CHAPTER 13

After finding out about me and Daniel, my mom was pretty annoyed. I mean, who wouldn't be. Everyone accepted me and Daniel together but we decided to make it official after graduation. Sometimes, Christian would tease mom about it. It was definitely funny because sometimes, both mom and I would say "Shut up, Sparky!" at the same time.

Sara and my friends on the other hand, kept on pestering me about Daniel. Especially Val and Sara. And for the past few weeks, I've been ignoring thir questions. Today, was the day I do my trials. Finally after 18 years of waiting. And for nothing. I mean, consider yourself preparing for it since you were a kid but suddenly, someone tells you- you can't ever be one.

I was waiting for my name to be called. My parents and Daniel were all standing there with me. The rest of them were at the stands watching. Yeah, even Abe and Janine. Funny, right? The crowd was cheering for the novice who was currently doing his trials.

"Calm down and don't get nervous" advised Daniel.

"Yeah? How? It's nerve- wrecking" I answered.

"Hey! I had to do it without anyone cheering for me except for friends and my parents" mom said defensively.

"Same difference"

"What your mother means is that I wasn't there with her"

"But you sent letters to her . . ." I frowned.  

Mom snorted. "Yeah. Like love threats"

"Whatever"

"Sofiya, whatever you do, concentrate and do NOT lose focus no matter what. And, strategize quickly"

"Thanks" I smiled at Daniel.

"Oh, lord" mom groaned.

"Come on. We better go" dad said.

They all left and when Alberta called my name, the whole crowd was silent. I took in deep breaths and walked into the battle field. I found my moroi- one of the guardians. The scene was a forest. It was as dark and gloomy as any other forest in Montana. Something about it was . . . off though. I don't know how they had managed to make the whole forest appear in one day. Probably spirit.

I held the stake I was given while I carefully watched the surrounding as I walked in front of my charge. Suddenly, there were strigoi circling us. There were five of them. One was . . . Janine? The others weren't guardians from the school but I recognized two of them. They were stationed at court. I used to see them a lot as- "The Queen's guardians" I muttered.

The one right in front and behind me sprang forward. They stopped directly in front of me. I've been told not to use my specialization and I intended to keep it that way. Unfortunately, this is not one of the days I keep my promises. I focused on a ring of fire. It kept me and the moroi safe. The parents on the stands watched amazed while their children whispered the rumors to their parents.

I focused back on the threats. One had entered. I prepared myself for an attack but it never came. I felt something hit my head. I had spun around so quickly and hit the stake directly at the target- his heart. The one behind me punched my back. I arched my back in surprise and turned around just in time to dodge his punch to my jaw. I kicked his stomach, causing him to stumble a little.

I used the spare second to pin him down. I hit the stake on the target easily. Too easy.  Then, I realized the others were encircling my moroi. I got up and jumped in front of my moroi. "Stay back" I warned. He nodded. We were cornered and we had to get out of the circle. I muttered "Count to three and you're gonna have to run out of this circle" he nodded again and started counting.

On the third count, I grabbed his hand and ran for our lives. As fast as I could, I ran while pulle- . . . more like dragged him with me. the others were fast but they weren't as fast as a real strigoi. At least, we made it far enough that there was space to run instead of getting cornered with nowhere else to go.

If you looked at my strategy properly, it might actually seem like a game of chess where the king is cornered by the opponent's coins. And right now, I'm In that similar move. One wrong move and it's checkmate for me. one slip up and its checkmate for them. I knew my grandmother was going to be the hardest to take down but given recent events, it was 50-50. I also knew I had a 50-50 chance of getting my moroi out of here alive but, who says you can't have fun during a battle?

I smiled at my opponents and heated the stake in my hand. Sure, it burned me but I couldn't feel the pain thanks to the adrenaline rush. At that moment, I could feel the glory. The glory of winning this. I lunged forward and scratched the one who was about to attack. He screamed in pain. Thanks to the wound and the heat, I could easily hit him on the target. Another one, a lady, punched my face while I was about to get up. I stumbled onto the ground and she pinned me down. My nose was bloody and I could taste blood in my mouth. I was able to get one of my hands free and punched her face. She grunted and fell backwards. I re-heated the stake and she pounced onto me again. I pulled the stake across her arm, making her shout. Her skin and flesh sizzled and tore as I took the stake out. Then, I hit the target- the heart.

Before I could get up, Janine pinned me down. My stake flew roughly about 10 feet away from me. I couldn't wriggle free or do anything. Her grasp on me was tight and I knew in a matter of minutes, I could be dead. And so does the moroi I was protecting. I signaled for him to take the stake quietly and pass it to me. he did as told and kicked my grandmother so hard that she got up really angry. He threw me the stake and I hit the target.

She did not expect that at all. The crowd was cheering and shouting. I got up, panting but happy. The test wasn't over yet. I still had to get my moroi out of the forest which I did in about 10 minutes. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins and all I felt like doing was getting into another fight and kicking someone's ass. Preferably, Benjamin Zeklos.

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Today was the day. The day I graduate and earn my molnija and promise marks. I might even get a zveda! Huh. I guess like mother, like daughter. Finally, Daniel and I can have some bonding time. Alone. And away from the rules.

I was sitting down waiting for my name to be called by Alberta. Right now, I was sitting beside Mikael and Joseph. Kirova gave a speech before this and now, it was Alberta's turn. She called up my mom to give a speech about how we were probably feeling at this moment. Everyone listened quietly. Everyone except me.

"Wow, Sophia. I didn't know your mom is so . . . understanding" said Mikael.

"Me too . . . me too" I sighed.

"She talks like a professional" complimented Joseph.

"She does, doesn't she?"

"Shut it!" whisper- shouted a girl in front of us.

 Soon, Alberta was calling names and giving the scores. Joseph and Mikael already got their tattoos and scores. Joseph had gotten the highest score for strategy and Mikael got the highest for strength. If they were put together in a team, they'd beat everyone, I'm sure.

As usual, novice's results were after the moroi's. Sara passed everything with flying colors but Valerie flunked math: calculus. My name was finally called after waiting long enough. I then realized I was the last novice to be called. "Now this particular student is both moroi and novice but has decided to take her novice classes. However, she won't become a guardian. Her scores are extraordinary. One of the best the school's ever seen, other than her mother. She is at the top of the score board. Please welcome, Sophia Hathaway" Alberta said enthusiastically.

The whole audience cheered and clapped. I got up and walked over to the stage where I sat down and let the tattooist do his job. I got a big ol' bandage once he finished. He explained to me some ruled and insisted I followed them. I nodded and made my way down.

The first thing that happened was me getting hughs from my overexcited family and friends. Even Abe showed up. We were going to head to court tomorrow for a small party for our graduation. Today, according to Adrian, we should all just sit back, relax and drink. Christian and my mom agreed willingly. Sydney, Lissa and my dad on the other hand . . . , were completely scared for the sake of the students here. Most of the students had already left with their family. Only a couple novices decided to stay and travel to court tomorrow while others hung out in town or visited their moms.

"Congratulations, kids!" exclaimed a very drunk Adrian.

"I swear, if he ever gets a very bad hangover, I'm going to cast a spell to turn him into a nut" sighed Sydney. Everyone laughed.

"Me too. I mean, have you seen your mother so carefree since you were young?" dad asked.

I just smiled and shrugged. Soon, everyone began drinking. Adrian, Daniel, my dad and Christian had a competition to see who could drink the most. Of course, Adrian won. "Why are you trying to be sober, Daniel?" Sara asked drunk.

"I wanna do something with Soph later . . . to congratulate her" he replied.

I blushed and everyone oohed and aahed. My mother, stupidly said "Make sure you guys don't do anything stupid . . . like-" my dad shut her mouth with a kiss. Everyone in their drunk state was going nuts and I needed air from everything so I started walking outside. Daniel caught up with me.

"Hey" I said sleepily.

"Hey. Congrats" he said cheerfully.

"Thanks, Guardian Ivashkov" I teased.

"I swear I'll get you for this" he promised.

"When?" I asked, grinning.

"Now"

He carried me up and started walking towards the woods but not far enough away from the protection of the wards. He pinned me against a tree even though I was squirming and moving a lot. "Relax" he breathed. "Fine"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes. Wh-"

His lips on mine were powerful. So powerful that I felt my body tingle, my cheeks warmed up. A shiver creeped down my back bone and I was melting. Everything around us seemed to go in slow motion. And I mean really. His hands found its way to my back and mine tightened around his neck. His soft hair felt nice and silky against my touch. We were kissing until someone cleared their throat.

We broke apart from each other and my cheeks reddened. Stan stood there watching us interestingly. He was clearly not happy with the show he got but he and I should be happy it was only that and not more . . . inapropriate. "Guardian Belikov. Guardian Hathaway?"

"Yep. That's us" answered Daniel.

"What are you two doing out?"

"Didn't you see?" I asked, annoyed.

"Get inside soon" he replied, walking off.

"What's with him?" I asked Daniel.

"He's just a little . . . creeped out with our . . . make out session"

"Oh." I blushed.

"Come on. Let's go in" he suggested. I just followed him in since I knew he wouldn't accept any other answers.

                                               *       *     *

Lissa was talking to the council to see the council with my parents and Daniel. Sydney had to come since she discovered it and Adrian didn't want her going alone even though his son was therend since Daniel's priority should solely be on me, he insisted on coming along. Lissa was already there with Christian since she was the Queen.

We were walking anxiously there in neutral speed and would get stares and whispers by people watching us. Sadly, this event was publicly announced and that meant a group of nosy people would probably stand at the door, waiting for the results like it was the X- Factor or something.

When we arrived there, it wasn't just a group of people but thousands. The whole area was crowded with moroi and guardians off duty. I gulped but kept walking forward and held my head high. Royals, non- royals and dhampirs were all talking to each other so casually. "Hey!" someone shouted.

I turned around and saw Iris catching up with us grinning. I smiled back and waved. "Hey, Iris" I said cheerfully.

"Soo . . . moroi huh?" she asked.

"Yeah. Freaked me out too"

"Cool. I've got duty so I can't talk to you but see you later?"

"Cool. But . . . , where are ya going?"

"Council meeting . . . my duty is with my mom" she replied.

"Oh. Walk with me?"

"Sure"

"How many people are here waiting?" I questioned.

"About 2000"

"What?" I asked. "Seriously?" she nodded. "Wow! OMG . . ." I started hyperventilating.

"Calm down. You'll do fine" she soothed.

"I'm not worried about that . . . all this people . . . they look like they worship me"

"I noticed. I've seen many kids here talking about you and Daniel"

"Daniel?"

"Oh, yeah. Your relationship spread quickly"

"Is anything actually private around here?" I asked, exasperated.

"Don't think so" she shrugged.

"See ya. Got to go"

Iris ran into the room ahead of us. Daniel was in guardian mode so I couldn't talk to him. My parents were already inside since they guarded Lissa and Christian. Adrian and Sydney were running a little late. I sighed. I can't believe this people are here. It wasn't like I was going to be the next Queen right? Or am I . . . ?

The guardians at the door let us in and sealed the door shut. Everyone, even the guardians on duty, were looking at me. no, staring at me. I gave a half smile to everyone. "Sophia Belikov, is it?" a guy asked. I cocked my head to the right and looked at him with confusion. My name was Hathaway. Everyone knew that. "Daniel Ivashkov?" he continued. Daniel nodded. My parents stepped forward and mom said "Her name in the records is Belikov but I told her and registered her as Hathaway in school" she explained. The guy nodded. "Miss Belikov, please step forward" he added.

I did as I was told and answered a "Yes?", trying to be polite. "You are a royal . . ." he said, flipping through some papers. "Your element is fire, am I correct?" I nodded. "Well, today is the day we discuss your . . . future" he explained.

Another lady at the end started speaking. "There's a crowd outside, anxiously and excitedly waiting for the results of your future and career" she said. "It says here that your aunt, Sydney Ivashkov, ex- alchemist found the prophecy"

"And that her royal highness, Queen Vasilisa had found the rest of the prophecy" said a lady with platinum blond hair and pale skin. I nodded. "Her majesty found the item with the rest of the late Queen Tatiana's things, yes? Don't answer"

Lissa speaked. "Miss Belikov, would you like to keep your old name or your new one?" I stared at her, unable to answer. "Guardian Belikov, would you prefer Ivashkov or Belikov?" Daniel looked at her neutrally. I assumed he was thinking. "Ivashkov" he replied.

"Very well" said another man wearing a blue suit.

"Miss Belikov, your answer?" one said.

"I . . . I . . . I" I stuttered.

"It's alright. You don't have to answer right away" replied Lissa.

"No. I will. My name will be Sophia Belikov as a dhampir and Katerina Vladimir as as a moroi" I said confidently. I didn't think. I had just answered what popped up in my mind.

They stared at me weirdly for a minute and started arguing and debating among themselves. Lissa stayed clear of most of the arguments but couldn't since I was like a daughter to her. Mom and dad were holding hands. Daniel just looked forward, saying nothing. All of a sudden, the door opened and Sydnay and Adrian walked in. the guardians locked the door and just stood there silently. "What've we missed?" Adrian questioned.

My parents told them everything that happened while the council was still arguing. Finally, they got a result. None of their faces showed any emotion except for the members representing the Lazar, Badica and Tarus family. They had probably lost. "Miss Belikov, we accept the answer you have given and now appoint you as the last living Vladimir. Guardian Belikov, we have accepted your answer to change your name. consider it done. If you have any other family member, the oldest will be appointed a seat in the moroi council. Do you?" asked Lissa.

I nodded. Everyone looked at me curiously. "I do. My brother, Ivan Belikov" I said confidently. "But his older than me and I don't think he'll want any participation in this politics"

"Consider it done. He will not appoint Mr. Belikov as a member and until you find another, if there is, the Vladimirs will have none representing the council" said a Szelsky. I nodded.

"Miss Belikov, are you sure your brother is a Vladimir as well?" asked the member of the Badica family. I shook my head "No? Then I'm sorry. You're still the only one " He concluded.

They asked more questions. They were all directed to everyone except Lissa and Christian. Once they finished, they let us go. The minute I stepped outside, the crowd started pushing the guardians forming a protective circle around me. I felt a hand grab mine. I turned to see Daniel smiling at me. He had a plan. "On the count of three, run" he said. "1 . . . 2 . . . . . 3" we sprinted across the court and to my house.

We were both laughing, panting and gasping for air once we reached. It was déjà vu. My house was pretty far away and even if we trained, it wasn't enough. We plopped onto the sofa and relaxed. I put my legs on Daniel's lap. Slowly, he came closer to me. Soon, we were sitting side by side. "Congratulations, Lord Ivashkov" I grinned. He kissed my forehead. "You too, Lady Vladimir" he trailed his lips down to my neck. "My parents would be here soon"

"I know"

His trail of kisses sent my heart pumping blood into overdrive. The places his lips touched sparked with warmth, I felt tingling feelings all over my body and a shiver traveled down my spine. I was too busy enjoying the feeling until I heard the sound of keys opening the front door. Daniel stopped and put his arms around my shoulders. I laid down on his chest and relaxed my breathing. Someone walked in but I didn't bother to see who it was. I just closed my eyes and smelled his scent. A sweet yet sexy smell.

"Oh. There you are" said someone. I opened my eyes and saw Sara standing there with her hands on her hips. I smiled at her. "Come on" she pulled my hands. I reluctantly got up and followed her to my room. "Ok, spill"

"What?" I asked dumb founded.

"What happened? Tell me everything" she replied anxiously.

Then, there I was explaining everything. She gasped and started grinning when I mentioned Iris. We haven't really seen her for the school year. She'd been off with new friends she had made. When I told her she worked at court, Sara was so happy I bet she could burst. She wanted Iris to be her other guardian and I was happy with the idea.

Even though Sara and I haven't been close lately, if I wasn't her guardian, I would want someone good to be there for her. Iris was one of them. And so were Mikael and Joseph. We were busy talking about the crowds when my dad knocked on the door and walked in. "Sorry, girls. I'm going to have to bring you guys back to court" he said. We nodded sadly but did as we were told.

Sara was told to go to her room but she insisted on finding Iris so we left her to it. Until someone realized that she had no guardian with her. Sadly, that someone was me. The nearest guard on duty was asked to escort her to find her guardian before returning to duty. We headed to Adrian and Sydney's apartment on the other end of court.

They earned it from Tatiana. She left this apartment and a good ol' sum of money for Adrian before she died. The money was used for a house in Italy and Russia. I know, rich right? The house in Russia was a double story and the one in Italy was a bungalow.

My mother knocked on the door and Sydney opened it, inviting us all inside warmly. I haven't been in their apartment in a long time, really. It's been almost two years since I have. It was decorated warmly and had many paintings. Adrian used to joke about Van Gogh being his ancestor but nobody believed him. I didn't know if Daniel painted but it would be a nice sight watching him paint and concentrate so hard on the colors and curves of his artwork.

"Guys, thank goodness you came on time" said Sydney.

"Okay?" mom asked.

"She's been blabbering on how simple the plan is but it isn't so, be prepared" warned Adrian.

"What is it?" questioned my dad.

"What if we're asking the wrong people about the prophecy?" she questioned.

"Okay . . . " I said.

"What if we asked strigoi?" she blurted.

"What?!" everyone except her and Adrian said. Everyone started arguing and I just stood there repeating what she said in my head. It actually sounded like a good idea.

"I mean, think about it. They're immortal. They've got to know about it" she said.

"True. But, it's dangerous" dad answered.

"Fine. But, we'll have to be very careful" replied mom.

"Someone must always be beside Sophia" Daniel said. They all agreed on that.

"Okay. Then, its settled" Sydney replied.

"What is?" I asked blurly.

"We're going strigoi hunting" answered Adrian.

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                                                       *THE END*