You Must Know The Darkness To Appreciate The Light

🔆🌙 Chapter 13 🔆🌙

I stood in front of the mirror in my tent, pinning my short hair back away from my face. My kefta had been dusted off, but it still held deep stains of mud in the embroidery and I desperately needed a bath. I longed for the floral soaps and the silky black bed sheets in the Grand Palace.

I'd gotten spoiled. In the First Army I had gone weeks or sometimes months without a proper bath, and even then they were cold and without privacy. I hummed to myself as I finished getting ready. While it would be nice to have the luxuries of the Grand Palace again, I would miss my freedom of being here at camp.

The tent flaps swung open and Tima poked his head through. "The General want to know if you're ready to go?"

I looked around the tent and nodded. I had packed my few belongings into my knapsack yesterday, and servants must have packed the Darkling's things sometime this morning. "I suppose so."

Tima nodded to the bag I held awkwardly in my hands. "Do you want me to carry that for you?"

"You don't have to."

"I didn't ask if I had to. I asked if you wanted me to."

I smiled at his friendly manner and handed the pack to him as he pulled back one of the flaps and led me out of the tent. We walked through camp, our boots squishing the soft mud created by the morning dew. I twisted my hands together as we walked at an abnormally slow pace, we were both trying to stretch out the time before I had to leave.

"Li?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course, Tima. Anything."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I'm going to miss you around here. I mean, we all will, but...I'm glad we met."

I smiled and lightly punched his arm. "Saints, Tima, you sound so dismal. It's not forever, but I'm still going to miss you too. I'm going to miss being here, and you...You'd better get your ass back to Os Alta soon!"

He grinned and saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes and kept walking beside him. "When do you think you'll return?"

He shrugged. "Probably soon. Usually us oprichniki only go with the General, but I don't mind being here a little longer. It's a nice change of scenery."

"Maybe," I brushed at the sleeves of my kefta as I walked. "I could ask the Darkling to assign you to my personal guard. You could go everywhere with me, see your sister more often, and you would be safe, no more trekking off to the front lines."

"Unless you do?"

"Right, but I don't think that will happen again anytime soon. Would you like that?"

Tima stopped and kicked at a pebble on the ground. "You would do that for me?"

I nodded. "If I can."

"Thank you, Li."

I touched his shoulder and smiled. "Of course. But I must admit, it's purely selfish. I'd like to have you around, to get to see you more. You're the only friend I have left."

"Then you must be truly desperate if I'm your only friend."

I smiled and slapped his shoulder lightly. "I wouldn't change it for the world."

We rounded the corner of the row of tents and the group of Grisha and First Army came into view, swarmed around a man in roughspun clothes. He turned around and with a shock I realized it was the Darkling, dressed as a peasant and conversing with Ivan and Captain Turgenev, he waved me over.