make me remember.

eleven

despite being one of the persons she used to spend the most time with, barlas doesn't display an ounce of emotion as he speaks.
"the rebels broke into the eastern quarters. it seems that she was their main target. they have retreated but we can't confirm that they have left until we've had everything searched."
"barlas." graham's voice comes out so pained, i feel it strike inside of me as well. "maire is dead?" he stumbles on the few words, lost in his own thoughts as barlas' words seem to spiral within him. his eyes are solely focused on barlas as if does he hope he'll change his mind.
"unfortunately, yes. currently, our concern is to ensure no more casualties." barlas replies sternly. "we're wasting minutes. now, in these events, protocols have been set into place to ensure that chaos doesn't ensue. from what has been set in, there is already another royal to be set into immediate reign."
my eyes feel so wide they might roll out of my head. "she chose someone to reign in an emergency," i mumble to myself, the absurdity of this entire situation beginning to set in.
"actually, it seems to me that she did the exact opposite." barlas says. "having him stripped of all his royal titles should have ensured that king north would never reign again, but since they never got officially divorced, he is entitled to the title in relation to the queen's sudden death. a loophole,"

at this, the men all pull the same move, now aiming up towards the ceiling. my heart drops as i realise what they've actually done.
they've all moved to face the chairs in the middle, one of them occupied by north. the change in stance is their way of acknowledging him, telling him they're waiting for his instruction.
and to all horror, he looks up with wide eyes that soon settle down and he nods in our direction. soon, every gun in the room, except barlas, is pointed on all of us standing our ground.
"untie me," he speaks, his voice hoarse but harsh enough to lay out the order sternly.
"no." i speak up, finally finding my words. "this can't..." i struggle to think, to breathe even. "barlas!" i attempt but the general simply shakes his head, telling me he has no power over this outcome.
"leave her, the rest comes with me."
north has completely ignored our presence since the guards turned to him, obeying his orders. instead, he's focused on the persons he arrived with, disregarding ilium and having the rest untied. harvey, wesley and maeve all gather behind him.
"took them long enough," maeve says to no one in particular it seems as she rubs her wrists. "if this bruises-"
"did we have to involve her?" harvey says, talking directly to the two others besides maeve.
maeve scoffs but says nothing back, continuing to tend to her wrists where the ropes were tied tightly before.
"she wasn't late," i whisper. "she was dead."
before i realise it, i'm being dragged back, pushed into one of the chairs by two of the soldiers. previously, i would have trusted these men with my life, but i now i seemed to realise that these men had been trained their whole life to fight. they followed orders, loyal to the names written down in a contract.
my wrists are tied together but this time, to the chair as well, on one side. next to me, atlas is struggling against the two attempting to cuff him, pushing himself up. he puts up a good fight but ultimately, five of them leave him restrained and return to their posts.
"your majesty," barlas bites on the title as he speaks up. he clearly struggles with the words but he forces them out. "how do you want us to handle the situation? we need your orders to proceed,"
at this, north chuckles. that jackass actually finds it appropriate to chuckle. i twist in my seat, wanting to strangle him then and there. this is all wrong, and despite being absolutely powerless in this situation, i can't help but feel like we aren't doing enough to stop all of this.
"barlas!" i yell. "you can't do this,"
"he isn't doing anything, bexley." atlas speaks next to me. "he is following orders that were created before any of us were even alive." he turns to face me, as much as possible, at least. "actually, what he is doing is keeping us alive."
"no, no, this is all wrong. we can't let him-"

"i want eight men to remain here, ensuring that they won't cause any trouble and the rest is to follow us, ensuring we get to the top quarters unharmed." north speaks over us, not even listening in on our words.
barlas nods, instructing his men. "yes, your majesty."