Unlike the last times I'd been drugged, this time I woke pretty quickly, the grogginess fading away within minutes of waking. Maybe it was because of shock or adrenaline. Waking, propped up with a blanket over my body, and my father sitting in the seat in front of me... it snapped me out of it pretty fast.

He looked pretty relaxed too, one leg crossed, gazing out the window into the darkness, one hand grasping a glass of wine. His eyes went to mine and he nodded as he raised the glass to me.

"Good work." He informed me. "When we kill your husband perhaps you can marry Prince Roberto. Two countries for the price of one and all within a month."

I sat up slowly as my head swam. Oh god. I felt kind of sick. Did he know then? Maybe Roberto had given away too many hints. Father was pretty sharp when it came to these things. "It..."

"Don't bother. It was well known all over Prince Keith's Manse. Are you pregnant?" Pregnant? I blinked and stared at Father, flustered, and he laughed. It was cold but he seemed pretty happy. "Nevermind that- It might be too early to tell. Good work. You really are my daughter. Getting your hands on a Prince all without my guidance and all this time I assumed you would be too soft hearted."

This wasn't a compliment for me. He clearly had thought I'd done it for power or something.

"I don't think... I mean..." I didn't want to say I was pregnant. I didn't want to talk about condoms with this man. It felt way too creepy and invasive. I trailed off and went quiet.

"I already know you used protection. The contents of the bin in your room is not private in such a place." I cringed as he spoke, completely emotionless, as if he was talking about the weather. Father ignored me as he continued, "The protection was tampered with. I was not going to allow this opportunity to pass by."

"Tampered?" He didn't answer when I repeated the word and I wondered if he'd done something to the protection we'd used. How horrible. My own Father hoping I got knocked up. Of course he would... but how the hell did he manage it? "I feel sick." I muttered. For more reasons than the drug. I sat up straighter. Was Roberto okay? Was he panicking? "What time is it?"

"Bring her something to drink. It's past nine."

Yeah. Roberto would have noticed by now. The entire Manse would know by now. I hadn't even gotten to see his interview on TV. I grasped the glass of juice offered to me and drank slowly as I focused my mind on snapping to full control of myself. Now was not a good time to go back to sleep. I was in a plane with my Father.

"How did you even manage this?" I didn't want to talk to him at all with how he made me feel- tense, afraid, angry. Still. I wanted to know.

"Even Prince Keith doesn't demand loyality. There's many who'd rather take money than his trust." My Father responded. His sharp eyes met mine as he stood up. "Money and power, Sophia. Those are the two things in life you can count on. The two things that people will respect. We'll be in Oriens soon enough. Rest and relax. Tomorrow will be busy."

Tomorrow?

I didn't even want to ask but I knew I should. "Tomorrow?"

"Engagement party to Prince Glenn." My father clapped his hands together. "The sooner we finish this wedding the sooner we may be able to take advantage of your connection to Prince Roberto."

I was right- there was a very good reason for not wanting to know. He headed off and I found myself offered some kind of fancy dinner. I'd noticed that while I was at Prince Keith's Manse everything I'd been offered had been pretty simple common food. Maybe he'd ordered that because I was 'simple and common'. Either way, it had put me at ease at the time, and as I stared at this fancy plate of food I felt some gratitude towards Prince Keith for that.

The more alert I felt the more I felt a bit … afraid. I had to sit there and really focus on calm breathing. This was it, this time, unless Prince Keith had bodyguards that could stop a plane in midflight.

I suspected he didn't.

There wasn't much choice now. I had to go back to Oriens and just when I'd decided I'd had enough with getting involved in this. Plus, tomorrow, an engagement party? I didn't feel that good about that either. The only one I wanted to marry was Roberto. Even that was overwhelming.

Some part of me hung onto the hope that we'd turn around or something, hoped that I was dreaming, right up to the moment we landed in Oriens. When I found myself being driven along the streets … I knew it wasn't a dream. And when we entered the great gates to the Castle itself, or whatever Prince Glenn called it, it just confirmed it. I was here. I wasn't going anywhere.

Oriens felt different somehow. I wasn't sure how to explain it, perhaps the faces were a little more drawn, perhaps it was hotter, but I was sure people seemed tense. Had they noticed there was something odd about their royal family? Was it to do with the storm? I could still see some storm damage, even in the main city, a few shops still shut.

It suddenly hit me- I really was away from all of them. The security, safety and warmth that those Princes offered... yes, even that Prince Joshua, who was about as much fun as wet clothing on a winter's day... was a hell of a lot nicer than this. Sure- they weren't all friendly, and maybe everyone enjoyed my company for novelty value or because it helped Prince Glenn in the long run, but I had been safe. It'd been in everyone's best interests for me to be safe.

I didn't know much about Prince Keith but I suspected his pride would not apprechiate this snatch and grab by my Father.

"You're not happy."

Oh crap. It must have shown on my face. I tried to smile as my Father's eyes bored into mine. "Oh. I was just … thinking, I had things I would have liked to bring." This wasn't a lie either, I'd have loved to bring Roberto and my puppy, although I suspected both wouldn't have wanted to be in a suitcase for long.

"I see. Give the maid a list in the morning. We'll replace it." He gave me another long cold look.

"I will." I agreed and yawned, pretending to be tired, hoping he'd decide I was more tired than sad. "I'll make a list in the morning."

He gave me another long look, his cold eyes searching me, and deep down it gave me the chills. It was with relief that I was escorted upstairs, past several clearly beefed up security systems, and into a room.

I wasn't sure that Father had really believed I'd been there against my will. Had I given it away? Or was it because he'd realised what Roberto and I had gotten into? Either way, when I shut that door, locked it, and was alone … I suddenly shivered as a chill went down my back.

I honestly did not feel secure or safe right now.

Sleep was impossible. The bed was the wrong size, way too big, the wrong shape, and it lacked the smell I'd suddenly become so addicted to. Roberto's smell. He'd been in my bed for two nights, three if you counted when he'd found it drunk or the few times before that, but the moment we'd accepted it... it was like some part of my brain just changed. Chemsitry or something. It just accepted this was normal.

The room was very Oriens in style, with the beautiful antique paintings in ink and a bamboo mat. The bed was modern, long, sleek with a black and silver cover. All very stylish, this mixture of modern and traditional Oriens, and while I apprechiated it, it wasn't my style. I would wake often that night and admire it.

I did miss Prince Keith's little room on the ground floor more. That had been kind of old fashioned, sure, but it had been warm and the French doors had been really wonderful in the middle of the night when it was hot and the best way to stay cool was the summer breeze. Even the over-abundance of marine merchandice had made it kind of nice. Childish... but nice.

Pregnant.

Had he really tampered with the protection we'd used? Roberto and I hadn't been that silly- we had used condoms, changed them between 'sessions', we were both old enough and smart enough to know what could happen if we did it without. I sighed as I squeezed the pillow into my chest, cuddling into it, the feeling of sickness returning. Whenever I was anxious I used to feel sick. Then I'd drink some alcohol to make the anxiety go away.

Ever since I'd left this place with those Princes … I'd stopped thinking about that. Before them, I'd been borderline alcoholic, depressed, and felt so frustrated that I escaped into alcohol whenever possible. But all it had taken was escaping from this place, this family, this situation, to forget about that. To stop using it to cope.

Oh, I had still gotten a bit drunk, but not like I used to.

Around four in the morning I gave up trying to sleep, got up, and made a list at the desk in the corner of the room. I had to at least pretend as if I was happy to be back and if that meant making Father buy me a whole bunch of stuff, pretending to be the airhead I used to pretend to be, then so be it. Clothing, new shoes, I even wrote down jewellery. Maybe he'd think I was willingly going to play the role.

Breakfast came early, some kind of fancy egg dish, and I sat there eating it. I felt numb and when they offered me some kind of 'anti-hysteria pill' I just pretended to swallow it. The last thing I wanted was to spend the day doped up. Outside the building I could see the city, somewhat in the distance, and I stood there watching it once I'd given the maid the list of items.

I did get tired eventually. I napped, showered, and hobbled around the room for a few hours. Still... being in one room did get boring. When I went to open my door, I found it locked from the outside, and my heart sank. So I was a prisioner.

My mood sank a little at that.

"So, Robbie." I muttered to myself. The nickname made me feel a little sick but … but it was a special nickname. The kind I only used when I really wanted him around. "Did you sleep much?"

Slowly, as the morning wore on, I felt my good mood sink. For the first time in weeks I felt like I used to feel every day, tired, worn down, and trapped. Afraid. I hadn't seen my father's sadistic side yet, thankfully, but you didn't have to see it to know it was there.

The first time I'd really seen it when I'd been home from boarding school. It had been completely out of the blue. I had a younger half-brother, only fourteen this year, who must have been barely eight years old. He'd had a pet dog at the time, this gorgeous friendly pure-bred Labrador, who had been caught inside peeing on the carpet during a 'family meal'. Geoff had been peeing alongside his dog. This kind of thing wasn't that unusual in the garden. I'd learnt to just not look like everyone else.

I didn't actually see any of it, I and the rest of the family were told to wait in the dining room. Geoff, the youngest of the family, and the dog were taken outside.

I did hear it though. I heard the dog screaming in pain, I heard the whacks, and not taps... real genuine whacks, and Geoff's screaming. Geoff had always kind of frightened me- he'd been a little odd in the mind- but that didn't mean that I didn't know a frightened or hurting kid when I heard it.

I also knew that Father took that dog outside so that it didn't stain the carpet or the floor. Cause a mess. So I knew, even if I couldn't see, that it was hurting the dog very badly. He was making Geoff watch everything.

Then I heard them go into the kitchen, this dragging sound, and the sound of a hysterical child who was crying so hard that he couldn't breathe, being made to drag the dog inside. Being made to put that dog into a garbage bag, this tiny kid, and then into the freezer. This wasn't a puppy- it had to at least have been half the weight of Geoff- but we all sat around that dining room table, pretending to eat, as we had to hear Geoff try again and again to lift this squirming crying animal. It was alive a long time.

I never stopped feeling guilty about that. Even now, when I saw Geoff's face when he returned, and he sat there rocking with his thumb in his mouth, I felt kind of hysterical and guitly myself. The day it'd happened I had burst into tears and they'd decided I was hormonal and it was time for me to go to bed.

Geoff had always been a little strange after that. Maybe he had been before that as well. He behaved like a toddler most of the time, screamed at any provocation, and before this incident go from violent to terrified in a matter of seconds. After... he never seemed to go violent again, he just went quiet and still, and sometimes I wondered if Father made Geoff hurt the dog. A kid. Just a kid.

Roberto had never pressed me to tell him about my family, except over the phone that one time, and I was kind of glad he hadn't. There were some memories like that one that I couldn't bring myself to speak about out loud.

Even now when I thought about it, I wanted to find a way to change it, even years later. Years after it had happened and that dog vanished from our lives. That was the thing about Father. When he did something awful, he had this habit of making sure we all knew about it, but he hid it. So our imagination would replace the images he denied us and it increased the terror. Even my older half-brothers were edgy around Father.

God. I didn't want to be here. I breathed in and out slowly as I stood at the window, grasping the curtain, trying to relax. Trying to breathe.

"Excuse me, mam. And you... you are requested to come for lunch. When you're changed I'll be outside." A voice came from the door. One of the maids. She might have been originally here, I wasn't sure, but she was quick to drop bags and leave without saying anymore.

I took the bags and found exactly what I'd asked for. Some of the things were too small, which wasn't that surprising, but I went to change anyway. I had to look the part of 'happy to be back'. I had to try and convince Father that I was on his side.

I didn't want to become my brother or that dog in the freezer.

Once I'd changed into a dress, this simple black and white dress, and put shorts on- I really felt paranoid about being in a dress on crutches- I tried the door handle. It was locked. When I knocked, she answered, and she didn't even look at me as she led me through the hallways. Behind us were security guards.

Were they to protect me or were they to escort me there? I didn't know.

"Sophia." My Father rose as I entered. I saw the three half-brothers do so as well, except for Geoff, who just sat there and stared at his food. "Did you rest well?"

"I did." I smiled as best I could. Mix truth with lies. Right? Best way to lie. "It took some time to fall asleep though."

"Of course. Plane travel is often stressful. Please- sit."

I sat. Crutches were taken away, leaving me stuck at the dining table, and my Father sat back down as well. Beside me was the body double of Glenn.

"You already have met briefly."

I nodded at the man, who nodded back, but he was clearly uninterested. Father wanted to kill this guy and he had no idea. "Yes. You're looking well."

What else could I say to a man my Father wanted me to marry before he offed him?

"Yes, and you."

It got a little awkward. No one else spoke. This 'Glenn', who I distinctly remember being called Francies, began to eat.

I ate slowly as well, picking at the plate, the silence hanging over the table. Father didn't seem to know or care how awkward this had gotten- he was reading the paper, taking notes, sitting at the head of the grand dining table as if he owned this country.

I supposed in a way he did.

In my mind I could picture how it'd look with those Princes here instead. Roberto teasing the others, the frustration from Glenn and Prince Keith, the silent affection from Wilifred towards them all, and Edward enjoying it. They really were like a family. The butlers there, just closeby, observent.

"There will be a party will be at seven tonight." My Father's voice cut into my head. He frowned, adding, "But this Prince Roberto is not making it easy. It may not be the correct night for the engagement announcement."

"Huh?" I gazed up and tried to not do it too fast, look too eager, tried to look casual.

My Father held up a paper. On the front cover, quite literally taking up almost all the space, was a photo of me. Asleep in my bed in Liberty, with Otis there cuddled up to my face, and Roberto's grinning face poking up photobomb style.

'Prince Roberto releases image of his fiancee! The media conference that shocked the world!'

Oh lord. When had he taken THAT photo? And … and why was it on the front cover of a paper! Oh my god. Was I drooling or was that Otis? I went bright red and my jaw dropped. "What the hell!"

Had he done this because I'd been taken? I wasn't sure. The look on my Father's face, as he observed my reaction, suggested that he thought I might have had some part in this as well. Luckily the shock on my face was really geninue.

"Does this mean the engagement cannot continue?"

"It means that this Prince Roberto is trying to force a marriage." My Father's hand suddenly crushed the paper, even though his face stayed netural, and I felt a shiver go down my spine at the sudden violent move.

Father wanted me to take over Oriens as the Queen, I knew that, and he wanted to kill the fake Prince Glenn. He couldn't admit that in front of the fake, of course, but if Roberto had already shown my face and given my name...

Could Father even announce it now? That I was marrying 'Prince Glenn'? I didn't ask, I dropped my head down, but the sight of Roberto's grin had made my heart beat very fast all of a sudden. It hurt. I wanted that newspaper, wanted to hide that image in my room, and wanted to smack Roberto with it.

"I suppose you had no part of this-"

"Of course not. There's no way I'd let that man take a photo of me like that!" I responded, cheeks reddening as my Father met my eyes, because I'd raised my voice for the first time since he'd brought me back here. "I mean..."

"Good. Never the less- it'll cause problems."

"Father, come on. Marry someone else to him." My older half-brother, Ian, muttered.

He was probably the only one who Father really respected. There was a long pause before Father nodded slowly, his eyes going back to the now crumpled paper, before tossing it aside.

"Fine. We'll announce the engagement tomorrow night. Ian- it's your responsibility to bring me a list if controllable women. Find someone with debt from illegal activities, or a secret they intend to keep hidden, someone that we can control safely."

"If we find a rich woman who just wants more money and power.."

"No." My Father raised his voice a fraction at that. He spoke, very softly, but dangerously, "Greed can cause a woman to turn on us in a second. Find one that fears us."

Basically- someone like me. He actually looked at me a moment as he said that, adding softly, "And if we need to hurt someone she cares about, we'll do it. They will obey us."

I didn't feel so hungry all of a sudden. The image of Roberto's grinning face, all crumpled up on that paper, it filled my mind. Would he hurt Roberto if I was pregnant? Probably. I hoped like hell I wasn't pregnant. That I could get Roberto alone, warn him, warn Alberto... Alberto wouldn't let anything happen to him.

Lunch was over after an extricating hour of silence. Six courses. I barely touched them, of course, but tried to eat when my Father told me to eat. Not suggested. Told. He wanted to ensure that I was pregnant and apparently poor diet wouldn't help that.

After lunch I tried to stay positive. On the bright side- I was more or less publicly engaged to Roberto. Right? Pretty sure that was what the paper had been saying. When had he done that? Last night? Maybe he had.

I wasn't going to be marrying the fake Prince Glenn. That much was clear. They were already trying to find a replacement for me. Poor girl... who would they ask? No. Ask was the wrong word. Tell.

Sleeping made the afternoon go past very fast. Before I knew it I had to attend the party for a moment. 'Appear' was the word they used. And boy did it last only a moment, I was whisked into the ballroom in a gown, sitting in a wheelchair so that I couldn't control who I talked to who or where I went while escorted by my Father and two bodyguards. All I could do was smile, bow my head, and allow my Father to introduce me to every important figure in Oriens. I didn't even talk.

It was stunning to see the 'royal family' in this setting. The fake Prince Glenn had barely seemed real, when we'd been alone in that dining room, but in public the entire group of the Royal Family seemed to be alive. Real. Even I would have mistaken them if I hadn't known the truth. They really knew how to act out the roles.

I barely got to see them before I was escorted back to my room by Father himself, who informed me that I'd be remaining in my room due to my leg, and I was locked in again.

Deep down I knew that he didn't trust me.

I was so certain that they'd not come for me again, I changed into Pjs, and was wheeling myself around the room when a tentitive knock came. People didn't knock. I wheeled for the door and opened it, finding myself staring at a pair of crutches and a face I had not expected tonight.

My fourteen year old brother. Geoff. The 'mistake' of the family. He shuffled on his feet, flinching as I moved a bit too fast, muttering under his breath. He always scared me a bit when he got like this. It was like his mind was snapping a little.

"Ge...Geoff?"

"Spark liked you and I asked him and he said that ... said that I should ask you." He muttered.

Spark? It took me a moment to see the dog beside Geoff, partly protected by his legs, this funny little creature that was probably a mix of six different breeds.

I glanced up and down the hallway, partly concerned that Father had set Geoff up to trap me or something, to play a trick or test... but no one was around, and Geoff just stood there. He seemed worse than usual, his voice closer to that of an eight year old rather than a fourteen year old, his eye, his hand firmly clinging to the dog's harness. The dog seemed to not mind at all.

Geoff was special. There was no other word for it. Out of all of Father's five sons, Geoff was the one I saw least, and the one that I felt most awkward to be near. He wasn't a bad kid, that wasn't it, he was just ... different. Our older brothers would tease him about being autistic or something. I never had known if that was actually the case- I didn't know if autistic kids believed animals talked back or not- but he'd keep to himself most of the time.

Father claimed that he was a bastard but ... but I'd seen a photo of my own father at fourteen and they could have been twins.

"Okay." I said softly. Lowering my voice seemed to help and his eyes came a little further up to rest on my neck. I tried to smile as geninue a smile as I could. "You must have found a key then."

"It was hanging beside your door. Can you help me?"

That sadistic bastard. Of course he'd do that. Hang the key to my freedom... just a foot away from the door keeping me prisoner. I hesitated. Should I run for it?

As soon as I saw Geoff's face I knew I couldn't do that. What would Father do to him if I did that? I couldn't do that to Geoff. Suddenly a strange protective side rose. I had to stay here as long as I could for this kid as well. No one else protected him. And it wasn't his fault that he was different.

Besides- if I stayed put, wouldn't that only help Father feel a bit more trusting of me? If I willingly stayed with an open door. Right? "Okay. Sure. How can I help?"

"They won't eat. I'm scared they're sick. Father won't come. He's busy with the party and he said if I went in there he'd..." Geoff trailed off, his voice quivering, and he stared at his dog.

Yeah. Maybe he had a good reason to come to me instead of Father. I tried to speak softer, as if speaking to a very young frightened child, "Who, hun?"

Geoff didn't answer. He held out the crutches.

I took them, sliding up from the wheelchair onto my feet, and as soon as I was up Geoff turned and started down the hallway. I hesitated, a little nervous of my odd half-brother, but followed after him slowly on the crutches.

"We can't go near the party." I warned him softly.

"We won't." Geoff answered. "They're somewhere else."

Who?

He led me all the way down to the kitchens and out a door that led into the garden, the dog close beside him, and took a key off a wall. Geoff unlocked it and led me into a shed.

The bright lights nearly blinded me after walking along a dark hallway and kitchen so it was the smell that hit me first. The smell of unwashed bodies, stress, rotting food, musky smells that made my stomach churn. Then as my eyes adjusted I saw windows that had been boarded shut, a small bed in a corner, and on the other side of the room, a pair of slowly moving bodies inside a... for lack of a better description... makeshift jail cell.

Oh god. The King and Queen. This was where they were kept.

Once again I hesitated. What if this was the double? A test to see... to see what I'd do? I stared at the cowering couple. They were filthy, matted hair, faces smudged with dirt and tear trails, far too underweight, and unlike the King and Queen double- Who only behaved like a King and Queen when around the public- these two didn't have an 'off' switch for their attitudes. Even now. Even in their state. And they both looked sick.

"They're... the real ones?" I hesitated and reached out to touch the bars. They flinched, whites of their eyes showing, and I felt my heart break a little.

"Of course they are. I told you." Geoff muttered and scratched his head awkwardly. "I don't want nothing to do with Father's plans. Okay? He just about told me that if I didn't ... well, you know what happened to Andrew."

Andrew was the one that had been killed in Liberty after trying to grab me. I also knew what had happened to Geoff's dog. I didn't want to bring that up though. Okay. He needed my help. I nodded, faintly, and asked, "So ... what are they doing here?"

"Father said it's my job to keep them alive and-" Geoff flinched as I glared at him... care! and held up his hands. "But I can only do that with what he gives me! I've been trying and sneaking other stuff. He says I can only give them what he gives me in buckets and water."

That explained the overturned buckets and rotting food on the ground beside the couple. There was mold. Mold! It was really unhealthy in here. "They look awful."

"We may look as such but we are still able to hear." The King managed to pull off an offended tone even while he was that bad off, his head lifting up slowly, eyes finally looking at us. "Are we not allowed to rest?"

"Rest?"

"Father makes them listen to rock music for several days at a time. They aren't eating now. I don't want to be a murderer, Sophia, I don't want to do this anymore. Father will kill me if they die." He was rocking somewhat, eyes on his lap, face white. "Why won't they eat?"

"You know that's torture, right?" I gritted my teeth. Calm down. Calm down. Geoff wasn't at fault. I wanted to be angry though. No wonder why the King and Queen were in such bad shape. "So you've tried..."

"Everything. I've tried to talk to them, feed them, I've tried to sing, and ... they don't care. Animals like to be cared for. Father won't even come anymore. He told me to let them … stop bringing water... let them... but I... I can't... but they won't drink!"

Geoff's face froze at that, his head suddenly twitching, and I didn't want to ask. Let them die? Probably. The sad thing was that... that it didn't look like it'd take long now.

"Have you at least got some water and a clean cloth? A towel?" Some part of me was disgusted with Geoff for this. But... I couldn't stay angry at him. Father was terrifying and while he'd spoiled me for being his only daughter, at least when it came to offering money, Geoff was different. I knew the whole story.

He was an accident, literally getting in just days before Father sterilised himself, and from birth he'd been odd. Different. He talked to animals, shied away from people, and Father openly called him 'Bastard' even though he was very clearly his Father's son. At least physically. Father also encouraged the others to be cruel to him to 'toughen him up'. I'd heard our brothers taunt him for being autistic. I couldn't tell if Geoff actually was... but after a lifetime of emotional abuse, maybe even physical, he'd always seemed odd to me.

It had gotten worse after that incident with his first dog.

I'd been scared of him, to be honest, been scared of how silent he was, how he couldn't look me in the eye, and how he might walk around the house for hours in an obsessive path that never changed, or the fits he might have if someone entered his room. But he wasn't violent after loosing the dog. He was the opposite. I'd seen him tend to injured wildlife like a professional secretly in a shed, with the gardener giving him a space, and he tended to freeze or hide if he felt threatened. Maybe this was another way Father would abuse him. Make him responsible for ... for this. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it'd do to Geoff if they died.

It might push him over some edge. It wasn't good. He already looked worse than I remembered.

As I reminded myself of this, I spoke softly to the two older adults, kneeling beside them with the aid of the crutches, trying to calm myself. Not Geoff's fault. And when he returned I managed to smile at him, as he slid a bucket and towel along the floor towards me, which seemed to do some good. He unlocked the door as I went inside and tried to not show my disgust at the smells coming from them.

Glenn was going to be furious.

"Okay. Please excuse me, Your Highnesses, but I'll clean your faces. I think that might feel better." I moved slowly and carefully, partly to not spook Geoff, partly to not spook the couple anymore. "Glenn won't recognise you when he comes back."

"You shouldn't address him as such." The Queen spoke up. She stared at me a long time, a very long time, as I carefully wiped her face, her voice dry.

"It's all right. He gave me permission."

"The fake did."

"No, Your Highness, Glenn himself did. He's in Liberty with Prince Keith."

She shuddered suddenly, a mixture of hope and fear crossing her face, looking ten years older. "No... no, I've heard that before. He died. We saw the photos."

Oh god. Father must have been having far too much fun with them. "I suppose you have. I'm sorry. You're right. I'll call him Prince Glenn." There wasn't much point arguing about it with them. They'd probably need quite a bit of therapy after this. "You've both stopped eating."

"There's no point. Our sons are dead."

I shut my eyes a moment and tried to breathe. Even if I told them that wasn't true- they might not believe me right now- and I had to focus on what I could do. "Geoff?"

Geoff moved closer.

"They must feel awful in these clothes." I had to concentrate on improving their situation right now. Even feeling clean might give them some strength and improve their sense of self-pride. "Do you think you can spare some of your clothing for the King? I'll bring something for the Queen."

"Share it?"

"Gift it to them." I reworded it. He didn't like sharing things. "To keep."

"I... I guess." He went through a door, which seemed to lead to a small bedroom, and returned with jeans and a shirt. By comparative... the small bedroom, from what I could see, was incredibly neat and tidy looking. Geoff wrinkled his nose at the shirt. "I don't like shirts. The neck tickles."

I smiled at that. Maybe Geoff was still about eight mentally. It would explain a lot. "That would annoy me as well. I'm sure the King wont' mind."

"He wore them a lot in the TV."

"Exactly. I'm going to get some warm water from the kitchen but I can't carry it."

"You think they won't eat because they're dirty?" I nodded and he seemed to understand that. "Oh. I don't like being dirty either. I don't like it in here. I can bring warm water in buckets."

"Good idea."

"I don't ... want ... to be touched by the likes of you." The King raised his head again and gave me a pretty scary look that was all too much like an angry Glenn. "Common woman. Traitor."

"Uh huh." I ignored that. "I was thinking I would leave the water with Your Highnesses, and some towels, and allow you both to clean yourselves and dress." They'd probably have to help each other. "Then I'll return with a mop and clean up the ground."

"Why would you... is this another trick?" The Queen fixed me with a sharp stare.

"Not at all. My mother would be furious if I left you two like this." It was the plain honest truth. Mum would be furious. I was a guest here. Glenn would be furious too, knowing him, and some part of me couldn't help but think about how Roberto would handle this. I added, "I won't force you to eat or anything but..."

"We won't eat."

I wasn't sure if they would or not. I didn't respond to that. Instead I helped Geoff set it up inside, more or less, and we waited outside. Deep down I felt a kind of desperation all of a sudden. I didn't know how much longer any of us was going to cope with this. I just knew that I was exhausted, sore, and a bit afraid of being here.

I hoped they'd come up with something soon.

"Then don't eat." I muttered. "I'll come back with some clothing for you, Your Highness, and …" And keep them alive. I hoped Father didn't discover what I was doing. But if this was all I could do for Prince Glenn... then I was going to try.

A/N Yep- basically, this man is an evil bastard.

But who will he force to be the 'fiancee' of Glenn?