EXPLODE

sixteen

When I was finally discharged from the hospital, I had almost full movement of my body, and next to no pain as long as I took my prescribed medication.

As I was being discharged, Evan told me that the castle was a unsafe place, and that we were being moved to the King and Queen's safe house; it hadn't been used in four generations, and they had spent the entire past few days cleaning it up.

No one who didn't need to know about it didn't know, and the only people allowed inside were the King, Queen, guards, and future princes and princesses.

Since Evan and I weren't technically King and Queen yet and there was imminent threat of inside people from the Rebellion, Evan and I had to be blindfolded on our way to the secret castle.

When we finally pulled up to the safe house and my blindfold was removed, I wasn't expecting anything extravagant; it was supposed to be a place to hide after all. But I was quickly proven wrong as a one story loft was revealed, completely surrounded by trees that seemed to brush against the sky.

I gasped in surprise. I personally liked the hideaway better than the castle, simply because of the beautiful scenery and the roll of land expanding in each direction.

"Like it?" Evan asked. I nodded, looking around for Liam, who had to be transported in a different van. He was on some pain medication too, but he was instructed to take it easy like I was told.

He was allowed to be my guard, but only with extended security around me; which meant it wasn't going to be just us.

"This place isn't as big as the castle, so it's going to seem a lot more cluttered," the King says in between coughs. He had recently began coughing up blood, and by now the worry was clear on his face.

While he wasn't in pain, he knew he was close to death. He would have to be passing down his crown to Evan, and his wife was gone.

Many frown lines had appeared on his face from the amount of extreme stress he was going through. I felt bad for him in a way. He may have done a lot of cruel things, but no one deserves to die the way he is now.

"Let's make our way inside then," Evan says, taking my hand in his. Between the day of the dinner and the day I saw him in the hospital, something has changed within him.

A certain kind of excitement. He now didn't wait to hold my hand, and strangely enough, I was growing accustomed to the feeling of his cold hands. But they were nothing compared to Liam's.

As we entered the main doors of the our new home, I was taken aback once more. This castle was more earthy; much more outdated than the castle I grown to know like the back of my hand.

"Everything all right, Dawn?" The King asked, supervising the set up of the machines needed for him to properly. A guard came in and hooked an IV to his side, and I watched at the King winced.

"This place is beautiful, sir," I respond.

He smiles sadly, taking his IV and sitting down on the couch. "That's what my beautiful Queen thought too."

All the guards lowered their heads, as they always did when the Queen was brought up.

"Let me show you to your room." Evan whispered, letting the King grieve. Two guards trailed behind us as he led me down the expansive hallway.

"Have you been here before?" I asked. He frowned at my notice of detail. He knew this place too well to not have been here.

"Once with my father. We were training and we wanted a change of scenery. It was one of the best weekends of my life," he tells me.