outside the home. Adrian and Viktoria. So if it seems like Anya and Ivan interact more with their aunt and uncle, it's because they're around them more. That's real life—when parents work, the children spend more time with their babysitters, nannies, whatever you want to call them. And it often causes jealousy on the part of the parents—which is something that comes into play in later stories.

Secondly, let me explain a little something about how I write these drabbles/one shots. While they are centered around my main stories (for the most part) they aren't plot driven—they are character driven. When I get a prompt with a situation and a character name, I let the character take over. I don't guide them. I don't stick to a structure. Whatever you read is exactly what happened when I 'hand' the character the prompt and say 'go to it'. That's the reason I don't immediately post replies to certain prompts. I don't answer them in the order received—I answer them when the character they pertain to responds. I'm sure that's a little confusing—but it's how I operate. It's what enables me to write anywhere from eight to ten thousand words a day without burning out or losing my connection with the characters. So while I can understand your wanting more Romitri now, or more Romitri interacting with their kids, I can't promise you'll get it today or tomorrow or even next week. It will happen when Rose or Dimitri poke my brain and say 'tell them about the time Anya broke her leg trying to reach the cookie jar' or 'let me tell them about the time we caught Anya and Zach playing doctor'. That's how organic writing works—it's not forced. It happens naturally. When you force a character to fit into a set scenario, it shows, and it's not worth reading. Why? Because it's something you made them to do before they were ready as opposed to something they wanted to do, so it's not their natural response. It's like the old saying goes—good things come to those who wait, if that makes sense.

I have been writing a lot more Vika and Adrian lately, because right now, they are talking nonstop in my head. They want their story updated every day, and they're constantly poking me with things for future chapters. Right now, Rose is wrapped up in a one-shot that I've been meaning to write for over a year. It's one Dimitri's mun (Kate) requested, about Romitri sharing a bubble bath. Now… Dimitri Belikov in a bathtub is something that takes some doing—the man is almost seven feet tall, so fitting him into a tub takes quite a bit of maneuvering—but I've slowly figured it out. Half the story is written, but Rose is still contemplating how it ends, and that's the only thing she's focused on. So when I work on a Rose drabble, (I have four currently in progress—one where she is celebrating her 22nd birthday, one where she having fits because seven year old Anya has been extremely naughty, one leading up to her finding out she's pregnant and one where she's confronting a certain blonde Alchemist about… things) just when I start to get into it, she realizes 'Wait! Dimitri is naked in that giant bathtub! What the hell are you doing working on this crap? Naked, wet, soapy Russian! Right now!' and I lose my train of thought. On days when I am extremely busy and squeezing in time to write, that's pretty frustrating—so I switch over to the characters that are begging me to acknowledge them as opposed to the stubborn, headstrong one.

Like I've said before, I have literally hundreds of drabbles written, and yes, I could pull some of those out and post them, but again—it's a matter of time. I can either write while I feel inspired or spend the time typing up and polishing things I wrote six months to two years ago and risk getting frustrated because I want to be writing something new. It's a catch 22, but that's the way it works.

Having said all that (jfc the authors note is longer than the story) you're in luck because two of the prompts Anya received were for stories about her and her parents. So… you will get a glimpse of teen Anya and Rose bonding and one of Dimitri reading to his little girl in the next few days—providing I can shut Adrian up long enough for me to get them written. Hope this giant missive clears some things up about the 2nd gen stuff—if it didn't, in the very least I hope you understand my process a tiny bit better.

Xoxo and thanks for the feedback—

SWS