The True Saint

Ogglibations & Fear

I ᗯᗩKE ᑌᑭ ᗩᑎᗪ ᖴEEᒪ for Amelia, but she is no longer in my arms. I get a sudden pang of panic. My eyes fly open, but I relax as I look across the bed. Amelia is huddled up next to the Darkling. His arm is wrapped around Amelia's tiny frame. I lay there and smile at the two resting peacefully together.

        The Darkling's eyes flutter and eventually open. He looks at me, wondering why I am smiling. He shifts his arm a bit and realizes that he is holding Amelia. Aleksander understands and glances back up at me. My grin becomes wider and he raises a brow as a silent communicator. I can hear the conversation in my head.

        'You two look adorable.'

        'How do I get out of this?'

        'You can't.'

As we lay there, I start to get a peculiar sensation. I feel more than just absoluteness. For the first time in a very long while, I feel satisfied. I don't have to worry about saving thousands of lives or fighting the Darkling. I am not running for my life like so much of my past has been occupied by. At this moment, everyone is safe and calm. The Darkling senses my contentment and gives a small grin.

Amelia stirs and turns. The Darkling takes the opportunity to remove his arm from her and whispers, "sorry, little one. I have to get up."

        Amelia whines in a half-asleep state, "can't you both stay for a while longer."

        "No, unfortunately. Us grown-ups have too many responsibilities to stay in bed all day."

        "I'll just stay a kid forever then," Amelia mumbles at the Darkling into the pillow.

        "I have found that staying young forever only brings more obligations."

        Amelia looks up at the Darkling with scrunched eyebrows. "I don't know what ogglibations are, but I don't like them very much," she responds before pulling the covers to her chin. I smile at her mispronunciation.

"Alina needs to attend to her ogglibations as well." The Darkling looks down at my figure buried deep under the warm blankets. I groan even though he is right.

I help Amelia climb out of the tall bed and she goes back to her room to get ready for training. I put on my intricate, black kefta and attend the morning meetings with Aleksander. We debate the ongoing crisis with Fjerda and their drüskelle.

The argument is beginning to get heated. One of the Darkling's highest-ranking Grisha growls, "We need to stop drüskeller before they get near our Grisha. They are smuggling and killing them right under our noses! They need to be stopped."

        "We should be more concerned about the Shu Han," a first army Oprichnik states firmly. "They are threatening to close more trading routes and more riots are forming down South. Our enemies are upset that we now have two rulers who are Grisha. They fear the Fold will expand now with the Sun Summoner and Shadow Summoner's union"