I didn't really get to hang around these two, Riki and Hiro/Bella, because as soon as we were 'ready'... security swooped.

Something about a punishment for me- I wasn't going to be involved in the pre-celebration, or the dinner beforehand, and instead confined to my room under guard. So off I was wheeled to the room I'd been so sure I'd escaped, security standing right there while my door was left open, and I had to sit there.

I wasn't that upset about not having the fancy meal downstairs or being around Father. Not really. I wheeled around my room, aware of the eyes watching my every move, trying to look suitably depressed. It wasn't difficult. I really was worried about it- their plans had probably been a little screwed up with me being involved. Woops.

Maybe I should have hid in the wardrobe and whispered suggestions or something.

The storm was close again. I wheeled to the glass window and gazed outside, watching the warm tropical-like storm approach, wondering if it was going to be nearly as bad as the one we'd had when we escaped. Given that no one had used the term 'cyclone' I had to assume no. The gardens were dancing in a pretty good wind, rain smacking against my window every time a gust got a little stronger, and flashes of lightning lit the dark grey clouds occasionally with a distant rumble. I slid the window open a little, expecting a cool wind to cool my warm room, but instead the wind was surprisingly warm for a storm. Even the rain was 'warm', as it was blown into the window, smacking against my legs and the dress. I hurriedly shut the window before it made the white fabric go see through.

From here I couldn't see the front but I had some view of the roads coming in this direction. I'd probably see the limousine appear later on, maybe in an hour or two, and in the gardens there were very clearly servants and maids moving around in a hurry. No idea what they were doing in the rain- I supposed they knew. I hoped they knew.

Truthfully- I was looking outside to avoid the other reality. But I had to see. I sighed and slid the dress off my legs.

Belts were horrible things. I stared at my legs, long pink and red welts wrapped all around the skin, probably the start of some new alarming looking bruises. It was very tender to the touch as well. The backs of my legs, where they rubbed against the wheelchair, really hurt now. I wished I had some ice to apply to them.

I heard a movement in the wardrobe and turned as I slid the dress down my legs, very slowly, as the bodyguard was still standing on the inside of the door in my room. I was afraid it'd be Roberto for obvious reasons.

To my relief... it wasn't.

It was Prince Glenn. The real one. I didn't know how I could tell them apart, just by a glance, but I could now. He held a finger up to his lips for a moment, as if he knew someone was there, before he gestured to something I'd ignored till now.

Oh. A laptop. A laptop that was on, the web cam light bright green, with the screen in screen saver mode. When had I left it in here? The answer was- I hadn't.

As soon as I saw it Prince Glenn had backed off again, leaving something in the wardrobe with an obvious exaggerated gesture, the wall sliding shut behind him. The guy guarding me didn't even know he'd been there.

Trying to not look too excited or overenthusiastic I wheeled across to the window again, just for a moment, gazing out the window as if I was just trying to find something to do. Stare at wardrobe. Stare out window. Stare at shoes and sigh.

"These are the wrong shoes..." I finally decided, after some very loud sighs, and kicked them off one after the other. I wheeled across to the wardrobe first, ignoring the guard as he watched me, expecting that he probably wasn't that interested in shoes.

He did follow me to the wardrobe though. Damn. So escaping out that way wasn't a choice. Did Father suspect there were secret tunnels or was he just being overly careful? I didn't care, I slid the small package into the space between my thigh and the edge of the wheelchair, and started to fiddle with shoes that were arranged on the shoe rack. White dress. Um. I supposed … no one would care if I wore flat ballet shoes. Right? Who would expect a woman to wear heels when she could barely stand as it was?

I supposed fashion expected it. Tough. It was easier for me to slide these shoes on. My brain wasn't that concerned with fashion anyway. As the guard made a point of looking bored, probably because I'd started to mutter to myself about 'pink vs lilac vs rose' beaded jewellery... I slid open the drawers containing the jewellery and opened the package inside. It took a bit of juggling- one hand lifting jewellery out, the other undoing an envelope, but I found inside a kind of earpiece.

I could hide it so easily, it was practically the same colour as the earrings Hiro had made me put on earlier, and my hair covered my ears anyway. I slid it in my ear, found it stayed perfectly, and smiled faintly.

Smart cookies. Maybe they really were prepared for anything.

When I'd gathered several handfuls of necklaces I wheeled towards the laptop, right past the guard, my heart racing in anticipation of the earpiece being discovered... but it wasn't. He barely even looked at me. Just followed and resumed his watchful stance at the door to the hallway. So I slid the laptop closer, holding up the jewellery, muttering to myself about... some fashion magazine... as I pretended to search for the latest fashion.

'Pro!' Words flashed up suddenly, right in the corner of the screen where a little box was pretending to be part of the computer program, and I blinked at it as a face appeared. Big smiley face with a weird facial hair thing going on. Atsumu. He did a thumbs up towards the camera.

I supposed he could see me back, the thought kind of embarrassing me, but I didn't get time to think about this. A body practically flung itself at Atsumu, shoving him out of the way, and Roberto's anxious face appeared right there as his eyes stared down at where my face had to have been.

He said something, something I didn't hear, and Atsumu appeared briefly. I had to assume he was telling Roberto that this was all text chatting because the next second Roberto's hands appeared for a moment and words flew across the screen faster than I could reply.

'PHIAAAAAAA... U HURT. COME HOME. AL IS SAD. （ToT）'

I suspected he was sadder. Alberto was probably pretty calm right now. Or maybe I was wrong? Who knew.

Another 'Phiaaaa（ToT) ' appeared on my screen as I hesitated. I glanced at the guard, and when our eyes met, I called, "They say pink and pearl are awesome! What do you think?" and just as I expected, he ignored me. Just as I'd hoped, he literally walked to the doorway, leaned in it, with his back just about pointing towards me in an obvious 'Don't ask me' gesture.

Perfect.

'I'M SORY FOR WANTING 2 TOUCH UR FEET PHIA. BABY GIRL. SWEETIE. HONEY. DARLING. (＞。) UR HOT. ...ﾎﾟｯ(*ﾟ.ﾟ)(ﾟ.ﾟ*)ﾎﾟｯ...'

There was a minor scuffle on the camera, as Atsumu reappeared, clearly trying to type while Roberto did his best to maintain 'Phia watching position'.

'Sophia- turn on ear with switch on back.'

I fiddled with my ear, sliding my thumb over the back of my ear where it was held, and found a tiny little switch... so tiny that I wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't looked. Straight away I could hear audio from the laptop's mic on their end.

Like I'd expected, Alberto was there, telling Roberto off as he complained and jostled Atsumu.

Finally I typed, 'Can you hear?' and got a nod from Atsumu, this odd kind of ...noise... from Roberto, who froze.

He grasped the laptop, bending forward, and grinned down at my image on his screen. "Phia? Can you hear me?"

When I nodded, his face lit up, and I had to really force myself to not smile back. I couldn't look happy or amused! The guard was right there!

'Stop making me smile.' I scolded, glancing sideways at the guard, before sliding across fashion pages. 'I'm being watched.'

Roberto's smile faded and he seemed to think about standing up. I could read his mind so well, see that he was thinking about coming right here, and there was the sudden appearance of Alberto's legs as he appeared on the other side of the couch. Probably ready to shove him back down.

"The ear piece will let you hear communication from here." Atsumu's voice cut in as he tried to edge himself back into the picture, half his face reappearing. His smile had faded now. "You won't hear everything, Takkun is filtering it, but you'll hear what you need to."

"We'll come for you." Roberto added.

"When the time's right. She's not in any danger."

"Not... didn't you see what I saw?" Roberto's voice raised, and I flinched, suddenly worried the guard might hear this exchange.

He didn't seem to notice, he was standing there, shifting from side to side as he glanced at his phone. Maybe he was reading his facebook. He was clearly distracted.

"Hiro and Riki are with your Father now." Atsumu continued as he ignored Roberto. He added, very cheerfully, very seriously, "Plus- your starsign says you'll have a lucky day. I'm not worried at all."

I half expected Roberto to protest this reasoning. Instead... he seemed to calm down a moment. Did he also believe in those things? Shesh.

"But you can't wear green." Roberto spoke up. "You can wear pink."

"Pink's your lucky colour."

"...pink's fashionable, huh." I muttered as I fingered the beaded necklaces I'd picked up as an excuse, various shades of pink, and held them up as if I was evaluating them again. "But which one is the most fashionable?"

I was sure I heard a sigh from the guard. He was ignoring me now- completely absorbed in his phone.

"Yeah, wear all of them!"

"Or one." Atsumu added. "Don't look too suspicious."

I picked one at random and slid it over my neck. When I glanced up, Roberto's eyes were boring into the screen, and as much as he was trying to seem cheerful and relaxed... there was a tension in his face. He must have seen it.

'It'll be okay'. I typed, quickly, trying to reassure him.

"We'll turn the mic off in a moment." Atsumu said, softer, as he glanced sideways. "You aren't alone though."

"We'll watch." Roberto added quickly. He grasped the screen on his end, a weird sight for a web cam attached to a laptop, adding, "I love you, Phia. I won't let you get hurt again."

It should have been creepy that they were watching most of my movements. It wasn't. It was a little reassuring actually. So I tried to reassure him with 'I'm fine. Go on. Let's finish it.'

"No, you're not, and … I'm coming." Roberto's voice faded as he frowned suddenly, staring at my image. Just like I'd seen right though him... he'd clearly seen right through me. "I'm coming right now, Phia. You just lock yourself in that bathroom and..."

"No, you're not." Alberto's voice cut in. "He's not."

"Behave normally. Read a book. Watch something on you tube." Atsumu's voice cut in. He'd been elbowed out of the web cam frame again by Roberto but I could still hear him. "We'll turn the camera off for now but the chat will stay open just in case you need us..."

"I'll keep talking on it."

"No, it needs to stay quiet. Emergencies only." Atsumu had already switched the camera off. My heart sunk as the image of Roberto vanished from the screen as well. "It can't flash on the screen in case she's watched. Turning the mic of-"

"Wait!" Roberto's voice cut in, as if he couldn't stand loosing this one last connection, and for a long moment I heard his breathing. He seemed to be panicked all of a sudden. "...I... I..."

"Ten, nine, eight..."

"Just … at the ball. Stay near Ed or Keithy. Stay safe. Don't be a hero and don't hit your Father like I suggested... Just … stay safe, okay? Phia? Just be a cute mouse. I'm coming." He sounded way too scared for my liking. It made me very uneasy. Was Roberto planning something? I didn't want him to endanger himself.

"Turning it off now. We're right here."

And with that the mic was gone.

I sighed, shutting my eyes a moment, and tried to do what they'd suggested. A movie wasn't a bad idea. There were a number of them on the laptop as well, mostly girly romance drama kinds they probably assumed I'd like best, but honestly the thought of watching anything involving romance made me think of Roberto.

I knew he was barely a hundred metres from me, logistically, if I could ...walk through walls and floors... but suddenly he felt a million miles away.

One message popped up, just one, and I stared at it a long time as it flashed across the video folder.

'I love you, Phia. I'm coming.'