Today was the big day.

It was the day that Thea had been preparing for for far too long.

And she was panicking.

As she paced back and forth in her office with Milo, reviewing all her notes, she tried to ignore her racing heart and the rather intrusive thought of Adrien. Any time Adrien would show up in her mind, she did absolutely everything to get rid of him, reminding herself of her conversation with Niall the night prior.

She would be fine.

Right?

Whatever the case, when it was time for them to head to the top floor of Achlis, a floor that Thea had only visited one time on her first day here when Julian had given her a tour, she was already shaking.

The top floor of Achlis was the most beautiful floor in the building and it was quite clear why, seeing as this was where all the major State Officials had their offices, including the Secretary of Defence. Thea also knew that the President had an office here too, though he never spent any time here at all.

As she and Milo walked down the quiet hall with the marble floors, beige walls accented by beautiful marble statues, chandeliers lined all along the ceilings, and gorgeous paintings sprinkled here and there as well, Thea also realized that if Niall were to ever be promoted, he'd be up here too.

He'd hate it here.

"This is it," Milo whispered, stopping in front of a pair of large white double doors.

"No one is here yet?" Thea looked at her wristwatch, forgetting that her hand was still shaking. Sure, they were fifteen minutes early... but no one was here yet?

"A few people may be inside already," Milo responded before reaching out and taking her shaking hand in his. He held it tightly, smiling at Thea. "You're going to be fine," he said. "You're going to do an amazing job."

Thea smiled at him, though nervously.

She hadn't had the chance to tell him about the fact that Adrien was most likely going to be at this meeting, but that was mostly because she couldn't even get herself to say it... and that wasn't factoring in the fact that she was trying so hard to not think about the man at all.

So yes, maybe she would do well. Maybe she did have the potential to do well, like Milo said... like he believed. But what about the new variable of Adrien?

How was his presence going to affect her?

Well, she knew well what it was going to do. What was important now, was to try and get past it... to remember what Niall had said to her the night before.

He had her back.

Almost on queue, she heard the elevator ding before the gate clattered loudly as it opened, and when she turned, she saw both Julian and Niall begin to make their way towards them.

Unsurprisingly, Niall looked rather stressed, his brows low and his expression rather tired with bags under his eyes, despite looking absolutely spotless and pristine in every other way. Thea always wondered how he managed to look so put together despite being so exhausted. She herself had struggled this morning to get dressed, knowing well that she had to look her absolute best.

She woke up hours early, getting into her best, freshly ironed white blouse and dark green skirt. At first she considered wearing trousers, seeing as she was going to be in a room filled with men, but her dark green skirt was her absolute favorite skirt and she decided she'd be more comfortable in that. Besides, she didn't really like the idea of having to dress a particular way to be taken seriously.

Of course, she didn't wake up hours early because of her outfit, no. It was because of her hair. She spent quite a lot of time knotting her hair into a thick, pretty, intricate braid going down her back and away from her face, though she did pull a few strands out to frame her face.

She would have left it out... she could have... but Adrien was going to be there.

Adrien was going to have his eyes on her hair, for sure, and though she didn't want to think about him at all, she knew that her hair was the only clear indicator she had to show him that she was better. She had recovered. Her hair was long again and healthy too.

The damage he had done was no more.

Right?

Thea found herself lost in her thoughts again, wondering deeply about whether or not she was fooling herself, her hair suddenly feeling heavy on her head. However when Niall looked up and his eyes met hers, his expression softened and she snapped back into reality. "Good afternoon, you two."

This was the first time Thea was seeing him since last night, and the sight of him did fill her with relief in addition to making her heart race a little bit. She remembered the warmth of his hug and the honesty in his words and suddenly her nerves settled just a little bit.

She could do this.

"I hope we didn't keep you waiting," Julian added. Unlike the rest of them, Julian looked as composed as ever, no clear emotion on his face.

"No, not at all," Milo said. "We just got here."

"Good," Niall said, gesturing towards the door. "Let's go in and take a seat then."

Julian then proceeded to open the door and despite everything, Thea suddenly felt herself struggling to breath. As Milo and Julian began to walk in, however, she took a deep breath before taking a step forward.

But then she felt Niall grab her arm.

When she turned, she saw him gazing at her with a soft expression. "You have my word."

A smile formed on her face as she nodded. "Thank you."

When they walked into the massive room, Thea found herself taken aback.

Niall had already told her all about how the room looked, but seeing it in person was definitely a little more intimidating.

There were clean, expensive looking wooden tables arranged in a U-shape around the room, with the bottom of the U near the far end of the room, a massive flag of the Aiverian State stretched across behind it. In both back corners of the room were massive bronze statues of stags to match that on the center of the flag, and along all the walls around the room were portraits of previous leaders of the State, only some of which Thea recognized.

There were no windows, probably for safety and security reasons, but that just made the lighting in the room look rather yellow and glum, and what made the room feel much stuffier was the fact that there were plenty of extra chairs lined up against the walls, probably for those days when the room was completely filled up.

Niall had told Thea that since this was just a meeting with the higher ups, there wouldn't be more than twenty to thirty people there, but Thea looked around and from a quick glance she saw that the room could probably fit over seventy people... a hundred if people were willing to stand.

Right now, however, there were only a few other men already in there, standing around in a circle chatting with cigarettes in their hands. And yes, they most certainly did turn and look in their direction when Thea and Niall walked in. "Killian," one man with no hair and white eyebrows called. "I heard you were bringing us a surprise today... but I certainly didn't expect that."

His eyes were on Thea, and though she didn't appreciate being referred to as 'that,' she tried not to show her annoyance.

"You're in for a lot of surprises today, Mr. Frey," Niall simply responded before turning to Thea and whispered very softly, "Jonus Frey. Head of the Accounting and Finance Division. Asshole."

Thea held back a snort as she looked back in their direction and saw that the Asshole as well as his group were still looking at her.

Niall and Thea took a seat at the desk, Milo and Julian taking a seat behind them at some of the extra chairs set up for them, and for the rest of the time, as they waited for the meeting to start, one by one Niall would let her know the name, department and asshole-ness of every person who entered.

There was the head of the Research Division, a rather mild mannered man with glasses who, according to Niall, wasn't an asshole. There was the head of the Legal Services Division who was kind of an asshole, but only because he was self centered. There was the head of the Intelligence Division, who was not an asshole and actually got along well with Niall. And plenty, plenty more... most of them assholes. All of them old men. All of them eyeing her with intrigue and judgment when they walked in with their own entourages who would take a seat in the row of chairs behind the main table.

The two men who caught Thea's attention the most, however, were August Ori and Vittux Schyter.

The second the two men walked in, both at two different times, it was as if the air in the room changed for just a moment. Thea had heard of both of them many times while in Achlis, and a few times back in Abureeth as well, but she had never once seen them in person.

Like Niall, they held the highest of positions in one of the three main branches of the military... Niall, the General of the Aiverian Army, August Ori, the General of the Aiverian Navy and Vittux Schyter, the General of the Aiverian Air Force.

Those three men... well, they were the Aiverian Military.

They held all the power in the entirety of this State and Thea couldn't help but think that if these three men were to ally themselves together, they would be more powerful than even the President himself.

And now, with all three of those men in the room, suddenly, things got serious. Everyone began to slowly make their way to their seats, the gossiping and laughter turned into whispers and as Thea kept her head low while still looking from Ori to Schyter, she noticed that those two were the only men who looked the slightest bit worthy of their titles, aside from Niall, of course.

Like Niall, they were both relatively young looking... certainly not much older than thirty or forty... and both men looked rather respectable.

Dressed to the nines in their uniform, identical to Nialls in most ways except for the badges on their arms to indicate their association, they were both handsome, athletic and looking to be not at all concerned by anyone else in the room.

Schyter looked to be the older one, with wrinkles on his face and around his green eyes. His brown hair was short, nearly completely cut off, and though his expression was hard and rather intimidating, he only glanced at Thea for a few moments, raising a brow, before seeming to get bored and looking away.

In all honesty, Thea was glad.

August Ori on the other hand, looked completely unbothered by her, not keeping his eyes on her for longer than a second and seeming as if she was the same as everyone else in the room. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Unfortunately for Thea however, she couldn't keep her eyes away from him. General Ori was a rather interesting looking man. Yes, he looked fierce and frightening, with small, slanted green eyes and a glower that just seemed to rest on his face at all times... but he had very long brown hair that he tied back into a neat ponytail.

Thea was quite sure that having hair like that must have gone against some sort of military protocol... but clearly it didn't matter to the General of the Aiverian Navy.

What also intrigued Thea was the fact Niall had told her that Ori was a 'good man' though someone you 'do not mess with.' Of course she believed Niall, but the Navy was often considered the worst enemy of Elore, seeing as though the Navy didn't necessarily participate in the atrocities committed by the State, it was the Navy that allowed the State to stay powerful. The reason why Aiveria took over Eloria to begin with was to take over their waters, after all, giving them full access to trade routes and military power over the neighboring nations as well.

Without the strength of the Aiverian Navy, the Aiverians may have never taken over Eloria.

"That's pretty much it for the Department of Defense," Milo whispered to her, leaning forward from his seat behind her. "Most of them are in this room now... except Rivier of course."

Thea looked back at the room, her eyes darting around the table and looking at all the green eyes and the mixes of brown and white hair, the majority of them looking right back at her with little kindness in their expressions

Most of the Department of Defense...

No wonder her people were so screwed.

Suddenly however, Thea realized something. She looked over at Niall, watching as he leaned over to listen to something that Julian was whispering.

Niall was the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Niall was superior to every single man that was currently in this room. Even General Ori and General Schyter... Niall may have been the General of the Army, but being the Deputy Secretary of Defense meant he was technically in charge of them too.

Her heart began to race, a rush of relief suddenly filling her again as she realized for the first time, the power Niall had. Even as all of those men eyed her with suspicion and contempt... they couldn't do a thing to her. Not with Niall here.

However, just as she began to feel relief, she suddenly heard multiple chairs scrape against the floor as many of the men began to stand up.

Thea looked around, surprised and wondering if she too had to stand up, but when she saw Milo, Julian and Niall remaining in their seats, she decided to as well. However, as her head turned towards the door and she heard the voices of the men in the room begin to greet the new men walking in, she stopped breathing.

"Secretary," some of them said before they followed it up with "Premier."

Her eyes darted towards Rivier, who walked in with a big smile on his face. He was saying something, rather loudly, actually, and though this was Thea's first time seeing the man in person, her attention was elsewhere as Thea's mind blocked out his voice on its own while her eyes fell on the Premier, who was right behind him.

Jakob Karney.

Her throat went dry, stunned by how much the man looked like Adrien when seeing him in person for the first time. He was older, yes, much older with wrinkles, graying brown hair and an unpleasant face that was probably molded by years of frowning and glaring, but he had the same low brow and sharp, feline like green eyes.

She wanted to look away from the man who was absolutely despised by her people... the man who had orchestrated the slaughter of thousands of Elorians at the start of the Civil War, but she couldn't. She couldn't look away.

There was a heat boiling in her. An anger, which intensified as the man's lips curled up into a smile, at least until his head turned and his eyes met hers. Almost instantly, his smile faded and his eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring just a little while his cheek twitched. She knew instantly that her presence disgusted him, his expression was that of disgust and contempt, after all.

This look was enough for her to know that what they said about this man must have all been true. Everything.

And he was Adrien's father.

How could she ever have gotten mixed up with someone like that?

And just on queue, Karney turned, looking towards the man who was entering right behind him. "You've all met my son, yes?" he said, his voice deep yet sounding rather sour.

Of course, Thea's mind didn't linger on that for much time at all. Instead, her eyes moved to his son... to Adrien... who made his way into the room with his hands in his pant pockets under his suit jacket, a charming smile on his face.

Thea saw Milo, from the corner of her eye, look at her in worry, but she couldn't really do much about that. Her mind was racing, her palms were sweating and she was doing everything in her power to not shake... to not let the sight of the man make her crumble like she had the other day.

Yet despite being prepared for this, as she watched the furiously handsome Adrien glance over in her direction, her stomach turned and all her energy went right into making sure she didn't puke. She had to look away, feeling defeated and unable to comprehend how Adrien could make her feel more fear and dread than his father, a man who slaughtered thousands of innocent people.

How could she be so selfish?

She kept her head low, looking down at her hands as both the Karney's and Rivier made their way to their seats, stopping here and there to exchange a few words with a few of the men. Soon, they were sitting across from her and Niall, though not directly across, and Thea found herself unable to look up at all.

He was in her range of vision.

He was going to be in her range this whole meeting.

Her panic began to rise.

Suddenly however, she felt Niall's hand over hers, though he didn't just leave it like that. Instead, he turned her hand around and knotted his fingers with hers, holding her hand tightly, seeming not to care about the sweat. When she glanced down at their hands, hidden under the table but visible to her, she felt a warmth fill her, her panic subsiding just a little bit.

This was his reminder to her.

"Killian," they suddenly heard Karney Sr. call. "I don't believe you had the opportunity to meet my son yet, have you?"

Thea didn't look at them. Instead, she looked up at Niall.

He was leaning away from her, the elbow of his free hand against the arm of his chair and his face resting against his knuckles. He, unsurprisingly, looked rather uninterested. "I have not," he responded. "Though I've heard quite a bit."

"Adrien Karney," Adrien said, introducing himself, the sound of his calm and cool voice putting Thea into a state of cold sweat. "I've heard a lot about you as well."

"Really?" Niall responded. "Good things, I hope."

"Everyone knows Niall Killian," Karney Sr. responded with a laugh. "How can you forget the half-breed who weaseled his way up to the right hand of the President by turning on his own people?"

Niall seemed unbothered, Thea didn't feel the words make him shift one bit.

She wished she could be like him, especially since his words made even her angry. She could even suddenly feel Julian's presence behind them more strongly now, the man looming rather protectively, probably.

But whatever the case, Niall seemed unbothered.

"Yet he won us the war," Adrien added, turning to look at Niall. "Sure you may have turned on your people, but if you're a half-breed then doesn't that mean you still fought for one side of who you are? Surely that's something people need to keep in mind, right?"

"I have to admit, I'm a tad bit impressed," Niall responded. "Most men in this room don't have brains big enough to remember that side of the story."

Thea didn't realize everyone was listening in on their conversation until she heard quite a few of the men in the room let out both genuine and nervous laughter. Rivier, who was sitting next to the Premier, seemed especially amused by the joke.

When the laughter settled down, however, Adrien spoke up once more. "And you, Thi," he started, making Thea freeze. "I'll admit I'm a little offended that you haven't said hello yet."

The only reason why Thea was able to not shut down at that moment was because Niall, who still had a hold of her hand, squeezed it. And after placing her other hand over his and holding it tightly, almost as if she was trying to absorb as much confidence from him as possible, she looked up.

Adrien was looking right at her and his green eyes made her so uneasy that yet again, she felt her stomach turn. However, refusing to not make a fool out of herself and feeling some comfort in Niall's touch, she gave the man a tight lipped smile.

"You know her?" The Premier asked with a scoff as he turned to his son.

"We went to A.N.U. together... shared a few classes."

If only it was just that.

The Premier looked at Adrien with a look that was clearly admonishing, looking as if he was unhappy that his son even acknowledged Thea's presence. Despite everything, somehow, that seemed to satisfy Thea. She was glad that that made the man unhappy.

"Small world, isn't it," Rivier responded. When Thea looked at him, she found herself feeling rather intimidated. The man was rather large and foreboding, and looked rather slimy... like a man who liked to drink more than lead. He also looked to be one of those men who women shouldn't feel safe around. Just the way he looked at her made her uncomfortable and gave her enough information in regards to what he thought of not just women... but women like her.

It also didn't help that he was Niall's boss... though frankly, Rivier did not exude anywhere near the kind of energy and power that Niall did, or any of the other generals for that matter, seeing as Niall was a military man and Rivier was... well... a politician. It certainly did irk Thea quite a bit that now Niall was no longer the most powerful man in the room.

It was this man.

A man who looked nothing like a leader.

Oh, and how could she forget... Rivier was the one who had Rue's fingers cut.

He was the reason Rue was where he was now.

She didn't like him. He was her main opponent today.

"She's here to try to prove that Rue's life is worth saving," Rivier said, leaning back in his seat and looking at Thea with quite the amused expression.

"The prisoner from Faru?" Karney Sr. asked. "The one who played you like a fiddle while you wasted millions in military funding to try and catch?"

Thea knew about this. Rue hadn't told her but Niall had... how Rivier wasted so much money thinking he'd catch Rue's entire Crow Division but instead was misled by Rue. Surely that must have been why Rivier hated the man so much... right?

Rivier's smile faded. "That fucker should be dead by now," he said, eyes darting to Niall. "But this one here is adamant about keeping him alive."

"We're all here, wasting our time, because you want to keep a Crow alive?" Jakob Kareny asked Niall.

"That's what I'm saying," Rivier said, not letting Niall respond. "And Niall's brought an Elorian girl here with him to try and change our mind."

There was laughter, and suddenly, many of the men in the room began bouncing off of each other's words, agreeing with one another that Rue should die and how listening to the words of an Elorian girl was a waste of time. It became so much that eventually, Thea couldn't keep up and soon the conversation became a loud mess and all the while she could still feel Adrien's eyes on her, watching her intently, examining her every movement, trying to break her down with just his gaze.

It was almost overwhelming, all the negativity and the blatant hate for a man none of them knew... a man she now cared deeply about... and a sudden dismissal of her, despite them knowing nothing about her. And then there was Adrien here too, making everything worse with just his presence.

She looked back down at her hand, still entwined with Niall, and she was going to close her eyes to try and collect herself when she felt Niall lean over close, "let's step outside for a moment." He whispered it softly in her ear, his voice cutting through the nonsense around them, and when she looked at him he gave her a warm smile.

Yes. She thought. She needed to take a breath.

After she nodded, he pulled his fingers away from hers and stood. When she stood as well, she didn't fail to notice Adrien looking from her to Niall, his smile fading a little. She also didn't fail to notice Niall looking back at him, unamused but also stern.

After letting out a breath and smoothing down her skirt, she turned, letting Niall put a hand on her back after giving both Milo and Julian a reassuring nod.

She could feel Adrien's gaze burning into her.

Her hair.

He was looking at her hair.

When they were outside, somehow it felt cooler... maybe it was, maybe the windowless room was warm because it was filled with a bunch of men filled with hot air. Whatever the case, the cool air on her skin felt good and almost instantly, Thea felt some relief.

When the door shut behind them, Niall surprised Thea by taking her hand again and leading her towards one of the many windows in the hall. When they reached it, she saw it was snowing, and when Niall let go of her hand and opened the window, she felt more relief, the fresh, cool air filling her nostrils and cooling the sweat on her skin.

"How are you doing?"

"Okay."

"Really?"

Thea looked at Niall with a small smile. "No."

He smiled back at her, sympathetic. "I've learned to tune them all out... the ones who like to talk a lot are mostly idiots."

Thea looked at Niall with a nervous smile. "I'm terrified, Niall," she said, honestly. "Those men terrify me... Adrien, Rivier, the Premier... and just about everyone else there."

Niall watched her, considering her words. "I'll be honest, Thea... being afraid of those men is a wise thing. Most of the men in there are not good men... except maybe August... sometimes."

That made Thea chuckle.

Niall kept his smile on his face before taking a deep breath and releasing it. "I went to see Rue last night, after I saw you."

Thea raised a brow. "Really? Why?"

"I'll be honest," he started. "I was worried about you and I thought I could get Rue to talk... of course, he didn't."

Though Thea was touched by the fact that he was worried enough to go that far, she chuckled. "I could have told you that he wouldn't talk to you myself."

"Yes, you could have," Niall said. "That being said... he did give me something."

Now both her brows rose. "He... did?"

"You shouldn't get too excited though," Niall said. "He specifically stated that it will be relatively useless for everyone but you." Confused, Thea watched as Niall reached into the coat of his uniform and from one of the inside pockets, pulled out a piece of paper. "I didn't read it and wasn't sure when to give it to you," he started as he held out the folded piece of paper for her to take. "But he did say it may help you."

Thea took the paper and unfolded it, both excited and nervous. What could it possibly be? Would she have a chance to incorporate it with her own notes this last minute? Was it something that was going to take her a while to understand? Would Milo be able to decipher whatever was in the note faster than she could?

However, when she opened it, her heart skipped a beat.

It was a poem.

Written in the handwriting that Thea had become so very familiar with, it was one of his longer ones and had some crosses and scribbles here and there... it was one she hadn't read before. However, as she read it, she knew almost instantly that he had written this one for her.



Every interaction changes our lives. A simple little smile from a stranger, Or your beloved shattering your heart... It changes us. Like a chisel on stone. So tell me... if you let every cruel glance And every harsh word chisel away at The fragile marble slab that is your soul, What exactly is it that you become? Will you let the ones who wish to hurt you Become the artists that carve and shape you? Will you let the ones who wish to break you Hold the chisel that could also save you? No. You are smarter and stronger than that. So instead of handing the tools away To every person who passes by you, Take them back from those who never mattered. Know who it is that you want to become. What kind of woman do you want to be? She is in you, under that precious stone. Think, then take the chisel and become her. After reading the little poem, Thea looked up at Naill before she handed it to him for him to read as well. Her heart felt both heavy and light at the same time. Was this what Rue thought of her? Did he think of her as someone... someone who could become the woman she wanted to be? Did he really think she was smart enough and strong enough to do that?

But really, who did she want to be?

She stood there, thinking deeply, but unable to figure it out. What kind of woman did she want to become?

At most, she could think of her grandmother, brave and noble and confident, but somehow, that still didn't feel right. Who was it she wanted to be? Yes, she wanted to be brave and noble and confident, but was that it?

However, at that point, she didn't really have time to deeply think about this... she even thought back to when her grandmother talked to her about the "Little Crow" story... about her grandmother saying that sometimes people never get past that Little Crow stage.

Surely she couldn't expect to figure herself out in a matter of moments.

Though despite this, she did feel more hopeful. She felt hopeful, and maybe a little happy.

Clearly, Rue had faith in her. Rue knew she had the potential to be who she wanted to be... whoever that was. And he knew she wouldn't become that woman right away... he had, after all, told her to pick up the chisel at the end of the poem. He was telling her it would take work, but she could do it.

Niall seemed to be watching her and somehow, he seemed to read her mind. "So what about it?" he asked. "At this moment, right now, what kind of woman do you want to be? Chip away at the marble and show us that first glimpse of this woman. We need a piece of her now, and you can work on the rest later."

Thea chuckled at that. "Right now..." she took a deep breath. "I want to be brave and noble and confident. Like my grandmother."

Niall nodded as he leaned his shoulder against the wall. "I don't know her, but I've heard enough about her to know that that's more than good enough for me... and I think that's entirely possible."

She nodded too. She wanted to be able to go back in there, with her shoulders back and her head held high. She wanted to be able to look those men in the eye and tell it how it was. Maybe even Adrien... maybe she wanted to look him in the eye and show him that she wasn't afraid of him as well.

When Niall handed back the piece of paper, she held it against her chest, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the cool air and coming in from the window. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Niall was still looking at her. "I have faith in you," he said. "I have to admit... suddenly, I'm a little excited to see what you're going to do in there."

His words surprised her.

Excited?

And despite everything, for a moment, she wanted to kiss him.

They were standing rather close together and she wondered if maybe he was so close because he wanted to kiss her too. Was it possible that one of the most powerful men in that room they were just in would want to kiss her? A girl who was only just chipping away at the stone that would, hopefully, eventually become the woman she wanted to be this whole time?

Could it be possible?

She smiled a little nervously, her mind fogging up a little bit. A brave, confident and maybe noble woman would have certainly kissed him... right? Hell, her grandmother sure would have if she had the chance.

However, as she frantically tried to remove the image of her grandmother kissing Niall out of her head, she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening from somewhere down the hall. She looked past Niall and saw a short man who was holding a lot of papers walking rather quickly down the hall, clearly in a rush and looking rather distraught.

By the time Thea looked back at Niall, he was already a step away, his lighter out from one of his pockets and a cigarette at his lips. The two certainly did not look like one of them was, only a fraction of a second ago, thinking of kissing the other.

After lighting his cigarette and letting a puff of smoke out the open window, the short man walked by the two of them, eyeing them both before making his way into the meeting room. As soon as he was gone, Niall sighed. "Cayou Isaih," Niall said, turning so he could rest his elbows on the windowsill of the open window as he rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "The crazy note-taker that's at all these meetings."

Thea found it insane that Niall remembered all of these names, especially since she knew she was only going to ever remember that man as the man who ruined a potential kiss between her and Niall. She let out a sigh.

Niall looked at her with an amused, crooked smile. He then surprised her by holding out his cigarette towards her. "Usually I'm a good influence and I wouldn't do this, since it's bad for your health, but a puff or two wouldn't kill you... and it'll calm your nerves for the time being."

Thea hesitated, but after looking from Niall, to the cigarette, then back to Niall, she shrugged. Taking it from him, she stepped right to the window, having to get on her toes to get her elbows up on it while also thinking that sharing a cigarette with the man was maybe the next best thing to kissing him. Then she placed the cigarette at her lips and inhaled.

However, well before she even finished taking a breath, she was choking, coughing loudly as she dropped the cigarette out the window. Disgusted and panicked, she grabbed onto Nialls arm as she coughed, not failing to notice that he was laughing at her. "Calms my nerves?" she asked, wheezing.

Niall was still laughing, his brows scrunched together in a look of amusement and just like the other time she had seen him laugh like this, she couldn't help but think that he was beautiful. Now that certainly calmed her nerves.

She still wanted to kiss him.

More than ever now.

But instead, she found herself whacking his arm. "Once this is all over," she started, "once this project with Rue is over... my next project is to get you to stop smoking."

"Hmm, a worthwhile endeavor, " Niall smiled. "But that may be harder than anything you've ever done with Rue."

"We'll see about that."

"Yes, we will," Niall responded before he reached and readjusted some pieces of the hair that framed her face which, in the midst of her wheezing and coughing, had fallen out of place. His touch was gentle and his gaze was kind and somehow, all of that made Thea's heart ache in a good way. "We should make our way back in," Niall said when he pulled his hand away again. "Are you okay with that?"

Thea nodded, her cheeks warm. "Yes."

"Good," he said before he stepped forward and pressed his lips against her forehead, his hand gently holding the back of her head, clearly being mindful of her intricate braid.

Her eyes widened, her heart beating so fast that she could feel the throbbing in her ears.

"Let's go show those men what kind of woman you are."

Her smile grew and she nodded, feeling warm and happy and better than she had in a long time.

When they reentered the room, the chatter was still strong, however, most people did pause to look at Thea and Niall. Strangely though, Thea noticed that something had changed.

Something had changed in the way that some of these men were looking at her. Their expressions were no longer entirely dismissive or even entirely hateful. It surprised her at first... however she realized quickly what it was.

As she walked into the room, Niall closely behind her, this time around she had her head up.

She was looking straight ahead.

Without even realizing it, she was already trying to be the woman she wanted to be... and somehow, such an immediate change in the expressions of these men filled her with more confidence.

When she placed Rue's new poem down on top of her notebook before she sat back down in her spot, however, she noticed something else.

Adrien was still staring at her, yes, but his expression had changed too.

The perpetual look of amusement was gone now and in its places was a look of seriousness. He was no longer pleased. He looked at her with a straight face.

She kept her eyes on him, her fingers touching the indents caused by the pen on the paper of the poem that Rue wrote.

Yes, she was still scared.

She was still terrified.

It took everything in her to maintain that eye contact for even just a few seconds.

But she knew she wasn't going to let Adrien hold her back from doing what she wanted to do... from being the woman she wanted to be.

And before anyone could say anything else, the door on the other end of the room, next to the flag, opened up.

Everyone stood up right then and there and Thea knew that this was it.

She looked towards the flag and watched as the tall, broad shouldered man with silver hair and a silver beard walked in, four special State Soldiers and the rather less remarkable vice president following behind and taking their place on either side of him. Dressed to perfection in a three piece suit, the man unbuttoned his jacket before waving his hand. "Sit, sit," he said, his voice deep and booming. "Let's get this started, shall we?"

He was first to sit, and the second he did, he raised his green eyes and looked right at Thea.

The President of the Aiverian State.

President Kal Reichavar.

This was it.