To the Sun, to the Stars, to the Sky (A Soldier/Rebellion AU)

Chapter 6: A Serious Game of Simon Says

Thalia POV
In the morning, I was the first one up. The first thing I noticed was that Reyna was still asleep, so I knew it must be really early. It was still dark out, but the birds were beginning to sing again. Four AM maybe?

The second thing I noticed was that I was sleeping against someone who was definitely not my girlfriend. I rubbed my eyes and looked at them, to find that it was Ten-Seventeen. Still awake. My heart sank. Did we leave him here all night?

I nudged him. "Did you get any sleep at all?"

His eyes flickered to my shoes before returning to the sky, where they had been before I woke up.

"Oh, right. Uh, speak. Sorry."

"No, I didn't sleep."

"Why not?" I asked. He swallowed, waiting, and I sighed. "Speak."

"I was not given permission."

I rubbed my temples. "Yes you were, Ten. The prince, Reyna, and I all told you you could. What did we do wrong?" Again he waited. "Speak."

"It was not done in the right order or by the right people."

"You're really going to be that picky? Speak."

"I'm not the one who makes the rules, Ma'am. I just know I have to follow them."

I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, don't call me ma'am. Reyna's the 'ma'am' kind of woman, not me."

He lowered his head. Didn't respond.

"Maybe you can sleep on the way back to camp," I muttered. I thought I saw his shoulders relax a little bit at the idea. I leaned back. "So what order should we have been telling you to do things in?"

His eyes stared blankly at the sky. How did he do that? Make himself look just so blank. So...empty. It was kind of creeping me out.

He didn't answer. I was getting tired of this. "Is there a command I can use that would make you able to speak this whole time? Speak."

"No, Ma—" he cut off. "Um, your..." he blinked a couple times, trying to think of something respectful to call me.

"My name will do." His jaw tightened. I must've done something wrong. "Not allowed to call me by my name? Speak."

"No."

I rubbed my eyes. "That sucks. What about after we figure out how to get you out of...out of whatever stance this is. When you can speak freely. Can you use my name and things then?"

He opened his mouth to answer but snapped it shut last second. I tilted my head. It was like a game of Simon Says. And if I could get him to slip up, he would realize we wouldn't hurt him for doing so. Reyna would give me a kiss of appreciation for sure.

"Speak," I said.

"No, I can't. Not without permission, at least."

"And if I gave you permission? Speak."

"Then I would obey."

"That's not really.... Well, I guess it'll have to do for now. Are you hungry? Speak."

"A soldier does not ask for food until it is given to him."

"That's bullshit. Are you hungry or not?"

He worked his jaw, obviously getting irritated by my lack of respect for the rules. "A soldier does not ask for food until it is given to him, Thalia."

I sat up. Looking at him. He hadn't noticed yet.

He realized I was looking at him with wide eyes and he frowned. Then, realization was chased by terror over his face. "Oh, shit," he murmured, barely audible. He fell back into silence, hand clenching and unclenching. He glanced over at me and winced and then back to the sky.

I grinned and poked his arm. "You just spoke without the command, twice in a row."

He ignored me, fear in his eyes.

"Hello? Aren't you a little proud of yourself? You just beat the code. A little bit at a time, right?"

He didn't move, muscles taut. I could sense his anxiety coming off in waves. So scared we would execute some of the same punishments his previous bosses had, he was willing to give up freedom just to maintain a form of safety. And he thought he just gave that away.

I put my arm around him. "Hey, man, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. I just—I'm happy for you, you know? I want you to make it to where Reyna is now. She's come a long way, too. She still has nightmares sometimes, though."

He didn't look at me. He never looked at anyone. Neither had Reyna for a while.

The prince groaned on his other side. Ten's expression flashed to one of frustration for just a moment before the prince opened his eyes.

He looked at us blearily. "What time is it?"

I shrugged. "Around four thirty by now, probably. The sun should be coming up within the hour."

The prince smiled sleepily at me. "I see you had some really interesting company. Did you get through to him at all?"

I looked at Ten-Seventeen's face, which he had combed over into that weird apathy again. Like everything he did was neutral, even his emotions. But I saw his chest moving up and down irregularly, panicking.

"No," I said finally. The soldier's eyes flickered shut for half a millisecond, but Princey noticed.

He grinned at the boy and then at me again. "You liar. What happened?"

"I've already sworn myself to secrecy, Will. Sorry." I shrugged.

He sighed dramatically. "Well I suppose I'll leave it alone then. I'm going to wake up Reyna and see what we're doing for breakfast before we set off."

I hummed my approval and he stepped over Hazel to reach Reyna. I tilted my head. When had Hazel come over here to sleep? It was kind of sweet to see her laying against Ten. I hated the thought of some kid doing that to me, but the idea of him watching over the kid was admittedly very nice.

Will shook Reyna. "Wake up. It's morning time. Ten-Seventeen and Thalia are already awake."

Reyna shot awake, eyes wide. She swore immediately and then followed it with a groan. "I'm sorry, Ten. I was going to stay awake with him. I must've fallen asleep. Damn it."

The prince looked at Ten. "Stay awake with him? He never got to sleep?"

And we took in his blank expression, finally noticing all the signs of fatigue wearing on him. Heavy bags under his eyes, taut muscles he repeatedly tensed to keep from falling asleep, slightly sagging skin. His head seemed to be lower than it was yesterday night and he blinked continuously, eyes slightly glassy. I put my arm around him. "He's going to sleep on the way to the camp. He told me this morning that we had been getting close last night, but I guess we didn't do things in the right order? I figured we could get more specific instructions from him while we pack up."

He raised his chin a practically undetectable amount. Reyna rubbed her eyes. "Okay, good plan. I'm still so sorry, Ten. I shouldn't have fallen asleep."

He didn't answer. He just sat there, dark bags under his eyes making him look like some sort of vampire. His hair was more in his face than in the bun. Will stood behind him to fix it for him. He took out the old bun and copied the method Ten had used for the old one. Ten didn't move or respond.

Reyna stood up. "Let's eat and then get going. The sooner we're on our horses, the sooner he can sleep."

We woke up the rest of the rebels and went about packing our sleeping bags, gathering various berries for breakfast, and readying the horses. Hazel, the spy girl, ran around the small clearing talking about the "statue man telling her about her best friend." I looked over at Ten, but any hint that he'd broken form to talk to the girl was hidden away. If he did break form to talk with her at all.

I held out some berries for Ten-Seventeen. He stared right past me. I sighed and turned around. The prince was feeding his horse a carrot he'd stolen from the army.

"Princey! Get over here. You do something better than me or Reyna, so do it again. He needs to break form."

He handed his horse off to someone before approaching. "Uh, right. So, I just say.... Right. Break form, Ten-Seventeen."

Ten rubbed his eyes and stood up, stretching before taking the bowl from me. "Permission to eat, your majesty?"

"Of course, Ten," he said, throwing his arm around his new friend. "Now, we technically don't have a horse for you, so you'll be riding with me. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. Thank you, your majesty," Ten said, cutting off his yawn. I squeezed his arm and told him I'd be back to check on him later.