Surprises
Alexander was intrigued.
Intrigued by the enigma in front of him.
Before coming into the clearing, he of course, expected a green girl, an inexperienced girl that came from an orphanage, as he was told.
One that was also a Cartographer, as she had said before.
Very pointedly, might he add.
But that's not the point.
The point is, is that he expected a damsel in distress.
Someone that on all accounts should have never known how to kill another, and in such a manner as that.
And by the gleam of the dagger in her hands, one that he'd like to further examine from up close…
Well, that was no ordinary dagger.
Not with the way it cut so effortlessly into the Fjerdan’s skin, as butter, which should have been impossible, seeing as it even sliced through bone.
And besides that, no no-name, penniless, orphan should have had such an expensive, and obviously well crafted dagger in their possession to begin with…
It shouldn't have been possible, her friends joined the First Army when they were fairly young themselves…and then he remembered, while glancing at the woman, who is a bit fairly away on his right.
The one who he is betting on, the one who made it all possible.
The one who escaped from him in the first place, with the sun summoner in tow.
The one who dared make a fool out of him.
Which, he should be more angered by, but he strangely enough, wasn't.
But again, that is beside the point.
Back to the matter at hand.
'Who are you, Valeria Cherniak?' he asks himself, and then continues with his strain of thought
'Furthermore, what are you? Because a simple 'human', is clearly not what you are.'
Oh he of course knows of her exploits during all of the years she served in the First Army, who wouldn't, when even the royal family is intrigued by the girl.
No, the woman.
All of Ravka has been talking of her after that whole ordeal, which even made their enemies know of her, if they have not already heard of her, that is.
It would be foolish of them not to know of her.
Even he could not stop himself from showing interest in her.
How could he not.
It is always better to know of threats that could mean a problem in the future…
And Miss Cherniak was ticking all of the boxes.
That could raise his alarms.
The first thing being: that he knows nothing of her, absolutely nothing. Nothing that could be traced back to her. Past and present. Nothing.
Well, nothing that hasn’t already been said and confirmed, that is…
But back to the matter at hand.
He wants to laugh.
And it’s all thanks to her.
‘Now how, pray tell, did you become so well versed in the art of fighting and weaponry to even teach your friends the necessary skills to survive? When the three of you were only children in the orphanage?' He wonders.
And then her sudden revelation in the tent…
How indeed.
Well, he is now most definitely curious about her, he will admit to himself.
‘Who are you, Valeria Cherniak? If that is even your name. Your true name.’
For he knows what it’s like to hide one’s name, and seeing as he can find nothing on her, Alexander feels that there is something amiss.
There is most definitely something amiss.
And he wants answers.
Alexander will admit, that outside of his sudden feeling of rage, because of suddenly being interrupted by a force that threw his cut off its course…Which should have been impossible, seeing as no one can redirect it when he uses it. It was the point of it…and then the feeling of both of their powers entangling for just a second…it gave him a sudden feeling, something he in all his years had never known…something unexplainable.
Something that for just a second in his rage-addled mind, had felt…whole.
‘But…whole? No, don’t be ridiculous, Alexander.’ He then continues, ‘It was just a trick of the mind, nothing more. ‘ He then firmly thinks, while setting his sight on the woman in front of him, once more.
But this time, he is now purposely striding towards her.
Finally coming closer to the woman, to…well, to ask questions would be the obvious thing in this kind of situation, Alexander thinks.
But before he could even utter a word to her, when he came to stand next to her. Which gave him a strange feeling, up into his whole being,to be near her.
Looking at her rather enchanting, he will admit, countenance… she knew of his presence, but even then…
Her attention was not on him.
It was on the sight in front of them, which, of course were on those that are dear to her.
Her friends.
And when he finally opened his mouth to say something to her…she just up and left him there, with his mouth opened in surprise.
Looking at her retreating back, he finally admits it to himself.
She ignored him.
In all his years, this has never happened to him.
Him.
“I don’t want to see the body, please Ria.”
Was Alina’s voice whispering in her coat, the three of them still tightly holding one another. Not one of them trying to be free out of each other's holds just yet.
Stroking the girl’s head in comfort, she did as Alina asked of her and closed her eyes.
And in the next moment, the body behind them began to crumble away into nothingness.
Never once did she look back, to see what exactly she had done to it.
Because it did not matter.
Opening her eyes to the calming trees before her, eyes she knows are gleaming with power at the moment, she then whispers in Alina’s ear.
“It is done.”
Not aware of the shocked gasps behind them, for what she had done.
“Moi Soverenyi..” Was Ivan’s sudden shocked voice to him, in question at the sight in front of them all.
At what just happened.
Where once the Fjerdan’s dead body had lain, the body was no more.
Because it seemed to suddenly shatter into pieces and scatter away with the wind, as though it were dust, as though it were never there to begin with.
Such a thing should have been impossible.
But it had happened, just now, right in front of them.
And Alexander, in all of his 500 years of walking through these plains… he had never encountered a creature such as her.
For no human can possibly do such feats.
Impossible.
She did not even move any of her limbs, she was still embracing her friends, with her back to them, when she caused it.
Quite effortlessly, might he add.
But that was not what his Right hand was asking of him, no.
Ivan was awaiting orders; his orders.
Orders which he, at the moment, does not have for the man.
For he himself is in awe at the sight in front of him.
Of her and her power.
Of what it could do for him.
For the whole of Ravka.
'Valeria Cherniak..'
And then his gaze is once more connected to a familiar gleam on the ground.
The dagger.
It is buried under the dust of the once intact body of the dead Fjerdan.
Ignoring the protests of Ivan, Alexander strides forward.
To the dagger, but also to them.
Specifically, to her.
He had waited enough, he will have his answers.
Taking a hold of the dagger, he finds that where there should have been blood coating it…there was none.
It seemed to have evaporated.
Fascinating.
Finally looking it over, he first finds that it is light…lighter than any dagger he had ever had in his possession. And the blade in itself…its curious pattern of different metals that melted together, intrigued him. For he had never seen such a pattern before, it had a dark tint to it. And it was obviously sharp, just by touch alone, but that wasn't even the most interesting part of the dagger…no.
For the hilt is what had ensnared his attention fully, especially the butt of the dagger.
For there, etched on it…was a stag's antlers.
Familiar antlers.
But before he could further continue his examination, he suddenly felt a sword next to his throat.
A familiar, and very poisonous, one.
But that didn't really matter to him at the moment, because his gaze was elsewhere after taking a glance at the sword.
Looking up into the cold and gleaming, emerald eyes (that radiate the danger, but also the power) of its owner…
Alexander only looks at her in wonder.