Winter's Embrace [ Garinovitch & Data ]

[Garinovitch]

7:00 PM

The elegant clack of steel-toed parade boots against the Victorian-inspired tile of the banquet hall was as rhythmic as the slow-paced, live orchestra that was performing a soothing playlist for the party tonight. It was approximately 6:00 PM, and the Prince of Ecclesia and his royal entourage had just arrived in their neighbor's country just a few hours prior. The Prince's presence at the royal banquet was mostly a publicity stunt to partially repair relations between the Holy Kingdom of Ecclesia and it's neighboring country, the Erusian Federation. Two countries that have had held some ill-will with one another for some time. Little did the Ecclesian Prince know, his presence was part of an orchestrated plot which would culminate in a very destructive turn of events. Prince Lann of Ecclesia had been invited by the Erusian Federation to celebrate Glastone, an Erusian national holiday that celebrates the veterans that gave up their lives to protect the honor of their country. Normally, the Holy Kingdom would decline such an offer, but the Ecclesian Royal Line and their administration felt that there was some very damaged relationships between the two countries, specifically over the control over nearby oil reserves across their interlocking borders.

The Erusian banquet hall was very regal and aristocratic, matched in beauty and architectural prowess by only the most lavish of Ecclesian citadels. Prince Lann was thoroughly impressed, he had seen very few places of such beauty and was surprised that such places existed outside the borders of his own country. The boy had lived a very aristocratic and royal life, sheltered to much of the outside world in his youth. A young butler walked up to the Ecclesian prince, offering him a very gorgeous, gold goblet filled with the finest wine of their country. The Prince declined, unknown by many but the Prince did not drink alcohol, as he felt that alcohol was a bad influence that made making rational decisions more difficult. Despite the butler's odd insistence that he at least try the wine, the Prince continued to refuse, until the butler finally left him in peace.

"A persistent people, these Erusians are," The Prince commented,

Mason, one of the Prince's guards nodded, "It makes me slightly uneasy how pushy they can be sometimes."

Prince Lann cackled, his hands covering his mouth so no one could see, "You're always uneasy, Mason, relax. We're supposed to be partying!"

Mason frowned, "No." he stopped, pressing his finger into the Prince's jacket, "You're supposed to be partying. I'm just here to look pretty and make sure you don't get shit-faced drunk and punch a prostitute or something."

"Hah. As if." The Prince smiled, "You know me, Mason. I'd never do anything to intentionally make a mockery of the crown."

Mason grinned, "You're right, your younger brothers, on the other hand."

"Let's not go there," The Prince interrupted, his eyes examining the remarkable beauty of the crystal chandelier that dangled from the golden roof of the building.

Prince Lann felt slightly out of place at the banquet. He wasn't well accustomed to being at a banquet where he wasn't the direct center of attention. Normally when in his homeland, people are frolicking from all over the country to shake hands with the Prince. Here, the Prince of Ecclesia almost felt like he was being ignored for the most part. Despite being just a little bit uncomfortable, the Prince was, oddly enough, enjoying the peace and quiet. For once, the Prince was able to enjoy the beautiful atmosphere, soothing music and gorgeous architecture of a royal party. The Prince however, did feel that his royal visit was a bit of a waste of time, as he felt that it would do little to ease the tensions between the Erusian and Ecclesian factions. The Prince was standing off to the side of the banquet, when another butler approached the Prince, offering him a different glass of wine. This time, instead of fighting with the butler, the Prince simply took the glass of wine, and placed it on the table next to him.

"These guys still haven't figured out that I don't drink yet." The Prince scratched his head,

Mason sighed, "To be honest, I don't think they give a damn." Mason stretched his arms out, "Like I said, this place makes me uncomfortable."

Prince Lann smiled, "Well. I'm enjoying myself, not being in the spotlight constantly is a nice change of pace."

[Data]

Across the beautiful hall, a young woman stood against the wall in a place where the light of chandelier and lamps did not quiet illuminate fully. Her pale blue eyes trailed the Prince from there, watching his movements and calculating a thousands probabilities. The slow calm music was opposite the beating of her heart. Never before had anything been this important, never before had so much been at stake. Chewing on her lip, she watched as the young man refused the first butler even when the man persisted. The butler slipped off into the crowd not offering the wine to any of the other important guests milling about, but before leaving the hall through the door set into the wall Elle stood against, he looked to her and shook his head imperceptibly. Elle sighed heavily before turning her eyes back to the young Prince. She was sure the wine would be the simplest solution. Every one had heard the rumors, knew the stores of the Royal family of Ecclesia, so when given this unpleasant task, Elle had assumed it would be as simple as most of her previous tasks.

"Your window of time is very slim, darling," a man said as he stepped out of the party and to the wall. Elle curtsied with a strained smile and held up the empty tray she had been clutching. "I do hope you are remember what is as stake here, Miss. I would hate for things to get out of hand." Minister Shepard set his crystal wine glass on the tray she had extended.

"No, milord. I shall not forget what is at stake here," she said and pressed her lips into a line. The man before her was a monster whole held her family at gun point, so she would kill people just as she was trained to do.

"Remember a conscience is a dreadful thing to have in your line of work, Elle. Make sure it happens before it is too late. There will not be any second chances." Shepard smiled coldly at the young woman, who simply curtsied at the Minister before he went back to the people attending the party. Heart in her throat she watched the butler, her friend, attempt a second time to persuade the Prince with a goblet of wine. Relief allowed her to breath again for a moment as she watched him take the glass, then simple discard it. Time passed and was slowly running out for her, and the Prince did not touch the glass.

"Damnit," she cursed under her breath before moving. She slipped into the kitchens and was ignored by the staff there. No one was stupid enough to get involved with her right now, not when rumors had surfaced about her purpose here. Trying to figure another way, she grabbed a tray of lightly flavored water in thin fluted glasses and marked one with just a drop of the potent poison. Smoothing her simple gown, she whisked back out into the hall. Elle carefully offered to each person she came across, though few were interested in non-alcoholic beverages. Pausing not far from the Prince, she carefully offered it to those around him hoping to elicit interest not force it upon him. She walked a thin line, if she was going to kill a royal then she couldn't be forceful, couldn't be the one associated with it. The party was drawing to a close soon though, and her time was running short.

Fixing a calm smile on her face, she turned to the Prince, "Your Highness, would you like some flavored water?" She curtsied as she spoke and kept her head down.

[Garinovitch]

7:40 PM

Within the brightly lit corridors of the lavish banquet hall, Prince Lann pushed back his brunette hair as he steadily admired the dancing of aristocrats under the crystalline chandeliers that dangled overhead. The Prince, surrounded by a small group of his personal, royal bodyguards, was quietly tapping his leather boot to the soothing tempo of the extraordinarily talented orchestra. The Prince was thoroughly enjoying himself at the party, although not what he was accustomed to, he couldn't help but be comforted by the gorgeous atmosphere mixed in tandem with the the terrific music. The banquet was a nice relaxation from his daily affairs, but the Prince couldn't keep in the back of his mind that he wanted to get back to his own country soon, so he could resume the extremely robust stacks of paper work that he had to sort and work through. The Prince hoped that his secretaries and the rest of his administration would be able to deal with the amount of work he left behind, but he still couldn't relax completely with the idea of work at the back of his mind.

"Mason, if you want to go enjoy yourself, feel free to do so." The Prince remarked, humming as the orchestra continued to play.

Mason grinned, "It's been a long day, I would like to grab myself a cup of coffee." Mason stretched his arms and yawned, "Been up for nearly 24 hours now with no sleep working your goddamn security detail."

The Prince crossed his arms, "Well. If you want a break, now's your chance. I highly doubt my life's in any sort of impending danger with a thousand of the country's most famous celebrities surrounding me." Lann joked.

Mason laughed, "Uh-huh. I have a feeling you're just trying to get rid of me so you can go frolicking with some girls."

The Prince threw his arms up and shrugged, "Hey. What's so wrong with that?" The Prince inquired, smiling, "I may be a Prince, but I'd like to have some fun too."

Mason nudged the Prince with his arm, "Alright, lover boy, I'm going to go grab myself a cup of coffee. You want anything?"

The Prince nodded, "Why don't you grab me a warm cup of tea? It's outrageously cold in here."

Mason waved as he left with two other guards to grab a couple cups of coffee, leaving the Prince to his own devices for a few minutes. The party was going to be over soon, and the Prince decided to enjoy the final moments of it before he would board a plane back to his homeland. After a couple of moments of solitude, the Prince noticed another person's presence next to him. At first, the Prince thought it was Mason and his guards returning with his tea, until he turned towards a young, female servant with a calm, but pretty, smile etched across her face. The Prince smiled in turn, and watched as the servant raised a small, silver tray carrying yet another glass towards him.

"Your Highness, would you like some flavored water?" The young servant offered, with a short curtsy.

The Prince blinked for a moment, "Flavored water? odd." the Prince thought to himself before he responded, "Please, call me Lann. There's no need to be formal with royalty not from your country," The Prince remarked, "and no thank you, dear. I actually just sent some of my men to go fetch myself a cup of tea and some coffee. I'm very sorry."

[Data]

Elle curtsied again with her calm smile never faltering. "I'm sorry to be a bother then, sir. Enjoy your evening," She murmured as she moved away, melting into the crowd. Her heart rate pick up, and panic tried to crawl it's way to the top. His servants had gone to fetch a drink for the Prince, and her chance to poison the Prince was lost. The music and the soft din of the party guests dulled considerably as she disappeared into one of the many service entrances carefully guarded around the hall. With the crowd safely behind closed doors, the calm smile slid from her face. This was a living nightmare. She was trying to keep it under control, but everything was out of place. The Prince was not following a predictable pattern, and he was making it exceedingly difficult to kill him.

Elle paused a moment, trying not to think of the Prince as a person. Shepard had given her the photos and the profiles, and Elle had studied them just had she had done before with dozens of other targets within the Federation. The Prince, Linn, was different. He was so young, barely older than she was, and nothing showed he was a vile person. She had poured over the files, done research on her own, but there had been nothing. This was a political assassination with no purpose, other than the Federation's own power trip. Elle, though, was powerless to stop it. If she didn't do it, they could easily find someone else. Then not only would she be dead, but so would her father and little brother. They were the ones she did all of this for. Shaking her head, Elle knew she had to think on her feet. Poison was her usual tool since it was quick and clean, and the type she was supplied with would leave no traces in the system for anyone to trace back to poison. However, that wasn't as easy of an option now. Slipping away from the party, she wracked her brain for the next plan and had a slowly sinking feeling it was going to be messy.

7:50

After leaving the party itself, Elle had made her way to the guest wing of the building. They had the Prince and his entourage situated in the same building for 'safety' reasons. Time was not on her side since she wasn't even sure how long the Prince was to be staying, so she needed to work as quickly as possibly. The party should be going on for a short while longer, so she easily bribed the staff servicing the Prince's rooms. They were Federation employees and were smart enough to take the money without a single question. This got her a change of uniforms, so she sent from the simple dress she was wearing to a pair of dark pants and the pastel blue top of the guest wing staff. Also, she was able to snag a standard issue barretta from one of the Federation guards. It was not her preferred method in the slightest, but she needed to this done and improvising was her option right now. Getting past the Ecclesian's guards already set in place was going to prove a far more difficult task. With enough money exchanged, the guard was even willing to help her with a way into the suite that Prince was assigned to.

8:05

The main corridor leading through the guest wing was wide; it looked like it was done that was to allow for armed escorts to easily come and go. It was carpeted with polished wooden floors and beautiful landscapes hung on cream colored walls. Guards were stationed at long intervals, and there were multiple suites down the corridor. This was used for those of the Federation's government that did not have permanent quarters in the capital city. With the Prince here, most of the suites were in use, and each had their own set of personnel. There was permanent support staff though, like the maid she'd borrowed her get up from. With enough money exchanged, the same guard who'd supplied the gun was able to help her to one of the service entrances. There were not any direct doorways into the rooms, that was too much a safety risk, but this was just a temporary place. All she needed was to wait. The guard slipped out of the service hall with a wink.

Elle stood pressed into a crevice between some piping and the cement wall. From her position, she could just make out the muffled shouts and the fight the quickly broke out as her paid guard taunted and provoked the Ecclesian guards. Other Federation personnel quickly stepped in, and had everything as she needed it. Slipping from her improvised hiding spot, she crept into the hall. The skirmish had been moved down the hall slightly with no one paying enough attention, and Elle had her chance. After opening the door with the master key card that Shepard had supplied, Elle crept inside. It was dimly lit, but Elle made do. She hurried back looking in every door, looking for the most ornate room. This was harder said that done in the near dark, but sh remembered a bit of the layout from the files Shepard had supplied. The Minister it seemed had planned for everything. She found the room and managed to wedge herself beneath the bed. It wasn't an easy task either, but it was doable. Now, she had to wait.

[Garinovitch]

7:45 PM

Prince Lann smiled as the pretty servant who had offered him a glass of flavored water curtsied and left him in peace. As the party was shifting to an end, the Prince's bodyguards had returned to his side. "Took you guys long enough," Prince Lann grinned, taking the small cup of tea from one of his bodyguard's hands.

"Right. I trust you didn't get into any sort of trouble while we were gone?" Mason laughed, returning the Prince's grin with his own.

Prince Lann and his guards enjoyed the last few moments of their stay in Erusea, taking turns sipping their warm beverages as they watched the diverse banquet crowd slowly begin to disperse and leave. Prince Lann shook hands with many of the country's famous celebrities and major political figures as they all began to vacate the beautiful banquet hall. The Prince yawned, doing his best to make sure no one in the regal crowd noticed how unbelievably exhausted Lann was, the Prince was after all attempting to leave a very good impression with the influential figureheads of this country. As the last crowd of guest began to leave the halls of the banquet, the Prince noticed that a few of the high-ranking officials in the Erusian Political Administration shot the Prince rude looks and a few dirty gestures. The Prince figured that it was slightly called for, as the two nations have had some bad tensions in the past.

After the guests had all left the banquet hall, Prince Lann was escorted by his personal guard out of the banquet hall and into the guest wing of the building. The Prince and his entourage were planning on leaving the country aboard his personal airliner the next morning, and the Prince of Ecclesia had quite a bit of packing he still had to do. Unfortunately, the Prince did not bring any of his housekeepers or maids with him on this trip, as he had them helping his secretaries and the rest of his staff file and work on the mass amounts of paperwork he left behind back home. The Prince and his guard strolled down the main corridor of the guest wing, every couple of meters a few members of his guard turned down a different corridor to monitor the hallways. Eventually, the Prince's guard had all departed except for Mason and were all watching different sections of the main corridor. Prince Lann turned to his suite, nodding to Mason as Mason departed across the hallway and into his own room. As Mason left, the Prince pulled out his electronic keycard, and slipped it into the door. As the door's lock clicked open, the Prince waltzed inside of his room, closing the door behind him.

The Prince yawned as he picked up a few of his bags off the corner of the room and placed them on top of his bed. Lann contemplated going to sleep a bit early instead of packing, but decided it was best to get his packing done today so he wouldn't have to worry about it tomorrow. The Prince sighed, it had been an awfully long day for him. Little did he know...

His day was about to get much, much longer.

[Data]

Elle had barely gotten into her tight spot under the bed before she heard the Prince's key in the door. A faint beep sounded just before the door swung open. Elle gulped and tried to slow her ever racing heart. This was going to be her last attempt, and she would most likely die for the effort, but at least her family would be safe. Elle would endure anything to save them. Straining her ears, she listened to where the Prince was until she was able to catch sight of his feet as he moved across the room. Fear and panic were close to the surface, and even she was having a hard time controlling them. No matter what happened here, she was most likely dead. She watched as she scooped several bags off of the floor and heard more than saw him place them on the bed. Holding her breath, she slid in the opposite direction praying that ever faint rustle and noise was not noticeable. With a deep breath, she was able to pulled herself out from under the bed on the opposite side. She was still lying parallel down the length of the bed, and since the bed was king sized, she was guessing the space she took up was just out of the Prince's line of sight, but she was not pushing it. Sliding the gun free of its place in the waistband of her slacks, she sprung up and onto her feet, whirling to face the Prince at the same time.

"Please don't move or scream," she said as she looked at him. She was sure she was a sight with her blonde curls tussled and hanging over the left side of her face and her service clothing now rumpled and wrinkled. "You couldn't make this easy," she said trying to keep her voice from hysteria. "And then you had to send people for something to drink. Now we're both dead." Her hands shook, and it was noticeable on her grip of the gun. Now standing across from the young man, she hesitated now, and even as she went to pull the trigger, something stopped her. Her conscience said he didn't deserve this, and in the brief seconds that he conscience warred with her need to keep her family alive, she may have lost her chance.

[Garinovitch]

Prince Lann had been organizing through the many articles of very expensive clothing he had brought for his trip. As he began to fold some of the clothing and place them into his luggage, he noticed a faint rummaging come from the opposite side of his bed. At first the Prince froze, but after a few moments he disregarded the noise and continued to put clothes away into his many bags. As the Prince placed a collared shirt into one of his bags and began zipping the bag up, he noticed a young woman suddenly stand up from the opposite side of his bed. At first glance he didn't really think anything of it, the Prince was practically exhausted and had been seeing an endless stream of people all day. After a moment, Lann realized that he was in his room, and not in the banquet hall. Before he could say anything or even call for his guards, the young woman pulled out an M9 Beretta and aimed it towards him. The Prince dropped his bag onto the surface of the bed and raised his hands in the air.

"Please don't move or scream," The armed assailant commanded. The Prince stared at the young girl for a moment, and suddenly realized that it was the young servant from the banquet hall that had offered the Prince a glass of flavored water. "You couldn't make this easy," The girl continued, it was obvious by the shaking that she was extremely nervous and volatile. "And then you had to send people for something to drink. Now we're both dead."

The Prince then realized that she was probably referencing that the flavored water had been poisoned. The Prince stared at the girl, who was standing on the opposite side of the bed, then to his left, where he had a loaded revolver hidden in the dresser. The Prince shook his head, he didn't exactly have the heart to shoot the young girl even if he could get to the revolver. Even then, the chances of him darting across the room without getting shot were pretty slim. Lann didn't want to call his security in either, as the room would probably become a bloodbath if he ignored the girl's wishes and called for any sort of help.

"Please don't do it." Lann tried to find a way to reason with the girl, "I'll make sure no one gets hurt if you just put the gun down on the bed."

The Prince slowly crawled onto the bed in front of him, observing as the girl's hands began shaking more and more violently. The Prince knew that the girl was morally conflicted in some way, and if he too kit slow, he knew the girl wouldn't shoot him, or so he hoped. The Prince steadily crawled on his hands and knees on top of the bed, and towards the armed girl that was standing on the other side. The assailant's shaking became more and more violent as he came closer, and the Prince wasn't sure anymore if he was going to get out of this predicament alive. To his relief, however, despite the girl's violent shaking, she still hadn't pulled the trigger. The Prince inched closer to the girl, until the cold barrel of her gun was pressed firmly against Lann's chest.

"Please, we can talk this out, you don't have to do this." The Prince whispered as he lowered his head to the young girl's ear.

The Prince could tell that the girl was on the verge of crying, and as the girl's eyes began to water, he slowly raised his hands in an attempt to grab the barrel of the gun and wrestle it away from her. Before he could touch the gun, however, his assailant realized what he was trying to do, and she panicked, pulling down on the trigger of the gun. There was a physical struggle as Lann firmly grabbed the girl's wrists in his hands, the gun discharging into the ceiling as he pushed her into the side of the wall. Lann's assailant was practically kicking and screaming at this point, and the Prince struggled to keep the girl's arms above her head. The Prince tried to wrestle the gun out of her hands, but it was no use. Luckily, the sound from the gunshot alerted his guards, and Mason busted through the door, gun in hand.

"What's going on in here?" Mason cried.

"Don't worry about that! Help me get this goddamn gun out of her hands!" The Prince responded, still struggling to control the girl's violent kicking.

The Prince's bodyguards surrounded the room as Mason pushed the Prince out of the way and tackled the girl to the ground. As she was tackled to the ground, she dropped her gun onto the hard wood floor of the room. As the weapon was secured by another bodyguard, Mason restrained the assassin with a pair of handcuffs before turning to the Prince. "We need to leave, now."

The Prince nodded, grabbing his luggage as his bodyguards formed a perimeter around the room. Two bodyguards grabbed the handcuffed assassin by each arm, and dragged her out into the main corridor of the hallway. The original plan was that they were going to leave in the morning, but it was obvious that with the Prince's life in danger, they had to get out of the country now. The Prince started piecing the facts together, and realized that the Erusian Federation and Ecclesian Empire might just be on the brink of war. The sooner he was on board his personal plane and out of the country, the better. As the Prince and his guard detail left the building via an emergency exit, they waved to a set of black vehicles which pulled up towards the side of the building. Mason, The Prince and his assailant were ushered into the lead vehicle, with the rest of his guard detail getting into the second vehicle.

"Airport! Now!" Mason commanded.

[Data]

Elle stared at the Prince as he moved closer. Her mind was screaming for her to pull the trigger, but she couldn't. She kept seeing his files, seeing that he didn't deserve to die. He had his whole future before him, and he could do such good. "Please don't do it. I'll make sure no one gets hurt if you just put the gun down on the bed," he pleaded as he moved closer. She shook her head violently, tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to scream at him and tell him how wrong he was, how some one was going to get hurt either way, that it was him or a six year old boy. She felt when he pressed up against the gun and almost collapsed against him when he told her she didn't have to do this. The tears spilled down her cheeks since she knew she could never do this. Even as he tried to grab the gun, she knew it was too late. She struggled to regain control of the situation and to preform the task that would save her family. The gun went off and hit the ceiling, scattering plaster dust over them. The Prince shoved her against the wall as they struggled for the gun. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought. "Please," she begged, "Please."

When the guards came, all hope of doing this was lost. She released the gun as she was brought to the floor and hand cuffed. Elle pressed her face against the cold hard floor and lay there sobbing as Mason informed the Prince they needed to leave the country. Her family was dead now, and there was no stopping it. Hopelessness and fear made her numb as the guard roughly grabbed her and half dragged her out the building. There were federation guards and servants in the halls, all curious over what was going on. A familiar face was mixed among them. He was the guard who she had bribed for the gun and suddenly realized that he was on the Minister's pay too. He was on the phone and, from the look on his face, the Minister was the one talking. He met Elle's gaze with a grim look and mouthed, "I'm sorry." Elle's breath caught, and the tears spilled down her cheeks again, silently this time.

After she was shoved into the vehicle, she struggled to sit up right. With her hands cuffed behind her back, it was difficult to do, but she managed. "You won't make it out of the country," she said dully and turned her eyes to the window. Mason grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"What do you mean?" he all but shouted at her.

"They don't want him to leave alive, and they always get what they want," she said as she stared at him, her eyes dried and cold. "War is coming, and the Prince will be the spark." Elle shut her eyes and yanked away, turning to face the darkly tinted windows again. She couldn't make anything out, but she knew which roads they were speeding down without having to look. The airport wasn't far from the Capitol Building, and at this time of night, there wouldn't be much traffic in this area of the city. With those factors, they made it to the airport within less than ten minutes though there were Federation guards already waiting. The one in charge stepped up to the vehicle as Mason dragged Elle out.

"The Ministry was informed of what happened with the would-be assassin, and would like to ensure that the Ministry was not behind this attempt. We have knowledge that this woman has been acting on her own and is suspected of several assassinations of high ranking political figures here with the Federation," he trained his eyes on Elle. "If you would turn her over to us, we will see that she is properly tried and punished for her crimes against us and the attempted assassination of the Prince." He looked back to Mason and then to the Prince. "The Ministry, also, extends its invitation to stay until tomorrow morning. There is a large winter storm brewing on the boarder between our nations, and it should be done by morning. It would be safer to go then. Of course, if you are insistent on leaving, we've got your jet prepared to leave within the next fifteen minutes, but we do ask, for your safety, please consider staying until tomorrow morning."

The jet that the Prince had flown in on and its crew was prepped and nearly ready to leave, and it could be seen sitting just off the runway in the back ground. The private section of the airport was ready to send the jet off as soon as it was given a signal by the Federation, but they had had access to the jet the entire time it had been sitting in the hanger assigned to it. Elle was correct; the Federation was not going to allow the Prince to leave this country. They want him dead to prove a point to the Royal family, and they would not fail in this task.

[Garinovitch]

Prince Lann was sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, watching as Mason vainly attempted to interrogate the female assailant. Both of the Prince's vehicles sped across the local highway, and towards the nearby airport, where the Prince's plane was already alerted and being prepared for a premature take off. The Prince was more worried about what was about to happen between their two countries more than he was really worried about his own safety. Lann was at a complete loss for words, and for once in his life did not know what he should do. The young boy felt that something big was about to happen, and had no idea what to do about it. The Prince observed as the young girl sat upright in her chair, facing the window.

The young girl had a very defeated and upset look stretched across her face, "You won't make it out of the country," she stated bluntly.

The Prince bit his lip as Mason grabbed the girl forcefully by the chin, the Prince wanted to intervene, but realized it was probably best to let Mason do what he was trained to do.

"They don't want him to leave alive, and they always get what they want," she continued, staring the Prince down. "War is coming, and the Prince will be the spark."

The Prince had hundreds of questions, "Who were 'They?'", "Why did they need the Prince dead?" but looking at the girl, he realized that she wasn't going to be willing to say much else. The Prince was almost in a panic, he absolutely needed to be back home to make sure everything was okay. For all he knew, their country could already be at war, and the Prince and his guard could come under fire from any direction at any moment. It was a scary, dangerous feeling being in a potentially hostile country. The Prince turned back towards the front of his seat, staring out the front window as he watched their escort vehicles slowly approach the airport. The Prince flipped the glove compartment of the vehicle open, grabbing the Glock 17 handgun out of the glove compartment, stuffing it into the coat of his jacket before stepping outside the vehicle.

"The Ministry was informed of what happened with the would-be assassin, and would like to ensure that the Ministry was not behind this attempt. We have knowledge that this woman has been acting on her own and is suspected of several assassinations of high ranking political figures here with the Federation," The Erusian Guard stationed at the airport began

"If you would turn her over to us, we will see that she is properly tried and punished for her crimes against us and the attempted assassination of the Prince." He looked back to Mason and then to the Prince. "The Ministry, also, extends its invitation to stay until tomorrow morning. There is a large winter storm brewing on the boarder between our nations, and it should be done by morning. It would be safer to go then. Of course, if you are insistent on leaving, we've got your jet prepared to leave within the next fifteen minutes, but we do ask, for your safety, please consider staying until tomorrow morning."

The Prince's right hand was buried inside of his wool coat, his fingers softly wrapped around the grip of his pistol. The Prince didn't feel safe in this country after being so close to death, and wasn't sure if he would remain a target until he left the country, "We leave. Now." The Prince commanded, his guards escorting him out of the parking lot and onto the airfield.

The guard turned towards Lann as his entourage passed the checkpoint. "and the girl?"

Lann stopped for a moment. At first he contemplated turning the girl over to the Erusians, having an assassin on his plane wasn't a very comforting feeling. The Prince then remembered that he did promise he wouldn't allow the girl to be harmed, and she would probably face a very disturbing fate in the hands of the Erusians. "She comes with us." The Prince responded.

Prince Lann was escorted by his guard detail onto his personal plane that was now in the final preparations for take off. Lann stepped inside the plane, and watched as the girl was forcefully shoved in behind him. As the Prince took a seat, Mason unlatched the girl's handcuffs so he could cuff each of the girl's hands to the arms of her seat. Lann wasn't particularly pleased the way the girl was being treated, but he had to take into account that she did just make an attempt on his life just a few minutes prior. As the airlock for the plane shut to a close, and the plane's engines began to roar, Prince Lann noticed Mason grab a piece of cloth from the back of the plane. The bodyguard walked over to the girl, and tied the cloth over the girl's eyes in a neat blindfold. Lann knew exactly what Mason was about to do, but restrained himself from stopping his bodyguard. Lann bit his lip tentatively, looking in the opposite direction as Mason slipped on a pair of leather gloves.

Lann's eyes trailed back towards his bodyguard, "Who hired you?" Mason began, his hands gently beginning to wrap themselves around the nape of the girl's neck. With no response, the man started to apply pressure to the girl's neck. The Prince felt absolutely horrible, and watched as the young girl squirmed in her seat, squealing in a soft panic as Mason began to viciously choke the girl.

"Mason. Stop." Lann watched as his bodyguard turned towards the Prince, his hands still wrapped around the young girl's neck. "Now!" The Prince commanded. The Prince watched as Mason let go of the girl's neck, an abrupt heart-sinking feeling in his chest as the girl coughed violently and gasped for air. The Prince stood up, walking over to the girl as the plane began to depart for take off. Lann shot his bodyguard an awful stare as he pulled the blindfold from the girl's eyes. "She's a person, not an animal. Treat her as such."

Mason nodded as the plane began to roll across the runway, the engines flaring as the plane accelerated down the airfield and began to pick up altitude.

[Data]

Elle was terrified as she was escorted onto the plane, but she thought she would die more easily with Ecclesians than with the Erusians. She stayed still as she was cuffed to the seat and blind folded. Terror kicked in again as the man's hand clamped around her neck, but she was unable to move away since she was restrained. Just as she was about to lose consciousness, the Prince ordered the guard stop. Relief filled her as she looked up to the Prince, struggling to get oxygen back into her deprived lungs. "Thank you," she murmured breathlessly after the coughing subsided. The malice in the guard's glance showed he wouldn' t have stopped till she gave her answers. Fear kept her silent, and a faint hope that maybe her family would be spared if she died an infamous assassin, and not the turn coat, the Ecclesians needed her to be.

"Sir, we're ready for take off," the pilot stated from the small entrance between the cabin and the cockpit. "And we have received clearance from the Erusian tower control." He disappeared back into the cockpit and after a moment the plane started to move. The slow move down the runway picked up, and soon, they were air born. Elle watched the only home she'd ever known slowly recede from close up cityscape to a distant miniature metropolis to nothing more than a blanket of clouds. She know that she would never see this place alive again, and the fear of this made her breath catch again though she forced the tears not to fall. She was now a would-be assassin in the hands of the enemy, and any show of weakness would be used against her.

Time passed slowly as Mason plied her with more questions, endlessly shouting and threatening, but due to the Prince's actions, he hadn't touched her since nearly choking her into unconsciousness. They encountered cloudy but relatively peaceful skies until they began to reach the boarder. They were maybe half an hour from friendly skies when the first bit of turbulence hit, and from the look of the skies outside of Elle's window, the guard had been right about this storm. Snow streaked the sky, though it was barely visible in the night sky. The pilot announced that he was going to increase their altitude to gain some visibility. Mason forced her to look at him again, impatience and frustration and rage plain in his facial expressions. "Who are you?" he finally asked. Elle pried her eyes from the window to look at him.

"I am Elle Ruvier," she answered meeting his cold gaze with her own desperate one. "Would you like to know why I did this, sir?" She looked back toward the small oval window. "They held my brother, Stephan, at gun point. He is six year old. It was the Prince or my brother." She paused, letting out a breath slowly. "Now he's dead. You promised no one would get hurt, Prince Lann, but it was not a promise you could keep."

The screech of metal grating metal made Elle jump. "What was that?" she looked around in panic. The plane dipped violently to the left which jerked its passengers. Elle cried out in pain as the cold metal cuffs dug into her wrists, and was silently thankful the guard had considered the safety belt of the seat one extra restraint for her.

"Please everyone, safety belts on. There's a problem with the engine," the pilot's voice came across the intercom with a crackle and was followed with another screech, and the plane shuddered violently again. "Everyone, please remain calm, but we've lost power to both engines. I'm dropping altitude and I need everyone seated and seat belts on. We may have to make an emergency landing." The passengers, including Elle, were able to feel the rapid decreasing in altitude. Her stomach was in her throat as she strained to peer out the small window. It looked like there was smoke billowing from the engine she could see, but between the smoke, darkness and clouds, Elle couldn't truly make out and wasn't sure if it was the panicked imagination or not. The plane continued to shudder violently as the descended below the clouds, but still night sky and snow was all that could be seen. "Engines are still unresponsive. I've relayed to the nearest radio tower in Ecclesia, but I'm not receiving a response yet. We're going to have to make an emergency landing. Please everyone remain calm and seated until we come to a full stop." The shuddering became more and more violent as the felt the plane descending, and the pilot trying desperately to slow their descent.

Elle shrieked in fear as the plane gave one last violent shudder and slammed into the ground.