Child of Legend - A Shadow and Bone Fanfic

Chapter 10

One morning Genya woke her up early basically dragging her out of bed and into a warm bath.

"I thought this was the alarm clocks job," I groaned.

Her face was unreadable while she was fussing over my hair, "The king has gotten over his mysterious illness," she told me.

"Oh goody, what's that got to do with me?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes, "He's asked you be presented to him. Today," she explained helping me out of the tub.

My face had shock written all over it, "He doesn't know I'm not from Ravka, does he?" I'd heard the rumours of how the royal family act towards people who aren't their own.

"He knows what he needs to know, that you're the generals daughter, unless he asks, which I'm nearly certain he won't, we won't tell him," at that she started brushing my hair and adding life to my pale face.

She handed me some clothes that looked like the ones I was wearing when I first arrived, I arched a brow, "Saints, do you people tell your king anything. He really can't think I've just arrived."

"If you go in wearing a kefta the king will think we have been hiding you," she explained, "He's already suspicious of the darkling for what happened in Novokribirdk," she muttered to herself under her breath.

She basically dragged me out of my room and to the entrance of the little palace where the darkling was waiting.

"Morning," he greeted me as guards opened the doors for us, Genya had already left us, presumably to go eat, to say I was jealous was an understatement.

"No good? Just morning," I questioned him.

"Is it a good morning?" He raised a brow at me.

"I suppose not," I responded, "Why are we doing this?" I asked him.

He walked, not responding for a moment before finnaly saying, "The king is a child, if he is not appeased or thinks he is being left in the dark he will through a temper tantrum, and a kings tantrum involves Grisha dying."

I looked at him confused, "But you are keeping him in the dark,"

"How so?"

"You haven't told him I've been here for nearly a month,"

"He's been ill."

"And not telling him I'm from an enemy country?"

"That, isn't lying, he never asked so I didn't tell him, if he does, I will."

He didn't seem too happy at the thought of having to give the king information but we continued walking.

He was staring intensely at the tree line, "What is it," I asked following his stare.

"You're not wearing a kefta, therefore you are less protected, if anyone wanted to kill you, now would be the perfect time," he talked about assassination as if I had just asked him what the weather was like.

"Why would anyone want to kill me?" I laughed, but as I said it I knew the answer, he opened his mouth to speak, "Don't answer that."

We arrived at the grand palace and I cringed, I hadn't really seen it up close before but now that I had I wished that I could go back to having never seen it.

The darklings lips had the ghost of a smile on them as he saw my face, "I had the same reaction the first time," he told me.

He had a servant lead me to the entrance infront of the throne room where Grisha were all standing together talking, I looked bland in my clothes compared to their luscious, colourful keftas.