⌜ chapter five ⌟

Kaz walks into his living quarters and he sees Arya standing in front of the painting she was looking at before. "You seem rather interested in the Fold." He says as he shuts the door behind.

"Well, you said that so much as entering it is certain death, and yet you're hellbent on crossing it." She says as he moves past her so that he can get into his safe. "I like to contemplate before I willingly put my life on the line."

"Considering finding someone else to help you get home?" He asks, and she can hear him hurrying as he gets what he needs together.

"No. You're making a plan to get across, I'm trying to think of ways to make sure we survive while we're inside." She tells him as he lowers the other painting so that it's covering the safe again. "I don't like to go into things without a plan." She explains, turning to face him as he rounds the desk again.

Kaz's steps falter when he looks at the brunette, seeing the new outfit that she's wearing as her dark hair falls in waves over her shoulders. She's wearing a black corset with gold and silver sequins over the dark blue blouse, and she has a black skirt as well. There's a slit up her leg, but he can't currently see her skin underneath.

"Would you believe that this is the most...tame outfit that Poppy owns?" Arya asks as she looks up at him.

"I would, yes."

"She said I can keep it, since you're not supposed to go on Pekka's turf."

"That was nice of her." He says as looks back to her face, now noticing the bit of makeup she's wearing as well as the hair that's been cut. She now has bangs over her forehead, which she's brushed to the side. He's certain that Poppy insisted and refused to take no as an answer.

"I despise this part." Arya says as her fingers graze the black material. "I definitely did not miss the corsets. They make breathing damn near impossible...but I guess if I have to fit in." She looks back up at him then, and he notices that the green of her eyes looks more vibrant with the makeup to bring out the color.

"Won't hurt."

"Of course you think so. You don't have one squeezing your rib cage." She muses, a small smile playing at her lips. "But she promised that I'll still be able to fight if I need to. So rest assured, I can still protect you."

"Who says I need protecting?" He questions.

"You seem to have a new enemy around every corner. Something tells me you're not very good at making friends." She says, and she thinks she sees a bit of amusement behind the blue. "What do you have in the envelope?"

He looks down at the large, white envelope in his hand before his gaze returns to Arya. "We have to go." He tells the brunette, and then moves past her.

The pair end up at the Menagerie that Inej used to work at, and Kaz asks to speak with a woman named Heleen. They're led upstairs, and a man opens the doors for them.

"I'm taking her." Kaz says, speaking to the woman who technically owns Inej.

"Oh?" She smiles as she looks at Arya. "Making a trade, are we?" The blonde asks, and her jaw tightens as she looks at her.

"She isn't for sale." He says as he moves his cane, prompting Arya to step behind him. "When we return, I'll have the buyout to clear the books. Until then...this is my collateral." He moves closer to the desk that Heleen is sat behind before holding the envelope out toward her.

She smiles as she takes it from him. "What do you have...that could possibly be enough?" She asks, using a letter opener to slice the wax seal. The blonde then pulls out a thick sheet of paper, and she's obviously surprised by what she sees. "The Crow Club?"

"Kaz." Arya quickly moves forward, and he turns to look at her. "I told you that I could get you money. What are you doing?" She whispers.

"We don't have the kind of time that you would need." He tells her, speaking just as softly.

She shakes her head as she looks up at him. "She wouldn't want this."

"She isn't to know."

"Inej is yours to lose now." Heleen says, and they both look back at her. She's now standing, her hand outstretched toward Kaz. He hesitates for a moment before reaching out and placing his gloved hand in her bare one. "It's all yours to lose."

Kaz turns back and looks at Arya then. "Go." He motions for the door.

"When this falls through." The blonde starts, and he turns his head slightly in her direction, but doesn't look back to her. "I may be willing to trade the club back to you...for this one here. She looks like she'd bring in a nice new clientele."

"Never." He tells her, then he places his hand on the small of Arya's back and guides her toward the door so that they can leave.

» » » « « «

"Never been on the ocean before?" Jesper asks as he walks over to where Arya's looking out at the vast sea.

"I've never even seen it before." She tells him, her eyes still on the water. "I always wanted to, but never had a way there."

"You've never seen the ocean?"

"No. Where I grew up, there was no coast close enough. And I couldn't ask my father to let me take the carriage." She explains. "All I could do was imagine it from stories."

"And does it hold up to the picture in your head?"

"It outdoes it." She smiles as she looks at him, but then she sees Kaz walking up behind him.

"We're going below deck." He says as he stops on Jesper's other side for a moment, then he turns around and walks away from them.

"But I-" Arya groans as she glares after Kaz's retreating form. "He's insufferable."

Jesper offers her a sympathetic look. "Come on." He motions for her to walk ahead of him, and she catches up to Kaz, who stopped at the top of the steps.

She follows him down to the lower deck, annoyed that she couldn't stay up awhile longer to watch the waves in the water. "Am I gonna have to stay in the room when you bathe too?" She grumbles as she reaches the bottom of the stairs.

Kaz turns suddenly, startling her as she looks up to meet his gaze. "Why? Do you want to?" He asks, and her eyes narrow as she looks into his.

"I'm not above beating a man with his own cane." She says, and Jesper laughs awkwardly behind her.

"Alright." He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her past Kaz. They end up nearer to the man who Kaz hired to help them get across the Fold; he doesn't seem much like the talkative type. "Tell me something about you."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Anything." He shrugs. "You're from a different world; I don't know anything about you really. Where do you want to start? What's your name?"

"Arya Lillian Salvatore." She tells him. "I got my middle name from my mother."

"Salvatore." Jesper smirks. "I like that. It's sexy." He says, and she chuckles as she shakes her head at him. "What do you miss most about your world? Besides the obvious."

"As in, besides my family?" She asks, and he nods. "Probably the music — certain songs. And stories that I read when I was younger."

"What kind of stories?"

"Stories not meant for children."

"Oh?" He smirks, and she scoffs.

"You are such a man." She says, and he laughs. "That's not what I meant."

"What was in the stories?" Inej asks as she walks over to them.

"Mm... Death, chaos...murder and other gruesome things." Arya looks over at her. "One of my mother's favorite playwrights wrote tragedies. He was kinda sadistic, if you ask me."

"What was your favorite?"

"Um... I don't know. I liked Romeo and Juliet the first time I was reading it." She says. "Until I got to the end, that is. They were kind of moronic, but they were also teenagers, so..."

"What was it about?" Jesper asks.

"The kids of two rival families meet and fall in love, but they're forbidden from being together because of the history between their parents." Arya looks over at him. "I guess when I was younger, I thought the idea of defying all to be with the one you love seemed... I don't know. I mean, it wasn't about the romance to me. I think it was the idea of finding something or someone that you were so passionate about...that you believed in so wholeheartedly...that you were willing to risk everything. I didn't have much growing up, so I liked the idea of having someone care that much about me, as much as I do for them."

"But it wasn't about the romance?" He questions, and she smirks.

"No. The story itself had that theme, but for me — it could've been anyone. A friend, or family; it didn't have to be a lover of any sort."

"But that is all the more fun." He smiles, and she chuckles.

"How does it end?" Inej asks, regaining her attention. "You said you don't like the ending."

"Um... It's been awhile since I read it, but... Romeo gets exiled for killing another of the characters, and Juliet wants to be with him. So she takes this...potion, and it makes her appear dead. She wanted to fake her own death so that she could live with him in exile, but Romeo hears about what happened, and he thinks that it's real. So he goes to her to see her body for himself, and the potion hasn't worn off yet. He thinks she's dead, and so he poisons himself with actual poison as she's waking up. He dies at her side, and she kills herself with a blade that he had on him." Arya pauses as she looks down. "If I remember correctly, their families agree to put aside their differences as a result of their kids' deaths, as they would still be alive had their parents not banned them from seeing each other."

"Or they died because they were both idiots." Kaz says from where he's sitting a little ways away.

"Yeah, it's hard to argue with that one." The brunette nods. "Like I said, I liked the play before I reached the ending."

"You said you've killed creatures before." He says suddenly, and Jesper sighs as he looks over at him. "What kind of creatures?"

"All work and no play makes Kaz a very dull boy." Arya says, looking over at him.

"We need to know that you can actually help us once we're inside the Fold." He tells her, and she rolls her eyes.

"I've fought and killed plenty of creatures." She tells him. "Things that generally feed on humans, and look more than a little disgusting. Long claws, sharp fangs. Good times, really. You want me to draw you a picture?" She gets to her feet then, and he watches her as she stands.

"Where are you going?"

"Am I really not allowed even a minute alone?" She questions as she looks over at him. "I have been with you, Poppy, or Jesper every second since I landed in this damn world. Can I have two minutes to, I don't know, pee?"

Kaz looks away from her without a word, and Arya walks off to find somewhere on the ship that she can have a few minutes of privacy. The brunette takes a deep breath once she finds a spot and she leans her head back as she rests against a wall.

"Arya?" Inej walks over, and she looks over. "Are you alright?"

"I guess that depends on your meaning of the word." She sighs.

"I know it may seem like he is, but Kaz really isn't all that bad."

"I just... I'm in a world that is totally foreign to me, and I feel like I haven't been able to catch up or...catch my breath." Arya tells her. "I get that my story sounds completely unbelievable, and I get why he has a hard time trusting me...but I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asks.

"Actually, um..." She pauses for a moment. "How good are you at cleaning wounds?"

"You're hurt?"

"Kinda, yeah. Um... I was stabbed, er- It's more like a long cut. I stitched it, but I have to keep it clean. I can take care of it myself, but it's an awkward angle for me..." She motions on her side to where the injury is.

"I can help with that." Inej nods as she pulls a small bag from near her hip.

Not long after, the two girls make their way back to where the others are, and Jesper looks up to find Arya. "I want to hear more about your music." He says, and the brunette smiles as she looks at him.

"What about it?"

"What was your favorite song?" He asks, and she pauses for a moment.

"Uh... Well, it's not my favorite, but I like it because it was shown to me by someone that I looked up to. She said it was hers and her husband's song at their wedding." Arya tells him. "It's called, uh... Can't Help Falling In Love."

"Sing it for me."

Her eyebrows furrow as she looks at him. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We still have time to kill before we dock, and I'm interested in learning more about your world." He tells her. "Now sing the damn song for me."

"You're pushy, you know that?"

"Mhm." He nods, and she chuckles as she shakes her head.

The brunette pauses for a moment before finally caving and singing the song for him.

"Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Oh, shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
Oh, if I can't help falling in love with you?"

"That can't be the whole song." Jesper shakes his head, and Inej chuckles when Arya narrows her green eyes at him. "Keep going, don't get shy on me now."

"Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you."

"More!"

"Leave her alone, Jesper." Inej tells him, but then Arya starts the song again.

"Oh, like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand,
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you
Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you."

There's a smile on Arya's lips as she shifts her gaze, and her eyes land on Kaz. His own blue eyes are glued to her, and she can't read his expression. The scowl he usually wears is missing, but she has no idea what's written on his face now, as it's entirely new to him. Awe, maybe. Or perhaps it's just shock because he wasn't expecting a song like that, let alone the way her voice would sound as she sang it for them.

"More, damn it!" Jesper yells, and the brunette tears her gaze from Kaz to look at him again.

"That's the entire song, and it's all I'm gonna sing." She tells him. "Keep yelling more at me, and I may have to kick your ass."

"Ooh, promise?" He smirks, and her eyebrows furrow as she chuckles, shaking her head at him.

"Your voice was beautiful." Inej tells Arya, and she smiles as she looks over at her.

"Thank you."

"I think the song's got it all wrong." Jesper says, and the girls look back at him. "I say fall fast — rush in. It's way more fun that way."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure plenty would refer to you as a fool." Inej tells him, and Arya laughs as he narrows his eyes at her, not finding her comment at all amusing.

https://youtu.be/VqLU4wPzDVg

for anyone who might be curious, this is kind of how i imagine arya's voice in the scene. it's at least the closest as i can get for the story to show you all.