Cassiopeia | General Kirigan x OC

Chapter 4

A week later, Amina was now sitting next to Aleksander with Ivan and Fedyor in front of her.

"Can we please stop now?" she asked in a pleading tone.

She had been repeatedly asking him to take a break so they could walk around for a bit, for at least an hour now. He had finally had enough, accepting her request. Amina happily thanked him before practically leaping out of the carriage and making her way onto the streets of Ketterdam. She had taken her kefta off before she wandered off, not wanting to alarm anyone that she was a Grisha. She was simply left in her long-sleeved satin dress that was worn under her kefta, along with her pants and boots.

She wandered around for a bit until she heard a sharp cry ring out from somewhere around her. She looked for an abnormally beating heart and heard a small heartbeat, almost as if it belonged to a baby. She looked around spotting a small child that looked to be around a few months old. She had brown hair with large grey doe eyes. She tried to find her mother but couldn't seem to find her. She went up to a merchant standing a few meters away from the child and asked where the baby's mother was but all she got in reply was that she left her there a few weeks ago. She immediately ran to the baby and picked her up, cleaning the dirt off her face with some nearby water and her handkerchief. She sensed that she was Grisha and briefly wondered what she was doing in Ketterdam. The baby quickly snuggled into her arms, seizing her crying.

She felt a wave of motherly affection wash over. She always knew she wanted to be a mother but she was still quite young. But that didn't seem to deter her, as she bought some food for the baby to eat, and only once she was satisfied did she go back to the darkling's carriage with a sleeping bundle in her arms.

As she walked, she thought about what to name her. She always loved the stars. She didn't know why but since she was young, she loved them with her entire being. Amina lived by the saying, "The sky is the limit" so it seemed quite fitting for her to like stars. Cassiopeia, she decided. She wanted to name her Cassiopeia.

Everyone's eyes grew humorously wide as they caught sight of Amina swaddling a sleeping baby in her arms. Although Aleksander could not lie that she had a motherly aura surrounding her that would be perfect for kids. Each member of their small group spluttered in indignation until she calmly lowered all their pulses to ensure that they didn't wake up Cassi.

"Just let me talk first and then I'll answer all your questions," she said putting a hand up.

They all waited, staring at her questioningly.

"I saw this child on the streets in Ketterdam and she's a Grisha. A merchant nearby told me that the mother left her here a few weeks ago and I've decided to unofficially adopt her. And I named her Cassiopeia by the way."

"Are you sure you can handle the responsibility of caring for a child? Make sure to think this decision through Mina" Ivan warned.

"No, I've thought through it and I'm sure I want to care for her" she stated firmly.

He smiled, kissing her temple and climbing back into the black carriage, Fedyor following his movements until it was just Amina, Cassiopeia, and Aleksander.

"Can I hold her?" he asked quietly.

He felt a need to care for the child in her arms. After all, the girl he loved was now the unofficial mother of Cassiopeia so he felt obligated to be in the child's life. That and the fact that her chubby little cheeks looked very cute, not that he would ever admit it.

She wordlessly handed over the baby, moving Aleksander's hands so they were in the proper position. His heart almost stopped for a moment. He never thought he would personally have a child, after all, he had an entire army to command. But as he held the brown-haired baby in his arms, he didn't want to let go. He didn't know why he felt so affectionate towards Cassiopeia but he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with the girl standing in front of him.

Amina felt her heart swell as she watched Aleksander look at Cassiopeia with a tender gaze. She couldn't help herself anymore, she finally blurted out the thing she had been hiding for years.

"I love you"

Both their eyes widened at the unexpected confession. Aleksander's lips slowly curled into a smile as they stared each other in the eye.

"Not many people manage to surprise me, Ms. Zakharov," he said, with a now full-blown grin.

"Well, there's a first for everything"

And with that, they both dove in for a kiss, cautious of the baby in between them. When they pulled back it was only when the baby started to wake.

Aleksander handed her back to Amina, still beaming. He helped her into the carriage, trying to slip his serious mask back onto his face when Ivan and Fedyor came into view. They could clearly see something happened. Aleksander decided to send word to the ambassadors that they were going to have to postpone the meeting due to some unexpected events.