To The Bone / Nikolai Lantsov

001 / little prince

then / twelve years ago

There were rarely days when Roshan attended the lessons.
She always sneaked away, unwilling to participate in the classes with other grisha, the same people who took her away. She didn't want to settle in, as the other kids did. She knew she wouldn't be coming back home, but somewhere inside of her hope was still lingering, igniting the sparks of rebellion that appeared in the form of little acts─ not learning, not eating, not socializing.

It was childish, she was aware of it. Her mother would scold her for this kind of behavior, her father would only be amused and say that the consequences of her actions would only belong to her. Usually, she would stop. But her parents weren't here this time, she was alone and she didn't care if anything would happen. So she escaped, trying to find places she knew people were barely coming to, abandoned in their memories, now of use to her.

One of the royal gardens was a place like that, where Roshan hoped she would find some peace and where she could stay hidden from the prying eyes of the grisha. The garden was a beautiful place, full of colors and life. It was one of the few things the girl was happy to see, the bad thoughts and longing disappearing even if only for a moment. Over the two months she had been trapped in the Little Palace, the garden had become her safe place, where she always ran away when the reality was too hard to bear.

She had a routine she followed, waking up, eating, pretending she was a normal kid who was eager to learn about her skills, but as soon as she left the cage with the other grisha her age, the mask fell. She tried to make herself as invisible as she was able to, her time with her family paying off. She was light on her feet and could very easily play a person who was so little interesting that anyone who looked at her even for a moment considered her just another dull character, not worth their attention, so it was incredibly easy for Roshan to slip away from the small crowd of her classmates.

She tried to make her way avoiding everyone she saw, keeping her head to the ground if she was forced to walk by someone. Once in the garden, she let her guard down a little, slowly making her way through the little labyrinth. Roshan had a place in mind, where she wanted to spend her free time. It was at one of the corners, closed off with a wall of white and pink roses. In the middle of it was a marble fountain, in which a few golden coins gleamed. She didn't know who threw them inside of it, the place looked quite abandoned the last time around, but now, when she entered the space, she found a boy sitting at the bench that was on the left of the cascade of water.

Annoyance struck her at the sight of him. Who was he? She wanted to turn away, but then the boy set his hazel eyes on her, she didn't know why, but she was as if rooted to the ground. He looked very pretty, his skin touched by the sun as if he was its most beloved child. His hair must be real gold, she thought and then almost slapped herself for being so stricken by only a human. She felt ridiculous.

"Hello." He smiled at her, a stupidly cheerful smile, and stood up. He was maybe a bit taller than her, his clothes fine and rich-looking. "I'm Nikolai, and you?" He stopped fidgeting something in his fingers and put out his hand to her.

Her mind was racing, full of possibilities, but only one seemed to be the right one. The girl turned to flee, but her attempt was cut short by a woman standing behind her, a blue kefta hugging her body. Roshan cursed herself in her thoughts, she lost focus and now she was caught red-handed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice sharp. "Why aren't you with the other Corporalki in your class?"

Roshan tried to come up with a quick excuse, her mind spinning with possible lies she could tell the grisha. Of course, today was the day everything was about to go down.

"I asked her to come with me," she heard the boy's voice with surprise. "I was taking a walk, when I saw her standing there, in the middle of the path between the palaces. She looked utterly lost, so I decided to help her, but then a selfish thought entered my head. You see, I'm very lonely, and I assumed she's my age, so why not play with her? She didn't know where she should be going anyway, so I brought her here." The boy said confidently, not even once stuttering.

The woman looked at him, her lips pursed. She knew that he was lying.

"Is that true?" She questioned anyway.

"Yes," she murmured. "I just arrived here, and I woke up late. When I came down, nobody was there, so I tried to find where my classmates were by myself. He found me and promised to help, so I went with him." She finished, trying to make her voice sound convincing.

"I'm sorry that I deceived you," said the boy. She looked back at him, his warm eyes gleaming with mischief, an innocent smile on his face. "I just didn't want to be alone again."

"All right, but now you will come with me." The Grisha said, taking her hand. "And next time please don't misguide people who are lost, Prince Nikolai. Try to help them instead."

"Of course, miss." The boy flashed a charming smile at the older woman, who softened at the sight of it. "Goodbye!" He winked at Roshan, who was forced to follow the Etherealki.

authors note /

hey guys, so thats our first chapter. i wont lie to you, im a little bit afraid of writing this story, because as you all well know nikolai is a very charming (even annoyingly so) character and im afraid that my writing skills are just to poor to pull it off....... anyways im going to try my best!!

hope you liked this, please vote and comment your thoughts on it! i know its pretty short, but i have to get into writing before it gets longer

yours, maevestorms