Let my fires protect you || Kaz Brekker X Reader

3. Growth

"Why am I with you? The phosphorous should be easy to lay down" I ask him, "Because you're good with people, as seen in the butchers yesterday" Oh, that, Inej looks to me, "What did you do?" 

"I'll talk to you about it later" I reply, she backs down. "You all have one hour before we leave, (Y/n) we're posing as famous sculpters, Ivanovski Ivanov and Karina Kuznetsov, business partners, dress formally. " he says, passing me 200 vlachka,  I nod my head, "One hour starts now". We all leave.

~

Inej follows me back to our room, "Okay, so what happened?" she asks me, sitting on the bed, "Don't we have to get ready for a heist? And I need to get something formal, apparently." 

"Yes, but that won't take long, and I want details of how you impressed Kaz with you're fantastic people skills." I groan and flop down onto the bed next to her, "All that happened is the butchers wife, said we we're married after calling my eyes pretty, it got awkward, she called us a 'handsome couple' and I just said we we're colleagues. Apparently he thinks I must've handled it well." I explain, "To be honest, you did, most people in Kerch are plain rude, or at the least the people we deal with, but that's a given.  Well, congratulations." 

"Thanks Inej, will you help me with this formal thing? I don't really know how to do that, all I know is how to dress myself for combat and for, the menagerie." my head drops down in shame at the final part, "of course I will, let's go"

~

Inej and I enter a tailor's shop and are greeted by a tall woman with sharp features, "Hello, how can I help you two ladies?" she says while doing embroidery, "Hi, I was wondering if you have anything that will compliment my friend here?" Inej asks gesturing to me, she looks up and gasps, "Oh saints, she is beautiful, those eyes! I have the perfect dress, come with me." I blush and Inej grabs my hand pulling me to the place the woman went. She turns round with the most beautiful dress I have ever seen in my life, It was a long gown of black and orange, with long flounce sleeves, in the middle of the dress there was embroided gems that look like a pheonix tail, she turned it round to show a back skirt of yellow orange and red giving an effect of fire. My jaw dropped, the woman grabs my hand "Come, try it on." I look back to Inej and she gives me a nod.

The woman fits me into the dress and spins me to a mirror, "I never thought I would ever wear something like this." I say to her, my voice full of astonishment, "It fits you perfectly, and it suits you. What's the special occasion?" 

"Uhm, I'm going on a night out, with my husband, It's our 1st anniversary tomorrow night." I say, honestly I wouldn't have known what to say if not for the butcher's wife, "Well have a good time, he won't be able to take his eyes off you when he sees you in this." she laughs and I laugh with her, "although, that's normally the idea isn't it when it comes to keeping the men happy." she says, my mind flashes to the menagerie and all the men who have forced themselves, their touch all over my body, the smell of alcohol on their breathe, them calling me a 'whore' or 'their little slut' everytime they finish inside my body, that was the only time I was grateful to Heleen when she gave me a tea to stop me from having a child, I feel bile rise up inside my throat, I run out of the changing room to Inej, she looks at me, "(Y/n) you look..., I don't even know the right word for it, breathtaking." I fall to the floor crying and I throw up missing Inej narrowly, "What's wrong? Was it something I said?" the woman comes in running, I look up at her, "No, it's fine, not feeling well is all." she just nods, I throw up again, "How much is it?" Inej asks, "Normally it would be "250 Vlachka but because it's her and her husband's special night tomorrow and I want her to feel better I'll make it 250." Inej looks at me, telling me "What the...?", I reply with a glance of, "I had to lie." she goes into the pockets of my usual uniform and passing her 150, "Okay, lets get her back into her normal clothes." the woman states, offering me her hand, "No I'll do it myself." I stand and go get changed.