Serena couldn't lie to herself, she was incredibly uncomfortable. It wasn't the shoes or the dress, no Sebastian seemed to have gone out of his way to ensure that she was comfortable during his ceremony. It was that eyes that were on her. From the moment she walked into the room, all eyes had been on her and it wasn't in a good way either. It was quite clear that Serena was not a Moroi, she had slightly more colour to her skin and she was significantly smaller than any of the other people with in the room. She wrapped her arms around Sebastian a little tighter. She was here for him, she was here to support him and be proud of him as he took his title. 

She curtised to the Queen when she addressed the both of them. She didn't dare steal a glance at Sebastian's mother as the woman spoke up to the Queen asking about her knowledge. Lissa handled it so well, acting as though Serena's being a Dhampir hardly meant anything in the situation. It was these little gestures that hinted toward the Queen's stance of Moroi and Dhampir relationships. She allowed Sebastian to guide her to where she would watch the held her hands in her lap as he went to the front of the room to begin the ceremony. Her body tensed when Mrs. Lazar moved to her side and spoke. Her jaw clenched, "Yes... He's quite handsome..."

However, the words that followed were like a slap to the face as she spoke ill of not only her and their relationship but their child as well. Her blood started to boil as she clenched her fists. She hardly had a chance to say anything before the ceremony was over and Sebastian was at her side and asking her if she was alright, "No," She said simply.

She was done with it. She was done with being the perfect guardian that took all of the Lazar family's venom and sat quietly as they harassed her. She was done with letting Sebastian fight her battles with them for her. She walked over to his mother and looked at her with a rather terrifying look in her eye, "That's enough, Mrs. Lazar," She took a deep breath, "Keep in mind that your son [i]asked[/i] me to marry him. I don't want money or a title from him. All I want is his promise to love me. And you can keep calling me whatever you want. A whore, a mistake, a disgrace but if you [i]dare[/i] even whisper an ill word about [i]my[/i] child I will make you regret every last syllable."

She took another deep breath and looked around the room at the Moroi, some of whom were looking on with pride and respect but most of whom were looking at her with terror and disgust. She turned her attention back to Sebastian's mother, "There was once a time that I wished to be close to you and your husband... When I thought that you all were my second chance at a family. I no longer wish for that. I will not permit you to see your grandchild whether or not you wish to see her and you [i]will[/i] keep your distance from both of us, am I clear?"

She held the woman's gaze for a moment longer before nodding her head, "Good."

With than she looked over her shoulder at Sebastian and gave him an apologetic look before she walked out of the room with her head held high.
~*~
Gunner was sat in the caves twiddling with a child's toy that he had snatched away from some Moroi child before sending him off to a different set of caves with a few women. He learnt fast that children's cries carried easily through the cave walls and became very irksome, so he had relocated the few children that he had seen potential in to make something great out of. Most of his strigoi army was in multiple different cave networks. He didn't trust any of them to behave and figured it best to ensure that if someone was naught that the entire army wasn't found. Not to mention, it was a wonderful way to hide his hand from the Dhampirs that would be coming after them. After all, he had just given the biggest hint he could to their location.

After he was certain that it was the Elites that were 'hunting' them, he set the plan. It wasn't so much of a trap, since they knew what they would be walking into but they knew what was ahead of them before and he had still slaughtered them. However, he was no longer new, he had gained a lot of control. He no longer sought to kill them as he had in their first encounter but this time had his mind set on changing each and every last one of them. After all, these were the best of the best of the Guardian world, if they were Strigoi... well, the rest of the world hardly stood a chance. He tossed the toy aside and placed his hands behind his head, "Tell me when they get here," He ordered one of his soldiers before they nodded and ran off down the hall to keep watch.