One

"Wake up, Princess." It was Emil's voice that brought her out of her sleep, and Lissa blinked her jade green eyes slowly at the guardian. "You must pack a bag, and meet me outside the dorms by 11:30."

"What time is it?" Lissa asked, but the door was already closed, and she was alone. She glanced over at the clock on her bedside table, which read 11:17. The sun would be out in almost full force, and she barely understood what Emil instructed her to do. How much should she pack? What should she bring? How long would they be gone? With no one to answer her questions, she grabbed her biggest suitcase and rushed to neatly pack a variety of clothing. Pretty silk blouses, jeans, a few pairs of slacks, and a few casual dresses made their way into the bag first, followed by some neutral shoes that she thought would match everything. Her hands lingered on some nicer dresses, but she only added one to the mix.

With ten of her thirteen minutes passed, Lissa dashed through the rest of her packing. A small toiletries bag was always made up in her bathroom, and she tossed it on top of her bag and zipped it hurriedly. She did not have time to give a last look to her academy dorm, and hoped she'd be leaving nothing of importance behind. She made it downstairs and out to the front of the dorms with a minute to spare. Rose and Eddie were there waiting, both of them looking every bit as concerned as Lissa felt, but Rose gave a reassuring smile to her friend. Dimitri and a guardian Lissa vaguely placed as Jean were patiently waiting in guardian stance. They were, oddly enough, wearing their full guardian uniform. Lissa had just placed her suitcase on the ground when Emil emerged from the Moroi dorms, with Christian and a non-royal in his wake, while a novice she could not quite place made his way across the quad to join the circle.

"Hathaway and Castile, you're with Belikov in car one," Emil barked, as the students all fell into a circle. "Miss Forrest and mister Turner, you're with Jean in three. That leaves Princess Dragomir and mister Ozera with me in two." The dhampir all picked up their bags obediently, although the unfamiliar novice didn't seem to be quite as alert as Rose and Eddie. They joked easily, even going so far as to push each other as they followed in Dimitri's wake. Jean made a grand sweeping gesture with her arm, and her mismatched pair followed the others. Emil started forward briskly, with no indication to Lissa or Christian what was going on.

"So, Comrade, where are we going?" Lissa could hear Rose's flippant voice even from the distance she lagged behind. If Dimtri responded, she could not tell. Pulled over to the side of the main driving path, three identical black SUV's were running, with a guardian of the Royal Court standing in front of each one, with a very official-looking file folder in their hands. Dimitri's group was the first to reach their car, and his long arm snaked out to take his file. He glanced it over quickly, before opening the back door and gesturing for Rose and Eddie to get in.

"Why is everyone dressed in Court attire?" Lissa asked Christian. He yawned, barely covering his mouth with the back of his hand, and shrugged. "And why weren't we told that we need to look decent? I'm still in my pajamas!" Lissa looked down disdainfully at her attire, although she did have to admit that there were much worse pajamas for her to be found in than yoga pants and a tank top. She had managed to find the time to change her underwear and stuff her feet into some ballet flats before she dashed out of her room, but it was still a far cry from looking presentable at Court.

"Your bunny slippers are cute, Lissa," he joked. "Now get in. I assume we're not getting kidnapped if Belikov is here. Besides, if we're going to see the queen, I'm sure they'll give us time to change." Christian opened the door for Lissa, and went around the back of the SUV to let himself in the other side. Rather than staying on the passenger side, Lissa scooted to the middle so that she could snuggle with Christian if she wanted to.

"Wait, if we're going to Court, then why are we getting into a car?" Lissa asked. With all the students and their luggage loaded, the guardians began piling into their respective vehicles. "We can just as easily walk to the runway."

"There have been credible threats against both the academy and Court, so the airways have shut down." The female Court guardian was a little more forthcoming than Emil, but not much.

"So we're going to be driving?" Lissa asked incredulously. "How long is that going to take?"

"Twenty-nine hours," the guardian responded. "Possibly thirty, depending on how much we need to stop."

But it's only three hours by air!" Lissa complained. "We're going to take ten times that just because someone decided it was too risky to fly from the Academy to Court?" When she was met with no further response, she sank back into the seat with a frustrated groan.

"Why are you fighting this so hard, Liss?" Christian asked. "You're starting to sound like Rose." Lissa flicked her jade green eyes over to his azure ones, and fixed him with a glare.

"At least Rose would get some answers."

Reviews

[Eleven12]

I am interested in what will happen in their 30 hour trip to court since the airways are down. The next chapter seems to be what will decide the main plot of it all. =)