scavenger.

27 - the banquet (2)

Silence washed over the room.

After a moment frozen in shock, Anri quickly grabbed him by the arms and pulled him up. It took all her strength.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him between her teeth, her nails digging into his coat.

Jace made no reply. He merely leaned into her hold, his head dipping next to hers. She could feel his breath on her bare shoulders.

Anri hardened. "You're mocking me."

"No," Jace said with a start. "No, I'm not."

"You've been mocking me all this time. Don't say you haven't."

He lifted his head and met her eyes. She'd never seen such a look on his face. As though he'd just been crying, as though he might start again. "Please don't say that."

Anri looked around and saw the eyes. All of them, on her and Jace. She quickly let go of him and stepped back.

Jace followed her gaze and looked around. In an unkind, almost slurred tone he said something in what she supposed was Nabooian, and everyone looked away. The crowd even dispersed, but not too far out of earshot, Anri noticed. She could've laughed at it all, under different circumstances.

Jace looked at her again, softening. "Anri, I have to tell you something."

Forgetting the eavesdroppers, Anri laughed without humor. "Really! What could that be, your Highness?"

His jaw tightened. "Anri—"

"You lied to me!"

"I didn't lie, I just didn't think—"

"You should've told me! Going around pretending you were someone fucking normal, but you're not! You never were!"

Jace stared at her a moment, wavering. "You're angry with me."

Anri realized tears had built up in her eyes. She blinked them away. Her anger was melting away suddenly, as soon as he'd named it. "I–I can't be here like this, Jace. Your world..."

"It's your world too." His voice broke as he said it. He sounded exhausted. He sounded defeated. He sounded like he was begging. He sounded like he'd made this same plea over and over again—it's your world too. You have every right to be here with me. Stay with me.

Her heart ached. She reached up and brushed her thumb under his eye. He was so puffed up, his face was still damp...

His hand covered hers, eyelashes fluttering against her fingertips. For a moment he stood there silently, eyes closed and lips slightly parted. Anri found it sort of hard to breathe. He was really, really...

She was snapped out of her thoughts when suddenly he took her wrist and led her—through the people, through some columns, down some stairs, into what she'd been told was the garden (in Naboo, rich people grew food for fun). There was a fountain (all this water, for nothing!) and there Jace turned to her. His hand burned on her wrist. Despite this, Anri shivered. The night air here was freezing compared to Jakku.

Iye, they stood there for what felt like hours. He had this strange, moony expression on his face, his eyes trained on hers, glassy and focused at the same time. Anri finally snatched her wrist away from his grasp. "If you've got nothing to say to me, I'm going back inside. Iye, it's freezing out here..." Not only that, but her heart was beating out of her chest. She suspected Jace didn't drag her out here just to look at her. She didn't want to stick around and—

"No!" Jace said quickly, snapping out of some stupor. "Don't—" He shrugged off his coat—his fabulously ornate coat—and hastily put it over her shoulders, buttoning the collar. Anri looked at him, eyebrows raised.