On the way, Louise had to stop – a group of people caught her attention. The girl came closer – there were boys. Not a single girl. And they were all wearing uniforms. Louise had seen something like this in pictures in textbooks and realized that they were soldiers. Military.

"Was the butterfly right, and do people really want to hurt us?"

And then she saw it. Niels was there, too. He would kill her. He's a warrior. This is the end of it.

"Hey, come on, maybe it's not what you think it is. Appearances are deceiving at times. Sit down and observe," my heart spoke.

"Why not, though? I believe Niels is a good boy until I can be convinced otherwise," Louise agreed and sat down on a small rock nearby. The commander who was giving orders to the boys couldn't see her – unless he looked closely, of course. But he was busy. No one paid any attention to Louise – there was no telling what kind of people one might meet in this world.

The boys weren't even firing guns. They were doing all sorts of silly things – running in place, yelling, doing push-ups and squats. "What on earth is this? Definitely not a real war," the girl reassured herself.

She herself didn't know how much time she'd spent in the Glade. Maybe an hour. Or more. The sun had not yet reached its zenith, but soon Louise felt an unpleasant pain – the stone was hard after all, and did not suggest cushions for comfortable observation. What to do? Sit in a different pose? Go home? Go up to the commander and ask how much longer they would be here? The girl still didn't feel any danger and made sure no one was going to kill her. "That's fine".

"Meet me tomorrow at your luxurious cottage. I'll be there as soon as I wake up," Niels heard a gentle whisper in her ear. He had long ago noticed a girl sitting on a rock in the distance, but he didn't show it – if only because he wasn't sure if it was the right girl.

Roxy was determined. On that Saturday afternoon, when Niels had gone on duty and his classmates could get at least a little sleep, the three friends were cozying up on a couch in the café. But, of course, they were not writing a biology report, they were writing an official-looking letter. It was addressed to the Minister. Not just of the City, but of the whole country. They're going to make it. Roxy will be a ruler. Consul, Minister or President. She hasn't decided yet. Besides, Edol's heart wouldn't be free forever. Even though he was weak, Roxy wanted to be close to him. Maybe she didn't want to give him to anyone else. Or maybe she just felt a strong need to love – like eating, drinking, and sleeping. Natural.

Louise applied the green stuff to some particularly large and very sore pimples. Now it was as if she'd caught chicken pox.

It's a good thing Niels didn't see her like that. Or if he did, he didn't see her. How did they see each other and fall in love? For no particular reason. Not for beauty, wit or style, but as a human being. Not everyone can do that. However, for Louise it was just a wonderful adventure, but Niels will also have to divide his life between two worlds – Louise's and the military one. The good and the warring. The wonderful and the ordinary.

The residential complex "Chascha" was located in a stone's throw from the embankment – the river was visible from the windows. The two of them lived on the twentieth floor. He was at work, and Elizabeth stayed home to deal with the paperwork. At the beginning of five she took her purse-shopper out of her dresser and ran to the store to buy some milk and bread. There was no need for anything else – they both didn't like to eat much and often. On the way to the elevator, Elizabeth looked in the mailbox as a matter of habit.