Chapter 20

Iris

'NO!' The moment Drake's eyes closed, was the moment everything went down in a haze. 'DRAKE!' Jimmy yelled as well, while supporting Emma. I knew I could only call for one person… one person to help us. 'BASTIEN, HELP!' I screamed on the top my lungs. I hardly recognised my own voice… I sounded so terrified, and that was also the moment I realised I couldn't help Drake by being terrified. I had to take action. I saw Bastien running up to us, and I quickly looked at Jimmy. 'Jimmy we have to leave,' I said, 'we have to get them to safety!' I saw Jimmy's eyes grew darker, as the fire inside him lit up. Before he could reply, Emma let out a loud groan. 'MOTHER OF GOD THIS HURTS, WHERE'S THE SON OF A BITCH WHO SHOT ME, I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIS ASS!' 'Em!' I called relieved, seeing she hadn't fainted. As Drake was shot right above his heart, Emma was shot in her hip. Jimmy was pressing the wound, and I was still pressing Drake's wound.

Bastien fell down next to me, examining Drake. 'This isn't good, you have to get out of here. NOW!' He ordered, and helped me lift Drake. 'His and Emma's wounds need to be cleaned as soon as possible!' He looked at Jimmy. 'Take Emma, Iris and I will take Drake.' Even though I was supposed to help, Bastien lifted Drake as if he weighed nothing, and ran towards the church doors. 'I WASN'T READY TO LEAVE, THE SON OF A BITCH IS STILL HERE!' Emma yelled at Jimmy when he ran after Bastien, carrying her in his arms. 'My love, you were shot,' Jimmy said, trying to keep his calm for Emma, yet I heard his voice tremble slightly. 'We'll avenge you later, right now we need to clean these wounds before it gets infected.' Emma looked at me, and I shook my head. 'I'm way too happy you're alive, let it go.' She nodded, and stuck out her hand. I grabbed it and felt a slight lump in my throat.
No, I couldn't let the emotions in yet. Emma survived… Drake will too. He has to.

While we were running, I passed Maxwell, Tim and Hana, who were fighting like their lives depended on it, and I yelled at them how they had to be careful and how we would be seeing each other later. Finally I passed my parents, who had a few bruises here and there, but the pile of assassins was bigger… and I couldn't be prouder to be their daughter. 'I love you!' I called at them. 'We love you!' I heard vaguely, because I'd already run out of the door. Bastien had put Drake in the front seat of his car, and buckled him up. 'The bullet has passed through him, it's no longer in. From the looks of it, it hasn't touched any vitals. He's unconscious, but his heartbeat is okay. Make sure you clean it, keep pressing on it and I will send someone over to stitch the wound once this is over.' Jimmy nodded. 'Hana can do that, she has a medical background.' I shook my head, 'is there anything that woman can't do?' I asked rhetorically, as I helped Jimmy put Emma in the back. Jimmy smiled half-heartedly.

Bastien gave Jimmy the keys to his car and the safehouse he'd told us to go to, but Jimmy passed those on to me. 'Iris is the James Bond around here,' he said, and got in the back with Emma. I quickly walked over to the drivers seat. 'I apologise in advance for any speeding tickets, Bastien.' Bastien smiled slightly. 'If you save Drake, I owe you.' I shook my head. 'We owe you a lot.' I jumped in, adjusted my seat, and drove off. I wanted to shift gears, but the car was an automatic. 'Damn it, now I'll never feel as cool as I did last time,' I tried to joke to lift the tension.

Emma laughed slightly, then groaned because it hurt. 'Well, Jimmy said that you jumped over a truck last time, so I'm guessing it's hard to beat anyway.' I raised my eyebrows. 'It was a small truck. I drove onto ladders, making it easy. He was the one who fucking somersaulted out of the car. Who does that?!' Emma sighed. 'The man I intended to marry today.' I tried to avoid a hobble in the road, yet wasn't able to, so I told Emma to brace herself and Jimmy to hold her. I tried to drive over the hobble as quickly as I could, when I didn't hear Emma screaming, but I heard Drake stirring awake. 'Fucking hell,' he groaned as he grabbed his shoulder, and looked up. 'Drake!' I said, incredibly relieved. He looked up at me, his face pale and his posture weak. 'Valentine, what…' I shook my head. 'Bastien helped us get you in the car. Emma and you were shot, Jimmy and I have to clean it as soon as possible. The bullets have gone through you, but we need to get to the safehouse.'

Drake was trying to nod, but seemed like it hurt too much. 'I love you, Drake, I love you so much,' I said, feeling the lump return in my throat. I swallowed it, I couldn't go soft yet. 'Don't worry so much, Valentine. I'm still here to become your grumpy and sarcastic husband one day,' he said, his voice slightly joking yet incredibly weak. I let out a soft and shaky laugh, relieved he felt good enough to joke, yet felt terrible he was shot on my behalf. 'Only you could make a marriage proposal when you were shot ten minutes ago,' I said softly. His eyes tried to catch mine, but he was too weak. 'This wasn't one. You'd hopefully be smiling happier if it was.' I smiled. Jimmy gave me further directions, and Drake and Emma were groaning due to the pain at times, making my heart ache. They saved us. They jumped in front of us…

The moment we'd arrived at the safehouse, Jimmy and I traded places. He helped Drake get in the house, and I helped Emma get in. 'Of course you're not okay… but I'm so glad that the bullet didn't hit another part of you, Em,' I said, as I held her close. 'I wouldn't know what to do without you.' Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't mean this in any mean way to Drake or anything… but I'm glad he jumped in front of you and survived. I wouldn't know what to do without you either.' The lump returned, and this time I let it. My eyes teared up, and so did Emma's. I led her to the couch, and helped her. She lay down on her right hip, the hip that wasn't shot, so Jimmy could have a good view of the wound. He'd helped Drake get down on the other couch. I pressed a kiss on Emma's forehead, and ran through the house, searching for the first aid kit. 'Jimmy, any luck?' I called. 'No I haven't found any- ah here it is!' He called back. I ran over to the bathroom, and he held up five first aid kits. 'This must be enough,' he said, frowning. I chuckled and nodded. We each grabbed one, and I walked up to Drake as Jimmy walked up to Emma. 'Jimmy, do you know how to do this?' Emma asked, slightly sceptically. He shook his head. 'No idea, I'll figure something out.' Emma shook her head and guided him through the process, making him start off with an alcohol swipe.

I looked at Drake, and saw that his eyes were light as honey. 'You've saved my life,' I whispered as I sat down next to him, feeling my eyes sting as I saw his blood-soaked suit. I started unbuttoning it, and helped him to get out of his upper clothing. 'Of course I did, Valentine,' he said, his voice still weak. 'Life without you is worthless in my eyes… you know that.' The lump in my throat grew so big and painful, that my words were hardly coming out. 'The moment your eyes closed… Drake… I…' He shook his head and pulled my face closer with the hand he could still use. 'I'm not leaving you behind, Iris. Ever.' He closed the gap between our lips, and for a moment I lost myself in our kiss, until I remembered I had to clean to wound immediately. I pulled back, looking in his loving eyes, and sighed. 'This is going to hurt.' Before I could even take the alcohol swipe out of the wrapper, Emma started swearing. 'Jesus Christ this hurts!'

I frowned. 'Her level of pain is quite… high… that really means something.' Drake frowned even deeper. 'Son of a bitch,' he sighed. I started cleaning his wound, and he clenched his fist, biting down on his knuckles. 'It's allowed to yell once in a while,' Jimmy told him, while looking worriedly. 'No, I'm ok- FUCK!' I flinched slightly. I'd gotten to the wound itself. 'I'm so sorry, I'm trying to be as careful as I can,' I said, and worked even more careful. Drake shook his head. 'You're doing good, Valentine. It just…' His eyes grew slightly darker, and I nodded. 'I understand.' Jimmy and I worked in silent for a little while, making sure we got their fronts and backs, and we bandaged Drake and Emma until Hana would be here to stitch them up. 'I can't believe that the both of you got shot… and you're actually okay,' Jimmy said, incredulously, while shaking his head. 'No shock… no other bleedings… nothing.' Emma frowned. 'Okay? We're okay? Look at my beautiful wedding dress! Someone is going to pay for what he's done.' She growled. 'I'm glad to be alive… so I can catch the son of a bitch who hurt us.' Drake nodded agreeingly, but Jimmy and I suddenly caught each other's eyes, and our eyes both widened. 'Constantine,' we said in unison and jumped up.

'I should have listened to my father… what does that mean?' He said. I shook my head. 'Maybe Constantine knew more… and tried to fix things in his own terrible way.' 'What could he possibly know?' Drake asked, slightly angry. I lowered down again to sit on the ground between his legs, putting my head on his knee, reminding him to keep calm. 'Maybe we should be looking into Cordonia's enemies,' Emma said, frowning. She tried to sit up, and shrieked due to the pain. Jimmy rushed to her side and helped her lay down again. 'I'm sorry my love, sitting won't do for a while,' he said softly, stroking her head. She sighed. Finally, her eyes fluttered close, and Drake didn't join much later. They'd lost a lot of blood, and had fallen asleep due to the tiredness. I checked his pulse every two minutes, but his heart was beating steadily. I caught Jimmy's eyes, as he looked up as well, looking worn out.

I stood up softly, and sat down next to Jimmy on the floor, resting my head onto his shoulder, and he put his head onto mine while grabbing my hand. Jimmy and I had been through a lot together, and he'd grown to be one of my favourite people in the world. I knew I would always have him in my corner, and he knew I'd always be in his. Going through this together too, our loved ones being shot on our behalf… once again broke us together.

At first, we sat there in silence, but then the lump returned and I let a tear fall down my cheek. Finally. 'They could've died…' I said softly. Jimmy nodded, ever so slightly, and I felt his breath hitch. 'I… they saved us, and it's a miracle that nothing else happened to them.' I bit my lip to contain my real cries. I was only human… seeing the love of my life and my best friend get shot… I was actually proud of myself not sitting there, sobbing uncontrollably. 'I will have to return to the palace tomorrow, to do interviews and show them we are not afraid to back down,' he said softly, and pinched my hand slightly. 'Even though I'm terrified.' I shook my head slowly. 'Jimmy, that's normal. God, I'm utterly terrified.' I sighed. 'The only thing we can do, is to keep our heads high, get Emma and Drake to heal, maybe get all the houses to pledge loyalty to their King… and research why this has happened.' Jimmy was silent for a short while. 'I need to talk to my father, find out what the reasons behind this action were.' I nodded. 'Bastien said he would call once everything had settled down again, right?' He nodded as a reply. 'Okay… we can ask him about the King Father then,' I said, and looked at Drake with a sigh. 'Maybe we should take them to the bedrooms? Make sure they can rest more comfortably,' Jimmy suggested. I nodded. He smiled half-heartedly, and kissed the top of my head. 'We'll get through this, Iris. We always will.' I smiled. 'The four of us can get through anything.'

After giving his hand one last reassuring pinch, we stood up and wiped our eyes. I took a deep breath, and was about to wake Emma up to help her move, when we heard knocking on the door. 'Guys, GUYS, ARE YOU OKAY?!' We heard Maxwell's voice. Drake and Emma almost shot up, groaning loudly. 'Hold on, Maxwell!' Jimmy called, and ran over to the door. He opened the door, and Hana, Tim and Maxwell burst in, looking worried. 'Drake, Emma, are you okay?' Hana shrieked as she looked at the both of them. 'Meh, piece of cake,' Emma said, waving her hand. 'Oh stop it, it's a miracle they're okay,' I said, glaring at Emma, who slightly smiled. 'Well I'm Dutch, we don't give up that easily, and Drake is half Texan. They hardly ever die, they just pour whiskey on the wound and be done with it.' Drake nodded agreeingly. 'Sounds accurate.' Jimmy and I glared at the both of them, as they smiled innocently. 'Ah, they're still as smug as always,' Maxwell said, with a slight nod. 'Definitely, which doesn't mean they're not in pain, don't believe those faces,' I said, with my eyebrows raised. I walked up to Tim, and wrapped my arms around him. 'Thank God you guys are okay. Are mom and dad-' I started, but he finished my sentence while pulling me into the hug tightly. 'They're doing okay. Many bruises, but they managed to save a lot of nobles.' We smiled at each other, our eyes speaking our thoughts. We were proud to be Valentines. Or… one time only... we were proud to be mom and dad's Valentwins.

'Did anyone else get hurt?' Jimmy asked worried. Maxwell and Hana exchanged a look. 'Bastien was shot… but he's at the hospital, he'll be okay,' Maxwell said. Hana nodded. 'Kiara was stabbed in her stomach, she's in the hospital too. She'll be okay, but she's not doing great at the moment.' Jimmy and I walked over to Maxwell and Hana and wrapped our arms around them. 'We're so glad you guys are okay,' I said, my eyes watery. Hana hugged me tightly, and whispered the same thing about us. Finally, she wiped her eyes, took a deep breath and looked at Drake and Emma. 'Let's stitch you guys up.' Drake's face fell and Emma rippled her nose. 'Nah, we're good.' Hana shook her head. 'No way.'

As Hana went to work on Drake and Emma, Maxwell, Tim, Jimmy and I went over to the kitchen to talk about the attack. 'Seeing them talk like that already, they were immensely lucky, weren't they?' Maxwell said surprised. 'And they're tough as nails, if a bullet won't kill them… I'm not sure what will,' Jimmy said, his voice slightly loving. I nodded agreeingly, then heard Drake curse from the living room. 'Fucking hell!' I frowned. 'Guys, how long should we stay here?' I asked. Tim and Maxwell eyed each other. 'Bastien said a minimum of two days, if Drake and Emma are able to be moved by then.' 'I have to get back tomorrow, no matter what, but I'd be surprised if those two stubborn heads won't be dragging themselves back to the palace in two days,' Jimmy said, his eyebrows raised. Tim and Maxwell chuckled. 'If the situation wasn't so dire I would've made so many remarks already,' Maxwell admitted. I nodded agreeingly. 'Emma is furious at those assassins, because her wedding dress was ruined. Don't try and joke, she'll murder you instead.' Tim smiled. 'That's Emma all right.'

'Okay, so… we'll stay here for two days, and then what? We have to research this, right?' Maxwell asked. 'I'm going to see my father, to find out what he knows, and maybe he's told Regina something too. We'll go from there, search in the books. My father kept talking about not marrying commoners, maybe the books say something about that,' Jimmy said. I nodded. 'And I'm going to call Olivia tomorrow, see if she can find something about commoners in the government as well. When we were in Lythikos, I saw that her library was almost as big at Piloude itself.' Maxwell nodded. 'Lythikos has the biggest library in all of Cordonia.'

'Good, so there's the plan. We'll make sure that Cordonia knows that we're not going to back down in any way. We'll fight, until the end,' Jimmy said determinedly. I nodded, and peeked around the corner, seeing Hana stitch up Drake. I felt a fire arise in my body. A fire even more heated than when Jimmy and I were set up before.
This fire was lit to avenge us all… and save Cordonia.