The In Between

After a minute or two, the limo door opened, and Katherine felt the seat she was on compress as someone sat next to her.

At that point, she had been crying too much to stop, and all of the sadness she felt prevented her from caring who saw her in the state she was in.

She felt the vehicle start to move, and an arm went around her shoulder to hold her while she continued to sob.

"I'm so sorry, Katie," Jasper said as they made their way back to the castle.

Now knowing it was the man she loved who was next to her, she leaned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his torso so that she could hold onto him. He wrapped his other arm around her and leaned his head down onto hers.

As the limo made its way back, she slowly stopped crying and was able to compose herself, mostly because of Jasper's calming presence.

"Do you think they will give me some time to freshen up before I have to announce to all of Titanus about my parents and my coronation?" she asked him as they reached the castle.

"You're the Queen remember? Everything happens when you want it to; so if you are not ready, the Kingdom and the people of Helios can wait," Jasper responded with confidence.

When the limo stopped, he gave her a look that asked if she was ready to get out and have eyes be on her again. Katherine took a deep breath and answered with a simple nod.

Jasper wiped the tears that were still on her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he opened the limo door and held it open for her to exit.

As they walked across the path to get inside, Katherine saw Charles' car pull up to the castle. She knew that she should probably thank him for being there for her today, but in all honesty, she just wanted to be with Jasper for a little bit before she announced to her people just how much life was about to change for all of them.

Jasper stayed next to her as they walked, but neither of them touched each other since so many eyes were on them. Although the people of Helios and Titanus as a Kingdom did not know yet about Katherine and her parents, everyone in the castle obviously knew what had transpired a few days ago.

In fact, Eric had informed Katherine at her first meeting as Queen that everyone who survived that day was forced to sign an extra non-disclosure agreement after the attack.

The people in the castle already had gone through extensive background checks before they were even allowed anywhere near the royal family, and they of course had to sign non-disclosures, but after the rebel attack, extra precautions were put in place.

Eric told Katherine the punishment for releasing information about the death of the King, kidnapping of the Queen, or the attack itself was life imprisonment in the dungeons. Katherine knew everyone would take it seriously because anyone who worked at the castle knew that a life in the dungeons was a fate worse than death.

When they made it to Katherine's room, they were greeted by Mark, who not only was one of the guards who had taken her to safety the day of the attack, but who was now the one in charge of guarding her room at all times.

He was someone Katherine and Jasper both knew could be trusted with her life and her safety.

"The room is clear," he said before Katherine dismissed him so that Jasper could join her inside her room without being seen.

Once they were both inside and hidden behind her closed bedroom door, Jasper spoke first. "Tell me what you need, Katie."

"A shot of whiskey would be nice," she said in a serious tone.

"Coming right up," he said as he walked over to the bar cart in the corner of her room. He poured a shot for each of them and came back to her to hand her one.

"Bottoms up," she said right before they both downed the alcohol in one swift gulp. She winced as the alcohol slid down her throat and burned her insides.

"Have you decided if you want to do the announcement and coronation today? I think you should so that you can check everything off and we can focus on finding your mom, but obviously it is understandable if you are spent for the day."

"I think my motto for the day has been 'let's just get this over with', so I might as well keep going with it," she responded with a sad chuckle. She looked down at the floor, trying not to become too overwhelmed with her emotions again, and asked Jasper, "Can you just hold me for a little bit before I have to officially become the Queen? I'm scared."

Katherine was not one to ever admit to having a weakness, but Jasper was her safe person and she trusted him with her insecurities.

He sat down on the edge of her bed and held out his arms for her. She walked over and sat with her legs draped across his lap as she snuggled her face into his chest while their arms wrapped around each other.

She thought about earlier in the limo when Charles had held her and dismissed Jasper. The heartbreak on his face had filled Katherine with guilt.

"I'm sorry about earlier when Charles came into the limo. I would have stopped him if I had realized what was happening. I was in too much of a panic I think, and by the time I understood what was happening, you already were gone," she said into his chest.

Jasper stiffened slightly and was quiet for a while. It made Katherine's heart beat faster in anticipation of what he might say to her.

"As much as I hated that he was the one who was holding you and not me, at least it gave me hope that he will take care of you when you two get married," Jasper finally said in an expressionless voice.

Katherine pulled away slightly so she could look up at him. His blonde hair was getting long enough where it was starting to hang close to covering his eyes.

He looked down at her, and she could tell that he was trying to hide his true feelings, which is something they never did with each other. His words may have been truthful, but there was more that he was not saying.

"I don't know what to say to that," she whispered, her voice full of concern.

Jasper placed a hand on the back of her head and brought it forward so that he could kiss her forehead. "Sometimes, it is best to just not say anything," he replied in a sigh.

Determined to stick to the promise she made herself of no longer fighting with Jasper during the potentially little time they had left, instead of saying anything else about it, she got up off of his lap and went to the door.

She reached the door and once her hand was on the handle she turned back towards Jasper and said, "Time to go be a Queen."