It had come as shock when someone knocked on her door. She answered it quickly after looking through the peep hole.

"Leo…" Helena said surprised as she opened her doo and invited him in.

He walked in and looked around.

"We are alone" She reassured him as she gestured for him to follow her.

They sat across from another.

"I tried to reach Hans, but his phone goes to voice mail. I have news" Leo said hoping she would share whatever she knew.

"I haven't been able to reach him either. What news" She asked hopeful?

"I think I found James" Leo said honestly. He was not sure why, but he did trust her.

"Oh my god. Did you find Alex" She asked almost in tears?

"I think so" He said smiling as he handed her his cell phone.

She looked at the picture and saw it was of James car. James was in the driver seat, looking back. An image was captured of a hand holding a book out to him. A child's hand.

"Alex…" Helena whispered as she touched the hand.

"I'm going to get him out" Leo shared.

"Isn't that dangerous" She asked scared?

"I've been watching him. I know his routine" He admitted making her tears fall.

"Bring him home safely, please" She begged as she wiped at her tears.

He nodded his head in a determined nod as he stood up ready to make his exit. He did not want to stay long in case she was being watched.

"I'm worried about Hans" She admitted.

"It's not like him to not return my calls" He agreed.

"What if…James…" She could not say the words. Her tears fell once again.

"Hans can take care of himself. We have to remember that" He tried reassuring her, but he admitted to himself, he was worried.

"Thank for coming to tell me about Alex. I…I am glad we can trust one another. To show you that you can trust me as well, I went to see Motaz and told him the truth about James. He believed me" She said looking relieved.

"Did you tell him about Antoinette" He asked suddenly wondering what would happen to her? He hated that he still cared.

"I mentioned that they are using her and Pierre for their own agenda" She admitted honestly.

"Did you mention that she is their inside person? Helena! Please tell me you warned them" He said hoping that she did the right thing no matter how incredibly difficult it was.

"She is my daughter" She replied angrily. Making her position clear on that matter.

"You better hope she does not get anyone killed" He said in disbelief as she stormed out, slamming the door behind them.

She let out the breath she did not realize she was holding as her thoughts went to Hans. She picked up her phone and called him again. Voicemail. Oh…no…please, she panicked.

Palace….

Pierre arrived back to his suite his face instantly not pleased when he saw the guilty look on the guard's face.

"I tried to stop her but she…" The young guard spoke rapidly. He was clearly distressed.

"It's fine. Leave us" He ordered as he walked in and saw Antoinette sitting comfortably as if she belonged there.

"What are you doing" He asked her not wanting to waste any time with pleasantries?

"Putting an end to this notion you seem to have in your head" She said confusing him.

"What are you talking…." He began to ask but stopped talking when he realized she held her phone up and began to play a video.

The video was all about them. Him and her. What a beautiful couple they make. How proud Genovia is of their future King and Queen. When will the wedding be? How quickly will they have children? It went on and on. Network after network as she continued to play each video.

"Shut it off" He yelled angrily.

She shut it off and put the phone down as she looked him in the eyes.

"I'm not marrying you" He said determined.

"Yes, you are. And if you do not…if you actually- believe you have a say in this…let me remind you of who we are dealing with. Your father is fighting for his life in that room" She said as she stood up and approached him.

"Don't come near me" He warned her. He knew what she was saying was true, but he could not pretend. He just could not.

"I'm not the bad guy. I am trying to help you. Why do you have to be so stubborn? Do you want them to hurt everyone else" She challenged him?

"Of-course not" He spat.

"Then stop…stop fighting this…them. You won't win" She said trying to get through to him.

He sat for a moment to think but he could not think. His thoughts were all over the place. And, yet he knew she was saying the truth. His father was fighting for his life, his mother running for her life and his brother was sent to another country.

"How can you just go along with this" He asked her as a wave of fear and desperation flooded through his body?

"I have no choice. You have no choice. We are in this together" She said with a calmness that he did not feel.

He watched her as she opened the door to his suite, smiled at the bodyguards and said, "the Crown Prince and I are retiring for the night. It's been a long day for us."

Pierre caught the confused look on his guards face right before Antoinette shut the door.

"Why don't you go shower? It will make you feel better" She encouraged him.

He sighed deeply and then went into his bedroom. He needed space. He needed to think.

Antoinette grabbed her phone and typed in a message, pushing send as she sat back and glanced at the bedroom door. She hoped that Pierre finally understood what was going to happen. It would make life easier for all of them if he did. She truly did not want anyone else to get hurt.

Across the Palace….

The pain in the back of his head made it hurt when he opened his eyes, but he struggled to do it. He had to take in as much detail as possible. His eyes squinted as he tried to focus his vision.

"Don't bother it will only hurt more" the man said as he sat at a computer.

Hans looked down when he could not move and realized he was tied to a chair.

"You won't get away with this" Hans managed to say although his breathing was labored.

"I already have" The man said without turning around. He continued to focus on the computer.

Hans struggled to stay awake, to look around, to take in as much detail as possible but eventually it all blurred and then turned to darkness.

Cabin….

Clarisse dozed off on the bed not long after being on the phone with Helena when the door flew open startling her.

"Joseph" She called out terrified that Mabrey men found them somehow.

"You made a phone call" Joseph said angrily but trying his hardest not to lose his temper.

Clarisse looked at her phone and knowing she was wrong nodded her head yes.

"Pack your stuff. We're leaving" Joseph said with gritted teeth.

Doing as she was told, Clarisse packed her things and then followed Joseph out to the car. It was cold and dark out. She felt tears form in her eyes as they got in the car and drove away from their safe, warm cabin.

"I'm sorry" Clarisse whispered once they were far enough away.

"Who did you call" Joseph asked sternly?

"Helena" She admitted.

Joseph shook his head in disbelief.

"She is on our side. She went to see Motaz and told him that her husband is involved with Mabrey" Clarisse explained hoping Joseph would not be so angry with her. She hated it when they fought.

"You cannot trust anyone Clarisse. I have told you that since day one" Joseph spat angrily. He did not mean to be so upset but he was worried for her safety.

Tears trickled down Clarisse cheeks as she whispered, "what do you expect me to do Joseph? Never trust anyone ever again. What kind of life is that?"

Joseph sighed deeply and after a few moments once he felt he was calmer replied, "I expect you to be honest with me. To not do things behind my back. I am trying to protect you. Please let me."

"Alright, I will. I won't do it again" Clarisse promised as she wiped at her wet eyes.

"I believe you, but I still want your phone" Joseph said seriously. He was not going to take any chances.

Clarisse looked at him for a long moment and then took her phone out of her purse and gave it to him.

Joseph took it and put it into his jacket pocket.

The rest of the ride was long and quiet. Neither speaking. Both lost in thought and worry.

After what seemed like hours, they pulled up in front of a lake house. They got out both still quiet and carried their bags inside. Joseph had shut both phones off a long time ago and stopped to buy a new phone and had that on in case they needed to make a call.

Once inside, Clarisse looked around as she noticed how big and beautiful the place was. She wondered who it belonged to but decided it was best not to ask.

Joseph showed Clarisse her room who went inside instantly, shutting the door and going straight to bed. She was tired and emotional. Her tears fell instantly as she laid her head on the pillow. She was worried. Worried about her children, worried about Rupert and worried about what was going to happen if she was unable to return to the Palace. Pierre was young and all alone. She wanted to be there for her son.

Joseph sat in the living room in the dark as he stared into the fireplace, lost in thought. He felt bad for the way he snapped at Clarisse, but he could not understand why she would make a call behind his back. To Helena out of all people! He sighed and put his back as his heart told me, "she wants to go home. she told you that already, but YOU made the decision that it was not SAFE. Maybe, just maybe, this is about what YOU want and not what she needs! Enough, Joseph hissed out loud as he sat up and rubbed his hands over his face. He stood up and began to walk around making his rounds. At the end, he peeked inside of Clarisse new room and saw she was asleep curled up in the fetal position. His heart broke. She fell asleep in tears. He knew that from all the years of being her bodyguard. He watched her for a long time, his tears filling his eyes. He had promised her a long time ago that he would protect her, her children, her family and he failed. Hans words began to echo in his head. Maybe he was right. Maybe he was too distracted and focused on her. The king was shot because he sacrificed himself for his wife. The King was obviously not a faithful husband, but he loved her, took a bullet for her, would have died for her. Who was he to stand in the middle of their marriage? He shut the door and went back downstairs. He made sure all the windows and doors were locked before he sat in the dark with his gun and his phone in front of the fireplace. His mind wandered to the past. In that same moment, Clarisse was also dreaming about the past.

"Must you give the nanny such a difficult time" Rupert stated clearly unhappy that his day had to be interrupted to deal with his difficult wife. More and more she had been behaving unusual for someone who should know better.

"I am not giving her a hard time. I simply asked to spend time with my children before their bedtime. She purposely disregarded my wishes" Clarisse snapped upset. She was tired of being portrayed as the difficult wife of the future King.

"She did not. They fell asleep. It happens. Please do not be so difficult" Rupert replied clearly disappointed in her.

"It happens all the time then. She always does this. I have asked nicely for weeks. I will not be denied my children any longer" Clarisse snapped making her position clear.

Rupert glared at her in a displeased manner, but she did not give in, she rose her chin in defiance.

"Fine. If you are unhappy with nanny, then find a new one. Until then, I do not want to be disrupted out of another meeting because my wife cannot control her temper."

Clarisse squinted her eyes at him angrily but remained silent for several moments before replying, "very well. I will find another nanny on my own since my husband clearly does not want to be bothered." With that she stormed out leaving Rupert as he replied, "that is not what I said."

Once she was back with her children, Clarisse observed them as they slept in their beds with their favorite stuffed animals in their arms. Pierre had a whale and Phillippe had a monkey. She smiled at the memory. Joseph…her heart fluttered. He had given it to the boys when he took them to a private showing at a zoo. Clarisse closed her eyes as she chastised herself for thinking of her bodyguard in that way. In what way, her mind challenged her? She bit her lip as her heart replied, you know what way. Clarisse pushed those thoughts aside and thought, no. He is my friend, our friend and…no matter what I feel…he can only ever be a friend.