𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑶𝑵𝑬 — 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑽𝑬

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑, an observer, she had her eyes on everything that happened under her silken moonlight draped over the city. She wasn't always laying in moonbeams and celestial lights, the moon would sometimes be broken down, she would drown in the darkness of the night.

The moon was her protector, she watched over her like a guardian, she would envelop her in the nighttime obscurity like an armour. And the moon knew that she would repay her, whether in bloody bones or golden prayers.

The moon was a saint in Leila's eyes, her guardian angel, her heart was the purest with no scar, no blood, no sins. She watched Leila, her every move, her every word, her every thought as she walked through the streets. 

Leila had accepted the job, the one Inej had asked her to do, as the latter walked, she recalled the words that played in her head. I will kill for you, Inej. I will do it.

Now here she was, walking down the street towards the home of her victim. Her mind was telling her that this was just an everyday work. Killing was her job, so why was this more personal.

Leila Darya had blood on her hands, she'd always did, from the moment she'd started a life in Ketterdam to her present self. Leila had never once thought that she was clean of her sins. Taking one's life was her daily job. 

Leila walked quietly, her mind racing with thoughts. Finally looking up she saw the building she had to go into. The side of the building was dark due to the absence of light, but it was illuminated enough by the streetlights for Leila to see the open window. Her entrance way.

Leila could not think of one thing that could stop her in that moment, the moonlight shinning down on her, the soft wind brushing through her hair, the night sky darkening with her mission. 

She looked devilish, like a killer with silk draped over them covering their blood-soaked hands. 

Making her way through the window, Leila made sure that no one was around and walked into the building, her eyes roamed around the room searching for anything helpful only to hear a voice, or more of a humming sound. 

Someone was here, hopefully the person Leila was searching for a man who went by the name of, Arken. He was a human trafficker. Leila internally grimaced at the thought. She knew these types of people, they profited off of others' lives, taking them into oblivion.

Leila turned a corner, looking through the doorway, seeing as a man's back was turned to her, she ultimately decided that he must be Arken since no one else was in the floor. 

Slowly, Leila made her way towards him, she took out one of her heavier daggers and flicked it so that she held the hilt towards him. The man had no clue, not one clue that danger was behind, but as he looked up, he saw some sort of silhouette in the window, leaning closer to it, he finally realised that it wasn't outside but inside.

So, as he turned to look at her, Leila used the momentum of her arm to hit the man across the temple, knocking him out instantly, his body fell down unconscious on the carpet with a thud. 

Sighing, Leila lifted him into a more comfortable manner. Arken was now tied down on a chair, the side of his head covered in a bit of blood. Leila looked around, maybe there was something helpful here.

Walking towards the desk that he had been standing at, Leila looked through the many papers scattered on the surface. Rummaging through the files and documents, Leila was not satisfied with the information she was finding. Ship names, numbers, destinations, clients, names and surnames.

As she was about to put down the papers she'd been looking through, something caught her eyes, a name— only a surname. A quite familiar one. Darya — 0398. No name, no address, no destination, only a surname and a number. 

   "What?" mumbled Leila as she frowned. 

Just then, she heard a groan, her focus was drawn back to the unconscious man who was still bound to the chair. He moved his head and tried to look around. Leila frowned at him as she let the papers slip from her hands but kept the one, she'd just found in her pocket.

   "Well, hello there. It's high time you got up, I've been waiting for ages."

The man looked up quickly, Leila thought he'd gotten a whiplash, he looked around nervously and said, "You fucking hit me." Leila rolled her eyes at his words and stated, "Get over it."

   "Why would you do that?! Only to ransack my apartment?" asked Arken. 

Leila walked closer to him, dagger in hand, a dangerous smile on her face, "No. I came to find records of the children you sold to the brothels."

The man scrunched up his nose, scowling, he said in a confused tone, "I have never sold any indentures."

Leila frowned as she raised her eyebrow, that's not what Inej had told her, "Right? And you never sold people to the White Rose."

   "No, no, you've got it all wrong." said Arken. "I'm not in her business, I'm a smuggler."

   "You steal people, adults and kids from their families. How many Suli indentures have you sold?" assured Leila, what was this? she had not signed up for this.

   "I liberate families fleeing the war." argued Arken desperate to get her to believe him. "I smuggle deserters and refugees. Please, please!"

   "I see, well unfortunately for you, I have a job to finish." said Leila raising her eyebrows to the man whose own eyes got wider. 

   "Wait! Wait! You're the Viper!" yelled out Arken leaning back, trying to get away from her. "Are you looking for someone? Your parents? A sibling?"

Leila stopped every movement. She stood close to him but stood still, thinking about the papers she'd just seen, the names and the ship number. Leila frowned, she didn't know if she wanted to know who this was, maybe a family member, maybe even a parent. 

But she knew that whatever the case was, she would find them, she needed answers. Why was she in Ketterdam in the first place? Who had left her on the boat? Leila hadn't realised that her breath was trembling, she stared at Arken, her mind racing.

   "I came to Ketterdam on a refugee ship." said Leila making Arken look up at her. "I don't remember how I had gotten there, and I couldn't find my parents."

   "It was horrible. I had no one. I was a child and I had no one that could help." continued Leila as she looked at him with a glare. 

Arken stayed quiet, having no idea what to say to her. He stared at her, "I'm sorry—."

   "You, being sorry doesn't do anything for me." interrupted Leila, her mind going back to the task she had to finish, looking down at her dagger and back at him, she walked forward with a raised arm. Arken pushed his body back, desperately trying to get away from her. 

   "Don't!"

Leila turned, her reflects getting the better of her as she threw the knife towards the direction of the voice. Leila stared at Kaz who was in the doorway looking at her dagger that was now stuck to the wall next to him. His forehead furrowed as he turned to her.

His eyes darted around her, his face tensing at the sight of her now bloodied pants, in all the chaos, Leila hadn't realised that her wound had opened up a little bit, causing blood to spill out.

Kaz stalked forward towards Leila, his face stoic and his demeanour tense. He looked at her and asked, voice darkened, "What happened?" 

Leila shook her head, "What?"

Kaz tilted his head, "You're not stupid, Viper." He came closer, now only an arm's length away from her, "What happened to your leg?"

   "Nothing." answered Leila, she could tell he wasn't buying her excuse. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, "What happened to your leg?"

Leila stood straighter, as she glared at him. Why would he need to know? Why would he care either way?

   "Does it even matter?" replied Leila. 

   "Yes, it does. Now I want names." answered Kaz as he took one more look at her bloodied leg and back at her. "You are one of the crows, and when people want you dead, they want us dead and it does not help me in anyway."

   "Pekka Rollins. . .It was Pekka Rollins." stated Leila, finally giving in. Kaz felt like he'd stop breathing, had he gone after her when he'd come to his office. "It doesn't matter either way, he wanted me to bring all the information you had to him and join him, he's been trying for years, I am not going to do so."

Kaz didn't say anything, his mind was racing with possible scenarios. Leila made a move to walk away towards the doorway, forgetting about Arken, but she never made it as she felt Kaz's cold gloved hand wrap around her wrist. She felt her breath hitch but as quick as he had caught her wrist, he'd let it go. He nodded towards Arken.

   "He's our way to Alina Starkov." said Kaz returning to Arken who watched the scene. He looked lost at the sight of Dirtyhands and the Viper. 

   "Him?" asked Leila, snapping out of her thoughts. She looked towards the man with a confused expression.

   "Conductor. I have a job for you." said Kaz, ignoring Leila's question. "Get us to the Little Palace."

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐑 than usual, though the nights in Ketterdam were usually cold and diming, the night was not the same. It felt unreal, unusual, more dangerous than any other night. Leila felt it, she felt the moon's shift, the sudden danger than flooded the night sky and her veins pumped with it.

But it was now daylight that shown through the window of the carriage the crows and Arken were in. The sun felt warm and contrasted with the chilly wind than blew through the air. Leila was sat next to Inej, she was next to the window, whereas Jesper and Arken sat infront of them.

   "I didn't hire you simply to get us across the Fold." said Kaz glaring at Arken who looked rather uncomfortable. "You're with us because you smuggle Grisha out of the Little Palace, and that's the location of our target."

Inej who elbowed Leila for her to turn to the conversation at hand said, "Sun Summoner."

   "Alleged." replied Kaz.

   "They wouldn't keep a fraud in the most secure location in all of Ravka." added Leila as she turned and glared at Kaz who turned to her. "If they did, then that would be extremely idiotic and a waste of resources."

   "You said you have a contact who can get us inside." said Kaz ignoring Leila as he turned back to face Arken. "A Heartrender."

Arken only hummed in response. Kaz continued, "How do I know we can trust her?"

   "Nina grew up there." answered Arken. 

   "Most Grisha grew up in the Little Palace." said Kaz. "Very few would betray their general, and fewer still would help foreigners kidnap their most prized possession."

Leila wouldn't admit it, but Kaz was right. Most grishas were loyal to the general and to the little palace. 

   "Nina's a radical." continued Arken, that got Leila's attention, she turned to him. "Thinks Grisha should get to choose if they serve the Crown. She despises involuntary service more than she does Fjerdans."

The ride to the meeting point was left in silence after Arken told them about Nina, Leila had zoned out on half the small talks they had after that. She just looked out of the window; her mind stuck in a single place. She was worried.

As they had gotten out of the carriage and walked into the inn. Leila took in the surroundings, the room was disorderly, rough and messy. It looked like a fight had taken place, but if you weren't looking, you wouldn't be able to tell.

   "She knew to expect us." said Arken walking around confused. 

   "She isn't late. She's gone." assured Kaz as he was looking at the bed, Leila was seeking out the window, in search of clues. Kaz then lifted the suitcase, which revealed a symbol. Metal symbol, Leila walked closer to Kaz, wanting to take a better look. 

   "What is it?" asked Jesper.

   "Drüskelle. They are ruthless Grisha hunters." responded Arken. Leila looked at the smuggler, noticing he looked rather angry at the intruders.

   "Explains the Fjerdan krydda the innkeeper was counting when we arrived." said Kaz, his voice full of disappointment. "It's likely he ratted her out."

   "She's probably captive on a ship to Fjerda by now." said Arken. Leila sighed, why was everyone so negative? maybe she'd gotten away, or maybe not.

   "They had a clear line of attack." added Inej who was now closer to the window than Leila, who nodded her head at Inej's insight. 

   "Take a look. Make sure there aren't any more surprises." replied Kaz, to which she nodded to Leila. Leila was about to follow Inej out the window to help but was stopped by Kaz's cane. She slowly made her way back, glaring at him, but all he did was look back at Arken.

   "Well, that's that." said Jesper looking at the metal symbol. Leila sighed and said, "So we came all the way here for nothing."

   "Well, we've lost our way into the Little Palace." replied Arken, as he sat down on the bed. 

Walking outside of the inn, the crows plus Arken made their way towards the grouds, Inej dropped down from the roof landing perfectly in front of Leila. The latter only side stepping her.

   "All clear." announced Inej. 

   "This seems like a reasonable juncture to abandon this whole Sun Summoner plan."

   "Abandon?" said Kaz. "We're in this now. And I know what a million kruge means to me. What does it mean to you?"

   "Freedom." said Inej, her eyes shining with hope.

   "Protection." said Leila, as she looked up at Kaz. 

   "Fun. Like, at least a few months." said Jesper. 

   "Retirement." said the conductor.

   "Right, so we press on." continued Kaz, "Get us across the Fold and I'll figure out the rest on the other side."

   "Fine." agreed Arken. "To cross, I'll need 20 pounds of alabaster coal, a peck of Majdaloun jurda. uh, not the kind from Kerch. It's too weak."

He looked back at Jesper and sighed, "And, uh... a goat."

   "Now, we meet in the dead of night. There's a wreckage of a skiff northeast, on the edge of town. So, who gets what?"

   "Inej, jurda. I'll get the goat, Darya, you're coming with me. And Jesper..." said Kaz, now walking closer to Jesper. "Just the coal, no detours."

Leila grumbled under her breath at the thought of going with Kaz, she had contemplated sneaking off to go with Inej but her plans were stopped by a glare and hit to the stomach with a cane. 

She glared back at him, but he simply started walking, never turning around. Leila couldn't understand how someone with such a bad social skill could be this. . . pretty, sure she knew that he had the looks but with the way he acts and speaks, she knew no one would ever dare try their chance.

Leila sighed and quickly jogged until she fell into steps with him, the latter only stared forward. 

   "Do you have to be so grumpy looking at all time?" asked Leila, her eyebrows raised in questioning. Kaz turned to her and said nothing, he simply looked back in front of him, without saying a word.

   "What happened?" asked Kaz, "With Pekka." 

   "What?" Leila asked in a small whisper, "I already told you," Leila replied coldly and turned to look at the road. 

   "No, you told me who did it but never what happened?" said Kaz. 

Leila turned to him, frowning at his question. "Why do you-"

   "Need to know." finished Kaz. "Because you looked like you walked out of hell."

Leila chuckled lowly, shaking her head at his words. "It doesn't matter." She knew that would not have stopped him. "I was being followed and went to Anefa's house . . . I thought he'd gotten to Anefa, and I could not deal with that."

   "She wasn't there, was she?"

   "No, thankfully." replied Leila, head hung low. "I was ambushed."

Kaz said nothing, he didn't want to know what had happened to her but when Pekka told him, he went after her, Kaz knew that he'd tortured her. But, opting to just end the conversation, Kaz nodded and walked a bit forward to be slightly in front of her. 

Leila felt lighter seeing as he ended the conversation, she didn't know what she'd have said if he continued. So, she just continued walking, not saying a word to him. Leila just walked, walked in silence, thoughts racing in her mind.

The streets were full of people either walking and chatting or buying goods from others. Kaz stalked in front of the Suli girl, she just followed him, knowing he would not say anything to her until they saw the merchant. 

The merchant was behind a barrier full of baby goats, Leila giggled and walked past Kaz towards the baby goats. The merchant smiled at her, inviting her inside the barrier to pet the goats. Kaz only walked behind her, staying behind the barrier. 

Leila moved towards one of them, that was towards the back laid on hay. He was the smaller of the bunch, not moving much when Leila bend down to pet it. It only bleated towards her, snuggling into her hand. Leila smiled, "Aww, he's adorable."

Kaz wasted no time, "How much for the goat?" He didn't want to waste any time with this, wanting to go back to the meeting point. Kaz couldn't help but think about how peaceful she looked right now, for someone who is known to be an assassin, she looked almost brighter. 

After getting the goat, the two walked away from the merchant, with Kaz with the goat in hand next to Leila who stared at the two, silently. He looked quite funny with a goat underneath his arms. Kaz could tell she was staring at him, but he opted to just keep walking. 

   "Stop staring."  said Kaz, finally saying something. 

   "What do you mean?" replied Leila, acting like she wasn't staring, only to look away innocently. 

   "You know what I mean, you were staring."

   "You just look funny with a goat underneath your arm." Kaz glared at her unamused by her comment. Leila only looked forward not wanting to look back at him. 

   "I have a question for you, Viper." said Kaz, changing the topic. Leila looked at him, her heartbeat picking up after hearing the name he called her. Viper.

   "What is it?" responded Leila, in a low voice. 

   "Do you have any family?" The dreaded question. The one that she was not able to answer for her own sanity, the one that was buried deep inside. Leila sighed. 

   "I don't know." said Leila. "The only thing I do know is that they were Suli, and I got separated from them."

Kaz nodded, "If you're parents were Suli, they probably would not be in Ketterdam."

   "I know." Leila thought back to the name and number she'd seen in Arken's home; she contemplated telling Kaz. 

   "I just thought. . . In Arken's office, there were papers with names and numbers. And I saw the name Darya on it." 

   "Hmm, I'll look over it." said Kaz. Leila almost stopped in her tracks, what?  Leila slowed down, letting Kaz walk in front. "What?"

   "No, no, no. Why would you do that? I am the one who'll look for them not you. I don't need your help, Brekker."

   "Hope is dangerous, Leila. It clouds your judgment, that's why I'll look." replied Kaz. "If they are alive, I'll find something to help."

   "But, why?" asked Leila.

   "Because you'll be distracted if your mind isn't onto the task at hand." continued Kaz, walking off. "We all have debts to pay and things to figure out."

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 was so dark, you could not even see your own hands and legs, the moonlight was their light even with Arken's torch. Kaz and Leila had met up with Inej and Arken, Jesper was nowhere to be seen. "We're almost there." said Arken.

   "Where the hell is Jesper?" grumbled Kaz as the group walk towards a field, following Arken into the darkness, the warm torch light illuminating their path with the help of the moon.

   "Just a little further." added Arken. 

Leila looked around as they walked faster, "Where are we even going?" Her question went unanswered. She huffed but said nothing. 

As they walked, a sign came into view, Leila couldn't see what was written on it, but as she came closer, the sign lit up with warm orange light. Leila's eyes widened; this was not going to be great. These were. . .

   "Landmines." exclaimed Inej. Leila, Inej and Kaz all stopped in their tracks, not wanting to move any further.

   "We'll wait." said Kaz. "Follow the path that you carve."

   "That sign, that was my idea to keep people away." answered Arken, turning around to look at the three "Can't be too careful. We're fine. Come."

Inej and Leila complied and walked towards Arken leaving behind Kaz who begrudgingly walked after the two Suli women. "It's one thing hearing about it, but this is..." started Inej. 

   "Nothing compared to what lies within." continued Arken as he gave the torch to Inej, who stood still as he walked off into the night. Leila frowned looking up at the dark veil that was infront of them. The Fold. She looked away from it as the thunder rumbled and the wind picked up.

   "Saints." mumbled Leila as she heard the squeaking of metal and wheels. Arken reappeared and he appeared to have brought with him a sort of compartment or train.

   "There." said Arken. "So, goat, jurda... Thank you. Now we're just waiting on..."

Just then, Jesper could be heard screaming, "Wait for me!" Leila and Inej looked at each other and shook their heads. The sound of gunshots and angry men shouting followed Jesper, who was franticly running towards them. 

   "They can't see the train."

Kaz yelled out to Jesper, "Jesper, get here now!" 

   "Leave the lantern." Inej added as she too looked out towards Jesper, who stood infront of the landmine sign.

   "Come on!" yelled Leila.

   "Landmines!" shouted Jesper, pointing at the sign until he heard the approaching gunshots and sighed before yelling out. "Oh, wait for me! Don't you go without me! Wait!"

   "Come on!" groaned Kaz.

   "Go on, after him!" yelled the men behind Jesper, who just huffed with a sack on his shoulder.

   "Please tell me you have 20 pounds of alabaster coal." asked Arken as he walked over. 

Only for Jesper to reply, "Slight snag in the plan. Turns out that the kid who was helping me buy the coal didn't exactly know how to, uh, buy coal."

   "What?" asked Leila, eyebrows raised. Inej went over and looked out through the peep hole to check on the men who were still yelling. 

Kaz didn't seem surprised, and said, "We know you gambled it away."

   "I lost a little bit of the money." said Jesper, and when Kaz raised his brow, Jesper retorted and gave the sack to Arken, "I lost all of the money. Uh, but I managed to steal 20 pounds of alabaster coal." 

   "No, no, there's 16 pounds." said Arken lifting the sack.

   "Sixteen pounds of alabaster coal." said Jesper.

Kaz looked over to Arken, "Can we do it on 16?"

   "Never been done before." replied Arken.

Outside, the men that had been chasing Jesper were yelling out, "Let's go! We'll follow their footprints!" As gunshots rang out. Leila moved over and near Inej. 

   "Sit here. Never shift your weight." said Arken as he grabbed Jesper and sat him down on the side. Kaz took off his coat, and Inej and Leila sat down on the other side. Leila looked over to Kaz, the latter only looked away. 

   "You've crossed that many times?" asked Inej, looking at Arken's arm where healed cuts on his forearms. "It's a numbers game. Cross this often and you get nightmares."

He went over and opened the sort of oven contraption, Inej lifted her dagger and prayed to the Saints. Just then an explosion could be heard, and Leila swore she heard men screaming. One of the landmines had exploded. 

   "Landmines." said Jesper.

   "I thought you said they weren't real." said Kaz as he glared at Arken. They could have died back there. 

   "Are you trying to get us killed?" shouted Leila, now completely angered, with her dagger in hand. She could have died. Inej could have died. 

   "Saints no. I said nothing of the sort." said Arken backing slowly away from the Suli girl. "I just said I put up the sign myself." 

And just like that, everyone sat in silence. . .

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❪ ៸ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ━━━━━ ! ﹆◞ ❫
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━━━━━ . . .
❪ . . . the 5th chapter for THE PERFECT CRIME everyone, this chapter is bonkers!!! ❫
❪ . . . THIS IS 4.4k which is a lot that i wrote but i hope you enjoy!!!!!! ❫
❪ . . . PLEASE tell me how you guys feel about it ??❫
❪ . . .PLEASE don't be a ghost reader, comment and vote, I love to reply to everyone and interact with my readers, love all of you darlings <33 ❫