Shedding The Armour | A Kanej Fanfiction

chapter two - meja

Inej sat on the sofa, leaning into her mother's warmth and comfort. She faced her dad and smiled in elation: it had been a week since her parents had arrived, since Kaz had found them. Every waking moment had been spent with them - she didn't want to be separated from them ever again, a thing made difficult by the fact she was going to leave Ketterdam in a few weeks to hunt down the slavers. Still, before then, she was trying to spend as much time with them to make up for lost time, if it could ever be made up.

Today, she had resolved that she would recount all the horrific things she had done over the two years to her parents. It somewhat terrified her but they would understand that it was necessary for her survival, to harm, to kill others. Besides, they had ended up saving the general populace by preventing Van Eck, Fjerda and the Shu from obtaining the formula for jurda parem, else there'd have been chaos.

She took a shuddering breath and spoke, "Mother, Father, I want to tell you what has happened whilst i've been distanced from you both." Both her parents had been very accepting of her and given her the space and time she needed to gain the strength to be able to relive what had happened in the short space of time. Sensing her hesitation, her mother just rubbed her arm in reassurance. Her father simply smiled, he'd always been like that. He got up and squeezed up next to her on the lavish sofa. Turning to face her he said, "Meja, you know that we are proud of you no matter what. When we found that you were gone and captured, we feared ki tum hamesha ke liye chali gayi thi, that you were gone from us forever. So whatever has happened, I thank the gods that they brought us back to you, my sweet zheji."

Inej hugged her father and mother as tightly as she could, obtaining spirit and courage to continue, through the small gesture. She began to speak at the beginning: how the slavers sold her to a pleasure house - the Menagerie. She described of the heist Van Eck had requested them to carry out, how they freed Matthais from prison, the horrific dangers they encountered on the way to the Ice Court, what happened there. "Once we were upon the Ferolind, coming home, I poured my heart out to Nina and we discussed our hopes and plans for the future. I told her that I'm determined to lead my own crew and hunt down slavers, to avenge the injustice that thousands of girls are experiencing each day. To ensure that no more girls have to go through what I did. However, when we reached Ketterdam, we discovered that this heist, to retrieve Bo Yul-Bayur, was all a sham. It was never approved by the Merchant Council, it was all fro Van Eck's gain. He double crossed us." Inej let out a humourless laugh. "I was then kidnapped by his men and kept in a prison cell." She paused and then continued. "He threatened to shatter my legs so they'd never fully heal again. I wasn't sure if Kaz would come for me, but he did." Inej whispered these last sentences so quietly, they were barely audible.

At that point, her mother rang for some rose-water chai, sensing her emotions from reliving that experience spiralling out of control. She claimed that it would help her to feel calmer upon drinking. It was brought to them, perfectly steeped, with the flawless blend of spices. They sat in silence, finishing the whole pot of tea in a matter of minutes. To her surprise, it did make her feel better and more confident.

She carried on. "There was this Suli man, he didn't help me even when i requested him to aid me and left me at the mercy of Van Eck. So, i said to him, 'kadema mehim'. He looked horrified but still didnt assist." She narrated how she was traded for Alys, Van Eck's wife who was carrying his second child; how they ruined Van Eck but in the process she met a formidable and dangerous opponent; the story of Kuwei Yul-Bo; Kuwei's auction. And then how things that weren't planned happened. Her voice broke at this point. She wasnt able to stop the stream of silent tears that trickled down her cheek. Matthais, the poor guy, was shot. And Nina's absolute devastation afterwards had been heartbreaking to watch. Matthias was dear to her but she wasn't as close to him as Nina was. Gods knew what Inej would do if Kaz died.

Both her parents hugged her at the same time, and the feeling of someone bringing her close comforted her so much, that for the first time, since joining the Dregs, she let her guard down. After coming clean, this sense of contentment and joy overwhelmed her senses. She was finally home with her family and friends.