states.”
She pulled it out of her shoulder bag and handed it to Amelia. The headline read:
QUEEN AMELIA SURVIVES BOMBING AND SAVES MOTHER AND CHILD!
Two pictures and story graced the front page; however, the pictures caught her eye. She was running towards the paramedics, cradling the little girl. Her face was blackened from smoke, but tears had made two clean lines down her face. Her face reflected urgency and pain.
The other picture was of her in an alley. She remembered it quite well. It was as the sun was coming up. They had pulled several bodies from the blast. After slipping away from Darren and Will she collapsed against the wall in sheer exhaustion. Sliding down, she had pulled her knees to her chest and cried. The picture was of her in that position, but looking forward with head supported by one hand. So much pain was reflected in her gaze. “How dare they…” How could this person take such an intimate photo of her!?!
“Sweetie, don’t worry about it.”
“It makes me look weak.”
“No, it doesn’t. It shows just how bad the devastation was. It shows that you need rest. You need us.” She turned back to Chris. “Hon, say I’m right.”
“Amelia, she’s right. Whatever she said, she’s right.”
“He’s too well trained.”
“Nah, he’s in love. I got lucky with him. Now, come. Let’s go. Chris’ men have already arrived. We’ve put them in place around the city to try to find out what happened.”
“When did they arrive?”
“Who do you think took the picture?”
“How? I had just spoken with you…”
“He had guys in England. They took the train. You didn’t stop the trains. Why?”
“How could you get them to take such an intimate picture of me?”
“It was necessary. You need backup. You need support. This country loves you and because of those iconic images they will never forget the queen that pulled survivors from a building instead of being concerned for her own safety.”
Amelia buried the anger at what Genevive had done. Even if her friend did have her best interests at heart, she should not have taken advantage of her that way. Gen should have let her mourn in private. She was raised by someone that taught her safety came at the cost of hiding your feelings. How could she hide them when they were plastered all over every newspaper in the world? “Whatever… In answer to your question, people have to have transportation, don’t they?”
“Did you even pay attention in our Terrorism class?”
“Yes.”
“To anything other than that hot guy?”
“Yes!”
“Amelia, do you remember the lesson on embargoes and sanctions?”
“Yes, but I’m not stopping transportation. I want the city to operate as if nothing is wrong. Too much has been lost. I want the people to have some sort of normalcy in their lives.”
“Do you have a place for us to work?”
Amelia grinned. “Wait until you see it.” Payback was a bitch.
“Where is it?”
“Parliament.”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh, yes. I commandeered parliament for this.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Yes. Yes, I have.” Maybe she really had. She wasn’t strong enough to deal with this. This was pain — angry hot pain that burned deeper than anything she had ever known.
Gen placed her hand lightly on Amelia’s shoulder. The touch, while meant to be comforting, alarmed her. It was sisterly and motherly. Something Amelia avoided at all costs because it reminded her of the loss of her mother, and that still ached. “I’m sorry about your love.”
“Jacob. His name was Jacob and he didn’t deserve what they did to him. He didn’t deserve to die. His guys don’t know what we had. We kept it secret. Don’t let anyone know.”
“I understand, Amelia. It’s ok. I didn’t want anyone to know about Chris either. It’s harder for you.”
“Yeah, Chris didn’t die for you.”
Inside the Parliament Building Amelia stood amongst her guards. Several had been killed in the
She pulled it out of her shoulder bag and handed it to Amelia. The headline read:
QUEEN AMELIA SURVIVES BOMBING AND SAVES MOTHER AND CHILD!
Two pictures and story graced the front page; however, the pictures caught her eye. She was running towards the paramedics, cradling the little girl. Her face was blackened from smoke, but tears had made two clean lines down her face. Her face reflected urgency and pain.
The other picture was of her in an alley. She remembered it quite well. It was as the sun was coming up. They had pulled several bodies from the blast. After slipping away from Darren and Will she collapsed against the wall in sheer exhaustion. Sliding down, she had pulled her knees to her chest and cried. The picture was of her in that position, but looking forward with head supported by one hand. So much pain was reflected in her gaze. “How dare they…” How could this person take such an intimate photo of her!?!
“Sweetie, don’t worry about it.”
“It makes me look weak.”
“No, it doesn’t. It shows just how bad the devastation was. It shows that you need rest. You need us.” She turned back to Chris. “Hon, say I’m right.”
“Amelia, she’s right. Whatever she said, she’s right.”
“He’s too well trained.”
“Nah, he’s in love. I got lucky with him. Now, come. Let’s go. Chris’ men have already arrived. We’ve put them in place around the city to try to find out what happened.”
“When did they arrive?”
“Who do you think took the picture?”
“How? I had just spoken with you…”
“He had guys in England. They took the train. You didn’t stop the trains. Why?”
“How could you get them to take such an intimate picture of me?”
“It was necessary. You need backup. You need support. This country loves you and because of those iconic images they will never forget the queen that pulled survivors from a building instead of being concerned for her own safety.”
Amelia buried the anger at what Genevive had done. Even if her friend did have her best interests at heart, she should not have taken advantage of her that way. Gen should have let her mourn in private. She was raised by someone that taught her safety came at the cost of hiding your feelings. How could she hide them when they were plastered all over every newspaper in the world? “Whatever… In answer to your question, people have to have transportation, don’t they?”
“Did you even pay attention in our Terrorism class?”
“Yes.”
“To anything other than that hot guy?”
“Yes!”
“Amelia, do you remember the lesson on embargoes and sanctions?”
“Yes, but I’m not stopping transportation. I want the city to operate as if nothing is wrong. Too much has been lost. I want the people to have some sort of normalcy in their lives.”
“Do you have a place for us to work?”
Amelia grinned. “Wait until you see it.” Payback was a bitch.
“Where is it?”
“Parliament.”
“Are you serious?”
“Oh, yes. I commandeered parliament for this.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Yes. Yes, I have.” Maybe she really had. She wasn’t strong enough to deal with this. This was pain — angry hot pain that burned deeper than anything she had ever known.
Gen placed her hand lightly on Amelia’s shoulder. The touch, while meant to be comforting, alarmed her. It was sisterly and motherly. Something Amelia avoided at all costs because it reminded her of the loss of her mother, and that still ached. “I’m sorry about your love.”
“Jacob. His name was Jacob and he didn’t deserve what they did to him. He didn’t deserve to die. His guys don’t know what we had. We kept it secret. Don’t let anyone know.”
“I understand, Amelia. It’s ok. I didn’t want anyone to know about Chris either. It’s harder for you.”
“Yeah, Chris didn’t die for you.”
Inside the Parliament Building Amelia stood amongst her guards. Several had been killed in the
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