Breaking The Villain

.The Moon Summoner.

We all walked down the most extravagant staircase, Kirigan in the middle with me and Alina flanking him from left and right. I looked back and noticed close to thirty grisha and guards following behind us.

When did they all get here?

With every step I took the hammering in my chest increased. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe. Walking down the last step we set foot in an even more lavish ball room.

A few feet in front of the staircase was another staircase that lead to the throne which were already occupied by the King and Queen.

Kirigan walked down the staircase and to the main floor with me and Alina trailing behind . He stopped just in the center of the ballroom. I was so lost in admiring it's the beauty that I almost ran into his left shoulder but managed to stop myself just in time with just an inch between our bodies. I reckon he sensed me because his shoulders went stiff as I readjusted my position.

After a few seconds he nodded for both of us to remove our veils and hats. I leaned forward to look at Alina and saw her doing the same. We both looked at each other urging the other person to remove the veil first when we heard someone clear their throat. We both looked up at the same time only to notice Kirigan giving both a us an irritated look. We quickly straightened our backs and without a word removed the veil and hat and looked up at the king.

The murmuring of the crowd began instantly, perhaps it was because of Alinas shu features or maybe because of my silvery white hair which seemed to stick out among waves of brunettes and blondes in the room. A women in the cream colored maid uniform came forward and took our hats along with the veils.

"Which one is the Sun Summoner?" The king asked. His tone held an mocking undertone which i couldn't help but notice and I was sure that Kirigan did too judging by the slight quirk of his left eyebrow.

Kirigan gave me a brief glance and held out his right hand

"This one" he said looking at Alina and back at the king with pride shining on his face no less than the sun on a sunday afternoon

"I thought she'd be taller" the king sounded and looked bored

"I thought she was shu" the queen enquired "well, i guess she's shu enough" she said with a satisfied look

I took a quick glance at Alina and saw her face drop at the statement.

"Tell her......oh, I don't know....Good Morning" I wanted to facepalm myself and the queen at the moment but I supposed Kirigan would manage to stop me before I even took a step towards her, not to mention the fifty guards and Grisha standing a few feet from me.

Alina looked at Kirigan hoping he would jump in for her rescue but he kept on looking forward

"I don't actually speak shu, Your Highness" she said her head lowered a bit

"Then what are you" 

This time Alina had no reply.

The murmuring just began when it was cut short by Kirigan

"She is Alina Starkov. The Sun Summoner, moya tsaritsa" Krigan answered and bowed his head

"She will change the future" he declared, saying every word as is he had already seen her do it

"Starting now" he said lifting his right hand 

Shadows crept along the walls moving slowly but steadily like a predator searching for it pray. The room grew darker by the second with fogs of shadows covering all the windows. The flame of the lanterns shrunk almost like it was afraid of the dark, cowering away to not get blown out.

When he was satisfied, Kirigan positioned himself in front of Alina, looking down at her with a small smile. He leaned down and whispered something to Alina, the dialogue that I knew all too well. 

He reached down and held her wrist, the action made Alina glow. At first it was a slight glow but then a sudden beam of bright light erupted from her body. I looked around and saw the shadows vanishing, almost hissing as they did so. Like coming in contact with her light burned them. I jerked my head to the right when I heard another hiss. The hissing sounded like the noise you hear when you pour water on a hot pan. I looked around, not understanding the things I was hearing. 

Shadows couldn't talk.

But then I remembered the time in the forest. When the shadows surrounded me and Kirigan. My shadows. They talked to me at that time too. I've been so caught up in contemplating my life that I had completely forgot about it. I doubted there would be any information regarding this in the library but made a mental note to check it out at some point.

The laughter of people bought me out of my trance. I turned to look at Alina, I knew I should've looked away like others but I couldn't the sight was beautiful yet frightening at the same time. I moved my gaze to the left and saw that Kirigan too was looking at Alina. Sensing my gaze he glanced at me, locking our eyes. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie. Just me and him. Everything else was just white background, insignificant. And for a second I forgot that I was in a ballroom full of people, not to mention actual royalty, however galling they may be but royalty still, I forgot that I was in a world that I didn't understand, that couldn't be explained by science. In that second all my fears seemed irrelevant. But a second is a very short time and before I knew it he had looked away and moved back to his previous position beside Alina and I was left looking at the empty white space. I cursed myself for not breaking the eye contact before he did. It might have been petty of me to think that way, but this was the only way that I knew to protect myself. 

Leave them before they leave you

The light faded as Kirigan let go of her wrist and the crowd erupted in cheers and bravos. The shadows were no where to be seen and the flames which earlier appeared to be small and timorous not shone valorously. The king too gave a standing ovation, clapping

"How long will she need?" He enquired 

Kirigan stepped forward "Destroying the fold will be no easy feat." he said walking to the base of the stairs that lead to the throne "She alone may not be able to do it"

"She will remain with me at the Little Palace to train"

"Undisturbed."

"Then train her quickly" The king spoke with displeasure " Our wars have been a noble pursuit, But this chatter from the west about becoming a sovereign nation, That needs to stop" he declared 

"The sooner we are one country again, the better"

"Agreed, moi tsar." Kirigan acknowledged

The King and Queen stated to leave when Kirigan called for them to get their attention

"What is it now?" the king grumbled 

"There is one more" Kirigan said looking back at me. He had amusement written all over his face. He gave me a small smile and faced the king again

"What is she?" he said slumping down on his throne while the Queen followed

"She is" he started, pausing for dramatic effect and looked back at me again. Only this time he was smiling widely

".......The Moon Summoner." he finished

The room went completely silent.

 And then came the storm.