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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑

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Inessa didn't know how to feel as she sat on the couch in Alina's room. The Sun Summoner was talking and laughing with Marie and Nadie, which surprisingly brought some joy to the Heartrender. But at the same time, she felt out of place. The Smirnoff girl never really spent downtime with anyone. With Fedyor and Ivan constantly working with the Darkling, she often found herself alone in the library when she had nothing else to do. Sitting and conversing with three girls was something Inessa had never experienced before. And it was extremely obvious she was uncomfortable by the way she fidgeted on the couch.

The three girls were oblivious to Inessa's discomfort as they continued to converse. Their laughter was constantly cutting through the air, drowning out any other surrounding noise. The Heartrender tuned out most of their conversation, getting bits and pieces of it here and there, which only confused her more. A long sigh soon passed over Inessa's lips as she silently prayed for their conversation to end. But to her dismay, it continued.

"I panicked. Nobody's ever asked to spend time with me before," Marie told Alina and Nadia, who continued to laugh at what the Inferni previously said.

"So you set him on fire?" the Starkov girl questioned through her laughter.

"It was an accident."

"The Squallers had to launch him right into the lake," Nadia added, causing more laughter to fill the room.

"So, set ablaze, then nearly drowned him," Alina summarized with a large smile on her face, "you've made quite a first impression."

Inessa let out another sigh when more laughter filled the room. She never thought she would want to be in a training session with Fedyor and Ivan, but here she was longing for one. Luckily she was soon saved by the door flying open. A large smile instantly appeared on the Smirnoff girl's lips at the sight of Genya entering the room. Nadia and Marie didn't hesitate to greet the tailor, who returned their greetings with a small smile. It wasn't long after that when the Safin girl's attention landed on the Inferni. "They need you for the kefta."

"No, I'm so late," Marie responded before glancing back at her friend, "Nadia, come on."

That was all it took for the two girls to sprint out of the room. Genya soon approached Alina, who gestured toward her hair with a playful smirk on her face. The Safin girl just studied it for a long moment before letting out a sigh. "Thank all Saints I got here in time."

The Sun Summoner couldn't help but laugh before turning to look in the mirror behind her. "I think they tried their best actually."

"That's a terrifying thought," Genya retaliated while waving her hand through the air to undo Alina's hair. She then turned her back to the Starkov girl and approached her chest, opening the lid without a second thought. The smile on the Sun Summoner's face did nothing but grow as she walked across the room to sit in front of Genya. The Safin girl didn't hesitate to hand a mirror to Alina before opening her mouth to speak. "Still nothing from Mal."

Inessa would be the first to admit she was surprised to see the smile fade from Alina's face. The latter took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding to her friend. "You don't have to update me anymore. I'm sure you've got enough on your plate."

The Smirnoff girl just stared at Alina for a moment, unsure of what to make of her words. It wasn't long before she looked over at Genya, who was staring back at her with an unreadable look on her face. Not even a second after that passed when the Safin girl cleared her throat and went back to looking through her supplies.

"You have no idea. The Queen, Her Royal Bossiness, Tatiana, has absolutely no regard for my need to sleep. She woke before dawn and demanded I touch up her face before the rest of her team arrived," Genya responded after taking a small flower out from one of the jars in her chest. A small sigh passed over the tailor's lips as she bent down and waved her thumb over Alina's lips, turning them into a dark pink.

"You know, I can accidentally blind her in the demonstration if you like," the Starkov girl said without an ounce of hesitation as she looked at herself in the mirror. A small smile returned to Alina's face after hearing Genya chuckle, only for it to fade when she saw the dead bug in her friend's hand. "What's that for?"

The Safin girl's smile instantly grew before giving Alina a simple command. "Relax your eyebrows. Close your eyes."

The Sun Summoner did as she was told before Genya waved her fingers over the former's eyelids, turning them royal blue. A disgusted look appeared on Inessa's face at the sight of the color, but chose not to say a word, knowing the tailor knew more about appearances than she did. They let the silence surround them for a moment longer as the Safin girl worked, only for Genya to break it.

"I don't mind actually," the redheaded girl explained before taking a moment to look at her work, "it tends to shift the King's gaze in her direction. At least until nightfall."

Inessa was confused by Genya's words at first, but it didn't take long for her to realize what she was implying. Disgust flowed through the Heartrender's veins before it transformed into hatred. She already despised her uncle for turning his back on her. After all, he was the King. If he really wanted to keep her out of the Second Army, he could've found a way. But now Inessa was grateful she wasn't blood-related to the man in any way, shape, or form. It would be easier to think of him as just another person in the world.

The Smirnoff girl was drawn out of her thoughts by Genya humming under her breath. When she looked back over at the girls, she found the tailor removing the blue eyeshadow from Alina's eyelids.

"Let's just say the Fold is gone. What then?" the Sun Summoner questioned, drawing both Genya and Inessa's full attention toward her, "Ravka will be revived. The Second Army won't be as necessary. Grisha will have new opportunities. I've always wanted to travel the world. See the True Sea. Visit the library at the University of Ketterdam. Mal always talked about retiring to a farm. I never really liked farms. But perhaps a dacha in Balakirev."

As Alina talked about her plans for after the Fold was gone, Inessa couldn't help but imagine her life after the war. She knew she would reunite with Nikolai somehow. She would travel the world with him and discover new places, just like they imagined they were kids. The thought alone was enough to make a small smile appear on Inessa's lips, something that didn't go unnoticed by Alina. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared. After shaking her head to clear her thoughts, the Smirnoff girl turned her attention back to the Sun Summoner.

"It's dangerous to think that way," Inessa declared, earning confused looks from both Alina and Genya that she chose to ignore. Instead, she listened to the words that repeated over and over again in her head. Words spoken to her by General Kirigan himself. She couldn't fight the chills running up her spine as her fingers traced over her kefta's sleeve, right over her lone tally mark tattoo. "Those thoughts will only distract you from what's important. You need to focus on what's in front of you."

The Safin girl just stared at Inessa for another moment before turning toward Alina. That was enough to draw the Starkov girl's attention back to her. Not even a second after that passed when the tailor slipped an onyx ring onto Alina's finger. The smile instantly returned to the Sun Summoner's face as she looked up at Genya, who was staring back at her with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I know the General insisted on black for the performance, but perhaps after, you could return to blue," the redheaded girl said while Inessa watched the girls with curiosity in her eyes.

Alina hesitated as she took in her friend's words. But it only took a moment before she responded. "I think I'm gonna stick with the black moving forward."

That was all it took for Inessa's nerves to skyrocket. It was such a drastic change that she found it hard to breathe. She just sat there on the couch for a moment, trying to calm herself down. It didn't take long for the Smirnoff girl to realize what caused her to panic. She was fearful for Alina, knowing how persuasive the Darkling could be. He practically had the Starkov girl wrapped around his finger. But what made everything worse was the fact that Inessa couldn't say anything. She couldn't warn her. After failing to calm her nerves, Inessa dismissed herself from the room, wanting to be anywhere else but there.

The Smirnoff girl did her best not to stumble as she made her way down the hall. She passed David on her way, but didn't so much as nod in greeting to him. Inessa had only one thought on her mind and one thought alone. Get to her room before she's discovered and questioned about her condition. Her thoughts were on overdrive as she made her way through what felt like never ending corridors.

It wasn't long before she finally made it to the hall that would take her to her room. Inessa channeled all her strength not to sprint down the passageway. She barely made it halfway down the hall when someone came out of nowhere, causing the Smirnoff girl to slam into them. That was enough to knock Inessa out of her state of shock as she stumbled backward. As soon as she regained her bearings, she looked up to find an oprichniki standing in front of her. The two of them just stared for what felt like an eternity before the man sent her a small nod and walked past her. But Inessa didn't move an inch.

Because the oprichniki wasn't a man, but a boy. One not much older than she was. Inessa would be the first to admit she didn't socialize with many people. However, she did pride herself on remembering faces and she knew all of the oprichniki assigned to the Little Palace. Which could only mean that the boy she just ran into wasn't an ally of the Grisha General. And yet something deep down inside her told her not to say a word. So instead of following the imposter down the hall leading to the ballroom, Inessa returned to Alina's room.

After ensuring Alina's hair and makeup were all ready, Inessa led her and Genya out into the hallway. The three of them walked side by side through the halls with two oprichniki right behind them. Their presence alone was enough to make the Smirnoff girl think back to the imposter, but she quickly pushed that thought away. The last time someone strange was reported to the Darkling, he forced Inessa to enact an unthinkable task and she wasn't going to do that again. Instead, she focused her thoughts on what was coming. They needed to prepare Alina for her demonstration.

"Wait until you see this kefta. It's a masterpiece," Genya said as they walked down a hall toward the back of the Little Palace, "I can't wait to see Zoya's face when she sees you."

It wasn't long after that when music filled the air, causing Alina to stop in her tracks and look out the window. Inessa didn't hesitate to copy her actions, only to find festivities taking place in the field below them. A small smile appeared on the Smirnoff girl's face as she watched people dancing along to the music. But she quickly forced it away, knowing that she would never experience it. However, the Sun Summoner had other thoughts.

"We have to go outside," the Starkov girl told her friends with a large grin on her face, only for both Inessa and Genya to disagree with her, "oh, come on, it's like Butter Week! In Keramzin, noblemen would drive around carts with all kinds of cheeses and breads. Then they'd open their estates, put on carnivals with traveling troupes. Orphans weren't allowed, but Mal and I used to sneak out."

Despite the smile threatening to appear on Inessa's lips after hearing the Sun Summoner's story, the young Heartrender knew she had to be the voice of reason. "It's not safe for you, Alina. Somebody might recognize you."

"I can wear a scarf. Or a hat. Or two hats," Alina retaliated as the smile on her face did nothing but grow. But when she realized that her words had no impact on Inessa's stance, the Starkov girl continued speaking. "Only the people in the palaces know who I am. Can't I have this one thing before everything changes?"

The Smirnoff girl was about to argue, knowing that the Darkling wouldn't be happy if he discovered both of them left the palace. But that was until she noticed the look on Genya's face. It wasn't long after that when the tailor glanced back at the oprichniki. "And what about them?"

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Inessa still didn't fully understand how they were able to get rid of the oprichniki. All she knew was that she was now being dragged through the festivities by Alina and Genya. Her nerves were on overdrive as she wove through the crowd, hoping that no one from either of the palaces saw them. It wasn't long before they arrived at an area that was a lot less crowded, causing the two girls to let go of Inessa before looking around at the stalls surrounding them. The Smirnoff girl did her best to stick close to Alina, knowing she needed to protect her if something went wrong. She just watched as the Sun Summoner looked over some jewelry before turning away.

Just as Inessa thought they were heading back to the Little Palace, Alina continued further down the path. Genya and Inessa instantly shared an uncertain look before rushing after her. As soon as they were close enough to the Starkov girl, they grabbed her wrists and forced her to stop. Alina sent them a confused look before opening her mouth to speak, only for the Heartrender to beat her to it.

"You've had your fun," Inessa said as she scanned their surroundings before focusing back on Alina, "now, let's go back inside."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a voice shouted, drawing all of their attention to a man wearing a top hat standing on the stage in front of them, "I present Alina Starkov!"

The Smirnoff girl became as still as a stone as the man stared at them for a moment, only for her nerves to fade when a blonde dancer representing Alina appeared on stage. The three girls watched in silence as the performers did a dance showing Alina destroying the Fold. That lasted for only a moment before the true Sun Summoner let out a laugh.

"Well, this is awkward," the Starkov girl muttered under her breath without taking her eyes off the dancers, "should I tell them?"

"Alina, no!" Genya quietly exclaimed while she and Inessa pulled their friend back, "not everyone knows what you look like. If we get caught here-"

An explosion from the stage cut the tailor off and caused the three girls to jump. But what made them jump even more was Inessa and Genya's names being called. When they turned toward the new voice, they found Fedyor walking toward them with anger in his eyes. The Smirnoff girl's blood ran cold as she watched the Kaminsky man. Even though he was the closest thing she had had to a true friend over the last five years, Inessa was still terrified he discovered them. Because she knew she would be the one to get the most blame if the Darkling found out.

"What were you three thinking?" Fedyor questioned before his full attention landed on Inessa, "I know you know better than this, Inessa."

"Don't blame her. It...it was my fault. I insisted," Alina said with as much confidence as she could muster.

The Kaminsky man just stared at them for another moment before his familiar smile appeared. "I'm sorry, I was just trying my Ivan impression. How did I do?"

A long sigh passed over Inessa's lips. "A little too convincing."

"Good. Intimidation is a useful tool," Fedyor told them before stepping aside and gesturing in the direction he just came from, "now, let's hurry out of here because my better half might come looking."

Laughter erupted from Genya and Alina as the four of them headed back to the Little Palace. Inessa followed behind them with the Kaminsky man by her side. They walked in silence until the Smirnoff girl gathered enough courage to ask the question bouncing around in her head. "Are you gonna tell the General about this?"

Inessa was greeted by silence at first, which only caused her nerves to grow. But when she finally forced herself to look up at Fedyor, she found him smiling down at her. "I don't plan on saying anything to anyone, Inessa. You deserved to have a little fun."

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