Underground

IV

"That was incredible!"

You had just performed the hardest solo of your entire career. Throughout rehearsals, you had sobbed and cried that the vocals were too much, that you'd strain your voice. The directors had insisted that they wanted you and nobody else, that you were the very embodiment of the character.

And now, you had successfully outperformed yourself. It was closing night, and you were beginning to mourn the end. You felt teary and emotional; you greeted friends and members of the audience an hour or so after the musical had ended, exhaustion sweeping through you from the numerous late nights you had endured to perfect yourself.

"Thank you, Harry," you said with a loving smile. He wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you close. You leaned your head into shoulder, casting an adoring gaze up at him. "What was your favourite part?"

Harry looked away, his eyes locking onto something at the back of the room. His lips twitched, and you were so tired that you hadn't even registered that he wasn't looking at you. Rather, at someone else.

"I couldn't say, it was all magical," he replied breathlessly.

You should have known from that moment.

You used to think back to that moment with fondness, considering you had completed one of the toughest shows of your career. It was a year that made you feel undefeated. But, directly under your nose, directly behind your back, Harry had already begun his journey of a cheat.

You shook your head softly, ridding those thoughts from your mind. You scolded yourself. You couldn't keep reflecting on what Harry had done—you needed to focus on saving him. You needed to continue onwards towards the castle.

The unicorn and the Goblin King had vanished. You were disappointed at being left alone again, being such a social butterfly pinning against you. However, you tried to not take it to heart, and instead fuelled yourself by drinking some water and continuing onwards. You could see the Goblin City just up ahead, and the castle loomed with grandeur beyond it. The sight and closeness encouraged you to push forwards, to ignore your aching feet and exhausted, weary bones.

I'm coming, Harry, you thought, trying to push away the bitterness that brewed within. What would happen once you did rescue him? He might see this rescue as you forgiving him, which you most certainly did not. You just didn't want to leave him in such a place, stripped from his life like this. Cheating on you was a horrible thing to do—if he was unhappy, you wished he'd have just told you instead of stringing you along, giving you the false sense that everything was perfectly fine.

You wanted to abandon him on your own terms. You wanted him to know and realise that he'd lost something so incredibly precious. Harry would never be able to win you back, he'd lost you the moment he looked at another woman in interest. You couldn't ever forgive him for it. You never would.

You approached two unsuspecting doors. Both beheld two knockers, each grumpy and frowning; one had the knocker looped through its ears, and the other had it hanging from its mouth. You hummed in thought, considering both doors carefully. Neither had any indications as to where they would lead, as to whether or not danger lurked behind them. You rubbed your healed arm for comfort, mind thinking back to the Goblin King and his advice.

He didn't have to tell you that the water had healing properties. He could have just mocked you and left, but instead he engaged in a conversation that left you feeling... conflicted. Maybe that was his goal, to throw you off your firm emotions to make you reconsider saving Harry. By being nice, it made out that whisking Harry away was a good thing. While it served as a lesson for Harry, you didn't agree with kidnapping people at all.