Chapter Text
The aroma of the True Sea was constant and rolled over the town in heavy waves. Darkness draped over the city from the cool weather and everlasting showers of rain. Everyone worked tirelessly in the shipyards, supporting the war efforts. Most had lost hope of the war ending anytime soon, so the days of work trudged on.
I lived in the port city of Os Kervo along the coast of the True Sea. The Fold loomed over our heads, reminding us of the threat located so close by and our separation from the rest of Ravka. The dark mass had been there since we were born and would remain after the Saints took us.
It was not uncommon to have refugees from the war flee to Os Kervo; both my parents were among them. My mother ran away from Shu Han as soon as she turned seventeen. She kept her secret of being Grisha for her whole life to prevent being stolen away from her mother and sisters. She was always vague when describing the Shu's treatment of Grisha, it was her reasoning for running up the coast. Here, she was able to attain a job at the clinic instead of registering to directly fight with the Second Army.
She spent a few years training under other Healers, Grisha, and otkazat’sya, learning to use her abilities better and to create mundane medicine. She treated many soldiers that crossed the Fold and quickly became the nurse people would ask for due to her skill. She earned ownership of the clinic after three years at the age of twenty. Mother spent her time outside of work teaching others that asked for her guidance, in order to have people that would take her place when the time came.
Growing up, I admired her bravery in running away from home, all alone, and creating a living for herself in an unfamiliar land. She was able to disregard the persecution for being Shu as she quickly trained to be a highly skilled and valuable Healer.
My father's story is quite similar. He grew up in Fjerda, north of Ravka, and trained to become a Drüskelle. He never desired to hunt people for the mere fact that they were different, but that was the culture he grew to know. His parents died when he was only a boy, so he attended a military-run orphanage where he was encouraged to join the ranks. After years of service, he told me he had defected and ran with some of his closest friends to Ravka. They dealt with oppression, just like my mother, so they never stayed in a single village too long. They were able to find permanent employment in Os Kervo at the docks. Soon after, my parents met for the first time.
I was born a year after they met and got married. As I grew up, I helped wherever I could in my mother’s clinic and attended the local schools; I received high marks in all my subjects to impress my parents. Testing Day came and went for me as my parents already knew that I, unfortunately, did not show any sign of special abilities, so my life continued on. I was able to graduate a year early with the aid of my best friend, Pavel. He was my tutor at first but we grew to be very close. He worked with my mother in the clinic and was also a Healer that practiced tailoring. Many people would travel across the True Sea from Kerch to receive his services.
We happened to be the oldest kids in our large family. We often would look out for the younger kids as their parents either worked in nearby shops or at the docks. Many of the children were fond of my Grisha mother and best friend and often spoke of how they wished to be Grisha like them. They made up many stories of how they would become famous and help save Ravka from the ongoing conflict and the Fold. I smiled at them and imagined what it would be like to be one myself; we were always told that despite their treatment, they had the best lives in the Little Palace. But after years of knowing I was not going to have such a life, I had come to terms with not ever being able to comprehend how it would be.
Luckily for the kids, they would have the opportunity to discover if they were Grisha today as it was the annual Testing Day at the school. Pavel and I gathered the children to walk them to school like we did every day. We could tell that some were very nervous, while others were ecstatic, just as we were on our testing day. “You both will be just fine,” I calmed the twins of the group as the others wandered ahead.
“But what if we are really Grisha? Will we have to leave?” one asked.
“Yeah, Momma said that we would have to leave home,” the other stated, heartbroken at the thought.
“Well, the Grisha would speak with your parents since it is so far away. But I heard the Little Palace has the finest food in all of Ravka and they sleep in silk sheets.”
“I wonder if they have candy!” one exclaimed. The other jumped up and down then both ran away toward the school through the fog.
Carriages of the visiting Second Army passed as I walked toward the school. I glanced back at the road just as a lone boy started to cross without watching out for the carriages and horses passing through. A Grisha carriage drawn by two reasonably large horses bumped over a hole in the cobblestone streets, startling them. As soon as this happened, the child crossed in front of the scared horses and was close enough that he should have gotten hurt.
A feeling grabbed hold of me and pushed me to move toward the boy. I swung my bag to my back as I took off running from the sidewalk a ways away and into the street. I wrapped my arms around the tiny boy, lifting him over my shoulder to move to a safer space. The pull let go as I somehow stopped the accident from occurring. People began to rush towards both of us as they saw the prevented collision.
As a crowd huddled around, I could not help but notice how far I was from the kid just a few moments prior. The Grisha hastily exited the carriage and advanced through the crowd, inquiring about what happened and apologizing for what could have occurred. One, wearing a deep blue Etherealki kefta, watched me with an odd look upon her face; she looked just as perplexed as I felt.
"How about both of you come with us? We can take you in the carriage to the school, little one. Would you like that?” she proposed knocking both of us out of the daze.
I stood up alongside the child as he grew content with the proposition. “Alright, let us go then.” I stood up and grinned at the boy. He peered up at me with a very grateful expression and ran to the carriage.
“I would like to speak with you in private upon our arrival at the school if that is fine with you,” the Etherealki whispered to me as we walked towards the door.
“Oh, alright. I was heading over there anyway.”
The Grisha woman gave a curt nod and got into the carriage sitting opposite the boy and me. The trip to the school was swift and silent as the kid observed the people pass by outside. As we entered the school building, the boy was taken to a Healer for a quick check-up and then sent on his way to class. The Grisha I met beforehand guided me to a back office after muttering something to a guard.
“Kapitan, I believe I have witnessed something odd,” she announced, standing in front of the Grisha captain's desk. He gazed up from his paperwork and glanced over at me and then at the Grisha.
“And what might that be, Yana?” the captain solemnly responded, looking back down at his work. Yana looked to be a little frustrated with her captain but continued.
“I believe this girl has practiced Small Science to save a child from being injured. She was nowhere near the child and then appeared next to him after pulling him out of the way.”
The captain glanced up once more and analyzed me before questioning Yana. I ignored what they were quarreling about as the other Grisha working in the office all turned to observe me as well. Most were curious, while others seemed to be doubting Yana’s validity as they looked me up and down.
“If you say so. What is your name, miss?" the man directed his attention toward me like everyone else.
“Katyia Tinyakova, sir. Healer of the First Army. Os Kervo Central Clinic Division, sir.”
“And were you tested when you were young? What were your results?” he continued. One of the Grisha stepped over to a filing cabinet to sift through the records.
“I was. The test was negative, sir.” I quickly explained while straightening my stance. “My mother is Grisha. She leads the clinic as a Corporalki.” The captain grunted in acknowledgment as he got handed what had to be my documents. He scanned over them and then set them down over the papers that littered the desk.
“I promise that is what I saw, kapitan,” Yana interjected. The captain held up a hand to hinder her from continuing to explain herself.
“Miss Tinyakova, your results were inconclusive, not negative. Was there a reason for that?”
“Not that I know of, sir. I was told it was negative.” I thought of this as odd because the Grisha that examined me when I was young, confirmed it was negative. Though they had scratched me twice, I did not think about it too much at the time.
A male Healer stepped forward with a knife in his right hand. He silently asked for my arm and gave it to him without question. He took the steel blade and sliced my upper arm; I twinged at the cut and looked at it curiously. A faint tug could be felt in the region of the cut, but nothing more. The man healed the wound and shrugged at the Grisha in the room.
“Well, it is probably safest to bring you to the Little Palace for answers,” the Captain said, leaving Yana and me somewhat stunned.
“But sir, I promise I am not Grisha. I have never done anything out of the ordinary. My parents can attest to that.”
“We should also speak with them. Some of my guards and I will come with you to your home to speak with your parents after school lets out for the day,” he stated clearly. I thought it was probably better not to argue with him as he seemed pretty stern. I simply saluted and quickly left the office.
Yana advised me to stay through the day’s testing and be present when the school dismissed. I was left to sit through hours of testing, congratulating any kid with a positive test and consoling any that had a negative test. Soon the children were released to return home while I had to ride in a carriage home with a few Second Army soldiers.
I directed them toward my mother’s clinic, where my parents were likely setting up our small courtyard for dinner. I exited the carriage to lead the Grisha down an alley to the shared courtyard between the buildings. Sure enough, my parents were running silverware and plates out of the nearby restaurant. My mother saw us approach and immediately called my father out of the restaurant while setting down the bowls in her hands.
“Good evening, madame. Sir. Is this your daughter?” the man approached my parents to greet them before questioning them further.
"Yes, my name is Nikita. And this is my husband, Eluf. What could we do for you?” my mother pulled my father closer and motioned for me to join her. I walked away from Yana and the other Grisha soldiers, who now stood near the entrance to the alley.
"We need to speak about your daughter's test results, madame.”