┍━━━━ ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ━━━━┑
𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇
┕━━━━ ➶-͙˚ ༘✶ ━━━━┙
"𝘌𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨
𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴
𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐
𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘯."
ONE YEAR AGO
"Seraphina! Would you just listen to me for a second? You're being irrational, this will never work," said David, letting out an exasperated sigh.
For the past hour, the siblings had been arguing with one another, the dim light of the Fabrikator's desk lamp illuminating their tense features. David was bent over his work, the same way he usually was, his sister, Seraphina stood over him, her back straight with her chin pointed forward. David looked up for a moment, their eyes meeting briefly and Seraphina refused to back down underneath his gaze.
The girl would not give up her freedom because her too-smart brother wanted to boss her about. She simply would not accept no for an answer, not that she needed his permission but it would've been rude for her to leave without saying goodbye. Despite his ways, David meant too much to her to simply disappear without a trace.
"David, I've taken everything into account, and being stuck under this roof isn't something I want anymore. I've never wanted this, I want something more," Seraphina explained, her fingers reaching for a piece of metal that David quickly swatted her hand away from.
"Don't touch that. This is not a good idea, the moment they find out you're missing they'll mark you as a deserter and you'll never be able to return."
"Who said I wanted to return? I can't just sit still here anymore. Aren't you bored of it too?" Seraphina questioned, her hair falling into her face as she leaned forward to peer at David's project.
"No, I quite enjoy the routine of living here. My work is fascinating," David responded, no longer looking at his sister.
"Well, whatever you say big bro. I guess I'll be leaving you then," she said softly, knowing that there was no point in trying to convince David to come with her.
Seraphina nodded her head, this was the right decision for her. She gently tugged at the sleeves of her red kefta, the grey lines reminding her of the order she was in. If she were to stare at the embroidery long enough, she'd probably feel the sadness creep over her so she decided to look back up, where David's eyes were now pleading with hers, his hand wrapped around her wrist.
"Seraphina, you're a well-respected grisha, the moment the Darkling finds out you've abandoned the war effort, he'll have people looking for you in an instant. Is there really no way I can convince you otherwise? Have you even spoken to Zoya about this?"
The mention of her best friend caused her to blink the tears back, she should've known that leaving the people she loved behind would be hard. It's necessary, you'll be much happier away from this place, she told herself. Seraphina looked at her brother one last time, she'd miss seeing him bent over his work in concentration, his awkward demeanor, and the shoulder to cry on.
"Zoya and I have already said goodbye, I'm leaving the moment I walk out of this workshop. The Darkling won't find me, just trust me that I'll be okay," her lips drew themself into a small smile, but David didn't miss the tear that rolled down her cheek.
He placed down his work carefully, brushing his ink-stained hands on his purple kefta as he stood up. David slowly and awkwardly wrapped his arms around his younger sister, he'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't afraid that this might be the last time he saw her.
"Promise me you'll stay safe?" Seraphina asked, pulling away from the hug to hold out her pinky finger.
"Only if you promise the same," he said, linking his pinky finger with hers before touching it to her thumb to lock in the promise.
His hands left blotches of ink on Seraphina's complexion, the smell of it drifting through her senses as he let go. The atmosphere in the room was killing her, if she were to stay any longer she'd only be guilt-tripping herself, so she did what she had to do. She ran away.
➶-͙˚ ༘✶
The moment the wind brushed against Seraphina's face a smile broke out onto her features, she'd been walking for about two days when she finally made it out of the woods. The streets she found herself in were vibrantly lit with small markets selling all sorts of odd items, perhaps the bones of a saint would bring Seraphina the luck she'd need. She shook her head at the silly thought.
Light was beginning to fade from the sky and soon it would be filled with hues of noir. The young girl pulled the hood of her coat - well technically she'd stolen it - up, hiding her face the moment she stepped foot onto the path of the small city. All she had to do was stay silent and walk quickly, she'd make it through the city within no time, and then she could finally find somewhere to settle for the night.
Her hands gripped her bag closer to her, well aware of the thieves that might try to steal from her. Seraphina knew she probably should've been more prepared, but she had to pack lightly in case she needed to make a quick escape. Maybe she should've thought about this whole running away thing properly because in reality, Seraphina had no clue where she was going. Her original idea was to just walk until she was far far far away from the Little Palace.
She tried to ignore the way her stomach growled at the scent of warm bread, she had no time to stop for food. She wasn't far enough from her home to know that someone wouldn't ambush her and demand she make her way back. But her eyes stared longingly and hungrily at the steaming buns.
"Take my advice, buy the bun. Oh, and avoid the mushy green stuff, it does not mix well with human stomachs," A voice chirped from beside her, causing her to jump.
Her eyes widened and her lips parted in shock, mirroring that of a deer caught in headlights. Who was this man and why was he talking to her? Did he know who she was? She needed to leave, and quickly or she'd be done for.
"It seems you find me so handsome that you're lost for words. Quite a normal reaction," the man spoke again, and Seraphina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
She needed to move but it felt like her feet were glued to the ground and her eyes were stuck on the stranger. He certainly wasn't lying when he said he was handsome. He was very tall, and his hair reminded Seraphina of a strange crimson liquid she'd once drank. His eyes were green but very muddy and his nose looked as if he'd been beaten and then had it set in the wrong place. However, despite his charmingly crooked appearance, he wore a shockingly teal coat.
"Who are you?"
"I could ask you the same question."
Seraphina shook her head, not having the time to deal with his frustrating response. She turned away from him, ready to start walking but there was no mistaking the red keftas in the distance. Heartrenders. Shit. She was going to have to make a run for it.
"Isn't that your face on the wall over there?" He pointed to the wall where a missing poster of Seraphina had been hung up.
"Will you shut up?" She snapped, looking around for a quick escape.
"There are multiple ways I could do that," he smirked. "You could help lovely."
"I don't have the time for this."
Seraphina took off into a sprint, turning the corner into an alleyway, not wanting to look back. So much for being subtle. She didn't bother to find out if the strange but handsome man followed her, but a small part of her hoped he'd decided to follow. Her footsteps echoed with every step she took, and her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest.
Without thinking, when she reached the end of the alleyway she turned right, hoping it would lead somewhere. But instead, she came face to face with someone's chest. Seraphina was unable to stop the momentum of her fall, she landed on her back with a thud, her hood falling as she glared up at the person.
"You knocked me over!" she angrily yelled, pulling herself off the ground as she brushed any dirt from her clothes. "You've slowed me down! I could've been out of here by now!"
He chuckled, finding her slightly amusing as her dark hair began to fall from the braid she'd tied it in whilst she tried to straighten herself up. Now that he could properly see her face, he couldn't deny the instant pull he felt towards her. Maybe he was thinking like a mad man, which was always a good thing, but he had to get her on his ship. She was interesting.
"I think you ran into me lovely."
She huffed. "I don't care, now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to continue with my brilliant plan of running away."
"Are you sure it's so brilliant? Aren't those heartrenders back there looking for you? I bet you'd make for a good ransom," he said, leaving Seraphina bewildered.
"A ransom?! Are you crazy?! Now I really need to go!" She turned again, giving the man her back but he grabbed her wrist, tugging her back towards his chest.
"Why are you running?" he asked quietly, his muddy eyes looking intently at her. She looked up through her dark lashes, the iciness disappearing from her eyes, revealing the fear she was feeling.
"I just wanted an adventure."
"Come with me."
Seraphina instantly pushed away from his chest, her eyebrows twisted with utter disbelief. Did he think she was stupid enough to just go with him? He mentioned a ransom, he could kill her. It would be safer for her to continue her journey on her own.
"You're utterly stupid. I don't even know you."
"I prefer handsome but others say stupid too. You may not know me, but right now I know that you also don't have much choice. Either you take my very generous offer of letting you come with me, or I leave you to deal with those heartrenders who are just around that corner."
Seraphina peeked her head nervously around his taller body, if she listened closely she could hear their footsteps. He was right. For saints sake why did he have to be right? Her hands were shaking as her pulse raced, she was cornered in. There was no escape. Well, there was one.
She looked at the stranger with the teal coat, he was staring at her blankly. He was waiting for her to make the decision, he wouldn't interfere unless she agreed to go with him. He really would just leave her there if she said no, and there was a very high chance those heartrenders would slow her pulse and kill her the moment they laid eyes on her. She didn't want to die.
"I'll go with you."