Every day was exactly like the day before. Not that it bothered her; it merely made her more accustomed to it. The loneliness has been slowly killing her over the years. But she didn't give in. She was stronger than that. Yelena Orlova's life was a big, uninteresting mass with no beginning or end. Waking up, galloping into the nearby town, picking up the letters, delivering them to the recipients, and then falling asleep to repeat the process. Yeah, Yelena included food into her already hectic routine when she had the time, but she was never upset if it was left out.
She tried hard not to be despised, but it was impossible when you were the innocent, naive lamb in the midst of wolves. She often questioned why she had gotten this job. She realised her saviour, corporal Jaroslav, must have pulled a couple of strings to bring her here. Perhaps the Grishas simply enjoyed seeing an otkazat'sya performing the most menial tasks. It reminded them that they were superior to everyone simply because they were born with extraordinary abilities.
"So you want me to deliver this to General Kirigan in the middle of the night?" Yelena asked her boss, a curtly man called Tatarin. He was a tidemaker who lost his left eye during traveling through the Fold. Since then he was discharged from the Second Army and became a member of the Little Palace's staff.
This all was just so strange for her. The General had his own messenger, a Grisha he trusted in.
"Karel is ill, he was in bed all day with the healers in his ass, so he can't deliver this letter" he explained, but Yelena had the suspicion that this all was a lie and that the General was angry. And truth be told, no one wanted to see the angry General Kirigan. "So be a good fjerdan girl and do as you're told" he stated as he turned around and within seconds, left the woman by herself.
Fjerdan girl – the words of Tatarin went on and on in her head. If being an otkazat'sya between the grishas wasn't humiliating enough, being fjerdan was a whole different level. It was funny. She was born in Ravka from a ravkan woman, but unfortunately she got her looks from her unknown but certainly fjerdan father. Light blonde hair and sky blue eyes, typical fjerdan looks.
Obviously her fjerdan roots wouldn't be a pain in the ass if Fjerda and Ravka weren't warring with each other since forever. (Though who wasn't at war with Ravka at this point?) So she was having discrimination thrown at her for all aspects in her life. Being a fjerdan in Ravka, an otkazat'sya and a woman was the worst combination anyone could imagine to exist. Yet here she was, crawling through life from day to day.
But Yelena cut her thoughts short as she arrived in front of his office. Here she took a deep breath and knocked gently, hoping she won't have to face an angry General. So for a moment she closed her eyes as she straightened and awaited her fate.
"Come in!" came the sharp male voice from the other side of the door. General Kirigan's voice was deep and intimidating. Not something one could easily forget once heard. So Yelena took the golden knob and pushed it down to get into the office.
"My apologies for the late intrusion, but I was given the task to deliver this letter" Yelena stated her business as she carefully stepped closer and held the letter towards him.
For a moment, but just for one, Yelena could clearly see the confusion on his face. She was not what he was looking for. Maybe he was even surprised because he saw her for the first time, even though she was living in the palace for years now.
"Where's Karel and who are you? I have never seen you before" he raised his eyebrow in confusion as he took the letter and opened it.
"Karel has been ill today. Yelena Orlova at your service, sir. I have been working here for five years now as a mailwoman."
The General looked at her, thinking about the possibility of her being a fjerdan spy. But he knew well how the women in Fjerda were so he soon threw out this possibility. She looked unfitted to be a spy anyway.
"You can go now" he said when he realized that she was still standing before his desk, stiff as a board, waiting for dismissal.
"Have a good night, sir" she stated with a nod as she turned around and left without any kind of hesitation.
Upon arriving back into her room, Yelena slumped down on her bed, as she wondered about her brief meeting with the General. She felt the cold darkness imitate from him, filling the office with suffocating dread. It was familiar to Yelena, but rather being afraid, this feeling beckoned, drew her closer.
But she just shook her head, knowing that it is unwise to play with fire. Even more when your whole existence is a gamble itself. Yelena knew from her younger years spent in the orphanage of Keramzin that she should trust just a few. And always expect a betrayal.
Weeks passed and Yelena had fallen back into her usual routine, forgetting about that night altogether. But stories are not made with protagonists who live their everyday lives in the same way. Only with people that are called or just stumble into an adventure. The latter was Yelena, although she didn't know it yet. Just yet.
"Karel is dead," Tatarin stated, a scowl on his face. "That bastard fucked himself to death when the healer clearly told him not to."
"And how is that my concern?" Yelena asked, her face hard as stone. She cared less if the General's messenger boy died.
"You will take this urgent letter to the camp nearby the Fold" he pushed the letter into Yelena's hands. She looked at the fancy writing, not understanding a word on it. But now it mattered not if she couldn't read. It actually never mattered.
"Me?" she pointed at herself. Was Tatarin truly mad? "They won't even let me into the camp. Maybe even try to kill me upon arriving."
"That's why I'm giving you this other paper. Consider this your ticket to avoid being hurt during this important mission."
"This is ridiculous! Why me? Why not a grisha?" Yelena knew she had a point. A good point. This place had nothing but Grishas, who eagerly would have taken the letter to the General.
"Because no one would guess you as the messenger. And well… I know for a fact that you won't read the letter. Because you simply can't. Aren't I right, fjerdan girl?" he tilted his head with a small grin, knowing he won the argument.
"Fine" Yelena sighed in defeat as she turned around, knowing that two weeks of journey was ahead of her.
With that she went to the stables and saddled her horse. Ash seemed to be even more fussier than usual.
"Come on now! I can't let you be like some rotten child" Yelena shook her head as she gently caressed her horse's face. "We need a letter to deliver to the General. I know, I'm pissed about it too but orders are orders" she sighed as she pulled out some carrots she stole from the kitchens on the way here. "A treat for the nice guy?" she offered and Ash looked way more interested now as he ate the carrots in her hand with incredible speed. "That's more like it" Yelena smiled as she patted the horse's neck and pulled herself up into the saddle, ready to make this long road to that camp.
And making this journey she did. Tatarin knew her better than to believe her lack of ability to read would hinder her finding the camp. All Yelena dubbed that she would be let in. But that was a thing she will have to worry about a few minutes later. At first, she just took in the sight of the Fold itself. She never saw it personally until now. But it was a sight to behold, a majestic wall of darkness, crossing the lands and dividing Ravka in two, plunging it into chaos and a soon arriving civil war too.
Yelena thought about darkness differently than others did. She understood that bad things had to happen before beautiful things could happen. Just as the forest requires a fire to burn everything down, allowing new life to emerge. The Fold must serve a similar purpose. Or just Yelena wanted to believe it had any meaning at all.
"Hey, you!" a soldier shouted from not far, signaling the end of Yelena's viewing of the Fold.
"I brought an urgent letter from the Little Palace to General Kirigan. You must let me in, so I can give it to him personally" she stated her intentions as she lifted up the paper which Tatarin gave her to not get in trouble with anyone in camp.
"That old fool is out of his mind to send a fjerdan from all people…" the soldier (an inferni by the looks of his red kefta) growled and grabbed Yelena's arm to drag her with him. "Be fast, we don't want your kind here" he pushed her away from himself once they arrived into the deeper parts of the camp that was still in a hurry. Something seemed to have happened here not long ago.
"You know, I got that without pushing me around," she looked at him sharply, having had enough of the bullying. She had a letter to deliver and wanted to do nothing with any of these people in the camp. "Tell me which tent is the General in and I will be on my merry way."
It was the moment when a beam of light shoot to the sky from one of the tents and Yelena just simply looked at the inferni and said:
"He is there, isn't he?" she pointed at the source of the light.
"He is," he told her with an awe in his voice. It seemed, the beam of light meant something to him. Something Yelena didn't have the tiniest idea of. Maybe because she gave up on the Saints long ago.
So she made her way to the tent, her heart unintentionally starting to beat faster and louder in her chest. Was this excitement or fear? She couldn't decipher it after all that happened with her throughout her life.
Yelena took a deep breath, steadying herself before she approached the tent where General Kirigan and probably some other grisha were. She squared her shoulders, reminding herself that she was on a mission, and whatever lay beyond the flap of that tent was simply another step to completing it. And when it's done, she will go back to the Little Palace, living her usual life and never to be seen again.
Stepping into the tent she is not only greeted with some Grisha, but a whole crowd, disrupting the view into the middle of the place where probably the General was.
But when one Grisha saw her and her blonde hair, it quickly nudged the other who nudged the other and it went on and on until every gaze was on her. As she stepped forward the crowd parted into two, letting her cross into the heart of the tent.
That's when she saw the real source of the beam of light. Alina Starkov, her childhood best friend. Yelena could only blink confused and stunned by this surreal scene in front of her. But she was not the only one who was disrupted by the strange event, the General looked confused at her too.
However, Alina took advantage of the confusion and quickly ran behind the taller Yelena and grabbed into her arm like her life depended on it.
"Hi" Alina finally greeted her.
"You gotta be kidding me" Yelena looked down at her. Of course it was easy to recognise her. She was a halfling too. But instead of a fjerdan, she was a shu. And her shu features were not something Yelena could ever forget.
"Help me" she whispered and Yelena knew how she must have felt. A lamb between the wolves. Something she was also familiar with.
"What a turn of events" General Kirigan said in a calm tone, which hid his true feelings. "You can all go now" he looked at the others wanting them to be gone, so he could have a nice chat with the sun summoner and this… fjerdan woman.
In a matter of minutes the place was empty except the trio, where everyone silently watched each other.
"Do the two of you care to elaborate?" The General asked.
"I only came to give you this letter, sir!" Yelena said, holding the letter out to him. She had no intention to die today! "Everything else is just…" she thought about the right way to say this "a lovely coincidence."
"Come on, Yel! Stick up for me, please!" Alina pleaded even using her nickname. Something she hasn't heard in almost 10 years. It was kind of nostalgic to hear, if Yelena wanted to be honest with herself.
"I love you with all my heart Alina, but I have no intention to die today" it was painfully honest, but it was the truth. Yelena had no intention to die.
"Did you always know that Miss Starkov is the sun summoner?" The General asked, his voice sharp as he looked for answers. It seemed there was more to this woman than he was let on that evening she brought a letter to him. Of course he asked and he knew. Whatever Jaroslav does always has a purpose, after all. He just had to connect the dots and this mystery will unfold before his very eyes.
"She is a WHAT now?!" Yelena loudly exclaimed as her eyes widened in surprise. What the fuck did just Alina exactly get herself into this time?
