My Name Is Adela Kirigan (A Shadow and Bone Season 1 Fanfiction)

Chapter 23: Who The Hell Are You?

Adela Kirigan walked the halls towards the dinner, when suddenly she bumped into one of the soldiers. He walked with a slight limp. 

'Oh, my apologies!' she said hurriedly. 'I'm quite focused on getting to the dinner. I guess it's just not the same alone.' 

'You must always have guards near you,' he said with an accent that seemed quite strange to Adela. Maybe from the far reaches of Ravka, she guessed. She didn't know. She'd never been outside of the four walls and sprawling grounds of the Little Palace. She frowned. 

'I've never seen you around before.' She tilted her head slightly, then looked him up and down. 'Are you new?' He nodded, making her smile awkwardly. 'Somehow, there's something about you I can't quite put my finger on. Oh, well, I suppose that's just me. I guess you should head back to your post or something before your ranking officer finds you. I suppose he won't be too happy with you talking to a girl like me.' 

'And I suppose you're a princess?' There it was. She placed his accent then and there. It had to be somewhere from Kerch. She'd heard someone speak in the same similar accent before. 

'You're not from around here, are you?' 

'What gives you that impression?' he asked curtly.

'Your accent. Who the hell are you? For one thing, I know you're definitely not from Ravka, your accent isn't even from here. Plus, I've been watching you. You don't act like a soldier. Watching over your shoulder too much.' He took off the large cap. 

'Fine. My name is Kaz Brekker. I was sent here on a job to kidnap your friend the Sun Summoner, Alina Starkov. You are?' He said it in such a blasé manner that it sent a peal of laughter through her. 

'I'm sorry.' The shadows in the empty hall began to swirl, and Kaz noticed her black gloved hands twitching sharply. 'You will not touch Alina Starkov. If you do, know that it will be the last thing you do on this earth. Understood?' He nodded sharply, and just as quickly as they had come, the shadows disappeared. 'Good. We have an understanding. I take it you're leaving.' 

'Where is Alina Starkov?' 

'Not here. In fact, I'm not even sure where the General's taken her. Could be anywhere, I guess. I don't really know why my brother even fancies her. Alright. I suppose I should take my leave.' She turned and walked away, down the hall, but before she did fully walk out of sight, she turned again to him. 'It was a pleasure to meet you, Kaz Brekker.' She began to walk away, down the hall, but then he called out. 

'Wait!' She turned again, holding her hands together, clasping them. Those killer hands. He bet they were beautiful underneath the gloves, soft and manicured as a princess' hands should be. 'I didn't catch your name.' 

'Adela. My name Is Adela Kirigan.' She turned again. So graceful and lithe, like a ballerina. Even in the giant skirt, she still moved with the grace and poise of a true princess - even if she was Grisha. He couldn't think straight. The one thing on his mind was her. 

She kept walking down the halls, hearing the sounds of laughter and dishes clinking against each other. Not too far now, she thought. Just then, she turned down another empty corridor and Baghra opened a side door, stepping into the hall. 

'Baghra, what? What are you doing here?' 

'Come, child. No time to waste. I already have Alina with me.' She came to grab Adela's hand. 

'Mother, what is this about?' Adela asked without thinking. No one was supposed to know that Baghra was her mother - or Aleksander's, for that matter. She clasped her hand over her mouth. 

'We must hurry. You and Alina must leave tonight.' She noticed the look on Baghra's face, the look of panic and concern all meshed into one. 

'It's Aleksander, isn't it?' Adela stepped back in shock, her gloved hand fully covering her mouth. 'It can't be. Mother, you don't know him like I do. He's kind - he...' Baghra grabbed her free hand and pulled her into the same door that she came through, the thought escaping her mind. 

He only wants to change Ravka for the better. That's why he wanted Alina so badly. That's why he wanted the Sun Summoner.

But did he? Did he really want to utilise the Sun Summoner's powers for the good of Ravka, for the good of man and Grisha alike? Adela wasn't sure. At that moment, all of her loyalties as a Grisha, to King and country, to everything she'd ever known and believed in, it was all under question. All painfully brought out into the light. 

But all she knew was that... she'd never be prepared for what she'd learn next.