AN: So... This chapter is sorta shorter, but action-filled... Not really EXACTLY how I had wanted it to go, but I'm satisfied. I think it ends on a weird scene, but to be quite honest with you, I just got tired of writing, but wanted to post something. So... I cut a scene in half cause I liked the line I ended on. And if you don't, well, I'm okay with that. :-)

Chapter 22

"My lord will enjoy you," the man said quietly, his evil smile widening. "Don't you agree?"

"I do," said a voice from behind Georgie. She spun around and saw a second man standing there. "Yes, yes. I think she will make an excellent addition to his collection," he said menacingly as he circled Georgie, taking in her full appearance. Her hand went instinctively to her side where her dagger was hidden beneath the folds of her dress. Peter had insisted that they all be armed during the party in case of an attack. She had never been more grateful to have listened to him than she was now.

Although there are two of them and only one of me. How will anything help me now? she thought, her heart racing in fear. If only there were some way to alert Edmund and Peter, but if I scream these men will surely kill me!

"What do you want from me?" Georgie asked, hoping her voice didn't convey the intense fear she was feeling.

"Keep it down, O Princess, or we will be forced to ensure your silence," the second man hissed, pointing his curved knife closer to her. "Our lord wishes to have you and has paid us very handsomely to bring you to him. He feels you owe him a debt," the first man said low, a wicked gleam in his eye as he came closer to Georgie.

"You'll never take me!" Georgie whispered angrily. Her fear had been replaced by a deep loathing for these men and a fury she had not felt in years.

The second man chuckled quietly and said, "But I believe we already have!" He grabbed Georgie's arm, jerking her closer to him and covering her mouth with his dirty hand. The quick motion took Georgie by surprise, causing her to drop her crown she had been holding, a loud clatter sounding as it landed on the floor. The two men froze, fearful that someone might have heard the noise.

A light knock sounded on the door and Edmund's voice called from behind it, "G? Are you okay in there?" Georgie's eyes widened as the man holding her tightened his grip on her face as he hissed, "Answer him. Tell him you are fine. No tricks or those words will be your last." He slowly removed his hand from her mouth, allowing her to speak.

"I'm fine, Peter," she called, her voice shaking from the tip of the knife's blade the man had pressed against her throat.

"So you told her about her crown?" Peter asked his brother. He and Edmund were seated in the sitting room while Susan, Lucy and Georgie had gone to their rooms to change from the party. The five had decided to walk to the beach and watch the sun rise, celebrating the beginning of Georgie's birthday.

Edmund nodded. "She took it pretty well. After she quit yelling at me, that is," he chuckled.

"So are you and she-" Peter began, but trailed off when Edmund shook his head.

"I haven't officially asked her yet. But I will," he added, glancing at Georgie's room and smiling.

Lucy came out of her room, followed shortly by Susan, both wearing simple linen shifts. The four began discussing the party and gossiping about the various guests they had encountered. Lucy was complaining about the "dreadful Lady Ida" who had danced several times with the prince from Terebinthia and how Lucy had been unable to dance with him at all. Her complaints earned her several ribbing remarks from her brothers before they heard a loud clatter from Georgie's room. The four turned towards her room in surprise.

Edmund stood and walked to Georgie's door, knocking lightly and calling to her, "G? Are you okay in there?" There was a brief moment of silence before she called from her room, "I'm fine, Peter."

The siblings exchanged confused glances, Susan asking, "Peter? Why would she call you Peter? You'd think she would know your voice from his. Did she drink too much wine tonight?"

"No," Edmund said, turning slowly and reaching to his side for his sword. "Something's wrong. Someone must be in there with her." Peter stood quickly and unsheathed his sword, Susan and Lucy jumping up as well.

"What do we do?" Susan asked frantically.

Edmund put his finger to his lips, motioning for her to stay quiet, before calling out, "Okay, Georgiana. We're all ready to leave when you are." Turning to his siblings, he whispered, "Peter, on my signal enter her room. Do whatever you need to do, just make sure they don't hurt her. Distract them. I'm going through Lucy's room and the connecting door to see if I can sneak up on them. Lucy, go alert the guards to find Captain Perth."

"What about me?" Susan asked, her voiced laced with concern and eagerness to help.

"I may need you after we get her out. You remember how she was when this happened before," Edmund said. Susan had explained to him how upset and scared Georgie had been after seeing a man killed in front of her when they were at Anvard. Edmund was scared she may see another person killed tonight.

I know she will, if they lay a hand on her, he thought angrily.

Please let Edmund understand my message! Georgie thought frantically. The man who held her had replaced his hand over her mouth, tightening his grip on her as he asked quietly, "You took care enough of those guards below, right?"

The other man nodded and replied, "I did. Ran them both through and moved them in the shadows. We should be fine leaving the way we came in."

"Good, let's go then." He pulled Georgie towards the window when the door suddenly swung open with a loud bang as it hit against the wall. Peter stood in the doorway, his sword drawn, looking more fearsome than Georgie had ever seen him. The man holding Georgie gripped her even tighter and placed his knife tight against her throat.

"One wrong move, O King, and the princess dies," he growled. Peter stayed still, his sword lowering infinitesimally as he saw Georgie's eyes widen in fear. The other man, who was closer to the door, turned towards the king and drew his own sword and pointed it at Peter.

"Alone, are you O King? Where are your lovely sisters? I would imagine Lord Br-" the other man was quickly cut off by the one holding Georgie.

"Quiet you fool!" he hissed.

"Lord Brin?" Peter asked, his voice hard with anger. "Is that who you're working for?" The man standing closer to Peter scowled, knowing it was his fault the king had figured it out.

"Kill him," the man holding Georgie ordered.

"I don't think that would be wise," a quiet and dangerous voice came from behind Georgie and her captor. Edmund! her mind screamed. The man spun around, moving Georgie with him, as he faced a murderous looking Edmund. His sword was pointed at Georgie's captor as he demanded, "Release her and I might let you live longer than I plan to at this moment."

The man holding Georgie pushed the knife harder against her throat and said, "King Edmund! I see you survived your accident!" Georgie felt a sting of pain as the blade pressed into her skin, knowing it had been broken. Edmund's face tightened as he saw a tiny trickle of blood run down her neck.

"Peter," he called to his brother, his voice shaking from fear and anger. Georgie heard a brief movement and a swoosh behind her, followed by a loud thud, before she felt her captor's hold on her loosen, the knife against her throat moving away. She seized the opportunity and spun out of the man's grip and faced him, grabbing her dagger as she moved and pressing it to the side of the man. Peter was standing behind the man, his sword pointed at the man's back. Georgie's eyes blazed with hatred as she stared at the man who had caused her so much pain. He had shot Edmund, made her fearful for her life, and hurt the people she loved.

The man leered at her, a mixture of hatred and fear lurking in his eyes, as he said tauntingly, "I now see why my lord wanted you, O Princess. You're a feisty-" The man was cut off as Georgie plunged it into the man's side, killing him. He fell to the floor at her feet, his dead eyes open in shock from his fatal blow. Georgie stared down at the dead man for several moments before the realization of what she did came over her.

"Georgiana?" Peter asked, his voice thick with concern. He had remembered how she had reacted to seeing the man Susan had shot years ago and was worried she was having a similar reaction. Georgie slowly looked up at Peter and saw he had blood on him as well. She looked to his left and saw the second man sprawled on the floor behind Peter, blood pouring from a wound at his throat. Gasping, she stepped back away from the bloody scene.

"G? Are you alright?" Edmund asked from behind her. She slowly turned and looked at him, his face full of concern and worry for her. Georgie looked down at her hands, her right one still holding the dagger, and saw they were covered in blood. She quickly dropped the dagger and stared at her bloody hands. I killed someone, she thought, a tiny tear trickling down her cheek.

"G, no," Edmund ordered firmly as he stepped closer to her. Georgie looked up slowly at him, her face blank in shock. "Georgiana, don't. You did nothing wrong," Edmund said, grasping her shoulders tightly.

"The blood..." Georgie trailed off. Edmund put his hand behind her head and pulled her close to him in a tight embrace.

"Edmund, get her out of here now," Peter said. Edmund kept his arm tight around Georgie as he led her out of the room, Peter following close behind.

When the three walked into the sitting room, Susan and Lucy were gone. Edmund led Georgie to a chair and sat her down, crouching in front of her.

"Peter," he said, his eyes not leaving Georgie's blank face. "Will you go in my room and bring me a bowl of water? There's still some in there from this morning." As Peter walked out of the sitting room, Edmund placed his hands on both sides of Georgie's face, forcing her to look at him. "It's okay sweetheart," he said. Her eyes focused on him at hearing the endearment.

"I killed him," she whispered. Peter came back in the room as she said this, Edmund turning to him and taking the bowl of water and rag Peter held out.

"I'm going to find out where Susan and Lucy are. I'll make sure the guards know what happened and that they stay posted around the apartment," Peter said before turning to leave. Edmund began washing the blood off Georgie's hands as he said, "G, he could have killed you. They could have killed all of us. You stopped him from doing so and from ever hurting anyone else."

"But we could have just had them captured. Thrown in prison. I didn't have to kill him!" Georgie cried, her voice nearly frantic.

Edmund quickly dropped the rag in the bowl and grabbed her shoulders, staring her in the eyes. "No! Don't do this to yourself," he said loudly and firmly.

"But I killed him!" she sobbed.

"And if you hadn't I would have!" Edmund yelled. Georgie's eyes widened at his reaction. "I'm sorry, G. I didn't mean to yell at you," Edmund said, placing his hand on her cheek and leaning up to kiss her forehead. "The second I saw him holding you I saw red. It took every fiber of my being not to run him through. And then when he drew your blood, I nearly died with fear that he would follow through with his threat. I don't know what I would have done if he had-" Edmund's voice broke and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and clearing his throat before opening his eyes and looking at her.

"You did nothing wrong. You protected yourself and your family and, as a result of that, your country. No one could ask for anything more from their princess."

AN 2: I think I have one more chapter in me before I wrap this up (sad, I know). But I wanted to put something out there for you... I've got a final chapter planned and then an Epilogue (because those are always so fun). Would you rather a) have them split up with the last chapter ending kinda suspenseful and waiting on pins and needles for me to post the conclusion (which I don't know about you, but I ALWAYS love when that happens!) or b) post them both at the same time so you won't be left hanging? I ask you this now so you can think about it, let me know, etc. Thanks!!!