Three days passed in no time and in that time, Seb was surprised not to hear much of anything out of his parents at all. It wasn't until the ceremony that he even saw them and when he did he thought their heads would explode when they realized he'd brought Serena to what was supposed to be a 'moroi only' event. So much so that even the Guardians were made to wait outside the throne room. Airen had begged numerous times that Sebastian reconsider but there was no convincing him. Serena was going to be his wife and wherever he went, she'd go... end of story.

He'd helped Serena dress for the occasion, it was one that required a person to wear their wealth on their bodies. In the end though, he thought she was beautiful in the gown he'd gotten her as a surprise. It was cinched tight under the breasts but had extra cloth that rippled out over the belly. It didn't hide her pregnancy but it fit her well during it.

[img]http://in1.ccio.co/wC/mC/n6/SpecialOccasionDresses16291.jpg?iw=300[/img]

As they moved through the crowd you could have momentarily heard a pin drop before the Queen stood and greeted them. "Sebastian Lazar, Serena Abatangelo, it is good to see you both..."

Her mother cleared her throat slightly and the Queen glanced at her, "Yes, Mrs. Lazar?"

"Your grace... you knew that this Dhampir was coming?"

The Queen arched a brow, "It is customary for the wife or fiance of the soon-to-be head of the family to be present during the ceremony. So yes, I had thought so."

His mother declined to say anything further and Seb squeezed Serena's hand gently. The ceremony itself was a bunch of fancy words and the handing over of a medallion from the queen to his father and from his father to him. Though, for a moment Seb was certain his father didn't WANT to put the medallion on him in front of all these people with a dhampir at his side. The thought made Seb grind his teeth but it was over in a moment. He turned, gave a sharp bow and then went back to Serena's side. However, he saw his mother walking away with a smirk on her face and was immediately concerned over what had happened...

~*~

The minute that Sebastian was forced to leave Serena's side his mother slid up like a snake. "Isn't he handsom," she asked quietly.

"I had such high hopes for him but now... Well, now he's disgraced himself in front of the royal families... No one will take him seriously after this... All because he chose a Dhampir blood whore over a suitable Moroi wife."

She smiled falsely, "Do you think your child will ever be seen as anything more than a puppet to be trained and used as a Guardian... if she's lucky. If she isn't, well... We both know what happens to female Dhampirs who don't make it into Guardianship. Dragging my son down by forcing him to marry you gains you nothing... No money, no title... no one will ever see you as more than a mistake... and sooner or later... Sebastian will see that too."

The ceremony was completing and his mother walked away from Serena just as he walked towards her. Seb frowned and watched her go, "What happened, are you alright?"

~*~

Anna had dug through every report she'd been given, she'd followed every lead, and they all tied in here... this commune and it's thick woodlands. Still, she'd been here three days and she and the other Elites had went with nearly every hunting party and not once had they come across any signs of strigoi or Gunner... That is, until this morning.

Word had come in that another commune had been attacked on the other side of the woods... It had been almost completely wiped out. It was hard to believe that Gunner would make an attack so obvious but after his last overwhelming success over the Elites perhaps he'd gotten a little too cocky. They'd left immediately and the sun was just starting to sink when they'd tracked the Strigoi trail to yet another set of caves. This was all seeming a little too easy, perhaps Gunner knew she was with the Elites... maybe he was luring them in to kill them all off once and for all... However, she knew he wouldn't be expecting their secret weapons.

Anna glanced behind her and nodded at the other Elites and the ones they had with them. As they entered the caves, Anna headed them off a stake in one hand and a flashbomb in the other in case they got surrounded.