The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Twenty-four: Alina Starkov

Twenty-four: 

She thought about running. But instead she sat in the train station quietly with her husband, and their ward, thinking about how her home was full of ghosts. "What happens if we don't go back?" she asked as the sun came up.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Well, you can still keep Darkling Manor. But why do you have to live there? What's keeping you?"

He tilted his head to the side, scratching it as if he hadn't ever thought about it before. "It's home," he said simply.

"Home isn't a house, Aleksander," she said, "it's people. You, and me, and Genya....we're alive, and we cannot live in a house full of ghosts."

"But what do we do with it?" he asked. "If we leave it, someone will stumble upon it, and they won't know about the witch...."

"Why does it have to be you that protects them?" Alina asked. "We'll put up no trespassing signs, we'll leave the place, and we'll start over. Mal's apartment is still there in the city---"

"I'm not staying in Mal's shoebox of an apartment," Aleksander grunted, "we'll stay at the penthouse I've got in the city."

Alina's eyes widened. "You've got a penthouse in the city?"

He nodded. "It's in the building right across from my work. Sometimes, I don't want to drive all of the way back to Darkling Manor, so I stay there. When Genya came into my life though, I thought she needed a proper home. I didn't think a bachelor pad in the city was appropriate."

"We'll make it a home for her," said Alina, "there's a guest bedroom there, right?"

He nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Darkling manor has a million rooms. I took a wild guess. And I'm guessing there's even one there for me to sleep in."

He frowned. "Alina, come on----"

"You lied to me, Aleksander. You didn't tell me about Luda, about your parents...."

"How could I have?!" he demanded with a wide-eyed look in his eyes. "How the fuck could I have explained that I have actual ghosts haunting me, Alina? We had just met and---"

"We're not in love," said Alina, "if you loved me---"

"If I didn't love you, the witch wouldn't be trying to kill you," said Aleksander, "she's been quiet for years. She didn't show up until she sensed that I was completely and totally happy. Until you came along. She tormented me and Luda when we were married. Now that you're here...."

Alina paused. "You...."

"I've lied about a lot of things," said Aleksander, "but I've never lied about loving you, Alina."

From the seat where Genya was sitting, she stirred in her sleep. "Uncle Aleks?" she asked.

Aleksander looked over at her and smiled. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Aleksander took a deep breath. "We're going home, sweetheart. We're going to our new home. And we're going to be a family together."

"Okay," said Genya, and her stomach growled then, "when we get there, can we have waffles?"

Alina smiled, and squeezed her shoulder gently. "Yeah, Aleksander?" she said. "Can we have waffles? Maybe with syrup and strawberries?"

Aleksander laughed. "Yes, my loves. We can have waffles. Or anything else that you desire."

The train pulled to a stop at the station. When they got to the station, they got off and took an uber to Aleksander's penthouse. It was all of the way at the top of the building across from Morozova inc. It was two stories, filled with lots of stainless still, leather, and very impersonal. When Alina saw it, she couldn't help but think about how miserable it was.

But that morning, Aleksander made waffles for her and Genya as they sat at the kitchen counter. Whatever it lacked for in personality was made up that she had her family there with her. They could make it a home, and they could forget about the ghosts.

Aleksander went to the office in the day and came home in the evenings. Alina made a lesson plan for Genya and the two of them did school work in the afternoons. Everything seemed to be totally fine.

Until the sleep walking started.