"Aha! I won again!" I let the cards fall out of my hands and I raise them in the air.
Jesper scoffs and looks at me with confusion.
"How did you do that? Again?"
I smile and laugh slightly.
Playing cards with Jesper is like killing a man with a knife.
Easy. One slit on the throat and there too easy to beat.
Jesper has always been a cheater once and while. But I always notice and still win.
Suddenly, I sense her before I hear her.
"Hello my darling Inej" I say with the brightest smile.
I can feel her behind me, she sneaks out of the shadows and smiles.
Jesper jumps slightly as his eyes go wide.
"Saints, you'd think I'd be used to that by now" he laughs.
He never will be though. It happens when you least expect it.
Which I'm sure is her plan always.
"I'm sure you've missed me?" She asks it as a rhetorical question.
"Well who wouldn't?" I ask back.
Jesper rolls his eyes. "I wouldn't"
Inej and I gasp.
I lean over and smack him in the head.
He lets out an agitated "Ow! Mother of saints. You hit so hard"
Inej and I laugh in sync as Jesper rubs the back of his head.
He gets up to leave and picks up his cards.
We both watch his struggle to pick up every card.
Once he gives up he starts to walk away.
Suddenly, he turns around. "I will shoot you one day with both of my guns!" He threatens.
I raise my eyebrows at him before he rolls his eyes again and walks out.
I stiff a giggle before Inej takes the seat Jesper was originally sitting at.
I sigh and look out towards the sea.
We had been on this damn boat for too long.
"Care to climb to the roof of the boat with me?" Inej asked gently as she stood up.
I look at her and smile. A small piece of her hair falls into her face. Her hair was always in a tight coil. So, to see even the smallest bit of hair fall in her face is something so magical.
"I'd love too" I reply, as I follow her around the side of a boat and up a ladder.
I grabbed onto a small lever to l so pull myself up onto a small flat roof top.
Inej had already been sitting there. I scoff.
"Of course you're already here." I say, taking a seat next to her.
She smiles at me as she takes out one of her knives and twirls it in her hands.
We both look out at the sunset. "It's such a beautiful sight" I say.
She laughs. "What, me?"
I smile as I push her slightly.
"Well I guess you're not wrong about that" I reply.
"You know, I always believed the Saints brought you to me." Inej whispers quietly, almost like she didn't want me to hear.
Before I could speak she did. "When I lost my brother, I thought that maybe I wouldn't find someone that made me as happy as he did. He was the best brother ever. It killed me to be separated from him" she explained.
I looked down at her hands. She twirled her knife more harshly.
I gently took it out of her hands and placed it down.
"But when I met you..I hated you. I hated that Kaz decided to hire someone who was just as good as me. But when I found out you were a durast I thought maybe you were different. I was right" she made eye contact with me.
When she didn't continue I spoke up smiling sarcastically.
"Well when Kaz found out I was a durast, he thought that I was just like Jesper. But oh boy, who can be just like Jesper" I laugh.
Inej laughs slightly.
"I'm sorry about you're brother Inej."
Her smile turned into a frown, slowly.
"One day I'll find him. I'll just keep waiting until the Saints take me to him"
I smiled as I took her hand in mine.
"And I hope I can be by you're side to help"
She nodded as I rubbed my thumb against her palm.
"Let the Saints decide"
