𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 — welcome to hellgate

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 Alina's plan was simple... but very much the opposite. She already had the stag's antlers around her neck, she'd slayed the sea whip and secured a fetter made of glorious scales around her wrist; the firebird and it's feathers were all that was left.

 Aleksa had been told as much from the moment they'd met once more. The Heartrender twins had tried to silence Alina; they didn't trust Aleksa at all... but Sturmhond — Nikolai — had sat there, observing... strange considering that Aleksa soon found out that the man beneath the privateers mask wasn't one to ever stop running his mouth.

 Prince Nikolai Lanstov had slapped on a false persona. From prince to privateer all so that he could sail the ocean waves. He was an attractive man, Aleksa could certainly give him that... from his structured face, warm brown eyes and glorious golden hair. He was a flirt, just like her... the problem was... Aleksa could always tell when flirtatious comments were put in place to smother real feelings — she was rather talented when it came to such a skill.

 Nikolai Lanstov wouldn't take his eyes off her, not when she'd rolled her eyes at his witty little comments, nor when he'd tried to offer Alina Starkov an engagement ring. Aleksa knew that the poor fool felt something more for her even after a mere month of her presence at the palace.

 But All Aleksa could think of when he'd saunter forth and wag his silver tongue... was Kaz. The boy who was the complete opposite of the prince that so many would swoon for. Kaz was the human personification of the night, while Nikolai Lanstov was the crack of dawn. Kaz's form glinted with obsidian cracks while Nikolai's golden hair and broaches glimmered like sunlight.

 Mal Oretsev, the tracker Aleksa had met back on the skiff, was placed at the head of the plan; he was to look for any little clue pertaining to the whereabouts of the firebird while Alina and Aleksa stayed back to train their rag-tag army.

 Alina draped herself in white the moment she finally stepped into the role of Sun Summoner, a commander. Her white Kefta glimmered like fresh snow, and the sleeves and lapels were dotted with golden embroidery, some depicting little bursts of sunshine and beams of light fluttering down. It suited her perfectly.

 Aleksa had received her own, for the very first time. This one was black, and it looked so very similar to the one Aleksander would wear. The embroidery was scattered, swirling lines of black thread crawling over the surfaces... but Alina had been sure that this one was different to Aleksanders. There was a little sun on either lapel, a sun that wasn't drowned by shadows, but nor were the shadows banished by sunlight. They danced as one, and showed everybody that Aleksa was to be trusted, she had the Sun Summoner's loyalty as well as her trust and friendship.

 Those first couple of months were strange. To finally roam the halls of the palace after living mere metres away in an isolated building. The walls were decorated with paintings of former royalty, there were artefacts lining shelves and old bookcases. The library was vast, and a rather hefty line of dust had smothered its edges.

 At night... it was almost haunting. Grisha would tumble into bed with aching limbs after hours and hours worth of training. The soldiers would station themselves, almost dozing the brighter the moon grew... but for Aleksa and Alina... they'd receive a visitor.

 Aleksander approached them in the midst of the night, his likeness flickering like the flames of a fire, yet he'd offer no warmth. His cruel smile, those quartz-grey eyes... they'd stare at Aleksa as though she'd thwarted him, betrayed him wholly.

 But then... one night he parted his lips, and Aleksa heard the sound of his voice. Low like the growl of a wolf, and yet he only ever coaxed her closer, twisted her mind in an attempt to sway her choices. He wanted Aleksa to stand by him, just as he'd asked back on the skiff.

 He visited every night, and his death hadn't halted such visions.

 Even now... There he was, looming like an omen on a small patch of land being assaulted by the rocking waters. Sea water splashed at his Kefta, and drowned his boots... But the water was red, trailing from his chest, dripping, gushing... it was all red...

 "Aleksa."

 Aleksa blinked, and Aleksander was gone. Kaz's gravel-studded tone had snapped Aleksa from a daze she hadn't even been aware she'd entered. Her eyes had glazed over, everything focused on the looming figure that had now disappeared from sight. It was like she was being haunted, punished for... well, that didn't matter anymore.

 She should have gotten used to this, after seeing Aleksander at the corner of her eye with every passing day for months on end. He drifted in like the shadows he controlled, made of nothing but swirling smoke. He used to look more... human-like, as though she could reach out and touch his flesh. Now it was like looking into flames and seeing a face staring back in the soot.

 She shifted, dragging her eyes from the small sliver of land poking out of the sea. It was night-time now and a heavy fog-fueled sky lingered high above. The twilight stretched on, and behind them, they could hardly spy the dull lights of Ketterdam as they rocked atop the rippling waves.

 They were well on their way to Hellgate, ready to offer Matthias a deal he simply wouldn't be able to refuse. Apparently he'd been a rather high-ranking Fjerdan, one of the Druskelle, one of the witch hunters.

 Aleksa had promised with her hand on her heart to play nice... as nice as she could, to be more accurate. After all, a former Druskelle was hell enough for a normal Grisha, let alone the last Shadow Summoner.

 Nina Zenik was by her side with a cloak drawn over her shoulders, a veil pushed back and over her twisted knots of brunette hair. They were all dressed in costumes to blend in when they docked upon the shore once again. Aleksa shifted her own mask atop her head and pulled a scarlet cloak closer to her body.

 She finally looked at Kaz, "Yes, dear?"

 Muzzen continued to row, dragging heavy ores through sloshing waves coated in damp and curling fog; despite the workout, the lopsided man seemed all too happy to sit there as he hummed some old shanty one could hear hollered within any of Ketterdams musty pubs.

 Kaz wore a mask himself; the mask of the Madman and an obnoxious orange cloak to match. They all looked so incredibly silly, as though they were ready to dock, flourish their arms and make up the words to a play.

 Kaz dragged a finger along the edge of his mask, "Lower your mask," His eyes flicked to the side, "Nina, your veil."

 She obliged as Kaz did the very same. He slipped it over his harsh features and they became obscured by a long nose and goggling eyes. The splash of orange on his back, and the vibrant peach of the mask's eyes was the most colour Aleksa had ever seen on him... except for that lovely costume he'd donned to get the plans for the winter fete.

 Aleksa lowered her own; her mask had high and round cheeks tinted with rouge, the lips were painted with blood-red in the shape of a heart and her cloak glimmered. It was made of cheap silk, with small hearts sewn to the edges... It was quite cute, really.

 Aleksa could spy Nina glancing around them; obviously they had all fallen back into easy and old habits... Aleksa knew what was going on, and everybody else was left in the dark...

 Around them and floating atop the chopping seas were more boats filled to the brim with people in similar ridiculous costumes. Bright reds and emerald green to garish oranges and silky blues; other Madmen, other Brides and Mister Crimsons. Scarab Queens and Emerald Jesters. They, like the little cluster of Dregs, were all headed to Hellgate... for a show was to be performed.

 Poor Nina had no idea what she was to find, her dear Fjerdan would find himself upon a dirtied ground marred with dust and blood. He'd have a weapon in hand, and sweat on his back as he fought for his life... Hopefully, he hadn't gotten to be a Druskelle on a mere whim.

 "Couldn't you just bribe the warden?" Nina muttered to Kaz, around them were only a few dull lights to guide them past the dark waves rocking their poor old boat.

 "I don't need him knowing he has something I want," Kaz replied as though it were obvious; Nina screwed her face up at that.

 When the boat's hull scraped against the sandy shore, two men scurried forth to haul it to land. Around them were the others they'd seen floating atop the ocean waves, they all clambered from their boats as muscled men with missing teeth and stubbly beards drew them closer and closer to the cove's shore.

 As for the two assisting the boat they were in... Aleksa caught sight of the tattoos buried within the flesh of their arms; a feral cat shaded with black curling into a crown. They belonged to the Dime Lions, yet another of Ketterdam's gangs.

 One of them held out a hand, "Money."

 Kaz slapped a stack of Kruge onto the awaiting palm, eager to draw his hand back. Once the bundle of notes was counted, the Dime Lion nodded and waved them on.

 Aleksa needn't spare him one of her charming little smiles, for the mask covering her features made it seem as though she was perpetually pouting. She sauntered onwards, almost shoulder to shoulder with Nina.

 "So," Aleksa breathed as she bumped into Nina, "Lovers' quarrel really went wrong, huh?"

 Nina snorted even despite the fact that she wanted to banish any and all thoughts Aleksa had of them being lovers... but there was something about her that made Nina well aware of the fact that any words she uttered... would be promptly, dutifully, ignored.

 Instead, Nina swallowed the guilt that had been drowning her for months, "You're awful."

 "Have to be, don't I? I run with pretty boy there, after all."

 Nina stilled. She blinked, then she cleared her throat to smother the laughter that threatened to positively explode out of her, "Pretty boy?"

 "Am I wrong?"

 Nina weighed her options. Sure Kaz Brekker might have been a delightful sight to stare at... had Nina not wanted to smother him from the moment she'd met him. Plus... Nina was a little blindsided by a particular Fjerdan that towered over them all. As for Kaz's silly hair...

 Nina shook her head, "You'd be right if he wasn't so terrible."

 But then she cocked her head. From the moment Kaz and Aleksa had arrived at the House of the White Rose, Kaz hadn't once glared at Aleksa. Not properly anyway. His glares were withering, enough to send a grown man crying for his mother... Aleksa would grin at him, she'd wink and pretend to swoon, and he'd roll his eyes in turn.

 Aleksa merely wiggled her fingers when Kaz peered over his shoulder. It was like he was aware of every mutter about him, able to tell when anybody was gossiping about his likeness. They followed along a row of flickering torches illuminating the barest parts of the ground, it was uneven and Aleksa and Nina clung to one another's arms like a couple of old crones just to ensure that neither fell... or if they did, they'd soon topple together.

 Hellgate was a fortress and while Aleksa had heard about it through a multitude of mouths... she'd never seen it up close before. It was made of almost black stone, as though it were an old dungeon housing the villain of a children's story. Pillars of cobble erupted from the ground, hurtling to the sky. They cast a great shadow over the seascape and the water below almost looked like oil.

 But Aleksa wasn't all that bothered by its imposing structure... she was rather looking forward to the fight they'd have to watch. Nina, however... Aleksa knew it'd be hard to get her to shut up about it, poor thing was so far gone for her little Fjerdan boy.

 The door was propped open, a hefty boot sticking out of the room; another Dime Lion ready to meet them. He led them inside as they twisted through a dark, yet oddly clean kitchen space. Aleksa almost recoiled at the bitter scent of vinegar wafting through the air. They passed through an old entry hall and Aleksa had to steer Nina towards another corridor.

 Clearly she thought they'd be meeting Matthias in the comfort of his gross little cell... unfortunately for her, that was entirely wrong. They trailed over a high stone walkway that connected the main prison to another tower, the tower in which the worst of the worst were kept.

 "Where are we going?" Nina asked, teetering closer to Kaz who remained completely silent.

 The wind whipped against their skin, and Aleksa could already taste the seawater carried by the breeze... the hairs on her arms stood on end, hidden beneath the fluttering cloak secured around her shoulders; Inej was here. Aleksa could always tell when the Wraith was lurking nearby, as though the shadows trailed to her ears and whispered of the Wraith's arrival themselves.

 Nina was not so fortunate. The Heartrender barely stifled a scream as Inej emerged from the shadows surrounding them. They'd all heard the little intake of air, the way it lodged in her throat, and Nina released a breath, "Inej? How did you even get here?"

 Inej shrugged, slinking between the two Grisha, "I came earlier on a supply barge."

 "Do people just come and go from Hellgate for fun?" Nina hissed.

 Aleksa kept her eyes ahead, sure to pick up her clunking boots whenever a piece of cobble on the ground was risen high enough to trip her. Hellgate wasn't only a prison for slavers and thieves, murderers and rapists... it was a show in which convicts were pitted against creatures more than willing to tear them apart.

 People came to the masses just to watch.

 So Aleksa responded with the utmost nonchalance, "Once a week they do."

 "What do you mean once a —"

 "Keep quiet." Kaz hissed through gritted teeth, almost tempted to kick Nina in the ankles.

 Nina turned red beneath her veil, "Don't shush me, Bekker, if it's this easy to get into Hellgate —"

 "The problem isn't getting in, it's getting out. Now," He glanced over his shoulder, bitter eyes glinting through a slit in his mask, "Shut up, and stay alert."

 Aleksa was sure she could feel Nina seething from the other side of Inej. Her arms folded over her chest, and her chin jutted out... Had Kaz said the same to herself, Aleksa would have coiled a shadow around his ankle. Perhaps up his nostril to tickle that nasty little brain of his.

 Still, they all carried onwards without another peep. The passageway they were led into was tight and narrow, it smelled damp and Aleksa wouldn't have been surprised if one or a dozen rats came scurrying towards them all to nip at their flesh.

 The heavy-set Dime Lion tour guide, as Aleksa had deemed him, pushed aside a thick iron door. His arms tightened, and even his cheeks became a blistering red as he heaved it aside. He gestured towards the winding, narrow staircase. It was steep and Aleksa had to swiftly bury her face within the collar of her shirt; anything to banish the smell that seemed encased within the damp walls.

 They stooped lower and lower, each careful not to slip on the slick cobble stairs. There was no bannister and while the torches flickered with every passing second, Aleksa was the only one capable of seeing through the darkness ebbing in.

 She had taken a hold of Nina's hand, another twisted behind her to guide Inej... not that the Wraith needed such help. Aleksa almost felt like a child and they all descended the staircase hand in hand.

 Aleksa could feel Nina's fingers trembling within her grasp, no doubt she was wondering exactly what her poor self would look like if they all toppled to the very bottom.

 Thankfully, such a thought was cleared the moment they all took a step upon the flat ground.

 "Where are we?" Nina asked, eyes scaling the walls around them. She couldn't know if just another step would have her face-to-face with Matthias...

 Kaz had told Aleksa about every inch of Hellgate, expanding on the information she had already devoured from one of the old history books lounging on his shelf. They were in the old prison, the one that was left to stand tall and broad while the other had been constructed.

 Kaz said as much, and the moment his words ceased echoing through the vacant passageways, there was a bellowing groan from the old cells.

 Nina grappled for Aleksa's fingers once again, "They still keep prisoners here?"

 Aleksa bobbed her head, tightening her hold; if only to keep Nina willing to walk forth, "The worst of them."

 There were empty cells left and right, each flooded with puddles from the breath of the sea creeping between cracks in the walls. There were old and rusted shackles dangling from cobble... some still covered in the blood of their former captives.

 Aleksa could already hear the chanting of the crowd they'd soon be muddled between; at first it sounded akin to a bunch of fists pounding against the walls, echoing through their skulls, then as they turned the final curve of the tunnels, bypassing further cells, they reached their destination.

 The guard stationed by the entrance was draped in a blue and grey uniform, he peered down his nose at each and every one of them, "If you need to leave, the guard will call for an escort. No one goes wandering off without a guide, understood?"

 "Of course," Kaz practically preened from beneath his monstrous mask. His voice sounded nothing like the usual grit. Elevated all to appease the guard and banish any suspicion, after all, they were mere spectators to a show, weren't they? "Of course, wouldn't dream of it."

 "Enjoy," the Dime Lion said with a rather lopsided smile, yellowing teeth poking out from behind chapped lips.

 Aleksa stepped forth as the prison guard waved their group onwards... Aleksa had heard of the fights here, she'd come to understand that Hellgate was more of a money-making scheme than a prison. Kaz had been correct in telling her such; the crowds surrounding them were rowdy; hands flailed overhead, yells and screams and cheers volleyed around the pit like a bouncing ball.

 At the very centre of the echoing chamber was a shallow amphitheatre. Whatever had once rested within the tower had been torn down and brushed aside just so that an arena could be formed. The ground was smothered in dust and sand, there were already droplets of blood clumping the concoction together. The twilight above could be seen, for the former ceiling had been torn away after rocks and stone had crumbled beneath relentless rainfall and only the flicker of torches upon the walls were their source of light, for all stars had scuttled from the sky, hiding behind thick bushels of greying clouds.

 Towards the far side of the arena was an old cave in which the fighters would make their appearance. Aleksa watched with intrigue beneath her mask as a scrawny man stepped out of the shadows. His face was lined with the makings of a beard, yet his head was entirely bare; shaven, like the rest of the prisoners to prevent lice.

 He trailed onwards, almost dragging his bare feet through the sand only to stop at the large wooden wheel that would decide on his opponent. Upon the wooden wheel were drawing of various creatures from the wolves you'd find lurking within the Fjerdan snowscape, to overgrown lizards that would bury themselves beneath the sand, only to jump at unsuspecting prey.

 The prisoner was a sorry sight. There were blue bags drooping beneath his eyes, and scars littered over his hands and bare chest. His skin draped like a curtain, once filled with muscle, now barely anything but bone kept it upright... the prisoners weren't exactly fed well. A younger man stood on the other side of the wheel, seemingly hopping from foot to foot in anticipation.

 Aleksa smothered the urge to do the very same. It was, from an outsider's perspective, rather cruel. Perhaps many, likely including dear Nina, would find having prisoners fight creatures until blood was spilled upon sand... an awful sight to see. Aleksa, however, had very little patience nowadays. They were criminals who'd committed deeds far worse than even her dear Brekker, not to mention the fact that they chose to fight... So why couldn't she simply enjoy the show?

 The younger man had a cape around his shoulders; the pelt of a lion. The creature's face had been stuffed with fabric, now rendered as nothing more than a toothed hood to frame the man's features, while a false golden crown was settled between the dead beast's ears.

 The young man halted his hopping, eyes narrowed upon the prisoner, "Spin the wheel!"

 The prisoner lifted his hands, shackles screeching and scraping as he gave all his might into spinning the wooden wheel. A red needle ticked... and ticked and ticked until it finally slowed. It bypassed the depiction of a tiger, then a wolf, then a snake... then it halted. It landed upon a drawing of an oversized lizard with a purple whip of a tongue seeping from its mouth. A rinca moten.

 The crowd cheered and a stampede of feet stomped upon the ground; Aleksa had never heard such excitement before.

 The prisoner's shoulders dropped in utter defeat, his hands still lifted high so that he could be freed of the shackles binding him. He soon tossed them aside in the sand, body quivering as the bellowing roar of a beast echoed upon the walls.

 Atop the smattering of bloodied sand were weapons. Some were relatively clean while others were already smeared with the blood of another. Once the young man in his garish lion cape was freed from the confines of the pit, the rope and ladder were withdrawn. It was just the prisoner, a handful of rusted red weapons, and a prowling beast slowly lurking from the shadows.

 The prisoner hurled forth, shaking fingers scooping up a flimsy-looking knife already draped in metallic red blood. He held it before him, and then the creature deemed as his opponent crawled from the tunnel.

 "Nina," Aleksa said. She hadn't even realised she'd tipped forth, peering over the edge they all stood upon just to get a better view. She spared a look to the side, right where Nina was heavily breathing beside her, "Welcome to Hellgate."

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DATE: 18/04/2023

:･ﾟ★Matthias in the next chap <3 I love him, he's my himbo, my babygirl, my little sugar plum man.

Also, Aleksa and Nina are clearly already besties.

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