Yay! Another Chapter is up, and I'll have to tell you, this is probably my favorite Chapter so far, it was so much fun writing it and I think you guys will like it, I hope.

I threw in a Richelle quote from BL that I SIMPLY COULDN'T AVOID PUTTING, it was perfect for the moment, you guys will notice.

My amazing Beta: CherrySlushLover :3

DISCLAIMER: VAMPIRE ACADEMY AND BLOODLINES BELONG TO THE FLAWLESS RICHELLE MEAD.

SYDNEY'S POV

I stood in the middle of the hall, surrounded by Dhampirs and Moroi, ensuring that the elections went right and jotting down every miniscule detail about everything that was happening. After all, I was the only Alchemist witnessing the elections. I came to Court a few days ago, and I still hadn't seen Rose or Dimitri. I had barely caught a glimpse of Lissa and Christian, the black-haired, icy blue eyes guy. Adrian wasn't anywhere in sight either. I didn't even know why I was looking for him or the others, but if Rose trusted them, then I can say they were the closest people to me in here.

The place came to order, after an old Moroi guy spoke in a microphone, his deep voice catching everyone's attention.

"We have all gathered here at Court to follow the traditions that Moroi have had for thousands of years. Every generation of Moroi has had a King or Queen to guide us through prosperity and peace. In the light of recent events, we have lost our dear and beloved Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. May her soul rest in peace." He paused and lowered his head as a sign of respect and continued shortly. "Due to law and traditions, we must choose a new King or Queen from our twelve royal families. Until now, we have seen what they have to offer, we have seen their dedication and we have seen them overcome the challenges set. It is now the time to choose a new ruler, that will shower us with his or her knowledge, and guide us to a better future. I present to you, the three nominees for the throne. Rufus Tarus, Marie Conta and Vasilisa Dragomir."

The three royals stepped up to the stage, and they all held regal stances and presences, but Lissa seemed like she was the queen already. Everything about her looked queenly- she held herself gracefully, and although I knew she was nervous, she didn't convey it at all. She stood beautifully, looking ahead at the crowd, nodding and smiling to people. She had to win. They all sat in the seats at the middle of the stage; Lissa's being silver and green.

"We will now proceed to voting, starting on the Badica clan."

"Vasilisa Dragomir."

On and on went the voting, the last family to vote was the Ivashkov one. Lissa won the elections with 6 votes from the Dragomir, Szelsky, Ivashkov, Badica, Ozera and Voda families, Rufus with 4 from the Tarus, Zeklos, Dashkov and Lazar families, and Marie with 2 from the Conta and Drozdov families. The crowd was cheering loudly, and many others looked extremely upset. Lissa Dragomir was chosen as the new Queen of the Court. If I recalled correctly, from Moroi history, there was once a Queen that was the same age as Lissa, Alexandra, and she ruled the Moroi grandiosely.

The elections were over by sunrise, I needed sleep and my schedule had got messed up.

"Surprised by the outcome, Sage?" A voice behind me surprised me and almost made me jump. I turned around to find Adrian Ivashkov glancing over my shoulder to the notes I had scribbled and immediately hid them by pressing them to me. "Your surprised face can't hide it."

"Of course I'm surprised. It has been centuries since a Moroi this young has been elected King or Queen, it is unheard of in our generation." I said nervously turning around to look at the front- he was too close. "Well, my job here in the elections is done. I must get going. If you'll excuse me."

I stood up, surprised when Adrian stood up too. What was he doing? He quickly walked to block me and turned around to face me, leaning in so his face was at eye-level and just inches from mine. "And where exactly are you going, Sage? Don't you hate Moroi and Dhampirs? This place is crowded with Moroi and—" He spoke out blurry words too fast, and I smelled alcohol and smoke on him, probably the reason why I couldn't understand what he said. His hair was styled to look messy, but still made him look painfully attractive. He wore a black silk, long-sleeve shirt, with jeans and dark blue leather, boat shoes. His emerald eyes staring straight at me, a snarky smile on his face.

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I didn't get the last part," I said, backing off whilst rounding him as I stared back at him. I then broke eye contact and kept on walking, trying to brush him off, but he kept on following me. When I saw he wasn't going to leave, I said, "I'm on an official mission from the Alchemists, and I am not allowed to reveal any information."

"007, Alchemist Sydney Sage, is on an official mission. Don't distract her, people." said Adrian smiling as he raised his hands placing them behind his head as he kept walking by my side. "May I be the side-kick, 007 agent Sage?" he said, as he cocked his head to the side to look at me.

I had to smile at that; the idea of being a secret agent wasn't that far from being an Alchemist, we were in fact guardians of secrets. The main one being: vampires. He was still staring at me, I could tell, and I concluded that it must have been from my smile. I quickly got serious again because I didn't want to be a topic of amusement and stared straight ahead whilst increasing my pace. Why was he following me?

As if he could read my mind, he matched my pace and added, "I'm really bored here, Sage, and I'm trying to avoid a confrontation with a certain little Dhampir for as long as I can. My dear cousin, Lissa, is now a Queen, and her blue-eyed companion is no fun without her. And Castile is still being questioned. I figured out you were the hottest thing around here, beside elections. So, I'm here." After he spoke, he retrieved a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. I crinkled my nose and looked at him as though I was disappointed. He shrugged it off and continued to follow me.

The hottest thing around? Was I seriously a hot topic in Court? The thought of it made me shiver and I made the sign against evil in my left shoulder.

"What is that?" asked Adrian, "That thing you did in your shoulder, and don't tell me you were cleaning it from dust. I'm drunk, but I can still perceive details, at least a bit. I'm curious. Tell me Sage."

"A sign from the Alchemists." I said. I wasn't lying. It would be completely unprofessional to tell him I did it because I was thinking of Moroi and wanted to feel at least a little bit safe from them. He seemed sceptical, but shrugged it off and kept walking by my side.

I didn't dare asking myself a mental question, it was scary enough knowing that he answered one I asked just a few minutes ago. Suddenly, Adrian started laughing hysterically at the roof, cigarette on hand, as he walked to the wall for support, placing his right arm on it, and then his head. I paused and looked all around us, the hall—lit only by rays of sunlight entering the windows—was empty, and then I heard it. He was sobbing heavily, and then he fell to his knees. I hurried to him- I didn't know why I did; he wasn't hurt at all, at least not physically. His sobs were uncontrolled, wild, and I could hear the pain in them. I didn't know his story, I didn't know what he has been through, I didn't know why he acted like this, but maybe this was why he drowned himself in alcohol and smoke. He was scarred, a marred soul, and I genuinely felt sorry for him, even though he was a Moroi. He wasn't so different to humans, on the emotional part at least.

I tried to speak to calm him, but no words came out. I shouldn't even be worrying about him, but it would have been terribly mean and not human to just leave him there in his misery alone. I decided to sit on his left, with my back on the wall. I waited for him to come out from his crisis; if he wanted to be alone he would have told me. A few minutes went by, and he stared directly at me. His emerald eyes were covered in tears, red from crying.

"Tell me Sage, has your heart been broken before? Has your heart been ripped out, stepped on, chewed, thrown around, destroyed and then set on fire?" whispered Adrian, "Because mine has."

"I—"

"Don't answer, Sage," he interrupted me as he chuckled, "It was a rhetorical question. I'm so sorry that you had to see me like this, on my weakest moment, I just—I can't—so much has happened lately."

"Mr Ivashkov, I'm sure that you can overcome whatever it is that is causing you grief and misery," I whispered back, trying to sound reassuring, "And I'm also sure that you're a strong person, not one that can be easily thrown to the floor."

He smiled at this and looked up at me saying, "Sydney—may I call you Sydney?—by this point, I think you can call me Adrian. You have seen me cry after all; I have pretty much thrown my biography at your feet the moment I broke down, so don't worry because I already trust you." He paused, and then went on by saying, "I'm already on the floor though. I truly appreciate the faith you have in me, but I'm no way as strong as you portray me. I'm a coward; I run from all my problems and drown myself in these God forsaken vices. I'm going to die with shrunken lungs and damaged kidneys. I'm miserable and I'm nothing." He then stared at the floor and closed his eyes. "Nothing." he whispered.

I removed the lit cigarette from his left hand, receiving no complaints from him. I stood up and crushed the lit end on the floor, extinguishing the fire, and threw the butt in a nearby trash can. I then kneeled beside him again, and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. I was going to censure myself for this later, but I felt miserable just by watching him being miserable. For some odd reason, I wanted to make him feel better; something in me couldn't handle watching people beat themselves up. He looked up at me; I could sense some strong emotion swirling deep within his eyes. I was surprised by the intensity of his gaze.

"My God, Sage. Your eyes." whispered Adrian as he placed a hand on my cheek. I flinched.

"What about them?" I couldn't pull back, no matter how hard I tried. How could I let him get this close to me?

"The colour," he breathed. "Your eyes in the sunlight. They're amazing... like molten gold. I could paint those—" his hand fell back and he smiled, looking away. "Sorry Sage, I know how much you hate us, I shouldn't have done that."

He stood up quickly, looking away from me as if embarrassed, and offered his hand to help me stand up. I took it. It shocked me how warm and soft his hands were on mine. I quickly returned to reality and pulled my arm back. I could still feel the lingering sparks of where his skin had met mine.

"Sorry. I just—" He turned around, hands running through his hair as he walked away. Then he turned again, and from a distance said, "Thank you, Sydney." He started walking again, and this time, he disappeared around a corner without turning back.

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