How It All Goes Down
- Right away, Rose and Lissa get sent off to class, which include things like combat techniques, weight training, and bodyguard theory for Rose since she's a guardian.
- She makes quite an entrance in her first class, where she mouths off to the tutor running the training session, and then gets beaten up from being behind in her combat moves.
- One of her combat partners, Mason, tells her that Dimitri Belikov is a god. Translation: he's well respected by just about everyone for his super-strong guardian ways. Rose thinks this is more than a little exaggerated—he's not that cool.
- In her next class, Rose is sent to the front of the class and mocked by her teacher, Stan Alto, for not having any real protective techniques to keep Lissa safe. It's a dangerous world out there.
- Rose says this is all a bunch of hogwash—there aren't as many Strigoi out there as the Academy claims; it's actually pretty safe. Her instructor makes fun of this all the more. Safe? As if.
- We get a little history lesson: Strigoi hunt Moroi because it makes them all big and strong. They are super hard to kill, so that's why Moroi need guardians like dhampirs.
- After she's humiliated in front of the class, Rose complains to Dimitri, but finds herself even more disappointed because he agrees with Stan. After all, Rose isn't fully trained or prepared to protect Lissa.
- Finally, it's lunchtime, and Rose sulks off to the cafeteria. While there, she sees Victor again, and he says he's impressed that she protected Lissa all that time. She shrugs off his compliment, but she points out she did face down psi-hounds while out there.
- Most of all, Victor's fascinated with Rose and Lissa's bond because he's studied this kind of thing before. He asks her a bunch of questions about it: does Lissa sense Rose in her head? Nope. How does it happen? When Lissa is emotional. When did it start? About two years ago, around the time of the accident.
- Rose isn't all that comfortable talking about it (mainly because she doesn't really understand it); Victor lets her go eat her lunch, but Rose really just wants to catch up with Lissa. They've got different morning classes since they don't train in the same stuff.
- Inside the cafeteria, Aaron and his new GF are talking to Lissa. Did we say talking? More like insulting her, and it's all coming from the little pipsqueak Aaron calls his new girlfriend. Rose pulls Lissa away.