Chapter 13: Otkazat'sya Vs Witch
Alina travelled with the nice soldiers for several days. She missed her parents and asked for them every now and then, but all she got for an answer was that she'd be fine in a place called Keramzin.
The yellow haired soldier who had picked her up, Dimitri, became her friend during the trip. He didn't mind playing with her her silly games till boredom, nor did he have a problem with braiding her hair every day, even if he was bad at it.
It was a cloudy day when they stopped near a fancy camp. Alina's eyes went wide at the amount of colourful, fancy tents and the people in pretty uniforms walking around.
She wanted to know if they were a travelling circus. She had always wanted to go to one! but with how much her parents moved around the country, it was impossible.
Then she saw it. There was a woman dressed in blue and a man dressed in red near the edge of the camp walking hand in hand. Suddenly they came upon a big puddle and stopped. The woman in blue made some strange motions with her hands and walked over the puddle like it was dry dirt, the man following after.
Dancers!
Maybe they'd knew something about the whereabouts of her mother and father!
She ran and ran the seeming long distance for her short legs, trying to reach them.
"Excuse me!" she shouted, and the couple stopped, turning to look at her with curious eyes.
Alina stopped and craned her neck up to stare at them. Saints, they were tall.
"Yes?" the woman asked, not unkindly.
"Have you seen my mommy?" she asked, twisting her fingers around her ugly braid. "She can make water dance like you!"
The eyes of the couple lit up at this, and they both knelt in front of her, appearing more friendly out of the blue.
"Can she, now?"
Alina nodded, looking at the man in red and grey.
"And you say you lost her?" the woman in blue asked softly.
Alina nodded again.
"Some bad men came to the village." her eyes filled with tears, her voice and little body began to shake, but she kept going. "There was a lot of fire, and she said to run. I didn't see pappa there."
A dark shadow passed over the couple's face as they shared a look before they turned back to Alina again.
"Have you been tested, child?"
"Tested?"
"To know if you're Grisha?"
Alina shook her head. She knew what Grisha were, but her mommy was a dancer.
"Mommy says I could only be a dancer, not a Grisha."
The man in red smiled and offered her a hand.
"Still, will you let us try? Maybe we can help you find your mommy?"
Alina's dark eyes lit up. Truly?! All of what the other soldiers talked about was taking her to Keramzin. Could this couple really take her to her parents?
"Really?"
"Really."
"Really, really?"
The man smiled, shaking his hand a little.
"Really, really."
Alina didn't hesitate and placed her dirty, small hand on top of his-
"ALINA!"
She turned to see Dimitri approaching fast, looking furious. She quickly retracted her hand and hid it on her chest underneath the other. Had she done something bad? Maybe she strayed too far from their post and didn't notice.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked the couple as they calmly stood up.
"At ease, soldier." the woman said, raising a palm. "We were just about to test the child."
Upon hearing this Dimitri spat on the ground at their feet and picked up Alina in his arms.
"You think her to be a witch like you?"
A heated discussion followed, but Dimitri wouldn't relent the child to the so called test.
Alina got scared. Witches? What were those? Where they bad? All she had seen was that the woman could make water dance like mommy, and mommy was no witch. Witches belonged in scary night stories.
"This child is under the protection of the First Army, and I say she will not be touched by the likes of you."
The woman advanced a step, a deep frown on her face and her hands moving, but the man in red placed a hand on her shoulder and she came to a stop.
"As you wish, Otkazat'sya." she said venously. "But all children are tested at some point."
"Not on my watch, witch."
"You won't always be there to avoid it, coward." she said.
"This child has been through too much. She's been travelling with my company for days; she's no witch."
"Then why are you afraid of a simple test?"
"Fuck your kind! I'm not afraid" he spat at their feet again. "I'm just disgusted."
The man in red stepped in the middle before the women launched herself to grab Alina.
"Very well." he said, tense. "Take her with you. There are more children to test, and who knows? maybe she'll get her turn one of these days and you won't be there."
Dimitri said nothing. He just turned and led Alina away from the couple.
Alina waved sadly at them. They waved back.
A few days later, she was dropped off at Keramzin.
While The Darkling remained in Palace grounds, Alina did her best to impress. She obeyed every single one of his commands and placed her trust on him, letting him guide her into the way of her power.
There was the part of her that still echoed Nina's parting words, and then there was the part of her that dreamed of a Grisha tombstone.
She tried to tell herself that maybe it wasn't such a big deal. Soldiers died in the First Army all the time, and the cemeteries were always full…
…but still.
She had barely experienced it since coming to the Little Palace, but the otkazat'sya tended to look at the Grisha with envy. She could see it in the servants' eyes. She didn't blame them for this, for she had once been guilty of the same crime; but there was also a great deal of fear, distrust and some repulsion in them that made the Grisha sacrifice all the more unjust to her.
Some deaths were considered honorable. Tragic. A great service.
Other deaths were a relief. A small way to feel superior and give more reason not to bother to try and see the common enemy.
So she worked harder. Not only with Kirigan, but also with Botkin.
Alina dodged a punch and saw an opening; she grabbed Marie's arm and twisted it behind her back, bringing the Inferni to her knees.
"Ouch!"
"Sorry!"
She stepped back immediately, letting her friend stand up on shaky legs.
"Saints," Marie sighed in a tired whisper. "you're getting better."
"Thanks." Alina smiled, out of breath.
"Better." Botkin congratulated her as he passed by them. "But your attacks are still sloppy."
"Noted." The Sun Summoner wouldn't let that comment get her down. She replayed her movements in her mind a few times and tried to see what her mentor meant.
Marie neared her, looking around carefully.
"How's everything coming along?"
Her birthday was coming up, and after Constantine's party, a few more Grisha seemed open to the rebellious idea. Alina was thankful for a small distraction.
"Don't worry about anything." the Summoner reassured her, patting her on the back. "It's going to be great."
Marie smiled.
"Now let's do it again."
That time, Alina was more refined in her movements.
Alina didn't get to see a glimpse of Kirigan for the next few days, so she went back to training by herself in the early mornings when no one in their right mind would be awake except her.
She had no idea if she was doing things as they should, but she couldn't just run to Kirigan and demand that he went back to teach her. She knew he was busy, and despite the good mood that Marie's birthday had bought a few nights back, everyone was still shaken up from the death of their fellow Grisha.
She wished she could do something for them, anything to relieve their pain and protect them from what awaited outside the palace's gates.
She said so to Genya, whose only response was taking her hands in her own and staring at them:
"This can help, Lina"
So she trained and trained. Everyday without fault. She willed her power to obey her, then she'd will it to grow a little, and will it to obey her again, and on and on. Her secret corner was no more than dead trees now and a melted sculpture of a Lanstov that probably wasn't important.
Was any Lanstov important at all? she would wonder sometimes as she walked through the halls of the Little Palace, its tall windows offering a perfect view of the Grand Palace, where the person in charge sat hovering over riches he needed not and abusing helpless women.
She sent an orb of light straight at a half-alive tree and made it explode, the splinters cutting her hands as she shielded her face.
Alina lowered her arms and turned around to find Kirigan watching her from a distance.
"Mm" was all he said, his eyes trained on the place where the tree used to be. He then focused on her. "Are you alright?"
Alina nodded.
"Are you?" the question came out of her without thought, softly.
"One is never alright when they have to deal with The Apparat on a daily basis." he answered, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Alina smiled.
"I really don't envy you."
"I cannot imagine you do."
She huffed, trying to get the splinters out of her kefta. She felt suddenly nervous now that he was here. They hadn't spoken in some time. That time at the cemetery they barely made each other company, not a word passing till Alina felt too cold and left him with a squeeze on the shoulder in exchange for the warmth of the last carriage waiting.
"Did you need anything?" she ventured to ask, cheeks almost pink.
"Many things." he said, and something in his eyes shone in a way that made her face burn and her finger prickle against a piece of wood. "But first, I would have you have dinner with me tonight."
He wanted something, she knew it. Nina's warnings rang like bells in the distance, but in the front of her mind, all Alina Starkov could think about was: The Saints have blessed me.
A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR MY DUDES!