Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the imagination of a sarcastic and nerdy artist. The only profits I make are the muse food I get through the reviews of my wonderful readers. I 3 y'all.

Chapter 1

Several years later...

Derek Morgan and Aaron Hotchner walked together to their mentor's private office. Both men had grown up into alpha-males and were greatly admired by their peers and families. A series of revelations and tragedies helped them settle the differences in their personalities and had brought them closer as colleagues. The two eventually became friends, fueled by a combination of mutual respect, the kind of maturity that evolves as one grows up, and a common goal to help restore the kingdom to its former glory.

Aaron knocked on the door and he and Derek entered at the owner's consent. "You wanted to see us, Sir?" Derek asked.

"Yes, yes. Come in. I'll be done in a minute." David waved vaguely to the chairs surrounding the table he was sitting at. Papers were strewn about and he was writing furiously. He stuffed the letter inside an envelope and addressed it before placing it on top of a stack. He picked up the stack of correspondence and handed it to one of his pages, who left quickly, leaving the three men alone.

"Aaron, Derek, what I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. Only three people alive know and I can only trust you two to carry out this mission. This mission will be the most important one you have ever partaken in. It is to be classified as top secret and under no circumstances are you to reveal your objective to anyone. As my most trusted knights and advisors, can I count on you to carry out this task? David asked.

"Of course, sir," Aaron nodded.

"Yes, sir," Derek replied.

"Good." David pulled three photographs from his inside jacket pocket. He glanced at one before handing a copy to the two knights.

"Isn't this...?" Aaron frowned.

"... Princess Penelope?" Derek finished.

"Yes, it is." David nodded.

"She died not long before the war started, right? Derek asked. He distinctly remembered the little blonde girl. He always found himself staring at her whenever he was in her presence, no matter how much his mother scolded him or his sisters teased him. She reminded him of the angels he read about in books and she was a real live princess- his princess. He remembered crying when he learned the little girl had died.

"No, she didn't." David sighed. "Her death was faked. We knew she wasn't safe with the impending war looming over us." He told the knights how he and Fran had managed to whisk the little princess away to safety.

"King Hector and Queen Anna were murdered while you were hiding the princess?" Aaron asked.

"Yes. We didn't know until much later that the accident was a conspiracy to hide their murders until later. We were right to hide the princess away. A child that was barely more than a baby was the sole heir to the throne... and she was already a target before her parents' deaths. We couldn't leave her for the rebels to find. You both know the sick and deplorable things they could do. She was far safer 'dead' and being raised far away from Quantico."

"I knew my mother and the Queen were friends but she never told me they were that close," Derek frowned.

"They were the best of friends," David elaborated. "When Fran and I got back to Quantico the rebels had already taken the castle and toppled the government. You know the rest. Now that it is finally safe, or as safe as it's going to get, it is your job to bring Princess Penelope home. I only took the crown because I was Hector's closest friend and advisor and the Kingdom needed someone they could trust on the throne. Once Princess Penelope is here, I will relinquish the crown to her. It is her birthright, not mine."

"Where is she?" Aaron asked.

"We put her in the care of a friend. Gideon was an advisor to King Hector. The three of us went to school together and we were like brothers. After a few years Gideon realized that the court life wasn't for him and he moved away to the country." The three men spent several minutes pouring over maps of the routes to Gideon's cabin and David told them the aliases, both the three men's and Fran's and the knock-pattern.

"Does she know any of this?" Hotch asked. "Who she is? Anything?"

David shook his head. "No. Gideon was under strict orders to not tell her or anyone anything, for her protection. I haven't been in contact with him since. It was just too risky. I knew my every move was scrutinized and there were spies everywhere. The less people who knew, the better. He didn't even tell his wife."

The men discussed their plans and ideas until dusk. David looked at the streaks of sunlight that flashed brilliantly against the impending night sky and told the men to get home to their loved ones.

"We'll leave at first light," Aaron said. Derek nodded in agreement. The two knights shook hands with their king and left.

"Wow," Derek breathed. "I was not expecting that when I got summoned."

"Me either," Aaron said.

"How long gone do you think this'll take, Hotch?" Derek asked. The only people that called Aaron by his first name were King David and Jessica, his sister-in-law. Everyone else called him "Hotch" or "Sir Hotch." When meeting strangers he addressed himself by his title and full name.

"We'll discuss this more in the car tomorrow." The knights knew not to mention a word of their mission where other ears could hear.

Aaron read a story to his son, Jack. It was a book they'd read together a hundred times and Aaron was pretty sure the little boy knew it by heart.

"Daddy, will you be here for breakfast?" Jack asked as Aaron replaced the book on its shelf.

"No, buddy, I won't. I'll be gone before you wake up. Aunt Jessica stayed over so she'll get you ready for school. Do what she tells you and don't forget your books. It's library day tomorrow."

"I know, Daddy. I put them in my backpack before going to bed so I won't forget them in the morning," Jack yawned and smiled at his father.

"Smart move, buddy." Aaron leaned over and gave his son a big hug.

"How long will you be gone?" the little boy asked.

Aaron sighed. "Hopefully only a few days. I'll call you every night while I'm away, like always."

"I don't see why you have to go. Surely Hotch can handle whatever little errand the king needs you to do now by himself. I mean, I don't get to see you enough as it is. I thought now that things have finally settled down you'd be home more," Derek's girlfriend, Savannah whined as they readied for bed.

Derek rolled his eyes as he spit out the swig of mouthwash he'd been gargling. He took his time rinsing out the sink before tossing his t-shirt in the hamper. "Hotch is a single dad, Savannah. I'm sure he'd like to be home with Jack more, too. But we're knights and our jobs are import for the kingdom. The both of us going means we can look out for each other and hopefully be done that much faster." He sighed when she huffed and crossed her arms in response.

"I'm sorry, babe, but you knew how demanding my job is when we first got together," he gently reminded her as he got into bed. He didn't bother to point out that her job as a doctor was just as demanding as his when she rolled over on her side away from him.

Derek turned off his side light and laid down on his back, staring at the ceiling. He thought of the last time he saw Princess Penelope. She had caught her finger in a door and bruised it pretty badly. Her nanny was nowhere to be found so he had gotten her some ice for the bruise and held her until she stopped crying. She played with his little sister a lot and he had never once saw her cry, so he knew she was in pain. She ended up falling asleep and he held her until their mothers came back to the room. Later that day he found a small rag doll at the store and bought it for her. He gave it to his mother to give to her but the next day she told him that the princess had died. She told him that she gave his doll to her to take to heaven. He fell asleep wondering if she still had curly blonde hair.

TBC...

A/N: Your wish is my command. Had a little trouble working out some sequences and character stuff for later chapters and I wanted to get it right before committing to this plot. Thanks for the support. Reviews are like cookie butter milkshakes to my muse.

Mwah,

PitaCake