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walkingshcdow · 2 years

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@noblehcart | Masha & Gleb

The mountain chill breezed through camp on this foggy morning in a way that made most men nestle in their cots, under thick furs or crawl into a lover’s arms or a mug of something just as hot and strong. Masha was no man and her tolerance for the Balinok region's harsh weather flowed through her veins - a gift from an elven mother who she seldom saw. She wore armor over simple clothing and a fur-lined cloak to greet the day. Devotees of the Morning Lord stirred to perform sunrise rites. She could see Lady Ilona Darovnya leading worship and she avoided the High Priestess’ eyes as she passed. Neither human nor elven gods stirred Masha to devotion.

She hoped instead to steal to the training grounds she and Ruslan had set up. She found it empty and doffed her cloak to practice maneuvers against imaginary enemies. Her father had long ago taught her the steps. Her boots crunched the frost-tipped grass in familiar ways. Miles ahead, looming large, she could see the castle of the warlord Dorian, whom they hoped to defeat. The generals, including her father, would meet soon if they had not already, to discuss the new tactics for attack, since one of their generals had been felled three days ago. Rumors had reached her that Gleb Vaganov would be next to rise through the ranks. Father had said it would smack of favoritism if she were to be promoted, but he had also said that Lord Strahd needed men and women he could trust in his highest offices.

He had not summoned her for a meeting, though. She could guess what that meant.

The sound of footsteps in the icy grass caught her ear and Masha whirled around with her sword at the ready. Gleb Vaganov stood there and had the look of a man unsurprised by a drawn weapon. How long had he watched her? She watched him with his strong, stubbly jaw and dark, serious eyes. It warmed her to think he might have watched her and that he might have liked what he saw. They were friends and comrades and until he received his promotion, they would be equals. Masha lowered her sword and sheathed it. A smile crested over her features.

“I would have thought you’d be meeting with my father and Lord Strahd,” she said, “or do I already have the honor of being among the first to congratulate you, general?”

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rahadaddy · 2 months

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Best Laid Plans - A Blood Countess Fic

Summary: Ilona doesn't know exactly what Alek's plan for the twins is, but she knows that whatever it is is risky. A dream/memory sequence for my party's warlock, who is Lady Ilona Darovnya reincarnated.

“It’s a bad plan, Alek,” you hear yourself say as a tall, broad-shouldered general prepares a carriage. The sleet makes it a bad plan to travel at all, but he has two little ones in tow. Precious cargo, twin boys. The man, Alek, grunts and you can tell he has more to say, but is clenching his teeth together – from the cold, you think. Cold has never bothered him before. Perhaps it’s something else. You feel like you should be upstairs, tending to the mother, but she is proud and stubborn. Maybe that’s what Alek meant to say instead of grunting at you. You suck in a breath and try again, “Where can you expect to keep them safe? The elves will be furious if they find out there are bastards that jeopardize a union between her ladyship and their prince.”

“Well, then I won’t shelter them with the elves,” Alek says. “I can’t tell you where we’re going.”

“She hasn’t ordered you to kill them, has she?”

“Even if she had, my loyalty does have limits,” Alek said. “Not many limits, but… they’re my sons.”

He tucks them into bassinets in the carriage and you watch as he catches and kisses a pudgy hand that flails towards him. The babes will be hungry and you wonder if the girl hired to wet nurse them, who sits, bundled and wide-eyed in the carriage, will survive beyond her use. You recognize her: one of Alek’s top lieutenants who left the service to give birth to a fatherless stillborn. She looks nothing like the boys. It’d take a miracle to convince anyone she was the babies’ mother. You make the sign of the Morning Lord, pull your scarf to your mouth, and stifle a sob. You’ve always been strong enough to hold back tears, but you’ve held your tongue for nearly a year now. Something has to give. You can fix this, you know you can, you have one card you haven’t yet played…

“I promised Ravenovia that I would ensure her daughter’s marriage to the elf prince,” you say. You feel stupid for trying to make such a fool’s errand succeed. “If I should fail, if another man were to marry her ladyship before I have a chance to succeed…”

“If I step between Strahd and an alliance with Dusk Elves, it will mean war.”

Strahd. The Countess. You love her fiercely. You crave her happiness and Alek could bring her that, with his keen, gray eyes, and tawny hair, and scarred face. He’s not only handsome: he’s weathered in laugh lines and is a fierce protector. He is the father of her children and pain etches into his features as he speaks of the possibility of war. It seems… uncharacteristic. You know that, somehow.

“Admit it: you’d take up the blade again.”

“I would, but it would never come to that. She will not have me, Ilona. Do you think we never spoke of marriage in all these months? She would sacrifice me for the good of her country. It’s the right thing to do.”

Alek isn’t the sort to care about doing the “right” thing. Principles don’t become him and he doesn’t pretend to be a principled man. His voice is hollow and heartbroken. You realize his trunk has been loaded up as well. Your pulse quickens.

“You’re leaving Ravenloft?”

“Not for long. Just long enough to get the children to my family home.”

“You never speak of your family.”

His eyes glint in the moonlight, more silver than gray for once. His lips twist to a smile, something hard and bitterly amused, almost inhuman, but you blink and he’s just Alek, keeping a secret from you as he often does.

“Thank the Morning Lord for small miracles, hmm? Don’t worry, Ilona. Not about me, not about the children. If you want your prayers to do some good, pray for Strahd. Shchhe’d hate it, but it might do her some good. Better yet, pray for Barovia. It’s not natural for mothers to be without their children like this. Who knows what’ll happen?”

He shuts the carriage, kisses your cheek, and squeezes you the way a brother might before swinging into the driver’s seat of the carriage. His parting words are swallowed by gray and white as he disappears into the woods and so too, the memory fades.

#g: blood countess #curse of strahd #cos #female stahd #strahd x alek #r: strahd x alek #r: alek & ilona #ch: alek gwilym #ch: ilona darovnya #ch: strahd von zarovich #ch: theodora

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