The Almost King

by Lucy Saxon

  ‘Saria, dear, the boy doesn’t even have a house. Have you really thought about what you’re getting yourself into?’ the woman asked her niece, who smiled sweetly.

  ‘Yes, Aunt Ana. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Aleks is saving up, and the landlord and his family are lovely people. Shall we begin, Father?’ Saria said with a smile, and Evgeny nodded, picking up his cutlery.

  As they ate, Aleks was all too aware of Anastasia’s gaze on him, making him feel like a field mouse hiding from a bird of prey.

  ‘How is old Luka, Aleks?’ Evgeny asked pleasantly, and Aleks swallowed his mouthful before answering.

  ‘He’s doing well. Getting a little shaky, though he’d be the last to admit it. I think it’s just the season – the cold gets to everyone, you know.’

  Evgeny nodded. ‘He’s lasted harsher winters than this – I’m sure he’ll be perfectly fine. Is he teaching you well?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Aleks replied brightly, smiling. ‘It’s all so interesting, and he’s taking me out with him to the shipyard every now and then to help fit parts.’ He figured he’d stick to the story he’d been telling Saria.

  ‘You work for Luka?’ Anastasia cut in, making dainty squares of her parsnips before eating them. ‘The batty old mechanic who works out of the run-down shop on Cinova?’

  ‘It’s hardly run-down,’ Aleks protested as politely as he could. ‘It just needed a bit of cleaning, which I took care of. It’s looking great now.’

  ‘He cleans? That’s a refreshing trait in a man your age,’ Evgeny joked, the small half-smile on his lips assuring Aleks he approved.

  ‘He cooks too,’ Saria piped up, giving Aleks a grin. ‘Wonderfully, I might add. And doesn’t shy away from washing the dishes after.’

  ‘Honestly, dear, if you wanted someone to do all that you’d get a maid, not a husband,’ Anastasia said with a shake of her head.

  ‘I think it’s admirable,’ Evgeny said, giving his sister a warning look. She huffed, falling silent, though it didn’t last long.

  ‘Aleksandr, what are your prospects? Presumably you don’t intend to be the old man’s dogsbody forever,’ she questioned.

  ‘After a year, Luka will sign off on my certificate of trade,’ Aleks replied. ‘Then I suppose I’ll set up a shop of my own.’

  ‘Hmm, I suppose that’s a good enough profession,’ Anastasia relented, lips pursed. There was a somewhat awkward silence while they all ate, and Aleks tried not to make direct eye contact with Anastasia, not wanting to prompt any more questions from her.

  ‘Saria, dear, you’re slouching, it’s unattractive,’ Anastasia scolded, and Aleks glanced sideways; Saria didn’t seem to be slouching to him. Still, she obediently straightened her back, looking uncomfortable as she did so. ‘I keep saying this new trend of letting corsets looser is only going to breed poor posture in girls. Tight corsets never hurt anyone, and there’s no reason to stop it now!’

  ‘Actually, there have been several instances, all over Tellus, of too tight corsets causing women to faint because they’re unable to breathe,’ Aleks said, knowing he was antagonising her but not caring, not when she was being rude to Saria. ‘A few even died because their corsets were so tight that they crushed their ribs.’ Anastasia’s eyes were cold as they met his, and he tried not to flinch.

  ‘Yes, well. Clearly they didn’t have them on properly,’ she sneered. ‘If you tighten a corset properly, it won’t do anything but fix posture and minimise the waist. Something you could also benefit from, dear,’ she added to Saria, casting an appraising glance over her niece.

  ‘I think Saria looks lovely as she is,’ Aleks told the woman boldly. ‘Her waist is just fine.’

  ‘Well, if you’re the type to settle for “fine”, I suppose that says everything,’ Anastasia retorted without missing a beat.

  ‘So, what do your brothers do, Aleks?’ Evgeny cut in loudly, glaring at his sister.

  ‘My eldest brother, Maxim, is all set to take over the family shop once Da retires. He and his wife have just had a son,’ said Aleks, glad to be back on solid conversational ground. He doubted Anastasia could find much fault with his brothers; no one ever could. ‘The second eldest, Torell, is studying to become a teacher, and his wife just gave birth to a little girl a few weeks ago. Grigori is closest to me in age, and he’s a Man of Faith. I think he’s hoping to become minister of our temple one day – our current minister is rather elderly.’

  ‘At least the rest of your family seem to be respectable members of society. Even if they are Westerners.’ Anastasia spat the word as if it were a curse.

  ‘Oh, hush, Ana,’ Evgeny soothed. ‘We have Western blood in us, you know we do.’ Anastasia coloured, glaring at her brother, and Aleks hid a grin.

  Conversation paused once more when Saria got up to take the plates, bringing out sweet-smelling apple cake as dessert. Aleks and Evgeny both complimented her cooking, though, of course, Anastasia complained it was too dry, just to be contrary. Aleks wondered how Saria could always be so cheerful when discussing her aunt with him, since clearly the woman was a hag.

  Still, he managed to get through dessert without insulting the woman or making a fool of himself – he thought – and when they had finished eating they moved back into the living room, Saria pouring coffee for everyone. She sat on the sofa beside Aleks, and he gently pressed his knee against hers, giving her an encouraging smile. She had an apologetic look on her face, but he shook his head a fraction; Anastasia’s attitude was hardly her fault.

  ‘It’s getting late,’ Anastasia declared, looking at the clock on the wall. ‘I think I should be retiring for the night. Saria, we shall be having a discussion in the morning about your . . . choices. After all, you know how much my approval costs.’ Saria winced at the emphasis on the last word.

  ‘I think you place more worth on your opinion than I do, Aunt Ana. Money isn’t everything, and I’d much rather be poor and happy than have all the money in the world but be stuck married to a man I don’t love,’ she said stubbornly.

  Anastasia huffed. ‘That’s because you’re young and don’t know any better. But if that’s how you feel about the matter, then all I can say is be careful what you wish for, my dear.’ She got to her feet, and Evgeny stood with her, kissing her cheek.

  ‘Goodnight, sister. Sleep well,’ he murmured. Anastasia moved to give Saria a kiss goodnight, then stopped in front of Aleks. He wondered if he should stand, then figured that by this point very little he could do was likely to raise her opinion of him. Still, he kissed the back of her hand when she offered it.

  ‘It was lovely to meet you, ma’am,’ he said politely, the words sounding false even to him. Her lips curled in distaste, and she took her hand back quickly.

  ‘Indeed,’ she drawled in reply, giving Saria a pointed look before leaving. Aleks held his breath while he heard footsteps go up the stairs, releasing it in a sigh when a door banged loudly.

  ‘Well. Your aunt is definitely . . . spirited,’ he declared, turning to Saria, who let out a giggle.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Aleks. I really wasn’t expecting her to be quite so rude,’ she began, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

  ‘It’s fine,’ he insisted. ‘It was nothing I haven’t heard before, I assure you. Though if I might ask, what was all that about just now? The “be careful what you wish for” thing?’

  Saria glanced at her father, who frowned at the reminder of his sister’s words.

  ‘As the elder sibling, Anastasia is in charge of the family estate, which is . . . not a small amount of money,’ Evgeny said.

  ‘She keeps threatening to cut me off,’ Saria grumbled. ‘Says that if I must disrespect my family by marrying below my status, I don’t deserve the money. Basically, if I don’t marry one of the men she picks out for me before I turn twenty, I’m on my own. There’s only so much Da can do when she controls his money as well.’

  Aleks was unsure how to respond. He couldn’t ask Saria to do that fo
r him. Even if she didn’t want to marry him yet – or at all – her twentieth birthday wasn’t far off, and she’d have to make the decision soon. Saria caught his conflicted expression and leaned in to kiss his cheek. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ she urged. ‘Like I told her, I don’t want her money if it comes at the cost of my own happiness. And I suspect she’s all talk, truly. I can’t see her actually denying me my inheritance.’

  ‘If you say so,’ Aleks said doubtfully. Saria didn’t look too confident about her own words, and Aleks doubled his resolve to win Anastasia over. She could make or break his relationship with Saria, regardless of how much Saria pretended not to care about her opinion.

  ‘Still, we must apologise,’ Evgeny said. ‘My sister isn’t usually so open with her opinions. We expected her to be less than pleased with you, given the . . . high hopes she had for Saria’s marriage prospects. But she’s ordinarily much better at curbing her tongue.’

  ‘Honestly, it didn’t bother me,’ Aleks lied easily. ‘She’s just looking out for Saria, I can understand that.’

  Saria scoffed. ‘There’s looking out for me and then there’s being downright rude. And that was definitely rude. She wasn’t even meant to be here. I specifically chose tonight because she usually has dinner with her prayer group on Thursdays. But apparently this week’s host has come down with the flu, so it was cancelled.’

  ‘Well, I was bound to meet her eventually, wasn’t I?’ Aleks reasoned, shrugging. ‘At least now I’ve got it over and done with. And I’m sure she’ll run out of things to disapprove of in the end.’

  ‘Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,’ Saria replied with a giggle. She lifted his arm, tucking it around her shoulders, and he let himself relax when Evgeny didn’t even blink. He pressed a kiss to Saria’s hair, smiling.

  ‘It really wasn’t that bad,’ he said softly.

  ‘Either way, I don’t want her behaviour to reflect poorly on my family,’ Evgeny said, draining the last of his coffee. ‘And I assure you, you’re welcome here whenever you wish.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Aleks murmured earnestly, bringing a smile to the tall man’s lips. ‘I think I should be going, before it’s too cold to venture outside.’ A glance out of the window showed the snow was falling thick and fast.

  ‘Yes, of course. Wouldn’t want you freezing to death before you get home,’ Saria said teasingly, seemingly bolstered by her father’s words. ‘Come on, I’ll walk you out.’ They both stood, and Aleks moved to shake Evgeny’s hand.

  ‘Thank you for inviting me into your home, sir, and for the lovely meal.’

  ‘You are very much welcome, lad. Have a safe journey home.’ Aleks bowed quickly to the man, then followed Saria out of the room into the hallway, grabbing his coat off the rack.

  ‘Storms, I’m so sorry,’ she murmured, but he cut her off with a kiss.

  ‘I told you, it’s fine,’ he whispered, cupping her cheek. ‘I promise. Your aunt hates me, I can deal with that.’ He grinned at her, winking roguishly. ‘I’m sure in time she’ll learn to love me.’ Saria giggled, shaking her head in amusement, and he pulled away to shrug his coat on. ‘And because I haven’t said it yet, you look beautiful,’ he added honestly, resting his hands on her waist.

  ‘Thank you. I must say, I approve of the tie. Very dapper,’ she replied, fingers brushing over the silk knot at his throat. His cheeks burned.

  ‘I didn’t want to look underdressed.’ Saria’s grin widened, and as she pulled open the front door she leaned in, kissing him. ‘Goodnight, Aleks. I’ll see you tomorrow.’ She curtseyed, and he bowed, throwing her a jaunty salute as he stepped out into the freezing night.

  ‘I look forward to it.’ He turned away, jogging down the road.

  He was brushing inches of snow off his shoulders and head when he stopped in front of the door of the Compass, kicking his ice-caked boots against the wall before entering, goosebumps rising at the sudden change from cold to warm. He shut the door quickly to keep the heat in, tugging off his hat and pulling at the tie around his neck, groaning when it only got tighter. ‘Oh, come here, you hopeless sod,’ Ksenia muttered, edging around a table full of young men and women to reach out and undo his tie for him, getting the top button of his shirt too. ‘You’d better get used to them, if you’re going to be hanging around with that lass of yours. How did it go, anyway?’ She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, bringing him over to the bar as Raina appeared from the kitchen, an expectant look on her face.

  ‘Well, Evgeny – Saria’s father – is actually a gentle giant. Looks terrifying, but is very pleasant to talk to,’ he said, hopping up on to a bar stool.

  ‘That’s good, then? He gave you his blessing?’ Raina pressed, shoving a mug of hot cider into his hands. He took it gratefully, keeping his gloves on while the warmth crept back into his fingers.

  ‘Oh, yes, he seemed perfectly happy with me dating Saria.’

  ‘And yet you don’t look too happy,’ Ksenia observed as Aleks sighed, resting his head on his hand.

  ‘I’m not finished yet. Her father is great. Her aunt, on the other hand, is an absolute harpy.’

  Aleks was excited when Luka told him he could move on to learning the flight protocols; it was one step closer to actually flying. He needn’t have got his hopes up.

  It turned out that flight protocols, when devised by Luka, were a long and arduous process involving checking every single piece of equipment on the ship. Twice. And then several more times, without instruction, to see if Aleks had it in his head. One missed item on Luka’s mental checklist resulted in him having to go back and start the entire process again.

  Still, as painful as it was to keep going over the same checks until he was sure his brain had melted, Aleks was confident by the end of the weekend that he could happily prepare the ship for flight in his sleep. Luka clapped him on the back as he hopped off the end of the ladder on Sunday evening, grinning. ‘Keep going like this, lad, and you’ll be taking her out by the end of next week.’

  ‘Really? That soon? I can’t wait!’ Aleks replied eagerly, making Luka laugh.

  ‘Yeah, yeah, don’t get too excited now. Taking her out for half an hour doesn’t mean you’ll be off adventuring any time soon,’ the white-haired man pointed out, nudging Aleks’s shoulder. Still, things in the warehouse seemed to have more of a sense of urgency to them; despite Luka not yet having set a departure date – nor, technically, agreed to the trip in the first place – Aleks felt now more than ever like a clock was ticking and his days were numbered. It was both exhilarating and terrifying when he thought about it too hard.

  Unfortunately, due to Aleks’s productivity in the work shop before he’d been shown the skyship, Luka’s business had actually started to get customers and couldn’t be left alone for days on end. Luka spoke as if it were absurd for people to want to buy things in a shop, but Aleks didn’t mind spending the odd day there, especially when he got a percentage of the sales for his trouble. He spent the time catching up on finishing some of Luka’s abandoned projects, happily keeping himself occupied in his little corner. He’d stopped working in the basement after Shulga’s visit, always wanting a view of the door, just in case.

  As he worked he let himself daydream, imagining what it would be like to fly through the Stormlands. It wouldn’t be easy, he knew that much – his daydreams didn’t include the possibility of crashing to a cold, watery death – but he was certain there had to be something amazing on the other side. A whole country, maybe: flatlands, unlike Siberene’s mountains; probably not hot like Mericus or Kasem, but perhaps with warm seasons, like Erova. There might even be animals the likes of which no one had ever seen before. With no one to hunt them, or force them into captivity and regulate breeding, the wildlife there would probably be fantastic and extraordinary.

  A grin tugged at his lips as he cracked the casing on a half-finished video recorder; he’d had the idea to finish making it, as well as some audio recorders, for when Luka eventually relented and let him fly t
hrough the Stormlands. He’d need to document his adventure, after all.

  20

  Before Luka even said anything, Aleks could tell the day had arrived. The old man was almost vibrating with energy, foot tapping impatiently as they rode the tram, and almost running towards the warehouse once they got off.

  ‘How you feeling, lad?’ he asked as he unlocked the warehouse door, glancing over his shoulder.

  ‘Pretty good,’ Aleks responded with a grin. ‘Well-rested, well-fed. Weather’s good today.’ Luka nodded, humming under his breath.

  ‘It is, isn’t it?’ he agreed. ‘I think it’s about time we let this bird stretch her wings.’

  ‘Really?’ Aleks asked hopefully, excitement flooding his veins. The elderly mechanic nodded again.

  ‘It’s a good day for it, and you’ll need the practice. We won’t take her out long, mind, just a couple of hours. Long enough to give you a feel of being in the air,’ he added, warning him not to get too eager. Aleks grinned anyway. Helping with the rig that would allow them to get the ship out of the warehouse and on to the flight deck Luka had built at the back, where the land started to dip down towards the cliffs. It took a lot to move the heavy vehicle, but the rig worked perfectly, and within no time Aleks was hoisting himself up on to the ship’s deck, feeling the wind buffet him into the railing. They hurried below deck quickly, and Aleks turned towards the control room, frowning when Luka turned in the opposite direction.

  ‘Aren’t you coming?’ he asked. The man gave Aleks the look that told him he was being an idiot.

  ‘If you want to get this ship off the ground, you’ll need me down in the engine room.’ Aleks went chalk-white; he was going to be alone in the control room for his first flight?

  ‘Of course you’re right. Go to the engine room, I’ll turn on the speakers,’ he said, squaring his shoulders. He’d been through the process a hundred times; he didn’t need Luka holding his hand. Besides, he would still be able to instruct him through the speakers. Aleks slid into the seat in the control room, flicking the switch on the speakers and running over the preflight checklist in his mind. Start the furnace, raise the sail, extend the wings, tilt the wings, and wait for the updraught to catch. That was the easy part; it was gaining control of the ship once it was airborne that was going to be the challenge.