A/N Two updates in row! I'm kind of making up for all the lost time I guess…

I know I probably don't fully deserve it, but please, please review. It really helps me develop more as an author with helpful feedback. Plus, it gives me motivation to write quicker. Just saying

Disclaimer: …

Enjoy!

As the trio quickly made their way out of the elaborate underground hideout, they all seemed relieved. They had been in there for days so far, or at least it seemed so. Phineas let go of Isabella's hand and ran ahead in pure ecstasy that they had made it out. There had been more times he and Isabella nearly died in that hideout than there had been just in general, he though.

Not sure if it was just because they had been stuck in the hideout for so long, they were amazed at the scenery. Perhaps it was because of all the near-death experiences. It was better than how they remembered it, anyhow. There were tall trees everywhere, and the leaves were an amazing array of red, orange, and yellow; it was finally fall. There was even a lake nearby, past all the trees, and there was a hill far beyond the lake.

As they made more distance from the hideout, they felt more at ease. After a while of walking, they were back to talking at normal voices and not looking back every few seconds. They were silent; all of them were amazed at how easy it had been in the end. They hadn't even seen any assassins since Ferb ran into those two. Come to think of it, after Serena died, they didn't really see many assassins either.

Isabella finally broke the silence. "Hey, Phineas, are you forgetting something?" she asked somewhat sweetly. Thinking back, she realized she had been a bit harsh on him back in the hideout. Actually, come to think about it, she had been pretty harsh on him the whole time. She sighed, forgetting she even asked him anything.

The sigh went unnoticed by Phineas, as he was a bit confused. Once he realized what she meant, he stopped walking, and after a few moments the rest of the group followed suit. Ferb and Sam eventually realized what was happening, and Sam walked to Phineas. He looked expectantly at him until Phineas reached over and handed him his sword back. "Samuel, h-" he began.

"Thank you, Phineas. Thanks for giving me a second chance," Sam said with a bit of a smile.

Phineas returned a half-smile. 'No problem, Sam."

Sam looked down at himself, muttered something, and ripped off his hoodie. He then ran off into the distance. Isabella seemed a bit confused, but continued to watch anyway. Off in the distance, a small figure could be seen throwing a bundle of some sort into the lake.

Phineas and Ferb looked somewhat impressed, as if they had never seen something like that before. Isabella merely looked confused and grabbed Phineas's hand to get his attention. He turned to face her, not too surprised by her befuddled expression.

"When you join the assassins," he said, "they give you two things. Reminders of being an assassin, I suppose," he finished with a chuckle. "They give you a permanent tattoo; I believe you've already seen mine," he said as Isabella blushed a bit. "But they also give you these long hoods, see?" he gestured towards his own and Ferb's.

"Oh," she thought. "That kind of explains it." "So that was a sort of way of him ridding all ties to the assassins?" she asked.

"Right," Phineas confirmed. "Oh, Ferb, that reminds me. Why do we still have o-"

Ferb followed Samuel's lead and did the same, as did Phineas. "I suppose it really is their way of getting rid of their past. It's not like they can get rid of the tattoo or anything," Isabella thought as she saw them throw their sweatshirts into the lake.

They decided to return to a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom. It was distant enough to not be necessarily recognized. Plus, there were nearly no guards in the tiny place, so they could easily get away. They went to an inn to get a room, but before which they had went to an eatery to get some decent food. They haven't really eaten since before getting captured, so they figured they may as well. The innkeeper gave them a room for a fairly good bargain and led them to it. When they got in, they discovered the room consisted of a bathroom, two beds, and a fairly nice sitting area in the corner. Considering how cheap the room was, it was very nice. There were only two beds though…

The three of them looked uncertainly at each other. As Ferb and Isabella fully walked into the room, Phineas stayed back to thank the innkeeper for her kindness towards them. She did give them a discount; it was the least they could do to thank her. When Phineas finally ushered her out politely and shut the door, he turned to see Ferb firmly on one bed and Isabella on the other. He sighed loudly and made his way to the floor.

He suddenly got an idea and grinned suggestively at Isabella, gesturing at her bed. She simply didn't give any emotion in return and shook her head firmly. Phineas, feeling defeated, laid back down on the floor. Isabella excused herself to take a shower, which was the only luxury she actually missed from her royalty.

Once she was gone, Ferb gave Phineas a look that just screamed, "Really?"

Phineas, looking sheepish, replied, "You know that's not what I meant."

"Right. I know that," Ferb replied in a sarcastic voice.

"Ferb!" he angrily shouted at him.

Ferb just turned around and laughed a bit, trying his best to muffle it. Finally giving up, he turned back to Phineas and laughed, just to see he had been chuckling a bit himself.

Just getting an idea, Phineas quietly got up and darted onto Isabella's bed. He wasn't really planning on doing… things, if you get my meaning. He just didn't want to sleep on the floor and didn't fancy the idea of sharing a bed with Ferb so much. Speaking of which, when Ferb noticed what Phineas had done, he just smirked a bit and looked towards the bathroom door to see Isabella back in the room, hands on her hips.

Phineas looked a bit startled, and Isabella walked to him calmly as he somewhat nervously said, "Um… Hi, Isabella."

She rolled her eyes and pushed him off, quietly saying, "No, Phineas."

Phineas, still lying on the floor, crawled over to the corner and tried to sleep on the small chair. They all figured it was well past one in the morning, and decided to go to sleep, especially because of their lack of sleep lately. Ferb and Isabella almost instantly fell asleep, and Phineas struggled to get comfortable in his chair. "Maybe this position," he wondered. "Nope, definitely not. Now?" he thought as he struggled to get comfortable. After a while, he just gave up and got back on the floor.

He heard Isabella stir a bit, and looked up at her. They made eye contact, and Isabella sighed. "Fine," she said, only slightly audible.

In the next second or two, Phineas bolted up and jumped next to her, somehow managing to not wake Ferb up. He got under the covers with Isabella, who had just turned away from him. Phineas laid he arm around her shoulder and neck area, and she finally gave in. She turned a bit and nuzzled into his chest, earning a smile from Phineas. "Thank you," he muttered. But she was already asleep.

"Isabella, how could you betray me? The kingdom? Our people?!" the king angrily asked her.

"But, Father-" she whimpered.

"No!" he yelled. "I always regretted having you as a daughter. You never knew the difference between what is desired and needed. You never gave in. You were too SELFISH!"

"Father," she cried. "Father, please. Believe me!"

"You know," he said, ignoring her plea, "I've always… preferred King Baljeet over you. In a sense, he was more of a son to me than you were a daughter."

Isabella couldn't speak. She was getting choked up, overwhelmed with tears. She kept opening her mouth, trying to say something, but hiccupped and shut it, still bawling her eyes out.

"ISABELLA!" she heard Phineas say.

"Phineas," she thought. "What's he doing here?"

"ISABELLA, WAKE UP!"

She finally woke up, in a fetal position on the bed, tears still on her face and soaking Phineas's shirt. When she noticed this, she quickly apologized.

Phineas ignored her apology. "Isabella, it was just a dream. Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, hugging her tightly to him.

She smiled; he was so sweet. She quietly told him about the dream, and he just said it was absurd and not to worry, even though it was similar to what the king had said before.

When everyone was finally awake, they left to go to the marketplace, thanking the innkeeper one final time.

"Have you heard of King Baljeet?" asked one woman to her friend.

"I know!" she said, more or less in a gossip-like voice. "And what he did to the old king!"

"I couldn't believe it!"

"So, what do you think abo-"

They had gotten too far away for Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella to hear anymore. Phineas looked to Isabella with a concerned, yet sympathetic, look. "Isabella?" he murmured.

Isabella gulped as tears welled in her eyes.

"She must still really care for her father," Ferb thought. "Wow. I should do something… But what?"

Suddenly, Ferb ran off towards the two girls. Phineas turned around, trying to keep Isabella distracted. He grabbed her hand and kept leading her forward until he turned to face her and moved the hair out of her face. He hugged her close, and whispered that it would be okay.

Isabella, who usually is shyer about displays of affection even in private, let alone publicly in the middle of a village, was too sad to care. First, her father didn't believe her, shaming her in front of all of her people, and then he banished her. He disowned her, and she even just had yet another nightmare about him. Yet, she still cared deeply for him. She wanted to prove her innocence in the matter. She wanted to impress him, if that was even possible anymore. She sobbed into Phineas's shoulder, contemplating all of this.

"What happened to the king? What did Baljeet do?!" Ferb angrily asked in more of a shout that anything.

"Whoa. Calm down, mister," said the younger of the two, probably in her teenage years. The other was probably in her early twenties. Perhaps they were sisters or even close neighbors, but Ferb didn't really care right now.

"Sorry," he muttered, "but can you please tell me what happened?"

She sighed, as if she were doing something completely and utterly horrendous. "King Baljeet," she corrected out of etiquette-ness, "imprisoned the old king. He said that he committed treason and planned to assassinate him and Queen Ginger."

Ferb winced at the sound. "Queen Ginger." It wasn't fitting… or really right in any way, shape, or form. "Thank you," he muttered.

"You know, if you really want to know more of the details, you can get a newspaper from that store over there," the older one said, pointing to a building.

"Thank you," Ferb muttered, running towards the store. Once he got what he wanted he ran back to the others, and thrust the paper into Isabella's hand, looking sorry just having read it himself.

A/N Whoa. Longest chapter yet, I think. Let me check… 1,911 words not counting author's notes. Okay, I feel a bit better now. Two long chapters in a row. I know it doesn't make up for my laziness, but still…

Again, please review. It helps me and gives me motivation. A.K.A. I'll prioritize more on updating.

Thanks for reading, guys!