Alarms blared down the hall, the loud ringing piercing Gwen's ears. Frozen against the wall, she watched the scene in astonishment. Never had she heard of the castle being attacked, and now, her she was, standing in the middle of it.

The rebels pushed their way past the guards, their numbers overwhelming. Gwen stood paralyzed and weaponless, mind racing. Terror coursed through her veins. She was going to die. She was going to die without even the chance to fight back.

The clash of metal on metal filled Gwen's ears. Right before her eyes trained soldiers were being taken down by rebels. Rebels who the King had claimed were harmless, and under control.

Gwen shook herself out of her stupor and dashed forwards, pulling a bloodied sword out of the hand of a fallen soldier. She lifted the blade in front of her and charged forward to the nearest black clad rebel.

The sound of metal on metal filled her ears. Now that the rebels no longer had the element of surprise on their side, their bows were useless. The close range of the attacks forced the usage of swords, which the guards easily bested the rebels in.

The guards were slowly gaining ground on the mass of rebels, forcing them back towards the doors. Despite the valiant efforts of the guards, it was impossible for them to contain all of the rebels. Some were able to sneak through their defences and make their way further into the castle.

Gwen focused on the fight in front of her. The dark glimmering eyes of a rebel met hers, and he shot her a menacing look. She grit her teeth and blocked his first blow, twisting away from his sharp blade. Her right arm screamed in pain as she held it tight to her body. She was forced to fight with her left, less dominant hand.

Gwen was constantly on the defensive, not willing to go in for the killing blow, and unable to get through his blocks with her weak hand. Finally, after parrying his many attacks, he got through her guard, blade slicing into her side. Screaming in pain, Gwen backed away from the rebel into the twisting halls behind her.

A group of guards rushed around her into the hall, one immediately taking her place against the rebel she had been fighting. Gwen caught the eye of a rebel with a dark hood pulled up over his hair.

Even beneath the hood Gwen could make out a mass of ruffled blonde hair. Gwen squinted in his direction and gasped, his eyes were an exact replica of her own.

"Kai?" Gwen whispered in disbelief. What would her traitorous brother be doing storming the castle with a group of rebels? Kai wasn't even a fighter; he had always focused solely on medicine. But there he was, sword in hand, rushing into the castle.

With a hand pressed tightly against the cut in her side Gwen turned and ran after her brother. She could just make out his head bobbing up and down through the crowd of guards surging in the opposite direction.

Gwen fought her way to where she could almost reach out and touch Kai. She hadn't gone back to confront him about giving her up, but the urge to know the truth was unshakable now. Just as she was about to grab his shoulder and force him to face her, a hand snaked out from behind her and grabbed her outstretched arm.

Gwen was yanked to a halt and her brother disappeared, a single rebel, unnoticed, sneaking into the heart of the castle. Gwen spun around, her face a mask of fury.

Rowan's hand held her arm tightly and Gwen opened her mouth to yell at him.

"That was my brother you idiot!" she yelled, not phased as she usually would have been about calling the Prince an idiot.

Rowan's worried face hardened as he marched down the hall, pulling her after him. Gwen was dragged, glaring like an indignant child. They walked until they were deep beneath the castle, where the doors were made of a heavy metal.

Rowan paused outside a large metal door and placed his hands on her shoulders. A serious look crossed Rowan's face, which was the only thing keeping her from continuing to yell at him.

"I need you to do something for me," he said quietly, brown eyes gazing somberly into her own. "Stay with my family, please."

Gwen jumped back with a start. His family. He couldn't mean he wanted her to hide from the fight with the King and Queen. Gwen opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Rowan pulling the door open and guiding her inside with a firm push on her back.

Gwen stood in the doorway, dumbfounded. The room was some sort of cellar, designed for this type of attack. There were no windows, and only one door to get in and out of the room. There was a small storage closet in the back of the room, assumably filled with food supplies.

What caught Gwen's eye were the people, sitting against the back wall, trembling. The young Prince and Princess were huddled together, their parents nowhere to be found.

Gwen, suddenly understanding, turned back resolutely. She shot Rowan a terse nod and muttered so the children wouldn't hear, "Go."

Without hesitation Rowan hurried out of the room, sword swinging in his hand. Gwen pulled the door closed behind him, sliding the deadbolt into place.

"Who are you?" a small voice came from the young blonde boy. He was standing protectively in front of the girl now, a daring expression on his face.

"I'm a friend of your brother's. My name is Gwen," she said softly, walking towards the children like they were frightened animals.

The young royal children looked nothing like their brother. Both had angelic blonde hair and blue eyes, sharply contrasting the dark looks of Rowan, who obviously took after his mother.

The boy, Prince Max, couldn't be any older than eleven. The young girl, cowering behind him could be none other than the five-year-old Princess Quinn.

At her words the Prince relaxed, slumping back down onto the floor. Gwen was at a loss; she never had much experience with kids, and had no idea how to comfort them.

She slid down the wall, taking a place on the floor next to them. As soon as she touched the ground Quinn crawled into her lap. She could feel the younger girl's body shaking against her, and Gwen hesitantly ran her hand down her arm.

Seeing no apparent danger, Max slid closer to Gwen, and pressed his own body next to hers. Gwen wrapped her free arm around him, doing what she could to comfort the royal siblings.

Continuing to keep a watchful eye on the door, Gwen held the siblings as they drifted in and out of consciousness. After what seemed like hours, a loud banging on the door jerked Gwen out of her peaceful calm. She jumped to her feet, reaching for the sword in front of her.

"Stay here," she hissed at the children as she prowled her way to the door, heart pounding in her chest.

"Gwen! It's Rowan!" A worried voice called. "It's over," he said, the relief evident in his voice.

Gwen pulled the door open and found herself face to face with a bloody, sweat covered Rowan. He was accompanied by a nervous looking maid, who kept looking over her shoulder. The kids jumped up and ran towards her. She must have been their nurse, Gwen thought to herself. She was focused on ensuring there was no serious harm to her prince.

"Take them upstairs," Rowan called over his shoulder, his gaze fixed on the bleeding wound on Gwen's side. Once they were gone he rushed towards her, closing the space quickly.

Rowan clenched his fists tightly, his dark eyes flashing.

"You're hurt. Why were you fighting? Your arm-" he broke off, taking another step towards her and closing the already small gap.

Gwen's breathing grew shallow and her heart beat wildly. Rowan reached up and ran the back of his hand down her cheek.

"I'm not hurt. I'll be fine," she whispered, hands shaking. "I had to help--it's my job."

"It's not your job yet. You aren't trained," he said, a crazed look in his eyes.

"I made it through the trials Rowan. I'm not totally useless," Gwen said quietly, trying to reassure him.

Rowan snarled and pushed her up against the wall. He pushed his lips roughly against hers, they moved desperately, trying to coax a reaction out of her. After a stunned moment Gwen reached up and wrapped her hands into his bronze hair, and lost herself in the kiss.

Gwen's brain was working faster than it ever had. Thoughts flew through her head, one after the other, not registering any of them. His hair was softer than it looked. The way his lips moved against hers. She was going to be a guard in the castle. She would be protecting the royal family, which included Rowan. How could she properly protect them if she was always distracted by his lips... his hair... his eyes?

Gwen gasped and pushed a surprised Rowan away.

"I can't do this," she panted, trying not the meet his eyes after seeing the hurt look in them.

Rowan refused to step back. He stood so close to her she could feel his warm, rasping breath on her face. He lifted a hand to her chin, tilting it up towards him again, and forcing her to look him in the eye.

"I want this," his whispered, "I want you."

The door to the cellar flew open and Gwen jumped. She looked towards the door with narrowed eyes. The room was so dark the brightness of the hall hurt them. Gwen's heart dropped to her stomach, she had been expecting to see an apologetic maid, returning to speak to Rowan about Max and Quinn. Instead, the King stood there, looking murderous.

Gwen knew what they looked like, faces flushed, and standing inches apart from each other. The crazy assumptions flying through the King's head were probably true, and there was nothing Gwen could say without lying to him.

"Absolutely not. This is unacceptable," the King growled as he grabbed Gwen by her injured arm and pulled her roughly out into the hall. 

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Ahh this chapter was so much fun to write! What did you guys think, please let me know, I love hearing your comments. 

xoxo Emma