What a Difference a Year Makes (Revised)

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

It took nearly ten minutes to get the room under control. During the chaos Tasha had tried to leave but was caught near the doors and escorted back to her seat. They obviously didn't want her leaving and she, as hell, didn't want to stay which was very telling.

Eventually it was Abe who managed to silence the room. Although he had been enjoying himself watching the royal moroi fight and scream at each other, the noise was deafening so he silenced it with one of his own. He grabbed the microphone and whistled down it; everyone stopped and covered their ears, including me.

"Thank you Mr Mazur" said Croft shaking his head as if to remove the buzzing in his ears. "Will everyone return to their seat or you will be removed. That removal doesn't apply to you Lady Ozera, please sit" he said to her when he could see she was going to try and get herself ejected.

One of the council members indicated he wanted to speak. "I for one am dismayed that a marriage between two dhampir was allowed in the first place. Guardians can't do their duty if they are distracted from guarding their charges. It makes them weaker fighters and that makes us vulnerable."

"Head Guardian Croft, may I reply to that statement?" It was Alberta who had stepped up to the podium.

"Please, Guardian Petrov" he said in response.

"Have you ever seen Guardians Belikov fight, Lord Drozdov?" Alberta asked.

"No I have not. Why would I?" he said snippily.

"Well I have on numerous occasions, and I for one have never seen a fighting team like them. They are both duel wielders, and have a speed that rival the strigoi. They both complement each other when they fight and they have a trust of the other that I have never seen" she said looking at us.

"I would like to second that, if I may." It was Roman this time. "I am Guardian Roman Yanbayev, head guardian for St Basil's. I was there throughout the end of year competition. Guardian Rose Belikov fought fifteen fights that day winning fourteen of them and drawing with Guardian Dimitri Belikov in the fifteenth. They fought together for 45 minutes before I called an end to the fight and I like, Guardian Petrov, am in awe of their skill. So to say guardians are weaker if they are married or in a relationship is wrong. In fact I would say that it was the opposite, especially in the case of Guardians Belikov."

"Thank you Head Guardian Yanbayev" Croft said as he received back the microphone.

"Just to clarify, how many strigoi have you killed Guardian Rose Belikov?" asked Lady Conta.

"I am not sure of the total number, but I killed two ancients in Spokane, killed an unknown number during the attack at St Vladimir's, those are the only ones I have tattoos for. Then I killed three in Baia, again an unknown number from a group of fifteen strigoi outside our gym in LA just before we opened and many others on various hunts over the last four months. So ball park figure I am probably looking at thirty to forty kills" I said slightly embarrassed about listing them. "My husband has killed more than me because he had made previous kills before coming to St Vladimir's."

"And you are only 18 is that correct?" Lady Conta asked further.

"Yes, I will be 19 at the end of next month."

There was a collective gasp at the number and the fact that I had achieved this at such an early age.

At this point the Queen made herself heard. "After hearing everything that Guardian Rose Belikov has said and the answers given by her fellow defendants, as well as statements from those who know them, I can only conclude that these charges are unsubstantiated and therefore, should be dropped." There was uproar from part of council and some of the royal moroi. From the other side of the room you could hear quiet cheers. "However" shouted the Queen over the hubbub "I believe that we need to discuss the 'why?' there are so many unsanctioned guardians and how to minimise this in the future. I for one feel I have been used to further royal moroi agendas and I am not happy."