Me and the Devil - a darklina fanfic

Chapter 2

A week passed by without Alina seing the Darkling. Her days were full of meetings, combat training and summoning lessons. Everyday was the same. She was so exhausted that she always fell asleep as soon as her head touched the silky pillow. She was the general of the second army now. She had duties. Alina wondered how The Darkling had been able to command the army for so many years without ever giving up.

That night, after a three hour long meeting with an ambassador from Shu Han, Alina finally got back to her quarters. She changed into a nightgown before slipping under the warm covers of her bed. They still held the cold scent of The Darkling, even though he hadn't slept in here for a while. Alina closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but it seemed that the gentle claws of night wouldn't take her tonight. She had too much to think about. Her thoughts were like a loud mumble in her head.

So, she grabbed a robe - a black one that was already in the wardrobe when she arrived here just above a week ago- and headed to the library. As she scrambled down the dark corridors of the Little Palace, Alina could have sworn the silence was so loud that her thoughts almost shut up. Almost.

She opened the large French doors of the library and made her way to her favorite side of the giant room: the cartography shelves. She had been a mapmaker in the first army. Not the best one, that much was clear, but the smooth drawings of the vast world had always fascinated her. She scanned the different books, until her eyes fell on a brown covered one. She picked it up and opened it, finding beautiful maps of West Ravka drawn on the yellowing pages.

Alina busied herself with this book for a few minutes, until her thoughts came back. Loud and unforgiving. "You're a greedy monster denied of a soul- a pathetic excuse of a man.", she violently closed the book after remembering those harsh words. She hadn't stopped thinking about them since they came out of her mouth a week ago. They were true. He was greedy, he was a monster. Then why did the mere reminder of them hurt so much?

Alina sighed, confused about her emotions. That's when she felt a prickly sensation at the back of her neck. He was there. She didn't look up to see him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Why are you here?", she asked, genuinely confused as to why he would want to see her after she insulted him. Again.

"You called to me. I answered." His voice sent shivers down Alina's spine. "Though I do not quite understand why you would. After all, I am nothing but a greedy man denied of a soul. A monster." said The Darkling. But his voice didn't drip with sarcasm, nor with lies like it usually did. He sounded tired. Exhausted, even.

"I... didn't call you on purpose." Alina didn't quite know what to say, the silence hung heavy between them. A few seconds passed with neither of them talking, and before it could turn uncomfortable, she decides to speak: "I had trouble falling asleep and thought the maps would help. I've always liked them. They tell stories of their own."

"Indeed, they do," continued The Darkling. "I traveled a lot when I was a boy. Maps were extremely precious. We had to study them carefully in order to avoid regions where raids were more likely to happen."

At that, Alina was rendered speechless. It was the first time he shared a part of his past with her, which troubled her for it made him look so human. He had said "we", and she immediately figured out that he was talking about Baghra. It had always been just him and her. Alone.

She was lost in thought, staring at the floor, pretending to inspect the little creases in the old wooden floor when in reality, she was imagining a young boy with a tuft of thick black hair and eyes full of wonder-

"Have you wed the sobachka yet?" Alina was startled by the question, but Nikolai had taught her to hide her emotions. So she did. "No, not yet. I don't see how this concerns you, but we still have to announce the engagement." Once again, Alina was revealing private informations, and she hated herself for it. She really needed to work on her lying skills. No, thought she. I am not a manipulative monster like him.