Royally Flushed

Fire On Fire

~Malia~

The chaos was immediate. One look at that horse skull sitting on the man's head as he rose to the center of the stage and everyone lost their minds.

A single gunshot rang out and I tried to find the queen but she was nowhere to be found, probably already hidden away for protection.

Louis' hand found my side and pulled me away from the center of the crowd and one look into his eyes and I could tell this wasn't going to end well.

A familiar shock of wiry dark hair and I almost fell to my knees in terror. My stepfather Robert was there, and he was finally going to do it. He was finally going to kill me.

Louis pulled me along as if I weighed nothing and kept shouting at me to follow him but the world was drowned out and all I could hear was the rushing of blood through my head.

I wanted to stop and throw up, but I knew I couldn't stop, otherwise I'd be dead.

Louis found a way to slip around some of the men who were blocking the exits when he made his way to where Daniel and I had been talking earlier outside on the patio near the pub tables.

It was fenced in, so the men probably didn't think to guard it since people couldn't 'technically' escape through there, but with all of the shouting and gunshots and pure chaos rampaging throughout the room, it was easy to slip a couple of people through the cracks.

Black SUV's lined the perimeter of the mansion so we were basically stuck outside on the patio.

"Do you know this house well?"

"Yeah, I've been here a few times. I used to play with Henry in the pool house..." Louis trailed off and I saw a lightbulb go off in his mind.

"I'm sure my grandmother's security detail is already on their way, as well as our special agents but I need to get Gordon here now. I ditched him today because I thought I'd be safe enough with the Queen's detail, but I guess I was wrong. Henry's dad is alive...my uncle Malcolm. And he's the leader of the King's Horses...I can't believe it was right in front of my face for so long and I was too blind to see it."

He slammed his hand on a pillar causing it to make a rumbling noise and I quickly put a hand up to his mouth to silence him. The sparks that danced across my skin as I touched him did little to quell the rising panic in my body and I needed to know that he could get to safety.

"Wait, where did Lizzie go? I saw you with her earlier!"

"I'm sure she'll be fine, she went to go find some friends before I overheard you and Daniel talking..."

"I didn't see her in there during the speech...I wonder if she went to the bathroom or something. I have to go find her...even if she did break girl code by coming here with you, she's literally one of my only friends here!"

"No, she's my cousin, Malia. She definitely didn't break girl code."

"Oh. Well then we absolutely have to go back and find her now!"

"No, we don't have time for that! I'll call Gordon and have him sweep the building once we get the all clear and then-"

Multiple gunshots and screams permeated the night air.

"Now do you see what happens when you don't listen to me? Do you want more people to die? Now I want you to bring me the queen and Lady Spencer before the night is over, otherwise more people are going to die! Is that understood?"

My eyes went wide in panic and Louis' mouth was set in a firm hard line.

"We have to make it to the pool house. There's an open area that we'll have to maneuver but I think we can make it."