Chapter 10: Doubt and fear

Jacq, pretending to be Princess Alexandra again, was blindfolded and taken to the private plane to Spain. She had a pretty good idea why the bad guys were doing so: it'd be very risky if she knew the exact location where she was taken.

So far, Jacq had told and convinced the bad guys that she was Princess Alexandra, but her telling them that Tintin, Haddock and Snowy were dead was a hard story to buy.

As good as her acting skills were, she knew that she didn't look exactly the same as Alexandra. Alexandra's uncle, Atticus, sooner or later would know that she wasn't the Princess. Jacq thought, "Or maybe he hasn't seen Alexandra in a while. Maybe he won't remember her face… unless he has a photo of her… I just hope I'm lucky enough."

A while later, Jacq felt the men grab her and take her out of the plane. She was brought to a car and taken somewhere. Then she felt as if someone were tying her feet and tied her against a chair. Harry finally took off her blindfold to show her that she was taken to a basement. Based on the size of the basement, she was probably taken to a large house or a mansion. It didn't seem like there was any way for her to escape. Not even a small window. "Well, well, well, Princess Alexandra. Ready to meet up with your uncle?"

"…Yes," said Jacq continuing the act.

"Good, because he's just arrived and he's waiting to see you."

Jacq heard the footsteps of someone coming downstairs. If Atticus realised that Jacq isn't Alexandra, he's either going to kill her or torture her for information. Jacq just hoped that she could find a way to get herself out, or at least someone could rescue her. "I should have planned this thoroughly," thought Jacq. "Then again, I had little time to think …"

Ruben and Atticus came to the stairs. Jacq covered her face with her big hair. Atticus resembled the King a lot, except he looked slightly younger, had black hair, and had a goatee and a slightly bigger nose than his brother. "Good work, gentlemen," said Atticus. "I didn't believe you at first, but then again I did put my faith in you." He walked in front of Jacq. "There you are, my dear Alexandra! Surprised to see me?" Jacq said in Alexandra's voice "Surprised to see you're alive after all this time."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear Alexandra. I couldn't let you know the truth. This is all for the best."

"Frankly, I don't agree. But I did find out about your plan. Trying to force me to give up the inheritance to you, I suppose?"

"Why, you're such a clever girl." Jacq turned her head away from him. "I remember that you have your father's wits." He looked at her. "Though I don't remember you having curly hair… are you covering your face?"

"Um… it's just getting in the way."

"I'll take care of that." He uncovered her face. "There you go. Now I can see-" He stopped. He saw Jacq's face. Jacq said, "What's the matter? You don't recognize your own niece?"

Atticus took a step back and grabbed Harry's shirt. "YOU FOOL!" he shouted over Harry's face. "This is NOT Alexandra!" He let go of Harry and shouted at the rest of the men in the room. "you got the wrong girl!"

"Sir, it is Alexandra. She's in disguise," said Harry agitated.

"Yeah," said Ruben. "The girl's not even wearing make-up!"

"You bunch of imbeciles! You think I can't recognize my own niece without her make-up on? This isn't Alexandra! Who is this girl? Who are you?" he said going up to Jacq angrily.

"I… I…" Jacq tried to think of something quickly, but was starting to panic.

"Answer me! Or I'll kill you!" said Atticus pointing his gun at her. She tried to improvise something quickly and keep a straight face, but then Atticus fired a warning shot.

BANG!

Jacq panicked and said without thinking, "I'm just an actress! I was posing as Alexandra as a diversion!" Once she realised what she had done, she felt like a complete coward. "Ops," she thought.

"I see," said Atticus. "Looks like my brother was smarter than I thought. Tell me, what's your name."

Jacq tried to think straight and improvise. "Um… Ja-Jackson… Linda Jackson."

"… Right, Miss Jackson" He put his gun away. "What about your job as an actress? You like it much?"

"… Y-yeah."

"Are you from America?"

"I… yeah."

"You seem like such a talented actress, Miss Jackson. May I call you Linda?" Jacq nodded her head trembling. Even though Atticus wasn't giving any threat or seemed angry, Jacq felt even more uncomfortable than before. That was probably what he intended to do. He's hoping she'll get scared of what he'll do next. "No, I don't want to scare you, Linda. You're a very talented actress. I can see why William chose you to be Alexandra. You're both beautiful and talented. Like a real movie star."

Jacq tried to make-up something to say, trying to get a grip on herself. "I… I was hoping that this would land me a job on the big screen. You know how hard it is to get a job in Hollywood."

"Yes it is. I also heard that you were the spy in India?"

"… I was," Jacq was looking around the room, checking whether there really was any other way to get out of the room. Unfortunately there wasn't. And it looked like there were lots of guards or something.

"And this boy, Tintin. Is he really dead?"

Jacq looked straight at Atticus. "He is."

Atticus looked at Harry and then turned back to Jacq. "You know what? I really like you. I obviously can't let you escape, but I won't harm you."

"You won't?"

"Of course not. But now I must depart. Right I have much bigger things to attend to. I came to Spain for a reason. Now that I know you're not Alexandra, I can continue my mission in Spain. I'm sure that my niece and brother are still here. After this is all over, I can make you a star."

"A star?"

"Yes, I will help you fulfil your dream once I become King. I'll make it my first act of kindness."

"People will know you're helping me, but they'll also know you also kidnapped me and threatened to kill me!"

"It won't matter whether you tell anyone about all this afterwards. I'll be under sovereign immunity anyway." Atticus turned around and left the basement. Harry followed Atticus, and Ruben and Tony stayed behind and guard the door outside.

Xxx

Meanwhile, Tintin, Haddock and Snowy had arrived in Spain with the two detectives. The detectives went on to warn the King and Princess about Atticus, while Tintin, Haddock and Snowy went to rescue Jacq. With a telegram found in the hotel in India where Harry stayed in, they found out that Jacq was in a large house near Alexandra's current location. It was just as Tintin predicted. Snowy was able to pick up Jacq's scent and started following it.

After running up a long road, they reached a white house with two floors and a bright red rooftop. They saw someone coming out of the house and they hid in the bushes. It was Harry, and he was talking to another man. "Is that Atticus?" asked the Captain.

"He does resemble the King. He probably is," said Tintin.

"Tintin," said Snowy, "Jacq's in there. I'm sure of it."

"Good boy, Snowy."

Harry and Atticus went to the car and they drove off. "Now's our chance," said Tintin. "Let's go."

"Wait. We know where Jacqueline is," said Haddock stopping Tintin. "Why don't we just tell Interpol where the place is?"

"We will. However, we have to save Jacq first, or else they might use her as hostage."

Getting their guns, they approached the house and looked through the windows. They saw that there were more men than usual. "Thundering Typhoons. How do we get in?" asked Haddock. Tintin went around the house and observed that two men were guarding the back. "Hands up," said Tintin pointing his gun at them. He ordered them to take off their clothes and then Haddock tied them up.

They put the men's clothes on and went inside the house. Snowy hid inside Haddock's shirt and started fidgeting again. "Quiet, Snowy," whispered Tintin. "Jacq should be somewhere around here." They searched around the house, until someone said to them, "HEY! You two." They stopped. "You're supposed to be outside guarding the back!"

Tintin said in a gruff voice, "Em… the boss's orders. We were told to guard the girl."

"The girl? Then what are you doing wondering around here? She's in the basement. Besides, the door's already guarded."

"Is that so?" said Haddock. "We'll check just in case."

"Whatever. I just don't want to see you wondering around." The man then left.

Now that they knew where Jacq was, they went downstairs to the basement. They saw Tony and Ruben guarding the door. When the moment was right, Tintin and Haddock pointed their guns at them. "Drop your guns! Now!" said Tintin. Tony and Ruben dropped their guns and raised their arms. "And don't say another word!" said Haddock. They tied them up and covered their mouths. They opened the door and saw Jacq tied up to a chair. She looked at the two men who were walking towards her.

"Tintin! Captain! You came back!" said Jacq. They took off their hats. Snowy came out of Haddock's shirt.

"Yeah, it is," said Tintin. "How did you know it was us?"

"I dunno. I just could. Must have been the way you walked."

Tintin thought to himself, "What is it about the way I walk?"

As they reached the first floor, they tried to escape without being spotted.

Then Tintin stopped. "Wait a second… You two go ahead. I need to look for something." He went with Snowy to the stairs leading towards the second floor.

"Where are you going?" asked Jacq.

"I need evidence to prove Atticus is alive." He went upstairs. "Tintin," said Jacq. She wanted to wait for Tintin, but Haddock was telling her to come. She had to move on, or else she'll get captured again, and everything Tintin and Haddock came here for would be for nothing.

Tintin and Snowy went upstairs and searched for a room which could be useful. Tintin looked at every room, until he spotted a room which looked like an office. He closed the door behind him and started searching for anything. He looked on the desk and under the drawers. Then he spotted a telegram with the name Mr. Monroe on it. And then he spotted something else which was quite useful. A letter. He didn't have full time to read through it, but noticed that at the end of the letter had the name Atticus Monroe. "Great Snakes," said Tintin. "They're letters from Atticus."

Snowy said, "Come on, Young Sherlock Holmes! We need to get out!"

The Captain and Jacq were near a window which led to the parked cars. They jumped out of the window and fell into a bunch of bushes. They quickly stood up and went on a car. "Captain! Wait! Tintin's still inside!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, "HEY! Someone let the girl escape! Tony and Ruben are tied up!"

Tintin spotted them outside the window, but then someone entered the office and spotted Tintin. "It's Tintin! He's alive!" The man pulled out his gun, but Snowy bit his arm causing the man to drop his gun. Snowy went towards Tintin and jumped out of the window and into the bushes. Luckily neither he or Snowy were injured, and quickly ran up to Haddock and Jacq. Haddock turned on the engine.

"Look! The girl's with them!" said one of the men from afar.

"Wait! Do we kill the girl this time?" said one of the men.

"She's not of any use to us now that she's escaped. Kill them all!"

As they started shooting them, Snowy said, "Here we go again!"

Tintin picked up a rock for some reason and then went up to the Captain and Jacq as they drove off. "Captain. I'll take the wheel," he said as he gave him his gun.

As the bad guys went on their cars and tried to reach them, Tintin accelerated the car as much as he could and Haddock started shooting them. "SLAVE TRADERS! BASHI-BASOUKS! ECTOPLASMS!"

Jacq then said, "Wait!"

"What?" said the other two. Haddock stopped shooting.

"Did we just jump off a window?"

"…Why's that?" asked Haddock.

"… Holy guacamole. I've noticed a pattern! Every single time you guys rescue me, we're always falling!" They paused. "You know! In that boat, we jumped into the water; in India, we fell into a river and then off a waterfall; and then with the tigers, we fell off the slope! And now we jumped out of a window and fell into some bushes!"

"… What about it?" asked Haddock.

Jacq said, "… That's so weird… But it doesn't matter, KEEP SHOOTING, CAPTAIN!"

"Blistering Barnacles, you're unbelievable," said the Captain.

Then Tintin used the rock that he picked up earlier and placed it on the pedal. He then said, "Everyone. We're going to have to jump off again. Once I take the turn into the tunnel there, jump off!" he took the turn and they jumped off, Jacq accidentally landing on Snowy's paw. They hid in the bushes as the saw rest of the men taking the turn and following the empty car in the dark tunnel.

"Tintin, you're brilliant," said Jacq.

Then they left the tunnel and went towards where the police station was, where they said they'd meet. Jacq held poor Snowy and patted him gently. "I'm so sorry, Snowy. I didn't mean to jump on you. You're not hurt?"

"No. I'm just a bit out of luck. That's all," thought the dog.

Xxx

As they arrived to the police station, they were surprised to see that both King William and Princess Alexandra were there!

For Tintin and Haddock's first time seeing Alexandra, they were astounded to see how stellar she looked, but also how similar Jacq resembled her.

"What are the Royal family doing here? They're supposed to be going away from their location." The King and Princess apparently stayed in a friend's mansion. It was a well protected place, so they were safe there.

Thomson said, "They're waiting for the plane outside. It hasn't arrived yet."

Thompson said, "To be precise… um… it hasn't arrived."

Alexandra spotted Jacq with the men. "Jacq! It's so good to see you again!" she said in a lovely voice.

"Great to see you too, Alexandra," said Jacq.

Tintin then said to the King, "Your Majesty, we need to talk about your brother."

"So I've heard," said the King. "Let's discuss this in the other room."

"Father, would you mind if I stayed here with Jacq for a bit?"

"Of course, my dear," said the King leaving Jacq with the Princess and one of the officers in the room.

"So, I heard what you've done," said Alexandra. "I must say you are extremely brave to pull a stunt like that." Jacq blushed. Alexandra was starting to sound like Tintin in a way. "No, not really", Jacq said with modesty and a bit of embarrassment. "I really am not."

"Jacq, if you weren't brave, then you wouldn't have helped me in the first place. If I'm not mistaken, you did offer to pose as me when I was in peril. I don't think any other woman would do something like that."

"No, no. I wasn't trying to be brave or act… noble or anything. I was just helping out, that's all. And that last thing I did was out of nowhere. I just got lucky."

"Are you sure it was luck?"

"It was a desperate move. I wasn't really thinking that time. If I hadn't done it, we would have been dead for sure, so I just did that."

"And is that what you call luck, Miss Jones?"

Jacq thought about it over and over. How could she possibly do something like that without luck? She then let out a sigh. "... I… I don't want to offend you in any way"

"No, not at all."

"But let's face it. I'm not really that brave or strong. The only reason I'm alive right now is because I got lucky. Really, I'm a big coward. You may think that I'm like Tintin, but I'll never be like Tintin. He's strong and fearless."

"… And you believe that he's not afraid of anything?"

"… Well, yeah. He can get scared, but…"

"Then what makes you say he isn't afraid when someone's pointing a gun at him?"

Jacq paused. She could tell by Alexandra's face that she was going somewhere with this. Then Alexandra continued, "You know, once when I was a little girl, I ran up to my father telling him that I wasn't the right person to inherit the throne, because I felt I would fail my country and I wouldn't do a good job. He told me that I shouldn't think of myself that way. If I prepare carefully over time and have some faith in myself, then I'll do amazing things. I shouldn't give up just because I'm afraid of what will happen. My fears and doubts shouldn't pull me back from my dreams and ambitions. He says that I shouldn't lose faith in myself."

"… So you're saying that I need to have faith in myself?"

"I'm saying you shouldn't doubt yourself. You see, I could argue that Mr. Tintin is the most courageous young man in the world, yet at the same time I could also state that maybe he's as afraid as you are. It's probably his determination that makes him move forward. The point is you were determined to protect your friends, and determined to protect my throne, so you went out and took dangerous actions despite fearing the worst and knowing that anything could go wrong. That, Miss Jones, is true courage, and which you have proven yourself to have."

Jacq thought about it. Alexandra saw Jacq ponder about it for a while. Then Jacq looked back at the Princess and asked her, "Say… you're the future Queen of Bordwell… Are you scared?"

"I'm terrified."

Jacq's perspective started to become a bit clearer. She was still a bit doubtful, but she understood it a bit better. What Alexandra had just told her did make sense. Jacq let out a satisfied grin. "You know what?" said Jacq, "I think you're gonna make a great Queen."

"My deepest gratitude, Jacq. And you'll be an astounding movie star."

"Oh no, I don't wanna be a movie star. I wanna do something else."

"Really? Well, that's fair enough. You'll do splendidly in whatever you do. What do you want to be then?"

"… I'll tell you when I'm ready."

A/N I am SO SORRY everybody! I was in Paris for two weeks, and because I was busy the week before I left, I couldn't finish this chapter earlier.

I must thank kunoichi96 for giving me such a complement to my fanfic! You're awesome! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! As for Fan, yeah Tintin does rescue Jacq, but the rest doesn't happen. Still, thank you for the compliment. :) Btw, to Fan, her real name is Jacqueline Jones, so you can remember that Jacq is short for Jacqueline.

Sorry if the action and Jacq's rescue seems short. Though I really liked writing the conversation between Jacq and Princess Alexandra.

Anyway, thank you for those reader who waited patiently for this chapter! I hope to finish the next chapter by the following Wednesday. Cya! Please comment!