"DAD. I'M FINE. I'm not the one you have to worry about," I tell my father as I slowly get out of the bed. "I'm not the one bleeding to death."

"You're my son, I have to worry about you," He said in response. "Now get back in that bed."

I look down at my legs, that were only half covered with my shorts on. Beneath them was a bandage wrapped around my left thigh. Fresh from after the removal of the bullet.

"I can walk fine," I said, even as I limped towards the door. "I can heal myself, Dad. I don't really need the bandage. Or the stitches."

"Aidan-"

With one hand on the bare wall, I leaned back into the extra chair in the hospital room. Kicking my feet onto the footrest, I started undoing the bandage. One strand after another.

The bullet went deep into my leg, nearly hitting the bone. It actually came to a shock when I found out it didn't; the impact of it really was strong. Blood still dripped lightly from the wound, but most was blocked by the stitches. Surrounding them, I was already able to see that some of my skin was growing back.

"See Dad." I motioned him to some forward. "I heal quicker than the average human. I'm fine. You should know that."

"Heal the rest of it, then go... where are you going?" Dad asked.

My fingers were wrapped around the string holding my skin together, slowly pulling each one away. "To check on Alyssa. She didn't look to good when I last saw her." Unconscious and cold, with a bullet wound in her chest. "Still can't believe she did that," I muttered to myself.

"She'll be okay, I'm sure," Dad assured. Of course he'd say that, he wouldn't want to lower my hopes. Alyssa lost a lot of blood; too much for a regular person. She wasn't dragged into the whole Evolutians mess, but she'd be more likely to survive if she was like me or Lauren.

Or, maybe not Lauren. I didn't need another evil girl in my life.

I looked down at my leg, which had all of the stitches removed. The skin affected healed, only leaving a thin line that patched my skin together. It probably wasn't going to leave any time soon, like the scars on my shoulder.

I got up and started heading out the door, stopping before I exited the doorway. "Do you want to come? I'm sure Aunt Grace would need someone to comfort her right now."

Just as I finished the sentence, the sound of sobs filled the hallway outside. It seemed to be bouncing off the walls, echoing into other rooms. The other patients in this wing of the hospital probably didn't enjoy it. I was pretty sure I knew who it was, and I was probably right about her needing Dad right now.

Aunt Grace came stumbling into the room, her face wet with tears. She ran straight into Dad's arms, crying into his shoulder. I could already see the wet spot from her tears on his navy sweater.

"Grace... Grace, what's wrong?"

"Is Alyssa okay?" I asked.

"How do you define "okay"?" She asked between sniffles.

I bit my lip. "Not... dead..."

She pulled away from my father, wiping the tears away with the end of her sleeve. "For now, she's better than she was before. They don't think she's going to make it, though. She lost so much blood."

I gulped. I saw how much blood she lost when she was at the Institute. She could only lose more since then, right? Guilt settled in my stomach. I could've done something to help her, instead I just stood and watched the entire thing. Heck, even if I took that bullet instead of her, I'd probably have a chance of surviving. Slim, but probably greater than Alyssa.

"Can I go check on her?" I asked quietly. She gave a quick nod, then sunk into Dad's arms once again. I quickly exited the room.

"How could he do this?" I heard Aunt Grace sob just as I left. "How could he do this to his own blood?"

That was something that I wondered myself. Why would he or Lauren want to hurt her.

I walked through the halls of the hospital in silence, my footsteps providing the only sound from me. Contrary to that, the hospital was buzzing. Doctors and nurses went back a forth, talking in low voices and carts wheeled pass. I could faintly hear the clatter of hospital tools in each room.

I pushed my way through the doors that led into the room where Alyssa was. It felt more emptier in here. More lonely. More like someone was dying between these walls. The lights in the hall were dimmed and barely anyone was here.

In the distance, I saw a room with it's door open, lights on, with two heads poking in the doorway.

One of them, or both, must've heard the door shut behind me. Both heads turned around.

"Aidan, there you are." The girl whispered. I still wasn't able to make out her face. "Are you okay? We thought you'd be here since you got here."

"What happened with your leg?" The boy asked. I knew that voice though; Tyson. I wanted to think that the girl was Alyssa, since the two are always together, as far as I saw. But no, it couldn't be. It was probably Jessica.

"I'm fine. Really," I said firmly, then realised I was somewhat limping. "I would've been here earlier. What's going on?"

"We aren't exactly allowed inside the room," Jessica said in a low voice. "Family only. She's behind a few curtains, but the heart monitor sounds pretty slow." She paused, allowing me to hear closely. It did sound slower than a normal resting heartbeat. "Tyson would've used the whole "I'm the Pri-"" He nudged her in the chest, keeping her quiet about that. "But no one knows that here. At least, I don't think."

"I'm pretty sure I can go in there anyway. Technically, I'm her foster brother."

"I'll go in. Is anyone in there?" I asked.

"Aidan, is that you?" A voice came from inside the room. It wasn't Alyssa; the person,  a woman, sounded much older.

I peered into the room. Kassandra's mom was in there, in her doctor's coat and stethoscope. She kept on glancing back behind a few curtains - probably where Alyssa was. Dr. Parker gestured for me to come in.

"How are you doing?" She asked me.

Geez, I get why Lauren hated being asked that question. "I'm fine. I heal quickly. How is she...?"

"Well..." She hesitated, rubbing her hands. "I want to say she'll be fine but... I told her mom that she'll be okay, but I highly doubt it. I would've let the other two in, but I didn't want to let them she her in her condition..."

I walked behind the curtains, where Alyssa was barely surviving. Her eyes were closed. She was unconscious, probably for the better. The thin hospital blanket was wrapped around her waste. She was dressed in a hospital gown, something she swore she'd never wear. Not ever in her lifetime. Blood was quickly seeping through it.

"The stitches aren't holding, we had to restitch her at least three times," the doctor explained.

Tubes were attached to her arms, as well was the heart monitor. She didn't look too good.

"I can't believe this," I muttered under my breath. "I just can't."

I walked over to her bedside, getting a closer look. A mask was placed on her face and I could hear her slowly breathing.

I leaned over, closer to her. "Hang in there, cous," I whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead. I couldn't stay in here much longer, it just hurt looking at her.

"It was nice seeing you again, Dr. Parker," I said, heading out the door.

"Take care," She said softly as I exited the room.

"That was quick," Tyson said once I stepped outside. "How'd she look?"

I couldn't speak. I didn't want to say how hurt she was. How weak she looked. Guilt just flooded through every inch of me.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I said in a low voice. My knees felt weak, and Jessica and Tyson grabbed a hold of each side of me. 

"I get it, Aidan," Tyson said. "She's a good friend and was a great sister for the time we were living under the same roof."

"She can't go..."

"It's not easy to lose someone you love. At least she's not gone yet," Jessica said.

"You guys are cheerful."

"We just know what you're going through," Tyson said.

It remained silent after that.

- - -

"What do you feel like doing? Movie? Video games? Pizza?"

I lied down on Tyson's bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Nothing," I said in response to his question.

Can I just say that his room was huge. Like, huge. His walls were painted royal blue and gold, and he had not one, but two "floors" here. His four poster bed was positioned by the window, the TV across from it. One entire wall was plastered with awards he won at school, plus those of kings and royals before him. The upper floor had shelves full of book, movies and video games, along with several couches. Still, the scene wasn't able to lighten up my mood.

I could feel Jessica and Tyson's eyes - as well as Taylor's, who ended up joining us once we arrived, on me. I didn't have to look up to know that they were worried.

"Just turn on the news, or something," I said, turning to my side.

"Sounds boring and like what Dad would do but whatever," I heard Tyson say as he grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. I didn't really care much to what was being said. and I'm pretty sure the others knew too, for they kept the volume low and talked among themselves.

I didn't care to listen to that either.

It was when Tyson shook me and pointed that the screen that I started to pay attention.

"... Peter Johnson, 49, who was a funeral director claimed that he saw two teenage boys and a teenage girl with supernatural abilities," The news reporter spoke. 

No. No no no, this can't be happening right now.

"It started off as a normal ceremony for the late Cole Mason Garcia, the high school student from Silver Oak Collegiate, who was shot to death at his school formal. The ceremony took place late in the evening of the thirtieth of June at Immortal Fires Memorial, when a girl, who seemed to be perfectly normal, walked towards the sight. Mr. Johnson figured that the girl was simply curious, and was ready to tell her it wasn't ideal for her to be there at that point of time.

"To his shock, it seemed that the guests at the funeral knew her already. And they weren't too pleased."

The image shifted from the reporters to a clip of the old man speaking. "And then she disappeared. Like that. She didn't run, just vanished to dust." It was crazy how many mics were surrounding that man and how so many people didn't think he was crazy.

The reporter came back on screen. "However, Mr. Johnson claimed that was not all that he saw. The small group of people then went running towards the exit of the cemetery, looking for the girl. Moment later, a thick force field was placed around the group, the two boys disabling it with flames to get them out."

"It was right in front of me. The two boys, at least," Mr. Johnson spoke once again. "Sparks came from their fingertips. And one of the boys - blond hair, blue eyes - he looked exactly like her. The Queen. The late Queen Lillian."

I turned to Tyson, reading his face. He clearly didn't hear anyone else speak his mother's name for a long time, and by the tone of the man's voice, it didn't seem like he liked her very much. The public knew about how the queen had powers, and I could see why some may not be happy with her becoming queen.

He continued. "The couple said that they were expecting twins. Then one of them didn't make it. I'm telling you, the boy is royalty. The palace is keeping things from us."

"When asked about the teenagers, students of Silver Oak identified the so-called "prince" as Tyson William Miller, the foster son of CEO Auston Miller; his partner being Aidan Derek Davis, a close friend," The reporters continued.

Tyson gulped. He spent years, years, trying to keep everything from the public. His parents didn't want him to end up having a horrid childhood. A horrid life. And this is how it came crashing down.

I didn't know how this would effect me. There would definitely be a bunch of questions, possibly about where I actually was for six years. I don't think I'd get used to everyone knowing I'm... different.

"The girl, students say, is most likely to be Lauren Elizabeth Jessica Olsen, a fellow student who seemed the hang around those two boys very often, and who also disappeared shortly after the shooting at the dance. Students say she had a close relationship with the shooting victim.

"Although most of the story seems unbelievable, judging by the royal family's past, it is likely for them to be keeping major things from the public. His Majesty King Jacin has been called upon for questioning from the people. More information on this story to come."

The news went to advertisement and Jessica turned it off. Tyson and I barely moved an inch from hearing the report, our jaws hanging wide open.

"Guys..." Jessica waved her hand in front of our eyes. "Guys, snap out of it."

It wasn't her voice, but the vibration from my pocket that got me moving. I held the device close to my ear, not bothering to check who it was. My voice cracked as I answered. "H-hello?"

"Son... son, I'm so sorry..." Dad's voice was on the other end, but it was barely audible with the sobs in the background. His voice, too, was shaky. "I knew you were so close. I knew you too were like brother and sister... I can't... I'm so sorry... she didn't make it..."

Alyssa.

Time seemed to slow down. Tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

"No..." Was all I could manage.

"What?" Tyson asked.

My phone vibrated again, this time with a text message.

The second casualty of war is innocent. So was the first.

It was from Lauren.