𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 | 𝗞𝗮𝘇 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗸𝗸𝗲𝗿

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻

ೃ࿔*:･✸⋆➶ ✧

Being apart of Kaz Brekker's crows taught Anya Holloway a lot of life lessons, one important one being never to leave money in plain sight nor let him distract you when you have money as there's a very high likelihood that you won't be leaving that room with the same amount of money as you entered with. Another lesson being that he shut everyone out and struggled sharing how he really felt. When he was worried or anxious that any of the Crows seemed to be in a dangerous predicament he'd offer them to go away, send them out of Ketterdam, away from their problems.

No way would he admit it, but he did that because he cared for them, he didn't want to wake up one day and watch them all disappear. There were many ways he could go about this, but he always chose the most complicated route. It mostly included making the Crows feel horrible and feel a sense of hatred towards him because he believed that it was easier if they hated him. Anya knew this, she knew what he did and she didn't fall for it. At first she'd dislike him but then she'd realise what he was trying to do and she'd stand her ground, arguing against it until he inevitably gave up.

Alike right now, as she stood in his office with her arms crossed over his chest, annoyed about what he'd just said to Inej. The first person Inej had gone to after the conversation with Kaz was Anya because she knew she could get through to him, make him see sense. It seemed he would listen to her, whether he realised it or not, he'd always listen to her. Anya had been easy to locate, sat in her room, mindlessly humming to herself as she replaited her hair, tying the blue ribbon into the locks. Seeing the annoyance of the girl, she'd immediately been at her side, questioning what had happened to her.

So Inej explained.

After discovering that Pekka had tried to do what he'd done to them all those years ago, she saved a family and ended up late to continue he part of the plan. Kaz had been worried when the wraith hadn't shown up, so instead of conveying this worry like a normal person would, he told her he couldn't have a weak link on his crew because she disobeyed his orders. Hearing this, Anya had rolled her eyes, this was predictable Kaz behaviour and she wasn't going to stand for it, someone needed to knock some sense into that boy and she was willing to be the one to do so.

"You kicked her out, because she has a heart?" Anya scoffed, walking over to his desk and placing her hands onto the wood. "Are you stupid Kaz? I asked you to help Inej out years ago because she had talent, talent none of us have. She's stuck by all of us through everything. Why now are you letting her go? All because she stopped someone else turning out like us." When he didn't respond she laughed bitterly. "You're pathetic."

His gloved hands moved to his stack of letters, grabbing that same sheet he'd forced Pekka to sign. Saying nothing, he shoved it across the table for her to grab. Anya looked at it, saying nothing as she tried to calm herself down. She was aware what laid inside that paper, the contents it held, but she couldn't muster up the courage to reach out and grab it. All this time she'd wanted nothing more than her freedom and it felt overwhelming to know it was now in her reach, she was free, finally.

"You're both free now." He told her, his voice much softer than before.

"Let Inej back in, you don't get to dictate her decisions, nobody does. She wants to remain part of the Crows and you know full well we need her." Anya continued while Kaz kept his eyes on the window, clenching his jaw.

"I got her the freedom she should've had all along, same to you, what she does with that freedom means nothing to me." Kaz shrugged, standing up as he kept his eyes on the girl. "I just don't want her ruining things for us all again."

"She didn't ruin anything, it all worked out fine." Anya exclaimed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Without her I would've died a long time ago, we all would've, so don't repay the favour by being ignorant. At least hear her out for once."

Kaz, as usual, said nothing and she let out a humourless chuckle, grabbing the paper off his desk as she turned around to leave. A voice cut her off, just as her hand reached out to grab the doorknob. "Happy birthday, Anya." He mumbled and she turned to look at him, noticing he was still not looking at her, his gaze on the window.

Without realising it, her lips upturned ever so slightly and she looked down, forgetting why she was even angry with him in the first place. Then it all came back and she was forced to deal with the confusion that flooded her, how could someone be this confusing? Every action he did changed her perspective, some days he made her feel like the only person in the room, other days he made her feel like nothing, a small and useless person that constantly got in the way.

Deep down, Anya knew she deserved better but she couldn't help the feelings she felt towards him, knowing there was nobody else she wanted to be with more. She was willing to sacrifice everything for him but he wasn't even willing to try. It hurt her a little but she disguised it, hoping nobody saw through the cracks, hoping nobody saw the way she'd deflate when he directed a cruel jab at her that made her feel as if everything was going wrong.

"Thank you."Anya whispered back and just when Kaz mustered up the courage to turn and face her again, she was gone.

ೃ࿔*:･✸⋆➶ ✧
Words~1022.
{edited:no}