AN: Hello again! I'm so sorry of the delay, but I had to move out of my res for the holiday so all of my things, including my laptop, were (and are still ) packed in boxes, so things are crazy.

Thank you so much for the review, story alerts and favourites! I really appreciate them ;)

As usual, please read and tell me what you think!

Chapter 26

The outline of Industrial was just visible on the horizon in the dusky light when they finally reached Albion waters.

Annabelle felt shiver of anticipation mixed with slight foreboding running down her spine at the prospect of ending the rebellion. As she mulled over her mixed emotions, she felt a comforting presence next to her.

"Almost over, huh," Ben stated, leaning slightly on the banister.

"I suppose it is…" she replied softly while trying to mask the unease that she was feeling.

Some sign of her anxiety must have sounded in her voice, because Ben immediately turned to look at her with a concerned expression. He wrapped a hand over hers, careful not to let the other crew members see, and gave it a supportive squeeze.

"We can do this…I believe in you, Bells," he whispered, his blue eyes blazing with fierce determination.

She shot him a small smile and squeezed his hand back. "Thank you, Ben." Suddenly, the feeling of dread gripped her heart in a death vice and she had to stop herself from pulling Ben into a tight embrace.

"Please, be safe," she insisted urgently, tightening her hold on his hand. "I can't lose you again."

"We all know how this story goes, sweetheart. The devilishly handsome soldier never dies and neither does the beautiful princess," he replied in a light tone, but she could see the silent plea in his eyes for her to stay safe as well.

"I love you."

She'd barely finished speaking before he pulled her into the shadows to claim her lips in a quick but urgent kiss.

"I love you too, Bells," Ben whispered when they pulled apart. "Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" she replied with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk as she caught Kalin's eye over Ben's shoulder. The painted woman wore a pleased expression on her face and gave her a small nod of her head motioning for her to come closer.

With a deep intake of breath, she steeled her shoulders and headed out to the deck.

oOoOoOo

The ship had barely settled on the shore of the Old Quarter before the rebels stormed the town. As soon as they took their first few steps, a ball of fire landed a few meters in front of them, causing them to leap to the ground to avoid being hit with shrapnel.

"Captain, Walter! Cover me!" Annabelle shouted to the men at her back as she jumped to her feet and charged the mortar that was perched at the top of the hill, Knight hot on her heels.

The quay was literally crawling with Logan's soldiers, but months of fighting had honed the princess's skills to the point that the men trying to stop her were nothing more than nuisances that had to be eliminated.

As she beheaded another with a swift flourish and Knight ripped out another soldier's throat who was stupid enough to try and sneak up on her, she saw a group of men creeping up on Page's group at the bottom of the hill. She quickly charged a ball of fire mixed with lightning and tossed it in the enemies' direction, instantly killing them. The dark rebel leader shot her a quick nod of thanks and Annabelle continued on.

When she finally reached the top, it took mere seconds to take care of the mortar as well. With a glance in the direction of the castle, she could tell Logan wasn't going to make it easy for her to get to him, if the blockades and battalions of soldiers were anything to go on.

"Well, Princess, if you're thinking that this isn't going to be a picnic, I think you're right," Ben's voice said from behind, panting slightly.

"I'd applaud your observational skills, Captain, if it wasn't for the enemy soldier standing right behind you," she tossed over her shoulder before frying said soldier with a fire ball. At this, Ben let out a yelp of indignation and jumped out of the way.

"I saw him. I just thought you needed target practice," he retorted, brushing the soot off of his uniform. "Clearly, you do. You almost hit me. Again."

"Trying to fry Ben again, Anna? Isn't it a little early in the morning for that?" Walter asked when he finally joined them.

"It's never too early for that," she replied with a slight smile as she started to run towards the square, her mentor and captain quick on her heels.

They split up again and on her way towards the market square, she ran into another group of ordinary soldiers. "Halt! We are hereby ordered to arrest you, Princess," one said in a slightly shaky voice and she could see from his markings that he held the rank of lieutenant.

"Do you honestly want to try?" she asked carefully and cocked her pistol.

"Surrender and we won't hurt your allies-" he started again, but she stilled him by holding up a gloved hand.

"Listen men, I don't want to kill you, but if you stand in my way, I will cut you down," she warned and she could see their eyes widening in fear. She didn't want to kill anyone if she could help it, but she didn't come this far to be stopped by a group of mere soldiers. They weren't even a part of Logan's guard, so they would stand no chance what so ever against her.

The lieutenant turned to look at his brigade, clearly gauging if they could take her. They were about fifteen men strong and she hoped that he wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that they could stop a Hero.

His next words proved his naivety. "Charge!" the leader called and she let out a sigh before swinging her sword in an arch, careful not to aim for anything too important as the first line stormed her. The Hero blade sang as she weaved through their frantic swings and the expressions on their faces were almost comical as they realised that they couldn't even touch her.

She brought the leader to his knees with a sweeping kick and she held the tip of her blade to his bobbing adam's apple. "Do you yield?"

"King Logan ordered-"

"I don't give a damn about Logan's orders! I'm offering you the chance to fight with the resistance and keep your lives or do you want your brigade to end up worse than they are?" she asked fiercely, motioning to the men who were lying on the ground clutching various injuries.

The lieutenant looked down at the forged steel currently hovering at his throat. "Duty demands that we protect Albion from insurgents," he said, but his motivations were clearly waning.

She had to suppress a sigh of annoyance. "I don't have time for this, so one last chance, Lieutenant. Yay or nay for surrendering?"

A shaky nod followed after her words and she returned it with a cock of her head in the direction of the fighting. "Then what are you waiting for?"

With a couple of swift salutes, they scrambled off and she continued deeper into Bowerstone. The sounds of screams filled the courtyard of the Old Quarter and Annabelle couldn't stop the clenching around her heart at the panicked sound.

If we don't hurry this up, civilians are going to get hurt, she reasoned and pressed on, but an explosive shockwave sent her crashing into one of the buildings. Before she could get her footing, another explosion caused the building next to her to shake and she could feel the foundation giving way next to her. Huge chunks of debris ran from the sky and before she could cover her head, someone yanked her away and pushed her to the ground, shielding her body with theirs.

"Didn't I say we had to stop meeting like this, Bells?" Ben said into her ear, his arm still firmly locked around her shoulders.

"And didn't I ask you to tell me when you felt chivalrous?" she replied, smiling slightly when he helped her to her feet.

His white teeth shone through the sheet of falling dust and soot. "I'm not going to stop being chivalrous until you stop giving me reason to act chivalrous, sweetheart. Now let's go get you that crown," he retorted.

As they made their way deeper into the city, the flames in the burning buildings grew even higher and the smoke made it difficult to see more than three steps in front of them. They were also forced to make more than a few detours due to the fallen buildings, which led to a few more battalions of elite soldiers.

One particular group pinned them behind a stack of crates and they were caught in a vicious fire fight.

"Tell me, how much money do you think your brother spent on just his personal guard!" Ben yelled as he reloaded his rifle. "They never seem to stop coming!"

She peeked over the crate to squeeze off a shot and managed to hit one of them. "Well, in his defence, they are quite dedicated!"

Ben shot her an amused look as she missed the next few shots. "This is how you properly use a firearm, Princess," he chuckled as he sighted his rifle on one of the furthest men. A perfect headshot followed and she had to stop herself from scoffing at the victorious smirk on his soot-covered face.

"Lucky shot," she grumbled and fired again, cursing silently when she missed again.

"This has nothing to do with luck, sweetheart. This is all born talent," he boasted with a wink before killing another soldier.

She rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see you do that with a pistol," she challenged.

Her words were met with a shrug. "Don't go blaming the gun, sweetheart." He took the pistol out of her hands, aimed and shot a soldier right between the eyes. "Nothing to it."

"You know, if you weren't so darn handsome someone would have killed you by now," she grumbled before spitefully kicking him out of their cover before sweeping into the fray to deal with the soldiers with her trusty sword.

I'd like to see him do this, she thought viciously as she did a back spring and landed on one of the elites shoulders and snapped his neck with her thighs. She lunged of the ground at another one, immediately cleaving his skull in two. Bloody cocky, arrogant arse!

When they were all dead at her feet and she managed to calm her boiling blood a bit, she allowed herself to meet Ben's eyes, her hand resting on a cocked hip. To her shock, however, his blue irises weren't filled with admiration or shock but rather something that she couldn't quite recognize.

"What's wrong-" she started, but before she could finish, he lunged towards her and grabbed her waist, his lips crushing hers. One of his hands wrapped around her neck to pull her head closer and he wasted no time parting her lips and sweeping his tongue into her mouth. The explosions and gunfire faded into the background and the only thing she was aware of was Ben's arms around her and his lips on hers. She was so shocked that she couldn't quite figure out what was happening and she merely let herself get carried away. She flung her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers through his hair, deepening the kiss.

A small part of her brain that was still functioning, however, reminded her where they were and she shoved him off of her. "What is wrong with you?" she asked, gasping to catch her breath after his passionate display.

"Avo, Bells, it's already hard to keep my hands off you when you're not doing…that!" he exclaimed, motioning to the dead soldier whose neck she'd snapped. "You're going to kill me…You know I have an active imagination and seeing those strong thighs in action-"

"Shut up, Ben," she replied, hiding her blush by heading towards the castle. As she ran, she couldn't help but overhear snippets that he was mumbling to himself.

"Bloody woman…wonder if that is possible?…die a happy man…"

Finally, they reached the giant gate leading to the castle.

"If only we knew some sort of tiny, crazy old man who enjoyed blowing things up…" Ben said, quirking an eyebrow. Sure enough, not five seconds later, the gate was blasted off its hinges by a huge explosion.

"Ho ho, Boulder! Good job!" the tiny Dweller man cried, his face lit up with excitement.

"Sabine? How did you get on that side of the gate?" Ben asked in disbelief.

"We Dwellers have our ways, my boy!" Sabine replied happily.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, this little lady next to me has a crown waiting for her and there are still a couple of soldiers that want us dead," Walter interrupted.

"I'll handle that. You go handle Logan," Ben replied quickly, already reloading his rifle.

"Take Knight with you. I'm afraid he'll rip out Logan's throat before I can stop him," Annabelle suggested, stroking the collie's head affectionately. The dog trotted over to Ben's side and gave a loud bark.

Walter gave a nod and started up the pathway. Before following, she shot Ben one last look and her lips split into a small smile that only he would know was laced with slight fear.

"Hope the crown fits, Princess," he said, shooting her his signature grin.

Annabelle's frightened smile turned genuine at the comforting expression in his eyes. "You'd better be there to see it, Captain."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, if only to see you in a dress again," he replied with another wink before running off with her dog in the opposite direction. His disappearance was quickly followed by rifle shots in the distance.

With a steeling breath she turned around to follow Walter up the familiar cobbled path.

oOoOoOo

The halls of the castle were uncharacteristically quiet.

"Strange…I would have thought Logan would have more guards posted this close to him," Walter remarked quietly as they crept down the stone corridors.

"Maybe he didn't believe we wouldn't get this far," she replied equally quiet. Or maybe he doesn't want to fight anymore. He never was one for violence.

For a moment she hesitated. What was she going to do when she saw his face? He was her brother after all, not some stranger. Would she be able to go through with it?

She had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. No, that was the old Logan, the one she'd grown up with. This Logan executed innocent people, let them starve and left Industrial in the hands of Reaver. This Logan wasn't her brother.

"Where do you think he is?" Walter asked after a few moments of silence.

There was only one place he would be. This all started with the vision from the music box and it's going to end there as well.

"War room," was all she said.

They quickly made her way through the familiar halls to the huge oak doors of the war room.

"Should we knock?" Walter asked, a strange smile on his face. Annabelle gave a shrug and returned the smile. "Nah, you're right. Let's surprise him," Walter chuckled before kicking the door open and Annabelle burst inside, her sword already unsheathed.

Her brother straightened up from his position at the table with a sneer on his thin lips. "And so the child returns…The traitor ever at her side," he stated, his eyes flicking between Annabelle and Walter. "From the sounds of fighting outside and the state of your dress I assume you're here to overthrow me, aye, sister?"

"It's over, Logan. This has gone on too long," she said, keeping her voice as cold as possible and her sword pointed at him. "You've practically destroyed Albion and I can't let it continue any longer!"

"I know, sister," he replied, his tone slightly resigned. "But before you arrest me, I need to tell you why I did what I did."

"She doesn't need to hear anything from you, Logan," Walter interrupted, coming to stand next to her.

"She needs to know, Walter," Logan said, his dark eyes never leaving Annabelle's.

She opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by the thud of footsteps outside in the hallway.

"Bells, Walter! All the troops have surrendered!" Ben announced jovially as he burst into the room, shooting a huge smile in the princess' direction. Knight immediately joined her side and gave a loud growl at Logan. Annabelle saw her brother's eyebrow rise at the use of Ben's nickname, but his gaunt face remained mostly neutral.

Ben's face, however, changed from a smile to a dark frown when his gaze settled on the soon to be former king and Annabelle gave a small shake of her head. The captain rolled his eyes, but luckily kept his mouth shut.

"You can say all that you want at your trial, Logan," Annabelle said, turning her attention back to her brother. "Captain Finn, please escort this man to the dungeon. Gently," she added with a pointed look. She knew Ben well enough by then to know that he wouldn't waste the chance to get his revenge for Major Swift's death.

Ben gave a nod of his head and moved to restrain Logan's hands. "Let's go, your highness," he hissed, giving him a slight push in the direction of the door.

When the two of them left the room, Walter turned a victorious smile in her direction. "And so we did it, Anna! It's finally over!" he cried, flinging an arm around her shoulders.

"So it is," she replied, a huge smile on her lips as well. It's finally all over.

oOoOoOo

Ben practically shoved the former king down the stairs to the dungeon where they'd met for the first time.

"It's good to see you well, Captain Finn," Logan said, stumbling to keep his footing on the mouldy stairs. "I apologize for the hospitality extended to you during our first meeting, but I believe you understand that I did what was necessary."

"What was necessary? I'm not even going to bother pointing out why I believe you deserve to be strung up right now. I'll keep that to myself until the trial," Ben growled, trying to reign in his anger. As much as he wanted to, it wouldn't be the best idea to kill him just yet.

Logan gave a small shake of his head and Ben could almost see the glint of a smile on his face. "You're head over heels, aren't you?" Logan chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Ben snapped, playing dumb.

"I'm not a simpleton, Captain. I believe you proved my point when you refused to disclose her location in this very room."

"And that couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that I'm loyal to her as a soldier should be?" he replied sarcastically.

"You're one to talk about "loyalty", Captain Finn. Was it not you that joined a rebel force to overthrow my rule?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ben seethed in silence and continued marching forward.

"And aside from all of that, I don't think that you're aware of the fact that you look at her with absolute adoration in your eyes," Logan continued as they entered the dark room.

"With all due respect, shut up, your highness," Ben snapped, pushing him into the only cell that still had a door. It seemed that they had it fixed after Annabelle had blasted it off its hinges. The door closed with a loud clang and Ben turned to leave, but the king's voice stopped him once again.

"If you hurt her, Captain, I will hunt you down and kill you myself, be it the last thing I do."

"Believe me when I say I've had enough threats concerning my actions regarding your sister to not be shocked at another one," he tossed over his shoulder as he left. "Especially coming from a man such as you who still has the audacity to call her sister after all you've done."

"She'll always be my sister, Captain and she still sees me as her brother. You must know her well enough by now to be aware of that. Don't believe that she'll kill me just to please you."

He whirled around to face the tall man. "She might not do it for me, but she'll do it for all the people you've murdered. You've done enough evil to this country to warrant the worst punishment imaginable."

"I don't need to explain myself to you, Captain, but believe me when I say you still have a lot to learn about Annabelle."

"We'll see about that," he hissed, before turning on his heel and storming off.

oOoOoOo

A few days later

"Anna, can I come in? Are you decent?" Walter's voice asked from outside.

"Come in, Walter," Annabelle gasped as her handmaidens tightened the laces of her corset.

Walter strode inside, his eyes widening when they landed in her. "Are you alright, Anna? It doesn't look as if you can breathe," he asked, the concern clear in his tone.

She struggled to take a breath as they finally finished. "No…it's just been a while since I actually wore one of these. Apparently it takes another type of fitness to wear a corset. Or learning not to breathe, whichever is easier," she gritted out through the heap of material as they threw the heavy fabric over her head.

"I can imagine that it's going to take some time to get used to all of this again," Walter remarked as she finished getting ready. When she was finally done, she went to stand in front of the mirror.

She barely recognized the girl standing in front of her. The girl in the mirror was wearing a long-sleeved satin ball gown in the deepest of greens. Intricate silver patterns adorned the bodice and the sleeves and the skirt flared out in a wide circle. The girl's hair was carefully woven and braided into an elaborate hairstyle and her makeup was immaculate.

"You look absolutely stunning, Annabelle," Walter said, coming to stand next to her.

"I…I can't even remember being this girl, Walter. It's almost unreal," she remarked, straightening her skirt.

"Let's get this over with," he said with a reassuring smile and squeezed her shoulder.

oOoOoOo

She could hear the crowd even through the door. A sudden flash of nervousness hit her, but she pushed through the doorway none the less.

All of her revolutionary allies were on the balcony. Sabine's chest was puffed out proudly, while Page wore a strangely pleased expression and Kalin looked serene, a small smile adorning her painted lips.

Ben looked as handsome as ever in a spotless uniform, the first clean one she'd ever seen him wear. His eyes never left hers as he wore his signature grin and shot her a sly wink. She returned his smile with a small one of her own as she went to the edge of the balcony.

Walter shot her another proud grin before placing the gilded crown on her head. "All hail the queen of Albion!" he cried and the crowd joined in in the loud cheering.

She remained standing there for a while before all of her allies moved to congratulate her.

"We did it, Princess! Or should I say my Queen," Sabine's voice called excitedly, practically jumping up and down.

"Please, Annabelle is fine," she insisted, unable to keep the smile of her face.

"I have to tell you, when you rocked up in my little camp, wearing that oversized Dweller suit, I didn't believe that you would be able to pull this off. But you did! It's over!"

"I couldn't have done it without you, Sabine. I will always be thankful for the role the Dwellers played in this," she replied cordially.

"Well then, Annabelle, let us go enjoy the festivities!" he exclaimed once more before scampering off.

"He certainly is excited, isn't he?" Page said, coming to stand beside her. "Then again, I suppose we all have reason to be." The dark-skinned rebel leader turned to look at her, a semblance of a smile on her face. "You're a good person, Annabelle. I hope you don't give me reason to change my mind about that."

"I won't, Page. I made a promise, several, in fact, and I intend to keep them," she assured her and Page left with smile.

Kalin simply gave her a mysterious smile before placing a string of small coloured beads into her hands. "It's for luck, my Queen. Luck and prosperity," she said.

"Thank you, Kalin. I appreciate it so much," she said sincerely before securing the beads around her neck. The woman gave a small nod before disappearing as well.

"Hmmm…I apologize, your majesty, but have you seen my good friend, Annabelle? I can't seem to find her," Ben commented from behind. She whirled around and punched him lightly on the arm, the corner of her mouth tilted into a smile. "You look beautiful, Bells," he said, actually sincere for once.

"Thank you, Captain," she said with a nod, her eyes darting to Walter, who standing a few meters behind Ben.

Ben gave a knowing nod. "See you tonight," he mouthed with another sly wink before disappearing into the crowd.

Once again standing alone, she gazed at the carnage in the distance. So many people died for her to get her throne and she had no intention of letting any one of the sacrifices be in vain.

"I'm going to be the queen Albion deserves," she whispered quietly before moving to join her people in the festivities.

oOoOoOo

Ugh, that ending feels corny…And writing this chapter once again reminded me that I can't write an action sequence to save my life.

But please, read and review!