DANDELION || Nikolai Lantsov

21. CALL ME BY MY NAME

"Can I call quits after the ball?" Nikolai asked the tailor without getting into what she just said. 

It was true, Aneela had been with his heart the second he had met her and at the point where she reconsidered, his soul was also lost with her. Although he had tried to keep an open mind for every bachelorette, the zemini had been the one that had charmed him. And with the time he had spend with her, feelings had grown.

"Unfortunately not."

He exhaled loudly. "I honestly don't know how much of this I can still take – the courting season is exhausting. And I already know who the person is I want to build my future with."

"I know, but you have to pull through." Genya tried a courageous smile. "See it as an opportunity to get to know Aneela even better, strengthen your friendship with Kheru and maintain a cool head about the others. Maybe you even learn something useful of them that we can use to our advantage."

"I just want to get this over with as soon as possible ... ask Aneela to marry me and then finally start this new chapter."

Zoya frowned. "Do you really think Aneela is going to say 'yes' if you ask her now?"

"No, of course not. She has started to grow a liking to me but she's not in love with me."

"Yet." Genya added with a knowing smile. "But it is obvious that she is on the path of falling for you."

"Did you learn anything today?" Nikolai asked the twins, strolling the topic away from him and Aneela.

He could talk about her for hours but the thought of not openly showing his affection towards her was frustrating, he even needed to be careful what he said to her. The Grisha would have his head if he would imply marriage to her now, it would be horrible if word got out and then the real fights would begin. There would be accusations of the courting season being staged and many countries might go so far and cut all ties with Ravka because of it. Some of them would even consider attempting to murder Nikolai's favourite.

"Well, Tolya learned about Kheru's favourite poets, her love for cats and what shu dishes she likes." Tamar grinned towards her brother who shot her a deadly stare. "As for the other ... not much. It was visible that they were all trying to shield you from talking to Aneela, but I didn't hear a word. They are becoming more careful."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Tolya stated. "It gotten quieter since the last lash out, as if they are all conspiring and preparing for their next strike."

Nikolai raised his eyebrows. "Do you think they will try to hurt Aneela and her family?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Tamar shrugged. "They even attempted to kill you the last time, remember that."

That was unfortunately true. In a way, Nikolai was glad he hadn't been there to witness all the tragedies and dangerous situation that were supposed to be a few weeks of just looking for a wife; Isaac had lost his life during it. Luckily, everybody was calmer this time, but the twins might be right and there was already something cooking up ...

"We should keep an even closer eye on the kerchs and fjerdans," he decided. "I'll play nice with them-" He gave Zoya an annoyed glance. "-but not for long. I can't do this for longer than two weeks."

Genya clapped her hands. "That sounds like a plan. Now, you should go outside and take a walk to clear your head."

Tamar agreed to go with him while her brother returned to his guarding duty, walking down to Aneela's room to accompany her to the drawing room where she would meet up with Kheru before dinner.

Everything outside the Grande Palace was quiet and nobody was around except for the guards. It being close to dinner time, the servants were either preparing it for the court and its guests or were eating themselves.