The veiled saint turned to kaz again, "who shall ask next, Mr. Brekker?"
Nina immediately came to the front of the crowd, "I will"
"Very well then" the holy woman asked, "what is your question, Miss. Zenik?"
Everyone saw the determination in Nina's stare as she unwaveringly asked, "what happened to make him into this?"
It was a question that Nina knew everyone wanted answers to, and she would happily oblige them; it was either this or wasting her question asking when he would propose to inej, and at the moment this took center stage.
"Ask and you shall receive" the saint hummed, once again reacing into the boy's mind.
This time the memory showed no laughing children or kind man. This vision showed a field strewn about with blood and gore, a weeping Jordie yelling out from the house for help. As the memory faded out they could all see the boy trying his best to push a small Kaz out of the way, not wanting the child to see what remained of their father.
The next vision was only a few seconds long. It showed both boys dressed in black, standing over their father's grave. They all heard Jordie promise to keep Kaz safe, and to always be at his side. They all knew that it was a lie.
Then it showed the children's arriving at Ketterdam harbors. Kaz's hand tucked safely into his brother's for fear of getting lost, as they marveled at the sights of the lid. Getting hot chocolate and talking to a small boy who had a booth with mechanical wind up dogs.
The final memory showed both boys cuddled together. Jordie's coat over Kaz's shoulders as they tried to fight off the Plauge of firepox. It showed the elder child looking up at the stars and apologizing for not keeping his promise as the light drained from his eyes. And finally it showed a small kaz crawling over to his now dead brother's body and laying his head on it's cold chest. Knowing that his only remaining families' heartbeat would never be found again.
They all came back to conciousness when the saint announced a break. Everyone steered clear of kaz, who did not move from his place until the break was over. Inej was always by his side, seemingly intending to comfort or just so he knew he wasn't alone.
Everyone digested the news with a bit of numbness. It never struck them that their leader had been through anything of this caliber, no one had ever imagined kaz's childhood to be a good one and that just made it worse. He was just like everyone else. And no one lives in the barrel if they have a choice.
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