White and black, light and dark, ying and yang. The concept of perfect balance in two opposites created to fit perfectly together.
That's not how real life works at all, though. Alina Starkov may have been the sun summoner: young, inexperienced, na...
And how could they not with the queen being so severely displeased at having the spawn of her self elected rival in close proximity to her favourite son. A horrifying influence on His Highhandedness, no doubt to be had about it!
But Nikolai Lantsov wasn't the sort to ask for permission and he wasn't taking "no" for an answer. In fact, the reason he had even issued his request to the royal family in the first place was to inform them of my new status at his side.
A status as a protected and valued property to the youngest legal member of the imperial bloodline.
Not only did this announcement make me impervious to any harm by the subjects of his majesty, but also to his majesty, as well as to his royal heir Tsarevich Vasily and to his ghastly wife, Tsaritsa Tatiana.
I was impervious to all.
All but Nikolai Lantsov, that was.
For, how could a prince ever commit to such an action without an ulterior motive behind it?
No matter how desperate I would be to escape his hold over me, I would never be able to evade his direct command now, without commiting treason under the watchful eyes of the imperial family.
So whatever argument was issued, the prince won it and I was made to put my affairs in order- pardon me, I meant prepare to be allocated. No longer would I reside with the other Grisha. Inside the ornately carved walls, inlaid with mother of pearl, that I had begun to reckognize as home. Instead, my quarters would be adjacent to his private chambers in his wing of the grand palace.
However, the prince insisted on personal female guards, who were not to be employed in his services, but in mine. They were stationed at my quarters to ensure no doubt ever arose about my reputation or saftey.
It was the least he could do, for I was now more than ever suspecting that he had me watched at least to some extent beforehand and had ruined all my previous plans of emancipation from the Generals control.
I wasn't foolish enough to believe I had exchanged one master for the other- I had simply acquired an additional one to the one already existing.
Speaking of him, months had passed after that fateful evening at the fete and strangely enough, my mother hadn't even once been gone since, which meant the General had neither. With summer approaching my birthday also arrived and I seized the opportunity. It was a quiet affair between Madraya and I, for I hadn't told anyone else about it.
The second in command, Ivan, was gone and the General lurked in the shadows, hiding his face from the world.
Though... I remembered his eyes that night. It was the first time I had seen him show an unadulterated emotion that I could trust, though his expression was petrified- statuesque. Cold rage painted his black eyes into violently churning unseas. They were filled with the same demonic creatures that were craving to tear humanitys wretched soul out. If one stared hard enough, the phantom picture of that bottomless abyss would burn itself into ones memory.
I was glad he was hiding his face from my sight.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
