Hi everyone!

As promised, here is the second chapter for today! Enjoy! As always, would love to hear your thoughts of the story so far in the comments!

Don't forget to vote!

Love, Luckycharms <3



P.S. things are finally beginning to pick up between Thea and Niall ;) hehe



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The General drove Thea back down to the hostel, and though it was nearly three in the morning by the time they were driving, sleep was the last thing on Thea's mind. "Rue... doesn't seem like a man who would write poetry," she said as she continued to flip through his book. She pictured him in her head, looming and angry and large, his beard long and his hair longer.

She always pictured poets to be more... approachable.

"Neither did I," Niall said, as he drove.

"Listen to this one," Thea held to book up in front of her.

The moon is hidden behind the shadows Of the trees. The canopy a shelter, I am lost when I stare into the flames. The heat of the fire throbbing against My skin. The smoke stings me with every breath but it is pleasant, reminding me of Mother and the logs she burned to keep us Warm. Then I hear the droning of the air crafts Coming from above me. It is followed By the squealing sound of shells falling from The sky. Once again, I am reminded of my mother as I close my eyes and Hear the explosions and the screams. I see Mother in my mind, blood on the floor still Warm.



Thea saw the General wince, and even Thea felt a shudder run through her as she thought of this mother... maybe his mother.

Rue had told her that the book would show her what he was fighting for, and pushing aside all the poems she had skimmed through, the first poem seemed explanation enough.

Rue had a brother.

Maybe that was why he opened up to her. Maybe for once, Rue felt he could relate to her. He had, after all, told her about this notebook after she had told him that she was fighting for her own brother.

Rue was fighting for his brother too. A brother who had died.

A brother who had died... protecting him, it seemed.

When Niall pulled up in front of the hostel, she looked at him with a smile. "Thank you–"

"I know you're going to want to stay up all night reading this, but you need to sleep, Thea," he said. "You'll be able to work much more effectively if you're not exhausted."

She nodded, knowing he was right, but just as she was going to promise him that she would go right to sleep, she realized something. Turning to look at the entrance of the hostel, she let out a soft, worried gasp, trying not to curse.

"What?" Niall asked.

She put a hand over her face. "I was so worried about finding Rue's book that I forgot about the curfew."

Niall raised a brow. "Curfew?"

"Wait," Thea opened the door. "Maybe Bailey is awake." She was awake last time... but to be fair, last time Thea didn't come home well past two in the morning. She got out of the car, ran towards the door and tried opening it.

Of course, it was locked.

She stood there for a moment before sighing and looking back in the direction of Niall.

He used his hand to wave for her to come back. "It's fine," he said as she opened the door and bent down to look at him. "It's late. I could drop you off at Luana's but my assumption is that she's knocked out too. I have a few spare rooms, you can stay there for the night."

Though she knew that there really weren't any other options, she found that his suggestion made her cheeks warm dramatically. She imagined that if her skin were fair, she would be red and patchy. "Are you sure that's okay?" She asked as she got in.

He nodded, reversing out of the Greenwood Hostel lot and turning back in the direction of his home. "Kaya actually stays the night quite often, usually because she gets herself too drunk to walk home. She's practically made one of the rooms her own, so you can take that for tonight."

Her cheeks continued to burn. "I'm sorry for the hassle."

"It's fine, Thea," he said. "What's important is you getting some sleep. You're going to need it now that we have this notebook in our possession."

He was right.

She was just going there to sleep.

That was all.

When they arrived, Niall guided her up through the lift, nodding his head at every uniformed worker who still stopped and bowed their heads to him despite the time. After opening his door, he led her into his dark apartment, switching on lights as they walked through the large space. Stopping only when they made it to one of the many rooms that Thea had never seen before, he opened the door and gestured inside after turning on a light.

It was a regular bedroom, but that alone was bigger than the entirety of her little room back at the hostel. There was a relatively large bed against the center of the wall across from the door, a vanity to the left of them, a desk to the right and next to the desk was another door. The room had wood floors but a massive, beautiful rug that spanned over most of it, and the walls were covered in an elegant wallpaper.

Like the rest of his home though, there were some generic paintings on the wall, all of which Thea assumed were already here when Niall moved in.

"Wow," Thea said.

"The door right there leads to a walk-in bathroom. You can use that."

"Wow," she repeated.

"Is there anything you need? Toiletries–"

"No," Thea said as she lifted her suitcase up to show it to him. "I never had a chance to go back to the hostel to put all of this away. So I still have everything I took with me to Danyo." It seemed to have worked out perfectly.

Niall nodded with a smile. "Good," he said. "Get some rest... if you need anything at all, my room is down the hall. The double doors under the painting of the mountains."

She had seen that as they walked here. "Got it."

"Seriously though, Thea," he said. "Sleep."

Chuckling, she nodded again. "I will, I promise... besides, I don't think I can keep my eyes open much longer."

He smiled. "Alright then, good night."

After wishing him a good night as well, she let him shut the door for her before she placed her suitcase on the ottoman at the foot of the bed and pulled out her nightdress. After freshening up and changing in the washroom that was pretty much the same size as her room at the hostel, she brushed her hair before climbing into the very comfortable bed. The sheets were fresh and clean and she didn't realize what she'd been missing for the last few months until she felt herself sucked into a rush of comfort as she pulled the covers over her.

She let out a happy moan.

Her back and her shoulders were going to be extremely thankful to the General in the morning.

Of course, her eyes fluttered open at the thought of the General.

It felt odd for her to think that Niall would be getting ready for bed in a room just down the hall from her, but the thought made her wonder what sleeping Niall was really like. Did he sleep in pajamas? Or maybe shirtless.

Niall would definitely be attractive shirtless. He was well built, clearly... and seeing as he was a soldier, maybe he was covered in old scars and wounds.

Quickly though, the thought of Niall shirtless made a rush of embarrassment fill her.

Inappropriate. She told herself.

She wasn't allowed to think of such things. Especially not now, not when she had many more important things to worry about, like the contents of Rue's book.

However, despite trying to discipline herself, Thea did find herself falling asleep to the thought of what Niall would look like without a shirt.

She fell asleep smiling.







When Niall woke up the next morning, he found himself in an utter daze. He slept deeply, and he was still in a deep state of sleep when his alarm rang and startled him awake. It was one of those mornings where, for a rather blissful moment, you didn't know where you were. You were just warm.

And happy.

But as he lifted himself up, groggy and slowly coming to his senses, his heart grew heavy.

Another day.

It was as he was freshening up, brushing his teeth as he blankly stared at his own shirtless reflection, that he remembered that Thea was there.

Thea was in his apartment.

The reminder almost startled him, and he found himself rushing to get ready after that.

When he was ready, his uniform on, hair combed back perfectly and looking cleanly shaved for the first time since before he chased after Thea up to Danyo, he stepped out of the room and looked down the hall.

Her door was closed, and he assumed she was still asleep.

He wondered if it would be appropriate for him to wake her, but decided maybe he would give her some time... it was still early. Then, if she's still not out when it's time for him to leave, he'll knock.

He nodded, satisfied with that, before stepping out into the open living area just in time to hear the knock at the door.

Mrs. Aye was perfectly on time as always, at his door exactly at half past seven like every other day to deliver the fresh bread and milk. "Morning, love," the happy, uniformed woman said as she handed him the wrapped basket of bread and the little jug of milk. "I heard you had a guest today so I made sure the loaf was larger than usual," she winked at him, her green eyes bright and happy.

Niall raised a brow. "Who told you that?"

"Jinjin," she said, referring to the employee named Jinethan who manned the lift during the night shifts. She then lowered her voice. "A girl?"

If it was anyone other than the sweet, old and kind Mrs. Aye, Niall would have shut the door on her face, but instead, he simply rolled his eyes. "A subordinate of mine, Mrs. Aye," he said. "She works for me. We had a late night working and her hostel has a curfew."

"Always your coworkers, isn't it?" The woman pouted. "Dear god, will there ever be a day where you surprise me with a wife?" She asked. "How long does my poor heart have to look at your lonely face every morning?"

The comment surprised him and he found himself chuckling. "If my face is the problem, then I'll try to be a little more cheery in the mornings. For you."

She began walking off, waving her hands before grabbing the cart with all her other deliveries. "Get a wife, Niall," she said. "Before I die, please."

He was baffled, not knowing that this was something she was concerning herself over, but the interaction made Niall laugh softly to himself as she shut the door and took the bread and milk into the kitchen. After setting the goods down on the counter, Niall began to prep both coffee and tea, not sure which it was that Thea preferred. When that was ready, Niall sliced up the loaf, warm and fresh, added a little bit of blueberry jelly onto his before walking over to the large floor to ceiling length window in the kitchen and looking out at the city as he ate.

The city was rather glum, the leaves from the trees now on the pavement instead of on the branches, brown and crispy and ugly, the weather growing more and more cold as the days passed. Soon, it would be snowing, and when that happened, driving was going to become a nuisance. Whatever the case, winter was always the roughest time of year for Niall. It was a cold winter night that his mother had passed, afterall... he could remember it clearly, despite it being over a decade ago. Then there was just the simply plain fact that he despised the cold.

And the thought of this all made him feel the sudden urge to smoke.

"Good morning!"

Niall was startled by Thea's voice, making him turn around quickly and look at her.

"I hope I'm not late," she said quickly. "The whole place smells amazing."

"Good morning," Niall said, surprised once again by her presence. "You're not. And the bread is fresh. Help yourself."

"Can I really?" She asked, setting her suitcase on the floor next to the table.

"Of course," he then walked over to the coffee pot. "Coffee or tea? I wasn't sure which you preferred."

"Coffee would be lovely."

He prepared a cup for her as she made herself a quick breakfast.

From the corner of his eye, Niall watched as she examined the different jellies that he had set out for her to pick from and was a little surprised when she went for peach. It was good, certainly, just as all of Mrs. Aye's jellies were– she made sure he was always stocked up on them, though of course he paid her well– but the peach jelly was quite sweet.

He figured she had a sweet tooth.

When she had finished covering the two slices of the loaf with jelly, he handed her the cup before pointing, "milk and sugar," he said. "The milk is fresh too, and creamy."

She seemed pleased as she added just enough milk to turn the black coffee into a light brown, before adding three cubes of sugar.

Yes.

She had a sweet tooth.

"Thank you," she said as she took a sip.

Niall smiled, grabbing his own black coffee.

Niall was well aware that though she smiled warmly at him and looked to be presenting herself normally, she found this just as odd as he did. It was... a little awkward. Though that wasn't entirely surprising, seeing as he was sharing breakfast with one of his employees after she stayed the night in his home.

It was certainly odd.

He also knew he was better at being a host when he was the General since it was easier to take charge when you were the boss... but when he was just Niall, it was certainly strange. It was in situations like these that he realized he certainly fared better when he was drunk.

He let out a silent sigh before sipping his coffee.

After a moment however, Thea, who was still standing near him, looked up. "Thank you," she repeated. "For being so accommodating."

When he looked at her, he felt a little strange. For the second day in a row, her hair wasn't done up in intricate braids or knots or anything of the sort. It was just out, falling over her shoulders and down to her waist. He wondered why she chose not to do anything to her hair the last couple days. Was it because she didn't have time to? Maybe she was just tired of spending so much time on it.

He wondered if that was a good thing or bad thing... seeing as hair was such an important part of an Elorian woman's identity. He remembered that even his mother, despite their situation, did everything she could to make sure her hair was perfect.

She only had one ribbon that she cherished, a ribbon he still had today, which sat at his desk back in Achlis, and with that one ribbon, she styled her hair like a work of art.

So what did it mean? What did the fact that Thea didn't do anything to her hair over the last couple days mean? Did it have anything to do with what Milo had told him a couple days back? Or was he simply thinking too deeply about it and it really meant nothing at all?

But then again, maybe it was just none of his business.

Whatever the case, he couldn't deny that she still looked rather pretty.

He remembered the sight of her tying her hair back the night before... he remembered it made his heart skip a beat. That, the conversation they were having, and the way she was taking charge over a complicated situation... for the first time since they had met, she somehow seemed admirable... she seemed more like a woman than ever before.

Not that she wasn't womanly... just... she didn't seem like the young girl he always made her out to be. She seemed more mature.

He couldn't deny that it was rather attractive.

He also remembered that this thought was entirely inappropriate, and he couldn't let his mind wander like that. Never.

"Niall?"

The General blinked. "Sorry," he said, looking away. "Yes, no problem... I'm happy to be able to help... did you manage to get some sleep?"

"I slept really well, thanks," she said. "I'm ready to tackle this notebook now. And with Milo's help, I'm sure we'll find something."

"That's good to hear. We'll schedule a meeting today with the team to discuss how we'll proceed... I'm sure your focus now is Rue, so the other interviews will probably be put on pause. Does that sound fine?"

She nodded and smiled warmly at him, coffee still in her hands. "Yes. I feel really hopeful."

He smiled back.

It was this aspect of her that he liked so much... it was this that he liked about her from the start. She may have made some stupid mistakes, but she was hopeful.

Hopeful was good.

He certainly needed some of that in his life.







Niall drove the two of them to Achlis after a filling breakfast and a delicious coffee, and Thea felt more enthusiastic than ever. It also helped that as she opened up the notebook again on the drive there, the random page she opened up to had another interesting poem. She read it outloud to Niall.

It's time we begin the fight for freedom. They said to be proud and grab our weapons, To look deep within our own black, black eyes And slick back our hair, as dark as a crow. Revere the obsidian that makes us Elorian. Like our eyes and our hair and our stone hearts And the feathers of the crows that soar away, The weapons that they speak so fondly of Are also black and to be feared. Like me. We must redefine what they hold against Us. I wonder then, if my father would be Proud To know that his black eyed, dark haired, stone heart Son Has picked up a pen instead of a gun. Like my eyes and my hair and my stone heart The smooth ink that flows out is, afterall, just as black.

She liked this one, and Niall did too... but this one was different from the others. There was something different about the tone of this poem and even just the way he wrote it. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that was different though.

When Niall and Thea arrived, they walked in and took the lift together but parted ways when they arrived on their floor, Thea rushing quickly to her office with Milo. The General said their meeting would be at ten, so that gave Thea more than enough time to catch Milo up.

Of course, with the sudden turn of events, their dinner plans for the night before were canceled, so she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Milo in what felt like a while.

She was excited to see him.

She was more excited to share what she'd found out with him.

When she arrived, she was already grinning, and Milo stood up from his seat. "Thea! Luana told me what happened with Rue... did you..." his voice trailed off as she held the notebook out in front of her. His smile grew as well. "Amazing, Thea!" he said.

"I'm relying on your help," Thea said. "I can't imagine a better person to help me decipher this."

He nodded, adjusting his specs as he moved his chair closer to Thea's desk. "This will be our top priority. I'm sure this is exactly what the General is going to say so might as well start our discussion now," he said, taking a seat and gesturing for Thea to sit too, "Tell me everything!"

So she did just that. She told Milo about what happened in Danyo, and then how she told Rue about it. She also told him that Rue asked who she was fighting for, and without specifying her answer to Milo, she explained that she answered him honestly.

Milo didn't push for any details she didn't give, and Thea certainly appreciated that.

When Thea was done updating him, the two began to read the poems together, deciding to go page by page. The two found themselves looking at these poems the way they did in language class when they were younger, copying it down in their own notebook, spending a few minutes reflecting on it alone, jotting down notes, highlighting things they thought were important, and then discussing it together.

Of course, they started with the very first one. It's cold outside. I hear my brother's voice In the wind, and though I want to believe It's him speaking to me... I know it's not. My mind is growing fickle. I suppose Loneliness does that to you. Or maybe It's the anger in me... that must be it. Or maybe it is my brother. His ghost Coming back to tell me to put my gun Down. Maybe I am making excuses, Because I don't want to believe that he Would be disappointed to see that I Am holding a gun in the hands he died Protecting.

Thea had some insight on this one. She knew that the significance of this one was probably that the death of his brother was what triggered his anger. It was what he was fighting for.

Similar to how Thea wanted to fight for her own brother, or how Aaryan left and joined the Crows to get revenge for his sister.

"His brother died to protect him..." Milo said, "but he made the point to say that he died protecting the hands Rue was holding his gun in. My assumption would then be that Rue must have been doing something significant with his hands that he got in trouble for... would you agree?"

Thea perked up. "Yes!" she began flipping through the book to try and find the poem she read to Niall this morning. "I think you're exactly right. Look at this one..." It's time we begin the fight for freedom. They said to be proud and grab our weapons, To look deep within our own black, black eyes And slick back our hair, as dark as a crow. Revere the obsidian that makes us Elorian. Like our eyes and our hair and our stone hearts And the feathers of the crows that soar away,

The weapons that they speak so fondly of Are also black and to be feared. Like me. We must redefine what they hold against Us. I wonder then, if my father would be Proud To know that his black eyed, dark haired, stone heart Son Has picked up a pen instead of a gun. Like my eyes and my hair and my stone heart The smooth ink that flows out is, afterall, just as black.

Milo nodded slowly. "He chose to fight with words instead."

Thea felt her heart warm a little, surprised. She didn't think deeply about it enough to realize... he was more like her than she ever imagined. "At some point, Rue believed that fighting with words and writing would be more effective than fighting with weapons."

Like her.

Milo nodded, placing his pen against his lip. "And somehow his writing may have gotten his brother killed, and the fact that he potentially joined the Crows after should make it clear that it was the State that persecuted his brother."

Thea's eyes widened. "Two poems and we've already gotten this much information."

"Two down, dozens more to go," he smiled. "You can save him, Thea... you've gotten exactly what we need to do so."

A relief rushed through Thea. This was her mission... the main reason why Niall initially hired her. Her priority was always to make sure they found information that could keep the stubborn Rue alive... and they were almost there.