The Royal Jagger

“Technically, she isn’t a princess if her father wasn’t the king, but as you said, there’s no time for debating words,” Gwen pointed out. “Now be off with you, before you are discovered here. I can make you invisible for about half an hour or so. That ought to do the trick.”

“Yes, please,” Marissa agreed. As soon as she was hidden and the baby was turned into a puppy, Marissa kissed Raife’s cheek, then Gwen’s, and slipped out the back door again. She wasted no time in slipping through yet another passage between the two worlds and transforming to her wolf form so she could be very quick as she ran to find Darius and Eric, the two Jaggers she trusted most in all the world.

She took the back caves along the way to avoid other people, so it was almost half an hour before she slipped through the entrance to the cave of her two uncles, Darius and Eric. They sat in front of their television, but were not really watching it as they discussed their most recent visit to the social club—the name given to the area where all the different paranormals were allowed to interact.

“Marissa? What’s wrong, child?” asked Eric with concern when he saw the look on his niece’s face.

“There is much to tell you, my uncles, and none of it pleasing,” she said breathlessly as she threw herself onto the sofa between them.

“Eric, get Marissa a drink,” Darius said. “She looks as though she’s been through quite an ordeal to reach us. Has your father been experimenting on you again?”

“No, but if he hears of this he most certainly will be,” she answered with a heavy sigh.

“What do you mean?” asked Eric with alarm as he handed her a glass of water.

“I’ve had word from your mother—well, more than just word, really,” she said sadly. “I fear I must inform you first that she has been murdered by the Agency. It seems the shots they gave us females were not what they told us they were, and because she refused to be injected they killed her.”

“Why would Mother be killed over a flu shot?” Eric wanted to know.

“Because it wasn’t a flu shot,” Marissa explained, sucking back a sob. “They’ve done something worse that simply sterilize us. Because of them, I will never be able to birth any daughters. None of us will. None but one, that is.”

“One?”

“You have a new sister,” she told them. “I’ve hidden her in the care of a mage for now, until we decide how best to keep her safe. She has not been given the shot. You must see how important that is for our future.”

“I cannot believe this,” Darius said, getting up to pace the floor. “You were right to hide the child, Marissa. We must make certain our brother, the so-called king, never gets his paws on her.”

“Ferris is not to be trusted,” Eric agreed. “Once it comes to light what has happened to the women, he will stop at nothing to try to find an antidote. He would even go so far as to sacrifice this new, non-inoculated child to harvest her blood. He is most unnatural in his pursuits.”

“Raife is far too important to remain here, I fear,” Marissa pointed out. “We must move her to another Facility before my father realizes who she really is. I can see no other way.”

“She is right,” Darius said. “We will move to the new Facility that has just opened down south. With my status it should be a small matter for me to pull a few strings. But I will not leave Marissa here to take the brunt of her father’s abuse once he knows we’re gone. She must come with us as well.”

“Me?” Marissa gasped. “I’ve never even been outside the caves, Uncle Darius. You know I am to remain indoors another three years before I am allowed to go outside.”

“Such a silly rule, and hardly of any importance now,” Darius scoffed. “We’re trying to move, not just go on an outing. We will prepare over the weekend, and on Monday we’ll come and get you. We’ll hide Raife among the baggage and figure out what to do about her once she’s safely out of here.”

“I don’t think we can keep her in the formal caves, uncle,” she said worriedly. “If we were to try, she’d be found by the Agents and they might discover she never got a shot. We must prevent them from altering her. It was Victoria’s dying wish.”

“Hush now, Marissa,” said Darius. “We will find a way. Whatever you may wish to bring, you’d best get it packed in secrecy. We won’t tell your father anything until we’re already gone.”

“But won’t he be angry?” she asked worriedly. “I am supposed to remain in his care for three more years. He could force me to return.”

“We won’t allow it,” Darius told her. “Even the so-called king can’t have everything.”

“What of Raife?” she wanted to know. “I would like to go to her, but I’m too exhausted, and I fear I would be missed. I don’t wish to draw any attention to myself. The Commander was in the caves looking for her already. Our family will be under much scrutiny.”

“I believe I know precisely who you have brought the child to,” Darius smirked. “I will send my servant, Penz, to speak with her. See if she would like to relocate as well. We could certainly use a magician on our journey. Perhaps she could even help keep Raife hidden using her magic.”

“She has her turned into a puppy at the moment,” Marissa told him, her eyes hopeful. “If she were to come along, she might even be able to keep her hidden indefinitely.”

“I would not count on that,” Darius said. “There is much that could happen over the next thirty years. What my sister will need eventually is another identity. They must never learn she is a Goldeneye. We must never speak that name again.”

Marissa was very nervous for the next two days. She paced around her rooms looking for things that she could not possibly do without, and stuffed everything into her hope chest. A few hours before dawn on Monday morning, her uncle’s servant appeared at the foot of her bed and shook her awake.

“Forgive me, my lady, but your uncle has sent me to fetch you,” he whispered.

“Can you carry my trunk?” she asked worriedly.

“Yes, I will sneak it through the caves before anyone awakens,” Penz agreed. “Do not worry about your belongings, I will make certain they get to you as soon as you arrive in your new home. Now, you must hurry to their cave, before you are seen. It is vital that you are not.”

“What of Raife?” she asked worriedly. “Has all been arranged for her as desired?”

“Gwen has vowed to follow Raife to the ends of the Earth,” he reassured her. “Now go. And Princess, be careful outside the caves. Life beyond these walls is nothing like what you’re used to here.”

“Thanks,” Marissa told him. “Your help will not go unrewarded, Penz. I promise you that.”

“The safety of you and the others is all the reward I require,” he said.

Marissa hurried through the darkened halls, taking the fastest path to her uncles’ that she could. As soon as she entered the door, they had her packed into one of the conveyance-cars and headed for the surface. There they were placed in one of the buses that would head over to South Dakota, where the new Facility was located somewhere in the Black Hills. She had never been more excited in her entire life.