WELL, I KNEW I WAS SAFE WITH YOU HERE.

[ season 1 — episode 2 ]

The entire Dominion was watching as television cameras pointed at Lissa. The streets of the city below were packed, and they could hear them cheering and chanting from inside the ceremonial chamber, ready for the Specialization Ceremony. They were already making bets and waving flags, supporting their own elements while hoping the future Queen represented them.

Lissa stood in front of four bowls on top of short stone pillars. One held a white feather, another a pile of dirt, one was full of water, and the last had burning coals inside. In the chamber, everyone grew quiet and kept their eyes glued to the Princess.

She began by holding out her hands while speaking in Old Moroi, which was required. First, she tried to control the water, but only weakly raised it to a small peak before dropping it. Next, Lissa called on the fire, which did burn a little brighter before dying right back down. When the feather began to float, it only rose a foot above the bowl before she dropped it, unable to keep it in the air for long. The dirt was only moved around when she tried to harness it.

Outside, they could hear people becoming uneasy. Specialization Ceremonies weren't meant to take this long. They were likely beginning to doubt her. Mischa grabbed the sides of her Council cloak nervously, silently praying that something would happen.

Lissa took a deep breath before putting both hands out again desperately. And suddenly, fire lept up from the bowl and enveloped the others, taking over the other elements. Cheers erupted in the room and outside and everyone watched her declare the same magic as her brother. Mischa sighed in relief and clapped for her sister.

"She's Fire," the Queen said with a smile. "Like Andre. A good omen."

Lissa smiled as she looked at Victor and Mischa, who both were happy for her. But then she looked past them, at the corner, and saw Christian with his hand outstretched and glowing. It wasn't her doing the magic, she realized. It was him. As Lissa's face fell, Mischa followed her line of sight and saw what Christian had done for her. She couldn't find it in herself to be upset, as it kept anything horrible from happening to Lissa.

The camera feed was cut as people outside were chanting Lissa's name. Time was given for the other Council members to congratulate Lissa while some attendants fixed the bowls containing the four elements. Though it wouldn't be televised, there was one banner of each element waiting to be unrolled from the turrets on either side of the chamber to reveal where Mischa belonged. Already, a fire banner was hanging down from the rightmost one to signify Lissa's declaration, waiting for a left-side banner to join it and complete the Dragomir line.

"Good luck," Lissa told her sister when it was time for Mischa to go.

"Thank you," Mischa said quietly. "I think I'll need it."

Mischa took a deep breath before standing in front of the bowls. She didn't raise her hands straight away and instead stared at the elements, already feeling her magic call out to them. Then, she looked away and sought out the set of green eyes she could already feel on her. Dimitri was against the wall with the other Guardians of the Council members. He didn't move or smile, but even from across the room, she could see his eyes soften, remembering his promise to her.

Determination set in as she looked back at the bowls, knowing she didn't want to lie about what she was capable of. Mischa Dragomir was a force to be reckoned with, and the Dominion deserved to know. She raised her hands and clearly recited the Old Moroi.

Air was the first she called on. The feather raised high above her head and spun in a quick circle. But before anyone could cheer, mostly the Queen, who would always support her element, Mischa added Earth. Her palms began to glow as she used more than one element at the same time. The dirt flew up and spun above her with the feather, creating a whirlwind above her. Gasps flew through the chamber, but they were silenced with her next move.

Water shot out of the bowl impossibly fast, joining the elemental tempest she'd created. And the last was Fire. Just as it had for Lissa, flames lept up, creating a frightfully large tornado of all the elements, something no one had ever seen produced from one person. Then, Mischa dropped her glowing hands and the magic along with them. Each element fell back into its original bowl, looking just as calm and untouched as when she began.

The chamber was so quiet that you could hear a hairpin drop.

Mischa didn't let herself look at anyone's face to see how they were reacting. No, she was tense and ready to run if need be.

Then slowly, the Queen rose from her chair, looking at Mischa in awe — or perhaps like some prize to collect. And then she clapped, the sound echoing off the stone walls. "Magnificent," she murmured, her ancient eyes wide in surprise. It was hard to surprise someone after two hundred years of living.

Marie leaned over to Peter, not caring who overheard. "It seems the Queen may have chosen the wrong Dragomir."

The rest of the Council followed suit, clapping just as their Queen did. Mischa bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning too proudly as she looked at a shocked Lissa and Victor, who looked nearly ready to pass out. Yeah, he definitely would've liked a heads-up on that.

And outside, the crowd was thrown into a frenzy as four banners dropped from the turret, trying to make sense of it all.

☾

"I can't believe I just did that," Mischa said, pushing her hair back as she thought over the repercussions of her actions. She was currently walking from the castle with Lissa, escorted by Dimitri. It wouldn't be long before they reached the celebrating — and admittedly, confused — crowd of Moroi.

No, Mishca hadn't been thrown in the dungeons. But she was asked a lot of questions, to most of which she answered with 'I don't know.' It was Victor who saved her and told the Council she needed to rest. They could question her at a later date. Though already, plans were being made for the different elemental teachers at the Academy to put her through a series of tests to find out her limits.

"I can't believe I didn't know," Lissa said, a frown on her face as they walked.

"I didn't tell anyone, Liss. Don't sweat it," Mischa said, lying a little bit to spare her feelings.

"But I'm your sister — your twin. I should've noticed that you've been using more powerful magic," she argued.

"In case you haven't noticed, your life has been kind of hectic," she reminded her, gesturing to the end of the street where hordes of people were chanting her name.

"Even still," she said, shaking her head. Then she smiled softly at her sister. "That was so badass."

"Good. I'd never live down embarrassing myself up there if not."

"I don't think I'll live down the buildup to mine," Lissa muttered, her eyes spotting Christian in the distance. Her anger and frustration from earlier rushed to the surface. "Excuse me."

Mischa watched as Lissa stormed up to Christian to likely fuss at him for making it seem like Fire was her element. Knowing that she wouldn't want Dimitri to overhear, she kept back so that the Guardian would also keep back.

"Guess I don't have to use my magic on you and escape after all," Mischa said, trying to remain lighthearted.

"You were astounding up there," Dimitri complimented. "They all saw that."

"It's not that great. I was just using magic."

"You are magic, Princess," he said, the words slipping out before he could fully think about them. Dimitri quickly cleared his throat and took a step away from Mischa, his eyes finding Lissa. She wasn't exactly meant to be speaking with Christian Ozera, so he made his way over with Mischa following, doing her best to ignore her suddenly warm cheeks.

"Princess Lissa," Dimitri called, breaking up her conversation with Christian. He got the message and moved to leave, but not before whispering something softly in Lissa's ear.

Once Dimitri and Mischa reached Lissa, the future Queen managed to smile at the Guardian. "Thank you for everything today," she said. "I know you're just doing your job."

"It isn't always easy," Dimitri admitted. He didn't like doing things like keeping two best friends apart.

"I - I've asked around about you," she admitted. "You're one of the best Guardians around. Second only, maybe, to Rose's mom. Yet earlier... somehow Rose slipped past you right when I needed her most."

Mischa smiled at the ground, knowing she wasn't the only one to notice Dimitri's soft side that slipped out when Rose came searching for Lissa. "Your godfather told me protection comes in many forms."

"Something we're just starting to realize," Mischa said, going to stand by her sister.

Then Lissa smiled at him. "It's almost daybreak, and your shift is over. Your future queen demands you go have some fun." Then she turned with plans to meet people in the crowd and let them congratulate her. Mischa would be slipping away, not wanting to answer any questions. She figured the Council would put out an official statement in the coming days.

Dimitri's face fell as he watched the two girls separate. He'd heard Mischa speaking with Rose before the ceremony, but knew Lissa was still wrongfully in the dark.

"Lissa," he called. Only she stopped, as Mischa was out of hearing range, eager to get away from the crowd. "Has anyone told you what's happening with Rose?"

☾

As for what was happening with Rose, Mischa decided to get a first-hand account. She wanted all the facts before telling Lissa everything, which was redundant, as Lissa now knew everything. Despite that, Mischa made quick work of changing out of her elegant gown and into a pleated white skirt and cropped green sweater vest. She couldn't help but think as she straightened it out, making sure her exposed midriff looked alright in the garment, that the green matched Dimitri's eyes.

After that intrusive thought, Misha shook her head and stopped looking at her shirt. She headed off to the bar frequented by Dhampir and Novices with a white umbrella in hand, knowing the sun would fully be up when it was time to walk home.

Though it wasn't a Moroi-frequented bar, Mischa had been plenty of times with Rose or Mikhail and was a welcomed customer. She found Rose at the bar with Mason at her side. And it didn't take much prodding at all for Rose to complain about the tribunal, which she left to comfort Lissa before the Specialization Ceremony. And it was looking like they wouldn't be ruling in her favor.

"If they kick you out, I'm going with you," Mason said, leaning heavily against Rose sadly.

Rose scoffed and took a sip of her beer. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Mischa nodded in agreement. Mason was currently at the top of the leaderboard and one of the best Dhampir being trained.

"I'm not letting them send you to the Communes, Rose," Mason insisted.

Rose clearly didn't want to keep talking about it, but Mason wasn't picking up on that. "We should probably get drunk." Mischa managed a smile, knowing it was probably the only thing left Rose could do with her fellow Novices. But then Rose let out a groan, seeing someone over her shoulder. "Unless the fun police stops us."

Mischa looked over Rose's shoulder to see what had her rolling her eyes. It was Dimitri, who'd changed out of his suit from earlier and now stood at the pool table, wearing a black sweatshirt. He'd been watching them, undeterred by being caught. Mischa met his gaze as he finished off his drink and sat it on the edge of the pool table.

"On duty even when he's not," Rose said, seeing how he kept his eyes only on Mischa. Then she sighed. "I'm never gonna have that."

"Sure, you will," Mischa said, nudging her shoulder. "I mean, Lissa is gonna be Queen. Surely, we can figure something out with her."

"Maybe," she grumbled. "But until then, I stand with the getting drunk part."

"Perfect!" Eddie exclaimed, appearing suddenly. "Because we have the Princess of Keg Stands in our presence!"

Mischa squealed as he lifted her by her waist onto the bar before beginning to laugh and hold his shoulders to keep her steady. "No keg stands tonight, Ed. I'm in a skirt," she said, picking up one of the pleats to prove her point. Honestly, Mischa hadn't partied since her family died — there hadn't exactly been a surplus of reasons to do keg stands, which she was, in fact, immaculate at.

"I mean, we don't mind," Mason said, winking at her. With an eye roll, Mischa used her magic on his beer, causing the liquid to fly up and splash him in the face. Everyone laughed while he sputtered and wiped his eyes.

Then, the four were joined by Meredith, one of the few other girls in Rose's class of Novices. Her arm was in a sling — a gift from Rose losing control in a spar and taking her frustration out on the girl. Rose looked sympathetically at her, truthfully regretting hurting her so badly.

"Bring her another of whatever she's drinking," Rose told the bartender.

"Is this you apologizing?" Meredith asked, raising an eyebrow. Rose simply shrugged.

Then Mason leaned across Rose, slurring his words a bit. "Meredith, tell Rose that she should let me go with her when they kick her out."

Meredith leaned back against the bar and rolled her eyes. "Ah, strong optimism, Mason."

"No, he's right. I'm fսckеd," Rose admitted. Then she leaned forward. "Ergo... shots!" she announced while hitting the bar.

When Rose ended up shoving a shot into Mischa's hands, she shook her head skeptically. "I don't know, Rose. After that Specialization Ceremony—"

"That I watched while hiding in the corner," Rose interrupted. "You were amazing, Mish. But given then you're about to become the Academy's little lab rat, you need this as much as I do."

Mischa eyed the shot and then let out a sigh and smiled. "Fine, but just one."

Everyone cheered as the Princess held the shot up to her lips and then downed it in one go, only reacting with the slightest of winces. She'd much rather drink a fruity little drink, but that didn't mean Andre hadn't raised her and Lissa to handle their alcohol.

"Alright," Mischa said, letting out a giggle as she put the glass down. Then she grabbed another. "So, two shots."

This one, she drank in sync with Rose. The Dhampir acted as if she was drinking water, a true talent of hers. Then the music was turned up and all of Rose's classmates began to dance around, drinking and celebrating, even if it wasn't a particularly happy thing to celebrate. It wasn't long before Rose made her way onto the bar, pulling Mason up with her, and she jumped around as her fellow Novices chanted her name.

"Rose! Rose!" Mischa yelled, having fun bouncing around. "Rose! Rose! Rose!"

"You! Here!" Rose shouted over the noise, pointing to her other side on the bar. Mischa made grab hands and let Rose and Mason pull her up, making everyone cheer. Then Eddie stood on his toes, holding another shot of vodka.

"Number three!" Eddie shouted for them all to hear.

Mischa threw her head back and downed the shot quickly before dropping the glass down into Eddie's hands and giggling. Rose took Mischa's hands in hers as they continued to dance on the bar, hardly paying attention to the beat of the actual song. As Rose sloppily twirled Mischa under her arm, the girl's feet got twisted up, and she ended up toppling off the bar, letting out a squeak.

But Mischa didn't hit the bar floor — she landed in a strong pair of arms. When she peeled her eyes open, she saw that it was Dimitri who caught her. He'd been watching her all night. Of course, he'd be there to catch her when she needed him to. Dimitri looked her over, making sure she was alright before meeting her gaze.

"Thank you," Mischa breathed out, her arms wrapped around his neck.

Dimitri raised a single eyebrow. "Have you already forgotten that conversation about keeping yourself safe?"

"Well, I knew I was safe with you here," she said softly, smiling up at him.

For just a moment, he held her longer than necessary. Mischa wasn't drunk off of three shots, and so she knew she'd remember in the morning how it felt as his calloused fingers dug into the skin of her legs, falling under her skirt as he held her up. She'd remember how warm he was. She'd remember how thrilling it was to fall right into his arms.

"I, um, I think I can stand now," Mischa finally said, her words coming out slower than normal.

Dimitri nodded and carefully set Mischa on her feet, keeping a hand on her waist for an extra second while making sure she was steady. "I wouldn't recommend getting back up there."

"If you say so, Cowboy," she said, grinning. "Sorry, we distracted from your game of pool. You'll have to teach me to play sometime."

"You've never played?"

"Princesses do not play pool," Mischa said, mimicking a very prim and proper British accent.

The corner of his lips turned up in a wry smile. "I don't suspect princesses are meant to do keg stands and dance on bar tops either."

"You, Sir, have never seen me do a keg stand, do you have no ground to stand on," she said, poking his chest. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go trip Rose for tripping me."

Except something else seemed to beat her to it. Just as Mischa and Dimitri looked up at her, Rose seemed to be out of it. Her vision was unfocused, and she was swaying more than she was dancing.

"Rose?" Mischa called out, which wasn't heard over the crowd. Rose was the opposite of a lightweight, so she was worried about her.

The swaying got worse, and suddenly, Rose collapsed, falling over completely. Mischa shot out a hand, and air wrapped around Rose's body, slowly lowering her to the ground before she could get hurt. Mischa crouched down to try and wake her up. The others kept cheering, thinking a show of magic and someone getting pass-out drunk was amusing.

"Rose?" Mischa said, tapping her cheek with concern. When Rose didn't move or even let out a groan, she looked up at Dimitri, who was also watching the Novice. "I know it's your off time, but could you maybe, uh, help get her home?"

Without speaking, Dimitri swooped down and lifted Rose in his arms easily — she was only a few inches taller than Mischa, after all. Mischa grabbed her umbrella by the door and followed Dimitri out, not taking her eyes off of Rose.

"Just how much did she have to drink?" he questioned. He hadn't been watching Rose and her group until Mischa arrived.

Mischa's frown deepened, further convinced that something was wrong. "Just one. She's not drunk. I don't know what happened."

"You can be there when she wakes up if you wish to stay in the Dhampir dormitories until she does," he offered. He had no trouble with carrying her, talking, and keeping a steady pace without losing his breath. In fact, Mischa suspected he'd slowed down for her sake since his legs were so long. "Lissa as well."

"Thought we weren't supposed to be around her?" Mischa questioned. Then again, he hadn't forced them apart at the bar.

"That was as part of all of your punishment, and to also keep you both from finding out about the tribunal and throwing a fuss," he told her. "I wasn't meant to, but I told Lissa about the trouble she was in after you left. She said something about speaking with the headmistress."

"Thank you. Maybe Rose will get to stay — Lissa holds more sway than I do over people."

"Not everyone," Dimitri said, eyeing her subtly in his peripheral vision. "The staff will be happy if things do turn in Rose's favorite. She's gifted, and Guardian numbers are already down."

"Well, that's nice to hear considering how she spent all night swearing that all her teachers, you included, just wanted to see her shipped off to the Communes," she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself.

"My sister and mother live in the Communes," Dimitri suddenly revealed. Mischa looked up at him quickly, seeing a rare, pained emotion in his eyes. "That is not the life I want for Rose. Don't ever believe otherwise."

"I didn't believe her," Mischa told him softly. "Rose and the other Novices are lucky to have you here at the school with us."

"Just the Novices?" he dared to ask playfully. "Who would've caught you from that deadly fall if not me?"

"Let's see — any of the other fifty Dhampir hanging around," she said, giggling. But then her expression softened as she looked at him. "I suppose I'm lucky to have you too."

☾

Rose woke with a pounding head, letting out a long sigh. Then when she opened her eyes and sat up, she saw both Dragomir twins sitting at her bedside. "What are you doing here?" Rose asked, not recalling how she passed out.

"Why didn't you tell me about the tribunal?" Lissa asked immediately.

"Who told you?" she asked, cutting her eyes to Mischa.

"Dimitri."

"Fucking Dimitri. It was none of his business," Rose muttered.

"Well, you get to stay," Lissa said, smiling suddenly. Mischa grinned brightly. Lissa told her about it just a few minutes ago. "I mean, you're still on serious probation, but you're staying."

Rose laughed in disbelief and moved to hug Lissa tightly. "How?"

"Well, it turns out there is an upside to being almost Queen. People have to listen to you. You can thank Dimitri for telling me," she said with a sly smirk. "He carried you here, you know, in those big, manly arms of his. I'm sure Mish was very jealous."

"Oh, come off it," Mischa said, scoffing. Though she did now know what it felt like to be in those big manly arms, and she didn't hate it.

Rose scoffed at the story. "What kind of macho shit is that?"

"He said you passed out at the bar."

"You did," Mischa confirmed.

"How many shots did you have?" Lissa asked, knowing how high of a tolerance Rose had.

"One. I gave the rest to Mason," Rose told her. Then she leaned back with a look of disbelief. "I didn't pass out from drinking. I passed out from kissing."

"Mason?" Lissa questioned.

"You totally weren't making out with him," Mischa reminded her, wondering if she had hit her head when falling.

"Christian fսcking Ozera," Rose said accusingly, looking at Lissa.

"What?" Lissa asked in alarm.

"You were kissing Christian Ozera, and therefore, for some reason I can't really explain, I was kissing him too. I was in your head," she explained, unable to believe her.

"Okay," she said, getting up and pacing the room. "Okay, this is crazy. We need to figure this out."

"No shit," she muttered.

"Was he at least a good kisser?" Mischa dared to ask them both with a little smirk.

Lissa rolled her eyes and ignored her sister, knowing it wasn't the time. "We'll get to the bottom of it, but Warden Mia is out there waiting to escort me and Mischa home. You gonna be able to sleep?"

"Probably," Rose said, leaning against her headboard. "If your brother would stop haunting my dreams."

"Andre?" Misha asked, a wave of sadness washing over her.

"Wait, what?" Lissa asked. She was less sad and instead intrigued.

"Every time, it's the same one. You're outside alone. You see a dead body. Andre's there, and he tells you to—"

"Remember," Lissa cut her off, her eyes wide. Rose frowned, realizing that Lissa was having the same dream. "Those aren't your dreams. They're mine."

Mischa let out a sigh, realizing this was now much more complicated than knowing when Lissa was being kissed. "This just got majorly fucked up."

☾

It was a long time before Mischa returned to her dorm. Even as she left the Dhampir dormitories, Lissa was still there and speaking with Rose, trying to figure out more about the dream sharing. Between the Specialization Ceremony, drinking at the bar, and now all of this, she was exhausted and ready to sleep the night away.

However, she couldn't fall face-first into bed as she originally planned.

Because sitting on top of her perfectly folded comforter was a moonflower plucked from the Academy gardens. When she picked it up, she could feel lingering traces of magic, telling her it was the same flower she made bloom when on her walk with Dimitri. A small piece of paper was next to it, and she quickly read the note, taking in the touch handwriting with a smile.

I meant it, Princess. You are magic and you always will be. Don't let anyone make you think otherwise.

— Your Guardian