of snakes & crows || kaz brekker

─ 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

[00|| prologue]
the small science
of    disappearing

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

━━━━ IT WAS TERRIFYING.

That was the only way that she could describe it. The fear was a man with many hands, reaching out across the tiny, cramped area her and three others were crammed in, with a fist around every throat. She felt like it would never let her breathe properly, like it would squeeze the life out of her before she ever got to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin again.

It was loud too.

Not just because of the screeching of the tires on the tracks, or the chugging of the wheels, and the spitting of the fire eating at the coal— no. It was the hearts around her that cried the loudest. They were erratic drums, pounding so fast and hard it was difficult hearing anything else above them. Everyone was rightfully terrified, doubtful of the outcome of their foolish gamble, but most of all, they were hopeful.

Hope made a fearful heart beat differently. A heart brimming with only fear had no rhythm, only terror and anger fused together like tendrils of smoke, seeping into a heart and causing it to slam in its cavity relentlessly. Fear was a noxious fume to the soul. A hopeful heart had a purpose, a will, a beat that overpowered that fear, if only by a small amount.

The people around her had hope, they had trust in the man called the Conductor, who none of them knew by face or actual name, only voice, and his very loud way of crossing the slash of darkness that split Ravka in half.

Eadaz Viottova wished she could say the same.

Instead, her own heart was pounding like a prisoner in her chest, rattling her rib cage, and threatening to break free at any moment. Her lungs couldn't get enough of the air around her, crumpling like parchment and filling up again every three seconds. She wanted to blame the hood that obscured her vision and made her feel like a hostage, or perhaps the missing reassurance her scarlet kefta used to provide, but she knew it was all because of her mind. The one that kept repeating the events of the day before in her head, the one that urged her to turn back, for the consequences of fleeing were so much worse than staying.

But Ead knew she couldn't return. He'd figure out she hadn't fallen, that the claims she'd been lost in the fold were lies almost as skillfully crafted as the ones he'd fed to her. He'd be angry beyond belief— and his anger was one unmatched. He'd claim that she was his right hand, his trusted, the only person capable of taming his wild heart. And when she told him she knew the truth, he'd brand her a traitor to all of Ravka— to her family, too.

And they'd have no reason not to believe him.

A voice suddenly broke through the madness, calm and collected. "Two minutes out. Keep passing the goat along, please."

An arm pressed against Ead's, making her flinch, her hands instinctively joining in a familiar position. When she realized it is only the small girl beside her handing over the goat tasked with calming them, she visibly deflated, taking the trembling creature into her arms. It was at that moment she was thankful for the hoods they'd all been forced to wear, or she might've exposed her secret to a bunch of strangers. She wanted to tear her own off, to make sure no one had really seen, but she couldn't risk being booted, which the Conductor promised would happen to anyone who tried to figure out his method of crossing.

As Eadaz settled the goat in her arms, it seemed for a moment it had powers quite like her own, as she felt her pulse begin to slow as soon as it nuzzled into her side seeking comfort. She threaded her fingers through it's fur, trying to focus her ears on it's tiny bleats, and not the heartbeats or the teeth aching screeches of wheels on metal.

Then metal clanged above the transport they were in, which was all she was able to call it, as she knew nothing of it. She did not know what they were actually riding in through the Fold, or if it was sturdy enough to withstand any blows from the enormous, terrifying creatures inhabiting the darkness if they decided to attack at any moment. She'd never seen a volcra up close, but she'd seen drawings, and that was enough for her. She hoped it kept. She prayed for it.

Another clang not a minute later, muffled gasps, and faltering whimpers, then a tense silence.

The only thing she could hear now was the beating of their hearts, their labored breathing, and the soft bleats of the goat. No bloodthirsty screeches, or howls, or teeth aching claws against metal. The box they were in seemed to be slowing.

"Well, ladies and gents. It's official." The voice of the Conductor announced. "You have all crossed the fold and are alive to tell the tale."

Eadaz Viottova almost cried in relief. She was finally free.

━━━━𖠁𐂃𖠁━━━━

word count; 980

times Ead has held a therapeutic goat: 1

notes;

hello! I know this is a bit of
a weak start and I wanted her
to cross the fold a different way
but this makes things interesting
later so... yeah!
i usually don't do such short
prologues, but really, unless you
have jesper in the same cart as
you, the trip across the fold should
be quite uneventful with that little
shit of a man the conductor || also
i know milo is the only goat ever,
but for the sake of the story let's
just pretend this goat is his father

also switched up my layout for
this fic & love it so much more!!
hope y'all like it too

much love,

♥ 𝖘𝖆𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖓 ♥