Saving the Princess

by Helena Newbury

  My stomach twisted. They were on their way to kill my parents.

  64

  Garrett

  The secret passage took me into the dungeons, just as Kristina had said it would. It was part of the palace I’d never been in and the first part I came to was full-on medieval, the stone walls worn smooth with age and the iron bars crumbling. But further in, the cells had been restored. I crept through the hallways, keeping to the shadows. Praying that in one of them, I’d find—

  There.

  They were asleep, but there was no mistaking the huge, squat silhouette on one bunk, or the way the other occupant lay ramrod straight on his back, his hands folded neatly on his chest. I ducked around the corner and waited until a soldier passed by. I crept up behind him and slammed him into the bars, hard enough to knock him out. The two men inside the cell woke up fast.

  “Where’s The Queen?” asked Emerik immediately.

  “Trying to rescue her parents,” I told him, unlocking the door. “She needs your help.” I looked between them. “I need your help.”

  Jakov bent, picked up the soldier’s rifle and handed it to Emerik, then took the handgun for himself. He motioned me to lead the way. But halfway down the hallway, a voice stopped us. “Hey!”

  I turned. A slender guy in a suit was gripping the bars of his cell. “Is Caroline okay?”

  Sebastian. The poor bastard who’d been framed as a traitor.

  He was shaking his head. “I swear, I’m not working for Garmania. Please, just tell her I love her.”

  “You can tell her yourself,” I said, and unlocked his cell.

  Together, we moved off through the hallway. We were vastly, comically outnumbered. But in a weird way... it felt as if I had my squad back.

  I just hoped it was enough to save her.

  65

  Kristina

  The doors slid closed and Aleksander’s elevator began its descent. I dropped the toolbox and sprinted for the door that led to the stairwell. Caroline caught on and raced after me. Our only chance now was to get there first.

  The medical facility was four floors down. We pelted down the stairs, jumping the last few stairs of each flight. We raced straight past the nurse at the reception desk, turned the corner and burst into my father’s room, breathless and frantic.

  My mother was sitting on the edge of his bed, her eyes red from crying. Dr. Glavnic was there, too, and both of them looked up in amazement as we burst in.

  “No time to explain,” I snapped to my mother. “Aleksander’s right behind me. He’s going to kill you both. We have to get you out of here.” I looked at Dr. Glavnic. “Is there another way out, big enough for a gurney?”

  “There’s a freight elevator. We use it to move patients down from the parking garage. Down the hall, to your left.”

  But there was no time. I heard the chime of Aleksander’s elevator arriving. I wanted to weep with frustration. We’d been so close!

  “I’ll delay them,” said Dr. Glavnic. He marched towards the door. “Get your parents out of here.”

  I grabbed his arm. “When he finds out what you’ve done, he’ll arrest you for treason. Maybe worse.”

  Dr. Glavnic looked me in the eye. “I brought you into this world, Your Majesty. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that bastard take you from it. Now go!”

  He hurried off down the hallway to intercept Aleksander. I stared after him, breathing hard. Not all my people had turned against me.

  My mother was already freeing my father from the machines that had been monitoring him. I grabbed a gurney and helped her roll him onto it. Caroline held the doors wide and we silently pushed the gurney out of the room and into the hallway.

  I could hear the doctor talking to Aleksander just around the corner. My mother, Caroline and I all stared at each other, our faces pale, as we pushed the gurney down the hall. If a wheel so much as squeaked….

  I mashed the call button for the freight elevator and then we had to stand there waiting. Come on. Come on! There was a distant rumble of machinery. I could hear Aleksander growing impatient, demanding to see the King. Come on!

  The elevator arrived and the doors slid open. We pushed my father’s gurney in and slipped inside just as Aleksander came around the corner. I hit the button for the parking garage and willed the doors to close. But nothing happened.

  I heard Aleksander and the soldiers march into my father’s empty room. I hammered on the button. Come on!

  Aleksander yelled a curse and they burst back out into the hallway. The doors finally started to close just as he ran past the elevator... and he saw us through the closing gap. His eyes widened in shock.

  I tore off the baseball cap and let my hair fall free, staring back at him defiantly. Then the doors closed and we started to move.

  I knew that he’d raise the alarm and that they’d lock the palace down in minutes. The instant the doors opened, we rushed out and pulled the gurney over to the electrical repair van I’d come in. We heaved the gurney into the back, slammed the doors and—

  We froze. Four soldiers were approaching the van, guns pointed right at us. I closed my eyes and tensed, waiting for the bullets to hit.

  There was a wump.

  I opened my eyes to see one soldier crumpling to the ground and Garrett standing behind him, his fist still raised. Emerik stepped out of the shadows and slammed his rifle into another soldier’s head. Jakov pistol-whipped the third one.

  The fourth one had turned around to see what was happening. He turned back to face us, his rifle coming up—

  My mother kneed him in the groin with the full force of her vengeful fury.

  He hadn’t even hit the ground before I’d slammed into Garrett’s chest and wrapped my arms as far around him as I could. He crushed me to him and I pressed my face against him: he was the best thing I’d ever felt in my life. “I thought you wouldn’t wake up!” I sobbed.

  “Got kissed by a princess,” he rumbled. “Figure there’s got to be some magic in that.”

  Then Sebastian stepped out from behind the guards and Caroline let out a moan of disbelief and ran at him. He lifted her and swung her around, her blonde hair flying out. It was the first time I’d seen them together and, as soon as I saw the way he looked at her, I knew she’d been right. He was the one.

  There were shouts from deeper in the parking garage. Caroline, Sebastian, Emerik and Jakov jumped into the back of the van. Garrett and I jumped into the front and Garrett slid along the bench seat towards the steering wheel. “I’ll drive,” he said.

  My mother jumped in from the other side and pushed him out of the way. “I’ll drive, Mr. Buchanan,” she said firmly.

  Garrett gaped at her. I could hear boots running towards us.

  My mother gunned the engine with surprising aggression. “I wasn’t always a queen, you know,” she muttered. And we roared off into the streets.

  66

  Kristina

  It’s less than ten miles from the palace to our nearest border, with the peaceful nation of Carlonia. For the first five or so, as we raced away from the city and along twisting mountain roads, we managed to stay ahead of any pursuit. My mother hurled the van around corners far faster than its designers had ever intended: she seemed to have an instinctual feel for just how far it would lean and skid without flipping over, and she pushed it to the very limit.

  But as the hills grew steeper, we slowed down and she cursed. I could see military Humvees in the rear view mirror. Then the gunfire began, bullets chewing up the road around us. We were too far away and traveling too fast for them to hit us...yet. But they were gaining fast.

  I already had the cell phone to my ear and was desperately trying to convince the Carlonian authorities that this really was the Queen of Lakovia, calling the government’s main switchboard on a random cell phone number and begging to be put through to the Prime Minister. “I need you to open the border and let us through!” I told them. I had Garrett’s hand in mine and was squeezing it
hard. I was pretty sure I was never going to let go of it again.

  “Madam, we would need to verify your identity,” said the civil servant I’d been put through to. “Then you’d have to apply for a visa. When do you think your delegation might be visiting our country?”

  “In about thirty seconds!” I yelled. “Open the border now!”

  We rounded the corner and I saw the border checkpoint with its red and white barrier still closed across the road. Carlonian soldiers ran into the road as they saw us screaming towards them and pointed their guns at us, yelling at us to stop.

  My mother cursed and stood on the brakes. We slowed... and the soldiers chasing us surged forward in our rear view mirror. We jerked to a stop, the nose of the van almost touching the barrier... and the first bullet hit us. It went straight through the bodywork and out through the windshield, shattering it. Everyone screamed and hunkered down. Garrett threw himself protectively across me.

  On the cell phone, a different voice came on the line. “This is the Prime Minister.”

  “Mr. Prime Minister, I met you at a garden party last year,” I sobbed desperately. “You told me about your son winning the tennis tournament. You said I reminded you of my father. It’s me! Open the border, please!”

  There were muffled, urgent voices in the background. Two more bullets flew through the van. Then the barrier suddenly swung up and the soldiers dived out of the way.

  My mother stamped on the gas and we shot forward just as bullets shredded our tires. We skidded, spun and finally lurched to a halt facing sideways...but we were in Carlonia.

  The barrier swung closed. The soldiers who’d been chasing us were furious... but they weren’t going to start firing into another nation’s territory. We watched, panting, as they slowly retreated.

  We were helped from the van by border security officers while two of the soldiers carefully unloaded my father from the back. Caroline and Sebastian climbed out hand-in-hand: no one was going to split them apart again. The officers were polite but cautious and we spent the next hour answering questions. Then some men from the Prime Minister’s office arrived and everything became much more friendly. We were told that the Prime Minister had formally granted us asylum and that we could stay as long as we liked. An ambulance arrived to take my father to the hospital and my mother climbed into the back... but I held back.

  My mother blinked at me, confused. Then she went pale. “You are coming with us?”

  I shook my head and then nodded towards Lakovia. “My place is back there.”

  My mother stared at me with incredulity and then jumped out of the ambulance and rushed over to me. Her perfect black hair was being tousled by the mountain breeze, but she didn’t seem to notice. “The people have turned on you!”

  “That’s exactly why they need me.”

  My mother shook her head, tears in her eyes. The mask she’d worn, ever since the war, was gone. “Please, Kristina! At least let’s go to the Carlonian government. They can intervene, they can level sanctions—”

  “We don’t have time for any of that! The bombers are launching in a few hours.”

  My mother turned to Garrett. “Please, talk sense into her. We can live in peace in Carlonia.” She glanced at me and then back at Garrett. “All of us.”

  I drew in my breath and looked at Garrett. He was staring back at my mother, his expression impossible to read. This is everything he’d ever wanted. I’d no longer be a queen, or even a princess: we could be together. My mother was willing to accept him. We wouldn’t be in danger anymore. And I knew our family had overseas bank accounts we could access. We could live more than comfortably.

  All he had to do was convince me to give up my country.

  He looked into my eyes for a long moment. Then, without looking at my mother, he spoke. “I’ll do what my Queen orders me to do,” he said at last. “If she wants me to stay here, I’ll stay here. But if she wants to go back, I’m with her to the end.”

  I threw my arms around him and hugged him close. I was trying to hold back a flood of tears and it was difficult to speak. “Thank you,” I managed.

  My mother stepped forward. “Mr. Buchanan….” It was the first time she’d said his name without that edge of disapproval. “I concede that I may have been wrong about you.”

  Garrett turned to her and bowed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” There wasn’t a trace of bitterness in his voice.

  “Please,” said my mother, her voice cracking, “Take care of my daughter.”

  I hugged her goodbye and she got into the ambulance. I looked at Emerik and Jakov and then at the ambulance. I wanted to let them know that they were free to go with her if they wanted.

  They each took a big, deliberate step towards me. I nodded my thanks, a huge lump in my throat. Caroline and Sebastian stepped forward too, and the tears welled up in my eyes: even after being accused of treachery, both of them were still willing to risk their lives. “No,” I told them firmly. “You two have been through enough. And I want you to stay close to my mother and father, make sure they’re okay.” They reluctantly nodded and I embraced them, then watched as they walked off towards the ambulance hand-in-hand.

  The Prime Minister’s office lent us one of their Mercedes. Garrett got behind the wheel, I sat next to him and the guards climbed into the back. We drove back over the border and started along the twisting mountain road that led back to the city. “We better make a plan,” said Garrett as we reached the outskirts. “They probably had a satellite watching the border. They’re going to intercept us any time now.”

  I sighed and shook my head. Suddenly, this seemed impossible. “To stop the war, I need to get control of our armed forces. But they won’t listen. They think I’m a traitor. Everybody does.”

  “Only because they’ve been lied to,” said Garrett, his eyes on the road. “We need to tell them the truth.”

  “How? Aleksander is in league with the media. Probably promised them all sorts of things if they spread lies about me. They’re not going to put me on the air.”

  “Then we’ll have to persuade them.” Garrett thought for a moment, then drove towards the center of the city. “We’re going to need help. Shit!” He slammed on the brakes as two police cars skidded to a halt in front of us, blocking the street. He threw the car into reverse, but before we’d gone ten feet, a military Humvee blocked the street behind us.

  Garrett went forward again and swung us towards an alley, but the Mercedes was almost too big. We all winced as we lost a wing mirror and scraped all the way down one side of the car... but we made it. “Where are you going?” I asked frantically. “Who’s going to help us? We don’t have any allies left!”

  He didn’t answer, but his jaw was set: he had a plan. We erupted out of the alley, then had to slew sideways to miss a pavement cafe. More police cars turned into the street ahead of us, and I could see more military vehicles, too. “Garrett,” I said in despair, “where are you going? There’s nowhere in the city that’ll take us in!”

  “No,” he said, determined. “There’s one place.”

  67

  Garrett

  I screeched to a stop in front of the big white building, grabbed Kristina’s hand and hauled her towards the doors. The two guards followed. Kristina gulped as she saw The Stars and Stripes hanging overhead.

  They gave me mixed feelings, too. For so many years, I’d been loyal to that flag... and then the politicians had abandoned us. Now I had to trust them again. But Kristina had convinced me that not all leaders are the same. And there was one man in particular I wanted to give a chance.

  The US Marines guarding the embassy swung their rifles up as we approached. “Whoa!” I said, hands high, “Whoah, I’m an American. This is the Queen of Lakovia and her guards. Let us in!”

  The marines hesitated. This was one scenario their training hadn’t covered.

  A Humvee screeched to a stop outside the embassy. Lakovian soldiers spilled out and sprinted towards us.

&
nbsp; “Our countries have a treaty, goddammit!” I snapped at the marines. I pointed to Kristina. “This is this country’s recognized leader! At least let her in!” I glanced at Emerik and Jakov and they nodded. We’d take our chances, as long as Kristina was safe. I gently pushed her forward towards the US marines.

  “That woman’s a traitor! She’s coming with us!” yelled the leader of the Lakovian soldiers.

  I shook my head and put myself between him and Kristina, shielding her with my body. He pointed his rifle at me. Then he made the mistake of pointing his rifle at the marines.

  Faster than you can blink, every marine had their rifle leveled at the Lakovians and they let loose with the full force of their lungs. Other countries might think they can yell, but there’s nothing in the world like a US marine at full volume. “STAND DOWN! DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW!”

  The Lakovians actually stumbled back a foot or so, intimidated. But they didn’t lower their guns. They were under orders, just like the marines. Kristina was hunkering down, terrified. Any second, the bullets were going to start flying.

  I ran at the leader of the Lakovians, grabbed his uniform and snarled in his face. “Those are US marines!” I yelled. “You fire one shot at them, Lakovia is at war with the United States of America. Do you want that?”

  He stared back at me, torn... and then finally lowered his rifle. The Marines cautiously lowered theirs.

  One of the marines must have been on the radio to their superiors inside because suddenly the embassy doors swung open and we were ushered inside. When the doors closed behind us, all of us went a little shaky-legged with relief.

  A tall, thin man hurried forward. His suit was immaculate, but there was sweat trickling down the dome of his balding head. I figured he’d just watched the whole scene outside on a security camera. “I’m Raymond Hodge, the US ambassador to Lakovia,” he told us. “I welcome you to our country, Your Majesty. But you’ve just put us in a very difficult situation.”