All Things Must End

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏 • 𝕀𝕘𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝔹𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕤

He rubs my back and kisses me gently. I nod, letting him know I am alright, and we leisurely walk to our chambers. As we saunter back, I glance out of the tall window at the end of the corridor to find snow. It is the first snowfall of the year. The feather-light flakes float down gracefully, and the world looks as if it is encased in a snow globe.

Aleksander suddenly lifts me up and holds me close to his chest. I gasp, then giggle as he carries me the rest of the way to bed. After he sets me down, he crawls into bed beside me and tugs me close. I snuggle my head into the curve of his neck as he cradles the back of my head with his palm, keeping me close.

Now I am certain. Amelia and Aleksander are all I need. The world may be in upheaval, but as long as I have them, I will be just fine.

My eyes fluttered shut, and for the first time in a long while, I am graced with good dreams. Happy dreams. The nightmare of the warring countries is replaced with a playful Amelia running around in the courtyard, Aleksander and I watching her contently.

Everything will be alright.

***

I wake up to Amelia jumping in between Aleksander and I, burying herself under the blankets. I groan and put a hand to my face, rubbing my tired eyes. Aleksander has a similar reaction. Pale morning sunlight streams through the curtains, onto my face.

        "Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" Amelia bounces excitedly on the bed.

        "What is it, my Amelia?" Aleksander responds, a bit more awake than I am. I yawn and peel open my eyes.

        "Today is the day you promised to take me ice skating! Remember?"

        Earlier, I suggested that if Amelia did well with her training this week, we could all go ice skating. "We" meaning I volunteered Aleksander to go with us without telling him, or else he would turn me down, as he does with all things that involve fun. This is the first he is hearing of it.

        He displays an unamused face at the both of us. I shrug unapologetically and Amelia beams with a radiant smile.

Aleksander sighs. "Get your kefta."

Amelia squeals in excitement. She jumps off the bed and runs to her room to get dressed for the cold weather.

        Aleksander rolls over on top of me and cages me in with his arms on either side. "What am I going to do with you?" he says, smirking as he leans down to kiss me. It is gentle, but passionate as all of our kisses are. Even after a year, the same wanton love burns in both of us. My lips curve up against his, and our noses brush lightly when he leans his forehead on mine.

Amelia comes back with her fur-lined kefta on and makes a gagging noise when she sees us cuddling. "Adults are too old to kiss," she proclaims. I smile and kiss him again, earning another "Eww!" from her.

She runs out, leaving us alone again. I giggle and slip out of bed to change out of my nightgown. Aleksander does the same, replacing his sleepwear with his heavy black kefta.

Once we are dressed, we depart to find Amelia already outside jumping in the snow. There is not a layer on the ground yet, but there will be if it keeps snowing like this. Heavy flakes fall on my lashes and in Aleksander's inky hair. I brush the flakes out of his hair, only for more to appear.

We walk down the stone path connecting the Grand Palace to the Little Palace. When we arrive, we find Grisha of all kinds outside, playing with snowballs, skating, and making forts. I am glad to see they can live normally too. Sometimes, it is hard to be a kid when you are Grisha, caught up in controlling your power, and combat training. It's nice to see them all happy.