The Red Ribbon {Kaz Brekker X Reader}

Little Reminders

~ Y/N pov ~

Sometimes when I am in a deep sleep, I see him. Standing there in the corner of my eye. But wherever I turn, he still remains in my peripheral. He calls out to me, challenging me to race up the stairs of Jakob Hertzoon's gorgeous house. I can't make out his face anymore, faded with time. But I know who he is. No matter what I do, I can't answer to his calls. Something is always blocking me from him.

He is calling out my name. Again.

And again.

And again.

How does he know my real name?

I startle out of my sleep and fix my gaze onto the figure standing in front of me. After my vision adjusts, I see that it is Inej saying my name to wake me up. I glance out of my window. The sun is just starting to rise over the surface of the harbor. I grumble and turn over, covering my face with my pillow. It is too early for fighting practice. Inej taps my shoulder lightly.

"What?" I mumble into my pillow.

"Get up, I want to show you something." She replies.

I roll back over to face Inej. Her hair is already braided flawlessly, her knives on standby. She looks excited and has a glint in her eye that I remember seeing on the night of the DeKappel heist. She wants to show me a secret.

I get up from my warm covers and she rushes me over to my dresser. By this point, it is a routine. After a few months of hanging with the Crows and doing small, low-stake heists with them, we have grown inseparable. Inej brushes my hair, braids it while humming that now familiar Suli tune, I get dressed and grab my knife, then we head out to do whatever we want. Usually, we are never up this early, though.

As I start to head for my bedroom door, Inej grabs my arm and gestures to my window instead. Without speaking a word, I know what she means to say: we cannot risk waking up Kaz right now, if he is even asleep. Whatever Inej wants to show me, she wants it to be between us. Inej heads out first, and I follow. Down three stories, we both silently scale down the Slat. Then, Inej quickly moves along, and I follow suit.

We head down East Stave, all the way down to Fifth Harbor. Though the Barrel is awake at all hours, day and night, there are only few shipworkers here at early morning, getting ready for another day of unloading shipments from all over the world. Inej leads me to a small dock with a small boat attached, bobbing in the water.

Before I can even question anything, she steps into the boat and extends her hand out to me. I take it and step into the boat myself. Then, Inej starts to sail. She opens the miniature sail, ties and unties random ropes that all tangle in my mind. I don't know how she can tell them apart. A slight breeze pushes us away from the dock and into the harbor. Inej is glowing. The sun is rising higher still over the water, and she closes her eyes to bask in its warmth.

I take a moment to enjoy this peaceful moment myself. So many places I could have been in Ketterdam had my life not taken a bad turn seven years ago. But right now, I am glad that fate has steered me in this direction, taking in the morning on a boat with one of my best friends.

"Where did you learn to sail?" I ask.

"I taught myself. On days where I have spare time on my hands, I hang out around the harbor and watch the workers. It's fascinating. One day, I am going to have a ship of my own, taking down the slavers that plague the waters." She says defiantly. I can see the glimmer in her eyes appear again, and I understand what she feels. Determination to be something greater. To defeat the past and use it as leverage to succeed.