Call Out My Name

Paint It Black

Hello there lovelies, Eugenia here!

Just wanted to share my struggle with this chapter. The number of times I have edited it, took parts out, or added more on was a hard one. This is the longest chapter by far (and yes this fanfiction is actually already written, I am just in the editing process), so I had a few days where I would always end up coming back to this chapter and would edit it until I felt like it was satisfactory enough.

I hope you like it, I struggled a lot with this one. It was easy to write, but then again the first draft was ok until I started to question everything and edited it at least 5 times. 

Enjoy some more DARKlina. ;)

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"I know I put it here," Alina said as she rummaged around all the papers and maps on the table. "I know it."

"It's okay, it's not that important; if not, we will draw another one," Nikolai told her.

"No!" She snapped and then shook her head as if she came back to her. "The one I drew was perfect; I can't do it a second time. And I also don't want to waste time on the same thing. My hand hurts from restoring all the missing parts on the thorn maps anyway."

"Maybe it stayed in the mess that was once a war room," Genya said, face between hands. She looked tired, bored, and uninterested. "I will go check over there," she said as she stood up and stretched. "Otherwise, I might fall asleep."

"Here," Nikolai indicated towards her and gave her more papers. "Bring these to David first; they are more important."

"Ugh," Genya rolled her eyes as she took the stack of papers.

"Don't pretend like you aren't happy to see him," Nikolai told her as he smirked. "Now you have an excuse to go bother him."

Genya turned to leave the room as she murmured under her breath. Meanwhile, Alina looked like a madman trying to find the map she drew of the orphanage and the connecting roads to it. It was important to her and the others to know how and when to evacuate if the occasion were to come. She hoped it wouldn't.

"Would you give it a break already?" Nikolai sighed as he rubbed his face. His hair was sticking in all directions. His uniform crumpled from all the sitting and shifting in it for the past day. "You are making a bigger mess than it already is."

"What is going on?" Mal asked as he entered the room and looked back at Genya in passing, still mumbling to herself.

"Alina lost the map she drew of the orphanage, and she is freaking out," Nikolai filled him in as he pointed to Alina, who was still concentrated on the task and ignored them both. Nikolai was sure she hadn't noticed Mal coming in; heck, she wouldn't even notice the roof falling on her. She was that concentrated.

"You mean the one she is currently stepping on?" Mal asked as he indicated with a finger. Nikolai straightened in his chair only to take a glance at her feet and see that Alina was indeed stepping on the map she was so vehemently looking for. He slumped back in his chair with a sigh and nodded.

"Yeah, that one."

Mal kneeled down, removed her foot from the paper, and stood before her.

"This is the thing you're looking for?"

Alina turned to him and studied the paper in his hands.

"Yes!" She exclaimed and looked cheerfully at him. "Thank you; it's good that you have a natural talent for finding things."