𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 | 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒍

delego

Tony lets the guards take him down the rest of the hallway and I watch as he goes, the sentence he told me the only thing on my mind. Prepare for the worst. If Tony Stark says that what could happen could be the worst possibility, what chance do we have of even making it out of here alive?

After Tony walks through the doors, I look over at Peter, who's still standing in the same place he was when talking to Tony. He hangs his head, not resisting in the slightest, yet his guards don't attempt to bring him to the doors. My guards start to drag me toward them but I put my feet down, trying the same technique Tony did just moments before.

"No," I tell them. "I want him to go first."

I realize after speaking that asking the younger boy to go before me probably sounds cowardly, but I have purpose to my request. There must be a reason for why Peter was brought out first but is leaving last. I want to make sure that they don't hurt him any more than they already have, especially since he resisted and yelled so much before Tony came out.

My guards simply ignore my statement with a smirk on their faces, instead using more force to move me to the doors.

"Stop, don't have me go before him!" I pick up my voice, playing into the idea that I'm afraid of what's behind the doors.

I look up to see Peter looking at me in confusion, but when I make eye contact he realizes I have a plan behind my small outbursts.

"Let me go first, it'll calm her down," he says softly, but his guards don't budge.

"Why won't you just let him go before me?" I ask, my voice getting louder each word. Please, just let him go first.

"We have direct orders, Miss, and we do not disobey direct orders," the guard on my left finally responds, his voice low and smoother than I expected for someone who spends his days wrestling with hostages. Or, at least, this day.

"What's so bad about letting him go first? All I want is for him to go first!"

"Just let me go, it'll shut her up," Peter says, his voice carrying what I know to be a fake annoyed tone, but is extremely believable. "Trust me, she won't stop whining 'til she gets her way."

The guards around me shift as I try to kick out and whip my head around. I yell out one more time as the doors get closer, the guards only having about five feet left to drag me until Peter is out of my eye sight.

"Please, don't make me go first!" I emphasize each word, my legs still thrashing about as my guards finally come to a stop in front of the doors. I expect them to open them and lead me through, but instead the guards keep them closed and look to each other, as if they're communicating telepathically. The one to my left nods his head, then looks to me.

"You're not going to shut up unless we let him go first, are you?" I quickly shake my head side to side, letting my eyes widen a little in faked fear. My left guard sighs, then pulls me to the side. "Get him over here quick. If word gets to Ardyn that I allowed this, I'm not going to be happy."

My right guard and both guards holding Peter nod their heads in understanding as Peter starts to make his way toward me. I come to the assumption that the guard on my left arm must be the supervisor for the group of guards in front of me, and that by letting Peter go first he could be putting himself in some danger. I begin to wonder why someone who works with the group that kidnapped me is putting either his position or himself in danger, but quickly brush the thought aside for the moment as I watch Peter come up to the door. He looks over to me and, for the first time since Tony left, whispers.

"Good luck."

The sentence is short but his face says what he can't in front of the guards. "Thank you for sticking with me and for finding a way to help," his eyes say, no longer holding tears but still containing a hurting and sorrowful look I'll never be able to erase from memory. As he looks away, I catch a glimpse of regret appear in his expression, and I wish I could do something to assure him that he did nothing wrong. But with a guard at both of my arms and the same for him, the only thing I can do is respond.