A/N: Hello! I am back with another chapter. I wanted to let you all know that the names in this chapter are real characters in VA though the relationships may not be totally accurate. Also, I know that I am very guilty of reading new chapters and not reviewing so I understand if you happen to be one of those people! I appreciate follows and favorites as well. Reviews do encourage me and you guys give me suggestions all the time so thank you if you do review. I start a new job tomorrow. Quitting my full time job (the only full time job I've ever had) was extremely hard but I'm excited (and a little nervous) to see what happens. Any well wishes is appreciated. Lastly, I have a VERY huge obsession with anything and everything Harry Potter so let me know if you catch the nod.

As always, I own nothing except Katie.

CPOV:

You could hear a pin drop or a baby crying with how quiet the room had become. All of a sudden, it was like a bomb went off. Non-royal Moroi were jumping to their feet, yelling, while other Royal Moroi were jumping up to combat them. Some Royals, like Aunt Tasha, were showing their disgust for Prince Tarus's suggestion. Some were showing their support. Glancing around, my eyes connected with Eddie who was standing along the back of the chairs. His eyebrow rose and I shrugged, unsure of what I felt. As much as I disagreed with lowering the age barrier, maybe, besides being an egotistical bastard, Prince Reece may have been on to something.

"He is ridiculous if he thinks that any of these Moroi would go for that," Rose sneered. "I mean, sure, we have a lot of Royals but they make up a small percentage of the Moroi population."

"I take back what I said about Esmond. Reece is a bigger moron. I don't think even Tatiana is dumb enough to agree with him," Aunt Tasha stated, crossing her arms.

"Order! I will have order!" Tatiana shouted, banging a gavel on the table before her. "As I mentioned before, we will not be voting on the decree tonight. Tonight is purely discussion. Prince Tarus made a suggestion and it is only right that we hear him out. Now is there any more discussion on the proposal from Prince Tarus?"

Looking around, she acknowledged the hand of Prince Dashkov.

"Thank you Queen. While I admire my friend's suggestion for an alternative route. I have to question his validity. What is the difference between a 15-year-old versus a 16 ear old? I say we either lower the age or strip non-essential Moroi of their Guardians. There is no reason to do both. We don't want to seem selfish, do we?" Prince Dashkov spoke.

More murmurs erupted through the auditorium. Even though I had grown up in this world, the Royals never seemed to surprise me with their inconsideration of others.

"What does that even mean?" I heard Dimitri grumble.

"Don't you see?" I asked, amazed they hadn't caught on. "It's actually a little brilliant when you think about it. They're basically playing 'who can make the most horrible suggestion' to further their own agenda."

"Well yeah, that part is obvious, but I don't see what's brilliant about it," Rose asked.

"What if they don't really care about the outcome?" Dimitri supplied.

"Exactly. Queen Tatiana wants to lower the age. I don't think she really cares about what age it is. She just cars about her own safety. Prince Reece seems to have some weird agenda but I doubt both he and Prince Dashkov care either. They seem to be playing some tennis game," I explained.

"Of course. You're brilliant Christian," Aunt Tasha said. Noticing the confused faces of Rose and Dimitri, she continued. "It's royal politics. Reece and his whole family have had this grudge against Tatiana and the Ivashkovs since the Tarus's lost the Royal election. He would do anything to oppose her."

"Even throwing something crazy out there like stripping guardians from non-Royal Moroi." Rose said, catching on.

"Exactly. We all know that Moroi outnumber Dhampirs by drastic numbers but non-Royal Moroi outnumber Royal Moroi numbers as well. To suggest stripping Guardians may cause non-Royal Moroi to see the decree as Royals not caring about their safety which may cause unrest. And it may cause non-Royal Moroi— "

"To think that the whole decree is ludicrous and pressure for a repeal," Dimitri finished.

"So Prince Reece isn't really on anybody's side. His grudge against the Queen will make him disagree with anything she says even if it were about a national cookie day," Rose grumbled.

"But you have to admit, national cookie day sounds awesome," Aunt Tasha laughed.

I hated Moroi politics. That's why I stayed out of it. Of course everyone assuming I was going to turn Strigoi at any moment helped. The thing about the Moroi politics were that the Royals ran everything. The heads of each family could not make a decision without consulting the majority of the voting members of their family. As there were many policies and laws that needed to be decided, this made most younger Royal Moroi decide to opt out of voting in their family which left the older Moroi with their out-of-touch way of thinking to decide on the laws and policies. Of course this made the younger Moroi upset but not enough to be active in policymaking. It was a never-ending circle of idiocy, in my opinion.

"If I may, Queen Tatiana?" a voice spoke through.

"All eyes turned to the speaker. My eyes immediately sought out her blonde hair.

"Of course, Princess."

"The attack at Court was a horrifying experience for those of us who were there. We are all aware of the complexity of the wards around Court. It is why, in all the years that Court has operated, we have never had an attack of this proportion. This is why I believe our efforts should lie outside of lowering the age restriction. We should be looking into why and how Strigoi were able to break wards like this. If they were able to break through our wards at Court what is preventing them from penetrating the wards here at the Academy or the International Courts?"

As Lissa's voice rang strong and loud through the auditorium, I could see the attention she grabbed just by speaking. It reminded me of one of the reason I fell in love with her. Her ability to demand to be seen and her passion to help everyone around her is what drew me.

"I would like to assure Princess Vasilisa and everyone here that a full investigation is currently underway into the attack. However, what we need is a solution to our safety now. We need to defend ourselves," Queen Tatiana spoke.

Lissa smiled a smile that sent a shiver down my spine. Whether in pleasure or fear, I didn't want to explore. It was a smile I'd seen often. One that said she was about to get her way.

"Thank you Queen Tatiana. That is exactly what I was thinking as well. We need to defend ourselves. We are Moroi. We are connected to and harness the power of the elements. And yet, we sit and do nothing with these powers. What I propose is to change the decree. Instead of lowering the Dhampir age, I suggest we offer an alternative force. I say we train Moroi, those willing to use their powers offensively and fight alongside our Guardians."

Again, the room burst into motion. I looked to Rose with wide eyes. Years ago, Moroi fought alongside Dhampirs. However, that went away almost a century before.

"You dare ask us to spill our blood, our Moroi blood –"

"To save yourself, Princess Voda, yes. Do you know what inexperienced children do? They get caught and they get killed. I've seen seniors in their last year here at the Academy get injured and die because of their inexperience. And we're going to force 15 year olds to do the same. I'm not saying that all Moroi children be forced to participate in this task force, and I must remind you that you are effectively demanding the same from the Dhampir children. What I am suggesting is an option for them to train and learn to defend themselves. If they so choose, they can join and fight alongside the Guardians."

Queen Tatiana pursed her lips as her eyes swept around the room.

"Your Majesty, as you pointed out before with Prince Reece, Princess Vasilisa is a part of this governing body. Therefore, I believe that we must hear her suggestion out," my aunt, Princess Evette spoke.

"I concur," the Queen said, tightly. "Is there any more…discussion on the topic?"

"I believe the Princess raises some…inquisitive questions. I would be more curious to see what the public and Royal families have to say," Princess Ariana Szelsky offered.

Seeing no more discussions, Queen Tatiana gave a small sigh.

"I move to accept all four proposals as decrees to be voted upon at the next voting session," Princess Szelsky said.

I second," Prince Dashkov agreed.

"All those in favor?"

A chorus of ayes rang through the auditorium.

"Any opposition? Abstentions? With a vote of 11-0-0, all four proposed decrees have been accepted by this body to be voted upon at the next session. Moving on, are there any motions to extend for another discussion session? No? With that, we will schedule a voting session for later this week. We will move to public comment. When Princess Priscilla Voda calls your name, you will state your title and address the body Please limit all comments to 2 minutes."

I looked over to Rose who was oddly still in her chair. Leaning over, I whispered in her ear.

"Do you know what you will say?"

"No, but that's the fun. Isn't it?" Rose smirked.

As Princess Voda started calling names, I felt Rose start to tense. I reached my arm around her should and pulled her close, leaning my forehead against the side of her head.

"You'll be great," I whispered.

Breathing, she nodded and reached up to squeeze my hand. Looking up, I immediately felt Lissa's eyes boring into my mine.

"Rosemarie Hathaway."

Rose stood and approached the podium in front of the Queen.

"Hello," she said, clearing her throat. "My name is Guardian Rose Hathaway, Guardian of Lord Christian Ozera. I have sat and listened to you all speak for the last couple of hours with so many thoughts running through my head. I can't and won't speak for the entire Dhampir race, but I will say that I believe lowering the age decree is wrong. I'm sure that comes as no surprise to you as you were all in attendance at the last meeting. I urge you to rethink this decree. Lowering the restriction is cutting valuable years from our Dhampir. They need that time to learn the necessary skills to be able to protect you. I fully support Princess Vasilisa Dragomir's proposal. I have seen what can happen when you train Moroi to fight. It's possible. We won't know if we don't try it. By teaching Moroi to defend themselves, we can prepare those who won't get Guardians and those who do get Guardians to help protect themselves. Thank you."

As Rose walked back to me amid whispers, I gave her a smile of support.

"Guardian Hathaway."

Rose stopped and turned back to the Queen.

"You spoke of seeing first-hand knowledge of successful Moroi combat training."

"Yes, Queen Tatiana. That would be with my charge, Lord Ozera."

As Queen Tatiana's gaze rose to mine, I couldn't help but admire Rose's ability to maintain her emotions. It was something that she always struggled with.

"Hmm. Indeed. Guardian Hathaway, I believe a demonstration is in order. Tomorrow. I would like to see you and Lord Ozera demonstrate his training."

Glancing back at me, I nodded to Rose.

"We accept."

"Perfect," Queen Tatiana smiled, showing her fangs.

"This session is closed."