𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘-𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 — insurance

━━━━━━━

 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 completely and utterly pissed.

 To awake in a room he'd never seen before with ankles and wrists bound by rope clawing at his skin. To peer around the room and see the gaggle of people who had smuggled him from the confines of his cell for Saints knows what... only to catch sight of the woman who had threatened and stabbed him, grinning like a fool as she teased him further.

 He looked ready to lunge. Ready to erupt from his binds, shatter the poor chair holding his form, and commit a vile act indeed.

 Aleksa, however, wasn't at all deterred as a hearty scowl was sent her way, for he soon moved his sights back to Nina. The Fjerdan didn't once blink as he stared down their delightful Heartrender, he didn't move his gaze at all.

 Even when Kaz tapped his gloved fingertips against the cold edge of his new cane, his mouth parted to describe the heist they'd planned. Oddly, Aleksa did have to admit that the twisted look on Matthias' face wasn't exactly out of place; he'd been dragged from prison, stuffed into ropes, and now he had to listen to Kaz's stony voice tell him that they wanted to break into the most secure place in all of Fjerda.

 They wanted Matthias, a Fjerdan... a Druskelle... to guide them into his homeland, all to steal from his people. Not exactly the most perfect of sales pitches.

 When Kaz finally finished, Matthias gave them his obvious answer, "No."

 Aleksa's eyes rolled to the ceiling, watching as the flickering flames of the lantern cast strange shapes above. Kaz, however, tipped his head to the side, "Believe me when I say this, Helvar: I know getting knocked out and waking up in strange surroundings isn't the friendliest way to start a partnership, but you didn't give us many options, so try to open your mind to the possibilities."

 Obviously, Kaz would know. He'd mentioned how this deal he'd struck with Van Eck had occurred. How he'd been plastered with a fist against his cheekbones when a person seemingly drifted through a wall of stone. It was like he'd been attacked by the breeze itself. Though, of course, when he'd awoke before Van Eck with a throbbing cheek, he'd learned the truth.

 Matthias sneered, "You could have come to me on your knees, and my answer would be the same."

 "While I'd have loved to have seen that, and will absolutely keep it in mind for the next time we attempt a prison break for an overgrown ass... You understand we can put you right back where we found you, yes?" Aleksa chimed, merely peering at her glistening nails. Genya's delightful Tailoring effects had cast them in glimmering pearl, and her effects still had yet to wear away.

 "Do it. I can't wait to tell the warden of your ridiculous plan."

 "Tell? No. No, no..." Aleksa's lips spread into the slowest smile of which she was capable. She hopped from the tabletop, back as straight as a board as she took a step closer, casting Matthias in her shadow without even having to wiggle her fingers, "You won't be leaving with a tongue, and if I have it my way... which I always do... you won't actually be going back at all."

 "Aleksa —" Nina made to protest, yet fell silent the moment Aleksa dropped into a crouch and looked Matthias directly in the eye.

 "You, druskelle, will find yourself rotting at the bottom of the ocean..." Aleksa was feeling particularly bitter. Perhaps because it had been so instilled within her to hate any and all Fjerdans. Perhaps because she'd seen first-hand the atrocities the Druskelle subjected Grisha to... perhaps she truly was a Morozova, "Along with those poor little wolves you slaughtered."

 Matthias surged forth, head a mere hair from Aleksa's own. Spittle glossed his lips from the vile growl he'd spouted.

 "Ooh, there's the Druskelle."

 "Aleksa, do try to refrain from riling the Fjerdan." Kaz drawled.

 Matthias leaned back, his wrists already utterly raw from the rope digging within his flesh like a burrowing beast. Every movement made the binds rub and tighten, his outburst had only caused a wave of pain to flare within his hands, "Do what you want."

 Aleksa almost pouted. She truly thought the darling little threat would have managed to get through that thick blond skull of his. Perhaps she'd teased too much. Matthias Helvar, even despite slaughtering wolves and falling for a Grisha, apparently still held some semblance of respect for his homeland... and it looked like he really wasn't willing to betray his country once again.

 Little did he know that Kaz had a very tempting scroll of paper tucked within his pocket. Kaz had twisted some strings and now he held the one thing that might just prompt Matthias to change his mind but it couldn't have hurt to persuade him without a reward, could it?

 Nina sighed, pink fingers pinching the bridge of her freckled nose. She could have told them all a thousand times that Matthias Helvar was too proud to fall in line with thieves and thugs, he was too... he was too Matthias. She knew him well, even if they'd only spent four weeks together, but Nina rather prided herself on weaving into the hearts of those around her... even without her abilities.

 She had cracked him. She'd cracked the Fjerdan... and then everything fell apart. Not only was Matthias refusing out of pride, but he was also refusing out of spite. Spite for Nina Zenik.

 "I told you." Nina muttered.

 Aleksa glanced her way, spying the pitiful way dear Nina's lips curled to the ground. The way her eyes refused to look at the big brute... The poor Heartrender still had feelings for the big, bad Druskelle. It was very obvious, indeed.

 Matthias, whether oblivious to those feelings or so blinded by her act of betrayal, snarled, "Don't pretend to know me, witch."

 "There's that word again." Aleksa sang, her voice as sweet and light as a mere teaspoon of sugar. Witch. She hated that word, it made Grisha seem as though they were nothing more than vile creatures crawling from the underworld. As though they had green skin and long nails creeping towards unsuspecting Otkazat'sya, "You might want to stop saying it, dear... Kaz here might have asked ever so nicely for me to stop riling you, but nobody in this room quite has the power to stop me from doing far more than that, should I wish to."

 Matthias scanned her from head to toe. The way clunky boots tapped on the ground; he wondered how she could even feel the floor beneath her. To the puffed-up sleeves on her arms, the coat slung over a chair she'd abandoned it on. Her face was a facade, all flooded with kindness and a glow that only Nina could — He blinked. She was small. The smallest of them all, and seemingly the frailest — except for Wylan — and yet she had a voice and insults that surpassed them all.

 "You're just a little girl." Matthias spat.

 "I am rather little. I'm certainly a girl..." Aleksa patted the undone buttons on her chest, and Matthias turned his head while Jesper snorted with all his might, "But even without darling Inej's knives... Jesper's guns, and Kaz's rather pretty new cane, you should be warned that I can cause quite a great deal of... carnage."

 Matthias was then reminded of the wound on his hand, the one Nina clearly hadn't sewn back together with her powers; he didn't know whether to be thankful or not.

 Jesper stretched like a feline, unfurling himself from the chair he'd managed to fit his long and lanky self into, "Well, bug, that was fun to watch... but without him," A boney finger was directed to Matthias, "We can't break into the Ice Court."

 Matthias looked ready to bellow out a disbelieving laugh, "You can't break into the Ice Court at all."

 It was quite believable, for Aleksa at least. She'd never been close to the building... but she had spied it from afar. When Aleksa, Alina and the others that had survived an attack on the Little Palace, they had fled to a little place of solace within the depths of Fjerda's snowy mountains — One of Nikolai's little hidey-holes away from his overbearing and obnoxious family.

 Aleksa had spied the Ice Court over the side of the flying ship; It was less of a court and more of a stronghold... the issue was, it was almost too secure. It looked Grisha-made.

 Perhaps that was why Aleksa was so sour towards the Fjerdan slumped on the chair. Grisha wouldn't have ever agreed to offer up their services to the people who hunted them for sport, as though they were animals. So... Aleksa had come to the conclusion that they were either given the choice to build or burn... Or perhaps they had become slaves without a choice at all.

 "Come now, Helvar," Said Kaz, almost reluctant to steal his eyes away from Aleksa. She remained where she had been, crouched before Matthias with a certain gleam overtaking her eyes. Kaz had seen something similar before, but she'd never truly looked so... so much like him. The glint in her eyes was dangerous and threatening, and while Kaz Brekker knew that Aleksa would never turn such a gaze to him, he'd left her to her threats, "Surely there's something you want. The cause is righteous enough for a zealot like you. Fjerda may think they've caught a dragon by the tail, but they won't be able to hold on. Once Bo Yul-Bayur replicates his process, jurda parem will enter the market, and it's only a matter of time before others learn to manufacture it, too."

 "It will never happen. Yul-Bayur will stand trial, and if he is found guilty he will be put to death."

 Trial. An odd way to phrase the barbaric gatherings they'd hold. Aleksa had heard the stories of Grisha dragged from their homes bound in chains and ropes. They be tossed to the ground after weeks of travelling atop the harsh sea with little food to line their guts... then their fates would be decided. The outcome was always the same; death, fire, and smoke.

 "Guilty of what?" Nina asked, her voice soft. She kept her gaze on the floorboards, knowing exactly where Matthias was headed. It seemed that with their distance, his prejudice flooded back into his bones like an icy tidal wave.

 "Crimes against the people."

 "Which people?"

 Her voice had hardened, and Matthias finally tore his eyes from Kaz, settling on Nina, "Natural people, people who live in harmony with the laws of this world instead of twisting them for their own gain."

 Natural people. It was better than witch, Aleksa supposed. The issue with such a statement was... how was being Grisha unnatural? They came about in the very same way as the otkazat'sya. Their powers were inherited in the same way one might be born with blonde hair to match their mother, or with green eyes passed from their grandfather.

 "Saints." Aleksa scoffed beneath her breath, and Nina was hardly far behind. Everyone — bar their newest and quietest member — all housed looks of the utmost amusement. Aleksa peered at Jesper, even the jittery Zemini boy had rolled his eyes.

 Kaz had risen a perfectly arched brow. His eyes glinted beneath the sway of the flickering lantern light; Kaz Brekker had been told on so many occasions that he was unnatural. People believed his gloves concealed the hands of a monster, they thought he had claws and scales hidden away.

 Maybe they were right... but as he peered at Jesper tapping some unknown tune away on his pearl-lined pistols, as he watched Nina smack her lips as she dug through her pockets to withdraw an old toffee that had likely stewed within her pocket for months... as he looked to Aleksa...

 She glanced back at him, ocean-blue eyes alight beneath the yellow cast from the lantern. They shimmered, and he was almost lost like a child for a moment; it spurred a grin from her. Her lips were drawn wide, cheeks rising until a line or two appeared beside her eyes... How could that possibly be unnatural? Unnatural, perhaps, in the way it made his stomach twist.

 Kaz broke their stare, unable to watch that smile grow without the urge to let his own lips mirror the movement, "You're being shortsighted about this, Helvar," He said. "Another team could get to Yul-Bayur first. The Shu. Maybe the Ravkans. All with their own agendas. Border disputes and old rivalries don't matter to the Kerch. All the Merchant Council cares about is trade, and they want to make sure jurda parem remains a rumour and nothing more."

 "So leading criminals into the heart of Fjerda to steal a valued prisoner is a patriotic act?" Matthias said scornfully.

 "I don't suppose the promise of four million kruge will sway you either."

 Matthias recoiled in his own chair, words coming out as a hiss, "You can keep your money. Choke on it." Then, as he glared and glared like a petulant little boy unable to get his own way, his trained mind thought of Nina. The way his hands had coiled at her neck... He'd be rid of her if he could just... "I'll make a deal with you."

 Aleksa, with legs aching still within their crouch, allowed herself to slip to the ground. She stretched her legs forth, crossing them at the ankle... Matthias had to bring his own closer to his chair all to avoid touching her in the slightest. He wanted to make a deal? This was new.

 Kaz cocked his head, slicked hair remaining right where it was, "I'm listening."

 "I won't go with you, but I'll give you a plan for the layout of the Court. That should at least get you past the first checkpoint."

 "And what will this valuable information cost me?"

 "I don't want your money. I'll give you the plans for nothing."Matthias paused for a beat, and to Aleksa, it looked as though he actually felt a sliver of shame before he uttered the words, "If you let me kill Nina Zenik."

 Before Inej could make a sound of disgust, before Nina could swallow the fresh bout of tears already brewing, and before Wylan could peer up from his papers... the room was swamped. It hadn't been obscenely bright to begin with, yet the moment those words were uttered, any light was quartered.

 Matthias could only see the mere outlines of the faces around him.

 Aleksa hadn't moved. Her fingers hadn't twisted nor had her arms drifted through the air to call upon the darkness. The shadows had coiled and stampeded forth upon a mere thought. Aleksa's voice was unlike anything they'd heard, "I think not."

 They had never planned to keep Aleksa's powers hidden from Matthias, after all, should he join them, it would have been inevitable for the truth to come forth. The road to the Ice Court wouldn't be an easy one and they all knew they'd have to come into play... this little charade only seemed to be the perfect time to bring them forth.

 Matthias hadn't been fearful... and Aleksa knew well enough the influence fear could have on a man. So when darkness fell, and Matthias had pushed back in his seat, recoiling at the low grit that surrounded her words, Aleksa grinned.

 It wasn't just for show, however. Aleksa may not have known Nina Zenik on the same level as her dear crows, yet the Heartrender had managed to weasel her way ever closer, even without the use of her heart-twisting powers.

 Matthias Helvar wouldn't get the chance to so much as breathe wrong.

 "Aleksa," Kaz voiced, his tone entirely unbothered at the twilight swallowing the room. He's known such a display would soon come. Matthias was testing his luck, and Aleksa had never been known to entertain stupid men unless it was a benefit to her, "Bring back the light if you would; unfortunately, we aren't all talented enough to see in the dark."

 Aleksa sighed, and the light soon flooded back. Matthias' face was nothing if not entirely laced with bitterness. His lips wobbled in a sneer, his nose scrunched in such a feral way... but in his eyes, those usual Fjerdan blue... there was a hint of fear and Aleksa graciously basked within it.

 The Fjerdans, after all, might have been well acquainted with Heartrenders, Inferni and Durasts and the like... but a Shadow Summoner? That was something entirely different.

 "Drusje." Matthias breathed, "Skughra."

 Witch. Shadow. He really was a lovely, eloquent man.

 Aleksa tipped her head to the side. She was probably the last person Matthias would have pictured to be a Shadow Summoner; The Black Heretic had been tall and imposing... stories of his likeness had been told throughout time. They even had a name in Fjerda for him.

 But Aleksa was just a teenager with a bright face and an incredibly fierce attitude. She hummed, "Yes, shadow. Well done, Druskelle, you can point out the obvious."

 Matthias hadn't even gotten the chance to insult her, or perhaps even question how she'd translated his language — yet another Grisha who could unravel his country's words — for Kaz tapped his cane on the ground and commanded Matthias' gaze his way.

 "As you can see, Helvar, my Shadow is already rather fond of Nina." Kaz maintained his stoicism even after he'd fallen back into old habits. My Shadow. He had always called her that, it had been a slip of the tongue the first time... until Aleksa had coyly declared that she rather enjoyed the title, "So that's off the table. I can give you something better."

 Matthias' eyes slipped from Kaz, back to Aleksa once again. She wiggled her fingers and Matthias couldn't help but feel as though the room was darkening once more, "There's nothing else I want."

 "I can make you a Druskelle again."

 "Are you a magician, then? A wej sprite who grants wishes? I'm superstitious, not stupid."

 "Debatable" Aleksa chimed, delighted to hear Nina smother a snort, while Jesper let his clamber through the air.

 Kaz clearly agreed, for he tipped his head Aleksa's way, "You can be both, you know, but that's hardly the point." Kaz slipped a hand into his dark coat, his gloved fingers plucked the paper he'd kept hidden, his final bargain for Matthias. It was this, or he was back to Hellgate to live through the worst of the worst once more. Kaz held the paper between two fingers, "Inej."

 Inej plucked it from his hands and approached Matthias with a face wiped of expression. His words against Nina and his silly little actions back at Hellgate had prompted nothing but nonchalance from the Suli girl. For now, after all, Inej was the one with an honest heart.

 Her steps were entirely silent as she made her way to stand before Matthias, shoes ever so lightly bumping against Aleksa's outstretched legs. Inej stooped her gaze to the Shadow Summoner lounging on the floor as though soaking up the sun, just barely capable of smothering a smile... then she unfurled the paper, and let Matthias read the scrawl.

 In light of new evidence, Matthias Benedik Helvar is granted full and immediate pardon for all charges of slave trafficking. He is released on this day,________, with the apologies of the court, and will be provided transport to his homeland or a destination of his choosing with all possible haste and the sincere apologies of this court and the Kerch government.

 Matthias blinked, "What new evidence?"

 In the few days they'd had to prepare for their little trip to Hellgate, Nina Zenik had agreed on her part of the plan. Back on the ship where the crows had first laid eyes upon her, she'd been travelling to Ketterdam all because she'd proclaimed Matthias a slaver.

 It sounded rather bleak... however, it appeared that Nina's former Grisha comrades had found the Heartrender and Druskelle together. They had wanted to bring Matthias back to the palace to pay for his crimes. In a desperate attempt at saving his life, Nina had burst and called her Fjerdan a slaver; the plan had been to get him out, but that hadn't happened.

 Kaz approached the table at which Wylan was still silently propped. He took a seat, leaning forth as his hands curled around his can, "It seems Nina Zenik has recanted her statements. She will face charges of perjury."

 Matthias swallowed, "Perjury? How long will you serve for that, Zenik?"

 "Two months," Nina said, her voice so quiet it almost disappeared into the dark.

 "Two months?" Matthias laughed this time. His entire body rattled as raucous bellows parted his thin lips.

 Aleksa's brows curled inwards. He was insane. They had an insane Fjerdan in a room with three Grisha. Wonderful.

 Jesper cleared his throat, fingers still trailing over his pearl-lined pistols. He was getting antsy now, with no tables and cards in sight, and with their heist still ultimately undetermined... the craving returned ten-fold, "Just how crazy is he?"

 Aleksa tipped her head back, eyes falling to Kaz's upsidedown face and yet all he did was shrug, "He's not what I'd call reliable, but he's all we've got."

 "She can't be trusted, you know," Matthias said to Kaz. "Whatever secrets you hope to gain from Bo Yul-Bayur, she'll turn them over to Ravka.

 "Let me worry about that, Helvar. You do your part, and the secrets of Yul-Bayur and jurda parem will be in the hands of the people best equipped to make sure they stay rumours."

 "And if Bo Yul-Bayur is dead?"

 "Van Eck insists he isn't."

 Aleksa would have pointed out that they couldn't exactly put their trust in the words of a greedy merchant. Van Eck least of all... well, not quite least of all, for that spot belonged to somebody else.

 Van Eck could have been sending them to retrieve a dead man. They could be walking into a trap that would kill them all; it would benefit many, after all, Kaz's name was known throughout the barrel. He was the reason the Crow Club thrived, and without him, there would be one less businessman in the ring.

 Plus, it couldn't hurt them to want inej gone, either. She was the Wraith, the secret stealer... and with Aleksa back in the booming town, the merchants knew that soon enough their most trusted would be willing to drink until they couldn't even fathom the words they were spilling if it meant company from the pretty crow that plucked secrets and stories as though they were glistening jewels.

 Matthias shook his head, "But what if he is."

 Who could claim to know his people better than he? For all any of them knew, Yul-Bayur could have already been sent to trial, he could have been found guilty of his crimes.

 Kaz hiked a shoulder once again, "You still get your pardon..." He just barely caught the way Matthias glanced towards the Grisha tapping her boots together on the ground, "No need to fret, Helvar, Aleksa here can be quite forgiving when she wants to be."

 Aleksa paused in the little tune she made with the tips of her shoes, a childish frown coiling her features, "I don't want to be."

 "Well... You get your pardon." Kaz carried on despite her words, a non-comital click of the tongue accompanying, "That's what you want, isn't it?" 

 Aleksa almost wanted to ask Matthias if he was alright; his eyes had narrowed, lips taut as he thought with all his might. Aleksa thought he might pop a blood vessel or perhaps lose an eye from the pressure. Still, his silence was enough for Aleksa, and Kaz, to know that he was already swayed.

 His original response had been a swift and resounding no. Now...

 "I'll do it." Matthias relented. He'd become a Druskelle once again... and then he'd do what he'd been born to do. He'd take Nina first, then the girl on the floor pouting at her shoelaces. Even if Kaz wasn't Grisha... he'd be a target too.

 Inej soon moved away from holding out the slip of paper. She'd kept it open, displayed before Matthias like some holy text... she passed it to Kaz who slipped it straight back into the dark confines of his coat pocket.

 Aleksa frowned as Kaz moved forth. Oftentimes, Kaz Brekker would leave Inej to snap the knots around their dear prisoners. He'd wave a hand and a shing would echo, wrists would be rubbed and binds would fall... this time, it seemed that he chose to do the job himself.

 He approached from behind, "I'm going to untie you now, I hope prison hasn't robbed you of all your manners or good sense." He waited until Matthias nodded, then Kaz leaned just a smidgen closer and the lower half of his face was blocked by Matthias' rotund skull. Kaz hissed, "Touch the Shadow, and I can assure you that you'll lose your hands, your pardon, and your life... Understood?"

 "Yes," Matthias muttered through gritted teeth.

 "Good. Now..." Kaz pointed his cane, "I believe you know Nina... the one who showed you the pardon is Inej, our thief of secrets and one of the best in the trade. Jesper Fahey is our sharpshooter, Zemeni-born but try not to hold it against him."

 Kaz circled Matthias like a craving vulture until his clicking cane paused beside Aleksa's knee. She still had yet to move from her spot on the ground. Kaz swallowed the sting at the back of his throat and held out his gloved hand.

 He'd done it before... only a few times. Yet each and every instance had been ingrained within Aleksa's mind. She could remember the warmth that had seeped through his gloves, even though she had always expected his hands to be stone-cold like his voice and glare.

 She took his hand, ignoring that little buzz within her gut, the feeling of warmth enveloping her hand like a gentle caress. A smile was slapped on like a coating of fresh new paint, "Thank you, dear."

 "Our lovely shadow..." Kaz drawled, "Is Aleksa. Try not to provoke her, she's rather unruly, and a terrible flirt."

 "Oh, you love it, pretty boy."

 "She just might kill you in your sleep... so I'd suggest keeping an eye open." Kaz managed to fight the little urge to show one of those lopsided smiles when Aleksa had leaned closer, her hand still ever so carefully grazing his gloved digits. He spared another look at her, trying his utmost not to fall into the trap she'd lay before her... "Finally, this is Wylan."

 Wylan blinked, copper curls jostling as his head snapped upwards. He swallowed beneath Matthias' heavy gaze and soon became an adorable shade of pink when Kaz deemed him 'the best demolitions expert in the Barrel'.

 "Raske is better," Inej said, still sparing an apologetic look at poor Wylan.

 Aleksa watched him... he looked about as meek as a mouse as he scribbled away on his multitude of papers. He had a pencil pinched between fingers smothered in freckles, while another was tucked behind his ear, shrouded in a mass of copper. Poor thing would be tainted within minutes of being around them all... but maybe that was for the better.

 But Wylan stood up for himself, even if his words were muffled, "He's not better. He's reckless."

 "He knows his trade."

 "So do I."

 "No matter," Aleksa said. She might have known Wylan's true last name, and that said name was exactly the reason he was with them, rather than Raske... but with time and escaping fights by the skin of their teeth, she was sure Wylan would fit right in like the last piece of their unfortunate puzzle, "We have Wylan and I'm certain he'll be just fine... sorry in advance though."

 "For what?"

 "The inevitable trauma that'll probably befall you."

 Wylan blinked, "Oh... great."

 "Aleksa, try not to scare our newest recruit," Kaz uttered, tapping his cane against her calf, "He's our insurance, after all."

 Nina frowned, "Against what?

 Aleksa padded around the table, though not before batting away at Kaz's pesky cane. It might have looked a million times better than the ugly golden crow he carried, but it certainly hurt just as much. Wylan peered up at her, certainly looking as young as his age when a curl slipped over his warm caramel eyes.

 She planted a hand on either of his shoulders, "Meet Wylan Van Eck," Aleksa grinned at the utter bewilderment engrossing the room. She dropped her head, chin settling atop his nest of unruly curls as though they'd been friends for a decade, "Jan Van Ecks son, and the adorable guarantee to our thirty million kruge."

━━━━━━━

DATE: 17/05/2023

:･ﾟ★ i feel like this is where six (seven) of crows truly begins. WE HAVE ALL OF OUR CROWS, SLAY.

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.