I don't own the Royals. E! and its creators does.
P.S: the events of the civil wars are loosely based on what really happened in Greece.
This, this is misery! The last, the worst, that man can feel!
Robert didn't even blink before military instincts took over.
Nobody could ever accuse him of being all-show when it came to the military. He didn't just occupy a ceremonial position.
Grabbing the gun he fired shots and was rewarded when several pursuers dropped like cut marionettes, jerkily onto the ground.
"Get OUT!" He shouted to his family. "TAKE HER AND GO, NOW!"
Liam didn't need telling twice. Picking up the princess and hoisting her up, he quickly bent down and he and Eleanor crawled onto their hands and knees followed by their spluttering uncle, and their mother, still balancing the fruit bowl on her head.
But Liam could not resist looking back. And in doing so he saw Robert fire volley after volley of bullets, reloading and shooting, his face twisted into a hard glare, firing before anyone could hit any of them along with the others.
Liam forced himself to turn away.
The Duke of Sparta sat back, white-faced and still as any of the ancient statues that dotted his homeland.
The Prince of Thebes was no less white-faced and frozen in horror, shock and terror.
Slowly, the elder of the two brothers took a deep, shuddering breath.
His hand was still sticky with his own blood but he paid it no such attention.
"Dimitri," he said and his voice sounded hollow and deadened. He wondered if his baby sister truly was dead. "You know what to do," he simply said.
Dimitri nodded, making a choking noise as he did. Neither of them could say anything more than what had already been said.
Without a word, Dimitri stood up from his chair, turned around and promptly left.
The remaining prince tried to get over his numbness and his hollow, heart-wrenching feelings and focus on practicality. If she was dead they could not afford to mourn right now. As a soldier he had seen his own brothers-in-arms die, but was unable to cry over their dead bodies until the fighting had ended.
Hands shamefully shaking, the Spartan Prince wanted nothing more than to crumble away, die into nothing.
But he couldn't.
No, not yet.
Dimitri strode through the hallways of the royal palace in Athens.
This was not his home; merely a state symbol, but it did not mean that he did not become familiar with it.
For now, nobody would know. Just as nobody in Britain was aware what King Cyrus and his cronies had done (for now), nobody in Greece was aware that Princess Aglaia of Crete was likely dead.
Dimitri had to consult and summon the Greek Security Services, the Εθνική Υπηρεσία Πληροφοριών (Ethniki Ypiresia Pliroforion) or ΕΥΠ (EYP). This was not going to be pleasant.
As far as anyone in the outside world was concerned, life was going on as normal. Even their parents had not been informed about their daughter's supposed demise. Dimitri had to get the EYP mobilised as fast as possible, using undercover operatives in London to save his sister and smuggle her back to Greece- or to Denmark- possibly under the mistaken assumption that she had died if that kept her safe from people hunting her. For now he was certain she was under King Cyrus' hit list, along with the rest of the family if Cyrus suspects.
On the other hand, people in political and royal circles knew that Cyrus was the most corrupt monarch the people in England ever had since Bad King John and Henry VIII. Cyrus knew that if any sort of attack happened to the Greek royal family, everyone would know who to blame. But then again, he probably knew his time was up and he likely decided that if he was going to go down, he might as well bring everyone else down with him, his own flag waving.
This left Dimitri with painfully little options. He first had to go undercover to their HQ.
If- and a sharp wound seemed to stab deeper into Dimitri's chest when he thought about this, and even the strong-willed, powerful prince seemed to break and crumple when he thought about it- Aglaia was truly dead… He felt numb at the idea. Numb, hollow and void.
But if she was dead, the least he could do (and a fire burned miraculously inside of him as he thought about this), if she was dead, he would most certainly avenge her.
Less than an hour, Dimitri was inside the EYP's headquarters silently waiting.
He felt numb, he felt dead and hollow inside, but he could not give into grief. She might not be dead, but even if she was dead, he could not afford to be weak.
Now was not the time for weakness. Aglaia, their family and the whole country of Greece was in severe danger.
By angering the British politicians and their king… What could they possibly do?
A trade blockade? Military? The British government accusing them of… What? The explosion inside the royal palace? Blaming it on the Greeks would be an easy thing to do, after all, it would keep them all quiet. Better to place the blame on them, to remove all doubt from King Cyrus, even if he wasn't tremendously popular in Britain either. Call them all liars. Aglaia would be like Helen of Troy, an agent of destruction.
They didn't have much time. They needed to move, now.
Dimitri steeled himself for what he was about to say.
They were mobilised soon enough.
Aglaia was in a blur. She remembered being shot to the side, a shattering pain, but nothing else.
"I'll live," she mumbled, trying to lift up her hand. "It's just a-" But whoever was carrying her didn't let her finish, pushing her hand down again.
"Robert?" She asked.
"No- it's Liam," came the younger prince's urgent voice.
Liam. Her brother had warned her not to trust this prince, but somehow, she couldn't bring herself to be suspicious at the current moment.
"They-" her thoughts and voice were sluggish. She found that she was speaking in her native Greek, when Liam stopped her and said: "I'm sorry? It's all Greek to me."
"Liam," Eleanor hissed.
Normally, Aglaia would have rolled her eyes at that terrible pun, but now she found that she didn't have the strength.
"The men… Attacked us… Greek Military Junta. Behind the Civil Wars…. They made… Alliance… With whoever brought them here."
"Ted Pryce," Liam realised, his eyes widened as he met his sister's.
"They must have… Offered to help him… Destroy all of you, in exchange for me being killed." She moaned. "If Pryce knows about me and Robert… Everyone is in danger… I shouldn't have gone…. I shouldn't have told Robbie. But I… Needed to. Now everyone is in danger, my country and yours. Tell the Greek National Security Services… They have… Operatives everywhere throughout the world, London too. Tell MI6. Everyone… In danger…. Civil Wars…." She didn't finish before she fell unconscious again.
"Aglaia? Oh, s***, stay with me!" Liam said desperately. He pounded her chest and tried desperately to perform CPR on her.
"We have our operatives mobilised, they should be able to track the princess and smuggle her out of the country safely."
Dimitri shook his head. "They would have taken her to a secure location." He said. Aglaia, Aglaia, why did you have to think with your heart now? You were always so rational! Look where you are now!
And now she was probably gone! Because she loved him, he thought bitterly. She loved him and she was desperate to save him and to spare him from any more pain.
Dimitri had been affiliated with the National Intelligence Services for a long time now. While Alexios had gone the extra mile, revolutionising the country's military; Air Force, Navy and Army, while entering the Special Forces division, undergoing the military side of the toughest, most dangerous missions, operations and battles throughout the whole world, after his short spell in the military Dimitri had become the 'public spy' as he once jokingly called himself, hiding in very plain sight, of the EYP. Nobody suspected the Prince of Thebes, second-in-line to the throne, of having such a dangerous occupation. But he was as hard-core as his brother, the Spartan, delving as deeply into danger and worse. He had long suspected of Aglaia's romance with Prince Robert, though he had always been wary, and he let his desire to stay ignorant of his sister's romantic life cloud his better judgment and interfere with her safety.
If she dies, so will they, he swore.
The royal palace at London would be ashes once he was through with them.
A Vaseline gauze was pressed into Aglaia's side to stop the bleeding.
Nobody knew it would work.
James Hill and some other security guards and Rachel watched very carefully.
Queen Helena took several deep breaths and downed half a flask of whisky, before passing it to Eleanor.
"How is she?" Lenni asked hoarsely.
"She seems… Stable." James checked the emergency monitors. They were at a safe house. "Though," he looked at them. "Her heartbeat is slowing."
Liam put his head between his hands. The last images he saw there were of Robert charging forwards to defend them all. Recently there had been bad blood between them both, but in the end, it was his brother who ran forwards and risked his life- again- to keep them safe. As always.
He had lost Robert once. He had lost his father. And now…
"If she dies," Helena managed to speak, though her normally well-modulated voice sounded rough and hoarse as well. "The Greeks will want our blood. And the rest of Europe. Her grand-uncle is the King of Denmark. Her father is the King of Greece. They will all blame us, especially with the information that's been given about us."
"Damn it," Liam looked up, his eyes were wild and murderous. "Where's Cyrus?"
"I don't know," Eleanor admitted. "The king was last seen crawling away in a different direction followed by his own security guards."
"Paid for by the king," Eleanor spat as she took a swig of whisky.
"What about Robert?" Liam asked wildly. "Where was he?"
Everybody instantly fell silent.
Liam stood up. "I'm going after him."
"Liam," Lenni began.
"No!" Liam stopped dead. "He's my brother." He choked.
"He's my brother and I love him," Liam nearly broke down.
Eleanor stifled a sob.
"He's my brother too!" She burst out. "And that's why… That's why Robbie was determined to protect us," she said, a single tear streaking her makeup-smudged face.
"That's why he wants to keep us safe."
A man walked into the room.
"We've contacted MI6 and MI5 covertly," he admitted. "Everyone's under lockdown, the government's due to declare a State of Emergency any time soon. The question is…" He looked wonderingly at the motionless Greek princess.
"Theo, maybe you should-" James Hill suggested. Theo shook his head. "No," he stated. "I never will. Don't ask me to leave. My parents would never forgive me if I left."
"Your parents?" Liam looked up. He blinked.
"You're Greek?"
Theo nodded. "I was born in the United Kingdom, but my parents…" He paused.
"They fled here during the civil wars. It was painful, you know, just to stay there and look at everything that had been done to the country. They spoke so much about the little princess and her mother's sacrifice. How it inspired so many soldiers to be brave and keep fighting until we'd won. And how she-" he nodded to Aglaia's motionless figure. "Was a symbol of hope for so many. She reminded everyone during the last civil war what they were fighting for."
They all looked confused. "Wait- her birth mother?" Liam was bewildered.
Theo winced. "It's not a pleasant story."
"Tell me."
Theo hesitated and then began: "At that time, the king was Philippos," he stated. "Great-uncle to Princess Aglaia, he was the older brother to her grandfather. Greece had endured so many civil wars and invasions from the Ottoman Turks, the Nazis and communist divisions with Soviet backing. After a time there was a tense peace, a chance to restart the democracy." It was bitterly ironic that the birthplace of democracy, had begun to fail at that time. "There were implications, however, ahead of the elections of a left-wing victory. At that time, the majority of the Armed Forces were overseas, finishing off a war in the Balkans. The head of the Greek Armed Forces was Prince Nikolaos- later, king. Princess Aglaia's grandfather. They were miles away from home."
He turned to stare at the princess. "The only ones left were the reserve forces on standby. What they didn't know was that there were a bunch of conspirators. Some… Ambitious generals and military commanders who later formed the Military Junta. They were the ones chosen to be on standby as well. So they took action. King Philippos lived through the worst nightmare of any monarch: overthrow of the established order through the use of military force. He was woken up by a telephone call at midnight informing him that the government, the senate and the Greek parliament in Athens had been overthrown. The prime minister was thrown in prison and the reserve army was marching to the king's private estate with tanks." There was a horrified silence. "The king had only twenty men surrounding his estate to defend him and his family."
"Twenty?" Helena repeated, feeling faint. Liam and Eleanor were no less shocked. "But what about his security? The rest of the army, surely they would have been able to help them?"
"The majority of the Armed Forces were still concluding the war in the Balkans, miles away from home and all communications had been cut. The outside world no longer had any contact with anyone in Greece. Everyone was on their own. The king pretended to accept their coup but secretly planned a counter-coup." He paused.
"He knew that a counter-coup had to succeed in a very short amount of time, and if it didn't they had to leave- flee the country as quickly as possible. Otherwise there would be another civil war. And God knows, Greece had more than enough of those. It probably has one of the most- if not the most- bloodiest histories in Europe."
Everyone else was silent.
"The counter-coup failed though." Theo said. "But the king and his family did not have time to flee. The Military Junta' heads ordered their arrest. The king, the queen, the Crown Prince and his wife, the rest of their children and their grandchildren- even the little babies who were at least three months old- were taken to the royal palace's cellar in the dead of night. There, they were shot, like the Romanovs."
Eleanor inhaled sharply, and Queen Helena felt fainter still. Liam's eyes bugged. Even James Hill's jaw had dropped and so did a shocked Rachel's.
"They were killed?" Eleanor choked in disbelief. "All of them?"
"All of them. And they soon started hunting the rest of the royal family. Anyone who had remote royal connections, anyone even married into the royal family had a price on their heads, to be killed on sight. One princess- she had become a nun- was thrown down into an abandoned mineshaft to die. When she failed to starve, they blew the place up. Many of the family met horrific ends. Princess Aglaia's father was stabbed brutally to death."
"Wait, her father?" Liam was baffled. "I thought that was the king?"
"As far as anyone is concerned King Konstantinos is her father," Theo said quietly. "And Queen Anastasia, her mother. But she wasn't born their daughter. Her mother was the current king's younger sister. She was pregnant with Aglaia, eight months during the events of the coup. The princess, the current king, his mother and wife and their sons were in Crete at that time. The Junta's assassins came. They targeted them but they managed to escape in a little dingy fisherman's yacht. There, on the way back to the mainland- where they believed they would be safe as they had had no news- right on the Mediterranean Sea, Princess Aglaia was born. No doctors, no nurses, no surgeons, no royal announcements and no jubilation. Not even a birth certificate for a long while."
Liam shook his head as he tried to imagine it.
"They managed to end up in the mainland, but the future queen, the princess and her baby were captured. The remaining family managed to escape, where the future king would end up with some resistance fighters, him and his very young sons. Now, Prince- later King- Nikolaos and the rest of the Armed Forces had heard of what had happened. I can't possibly imagine how they felt, knowing that their families, including his brother, were either dead, imprisoned or in danger and their country under traitors' leadership. The Junta also began exterminating all the Slavic and other non-Greek ethnic minorities, herding them into concentration camps and so forth, not just the royal family."
Eleanor felt sick and she didn't need to glance at Liam's or anyone's faces to know that they felt the same.
"So the Armed Forces led by Prince Nikolaos and the resistance fighters led by Prince Konstantinos pressed forwards and soon they were nearly there. The junta started panicking. They had been holding the princesses- including the baby- hostage. But they didn't know that the 'pregnant' princess- who had gone into labour prematurely while en route to the mainland- had already given birth." He paused.
"She was able to convince them otherwise and hide the baby," Theo continued slowly. "And so the 'generals'- he spat out that word. "-tried to use this to their advantage. The somehow managed to hold out against the Armed Forces and begin talks. They agreed to let the Princess Anastasia go, but the 'pregnant' princess had to stay. So the princesses planned. Anastasia was sworn to raise the baby as her own in case anything happened. And they hid the baby in a box of clothes and old novels, smuggling her out to safety, while her mother watched and made sure they managed to reach a safe distance away. Then she climbed to the highest point of the ancient fortress they were keeping them in, which stood in the way of Athens. The Armed Forces needed to plan to storm the place in order to get to the capital, but they couldn't do it easily if she was being held hostage. Also, the more time they spent, the likely chances that the junta were planning a sneak-attack in response. So in visible view of to the Armed Forces who were keeping an eye on things in the fortress, the princess-" he cringed.
"She killed herself," he said in very low tones. "Picked up a torn piece of glass and slit her own throat from ear to ear before anyone could realise what she had and what she was doing. That did the trick. The military moved in. Soon, they took the fortress, Athens and every capital of every state and municipality there was and Prince Nikolaos was crowned king- that came at a very heavy price, though. Nearly his whole family, including his own daughter and his brother, were dead."
Everyone was shocked into stillness. Liam felt sick. A young princess, a new mother no less, had killed herself to save her baby and her people. How many of them would do such a thing? Could Liam himself do just that? Eleanor and even his mother seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Throughout the remaining months, Princess Aglaia's story was told. She was held up in front of the troops like a mascot before battle to remind them what they were fighting for. When they won, that was the day she was baptised, in front of all the military commanders and war heroes. And when the new king and queen collectively marched and addressed their people, King Nikolaos and his son publicly held her and during his coronation too. She was a symbol to everyone in Greece. That's why no one can forget."
A loud, knocking sound resounded, and Liam jumped to his feet, gun in hand. So did Hill and a bunch of other people. Helena grabbed a nearby lamp.
"Who's there?" James Hill demanded.
"Security Services, Sections five and six," came the answer.
"It's them," Eleanor stated. But James shook his head in warning. "Prove it," he challenged.
"After an exchange of codes, they were allowed in.
Three men and a woman arrived bearing guns and in disguise.
"Is everyone alright?" The lead spy asked. "Your Majesty? Your Royal Highnesses?" When they all answered, he frowned and looked around.
"Prince Robert?" He asked in alarm. "The king?"
"The king was not with us, he was surrounded by his own guards, but he seems to have escaped that way," Hill explained.
"Prince Robert chose to stay behind and fight."
The spy was about to say something when his eye caught the figure of Princess Aglaia, lying as still as could be, on the bed.
"The Greek princess?" He demanded. James frowned. "How-"
"Right. We received intelligence that the daughter of the king of Greece was attacked with members of the British royal family. Soon, it's believed that the Greek military will prepare to enter Britain, whether legally or illegally. Greek Intelligence Services are said to have agents in London who are currently scouring the country for information regarding all this. Your majesty, your highnesses, we believe that this could easily turn into a misunderstanding and escalate into a great deal of trouble soon. Especially with the reports given to the European Union, and various European Heads of State, parliaments and senates. We have no time if we want to avoid a major international conflict and keep the country safe."
"Right." Helena launched herself to her feet. "The princess is, as you can see, back there. She's been shot, but we- I mean my son Robert who stayed behind to fight them off, and Liam who carried her off to safety, rescued her."
The spy shook his head. "Prince Robert… With all due respect, your majesty, what was he thinking?"
"He was probably thinking he had to go save his family and his country." Liam retorted. "He told me to take her and go."
"But…" The spy shook his head. "Now we must keep her stable." He nodded to some of the people he had brought with him and they came forwards with emergency medical kits and equipment. "Your highnesses-"
"Open up!" A voice shouted from outside. Everyone froze.
Hill looked at them. "Reinforcements?"
"No," the grim response came. "They were on orders to come at our signal but I haven't give any." Just then the door blew open.
"Get down!" He shouted. Agents began firing, but more shots were fired. Tasers, Liam thought, shocked. And tranquillisers.
"Come out!" Came the order. "Keep your hands up! We have a grenade and more explosives. Put your weapons down."
Slowly, the queen, the prince, the princess and their entourage put up their hands and moved forwards.
"Guns down!" The lead man shouted. "Who are you?" James Hill demanded. "This is-"
"The British royal family, I know," came the response as he took off his ski mask to reveal…
The Duke of Sparta and the Crown Prince of Greece.
"Greek Special Forces and Intelligence Services," the prince said curtly. "Have set up a whole perimeter during which you will hand us my sister and explain to us what the hell is going on." He snarled.
"Your Royal Highness," Queen Helena snapped, and it took all of her courage. This prince was terrifying when he was angry. "I-"
"Have the right to remain silent." He responded bluntly. "Also, I should inform you that the international community no longer recognises your international diplomatic immunity, your status or even your diplomatic passports." She was speechless. "Don't think your royal status is an excuse to go unpunished for crimes if found guilty. You are all present- apart from Prince Robert and His Late Majesty King Simon- accused of charges of murder, corruption including embezzlement and tax evasion, nepotism and so forth." He gave them an acid smile. "My apologies. I did not bother to bring a list."
Queen Helena just gaped at him.
"Now," he said slowly. "Where. Is. My. Sister?" His voice was like thunder.
"She's inside," Eleanor cut in. The Crown Prince gave a jerking motion of his head and several Greek officers came through. The rest of them put their weapons up higher and had them trained onto the members of the party.
"Sir!" One of the officers cried out in Greek. "What is it, lieutenant?" The Crown Prince barked in response. "Sir!" Another man shouted, seemingly in a panic. Alexios froze. These were some of the most disciplined men in the world. They would never panic that easily.
"What is it?" He shouted at them.
One of them men came running forwards.
"Your Highness!" He shouted. He choked. "She's dead." He said. "Princess Aglaia is dead."