𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Part I

                                    

                                          
This one-shot takes place at the end of Shadow & Bone as they are hunting the Stag if Alina and the Darkling had gone further at the Winter Fete. ;) This is based on the books, not the show. Enjoy!
Ps. I know everyone and their brother has done this one-shot, but I couldn't help it. I think Aleksander as a father would be so cute and hilarious at the same time.

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
        ᗰᗩᒪ ᗩᑎᗪ I ᕼᗩᗪ ᗷEEᑎ searching for about six weeks. Every day, Mal claimed we were closer to locating the Stag, but with each passing day without luck, I began to feel worse and worse. I got tired faster and had to ask Mal to stop frequently. He would always smirk annoyingly and say, "Come on, twigs," like he used to at the orphanage. The nickname still made me just as angry if not more so. I blamed the fatigue on not summoning enough, and that caused me to lose my strength. By the end of the week, I began to feel dizzy and nauseous. One day was particularly bad. I told Mal I was going to wash my face at the creek. Once I was alone, I fell to my knees and started vomiting. I had a horrible suspicion, but I kept it to myself. That was the last thing we needed. And it would break Mal's heart to tell him what I did at the Little Palace with the very person we were trying to escape.
        The next day, it happened again, but with no warning. Mal saw and came to my side immediately, offering the canteen of water. "Alina?" he said cautiously. "At first I thought you just caught a sickness in these conditions, running nonstop in the cold woods, but you never get sick, and it's been going on for a month now."
        I looked away in shame. He tucked away a stray hair that fell in my face and turned my head gently to meet my gaze. "What really happened at the palace? You can tell me anything."
        "I... I messed up," I said with a quiver in my voice. 
        Mal folded me in his arms and was quiet for a minute. Eventually, he calmly asked, "Alina, are you pregnant?"
        Tears started to flow down my cheeks. "It's possible," I wept, holding onto Mal and burying my head in his chest. "I can't go—I—we can't let him get me."
        "I won't let that happen," he declared with an intense determination in his tone.
        I so desperately wanted to believe him, but amunition and Mal's determination wouldn't be enough to stop the Darkling. I feared nothing could. I sniffed, scrounging up a bit of composure, and said, "I appreciate the sentiment, but the Darkling will never stop hunting me down. Our only chance is to get the Stag. With it, I can rival his power."
        "Then I won't stop until I've found the Stag for you, Alina. I'll do whatever it takes."
        I smiled through my gloomy mood and kissed his cheek. He returned a half-hearted smile. Mal acted like he was fine, but he couldn't hide the deep betrayal in his eyes after learning what I had done with the Darkling. He had twisted the knife in my heart before when he did the same with Zoya. I suppose it was my turn to twist the blade into his chest. At the end of the day, were we stronger for it, or were we just pouring all of our efforts into a losing game?