- Once, long ago, we lived in the human world.
The Moroi vampires, who make the rules...
- And the Dhampir Guardians,
sworn to protect against our enemy,
the Strigoi.
- Undead vampires who live to kill.
- Now we live in a world of our own,
one grounded in elemental magic
and steeped in rules no one's challenged in centuries...
until now.
- The spark of revolution can come from anywhere.
Even two unlikely friends.
- And one night that changed everything.
I look like a * macaroon.
- And now you look like a princess.
- To all citizens of the Dominion,
on this, the eve of my 200th birthday
and my last as your queen, I thank you.
to come to the celebration here at St. Vladimir's.
We all know the dangers that lurk outside our gates.
Our Strigoi enemy is strong, but we are stronger.
And under the protection of our Dhampir Guardians,
we are safe.
- Victor Dashkov.
My daughters, Sonya Karp, Mia Karp.
- One Royal Moroi, one non.
And the third? - Mia.
- The Guardians make us suffer through this every time.
- It's security protocol. - It's humiliating.
How do they not know who I am?
- Mia, darling. Be a sport.
- Non-Royal.
- Not for long.
The Dragomirs, Your Majesty.
Clarence would introduce his father to his mother.
How are my delightful Dragomirs?
- Happy Birthday, Fair Lady. You don't look a day over 80.
- Andre, my dear, you cheeky rascal.
And a dreadful liar.
- Happy birthday from me as well, Your Majesty.
- Princess Vasilissa,
angel to your brother Andre's devil.
- He is shameless, Your Majesty.
How should he be punished?
- Being King of the Dominion will be punishment enough.
Oh, surely, he'll find something
to cheer him once he's king.
you know there'll have to be an actual election.
- Ah, a mere formality.
Who would deny me my pick of successor?
If I say Andre will be king, then so it shall be.
- Looks like Mia lost her prince.
- I'm amazed she let him out of her sight
long enough to lose him.
Where is Andre?
Strigoi!
- Strigoi at the wards. Guardian support, stat.
- Strigoi neutralized. Back to positions.
- You know, I'm pretty sure Andre danced
with every single girl at that party.
- Poor Mia.
- "Poor Mia" will get the only thing
she really wants once we marry.
Royal status.
- My son, the next King of the Dominion.
- I hate to admit it, but you will make a great king.
- If I can get the factions to remember we're not enemies,
it'll go a long way towards peace in the Dominion.
You know, Rose, I get my pick of Guardian once I'm king.
- Sorry, once I graduate,
Lissa and I will be too busy exploring the world.
- Yeah, and everyone knows I want Rose to be my Guardian.
I'm not budging on that.
- What we want and what we must do
can be two very different things.
- Maybe, Your Almost Majesty.
But not tonight.
A toast
to having everything I want.
A know-it-all big brother...
Kids.
- The most supportive parents either one of us
could ever hope for,
and Rose, my best friend for life.
I don't know how to say goodbye.
I don't know how any of us are supposed to go on
without you.
Mom.
Dad.
Andre.
I will love you forever.
I'm ready to go back.
- Are you sure?
- It's time.
- Lissa.
- Stop.
- It's all right. Rose won't harm Lissa.
- She has something.
Show me.
- It's a super dangerous welcome home gift.
- I love it. I mean, I'm not 12, but--
- Shut up. It's * adorable.
- Who was that guy?
- That was Dimitri, my new Guardian.
- Not for long. - No, I know. Don't worry.
You're still gonna be assigned to me after we graduate.
- Will I?
Maybe when Andre was going to be king, but now--
- But no one can say no to me right now.
Not after--
we're just gonna have to ride it out for a while.
- Right.
We're not gonna let Dimitri or anything else
get in our way of our plans for the future.
- He is good-looking, though. - I didn't notice.
What's this for?
- I'm just...really,
really happy to see you.
- Will Rose Hathaway be a problem?
- Rose is always a problem.
She's one of our best Guardian Novices,
but she's a handful.
- The girls have been friends their entire lives.
I mean, we've spoiled them. Let them break all the rules.
Even let them be roommates in the Moroi dorms.
Is it any surprise
Rose would have certain expectations?
- A Guardian's duty is to do as they're told.
- With all due respect, I'm not a nanny.
My job is protection.
- A word that can take many forms.
Look who's back from the dead.
Too soon.
- It's nice to see you too, Jesse.
- So a little birdie told me
you'll be head of the Dragomir family now.
I hope my father can count on your vote.
- I don't know, Jesse.
Honestly, the political stuff was Andre's thing, not mine.
- You know, we Feeders hear a lot.
You're smart to stay out of it.
The politics in this place have gotten really ugly.
Be careful.
- It's dangerous to wait too long, Your Majesty.
We need strong leadership now.
I assume you'll name your successor soon.
I have some thoughts.
- And I have a date with an old friend.
You're excused, Marie.
- Your Majesty.
- You see what I'm up against?
Instead of mourning the man who could unite them,
these idiots are all scrambling for the crown.
- Hmm. - Enough.
There's work to be done.
You must prepare Lissa for her new role
as head of the Dragomir family.
- It won't be easy for her.
You know, she was planning to apply for a dispensation
to study art abroad.
- Those dreams are done.
Lissa must finish her schooling
and take her rightful place in the Royal Court.
- And Rose?
- When she finishes her training,
we'll find her a placement in one of the other provinces.
- She won't like that. - Moroi come first.
Rose knows that. She'll do her duty.
- Might help if we flicked on an actual light, right?
- That would damage the paper. It's a thousand years old.
- Oh, of course.
Not sure it would help anyway.
- You only need to recite
this small passage for the consecration.
- Recite?
I need to recite Old Moroi in front of people, tonight?
- Any new head of a family must be blessed
in the presence of all the others.
Sorry, it's tradition.
- That's a beautiful yellow you're wearing.
- Thank you, Sonya. I really like it too.
All right, who's there?
- Thought you could use some light.
- And you are? - New.
I'm Christian Ozera.
- And just to get it out of the way, no,
I don't know why my parents chose the ultimate sin
and turned Strigoi.
And since they're dead, can't ask them.
- So you, what, just hang around old church archives
waiting for girls to need a light?
- Or might just have some questions
about where we go after we die.
- I'm sorry about your parents.
- I'm sorry about yours.
So, um--
Do you actually read this stuff?
- Well, I'm not exactly on top of anyone's invite list.
I got time. Lots of time.
And you'd be surprised by the secrets
these dusty records hold.
Plus, Old Moroi really is kind of...
beautiful.
- I don't think I can do this.
- Say it with me.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- You know we have wards around the gates
to keep us safe from Strigoi.
Lissa doesn't need 24/7 detail.
- Lissa's still at the church. Royals only.
- So you're just...
having a staring contest with the air?
- You've studied perimeter control.
- Yes. Got an A.
- What's around this perimeter?
Don't look. Just tell me.
- Street clear. Gate secured.
Rooftop empty. Turrets contained.
- How do you know?
- I've trained for years
to know every inch of this place.
- Exactly.
You're able to operate on instinct
because you're intimately familiar
with your surroundings.
But I'm new here.
Lots to learn in a little time.
So I suppose you could say I'm having a staring contest
with the street, the gates,
the rooftops, and the turrets.
- You're kind of a Guardian nerd, aren't you?
It's cool. Do your thing, perimeter man.
But just know I plan on taking your job
when I graduate.
- I agree.
Lissa would be in perfectly good hands
with the best Guardian at St. Vladimir's Academy.
- Thank you.
- Although that may be hard,
given your ranking.
- I'm number one. I'm always number one.
- Then perhaps... you're not as good
at perimeter control as you think.
- What the *?
Hey! How am I fifth?
- You missed class. It's an automatic ten demerits.
It's very tight, the top five.
- I missed class to welcome Lissa back to school.
- Find me a Strigoi who will accept that excuse,
and we'll talk.
- Game on, Hathaway.
- Don't get comfortable, Mace.
- Positions!
Go!
- It's Friday. It's Challenge Day.
She wants to boost her ranking.
- Come on, already?
I've only gotten to be number one for, like, a day.
- I'm more comfortable on top.
Don't I know it.
- Come on. She's got it, she's got it.
He's not coming back.
- A * draw?
- Round two, weapons.
- Nice! There it is!
- I'm not sure you should be here.
- I'm a Royal. Can't keep me out.
- I'm surprised to see you here.
- Yeah, it's been a while
since I've been to one of these things.
People generally aren't very, um...
excited to see my face.
- So why did you come?
- To see if you needed an Old Moroi tutor.
Your heart's in it,
but your pronunciation is terrible.
- The Queen is looking for you.
- I'm impressed.
Rose is half Mason's size,
but she's using it as an advantage.
- Trust me,
she'll do something to * it up.
- Christian Ozera is a nonstarter.
His parents chose to turn Strigoi.
- That's not his fault. - It's a mortal sin.
The last thing you need is the church against you.
Now, we need to discuss your schedule.
The other heads of families will be inviting you
to a series of less formal events,
although still mandatory, starting tomorrow.
- I get it--there has to be an official head of family.
But in just a few months, Rose and I are out of here.
Why waste your time teaching me something I'm never gonna use?
- Unfortunately, kiddo,
Andre's death changes everything for you,
including your plans for your future.
What we want and what we must do
are often miles apart.
- What we want and what we must do
can be two very different things.
- Lissa, what's wrong?
- Anything interesting out there?
- Just Sonya, the bird lady.
- Be gentle on your sister. - I am.
Sometimes.
I just don't understand why she has to be
so weird all the time.
- Sweetie, you need to give that back to Lissa.
- I do not.
And anyway, I'm wearing it to the reception tomorrow.
- I'm sorry, Mia. It's Royals only.
The queen was very insistent. - So that's it?
One minute, I'm the future king's fiancée,
and the next, I'm invisible?
I'm keeping the necklace.
- It's a Dragomir family heirloom.
- And a Dragomir gave it to me.
- And with Andre dead, you can't keep it.
- I was so close.
Maybe he didn't love me,
and I didn't love him in that way,
but we were good together.
And I would have made a great queen.
- There's a lot you can do
without ever sitting on a throne.
Having the ear of the Queen can be just as powerful.
And the Queen has big plans for Lissa.
Lissa's a twit.
- What is up with Sonya and those * birds?
Lissa.
- What are you doing?
- I just feel like everything's out of control.
We were all just here together, and then--
and then there's an accident that I can barely remember.
And the only thing I know
is that Andre should be here, not me.
- Shh, shh, shh. That's just the grief talking.
- Shh, it's okay.
But if we're going to sunbathe,
I know where I want to be.
- This is the first place your family took me.
- I remember. Right after I met you.
Standing all alone on Family Day.
You ran straight up to me.
- Your clothes were so clean,
I was afraid your parents wouldn't let you play with me.
I didn't know what a family was until then.
- You keep asking me if I'm gonna be okay.
Are you?
- They were everything a family should be.
Your mum hugged me every time I saw her,
hello and goodbye.
And your dad made jokes about my accent.
Andre taught me the difference between good tequila
and that gasoline Jesse Zeklos smuggles into parties.
Meanwhile, my mum was off in parts unknown.
And my dad, well, who knows?
So the answer to your question...
if I'm okay,
no.
But I will be.
And now,
we get our own chance to say goodbye,
our own memorial.
- Be at peace.
- Thanks, Rose.
I feel better than I have in a while.
- I know.
I can kind of feel it coming off of you.
That's weird, right?
- Not that weird.
Feel like you've always been pretty tuned into me.
- Yeah.
But this feels,
I don't know, different somehow
since you've been back.
- Earlier, when you found me in the garden,
how did you know I was there?
- I don't know, I just...did.
Oh, shit.
Oh, we should get going.
It's one thing to sneak outside of the wards in the day,
but if we get caught out here during Strigoi hours,
we're *.
- Fine, but I'm driving.
- You're stronger than you look.
- Just because I'm not a Guard--
Ow, shit. - Are you okay?
- Something's bruised. Maybe my ego.
- Can you walk? - Yeah.
Oh, *. I'm sorry, Rose.
- Forget about walking. We have to run.
- Rose, what's wrong?
- I don't know. I feel sick.
- Run!
Go, Lissa!
- I'm not just gonna leave you here!
It's my job. Go!
No, Rose!
I don't suppose there's any way
we could keep this just between us.
- That kind of risk was unacceptable at any time.
Now, the future of the Dragomir family
is in your hands.
- A tiny family with no Andre
in a society with antiquated rules.
What does it even matter?
- If you think the rules are antiquated now,
wait till you see what happens if any of the vipers
jockeying for the crown gets their way.
Andre's rule meant change for us.
If the crown falls to the wrong bloodline,
whatever progress your brother hoped to achieve
will be impossible.
The Dragomir vote is key to preventing that.
- Okay.
I'll stay until the succession is assured.
Then I'll graduate and get on with my life.
Will that do?
And please tell them not to be too mad at Rose.
- Lissa, we are well beyond that.
- No need.
I just got an earful and then some from Alberta.
Lissa and I aren't allowed to be roommates anymore.
I should have told you I was taking Lissa
outside of the wards.
And I should have built in more time on our return
for unexpected complications.
But I got her back in one piece.
I made sure she was protected. They come first.
- Protecting Lissa is my job.
My only role here is to ensure that nothing happens to her.
What you did was reckless and impulsive,
no matter how good you are.
Strength doesn't matter. Style doesn't matter.
Courage doesn't matter.
There's good enough, and there's gone.
Tonight, you almost got the person you say
you care about most in the world killed.
There isn't a rank low enough on that board
for you right now.
- Hey, Rose.
- Later, Rose.
- Looks like you're slumming it with the rest of us now.
- I wondered if you knew how to say unicorn
in Old Moroi.
- Rose.
- How come our mothers, the same women who leave us
on Academy doorsteps as infants
so they can go back to being Guardians,
still get to tell us what to do?
- I wanted to see if you're okay.
- You didn't get that many good shots in.
I'll be fine.
- I didn't mean that.
- Mason, I really only have two uses for you right now,
and I'm not really in the mood to spar, so...
- Don't laugh. What would she do now?
- It is a pleasure to meet you, Novice Hathaway.
- And you as well, Your Majesty.
- Vasilissa Dragomir
is an important member of this Dominion.
I also know she's important to you.
- She is, Your Majesty.
- Perhaps you can tell me why.
- Guardians are raised to be tough.
It's the only way to survive, especially as a woman.
And I am tough.
But I have seen what
battle can do to people.
Lissa keeps my heart
in the right place.
She always has a kind word
or a compassionate ear for anyone who needs it.
She's everything good and everything right.
And she's...
She's my family.
- Thank you, Novice Hathaway.
You are excused.
A toast to you all
on St. Vladimir's Feast Day.
The last I'll witnesses as your sovereign.
It is time to name the next.
- Your Majesty, protocol demands
the announcement be made in a more formal setting.
- Protocol can kiss my aging Royal buttocks.
For the next heir to the throne,
I name Vasilissa Dragomir.