The next morning the children ate breakfast in the kitchen. Mary had served up bowls of porridge with a handle of berries and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was delicious and they could have had another bowlful.
"Can we have some more" Fedyor asked Mary with a cheeky grin and Mary gave a stern look back.
"You have one bowlful each otherwise you won't eat your lunch" she said sternly and turned her back to the children who gave a funny look towards each other.
"Now now Mary, if the children want some more they most certainly can. I'm sure you children didn't have much at the orphanage did you" Professor James said as he walked into the kitchen. He was dressed in a tweed suit with a pale green shirt underneath and dress shoes.
"We were only given the minimum as there were lots of us to feed" Fedyor said sadly, hoping he could get another bowlful. Professor James nodded and gave Mary a look to serve the children more. She gave a huff and proceeded to refill their bowls to Fedyor's delight.
"Well, I must be off" Professor James announced.
"Where are you off to" Alina asked as she put a spoonful of porridge into her mouth.
"I'm going into town to meet with some other professors. We are attending a hearing at the university. I will most likely be gone all day, but Mary will be here of course and please felt free to use the garden and the other rooms. This is your home now" he smiled.
"Thank you, Professor," Genya smiled and then elbowed Mal and Fedyor to say something.
"Thank you" Mal nodded.
"Yweh fanks" Fedyor said with a mouthful and Genya rolled her eyes.
"Have a nice time at your hearing Professor" Alina said, and he smiled at her.
"Thank you dear, I shall see you later" he gave a short wave and ventured down the hallway disappearing and seconds later the front door creaked open and then slammed shut.
"Now I don't want this house to be a mess. Lunch will be at twelve and if you're going into the garden, take your shoes off when you come in" Mary grumbled before picking up a basked of washing and storming out the kitchen. The children would need to get use to Mary's grumpiness.
"Shall we go play outside then, perhaps a game a cricket" Mal suggested and Genya collected their bowls to wash up in the sink.
"Alright, girls against boys and then we'll see who's better' Genya smirked.
"It's obvious we are going to win Genya, boy's always do" Fedyor grinned and Genya flicked her soaked hand at him, spraying droplets of water.
"What do you say Alina" Mal said and Alina stood from the kitchen table.
"You guys go, I'm going to work on my drawing" she said and before they could argue, Alina had already made her way upstairs. Alina stayed in her room for a few minutes, waiting for the others to go outside. She needed to make sure they thought she was up in her room working on her drawing even though she was doing nothing of the sort. She peaked out the bedroom window and saw Mal, Genya and Fedyor setting up for their game. Mary was busy with the washing, so she'd be able to sneak into the cloak room.
Alina rushed to the cloak room, excitement brewing inside her. She carefully opened the door, a squeak sounding as she did, and the wardrobe was just as it was before. Alina grinned and took one look back before shutting the door.
Ravka was still as snowy as it was. The sun was out today, beaming down on the forest and the snow sparkled in the light. Alina crunched through the snow, still in amazement of her surroundings and yet she had forgotten to bring a coat again. she could have turned back around but the sound of footsteps crunching made her spin around and she grinned as David walked up to her.
"Alina, you came" he bounded over to her, and Alina met him hallway.
"Of course, I was so excited to come I couldn't wait" she said, and David nodded over for her to follow.
"Come on, I've made us a perfect lunch, I hope you like rabbit" he said, and Alina looked at him shocked.
"I've never had it" she said, and David smiled.
"Well, you are going to love it" he said, and Alina hooked her arm around his as they walked back to his cabin.
As always, the cabin was warm with a fire crackling in the back. David had done a fantastic job of setting up the lunch. On the table were two plates of the supposed rabbit, cut into small chunks. Beside it were potatoes and carrots and of course a cup of tea. Alina couldn't wait to ask all her questions and learn more about Ravka.
"So, tell me more about Ravka" she said excitedly.
"What do you want to know" David asked.
"Where did you say we are again?".
"The permafrost. It's a forest here in Ravka. It's usually very snowy hence the name. I've been living here for about six months now" David said.
"Where did you use to live" Alina asked.
"Well, I use to live Poliznaya, but I had to vacate because of The Darkling" David said with sadness in his voice.
"This Darkling, why does he want to take over the throne" Alina was very curious about this mysterious Darkling.
"He's power hungry. His people are very different to others here in Ravka and he wants revenge for those that have been lost. Unfortunately, I am one of his people but a few years ago, a group of us had gone rouge and decided we didn't want to be under the influence of The Darkling. We ran and hid, hoping to escape him and we've joined the forces of the first army and the king. We've been living in hiding for a long time and we are hoping that the king will soon destroy the shadow fold and The Darkling, and we can live in peace".
"That's awful, having to hide because of who you are. Does he know that you're hiding from him" Alina said softly?
"I'm not sure, most probably. My friends who are also hiding come to visit every now and then, so we don't get lonely but it's too dangerous for us to be together".
"Well hopefully you won't have to hide much longer. It's a shame, Ravka seemed like a beautiful place" Alina said, and David nodded.
"It is. The grand palace is amazing. If I could bring you there I would" David said.
"The grand palace?".
"Oh, where the king lives. It's also home to his first army and of course Ravkans. They have the most delicious food there, oh speaking of which, how's the rabbit" David asked.
"It's actually really nice thank you, I never thought I would be eating rabbit but here I am" Alina giggled.
"So, tell me about more about you, you said you have brothers and sisters" David asked.
"Well, they aren't actually my brothers and sister. We are orphans but we grew up together. we came to the orphanage at the same time and ever since we've been together so it feels like we are brothers and sisters and I guess you could say we are. We recently moved because of the war. It wasn't safe for us in London, so we moved to the manor. It's been a little hard to adjust but finding this wardrobe and finding you has made it more exciting".
"Me too Alina, it's nice to have some company and I hope to see you more often".
"I'm sorry about your parents, I bet that was hard growing up without them" David said with sympathy.
"It was but I had Mal, Genya and Fedyor so most of the time I forgot about them. But I haven't completely forgotten about them. I do miss them from time to time and I wonder what life would be like if I had grown up with them" Alina said staring into her cup of tea. She felt a single tear come to her eye but quickly wiped it away.
"Well, you are always welcome here Alina" David smiled.
"Thank you".
David and Alina chatted on for what felt like hours. He was so easy to talk to and she could sit there and listen all day. He was telling her stories of growing up in Ravka and the places he had been to. Alina told him funny stories about her and the others growing up in the orphanage. The snow had stopped falling now and the sun was still beaming through the trees. Alina watched outside the window, and she wondered what was beyond the forest.
"Well thank you for the lunch, David, it was delicious" Alina said, and David shrugged.
"It's nothing really. Hard to come by food around here. My friends drop of supplies for me, and I do the same for them, but it gets me by" David cleared the plates with Alina's help, washing them up and storing them in a cupboard.
"So, I guess you'll be off now" David asked.
"Actually, I was going to explore more of Ravka. I'm curious to see what's beyond this forest and I want to see what you've been telling me about" Alina grinned, and David gave a stiff nod.
"Alright but be careful Alina. I would hate for you to her hurt and for something to happen to you" David said cautiously.
"I will David. I know you can't come with me; I don't want you to risk getting seen" she said, and David nodded.
"If I wasn't hiding, I would come but like you said. if you get lost, look out for the smoke coming out my chimney and that should bring you back" David said, and Alina nodded.
"Thank you" she smiled.
Alina stepped out into the snow, waving back to David and she stepped through it, her eyes wandering around the sparkling trees and bushes. Alina walked on for minutes, the only thing being more trees, bushes and snow. As she did, she looked up into the sky and froze. Just beyond the trees was a big black wall of shadowy darkness… the shadow fold.
This must be what David was talking about.
It was taller than the trees and low crackles and thunder rumbled in the distance. The shadows swirled and churned together, forming the black wall. David had mentioned the shadow fold held ugly creatures called Volcra. It sent a chill down Alina's spine, and she shuddered at the thought of them.
She explored a little more of the forest, but it was mostly the same. Deciding that there wasn't much else to look at, Alina turned on her heel to walk back however as she did, she found herself getting lost. She could have sworn she went one way, but it only led her to a different part of the forest. Her footsteps in the snow had disappeared so she couldn't even follow them back.
Alina went back the way she came but it didn't bring her any luck. she regretted not bringing a coat and wished she had asked David for one because she was starting to freeze. Alina shivered and rubbed her arms, trying to keep herself warm. Her stomach twisted and turned in a nervous knot as the feeling of lost was daunting on her.
Alina stepped forward to go another way when a jingle in the distance caught her. She turned around, squinting her eyes into the distance where the noise was coming from and a as the sound got louder, a dark moving object was getting closer.
Alina's eyes shot wide, and she jumped out the way just in time. Four black horses tugging along a black coach zoomed past her, nearly hitting her if she hadn't of flung herself into the snow. The jingling of reins slowed, and the coach came to a stop.
Hey so I hope you like it, please leave a review and tell me what you think will happen next.