"The Little Palace was full of danger."
Valeriya Alferova was a simple girl. Except for the fact that she was Grisha, and she knew the Sun Summoner, and she knew a prince. With the excitement of the Sun Summoner at the Little Palace, it's easy to...
Nikolai was a frustrating boy. As much as Valeriya adored him, he was a very interesting person to be friends with. Fifteen-year-old Valeriya was all but shocked to find a note slid under her door when she awoke that morning. It was Nikolai's favorite way of communicating with her because it made him feel stealthy and secretive.
The note was a simple one, explaining that Nikolai was going to be late to their normal meetup spot that night as he was going to accompany Dominick to the countryside to work on his family's farm. He'd been doing that a lot recently, and while Valeriya was happy he found something he like, she worried for Dominick. If Nikolai was caught, then surely Dominick would be punished as that is what his duty was. To get punished for anything foolish Nikolai decided to do.
Valeriya did her normal lessons that morning and decided to skip her afternoon lessons in favor of training with Botkin and the older Grisha.
"Can we have a go, Riya?" a voice called startling Valeriya and causing her attention on her opponent to falter. Her opponent, an Inferni named Harper, took this as her chance to swipe Valeriya's legs from under her and cause her to splat onto the ground.
"Next time," Valeriya started, not even bothering to move from her laying poisitoin on the ground, "Don't distract me while I'm sparring, you right bastard."
Nikolai knelt down next to her head. "Now what did we say about the name calling, Riya?" He asked offering his hand. She took it and he hoisted her up to her feet.
"I clearly recall telling you to go fuck yourself," Valeriya pondered. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harper pale at her words to the prince. Nikolai laughed and hugged his best friend.
"So, can I please plant you on your ass like Harper just did?" Nikolai asked, his arm still around Valeriya's shoulders. Valeriya glanced at Harper and saw her blush at Nikolai.
"Actually, I'm going to plant your royal ass in the ground."
"I'd like to see you try."
♕
To Valeriya's dismay, the sparring ended up with a 3:2 ratio, with Nikolai planting her on her ass more than he was on his. It was now about the time that they were planning on meeting by the fountain, so they made their way over there, teasing each other the whole way.
Valeriya had jumped on Nikolai's back at one point and leaned her cheek next to his.
"Why are you back so early?" She whispered, unsure if there was anyone around.
She felt him shrug. "Mother wants me to be in bed early so I'll be 'refreshed' for the ball tomorrow for Vasily's birthday. I knew that the more time I spent at Dominick's, the less I would get to spend with you."
Valeriya poke his cheek, "And why would you want to spend time with me? I'm just a grisha."
"You're a fantastic Heartrender, Riya, and you are so much fun to be around," Nikolai answered, dropping Valeriya onto the ground. He paused for a moment and then said, "You're supposed to boost my ego now too."
She scoffed and punched him in the arm. She laughed and said, "I think your ego could cover the enter Fold."
Nikolai pretended to be offended and sat down on the edge of the old fountain with his hand on his chest. "Now why would you think that?"
She rolled her eyes and sat down on the ground in front of him, leaning against his legs.
"Braid my hair for me?"
Nikolai didn't reply. He just sectioned out her wavy brown hair and began to braid it down her back. Valeriya knew how to braid, but it was getting long enough that it was a pain for her to do it.
They sat in comfortable silence for a little while after Nikolai finished her braid, just enjoying each other's presence.
If you had told either of them that many years from now they wouldn't be by each others' side, fighting to take down the fold, or doing bureaucratic nonsense they would have never believed it.
It's always sad when a friendship fades. Especially one so pure and heartwarming as theirs. And by all accounts, they both spent their nights wishing the other was by their side.
author's note!
As promised, here is the special "flashback" chapter of Nikolai and Valeriya for 5K reads. Thank you so much for all of your love and support on this book, it motivates me so much! I can't wait for many more to enjoy it and I can't wait for you guys to see the surprises I have in store for when Season Two comes out.
I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am and if you have any suggestions or things you want to see, let me know!
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