"My fluttering feelings are all because of you, so I like it all, what should i wish for, my heart is already enough, it's full of you, this feels so right, as long as I have you, everything is fine."

— Good to me, Seventeen.

     When their longboat made shore, Jesper and the others leaped out to pull it onto the sand. They'd finally arrived and anxiety rushed through all their bodies as they prepared themselves for what they were about to do. Jesper checked his revolvers and Inej briefly touched her fingers to each of her knives, lips moving while Matthias adjusted the rifle strapped to his back and rolled his shoulders. Kuwei stood beside Trixie, watching it all in silence as the girl looked around, missing Nina's presence.

     "All right." Kaz spoke up, turning all attention onto him. "Let's go get rich."

      "I'm already rich but, yay, let's go." Trixie happily bounced where she stood and Jesper chuckled at the sight.

     "No mourners." Rotty spoke up, settling down to wait with the longboat.

      "No funerals." The group replied as they usually did.

     They strode towards the centre of the island, Kuwei behind Kaz and Trixie, the two bickering as usual, bracketed by Jesper and Inej. As they drew closer, Trixie saw someone in a black mercher's suit approaching, accompanied by a tall Shu man, dark hair bound at the nape of his neck, and followed by a contingent of the stadwatch in purple coats, all carrying batons and repeating rifles. Two men lugged a heavy trunk between them, staggering slightly with its weight.

      "So that's what thirty million kruge looks like." Kaz commented, finally stopping his small argument with Trixie to marvel the money.

     "If you wanted to see that much money you could've just asked." Trixie joked, her smile widening as she saw Kaz roll his eyes at her.

     "Hopefully, the longboat won't sink." Jesper gave a low whistle before he spoke as Trixie snickered.

     "Just you, Van Eck?" Kaz asked the man in merch black. "The rest of the Council couldn't be bothered?"

     "The Council felt I was best suited to this task, as we've had dealings before."

      Conversation was made between the two and Trixie found herself zoning out, feeling insanely uncomfortable with this many eyes on them. She should've agreed to stay with Nina, this entire situation would've been a lot more easier for her. Confrontation was something she didn't like as you never knew the outcome of it. It could either go two ways, positively or negatively, both were unpredictable and the thought made her shudder.

     Trixie liked having a set plan and this entire situation made her anxiety skyrocket as she realised they had no clear view of how this would play out. They'd done their task, but whose to say they would stick but the rules given to them. Nobody could control it if anything happened to them here.

      "Well, Van Eck." Kaz's voice made her turn her attention to him, realising she'd missed majority of the confrontation. "I'd like to say it's been a pleasure, but I'm not that good a liar. We'll take our leave."

     Van Eck stepped in front of Kuwei and sent a wide grin to the boy. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Mister Brekker." He announced and Trixie's heart dropped, of course something was going to go wrong, she practically predicted this would happen.

      "Is there a problem?" Kaz asked, leaning on his cane as he looked over at the older man.

     "I count several right in front of me. And there's no way any of you are getting off this island." Van Eck told him and subconsciously, Trixie took a step towards Inej and Kaz, watching in horror as he pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew a shrill note. In the same moment, his servants drew their weapons and a wind came out of nowhere — a howling, unnatural gale that whirled around the little island as the sea began to rise.

     The sailors by the brigantine's longboat lifted their arms, waves gathering behind them. Following on from this, two more figures launched themselves from the deck of the brigantine. Squallers, the group recognised and they were clearly all under the influence of parem. Wind whipped the air around the squallers as they began to circle the sky.

     "You kept part of the stash Bo sent to the Council." Kaz realised, his dark eyes narrowed in accusation at the man. "The deal is the deal, Van Eck, if the Merchant Council fails to honour its end of this bargain, no one from the Barrel will ever traffic with any of you again. Your word will be meaningless."

     "That would be a problem, Mister Brekker, if the Council knew anything about this deal." Van Eck quipped and realisation shone in Kaz's eyes.

     "They were never involved. You wanted Yul-Bayur. You wanted the formula for parem."

      Trixie's heart begun to race as she listened to the explanations, feeling insanely faint as she realised her fears were becoming reality. When she'd agreed to take this job she didn't care if she lived or died, her life was meaningless anyway. Now, her life had purpose and she had so many things she wanted to do, so many things she had wanted to say.

     "The Council will never hear of this." Van Eck's voice was low and taunting . "Why do you think I chose scum from the Barrel as my champions? Oh, you are resourceful and far more clever than any mercenaries, I give you that. But more important, you will not be missed."

     Van Eck lifted his hand and the Tidemakers spun their arms, bowing to his command. Trixie heard a sickening yell and turned to see a coil of water looming over Rotty. Horror shone in her eyes as she watched it slam down on the longboat, smashing it to bits as the man dove for cover.

     "None of you will leave this island, Mister Brekker. All of you will vanish, and nobody will care." He announced, raising his hand again, and the Tidemakers responded, sending a massive wave towards the Ferolind.

     "No!" Jesper exclaimed in horror, watching as it crashed to pieces.

     "Van Eck!" Kaz shouted loudly, his voice full of authority. "Your son is on that ship."

    Van Eck's gaze snapped to Kaz as he blew his whistle, forcing the Tidemakers to freeze and await instruction. Reluctantly, Van Eck dropped his hand and they let the wave fall harmlessly, the displaced sea sloshing against the side of the Ferolind. A second ticked by, feeling like an eternity until he repeated what the boy had said.

     "Wylan Van Eck." Kaz added to his prior statement and Trixie bit her lip nervously.

      "Mister Brekker, surely you must know that I sent my son packing months ago."

      "I know you've written to Wylan every week since he left your household, begging him to return. Those are not the actions of a man who doesn't care for his only son and heir." Kaz snapped, his gaze stern as he looked impatiently at the man. The response he got was not what he was expecting as Van Eck began to laugh at this statement and Trixie wished for nothing more than to watch this man bleed.

     "Let me tell you about my son." He spat the word as if it were poison on his lips. "He was meant to be heir to one of the greatest fortunes in all of Kerch, an empire with shipping lines that reach all over the globe, one built by my father, and my father 's father. But my son, the boy meant to rule this grand empire, cannot do what a child of seven years can. He can solve an equation. He can paint and play the flute most prettily. What my son cannot do, Mister Brekker, is read. He cannot write. I have hired the best tutors from every corner of the world. I've tried specialists, tonics, beatings, hypnotism, but he refused to be taught. I finally had to accept that Ghezen saw fit to curse me with a moron for a child. Wylan is a boy who will never grow to be a man. He is a disgrace to my house."

     "The letters..." Jesper mumbled, and Trixie winced at the anger in his face. "You weren't pleading with him to come back. You were mocking him. He's your son."

     "No, he is a mistake. One soon to be corrected. My lovely young wife is carrying a child, and be it boy or girl or creature with horns, that child will be my heir, not some soft-pated idiot who cannot read a hymnal, let alone a ledger, not some fool who would make the Van Eck name a laughingstock." He replied, as if he wasn't talking about his own flesh and blood.

     "How can you say such horrid things when he shares your blood?" Trixie called out for the first time, unable to stop herself.

     "You're the fool," Jesper snarled, backing up Trixie's prior statement. "He's smarter than most of us put together, and he deserves a better father than you."

     "Deserved." Van Eck corrected before blowing the whistle twice and the Tidemakers didn't hesitate. Before anyone could draw breath to protest, two huge walls of water rose and shot towards the Ferolind. They crushed the ship between them with a resonant boom, sending debris flying.

    Jesper screamed in rage and raised his guns. "Jesper!" Kaz commanded, noticing the boy's initial reaction. "Stand down!"

      "He killed them." Jesper called out in pure anger. "He killed Wylan and Nina!"

     Matthias laid a hand on his arm, a comforting response as he looked down at the young boy. "Jesper." His voice was calm as he spoke. "Be still."

     Jesper looked back helplessly at the rocking waves, at the broken bits of mast and torn sail where a ship had been only seconds before. "I don't...I don't understand."

     "I confess to being a bit shocked, too, Mister Brekker." Van Eck taunted, as if he was excepting something from this. "No tears? No righteous protests for your lost crew? They raise you cold in the Barrel."

     "Cold and cautious." Kaz agreed, his gaze flickering to Trixie as she stared pale and emotionless.

     "Not cautious enough, it seems. At least you won't live to regret your mistakes."

     "Tell me, Van Eck. Will you do penance? Ghezen frowns on broken contracts."

     Van Eck's nostrils flared at this statement, taken aback at such hostility and blatant disrespect. "What have you given to the world, Mister Brekker? Have you created wealth? Prosperity? No. You take from honest men and women and serve only yourself. Ghezen shows his favour to those who are deserving, to those who build cities, not the rats who eat away at their foundations. He has blessed me and my dealings. You will perish, and I will prosper. That is Ghezen's will."

      "There's just one problem, Van Eck. You'll need Kuwei Yul-Bo to do it."

      "And how will you take him from me? You are outgunned and surrounded."

     "I don't need to take him from you. You never had him. That's not Kuwei Yul-Bo."

     "A sorry bluff at best."

     "I'm not big on bluffing, am I, Trixie?" Kaz quizzed, looking at the girl on his side with a proud smirk.

      "Nope." Trixie grinned, her lips curled up maliciously as she watched the man's expression remain confident.

     "And why is that?"

     "Because he'd rather cheat." Spoke the boy who was not Kuwei as he held out his hand happily. "Pay up, Kaz."

     "I do hate to lose a wager." Kaz sighed, looking up at the man who had his confidence wiped away. "You see, Van Eck, Wylan bet me that you would have no qualms about ending his life. Call me sentimental, but I didn't believe a father could be so callous."

     "It's not possible." Van Eck disagreed and Trixie took great glee in the horror on his face as he looked at the sight of his son's new features. "It can't be."

     Wylan walked to Kaz's other side, tilting his head at the man. "Maybe you can pray to Ghezen for understanding, Father."

     "Worthless." He had hissed at Wylan. "I knew you were a fool, but a traitor as well?"

     "A fool would have been waiting to be smashed to bits on that ship. And as for a 'traitor,' you've called me worse in the last few minutes alone." Wylan bit back with a slight shrug.

     "Just think." Kaz taunted as he looked up at Van Eck. "What if the real Kuwei Yul-Bo had been on the ship you just turned into toothpicks?"

     "Where is Kuwei Yul-Bo?" Van Eck asked slowly, his voice alarmingly calm.

     "Let us safely off this island with our payment, and I'll gladly tell you." Kaz bargained with a slight shrug.

      "You have no way out of this, Brekker. Your little crew is no match for my Grisha."

      "Kill us, and you'll never find Kuwei."

      "Guards to me! Kill everyone but Brekker!"

     Kaz knew the instant he made his mistake; They'd all known it might come to this and he should have trusted his crew. He knew that his eyes should have stayed trained on Van Eck. Instead, in that moment of threat, when he should have thought only of the fight and possibility of death, he looked at Trixie, at the way a wash of panic momentarily flashed on her features. The way she took a slow step towards him, small and hardly noticeable, as if he could protect comfort against the embrace of death.

    It was hardly noticeable, yet Van Eck saw it and his lips upturned as he once again blew on his whistle. "Leave the others! Get the money and Van Der Woodsen."

      At those words, Kaz swore his heart stopped as he finally allowed his sole attention to be on the girl. Her lips were pulled into a frown as she held the knife tightly in her grasp, Inej had passed her it at the first sign of threat, not wanting the girl to be unarmed if it came down to it. Instead of looking panicked, she was prepared, ready for a fight.

Words~2385.
{edited:no}