It would have been worth leaving her behind.

Claude sighed, wordlessly, as his eyes met with that of Prince Wilfred. It would have been simpler. When he and the other butlers had thought this up- a plan so easy in execution it didn't deserve to be called a 'plan'- there hadn't been a woman to take into consideration. He'd been grateful for that at the time. Women were flighty, hysterical, and not usually prone to viewing the world in a logical or sensible way.

This one was a prime example of that. It would be wiser to leave her behind. But It wasn't what Prince Wilifred wanted. Claude didn't need the Prince to tell him this- he could tell.

With a soft sigh only audible to his own ears Claude lifted the drugged woman up into his arms as His Highness aided the other Princes in standing, a little trickle of disgust filling his mind as he smelt the wine on her breath, her head rolling against his arm. With the presence of alcohol it was no wonder why the drugged food had been so effective on her.

"She's his daughter, isn't she?" Prince Glenn frowned. "We're leaving her, aren't we?"

"She seems to have been trying to free you." Jen responded. He was holding one of the beer bottles she'd brought down and inhaled slowly. "She drugged the beer."

"They didn't notice?"

"It's difficult to detect if you're not knowing what to smell for." Jen dropped the bottle on top of the unconscious guards before striding over to Prince Joshua. The Prince was passed out and apparently unaware of any of this. "They sedated him?"

"He was not giving them a moment's peace." Roberto responded. He was almost cheerful about it. "Threats. Reminders of international laws they were breaking. The punishment they'd face in each country. He must secretly have wanted to be a lawyer. So obsessed with rules!"

"Prince Roberto..."

"We should leave." Claude cut in. He adjusted his hold on the unconcious woman and nodded towards the car. "There are backpacks under the cart for each of us."

"Is she-" Wilifred hesitated as he passed Claude. His face gave no emtoion away but his blue eyes focused on her a moment and it stirred some annoyance in Claude.

"The woman is perfectly fine. She will sleep better than any of us." Claude responded, hoisting her up in his arms, and nodded towards the door. "Your highness, we must go. Yu has a car waiting outside."

"Here. I'll carry her." Prince Roberto clearly didn't intend on letting Claude argue the point.

Claude may have if they'd had time. But for now he allowed Prince Roberto to take the unconscious woman before he brushed off his arms and stood back. He'd be able to ensure that all the backpacks were taken. "Very good."

"Prince Roberto-" Alberto hesitated a moment, his arms already full with the concealed bags of supplies that had been concealed underneath the cart, and sighed. Arguing with his charge would only take up precious time."Hurry."

Roberto grinned, hoisting the woman close to his chest, and stood up straighter. "Stealing a woman? Even more exciting."

"We should leave her." Alberto muttered softly as he exchanged a look with Claude.

"Come on." Prince Wilifred said softly. He pulled Prince Joshua up, who's body was still limp, his eyes fluttering but unseeing from the sedatives that they'd forced into him, an arm sliding under his friend's shoulders. With a quick hoist Wilifred had Joshua in his arms, bridal style, and strode ahead without a change in his calm expression as if there was nothing odd about this. "The others are waiting."

They moved out slowly, the two unconscious bodies carefully brought along with them, and hurrying down the path to where Prince Glenn had vanished with his little brother and Jen.

Yu waited in the car, still bad off, his face shades of pink, red and purple from the beating. One eye was swollen shut still. If he smiled it was impossible to tell. He was waiting in the passenger seat, fiddling with a phone, his good eye squinting as he tried to read the information. "There's no calls allowed."

"Terrorist attack." Claude responded softly. "That's their excuse. Brought down everything."

"Sure." Yu wasn't convinced people would buy it for more than a few hours. He flinched as a light passed by but it was only Prince Glenn, his own cell phone brought out, and Yu grabbed it. "We need to get rid of these things anyway."

"Why?"

"Tracking." Wilifred explained softly. Carefully setting down Joshua in the car, he searched his pockets, and grabbed his phone. "We'll have to find another way to contact Prince Keith when the time is right."

"Altera's closer." Roberto settled down in the seat, the woman on his lap, and he grinned as no one went to argue for her own seat. The car was far too small. Wilifred slid in as well, the butlers managing to get into the seats, somehow fitting everyone in with Joshua half on top of Jen. Roberto intended on telling him all about this.

"Phones." Alberto reminded him.

They paused, tugging cell phones out, and threw them to one side along with the car's GPS. It was an old car.

"They'll be watching the water to your country." Jen shook his head as he dropped each of the backpacks in the boot. Glancing up, he frowned, and added, "We've got about five minutes left. We'll discuss it later."

"Five minutes?" Roberto blinked. "Huh-"

He was shoved into the car, almost roughly, by Alberto. No one else bothered to hang around and discuss it. Two cars worth of people, both cars resonably old and 'common', and Yu lead the way out of the grounds.

A masked woman waved to them, as they slid out the gates, and Yu paused to let the woman into the car. She headed straight for the head car and for the front seat that had been left empty.

"All sleeping, Yuyu." She reported, softly, and Yu nodded to her. He shoved the door open and the woman slid into the seat.

"Thanks, El." The car was already moving as he said it, the front door shut hurriedly. Only when they were moving did she take off the mask. The young woman wasn't much younger than the other woman, in her early twenties, a little softer in body, but clearly of Orienese origins.

There wasn't time to talk after that. It was Yuu who directed the cars, as it was a country he was familiar with, and they stopped them after twenty minutes of driving and abandoned them in some thick bushland. Once the plates were prided off, something Jen seemed to be very good at, each took a backpack. By now Prince Alan had fallen asleep, tear tracks on his face from silent crying in the car, and Prince Glenn refused to hand him over to Yu and wrapped him up in his own jacket.

"Ele assisted us." Yu explained only when everyone was gathered in a tiny huddle. .He smiled faintly. "She's a bodyguar-"

"In training." Glenn muttered. He didn't look in her direction once. "Not a real one."

"She's close enough. She's someone I trust." Yu responded. "As children w-"

"Where to?" Claude wasn't interested in this. They didn't have time for introductions or family histories.

"Uh." Eleira hesitated and pointed, slowly, grasping her own mask. "Through here."

She led the way now, sliding the mask back on, and led them along a nearly invisible path in the darkness. It ended up in a large field of sunflowers, and even in the dark it was obvious they were big beautiful golden things that were almost as tall as the tallest Prince, the entire field set against the more distant view that was the main Oriens city. No one was out in the fields at this time of night.

It was only when they came to the city that she stopped. Right at the edge, near where it stopped being sunflower farm and started becoming busy streets filled with old shops, the woman Ele hesitated and nudged at a side door under a building in the alleyway. The old thing creeked and groaned open, slowly, clearly being unused for a very long time.

"There."

"Thanks."

The Princes filed in, slowly, hesitating as old objects loomed up dangerously in the darkness. Someone held a tiny flashlight close to the ground. Only Prince Glenn remained outside, still holding Prince Alan in his arms, hesitating. He'd agreed to this but … she didn't look strong.

Yu remained, pausing as he reached out to grasp the woman's hands, her face flushing at the contact. "You could hide here."

"No, it was a good idea. The car's waiting on the other side of the field. Are you sure you want me to take him?" There was, just for a moment, a hesitation. Eleira wasn't a bodyguard yet. She had a year to go. But Yu had contacted her and...

Her eyes met Prince Glenn's eyes for the first time, their gaze meeting in the light of the streetlight, and he seemed to soften somewhat. He held out Prince Alan, who didn't even wake, still bundled warmly up in Prince Glenn's jacket.

"You won't be forgiven if he's caught." He said but the sharpness he'd intended wasn't there. Prince Glenn stroked his brother's forehead, slowly, tracing the hair. "Get him out of here. To Charles."

She nodded. "It's fine. They'll be watching the airport. We've got another way. Once he's out of here I think we're returning for you all... but there's only so much we can do. We're trainee bodyguards."

"I know." Yu said softly.

At the capture of the Princes, all bodyguards had more or less been imprisoned, even the ones not associated with the Royal Family. Only the 'untrained' had been left alone. They'd assumed that no one would have associated with the Royal Family if they were untrained...

Well. It had been a stupid oversight.

Eleira hesitated only a moment longer before she took off, her feet light on the path as she headed back for the field, her hair trailing behind her, the precious youngest Prince held carefully in her arms.

Prince Glenn and Yu watched, quiet, their arms almost brushing as they watched until she vanished into the dark field. Then without a word they turned and slid into the space under the building.

Darkness, only broken by the streetlight streaming in through the occasional break in wall, surrounded them all.

"So why not Altaria?" Roberto's voice spoke up after a few moments.

"We told you. They'll be expecting that." Glen seemed almost impatient.

"Sh." Wilifred hissed softly.

Yu shuffled around slowly, handing out the warm dark grey blankets, the dim flashlight switched off. Then he sat down with a soft sigh. Every part of him ached.

A pause, a brief quiet pause where the darkness seemed to weigh in onto all of them, before a whisper from Roberto, "But still we could go-"

"Liberty is larger and their borders extend closer to Orien's waters." Glenn responded, frowning as he caught Yu's battered appearance in the mirror. "And their miltary is far more efficient."

"Hey."

"It's true." Wilifred said softly.

"Who's snoring?" Claude interjected before Roberto could start an argument.

Everyone went quiet at that. Someone was snoring softly. Truthfully... the voices were louder, but it didn't change that the sound was scary in this darkness.

"Joshy." Roberto sounded almost cheerful at this discovery. "He should get it checked out."

"Sh." Alberto hissed.

"It would be wisest to try and sleep." Wilifred muttered. He was settling down, slowly, glad for the not too cold summer night.

It was Alberto now who had the woman. He'd moved straight for her, as soon as he'd seen Roberto do the same, and sat down heavily with her in his arms. He'd intended on putting her down but... Alberto froze as the woman snuggled into him. Girl. She melted into him, her body surprisingly warm for someone trembling, her arms holding him around his chest.

This wasn't unnoticed by the others. His arms lowered stiffly around the woman, barely touching her, face frozen.

"Mommy..." She breathed, slowly, sighing against Alberto's chest.

Alberto shut his eyes a moment, his face warming, arms stiffening even more as Prince Roberto bent over in muffled peals of laughter. Women... he had very little experience with.

It went quiet. Very quiet. Only Roberto's muffled laughter cut in. Alberto was sure that the air had just gotten thicker and harder to breathe.

"How is Joshua going?" Wilifred's voice cut in through the strange atmosphere in the darkness. He smiled faintly, ignoring the strange behavior of the girl, shifting forward to stare out of the tiny gap.

"Joshua will sleep a while yet." Jen muttered.

"We warned him to keep his mouth shut." Roberto's laughter was still in the back of his voice but he'd sat down, somewhat more serious, gazing down at his friend.

"Threatening them probably wasn't wise, given the balance of power, but I'm glad he did." Wilifred muttered. His voice softened as he heard something. Someone's stomach rumbling. The smell of bacon was too much for someone.

"I will go for food." Jan said softly as Claude slipped into one of the only spots left. "I may fit in..."

"No. I think it would be wise to wait for night." Claude shook his head. "If one of us was found it may not be long before the rest are."

No one argued with this. Hiding here, under somebody's house, it wasn't going to be safe long.

Prince Glenn sat silently, staring outside the gaps, his own brother caught in his mind. He hadn't spoken a word since they'd come inside the building. Just stared at the outside or glanced towards Yu. Now he shifted closer, slowly, as Claude held out a wrapped sandwich for him.

"You okay, Glenny-poo?" Roberto's face frowned lightly when there was no reaction to the nickname. "Uh..."

"Let him think a while." Wilifed muttered softly.

Roberto shrugged and rested back against the slabs of wood, gazing up towards the floor of the building, tugging the wrapping off his own sandwich. "We've got all day."

"Exactly."

Alberto leaned against the girl now, propped up against one of the sides of teh building, his own body lost in sleep. He'd been too exhausted to begin with and with the lure of warmth... Roberto sat there, arms crossed, staring at his butler.

"Why does he get to do that?" Somehow this irritated him more than he liked. Alberto. Getting a cuddle. Roberto wanted a cuddle.

"Here." Jan was quick to offer Roberto a sandwich.

"Why isn't she awake?" Prince Glenn's soft voice, after a day of not speaking, may well have been a shout for the reaction. Everyone turned to stare at the tired Prince who had twisted around to stare at the girl for the first time since she'd collapsed in front of his brother. He hadn't known what to think at the time. He'd reconzied her, this white faced woman just a little older than himself, she'd been the one that the traitor had called his bastard daughter. Bastard daughter. Glenn had been shocked by it then- that someone would call their own daughter that to their face- and now...

"She was drinking alcohol." Claude responded. "It would extend the effect of the drugs I used. If I had known she intended on assisting His Highnesses I may have warned her-"

"It wouldn't harm her, would it?" As soon as Prince Glenn had asked, his face warmed, and he added sharply, "We can't stop at a hospital," to hide his sudden empathy.

"She seems well enough." Alberto muttered. He was waking up slowly, every muscle aching from the strange situation cuddled into him, feeling suddenly a little too claustrophobic. "Strong enough."

"She'll probably wake soon enough." Jan slid across, eyes darting up to the outside as the light continued to fade, before he gently unwound her hands. "Let's all get some rest."

As the dawn came slowly, life began to appear outside the building, and it became even more important to stay quiet. Newspaper trucks moved along slowly, early morning workers, and the sound of people inside the buildings waking. The smell of food joined the sounds before long- tormenting those who hadn't had breakfast- and then as the grey dawn light started to strengthen, people started to appear on the streets in cars or on foot.

The Princes and their butlers waited, quiet, forced to remain now that it was too light to move.

AN/

I am playing around a little... trying out Sophia's POV and then the third party Princes POV. :)

Sophia is the most popular girl's name... hence the origins! You'll probably also see Eleira later on as well. :)