Ed

I was crouched behind another boiler, my dark tux melding perfectly in the shadows. From my perch, I still had a perfect view of Carter, who was instants later joined by the two puffy men in khaki.

"Princess Rosalinda!" The important one roared. Carter nodded slightly, not speaking. Of course, her voice would give her away! Clever, Cart. "May I inquire why it is that your identical twin just boarded a helicopter manned by the less-than-honorable Major Mason?" Carter's dad. Carter shifted uncomfortably, shrugging. "Princess, I'm starting to think you've duped me..." The important man growled. I shifted forward slightly. He sounded really angry.

"The mask, sir!" The wimpy one suggested. I cursed under my breath, easing as close as I could to them without giving up my hiding spot. If they unmasked her...

"Brilliant, Luis." The important man smirked, his gloved hands reaching up to rest gently on either side of Carter's face. I don't think I've ever been as tense as I was in that moment. Don't touch her. "Let's see who we really have here." He lifted the full-face mask off of Carter's face, and the game was up. He roared angrily, throwing the mask down on the floor. I saw it crack. "Who are you?!" He demanded. Carter was smirking. Of course she was.

"Carter." She replied simply, wisely not including her last name. Being Captain Mason's daughter couldn't bode well.

"Carter who?" The important man pressed, squinting at her. Carter's face stayed blank. She was an amazing liar.

"Carter Braun." She replied smoothly. My eyes widened, and my jaw went slack. Carter Braun!? Why had she chosen my last name?! She could have used any name... She could have used Donnie's name. Ugh, leave it to my stupid subconscious. But it was a valid question...

"Braun? How utterly uninteresting. Why are you in Princess Rosalinda's dress, Carter Braun?" The important man asked. I wrinkled my nose. Uninteresting? Excuse them.

"Why aren't you, Baldie?" Carter shot back. I smacked my forehead. New, brave Cart was a nice change, but not when she was flirting with the devil. And... Baldie? Very fitting, actually. Baldie didn't seem to find Carter's cheeky response quite as appealing as I did, though. He growled, and grabbed her chin roughly. It was all I could do to keep a worried moan from escaping my lips.
"I would be more respectful if I were you, Carter Braun." Baldie growled. I curled my lip. Get off of her.

Carter

Baldie was up in my face, so close that I could feel his hot breath beating on my cheeks. Ugh. Someone needs a Tic-Tac really badly.

"You seem to forget yourself... You are nothing to us. What is to keep us from ... disposing of you?" Baldie sneered, and I spat in his face. Okay, so it probably wasn't the best idea in hindsight, and it definitely didn't help the situation, but he was just so close. Baldie roared, raising his hand and bringing it down hard. Smack. The back of his hand connected with my cheek, and in that moment, I was painfully (pun intended) aware of the multiple rings he wore. My head snapped to the side, and through my squinted eyes, I could see a rustle of movement in the shadows. Ed. I waved my hand as subtly as I could, warning him back. Don't move, Ed. Please don't. The rustling stopped. I laughed softly, picturing the expression he must have. Angry, hurt, pleading, confused. All of Ed's expressions were unique, and they were all equally endearing. Oh, Ed... Damn it. "Are we clear?" Baldie's growl snapped me out of my day-dreaming. Evidently, he found it rather incredulous that I was chuckling after his oh-so-badass-backhand. Huh. What an idea.

"Crystal." I hissed, spitting a bit of blood out of my mouth and onto the concrete beneath us. "But if you had any brains at all in that shiny noggin of yours, you'd realize just what a commodity you have here." My lips twitched into a smug grin as Blondie stared at me blankly. He had no idea. Admittedly, in terms of adventure movies, it was a little lame of me to be spoon-feeding this to him, but hey. A girl has to have some sense of self-preservation, even such a heroic martyr as myself, and Baldie here just wasn't getting it.

"Excuse me, Miss Braun?" Okay, that was going to take some getting used to. I resisted glancing at where Ed (my Ed!) was crouching in the shadows. Hopefully he wasn't reading too far into this... but maybe he should? I don't know anymore.

"You heard me, Baldie." I quirked an eyebrow. "Do I need to spell this out for you two? Twiddly Dee and Twiddly Dumb?" McBorington puffed up like an angry tomato at that comment. Aww, dumdum understand! Ugh. I spoke very slowly and articulated with painstaking care. I swear I could hear Ed bashing his head on the wall. "If you kill me, Rosie will have no reason to come to you. If I live, she will come." Nothing. Not even an eyebrow raise. Let's try again. I gestured with my hands, as much as possible given my obvious hindrances. "Me live, Princess come. Me die, Princess go. Yes?" Yes! Success! Realization dawned on Baldie, and he spun around to face McBorington, beaming.

"I have a plan!" He announced, and I rolled my eyes. Why are these guys such idiots?! "We'll use her as bait!"'

Rosie

Major Mason was staring at me open-mouthed as I stood, shell-shocked by his announcement. He was here!? The General was here!?

"Why?" I asked, voice terse with nerves. "Why has he come here? Why is he with Carter? What is going on?"

"Rosie, take deep breaths." I felt Major Mason's warm hands on my shoulders, and forced myself to relax. He reminded me much of my mother. Oh Mother... I buried my face in the crook of his neck. He smelled of bait and sand and surf. He smelled like home. New home. I took a shuddering breath, sobs threatening in the back of my throat, trying to pull myself together. Carter needs me. "When did you last see Carter?"

"In th-the gym." I said slowly, eyes wide as saucers. "She was by the side when I won."

"Oh." Major Mason nodded slightly. "Congratulations?" It was an awkward statement. I felt uncomfortable. "But Rosie, did you see which way she went?"

"I.. uh..." I tried to remember, I did. I just couldn't... I remembered not seeing her. I remembered seeing Ed look concerned. Then he had ran off...

"Which direction did he run?" Major Mason asked suddenly, and I gasped sharply.

"What? Who?" I stared at him. He stared back, confused.

"Ed. You said he ran...?" Oh. Oops.

"I must have been speaking out loud?" Major Mason nodded, confirming my suspicions. "My apologies... And I'm not quite sure. I get very turned around here. I am not used to this kind of place." I sounded pathetic. Why wasn't I clever enough to help Carter? What was I doing wrong?

"Okay, let's get back in there and see if that helps." Major Mason suggested. I nodded slightly. Then, he froze. I frowned.

"What is it, Major Mason?" I asked softly, touching his arm. His eyes darkened, and he turned around to the women leaning out of the helicopter. The woman from the Princess Protection Program Headquarters, the blonde one. I recognized her.

"Major..." She trailed off. It was clear there was something she wanted to say, but was too frightened to. I willed her to just spit it out. "...This isn't right. We can't lead the princess back in there." Ah. That is why it was so hard for her to say.

"Of course, you're right." Major Mason held his head in his hands, shaking his head slowly. "I was silly to think otherwise. This is real life. Princesses come first." His voice was entirely sincere, however silly it might've sounded, and my heart ached for him. "Carter's a big girl, she can take care of herself." Even I could detect the doubt in his voice as he hauled me up into the helicopter and strapped me in. I gazed out the window as the door shut, tears streaming down my face, and was struck with a sudden deja vu. Helicopters did not bode well for me. "Rosie?" I glanced up, meeting the Major's clouded eyes.

"Yes, sir?" I prompted. My voice wavered, tears still flowing unhindered.

"You... You said Ed followed her?" There was a hint of hope in his tone, the faintest sparkle of optimism in his brown eyes. Optimistic. Must run in the family.

"Yes." I smiled a tiny bit. His good cheer was contagious, and I was infected almost immediately, feeling my whole body warm. "Yes, I saw Ed chasing after her."

"Good. That boy has a good head on his shoulders." The Major and I sat in comfortable silence after that, watching the school fade away in the window. I suppose all princesses can't be as heroic as Carter.