CHAPTER TWO
act one — drowning

THE WATER DIDN'T stop coming from the top of the boat and Avalon was positive that the amount of water was going to end up drowning her, that wouldn't be a pleasant death. The boat was rocking back and forth, causing bile to rise up in her throat, the sea sickness getting the best of her, mentally thanking herself for always traveling on foot, never wanting to experience this again if she could help it. Avalon could hear the waves crashing against the boat, allowing her body to be swung left and right with the rocking of the ship. She wanted out, so much that she was trying to break the chains that were holding her there in the first place, but her strength wasn't enough, making her breathe out a frustrated sigh, her shoulders sagging.

Her head snapped towards the stairwell at the sound of footsteps, noticing the burly figure of Matthias, making the brunette let out an aggravated sigh. He walked around her, using the beams to support his body, not making eye contact with her as he moved around her. "Captain."

He was joined by a man with a fuzzy collar, his presence demanding respect. Avalon bared her teeth, even though her couldn't see her, her hatred for the man making her want to punch his ugly mug. "The storm is overtaking us. We'll be in it soon. It may break the ship. If it gets bad, kill the captives."

Over her shoulder, Avalon could see Matthias' eyebrows crinkle at the request, his confused look sending a warm feeling through her body. "Sir?"

The captain moved closer, trying to make sure Matthias heard his words over the loud noise. "The last thing we want is gif one of them to get loose when we're taking on water."

Matthias ignored the sting in his chest when he thought of killing Avalon, not knowing if he would be able to follow through with the order, but knew, if he wanted to keep being a Drüskelle he would have to. "But, sir, they are due to stand trial."

"So?" the captain asked before walking away, leaving the blonde to sit there by himself, soaking in the reality of what it meant to be a Fjerdan hunter.

Matthias didn't say anything to Avalon as he sat in the corner, and she didn't want to say anything to him, the silence between them was comforting, in a I wanna kill you type of way. Avalon stood there, her body swaying with the ship, sometimes hitting the beams on either side of her, the water becoming too rough. Her feet were soaked, the water flooding the area she was being held in, making her scan the room, trying to figure a way out of the chains that were constricting her wrists. She wished that she could reach her hair and she wished that she had bought bobby-pins just for a scenario like this, but she didn't and that could end up being a fatal flaw.

When the first large wave crashed over the hull of the boat, Matthias stood to his feet, thinking something over in his head, before walking to Avalon, reaching his hands towards the chains that were holding her wrists together. "If I let you out, you have to promise not to kill me."

"No promises," Avalon snarked. Matthias was unfazed, lifting an eyebrow at the girl, wondering if she really had a death wish. "Fine. I promise I won't kill you, at this moment."

"Was that so hard?" Matthias asked, ignoring the curse that left her mouth towards him, unlocking the shackles. He ignored the other prisoners shouts, not caring about them in the moment, only wanting to make sure that Avalon got out of this with a chance of surviving.

"Actually, yes it was," Avalon spoke, rubbing her wrists, trying to get the red marks to fade away from them. "What are you going to do to them?" She nodded her head towards the Grisha, all of whom where knocked out.

He let out a sigh, back straightening out at the thought of them. "Nothing. You are just human, you deserve a chance to survive this. Not matter how little the chances are."

Avalon nodded at his words, going to speak but was cut off by the boat tipping to the right side, Matthias crashing into Avalon, crushing her. She let out a loud curse, Matthias wincing at the volume from the smaller woman, not having enough time to think before another wave crashed over them, soaking them to the bone. The waves kept rolling in, soaking and partially drowning the pair, they heard the screams from above, frozen in fear as they heard small splashes of the water, the men falling overboard. It's not like they could do anything about it, not having the ability to help them, stuck on the bottom of the ship. Avalon kept coughing up water, it soaking her lungs, making them burn for air, only to inhale more salt water. Just as she thought that she was able to breathe again, another wave came crashing through the boards. It ripped through the wood frame, splintering it, encasing Avalon and Matthias, washing them into the ocean.

( ...❄️... )

AVALON BROKE THROUGH the surface of the sea, coughing up the water that infiltrated her lungs. She swam over to piece that was left from the ship, trying to haul herself onto it. Her muscles were weak, the cold was causing them to tighten up, making them useless to her. The wood was ripped from her hands, causing her to sink below the water for a second, making her wonder what it would be like to just drown, but she couldn't do that, she had to live. When her head popped up from water, spotting a larger piece of wood, putting every amount of energy she had into swimming over to it.

When she got onto the wood, she noticed Matthias knocked out cold, his skin turning blue. She let out an exhausted sigh, crawling over, and pushing him around, trying to wake him up. "Come on, you miserable lump of muscle, wake up. Wake up."

She managed to push him further up, dunking his head under the water as he sat his head up, noticing her and falling off the log in shock. He came up spluttering water out of his mouth, sending her a cold glare. "Traitor."

"It was this traitor keeping you alive, stupid," Avalon snapped. She wondered how stupid he could actually be and why his temperament seemed to change every day, giving her small glances at the way he worked. "If you'd rather call me names while you drown, I suggest helping me push this thing to shore."

"You are not to be trusted," Matthias shouted over the waves. Avalon shook her head at the boy, wondering why he was still fighting the current instead of helping her push the piece of wood to shore like a smart person. "You want to kill me."

"I made you a promise to not kill you, yet. So, if I wanted to, which in this moment it's very tempting, I would have drowned you while you were sleeping instead of just waking you up," Avalon yelled.

"Why would you save me?"
"Cause you happen to be nice to look at."
"You need my strength to swim to shore."
"I have been saying that for 15 minutes."

Matthias let out a grunt, swimming closer and pulling himself up onto the wood. Avalon had a triumphant smirk break out across her face, happy that she had won and the blondie had lost. It was a small victory, but to her it meant everything, and that's all the mattered. She held onto the wood with everything she had while he pulled himself up, muscles bulging at the tight clothing he was wearing — it wasn't a bad sight. But Avalon knew that she wasn't going to be able to get rid of him anytime soon and she didn't know how she felt about that.

avalon is so snappy and for what