Her Balance | Nikolai x Reader x Darkling

~ Chapter 11 ~

Hello!!

Let's get into it.

First Person - Y/n

The white gravel path led us through the palace grounds, past the rolling lawns and follies, and the high walls of the hedge maze. Tolya, ordinarily so still and silent, squirmed in his saddle, his mouth set in a sullen line.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

I thought he might not answer, but then he said, "It smells like weakness here. Like people getting soft."

I shot a glance at the giant warrior, and said, "Everyone is soft compared to you, Tolya."

Tamar could usually be counted upon to laugh off her brother's moods, but she surprised me by saying, "He's right. This place feels like it's dying."

"You both are very comforting," I said as I turned towards Nikolai, "But I can't say I disagree."

"Maybe it is dying," replied Nikolai, "But it's in your hands to bring it back...I have to go start planning your promotion ceremony."

"Oh, Saints, do I really have to have another one?"

"Y/n, Ravka, and the world need to know the role that you're stepping into," said Nikolai, "Especially the Darkling. Showing of power is our greatest strength."

"Fine," I said before he kissed me on the cheek and headed back in the direction we came from. "Don't make it too grand!"

"No promises," yelled Nikolai and I just sighed. 

My heart beat slightly faster as we entered the wooded tunnel. The trees pressed in on us and, above, the branches wove together in a canopy of green. The last time I'd seen them, they'd been bare.

We emerged into bright sunshine. Below us lay the Little Palace.

I missed it, I realized. I'd missed the shine of its golden domes, those strange walls carved with every manner of beast, real and imagined. I'd missed the blue lake gleaming like a slice of sky, the tiny island not quite at its center, the white flecks of the Summoners' pavilions on its shore.

I could even see the little stream where the Darkling and I had spent so many mornings. 

 It was a place like no other. I was shocked to discover how much it felt like home.

But not everything was as it had been. First Army soldiers were stationed around the grounds, rifles on their backs. I doubted they'd do much good against a force of determined Heartrenders, Squallers, and Inferni, but the message was clear: The Grisha were not to be trusted.

"I wonder how they're going to react to a Grisha being the Commander," I said to my company, which was Mal, Alina, Tolya, and Tamar. "The First-ever joint-Commander."

"Some will agree, some won't," said Tamar, "You can't expect everyone to agree on everything. Society would be chaos."

"True, but I don't know if anyone will agree."

"We will," said Alina, "And I know that Nikolai will too."

"He's in love with her," said Mal, "She could say she wants to build a new palace called the Grander Palace, and he would agree."

"If I do become queen," I stated, "I am destroying the Grand Palace, and rebuilding something that's much more homely."

"I would love to see the King and Queen react to that," said Mal. 

"Me too."

We arrived where a group of servants dressed in gray waited on the steps to take our horses.