Chapter Thirteen: Party Crashers...

Barbie squeezed Skipper's hand as they walked down the elegant hallway towards the large double doors where Queen Cecelia was smoothing out her brand-new ballgown. They approached the queen together, quickly smiling at the one member of the royal family that tried to connect with them. "You ready?" Barbie asked her paternal grandmother, excitement vibrating throughout her entire body.

"As ready as I will ever be with these things." Queen Cecelia sighed as she took her granddaughters' hands into her own. "I am afraid that these events get mighty boring after awhile. I just wish something exciting will happen at one of these events!"

"Famous last words..." Skipper smirked, her mind most likely recalling what typically happened when the Roberts' siblings tried to do anything fun and relaxing.

Before the queen could ask what she meant, her assistant alerted her to the fact that it was time to enter the ballroom. Releasing their hands, she turned to face the large double doors, striding forward even as an announcer announced her entrance to the entire congregation. A minute later Barbie approached the door as the same announcer declared her presence to everyone there. "Presenting Princess Barbara and Princess...Skipper?" The sisters choice to ignore the confusion in his face gracefully entering the room, before moving to stand next to their grandmother.

King Henry stepped forward, and promptly launched into a long boring welcome speech that Barbie may have tuned out because it was far too long winded for her liking. Eventually he stopped talking and everyone began to move about and mingling. Queen Cecelia touched their elbows, a grin crossing her features. "Come... there is a few people I believe you should meet." With that said the three royals slipped into the crowd. After awhile, they approached two men that were sipping at some kind of punch.

"Barbie, Skipper, this is your father's cousin Nicholas and his best friend Tobias." Queen Cecelia gestured at the two older men.

"I see... my cousin drops off the face of the planet just so that he can have multiple heirs for my uncle's throne." Disgust edged Nicholas's voice as he eyed the girls with disdain.

Tobias chuckled as he stretched out a hand to the newly realized royals. "Do not mind him, Nicholas is like that with everyone."

"Nicholas?" Skipper didn't clarify why she was saying his name as if it were a question, though she did glance over at her elder sister.

Barbie tilted her head to the side even as she innocently asked a rather childish question. "By chance it's not Nicholas like in Jolly Old Saint Nick?"

A smile twitched on his lips, threatening to flip his frown upside, before he quickly reverted back to the scowl he always had in place. "I have never thought of that." Tobias and Queen Cecelia both looked at him in confusion upon picking up the sarcasm in his voice.

Just then two young men approached, bowing to the queen and her companions, before shyly asking the girls if they would like to dance. They gracefully accepted and were risked off to the dance floor.


King Henry watched silently as his wife introduced their granddaughters to a few people, before the twin sons of a baron risked them off to the dance floor. After awhile he found himself struggling to keep track of where the young inexperienced in his mind girls had vanished to. No wait, Skipper was dancing with Nicholas, and the appeared to be talking animatedly about something... something that had done the impossible and brought a smile to his nephew's face. Shaking his head, he turned to see if he couldn't spot his queen amongst the crowd...

BOOM! Every single entrance, and thus exits, to the large room exploded open as armed men poured into the room. Eyes widening, King Henry rushed towards where one of his security details was stationed nearby to figure out how this happened... as well as order an evacuation. "Get everyone out of here!"

"Yes sire!" The young woman saluted him, before barking his orders into her walkie-talkie.

Spinning around, he tried to see if he couldn't spot his family in the chaos. "I have my orders to tell you that tonight your reign ends. And my employer will be taking the throne now." King Henry glanced behind him, his eyes widening in shock upon seeing that one of the armed men had snuck past his security and had a gun pressed against his back. All he could do now was pray that his family could somehow escape unscathed from this disaster.


Barbie huffed slightly as she scooped a large armful of skirt up. The only plus side that she could see is that since it was her Aunt Millicent that had made the gown specifically for her, which meant that once she found the hidden zipper, she could lose the large skirt for a much shorter skort. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Tobias and Nicholas caught up to her and her sister.

"Quickly! There is a secret passageway behind the old Royal Family Tree Tapestry!" Tobias swept the mentioned tapestry revealing the suspiciously already opened entrance.

Nicholas narrowed his eyes, frustration edging his voice. "I will not hide. If my uncle is overtaken the throne goes to me until Cousin George's eldest is of age to take the throne."

Skipper placed a hand that was temporarily devoid of a bundle of the heavy fabric that her skirt was made from unto Barbie's shoulder. "Why do you know about this passageway?"

"Why, Prince George, Nicholas, and I used to explore these tunnels all the time." Tobias looked surprised that she was questioning his knowledge of the palace.

Nicholas nodded in agreement, his frown deepening. "Tis true. The three of us explored a great many tunnels in our younger years." As he spoke, his fingers twitched nervously.

Barbie nodded in understanding, before taking the first few steps into the tunnel. "I believe someone should track down the rest of my siblings to make sure that they escape before harm comes to them as well."

"I will go and fetch the others. You two must stick together though. Do not forget that you have the greatest treasure in the world already with you." Nicholas disappeared down the hall after his ominous, and slightly odd warning.

"Yes yes... let's get going if you two are to be saved from these barbarians." Tobias waved the departure of his best friend off, ushering the sisters further into the tunnel, before closing the entrance behind himself.

A/N: Done! Finally! Don't...don't ask why this took so long. Or where Queen Cecelia is... she's somewhere else obviously.

Reviews:

Barbie Genevieve(1): Thank you!

Barbie Genevieve (2): When I said that I didn't have writer's block... I was being sarcastic. Sorry for the confusion... and again sorry that this is so late. Oops on my part!

Review!

SkyTalon