Summary: MC Elizabeth Richmond’s POV of the events following TRR Book 2 Chapter 19 inspired by this post
Pandemonium erupted in the ballroom. Screams ripped through the air, their pitch threatening to blow the windows in. Punches were thrown, bullets cut across the room, knives clattered across the marble floors. Masked figures grappled with Royal Guards as the crowd of nobles rushed towards the exits, scrambling over each other to escape the chaos.
Winded from her collision with Drake, Elizabeth struggled to regain her breath. Before she could get a word out, a knife sliced by her head followed by a resounding thump as a member of the Royal Guard pinned down the assassin who threw it. Drake grabbed her hand and dragged rather than lead her to relative safety behind the refreshment tables.
‘Richmond, a-are you okay?’ As he helped her to sit up, Drake’s brown eyes raked over her figure, widening when he saw the blood on her dress.
‘Drake, I-I’m fine,’ she gasped as she followed his gaze, frowning in slight confusion as the crimson liquid soaked through her golden gown. ‘But you’re not!’ Her hands went to the wound on his chest, her fingers quickly turning scarlet when they touched the green fabric of his shirt.
He barely looked down at himself before facing her again.
‘Never mind about me! You’re the one they want, you have to get out of here!’
Elizabeth shook her head vehemently. ‘No, not without you! You just got shot! We have to get you to a doctor now.’
She scrambled for the phone in the pocket of her dress only to come up empty. Elizabeth’s eyes raked the area around her, finally locating it several feet away from their makeshift shelter. Going to retrieve it meant stepping within the disaster zone. Beside her, Drake grunted leaning against the wall, the pool of blood growing on the floor beside him. Their eyes met and he read her thoughts in an instant.
‘Richmond-’ He started to say but Elizabeth had already started towards her target, ignoring his insistent pull at her dress. Just as her fingers closed around the device, she heard the metallic hiss and turned to see a dagger speeding towards her, the shiny point gleaming. At the last second, she threw herself to the side and the weapon skimmed her upper arm before she could drag herself back under cover.
When he saw the wound, Drake struggled to sit up, keeping a hand to his bleeding chest.
‘What were you thinking? You could have been kil-‘
‘I am perfectly capable of taking my own goddamned bullet, thank you very much!’ Elizabeth yelled, drowning out his protests, her voice shaking with frustration, anger and terror as tears streamed down her face.
Truth be told, she had no idea what she would have done in the moment. When she saw the masked man take aim at her, her body froze, refusing to cooperate in spite of her mind screaming at her to move, get out. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as she watched him squeeze the trigger, the sound of the gunshot ringing in her ears, drowning out the chaos around her. All her senses came to a screeching halt as her life flashed before her eyes and she could focus on nothing but the shiny metal bullet hurtling towards her.
Tearing herself from the thought, she focused on unlocking her phone, her fingers shaking as she punched in the emergency number. She cast her eyes onto Drake who had slumped lower against the wall.
‘Drake please, you need to sit up,’ she told him, wedging the phone between her ear and her shoulder, grabbing his arm to prop him up. Finding the seam from her dress, she tore a length of cloth, not caring about the beautiful fabric, pressing it to his chest. The blood soaked through the material at a frightening rate and her brain went into panic mode. The sounds of scuffles slowly died down around them, leaving only their breathing and the mechanical sound of the dial tone.
After what seemed like an eternity, someone picked up and Elizabeth had to forcibly compose herself.
‘Hello yes, there’s been an emergency at the palace. There were gunmen, they were throwing knives,’ She could feel sobs coming up but shoved them down. ‘My-my boyfriend got shot, he’s still alive but he’s losing blood fast… Please send an ambulance now… to the palace… We’re in the ballroom… Hurry please. I’m not sure how many more people got hit.’
After the smooth voice informed her that emergency crews were on the way, Elizabeth hung up and tore another strip from her gown to press to the wound. Her mind raced as she tried calculate how much blood he’d already lost.
‘Soo… boyfriend huh?’ Drake tried for his usual smirk but it gave way to a grimace of pain.
More tears spilled down her face as she tried to return his smile. ‘What can I say? You know I like to keep you guessing..’ she croaked half heartedly.
‘Oh Drake,’ her voice cracked with emotion as she pulled him closer to her. ‘I’m so sorry… This is all my fault.’
‘Shhh.. Its not your fault and you know it,’ Drake’s voice was strangely calm, as he gently stroked her cheek, no doubt leaving a smear of blood there.
She kissed his palm before clutching it to her chest. ‘But w-we just got started… What about us?’
‘We’ll get our happy ending… I promise,’ he assured her, his brown gaze growing slightly unfocused.
‘Uh uh… No. You’re not dying on me Drake Walker. Keep your eyes open,’ she instructed, placing a hand on his face, gently rubbing the stubble at his chin. ‘Keep your eyes on me baby. Help is coming. But for now, look at me.’
He did as she told him but it seemed to cost him a monumental effort. His handsome face grew paler and she turned to get another scrap of cloth before he caught her wrist and she turned back to him.
‘Richmond…,’ Drake drew in a haggard breath before continuing more firmly. ‘Elizabeth… I-‘
‘No.’ She stopped him, sensing what he was gonna say. ‘Not now. Not when you’re on death’s door. You’re gonna live and we’re going to have a wonderful life together.’
Drake’s eyelids began to close and when he spoke his voice was shaky.
‘That… doesn’t sound too bad… Tell me more..’
Elizabeth laughed in spite of herself, slightly surprised at his words especially after their earlier conversation on the lawn before the fireworks.
‘I’m glad you approve,’ she told him. ‘Now keep your eyes open or you’ll miss the rest.’
She kept rambling mindlessly, saying anything to keep him conscious as she cradled his body in her arms, dimly aware of the wailing sirens as they drew closer. The paramedics would find them eventually but for now all Elizabeth could think about was keeping Drake conscious. She had no idea whether it was the right thing to do but something told her not to let him close his eyes.
‘Lady Elizabeth! Where are you?’ A voice interrupted her chatter. ‘This is the palace guard! Are you safe?’
‘We’re here,’ she croaked softly, before repeating herself in a louder voice, not taking her eyes off Drake. ‘We’re here! I’m ok but Drake got shot, he’s bleeding.’
The tables blocking her view of the ballroom were thrust aside to reveal Bastien and three men garbed in the Cordonian military uniform.
‘Your Grace, are you alright?’ One of them gasped at the sight of her in her stained dress.
‘I’m fine,’ she insisted impatiently. ‘But Drake’s lost a lot of blood. He needs an ambulance, please.’
Before she could finish her sentence, Bastien had swooped Drake up into his hold, his head lolling as the head of security ran towards the ballroom exit.
‘Unhand me right now!’ Elizabeth screeched, bursting out of the guards’ grip.
‘But Your Grace, His Majesty has strict orders-‘
Ignoring their cries of protest, she took off after Bastien, slipping slightly on the spilled champagne and blood on the floor, she kicked off her heels. When she finally caught up to the head of security outside, the paramedics were loading Drake onto a stretcher. The entire area was washed in red and blue light and she struggled to get a glimpse of his face in the dim light, hoping for some indicator that he was alive. She saw the paramedic inside the ambulance put an oxygen mask over Drake’s face and she bolted forward, elbowing her way past a trio of nobles, disregarding their gasps of shock at her appearance. She’d almost made it to the ambulance when a strong hand closed around her arm.
‘My lady,’ Bastien towered over her. Abandoning all decorum, Elizabeth attempted to wrench her arms from his grasp but he expected it and deflected the action.
‘Let me go Bastien,’ she yelled, trying unsuccessfully to break free as she watched the paramedics close the doors. However the head of security simply stood there as she thrashed against his grip until she had exhausted herself, conceding defeat.
‘Tell me he’s going to be alright…’ she sobbed, not caring as her tears soaked Bastien’s black blazer. ‘He has to be.’
Bastien put his arm around her awkwardly. ‘If there is one thing I know about Drake, it’s that he’s very stubborn. He’ll pull through, My Lady, you’ll see.’
She clung onto his words, knowing he was right as he gently guided her back to the palace. She paused for a moment to glance back at the retreating emergency vehicle.
‘I’ve got nothing to offer you. I’m nothing special, he’d said earlier.
Goddamn it Drake, she thought, echoing her earlier sentiment. You are all I want…