𝑺𝒎𝒐𝒌𝒆 | 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑲𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒙 𝑶𝑪

Twenty-Three

I take a break for a day and I come back to 30,000 READS!!!! THANK YOUUUU :)))

updates will be short for the next few days, school :(

She woke up in her bedroom, the familiarity was welcomed.

She couldn't be quite comfortable though, she had been shot in the stomach, not the head, so she remembered everything. She remembered the feeling of the metal bullet ripping its way through her abdomen, the icy cool of a blade to her throat, the feeling of the person who held that blade against her, the way the cool was replaced by heat when his lips replaced the blade.

Part of her felt sick for liking it.

She was no longer wearing the dress from the night before, she was instead wearing some fancy pajamas that were put in her closet that she never wore. They were soft but stiff, not her personal choice.

She sat up and expected pain but when she looked at the spot there was no injury. Clearly, some healers had gotten to her.

Jolana could hear people talking outside her door, there was a higher voice, and if she focused she could figure out that it was Alina.

"I'll be loads more reassuring than literally nobody there! She going to wake up alone," Alina groaned, "I don't want to do this Maksim. I'm the Sun Summoner," she groaned again, "Let me in for saint's sake!" it seems they yielded because Alina walked in.

"Hey there, Sunny," Jolana said weakly. Alina ran over and basically tackled Jolana. 

"Are you okay?" Alina asked hurriedly, stepping back to inspect her.

"I'm okay, they took care of me," Jolana said with a small smile, pulling Alina back in for another hug, holding her close.

"Okay, tell me what happened," Alina sat down on the bed, "I just woke up, and one of my guards broke the news to me, I ran over as fast as I could," 

"It's a long story, quite a party," Jolana sighed, thinking back to the night before, "Should I start from the beginning?"

"There's that much?"

"Well yeah," Jolana looked down at her hands, "So after you and Genya left, I got sort of lonely so I went to the war room..."

"The room... outside General Kirigan's bedroom?" Alina raised an eyebrow

"Anyways, he was really nice,"

"Awwwww," Alina shimmied, "Told you he liked you," Alina teased

"Then he tried to kill me,"

"What?" Alina's eyes bugged out of her head

"Then we made out," 

"What?" her eyes stayed big but her eyebrows quirked

"Then I threatened him back,"

"Jolana slow down," Alina put a hand on Jolana's arm

"Then we almost made out some more, but we got interrupted by the whole intruders thing,"

"We haven't even gotten to the part where you got shot," Alina leaned her head on Jolana's shoulder

"I was supposed to meet up with you, but I took the longer route. It was stupid but I needed a minute after everything. A Fjerdan man shot me from behind, he shot me again, then I dealt with him,"

"Did you- Nevermind you just woke up of course you wouldn't have heard. It wasn't just the Fjerdans or the Shu. There was a group of rebels, a mixed group. They received help from their countries but they banded together so we couldn't fully blame either side for it. They were trying to get rid of me," Alina looked up at Jolana with shame in her eyes

"Well if they were able to get in that easily they need better security,"

"Are we going to talk about Alek- General Kirigan doing what he did?"

"Is it bad I understand?"

"Why he would want to kill you?"

"I guess, he explained himself a bit and I sort of understand. Someone in his position can't have strings,"

"Do you think there are strings?"

"I think what happened last night turned the material of the strings from yarn to steel,"

There was large weight to her statement. Silence was the only seemingly appropriate response. 

"Jolana..."

"Yes, Sunny?"

"You're one of my only real friends at the moment, now that I don't have Mal. Don't go getting yourself killed,"