few days earlier
One week after the Lantsovs burnt Vasylissa Grigoryevna at the stake after calling her a Grisha and a traitor to the Crown, the door of the Little Palace remained locked up tight. Outside of Os Alta the movements of the Second Army remained undisturbed – except no Grisha has left or arrived at the capital ever since that fateful day. Ravkans, usually so eager to blame the practitioners of Small Science, seemingly had no doubt that everything was the King's fault. Being forced to see the execution of the woman they have worshiped as their Sun Saint did a terrible favor to the morale of civilians and soldiers of the First Army alike. Surely that was not what Vasily Lantsov had intended...
On the battlefield, the Second Army worked like clockwork, perfectly coordinated and acting as one. Over the centuries, the more close-knitted they became under his careful stare, the more proud they made him.
Until now.
Having removed all the otkazat'sya servants from the Little Palace, his Grisha felt no need for keeping up the facade of unity. The main hall resembled a beehive poked with a stick – if the bees were divided into three orders that loved to bicker. It's been six days and each one went exactly like that. Soon, Aleksander would have to Cut his way to freedom through these sacred walls!
Even now, they didn't even notice their General's arrival. They just kept on arguing.
Aleksander leaned heavily on the back of Alina's chair, too tired for taking one step to fall on his own seat, and released the breath he knew he was holding.
"SIIIIIILEEEENCEEEE!" Fedyor roared out of the sudden.
Aleksander, Alina, David and Genya gaped at him in unison. All these years, and they didn't know he had it in him. Only Ivan remained unperturbed, stoically sipping his tea.
Heartrender's scream was so unexpected that it actually got all the Councillors to shut up. Only one representative of Materialki had to have the last word: "The Palace can survive three months on lock down!".
The Darkling raised one brow. The Fabrikator blushed furiously and spoke no more. Taking his time, Aleksander lazily sprawled on his chair.
"Now that I finally have your attention... We have received an interesting message. Some of our concerned citizens from West Ravka have noticed unauthorized movements in certain... less frequented segments of the border with the Unsea."
Aleksander couldn't help but smile coldly at his thoughts.
"And so our expedition begins much sooner than expected! I believe the preparations are in order for my squadron to be joined with divisions seven and eight, and we shall leave Os Alta in two days. The details will be-"
"But, moi soverenyi!" Of course it was Zoyka who had to interrupt him. Alina and her really had much more in common than either of them bothered to notice. "We are not permitted to leave the capital! The King-"
Sankt Ilya, give me strength...
"Am I not able to walk dozens of my own people underneath some otkazat'sya noses in the middle of the day?" He looked around the room, counted the submissive nods and doubtful eyes, pointedly ignored Alina snickering on his right, and dramatically raised his hands in a very dramatic albeit a bit outdated Summoning position.
After the shadows slipped back towards the walls and corners, Aleksander cleared his throat.
"We will leave at midnight, though."
After a second, much smaller, much less formal meeting at the War Room was over, only Alina remained at the Darkling's quarters. To be precise, she remained hovering over the most detailed map of the Shadow Fold and its borderlands on both halves of Ravka. Of course, the western one left much to be desired...
"Do you really think that Zlatan was behind Grigoryevna's plot? It seems too far-fetched for me... Isn't he supposed to be some kind of military genius?"
Aleksander snorted.
"He was never a genius, and he's getting older. Don't mistake the otkazat'sya for Grisha, Alinka."
She finally looked up at him. "And you, don't get so far ahead of yourself, Mister No-one-would-dare-to-betray-me!" Alina leaped to her feet and passed Aleksander to throw the inner door wide open. She took a few deep breaths and ignored his watchful eyes.
The time might have passed but not every wound was healed – her body's reaction to tight spaces and the dark confused her. She still wouldn't fall asleep without a ball of Inferni light next to her, fire safety protocols be damned. None of her friends made her feel ridiculous because of that, but Alina knew David and Ivan above all were worried, and she caught them plotting with the Darkling once.
Avoidance of tight spaces didn't matter – if her plans would please go back on the track, soon there wouldn't be any war to take part in, no battle that could exploit such weakness. This embarrassing, irrational fear of the dark, though? Alina would not stand it much longer. She needed the Shadow Fold, of course, but above all she was the Sun Summoner, and darkness was meant to be her to reign upon. Part of her wanted to let it go, to let Aleksander take care of it all... But it wasn't half as powerful as Alina's inner voice, clawing at her mind and fueling the dangerous fire in her heart.
There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. You deserve-
"- later than you wanted, but... Alina?" The Darkling's voice suddenly flooded her ears and Alina stopped tapping nervously on the surface of the map. "Do you even listen to me?" He let out a long-suffering sight and rubbed the bone around his neck. Alina felt the same thrill that she always did when the Stag amplifier became visible above his kefta. The shadows around the corners of the War Room seemed to have their own pulse.
Mine, mine, mine-
The locket became a cold, heavy spot on her chest, and in counter-reaction Alina's cheeks flushed. She moved her hand to cover his, and brought them entwined to rest on the map of the Unsea.
"We'll get through, safe and sound... The work of my life," she mused, ignoring his silly smile, and squeezed his hand suddenly. "You and I, Aleksander, you and I... We're going to change the world."
"It's just a bit of opposition... We're not exactly throwing off the monarchy, Alinka." The Darkling's eyes were serious and a bit suspicious above his careless smile, but Alina scoffed at him.
"Please. The Royal Family warms their hands above a fake Grisha pyre, they threaten us publically, and we're denying them the Second Army at court. Not to mention how critical Genya's assistance was to them." She blinked innocently at him. "I wonder if King Pyotr is feeling better-"
"He's not. And he won't be." Aleksander interrupted rudely, his eyes flashing dangerously. If he ever was the sun, she would have to be the flower. Sometimes she just wanted him to-
"Kiss the neutrality goodbye, for Heretic's sake! If we leave the capital now, we better get back with something!"
Aleksander fidgeted. "About the, um, the Heretic-"
"Oh, no. Not now. You are not bringing up the old argument. You are supposed to be on my side, and not parroting Ivan's... No. Never mind. I, actually, have an important meeting to attend, see you later, goodnight." She ripped her hand from under his (wait, when did it get on top?) and stomped towards the door.
"And I sleep on the couch." Aleksander muttered. She was halfway through the corridor, when she heard him yell: "What meeting? It's the middle of the night!"
"... and I have such a great plan!" Alina finished her whining as best as she could, what with her cheeks full of sticky goodness. Others probably heard something more like "gre-ey len". David hummed empathetically, munching on a sweet bun.
Kitchen of the Little Place was unusually silent. If she didn't need sugar so much, Alina might have pondered over it and maybe even missed the thrill of sneaking between the otkazat'sya servants. (They could have kept at least the Cook!)
But Grisha were soldiers, and so they didn't need help from outsiders to make their meals, not in times like this. The fact that during the day their food was prepared mostly by the Darkling's Oprichniki didn't seem to bother anyone but Alina. After all, she was the only one who was once forced into the gray uniform. And the only one getting more paranoid than the Darkling. Were they fanatically loyal... or weren't they?
The spoon dived again.
Genya looked nauseous, but she tried to sound gentle.
"Alina... Ala..."
"Hmpgh?"
"Are you really gonna eat an entire jar of honey?"
What the Darkling wanted, the Second Army delivered. The three orders were perfectly in harmony when the Councilors declared them ready to depart from the capital. Two days after their General's decision, just like he wanted them, at midnight.
The few members of the Royal Guard and the stationing soldiers of the First Army were busy silencing the protests in many areas of Os Alta even now, more than a week after the execution of Vasylissa Grigoryevna, the Fake Saint. (Alina swore she would get her hands on the Apparat as soon as they were back. For now, she asked Genya to have more than the usual one of the Tailor's little birds sent to observe his movements, as non-existent as they were now. It wouldn't do for her to underestimate the power that religion had over Ravkans...)
With all the Grisha gathered in one place, the streets of Os Alta have lost their charm in Alina's eyes. She saw the citizens walk around, busy with their own nighttime duties, but the capital didn't feel alive.
We're engraved in the heart of Ravka. Without us, there is only ruin and the void.
Dozens of soldiers moved like one, enormous but graceful organism. With the Darkling on the front, Etherealki along the edges, Corporalki vigilant between them, and finally Materialki in the middle, carefully handling their equipment.
Alina was the last Grisha among those who left the Little Palace. She insisted, and Aleksander was suspiciously agreeable about it – of course, it turned out that he had appointed more than a half of the Oprichniki to guard her. That impossible man!
She huffed and puffed, but only for a show – no otkazat'sya, not even an oprichnik could have caught her using her powers tonight. The night might have been dark, but the moon was bright and in its peculiar light Alina kept their silent parade shielded from any prying eyes as sufficiently as Aleksander's shadows.
What seemed like an impossible feat just few days ago was becoming as easy as breathing with each step. Even their otkazat'sya didn't blink an eye when the outsiders avoided the wave of darkness as if it was something natural, something that belonged.
Amplification like never seen before – how many of them realized that? And did it even matter? Tonight, they were one, and they were power.
Inside the shadow, she felt a second heartbeat.
Alina didn't let the giddiness overcome her, but she easily kept up the light bending while her thoughts raced. Was it the Stag amplifier, resonating inside her chest? Something else entirely?
.
.
.
A safe distance from the gates of Os Alta, with horses, vehicles, supplies, more Grisha waited. Before anyone knows, they will reach the Unsea.
At last.
AN:/ Abandon all the logic, et cetera, et cetera. Fair warning – this arc will be the shortest (i think) and the worst when it comes to any logistics and/or sense. Two years ago i might have tried to research strategy or war or sth, but these days it's nope. nope.
Also, bad news – i have too many and at the same time not enough ideas. I know where i am going to end, and like two things to happen, but there are just SO MANY ways i can do it, ugh! Like, i actually typed a whole vague outline for this arc only to discover the next day that i wrote an outline more than half a year ago, and it's slightly different... i will probably go with the older one, since it gives Darkles a bit of Gryffindorism but not in the stupid way (i think. God, we'll see)
Thank you for your comments, cause i reread them. A lot
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on one hand, we have face-touch visuals from s2 ;) on the other – we kinda won but also lost? idk i m kinda glad i still havent started watching it. if anything, the spoilers i read/gifs i ve seen might have only inspired me to deliver the fluffy ending of misclassification as soon as i can (quality who?)
i am kinda scared i wont remember to add all the stuff i wanted, but i might give yall a bullet point list of stuff that could have gone differently with this fic. but that will be at the very end
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on completely unrelated note – how many of you have read (my childhood obsession, an okay read, recently reread) "Strange Angels" series by Lili (aka Lilith Saintcrow, fun fact: not her pen name) and what did u think of it? (i am also curious what other darklinas ship in that series)
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new readers, i see u, don't hesitate to tell me what you think!