CHAPTER ONE  ──  ❛ the snake of ketterdam ❜

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𝕾tasiaj Yahontov was well aware of the terror that she caused. She wasn't sure if it was the sight of her smirk or the click of her heels, but when she entered the room, it fell silent and everyone rushed to hide their secrets from her prying eyes and ears.

Not that it mattered. Stasiaj would find out in the end. She always did.

It was a talent that the girl had, for secrets loved Stasiaj just as much as she adored the power that they held and because of that, secrets always had a way of reaching her ears. The teenager couldn't help that fact, but she could exploit it for her own gains.

That was her gimmick, her trick of sorts. Some in the Barrel dealt in murder, prostitution or drugs but Stasiaj's trade was far more valuable because secrets held the power to make or break someone's life. When you knew someone's secrets, they became your puppets and you the master and that was what she was.

Stasiaj was simply the puppet master, with all of the Barrel under her control. One slip of her forked tongue and the girl could topple criminal enterprises, break even the strongest mob boss and help others uncover the skeletons that people would rather be left in the closet and she loved that feeling.

She loved the power, the terror, the respect that came with her position. She was the Snake of Ketterdam and no one could even dream to threaten her title lest they wish to wind up on the streets, in a prison cell or in an unmarked grave outside of the city limits. 

The streets would be silent before she gave up her title.

"Miss Stasiaj?" Stasiaj looked into the mirror of her vanity, sliding the drawers closed as she watched the small street urchin come padding into the room. "I've got news."

"Have you, Darling?" The quirk of her painted lips would have sent even the most hardened criminal running, but street children knew better than to fear her sharp eyes and quick mouth. "What news is that?"

"Jan Van Eck was in the Barrel," The little boy murmured, as Stasiaj picked him up into her lap. The little boy, Malkus, was only five and one of the many street children that Stasiaj had around the city. But despite having lots of children running around, collecting secrets for her, Malkus had always been her favourite. "He kidnapped the Crow Man and they were talking about a job."

"What job was that?" Anything to do with the aptly named 'Crow Man' was something that Stasiaj liked to pay attention to.

"A job worth thirty million kruge," That caught the woman's attention as her painted lips twitched into a grin. "Something about an Ice Palace and rescuing someone."

"Good boy," Stasiaj replied, placing the boy back down onto the floor and handing him a sweet from one of her dresser drawers. "Run along now and grab your food."

"Yes, Miss Stasiaj," She smiled again, a kinder one this time, gently pushing the boy out of the door before turning to one of her guards that awaited instructions. 

"The Crow Man will be coming to pay me a visit soon. Send him in when he does," 

"Yes, Ma'am," She closed her bedroom door, pulling the pins out of her locks as she grinned at the bath that was awaiting her in the corner, to relax her muscles after a tense day.

The 'Crow Man', who's real name was Kaz Brekker, and her had a tense history with one another. The only reason that they remained civil was merely due to the fact that Stasiaj had information on him that was ready to be distributed at a moments notice.

Drawing the curtains, Stasiaj called for her maids to help her remove her gown, before sinking into the porcelain tub in the room adjacent to her bedroom. 

The water was mixed with lavender, filling the room up with a scented steam that allowed the woman to relax, her muscles slowly unwinding. Despite her love of her job, Stasiaj found that holding information over a lot of people often grew tiresome and strenuous. It was not easy threatening and blackmailing others, despite the popular opinion of those that she controlled.

Her eyes fluttered shut, as she leant her head back and ran hot water through her hair, de-tangling the blonde locks and rinsing the smog and dirt from it. Briefly, she heard her door open and smiled to herself.

Malkus had been correct. The 'Crow Man' had come to visit her.

"Snake, slither out from where you're hiding," Kaz Brekker's voice was as raspy as ever, and Stasiaj smirked at his words. He was still just as impatient as the last time they had met.

"I'm not hiding, Bastard. In here," She called, hearing the thud of his feet and the clack of his cane as he entered the room. Stasiaj opened one eye lazily, seeing that he was trying to avert his gaze. "Evening, Crow Man."

"Put some clothes on," The woman laughed, stepping out of the bath as bare as the day she was born, before grabbing a robe from the side and pulling it on. Years of growing up on the street had stripped her of her embarrassment that she felt from showing skin, but it seemed that Kaz Brekker still had some level of dignity about him.

"It's my house, Brekker, I can do what I wish," Stasiaj grinned, brushing past the leader of the Dregs and out into her main room. She sat down in front of the vanity as she began to dry her hair, keeping an eye on the man from her mirror.

How he was not boiling in her room was still beyond the woman? Kaz was wearing a three piece suit, a wool coat and his typical leather gloves, yet there was not a single drop of sweat on his brow.

"What can I do for you, Crow Man?" 

"Why don't you tell me? You're the Snake," He replied, as Stasiaj grinned.

"Is this about Big Bolliger or about your impossible heist?" Kaz tensed ever so slightly at the second option, causing Stasiaj to nod. "The second one then. What is it you wish to know and what do you have for me in return?"

"I need a way into Hell Gate prison."

"Hell Gate?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "You want a prisoner out of there, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"That's not part of the deal." Stasiaj huffed.

"You're no fun." His glare turned darker, but Stasiaj remained unaffected. It was not the first time that she had been on the end of a man's glare, and it did little to scare her anymore. "What have you got for me in return?"

"Information on a few people on the Merchant's Council, plans that the Menagerie has, news from Fifth Harbour and I'll pay you after the job is complete,"

"How much?" Stasiaj stopped combing through her hair to turn and watch the man.

"To be decided." She hummed, thinking it over for a moment, before sighing. Stasiaj didn't need to think, she knew what her answer was going to be before he had even walked into the room.

Despite their rocky past, Kaz Brekker was easily Stasiaj's favorite person to barter with. It may have been due to their closeness in age, or their shared life experience, but either way she often found herself saying yes to the teenager's demands without as much of a price as others got.

"Fine." Stasiaj smiled at the man, but Kaz was smart enough to know not to trust her painted lips, that often caused more harm than good. "Did my information about the guards turn out well?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes at his short reply. "Hell Gate information. Now."

"There is a Hellshow match coming up, one that should you have the right dress, invitation and mask you could be able to get into no problem," Stasiaj replied. "If I'm correct about who I think that you're looking for, he should be fighting that night."

"If you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong, Bastard," Stasiaj replied carefully, standing up and holding her hands out. "Information or I'm going to take that cane and beat you with it."

The leader of the Dregs barely flinched at her threat, reaching inside the pocket of his wool coat and producing a pack of paper for her. Quickly, Stasiaj began to read through it, checking the authenticity of the words of the pages and what news it brought her.

"I see," She mused, before placing the papers down on her desk. "Always a pleasure to do business with you, Bastard. Good luck in Hell Gate."

The feeling of cold leather gloves in her hand caused the girl to send him another smirk as they shook on it.

"You won't tell the guards, will you?"

"And get my favorite Bastard arrested?" Kaz raised an eyebrow. "Of course not. You help to provide me a lot of information, so I will aim to keep you from sinking into the pits of that prison, Crow Man."

"Thank you, Snake." Stasiaj waved as he went, watching from her window as he left her house and started further into the Barrel. Her guard waited at her door, watching for her command.

"Tell the others to keep an eye on them, alert the children as well," Stasiaj murmured. "I want to know their plan, their back up plans, who's going with them, who's paying them and why. Oh, and warn Luisaj. He worked out about the Black Tips double agent and I do not want him knowing of my own."

"Of course, ma'am," He bowed his head, closing the door as Stasiaj pulled the covers of her bed back and changed into her nightgown. There was nothing more that she could do that night, but her little vipers were crawling out of their homes, slithering into Kaz Brekker's establishments and listening in to all of their secrets.

She might like Kaz Brekker, but she did not trust the man in the slightest.

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Hiya,

First chapter and I'm already in love with Stasiaj and her character. She's got a lot of potential to become one of my favorite morally grey ocs.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx