Love ya'll!4Love4Love4, UltimateMaxmericaShipper, the5SOS-YAfangirl, delovlies, fairy not princess, and Demigod-Gallagher-Selected, plus the two guests,smiley face, andEverafterhigh587 for reviews!
…
An explosion rocked the palace. One minute everything was normal. The next minute, it was not. Without warning, an explosion detonated in the main hall, right out side the Great Room.. A second later, another explosion erupted just outside the main entrance at one end of the Main Hall, almost simultaneously with the entrance at the other end, facing the gardens, shattering the glass doors that hadn't already been broken by the initial explosions. Two smaller dentations happened immediately after, both at the drive way entrance just outside the walls. Several others happened just after, at different points around the wall.
It was an unprecedented event. The rebels had never done anything on this scale. Since the formation of Illea and the monarchy, the Angeles Palace had never been attacked. The rebel movement had only just began, sparked by the takeover of Yukon. Small, scattered attacks had taken place on service offices, but never before had anyone attempted to attack the palaces. It was the rebels, who else could it be? Never before had their operations reached such a scale. The takeover of Yukon had been pretty violent, but it had taken weeks of standoffs, nothing on this scale had happened. Nothing had been attempted on the royal family.
As the protective walls surrounding the palace came down, and smoke cleared, the guards who hadn't been killed in the explosions tried in vain to defend the palace against the forces of rebels pouring in through the gaps in the walls, but most of them were shot down. They didn't stand a chance.
Out in the garden, Lissa and Wesley were thrown from the bench, and onto the ground. Lissa screamed, and Wesley covered her with his own body, trying to shield her from the glass that shot out from the glass doors surrounding the Great Room, and whatever else was to come. He didn't know. The lit garden and all the lights flickered and then went out, plunging everything into darkness. He counted the two subsequent explosions, and then everything went eerily silent. Then came the screams, and the gunshots. The crackling of fire was ever present. They didn't hear or register the explosions breaking through the walls.
Disoriented and terrified, Lissa was overtaken a nearly paralyzing sense of fear. Her thoughts were racing. She tried to make sense of what or how or why had just happened, struggling to breathe in the smoke filled air. She felt Wesley roll off of her, glass crackling at his movement.
"Lis, are you hurt?" He asked frantically. Lissa sat up, wincing at the deep cut on her forearm from the glass. She saw Wesley was bleeding from far more cuts than her, and felt almost guilty.
"I'm fine." She said. She shook glass shards from her hair, feeling strangely detached. "What was that?"
"I have no idea. But my guess is the rebels." They could hear gunshots from inside the palace now, and the cries of those intensified. Wesley grabbed her hand.
"C'mon. We have to get out of here." He pulled her along after him.
"Where?"
"We can't go back inside. To the woods. We can hide there for now." He pointed to the wooded area surrounding the gardens, between them and the surrounding walls.
"What about your parents? And the other girls?" Lissa stopped, forcing Wesley to stop too.
"Lis…" Wesley gritted his teeth, the fire from inside bathing his face in an orange tone. "I can't do anything about them now. My dad told me once that if something like this ever happened that I had to protect myself and let myself be protected. And I couldn't worry about them, because I had myself to worry about. One of us has to stay alive."
In that moment, Wesley looked so young, so lost, and so scared. He reached for her other hand. "Promise me you won't look back. Promise me you'll keep your self safe."
"But…you're the prince…" Lissa whispered. More gunfire crackled inside, yet Lissa couldn't bring herself to move. He was so close now.
"A prince who's in love with you." He whispered softly, one hand brushing her cheek. "Promise?"
"Promise." Lissa breathed, his forehead brushing hers.
"Good." He leaned down, and Lissa closed her eyes…
A gun cocked behind them.
The two whirled around. A man in a black mask aimed a small but intimidating revolver at them. Lissa froze, and Wesley stepped instinctively in front of her.
"Look what we got here." He said, sauntering a step closer. "If it ain't the little prince. Playin' around with one of your brother's whore's, are ya?"
Lissa could see Wesley tense up, but he didn't respond. The insult flew off Lissa. It wasn't the first time she had been called that. Wesley squeezed her hand.
"Run when I tell you." Promise He hissed through gritted teeth, barely moving his lips. Lissa squeezed his hand back in response.
"Hey, Adam, Jack, get over here. Look'a what I found!" The man yelled. Lissa slipped out of her heels. She couldn't run in them. He turned back to Lissa and Wesley. "Ya kids think your lucky? Missed all the excitement playin' out here? Well guess what? This little monarchy is over." He shoved his finger at Wesley's chest. "Your father knows what's going on in this country, and he doesn't do anything about it. All he cares about are these stupid little traditions." His gaze shifted to Lissa. "Hear that, slut?" His voice was cruel, and though Lissa had been called that, and worse, to be called that in front of Wesley hurt more than it should. "You're one a' the Sevens, too, ain't ya? The king knows, and doesn't do a damn thing about it."
"Is that true, Wesley?" Lissa's voice came out as a whisper. Could he have even known about the attack? Was this all a game for him? Wesley didn't look back at her, just stared ahead, but his hands balled up into fists.
"The Selection is a joke. And it will never happen again. This one never should have happened either. Bet it's nice for you, though. Lotsa girls around to play with." He grinned, his eyes glowing maliciously. "No reason you should have all the fun, though." He took a step towards Lissa. She froze up.
"Touch her and I'll kill you." Wesley's voice was surprisingly calm, and it seemed to surprise the rebel. Lissa exhaled slowly. She was safe for now. Wesley would protect her.
But the rebel laughed.
It caught both of the two off guard.
"Ya think you can stop me, you little stuck up good for nothing brat? At least you stood up for your girl. More than your dad did. He begged us not to kill him. Even let his wife go first. Killed her myself I did."
"You're lying." Wesley spoke through a clenched jaw, his fists balled up tighter, knuckles white. "My father would never do that. You're a liar."
"You think you're tough, huh? Let's see what you-"
In that instant, Wesley lunged for the rebel with savage yell.
"Run, Lis!" he cried. Lissa was so surprised; it took her a moment to react. "Go!" He shouted, tackling the rebel, and trying to keep the gun from going off. Lissa came to her senses, and bolted. The glass cut at her bare feet, but she kept running. She had never been in the gardens before, but she could see them from her room. Where the gardens ended, there was manicured grass and paddocks for the horses, and then a sculpted forest around the inside perimeter of the walls.
She hiked up the skirt of her pink ball gown, the masquerade seeming like a lifetime ago. Tears of fear coursed down her cheeks and she gasped for breath, resisting the temptation to fall to the ground and cry. She was terrified. Even as a Seven, she'd never experienced anything like this before. She sprinted across the grass, strangely dark. Even in the middle of the night, the landscape lighting kept the garden bathed in a soft golden light. The earlier drizzle had picked up again, and thunder rumbled ominously far away. Lissa tripped, and stumbled to the ground, crying harder now. She looked over her shoulder as climbed to her feet. The Great Room was burning, smoke and ash belching from the roof. The orange and red glow was the only light. She couldn't see Wesley, but she kept running. She had made a promise. She reached the woods, and fell again, feeling somewhat safer under the cover of the trees. Her chest heaving as she struggled to regain her breath. Any second now, Wesley would come right behind her, and he would finally kiss her, and everything would be fine.
A gun went off, once, twice. Lissa jumped to her feet. The rebel's gun. More gunshots pierced the air.
"Wesley!" She screamed, venturing back out of the tree cover. If something happened to him…
"Wesley!" She tried to yell again, but it came out more of a sob. "Wesley!"
She bit back a shriek as someone from behind her covered her mouth, smashing her against whomever it was. She tried to kick herself free, but his arms were too strong.
"Shhh, Lis, it's me." Wesley. He whispered it in her ear, and wrapped one arm around her waist. Lissa saw why she had to be quiet. The walls surrounding the palace lay in ruins. They were about twenty feet away. Too close. The dead bodies of at least a dozen guards lay scattered about, blood staining their uniforms. Rebels stood around the new gap in the walls, sitting on piles of rubble, smoking cigarettes and laughing.
Slowly, Wesley uncovered her mouth, and wrapped that arm around her, pulling her tight against his chest. And even though danger was right in front of them, Lissa felt safe.
She didn't know how long they stayed there. Neither of them moved out of fear of being discovered. After a while, it began to drizzle, which turned into rain, soaking them. They couldn't see the palace, or what was happening. It was torture. Lissa became aware of something seeping through her dress, just above her hip, pressed against Wesley's side, towards the back. She looked down, and touched the place. Blood. Wesley was bleeding. She tried to turn towards him, but he squeezed her shoulders, forcing her to stop.
As the rain picked up, several of the rebels left, jogging towards the palace. Little by little, they all left. Some went towards the palace, and others left in the other direction. When they had all left, Wesley grabbed her hand, and they ran. When they were a safe distance away, in the heart of the forest, and away from the breached walls, Wesley staggered to a stop, falling on one knee.
"Wes, are you okay? What happened?" Lissa practically fell on him.
"Sorry about your dress…" He moaned softly. His face was deathly pale, and he was shaking. She helped him sit down, leaning against a tree.
Lissa almost rolled her eyes. "I don't care about that. Are you okay?" She demanded, ripping at the buttons on his tux, the jacket stained with blood. Wesley groaned, and winced as she moved aside the fabric. Blood was everywhere, staining his starched white shirt. Lissa covered her mouth with her hands. "Wesley…" She whispered, her voice shaking. "What happened?"
"Gun…" He managed, his eyes closing.
"We have to get help! This is bad, Wes, this is bad."
"There's no help. You heard what he said. My parents are dead. Probably everyone is."
"You don't know that."
"We'll just wait here until morning. Then we'll have to try to get out. I just hope someone around here is still sympathetic to the monarchy. Eventually, we'll have to get out…" Wesley trailed off, his mouth slightly open, his face white.
"Wesley?" Lissa shook him gently. No response. He was still breathing, but every breath brought more and more blood out of the gunshot wound in his side.
Lissa started crying—she couldn't help it. There was nothing left to do, except wait.
But for what?
…
No one had expected it. And they were in trouble.
There was no where to go. The security of the palace had all been designed to keep any wrong-doer out-the walls, the guards, everything. But the walls were breached. The rebels had infiltrated, the Great Room was on fire, and guards were dead and dying. And worst of all, there was no where to go. A shoot-out was taking place on the main entrance of the palace. So far, the guards had kept the rebels back from entering, but it was only a matter of time.
Dizzy and confused, Nicole opened her eyes and tried to stand, but she was pinned under rubble from the explosion. She raised her head, trying to remember what happened. She watched, dazed, as several guards pulled the queen to her feet, and hustled her and King Jackson out of the Great Room, quickly followed by Andrew, Christine, Ethan, the Italian royal family, as well as Hana, Amber, and Gracie.
The explosion...what happened? Gunfire erupted, closer this time. Nicole kicked at the rubble on her, and crawled out. She coughed, trying to breathe in the thick smoky air. Still half stunned, she surveyed the scene.
Around her, people were dying. Several women were screaming out of pure shock. The Great Room lay in shambles. Fire was everywhere, but it didn't look like it was in too much danger of spreading. All of the delicate glass doors had shattered, and it was chaos. She could hear gunfire, and yelling. It was disorienting and terrifying. Rebels.
Nicole watched a guard help Amelia and Katherine up, and hurry them to the doors. Another guard was trying to get Elvira to follow them, but she jerked her arm away, shaking her head.
"I'm not going anywhere. I can defend myself, if I need to. I have training in these situations, just like you. I want to fight." She snapped.
"Lady Elvira, I have orders to get all of the Selected out of danger." The guard tried to argue.
"Screw the orders for me and help the others. I can fight. It's my job."
That seemed to jerk Nicole into action. This wasn't a dream. Something really bad had just happened, and Nicole had been fortunate enough to survive. Things had just gotten real.
She had been talking to Meagan and Autumn before the explosion. She didn't remember anything between that and opening her eyes. Sirena had been talking to Michaela next to them. Nicole looked around, trying to find her friends. She caught sight of the skirt of Autumn's white angel costume mostly buried under rubble from the ceiling, and felt the adrenaline kick in. She cleared away the debris, finding Autumn unconscious and bleeding from several cuts on her face and neck, but alive. Meagan was next to her, crying. She seemed to be in shock, and her arm was crooked at an awkward angle.
"Meagan?" Nicole helped her sit up. Meagan cried out, cradling her arm close to her chest.
"What happened?" Meagan looked up at Nicole, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"I don't know. But I have to get you out of here."
"My arm really hurts." Meagan said weakly. "I..."
A harried guard rushed up to them.
"Lady Nicole, you need to come with me. We need to get the Selected to safety." He said.
"Help her. I'm fine." Nicole said, swallowing. She had to be brave like Elvira. "And Autumn. She's unconscious."
"Right. Sorry, Lady Meagan, I didn't recognize you." The guard then barked into the handheld radio clipped to his forearm. "I lave Lady Nicole, Lady Meagan, and Lady Autumn accounted for. May require medical attention."
"Just get them out and to the west wing." Came the gargled reply.
"What's going on?" Meagan asked in a weak voice.
"We suspect its members of the rebellion, miss. We need to get the principles to safety, and your best shot is the west wing of the palace. Then we can get you all airlifted out—hopefully."
"But we're not allowed to go to the west wing. Sophia said so." Meagan said, dazed. The guard glanced at Nicole, a worried look in his eyes.
"I think we can make an exception, miss." He turned to Nicole. "I can carry Lady Autumn, if you can help Lady Meagan."
Nicole nodded, and he scooped up Autumn like she was a ragdoll. She helped Meagan stand, and supported her with one arm around her waist. She followed the guard through the melee. Meagan started crying, especially when they reached the doors. Another guard swept Meagan away from Nicole, and told her to wait for an escort, before leaving with the first guard.
What? Wait for an escort? Why do I have to wait for an escort? I'm pretty sure the ball is over. Nicole couldn't help but feeling angry at the stupidity of the situation. An escort!? If Nat were here…
Shoot, where's Nat? Nicole froze. The last place she remembered seeing her sister was right before she had danced with Ethan, about fifteen minutes before the explosion. Then Ethan had gone to talk to Gracie, and Autumn had dragged Nicole over to analyze every detail of her and Ethan's conversation. Nicole scanned the room anxiously for a familiar face. She saw Elvira and Adele running towards her and the main entrance.
"Have you guys seen Nat?" Nicole asked frantically. Elvira shook her head.
"You guys need to get out of here." She said, checking the ammo on the Uzi she had picked up.
"What about you?" Adele asked, her makeup smudged and her mask gone. She wiped at her eyes, and tried to look brave, but Nicole could see right through the actress.
"I'm trained for this. I can help."
"In a ballgown?" Adele pointed out.
"Yes, in a ballgown. Nicole, what happened?"
"A guard told me to wait for an escort here. They took Meagan and Autumn to the west wing."
"Okay, well I'll be your escort." Elvira scoffed. "The guards really need to fix their perspective on women." She muttered under her breath. "Take off your heels." She nodded at Nicole and Adele. They both quickly complied. Elvira could be pretty intimidating, but now, they trusted her. "When I say so, I'll open the doors, and you guys run as fast as you can to the west wing. I'll give you cover. Go as fast as you can, okay?"
Adele and Nicole both nodded.
"Okay. Let's go." Elvira wrenched open the doors, and Adele followed by Nicole dashed out. They both ran down the Main Hall, away from the front doors leading out to the front gardens and the driveway, where the guards were engaged in a firefight with the rebels. They passed the staircase leading to the second floor, and the dining room, and just before they turned to the west wing, by the exploded glass doors leading to the gardens, it happened.
As if in a dream, Nicole watched three guards shot dead as at least ten rebels advanced on the terrace leading to the gardens. She heard Adele scream, and Adele pulled her down at the rebels shot at them. Elvira returned fire, and the two guards from earlier came running from the west wing, and joined her. Not waiting to see what happened, Adele and Nicole, half running, half crawling, made it to the west wing. It was strangely quiet. It was a long hallway, one Nicole had never seen before. The rich red carpet matched the gilded ceilings, and the portraits of past kings and legislators stared down at them. In front of such a grand door that it could only be the king's office, a guard stood. He motioned them over, while speaking into his radio.
"Watch Six, I have Lady Adele and Lady Nicole."
"Watch Six, this is Crystal Palace, do you have the whereabouts of Lady Lissa, Lady Natalia, Lady Bryn, Lady Elvira, Lady Tatiana, Prince Wesley or Princess Michelle?" came the reply.
"Negative. Requesting immediate air support." He opened the doors for them, and closed them behind them, ending the eavesdropping.
The lights were off, and two more guards stood on this side of the door. Nicole spotted the king and queen, almost immediately. Prince Andrew and Princess Christine sat huddled in a corner, Christine crying. Prince Ethan stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. Most of the Selected girls were there too, except the ones the guard had mentioned. Felicity launched herself at Adele and the friends both started crying. Nicole stepped off to the side, now for the first time feeling Nat's absence. I hope she's okay. Nicole bit her lip, trying not to cry. Nat, where are you?
…
Nat had no idea what to do.
After her confrontation with Ben, she had fled almost out of habit to the stables. She knew she wasn't supposed to go there alone, but no one was around to stop her, and at that moment, she couldn't have cared less.
Now she wished she hadn't.
She had been crying into the mane of the horse she had ridden on her date with Ethan, trying to figure out what the hell Ben was doing here when the explosion happened.
You have to get out of here. I didn't come here to hurt you.
I'm not supposed to be doing this. I wasn't supposed to talk to anyone, just do it and get out. But I can't. I can't let you get hurt.
As Nat stood frozen in the stall, the horses whinnying in terror around her, she realized that Ben was behind the explosion. And that meant one thing. He was a rebel.
And she had no idea what to do now.
"I thought I might find you here."
The voice startled Nat, even if she knew he would find her. Ben emerged from the stable aisle, shadowed in the darkness. Nat knew she should feel scared, but she wasn't
"Why are you doing this?" Her throat was tight and her voice was strained. "Nicole's in there, all my friends are in there. Ben, the freaking king of Illea is in there. And because of you-" She gestured wildly. "They could die."
"How did you know it was me?" Ben asked softly.
"Because of what you said." She rested her hands on the gate to the stall, separating them.
"Well I didn't do it."
"Then what are you doing here, Ben?!" Nat crossed her arms. She didn't understand anything, especially her own feelings.
"No, that's not what I meant. I was supposed to set it off in the ballroom. But I couldn't. I couldn't be responsible for the deaths of those people. I couldn't maybe be responsible for your death. So call me a coward, but I couldn't do it. I set it off in the main hall instead. I can't even explain why I'm here."
Before Nat could reply, the eerie silence was broken as the doors of the stables were thrown open.
"Hide!" Ben pushed her down behind the stall gate.
"Hey, Ben! Watcha doin' in here?"
"I thought someone tried to hide in here. Some guards." Ben yelled quickly, his voice quavering slightly. "Why are you here, Adam?"
Nat tried to quiet her breathing, not wanting to find out what would happen to her if this Adam discovered her presence. She didn't want to, but she trusted Ben.
"Jimmy's wounded. His leg needs binding. Gunshot." The voice was getting closer now. "He can barely stand, much less walk. I have to get him out of here, so I thought we could take some of these marvelous creatures of the king's hands." The footsteps halted, right were Ben had been standing. Nat held her breath.
"That's terrible." Ben's voice was forced and nervous.
"What's even worse, is the bomb that was supposed to go off in the ballroom went off outside in the hall. The one you were supposed to set off."
"I-I made a mistake." Ben stammered.
"Your orders were clear, Ben. I shouldn't have chosen you. Not after what happened last time. Now move. I'm taking this horse."
The latch to the stall Nat hid in screeched open and began to open, before it banged shut.
"No, not that one!" Ben said frantically.
"Why not?" The voice of this Adam guy was skeptical.
"Uh…he's lame."
"And how'd you find that out, huh? What are you hiding?"
The stall gate was wrenched open. Nat fell forward with a startled cry.
"No!" Ben yelled, but it was too late.