THEN

The sun beat down on Yelena as she stood in the clearing that housed her crops. She shed her long sleeves for the day, the heat being too much despite it being autumn. Instead, she allowed the light to warm and darken her already tan skin. The verdant green of her garden surrounded her, making her feel more at home than the four walls of the shack she built herself.

It had been three days since she met the handsome stranger named Adrian. Though she attempted to occupy her mind with other thoughts, they always seemed to drift back to the deep abysses that were his eyes. Never had she felt a hum in her veins like she did that day. It set her alight, not just physically but down to her very soul.

She held the apples that she bought that same day. Examining the healthy sheen of the red skin as she reminisced. With little thought, she bit into one. The sweet juice filled her mouth. The dark-haired girl continued to eat her apple until she reached the core, unveiling the seeds that lay hidden inside.

With careful fingers, Yelena picked the seeds from the core and walked to the edge of her garden where the sun shined brilliantly. She took a spade from her bag that hung from her shoulder and dug a small hole. Kneeling next to it, she dropped the seeds into the soil before covering them back up. She pulled some wildflowers from her bag and rested them beside the mound of dirt. They were collected earlier specifically for this reason. Rising from her spot, she took a couple of steps back and focused on the spot she planted the seeds.

Yelena curled her hands around each other in careful hand movements. She focused on the mound as well as the pretty flowers beside it. As the seeds settled in the ground and a sapling grew, the once colorful, lively flowers lost their luster and began to decay. Life giving way to new life.

Once the sapling was stable enough, she no longer needed the assistance of the now lifeless blooms. She held her hands in front of her, envisioning the growth of a sturdy apple tree.

It was almost fully grown when the exhaustion set in. Trees were more difficult for her. They were stubborn, the floral equivalent to bulls in her mind. Her grapevines were simple, easily bending to her will and bearing fruit. It was the same with the other crops and flowers she grew. But, despite their difficulty, she found the trees in her garden that much more beautiful in her eyes. It was because of the extra effort that was put in that made them perfect.

She sat back down in the middle of her garden, pulling her new book from her bag and opening it to a blank page. The Lebedev girl couldn't wait to sketch her newest edition and document its journey. It might not be much more than a sapling now, but one day it would blossom and another it would be filled with juicy, red apples ready to harvest.

Yelena heard a rustling in the brush and startled from her pride and awe. Immediately, her pleasant demeanor was replaced with fear. Haunting memories of the Drüskelle lingered at the edge of her mind. All it took was one slip up for them to become reality once more.

With careful eyes, she surveyed the perimeter of the clearing, trying to determine the source of the noise. It was louder than what she could typically expect of rabbits or birds. Perhaps, it could be a deer. But, thanks to her abilities, most fauna that threatened her garden steered clear. After a few incidents, she manipulated her crops to taste less than appetizing for any animal interlopers that tried to snatch a treat.

She didn't see anyone lurking in the darkness of the tree line, but her peace was already disturbed. Instead of remaining in her sanctuary any longer, she packed up her things and started back off toward her home.

Yelena got home and walked inside with little thought of how loud her arrival was. When she spotted her father—passed out on his cot-like bed with a bottle of kvas on the floor beside him—her footsteps lightened and her movements grew more careful.

Gregori Lebedev's words had been particularly biting that morning.

He had woken up after a restless night filled with gruesome recaps of their tragic past. It—understandably—put him in a horrible mood from the start. On these days, there was no pulling him from his sour moods. One just had to tread lightly around him, his temper as fragile as eggshells.

"I'm useless," he muttered, taking a sip from the kvas bottle. It hadn't even hit midday yet. "You're useless," he added, his gaze hollow as his eyes met hers.

Yelena tried not to let his remarks bother her. He was a man drowning in his past, forever consumed by a life that could've been had he not lost his wife and his arm. A Heartrender was powerless without both of their arms and to Yelena's father, powerless equaled useless.

She knew what he wanted from her, and it was not to live a quiet life outside of Serdtse. He wanted her to get the revenge that he was incapable of taking for himself.

Growing up, Gregori had been overwhelmingly proud of his daughter. Other Grisha had looked down on her, seeing her as nothing more than a simple Durast. But, oh, she had proven to be so much more. Her father had never doubted her, knowing that she was special long before she ever displayed her unique affinities.

Things had obviously changed.

Yelena was terrified to confront the demons of her past and Gregori resented her for not being strong enough to do so.

Instead of staying at home and risking waking her father, the dark-haired girl turned right back around and out the door. Her relationship with him might be rocky, but he really did need the rest.

As she shuffled along the dirt path that had been worn through the forest floor thanks to her many trips to town, she allowed her mind to wander once again. A trip to Serdtse could mean encountering Adrian—a notion she wasn't opposed to. Running into the captivating man would only serve to improve her mood.

A loud rustle pulled her back to reality once more, but this time when she looked for its source, she actually found it.

"Adrian," she greeted breathlessly, her heart pounding. Yelena hated how easily startled she seemed, but supposed being frightened by sudden noise was part of the territory when living in seclusion.

Yelena couldn't lie to herself about how suspicious his presence was. She and her father were the only people who lived this far out of town. She knew that for a fact. Unless another hut sprung up in the forest overnight, there was no way that Adrian lived this far from town.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked. The girl tried to keep her tone light despite her suspicion, but some of it must've come through regardless of her efforts. He carried no weapon for hunting, nor did he appear to be out foraging. A pang of fear flooded her veins. Could he be Drüskelle? Had the witch-hunters tracked them down to finish the job?

No, she scolded herself. She was jumping to conclusions.

He let out a light chuckle, a hand running through his dark hair sheepishly. "Well, about that, I-uh-I was just trying to get some space. Everyone in town has been a little—," he trailed off, trying to find the right word.

Yelena sighed, knowing that she had frightened herself over nothing. "Suffocating," she finished for him.

"Yes, suffocating," he repeated, his easy smile quelling her worries.

She nodded. "I understand." His head tilted questioningly at her remark. "But, next time you decide to approach someone in the middle of the woods, you should make some noise or something. You scared the hell out of me."

"My apologies, Yelena," he replied. Butterflies erupted in her stomach when he remembered her name. She felt like a child, naively mooning over the man in front of her. "I was actually trying to head back to town when I realized I was completely lost. When I saw you walking, I figured you could help me."

Yelena sighed, "You're lucky. I was just heading to town. You're welcome to tag along."

He nodded, taking her up on her offer. Together, they started for town, the dark-haired girl keeping him locked in her periphery. She might not be certain he was a witch-hunter out to get her, but that didn't mean he wasn't a man waiting to take advantage of a girl on her own.

"I've never done well in crowds and it's always just been my mother and I, so this has been an interesting past few days," he offered to her, breaking their silence.

She nodded again, "Like I said, I understand. There's no need to explain. I was the same when my father and I first moved here." It was the way she still was, as she was currently trying to escape the reality that waited for her at home.

He narrowed his eyes at her in interest. "You moved here? I assumed that you had lived here your entire life like everyone else."

She let out a laugh, "It wouldn't be the first time that I was different from everyone else." They walked so closely that their hands almost brushed. Her nerves were on fire in the best way, just like their first meeting. A pleasant hum made the hairs on her arms raise in anticipation.

Adrian looked down at her, as he was a whole head taller. "No, I suppose it wouldn't be."

"Charming," she teased at his flirtatious remark. He was very much the kind of man who knew the influence he had over people, she realized. It was almost less intimidating to be around him knowing this as if her awareness made her more immune to his beguiling traits.

"I'm sorry. Don't you like compliments?" he joked. "I thought all women did, or is that another thing that differs with you?"

Yelena quirked an eyebrow at him. "Actually, they make me uncomfortable. I don't really know how to take them."

Adrian stopped in his tracks, realizing what she meant. "Surely, you must've gotten plenty of compliments." But, she hadn't. She received jeers and plenty of lewd remarks were made toward her, but no genuine compliments. So, now that he was complimenting her, she twisted her hands awkwardly instead of blushing as any other maiden would.

Yelena shook her head as her only response. "Well," he started. "That's a shame. If anyone deserves them, it's you."

"There you go," she laughed. "You're laying it on quite thick, don't you think? I mean, I'm already accompanying you to town—which I might add, is quite scandalous. I'm an unmarried woman. You're an unmarried man. If anyone sees us, we would be quite the talk of the town tomorrow. What more could you want?"

Adrian shrugged. "I could think of a few things."

A scoff sounded from her, but she grinned widely before bursting into lighthearted laughter. "Saints!"

It was then he realized the innuendo in his words. "Not like that," he amended, joining in his laughter. "I just—I mean—I wouldn't mind, like, a nice, safe home on a lake somewhere, or enough coin to travel freely to the likes of the Wandering Isle or Novyi Zem, or perhaps something simple like a meal that isn't prepared by myself or my mother. We're both hopeless in the kitchen. It's quite unfortunate."

They started toward town again. "Well, I can't grant you your first two wishes, sir," she teased. "But, maybe, if you play your cards right, I can assist with your last request."

He held a hand over his heart. "I sincerely appreciate your pity."

Serdtse came into view as they continued to joke and get to know each other. She was typically closed off to others, and she had gotten the impression that he also was more mysterious than forthcoming about himself. But, she found herself telling him about how she and her father had moved south from the Fjerdan border after a raid on their village. In return, he told her about how he and his mother came from the mountains near Sikursk when the Ravkan-Shu fighting became too dangerous. They now stayed with old friends while they attempted to rebuild their lives.

There was something comforting about his darkness. It made Yelena want to reveal every hidden truth about herself to him. They had a lot in common, from what she learned already. Every minute that passed was another bite at the apple until finally her true self was unveiled.

Yelena and Adrian stopped at the edge of town, hesitating as neither wanted to leave each other's company just yet. "I don't want to say goodbye," he admitted. "I enjoyed our time together."

"I don't want to say goodbye either," she confessed.

"But, you have things to do, I'm sure," he said, knowing that she had already been on her way to Serdtse when he found her.

She laughed, forcing some humor through. She didn't have anything to do exactly unless running from her problems counted. "Uh, yes. Why else would I walk this far?"

"I hope to see you again," Adrian told her. "But, only if you would also like to see me again."

Yelena smiled. Marin was usually the only one who could coax a genuine grin out of her, and it felt nice to share this kind of happiness with someone else. "I think we could work something out."

NOW

Yelena sat on a chair in the corner of the room, looking out the window. The ivy that crawled up the exterior wall of the inn curled through the window, obeying the dark-haired woman's every whim. Some people played with their hair, others twiddled their thumbs, but Yelena's anxious habit was to reach out to whatever flora was in her immediate vicinity.

She was waiting for news of The Darkling's arrival. Today was the day that the skiff was supposed to leave Kribirsk. Katya had been fishing for information among First Army soldiers all day to see if anyone knew of the Grisha general's arrival.

Finally, the waiting ended when Katya burst through the door of her room. "I heard from a corporal that The Darkling's coach was spotted about an hour ago. He should be in the Grisha camp by now," the blonde revealed.

Yelena digested this information. She had been thinking through her plan to see him since she heard he was coming. Yelena knew that the best time to approach him would be when the skiff left. The numbers of Grisha and First Army will have dwindled slightly and once the bustle of getting the skiff through the Fold calmed, everyone would continue back to their usual assignments.

"Thank you, Katya. I'll handle it from here. Just lie low while he's around, alright?" Yelena asked. The blonde gave her an uneasy look, unsure if this was the best thing for the dark-haired woman to be doing. But, while the blonde was worried for her friend, her friend was worried for her.

Yelena knew that if The Darkling discovered that Katya was a Heartrender somehow, she would be taken back to Os Alta, a place to which she vowed never to return. But, if he knew about her, Katya wouldn't have a choice.

Katya begrudgingly followed Yelena's advice though and returned to her tasks around the inn. In the blonde's absence, the dark-haired woman went to her trunk, digging through clothing until she reached the bottom.

When she pulled out her arm, she held an old First Army uniform that she borrowed a few years prior. Shedding her black dress, she put on the uniform. She approached the window and waved her hands over the vines she had been fiddling with earlier, strengthening them.

Yelena wasn't going to risk walking through the bustling inn in her First Army uniform. Instead, she planned on being a lot more covert. So, with careful placement of her hands and feet, she gripped the vines and descended the side of the building into the alley below.

The first part of the encampment she entered was littered with First Army tents. She blended in well enough, her disguise working. There were too many regiments from all over gathered in Kribirsk for anyone to realize she didn't belong.

However, when she grew closer to the Grisha tents, her uniform stood out drastically among the kaleidoscopic sea of crimson, blue, and the occasional purple. The worn, olive color of her coat was not a color favored by the Second Army.

Finally, after searching the tents for about thirty minutes, weaving in and out, and ducking whenever someone turned in her direction, Yelena spotted the pitch-black coach in front of the largest tent in the entire encampment.

She didn't see any sign of him and assumed he must already be inside. It had been a while since he arrived. Surely, he wasn't just wandering around between tents as she had been.

Yelena looked around, ready to sneak into the tent. Just as she took a few steps towards the opening of the tent, she was stopped by a voice calling out for her.

"Hey, you," a deep voice stated, grabbing her attention. She turned to her left and saw a man in a blue kefta with silver embroidery approaching her. He looked her up and down when she faced him, his annoyed look shifting into a sly smirk. "You seem lost. Wandered a bit too far from the First Army tents?"

Yelena kept the grimace from forming. His flirtatious tone irritated her. She feigned a smile, pretending she was unbothered. "It's my first time in Kribirsk. I got separated from my unit. I'm looking for the cartography tent." She remembered passing it, and although it would take some time, she knew that she could retrace her steps back to The Darkling's tent if she was escorted there.

"I could take you back there and we could get to know each other better on the way," he said, leaning in closer than Yelena was comfortable with. She took a step back, creating distance between them.

Yelena scrunched her nose, "I think I can manage."

Glancing past him, she met the gaze of the person she was looking for, his dark—almost black—eyes boring into hers. She ignored whatever the Squaller that stopped her said, instead, watching as The Darkling gave his oprichniki orders before disappearing inside the tent.

The oprichniki nodded and started in her direction. When they were a few feet away, the Squaller finally realized that Yelena was not paying attention to anything he was saying and that she, instead, was focused on something behind him.

"Ma'am, General Kirigan requested to speak with you," the oprichniki said. Without another thought for the Grisha that had been trying—and failing—to flirt with her, she followed The Darkling's guards to his tent.

They waved her inside and while they waited outside. She entered, looking around. It was dark and rather barren. There were a few scattered chairs. A shelf or two with some books and scrolls stacked up. But, at the center of the room, there was a large table with a map of Ravka laid out. The tent—a makeshift war room.

Standing in front of the table with his back toward her was the man she needed to see. "I didn't think you still got jealous, seeing me with other men," she quipped with a crooked smile, walking closer to him.

He let out a scoffing laugh. "Think of it as me taking pity on you. You looked practically ill listening to Dolohov ramble on. Or, perhaps, I was saving him, from his likely rejection."

Yelena stood in front of him now. "Sasha," she purred. "It's alright. You can admit it. It must be difficult to watch men flirt with your wife." She reached out a hand, brushing hair away from his face before a finger trailed down his jaw that was covered in stubble. "I like the beard," she added absentmindedly.

Aleksander raised his hands to rest them on her hips. "I can't be jealous when I know that we'll always end up here—in each other's arms. It doesn't matter what happens or how much time passes. We always come back to each other. We're inevitable."

He was right. As her fingers brushed against the bare skin of his face, she felt the power he provided flood through her. It was intoxicating; more so than when she drowned herself in kvas. They were puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. Like calling to like. There would never be another like them.

Aleksander lowered his head until his forehead rested against hers. It was vulnerable, intimate; a gesture that he could only display in private. He could never let anyone know that the woman in front of him was his weakness, even after all this time.

"Come back with me, moya zhizn." My life. His lips brushed hers. She tilted her head up, closing the gap and accepting the kiss. "To the Little Palace." Yelena sighed deeply at his request. It was the same conversation they always had and her answer never changed.

"You know, there was once a time that you fought so hard to get away from that place. To remove yourself from the spiteful company of Ravkan royalty. But, now, you attempt to drag me there with you," she told him. "You know that I can't go with you."

His hold on her waist tightened ever so slightly, the words she spoke reminding him that her leaving was just as predestined as her returns. It was an endless cycle.

"What happened to us?" he asked mournfully, although irritation seeped through as well. He never understood.

"Ambition," she answered simply. "After the Fold, you changed. You became a man obsessed with power; greedy."

He pulled back, his eyes hard. "Everything I did, I did for us. For me and you, for her," he paused as Yelena flinched, not even able to say the name of their daughter. It still hurt him after all this time. "For Grisha everywhere. I will continue to do what I can for them; us."

Yelena closed her eyes, shaking her head softly. "I didn't come to argue." They repeated this exchange so many times before that her responses were practically automatic. He knew exactly why she couldn't plunge herself into that darkness again. It had almost consumed her entirely. It didn't stop her from wanting to agree with him though. To give in and allow him to whisk her away to the safe haven he created. "We both want the same things. But, what we're willing to do to achieve them… that's vastly different. And I've lost too much already."

Before he could say anything more and plead his case for the millionth time, one of his oprichniki entered the tent.

The two didn't dart apart. Instead, they separated slowly, not wanting to say goodbye to each other just yet. Yelena's hands lingered on his black kefta before letting go. She didn't know when she would get the opportunity to see him again and the uncertainty almost caused her physical pain. Yelena watched the confusion fill the guard's eyes as he glanced between the couple before he remembered why he had come.

"The skiff has returned," he told his general.

The Darkling stiffened, "What do you mean it returned? It hasn't even been gone twenty minutes."

"There was an attack. They had to turn around," the guard explained.

"Well, get the injured to the Healers immediately—"

"There's one more thing, sir. They think they discovered the Sun Summoner."

"What?" Yelena asked at the same time as The Darkling. The oprichniki looked at her with apprehension but she ignored it. Instead, she met familiar dark eyes.

The guard elaborated. "It was a First Army girl. Zoya is sending her here with a Healer. I was sent ahead to inform you."

The Darkling nodded. "Gather everyone," he ordered, his face neutral and his tone even. The guard left and it was just The Darkling and Yelena once again. He walked up to her, his hands brushing against her upper arms. "At least stay here for this," he pleaded in one final attempt. "Bear witness to the Sun Summoner with me. This could be it."

Yelena considered all the information she'd just received. A Sun Summoner would be the beginning of the end once The Darkling got his hooks into her. The dark-haired woman refused to enable it. Her eyes shined with the threat of tears. "I'm sorry." It was all she could say. She loved him, but she would not be an accomplice in his endeavors.

A loud commotion of the arriving Grisha and First Army leaders pulled his attention from her. When the opportunity provided itself, she slipped out the back of the tent without another word and scrambled back to the inn.

Whoever this Sun Summoner was, they were going to be pulled into a whirlwind centuries in the making.

We are now getting into the main storyline!

There was a good bit of background information dropped in this chapter on just how deep Yelena and The Darkling's relationship is. When rewatching the show with my parents the first time, I made the comparison that The Darkling is a sympathetic and understandable villain in the same way that Magneto is in the X-Men comics and movies. Magneto sees mutants as better than humans, yes, but also wants better for mutants overall. He is just willing to use more violent means to keep mutants from being killed and persecuted for being born different. Therefore, Yelena will act as his (slightly more morally gray) Professor X. They aren't what they once were, but there will always be a fondness there.

Next chapter, we'll get back to Tasiya at the Little Palace, and then the one after that, I THINK, is going to follow The Darkling.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter though and that you'll let me know what you think!