Author's Note: Guess whose back? Did you miss me? :D Well I thought I might update this before I began reading another Dramione fanfic. Seriously they are addictive. I'm starting to write my one which will be a major project that I will begin posting next year, hopefully. Seriously it is going to be stupidly long :D
I'm kind of worried that I am starting to lose motivation for this fic. Don't worry though I won't abandon it completely and even if I did I would give you notice (you don't need to worry though). I bet you I will be updating this like crazy when it gets closer to the release date of Last Sacrifice.

A quick recap for people who can't remember what happened in the last chapter: it is now up to chapter eleven of Shadow Kiss where previously Rose was experiencing the negative effects of being Shadow Kissed while on the plane ride to the royal court, everyone was worried about her including Adrian. Got it? Good. :D now enough with the word vomit and on with the fic ;)

Last Sacrifice = 70 Days (I might be a day off :/)

Just after stepping off the plane, Adrian was summoned by the queen. He rolled his eyes as he followed the guardian towards the parlor. He wasn't surprised Tatiana had requested him this quickly. She probably thought that this would be the most sober he would be today. Plus she was incredibly busy. No matter how much she wanted this social call, it would be difficult to fit into her schedule.

When he arrived, Tatiana and Priscilla were seated. Their discussion ceased when they noticed his arrival.

"Adrian," called Tatiana. "Come sit down here." She gestured to the love seat across from her. He smiled as he made towards the seat. "Your flight went smoothly I presume?"

"Of course," he replied ignoring the part of him that still worried about Rose.

"If you don't mind I invited Vasilisa to join us later. I have been anxious to talk to her." He knew that she was bringing up their earlier conversation. He shrugged in response. "Do tell me, how has your work with her been lately?"

"We have been researching different Spirit abilities and practicing what we already know."

"So what abilities have you been practicing?" asked the queen, intrigued.

Adrian watched as Moroi servant came in and offered drinks. He took a glass of wine from the tray and took a sip from it before answering. "Well, Lissa has been trying to teach me healing."

"What have you been practicing on?"

"Plants actually. We have been using Spirit to make them grow faster."

"Interesting," she replied as the servant served her tea. "I wonder. Could you bring here a pot of the Easter lilies that came in last week," she asked the servant.

They bowed before leaving the room with the tray.

"I wonder if Miss Dragomir could demonstrate her abilities here. Frankly, I grow tired of waiting for the lilies to bloom so it is an extra bonus."

He chuckled. "You want Vasilisa to do the gardening?"

"I'm just saying that if she were to demonstrate her abilities she must as well put them to good use. Unless you would like to?" she replied smiling at him.

"Unfortunately I am not sober enough and even if I was I'm not very good at it anyway so you are not missing out."

The servant returned carrying a flowerpot and placed it on the table. They bowed again and left the room. Tatiana picked up her cup and sipped her tea.

Adrian turned when he heard people approaching the door. He saw Lissa standing beside a guardian.

"Princess Vasilisa Dragomir," announced the guardian that escorted Lissa.

Tatiana nodded in acknowledgment. "Welcome, Vasilisa please sit down."

Lissa sat down near Adrian. The servant came by and offered tea or coffee, but Lissa declinded. Tatina meanwhile sipped from a teacup and scrutinized Lissa from head to toe. Priscilla Voda broke the awkward silence.

"Remember what I said about her?" Priscilla asked cheerfully. "She was very impressive at our state dinner in Idaho. Settled a huge spat over Moroi fighting with guardians. She even managed to calm Adrian's father down."

A frosty smile crossed Tatiana's cold features. "That is impressive. Half the time, I still feel like Nathan is twelve years old."

"Me too," said Adrian, drinking from a wine glass.

Tatiana ignored him and focused on Lissa. "Everyone seems impressed with you, really. I hear nothing but good things about you, in spite of your past transgressions…which I'm given to understand weren't entirely without their reasons." Lissa's look of surprise actually made the queen laugh. There wasn't much warmth or humor in the laugh, though. "Yes, yes…I know all about your powers, and of course I know what happened with Victor. Adrian's been filling me in about spirit as well. It's so strange. Tell me…can you…" she glanced towards the nearby table with the flowerpot on top.

Lissa hesitated. Adrian could tell that using her powers in front of others was still very new to her. But, Tatiana was watching expectantly. After only a few moments more, Lissa leaned over and touched the shoots. The stems shot up through the dirt, growing taller –almost a foot high. Huge pods formed along the sides as it grew, bursting open to reveal fragrant white flowers. Lissa withdrew her hand.

Wonder showed on Tatiana's face, and she muttered something in a language that Adrian didn't understand. Within seconds, she put her stately mask back on.

"Hmm. Interesting," she said.

"It could be very useful," said Priscilla. "Vasilisa and Adrian can't be the only two out there with it. If we could find others, so much could be learned."

"Begging your pardon, Princess Voda…I'm not sure we should be so eager to use my –or others' –healing powers as much as you might want to."

"Why not?" asked Tatiana. "From what I understand, you can heal almost anything."

"I can…" said Lissa slowly. "And I want to. I wish I could help everybody, but I can't. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll definitely help some people. But I know we'd run into other people like Victor, who want to abuse it. And after a while…I mean, how do you choose? Who gets to live? Part of life is that…well, some people have to die. My powers aren't a prescription you can get filled as needed, and honestly, I'm afraid they would only be used for, uh, certain kinds of people. Just like the guardians* are."

A slight tension built in the room. Adrian raised his eyebrows at Lissa.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tatiana with narrowed eyes.

"Everyone knows that there's a certain, um, method to how guardians are distributed. Only the elite get them. Royals. Rich people. People in power."

A chill fell over the room. Tatiana's mouth settled into a straight line. She didn't speak for several moments, and everyone was holding their breath. Adrian hid a smirk. "You don't think our royals deserve special protection?" she asked finally. "You don't think you do –the last of the Dragomirs?"

"I think keeping our leaders safe is important, yeah. But I also think we need to stop sometimes and look at what we're doing. It could be time to reconsider the way we've always done things."

Tatiana sipped her tea. "I understand," she said, "that you're also in favour of Moroi fighting with the guardians and attacking Strigori?"

"I think if there are Moroi who want to, they shouldn't be denied the chance."

"Moroi lives a precious," said the queen. "They shouldn't be risked."

"Dhampir lives are precious to," Lissa countered. "If they fight with Moroi, it could save everybody. And again, if Moroi are willing, why deny them? They deserve to know how to defend themselves. And people like Tasha Ozera have developed ways of fighting with magic."

The mention of Christian's aunt brought a frown to the queen's face. "Tasha Ozera…she's a troublemaker. She's starting to gather a lot of other troublemakers."

"She's trying to introduce new ideas," Lissa said gaining more confidence. "Throughout history, people with new ideas –who think differently and try to change things –have always been called troublemakers. But seriously? Do you want the truth?" This cannot end well, Adrian thought.

A wry look crossed Tatiana's face, almost a smile. "Always."

"We need change. I mean, our traditions are important. We shouldn't give up on those. But sometimes, I think we're misguided."

"Misguided?"

"As time's gone on, we've gone along with other changes. We've evolved. Computers. Electricity. Technology in general. We all agree those make our lives better. Why can't we be the same in the way we act? Why are we still clinging to the past when there are better ways to do things?"

Adrian thought it was a very risky move for Lissa to say these things to her. No one spoke to her like that. This could either be good for Lissa or it might just come back at her. Lissa probably couldn't tell but Adrian clearly saw that the queen was still trying to keep her emotions in check. He knew that she knew that getting on Lissa's bad side wasn't a good idea, no matter how tempting it might be.

"You're very interesting to talk to," she finally said. "But I have things I must do now." She stood up, and everyone hastily followed suit, even Adrian. "I won't be joining you for dinner, but you and your companions with have everything you need. I'll see you tomorrow at the trial. No matter how radical and naively idealistic your ideas are, I'm glad you'll be there to complete his sentencing. His imprisonment, at least, is something we can all agree on."

Tatiana swept out, two guardians immediately following. Priscilla followed too, leaving Lissa and Adrian alone.

"Well done, cousin. Aren't many people who can throw the old lady off-balance like that," he said not bothering to hide his smirk.

"She didn't seem very off-balance."

"Oh, she was. Believe me. Most of the people she deals with every day wouldn't talk to her like that, let alone someone your age." He stood up and extended a hand to Lissa. "Come on. I'll show you around this place. Take your mind off things."

"I've been here before," she said. "When I was younger."

"Yeah, well, the things we get to see when we're young are different than the things we get to see when we're older. Did you know there is a twenty-four-hour bar in here? We'll get you a drink."

"I don't want a drink."

"You will before this trip's over."

Author's Note:

*the moment I typed that I burst out laughing. I kept thinking about that owl movie instead of dhampirs and then I thought of owls protecting vampires and then I was on the floor. :D shut up brain.

My editing for this chapter has been a bit lazy. So if there are any mistakes, my bad. I will probably read over it again tomorrow.

A bit off topic but I can't get over how awesome Glee was today :D And the promo for next week, omg. It made me laugh and then it made me cry :'(

Now back on topic I will try to update this again during the holidays. Starting to remember how much I enjoy writing this fic :)