THE KING OF KETTERDAM

A scene after the events of Crooked Kingdom. Kaz meets Jordie in the shadows of Ketterdam.

I do not own the world creation or characters, all Kudos to Leigh Bardugo.

Inspired by the song Thousand Foot Krutch – Fly on the Wall

A note; Thank you for giving me Kaz, a character so close to home and the kind of healing I needed. The universe has a genuine approach to delivering what's meant for one, however Kaz came to me like most things in my life: With a solid dash of chaos. Nothing has ever been the same, since. And I am more than fortunate that Six of Crows has changed my life and brought me closer to my kind of crows. Because one does not forget the kindness of the people you meet along the road.

To Abbyll and Vee

The other night
I had a dream
There was a world full of kings and queens

Kaz looked upon the night sky. It was cold. The streets of Ketterdam dazzled in cinder block-blackness. But as per, it was a comforting cold. The one that Kaz was so used to.

The silver of the crow's cane resonated with the glimpse of moonlight.

Kaz gaze wandered, looking upon the nearby stalls of the Barrel.

The Barrel – a place rotten to it's core.

Or was it the best that Ketterdam had to offer?

A market for the outcasts, rogues, thieves and gamblers.

What's not to love but Kruge in a city build upon bricks and corpses?

We were the fire under moonlit skies
We were divided
We were the same
And we were free
But we all wore chains

“Kaz”

A soft whisper from the shadows, but yet sharp as a knife.

No. Not tonight.

“Kaz, look at me”

Kaz closed his eyes and tried to breathe. It was an unusual moment to hear his voice. Or perhaps- it was not. Surrounded by silence with echoes of drinks, laughter and shenanigans of the pubs far away.

“KAZ!”

The voice was still soft, but stern. It shook Kaz enough to face the direction the voice was coming from. A broken window to be exact. But the pieces of glass showed him the ghost of the past.

Jordie.

If you look into darkness too long, it answers with truth. Truth that Kaz Brekker – Bastard of the Barrel – did not want to face.

The silhouette was far from the Jordie he remembered. It changed every time he had to meet him again. Tonight it was the pure stare of a rotten corpse.

If I could just see it all
Just like a fly on the wall
Would I be able to accept what I can't control?

Kaz closed his eyes. A shiver ran over his back. His hand gripped the cane harder.

What if he could have stopped it? Would Jordie still be alive? Would Brekker even be his name? Would all the past events of the last months be relevant?

Would Inej be part of his life?

Kaz opened his eyes again and turned his back on his dead brother.

Perhaps.

Perhaps he would wander as a different kind of Kaz along these streets.

If only he had kept his innocence of youth.

And would I share what I saw?
Or just sit back and ignore
Like nothing never happened
Haven't seen you before?

But if the price of innocence meant the exchange of his crows and all the memories, he would not take it back, Not a single moment.

That was the life of the Barrel. A path for broken children, swallowed by darkness and reborn from the ashes.

“I can only assume that you would be proud of me, Jordie”, he whispered and stopped once more.

The laughter had become louder, and the smell of whiskey and other alcoholic beverage felt like a comforting blanket. One of those that you would get at Wylans house on a nice sofa.

“I wasn't sure if I should interrupt your staring into nothingness, so I followed silently”

If Kaz Brekker had any kind of emotional reaction that revealed a truth underneath the cold-hearted mask he had build like a house of cards, it was the simple smirk of a mischief child, that he was showing right now.

And the glimpse of the same mischief was seen in his eyes, before he finally turned around and looked at the person.

“Hello Inej”

We can all be kings and queens
If we can just learn to believe

The warm eyes of his wraith met his. And that's when he knew.

One day he would be able to let go off Jordie and his past. One day he would be able to let her in.

One day he would choose to heal.

But until then he had to be the Bastard of the Barrel, to become what he had always imagined as his personas dream.

The King of Ketterdam