Royal (A Selection Fan Fiction) (Book One in my Selection Series)

Chapter 10

"Charlie!" Addy screams.

"Shh!" I tell her sternly and pull her closer to a wall. We hadn't made it to the third floor yet, but instead now we were right by the staircase.

I didn't dare take her to the third floor, because I knew that's where anybody would head. All of the Royal Families rooms were up there. It was easily a first target.

"Can you help me find a safe room?" I ask her quietly. Fear is bright in her eyes covering all the traces of anything she'd said earlier.

"I'm scared. What if they kill us?" She whispers.

"Addy I need you to listen to me alright? Do you know where the safe rooms are?" We'd been informed of them but I couldn't pinpoint where one would be.

"There's one behind a painting down that hallway." She says closing her eyes shaking miserably.

"Okay come on." I pick her up and carry her down the hallway. Voices echoed all over the castle so you never knew who was where.

Maybe carrying the princess was illegal but I think doing nothing was just as bad.

"How do I open it?" I ask quietly. "Just tell me and ill do it."

"I can hear them." She wails covering her ears.

"Addy please don't shut down I need help. Darling please help me here." I whisper to her.

"Push this." She reaches out crying and pushing hard on one of the designs on the wall. As It pushes in the painting pops out along with a thick door behind it.

"Addy we are okay." I tell her when the door clicks shut. "We are safe." She is too busy covering her ears and shaking her head with tears spilling uncontrollably.

"What about my family?" Addy whispers. "They might be dead up there."

"They're probably the safest in the whole castle right now." I tell her. No doubt the third floor was the safest in the whole palace.

"Charlie!" Addy cries and buries her head in my shoulder. I hold her closer to me and sit in one of the seats against the wall. There was seats lining the wall, but they weren't comfortable.

"Shhhh..." I try and be soothing by stroking her hair. "Can you sit here for a minute? I'm going to see what's in the cabinet." Hopefully there would be blankets and maybe water.

She nods and I sit her down in the corner. I go to the two cabinets and open the top one. A few bottles of water were in the top while a first aid kit and pillow were in the bottom. I grab the water and set it on the floor beside of me and then grab the pillow.

The second cabinet had a few bags of sealed food and a blanket. I grab the fluffy blanket and take everything in one big handful to Addy.

"'My nightgown ripped." She whispered mad I sit the blanket and pillow beside of her.

"Are you okay?" I ask and pull up the gown a bit. There was a small scratch but I'd never know what it really came from. "It's just a little scratch but I'll bandage it okay?" She just nods and grabs the pillow, hugging it.

"This is going to be a bit tight okay?" I tell her. She nods barely still sobbing but quieter now.

I take the bandage wrap from the first aid Kit and slowly wrap her leg. The cut was just below her knee, but it wasn't bad at all. I wrap every single layer as straight as I can. Addy winces once but just hugs the pillow tighter.

"We're done okay?" I tell her. She went from a mature seven year old now to a broken seven year old. I don't blame her though, this was scary even for me.

"Char." Addy breathes. "What if Toby and Todd don't get to the safe room? What if something happens to mom or dad while their trying to get them out."

"They'll all be fine I promise." I wrap one of my arms around her after I laid the blanket out.

"What if someone gets hurt trying to find me." She whispers after another moment.

"They love you, Addy. But the only people that are going to be searching are the guards and they'll have to be out anyway." I say in all honestly.

"Okay." Is all she says.

Not long I can hear the click of the door opening. Addy jumps up to see the guards that come through.

"Alert the Royal Family that we've found the princess and the missing selected." The guard booms. "Why are you in a safe room with the princess?" He asks me after that in a harsh voice.

"Leave her alone." Addy says and swats at him. "She's coming with me." She runs back and grabs my hand dragging me out of the safe room and running up the stairs to the third floor. At the top of the steps the king and queen come running out from their suite.

"Adeline!" The Queen screams. "Where were you the whole time? Do you know what would've happened if something had happened to you?"

"And you were with her. Why her?" The King says even louder and accusingly.

"Why were you with her?" The Queen asks standby up from where she crouched beside her daughter.

"I went to her room because I had a question." Adeline starts. I can see Alex standing by the doorway but I just stand there with my head bowed. "She sent me back almost immediately, but said she'd walked me through my room."

I look up for a moment. I didn't send her back immediately and either she thought that was very quickly or she was covering up for me.

"As we were eating to the third floor we heard someone scream we had been attacked and I panicked. If Charlie hadn't been there we wouldn't have made it to the safe room." She goes on and on about how she couldn't really see or hear anything but screaming.

"Addy." The Queen says soothingly. "There was no screaming."

"I know that, but it's all I heard. Charlie had to snap me out of it, so I could get us to the safe room." She tells her.

"I think there's thanks to be given." The Queen walks over to me. Behind her I can see Addy run to Alex who now directs all of his attention to her. "Getting caught with the princess of. Illea during an attack would not settle well with the public. I'm sure all of the other Selected have heard about it but I'd appreciate if you didn't say too much."

"Of course, Your Highness." I curtsy barely quick enough to stand back up straight before she starts to speak again.

"But once again thank you. Adeline has... A vivid imagination. Rebel attacks are hard on her." The Queen says.

I didn't say anything but nothing about what happened with Adeline was her imagination. You can never imagine the sound of vivid screaming before you actually hear it.

"Thank you, dear girl. I never would have wanted to be in the situation you were." The King tells me. I felt weird still in my nightgown and my hair in a braid down my back.

"There isn't much else you couldn't done in my situation either." I tell him but curtsy anyway.

"I'm not so sure about that." He says without letting his emotions slip onto his face.

"I'd like to thank you myself also." The prince says. I look behind the Queen and he was setting down Addy. "This means more than you could think." He says eyeing Addy. "Thank you, Lady Charlie." He says bowing slightly while he kisses my hand.

What has already happened at the palace that has called the discomfort of the Princess during the attack.

I may not have an education but I'm definitely not stupid.