#fcksacha

[dvndelicns-archive]

ft. @fcksacha​

the masquerade was proving to be what yuliya needed. even if she thought it wasn’t a time for parties and celebrations --- especially so soon after the attack and the darkling moving his paws to get even more power than he already had --- she was in need of a time to just enjoy herself. masquerades reminded her of her childhood. she didn’t attend many of them, as it was easy to lose a child with a mask on a room crowded of noblemen and noblewomen, but the ones she did used to amaze her. it was always glamorous --- and they didn’t even count with the presence of the king. yuliya tried to stay away from where him and the crown prince was. the corners were always her favourite place in ballrooms; it was where she could listen to the true conversations of the ball, without the courtesies required at the presence of the ruler of ravka, and where she could observe everything. yuliya was still paranoid --- what if another attack happened ? this time would be even more deadly than the first, as the guests were concentrated on a single place. she couldn’t help herself and think about that. her younger brother was among these people, and the thought of losing him as well was too much for her to bear. yuliya was taken out of her thoughts by a glimpse of a pair of unmistakable blue eyes, and she smiled at him before walking towards him. “ oh, by the saints ! are you new here ? ” yuliya started, on a faking a surprising tone. wasn’t them supposed to pretend to be different people tonight ? “ i’m sure i would recognize such eyes anywhere. ” she wondered who sacha was going to pretend to be. 

[dvndelicns-archive]

ft. @fcksacha​

yuliya didn’t feel like she had the right to be worried, but since a volcra got out of the fold and arrived at the little palace unnoticed, she didn’t know what to think any more. her worry about her friends increased at levels she didn’t think was possibly --- they weren’t safe even in their own home. her work with the volcra’s body kept her away from thinking about it too much --- the only thing yuliya could actually thank the darkling for --- but the nights were worse. she never had been a good sleeper, her thoughts always keeping herself awake in the nights. yuliya saw faces, most of the time. but now she worried about worse things happening, and a small sound could trigger her. if the reason of the attack was to cause panic within the grishas, it was working with her. sacha’s presence was the only thing that helped her get a good night of sleep, but he was late. 

she didn’t know how their relationship shifted so quickly --- one day, she wanted to see him dead, but in the other she couldn’t sleep if he wasn’t at her side. it was quite funny, and while yuliya was afraid to ask what they are --- afraid to end something that didn’t even start properly --- she was happy. yuliya sighed at her reflection on the mirror of her dressing table. she looked so tired, like she never saw before. yuliya looked like a ghost on her nightgown. damn volcra. a sound at her door took her away from her thoughts. “ sacha ! ” yuliya walked towards him, a smile on her face. but was strange, on a good way, to behave like that around him. “ did something happened ? you’re later than usual. ”

[dvndelicns-archive]

the messhall, ft. @fcksacha​

the past few days had been difficult for yuliya. she stayed in the library more and more, and only left it to return to her room late at night. only to avoid seeing him again --- what happened at the infirmary was still a fresh memory on her mind, and it liked to torture her by making yuliya remember the events before sleep graced her. she still could feel his touch and his warmth tormenting her. it was a living nightmare, and sacha was the only to blame. the spring fête brought a change of scenario --- with so many grishas gathered at the same place and the opportunity to be surrounded by her close friends, she was sure she wouldn’t even catch a glimpse of him. however, fate liked to play tricks with yuliya, and while another grisha nobleman tried to charm her --- saying they met while children, in a ball that looked exactly like the festivity --- all she could see was him. excusing herself with the apology of being thirst, she walked towards the inferni, an annoyed expression on her face. she already hated what she was going to ask. “ dance with me. ” yuliya demanded, her lips on a thin line. “ please. ” she added, looking over her shoulder to see if the other man was still looking for her. 

[dvndelicns-archive]

little palace’s infirmary, ft. @fcksacha​

to be again at the little palace, away from the war environment and all the memories and feelings it brought, was a blessing to yuliya. first, she could deepen her studies on the healing arts and help as many people she could, to not let them suffer the same fate as her parents. and second, she didn’t need to revive the memories of her childhood --- the worry she felt about her parents’ safety and the sorrow their deaths brought to her heart. it was easy to live alienated from the horrors of the front lines; and while she was concerned about her friends and fellow healers who stayed in the fight, her research on the extent of the healing of healers took up a lot of her time, making it impossible for her mind to wonder about them. 

but yuliya was still a healer, and when she was required to do her duty as one, she didn’t complain. this time, much of the older healers were occupied with some younger fabrikators, who had been hurt by an out of control prank their fellow tidemakers did. yuliya couldn’t help and do not remember her own training years when her superior told her the story --- while yuliya wasn’t one to indulge in such things, she always laughed at them. but this one had gone really out of control, and they needed yuliya to take care of the other’s patients who seek medical assistance while they handled the fabrikators and tidemakers. she couldn’t complain --- yuliya was doing what she was born to. 

the first ones were easy; some broken arms and clavicles, nothing too serious. she knew very well how recklessness could do to one while training --- yuliya never had been one of them, but some friends were. she understood the younger one’s eagerness, and tend to them like she thought their mothers would ( with scolding, but also a tender smile on her face ). the infirmary wasn’t buzzing with people as yuliya expected, and only one patient remained. at least she could return to the books quickly than she imagined. the patient --- a man --- was familiar to her, much more familiar than yuliya wished him to be. “ sacha ? ” she called, uncertainty on her voice. it had been a while since they last saw each other, and yuliya didn’t recalled his eyes being that shade of blue. “ what happened ? why are you here ? ”

[dvndelicns-archive]

ft. @fcksacha​

as if the night couldn’t get any worse, the king decided it was his time to die --- and what death was. yuliya was alone in the ballroom when it happened, trying to cope with what happened with her brother. the shock of knowing he was now the heir of their grandfather’s earldom was too much, and the healer didn’t acknowledge when she first heard the screams, at first, she thought it was a snobby noblewoman screaming at a servant. but other people started to scream, and she knew something was wrong. apparently, the king was stabbed by an  unknown person. yuliya didn’t care for him, and if she could, would congratulate who did that favour --- but at the same time, his death left a bittersweet taste on her mouth. king vasily was bad, and she hated his bald head, but she feared is son would be worse. vasily lanstov had been young when he ordered ekaterina brangiskaya’s return to the army, and yuliya hoped his son wouldn’t tear apart families like his father once. 

yet, all that commotion was leaving yuliya worried. what if the king’s death wasn’t made by a human, but by a khegurd ? she didn’t know if that was possible, because she learned what khegurds were not so long ago with zhuliu, but it could be a plausible theory. if shu han attacked the little palace in the last fête, she wouldn’t be surprised if they killed the king in another ball. however, if it was really caused by a khegurd, others could be in danger. and the whispers about an upcoming fjerdan attack weren’t helping her. yuliya’s mind thought instantly of the, now, four most important people of her life --- artyom, sacha, serafima and zhuliu. were they alright ? did something happen to them ? yuliya’s feet started walking towards a less crowded spot on the ballroom. maybe she could see them --- or she could help the injured, if they existed. 

however, the sight of a flowing cape made yuliya stop dead on her way, her heart racing with hope. it was indeed him, and yuliya made her way to sacha, almost running, discarding her mask while doing so. she was tired to pretend not to feel anything for him, and the mask only remembered her of that. “ sacha ! ” she exclaimed when she got near him. only his sight made her crumble into the emotions she was holding since she stumbled into artyom, and to know he was well --- at least superficially --- made her eyes tear up. as much as daciana’s words still resonated in her head --- it won’t last, he’ll grow tired of you --- they didn’t stop her from hugging him. “ are you alright ? i heard... they said king is dead and some people are saying the fjerdans are attacking, and i thought... it didn’t matter what i thought. are you hurt ? ”