There was a small office at the back of the warehouse. Clarisse reached for Joseph's hand as Mabry ushered them inside. She almost choked on the air in the room. It smelled of dust and mold. The room was furnished with a dreary desk, chairs, and a ragged couch. The chairs were sturdy wooden office chairs but the couch appeared to have had much hard use. It was battered and stained. There was a small, dirty window near the ceiling that provided dingy light. The light served mostly to highlight the dust floating in the air.

Joseph could feel the fear in Clarisse's grip on his hand. He was also afraid. More afraid than he's ever been in his life. Afraid for her. He knew Clarisse was strong. Anyone who really knew her knew that. But her strength and confidence in her ability to handle any situation was the reason they were here. He silently cursed her for getting into that van, even as he understood her need to make sure her granddaughter was protected. If only she had stayed on the grounds – waited for him to arrive - something could have been done. The minute he saw her climb into that van, the whole situation took on a desperate urgency. He'd always fought this side of her personality when he was her body guard. The problem was she trusted him as much as she trusted herself. She didn't worry about getting into trouble because, even if she found herself unable to handle it on her own, she could count on him to protect her from harm.

As they entered the room, he drew Clarisse to his side, an arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. She clung to him tightly. He knew he couldn't fail her. He could only pray that her trust was not misplaced. He addressed the man with the gun, "How do you propose to get out of here, Mabry? There is no means of escape."

"I don't propose to leave," he snarled in reply. "I know I'm done for. I just intend to make whatever life you have left as miserable as you have made mine."

Joseph tightened his grip on Clarisse and searched his assailant's face with his eyes.

Mabry laughed. "Yes, that makes me suddenly much more dangerous, doesn't it? I am resigned to my fate, which makes me free already." He laughed again and motioned towards the chairs. "Sit."

They complied. Mabry contemplated them for a few moments, as if trying to decide what to do. Clarisse sat very straight in the chair. She tried to breathe deeply and slowly in hopes of calming her churning mind. She was furious with Joseph for putting himself in harm's way. He wasn't her bodyguard now and his foolhardy bravado meant he was in as much danger as she. Why couldn't he have stayed behind and let the security team find her? She knew she could've found a way to stay alive until they got to her. And if not, at least he would have been safe, able to watch over Mia in her stead. On the other hand, she found herself drawing strength from his presence. He would protect her. She knew that. Unfortunately she also knew he would sacrifice himself for her without a second thought. She couldn't let that happen. Finally she spoke. "I have the power to pardon you, Arthur," she said quietly. "Just let us go and leave the country. I will personally ensure your safety."

"And then what? I'd have to live in exile in some backwater country somewhere. Humiliated, disgraced. That is not living. Not for me."

"Then let Joseph go. Your quarrel is with me, not him." She ignored Joseph's warning glare and continued. "I will stay as your hostage."

"Stop it, Clarisse," Joseph interrupted. "I'm not leaving you here with him."

She glared at her husband, but Mabry spoke before she could.

"I have quarrel enough with him, Your Majesty," Mabry turned towards Joseph. "She couldn't keep her hands off the hired help and you were more than happy to oblige, no doubt. What was the phrase we used before? 'Catering to the Crown's emotions'? Yes, indeed, this could've been settled far more equitably had you not been constantly sneaking around trying to interfere, Romero.

"But now it's too late."

ooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooo

Shades cursed and slammed his hand against the dashboard. They'd reached the edge of town with no sign of the delivery van. The police had already established a road block, but there had been no sign of the captives.

"They must have gone through right before the police got here," the driver stated the obvious.

"Yeah, but where did they go? Even though the roadblock wasn't set, the police were on alert and someone would have seen them!" Shades exclaimed. He threw the car door open and stepped out to confer with the other officers. There was no sign of the delivery van. This was the edge of the industrial district. The streets were lined with large warehouse buildings and shipping company offices. Shades eyes scanned dishearteningly up and down the street. He sighed heavily. There were lots of hiding places here.

ooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooo

Charlotte was at a loss for what to do. She couldn't stand to just sit and wait, but she could think of nothing helpful to do. Mia sat hunched over in a chair, head in her hands. Nicholas continued to pace the office, obviously wanting to comfort the Princess, but not sure if his comfort would be appreciated, given the circumstances. The silence was strained.

There was a knock and the office door opened to admit the guard on duty.

He bowed to Mia. "Someone to see you, Your Highness."

"Not right now, please. Just tell them to go away." Mia didn't lift her head.

As she spoke, Lily executed a neat sidestep around the guard. "Mia! What happened?" she practically yelled.

Nicholas started visibly, but Lily ignored him and crossed the room and hugged Mia.

"I don't even really know, Lily," Mia said as she caught the breath Lily had squeezed out of her. "Everything was going so well, and all of a sudden I was covered in food and Vis—Arthur Mabry was threatening us with a gun." Mia swallowed hard to keep from crying. Lily flopped down into a chair opposite her. "I tried to get Grandma to make a run for it, but she wouldn't. When she said she could 'fix it' I had no idea she meant she was going to let him take her away!" Tears began streaming down her face at this point.

"Joe is with her, right? He won't let anything happen to her," Lily said.

"He's unarmed and no one knows where they are, Lily! They could both be dead by now!" Mia's breath came out in a sob. "I don't know what to do!"

Lily jumped out of her chair and knelt in front on the princess. She reached up and took her friend's face in her hands. "Mia," she said softly. Mia met her eyes somewhat reluctantly.

"Knock this off. Is it or is it not true that your life is basically a fairy tale?" Lily said.

Mia looked confused at this unexpected approach, but finally nodded.

"Exactly! And everyone knows that fairy tales have happy endings. It's going to be ok! Shades will find them and Joe is going to make sure nothing happens to the Queen. So stop this crying and believe in your fairy tale!" Lily's powerful personality gave her words an almost absurd believability.

Charlotte looked from Mia to Nicholas, both of whom seemed momentarily frozen by Lily's onslaught.

Finally Mia smiled. "You're right, Lily. Sitting here crying about it isn't going to help."

"Good!" Lily exclaimed.

Nicholas couldn't help but smile, too. He didn't quite know how to take this young woman with killer legs and an overpowering voice, but he could see that she truly cared for the future queen.

Mia stood and wiped away her tears. "Charlotte, let's get started on a statement for the press. We can put the description of the van on all the media outlets. Someone will know something. We'll offer a reward for any information!"

Charlotte smiled then too, grateful for something to do. Mia sent Lily off to the press office to start the staff there to work on arranging the necessary publicity. Soon Mia and Charlotte were in heated conference over the clicking computer keys.

Nicholas sat down across the desk from them and watched them work. Eventually Mia looked up at him with a shyly hopeful smile. He did his best to return it, but his feeling of hopelessness refused to lift. Mia didn't know his uncle. Not like he did. She had no way of knowing what depths of darkness the man was capable of.