Chapter Text
It was one of those magical snowy nights when your deepest wishes come true and all your dreams are just one step away, waiting for you at the end of the rainbow made of snowflakes melting on the bulbs of multicoloured LED light string hanging above your window. Its joyful glow spreads the message of warmth and acceptance. Of companionship and love. Music could be heard blasting from the windows with the occasional musician on the streets joining the chorus of tunes and voices singing the same carols over and over until it was all you could hear as your consciousness slowly dissolved into the melody.
It was Christmas.
And Caitlyn Kiramman fucking hated it.
A single night where she was supposed to forget the war and enjoy life, to pretend like everything was alright, smile and laugh at the bad jokes and host a family dinner for the people who held a piece of her heart so that she may feel whole tonight with all of them sharing the room. She hadn´t felt whole for a long time and was pretty sure that listening to her mother´s scolding voice and father´s quiet apologies would not change that no matter how many carols they would have the staff sing for them.
They would never be the perfect, happy family again
She was brooding and readily admitted it to the silence of her chambers. There were mountains of work to be done, reports to be written, and orders to be given out, but the ones who were supposed to receive them all went home. They lit up the fireplace, heated up the stove, and joined the celebrations like proper Piltover citizens, honouring the traditions of their ancestors and simply taking a moment to breathe and smile. Holidays were not made for people like Caitlyn. People in power. People with bone-crushing responsibilities who had nowhere to hide from them. True, she opened that insanely expensive bottle of bourbon, Mel gave her but ironically, the alcohol only made her more restless. She was pacing, scratching her wrists at those tiny spots that were invisible to the public eye, covered by her shooting gloves and now scarred from all the abuse they suffered at the mercy of her perfect nails.
Instinctively she headed for the only room where the building pressure could be relieved, even if only for a few hours. Her steps echoed through the empty corridors until she stopped in front of the beautifully carved wooden doors with a special locking mechanism installed within. Only a handful of people knew about the secrets guarded by the oak and metal as Caitlyn was always taught to never let anyone get close enough to see the truth beneath the mask. And those who did...all they saw was yet another mask. Fabricated with less precision it almost felt as if they were getting something real. Hell, even Caitlyn often pondered if she and her masks finally blended and erased all traces of who she used to be.
She opened the door with a precise stroke of her fingers as there was no key, only everchanging patterns to be followed in an order only she knew. Soft lights lit up automatically, giving off a warm glow and setting the atmosphere for the night of passion. Silk and leather were the materials used for finer details, such as sheets on the king-sized bed, straps on the X-shaped bean, padding on wooden and iron benches, curtains that separated different areas and decorated walls, partially covering the numerous whips, floggers, cuffs and other instruments of pain and pleasure that were available in abundance. But only then, when her eyes fell upon the familiar room and she felt the rush of excitement finally interrupting her spiralling thoughts, the final flaw showed itself.
Caitlyn was alone.
For all the money, glory, fear and respect she gained as the Commander of Piltover forces...she had no one to spend Christmas Eve with. Even Maddie had decided to use the time off to be with her family and even had the nerve to invite Caitlyn along as if she would ever play pretend for a lower-class mom and dad who adored their aspiring redhead daughter. She was not doing it for her own family and had no desire to do so for strangers.
Her fingers traced the pillory made of expensive mahogany wood and adorned by the handmade cravings of leaves and flowers. It was a piece of art in itself like almost everything in this room and yet, none of her partners was ever willing to use it, claiming it to be too degrading and uncomfortable. Caitlyn scoffed, the wood was polished to perfection, there was no padding, true, but that would defeat the whole purpose of putting those criminals in their place. Too bad enforcers actually made poor delinquents while playing and she was forced to rely more on her imagination than the actual scene in front of her. Still, she would gladly trade it for the pounding in her ears and itching in her wrists that irked her as much as it worried her. Yet another secret to hide from the world.
Her foot began tapping on the dark floor. Maybe she could still go and finish writing that report. Take her mind off things she had no control over. Maybe...
A bright flash of light momentarily blinded her and she swore she heard a faint violin tune as her eyes tried to adjust to the colourful dots dancing across her vision. Her heart sped up in anticipation and Caitlyn instinctively grabbed the first weapon she could find, a flogger, and aimed it at the figure that seemed to appear out of thin air near the opposite wall of her dungeon.
They staggered back, hands coming to their bare midsection in frantic, jerky movement as if fully expecting to find a handful of their intestines hanging out. "Did you fucking shoot me..." the person finally seemed to get a sense of their surroundings and their pink eyes bulged out comically as they stared at Caitlyn and her outstretched hand. "...with a floger?"
Caitlyn stared too. The gears in her head turning a hundred miles per hour, it was a wonder steam did not come out of her ears as she tried to put together the puzzle in front of her. A scrawny female with two bright blue braids, bleeding cuts and scratches mixing with the paint, glitter and oily smudges created a living art piece on her pale skin and when their eyes met, she got out only a single word...
"Jinx?"