» CHAPTER TWO
❛ How much weight does a person's life have? ❜
( episode two, season one )

    𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦
by Dreesen the group had brought the Heartrender back to the Orchid, exactly like they had promised. And afterwards they made their way back to the Crow Club.

The storm outside had gotten stronger in the last hour and the rain pelted hard against the now closed window of Kaz room.

The man stood behind his black desk again, searching for something as he grabbed a couple of papers.

Estelle, who had immediately followed him up to his room, leaving Jesper and Inej to themselves at the bar, stood now on the other side of the desk watching him.

Her thoughts were still preoccupied with processing the fact that they had only until sunrise to find a way through the Fold. It was impossible. It was completely hopeless.

She let her arms, which she had crossed over her chest fall to her sides, "What was that, mhm, you want to tell me?"

Kaz gazed onto his pocket watch and let it disappear into his pocket again. "Be more specific."

"It was one thing when we had at least a week to find a way across the Fold. But sunrise? It's impossible. We have to say no, Kaz", she told him with wide eyes.

But he didn't looked up from his desk as he replied a short, "No."

"No to the job?", she asked him, surprised that he agreed with her so quickly. Normally he was more stubborn.

Kaz looked at her for the first time since they arrived in his room, "No, to saying no."

"We can't go!", Estelle immediately got louder as she gave him a insistent look.

"Can't we?", Kaz asked her with an raised eyebrow as he got louder as well.

Estelle abruptly raised her arm into the air and showed him her tattoo on her right wrist. "I can't go and Inej can't either." She gave him a serious look.

"You will", he assured her calmly as he looked back down at his desk. "I have a plan."

Estelle shook her head as she let out a chuckle, "No, you don't!"

"Estelle!"

But the black haired woman continued, "I know you long enough by now and I can tell that you're still figuring things out! And you don't know how to pull this job."

Kaz leaned on the table and gave her a dark look. "I still have six hours, and right now, you aren't helping", he spatted at her in anger.

Estelle narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe you crack a way across, but that doesn't solve this problem! Does it!?", she shouted at him in rage as she pointed to her tattoo again.

"If I can't crack this, no one of us are going anywhere", he answered her fastly as he eyed a card that laid on his table.

"And if you do?", the woman questioned him hesitantly.

He hit his hand on the table before he looked up at her, shouting, "Then maybe you stay here!"

Estelle stared at him with big eyes before she let out a quiet and shaking breath. The woman slowly nodded at him, clearly disappointed.

"Maybe I won't be here when you get back", she told the man calmly, before quickly rushing out of the room.

Kaz immediately regreted his harsh words. Not only had he hurt Estelle, but himself.

Before the woman reached the door she could hear his voice call out for her, "Estelle!" His foot steps could be heard as he tried to follow after her. "Estelle!"

But Estelle didn't stopped. The black haired woman closed the door behind her and slowly made her way downstairs.

As she walked through the people, who were preoccupied with gambling and drinking themself into a coma, a man staggered towards her, but in her rage Estelle just pushed him aside as she could feel her heart beating in her ears.

She spotted Inej and Jesper at the bar standig next to each other, talking about something.

"He doesn't have a way across the Fold, and we all know it!", was the first thing Estelle spatted out as she stood besides them.

Jesper and Inej gave her a confused look, "I bet he'll figure it out", Jesper tried to assure her, but that frustrated Estelle even more because of what his last words to her were.

Jesper straightened up as he looked at her playful, "Come on, take that bet. Billiger won't play with me anymore, so—"

Estelle gave him a look as the bartender put Jesper's drink onto the counter. The young man smiled at him and nodded his head, "Thank you."

But before he could grab his drink,  Estelle took the glass, "You've got a serious problem."

She looked at him one last time before she downed his drink and hit the empty glass back onto the counter.

She shallowed before she sighed, "And he got one, too. He's obsessed with taking down Pekka Rollins."

"Well of course he's obsessed with the one villain in town who's paid off the standwatch to get away with murder", Inej replied to her as she stood on Jesper's other side.

"Thanks. Another one, Joe", Jepser looked at the Bartender, who approched them again.

Estelle looked at the bottles' that stood in the shelf on her opposite, "No. It's more than that. I've seen the way Kaz looks when he says Pekka's name. Kaz wants revenge."

A man made his way past her and handed Inej two small white cards, the long haired girl took the cards from his hands and looked at them. "Of course she calls for us now", Inej rolled with her eyes as she looked at Estelle and handed her the other card.

"That's just perfect", the black haired girl told her friend before she gave Jesper a annoyed look.

"Off to the menagerie? Want company?", Jesper offered them bored as he followed after them.

"No", the two women answered him in syncrony.

"No, I meant to watch your backs'", he shouted after them but the two just ignored him as they made their way through the Crow Club.

In the back of the club Estelle spotted Kaz, who walked through the tables. Their eyes met for a split second and for a moment, Estelle wondered why he looked so wrecked. But then she quickly looked away and followed Inej out of the door.

As the two friends made their way through the busy street, they could listen to indistinct chattering and laughers that came from the menagerie they were about to enter.

"If you're back for work, get changed", a blond woman, who also worked for Heleen told them as they wanted to enter.

She had a cigarette in her hand as she had the other hand on her hip, posing for the men that walked by. Estelle had a disgusted look on her face as they past her and sighed in annoyance.

They continued their way through the large building as they reached one of Heleen's man, who opened the door for them and lead them into the backroom.

Inej was the first to step in, followed by Estelle who let her gaze wander around. The room was lit by a couple of candels that stood in each corner.

"There you are", the blond women exclaimed before she stood up drawing Estelle's attention towards her.

Heleen leaned against the door frame as she looked at the two, who eyed her curious.

"Go on."

Estelle sighed again as she pushed her coat back and revealed all her knifes, as did Inej besides her. They laid one after the other carefully onto a silver tablet infront of them.

Inej and Estelle pulled another one out of their hair as the man looked at Inej surprised, "That one is knew."

Inej sighed as she laid it down, "Would you like to see how it works?"

Estelle smiled to herself, she had gave one of her's to Inej as a gift from friend to friend because the woman had always admired her's.

Heleen smiled as the two turned towards her, "Come, come. Sit."

She gestured them to follow her into her salon before she walked away. The two looked at each other before they slowly approached the table. The blond woman sat down in her chair and sighed.

"Let us talk business. I have some work for you", she looked at Inej and Estelle who both gave her curious looks.

"We're working for Kaz Brekker now", Estelle told her defiant as she narrowed her eyes.

The woman inhaled deeply, "That's not exactly true. Mr. Brekker still owns five more installments on you."

"Regardless. We're on a job", Inej told the woman through greted teeth.

The woman smirked at them knowingly, "So I heard. A little bird. Some business across the water. Far east, yes?"

"You should ask him that", Inej answer to her shortly.

The smile faded from the woman's face for a moment but then it appeared again. "Sit. I insist."

They both sat down infront of her as they gave her a dark look. "I have a more important question for you two. Do you wanna go with him?"

Estelle looked at her, she knew what would come now, "Because you know you can't leave town without my permission, so— if you want to leave, you must be paid in full."

Estelle shook her head as she looked to the ground, "That's too much. Kaz dosen't have that."

"I'm not concerned with what he has, but I like what you two have. A set of skills I happen to need tonight."

She watched the two who eyed her sceptical, "This business with the blades, and the shadows. You two must be quiet good for Brekker to pay for you."

She wrote something down on a tiny paper as she spoke, "So, find this man staying tonight at this address and kill him for me."

She held the paper out for one of them to take it. They both looked at her unconvinced, "Kill him?", Inej repeated disbelieving.

"Do it and you are free and clear. Our business would be done. But it must be tonight", Heleen explained to them. 

Inej didn't looked happy with the proposition but Estelle didn't thought long. She grabbed the paper from Heleen's hand, "Who is he?"

"Does it matter?", the woman asked her in a low voice. "He's in the same business that brought you to my door. Sells to the white Rose, but won't sell to me. The boys and girls he's bringing in are driving my clients to the competition. So— drive a knife into his heart."

Estelle and Heleen looked at each other for a moment, "Do we have an agreement?"

The black haired woman looked down at the paper before she slowly nodded her head.

As the two stepped out onto the street Inej immediately spoke up, "We can't kill him."

Estelle who had walked forward stopped and looked at her, "Did you not hear her, we would finally be free and besides, he sounds like he deserves it."

"I don't kill. You know that", Inej answered her as she shook her head.

"But I do", Estelle answered her as she handed her the paper. "Look this place isn't so far from here. I'll be waiting there at midnight. If you're not there I'm doing it alone."

She turned around and quickly passes a couple of giggling women, who were walking towards the club.

As she looked over her shoulder she saw that Inej was already gone. Estelle sighed as she pushed her hands into the pockets of her coat.

The rain still pelted down onto the streets and for Estelle it seemed like he would never stop. A man approched her a beer bottle in his hands as he slurred. "Want to have some fun, sweety?"

But Estelle just gave him a death glare as she drew one of her big knifes. The man's eyes immediately widened and he took of as fast as he could.

"That's what I thought", Estelle sighed as she stuck the knife back into the pocket, that was at the level of her thigh.

And with that the black haired woman faded into the shadows of the streets.

Estelle had wandered the streets of Ketterdam for the past twenty minutes and now arrived by the address Heleen gave her.

To Estelle's surprise Inej already awaited her infront of the building.

"I thought you wouldn't come", Estelle told her honestly as she rolled up her sleeves'.

"Well, I'm here", her friend answered her as Estelle already climbed onto the boxes that were stacked on top of each other.

She then grabbed onto the metal pipe and jumped, Inje right behind her. The two climbed up slowly, making sure they wouldn't make any noises.

Estelle peeked through the opened window. No one was in sight so she decided it would be a good opportunity to enter the building.

She pushed herself up and climbed over the frame, Inej quickly following after her.

They quietly tiptoed through the apartment until they spotted a man standig in the kitchen talking to his book, "Nope. Sorry, Anatov, no room for you."

Inej took a step forward and punched him into the stomach as he turned towards them.

The man stummbled back as Inej punched him again, but this time with the kife handel and into the face. He let out a scream and fell against a chair. The man grunted a he collided with the floor.

He didn't moved for a while so Estelle assumed that he was unconcussioned. The two quickly lifted him up and tied the man to the next best chair, before they started searching his apartment for any records of the children he had sold.

After a little while the man groaned again making the two look at him. "Awake? It's about time", Estelle joked as she threw a pile of papers to the ground.

He grunted again as he answered her quietly, "You hit me." Estelle smirked for a split second before her face went back to normal, "No. Actually she did." She pointed at Inej, who still went through the papers.

"We needed some time", Inej answered the man as she still searched hectically.

"To ransack my apartment?"

"To find records of the children you sold to the brothels", Inej answered him blankly.

"I have never sold any indentures", the man told them as he shook his head.

Inej quickly threw the paper's to the ground before she dashed towards yhe man. "You sold people to the White Rose. People like me", Inej spatted as she rolled up her sleeve to show him her tattoo.

"You work for Heleen. No, no, you've got it all wrong. I'm not in her business, I'm a smuggler", he tried to convince them of his Innocence, but Inej interrupted the man. "You steal people. How many Suli indentures have you sold?"

He shook his head several times as he breathed heavily, "I liberate families fleeing the war." Inej eyed him unconvinced as she placed a knife against his throat.

"I smuggle deserters and refugees. Please, please!", he begged her as his eyes wandered to Estelle, who had watched the two for the last couple of seconds.

"Give me names! Who buys them? Do you seperate the boys from the girls?", Inej hissed at him loudly.

The man breathed out shakily, "How old were you two when you were taken? Who are you looking for? You're parents? A siblings? As sister?"

Estelle's eyes fell onto the ground as she immediately thought about her older brother, Adryan.

"Brother", Inej whispered as her voice broke. The man's breath was trembling as she continued, "He was twelve and I was fourteen when four men took us from my parents' wagon, seperated us."

Estelle could remember exactly how she was taken, her mother had sent her and Adryan to the market when  four men captured them. They had seperated them as well. She was fifteen at that time, and since then, the woman never saw her brother again.

Inej leaned forward tears in her eyes, "I came to Ketterdam on a labor merchant ship. I don't know where he went."

"Tell me what I can do to help", he whimpered, afraid that she would actually kill him.

"One had a silver tooth. Went by the name of Gregor or Griggs", the long haired girl told him.

He cought a couple of times, "I don't run in those circles, really. You're likely after longshoremen or stevedores, who take side money from people like Heleen"

"I'd you can't give us a lead, you can at least give me my freedom", Estelle interrupted the two as she grabbed a knife from her belt and approched the man. But in that moment he looked at Inej's throat and gasped, "Sankta Lizabeta."

Estelle looked at the two confused. "You follow the faith, too. Please! Please don't kill me", he cried desperately. "What amount of prayer can forgive murder?"

Estelle shrugged at him as she raised her kife into the air, ready to throw it at him. "I don't know. Ask the Saints for me."

She was already to throw the kife at him before someone suddenly spoke up from behind them.

"Don't!"

Estelle flinched, immediately spinning around as she threw the kife at whoever came through the door.

But instead of hitting that someone, it hit the door frame.

Only know Estelle realized that it was Kaz, who had called for her. Her breath trembled while he eyed the knife with big eyes. After that his eyes slowly wandered back to her.

"He's our way to Alina Starkov", Kaz told them as they all looked at the man.

"Him?", Inej questioned confused, still leaning towards him. "Heleen knew it", Estelle chuckled disbelieving as she shook her head.

"She was using you to sabotage our mission", Kaz explained to them as Inej held her knife still against the man's throat.

"We made a deal with her."

"It isn't worth more than what we get with him alive", he tried to convince the two as he slowly approached them.

Inej and Estelle gave him a angry look, "You choose him over our freedom?" Ine gazed over her shoulder at Kaz.

"You assume it's one or the other."

Inej chuckled to herself as she smiled at the man shaking her head at how lucky he was that Kaz showed up.

But after a moment she took her knife away from his throat and put it back into her pocket.

Kaz stepped forward and looked at the tied up man. "Conductor. I have a job for you."

Estelle looked at Kaz, who continued to stare down at the smuggler. "Get us to the Little Palace."

After that the four stepped onto the street, the man inbetween Inej and Estelle.

Of course he had accepted the job Kaz had proposed to him. If Kaz Brekker wants you for a job, you don't say no.

The man seemed pretty nervous and Estelle had no interest in a escape attempt from his side, so she slowly leaned over to him, "One wrong move and I'll kill you."

The man gave her a fearful look before he slowly nodded his head and shallowed hardly.

The black haired woman turned to Kaz, who had started to walk down the street in scilence.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she watched him. "Where are you going?", she shouted after the young thieve, which made him stop in his trail.

But Kaz didn't turned around to her as he answered, "I got something else to do first."

He then continued his way down the street and Estelle turned back to Inej and the smuggler, a thousand of worries clouding her mind.

What if she just lost her only chance of freedom because of Kaz Brekker.

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !
𝗂 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗅𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒
𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝗌 𝗆𝗎𝖼𝗁
𝖺𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗈𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾. 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄
𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝗒 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄!!!