Prompt: ''Run, run, that's all we ever do from our past but it will come back haunting us.'' You paused, staring into the brown eyes that you once had fallen in love with. ''Do you think it'll stop before we even die?''
Please don’t plagiarize my work - I spend a lot of my time writing, copying and pasting destroys that.
Warnings: blood and gore, ptsd, trauma flashbacks, violence.
A/N: thank you for reading the series and i'm welcoming the new followers on my account! if you want to get me know better, click navi on my info box :)
prologue - one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight - nine - ten
Getting the Heartrender was not an easy task. Kaz had to send in Y/N to complete the job, knowing that she would acomplish it. After trying to convince the heartrender, she finally gave in as they walked with the heartrender to the Dressen. ''I really appreciate the new buisness, but you only paid for an hour of my time, and I have to go back to the Orchid,'' You heard her speak.
''The Orchid isn't safe tonight, your life is in danger with this job, make yourself sacre for a few days,'' Kaz told her. ''Mr. Brekker, are you threatening me? Even if I'm nice, my boss will call the standwatch on you,'' She remarked.
''It's not me you're in danger with, it's Pekka Rollins,'' Kaz told her. ''Which is why, your boss is alredy dead,'' You replied with a shrug on your shoulders. ''Who are you lot?'' The man behind the gate asked them.
''We're here to see Dressen,'' Kaz told him as you stayed from behind. ''You're not with Pekka's crew,'' The man said and narrowed his gaze toward Kaz and the group behind him. ''And you're not in Pekka's pocket anymore if you don't owe him,'' Kaz retorted and throws a bag of coins through the gate at the man.
You watched from afar and sees the man caught whatever Kaz had thrown at him. You saw Kaz nodding his head toward you as you gestured to the others to follow after him. ''Did you do what I think you did?'' You asked him.
''I did,'' He responded with a smirk. You shook your head with a smile before you heard the man exclaim from afar. ''Hey, where did you get that coin?'' Jesper asked Kaz.
''Hey! One of these has a hole in it!'' The man from the gate exclaimed. ''Saints,'' Jesper commented as the door opened.
''Get inside, get inside,'' Kaz urged them as the group rushed inside and followed Dressen men inside. ''One look and I can tell, criminals,'' Dressen commented.
''I'm not meeting anyone til midnight,'' He said. ''We heard you needed a heartrender,'' Kaz told him as Dressen stood up. ''Alright, she stays, the rest of you: out,'' He spoke as the heartrender was about to move forward but Kaz stopped her with his cane. ''She stays, and we have an exclusive on this job,'' Kaz replied.
''Mr. Brekker, no buisness man worth his salt hires his first applicant,'' Dressen says and moves to sit on the front of his desk. The man moved his jacket to show the gun, Jesper does the same.
''You wouldn't,''
''Try him,'' You spoke with a smirk. ''No buisness man worth his salt bargains for what he can take,'' Dressen said before he walks towards Kaz. ''I have to get back in an hour,'' The heartrender spoke. ''Alright, come on,'' Dressen spoke as they followed after Dressen.
-
Walking down the stairs and to the basement, you saw a figure with his hands tied up and a bag that covered his face. ''Who's this?'' Kaz asked as Dressen looked at the four of you. ''So, you don't know everything after all, this is Alexei Stepanov,'' He introduced and removed the bag, only to show a scared boy, no older than the lot of them.
''Two weeks ago, young Alexei here crossed the Fold on foot, alone,'' He informed and you widened your eyes, surprised. ''How?'' Inej asked him. ''They're keeping it quiet, but allegedly he was one of the few witnesses too, an event,'' He informed.
''Water,'' Alexei croaked out and you watched Inej step over and poured him a glass of water. ''What glass of event?'' Kaz questioned and you can tell that the poor boy was scared by the heartbeat of his own.
''I know an expedition was swarmed by Volcra, should have been a total loss, but something happened,'' Dressen explained before he continued. ''Some device detonated, obliterated by Volcra, lit up the dark like a forest fire, I know it wasn't a fire or else no one would have survived, this was some invention no one had seen before, he knows, but he doesn't seem to be able to articulate his accounts of events,''
''So,'' Dressen trailed off and reached out his hands to the heartrender. The heartrender looked at Kaz for approval as he nodded. Inej moved back to the group as the heartrender approached Alexei. ''You're safe now,'' She told him with a soft voice and reached her hand to brush her hand against his face.
She moved her hand to run against his palm and calmed his heartbeat. ''Now you can speak and I will just listen,'' She said.
''All right,'' Alexei spoke with a sigh.
''Tell me what happened in the Fold, who saved you?''
''You won't believe me, but, it was a Sun Summoner,'' Inej let out a gasp, looking toward at Kaz and Y/N. They didn't believe it, but if Dressen believed it, you knew that he would hire you to do the job.
''Who was it?'' Dressen asked him and leaned slightly forward. ''If I tell you, you'll set me free?'' He asked and you sighed. Poor soul.
''You have my word, I'll set you free,'' He replied. ''You're in Ketterdam now, Alexei, you can go anywhere in the world from here,'' The heartrender nodded in agreement. ''Just imagine,''
''Her name, is Alina Starkov,'' Alexei revealed. ''Alina Starkov?'' Alexei nodded his head. ''Good boy, show me the manifest,'' Dressen said and looked through a stack of papers.
''Perfect,'' Dressen replied as Alexei looked at him. ''You'll set me free, now?'' He asked. ''Thank you, of course,'' Dressen spoke and then turned around with a gun and shoots Alexei in the head. The Heartrender let out a scream, while you flinched toward the sound of the gunshot that ringed in the air. You watched as he walked over to Alexei's lifeless body to see if he was dead.
''We are now the only people west of the Fold with this information, my ships sails for west Ravka at dawn, if you can prove that you have a way through the Fold and back, I'll put you on that ship with an advance, if you don't, I'm giving this job to Pekka Rollins,''
''Give me a day, I'll have a plan,'' Kaz told him.
''You have until sunrise, then your ship will have sailed, Mr. Brekker, the prize is one million Kruge, now bring me Alina Starkov,''
-
Back at the office, Inej, Y/N, and Kaz was riffling through the pages, trying to find the solution fo crossing the Fold and finding Alina Starkov. ''What was that? Hmm? You want to tell me?'' Inej asked and looked at you and Kaz.
''Be more specific,'' You questioned her. ''It was one thing we had a week to find a way across the Fold, but sunrise? We have to say no,'' Inej spoke.
''No,'' You and Kaz spoke in sync. ''No to the job?'' Inej asked and furrowed her brows. ''No to saying no,'' Kaz remarked.
''We can't go,'' Inej snapped. ''Can't we?'' You asked and stood up straigher. Inej lifted her arm to show the tattoo on her wrist at you. You hated the tattoo because it symbolized that someone owned her, granted, you were the one who owned her and you tried to find a way to release her from the Mengarine. But Tante heleen was a stubborn kind.
''I can't go,'' She spoke in a softer tone. ''You will, we have a plan,'' You responded and looked at Kaz who nodded. ''No, you don't,'' Inej replied as you sighed with frusteration.
''I know by now when you're still figuring things out, you don't know how to pull off this job,'' Inej spoke and looked at Kaz. ''I still have six hours and right now, you aren't helping,'' Kaz sneered and you looked at him with a stern expression.
''Kaz,'' You warned him. ''Maybe you crack away across, but that doesn't solve the problem!'' Inej exclaimed and shoved her tattoo in Kaz's face.
''If I can't crack this, no one's going,''
''If you do?''
''Then maybe you stay here,'' Kaz snapped and you looked at him with a disapproval expression while Inej looked at him with a hurt expression. You sighed. ''Maybe I won't be back here when you get back,'' Inej replied in a low voice, but you and Kaz still heard her.
''Inej,'' You spoke before she runs off into the rain, leaving no sound in her wake. ''Inej!'' Kaz tried to stop her and drops his head as he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes with frusteration.
You sighed and walked towards him. Kaz turned around and you could see the guilt in his eyes. ''I am a idiot,'' He spoke and you smiled softly before lifting his chin up with your finger. He looked into your eyes.
''Yes, but a pretty one,'' You remarked with a grin and smiled at you. ''I'll talk to her, she will listen to me,'' You replied with a soft voice. ''I doubt that she's going to listen to you,'' Kaz responded, making you roll your eyes at him.
''You always underestimate her, and I still don't know why, I see the potentional in her,'' You spoke. ''I know,'' You watched him sigh.
''Give her a chance, you know I didn't bought her without a reason,'' You replied. Kaz knew that you didn't bought her without a reason, from the moment you met Inej at the Mengarine, you always had a soft spot for the Suli girl, thus a beautiful friendship had forged that was pratically family. You were never the keen of having friends, since you lived in Ketterday, people was hard to trust knowing that they would betray you or sooner.
-
please comment what you think of this chapter! reblogging always helps.
By your Side - Kaz Brekker x Reader - Masterlist (Finished Series)
Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Reader
AU: JordieLives!AU
Genre: hurt/comfort & angst to fluff
Word Count:approx. 35 000
Warnings: canontypical violence, blood, Kaz's trauma (-> Mentions of death and grief), injuries, angst, jealousy, alcohol, mentions of (child)prostetution (Inej's past), death (of an enemy), mentions of panic(-attacks), murder
Summary: After you left the ship you spent the last years working on as well as your best friend Jojo, Kaz takes you in and makes you a member of the Dregs. The two of you seem to get closer over time, until Kaz recruits Inej, who you are convinced Kaz is in love with. When Jojo comes to visit several years later, unexpected discoveries are made and tensions arise.
Based on this post by @ilovemarvelanne1
Chapter One - Reader
Chapter Two - Reader
Chapter Three - Kaz
Chapter Four - Jordie
Chapter Five - Reader
Chapter Six - Kaz
Chapter Seven - Reader
Chapter Eight - Reader
Chapter Nine - Kaz and Reader
Picture Sources (edited by me): Canal, Freddy Carter, Ship in Fog, Ship in Harbour, Church in Fog, Sails, Rope
By your Side - Chapter Seven - Kaz Brekker x Reader
Pairing: Kaz Brekker x fem!Reader
AU: JordieLives!AU
Series Genre: hurt/comfort & angst to fluff
Summary: After Kaz told you to leave Ketterdam with Jordie next month, the distance between you and him grows further. Series based on this post by @ilovemarvelanne1
Warning: jealousy
Chapter Word Count: 3 230
A/N: Three Chapters in three days! Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow the last two chapters will get published (mainly bc i wanted to publish the last chapter on my birthday, because if i don’t treat myself on my birthday, then... yeah). So enjoy Kaz being an idiot until then!
Chapter Six, Series Masterlist
Kaz was sending you away. No matter how he had phrased it, it all boiled down to that one simple truth. He was sending you away. Why? Had he found out about your feelings for him, and it made him uncomfortable? Did he want more time to spend with Inej? No distractions? Had you gotten useless to him? Too annoying, too much of a bother to keep around?
You forced yourself to walk down the stairs and into your room like you always did, without any breaks or halts, so Kaz would not pick up on your inner turmoil. And he was certainly listening in on your steps.
Jojo sat on your couch, reading in the light of a lamp, and perked up when you entered the room.
Of course he immediately picked up that something was wrong, but when he asked, you just told him that Kaz had ridiculous plans for your next patrol, which probably was not very far from the truth.
You could tell that Jojo did not believe you, but he did you the favour of not asking any more questions. You dressed in your nightgown in the small bathroom in the back of your quarters, and bid good night to Jojo, telling him Kaz had wished him a good night, too.
Jojo smiled and offered to turn off the lights so you could sleep, but you asked him to keep them turned on. You did not mind the light, and somehow it was comforting, hearing him flip a page every other minute, knowing he was around. You were surprised Jojo did not notice, but you very quietly cried yourself to sleep that night.
When you woke up, the sun already stood high in the sky. Jojo was sitting on the sofa, reading again. You could tell he had slept in between, because his hair was dishevelled. He looked just like he had all those times you had woken up next to him on the Wolfszahn.
An unwelcome thought pushed into your head: does Kaz look like that after waking up, too? They look quite similar, but Kaz’s hair is shorter. Hell, Jojo could probably collect his hair into a bun at the back of his head by now! But with Kaz’s shorter hair… does it hang into his forehead? Does he brush it away right when he wakes up or does he take a few minutes? Does Inej brush it out of his eyes?
You shook off the thought.
When Jojo noticed you were stirring awake, he closed the book, and looked over to you.
“Morning,” he grinned.
Sleepily you rubbed your eyes, trying to will the headache away which, with each passing second, spread further over your whole head. Suddenly you remembered the conversation you had had with Kaz the night before. He was sending you away, to go with Jojo. He had said you belonged with Jojo. You had wanted to stand up, and scream at him, scream that yes, you belonged on a ship, but not with Jojo. You belonged wherever Kaz was, and if he stayed in Ketterdam, then that was where you belonged: in Ketterdam, by his side. It had taken you a few seconds until you realised that he probably sent you away so him and Inej could lead a peaceful life as king and queen of the Barrel, without having to worry about looking after you. It was not that you envied Inej for being his “queen”, the “queen of the Barrel”, a title the people would not take long to call her. You envied her for being his.
“How late is it,” you asked, sitting up, trying to figure out what you wanted to do.
You had already thought about it while falling asleep, and decided you would not tell Jojo about Kaz’s plan to send you away. Of course you would follow Kaz’s order, but you would probably only tell Jojo the evening before he was due to leave. And then you would tell him a lie, something about how much you missed the sea and the crew, and that you wanted to come with him. Until then, you would pretend everything was normal, and just try to avoid Kaz as much as possible. You might as well get used to the feeling of not having him around already.
“About two in the afternoon,” Jojo answered your question about the time.
“Oh dear,” you exclaimed. “Please tell me you’ve had breakfast and lunch!”
Jojo laughed quietly. “Yes, I met that Jesper guy in the kitchen. We had a nice chat.”
For a moment you sat in your bed, trying to collect your thoughts, trying to find a way to tell Jojo you wanted to get back to your normal routine, before you spoke up.
“Listen, you know how I usually work at night?”
You watched Jojo nod. “To spy on people.”
Somehow you were not sure if he sounded judgemental or sad.
“Yes. See, I probably should get back to it from tonight on.”
It was not like you really wanted to go back to your nightly tours, but it was the easiest way to avoid Kaz, and it made you look like nothing had happened, nothing that had completely thrown you off your feet.
Jojo nodded although you could tell he was sad that you could not spent so much time together. After all, he did not yet know you would come back to the Wolfszahn with him.
After you got dressed, you dragged Jojo to the market by the harbour. Here the fresh products from all over the world got sold in big batches, way cheaper than in any store. You spent hours strolling around the market even though it was freezing cold. When it started snowing again, Jojo bought the two of you each a cup of hot juice with exotic spices in it, and you had a piece of warm apple cake with whipped cream. When it was getting dark, you bought fish and vegetables, and headed back to the Slat where you planned on cooking together.
It was fun, strolling through the city, arm in arm with Jojo and cooking in the tiny kitchen. Even though years had passed, you easily fell into routines you had once developed together. You knew how he moved, which side glace he cast you whenever he was about to say something stupid, and how the side glance he threw you before saying something sweet differed from it. Even when you were working in the kitchen, both of you bustling about, you never once collided with each other.
After you had finished dinner, you sat together for a while, before Jojo reminded you that you had wanted to go back to work tonight. He had told you that Jesper had invited him to hang out at the Crow Club, and Jojo had laughingly promised you not to gamble. You believed him.
Once Jojo had left the Slat, you headed to your room upstairs, and dressed in a different set of clothes. During the day you preferred wearing dresses or skirts, because they made you feel pretty, but at night, when you wanted to climb up drains, and jump from roof to roof, you wore trousers. For your first winter in Ketterdam, Kaz had bought you a pair of leather trousers with a warm inlay, and a matching jacket. This way you were flexible enough to climb, but warm enough to huddle outside of windows for hours without freezing to death.
You also bound your hair away, and put on a tight winter hat so your ears would not get too cold, before slipping into your boots, the same boots Kaz had had made for you after the night he had told you about his aversion to touch. Indeed they were made out of the same Fabricator-made material as the gloves you slipped on now: Thin, black leather, with a warm, but equally thin inlay. This way you were able to feel every little notch and dent while climbing, and still stayed warm.
Quietly you opened your window and glanced outside. Kaz’s office was right above your room, and you wondered if he knew that you were going out. Was he standing by his window, glancing outside, waiting to see you climb onto the window still, and leap onto the roof of the shack on the other side of the narrow alleyway? No, he probably was sitting at his desk, his knee pressed against Inej’s, just like he had used to do with you. Or maybe they were beyond that. Maybe they were sitting in the armchair in which you had fallen asleep many nights, and were kissing until they both were out of breath. Why were you thinking this? To torture yourself? Doubtlessly yes.
Your mind still foggy from all these unwanted pictures, you climbed outside onto the window still, and looked down into the alleyway. It was a tiny alleyway, not wider than three feet. As quietly as you had opened it, you closed the window behind yourself, and jumped onto the roof of the shack. From there it was just a short climb up the side of an old chimney, and you were high enough to look out over the landscape of roofs.
It was beautiful up here. While the snow down in the streets had already been trampled to mush, up here it was untouched, white crystals reflecting the light of the stars. As skilled and quiet as a cat you started down your usual route, stopping at all the important windows. But not much was going on tonight. No secret shipments, no sells of expensive jewellery or art, no important guests. It was close to the Winter Solace now, just two more weeks, and since it was one of the most important holidays in Kerch, you felt like most people were already preparing for it, and not interested in illegal activities. Which surprised you each year, since the night of the Winter Solace was also used to exchange gifts, and with rich people you assumed expensive gifts, but all the Winter Solace gifts you had heard about so far were rather boring.
You spent the entire night outside, trying to find any news, trying to pick up any chatter. You even strolled over into Dime Lion territory, hoping to pick up something at The Emerald Palace, but even Pekka Rollins seemed to have taken the night off. Once you were out of Dime Lion territory, you took your sweet time to return to the Slat. So instead of returning home, you strolled to fifth harbour, climbed on top of one of the gambling halls in The Lid and stared at the ships dipping up and down in the water, watched the stars sink beyond the horizon, and how dark clouds started to pull up, promising more snow.
You came back in the early hours of morning, climbed in through the window, and landed light footed in your room. Not soundlessly as Inej would have, but quietly enough. Jojo was asleep on the couch, the blanket you had given him halfway slipped off his body, but he had left on a light for you. Making sure to avoid any sound, you walked over, and pulled the blanket back up over him. He stirred a little in his sleep, but did not wake up. His face was entirely relaxed as he was sleeping, and you wondered if Kaz looked just as peaceful when he was asleep, whether the ever prominent furrow on his forehead would smoothen out.
Thinking of Kaz reminded you that you had to report back to him. No way would you go up to him personally. So you pulled off your gloves, and took off the warm jacket, before grabbing a small piece of paper, feather and ink, and scribbled “No news” onto it in the light of the lamp that was still burning.
Sneaking out of your room, up the stairs, and pushing the little note under the door to Kaz’s office was routine by now, ever since he had asked Inej to stay in his office, while he had sent you away. Knowing Kaz had to get up, and bent down to the floor to pick up the note, gave you satisfaction. It was mean, probably, but he had hurt you, perhaps even without intending to, and this was your way to get back at him. The only way to get back at him, if you did not really want to harm him. Which you did not. You loved him still, after all.
What you did not expect, were the steps at the other side of the door as soon as you had slid the paper through the gap between door and floor. The uneven steps gave away that it was Kaz, who was fast approaching the door, and, with your heart beating in your throat, you slid down the banisters of the stairs, quickly disappearing in your room. Upstairs you heard the door opening, steps leaving the office, but then there was silence, as if Kaz had stopped at the staircase. With racing heart you listened how he seemed to shift his weight a couple of times, before slower steps carried him back into his office, and the door closed.
The following days were not much different. You woke up at around noon, spent the afternoons with Jojo, going to the market or on walks, or you sat in your room, and read to each other. Then you would cook dinner, and he would go out to meet with friends, while you went on your nightly strolls. When you came back he was asleep, a light still burning, and you wrote down the sparse news on a piece of paper, which you slipped into Kaz’s office through the gap of the door, before escaping his steps.
All in all you had successfully managed to escape any encounters with Kaz for two weeks. There were no cosy mornings of planning heists together, no waking up in the armchair by his window, covered by his coat. There were no knowingly shared glances, no gasps of mock offence at his cold words, not the suspicion that he treated you differently than the rest of the gang.
Jojo told you that he often talked to Kaz now, but soon noticed your gloomy mood whenever he mentioned his brother, so he stopped.
Two weeks into this painful, but strangely soothing new routine, you eventually ran out of luck. It was the evening before the Winter Solace, Jojo had just left for the Crow Club, and you were on your way up the stairs to get changed, when you ran into Kaz. He was waiting at the top step to your floor, and somehow you had the feeling he had learnt your new routine to be able to catch you alone.
Frozen in your steps you stopped halfway up the stairs, looking up at him. You did not like that he had the high ground, not when he was looking down on you the way he did, over the tip of his nose, hair lazily brushed back, gloved hand resting lightly on his cane. He was wearing all black, like almost always, but did not seem to be on his way out, because he wore no coat. His eyes met yours, and you felt just like the first time you had met: intimidated.
“Stay away from the Lid tonight,” he commanded. His voice was void of emotions, like always.
Maybe it was his calmness, which so strongly contrasted to your racing heart that made you so mad, maybe it was how much he had changed. Just months prior he would be almost friendly when asking you to do something, explaining why he had given you certain tasks, but ever since he had started preferring Inej over you, he had become distant.
“Why,” you asked, stubborn and rebellious.
Kaz’s gaze immediately darkened, and suddenly you were scared. You had not been scared of him in years, but now you felt your fight or flight instinct kick in, a small knife you always kept up your sleeve ready to slip into your fingers, even though rationally you knew he would never attack you. He could do much worse than hurt you physically.
“Because,” his voice was deeper than usually, low and dangerous, and you could hear just how mad he was at you, “Inej is there, and I don’t want you to tip off any guards.”
He spoke slowly, as if he wanted to make sure you understood each word. And oh saints, did you understand. But still you felt compelled to talk back.
“And how do you want me to do my job then? If you want me to stay away from the best and richest gambling halls? The opera houses, where tonight, more than any other, people are gonna brag about their wealth?”
“I said, stay away from the Lid,” Kaz repeated, staring down on you.
You felt your eyes watering as you held his gaze, refusing to let him win this staring contest.
While you were staring back at him, you noticed just how tired and worn out he looked. Was he not supposed to be happy and healthy, being with Inej?
“Are you gonna stand here the whole night, or are you gonna proof yourself useful,” Kaz eventually spat, being the first one to look away.
You should have felt pride at having stared down the Bastard of the Barrel, but you just felt your heart break. You were nothing to him but a second class spy.
“Then get out of my way,” you hissed at him, refusing to let the tears spill that welled up in your eyes.
Finally able to move again, you jumped up the last steps, and Kaz stepped aside just in time to let you brush past him. For a moment you thought you had seen him reach out his hand for you, but you did not stop to look, you just stormed into your room, and slammed the door shut behind you.
Once you were alone, you allowed the tears to slip down your cheeks, but you did not let a single sound escape your lips until you had changed into your work clothes, and made it to the top of the shack outside your window. Tears dropped into the snow with every step you took along the roof tops, and small sobs slipped over your lips. Usually, when you felt awful like this, you would have gone to the Lid, and sat atop one of the roofs to look out over the harbour, but Kaz had explicitly forbidden you to go near there tonight. So you did not. You stuck to your route, climbed past the windows you visited every night, glided through the same old streets and alleyways.
Since it was the night before the biggest holiday in Kerch, hardly anybody was outside. People were preparing parties or wrapping presents, cooking, and thinking about what to wear tomorrow, but not out for gambling or spending the night with one of the girls or boys in the pleasure district. It seemed like tonight the city belonged to you and you alone, a girl heartbroken over one of the most dangerous men Ketterdam had to offer.
Chapter Eight
Picture Sources (edited by me): Canal, Freddy Carter, Ship in Fog, Ship in Harbour, Church in Fog
Pairing: Kaz Brekker x (fem!)Reader
Genre: fluff
Summary: You are unhappily spending boring the afternoon, wishing your friends, the Crows would be the ones to keep you company. Luckily they seem to be able to read thoughts.
Warning: mention of blood, violence and murder (canon-typical), mention of irresponsible consume of alcohol
Word Count: 3 069
A/N: A little treat while we’re waiting for chapter 7 of “By your Side” coming on Friday. Sorry for only posting now. I wanted to be home by 8pm, but then we had a tiny Christmas party at the ballet school, and I lost my keys so I had to walk 4km home. But luckily I found my keys after about ¾ of the way. Someone placed them so I could find them more easily. Thank you, kind soul. Also I thought about this idea yesterday, while people from uni dragged me to an awful brunch in an expensive bakery, and the guy next to me (who found an inglorious place in this story) annoyed me so much, I started writing this story in my head. Sorry, not sorry.
The café you were sitting in was crowded and noisy. Busily people were pushing in and out of the shop, desperate to fetch a snack in their short lunch break. The people at your table were relaxed though. Not that it made you feel much better.
A few days ago a new guy had joined the group of people who called themselves your friends (even though they were rather acquaintances really. You were not close enough to them for you to consider them your friends). You all went to university together, and with the addition of this new guy the whole dynamic of the group had shifted into territory you did not really feel comfortable with.
The girls in the group were talking about fashion, and about what dresses to get, or what study accessories to buy. You would have enjoyed these conversations perhaps, if you had the money to buy things too. But you didn't. All your money went into paying the university tuition fees. How you got the money was an entirely different matter as well, one you thought you preferred not to discuss with these people.
While they got money from their parents, you made your money by… well… stealing. As a member of the most inner circle of the Dregs, you were often involved in all kinds of heists, stealing art and jewels, which then got sold on the black market. And with your part of the earnings, you made a living while paying off your tuition fees as well.
Kaz Brekker, the leader of the Dregs, had often offered to help you out, since the Dregs would profit from the knowledge you gained at university. But you had denied his offer every time. You knew he offered this to you because behind his furrowed brows, and indifferent expressions he actually cared about you, but you preferred your independence. It made you proud being able to take care of yourself. And since nobody at university ever asked where your money came from, you had never gotten close to revealing that you were actually a feared gang member in the most ruthless part of Ketterdam.
The only time you had almost gotten into trouble had been a few weeks ago, when one of the girls, the one on your left, who was being flirted with by one of the guys, had told you, that an expensive painting her father had bought a year ago, had turned out to be a fake. Almost you would have laughed out loud. The painting her father had bought had not been a fake. But just two days after he had acquired it, Kaz and the Crows, including you, had broken into the mansion to steal it. It had been your own hands, assisted by none other than Kaz Brekker himself, which had exchanged the real, valuable painting with a cheap, but convincing fake. In hindsight you considered it payback for the time you had been sick (because you had spent a whole night on a roof top in the rain to listen in on Pekka Rollins), and they had not borrowed you their notes, even though you always made sure to share your notes with them whenever they did not attend classes (which was mostly after long nights out in which they got blackout drunk).
Now your focus drifted away from the girls talking about fashion, to the guys. They were still, or again? talking about an illegal fight club they had visited the other day, and were planning on visiting again. It had been rather tricky, coming up with an excuse as to why you could never join them for these events, since the whole group loved attending these gruesome presentations. But the fight club your colleagues frequented was one of Pekka Rollins’.
You had told them were not able to stand the sight of blood, which had been a lie. You had a lot of blood on your hands, not that any of them knew about that, and did not mind spilling it. But you knew if you as much as stepped foot into that fight club, you would get your throat slit, and you preferred your blood to stay inside your body.
At the end of the day attending university while being a member of a feared gang and close friend of Kaz Brekker was rather tiring. You spend the days studying, sitting in lectures or libraries, or pretended to be just another rich kid, attending university without realising the worth of the knowledge you gained. And the nights were spent on roof tops, planning heists, or breaking into mansions to steal fantastic valuables.
But you would not change your life for anything in the world.
Especially since in the last months Kaz and you had started growing very close. You spent long nights just talking to each other. Kaz often jokingly offered to kill the people at university who annoyed you, and you had a feeling he actually might be planning to go after that professor who always opened the windows wide, even in the middle of winter when you were already freezing cold. You loved the way Kaz’s eyes met yours through the crowded Crow Club, and how he had started handing you his coat whenever he noticed you were shivering from the cold, which was almost always, now that it was the deepest of winter. Indeed it was the winter solstice today, the shortest day of the year, and with a glance out of the window of the café you realised that even though it was barely past noon, outside the sky started growing dark again already.
You got torn out of your thoughts by the hysterical laughter of the new guy in the group, who had annoyed you from the start. Now he flipped his long, blond, greasy hair over his shoulder, hitting you right in the face. You wanted to gag. Maybe you would mention him to Kaz, and ask him to pay this guy a visit. Not actually hurt him, just teach him some much needed manners.
You took a deep breath, and leant a little closer to the girls, who were still gushing about a dress they had seen in the window of a shop yesterday. It was almost laughable how they debated whether they should go into the shop or not, whether they would fit in at all.
It was laughable because if you would have wanted that dress, you would have just walked in, undressed the mannequin, and walked out, and nobody would have noticed. It was a skill you shared with Inej, being invisible when you wanted to be. It was not like you actually disappeared from sight, you just blended into your surroundings, and even when people were looking for you, they would look right past you. But unlike Inej, you often seemed to disappear from people’s memories, too, so they did not remember you until they actually saw your face again.
That was the reason you had started working with Kaz: He needed your skill, and you needed money. Now the Dregs, but the Crows most of all, had grown to be your closest friends, almost like a family. They were where you belonged. Sometimes this skill to be invisible was useful, but especially with the people from university it was rather saddening, because they often did not notice when they left you behind.
With the Crows it was different. The Crows always saw you.
Kaz had noticed you pickpocketing in the Crow Club when nobody else had even taken notice of you at all.
Jesper always perked up when you entered the room, and greeted you. Nina always thought of you when she was cooking, and saved a plate for you.
Wylan loved drawing you, and occasionally slipped you a little sketch of yourself, which he had drawn while you had been studying. He knew that sometimes you felt down because the people from university seemed to forget about you as soon as you were out of sight, and it was his way to cheer you up, to remind you the Crows would not forget you. (Kaz had once caught Wylan drawing you, and, in a surge of jealousy, had taken the drawing away from Wylan. Later he had returned it to him, requesting Wylan to finish it, and shyly asked if Kaz could keep it afterwards. Wylan, admittedly confused, had left the finished drawing on Kaz’s desk, and now it was tucked away, safe in a picture frame, in a drawer of Kaz’s night table, where nobody but him could see it. Neither of the two men had ever told you about the incident.)
Matthias sometimes made tea for you when you were engrossed in your studies, and convinced nobody had noticed you sitting in the corner of the room, and Inej often dropped by your window at night to share the latest gossip.
You loved them all, not just for the attention they were paying you, or how they made you feel, but because they generally cared. They cared a lot more than these people you were sitting at a table with now. Yes, even Kaz with his stone cold exterior cared about all of his Crows, you included.
Oh, how you missed the Crows! You simply did not belong with these people who talked about nothing but fashion and illegal fight clubs and ways to best spend as much money as possible. You belonged with that bunch of misfits, criminals, who bickered and snickered and glared at outsiders instead of putting on a fake-friendly façade. How different your afternoon would be, if it were the Crows, who you were sitting in this café with!
Just in that moment you heard a laugh, and you could have sworn it belonged to Inej. But you did not turn around to seek for the source of the sound. Never would the Wraith turn up in a crowded café in the middle of the day. Well, it was dark outside even though it was barely past three in the afternoon, but there were still too many people around. None of the Crows, except maybe Nina or Jesper on the search for a distraction, would enter such a café. You felt like an imposter between these rich kids you were sitting with. You did not belong with them, you just pretended, faked, the same way you had faked the painting that had hung over this girl’s father’s desk for a year before he realised it was not the original.
All in all, you were cold and miserable right now, even though you were sitting in a decently warm and cosy café. You were always cold these days, unless you were wrapped in Kaz’s coat, or sitting in his office. Maybe it was just his presence generally that somehow warmed you up.
You were about to wonder what kind of excuse you might offer to the group, so you could leave, when suddenly the hair in your neck rose, and a shiver ran down your spine. You did not have to turn around to know who was standing behind you, you did not have to glance down to your shoulder, when a hard object softly landed on it, to know what had just touched you.
“Kaz,” you spoke quietly, before turning around nonetheless.
Behind you stood nobody but the Bastard of the Barrel himself, dressed completely in expensive, black clothes, the beak of his crow-headed cane resting on your shoulder. Others, who knew who he was, would have started sweating in fear, would have quivered under his razor blade sharp gaze, but you just smiled, relishing the feeling of your heart joyously skipping a beat.
Kaz’s eyes left yours for a moment, scanning your company. None of them had noticed his presence. Distaste and condescension flashed over his face before he met your gaze again, and his expression softened immediately.
“Why don’t you come sit with us?”
You looked past him, finding the other five Crows sitting at a table just a few meters away. So it had been Inej’s laugh you had heard just moments ago!
“What are you all doing here,” you asked, surprised, but unable to hide the grin on your face.
Quickly you got up, and grabbed your jacket and bag to join the others.
“Can’t we spend a nice afternoon in a café every once in a while,” Kaz asked, as he followed close behind you, as if he tried to shield you from a possible attack.
“As if you suddenly had the urge to spend a nice afternoon in a café,” you mocked, “Hey, Jesper. What are you guys doing here?”
You knew Jesper would be the one to answer you immediately and truthfully, not because he was thoughtless about the consequences Kaz would threaten him with, but because he knew what you would do to him, if he lied. (You’d hide his guns, that was what you would do.)
“This guy here,” Jesper pointed at Kaz and scooted closer to Wylan to make space for you on the bench, “insisted you were here, and were probably looking for a way out.”
“I didn’t-“
“And then he suggested we all should come here, because it would be weird if he turned up all by himself,” Inej added, earning a surprised glance from you.
“As if seven criminals sitting in a café isn’t weird,” Matthias grumbled, but he did not look all too unhappy, sitting in the café with Nina squeezed to his side.
“This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke,” Nina laughed. “Seven criminals go to a café...”
“What’s the punch line,” you asked, cuddling a little deeper into the pullover you were wearing. You were still cold.
“That blonde guy’s jawline, if he won’t stop annoying you,” Kaz grumbled, throwing a glace over his shoulder at the new guy in the group who had been getting on your nerves since second one.
“How do you know he’s been annoying me?”
“I know you. You looked annoyed,” Kaz shrugged, holding out his coat to you.
Neither of the two of you noticed the meaningful glances the other Crows were giving each other as you wordlessly slipped into the far too big coat, and happily sighed at the warmth that engulfed you.
A waitress suddenly appeared at the table, serving a huge plate of waffles with cream and jam, and several mugs of hot chocolate.
“I took the liberty of ordering,” Matthias shrugged at your surprised expression when a cup got placed in front of you. Nina giggled and gently shoved his side. Of course he had only ordered waffles for everyone so Nina was happy.
You thanked Matthias, and grabbed waffled, taking a bite off the sweet treat, and sunk back against the back rest of the bench you were sitting on. Jesper was pressed against your side in the narrow space, and on your other side Kaz had settled on a chair at the short side of the table. He watched you take another bite of the waffle, and how you were sinking deeper into his coat. You looked so homey and adorable like that, he wished he could have Wylan draw this moment for him.
About half an hour after Kaz had picked you up to sit with the Crows, the people you had sat with before started getting ready to leave. Only then did they seem to notice you were gone. Confused they glanced around the café, and looked even straight at the Crow’s table, but did not seem to see you. You were just sitting there, looking back at them, but their eyes skipped you, not noticing you between the Zemini boy, who had whipped cream stuck to his upper lip, before it got wiped away by a curley haired boy’s thumb, and the dangerous looking boy in black.
The question of where you had wandered off to did not seem to occupy your colleagues’ minds for long, because not even twenty seconds later they had already left the shop, and you could not find it in you to really care about their indifference. Instead you pushed the sleeves of Kaz’s coat back, and reached for the cup with hot chocolate.
You knew Kaz was watching you drink, but ignored him until you had put down the cup again. When you met his gaze with raised eyebrows, he quickly averted his gaze, and reached over to you, slipping his gloved hand into one of the many pockets of his coat, retrieving a handkerchief.
“You got cream on your face,” he mumbled, not meeting your eyes as he was unfolding the fabric.
You held out your hand to take it, but much to your surprise Kaz reached out and dabbed the handkerchief over your lips. The fabric was soft, his touch so subtle it was barely there, and your heart beat in your throat at the gesture. With heated cheek you shyly glanced up at Kaz, his eyes fixed on your lips, and his jaw tightened. He dabbed the fabric, which faintly smelled of cotton, against your lip a last time, before slowly lowering his hand.
“There, ‘s better now,” he spoke softly, only then meeting your eyes.
A faint blush had spread over his cheek and nose, and your heart danced happily at the realisation that it was an interaction with you, which had caused him to blush.
Quickly he folded the handkerchief again, and slipped it into one of his pockets, before a waitress placed a new order of cups with hot chocolate on the table, distracting you momentarily as you grabbed two cups, one for yourself, one for Kaz. When you turned back, you found he had been watching your every movement. You smiled at him, amused how he shortly averted his gaze before immediately searching yours again.
This was how the afternoon continued. All seven of you eating many more waffles than was good for either of you, drinking hot chocolate until you felt slightly sick. But what was most important: you were with the people you knew you belonged with. Of course you also treasured the shy smiles you exchanged with Kaz, his unabashed gazes. And he found at least two more opportunities to dab your lips with his handkerchief, whether there was cream or chocolate on your lips, or not.
Picture Sources: Freddy Carter, Book Backs, Desk, open Books, Windows on the Left, Letters, Bookshop, Croissants
Pairing: Kaz Brekker x fem!Reader
AU: JordieLives!AU
Series Genre: hurt/comfort & angst to fluff
Summary: Leaving the ship you spent your childhood on, you arrive in Ketterdam, and immediately make an unappreciated encounter; Series based on this post by @ilovemarvelanne1
Warning: canon typical violence, robbery, blood, death (enemy), mentions of prostitution
Chapter Word Count: 3 114
Masterlist
With feather light steps you jumped off the plank, and set foot onto the wooden boards of the docks. Here in Ketterdam the air smelled different than it had out there, on the open sea, but also different from all the other harbours you had visited. It smelled of salt and fish, but also of mould, smoke and faeces.
You turned around one last time to look at the ship which had been your home for more than five years. It was an impressively big ship, a three-master with countless sails, big and small. And you knew all their names, had hoisted them so many more times than you cared to count. You had climbed the masts, sat up there for hours staring over the sea, and spent evenings in the net below the bowsprit, watching the setting sun sparkle on the water.
You had spent so much of your - so far rather short - life on this ship, the Wolfszahn that it hurt to leave it, and all your crewmates, behind. But you needed change. You needed to start out anew. And Ketterdam seemed just like the place for it.
“Never trust anyone, especially not with your money,” the words of your best friend echoed in your head. “Ketterdam is full of possibilities. And criminals. Take chances, but don’t be foolish. You won’t find the friendship of crewmates there. And never trust anyone.”
You nodded to yourself. Jojo had been very clear about that last part, and with these few words confirmed your believe of just how painful his past still was for him.
With a last glance you tried to spy if any of your crew mates were around to say good bye, but they were all busy with unloading the ship. Even Jojo was somewhere running around in the belly of the ship; doubtlessly trying to keep count of the barrels the others were unloading.
So you turned around, and headed off the quay in sixth harbour, and into the city, where the smell of faeces decreased, while that of mould increased, much to your dismay. You had nothing but your bag with you, the same bag with which you had boarded the Wolfszahn about six years ago, after your parents had both died of flue in the same winter.
Back then you had grabbed the bag and everything you considered of worth something for your future, and made your way to the harbour of your small village in the south of Kerch. A neighbour had once mentioned that the big ships always needed workers. And if you wanted to survive, you needed money, and the only way to get money, was through work. For almost two weeks you had tried getting a job on one of the ships, but of course nobody would hire a seven year old girl. Only the captain of the Wolfszahn, an elderly gentleman with a red, round face, white hair and a bushy beard, had realised how dire your situation was, and eventually agreed to take you aboard. Soon you had learnt all the knots there were to know, and because you had been so small, you had been able to crawl even into the darkest corners of the ship to look for things or repair whatever had broken. But your true passion had always been climbing. You spent hours upon hours trying to climb every and any rope you had seen the others climb, and soon you were the fastest and safest climber in the crew.
But these days would be over now, a new life lay ahead of you. Filled with confidence and hope, you left the harbour, and walked deeper into Ketterdam.
After you had left behind the Warehouse District, you strolled along the huge houses by the canals. They reached high into the sky, white walls with sparkling windows, and balconies with flowers. Further into the city, the houses shrunk in size, but were still taller than any you had seen, growing up in your little town. These houses and broad stairs in front of their doors were painted in many different, vibrant colours. At a stand in front of one of them, you bought lunch, warm waffles with fruits and whipped cream. As you ventured even deeper into the city, you found yourself intrigued by it, and scared.
The houses here were just a few stories high. Some were built out of wood, most of them half-timbered. Ivy grew up on their fronts, the roofs were touching each other, and the streets were narrow and crooked. It was obvious that the people here did not have as much money as in the parts of Ketterdam you had previously passed through, but it still looked beautiful, like straight out of one of the stories Jojo had used to tell you before you fell asleep at night. But these alleyways felt dangerous, as if behind every corner a robber was waiting for you to pass by naïvely. You slipped your hand into the pocket of your coat, and felt for the knife there. The Captain had given it to you on your second day aboard, and now it was your most valued treasure.
Like a habit you looked for places you could climb up, just like you had done daily on the Wolfszahn. Thick robes of ivy hung from the roofs, and drains seemed like an invitation to try out your skill on them. But still you felt not safe, so soon you turned around started making your way back to the more respectable seeming part of Ketterdam. The sun was about to set when you had almost reached the part of town again that seemed to be called West Stave, when you took a turn and suddenly realised you were being followed.
You had noticed the bulky man behind you a while ago, but now it started to feel weird. And as if your luck had run out all at once, you found the narrow street, alley rather, before you to be empty. Panic washed over you as you hurried up your steps while simultaneously trying to keep your breathing steady. But your heart was racing in your chest nonetheless. Behind you heavy steps got faster too, and again you felt for the knife in your pocket.
Just the moment your fingers closed around the handle, you heard the man behind you leap, his steps missing a beat, and the next second a strong hand landed on your shoulder. Before he was able to take hold of you, you spun around, cutting through the air with the knife you held securely. The man jumped away just in time, but you kept a defensive stance.
“Do you really think you can fight me, girl,” he growled with a smug grin on his red face. Saints, it pissed you off.
“I don’t want to, so leave me alone,” you shouted, but sounded far shakier than you wanted to.
“Just gimme the bag you go’ there, and I’ll be on my way,” he grinned as if he had just made the most generous offer.
“Fuck you,” you hissed.
The smile immediately wiped off his face, and you could tell he would attack you again at any moment.
“You little bitch,” he spat.
You took a fighting position, digging the heel of your foot that was further back into the ground.
“Make sure you got a good stance in the beginning, then half the work is already done,” echoed Jojo’s voice in your head. But before you had time to remember much more of what he had told you, the man had already launched himself at you, and your body moved on its own. You stepped out of his way, but not without slicing your knife diagonally across his face. Immediately he started screaming, and any other day you would have felt guilt rushing over you immediately, but not today. The man had tried to rob you; he deserved the pain he was in now.
You were about to relax, when suddenly the steps of two more pairs of feet echoed over the walls of the small alleyway.
Alarmed you shot around, but before you had even taken in the appearance of your opponents, the knife got kicked out of your hand, your wrist caught in the fleshy fingers.
“Too slow,” Jojo laughed as the wooden knife you were training with clattered to the planks of the ship.
“Not fair,” you pouted, but did not dare to reach down to pick up the knife. “You trained way longer with the Master.”
Jojo laughed at that. “You just hung out on top of the mast all the time!”
Ever since a Shu warrior had spent some time on the ship, and taught Jojo and you the basics of how to fight with Shu techniques, the two of you spent almost all of your free time trying out what you still remembered. And over time your movements got quicker and more fluent.
Jojo missed the way your eyes flickered to the knife that lay on the planks right between the two of you, so you quickly allowed yourself to fall to the floor, and rolled right over the spot where the knife was, grabbing it. When you came back up, only a few inches in front of Jojo, you softly pressed the wooden tip of the training knife between two of his ribs. The older boy stiffened before he grinned down on you.
“Good job,” he complimented, but you knew he was not done with you when you felt his fingers close around your wrist.
Like all the years ago on the ship, you took a step behind your attacker, and in a quick motion you brought him down to the ground, but unlike with Jojo, you put in all your force and effectively dislocated the man’s arm. Of course you did not allow yourself a moment of triumph, knowing there was still one more enemy to fend off, but this time you really were too late.
A sharp pain struck the back of your head, as the third man hit you with a bat. You lost your balance and stumbled forwards, stars dancing in your vision. As quickly as your clouded mind allowed you to, you turned around, and managed barely to avoid a second hit. Quickly you tried analysing your situation. Against a bat you had no chance. The man was bulky and heavy and tall. And slow. You could run. But not with your bag.
Without a second thought you slipped off the bag, and swung it against the man, before starting down the dark alley. Grunting behind you alarmed you that you were still being followed. So much for you would be let go if they got your bag. You had almost reached the end of the alley, already hearing music and a loud crowd at the bigger street you were running towards, when a figure stepped into the alley, blocking your way. The person, most likely a man, was of the same stature as the one chasing you, and you knew you had no chance to get past him. So you did what you did best.
You leapt at one of the strong ropes of ivy and started climbing. Within a second you had climbed up almost two meters, when suddenly a hand grabbed your ankle. Too slow, again. With a sharp tug pain shot through your leg and hip, your hands lost their grip on the plant, and you fell down, hitting the ground hard. More pain spread through your body as you landed ungracefully, and you knew you had most likely sprained your wrist, and gotten a concussion. As if the hit with the bat had not already given you one. The man who had chased you was towering over you, seeming far taller than before.
“Take the bag, and bring it to the boss,” he snarled at them man who had blocked your way out of the alley. “I’ll take care of this lill’ troublemaker here.”
You heard the other man walk off, doubtlessly collecting the bag which held all your belongings. You wanted to scream, tell them to leave you and your few belongings alone. Hell, this was your first day in the city and you already got robbed? What a start! But you stayed quiet, instead trying to crawl away from the man as good as possible while searching for a way, any way, out. But you came up empty.
“Scared, lill’ one?” The man leant over you, shit eating grin on his face. “I promise you, after tonight you’ll be a lot more scared, because then you’ll know how truly cruel the world can be. If I let you live, that is-”
The last word of the man got cut off by a terrible wet sound, and his head got yanked to the side from the hit with what looked the top of a cane. The man made a strange sound before limply falling to the side, the cane still sticking out of his head. In horror you watched as blood seeped out of the side of his head and onto the street, pooling there before running in a little rivers between the cobblestones.
“This is Dreg territory,” a harsh voice spoke indifferently, but it sounded young, almost like a child. “Do you never learn?”
Shakily you looked up. A few feet away stood a boy. He seemed barely older than you, by a year at the most. He wore an oversized coat, but even with it on, you could tell he was skinny. He had shifted his weight onto one foot, and stared disapprovingly at the collapsed man in front of him.
“You killed him,” you blurted out in shock. The boy did not turn to look at you.
“Would you rather I had let him kill you,” he answered indifferently, before reaching for the cane, and pulling it out of the man’s skull with another sickening squelch. Now you saw that the top of the cane was decorated with a metal crow-head, blood coated. It had been the beak that had bored into the man’s skull.
Disgusted you looked at the boy. He scared you. He had just killed a man! How could he be so calm?
“Come on,” the boy spoke and turned around, making his way out of the alley, leaning heavily onto his cane while walking.
“Come where?”
You were scared and alone, and you had no money or goods. And the Wolfszahn had been scheduled to leave sixth harbour by noon. But you were not yet desperate enough to blindly follow a boy who had just killed a man in cold blood. To save you, admittedly. But still…
At your question the boy stopped in his tracks, and turned around to you, slowly. The air around him seemed to change, as if it quivered in fear of him when he raised an eyebrow at you.
He is dangerous, you thought to yourself. He is dangerous and he knows it. The kind of dangerous that you would expect from a forty year old, not a teenager.
“Were going to Per Haskell. You owe the Dregs now, so you’re expected to pay back that debt. Besides you’ll want your bag and the knife back, am I right?”
You stared at him confused.
“I don’t owe anyone anything,” you protested.
You had never in your life heard of Per Haskell before. How could you owe him something?
“I just saved you, didn’t I? This is Ketterdam. Nothing is free here. Not even death.”
You wanted to scream. Again. What did he mean, you were indebted to him for him saving you? It was not like you had asked him to help you. You had no money, had lost everything. What would he do if he found out you had not a single kruge to your name anymore?
As if he had read your thoughts, the boy rolled his eyes, and started walking again.
“Don’t worry,” he spoke and somehow you felt as if that was exactly the opposite of what you should do. You really, really should worry. “I’ve got work for you. You’re a good climber, you’ll be a good spider. This way you can work off your debt.”
You quickly hurried after him. It felt as if the ground was slipping away from underneath your feet. This was nothing like what you had imagined your stay in Ketterdam to be like. And now you would be basically enslaved to this boy?
“What if I don’t want to work for you,” you asked, turning into the big street while walking beside him.
All kinds of costumed people pushed past you, dressed up in the most brilliant colours. For a moment you wanted to gape at them, until you noticed the houses you now passed by. Pleasure houses.
“You’re a little girl, alone in Ketterdam. No money, no place to stay. How long do you think it will take for a slaver to get to you? They will sell you. To one of these houses here, if you’re lucky,” he pointed at the pleasure houses that lined the street left and right. “To a house further that way, if you’re less lucky.”
You did not even want to imagine what happened behind these walls. You were fourteen, and knew what pleasure houses were. But would anyone really let a child work there? You caught sight of a young woman, no, kid, who was dressed like a porcelain puppet, presenting herself in a window, and your question got answered immediately. She was probably even younger than you.
“And if you’re really out of luck, you’ll be sold to a ship, or overseas. Then it’s just a matter of days until you’re dead,” the boy finished his little speech. “How does working for the Dregs sound now?”
“Who are you,” you asked instead of answering his question, but both of you knew you would no longer protest.
“Kaz Brekker, Per Haskell’s right hand man,” he answered, and for the first time since you had met him a little emotion, pride, swung in his voice.
You did not say anything to that. Even his name sounded as if it was enough to install fear in the people around him. He had not asked for your name either, so you saw no reason to give it to him. Instead you followed him back through West Stave towards the part of town that was called the Barrel (another snippet of information he dropped for you), and right to a gambling den called The Crow Club.
Chapter Two
Picture Sources (edited by me): Canal, Freddy Carter, Ship in Fog, Ship in Harbour, Church in Fog
“And if you’re really out of luck, you’ll be sold to a ship, or overseas. Then it’s just a matter of days until you’re dead,” the boy finished his little speech. “How does working for the Dregs sound now?”
“Who are you,” you asked instead of answering his question, but both of you knew you would no longer protest.
“Kaz Brekker, Per Haskell’s right hand man,” he answered, and for the first time since you had met him a little emotion, pride, swung in his voice.
You did not say anything to that. Even his name sounded as if it was enough to install fear in the people around him. He had not asked for your name either, so you saw no reason to give it to him. Instead you followed him back through West Stave towards the part of town that was called the Barrel (another snippet of information he dropped for you), and right to a gambling den called The Crow Club.
This is a sneak peak for the first Chapter of “By your Side”. comming today at 9pm UTC!
If you want to be tagged, sent me an ask or comment below!
