Two

It was an hour into the drive before Lissa's resolve began to fade. Her back had been ramrod straight, and she stared attentively at the road ahead of them. Now, she was slumped against the seat, feeling bored as stiff as her posture had previously been. Christian had fallen asleep a half an hour ago, and Emil even before they had left the Academy's campus.          

"I should have brought something to do," Lissa muttered to herself. Despite the Court guardian being very much awake, she did not so much as look up at the princess's voice. Her eyes were constantly moving, and Lissa just knew she was looking for Strigoi as well as watching out for animals and drivers. Since it was the middle of the day, and the sun was at its brightest, the risk for any Strigoi attack was at its absolute minimum, her close relationship with Rose made it clear just how difficult it was for that influence to turn off.

"So, how long are you going to drive?" Lissa questioned. "I know you're not going to drive the entire way, but are you only going to switch drivers once?"

This time, the dhampir looked up, meeting Lissa's gaze in the rearview mirror, although the eye contact was brief. "The drive has been split up into ten-hour shifts. The group coming from Court, we woke up just before we drove to the academy. After nine hours here, Emil will take over. He will drive for ten, and we will switch again so that I am driving when we get back to Court."

"Is that safe?" Lissa asked. "I mean, ten hours straight of driving..."

"Guardians are used to long hours. This is nothing new."

"Oh, well, of course, but," Lissa stammered. She flushed, unused to being this out of the loop. "I just thought that...driving is difficult enough..."

"We'll be able to manage just fine, Princess." Thinking it safer not to respond, Lissa relaxed into Christian. She squirmed to the side, and pulled her legs up onto the seat beside her, careful not to kick the back of Emil's reclined seat. Even if she did, she doubted he would have noticed. Maybe he would. There were times when Rose was dead to the world, but she had also known her friend to hurtle out of bed and jump immediately into wherever she was needed.

Rose... Lissa thought. I wish this bond worked both ways. You've got to be having more fun than I am right now. She sighed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. She did not want to end up like Christian when he eventually awoke, with a stiff neck and an even stiffer back.

 

"I never thought to ask what your name is?"

"Evangeline St. Croix. Now get some rest, Princess. We'll have a short stop when we change drivers."

 

Lissa had fallen asleep sometime after Evangeline had instructed her to sleep and turned on some soothing, classical music. While sleeping in a car was far from a comfortable task, she had managed to do it restlessly for the remainder of the female guardian's first shift. When she came around again, she had twisted so that her head was in Christian's lap, and he was stroking her hair absentmindedly as she slept. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Just about eight," he answered. "We're just about ready to stop." Lissa sat up to see that, indeed, the lead car had pulled off onto an exit ramp and Evangeline signaled to follow. She did not even need to look behind them to know that the other third of their party would be doing the same.

"Where are we?"

This time, it was Emil who answered. "About an hour away from the North Dakota/Minnesota border. There's a small plaza we'll be stopping at. There will be some places to eat, and I am sure there will be a few places where you can find something to occupy your time with. I'm sure we could be persuaded to allow a break until the shops close."

"And when is that?"

"It's going to be about an hour. With luck, you might convince Hathaway to get her food to go." This was a rather large change from the stoic behavior that he had been exhibiting back at the Academy, but Lissa wasn't going to push it.

"Thank you, Guardian Emil," she said formally. "You will not regret this." Rose, we're going shopping! It was times like this that Lissa wished most for the bond to work both ways, so that she could know what Rose's response was right away. Instead, she undid her seatbelt and scooted over to the passenger side, and was out of the SUV the moment Evangeline shifted into park. With the same speed, although ironically much less grace, Rose made an equal departure from her vehicle and ran up to Lissa.

"You're kidding!" the brunette exclaimed. "No way they'd let us shop before Court!"

"Guardian Emil said we have a little bit of time," Lissa said calmly, linking her right arm through Rose's left. "As long as whatever food you get, you get to go." Lissa set off in the direction of one of the clothing stores, but was stopped in her tracks when Rose did not take a step to follow her.

"We can't go off alone." Excited Teenage Rose had been replaced by Responsible Guardian Rose, even with their eminent shopping venture awaiting them. "It's dark. Who knows what could happen?"

"So you are able to show self-control." The deep, Russian accent left no mistake as to who had come up behind them, and one arm curled around Lissa's waist and pulled her away from her friend, before Rose even had the chance to turn around. "But your reaction time is slow. If I'm Strigoi, the Princess could be dead by now."