Chapter Two: The Verdict

When we got on the plane, Rose and Vasilisa immediately took seats next to each other and began whispering heatedly. At this rate, they would come up with a plan and escape in no time. I ordered Aleksei to take Rose to the back of the plane and told him, "Don't let them talk to each other. Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan." Rose turned and gave me a death glare before she marched to the back. I smiled slightly. It looked like I had guessed correctly. Then, I slid into the seat next to Vasilisa that Rose had been occupying a few minutes ago. I looked at Vasilisa and say, "You don't look so well, Princess. Do you want water?"

She gave me a curious look and then replied politely, "Yes, please." I signaled Diyanat, another guardian, to get Vasilisa a bottle of water. He quickly returned and handed her it. "Thank you," she whispered. She opened the cap and took a sip. When she tried to close it, she fumbled and the cap landed on the floor. I leaned down to pick it up.

When I sat back up, Vasilisa was staring at me wide-eyed. I was curious about why she was like this, but I didn't want to startle her. Instead, I handed her the cap. She hesitated for a few seconds, and then decided to take it. She managed a smile before capping her bottle. We sat silently for most of the flight. When the flight was almost over, I got up and switched seats with Aleksei. I wanted to ask Rose a question while I still could.

I sat and looked at Rose, but she pointedly turned her head to look out the window. I sighed and continued sitting there for a few more moments. After a while, I summoned up enough courage to ask her the question I came here for. "Were you really going to attack all of us?" She continued to ignore me. I decided to give it another try. "Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave," I hesitated, waiting for her reaction. When she didn't respond, I went on, "Stupid, but still brave. Why did you even try it?"

She finally turned to me and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She gave me a good hard look. "Because I'm her guardian," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then, she turned back to the window. I contemplated what she had said for a while. Afterwards, I got up and switched back with Aleksei.

After we landed, Aleksei and I escorted Vasilisa and Rose to the car. Aleksei sat in the back with Vasilisa and Rose while I rode in the passenger seat and Diyanat drove. Soon after, we reached the black iron gates of the Academy. Diyanat rolled down the window. "Hello, Grigoryi," he greeted.

"Diyanat," Grigoryi nodded, "Have you found the Princess and that Hathaway kid?"

"Yes," replied Diyanat, "They're in the back."

"I see…" Grigoryi trailed off. "Well, see you later," he continued as he opens the gate.

"Thank you," Diyanat called as he drives through. When we were close enough to the secondary campus, Diyanat dropped us off. Aleksei resumed guarding Rose while I watched the Princess. The rest of the guardians came out from several other cars and followed closely behind us.

Suddenly, I heard fast footsteps behind me and Rose appeared on my right side. "Hey, Comrade," she called.

I couldn't believe she had the nerve to talk to me. She didn't seem to understand the amount of trouble she was in for running away. I changed directions so that we were now heading for the commons instead of circling around the perimeter of the campus. I wanted to punish Rose for her obnoxiousness. I quickened my pace, but I could still feel Rose pressuring me to respond. I finally gave in and replied coolly, "You want to talk now?"

She ignored my question and asked her own, "Are you taking us to Kirova?"

Rose was really getting on my nerves. First, she left Aleksei. Now, she was disrespecting the headmistress. "Headmistress Kirova," I stressed.

Rose answered carelessly, "Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—" She cut off when I pushed open the wooden doors to the commons. The loud commotion stopped as everyone stared at Rose and Vasilisa. The silence continued as we cut through the room. When we finally left the commons, I heard Rose and Vasilisa sigh with relief. I felt bad for the suffering Vasilisa just had to endure, but I truly believed that Rose got what she deserved.

We entered Headmistress Kirova's office. All the guardians left from there, except for Alberta. I also decided to remain in the office. Headmistress Kirova got up and stared hard at Rose and Vasilisa. She opened her mouth to speak when she was interrupted by Prince Dashkov. "Vasilisa," he said.

Vasilisa hopped out of her seat and rushed over to hug the Prince. "Uncle," she whispered emotionally.

He patted her back and replied, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." Then, the Prince redirected his attention to Rose and added, "And you too, Rose." Rose just nodded, showing absolutely no emotion. Vasilisa got up and returned to her seat.

When the headmistress saw that the reunion was over, she began her lecture. I stayed standing and tried to watch her, but after a while, I gave up. I was too distracted by Rose. She was looking at everything in the room but the headmistress. Her carelessness was annoying, but attractive, too. I scolded myself. She was too young. We were seven years apart. It would never work out. I kept coming up with excuses to distract myself from her. But it didn't work. In a middle of an excuse, I always ended up observing her every move.

Suddenly, Rose jumped up and yelled, "I did do my duty!" I flinched at her outburst. "I did keep her safe!" she continued, "I kept her safe when none of you"—she indicated everyone in the room—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." I stared at her. Why couldn't she just learn to shut up?

Headmistress Kirova answered tensely, "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" Rose hesitated. The headmistress continued, "I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not—" Rose cut in.

Headmistress Kirova glared and stated tersely, "And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

Rose stammered, "I…what?"

Vasilisa stood up and defended Rose, "You can't do that! She's my guardian."

The headmistress snapped, "She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."

"But my parents—" Vasilisa persisted.

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave," Headmistress Kirova replied.

Rose stared at her with disbelief, "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my father? Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."

"Miss Hathaway," Headmistress Kirova stated, "You are out of line."

I looked at both of them. I could tell that this was getting serious. At this rate, Rose would get kicked out for sure. I couldn't bear to have that happen. I searched around for some excuse to use. Suddenly, I remembered my crazy speculation of them having a bond. It was unlikely, but hey, it was worth a shot. I tentatively said, "They have a bond." Everyone stared at me. I looked at Rose. Her expression confirmed this so I continued on with more confidence, "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?"

Headmistress Kirova looked back and forth between Vasilisa, Rose, and me. "No…that's impossible," she stammered, "That hasn't happened in centuries."

"It's obvious," I half-lied, "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."

No one responded for a while. Then, Prince Dashkov whispered, "That is a gift. A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always had that bond," I added for good measure, "In the stories."

Headmistress Kirova yelled, "Stories that are centuries old. Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"

I shrugged. Then, I responded, "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"

"Wild and disrespectful?" Rose cut in. I glared. She wasn't really helping the situation. "Who the hell are you anyway?" she continued, "Outsourced help?"

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," Headmistress Kirova answered, "Her sanctioned guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect LIssa?" Rose snapped. Ouch. I flinched at her insult. How dare she say that to the only person that could help her? I thought about letting her get kicked out, but I couldn't bring myself to it. I'd miss her too much.

Headmistress Kirova threw her hands up and looked at me. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline," I interjected, "Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."

"Impossible," the headmistress countered, "She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."

"No, I won't," Rose claimed.

I ignored her and told the headmistress, "Then give her extra training sessions."

"Who's going to put in the extra time?" she asked. I was afraid she was going to bring this up. "You?"

I paused and stammered, "Well, that's not what I—"

Headmistress Kirova crossed her arms and said triumphantly, "Yes. That's what I thought."

I frowned and weighed my options. I could stop here and watch Rose leave, or I could mentor her and risk getting busted for my little "crush." I sighed and told the headmistress, "Yes. I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."

"And then what?" Headmistress Kirova challenged. Apparently she'd hoped that I would give up. "She goes unpunished?"

I quickly answered, "Find some other way to punish her. Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular." I smiled. The fight was slowly tilting towards my advantage.

Prince Victor also spoke up, "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent." Everyone stared at the headmistress for a verdict. She looked out the window to avoid meeting our eyes.

When she looked back, Vasilsia pleaded, "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."

Headmistress Kirova sighed and faced Rose, "If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be. Your continued enrollment at St. Vladmir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required training for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."

Rose laughed emptily. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" She nodded in Vasilisa's direction. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

"I'm taking precautions," Headmistress Kirova replied coldly, "As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for. You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."

Rose opened her mouth to say something and caught my eye. I arranged my features so that she would understand that I was trying to tell her to shut up and take the deal. She gave me a strange look, but appeared to understand my message. She sighed loudly. Then she looked at the headmistress straight in the eye and said, "Fine. I accept."