Interlude [h.s]

fifty-nine

The gun slips from her hand and falls to the ground.

"Seize her," the voice says.

Hands grab Alouette's arms and slam her against the wall. Her shoulder is throbbing as cold metal is clasped around her wrists. The fear, though, is so overpowering that she barely notices. It's too soon. This shouldn't be happening, not right here, not right now.

There's the tap of boots on the floor, and a red-haired man steps in front of her.

Jayden.

The man before her, though, doesn't look like the Jayden she knows at all. Her Jayden is fun, playful, always tries to make everyone feel happy and at ease. Now, though, he's looking at her as if she was an enemy found between his lines. Like she's dirt, like she committed a terrible crime—and, in a way, she has. She's betrayed the Palace and kidnapped its ruler, she's lied to everyone, she's hurt others. Yet, nothing hurts as much as the glare Jayden sends her way.

Someone comes up behind her and picks up her gun. Just like that, the only weapon she had to keep herself safe is gone. If she wasn't so shocked, she'd laugh at the absurdity of it all. Just yesterday she had everything, now she's lost it all in less than an hour. She wonders if this is how Harry felt when she took him away with her. She wishes she hadn't dismissed him so quickly, now.

As the initial shock fades away, she becomes more aware of her surroundings. Her shoulder is burning, hands are gripping her arms so tightly she has no doubt they'll leave marks. This is how it should've always been, she realizes. Her, an enemy, a revolutionary, seized by the President's personal guard. It's only because of an odd turn of events that she ended up sitting at their table and laughing with them for months. Now, the order is re-established.

Harry steps into the corridor, coming from the living room. He's dressed in all black, as if he was expecting that unplanned visit. He doesn't miss a beat when he sees his guards, but they gasp. One rushes to him, but he takes a step back, a silent warning for anyone who's planning on becoming too expansive that he has no intention to be touched.

"Harry!" Alouette exclaims. She doesn't know what she expects from him, but her shoulders drop at his next action.

He looks into her eyes, but just for a moment. He can't or doesn't want to withstand her gaze, because he glances away right after.

Betrayal isn't the right word to identify the cluster of emotions that washes over her. Harry has never played her, she's known where his morals and loyalties lie since the start. Yet, it stings. It pierces her heart and burns a path up her throat, and she has to clench her teeth not to shout at him.

This isn't right. He's kissed her, he's helped her, he's held her in his arms and called her sweet nicknames. He shouldn't be allowed to do this, not after everything they've been through together. But this is where she's going wrong. She's let herself be blinded by his oddly kind yet random actions, be blown away by him acting as if she was his equal, and it made her forget who he truly is.

She should've never let her guard down.

He's enjoying this, a voice says in her head. Is it payback for everything she's done to him?

Her eyes search for his, but he turns away from her. She stares at his back as he walks into the living room again with Jayden in tow, leaving her alone with the other two guards.

"Move," one of the guards hisses in her ear, but she isn't sure she knows how to send the message to her legs. She has no doubts she'd fall if they let her go now.

They shove her into her father's bedroom. She loses her footing and falls face-first on the bed. The door is shut behind her, and she's left alone as she scrambles to sit up. The metal of the handcuffs is still cold against her wrists, it folds her arms at an odd angle.