Noble Hope| General Kirigan

𝟘𝟘𝟞

{Chapter six}

THE REST OF THE DAY WAS RELATIVELY SMOOTH UNTIL ADALINE WENT TO TALK TO ALINA, WHO SHE HADN'T SEEN THAT DAY. The two girls had always been close, and sure, they occasionally had their spiffs, but it always ended with Adaline writing a little story to apologize and Alina illustrating a picture to go along with it.

Adaline had the feeling that the next fight she got into with her sister wouldn't be pretty.

The Sun Summoner herself bumped right into Adaline as she rounded one of the many corners of the Little Palace. Alina didn't look very happy. There were pieces of hay in her hair and her eyebrows scrunched a little like she did when she was angry.

When Alina finally noticed who she bumped into, she immediately pulled the older girl into a tight embrace.

The hug was unexpected, and Adaline patted her sister awkwardly until she heard her sniffles into her neck. "Alina..." Adaline said softly.

The girl shook her head and nuzzled further into the smooth skin of Adaline's collarbone. "I hate it here." her voice quivered. "I want to go back to Mal."

The one in black sighed. "Leens, you know we can't--"

"No, we can go," she interrupted. "We can run. Even though Mal hasn't responded to any of our letters, you know he'll wait for us." her eyes darted around frantically, as i f searching for a hole in the wall to escape through. "We can go during the night. We've always been great at hiding, I'm sure we can make it out--"

"Alina stop. I'm not going anywhere."

The younger Starkov yanked herself away from Adaline's arms, hands dropping to her sides with a confused and hurt look on her face. She almost felt as though she needed to grip the perfectly painted walls for stability. "What do you mean, you're not going anywhere? I'm not leaving you and I'm not staying here!"

Adaline pinched the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a tough one. "Have you even given this place a chance, or are you really just upset because Mal hasn't answered you? There are so many opportunities, and.." she stepped forward and took Alina's hands in hers. "and we could do really well here."

Alina's eyes widened in betrayal. "Do you hear yourself, Addy? I thought you liked the simple life! Wake, write, sleep, repeat, that's what you always told us. We have nothing here. We could go back to our lives, where we were normal. When you weren't some—"

"Some... what?" Adaline's face tightened, voice turning cold. "Don't be shy, Alina, spit it out. I know you want to, so might as well get it out now." the fire in Adaline's eyes was unmistakable. Alina always knew which buttons to push, but she pressed the wrong ones this time.

The younger girl's gaze fell to her boots. She didn't say anything else, figuring it would be better to keep quiet about escaping until she had a solid plan to convince her sister.

Adaline scoffed. "Right. Because being a Shadow Summoner makes me what? A monster? A killer? The fucking black heretic?" her voice broke. "You know better than anyone what it's like to be outcasted and judged based on what you are. Every single person in this kingdom is probably scared shitless of me. I didn't think my little sister would be too."

The words felt like poison to say. The moment she pushed past Alina to get to her room, her eyes began to water, but she didn't let the tears fall even when she was in the safety and confinement of her grey walls. Instead, she undid her kefta, tossed it over the top of a chair, and collapsed onto her bed with her forearm covering her eyes.