Heartrender (KAZ BREKKER) [1]

Twelve

Ciardia
-

"You're sure it was her?" Kaz asked Jesper as the five of them all huddled together. Kaz and Ciardia had caught up with the rest of the group inside the performers trailer.

Ciardia was half sitting on a chest that was filled to the brim of props, and half sitting on Inej as they all whispered together.

"I'm telling you, she's part Shu." Jesper said looking at the three of us. Ciardia straightened up at this, another one like her. Someone that understood what it was like to be stuck with the appearance of the enemy.

Arken looked intrigued, his head tilting slightly. "When excatly did you see her?" Kaz pressed on.

"Just after midday."

"Whats in this room?" Inej interrupted, pointing to the hidden room that Kaz and Ciardia had discovered earlier.

"Fitting room" Ciardia responded before Kaz took over.

"Its where she'll go change for dinner." Kaz watched as Inej wrote something down on the map.

"And that's where we'll grab her." Arken announced to the rest.

"Out of the way, clean line of sight, easily controlled space." Jesper began to list. "I like it"

"I'd like it too if it had a door." Kaz said faltering Jesper's hopes.

"It doesn't have a door?" Inej looked up, looking from Ciardia and Kaz for answers.

"Not one that we can use. Some sort of Grisha lock."  Kaz began to explain.

"It took a Materialnik to open it, which means I most likely will not be able to open it either." Ciardia explained, looking at Inej and then to Jesper.

She tried to advoid Arken's glaze, he had given her an odd vibe, one she didn't trust.

"Is there no way to pick the lock?" Ask Jesper his hopes of an easy job dwindling as they talked.

"Actually, there is. I can get through the door." Arken spoke up, his eyes landing on Ciardia. She shifted on comfortably, Kaz must have noticed as he gave the man a deathly glare.

"How?" Kaz said his glare not changing.

"Ths locking mechanisms are Fabrikator-designed. Iron cogs that slide into place without a latch. But for one of us to open it, we'll need a loadstone."  Arken explained, " With a minimum 2,000 gauss external strength. Hard to find."

"It's not like we're just walking around with one of those in our pockets. Now are we? " Jesper said plainly.

Arken grabbed his bag placing it on his lap. He opened it, the four of them all watching as he dogged through the bag.  He pulled out a weird shape rock and looked to Jesper.

"You don't want to keep it in your pocket for too long. " He gave a weird chuckle, "not if you're intending to have children someday." Arken held out the rock to Jesper but Jesper moved away from it with a look that made Ciardia let out a laugh.

"All right. Arken grabs the target."  Kaz decided, his eyes not moving from the rock.

"You want the new guy to grab the million-kurge package?" Inej asked, leaning in closer.

"Yeah, Kaz. Is that really the best idea?" Ciardia agreed looking at him oddly.

"The new guy knows his way around Grisha locks." He nodded to the two, Inej and Ciardia gave eachother a look, one they often shared when Kaz made descions like this. "Our futures depend on this. The rest of us will be setting up a Lynx flush."

"We are?" Inej asked. Jesper smiled and shrugged his shoulder. Ciardia could only smirk, oh how fun this would be.

"Whats a Lynx flush?" Arken asked very confused.

"Lynx are pack hunters. Very smart. They'll clear a path for the prey." Inej explained.

"So I grab the Summoner and you clear the path?" Arken nodded along.

"Thats right. We do it before dinner." Kaz said taking the castle blue prints and rolling them up. "You grab. Inej and I clear, and Jesper and Ciardia, make sure there's a fast way out."

Jesper and Ciardia smiled at eachother. They loved it when they were paired together. It was the most fun.

-

Jesper and Ciardia ran into the the stables. Horse were lined up in their individual stable. The memories of this stable. The two walked down, but something caught her eye.

"What?" Jesper asked as he looked back to see her stopped.

"This is... This is my horse. He's still here." Ciardia smiled, walking slowly up to him. "Hi, Sunny."

Jesper let out a snort. "You had the opportunity to own a horse and you named it Sunny?"

"I was five." She rolled her eyes, before looking back to the now older horse. She held out her hand to pet him, the horse rested it's head in her hand.

"That's rare." Both Jesper and Ciardia turned quickly to the doors of the stable. A man holding saddles stood looking at the two in awe. "Sunny, here hates everyone that go's up to him. I heard he was only ever good to the genrals daughter."

"Oh..." Ciardia froze slightly before straightening out again. "Well he seems friendly."

"Anyways. Can I help you two?"

"Ah, yes! You are here. I..." Jesper began.

"The ambassador has requested his horses." Ciardia finished for him.

"What? Now?" The stable hand questioned.

"Apparently so." Jesper smiled awkwardly.

"You're not going to stay for the queen?" The stable hand asked placing the saddle on the door of the stable.

"Have you met the queen? I mean, like actually had a conversation with her?" Jespsr asked him, Ciardia looked back and fourth between the two of them awkwardly.

"Can't say that I have, no." The stable hand let out a laugh.

"Well, if you had, you'd understand why the ambassador wants his horses." Jesper explained digging the two deeper in a lie.

"Which one, sir?"

"Uh, the pair of Percherons." Ciardia said hoping the stable hand would buy their fib.

"I mean which ambassador?"

"Oh." Jesper and Ciardia gave a shared akward laugh. "Uh, of course, um, Novyi Zem."

"Novyi Zem? Do you like it there?" Ciardia had fully been removed from the conversation now. She took this as an opportunity to back away from them and possibly get the horses herself. When she had looked back at the two, they were gone.

"Typical." She muttered, going back to her search for horses.

"You're not supposed to be down here." The voice, rang out and caught her off guard. She was going to kill Jesper.

"I'm sorry. I'm just grabbing my masters horses for-" She froze when she turned around to face whoever had confronted her.

"I see you found your way home, Ciardia." General Kirigan stood with a smile on his face, his hands folding nicely behind his back as his right side leaned up against the wall. He looked the same as how she had left him. His hair neatly slicked back. His black general attire. At that moment she didn't know whether to run or to hug him.

"Dad-"

-
Word count: 1167

Oh my what a reveal.