DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of The Royals characters, however I own some original characters that you'll get to know them one by one.

Hi everyone,

I'm back with another chapter. Thank you for all the alerts and reviews, for all the excitement, I really appreciate it :)

Sooo I hope you enjoy this one!

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Chapter12_The Message

"Jasper?"

Jasper opened his eyes lazily and saw Kyle standing over him. He needed a moment to realize where he was and why Kyle was looking at him strangely. But then he heard a quiet groan coming from someone next to him. Eleanor was not only wrapping an arm around him, but her head was resting on his chest. Princess Eleanor was sleeping next to him. And then everything came back to him.

He whispered: "I'll be out in a minute." Kyle hesitantly turned around and walked out the room but Jasper knew they were going to have a long conversation later on. He sighed and focused on the beautiful girl who was still sleeping peacefully in his arms.

He didn't want to wake her but he didn't have a choice. They needed to get ready for what was going to happen next. He couldn't resist so he put his hand on her head and started caressing her hair. He called her name quietly: "Eleanor?"

At first, there was no sign of her waking up, but then he heard her groggy voice: "I'm up." He was tempted to stop playing with her hair but he couldn't put a stop to it. He let out: "Good morning, Princess."

Eleanor slowly looked up and locked eyes with him. She gave him a shy smile and said: "Good morning indeed." Jasper chuckled and even though he didn't seem to want to leave the bed, he said: "I should go talk to Kyle and you should get ready. We have a busy day."

She nodded and carefully pulled herself away from him and sat straight. Jasper got up and stretched his body before saying: "Come out for breakfast, alright?" Eleanor smiled from ear to ear and exclaimed: "Only if you make bacon and eggs!" He chuckled and said: "You got it."

He walked out the room and Eleanor rushed to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her hair. She wanted to look good, like she always tried when he was around, because she knew this might be the last time he would see her in person. And she wanted him to remember her in the best way possible.

Jasper walked in the kitchen and Kyle laughed out loud the moment he set eyes on his big brother. Jasper rolled his eyes and opened the fridge to get some bacon and eggs to cook for breakfast. Kyle finally stopped laughing and asked: "I figure you came to a conclusion?!"

Jasper nodded his head and said: "I have. You're right. I never wanted to be involved in this shit but I did whatever Carter asked because I can't say no to him." Kyle walked to him and put his hand on his shoulder and said: "It's going to be okay, J, I promise."

Jasper smiled and said: "If we stick to the plan, it will be." Kyle frowned as he watched Jasper fry bacons and asked: "What plan?" Jasper shrugged and said: "My plan. I always thought about the possibility of letting her out so I kind of had a plan in my pocket all along."

Kyle put two plates on the table and said: "So do tell." Jasper turned around and said: "Make it three." Kyle raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he added another plate to the table. Jasper offered with his back turned to him: "I'll tell you both about it after breakfast."

They both heard Eleanor's giddy voice: "And I'm starving!" Jasper only smiled at her but Kyle giggled and pulled a chair out for her saying: "Here you go, Princess." Eleanor gave him a toothy smile and sat down and a moment later Jasper put the fried bacon and eggs on the table and the trio started digging in.

After they were all finished, Jasper started talking: "So the thing is whenever we made contact outside, we hid our tracks pretty well and they couldn't find the source. I just figured we make another contact, this time directly to the palace, and don't use any protection. The time it takes to find us is only half an hour. So Kyle and I will get out of here in time and leave you to be found by them. In other words, we make it seem like we made a mistake."

Kyle nodded deep in thought and Eleanor asked: "What about Danny? Wouldn't he realize you made a mistake on purpose?" Jasper smiled at the hint of worry in her voice and explained: "I can handle Danny. I will delete the trace of our contact so he never finds out we initiated it. He just figures they eventually found us. And we tell him that we were nearly caught but escaped or something like that."

Kyle added: "And we need to clean any sign that we were here, right? We need to pack, J." Jasper nodded and said: "Yes, we have to search every inch of the house for any trace of us and we have to take any personal belongings we have here."

Eleanor offered suddenly: "And if they question me, I say I was alone in the cabin. And there was food and clothes but all the doors were locked. How about this, eh?" Jasper seemed to think it over and finally said: "Sounds good. The fridge is full, you have clothes in the closet, and if we empty the other room it would look like no one was ever here but you."

Kyle asked: "What about finger prints or shoe prints, huh?" Jasper stood up and put the dishes in the sink before saying: "Danny had thought about this part. He bought a unique cleaning product that we can spray on the walls or carpet or anything, and it would clean the prints and it wouldn't let the material absorb any prints for an hour. So we have to use it before sending the message to the palace."

Eleanor asked: "So when are you going to send a message?" Jasper knew the sooner the better since the Queen might do something that he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for. He said: "Kyle will start packing, and I'll make sure to check the cabin for anything that could link us to this. And you go to your room and check your pillow and mattress for any kind of hair that could be mine."

Kyle chuckled and mumbled: "Shouldn't have spent the night there, eh, pal?!" Jasper gave him a look but when he heard Eleanor's chuckles, he loosened up and shook his head a bit. Kyle walked out with a smile and left the two of them alone.

Eleanor said: "Off I go then…" But her feet didn't move an inch. Jasper walked towards her and said with a bitter smile: "I'm sorry Princess…" Eleanor looked down and said: "I know… But believe it or not, being away from the crowd, off the alcohol and drugs, I think it was… an experience that I needed."

Jasper smiled and said: "Well, not completely off the drug thing…" Eleanor chuckled and said: "Two joints don't count! But they were appreciated…." Jasper nodded his head and said: "I'm glad." Eleanor smiled and turned to go but hesitated and stayed saying: "I just don't understand one thing."

Jasper frowned and she asked: "What exactly did you or Danny want to accomplish by abducting me? Just posting pictures or videos online? What was the real catch?" Jasper knew what the answer was and he also knew the ultimatum for Danny's request was coming to an end but he shrugged and said:

"Beats me. He never told me much about that. I just… I simply followed him because I… It's hard for you to understand but I admired him growing up. I would've done anything he asked me to do and I'm so sorry it had to affect you…"

Eleanor nodded silently and gave him a weak smile before walking back towards her room to clean it up. Jasper sighed and closed his eyes for a moment to get a grip on what he had to do and soon the three of them were cleaning and packing until there was no trace of Jasper and Kyle visible to the naked eye.

Kyle moved their belongings to the car outside and Jasper found the cleaning product and started cleaning the house with it. He sprayed every wall, every floor, every sofa and table, and everything he could find.

Soon they were done and ready to initiate contact. The three of them gathered around Jasper's laptop, waiting for the message to be sent to the palace. The anticipation and anxiety in the room was overwhelming for all of them but they stayed quiet until the message was successfully sent.

Jasper wiped the sweat off his forehead before saying: "Now I need to clear any trace of me sending the message so Danny wouldn't find out." Eleanor asked doubtfully: "And then everything will be alright?" Jasper looked at her and let out: "I hope so."

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"Simon, please, calm down. Let's have some tea, shall we?" The Queen pleaded and the King accepted half-heartedly. He sat down and watched as Helena started pouring the tea into the cups herself. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the table, hoping his headache would go away.

Helena turned her head and looked at him. Knowing he wasn't watching her, she pulled the little bottle out of her pocket. She took a deep breath and squeezed it in her hand. The answer to all their misery was in that bottle. The key to bring her daughter back home was in that bottle. The answer to their unfair request was in that bottle.

But she also knew that the pain in her daughter's eyes was in that bottle. The look of emptiness in her son's eyes was in that bottle. The despair and sadness of a nation was in that bottle. And she was the one to make a decision, the decision.

The dilemma had been with her for seven days and it was time to put an end to it once and for all. She wanted to be able to ask Simon for help but she knew it wasn't possible. She felt their eyes on her the whole time. She felt their eyes on her right at that moment.

She wanted to be able to make a choice, right there and then, but she was far too weak. On one side there was her family, possibly without Eleanor, but on the other side was her family without Simon, with her kids losing their better parent.

She kept squeezing the bottle in her hand, hoping it would vanish, along all her problems but she could still feel the damn thing. She sighed quietly and popped the bottle open as quietly as she could. Her hand was shaking but she didn't care. Eleanor's face was in front of her and she would rather see it sad and empty than not seeing it at all.

She went to pour the poison in the cup that someone banged on the door. She gasped and saw Simon walk to the door and open it. Ted walked in saying: "Your Majesty, we were able to track them." Helena's fist loosened and the bottle hit the ground, shattering.

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Kyle had already said his goodbyes with Eleanor and went to wait for Jasper in the car. Jasper scratched his head and said awkwardly: "So I guess this is goodbye, huh?" Eleanor was looking down when she nodded in agreement.

Jasper put his hands into his pockets before talking quietly: "I gotta say, I'm glad I met you… I, uh, I wasn't…" Eleanor whispered: "Jasper, you don't have to say anything…" He walked a bit closer and went on: "You have a lot of fight in you, I admired that, I still do. I know I'm one of the reasons behind your suffering in this shithole and I don't blame you if you hate me… but you just have to know that I'm thankful to you… You made me see, you made me question what the hell I was doing and why."

Eleanor's eyes were tearing up and for once she didn't try to fight it. Jasper walked a couple of steps closer again and whispered: "This was not your fault. You do not deserve this, you hear me? You deserve to be happy…" Eleanor half-gasped as a tear rolled down on her cheek.

Jasper took her face in his hands and whispered: "I know I said we shouldn't do something we regret later on… But I just…" Eleanor looked into his eyes and knew what he was going to say before he said it: "I just want to kiss you goodbye…"

His face was only an inch apart from hers that they both heard a car speeding towards the road. Jasper pulled away and rushed to the window as Eleanor wiped the tears off her face. She heard Jasper's terrorized voice and froze in her place: "It's him."

Danny was there.

So what did you think? The excitement continues in the next chapter and hopefully you'll get to see if Jasper manages to free Eleanor or not!

Don't forget to leave a review!

Xoxo,

S