Castiel comes to wake me up the next morning, with a smile on his face, and coffee? I've don't have coffee as often, my father said it made your teeth yellow, even though he helped himself to coffee every morning. His teeth don't seem too yellow.

"Coffee?" I find myself asking.

"Yes, Anaise. We might be a terrorist organization, but we're not savages. Or, at least I'm not. I'm not too sure about Zedd." Castiel says with a chuckle, and somehow I find myself laughing a little too, "though I'm not too sure how you like your coffee, so I just brought some stuff along." He says almost sheepishly, handing me little sachets of sugar, like the ones you get at the coffee shops in Dema. I take the hot cup into my hands, holding it in my lap, I'm still in my night wear from three days ago, and there's no mirror here, so I must look pretty bad.

"Castiel, where am I even? Are we still in Dema?" I ask as I break two sachets into the coffee, Castiel wavers for a moment as he hands me a plastic rod to stir my coffee with.

"Yes. But not the Dema you're used to." He says softly, "Anaise, I want to explain everything, but Zedd. Zedd is nervous about you, he doesn't know you like I do, and he doesn't understand why I said we should recruit you. He's just skeptical, so bare with me. I know I said there's no leadership down here, but I respect Zedd, and I don't want to go spilling his plans before he trusts you, okay?" Castiel finally explains something to me, and although I'm left more confused than ever, I smile and nod softly. Castiel doesn't speak for a while as I sip my coffee, then a woman I recognize as Eloise steps in, "Cas, you might want to have a look at this. Zedd's in a flat spin about something." She says with some sort of urgency to her voice, Castiel nods curtly and then rises from next to me. I give him a quizzical look as he gestures with his head for me to follow. I get up quickly, leaving the coffee cup on the bed, and not minding when it falls over. She leads us back into the circular room, except all the computer screens that were formerly showing pictures of the Castle, are now all black, and Nate is moving from screen to screen tapping furiously at the keyboards to get the 'ERROR' message off. Zedd is marching around the room, ordering Nate to work faster. Castiel cautiously approaches Zedd, looking him straight in the eye, "Z, what's going on?"

"I don't know either, all our systems are offline." Zedd says, exasperated.

"They spilt." Nate replies, angry as ever, "Anna and Fitz, they split on us. Told Demascus everything." All colour drains from Zedd's face and his eyes go wide with panic. He swears, and pulls at his hair.

"I knew it was a bad idea leaving them behind. But no, Fitz had other ideas," Zedd says, "I knew it was a bad idea getting her out of the Castle, damn it Castiel. You screwed it up, we never should've gotten her out so early!"

"Zedd!" Castiel says, anger in his voice, but he's calm, he's got his hands to his side, and his face straight, "we had to get her out of there. The situation was critical."

"Of course, Cas. It was critical. When the hell did it become critical? When you realized you were in love with her? We can't go abducting people for goddamn love conquests!" Zedd says, laughing sardonically. Then I see Castiel stiffen next to him.

"Zedd." He says in a tone that scares me, "the situation became critical when my brother raped her. Not because I'm in love with her."

The whole room goes quiet, Nate's chair stops in it's spot, Zedd's face goes blank, and even Eloise, who was ready to punch Zedd, her hands drop to her side. The only noise is Castiel's breathing and the ugly, reoccurring sound of the 'ERROR' message on the computer screens.

"Cas," Zedd's voice softens, "I didn't know."

"In my defense, I always thought Christophe was a creep." Eloise laughs weakly, like it's a joke, but Castiel's face remains deathly serious.

"Where did you ever meet Christophe?" Zedd asks her.

"We went to school together." She says it like it's nothing. Nate goes back to moving all over the room, but then the beeping stops, and all the screens come back online, one by one. I see the guards arresting Anna and Fitzgerald, and Anna yelling, "GET OUT OF THERE!"

"We don't have time for anything," Nate says, "we need to get out now."

"You need to wipe the drives, Nate. We can't leave any evidence that we were down here." Zedd says, as Nate presses some buttons and gets up.

"Alright people, just like we practiced. But a lot damn faster." Zedd says, and Castiel pulls me off into a different direction. Eloise follows closely.

When we get back into the room, she hands me a parcel of clothes, all black but neatly folded into a pile, "put these on and tie up your hair."

I nod, as she ushers Castiel out of the room, and then I start to take off my night wear. All her clothes fit perfectly, and I'm grateful for that.

"Thank you. For the clothes." I say softly, still holding my clothes in my hands.

"Don't worry about it. Sorry about what happened to you." She says.

"It's okay." I reply, but really it's not.

"You're lucky Castiel cares so much about you. He's pretty soft spoken around Zedd, I've never seen him so passionate about something." She says, and I think she's trying to tell me something, but I really do not catch her drift.

"I care about Castiel too. It's a mutual thing, we've known each other for years." I say, as if I'm trying to convince myself and not her. She nods and lets it go, and then leads me out the room, where Castiel stands waiting. He looks me up and down, and then nods.

"You look good with the symbols of evil embroiled on your chest." He says, smiling. I look down to my shirt, and there it is. The red WA. I think of what he said, and smile.

"I feel good with the symbols of evil embroiled on my chest." Castiel and I laugh softly, but it only lasts for a second when Nate comes dashing into the hallway.

"When you two lovebirds are doing canoodling, we're being penetrated by Miss Von Duyk's father, here." He says almost sarcastic. Castiel nods and then we're walking again. We all pile into the two doors, and they seal to make a circular contraption, almost like a tablet, to transport us even further underground. There's only one vehicle down stairs, and I don't know how we all fit in there but we do. Zedd starts driving immediately, I cannot see anything, I don't even know we're moving. But then there's this illumination in front of us, The Dome? We never left the Dome? I see Nate swipe an access card across something, and the thing splits in half, and then I see the light of day again. We're back on the roads, but we're in a forest. The forest outside of the Castle! I never even left the Dome, how is that possible? Were the Wanderers right below us all these years? Was that why my father's men never found them, because they never looked right underneath themselves? It all seems like too big of a conspiracy theory to figure out in a car, or an airplane for that matter, so I don't think about it too much. I just run my hand over the embroiled WA on my shirt, and try not to think of how I'll be sent to walk through the Dome if we're ever caught.

I'm not too sure how much longer we move, but next thing I know the world is covered with snow. I look to Castiel, whose eyes have a distant gleam to them.

"Where are we?" I ask him, and he looks to me, smiling.

"The Fjords," he looks out the window, at the white mass of land gliding past us, "we have a temporary base over here, and one in the Winelands of Northern-Dema."

Zedd stops in front of a small looking house, covered in snow, and then we all step out. Just like the previous location, there is a circular device in the middle that takes us lower underground. This location looks similar to the one back at the Castle, though it's a bit colder. Zedd and Castiel have been in conversation ever since we stepped into the elevator, "Zedd. We can't just keep her in the dark forever." Castiel says, I'm not sure who or what is in play. But by the way Castiel refers to her, I'm assuming it's me.

"Yes, we can. And we will. Because we don't have a plan yet." Zedd replies, pursing his lips, this seems to almost infuriate Castiel.

"She deserves at least something, Zedd." He argues, with a soft undertone to his voice. Eloise is right, I've never seen Castiel so passionate about something. Is he really this passionate about me?

"Fine," Zedd turns to me, "Anaise, you want something? The original plan was to send you back to the Castle after we informed you about our cause, but then was jeopardized when Christophe violated you. So, now we're stuck in between, should we keep you down here and start riots in the cities or should we send you back up to Christophe to handle the situation from there and risk having you violated by him again."

"I think the second option sounds more rational." I say, Zedd looks at me like he wasn't expecting me to comment on what he said, "I mean, if we are talking about riots in the city, I don't think that would be practical for Dema. I have lived in Dema my whole life, if anyone knows Dema, I do, and I know that no Demain citizen will lift a finger. I know there are a lot of citizens that are unhappy with the Monarchy, but Dema is a passive Quarter. We sit around wanting the world to change, but no one wants to change it themselves. It's just not practical, it would work in Abersai or Aberkay, but Demain's are just too passive." I finish off, Zedd keeps staring at me. Nobody really says anything, so I continue, "I think it would be rational to run the operation from inside the Castle. When I resume my position, the wedding will take place and I will take my position as Queen, I will then announce that Dema will have a democratic election for it's leader, and we will take it from there."

"What she says makes sense, Zedd." Nathaniel comes to my rescue, speaking up for the first time since we've arrived in the Fjords. Zedd seems to be mulling everything I've said over intensely, messing around with his hands, every now and then muttering something about the cons.

"I agree as well." Eloise pitches in when Zedd still remains quiet. I wait for Castiel to nod and urge him on as well, but Castiel is even more silent than Zedd.

"It could work." He finally says, "it could. It's less violent and there's not much coming physically from your side." He says to me, and I nod.

"But," Castiel objects, "the risks. It's too much, I can't have the doubt of Christophe touching her again."

"Slow down, lover boy," Zedd speaks with his normal confidence again, "what Anaise is saying makes sense. No Demain is going to lift a finger to save the world. We have to take action through her, if she's trustworthy, and willing."

Before anyone can contribute, I interject, "I am willing to do what's best for Dema. Even if it means overthrowing what we are all accustomed to."

"Anaise. I will not let you do this." Castiel says firmly, standing his ground.

"Castiel, to be fair, you don't really have a say in this." Nate replies, sounding half annoyed with Castiel's disagreeing.

"No, no I definitely do. I am a valued member of this alliance, without sounding conceited, and I object to this plan." Castiel keeps going, why is he so against it. Christophe is not touching me again, I will make sure of it.

"Cas, there's no risk. It's a simple plan, and it's not too hard on Anaise." Eloise says, and I nod in agreement.

"I will be fine, Castiel." I say, and I see him chew on his lip like he's considering something.

"Fine, but I am not leaving her all to Christophe. Who knows what he'll do." Castiel says, giving in.

"Now that I can understand. Nate work on the logistics, we'll send word to Demascus and Robert in the morning that we have their beloved children, but are willing to give them back if the WA comes out clean." Zedd says, and everyone springs into action. I find myself wandering around the underground of the area, looking at everything that my eye can see. There's not much to take in, though, it's mostly metal and iron. And Castiel's pale blue eyes.

"Let's go outside." He says suddenly, and I nod in agreement. I'm not quite used to the freedom that they provide here, I still feel like I'm surrounded by the Dome, and to think I'm going to have to go back to it. I don't exactly like the plan all too much, but it's the best option, for me and for whatever's growing inside of me. Riots would be violent, and would cause stress, and I know stress and pregnancy don't go too well together. Castiel leads me back into the elevator and up into the cottage where the yellow light of the fire illuminates the room. We're in the middle of nowhere, and the whole setup provides a sense of serenity, I almost feel relaxed. Castiel's hands twitch every now and then, and I do not understand why, he seems relaxed, but then again, is he really? I can never read Castiel properly, he's - per say - very adept at hiding his emotions.

"Why did you object to the plan when I suggested it?" I find myself asking him, when we're seated on a soft couch in front of the fire.

"Because. I care about you, and I don't want Christophe's filthy little hands travelling all over you again." He states firmly, and it warms my heart to hear him say he cares about me.

"Cas." I find myself saying, only because I'm not sure how to reply to his statement.

"I know he's my brother, but I can't believe he'd violate you like that." Castiel says, his hands tight up in fists, his chewing on his bottom lip again, considering something.

"Talk to me." I say, deciding to let him vent, it's not everyday Castiel openly addresses an issue.

"It just kind of scares me, more than it should. I grew up with this guy, Christophe is my brother. And he did this to you, I just can't believe it." He keeps going, "it scares me even more thinking that he could do it again."

"He won't." I say, "I won't let him."

"Neither will I," says Castiel, "he won't lay another finger on you."

"Okay." I say softly, leaning my head down on Castiel's shoulder.

"At least there's one good thing out of this whole debacle." He says.

"What?" I ask softly.

"The baby, of course," Castiel's hand is on my stomach, rubbing circles around my belly button, he refers to the baby with such fondness. I'm not used to this side of Castiel, maybe because he cares about me he's going to care about the baby as well.

"Of course." I feel my cheeks heating up, as I feel his hand on my stomach, as I said, I'm not quite used to this side of Castiel.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting bigger?" He laughs softly, and I find myself chuckling as well.

"I'm not really sure how the whole affair works, I guess I'll ask the Castle doctor when we get back." I say, and I thought maybe he'd tense up again, but the lazy grin remains plastered on his face, and he doesn't stop what he's doing.

"Don't worry too much about going back." He says, and I know I won't. I feel utterly safe with Castiel, and I know he would risk his life for me, as I would for him, "we'll make it through."

"We'll make it through," I repeat, "we always do." I smile, but I know it's only just begun. This will not be as easy as we described it, while Dema might not be pleased with the Monarchy, even less will like the idea of a democracy. I prepare myself for violence, and uprisings, and people throwing things at the Dome, as if they're trying to get it open. I don't ever want to leave this moment, this moment where Castiel and I are lazily pressed against each other, and his warm hand is on my stomach. There's nothing like it, it's pure bliss. But I know Nate is going to come up the elevator and call us down again to put this whole plan in motion. I close my eyes, and hold onto the moment for as long as I can. We'll make it through. We always do.

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