Saving Her: Chapter III
Summary: Carter knows this is a good idea. She really does, because she's going to be saving Rosie, and anything after that just doesn't register. CarterxRosie
Author's Note: So it's a little earlier than Friday, I know :) I'm half-tempted to just post everything all right now BUT I CAN'T 'cause then I know I won't write more as fast. XD Weird logic, I know. Anyhoo, this chapter's kind of dark but the story's finally moving forward so I hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Rosalinda/Rosie Gonzalez, Carter Mason, or Princess Protection Program and all affiliated characters and environments. They are the property of Disney in conjunction with Annie DeYoung :]
Pain. That, at least, she could register. As the fog began to leave, and the feeling began returning to her body, Carter Mason became more attune to her surroundings.
Her masquerade mask was still securely tied around her head, to her immense relief. Her hands and feet twitched; she was bound. She was suddenly aware of a very stale, metallic taste in her mouth, and her eyes bugged out of her head in an attempt to stop herself from heaving. Okay, so she was bound, and gagged. How incredibly cliché, and yet…
Carter's heart began to beat wildly out of control as she tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself. Remember, you're doing this for Rosie. For Rosie…
Just the memory of the Princess's warm brown eyes and elegant smile began to calm the jittery girl, and she sighed, focusing on the girl in her mind and pushing the panic back out of her veins. It was then her entire body was jostled roughly to the side, and she noticed something else.
She was being carried.
Carter could feel the sharp jut of a shoulder digging into her ribcage as she realized she was carelessly thrown over someone's broad back. And there was more than one pair of footsteps echoing down the dark, damp hallway that they traveled. It seemed as though her captor and his men had yet to notice she was awake, even with all the movement she had been making. Slowly, she lifted her head just enough to crane her neck over her shoulder.
General Kane was deep in conversation with two men, one of whom she recognized as Mr. Elegante; Carter felt the tiniest bit of relief at seeing him. She knew she wouldn't be harmed too badly while he was around. The young Latino kept glancing at her through the corner of his eye with the smallest knit in his brow; he did a barely imperceptible double take when he saw her looking back at him, and raised his chin at her in a questioning manner; his eyes were asking if she was okay.
Carter nodded very slightly back at him, before lowering her head back the whole way down, a feeling of dread washing over her. This dark hallway had turned out not to be a hallway at all.
They were cells. Prison cells.
The Louisiana native tried not to think about the fact that she was hundreds of miles away from her home, her dad, and her best friend. She tried not to think about the fact that she had just been forcibly kidnapped and taken to a tiny uncharted island country that was currently in the middle of a war, and she most definitely did not think about the fact that she was the main reason—well, Rosie really, but for now it was her—for that war in the first place. If they find out, when they find out, who she is the unrest is only going to get worse. Carter internally cringed. Maybe she should have thought this through better.
But at least Rosie was safe. She was a million miles away, and she was safe.
Carter didn't have much time to find comfort in that thought because suddenly they were stopping. The alarmingly loud rattle of an iron-barred gate sliding open startled her straight out of her skin, and then she was confused, because all of a sudden she was flying.
No, not flying. Being thrown.
The impact of her petite frame on the cold stone ground forced a cry of pain out of her lips that she couldn't hold in. Somewhere in the damp darkness, beneath the loud laughter of the General and his men, came an alarmed cry of protest.
"Rosalinda!"
Carter was about to look for the source of the worried voice when a steel-toed boot connected with her ribcage, the crack echoing almost as loud as her scream. Through her watering eyes she looked up, and was met with the snarling face of General Magnus Kane.
"Your country is mine now, Princessa."
Carter shook on the floor, barely able to lift her head as her bones felt as though they were made of led and filled with quicksand all at the same time. The dictator let loose a bark of laughter, throwing his cloak over his shoulder as one of his men slammed the gate back closed. She caught Elegante's worried and sorry expression as he too wandered away.
The young brunette strained her ear hard, waiting until she could no longer hear the echo of their footsteps before she even attempted to take a breath. A sharp and intense pain shot through her entire body at the action, and the air left her lungs in a wheeze. She wondered if something was broken.
As she laid still, shallow breaths barely coming in and out, she couldn't help but let the full weight of what she was doing press down on her. The tears were back and this time she didn't bother to try and stop them.
And then there was a gentle hand on her back, and a curtain of long brown hair filled her vision. For a minute Carter's heart leapt out of her chest as she was sure the face hovering over her own was Rosie's. The panic began to bubble up inside of her; why was she here? Didn't she know she wasn't safe? What was she doing? The plan was ruined—
But then she blinked, and realized that the worried face trying gently to untie her mask was about twenty years too old to be Rosie. It hit her then.
The queen. Rosie's mother.
Carter jumped away, pressing herself against the steel bars despite the screaming protest in her torso, holding the mask that was dropping below her eyes back into place.
The woman watched her move, alarmed, one hand slowly reaching out for her as she said something quickly in Spanish. She knew she should have paid more attention in class. Carter shook her head, opening her mouth to say something, anything, when the Queen tried again, this time in English.
"Mija, it's me. It's mamma." She still didn't get a response from the trembling girl. "Rosalinda?"
Carter sighed, pressing more heavily into the bars on her right side. She had to tell her. Slowly, Carter lowered the hand holding the mask in place, meeting the Queen's surprised look with her own sad gaze.
"You…are not my Rosalinda." Carter was put a bit more at ease when the tone coming from the saddened woman did not change into anger; but the concern grew. "Who are you? Where is Rosalinda? Is she safe?"
The questions grew frantic, and Carter hurried to answer them. "Rose—Princess Rosalinda is fine. She's safe. She's not here."
The Queen visibly relaxed, and the Louisiana native pressed forward. "My name is Carter. Carter Mason."
A flash of recognition flickered over the woman's face. "Mason? As in Majour Mason?"
A small smile made its way onto Carter's face as she nodded. "He's my dad."
Rosie's mother (Sophia, Carter remembered) looked comforted by that thought, and smiled weakly at the young girl. "I trust he has been keeping my daughter safe?"
"As safe as possible. She's with him, don't worry…" Her eyes drifted to the side as she wondered aloud, "I wonder if they've noticed I'm gone…"
Looking back at the Queen, Carter was surprised to find the concern on her face moments ago for her daughter was quickly replaced by concern for her. She was kneeling by her side in an instant, a gentle hand on Carter's forearm.
"Let me see." She commanded gently, and the young teen found protests rising in her throat out of habit. Protests that immediately died at the pointed look she received from the former queen. Carter took as deep a breath as she could, and moved her arms from her side.
She wondered how bad it looked as the queen gasped at the sight. She knew the dress was torn in several places if not completely ripped open in others, so her skin was visible, but it couldn't be that bad, right?
Sophia rose and disappeared into the dark corner of the cell, returning moments later with a bucket of murky brown water. Carter gasped as she began tearing strips off the petticoat of her dress, dipping them in the water and wrapping it snugly around her bruised ribs.
"W-Wait—you don't have to—"
The queen clicked her tongue at her. "Nonsense. Now, do not move."
Carter's jaw snapped shut. She held still while each strip of shimmering fabric was carefully wrapped around her, fitting snugly. She was surprised to find relief from the pain, and she took a slow breath. It didn't hurt.
"Tell me, Carter Mason." Sophia began, tugging gently on a knot of another wrap. "Why does General Kane think you are my daughter?"
Carter closed her eyes and sighed, delving at once into the events of the past week; of the two horrible girls at their school finding out who Rosie really was, to the article that fueled her decision to return home. She explained her plan, and her contact with Mr. Elegante (she noted the look of reprieve when she mentioned he was still on their side), and finally the happenings of the night that led to her current situation.
By the time she was finished with her tale, Queen Sophia's eyes were shining into hers with a maternal affection Carter hadn't had aimed at her since her mother died.
She felt herself being laid down, her head resting comfortably in the queens' lap as a gentle hand ran through her hair. A warmth washed over her that she hadn't felt in a long time, and she felt sleepy.
"I cannot ever thank you enough for this, Carter." The queen smiled down at the girl in her lap when her eyes began to droop. "But why would you do this for my Rosalinda? You have not known her long."
Carter's eyes drifted to the side, pressing her lips together in thought. She couldn't very well tell Rosie's mother that she was completely in love with her daughter; that probably wouldn't go over well.
"I…care a lot about your daughter." Carter decided to say honestly. "I know we just met a month ago but…she's already my best friend." She could feel her cheeks heating up under the queen's open stare. "When Rosie first came to stay with us, my dad told me that it was my job to protect her when he couldn't." She decided to not her tell how much she had loathed that at the time. "So that's what I'm doing. My dad didn't know she was planning on returning home; she made me promise not to say anything. He couldn't protect her this time, but I could."
Carter felt the days events finally catch up to her as her vision began to blur, sleep creeping at the edges of her consciousness. The last thing she registered was a warm hand resting on her forehead, quiet words drifting over her like a blanket.
"Rest, mija. Rest."
Mija. My Child.
For the first time in a long time, Carter felt safe.
Author's Note: I think my next update will come on Tuesday, so hopefully this is enough to tie you all over! :] Let me know what you thought!
