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Two months. Two months was how long it took for the first article to finally be approved by Julian's contact in the press. It was difficult, Julian had said, to convince his contact to go through with it when it was so very controversial. As a matter of fact, they only agreed to going through with it when Niall agreed to show the contact the original box with the original letter and the original hair.

After expressions of horror and disgust were shared among the contacts while Julian and Niall watched carefully from behind them in Niall's office, the article was published soon after.

And saying that the article was followed by outrage was an understatement.

As always, Julian was the one who kept the team posted on the happenings in the city, reporting back to them all the day after on what the general public was saying, and it seemed that the contacts certainly knew how to capture the interest of the public.

They knew how to turn heads, and clearly that was their goal since they chose to print, on their front page, a picture of the beautiful Miriella under the large, bold headline:

EVIDENCE UNEARTHED: DEFENSE SECRETARY ALLEGEDLY MURDERS OWN DAUGHTER

With a title like that and a picture of a beautiful, young, smiling Aiverian girl on the front page, hundreds and hundreds of papers sold... apparently the most that that paper had ever sold in its history. And people were talking, their focus starting on the beautiful Aiverian girl and slowly moving towards the details of her scandalous murder.

Suddenly, all the waiting seemed quite worth it.

The only other good that came out of waiting for so long to publish that first article was that Thea had more than enough time to work on and perfect the rest of the articles. So, two days after the first article came out, the second was published and there was even more curiosity and outrage.

Then the third and the fourth and the fifth and by that point, most other news agencies had picked up the story and the entire nation was talking about Rivier murdering his daughter because she fell in love with a Crow.

The effects of the article? Rivier had vanished with no response or comments to spare for the public, there were protests happening outside of the gates of Achlis calling for his removal, there was a great enthusiasm for the release of the book of poems by the mysterious Crow lover of the victim, and Thea could not help but notice that Niall seemed a lot... lighter... as everything fell into place.

And Thea was thrilled too, of course, but she couldn't help but notice that Rue, despite clearly wanting to bring down Rivier, was not as happy as she hoped he would be. To make matters worse, he was often in and out of consciousness, sometimes simply falling asleep, other times shutting down almost entirely for days on end. It was terrifying for Thea, and all she could really think to do was make sure he was getting the treatment he needed.

It was clear to Thea that the resurfacing of the memories and the feelings and the pain that he had worked so hard to suppress was not something he was handling well, especially when he was still struggling to recover from his injuries. It also became so clear to her why, in the beginning, he was so quiet and cold... he had to be. It was the only way he could have protected himself from the pain he had gone through, especially when all he had since he was imprisoned was his own mind. Now... with all of this back at the forefront of his heart, Thea couldn't even imagine how much it was hurting him.

Though it broke her heart to see him like that, the only solace she felt was that they were steps closer to getting him his freedom. Though she knew now, after all the conversations they had, that his freedom meant that he may leave her and all of this behind to go back to Kal... back to the people who he seemed so fond of... at least... he would be happy.







It was on the morning of the day that Rue's book of poems was supposed to be published that Mrs. Railer walked into Niall's office bright and early with a frown on her face. Until that point, Niall was in an overall good mood. The weather was getting better, everything regarding Rivier was going mostly as planned, and for the first time in a while, he didn't even have that much mail to read that morning.

But now Mrs. Railer looked upset. "What's wrong?"

"The President has called for an immediate meeting with you."

Any semblance of pleasure he felt was instantly gone. "He's here? In Achlis?"

Mrs. Railer nodded.

"He willingly drove through the protesters?"

"It seems like he did."

Niall let out a breath before cursing softly. "I wasn't prepared for this to happen so soon."

"Well, my dear, it is happening, so hurry along. He specifically said immediately."

Sighing, Niall stood, threw the jacket of his uniform back on, before heading to the President's office.

Niall didn't need to knock on the door because it was already open and the President was already seated at his desk, wearing a darkened expression on his face as he watched Niall enter. After saluting the President and standing at attention, the man eyed Niall for a moment before shifting his gaze to the men at the door. "Shut the door," he said, and without hesitation,, the large double doors of the President's office closed shut.

"Have a seat, Killian," the President said.

Niall took a breath before taking a seat in one of the President's expensive chairs.

"This is all your doing, is it not?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes, Sir."

Though the President obviously knew the answer to his own question well before asking it, he sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know I told you to give me a reason to get rid of him, but I didn't mean to rally up the masses so that they march around the gates of Achlis with pitchforks."

"We knew people would be upset, but this particular response was rather unexpected, Sir."

President Reichavar gave Niall a look of exasperation. "Well, is it true then?"

"Sir?"

"Did he really kill the girl? Or is this some elaborate plot you've concocted?"

"Forgive me, Sir, but it troubles me to think that I would lie about something like this."

"This is Achlis, Killian. People have done much worse for much less," the President leaned back in his seat, the chair tilting far back with him. "So? It's true?"

"Yes, Sir. I have seen the evidence with my own eyes."

"The evidence being a box of hair?"

"And the letter written by Rivier himself."

The President let out a sour laugh. "Unbelievable." Niall didn't respomd, instead, he just watched the President carefully asx the man stirred in his thoughts, the gears in his head turning as he processed what that meant.. "There will need to be an investigation... and with the masses in such an uproar, it will need to be swift."

"I am more than happy to comply with that-"

"Custody of Rue will need to be transferred over to the State Police and the Department of Justice."

Niall felt the blood drain from his face as his throat went dry. "What?"

"Is that something else that is... unexpected?"

"Sir... the State Police? They are more corrupt then-"

"There's no need to worry about Rivier slipping through the cracks, Killian, that can't happen with the spectacle you've made."

"I'm not talking about Rivier. I'm talking about Rue. We would be putting his life in immense danger by sending him to the State Police."

"Don't be silly-"

"Sir, Rue is a Crow. They'd kill him and claim it was a suicide, and that's if they even care to provide an explanation," Niall responded, beginning to raise his voice. "It's happened before, and you are more than aware of this! This decision would be like signing off on his death."

"He is a necessary witness now!" The President snapped. "This is a situation you created, and these are the consequences! Miriella Rivier was not some random girl from the streets that Rivier murdered. She was his own daughter. The daughter of the Secretary of Defence! A man rivaled only by me in terms of power within the Aiverian State!"

Niall hesitated.

"And now the entirety of the State and well beyond knows of his crimes! The crimes of a man who worked directly under me! A man appointed by me! People are now questioning me! And everyone is watching this shit-show unfold!"

"Sir-"

"Don't Sir me, son," he spat. "We only manage to keep our power and keep our control because the citizens of this nation believe us. They read the newspapers and listen to the radios and accept everything without questioning it. We tell them that we discovered and suppressed another potential Elorian uprising, they believe it. We tell them that the Crows shot down a marketplace filled with Aiverians, they believe it. We tell them that we saw one of those wretched scoundrels sprout wings and fly and they would believe that too! Why? Because they do not care to look in the direction of Achlis. They don't care what we do, just so long as they are happy and comfortable. Just so long Achlis looks to be standing tall and looming in the background of their everyday lives. Just so long as we make it seem like everything is okay and we do not shake the foundation of this State."

Niall frowned but said nothing.

"Yet here we are, the head of Achlis made to look like an absolute fool. His dirty laundry aired to the whole world! Achlis is shaking, Killian. It is shaking and people are now right outside its gates, watching it shake," President Reichavar let out an unpleasant laugh before sitting up straight in his seat, leaning forward and eyeing Niall. "And the only way to right this... this... humiliation... will be to have a full and thorough investigation, one that the people can see as clearly as they did this scandal... one that proves his guilt without a reasonable doubt before I throw his ass into prison for the rest of his goddamn life."

"I understand, Sir, but we do not need to send Rue to the State Police-"

"You are not listening, Killian," the President dropped his voice to a low hiss. "A full and thorough investigation means doing it the way we always do it... with the State Police heading the investigation."

Niall began to shake his head. "Sir, I insist, putting Rue's life at risk at this point is not the right move."

"Then you should have thought of that before you went and created this mess, Niall Killian," the President retorted.

"But-" Niall was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

The President sighed loudly, dropping his head into his hands and rubbing his face. "What?" He snapped.

"General August Ori requests a quick, urgent meeting with you, President." A man from the other end said.

Niall raised a brow. August? The last time Niall had seen August was at the meeting where Thea succeeded in impressing the President.

It was certainly rare to see August Ori anywhere around Achlis, seeing as his place was at the Acteon Naval Base, the Navy headquarters that sat right at the border of Acteon and the Province of Nirma. Frankly, the man seemed to avoid Achlis like the plague, usually sending his Aide-de-Camp to meetings instead wherever it was permitted.

The President seemed just as surprised, raising his head up to look at the door with narrowed eyes. "Let him in."

The doors opened right then and in walked the tall and rather handsome General of the Aiverian Navy. His long hair, tied up into a ponytail, swayed with each step he took, until he stopped and saluted the President. "Sir."

"Urgent meeting, Ori?" The President asked. "What's so urgent that you could not wait for Killian to leave first?"

General Ori glanced over at Killian, nodding slightly as a means of acknowledging his presence, before looking back at the President. "I felt that the matters that I came here to discuss would benefit from the attention of General Killian as well, President."

"Well then take a seat and get to it."

General Ori took the other seat, his posture so perfect and his presence so strong that Niall was almost instantly reminded of the power this man held.

Though ranking wise, Niall's role as Deputy Secretary of Defense made him General Ori's superior, in the eyes of the State, August Ori was there right below him, his role nearly as significant.

Frankly, most people probably considered August Ori to be far superior then Niall simply due to the fact that he came from an old, pure, Aiverian family of high class and extreme wealth. No one ever questioned his legitimacy, especially when his father, and his father's father and his father's father's father were all Generals of the Navy as well. Being so well respected by the Aiverian's, Ori's father was even sought out to be President at some point decades ago, but his pure distaste for politics kept him far away from the Capital... apparently somewhere deep in the countryside of Valha... well away from the sea as well, oddly enough.

And aside from his background, with the Navy being the most important, most respected and most feared branch of the Aiverian State Military, Niall knew that if he wasn't the Deputy Secretary of Defense, his status as simply the General of the Aiverian Army would have made him have to, without a doubt, bow down to August Ori. The power of the Army, though vast, paled in comparison to the power the Navy held. Access to the waters around Eloria was the main reason Aiveria invaded and conquered the lands to begin with, after all... and now the Aiverian Navy ruled those very waters.

Besides, it was well known across the State that though Niall played a key role in ending the Civil War, it was thanks to the Navy that the Aiverians won the battles, kept a hold of the power, and ensured that the Crows could not rise up again.

How could the Crows buy and transport weapons and resources and support from any neighboring nations when the Aiverian Navy ruled the sea? So much so that even some of the neighbors feared them?

Niall remembered telling Thea, at the meeting where she first saw him, that Ori was not a man people messed with and Niall still stood by that.

He was powerful.

And he knew it.

"I wanted to make you aware of some significant conversations that have been passing through the ranks at the Base and have now made their way to my ears," General Ori said. "Conversations regarding the recent... kerfuffle... that has occurred here in Achlis."

The President took a deep breath.

"The men of the Navy are furious, President."

"We are all furious, Ori."

"But it has gone too far, wouldn't you agree?"

The President raised a brow.

"Rivier is the face of the Aiverian Armed Forces," Ori continued. "He is the man who represents all of Achlis... and over the span of a few months, our face and our representative has proved himself to be an absolute clown."

Niall leaned back in his seat, settling a little at the knowledge that Ori, through his tone, was making it clear that he was on the same side that Niall was on.

"We are going to investigate," the President responded.

"He murdered his daughter, Sir," Ori stated, leaning forward, "and whether that is true or not, the entirety of the State believes it... and frankly, how quickly everyone agreed to believe it should be a testament to the name that this man has made for himself."

"I am well aware of that, Ori, so what exactly is your point?"

"My point is that the men of the Navy are making it clear that they refuse to allow the man that represents them to the rest of the Nation and the world, to be a pathetic, criminal drunk."

The President blinked. "What are you implying?"

"I am not implying anything, Sir. I am simply making the current matters of the military clear," he said. "Rivier remaining the Secretary of Defense during a scandalous, humiliating and disgusting criminal trial will ruin the reputation of our Armed Forces and these men are already making it clear that they cannot stand for that."

President Reichavar was frowning deeply, processing what Ori was saying with a clear look of frustration.

"I cannot and will not speak for the rest of the Armed Forces, but the men of the Navy are, for the most part, noble men. They serve to ensure the prosperity of the Aiverian State and prosperity cannot be a certainty if the man that represents us all is a man who murdered his beautiful Aiverian daughter for the reason of love... whether the love was for a Crow or not."

"General Ori, do you realize what you are asking me to do?" The President asked, sternly.

"I am quite sure of my words, Sir," General Ori said with certainty. "And I can't imagine what the hesitation would be when the entirety of the nation is calling for his removal."

"The hesitation is because of due process-"

"Forgive me, Sir, but this is Achlis. Here, due process is simply a fancy set of words that is thrown around to not raise eyebrows. But you know as well as I do that it's as real as a unicorn is. And just like with unicorns, everyone wastes time talking about it and its beauty and majesty and magnificence despite knowing in the back of their mind that it does not exist."

Niall let out an amused breath from his nostrils before looking back at the President, who was still frowning.

"And the best part of this all is that the transition would be smooth, so you have no concerns there. It is not a secret that General Killian is being considered as his replacement once Rivier is charged... all I am recommending is that it happens sooner." Ori glanced over at Niall before looking back at the President. "The people, and more importantly, the military, would not hesitate to accept a half blood like General Killian as their leader when their options are between him, a respectable military man who proved his loyalty to the Aiverian State when he practically handed us the victory in the Civil War, and Rivier, a pathetic, worthless man who spends the majority of his day drinking, possibly to forget the fact that he killed his own Aiverian daughter for no good reason at all."

Niall raised a brow, not expecting General Ori's insistence to go this far.

The President sat silently, thinking through General Ori's words, glancing at Niall every so often.

"It's not a secret, Sir, that you favor General Killian over Rivier. I am still not understanding the hesitation."

"There will be a lot of paperwork. These kinds of changes take time."

"The change does not need to be official for the announcement to go out. It will settle the masses and further prove that Achlis is cutting any associations with Rivier. Besides, I'm sure General Killian has been covering for Rivier in his absence for months now, so he's practically taking on the role already."

That was certainly true, and though Niall felt the need to comment, he was too distracted by the uncharacteristic impatience he was feeling as a rush of surprise and anxiousness sped through him.

He knew this was coming, of course, but he never imagined it to be this soon.

The President remained silent for another long moment before letting out a sigh. "As unenthusiastic as I am about the entire matter, I will admit that I agree with what you are saying," he finally said. "If urgently transitioning Killian into the Secretary of Defense role will result in bringing some silence to this matter then I approve. We will proceed."

Niall held his breath.

"I will start the process for the announcement," the President continued, "It should be in the papers tomorrow morning."

"Wonderful," General Ori said, raising his head a little as he looked at Niall. "And my congratulations to you... Secretary Killian."

Niall blinked, taking a moment to process this. It had happened so quickly that he had some difficulty believing any of it.

"Yes, congratulations," the President said. "You've gotten exactly what you wanted. But Killian, keep in mind... this mess you've caused as the Deputy Secretary is now yours to clean as Secretary."

"Nothing he can't handle, I'm sure," General Ori said.

The President took a deep breath. "Certainly," he said. "Now I request for you both to leave. This change of plans now means that I have more work on my plate than I had anticipated."

August Ori stood first. "Thank you, President Reichavar. I will report back to my men, and I am certain the decisions made here will quell all of their concerns. It will also remind them that you are listening to their concerns, which will certainly make them feel proud."

"Just make sure that there isn't some military coup that leads to my brains being blown out," the President mumbled more to himself than anything.

"Sir," Niall started. "The conversation we were having about Rue-"

"My mind has not changed on that, Killian," the President said sternly. "So unless you have some other long winded plan to get Rue out of this the same way you got him out of his execution, then he will be collected by the State Police tonight."

"But, Sir-"

"Just get over this admiration you've developed for this Crow and go celebrate. You've just been promoted, after all."

After a moment of hesitation, Niall stood too. "Yes, Sir. Thank you."

Once the two General's left the President's Achlis office, they kept pace with one another, giving Niall the chance to question General Ori. "What was that all for?"

Ori smirked while still looking straight ahead. "General Killian, does it surprise you that you have my support?"

"No, but it does surprise me that you support me enough to take such a stand in front of the President. You practically implied a military coup. Do you realize how dangerous that is? It's treasonous... why on earth would you take such a risk?"

"It's quite straightforward, actually," General Ori said as they reached the elevator, and he pressed the button. "I was not lying about my men voicing their concerns, and frankly, I have always been keen on the idea of the Secretary of Defense being an actual, experienced military man and not a pencil-pushing, money-hungy politician. The only reason I pushed for your appointment into that position instead of me or even goddamned Schyter is because you're the only one patient enough to take on such a role. And stupid enough, for that matter."

The elevator doors opened and General Ori walked in, though Niall stayed back, watching him. "I appreciate your faith in me, General Ori."

"Just don't come looking for my help when you realize you're in over your head. And this has nothing to do with faith," he said as the doors began to close between them. "Honestly, I would do just about anything to make sure that drunk, incompetent idiot Rivier never shows up in my office ever again."