Harry knows about the attack.

Harry knows about the attack.

Harry knows about the attack.

Alouette repeats these words in her head like a mantra, and each time they feel more definitive, more impossible to find a way around.

Sure, he doesn't know about the day nor the location, but he knows something will happen soon, and that's enough for her to worry. She knows how he is. The Revolution is all too familiar with his way of doing things. While he might not know any of that now, he will find out. He won't drop it until he does. He doesn't give up, ever.

She wants to warn the Revolution, tell them to call it off, to bring the weapons back to the base and sneak them into the city secretly later on, but she can't. She can't, because she's perfectly aware that Harry knows she heard that. If the Revolution's plans suddenly change and he notices, he will know it's her. Or at least, her, Jayden and whoever else knows about the information. But she doesn't know how many times Harry tested the others, how much he trusts them, and she has no intention of putting Jayden in danger.

And of course, to Harry she's a stranger. A stranger he got a little too familiar with, sure, but still a stranger. They've only known each other for some months. She isn't so foolish to believe he trusts her blindly. Odds are the only person he trusts on the entire floor is Evie. If he trusts her at all.

It's clear to her what the next step is. She has to find a way to divert Harry's attention without making him double the security around the Palace. Odds are he doesn't expect the Revolution to attack twice in such a short amount of time. And if she works smart enough...

Alouette comes up with a plan. Nathan stares at her as if she's completely gone mad when she tells him, but even he can't say it isn't a good idea. She never thought herself to be a particularly good strategist, but also doesn't think she's so bad anymore. She just needs to think of every possibility, of everything that could go wrong and then some, because by now she knows Harry has a talent for always putting a spoke in the Revolution's wheel. More like smashing it with a hammer and raiding the cart and leaving the riders to the wolves, knowing him.

She takes an entire day, and by the time she's finished she's quite proud with the result. She'd like to keep it for herself for herself a while longer, but she knows she can't afford to waste any more time. It feels like a dream when Nathan agrees to pass it on to the Revolution. It feels like she's finally done something right. She could get used to that feeling.

"Lark." Suddenly two hands are on her shoulders, and she jumps up. "I thought about you last night." Harry's voice comes from right next to her ear and it takes all she has not to turn her head.

"Only good thoughts, I hope," Alouette says in reply. She grazes the back of Harry's hand with the tips of her fingers and he lets go of her instantly, as if she's shocked him.

"Naturally." He walks around the chair and leans back against her desk. She has to raise her chin to look at him, and she doesn't like how exposed it makes her feel. "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

Alouette shrugs. "I don't know, I'll have to check to make sure I don't have any previous engagements."

Harry raises an eyebrow, but the corner of his lips turns up in a half-smile. "Are you that in demand?"

"Everyone adores me, don't you know? They just can't get enough of me." It's a lie, but she can't deny she enjoys the reaction her words earn from him.

"I can't say that I can't see why," he murmurs. The sly smile doesn't leave his face, but the look in his green eyes becomes sharper, as if he's studying her and trying to determine the truth in her sentence. He seems to be satisfied by what he finds, though, because his position becomes more relaxed. "However, I should hope no prior engagement seems more enjoyable than to spend your evening in my company."

"I thought you said you aren't much for company yourself?" He pauses at that, and she stands up. Her thigh brushes against his as she moves closer to him. "Of course, I don't agree with that. I think your company is quite enjoyable, actually. But I like to keep my promises and previous engagements can't be touched."

"Should I take that as a no, then?" Harry muses, tapping gently on the side of the table.

"I'll check my schedule and let you know." Alouette sits back down and turns the chair so she isn't directly facing him. She doesn't know what it is, but she absolutely can't bring herself to agree right away. She already knows that she will and he probably does as well, but Harry growing up in the Palace likely means that he never had to work for anything in his life and it brings her a deeper satisfaction than she can admit to put a damper on his plans—even if only momentarily.

"I should like to hear from you in the next hour, then." He pushes himself off the desk and walks into his office.

Alouette turns her head just in time to catch a glimpse of the back of his black suit as he closes the door behind himself.

"It surprises me that he hasn't got tired already."

Alouette turns to look at Evie, that's sitting at her desk. Her eyes are focused on the papers in front of her and she types something in the computer from time to time, but there's no denying she was the one that spoke.

"What?"

"He usually gets tired of chasing people after a while," the other continues. "He's very fickle, you see."

"He is?" Alouette doesn't know what to think.

"He's always chasing, always looking. He's been like this for years. He's chased too, though. I'm pretty sure at least one third of the people in the Palace would like to end up in his bed." She sighs. "But he never sticks around for long. He doesn't put his feelings on the line. It's all a game to him, a hunt."

Alouette hums and nods, acting like she's interested in what Evie is saying. She isn't there to make him fall in love not to fall for him, she isn't looking for a relationship with him. If Harry gets tired of her, it doesn't matter. Her chest, though, feels tight.

"I have no intention of becoming game, don't worry about it."

She says that but, when she brings a folder to him after twenty or so minutes, she can't help but stick a note on it with her answer.

Looks like today is your lucky day, sir: I seem not to have any previous engagements for tonight.

The reply comes about ten minutes later, in the form of a little paper slid between the pages of a folder Harry asks her to bring her back to the archivist.

North dining room, 8pm.

It all feels like a big déjà vu.

• • •

For about four hours Alouette doesn't hear from Harry. He doesn't leave his office again, not for lunch, not to bother her as he sometimes does. At one time Evie brings in fifteen folders at once and puts them on his desk with some trouble, he doesn't look up. The door is closed again, and then there's only silence.

Silence, and the tapping of nails on the keyboard from the time time, the sound of pages being turned and of words being written. For some reason, it makes her a little uneasy.

It's afternoon when he finally comes around.

He opens the door and says, "Bring me some coffee."

When she looks up, the door is closed again. Which, okay. She can bring him something to drink if he's busy. He hasn't even had lunch, so she supposes that's the reason.

"I'll go," she announces, standing up and walking out in the corridor.

She gets Harry's coffee in record time. When she comes back everything is exactly as she left it: Evie is sitting at her desk, the door is closed.

She walks to it and knocks before opening it and stepping inside, coffee in her hand. "Here's your coffee, sir."

He doesn't look up. If he heard her at all, he doesn't show it. Alouette tilts her head. He's sitting at his desk, his chin on his hand, looking down at a folder. He's so intent, so immobile that if she didn't know any better she'd say he's asleep, his dark eyelashes drawing shadows on his cheekbones because of the lights shining above his head. He's surrounded by folders and there's a pencil on the desk next to him, and Alouette has no idea of what he's doing. Has he decided to do some research on a topic or two? She can't think of anything else that could explain such an amount of paper.

If that's the case, he must be exhausted. He's been at it for hours, he should take a little break and rest or he'll drive himself insane. But she doesn't dare to tell him that, because it doesn't look like he'd appreciate it in this moment.

"Sir?" She says questioningly, taking a step closer. "The coffee you asked for is here."

Harry raises his gaze, but doesn't look at her. He glances up for a second and motions her to come closer, and then he focuses his attention back on the papers.

"Where can I put it?" Alouette asks, sighing when he doesn't even bother to reply to her. If that's how he acts when he's busy, she thinks she's just found another side of him that she doesn't like. She sees a clean spot right next to his arm, between two stacks of folders, and puts it there. "I'll put it here," she announces.

She doesn't even have time to leave the room before he closes the folder in front of him and turns his chair to put it down next to him. His arm hits the cup and it tips over, spilling its contents on the desk.

"For fuck's sake, Lark," Harry hisses, standing up fast before it can get on his clothes.

Alouette rushes back to the desk and straightens the cup before it can do any more damage. "I'm so sorry, sir," she forces herself to say even though annoyance is starting to seep in her bones.

I told you it was there, she thinks. You didn't even listen to me.

She gathers all the folders and puts them on the clean side of the desk, away from the spilled coffee, as Harry steps away from the mess and walks to the side of the room, pouring himself a drink. It isn't a good idea to drink alcohol on an empty stomach in the early afternoon, but a side of her doesn't want to mother a grown man and the other wants to be a little petty, so she doesn't tell him that.

"I'll be right back." She walks to her desk and takes a couple paper tissues from her bag before going back.

When she enters the office again Harry is standing on the side of the room, staring at her judgementally with a half-full crystal glass in his hand. Considering he probably thinks it's her fault the coffee was spilled, Alouette supposes she should consider herself lucky, since she's still in one piece and he doesn't seem to have any intention to fire her.

She sighs and shakes her head, putting the tissues on the desk to soak up the coffee. She's a bit ticked off by how careless he was and it annoys her even more that he's standing on the side while she cleans up his mess, but she doesn't say a word. It isn't worth arguing over.

All of a sudden there's a knock on the already open door. Alouette doesn't bother looking up, too focused on the task at hand. She has to make sure Harry's desk is perfectly clean, or at least perfectly dry. He'd hate it if any of the folders got ruined.

"Good afternoon, sir."

"Good afternoon."

None of the two voices belongs to Harry.

Silence falls.

Alouette is still trying to make the best out of the two tissues she brought.

A slow tapping of heels comes towards her. She doesn't even need to turn around to know Harry is now standing right behind her. She works faster.

"Lark." Just like that, she halts. "Leave."

She turns around slowly and meets Harry's eyes. He isn't holding the glass anymore, but she doesn't know when he put it down. "I'll bring another coffee."

"Don't bother," Harry says. The words are cold, but there's something of so unexpectedly warm in the way he speaks that she can't tell whether he's actually mad at her or not.

She gives a look around the room. Jayden and the man she met a day ago, Jackson, are standing in the middle of the room. And Harry is standing in front of her. And they're all standing in silence.

She's definitely in the way.

Alouette gives him a nod and flees the room, not without sneaking a glance at Jayden, of course. He smiles at her as she closes the door.

She sits back on her chair, defeat heaving down on her limbs, and she tries her best to focus her attention back on her work.

Don't think.

Don't think.

Don't think.

Harry—

She shakes her head violently.

Don't think.

She can't piece it together with what Evie said earlier. She can't. She won't. It isn't that. He's just busy.

Don't think.

Alouette spends the rest of the afternoon trying to shut down her mind instead of doing her work. She's ashamed of it.

When evening comes, Evie lets her go.

She goes back to her rooms and gets ready to have dinner with Harry. She doesn't overdress too much, not wanting him to think that she's trying too hard, but she also makes sure she doesn't look like she isn't trying at all. When she's happy with the way she looks, she goes to the dinner.

And waits.

And waits.

And waits.

And Harry never shows up.

By the time ten comes around, Alouette realises that he isn't going to come. It isn't like him to cancel all of a sudden without even letting her know, but she resists the urge to look for him and goes back to her rooms.

By then it's so late that even the dining room is closed, so she has to give up on having dinner. She can't even think about it, though, because all she can focus on is Harry not being there. He asked her out, but he wasn't there.

Maybe Evie was right.

Maybe she was too accommodating and he got bored.

Maybe he found someone else he finds more intriguing.

It takes all she has not to scream out in frustration.

At eleven in the night there's a knock on the door. Alouette opens it just to discover a vaguely familiar girl is standing on the other side. She thinks she's seen her behind the counter when she got Harry's coffee earlier today, but isn't sure.

"For you," she only tells her, handing her a tray and walking away.

Alouette closes the door again and puts it on the bed, looking at it suspiciously. On it, there's a cup of tea and a chocolate croissant. The thin sliver of melted sugar on it almost makes it glint in the light coming from the window.

She doesn't need to wonder who sent it to her, though, because on a saucer in the corner of it there's a red strawberry.

He's going to drive her insane.

Short chapter in preparation for the next one! Some fun moments are coming up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter x
Miki