[ first, yes, i changed the name of this book to lavender haze. the album came out and it is mischa and dimitri's song. i had to.

second, this is so short, and i'm so sorry. but i swear the next one will be longer and it WILL have more spice. there was just no better place to split the episode up, as either way, one chapter was gonna be short ]

☽︎

JUST TAKING IN ALL THE WONDERFUL SIGHTS THAT THE ACADEMY HAS TO OFFER.

[ season 1 — episode 9 ]

Mischa stood in the middle of a rowdy crowd, standing as stiff as a board as she stared up above. Her fists were clenched as she tried to contain her rage. Two days had hardly passed since Victor won the trials, and Tatiana retaliated by showing off a newly turned Strigoi Sonya like some kind of circus attraction.

While Sonya was locked away with an execution scheduled, the Dashkov family didn't dare show their faces. As if a daughter doing this wasn't bad enough, Tatiana also told all of the Dominion about how Victor was diagnosed with something called Sandovsky's Syndrome, which was slowly killing him. No one wanted a dying man on the throne if it were true.

Now, Tatiana was standing on a balcony above the streets and addressing the crowd that was split between her supporters and those that still wanted Victor as their King — the Elements chose him, sickness or not. Sonya or not. No amount of Tatiana's pandering could change that. So, to stop people from fighting, Guardians set up barricades and split the sides, keeping the two factions apart.

Mischa was firmly planted on the side that supported Victor, though she wasn't waving any flags or signs — or even shouting obscenities at Tatiana like many were. Though she had helped to pass out signs, many of which were pleading for more Dhampir rights like Victor was promising. While waiting, she just glared and pictured horrific things in her mind that would no doubt get her thrown in a cell if she went through with any of it.

It was amazing how just two days ago, Mischa didn't think she could hate Tatiana Vogel anymore than she already did.

As Tatiana spouted her bullshit, Mischa scanned the crowd, looking over to the side full of her supporters. Tatiana — Faith First. Non-Royals for Tatiana. The signs made her sick to her stomach, knowing that the woman above them would never care about Non-Royals and Dhampir despite them making over half the population of the Dominion. Perhaps that's why Dhampir didn't get a vote in the first place.

"Victor lied about his health. And what of his Strigoi daughter?" Mischa couldn't help but scoff at Tatiana's constant reminders about Sonya. "How can we trust him to rule the Dominion when he can't even rule his household? Will he even be around to rule? People are worried their province will be the next St. Jude, that their brother, wife, or child will become the next Strigoi victim, or worse, become a monster to defend against, like Sonya Karp."

The people were cheering as if she was saying some meaningful and profound speech instead of just tearing down a family even more in the midst of their worst nightmare. Victor was losing his health, he'd lost a daughter, he may have just lost the crown, and because of this, Mischa wondered if he was going to lose his family, too. It was a horrible situation that she wished she could do something about.

Tatiana didn't care though — Mischa was sure she didn't have a sympathetic bone in her body. "Of course, people are scared. Who can blame them? Our very future is on the line. We need to fix this before we cannot. We cannot afford to sit back and do nothing. We must act when it matters most. And that time is now. Call upon me, and I shall serve."

The deafening cheers were mixed with boos and other degrading shouts that came from all around Mischa. It took a lot of restraint to not join in — it wasn't as if Tatiana would ever hear Mischa over it all, so she saw no point. It wasn't satisfactory unless she could see the hatred mirrored in Tatiana's eyes.

Things got more hectic as Tatiana worked the crowd up. People soon stopped shouting at her and instead began shouting at each other. One man reached across a barricade and shoved a Tatiana supporter back, and that was what broke the damn. Everyone took to fighting and shoving, the metal barricades being knocked down as if they were never there. The Guardians over crowd-control got overwhelmed as the riot began before they could even process it.

Mischa, after being shoved and knocked into one too many times, quickly backed out of the crowd. She didn't want to watch the unrest grow even more. Tatiana wasn't uniting the Dominion — which was clear as fucking day to everyone now. If this kept up, she'd be the reason it would burn to the ground.

☾

The Dragomir dorm room was fairly silent. Lissa was at her desk, looking through every book she could that mentioned Spirit. Adrian had mailed her a few things that would've been impossible to track down on her own without his resources. Mischa was giving her as much silence as she could while flipping through a book from the library.

Mischa may or may not have picked up a Russian for Beginners textbook — not for any particular reason, of course.

She was busy making notes on how to conjugate basic sentences while her sister was making notes about all the possible things she was capable of with Spirit. Though the silent study time was interrupted eventually when their third roommate came in.

Mischa sat up on her bed quickly. She didn't think they'd be seeing Mia back for days, maybe even weeks after what happened. Especially when Sonya hadn't even been staked yet.

But Mia clearly had a reason for being there, as she was seeking out Lissa before the door was even shut all the way. "Lissa."

Lissa stood and spoke softly. "Mia, I'm so sorry."

"You have to stop. The healing, all of it," Mia told her, shocking both sisters. "I saw you with Dean."

"I don't know what you think you saw, but that's crazy. No one can do that," Lissa lied nervously while walking past Mia. She stood next to Mischa's bedside for some comfort. Sure, they knew that Mia and Jesse had been there but they weren't sure how much of it they comprehended.

But Mia wasn't buying the lie — she wasn't an idiot. "You can. And so could Sonya. My family thought that she was the only one, and then I saw you."

"What?" Mischa asked quietly, slowly sliding off the bed. But then again, Sonya having Spirit explained so much about the woman.

Lissa was just as surprised. "Okay, Mia, if anyone found out—"

"I haven't told anyone," she assured them. She knew how important this particular secret was. "But, Lissa, the more Sonya healed, the worse she got. She hated seeing anyone in pain. Even me. Even though I wasn't always nice. She deserved better. And so do you."

It was evident that Mia was trying not to cry as it felt like that was all she'd been doing since the moment the trials ended.

Despite Mia's warning, Lissa didn't want to listen as she shook her head. "But I'm not like you and Christian. What if this power is my only way to fight?" she asked.

"Liss," Mischa said sharply, looking at her sister in disbelief. "Aren't you listening? It's not worth it. We can't lose you to this."

"Says the one that can kill a Strigoi as easily as Rose's mom," her sister said, rolling her eyes. Then she looked at Mia. "Mia, look, I know you're upset, but you don't—"

"Of course, I'm upset!" Mia shouted, the tears that had been welling in her eyes finally spilling over. "Papa is livid. Dad lied about Sonya being missing. I know that my dad did a terrible thing. And even though I am furious, I can't stand to see him this way. I can't. I fucking can't."

As Mia sobbed, Mischa reached for the girl and held her tightly, letting her cry over it all. While Mia cried in her arms, Mischa looked over her shoulder at Lissa, hoping her sister would regain some sense. What was the point of cutting Rose loose and taking those antidepressants to subdue her magic if she was still going to try and use it after it all? It was foolish to continue.

She couldn't stand to see the Darkness overtake Lissa just like it overtook Sonya. She'd lost so much, so many people. Mikhail, her parents, Andre — Mischa wouldn't lose Lissa too.

☾

Lissa and Mischa stayed and comforted Mia for a long while before all going their separate ways — after Mia left, Lissa said she wanted some time alone to think over everything they'd learned about Sonya. She also mentioned potentially going to see Victor later to ask him a few questions, and Mischa said she'd go with her so long as she wasn't busy.

However, to kill time and also give Lissa the requested space, Mischa went for a walk around the Academy grounds. She saw a few people and waved but didn't stop to talk with anyone. The only thing anyone wanted to talk about was the trials, Sonya, or even the occasional person that hadn't forgotten about Dimitri hitting her during the second trial.

Mischa was hardly sporting a bruise anymore, having healed quickly as all Moroi did. There was some slight discoloration on her jaw, which she covered with a light layer of concealer. It didn't even hurt to touch anymore, thankfully, as she slept on her left side and that first night of sleep was quite uncomfortable.

Honestly, she didn't know how the news was managing to keep up with so many scandalous stories, but they sure were working overtime as each screen she passed displayed constant footage of either the stages of the trials, Dimitri hitting Mischa, Victor winning, Tatiana dramatically revealing the captured Sonya, or the newly formed rioting in the streets that hadn't slowed since the initial one began,

It was like the universe knew that Mischa was searching for anything to distract her from the chaos of the world around her. On her walk, she came across Dimitri doing a round of training exercises on one of the many Novice courses. So naturally, she came to a stop and watched him.

Her cheeks heated up instantly, remembering how he'd kissed her again in that dark alleyway. Mischa didn't know where they stood with each other — she was fairly certain he didn't know either. But he wanted her and he had been lying when he told her what they had didn't mean anything. That was enough to give her hope for more one day.

Dimitri knew Mischa was watching him — he always knew when she was near, like the Elements themselves always wanted him acutely aware of her presence that would only ever draw him further into her orbit.

"Is there a particular reason you've ceased your walk, Princess?" Dimitri finally asked. He didn't stop his actions, which included a rapid series of pull-ups. He wasn't even breathless as he spoke while continuing to work out.

Mischa wandered a little closer, watching how the end of his sweatshirt was riding up, showing off the bottom of his abs and the band of his boxers peeking out from his joggers. "Just taking in all the wonderful sights that the Academy has to offer," she said innocently. "Go about your day, Guardian Belikov."

He let out a huff of a laugh, and she watched how those abdomen muscles contracted. Then he glanced at all the students and Guardians walking around, knowing he'd need to have a word with her about subtlety — as if Dimitri was ever subtle about his feelings for Mischa.

Given that she told him to, Dimitri continued his training exercises. His keen hearing picked up on the clearly disappointed sigh that escaped her lips when he dropped to the ground and his sweatshirt fell back into place as well. But she trailed alongside him on the path while he finished his training nonetheless.

Mischa studied his form like she would be tested on it come Monday morning, watching as he effortlessly flipped a huge tire before rushing to a set of wooden beams. He whipped out his stake and did a few practice maneuvers. He finished up at a training dummy, which he hit several times before knocking it over. Mischa was impressed, knowing how heavy they weighed from working with Rose on one.

Seemingly finished, for the time being, Dimitri tucked his stake away and faced Mischa, smiling at her softly as he stepped closer. However, before she could even fully open her mouth to speak, his eyes slid over her shoulder as he spotted four Guardians making their way over to them.

Mischa turned as well, really only recognizing Alberta and two of the other Guardians that worked at the school. The fourth was an older man who was only looking at Dimitri with a less-than-pleasant expression on his face.

"Guardian Belikov," the man greeted.

Dimitri did the Guardian salute, pressing four fingers to his chest, meaning the man was clearly a higher ranking than him. "Commander Croft. It's an honor," Dimitri said. But then he caught Alberta's eye, who shook her head subtly.

Croft stepped up and as he did, he put himself in between Mischa and Dimitri. "You are under arrest for treason."

"What?" Mischa asked in disbelief, her eyes going wide as one of the Guardians harshly shoved Dimitri forward. "You must be joking."

"Not now, Mischa," Alberta told her, gently pulling Mischa away from Dimitri.

"This is ridiculous!" she insisted, narrowing her eyes at Croft. "In what world would Dimitri Belikov be suspected of treason?"

"In a world where Guardian Sasha Tanner is alive," he said, shoving Dimitri forward once more.

They weren't going to hang around and answer any of Mischa's questions, so she grabbed Alberta's wrist before she could leave as well. "She's alive?" Mischa asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Rose told her after returning from Caroni that Sasha was killed by a Strigoi. "Mikhail's sister is alive?"

"Yes," Alberta said, keeping it short as she nodded.

"Can... can I see her?" she asked hopefully, wanting to cling to anything that was left of Mikhail

"I'm sorry, but no," she denied, slipping her wrist out of Mischa's hold. "Dimitri may just be under suspicion of it, but Sasha has committed treason. There will be no saving her."

Mischa was almost afraid to ask but she had to. "And what if they find Dimitri guilty too?"

"It'd be best to not dwell on it, Dragomir," Alberta said with a grim expression. "It's not your job to worry about Dimitri."

"Well, I do," Mischa snapped. "I worry about all of you — Dimitri, Rose, Meredith, Eddie, you. If I don't worry... no one else will."

☾

Mischa spent hours alone and pacing her room, desperate for any news about what was happening with Dimitri. He wasn't the only one she was worried about. Rose also was a part of the lie about Sasha being dead, meaning they probably took her in for questioning as well. If she weren't a Novice still, they'd have arrested her like Dimitri.

So, when Rose burst through the door of Mischa's dorm room and sought her out, she was all ears. "Rose," she said, relieved she wasn't behind bars. "I - I know Sasha is alive. And they just took Dimitri. What's going on?"

"She is alive," Rose confirmed, taking in a deep breath. "I got Dimitri to lie on the report and say she was dead so that she could flee the Dominion."

"Why would he lie? He - he doesn't even know Sasha. He wouldn't risk treason because you asked," she said, shaking her head.

Rose looked down at the carpet. "He would to protect you. And protecting Sasha — protecting Mikhail's sister — is protecting you, even if he couldn't tell you about it. He didn't want you involved."

"Is he... do you know what's happening with him?" Mischa asked, her chest feeling tight. "It's been hours."

"They questioned us both — him a lot longer than me," she muttered. Then she sighed heavily. "Last I heard, he's on house arrest in his apartment and can't leave until there's a trial. They've already got it planned in a few hours. They don't take this kind of thing lightly."

"Is he allowed visitors?"

"For now," she confirmed. "Do you want to visit him, though? How weird are things still between you?" She hadn't exactly had time to tell Rose about making out with him in an alley.

"Weird," Mischa said, shrugging. "But not bad. It's better, or it was before he was arrested."

"Then go and see him," Rose said, nodding. Then her face hardened. "But if he hurts you again, Mish, I swear to the Saints that I will end him for you."

"And if I ever feel like that again," she whispered, thinking back on all that pain he caused, "I'll let you."