Be My Mistake | The Darkling A.U

chapter one

14 years before

"Aleksander, look!" I call out as we run through the dark green foliage. The breeze of the fall air kissing our cheeks leaving a blush of red with every moment we remain in the cold. We were trying to find a fountain he had been raving about all summer. Not once did he take me during those warm nights, telling me he knew it would be more memorable once nature matched its mood.

"Eudora, it's further, it's a fountain not a lake." The young boy shakes his head at me, stopping to catch his breath.

"Can we pretend it's the fountain? We've been running for ages. My feet are killing me." I whined, not even caring if I sounded like a baby in the moment.

"We're almost there, trust me Eudora, we will reach it right before nightfall, it will be perfect."

"If you say so."

Now

"Why is it that everything is more comforting in the dark of night?" I turn to my best friend, sitting against the lip of the fountain. Watching the leaves dance with the wind.

"Well, I believe it's because no one can see one's faults in the darkness. It's blinding, you believe it will all make sense when the light awakes, even when you know you're only your truest self at night." Aleksander adjusts his coat.

"Wow, didn't realize you were such a poet Sir Morozova." I let out a light giggle causing him to shake his head. "I'm not making a fool of you, Alek, I promise. You just have a way with words, it's almost hypnotizing."

This time he lets out a warm chuckle and shakes his head once again. "I think you're just lost in those pages my mother gave you, the lore that surrounds us, you find everything hypnotizing."

"I think it's just you." I pull him close and press my lips against his.

He lingers as I feel our surroundings getting darker. "I thought you were going to work on those shadows of yours." I whisper against his lips.

"I thought you preferred the dark?" I feel him twitch into a smirk.

I smile and step back "We should get home, before your mother accuses me of ruining her boy again."

He places my hood from my robe upon my head and chuckles. "You're the only one keeping me sane, with everything she's forcing me to learn, I'm going mad."

"You're just jealous I've learned to control it better than you." I tease him as we begin walking back.

"Eudora, my mother struggles to understand what your power is. There's no control if there's no results." He chuckles holding my hand close and rubbing it gently to help keep in the warmth.

"Maybe, you guys just aren't seeing the bigger picture, you're not seeing what I'm seeing." I whisper only audible enough for the two of us to hear as I glance behind me. "I don't think we're alone, Alek."

He quickly pulls me in front of him as we hear a rush of footsteps behind us. " Stop where you are." It was one of the King's men.

"Sir, we were just trying to make our way home. Nothing more." Aleksander's voice held more power than the man who was now in front of us. His hands were now resting on my shoulder and waist. He'd give a light squeeze every time the guard moved closer to us.

"You're a little close to the Palace, especially for the hour." His eyes were roaming both of bodies, His lingering on mine a little longer than one would appreciate. Aleksander must have noticed now that his coat was now covering the both of us from his stare.

"We just got a little lost, sir, like he stated, we are heading back home now." I speak up, not wanting him to believe he intimidated me, even if he did, just a bit.

He sighs " Just be careful when out during these hours, there's something dark going on that you don't want to get yourselves caught up in."

He heads back from where he came from as I let out a small laugh. "Something dark?"

Aleksander seemed to be unphased by this as he just starts walking. "We should get back, your father is probably wondering where you are."

"Please, he probably doesn't even realize I'm gone." I smile and turn to him realizing his demeanor still seemed off. "Are you alright?"

"Well that's why we need to get you back before he does realize." He completely avoids my question.

"I don't like that you're being quiet." I mumble and sigh.

He stops both of us and presses his hands against my cheeks, giving me a small kiss. "I just want to get you home safe, if they claim there is something dark going on, why would I want you to be around it, darling?"

"When did the darkness ever scare you?" I furrow my brows.

"The darkness doesn't scare me, the people who bring the darkness do."

"Well that's a bit ironic."

"Come on." He chuckles and starts walking, pulling my hand gently in his.

Aleksander has always been like this. He never would admit what concerned him, or if he felt uneasy about things. His mother claims it's his way of making those around him feel safer. I on the other hand believe it's to make himself feel this claim of safety.

When we were younger, he had a fear of water. He would do his best to avoid getting close to any surrounding sea, me on the other hand, loved everything about the water. But, when I'd ask to go, he'd always get just close enough to observe. Never close enough to feel the waves. He'd tried to convince me that it was to make sure I'd be safe. It was always the same "Eudora, you will manage to get yourself lost." or "Eudora, you will drown beneath the smallest wave if I'm not watching."

He needed to feel like a protector, which was understandable. He was all his mother had, all I have. While he was doing everything in his power to watch over us, I was doing everything to show him he didn't have to.

Although, with how things are changing here, maybe that wasn't the best decision.