Baddie Alina and slightly better Darkling?
What if Alina and stayed the night of the winter fete instead of running away? What if she had chosen the Darkling over Mal? What if the Malina ship sank fast and the Darklina ship sailed?
All these charact...
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Sadly, I woke up early, still tired and disgruntled from the night before. I hadn't been able to sleep, thinking about today: the winter féte, where I would put on a spectacle, showing off my powers. Our powers, I reminded myself. The Darkling and I were doing it together, intertwining our shadows and light. We had practiced on the lawn the day before, but I still was nervous. It would be the first time everybody saw the full scope of my summoning. Genya was coming when it was time to get ready, so I might as well get some more sleep.
**
I woke up to the same thing I woke up to on my first day at the Little Palace. A door slammed shut and a voice like bells that I knew so well called out, "Have you even gotten out of bed yet? You're a mess!" I groaned.
"Genya! Ten more minutes, please?"
Someone sat on my bed and yanked the covers off roughly. A deep voice said, "Absolutely not, Miss Starkov."
I opened my eyes and yelped, scrambling to pull the covers back over my barely covered body. There he was, the Darkling, sitting on my bed, laughing. "Genya!" I yelled in a high-pitched voice. "Why is he in here?!"
She laughed. "Who am I to tell the General to quit doing anything? He's probably seen you in less clothes than that."
I glared at her. Over the past months, she had become more comfortable around the Darkling. I almost wish she hadn't because now she was insinuating all kinds of things about our sex life that weren't true. Actually, we didn't even have one. Although, I wouldn't be disappointed if we did. But, no matter what I wanted, we hadn't even kissed yet. Sad. Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. Depressing, really. We had come close, but it had never happened.
I hadn't even come close to getting the blankets back from the Darkling yet, so I glared at both of them, pulling my nightgown around my body and pouting. Until, of course, I had an idea.
I scrunched my nightgown a little bit farther up my thigh than I needed to, then crawled over to the Darkling. Jumping onto his lap, I straddled him, one knee on either side of him. Weaving my hands through his hair, I whispered in his ear, "Please? Please can I have my blankets back?"
Playing along, he put one hand on the back of my neck and one on the small of my back, and said in a low voice, "Convince me."
Genya, watching this with wide eyes, made a strangled sound in the back of her throat. We would mess around like this all the time, but Genya was the only one who knew that. Even so, she still died a little bit inside whenever she was present. We had grown close in the last few months, and we only did this behind closed and locked doors.
Considering this, I leaned back, which caused one strap of the nightgown to fall off my shoulder. I ran my fingers down his plain white shirt. I bit my lip, then looked at his lips, putting what hopefully looked like a nervous expression on my face. I flicked my gaze back up to his eyes, then back down to his lips. Leaning forward, I angled my lips toward his. Right before our lips touched, I sprang away, blankets in my grasp.
Genya squealed. I rolled to the other side of the bed, placing the majority of it between myself and the Darkling.
The Darkling was a little behind on the action, though. He was still sitting on my bed with a dazed expression on his face. He shook himself, then stood up. "Uh-uh, Miss Starkov. It doesn't work like that. I'm supposed to be tempting you, not the other way around. You're gonna pay for that." Before he finished his sentence, he lunged across the bed.
Giggling, I ran across the room to the door. I knew he wouldn't act like this outside my room, so I was fully prepared to run out of the room and down the halls if it kept him from catching me. I was aware that he fully intended to make me pay for doing that to him. Right as I reached the door, however, strong hands grabbed me, squirming, and flung me over a shoulder. I tried everything. Hitting his back, attempting to roll off his shoulder, trying to tilt him off balance. That surprisingly worked because I threw my weight toward my bed and he fell. We landed on the bed laughing, him on top of me. Still struggling, I tried to get out from under him, but he pinned me down, laying on top of me. At that, I gave up.
"Okay, Genya. What do we do with her?"
Dying of laughter, Genya barely managed to get out, "Put her... in.. the BATH!!"
My eyes opened wide at this. Seeing this, the Darkling laughed. "We must not have mentioned it, but we have a bath ready for you." He grabbed my waist and scooped me into his arms. Accepting my fate, I stared dolefully at the bathroom door as it got closer and closer. We entered the bathroom, with its marble tile and shell mosaics. The Darkling walked over to the sunken bath and tossed me in, nightgown and all.
I landed with a splash. Determined to get him back, I sulked for a second, then unexpectedly launched myself out and wrapped my arms around him. Caught off guard, he tripped and I pulled him in.
He came up from under the water spluttering and gasping. He looked at me with wide eyes, like he couldn't believe that I had gotten him in the bath. It was a big bath, so there was plenty of room for both of us.
Still shocked, he looked at me and said, "You didn't."
"I did," I confirmed. His expression changed slightly, and, noticing this, Genya made an excuse to go get her stuff so I could start getting ready and left the room, closing the door behind her.
His shirt clung to his body, accentuating the strong lines of his chest and stomach. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes on his face, and clearly, he was having the same problem, because his eyes were not on my face. They were nowhere near my face, in fact. He cleared his throat, and then started to say something, but was interrupted by Genya flying through the bathroom door. "Guys, sorry to interrupt your moment, but I just checked the time, and we gotta get ready!"
I sighed, and the Darkling rolled his eyes, but he climbed out of the tub and started drying himself with a towel. Genya cleared her throat and not so subtly gestured for the Darkling to get out of the bathroom. He looked at me with realization, then laughed and strolled out the door, towel still around his shoulders.
I yelled after him, "Don't you dare get my carpet wet!!"
He called back, "I'll get a lot more than your carpet wet!" before I heard the door shut and his footsteps retreat down the hall.
Sighing, I looked at Genya. "That man is so fine."
She looked at me carefully. "He is, but promise me something. I know I joke around a lot when he's around, but still. I want you to be careful."
"Of what?" I asked, looking up at her.
"Powerful men."
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