royalty and the soldier // a ben finn fanfiction

// chapter three //

I only needed to do one more thing to prove myself to Page, the leader of the Bowerstone Resistance, and she'd be convinced I was a hero. She knew Garth was because apparently, this wasn't Garth's first encounter with her. As I made my way over to the orphanage a kind woman, a searing pain flashed into my head, causing me to double over. Visions of a man side by side with who I recognized as my mother took over my brain as I fell into complete darkness.

"Hurry Sparrow! Theresa won't wait for us for ever! Jean already got there!" I heard a woman yell to my mother. 

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" a much younger looking Sparrow shouted back, laughing to herself. "You sure are a fast one, Tia." I watched as my mother and this woman walked into a slightly familiar area. As I followed, I realized we were in Bowerstone. The Bowerstone of my mother's youth. 

"There's my lovely sisters! Glad you could finally make it!" A man wearing the finest of red coats I had seen yet yelled to them. "Like my new clothes? Here, go buy yourselves something else to wear. We need to blend into lower suspicion, okay?" The man, who I now realized was Jean, said to the women. 

"Yeah yeah yeah." My mother said as she rolled her eyes, smiling before taking off with Tia.

As I slowly came back to consciousness I noticed a crowd had formed around me. "I-I'm fine, thank you for worrying," I reassured the two as I stood up and went up to the woman I was looking for. "Linda, I heard you needed assistance. What seems to be the trouble?" I asked as I pulled my hood up. As she explained to me what had happened she led me to the gross place her husband was being held at. Soon I was kicking asses and taking names later. Some big brute had knocked me down, leaving a gash on my cheek, but I soon got up and put him in his place.

After a big talk with whatever this criminal's name is, I chose not to remember it or care since he was such a scumbag, I was directed to jump down into the sewers to retrieve the man. But I was not expecting to see him down there. "R-Rose?!" he yelled, startled to see me. I swam over to him and slowly got out, speechless.

 "Elliot..." I whispered as his arms wrapped tightly around me. I returned his embrace but something about it felt wrong, and I knew it wasn't because of Linda. A certain soldier floated into my mind but I shook the thought away, turning my attention to the rambling Elliot. 

"I heard you ran away, but why are you back? If Logan finds you-" I hushed him at that. 

"Elliot, leave me and Garth to worry about my brother. I'm just glad to see you're alive and breathing." I said as I took his hand and we made our way out of there and to Linda only to find the shit head criminal had knocked her out and ran off. 

"Linda!" Elliot yelled, rushing over to her. My heart ached slightly at the sight. 

"Oh, my love I've missed you," Linda said in delight as she woke up, hugging him tightly. I started to walk away but she stopped me. "Thank you for saving my Fiance. How could I ever repay you?" She asked, a light in her eyes that I had seen in my own eyes, long ago. 

"You owe me nothing. Watching over the children is payment enough." I said with a slightly forced smile before leaving.

Before I could make my way back to HQ, I felt a hand slip into mine. "Just say the words. Tell me to leave her, and I will. Tell me you still love me like I do. I know you do. I see it in your eyes." I heard Elliot whisper, his voice shaking and nervous. 

"I... I do, but I can't do that to your wi-" I started but his lips against mine stopped me from speaking. 

"Let me deal with her. Meet me here in three days, and we can be together." He said with a slight smirk before running off. I felt... guilty. Guilty that I ruined a relationship. Guilty that Elliot loved me, a horrible person who has let their tyrant brother hurt their lands so badly. Guilty that even though I love Elliot, I knew a soldier had stolen my heart with just one snide remark and a smirk.