Extraordinary Royalty

Chapter 4 -- Shawn

When I found out that Evangeline was in the hospital, I had Robert rush me to be by her side. When I got there she was lying dead to the world in a sheet white hospital bed, hooked up to multiple machines monitoring her vitals. Evangeline's mother is crying on Mr. Jones' shoulder. Seeing her there on the table, lifeless, is so frightening. I feel a tear trickle down my cheek. What is happening? How can I feel this way about someone I barley just met? I have this sense that I know her from somewhere, but I don't know from where. I know there is some kind of connection between the both of us. I just can't place it. 

"Shawn?" Mrs. Jones walks over to me and pulls me in for an embrace before I realize what is happening.  Her body is shaking, but she doesn't make a sound. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close until her body relaxes and she pulls away.

"Do they know what happened to her?" I ask trying to stay strong. 

"They took her blood and are running tests as we speak. We also sent a sample to the agency so that we can get the results faster. She is stable for now, but we won't know what happened for a least a couple hours." Mr. Jones relays as he joins us outside Evangeline's room. 

"Well, I am not going anywhere. Why don't you both go home and get some rest. I'll stay here with her and call you if there are any changes." I walk into her room and take a seat next to her.

"You're a good man Shawn." Mr. Jones says as he clasps his hand on my shoulder.

"I just know I care about your daughter." Mr. Jones flinches at the words "your daughter".

"Is everything ok?" I ask searching for anything -- a flash emotion or even a change in body language -- to answer my question. After a long moment of silence, Mr. Jones pulls up and chair and sits next to me.

"Do you remember the Royal families daughter that went missing when she was little?" He asks. Doing his own searching in my eyes now.

"Vaguely."

"The kingdom was at war with the Ninavians and they were under heavy fire for days. The Royal family began to lose hope. The fighting abruptly stopped. When the soldiers thought it was all clear, they started to escort the family to their new chambers. Suddenly, a group of rebels came out of the shadows and grabbed hold of the prince. They threatened to kill him if the soldiers did not lower their weapons. The queen made the decision to fall back and they took the prince with them. She decided the castle was no longer safe so, she asked a family to take her daughter in as their own." he looks at me and a single tear trickles down his cheek.

"Wait, so the princess isn't actually missing? Where is she?" I ask. He takes a deep breath a looks at me dead in the eyes.

"Evangeline is the princess. We got a call late at night from the institute. Mrs. Jones and I were fresh out of the academy and we were young. The queen asked us to take her in. Mrs. Jones didn't want to, but the queen insisted. So, we took her in and treated her as if she were our own daughter. We never told her." I look at Mr. Jones as I process what he just told me. She is the lost princess. There is no way. Wouldn't she remember?

"How does she not remember? She was four but wouldn't she have some vague memories from when she was with them?" I ask astonished. 

"The agency has a memory wipe machine for when people close to us find out we are spies. Well, when we got her we figured it would be best if she didn't remember that life so that she didn't ask questions. So, we .... we had her memories wiped."

"What?! You erased her memories of her real family. Why haven't you told her? She deserves to know."

"I know she deserves to know, but we want to make sure she is ready before we tell her. And right now is definitely not the time. We have to figure out what happened and help her. You can not tell her. Promise me. Please." I look at Evangeline's sleeping figure. He is right. Telling her now wouldn't help anything. It would actually make things worse. As I take in a process everything Mr. Jones has told me, a memory surfaces. I met her. That is why I feel so connected to her. I was seven or eight year old when I met her. Right before the war started and she went missing. We hosted a party at our castle to celebrate twenty years of alliance with her kingdom. I remember my brother kept teasing me because she followed me everywhere I went. 

"Please do not tell her...." he pleads again.

"I won't, but you will have to tell her. And soon. You don't want her to find out from someone else. It would break her."

"I know. We will tell her when we get back. Mrs. Jones and I have decided we need to tell her."

"What do you mean when you get back?" I ask.

"We have been assigned to Germany for a mission. We shouldn't be gone that long, but we have to leave in a couple days. We are hoping that Evangeline is awake before we leave. I really don't want to leave her side, but we have no choice."

"She can stay with me. She'll more than protected with me. I have to bodyguards on my grounds at all times. Plus, she won't be alone." Mr. Jones pulls me in and gives me a ginormous bear hug. I almost pass out from his strength. 

"Thank you so much. I can not express to you how much that means to both of us. I know that Mrs. Jones will be able to relax more if she knows that Evangeline is well taken care of and protected." Mr. Jones lets go and gets up.

"I won't take my eyes off of her. Your daughter is safe with me." We shake hands and he walks out the door to take Mrs. Jones home. I will give my life for hers. Nothing is going to happen to her under my watch.