Extreme Measures

Sacha wanted them to be okay.

He wanted to live with the love of his life and his son and be happy. He wanted to make up for all the briefest moments when his duty as Highmaster and his work as the Shadow had kept him from spending as much time with Alise as he would have liked; to be there when she needed him or simply just because. He wanted to forge a life full of laughter and her smiling face. He wanted them to be a family.

But more than all that, Sacha wanted Alise to be safe. Happiness she could find elsewhere. She was young, so beautiful; there was still time for someone to sweep her off her feet and give her everything she could ever possibly hope for. It would certainly be more than a man like himself could offer her, with his closed-off emotions and cool demeanor.

Safety was something Sacha could not give her; not from pain or heartache or physical danger. That had been proven time and again. It had been his fault she had suffered the stillbirth of her firstborn. Even if that were irrational, it was undoubtedly his fault that she had suffered the ordeal of being kidnapped and held hostage.

And that was only on account of him being Highmaster. Supposed someone with ill intent discovered he was the Shadow? Alise would be their first target; they would use her and hurt her to get to him. He couldn't live with that happening again, so he had to send her away.

Sacha would have sent Matthew away, as well, were there anyway to do so without shattering the boy. So, instead, he kept the boy safely stowed away on Durmstrang Isle, commissioned freeborns to guard the boy without his knowledge.

Alise would not be so easily fooled, however. She would demand that such action would be stopped, and then she would be unprotected. That meant the only option left was that Sacha had to part with her.

And he would break both their hearts to do so.

Sacha stood in the living room for a long moment, a roll of parchment in his hands. He allowed his gaze to sweep over the cabin's interior, lingering on all the little touches that Alise had brought to their home. They weren't going anywhere; only the woman that had given them life. Drawing in a shaking breath, the man seized his hallmark composure.

"Alise," Sacha called. "Might I speak with you for a moment?"

The room in its pastels had never seemed so bright. The soft carpet and the windows seemed so bright, so new, compared to the hell hole Alise had been contained to in the previous months. These four walls had held her dreams a year ago and had held together her most important relationship. Such a place had brought misery and lust, sorrow and joy.

Now, as the woman laid on the floor, hair a tangle, Alise couldn't believe the feeling of belonging had returned. After returning home, Ketty had insisted on a visit to a healer. The visit had been ordinary, except for the sudden realization of-

Sacha was calling her now. Alise propped her herself up with a soft smile, then sprung to her feet. The sudden movement made her stomach flip, but she ignored the sickness for the moment, "I'm coming!" She called, strolling into the hallway.

She headed down the stairs slowly, feeling a sort of...tension in Sacha's presense. Sure, he never had a truly happy aura, but... something was off. But maybe that was her being paranoid. Pregnancy usually messed with her emotions.

"What is it?" she asked lightly.

Sacha's heart sped a bit at her appearance. A small smile almost threatened his lips until he recalled the papers held in his hand. Then smiling was impossible. He was tempted to just throw the roll of parchment into the fire and just forget about it all; to take her into his arms and hold her close. He wanted to kiss her and tell her how much he loved her.

But none of that would protect her from the biggest danger in her life: him.

"I have been thinking," Sacha said impassively, instead, rooted to his place only through an effort of will. "Your recent kidnap and confinement was the fault of your connection to me. In fact, it appears an unfair amount of harm and heartache has been done you because of me."

He finally moved forward, stopping an arm's length away. "I have decided that I will not make you endure anymore. Perhaps, I ought to have done so sooner. Then, you might not have been kidnapped at all. No matter. I am doing it, now.

"I wish to dissolve our previous agreement. You may be free of me, now," Sacha said, holding out the papers. "Let's divorce."

Part of him died as the words crossed his lips. Now, they could never be taken back. He knew their marriage had long since ceased to be a mere arrangement long ago; he knew Alise felt the same. Sacha did not want to divorce her. He did not want to hurt her they way he knew he was. But Sacha would rather be the cold-hearted bastard she hated than have her in danger because of him. He just wasn't worth it.

Alise looked up at the man, pure shock flashing against her features. There was a moment where Alise could hear or feel anything expect her heart pounding a racing beat in the panicked silence. Then, out of all things to do, she let out a congenial guffaw.

"No," she stated, shaking her head almost violently, "No.

"This isn't a funny joke," Now, urgency rushed into her voice. She reached out and laid a hand on his arm, her face flickering between calm and worry in an effort to try to mirror his equanimity. Her green eyes fell on his scroll and her mouth quivered slightly.

"After all of this?" she whispered, "After all of this, I was just a contract?"

Sacha maintained an impassive mask; it had never been so very difficult before. He waited as she went from flat out denial to despair, heart wrenching with every word that parted those lovely lips. The contact of her hand on his arm burned. He wanted to pull away; he wanted that burning to never stop.

He lowered his head slightly - shame, apology - gaze slipping to focus over her shoulder.

"I have been most unfair to you," Sacha said, evading the question. He didn't need to address the question to lie. In fact, Sacha wasn't certain he could go through with what was necessary if he was forced to answer that question directly.

Alise was far more than a contract, far more than anything else. She was the love of his life. Sacha knew beyond doubt that she was the only one he could love until he died. No others mattered; they didn't even exist.

Alise pulled her hand away, staring at his arm with a profound horror. Never again would she feel the warmth of him sleeping body next to her in the middle of the night, or hear him talk about the school day. And, if she looked at his face, she'd release she's never hear him speak to his newborn child.

Tilting her head down, Alise reached for the parchment in her hands, then turned towards the door. "Fine," The woman stepped away from him, keeping a strong face despite the gathering tears in her eyes. "I'll collect my things,"

For a long moment, Sacha didn't breathe. Breathing would be too painful. She'd finally removed her hand from his arm and drawing in a slow breath, Sacha mourned the contact.

He had hoped she wouldn't believe him, silently pleaded that she would demand a straight-forward answer. As she reached for the parchment, Sacha wanted to tighten his hold on it and prevent her from taking it. It didn't. She took the parchment.

Don't you know me better, by now? Can't you see me, Alise? The questions were at the forefront of his mind, on the tip of his tongue. They remained unspoken.

"Take your time," he uttered instead, fighting to hold his facade in place. Take forever. Please don't leave me.

Alise faltered at the stairs, her entire body protesting her impending departure. The false air in the room seemed to suffocate the woman, her lungs contracting violently to match the tears beginning to stream down her face. She managed to turn around to face the man- no longer a friend, but a stranger she thought she knew.

"Here," her voice was soft between her gasps. She grabbed her own hand and twisted the single piece of gold off her finger, whispering, "I don't need this piece of shit anymore," before tossing her ring on to the floor.

Then, turning on her heel, Alise headed up the stairs, letting her sobs flow.

The soft strangled sound was not permitted to leave his lips until she had gone. He had not so much as moved until she had retreated up the stairs. Sacha had expected it to hurt like this, he just had no way to ever be prepared for it.

Dragging in a shuddering breath, he finally did move, crouching to retrieve the ring. Her ring. Alise's ring. It was such a simple piece of metal. It had meant everything to him.

Fingers curling around the golden band, Sacha resumed his stance. Then he waited for it to be safe. Safe - for him to fall apart without being observed.

Alise took exactly 37 minutes to collect the things for their- his- room. The woman had found the her life fit very nicely into her magic suitcase (which, granted everything fit into, but, still.) Almost ever artifact of hers, toothbrushes, combs, clothing, was gone from the room, leaving the room feeling lopsided and empty. The lack of presense, love, hope, had seemed to vanish from the room.

Alise stood there, watching the stillness of dread in the room. She'd never sleep here again. Never steal all of the covers or push her snoring husband or be able to simply listen to the house settle.

For a moment, the Russian closed her eyes and imagined his smell, not the scent of his aftershave or his soap, but Sacha's actual musk. Alise hoped she could always remember that smell, even after she had faded from Sacha's mind.

"Ketty?" she whispered, her voice crumbled and meek. She doubted the house elf could hear her, but Alise couldn't leave this house alone, not without breaking something. "Ketty?" Her voice grew louder, "I n-need you right now... I can't... Sacha... baby...divorce,

"I can't,"

Ketty appeared silently in the room, large amber eyes somber. She was stung by the situation, hurt for each of the couple, disappointed in and exasperated at Sacha, and sad for all involved. The elf had a good many things to say on the matter, especially to the stubborn, misguided man she had helped to rear, but it was not the time.

"Shh..." Ketty murmured, taking the woman's hand in her own and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here, Alise. Tell me what I can do for you."

Alise, overwhelmed by the sorrow inside her heart, took Ketty's hand and pulled the house elf to her chest to trap her into a hug. Resting a kiss on the elf's head, Alise burst into a new set of tears.

"Oh, Ketty, "she sniffled, "What am I supposed to do? I can't raise a baby by myself. And I can't burden Sacha any longer." She dropped to her knees to become the same level as the elf. "I've caused him so much pain, Ketty." Her eyes were starting to dry as she nodded, making up her mind. "And that's why he can't know about the baby, okay? You gotta promise me you won't tell."

Ketty did her best to soothe the woman. It was in her nature, if nothing else, having devoted so much time to caring for others. "I will still be there for you. Always, Alise. You should know this. And--" She broke off, blinking dumb-foundedly at Alise.

"But, Alise," Ketty exclaimed incredulously, "Sacha has not been so happy in years! You have done that for him." How could she not see how much she had changed the man? How different he was when she was around? Sacha was nearly expressive. Matthew may have started the transformation for the self-controlled man, but Alise was certainly the one who had brought it to fruition.

The elf sighed heavily, her own amber gaze solemn. "I do not agree with you, Alise," Ketty said sternly. "But it is not my secret. I will not tell him."

As the house elf spoke, Alise rose to her feet and went to grab her coat from the closet. It was a wool coat, brass buttons and long sleeves, certainly not bought by a frugal shopper. The woman had bought this with Sacha's money; it certainly wasn't fair to keep such a fine item, even if she was certain the man would insist she keep it.

"I know I made him happy," she replied as nonplused as possible, as she tossed the coat on to the bed, "I also made him miserable. Which is how most marriages work," She grabbed her bag with a sigh, "And now, I can only hope he can find another woman to make him feel the same way,"

The russian woman smiled down at Ketty, trying to feign contentment. "Oh, Ketty. Don't look so sad, you'll make me cry again. Come on, just thing of all the fun we could have. You could visit all the time and play with it; you'll basically be the kid's grandmom!"