Extraordinary Royalty

Chapter 12 - Shawn

I hold Evangeline in my arms, comforting her. When she loses consciousness, I pick her up and carry her bridal style down the stairs and out the house. I place her on a stretcher and climb into the ambulance behind her. The paramedics get to work, hooking her up to machines, getting fluids into her, etc. She has to be ok. I keep reminding myself that she is a healthy, strong woman. She won't let Julian win. The ambulance is pretty tight with me in there so the medics are having to squeeze their way around me to get to her.

When we arrive at the agency, they rush her into surgery, and I am forced to stay behind. I run my hand through my mossy hair. 

"Dude, you need to get some sleep. I will tell you if anything changes." Dylan says coming up beside me. I have been waiting for a couple of hours and no one has come out to update me. 

"I'm not going anywhere." I state firmly. Dylan gives me a tired look.

"You aren't going be any help to her if you pass out from exhaustion." I sigh getting up from the chair I didn't realize I had sat in. Dylan pats me on the shoulder and takes the seat I just vacated.

"Only an hour. If I am not back in an hour, you get me up. I want to be awake when she gets out." Dylan doesn't respond he just sits in the chair and holds his head. I stalk towards my room and throw myself onto the mound I call a bed. As soon as I hit the mattress, I pass out. About an hour or so later Dylan wakes me up. He goes to get some rest and I go back to find out any news on Evangeline. I find a nurse and she tells me Evangeline is out of surgery and that I can talk to the Doctor if I have any questions. I slowly walk into her room and breath hitches for a second. Evangeline is hooked up to all these machines including a breathing tube. The Doctor is checking her vitals.

"Is she going to be ok?" I ask shakily. 

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Evangeline POV

Afraid of reality, I keep my eyes squeezed shut. When I don't hear any noise, I slowly open my eyes letting them adjust to the light. The walls surrounding me are pure white tiles with no pictures on the walls. I am connected to a whole bunch of machines that are tracking my heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. I try to move but a sharp pain shoots through my whole body. 

"Ahhh!!" I scream out shocked. Someone rushes over to me from the right corner of the room. I hadn't seen them before so I am startled and try to get out of the bed despite the pain. 

"Evangeline, don't move. You are going to tear your stitches. Elly looks into my eyes and I lose control. I start sobbing and she holds me rubbing circles on my backs with her tiny hands. 

"You're ok. We're ok. Shhhh." She consoles me. 

"What happened?" I ask through the sobs. Elly pulls away and looks into my eyes.

"You don't remember?" She asks. Elly pushes the emergency button on the side of the bed and tears well in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Why am I here?" I ask wanting the comfort of my best friend again. Shawn and a Doctor come rushing into the room. My eyes lock with Shawn and my body relaxes. 

"What happened? Is she ok?" Shawn asks Elly. Elly whispers something into his ear and his eyes become stoic, no emotion passes through his eyes as he in turn whispers into the Doctors ear. The Doctor nods his head and comes towards me.

"Can you follow the light please?" He shines a light in my eyes and I do as he says.

"Doesn't seem to be any neurological damage." he says to no one in particular as he checks the machines. 

" Can you tell me your name?" he asks me.

"Evangeline Jones. What's going on?" I ask back.

"Do you know where you are?" he asks.

"No."

"Do you know what today is?" he asks. I sigh in frustration.

"No. Can someone please tell me what is going on?" I cry out. The Doctor looks at Shawn.

"Can we have the room?" Shawn asks Elly and the Doctor. Elly walks over and gives me a hug and they both leave. Shawn pulls a chair up and sits down next to the bed. He takes a deep breath and avoids eye contact as he starts to speak.

"What is the last thing you remember?" he asks.

"I went to meet Elly to go shopping." I state flatly. 

"You never made it to the shopping center. You found Elly's bike abandoned on the road." I try to think about it but nothing comes to mind. Shawn continues.

"Julian called you telling you he has Elly and you went to meet him alone without backup." Memories start to flood my brain. I can't separate what really happened and what was a dream. Shawn's voice fades into the background. My heart starts to pound in my ears and my eyesight becomes blurry. Julian, big burly men, Elly. Images are flashing through my mind. I squeeze my eyes shut trying to block out the pictures, willing them to go away. I feel Shawn wrap his bulky arms around my frail body and he just holds me. The fuzz eventually goes away and the images stop.

"Where are we? Does Elly know?" I ask. When Shawn doesn't answer, I look up into his eyes. He releases a sigh.

"She knows. We had to brief her and tell her the basics. She took pretty well to be honest." I am shocked. 

"Did the Head Mistress above of this?"

"Actually, it was her idea. She knows how important Elly is to you. Plus, Elly wants to join." I climb out of Shawns arms.

"What do you mean Elly wants to join? She can't join. She'll get herself killed." I answer incredulously.  Shawn looks at me with his soft eyes. I look away.

"It isn't your choice Evangeline, it's Elly's. She wants to do this. She has already started training. She pretty good for someone who has never picked up a gun in her life and her fighting is spectacular."

"The fighting doesn't surprise me. I made sure she knew how to fight at a young age so that she could hold her own. Much luck that did for her." Shawn picks me chin up and makes me look back into his eyes.

"Elly being taken was not your fault. She was vastly outnumbered. You know that."

"Really because I was so concerned about Elly I couldn't focus enough to protect us."

"Evangeline, you can't blame yourself. There is nothing wrong with caring about people. Just next time remember that you aren't the only one that cares about these people. We need to work together, or Julian has already won." There is a knock on the door.

"Come in." Shawn responds. Elly pops her head into the room.

"Hey, her parents were wondering if she is up for some company. I can tell them no if she would rather be alone." I look between the two of them.

"Hello, she is sitting right here. She would like to answer the question." I say snidely. Shawn shoots me a pointed look. 

"She won't have any company if she doesn't get rid of her attitude."

"Excuse me. You are not my parents. You don't get to decide what I do and do not get to do." Shawn glares at me and I glare back. Two can play this game. Elly clears her throat.

"Let them in. I think Shawn has some things he needs to take care of." Shawn tries to object but is interrupted by my mother's high-pitched squeal. Shawn is shooed out the room by Elly and my parents crowd my vision. I watch Shaw retreat and pray to God that we find Julian before it is too late.