Royal Roulette

Chapter 5|Diamond-plated problems

"You have got to be kidding me right? I mean there is no way the Strigoi would attack her here right?" Christian asked, running his hands through his thick hair. "I don't know Christian, it's hard to predict what they are capable of," I say, unsure of what to do. Dimitri was silent, still scanning the letter, just like he had been for the past hour. Liss was holding a sleepy Lacey. She didn't look worried anymore, she looked determined. "I refuse to leave my people, my citizens. I also refuse to leave my family, and I'll be ready if some rogue Strigoi waltz into my court and try and take over the damned place!" she shouts, causing Lacey to let out a frightened cry. Liss rocks the baby until she is quiet again. "How are we going to pull this off?" Liss asks, much calmer than before. "Increase security at the gates. Have groups patrolling the wall. No one can enter court without having their cars thoroughly checked, and we will manage the situation as best as we can," Dimitri says quietly. Its the first thing he has said all evening. Considering what we've been through today, he was extremely calm. Me? Not so much. I was about to pass our from exhaustion and stress. "That will do," Liss says, standing up and taking Lacey to her room, "We will have a council meeting in the morning to discuss this." I nod. "I will be there, your majesty," I say. She tosses me a grin over her shoulder. "Go home and rest, tommorrow you will need it," she says and disappears into the nursery.

It was a quiet drive home, both me and Dimitri lost in our own thoughts. We start to head upstairs to get ready for bed, when Dimitri suddenly turns around. "Roza, do you really think Robert sent the letter?" he asks quietly. "I think so," I answer, wondering why I believe it was really from him. With that he wraps me in his embrace, and I welcome the warmth he brings. I tilt my head up and stand on my tip toes to give him a kiss. He tastes amazing, and smells even better. He grabs my hand and leads me upstairs to our bed, where he proceeds to take his shirt off. "This should be very fun," I say, smiling as I close the door. Who knew? Even in the middle of troubling times, Dimitri and I still found time for us.

The next morning I woke up with my head on Dimitri's chest. He was still sleeping and the late evening sun coming through our window made him look like an angelic warrior. I rescue out and stroked his hair. It was soft, oh so soft. His eyes flickered open, and he gave me a sleepy smile. I leaned over and kissed him, stopping only to say we had to get ready for the council meeting. We both wore our traditional guardian black, and I wore my hair up to show off my molnija marks. I walked down the stairs to find Dimitri reading one of the western novels he loves so much while drinking a tall cup of coffee. "We have plenty of time before the meeting, want to walk instead of drive?" he asks. I nod and take his hand as we walk out of the door. The sun is still up, casting a stunning glow on everything. It felt so good to be out in it, considering we almost never see the sun. "Damn vampire schedule," I mutter to myself. "Hm?" Dimitri says, glancing at me curiously. "Oh nothing, just talking to myself," I reply. We walk on in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, it was a comfortable one. We don't have to talk all the time when we are together. Being together is enough in itself. We make our way towards a little bakery, while the others up at this hour stare at us. I guess they still aren't used to us being openly in love. oh well. Dimitri orders us four chocolate ecláirs. We get them to go and eat them on the way to the council meeting. At 6 o'clock we arrive, and so do many others. We line the wall with Lissa's other guardians, and wait for the meeting to begin. "I call this council meeting to order," Lissa says, here voice ringing through the room. She continues, "What business do we have to attend to?" The Conta prince reads aloud the subjects of the meeting, and they start in on something dealing with the amount of money dealt to schools for materials. Once they have covered the other topics Lissa starts in about the letter. "It has come to my attention," she begins, "that the Strigoi are targeting my family. They left the message outside of Lacey's crowning, and I have received yet another threat. The strigoi have given me an ultimadum: Give up your crown or Lose your family. Well I have decided neither is going to happen." She begins explaining her plan to keep herself, as well as her husband and baby, safe. When she is done speaking, the council votes to see if her plan will be approved. The council unanimously voted for the plan to go into effect. "This meeting of the council is now closed. Thank you. You all are now dismissed," Lissa says, her queenly glow following her out of the room. Me and Dimitri return home and turn on a movie. "Do you think this plan will work?" he asks me. "I hope for Lissa's sake that it does," I reply, "If it doesn't work, then we are royally screwed."