[Saransk - Russian Nationals] Я ни в чём не откажу (Dema)

Saransk, 16th July 2004

July and August were tough months. The pressure on the artistic flying family was immense then. With national and international championships being held during these months the expectations of the athletes were high and Alyona had to do her best to keep them healthy. They had to work hard to keep the family’s reputation up - the reputation to produce most national and international champions, to set standards in the sport and to offer the best training conditions for athletes.

The national championships were not held in Rybinsk this year which Alyona knew was making her daughter feel uneasy, unprotected. She had arranged for her to have her own changing room, paid Branimir and Ivo twice their usual salary so they would stick around and really give their very best to protect Aglaya. Everything seemed to be going well enough and to Alyona’s relief Aglaya managed to get through her technical exercise alright. She was not as outstanding as she had sometimes been in the past but she was clearly still competitive, finishing in second place just one point below her cousin Svetlana. Nothing was lost. In fact, Alyona thought that going into the free program with a cushion of over ten points to the third place and the first place so close was actually good. After all, the free program had always been Aglaya’s strongest part of a competition.

Since her daughter had retreated to her hotel suite in the company of both her bodyguards already, Alyona had asked Aldemar to join her for dinner in a restaurant close to the hotel. Anton had announced that he would only come to see the free program and not waste any time in Saransk, Alyona had an evening to herself. She knew she could have asked Valera or another relative to keep her company but she was eager to see someone who wasn’t part of the Tikhomirov clan. She wanted distraction to prevent herself from overthinking her daughter’s situation.

Dressed up in a dark blue dress suitable for muggle surroundings she had met Dema at the restaurant and, after a brief exchange about how Saransk was as a host town for the national championships, they had ordered their meal. A waiter served them some wine and left their table again.

“I’m so glad you agreed to meet tonight,” Alyona said earnestly. “I am relieved Aglaya did comparably well. I wasn’t so sure before the competition.” She sighed and then picked up her glass holding it up in front of her. “However, let’s try not to worry about anything tonight. Let’s just pretend we’re good old friends meeting for dinner with no artistic flying competition and any threats in the back of our minds.” She smiled and shook her head, aware that Aldemar probably knew that, sooner or later, she’d think about Aglaya again. For now, however, the caring mother wanted to try and have a break. The next day would surely be a challenge for her again.

@Aldemar Delchev

Dressed in a smart jacket and some freshly pressed pants, Aldemar felt like a proper muggle, and he loved it. He had said hello to strangers on the street, enjoyed being back in Russia for the night, and smiled cheerily even when his greetings were not returned. At the restaurant, Dema took his time peering over the menu, even though he knew he was likely to order his favorite Russian delicacy anyway.

Aldemar had always felt most alive when outside of his normal world, and while it was far from his first time in the muggle world or Russia, it still felt fresh and sparkly. And he was here with Alyona, which always made things that much more exciting. For as long as he had known the witch in front of him, Aldemar loved spending time with her. Even in the midst of everything, she was still as radiant as ever.

"Of course, how could I refuse a night out with you, and in beloved Russia of all places." Aldemar's love of the country was a secret to no one. Anytime he'd gotten the chance to cover a story in Russia while he was an adventuring celebrity, he had jumped on it. "She did wonderfully," Aldemar agreed during the appropriate pause in Alyona's statement, and nodded along. "I will toast to that," he said with a smile, raising his wine toward her and hoping they could do exactly as she said.

It would do her a world of good to relax, even if it was merely for one dinner.

Alyona offered a genuine smile in response to Aldemar commenting on the night out together. She was so glad to have a friend like him. She had always liked him, already as a teenager. He was a pleasant companion and she felt they were on the same wavelength - much more so than she felt with Anton these days. Back at Durmstrang things had been different, though. She had adored Anton and he had been very loving in their relationship. It was hard to say what had happened between them to change things so much but she assumed it had to do with the family pressure, with the whole artistic flying world. They had to play their roles in the grand scheme of things, had to do their best for the family with little time to spare on their private lives.

Then Aglaya’s poisoning had happened and instead of bringing them together in the dire time, they had drifted further apart. Anton was not seeing another woman, not one specific woman anyway - Alyona was sure of that - but he didn’t look at her anymore the same way as he used to do in the past. She didn’t feel the same way about him either so she couldn’t even blame him.

Shrugging in response to her friend saying that Aglaya did wonderfully, Alyona bit her lips to prevent herself from commenting on the little flaws in her daughter’s routine. She had done well enough but by her old standards she hadn’t done her best. Admittedly the old standards hardly applied anymore after all that had happened. Given the circumstances, yes, Aglaya had done well.

They toasted and Alyona wondered if she could really live up to her own plan of not talking about artistic flying tonight. She doubted it but at the same time she wanted to embrace this short break from the stress of everyday life.

“You look so smart tonight,” she said, complimenting her friend with a small smile. “You could easily pass for a muggle businessman.” An amused smirk appeared on her face as she thought about what had just come to her mind. Should she really suggest it or just try to forget this silly little idea?

“I was just thinking,” she said after a brief time of consideration, “we could pretend to be muggles. You, a successful businessman, making lots of money with… something and me… I don’t know. It’s silly.” She laughed and lifted her glass to her lips, drinking a few sips of the wine.