Hideaway

-ONE-

As clumsy as I could be at times, I never expected to wake up in my castle's medical wing. The bright lights in there woke me up, causing me to immediately be confused.

"Hello? Why am I here?" I asked, loudly. I hoped someone was there to hear me.

"Your highness, you're awake!" Exclaimed a nurse as she rushed over.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"Well, it seems that a group of terrorists stormed the castle. You were shot during the attack, and we quickly brought you here. They are gone now, thankfully," she informed me.

Her tired eyes met mine, and I could tell there was something she wasn't telling me. As I thought about this for a minute, I realizes there could only be one reason as to why she would lie.

"Are my parents okay? Where are they? Did the terrorists kill them? Did anyone else die? Oh-" I began.

"Your parents are fine, your highness," she told me.

"Then what aren't you telling me?" I asked, my voice beginning to rise.

"Princess, please relax. Your parents will be here in a moment," she said, then promptly left. I felt my hands begin to shake, signaling that my nerves were acting up.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to reassure myself that everything was okay. My parents were fine, and I'm sure if there was something going on, they were going to tell me.

Suddenly, I heard some chatter, then absolute silence around the nurses. I was confused at first, but as my parents walked in, it made sense.

The King and Queen of Marisopa. People said they were the best monarchs the kingdom has ever had. They were kind, giving, and peaceful people. Not to mention the fact that they were also amazing parents.

"Honey, we were so worried!" My Mother yelled as she ran towards me, wrapping her arms around me. As she did so, I winced, finally beginning to feel the pain in my left shoulder.

"Love, you're hurting her," said my Father as he put a hand on my Mother's shoulder. She pulled away, a look of regret on her face.

"I'm so sorry honey. This should never have happened. We should have hired more guards, and had more security, and-"

"Love, it's fine. We're all fine. We didn't know that this was going to happen. We can't blame ourselves," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Did they catch the guys?" I asked them.

"No, they didn't. And we have reason to believe they'll come back. You're in danger, living here. No matter how many guards we hire or what security measures we take, you're not safe. Which is why...,"my Father began.

"Which is why we have another solution," my Mother said, interrupting him, "Sebastian, don't scare the girl. Don't worry, everything is fine. You are going to be perfectly safe."

"But Dad just said I'm not safe here. Does that mean we're going somewhere else?" I asked.

I felt my breathing pick up and felt as if my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I wasn't safe. We were all in danger. I didn't know how to process all the information at once.

"No, honey. It means... it means you are. We have to run the country, and we're pretty sure they're only going after you. There's a family friend who's offered-"

"What? You guys aren't coming? I'm going to be living with strangers?" I asked. My Mother could now see how much I was panicking, and reached out to squeeze my hand.