Chapter Text
This was going surprisingly well. However, you were quickly growing bored of this game and you were running low on money. You could feel three different breaths of anticipation in your ear as your friends huddled behind you. They had been wary of your skills but you had held out so far.
“Does the jury need more time to decide?” the voice of your opponent teased from across the table.
He was a tall, lanky man, with eyes the colour of the fog that you could spot on the ocean on cold nights. His dark hair was dishevelled from running his hands through it during the game. He wore a white button-up shirt which was missing the top two buttons, and a purple waistcoat on top of it, along with black trousers and a belt that held two pearl handled revolvers at his side. Upon the table, covering his chips, was a tophat that seemed to add to his look, and just as you thought he was mismatched enough, beneath the table you spotted socks that couldn’t be more different if they tried; a blue sock and a pink sock, each with a purple stripe running across them.
You placed your hand of cards down on the table for him to see. You were ready for this game to be over. Your opponent placed his hand down as well and a look of shock poured onto your faces. You had won .
Your friends cheered from behind you and you wondered if the man sat across from you might shoot you. The look on his face suggested to you that he’d been on a winning streak that you had just demolished. In a manner of sportsmanship, you held out your hand for him to shake. He promptly crossed his arms like a defiant child and turned his head away, although his eyes widened and he raised his head to meet the gaze of another man.
You hadn’t heard him approach despite the cane under his gloved hand. He looked like he might hit someone, probably your opponent, and like he’d seen a rat in his kitchen. His clothes were all black; the long coat that reached his ankles, the waistcoat with a beautiful design and the shirt beneath it were all black. You wondered if he’d just come from a funeral, the clothes you’d seen in the barrel were bright and eye-catching, like your opponent’s outfit. Nothing like what the man in front of you was wearing.
Your friends had stopped cheering, rather intimidated by him.
“Shake their hand, Jesper.” His words were sharp and left no room for argument. However, Jesper made room.
“Boss, they’ve just destroyed me and my dignity at this game. I am not shaking their hand.”
In your head you compared this man, Jesper, to a child who had lost at a board game. His ‘boss’ was the disappointed parent. You stifled a laugh as you watched Jesper get told off, and your friends looked at you as if you were mad.
“You’re in trouble,” you mumbled under your breath in a sing-song fashion.
Jesper shot you a nasty look, you spotted the corner of his boss’ lips lifted. There was amusement in those shark eyes of his. Jesper rose from his chair, obviously persuaded by his boss and walked around to your side of the table. He extended his hand just as you had before, albeit reluctantly, and waited for you to cooperate. You shook his hand, and upon making sure that his boss wasn’t in view of your face, you stuck your tongue out at Jesper, before dropping your hand down at your side once again.
He looked offended, acting as if he hadn’t been the immature one only two minutes ago. You watched as Jesper walked off, before your view was rudely interrupted by a watch being shoved into your line of sight. It was time for you to head back to the university with your friends and you had a feeling you may have overstayed your welcome.
You and your friends quickly gathered your coats and bags, but just as you were leaving you spotted the man in the black coat speaking to a girl who glanced in your direction as you exited the building.
As you and your friends hurried back to the university, you swore you could feel eyes on you as you walked.
‘ It’s probably nothing.’ You thought to yourself, but you moved closer into the middle of the group anyway, just to be sure.
“You’re telling me, Jesper Fahey was beaten in a game of cards by someone younger than him?” The brunette laughed loudly, causing the Fjerdian beside her to let out a less enthusiastic laugh alongside her. Jesper could feel the embarrassment creeping up his face.
In the corner of the room, his boss sat grinning like a hyena.
Another boy sat on the floor, his ginger curls turned gold in the light of the room. He was obviously trying to keep it together for Jesper, but his friends’ contagious laughs were enough to set him off.
“You’re all acting as if this is a daily occurrence.” Jesper spat, crossing his arms once again.
“It is, but usually you lose to old wrinkly men who can’t even remember what day it is.” The brunette responded, however she was prevented from laughing as the window beside her opened and a Suli girl slipped inside.
“Did you find them?” The man in the black coat asked, leaning forward in his chair. He was interested suddenly by the person who’d beaten Jesper and almost brought a smile to his lips.
“They’re studying at the university. I followed them there, but didn’t go any further.” She explained, and the man simply nodded and leaned back again.
“They obviously have more self control than Jesper here does. They actually left.” The blonde Fjerdian commented. Jesper shot him a look that suggested he might shoot him in the face. That comment left the brunette reeling with laughter.
“Keep an eye on them” the man in the corner said to the Suli girl.
The brunette interjected.
“And come get me when they’re next here.”
You were reading the letter you’d received from your parents in the library of the university.
Dearest, Y/N
Ravka is not what me and your father expected. The country has been damaged by the civil war and citizens we have passed are wary of us, we are clearly tourists. Your father almost got into a fight with a Grisha over the price of a souvenir at a market, he can never go anywhere without nearly getting into a fight. Sometimes I wish I had wished I had brought you with me and left your father to learn some manners.
However, he also wishes you were here. He always comments that would love the countryside here and would love the peace but then we both remember Ketterdam is your home no matter how busy or loud it is.
How are your studies? Are your teachers being fair with you? Are you working hard? We hope you are, you’ve always been one of the brightest of the family. Is your uncle well? Is he giving you enough money for meals and such? If not, let me know and I’ll send him a strongly worded letter. You better not be giving him trouble either, you know how busy he gets with work.
Have you made any friends yet? I know you share a room with others but you haven’t always been the most social. Your father would like me to express that if any of them give you trouble, he’ll be hand delivering your next letter.
We hope to see you soon and will bring back many new things from our travels for you. Keep working hard but also look after yourself.
Love, Mother.
You smiled and folded the letter back up to fit into the envelope it arrived in. You internally sighed at the thought of your father arguing with someone due to his stubbornness, he always had been stubborn but thankfully you had not inherited that trait. You instead got your mothers patience, even if yours was more limited than hers.
You turned over the envelope to look at the stamp, which was unlike any you’d seen before. The stamps in Ravka were different to what you’d imagined; in a good way, of course. It had the photo of the king on it, but you imagined he’d looked better in person.
Your parents had thankfully provided the address of their lodging on a smaller bit of paper in the envelope so you began writing your response on another piece of paper.