Saving Her: Chapter XIII


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: Wow, 107 reviews, almost 12,000 hits!? You guys are amazing! Thank you so much, so very much. My goodness, I can't believe it!!! You guys have no idea how happy I am that you like this silly story of mine! Thank you to my reviewers and readers! You guys make my day!!!

Okay now I'm really nervous. XD It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Hope I didn't disappoint!

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.


Rosie's eyes were as cold as the steel with which she spoke, waiting for his answer. He swallowed thickly.

"Princessa—" Elegante wheezed, holding up his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "—let me explain to you—"

Rosie cut him off with more pressure to his chest. "I did not ask you to explain, Elegante, I asked you to tell me where she is."

"I-I cannot."

"Traïdor!" [1]

"Princessa, si us plau—" [2]

"Silenci!" [3]

Elegante immediately shut his mouth, body wilting in submission in an action that was second nature to someone who had served royalty for as long as he had.

"If you have any loyalty left in you for my family, you will take me to Carter. Then we shall see if I should be so inclined to spare you from punishment."

"Princessa, that is what I am trying to tell you! I cannot take you to Miss Carter because I do not know where she is."

Rosie's eyes flashed as she eased up off her old friend, standing back up. Elegante stayed where he was, seeing that he had her attention, but weary of the plethora of weaponry still pointed at his forehead. Mason came up beside Rosie, eyeing the man on the ground. "Agent Gonzalez, you know this man?"

Rosie nodded up at him, betrayal shining clear in her eyes. "Ricardo Elegante. He is the one who sold my location to General Kane."

Elegante feared the sudden flash of emotions over this man's face. He couldn't name it, couldn't place it, but whatever it was only increased the cold in his chest. He scrambled to explain. "Princessa, the execution is but a few hours away. I will accept any punishment Your Majesty so feels appropriate, peró si us plau [4], you do not have time now! Vostè necessita trobar la seva!" [5]

Rosie went rigid, and suddenly the ice that had been ever present in her eyes melted away into a puddle of sadness, leaking out to crawl over her cheek. Mason looked alarmed at the information, hauling Elegante up from the floor roughly.

"You know where this is happening?"

Elegante nodding vigorously, and Joe threw him with a grunt of disgust into two of his men, who took him by the arms so he would not run. Rosie seemed hesitant all of a sudden.

"Majour Mason—"

"Mason?" Elegante's eyebrows shot up. "You are Miss Carter's father?"

Joe completely ignored him as he turned to Rosie.

"What about my mother?"

"Sa i estalvi."[6] Elegante interrupted, wincing a bit at the grip on his arms. "She will be there with el generàl, peró Princessa she is not the one in danger—"

Mason whirled on him, and Elegante's voice died in his throat at the feeling of the cool metal barrel pointed into his shoulder. "Here's what's gonna happen…you're gonna take us to location, and then you're gonna help us save my daughter." The designer gulped as the majour drew closer, face hard. "Whether you like it or not."

"Sí senyor, per descomptat senyor!" [7]

"Rosie, what did he say?" Joe didn't take his eyes off the Spaniard.

"He will." She replied simply, mind whirring far too fast to truly keep up.

"Good." Joe flicked his fingers forward in command, and the front line moved up to secure the passageway. At the clear they began to move forward.

"I've got a plan."


Carter eyed him warily as Kane circled her like a hawk, inspecting his men while they worked to tie her to the wooden slat in the middle of the deep concrete pit. It was the way he was looking at her: like a lion to unsuspecting gazelle, like a wolf to innocent rabbit, like a hunter to unknowing deer, like…

…like a murderer to his victim.

If she had harbored any hope, held out for any chance of rescue, suppressed any dark shadow of fear dancing along the edges of her consciousness, it had now officially been laid to rest. Carter knew it was too late, as they finished securing her to the thick wooden board, for any chance of salvation.

Nobody was coming. She wasn't going to be saved.

The men took hold of the large metal crank, rowing as the plank clicked and she was slowly lowered horizontally so that all she could see above her was the brilliant blue Costa Lunian sky. Oh well, if she had to go at least the view was nice.

It hadn't quite sunk in yet, she thought as a certain laziness fogged up her brain. She knew she was going to die; basically be impaled with a million pointy arrows and hopefully blackout shortly there afterwards in the most inhumane tradition of death by firing squad she had ever heard of. She knew it wasn't going to be quick or clean and she had the sneaking, slightly horrified suspicion that she would probably feel it, but still, at the moment all she could think about was the fact that that cloud right there to her left looked a little like the cleft in Rosie's adorable chin.

If you asked her how she had gotten here Carter Mason could not tell you. One minute she's watching half of Costa Luna's citizens be slaughtered in the capital square and the next she's being taken down into a deep cylindrical pit and tied to a piece of wood.

This is where it would happen. It was a large and very deep cavity, dug about the equivalent of two stories into the earth and lined with smooth concrete all around. The walls were almost polished with no cracks, footholds or anything that might help her climb out. There was a large drain directly below the wood where she lay bound, and Carter didn't have to be familiar with any of this to know what it was for. The only way in was a small trap door off somewhere beyond her toes that led down to a damp tunnel that would spit you out in the hallways of the torchlight prison cells where she had been held.

It was foolproof.

And in this case the only fool to be had was her.

Kane's snarling face suddenly blocked the view of another cloud she had just decided looked way too much like him in the first place, peering down at her with that same predatory look. She met his gaze with stubborn defiance.

"I will give you one last chance, girl." His voice was low, gravelly in an attempt to further menace her fear. "Where is Princessa Rosalinda?"

Carter met the sneer on his face with one of her own.

"I'd rather die than tell you."

Kane drew back with a growl, securing her old, broken masquerade mask onto her face with a sharp snap.

"Well then…it seems as though you will get your wish." He bent over her again, stale breath ghosting over her cheeks and making her sick as he stuffed a gag into her mouth, securing it around her head none-to-gently. "Enjoy your last hour, princessa."

Kane strode away with a swish of his cape, barking another order to his men. Carter listened after them as their voices grew farther and farther away, echoing off into the day until she heard the trapdoor slam shut, and suddenly she couldn't hear anything anymore.

The birds were tweeting, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing; the whole world was full, but Carter had never felt so empty.


Sophia drew in an anxious breath, wringing her hands nervously at the balcony as she watched her new husband tie an innocent girl down to her deathbed. Her lip curled at the endearment. Husband. That man was not her husband; she was and would forever be promised to one man, and he would never dare to inflict upon a young girl such intolerable cruelty, no matter the circumstance.

The distress gnawing away at her chest was growing stronger and more powerful at each passing second. Each new grain of sand that passed down into the hourglass settled like heavy stones in her abdomen, piling and piling until she felt that she might burst. Or heave.

She had failed her. Sophia had failed in her promise to keep Carter safe, to ensure that this downward spiral of destruction and severe degradation of everything she had ever known would nary touch a hair on the young teen's head. But it had, because she had not found a way to stop it, and now those hairs had not only been touched but singed as well. It was not for lack of trying; she had tried, several times every hour between now and the evening past, but to no avail. It seemed Magnus was not above domestic violence in penance for disobedience, even if he was not there to administer it himself. Neither her former status as Queen Sophia Fiore nor her current status as Queen Sophia Kane could spare her the hand that came down upon her at her pursuance of freedom.

It wasn't the windchill that slipped a shiver down her spine as she watched the girl who saved her daughter's life—and who she had come to think of as a daughter herself—lie helplessly bound beneath the sky. As she watched her nation's people trickle into the coliseum, filing in row by row to watch the downfall of who they thought to be their beloved princess. The view she had of the pit floor from here above in the royal view box was complete, and it made her nauseous to fathom the encroaching bloodshed. Sophia grit her teeth and turned away. She couldn't just sit here and watch. She had to do something! Her eyes found the broad backs of the two royal guards, decked from head to toe in a deep midnight blue, and her nostrils flared.

"Guards! I demand you to release me at once!"

They didn't even flinch at her harsh demand, and she surged forward.

"Guàrdies! Deixa'm!" [8]

Her hand was a hairsbreadth away from the man's shining golden epaulettes when there were two loud startling thumps, and both men crumpled to the ground. Sophia started back, hand to her chest as the shadowed figure of a man appeared in the doorway. She felt the fear bubbling up in her chest, and then he stepped forward, and that fear turned into utmost salvation.

Majour Mason smiled kindly at her, shoving his tranq gun back into his belt. He tipped his captain's hat in greeting as two more men entered the room, dragging the fallen guards away.

"Your Majesty. Sorry we're late."

Sophia felt her heart fly straight into the man's palms as she gasped, an endless stream of breathlessly relieved words pouring from her lips. Mason darted forward, hopping over the fallen guard with ease as Sophia's knees knocked and finally gave out. He caught her by the forearms, keeping a gentle hand between her shoulder blades as she sobbed into his chest. And then another figure appeared in the doorway, and Sophia's heart burst.

"Mama!"

"Rosalinda!"

Sophia turned away from the majour as Rosie barreled into her with the joyous noise of blessed reunion. She buried her head into her mother's shoulder, clinging onto the petticoat of her dress tightly like a small child. Sophia held her daughter close to her heart, rocking her gently as they both cried. She shushed her softly, cradling the back of her head as Rosie whimpered an endless loop of apology into her shoulder. She took her daughter's face into her hands, gathering her tears with her thumbs with a stern look, and the apologies stopped. But then Rosie caught clear sight of her mother's face for the first time, and couldn't stop the gasp that rushed from her lips. She reached up, brushing her fingers over the yellowing patches of skin on her mothers' high cheekbone, dotted with purple and green. Her eyes were sad, deep with regret and self-blame.

"Mama…your face…"

"Do not worry about me, mija. They are just bruises." She took the guilt in her child's eyes into her own, shaking her head. "Carter is injured far worse than I am."

Joe squat down next to the two Spanish women, a deep frown accentuating all the lines in his face. Sophia knew the look in his eyes well; the pain that only comes from losing a child. "Sophia…do you know where she is?"

Joe was surprised and increasingly frazzled to note that the Queen matched the look of parental loss in his eyes. She pointed toward the open balcony with a quiet warning.

"You can see them, but be mindful that they can also see you."

Rosie tore out of her mother's arms, cloaking herself in the thick velvet curtains as she raised her chin to look over the balcony's edge. Joe was a step behind her, pressed against the wall as he peered over her head. There she was. The sight of his child—his only daughter—so bruised and broken, tied down tightly deep in the concrete pit was so severely painful Joe felt all the air leave his lungs as though something had pressed down severely on his chest. Rosie whimpered like she had been kicked in the knee; small but sharp and still so very raw.

She was so close. Joe caught himself as his fingers twitched with the maddening desire to vault over the stone banister and run toward his baby girl. In fact, if he reached out, he bet he could almost

Joe sucked in a breath through his teeth, moving back toward his men at the door. He cleared his throat to halt the oncoming onslaught of tears, ordering the two replacement guards to attention. They stood up straight, focused and ready. Mason turned to the guard on the left, putting both his hands on his shoulders.

"You protect Her Majesty with everything you got, son."

Ed raised his head, determination in his eyes as he nodded. "Yessir."

Joe cuffed him on the arm with a sharp nod, checking the hall quickly before beckoning Rosie forward. "Time to move out, Agent."

Rosie could see that Majour Mason was in full military mode, eyes scarred with the image of his daughter awaiting her fate. She straightened up, wiping away the last of her tears to meet the readiness in his eyes. Rosie was ready. She was ready to have her best friend back in her arms, ready to step from Princess Rosalinda's dainty mary-janes into Agent Rosie Gonzalez's combat boots.

She was ready to save Carter, just as Carter had saved her.

Sophia looked mildly alarmed as she noticed her daughter's body language shift to attention. "No, it is too dangerous!"

Mason turned to the queen, spotting the panic in the woman's eyes. "Your Majesty—"

She cut him off, keeping Rosie beside her. "No! I will not allow this! She could be killed!"

"Ho sento, Mama."[9] Rosie interjected quietly, gently prying away her mother's trembling fingers from her arm. She took a step backward toward the door, lips pursed into a thin line. There was a look in her daughter's eye that the older Fiore had never seen before: steely determination swirling with protective affection and a depth of something else entirely.

Love.

Mason couldn't lose any more time. "I'm sorry Sophia, but I need Rosie for this. Please, you'll be safest here. My men will keep you from harm until this is all over. Until then I need you to continue to act the part. Can you do that?"

Sophia's frown didn't let up, but she nodded anyway. She could see that Rosalinda would go, with or without her approval.

"Bring them back safely, Majour. Both of them."

In another moment they had gone, vanished out the door, and Sophia was left with the draft they had left behind, and a single ray of hope in her heart.


Brass horns tooted off into the coliseum, a steady accompaniment of snare drumming vibrating into the sea of people. They fell silent, the tense apprehension in the air simmering down into a somber mood. The Royal Guard began their march through each of the two stone archways, blank faced and straight backed in their deep navy uniforms strewn with a shimmering gold. A long bow hung from each of their backs, the bright red fletching of each arrow poking out of their quivers like a warning of their attack.

The fog that had made its home deep in Carter's brain had finally decided to lift, and in its wake left her vulnerable to the full brute force of every emotion she had been trying so hard to suppress. The fear, the panic, the dread, the tremulous terror that had formerly evaded her now had all caught her and rammed into her so hard she was knocked breathless. She whimpered under the strain, her heart beating far too riled as it fought desperately to escape from her chest. Her hands were clammy and her entire being was trembling, drenched from head to toe in a severe cold that had nothing to do with the chill ocean side wind. The rattling of the drumming above her was rattling through her very bones.

The horns blared once, echoing off into silence as the steady snare took its place. The Guard marched to the center in an orderly line, looking like a snake that slithered and coiled to wrap around the mouth of the pit. A shout was heard, and four flags rose up from the tall flagpoles evenly spaced around the coliseum with the sound of heavy fabric billowing in the wind. They shone in the sunlight, two a deep red and gold adorned with a crescent moon, the others dark navy and purple with the white of a star. Another shout rippled through the air, and a fifth flag was pushed over the balcony of the royal box, new with a conjoinment of both countries colours, their celestial symbols intertwined in the stitching.

General Kane stood tall, chest puffed out as he took his place on a low platform embedded within the rows of stone. His face showed bright with victory as he raised his arm in command. The drumming grew faster.

"Armes a la mà!" [10]

There was a sound of wood clacking against wood as each Guard readied their bows, holding an arrow in place.

Carter wrenched frantically against her bindings, involuntarily vocalizing her fear around the cloth in her mouth. Her eyes flitted wildly around to anything she could see, but the vast expanse of blue that had before been so calming now only succeeded to panic her further. She felt crazy, out of her mind as it raced and swerved with something, anything at all she could do to save herself. She could feel it now, crawling under her skin, sliding through her veins, slipping into her soul; that frosty fear that glazed over every sense and seized her mind in its icy fingers.

"Apuntar!" [11]

Bows were drawn, strings straining against their binds. Each arrowhead dipped down, points glinting in the bright sunlight with aim at the quavering girl down deep in the earth.

This was it, Carter thought. This was it, she was gonna die here. She felt jittery, her muscles locking down and body tensing up in sheer terror. She curled her fingers tightly into her palms, pulling up with all the fight left in her on the ropes chafing the skin of her wrists but to no avail. The snare increased, growing faster and louder and louder and faster, shaking in the empty chasm where Carter's heart used to be.

She had so many regrets, so many things she wanted to do, things she wanted to say! To her dad, to Rosie—Rosie! She never got to tell her—! Carter's eyes rolled back, assaulted with memory after memory, moment after moment in her life she wished she could change. She cried out again, guttural and raw from deep in her throat. No, no she wasn't ready! She wasn't ready! She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, grinding her teeth. This was it!

"Foc!" [12]

Carter felt her skin rippling, pricking in frenzied anticipation as she waited for the impending pain, but it never came.

Like dominoes every other Royal Guard tossed their archaic weapons aside, pulling out their own ammunition and charging the Republic soldiers beside them. All hell broke loose; ravaging warfare exploding out around the rim of the pit as the disguised Program agents turned their assault on the Guard, attacking with everything they had in them. Kane's eyes went wide, a livid roar tearing from his lips as his plan fell to shambles within his sight. The spectators had scurried, some joining in on the fight, others fleeing the rain of weaponry upon them. The coliseum surged to life with frantic motion, the smell of blood quickly pervading the cold costal air.

Carter's eyes popped open, sticky with saline tears as an explosion of noise gushed from above her. Loud and angry battle cries burst into the air, shrill and screechy screaming; the sound of sudden warfare and a stampede of thousands of running feet thumping in time to the blood pumping in her ears. Her mind spun faster and faster, making her dizzy; the chemical cocktail of adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine making her sick.

What the hell was going on?

And then there was a soft touch to the ropes around her wrists, halting the almost audible whirring of her mind to a stop. A familiar touch. Carter knew that touch.

"Relax." It was a calming, breathy whisper over the shell of her ear that had her sobbing with relief. "Do not worry, I will get you out Carter, I promise!" She felt motion behind her as the owner of that soft voice began to cut away at her bindings.

Carter was overwhelmed, crying out for her best friend, her name crawling out desperately through the bunched cloth around her mouth. The final rope clenched around her wrists snapped open, and she ripped the gag from her lips, tearing off her mask as her head whipped around.

Her eyes were glued, wide and disbelieving to the top of Rosie's head as she worked away at the several ropes tied around her body. She couldn't believe—she was here. Carter took in the features she could see of her best friend through a lag in time. It felt surreal as her gaze traced over the determined frown in her brow, sliding down the bridge of her freckled nose to the firm line of her lips. Her world tilted as the princess ebbed furiously away at the thick ropes.

She was here.

"Rosie!" Her voice was warbled, high pitched and breathy as her chest heaved; she couldn't breath as an arrow whizzed past her head from the warring above them.

"What are you doing here?!"

The princess didn't bother answering, and Carter would have doubted she had heard her at all if not for the fact that her features hardened at the inquiry.

Another set of arrows landed in the pit a few meters in front of her, and her skin crawled. A roar echoed down from above, and Carter swiveled her now free torso to see that several members of The Guard had noticed Rosie down there with her, pointing while barking orders. That all too familiar protectiveness surged under her skin again.

"Rosie!"

The princess viciously tore through the last rope, wasting no time in pulling Carter off the wooden slab and toward their escape.

"Can you run?" She breathed, casting a frantic look over her shoulder as they both scrambled to the open trapdoor across the pit.

"Yeah!" She lied.

"Good, then go!" Rosie pushed her forward then, keeping her a few feet in front of her as she turned to launch a few arrows from her crossbow at the archers focused on them.

Carter stumbled forward, and suddenly everything began to slow. The incredible roaring of the battle above crawled to a deep wubber of noise in her ears, each whoosh of the arrows slicing through air echoing in her mind, each gunshot slow and powerful as it rang in her ears. She turned, the metallic clicking of the black crossbow in her friend's hands reverberating in her chest. Time slowed, pushed through molasses as it stuck to the backs of her eyelids. She saw it then.

Rosie launched several arrows at the men with wayward, harried aim. Several of them struck, the soldier losing balance and toppling forward down into the pit. Carter's blood ran cold as Rosie turned back toward her, oblivious to the body rising onto a trembling arm, grabbing his weapon for one last shot.

The arrow flew straight for the back of Rosie's head.

Pure terror shot through her, and before she knew what she was doing Carter had darted forward, crushing Rosie to her and shielding her body with her own.

The scream she heard echoing into the air, Carter realized, was her own.

The guard smirked, blinking away the blood from his eyes as they rolled backward, and he slumped forward again. Dead.

Rosie's entire body froze, filled with a petrified fright that crackled into her every nerve as Carter grew heavy in her arms, slumping against her. Several tinny, alarmed cries sounded in off in her ear, the shouting above them increased, the gunfire burst fourth again.

She didn't hear any of it.

"Carter…CARTER!"

Rosie held her tightly to her chest as they fell to the floor, watching in horror and revulsion as Carter's life seeped into her clothes. She trembled violently as her friend's eyes opened, glazed as they both caught sight of her wound. The arrow had pierced clear through Carter's right shoulder, the grey arrowhead now a swimming crimson, slices of muscle and skin dangling from its point. Rosie held back the contents of her stomach as they rushed up her throat.

"…You okay?"

It was a tiny whisper into her collarbone. Carter's face was white, the deep black rings around her muddy brown eyes creating a terrifyingly stark contrast. Rosie pulled her tighter into her body as her friend turned her head into her neck.

"Am I okay? Stupid girl!" She whispered, high-pitched and panicked. "Carter—oh why did you do that?!" She literally felt the other girl's body temperature drop, and her heart dropped along with it. She kissed her hair, cocooning her further to try and keep her warm. Carter's entire right side was coated in the thick red liquid, the smell of copper and salt churning through her innards. It showered down her back as the thick material of Rosie's weapons vest soaked it in.

A tiny frown creased Carter's brow as her eyes slid shut. The pain was spreading, rippling upward to coil in her jaw and crawling downward to tingle in her arm as it grew numb. She couldn't feel her fingers. "You would have gotten hurt…"

Air pushed up from Rosie's lungs and squeezed through her lips. "Because this is better?!"

A small smile pulled at Carter's pale lips. "You've picked up sarcasm while I was gone."

Rosie looked around frantically for a way out, completely ignoring her friend's attempt at humor. They were but a few meters away from the door, from safety. "We need to move, please Carter can you try?"

The girl took in a slow breath, humming her affirmative. Rosie counted down from three, softly in her ear, but when she began to straighten them both further upright, the Carter's eyes popped wide open. She let out a mangled scream that sliced clear through Rosie's heart.

"I can't!" Rosie's heart broke at the pain in her friend's voice. She was panting, her body rigid in Rosie's arms.

"I'm sorry, you go, just forget about me, just go!"

There was another explosion from above them, and several more bodies fell over the rim of the pit, landing with a sickening thud. Not all of them were Royal Guards.

"Hush." She commanded, panicked tears dripping onto Carter and mingling with her blood. It was morbidly fascinating.

Rosie tugged up her collar, speaking frantically into the small round radio embedded in the fabric. "Director please, I need assistance! Carter is hurt; I cannot move her by myself! Please send someone!"

There was only static in her ear, and she let out a shriek as another body landed so close to them she felt it vibrate the ground underneath her.

"Director—!"

"PRINCESSA!"

The cry was loud and powerful, halting most of the savage warfare above them. Rosie looked up, liquid fire burning in her eyes at the voice.

General Kane stood at the edge of the pit, his boots curling over the edge as he looked down at them with a darkly excited grin.

"Welcome home Princessa!" He shouted, his eyes lighting up as he spotted Carter's now unconscious form on the ground, her golden dress turned red. "Do you like your present?! We picked her just for you!"

He was tracing the rim of the pit with his pacing steps, eyes trained down onto them like a predator to his prey. He snatched a bow from the fallen guard at his feet, taking aim with a crazed glint in his eye.

"Goodbye now Princessa, once and for all!"

There was no way out.

Rosie curled Carter into her chest, squeezing her eyes shut and whispering softly into her ear, "I love you Carter Mason."

Her heart pounded in her chest, palpitating with anticipatory fear, but the blow never came.

There was a howl of pain and Kane stopped, shocked outrage on his tan face as he moved a trembling hand to lightly touch the sharp point of his own metal protruding from his chest. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he teetered dangerously on his feet.

Behind him, Joe held the general's own long sword in his hands, seized from the scabbard at his hip. His face was dark and stormy as let go of the hilt, and with an angry yell, kicked him hard in his back. The General jerked forward, and his body disappeared under the rim of the pit.

The blade pushed out through his back as he landed face first onto the concrete, clattering to the ground. With a final whoosh of air, General Magnus Kane was still.

And then there was silence.


Author's Note: Okay, I'm ready to be hit with like a thousand tomatoes, go ahead! XD I hope it didn't suck nearly as much as I thought it did! I think I've got a few more chapters in me that are more fluffy and lighter because I think we all need a break from the crazy drama. Thank you guys!

[1] "Traitor!"

[2] Please

[3] "Silence!"

[4] But please

[5] "You need to find her!"

[6] "Safe and sound."

[7] "Yes sir, of course sir!"

[8] "Guards! Release Me!"

[9] "I'm sorry, Mama."

[10] "Arms at the ready!"

[11] "Aim!"

[12] "Fire!"