So, updates are coming fast this week...This chapter is new to the draft and might be a bit rougher but I am curious to see what you think of it. I wanted to give a glimpse into Fiona's simultaneous pov to what we just saw and give a glimpse into what happened inside the House of Lords! We'll get back to Teren and the King next chapter;-)

Fiona

Run.

It was the only thought in her mind.

She remembered the shout from the crowd, distracting Alex momentarily as he lined up his shot. The sound of the loud bang rang out beside her, reverberating in her ears. The smell of gunpowder and smoke filling her nose, the bright red blood flashing before her eyes. But it was not that of their intended target. Fiona watched the King's eyes widening in horror as the man beside him fell to the ground before panning up to the balcony, staring directly at her.

Shoot him! The words had pounded in her head. Her finger on the trigger.

"Give that to me!"

Alex had ripped the gun from her hands before she could react.

Bang! The second shot followed by more shouting, the chaos bellow only growing. Their last chance squandered. The King still stood, now protected by the guards who had run to his aide.

Run.

"The balcony!"

A cry from the floor, audible over the din of the panicking nobility. The guards turning their attention to the spot where she and Alex stood, totally exposed.

Swallowing back her panic, Fiona found her voice. "We have to go," she breathed.

Alex had remain paralyzed, hand still clutching the trigger of his own rifle, all instincts of self-preservation faltering in his moment of failure. He'd missed. He'd missed and they had been seen, but it didn't matter. What mattered was escape. When still he didn't move Fiona grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and slapped him hard across the face.

"We have to go," she repeated.  "Now!"

The sting of her hand was enough to pull him from his mind. Alex's eyes blinked once in surprise before he seemed to find his feet beneath his body as she pulled him from the railing. Just in time. 

Hearing the shot, Fiona ducked, dragging Alex to the ground with her as a great crack! Sounded beside them. The wood of the banister creaked and splintered. The guards were firing. Not that they had the range to do so with accuracy. Their positioning in the balcony gave Fiona and Alex the advantage, the wooden railing absorbing the bullets as they remained out of reach. Of course they couldn't stay there for long.

As the sound of their rifles faded momentarily Fiona rose from the ground, pulling Alex up along with her and leading him by the arm. She was relieved that he remained compliant, following behind her, though at perhaps a pace slightly slower than she would have hoped.

They managed to run down the steps and slip into an alcove just before the retinue of royal guards came running down the hall, charging up the steps to the balcony in pursuit of the would be assassins.

"Alex," she whispered. "We have to get out through the main entrance. They will already have the other exits sealed."

He nodded, but there was still a deadened look in his eyes. She wondered if he could even truly hear her.

Fiona removed the cloth covering from her face and drew the collar up on her coat, stopping momentarily to do make the same adjustments to Alex's appearance. They would have to blend into the crowd of fleeing councilmen. But they had prepared for this possibility. The clothing they had worn was such that they might become as inconspicuous as possible. They merely had to get through those doors.

The floor of the assembly hall all was chaos and panic. The smell of smoke and gun powered still strong. Both that of Alex's shots and those that had been fired into the balcony before she'd pulled him from danger.

It was impossible to see the stage from admits the pushing bodies she threw herself and Alex amongst, but she knew the truth without looking. He had shot someone, but the King had gotten away. Henry was alive. The thought pounded painfully in her consciousness. And then there was the eyes.

It hadn't been long, less than a second perhaps, but she had seen it. The voice from the crowd had drawn the King's attention screaming for him to look to the balcony. Perhaps it had taken more than a moment for him to heed the command, but his eyes had found them. They had found her. A chill ran through her at the image. Henry's cold blue eyes locked with her own. The expression within them clear. Recognition. He knew she was there, standing in the balcony of his assembly hall, a gun in her hands, a gun aimed at him.

No, her mind tried to dismiss the fear. Your face was covered. You were too far away. There is no way he truly saw you. No way he knows... And yet she had been certain in that moment that her disguise was meaningless. He had seen her. It doesn't matter, she reminded herself. All that mattered now was escape.

Amongst the throngs of panicked dignitaries, Alex seemed to come back to himself again. Fiona was grateful. She could not have imagined carrying his catatonic form through the fray. Together they jostled their way through the crowd, disappearing into the mayhem, affecting the same demeanor as the men around her vying for a path to the exit. 

They could not maintain physical contact of course. It would be too obvious. Instea, Fiona kept her eyes firmly fixed on his gray hat as it bobbed past the guards who had appeared at the doors. It was clear they were trying to regain control of the situation. It would not be long before they would start detaining people. She had to escape before then.

Bang!

Her moment came. The bomb. Alex's men had set at least three explosive devices in the neighboring buildings. With the distraction to draw their gaze, Fiona too slipped past the sharp bayonets of Henry's guards, her heart pounding. If one turned his head at the wrong moment. If they noticed something off. But then another member of the council pushed her forward and out into the cold. She was free of the building.

The scene she faced now was even more chaotic than that inside the building. Crowds forming in the street, men and women screaming, the bright flames of the fire in the adjacent buildings growing stronger and catching. The heat of it pressed incongruously against her skin as the rest of her body burned with the cold of the brutal night air.

"Come." A whispered voice at her side. Her heart nearly stopped as she felt the hand that took her arm until she saw the grey eyes shining from beneath the brim of his hat.

Alex.

She didn't dare speak his name but she followed immediately as he pulled her into a dark alleyway and they ran down the maze of backroads Alex knew so well. That she herself had begun to learn. They ran and ran until they had finally obtained distance enough to stop, their burning lungs demanding rest. They let themselves fall back, bodies pressed against the brick wall of the alley that propped them up in the darkness. Fiona's heart pounded with adrenaline, breath still fast and panicked, and yet she did not feel panic. She felt only exhilaration. The King was not dead, but neither were they.

The smell of smoke in the air became thicker and in the distance she could hear the bells of the fire brigade, followed by the pounding of horses hooves.

"We can't use the main road," Alex said, finally catching his own breath enough to speak. "Carl and Rolf seem to have been successful. With any luck all of the King's men will be drawn to the fire and the House of Lords. The back roads will be entirely unmanned."

"The Lucky Horse Inn," Fiona said. "It's closest of our shelters but are we certain we can trust Haverly?"

The inn master had been generous to them so far, but in light of the night's less than ideal result she worried it was not safe to return to their planned meeting point.

"Haverly's place is safe," Alex assured her. "Besides, its where the others would head now. There isn't time to find them, nor is it wise to go back into the fray."

Fiona nodded. "Do you think they made it?"

He shook is head. "I hope so," he answered. "But whether or not they did, their purpose was accomplished."

It disturbed her somewhat to hear him speak so, though it was not the first time she'd realized how expendable Alex saw his men. She could not help but wonder if he thought of her the same way. If he saw himself the same way. Fiona could hear the despair in his voice. When Alex despaired he became reckless. She could not allow him to self-destruct now. Not when they were so close.

"I missed," Alex said, that reality seeming to overwhelm him again. "How could I have missed." She could hear the self-judgment as well, but he was wrong to think they had failed. Fiona grabbed hold of his arms and put her lips to his, silencing his words of self-deprecation.

"It doesn't matter,' she said, forcing his gaze. "We have still succeeded. The King cannot hide the attack tonight. We need only regroup. We have gained allies in our success Alex, and the Crown will take notice. But for now, we have to get to safety." She watched as he responded to her touch, her encouragement, A hint of his smile attempting to show itself on his face.

"They found the boy," he said. "The little traitor. I saw them drag him from the building."

Fiona was again disturbed by the tone of his voice. The unhidden glee. For herself, Fiona could not help but feel pity. The poor child had indeed been a traitor and might have cost them their lives had it not been for his unmasking, but she knew the cruelty he would face at the hands of the King for their treachery would be horrific. Closing her eyes she sent a prayer to the God for the child's soul. If he was to face the brunt of their crimes, his sacrifice should be acknowledged.

"Come," Alex said, his vigor returned as he placed a kiss on her lips. "The sooner we are inside the safer we will be." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "And the sooner I can warm that cold from your bones." Fiona could not help but smile in response.

He saw you.

Unbidden the thought came to her mind again. Was it premonition? Paranoia. The smile on her lips faltered.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked stepping back a searching her expression with concern.

Had it been that obvious? she wondered. That wasn't a good sign. But Fiona only shook her head in response. "It's nothing," she answered before grabbing the lapels of his jacket and bringing him as close as their bulky coats would allow. "Bring me home General Harrison. We must celebrate. The King's great halls are burning."