Chapter 3-Fairy tales

Aleksander

I had not meant to tell her that. I was not used to sharing, as I child I had vowed to build a world where Grisha were safe and I knew that I had achieved my aim but could I give up the throne? Would my legacy survive if I were to walk away? Or would there be a return to witch hunts and the burnings that had plagued my youth? Could I risk it to fulfil a promise?

It had been a hasty promise, a foolish pledge I had never intend to keep and it bemused me that I should even considered keeping my word now. How could I? I considered and even if I did, after all this time, would Nikolai Lantsov even be sane? Alina had to see reason I would have to talk to her, perhaps more candidly than I had spoken to anyone in a long time.

Alina

Over the next few days two things took me by surprise. The first; was the affection that the Grisha held for the Darkling, of course some had always admired him but when I trained at the Little Palace many more had feared him. The second surprise was the kindness, even reverence that the Grisha showed me. It was not merely my black kefta, the outward sign of my status, it was something else. I struggled to understand, I had tried to kill the Darkling more than once, I had been his greatest enemy and yet his people treated me with respected where I might have expected distain. In the end curiosity forced my hand,I had to ask.

As Marie arrived again to dress me for dinner I saw the opening I needed, a way to find out;

"Why do you not let a servant do this?" I began as she once again dressed my hair in an elaborate knot that she secured this time with small diamond tipped pins.

"It is a great honour to serve you lady." She told me as if her response was somehow rehearsed.

"But why?" I pressed, Marie looked somewhat bemused, "because you will be our Queen." I almost choked. Marie looked suddenly alarmed as if she had said something she ought not to. "I'm sorry, I ought not to have mentioned this," she said with growing alarm.

"Did he tell you not to?" I demanded.

She nodded before adding, "He said it would alarm you, bring back bad memories. I'm sorry to have upset you My Lady," she apologised clearly chastened.

"What do you know about what happened to me Marie?" I asked her cautiously.

She smiled tentatively, "All Grisha know the story of how you were abducted on The Fold and how the Darkling spent decades searching for you. Your reappearance has brought so much joy…" She trailed off clearly pleased to share these tidyings. I remained silent, I needed to think. I needed to talk to the Darkling. I now knew why I was viewed with such respect but why had the Darkling hidden the truth? why had he invented this fairy-tale?

"Marie, I would like to meet with the Darkling," I informed her.

"Of course, he instructed that you could see him anytime, day or night!"

"Did he indeed?" I muttered under my breath as I determined to have a private word after dinner.

The Darkling didn't come to dinner. I was forced to seek him out.

Aleksander

I needed time to think and I dare not face her at the dinner table. I knew Alina well enough to understand that she would not care what she said in public and I had spent too long rebuilding my reputation to allow her careless words to tear it down. I had, however, forgotten that she had once led the Second Army herself, my rooms had been her rooms and she knew every secret passage and every corridor that led here. I should not have been startled to find her glaring at me as I sat before the fire in my darkened rooms.

"Why the fairy-tale?" she demanded without any preamble.

So she knew, I had been economical with the truth, there were so few who witnessed events that day on The Fold and even fewer who would be tempted to talk of it. It had been too easy to bend the truth to the narrative I had wanted to tell. I didn't pretend I didn't know what Alina spoke of, there was no point.

"Sit," I instructed hooking another chair with my foot and pulling it towards the fire. Though she scowled at my imperative she obliged.

"Would you have me tell them that their future Queen was a traitor; that she tried to murder me?" I demanded.

"Are you insane?" she asked me incredulous.

"Are you still so naive?" I fired back, "Why did you assume that I insist you return to me?"

"Petty revenge," she muttered under her breath. I ignored the slur.

"I told you once before that I am not a monster," she huffed, I pressed on. "I allowed you to go, I allowed you to take your lover to live out your fantasy, to pretend you were meant for something other than this," I signalled around her, "and I waited, Ravka waited."

She stared at me in horror as if I were insane. I was losing my temper now and I couldn't rein it in.

"How many generations of Ravkan's have suffered whilst you played house with your Tracker?"

I was trembling with anger now as she gaped at me. She seemed stung by my words, good I thought.

"We could have ended this, all it took was for you to trust me, but you couldn't could you? You made me your villain." I reminded her.

She was incensed now, I could sense her anger as it rolled from her in waves;

"You would have killed Mal," she snapped back at me, "and Nikolai too, don't deny it!"

"I don't deny it," I told her, "I hated Oretsev because he held your heart,"

"Don't pretend you cared!" she yelled her ire rising.

"I cared," I growled back, "have you any idea how few people I would have dared to love."

Alina

I was stunned into silence. He wore that face again, the face I had glimpsed so rarely; the face of the vulnerable boy, afraid and lonely. How long had he felt this way? I wondered.

I didn't speak, I couldn't, tension hung thick in the air.

"Please leave me," he asked quietly.

I rose and left I couldn't stay in his presence a moment longer, my mind was in a mess and I had to think.

A/N

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