Chapter Text
Wylan Van Eck was going to die. Well, that was his initial thought when he awoke in some cellar, tied to a pole. In complete darkness. Lovely.
What am I doing here?
He attempted pulling at the rope holding him, but it was in vain. A sharp pain nagged behind his temples then, and he winced. Just dandy, a head injury to add into the exciting mystery of it all.
How did I get here?
Wylan searched his memory, but the last coherent one was of him in his room working on some new music he’d been trying to compose. He took in his surroundings then, searching for anything that may invoke a forgotten memory. Nothing. Although it wasn’t as if he could really see anything around him. Wylan shut his eyes tight, breath coming in shallower and more rapid now. Had his father gotten upset with him again? Was this his punishment for not meeting his expectations? The only reason he thought it couldn’t possibly be his father’s doing was due to how dark it was. If his father were truly upset with him, the lights would be on only to glow mockingly against a book’s pages. No, his father wouldn’t spare him the pity of simply locking him in a dark room.
Then, a light emitted from outside. Wylan squinted his eyes open–they were sensitive after being unconscious in the dark for so long. He could make out a silhouette of a man. Wonderful, this is how he dies, isn’t it? Tied up in some dark room with no way of defending himself, left for the rats to devour after being shot or stabbed–
“Well, look who decided to wake up! Mornin’ sunshine,” A booming voice interrupted his thoughts. Wylan could practically hear the grin in the stranger’s words, even if it was still too dark to see the man’s face. He took a deep breath, trying not to panic. He didn’t want to die, not really. He never really thought he feared death. Turns out he was wrong when directly faced with the possibility of it.
“Quiet, Jes. He just woke up, his head can’t be feeling very good," a new voice said gently, more careful. It sounded feminine to Wylan. He squinted his eyes some more, trying to make out the other person, but not being able to locate her amongst the shadows.
“I–Who’s there?” He peeped, trying to sound stern but failing miserably. The failed attempt was made clear to him when he heard the amused scoff of what he thought was the man. The next thing he knew, there was a person beside him. He startled, shoulders tensing more than they already had been. It was the girl. She knelt at his side and lit a lantern. She didn’t appear to be menacing, but Wylan had a feeling he was most likely very wrong. In fact he had an inkling that she could very easily be the cause of his untimely demise if she’d wanted to be.
She reached for Wylan then, and he flinched back. What was she going to do? Strangle him? Knock him out again? Stab him? However, she simply reached for the rope tying Wylan’s hands and undid it. “How’s your head feeling?” She asked. Wylan blinked, surprised by the care in her tone. He took another deep breath. He moved his hands from behind him, looking at where the rope had left small indents in his skin. He grimaced and rubbed at them. Why had his captors untied him? Or, one of them, he supposed.
“It’s… uhm, it hurts,” he murmured honestly. Because it did. And while he didn’t trust his abductors, he didn’t have much of another choice. He had no idea of his whereabouts, and he had no hope of fighting his way out.
But the girl just nodded and gave him a small smile. “Jes, would you mind getting our guest some water?” Wylan thought ‘guest’ was a bit of a stretch, but he didn’t comment on it.
She was granted a response with a hum from who Wylan assumed was ‘Jes’. He followed her gaze then, only to meet the eyes of the man, now visible in the light. Wylan’s first thought was that the boy had the most perfectly shaped lips he’d ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. That thought was cut short, however, when his gaze drifted to the two guns that rested in their holsters at his hips. Right. Danger. He could die. Wylan cleared his throat.
But of course, his headache couldn’t be the only addition to his torture. His gaze drifted back up to Jes’s, and the man had the audacity to wink at him. Wylan immediately felt his cheeks heat up because apparently even his own body wanted to make things worse for him. He looked away quickly, but heard a small chuckle from the man as he stalked off to find the water that the girl had requested.
“Wylan?” The dark-haired girl hummed. Wylan blinked and looked away from where he was watching the man walk off and back to her. She must have been Suli, he realized after finally fully taking in her features. Her dark hair was braided back neatly, and her skin was deep brown.
“...You know my name?” He asked weakly.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Considering all that happened, it would make sense to know the name of the person we abducted.”
He winced again. Of course. But the girl seemed to take pity on him and softened her gaze again. Wylan couldn’t help but think she seemed kind, despite everything. “My name is Inej. You’re aboard Kaz Brekker’s ship. Do you know him?”
Wylan stared at her. Kaz Brekker? Of course he’d heard of the infamous captain. He almost felt the urge to laugh at how impossible this sounded. “What does Kaz Brekker want with me? I–I really am not of much use,” He tried. Inej just shook her head.
“His intentions aren’t mine to share. But we aren’t your enemies, Wylan. None of this is personal.”
“It feels pretty personal,” Wylan let out a small laugh, but there was no humor in it. He frowned. Really, why would they want him? He couldn’t even read. Though it seemed they didn’t kidnap him for what he was and wasn’t capable of, anyway. And it wasn’t like they could possibly know about his… setback.
Inej just hummed. “Well, I suppose I can’t change your mind on something you seem set on already. However, considering I’ve untied you it doesn’t exactly seem like we view it as a potential problem,” She didn’t seem bothered that Wylan didn’t trust her. It almost made him trust her more, as idiotic as it sounded.
Wylan looked away from her. He once again looked over his surroundings now that he could see them properly. It was quite clear he was on a ship now, he felt a little dumb to only now be realizing that–with the rocking of the waves and everything. Of course, he had other problems that were a bit more prioritized at the time.
Inej didn’t seem like she felt as if she needed to fill the silence, and so the two sat there for a few moments. Wylan was grateful for it. He tried to put the pieces together; he was kidnapped, by pirates–no, not just any pirates, Kaz fucking Brekker. Wylan once again felt the sudden urge to laugh. It still felt crazy to think about. But nevermind that–he was kidnapped by pirates who don’t seem very hostile towards him, which only went to confuse him further. Inej had untied him, and she seemed kind. Did they take him thinking his father would pay for his ransom? That was probably it. The most likely answer, at the very least.
Wylan was only interrupted from his thoughts when the man–’Jes’--came barrelling back down the steps into the cellar of the ship. The startled boy watched as a few droplets of water fell over the cup’s edge and onto the floor due to Jes not being exactly careful with it. Inej had turned her gaze to the dark-skinned boy as well, and rolled her eyes. Though Wylan could tell it was more of a fond action rather than an irritated one. She held out her hand for it, and when Jes handed it over, she passed it to Wylan. He examined the liquid carefully, as if to make sure there wasn’t anything else in it that may disorient him. Though, it seemed safe. And Wylan felt as if he’d be able to tell if it had been spiked. So, he took a tentative sip of it. When it tasted normal, he took a few larger gulps.
Once he was finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to face Inej. He nodded in hesitant gratitude. “...Thank you, for the water.”
Inej smiled softly again. “Of course, Wylan. As I said, we’re not trying to be your enemies.”
“Uhm, hey? No thank you for me? I’m the one who got the water,” Jes pouted. Wylan was almost tempted to laugh at the man’s theatrics until he remembered the circumstance he was in at the moment. “‘Thank you, dearest, loveliest, most handsome Jesper, for gracing me with hydration!’ ‘Oh, of course, love–anytime,’ see? Not hard!” He continued, shaking his head in disappointment.
“Right, sorry. Thank you, dearest, loveliest, most handsome Jesper, for gracing me with hydration,” Wylan murmured sardonically, even if a hint of a rosy shade on his cheeks betrayed him. He chose to pointedly ignore that.
So Jesper was his name. Jes must be a nickname, then. It was a nice name, he thought. He liked the way it sounded on his tongue.
Wylan mentally slapped himself, he couldn’t be getting distracted in all of this. He needed to figure out where exactly he was in the ocean, why he was kidnapped in the first place, and how to make it out alive. Ghezen knows his father won’t be trying to pay any sort of ransom for him. He’d already been a burden enough just by existing in the same household. Wylan had a feeling his father was rejoicing right now, if anything.
Jesper’s grin only seemed to radiate more, however, once he noticed Wylan’s faint blush. “Get flustered easily, merchling? It’s cute.”
“I-” Wylan’s cheeks only flamed more red. “You’re intolerable.” He explicitly averted his gaze from Jesper's. There was a noticeable pause. “And it’s not my fault,” he tried to add. He could hear Jesper huff out a laugh at his response, then be abruptly cut off when he noticed Inej shoot the other boy a look.
“Are you feeling better, Wylan?” She queried, looking back to him. He took a moment to compose himself, then nodded in response.
“A little bit, yes. The water helped,” He murmured.
Inej smiled. “That’s good, I’m glad. And I apologize for Jesper, this is just how he is.” Wylan heard a distinct offended scoff from Jesper’s direction, and it made the corner of his lip twitch upward. He bit it back before anyone could notice.
Jesper had opened his mouth and was about to make a sharp retort, when the echoing click of cane was heard from behind him. Wylan’s eyes snapped to the newcomer, and all the blood that had gathered in his cheeks left just as soon as it had come.
“Isn’t this wonderful, you’ve all made acquaintances," The man behind Jesper said brusquely. His eyes were narrowed, but other than that his face remained alarmingly neutral. Wylan knew without a doubt this was the Kaz Brekker.
Brekker’s gaze found Inej’s first, holding her stare for a second before shifting to Wylan. It made the boy want to flinch back, but it also surprisingly wasn’t as frightening as his own father’s coldness. Brekker didn’t speak for a good moment, as if he were sizing Wylan up by looking into his eyes only. As if somehow he could read his thoughts. Wylan wouldn’t put it past him. Then,
“Wylan Van Eck,” Brekker began, an emphasis on his surname. “I’ve heard all about you.”