Hi everyone!!

Another chapter for you!!! Hope you enjoy! As always, don't forget to vote and comment to let me know what you think! <3

Love,

Luckycharms! <3



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Adrien stared out the floor-to-ceiling length windows of his office with a deep frown creasing his face. Normally, the view was quite pleasing, the sight of nearly all of the Military District and beyond quite clear to him. Achillis especially was a beautiful sight, its imposing form looming frighteningly over the rest of the city. He even had the perfect view of the wing that Thea worked in, though that knowledge was pointless seeing as her office had no window.

Today, however, he was distracted by a different view.

He could feel the unrest in the city below him as the outrage and protests continued... it had been like this from the moment the news of the recovery of Miriella's body was made public... which was the day after his interaction with Thea at the jail... just as Thea and her annoying friends had warned him.

He could understand the outrage - the murder of one of the most beautiful Aiverian girls by her near noble ranking father was certainly a cause to be outraged about... especially when the father was not only from one of the oldest Aiverian families that still existed, but was also the Secretary of Defense. He was a representative of the people... and the people felt betrayed. How dare a man who was meant to be a protector of the people end up being so profusely immoral.

All of that made sense.

What he could not understand were the protests.

Rivier had been apprehended... by Killian no less... Killian who, for the most part, seemed to suddenly be considered quite favorable among the Aiverian people. Though it seemed like anyone would have been better than Rivier, Killian's youth, military background and no-bullshit attitude seemed to be pleasing to the general public. It also certainly helped that he was a traitor to the Elorians.

So what were the protests for? What more were these people asking for?

Did they want Rivier dead? That was certainly the direction Rivier looked to be heading. Last Adrien heard, the State was planning on pinning quite a few military failures on him. He was already going down so why not let him take the blame for a few other things down with him? It was a death sentence... surely.

Rivier would not be coming back from this. No way.

Did the people not trust that this was how it would be? Did they think that after all this humiliation, the President would just let him live?

Adrien sighed. It seemed then that the unrest would continue until Rivier was no more, then.

Whatever the case, Adrien knew his father was pleased. He never liked Rivier, and with him gone, that was one more head of an old, rival family gone. Plus, he had no heir... so that was it. That family was really gone.

And according to his father, the only real problem left was, in fact, Killian.

An ugly burr gripping tightly onto the beautiful Achlis, his father would say. "The president's favor of Killian is disgusting," his father continued when he heard the news that the President had sent Killian on some sort of mission up North the second he returned from retrieving Rivier. "Sending him off on his own on all of these apparently significant missions. It's a disgrace... especially when there are so many perfectly capable pure-blood Aiverian men who could do these jobs even better. That man must go if there is to be any sense of purity in Achlis."

Of course, Adrien agreed.

He hated Niall Killian.

He hated how that man was bringing in all these foolish Elorians into Achlis to taint the old and noble organization. Especially the bearded one... the one that dared to touch him.

As he pondered on how pleasurable it would be to witness the downfall of Killian, there was a knock on his door. "What is it?" Adrien called out.

The young Aiverian woman who was his secretary stepped in. "There is a telephone call for you, Mr. Karney," she began. "From the State Police Headquarters."

Adrien didn't hold back his annoyance. Forcing him to supervise the State Police was one of the worst things his father had ever made him do, mostly because it also forced him to realize the reality of the state that said organization was in. Frankly, despite the amount of fear they instilled in people, they were a group of bumbling idiots.

Or maybe that was exactly why people feared them... their idiocracy made them easy to control... something his father, and maybe the public, knew very well. They were like stupid, but fierce dogs. Give them a treat and they will do your bidding, no questions asked.

"Adrien Karney," he said into the phone, making his frustration evident in his tone. "What is it this time?" Was it another screw up? Or some dumb question? Or maybe Thea and her little friends were back for more trouble.

"Sir," The Chief began. "It's the Crow prisoner... something's wrong."

Adrien hesitated. "What do you mean something's wrong?"

"He's... well... we think he's getting sicker."

Adrien squeezed the bridge of his nose so tightly that it was surely going to leave a mark. "Then get the prison doctor. Do you really need to be calling me for this?"

"We did, Sir... but we believe you should come take a look."

"You do realize that I am busy, don't you, man?" Adrien snapped. "You cannot keep calling me for every little thing–"

"Of course, Sir. I mean, we weren't sure if it was even worth the trouble and all since he's a Crow... but with all the protests and unrest... I just... think you should come see for yourself."

Adrien let out a sharp breath. "Fine... but if this ends up being something that was a waste of my time, you will need to answer for that, do you understand?"

"Yes... Sir."

Adrien hung up the phone, frowned deeply, and then stood.







One of the reasons why Adrien avoided going to the State Prison was because of the protests. Sure, it wasn't as bad as what was happening outside of Achlis but there was a significant amount of angry mobbers shaking the gates of the State Prison and getting past them added a significant amount of time to the already frustratingly long commute from his office. Yes, the views from his office were nice, but having a view like that meant you were a good enough distance away from the Military District.

Then of course, there was the sight of Aiverians and Elorians seeming to band together... what was becoming of this nation?

When he finally made it through the gates and made his way into the Headquarters, he was greeted by an aura of uneasiness. "What's happening?" he asked as the receptionist guided him towards the jail.

"The Crow is looking sick again," she said. "Oddly, the Chief seems quite concerned."

Adrien sighed loudly, however, when they turned into the jail, he was surprised to see quite a lot of officers gathered around the outside of the Crow's cell.

"What the hell is everyone doing?" Adrien asked as the receptionist unlocked the external gate. "Don't you all have work to do?"

No one answered him.

Instead, they looked at each other, and then at Adrien, and then at the Chief who quickly appeared out of the cell. "Sir!"

Adrien approached him, suddenly allowing himself to feel something other than annoyance.

Now he was confused.

Why on earth were these men, all of whom hated Crows and usually took pleasure in the sight of one suffering, looking so worried. What could possibly be wrong?

"We appreciate you coming, Sir," the Chief said with a salute. "We... don't know how to proceed... he's not looking good. It seemed like it all got worse within one night..."

Adrien raised a brow as the officers made way for him, letting him into the cell, and just as he entered, Adrien froze.

The sight... was not what Adrien was expecting.

The Crow... Rue... didn't look sick.

He looked... dead.

Not only was he as pale as a ghost, but the man looked to have dropped a substantial amount of weight. His cheeks were hollow, his long hair limp against the pillow, dull and matted and messy. Dark circles carved deep under his sunken eyes, and he seemed so weak that even breathing was looking to be a struggle, his breaths hesitant and short.

He looked horrifying.

Adrien had never seen anything like this before.

"Fuck!" he cursed, rushing over to the bedside to join the prison doctor that was already there. "Sick? You call this sick?" he shouted. "Are you all fucking insane?"

"Sir," the doctor began. "I don't think he has much time left. There's no point–"

Adrien whipped around to face the doctor, his arm flying out in a sudden burst of rage, slamming into the cart of medical tools with a violent force. The cart toppled over, sending glass shattering and metal instruments clattering loudly across the floor, the noise ricocheting off the walls of the cell. "I don't give a shit what you think!" Adrien bellowed, his voice raw and reverberating with fury. "This... this son of a bitch cannot die!"

The doctor hesitated, and though Adrien pegged the police officers to be idiots, at least they seemed to understand why Adrien was so angry.

"Have you not seen the protesters and the unrest?" Adrien near-screamed. "Only a few weeks have passed since the news of Rivier's daughter's body became public... it's fresh! The fact that the bitch was pregnant is fresh! Pregnant with his child! Everyone has their eyes on us, you bastard! If he dies..."

Adrien couldn't even say it.

If Rue died... he would be ruined.

The scene that Thea had made in front of all those people... the information that her god-forsaken team had been feeding the press... they had made certain that it was no secret that he was in charge of Rue's safety. And despite the fact that the man was a Crow... his romanticized association with an innocent victim of hate meant everyone was sympathetic to him... everyone.

And with everyone's eyes on Rue... if he died... they would blame no one but Adrien.

It would be a scar on his reputation. It would ruin him.

He thought of Thea and her threats and felt a rage and frustration that he had not felt in a long while.

She would win this. If Rue died, she would win. She must have known... she wanted it this way. She had cornered Adrien, whether she intended to or not.

She'd win.

And if she won... that meant Killian would win.

"Fuck!" Adrien shouted once more, kicking the medical equipment that was now on the ground. He then turned to the Police Chief. "Find someone!" he hollered. "Anyone! Find someone who can fix this! I don't care if he's a vegetable for the rest of his life... he can't die!"

The Police Chief looked back at him with wide eyes. "Sir... who?"

"Anyone!" Adrien marched over to the Chief and grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, pulling him close. "Someone who can fix this! Use the effort you fuckers use to fuck around with the Elorians to find someone who can fix this! Because I promise... if this man dies, I swear to God, you lot will be dead before you have a chance to see the chaos his death causes!"







Thea got back to the hostel late, though still before the curfew cut off. She had spent the whole day working with Milo, as usual, trying to keep the news of Rue and Miriella fresh.

With Milo's help, the next set of poems would be published within the next couple days, the little book titled to be the second volume, and Thea knew that thankfully, so many people were invested.

It was an odd miracle... the interest and somewhat gentle intrigue that the Aiverian people had about the life and mind of a Crow. But then again, maybe it wasn't a miracle. Maybe the vast majority of the Aiverian people weren't as evil as she often allowed herself to think they were. Maybe it was the minority that seemed to be the loudest and the proudest and the powerful and the most hateful... and the silent majority remained just that... silent. At least until something happened that made them feel the need to step up.

This was amazing... and with everything that Niall was doing up North, as per Thea's planning... Rue would most certainly be released. At least, if Niall came back successful then Rue would be released.

Thea would win... and if Thea won, that would mean Rue would finally win too... and Niall and her whole team. They'd all finally have a win and they'd get the trust of Tai and they'd be a step closer to getting rid of Lavan Kyrie, the horrible puppet Premier of Elore, just as Tai wanted.

And if Rue agrees to the plan then Rue would become the next Premier... that would change everything.

Everything would change.

For the first time in decades, the Elorian people would have their first win.

Thea took a deep breath.

They were so close.