Waking up I could have sworn it was morning by my connection to the sun. However there was nothing but darkness and a weight going across my stomach.
Rolling over I headbutted the person responsible for the weight across my stomach and the darkness. Aleksander jerked straight up in his bed roll "what is it? Is everything alright?"
Holding and rubbing my forehead I started laughing "I am fine. Everything is fine. Aleksander I am sorry about that didn't realize you were so close. Plus I am not used to sleeping anywhere near anyone else. Even in the orphanage we had our own bed a few feet from each other."
Laughing lightly to himself but I heard "it is fine Alina you didn't hurt me but can you call a ball of light I am not ready to drop my shadows just yet." "Sure give me just one second" Doing as he asked I called up two small orbs and put them at each side of the tent so we had plenty of light.
"Is everything okay? Is there a reason you don't want to drop your shadows?" Chuckling again "yes everything is fine just not ready to share you with the rest of the world again yet. Plus it is a dreary day outside. It is raining so hard you can't see more that five feet in front of your face."
"How do you know that it is raining? Let alone that hard since we can't hear anything in hear." Grabbing my hands, looking my eyes, "I can feel it hitting my shadows trying to break thru. That is how I know and soon you will be able to do amazing things with your light and when something touches it you will know."
"OH I forgot about that Baghra and I had been working on different things with my light and that was one of them. The rain will make it hard to travel. Do you think that the horses are okay?" "Yes they will be okay we left them under a canopy of tree's to block most of the rain. Plus they are used to weather like this. It is just us that are not meant for this."
Nodding "if you are sure but if it is rain why don't you want to drop your shadows?" Laughing he pulled me into a hug "then we would be over ran by the sounds of the rain and couldn't hear each other speak."
Laughing not sure if i wanted to hit him or not so I playfully swatted him. "Aleksander you are awful I can never tell if you're joking or not." This just caused him to laugh harder. I squirmed out of his hug looking up into his face "what has you so playful today?"
"Well unless you feel like riding in circles not being able to see where we are going. Then there is nothing we can do for the day than talk and get to know each other. So I figured you could have today to ask me anything you would like to know about me. I am tired of fighting. I want to get to know you and get to know you."
"Anything? Really and you will answer me without lying to me?" Sighing "yes Alina I will answer you without lying and anything at all." "Where is this house you built?" "It is just outside Caryeva down by the Shu Han boarder. I built it while in hiding from the king when I was know as the Black Heretic."
"What do you plan on doing if the prince wont agree to anything you or I say?" "My hope is that it does not come to that because I would prefer not to go back to fighting. The grisha must be made safe from harm I will fight if needed to insure so." Nodding "I figured as much but thank for telling the truth."
"As I said I am tired of fighting and I want us to get to know each other. So what other questions do you have?" "How old are you exactly?" "I've lost count but I am at least four hundred years old."
"Do you have any siblings?" "Yes I have a half-sister Ulla she is hard to explain but she is a song caster. Which she herself is known as Sankta Ursula of the Waves." "What does that mean Aleksander?" "It means that she can breathe under water. She can create storms with her songs and it is said that one day as a priest was about to cut her throat for fear she was part fish a giant wave wipe out everything but her."
"Wow and is she your sibling through Baghra or your father who was a heartrender correct" Nodding moving for the first time in awhile. "Yes wow and yes she is my sibling through Baghra I have more but she is the only one I know of personally." Grabbing both his hands trying to keep a straight face "Aleksander so I'm not the first saint you know."
He barked out a laugh and grabbed for me but I was ready for him this time and dodged. To turn around jumping on his back when he landed laughing. "You have to be quicker than that if you want to get me." Before I knew it he bucked me off and then rolled on top of me. "Oh I do now do I? I think I have you right where I want you." We were both laughing by this point.
"What no more questions?" "Why do you think I will be eternal like you?" "It is simple we live our lives off the strength of our small sciences. Your Light like my Darkness is never ending. The only way to end Darkness is with Light and the only way to end Light is with Darkness."
He sat up pulling me in his lap "but let us not talk of destroying each other anymore. What else would you care to know my Alina." "Are you learning Bargha's lesson?" "I believe I am but if you think I am veering off course I want you to tell me. I do not want to go back to fighting anymore. I know my mother jumped for me to teach me not because of you."
Pulling my head back to look up at him "Aleksander you really are learning her last lesson for you. She was right there was still hope for you. Do you really think that I would stand at your side if I thought that you were going massively off course. So of course I will tell you when you are veering off course."
This made him pull me into a huge hug. "I can't breathe. Loosen your grip." "Oops my bad you just have a way of making me feel better. However the rain has let up to a light rain and I need to step out and feed them." "I will join you and feed my horse so that way neither of us will be stuck out there in the rain." Shaking his head "I can do it no need to worry about it." "Aleksander just drop the shadows and move so we can get this done."
Laughing he did as I asked and we walked out of the tent to find and very light rain with a heavy fog. The horses were closer to the river getting a drink. Once we got their feed into the feed bags the horses were done drinking. "They are going thru the food in the bags too fast I wonder what is making them so hungry?"
"Alina use your powers feel what time it is we have been talking longer than you realize. You loose track of time when having fun." Doing as he said I could feel it was well into the afternoon other than that I couldn't be more precise. "We were having fun talking and getting to actually know each other. So I guess that is a good sign as we go along."
"Were you nervous about spending time with me Alina?" Sighing "of course I was Aleksander until now we have been fighting each other since I have left the little palace. Not only have I been fighting you but I have also been fighting myself. You once joked that as my opposite you would always know when I needed you even if I didn't know it myself. Well I could feel it when we weren't together and when you would visit me the pull was nearly impossible to ignore."
Walking towards me tilting my chin up to have me look at him. "That is what I have been trying to tell you there is a pull here that neither of us can deny. We are soulmates. That is the one of the reasons my mark has stayed on you so well.
It is why our bond is so strong and growing stronger. If we were to continue to allow it to grow one day then I will be able to feel if you get hurt and vice versa. That is what it means to find your soulmate."
Pulling back out of his reach. "Do you really believe in soulmates?" "Yes, think about the pull we felt for each other before we started fighting each other. Did you not wonder what it would be like to be with me? Have you not wondered why we got so close to get to only be denied? Have you not wondered why I have followed you all over this blasted country."
Touching his cheek "I have wondered I just thought it was a crush that I would hopefully out grow but I can't seem to get over my feelings for you. However I have enjoyed the bond being connected to you. I guess time will tell if we want the bond to grow or not. Lets finish feeding the horses we now have to change out of wet close."
Turning back to my horse I could see it was just finishing so I removed the bag. I decided to give her a quick pet before I ducked into the tent. The horse ignored me. Once inside the tent I found the bag with my stuff. Just as soon as I was done pulling my clothes out the bag Aleksander walked in.
"I can put a shadow curtain down the middle. Just as soon as I grab a change of clothes myself." He added the second part as a after thought seeing me take off my kefta. "I think that is a wonderful idea thank you. I need a nick name to call you if I am going to be around you all the time because I am not goin to call you Aleksander, the general, Darkling, or the Black Heretic."
Laughing bending down to get into his own bags. "What would you like to call me and I will tell you if I like it or not. Besides no one in this decade knows me as Aleksander, or the Black Heretick other than you and you alone now."
Thinking I wasn't sure so I started throwing out names: "Alek(no), Xander(no), Al(no)." Getting no where and annoyed I jokingly threw out "My Dark Knight." "You would name me you Dark Knight I am truly honored." Walking up to him and hugging him. "You saved me from Mal in a that a knight surely would have. You have been nothing but a gentleman throughout this whole trip so far."
He returned my hug picking me up spinning me around till I was laughing yelling to put me down. It looked like he was overjoyed by what I had said but before he could say anything we hear our horses going crazy. Aleksander aka my dark knight quickly put me down running outside.
Before I could process what was happening I heard him yell "stay in the tent." I tried to leave anyway only to find my way blocked my shadow. Suddenly there was all kinds of shouting there were some voices I could just barely hear a few were my friends.
Blasting sunlight at his shadows I split them no problem. Stepping out to find Aleksander in a cimi-circle his back to the tent facing the army of the sol lead by Mal. Running to him I put my hands up "no more fighting. I am here of my own free will. He has not kidnapped me nor harmed me but shall one of you harm him you shall deal with me."
When I appeared many of the army dropped their weapons. Only the ones that Mal had either become fast friends with or won over some how kept their arms in hand. Mal quickly realized he lost over half his army. "I told y'all the monster had her and here they are. I told y'all the monster was taking her somewhere remote and where are we? I told y'all he is warping her mind and here she is defending him and you lay down your arms? What kind of army will not protect its saint?"
"I called for the truce not the General. I am the one who is trying to end the war here Mal. Why are you trying to start another one here with the army of the sol? To you army of the sol are you going to follow someone who twist the truth such as Mal has done here. He is the one who hurt me while the general saved me from him.
What the General and I am doing on this out of the way trip is find the monster that was/is the prince. We plan on trying to turn him back to get him on the throne where he belongs. After that I go train to get rid of the fold and the General disappears with me to help me train."
Mal sneered at me from across the way as more soldiers dropped their weapons turning to look at him with hatred and rage. Soon only the tight circle around him still had their weapons raised when Aleksander spoke again. "I am going to give everyone who still has a weapon in their hand to drop it in the next five seconds or I will take up arms against you."
Before he could start counting someone yelled from the back. "Darkling there is no need hearing what we have heard from our sankta we will deal with this. We are sorry for this." "Please come forward whoever is speaking" Aleksander yells back. Ruby slowly approached looking as if she wasn't sure she wanted to be doing this.
"Ruby is that really you?" "Yes it's me. Hello sankta Alina. Hello Darkling, please tell us of your plan and how Mal has hurt you. Then we will help you in any way we can and help deal with Mal." Looking at me out the corner of his eye he whispers to me "you seem to know someone from just about everywhere. That is most impressive."
Laughing without meaning to. "Ruby, everyone please the General and I are looking for the monster that was once the prince. Our am is to turn him back so he can take the throne. We aim to put a Lantsov on the throne. We aim to make grisha safe. Then our aim is to go train so I can destroy the fold. As for Mal he tried to force himself on me after I said no. Make your choice but we are not here to fight."
As I spoke I could see more heads nodding as I spoke. They we agreeing with what I said. When I got to the part about Mal those who had dropped their arms bent to pick them up again turn toward him.