Chapter Text
Three punches landed on her stomach in quick succession. Inej bent double, coughing blood onto the floor and trying to ignore the shooting pain in her ribs. The room was almost completely dark, she could hardly tell where she was. She’d been hunting a ship when they were taken by surprise by a different crew. She didn’t even know if her crew were alive. All she knew was that she was in the belly of a ship somewhere, held captive by a slaver who thought he'd get big money for her head.
“We’ve been looking all over for you, Captain,” The slaver sneered, face inches from hers. “You’re a tough little ghost to find, aren’t you?”
“I try to be,” She forced out through her fear and pain.
The slaver laughed an ugly, menacing laugh, and struck her across the face.
“Don’t run your mouth,” He grabbed her jaw, forcing her to meet his eyes, “And don’t even think about trying to escape, or I'll hurt you more than that, do you hear me?”
He released her head, sending her stumbling backwards, before turning to the door.
“You’re not getting away from us. No one is coming for you this time, Captain,”
The door slammed and Inej squeezed her eyes shut. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the floor, willing breaths in and out. Trying desperately not to think about the last time she was trapped on a slaver’s ship, trying instead to think of an escape. She didn’t know how she was going to get out. She’d rather die than become a slave again, she knew that. But they’d taken all of her knives, even the hidden ones.
Saints protect me.
She curled up in a ball on the floor, her bound hands filling the gap between her stomach and knees. She stopped fighting with herself and started to cry, ignoring the jabs to her stomach every time she drew a breath. She didn’t move for hours, old memories echoing through her mind, each more twisted than the last. Heleen looking her over on the deck of the ship, her first night at the Menagerie, the first time she’d killed, Oomen driving the knife into her side, the man who’d seen her perform as a child, Matthias’ body being lifted out of the boat, Dunyasha’s maniacal laugh as she fell from the silos, Van Eck ordering his guard to break her legs. She whispered prayer after prayer, clinging to the slim hope that she’d find a way out of this, that there wouldn’t be any new memories to plague her as these old ones did.
When the door finally opened, the light from the hall blinded her. Inej blinked away the tears in her eyes, dread flooding through her stomach. The slaver who’d been torturing her strutted in, flanked by five or six guards wearing hoods so she couldn’t see their faces. She supposed that was a precaution, so she couldn’t come for them if she did escape, which was ridiculous. She’d find them no matter what they did.
The slaver pulled her to her feet roughly, she stumbled, barely keeping her usually perfect balance.
“Now, careful Captain, we wouldn’t want you getting hurt, now, would we?” He sneered, grip tightening on her arm as he dragged her from the room.
He pulled her down the dimly lit hallway, the guards following closely behind. She heard shouting from above her, but when she tried to look she felt a hand cuff the back of her head, she kept her eyes on the ground for the rest of the walk.
They brought her onto the deck of the ship, she took a deep breath of fresh air, ignoring the pain from her ribs when she did so. The slaver released her, and she stood, frozen on the deck, paralysed by her memories. She remembered what she’d thought then. Jump into the sea, drowning is better than whatever waits for you. She looked out at the ocean, wondering if she was strong enough to really do it this time. The slaver was right, no one knew where she was, it was up to her to save herself. The slaver looked her up and down in a way that made her skin crawl, he seemed to hear her thoughts.
“I don’t trust you,” He said. “I think we might have to take an extra precaution with this one,”
He turned to the guards.
“Chain her to the mast,”
One of the guards seized her arms, dragging her over to the mast and pulling her hands around it. They pulled a pair of handcuffs from the pocket of their coat, starting to secure them around her wrists. She still couldn’t see any of the guards' faces through the hoods, but they were all much taller than her. She’d be able to take them in a fight, if she had her knives and wasn’t injured, but as she was, she didn’t stand a chance. She felt hands pressed against hers as they locked the handcuffs. She recoiled. They didn’t feel human, they didn’t feel like skin.
They didn’t feel like skin.
No, they felt like leather. Leather covered hands pressed against hers.
No, it couldn’t be.
She was deluding herself. She watched the guard as they walked back to the group, noticed his irregular steps, almost as if he was trying very hard to disguise a limp. She let hope rise in her chest, the sick anticipation of death receding. She reached out her fingers to check the cuffs around her wrists. Sure enough, the cuffs weren’t locked, they were just closed. Inej would easily be able to pull her hands free from them. She looked at the guard again, wanting to signal to him somehow.
The slaver started walking towards her, slowly and deliberately.
“Now, you’re trapped, my little Captain,” He leaned towards her, “You know, Heleen offered me a pretty high price to bring you to her, so did just about everyone you’ve ever taken business from, but I think I might prefer to keep you for myself,” He pulled a rusty, jagged knife from his pocket, tracing the flat side of the blade against her cheek. “What a shame, she won’t be missed though, will she? Her body will rot at the bottom of the ocean, and no one will be around to mourn her,”
“Are you sure about that?” Said a rough, gravelly voice.
“No, I think he’s wrong,” Came the cheerful reply.
The slaver whipped round towards the noise and fell to the ground, struck in the temple by a crow headed cane. Kaz’s hood fell to his shoulders, his hair falling forward into his eyes. He knelt on the man’s chest, looking him straight in the eye.
“You should know by now. You hurt the Wraith, and Dirtyhands comes to call,”
He drew back the cane and brought it down on the slaver’s head. Blood pooled on the deck of the ship, as his scream died in his throat.
Inej let out a slightly hysterical laugh, the knowledge that she wasn’t going to die settling over her. She let the handcuffs fall to the floor and leant forward, barely keeping herself from collapsing. Firm hands gripped her shoulders, holding her up. Kaz was standing between her and the slaver, fear filling his eyes.
“Inej? Can you hear me?”
She nodded.
“Did he hurt you?”
Before she could answer, gunshots rang out across the deck. She looked over Kaz’s shoulder to see Jesper standing over the bodies of the other guards. He looked up at her and waved cheerily, the smoking gun still in his hand.
“Inej?” Kaz asked, gentler this time. “Can you walk?”
She tried to straighten up, but she could only take half a step before her legs gave way beneath her. She wasn’t sure if it was her injuries or if she was just giddy with relief, but she could hardly move. Jesper dashed over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, catching her just before she hit the deck.
“Wylan’s just bringing the boat into the dock, do you think you can get down there?” He asked
She shook her head.
He bit his lip. “Ok, that’s fine. If I lift you, will it hurt more?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so,”
Jesper nodded and slipped his other arm under her knees, lifting her with ease. She gritted her teeth in pain, trying to relax and let him carry her. She thought of the last time she’d been held like this, when she’d been stabbed before the Ice Court job. Apparently, she had a bad track record for getting injured in harbours.
There was a carriage waiting for them when they got off the ship. Jesper set her down gently on the seat, keeping his arm around her as he settled in beside her. Wylan and Kaz were sitting opposite, both staring at her. Inej heard the wheels creak as the carriage started moving. She wasn’t on a ship, she was here, she was safe.
She was struggling to keep her eyes open, pain and exhaustion getting the better of her as the adrenaline wore off. The last thing she saw before she passed out was Kaz, staring at her, his expression dark.