Chapter 52:
Kara had not had it easy ever since she fled Os Alta. Once Timofei had crossed paths with his wife in the lower city, they eloped all together, heading north. The weeks of walking grew harder and harder as her belly grew. She grew tired and breathless. Yet she never complained. Sometimes her friend and his wife would look at her as their daughter cooed in their arms by the evening fire. Kara's eyes would soften and she would hum a silent tune while caressing her swollen belly. They had stayed in Halmhend until Kara could give birth to her child.
Her son's arrival had been strenuous. She had never known such intense agonizing pain. Her body contracted to such an extend, that she almost fainted at its peak. The contraction would subside and she would be grounded again until the next wave of pain. Timofei had held her hand, encouraging her as best he could. After hours of pain, Kara suddenly felt the urgent need to push. She screamed in frustration as each attempt seemed to be insufficient. Her body felt on the edge of breaking. And then...release...a tiny cry...a first breath of fresh air. Kara wept in relief as Timofei placed her son in her arms. How tiny he was, how absolutely perfect. Her reflexes had kicked in and she had made sure to give him the immediate care he needed, cleaning, warmth, the feel of her skin. She had loved him instantly.
In the days that followed, she had felt utterly vulnerable and helpless. Despite having helped countless women have their children, she knew little of the daily care. The sleepless nights, the sense of utter loss in the interpretation of his cries, the fear of losing him constant. Lukely, Timofei and his wife were patient and kind. They gave advice and helped her with her newfound maternity.
Kara had tried to find a name. Where to start? She would have wanted to choose it with his father. A name chosen from their joined minds. Her efforts would have to be good enough. In the end, she called him Lui, as he had become the light in her darkened world. Lui was a rather calm baby, which suited her as they fled to the other side of the Fold. They did not cross through, as Timofei and his wife were terrified of any Volcra befalling them and their daughter. Kara did not protest, and thus they walked around it into enemy lines.
They settled down in Novo Kribisk. It seemed the best compromise for them to stay hidden away from General Kirigan as well as for them to find work. Kara and Timofei had tested the limit of his bloodoath and found it constraining. Indeed, they could not be more than a mile apart. Otherwise Timofei felt his heart squeeze and he would black out. They were forced to find work together. At first, they rented a sparse small room with a chimney. Timofei hid away his Tailor talents as he would be too easily noticed. Kara, with her babe wrapped in her back, tried to take up healing again. She did not dare push herself to do any surgery. Not only would any intriguing practices bring unwanted attention, but she also did not trust in her capacities with only one functional eye.
One night she grew restless and asked Timofei's wife, Marina, to watch over Lui as she got a breath of fresh air with the Tailor. She felt afraid. They were unable to make much money with her few healing ointments and broths. She needed to care for her son in a better way. Timofei was hardly doing any better. His acting talents were of no use in this trading city. As they walked mindlessly in the dark, Kara had removed her eyepatch and noticed that her eyesight was...particularly good. Her dilated pupil caught details that few would be able to distinguish in the dark. After minutes of mindless walking, they had found themselves at the foot of the Fold.
As she stood there, a strange idea began to form in her mind. If Alexhander's grandfather had condemned her to a life with not a spark of Small Science in her blood, he had also made her strong. Alexander's darkness could not hurt her and the cost of his Merzost was but a breath away. She extended her hand until it engulfed in its void. She mused. Timofei grew pale, " what are you doing?". she hushed him and continued to think. Her making it out alive all those months ago was no accident. The Volcra could not sense her. She would be forever safe frmo their grasp. What if she learned to extend that capacity to others? Could she help men, women and children cross the Fold?
As she was bound by a blood oath to Timofei, she had to keep him close and talk him into her crazy idea. He had paled, his eyes wide. At first he had refused any attempts at crossing with her. However, he knew that they were running low on money and they had trouble affording food. he finally caved in. Their first attempts were fleeting, taking as little risks as possible. They would walk several days away, to where the Fold was narrow. They learning that if Kara held his hand, the Volcra did not seem to detect Timofei either. That worked only under the condition that they were absolutely silent and remained in the dark. Kara's damaged eye became a very adapted tool. Without any light, she could see well enough to cross through. Once they had crossed a dozen times with success, they told Marina about it.
At first, The young mother was angry. What if something were to happen to them both? Would she be left to raise two children on her own? What kind of selfish duo they made! She also wept out of fear for her husband. She could not bear to lose him again. Timofei, who had thrown up his diner several times crossing the Fold with Kara, was surprisingly calm and reassuring. Kara was made for this and he had felt safe in her hands in the end. Marina had grabbed her daughter and wept in a corner of the room. Lui had cooed at his mother and she had held him close. She had no intention of losing him to hunger. She would do what was needed.
Timofei had trouble convincing their first clients. No one believed that a one-eyed women could navigate through the Fold in the dark and get them across safely. One evening, Timofei had found Kara's arm bandaged and bleeding. " What did you do?!", he cried in worry. She had wrapped her healthy arm lovingly around her son and said, " I made a scar for every time we crossed the Fold, you and I. It's the only proof we can give to people to trust us". He had been shocked but nodded. Marina had been giving him the silent treatment for the past few days. She seemed to be praying they would find no customers and move on.
One day, they were approached by a less than recommendable man. He was accompanied by two burly bodyguards. He presented himself as the notorious Captain Gulliver, a smuggler of second army and grisha deserters. He helped ship the survivors of the Fold onto ships in direction of Novyi Zem at an expensive price. He was intrigued by the promise the pair were making. Their capacity to help cross the Fold in safety seemed too good to be true. He therefore offered a challenge. One of his comrades was a dead man unless he crossed over to the other side. Timofei made the rules of the game clear. 1) Since crossing over was fool-proof, it was quite expensive. 2) They were to be payed up front half of the amount and the rest on the other side. 3) No light or sound whatsoever during the crossing. The Captain and his comrade had frowned but nodded. He was the first they helped cross. Once they came back alive, the captain offered them a deal. They would have the safety of his gang and would be paied graciously if they were to join their activities. Both Timofei and Kara were weary but agreed. They arrived home with a bag full of coins, enough to secure them through the winter. Timofei explained to Marina what they had managed to negotiate. She would have a bodyguard at her door the nights her husband and Kara would smuggle deserters across the Fold. Marina could only nod in shock. She would keep the children safe, while her husband and Kara worked dark nights for a living. She despised it. However, as the coins came in regularly, allowing them to build connecting homes with separate spaces, to eat, heat themselves, pay from their children's tutors...as Timofei always came back safe but tired...she gave in.
The Tailor and Kara became skilled smuggler, a less than recommendable talent. They learned to use a hand knife in case a client decided not to pay the second half of the bargain. They learned not to give their true names or be traceable back to their home. To their neighbors, they worked on ships along the coast, explaining their regular disappearances and Kara's eye-patch.
Despite the safety of regular earnings, Kara felt guilty in leaving Lui behind. She would make it up to him every time she was home, keeping the crossings to a minimum for their vital needs. Any additional money had to be made in more honest earnings. Marina was quite good at sewing and regularly made dresses for wealthier women. In those periods, Kara was happy to watch over the two little ones with Timofei. They found a form of balance even if none of them were free. Indeed, Kara would often catch Timofei looking out the window in a foul mood. His wings were clipped and he was stuck with her, so long as his blood oath was in effect. Over the years she tried to bring up the possibility of negotiating with Alexhander to be freed. Timofei would laugh and ruffle her hair, "leave well enough alone smuggler. He's not worth the risk". So she gave up.
Lui grew into a beautiful boy. He had his mother's blue eyes but his father's dark raven hair and chiseled traits. Kara would often worry of the possibility of Grisha powers. Yet, as the years went by, there was no trace of Small Science in him. He began to cry when she left at night with Timofei for her dangerous missions. Despite her reassuring whispers and hugs, he never got used to it. As he grew even older, he began to ask questions. What were they doing out their in the dark? What could possibly allow them to earn in one evening the equivalent of a year's of Marina's pay? In other more happy times, he would ask other questions. Who was his father? where was he? did he love him?
Kara did not know how to answer these questions. He was too young to keep secrets from his friends at school. She gave him tiny fragments of information. She loved his father and he loved her. He did not know he was a father, she had not had time to tell him before the war hit would soon be 10 and she knew that she would have to tell him the truth soon. The bodyguard at their door had been able to catch Lui trying to sneak after his mother in the dark. It would not be long until he slipped between his fingers and followed them to the Fold.
That night, she promised Lui that she would work one last night under the cloak of secrecy. Once she was back home, she would tell him everything. Timofei agreed. his own daughter was also getting quite restless and had almost followed Lui on his last attempt to follow them.
The trip across the Fold was easy. they were to meet a young Grisha couple on the other side who wanted to cross to the seaside. However, the moment Kara and Timofei crossed into the darkest part of the forest, the hair on her neck prickled. Her heart began to pace. She held tight onto Timofei's sleeve and tapped the top of his hand 3 times. Timofei was blind in this darkness. It was a sign they had developped to say something was wrong. He stiffened and held his breath. She placed him behind a dead tree stump and wrapped him in his cloak. " Do not move", she whispered. He nodded and waited. As she made her way to the meeting point, sweat began to trickle down her neck. It was too quiet and there was no couple waiting. As her eye adjusted to the darkness and familiar silhouette moved by a tree at the limit of the Fold. She knew him. he recognized her. He was still as beautiful as ever. " Alexhander?", she whispered.