When Niall woke up, his arm around her body and his face pressed against the top of her head, for a moment he thought he was dreaming. At the very least, he thought he may have been in that blissful state between being asleep and being awake.

However, as he slowly came too, the memories of the night before returning, his first reaction was to panic. Then, he forced himself to relax, reminding himself that they had not gone past kisses that night, and even if they had, she had agreed to this. She was okay with this.

She wanted to be here.

After slipping out of Thea's arms and seeing that it was six in the morning, meaning that the two of them had only slept for about two or so hours last night, he pulled the curtains at his windows shut to keep the room dark so Thea could get a little more sleep. Then, he proceeded to clean up.

Thea's hair was still all over the bathroom floor, so after freshening himself up and showering, he proceeded to put all of it into a box, including the strands he swept up from the floor. Generally it was tradition for Elorian women to have their hair burned after a cut and Niall didn't really know what Thea wanted to do with the hair, putting it in a box for the time being seemed like the safest bet.

Once that was done, he changed into his uniform, though keeping his jacket and tie off for the time being, set aside some extra toiletries for Thea to use when she woke up, including a new towel and toothbrush, and left the bathroom.

Thea was still fast asleep, the sight of her making Niall smile before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

After returning the broom to the closet, he made his way into the kitchen for some breakfast and coffee. However, when he heard the shuffling of papers coming from the living room, he made his way there.

Julian was sitting there, flipping through some pages in one of his many folders.

"Good morning," Niall said, drawing Julian's attention up from his papers.

"Morning, Sir," he responded. "I hope you don't mind, I let myself in."

Though for the first time in forever, Niall did mind, seeing as Thea was sleeping in his bedroom, he didn't hold any hard feelings towards Julian. How would he have known that Niall would go from dismissing his feelings as being inappropriate to just a few days later, kissing her for hours on end the night prior. "It's fine," Niall said. "Can I get you a coffee?"

"That would be lovely."

Niall took pride in his coffee making, he made a great cup of coffee, so he got to it with pleasure, getting some ready for Thea as well. When Mrs. Aye showed up with her fresh bread, Julian answered the door for him, which Niall was relieved about. Just like the last time Thea slept over, he wouldn't be surprised if someone in the building had noticed her and passed on the news to Mrs. Aye... and frankly, Niall wasn't in the mood to be discussing a wife.

So after Julian handed him the bread, Niall sliced it up, put it on a board with the jams he knew Julian liked, before bringing it over with their coffees, setting it down on the coffee table.

When Niall took his seat in his usual armchair, coffee in hand, Julian reached out and grabbed some of the warm bread and began spreading the strawberry jam over it. "Doing some morning cleaning?" he asked.

"What?" Niall asked before sipping his coffee.

Julian jerked his chin towards the closet. "I saw you return a broom to the closet," he said. "Were you up early cleaning?"

Niall lowered his coffee a little, looking at Julian. "No... just..." There was a storm forming in his mind as he contemplated how he would approach the next topic. He had no choice, of course, seeing as Thea would be joining them at any point now. So he exhaled. "Thea's here."

Julian raised a brow, probably more because Niall's response didn't exactly answer the question but he was intrigued enough by the response Niall did give. "Oh. Did she come over early or did she stay the night?"

"Stayed the night," Niall could feel his cheeks beginning to warm, though he tried to fight it the best he could.

Julian's brow rose ever so slightly, before he lowered it again, a small smile forming on his face. "I see."

Niall looked away, lifting his mug to his lips and using it to cover his face.

"So I'm assuming you heard about Rue already?"

Niall nodded. "He's awake."

Julian nodded. "Relatively stable, though still healing. His bed was moved beside the window too, which was left open. I'm assuming that was Thea's doing, which surprised me because that is one heavy bed. Whatever the case, the staff were very upset about that."

"What, do they think he'll climb out the window of a seven story building whilst mortally wounded, one eyed and chained to the bed?" Niall asked, annoyed. "Let the man have some air. He's been trapped in a dungeon for half a decade."

Julian chuckled. "I told them the same thing," was his response. "Did he talk to her? How was that?"

"Apparently better than ever before," Niall said, looking back at Julian. "She..." he hesitated. "They spoke about her history with Adrien. Apparently he gave her some good advice."

"Good. That's great news. Speaking of, you were right, Adrien will keep quiet about what happened yesterday. He's got an ego, that one," Julian rolled his eyes. "Though, that doesn't necessarily mean he's not going to take things into his own hand."

Niall nodded. "Keep an eye on him," Niall said. "A close one."

"Of course. I–"

"Niall?"

Thea's voice surprised the both of them, though Niall felt his body go rigid, his eyes on Julian. "In the living room, Thea."

"Oh, good morning!" he heard her say rather cheerfully from down the hall. "I thought you might have left... I'm going to have to go back to the hostel, I don't have a change of clothes or my makeup or anything–"

She cut herself off when she appeared in the living room, her eyes on Julian.

Julian however, who was previously smirking with his lips on the rim of his mug, nearly choked on his drink at the sight of her.

"Oh... good morning, Julian."

He was gawking. "Thea... your hair..."

She suddenly looked embarrassed and though Niall's mind was racing as he wondered what Julian was thinking, he couldn't deny that his heart felt oddly full at the sight of her crossing her arms, her hands over her elbows as she raised her shoulders. "Does it... look bad?"

"No, no," Julian smiled warmly. "You look lovely, Thea... it just took me by surprise."

She relaxed a little. "Well, thank you," she said, before her eyes fell on Niall. "I... I'll get going then."

Niall stood, walking over to her. "Have a coffee first, and some breakfast. Once you're ready, Julian can take you to your hostel."

"Is that really alright?" she asked, her glance shifting to Julian.

"It's better you leave with me than Niall," he said, honestly. Though those words were all Thea had to hear to figure that Julian knew the jist of what had happened between the two of them.

Almost instantly, she looked embarrassed again. "Right... that's a good point."

Niall walked into the kitchen with a sigh, knowing damn well how pleased Julian probably was and for some reason, it was embarrassing. When Thea joined him, she gripped onto the counter, her lips pursed. "He..." she began, her voice a whisper.

"Knows... for sure," Niall responded, his voice just as soft. "He can read me like a book, that asshole."

Thea laughed at that. "He's an extension of your soul, after all."

Niall snorted.

"It's not... a problem is it?" She asked, watching Niall closely.

"Julian?" Niall shook his head. "No, not at all."

She looked relieved. Then, as Niall poured her a fresh cup of coffee, she surprised him by turning his face with her hand before getting on her toes and kissing his lips. It was a short, sweet peck, but it made Niall's head spin. "Last kiss before you become the General for the rest of the day," she whispered.

Niall's lips curved up into a smile before he lowered his head and kissed her again despite her saying the previous kiss was the last one. "I expect nothing but professionalism from you today, Miss. Rhaanan," he said against her mouth, his voice deep.

She pulled away, smiling widely at him while biting her lip, the sight of which made a flame erupt in him though it was way too early in the morning for this. "Yes, Sir."

Thea hated the attention her new haircut brought, however she certainly didn't regret letting Niall cut it. As she walked through the large foyer of Achlis, she figured she would just need to deal with the eyes and the shock from the people who recognized her, surely they would get used to it eventually. And surely this was better than them watching her for other reasons.

And at least she didn't see Adrien.

When Thea made it to the door of her and Milo's office, she could hear the voices of people inside. As usual, she figured Luana was in there, spending her morning before her shift started with Milo, and Thea knew quite well that her friends would go rather nuts at the sight of her. She would have some explaining to do, and despite knowing that this would be the case, Thea didn't really even know what she was going to say. She hadn't even thought about it much.

Oh well.

Holding the doorknob for a moment, she took a deep breath and let it out before turning it and swinging the door open.

Unsurprisingly, Luana and Milo were there, together. Milo was leaning back in his chair, looking up at Luana, who was sitting on his desk, chattering away. What surprised her though, was the presence of Aaryan.

She knew Luana and Milo were good friends with Aaryan, but his consistent presence around them now that she knew about him frustrated her. Not because she didn't want them to be friends or anything like that, no, not at all. It just emphasized the extent he went to in order to keep his existence a secret from her. Clearly he enjoyed spending time with the two, and he was willing to give that up to stay away from her.

It made her frown.

And it was as she frowned that Luana screeched her name and rushed over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You're hair!"

Milo stood up too, looking shocked, and Aaryan was gawking, eyes wide.

"Firstly, let me just say I didn't go crazy and cut off all my hair," Thea said, quickly, wanting everyone to ease up and clearly, hearing her explain that was enough for everyone to lower their shoulders and relax at least a little. "I just... after everything that happened, I just needed a fresh start, that's all."

She looked from face to face, watching the surprise turn into understanding. Thankfully, it seemed like no further explanation of her relationship with her hair was required, seeing as both Aaryan and Luana were Elorian, and Milo just happened to know everything.

And more than anything, Thea appreciated that they all decided not to push for more details.

"You look great, Thea," Milo proceeded to say. "Short hair, long hair, you look lovely in both."

"We're twins!" Luana grinned as she stepped behind Thea and rested her chin on her shoulders for both the boys to see. "Don't we look like twins?"

Thea laughed, seeing both Aaryan and Milo hesitate. Aside from both of them being Elorian, the two looked nothing alike, Thea knew. And even though Thea's hair was short now, it was about an inch shorter than Luana's, so even that wasn't the same. Nevertheless, she laughed.

When Milo began laughing at Luana's ridiculousness as well, Thea's eyes fell on Aaryan. Though he was smiling, she could tell that he was concerned... she could tell that he knew there was more to this than a simple 'fresh start.' Nevertheless, when their eyes met, she knew that he wasn't going to push her.

Despite still not being too happy with him, she appreciated that.

As soon as she was able to, Thea and Luana made their way to the hospital so that she could see Rue again. The team had had a meeting about half an hour after Thea had arrived in Achlis and as expected, now that Rue was awake, the expectation was to get right back to work. With the news of Rivier still spreading through the Aiverian State, the team still had the ultimate goal of getting rid of Rivier and it was Thea's job to get more information from Rue.

He had given them so much about himself, yes, and they had successfully used that information to save him from the executioner's block. But now, Niall insisted that they needed to move forward. They needed to get the information that they had originally wanted to get from Rue.

Information about the Crow division that Rue was once part of. Information about the Original Crows. Information that would help get rid of Rivier and information that they could use as a bargaining chip to get Rue out of prison.

And Thea had a bit of an idea on what information would help discredit Rivier some more... Rivier's true relationship to Rue... what happened to Rivier's daughter. However, Thea knew that information was useless without proof, and it wasn't exactly what Niall was looking for. So for the time being, she kept it to herself.

It was going to be busy again, she knew, but for some reason, this time around, she felt incredibly confident. Maybe it was because she had grown... more maybe it was because of her hair... or maybe it was because of Niall. Whatever the case, the thought made her smile.

Niall, however, despite the events of the night prior, treated Thea as if nothing had happened. Of course, she was unsurprised by this– she expected professionalism from the General of the Aiverian Army and the Deputy Secretary of Defence. Though, to be fair, when the meeting was over and everyone was making their way out, Niall did manage to flash Thea a kind of relaxed smile that she had never seen him wear... one that made her heart flutter and her cheeks warm.

Yes. Things were going to be great.

When they arrived in the hospital room, Thea was happy to see that Rue's bed was still by the window, though the windows and blinds were closed.

The sound of her opening the door made the man open his eyes and look in her direction, and though Thea expected a look of shock or something of that sort, the sight of her simply caused him to hesitate for a moment, before he smiled. "Look at you."

Thea's cheeks warmed as she walked right over to the window and pulled open the blinds, letting the sun hit his skin. She also opened the windows, though just a tad bit this time, seeing as despite the glorious sun, it was quite cold out today. They were in the heart of winter, afterall. "What do you think?" She asked, when she took her seat next to him, her fingers running through the short locks. It was too short to do much with it now, so she simply braided the sides and pinned it up to keep it out of her face. It was good enough.

"Lovely," he said. "You look like a woman who is happy with who she is."

Thea's smile widened as she pulled herself closer to him. However, as she got closer, she didn't fail to notice that he didn't particularly look to be doing much better. The man's skin was still pale, he looked exhausted and sickly. It worried her, but she held onto the hope that he would get better soon... it had only been a few hours since she had last seen him after all. "I hope I'm just that."

Rue let out a breathy laugh. "Is it the work of your General?"

Now her cheeks burned as she nodded.

"He did a good job," Rue said. "I see the care he put into it."

"Can you?" she chuckled, feeling her heart skip a beat. "I guess you can really see that he's worth trusting, hmm?"

To that, his smile turned into a smirk. "I suppose," was his response. "On that note, I suppose you're here today for work as well and not just to keep me company?"

"I guess so," she said as she reached into her back and pulled out her folder. Opening it up, she held out a large bundle of papers and smiled. "Your poems."

Rue's brows rose.

"I've been working on these because... with your permission... I'd love to have them published."

Rue kept his eyes on the bundle of pages for a long moment. "Hmm," was all he responded with.

Thea then proceeded to explain herself. She explained her idea the same way she had explained it to Niall on the train ride back from Abureth. Three volumes. The first being the before, the second being the during and the third being the after– if Rue would be willing to write some more.

It would be the story of Rue told through his poems. The story of a man who started off wanting to fight this war through the words that flowed from his pen, but somehow ended up picking up a gun and becoming the second in command in the most important Crow Division before being captured by the state and silenced.

She knew it would be well received by Elorians, for certain. But importantly, she knew that it would intrigue Aiverians... a book of poems that shows its readers the mind of a Crow? How could that not be intriguing? Even if someone only picked it up to read with hate in their hearts... it was better than nothing at all.

Rue listened to her carefully without interrupting. Finally, when she finished, he turned and looked out the window for a short moment before sighing. "Fine," he said.

Thea gasped, standing and startling Rue into looking back at her. "Really?"

"Yes, Thea."

She grinned. "It's ready, you know?" she said. "I could give it to Julian or Milo today and they would forward it–"

"I'll leave that to you."

"People will read it, Rue," Thea said. "Just like they did back in Thanina! They'll read it, and they'll sympathize with you, and this will help get you out of here... out of prison."

Rue looked back out the window, his eyes on the bright, clear sky. After a moment of thinking, he nodded. "Good."

Thea smiled, sitting back down. "I knew you wanted to get out of here."

She saw Rue's lips curve up into a smile, though he kept his eyes on the sky. "It seems... the feeling of the heat of the sun and light of the moon against my skin has made me a little more enthusiastic about living... free..."

Thea reached out and took his hand in hers. "Getting you out is my utmost priority, Rue," she said, honestly. "I will do everything I can... I want to get you out of here more than anything."

Rue turned and looked at her. "I know. And I'm grateful for that."

"And that leads me to the next reason I'm here though," she said, tightening her grip on his hand. "Rivier."

Rue nodded slowly. "I knew this was coming."

"You can say no," she said, honestly. "But... what you told me about Rivier... if you give me permission to do so, I could– well, my team could use that information to destroy him. I know you want to ruin him as much, if not more, than Niall does... so will you help? We would just need proof... and I can't help but focus on the fact that you said there was a letter."

The man turned to face her now, his expression a little solemn."There is."

Thea felt her heart beat speed up. "You still have it."

"I don't," he said, making Thea's shoulders drop. "But someone I trust does."

Now Thea stopped breathing.

"I figured it would be better to hold onto it, seeing as it would have come in handy at some point... though I never imagined this would be the scenario."

Smiling, Thea leaned forward. "If you tell me where you've kept it, I can go get it. I can head out today, even–"

"That's where the problem lies."

Thea hesitated.

Rue kept looking at her. "The person who has it... is someone your General would really love to know about. The person who he probably wants you to have me tell you about."

Thea's shoulders lowered again as she was reminded of what Niall had originally wanted from her when he first hired her. To find out more about the division that Rue was once a part of... the group that he was second in command of. It wasn't difficult to figure that the person he was referring to was probably... his boss.

The person in charge of the Original Crows. The Elorian Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The man who took over after Rhys.

Rue was watching her, and when he knew she understood what he was talking about, he let out a breath. "I trust you, Thea," he said. "I trust you. I don't trust your General, but you trust him... and I am simply left to believe in the trust you have in him."

Thea squeezed his hand again. "That means a lot to me, Rue."

"I'm not done," he said, firmly, making Thea hesitate. "Because I'm not going to tell you anything until you understand what exactly is at stake here."

She hesitated but then nodded.

"I originally joined the Crows with the hope of killing the Aiverians who wronged me... who took my brother from me. I was hateful and angry and bloodthirsty and I blamed the State. But the truth is, it was my fault he died–"

"Rue–"

"Listen to me, let me do the talking for once." Though he was being serious, he smiled a little as he said it, making Thea smile too, before nodding. "When the State took Thanina, they wanted to wipe out all opposition in the city. That meant people, propaganda... anything they deemed as opposition, and my poems, which were quite popular within Thanina at that time, were included in what they considered 'opposition,' even though they had an anti-war sentiment. So the State did what the State does and got the information that the poems were written by the boy who lived in one of the little homes down in the coastal town and they eventually came for me."

Thea began scowling.

"I was not home when they came but I found out from my neighbors that my brother, knowing what it meant for State Officers to come knocking at your door, pretended it was his work and let himself get arrested. They didn't question it at all, seeing as my brother was a brilliant and well known teacher, after all. So they took him to the town square and..."

"Pushed him down on his knees and shot him," Thea finished for him, her frown deepening.

Rue watched her for a moment before giving a curt nod. "His brilliance splattered across the floor. He died because of me."

Thea couldn't believe that he would blame himself for this. She thought back to Rue's words to her just last night... his assurance that her own pain was not her fault. "Rue... you can't blame yourself for that... the state was taking all able bodied men–"

"My brother was not an able bodied man," Rue said with a smirk. "He was sickly and frail. I was years younger than him but much stronger and larger than he ever was... he couldn't even see a single thing without his specs, for crying out loud."

Thea held her breath.

"That was why he was so smart... he spent his entire youth studying and learning because that was all he could do. He couldn't play with the other children, or participate in sports or go fishing with my mother and father... he was too frail. They didn't shoot my brother because they thought he would join the Crows, they shot my brother because they thought he was writing the poems that were written by me. They were trying to prove a point to the onlookers... to the rest of the Elorians."

Thea's eyes were wide in shock.

"Of course, the opposite of what they had hoped would happen occurred. Instead of instilling fear, hundreds or boys, myself included, turned to the Crows. I could not protect my father, who was killed at the beginning of the siege when the State raided the port. I could not protect my mother, who died in the shellings only a few days before they killed my brother. I could not protect my brother, who died protecting me."

Thea felt as if someone was squeezing at her heart, suddenly thinking of Aaryan's words to her... his desire to protect those who he loved and feeling defeated when he felt like he had failed.

"It was at that point that I convinced myself that writing... was pointless. My family had done nothing wrong. My parents were not Crows, my brother was not a Crow, none of us had once picked up a weapon... yet everyone I loved was murdered. I realized that I could not fight a war of hate and bigotry with a pen... how could I, when the people who I wanted to read my work, the people we considered our enemies, would never even pick it up? It was entirely hopeless, and so I turned to the Crows."

Though her heart ached at Rue's words, she couldn't deny that it also warmed a little at the thought of Aaryan.

Suddenly, she allowed herself to comprehend the hopelessness that Aaryan must have felt when he could not protect the person in the world who meant most to him. His sister... the only family he ever cared for.

And... herself.

"Again, I was hateful and angry and bloodthirsty and more than willing to kill the Soldiers of the State who took absolutely everything from me... and if I kept up that attitude I would have been dead a long time ago," Rue said. "The only reason I somehow managed to stay alive this long was because in the worst time of my life, I managed to meet the right people... people who helped me grow."

Thea nodded slowly, believing what he was saying. Not only was she able to relate to him and the idea of becoming better after meeting the right people, but also understanding that though she did not know Rue of the past, he certainly must have changed from who he once was.

The man in front of her... there was not a bit of thirst for blood in him. He was calm and wise and thoughtful and everything Thea hoped she could be. He was a hero to her... yes, he was caged and weak and injured... but the energy he exuded, from the first day she had met him, was always imposing.

Niall believed it too... once saying that Rue reminded him of a caged lion... harmless because of the bars that enclosed him in, but nevertheless majestic and powerful enough for people to fear ever letting him out. Niall was exactly right.

"The people who made me who I am today... they are my family. And these are the people your General wants me to give you some insight on, and it is my love and respect for these people that allow me to remain silent, whatever the punishment, torture or pain I must endure because of it."

Thea was still holding her breath.

"These people are not your regular Crows. They are far from it," he continued. "They are the successors of Rhys himself. They are powerful and noble and entirely opposed to the ways of men like Orynan. Unlike the rest of the Crows that roam our lands slinging their guns around just to pretend they hold power, these people actually have power. They pose a threat and if the State didn't underestimate us and had even the slightest bit of an idea of the kind of power this group holds... even they would shudder. Of course, your General is wiser than the rest of the State... he knows the power of this group, at least to some extent, and that's why you were sent to me to begin with."

Thea nodded. She wasn't going to pretend she didn't know that. She always knew what Niall's intentions were, even if she had trouble believing him at the beginning. Niall wanted to know the details of this powerful division... to make sure he could be multiple steps ahead of them in order to protect the people who deserved protection.

He had said it to her when they first spoke in the back of that car. His goal was that everyone who is innocent is allowed to live in peace, comfort and relief in knowing that they are safe.

Rue was watching her closely, watching his words dance around in her mind as she reflected. "And you, someone I trust, seem to truly believe that General Killian wants this information for good reasons. That he means well."

She nodded.

She didn't hesitate.

"You understand that... if you are wrong about him, even in the slightest... that you will not only be threatening the only real hope our people have left... but also possibly bringing an end to the only real reason I have left to live for?"

Once again, Thea didn't hesitate.

She knew she trusted Niall. She trusted him with her life. He had protected her and come to her rescue time and time again and forgiven her for her stupidity when she did not deserve it. And not to mention the fact that she now trusted him so much that she had handed him her heart.

When she thought of the night prior, of how he cut her hair for her, a sacred act that he understood well... and how he kissed her and touched her afterwards... she couldn't imagine that the man was lying to her about anything. She felt whole with him... free. How could she feel that way if she felt even an inkling of deception or manipulation?

No. She didn't feel any such thing.

She trusted Niall. She trusted his intentions.

It seemed she didn't need to say anything, Rue could quite clearly see what she was thinking, and in response he sighed. "I hope you are not letting your romantic feelings for him blind you."

She felt her cheeks warm, and though his words embarrassed her, she felt comfortable enough to be honest with him. "I started having feelings for him because I trust him."

Rue nodded slowly. "Alright... I trust you."

Thea smiled now.

"Tai," he then simply said. "In Ilia, Kal."

Thea raised a brow. "Tai?"

Rue nodded. "The one who has the letter... the one in charge of everything. The one your General is looking for. Tai."