The Tsar, The Princess And The Tailor

Hell Hath No Fury...

Watching them in the garden had been fun, at first. Until she saw them lay down, side by side. And then, Alina was taken back. She could still feel the wheat scratching gently at her skin, could still feel Mal's fingers inch towards hers like metal to a magnet. She couldn't help but hope they would do the same as she watched them. It didn't happen but the image stunned her, nonetheless. Genya excused herself too but Alina saw that she was crying before she could get very far, running over to pull her into a tight hug that they'd both needed.

At least, she knew that out there in the world, Mal was living his life and hopefully happy. David...

David was gone.

That night, she curled up in bed, drifting into a memory of Mal with her. His arm round her stomach, his breaths forcing goosebumps over her naked back, his scent. It was enough to break a person. And break she did.

When morning came, her eyes still hurt from all the tears. Genya used her powers to temporarily hide this the best she could and then Alina was off on a mission. She needed to find Ixora, again. Maybe it was too early, maybe she was wrong about the feelings they held for each other but she saw no wrong in telling her that she and Nikolai had no romantic  attachment whatsoever. At least then, she would know. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like if she'd ever lost Mal. She'd known they were meant to know each other from the very day they met, as did he...

Perhaps because he was the Firebird. But maybe it was more than that. Hope was all she had left to hold, now.

If these two were anything like they had been, then Ixora deserved to know Nikolai was utterly untethered. Maybe then, she might feel more comfortable with his flirty nature. Alina only wanted to see him happy. See them both happy. Like she had been, once.

I will save myself.

Being without Mal was hard but like Ixora, she had learnt to weather it. Friends certainly helped but so did the assurance within herself that she could survive anything. Playing cupid was a welcome distraction from the circling memories, though.

"Ixora! Finally, I find you... I see Nikolai gave you one of the best bedrooms in the castle. A wise decision, I'd say."

It was true. The room was covered in shades of gold, even the bedspread. She felt extremely uncomfortable with such an outrageous show of luxury but who was she to turn down the hospitality of the king and queen? At least, she'd planned that once she'd memorised the throbs of his heartbeat and distinguished it from the others, he might be close enough that it would be possible to check in on him from time to time. If being in a room this fancy meant that was more possible, so be it.

"You and your hus-"

"Fiancé."

"Fiancé are very kind, Alina. And may I just say, you used your gift well. You are zowa and truly, you are blessed. I do not know what it took to get this far in a world like ours... But you deserve every happiness."

Alina couldn't help but smile, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "I'm surprised I haven't heard the words Sankta Alina from your mouth all this time. The Zemeni believe in saints, too, from my experience. A pleasant surprise, of course - it got me out of a large scrape. I sort of... Hate the whole... Uh... Thing. There's perks, sure but I'd rather the world see me as a person, not build statues and stainless glass windows to honour me."

"I agree that you deserve respect for what you did. Honour, certainly. But the amount of veneration can be startling, sometimes. My little kingdom has a saint, too. He was an ancestor of my family. And even now, generations down the line, I am bowed to for work I did not do. I suppose everybody wants something to believe in."