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“How do you know?” said the young Melanie.

“It was many years ago now,” said William, “but I have some experience in such matters.”

And Gina blinked, because she suddenly recalled reading somewhere that the King had actually been an EMT when he was younger, prior to marrying into the royal family. “Did you tell that to Hector before he left?” she asked.

“I intended to,” said William, “but I... hesitated.”

“Hesitated? Why?”

The man hung his head a little. “I was still rather confused and... frightened, I am ashamed to say.”

“Oh.” Gina frowned. “You don’t have to be scared of Hector. He’s a sweetheart. Besides, you’ve already dealt with much scarier people than him.”

“I know that now,” said the King. “Lynnette explained that he is different from Abolish.”

Mr. Edith interrupted. “Pardon me, Your Majesty, but when will she be waking up? Do you know?”

“In a few hours, probably, but she should remain in bed a while longer than that. She has at least one broken rib, so she will be in considerable pain unless we can provide her with analgesics.”

“I’ll see about getting my hands on some,” said Gina, and she eyed the King again. “You might need some, too, yeah?”

He gave a tired smile. “That would be appreciated.”

“You should rest, Your Majesty,” she said. “You look terrible.”

“I think I shall.” He shuffled off to the next room over.

At length, the family seemed ready to listen to Gina. She tried to bring them up to speed on everything--the Queen’s departure, the presence of Abolish, the princes’ betrayals, Lynnette and Hector’s roles as well as her own.

When they were done asking questions, Gina helped everyone get situated and comfortable. There weren’t enough rooms for everyone, but there were plenty of cars. For herself, she took a black SUV. The rear seats folded down, offering plenty of space to sleep, though she wasn’t prepared to turn in for the night just yet.

She had to make a few calls. Painkillers were the priority at the moment, but she figured that a more spacious place might be needed soon.