"Where did you find that?" I questioned dumbfounded, though I already knew the answer. The Darkling must have searched my old bedroom.

The Darkling examined the intricate details on the blade of the sword. He held the hilt perfectly, as If he had no problem with the weight of the sword.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I must say, its a sword quite unlike any other. Where did you get it?"

"N-no where." I stuttered, nervously. He must have known I was lying. "I'm not a fool Alina and I won't ask again." He said, finally lifting his head up so I can see his face clearly. "I found it in the forest, I needed to protect myself and found this."

The Darkling was hesitant. He put down the sword on his desk and turned to face me completely. "Protect yourself? From What?"

"You have your powers to protect you, you could have used the connection to summon me."

"I'm not yours to save." I remarked, squinting my eyes at him, trying to follow his words, like the preacher he obviously thought he was.

"What did you need to protect yourself from?" He asked, ignoring the point I tried to make.

"Wolves." I mumbled. His eyes widened slightly and his lips parted. "Wolves?" He said in an unbelievable tone. As if to mock me. Like a child who said something unrealistic.

"There are no wolves in the forest." The Darkling spoke as If absolute.

"They were when I was there. I slaughtered seven of them with the sword." I recalled. I didn't lie. And I didn't tell the complete truth either.

"Didn't known you stained the sword with blood." He was amused by me. The Darkling always so me as the perfect, naïve–good girl who wouldn't harm a fly. What a clueless bastard?

"I will, spill blood to defend what is mine." I stated, i know it was something like the Darkling would say but it was true. For my birth right. And to defeat the Darkling. If I have to cause some bloodshed, so be it.  "Hmm."

"Deny it all you want. We are alike in some accounts." He sounded happy, as if he had waited for so long to have someone like him at his side. Someone he's longed for, for centuries. That wasn't me though.

"I am nothing like you. You kill to send a message, I have to kill to take what is mine."

"Who's the selfish one now?" The Darkling pointed with an eyebrow.
I reflected over what I said and gasped shockingly, putting a hand over my mouth. "See, Alina." He took a couple strides towards me. The movement made me tense, as the silence in the room increased to only hear a pin drop. "You can call me the Villain all you like but you are no angel Alina. You've changed over these past couple of months, into an ambitious woman. I miss the girl you once were." He was impressed and surprised by me.

I flicked my eye lashes down, remembering everything I did in the Dothraki. Everything I did since the Dothraki. Fighting the Darkling, saving my friends, slaughtering wolves. Fighting for my life.

"Many will, she was easier to kill." I said In a slow tone to make sure he remembered every word I said. He made a 'hmm' with his lips, in amusement. As always he was entertained by me, did he ever take me seriously?

"Anyway, when did you go into the forest? Before you were attacked by wolves. You must have gotten the sword quite recently, and we haven't been in the forest, unless you went in that week with your friends." The Darkling said cleverly.

"Which I doubt." He whispered, so close to my face I could almost taste the words he said. "So I'll ask again, when did you go into the forest?"

His eyes followed mine as he searched for an answer. But I couldn't give him one. He'll find out I've been visiting my friends in the dungeons. I refused to answer him and took the sword from the Darkling's bed.

Suddenly, I felt his hand grasp my arm, harshly. I quickly turned the hilt of the sword and placed the blade against his neck and the junction of his shoulder. I stepped forwards and applied more pressure onto the sword. The Darkling was surprised by my reaction, he didn't summon the cut nor did he shove me aside and take the sword from me. He just–

"aah."

I was taken away, when he pulled me close and twisted the sword in my hands. So it lay upon my neck instead. I was pulled right into his chest as he twisted my free arm behind my back, so I couldn't escape. My breathing hitched as his mouth came closer to my ear and just where I could feel his breath tickling down my neck. I turned my face away from him, so he directly talked to my neck. "You really think I don't know how to use a sword. I've been alive for centuries, I know how to fight with a blade, princess." He whispered irritated. My heart hammering inside my chest, unsure of what I felt when he lifted the sword, gliding up my neck. The cold blade made me shiver as I felt the Darkling increase his grip on my arm. I groaned slightly. Scared he might thrust the sword right through my chest.

"Let me go." I whispered, looking at his face. His expression, blank. His eyebrows furrowed, his lips thinned and his eyes watching my every move. "What If I don't want to?" He whispered back into my ear. "What If you like me doing this to you?" He mumbled. He wasn't going to let me go so easily. I felt his hand start to go up my arm and burn through the thin fabric of my dress. I could do the only thing I could think off. I kissed his lips.

It was so sudden, for the both of us that when the Darkling lost his grip on me, I forgot to push myself away from him. My arm was free but I curled It around the Darkling's face and kissed him passionately. I felt the roughness of his beard and the softness of his skin. His grip on my hand decreased as he lowered the sword in my hands.

I nudged my arm into his chest and twisted outside of his hold, breaking the kiss between us. The Darkling's eyes were widened, shocked by what I just did. I felt the same way, did I really just kiss him? And did I actually like it? Or was it just the loveless–lust he felt for me?

"I never thought you were the manipulative sort." He said as he strode his thumb over his lips, referring to the kiss.

"You never cease to surprise me Alina Targaryen!" Impressed in the least as he folded his arms behind his back, a slight smirk plastered on his face.

My eyes wondered down him for a second and reminded myself of how infuriatingly handsome he was. It was so unfair.

"Where's Bash?" I asked changing the subject. I saw the smirk vanish from the Darkling's face.

"Outside, checking with the guards." I didn't expect him to answer me but he did. I left the sword, besides the night stand. And left the chambers, getting away from the Darkling. It was all too claustrophobic being in the same room as him.

I saw Bash and linked my arm with his as he walked me down the hallway. "What happened Princess? What happened with the general?"

I blanked out for a second. "N-nothing, he just found something of mine and practically interrogated me for it."

"hmm, you alright?"

"Yeah, I just need some air." Bash nodded as he led me outside where I breathed in the sweet, fresh air. A transition of Nikolai swept right through me.

I saw him again. As the golden Prince i once knew. "Nikolai."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, seeing him in the afternoon sun, glowing angelically. "I wanted to see you."

"Sorry for what I said before. When I told you that I loved you, I guess I was just being emotional." Nikolai admitted, running a hand through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

"Uh." I smiled nervously, hiding the unknown pain I felt. "Y-yeah I get it Nikolai, you were just tired, i-i know it wasn't real." Smiling was painful for some reason, a spark of alienation. Nikolai stepped up towards me, "But I meant that I will be by your side." I smiled up to see his golden locks, lifting up in the breeze. "As a friend."

"As a friend? Is that what we are now?" I asked making sure. "Well it's a good place to start." He took my hand in his and kissed the knuckles gently, a giddy feeling building up in my heart. "You should wake up now." He said confusing me as he looked into my eyes. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a black canopy bed. With the Darkling, Riya and Bash looking at me, concerned looks plastered on their faces. "What happened?"

***

Published: 18:38pm 21/03/2022