Author's Note: If you all are enjoying this, I'd love to hear from you so drop me a review! You finally get some Darkling POV at the end of this chapter :) Thanks for following and adding my story to your favorites!
Chapter 3
Alina couldn't sleep that night, and when Genya knocked on the door that morning, she just stayed in bed.
"Did your outing with the general not go well yesterday?" Genya asked gently as she sat down on the bed next to Alina.
"Let me stay here Genya. My lesson isn't until much later today, and it's not like the great darkling general will visit me two days in a row," Alina said.
"Oh, I thought you didn't want to see him. Now you are moping because he won't pay you another visit?" Alina glared at her. She did realize she was being childish, but her confinement was also getting to her. She should be grateful to not be in an actual cell like the stag. At least here sunlight filtered through her window. Slowly she sat up.
"Genya, I just can't bear being stuck in this room day after day. The general said he would only let me outside if he was with me, which is ridiculous. With how busy he is, I might not be able to leave here for weeks!" Alina said. She considered adding the part about the general and her fight distressing her, but she didn't want Kirigan to know that was bothering her, and she was worried about what they had talked about.
"Would you like me to ask him for another outing soon? Maybe a ride on horseback would make you feel better. Shall I suggest it?" Genya asked. Alina chewed on her bottom lip. It was becoming a bad habit of hers lately. It would feel so free to ride on horseback, but would the general let her ride her own horse or would she be on his, riding double?
"You can tell him that if you would like," she finally replied reluctantly. "Send this letter to Mal for me as well," she said, grabbing the letter from her desk, "I expect it to make it to him this time."
"I will make sure it gets sent," she said then hesitated, "but I cannot promise General Kirigan won't read it." Alina nodded. It was as she expected.
"Thank you for telling me. Anything new happening this week?" she asked hopefully.
"I don't know when exactly, but there will be a ball happening sometime soon. The king and queen are throwing it at the Grand Palace and inviting a bunch of guests. I think you will be expected to attend with the general. The queen was waiting to set the date because a restocking of her favorite wine is delayed," Genya said, rolling her eyes.
Well it wasn't something to look forward to exactly, but it was something. Alina got dressed and listened to Genya gossip about some rumors of a scandal between two grisha and a court noble. Their behavior had been so ridiculous that the general had threatened to send both of them to Baghra to be whipped.
Alina half listened as Genya braided her hair. Her mind was still occupied by thoughts of a ball with the general. Would she be expected to dance with him? She didn't know how to dance. She imagined he would be a wonderful dancer of course. The man wasn't bad at anything, except acting like a normal person. Of course he wasn't normal…
Genya was telling a joke that had Alina laughing. It was a nice change, as her mood seemed to darken with every passing day she stayed in her room. It had only been four days since Genya had delivered her message to the general, but time was dragging by in her cell.
There was a knock on the door, which caused her to look at Genya questioningly. The woman just shrugged in puzzlement. There was only one person who had knocked at her door before.
"Come in."
General Kirigan walked briskly in, ignored Genya, and walked straight over to Alina. He was wearing his riding boots and a warm cloak.
"Put on something warmer this time," he commanded, "And be quick about it. The king is in bed with a cold so I get a morning to myself, but I have other duties to see to as well."
Alina changed into her riding boots and added an extra coat for warmth. Looking at the general, she couldn't tell if he wanted to be there or not. He said he was busy so he wouldn't be there if he didn't want to be, but it was impossible to tell if he was happy about it.
She nodded to him that she was ready, and they left the room quickly. Genya gave her arm a quick squeeze as they left. The stables were a short walk from the little palace, and Alina was relieved to see two horses saddled outside, the generals and a white mare.
"We will only need the one horse today, Ravin," General Kirigan said to the man holding the horses reins, and Alina's shoulders slumped.
"I won't run off, I promise. Let me ride my own horse," Alina pleaded in a whisper.
"You will need to prove that to me before I let you ride on your own," he said.
Getting on his black stallion, he offered a hand to pull her up in front of him. She obliged and got on the horse with him. It felt rather confining with his arms around her and their bulky cloaks, but as soon as they were riding with the wind in their faces, she felt more free than she had felt in a while.
She was grateful the general said nothing as they raced through a meadow, towards the forest. They slowed as they reached it, weaving through the trees for a while, until they finally reached a lake. It was too cold to contemplate getting in it, but it was a beautiful blue color.
The general dismounted and helped her down, then led their horses to a nearby tree where he tied their reins. Then he took a bag from his cloak and handed her something warm. Looking closer she saw it was a meat pie, and taking a bite she savored the warm flakey crust. Her normal food was simple, with normally mush for breakfast. This tasted divine.
She didn't even look up until she was done devouring it, but when she did she saw the general was watching her. He looked amused.
"Thank you," Alina said, blushing a little at her haste in eating, then she looked out on the lake. It was so beautiful and clear; she'd never seen water look so lovely. They both stared at the lake for a while in silence.
"Alina Starkov, I give you my word to not lie to you, if in return you will hear me out, and stop treating me like your enemy. Do we have a deal?" the general asked with an intense stare. He was closer than she would have liked. He must hear her heart pounding.
"I will hear you out and try to be civil and respectful," Alina said. It was the best she could think to offer. How was she supposed to think with that man a foot away from her. She expected him to say more or for them to have a long talk by the lake, but he gestured for them to get back on the horse and ride back to the palace. It had been a much shorter ride than she would have liked. They were dismounting, and he was leading her back to the palace before she knew it. They were still outside, when she grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Wait, after our agreement, aren't we going to talk? Isn't that the point of our agreement? You want me to hear your side of the story don't you?" Alina asked.
General Kirigan looked down at her hand, then up into her eyes. He was clearly amused, but did not shake free of her grip.
"Alina, this morning was an unexpected gap in my schedule. The conversation we must have will require more time. Next week I will carve out an evening for us to have dinner together," he said. Alina nodded; that made sense.
"Ok, but please don't kill the stag before then," she pleaded, then let go of his arm.
"We will see," the general replied, and walked her briskly to her room.
"I'm looking forward to our dinner," Alina said as General Kirigan was leaving her. Surprise flashed briefly across his features before he schooled them.
"I am as well," he said, and left with a swoosh of his long cape.
Alina collapsed back onto her bed. She would have her lessons soon so it wasn't the time to be lazing around, but she couldn't help herself. Did the general try to be that dashingly handsome? Was he trying to manipulate her into falling for him? It would be so easy.
Not many men had paid attention to her in a positive way; the constant ridicule she got growing up being Shu Han and an orphan, and people making fun of how skinny she was.
General Kirigan did more than pay attention to her. He valued her, thought she was important, and wanted to win her over. Was he really evil? Did he really intend to expand the fold? She would find out at their dinner, and then she could find out the truth and stop the silly daydreams about the general. She wanted so badly for Baghra to be wrong.
General Kirigan shuffled through the papers on his desk. He had left Alina hours ago, but his mind drifted back to her when the papers started to bore him. He needed to finish the reports, but the sun summoner was a much more interesting problem to fathom.
Ever since he created the fold, he knew he needed to find the sun summoner. He had waited and planned for hundreds of years. Part of the reason he had instituted the testing for Grisha was so he would find her when she was young and he could cement her loyalty to himself.
However, things had not gone according to his plan. She was older and more stubborn than he had planned on. Still, he had brought her to his palace and told his Grisha to make her feel welcome. Marie and Nadia did not need much persuading, and Genya would do anything for him. Holding back the letters from that stupid first army boy had sped up the process of making Alina feel like she belonged in the little palace, among her fellow Grisha.
She was terrified at having to show her sun summoning before the king and queen, which had been a perfect opportunity to show her she could depend on him to be there for her, that he would have her back. It had gone better than he expected.
One thing he had not expected, that shook his resolve and made him question his plans, was their connection. She was drawn to him and he was drawn to her. When they were together it felt right in a way he had not even experienced with Luda.
When she came to him before the demonstration and kissed him, he was astonished. He started having naïve thoughts that she might ally herself with him willingly, that she might understand what had to be done. They were dangerous thoughts, and after the celebration he had taken her to his war room wanting to explore their connection, wanting to feel her light. He had asked her if she was sure this was what she wanted and she had said yes. She wanted a shadow summoner, she wanted him.
Then his mother came and ruined everything. If she wasn't so good at training Grisha who had blocked their powers, he would have banished her ages ago. As soon as Alina learned he was the black heretic, she ran off with her otkazat'sya. He could not trust her with his secrets now, but he would win her back to himself. He knew he needed to tell her some things so she felt safe, but he would manipulate her however he needed to to get her cooperation.
If she was not willing, he could work with that as well. Just because he was drawn to her, did not mean he needed her. It did not mean he would be weak, like his mother thought he was. She would be by his side, whether she wanted to be or not. It would just make things easier if she chose to be by his side. He imagined Alina willing at his side, powerful, beautiful, and independent, wanting him like she had before she left.
He was angry at himself again. He was patient, but that might not be possible, and he would not waste his time on fantasies. The Grisha were his, the fold was his, and he was not a weakling. What must be done, would be done.
