Hey party people! So, I know it's been forever. But, I've been working on two new stories! AND I just adopted a story from Aurora Rose Dragomir called Blue Rose Princess which I havent started yet but I will be getting to soon!

But plz plz plzzzzzz check out my two new stories 'Vampire Academy Lissa POV' and 'Lily-girl'

Both stories are in some serious need of reviews! Like, really. It just makes my day when I see reviews and I love getting your guys's feedback for this story so it would really make me happy if you read and reviewed my other stories too :)))))

I love you all!

Chapter 8

It was Friday, July 16th, and it was Lissa's birthday. Many people had begged for the queen to have a huge celebration since it was tradition, but Lissa refused. All she wanted was a night alone with her friends. The people were hurt and shocked, but they got over it. We were in a council meeting at this point, and Lissa was addressing the council about the quorum law. Very shaky territory.

"Your Highness, with all due respect, how do we know you are not just wanting this abolished to further your own ends? With the quorum law gone, your throne is safe." Rufus Ivashkov, just as pleasant as his brother Nathan, said.

"Prince Ivashkov, are you insinuating that I, as queen, am simply passing a law because I'm scared of losing my throne? My election was made official with the presence of my sister, yes, and I might add that her life is in dangerous peril every second that this law is in force, but the Moroi chose me as their own. Even though Princess Dragomir was present, they still could have chosen another candidate, am I right? I am very confident in the safety of my throne, Prince Ivashkov. But I am not confident in my sister's safety, and wish to protect her by abolishing this law." Lissa stated clearly, and I refrained from letting out a whoop. She showed him!

It had been exactly one month and eighteen days since Lissa's pregnancy was announced, and if you peered closely you could see the outline of a baby bump. She wore a deep purple one-sleeve dress that cinched around her tiny waist and a mermaid tail to the floor. Her platinum blonde hair was tied in a regal bun at the top of her hand, with a few wisps artfully styled to hang down but not look out of place. Her green eyes shone with vibrancy and passion for her people. She was a true ruler.

It had also been about one month and twenty days since finding out about the dark magic inside of Dimitri. Thankfully, he showed no signs of it acting up and it seemed to still lay dormant in his system. I had had to tell Lissa about it and she has been helping me find a cure ever since. Dimitri still didn't know, but I feared that the clock was ticking on how long he had. These ghosts were waiting a long time, and how much longer could they hold out?

One of our ideas had been along the lines of stabbing Dimitri with a spirit charmed stake, but we didn't really know how to test that out without killing him in the process, so that went in the trash. Then we thought about trying a healing session where Lissa, Adrian, and Sonya all healed him together and that one is still on the charts. In order to test it we'd have to tell him though, and I'm not sure how to do that yet. Once he found out, he would surely feel guilty with himself and feel that he was putting everyone in danger just by being in their presence, and then Christian would be without a guardian and I would be without love.

I tuned back in to see that at last the council decided to come to a vote about the quorum law. They'd been on the fence for the past year about trying to get this abolished or keep it and now it looked like they were done debating. Finally!

"All those in favor of abolishing the quorum law," Lissa stated and six of the council members raised their hands. That was more than half!

"All those not in favor," Lissa stated and five members—including Rufus Ivashkov—raised their hands.

"I am in favor of abolishment. Council vote is seven to five. I hereby acknowledge that a member of the royal family does not need at least two members in the family to rule as queen or king, and they are free to hold a council seat at the age of eighteen years." Lissa acknowledged and I felt elation move through the bond and I almost broke my guardian mask with a huge smile. Lissa saw my face and visibly held back a smile of her own.

"Guardian Prost, please inform Princess Dragomir of the new law and relieve her of some of her guards so she may walk the court freely. Tell her that I expect her in my room at five o'clock." She said and the mouse of a guardian nodded before practically leaping off to fulfill the queen's wishes.

"Meeting adjourned. Have a nice evening everyone and we will reconvene in three weeks." Lissa said and everyone got up. A few wished her a happy birthday and she thanked them graciously. After they all left, I moved to Lissa and gave her a huge hug, which she returned with a laugh.

"You did it! You abolished the law!" I squealed and she gave a beaming smile. I saw a few other guardians giving each other high fives.

"I know! This is so great!" She exclaimed and we walked outside, our arms slung around each other's waists.

"So, Miss birthday queen, are you ready for your big bash?" I said and I suddenly felt a flash of doubt through the bond, but she quickly tried to smother it.

"Liss, what's wrong?" I asked her, stopping and facing her. She looked away and down at her feet, biting her lip.

"I just, I don't know if it's the right thing. We still don't know what's wrong with Dimitri, and half of my room is devoted to baby plans. Maybe it just isn't the right time." She said and I tipped her chin up so she was looking at me.

"Hey. No matter if things are bad; this is still your nineteenth birthday. You're a nineteen year old queen, who's expecting a beautiful baby and has a loving boyfriend waiting for you at home! This is the perfect time." I told her and she smiled before continuing walking.

"Oh, hey! So, I almost forgot to bring this up. I got my first ultrasound this morning!" She said and I squealed like a little girl and hugged her tightly before demanding for pictures.

It was a beautiful baby girl. She looked like an alien, but I knew she would be stunning like Lissa and Christian. Yes, you just heard me give a compliment about Christian. Shut up.

We arrived at Lissa's room and already it was looking festive. Bright green streamers hung from the ceiling and balloons overflowed from every spare corner. Two tables had been set aside and covered with gold tablecloths. One for presents, the other for food.

Suddenly, Lissa was ambushed from behind and I went on the defensive, yanking out my stake.

Until I realized it was Christian with a colorful mask on.

"Whoa, Rose, a little on edge?" Christian smirked and I lowered my stake back into its holster, brushing against my gun to make sure it was there. The truth was I was very on edge. This thing with Dimitri had really kept me on my toes. I smiled and jokingly laughed but Lissa easily saw through it and smiled in sympathy.

"Ha, you're just lucky your mask sucks otherwise you'd have my stake through your heart." I said and he shuddered. Lissa craned her neck up and gave Christian a kiss on the lips.

"I love you," she said and he kissed the space under her ear.

"I love you too." He said and they both laughed. I made a gagging noise and Christian flipped me off without looking at me. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the kitchen, having to weave through various balloons in different colors.

"Hey, Liss! You got any more of those truffle things?" I called out. The week before she had brought back these amazing caramel-filled chocolate balls from her trip to Saint Petersburg for a council event. I hadn't gone with her because she had purposefully given Dimitri and I time off for that and we had taken advantage of it. A lot of advantage.

"No! Christian ate them all!" She called and I heard the distinct sounds of shushing and giggling.

"Christian! You dirty pig! There were at least eight left!" I yelled to him before finally settling on a brownie and a coke. Lissa knew my sugar habits and always kept a section stocked off for me.

"Lissa helped me!" Christian exclaimed and I grumbled before shooting the couple a glare. They had moved to the couch and were cuddling with each other and Lissa was holding the ultrasound picture. Christian looked like the happiest man in the world and I rolled my eyes.

Speaking of men…where was mine?

"Has anyone heard from Dimitri?" I asked and Lissa shook her head.

"He said he wasn't feeling well and since it isn't his shift he went to your room."

Christian said and I frowned. Dhampirs didn't get sick that often. In fact, I had never known a dhampir who has gotten sick.

"Maybe I should go—"I was about to leave when Christian called out.

"He said he didn't want anyone bothering him. Even you." Christian said and my frown deepened. That definitely wasn't like him at all.

"Since when do I ever listen to directions? I'll be right back." I said and they sighed as I left.

When I reached our room, I was surprised to see the door slightly ajar. I grabbed my stake and gun with one hand and aimed them down. The gun wouldn't help me much against a Strigoi, but it would still hurt them. With my other hand I pushed open the door slowly and creeped inside. The lights were dim in every room and I slowly made my way around and when I reached the kitchen, I let out a breath of relief when I saw Dimitri leaning over the counter. I reholstered my weapons and moved to him.

"Jesus, Dimitri, you scared me. Why'd you leave the door open?" I asked him and was just about to grab his shoulder when suddenly I was against the wall with Dimitri pinning me with a knife to my neck. I let out a strangled breath and looked at him.

His face was contorted in an emotion I couldn't name and his hair was mussed. His eyes…oh his eyes. They were still brown but… inside. Inside them was something else. A glowing white presence shown through, casting an eerie leer to his face.

The dark magic inside of him had been activated.

AHHH! What's gonna happen to Dimitri? You better keep reading this story to find out! I promise the next chapter will be up sometime next week. I've got finals (EWWWW) for the rest of the week but then I've got 2 weeks of winter break! yay! So, I'll definitely be writing then.

I forgot to mention at the top: I have an awesome beta, RozaRocks! You rock RozaRocks-no pun intended-and I'm so glad that I have you as a beta!

Bye bye and I can't wait to see what you thought!

~Belle~