I got forced into another troublesome situation. Once again by the forceful actions of Henrika. She pulled me aside from the group and requested to speak with me in private. That stubborn woman didn’t even give me time to respond. Next thing I knew, I found myself sitting on the edge of the woman’s bed. She sat directly across from me in one of the chairs in the room. The meaning behind her acute gaze drowned my mind with many questions.

What did she want to speak with me about? Why had she chosen me out of everyone else?

An awkward silence lingered in the room. Although our eyes met, it seemed as if she looked right through me. Her face wore an incomprehensible expression; as if so much weighed on her troubled mind.

I couldn’t blame her.

“So, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?” I decided to break the silence, “you said that it was important, didn’t you? Hurry up and spit it out.”

Henrika’s head raised slightly at the sound of my voice. “Not one to beat around the bush, are you?”

A forced laugh left her throat after her little joke. The corners of her mouth drooped as did her head.

“In this situation, I don’t think there’s time for that. I’m tired, you know.” I told her with a weary tone of voice.

“You’re not the only one,” Henrika brought her hands up to her head. “We’re all tired, Ambrose. So much has happened in the past few days. I’m surprised I haven’t lost my mind yet.”

“Is that the reason you brought me in here? To provide you with moral support or something?” I questioned her.

“No, nothing of the sort.” Henrika removed her hands from her head and looked at me with eyes of intense determination. “The reason I brought you in here is that I want to ally with you.”

It was a phrase that I never imagined I’d hear from someone’s mouth throughout the games. An alliance? Seriously? Was that even possible in the games?

How would it even work? Two people form an alliance—a verbal agreement to work together until they both achieve the money that they desire?

Impossible.

There were far too many chances for someone to get betrayed in that alliance. But, even if trust weren’t an issue, the games themselves would be.

“An alliance?” I skeptically repeated. “What for?”

“What for? Are you kidding me?” Henrika leaned forward and narrowed her eyes as she continued, “People are dying left and right, Ambrose. At this rate, someone else is going to die. Either we work together to survive, or we’re all going to die here. That’s my belief.”

Acceptable logic.

An ordinary person would've accepted her statement and joined her alliance. But, I wasn't so convinced. Other than her survival and the money, I believed there was more to her request than she let on.

My initial thought was that Henrika was scared—terrified even. Possibly at her wits end from all the deaths and recent murders. 

“So, you want to stick together? Watch each other’s backs until we reach the end?” I assumed.

“That’s the gist of it. Of course, there are other things I would like to address concerning the alliance.” Henrika eased back into her chair. “Like, ensuring that we get out of here alive and find the traitors in the group.”

“Look at you, talking away as if I’ve already accepted your proposal to join you.” I pointed out.

That woman was far too careless. Forget the fact that she asked me to ally with her. She had loose lips. She caught my irritation. However, that didn’t bother her at all. She continued to speak without restraint.

“It’s true that you haven’t accepted. But, it’s also true that you haven’t rejected the offer either.” She confidently countered, tilting her head back with an arrogant smirk as she pointed at me. “You know what I’m saying is sensible. You’re weighing your options. Otherwise, you would’ve walked right out that door long ago.”

“You got me there.” I nodded my head, acknowledging that she had me figured out. By not immediately refusing her proposal, I entertained the idea of going through with the alliance.

“As I said before, I’d like for us to work together and survive. However, the traitors in our group aren’t making it easy for us. The first agenda for the alliance should be finding them.”

“Isn’t Zoey already on that?”

“She already has so much on her hands trying to find Iris’ killer. We can’t put all our faith into her. If we want to find the traitors, we’ll have to walk on our own two feet.”

“Do you have any leads?”

Henrika lowered her head and folded her arms underneath her chest. A quiet hum escaped from her throat as a thoughtful expression crossed her face.

“Besides the fact that Melanie claimed to be one of them, all we have are suspicions.” She answered.

“We?” I called her out. She immediately brought her hand over her mouth from the sudden slip of the tongue. I leaned forward and decided to press her on the matter, “What did you mean by that? Who’s we?”

When the sly woman removed her hand from over her mouth, she immediately smacked her lips. As I suspected, she was up to something. One suspicious glance from me was all it took to get her talking.

“You caught me,” She shrugged her shoulders and heaved a sigh a defeat. Afterward, she spilled the beans. “Besides you, there’s one other person I’ve allied with.”

“And who would that be?” I questioned.

“That person will not be named.” Henrika brought her hands up to her face then crossed her index fingers. “In fact, that person doesn’t even know that I’m doing this.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

That woman seriously hadn’t thought things through, had she? She tried to ally with me while withholding crucial information. How did she expect me to trust her when she did something like that?

“You know, you’re not very good at this—convincing me to join your alliance when you keep secrets.” I folded my arms and leaned back.

“It’s for a good cause, I swear,” Henrika said.

“You’ll have to excuse me if I can’t seem to take your word for it.”

“Look, Ambrose, I’m scared.” Henrika’s voice shook as she dropped her hands down to her lap. “Two people were murdered outside the games. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else. I don’t want anyone else to die. But, I can’t be everywhere at once. I need help.”

“That’s where the mystery person and I come in, right?” I assumed.

“That’s right,” Henrika confirmed with a nod of her head. “Right now, there are only a few people left in this facility that I can trust. You’re one of them. That’s why I need your help. We have to get out of here.”

“Who do you suspect to be a traitor?”

“Wyatt.” She answered quickly. No hesitation.

“Why him? He’s always talking about how he wants to leave this place as much as anybody else.”

“Yes, he’s eager to leave this place. However, I feel he’s too eager—or perhaps ambitious would be the correct term. If push comes to shove, I will bet that he’d be willing to do whatever it takes.” Henrika’s gaze turned intense as she continued to speak, “After all, he was the only one that brought up killing the traitors on the second day.”

“The man wants to save his wife.”

By no means was it my intention to defend him. Personally, I didn’t like Wyatt all that much. But, I respected him and his tenacity. Everything that he did was for those that he loved.

“I understand that. However, Wyatt's expressed his potential to kill someone to do so. Taking a life, or perhaps the lives of others just to save a single person is just…” Her expression had become strained as if something had lodged in her throat.

“You believe the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few?” I asked.

“It’s complicated. Look, I know that Wyatt is in a desperate situation. We all are. Perhaps if we all could come together and explain our financial troubles, maybe we could help each other out in a way.”

“Impossible. Elena suggested the same thing and look where that got her.” I immediately dismissed the thought. Since day one, I figured that coming to a consensus with the others was a fool’s dream. We all had our goals and desires. Even if they were similar, one’s conviction would outweigh the others.

“Well then, we’re just going to have to make it possible.” Henrika straightened her posture and brought her hand up to her chest. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to tell you what I refused to tell everyone on the first day we arrived here.”

The first thing that crossed my mind was the reason she joined the games. And I was right. She told me everything.

How she was born and raised in a wealthy and influential family. Her father was a politician, and her mother was a florist. Since her father was obsessed with his job and obtaining power, he often worked a lot and neglected the family. So much that when her mother was diagnosed with a deadly disease and passed away, the man didn’t even bother to show up to the funeral.

That left a deep scar in her heart, which fueled a buried desire to see the man pay. In the act of vengeance, she revealed the corruption and scandals of her father, which got him arrested and sent to prison.

She figured that he’d learn his lesson there and come to love his family upon his release. Unfortunately, that day had never occurred. For her father got killed in a prison riot.

Even after the loss of both parents, Henrika’s suffering refused to end. She was blamed continuously and harassed by the victims of her father. It eventually escalated to where arsonists burned down her mother’s flower shop.

“You joined these games to buy a new flower shop?” I asked once she finished her story.

I believed that any other person would’ve either laughed or spat at Henrika after hearing the story. But, I didn’t do either. Who was I to judge her?

To me, it sounded kind of stupid. Risking one’s life for flowers in pots. But, I was in a similar situation. I risked my life for a place filled with the devil’s nectar.

“Go ahead and laugh. I know that it sounds stupid. I regret ever allowing myself to fall victim to that man’s sly words…” Henrika avoided making eye contact with me. She lowered her head and set her hands on her lap. “It’s just…my mother worked so hard to make her business succeed on her own, without having the shadow of my father’s name looming over her. She taught me so much. And yet, no one cared. My mother was innocent. But the bastards burned down her shop anyway. All the years she spent tending to those flowers…”

“Henrika…” I softly called out to her.

“At first, I came here because I wanted to die. I had nothing to live for. My family was dead, the only place that I called home got burned to the ground—there was nothing left for me. So, when Tanet recruited me, I didn’t care whether I lived or died,” Her sorrow felt words continued to pour from her mouth. “But, after spending a few days here, I realized that I still have much to live for. These days of horror have made me determined to survive and start anew.”

That woman beamed with newfound confidence. She exuded such an overwhelming radiance of determination and goodwill.

It reminded me of them.

“Why me?” I struggled to say.

“What?” She asked.

“Why did you choose me to join your alliance? Aren’t there more deserving people you could’ve asked?”

Why did it hurt so much—speaking to that woman? The longer I remained in that room, the more anxious I felt.

“What are you talking about?” Henrika left her chair and approached me. She stood in front of me and placed a hand of comfort on my shoulder. “You’re one of the most deserving people that I know.”

“You don’t know that.” I shot down her words.

“I do know that,” She stubbornly refused to acknowledge my statement as the truth. “You proved yourself during your game with Elena. You inspired her to fight for herself. You also helped her survive even though you didn’t have to. If that’s not deserving, then I don’t know what is.”

As I said, she didn’t know. She didn’t see the reason behind my actions. They were far from the acts of a noble knight saving a damsel in distress.

It was greed.

That’s what drove me.

Same with the votes. Money tempted me--swayed me. Nothing more.

I endangered the lives of everyone in Serendipity. There were no excuses for my actions. I wanted the money. That’s the bottom line. To be called deserving brought up mixed emotions. Sure, I believed that I deserved to win—entitled even. But, did I?

Were my selfish goals more important than the lives of the others? Who was I to discern that?

“Ambrose? You okay?” Henrika called out to me with a soft tone. I looked up at her after I felt the softness of her hand against my cheek. “You’re crying.”

“Huh?” My senses returned to me. I brought my hand up to my face. I felt them. The tears.

When did that happen?

I quickly used the sleeve of my shirt to rid myself of the tears. How long had it been since I cried? Far too long.

And it had to be in front of a woman no less.

Pathetic.

“Damn it. You caught me in an embarrassing situation,” I removed my sleeve from my face then forced a laugh. I couldn’t look Henrika in the eyes anymore. “Fine, I’ll join your alliance.”

“You will? Oh, thank god!” Henrika brought her hand up to her forehead then took a seat in her chair. “This went better than I expected.”

“You’re reckless as hell though; I hope you know this.” I scolded her. “What would you have done if I had refused your offer and told the others about your alliance?”

Henrika opened her mouth to respond, but then quickly closed it. She averted her eyes from me with a dumbfounded expression.

That woman had no clue what she would’ve done. But I decided to join her.

“I’m sure I’d be able to lie my way out of it. My father was a politician after all,” Henrika shameless brought up.

“Going with that stereotype, huh?”

She giggled at my joke then answered, “Also, it’s not like you have any proof that this conversation happened anyway. If anything, you’d only cause more trouble for everyone.”

“You’re pretty sly,” I commented.

“I have to be. Adapting is crucial for survival. That’s what I’m looking to do here—survive.” Henrika’s measured tone returned to her. “I refuse to let these games beat me. Ambrose, work with me, ensure that we leave this place alive no matter what.”

“You can count on me.” I declared.