No Winter Can Last Forever (O.C x The Darkling)

s e v e n

Amadora stared at herself in the mirror, searching and scanning her body for any imperfections that may ruin her appearance for the king. As much as she hated the monarch, it was important to look impressive and perfect for him. Impressions meant everything. The King liked beautiful things, almost every woman in the Little Palace knew of this, but to defy him would be grounds for treason.

After brushing her formal kefta once again, more vigorously this time, Amadora set off to join Genya and Alina in their preparations for the demonstration. What she did not expect was to see Genya and her team standing outside the Vezda Suite banging on the door.

"Genya? Why haven't you started?" She asked, approaching her quickly.

The brash girl huffed loudly, airing out her frustrations immediately, "She's barely awake Amie, and I can't get her to open the door, we don't have much time!-"

"Shh hey it's alright," Amadora stroked Genya's face, taking on the comforting motherly role that came so easily to her, "Alina! It's me Amadora, we need you to unlock the door!" She shouted, banging her fist on one of the wooden panels.

Within a few seconds, Alina flung open the door, still as dishevelled as she had looked upon arrival. Genya took this window of opportunity and forced her way through the opening, dragging her team behind her.

Alina's eyes met Amadora's with a soft but concerned look, more culture shock than anything else. Alina's mouth opened to speak an apology for the night before but Genya took her away before any words could form.

Genya's eyes danced around Alina's entire being, taking note of everything that needed to be attended to, "All Saints, have you ever bathed? And what happened to your face?"

"Genya!" Amadora scolded, "Fjerdans happened--" Her fellow red-haired Grisha nodded her head, relaxing her eccentric stature only slightly to please Amadora. She snapped to the servants, "Draw a bath. A hot one. I'll need my kit, and get her out of those clothes".

Amadora stood by, her shoulders tensing as her past memories forced their way into her current thoughts. Too much of what they were doing to Alina was the same, she couldn't let that happen to someone else, "Hey!" She shouted, shoving her body in-between the now bare Alina and the servants. She could see their hesitancy while shifting between two of their superiors, though one sitting higher than the other. "We are going to slow down, I know we are all in a hurry for the king but it is unfair to treat Alina as if she were a child. Now with some of that delicacy, we have been working on, Genya?" Amadora grabbed a towel off the chair to her right and handed it to Alina, with a smile before removing herself as the boundary, allowing Genya to introduce herself.

"My name is Genya--" She spoke much slower as if she were speaking to a child but to Amadora's pleasure Genya used the delicate tone they had been practicing, "--In less than an hour, you will be presented to the King and it is my job to make you look presentable".

Alina's darted past Genya's beautiful face and landed on Amadora's. A sort of energy drawing her to the enigmatic woman standing a few feet away. She was awaiting Amadora's confirmation in terms of meeting the king.

She nodded her head slowly, confirming Genya's words to Alina who could only grip out an "Oh".

Genya snapped her fingers, bringing Alina back to the girl in front of her, "Yes, 'oh'. So, shall we?" She gestured her arms out to the bathroom and as soon as Alina gave the confirmatory nod Genya's hands clapped loudly, the servants swirling around quickly. With everyone now in the bathroom, cleaning up and attending to Alina, Amadora ran her gloved hands against the ornate furniture. Her mind couldn't help but reminisce with the deja vu feeling coursing through her veins. It all felt too familiar, the aggressive servants, Genya barking orders, even the room had once been hers. Though it had been ages since that day she arrived, it still occasionally felt like she was a child again. She could see so much of her younger self in Alina, though she seemed to have better vocal self-control than Amadora did at that age.