How Villains Are Made - Kaz Brekker

Chapter Five

Her sister's letter was pathetic, and that was all that Maud could understand of what was happening.

Perhaps she was just being mean, because after all that's her sister and sisters are mean to one another sometimes, but she couldn't seem to care about the details of the wedding that her sister was preparing. She didn't care that she would marry in ivory instead of white, because it was modern and she wanted to look like a rebel somewhat (something that her sister never was) and she didn't care that instead of a veil, she would wear flowers on her hair and she most certainly didn't care that Angelica wanted her to purple to the ceremony – and not any purple, no, she wanted hyacinth-purple, almost lavender-purple, but not quite; which Maud didn't even know was actually possible to get in fabric. Whatever it was that was happening, Maud could only sigh away her frustrations and roll her eyes.

"You seem upset," Jesper said as he walked into the room. "Have I annoyed you enough in a single night?"

"No. My sister did," she answered. "Do you know the difference between hyacinth-purple and lavender-purple?" she sighed. "Nobody does."

"I do," Jesper insisted. She looked up, surprised by his answer. "They are not colours that I like wearing, but I can see the difference. Anybody with eyes can see the difference."

"I can't," she answered. "Come with me when I go buy a dress? I'll be maid-of-honour on my sister's wedding."

"That sounds nice," Jesper cooed.

"It's not. Her boyfriend is terribly unagreeable," she answered. "I refuse to believe they are actually in love. He's so old and so... boring! Like, he only talks about his plantation and how much money he has and he's not even that smart. My sister is quite smart, I don't understand how she can like someone as intellectually unstimulating as that horrid man."

Jesper blinked a few times, trying to gather all those words through her accent, that seemed stronger now that she was upset. He ended up smiling, baffled, and his laugh almost sounded like a lot of air being scoffed.

"You feel very passionately against this man," he said. "Did he do something?"

"Yes, he's guilty of the terrible crime of being mediocre," she answered.

Jesper actually laughed this time around, shaking his head side to side in amusement.

"You're funny!" he exclaimed. "You almost made me forget what I came here to say, though. Inej's back. She's eating downstairs and I came to call you to meet her."

"Oh," she said, nodding. She put on her shoes quickly. "Let's go, then. I want to meet her."

She wanted to meet the girl that made Kaz look up from his work, even if just for a second, even if just for a heartbeat. She wanted to meet the girl that had snatched the thief's heart seemingly so easy.

And meet her Maud did.

And understand Kaz's heart, Maud did.

Inej was stunningly beautiful as she sat on the chair inside the kitchen, picking a loaf of bread and putting small pieces in her mouth with a blank bored face. Still, there was something about the way that she was sitting that made Maud think of how much Inej reminded her of Oranje, her family's cat. It was the way that Inej's shoulder moved, like a cat preparing for a jump and the way her spine was slightly forward as she almost hoarded the food in her lap. And Ghezen, Inej deserved Maud to say that she was beautiful once more with her dark brown skin and beautiful brown eyes, long hair on a tight braid in the back of her head and going down her back.

"'Nej!" Jesper said as he walked almost in front of Maud. "This is Maddie!"

"Maud," she corrected in a whisper, but they didn't seem to hear her. She smiled anyways. "Everybody calls me Maddie. You can call me that as well. Hi."