Chapter Text
Chapter 4
Sirius was shocked. Lily was a runaway? How could she be? She was just a moment ago helping the other Inferni keep the passengers safe with her fire. Unless…
“How long have you been on the run?” Lily asked Sirius, curiosity in her voice.
“Not long, I escaped the Little Palace a couple weeks ago—I have been making my way to the Fold. I was planning to go to Kerch after crossing.” Sirius paused, not sure whether he should have told Lily where he was headed. Could he trust her? “What about you?” He asked Lily. “You couldn’t have been running for long. You are still wearing your kefta for Saints sake.”
Lily shook her head slowly. “I have been planning my escape for a while now, since the Darkling came to power. I volunteered to cross the Fold because I thought it would be a good chance to escape, in the likely chance something like this happened.” Lily looked at Sirius. It looked like an idea was forming in her green eyes. “I don’t have anywhere to go, do you by any chance need a companion on your travels?”
Sirius knew saying yes to her was a bad idea. He needed to stay hidden, blend in with the crowd. Lily would make this more difficult. Inferni gave off a certain aura of heat. She could be recognized as a Grisha and have them both arrested for deserting the Second Army. Even still, the offer was tempting. Traveling alone scared Sirius, the last time he had gone anywhere without anyone he knew was when he was whisked away to the Little Palace as a small child.
Noticing his hesitation, Lily looked Sirius in the eye. “If it helps to sway your decision, I know someone in Kerch. He could help us when we arrived. Remus Lupin is his name. He lives in Ketterdam.”
A friend! In Ketterdam! A wave of hope washed over Sirius. Regulus was rumored to be in Ketterdam. Maybe this Remus Lupin could help Sirius find his brother. Ketterdam was a large city, known for its crooks and high crime rate. A friend who knew the city would help his chances greatly. Yes, he had made up his mind.
Earnestly, Sirius answered: “Yes, thank you Lily. I would be happy to have you as my traveling companion. You see, I am looking for my brother: Regulus. We were separated when we were children, when I was taken to the Little Palace. He is rumored to be living in Ketterdam now. Do you think your friend could help me find him?”
Lily frowned. “That could be tricky. Ketterdam is a big city, and Remus is…well… his affliction could make this difficult.”
Sirius was confused. “Affliction?”
Lily sighed, shook her head, and continued to speak: “We could still ask him. He owes me a favor anyways. Now let’s get out of here, and see if we can get tickets on the next boat out of Ravka.”
Still wondering what Lily meant by “affliction”, Sirius stood and Lily followed suit. They walked off the dock as quickly as their shaken legs would allow. A minute after they set foot on solid ground, Sirius noticed Lily still wore her bright blue kefta. “You should probably take that off,” he said, gesturing to her bulletproof coat, “we are trying to go undercover. They can't know we are Grisha.”
Lily’s eyes widened as she realized she still wore the garment. “Saints, you’re right!” She wriggled out of the kefta and took off her fur hat, revealing two thick, slightly mussed, strawberry blond braids. They continued to walk, pausing so Lily could shove her kefta in a bin behind one of the tents.
The two Grisha kept a quick pace as they followed the chain link fence that surrounded the First Army camp. On the other side, the camp was almost empty. Tents stood alone, many near collapse, remnants of firewood sat cold in piles on the dirt. Sirius wondered where the army had gone.
They managed to buy passage in a farmers wagon the two had found, that turned out to be heading to port like they were. Sirius’ eyes grew heavy, the rocking of the wagon lulling him after his eventful day. He blinked them open, and saw the sea.
The clouds had cleared, and sunlight illuminated the vast ocean, sparkling on the waves and passing boats. Peeking over at his companion, Sirius saw that she was smiling.
The two paid the farmer, and made their way down to the dock to try to find passage on one of the boats.
Sirius and Lily split up then, to ask around about tickets. Sirius tried and tried, but every ship was packed to the brim with swarms of people with ragged clothing and hopeless expressions. He was just about to give up hope, when he noticed Lily yelling his name, waving two pieces of paper.
Lily ran up to him, pushing against the horde. She cried out: “Sirius! I just met a captain and she will let us ride on her boat all the way to Kerch! She said she could stop there on their way to Novyi Zem.”
Sirius smiled. Then he noticed Lily’s smile had fallen off her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Here's the thing, the captain said she doesn’t usually take passengers, just this once since she is strapped for cash. The tickets she offered were expensive. I spent all our money on them. I don’t know what we will do when we get to Ketterdam.”
Sirius frowned. “It’s fine. We needed the tickets anyway. We will figure it out.”
“Then let’s go! They leave in ten minutes!” Lily took Sirius’s hand and led him through the crowd.
The pair stopped in front of a small ship, with two main sails and a wooden gangplank. It was being loaded with crates of many shapes and sizes. Lily walked over to a tall woman with many long, dark braids and a blue coat. She handed the woman the tickets, and shook her hand. Lily beckoned Sirius over to the side of the boat.
“Sirius, meet Captain Meadows. She has been kind enough to grant us passage on her ship.” Captain Meadows extended her hand, and Sirius shook it.
“Please, call me Dorcas. We don’t do formalities on my ship. It gets too confusing, what with there being another Captain Meadows aboard.” As if on cue, a blond woman wearing a black sleeveless shirt and brown pants with many pockets walked over to them and flung an arm around Dorcas.
“I see you’ve met my wife. I am the other Captain Meadows, we run this ship together. Marlene’s my name.” Turning to Dorcas, she said: “We should get going. Tides wait for no one!” Dorcas walked up the gangplank, and began yelling commands.
Turning back to Sirius and Lily, she said “We don’t usually take passengers, but this is a short journey, so make yourselves at home. We don’t have many accommodations, so you will live with the crew for the next two days. That suit you?”
Lily and Siris nodded, and followed Marlene up the gangplank aboard the ship.