- 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.
- Remember.
- Come on, Novices. Pick up the pace.
Only four miles to go.
You can do it.
What the *?
- Okay, Mia will help you prepare.
She studied up on all of this.
- When I thought I would be queen.
- Did Rose lose her phone privileges?
I haven't heard from her. - I don't know.
The Guardians handle their own punishments.
- My punishment being queen?
- After this, Mia will run you through political tutorials
of all twelve Heads of Family.
- Mostly gossips and backstabbers.
- The best way to get their vote
is for them to think you're their new best friend.
- Fine, but this entire thing is ridiculous.
- What's ridiculous is you not wanting to be queen.
- Why would I want to do something
I'm completely unprepared to do?
This was Andre's thing, not mine.
- I think we can both agree that you're no Andre.
- Mia. - Sorry.
- If only he were still here, right?
Then you'd be queen,
and everyone would still be hopeful about the future,
and I'd have my family back.
Everyone is hopeful about the future.
You're unsullied by faction politics.
Everyone's excited about you,
at least, everyone who matters.
Now I need to head to the Council.
Everyone's gathering to discuss your Specialization Ceremony.
- Wait, what? - Yeah.
It's just a nice gentle way to get campaign season started.
Everyone loves a good faction competition,
up on the big screen so the entire dominion
can invest in you.
- The Queen is Air, so the people won't like it
if you're Air too.
But Dragomirs are usually Fire, right?
- Yeah.
Hey, Mia?
When your sister didn't specialize,
my parents never told me why the Council
finally stopped insisting that she try.
- By the time they were done with her,
even if she did specialize,
she wouldn't be capable of using it.
- Come on, put some muscle into it.
- Bite me. - What if I could?
- Alberta's got me doing double chores.
Maybe that's punishment enough.
- While Lissa got off clean, typical.
- How in the hell did this queen thing happen?
Lissa's the least political person in the Dominion.
She's got to be freaking out.
- You haven't talked to her? - No.
The dorm matrons keep blocking her calls,
and I can't get anywhere near her
because * Dimitri is keeping us separated.
- Maybe Lissa likes the idea of being queen.
- I doubt it.
Everything *s.
Including this couch.
It's hard as a board.
- Keeps us from getting lazy.
Want a distraction?
- No.
Yes.
- Now, as you can see,
the Strigoi's eyeball has a high number of rods
for better night vision, like a cat.
And the quadrate bone down here,
allows the Strigoi to unhinge its jaws
like a snake.
Now, their limbic system,
the area in the brain responsible for behavior is--
is practically microscopic.
So from this, we can deduce that they are incapable
of possessing true conscience.
- How do we know that for certain?
- Because we listen to science.
- Okay, but has anyone ever actually,
I-I don't know, sat down and asked one?
- I'm curious too,
Guardian Tanner, how does a Moroi
become a Strigoi again?
- There's no need to repeat lessons
taught in the lower schools, Jesse.
- No, I-I think we could use a brushup.
One, a Strigoi turns you by feeding you their blood.
Two, you accidentally kill while you feed
and must pay for the mistake with your soul.
Does anyone know number three?
Anyone? Ozera?
- That's enough, Jesse. Class dismissed.
- Three, you choose to kill.
You choose to * all of the blood
out of their body while you feed,
to be a monster.
Just like Mommy and Daddy, eh, Ozera?
- Hey, Meredith.
I need a favor.
Can you pass Lissa a note for me?
No way.
- Why?
What's the big deal?
- Strategically, this is a no-win situation
for both of us.
I get caught, I get demerits, I'll lose standing,
and for what?
- To do something nice for a friend.
- We're friends now?
You don't get it, do you?
If they are separating you now,
it's probably just to prepare you
for what's to come when she's queen.
- We're a package deal.
Everyone knows that.
- Have you ever met a Royal Moroi
in a high position of power
with a Dhampir best friend?
- And you wonder why we aren't friends.
- Rose?
There's no easy way to say this.
Um, the issue of you and Lissa
sneaking outside the wards was raised at the Royal Council.
There's going to be a tribunal, and the dean will preside.
- A tribunal?
So what, they wanna ship me off
to St. Jude's or some other school?
- They aren't deciding where you should go to school, Rose.
They want to determine if you have a future
as a Guardian at all.
I'm sorry.
- Remember.
Remember what?
- Oh. Your shift started early.
- As did your evening, apparently,
Princess.
- I-I'm in kind of a bind.
- I can't let you see Rose.
Strict instructions from the top.
- I know. I get it.
I hate it, but I get it.
What if it wasn't Rose I was gonna go see?
You're up late.
I know you've been busy, but I've missed you.
- Sonya.
- Hi, Mikhail.
- I can't find the "Volkov Anatomical Compendium."
I'd like to check it against the Strigoi
I've been dissecting.
- That's the seventh attack this year, isn't it?
Seems more than a normal seasonal spike.
- Well, that's what I've been saying.
Not that anyone on the Council wants to listen
to a lowly Dhampir.
"Don't scare the Royals," they say,
"You'll give the children nightmares."
I'll tell you what will scare the Royals,
Strigoi eating them for breakfast--
- Are you wearing cologne?
- You noticed.
- I have a good nose.
- Well...
do you like it?
- You smell less like a Strigoi than usual.
I'll find your book.
- Maybe I can come back for it later
when you get off work?
- Sure. I'll have it ready for you.
- I heard you spend a lot of time here.
Books don't gossip about me.
- So...
I have to do my Specialization Ceremony tomorrow.
I've only told Rose...
But I don't think I'll be able to specialize.
- It's not totally unheard of
for someone not to know until the ceremony--
- But it's rare.
Very rare.
When Sonya Karp didn't specialize,
first they sent her to the High Priestess,
then counseling,
then they sent her away to some place
for electric shock therapy.
It took her years to be close to normal again.
She's not even Royal.
Can you imagine what they'll do to me?
- I think I can help you.
- Why do you think I came looking for you?
- I heard about the tribunal.
- I guess you think I deserve this...
that everything's my fault.
- Not that you're asking,
but the definition of immaturity
is blaming others for your own failings.
I'm not the one who put Lissa at risk
by taking her outside of the wards.
I'm not the one who decided your punishment.
Am I annoyed one of the most promising young Guardians
I've ever come across is too stubborn to see sense?
Yes.
Do I want you expelled?
No.
- No?
The image of me out there in the Communes
doesn't give you a thrill?
- No, Rose.
My mother and sisters live in the Communes.
That's not the life I would wish on you.
- Well,
until the Tribunal decides to kick me out officially...
I've got a leaderboard to climb.
- She's *, isn't she?
- I've done a spreadsheet taking into account
the personal and political affiliations
of all the Tribunal members. - And?
- Even if she manages to make it through this whole thing
without taking a verbal swing or worse,
she doesn't stand a chance.
- What'll they do to her?
Stick her in admin?
- Send her to the Communes.
- I can hear you.
- Shouldn't you be preparing for your reckoning?
- Oh, it's not until tomorrow.
Plenty of time for me to kick your ass.
Let's go.
- Show me what you got.
Yeah, there you go.
- I've been able to harness fire since I was three,
and air and water, even earth.
I can do all the small magic we're supposed to do,
but one just isn't presenting itself
to be any stronger than the other.
Of course, Andre knew he was Fire
practically before he could walk.
- My parents always said they had a plan
in case a specialization never materialized for me,
but without them,
there's no one between me and shock therapy
and every other thing they did to Sonya Karp.
- Maybe an element is presenting itself to you.
You just can't hear it.
Here.
Try this.
Okay, now close your eyes.
Think about your heart.
What makes it beat?
The blood in your veins, what makes it run?
The fire in your soul, what feeds it?
Magic is inside of you,
inviting you to dance.
You just have to say yes.
Okay, let's get started.
- Come on, come on, come on.
- Mason, you're next. Let's go.
- You're fighting like a Strigoi.
- Again.
- I don't need another wind sprint
to get your point.
Don't fight like a Strigoi. Check.
- Why did you? - Why do you care?
- 'Cause when you're back at number one
and taking my job,
I'd rather not see our future queen
under the watch of someone who can't keep a grip on it.
- How do you do that?
You have this way of criticizing me
and complementing me in the same breath.
- Perhaps because you have this way of being
both extraordinary and infuriating
all at once.
Fair.
- If Lissa is to be queen,
her safety is the most important thing
to this dominion.
If you can't keep it together in practice,
how can you hope to possibly survive
a real world attack?
- I will, Dimitri, because that's what I do.
I survive.
I survive car crashes and loss
and an absentee mother
and a best friend that I'm not allowed to see,
and know-it-all Guardians who show up out of nowhere
to ruin my life.
I will survive whatever shit this world
keeps trying to throw at me because that's what I do.
Because I'm strong.
And I will survive this * tribunal
because there is no other option.
- Good.
Then I'm rooting for you.
- So can we be done with wind sprints now?
- What do you think?
- Lord Zeklos.
I have special permission to leave the Province.
- For what purpose?
I'm Royal.
You don't need to know my purpose.
- Under the laws of the Human Treaty of 1497,
you hereby agree to traverse only the approved roadways,
avoid any and all human interaction
with the human species,
never reveal your identity as a citizen
of the Moroi Dominion-- - Yeah, yeah.
I got it.
Can I go now?
- Open the gate!
Go on.
- It's unfortunate that we're meeting
under these circumstances,
but the Tribunal of Rose Hathaway
may now commence.
- So what's the game plan, Rose?
- You know me.
More of a roll with the punches kind of girl.
- You're more of a throw the punches kind of girl,
but you can't in there.
Your entire future is in their hands,
so live to fight another day.
- Thanks, Mikhail.
- Rose?
- I'll be surprised she lasts a week.
The Queen will see soon enough,
not every Dragomir's fit to sit on the throne.
- Ignore her.
Andre would be so proud of you.
They all would, as am I.
- Why?
I still don't know why she chose me to unite the Dominion.
- You know, the Queen was younger than you
when she first took the throne.
Court was in chaos.
It was a viper's nest of agendas.
She didn't know a thing about politics.
All she knew was that she didn't want people to fight,
and her compassion worked
for a while at least.
You know, I think she sees a bit of herself in you.
- And what will she see if something goes wrong tonight?
- What could go wrong?
Are you thinking of Sonya?
- Victor, I know how hard it was for her--
- Sonya was an anomaly.
We don't know why she's the way that she is,
but you're a Dragomir.
This will be a breeze for you.
- But what if it isn't?
I mean, what if I stand up there,
and nothing happens?
- As your godfather,
I promised your family I would always look out for you.
So if there's any chance you'll walk out there
and not specialize, you need to let me know now.
I will get you out of this Dominion tonight
before anyone can ask questions.
So is there anything you wanna tell me?
- No.
No.
I'll see you out there.
- At ease, Ms. Hathaway.
- Hi, Dean Kirova.
- Sorry to see you here.
- You and me both.
- The simple fact here, Rose,
is that over the years,
you have gotten Lissa into trouble
more times than you've saved her from it.
- She's my best friend.
And, yes, sometimes we get into stuff, but...
I would die for her.
And you know that.
- I do.
But you seem to lack the discipline
and critical thinking skills an elite Guardian needs.
- I've trained for my entire life to be a Guardian,
and I've been on top of the rankings for years.
- Then tell us why we should allow you
to stay at St. Vladimir's
and continue your training.
- Okay.
Have I racked up a list of infractions?
Yes.
Was some of it stupid?
Absolutely.
But I'm not just a Guardian to her.
There's more than one way of keeping her safe,
and I do that.
I keep her safe in every way I can.
- Like right now.
I'm sorry.
- Rose, if you leave this room,
there's no coming back.
Rose!
- Lissa.
- Rose.
Wait, how did you even get in here? Dimitri--
- Has just shown why I should be your Guardian.
He didn't even see me.
What's wrong? I could feel your panic.
Are you okay?
- According to Victor, in five minutes,
I either need to walk on that stage
and hope to hell that I specialize,
or I pretty much need to flee the Dominion.
I-I don't know what to do.
- Well, personally, I vote flee,
but I've just had a bad night.
- What's going on?
- It's nothing you need to hear about right now.
Do you really think you can't do it?
- I don't know.
Maybe it's just the nerves
or the grief or the panic
because I know that once I do go out there and specialize,
I'm one step closer to becoming queen,
which I never envisioned.
- I guess you just have to ask yourself
if this is something that you want.
- Part of me just wants to be free.
Living somewhere where no one cares what element I am,
or if we're Dhampir or Moroi.
- That's perfect.
We can disappear among the humans.
I mean, that was always the plan anyway, right?
- Well, minus the fugitive part.
- Oh, yeah, just a small detail.
- But then the other part of me is thinking about everything
Andre was gonna mean to this Dominion.
A leader who ruled not just for the Royal Moroi,
but for all its citizens, including the Dhampirs.
He was gonna make this a place you wanted to run to,
not away from.
And if I disappear,
what happens to my brother's legacy?
There are a parade of people dying to be on the throne
who want the exact opposite.
What if the only thing separating this Dominion
from that fate is me?
- Well, I think...
I think that Andre would be so proud of you right now.
And I know that there is nothing you can't do.
So if you want to be queen,
then go out there and show them all what you've got.
- And if I've got nothing?
- Then Victor and I will get you out,
I promise you that.
But my money is on you.
- Thank you.
I've missed you this week.
You staying out of trouble?
- Oh, you know me.
I'm always dancing alongside of it.
Now, go.
Go.
Go. Go on. Go.
Go, go, go, go.
- My money's on Air user.
- Dragomirs are always Fire.
- Earth user, 50 mirs.
- Fire!
- I just feel like it'll be Fire.
- This isn't right.
- Fire! Fire! - Come on!
- She's really milking it.
- Something's wrong.
- Her magic's weak.
- You're Fire!
- She's Fire.
Like Andre.
A good omen.
Lissa! Lissa! Lissa!
- How could you do that?
- Um, you're welcome?
- I didn't thank you.
You made me a fraud.
- Half the people in this town are frauds.
- And half of them want me to be their queen,
but even they would shun me
if they knew I didn't have fire,
which I don't.
Or water or any of it.
I have no real magic.
- You're nothing but magic.
- Princess.
I'm not sorry.
- Thank you.
For everything today.
I know you're just doing your job.
- It isn't always easy.
- I-I've asked around about you.
You're one of the best Guardians around.
Second only, maybe, to Rose's mom.
Yet earlier...
somehow Rose slipped past you
right when I needed her most.
- Your godfather told me
protection comes in many forms.
- Something I'm just starting to realize.
It's almost daybreak, and your shift is over.
Your future queen demands you go have some fun.
- Lissa.
Has anyone told you what's happening with Rose?
- Hurry it up! - All right!
- I'm hurrying!
- If they kick you out, I'm going with you.
- That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
- I'm not letting them send you to the Communes, Rose.
- We should probably get drunk.
Bring her another of whatever she's drinking.
- Is this you apologizing?
- Meredith, tell Rose that she should let me
go with her when they kick her out.
- Ah, strong optimism, Mason.
- No, he's right.
I'm *.
Ergo...
shots?
- Princess.
You're lucky that I must come when summoned by a Royal,
otherwise I would've-- - Yes, I apologize,
Dean Kirova, but I'm here to plead Rose's case.
- I don't need a man to save me.
- Neither do I? - You may pretend not to care
what people think of you, but I know you do.
And the last thing you need is to be caught
for the misuse of magic.
I know I was scared, and you were scared for me, but...
do you really think I'm not strong enough
to handle myself?
- No.
- Then why?
Why did you do it?
- Don't wanna be seen with an outcast, huh?
- You know I can't.
- It would be politically explosive.
- And social suicide.
- And Victor would kill you. - Victor would kill me.
- So this is just a bad idea all around.
- Terrible.
I'm--I'm sorry it's so late, I just, um...
I feel like, uh...
well, I haven't been totally clear with you.
- Sorry?
- Yesterday when I came back for the book,
I thought we'd get together after you finished work.
I wanted to hang out...
with you.
I'm sure there's a long line of normal girls
you could hang out with.
- I don't like normal girls.
- I talk to birds.
- Okay.
- No, I mean, I talk to them,
and I'm fairly certain they talk back.
- What do they say?
- I'm sorry?
- Do they chirp, sing, speak French?
- Don't make fun of me. - No, I'm not.
So you talk to birds.
Okay, so what?
You're also smart,
great with kids,
and you have a smile--
you have a smile that lights up a room.
- I wanna show you something.
What are you doing here?
- Why didn't you tell me about the tribunal?
- Who told you? - Dimitri.
- * Dimitri.
It was none of his business.
- Well,
you get to stay.
I mean, you're still on serious probation,
but you're staying.
How? - Well, it turns out
there is an upside to being almost queen.
People have to listen to you.
You can thank Dimitri for telling me.
He carried you here, you know,
in those big, manly arms of his.
- What kind of macho shit is that?
- He said you passed out at the bar.
How many shots did you have?
- One.
I gave the rest to Mason.
I didn't pass out from drinking.
I passed out from kissing.
- Mason? - Christian * Ozera?
- What?
- You were kissing Christian Ozera,
and therefore, for some reason I can't really explain,
I was kissing him too.
I was in your head.
- Okay.
Okay, this is crazy.
We need to figure this out.
- No shit.
- For all the perks of being Moroi,
that must be annoying.
- It is.
Thank you.
I fell asleep and got caught.
- What brings you to the wrong side of the tracks?
- I'm the confidant of the future queen.
Where she goes, I go.
What happened to your arm?
- Rose Hathaway had a bad day.
- Rose Hathaway is a menace.
- Gets me out of training for a few days.
- What Guardian doesn't enjoy training?
- This Guardian.
I prefer to fight with words.
- I'll bear that in mind.
- I'm Meredith.
- I know.
- We'll get to the bottom of it,
but Warden Mia is out there waiting to escort me home.
You gonna be able to sleep?
- Probably.
If your brother would stop haunting my dreams.
- Wait, what?
- Every time, it's the same one.
You're outside alone. You see a dead body.
Andre's there, and he tells you to--
- Remember.
Those aren't your dreams.
They're mine.
- These pins are where each recent Strigoi
was sighted outside the Academy.
They're a sequence.
They hit potential weak points, gates, doors.
- Wait, what are you--
- The Strigoi that we've encountered lately
haven't just been opportunistic.
They've been planning.
- Strigoi don't plan. - What if they do?
What if they've been testing the wards?
If they find a weakness in the magic
that reenforces the walls of the city,
the entire capitol could be compromised.
We'd be at risk of attack.
- Hello, anyone there?
Oh, great.
- Hey! What are you doing?
Get back in your car.
- I wouldn't have gotten out of my car
if you were doing your job.
You're not supposed to leave the gate unattended.
- I didn't.
Get inside.
Now.
- I said now!
- Get him through the wards!
Go!