𝐂 𝐎 𝐒 𝐌 𝐈 𝐂 𝐋 𝐎 𝐕 𝐄 !
𝙲 𝙷 𝙰 𝙿 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁 𝙵 𝙾 𝚄 𝚁 !
( 𝔨𝔦𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔪𝔦𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔰 ! )
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
𝐀𝐍𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐌. His eyes, so blue they seemed to glow violet in the darkness. His hair, so black it was tinted blue like the midnight sky. Despite his skin being sickly pale, she knew that it was usually a caramelized brown that made his eyes stick out beautifully. His dark clothes allowed her to see just how defined his muscles were. Biceps pressed against the silk fabric of his shirt while abs were concealed under the buttons. Don't ask Ana how she knew, but she did, and boy did she want to run her fingers over them. And to top it all off, his lips were pulled into the type of frown that made them look so kissable.
But while she was staring at him, he was staring at her. Taking in her hair that was golden like starlight. Her eyes, which were such a bright cerulean that they reminded him of the waters of Valeris. Her skin was bronzed with sunlight, bringing out the freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks like constellations. And her lips were so full and pink, even when they were turned downwards in a frown.
His eyes scoured her body, looking at the runes that littered her skin much like the tattoos that marked his. Runes he'd seen before, getting burned into her skin as a symbol of what she was and what she could do. Runes that belonged to a different world, so unlike his own but similar in many ways.
Ana could feel power radiating from him. Dark, warm power that reminded her of a night's kiss.
"How . . ." She was at a loss for words. This was a dream, right? But if it was, how could she be feeling all of this? How could she feel his magic, or his touch, or the cool air of the corridor? None of it made sense.
One of his hands raised, as though wanting to touch her face, but it hesitated before lowering. Some small part of Ana was left disappointed. "You're . . . you're here? How are you here?"
Ana swallowed thickly. "I⎯I don't know. I thought I was . . . this is a dream. But then . . ."
Realization dawned in his eyes. "Oh." Ana frowned. What did oh mean? "Shit."
"What?" Ana asked. She needed answers. The amount of oddities happening in a short span of time were making her head spin. She was sure she'd explode if none of her questions were answered soon. "Why are you saying shit? What's going on?"
His hand wrapped around her wrist again and he pulled her through the darkness, away from the door. "She can't know about this. None of them can."
"Who can't know about what?" Ana nearly stumbled over her footing, but her years of training kept her upright. "Tell me what's happening. Who even are you? How am I here?"
He turned once they reached the other side of the room, his hand raising to trace over the silencing rune. Before Ana's very eyes, the rune glowed as though activated, taking her by surprise. Her mind was blank as she tried to think of a reason as to why that would happen. She didn't have her stele on her, and he didn't have one. So how was her rune activated?
"Now we can talk." A feline-like smirk pulled at his lips as he leaned against the wall. "Want to tell me your name and how you got here?"
Ana gave him a look. "First off, I asked you those questions earlier, so I feel like you should be the one giving me your name before I give you mine." He nodded, as though it was fair. "And secondly, I don't know how I got here. One moment, I was dreaming about some training session I had years ago, and the next I'm walking through the corridor outside and getting pulled into this room."
He hummed. "Well, as to answer your first question, I'm Rhys. Rhysand, actually, but that name is so . . . formal, I suppose." Ana couldn't argue there. "And for the other question, I don't know either."
Ana immediately sensed the lie. "Get better at lying. It doesn't suit your pretty face." Her eyes grew wide as the words rolled off her tongue. She had not meant to say that. "Ignore that."
"No, no, no." Rhys perked a brow. "You think I have a pretty face?"
"I said to ignore that." She ran her fingers through her hair, stressed. "Ana. My name is Ana. Well, Anastasia, but no one calls me that unless they want their heart to be on the other side of the room."
Rhys chuckled. The sound was just like his magic⎯dark and warm and sweet. "You've got fire, Anastasia. It burns in your eyes and flickers on your tongue."
Ana's expression hardened. "I said don't call me by my full name, Rhysand." He mocked an expression of hurt. "Where am I? What is this place?"
All playfulness left his features. "You are Under the Mountain, Ana, darling." She pushed down the blush that was trying to form at the nickname. Something about the way he said darling . . . "A horrible place and one I wouldn't wish anyone to be subject to."
"How did I get here?" She tried again, wanting answers. Too many weird things were happening for them to be considered coincidences. "Please, I'm close to losing my shit."
Again, Rhys's hand reached out as though he wanted to touch her. Ana remained still as his fingers brushed along her exposed arm, trailing up until his hand cupped her cheek. Unknowingly, she leaned into his touch, causing a spark of emotion to flare in his eyes.
"If you manage to do this once more, to see me again during the night, I'll tell you the things you wish to know," he said. And Ana knew he meant it, just like how she knew when someone was lying. She felt it deep down inside of her⎯he was telling her the truth.
The blonde nodded, a hand reaching to hold his own to her cheek. "Okay."
Rhys only smiled as Ana's vision began to blur, turning to blackness once more. And the last thing Ana saw before she opened her eyes to be greeted by the spring sun was the glowing violet irises that belonged to the male she'd met in her dreams.
Rhysand.
⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯
"Oh, my God!"
Ana had found the kitchen. She'd been searching for it for days, but finally stumbled upon it while trailing the bottom floor. The blonde had been hoping to find the kitchen to try and get back into some level of normalcy. Back at the Institute, Ana would spend her free time in the kitchen, baking or cooking to help clear her thoughts. (Normally, she would have to block Izzy off from the kitchen, since the girl would always try and make her food more "unique.")
Fun, right?
Ana still had yet to try and reach Izzy through their Parabatai connection. A part of her was hesitant, afraid that it wouldn't work and her last hope would be run into the ground. But another part? Another part didn't want to connect because Ana wanted to dream of Rhys. She wanted to see him once more, have him explain to her why she was in this world and how she could see him. Maybe . . . maybe he knew why her ears came to a delicate point in this world, instead of being normal like they were back in her old world. They made her seem not quite faerie, but not quite human. Something told her he knew the reason why.
Tying her hair into a knot atop her head, Ana approached the cabinets to begin making herself lunch. Yes, the other faeries were capable of doing such, but she needed to remind herself of her world. She needed foods from her world that she made herself, not pre-made faerie food (no matter how good it was.)
She hummed a tune to herself as she got out all the ingredients to make her specialty enchiladas. Ana may not have had Latino roots, but Izzy did, and the Lightwood girl took every chance she had to teach her Parabatai about her heritage. Ana had been to enough Lightwood dinners when she was younger that she knew the ins and outs of Latino cooking. Something that made Maryse love her.
"Sleep, my beautiful good boy, Bayushki bayu. Quietly the moon is looking into your cradle. I will tell you fairy tales and sing you little songs, but you must slumber, with your little eyes closed, Bayushki bayu." The words came easily, as though a memory had been unlocked. Ana could faintly remember a woman's voice singing the very song to her in thick Russian before she had fallen asleep every night when she was an infant. Back when things were . . .
Her hands worked as though they had a mind of their own, Russian continuing to flow from Ana's lips. "The time will come when you will learn the soldier's way of life, boldly you'll place your foot into the stirrup and take the gun. The saddle-cloth for your battle horse I will sew for you from silk. Sleep now, my dear little child, Bayushki bayu."
Ana was so wrapped up in her mind that she barely heard the footsteps entering the kitchen. Feyre stood in the doorway, watching curiously as Ana sang softly to herself while making a dish she was unfamiliar with. The language she spoke in was . . . well, Feyre didn't know what it was, but it sounded so natural coming from her. It was actually kind of beautiful.
"You will look like a hero and be a Cossack deep in your heart. I will accompany you and watch you go. You will just wave your hand. How many secret bitter tears will I shed that night! Sleep, my angel, calmly, sweetly, Bayushki bayu," Ana let her voice fall slightly as she prepped the enchiladas, wrapping them up and pouring the sauce over them.
It wasn't until she turned to place them in the oven that she noticed Feyre by the door, causing her to jump in surprise and nearly drop her food. Feyre gave Ana an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
Ana shook her head with a laugh and placed the food in the oven, starting the timer or whatever it was that kept track of how long things were cooking. Magic, she supposed. "It's okay, Feyre. I was just a little lost in my own world."
"What was that language you were speaking?" the girl asked, tilting her head curiously. "It is not of this world."
"I would hope not, since I'm not from this world." Feyre rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "It's Russian, the language of the country I was born in."
Feyre frowned. "What . . . country?"
She said the word like she didn't know what it was. Ana guessed that it wasn't used much since Prythian was split into courts, not countries.
"Russia."
The girl hummed as she sat down at the counter. "What was it like, if you don't mind me asking."
Ana brushed her hair from her face and shook her head. "I don't. Russia . . . it was very cold. Snow was always in the air and on the ground, and I could always see my breath." A gentle smile crossed her lips. "But the architecture was beautiful. And the cities were always filled with golden light and music and such amazing smells."
"It sounds beautiful," Feyre said, trying to picture the country in her head so maybe she could paint it.
Ana sighed. "It was."
Feyre immediately picked up on the growing sadness in the blonde's voice and decided to quickly change the conversation. The honey brunette glanced at the oven. "What are you making?"
"Enchiladas." The blonde leaned against the counter. "It's a Mexican dish my best friend's mom taught me how to make years ago when we first met." A soft sigh left her lips at the thought of Izzy, the Parabatai rune on the center of her back growing warm as if reminding her of their connection. She'd placed it there because Izzy would always, no matter what, have her back. "You'll love them."
Feyre smiled. "I hope so. I don't think we're being served a fancy lunch like yesterday."
Ana rolled her eyes. "I'm not one for fanciness anyways."
A comfortable silence fell over the two of them as they watched the food cook, Feyre with intrigue and Ana to make sure it didn't burn. She'd never made food with magical appliances before. This was a whole new situation for her.
But, despite the comfort, Ana could tell that Feyre had questions. How could she not? Ana was from a completely different world, covered head-to-toe in runes. The blonde would be surprised if Feyre didn't have questions for her.
"I know you want to ask me things," Ana said, breaking the silence and ultimately startling Feyre.
The girl blushed. "I'm sorry. I just . . . I don't want to overstep."
Ana gave the girl a small smile, hoping it came across as comforting. "How about this? There's a game that is played in my world to help people get to know each other better. It's call Twenty Questions. But, I'm going to adjust the rules a bit." Feyre nodded slowly. "Every day, one of us will pick a topic. Then, each person is allowed to ask two questions about the other based on that topic. You don't have to say everything, and you can object to the question if it feels too personal. But, at least this way we are getting to know each other since it seems we'll both be stuck here for a while."
Feyre mulled the idea over in her head before nodding happily. "Okay. What should today's topic be?"
"How about family? Nothing too deep, since it is the first day, but it's a place to begin." With another accepting nod from Feyre, Ana started. "Do you have any siblings?"
"Two sisters," Feyre said, leaning against the counter on her elbows. "Both are older than me."
Ana hummed. "And what are they like?"
Feyre got a distant look in her eyes. "Well, Elain is the sweetest person on this planet. She is beautiful in every way, and so innocent. She keeps a garden by our house and will tend to it even in the coldest weather." The honey brunette then looked at her hands. "My oldest sister, Nesta, she's the living embodiment of fire. She's filled with a hatred for everyone and anything, especially faeries, but she loves Elain and will protect her no matter what."
The blonde noticed how soft Feyre's features grew when talking about her family. She looked almost child-like despite the harshness of her skin and the lack of health.
"And you? Do you have any siblings?" Feyre asked once she snapped out of her thoughts.
Ana looked at her hands, thinking of how to word her answer. "I did. Well . . . it's complicated. They weren't my siblings by blood, but by choice." She could almost imagine their faces perfectly as though they stood before her, young and happy. "I grew up very close to them and we were pretty much the only family each other had. But then . . ."
Feyre didn't need Ana to fill in the blanks. She rested a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder, giving her a soft smile. "What were they like, if you don't mind me asking."
The Fallon girl brushed her hair from her face. "Nadia was fierce and protective. She never let an insult toward herself or the people she cherished slide. She'd go as far as knocking someone unconscious to get her point across." A longing chuckle filled the kitchen. "And Dmitri. Oh, he was the sweetest boy. He always looked out for others before himself. He'd give up his blankets and food and water just to make sure Nadia and I were taken care of."
Oh, how she missed them. Sure, the environment they'd grown up in together was harsh, but they'd had a bond unlike any other. And when Viktor came . . .
Ana shut out that memory, clenching her eyes and forcing a smile as the timer went off. "Enchiladas are done!"
Feyre didn't say anything as Ana abruptly changed the subject and moved out of the way so the blonde could get the food. The smell was absolutely mouth watering, causing Feyre's stomach to growl in anticipation. Ana laughed at the red hue on Feyre's cheeks and gestured for the girl to join her.
"They look delicious," Feyre said, licking her lips at the food.
Ana beamed. "Thanks. They won't be as good as Izzy's mom's, but I tried my best to make them almost as good. That's what matters, right?" Feyre nodded. Ana served out two enchiladas, one for herself and one for Feyre, and the two girls immediately began to eat. "Wow."
Feyre's eyes were closed as she savored the taste. "This is amazing, Ana!"
Ana didn't say anything, too busy eating familiar food to actually care. The two girls ate their food mostly in silence, only stopping to talk every once in a while. By the time Alis came to check on them, the girls had gone through half of the enchiladas in the dish and were sitting on the kitchen floor, rubbing their stomachs from how full they were.
"What happened here?" Alis asked, looking at the two oddly.
Feyre smiled. "Ana made food from her world! You should try it!"
Alis glanced at the food on the table, then Ana, before humming. She picked up one of the forks and dug into the enchilada, hesitantly sniffing it before taking a bite. Immediately, her face went from skeptical to euphoric.
"By the Cauldron," she muttered, taking another bite. "What are these?"
"Enchiladas," was all Ana said, too full to elaborate.
Alis hummed. "Such a mix of spices . . . the humans of your world must be overjoyed."
Ana let out a chuckle. "Yeah . . . most of the humans of my world prefer fast food restaurants to home-cooked meals. Something about laziness, I don't know."
Feyre frowned. "What's a restaurant?"
Oh, boy.
⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯
"Turn off the mixer! Turn off the mixer!"
Flour covered every inch of the kitchen, along with both Ana and Feyre. The two girls had grown hungry in the middle of the night, Feyre wanting to try more of Ana's world's foods. So, Ana thought she'd teach Feyre how to make peanut butter blossom cookies, since they were her go-to. Luckily, the kitchen had everything she needed. Unluckily, Feyre couldn't cook or bake to save her life.
Ana barely had time to duck and cover before the mixer sent the dry ingredients everywhere. The mixer, which was a whisk and a bowl operated by magic, had gone much faster than either planned, leaving them covered from head-to-toe in ingredients. And to make matters worse, Ana was pretty sure she heard footsteps coming their way.
"By the Cauldron! What happened in here?" It was Lucien.
Both girls whipped around and sent nervous smiles toward the High Fae. Ana held up her arms. "We were just trying to make cookies."
Lucien looked around and shook his head. "Stupid humans ruining our fine kitchen. Don't touch things that you don't know how to work."
"It's not our fault we both grew up without a prominent amount of magic in our lives," Ana shot back, sneezing as she inhaled some of the flour that was still floating in the air. "Anyways, if you're such a genius, why don't you lend a helping hand and teach us how to work this damn machine."
Feyre nodded. "It would be appreciated. Ana says she's making the best cookies in her world."
"And don't let anyone tell you anything different," Ana stated confidently. She was not wrong. No matter how much Jace loved to tell her she was, she was not.
Lucien sighed but nodded. "Fine. But only because I do not wish to be beaten senseless by the kitchen staff when they wake up."
Ana grinned and clapped her hands together, causing flour to puff from them. "Perfect! See, I knew you liked me!"
"I do not!"
"Lying is a sin, Lucien."
"Fuck off."
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
𝐀 𝐔 𝐓 𝐇 𝐎 𝐑 𝐒 𝐍 𝐎 𝐓 𝐄 !
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
I wanted a more laid-back chapter, even though a few more things about Ana were revealed. I loved the little part with Rhys and her in the beginning. And the whole rune activation thing . . . AHH I'm excited about writing that.
Okay, so, Ana was born in Russia. If you couldn't tell from her first name and all that. There will be snippets of her past in certain chapters to explain how she went from Russia to the Brooklyn Institute so you understand a bit more about her. And who she is and all of that.
Please comment and vote!
Love you all!
~ a.h.