okay we’ve talked about how Vasily would react to the Dominik and Natalya situation and we both agreed Vasily would be even worse to a sister than a brother but in general how do you think he’d be towards Natalya?
so much rambling under the cut and none of it is coherent oops
ooh okay so i think he'd definitely echo a lot of their father's beliefs and i think that would include him being INCREDIBLY insistent on knowing about natalya and dominik's relationship (which yknow... not romantic in the slightest for natalya and dominik but vasily and alexander or whatever his name was dont really care about that). i do think their mother having the affair with magnus opjer informs a lot of how natalya is treated especially in regards to dominik (because OBVIOUSLY boys and girls cant be friends with each other smh).
i think he would kind of view natalya as competition of sorts for their parents' affection so he would try to tell on natalya a lot (mostly when they were younger) to get affection points from their parents. also i think he'd be kind of run of the mill misogynist (he kind of already is in canon </3) so that'd end up directed at natalya a lot.
it probably comes from a place of like... "my parents' love is conditional so i'm going to suck up to them and putting my sister down makes me feel better" and then like the king genuinely does prefer him because a) he's like his actual biological son and not the product of an affair, and b) he conforms to what a "lantsov man" should be.
i think he would enjoy being cruel, maybe poisoning just as a power play or maybe to keep natalya quiet about something (i don't know what exactly, but like... i don't know i think the "my brother tried to poison me when i was 12 lol" moment just kinda says a lot about natalya/nikolai's character with how ... flippant it seems?)
Summary: A Zoyalai One For My Enemy AU. Two heirs from enemy empires find themselves in the same room for the first time in years. Is their future elastic, letting them fall back into one another or has too much happened since then, causing them to break apart forever?
Ao3: This Love
A/N: While the first chapter of this fic is a scene from one of the early chapters of the book, One For My Enemy, the second chapter will contain major spoilers for the book so please beware if you plan on reading this!
cw: blood mentions (nothing more descriptive than the books though)
“Nikolai Lantsov,” her voice was still smooth, the lilt of his name off her lips used to send a shudder down his spine, maybe it still had that effect but nobody would know, not with the way he maintained his languid posture. He was born to be the second son but had quickly made it apparent to the family that he was nothing if not the one who would turn the heir apparent into the heir presumptive. Nikolai was not born to be a leader, though every moment of his life was spent proving otherwise. His curious mind wanted answers to everything, he spent hours deconstructing people’s movements to figure out how he could act to cause another to react in the way he wanted. As a consequence he learned how and when to react himself, a skill he had never been more grateful for than at this moment.
“You haven’t forgotten me, have you?” Zoya slowly slipped her coat off, taking note of how Nikolai’s gaze never wavered from her but his eyes betrayed nothing. He was every inch the stoic prince, every bit the cunning king. Vasily’s eyes slid over her in the way they always did, disdainfully, as if she was there to take what was his. He’d always been a little bit more observant than she’d ever given him credit for, but she supposed that even a broken clock was right twice a day.
“Of course I remember you, Nazyalensky. Do you still know me?”
“I thought I did.”
***
In the past ‘Lantsov’ had been for daily use; it was a name that belonged to most of the people he knew, but when she said it, it was only ever for him.
‘Nikolai’ was for when the world shrunk down to just them, the way her red lips pulled up when she whispered his name, her thumb brushing his cheek bone, a hushed reply to his calling of her name between reverent praises in the dark of the night.
‘Kolya’ was teasing, she knew he hated it so it was always uttered to seek out a reaction. “ Kolya, guess who asked for my hand in marriage? Kolya, Kirigin asked me to accompany him to the theatre again today. I think he likes me, or it seemed like it when he put his hands on my waist.” Kolya always led to consequences but it was like she always purred afterwards, ‘ you’re too predictable Lantsov.’ He knew he was, but that never stopped him, the taste of her was too sweet to turn away from.
In the past ‘ Nazyalensky’ had been for daily use; he'd called her that since they were children. One night, years later he would whisper into her hair that he had always liked the way it sounded, the gentle rise and fall of the syllables, how it demanded to be said slowly, demanded your time and respect for it could never be spoken with malice. She would smile, tracing the letters onto his chest, that’s exactly why she’d chosen it for herself.
'Zoya' was rare; she liked to think she could recount every time it had ever been uttered, though he had said it far too many times for that to be true. Her family called her Zoya, it was always said with unspoken love but she’d never know that someone could say it with the same connotations without being one of her people. In truth, Zoya was only rare when it came from his lips, he was the only one who said it like that. Zoya was used when he needed her, when he couldn’t do without her. Zoya was his, as much as Nikolai was hers… at least that’s how it’d been before.
***
In the after, Zoya lived forever in his mind, a searing image in the dawn light, the brush of icy wind against his face.
In the after, she forbade herself from thinking of Nikolai. She knew that what she’d given to him all those years ago would betray her if she did.
The after was where they existed now, a queen posed across from a king on a chessboard. She had any and every move at her disposal and all he could do was react with the smallest steps. The power was in her hands, though they were in his home, he’d never felt more like an exposed nerve before her than he did now. It didn’t help that she was wearing her signature armor tonight. After years without seeing her, the perfectly cut lines of her dress, the red curve of her lips that he knew she’d reapplied in the car, pressing them together three times to get them just right, the little details threatened to torch him, he was always too flammable when it came to her.
“Oh, Kolya ,” she sighed, crossing one leg over the other, her use of the diminutive threatened to undo him.
“Lantsov,” he corrected. “Why are you here, Nazyalensky?”
“Can’t I pop in for a visit?”
“Is it a friendly visit?” Even when they had been friends, nothing with her had ever been friendly.
“Now, that’s entirely up to you,” she cooed.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Nikolai mused, learning back in his seat. If she was going to toy with him, he may as well return the favour. She was quiet and so he continued, “how’s Kirigin?”
“Emil is as handsome, rich and satisfying as ever.” Her grin was sharp, he could almost see the challenge but he was not the boy she once knew, he would not rise to take the bait.
He pushed past the dig at him wrapped in a compliment to her husband. “Come now, Zoya. Your first visit after all these years can’t just be business related.”
She sighed, those damned red lips pulling into a slight pout. If the sound of her name coming from his mouth phased her, she would never let it show. “You’re right. Genya,” she summoned and her sister who had been standing quietly at her side handed her a small, perfectly wrapped package complete with a bow on top. Zoya’s fingers trailed the length of the package, as if she were weighing her options, deciding where the queen would land. After a brief second, she held it out to Nikolai, seemingly having made up her mind.
He heard Vasily start forward, but he held up his hand and his eyes fixed on her. Tonight was not the night to let his brother loose, everything regarding the Grisha, regarding Zoya required a knowledge of the past, which his brother did not have. Nikolai reached out, his fingers brushing over hers as he took the box from her. The Grisha were clever and Zoya had the lethal combination of being the most clever and most ruthless of her sisters. Whatever was in this box was not good news.
“Why,” he murmured, “did you bring me a box of sweets, Nazyalensky?”
“You know better than anyone that just because something looks sweet doesn’t mean that it is.”
“Are we trading lessons now? I’m afraid I have none to share. What is this?”
“It’s something we’ve been working on, a little pick me up, if you will. I won’t bore you with the intricacies, though I imagine you know the rest.”
“I don’t,” Nikolai ground out, carefully unwrapping the box. Inside was a set of brightly coloured strips, they looked like pieces of translucent paper. “You know we don’t like to get involved in concoctions like the Grisha.”
“That’s interesting,” Zoya hummed, tapping a perfectly manicured nail to her chin. “I’ve been hearing some disconcerting whispers about how your family is planning on changing directions, though thanks to your assurances, I now know that can’t possibly be true.” Nikolai was concerned at how much she’d improved as an actress in their time apart, though this was pure mockery. There had been a time where they had taught each other everything they learned, but she had always loathed acting. She’d considered it a waste of time, why lie when you could cut harder with the truth? They’d been opposites in that way, though that no longer seemed to be the case now. How else had she changed since then? Would she still sigh if he whispered against her neck, would she pull at his hair if he refused to move his lips further than the corner of her mouth? He’d once seen an infinite number of futures for them and this reality had never been one. Nikolai wished he had seen it, maybe it would’ve made the end easier.
“Is that all then?”
“Nikolai,” she chided, shaking her head. “I wanted you to be the first to try it. Are we not trusting each other with the truth today? I’m trusting that you are telling me the truth and now it’s your turn to trust me. What’s a little trust exercise between friends, we are friends, aren’t we Kolya?”
“Zoya--”
Her blue eyes flashed, her tone lashed at him like a whip. “Aren’t we?” She let her eyes drift lazily over his form, but he knew she was calculating again, not actually looking. “Try it, Nikolai.” Zoya’s tone was honey sweet now, it was the voice she used to use to turn nos into yeses, it allowed no room for dissent. He was a fox backed into a corner and he had no way out of this trap.
“Zoya,” Nikolai repeated, “Zoya, come on now, let’s talk about this.” He felt a prickle of fear down his spine. He did not fear her as everyone else did, he feared what she might do. The negotiator’s mein he donned did nothing, however. Her gaze was pure steel, and he felt the looks Genya and Vasily shot at him, he’ll say no. But no wasn’t an option. It never was.
His hand floated over the box and he wished now more than ever that he could sense the magic that made them what they were. Would choosing one lead to a worse fate than if he’d chosen the next? Nikolai picked the indigo strip, his hand steady as he tried one last time to find a way to stop the madness.
“Do it,” Zoya snapped, she’d never been the patient one.
“Zoya, let me explain. After everything, at least give me the chance to explain.”
“Nikolai,” it was Tolya, his voice low, urging him to reconsider.
“What,” Zoya sniffed, “you’d like to get in on the fun too? There’s more than enough for all four of you to share.”
“Tamar,” he called, his eyes still trained on the woman across from him, “keep our brothers in place. None of you are to move.”
“Nikolai,” Tolya tried again, “you don’t have to do this.”
“Quiet,” Zoya snapped, pushing up from her chair. “Do it, Nikolai.” She perched herself on the arm of his chair, she was close enough to touch. The Saints were cruel enough to deprive him the chance to determine if this was a cunning illusion or the inarguable end to their story, if he could touch her maybe he’d glean the truth. Zoya leaned over him, picking the strip from his hands, the ends of her hair brushing his collarbone as she did. His breath had left him, he didn’t need it anymore, not when he was sure of his fate. She drew herself back up, her face mere inches away from his. “Open up,” she whispered, and Nikolai had one last second to hope that against all odds, perhaps she had not written for him to die today. If this was one of his last moments, as pathetic as he knew it was, at least he had looked into her eyes one last time.
He parted his mouth slowly and she placed her index finger under his chin, her thumb running against his lower lip as she tilted his head back, coaxing him to open up wider. “Good boy,” she murmured, placing the strip on his tongue before getting up rather abruptly. Nikolai wondered why the Saints decided to take what was once the beautiful vessel for life and twist it into the beautiful vessel for death. Was everyone killed by what they loved most, or was he an exception?
“The thing that makes these unique,” Zoya turned to the room at large, “is that they don’t sit peacefully on the tongues of liars and cheats. Unless one is virtuous, they’ll find themselves experiencing a different type of reaction, more like pain is being inflicted upon them rather than it being taken away.”
Nikolai blinked once, then twice, her words were muffled, the sight of her was growing fuzzy. This was it then? He felt bile rise in his chest but when he swiped his hand across his mouth, all he saw was scarlet blood smeared across his skin.
“Those who deal with us in good faith,” she continued as Nikolai struggled to maintain whatever composure he could. “Know the particular spell that will protect them from the less than savoury side effects. But of course you wouldn’t know, how could you, given that you don’t deal in the business of creation like we do.”
He felt a cough rise in his chest, propelling him backwards as blood began seeping from between the fingers he’d clapped over his mouth. He wanted to scream, he couldn’t breathe, but no words could be heard, only the gurgling of blood in his chest as he tried to push air in and out of his lungs.
“I wonder who it was then,” Zoya said, “who has been leaking our top secret project and selling it for profit under our noses for far more than we ever planned on selling them for. I wonder who, Kolya.”
Nikolai tried to speak again, tried to call her name, he needed her, he needed Zoya, not whoever was standing in front of him now though he knew they were the same woman, he just wished they weren’t, not now at least. He lurched forward in his chair as another round of coughs racked his body, collapsing to the floor, unable to cushion his fall. He felt his body shake but he was already starting to feel a sense of detachment from his body, he barely registered his head hitting the leg of his chair as he convulsed. Was this what a lack of oxygen did to the brain? Or was Zoya’s magic just toying with him, giving him a brief sort of respite before it truly killed him?
He was lying in a pool of his own blood, even in his haze he knew to roll to his side so he wouldn’t choke on it as it poured from his mouth. He tried to push himself off the ground but his arms and legs felt locked in place.
“This hurts me, Kolya. It truly does,” her lips pulled down at the corners. “I thought we were friends and that friends could be trusted. Unfortunately I see that much has changed over the years, you are not who you once were.”
Neither are you. Nikolai wanted to shout, but he felt whatever fight was left in him pull away from the words. Instead he felt his body continue to shake, teeth piercing the flesh of his cheeks.
She crouched down to his level, pushing a loose strand of hair back from his forehead. “Nikolai, I trusted you.” He hated how he wanted to lean into the action, how the touch felt familiar, how he wondered for a second if there was an ounce of affection left in those eyes.
I didn’t betray you. Why didn’t you let me explain? There were too many words he wanted to say, they were all queued up in his mouth but when her fingers continued stroking his hair back he felt her lift her magic for a second and only one word came out.
“Zoya. Zoya. Zoya,” he cried out, his hand reaching out for her as she drew hers away, causing his insides to continue to crumple. He wished he could see her face one last time, wished he hadn’t listened to her all those years ago when she’d withdrawn. He wished he could call for her one last time as he felt a blinding wave of pain wash over him.
Nikolai fell still on the floor, collapsing in a pool of his own blood, his arm outstretched towards Zoya Nazyalensky.
“Well,” Zoya said, rubbing her palms together as if she were dusting them off, “that’s finished then.” She picked her coat up from her chair making her way towards the door with Genya at her side.
Tolya dropped to the ground, seeking out Nikolai’s pulse as Tamar turned to the woman who’d rendered their golden prince powerless. “Why?”
“The Grisha send their love. It’s the Lantsovs’ turn now.”
when i made this blog my plan was literally just to lurk and post random shit about the grishaverse... i didn't expect over 100 people to follow me, so that's kinda crazy !
i don't really have anything planned because it was pretty sudden, so if you have any questions or any random shit you want to tell me, or if you want me to do any random shit granted within my comfort zone, my inbox is open <33
or, you can send me something from this post too!
i appreciate you guys for coming to stop by and spam-liking my posts HAHAHAH i really appreciate the reblogs and lil tags that you sometimes do! i hope i can keep making posts like this far into the future. now ask away!!!
bone: have you seen the show? what’s the best part of it?
yes, I have!! I think my favorite thing is how you can clearly tell they care about the books and want to do the story justice. they added so many little references to future books and plotpoints, and it makes me really happy <3
storm: share and tag your favorite fan art
these two take the throne I think
by @polartss I literally look at it every single day of my life
Haven’t read the books yet, but definitely the KOS and ROW covers
the true sea | rant about whatever grishaverse thing you want to (a hot take, something that bothers you, something you love, etc)
I could rant about the soc characters for hours. They are genuinely some of the best written, most thoroughly characterized and multifaceted characters I’ve ever read.
First of all there is definitely not enough representation of trauma in ya lit but the crows all have some deep rooted trauma that many can relate and feel connected to.
Also, the story has some sort of open finale in ck, especially for kaz and inej, and I love that. I like that they’re clearly not finished and I like that we leave them like that, knowing that they’re both heading down a path of healing and knowing that they finally are where they were supposed to be. And jesper too has a very open finale, we see him start to try for real at the end of ck but we don’t really see much more of him and I like that, because again we don’t see this much in ya lit. Traumas more often than not take years to be overcame so I like that their arcs weren’t pushed just to give the story a definite closure.
It’s also amazing to see these characters working towards healing themselves and getting better but never being the solution to heal others. Inej won’t spend her life trying to heal kaz and kaz wants to heal himself to be a better man for inej, but he knows damn well she can’t heal him, he has to do that himself. Nina will come to terms with her powers and with the consequences of parem surrounded by friends, but in the end it’s her who has to face the trauma. And the same goes for jesper, wylan and matthias. The narrative that love heals trauma is so wrong and these characters finally show that it’s not real, trauma doesn’t just disappear when the right person comes along.
Maybe these characters might take years to really overcome their traumas and I’m okay knowing that they’re headed there even though I can’t follow them through this process, and it’s perfect the way it is. (No I don’t want a soc3 unless it’s the crows meeting again, getting waffles and talking all day long. No drama, just crows fluff and definitely no deaths. The story is perfect as it is and we already lost a crow — which I’m still pissed about and I’m definitely not over it)
These characters really helped me a lot and I’m grateful to see trauma represented like this in ya lit. We always talk about kaz and inej’s traumas because they’re the most evident throughout the story, but all the crows represent a trauma, a loss, an obstacle that seems impossible to overcome, an addiction. I’ll never tire of talking about how multifaceted they all are and how important they can be for so many people in overcoming their own trauma or projecting their own experiences onto their stories.
I’m gonna stop now because I could literally go on for hours, these characters mean so much to me
Okay have you ever heard Grow Up by Lydia the Bard, bc it's very Natalya to me (I mean it totally applies to Nikolai as well, but I feel like a little bit less so)
it is now on my natalya playlist ☝️ i think it’s SO natalya coded, thank you for this ask!!!
first of all, mood regarding the Natalya thing lol second of all, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Natalya x Alina, I personally like the ship better than Alina x Nikolai which I’ve talked about why in the past but I’m curious about you
i LOVE the idea of natalya x alina (and i also do like it better than nikolina)!
in the context of mal still being a boy, i think it would be funny if natalya was alina's bisexual awakening (even though she DEFINITELY has Thoughts about genya and zoya, i think that would be like... her first sapphic situationship type thing)
i think it would ALSO be interesting if the the darkling and natalya relationship we've talked about before was taken into consideration because that would be a THOUSAND times more messy and possibly give the darkling more motivation to do what he did to natalya/nikolai in ruin & rising!
also i think they'd be a bit more secretive (i don't really... think general ravkan society would be very tolerant or accepting of queer people based on the time period but at the same time, like... the main group didn't seem to bat an eye when tamar and nadia got together so who knows). it would definitely be fun to explore how their dynamic would shift if they were sapphic (i would say queer but they're honestly both very queer coded in canon so </3) and how that would connect to natalya being so conscious of her public image/how she comes across to others!
i fear i relate a little too much to their whole “changing themself to fit others to the point that they’ve almost lost themself” thing so i think that was really well handled
least favorite thing about them
they are quite machiavellian i think, also they’re aware that the system of government is like… not working and flawed but i don’t think they’ve done enough to change that
favorite line
sooo many they drop some of the best lines from the series in my opinion, but i think the line from kos where they’re like… what is it, “who’s kneeling now brother?” or something with vasily
brOTP
david and genya 1000%, although also them and the twins
OTP
zoyalai but I prefer zoyalya, darkolai/darkalya honestly too for the angst potential, natalina if we’re talking natalya but i do not ship nikolina lol
nOTP
nikolina i think, also book malkolai but i think show malkolai is a distinct possibility
random headcanon
audhd & dysgraphia, also demiromantic for both nikolai and natalya!
unpopular opinion
uhhh i don’t think nikolai ever had actual romantic feelings for alina (i don’t know if that counts as an opinion)
song i associate with them
“human” (of monsters and men), “pleaser” (paris paloma)
