Chapter 11~

Inside, the helicopter is tiny and cramped and Petros is losing a lot of blood. Megrin pulls off Carter's long white glove and knots it over the wound while I urge the pilot to fly faster.

"It's gonna be okay," Megrin mutters in Italian, smoothing back her brother's hair and crying hard.

"They…didn't…stop…" Petros says between pained breaths. Megrin looks confused.

"The guards," Carter explains. "They knew we had you two with us, but they still shot. They didn't care. They wanted both of you dead."

The rest of the ride to headquarters is hauntingly silent, save Megrin's crying and Petros' heaving breathing and masked gasps of pain.

The pilot drops us off on a tiny, seemingly deserted island and flies away. Ed and Megrin help Petros along the beach as I lead the way, since I'm the only one who's been here before.

The entrance to the PPP headquarters is almost completely hidden under vines and various greenery. Carter and I put our hands on the smooth elevator doors and the elevator announces, "Door opening" as the doors slide open. Once we're all inside, the doors close again with an accompanying announcement.

As the elevator sinks slowly, an entire wall lights up and the face of our director fills the screen. I watch her take in our motley crew - Ed in his dishelmed tuxedo stained with blood from the prince's gunshot wound; Carter in her little skintight black dress, hair falling out of the perfect bun on the side of her head; Princess Megrin without her crown, tear streaked face, in the torn remains of Carter's dress, blood across the skirt, the brown beginning to bleed from her blond hair; Petros with a dark red glove tied around his arm, barely standing, even with Megrin and Ed's support; and me, with my skirt full of bullet holes and an uneven edge thanks to an unfortunate run-in with a helicopter door - and smiles.

"Relax children," Director Rogan says. "You are now under the safe custody of the International Princess Protection Program."

The elevator stops and announces, "Level C: Security."

This is Ed's stop. Since he isn't an agent, he doesn't have the clearance to go with us any further. He'll be debriefed and then detained until we're ready to leave again.

Ed tips an imaginary hat to us and steps through the sliding doors.

"I see our prince needs medical assistance," Director Rogan observes as our elevator continues its slow descent into the heart of the agency. "We will see to that right away."

"Thank you," Petros says as the doors slide open again and he stumbles through.

Megrin looks smaller somehow without her brother by her side. I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Welcome Princess Megrin," Director Rogan smiles as the elevator sinks some more.

"What is going on?" Princess Megrin asks. "Where am I? Where did you take my brother? When can I go home?"

"Not for a while, I'm afraid," Director Rogan admits. "Princess Protection is a four stage program - Extraction, Transition, Transformation and Relocation. Our job is to keep you hidden until it is safe to return you to your own country and there's no telling how long that will be."

Megrin looks at Carter and me uncertainly. I wish I could tell her everything was alright, that she can trust the PPP with her life, but in lieu of recent events, I am not even sure I trust them.

"Why don't you come inside and I'll explain everything?" Director Rogan suggests as the elevator doors slide open for the last time.

We walk through into the operational heart of the PPP, where a black and pink clad Director Rogan stands at the helm of a giant room filled with state of the art equipment. There are some of the latest computers here as well as the most up-to-date global positioning systems. It's like getting a glimpse of the future.

"Welcome." Director Rogan approaches us with open arms. "We are so glad you are here."

Carter narrows her eyes. "Yeah, me not so much. What the hell is going on?"

I shoot Carter a warning glare. "We would like to speak with you, Director, as soon as possible."

"Ana?" Director Rogan claps her hands. "Take Princess Megrin and show her around please."]

Director Rogan's assistant takes Megrin by the hand and leads her away. I hate letting her out of my sight, but the princess is no longer my responsibility.

Once Megrin is gone, Director Rogan turns to us. "Let's take a walk."

She takes off briskly, leaving Carter and me struggling to keep up. A long night with less than an hour of sleep in a cramped helicopter will do that to a girl."

"I suppose you are wondering why I didn't tell you about the prince," Director Rogan says almost smugly, like she was just waiting for us to ask.

"Well I guess now that you mention it…" Carter says sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"We are the Princess Protection Program," Director Rogan says as if we don't know. "We rescue princesses, not princes. We couldn't very well tell you to rescue him without breaking about a hundred of our bylaws."

"So you expect us to let an innocent person die because of some stupid bylaw?" Carter demands.

"No, of course not." Director Rogan meets Carter's gaze coolly. "We trusted you two would do the right thing."

"You were willing to bet his life on hope and intuition?" Carter narrows her eyes.

"Ever since you came to us, Carter, you've been, well…" Director Rogan purses her lips. "…rules optional. I sent you on this mission because I knew you would make the right choice regardless of your orders."

Carter frowns as if she's not sure whether or not that was a compliment. Frankly, I'm not sure either.

Director Rogan leads us down a long escalator into a sort of waiting room filled with Majors like Carter's father and princesses from all around the world, then into the transformation section of headquarters. Carter and I are surrounded now by girls getting haircuts and manicures and completely new wardrobes. It brings back a flood of memories.

Megrin is sitting in one of the swivel chairs next to her brother, who has his arm in a sling. They both have their head in a sink while a group of stylists wash out the temporary hair color.

"Where are you sending them?" I ask.

"Australia," Director Rogan replies. "They will be posing as Grecian tourists."

Carter raises a skeptical eyebrow, but thankfully keeps quietly.

Ana rushes up to Director Rogan and whispers something in her ear. The director nods. "Carter and Rosalinda, you are needed on Level C with Ed to complete the debriefing process."

I'm reluctant to leave Megrin again, but she's with her brother, so she should be okay…right?