Enchanted -N. Lantsov

In This World Without a Voice or Say

"No? You're going to be surrounded by your personal guard on white horses, flanked by the 22nd Regiment. I'll be with the other Grisha behind you." Olysia glanced at Mal who was supposed to relay the plan to her.

"We have been discussing other matters." Mal explained curtly.

Olysia held back a look at the idea of Alina not knowing what the plan was. "I suppose you're also unaware of the fact we won't be able to talk with each other until after you have already talked to the King."

"What?" Alina screeched. All three in her company winced at the sound. "You're leaving me!" Alina accused.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I am not welcome there. Not to mention I am not of any importance, pain and simple." Olysia huffed out, offended by Alina's accusations.

"Mal will be there." Alina waved over to Mal's direction

Mal began to protest at the insinuation.

"And Mal will be more than sufficient for the King's limit on people of unimportance he can stomach." Olysia cut Mal off, enjoying the affronted look on his face. "There is also the matter of his potential hanging that he needs to be present to avoid."

"If it gets me away from you, I might consider making that become a reality."

"Please do." Olysia urged him half heartedly.

Alina rolled her eyes at the exchange between Mal and Olysia. Their bickering was borderlining on childish and becoming much more frequent. Alina would more often than not have to steer the conversation back on topic because they would just throw small insults towards each other and forget what they were previously talking about. "You can't be there?"

"It would be best for everyone if I did not." Olysia grimaced at the thought of standing in the throne room. "Like you said, you'll have Mal and Nikolai with you at the very least. He won't let anything happen, not if he has any say."

Olysia completely missed the look Alina gave Mal, clearly thinking she was referring to the disgraced tracker. But Olysia was not thinking of Mal, no she was thinking about the second born child turned wannabe-pirate turned back into a slightly rebellious but dutiful prince who wanted to serve his country. Nikolai would never allow anything bad to happen to the people he cared about. He would shoulder millions of responsibilities and horrors on his shoulders if it meant others wouldn't have to.

It was so annoyingly torturous to care for someone who held such a hero complex.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fix a number of keftas in little less than 20 minutes because apparently going into hiding takes away from basic level skills and someone took all my time because she took her precious time to get down here." She complained grumpily at the situation.

Olysia walked away to where all the Grisha had gathered. They were already in place looking so dirty and dusty and not presentable at all to a very unsympathetic person. Olysia had to take several deep breaths before she could talk.

Olysia had tasked the other Fabrikators to help fix up the other keftas while she talked with Alina but they were taking too long. If Olysia didn't know better, she would have questioned if they were trained at all.

It was literally the first thing they were taught to do and they all magically forgot somehow. It would be more bearable if someone gave her a rifle and she shot herself in the foot on purpose.

"Is this all you got done in the time I was gone?" Olysia looked over at the group in disappointment. "You do know how to fix things, don't you?"

"Of course we do. We're trying our best." Igor, one the most annoying people to ever walk the earth, tried to excuse the lack of progress.