Hello!

Another chapter for you all! Enjoy! And don't forget to vote and comment <3

Love,

Luckycharms <3

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Thea couldn't stop fidgeting.

As she sat in the vast, elegant and impressively luxurious waiting area in front of the President's office, all she could do was shake her leg and chew on her lip in nervousness. The secretary who sat at the desk not too far from Thea looked annoyed by the sight of her, and maybe Thea would have cared if she wasn't so nervous.

As she sat there fidgeting, however, the secretary's opinion was the last thing on her mind.

Right now, all she could think of was everything she had to make sure she didn't do to mess this opportunity up. She could not mess this up.

First there was the fact that Niall, Julian and apparently Mrs. Railer had not slept the entire night before they left to arrest Rivier, spending all that time trying to convince the President's secretary to fit a meeting with Thea into the President's busy schedule. Then there was the fact that though they succeeded, if Thea failed to take advantage of this opportunity... to make the best of it... then it would all be a waste and they'd be back to square one in their plan to save Rue.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Frowning, she looked down at her hands, gripping hard onto the very expensive, leather bound folder that held all the documents she needed to enact her plan.

It was a good plan, she knew it. However, it was a plan that made her incredibly uncomfortable.

She thought back to her first few weeks at Achlis... her constant battle with herself to try and do the right thing... to not betray her people. Despite how concerned she was about that, she realized now that nothing she had done back then was wrong. She had not betrayed her people and their cause. She had held onto what she stood for... even if she did it in an unimaginably stupid way.

This, however... well... this was more questionable.

Shaking her head, she sighed. No, she thought. No... this is to save Rue.

And even if her desire to save Rue was mostly selfish and out of the love she had developed for the man, she knew that saving Rue was the right thing. If they were right about Tai's plans, then Rue had a much greater role in saving their people from all the suffering they had gone through.

Nevertheless, she kept frowning, her eyes on the gold crest of the State embossed onto the cover of the folder-the head of a stag, its horns wrapped beautifully in vines. It was such an elegant and beautiful symbol, yet its association with the State made it so unsettling.

But then Thea paused, realizing something.

Her hands weren't shaking.

Despite all her anxieties and her fears, her hands stayed steady, gripping onto the folder rather firmly.

Her breathing slowed as the realization hit her... it had been a while since she last dealt with the trembling... and somehow that was what she needed to know to calm herself.

Right then, however, the secretary spoke up. "The President is ready for you."

Her heart rate skyrocketed instantly as she stood, grabbing her briefcase as well.

This was it.

"Thank you," she said to the secretary before turning and making her way into the President's Office as the armed guard that stood at the massive door opened it for her. Swallowing back her nervousness, she stepped in.

The President's office was even more opulent than the waiting area, with every piece of furniture quite clearly crafted from the finest, most expensive woods. Rich mahogany and dark cherry wood gleamed under the soft lighting, and the massive desk with gold accents looked pristine and spotless. Shelves lined the walls, filled with leather-bound volumes, and framed artwork covered any empty area. The thick, plush carpet muted every sound, reinforcing the quiet authority and power of the space. And of course, Thea could not miss the massive, golden statue of a stag that stood behind the seat of the President himself.

Oddly, as Thea's eyes lowered from the giant stag and rested on the seated President, she felt comforted. Somehow, the older man looked smaller, and less intimidating when having that beast looming over him.

Sure, the man looked to be a force to reckon with... but the majesty of the stag was so much more remarkable.

"Your General worked quite hard to get you a meeting with me today," Presiden Reichavar began, not wasting any time, "I had to move quite a few things around to make this work, so I hope you are not here to simply gawk."

Thea cleared her throat before bowing her head a little. "My apologies... I just–"

"Have a seat and get on with it," he said, gesturing at the seat on the other end of his desk.

She crossed through the large office quickly before taking a seat, setting her briefcase down on the floor next to her. Placing the folder on the desk, she looked at the President. "Thank you for allowing me to meet with you, Sir. And I don't want to waste your time so I'll get right to it," she began. I'm here to make a trade... I can give you something you want for the release of Rue after the trial that he is to be a witness for."

The President seemed immediately surprised by this, raising a brow. "A trade?" he asked. "What makes you think that I am willing to bargain for the life of a State Prisoner? Whatever the dramatics that are going on right now, that man was imprisoned for a reason. He is a criminal."

"If being a soldier is a crime then there are a lot of criminals that are simply walking around in this nation, don't you think?"

"Crows are not soldiers, love," the man said, a small smirk forming on his face. "They are rebels. Terrorists. Best to remember that when you work for the State."

Thea had to hold back her frown, instead, letting out a breath. "Well, whatever the case, I think you might change your mind when I tell you what I have to offer."

To that, he did not respond. Instead, he simply leaned back in his seat and kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to continue.

So she continued. "I think you know as well as I do that with everything that has happened with Rivier and Rue, one of the people most affected by the fallout is... you," she paused to see his reaction and spotted a twitch in his brow. Satisfied, she pushed onwards. "You put Rivier in the position he's in... and you kept him there despite him proving time and time again how incompetent he is."

The President's eyes darkened ever so slightly, but he remained silent.

"And because of this, people are now questioning you and all the chaos that's happening right now is being pinned on you as well... I'm sure you know that already, Sir," she said. "You're the President and the expectation is that you'd be on top of things like this but the current series of events is making it seem like you don't know what you're doing... you don't have any control."

The President finally reacted, letting out an amused breath before smirking. "Certainly that is the case, no thanks to your General, might I add. But are you trying to suggest that whatever deal you have to offer me is going to be so substantial that it would help with that?" he asked. "You think you have the capacity to change the opinion of thousands of unsatisfied people? You? An Elorian girl?"

Thea nodded. "Yes... because I have information. Information that you can turn into action."

"Well? What is this incredible information?"

Thea paused, taking a deep breath.

She could feel that she was getting somewhere with the man, but she knew that now was when the real struggle would start. "You have to agree to my terms before I tell you anything," she then opened up the folder, revealing a document that Milo had typed up for her. "And you have to sign this so I have leverage against you in case you don't follow through. If you take advantage of the information I give you without holding up your end of the bargain, I will release this document as proof of this arrangement."

Now the President frowned, looking a tad bit annoyed. "What are the terms?"

"Condition number one is that whatever action that you decide to take with this information is headed by the Secretary of Defense, Niall Killian," Thea began. "Though all credit will go to you, General Killian will be the one to lead the attack."

The President's frown deepened. "What else?"

"Rue is released from the State Prison immediately after General Killian confirms he's succeeded in holding up our end of the bargain."

After a moment of just staring at her, the President reached out and grabbed the folder. Then, leaning back in his seat again, he read its contents.

He took his time, clearly making sure he read it word-for-word, not missing anything at all. Of course, Thea could not blame him... she and Milo had done the same, reading through it a hundred times to ensure that nothing was missed, and that there were no loose ends that could be manipulated at any point.

One of the benefits of having a genius like Milo write something like this up was that he was thorough and able to think of all the possible ways an untrustworthy person may try to weasel their way out of a contract such as this.

When the President finished reading, he looked back at Thea. "And what makes you think that I won't simply use your information and then turn on you after claiming this document is a forgery?"

Thea hesitated, but then let out a breath and reached for her briefcase. After opening it up, she pulled out the small wire recorder, the buzzing sound as it recorded more loud and clear now that it was no longer muffled by being within the bag.

The President raised a brow. "You're recording this?"

Thea nodded, setting it back down carefully as she reminded herself of the many times Julian had told her to be very careful with it. It was incredibly expensive equipment that Julian needed to eventually return.

"I could simply take that from you."

"And then I would walk out with the information."

"You clearly have not thought this through," the President seemed amused now. "I could sign your document, then take it from you after you've told me everything I need to know–"

"I'm not telling you everything here and now," Thea said, not realizing she had interrupted him. "The deal will be that you sign the contract and I walk out of here with it after we schedule a second meeting. I will then have the recorder and the document taken somewhere safe and out of your reach before we meet again and I pass on the information."

Now the President was smiling. "So you have thought this through."

Thea nodded. "Besides... even if I did just tell you everything right after you sign the contract, I don't think I'd have to worry," she said. "In all honesty, I don't think you care so much about keeping Rue in prison as you pretend you do."

His smile faded.

"I think you think he's just another pesky Crow and it would mean nothing to you whether he is dead or alive or in prison or not. Frankly, Sir, I think that you would rather he be released anyways, seeing as people are so worked up about what's going on... your only concern is what politicians like Jakob Karney would think. With the current state of things, you need the support of men like him... but with the information I have, you won't." Thea smiled. "Once you take action after I have given you the information I have... you will have the support of the people again. It will be just like when the Civil War was won under your leadership."

The President watched her for a moment as he leaned forward, resting his hands on the desk, his fingers entwined together over the contract.

Finally, his smile returned. "I wondered what Niall saw in a little girl like yourself," he began. "It seems you are not as little as you seem."

Thea hesitated, suddenly thinking of how everyone seemed to call her a Little Crow. Odd that the first person who seemed to think otherwise was the President of the Aiverian State... the man who was really the primary enemy of the Elorian people, the people who originally created the story of the Little Crow.

But then again... maybe it was not odd at all.

Maybe, for the first time, Thea had proven to not be a Little Crow. After all, she was conspiring with the enemy... preparing to give away a secret of her people in order to get what it was she wanted... whether her reasoning for it was honorable and for the greater good or not. Something about that did not seem... naive.

It did not fit the archetype of the Little Crow.

And unfortunately, though she hated being called a Little Crow... somehow she did not know if this was any better.

"Fine," the President finally said. "Let us make this arrangement and see where it takes us."

Thea let out a sharp breath.

It had worked.