When I got home from Queen Elizabeth's funeral in England later that evening, I was worn out. The last several days were hectic, as everyone had been rushing around to prepare for our beloved Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. But now, I had time to think.

To distract myself from the events that had happened earlier in the week. So I sat on my bed, turned on Sergei Rochmaninoff music, and found myself randomly listening to his song Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Opera 18: 2. Adagio sostenuto, and I began to read, trying to take my mind off of everything. That had happened in the past.

But just as I had started busying myself with reading, my phone buzzed. I frowned, and picked it up, glancing at the profile picture and caller I.D. With my frown deepening, I realized that the call was from Princess Kate.

But why would she need to call me just as I'd gotten back to Yekaterina? She wouldn't usually call me unless something bad had happened, right? With shaking hands, I pressed the 'call' button.

"H-Hello?" I stuttered, scared of what I was going to hear.

"Stacey? Can you hear me?"

"Of course I can hear you, Princess Kate. What's wrong?"

Her voice sounded choked. I assumed she was still heartbroken about Queen Elizabeth's sudden passing. But I noticed that her voice was not full of sadness, but of fear. And that immediately got me concerned.

"Princess Kate?" I tried again, keeping my voice calm but firm. I slid from the bed, feet first, and began to slide on some soft moccasins. I began to run around, packing up an overnight bag in case I needed to stay somewhere tonight.

"Stace, you need to get to the Royal London Hospital. Now."

"Princess Kate? You're scaring me. What's going on? And why do I need to head over there, now?"

"Stace, it's Geoffrey."

Her announcement caused me to stop in my tracks. I clutched the pair of socks that I held in my hands, which were now slowly starting to tremble with anxiety.

"What happened to Geoff, Princess Kate?" I demanded, still trying to keep my voice calm and collected to not scare her any more.

"Stace, you're not going to like it. But someone tried to assassinate him near the Tower of London as he was heading back to Windsor Palace in his car."

My heart plummeted. Thoughts in my brain started to whirl around like a tornado as I tried to debunk everything that had happened when I was in the Tower of London area. Nothing had seemed suspicious, then. It must have been some time after I left when things began to take a turn.

I almost tripped over my own feet backwards, as the shock settled in. Princess Kate's phone line was silent except for the ambulance sirens that were blaring and people chattering, yelling frantically at each other in British accents.

But that's impossible! I just left an hour ago and even went past the Tower of London when I drove away! Who the hell is making this mess?!

"Stacey, please say something," Princess Kate pleaded desperately.

"Just hang in there for me, Princess Kate," I instructed sharply as I grabbed my things. I didn't even bother noticing what I was and wasn't putting in my overnight backpack. I just wanted to get to Geoffrey as quickly as I could. "I'll be there as soon as possible. Please give me an update, if you can."

"Thank you, Stacey. You truly are the best," said Princess Kate, whose voice was barely above a whisper.

I didn't have any words. A few seconds later, Princess Kate had turned off her phone, leaving the line hanging. I turned off my phone and scrambled around to pack everything else that I might need in case I had to spend the night.

Everything seemed to be in a frenzy, and in slow motion. I couldn't think straight. My entire body felt numb with shock as I tried to process what Princess Kate had just declared not too long ago.

Someone tried to assassinate him near the Tower of London as he was heading back to Windsor Palace . . . . .

Anger coursed through me, and my hands shook with unexplainable rage. I swore to find whoever tried to assassinate Geoffrey and turn them in with my own hands — unless I somehow managed to get my hands on them first and get revenge.

I swung my carry-on backpack over my shoulders and back and hurried down the stairs, my feet almost stomping in my hurry. I nearly tripped over my own feet as I scrambled down the stairs in haste. I promised myself to make sure to tell Andrei where I was going first before I left. When I found him, I finally saw him in the kitchen, shouting at a few chefs in the Russian language. He heard my footsteps and turned around to face me, smiling slightly. I skidded to a halt right in front of him, panting slightly.

"Ah! Just the young lady I was looking for! I was just asking the povara to start cooking dinner for you, Miss Anastasia. Is there anything in particular that you would like?"

"Never mind that, now, Andrei," I snapped, interrupting him. "You probably won't need to tell them to make dinner. Actually, you might not need them to make dinner tonight, anyways. Princess Kate just called me and said that a terrible event just occurred. And I promised that I'd be there for her."

Andrei looked shocked before furrowing his eyebrows.

"What? Why? You just got back from the funeral not even three hours ago!"

"Listen, Andrei," I said with an exasperated sigh while trying hard to not get too annoyed with him. I was already as scared as hell. Geoffrey could possibly lose his life! Who knows how much time he has left to live — if he's even alive by now! "Princess Kate just gave me the call. She says that Geoffrey has been hurt. Like, really bad. It's an attempted assassination. I don't know if he's going to survive or not. So I have to get to him, Andrei."

Andrei was silent, thinking deeply. I waited with baited breath. My heart pounded sharply in my chest, causing a stitch at my side. But I ignored it, waiting for Andrei to say something.

"What about your grandmother? What should I tell her?" he finally asked.

"Just tell her to not worry about me and that she should expect me to come back sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Are you sure, Your Highness?" said Andrei as he gave me a suspicious side glance.

"Yes! I'm sure, Andrei! Just — please! I don't know how long Geoffrey has left to live!"

"I'll tell your grandmother where you're going so that she won't get worried," Andrei reassured me.

I allowed my tensed muscles to relax, relieved that Andrei would do as I asked him.

"Thank you, Andrei. I'll either call or text you when I get the chance. I promise."

And with that, I sped off, nearly banging open the double doors of Yekaterina Palace, letting them slam shut behind me. I didn't bother looking back. I sprinted to my car and shoved my keys in the ignition. I tried to not get above speeding level, but I was fast enough to not get caught by the police.

The entire time I drove to London, I found myself muttering "Please be okay" to myself, hoping that Geoffrey would be alive. I knew that he would most likely be in a coma for a while, but at least he was still alive and breathing. But he'd most certainly be scarred for life. There's no doubt about it.

My heart pounded so furiously with anxiety, that I could hear my heart beating. I could feel my heart against my rib cage as I tried to get to the hospital that Princess Kate told me to get to. I bit my lower lip nervously. I'm pretty sure that it bled, but I didn't care. I was more worried about Geoffrey's health than my own.

I drove through London. In the distance, I could see the Tower of London. I could faintly see the leftover fires and smoke from the remains of the aftermath. My insides burned with unexplainable rage and hatred to whoever tried to end Geoffrey's life through that unexpected assassination. The whole world would be in shock, for sure, when they find out what had happened to the British Crown Prince.

I parked messily into the nearest parking space, literally jumped out of the car, and immediately sprinted to the Emergency Room entrance. I skidded to a halt in front of the registration desk, panting and out of breath. The adrenaline in my veins was pumping my blood, hard.

The woman who was at the register looked shocked and surprised that I came into the building in such a mess. But I ignored her shocked looks and immediately began to fire off questions.

"I'm looking for Crown Prince Geoffrey Windsor's room, please. I've been notified that he'd be brought here."

The woman, whose name I learned was Amelia (thanks to her nurse tag), looked even more shocked, and surprised that I spoke with such force and panic. But she recovered quickly with a kind smile.

"Of course! Let me check on this monitor real quick." She scrolled through the computer to find names and room numbers. She finally nodded when she seemed to have found Geoffrey's name. "Okay, Miss. Geoffrey Windsor's room is on the third floor of the NICU — room 110."

I nodded frantically, though I smiled at the woman to show her my thanks.

"Thank you so much!" I said breathlessly.

Before she had time to say anything, I took off for the elevator. The elevator ride seemed to go by more slowly than usual. I bounced nervously on my feet until the elevator came to a complete stop, signalling that I was on the third floor of the NICU. I walked quickly down the halls of the third floor, my eyes on every door that came into view. I found myself muttering the room numbers under my breath as I quickly walked by.

Finally, I stopped at room 110, just as the lady had described. I slowly reached my hand out and let my hand hover over the doorknob. When my hand enclosed the cold metal, I suddenly hesitated.

Did I really want to see what was behind this door? I couldn't help but ask myself.

Well, I was already here. There was no turning back, now. I had no choice. But I knew that one way or another, I would be checking in on Geoffrey, anyways.

Slowly, I opened the door. I began to tremble with fear, fearful of what I might find in his room. I carefully opened the door all the way. The first thing that I was met with was the royal family, including Marina and Chandler, who were still in their funeral clothes. Each royal person had a broken-hearted look on their faces, making me dread what was to come. The steady beeping of the heart monitor sounded from somewhere in the room, which gave me a sense of relief, knowing that there was still a sense of life in Geoffrey's soul.

Princess Kate was the first one to look up at me. She had tears in her eyes. She got up and walked swiftly towards me. Once she approached me, she wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her head in my shoulder. I tried to console her back, still at a loss for words as I stared at the nearly-lifeless Geoffrey, who laid on the hospital bed. I could vaguely see his chest, which was wrapped with protective gauze, rising and falling — almost laboriously as he tried to fight for his life.

"Do they say how long he should be unconscious for?" I asked once Princess Kate let go of me.

"We don't know. The doctor said that it should be a few weeks before we should expect him to wake up. But he told us to expect the worst."

I glanced back over at Geoffrey's body. He had a breathing mask over his mouth and nose. The white line of a feeding tube could be seen exiting from the mask so that they could feed him while he was unconscious. Both of his arms were bare and wrapped up firmly, while they rested on the blankets that covered his broken body. His head was wrapped with gauze. He had a nasty black eye on his left eye, and several deep cuts and scratches all over his face.his

I let go of Princess Kate and carefully walked over towards Geoffrey's nearly-lifeless body. The only comforting sounds that could be heard was the heart monitor that beeped steadily, giving me hope and comfort.

After a while, Charlotte climbed down from the hospital bench she sat on and made her way towards me. She opened her arms out, silently asking for me to pick her up. I smiled gently and picked her up under her arms, setting her down gently on my lap. She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck, nuzzling her head against me. We both watched Geoffrey's unconscious form in front of us.

The Windsor family stayed in Geoffrey's room for a long time. So long, that the sun began to peek out, slightly above the horizon. I hadn't realized that I had been in a trance-like state until the sun rays began to brighten the room. Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Chandler, Princess Marina, George, and Louis began to stir. Charlotte, however, still slept soundly in my arms. She'd fallen asleep without me realizing it — until now.

Princess Kate got to her feet, catching my attention. I smiled gently at her, and I noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes. She smiled tiredly back. She bent down and gently picked up her daughter, who did not move while being transferred to her mother's arms instead of mine. At that time, the rest of the royals were getting to their feet, leaving me rooted in the chair that I sat in.

"You're all going?" I asked, slightly alarmed.

"We have to get the children to sleep in their rooms. And we have royal duties to attend all day today. I've got a meeting with the police department this afternoon to discuss how we can protect our country more."

"Why, Mummy?" George asked sleepily. I could see that he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Why do you think, George?"

George frowned for a second, as though he was in deep concentration. Finally, his eyes widened with realization.

"Oh," he said quietly.

"We don't have to go to school today. Do we, Mama?" Louis asked tiredly.

"I think that it's best if we rest for the rest of the day," Princess Kate answered. "Maybe stop by to visit our cousin again." She turned to face me with a small smile on her face. "I trust you to keep an eye out for him and to make sure that he's safe?"

"You know that I'll keep my promise, Princess Kate," I answered reassuringly.

"And you'll call us if you see a change in Geoffrey?"

I smiled, nodding my head once, firmly.

"You can count on me."

Princess Kate smiled.

"I knew that I could trust you to keep Geoffrey safe and to look after him."

She bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of my head before leaving. Prince William came over and patted me gently on the back, as Princess Marina and Prince Chandler told me goodbye while shaking my hand or hugging me tightly. When Prince Chandler left, it was just me and Geoffrey left in the room.

I refused to leave his side all day. I held his hand gently in mine, speaking about what was on my mind, telling him how scared I was when Princess Kate had called me to tell me of the incident that had happened near the Tower of London. I would run my fingers through his hair from time to time. Occasionally, a nurse would come in to check his vitals or give him some liquids through the feeding tube so that he could stay alive while under his coma.

I made sure to text my grandmother and Andrei that I'd be gone for a bit longer, saying that the royal family needed me to keep an eye on him and that I'd call them if anything changes in his body.

Late afternoon finally began to roll around the corner. Shadows were cast on the walls through the windows. Everything was peaceful until another knock on the door was heard for the fifth time today. I turned my head to the door, waiting for the person to come in. I'd expected another nurse to come in and check Geoffrey's vitals. But to my surprise, it was Princess Marina, Geoffrey's mother.

"I figured that it's about time you should go home, dear," she finally said as I stood up to be polite.

"I can watch him for the night, if you all need me to," I tried to protest.

Princess Marina held her hand up to stop me, smiling slightly.

"You've already watched over him all night and all day today. I can take over for a while."

As much as I had wanted to stay, I figured that Princess Marina wanted to stay with her son — in case he woke up and needed anything.

Well, I guess that I can't say 'no'. He is her son, after all, I thought to myself as I glanced back at Geoffrey's lifeless, completely still body. I sighed and stood up. I glanced down at him once more and felt the tears coming to my eyes. No one so innocent should have to go through all of this!

I approached Geoffrey's side again and pressed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Well, it was kind of hard to kiss his actual head, so I managed to press a gentle kiss to the gauze that wrapped around his skull. Princess Marina sat down in the chair that I had sat in and immediately stared at her son with a blank expression on her face. I patted her shoulder gently as I walked by, and I had reached the door when she stopped me.

"Stacey. Chandler, Kate, and William all told me to tell you to watch the news tonight. Or when you have the chance."
I stared at her in surprise before frowning curiously, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Really? Why? What's so important about the news?"

"You'll find who tried to assassinate my son and your boyfriend," she answered, giving me a tight smile.

She then went back to her pose and had her blank expression on her face. I exited the room and couldn't help but wonder what Princess Marina meant about the news.

Did they capture the one who was behind these assassination attacks near the Tower of London? Thoughts raced through my head as Princess Marina's words raced through my head. Chills ran through my body as they kept repeating itself in my brain.

I wondered what it all meant. But I guess that I wouldn't know until I saw the news for myself.