"-sleeps tonight! A wheee-a -wheeo-..." Roberto relaxed, whispering a song to himself, looking more relaxed than he'd looked all night.

Prince Joshua in contrast was about to snap. The rain had returned outside which gave them some relief from Roberto's too cheerful singing but not a lot and after a hairy helicopter ride through he rain- Prince Keith had apparently changed his mind and sent one after all- he was looking forward to a bed and fresh clothing.

Wilifred gazed out the window, ignoring Roberto, half asleep.

The original agreement had been for them to bring the yacht in with the assistance of their butlers and several of Prince Keith's bodyguards. The yacht itself had been 'borrowed' from a friend of Prince Glenn and so it'd originally been thought that it was worth ensuring its safe return.

Prince Keith had given them five minutes warning before a helicopter returned for them, just as the rain had started again, and they'd had to all be hoisted up one by one into the big noisy beast without so much of an explanation of 'Security deems it necessary.'

Joshua had thought it might be a trap, as had Claude, and so the bodyguards went first. Wilifred was relieved that he'd been wrong.

Keith had been waiting there- probably expecting just that- looking pretty tired as he waited. If he'd personally come to collect them then Wilifred knew that he had decided it was serious enough to act fast.

"Quiet." Keith snapped, nudging Roberto, who had just restarted his whispered version of 'A lion sleeps tonight'. "Why are you so cheerful?"

"Phiiaa. My friend, my buddy, my pal. Have you met her yet?"

"I... have." Keith stiffened, meeting Wilifred's eyes with a raised eyebrow, who just shrugged and smiled faintly as he felt a soft chuckle rising.

It'd be hard to explain it right now and Wilifred wanted to find out how long it'd take Roberto before he got it.

"I hope you weren't too mean, Keithykins, she'd run away if you were."

"She'll be asleep when you get there." Keith warned, twisting around in the long limo to gaze out towards the hospital, deciding it wasn't something he wanted to get involved in. They should have all been expecting something like this- Roberto had less than two months to marry in order to keep his crown.

"The lion sleep tonight..." Roberto agreed, his eyes warm as he gazed out, a smile cracking across his face as he resisted the urge to break back into song again. He wondered if she'd like that song- he'd sing it to her while she was waking up. "How long till her surgery?"

"Sixteen minutes." Keith wasn't interested beyond that. Ignoring Roberto's humming he continued, "I have personally contacted each of your families. They all know you're safe but have agreed that it is important to keep quiet a little longer."

"Mm." Joshua responded. "Not much longer."

"The less problems we cause for Glenn the better." Wilifred agreed. He sat up to take a glass of the wine, sipping slowly, his throat warming. Good wine. He breathed out. "This is Philipian wine."

"Indeed." Keith agreed. "I thought you might notice."

Wilifred took another sip and sighed softly. Some part of him missed home already. He also could picture the mountain of paperwork waiting for him... which became both a lure and a repellent from his isolated office. Claude would spend five minutes in there, sorting and piling, so that Wilifred would have several day's work. At least.

This would be the same for all of them, except perhaps for Roberto who's uncle and aunt had tried to take over, and so Wilifred let his anxiety drop.

The other car with the butlers stayed close, almost too close, Wilifred's eyes meeting that of Yu who'd come to collect them.

"Prince Glenn's condition-" He started.

"There is no cause for concern now." Keith responded. He seemed a little tense even as he said it. "He is safely past the surgery. His arm may be a little weakened for a few months, I am told, but with exercise even that should repair itself."

"Ahh, how nice to be young and bounce back like rubber." Roberto glanced into a mirror. "Unlike us older men. Covered in wrinkles."

The limousine slowed as they approached the parking lot of the hospital. At four in the morning it was almost empty. In a few hours it would become used once again, as the staff reappeared, but Keith wasn't concerned about that. Glenn had already been moved to the Manse for security reasons and by midday the woman would be as well.

"Security have been ordered to pretend as if nothing unusual is happening." Keith said softly, their limousine approaching the boom gates, and his eyes landed on Roberto as he added, " We must be discrete. Straight to the floor. You can say hello, if she's awake, and then we leave. Understood? Edward is expecting us for breakfast."

"Mmhmm. Thanks for bringing me here." Roberto agreed. He was already feeling twitchy, ready to jump out, and it was him who saw the other car first. His jaw dropped as it sped for the opening boom gates. He frowned somewhat. "They're in a hurry, aren't they?"

The limousine suddenly surged forward, Claude's voice cutting in with a "Sit down!", as the front of the expensive vehicle met with the front of the other car. There was an awful crunch of metal, all four of the Princes thrown around, the two front of the cars smashing into each other and crumpling together.

The limousine was designed for safety. It survived. The front of the other car just collapsed in on itself. There was a screech of tyres as the car behind, Alberto driving, crashed into the car as well, more or less wedging it place.

"..Wha... What is the meaning of..." Keith was on the ground on his back, arms waving around as he tried to get Roberto off him, his face red with fury as he struggled. Wilifred's wine had gone flying as well and all four of them had splashes of dark red fluid staining them.

"Stay inside, Your Highness!" Claude was out the door all of a sudden, slamming the front door shut, something metallic in his hand as he charged for the door. Roberto raised his head to see a bodyguard had circled around the other side.

Three seconds later they had one of the suspects on the ground, his hands above his head, the bodyguard cuffing him.

"What ..." Wilifred raised his head wearily from where it'd landed- on Joshua's lap- and tried to sit up, his hair messed up. His jaw dropped as Claude held a gun to someone's head, eyes widening, and went to grab at Roberto as he suddenly jumped out of the car. "Roberto!"

"Not my butler, yours!" Roberto called. He wasn't interested in the car though. He'd seen someone lying near the elevator. "There's a nurse lying here."

"Prince Roberto!" Alberto's voice echoed around the basement as he jumped out of the car the butlers had been following in. "She could be a trap!"

The elevator door opened suddenly, the bodyguards turning with their weapons drawn, only to find themselves staring at a very white faced intern who had several bodyguards on either side of her.

"They took her... there!" Jenny, her heard aching from her hair being pulled and a gash over her ear, pointed in the direction of the exit. She froze as she found herself almost face to face with guns, Princes, and a ...car accident? "Huh?"

The bodyguards in the lift and the ones outside took one look at each other before lowering guns, easily knowing each other, moving past Jenny to grasp the nurse and lift her up.

"What is going on?" Keith's voice thundered around the parking lot.

Everyone froze and stared at him. There was a soft murmer from the guards, several of them quickly spreading out to secure the parking lot, as Keith charged towards Jenny. She froze.

"Um." She froze, deer in headlight expression on her face again, her eyes darting from Roberto to Keith. "They took her so I... Where is she?"

"Who?"

"My patient. Gretcha." She scratched at her head awkwardly and her eyes went to the crashed car as they lifted someone out the back. Jenny frowned and took off at a run, right past Prince Keith and his questions, checking the patient.

"Phia?" Roberto wasn't far behind. He seemed to freeze up as the bodyguard lifted up the unconscious woman again, his steps slowing until he'd stopped, his eyes widening. Something … anger, fear, he wasn't quite sure, stirred up, emotions that he usually completely ignored.

Suddenly he wanted to kick the man who'd been handcuffed and was being led away. "Did he take her?"

A hand closed on his shoulder, Wilifred quick, and Roberto froze as Wilifred murmured, "Let's get inside."

"Inside?"

"What's your name, commoner." Keith demanded of Jenny.

Jenny ignored him as she checked 'Gretcha' over, sighing somewhat in relief, her knees going a little weak. One priority. Patient. She didn't know who'd taken her or why, didn't care if the Prince was huffing around her, she focused on checking the woman's vitals with a practised hand. "She's just out. I was worried." She was too tired for this. "Can you bring her back inside? We'll have to check her- maybe Dr. Han can continue with the surgery."

"I... I asked you...who are you?" Keith was astonished as she turned her back on him and followed the woman and a guard inside. No one ignored him. Particularly women. "What happened? Answer me!"

All he got in return was the closing of the lift doors. Joshua walked down slowly, flanked closely by Jan, holding a cloth against his lip. He'd split it in the crash and felt even more exhausted and annoyed. "Can we please get going?"

"Your Highness." Claude spoke up. "There's security footage."

"Security footage?" Roberto reappeared suddenly. He tipped up a wheelchair and frowned at it, hands tightening on it. "Let's see."

"No." Alberto had appeared and gently took the other shoulder. He seemed almost gentle as he said softly to Roberto, "I would suggest you all get looked at. There was an accident."

"Deliberate." Claude corrected. "But I agree."

They ended up being fussed over by nurses in the floor Keith had reserved, but had compromised, the security footage being brought to them. It showed it clearly enough. A nurse taking Sophia out, Jenny following at a run down the stairs, an injection in the lift that must have been what made Sophia pass out later on, and Jenny and the nurse fighting over a gun. The nurse knocked herself out- she'd fallen suddenly when lunging for Jenny- but Jenny had gone straight for the lift.

Meanwhile Sophia had been put in a car, strapped in as she fell asleep, and was being drive out. Claude admitted he'd seen Sophia in the back seat and had recognised the man beside her as her half-brother. The rest they'd all had to go through- he'd rammed the other car before it could drive past them.

"I fully accept any punishment for my reckless actions." He bowed low.

"Sophia okay now though?" Roberto muttered. He stared at the security footage. "Jenny deserves a reward, I think."

"Mmm." Keith answered. He hadn't spoken much.

"I believe-" Alberto spoke up. "- that she was found unharmed and is being prepared for surgery. They've decided that they won't delay it."

"Right now? Can I say hi?"

"She's still unconscious." Alberto shook his head. "It will be some time before she's aware enough to hear your greetings."

Roberto hesitated a moment before nodding, eyes dropping, his mood sinking again.

"I think we should all go have a rest." Wilifred spoke up. His eyes went over all of them, all four Princes covered in wine, Joshua with blood from his split lip and no one argued. They all were tired all of a sudden.

"Luke." Keith spoke up, turning to Luke, who had been hanging back. "Ensure that the security is increased and find out how this happened. I intend on punishing whoever was responsible for allowing this incident to happen. Do not return until you have every last detail.":

Luke bowed low.

They went back downstairs, cars already waiting, and headed for showers and rest. What a night.

I felt sick. Anxious. I knew that bad stuff had happened, I remembered it, and yet all I could do... was lie there, feeling as if my legs were trapped, sick to my stomach. I could have vomited if I could move enough.

In and out I sunk of that place, that warm place of nausea and anxiety, sometimes awake and sometimes asleep, aware of movement at one point.

I was sure that I also was aware the entire lion king soundtrack being sung... but I wasn't sure if that was reality or a weird dream. It trigged weird dreams all right, about lions, and kings, and Princes, and all kinds of stuff. I also dreamed about throwing up... only I wasn't sure that was a dream or not.

It was only when I could finally open my eyes did I find myself staring up at the wrong face. I'd been expecting my half-brother. Maybe my Father. Instead I was staring up at a tired looking Roberto, head in his hands, yawning a giant yawn as he stared blankly across at a TV.

My eyes stayed open only a moment before I was gone again, half-concious, and confused. I knew that the daylight was changing in the room, every time I woke Roberto was somewhere else, the light different, and I occasionally saw Alberto there instead, or one of the others. A nurse seemed to be shifting around the room with every blink of my eye. Lion King was replaced by Harry Potter. It was like a weird 'time snapshot' hipster music video that remixed sound samples from Lion king with Harry Potter. People appearing everywhere. Music muted. Light changing all the time.

At one point Roberto managed to catch onto the fact that I'd woken, his entire face brightening, but as bad as I felt... I couldn't stay awake. Before he could say anything I'd already slipped away again. It was weird.

I did manage to stay awake for longer periods though. It was easy to measure- Roberto was sitting beside me, his head in paperwork, and by the time I was able to keep my eyes open for longer periods, he'd apparently reached the third Harry Potter movie.

"Ice." I demanded, voice cracking, staring at the TV. Lupin's class. I'd woken up just in time to see Snape in drag.

Roberto jumped, nearly knocking over the table, and before I could ask again there was a piece of ice shoved in my mouth as the mask was tugged away. He peered down at me anxiously.

Oh. That felt good.

"Did you rescue me again?" I sighed out slowly. Damn. Just for once I wanted to do the rescuing.

If he did answer I missed it- I fell asleep again, throat a little less sore, and when I woke again it was on pause- Snape protecting the three of them from a werewolf. Aw. I'd missed most of it.

The nurse moved past and smiled at me as she saw me blinking at her. She said softly, "You're coming back."

"That's the plan." I cringed, throat dry, and shut my eyes. Then … I had to be sick. I groaned, eyes opening, and threw up all over the place. She didn't seem to even blink as she started to strip sheets away. "Have I already done that?"

"A few times. Don't worry about it."

I didn't really have the energy to. I lifted my head, groggy, trying to think. "Um... I was … not here. Last."

"You were brought here, remember?" When I stared blankly at her the nurse added, "We brought all your flowers as well."

Flowers? Oh. Right. They said they'd bring me here after surgery. I stared at the sunflowers and lay back as I tried to … think. Hadn't I... hadn't I seen my half-brother? I was sure I had. Maybe it was a dream.

"Roberto won't be coming back tonight." Alberto's voice cut into my dozing, and I opened my eyes, staring up at him. Nurse was gone now. He blinked down at me. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No... um." Was it night now? I lifted my head once again and found that it was night.

"I just came to reassure you- His Highness will be staying in his room tonight." Alberto slid back somewhat. His hand came to hold mine through the sheets. Woah. He was being so nice right now. "You can rest without any disturbances."

"Thanks."

"Did you want ice?"

I nodded and Alberto offered it, without blinking, a warm smile crossing his face as I sucked slowly.

"Alberto- did something happen?" I asked quietly as he stood back. I was so confused. "I'm sure... I had this dream...being taken away."

"There was an incident with one of your half-brothers. Claude and I took care of it."

Wow. Okay then. The magic butlers had taken care of it. I smiled at that, shutting my eyes, resting back. "It's good to know magic butlers."

I wasn't sure if he heard me or not.

By the next day I had snapped out of it, just a little groggy, and at the urgings of a nurse, took a few reluctant steps around the little room with the help of crutches.

"It's good to walk as soon as you can." She explained. "They've repaired the damage but the muscle will heal faster with exercise. It's for that reason we're going to avoid a wheelchair. Please try your hardest."

"It … isn't much fun." I informed her, teeth gritting with every step, the cooked spaghetti feeling back. She helped me down, my body sinking into the bed with relief, and I asked,"Someone going to tell me what happened?" Or what was happening? I might have been wrong but Prince Glenn still hadn't gotten his country back.

"His Highness has scheduled a meeting with you later this afternoon over a light afternoon tea. You can relax today. I've prepared a shower for you and some clothing."

A meeting. It sounded so formal. I nodded, breathing out, gazing towards the window once again. They called this place a 'Manse' but it was very clearly a castle, surrounded by incredible gardens, however simple my room was. My room had flowers all along one side of the wall, all bright sunny colours, and a simple bed. A TV. A closet. There were a couple of doors as well- I'd discovered one was a bathroom after several embarrassing near misses with a weakened body- but the other I assumed led out into the 'Manse' itself.

She didn't tell me much more though. I was made to walk almost every half hour, one hell of an ordeal, until my good leg was no longer shaky and my bad leg seemed to accept that I'd be using crutches, and when I'd questioned her more on what they'd done to repair the damage, I was informed that they'd literally used wire to pull together the muscle and tendons again. Good to know. Apparently the 'little bullet' had more or less severed half the stuff in there. No wonder why I'd been getting into such a bad shape by the end.

It was a little bit embarrassing.

Not as embarrassing as the shower though. This time I wasn't allowed to shower on my own. The nurse stayed the entire time, helping me wash hair, wash body parts, completely unaffected as I sat there with my face going bright red. She even helped me dress.

Before I knew it... it was time for the meeting. Once I was in a wheelchair- apparently this time it was excused- the nurse wheeled me off.

Meeting with Prince Keith.

I couldn't decide if I was looking forward to this or not.