She turned and raced out of the ballroom, heading back for the lobby so she could talk to the guards. Maybe Lexa and Conrad had simply bailed. Perhaps one of the guards would remember them leaving.
Please don't let her be hurt, Ariana thought as she raced along in her heels, holding up her skirt at both sides. If she is, it's all my fault. I was supposed to protect my friends.
It was a lesson she had learned back at Billings. A lesson that had been drilled into her time and again. And here at APH, it was even more vital than ever. Because Ariana was the one who had brought Kaitlynn here. Ariana should have been more diligent. She should have figured out a better way to shield them from Kaitlynn's twisted nature. If Lexa was dead, Ariana was to blame.
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"Excuse me!" Ariana shouted, racing up to the first guard she saw. "Have you seen a girl... a bit taller than me . . . dark hair in a green dress? She was with an African--American guy. . . ."
"Omigod! Ana!"
Ariana whirled around at the sound of Lexa's voice. Her lungs filled with relief. She was there. Right there. Running toward Ariana at full tilt with tears streaming down her face.
Tears.
Just like that, the relief was gone.
"Lexa! What is it!?" Ariana said turning as her friend barreled into her. Conrad brought up the rear, his face slack, his eyes wide with fright.
"I... I... I can't. . . !" Lexa choked, barely able to breathe.
"What!?"
Lexa collapsed forward and Ariana was unable to hold her full weight. She sank to the floor on her knees, the skirt of her dress ballooning around her. Ariana stepped around her and numbly staggered toward the doors through which Lexa and Conrad had come.
What did Kaitlynn do? What's happening? Ariana thought as she stepped through the doors to the tapestry room. Her gaze instantly focused on the heap of purple lying at the foot of the grand staircase. On the silver high--heeled shoe lying several feet away. On the tangle of blond hair.
"Oh my God," Ariana gasped, bending over at the waist. Suddenl
y there was no air, like the tapestries were suffocating the room and Ariana along with it. "Brigit."
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The princess's eyes were closed, like she was sleeping peacefully. She could have been. If not for the odd, unnatural angle of her neck.
A single tear spilled down Ariana cheek. "Brigit, I'm so ... so sorry."
Just then, the guards rushed through on either side of Ariana, whipping guns from holsters and holding walkie--talkies to their mouths. As a few of them crouched to the floor around Brigit's lifeless form, Ariana was quickly ushered out by a pair of firm hands--ushered back to the lobby where Lexa and Conrad now sat on a pair of chairs, being grilled by still more guards.
"At the bottom of the stairs," Lexa was saying as Ariana slowly approached. "I think she fell. . . . She must've tripped or . . ." Her eyes suddenly widened and she looked up at Ariana, past the square shoulder of one of the guards. "Why did we make her wear those stupid heels?"
Ariana swallowed against her dry throat, her heart breaking. It's not your fault, lexa. It's not your fault.
Soon, a crowd started to form in the lobby. The news traveled quickly and the Norwegian ambassador was brought forth. She was ushered through the double doors and disappeared. Her shriek of despair was soon heard throughout the embassy.
"You found the princess?" a tall man in a suit asked Lexa, stepping next to the guards.
Conrad stood up. "We both did."
"You'll have to come with me," the man said.
Lexa stood up shakily. Ariana gave her a quick hug as she and
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Conrad trailed after the man. Then Ariana was left standing there, alone and cold, wishing she could turn back time. Wishing she had spent every moment of the evening with Brigit. Wishing she could, at the very least, apologize. Say good--bye.
Why did it have to be her? The sweetest of the sweet? The most innocent of them all? She had been the most thoughtful, the most loyal among them.