Rose's POV

As I walked up to the throne, I saw it sitting there in all it's glory. The power and strength which it signified, seemed to exude from the red velvet coverings of the jeweled, ornate throne.

My eyes flickered to where the previous queen, Ekaterina Zelkos was standing, a welcoming smile on her face. There was a strange twinkle of amusement in her eyes, as if she knew all these was going to happen.

I was on Abe's arm, with my mother following closely behind. Dimitri had my other side and I so longed to snatched him off from his duty, run out of that hall, far away from all the bondage of duty.

In that perfect bliss, I imagined us together, in our own house, our own safe haven, drowning in each other's love, without a care in the world. But my dream world was rudely shattered with us reaching near the wooden steps leading up to the throne.

Ekaterina in her one sweeping grace, was near me with the book of oaths. My coronation was exactly a mirror of Lissa's, only the atmosphere was much more heavier than it had been back then.

That occasion had been a happy one, this had the silence of a funeral.

"Kneel," Ekaterina commanded, as I obediently followed, trying to look as graceful as possible. I could never match the elegance of a queen. I was a beaten, hardened person, a trained guardian, a warrior. Somehow typical feminine grace, manners and fragility didn't come to me.

All the other rituals were a blur of ceremonial customs. Nothing made a difference to me, or came too near to my heart. It was all so depressing, bringing back memories of Lissa, to torture me.

Those moments hit my heart hard, making it difficult to breathe.

Finally when it was all over, they all kneeled down in front of me, as they would have done in front of any royal. I had a brief moment of panic attack followed by me trying to come to terms with new situations as I ascended the throne.

"You're brave and intelligent. Believe in yourself and you'll be a great queen," I was surprised at the encouraging words of Ekaterina.

Maybe she had seen my discomfort as I had Di the red with every step of the ritual. I wasn't a queen... I didn't even deserve to be there.

I looked at her with gratitude in my eyes. She smiled back just in a friendly way, showing a row of yellowed teeth.

And then as I surveyed my surroundings, I could see the pride mixed with love in the eyes of Janine and Abe. Adrian was standing tense, with Sydney flanking him. Sonya on the other hand seemed to be too busy focusing on sone spells as she was continously muttering incantations.

And then my eyes met Dimitri's. The doubt, the sorrow, the hurt, the anger was evident in his eyes. I knew how much he wanted to keep me from getting involved in all these, but I definitely had no choice.

And then there was suddenly a flurry of activity and I was literally dragged by people from the hall. And as my guardians tried to to pry them off, I saw Dimitri standing at one corner of the room. I so wanted to drag him into my arms, kiss him and forget everything that I was the queen, and I had a duty.

I had already declared my love for him publicly, but would my being a queen affect our relationship? Will this incident strain our already fragile and still developing bond? Only time will tell that.

I was ushered out of the hall and accompanied by my guardians to my royal chamber. Everyone came except the person I desperately wanted to be with.

Soon they left, leaving me tired and alone.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. I hoped that it would be Dimitri.

But the door opened to a stranger, a man with glassy black eyes, well shaved and muscular and he had a real aura about him.

"Excuse my intrusion, Queen," he smiled in a attractive way.

I suddenly felt dizzy and the world rolled before my eyes.

"You must be sick, let me help you," he said, his eyes boring into mine.

His eyes held mine and I couldn't tear then off.

"Let me in," he commanded.

In spite of myself, I opened the door wide. He deftly slipped in and closed the door softly behind him.

A/N
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