'It is very difficult to make ones way in this city without being wicked at one time or another, when the cities way is so wicked to begin with.'
Or in which: Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason - but his little sister was the closest thing to it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Violet had never been a fan of being anywhere near the harbour since her brother died.
The fog rolling in through the icy air to the point it became hard to see more than five feet in front of your face. About a dozen or more boats lined up at the docks and every person Violet passed by were adorned with vibrant colours and fabrics with varying masks covering their faces. Tourists and locals had dressed up as characters from the Komedie Brute troupe, the popular show performed mostly in the pleasure district.
Nina had once snuck her out of an evening to watch it.
Violet walked slowly towards the docks, fingers fidgeting with the end of her long black cloak at her front, not in any hurry to get there. First of all, the closer she got, the more people she had to duck between to search for her brother and they all looked more like something from a nightmare with the thick fog darkening their figures. Secondly, just the sound of the lapping waves at the shore had her mind drifting.
She managed to catch sight of a cane poking out beneath a deep orange cloak and picked up the pace, weaving in and out of chatting groups ready to cross the waters for the Hellshow.
Something about the way he carried himself was easy to detect, and she could probably do it blind if she had to. Even in the costume of the Madman with the mask with a crooked, hooked beak, there was something about the way he stood with subtle confidence and a stoic resolution that seemed strangely familiar.
The shorter woman next to him had a red gown peaking out beneath her blue silk cloak and veil, and a smile formed on her face as she saw her standing with her arms crossed.
As she got closer to them, the stones beneath her shoes crunched, making Nina turn.
She held a hand out towards the girl theatrically with a grin. "Mother, father, pay the rent!"
Violet skipped towards her, taking her hand and leaning back with a hand over her heart. "I can't, my dear, the moneys spent!"
Both girls shared grins and giggled to themselves.
"Are you two done?" Kaz asked dryly, glancing out across the waters.
"Do you have to suck the fun out of everything?" Violet asked up at him.
An arm pulled the girl close by the shoulder as Nina leant in to say (as though it were a secret), "of course he does, the word fun isn't in his vocabulary."
"The word quiet doesn't seem to be in yours." He said dryly back.
"Ignore him," Violet told her, eyeing his orange cape in subtle amusement. "He's just moody because I got first choice of our costumes."
The girls could practically sense her brother rolling his eyes into the back of his skull.
Nina and Violet grinned to themselves in their own amusement at the boys dismay before Muzzen finally trudged over to them and the small sailboat nearby.
