NICHOLAS (old version)

chapter sixteen: survive

It was a whirlwind. One minute, Nick was dragging me up the stairs, telling me to hide. That I had to be careful, that I'd have a bounty on my head. The next, I was being passed off to Natalie, who, according to Nick, had her own bounty, being the heir. She quite literally dragged me into a massive room I assumed was held for meetings,

It was completely empty, save for the long conference table in the center, and the chairs surrounding it. The scents were stale, vaguely of the higher ups and what I assumed were a few of the family heads. Natalie stunk of fear, more so than I did, and I knew this couldn't be the first time she'd gone through this. It was kind of sad, I realized, the things she must have been through. Nick was universally hated, he'd made a lot of enemies - and she was wanted dead because she shared his blood.

"They'll be where our scents are strongest, the bedroom hall." she explained, pacing back and forth, her hands smoothing down her shirt again and again. "It's okay, it's going to be okay. It's always okay. They won't find us, they won't find us-"

"Natalie, just breathe." I told her, keeping my tone low. "They won't find us, okay? There's a whole goddamn army out there. And if they do, we can protect ourselves." I insisted, pulling out of of the chairs and taking a seat. I liked the cushion, it molded to my butt in a way that reminded me of memory foam.

She stopped her pacing, turning her gaze on me. There was fear and terror and uncertainty in her eyes. In that moment, I realized something I hadn't previously thought of.

"Natalie, do you know how to fight?" I asked slowly, feeling my entire face tilt into a frown of concern. 

She shook her head no. "I mean, I've seen plenty of fights, but Nicholas was always the big brother, there to protect me. I've only been found a few times, and I... heal quickly. But their intent is always to kill, they always want me dead, and now they'll want you dea-"

She was getting worked up. Her breathing was faster, her eyes wider, her tone higher. She was in a panic and I wasn't sure I knew how to deal with it, because I never had. It was always me freaking out, me breaking down. Everyone around me was always so strong, and I wasn't sure how to deal with them when they weren't. 

I did what everyone always did to me, standing up and pulling her into a hug. She was taller than me, her head ending up in my hair, but the sobs quieted to whimpers, and eventually, I pulled back.

"Natalie, it's fine. We're going to be fine. And when Nick vanquishes the army, you're going to learn how to fight and you'll be awesome and this will never be a concern again. You'll never worry about being a victim again." I kept my tone low but hard, my hands on her shoulders, staring up into her eyes. I had to summon every ounce of my mother that I had inside of me to avoid telling her that I wanted to shit myself too. I had to stay calm, I had to breathe, I had to be okay.

One of us had to.

She gave me this sad smile, but nodded, and neither of us said anything. We just stood there, listening to the far off shouts and screams, our side impossible to distinguish from the enemies. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been two hours - there were no clocks, and measuring time was pointless.

Finally, the screams stopped, and there were footsteps. Hundreds of feet marching in a rhythm, and I realized rather quickly that it was toward us. Natalie took my hand, but I was certain it was Nick, he was coming to tell us everything would be alright, everything would be just fine, that we could go on a date and teach Natalie to fight and g-

It wasn't Nick.

The smell that penetrated the door was sweet. Like tobacco and candy, it wafted through the walls and seemed to overwhelm me. It was familiar, but at the same time, so terribly foreign. It smelled wrong. 

The door opened just as quickly as I could jump in front of Natalie, and like a dam broke, bodies began to flood into the room. There had to be a hundred at least, flowing in and cornering us. I could smell just as many in the hallway - all of this for two teenage girls. It was almost laughable, really, considering the fact that Natalie couldn't actually fight, and I could hardly hold my own.

They were in a uniform unfamiliar to me. It was very medieval-crossed-with-SWAT looking, armed with guns and ballistic shields, with a sigil of a woman's silhouette, black on white. This wasn't some little pack pissed off by Nick controlling them - this was a rebellion. 

A very professional rebellion.

I couldn't fight a bullet. So, when they came marching in, I went with my first instinct, the cowards way out, holding my hands up. "We surrender!" The words tumbled out of my mouth on instinct.

They closed in, as though they couldn't hear us, and Natalie's hands gripped me on either side of my ribs, all but dragging me backwards. Within seconds, we were pressed against the window shades, and they stood only a few feet away, stopped.

Then, I heard shuffling. Feet. The army was parting down the center like the red sea, and as soon as the closest members moved, I saw the apparent model for the sigil.

"Aunt Mila?"

Authors Note: So sorry for the delay! It's been a very hectic few days, my laptop broke (sort of?) and I've found out that I'm going to be a sister! Sixteen years late, and I'll be in college just after they're born, buuut I'm still super excited <3

This is one of those shorter chapters, as mentioned earlier, and not a super lot has happened, but what do y'all think about Mila so far? And what do you think this attack is for? Another rescue? How do you guys think Darcy and her family will handle Mila and her army?

Also, there will unfortunately NOT be an update Wednesday. I'll be taking the SAT, and after it's done, I'll need to take some time to wallow in my misery about how bad I'll probably do *cringe*. I'll try to get on to update tomorrow, but if not, expect one Thursday or Friday <3

As always, I love y'all sooo much! Don't forget to comment on your favorite parts and vote! Also, I always appreciate follows, as you'll get the drizzle on all the stuff going on!