The Sun Saint offers hope to the people of Ravka. Her life and death, her pain and sacrifice, will bring light to her worshippers and indeed the world. She will give herself to the faithful, in mind and body, as countless saints have before her, and will be immortalised in prayer forever more.

~ Extract from the last chapter of The Istorii Sankt'ya, translated from Old Ravkan

*

Early the next morning, the Darkling went to Alina's new chambers with the intention of escorting her to breakfast. Yet when he entered, the girl was not bathed and scrubbed as he had hoped. There was still a great deal of dirt and blood left on her from travel, soiling the white nightdress she had been given when she arrived, and her hair was still a tangled mess. The maids that had been sent to make her presentable were fussing and clucking like a bunch of irritated chickens, whilst the girl herself was scowling, arms folded over her chest. All except Genya, who stood off to the side, wringing her hands nervously.

"Moi soverenyi," Everyone in the room bar the Sun Summoner addressed him respectfully.

"Alina," He addressed the girl, not the elephant in the room. "How do you like your chambers?"

"They're very fancy," She didn't sound too impressed by this, more like suspicious. Strange. Most little peasant girls would consider having rooms like this for their very own to be nothing short of a blessing. "Thank you,"

At least someone had taught her manners; likely her stern father, if her stories of the man on the journey were true. Perhaps her sullenness was down to missing home. Alina's mother sounded like a harridan to be sure, but she seemed to care for her father and brother at least.

"I do have to question why you still look half-feral?" He raised an eyebrow at the servants.

"Moi soverenyi," The head maid sounded harried. "With all due respect, Miss Starkova is a... difficult child. She was extremely rude to myself and caused us a lot of trouble by refusing to get in the bathtub," The servants in the Little Palace were carefully chosen, and tended to hold similar attitudes towards religion as the Grisha. Thus, they did not bother to act in awe of the Sun Summoner.

The Darkling raised an eyebrow but Alina got there first.

"I told you I can wash and dress myself, you old bat," She snapped at the woman. "I'm not letting you put me in the tub,"

The maid looked at the Darkling, all but saying 'you see what I mean'. But he had sensed something in Alina's tone that suggested this was more than her just being rude for the sake of it.

"What do you think the bathtub is for?" He asked the child.

"When I've been bad," She scowled, as though this was obvious. At his raised eyebrow, she continued impatiently, like this was all something he should already know. "When you've been bad and your father holds your head under the water? I'm not letting any of you do it, she deserved what I said!" She shot a dark look at the maid.

The child-rearing habits of otkazat'sya peasants were still barbaric, then, even centuries after he had lived amongst them. Though he supposed it was not just otkazat'sya. His own mother had been... harsh, when he was a boy, particularly when he was scared of his own shadows. She had locked him in a dark room, in fact.

"Not everyone's fathers were as... harsh as yours," He said, picking his words carefully. "That is not what they meant when they asked you to get in the bath. They just want you to be clean, and no one is going to hold your head under the water," He paused. "What do you mean she deserved it? What did you say?"

"I called her a nasty old hag for saying that the ginger girl should change my eyes to look less Shu. Then I said that maybe they can change her face and do something about all that saggy skin. But I'm not sorry, and I won't let her dunk me. Please don't let her change my eyes," There was a note of panic to her voice in the last sentence.

The Darkling's eyes narrowed at the older maid, who seemed to realise her mistake.

"I only meant it to make the girl's life easier around the palace, moi soverenyi," She blustered. "So she can fit in better. People don't like the Shu,"

Alina mumbled a very colourful set of words at that, which made even the Darkling blink in surprise. Where had she learned those from?

"All of you leave, except Genya," He said in a sharp tone, and the four maids scurried out at once. He turned to Alina. "Now they're gone, and no one is going to force your head under the water, I expect you washed and dressed - "

"I'm still not getting in the bath," She said, crossing her arms, to hide her fear. "I'll wash with a basin. Or stand under a water pump, I don't care,"

Of course when he was gifted with a Sun Summoner, she would be scared of water. This was frustrating, but it was preferable that the girl liked him, so he would let this one slide. It was of no real consequence. And after this little display, he was greatly looking forward to the day (hopefully far in the future) when she met the Apparat; the King and Queen too, for that matter.

"Fine. So long as you are clean and presentable. You live in a palace now, not a hovel,"

She pulled a face at that, but grudgingly did as he asked.

The Darkling met her afterwards, after Genya showed her into the dining hall for breakfast. Alina was now scrubbed and clean, hair brushed and braided into one long plait down her back. She was dressed in a kefta of summoner's blue that was roughly her size. This was only temporary; her own kefta was already being made to measure, at his request.

Genya had also vanished the bags under Alina's eyes (which, for a child so young, no doubt came from suppressing her powers), made her hair shine, given her skin a healthy glow, and removed any trace of blemishes or wounds. Seeing as she had been covered in blood and reeking of charred Druskelle the last time he'd seen her, this was without doubt an improvement.

The Tailor was only two years older than Alina, and the Darkling's creature through and through. She had been told to report back to him on the young Sun Summoner, seeing as she did so well reporting on the King and Queen. Somehow her current task seemed harder than spying on the royal family. Alina was remarkably suspicious for a nine-year-old. He had not even been so bad himself at that age, despite having lived on the run with Baghra for his whole life.

Genya slipped away after directing Alina to the seat beside him. Alina looked unsure, particularly when he drew out her chair for her and bade her sit. Everyone in the hall was looking at her, eager to get a glimpse of the Sun Summoner who had appeared in the night. Rumours spread fast in the Little Palace. This was nothing compared to how religious crowds would look at her in the future, for inevitably her existence would be revealed some day. At least the Grisha did not believe she was a saint.

"Why are they staring?" She asked, picking at the rye and herring in front of her. "Have they got nothing more interesting to look at?"

"You are very interesting, Alina," He told her. "I would be tempted to stare myself, if I was certain you wouldn't stab me with that fork,"

The last part of that sentence earned a smile, at least; as did Fedyor's cheery wave at her from across the hall. However, the frown returned soon enough.

"I'd understand if I was doing any sun-summoning," She stabbed a piece of breakfast with a little too much aggression. "But I'm just sat here trying to eat. I don't like it. Everyone who normally stares at me does it because I look Shu,"

"Well it's certainly not because of that here," The Darkling said. "Look around. Stare back at them. They are mostly Ravkans, of course, but there are also many Shu, Fjerdans, Kerch, Kaelish, Zemeni, even Suli, who cannot find a home in their own countries, so do so here. You don't stand out because your mother was Shu. You stand out because you have a skill more rare and special than anyone else here,"

"Even you?" She dared to ask with a hint of cheek, unimpressed by his compliment.

"Even me," He smiled. "There has been a whole line of Shadow Summoners, but there is only one of you," The lies came so easily they did not feel untrue anymore.

"Oh, that's how it works," Alina took a bite of rye, and finished chewing before continuing. "I didn't know there were different Darklings. I thought you were all the same one. So it wasn't you who made the Fold, then?"

From the mouths of babes... Her words made him pause, both amused and vaguely disturbed at how close she was. And at how unconcerned she seemed.

"That would make me over four-hundred-and-fifty years old," He said. "And I hardly think the King would trust me with the Second Army if he thought I had created the Fold," None of that was technically a lie. "That dubious honour goes to my great-grandfather, the Black Heretic," That was.

"That makes more sense. I'd never thought about it much," She shrugged, then glanced at him. "How old are you?"

"Older than I look,"

"That's not a proper answer,"

"I suppose it's not," He found himself genuinely entertained by this child, despite her often sullen nature. She was intelligent, mature for her age, and not scared of him, at least not as far as he could tell. That could be a blessing or a curse. He would have taken a Sun Summoner even if she had been a vapid little thing who cried at the drop of a hat - in fact, a child like that may have been more malleable - but from what he had seen of Alina, she had a different potential. "Most Grisha tend to live long and healthy lives, and age slower, if they use their powers. Suppressing it makes us weak and sickly," He glanced over her twig-like arms and hollow cheeks.

"I'm skinny because I've never had enough to eat, not because I'm a bad Grisha," Alina said, scowling, but her irritation was overcome by curiosity. "Will I live to be really old, then?"

"What is really old, to you?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Forty?"

That wrung a bark of laughter out of him; other Grisha nearby turned around in surprise, but he ignored them, as did she. "Forty? You will certainly live to be older than forty. Likely over one-hundred," Definitely over one-hundred, and far older, but she did not need to know that yet.

Of everything he had said to her so far, this was the first time Alina had looked impressed. "Over a hundred? That's ancient! Are you sure? The oldest person in the village was seventy-four,"

"Otkazat'sya do not live as long as Grisha," Especially common-born otkazat'sya, who toiled in fields their whole lives doing backbreaking work, barely raising enough food to eat, and lived under the constant threat of war, raiders, the weather, famine and disease.

"Hm," She thought on that for a moment, eyebrows furrowed, then abruptly changed the subject. "Why do I have two men following me around? They were waiting outside my door. I don't like it, but they wouldn't leave,"

"They're guards," He replied. "Oprichniki. It's their job to follow you, and make sure you are safe,"

"They have to follow me everywhere?" She seemed dismayed by this. "Why would I not be safe here?"

"They'll stand outside your classes and chambers," The Darkling said. "But you are the Sun Summoner, Alina, the only one. As I've told you, that makes you special. No Grisha would harm you, but there are plenty who would. Remember the Druskelle?" She clearly did, a shadow passing over her face. "No attacker is likely to get past the walls, let alone into the Little Palace. But your two guards are just a precaution,"

"Fine," She was clearly not happy with that, glancing up at the two behind them. "It's not that I don't like you," She made sure to assure them; one looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face. "I just don't like being followed, and like being on my own," She turned back to the Darkling. "Mother and Da let me go wherever I wanted, so long as I did my chores,"

The fact that she could have died years before he even met her, from being caught alone by Shu raiders, getting lost in the mountains, eaten by an animal, or even just falling out of a tree was chilling.

"You can go wherever you like here within the palace grounds, but your guards will go with you," He said in a tone that did not allow for argument. "Your safety is something I will not risk,"

"Within the grounds?" She argued anyway, picking up on that specification. "Can't I see the city? I've never been to one before,"

"You will see the city in time," He granted, sensing that a flat refusal would not go down well. The girl was fiercely independent, and stubborn too. "If you behave well, I may consider allowing you to leave the grounds," He certainly would not, but she didn't need to know that.

Alina said nothing to that, turning back to her breakfast. Then, "What are your names?" She asked the oprichniki behind them. "If you've got to follow me around all day, I should know what to call you,"

The two guards shared an amused glance, though the elder of the two looked at the Darkling for permission. He gave a slight nod.

"I am Grigori, Miss Starkova," The middle aged man with kind eyes said.

"Alina," She corrected quickly, looking slightly unnerved at the respectful address.

"I'm Arkady," The younger man was holding back a grin.

"I'll try and remember," She said. "I might not, though, so sorry if I don't. There's lots of people here,"

The Darkling had told the captain of the oprichniki, Radomir Belyaev, to assign eight guards to Alina, on a constant rotation of two at a time. After spending time talking and travelling with her, he thought it would be better to have her surrounded by people she knew, rather than a string of strangers. Not only would these oprichniki know what to expect from her, she might not act up and try to get away from them if she liked them well enough.

Assigning her guards was a good idea, as it turned out, for both her safety and that of everyone else. Eyes followed Alina wherever she went in the palace those first few days, and the girl was often approached by others - most of them children, though a few adults as well - looking to befriend her. Despite having a power that countless people would have killed for, she appeared entirely unimpressed - even uncomfortable - at the attention and expectations heaped upon her.

It amused him to see how little patience the suspicious child had with flatterers or hangers-on, even if it curtailed his own original plans. Whenever he had tried to pay her a compliment, or offer any kind of praise, she also turned that flat, dark-eyed look upon him. A different strategy was necessary, then. Actions spoke louder than words for the girl, and charm was clearly not going to win her over.

"I like the colour," Alina said of her new black kefta as they sat together one dinner. "But everyone knows who I am when I wear it, from far away. No one else wears black except you,"

"That's the point," He said. "You're no normal summoner,"

"I know that," She said, undeterred. "But people act like idiots around me when they know I'm the Sun Summoner,"

"What defines 'idiot', to you?"

"Staring. Pointing. Whispering, as though I can't see them. The worst ones are the ones who come up to me and all but beg to be my friend. It's pathetic. Some people fall over themselves to try and say something nice, even though it's all so... fake,"

"How do you know that it's fake?" He was rather intrigued. Perhaps trying to read her volatile mother's moods had given her the skill.

"It just is," She glanced at him. "You do it too, sometimes, though better than they do. Your mouth smiles but your eyes don't," Now that was concerning, that she could see through him at only nine years old. Everyone from Kings to common soldiers fell for the Darkling's charm, or were afraid of him at least. At least she was blunt enough to tell him so, not keep it to herself and build up quiet resentment. "Everyone here wants me to like them. It's strange, and I don't like it,"

"Is it so strange? All the Grisha here know you will grow up to be very powerful. They look up to you, and want to know you better,"

"So they want to be my friends so I can give them something later on?"

He smiled, then, and knew his eyes were not smiling too. "Isn't that the same as any friendship? You make friends with one person because they are interesting, another because they tell good jokes, because you like having good company. A kind friend will help you when you're in trouble, and so will a rich one. All friendships are made because both parties want something from each other,"

Alina thought on that for a while, silent. "I suppose you're right," It seemed a struggle to admit that. "I don't want anything from them, though. Most of them are annoying,"

"You haven't made friends with anyone here?"

"I like Genya," She said. "But she's not in any of my classes, and she's always busy with the Queen. Katya isn't so bad, the other girl from the carriage. She's very clever, and funny, even if she is a bit quiet,"

That girl was a Fabrikator, if he wasn't mistaken.

"I was told you don't get on with Zoya in your Grisha Theory class," All her teachers reported to him, of course.

Alina scowled "She's a stuck-up teacher's pet,"

"Zoya is one of the most talented Grisha of her age. And a good student, so I've been told. From what I've heard, it is you and the Belsky boy who antagonise her," Interesting that she had chosen the Inferni boy as a friend. Viktor Belsky was the son of a powerful otkazat'sya lord, a good friend of the King's. Though Alina likely did not know that.

"The teacher just catches us first!" She protested. "Zoya says awful things, but quietly. Then I do something awful back, and the teacher always sees,"

"Then you need to work on your subtlety," He replied. "Or rise above the petty comments of a little girl and ignore her,"

She had no reply to that, just glowered. He had learned that Alina hated any hint of being patronised.

Later on, as they left the dinner table, the girl asked a question that made him pause. "What do you want from me? You wanted me to come here so badly. Why?"

"Who says I want anything from you, Alina?"

"Everyone wants something from everyone, that's what you said," She replied, somehow making that sentence sound childlike. "You're already rich and powerful, and surrounded by people who'll do whatever you tell them,"

"Well, then I suppose I want someone to be my equal," He smiled. This time it was genuine. "Follow me,"

The girl looked taken aback, but said nothing for a while, following him back to his private wing. She seemed to fall silent when she was thinking hard. "You want me to be a General too?" Alina asked eventually, as they entered his study.

"Something like that. It depends on you," The Darkling sat down at his desk.

She didn't wait for an invitation to sit, clambering onto the chair in front of the desk, which was too big for a child. "Me?"

"If you are clever, hard-working and have the right temperament, then there is the possibility I will train you for a high-ranking position in the Second Army. If you do not demonstrate that you are capable of that in your time at the Little Palace, or do not wish to do so, then you will likely not lead or fight, but remain here, safe and warm behind palace walls, until your powers are needed,"

The implications of his words were clear, even to a child. The Darkling knew enough of Alina to know she would despise the latter option.

There was a short pause.

"Lots of people have been asking when I'm going to get rid of the Fold,"

He had hoped to avoid planting that idea in her head early on, but supposed it was inevitable that someone told her sooner or later. "The myths of the Sun Summoner make that seem like a possibility," He said carefully. "Light conquering darkness is a favoured narrative of many stories, as I'm sure you have heard in church,"

"We didn't go much. Mother has Shu gods, and Da just doesn't like church,"

That was surprising, but nothing less than a blessing; he would not have to undo any preconceived notions about the supposed Sun Saint. "It makes no difference - I cannot say I am devout either. But I will not lie to you, Alina," Unless it suits me. "There are going to be many people who want you to bring down the Fold. The King will be among them, when we announce your presence here to him. But I will deal with all of that. Do not concern yourself,"

"Can I do it?" She asked. "Because I wouldn't even know where to start. I've never seen it,"

"Perhaps some day," Was his only answer. "Like I said before - that depends on you,"

In more ways than she knew.

*

Alina is perceptive. Although currently she has little reason to not trust the Darkling, she still suspects something isn't right. Also, I am aware that in canon the Darkling claims he is 120 years old to Alina, before she found out he was the Black Heretic, but given that he also claimed his great-great-great grandfather made the Fold, 400ish years ago, this doesn't add up to me. And also, living for 120 years and looking 35 would still raise alarm bells amongst the people he wanted to hide his true age from, so I just left the age he presents himself as ambiguous.

Thanks for reading! And special thanks to those who left comments/reviews or kudos/votes (this story is cross published on Wattpad, Fanfiction.net and Ao3, so if you see it there under my username, it is not plagiarised).