Shadows and The Sea - The Darkling

Ongoing Tension & Aleks Caring

Third POV

It's been a couple weeks since the incident with Baghra and since Percy and Aleksander shared a bed. The palace was buzzing with preparations for the upcoming Winter Fete in a few weeks.

Ever since that day, Percy has been steering clear of Baghra and opting to spend time in the anatomy rooms with Fedyor. The Coporalki were wary of her since the appearance of the Minotaur with little explanation but slowly started to mind their own business.

That was something Percy was grateful for. Unlike Etherealki, Coporalki knew how to keep their noses out of other people's business. Of course they were curious and cautious but they didn't stare and whisper like she was a zoo attraction.

Fedyor was gratuitous and taught Percy the nuances of the body after he was comfortable with her basic knowledge. Their time in the rooms was probably one of the only times Percy actually enjoyed learning something akin to school.

When they weren't in the anatomy rooms, they took strolls around the grounds as well. Every so often Genya would join them as well if she had time away from the Queen and if Alina was busy.

No, Percy hadn't spoken to Alina. Frankly, she was slightly frightened that if she did, Alina would still be scared of her and want to completely cut ties with her. She didn't want one of her best friends to see her as a monster forever.

Genya was understanding for the most part. She let the two work their situation out in their own time but couldn't help but bring the other up in conversation every once in a while. She saw how sad the other was without each other and wanted them to make up but she knew that she couldn't just lock them in a room together, no matter how much she wanted to.

Without Percy's company, Alina started to spend more time with Nadia and Marie. They were always around and Alina grew lonely when Genya wasn't able to be around, so she gravitated towards the companionship they offered. 

The only awkward times were during meal times and training. Since all the Grisha ate together and Percy and Alina were originally seated next to each other, Nadia and Percy switched so Percy was on the outside. After everyone was done eating, Alina would stay a little longer and Percy would either go straight to her room or out to the training ground to hack at the dummies.

The void Alina left started to take its toll on Percy over the days. Her bad nights started to come more frequently with a mixture of the normal Tartarus memories but her fears of Alina believing she was truly a monster. She had started to use a strip of fabric she asked Genya for and gag herself so her unconscious yells wouldn't leak through the walls. When she would wake up in the middle of the night, she would normally go to Alina's room but now she goes out to take out her emotions on the dummies.

Unbeknownst to her, two dark eyes would watch her every few nights when they were up late as well. They watched as the daughter of Poseidon hacked away at the training dummies until they were left in shreds and she had to move on to another.

It had been some time since Aleksander and Percy had time to talk. With things escalating in West Ravka and the northern border, as well as Nina missing and the damn Winter Fete coming up, he had been rather busy. Every time he saw her, he felt his heart ache just a little and his head hurt.

After the second week of seeing Percy on the training grounds while almost everyone else in the Little Palace was asleep, he decided to have a chat with her in the morning.

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Aleksander's POV

I was sitting at my desk checking the last correspondence Nina Zenik had sent when Fedyor came into the room.