#chapter: 3

A/N: I want to thank each and everyone of you who took your time to read this history that’s already so dear to my heart. I wasn’t going to update today, but I am so happy and thankful for all of your kind messages, that I decided to give you another glimpse of Harry and Carol’s banter and humour. Thank you all for everything. See ya next chapter.

Carolina arrived at the Intercontinental's penthouse at 4:55 in the morning. With a tired and sleepy face, she bought a coffee at the nearby Starbucks. Coffee would be the only thing that would be able to keep her awake in that ungodly hour of the day. She hated waking up early. And she almost broke her alarm when it rang that morning (middle of the night, really). She took advantage of the office quietness to take a deep breath and accept that she barely had slept the night before until she had to be up again. Edward arrived a few minutes later and soon both of them started working together. 

At 6:50, Harry entered the office and saw the three people there working. And they all had done so much in a little time. "Good morning, Carolina.", he said after running a few things with Edward. "Morning, Harry", she said happily without taking her eyes off the computer in front of her. "Wow... are you an early riser?", he asked and she noticed his sleepy voice. "Want my honest answer?" "Yes?" "No. I don't like waking up early. But I had to be here, so I did.", she offered with a simple shrug and a smile to the prince looking at him for the first time that morning. "Well, that makes two of us. But you handle it so much better than I do. I'd never be able to produce this much in so short time... in the morning." "Edward and I were discussing about making the statement a little bit more fun. Not the writing, but the layout. Using the Invictus logo and the like." "That's a good idea. Instead of just giving them a plain white piece of paper." "Yeah. But I'd like to ask you if you would accept the layout I did" "You are making layouts now? What about the translating?", he asked startled already thinking that the material wasn't ready. "Oh. That's done and checked.", she laughed at his reaction. "I just didn't print them because, you know, you need to approve the layout.", she had a smug smile on her face. "Let me see it then", he turned around and stood behind her in front of the computer and saw all the visual design for the material he would use in the meetings of the day. And as she said, it was much more fun than serious. Quite like him. "Well. I like it. You can print on this layout you've made." "On it.", she hit some keyboard keys and soon the printer started working.   "You're good at it, Carolina. Lots of experience?" "I have worked in offices since I started working at 16. And in college we learned about visual designing and layouts and programming.", she answered looking at him while he sat on the chair in front of her desk again. "Where do you work now?", he seemed curious. "I am unemployed right now.", she had a deep breath and then looked at him again. "I'm sorry." "It's alright. I am trying though." "I am sure to give the best recommendations ever. You deserve it.", "Well, thank you. I'd love to have the recommendations but I'd hate to be only asked to have interviews just because I worked with Prince Harry."

He was stunned by her words. She didn't want to get a job only because she had worked with him. She clearly wanted to get a job by her own means and skills. Which she totally could and in that moment Harry wondered how in the hell was this girl unemployed. "Well.. in that case I'm gonna have to ask Edward to write you a recommendation letter that doesn't tell that you worked for me, only the amazing job you have been doing."

He could actually see when she blushed at his compliment. This girl was getting more and more interesting by the minute. They stared at each other for a few seconds that lasted like hours, before she snapped out of it and got up to get the printed files, before they even came out of the machine, just to have an excuse to be a little farther away from him for a few minutes. The way he was looking at her as if he was reading or studying her made her insecurities come rushing to the front of her mind and she didn't like it at all. She started to organize the files in folders and separating them to handle them to Edward "Thank you, Harry", she said after a few minutes not really looking him in the eye.

Harry wanted to push his luck a little bit. It was strange for him for someone as intelligent as Carolina to be as insecure as she was. But since it was work place and that he'd probably never see her again after he came back home, he opted for a change in subject. "So, tomorrow I have a free night. Where do you think I should go?", he opted for a change in subject. "What are you looking for? It's Friday night", she was sorting out the papers to put them in the right order. "Somewhere I can listen to brazilian music, have good drinks and maybe eat something." "Well, then I guess I can recommend my favorite place. Villa Country." "What's that?" "It's a night club. They play live sertanejo music which is a brazilian rythm. The place is nice, it can give you security, they have really good food and of course, alcohol." "Well, that sounds fun.", he said thinking about for a moment. "Can you give Edward the address?" "Well, if you want I can call someone there to say they're going to have you. So they'll make sure you have privacy, you know?" "Whoa... that's very thoughtful...", he stopped to think how did she know that and then said: "How do you know I need it?" She bit her lip involuntarily and laughed a little trying to focus on the files in their folders before having to look at him and answer: "Well... you're a prince. Of the most known Royal Family out there. You probably want to have fun without having lots of pictures taken and making headlines tomorrow. And you've got a very heavy security team with you." "Are you a royal watcher by any chance?", he said jokingly not really believing that she would be one. "Yes, I am", she answered clearly.

And then he burst out laughing. He looked at her and laughed. He did try to stifle his laughter but he couldn't help it. This girl was like a box of surprises for him and she was the kind of gift that only keeps on giving. "Well thank you then.", he was able to say after composing himself. "Please make that call for me and give Edward the details." "Just because you're nice, and because I'm going to pretend I didn't see you laughing at me like a crazy person, I'll ask them to put you on their best box. The one near the stage." "You do know the place well..." "I do. And I know everyone there. The owners included.", she finished her task and handed it to Edward that was watching the interaction between them with curious eyes. "You do?", he had his eyebrows raised and his jaw was almost opening in surprise. "Why so surprised?", she crossed her arms in front of her body. "Nothing... I mean. You're so serious and smart and I don't think you'd be the kind of girl who'd get to a stage to know owners of night clubs." And it was her time to burst out laughing. He really didn't know her. "No one is all black and white, Harry. All the fifty shades, remember?" He was silent for a moment, thinking about what he had just listened. "Thank you, Carolina.", he said heading to the door to get ready for his day full of engagements, but stopped before reaching it. "You know, Carolina is a beautiful name. But it's a mouthful. You got a nickname?" She thought it was a weird question to ask in a work place, but answered anyway. "Carol. You can call me Carol". "See you later, Carol.", and then he left the room.

Having spent part of her time in the morning working on the side project and delivering it by the deadline Edward had given her, Carolina's work became even more packed and she was all day immersed on the files that she had put aside during that morning. She didn't notice her colleagues leaving, she didn't notice it was already night time and she didn't notice when someone entered the room. "Why are you still here?", Harry approached her desk looking around and noticing she was alone. "Sorry? I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?", she looked at him and slowly but carefully rubbed her eyes to not smear her make-up. "Why are you still here? It's 8 o'clock." "Oh! Already? I didn't see the day go by", she stretched out in her chair. "Have you at least eaten something? You got here by 5!", he seemed worried. "I had some biscuits during the day...", she reopened a dictionary to look for another word. "What are you doing here anyway? You were supposed to be back at 10." "Decided to call it a day earlier. But Carol, that's it. You're going home. You need to sleep and rest." "I haven't finished my tasks and I kind of am behind it." "Well, you won't stay overnight. And I am your boss. I'm telling you to go home, have dinner and rest. You can finish it tomorrow.", he said in a serious tone that made her take her eyes off the computer and look at him. She didn't try to protest. "Ok. I am on my way.", she said but everything in her said otherwise. "Hurry up, I'm not leaving until you do.", he crossed his arms. "Why don't you just go?", she had an annoyed tone. The hunger, the stress and tiredness already taking it's toll on her body. "Because I have a feeling you'll stay here if I walk out right now. So I'm waiting for you to turn it all off and go home.", He sat on the chair and stared at her. 

Carolina finished what she was doing and even tried to earn some time to see if he was going to leave her alone but Harry started to take away every grammar book and dictionary that was withing his reach. She was annoyed by his attitude but just bookmarked the page she was reading and turned off the computer. She organized all the files and books that were spread on her table and got up. She stretched out again feeling tired and saw that she had some missed calls on her phone. She sent a quick text to her mom and noticed then that Harry was looking at her the entire time. "What?", she said after a while, a bit flushed because all of his staring. "I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me.", he said simply. "I beg your pardon?" "Dinner. Edward already went to bed and I don't want have dinner by myself. And since you're still here, with your workaholic habits mind you, I'm inviting you." "Is that appropriate?", she was confused and thinking about all the protocol information she had read over years of Royal watching. "Yes. We're just having dinner. You haven't eaten and I am starving. So what do you say? "Well... why not?", she shrugged and got her purse. "We can have dinner in the hotel's restaurant or we can go out. You know the neighborhood better than I do." "There's a little restaurante one block from here. It probably won't be crowded right now." "Let's go, then.", he said walking to the door and opening it for them.

Harry called his RPOs and they walked to the restaurant she had indicated. Fortunately for them, not a single paparazzi was outside the hotel and the night was perfect. She led the way to the restaurant. It was a steak house that looked like between a texas saloon and a fancy brazilian steak house. It was a bit dim litted and a soft music played in the background. They sat at the last table, the one with more privacy, but no one there seemed to recognise him. And he was thankful for that. That didn't happen very often. They could overlook the street, but whoever walked by couldn't see them. They placed their orders and both were quiet at the beggining. It was that kind of awkward silence. Up until he started to fire questions at her. "So how old are you really?", he asked while sipping on the wine he ordered. "Didn't they teach you it's not polite to ask for a lady's age?", she arched an eyebrow at him. "They did. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...", he flushed a bit and was starting to feel uncomfortable. "22." "Sorry?" "I'm 22. I'll turn 23 in October.", she sipped on her iced tea. "Wow. You're young." He had thought she was a bit older, in her late twenties. "You thought I was older?", she arched her eyebrow again as if were daring him to answer the question. "No! I mean... I.... It's not that I thought you were older. You look young. But you behave like someone my age, you know? You've got this serious aura around you." He tried to explain. "Well... I get that a lot" "Yes! So, since you're 22, what are you doing right now?" "Well, I'm studying journalism and looking for a job.", she answered quickly. Every single job interview had that question. She was already used to it. "Why did you chose journalism?", he seemed interested. "Because I can have lots of different work fields inside the same profession, I can speak English and other languages and hopefully in the future I will be able to travel...", she answered while seeing the waiter approach their table with their food. "Where do you want to go?", he asked while having a bite of his steak. "Everywhere, to be honest. If I could I'd visit every country in the whole world.", she laughed. "Have you ever been anywhere?", he asked after swallowing a few bites. He really was hungry and the food at this restaurant was delicious. He wouldn't have entered it if he was walking around the neighborhood by himself, but he was so glad he did. "No, I haven't", she answered after a moment, while cleaning her mouth with the napkin. "I mean, I've traveled around Brazil alright. I know the South pretty well, South East and some parts of Northeast, but I've never been abroad." "Why not?", she asked sincerely. "Well, for starters I can't afford right now.", she answered without getting shy about their social standing difference. "And because I don't think my English is good enough to help me out there." "Well, I can say that your English is pretty good. Even with your accent I can understand you just fine. And to be honest having a perfect English don't get you out of troubles that are bound to happen when you're in another country. I speak English since I started talking and I still ended up naked in Vegas" They both burst out laughing at that. She took a while to stop laughing remembering the pictures and the headlines that incident brought to the papers. "Thank you, I guess", she said cutting another piece of steak and eating it, opting to have her mouth occupied to not start laughing again. "So you're 22 year old workaholic, a future journalist who has a wanderlust and that lives in São Paulo." he said as if filing the information in his memory. He smiled and then said: "What's your favorite food?" "Meat Strogonoff", she answered without thinking. "Your favorite movie?" "Breakfast at Tiffany's", she had a sip of her iced tea. "But to be honest I have a list." "Tell me" "Well I really like the Harry Potter series. My favourite movies are the Prisoner of Azkaban and Deathly Hallows part 2. I also love Pride and prejudice and Dirty Dancing" "Wow" He said "That's a lot of movies and I don't think I have watched all of them." "You should! They're really good.", she had another sip of her iced tea. "Your favorite singer? Male and female.", He asked after a while. "Frank Sinatra and Adele. But I'd also add Adam Levine and Beyoncé." "Your favorite Prince?", he asked copying her smug smile of before. She arched an eyebrow and answered clearly: "Carl Philip." He was surprised and stopped eating and let his fork fall on his plate and making an annoying noise. He looked at her and slightly turned his head, she was having fun at him. "I am wounded right now. Because Carl Philip didn't take you to have a dinner. Did he?" "Are you jealous?" She was laughing at him. "Of course not. As if... And he's not even that pretty in person. I've seen him, I know it. There's no prince out there better looking than me." "Cocky!" She said after finishing her meal. "I am merely stating the facts. I am the best looking prince out there." "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Harry." "Whoa... someone's got a sassy attitude right now." He rolled his eyes. "But Carl Philip, really?" He looked sceptical. "And in second place?", he raised his eyebrows a few times. "Haakon..." She said nonchalantly. "Come on, Carol. Help a wounded man here, you know?" "I am helping you, I'm answering all your questions, Harry", she said before adding: "Maybe just not the way you'd like me to." They were quiet for a time, both smiling now and then. "You know, I never thought I'd have dinner with you. And you don't loook like a Prince." she said after a while. "Meaning?", he asked curiously. "Well... I always thought that although down to earth you'd have a bit of pomp. I thought you'de be all proper and stiff and not the kind of person who'd invite an employee to dinner after a long day." "Well, to be honest with you, I don't like much of the pomp and circumstance. That's why I loved the army. I could be just Harry. Not Prince Harry. I didn't have to be proper and formal... and as you put it: stiff. And I know people tend to get nervous around me, so I try to be as "normal" as possible whenever I can." "That really helps." "Were you nervous when meeting me?" "No. Because I didn't know I was actually meeting you. They said you wouldn't go in the headquarters." "That's another thing most people just assume. That I won't get involved with the people I work with. That I don't know what happens and what I want to be done." He had the last sip of wine. "It really surprised me to see you really working and not just having something briefed and told you a few minutes beforehand when you'd have to make an appearance." "That's just me...", he called for the waiter and before he arrived at the table, he looked at her and asked: "Dessert?" "I think I am going to pass. I really need to go home and sleep a bit. Sorry." "There's no need to apologize. Tomorrow you can be here by 10." "But I have things to finish...", she started protesting. "But you're tired, you worked 14 hours today. And 11 the day before. It's too much. And I know that brazilian law allows only 8." "Thank you, then.", she had a deep breath.

Harry paid the bill -after she protested about wanting to split the bill - and together with his RPO's they made their way back to the hotel. They were walking carelessly and slowly. Harry was admiring the city night and pointing things once in a while. They bid each other good night when they were in front of the hotel and Carolina walked the blocks to the nearest subway station and started her commute to home, already dreaming of her bed and finally sleeping.

“Bloody vines.” Beast hated the plant things, how some of them had a mind of their own it seemed like whenever they attacked. He was the strongest the jungle group had, having been raised from birth to be an angry killer. So it was now when they decided to test him out, to see if he could be useful to the Cause. Beast hated it, even the name they gave him to never let him be fully part of the group. Just a weapon. Eventually he grew to begrudgingly accept it, because it was the only purpose he knew. 

He looked around and jumped up to the wall, climbing the first stone. This wall was older and had more spots to hold onto, though he didn’t know the layout of the building. His mission was to record it all, as well as take out any one he came across. The less Elesians there were, the easier it would be for the Cause to fight. He climbed and climbed until finally he reached the open window. 

Slowly he peeked inside, saw that there was no one there and jumped in. It looked like a bedroom, a grand one. Someone important slept here, he was sure. The ones in the jungle had the biggest space to sleep in the higher up the hierarchy they were. Shit.

A man was sleeping in the bed. Older, if the gray hairs and wrinkled face said anything. It could be easy to get rid of him. Sure the man had a good chest and shoulders from what he could see, and shape of that ass underneath the sheets...no. Those were not the thoughts he was supposed to have. The Cause beat it out of him all the time whenever they caught him staring. Beast was never allowed to have any affection, because it would make him soft. Still it was tempting and quietly he approached the body, grabbing what looked like a knife from the nearby table.