Five

Despite Dimtri's anxiety about a possible attack, the rest of Emil's drive had passed with very little to note. At this point, Lissa was sure the entire group had taken the same road trip approach as she had, and was now settled some time between vampire and human schedules. Much like their first stop, there was enough time between stops to get food, and this time Lissa managed to pick up a book and a puzzle book with a pack of pens. Because they didn't shop, they formed one mass group and went into the McDonald's that was combined with the gas station.

The promised guardians all served as far guards, and left the novices with their orders. Each of the dhampir ordered two meals each, while the Moroi ordered as small an amount of food as possible. Lissa, however, ordered two sandwiches, knowing that Rose would eat whatever she did not.

The far guards had taken the biggest table available. Even with enough space to seat twelve people, the majority of them being dhampir did not lend well to table space. While they were waiting on their order, one of the guardians pulled up another table and pushed it up against their own. Space would still be tight, but at this point they would be able to make better use of it.

Lissa took the seat closest to the center of the table with her back to the wall. Rose sat to her right, with Christian to her left. Eddie sat on the other side of Rose, and the other novice and Moroi student took places on the other side of the table. The far guards all went to fetch the food before they filed into their places.

Normally, Lissa would assume that they would be standing along the walls. According to Rose, that was the norm. However, she was glad that they were seated and taking care of themselves. The Court guardians, being the most alert, sat along the wall so that they could easily survey all the entrances. The academy guardians settled their ranks in the rest of the available places. Lissa glanced over at Rose and winked when she noticed that Dimitri sat down directly across from the novice.

Even though it was reminiscent of the academy cafeteria, and it was breakfast food, Lissa had a hard time remembering the last time she had an outing end up being so much fun. She even introduced herself to the Moroi, a water user named Sarah Forrest, and the novice, Drake Turner. As it turned out, Evangeline was the most social of the Court guardians. It was not until Emil drew all their names out that they said more than what was necessary for distributing the food.

Car one was Dimitri, Rose, Eddie, and a male dhampir named Jeff. Car two was Emil, Lissa, Christian, and Evangeline. Car three was the most female-heavy of the group, with Court guardian Caroline, Sarah, Drake, and Jean. Although the population of female guardians was low, the ratio of their party was three to three.

Their meal lasted them only a half an hour, and they were on the road before they had initially scheduled. Rose tried to beg Dimitri into switching car allocations, but he tried to beg off that Emil was in charge of their party. She did not even attempt to get through to him, but instead waved goodbye to Rose and got into the car.

Much like Evangeline's first shift, Emil reclined his seat as far as it would go. Lissa situated herself across Christian's lap again, and snuggled into his chest while she used the side of the seat as stability if for her puzzle book. She got through a crossword, a Sudoku, and a fill-in puzzle before her attention wavered. She curled into Christian's chest while he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

The next time Lissa awoke, it was because her phone buzzed beside her. As they were almost to Court, it seemed she was the last to wake. She checked the message to see it all but bubbling over with Rose's excitement. Emil had his seat back in its normal position, and had the folder open in his lap. Over his shoulder, she could see what looked like an itinerary.

"It's 2 a.m. right now. You're not scheduled to see the queen until 8 p.m. All guardians are considered off duty. Just stay within the wards, and be at the queen's chambers at quarter to. That will give you enough time to be prepared." Emil spoke quickly, as if there was a limited amount of time for her to be briefed. It seemed as though he were only talking to her, like Christian wasn't even there. By the time that Evangeline had pulled their car up to park beside Dimitri's in the half empty lot, Lissa had her things together and her seatbelt undone. Once again, she was out of the car just as it shifted into park.

This time, she was slower than Rose. The brunette was already waiting at the back hatch of the second car. "I think we should go to the spa," Lissa suggested, as soon as she met up with Rose. When was the last time we got to do something like that?"

"I think it was when we were here for the Dashkov trial," Rose supplied. "After Dimitri swung that for us." She linked her arm through Lissa's, and started off toward the direction of guest housing, but met resistance when Lissa stayed in her place rather than following her.

"I think we should ask Sarah," Lissa suggested. "I mean… Nobody from the Academy has really gone to Court before. I get a feeling that she's never been, especially since she's non-royal. Besides, what's more fun? Spending time just the two of us, or having a full-out girls' day?"

The passengers of car three were the last ones to file out of the car. Sarah and Drake stood at the doors they got out of and marveled at the expanse of Court. "Hey, Sarah!" Lissa said brightly. She unlinked her arm from Rose's and clasped her hands delicately in front of her. "Rose and I were just about to head over to the spa and see if they could fit us in. Are you interested?"

There was a moment of hesitation on the other girl's part, and then a nod of acceptance. "Sure, I'd like that, Princess."

"Please, call me Lissa." She crooked an arm toward the girl, who hesitantly linked hers through much like she had seen Rose and Lissa do earlier. "To the spa, Rose!"