Sun Queen

♛ Seventy ♛

                             ♛ Alina POV ♛

At first I imagine armies of gun-clad, dark fur covered Fjerdans marching over the border with frozen breath. But the young woman's expression of softer than it should be and danger doesn't mingle with her words.

I rise to my feet immediately. "What is it?"

"Do you remember your idea from before, in the war tent?" She asks, breathlessly giddy.

"Yes?" The question mark hangs off my word.

"It appears the Shu Han had the same idea. They've sent their ambassadors to our camp to discuss an alliance." The young woman's voice pitches upward in relief.

An alliance. With Shu Han. I match the woman's gaping mouth.

"I can't believe this." I whisper to myself.

The woman's pale blue gaze then flicks over to Aleksander. "They want to meet with you right away, but I have to warn you. They don't know the Darkling is with us."

My budding exuberance falls. The Shu Han will never agree to an alliance with Aleksander in our ranks, not after what he did to them. Once again, Aleksander's decision to extended the Fold is costing us.

"So we simply don't tell them I'm here?" Aleksander asks, his fingers brushing his lips like he always does when he's thinking.

"Could we even keep him hidden?" I ask the young woman.

She considers it for a moment. "Perhaps, but I would be afraid one of the soldiers would let something slip. It's too dangerous. Besides, if they find out afterwards, it will ruin the alliance."

I breathe out and walk over to the woman. "So I'll be honest. Let them know of the situation. Maybe we can pull the Fold back as part of the alliance."

It's a long shot, a very long one, that they won't leave the alliance or try to attack us. And an even longer one that they'll still want an alliance after knowing. But I have to be honest, it's the only to have them trust us.

"I'll tell them." I say, mostly to reassure myself of the plan.

"Alright then, I'll tell the council." The young woman's word are slowly wary.

Just before she leaves, I catch her arm. There's something I've been meaning to ask. "Wait, I realize I don't know your name."

She smiles at this and I can see the old wisdom in her young eyes. "Ekaterina Ivanov."

"Well thank you Ekaterina."

She shrugs off my arm kindly and leaves, her news hanging in the air afterwards.

The Shu Han are here, to form an alliance.

The words spiral in my head, floating without meaning. I'm truly surprised.

"I don't regret what I did." Aleksander says blankly.

"I know." I shoot him a look. "But you should. And it does remind me."

At this he raises his eyebrows, clearly picking up my serious tone. "Yes?"

Here it goes, I have to do this. I can't avoid this.

"If we're going to be...." I gesture between us, my wedding ring sparkling. "Then we need to talk about everything that's happened. Everything you've done to me and I to you. We can't just forget that."

Aleksander takes a breath to think. "Ah, that. I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this."

"Me neither," I admit, "But we should. That.... stuff doesn't just go away."

"Alright, what do you want to say?"

I wasn't really prepared for him to be so accepting, so ready. I'm caught off guard. "Well, for starters, an apology would be nice."

Aleksander nods his head, stepping around the desk to come closer. My breath hitches when he takes my hands and holds them between us. I notice his fingers are freezing.

"Alina, I want to apologize for everything I have ever done to you. For all of it. I know you asked for an apology, but I do want to give one. What I have done is wrong and I'm truly sorry."

His head turns down to look at our intertwined fingers. "I'm sure you can understand my reasons but that does not make them right. I promise I will work at it, to make this work."

He plants a kiss on the top of my fingers. Then, his head rises up to mine and our lips brush against each other.

When I breath in my chest is warm. "Thank you." The words seem feeble compared to his, but I don't have time to elaborate.

We both push into a kiss, slowly searching for the other. It's warm, so incredibly warm without the burn of heat. The kiss reaches through me, touching every part of my body.

Ekaterina enters the tent, her pale face blooming with a heated red blush when she sees Aleksander's lips tangled in mine.

"Oh! I'm..." I watch her fluster with a smile and pull away from Aleksander.

"I'm coming." I can feel Aleksander's stare on my back, clearly he was annoyed at us being interrupted.

"I'll be back, stay here." I wave a hand to him, enjoying his reddened, unsatisfied face.

"I'll be waiting." He purrs with a velvet, promising tone.

༶•┈┈ ♛ ┈┈•༶

The war council was waiting at the very back of the camp, the part closest to the frozen muddied roads. Up the twisting line of gray path, I can see shapes of light wood carriages waiting for us. A tent waits behind them, its gold tassels flapping with ghost winds, the green velvet fabric rippling.

Ekaterina leans into me to speak and the loose pieces from her golden braid tickle my nose. "The ambassadors have agreed to meet with us near the camp, but be warned, their soldiers no doubt hidden in the trees."

I turn my attention to the bristly pine forest struck on either side of the gray road, snow sticking to the branches and weighing them down. But I can't see anything in the dark-green blobs of branches.

There are five ambassadors, all wearing silvery gray fur coats. Their long dark hair splays over the coats, most of them weaved with strands of white, a sign of age. There are two lines of guards behind them, on either side of the ambassadors. As I approach, I can feel the five pairs of golden eyes looking towards me.

When I was younger, I was teased for being too Shu. My angled Shu eyes were the constant center of ridicule. But now I could see the slight approval and similarity in their golden gazes. My chin lifts up a little. I should be proud after all, I am the first part Shu queen of Ravka.

I only hope this will help gain their trust.

"Queen Alina." A man in the middle acknowledges me with a firm, politically practiced tone. His quiet diplomacy and old age suggests he's been an ambassador for a long time.

My head bows slightly towards the group. "Thank you for coming, though I must admit I was surprised to hear about your arrival."

The woman beside the man clasps her hands at her waist. "We'll admit we are too. But you aren't the only who is affected by the Fjerdans."

Her eyes grow a sudden sharpness. "And we did not forget what you did for our people, Sun Summoner."

Of course, the townspeople I saved from the Fold's jaws. I didn't think they would remember.

"Of course." My words are even.

The man from the middle speaks again, his hand gesturing to the tent behind them. "Now then, shall we begin?"