Queen of Hearts

Sixteen

Alyson could feel her heartbeat in her throat as her head pounded with it. With each passing second, she panicked more and more. The world was out of focus around them, a constantly moving and morphing colorful blur. They were frozen still, Alyson waiting for James as he decided what to do. She kept her feet rooted to the floor to resist her natural urge to rush into the situation unafraid and curious. She tried, but could not imagine herself in her companion's shoes. What would it be like if Lizzie or Silver had betrayed her like that? It was an unfathomable thought, and Alyson hadn't been in the mood for impossible in a long, long time.

"Stay calm," James whispered. Alyson had assumed he was talking to her, but upon giving it more thought, she was questioning her assumption.

She had followed James and he was standing now, and she was closer to him, though she couldn't recall how she'd gotten to be there. He was right there, and she could hear her heart pounding everywhere and loudly and the desire to grab his hand and hold tight was relentless in her crowded mind. She could not remember when this feeling had come to her either.

Though it was hard to push aside the thoughts of the past few minutes, Alyson begged her mind to become blank. She needed her clear conscious back. That's how she would be the best fighter.

She took a deep breath and took everything in again.

Jeb had noticed her first. Maybe it was the obscure sound of her fork hitting the table in surprise, or his name whispered in her direction the moment before. He scrutinized her for a moment, but before he could deem her a threat or harmless, he noticed who she was sitting with.

Jeb and James were best friends, but Alyson wasn't sure whether or not James had seen Jeb since he'd joined Courtly's side at the start of the fight. It was unlikely.

It was at least a year since Alyson had last seen Jeb. He wasn't as clean cut as Alyson remembered, but he had grown even since ruling the halls of Wonderland High. If her memory served her right, she always saw Jeb Wocky with an approachable, genuine smile. Today, there was no smile.

Jeb turned to them.

She didn't want to admit to herself that she was scared, but Alyson's heart rate and sudden lack of confidence convinced her otherwise. She wasn't afraid of Jeb, and she wasn't afraid of Courtly, but this kind of meeting was not something she could've prepared herself for. She accounted a list of places she could get a swift hit in, nothing serious but with the potential to do enough damage to give she and James a reasonable stretch of time to escape, just in case he got too close. A kick to the stomach would do.

"James," Jeb said, staring at his old best friend, as in disbelief. He took a step forward.

Alyson instinctively felt for the knife hilt at her side. She clutched it and balled her other fist to keep her shaking hands from visibility.

James did not look into Jeb's eyes right away. Studying him, Alyson noticed his uneven breath and the tension in his muscles as he forced his chin up. She knew she and James worked in the same ways- he would never allow signs of weakness to show to the enemy, even if that enemy was once someone he trusted more than anyone else.

An empathetic ache rooted in her stomach, branching into her chest and her throat and distracting her from the intensity of the moment.

"Jeb," James finally said.

Jeb's eyes flicked to Alyson briefly before returning to James, who then stepped in front of her. Normally, Alyson would insist that she could protect herself. While it wasn't new for James to support or protect Alyson in a fight, she could tell there was something different about this time than any time before. It wasn't just for the sake of the team or neighborly chivalry. There was unaccustomed emotion behind every small action. James needed to protect her, so she would let him just this once.