Tangled Hearts

Rhett had been in a prison cell one other time in his life, the first time he'd surrendered to the crown. He spent two nights in the cold, dark, and damp cell before he agreed to join Alec in the military, and it only took those two days to make Rhett realize that he never wanted to be in there again. He could hear other prisoners shouting at him, some of which felt that he was the reason they were stuck there, but Rhett stayed sitting against the back wall of the cell where no one could see him.

He missed Lara, and he even missed Baby, even if the dog wanted to kill him a little bit. He hadn't even gotten a chance to change his clothes, and he felt like the filthy, sad prisoner everyone seemed like they always expected him to be. Due to the lack of windows in the underground cells, he didn't even know if it was day and night. They got bread scraps that were either too soggy or too dry three times a day, from guards that didn't want to deal with the prisoners. One meal, they got a mystery lump of slop with a foul odor in place of the bread. Rhett thought he'd been sick of the bread, until he saw that.

“Excuse me, kind sir,” he called out to the guard who gave him the slop. “Would this absolutely exquisite meal be breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Also, what is the weather like outside? Is it nice?”

“Shut your mouth before we shut it for you,” the guard snapped.

“Funny,” Rhett chuckled. “I was your commanding officer a few days ago. Alright, then, have a nice day.”

The guard shook his head and continued on his rounds. Rhett sat back down and tasted the slop, wrinkling his nose. It was as disgusting as it looked, if not more. He sighed and pushed it away, lying on his side. The ground was cold and hard, but it was the first time Rhett had slept in days. He wasn't sure how long he was out before he was forced to wake up by a kick in the side.

“Get up and bow before your king, prisoner,” a guard said gruffly.

“Hey, that's not necessary,” said a second voice, which Rhett recognized to be Alec as his eyes adjusted to the two figures.

“No, apparently it is,” Rhett muttered, getting up to his feet and giving Alec a lazy bow. “Good morning, afternoon, or evening, your highness.”

“Afternoon,” Alec hinted.

“Great,” Rhett grinned. “Glad you can join me for lunch. I have slop.”

“Ugh, I remember slop,” Alec said quietly, thinking back to the time right before his execution where he was in prison, too.

“I'll be back in a minute,” the guard said, bowing to Alec. “Feel free to stab him if he attacks.”

Alec gave the guard a weird look as he walked away, then shook his head and looked back at Rhett, arms crossed over his chest. He had an incredibly disappointed look on his face, and Rhett knew exactly where the conversation was going.

“We had a talk like this six years ago,” Rhett pointed out.

“It's not the same,” Alec said flatly. “You're not getting out this time.”

“Pardon?” Rhett frowned.

“I trusted you, Rhett,” Alec sighed. “You took that trust and stomped all over it. They told me not to trust you, but I gave you a chance anyways. And this is how you repay me?”

“I'm sure everyone says this, but I'm innocent,” Rhett said. “Why would I give up my good life for this cell?”

“My question exactly.”

Rhett sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall.

“I didn't do it,” he repeated. “And I'll prove it to you.”

“I don't have the time or energy to save you, this time,” Alec said. “If you're going to prove anything, you're on your own.”

“And if I do manage to do it?”

“You can have your life back,” Alec promised. “No harm, no foul. No more questions asked. For the time being, your position went to Holden. He – quite angrily– declined. The next man up for the job was-”

“Theodore Silva,” Rhett finished. “Silva put me in jail, and then was promoted to my old position. How wonderfully convenient for him.”

“Rhett, please,” Alec sighed. “That's enough.”

“You'll see I'm innocent,” Rhett said, as Alec walked out of the cell and met the guard waiting for him.

“I hope so,” Alec said.

And with that, he was gone, and Rhett’s cell door was locked again. Rhett pursed his lips into a tight line and sat back down on the floor, letting his head hit the stone wall behind him despite how it hurt a bit. He couldn't do much, from his position. All he could do was wait.