Newborn-A Vampire Academy FanFiction

Chapter 15

Being acknowledged by the Moroi queen was a great deal, mostly a sign that someone’s parents had gotten in good with her. Being acknowledged by the Moroi queen raised social statuses, and everyone wanted to talk to you even if you weren’t royal, though royals were mostly those who were acknowledged.

It was unfair. Lissa knew that, and I knew that. She didn’t like to treat people unfairly, and she didn’t like it when others got treated unfairly, either. That last time when she got crushed by Tatiana was so embarrassing and hard for her. Lots of people stopped talking to her, though it wasn’t really a big deal afterwards. People weren’t as shallow as I thought them to be—they liked Lissa for who she was and didn’t care what others said about her.

As we walked down that isle, I stared straight ahead as if looking at nothing but I was actually looking at everything. And as I scanned the room, I saw a few familiar faces here and there. But when we got to the table, there was one face that I still did not see among the crowd—Jill Mastrano Dragomir.

School was starting today, and the Dragomir princess should have been sitting among the royals near the front, or even up at the head table with Lissa as she was her illegitimate sister—but, no. I was sure she wasn’t anywhere in this room, because it would’ve been easy to spot her in the crowd among the other students from her shining, bright, jade eyes that ran through the Dragomir family.

Dimitri and I walked up to the small platform, and took our place standing a few feet behind Lissa and Christian’s chair. After the two of them sat down, Kirova started talking again.

“Today is your first official day of school of the new year here at St. Vladimir’s Academy,” she said. “We hold this reception, to honor our queen, as she was a student here last year. Some of you may know her as Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, but now, she is Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, Queen of the Moroi court.” She paused for a few seconds, looking over at everyone. Then, she turned towards Lissa. “And now, her Majesty would like to speak a few words with you all.”

Lissa gave her a nod and stood up, looking at the all the students. She cleared her throat and said, “I am glad to be here at this reception tonight. Many of you know me already, as I was once a student here at St. Vladimir’s. I want you to all know,” she paused a few seconds then continued, “that although I am your Queen I can still be your friend. And now, enough said, I wish for everyone to enjoy themselves tonight, and happily eat the food that you are served. I understand that the chefs that made the food today are outstanding in their cooking skills,” she smiled.

It was as if it was a sign—the moment that Lissa sat down, people came out through the main kitchen doors, holding plates in their hands. The meals were served quickly, and everyone began to eat. Seeing all the food made me hungry but I restrained my stomach from grumbling.

Halfway through the meal, I suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom. I walked over, guardian-like, towards Dimitri, and said in a low voice, “Dimitri, I need to go to the bathroom. Keep an eye on Lissa for me, will you?”

He nodded slightly without turning to look at me. Just before I turned to leave, he whispered, “Roza.”

“Yeah?” I whispered back.

“Are you okay?”

I gave him a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” I turned around, and walked along the sides, staying close to the walls of the commons.

The bathrooms were in the hallway between the feeder’s room and the commons. But that door was on the other side of the room, so I decided to slip inside the kitchen and take a shortcut. I was no longer a student at the Academy, which meant that I could take shortcuts that the teachers normally took. I guess that counted as an advantage.