CHAPTER ONE
act one — drowning

AVALON WANDERED ALONG the edge of the forest that separated two small camps, looking for something to eat. After being exiled from Fjerda, she had managed to scrape by, killing small animals in the forest, waiting until it was dark enough that the place she was in, lighting a fire wouldn't cause a lot of attention. Her fingers ran through her hair as she tried to get the leaves out, knowing that there was going to be at least one of them. The layers she had draped on her body kept the cold out, but she didn't mind that much, growing up in the freezing cold did that to you. Every time she made the wrong move, stepping on the wrong branch, a cracking sound going through the air, making her wince and crouch, hoping to stay unnoticed.

When she spotted the Grisha, at first she had thought that it was an animal, raising her gun to fire at it. When she caught the firey red hair of the Squaller, she let out a shit and crouched to the ground, making sure that she had enough bullets to put it out of its misery. Every step she took was almost like a death sentence, her ability to move silently was a gift, except the occasional stumble, but hey, it was human nature, and Avalon wasn't perfect. She would never admit it though, being perfect was a goal for her, and admitting her failure was striking down her ego and it pained her each time, so she never let her emotions show ( she was good at that ).

Avalon was hidden in the tree line, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, patiently crouched as she watched the Grisha moved perfectly into view. She had her gun loaded, waiting patiently at her feet, ready for use. Avalon's eyes peered around, making sure that no one was around the see her, grateful that it seemed empty, and she didn't have to deal with any more than she needed to. Just because she wasn't a Drüskelle doesn't mean that she couldn't carry out the duties of one, cursing the men that had gotten her sent off, raising her middle finger to the sky as she shouted that she was able to do it. She had lined up her shot, and pulled the trigger, only to have the Grisha move at the last second, the bullet ending up in the tree behind her.

It was all perfectly flawed. The minute the Grisha turned her head to look towards where the bullet came from, she was attacked by Drüskelle, making Avalon let out a gasp, too scared to move. She knew what would happen if they spotted her, she would end up tied up in the bottom of the hunting boat, removed from food and water, left to be a torture device until she was executed. She watched with wide eyes as the men took down the Grisha, actually feeling small amount of pity towards the woman, knowing that she never even stood a chance, but this was what was right — it was humane because she was not. Hell, the Grisha put up one hell of fight, the only issue was, the Drüskelle had been waiting around long enough that they had seen the shot Avalon had taken.

Once they Grisha was tied down, unable to move from her spot, the started moving closer to where Avalon was hiding in the bushes. She let out a shaky breath, wondering if she had enough time to make a run for it, or if she was going to be caught no matter what she did. Rather than being a coward, when one of the men stepped close enough to her, she reached her arm out, grabbing his leg, pulling him to the ground. Luckily, she had the strength of the men, but she had more determination, she just assumed it was because her brain was bigger than their dicks, but who knows. She had thrown punch after punch at the tallest one, ignoring the striking blue eyes and blonde hair that raced through her memory when she saw him.

He threw a punch towards her face, connecting with her nose. Avalon stumbled back, spitting the blood that had poured its way into her mouth onto the ground, letting out a sickening chuckle. The Drüskelle looked nerved, not expecting that much ferocity from the small woman, letting out his own sickening grin, happy that he was going to have a fight. He paused before attacking, taking notice of the two grown men she had taken down without breaking a sweat, letting out a huff about how useless they were, before cracking his knuckles and taking the first swing. Avalon ducked, punching him in the stomach, letting out a small hiss at how hard she hit him, surprised that she didn't break a knuckle. Her hair was getting in her face with each sidestep she took, being her ultimate downfall.

When the Drüskelle was finally getting the upper hand, she twirled around, sticking her leg out to kick him, only to end up on her back, the man's face lingering near her own. She let out a wince, the amount of pressure he was putting on her wrists had to be all of his body weight, not afraid to accidentally kill her. Collecting her thoughts, she collected all the spit she could, before spitting on his face, ignoring the look of fury that crossed it as she poked her tongue out at him. He let out a war cry, picking her up with such ease, before bringing her to a tree, bashing her head into it. Avalon let out a cry each time, her vision getting blacker with each hit, until finally she slumped down on the ground, only to see the sick face of the man who put her there smiling at her.

"Night, night, traitor," he growled. Avalon tried to make a snarky reply back, but was only cast further into oblivion when she tried to move, trying to fight off the darkness, but she couldn't, and succumbed to it.

( ...❄️... )

AVALON WOKE UP to the cold water dripping down her back, sending shivers up her spine as she let out gasp, not used to the freezing temperatures of the water. She looked around, noticing that a good portion of her clothes were soaked from the ocean water and her layers had been removed, leaving her in a shirt and pants. When she tried to move, she noticed that her hands were chained to the top of the rafters, keeping her from trying to escape using any way possible. The loud cheers of men made her snarl, wondering when their egos would subside so she could taunt one of them when they came done. It seemed her wish was granted, as the cabin door opened and one of the men walked down, a lantern in hand.

He glanced up at the top, making sure the coast was clear before he walked closer to Avalon, setting the lantern on the peg on the beam to her right. He moved closer, allowing her to see his face in the light, recognition crossing across her face as he looked anywhere but her eyes. "I brought you food."

He held the small sliver of bread up to her mouth, yet she didn't take it, too afraid that it could kill her. "It's likely poisoned. How am I supposed to trust you, Helvar," she spat.

He simply raised an eyebrow at her words, trying to figure out how she knew him, and why the hell she looked so familiar. Instead, he raised the bread up to his face, taking a bite of it, trying to show her that he could be trusted. He let out a shrug, wiping away the water that moved its way onto his eyebrow. "I'll keep eating it, if you prefer."

"All right, so not poisoned. Despite what you think of women, I am no bloody fool. You want something from me, it's easy to see that, but what?"

"Are women so used to deceit, that they can't accept good manners?" he questioned. There was a curiosity in his tone that made Avalon tilt her head, wondering if he knew such little about women that he could be a bird not a man.

She let out a harsh chuckle, spitting some of the salty water onto the floor, looking into his eyes with a malicious glint. "Manners? Oh, you talk of manners when you have me here, tied up and starving."

"I'm trying to feed you."
"Why?"

He hesitated, not knowing what to say, when the cheers got louder and he knew that he would only have a small amount of time before it would be noticed that he wasn't on the deck. "I do want something from you," Matthias confessed, moving closer to try to establish his dominance. The two stared at each other for a moment, trying to scare the other one away, not liking the tension that happened to linger between them. "Answers. Is your mother also as dumb as you are? Trying to be more than a woman should be."

Avalon snapped her head up, not pleased with the question about her mother, but knowing she couldn't beat his ass right there with her hands being tied up. "Are your parents also idiots? Because that was the dumbest question I have ever been asked."

He didn't flinch, choosing to retaliate with his own question, wanting to see the woman in front of him break. "Were you born a bitch or was that by choice?"

"Were you born with a small prick or was that a choice?" Avalon questioned, her eyes were narrowed, not happy with all the questions being sent her way. "What do they teach you? That all women are inferior and only belong raising children and nothing else? To be used as objects for your pleasure and nothing else?"

"That you are nothing more than something that keeps us fed and keeps our line going. Nothing more, nothing less," Matthias spoke. His cheeks were a little flushed about asking for the size of his, well, his dick.

"Why am I even arguing with you? Nothing is going to change the mind of an idiot, that much I can see. Only to make yourself feel better about sending me to my death," Avalon said. Matthias raised his eyebrows at the last sentence, still not understanding what her part was on the ship and she noticed, letting out a small chuckle.

"I feel nothing about you."
"That's a shame there, buff boy."
"Why's that?"
"Oh, me and you. We go way back."
"Avalon?"

"Oh yes, it's me. Alive and in the flesh. Surprise?" Avalon spoke, taking a minute to lean in and take a bite of the bread he was still holding up to her mouth, savoring the taste. She had to try extra hard to swallow, making a note on how dry her mouth was, tilting her head back and forcing down the wince as she swallowed the salty water, knowing the water was better than nothing.

"You see? That wasn't so bad."
"When the hell did you get so sarcastic."
"Its none of your business."
"Rawr. Someone is territorial."
"Shut up, traitor."

She took another bite of the bread, choosing to be petty about the whole thing, spitting it out onto his face, sending him a sweet smile. "I have decided I will not take scrapes from the likes of you, dunderhead."

"Be that way then." He turned away, picking the lantern up from the hook. "But, you will." He sent her one last sickening sarcastic smile before walking up the stairs, leaving her alone in the darkness to figure a way out of the hell she was in.

avalon is a sarcastic little shit. she has my personality and i am living for it. plus they know each other. trouble in paradise am i right.