Nikolai And Darkles Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin; Bent A Long Time Ago To Alter Them In Opposite Ways.

Okayyyy hear me out

These are Nikolai’s rules, but the Darkling seems to follow them all without talking about them

1) The less you say the more your words will carry- Aleks doesn’t talk much, he only ever has real conversations with Alina

2) Don’t argue, never deign to deny- he lets every rumour add to his reputation

3) Weakness is a guise- he pretends to be weaker than he is to stay close to the king for all those centuries

4) Use whatever or whoever is in front of you- isn’t that basically what he did with Genya?

5) Being a leader means that someone is always watching you- cold, unreadable and emotionless unless he’s only with Alina (and sometimes not even then)

6) Get them to follow the little orders and they’ll follow the big ones- we see the start of this with Alina when she refuses to wear black and then wears his kefta; she becomes dependent on his visits later

7) It’s okay to flout expectations, but never to disappoint them- he is strict with his soldiers to ensure their safety, but he also expects only the best of himself as their leader

Nikolai and Darkles are two sides of the same coin; bent a long time ago to alter them in opposite ways.