When We Were Young

Eighty-nine:

Eighty-nine:

TW: This chapter deals with child loss. 

The Fold was in the desert of Fjerda. As close to the desert as one could get in a country that spent most of its time covered in snow, like Ravka, except for a few months out of the year. Every day, Alina was taken there, and she was lowered into the deep, dark ravine. She was given hiking supplies, a flash light, and drawing supplies so that she could sketch out maps. Then, as night fell (at least she thought that was the time---time had no meaning in The Fold) she would be pulled back and forced back to the palace only to do it all over again the next day.

"How is this taking so long?" Rasmus demanded. "You should have finished by now."

"I am trying my best, but The Fold is long and no one knows where the tunnels are."

"I thought you had maps, Miss Starkov. Some kind of an inheritance from your parents? Surely you must be using them."

Alina remembered Aleksander taking his lighter to them, and burning the maps to nothing before she had been kidnapped. "Well then, you're a fool," he spat at her, "perhaps if I leave you down there, you'll make better progress."

"You can't do that. The baby----"

Rasmus sneered at her. "What makes you think I care for one second about you and your illegitimate offspring, Miss Starkov? The only reason you are alive is so that I can get what I want. That's all."

"If something happens to the baby, I will make sure that you never get what you want."

Rasmus walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands. It made her flinch. He had shown no interest in her sexually, for that she was grateful, but she had seen the way he was with his servants. Once, he had beaten one of them with a riding crop simply because he had dropped something. He had yet to hit her, but she knew that there was always a chance, in the back of her mind.

She remembered Mal and Aleksander's warnings about him. Neither one had wanted her in the hands of the prince, and now here she was anyway.

Rasmus smirked at her. "Are you afraid of me, Miss Starkov? Good. Because that fear is what is going to keep you alive. You are the one that is in danger, not me, and you will complete my little mission. Or else, if you do not, I know a very, special, herbal tea that I can make you drink that will take care of your little whelps problem and then I can marry you without any scandal if I choose to."

Alina shivered. "Please, no."

"Then, find the tunnels, Miss Starkov. You have a month to do it."

Alina was dragged back to her room. She had a sleepless night, and then in the morning, her and Tamar along with a few servants went back to The Fold again. "This time," said Rasmus, who was also with them, "she doesn't come back up until she has found the tunnels."

Tamar opened her mouth to speak, and Alina thought she saw a flicker of anger in the woman's eyes. If she had an opinion on the matter, she did not speak it to the prince. Alina could not blame her. She had seen the prince's wrath with servants, and even though Tamar was no friend of hers, she would not wish that kind of pain on anyone.

"Good luck, Princess," Tamar said as she lowered her down into The Fold, "I'm sure you'll find exactly what the prince is looking for."

Alina shook her head. "I'm not a princess."

Then, she was lowered into the darkness again, and she started her journey through The Fold over. Her one comfort was, that if she was in The Fold, she wasn't being married off to Rasmus. He had not spoken of them getting married and his parents seemed to believe that she was working on some sort of elaborate gift for the prince that had to be completed before the wedding could take place. At least, that was what Rasmus had told her. She had no idea. She had not even been introduced to the king and queen of Fjerda and did not think it likely that she would be.

He had talked about her staying there. What would happen if she simply didn't go back when they tried pulling her up to the surface? She could stay and hide until someone else came for her. Or maybe the prince would leave her there to rot in the darkness, and that would be okay too as long as she didn't have to marry him.

Anything was better than that.

She was down there in the dark for so long, she had no idea how long it had been. Eventually there was only the light from her flashlight and the sketching of her pencil as she walked through the darkness. Alina walked further and further.

Perhaps, she thought, she could find the tunnels, and she could use them to get back to Ravka. Back to Aleksander....and they could go somewhere far, far away from the madness that had taken over her.

But then---like always----the tug came. The prince pulled her back up. Wordlessly, she was taken back up to the surface. The prince allowed her to go to her rooms long enough to get bathed and changed to wash off the grime of the day. Then, she was dressed in something presentable, and taken to his rooms.

The prince had a whole tea service ready and waiting for them. He sat across from her, calmly drinking scotch. "Well," said the prince, "another day of failure, Miss Starkov. I suspect you have too many external worries keeping you from your goal. You need a nice, relaxing cup of tea. Drink up."

Alina glanced from the tea to the prince. "Please sir----I'm. I don't need anything to drink."

"Are you trying to insult your fiancé, Miss Starkov? I set up a lovely tea for you to drink. If you aren't going to be appreciative, perhaps I should give you a lesson in being appreciative."

Alina flinched, remembering the servant and the riding crop. She took a seat across from him and drank the tea. She finished it slowly, with Rasmus watching her the entire time. When the cup was completely empty, she placed it in front of him.

"Good girl," said Rasmus, "Tamar, take the princess away, back to her room."

She was led back to her room, and she could feel her stomach cramping the whole way.