Forbidden Love

~chapter 23~

I don't know how long I sat in this room. I kept listening for something outside the door, even though it was useless since it was soundproof.

I hoped Andrew and the others were all ok. I hoped that they survived so that I don't die alone in this room.

I pressed my ear against the door, listening for a word, a breath, anything at all that told me there was someone out there.

An image of Octavia's pale face filled my mind. The last squeeze she gave my hand was so weak.

I love you.

She loved me. She really loved me. And I loved her. Despite everything that has been thrown at us to keep us apart, we were supposed to be together. I should be with her right now. She could still be out there dying, and I'm stuck in hiding.

I sat back away from the door. It stood there, silent and severe, mocking my heartbreak with its stillness. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head against them.
.
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After an eternity of sitting in the safe room, I heard the click of the lock to the door. Someone was coming for me. The door started to creep open, and the light from the window flared at me.

"Princess Seraphine, it's safe to come out now. We got them." It was a guard that was standing by the doors originally.

I sighed, overwhelmed with relief. "Where's Octavia? Is she alive? What about Oliver and my family?" I asked. "What about the guard who brought me here? His name is Andrew, have you seen him?" The words tumbled out of my mouth almost too quickly to be understood. I started to feel light-headed.

"Princess you're in shock, I'm going to take you to the hospital wing." The guard then scooped me up before I could topple over.

"Octavia?" I asked. No one answered. Or maybe I was gone by then. I couldn't remember.
.
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When I woke up, I found myself laying in a cot. As I looked around the room, I saw that I was in an office. As I started moving I could feel the stings of multiple cuts. When I inspected them, I saw the small ones were now clean, and the larger ones were bandaged. I was safe, but I couldn't stay here.

I slowly got up from the cot, feeling very sore. When I opened the door, I discorvered why I was tucked away into an office. The hospital wing was packed. By the looks of it, the less injured were placed two to a bed, or were seated on the floor. The ones who were extremely injured had beds to themselves. Even with the large number of people crowding the place, it was remarkably quiet.

As I walked down the hallway, maids and guards seating on the floor nodded there heads at me. I scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. I started losing hope when the crowd thinned out towards the end. I saw a gaurd with a scarred face standing at the end. "Is the princess or prince here somewhere?" I asked quietly.

Solemnly, he shook his head.

"Oh."

I felt my heart bleeding out just as surely as Octavia has. I let the tears fall, but they didn't wash away any of the p;ain away.

"Your Highness?"

I turned and saw a bandaged figure in one of the last beds in the wing. Andrew. I took unsteady steps towards him as I took in his condition. His head was bandaged, and there blood staining through. His chest was bare and bruised along his ribcage, but the worst of it was his left leg. A thick cast was wrapped around the bottom, and several bandages wrapped sloppily on his gashed thigh.

"What happed?" I whispered.

"I would rather not relive all of the details. I took out maybe six or seven more rebles before one of them got my leg. The doctor said I should be able to walk again, I'll just need a cane."

"Thank you for saving me Andrew."

"Of course Your Highness. It was my duty to protect you. I'm just glad that you aren't mad at me."

"I'm not. It's good to know you're ok. Even if she is dead, I will always love her and keep being happy."

Andrew's forehead creased. "Who's dead?"

"Octavia," I breathed, ready to start crying again.

There was a pause. "Octavia isn't dead."

"What! But that gaurd I talked to said she wasn't here and-"

"Of course she isn't here. She's the queen, so she's recovering in her room."

"Wait the queen died?"

Andrew nodded. "The king too. Rebels got to them before we could, but with him dead Oliver is the new king now."

"Oliver's ok too?"

"Yes he is. He should actually be here any minute now to chack on all the injured."

"Andrew!" I turned to see Oliver standing in the doorway. Andrew tried getting up but failed when he started putting weight onto his injured leg. Oliver then quickly made his way across the room to him, and hugged him.

"Are you ok? Please tell me you're ok Andrew."

He chuckled at how Oliver was acting before wrapping his arms around him. "I'm fine. What about you? Do you need to see the doctor again?"

"No the doctor said I was perfectly fine," he promised. "I was just worried about you."

Andrew stared into Oliver's eyes with absolute devotion. He then put a hand on the back of Oliver's neck and gently pulled him closer, kissing him deeply.

They were so lost in each other they didn't even notice me walk away, heading off to find the one person I really needed to see.

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Two more chapters!!

XOXO
Prodigal Child

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