#(genya's relationship w/ the darkling is so fascinating and i love any chance to dig into that dynamic)

[dekoranevich]

@xdarklingx​ said: ❝ Harden your heart. ❞ ( the cruel prince sentence starters | accepting )

She is trying. The world outside the palaces may be unforgiving but the world within is cruel; she can feel the queen’s fingers gripping her chin so tightly they leave bruises she has to cover, and she can feel eyes on her, always, always. She doesn’t think of the worst of it, if it can be helped, but it’s there. And if there were still a girl who could be wounded, a girl without walls around her heart buried somewhere within her, their Sun Summoner would be able to draw her out. 

     Alina is hurting, she wants to say, and I don’t like to see it, and I can’t give her answers, and I don’t want to lie to her anymore. But she hears his voice speaking over her own — promises of safety or promises of retribution. Reminders that she is necessary, she is valuable, she will never be powerless again once this has begin. 

     Harden your heart. Advice easier given than taken, she thinks, but Genya swallows hard, and she nods. Her only open ally, here, and she may alienate her before the real work can be done. 

     After another beat’s silence Genya clears her throat. “The King has been feeling unwell lately,” she says, voice a little strained, but there’s a fierce pride in her eyes. ( It almost frightens her, how much she enjoys the suffering she can inflict herself. Retribution, indeed. ) “The effects are compounding. Should I slow down?”

     ( She is a soldier, awaiting instruction from her general. ) 

#xdarklingx #i. was it that or just the act of making noise that brought you joy? ( answered ) #v. just be careful. (of what?) of powerful men. ( canon timeline: shadow and bone ) #(ty for sending this in !! c: ) #(genya's relationship w/ the darkling is so fascinating and i love any chance to dig into that dynamic)