Interlude [h.s]

thirty-one

Alouette is walking back to her bedroom when she sees her President leave a room she's never noticed before. "Harry?"

His head snaps in her direction and for an instant his eyes widen. "Stay there," he says, a hint of urgency in his voice, and she stops immediately. She's never seen him so disconcerted before.

"Why?"

"Will you tell Evie to come here?" He asks instead, and she forces herself to nod and turn around, ignoring the need to go to him to see what's wrong.

When she gets back to the office Evie is sitting at her desk, typing something away on the keyboard. She looks up from the screen of her laptop and gives her a confused look.

"I thought you were going back early today?"

"I met Mr. Styles on the way there. He says he needs you. I think it's urgent," Alouette tells her, and the other nods.

"I see," she says slowly, saving her file and turning off her laptop. "I might know what this is about. Downstairs, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, it's on the floor with the bedrooms."

Evie walks past her, her heels tapping on the marble floor. "Did you happen to... find out... what this is about?"

"Not really."

"Good. That's good."

Alouette chases her to the lift. "Why is it good?"

"No specific reason," Evie replies. "Things can get a bit... intense at the Palace, at times. Problems have messy solutions sometimes."

They get in the lift and the doors close in front of them, and Alouette doesn't say a word even though the other woman's words are all but dismissed. Has Harry done something he wouldn't want her to find out about? She tries to push the thought away, knowing that curiosity will consume her if she focuses on something she doesn't have the necessary tools to figure out for way too long. There's no need to start getting too interested in things that don't concern her mission, she's already threading on thin ice as it is. She wouldn't want the President to realise who's in front of him because of her acting suspiciously.

The lift stops one floor below and they step out again, and Alouette takes her to the mysterious room.

Harry is still there, waiting with his back to the door and a look that's so dark and threatening in his eyes that nobody walking by dares to come closer to find out what's going on. His hair is a bit mussed, and she wonders what must've happened that has made him run his fingers through it like that. He's usually very cool and composed, and while she can't say he's acting like a normal person would when they're stressed out, she can see there's some very well hidden uneasiness in his movements.

"You requested my presence, sir?" Evie asks him even though it isn't necessary, considering he's been staring at them since they turned the corner.

He gives her a faint nod, and his eyes shift to Alouette's for a second before looking back at her. "There's a task for you, I left all the necessary information inside." His voice is a little lower than usual, and a thrill courses through Alouette when his moss green gaze lands on her again. "Ms. Ewing and I will be leaving now."

Alouette rises an eyebrow, but Harry grabs her forearm and takes her away before she can say anything. He doesn't walk quickly but he also doesn't walk slowly, making it a little hard for her to follow him on her high heels. He doesn't seem to notice, too eager to leave the corridor.

He only slows down when they turn the corner. "I see you decided to leave early today," he comments, and she can't tell what his thoughts are about it.

"I finished my tasks earlier than usual, so Evie allowed me to go back to my rooms." She turns to look at him, frowning. "Your jacket is crumpled," she tells him, stretching out a hand to fix the back for him, but he puts some distance between them before she can touch him.