❝There's a grain of truth in everything.❞
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walking around the streets of the busy city of Ketterdam, a little girl looked up to a world unknown to her, filled with grim faces and tired eyes.
the dark town seemed to dry all of its inhabitents' energies, draining them to the bone until they were nothing other than a skinny, feeble being that wished for a new life as far away as they could get.
she wondered how one could even handle living that way. her home had always been away from wars and famine, although it was not perfect.
and as she got further inside the masses of people, she could point out at least three shops that had gotten stolen from in the last minutes she walked past. sickness had ruined it all.
perking up when she heard hurried yelling, the god-favored child followed the turbulence happening around her as she firmly, but softly, was pulled behind by the two men in armor holding that had marched alongside her.
from behind the knights, she could point out a boy, barely older than her, running from a dirty, fat man with an angry face, and before she could think, she was trailing behind them, wondering how it would all end.
she could easily hear metal clanking from behind her, so she knew that she was being closely followed by her guards, who, for the life of them, couldn't stop a child, ten of age, 's curiosity.
blinking for a quick second, she managed to miss the moment where the man caught the boy by the back of his shirt, yelling a bunch of tangled up cussing and nicknames that would make her maesters flush.
through the noise, she managed to make out a bunch of words, cheap insults that made her chuckle slightly. 'son of a stealing cunt', 'worthless rat', and things of the such.
as the boy struggled to escape, her amusement dimmed and she quickly turned to her men. "help him," she blurted out, looking up at the guards in shiny clothes.
the two blank at each other before the buffest stepped forward and marched the thief and his captor ahead of them before pulling the boy away.
after a few moments of angry yelling, the seller, -she assumed by now, loudly demanded the price of a piece of bread he'd stole. the knight pulled out a few coins, handed them to the man then dragged the boy and returned to the princess' side.
the youngster kicked and fought against the strong hold on his sleeve, panic and fear clear in his eyes. he, for the life of him, could not stand the feeling of the shiny knight's hands on him no matter how many layers he could see covering then.
they stopped once they reached the other two, the girl and the man in metal.
"thank the lady," the guard holding him spoke, "she just saved you from gods know what this place offers as punishment for thieves."
the little lady in question frowned as she looked up then back down at him. he blank, brows furrowed in confusion.
she looked different, not entirely human. he couldn't tell what it was nor could he stop himself from staring in confusion. was his eyes playing tricks on him or were her own violet? was the curl peeking out from under her headscarf silver or was it simply a trick of his mind?
his gaze drifts to men at his side, they seemed to be waiting for something. right. "thank you," he mumbles out, cringing at his own words. he was forcefully nudged bare blinks after.
his eyes rolled and he glared up at them in distaste. "thank you for saving me, my lady," he clears out, voice slightly firmer as his eyes trailed behind her, already scheming for a way out. he was clearly offended, his words spoken behind gritted teeth.
she shook her head with a soft smile, chuckling as he eyed her in caution. "no need to thank me," she breaths out, well-spokenly, "I just like helping out, and you seemed like you really needed it."
"bad idea with the people in Ketterdam." he mumbles out, sighing to himself as he eyed the walking people around them. he looked like he was waiting for something.
she blinks in surprise, her lips pursing as she hoped he'd explain. "kindness is never rewarded here." he adds on.
the knights chuckled amongst themselves, amused at the thought. "the lady needs no rewards from these people." one of them retorts. "you should know that by now."
the silver haired girl glared up at them with a scowl, they wouldn't take it seriously, of course, but her frustration was evident. her gaze drifted down at the little crochet belt bag at her waist from which she pulled out a shiny golden coin that seemed to glimmer, even in the dim light. the boy's eyes shone with mischief as he stared at it silently.
"take this," she smiles as she pushes it towards him. "it might help you a bit."
"your grace, we -" one of the guards spoke, stepping closer to keep the coin from being gifted away. he was softly punched by his partner. the little slip-up could have easily been avoided.
the girl closes her eyes with a sigh. so much for keeping her name away from the streets of Kerch.
"just take this and go." she states dismissively, pushing the round coin into the thief's hand and turning to walk away. she wanted to go back to where she came from, away from these streets, from where her mer title could get her taken away. the large men quickly followed.
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neat hair spread up on the pillow, the young princess stared up at her ceiling, her purple-ish fog filled with black shadows covering all of it while her little fingers moved along with it.
her eyes glew a soft violet haze, much like her usual eye color, and her hands gained a darker tint that seemed to follow her soft movements.
her focus was solely set on the task her mother had bestowed upon her. she understood the reason she needed to in the first place. words of war had reached them. the Ravkans wanted something.
she could feel the start of a small pounding spreading through the back of her head, and she closes her eyes for a moment in discomfort. she was drawing herself to her limit.
she could feel the signs she usually had to stop rushing towards her, but she insisted on holding it a little while longer. her gaze was growing blurry but her head snapped to the side at the gasp emiting from her balcony.
the boy from earlier stood there, crouched over the edge as he stared up at her ceiling in amazement.
the witch quickly waved her hand by her side to dismantle her spell then wiped the few droplets of blood that slid down her nose with the back of her hand, shoulders set straight and back pushed off the mattress.
"what are you doing here?" she asked in confusion. she wasn't scared of him. he didn't carry himself with enough maturity for her to even be cautious of him. "actually, how did you even get inside?"
"I'm Kaz," the small boy spoke. "Kaz Rietveld."
she frowned, "your name doesn't tell me what you're doing in my room." she states matter-of-factly, she wasn't going to put her trust in him just because he looked harmless.
"you saved me last afternoon," the dark-haired kid lets out, fully stepping over the wall of her balcony. "and I just came to thank you.
"I already told you that you didn't need to." she breaths out with a tilted head, eyeing him in suspicion.
"but I wanted to."
the little princess smiles. "well, now that you have," she lets out. "you're free to go."
he blinks, frowning to himself before his hands shoot down to his pocket. "I brought you something." he pointed out, fingers wrapping around two thin golden chains linked together by a small round jewel.
she marveled at it, lips parting for a moment. it was simple, she liked it. her expression quickly sours. "I didn't give you the coin so that you buy me gifts with it." she states with a raised brow. "I gave them to you so you could get food."
"oh, I didn't buy it." the boy shrugs and her face falls, nostrils flaring as she sighs out. "let me guess," she breathes out. "you're so brilliantly smart that you coned a man for it?"
he frowns and his eyes drift to the walls around her. he seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. "does stealing count as coning?"
the silver-haired girl scoffs, "gods, aren't we here in the first place because of that." she groans out, lips pulling at the side.
he grins widely, teeth peeking as he shrugs. "doesn't mean I'm not good at it."
the statement hangs in the air for a moment before he leans forward into the room, shoes still firmly placed on the balcony's hard stone. "here." he mumbles out, balancing his upper body inside. his arm swings back and he throws the shiny necklace to her from his spot.
her body shoots forward from her spot and her hands quickly latch onto it as it flew closer to her bed. her fingers press toward her chest for a moment to ensure that she had caught it.
"thank you," she lets out, smiling as she let it dangle around her fingers. she studied it with wonder. it really was pretty. "I love it."
"I'm glad you do." the boy nods, cheeks heating up slightly with the way she beamed up at him.
he looked around for a moment before shooting a quick glance behind him and sighing to himself. this was nice, but he couldn't stay any longer.
"well, I-" he breaths out, thumb pointing back at the street. "I'm gonna go, now. don't wanna bother you any longer."
the little girl frows, lips pursing as she pushes forward. "or you could stay a little while longer," she spoke, hesitant. her mother would kill them both. "it gets lonely around here, I'm not really allowed to talk to anyone."
"can I?" he nods down at his shoes, feet barely hovering over the large carpet covering her room's floor. "yeah, of course, come in."
the little brown haired boy steps in carefully, his eyes taking the room in as he quietly draws closer to the girl.
"are you hungry?" she couldn't help but ask, her gaze following his figure thw closer he got. "there's cake on the table, if you want it." she lets out, watching as he shot a glance at it, another back to her, waiting for her confirmation, then walked towards it before shoving a large piece into his mouth.
she watches as he frantically looks around the wooden surface filled with sweets, thinking about what next he should taste. she smiles to herself and leans onto her palms, legs crossed underneath her.
his head tilts back and he stares at her hesitantly. she chuckles. "it's all yours."
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ears perking up at the sound of screaming right outside of her balcony, the sleepy girl blinks awake. and, dazed and tiredly sat up in her bed, her eyes turn to look around her room then at the closed curtains.
she could easily hear a bunch of muffled noises from outside. it sounded like hell had unleashed itself on the house they'd rented for their stay, and she, in her confused state, walked closer to it, hoping to figure out what exactly was going on outside.
as she moves the drape aside, intending on opening the balcony's door to steo out, a head pops up into her view, face grim and dirty.
the little girl screams and she steps back, arms spread at her side and hands glowing with a ball of energy she was ready to unleash on the intruder.
focusing back on the figure beyond the glass, she quickly realizes that it was no one other than the boy she had met a few weeks ago, and that, for unknown reasons, kept coming back ever since.
"what's going on outside?" she asks urgently as she unlocks the latch and pulls him inside her room, gaze flickering between the outside and him.
"riot," he states simply, quickly pushing the girl further inside and locking the doors then pushing the curtains back shut. "the darkling's here," he urges out. "came to collect grishas."
the silver-haired girl frowns, "that does not explain the screaming in my yard." she states, gasping at the heat crawling up closer to the walls of her room. she blinks at the exit of her room for a moment, her eyes growing wide as she notes the red flames dancing behind them. "or the fire!" she adds not long after.
"he's here for you."
a frown settls onto her features and she blinks in surprise. "what?"
"he's here for you." kaz repeats, head darting every which way as he steps front, then back, then stills in frustration. "where the hell are your guards when you need them!" he mumbles to himself, looking around the room before reaching for the small dagger hiden in his pocket.
she ignores the mini breakdown. "do you think we should get out of here?" she wonders out loud, "you're not exactly fireproof " her feet carry her towards the large cape she hung over a chair and she quickly pulls it on, "we could go look for somebody?"
the boy scoffs to himself. "don't think even the stadwatch can do anything against the general." he grunts out, ear leaned against the wooden door leading into the hallway.
her tongue pokes at the side of her cheek, and, hair now more-or-less hidden under her dark hood, she quickly reaches for her satchell and rushes around the room, collecting her most needed stuff.
two scaled eggs, a slim knife shaped like a shu-han ji hairpin, and a golden Braavos coin later, she walks closer to her friend.
"what's the other thing you shoved inside there?" the blue-eyed thief asks in tight breath, his teeth grinding as he carefully shoves 2 small metal sticks into the keyhole in hopes of unlocking the room.
"dragon eggs." the little girl states, head tilting as she draws closer to him as if to examine the work he was doing on the door. she frowns, lips pulled down as she watches him.
and just as she was about to suggest kicking the door down with her powers, a small click rings through the room, the large crack of his expression turning her way in a blink. "told you the Dregs might come in handy." he chuckles, a sly grin slapped into his face. he radiated pride. "and what the fuck do you mean by dragon eggs?" his frown returns.
"just because all the dragons are dead does not mean that we Valyrians don't still hold the eggs dear." she explains with a small shrug. "whenever one of us is born, the elders put an egg into the cradles."
he nods absent-mindly, peeking out of the door and reaching for her. "let's just go. tell me all about it later, yeah?" he lets out, fingers carefully holding onto her cape's sleeve as he quietly pulls her through the many hallways that lined the stone building.
they could both hear the chaos surrounding them from all sides.
listening to it from afar while cautiously moving away from it led them both to tire themselves out pretty easily. it was a pretty big house.
the silver-haired girl freezes, face scrunched in pain and eyes squeezed shut. her body leans into the wall and she shudders.
"what's wrong?" kaz stops, peeking around the hall before walking back to her with urgency. "we gotta keep moving. what's wrong?"
"I don't know," the witch claims, breath short and chest aching. "something's definitely wrong."
the older boy frown. that was frustratingly vague. "wha-" he starts in confusion but his voice is quickly drowned out by a yell from the other side of the hallway.
"there she is!" the man in gray shouts. a materialnik, she guesses.no other order of grisha wore those colors, but she could not fully be sure of it, he was already running their way.
she was quickly pulled up with her arm was thrown over Kaz's shoulder. he was moving them both forward and away from the angry brute following them, his legs slightly struggling as he made sure she was still holding on to him.
tying his hardest to place as much distance between the two of them and the armed men behind them, he quickly slides into an open room and slams it shut, the lock instantly sliding across it to keep them inside.
he turns to her in anger. "hey!" he snaps, eyes settling on the trembling girl beside him. "I'm not letting him take you! I need you to focus."
she barely registers his words.
"come on, I'm gonna figure this out," he adds, carefully placing his palms over her shoulders. he shudders momentarily, breath trembling as he looks down at her. he needed to keep the waters away, "I always do."
the girl nods silently. "where even are we?" she mumbles, hoping for a distraction. her head tilts to the side and quietly notes that they were in one of the maid's rooms.
it was small, but it was enough. they just had to wait it out.
eyes drifting towards the fireplace that for some reason was lit, the little princess walked closer before placing her hand into the burning fire, the tingling feeling of the flames spreading through her in an warm wave of heat.
"what are you doing?" Kaz asks from behind her, exasperation clear in his tone. he did not understand her abilities or her costumes.
she only shrugs, "we might need it," she responds, sighing as she stands back up and walks to him. like a few other grishas, she was able to master two orders. chaos; her own magic, and fire; the blessing of the gods. although the latter needed direct contact. she could not birth fire, but she could bend it to her will. "what do we do, now?"
he sighs. "either we stay here until something happens or we make a run for it." he lets out, eyes set on the floor as he thought. "we might make it far enough to get to the Drejs." his gaze snaps up.
at that, she scoffs. "they would never help me." she muses. "illegal gang with a foreign royal."
"not you," he confirms. "they don't have to know who you are," he states, and she only looks away. he'd asked her to leave a long time ago. he knew what life sheled, what family she had. she hated it, hated her duties and responsibilities, and he could give her out an out, the dregs could give her an out.
eyes fixated onto the barely holding up door, she simply places her palm on top of it, hoping her magic would bring her the whispers of where the general and his army were at. she freezes, frowning in confusion as her skin turns dark.
"kaz?-" she whispers out, frantically turning back to him as she steps away.
"I saw that." he responds shortly, closing his eyes as he turns to walk in a straight line behind her. he was mumbling to himself, brows furrowed tightly and hands held over his head.
but before either of them could think of a single helpful idea, the room grew darker, light suffocating from all the candles although they could both see that none of them had been blown off with whatever wind was flowing in the room.
the little girl frowns, her arms coming to shield her and her friend as the long wooden barrier cracked and broke before their eyes, the wall that once stood, keeping them safe, tumbling to the ground in a heap of dead black ash.
a dark figure steps forward amongst the dust, shoulders large and eyes sinister.
"I've been looking for you," the man states simply. "for years and years, and finally, we meet."
she frowns, head tilting to stare up at the large shadow of a man. "who are you?" she lets out, jaw ticking with squinted eyes that shone with caution and prudence. she could almost feel Kaz reaching for his dagger again with the way her guard was up.
"does it matter?" he answers, stepping forward. "I'm here to lead you to your full potential. not hide you away in a castle, hoping to keep you safe. " he murmurs, eyes filled with judgment as he looks around. his face held disgust, and from his words, she guessed it was for her mother.
"and who said I'm coming with you?" she counters, taking a step back and holding her arm out to keep as much distance between her friend and the stranger in black. she could defend them both, Kaz couldn't.
his lips quirk up. "I am General Kirigan, commander of the second army of Ravka." the stranger explains, he knew how important titles were to the Westerosi.
"I heard a rumor about a little ved'ma with powers that exceeded any grisha to ever be. a sankta who is yet to discover herself. a chaos summoner." the silver-haired girl hangs to each of his words. "I'm sure you know what power like that is meant to do." he muses. "they do teach you that where you come from, don't they?"
it was a rhetorical question. "you are not meant to stay here with the greedy otkazat'sya this filthy place seems to be crawling with, I could offer you so much more back at The Little Palace" his voice was low, a whisper. he was drawing closer.
"I don't want anything you have to offer." she states. "and I do not know what you are talking about. I am not what you think me to be."
he chuckles at her statement, halting for a moment as he studies her. "is that so?" he muses, eyes shining with an unspoken threat. "you wouldn't mind me testing you, now, would you?" he asks, quietly reaching for his ring before placing it onto his little finger.
the ring in question had a sharp edge at its end, a tiny dagger of sorts, and it seemed to shine with malice. she'd heard about it, about the test in question, but her maesters have not taught her to fail it.
from where she stood, she could see the change in his demeanor, the sudden darkness that seemed to stick to him as tendrils of it crawled out from within the walls and slowly swallowed them all in.
"roll up your sleeve." he orders calmly, and if she did not know how badly it would end for her, she would have followed it. "no." her voice is firm.
the general's eyes fall onto hers and he smiles, brow raising in amusement.
"no?"
he steps forward, hand latching onto her arm before either her or her friend could react, and as a response, Kaz quickly tries to bury his dagger onto the man's wrist in an attempt to free her.
he fails. the darkling had already sent him flying into a wall with nothing but a flick of his wrist, the girl held under firmly by his hand fighting violently.
she could feel his hesitation as the man in black pulled the cape out of the way and freed her upper arm to his calculating eyes. he knew what she was, same way she knew what he was.
"please," she pleads. "don't do this." but it was too late.
her eyes closes in pain as he slashes the soft skin. her chest freezes and her eyes blur with a wave of unched tears. her whole life was gone now. she blinks open.
a thick rope of glowing dark matter shot out of wound, straight up beyond the ceiling and onto the night sky. it was dark and dreadful, but it was also beautiful and powerful. an indigo tangled with black smoke. a darkness that glew and materialized itself at her will.
"we're going home, zaldrītsos."