Royally Flushed

Interrogations

~Malia~

The holding room where Daniel was handcuffed to the table in front of him reminded me of police questioning rooms on crime tv shows that I used to watch with my mom, and for a moment it brought me back to sitting on the couch in the living room with Robert just casually hanging out, before he had turned into a raging alcoholic monster. 

Daniel's bruised lip and swollen black eye brought my attention back to his face and I felt a twinge of guilt and despair when I remembered what Louis had done to him, a self proclaimed attempt at protecting me when all he was really doing was adding insult to injury. 

I tentatively approached the stainless steel table that was the focal point in the small room and noticed as his eyes finally flicked up from their resting place on his hands and latched onto mine, an action that almost stole my breath away. 

He'd been crying, something the old Daniel had never dared to do in front of me. The red tint to the white of his eyes an afterthought, I almost rushed forward to place my arms around him and offer him some comfort-something he obviously hadn't had since being deployed on his assignment in the military all of those years ago. 

But then I refrained, remembering the way he'd held me in that room with no escape, forcing me to resort to calling for help and trying to physically hurt him to finally get away. 

I steeled my eyes and shut my emotions away, realizing that I would have to detach myself from my feelings for him in order to get through this unscathed. 

"So they said you'd only talk to me..." I started, keenly aware of the two-way mirror behind me that allowed Louis and Gordon and whoever else wanted to watch a front row seat to our conversation. 

He sniffed a bit and then rubbed his nose on his shoulder, his hands making the chains on his handcuffs rattle and the echo seemed a lot louder to my ears than it probably was. 

A surge of pity crowded the other emotions out of my heart and I almost left to get him some tissues and water, but I needed to continue, I wasn't even more than one question in yet. 

"Yeah.  I figured you'd be a little less hostile.  I'm sorry for what happened at the school, I just lost it I guess.  I can't keep doing what they tell me to at the drop of a hat."

I took a few steps forward and rested my hands on the back of the chair facing him. 

"You can't keep doing what who tells you to do?  You never specified just exactly who 'they' were."

His eyes went down to his hands again and a tension ran through his body that hadn't been there before.

"The King's Horses.  You have to know what they're up to...its Robert.  He's here for you."

All of the air left my lungs and black spot dotted my vision.  My grip on the back of the chair tightened and I could feel the lightheadedness taking over.  It was not only my biggest fear, but something that I knew was inevitable.  After that night, I knew he was capable of anything. 

I grew the courage to continue speaking, although I didn't know where that courage had come from. 

"How do you know he's here?"

Daniel leaned forward in his chair and I could see the frustration brewing in his hazel eyes. 

"I saw him with my own eyes, Malia.  Sitting with the leader."

My own eyes widened in surprise at his words.  I knew Robert would have found a way to come for me, but this was just too much. 

"Okay, why don't we just start from the beginning so I don't just keep asking a bunch of random follow up questions.  You were recruited by an organization so secret they wouldn't even let you know their name for a year and a half, right?"