YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU READ MUCH.

[ season 1 — episode 2 ]

The entire world of the Dragomir sisters was turned around after the Queen suddenly announced Lissa would be the next Queen without even warning the girl. It was all over the media outlets the next morning. When morning did come, Victor was in their dorm room to coach her on upcoming changes.

"Okay, Mia will help you prepare," Victor said. His daughter was perched on the edge of her bed with Mischa, both looking at the schedule on her tablet. "She studied up on all of this."

"When I thought I would be queen," she couldn't help but say bitterly.

"Did Rose lose her phone privileges?" Lissa asked nervously. This was the exact time she needed her friend. Surely, she'd have heard the news, so why hadn't she come to see Lissa or at least text her? "I haven't heard from her."

"I don't know. The Guardians handle their own punishments," Victor told her. But he suspected that the school would want distance between the two, especially with Lissa now being in line for the throne.

"My punishment being queen?" Lissa couldn't help but asked, rolling her eyes.

It got no comment from any of them in the room, though Mia did narrow her eyes. Victor quickly moved past it. "After this, Mia will run you through political tutorials of all twelve Heads of Family."

"Mostly gossips and backstabbers," Mia muttered.

"The best way to get their vote is for them to think you're their new best friend," he added.

"And Lissa is charming, so I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about," Mischa told her sister.

Lissa sighed, still unhappy. "Fine, but this entire thing is ridiculous."

"What's ridiculous is you not wanting to be queen," Mia piped up, not bothering to hide her true feelings. It was understandable given how her circumstances changed so quickly.

"Why would I want to do something I'm completely unprepared to do?" Lissa mumbled, looking at her sister. "Why weren't you chosen? You're older. You don't have any plans for your future. Everyone love you, Moroi and Dhampir alike. You were the one that always got compared to Andre, and this was Andre's thing, not mine," Lissa mumbled.

"I think we can both agree that you're no Andre," Mia couldn't help but say bitterly.

"Mia," Victor said sharply.

She looked down apologetically. "Sorry."

"If only he were still here, right?" Lissa asked, getting a little overwhelmed. "Then you'd be queen, and everyone would still be hopeful about the future, and I'd have my family back."

Victor stepped up a moment before Mischa did as well to comfort her. "Hey. Everyone is hopeful about the future. You're unsullied by faction politics. Everyone's excited about you, at least, everyone who matters," he assured her. "Now I need to head to the Council. Everyone's gathering to discuss your Specialization Ceremony."

Lissa looked up quickly. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah. It's just a nice gentle way to get campaign season started. Everyone loves a good faction competition, up on the big screen so the entire Dominion can invest in you," he said, smiling. Then he looked at Mischa. "Since you've not had one either, your Specialization Ceremony will follow, but it shan't be televised — just announced to the Dominion."

"W - we both have to?" Mischa asked, taking in a sharp breath.

"Yes. It'll be a few hours before daybreak tomorrow to give the people time to celebrate," Victor said. Then he nodded and left the room, not sticking around to see their reactions.

Mia didn't notice how nervous either of them was either as she kept looking at her tablet. "The Queen is Air, so the people won't like it if you're Air too. But Dragomirs are usually Fire, right?"

"Yeah," Lissa said before pausing. "Hey, Mia? When your sister didn't specialize, my parents never told me why the Council finally stopped insisting that she try."

"By the time they were done with her, even if she did specialize, she wouldn't be capable of using it," Mia admitted, knowing that there was a lot wrong with her sister. And she'd never be the same, she feared.

Lissa shared a terrified look with Mischa, who knew she hadn't been able to specialize. And Mischa was a bundle of nervous energy inside as she contemplated what to do about her own situation. Because when had a Moroi ever been called to all four elements?

"I can't do this," Lissa whispered to her sister, pulling her away from Mia.

"Sure you can, Liss," Mischa told her, knowing it would all work out somehow.

"No," she said, beginning to freak out. "This doesn't make sense. You're the older one. You're supposed to do all this — supposed to be the next queen."

Mischa shook her head. "I suppose the Queen saw something in you. Something I don't have."

"What, an inability to specialize?" Lissa asked, scoffing. "Crippling anxiety? She should've picked you."

"I think I'd rather go up against Rose's mother in a fight, if we're being honest," Mischa admitted. Sitting on the Council was one thing — being Queen was another. But Mischa would always do anything for Lissa, and that would never change.

☾

Mischa was still glad to have classes to distract her from her upcoming predicament. She tried to not focus on the fact that in a few hours, she and her sister would be put before all of the Dominion. At least Mischa's wouldn't be televised. She tried to not think about it much as she sat in the front row of a classroom next to Christian Ozera.

Mikhail was currently lecturing about the anatomy of a Strigoi. Mischa's stomach turned as she viewed the dissected creature that was laying on the table — the same one that attacked them at the perimeter. Though none of the classmates knew about it, Mikhail would constantly glance at her just to make sure she wasn't too uncomfortable. He was ready to excuse her from the lesson at a moment's notice.

"Now, as you can see, the Strigoi's eyeball has a high number of rods for better night vision, like a cat," Mikhail explained while pointing from a PowerPoint illustration to the dissected body. "And the quadrate bone down here, allows the Strigoi to unhinge its jaws like a snake. Now, their limbic system, the area in the brain responsible for behavior is practically microscopic. So from this, we can deduce that they are incapable of possessing true conscience."

"How do we know that for certain?" Christian couldn't help but question, surprising them all.

"Because we listen to science," Mikhail told him, coming over to their table.

"Okay, but has anyone ever actually, I - I don't know, sat down and asked one?" he asked, which made many people laugh softly. Mischa frowned though. She hadn't thought before then that this lesson may have bothered him just as much as it bothered her.

"I'm curious too, Guardian Tanner," Jesse then needlessly spoke up. "How does a Moroi become a Strigoi again?"

"There's no need to repeat lessons taught in the lower schools, Jesse," Mikhail said stiffly, knowing exactly what he was trying.

Jesse smirked, undeterred. "No, I - I think we could use a brush-up."

"Jesse—"

He talked right over Mischa, who was turning and glaring at him. "One, a Strigoi turns you by feeding you their blood. Two, you accidentally kill while you feed and must pay for the mistake with your soul. Does anyone know number three?" The class remained silent. "Anyone? Ozera?"

"That's enough, Jesse," Mikhail said, one step away from sending him to Headmistress Kirova's office. "Class dismissed."

Even as people began packing up, Jesse kept going. "Three, you choose to kill. You choose to suck all of the blood out of their body while you feed, to be a monster. Just like Mommy and Daddy, eh, Ozera?"

"That's enough!" Mischa snapped, stomping up to Jesse. "If you think—"

Christian grabbed Mischa's elbow and pulled her back, ignoring how Jesse watched them, clearly amused. "It's not worth it," he said, shaking his head. "They're not worth it."

"Maybe not," Mischa said quietly, looking at the boy her sister obviously had feelings for. "But you are. And you don't have to put up with that."

☾

"He's gonna be out there," Mischa said flatly as Lissa went for the door.

"He's not gonna be out there," Lissa denied. "His shift doesn't start for another hour."

"Okay, well, what's the plan if he is out there?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Lissa smirked happily at her sister. "You'll distract him."

Ever since being announced as future Queen, there was rarely a moment when a Guardian wasn't outside their door. Though Dimitri didn't let the stricter orders keep him from also keeping an eye on Mischa. So, Lissa wanted to sneak out and find Christian for help on using her magic, but Dimitri wouldn't allow something like that. So, should he be outside the door like Mischa figured he was, Lissa was counting on her to be a distraction. She had some silly notion that Dimitri preferred her over her sister, which Mischa thought was ridiculous.

To prove her point, Mischa got out of bed and followed Lissa to the door. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw the tall and imposing Guardian in place, ready for a fight that likely wouldn't come in the Moroi dorms.

"Oh," Lissa said, clearly disappointed. Mischa snickered, so she elbowed her in the gut. "Your shift started early."

"As did your evening, apparently, Princesses," Dimitri said, raising an eyebrow.

"I - I'm in kind of a bind," Lissa began.

"I can't let you see Rose," he said, not giving in on that. "Strict instructions from the top."

"I know. I get it. I hate it, but I get it," she said, sighing. Then she thought of her backup lie, the one about visiting Sonya in the library. "What if it wasn't Rose I was gonna go see?"

Honestly, Mischa wanted to laugh at how easily Dimitri believed Lissa's lie about wanting to read Old Moroi books in the church archives to learn more about the origin of the Council.

"Will you be coming as well, Princess?" Dimitri asked her.

"Actually, I think I'll just take a walk — clear my head before tonight," she said, knowing he wouldn't let her walk around unattended since they were trying to keep the twins and Rose apart.

"Very well. We shall leave your sister at the church, as a Guardian is stationed there. Then I will accompany you," he offered, finding a solution right away. Mikhail still had one more class to teach, making it easier to leave one twin without one of their official Guardians.

There wasn't much conversation as the trio walked to the church, taking the long way around so they'd avoid seeing the Guardian training facility on the off chance Rose was out on the sparring mat. Once outside the church, Mischa hugged Lissa tightly. "You'll figure it out," she whispered. "He'll be able to help you."

"So," Dimitri said as Lissa disappeared inside. "Which way will we be walking, Princess?"

"I'm thinking a stroll through the gardens, Guardian Belikov," she said, knowing it was a good distance from the church.

"I'm surprised you didn't want to stay in the library to clear your head. I often turn to books to clear my mind," Dimitri revealed to her.

"Really?" she asked, raising a surprised eyebrow as they walked. "You don't look like you read much, no offense."

"None taken." Most Guardians didn't have time to read.

"So, what does a big, scary Guardian read in his free time?"

"I'm partial to westerns." Mischa couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips as she threw her head back. Dimitri smiled to himself, happy to see the joy on her face, even at his own expense. "And what's so funny about that to you?"

Mischa managed to calm down enough to speak. "Absolutely nothing wrong with it... Cowboy." She burst into another fit of giggles at the nickname.

"You forget I've done perimeter checks on your room, Princess. I've seen the copy of Twilight on your nightstand."

"Bold to assume I'm embarrassed by that," she said, grinning.

Then she looked at the beautiful flowers that they passed as they reached the entrance to the gardens. It contained many flowers that only bloomed at night so that the Moroi could enjoy them. In a bush of moonflowers, she noticed one stray flower that wasn't blooming as healthily as the others, so Mishca brushed it with her fingers, making the plant flourish.

"Princess," Dimitri said, watching her actions with interest. Mischa simply hummed and looked at him expectantly. "Might I ask a personal question?"

"Depends on the question, I suppose," she said, shrugging.

"We're taught in school that Moroi can perform small magic with all the elements, but only perform great feats with the magic they've specialized in — that only one element calls to them."

Mischa grew tense and kept her eyes on the sidewalk, knowing exactly where he was going. "Yeah, that's right."

"I'll admit, I'm not aware of the full extent of the basic small things that a Moroi could do with a magic that was not their declared element. But is it safe to assume that a non-Earth user couldn't restrain a Strigoi with roots, nor could a non-Air user fling a full-grown Dhampir at least twenty feet?"

When Mischa didn't respond, he took note of how her jaw tightened and she nervously wrung her hands together.

"I've overstepped," Dimitri said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. It's not my place—"

"I haven't specialized, Dimitri," Mischa interrupted. "And that is because by very definition, one magic calls to me stronger than the others. But it's not one, it's all, and I don't know why. And this is kind of the opposite of getting my mind off of things. I still haven't decided if I want to lie at the ceremony or not."

"How long have you known this?"

"It all got stronger after my parents died," she said quietly. "No one knows — I mean, Rose sort of knows, but she hasn't thought about the implications."

"Implications?" he questioned, seeing how nervous she was becoming.

"I imagine a luxury of being a Dhampir is not having to get involved in politics," she said, chuckling humorlessly. "The Dominion is a delicate system of power. With Lissa in the limelight now that she's to be the next Queen, I can't make a wrong move. And can you imagine the outrage people might have if they find out I can harness all four elements? I've heard of Moroi who don't specialize being taken away — tortured even to try and get magic to present itself — and I'm scared they'd do the same to me because I super-specialized, or whatever. It's all about power — who has it and how much. What if they decide I have too much?"

By the time she was done, Mischa's breath was coming in short bursts, and she wondered if Lissa felt like this all the time. But then she felt a warm hand on her cheek as Dimitri guided her face up so that she was looking at him. Instead of looking at his face, she watched his chest, focusing on his slow and steady breathing, matching it to her own.

"It is my duty to protect you, Princess. I would die for you," Dimitri said in a surprisingly soft tone. "And I do not take that duty lightly, no matter who is the one putting you in danger. I will not let any harm come to you, no matter what happens at the ceremony."

"You shouldn't say that, Dimitri," she said, shaking her head a little. He didn't drop his hand at her cheek and actually brushed his thumb gently across the skin comfortingly as if to say she was wrong. "For all I know, the Queen could order you to throw me in the dungeons, and every Guardian in the room would pounce."

"Not every Guardian," he said, his voice impossibly low. "And I'm sure, with so much magical talent, you'd be able to escape past even the best Guardians such as Mikhail and myself to get away."

Mischa tilted her head, leaning into his touch unintentionally as she did so. "Thank you, Dimitri," she said, smiling her first real smile since before they snuck out to the lake. "I take back all my complaints about you from the day we met."

Dimitri lowered his hand and narrowed his eyes playfully. "You complained about me?"

"Only to Rose and Lissa," she said, waving him off. "And Mikhail." Then she thought about it more, letting out a sheepish laugh. "And Mason and Eddie. Victor... I was pretty upset about Mikhail not being my Guardian anymore."

☾

It was a well-known fact that Marie Conta was not a fan of the Dragomir family. She came from a more conservative line of Moroi and could always be found gossiping about lesser Moroi with Peter Tarus at royal events. And that was just what they were doing as they entered the castle, not bothering to lower their voices as they passed Lissa and Mischa.

"I'll be surprised she lasts a week. The Queen will see soon enough, not every Dragomir's fit to sit on the throne," Marie said snidely while entering the ceremonial chamber. Mischa glared at the woman while Lissa took in a nervous breath.

Victor came over right away to calm her nerves. "Ignore her. Andre would be so proud of you. They all would, as am I."

"Why?" Lissa asked him. "I still don't know why she chose me to unite the Dominion and not Mischa or another Royal."

"You know, the Queen was younger than you when she first took the throne. Court was in chaos. It was a viper's nest of agendas. She didn't know a thing about politics. All she knew was that she didn't want people to fight, and her compassion worked for a while at least," Victor told Lissa, hoping it might help. "You know, I think she sees a bit of herself in you."

"And what will she see if something goes wrong tonight?" Lissa asked cautiously.

Victor studied her face carefully. He glanced at Mischa, but she simply looked away. "What could go wrong? Are you thinking of Sonya?"

"Victor, I know how hard it was for her—"

"Sonya was an anomaly. We don't know why she's the way that she is, but you're a Dragomir. This will be a breeze for you," he said, smiling.

"But what if it isn't?" Lissa continued to question him. "I mean, what if I stand up there, and nothing happens?"

"As your godfather, I promised your family I would always look out for you," Victor told them softly. "So if there's any chance either of you will walk out there and not specialize, you need to let me know now. I will get you out of this Dominion tonight before anyone can ask questions. So is there anything you wanna tell me?"

For a moment, Mischa thought Lissa was going to confess her inability to specialize. But after a moment, she forced a smile and shook her head. "No. No. I'll see you out there."

Victor nodded happily and looked at Mischa. "And you? You know what your element is?"

"More or less," Mischa said under her breath. "It'll be fine. I know what to do."

God, that was a lie.

And as soon as Victor left, the beginnings of a panic attack washed over Lissa. Mischa was starting to recognize the signs far too easily as she tried to help her sister. But nothing seemed to work as the future Queen gasped for air, feeling faint as she pictured every possible horrible thing happening as soon as she entered that room.

It was almost like fate summoned her there as Rose suddenly ran into the room, calling Lissa's name. It'd been days since they'd seen her, but there she was right when Lissa needed help the most. Mischa stepped aside and watched as Rose practically sucked the panic out of Lissa's body simply by being near.

"Rose," Lissa said, full of relief while hugging her. Instantly, she began to relax. Mischa was almost fascinated by how quickly Rose chased away the panic attack. "Wait, how did you even get in here? Dimitri—"

"Has just shown why I should be your Guardian. He didn't even see me," Rose said, rolling her eyes. Mischa frowned and looked at the door, seeing that Dimitri wasn't in sight. "What's wrong? I could feel your panic. Are you okay?"

"According to Victor, in five minutes, I either need to walk on that stage and hope to hell that I specialize, or I pretty much need to flee the Dominion. I - I don't know what to do," Lissa told her, summarizing the last day.

"Well, personally, I vote flee, but I've just had a bad night," Rose muttered. Mischa bit her tongue — due to a run-in with Eddie Castile, who'd been sneaking into a room in the Moroi dorms earlier, she had a fairly good idea as to where Rose had been.

"What's going on?" Lissa asked, clueless about her best friend's problems.

Rose simply shook her head, knowing it wasn't the time. "It's nothing you need to hear about right now. Do you really think you can't do it?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's just the nerves or the grief or the panic because I know that once I do go out there and specialize, I'm one step closer to becoming queen, which I never envisioned."

"I guess you just have to ask yourself if this is something that you want," Rose told her.

"Part of me just wants to be free. Living somewhere where no one cares what element I am, or if we're Dhampir or Moroi," she admitted.

"That's perfect," Mischa said, leaning against the wall. "That was always your plan, anyway. You two disappearing and living among the humans."

"Well, minus the fugitive part," Lissa muttered.

Rose smiled. "Oh, yeah, just a small detail."

"But then the other part of me is thinking about everything Andre was gonna mean to this Dominion," Lissa went on, giving it some thought. "A leader who ruled not just for the Royal Moroi, but for all its citizens, including the Dhampirs. He was gonna make this a place you wanted to run to, not away from. And if I disappear, what happens to my brother's legacy? There are a parade of people dying to be on the throne who want the exact opposite. What if the only thing separating this Dominion from that fate is me?"

Mischa raised an impressed eyebrow. It seemed as if Lissa just talked herself into actually becoming Queen of the Dominion, and all on her own.

"Well, I think..." Rose paused, actually taking the time to think out her response. It was something she was learning from Dimitri. "I think that Andre would be so proud of you right now. And I know that there is nothing you can't do. So if you want to be Queen, then go out there and show them all what you've got."

"And if I've got nothing?" she asked in a small voice.

"Then Victor and I will get you out, I promise you that. But my money is on you," Rose assured her.

Lissa let out a tearful laugh. "Thank you. I've missed you this week. You staying out of trouble?"

"Oh, you know me. I'm always dancing alongside of it," Rose said with a scoff. Then she nudged Lissa to the doorway. "Now, go. Go. Go. Go on. Go, go, go."

Lissa went to the chamber, but Mischa hung back for a second and looked at Rose. "I know about the tribunal," she said softly. Rose's eyes widened. "Eddie let it slip earlier. Sounds bad."

"It is bad," Rose admitted. "You didn't tell Liss?"

"I was gonna wait until after — it would only make this harder. Same reason you didn't tell her just now," she said. "We won't let this happen."

"Doesn't seem like anything can be done, especially when I just ran out of the hearing to be here," she mumbled. Then Rose rubbed her forehead. "But I'll choose to think about that later when I meet Mase at the bar and talk about it. For now, we all need to focus on you and Lissa specializing. Are you just gonna pick one?"

Mischa managed a confident smile, not wanting to hide who she was. "Where's the fun in that?"

"God," Rose said, letting out a laugh, "how I wish yours was being televised too."

With that, the girls separated. On the way to the chamber, Mischa passed Dimitri and shot him a knowing look. Rose hadn't just slipped past him — he saw Lissa losing it and let her through. And she was thankful for him protecting her, even in the most unconventional ways.