God Save the Queen

by Amanda Dacyczyn

  “Ah,” I said.

  “I’m so sorry. For everything.” He said this with his head bowed, and now he looked up with beseeching eyes. “Forgive me?”

  I smiled, “Michael its fine. Really it is.”

  He sighed and hugged me. “Thank you,” he whispered. When he broke away from the hug he chuckled a bit and said, “So what about you? I mean, after all I put you through, you couldn’t have been completely faithful to me.”

  He chuckled some more as he waited for my confession, and then stopped cold when I smiled sweetly and said, “But I was faithful to you, Michael.”

  “Wait, you were? I always thought that you and Kevin were having this little thing on the side. You never …”

  “Nope,” I said smugly. But then I remembered. “Well, actually, last night Kevin and I kissed.” Michael raised an eyebrow. I laughed in reply, “Oh, he tried to win me over, but I told him that I couldn’t be with him because you and I were going to be engaged. But now that’s not even happening, so you see, I’ve spoiled everything.”

  An awkward silence followed. Michael shrugged and said, “Well, unless I’ve misunderstood this whole conversation, we’re over. You’re single.”

  I looked at him with eager eyes. “Then we’re done here?”

  “We’re done,” he said with a wry smile, then nodded toward the door. “Go get him.”

  I hugged him one last time before running out the door. I couldn’t believe it … I was free … free! I sprinting down the hallway, trying to remember where Kevin said he’d be waiting to meet me. It was … yes! The library! I began to run faster at the thought of seeing him waiting for me. I got to the door and ripped it open, and there was Kevin, leaning over the table. His head snapped up as he saw me walk in. I didn’t even give him a chance to say hi before rushed into his arms and embraced him.

  He chuckled sadly. “Aw … well, I’m glad to see you’re happy anyway.” Then he held me out at arm’s length. “Well, let’s see the ring.”

  I flashed my left hand to present my still-bare ring finger. It didn’t seem to process through his brain, so I explained it to him as simply as I could. “I’m not marrying Michael.”

  Still holding me, I felt his grip loosen as he said, “You’re not getting married?”

  “I’m not getting married!” Then we embraced again as Kevin swung me around. I giggled, feeling a freedom I’d never felt before. I was now in his arms and there was nothing wrong with that. No more furtive glances, no more guilt or secret rendezvous in the garden … We could now build our relationship openly and be happy forever.

  Then we heard noises from the hallway. And shouts. Kevin and I looked at each other in confusion and slowly made our way toward the door. We opened it a crack to see LaGard storming down the hallway, Michael shouting after him. LaGard seemed to be heading for the library, so Michael closed the door quickly.

  “Doesn’t look happy,” he said. I nodded. Even behind the closed door we could hear their voices raised in fury.

  “Uncle, please! There’s nothing you can do. We’ve both agreed to break off the engagement.”

  “Evidently you’ve forgotten the contract!”

  “Uncle, it’s over. It’s a mutual decision. Now, please …”

  We instinctively backed away from the door, just in case …

  Sure enough, the library door flew open and LaGard charged into the room, his face purple with rage. “You!” he roared at me.

  Michael quickly jumped in front of his uncle. “Uncle, if you so much as lay one finger on her, I swear that I will have you personally escorted out of here.”

  “You will have me escorted out of here? Enough of this!” His hand went inside his jacket pocket, from which I expected he would produce the marriage contract. I was wrong. I glimpsed something shiny and metallic, then Michael jumped to wrest it from him, obscuring my sightline. The two men fought savagely over it as they filled the room with shouts. LaGard’s hand slipped through Michael’s grasp and finally I saw what they were fighting over--a pistol.

  “Uncle, no!”

  “Get--out--move--your--” With surprising strength, LaGard hauled back and shoved his knee into Michael’s groin, bringing him to his knees.

  My heart was in my throat. At least, I thought with relief, Michael managed to grab the pistol from his uncle’s hand. Or so I had thought.

  Sometimes we see only what we want to see, and everything happened so quickly that it was just a blur. Now swaying unsteadily on his feet, LaGard raised his hand and took aim.

  “Anya!” Kevin shouted.

  I couldn’t move. Michael shot up from the floor and grabbed the barrel of the pistol. LaGard wrestled it from his grasp and smashed the grip over Michael’s head as I vaguely heard Kevin shout, “An! Come on!”

  I turned just as LaGard hit Michael again on the head, sending him to the floor. At the same time, Kevin hurled a book at the mantle clock. The bookshelf on the far wall creaked inward, and I felt myself being tugged into the darkness. After the chaotic scene we had just left, the blackness of the tunnel seemed like oblivion. I obeyed Kevin’s commands like a trained animal: “Faster … lower your head … watch your step here …” and it would be minutes before I’d be able to make sense of the madness we left behind.

  Chapter 32

  Running

  I could feel the water sloshing under my feet step after step as Kevin pulled me farther into the darkness. I was only beginning to understand the danger we were both in. LaGard was after me, and if he had finished the job in one round, I knew the second round was reserved for Kevin. My life was in more danger than I ever realized.

  When we reached the bottom, lights suddenly turned on. I assumed they were motion sensor lights, because as we continued to run down the barren hall, the lights continued to glow. The space we were in resembled an empty parking garage, with ceiling-to-floor pillars every twenty yards or so.

  I became even more panicked as we passed pillar after pillar. At no point did we see a door. We kept running around expecting to find one, because there’s always a door somewhere, right? But not down here, from the looks of it. We could hide somewhere if need be, but we could only stay hidden for so long. We needed to escape.

  “Kevin,” I yelled, pulling at his arm, “There are no doors down here. We can’t get out!”

  Kevin didn’t even look back as he hurried on. “No, there has to be a way out. There has to be.” But I could sense from his grip on my wrist and the look on his face that he was worried too. He mumbled, “We just have to find it.”

  Then we heard something that made us both stop dead in our tracks. It came from the staircase. “Careful. Those brats are down here.”

  “Oh God,” Kevin said under his breath. “How could I--”

  Apparently when Kevin hit the clock, he forgot to turn it while he passed it, which left the entrance open for LaGard to follow us on our brilliant getaway. Not only that, but he was talking to someone else, an accomplice, and they were both heading down the steps. Straight toward us.

  Kevin suddenly pointed forward. “There’s the door.” He looked back. “Shit, there’s no time.” Then he grabbed me by the shoulders. “Listen to me. Go and hide behind that pillar. And don’t move, not an inch, you hear me? You can’t move.” He looked up as we heard the footsteps getting closer. I nodded as he pointed to the pillar in question. Then he held my face in his hands, his eyes wide and wild and stern. “And don’t scream. Whatever happens, don’t yell, scream, or do anything that will lead them to you.” He looked up once more, reluctantly let go of me, and then ran over to the pillar across from mine. We had nothing else to do up wait.

  The footsteps hit the floor and I heard LaGard say to his companion, “Rien, they made it to the door.” A whisper. “Good idea.” Then silence. I started to take deep breaths. Good, I thought, they’re leaving.

  I was wrong.

  Bullets started whizzing past us. I crouched down as pieces of my pillar started crumbling nex
t to me. They had more than a pistol, it looked like. I watched as the pillars and walls in front of me become pockmarked before my eyes. After a good fifteen seconds of shooting, I realized why LaGard was doing this and why Kevin wanted me to be silent. LaGard wanted to scare me out of hiding, to come out running and screaming, begging for my life. I glanced over at Kevin, hunched over as well, mouthing the words ‘Stay quiet.’ I nodded and buried my face in my knees.

  The shots finally subsided and LaGard finally sighed. “They’re not here.” More whispering. “Fine.” Then the footsteps began retreating.

  I looked over at Kevin, who looked around his pillar to see if it was safe before getting to his feet. We slowly started backing quickly and quietly toward the door, and once everything was silent and we were absolutely certain we were alone, Kevin and I turned and bolted for the door. I was shocked by the sudden boom that went off behind us, followed by the shrill sound of a whistle as something flew past my ear. I ducked my head as I realized LaGard had only been hiding until we came out. But as long as we could make it for the next twenty feet or so, then we’d be safely behind the door. Fifteen feet. I could see the latch on the door was open, thank God! Only ten feet now. I was almost able to jump and reach it. At five feet I reached out when I heard the thudding sound of Kevin falling next to me. I stopped to help him, freezing when I saw a splash of deep red on his head as he crouched on all fours. It wasn’t a bullet wound, thank God, but how…? Then I heard the familiar sound of stiletto heels clicking no more than three feet away from us. Looking up, I saw the all-too recognizable face of LaGard’s niece, Lynette, standing over us with a gun in her hand, the grip covered in blood.

  “You!” I said through gritted teeth as I tried to help Kevin up to his feet. He couldn’t make it and fell back on top of me. I yelped at the pain.

  “What?” Lynette sneered, swinging her weapon around as if it were a water gun, not a loaded revolver. “You didn’t think I’d be able to help?” Moments later LaGard showed up and stood at her side. As he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, he looked the perfect picture of family pride.

  “Merveilleux,” he said to his darling niece. His smile grew wider as he saw both of us whimpering in pain. “Simply wonderful!”

  “How could you do this?” I shrieked as Kevin again tried to get up, more successful this time. At least he was able to sit up on his knees, though still hunched over.

  “Should we tell her, Uncle?” Lynette asked, looking like she was dying to.

  LaGard shrugged. “Why not?” He began to walk around us like a shark teasing its prey, drawing the last drop of terror from his victims before the attack.

  “You see, Anya, this whole thing started before you or anyone else in your family was born. It began when the Romanovs. There was a secret society of Bolsheviks called The People’s Protectors, who believed that no tyrant should ever rule, and those who did deserved the worst punishment. That is why we executed the family. After the execution however, we learned that the Romanovs had another child they kept a secret--Anastasia’s twin, Nadia.

  “My father, who was the leader and founder of the Protectors, was able to track down Nadia and kill her before government officials found out. It wasn’t until twenty-five years later that we learned that Nadia had a daughter, Tatiana. Once again my father and his men did their job, but found out again that Tatiana also had a daughter, Natasha, who they had smuggled into America. It was when we found Natasha that I had become part of the force. After we had done away with her, we discovered she had a daughter, Sophie. That’s right Anya, your mother. She had been taken away to England by her father’s brother and stayed there. Married a duke, as I recall. Then the Protectors heard the news: Sophie and the Duke had a daughter. You.

  “Just three weeks after you were born, we planned to kill you all. The job would be done in one night. But before our attack we found out that your mother had gotten hold of Russian officials to protect her. The Protectors didn’t know what to do. I finally made the decision to lay low until security wore down. We waited years. Five years, to be exact. That car accident was not an accident at all, my dear. The car was hit by a Protector, knocking your parents out cold. With no traffic around, we had to act fast, so we doused the car in gasoline, and it was fourteen-year-old Lynette who dropped the match.”

  “You … bitch!” I screamed at her.

  “Sick,” Kevin mumbled, “you’re all sick.…”

  “You bastard!” I screamed at LaGard as I started to get up, but then I heard the click of the gun and settled back down.

  LaGard wagged his finger at me. “Now, that was rude. You made me lose my place in the story. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Well, Anya, once your parents were out of the way, we knew that the only way to get to you was to infiltrate the system. I brought the whole “lost child” case to the Russian government and finally convinced them to bring you to the palace. Once I had gotten you here, I wanted to keep your title under wraps so that when I killed you, no one would know that you were royal. But then that idiot Paul spilled it to everyone, and you soon became beloved by all. So I had another plan. I asked Lynette to come to the palace for a visit. Isn’t it a funny coincidence that all those bombs went off while she was here? All part of the plan. She set them up before dinner. But since you somehow managed to avoid being killed by the bombs, I decided that I would fire your bodyguards, to make it easier for me. But you decided that you were going to change that as well. That’s when I thought to send in an inside man.”

  “Michael,” Kevin moaned.

  “Michael knew this?” I was getting hoarse from yelling so much.

  LaGard chuckled. “Please. Michael was absolutely clueless. He’s not part of the Protectors. Doesn’t have the guts. But that is precisely why we chose him. He had no idea what was going on. So once he agreed, my fellow Protectors and I made up a false marriage contract.”

  “It was fake?” Kevin yelled.

  “Of course it was,” Lynette said smugly. “What kind of contract doesn’t have loopholes? We needed to make sure the marriage wouldn’t fail. You really think your parents wanted you to have an arranged marriage?”

  “It was the perfect plan,” LaGard continued. “Michael and you would marry and then I would be close enough. But Michael ruined it by going back to that whore of his. We were able to hide it from you for a while, but once you found out I knew that our plan was in danger. Then you began to rely on Kevin more, which threatened your relationship with Michael. I had to intervene, especially after you two snuck off at the Coronation Ball. I convinced Michael that he must propose to you. But when you refused, I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands. And now, dear, here we are.” He looked straight at us; his eyes squinting as a wicked smirk crossed his face. He turned to Lynette and said, “Finish them.”

  Lynette raised her pistol aimed right at Kevin and me. I closed my eyes as I saw her pull the trigger. I heard a click.

  But there was no loud boom, no brief moment of pain, and thankfully no white light at the end of a tunnel. I opened my eyes and looked at Kevin. He too looked amazed that he was still breathing. We did hear a persistent clicking sound, and when we looked up and Lynette, whose finger had clearly pulled down on the trigger. But there was no ammo left. She had used it all trying to scare us out of hiding.

  “What is this?” LaGard shouted. He grabbed his gun and pulled it as well, aimed and ready. He repeated the same action that Lynette had done only moments ago, and had the same results.

  Kevin quickly pushed forward and yelled “Run!” as he too tried to stand up, but LaGard was one step ahead of us. He lifted his emptied weapon and brought it crashing down on Kevin’s back, making him scream with pain and fall helplessly to the concrete floor.

  “Kevin!” I cried, but it was then I felt something solid and cold his the back of my neck. I could only see white for a little bit as the pain worsened, then I felt it again, in the same spot. The last thing I remembered seeing was Kevin’s body lyin
g on the ground, his arm outstretched toward me. Then everything went black.

  Chapter 33

  Captive

  I awoke to find myself lying in a dark and drafty room with no light, only the faint glow of moonlight through a filthy window. There was another window on an adjacent wall, but absolutely no light came through that, so it was good for nothing. Good for keeping me right where I was, because both windows were heavily barred.

  I knew I wasn’t in a prison cell, though, because no prison could be as filthy as this. Prison beds are hard, and the flimsy cot I was lying on sagged like a hammock. There were no sheets on the mattress, and the thin blanket that covered me had a horribly rank smell. On the plus side, there was a toilet. It looked like a toilet anyway, unless the moonlight was playing tricks with me. I could just make out the porcelain base behind the stall-type partition, and there was a torn shower curtain for a door. Close to my cot, there was a door (locked, no doubt) with what looked like a mail slot in the middle.

  I tried to get up, but immediately felt a flash of pain from the back of my neck down to my back, so I lay back down. I felt where the pain was coming from and my fingers found a rough patch skin, which wasn’t skin at all but a hard scab. I realized that this was the spot where Lynette had knocked me out with her gun. I must have been unconscious for days, because a scab that big takes days to form.

  I examined the rest of my body to see what other damage had been done.

  Besides my neck, the rest of my body didn’t seem to suffer much damage. Just some bruises on my wrist and legs, I assumed from when LaGard and Lynette carried me away and dumped me in a car trunk or whatever. My dress and shoes, though, got the worst of it. My dress was ripped and splotched with blood. My shoes were badly scuffed, which didn’t surprise me by the way my feet ached. I now pulled them toward me and gave them a good but painful rubdown. I continued to rub them until I heard the door in front of me unlock and open.