The next day, Alouette feels like she's walking on eggshells.

The door of the spare bedroom is ajar, and Harry doesn't come out for the entire day.

When the early afternoon starts to drift into late afternoon Alouette gets changed and puts on a jacket to go out. She stops as she's walking to the door and goes back to the spare bedroom.

She steps inside, Harry's lying on the bed, his back to the door. Just like the day before. When she nears him, though, she discovers he isn't asleep this time around.

"I'm going out for a while," she tells him, "I'll lock the front door, okay?"

As she walks out of the room she notices the box of cookies on the nightstand, and smiles to herself when she sees he has eaten almost all the chocolate chip cookies inside it. She'll have to get more.

She walks out of the apartment and locks the door. She gets out of the building and walks towards the city centre. She has a job to do this afternoon, and there's no room for her to get it wrong.

The man behind the desk stands up in the instant she walks inside the lawyer's office. "Miss Ivenhart..."

"I have no time to waste," Alouette says, trying to sound as confident as she can. She wonders how Harry does it, even if she knows he doesn't have to try. He knows his own value, and wouldn't let anyone step over him. Differently from him, she has to fake it when it comes to the Revolution. No matter how much she's grown, they're still her family and friends. She feels like she's betraying them, and a part of her wants to kneel and beg for forgiveness. And maybe she will, one day. Just not today.

"We weren't expecting..."

"I know you weren't expecting me to be here today, which is why I'm here."

The secretary lets out a defeated sigh. "I'll tell him to come downstairs, wait a minute." He picks up the phone, and Alouette takes advantage of the moment to glance around and make sure there aren't any hidden surprises anywhere. They've cleaned the mess from yesterday, and it's like nothing happened at all.

It's not long before the representative walks down the stairs, still dressed as elegantly as yesterday, but this time around he's alone.

"Miss Ivenhart!" He greets her cheerfully, as if nothing happened between them. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

She gives him a little smile. "But I'm sure you have talked to Ezra about my request, haven't you?"

He lets out a sigh when he realises he won't be able to divert the conversation. "He was made aware of the situation, of course. He's open to giving you a call, if you'd like to schedule an appointment and leave a phone number."

Alouette shakes her head. "Call him now."

The representative falters. "Miss Ivenhart, I don't think—"

"Call him right now, with your phone." She isn't foolish enough to believe setting up a date wouldn't make her end up into some sort of trap, and she has no time to waste with their games. She crosses her arms when he doesn't move. "I don't have the whole day."

He looks like he's about to complain, but then changes his mind. He takes out his phone, and then tells the secretary to leave. The door is locked, and he makes the call.

The phone rings one, two, three times. Someone else would fear Ezra won't reply, but she knows him and his daily routine. He's certainly in his office at this time of the day, which means he will.

As she expects, the call is picked up. "What is it?" he asks gruffly. It's clear she's created way too many problems for him in the past, but Alouette doesn't feel bad. After all, they're in this situation because he chose her to carry out his absurd plan.

"Miss Ivenhart is on the phone," the representative tells him.

There's the pause of a moment. "Alouette?" he then says, sounding surprised.

Alouette narrows her eyes. She's quite certain she hasn't been tricked, but it's the Revolution she's dealing with, and she can never be too careful. First of all, she has to confirm the identity of the person on the line. "What did I make you promise before leaving for the Palace?" she asks.

"To keep your friend Elijah safe, because he's prone to getting in trouble."

Alouette visibly relaxes. "Good."

"What do you want to talk to me about?" he asks her.

"I've been thinking."

"And?"

She closes her eyes for a second. After this, there will be no going back. But the road to the top has always been slippery and full of risks. "I like your plan, but it has faults."

"Excuse me?" Ezra doesn't seem to be happy, but it's too late to back down now.

"Tell me, Ezra. What will happen after Harry's fall?"

Silence comes from the other side.

"That's what I thought."

"What are you doing, Alouette?" Ezra asks tensely.

"I saw an opportunity, I'm simply taking it," she replies. "You'll agree with me too, soon, because it's the only way for you to get what you want."

"Are you turning against the Revolution?"

"I'd never. On the contrary, I want to collaborate with the Revolution, since we both have something the other wants."

"What are your requests?"

"Only one," Alouette says. "I want to talk to you in person, one on one. I don't trust anyone else." She shoots the representative a pointed look, and he looks down.

Ezra thinks about it for a moment. "Give me a time and place, I'll be there. I can't wait to hear what you're suggesting." She can hear it in his voice that he isn't nearly as thrilled as he says he is, but she can't bring herself to care. Now, she's one step closer to her goal.

"I'll let you know."

Ezra closes the call, and she gives the representative a little smile. "See? That was easy, wasn't it? There was no reason to schedule an appointment to call in." Now, all she needs to do is to come up with the details of their meeting and plan a way out for herself in case the Revolution decides to play dirty.

She walks out and into the street. She has to find the perfect location, one that is far enough from the apartment for nobody to be able to tell she's coming from there, but close enough for her to run back to her hiding place is things turn sour.

She spends the rest of the late afternoon and late evening walking around the city looking for the best place Pans has to offer for their meeting, and she ends up stumbling upon a two-story car park that seems to be made just for her.

Alouette spends a couple of hours inside it to familiarise herself with the place, find all the ways in, all the ways out, and all the hiding places inside it.

By the time she starts walking back to the apartment the night has already fallen, and the streets are getting darker and darker with every passing second.

She should've gone back to the apartment sooner. Walking around in the middle of the night is only putting her in danger of being discovered. She doesn't even have a hood to pull up this time. Her gun feels heavier at her side as she becomes more and more aware of it.

When she finally turns into her street, she lets out a relieved breath. She's almost there.

She's suddenly slammed against the wall and lets out a scream. The hit resonates through her ribcage and steals her breath away, and she falls to the ground. Her lungs hurt and black dots dance in her vision. She looks up just in time to see a dark shape coming towards her. She throws herself on the sidewalk and dodges the knee that was about to collide with her face.

She tries to crawl away, but the person pulls her back by her ankle. She sees a knife glint in her attacker's hold and kicks him back. He huffs but doesn't let go. She crushes the hand holding the weapon with the heel of her foot and gets back up when this grip wavers.

Her head spins and she almost falls down again. The man lunges at her again and she jumps back. Her back hits the wall again and she rolls away when he tries to punch her.

He picks up the blade from the ground and gives her a sinister smile. "You're mine, now."

Alouette is about to panic. She could run back to the apartment and to safety, but she doesn't want to let him know where she's staying. "Who sent you?" she asks, both out of curiosity and to keep him distracted while she comes up with a plan.

The man doesn't reply but comes at her again, and she dodges the blade just barely. Thanks to that she's able to break free from the corner he threw her into, though, and takes a step back.

"Is it the Revolution? The Palace?"

He laughs and pulls out a gun.

Alouette is suddenly pulled into someone's chest. A touch grazes her side and after an instant a hand she knows way too well is holding her gun. It fires, and her attacker drops his own in an attempt to escape the bullet.

Harry kicks him to the ground and throws his knife away. It clashes as it hits the wall on the other side of the street. The man gasps, but Harry steps on his hand when he tries to reach for it.

Harry lifts his head with his shoe and a displeased look downs on his face when his eyes meet his. "There's nothing I hate more than cowards that attack others from behind," he spits, and Alouette is surprised by the evident anger in his voice. "Differently from you, I'm not afraid of looking at you in the eyes."

He aims at his head, but she grabs his arm before he can shoot.

"Stop."

Harry immediately pauses and sends her a puzzled glance.

"You can't kill him, he can tell us who's coming after me," she explains.

"It's incautious to let him survive."

Alouette tightens her grip on his arm. "Please," she begs him quietly. She's all too aware of the danger her attacker poses, but she has to find out what he's hiding.

The man takes advantage of their moment of distraction to crawl away. When Harry notices, he shoots in his direction. The other jumps up and runs to the end of the street at full speed. Harry shoots again and hits his leg, and he falls to the ground.

They run towards him but he stands again and darts out of the street. Harry chases him and Alouette after him. He shoots again and the man takes a sudden turn.

When they get into the street, he's nowhere to be seen.

Alouette puts her hand on her knees as she tries to catch her breath. "Let him go, Harry, it isn't worth it," she then says, "it's too dangerous to be out here at night."

Harry sends her a look. "He wouldn't have escaped if you hadn't stopped me."

"I know, I'm sorry." She takes a step towards him and gently takes back the gun he took from her. He lets it go, and she slides it back in its place at her side. "How did you even get out? The door was locked."

"I broke the lock," he simply says.

"You..." She chooses not to question it and pulls his arm towards their street again. He's only wearing a thin black shirt, which makes her realise he stormed out of the apartment when he saw she was getting attacked.

A cold wind blows through the city as they walk back, and she shivers. She should've gone out with a heavier coat, but she hadn't expected to be out until late night. Harry rests his arm on her shoulders and pulls her into him just barely, but the oddly considerate action surprises her anyway.

"It's already the second time you ask me to spare someone that attacked you," he comments, looking straight ahead. "I'll only let you do that three times, and you're already on the second. Be careful to use your last pass wisely."

She chuckles. "I will," she says, even though she has no intention of only doing that one last time. She isn't like him, and she has the distinct feeling he knows, deep down, that it's a battle he's already lost. "Thank you, by the way."

He tilts his head towards her. "What for?"

"For saving my reputation," Alouette replies. "As you said before, it would've been embarrassing to die there."

He hums. "Frankly, the only person in the entire country it wouldn't be embarrassing for you to die at the hands of is me."

Alouette lets out a laugh. "You're getting too cocky, Harry."

"There is no shame in losing to someone like me."

"Then it must work the other way around too," she says with a little smile on her face as they walk into the building and up the stairs. She's in front of him now so she can't see his reaction, but she's sure that he's rolling his eyes at her.

"Whatever you say, Lark."

When they get back into the apartment, Alouette can confirm that Harry has, indeed, broken the lock. She lets out a sigh and moves the bookshelf over the door to block it for the night. She'll have to come up with a better solution soon, but it will do for the moment. It surely won't stop Harry from getting out if he wants to, but considering how easily he was able to get out of the apartment, he doesn't want to. If he did, he would've left days ago.

She steps into her father's bedroom and takes off her jeans and shirt to change into something more comfortable.

"Are you trying to seduce me again?"

Alouette spins around and gasps when she sees Harry is standing in the doorway and dreads comes over her when she realises she forgot to shut the door. She squeals and kicks the door close, hearing a faint chuckle coming from the other side.

She leans against the wooden door and sighs, trying to wash away the embarrassment. She knows there aren't many boundaries when it comes to them, but still, he's never seen her in her underwear before. It makes her feel vulnerable, and she doesn't like it.

She pauses as a thought comes over her. It only gives him power over her because she's letting it happen.

But she doesn't have to.

If Harry has decided to go down the dangerous road of teasing, so can she. It wouldn't even be the first time anyway, and she definitely won the last time—not that he would ever admit it.

She opens the door and steps into the corridor barefoot. The living room window must be open, because a slightly uncomfortable chill air kisses her skin. She glances into the spare bedroom and smiles to herself when she discovers Harry is sitting on the bed. She couldn't have found a more perfect situation if she'd searched for it.

The wood of the door frame is cold when she puts her hand on it and stops right in front of him.

"I wasn't trying to seduce you, Harry," she announces, sweetness in her voice.

He raises an eyebrow in surprise, and a little smile curves her lips when his gaze falls to her black panties, momentarily stopping on the little bow in the middle of her bra. Maybe she should've taken it off just to give him a more interesting view, but it's too late to think about that now, and she doesn't feel that daring just yet. He purses his lips, and Alouette takes a step forward.

"If I was doing that, then I would do this." With no hesitation, she straddles him, her thighs on either side of his.

He tilts his head back imperceptibly and her eyes widen when she realises what she has just done. She used to do the same when they were still at the Palace, but it's different now. Back then, he believed her to be a completely different person. Now, though, there are no masks for them to hide behind, and it isn't so easy to separate the person she was back there from who she truly is. The two are blending into each other, and it leaves her wondering if she'd truly been acting back there, or if she'd just told herself she was because she didn't want to deal with the truth.

And the truth is that she truly likes Harry more than she should, and she's been enthralled by him since the very first moment she lay her gaze on him in that darkened corridor of the Palace. The thought surprises her, because while he's surely the last person on the planet she should like, she can't get him out of his head. The fading boundaries leave her momentarily stricken, and she realises a moment too late Harry is looking at her.

"This is quite bold of you," he murmurs, and his fingers graze her side. Goosebumps form on her skin in the wake of his touch. "I'm not quite sure I know what you expect of me though, my Alouette." He lifts her chin with a finger to make her look into his eyes, his pupils are widened. The hint of a laugh flashes through them when she doesn't say a word. "Had you not planned this far?"

She grabs the collar of his shirt and crashes her lips against his. The hand that was at her side instantly falls because of the shock, and her heart jumps in her chest. She can't feel the cold air anymore, she can't feel anything at all that isn't him. But she can't let that distract her.

Harry's touch comes back and she smiles into the kiss, because she knows she has won. There's only one thing left to do, now. She ignores the fluttering wings in her stomach and breaks away from the kiss. She catches just a glimpse of Harry with his eyes closed before he opens them again.

"This is what I would do," she whispers, and then stands up. She turns around and flashes him a smile over her shoulder, but she doesn't even manage to take a step forward before Harry grabs her wrist.

He pulls her into him and rolls them over so that he's on top of her. The mattress digs into her back and Harry puts his elbow next to her on the pillow, lowering himself on top of her. Her thighs part, and he fits one of his between them.

"As I said, very bold," he murmurs, sliding his fingers through her hair.

Then, he presses his mouth against hers again.