Queen of the Harbor

The Harbor Queen

Captain.

A word Inej Ghafa had only ever heard from the mouths of those who took her from her home. A word whispered with reverence and hatred, with trust and disdain. A word she made her own.

Never again would captain strike fear into her heart, only that of the slavers who would spend the rest of their lives running from her and her crew.

To take a child from their home, and sell it off to the worst of humanity, that is the type of practice to thrive under Kerch law, a law which rewarded wealth and privilege, but never decency or good. Justice under the gavel would not be brought to the slave dealers of Kerch, so Inej had taken it upon herself to be that gavel. The law was not a matter she concerned herself with, but a certain bastard had taken it's perversions as his own.

That bastard of the barrel, Kaz Brekker, was why she was standing on the docks of Fifth Harbor, her great ship moored behind her. Though the sails were strapped shut against the sturdy wooden beams that held them out, the sleek ship maintained an air of superiority. The hull was a seal-like black with barely visible rivets and streaks between the boards that comprised it. Cannons were racked along the sides, metal glinting in the moonlight. Before her, opposite the ship, were the grimy flagstones of Ketterdam's streets. Worn down by countless boots and wheels, the stones were barely rested above the water that pooled between them. Around Inej, fog billowed and swirled against the currents of air. Were she one of the Grisha Tidemakers that were so often indentured within Ketterdam, she could have cleared it from her path, but alas she had nothing but her knives on her tonight. Her knives and a destination- the Crow Club.

Before Inej could forge her own path through the fog, a familiar knocking came across the flagstones towards her, slowly at first, then faster as it neared. As the thick air parted, the figure and his cane responsible for the knocking was revealed. Kaz Brekker was dressed as he usually did, with his dark coat over a stylish suit. In his hand, he gripped his infamous crow cane, the head of which resided as the last clear memory of many within the city. Though Inej had known him to change hats often, he now wore the same one she had seen him in last. Inej herself had picked it out, it amused her at the time to imagine Kaz wearing a hat with a black velvet ribbon, yet here he was in it as though it had been his own favorite.

Kaz gave a start as Inej came into his view. For a moment, she glimpsed a hint of a smile, and a hint of a worry in his eyes, as if an anxiety he had been avoiding suddenly became real, but those were quickly replaced with his usual blank demeanor, a poker face he used for business deals. Ever since he had lead a coup of sorts against Per Haskell for the Crow Club, he had been using that face more and more, though Inej could only assume such. Then, he spoke.

"Inej-"

"It's Captain Ghafa now, actually." Even after months, she could not resist a good hearted jab at the most ruthless man in Ketterdam. Though the effect it had on Kaz surprised her.

"Ah, Captain Ghafa. I can't say I expected to see you tonight"

"Are you expecting me to believe you stroll Fifth Harbor for the fresh air?"

Kaz fiddled for a moment with his hands, and that's when Inej noticed the change in his outfit beyond the hat. All the time she had known him, Kaz had worn leather gloves. While to many it served as another part of his terrifying image, to her it reminded her that skin contact sickened him deeply, though he had never shared why. But tonight, his gloves were off, and rather held between his hands, a sight Inej had only seen before in his washroom and before their heist at the Ice Court in the far reaches of Fjerda. After an uncharacteristic pause, Kaz spoke again.

"I've missed you Captain Ghafa. Before you left, you said something to me. You said that you'd have me without my armor, or not at all, do you remember this?"

"I remember it like yesterday, Kaz."

"It's Dirtyhands actually."

"Touché. I suppose we could both drop the formalities, there's no way I'm calling you by the same name as the alleyrats."

"I'm glad you remember that, because it's been all I've had on my mind for... since you left. I've been trying Inej. I've begun to take off my gloves in public, and I've begun to... to touch others again. It's been so long, and difficult, but even if for a moment I've glimpsed freedom. I've given Jesper a hug, and Wylan a handshake with no gloves on." It was then that Dirtyhands, The Bastard of the Barrel, and Kaz Brekker slipped away, leaving a scared child behind, a Kaz Rietveld that for so long had hidden behind that distance he kept.

"Inej, I know that these are things everyone else can do, but for the first time in years I've felt... safe. I couldn't ever tell him without it going to his head, but when I hugged Jesper I felt as though I never lost Jor- I felt like there were people to really protect me again. I don't want to say that it's all been for you, it's been as much for me as it was to give you someone you needed. But you have given me a reason Inej, a reason to get better."

"Kaz... I'm. I'm glad. You're right, you've come so far since I left."

"And you were right. I don't stroll Fifth Harbor to smell the leftovers of the day's catch. I've come here every night you've been gone. I suppose I hoped you'd be there, even though I knew I would have been told of your ship coming into port before you docked. But when you weren't there, I took some time to talk to the sea. I wanted to reconnect with... there's someone I lost in the Harbor, and I've spilled my guts to him night after night on this dock. " Inej took a long pause, and they both looked into each other's eyes while they waited for something to say. Inej broke the silence.

"I've always wondered who made Dirtyhands, whether it was Kaz Brekker or someone he lost."

"Dirtyhands was always in the streets of Ketterdam, he just took some time to find me."

So this is how the infamous Kaz Brekker viewed himself. He was not the most dangerous man in Ketterdam as many believed, but a boy who was preyed upon by the city. Those rotten, grimy fingertips that reached into the pockets of anyone who hadn't been wise enough to stay home had grasped him the same as anyone else.

"I've missed you Kaz. At night, when the ship swayed in the waves, I've wondered what you were doing."

"And I've missed you Inej. When I was up late managing the Crow Club, my mind and eyes often wandered to that windowsill."

"Do the crows still come for food?"

"They do, and I make sure they still get it. If you have the time, they'll likely be there to say hello."

"For my crows I have all the time in the world." Inej smiled. She truly had missed Kaz, more than either of them knew. For all his drama, he managed to find ways to show care many never knew.

"Will the ship be alright without you to guard it?"

"Of course, the finest crew on the seas, second to Sturmhond at least, should be able to keep its ship together."

Then, together they walked. Glove in ungloved hand, a sight neither of them had ever believed they'd see, they made their way to the Crow Club. The cobblestones told the story of a thousand walks, and though theirs would be unnoticeable within the cracks, they'd remember it for the rest of their days.

Fin.