Aleksander Morozova Imagined

Running Part 2

Summary: The heartrender, Lydia Stepanova, has fallen off of the cliff into the ocean to be saved by a certain privateer and the darkling can't cope. Takes place before the first shadow and bone book. Spoilers for Seige and Storm 

The Darkling's eyes scan the water. Bubbles and ripples have formed in the wake of Lydia's fall. His heart feels as though it is in his throat as he silently pleads with the saints for her to not be dead. He mutters prayers under his breath as he looks over the ledge. He prays to any saints left that would listen to a doomed soul. He begs them to save her to not let his mistakes end in other loved ones' death. But as he searches he feels as though there are no saints left to hear him.  Or perhaps they feel he deserves this after all the pain he has caused. Take it out on me, not on Lydia he bargains but to no avail. There is no sign of the young heartrender. He was so close and he pushed too hard. Asked for too much and now she was gone because of his greed and carelessness. That was what the saints would tell him but their cries fall on deaf ears as the last part of Aleksander's pure heartbeat then converted to stone with the rest of it. 

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Lydia's POV

It's cold and dark. Bubbles dance around me. Pain so much pain. I try to breathe but liquid fire fills my lungs suffocating me. I'm sinking, the weight of the water a harsh caress against my skin. Crimson blood trickles out of my wound and floats in the murky water. The silver from the knife glints in the rays of the sun that has pierced the water surface. This is how I die, alone and forgotten. Nothing left to be remembered by. Still, death is better than what would have happened with the darkling. I twist trying to swim towards the surface. But my limbs refused to cooperate and I end up just making ripples. My vision grows fuzzy and dim.  My lungs feel as though they are being crushed under the weight of a thousand hammers as I sink deeper into the depths of the ocean. 

"Death is only the next adventure should one's mind be open enough." I try to scoff only inhaling more water. Onto the next great adventure then, it surely can't be worst than the last. I close my eyes waiting for death to take me. When I feel a tug at my wrist as I'm hauled back towards the surface. Not able to look death in the face my eyes remain closed. The darkness giving way to light. Soon arms circle around my waist and I'm is dragged to the surface at a faster rate. My head lolls to the side coming to rest on death's shoulder. 

The shoulder is muscular to my surprise. I had always thought death to be boney, not muscular. Then again one would have to be fit to catch runaway souls, I supposed. "Kenna! Get here now!" I hear death's shouts but the voice does not sound like death. No, it sounds familiar like somebody I used to know. Maybe that was a way to keep souls from running. I had no intention of running far too tired to do so. After all, I had spent the better part of the month running. But I have spent my whole life running, running from drüskelle, running from the creepy king, running from the darkling. The more I thought about it the more I realized how much running I'd done. I ran from my responsibilities, ran from the pressures, ran from the world. 

Saints, above I'm so sick of running. I won't run, not from death, not from the darkling, not from the king, not from the saints. I refuse to be a coward any longer. I felt a pulling on my chest and I open my eyes before coughing up water. Someone held my hair back as I spluttered and coughed seawater onto the wooden deck. The deck of a ship I realized. A hand soothingly rubbed up and down my back. "Are you ok love?" that familiar voice asked. Concern lacing their words. I nod sitting back on my heels. When I look up I'm is surrounded by a group of concerned faces. One stands out above the rest. "Koyla?" I croak. Nikolai's worried expression melts into his usual cocky grin. 

"Welcome back to the land of the living Lyds," He responds casually before turning to a large shu man with close-cropped hair. "Toyla fetch her a blanket. And the rest of you back to your post!" He commands. Quickly they all scurry off like rats to follow their captain's commands. My eyes scan the deck. Two tidemakers and squallers work together to quickly pull the ship away from here. They were not wearing keftas, they must be rogues. A towel is draped around my shoulders by the large shu man from before, Toyla, I thank him. 

"Why don't we get you inside," Nikolai suggests. I can only nod numbly as he leads me towards the captain's quarters. Once inside Nikolai locks the doors as I take in my surroundings. The cabin is spacious with a comfortable bed and long desk covered in papers and sketches. "I thought I told you not to come for me," I scold. Nikolai shakes his head imitating my voice, "why thank you, Nikolai. Without you I would be fish food, thank you for saving my life." I roll my eyes at his antics.  

"Your welcome Lydia, I just couldn't leave a fair damsel in distress, especially one as fair as you," He responds to himself, winking at me. I refrain from rolling my eyes again. "Thank you," I tell him earnestly. "But you shouldn't have," I repeat. 

"As I said I won't leave you to the mercy of a deranged general." 

"That's still sweet but idiotic." 

"I don't care. What matters is that your safe and the darkling doesn't have his hands on you." 

"For how long? How long till he realizes I didn't drown and he comes looking for me? It's not safe Nikolai." 

"You were never safe! At least here you're protected. Here I can protect you," Nikolai shouts. I'm stunned into silence. Nikolai had never yelled like that before, I'm not sure what to do. He runs his hands through his hair exhaling sharply. I take a timid step forward before tackling him in a hug. The momentum knocks him back and we fall on top of his bed. It takes him a few heartbeats for his arms to wrap around me. I burrow my face into his chest breathing his scent in deeply. 

Nikolai smells like saltwater and pine mixed with sweat. He rubs a hand up and down my back in a soothing motion. "You're safe Lydia. I promise," He whispers, pressing a soft kiss to my head. We stay there for what feels like a far too little amount before I pull away and help him stand back up. "Thank you Koyla. I don't know what I'd do without you," I say a stray tear running down my face, He wipes it away. "You'd drown without me," He mocks his normal bravado returning. I huff out a laugh lightly punching him in the chest. He pulls me into his side as another half hug. 

"So where to now?" I ask. He looks at me shrugging. "Well, preferably somewhere the darkling can't get to you." 

"So somewhere out west?" I guess. 

"How do you feel about the ports of ketterdam?" He questions 

I beam up at him, "I've always wanted to see ketterdam." He smiles back at me. "To ketterdam it is then." He lets go of me, walking out of his quarters and back up to the deck. I stand there shivering in my drenched clothes for a moment before Tamar comes in with a pile of clothes. "These are for you," She says handing me the clothes. I thank her and she gives me a curt nod. As she leaves she shuts the doors giving me privacy to change. The shirt is a bit big and I figure it must be Nikolai's or one of the other male crew members, but I don't care the dry clean clothes feel heavenly after being on the run for so long. 

The ship rocks and I lose my balance stumbling a bit. I take a step towards the doors and fall as the ship sways even more. I grunt, how does Nikolai make this looks so easy. I continue the pattern of stepping and falling before I make it onto the deck, leaning against the rail for support. I breathe in the salty air and shut my eyes as the sun heats up and drys my hair. Safe at last. 

Hey guys! 

I'm alive. I know some of you might be wondering why I deleted my previous published works, my account got hacked and I kept getting these weird calls so I had to delete everything sort that stuff all out. But now that it's all good I can publish and update again. Woohoo! So this is part two as requested. As always don't be afraid to comment, vote, or do anything to interact it means the world to me. I hope you all like this chapter and lmk if you want a part three or if you have any other requests! I am working on A Sea of Shadows and Memories right now and it should be published soon, so keep a lookout for that. Just a heads up school will be starting back up soon so I won't be able to update as much but I will try to as much as I can. Hope you have a wonderful day/ night! I'll see you next time! 

-K