⚠️Please check updated trigger warnings!⚠️

CHAPTER THREE
Hurricane Eden

EDEN DIDN'T HAVE MANY FRIENDS GROWING UP. In fact, she'd probably say that she didn't have any friends at all until she came to Ketterdam. There was one girl, Liliya, that she had been decently close with throughout her childhood, likely due to the fact that she was the only person her father permitted her to hang out with.

She knew that her father had her best interests in mind, but ultimately, it caused her more harm than good (not that he'd understand that). When she would get an invitation to attend a party, she would be forced to decline. Even spending time at a friend's house whose parents Christian were not familiar with was forbidden. The amount of events she had to pass on resulted in her not getting invitations at all — thus began her solidarity.

Before that, though, she wasn't very popular to begin with. Christian Caddel was a controversial merchant, only supporting trade that benefited him, and it was obvious. Many of her classmates parents were merchants as well — it was a private school, after all — but their parents were a little more sympathetic to other causes than her dad was. They, at least, took a second to consider the other options before settling on what was familiar. Christian didn't hesitate.

     Liliya was her only friend for a very, very long time, but just like everyone else, she left her all alone. Eden later found out that Liliya was complaining about her for the last year and a half of their friendship, saying that she was a "bitch" and "such a doormat for her father". She wasn't really wrong, either.

Coming to Ketterdam was a real change for her. For the first time, there was no one standing between her and a social life. After getting drinks with Jesper on her first day, she felt sad that she'd missed out on that much for so long. She had been robbed of her livelihood by an overbearing widower who didn't understand the meaning of privacy. Meeting Inej and getting close with Kaz confirmed it all for her: Ketterdam was where she belonged.

Regardless, she still missed her dad. Of course she did. She missed their board game competitions that ended in fits of giggles, she missed the way that they could look at one another from across the room and know what the other was thinking, she missed the times she'd come home from school with impossible math assignments and he'd sit alongside her for hours, working out each question with the utmost patience.

     She didn't miss his control. The suffocation of it all; the fact that she couldn't leave the house without asking him first. The way that he'd always make her seem like the villain when she'd ask him to lessen up. The emotional turmoil she faced for years and years and years, the constant fighting with herself between "he's doing this for me" and "he's doing this for him". No, she didn't miss that at all.

     Every once in a while, she'd wonder what he was doing. If he missed her. Was he looking for her? Did he care? If he found her, would she go back with him, or would she run again?

She was perseverating over this when a paper ball smacked against her head, snapping her out of her thoughts.

     "Ow," she scoffed, not really in pain. She glared across the room to the culprit, who was already giving her a mischievous smirk. "I hate you."

     Jesper scrunched his nose. "You're so sweet to me."

     Inej, who was sitting beside Jesper, swatted his arm with enough force to break a block of wood. He winced, actually in pain, grabbing his arm as she said, "Shut up, you children."

     "He started it!" Eden defended, pointing at Jesper with both hands.

     "I leave you alone for ten minutes," sighed Kaz, stepping through the door to Inej's apartment behind him. His cane clacked as he moved over to the couches, dropping a Manila folder on the coffee table in between them all as he shifted his weight into his good leg. "Are you done bickering so we can debrief?"

     They both nodded.

     "Alright. Inside the folder is..." Kaz's eyes briefly flicked over to Eden's, "A report from the Dregs with the last known location of Christian Caddel. He's here, in Kerch. Current location unknown, somewhere in the Financial District."

     Eden felt like every organ in her body had plummeted to the ground. It was so convenient that the day she had been thinking about him was the day he decided to show up in her life. Just when she questioned him, he materialized. It sent chills down her spine. "Oh," was all she said.

     Inej's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, weren't you two in the Financial District yesterday?"

     Kaz looked at Eden then, who was spaced out and staring at the folder. "Yes, we were."

     "What is he doing here?" asked Jesper, who was moving across the room. He sunk into the couch beside Eden, pulling her into a hug. His arm wrapped around her shoulder and he placed his chin on the other shoulder, locking her into a Fahey-sandwich.

     "Also unknown." Kaz ran a hand through his hair, occasionally glancing over at Eden and clenching his jaw. "I will find out, and we will get him out of here."

     "I hate how much power he has over my emotions," Eden finally muttered, covering her face in her hands. "I hate that even just knowing he's here has turned me weak and pathetic."

     "You are neither of those things," Inej said softly, coming to kneel in front of her and taking her hands in hers. "You are scared, and you have every reason to be. There is nothing to be ashamed about."

     "If it helps, Kaz looks like he's going to kill someone," Jesper whispered in her ear, and she laughed quietly, sniffling.

     Inej smiled in her assuring, comforting way that could convince someone the world wasn't ending (even if it was). "We will do everything we can to make sure he doesn't find you, okay? You have us on your side. Even if you change your mind and want to see him, we're on your side for that, too."

"It's not like he's really even done anything that bad, you know? But-" Eden shook her head. "But I don't know what he'll do now that I ran away. To the Barrel, nonetheless. Not Fjerda or Shu Han or somewhere even on the same continent, no, I came to Ketterdam — the one place he told me to never go. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking that you needed out," Kaz stated, face devoid of emotion. "Listen to me, Caddel. We are going to have more training sessions. We are going to find out where exactly your father is, what he's doing here, and if it's all just coincidence. Once we have more information, we can make a plan as to what you'd like to do next."

"Even if you decide you want to see him. Right, Kaz?" Jesper prompted, rubbing Eden's upper arm.

Kaz made an inscrutable noise, one of begrudging agreement. "And if you don't, he will be dealt with."

Eden's eyes widened as Inej snapped, "Brekker! Enough with the death threats! Seriously, why do we always resort to killing as the solution?"

"It resolves the issue, does it not?"

"At the cost of a life!"

"A sometimes necessary consequence."

Eden watched the bickering, feeling the tension in her arms starting to disappear. She was going to be totally fine, no matter what, because she had them. These people, this place. She would always be okay as long as they were around, whether it be to fight off her enemies or comforting her Jesper-style.

"Thank you, guys," she finally said, interrupting Kaz and Inej. They both stopped immediately. "For everything."

Inej rested her head on Eden's shoulder. Kaz gave her a half-smile, and Jesper kissed her on the cheek. "Of course, you sap. You're one of us."

"You're a Crow," said Kaz suddenly.

You're a Crow.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes once more. "Fuck, you're gonna make me cry again."

"We got you." Inej gave her another soft smile. "One step at a time, okay? Like Kaz said, we're gonna figure out what Christian's doing here first, and move from there. Whatever you choose, or whatever you don't, we'll back you up."

"Okay," Eden whispered, looking at the three of them. Their faces were set with determination, and that fact alone spread through her veins like wildfire, burning her up with fearlessness.

Knocks on her apartment door made Eden shoot up out of bed. Nobody was supposed to come over. When she glanced at the clock, she cursed, realizing she was late to meet Kaz for another training session. She grabbed the knife from her side table and stalked towards the door, careful to skip over the floorboards she knew creaked.

There was another knock. She nearly jumped out of her skin, picturing all sorts of monsters on the other side of the door: an angry Heartrender, a soldier (not that she had committed any crimes... yet), her father's goonies, her father. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

She grabbed the door handle, her knife at the ready, and turned it slowly. She shot her knife outwards, ready to protect herself from whoever was there, but it was met with the sound of wood.

Kaz Brekker stood at her doorway, his cane meeting her knife. She took a deep breath of relief, letting her knife fall to her side. "You scared the shit out of me, Brekker!"

"You were late again. I had to come and make sure you were alive, or if you just slept through your alarm."

"I didn't sleep through my alarm," she muttered. "I forgot to set one."

"Caddel-" Kaz groaned, rubbing his temples. "How do you forget such things? We spoke about this yesterday."

"I'm sorry, okay? It's not my fault. I'm not used to this routine yet."

"Alright." His eyes scanned her body briefly and his eyebrows furrowed. "What are you wearing?"

"Oh, this old thing?" She gave a little spin, showing off her pajama set covered in images of cartoon-style guns. "I went into this cute little store in Little Ravka a couple weeks ago and saw this gem in the back, and I knew I had to have it. If anyone were to come and steal me away in the dead of night, they would be so scared and change their mind the second they saw my pajamas."

Kaz nodded, as if it were a no-brainer. "Oh, of course. They are very threatening."

"That's what I was thinking. I mean, who knows what kind of slippers I might be wearing. Saints forbid I'm wearing my duck slippers, they might be scared of getting bit."

"You have...duck slippers."

"Indeed, I do. Very comfortable. Would you like to see them?"

"As appealing as that sounds, we do have plans."

Eden snapped her fingers. "Right. We do. Come in, make yourself at home. There's leftover pasta in the fridge if you want any, and there might be, like, a drop or two left of orange juice. I'm gonna go change."

She rushed away into her room, leaving Kaz alone. It was a one-bedroom apartment, tiny living room, and an even smaller kitchen connected to it. Kaz had been here before, but only once — he believed that homes were sanctuaries, not to be disturbed — and it was when he was signing the paperwork to purchase it for her. He hadn't seen how she'd decorated the place, and he wished he hadn't. Clothes were scattered all over the furniture, shoes left haphazardly everywhere, half-empty glasses of water and dirty plates on every flat surface. Her mail sat on the floor directly next to the door, as if she had just dropped it as soon as she got in the door, which he didn't doubt she did.

The whole place was a mess, and he itched to clean it. To organize it, just a little bit. He'd put the clothes away. Put the dishes in the sink, at least. He'd even do it all for free. It was inhumane, and how in the world did it not smell?

When Eden came out of her room, she let out a laugh that she smothered with her hand. Kaz was standing in the center of the space, staring at everything with disgust. She knew it was messy, and she knew he'd want to clean it so bad. She'd let him, too, she never had the motivation to do it herself. It was really the least he could do anyway, she deserved a reward for putting up with him.

Kaz gave her a death glare. "This is horrid."

"I think the better word would be 'cluttered'."

"This far exceeds cluttering, Caddel. This is... this is worse than the back alleys of the Warehouse District."

She gasped. "That is an insult."

"It was meant to be. You must do something about this. You cannot possibly focus on anything, let alone training, when your place looks like a hurricane came through it."

"Hurricane Eden has a ring to it."

"I cannot engage in this discussion anymore, or I will suffocate you with any of the shirts you left out here."

"Ha. I dare you to try. These shirts are so worn, they probably have holes in them, so. See how that works out for you, Dirtyhands."

"Oh, I'd make it work," sighed Kaz, as Eden collected her keys and the two of them left the apartment.

"I believe you," Eden pouted, patting his upper arm condescendingly. "You're so strong and so scary."

"I am not dignifying that with a response."

"You are no fun."

"My sincerest apologies."

As they stepped onto the street into the thick Ketterdam air, Eden asked him the question she knew he was desperate for her to ask. "Do you wanna clean up my apartment for me?"

His response came quickly and with no hesitation. "Yes."

NOTE
Hiiiii sorry for not updating for so long LOL!!! But this is so much fun I LOVE THEM I MISS MY SOC ERA my writing fell off sooo hard though don't even lie to me idk what was happening to me last year to make me the best writer I've ever been but it has worn off I guess

Sorry for the first half of this being sad I don't write sad things usually so this was new for me lol!

Kaz is the king of the sassy man apocalypse I fear

Anyway. Lmk what you thought and how you're doing and all that jazz, I love you

Byeeee