A week later
Emerson's POV

I woke up slowly, mentally examining every inch of Victoria's body that I could few before opening my eyes. We were still naked and under the covers. She must've moved in her sleep, since she was almost fully on top of me. I grinned as I wrapped one arm around her back and played with her hair with my other hand. She yawned and stretched sleepily, looked up at me, and smiled.

"Good morning, your majesty." Her eyes closed periodically as she was trying to wake up.

I supported her chin and neck with my hands and kissed her. "The same goes to you."

"I'm not going to be queen, though." She mumbled lazily.

"You're married to me, babe. You'll be crowned queen, too."

Her head fell down onto my chest as she fell back asleep. "Stop lying to me."

I giggled, lifting her up slightly so I could get out of bed. "Sure, don't believe me." I laid her back down on my pillow and kissed her head. "Go back to bed. I'll be back soon." She slipped effortlessly to sleep.

I walked into the closet to change into a skirt, blouse, and flats, fixed my hair slightly, then walked to the Great Hall.

Wilford and Dark were there, waiting for me. They looked up when I entered, and Wilford gave me an exasperated look. "Please tell me you're not wearing that for the coronation."

"I'm not, I promise. It was just something to put on." I sat in a chair. "So what's the plan for the day?"

Dark held up a piece of paper. "In two hours, you and Victoria are going to the parade in town. After that, you come right back so Anti and Elaine can fix the both of you up. Next is the last rehearsal for the coronation, and another two hours later is the real deal. While the party in the ballroom is going on, the both of you will be with us so we can start you on lessons and you can be prepared for tomorrow's meet-and-greet."

I slouched in the chair. "I thought becoming queen meant lessons stopped."

"They will, Emerson." Wilford explained. "You just need a little bit more for at least a year. Don't worry, they won't be daily anymore. More like once a week or so." He eyed me down. "Don't slouch."

I sat up. "Sorry."

Anti burst into the room. "There's been a rumor around the castle!"

Wilford and Dark rolled their eyes, while I stood up. "Really?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Rebecca and Elena are getting married!"

My jaw dropped. I knew they've been together since Rebecca and I called it quits, but... marriage?"

Elena walked in behind him. "Way to spoil the surprise." She looked at me, grinning. "But can you believe it? She actually said 'yes'!"

I smiled back at her. "Congratulations, Elena." I checked the time. "I should probably go wake up Victoria." I walked briskly out of the room, eager to leave the conversation.

I took a deep breath once I found myself alone. I didn't mean to be hard about it, but I couldn't help it- I was somewhat jealous of the two. I knew I shouldn't be, because I found someone else who I love, but... Rebecca was my first girlfriend.

Anti appeared next to me, grinning. "Jealous, huh?" I didn't say anything, just wrapped my arms around myself. His smile fell. "Em, don't fret about it. You found someone better, right?" I nodded. "So why are you jealous? Because you had Rebecca first?" I nodded again. "Listen to me. You may have had her first, but now you have Victoria. Who's better, her or Victoria?"

I smiled. "Victoria."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with it." We reached the bedroom doors, and he gestured for me to open them. "You first, your majesty." I smirked at him and opened the doors.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I didn't see her on the bed, where I left her. "Victoria?" I called out. "Are you here?"

A small and quiet voice came from the bathroom. "In here."

I turned to Anti. "Wait in here." I walked to the bathroom where I saw Victoria, hunched over the toilet, still naked from earlier. "Victoria? Are you okay?"

She spit into the toilet, then sat up. "Yeah. Just a little sick."

I grabbed the bath robe hanging by the door as she stood up, helping her put it on. "Are you sure? It's nothing serious?"

She smiled slightly as I tied the belt in front of her. "If it was serious, I'll tell you about it."

I smiled back. "That's reassuring." My smile slipped. "Anti's waiting for us out there."

She stood still for a moment, then tugged the robe tighter around her chest. "Okay. Let's go." I took one of her hands and led her out of the bathroom.

Anti stated at Victoria for a long moment, then broke into a grin. "Congratulations, you two!" I stared at him, and his smile fell. "Right, I'm the only one who can tell this early on. Never mind then. Go get changed, Victoria. We have to go." Suddenly, there were several loud bangs coming from outside. "What the hell..?"

Victoria squeezed my hand. "Go check it out. I'll be there shortly." I nodded and left the room with Anti.

We sprinted down the hall and outside to the massive crowd around the entrance. Several people were on the ground in front of the palace doors, a few of them not breathing. A man in a mask stood in the middle of everyone. When the man noticed that we were there, he pointed the gun towards me and fired. I held my forearms in front of my face to form an ice shield and deflect the bullet, and Anti used his magic to toss the gun away from him. The police (who had just arrived) jumped on him and put handcuffs around him.

Amanda ran up to us immediately. "Are you two okay?" She asked anxiously, hastily fixing my hair and shirt. "Did you get hit?"

Anti shook his head. "No, we're fine." Amanda looked at him for a brief second, then wrapped her arms around him. "Are you okay?" He whispered into her ear.

She nodded, pulling away. "Yeah. Just... emotional. And jarring. But... Rebecca..."

My eyes widened. "Rebecca? What happened to her?" She pointed to the dispersing crowd, and I could see Rebecca clearly, laying on the ground with her head in Elena's head. Blood was sleeping through her shirt at her side. Elena looked up at me with tears running down her face, and I sprinted towards them.

"She's-" Elena's voice caught in her throat. "She's not going to make it."

"Don't say that." I ordered. I kneeled down next to Rebecca, putting my hands over the would and pressing, trying to stop the blood. "She'll be fine. I know it."

Wilford, Dark, and Victoria appeared next to Anti and Amanda. Victoria saw us and immediately walked over. She gasped at Rebecca's condition. "What... what happened?"

"Mass shooter." I explained. "The police have him now. He shot a lot of people." Suddenly, I heard three more gunshots, all coming from different directions. I immediately shot up. "Victoria, keep putting pressure on her wound." I looked at Wilford and Dark, who both nodded at me. The three of us teleported to the different locations.

"Sir, please stop!" A woman screamed to a man in a similar mask the one before was wearing.

The police around instantly swarmed around me. "Your highness, it's dangerous to be here." One said. "Please, go back to the castle."

"No, please, let me help-" I saw the man turn towards us and shoot. I pushed the officers away and deflected the bullet again, then used my magic to throw his gun to the other side of the street. Some of the officers ran to the man and tackled him, while I kept the others behind. "Find people who can help those who are injured." They nodded and ran off. I heard another gunshot not far off, and my eyes widened. "Wilford and Dark." I teleported to where the shot came from.

The first thing I saw was more officers tackle yet another man in a mask. The next thing I saw was Wilford on the ground, clutching his lower right leg, hissing in pain. I immediately fell to my knees. "Are you okay?!" I screamed.

He nodded. "I will be. I have super healing." He hissed again. "But this might take a while." His eyes went wide. "Oh, God. Where's Dark?"

"I don't know, why-"

Before I could finish, Dark appeared, staring down at us. "Shit." Wilford and I said simultaneously.

Dark looked up at the man in the mask, his eyes blood red and a pair of large, black wings sprouting from his back. He hovered about two feet into the air, and I could hear a loud and obnoxious ringing emitting from him. "You motherfucker, you will fucking pay for what you did to my husband!"

"Dark!" I screamed, getting his attention. "First Wilford, then him!"

The ringing went down slightly, and his wings disappeared. "Right." He picked Wilford up effortlessly and teleported all of us back to the castle, in their room. He laid Wilford down on the bed, then called for Anti.

He appeared next to us. "Jesus, Dark, count to ten and walk with Emerson."

"No." Dark said forcefully. "I'm not leaving-"

"You're losing it, Dark." Anti's focus was on Wilford, as he was rolling his pant leg up to fix the wound. "Wilford will be fine, he won't die." Anti looked at Dark for a brief moment. "Go." Dark stood for a moment, then put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me out of the room. He closed the door behind us.

I grabbed his wrist, dragging him towards the Great Hall. "Come on, let's go." He followed obediently, his feet dragging on the floor. The ringing increasingly became worse, but I didn't say anything about it.

We made it into the Great Hall, and spotted everyone there. Victoria immediately ran up to us. "Are you two okay? Are you hurt? Where's Wilford? Did he get shot?" Dark made fists with his hand, and the ringing became unbearable. Victoria winced as I pulled him towards a chair, forcing him down.

"Calm down, Dark." I said. "Remember What Anti said- he's going to be fine." I gritted my teeth together when the ringing didn't get better. "Elaine, I could really use your help right now."

Elaine appeared immediately. "I heard my name." She looked at Dark and widened her eyes. "Oh, God. What happed to Wilford?"

"He got shot in the leg." I answered. "Anti's in their room, fixing it up."

Elaine kneeled down beside Dark, placing her ha d on top of his. Dark looked at her, focusing on her eyes. "Dark, listen to me. Wilford is fine. He's safe with Anti. He won't leave you. Do you hear me?" Dark nodded weakly. "Five."

"You, the table, the walls, the floor, the paintings." He said quickly.

Elaine nodded. "Four."

He took a quicker breath. "This chair, my clothes, your hand, the air."

Elaine smiled slightly. "Three."

Dark started to relax. "Your breathing, Amanda and (Y/n)'s conversation, Ethan's laugh."

Elaine let go of Dark's hand. "Two."

Dark took a deep breath. "Bread, fresh shampoo."

Elaine grinned. "One."

Dark closed his eyes. "The toothpaste I used this morning."

I poked Elaine's shoulder. "What was that?" I whispered.

"It's called grounding. Dark's supposed to use it whenever he has an anxiety attack like this- it helps him calm down. He name's five things he can see, four he can touch, three he can hear, two he can smell, and one he can taste."

I nodded. "That's helpful."

"Be sure to remember that when it happens again." She looked around. "Seems like I'll be staying for a while."  She looked back at me. "And I don't think you'll be having the coronation today."

Dark shot up, his eyes wide. "The coronation!"

Elaine put her hands on his shoulder, pushing him back down. "Calm down, Dark. It's okay." He nodded slowly, closing his eyes again.

"How do you do that so easily?" I asked.

She smiled. "I've had a lot of practice in the past." She sighed. "Now we play the waiting game."