Chapter Text
Crash!
Vi lowered her leg and confidently stepped into the apartment, ignoring Mylo’s muttered insult at her breaking the door. She saw no point in hiding the fact that they were breaking in since the person who lived there would know a bunch of his stuff was stolen when he returned, but they would get caught if they lingered too long.
As she walked further inside, letting her backpack drop to the floor, she gazed around with curiosity at the nicest apartment she’d ever seen before. Her eyes widened as she saw the bookshelf and immediately approached it to scan the titles. To her disappointment, it was all science textbooks or history of mages. While Vi liked history just fine, she had never really found mages or the Arcane interesting and had hoped to see a good fiction book to escape into on nights when she couldn’t sleep.
“You know, Claggor, for once you’re right. We’re definitely not supposed to be here,” Mylo said right before he began filling the bag.
They all started to do the same. Vi half ignored the conversation Powder and Mylo had, but she heard her sister say something about a nose hair trimmer and urged Powder to fill the bag with actual stuff they could sell. Mylo just rolled his eyes and wandered off to continue his search.
After a few minutes, as Vi examined the room further, she heard a very quiet high pitched humming coming from a desk with papers on it with all sorts of strange looking runes and designs on them. She pushed them aside and saw a gorgeous sapphire gem that had been placed inside of a delicate looking apparatus. Excited at the potentially massive payday this gem alone could bring them, she leaned in closer and could see the prongs that held it in place appeared to be very fragile. She reached down and grabbed the stone, but yanked her hand back when something sparked at her fingertips.
Stupid static shock, she thought and tried again.
The gem came free with surprising ease. She held it up against the sunlight that streamed through the window and it glittered in it beautifully. She was surprised by how imperfect it was despite its round shape, but she had never seen a raw gemstone before, so maybe they all looked like that. She’d have to ask Powder or Ekko later if they knew why an inventor would use a sapphire in an experiment.
Before she had a chance to pocket the gem, she heard a noise coming from outside of the front door of the apartment and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest.
“We got to go!” she hissed to everyone as she subconsciously clenched her fist around the stone.
She rushed forwards to the door and pushed hard against it to give her siblings enough time to grab the bag and get the hell out.
“Hello? Is someone in there?” came a deep voice from the other side. Vi was nearly knocked back from the door when the other person tried to shove it open. She used all of her strength to keep it closed.
She watched as Powder’s foot disappeared up onto the roof above them and just as Vi was about to sprint after them, the door finally gave way and she stumbled back. The man’s wide brown eyes stared at her in shock. Vi came to her senses a split second sooner and tried to turn to run away, but his longer arms shot out and grabbed her hood.
“I don’t think so!” he spat angrily.
“Let me go!” Vi cried out.
She saw a flash of dark blue hair out of the corner of her eye and noticed a girl around her age run into the apartment, staring wide eyed at the scene before her.
I’m out numbered, Vi thought in a panic.
She managed to turn around enough to kick the man in the stomach, forcing him to release her and double over in pain. She quickly moved to follow her siblings when an unexpectedly strong grip grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She turned and saw the other girl glaring at her. Vi glared back and tried to pull her arm free, but the girl was surprisingly stronger than she looked. Without realizing that she was still holding the gem, she opened her hands up to push away her captor. Right as she shoved at her, the stone hit the ground and Vi was suddenly blinded by a bright blue light that filled the space. A small burst of energy erupted between her and the dark haired girl as they were blown apart about fifteen feet.
An uncomfortable prickling sensation wrapped itself around the center of Vi’s chest—like her very bones were numb. She groaned as a painful throbbing pounded inside her skull from where it hit the wall she flew into. As she blinked her eyes open, blue motes flitted at the edge of her vision and she shook her head to see more clearly.
Bad idea, she thought as she groaned in pain from her head protesting the movement.
She pushed aside the discomfort and pain and looked up. The girl that had grabbed her was on the ground, also groaning in pain, and the man was getting to his feet, staring at her in confused awe. Not caring why he looked at her like that, she knew now was her chance.
Vi quickly stood up and, ignoring the way the world tilted ever so slightly, she ran out onto the balcony. She was about to jump up onto the railing to climb to the roof when suddenly, as if someone grabbed her by her sternum and wrenched her back, she flew back into the apartment and hit something behind her.
“Ow!” exclaimed a posh Piltie accent.
Vi scrambled off of the girl she suddenly found herself lying on top of.
“What the fuck?” Vi asked no one in particular.
Get out of here, you idiot, she ordered herself.
She stood up again and went out onto the balcony, only to feel the same sensation in her chest again as she was somehow jerked off of her feet and flown back, colliding with the other girl once more.
“What are you doing? What is going on?” demanded the girl, shoving Vi off of her as she clambered to her feet.
“What did you do to me? Why can’t I leave?” Vi shot back angrily, standing as well.
“I didn’t do anything!” the girl cried out.
Vi, with her back to the door, moved as quickly as she could while going backwards to leave.
“Wait, don’t—” the man called out, but it was too late.
Vi saw a crackle of blue energy and light form between herself and the other girl, right in the center of their chests, just before Vi was pulled off of her feet for a third time and was forcefully propelled right into the girl. The other girl tried to step aside to avoid the collision, but she seemed rooted to the floor. Their heads knocked together painfully as Vi fell to her knees as the blue energy dissipated between them.
Vi opened her eyes, which naturally looked to the exit and saw two Mylos peeking down from the roof, staring at her worriedly.
“GO!” she mouthed at him as her vision swam back into focus, although her head was killing her.
Thankfully, he listened and she heard the light thudding of multiple people running across the roof.
“Who are you? And why are you breaking into my lab?” the man behind her demanded.
“Who the fuck cares? What did you do to me?” Vi asked scathingly as she got to her feet.
“Don’t speak to Jayce like that,” the other girl admonished in the poshest Piltie accent Vi had ever heard. “It’s not his fault you were caught breaking into his apartment.”
“You think I’m mad that I got caught? I can’t leave. Why?”
The man—Jayce—suddenly looked very worried and Vi narrowed her eyes at him.
“I don’t know what happened. I’ve never seen it do anything like that before,” he replied. “Caitlyn, I’ll stay here and watch her. Go get an Enforcer.”
Vi’s eyes went wide and true panic began to seize inside of her chest at the thought of the Enforcers coming for her.
“I don’t think so,” she snarled.
Vi tried again for the balcony at the same time that the girl—Caitlyn, Jayce had called her—ran for the door.
Two yelps echoed throughout the room as both girls were suddenly and forcefully pulled off of their feet and hurtled towards one another. Vi instinctively wrapped her hands around the back of her head and felt the other girl’s skull hit against Vi’s fingers, cushioning the blow somewhat.
“What the—” Jayce whispered shakily, staring at them like he had seen a ghost. “Okay, okay. I’ll go get them. Stay here.”
Vi scowled so hard she felt her brow twitching and her upper lip curl. “Like I have a fucking choice!” she called out after him as he left his apartment.
She was suddenly alone with this Piltie, who was looking at her like she was the one responsible for this.
“Why did you break in?” the girl demanded, crossing her arms and staring down her nose at Vi.
Vi felt lava lick at her veins.
“Why the hell would I tell you anything?” Vi countered.
The girl dropped her fists to her sides and glared at Vi. “Because now I can’t leave either.”
“That’s not my fault. That blue sapphire is what did this.”
“Because you broke it!” Caitlyn argued.
“Which I wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t grabbed me.”
“Well I wouldn’t have grabbed you if you had just not tried to steal from Jayce.”
Vi growled and felt her hands curl into fists. She imagined breaking the girl’s nose and marring her annoyingly perfect face, but forced herself to refrain from doing so. A voice that sounded suspiciously like Vander told her in the back of her head that the last thing she needed was for the Enforcers to find her standing over a bloodied Piltie when she couldn’t even leave.
Instead, Vi scoffed and then crossed her arms to remove any temptation to take a swing at the girl. The two stood there in tense silence for only a few more moments before Jayce returned with a few heavy footsteps behind him.
Vi felt her breathing increase rapidly and her stomach grow cold with terror at seeing the navy blue and gold uniforms come into view. A man with black hair and a thin chinstrap beard walked in, followed by a younger man with dark eyes and longer brown hair.
“This the thief?” the black haired Enforcer asked, looking at Vi with contempt—a look she had learned to loathe and fear from those that wore his uniform at a very young age.
She did her best to hide the way she felt like a rat cornered by two large cats licking their chops hungrily.
“It is, but like I said, we may want to call the sheriff. She can’t actually leave here and I’m not sure what to do about this,” Jayce said carefully.
The Enforcer curled his lip at Vi distastefully. “Oh, I’ll make sure she cooperates.”
“Officer, that’s not what I mean—”
But the Enforcer ignored him and grabbed Vi’s upper arm so hard she grit back the urge to let out a yelp of pain.
“Hey, get off of me,” she said, trying to wrench her arm free, but the man’s grasp on her was too strong and he began frog marching her towards the front door.
“No, don’t!” Caitlyn cried out, but it was too late.
Vi flinched in preparation for the sudden pull, which bowled over the Enforcer and forced him to let go of her as she was pulled back into Caitlyn, knocking her to the ground again with Vi sprawled on top of her, groaning in pain.
“Can we please stop doing that?” the girl beneath her muttered.
Vi, whose back and head were screaming in pain from being thrown about like a rag doll, just whimpered in agreement as she rolled off of Caitlyn.
“What is this?” the Enforcer demanded, standing to his feet.
“I told you,” Jayce said. “She can’t leave—literally. Either of them.”
“Maybe we should get the sheriff, Marcus,” the other Enforcer stated, speaking for the first time.
The man growled. “Fine. I’ll remain here.”
Vi started to stand up, but was suddenly pushed back down to the ground as she felt someone kneel on her back.
“Argh!” Vi cried out as her back muscles protested at the bone suddenly digging into them. She felt something cold and metallic click around her wrist and glanced down to see that the black haired officer—Marcus—was handcuffing her.
“Come on, man, I can’t even leave,” she argued as her other wrist was cuffed behind her back.
“That doesn’t mean you aren’t dangerous. I’m not taking any chances,” the Enforcer spat.
She closed her eyes to push down the panic rising in her chest.
Gods, I’ve really fucked up this time, she lamented.
Vi opened her eyes to see the other girl, Caitlyn, staring at her with a strange look. Vi felt humiliation bloom cold in her chest and creep up her face as the Enforcer stood up and placed his boot on her back to keep her down. She turned away from the girl, refusing to let her see the tears that she did her best to blink away.
“Let’s go over it again.”
“You have to believe me. I didn’t do this,” Jayce stated emphatically.
“Relax, kid,” the sheriff said. “We know it was a break in, but that doesn’t explain this.”
The older, gravelly voiced woman motioned over to Vi and Caitlyn. Vi was now sitting on the ground, still cuffed, while the girl stood near her, carefully watching the exchange.
“There’s a lot of restricted items here and I don’t see any permits,” the sheriff continued. “You want to tell me how you got them?”
There were now several Enforcers in the apartment, looking around at all of the strange items that Vi and her siblings hadn’t managed to grab.
“Sheriff, we found something,” one of them said, coming from a hallway carrying a blue box. He opened it in front of the woman and Vi craned her neck to see several more sapphires inside of it.
“That’s what she dropped,” Caitlyn said. “It caused a small explosion and then suddenly we couldn't leave.”
Vi bit her tongue to not point out that Caitlyn was the one who made her drop it. She didn’t care that this girl was a Piltie. Vi didn’t rat anyone out to the blue bellies. Unlike this girl.
“I’m still unsure what you mean by that, Caitlyn,” the sheriff said.
Vi noticed an informal tone in the older woman’s voice, like she had spoken with Caitlyn before today.
Just my luck to get stuck with a girl who is friends with the sheriff, Vi thought ruefully.
“I’d rather not demonstrate it, Sheriff,” Caitlyn said. “It’s rather painful. But when we try to leave the room, we are forcefully pulled by this blue energy—blue like those stones—and thrown into one another.”
The sheriff looked at Jayce expectantly.
“What are these?” she asked, looking pointedly at the gems.
Jayce looked very reluctant to answer. “It’s what I’m researching. I’d rather not give out that information. The Academy is very competitive and I don’t want to risk someone stealing my work. Perhaps if we get Professor Heimerdinger down here, then he could help them out.”
The sheriff hummed curiously. “Who are your patrons?”
Jayce sighed defeatedly. “The Kirammans.”
Vi inhaled sharply and ignored the look she saw Caitlyn give her out of the corner of her eye.
A fucking councilor owns this place? she thought in shock. I am so fucked.
The sheriff let out a low whistle. “Your unpermitted research has somehow affected Councilor Kiramman’s daughter? You better be able to fix this, kid.”
Vi’s eyes widened as she looked at the other girl, who sensed her staring and gave her a puzzled look. Vi turned away and hung her head.
She’s a Kiramman? she thought. I don’t think this could get any worse.
The next thirty minutes was a flurry of movement and Vi remained handcuffed the whole time. Her shoulders had started to ache from the restraints behind her back and she realized that she needed to go to the bathroom.
Soon, a bunch of very important people showed up. A Yordle with yellow and white fur arrived alongside a thin, gaunt man walking with a cane. This was apparently the esteemed Professor Heimerdinger, Head of the Council and Dean of Piltover Academy. Next to follow shortly after was a woman in her late forties with short slightly graying brown hair and impeccable clothes.
When the strange woman’s eyes widened at seeing Caitlyn, she rushed forward and embraced the girl.
“Sweetheart, are you hurt?” she asked, her voice in a panic.
“I’m fine, mom. I promise,” Caitlyn answered calmly.
Vi felt her heart pound and palms sweat as the feeling of intimidation set in. These were some of the most powerful people in Piltover and there she was, handcuffed and on the floor at their mercy. And the need to go to the bathroom was growing more desperate.
“Jayce, what on Runeterra happened, my boy?” Heimerdinger asked.
Jayce glanced around the room nervously.
“Enforcers, clear the room,” the sheriff ordered.
A few moments later, it was the Kirammans, the sheriff, Jayce, Heimerdinger, the man with the cane, and Vi left in the room.
Jayce explained everything, from the moment he entered his apartment to describing what happened when Caitlyn and Vi tried to leave.
“I’m not sure what exactly is wrong with them. These stones are still in many ways a mystery to me,” he finished.
“What are they?” the man with the cane asked, leaning down on the table that the box of them sat on. “I’ve never seen anything like them before.”
Vi watched as Jayce bit his lip, but even she was on the edge of her seat waiting for his answer.
“I call it Hextech. A way to harness magic through science,” he confessed quietly.
Vi’s jaw dropped open as everyone else in the room stared at the man in shock.
“Magic?” Heimerdinger repeated . “Jayce, you know that the study of the Arcane was banned centuries ago. Piltover does not condone the use of magic within our city. It is too unpredictable, too volatile.”
“But I know that I can control it with Hextech,” Jayce exclaimed.
“I never gave you permission to use my money to fund such dangerous research,” Councilor Kiramman reprimanded harshly. “And now your actions have affected my daughter.”
“Councilor, I believe this could be revolutionary. I know I can fix what happened, but I’ll need access to all of my materials,” Jayce defended.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We need to see exactly what it is we’re dealing with,” Heimerdinger stated. He looked at the two girls. “I am sorry to ask this, but could you please show us what exactly happens when you try to leave?”
Caitlyn sighed and nodded. She glanced at Vi, giving her an apologetic expression. Vi scoffed derisively in response.
The Piltie girl walked towards the front door and just as she got to about 15 feet, the same sparkling blue energy appeared between them and Vi felt a very strange tugging sensation at the center of her sternum.
She winced in discomfort and then watched as Caitlyn took one more step and then the energy, like a lasso, yanked her hurtling towards Vi.
Vi barely had time to wince before Caitlyn knocked right into her, an elbow accidentally jamming into her stomach and driving the breath from her.
“Gods damn it,” she cursed through her coughs.
“I’m sorry, are you okay?” Caitlyn asked, her tone filled with worry as she pulled herself off of Vi.
Vi glared at her.
“Fucking peachy,” she muttered so low only Caitlyn heard her.
The other girl huffed in annoyance and stood up. Her mother rushed to her and fussed over her as Vi hissed in pain as she did her best to sit up with her back spasming without the help of her arms.
“Fascinating,” Heimerdinger said, putting his hand under his chin. “It’s as if an Arcane force has bonded the two of them together. Like atoms bound together through electron transference.”
“Bound to each other?” the sheriff asked.
The Dean nodded. “Yes, the magic flowed between the two of them, not the room. Girls, would you please try to walk towards the front door together?”
Vi glanced at the sheriff, worried that if she made any sudden movements that she would be in even more trouble. The older woman nodded and moved to help Vi up, who shouldered the hand off of her.
“I can stand up by myself,” she insisted heatedly.
The sheriff cocked her head at her curiously, but she backed off and let Vi get to her feet. Her and Caitlyn, standing a few feet apart, gingerly started to move towards the door.
Vi winced in anticipation, but nothing happened. Hope welled up in her as the energy didn’t appear and neither of them were magically pulled back into the room. Caitlyn beside her let out a relieved sigh as they stepped into the hallway of the apartment building.
“Well, that answers that. The girls were the catalyst for the magical bond, not the location,” the man with the cane said. “Professor, may I have permission to look through Mr. Talis’ research and begin devising a way to break this bond?”
“No way. I will figure it out. I don’t want anyone looking at my research,” Jayce insisted as he stood up.
“Calm down, Mr. Talis,” the sheriff said. “You are in no position to argue seeing as how your research is what caused this.”
The adults began to argue amongst themselves on how best to solve this problem, but Vi barely heard them. She shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, the situation with her bladder becoming quite dire.
Caitlyn must have noticed her movement and glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”
Vi clenched her jaw and forced herself to be still.
“Nothing,” she muttered stubbornly.
The girl clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “Clearly something is. What is it?”
Vi felt herself flush ever so slightly and let out a quiet growl.
“I need to pee,” she whispered.
Curiosity gave way to realization.
“Oh,” Caitlyn said, then moved to walk up to the sheriff.
“What are you doing?” Vi hissed, following her as the further the girl moved away from her, the stronger the pulling sensation at her sternum became.
Caitlyn ignored Vi and tapped the sheriff on the shoulder. The older woman looked down at Caitlyn.
“Yes, young Kiramman?”
“She needs to use the bathroom. Can you please uncuff her?” Caitlyn said, thumbing behind her to Vi.
Vi had never been so embarrassed in her life, but she refused to look away from the sheriff when she met her gaze.
The sheriff hummed. “If she promises to behave, I’ll remove the restraints.”
Vi scoffed. “I’m well aware of who is in this room. I’m not stupid enough to try anything.”
“Good,” the woman said.
When the metal cuffs were removed, Vi rubbed at her wrists.
“Where’s the bathroom?” she asked Caitlyn, who pointed down the hall.
Vi turned and walked in that direction, only to glance back when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Can I help you?” she asked Caitlyn with an annoyed look.
The girl looked at her like she was an idiot. “We can’t be very far from one another. Unless you want to fly out of the bathroom with your pants down, I have to be near you.”
Vi, who had momentarily forgotten her predicament with the other girl in her desperation to go to the bathroom, sighed in resignation.
Alone for the first time in almost two hours, after tending to her bladder, Vi stared at herself in the mirror. She nearly gasped as she saw, just barely, speckles of bright sapphire blue in her normally blue gray irises. She placed her hands on the sides of the sink and hung her head.
“You’ve fucked up, Vi,” she said to herself. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
She glanced to her left at the small window in the bathroom. She knew she couldn’t leave out of it, no matter how tempting, not wanting to find out if the magic connecting her to Caitlyn was strong enough to pull her through the ceiling. Instead, she splashed her face with cold water and took several deep breaths. Her brothers and sister would tell Vander what happened and he’ll come save her. He always knew what to do. She just had to be patient.
Vi let out a humorless chuckle at the idea of her being patient and then steeled herself as she opened the door.
Caitlyn was leaning her shoulder against the hallway wall, arms crossed. She glanced up at Vi and gave her a smirk. Vi did not like that.
“What?” she demanded.
“So. Vi, is it?” Caitlyn replied arrogantly.
Vi cursed herself and glared at the girl before she turned her heel and stalked back into the main room of the apartment.
“We’ll have to run a few experiments on the girls. Nothing invasive or painful, I assure you, Councilor Kiramman,” Heimerdinger was saying when they returned. “But there is very little we understand about the Arcane. We must be sure that we know everything we can before we endeavor to sever their connection. If we aren’t cautious, I fear the attempt could harm one or both of them.”
“And what do you propose in the meantime, Professor?” Councilor Kiramman asked in frustration. “My daughter is tied to this criminal.”
The old Yordle hummed in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Cassandra, but I’m afraid to say that they must remain close until our investigation is complete. As you can see, the Arcane will not allow them to be separated.”
Vi suddenly felt like she was struck by a train as she realized the full extent of her situation.
Must remain close. Not allow them to be separated.
The idea of not being able to go back home made her lightheaded as she glanced around the room. Every adult argued over the best way to accommodate the Councilor’s daughter and not a single one of them paid attention to Vi—save for Caitlyn.
Bright blue eyes stared at her and seemed to grow very concerned as Vi began to feel like she couldn’t breathe in enough oxygen and the edges of her peripheral began to blacken. Pure, unadulterated panic welled up in her and the need to flee became so strong, Vi wondered what would win out: her survival instincts or magic.
Caitlyn took a few steps closer to her.
“Are you alright?” she asked. At least that’s what Vi thinks she asked, but her ears began to ring loudly and her eyes had a hard time focusing through the tunnel vision she found herself staring down. “Vi. What’s wrong?”
A muffled voice said something about a panic attack through a haze of black with motes of sapphire blue dotted through the darkness.
When Vi came back to herself, she felt the cool breeze on her skin, the sun on her face, and the soothing feeling of something rubbing small circles on her back.
“Breathe, Vi. Breathe,” came a slightly garbled voice.
Vi blinked a few times and sucked in some much needed air. She looked around as her vision cleared and saw that she had somehow ended up on the balcony.
“Are you going to be okay?” came a voice from behind her. Vi whipped around and stepped back, ready to defend herself, only to see Caitlyn startle at her sudden movement. “It’s just me. I brought you out here. They’re still discussing what to do inside.”
Vi, who was still breathing and sweating like she had just sprinted ten miles, shook her head to clear it.
“I’m fine,” she gritted out, refusing to meet the other girl’s gaze that she knew was full of pity.
“Hey, this is happening to me, too,” Caitlyn said, crossing her arms. “We’re in the same boat and it would be nice if you could stop being so self absorbed and acknowledge that.”
Vi’s mouth dropped open at the sheer audacity of this girl.
“You’re a Kiramman, right?” she asked with a sneer.
Caitlyn raised her chin up ever so slightly. “And so what if I am?”
Vi growled at her arrogance. “Take a good, long look at me, Kiramman. Where do you think I’m from?”
Blue eyes widened and her bluster was suddenly nowhere to be found.
“I—uh—I mean—I don’t want to assume anything,” she stammered awkwardly, a dark blush dusting her angular cheekbones.
“I’ll give you one fucking guess,” Vi replied.
Caitlyn huffed. “Fine. You’re from across the river.”
“Gold star,” Vi spat sarcastically. “You claim we’re in the same boat? Tell me, do you think your councilor mom will let you anywhere near Zaun, let alone go down to the depths of the fissures?”
The Piltie seemed to realize what Vi’s point was as she bit her lip and furrowed her brow.
“No,” she simply answered.
“So, Kiramman, where do you think I’m going to be allowed to go until they figure this out? Do you think your mom will let me go home and see my family?” Vi demanded, her tone like one she’d use on a small, confused child. Caitlyn remained silent, which was all the answer Vi needed. She scoffed. “That’s what I thought. I’m stuck with some Piltie princess and when this is done, I’m sure I’ll be carted off to Stillwater for endangering a councilor’s kid where I’ll never see daylight or my family again. Same boat, my ass.”
Caitlyn looked like she was going to respond, but was interrupted by her mother opening the balcony door.
“Caitlyn? What are you doing out here? You should be inside…where it’s safer,” she said, a critical and judging eye looking down at Vi.
Vi glanced at Caitlyn, the “I told you so” written all over her face. Caitlyn quickly averted her gaze and walked inside. Vi, who felt the uncomfortable pull at her sternum as the Piltie moved further away from her, sucked in a slow, deep breath to remain calm.
Vander will come. He’ll help me, she told herself.
But even in her head, she didn’t sound very convincing. Vi glanced up at everyone in the room as she walked in and felt very exposed as they all finally looked at her and she couldn’t help but feel like a sheep among a pack of wolves who weren’t hungry quite yet.
“What’s your name, young lady?” Heimerdinger asked her with a kind smile.
Vi refused to say anything, but felt Caitlyn’s elbow dig into her ribs. Vi glared at her and took a half step away from her, but stayed silent. Caitlyn huffed.
“Her name is Vi.”
I am going to strangle her, Vi swore to herself.
“Vi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Professor Heimerdinger, Dean of Piltover Academy,” the Yordle said. “I know this must be frightening, as anything is regarding magic, but I promise you that the best minds in our great city will be put to work on this conundrum. Hopefully we’ll have you free from this Arcane tether in no time.”
“I’ll need my equipment back, though,” Jayce stated. “She must have been working with someone because I can already tell several items I’ll need to fix this are missing and she doesn’t have any of them on her.”
Vi felt her blood turn cold. She thought he assumed she was alone, but of course he’d notice his magic, or science or whatever, stuff was missing while she stood there, empty handed.
Shit, she thought.
“Vi, I’ll need their names to get back Mr. Talis’ items,” the sheriff said, stepping forward.
“Over my dead body will I snitch to a blue belly,” came Vi’s response automatically.
Cassandra’s eyes flashed dangerously as she suddenly towered over Vi.
“Now you listen to me, young lady. Your recklessness has put my daughter in danger,” she said with a cold calmness that rooted Vi to the ground as she stared up at the councilor, wide eyed with fear. “We have no idea what the effects of this magic is having on her. You will tell us who else was here and where to find them. If not, I guarantee you that I will still find out and when I do, any chance at leniency or mercy I could have allowed will be off the table. Do I make myself clear?”
Vi swallowed hard and, reluctantly, jerked her head up and down.
“Good. Now, what shall it be? The easy way or the hard way?” the older woman asked. Vi looked away and down to the floor, her hands clenched into fists as her mind and heart tore themselves in two. The idea of snitching was unfathomable to her. She must have taken too long to answer, because the Councilor stood up straight and adjusted her pristine jacket. “The hard way it is. Sheriff, I want you to send a battalion of Enforcers into Zaun and begin questioning anyone they believe could have information on those responsible for this crime.”
Vi gasped and images of an army of Enforcers, batons in hand, tearing through her home nearly made her dizzy in fear.
“Mom!” Caitlyn protested. “That is completely unnecessary. There is no reason to think that I am in any danger—”
Cassandra was having none of it, though. “You know nothing of the Arcane, Caitlyn. We have no precedence for this and I will not gamble with your life.”
“Councilor, perhaps we should be cautious before choosing such drastic measures,” the sheriff warned calmly. “Such a forceful response could drive who we are looking for into hiding.”
“I will not allow them to hold my daughter’s safety hostage from me, Sheriff.”
Fuck me, Vi thought before she stepped forward.
“If you promise me that you won’t arrest or hurt them, I’ll tell you,” she said, guilt bubbling in her stomach so violently that she thought she would be sick.
Cassandra cocked her head, clearly surprised at the change of heart. “You have my word. All I care about is my daughter’s safety.”
Vi couldn’t believe she was forced to trust a councilor of Piltover to keep a promise to a Zaunite.
“The Lanes, at The Last Drop bar,” she gritted out.
I’m sorry, she pleaded to her family.
The sheriff gave Vi a curious look, but it was gone as fast as it arrived. She turned to Cassandra.
“I’ll go handle it myself, Councilor Kiramman,” the sheriff stated.
“Thank you, Grayson.”
The sheriff left and the scientists began discussing their next steps in a language Vi swore was not Piltovan. Her view of them was blocked as Cassandra, once again, loomed over her with her chin held high and her posture perfect.
“Now, it seems that I have no choice but to allow you to remain close to Caitlyn,” she said, her tone crystal clear on what she thought about that idea. “You will come home with us and you will behave yourself. I will give you one warning: if you harm my daughter in any way, then I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life when this is all resolved. Do you understand me?”
Vi let out a sigh. She was suddenly and acutely aware of how exhausted, defeated, and sore she felt. She had no more energy to fight the councilor. To fight any of them.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said despondently.
The councilor nodded her head, seemingly content with her answer. “Very good. Professor, Jayce, please keep me apprised of any news or updates regarding my daughter’s condition. Whenever you are ready for your experiments, please let me know. I will be present for each and every one of them.”
“Of course, Councilor,” Jayce said far too eagerly. Cassandra gave him a look of extreme displeasure, which caused him to crumple into himself and sit back down.
“Try not to worry, Cassandra. We are the City of Progress. There’s nowhere else in the world better to help young Caitlyn out than here,” Heimerdinger replied with a happy chortle.
Even Vi could see through the older woman’s plastic, overly polite smile. “I appreciate your assurance and comfort, Professor. I shall await your pneuma-tube. Come, Caitlyn.”
Cassandra walked quickly out the door and Caitlyn immediately followed close behind. Vi felt that annoying tug at her sternum and did so as well.
As they walked through the streets of Piltover, Vi felt like she needed three additional pairs of eyes to take it all in. She had never been Topside before today. She hated to admit just how beautiful it was.
It’s so…clean, Vi thought.
There wasn’t any garbage on the ground or fissure gas in the air. There were pristine white and blue buildings and neatly bricked houses complete with lush, stunning gardens with every color imaginable. It was all so perfect and Vi looked down at her patched up, old hand-me-downs she had scored off of one of the other kids in the Lanes after they went through a growth spurt last year. There was still an oil stain on the off-white shirt from when Powder had excitedly shown her one of her bombs earlier that morning before they left. The dried mud on her boots only topped off exactly how she felt: like the filthy trencher that was now dirtying the perfect streets of Piltover.
She glanced around and saw how many people were staring at her as she passed by them—no, not just her. All three of them. Vi realized that she was walking with someone that every single person up top would recognize, perhaps even Caitlyn as well. She wondered how many of them were confused why a councilor was walking through their pristine city with a Zaunite.
Vi hung her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She glanced at Caitlyn, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts as well, but she looked completely at ease otherwise. And why wouldn’t she? Vi told herself. Vi was the only one who didn’t belong here.
Several minutes later, they walked through tall wrought iron gates and towards the biggest house Vi has ever seen. Her mouth dropped open and she stopped to stare up at the mansion—which looked more like a castle to Vi—in disbelief.
A tingling, uncomfortable pull at her sternum reminded her that she should keep following, but Caitlyn must have felt the sensation as well and stopped to turn around. Cassandra did, too, after a few steps and gave her daughter a confused look.
“What’s wrong?” Caitlyn asked curiously.
“This is where you live?”
Caitlyn furrowed her brow. “Yes.”
Vi, who hadn’t felt guilty for the actual break in, definitely wasn’t going to now.
You could fit twenty basements of The Last Drop and still have room to spare, she sneered to herself as she shook her head and continued up the steps.
The interior of the castle, as Vi referred to it in her head, was more extravagant and opulent than she could have ever imagined in her wildest dreams. She actually had to crane her neck up all the way back to see the top of the ceiling, which held a massive, stunning crystal chandelier that lit up the entire foyer. A grand, white and gold marble staircase opened up to the second floor with beautiful red and gold carpeting that crawled up the stairs with a slightly familiar gold crest of two keys at the apex of the second floor landing.
There were so many beautiful paintings and decorations that Vi wondered how many gold pieces were spent furnishing this room alone. The thought of how much the entire house must be worth caused a tight, anxious weight to settle in her chest.
It was suddenly replaced by fear when she took a half step back as Cassandra rounded on her with her hands on her hips.
“Listen to me carefully, Vi, as I don’t like to repeat myself,” Cassandra stated, her tone authoritative and no-nonsense. “I am going to lay down some ground rules. I expect these rules to be followed to the letter. I need you to remember that you are going to be staying with a councilor of Piltover and the consequences for breaking any laws regarding myself or my daughter will be much more severe than your average person. Do you understand?”
Vi glared at the woman and couldn’t stop the snark from tumbling out of her mouth. “I’m not stupid. You don’t have to keep asking if I understand.”
Caitlyn’s soft gasp told her that she probably shouldn’t have said what she did.
Cassandra’s look of arrogant authority morphed into one of anger.
“I recommend you tread very carefully, young lady,” she said, the chill in her tone sending shivers down Vi’s back. “I am not some Zaunite street urchin that you can speak to however you like. I will not allow you to disrespect me in my own home.”
Vi clenched her teeth to force herself to keep her mouth shut. The councilor took her silence for acquiescence.
“Now, as for my rules. You are not to go anywhere without my permission.” Caitlyn opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced at her mother’s harsh look. “I do not like not knowing what is happening to you, Caitlyn. You are to remain here where you are safe. There is also the consideration of our people to keep in mind. Magic is outlawed in Piltover and our people fear it. If word got out that the heiress to House Kiramman has been put under some Arcane curse, then it could cause people to worry or panic.”
Vi felt her heart squeeze in painful dread at her forced confinement. She looked around the room and suddenly saw nothing but the bars of a gilded cage surrounding her.
“Vi has family, too, mother. Are you going to keep her from seeing them? They’re probably very worried about her,” Caitlyn said in a cool, angry tone.
Cassandra blinked at her daughter, clearly taken aback by her words. Vi scoffed in disgust and anger, easily reading the older woman. She was so self absorbed that she obviously hadn’t once considered that Vi had people she cared about to go home to—that she would even be missed.
The councilor looked at Vi and the Zaunite could tell that, for the first time, she was actually seeing her.
“How old are you, Vi?” Cassandra asked.
Vi stood up straight, crossed her arms, and jutted out her chin defiantly. “Seventeen.”
Cassandra’s eyes darted to her daughter, her expression unreadable.
“This bar you mentioned,” she said slowly when she looked back at Vi, her tone slightly softer than it was before. “Is that where your family lives?”
Vi hesitated, but nodded. “My dad owns it.”
“And where is your home in Zaun?”
“Level fifteen of the fissures,” she answered.
Cassandra’s eyes widened in horror and Vi felt anger flare up in her at the flash of judgement that crossed the woman’s blue eyes. The fissures only had fifteen levels and below them were the Sumps. Vi amused herself with imagining the woman’s eyes bulging out of her sockets if she ever found out that Vi spent more than half of her life living in the depths beneath the fissures.
The councilor quickly composed herself. “I will not keep you from your family, of course. However, I’m sorry to say that I will not allow my daughter to go so far into Zaun. Your family may come up here, if they want to see you.”
Vi turned her eyes to glare at Caitlyn, who looked away and bit at her lip.
“Whatever,” Vi muttered, crossing her arms again and couldn’t help but scowl petulantly at the floor. She suddenly felt very, very homesick.
“Other than staying here, I ask that you respect my home and my family,” the councilor stated, her cool tone back, but not as harsh as it was before. “Seeing as how you literally cannot escape my daughter, I hope that you will cooperate with us. There’s no need to make this harder or more awkward than this already is.”
Vi suddenly found herself holding back a smirk. She wasn’t afraid of hard or awkward situations. She was so used to being uncomfortable for a variety of reasons that the idea of being worried about something as trivial as feeling awkward was laughable.
She bared her teeth in what could scarcely be mistaken for a genuine smile and her heart trilled at the unnerved look the woman gave her in response.
“I promise to be on my best behavior, Councilor,” Vi said, dragging out the last word. Caitlyn shifted from one foot to the other, clearly worried about Vi’s answer. Cassandra hummed unhappily, but didn’t remark on the Zaunite’s tone and turned to her daughter.
“Sweetheart, please give Vi a tour of her temporary home while I go find your father and somehow explain this to him,” she said, then eyed Vi with an unreadable look. “I’ll see you both for dinner.”
At that, she left and, truly for the first time, Vi and Caitlyn were alone with one another as they stood in the entryway of Caitlyn’s home. The awkward silence was profound and lasted for several moments. Vi relished in it.
“Well, princess. Are you going to show me around your castle or not?” she asked with a smirk.
Caitlyn glared at her and huffed angrily before she started stomping off towards the stairs. Vi didn’t bother to hide her chuckle, even as she felt the uncomfortable pull at her sternum from their Arcane tether.
Vi followed behind her.
If I’m going to be stuck with a Piltie, I might as well have some fun with it, she thought in wry amusement.