The fog settled in once again. My mind was a mass of swirling nothingness. I was unsure of if I'd slept or not. The drug still hanging with it's lingering effects, and the partial madness of grief had sent me into an odd stupor. 

Perhaps I do need to go to the hospital to get a scan, I thought to myself. Though, I highly doubted that Alek would let me go.

What would the outside world be like? Was the rest of the royal family safe? Had my family gotten home well? I wouldn't be able to survive, knowing that I bought them harm as well. 

The rest of the house had been relatively quiet. I wasn't too sure where the location of it was. Probably in the outskirts of Ardeena where the wealthier townsfolk lived. From what I'd seen, it was a pretty nice house. That would make sense. Aside from the military base and the families scattered throughout, it was a rather poor settlement and would be interesting as a rebel hideout. 

Occasionally, something would shift on the other side of the door. Once or twice, I heard loud guffaws of laughter. My hands curled into fists. Hatred ran throughout my veins. Perhaps I should seduce Alek. And when he wasn't looking I'd-.

I dragged in a breath. 

This was the kind of person I was becoming. 

I clenched my eyes shut. 

This is not what Cas would have wanted! I cried silently. He would've wanted you to get out of there! Do everything you can! And be resilient!

Shut up logical me, I mumbled without my mouth moving. But I did look up at the door. Had it been locked? I couldn't remember. 

You need to get out of here, the chant began in my head. Their patience may run out.

Laden with grief, and barely managing to stay awake, I still recognised the need to stay alive.

Putting it into action was a whole other mission. The first challenge was peeling myself off of the floor. I placed the Bible on the nightstand. Using the bed frame as a support, I got to a kneeling position. One foot up, then the other. A crouch. 

Hands both on the wall and the bed frame, I slowly worked my way up to a proper standing position. My head was spinning, the blood properly rushing to my feet. I looked to the remainders of the fruit platter, ready to throw up. My head was throbbing, I can't do this. 

It's better to start walking! A part of me cried, the rather disciplined side, then fall back to the floor!

"Okay, okay, okay," I mumbled, taking my first steps like a baby.

I crumbled to the floor. Hitting it with a harsh thud.

If I didn't have a concussion before, I definitely had one now.

"What was that?" A distant voice asked. 

Great! They're coming for me now, I gritted my teeth. Hot anger flushing across my chest. I was sprawled across the floor. My limbs were occasionally responsive at best. At any moment, a new group of Insurgents would walk in and laugh.

The wife of the Prince! They would sneer, she can't even walk!

I ground my worn knuckles into the hardwood floor. I needed to stand! I needed to get out of here! There was no room for second chances!

This time was more of a shuffle. A shuffle to get one hand under my chest. A shuffle to lift myself up. A shuffle to drag my knees up underneath my body. I heard stomping boots. Were they moving closer? 

And then-.

Gunfire.

Very close. Possibly in the hallway. If I wasn't on the floor, I might've been hit! I threw out all my previous achievements out of the window and dove to the floor, covering my head. A pause. I looked around, whipping my head back and forth. Nothing seemed torn to shreds, though it definitely sounded  that way. 

Another burst! Was that four blasts? Six? I couldn't be sure. The sounds still ringing in my ears. I began to shake. 

They must be taking out all the witnesses, I reasoned to myself. I'll be next! Maybe if I'd taken Alek's offer, this wouldn't be happening!

I gasped as another round went off. It was closer this time. A few shouts. A blood-curdling cry.

What was happening out there? I gasped. My arms were still wrapped around my head. I was completely defenceless. I couldn't run. I'd lost my wedding slippers somewhere between here and there. Not to mention the fact that my legs didn't work. I bit down a scream.

Now is not the time. I hushed myself. 

The thud of feet moving around the hallway. Using my arms, I pushed myself back until I was against the bed. Doors slamming open and closed. They were moving closer. 

I took in a deep breath, preparing myself as the door swung open.

"Sof?" I blinked in surprise.

There were no tears left to shed. But my throat curled a little as I managed his name.

"Cas,"

He staggered forwards. Wrapping me in a tight hug. Out of nowhere, I found a newfound round of tears and began to sob. 

"Y-You're h-here," My tears dripped out. My chest twisting. It was too much to process; the panic, the relief, the heartbreak, the comfort. 

I would've easily spent a hundred years there, like that. However, Cas was insistent. In war mode. 

"We need to move," He spoke quickly, his words tinged with worry. He looked back and forth, anticipating a shadowy enemy to emerge.

"H-How did you get here?" I could barely manage the words.

"Was taken in a different car. To here. Held for a ransom. Come on, we need to go,"

"I can't walk," I managed, "I think they drugged me or-"

"Vlad!" Cas called, and from the shadows, the stern-faced bodyguard appeared. He seemed to be focused so I bit down the sob for him as well. 

Both of them had been shot, I noticed. Cas had been stripped of his wedding suit and only had the dress shirt underneath. Vlad had been stripped of his jacket too. Both of them were covered in blood and sweat and dirt. 

They switched to sides that they were both good on. Between the three of us, we seemed to have two working legs and four arms. Not to mention all the other various wounds that we'd picked up on the way.

"Let's move," Cas grunted, as I shuffled forwards, doing everything I could to not lose my balance, "backup coming, just need to get out,"

"Okay," I huffed as we rounded the corner out into the hallway. It was of moderate length. A very modern design. At the top of it, a dead body laid, shadowed. I tried not to stare for too long at it, knowing that the limp figure would be dancing in my dreams for a long time to come. 

By the looks of it, if we just rounded the corner into the kitchen area, there would be a door to the exit. We shuffled forwards, carefully stepping over the dead body. Truly a team effort. I was doing my best to not let my head drop completely. 

"We're all here now," A voice managed. I looked up. Alek stood, on the other side of the marble bench. In his hand he had a gun, pointed straight to Cas. My jaw dropped. 

Being face-to-face on the other side of a gun was truly something horrifying. At least the first time that I'd been shot, it'd hit me by surprise. This time was almost worse. The gun pointed right at us. Teasing us. Any moment and it could be my last. 

A flash. Cas had his own gun raised. His blood-streaked face, intensely grim. I struggled to breathe, caught within the danger zone of what would be a bloody fight. 

Shuffling in the background. I realised more henchmen of Alek's had arrived. 

"Move away Sof," Cas' words were low. I couldn't say anything as Vlad pulled me back a few steps. There was nowhere really to go. The main exit was being blocked by Alek and the other exits had been flooded by the henchmen. 

Cas took a few steps away from us, taking Alek's aim off of us and onto Cas.

"Why are you doing this?" Cas' words were smooth, "what brought you to do this?"

"You stole her. You forced her away from me," Alek hissed. They began to circle one another. The kitchen bench top the only separation between the two. 

"Sofia chooses where she wishes to go," Cas spoke lowly.

"Not just her," Alek scowled, his shoulders hunching.

"That's right," Cas nodded. They'd done a full one-eighty. Cas' back was now to Alek's henchmen. If it weren't for the kitchen bench separating Cas and the henchmen, it would've been a terrible spot, "young cousin,"

Alek's eyes narrowed, his grip on his gun shifting, "Your family has ruined this country. People die just outside of our borders every moment. You have the power to stop that, yet you don't," His words were hissed.

"Stop repeating slogans," Cas growled back, "why are you really doing this?"

Alek was silent, simply shifting his grip on his gun. 

"I'm going to kill you," Alek scowled, "I am going to re-claim what is rightfully mine. I'll overturn the system to focus on more than just ourselves. I'll take the spotlight off of your useless family. And by my side, she will be," Alek raised his chin triumphantly. 

Cas used that to lunge forward, swiftly knocking the gun out of Alek's grasp. I let out a scream as Cas went straight for the head.