Kaz Brekker imagines

The Archer and the Prey

I've been the archer, I've been the prey

Who could ever leave me, Darling?

But who could stay?

All the king's horses, all the king's men

Couldn't put me together again

'Cause all of my enemies started off friends

Help me hold onto you..

~

I've been the archer, but I've also been the prey. Y/N has always been one of the other. She's fallen prey to many things in her life. Debt, sickness, grief and loss. She's also been the archer to so many, people used to cower at her name. Feeling invincible and powerful were two things she got used to, two things she took for granted. She never believed when people say you don't fully appreciate people or things until you lose them. And one thing she knows now is that she should've taken their warning.

It's crazy how overnight your whole world can flip upside down. How could she have known that she'd lose everything she's worked so hard for in one night?

Being a mercher's daughter was never easy. Y/N hated the fact that she was raised only to be given to some rich man as a gift. She hated the fact that she didn't have any say in her life. So she changed the odds. Running away from home was the best and scariest idea she's ever had, but she didn't regret it. Just as she never regretted stumbling into the Crow Club, meeting Jesper and Inej, and becoming a crow. She loved her job, and with risk at every turn and corner, she knew this was the life she ran away for. The adventure is what she lived for.

She had trusted Kaz with her whole being. He had never done anything to make her think otherwise, so why would she? But when she thought about it, she should've seen it coming. He was Kaz Brekker. Bastard of the Barrel. What more could you expect from a man called Dirtyhands?

"I don't understand... I never told you- How? Kaz, you can't do this!" Y/N struggled in the grips of her father's guards.

He ratted her out. She couldn't understand how he found out about her parents, but he did. Of course he did.

"Kaz, please! Don't let him take me!" Y/N sobbed before her father cut her off. "That was our deal. And the deal is the deal, as you've learned." Y/N steeled herself the best she could as her father spoke. She looked to her friends for help and was only met with cold hard stares.

She knew that keeping a secret like that for so long it would get out eventually, but she thought they'd be understanding. They all had a past they were running from, how could they not understand?

Watching them walk away with their kurge in hand, leaving her under the control of her father, shattered her heart.

~

All of my enemies started out as friends. That's how she'd end her story for her children. Years had passed and that memory still haunted her, but she didn't regret it for one second. Her father married her off to a rich man, but she somehow ended up lucky. He was a kind young man who took the time to get to know her. Even though it was an arranged marriage she ended up falling in love. Not with who she expected, but she found love anyway. And he gave her two beautiful children who she loved with her whole heart.

She was grateful for what life had put her through, for without it she might've not had the life she had now. Yet she still missed her old life. She wondered how things would've played out if she wasn't sold out. She asked what friendships she would've had if she stayed in the Dregs.

"Please! Don't leave me!" With tears streaming down her cheeks Y/N looked back at her father. "This is all your fault. Because of you, I've lost the only friends I've ever had. I hope you're happy." Anger flared up in her as her father laughed, "They aren't your people. They were never your's to lose."

She knew she didn't fit in, she wasn't meant for that scene and they weren't her's to lose.

They were never her's.