A short little update that I hope you all enjoy!

Thanks to TakerTakeMe, Renna33, PhoenixO'Neil09, Takers dark Lover and DarkZoul for the reviews!

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TaKen 11

Stephanie was on the verge of indulging to sorrow and giving way to the pangs of despair. The wait was excruciating and she didn't think she could take more of it. She had lost the notion of time, so she wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, but by now full dark was upon the city and a red moon watched upon her.

The whole situation felt surreal, like a bad dream she couldn't wake up from.

They had killed Orton, a man that she had never been fond of, but nonetheless a man she had known for a long while. Now his severed head was impaled somewhere outside the city gate to warn any approaching foe.

What if they do the same to him?

No, it must not come to that. She took a deep breath and blinked away a few tears that threatened to fall. Fear had caught her in its jaws but she couldn't let madness engulf her. She needed her mind to be clear.

She braced herself, giving what little comfort she could manage in that wrecked situation.

She was sitting on the steps to the Council's building, tormenting herself with anguish and keeping her long vigil when a noise startled her, it had come from inside. She stood up and steadied herself as best as she could, the bloodied apron was still hanging loose at her front and she was covered in filth head to toe; but still she stood as proudly as her misery would allow her.

Behind her, she could hear the city moving along. The agonizing moans of the wounded and the cheerful celebration of the fortunate ones, but those noises felt as if in a thousand leagues away, to Stephanie the only sounds that mattered were the ones coming from inside the building in front of her.

When the door began to open at last and the first one of them walked out she found herself frozen where she stood.

It was Trish, followed closely by Christian. Word through the city claimed he had dragged Orton's body all the way from the battlefield to the city just to lay it down at Trish's feet. The mere thought made her shiver and the only thing that gave her solace was that Shane had not shared the same fate, at least not yet.

"I hope you had the time to think about what I've told you, might be you have to make a choice soon" Trish said as they passed her by, Christian just took a quick glimpse at her and moved on.

Stephanie hadn't thought about it. Truth be told she wasn't so sure what she had to think about…

She watched them leave, chastising herself for not uttering a word. At some point, when their silhouettes were far in the distant she saw Trish reaching for Christian's hand. He took it and together they disappeared into the night.

She let out a sigh and turned again to the building. There was not going to be rest for her until they allowed her to see him. She waited for the others to come out, someone must hear her plead.

But the next ones to come out were Jericho and Maryse and her confidence went down. He had been the one to bring him in and she wasn't even a member of the council; she could not put her hopes on any of them. He walked out of the building with a clean bandage covering the wound on his temple and a tired look on his face. His eyes fixed on her as soon as he walked out.

"And what the hell happened to you?" Maryse asked with her usual sly grin. Like always, she looked impeccable, carrying herself with a great air of confidence as if she were the Queen of Canada and not a simple lackey.

Stephanie couldn't say that of herself. Royal blood ran through her veins and yet she stood there looking nothing like it. Her clothes were bloodied, the apron more so; her hair was a mess and she could bet her face was smeared with dirt and other unsavory things. But that was the last thing on her mind; she couldn't look worse than how she felt. "I want to see him" She managed to said without breaking down.

"Let her in" Jericho said in a low raspy voice as he walked away.

She heard him all right, but the odd thing was that she couldn't manage to move her feet. She hadn't expected it to be so easy. What if he was already dead and she would only find his corpse inside that place?

"You are not thinking on letting her enter looking like that" Maryse said quirking her mouth in disgust. "What would that say about us, that we do not keep her decent?"

"I just want to see him, don't mind my appearance" Her voice carried a desperate edge, but she was beyond caring.

Jericho turned back to them and studied Stephanie in silence, his intense blue eyes roaming over her frame with a hint of disdain that made her feel uncomfortable. "No, better if he sees her like that" He took another glance at her and then reached to take the apron off. "Minus this bloody thing…" he threw the offensive rag over to Maryse and walked back inside.

"Urgh!" The blonde grunted rolling her eyes. "There's not much one can do to improve your looks anyways" She threw the apron to the ground. "Well you heard him, make haste"

Maryse turned and headed the same direction Trish and Christian had gone not long ago, mumbling in her gibberish language as she walked away from the building she was about to enter.

Stephanie was reluctant to go in, thinking that maybe she was being lead into something she wasn't quite ready to face. But she wanted to see him, she needed to. So toughening up, she walked in.

The main salon was bright as day, lit over by an immense chandelier hanging high in the ceiling. She hadn't notice that before, but then again she had spent her time in that building locked up. She wondered if he was locked up somewhere inside.

Jericho was there, resting his back against the closed door of the room she had been taken upon when she first came in. His arms were folded against his chest as he waited. His eyes were on her as she walked up to him and she couldn't help but to feel as if she was walking right into the lion's den.

"You will only be allowed to see him for a short time, so make the best out of it. Might be the last time you two see each other" He stated coldly.

Stephanie held her head high, hating the man's cruelty more than ever. She found it bitter that not a night ago, those same lips that now hurt her with words had reduced her to nothing more than a trembling fool. "Then let me in" she responded matching his tone.

He opened the door behind him and moved aside to let her pass.

Stephanie went in and her eyes found him at once. He was down on his knees, his hands were bounded behind his back and another rope was tied at his neck. She couldn't see his face because he was facing the people in front of him and she was far behind.

She didn't lose time walking; she ran to him and knelt in front of him, dimly aware that they weren't alone in the room. "Oh Shane" She said taking a good look at him. His face was bloodied and swollen up, his unfocused eyes didn't seem to recognize her at first. She sucked in a shaky breath, trying to force herself not to cry. But it was futile, she could feel her vision clouding with unwashed tears and she had to wipe her eyes before they could fall.

"Steph…" he breathed in, his voice broken and distant. She kissed both his cheeks and hugged him tight, burying her hands into his hair. "What have they done to you?" he whispered into her ear. "Look at you… my sweet Steph, what have this bastards done to you"

"I'm fine…" She whimpered backing away a bit to look him in the eye. She was more worried about him than on her own captivity. She ran her hands through his chest and arms, checking to see if he was unhurt.

"Of course you are not, I mean…" He took a deep breath as he looked her over; he was interrupted by Lance's monotonous voice.

"Very well, now that you've seen she's unharmed, may we continue and get this done with?"

Shane shook his head absently, his eyes never leaving her moist ones. "I'll never sign that up, so why don't you kill me now…"

Shane was yanked out of Stephanie's arms abruptly before he could finish his sentence. She gasped as he sprawled flat on his back, coughing and fighting for air.

"Don't tempt me little Prince" A mocking voice said and when Stephanie looked over she saw that Natalya had been the one to punish her brother. She was suppressing a triumphant smile as she held the end of the rope that tied around Shane's neck, ready to pull hard again.

Stephanie rushed to her brother's side and helped him into a sitting position. When had their lives taken such a huge turn? She glared hatefully at the blonde woman and as she looked over she noticed Jericho resting against the closed door, almost in the same manner he had been earlier. He was just watching the scene in front of him unfold.

"Sign, don't sign… it makes no difference. We may as well kill you right now and carry on with it anyways. The only signatures we need is that of the King and the Princess"

Stephanie turned a little so she could look at Lance. He was sitting atop the table, still in his battle gears as were the rest of his fellow Canadians and the two other men in the room, Jeff and the black haired warrior he had been talking to in the morning.

"But imagine the sorrow that will cause your sister, to lose her beloved brother right in front of her eyes" Natalya said pulling at the rope, making Shane's neck jerk back awkwardly.

"Stop that!" Stephanie spat in anger and desperation.

"The King will never agree to it" Shane responded in a strangled voice. "And neither will Stephanie"

"I think they will. The King doesn't have any other choice in the matter. His forces are scattered and defeated and we have both his heirs in custody, he's cornered and without choice. As for Stephanie, she'll sign it because she loves you so much and her heart won't take seeing you dead"

"If I sign this thing, will my brother gets to live?" She asked, if it was to be so she'll sign anything they wanted.

"No Stephanie, I'll rather die a thousand deaths than let you whore to any of these barbarians"

"Take him away" Lance ordered and the black haired warrior took the rope from Natalya. "We'll talk with the Princess now"

"No" Stephanie cried clutching into Shane, it was too soon for her, she wanted to stay with him a little longer.

"Don't sign it Steph" He moaned as the warrior tugged at the rope. Jeff, whose face still held traces of paint came forward and pulled Shane to his feet.

They hooded him and took him out the room, leaving Stephanie watching helpless as she sat on the floor. She knew she should stand, but she didn't have the willpower to do it.

Lance came forward and crouched at her side. "Do you love your bother?" his tone was low so that only she could hear the words. She nodded, chewing at her lower trembling lip.

He was holding some papers in his hands and he showed them to her. "Trish spent all day long redacting this, and what she came up with is the only chance Shane has of walking out this mess alive…" He let her savor the words before continuing. "It will guarantee him a safe journey back to the castle, where he one day might rule half the Kingdom. It's more than what he deserves…"

"I'll sign them" She said determined.

"That's not all. The other half of the Kingdom, the one that he won't be able to rule will pass on to Canada as soon as this document is signed properly, we will even let you represent that half. But, if either the King or Shane ever gives us reason to, we will be in all our rights to claim the rest of the Kingdom. If that ever happens they will be removed permanently" His tone was still low and Stephanie found herself leaning closer to listen better.

"So basically, the only thing you have to do is wed one of our own, bear him a couple of children and let us guide you through your reign. We also request the Kingdom to turn over Hunter and Batista so they can face justice here, I understand the former was to be your husband and I hope that's not going to be a problem in our treaty. So what do you say Princess, is the love you have for your brother strong enough?"

Stephanie took a deep breath. She could feel her heart beating irregularly in her chest. Just marrying for Shane's life… it would be no big deal, right? She had already made the idea in her head that she would marry Hunter one day, and that had been her father's choice, not hers. It was the same right now, but with a cause.

As for Hunter and Batista, Shane's life was worth more than theirs. "Where do I sign?"

Lance gave her the papers and a pen, he showed her where to sign and she did, trying not to think too much of it.

"Great, now we only need the King's…" Lance scribbled his name somewhere along hers. "… And the rest of the Council's. But we'll have to carry on without the King's for now, by the time this reaches him you'll already be wed"

Stephanie tried to keep her mind blank and numb as Natalya signed along. "I'll make sure Edge signs, let's see, Trish and Christian already did… uh! We are missing one, a very important one…"

"Chris" Lance called out.

Stephanie looked up as Natalya walked to Jericho and handed him the papers. He remained still for a while, his arms still folded up his chest as he fixed Lance with a glance. "Come on, we already discussed this a dozen times" She hissed as she nudged at his arm. "You said it was all right"

He snatched the papers with a grunt and signed almost angrily. When he was done he walked out the door.

"So it is as good as done, how do you fancy marrying on the morrow?" Natalya asked with a smile and Stephanie wondered if she had done the right thing.

TBC