That night, Aleksander was sat in his study going over stacks of reports and correspondance by candlelight. Outside the window, thick white snowflakes were falling, blown on strong gusts of wind. The first snows of the season, a late-autumn harbinger of the oncoming winter. 

"Moi tsar,"

The knock at the door drove Aleksander to look up from his reports, as he bade the oprichnik to enter. It was late, and the guards were well-trained; any reason for them to disturb him must be significant or concerning in some way. But when the man entered, he did not look apprehensive, worried or threatened. In fact, he looked no less than pleased.

Suspicious of this, Aleksander kept his face impassive. "What is it?"

"A party of Grisha just arrived at the Little Palace, moi tsar. It's Alina - forgive me - Miss Starkova, and her friends returned from Shu Han," His stomach swooped embarrassingly at this unexpected news. He had not truly expected her to arrive so fast; or at all. "She said she needs to talk with you urgently. Would like to talk to you," The man ammended quickly, though Alina would indeed have demanded to see him, not asked, and if he refused then she would come anyway, marching through that door like the force of nature she was.

Aleksander worked to keep his tone as cold and unaffected as usual. "Of course. Let her through. She knows the way," There was something ominous about her request. If it was nothing serious, Alina would have likely let him to come to her - which, infuriatingly, he would've done - or  swanned in at an inopportune moment like she hadn't been gone for nearly three years, just to wrong-foot him. Three years were nothing to someone as old as he was, but those years without her had dragged unusually slow.

Even after the man had gone, he could not concentrate on his reports. His heart pounded in his ears when he heard her footsteps in the hall, heard her greeting the oprichniki like old friends - which he supposed they were, for her - heard her laugh, the sweetest sound he had heard in a long time. Then the door was opening, and she stepped inside; Alina, in the flesh, right here.  

Even travel worn, visibly tired and dirty, she was somehow the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She's cut her hair. Alina had always favoured keeping it long, falling loose to her waist, or braided back into a tight plait, but now it was cut a little below her chin, the white streak of merzost contrasting with the black. It suited her; her sharp, flashing smiles, wicked looks and bursts of laughter. Her eyes found his, and he felt as foolish as a boy of sixteen. Saints, this was ridiculous. 

It was a long time since someone hadn't bowed to him, but she just kept eye contact, her spine not even bending slightly. "Aleksander," She said with a grin that lit up the tired hollows of her face, and he had to suppress a shiver at the sound of his name, his true name, from the only one who knew or cared to use it.

"Alina," He could not help but return her smile, lips moving of their own accord. 

For a moment they just watched each other, as she came to sit on the other side of his desk. He did not miss the flash of bone on her fingers. Nor the snowflakes in her hair.

"I missed you," 

His words surprised her, that much was obvious, but in the time she had gone, he had decided things would be different when she returned. She was no longer a child, and was most certainly not under his control. If he insisted on that, she would slip through his fingers, or more likely burn them off. Not only that, but she was the one person he did not have to put up a front to; she'd been seeing through him for years, now, and knew the best of him and the worst. It had been a long time, since he had been able to talk to anyone like a true equal. 

"I know. I read your letter. And... I missed you too," Alina said after hesitating a moment, taking a seat. "Saints know that I shouldn't," Then she smirked. "Do I look older? I was informed by a charming man in Shriftport that women reach their prime at sixteen, and I am well past that age at twenty-two. I suppose even immortality can't save me from becoming a shrivelled crone," 

"You look radiant," Came his honest reply. 

She did look older, in a good way. Any small traces of baby fat left on her face had melted away, sharpening her cheeks and jaw. There was more to it than looks, though. Whilst Alina had never been shy or awkward - quite the opposite - she now had an air of surety and security about her that had not been there before. Less rage and prickly ferocity bubbling just under the surface, threatening to overspill. Less to prove. It was only now he realised exactly what an angry girl she had been; barely able to come to terms with the things she could do, the things she had done, and what others had done to her, always fighting to keep her head above the waters of instability, trauma and outside pressures. 

His words made her smile. Before, she would have laughed the compliment off, or scowled and accused him of trying to manipulate her. "I've been summoning a lot,"

"Yes," Aleksander said, tone dry. "Breaking into the most dangerous places for Grisha in Shu Han, I've heard," And hadn't that been a delightful report from Mila Tarasova? "Laboratories full of people who would wet themselves with excitement at the idea of dissecting you," 

Alina laughed. "Did you expect anything less of me? It worked, though. We found - " She broke off, a shadow crossing her face. "Well. I have news, but I don't want to tell it just yet and ruin the mood,"

He was right, then. Something had made her ride through the night, through the wind and snow, to get here, forget their previous quarrels and come straight to his quarters. "That sounds like news that cannot wait,"

"There's little you can do at this hour," She shook her head. "Give me a few minutes respite, and then I'll tell you," She then changed the subject, which did not ease his mind at all. "How is poor little Darya? You haven't broken her already, have you?"

That was irritating enough to divert his attention momentarily. "The Tsaritsa is well," At her raised eyebrow, he elaborated. "She is not entirely empty-headed. A good Queen,"

"Do you ever even see each other in private?"

"We are... Companionable. She asks nothing of me. I ask little of her,"

"Aw," Alina cooed. "You're friends. That is... oddly sweet," She laughed at the look on his face. "I'm trying to be nice, not mock you. That being said, what on earth do you talk about? The near five-hundred year old shadow-summoning Tsar and the teenage girl who likes pretty flowers and painting?"

"Darya is twenty - you might as well asked what I talked about with you all this time," He said, then regretted it as her eyes shone with teasing mirth. He shook his head, unable to be annoyed, and just answered the question. "We talk about unimportant things. Art. Literature. History - she's well-read, for her age. Useful court whispers. Horticulture - "

"Horticulture?" Alina spluttered. "Sorry, this is all so uncharacteristically wholesome. Now I am laughing at you. Since when have you had an interest in gardening?"

Her amusement was contagious and he could not hold back a smirk. "I know nothing of gardening. Darya, however, cultivates much of the palace grounds. Talk of flowers and shrubbery is remarkably good at taking my mind off the fools in government I deal with daily. I will not let you mock me for it,"

Alina was grinning. "Why do we never talk about things like paintings, statues and flowers?"

"I believe I talked with you extensively about books and history in your childhood, not that you ever wanted to listen. You did enjoy talking about horses, however. Then war, politics and ousting a dynasty gradually took over,"

"I suppose. But still... gardening," She shook her head. "I'm sure you know how angry I was when you married her - "

"I am neither blind nor deaf,"

"Shut up. I'm trying to say I think I might like that you've got a little friend to talk about nice things with and not focus on being evil all the time,"

"Darya is still my wife, Alina," He warned, not wanting an outburst if she realised he sometimes shared her bed.

"Like I said before I left," Alina shrugged. "I have you in every way that matters to me. Only difference is, now I believe it. I'd be a hypocrite, besides. I've hardly lived like a nun for the past three years," 

That was a blatant test, a challenge, one that he refused to react to. Any show of possessiveness would drive her away, thus he shoved down the anger that undeserving hands had touched her. She was right; what did it matter, truly? He was the one she would spend eternity with. What were a few petty amusements she would never see again?

"I hadn't expected you to," 

Her expression was one of approval and mild surprise. "Good," 

They watched each other over the desk, and he felt that fatal attraction crackling between them in her burning stare. 

"Your leaving reminded me of a world without you in it," He said. "I'm glad you're returned, Alina," There were no appearances to keep up anymore. No need to keep any amount of distance between them.

Some of that old suspicion, an ingrained reaction, flashed through her dark eyes at that, assessing him and whether his words were genuine. For perhaps the first time, however, she did not find him lacking. Instead, she just smiled faintly, slightly sad. 

"As much as I'd like to say otherwise, I'm glad to be back," She murmured. "It feels like coming home. But enough. I need to tell you what I came back for in such a hurry. I'm sure Mila has told you of a secret the Shu are guarding closely?" At his affirmation, she continued. "We broke into the five highest-security labs in Shu Han. After number four, we'd gathered that it was a drug that involved large shipments of jurda, a man named Bo Yul-Bayur, and Grisha prisoners. We still had no idea as to its nature until we broke into Tomor-Uul," 

"The most dangerous place in all of Shu Han?" He narrowed his eyes.

A hollow smile. "Not anymore," 

"What does that mean?"

"Tomor-Uul doesn't exist anymore," Her smile faded, as a cold numbness crept into her tone. "I destroyed it. There is only a scorched crater where the mountain once stood,"

That made him pause. Part of him wanted to laugh in her face, but her expression was deadly serious. "You did what?" Aleksander demanded. "How have I not heard of this?" She levelled a mountain? He paid more attention to the three bone rings on her fingers, now. Had she done what he had been unable to for centuries, and found all of Morozov's amplifiers?

"When I say we rode as fast as we could, I meant it," Alina said darkly. "We outran any news finding its way here. I might as well tell the whole story. We were working with the Taivshral - you know of them?" A sharp nod. "They planned to attack all five labs the day we broke into Tomor-Uul using weak spots we'd identified. I still don't know if they succeeded. News will probably reach here within the week, as well as hundreds of Grisha refugees. Or not, if it didn't work. But myself and a... Shu guide made it to the records room. One of the higher-up scientists was waiting for us. They knew about the Taivshral surrounding Tomor-Uul and had prepared accordingly by dosing all their captives with the drug. Jurda parem,"

Alina paused, the look on her face making him cold with dread. Even more than her mentioning blowing up a mountain already had.

"And?"

She took a breath. "Bo Yul-Bayur is a powerful Fabrikator who aimed to find a way for Grisha to defend themselves better against the Shu government. But his experiments got out of hand, attracted the wrong attention and he was taken into custody. Yul-Bayur had been working on jurda parem, which can temporarily enhance Grisha powers,"

"Akin to an amplifier?" 

"No, more like one step from merzost. Think Corporalki who can control minds, mutate bodies and rend the hearts of an entire room at once. Summoners who can turn incorporeal and walk through walls and bullets alike. Materialki who can shape the earth,"

Saints. "Whilst hardly desirable to have in the hands of our enemies, there will be very few Grisha willing to use these enhanced powers for the good of Shu Han," He said. Surely their new strength would be used to escape? The drug could be a valuable weapon for Ravka, in fact.

Alina's answering smile was grim. "I thought the same. But jurda parem is incredibly addictive. I told Qara - my guide - to warn the Taivshral to abandon the plan and run as far as they could. But I had to see them, the captives, before I destroyed it all. I couldn't just kill them blind," Her tone was becoming more fraught, her eyes more haunted, trying to make him understand. He already understood far too well. "I turned invisible and saw Grisha turn from proud and defiant to begging their captors for more, promising anything in return. Withdrawal after the first dose kills most. None survive it after the second. They were all shells of themselves, dependant on this drug and whoever is giving it to them," She swallowed. "It was... horrible. A perversion. One of the worst things I've ever seen," She met his eyes, then, looking both impossibly young and heartbreakingly old. "Aleksander, how do you bear it for all these years?"

That question had no satisfactory answer. "Because there was no option not to," A pause. "Even after all this time, every new atrocity the otkazat'sya force upon our people still appalls me. There was a time in Ravka, before the Fold, where it was fashionable to crucify Grisha. I swore then that that was the worst thing I had ever seen. I've been proven wrong countless times since,"

It was times like this where Aleksander wished he believed in the saints, for having a higher power to pray to, hoping, trusting, that everything would be alright, would surely be of greater comfort than knowing that he was the only power that could save them all from this mess. Well, himself and Alina. The latter who many did view as a saint, so he supposed there was some irony to that. Part of him wanted to wrap her in his arms and shield her from every evil in the world, to keep her safe and sheltered, so she did not even have to think about such evil things. The rest of him acknowledged it was far too late for that, and cried out for someone to share his burden.

"You understand, then," She said, as though to reassure herself. "Why I had to destroy it. I blew the whole mountain sky high. All of their research was confined to Tomor-Uul, as it was kept so secret, as well as the scientists working on it. No one could have survived what I did. But the Shu are aware of the concept now, and it won't be long before they can recreate the formula, especially if any of those scientists weren't there that day,"

He took a steadying breath, his mind already going through calculations of how much damage this revelation would cause, and the extent of the fallout. Not to mention Alina's blatant attack and destruction of Shu property when the treaty was still in place. Though if there were no survivors or eyewitnesses then who was to say it was the Sun Summoner? They could throw all the accusations they wanted without any proof. Still, it would be sensible to anticipate trouble on the border again. 

"Who else knows of this?"

"A select few high-ups in the Shu government, and most likely some of their surviving scientists. Me, my friends, and certain members of the Taivshral, all of whom will want this kept quiet. And I doubt the Shu would want this information in foreign hands, either, as it was so well-guarded even amongst their scientists,"

"And they are attempting to refine this drug? I assume that is why they haven't used it against us, yet?"

She nodded. "I'm pretty sure it has to be injected, which is hard to do in the thick of battle, especially as the high doesn't seem to last that long. I doubt they'd be able to send a jurda parem assassin to kill us, for example - the drug would wear off and withdrawal would immediately cripple them," A pause. "Bo Yul-Bayur escaped, too, between Amhrat Jen and Tomor-Uul. He could be dead, or could be selling his secrets to another government for sanctuary as we speak,"

"I'll send a message to Tarasova tonight," He said. "There is little else to do - you have upset operations by destroying the research, but as you said, it won't take them long to catch up. I will do what I can to divert jurda imports from Shu Han - we can lower port tariffs, increase prices, even buy out much of the supply ourselves and burn it. Perhaps you could set the Lantsov bastard's fleet to hijack jurda ships from Novyi Zem," 

She rolled her eyes at that. "And have the Fabrikators start work on an antidote,"

"Naturally," A silence fell between them; he called in the guard outside to take the freshly penned letter. Once the door shut behind the man, he spoke. "What will you do in the meantime?" A heavy question.

Alina answered like it meant nothing. "Go to Genya's wedding. Make friends with your wife," A small smirk at that, which he did not dignify with a response. "See my family, as long as I can bear to be around my mother,"

"Speaking of - your mother has managed to worm her way into becoming a regular at court," And make a nuisance of herself at the same time. "Using your name, of course, but most nobles are eager to welcome her for a chance of earning your hard-won favour,"

"Saints," Alina groaned. "How embarrassing. Though I won't apologise for her. You subjected me to Baghra for years,"

"Baghra likes you more than she likes me, most of the time," 

"And my mother would happily fall into bed with you the moment you sent her a slightly suggestive look," She paused, pulling a face. "You're right, actually, that is much worse. My sincere apologies for bringing her to Os Alta,"

He smiled, finding her company refreshing after three years apart. "Unlike her daughter Alina, who graces me with her company every few years only to deliver world-shattering news,"

"You deserved it," She said. "I may no longer be angry but don't think I've forgotten that you married someone else,"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," He said. "Though, grant me one small request,"

"What?" She asked, wary.

"Do tell what you did to Jan Van Eck to prompt him to write to me,"

To that, she laughed, worry and stress falling away from her face. Despite the truly awful news of jurda parem - the reminder that despite all his efforts over centuries, the otkazat'sya were still monsters inflicting torture on his people - his mood was somehow lifted just by making her smile.

"It would be my pleasure,"

*

Shorter than the previous four chapters but they were ridiculously long so I think it's justified. This story is getting ridiculously long honestly, it's nearly passed my longest game of thrones fanfic in word count which says a lot. 

What did you think of the reunion? I don't want Alina falling into his arms right away because that would be so out of character, yet equally she's had a long time to sort herself out away from him (and vice versa). Three years is a long time from nineteen to twenty-two, in terms of maturity and personality. I've aimed to keep Alina's wild essence the same but develop her character so she doesn't become stale and one note. It would seem like taking a step backwards if she got there and was furious at him.

Please let me know in the comments if you enjoyed! Thanks so much for reading and a special thanks to everyone who comments, they make my day and really do encourage me to write more.