My Villain, My Balance

Chapter 26: The Sun Queen

[In case there is confusion, there's a time jump of about a month since the last chapter]

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞-𝕾𝖎𝖝

Ⓘ ᗯᗩᒪKEᗪ ᗪOᗯᑎ the aisle of a beautifully decorated, white church. As I strode down in a long wedding gown, everyone watched in awe. At the end of the aisle, the Darkling stood in a black suit, waiting for me with a smile on his face. I'm ready for this, I thought. I can do this. I got halfway down, but someone behind me called my name. It sounded so familiar. First, it was a whisper, soft and calm. Alina. Alina. But then, it grew into a yell of rage. I turned. Mal was in the middle of the aisle, stomping up to me.

"You are a monster, Alina! You chose him over me!"

"Mal, I—"

"I loved you, but you pushed me away for power, for the crown. You let him make you into a monster."

"I'm not a monster!"

"You pushed us away. We were your friends."

"Us?" I questioned nervously.

"Alina."

I turned around. Genya was standing in front of me, gorgeous as ever, with the vial of poison in her hand. "You let him use me."

"Genya, please—" I begged.

"The Darkling used me and my resentment towards the King to reset the throne, and you let him, then you pushed me away when I needed you most. You could have run after me when I left. You could have told me to come back, but you let me leave because you are a self-absorbed, power-hungry monster, Alina."

"No!" I screamed. Mal and Genya started to come closer, closing in on me. I couldn't breathe. "No! Leave me alone!"

"Monster!" they shrieked.

"I'm not a monster!"

"Monster! You killed two ancient amplifiers. You destroyed a town, massacred thousands. Murderer!"

"No! I'm not a murderer! I'm not a monster!" I cried.

"Murderer!"

"Monster!"

Then, there was a different voice, more worried, more gentle than the other screams. "Alina?" There was a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. "Alina, wake up. Alina!"

My body jolted up in bed, my breaths frantic, chest heaving up and down. I was in the dark, tangled in a mess of black, silky blankets, the screams of Mal and Genya faded, and all I could hear were my gasps for air. I felt the cool dab of a wet washcloth on my forehead. I looked over to find the Darkling breathing almost as hard as I was, looking at me with concern. "Alina. Are you alright?" He caressed my cheek.

In between a few shaky breaths, I answered, "yes. I'm fine."

His brows were still creased with worry. "It must have been some nightmare. You were screaming."

"Oh... Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," he assured. The Darkling continued to blot my forehead with the cloth, running his hand up and down my back comfortingly as I took deep breaths. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly. I bit my lip. "It will help. I promise."

I nodded. Aleksander motioned for me to lay back down. He got comfortable next to me, propping himself up on one elbow, and listened as I explained the dream, how it started with the wedding, everything Mal and Genya had said, the screaming. After I finished, he remained quiet in thought. I feared I might have offended him, telling him the part where he was blamed for Genya's actions. Then he said, "none of it is your fault, Alina. None of it. You can't blame yourself for things that were out of your control."