2 | flatline [darkling]

thirteen

AFTER TWO WEEKS OF trekking through Fjerda and across Ravka as she walked through the streets of Os Alta, her heart felt at peace. She had missed it so much. The bustling markets, the locals walking around, the merchants and nobles traveling in their carriages. Usually when she walked around here, she would have her guards with her, but things were different not.

"Are you from far?" A lady asks as Nyx stops at her stand to admire the jewels.

"Not quite." Nyx answers cryptically as she keeps scanning over the jewels. She stops as she notices a necklace with a red pendant, black lines twirling around it.

"I see you've noticed our most priced one. It's in honour of Second Army's Second in Command." The lady says, making Nyx look up at her in bewilderment. "A year ago, she started the Civil War and not so long ago she disappeared. No one knows of her location, not even the people who had been fighting by her side."

"So, what has been done about it?" Nyx asks curiously.

"Well, some presume that she left because she knew she could not win against the Darkling and died trying to cross the Fold. But most people believe she was murdered by either the Darkling or someone else. Not many people believe it's the Darkling though, since he's been searching for her this whole time." The lady explains, making Nyx take in a deep breath. "But even though she started a Civil War, for many years she stood and kept the country safe with the Darkling. So, I made the necklace to honour her."

"That's very kind of you. I'm sure she would appreciate it." Nyx hums, feeling flattered by the kindness of the woman, who was unaware she was talking to the Second in Command. "Has there been any mentions of if the Darkling is close to finding her?"

"None at all. Most of it has been kept confidential." The lady explains, making Nyx nod in understanding.

"Well, thank you for sharing this story with me." Nyx muses in appreciation and the lady nods gratefully. Nyx walks away from the stand and slowly continues walking towards the Little Palace.

Did she have a plan now that was here? Yes. Could it go wrong? Possibly. But she had lost already so much at this point. The Fjerdans would be here in a less of a week, so left her just enough time to gather her friends and get as far as possible from the Little Palace.

As she continues to admire the streets of Os Alta it pained her somewhat to know that it would soon be covered with bloodshed. It had always been a safe place for her, a place to get back to after having been fighting battles that could have had her die multiple times. And as the gates to Little Palace comes into view, she lets out a sigh and smiles sadly to know that this could possibly end up being destroyed.

But she had made her choice and with one last deep breath, she makes her way to gates. As she gets closer she watches in amusement as the guards look at her with suspicion. Of course if she was hidden in the black cloak she was wearing, they would be opening the gates for her without hesitation.

"Madame. What reason have you to enter the grounds of the Little Palace?" One of the Guards asks, but instead of responding she puts them to sleep and slips past gate. She knows that the Darkling would be made aware of this before she would even reach the Palace doors, but she wasn't simply going to let the Guards drag her to him.

She was proven right as she notices a group of Grishas standing in front of the entrance. She lets out a dry chuckle and clasps her hands behind her back. The Darkling is nowhere to be seen. Of course he wouldn't show up himself.

"What business do you have here?" Ivan, who is standing at the very front, asks.

"I think you're General would be more pleased to hear the answer than you." She answers his question, letting herself hear all the heartbeats of the Grishas in front of you.

"Unfortunately, you won't be talking to him unless you reveal your intentions." Ivan says firmly and Nyx laughs, shaking her head. In a blink of an eye, all of them - except Ivan - drop to the floor, making him look around with wide eyes.

"Such a shame. I've heard he's been looking for me." Nyx says as she starts walking towards Ivan, who looks at her in bewilderment. "It's good seeing you Ivan."

She walks passed him and makes her way into the Little Palace. The memories of her days spend wandering these hallways, flash in her mind. But she shoves those memory out of her mind as she makes her way to the double doors that separates her from him.

The two guards usually standing in front of the doors, are nowhere to be seen. Taking hold of the door handle, she swings it wide open and takes a look around. Nothing had changed ever since she'd been away, everything still looked the same.

He wasn't inside. Closing the door behind herself, she makes her way to his desk. Running her fingers over the wood, she walks around it and takes a seat in his chair. She knows it won't take long for him to come here, as soon as it's announced there's an intruder. Ivan would have alerted him as soon as he overcame the shock, which would make Aleksander rush to his office to figure a plan.

She leans back in the chair and lets the hood of the cloak fall off her head, just as the door slams open. Looking up, a smirk tugs at her lips as she looks at bewildered look of Aleksander.

"Good seeing you, Aleksander." She hums as she tilts her head and watches his every movement. He slowly shuts the door closed and makes his way towards his desk

"Has it become a habit of yours to sneak into my office?" He asks as he leans on his desk and she chuckles, before leaning closer to him.

"Perhaps. Are you not happy to see me? I've heard you started a search party for me." She hums and he raises an eyebrow.

"I know you, Nyx. You're not hear just because I was looking for you." He points out and she gives him an innocent look. 

"Or I just missed you." She says, and he glares at her.

"Hard to believe when you've been trying to kill me for a year." He points out and she chuckles.

"Well, at least now we can both have a hard time believing each other." She muses and he huffs as he pushes himself up. He walks around the desk, making her lean.

"I don't know what your intentions are, but just now I'm going to enjoy the fact that you're home." He says as he takes hold of both armrests and spins the chair around, before slamming his lips against hers.