Don't Blame Me - Aleksander Kirigan

Chapter V

The Library 

We made it to the Little Palace and my, my, my is it pretty here. "You two will be safe here. The palace is the most secure building in the whole country. I made sure of it." Aleksander said and directed us to the left, where guards stood. "Take Miss Starkov to vezda suite. Miss Crowe, follow me." He said and I went towards him instead of standing with Alina. "Am I a prisoner?" Alina asked, making me roll my eyes subtly. "All of Ravka is. Until you and I banish the Fold." Damn, he is mysterious. He then walked away and I quickly followed. "Where are we headed?" I asked him, making him look down at me with a mischievous look. "I'm taking you to your room." I looked up at him confused. "Why not let the guards do it?" "I'm their General, why not do it myself?" I chuckled at how vague he spoke. "Something funny, little witch?" He asked and I thought of something. Because me being me, I cannot go without making jokes. "You know, if you wanted me in bed, all you had to do was ask." I said back to him with a big smirk. 

His eyes widened and he came to a stop in his tracks. "I-" He tried to speak, making me laugh. "I'm joking with you, Aleksander." Not. "I know you're just trying to be polite." I wish he wasn't. He chuckled nervously and nodded. "Of course." We looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, until he cleared his throat and we continued walking to my room. This time, we walked in silence, but a comfortable silence. "Here it is." He said and opened a door. I went inside the room and looked around, absolutely fascinated by the large room that was decorated in neutral colors. "My room is down the hall, then right, then at the end of that hallway. If you need me." I heard him say, making me turn around and smile at him. "Thank you, Aleksander." He nodded once and then left, closing the door behind him. I was looking around the room for a few minutes when suddenly four women came into the room. 

"Start with cleaning her." A dark-skinned woman said and the others motioned for me to follow them. I was so confused to what was happening. "Undress please, and get in the tub." One of the women spoke, and I did. I was confused, but I did what they said. "Who are you people?" I asked as I sat down in the tub. The dark-skinned woman came into the room. "My name is Sabrina Lankov. I am your Tailor." "You're a Grisha Tailor? Amazing." I said as the other ladies started cleaning my arms. "Why am I being cleaned?" I asked. Not that I don't want to be clean, just why have other people do it. "You need to be presentable for the King and the General, of course." Mostly Aleksander. "Well, thank you." I said to them all. I got small smiles back from the ladies and a nod from Sabrina. "I'm Lucille Crowe, by the way. It's nice to meet you." 

---

After they finished, the ladies left and Sabrina stayed. She sat me down in a chair and opened a box. There was a lot of different things in there. "What will happen now?" I asked her, curious to see what will happen. "Now, we do your make up. Any preferences?" I smiled and nodded. "Red has always been my color." I said and her eyes lit up in excitement. "I'll make you the prettiest in the whole Little Palace." Sabrine said, making me smile. "So, is it true? Are you really the Scarlet Witch?" I shrugged and shook my head. "I really don't know, Sabrina. I wish I did." She used the Tailor abilities to put on some color on my lips. "Well, if you want to learn more, you have the library at your disposal. I'm sure you could find something there about your power. Just be aware of the Apparat. He's the King's spiritual adviser and quite the nutcracker. He's a bit weird." I chuckled at her words and nodded. "Would you mind showing me where the library is?" I asked her as she finished up her work. She nodded and told me to get dressed. They haven't gotten me  a kefta yet, so I just dressed in some common clothes. 

After I was dressed, Sabrina showed me to the library and then we parted ways. I started looking around for anything about me. It was really quiet in here. I guess not many have the time to actually read. "I knew you'd show up here eventually." A voice said, making me quickly turn around, holding my hands up, ready to attack and showing my powers. I was met with a man dressed in priests clothing. "I'm called the Apparat. Welcome to the Little Palace, witch." He said and took a deep breath. I put my hands back down, relaxing as I now know who he is. "Follow me. I have just what you want to see." He said and walked away, making me quickly follow him. He stopped at a big table and opened a book that was already laying on the table. "I had this prepared as I knew you would show eventually." He said and pointed into the book. "This book is entirely about the Scarlet Witch. Everything ever believed and told about her, well, you, is in here." He said and pushed the book to me. 

"You can take the book, Miss Crowe. I think you'll need it on your journey." He said and smiled at me. "But I think there's something you need to see right away." He said and flipped through the book until he got to the page he wanted to be on. Then he placed the book in front of me and pointed to where I needed to read. I quickly read through it and it made my eyes go wide. "No." I mumbled out and looked at the Apparat. "It can't be. This must be wrong." He shook his head and spoke. "It's all entirely true. This is your destiny. You are destined to be the soulmate to the first Shadow Summoner you meet." Fuck... I'm so screwed. 

A/N: Here it is! As promised!! Chapter 5 and two chapters in one day because I missed yesterday. Something I forgot to say last chapter, thank you for ALL THE READS. You are all amazing and I love you all so much. I hope you'll continue to stick around for the coming chapters and through the whole book. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Sorry for the cliffhanger btw... Oops...