Chapter Text
Chapter 1
When Sirius Black awoke one night, in a small, dingy, room in Ketterdam, with a bounty on his head and a massive debt to the king of the Barrel himself, he found himself questioning his life choices.
How could it have been only a year ago, when he still lived a life of luxury in the Little Palace, with food every day and money to spare. How had he managed to mess up his life so terribly in just one year.
Sirius remembered the day he was taken. Bits and pieces of the moment clung in his memory, but many small details were lost to emotion.
He recalled the carriage showing up at his family’s manor in Ravka, and the pounding at the door. He remembered the excitement in his six year old brother Regulus's eyes as the Grisha entered the house. Regulus had always dreamed of being Grisha. Being Grisha would be a chance to escape their family, and finally be free.
He remembered the threatening look in his mothers eyes as she told the children to sit still and behave for the Grisha running the tests. He remembered the way Reg’s face fell as his test came up negative, and the way they filled with tears as their visitors told the family that Sirius was Grisha.
He still felt the pang of guilt in his stomach when he thought of his brother's round tearstained face watching from the door as Sirius was whisked away.
He had come through this gate only once before, the day he had been taken to the Little Palace to train as a Healer. Now, eleven years later, he would go through it again, this time as a free Grisha. He would not be part of the Darkling’s reign of terror.
Sirius’ plan had involved getting on the first ship he could find out of Ravka. The only problem was that he would have to cross the fold before he could escape. Every port was on the other side. The murderous realm of shadows was infested with enormous bloodthirsty monsters, known as volcra, that craved human flesh, and were known to attack ships passing through the gloom. When Sirius bought his ticket onto one of the ships near the fold’s edge, more than one passerby looked at him like he was crazy. Sirius was having second thoughts as he walked up the creaky wooden ramp, his brain deciding that this was a suicide mission. The only thing pushing him onwards was the idea of maybe, one day, finding his brother.
The journey started out as expected, with a Grisha Squaller pushing a great gust of wind, her hands flying as they blew the sails of the ship closer and closer to the wall of dark mist. Sirius was bracing himself, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the railing, when he heard a soft chuckle from beside him. Standing next to Sirius near the thin railing of the ship was a tall woman with red hair pulled back in a braid. She looked about his age, and wore a kefta, the bulletproof garment worn by Grisha. The kefta was deep blue, with orange flame-like embroidery. She must be an Inferni. From his days at the Little Palace, Sirius knew that Inferni were often kept on the ships that passed through the fold to ward off the light-sensitive volcra should they ever attack.
The Inferni looked at Sirius, noticing his nerves, and began to speak to him: “First time?”
Sirius nodded, trying to look calm and cool, hiding the anxiety that gripped his stomach and made him nauseous. “Lily,” she said, “Lily Evans.” She held out her hand. Sirius shook it. “Sirius Black,” he said.
Lily pushed up her blue sleeve, turning her wrist over to expose four scars slashed across it. Her face bore a proud expression at the awe on Sirius’ face.
“This will be my fifth time crossing, and every time has been smooth sailing. We had a scare with a volcra once, on my most recent trip, but it didn’t end up bothering us. This time will likely be the same.”
Even still, Sirius held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut as they passed through. He opened his eyes when they passed through the dark mist that shrouded the Fold like a dark secret.
Sirius knew the Fold was dark, but he had never known anything like this. Immediately after they entered, all the light was sucked away, except for the faint blue glow of the lantern hanging in the middle of the ship. The darkness had never felt so threatening, so ominous, as it felt at this moment. As Sirius’ eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the outline of Lily’s face. She was watching the Squaller at the front of the ship. Sirius’ nerves began to calm ever so slightly at the sight of her, she looked so composed. He almost forgot the danger, until it stared him in the face.
A shriek cut through the silence, sending a shiver down Sirius’ spine. It must have been volcra, as they are the only creatures that live in the Fold. The apprehensive silence was interrupted again by another shriek, and then another. A gust of wind, maybe the flap of a wing, blew across the deck of the ship, blowing Sirius’ hair into his face. He shook his head to clear his vision, and noticed in shock that the blue light, the only thing keeping the volcra at bay, had been blown out.