ANCHOR / ACT ONE / SIX OF CROWS
"CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT. . ."
( friendship, a partnership, allies? just something. )
THE MOMENT THAT EDELGARD caught sight of Wylan Van Eck, she couldn't mask her reaction. The recognition hit her within a matter of seconds, and she knew Wylan went through the same realisation upon seeing her. Edelgard was smart enough to mask it as simple confusion for anyone else, she hadn't met him before. But Wylan wasn't as smart, there was fear painted upon his face, knowing that Edelgard knew exactly who he was, that she held his identity within the palm of her hand. You didn't sit at the hand of Dimitri Von Aegir without having the pleasure of knowing Jan Van Eck.
Her eyes snapped towards Kaz who was already looking at her. Of course, he was. It was then that she almost said something, prepared to ask why the son of a Merchant was sitting there. Kaz was prepared for that, shooting her down before the words could even slip from her tongue. So she took a seat down next to Jesper, arms crossed over her chest. But despite Kaz's silent warning, she still couldn't help but stare at Wylan, wondering how a Van Eck had ended up sitting in a room with a bunch of criminals.
He was aware of her stares, every few seconds, he'd look up at her, silently pleading with her to not say anything. That caused her to realise that as far as Wylan was aware, the others didn't know who he was, and if he was anyone else, Edelgard would've held no hesitation in saying anything despite Kaz warning her not to. But she had seen once before how Jan Van Eck treated his son poorly. It had been on interaction, one small interaction when Edelgard had accidentally stumbled into the wrong room, coming across Wylan sitting there. It had been a short exchange before Van Eck had entered the room, ushering Edelgard out, but she had barely got anywhere before she heard the way that Van Eck had spoken to his son. If that was why Wylan had left, Edelgard couldn't blame him.
Yet her attention was pulled away from him when they woke Matthias up. Edelgard was wary of him and everyone knew that the girl was glaring holes into his head. They were all wary that out of all of them, Edelgard would be the one to strike if Matthias made the wrong move. Jesper, sitting the closest to her, did so to ensure that if she did try, that he'd be the one to hold her back. And even Kaz's eyes went to her every time she moved, but he was subtle in doing so.
They all sat, Edelgard bored as they all had to listen to Kaz explain the plan, mainly for Matthias' sake. She watched the Fjerdan carefully, trying to see what he was thinking. Unfortunately, he remained blank-faced, but it didn't mean that she still didn't know what he thought. The one thing they learned about Fjerdans, was that they could be quite predictable whether they saw that or not.
Once Kaz had finished his explanation, Matthias had replied with a mere, "no."
Edelgard laughed, words sitting on the tip of her tongue, ready to be spoken.
"Don't you dare say anything, Edelgard," Kaz told her, causing the mentioned girl to wipe the smugness off her face. "Believe me when I say this, Helvar, I know getting knocked out and waking up in strange surroundings isn't the friendliest way to start a partnership, but you didn't give us many options, so try to open your mind to the possibilities."
"You could have come to me on your knees, and my answer would be the same."
"You do understand I can have you back at Hellgate in a matter of hours?" Kaz asked him rhetorically. "Once poor Muzzen is in the infirmary, the switch will be easy," he admitted.
"Do it," Matthias said. "I can't wait to tell the warden your ridiculous plans."
"What makes you think you'll be going back with a tongue?"
"Why not just kill him?" Edelgard asked.
"Do what you want," he replied, interrupting Nina but she could even get a word out.
"I told you─"
"Don't pretend to know me, witch," he snarled, eyes on Nina.
Edelgard glared at Matthias, one of her hands curling itself into a fist. "Why don't you shut─"
"Without him, there's no job," Jesper said, stopping Edelgard from speaking. "We can't break into the Ice Court blind," he admitted.
"You can't break into the Ice Court at all."
She scoffed. "Not with that attitude, you can't," Edelgard said under her breath. Her words causing Jesper to let out a small laugh.
"Come now, Helvar, surely there's something you want," Kaz stated. "the cause is righteous enough for a zealot like you. Fjerda may think they've caught a dragon by the tail, but they won't be able to hold on. once Bo Yul-Bayur replicates his process, jurda parem will enter the market, and it's only a matter of time before others learn to manufacture it, too."
"It will never happen. Yul-Bayur will stand trial, and if he is found guilty he will be put to death."
"Guilty of what?" Nina questioned.
"Crimes against the people."
"Which people?" She asked, anger filling her voice.
Edelgard knew where this was going.
"Natural people, people who live in harmony with laws of this world instead of twisting them for their own gain," Matthias explained.
The Shu girl rolled her eyes. "You mean, people like you?" She asked, but left no room for an answer. "Because you're really stupid if you believe your people are innocent."
"You're being shortsighted about this, Helvar. Another team could get to Yul-Bayur first. The Shu. Maybe the Ravkans. All with their own agendas," Kaz stated, pretending as if Edelgard's outburst didn't happen. "Border disputes and old rivalries don't matter to the Kerch. All the Merchant Council cares about is trade, and they want to make sure jurda parem remains a rumour and nothing more."
"So leading criminals into the heart of Fjerda to steal a valued prisoner is a patriotic act?"
"I don't suppose the promise of four million kruge will sway you either."
"You can keep your money. Choke on it," he spat out.
"Can we toss him in the canal and drown him already?" Edelgard asked, sounding bored.
"Edelgard. . ." Kaz said warningly, dark eyes on her.
"Say please," she replied. Edelgard leaned forward, placing her elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her arm, winking at Kaz jokingly.
"I'll make a deal with you," Matthias said, breaking up the conversation between the pair.
"I'm listening," Kaz said, looking back towards the Fjerdan.
"I won't go with you, but I'll give you a plan for the layout of the Court," he offered. "That should at least get you past the first checkpoint."
"And what should this valuable information cost me?"
"I don't want your money. I'll give you the plans for nothing." He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "If you let me kill Nina Zenik."
Everyone in the room was surprised by his wishes. Inej made a sound of disgust while Wylan stopped doodling. Edelgard on the other hand stood up, she could feel Jesper's hand hovering over her wrist, ready to grab her if needed.
"You even dare touch her─"
Kaz held his hand up, silencing her instantly. "I can give you something better," Kaz said to Matthias.
"There's nothing else I want," Matthias admitted.
"I can make you a Drüskelle again."
Jesper reached for her hand and gently pulled her back into her seat, the girl suddenly found herself trapped within her mind, unmoving with her gaze on the floor. Matthias left her with nothing but unease. It was hard to look at him without thinking of the same people that shot her parents down, that tried to shoot her down with the same weapons. In her eyes, she saw nothing more than the monsters her mother had warned her about, the ones that Edelgard had felt relieved to never encounter once she left the shore of Noyvi Zem.
Even with Kaz's offer to give him what he had lost when he had been sent to Hellgate, if he was smart enough, he wouldn't take it. No, he'd wait, buy this time. Play the role he had been given, and then when the opportunity would present itself, he'd betray them. It was a risk even letting him out of his cell. Edelgard just hoped that they'd throw him back there, that he would say no and they could find another way to learn the layout of the Ice Court. Surely there was someone out there that wasn't as high of a risk.
The sound of laughter broke her out of her thoughts, realising that it was Matthias that was doing so. She looked towards Jesper who looked concerned as he drummed his fingers against the handles of his revolvers.
"Just how crazy is he?" Jesper wondered out loud.
"Let's hope he's not insane," Edelgard commented.
"He's not what I'd call reliable, but he's all we got," Kaz said, replying to Jesper's question.
"She can't be trusted, you know. Whatever secrets of Yul-Bayur, she'll turn them over to Ravka," Matthias said. His words were said to Kaz but were spoken about Nina as if she weren't in the room.
"Let me worry about that, Helvar. You do your part, and the secrets of Yul-Bayur and jurda parem will be in the hands of the people best equipped to make sure they stay rumours."
"What if Bo Yul-Bayur is dead?"
"Van Eck insists he isn't."
Edelgard's gaze shifted towards Wylan for a moment.
"But what if he is, Brekker?"
"You will still get your pardon."
And then Matthias said the words, Edelgard was dreading to hear. "I'll do it."
"We're going to untie you," Kaz stated. "I hope prison hasn't robbed you of all your manners or good sense."
And when Matthias nodded, Inej took out one of her knives to unbind him from the ropes that tied him to the chair he had been placed in.
"I believe you know Nina. The lovely girl freeing you in Inej, our thief of secrets and the best in the trade. Jesper Fahey is our sharpshooter, Zemeni-born but try not to hold it against him. The one sitting next to him and glaring holes into your head is Edelgard Martriz, she will drown you if you make the wrong move. And this is Wylan, best demolitions expert in the Barrel."
"Raske is better," Inej commented.
Wylan looked up from whatever he was doing. "He's not better, he's reckless."
"He knows his trade."
"So do I."
Jesper scoffed, "barely."
"Wylan is new to the scene," Kaz admitted.
"Of course he's new, he looks like he's about twelve," Matthias retorted. His words almost making Edelgard laugh.
"We should be using Raske. He's good under pressure," Jesper stated.
Inej nodded in agreement. "I don't like it."
"I didn't ask. Besides, Wylan isn't just good with the flint and fuss," Kaz told them. "He's our insurance."
"Against what?" Nina asked.
Kaz then turned towards Edelgard. "Would you like to do the honours?"
"Everyone, meet Wylan Van Eck, the son of Jan Van Eck," she introduced.
"He is also our guarantee on thirty million kurge," Kaz added on.
"Of course, you're a Councilman's kid," Jesper said as he laughed. "That explains everything. But how did you know?" He asked Edelgard.
She shrugged. "You don't work with Dimitri Von Aegir without knowing everyone he deems important."
"You knew?" Wylan asked, unable to hide disbelief, eyes on Kaz.
"Why do you think I've been keeping you around?"
"I'm good at demo."
"You're passable at demo," Kaz corrected him. "You're excellent at hostage."
"It's doesn't matter," Jesper said. "We should still take Raske and leave this baby merch on lockdown in Ketterdam."
"I don't trust Raske," Kaz admitted.
"And you trust Wylan Van Eck?"
Edelgard scoffed, the question really should have been, does Kaz Brekker trust anyone?
"Wylan doesn't know enough people to cause us real trouble."
"Don't I have some say in this?" Wylan complained, speaking up. "I'm sitting right here."
Kaz raised an eyebrow as he turned toward the boy. "Ever had your pocket picked, Wylan?"
"I. . . Not that I know of."
"Been mugged in an alley?"
"No."
"Hung over the side of a bridge with your head in the canal?"
Edelgard really wanted to ask if Kaz was asking that due to experience.
"I─"
"It's been three months since you left your daddy's mansion on the Geldstraat," Kaz interrupted. "Why do you suppose your sojourn in the Barrel so blessed?"
"Lucky, I guess?" Wylan replied meekly.
Edelgard laughed. "It doesn't take a genius to know that, that luck you say you have, is Kaz."
"She's right," Jesper agreed. "He's had you under Dreg protection, though you're so useless, up until this minute none of us could figure out why."
"It was perplexing," Nina admitted.
"The question is," Edelgard began, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees. "Why leave the comfort of your life for the complete opposite?"
"It was time," Wylan replied, tightly.
"Idealist?" Jesper questioned. "Romantic? Revolutionary?"
"Idiot?" Nina added. "No one chooses to live in the Barrel if he has another option."
"I'm not useless," Wylan insisted.
"Raske is the better demo man─"
"I've been to the Ice Court," Wylan blurted out, cutting Inej off. "With my father. We went to an embassy dinner, I can help with the plans."
"Any more surprises anyone wants to share?" Edelgard said, leaning back in her seat.
"I don't want our only leverage against Van Eck cooling his heels in Ketterdam while we head north," Kaz admitted. "Wylan goes with us. He's good enough at demo, and he's got a fine hand for sketching, thanks to all those pricey tutors."
"Play piano, too?" Jesper asked, causing the boy's cheeks to turn a deeper shade of red.
"Flute..."
Jesper grinned. "Perfect."
"And since Wylan has seen the Ice Court with his very own eyes," Kaz continued, bringing the conversation to its original topic. "He can keep you honest, Helvar."
With a sigh, Edelgard leaned into Jesper slightly. If she was being honest, she could hear her sea calling for her, it had been a long night and as the conversation grew, Edelgard knew it was going to be more of a long night.
WITH SOME OF A plan formulated, most had turned in for the night whilst those who remained awake gathered supplies for the trip. Edelgard had planned on doing the latter but first, she was trying to find Kaz with the intention of speaking with him. She had a sense that she was going to regret it, nowadays, Edelgard always felt that way whenever she approached him first, which had been once before. An argument had broken out between the two, surprising there, but it left Edelgard walking away with a vow never to start the conversation.
But with the conversation she had with Jesper the morning prior, Edelgard knew that he was right, not that she'd tell him that, she learned a long time ago to not tell Jesper whenever he was right. Edelgard knew that she'd have to get along with Kaz Brekker even if she didn't trust him. She didn't want to constantly be at heads with two people at the same time, constantly being mad at two people. If she had learned anything from her father, it was that being on the sea, negative emotions did nothing for morale. So at least until they returned to the shores of Ketterdam, Edelgard was willing to wave a white flag and surrender her weapons. For now.
She didn't bother knocking when she found him sitting in his office. Instead, she was quick to sit down opposite him, tempted to put her feet up on the desk. But after the many times, she had once tried to, Edelgard knew that either he'd knock her legs away before she could even rest them, or he'd wait until she got comfortable before doing the exact same thing. So instead, she crossed her legs, sinking into the seat. Kaz looked up from the papers on his desk, giving her a pointed look.
"Are you here just to annoy me?" He asked her, sitting up straight.
"Well, that would be far better than why I'm actually here for another reason," Edelgard stated. "We're not going to get anything done if we're constantly at each other's throats. But also, it takes a lot of effort to hate one person, let alone two, so I'm willing to put whatever negative feelings I have towards you. At least until we get back to Ketterdam."
"It'll be interesting to see how long you last with that," Kaz commented.
Edelgard shrugged. "Well, if I feel myself wanting to drown you, I'll just think of the money Inej has on the line." When he looked at her questioningly, she continued. "Jesper doesn't think we can get along by the end of the job, Inej does. But it's not going to work if we both don't make an effort, so you'll need to do your part."
"And what would that entail?" He questioned.
"No repeats of last time, short and simple. I'd say it shouldn't be too hard, but I'm sure it will be for you. But it means we stop being enemies and be friends, maybe─ no, wait, allies is the better word for it." Edelgard then held out her hand. "Regardless, do we have a deal?"
As her hand remained outstretched between the two of them, she thought that he might not take it. If Kaz wouldn't, then Edelgard would feel stupid and all that resentment would come tumbling through to the surface like it had done so many times. But then his gloved hand slipped into her bare hand.
"We have a deal."
Their hands lingered within each other's for a moment, a moment too long in some people's eyes but neither seemed to have noticed. And once they let go, Edelgard stood up.
"Right, well, now that we've established that, I need to clear my mind," she said.
"Try not to murder anyone," Kaz said.
All Edelgard could do was laugh as she left the room. Even when she left, it still remained, lingering within the walls.
───── ⚓️ a double update??? whoop, look at me go.
no, but seriously, sorry this chapter is so dialogue heavy and shorter. i did cut a massive chunk of this out because i wanted to get to the scene between edel and kaz because it's a step forward, at least from edel's point of view, a small one, but a step nonetheless.
+ we also get hints at wylan and edel's relationship because in mad woman i was meant to give them a prior relationship before the events of soc, but forgot and if i threw it in later on, it would've made no sense.
anyways, i hope you all enjoyed!!
also, i only just realised i cut the whole "how do you steal a man's wallet?" exchange. rip edel's answer of "steal his wallet and throw him into the canal."