Chapter 13~

The water's much warmer than I expected. I wish I had a chance to enjoy it, maybe with a snorkel or scuba diving gear. Preferably not while being shot at. Up above us, the pilot finally parachutes into the sea, leaving an unmanned helicopter for the Bellissimareans to deal with while we make our getaway.

We all ditch our parachutes as quickly as possible and dive into the waiting PPP submarine. Hopefully the giant parachutes will camouflage our escape from the planes above the water. By the time we're all safely inside, I feel like my lungs are about to explode. I collapse to the submarine floor, coughing hard. Within seconds, Petros is kneeling on the floor beside me and pounding my back until the air rushes back into my lungs. It's so nice to be alive.

"Thanks," I offer weakly to Petros as Ed closes the hatch.

"No problem," he replies quietly. Our eyes meet for a second and I think for a fleeting moment that if we had met any other way, maybe at school in Lousiana, we might have been friends.

Rosie presses a couple buttons and the sub sinks deeper into the ocean, carrying us away from the danger above. In the corner, Megrin is crying and Petros goes over to her and holds her, doing his best to comfort her. It would be sweet, if it wasn't Petros.

Director Rogan's face fills the front window. "Junior Agent Rosalinda, Carter, do you copy?"

"We're here." I join Rosie in front of the screen.

"What happened?" Director Rogan demands.

"Your security team forgot to debug our helicopter," I snap.

Director Rogan looks surprised. "You were followed."

"Oh, don't forget about the part where we had to jump out of a helicopter while being shot at," I chime in. "That was my favorite."

"I'm sorry, girls," Director Rogan apologizes. "But you made it out alive?"

"Surprisingly yes," I reply, trying to ignore Rosie's piercing glare. I don't think she appreciates my sarcasm.

"We're going to have to make arrangements for the twins to be placed in a different country," Director Rogan muses.

No, duh.

"And until then?" Rosie questions.

"They'll have to go home with you," Director Rogan says as if it was obvious.

"Home with me? To Costa Luna?" Rosie asks in shock.

"Of course," Director Rogan says. "You got them safely out of the country, guided them through the transition and transformation stage, and now rescued them from a full-scale attack. I can't imagine anywhere safer for them to be than with you and Carter."

"What do we tell people?" I frown.

"They're students from Greece with a summer exchange program," Director Rogan replies.

Rosie and I exchange glances.

"And you're sure about this?" I ask slowly.

"As sure as I've been about anything," Director Rogan replies. "We'll be in touch."

Her face fades from the screen and then we're alone.

Ed and the pilot are bent over the control panel, trying to figure out how the sub works. Ed looks over at us and grins. He's having the time of his life. I'm sure this will all make a great plot for one of his movies someday.

"Where to, Captain?" Ed asks Rosie.

She looks at me and sighs. "Costa Luna."

Petros meets my eyes and grins. I shake my head. Thank goodness I'm only staying in Costa Luna long enough to pack my bags and get as far away as possible from this creep.

Even in our super high tech PPP sub, it'll still be an extra day's journey to Costa Luna. Watching the water outside got old after the first few hours. It's starting to feel like we're trapped down here, under hundreds of feet of water, away from people and any sign of life besides the fish floating past. The sub is tricked out with everything we could ever need – food, video games, internet – but that all got old pretty fast.

"Hey Bait Girl."

I look up to see Ed smiling down at me. I scoot over so he can sit next to me on the tiny bench.

"I'm killing Petros on the Wii," Ed says. "You should come watch."

"Victory doesn't count when your opponent is suffering from a gunshot wound," I point out.

"I didn't see that in the Wii rulebook." Ed frowns. When I don't do much more than crack a half smile, he nudges me. "Lighten up! We're almost home."

"You mean Costa Luna," I correct him. "Which is no longer my summer home, as Rose made quite clear before we left."

"She could still change her mind," Ed argues.

"Yeah right." I roll my eyes. "Since when has the great Queen Rosalinda ever changed her mind about anything?"

"She changed her mind about you," Ed points out. "And your dad and Lake Monroe High and Louisiana."

I glare at him in that way that means I know he's right and I hate it. He laughs.

"Give Rose a chance," he suggests. "She'll come around."

"What have I possibly done to earn back her respect?" I ask.

"Are you kidding?" Ed exclaims. "Did you see the way you kicked butt at that Masquerade Ball? Or the way you jumped out of that helicopter like a boss? You've been amazing this entire mission. We couldn't have done any of this without you and trust me, Rose knows that."

Somehow I doubt it, but it still sounds nice.

Ed stands up. "If you change your mind, I'll still be murdering the prince in the next room. You're welcome to join us anytime."

"Thanks, Ed." I smile up at him. He really has been such a good friend through all this. I'm sure it's way more than he signed up for, but he's making the best of it.

Rosie is alone by the controls and I can't help but think about what Ed said. Rosie always seem to know what to do. She's also so confident and poised, but right now she looks a lot more like a little girl who misses her mom. I get up and walk over, then slide into the seat next to her.

"Hey," I say softly.

"Crazy, isn't it?" She says without looking at me. "We left Costa Luna for a straightforward Princess Protection mission and ended up in a submarine in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

"Yeah," I reply. "Crazy."

"You and Petros got pretty close at that Masquerade Ball," Rose glances at me. I can't tell if she's joking or serious.

"Yeah, well, don't worry." I try to laugh. "I told him I'm in a relationship."

"Are you?" Rose asks and this time, there's no doubt she's serious.

"Rose…" I feel myself tense up.

"I'm not trying to pick a fight," Rosie says. "All I mean is that, I get it, you and Armando went on a romantic tour of the kingdom and kissed a couple times, but did he ever officially ask you out? Did he use the words girlfriend and boyfriend?"

"I guess not," I admit.

"Just be careful," Rose says, then looks right at me. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

I don't know what to say. After all I've done to make Rosie's life a living hell these past few days, she's still looking out for me. That's love. I just don't know if I deserve it.