𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗 — prison break

━━━━━━━

 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐊𝐒𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐋𝐘 decipher when Nina had gasped, when Kaz had cocked a gun, or when she had withdrawn the knife hidden up her sleeve and held it to Matthias' neck. All she did know was that the moment Matthias had lunged and uttered the word witch, she'd gone stone-cold, blood turning to absolute ice.

 This knife was a strange one; while the hilt could have been fastened at any old place to look exactly like the one within Aleksa's fingers — a coil almost like a snake's twisted body — the blade could not. There was no glint of silver, no shing as titanium was withdrawn... The blade was entirely obsidian and had the bonelight that toppled from Aleksa's fingers and hit the ground ceased its shining, nobody would have seen it through the haze.

 It had been with The Black Heretic's things, and while there was something about it that simply made Aleksa shiver... she couldn't bring herself to leave it behind. It was something he'd shown her before, watching as her eyes became alight with intrigue. The chuckle that had parted his lips was one of the few fond memories that Aleksa could recover.

 "Go ahead," Matthias growled like the wolves he'd been raised around, like the ones he'd slaughtered with his bare hands, "Shoot me. Cut my neck."

 Matthias only dug his fingertips deeper into Nina's flesh, bitten nails likely tearing at the skin. He squeezed harder and harder and whilst Aleksa wouldn't have lost sleep should her blade had severed his artery, they needed him.

 "C'mon druskelle," Aleksa hissed, "Let her go. I don't particularly like those who man-handle women."

 Aleksa had very carefully chosen those words; above all the Fjerdans, particularly the druskelle, maintained an air of profound dignity. They believed they were protectors for their children and wives; it was terribly old-fashioned to think that a woman couldn't handle herself, after all... the cell they were in housed a woman who could manipulate the heart like a puppet on strings, a Suli girl who could throw a knife with terrifying accuracy, and a Shadow Summoner. The last Shadow Summoner... A living relic.

 So Aleksa had hoped Matthias still felt that need to be a protector, she could really have done with his silly old ways forcing his hands away.

 "If you've actually lost your mind," Kaz's rasp flickered through the air like the glimmer of the bonelight, "This is going to be a lot tougher than I thought... Aleksa, steady on the pressure, hm?"

 Aleksa blinked, eyes cascading to Matthias' neck where blood began to spill. A few layers of torn flesh would do no harm... but apparently, they were all about appearances tonight. Aleksa withdrew the knife, but that wasn't to say she wouldn't be taking her fun.

 "I'll return the favour, then?" Her voice was light, drenched in tooth-rotting sugar as she kicked out a leg. Matthias grunted hands faltering around Nina's throat as a boot collided with his side — the side that had already sustained a multitude of bruising.

 "Manhandle her," Aleksa spat, "And I'll manhandle you."

 Another kick to the very same spot had Matthias hissing, and yet still he tried with all his might to draw the life from Nina Zenik... Aleksa sighed, head tossed back as though the druskelle was more an inconvenience than anything else... because really, he was.

 "Alright, dog. Have it your way..." None of the others had yet to intervene. Inej had stepped forth, her foot fall utterly silent, yet Kaz held his cane up once more, keeping the Wraith right where she was.

 Was this a test? A way to see if Aleksa had gone soft during her time at the palace? He should have known that wasn't an option, not when her time away had been flooded with a river of red. Nothing but blood was on her hands now, and she had no leather gloves to keep her tainted flesh from sight.

 Aleksa, under normal circumstances, wouldn't have been able to simply pry Matthias away... however... things had changed, hadn't they? A breath was drawn, eyes fluttering for a short moment.

 Beneath her sleeves, and tucked away behind the collar of her shirt, black began to flood her veins. Curse Kaz for being the way he was, wanting a show after one had only just ended; the greedy boy... but the sensation was almost enough to keep going, to keep drawing from depths best left untouched.

 Aleksa mirrored Matthias and settled the fingers of just one hand at the base of his neck... and with a huff, tossed him backwards with a strength he certainly hadn't been anticipating. Before he could land in a pathetic heap of muscle and sweat, Aleksa drew him close by the collar of his stained shirt, "Come now, if you don't start listening like a good boy, you won't be getting out of this shit hole."

 Matthias scoffed, spittle flying just past Aleksa's face, "No one gets out of Hellgate."

 "Tonight they do," Kaz said, and with a mere bob of his head, eye glinting within the green light dousing them. Aleksa let Matthias slump.

 "You can't just walk me out of here. The guards will recognise me," he snarled behind gritted teeth. His front tooth was still chipped and looked like a cracked plate made from the finest of clay, "I'm not losing fighting privileges to be carted off Djel knows where with you."

 "You'll be masked."

 "If the guards check —"

 "They're going to be too busy to —" Aleksa didn't even get the chance to finish her thought, let alone her words. Jesper had been Saints knows where ready to enact their escape. The plan was for the lanky Zemini sharpshooter to unlock all of the cages containing the animals used in the arena, for it would cause absolute chaos, and if anyone thrived in chaos... It was the Crows.

 Aleksa was silenced by the roar of an animal, the growl of some wild cat lurking somewhere within the prison. Jesper was on time... for once, and that meant that they had to scramble, for whenever a clock was ticking for Jesper, they all presumed he'd be late to his target.

 Why on earth had he just now decided he had a proclivity for being on time?

 Nina, hands caressing the raw skin of her throat, managed to croak, "You opened the cages?"

 "Jesper was supposed to wait for three bells," Kaz muttered, and Aleksa cocked her head. The faint chime of an old clock nestled within Ketterdam was enough to prove Jesper had done his job as described.

 "It is three bells, pretty boy." Aleksa sighed, finally moving away from Matthias. He was dejected now, his plans foiled to harm Nina, his life entirely in their hands. He had to follow, no matter what, "Jes was on time, for once."

 "He's never punctual... On your feet, Helvar."

 The passageway just outside the darkness of the cell had descended into madness. Aleksa was the first to drift towards the cell exit while Kaz practically threw a Madman mask at Matthias, as well as a matching orange cloak.

 Other civilians draped in such costumes flitted to and fro, scrambling away from the ravenous animals that had been freed from the cages that had kept them at bay. Guards were in a frenzy and guns were being aimed and fired relentlessly. Aleksa found it almost impossible to hear herself think.

 She watched the others flood from the cell, though her arm grasped ahold of Matthias' before he could follow. Her words were but a whisper, hardly intelligible over the uproar of the crowd, and yet Matthias heard every little syllable, "Remember that I have a knife, and an insatiable desire to carve out your heart... and I always get what I want."

 Matthias felt his body become overwhelmed with the urge to shudder. Her voice had been sweet before, she'd almost uttered her words like... like Nina. Now that was gone, her voice lowered to rival Kaz's, yet the look in her eyes, Matthias found, was worse.

 Matthias blinked, swearing he'd seen her pupils swallow the rest of her eyes. Blackness. He stared straight at an endless expanse of blackness, he was certain.

 To see such a large man recoil at her words had Aleksa's lips curling skywards, even as she hurled her way through the crowds, following the path that Kaz carved for them. He led them forth, signalling towards an archway on the far right... Matthias, however, clearly hadn't taken Aleksa's words to heart.

 He diverged and chose to plunge through the mob instead... Aleksa groaned beneath the cover of her mask, scarlet cloak fluttering around her shoulders. She wanted to plunge her knife into his hand... so, she did.

 Matthias tried his best to lose them, but the moment he bumped into a civilian he felt an awful sting in his hand. It curled up his veins, drifting through like fire. Breath simmered over his neck, "What did I say, Helvar?"

 Aleksa pulled him backwards, fingers so taught around his collar that Matthias spluttered and choked. Blood was already seeping from the wound in his hand, but perhaps, if he wanted the rather large hold to be healed... he'd listen like a good little Fjerdan.

 Kaz was by their side in seconds. His eyes swiftly scoped the scarlet trail leading from Matthias' calloused hands, dripping on the floor... With a sigh, Kaz swiftly tore a scrap of material from his awful cloak, "Boys like you weren't meant to get ideas, Helvar," Kaz spat, a gloved finger pointing through the crowd, "That staircase leads to a bottleneck. You think the guards won't check under that mask before they let you through? Now cover that up, we don't need them following the trail like a bloodhound."

 You'd think Kaz would have turned his glare towards Aleksa for the little splotch of blood she'd forced from the Druskelle, but the Bastard of the Barrel only shook his head, the barest twitch appearing on his lips "Aleksa, you can take his hands once we're done."

 "Gladly. Perhaps I'll turn them into necklaces... Nina and I can match."

 The arena had been smothered in absolute madness. While people bumped against the walls of tunnels and passageways, the arena was just a hole in the ground with a bunch of mindless idiots skirting to and fro, eager to avoid the teeth of a wild cat in search of its next meal. Aleksa had seen a white bear standing on its hind legs, swiping gigantic paws at whoever dared cross its path... thankful they'd all gotten out unscathed... bar the gruesome hole upon Matthias' hand.

 The wound had already started to turn black, rotten...

 Kaz led them down a bleak old tunnel and past the cages that had once kept the assortment of animals behind bars; each one was tiny, hardly a home for an oversized cat or poisonous behemoth of a lizard... Aleksa felt far more sorry for the little beasts than she did the prisoners. They were all old circus animals, used to performing tricks or having a whip collide with their hinds.

 Soon enough, Aleksa could practically taste the familiar bitterness of salt water drifting through the musty breeze. She could hear the crashing waves that must have picked up through their endeavours and the cobble beneath their boots were slick with moisture; they were growing ever closer to their escape. A heist well-done, Aleksa supposed.

 There might have been a few snags, namely the giant of a Fjerdan nearly choking the life out of wonderful Nina... but his comeuppance had already been weaved upon the flesh of his hand and the little nick at his throat. Thankfully, such consequences seemed to have stilled Helvar from any further attempts of escape, though without the crows... he'd never get far enough.

 Through the haze cast by the bonelights both Aleksa and Inej carried within their palms, Aleksa could see a rather brilliant head bursting with tight and coiled curls. Jesper Fahey was perched upon the tiny little boat moored just ahead. He waved, long arms seemingly stretching all the way to the damned moon.

 Only Aleksa waved back.

 "You were early, Jesper." Kaz said, his cane jabbing into Matthias' side to spur him onto the boat.

 Jesper frowned, his lips together in a pout. For once, he'd actually kept his mind on the task at hand and accomplished his mission with record-breaking accuracy, "I was on time, actually."

 "For you, that's early. Next time you plan to impress me, give me some warning."

 Aleksa drove forth, light fingers patting Jesper's uniformed arm, "I was impressed, Jes."

 Jesper grinned, promptly ignoring the little glare the two of them received from their dear boss, "Thanks, bug." Then he glanced at Kaz once again, the boy looked as though a sour lemon had been forced down his throat, "The animals are out, and I found you a boat. This is when a thank you would be in order."

 "Thank you, Jesper." Said Nina.

 "You're very welcome, gorgeous. See, Kaz?" Jesper slung his boney arm around Aleksa's shoulder, his free hand brandished through the air to shine a spotlight upon Nina, "That's how the civilised folk do."

 The lot of them were far too busy exchanging their little jibes to even notice the way Matthias flung himself towards Inej with the intent to knock her down and steal the boat. Aleksa, meanwhile, had watched with a grin for both she and Inej had clocked his movements with the utmost of ease.

 Aleksa had taken her fun, now it was Inej's turn. Matthias was a fool, underestimating the two smallest members of the crew; after all, they were some of the deadliest.

 Still, Matthias the fool launched his body weight to the side...and Inej merely stepped out of his path, hooked her foot around his ankle, and landed Matthias on the rocky shore with a hearty grunt. Hopefully, both his knees and his pride was bruised.

 "Matthias —" Nina tried as her feet took a step closer through the pebbles and sand beneath their boots. Matthias scrambled backwards and almost landed himself in the depths of the water. Shame, really, Aleksa could have done with watching the man sink like a stone.

 The hurt glossing Nina's features was unmistakable.

 Inej barely looked Matthias's way as he shook salted water from the tips of his fingers, cringing at the wound now flooded with seawater, "Clumsy, this one."

 "He is, isn't he? Poor soul nabbed his hand, too..." Aleksa's eyes seemed to darken beneath the twilight above. Cerulean was swallowed away by a ravenous cloud of shadows, "Whatever will we do with him? Nina, my love, any ideas?"

 Matthias protested, his face contorted with the utmost panic. Typical Fjerdans shying away from Grisha abilities even after acting like an absolute ass, "Don't,"

 Kaz only waved Nina on, eyes on Matthias, "You're dumb enough to capsize the boat, go on, Nina."

 Nina seemed to hesitate, yet the moment witch slipped from the Fjerdans lips, she squared her shoulders and brushed away a lock of dark hair, "My pleasure," she lifted her hands, three fingers curling inwards as she squeezed at his heart and slowed the flow of his blood, "Sleep well."

 Matthias mumbled something along the lines of 'I'll kill you', but really, none of them could find a sliver of sincerity in his words. He'd been nothing but an absolute nuisance since they'd freed him.

 When silence ensued, Aleksa pointed at the great lump on the ground, "I've never liked him more."

━━━━━━━

DATE: 08/05/2023

:･ﾟ★ aleksa was kinda a baddie this chap? hello? 

also, this has been update one, as a treat i've decided to update this story twice today; the next chap will be out in a couple hours. mwah, love u <3

please remember to leave feedback & comments. i require a certain number of comments before i publish the next update. please give me a follow to keep updated and receive sneak peeks! do not leave 'update' comments, you will be muted.