Forgotten

-Chapter 12-

"Athena, get behind me now." Sofia commanded between gritted teeth. "I wouldn't move if I were you." Said the masked man, his gun still pointed at my temple. "Give me the princess and we'll return her safely when our boss is done with her." He said and the simple words "done with her" sent a shiver down my spine. "And what exactly is going to be done with her? Our sworn duty is to protect the royal family of Gaiden and if you think I won't die so long as she gets away your fucking stupid."

I knew Sofia was a guard, but Angelo? The same Angelo who flirts with any breathing being and acts like an idiotic fool? That childish demeanor was not present in this moment. Angelos usual bright eyed face was completely hardened, almost as intimidating as Leo's.

"We will only be asking her a few questions. Let's just say boss wants to reunite with her." I could sense the nasty smile underneath the mask and it made my skin crawl. "We'll tell him that he's tough outta luck. Now fucking walk away before I call our boss." Angelo's voice came off harsh and demanding and it shocked me. It was in this moment I actually wanted the sweet Angelo back.

"He won't be here fast enough. You shoot me I shoot h-" Sofia cut the man off with the crack of her gun. The shot rang through my head and I squeezed my eyes, shut clasping my hands over my ringing ears. Another shot came and I collapsed to the ground, an unfamiliar pain shooting from my thigh up to my pounding ears. I screamed before another crack shot out and my head smashed to the ground, enveloping my body into a dark, deafening silence.

"Her vitals are stable. She should we awake soon." A voice echoed through my head. I was still trapped in the dark, dark room. Continuous nightmares of a body crumpled to the ground and the gunshots firing replayed in my head over and over. Is this seriously where I was at in my life? I was trying to save a kingdom but could hardly keep myself alive. Consciousness was just out of reach and I grabbed onto it as best I could.

My eyes shot open and I immediately screwed them shut again. A light was positioned right at my face and my eyes had a hard time adjusting. "She's waking up. Go grab the King." The unfamiliar voice spoke again, "I'm sorry this happened princess. Bek didn't do his job properly. The king has already punished him. I hope it'll be relieving knowing he was tortured and killed." My head spun as my blurry eyes focused on the nurse hovered above me. "Wha- What?" I said. More like blubbered. My mouth and tongue felt like sandpaper and my jaw ached.

"The guard who shot you. The one your father sent to retrieve you? He's been delt with. I thought you would be pleased to hear that." My mouth flipped to a frown, and I glared at the woman, forcing my body up into a sitting position. "Your highness I recommend you lie back down. You're not in the fittest shape right now." I hissed at the woman, and she shut up. She bowed before walking out of the room and leaving me to my thoughts. My father. Of course it was my father. Only his psychotic brain would think to send a trained gun man after me. And then to kill the man who was just doing as he was told? I was enraged.

I looked at my surroundings. The small med bay room smelled of sterile chemicals and cleaners. The only objects in the room were the bed, monitor showing my very much alive vitals, the cowering nurse and a tray with bloodied tools. Among them was a bullet. I glanced down at the paper thin hospital gown I was adorned in and immediately noticed the thick bandage around my right thigh. Are you kidding me.

A petite girl walked in, probably only about 15-16 years old. She was in nurse scrubs, though, which confused me. No young girl should be working such a difficult and stress-inducing job.

"Sofia and Angelo, are they okay?" I asked the nurse. She looked shamed as her head bowed to the floor, her scarlet curls covering her petite face. "I- I don't know. They- they shot Bek and grabbed you and ran but our reinforcements came and I- I don't know what they did with them." Fuck. The stuttering girl only cowered more as I stood up. I teetered as I tried to regain balance on my injured leg. "Pain relievers. Now. Give me some now." I ordered the nurse and she hastily moved to the cart next to the hospital bed and picked up a bottle. "Only two every four hours or else you could get sick." She said nervously as she handed me the bottle. Unscrewing the cap, I tossed four down my throat and swallowed them dry.

Instantly, the pain faded. Man was I glad I was born in the time of modern medication. "Get me out of here. Before someone comes." The nurse, too terrified to refuse, scrambled to my side and opened the door before cautiously peeking her head out. She stepped out, ushering me to follow and we started running down a long corridor. Never in my life have I been in my castles med bay. I heard the muffled coughs and wheezes of sick Facians. Mostly the royal court and their families were housed down here. Even despite the recent breakout of Vesmosa, a plague that has been spreading throughout the earth for the past decade, my parents refused to take any steps in finding a cure. So far, there were no known survivors.

I cringed as I peered through one of the windows of the med room. A young boy, no older then the age of 10, lay asleep in the bed. His skin nearly translucent, every vein shining violently blue though the foggy layer of flesh. His eyes surrounded by a thin, red ring. The final stage of Vesmosa. My heart broke only for a moment before the nurse pulled me into a supply closet, putting a finger to my mouth. Footsteps grew louder and louder until they passed, fading into the distance. My stress level was over the roof and I tried to calm myself down. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tried to think of something, anything, so I could get out of this horrid place.

"Do you know any way out? I'll take you with me if you would like; just get me out of here... what's your name?" The girl blushed and she avoided all eye contact, "Aries. And yes I know a way out. There's just surveillance cameras pretty much every corner. We won't be able to leave without going unnoticed. Besides, the king should be coming to retrieve you soon. He was awaiting your arrival."

I huffed. "Is there any way around the surveillance? Like a secret alcove or something." The girl shook her head, "No but I- I know how to shut them off. I can do it myself."

Two minutes later we were back in the halls of the med bay, Aries was leading me down a hallway and we stopped at a door labeled, "control room". "This controls all the technology on this floor. If I can shut it down, we should be able to head up the steps and from there I can reach the main control room and shut off all security. After that we must move quick. The palace will be on high alert."

"How did you learn to do this?" I asked as Aries pressed her finger up to the thumb reader and the door clicked open. She hunched herself over the holopad pad that displayed a number of switches and buttons. "I was taken in by the palace guards at a young age. Apparently I was just dropped at the steps. Your parents didn't want people to know they were harboring some peasant girl so they moved me down here," her voice trembled and for a moment she paused, "the doctors and technicians raised me from there on out. Thanks to them, I've grown up learning twice the knowledge regular Facian children and even royal workers have."

I looked at the girl curiously and in complete awe. Her fingers danced over the holo pad. With one flick of a switch, the lights flickered and I watched as the camera facing this room stopped rotating, shutting off completely. We were surrounded by dead silence. I hadn't realized how noisy the technology was until the soft humming came to a stop.

"Nows our chance." Aries said and I nodded in agreement as she slinked back out of the med bay. I took one last glance at my dying people. Dying at the hands of my own parents. "My promise still stands. I will save you all." I whispered one last time before following Aries up the staircase, and back out to the hallways of the place I hated most.

-AUTHORS NOTE-
-yay a new character!
-why does Athena's father want her back?
-Are Angelo and Sofia okay?
Find out in the next chapter ;)