Mal picked the berries off the tree, holding them in the palm of his hand. There wasn't much food around here in the forest but it was better than nothing. Baghra had told him to find some food for them, but it was more of a grumpy order. Mal was finding it difficult to get along with this woman but he had to in order to save Alina.

He kept his focus on the stag, looking for tracks that would lead him to it. The last time he found it, it had travelled with a small herd and when he encountered it, it was alone. If only he had known the purpose of the stag there and then he would have destroyed it to keep Kirigan from using its power, then Alina would be safe.

But the truth was, Mal was dreading having to find it. it brought back painful memories of his friends dying trying to find that creature. Cold nights in the permafrost, freezing to death and trudging through the thick snow. He didn't want to go there again; he didn't want to remember how his friends were lost because he was finding the very thing that would enslave Alina.

But his purpose for finding the stag was different now. It was to save Alina. besides, he wouldn't mind too much if he lost Baghra in the process. She was a handful.

Mal searched the forest floor, eyes wandering over every inch of soil. The snow was starting to fall and settle, the branches of trees now freezing in the cold air. Icicles hung down from the trees, creating sharp daggers that could defiantly cause some damage if one were to fall. The orange glow from the fire at their camp lit the way for him, the warm haze hitting his face as he arrived back. Baghra was already perched by the fire, stabbing it with a stick to break up the wood, the same scowl on her face she had during the entire hunting mission.

"This is all I could find" he said and held out the berries. Baghra shook her head, tutting and Mal huffed, throwing his head back.

"We're in the middle of nowhere, did you expect me to find gourmet food growing off the trees" he said and slumped down on the log by the fire, the hard wood digging in to him.

"You're a tracker, you should be able to scower out some rabbit or a deer" she retorted back as Mal picked at the berries. They were sour and tart but he ate them anyway. He needed all the energy he could get.

"Yeah, and without me, you wouldn't find the stag, so maybe you should be a little nicer to me or I'll just leave you here, old woman" Mal snapped back, getting frustrated with her. If it weren't for him, Baghra would never find the stag. He could have easily left her by now and found it on his own and the idea was tempting right now.

"You think you can defeat him on your own. What about when his Grisha and Oprichniki coming looking for us, do you think you'll be able to shoot your way out" Baghra glared, eyes hard on Mal. Baghra was right on that. Mal would never survive the Grisha and their powers on his own, even with his rifle. Their kefta's were bulletproof and he'd never be able to take on all of them at once. A Heartrender could kill him in seconds. His chance of winning would be nothing.

"He will have already sent a team looking for us and when they find us, they won't hold back, you need me" Baghra said and went back to poking the fire.

Mal sighed and took in what Baghra said. He hadn't thought Kirigan's guards looking for him. The suddenness of Baghra dragging him all the way here made him forget he had knocked out two Oprichniki and the one he came face to face with had noticed he wasn't really one of them. He hadn't even thought that the guard would wake up after being knocked out by Baghra and tell the general.

"Do you want some or not" Mal said softly, holding out the berries for Baghra. Baghra gave a hard look at him before reaching out and yanking the berries away and nibbled on them. They ate in silence, Mal deep in thought. He was stressing about Alina, worried what Kirigan might be doing to her. He was most likely feeding her lies about his plan, leading her on. If only she could have gotten away.

"If you knew his plan, why didn't' you tell Alina, why didn't you tell her to run earlier?" Mal said.

"Because she is the only person who can defeat him" Baghra said, staring at the berries in her hands, her eyes flickering up to meet Mal's confused ones. If Baghra had told him that months ago, he would have laughed at her and said a sarcastic comment about Alina being the last person on earth to defeat the black heretic and take down The Fold. Baghra sighed, shaking her head in frustration. She was losing her patience with him but who didn't she lose it with.

"Let me explain this in words you'll understand boy… how do you get rid of the dark?" she asked in a condescending tone.

"Turn on the lights" Mal shrugged, wondering where Baghra was going with this.

"And how do you get rid of light?".

"Turn off the light" he answered. Baghra shuffled on the log, turning to face him. Mal felt his stomach turn, anxiety building inside him. He was uncertain if he was going to like what Baghra had to say.

"Exactly, Alina is the only one with that power and the same with Kirigan. Never mind the other Grisha, no one will ever be like them and I'm going to be honest with you, you probably won't like what I'm going to say next but you need to hear it".

"Alina and he are equals. They balance each other out and always will".

Mal felt like he had been kicked in the chest, his heart straining against the words Baghra had just spoken.

Equals

It dawned on him that he and Alina were different. She was Grisha now and he was just a common tracker with no abilities like she had. Yes, he had excellent tracking abilities like no other, he was able to find the famous Morozova stag which everyone believed was a myth, a fable told by parents to their children. But he wasn't Grisha. The Alina he knew was not there… gone almost.

"Her power means everything to him, he will stop at nothing to get everything he wants. If I told Alina to run, she wouldn't be able to use her power to take him down. She didn't even know she was Grisha a few months ago and she couldn't summon her own power" Baghra picked up her stick to poke at the fire, soot drifting in the air as it crackled in the setting sun.

"So, you trained her then?" Mal asked and she nodded.

"I knew what he was planning and I needed to make sure she could at least summon her own light before moving forward… that man is a manipulative, lying monster. He'll say and do anything to get Alina to believe him, she's probably pining over him right now" Baghra said with slight disgust in her voice, the idea sickening to her and Mal saw fury.

"No, Alina isn't stupid, she wouldn't do that" he argued back angrily.

Alina would never fall for him

"Maybe not stupid, but you've not seen what he can do. The second he created The Fold, he wanted it all. Power, greed, you name it. he turned those innocent people into the dreaded Volcra you saw before you and he will not hesitate to do that again".

Mal was overwhelmed. Just months ago, he and Alina were in the first army side by side. He a solider and she a mapmaker. They were inseparable. They knew everything about each other and would never ever fall out. But now that had all changed. Alina was living her life as a Grisha in the little palace. They use to talk about how much they despised the Grisha because of their arrogance to the first army. And now she was one of them. The countless letters he sent her and not a single reply back. Had she forgotten about him already. Was he no longer worthy of her time because he was Otkazat'sya?

"Alina won't fall for that, I know her" he said hard but Baghra laughed and shook her head.

"You really don't understand… this power is like a drug. It's addicting. The more you use it, the more you want. I've seen it, I've seen what it can do to people, why do you think I'm trying to bring down my own son" she said and Mal was silent. There was clearly a rough relationship between Kirigan and his mother for her to want to destroy him.

"Alina may be strong in your eyes but she doesn't stand a chance. The second he puts that collar on her, she belongs to him. And not just that, but her power will grow and she will want more and more. She will turn into a monster just like him and then nothing will stop him, not even her".

The idea that Alina could be a monster like Kirigan was laughable but serious. If Mal didn't get to the stag in time, she would be lost forever.

Mal sighed and stared into the fire. It had gotten dark now and the fire was the only source of light. He didn't want to admit it to Baghra… but he understood now. He understood what he needed to do.

"Look, I know we've kind of been at each other's throats here but, you are right, we need to work together if we are going to save Alina. I can't let her become a slave the rest of her life, so why don't we just try to get along" Mal suggested and Baghra gave him a pointed look and rolled her eyes.

"Don't think I'll be giving you goodnight kisses and cuddles. I may be old but I'm not a grandma" she grumbled and Mal puffed out a laugh.

"I guess that means we're on the same page" he clarified and slid of the log, resting on the grass below, looking up at the stars in the night sky.

Don't worry Alina, I'll find you soon.

Hey so I hope you like it, let me know in the reviews what you think