Hi everyone!

You probably see that things are getting more serious now in the story! I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Just an FYI, I'm planning on this story being two parts and part one is almost near the end! Don't worry - there won't be a break or anything between the two parts, it will continue on weekly!

Hope you're looking forward to it, and thank you so much for sticking through it and getting this far!!!!!

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Thank you so much!!

Love, luckycharms <3



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The military truck they were in only slowed to a stop when it reached the front gate of what looked like an elementary school. When Kova opened the truck's door and Thea stepped out into the cold, snowy streets of Ilia, she looked into the school yard and saw children struggling happily through the snow as they played. "Why are we at a school?" She asked.

"We will meet Tai here," Kova said, surprising her despite the fact that she tried to remind herself that maybe she shouldn't be surprised about anything that had to do with these people. All they have been doing is surprising and confusing her, after all.

Once everyone was out of the vehicle and in the snow, they approached the school gates, manned by two armed and uniformed guards. Though Thea thought the fact that a school was armed by two Crows holding massive rifles was odd, she figured it made sense if Tai himself was somewhere inside. Besides, she found herself more distracted by the fact that they were uniformed rather than the rifles they held.

One of the main aspects of Crows was that they were guerilla fighters... meaning they were meant to be irregular, unofficial and generally indistinguishable from a regular civilian. The fact that these men were in full black combat uniforms, with badges and everything completely defeated the purpose of trying to be hidden.

That being said, it seemed like this division didn't really have the need to stay hidden here in the comfort of their Crows Nest, so maybe the uniforms made sense. It probably gave the Crows here a sense of authority... or maybe even unity... something most other Crow divisions greatly lacked.

Kova gave the men a nod and without a word, they pulled open the gates and the group made their way into the school grounds. Almost instantly, they had the attention of quite a few excited children who dashed towards them with grins on their faces. "Kova!" They all shouted rather chaotically at different times.

Thea looked at Kova and saw him roll his eyes. "What did I tell you brats about approaching me when I'm working?" he snapped, however, though his words were stern, Thea could sense a hint of amusement in his voice. The children sensed it too, it seemed, seeing as they didn't take his words seriously. Instead, they began bombarding him with a barrage of questions, all at the same time, making it impossible to understand any of them.

Kova looked like he was going to snap at them once more, but before he could, the students were startled by the voice of someone else. "Children," a heavily pregnant woman at the entrance of the school called. "How many times do I have to tell you that you run away from men with guns, not towards them."

"What about women with guns?" one of the boys asked, a hint of snark in his voice.

"No point running from them," Kova responded, smirking now as he eyed the woman at the door.

"Because they can't shoot well?" Another boy asked, making the girls in the group begin to protest.

"Because they'd have a bullet through your head before you even have a chance to think about running," the woman responded, Thea noticing her rather heavy accent. "Now off with you all."

Kova flashed his brows at the embarrassed boys as the girls began to laugh, and Thea didn't know who the woman at the door was, but she already felt like she liked her.

After sighing heavily, the expression of exhaustion on the woman's face was replaced with a smile as she drew her attention to the approaching group. "An unexpected visit," the dark skinned woman said to Kova as the group reached her. She pulled her long black braid over her shoulder as her smile grew some more. "Though a pleasant one, I must admit."

Kova's smirk settled into a warm smile before he leaned in and kissed the woman's lips. "How are you, Paruntha?"

Paruntha. Thea thought. Another alias? Paruntha meant hawk in Old Elorian. But then again... no, it couldn't be an alias. This was a very pregnant woman... a pregnant woman could not be a Crow. She was overthinking everything now. Besides, Paruntha was an actual Elorian name as well... meaning clarity and wisdom and the pursuit of dreams.

This woman must have been a regular civilian in this Crows Nest, much like many of the other's Thea had seen... and clearly, this rather plain looking woman was also Kova's lover.

"I am well, my love," she smiled back at him before taking his hands and resting them on her belly. "As is bava."

Seeing that bava meant baby in Old Elorian, Thea began to wonder if this woman's accent was due to her first language being Old Elorian. If that were the case, then it would be safe to assume that this woman must have originally been from a rather impoverished area, since most places that still spoke Old Elorian usually were... like the Railway Slums that Naill and his mother were from.

"But we can catch up after... Tai mentioned to me that we were having visitors," Paruntha's dark but friendly looking eyes fell on Thea and Aaryan.

Kova's demeanor hardened once more. "Yes," he said. "Tai's upstairs?"

"Yes, in the Principal's office."

"I'll make my way then," he lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure Tai will allow us some time after this is all sorted out."

"I look forward to it," Paruntha said as she stepped aside to allow everyone to pass, also not failing to smile pleasantly at Sinna, who bowed his head to her.

The school was entirely... normal. There was a long corridor that led to multiple different classrooms and the walls were covered in posters and drawings and notices, and despite being rather quiet, seeing as most of the children were outside, it seemed like a regular elementary school.

It was only as they made their way up the stairs that Thea saw the four armed and uniformed Crows standing on either side of a door down the hall, something that was, of course, unusual to see in an elementary school. "Kova," one of the Crow's called. "Tai said you can go right in."

Kova nodded his response as the Crow grabbed the doorknob of the door that had a plaque on it which read "Principal."

Thea felt her heart stop and without even realizing, she had reached out and took Aaryan's hand in hers, gripping onto it rather tightly.

When the door swung open, it revealed an office that had its lights turned off, but that didn't seem to be a problem because the large windows on the opposite end of it let in the bright, cool, white light reflecting off the winter snow outside, lighting the room up just as well as a bulb would have.

However, as the light was coming from behind the two people that were within the room, their faces were darkened, looking almost like silhouettes, at least until they all walked in and Thea got a better view of the man in a three piece suit standing in front of the large Principal's desk, a cigarette balancing between his lips.

Kova and Sinna immediately saluted him, only relaxing when the man raised his hand and gave them a casual wave. Then, when the man who she figured was Tai turned his attention and his dark eyes fell onto her, she felt her throat dry up, and though she had not taken a single breath in some time now, Tai's gaze filled her with a sense of nervousness... she found herself quickly distracted.

Distracted by... the other presence in the room.

Sitting at the Principal's desk, leaning back in their chair looking entirely relaxed was... a woman.

Thea assumed that the woman was the Principal of whatever school they were in, however, she could not help but stare at the sight of her, lips parting slightly in awe.

She was... stunning.

The woman, who had one leg over the other with her fingers knotted together over her lap, was wearing a maroon, fitted dress that hugged every curve of hers perfectly... and curvy she was. With wide hips, a thin waist and breasts that were perfectly proportionate to the rest of her body, she was easily one of the most beautiful women that Thea had ever laid her eyes on. Looking older, maybe in her thirties or forties, she was also as Elorian as they could get, with darker skin and obsidian eyes and thick, beautiful black curls that fell well past her waist..

She noticed Thea's glance immediately, looking over at her through her long, dark lashes, her thick eyeliner and maroon lipstick over her full lips making her gaze look almost sultry, yet at the same time... regal. There was an heir of sophistication to this woman that Thea couldn't understand... something that oddly reminded her of... Rue. How could one woman have so much beauty? Thea wondered, even managing to feel a hint of jealousy despite the situation she was in.

She also didn't even need to ask Aaryan his thoughts... she could practically feel his gawk.

Of course, Thea didn't blame him. How could she when she herself was so mesmerized by the woman that it took a substantial amount of effort to peel her eyes away from her to look back at the now smirking Tai. "It seems you've taken notice of the Principal," Tai said, looking amused. "I hope you don't mind her presence... we were in the midst of discussing a new curriculum when we got the call about you folk."

So she was the Principal? Thea couldn't help but ponder about how many young men would take school much more seriously if they had a Principal that looked like that. "I apologize for the sudden intrusion... we..."

"No need to apologize," Tai responded, smoke escaping through his lips as he spoke. Though initially distracted by the Principal, Thea now took a moment to regard Tai more carefully as she watched him pull the cigarette away and put it out in the ashtray on the principal's desk.

She thought back to what Niall had said about aliases... about how Tai meant... cow. Luana made a joke about how the man may have been large, and maybe that would have made sense if it were true.

But as Thea looked at the man, she realized it all made even less sense.

Tai was a well dressed, well built, rather young looking man with perfectly coiffed hair and even more perfectly lined up facial hair. He looked extremely put together in a rather high quality suit, everything fitting so well that it looked tailored to him. Frankly, he could stand up against Niall in a contest on cleanliness... and maybe win... partially because, though Thea thought Niall was incredibly handsome because of his unique look, this man here was the typical kind of handsome. Tall, dark, chiseled and statuesque, he was a man that even Luana and Milo would call handsome, without a single hesitation.

In all honesty, he was not what Thea had expected the leader of the most renowned and elusive division of the Crows to look. She was expecting someone who looked more... dirty... or rowdy... or cold... or intimidating... really, more like Rue or Aaryan or even Kova.

This man... he was not that.

She couldn't figure out at all why he'd have an alias like Tai... cow.

"You've come all this way to talk, yet you keep quiet?" Tai said, crossing his arms.

Thea hesitated. "Oh... I..."

"Well, let me cut to the chase then because we are quite busy people, Ms. Rhaanan," Tai said, though still smiling. "You claim to have befriended Rue... a claim that, if true, would be of great interest to us here in Kal because that would mean that he is alive."

Thea nodded. "He is alive. And we've become friendly with each other. I've spent the last few months getting to know him and he's become a very close companion of mine... a trusted, dear friend."

Tai leaned against the Principal's desk, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. The woman, who was still in her seat behind the desk, was unreadable, looking almost unconcerned and indifferent to the conversation they were having. "Forgive me, but this is where I begin to get skeptical," Tai started. "Though a beloved comrade to me, Rue is notoriously... cold. He is unforgiving towards ignorance and stupidity and naivety and I find it quite hard to believe that a man like him would have any interest at all in befriending a girl like you."

Thea frowned deeply, and though she should have been pleased that he was assuming she was naive, his words still annoyed her. "Well, you're not wrong. He was an absolute ass hole when we first met... but he warmed up to me eventually."

"How did you manage that?"

"We realized we have a lot in common."

"You have a lot in common with Rue?"

Thea let out a breath. "You mentioned that you do not want to waste time and frankly, neither do I. I am also a busy person and telling you the entirety of the backstory of how Rue and I came to be friends would take too long," she said as she began to rummage through her bag. "So I will show you all the proof you need." After a moment of digging, she pulled out Rue's notebook and held it out in front of her.

Tai's eyes dropped down to the notebook in Thea's hand. After a moment of just glancing at it, he reached out and took it from her. Thea watched as he flipped through it, skimming through some of the poems. "He was your second in command. I'm sure you'd recognize his poems... or at the very least his handwriting."

"Having this notebook does not prove he is alive," Tai said, shutting it and handing it to the woman behind him. She took it and proceeded to flip through it as well. "The State could easily have killed him and just held onto this."

"I figured you would say something like that, so if you flip to the back of the notebook I have a poem he wrote for me folded..." before she even finished, she saw the Principal pull it out and begin to read it.

Thea watched as one of her brows slowly rose up on her forehead before lowering again. After a moment, her glance shifted towards Tai, who was watching her, before she handed the page to him.

The two held each other's gaze for a moment, looking almost as if they were speaking to each other through just their eyes, before Tai took the page and read it too. After a moment, he sighed, picking up his cigarette again. "Though this still does not prove much at all, I suppose I'm more inclined to believe now that Rue is alive."

Thea felt a hint of relief make its way into her.

"So, assuming he is alive, what exactly is it that you want from us?"

"It's safe to say that we completely misunderstood your... organization," Thea started, "so in an attempt to no longer underestimate you all, I also think it's safe to say that you're quite aware of all the happenings in the Capital?"

Tai took a deep drag of his cigarette. "We are," he responded, releasing a smoky breath. "Well aware, actually."

"Then you'd have heard about Rivier? His attack on an inmate at the State Prison and then his subsequent attack on an Achlis employee?"

"Yes. We did hear about that, actually."

"The State prisoner that was attacked was Rue... and the Achlis employee that was attacked was me."

Tai didn't respond, instead just narrowing his eyes.

"We were attacked because Rivier has started to lose his mind, partially because General Killian has begun to undermine him," Thea continued. "Rue has been on death row and General Killian has been fighting to push back Rue's execution for quite some time now-"

"In order to use him to get to us," Tai simply said.

"Yes, but not for the reason you think," Thea continued. "Niall wants to work with you all-"

Tai's brows shot up before he snorted, and though he looked like he was going to speak up, Thea didn't let him. "I know it's hard to believe and there's so much more to it but right now our primary goal is to get rid of Rivier. We want to remove him from power and then subsequently get Rue out of prison. And to help with this Rue has guided me to you."

Tai looked curious but skeptical.

"He told me about his relationship with Rivier's daughter. He told me about the hair and the letter. He told me I can get them from you so that we can use them to get rid of Rivier-"

"So Niall Killian can take his place?"

Thea hesitated at the voice, feeling herself freeze at the sound of it. Though it was clearly a woman's voice that came from the Principal herself, the sound of it confused her. The voice was deeper than that of most women, but it sounded as smooth as silk and... powerful... like that of a woman of authority... a woman who feared nothing.

A woman who clearly didn't care to be interrupting a conversation that the head of the strongest Crow division that currently existed was having. Of course, Tai didn't seem to mind at all. Instead, he kept his eyes on Thea, waiting for her to continue.

When Thea looked at the Principal, she saw the woman wearing a small smirk, clearly looking to be doubtful of the idea of Niall taking the place of Rivier. "Yes," Thea said. "So he can take Rivier's place."

The woman's smirk grew just a little. "Niall Killian is but a boy."

Thea raised her brows. "A boy?"

"A boy," the woman repeated.

"He's twenty-nine-"

"In the world of politics... he is a child," the woman emphasized.

Thea was about to argue when Tai spoke up. "You want us to cooperate with you so that the inexperienced Niall Killian can become the new Secretary of Defense? A role nearly as significant as that of the President himself in the climate we currently live in? So that potentially, he would work with us?"

"Yes, but our priority at this time is getting rid of Rivier-"

"Then you are quite nearsighted, Ms. Rhaanan," Tai said. "The part where Niall Killian becomes the next Secretary of Defense is just as important. Rivier may be incredibly incompetent and as corrupt as politicians can get, but what guarantee do we have that Niall Killian will be any better? Killian is young. He is clearly ambitious but also open to manipulation. He's inexperienced and abundantly naive if he thinks he can just work with us... and for what? Is he going to help us move forward with our cause? Can you see how foolish that sounds? And that's not even considering the fact that we all know how Niall Killian got his position of power in the first place."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Thea responded, frowning. "Niall has proved himself to be more mature and more capable than nearly everyone else I've met at Achlis, I can assure you of that. And he can prove it to you himself if you would meet with him at some point in the near future."

Tai seemed unmoved.

"Fine, if you will not believe my words then at the very least, you should know that Rue has a level of trust in him too. Rue wouldn't have shared anything with me if he didn't," she continued.

"We have no reason to not trust Rue," Tai agreed. "Our problem is that he is not the one speaking to us. It's you speaking on his behalf. And we have no reason to trust you."

"Then give me the proof that Rivier killed his own daughter and help me get Rue out of prison," Thea said, getting frustrated. "Niall will let Rue go once he becomes the Secretary of Defence and once Rue is out, Rue will come and talk to you himself. He'll prove to you that you can work with Niall... that he is good."

The Principal let out an amused breath. "You seem quite confident in the General... enamored even," she said. "I thought you were married to Orynan's Crow over here?"

Thea felt her cheeks warm a little before she let out a breath. "No, that was a lie," she said, her eyes still on the woman though she could see, from the corner of her eye, Kova's head snap towards her.

Aaryan on the other hand didn't seem bothered by Thea's decision to come clean. She assumed that he thought it was a good point to do so as well.

The woman simply blinked at Thea's confession while Tai however, frowned.

"We lied so that we could get to you safely," Thea said, "but now that we're here, there's no point in keeping that up anymore. Aaryan is my childhood friend. Not my husband. And he was previously a Crow that worked for Orynan but has left that and now works for Niall Killian."

"I don't know what's worse," Tai started, his eyes on Aaryan. "A Crow that worked for Orynan or a Traitor Crow."

"It's more complicated than that," Thea said, trying to defend Aaryan. "We all have our reasons for doing what we do-"

"And what's your reason?" The woman suddenly asked, her eyes on Thea as she leaned back in her seat. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want Rue out of prison."

"Why?"

"Because he does not deserve to be locked up like that and... I really do... care about him."

Tai narrowed his eyes. "You expect us to believe you when you speak about your relationship with Rue when you lied about your relationship to the Crow?"

"Yes," Thea said, firmly. "Because Rue means more to me than even I understand."

Tai continued to frown but did not interrupt while the Principal kept her firm gaze on Thea.

"You find it hard to believe me when I say he and I have a lot in common and I suppose that's because what I really mean is that I have a lot in common with the man he used to be. The man he was before he became a Crow," Thea explained. "From his desire to make a difference with his writing to his naive pacifism to the love he had for his older brother... I can relate to that version of him. And I think the reason why he opened up to me was because he saw that too."

Tai's expression softened. It was a slight change that Thea would have missed if she had blinked, but thankfully she caught it and it was enough to fill her with a little more confidence.

"And I think... I think Rue wants to make sure that my life doesn't turn out the way his has. He doesn't want me to be alone and angry and trapped with nothing left to live for. That's why he's been guiding me and supporting me despite being locked up in a tiny prison cell," Thea sighed. "But the thing is, all of this has made it so that I've grown to love Rue very deeply. So his freedom is my priority. Yes, it's nearsighted. Yes, it's selfish. Yes, his freedom may be at the cost of Niall wanting to use him for his own... ambitions... as you call them. But Rue is smart and brave and strong and everything that I want to be one day and I trust that he is capable enough to make the right decisions once he is finally free," Thea paused for a moment, looking from Tai to the Principal. "And I believe quite firmly that the decision Rue will make will be to trust General Niall Killian as well... to trust him and come to you and convince you to trust him too."

Tai let out a breath through his nose. "Quite the passion," he mumbled before he turned to look at the Principal who had not, for even a moment, taken her eyes off of Thea. "Your thoughts, love?"

Love? Thea thought. They're in a relationship?

Before Thea could think more of it, however, she noticed a small smile grow on the woman's face. "My thoughts?" She questioned, her eyes still on Thea. "Well, my dear, I think we will need to ask Kova to make a quick trip to our archives because it looks like things are getting quite interesting."







Kova was fast, leaving quickly after being told to do so and returning before Thea could completely finish delving into a little more detail about what was going on with Rue back at the capital.

She was honest when telling them about how he was doing, explaining how bad Rivier's attack really was despite the fact that Rue was doing better. She was also keen to explain how Niall had made certain that Rue was taken care of... and how he defended her from Rivier as well.

Though the Principal, whose name Thea still didn't know, continued to wear an expression that was mostly unreadable, Tai looked to be rather intrigued, especially when Thea did any sort of praising of Niall. Whatever the case, Thea stopped talking as soon as Kova made his way back into the principal's office, and her eyes instantly fell onto the large box he was holding.

Thea expected Tai to make the first move, but instead, it was the Principal who stood up.

Standing, the woman looked even more striking. The woman was clearly already tall, however she still wore heels that added to her height, making her tower over Thea while standing at eye level to most of the men in the room.

With each step she took, making her way around the desk, her heels struck the wooden floor with a deep thud, and when she reached Kova, a simple gesture was enough for him to place the box on the table and open it up for her.

The Principal proceeded to reach into the box, pulling out pages and pages of papers. "Letters between Rue and Miriella," she said. "His lover."

"Miriella," Thea said out loud. She hadn't realized until that moment that she never asked Rue for her name.

"He kept most of them, of course," the Principal said before holding them out for Thea to take. "I think this will be proof enough that Rue was in fact in a relationship with Miriella Rivier, the daughter of Keene Rivier."

Thea hesitated. "But-"

"They are already in chronological order. You will find that the last one she wrote to him was addressed from Rivier's estate. It's proof that she made it home before she passed," the woman said. "I heard some rumors that she was killed by some Crows on the way home, so this will put an end to that."

Thea nodded, realizing the value in such a letter.

"Then there's the proof that Rivier murdered her," she said rather nonchalantly and she reached back into the box. After a brief moment, she pulled out a smaller box that still had the postage stamps on it. "We kept the box, seeing as the stamps all over it are dated and the drunkard fool used his own address as the return address."

Thea felt her heart stop as the Principal turned and held out the box for her to take. After handing the letters over to Aaryan, Thea took the box with some caution. "Obviously, our expectation is that all of this will be treated with the utmost care and returned to us," she said. Her tone was firm and rather fearsome, making Thea raise her eyes and look at her. "If it is not, we will find a way to get it back ourselves, and I cannot guarantee that our means will be... clean."

Thea blinked before glancing over at Tai, who was watching with an expression of curiosity. Right then, as Thea looked back at the Principal, she had an odd thought... the thought that somehow... this entire time... the Principal seemed to be much more foreboding me and imposing and breathtaking than Tai had been. Yes, there was certainly something impressive about Tai... but the aura that the Principal gave off... there was something about it that Thea could not put her finger on.

Who was this woman?

"Do you understand?" She asked, her voice snapping Thea out of her thoughts.

"Of course," Thea siad, quickly. "We will ensure that this is all returned to you... at the very least to prove our respect to Rue."

The woman raised her head a little, before nodding. "Good."

After letting out a breath, Thea looked down at the box for a moment before opening it.

She shouldn't have been surprised by its contents, seeing as she knew what was inside it, but the sight of the thick brown locks still made her gasp and look away. The thought that this was the hair that was once a part of a woman who was murdered by her father made Thea's heart ache... she couldn't even begin to imagine what Rue must have felt.

"The letter is in there too," the woman continued. "I did not touch it once since Rue left it with me, so you will find it exactly as he left it... crumpled up and covered in the tear stains of a man who had all that was left of his heart taken away from him."

Thea let out a deep breath. "Rivier will pay for what he's done," she said, suddenly remembering Niall's words to her before he cut her hair. "When you spend a lot of time in Achlis, you learn how to deal with men like him... Niall knows how to deal with men like him... he will use this to ruin him."

"Ruin him all you want," the woman said. "Revenge is not the goal of this organization... it is not Rue's goal either. Our ultimate goal is justice. Bring justice to the innocent girl that was murdered and while you work on that, we will decide whether or not your general gets to meet with us."

Thea hesitated. "You won't meet with him?"

The woman shared a glance with Tai, who pushed himself off of the desk and crossed his arms. "We will decide when and where and how and if we will meet with General Niall Killian," he said, before pausing for a moment to think. "How about this... I'm assuming now that all those calls you made along the way were to check in with your superior... give us one of the phone numbers. If we want to meet with him, we will call it."

"But those are numbers that lead to random telephone booths in Elore..."

"Well, if your General is serious enough then it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to have someone stationed there."

Thea knew that the man was purposefully making things difficult... as If wanting to show that he had the upper hand. Of course, it wasn't like they had any other choice. So, Thea reached into her bag and grabbed one of the scrap pieces of papers with a phone number on it. "Alright," she said, handing the paper to Tai. "We will be waiting for your call."

"Let me make something else clear," the woman suddenly said, making everyone turn to her. "You are not welcome back here until we say so."

Thea hesitated. "What?"

"If you choose to return before we give you explicit permission to do so, you will die," she said, her tone cold and serious. "The second you step on the train back to the Capital tonight, the Crows here will be given orders to shoot on sight if they see you here again."

Thea looked at Aaryan, who had a brow raised.

"Don't think for a second that you are in control," Tai added. "Tell your general that too. When it comes to how anyone interacts with our force and our people, we call the shots."

Confusion overwhelmed Thea, the sudden aggression surprising her. "But-"

"And, most importantly," Tai continued. "It would be wise to not underestimate us. You may assume that you've seen much today, but leave knowing that you have not seen anything but a percentage of our capabilities."

Thea nodded slowly. "Alright, I understand... but how do you expect me to return all of this to you if you want me to stay away."

"Like I already said," the Principal began. "We will call the shots. We will decide when and how to contact you. You focus on getting rid of Rivier."

Thea nodded once more, though still frowning, not liking how this was turning out. However, knowing that she didn't really have any other choice, she let out a breath. "Understood."

"Good," the Principal smiled. "I presume we will speak again shortly after Rivier has been taken care of. For now, however, Kova will see you back to the station."

Before Thea could say anything else, Kova and Sinna were already in front of both she and Aaryan, escorting them out of the office, Kova looking more cold and more annoyed than he did this entire time.

"Looking forward to seeing how you handle things," the Principal said as they left. "Trust me, we will be watching closely."

And with that, the door shut between them and the only thing Thea was certain of was that though only a short while ago she was feeling the excitement of being so close... despite having what she came for in her arms... she suddenly felt like something important that was right at her fingertips had quickly slipped away.







Everything had gone by much faster than they had planned, so Aaryan and Thea were expected to arrive back in Achlis much earlier than expected.

Though most of what had planned had gone as they had hoped, Thea sat across from Aaryan on the train while still feeling uneasy. She stared at the letters and the box of hair that sat on the table in front of her for most of the trip before looking up at Aaryan.

Aaryan seemed distracted too, staring out the window and not speaking much with her at all. She wondered if maybe he was pondering the same questions she was. Could he have been feeling... off... as well.

"What are you thinking?" Thea suddenly asked, her voice low because just as they were on the trip towards Kal, the two Crows that were watching them were here again, sitting a few seats away from them.

Aaryan looked at her. "You care about my thoughts?"

Thea rolled her eyes. "Yes. I do. Because I want to know if we're thinking the same thing."

Aaryan leaned forward a little, resting his arms on the table. "I feel disappointed... like we've been duped."

"How so?" She asked, though nodding slowly.

"Tai was... rather underwhelming," he said. "I was trying to observe him to the best of my ability the entire time and though he is certainly impressive in some ways... that man does not seem like he'd be a leader to one of the most important Crow divisions that exists in Elore. He's a fighter, yes. A protector, clearly. But a leader? I'm not sure."

Thea continued to nod. "Even the Principal seemed to outshine him."

Aaryan let out a breath through his nose before he flashed his brows. "Yeah, that woman was... something. It was hard not to look at her... in more ways than one."

Thea would have kicked him if she wasn't so focused on her own train of thoughts. "I'm trying to look at this in the way that Milo would," she said. "He would take a step back and then look at the bigger picture before working his way back in."

Aaryan raised his brow. "How can we look at the bigger picture when we know nothing?"

"We don't know nothing," Thea started, going all the way back to the discussion of Tai's name. The discussion of Tai meaning 'cow' in Old Elorian.

The alias was the most unusual part of all of this. Why would someone have the alias of 'cow' when all the people around them had aliases that were relevant to who they were... like Rue meaning 'autumn'... the beauty before death. The glorious melange of colour before its inevitable disappearance. Or, if Thea wanted to try and be a little positive, simply... change.

Similarly... Tai had to mean something more than just 'cow.'

She thought and she thought and she thought, trying to put herself in Milo's head... the feelings she had from the interactions today still fresh in her mind.

Then, finally, it hit her.

She looked up at Aaryan, who had been watching her intently the entire time. "We're fools," she said. "Too closed minded to look at this in a different way."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cows... in Old Elorian culture... are symbolic of motherhood."

Aaryan's lips parted a little, confusion still on his face.

"Tai means cow," Thea continued, a smile forming on her face, " but Taia... means mother."

"So... you think..."

The realization sent a rush of excitement through Thea. "Tai... is the Principal."







When Kova reentered the office, his frown was more evident than usual. "The Traitor Crow and the Little Crow have boarded the train successfully," he said, glowering. "They should be well on their way to the Capital at this point."

"Relax Kova," Anban, who was leaning against the Principal's desk, said as he loosened his tie and began to light another cigarette. "You don't need to beat yourself up over not knowing they were lying about being married. How could you have known?"

Kova's glower softened just a little as he sighed.

"He's right," the Principal added as she stood by the window looking out at the children who were heading home for the day. "I'm sure we can all agree that the turn of events was... unexpected."

Anban let out a smokey breath before his eyes fell on the back of the principal's head, an expression of annoyance spreading on his face. "You spoke way too much today."

The Principal tilted her head back a little and looked at him. "How could I stay silent when there is a possibility that our dear Rue is still alive?"

"Are you forgetting that you're putting yourself at risk?" Anban asked. "I mean look, the Little Crow clearly has you figured out."

She chuckled, stepping back towards her desk. "Then maybe we should not be calling her a Little Crow," she responded as she took a seat. "If she figured it out then she isn't so young and naive and innocent now is she?"

"Tai," Anban frowned. "We've lasted this long because we've protected your identity-"

"Oh come now, Anban, relax," Tai said as she leaned back in her seat. "I'm not the slightest bit worried, so why should you be?"

"If she's figured you out, Tai, she'll go tell Killian," Kova said. "You said it yourself, she seemed enamored by the man."

"Let her tell him," she smiled. "I do not fear the man. In fact, I'm quite intrigued by him."

Anban groaned and rolled his eyes, straightening himself up and beginning to pace. "You do not fear the man who we may have just assisted in becoming the next Secretary of Defense?"

"I did not stutter when I said we will be calling the shots, Anban," Tai said, a little more sternly now. "I also did not stutter when I said that things are finally beginning to get a little interesting."

Anban paused his pacing and looked at the woman. "Alright. What are our next steps then?"

"We prepare ourselves for a potential meeting with Niall Killian," she said. "And at said meeting, we will demand for Rue's release."

"But is that not what the Little Crow said they are working towards anyways?"

"'Working towards' is not sufficient," Tai said, "for our cooperation, it's either that, or nothing."

"And you think Killian will accept such terms?" Kova asked.

"If Theavi Rhaanan has been honest with her thoughts on the General and I've understood the kind of man he is, then once we're done with him, yes. He will accept our terms."

Anban took a deep drag of his cigarette, processed her words before letting out a breath of smoke. "What do you want me to do?"

Tai's smile grew a little wider. "I want you to learn everything," she said. "Everything."