Disclaimer: I don't own the Grisha Trilogy and its characters – it belongs to Leigh Bardugo. I do not own the Shadow & Bone TV series, which was developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix and based on Leigh Bardugo's books. Any recognisable dialogue is from the books or TV show – some lines may be included verbatim, others in an amended form.
Warnings for a death that could be considered either murder or suicide.
Ghost
Alina doesn't pay any attention to the rumours that the house is haunted.
She might believe that there is something out there, some god or spirit that watches over the universe, but ghosts are another thing entirely.
Except … there he is.
Tall, handsome and undeniably not among the living.
It's only impressions at first. The usual cold spots, objects that move when she isn't looking, a sense of being watched.
And then he appears.
He brings shadows with him, darkening any room he's in as his shadows wrap around her ankles, a cool caress.
Perhaps she might have screamed, run from the house, called one of the many groups who profess to exorcise spirits.
He doesn't seem dangerous, though. Only lonely.
"You see me," he murmurs, almost disbelieving, looking at her like he's never seen anyone so wonderful, "it's been so long."
Over five hundred years, it turns out.
He never tells her how he died, but she gets the sense that it wasn't a peaceful end, despite how calm his spirit is.
They talk and talk and talk.
His name is Aleksander, and he has centuries of fascinating stories to tell her. While he is mostly confined to her property as the place of his death, he explains to her that he can wander around the city too, if he wishes, though he feels the pull to return to the house if he's away too long.
Alina loves history, not just the big picture but the little tales of ordinary people's struggles and successes.
It's easy, talking to him. He slots into her life like she's always been waiting for him, like he's meant to be there with her.
She's never quite realised how rare it is to have a person listen with true interest to what she has to say. It's only now, as Aleksander asks questions, offers advice and, when she's had a bad day, just lets her rant for a bit, that she notices what has been missing from every boyfriend she's ever had.
She invites her friends over less and less.
It feels wrong, having them there when it means she has to ignore Aleksander.
Besides, they're starting to get reluctant to visit. Genya, Nikolai and Zoya say they feel like something is wrapping around their throats sometimes, as if trying to choke them, even when Alina doesn't sense anything. And the last time Mal came over, he had a nasty fall down the stairs, leading to a hospital stay for some broken ribs and a nasty gash on his head. Her usually rational friends seem to believe the gossip that she's living in a haunted house.
Technically, of course, the house is haunted, but Alina knows Aleksander would never play any dangerous tricks on her friends. Even when he'd been doing his usual poltergeist tricks, before they discovered she could see him, his actions had only been mildly irritable at worst.
So, her friends stop coming over and, soon enough, she's putting off most of their invitations to her.
It's only, she feels like she can be entirely herself around Aleksander, no need to hide. He compliments her even when she's half-asleep with messy hair, never looks at her with judgement and lets her ramble on for hours about the new artist she's just discovered or where she found the inspiration for her most recent painting.
He makes her feel special in a way she never has before.
The first time Aleksander touches her, they both gasp.
Partly because his fingers actually make contact with her skin. More so because, at his touch, light suddenly spills outwards from her hands.
"Solntse," he murmurs reverently, as if she is some goddess to worship.
He lifts his hand, conjuring shadows that entwine themselves with the light she has somehow summoned.
"Oh, Alina," he tells her, cupping her cheek, "my Alina. I've been waiting a long time for you."
Then, he presses his lips to hers and she finds there is nothing more she wants than for him to keep on kissing her forever.
He doesn't feel like a ghost, cold and translucent. In this moment it seems to her like he is flesh and blood the same as she is.
When they break apart, she gets lost in his eyes, in the look of love shining there.
She's falling, falling, falling, and she can't bring herself to care that their story is surely a tragedy waiting to happen.
"There is a way we could be together forever," he whispers to her, "all you have to do is say yes."
She is drunk on his kisses, her mind dazed by his touch.
How can she want anything but him?
"Yes," she says, "yes, yes, yes."
He kisses her again, all-consuming, as his shadows rise, wrapping around them both, engulfing them entirely.
Alina feels light-headed, as if all the air has gone out of the room.
She cannot breathe, she thinks, and yet she does not panic. After all, what does she care, really, as long as Aleksander keeps holding onto her, as long as she can have him for eternity.
They find her body the next day, laid out on the floor like she is only sleeping.
No cause of death is ever identified. It is as if her heart simply gave out without reason.
The rumours about the house grow.
New owners come and go, but they never stay long.
Things move around, you see. Books left open as if read by invisible hands; furniture moved to leave a large space in the middle of the room; music playing at all hours.
One woman swears she sees a ghostly couple twirling around in one room. Another man says he hears a woman's playful giggle, a man's low chuckle. A couple tell tales of tendrils of shadow and light sweeping through the rooms.
All the while, two ghosts talk and laugh and dance their way through the centuries that follow.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.