Hazel jerked upwards in bed, her head snapping towards her phone, which had made a subtle noise. Her breathing became sharp, her eyes frantically scanned the room–every sense had very dramatically leapt into high alert. She felt a light hand on her back, causing her to turn, still breathing heavily. Luckily, her husband had already sat up, rubbing one of his eyes. “Nightmare?” She stared at him for a few moments, beginning to relax as everything fell back into place.
“Mm… Are you okay?” He kept one arm on her lower back for comfort, the other one reaching out and grabbing some water. He took a big sip to wake himself up a bit more, and then let Hazel have it.
“I–Yeah, I think so. At least it wasn’t a panic attack this time, y’know?” He sleepily chuckled, putting a head on her shoulder.
“I thought so when you didn’t punch me for sitting up.” Yeahhh… It was an issue that they came across a little too often. She wouldn’t hit him too hard, but she had always been trained to hit someone from the behind. If she was in high-alert, she tended to attack without thinking. Even the thought of hurting Hendrik, even accidentally, didn’t sit well with her, even though the joke, so she chose to stay quiet. “I’m–I’m like… Kidding, you know.”
“I know… I know.” She leaned her head against his gently, smiling a bit. “It’s just–the nightmare… Was about you, so…” She sniffled, kissing his head lightly. “It’s okay now, though.”
“Good…” He yawned, flopping back. He tried to take her with him by curling his fingers around her side, but she didn’t budge. Hendrik scooched across the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist and looking up at her. “Snuggle?”
“Gimme a minute, gimme a minute…” Hazel brushed back his hair, using her other hand to grab her phone. “I gotta message.”
“Wait what’s the… What’s the message?” He didn’t sit up, but put his head on her lap as she read her notifications. She squinted her eyes lightly, but they just watered up. She wasn’t used to reading this late. She held it out for him, and he sat up abruptly, staring it down. “Oh my God.”
“Someone’s trying to get in–From the East Wing. Hazel–”
“The kids.” Hendrik practically flew out of bed, and Hazel wasn’t far behind him. Her heart slammed against her chest, being the only thing she could hear as she rapidly put on her prosthetic leg. She hesitated, though, joining her husband in bolting. Her head turned towards the bedside table.
She hadn’t shot a gun since she had shot her mother to save her people. Her hands shook, she went into spirals and was forced into flashbacks.
“Hazel, we have to go!” It had been twenty-four years. She would be fine. She tore open the side drawer, grabbing the gun and stumbling over to Hendrik. Her heart pounded as the familiar shape was held in her hand, but she simply shoved it into his.
“Emergency only.” She hissed, grabbing his other hand and taking off. The run seemed too long, but as did everything when there was an intruder. But eventually, they had heard a voice coming from their son’s room. Hazel paused, holding an arm in front of Hendrik, mumbling, “Could just be a date sneaking in.”
“Not worth freaking them out–” They both went quiet as the voices became a bit louder.
“Santiago, you’re so fucking cute. You know that, right?”
“Don’t. Don’t come any closer, I’ll–I’ll call security.” There was a loud laugh, followed by a frightened yelp.
“They don’t come this late! No one’s here, your highness, you’re screwed. Unless… Well, you know what you’d have to do.”
“For the last time, I didn’t cheat on you, Maria! I didn’t leave you for someone, I told you the truth, nothing but the truth, royal’s honor.”
“You really expect me to believe that you left me because–Because aw, oh, you’re such a mama’s boy?” Hazel’s blood chilled, and she shot a look at Hendrik, whose grip on her hand had tightened in fear. She didn’t like Maria. There weren’t a lot of people she didn’t approve of, but as soon as she walked in through the door, it was a hard no. She had even kicked her out of the castle halfway through dinner. “Well, you’re gonna see your aunt in a few minutes if you don’t make some hotshot moves.” Hazel yanked the gun from Hendrik’s hand, a sudden burst of rage pushing through her veins as she swung the door open.
She didn’t kill anymore. She had gotten therapy, she had gone to morals classes, put a full stop on what her parents had raised her to do.
But no one hurt her kids.
Hazel Fluor-Rodriguez-Angelopolus wouldn’t mind one last hit.
