Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

The girl approached the bridge cautiously, alone. She gazed at the smoke, the dull glow of the fire in a daze, knowing, dreading the sight that she will bear witness to. She made her way over to the entrance of the bridge. She walks forward slowly, cautiously. A blast from a high-powered rifle is heard. Through the smoke, the silhouette of an unarmed man can be seen, blown back from the force of the blast. The man holding the rifle clears the firing chamber and fires again at the man on the ground. Clad in full body armor, he – she? – walks past the girl, with nary a glance. The girl continues on, careful to keep her eyes pointed forward, doing her best to ignore the bodies littering the bridge. Flashes start to appear in her vision, and she starts to see blanks where people’s faces were. She ignores the projections of her mind. She is far too young to understand what her mind is doing anyway. A new sound makes itself known. The jarring crash of metal upon metal. She walks towards the sound, uncertain, and she is greeted by the sight of a truly, enormous titan of a man. He was fighting multiple armored figures. One is slammed backwards with a vicious hit to the chest, the dents in the armor could be seen, even at this distance. The other armored figure takes the opportunity to jump on to the titan’s back. He was promptly shrugged off, pulled over and the titan delivered two echoing blows to the armored skull beneath him. He turns, a snarl reminiscent of a wolf upon his face, and sees the girl. He approaches her and the girl rapidly backpedals, only stopping when the titan does. Then she realizes who it is: her parents’ friend, the Hound of the Underground, Vander of The Lanes. The girl looks at him with questioning eyes, her voice fails her, desperately begging him for the answer to the unspoken question. The Hound’s gaze softens with sadness as he turns. The smoke clears to reveal the body on the ground. The body of a man with red, hot pink(?), hair. The girl moves forward falling to the ground grasping at the body, shaking it, desperate for any sign of life in the dark eyes that had looked upon her with such love that very morning. A gap in her gasping tears, reminded her – there was only one body, only one parent here. Where was her mother? The girl turns as she feels an enormous hand on her shoulder. She looks back at the Hound, but he is not looking at her. She is stunned by what she sees, a face lined with such anger and hate, looking up away from her. She follows his gaze and sees. Armored figures, surrounding a large group of people and in that group, a woman with purple, almost indigo hair. The girl tries to move but she is held back by the hand on the shoulder. She finally finds her voice but before she can speak, before she can yell for her beautiful, kind mother, the last family that she has left in this cursed city, another hand comes up to cover her mouth. The Hound had grabbed her and had begun to pull her back. At the same time, the girl saw the armored figures begin to move the group. She fought hard, as did her mother but neither could defeat their opponents and they were separated. The last thing that both mother and daughter saw was each other. Desperately reaching out for each other.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

The Girl

                  The Hound did not let go of the girl until they were far from the bridge, far from the fires, the smoke. When he did, he found a girl that was both broken from grief and enraged from circumstance.

                  So, he lifted his hands and spoke: “Come on let it out.”

                  A man of action, a leader of the rebellion that had caused not only this child’s grief but the grief of countless others, and the man who had chosen to leave that fight. He had not the first clue of how to help this girl, but he had promised her parents that he would take her, should it ever become necessary. So here he was trying to help this girl, the only way that he knew how. The girl looked at him, she did not seem to understand. The Hound waited and he waited. Then he realized: the girl was spiting him! She was refusing to let him help. ‘Stubborn brat!’, he thought to himself. Then immediately regretted it, for the girl began to backpedal away again, clearly something of what he had been thinking had shown on his face. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘They do call me the Hound of the Underground…’.

                  Finally, he looked up at the girl and he spoke, “What’s your name?”

                  The anger returned on the girl’s face in full force.

                  “You know my name!” She snarled.

                  “Remind me,” he said softly, his own anger dissipating, as he looked at the child that was now in his care.

                  She continued to glare at him, clearly pondering whether it was worth risking that vicious snarl on his face again. “It’s Vi,” she spat, then, “but you already knew that Godfather.”

                  Vander looked up, surprised. Then he signed and said, “Of course they told you. Especially when I told them not to.” He put up his hands again. “Come on kid, let it out. You keep that anger in there and you’ll explode.”

                  Vi looked at his hands. She stepped forward and struck out, but not at his hands, at his nose. She was blocked easily, but she did not stop. She continued to strike. As her speed increased, she began to scream. Eventually, she had to stop. Her hands were on her knees, and she was panting hard. Vander stood up and turned, gesturing for her to follow. She did not, she stayed rooted to where she stood.

                  Vander turned to look at her and said, “Come on, you can rest later. We need to find somewhere to hole up for the night. The Enforcers will be lookin’ to round up more people.”

                  The girl finally caught her breath and stood up. Her face was contorted in fury, and she shook her head. “I am not going with YOU!” She snarled. “Dad is dead, and Mom is gone, because of you!” She shouted. “It was your stupid plan. It’s your fault.” 

                  The girl turned and started walking in a direction that Vander knew all too well. He rushed forward and grabbed her before she had a chance to run. He forced her around and looked her in eye. “Your right,” he begins, “it was my plan. But you can’t go-”.

                  Vi cuts with him off with a snarl to match his own, “Let me go! I’m going home!”

                  “You can’t,” Vander says quickly, “You can’t because it wasn’t just my plan; your parents, my brother, and my sister were also involved, and I have to get to whoever’s alive! Now!” His voice brokered no room for argument, but Vi would not budge. Vander sighed, “I’m sorry.”

                  And he picks her up and starts carrying her away. Vi flinched when Vander grabbed her but now, she was kicking and screaming, doing everything she could to get free. Vander ignored her attempts to escape and continued on to the only safe place that he could think off. Vi, for her part, fought all the way, but her attempts were in vain. Vander hardly noticed and he only put her down once they’d arrived. She continued to hit him as he knocked on the door. She only stopped when she heard the scrambling behind the door Vander had knocked on. The door opened a crack and then shut again.

                  “Vander?! What are you doing here?” A large, portly man stood in the doorway. “You’re supposed to be at the bridge protests,”  he said. Then he looked down and his eyes widened.

                  “Vander,” he barely managed to force out, “what is she doing here?”

                  Vander sighed and jerked his head. The portly man stepped outside and quickly shut the door.

                  “Benzo, I’m sorry, I don’t have time to explain. The protests… didn’t go as planned. I need you to keep her safe. There is some… business that I have to take care off. It can’t wait.” Vander said as he turned to leave.

                  Vi suddenly realized what was happening and made for the door. The portly man, Benzo, grabbed her.

                  “No!” she shouted, “I’m going home! You stay away from me!”

                  Once again, Vi’s attempts to fight back proved futile.

                  Vander kneeled and grabbed her shoulders. “Vi I need you to stay –” Vander began.

                  “No, stay away from me!” Vi shouted. Vander looked up at Benzo, pleading.

                  “Vi, was it?” Benzo asked quickly, gesturing for Vander to leave. Vi turned and glared at him. Benzo waited with bated breath. Vi finally nodded. “Alright, well how old are you?” Benzo continued. “I’m twelve.” Vi says through clenched jaws. “Alright, then. I think that makes you old enough to help me out with some things around here.” He replied with a chuckle. Benzo held out his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, Vi took it. Benzo led her upstairs. There were only two rooms, and one of the doors was slightly ajar. Benzo led Vi to this room. “Now before we go in, I need to be sure: you don’t scare easy, do you?” Vi returned a blank stare. “Right, stupid question.”  Benzo muttered to himself. With that he pushed the door open and led Vi inside. Inside was the absolute last thing that Vi expected to see.

                  Inside the room was a crib and in that crib was a small child with dark skin and white hair. He smiled when he saw Benzo. Vi stared, the anger on her face was gone, replaced by curiosity. Vi moved forward, cautiously. The child had fallen back into a sitting position in the time that Vi had approached and was now gazing up at her. Vi slowly reached into the crib and extended her finger. The baby looked on her for a moment, but then he reached out and grabbed her finger, cooing and babbling softly. Vi finally smiled, a soft, gentle smile that removed the last of the tension and anger on her face.

                  Benzo stood behind the whole time and finally spoke, “If you’re willing,” Benzo said softly, “I’d like ya to help me take care of him while you’re here.” 

                  “What’s his name?” Vi asked softly, as she continued to play with the baby boy.

                  “His name is Ekko.” Benzo replied. “He’s justa year old and his parents work over in Piltover. They usually leave him with me. They probably won’t be back for a while since… you know…”  Benzo continued, answering the unasked questions.

                  Vi looked up at Benzo and asked, “What do you want me to do?”

                  Benzo spent the rest of that evening teaching Vi how to take care of Ekko and he also set up a place for her to sleep in Ekko’s room.

                  Vander did not return till very late at night. Vi knew, because she hadn’t slept. How could she? Her father was dead, her mother had been taken prisoner and now she was helping to care for a child. Vander’s return was not subtle. He stomped in, clutching his arm, a dripping mess. Benzo sat him down and started to pull things from shelves as Vi watched, discreetly, from the stairs. Vander’s face once again was set in that wolf-like snarl, whatever business he’d had, had clearly not gone well.

                  “What happened?” Benzo asked.

                  “Silco showed up. Renatta was a no show. No surprise, one listens the other doesn’t. I… Benzo, I tried to kill him.” Vander choked.

                  “Why? Janna’s mercy, Vander! He's your brother. Why would you try to kill him?” Benzo demanded, stopping what he was doing.

                  “Turns put that he and Renatta changed the plan. They didn’t go to the bridge to protest, they wanted that fight. I should have realized what was going on when they told me that I should be armed and ready for trouble.” Vander groaned and clenched his arm.

                  He shifted his hand and adjusted the cloth on his arm. Vi saw a long slash on his forearm. The cloth that he’d placed had done nothing to stem the bleeding.

                  “Right, before anything else, we need to get you cleaned up. Come on.” Benzo said.

                  Vander forced himself up and followed Benzo into a room that she hadn’t noticed. Vi wanted answers, but the sound of Ekko’s fussing pulled her attention away. Vi went back to Ekko’s room and returned her attention to caring for the child.

                  “Hey little guy, you miss me already?” Vi asked softly. The child cooed softly, pleased to have Vi back in sight. Vi chuckled to herself as she leaned over the side of the crib. ‘He’s pretty cute,’ Vi thought to herself as Ekko ran his fingers over her face, trying to grab her short hair. “I think that you should have a nickname,” Vi thought out loud. The child looked up at her, slightly frustrated at not being to get a hold of her hair. “But, I think that it’ll wait till you’re a little older. I’ve got the perfect one.” Vi said, with a smile.   

                  She started to prepare Ekko and herself for bed. There was nothing more that she could do at this moment. After everything that’s happened, she feels exhausted. And now she has another dilemma. She was now taking care of a child whose parents would be gone for who know how long? Her sense of duty, learned from her parents, combined with the recent loss of her own mom and dad, compelled her to stay. She sighed and resigned herself to Vander’s trap.

                  The next few weeks were a blur for Vi. Between taking care of Ekko, helping Benzo with his shop, and spying on Vander whenever possible, the days started to blend together. After about a month, was it a month? Vi wasn’t sure, Vander came in, talked quickly to Benzo, and then went straight to Ekko’s room. Vi hurried back and lay on the bed quickly pretending to read some of the books that Benzo had given her. They were mostly about robotics, and they would only hold her interest for as long as she could understand them. She still didn’t trust either Vander or Benzo enough to go to them for help. Truthfully, she was mainly interested in animals, like birds and cats, and the stars.

                  Vander gently knocked on the door and made his way into the room. He still had that same fierce, hulking presence that pushed Vi’s guard up even higher. Vander looked over the sleeping body of Ekko, making sure that he hadn’t disturbed the small baby boy when he came in, then made his way over to Vi. He came onto his knees and waited for Vi to face him. When she did not, Vander sighed and began speaking.

                  “Vi, it’s time for us to go. I’ve found a place for us both. It’s a bar in the Lanes. It’ll be a safe place for us, and we’ll be able to keep an eye on the Undercity from there. The bars in the perfect place, it’s close to Babette’s and the bathysphere -”

                  Vander was cut himself off when Vi finally turned to face him.

                  “What makes you think that I would go ANYWHERE with you?” She snarled in a low voice, desperate to keep from waking Ekko, who’d taken hours to finally go to sleep.

                  Vander sighed in resignation. “Vi, you can’t stay here. Benzo already had more than enough to do without an extra mouth to feed. Now come on. I promised your parents -”

                  At that, Vi launched herself at Vander, Ekko waking up be damned. Vander did not get to talk about Vi’s parents. Vander did not get to act like he was her family, not when it was HIS stupid family that had made a plan that had gotten them killed and captured. Vander, not expecting such a rise out of her, stumbled back, more from surprise then the force of the attack. This time Vi was able to get a few solid hits in, but once again, against, Vander’s vast bulk she was hardly able to do much damage. Vi, somehow, managed to keep herself from screaming in rage and continued her attack. Vander merely stepped back and then with a shocking display of speed, grabbed Vi, pinning her to his chest.

                  “I’ll let you say goodnight to Ekko, then we leave,” he said.

                  Vi was only getting angrier, but she knew that her attempts at escaping and continuing the fight was futile. So, she nodded and was left extremely disappointed when Vander did not let her go. They stared at each other, sizing each other up. Then, finally, he put her down. She made her way over to Ekko without looking at him and then gently stroked the baby's cheek. She leaned forward, with tears in her eyes and gently kissed him on his forehead.

                  “I’ll see you around, Little Man,” she whispered.

                  Both figures turned and left the room. They said their goodnights to Benzo and left his shop. Vi followed Vander – or rather she would have if Vander hadn’t decided to keep his hands on her shoulders and her in front of him. She was careful to take note of every detail in her surrounding, making sure that she knew the way back to Benzo’s Shop. Far sooner then she thought, the building that Vander had mentioned came into view. Unlike most buildings in this part of the Lanes, the bar stood alone. There wasn’t much to it, a decrepit building that would need a great deal of work.

“It’s not much, not yet,” Vander said, noticing the look on her face. “It’ll take a bit of work, but it should do.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

                  Vi didn’t say anything. She led Vander lead her forward and they both got to work. It took about three months of hard work, but the bar, christened The Last Drop, was in business. During that time, Vi discovered that she enjoyed building things and, even better, she’d gained two more brothers. Mylo (9 years old) and Claggor (10 years old), were both younger then Vi, and they were also victims of Vander’s plan as far as Vi was concerned. The two boys disagreed; Vander had taken them in after all. Vi never fought them on that issue and being with them began to change her opinion, if only slightly. Her new brothers’ influence combined with the training that Vander put her through started to make her behave less…aggressively towards him.

                  During this time Vi couldn’t help but notice Vander’s frequent absences. Where he went and what he was doing was, at best, extremely difficult to uncover. This was due to Vander’s disappearing skills and her brothers’ insistence that she stay out of his business. From what little she had been able to uncover, it looked like Vander was running around all over the Undercity, keeping things under as tight a leash as he could manage. Despite how things started between them, Vi found that she was starting to get worried about him. He was running himself into the ground trying to keep everyone safe. So, Vi started doing what she could, she trained her brothers to fight as best as she could and together, they started roaming the Lanes. They decided from the get-go that they would stick to helping people in the Lanes. They spent the time that they knew Vander would be absent running around, helping people as best they could. Sometimes they would have to break up fights, which was easy once word had spread that they were Vander’s kids (a term that Vi had difficulty swallowing, especially since her mom was still alive), but mostly they would give out what food and medicine that they managed to get their hands on. Over the next two months the sister and her brothers were starting to become more and more demoralized. There were just too many people who needed help.

                  A week into month three, Vander had fallen ill from the amount of work he was doing and Vi started going on secret solo missions over the objections of her younger brothers. She began to go Topside for food and medicine. She silenced her brothers’ objections by pointing out that Vander needed to be taken care off and that they themselves would soon be in trouble without him. She also pointed that one person was far less likely to be caught. So, leaving behind pouts and glares, she began her expeditions Topside. By the third day she began to regret not bringing her brothers along. Topside was far easier to rob then she could have ever dreamed, especially the rich households. The lack of guards and even basic security allowed Vi to make off with large quantities of food and medicine.

                  Despite the ease at which she was able to get what she needed, Vi was starting to lose her mind. Vander hadn’t gotten any better and now Mylo was starting to show signs of the same illness. Today was an especially bad day. She had gotten into a screaming match with Claggor, which was unusual, as the boy was generally calm and quiet. He wanted to help more, but Vi forced him to promise that he would keep his distance from both Vander and Mylo and keep an eye on the bar. Benzo had turned up not long after that fight, with a now walking Ekko and Vi had nearly blown a few blood vessels. She told them (actually just Benzo, as Ekko was still too young to understand) what was going on, then kicked them out. Benzo wanted to help, but Vi would not risk anyone else getting sick. And now here she was Topside, extremely short tempered and struggling to remember what she needed. As always, Vi started her expeditions from the richest areas of Piltover and worked her way out. Today, she was hitting the largest house that she’d ever seen.

                  ‘Pretty sure that’s a mansion,’ Vi thought to herself.

                  She wasn’t particularly interested in the architecture tonight. Vander and Mylo were getting worse, and she was now desperate to find anything that would help. Vi made her way into the house – mansion – carefully, constantly on the lookout for the monsters that were Enforcers. As always, getting into her target building was easy. What was almost never easy was finding what she needed, and tonight was especially difficult. Upon entering through an open window, Vi felt her jaw drop. The place was beautiful. None of the other homes that she’d hit could compare to the beauty of this marvel. Vi’s eyes were soon drawn to the family portrait that was hanging in the center of the room. She made her way closer as though hypnotized. The portrait contained a girl. The most beautiful girl that she’d ever laid eyes on. She was holding a rifle in her hand, behind her stood her parents and at her feet were two dogs, that made Vi jump nervously and look around. She stayed rooted to the spot for some time until she remembered what she was here to do. She pulled herself away from the picture and made her way deeper into the mansion, looking for food and medicine. The place was enormous and was starting to test her patience.

                 ‘Why the hell would anyone want to live in a place like this?’ She thought angrily to herself. ‘This place could house dozens of families and the money that was used to build it could rebuild the Lanes and feed people for generations.’

                  It took far longer than Vi thought possible to find the kitchen. When she did, she quickly began to grab as much as she could and started filling her bags. With that done she began to look for medicine. In most of the other houses, the medicine was kept near the kitchen or in the bathrooms. Vi really, really, did not want to explore this place. As it was the portrait at distracted her so much that she forgot to keep track of her route. To make matters worse, she just heard the doors kitchen open. Vi instinctively ducked behind the table. A soft, but firm voice called out,

                  “You know, there’s no use hiding. I saw you duck. Come out now. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

                  Something about the voice cause Vi to blanketed in a warmth that she hadn’t felt in months, not since she lost her parents. Vi shook herself, trying to shake the feeling off, but it was no use. She sighed and slowly stepped out with her hands raised. The sight she saw nearly made her yell in shock. Standing in front of her was the girl that she had seen in the portrait. Vi was immediately taken by her beauty. So taken in fact, she failed to notice the rifle that was being pointed at her. The girl looked at her and her eyes widened in surprise. She lowered the rifle and just stood there for a moment. She seemed to be taking Vi in the same way that Vi was taking her in.

                  ‘I wonder if she likes me,’ Vi thought to herself. Then blushed as she realized what she had just thought to herself.

                  The girl began to blush as well and came forward. Vi put her hands down and balled them into fists, wary of what was happening. She stopped coming closer when she noticed.

                  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, and Vi immediately thought that she was the cutest thing that she had ever seen. A thought that again caused her to blush. The girl chose to ignore this, though she was also noticeably redder, and continued, “I was expecting – well never mind. Why are you here?” 

                  Vi suddenly found her voice and was suddenly angry; angry that she had been caught and angry that this girl who clearly had everything was stealing her heart. “Me? Oh no reason, I was just taking a stroll and decided to break in. Thought I’d steal some valuables and maybe trash the place.”

                  The girl looked at her for a moment, then to Vi’s shock, grinned. “You might be a misfit like me, but you’re a terrible liar.”

                  Vi stared. She tried to come up with a quick response, something in character for her, but the girl was too quick, and she seemed to have noticed that she was making Vi flustered. She stepped right into her space and looked over shoulder. Then she stepped back before Vi could react and said,

                  “Are you hungry? Is that why you broke in?” She asked softly.

                  Vi was short-circuiting, girls didn’t come near her. Most of them ran when they saw her because of her reputation as one of the fiercest fighters in the Undercity. This rich, perfect girl had not only stepped close to her she was asking her what she needed. Suddenly, the strain of the last several months reared its head and forced Vi to talk, to talk more than she thought possible. She told the girl about the incident on the bridge, the following months, and now the sickness of two - one person - definitely just one - yep - people she loved. Through it all the girl said nothing. Her eyes were kind and held none of the judgement that all the other Topsiders held. When she was done, Vi was winded and found herself backpedaling. She had no idea what happened, why she had spilled these secrets to a stranger. She lost track of where she was and fell over. The girl immediately rushed over and pulled her close.

                  “It’s ok,” she whispered. “It’s ok, I’ve got you.”

                  Vi found herself chuckling through the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes. “You’ve got me? When its you Topsiders who force us Undercity trash to make desperate choices. Like how your Enforcers do whatever they want in the Undercity and then leave us to deal with all the pain.”

                  The girl tightened her grip on Vi and now she suddenly felt guilty. Vi hadn’t meant to lash out like that, but it was too much. Her getting caught, then her confession and now being in the arms of the most beautiful person she had ever seen. She wanted to escape but the girl’s grip was too strong, and she couldn’t get away without hurting her. So, she endured, until she realized that the girl had begun to cry herself. Vi was taken aback.

                  “Why are you crying?” She asked. She had no idea what was happening.

                  “Because you’re in pain. Because you’ve suffered at the hands of people like me. Because people like me let this all happen by being ignorant…” she listed off some more reasons through her own tears and only stopped when Vi wrapped her own strong arms around her.

                  “I-I’m sorry,” Vi found herself saying. “I didn’t mean to put that all on you.”

                  She shook her head, clearly not believing her. Vi carefully moved her hands up to her shoulders and gently pushed her away. Then she gently cupped the girl’s face and forced her to look at her. Vi looked and before she became completely captivated by her beautiful eyes said,

                  “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I lashed out; you surprised me when you hugged me. I’ve been living with my parents’ friend and with my two brothers. None of them are really huggers. You just took me by surprise, and I tried to get free by saying something that I didn’t mean.”

                  Vi pulled her back into the hug to show the girl that she appreciated her efforts. Eventually, the girl calmed down. She wiped her eyes and now seemed more embarrassed than anything else.

                  “I’m sorry, I don’t really have friends other than … Jayce, I guess. He and my dad are both huggers. They always hug me whenever I’m feeling down. I am sorry if I overstepped.” The girl said.

                  Vi smiled, “Its ok really. I lo-appreciated it.”

                  The two girls stood awkwardly for a moment then Vi asked with an awkward smile,

                  “What’s your name by the way? I should’ve asked before confessing my life’s story.”

                  “It’s Caitlyn,” the girl replied. “Caitlyn Kiramman.”

                  They spent a moment longer simply smiling and looking at each other. Then they both started when they heard a noise from above. Vi looked at Caitlyn fearfully and she gestured for Vi to stay. Caitlyn grabbed her rifle and went straight to the door. But before she could get there the door opened and another figure entered, carrying her own rifle. Vi froze, hardly daring to breathe as the terrifying figure of Caitlyn’s mother entered.

                  ‘Vander has got absolutely nothing on her,’ Vi thought to herself, utterly terrified.

                  Caitlyn’s mother looked at her for a moment longer. Her sharp gaze appeared to examining Vi’s very soul. Vi kept absolutely still as Caitlyn’s mother looked over and then at the bags at her feet. She turned to her daughter and asked,

                  “Another stray, Caitlyn?” She asked. “So soon after, I threw out the last one.”

                  Caitlyn glared at her mother. If she had been intimidated by her mother’s initial appearance, there was no sign of it now. She squared her shoulders and stood her ground.

                  “For your information, Mother, this is Vi. She’s from the Undercity.”

                  Vi stiffened at that, as did Caitlyn’s mother. She turned back to Vi and she was nearly fell over when she saw the shock in Caitlyn’s mom’s eyes. She started to examine the trencher girl in front of her. Then she suddenly dropped her rifle and stepped forward. The clatter of the rifle made Vi jump and she tried to back up but Caitlyn’s mother was too quick. She started to examine Vi even more closely and Vi was now starting to panic. Though she might look like Caitlyn, she felt nothing like her daughter. Caitlyn’s mother began to trace a hand over Vi’s facial features. Vi was trying to pull away, but Caitlyn’s mother jerked her arm and gave her a look.

                  “Mother!” Caitlyn called out indignantly, not daring to move from her spot. It was clear that she’d never seen her mother like this.

                  Caitlyn’s mother completely ignored her. “Your eyes, child,” she said softly. “I know those eyes. Better than I would ever care to admit.” She murmured.

                  Then, finally, finally, she stepped back and gestured to Caitlyn. Caitlyn immediately stepped towards Vi, frantic, and started to fuss over her. Vi, who, after having had a moment to breathe, grabbed Caitlyn’s hand and gave it a trembling squeeze. Caitlyn turned, clearly wanting to scold her mother, but she was already gone.

                  “Come, girls,” she called. “Violet? There is someone that I wish for you to see.”

                  Vi looked at Caitlyn in terror, still clutching her hand and mouthed, ‘How does she know my name?’ Caitlyn shrugged and mouthed back, with a smile, ‘Your name is Violet?’ Vi reddened slightly as Caitlyn began to pull her along. They followed Caitlyn’s mother (Cassandra, Caitlyn had hurriedly whispered into Vi’s ear, which made her ear tingle) down the corridor into a lower level of the mansion. Through twists and turns that Vi didn’t think that the building had, and clearly Caitlyn hadn’t either judging by her expression, they followed Cassandra to a room. Cassandra turned and gave Caitlyn a look. She huffed and pulled Vi to the side. Cassandra went in and they waited.

                  As soon as she was gone, Caitlyn turned and said, “I am so sorry about this. I’ve never seen her like that.” Vi only shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. Caitlyn put an arm around her shoulders and pulled Vi into her side. Vi leaned into it slightly desperate for any comfort. She was terrified. She was sure that she had lost her mind. First, she was being comforted by this rich girl who clearly should have shot her and now she’d been led deeper into their fortress waiting for gods' know what. She was starting to panic but then she felt the gently pressure around her and turned to look at Caitlyn. Caitlyn looked at her kindly and gently moved closer. She nuzzled Vi softly and instantly Vi began to calm down. She was astonished. That hadn’t worked since she had lost her mother. Her mother was the only one whose touch could calm her. Vi looked at Caitlyn and then leaned forward and returned the favor. Caitlyn hummed softly, which made Vi feel bold. Or perhaps she was just trying to get her terror under control. Regardless, Vi found herself lifting her face from the gently nuzzle and she softly pressed her lips to Caitlyn’s cheeks, like she’d done with Ekko all those months ago. Caitlyn gasped softly, turning to look at Vi. Vi suddenly felt scared, but then Caitlyn smiled and leaned her head on Vi’s shoulder. It was just now that Vi noticed that she was a little taller than the beautiful girl beside her and it allowed them both to fit perfectly against one another. Cassandra finally opened the door and stepped out again. She gave no response to the girls’ stance. Judging by the ghost of a smile on her face, it seemed she had been expecting this. Maybe hoping for it...

                  “Violet,” she called gently, far gently then anything she’d said earlier, “come here, please.”  Vi stepped forward terrified, but she relaxed down when she realized that Caitlyn was still with her. That she had not let go. “Yes, I suppose that you should come as well, Caitlyn.” Cassandra sighed. Before actually leading them in, Cassandra sat on her knees and gently took hold of Vi’s free hand with both her own. “This may come to you as a shock, what are you about to see. But you must promise me that no matter what, you will contain your emotions. For the sake of yourself and the person inside.”

                  Vi had absolutely no clue what was happening, but she nodded. She was still too scared to speak, but she understood that the woman in front of her was not going to hurt her. In many ways she was like Vander: on the outside extremely fierce, but inside there was a warmth of safety and steadfastness that Vi found herself clinging to. Cassandra stood up, not letting go Vi’s hand and began to lead them in. The room was brighter than the hallway outside and it took a moment for Vi’s eyes to adjust. When they did Vi lost her breath and felt her knees go weak. Both Caitlyn and Cassandra strengthened their hold on her to keep her from hitting the floor.  Sitting up on the bed, heavily pregnant, was her mother. They stared at each other for a moment, unbelieving. Vi forgot that her hands were being held and tried to rush over to her, but she was held back by Cassandra. Vi started to fight, desperate to get to her mother, but Cassandra had grabbed her and forced Vi to face her.

                  “Violet,” she said in a firm, but still soft voice, “Do you remember your promise?”

                  Vi stopped and looked at her face. She realized in that moment that if she had to, Cassandra would force her to leave. Vi nodded. Cassandra slowly stood, making sure to keep her hands on Vi’s shoulders and slowly allowed Vi to move forward. Once she was close enough to her, her mother opened her arms and Vi fell, carefully, fell into her embrace. The tears that she and Caitlyn had shed earlier were nothing compared to this. Vi was crying harder than she thought possible. Her mom held her close and started to run her hands through her hair. She slowly moved her hands to Vi’s face and began to press kisses to her face.

                  “I’m so sorry, Vi. I’m so sorry I left you. That I was caught. That I couldn’t get back to you. I’m so, so sorry.” Her mom said through tears.

                  Vi couldn’t respond, she pushed forward, and her mother pulled her into a tight embrace. Finally, after a long, long moment, their tears ran dry. Mother and daughter held each other close. It was Cassandra who moved first. She pulled Caitlyn along with her and introduced her to Vi’s mom.

                  “Felicia, this is my daughter Caitlyn,” she said. “I am sorry that it took so long to introduce the two of you. I also apologize most profoundly that it took so long to reunite you with your own daughter.”

                  “Cassy,” Felicia replied with a sly grin. “I told you that I prefer Lee, even Felly if you’re bored.” Cassandra glared. Felicia continued, “As for meeting your daughter, its true you’ve made me wait a bit to meet her, but I don’t mind since I’ve got my daughter back. Thank you. Truly, for everything that you’ve done.”

                  Vi couldn’t stand this and it was clear from Cait’s face that she couldn’t either, they were both exploding with questions and they both began asking them at the same time. Their outbursts filled the room and both mothers merely looked on at their daughters and at each other in mild amusement. The daughters asked and asked until they ran out of steam. Then Cassandra and Lee both began to answer.

                  Lee told her story of how she had been captured and sent to Stillwater Hold. She had been there for about three months when her pregnancy had been become apparent. Luckily, it had been Cassandra Kiramman who had been inspecting the facility at the time and had decided to have her smuggled out, with the help of an Enforcer called Greyson. Normally, Lee’s reputation as one of the leaders of the rebellion would have made things difficult, but Cassandra, ever the astute political operator, decided to use that fact to her advantage. Cassandra continued the story by explaining that in the following three months, she had gathered information from Lee and was using it to prepare her case for getting Lee pardoned, improving the Undercity, and putting Lee in a position to lead the city at the Council’s stead. Both Vi and Caitlyn, seemed satisfied but it was clear that there still a few things on Vi’s mind. Vi was definitely angry, but before she lost her temper, she forced out her questions:

                  “Does Vander know you’re here? Why didn’t you come back for me? And why is your belly so big? I mean I know why,” she said waving her hands, “but why does it look bigger than it should?”

                  Vi began pacing around the room, it was clear that she was very upset. Felicia was silent, wondering where to start. She remembered how they’d been separated, how painful if had been. She knew that Vi was in pain right now because she was in the same pain. She also knew that she needed to set the record straight from the get-go. So, she started with a question of her own:

                  “How is that old wolf, Vander? Was he taking care of you like we asked?”

                  Vi scoffed. “Him taking care of me? He’s worked himself so far into the ground that I’ve been taking care of him and my two brothers, one who’s also gotten himself sick.”

                  Lee looked up at that and smiled. “Yeah, that sounds like Vander all right. And… two new brothers. Odd as I am pretty sure that I’ve only been carrying your sisters.”

                  Vi stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look her mom dead in the eyes. “Sisters?” She barely whispered.

                  Her mom nodded and once again held open her arms. Vi rushed forward, though she slowed after receiving a glare from Cassandra. Mother and daughter once again held each other, though this time it was in joy. With Vi in her arms Lee, answered the remaining questions.

                  “You asked why I didn’t come back for you… Well first I was imprisoned. Prison was… difficult. But I promise Vi, I only thought about getting back to you. That’s all that kept me going through those three months. Since Cassy freed me, I’ve had to deal with so many things: relearning a few things from Cassy, preparing to renter Piltover society, and then learning to fit into it’s high society. The list goes on. But the one thing that I never stopped thinking about was finding you Vi. My daughter, my little girl. But we just couldn’t do much from this side of the bridge. We don’t know who we can trust yet and Vander was just too good at keeping you and himself hidden. As for whether Vander knows I’m here.” She sighed. “He doesn’t. Vander trusted the wrong people. We went to the bridge to protest. His brother and sister went looking for a fight. I’m so sorry Vi. I’m so sorry that you had to see that. That you saw what happened.”

                  Both Vi and Lee went silent for a moment. They simply held each other. Then Lee’s arms were starting to go limp around Vi. Vi immediately stood up and Cassandra rushed forward.

                  “Felicia, dear,” Cassandra said, “your exhausted. We can continue this another time. If both of you would like, Vi may stay in this room. She is, of course, welcome anywhere in this house.”

                  Vi wanted more than anything to stay to help her mom. But she had a prior commitment. With astounding strength for a twelve-year-old she stood up and shook her head. Caitlyn immediately came to her side and took her hand. Both Cassandra and Lee tried and failed to hide their smiles. Vi elected to ignore this.

                  “I have to get back. I came here for food and medicine. Vander and Mylo are sick and there are other people in the Lanes that also depend on us for help.”

                  Lee’s face positively glowed with pride. “Is that what you’ve been doing this whole time?” She asked, tiredly.

                  Vi nodded and started recounting tales of her adventures as Cassandra suddenly appeared by her side.

                  “That is enough. Felicia, you need to rest. I will bring both Violet and Caitlyn by later.”

                  Lee nodded, knowing that there was no arguing with Cassandra Kiramman. She turned to Vi, who came forward without being told. The two hugged once more, Lee kissed Vi one last time and said,

                  “Goodnight, my love.”

                  Vi’s eyes shone with tears once again, but she wiped them away roughly. She gave her mom one last smile and allowed herself to be steered out of the room by Cassandra. Once they left the room both girls turned and hugged her. Cassandra knelt and embraced them both properly, which gave her the chance to hide her own tears. After a moment she stood up and lead them back to the kitchen. This time it was Vi who had slipped her hand into Caitlyn’s.  They found that the kitchen lights had been turned on and that there was someone waiting inside. Inside was the man that Vi had seen in the portrait, and he had a curious expression on his face as he held up Vi’s bags and the rifle that Cassandra had dropped. He looked to his wife with a pointed question. 

                  “Ah Tobias, your awake.” She began smoothly. “This is Vi, Felicia’s eldest. And it would appear that she and hers require our assistance.”

                  Tobias brightened at that and smiled at Vi. A smile that was much like Caitlyn’s own. Vi found that she had warmed to him instantly. Tobias stepped forward with a hand out and Vi found herself shaking it.

                  “Now that introductions are out of the way, what exactly do you need help with?” He asked kindly.

                  Vi turned her head and looked up at Cassandra. “My husband is a doctor.” She said, answering the question in Vi’s eyes. “I am certain that he will be able to help your godfather and Mylo.”

                  Vi bristled slightly and looked away. “Did my mom tell you everything about me?” Vi muttered under her breath.

                  She looked up when Cassandra answered. “Of course, why else would I allow you to have any more to do with my daughter. Whose hand, I see, you still haven’t let go off?”

                  Vi blushed and looked over at Cait, who only looked back with a gentle smile, though she had reddened slightly. “I need food and medicine,” Vi said still looking at Caitlyn. “Vander is sick and looks like Mylo caught the same thing from him. I know you’re going to ask but I don’t know what he was doing when he got sick. He won’t tell me. I can’t even really tell you what’s wrong with him because he refuses to tell me anything.”  

                  Tobias frowned slightly at the last part. “What about Mylo? Has he said anything?”

                  Vi shook her head. “The second I found out that he was sick I stuck him with Vander. I couldn’t let Claggor ger sick and too many people depend on us for food and medicine.” Vi suddenly started when she realized that the sky outside was starting to get lighter. “I have to go. I’ve been gone too long.”  She looked over at Caitlyn and then up at Cassandra. They both appeared to be deep in thought.

                  Cassandra spoke first, “I’ve a council meeting to attend. Tobias, you and Caitlyn shall go with Vi.”

                  Caitlyn looked up at her mother in surprise, her mouth hanging open slightly. “You would let me go with her, mother?” She asked stunned. Tobias seemed equally surprised.

                  “Would you stay if I had told you to?” She asked gently. The look on Caitlyn’s face answer enough.

                  Tobias nodded and left the kitchen to get his medical supplies. Vi went over to the bags and looked, guiltily at Cassandra and Caitlyn. Cassandra waved her hands in dismissal and Caitlyn merely smiled. They both turned and left, momentarily leaving Vi with her thoughts. Ever since the incident on the bridge, Vi’s thoughts would often take a dark path. She didn’t speak about this to anyone, but she was spiraling. She hadn’t once slept properly in the last several months because of nightmares and was starting to think that the events of the last few hours were another cruel dream. Truthfully, she was running herself ragged the same way Vander had. Before she could continue her self-analysis, the Kirammans returned, with yet another surprise. They returned carrying their own bags. At her questioning look, Caitlyn came over and showed her the contents of the bags. She was surprised to see that it contained clothes, food, and medicine. She looked up to see Caitlyn’s soft smile and once again, Vi found that her eyes were starting to tear up again. She blinked them away and smiled back at Caitlyn.

                  “Violet,” Cassandra said drawing her attention, “Tobias and Caitlyn will go with you. Keep each other safe.”

                  Vi nodded and, hesitated for a fraction of second, then rushed over and hugged Cassandra once more. Cassandra returned the gesture, and they all made their way to the front entrance. It was only after the Kirammans said their goodbyes to each other that Vi noticed two problems: both Kirammans were carrying rifles and though both had clearly made an effort to dress down, were still way to clean cut to travel anonymously through the Undercity. She sighed.

‘Well,’ Vi thought to herself, ‘this should at least be an easy fix.’

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

                  They made their way over to the bridge. It was lucky that it was so early. The Enforcers on duty hardly looked up at them as they went past. Tobias scowled heavily when he saw how easily they were able to get through verses people who were crossing from the Undercity. Normally, Vi would have made a comment about that but now really wasn’t the time. She was already coming back much later then she had promised Claggor and now she was bringing two Topsiders with her. Vi could feel the blood pulsing in her head from the stress of the day. Caitlyn quietly came forward and slipped her hand into Vi’s. That helped her to relax a bit. At least until they got to the bathysphere. She stopped a short distance from it and sighed. Then she turned to face Caitlyn and Tobias.

                  “Look,” Vi began, “there’s just no getting round the fact that you two are clearly Topsiders. I am gonna go the fast way to get you some clothes and scout a safe way back home. Take the lift and stay near it once you get down.” She turned to Caitlyn, who didn’t seem to like the idea of being left behind and was pouting. ‘Why does she have to be so cute?’ Vi cringed inwardly. “Cait, I’ll meet you down there I promise.” Feeling bold she leant forward and once more kissed her on the cheek.

                  Then, she quickly turned and dived down into the Undercity. Making sure to show off the whole way down. Tobias and Caitlyn rushed over to the edge but relaxed when they saw that there was nothing to worry about. Tobias looked over at his daughter and simply could not resist letting out a chuckle. Caitlyn jumped and looked over at him, with a raised eyebrow.

                  “I see why you are so taken with her.” He said with a wink.

Caitlyn blushed and started making her way to the elevator, “Come on, we shouldn’t keep her waiting.” She muttered. 

                  The ride down was uneventful. Vi, as promised, was waiting for them at the bottom. She tossed Tobias and Caitlyn simple cloaks that she had managed to scrounge up. They put the cloaks on without compliant, much to Vi’s surprise, and they all hurried to Vi’s home.

                  The journey was, thankfully, uneventful. It was quite early after all. Once the second lift they used had reached the bottom, Tobias and Caitlyn made sure to find a place that was nearby and somewhat out of sight. Both father and daughter looked around in curiosity as they waited for Vi to return with more appropriate clothing.

                  “I haven’t been down here in quite some time,” Tobias mumbled softly. Caitlyn looked up at him surprised. “You would come down here, dad? After you and mother would constantly lecture be about the dangers?” she asks indignant. “That was only for the sake of your safety. You tend not to listen to our warnings unless we give sufficient reasons after all.” Caitlyn looked scandalized, but Tobias continued before she could respond. “I would come here to help however I could. Most often I ended being robbed, but… I did what little I could,” Caitlyn leaned into him and said, “At least you were doing something.” Tobias looked down at her with slight concern, knowing what was on her mind, but before he could say anything, Vi returned with some rags.

                  Vi looked at them with a questioning look but didn’t ask. They didn’t have time. “Here,” she said, “put these over your own clothes. Nice job picking a spot where no one’ll really see you.”

                  Caitlyn beamed at the complement. Once they had pulled on their new attire, all three set off. Both Tobias and Caitlyn had enough sense to keep their heads down and to stay close to Vi. Despite having to be a guide to the Undercity, they made it to The Last Drop in record time. Vi gestured for Tobias and Caitlyn to wait. Vi entered the bar cautiously. Claggor rushed out to her.

                  “Where have you been?” He demanded. His voice was strained and Vi looked at him, suspicious. “You went into Vander and Mylo’s room, didn’t you?” Vi asked with barely contained anger. “How long were you in there for?” she demanded.  

                  Claggor started to back up after seeing the look on Vi’s face. Vi sighed and went back to the entrance of the Last Drop. She called the others in. Claggor stayed rooted to the spot as he saw the new people enter. Vi sighed. She was in no mood to explain anything. She gave Claggor a look and he sprang into action, going behind the bar and getting everyone drinks. Caitlyn looked at Vi, a question on her face, but Vi shook her head. Claggor came back with water and juice for everyone. They sat for a moment to catch their breath. Caitlyn stuck close to Vi side, which was lucky as Vi was about to fall asleep at any moment. Tobias cleared his throat after a moment, causing Vi to jump to her feet. She led the group to Vander’s room. Both Vander and Mylo, looked worse than ever. Tobias set down his bags, wrapped a cloth around his head, and set to work, taking their temperatures and examining them both. Vi gave Claggor a look and he knew that he would have to stay in the room. Vi sighed, then jumped as she felt Caitlyn shift next to her, having already become so used to having her by her side.

                  With the others busy, she pulled Caitlyn out of the room and over to the room that she shared with her brothers. “Figure we should get some rest while we can.” Vi said.

                  Caitlyn nodded agreement, too tired to speak. She set down the bag that she had been carrying and started going through its contents. She pulled out some comfortable looking clothes and looked at Vi, who pointed her to a covered corner where she could get changed. Vi, Caitlyn noticed seemed to be embarrassed about not having a proper place to change, but she didn’t mind in the least. If a little discomfort was the price for finally being around someone that both her parents approved of, then Caitlyn was more than happy to pay it. Caitlyn smiled her thanks and went over to the corner and got changed. She returned to find Vi in cleaner clothes and preparing the beds.

                  “I thought that you might want your own spot.” Vi said, softly.

                  Caitlyn looked around for a second and nearly had a panic attack as she suddenly realized that she really was not at her own home in her own room in her own bed. She started to panic and with that panic came frustration. She was finally with someone that her mother liked, and her body and mind were rebelling against the idea of staying here. She was starting to spiral and then, before the panic could really set in, she felt rough, gently hands on her own. The touch grounded and brought her back into this moment. Vi looked at her with concern.

                  “Are you ok?” she asked gently.

                  Caitlyn decided to tell the truth. Vi wouldn’t laugh. “It’s just – it’s my first time away. My first time sleeping somewhere that’s not home. It’s… -”

                  “A lot.” Vi finished for her gently. Caitlyn nodded. Vi gently pulled Caitlyn towards her own bed and sat her down. They both sat silently for a moment, then Vi continued, “After… what happened, I had a lot of trouble sleeping. First, I had to sleep at a friend of Vander’s and then, just when I started getting used to that place, had to move again. To this bar.”  Caitlyn leaned against Vi as she spoke and Vi wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her in close. “Those first couple days and nights I was so busy taking care of a baby, helping out at the shop. I didn’t really sleep. I would just… stare up at the ceiling for the longest time. But do you know what helped?” Vi asked gently. Caitlyn hummed in response and shook her head slightly. “Being with someone.” Caitlyn turned to look at Vi in that moment. It was clear what Vi was offering her. And so, she accepted. She laid down and Vi joined her. They looked at each other for a moment longer and grasped each other’s hands. Sleep came quickly.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

                  The Next Day  

                  Vi woke with a start. There was pressure around her right arm. She blinked and her vision cleared. Caitlyn had wrapped her arms around Vi’s and held her with a surprising amount of strength. She smiled slightly. She wouldn’t have to worry about her as much as she did about Claggor and Mylo. A shadow then moved across her vision and Vi looked up. Her mind came to a complete halt. Sitting on the couch across from them was Vander’s second-in-command: Sevika. And she did not look happy.

                  “You finally wake up from your beauty sleep with the princess?” She asked roughly.

                  Now that Vi was awake, she was absolutely livid. Vi suddenly remembered that she was supposed to start training with Sevika soon because Vander was so busy trying to put the Undercity back together. Now that Vi was awake she realized, she remembered with dread that she was supposed to start days ago.

                  At first, Vi had been resistant to the idea of being trained by someone else. Vander seemed unbeatable as far as she had been concerned. But as Vander had explained, he couldn’t train her to beat someone like himself, because he did not know how to do so. His size alone was a huge advantage, combined with his agility and ferocity, he was a living weapon. A weapon that was busy and not the ideal trainer for a twelve-year-old. So, he had assigned Sevika the task. At their first introduction, Vi had thought that Vander had lost his mind. Sevika was barely half his size, she couldn’t even match his height, for crying out loud! Seeing her face, Sevika had smirked and said,

                  “Looks like the kid needs convincing,” she’d said smirking at Vander.

                  Vander had sighed heavily and gotten into position. Vi still could not believe what she had seen that they day. Vander had been knocked on his ass and had needed to be helped to his feet! After that Vi, had started following Sevika everywhere, pestering her to start training immediately. But the work that needed doing had delayed that for a month. For the entire month that Vander had been sick…Vi shot up and Caitlyn woke with a start. When Vi’s arm had been pulled out of her grasp she yelped and surged forward, grabbing onto Vi, ‘round her waist. Vi looked down her face flushed and then up at Sevika. Which was a mistake. The surprise on her face from Caitlyn’s reaction was now replaced by raucous laughter. Vi, if possible, had turned ever redder at that. Caitlyn was fully awake now and now her face’s luminescence matched Vi’s. Seeing that, Sevika started laughing harder, rolling on the couch clutching at her sides.

                  “There was a lot that I was expecting to see when I got here. But this beats all my expectations.” She gasped out, still laughing.

                  Vi, then did something that she really shouldn’t have. She put her arm around Caitlyn and pulled her closer and ever so slightly behind her. Caitlyn glanced at her, in concern and then realized that Vi was trying to shield her. Seeing that set off Sevika again.

                  “Gods, I wasn’t expecting two lovesick kids in here. Vander and his sons missin’ for a month and now this.” Sevika was struggling to get control off her laughter.

                  Vi was suddenly on her feet, rushing Sevika. She began to pound on Sevika’s stomach clearly trying to stop her laughter. Sevika only started laughing harder again and her weak attempts at blocking Vi set the little redhead off as well. Caitlyn joined in after a moment and grabbed one of her arms trying to pin it down. Soon all three of them began laughing and after a while the two girls collapsed on top of Sevika, who surprised everyone by grabbing the two girls and holding them close. She released them after a moment once everyone had calmed down a bit. Vi suddenly stiffened and moved closer to Sevika, grabbing her face, suddenly serious.

                  “Please tell me you didn’t go into Vander’s office.” She asked strained.

                  Sevika looked at Vi, slightly surprised. Caitlyn was sitting next to Sevika, Sevika’s arm draped on her shoulders. Vi’s eyes narrowed slightly at that, but she needed to focus. She held eye contact with Sevika, demanding the answer to her question. Sevika pulled her arm back, brought her hands together and leaned forward, elbows on her knees.

                  “No, the door was locked from the inside. Why what’s going on? And you still haven’t explained why you were sleeping with the princess over here.” She said, tapping Caitlyn’s knee.

                  Vi looked long and hard at Sevika. Suddenly, everything that had happened over the past month came back, crashing into her like the fabled tidal waves out far beyond the harbors of Piltover and the Undercity. The stress came back pounding throughout her body and she started to shake. Sevika looked for a moment, her expression unreadable. Caitlyn looked frightened and worried, but Vi suddenly found that she could not even speak. As Vi started to sway dangerously, Sevika stood up and grabbed Vi at the same time. She held Vi in her arms, held in her a way that she hadn’t been since she’d lost her parents. In a way that her mother still could not hold her due to her pregnancy. The pressure and warmth around her was too much. Vi began to cry. She cried and cried. She cried for what happened on the bridge, for the loss of her father, for her mother, for Vander and her brothers’ predicament, but most of all, for the immense weight that had been placed on her shoulders by this cruel world. Through it all Sevika hadn’t said a worth. She was Vi’s anchor, in the storm that raged through her chest. Vi hadn’t noticed that Sevika had sat down until she felt a gentle, but cold hand wrap around her own. Caitlyn held her, further grounding her. The three adjusted themselves until they were close as they could be. They remained silent for a moment, sitting in that warm comfort. Eventually, after trying and failing to discreetly to wiper her face, Vi shifted and stood up once, Caitlyn and Sevika had released her.

                  “Vander…” she began. Vi stopped and looked away. She only looked back when two sets of hands wrapped around her own. She took a breath, still avoiding eye contact and continued, “Vander is sick. Really sick. Me, Claggor and Mylo, tried to take up the slack, to make it look like nothing was wrong. But then Mylo got sick after sticking to close to Vander. I told him not to. To keep his distance, but he wouldn’t listen,” Vi forced out. Sevika squeezed Vi’s hand and Caitlyn ran her thumbs over her knuckles. Vi took another breath and continued, managing to keep the tears at bay, “When Mylo got sick, things only started getting harder. I started going on more solo missions and started working even harder, but it was just too much work, and I couldn’t get enough together. I started going Topside, for medicine and better food. That’s how I met Caitlyn. I had already hit a bunch of easier places and Caitlyn’s place looked like it would have the best haul. And why I was sleeping with her? She and her dad came to help.” Vi stopped, she just couldn’t speak anymore. Sevika seemed satisfied as she pulled Vi in close again. Again she was held by both Sevika and Caitlyn.

                  After a moment, Sevika shoved them both carefully, so Vi fell on top of Caitlyn. The two stared at one another, so close. They both scrambled back, red in the face. Sevika chuckled and said, “Now, let’s go see Vander and then I’ll decide if these two Pilties can stay.” An edge to her voice that hadn’t been present earlier. Caitlyn looked up at her fear and then that fear doubled when she realized that – Sevika? – knew who she was. “Vi. Give me a minute with the princess here.” Her voice offered no room for argument. She stood her ground staring up at Sevika. But, at that moment, a small voice called out from behind the door, “Vi? Are you awake? Toby is looking for you.” Vi looked between Sevika and Caitlyn. Sevika settled it by grabbing Vi and forcing her towards the door. Vi turned and looked at Caitlyn, who tried to reassure as best she could without speaking. Vi left the room with one last apprehensive glance. Sevika shut the door behind her and returned to sit on the couch. Caitlyn stayed standing, absolutely terrified. Sevika wasn’t looking at her. She was going through her pockets. From them she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She still wasn’t looking at Caitlyn. Not until, she had started her smoke. She pulled a long drag, then leaned back and exhaled towards the ceiling. Then and only then did she look at Caitlyn. “Sit,” she said, and Caitlyn immediately sat on the bed that she had shared with Vi. For a long time, she looked at Caitlyn, searching. Caitlyn, in her apprehension, attempted to speak and introduce herself. Sevika held up a hand, stopping her attempt. She took another long drag of her cigarette and then asked the last thing that Caitlyn had been expecting, “What are your intentions with Vi?” Her gaze was piercing, hostile.

                  Caitlyn immediately became defensive. She may be a Kiramman, with years of training in decorum, but she was also a child, in a new environment, with a girl that she was sure had stolen her heart and now alone with a woman that seemed to dislike her just for existing. So, her first response might not have made the best impression. “Nothing.” She said quickly, then cringed as Sevika, raised an eyebrow. “I – I mean – What I mean is –” Caitlyn stuttered, suddenly horrified as she thought of how her mother would react to her stuttering. She stopped and took a deep breath, then she spoke, looking Sevika dead in the eyes, “Vi and I only just met. I do like her, and I think that she likes me. As for my intentions… I think that I will keep them to myself. At least until I can figure out who you are to Vi and what your intentions are.” Sevika continued maintaining eye contact, then she broke off as she took another drag of her cigarette.

                  Caitlyn’s nose crinkled at that, but she did not dare comment on the disgusting smell that was coming from Sevika’s smoking. Sevika looked back at her. She wasn’t exactly smiling, but she wasn’t looking at her with the same hostility as earlier. “Seems I got you pegged right Kirammen.” Caitlyn froze at those words, her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. “Don’t look at me like that, kid. You’re the spitting image of your mom.” At that, Caitlyn’s mouth was now hanging open completely. “How -?” Caitlyn didn’t even get a chance to answer. “Your mom and Vi’s go back a bit. I don’t know what exactly the thing is between them so don’t ask. All I know for sure is that they were in touch during the bridge protests and that the fight that happened, was definitely not how it was supposed to go down.” Sevika leaned forward. “From what I can tell, your mom only wants to help Vi’s, to increase her own standing on the council and to get Vi’s on it.” Caitlyn nodded, that definitely seemed more in character with the mother that she had grown up with. “I have no idea what she wants, and I don’t care. At least not right now. Right now, there’s only one thing that I care about, so listen close.” Caitlyn sat up straighter at that, to show that she was listening. Sevika continued, “If I ever find out that you hurt Vi or if you let your family take advantage of her, I promise that I will tear you and your family apart.”  Caitlyn looked stunned at that. Sevika did not wait for a response. Instead, she stood up and moved to stand in front of Caitlyn. “I can tell that you’re a good kid,” she said softly, “but I know your family. You promise me that you will always protect Vi and everyone who’s important to her. I know that you might think that I am asking a lot, but once you find out what life’s like down here. You’ll understand.” Then she stood up and patted Caitlyn, gently on the shoulder. “Come on,” she said with a twinkle in her eye, “can’t keep my little god-niece, and your girlfriend waiting. Plus, I’ve got business with the boss.”

                  With that Caitlyn, followed Sevika out. Her mind was reeling. Not only did she have to deal with a threat against her and her family, she now had to learn about the Undercity. She decided then and there that the threat didn’t matter. She was going to focus on what this was between her and Vi and learning as much as she could about the Undercity. Caitlyn wondered what the best way to learn would be. She could learn from the library and academy, but something told her that would not be good enough. Although, it wasn’t as though she was starting from nothing, Sevika had just told her what her relationship with Vi was after all. Well, she supposed that it would be best to kill – no not going there – to… catch(?) two birds with one stone. She could learn from Vi. And if it was true that Vi would be receiving training from this terrifying woman, then she might also get the same chance. She was pulled out of her thoughts, once she caught sight of Vi, who was speaking to her father through the door.

                  “…right ok. What else did you need? Ok. Ok. Me and Cait’ll go get everything. It shouldn’t take too long.”  Vi said. She looked at up at Sevika as she approached, a guilty expression on her face. “Sorry Auntie Sevika, it looks like I have to go get some stuff for Vander.” Sevika looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. “Auntie?” she asked. “Really? Just couldn’t resist embarrassing yourself some more?” Vi’s face reddened quite a bit at that. Looking at Caitlyn didn’t help, since she was grinning at her. Desperate to change the subject, “What did you two talk about?” She asked trying to regain some of her dignity. “Oh, just getting to know your little girlfriend. Now get going, I am gonna have a chat with her dad and see if Vander is ok enough to talk about some things that need taking care of.” Sevika replied. With that Vi and Caitlyn were dismissed. They made their way out quickly, desperate to escape anymore embarrassment. Unfortunately, if seems that Sevika always got the last word in as she called, “And no getting touchy-touchy. If I see any marks on either of you when you get back, you’ll be sorry.”

                  Vi and Caitlyn dashed out, desperate to avoid hearing anymore. “Sorry about that,” Vi said once they both felt that they were far enough away. “Is she your family? Are you close?” Caitlyn asked. Vi looked at her, seemingly surprised by her caution. “Caitlyn,” she said coming to a stop, “You know you don’t have to worry about offending me, right? You have questions, so just ask, and try not to worry so much.” Caitlyn looked at her, worry still on her face, so Vi decided that it would be better to just answer her questions. “We aren’t family, I only met her a few weeks ago. Vander wants me to train with her. And we’re not close. I mean, we only just met, but once I saw her put Vander on his ass, I might’ve started following her around. Asking stuff, trying to learn. Guess at some point we sort of adapted one another,” Vi said with a slight smile on her face. “That’s just how things are down here. Everyone sort of adapts one another to make life just a little easier. I guess it’s been happening more and more since what happened on the bridge…” Vi’s voice trailed off after that and she fell into silence as they approached the bathysphere. Here Vi stopped and then looked over at Caitlyn, a grin slowly forming on her face. “What?” Caitlyn asked suddenly nervous. As Vi continued to stare, Caitlyn started to get annoyed. “Violet, have I got something on my face?” she asked, visibly irritated. Vi winced at the use of her full name, but finally spoke, “Do you want to see the fun way to get to Topside?” Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, “The fun way? I thought that the bathysphere, was fun. The view was amazing.” Vi looked pleased at the compliment. Most Topsiders would rather pretend that the Undercity and its people didn’t exist. But Caitlyn continued to prove how she was different from others like her. “Come on,” Vi said holding out her hand, which Caitlyn squeezed back eagerly.

                  Vi pulled Caitlyn along until she found the perfect start. “This spot should be good,” Vi said, looking around. Caitlyn looked around, trying to find a path. Then she realized that Vi was not looking for a road, at least not one that was on the ground. Caitlyn paled as she realized what Vi was proposing. “Vi,” she said, squeezing Vi’s hand, “I don’t think that I can do this.” Vi looked over at Caitlyn and saw just how nervous she was. She looked at her reassuringly, “Cait, you can do this…?” Vi frowned as she suddenly realized something was missing on Caitlyn, something very, very important. “Cait don’t freak out, but where’s your rifle,” Vi asked, trying to be nonchalant. Caitlyn looked over at her, and to Vi’s shock, she smiled. Then she adjusted her clothes and showed Vi the extremely faint outline of her thigh-holstered pistol. Vi suddenly felt an odd rush to her head. And between her legs. And before she could stop herself, “That’s so hot.” Both Caitlyn and Vi turned red once they’d had a chance to process what had been said. Vi cleared her throat and then gestured. She started to climb, after gaining some height she turned and indicated for Caitlyn to start climbing. Caitlyn resigned herself to her fate and started climbing.

                  As this was Caitlyn’s first climb, Vi wisely decided that it was best to keep things slow. But she soon saw that the caution was unneeded. Once Caitlyn had gained her footing, she had little trouble keeping up with the pace that Vi had set. So, Vi picked up the pace and they found themselves racing to the top.

                  “Not bad,” Vi said once they had reached the top. This being the first time that Caitlyn had ever made such a climb, she took a moment to catch her breath. But she was smiling at least. Vi took that as a good sign as she waited for Caitlyn’s breathing to return to normal. Caitlyn finally looked up and nearly gave Vi a heart attack as she went back to the edge and looked down, hand still on her chest. Vi rushed forward and pulled her back. Caitlyn seemed elated. “Did I really climb that?” She asked. Vi stopped panicking and grinned. “Told you, you’d love it.” Vi said, smug. “What exactly did father send us to do?” Caitlyn asked, getting them back on track.

                  Vi thought for a moment, at least that’s what she thought Vi was doing. At least until she realized that Vi was slowly turning red. Caitlyn moved closer concerned, “Vi?” She asked gently, “What’s wrong?” Vi seemed was hesitant, but then, “I don’t really remember the names of the things that he said.” Vi was slowly turning red and seemed ready to bolt. Before she could, Caitlyn grabbed her hand. “But?” She asked softly. Vi really wanted to run. She didn’t want Caitlyn to know just how much of a dumb trencher she was. “He described what he needed to me.” She finally forced out, desperately looking anywhere other than Caitlyn’s mesmerizing eyes. Caitlyn didn’t force Vi to look at her, even though she really wanted to. Instead, she decided that it would be better to wait for Vi, then she remembered Sevika’s warning about taking too long. “Vi,” Caitlyn blurted out, “Its ok if you don’t remember the names of everything. It’s not like I remember the names of everything that father uses.” Vi finally looked back at Caitlyn, visibly relieved.

                  With that the pair set off back to the Kiramman mansion.

                  The journey back to the Kirammans’ home was thankfully uneventful. This time, Vi found herself entering though the front door, which had been opened by the Kirammans’ head servant. Vi didn’t have much chance to get an introduction as the household seemed busy. Regardless they were in a hurry. Caitlyn was able to stop one of the servants as was able to ask about the whereabouts of her mother. Most unfortunately, it seemed that Cassandra was at a council meeting. Neither girl was unsure why they were surprised, the woman was a councilor herself after all. Caitlyn did not let her mother’s absence interfere with their mission. She pulled Vi along and began looking for someone who wasn’t too busy to help them. Their search led them into the kitchen, which, if Vi was being honest, was her favorite part of the house. At least, of what she’d seen of it so far. At the moment the kitchen was bustling with activity. The kitchen staff largely gave cursory glances to the two as the two wondered in. Caitlyn pulled Vi over to one of the high stools near what looked like a bar. The kitchen bar was perhaps the only modest feature in the entire house and Vi felt right at home. As Caitlyn sat on one of the stools, Vi made her way to the other side and began showing off what Vander had managed to teach her about running a bar. At first Caitlyn was concerned that Vi might accidentally mix up the various juices and alcohol, but then she noticed that Vi was taking great care when she examined each bottle. She would open up each one and smell them. Anything that seemed to have a strong smell was set aside.

                  Vi looked up and grinned when she saw how closely Caitlyn was watching her. “I live in a bar, remember?” Vi said, a hint of snark in her voice. “Vander made me, and my brothers smell just about every drink that was there, to make sure that we could tell the difference. He also made us try – well not try, but… he also made us try some cocktails to make sure that we could tell if anyone’s tries to spike our drink.” Caitlyn looked at Vi with concern, “Has that ever happened?” She asked softly. Vi shook her head, “Having Vander around is usually enough to discourage anyone from trying anything.” Once Vi finished, she passed Caitlyn her drink and both girls happily slurped on their drinks. “This is really good,” Caitlyn gushed. Vi smirked, more than happy to tease, “One of my many talents.” The two girls simply sat there, happy to be in each other’s presence as they watched the kitchen staff go about their work. “Who are we waiting for?” Vi asked after a moment. “The head chef,” Caitlyn asked still looking around. After a moment, a woman stepped in. She was tall and had blazing red hair, but more importantly she had the hat that designated her as the head chief. She looked around, barked ordered to the staff, and then spotted Vi and Caitlyn. She smiled widely and made her way over. Caitlyn hopped off her stool and moved forward to embrace her. The chef could hardly fail to notice the jealous look on Vi’s face. She grinned at Vi as she bent down to whisper into Caitlyn, “Quite a catch, my lady. I imagine your mother approves.” Caitlyn turned brick red at that and pushed the chef off of her. Vi automatically made her way around the counter and made a point of sitting in front of Caitlyn, blocking the chef. This only widened the chef’s smirk.

                  “My Lady Caitlyn, my Lady – what is your name?” She asked Vi, still sporting that smirk that was making Vi angrier by the second. Caitlyn, noticing how tense Vi was, quickly put one arm around her and used her free hand to rub circles into Vi’s back. Vi relaxed ever so slightly and leaned into the touch. “Her name is Vi, she’s from the Undercity,” Caitlyn answered, after it became apparent that Vi was not going to answer. “Vi this is our head chef, Constance, she is also from the Undercity.” Both the chef – Constance – and Vi stiffened at that. Vi turned to look at Cait, surprise on her face, but it was the chef – Constance – who spoke first. “Never expected my Lady Caitlyn to fall for… for…” Her voice drifted off as she began to move closer to Vi and bent down to look at her more closely. Vi moved back until she was leaning into Caitlyn’s side. Caitlyn, naturally, used the opportunity to wrap both arms around Vi, holding her close. “Are you my Lady Felicia's missing daughter?” Constance asked. Vi only stared at her, the surprise more evident. A slight squeeze from Caitlyn prompted Vi to answer, “Yes. How do you know her?”

                  Vi was still definitely suspicious of Constance and Caitlyn was trying to figure out why. Caitlyn thought that Vi would be more comfortable if there was another person from the Undercity. She adjusted her hold on Vi and continued to think about why Vi would be so suspicious. Now that she thought about it, even in the Undercity, Vi hadn’t been able to relax. At least, not till they had made it to the Last Drop. Caitlyn did not have much difficulty understanding why Vi would be tense in the Undercity, she had been escorting two Topsiders and the Undercity was full of suspicious and dangerous characters. Caitlyn supposed that the differences in their in their environments was what the cause might be, but that didn’t make much sense either. Vi had adjusted to her family home fairly quickly, especially after being reunited with her mother. Vi hadn’t been bothered by all of the servants that the family employed. ‘Servants,’ Caitlyn thought to herself bitterly. She wished that they weren’t called that, even if that was the role that they played in this house. Caitlyn’s thoughts were interrupted as Vi moved to cover her hands with her own, causing a smile to appear on her face and as Constance answered Vi’s question.

                  “Your mother and I are very old friends.” She said, clearly reminiscing. “We used to go on job together, but then things changed. We wanted different things. She wanted a family and a real future for that family. But she didn’t want it just for herself, she wanted it for the entire Undercity. I just couldn’t see how that could happen. I was more than happy with being a family with her, but the rest of it…” Constance sighed and looked away. Then she turned back and looked Vi in the eyes, “How much did my Lady Lee tell you about her past life?” Vi merely shrugged against Caitlyn. “Not much, she was always so busy: taking care of me and dad, helping who she could and planning. She was always planning. I got pretty good at spying on them. But when Mom found out, she moved the meetings. So, yeah, never really had time for history lessons.” Constance sighed again, though this time she seemed more annoyed. “Typical,” she muttered, “Felicia never was good at balancing things just like Cass.” Caitlyn decided that that was the opportunity that she needed to take some pressure off of Vi. Vi really seemed to be uncomfortable near the chef. “Did I hear you correctly Constance?” Caitlyn asked with a grin, “Did you just refer to my mother as ‘Cass’?” Constance stiffened at that. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to Mum. But that reminds me, we are in a bit of a hurry.” She gently squeezed Vi, who turned to look at her. “Tell her what we need then we can go?” Caitlyn whispered into her ear. Vi nodded and nuzzled her face a little against, Caitlyn’s. It was very lucky that she could hide behind Vi as her face burned at the contact.

                  Vi listed off everything that she needed to Constance and to another servant, who had been pulled aside for the task. Caitlyn was fascinated with the way Vi spoke: whatever she didn’t understand or know the name of, she was able to describe sufficiently well that there was no confusion. Caitlyn began fantasizing about having Vi enrolled at the Academy with her. It would be nice to have a friend that wouldn’t betray her or, as her mother had always proved, was only interested in her for her name. Caitlyn was starting to daydream about walking through the academy hand-in-hand with Vi but was snapped out of it when Vi suddenly started pulling herself of up and out of her arms. She reacted without thinking and wrapped her arms around Vi, breathing in her scent. She hadn’t noticed that she’d been doing that this whole time and now with Vi pulling away, she realized just how much she loved how Vi smelled.

                  “Uuuhhh, Cait,” Vi said, “We have to get going, remember?” Vi was clearly trying her best not to laugh.

                  Caitlyn, suddenly realizing what she had done, immediately let go of Vi, face very red. Constance let out a laugh and the rest of the staff was smiling. To try and save face, Caitlyn hurriedly grabbed the bags, filled with medicine and medical devices, handed some to Vi and then grabbed her hand dragged her out of the kitchen and out of their home. ‘Wait, what?’ Caitlyn thought to herself as they made their way back to the Last Drop, ‘Did I really just add Vi into the family…?’ Regardless of whether it was far too soon, the thought warmed Caitlyn nicely.

                  The journey to the Last Drop was, thankfully, again uneventful, though both girls were starting to freak out. They were late. They knew that they were late, and they knew that Sevika was waiting for them. So, as they finally reached the front entrance, Vi seriously considered using one of the secret exits, especially after Caitlyn had sent her a pleading look, but there was no way to reach Vander’s office without Sevika spotting them. Vi shook her head sadly and, resigned to their fates. They pushed the doors in and made their way inside. As they expected Sevika was waiting for them, and she did not look happy. She stood up and made her way over. Vi moved in front of Caitlyn shielding her from the coming storm as best she could.

                  Sevika came right in front of them and stared down at them. “What took so long?” Both girls had been bracing for shouting but were shocked at her gentle tone. The surprise must have been showing on their faces, judging from the look on Sevika’s faces. “Look, I get it. You two are in love – don’t deny it.” Sevika said with a raised voice, “Anyone with eyes can see the connection that you two have. Just remember that there are people in your lives too. Now come on let’s get that stuff to the doc.”  

                  Both girls followed Sevika to Vander’s office, where they carefully pushed everything inside, before the door was shut. With that done, Sevika led the girls back to the kids’ room and had them sit down. Then she left the room. Vi and Caitlyn exchanged looks, nervous. If Sevika was gonna yell at them or give them a proper thrashing, then this was the perfect place for it. Their hands slipped towards each, and they held onto each other tightly. Whatever she was doing, Sevika was taking her time. The girls, exhausted from all that had happened, were starting to get drowsy. They leaned into each other, eyes starting to shut. Vi wrapped her arm around Caitlyn’s shoulders and Caitlyn put her arms around Vi’s waist. They pulled each other close, becoming more and more drowsy and comfortable from their shared warmth.

                  Sevika returned with a bang. Vi and Caitlyn both jumped and held each other tightly. “Well, aren’t you two cozy.” She said with a smirk. “Get over here and help me unless you two want to go to bed hungry.” Vi’s and Caitlyn’s stomachs both grumbled at the same time. They giggled and jumped up to help Sevika set up dinner. The meal smelled delicious and by the time they finished setting up the girls’ mouths were watering. Sevika grinned when she saw the looks on the girls faces, at how eager they were for food, but she was not letting them eat till she got a word in. “Now before we eat, just let me explain what this is. In the pot is a special dish called nihari. It’s basically chunks of beef in thick curry. Curry is like soup but better. The stuff next to the pot are coriander leaves, ginger and some yogurt, in case things get too spicy. Oh, and here is some bread. My family called it naan. I’ll show you how to eat this properly.”  Explanation over, Sevika filled all three plates and then demonstrated how to eat.

                  Both girls let out exclamations of praise and satisfaction. Sevika looked pleased with their reactions. After a few bites of meat, bread, and rich curry, Caitlyn looked up at Sevika a question in her eyes. “What?” Sevika asked after swallowing. Caitlyn hesitated but then, “How did you make this so quickly? I’ve spent enough time in the kitchen at home to know that a dish like this takes hours to make.”  Sevika looked somewhat surprised. She definitely didn’t expect a rich girl like Caitlyn to know anything at all about kitchens. “I’m surprised that know that much.” Caitlyn shrugged, “If you know anything at all about my parents then you would know how overprotective they are. Exploring outside was never really an option, that left the inside of the manor and what happens there.” Sevika seemed pleased with answer, “That’s good. Definitely makes you different from other Pilties. Your right by the way, a dish like this does take hours to make and we don’t always have all of this,” she said gesturing to the food in front of them. “I actually made this the other day. Figured that there was something up with Vander, so I thought that this would help, what with all the kids that he has to feed.”  Vi looked away at that, while Caitlyn nodded, satisfied with her answer. “Besides, I figured that you could use a proper meal before training starts. Caitlyn, since you and Vi are girlfriends, you’ll be training with us.” Both girls reddened again, but then Vi spoke, “Why does Caitlyn have to train with us? She’s already good with guns and I can protect her if anyone tries to get in close.” Vi insisted. “Vi, seriously,” Sevika began, clearly exasperated, “What? Do you seriously think that you are going to spend every second babysitting your girlfriend?” Vi reddened slightly at that but her face was still set. Sevika sighed, “In that case, tomorrow I’ll prove it. So, eat up the both of you and make sure to get some rest.”

                  The three continued their meal in silence until the pot was emptied. Sevika collected everything as the girls began to nod off. She took everything back to the kitchen and poured water over everything to keep the dishes from sticking. She made her way back to find the girls had fallen asleep on each other. Vi had her arm around Caitlyn and Caitlyn’s face was tucked into Vi’s neck. ‘So damn adorable,’ Sevika thought to herself. She made her way over carefully wrapped her arms around both girls and gently lifted them up, doing her best not to separate them. Both girls complained softly, still asleep and reached out towards each other. Sevika was really tempted to just put them to bed, but there was no way that she was gonna let them use bad breath as a weapon against her. She carried both girls to the nearby bathroom and gently shook them awake before setting them down. They were holding hands, very much asleep while standing. Sevika couldn’t help but be impressed by that. ‘That could be a problem if we put them on guard duty,’ Sevika thought to herself. She knelt down in front of both girls and shook them till they opened their eyes.

                  “What?” Vi mumbled, head leaning on Caitlyn’s. “You two need to brush your teeth, then you can go to bed.” Sevika said. Caitlyn jerked away at that and looked around. “Are there any spare brushes for me?” She asked turning to Vi. Vi frowned and went over to the cupboard and began looking through it. Sevika used that opportunity to slip out, so the girls could have some privacy. She was going back to the kitchen to clean up, but then decided to check on Vander and his boys. And the Topsider that she had yet to meet. She went up to Vander’s office and gently rapped on the door. The door opened a smidge, and she could see the Topsider. “How are they?” Sevika asked. The Topsider rubbed his eyes and the action made Sevika realize that he had a cloth tied around his face. “The boys must have fallen ill only recently; they are recovering nicely. I might have them out of here soon. As for Vander…” He hesitated, slightly, whether from what he was thinking or from being tired, Sevika couldn’t tell. “What’s wrong with Vander?” She asked, impatient. “Tobias looked a moment longer, clearly struggling to phrase what he had to say. “How long has Vander been ill?” He asked. Sevika looked at him a moment, but before she could say anything. “I know that Violet said that he had been ill for a month, but I think that it was longer. Much longer.” Sevika was quiet.

                  She had noticed that there was something off about Vander the last two months and he had also started to regulate more and more jobs to her. Jobs that he would normally do himself. But she was hesitant. The man in front of her was a topsider. And not just any topsider, he was the husband of a council member. Perhaps, one of the only people on the council who didn’t see the Undercity as something to be crushed but she was still someone who had failed to make change. But this Topsider was clearly different, just like his daughter. He did come all the way down here, but…

                  The Topsider clearly noticed the conflict that was raging inside of Sevika. Even though he couldn’t leave the room, he knew that he needed to resolve whatever was going on with her. “How about we start and begin with introductions?” He asked. Sevika was slightly taken aback. She hadn’t expected to be treated like a child. Though truthfully, she wasn’t that much of an adult yet either. She didn’t know how old she was exactly, but Vander had pegged her at being in her early twenties. Which was probably why he gave her any responsibility at all. Well, that and her tough personality. Sevika, completely caught off guard by the change in the situation chose to remain silent. Tobias took that as a sign that he should go first, “My name is Tobias Kiramman and you are?” Sevika hesitated a moment, but then, “Sevika.” Tobias smiled under the mask, eyes crinkling kindly, “Pleasure to meet you, Sevika. Now back to what I asked earlier: do you know how long Vander has been ill?” Sevika again hesitated, unsure if she should be telling an outsider anything, but Vander must be seriously sick if this guy is asking how long this has been going on for. “I’m not sure,” Sevika began, “Vander, hell, no one in the Lanes ever talks about being sick. It’s a weakness that can get you killed. But, if I had to guess, it had to have been at least three months. Maybe longer. He’s the one that’s worked the hardest to fix everything after you Topsiders screwed us on the bridge.”  Tobias nodded and turned. Sevika didn’t know what he was doing, and he returned before she could ask. “Can you bring two glasses of water? I think that the boys have recovered enough for at least that.”  Sevika went back to the kitchen to get the water, while Tobias returned to tending to his patients. Sevika came back and began making her way in, but Tobias came up from the other side of the door and stopped her approach. “Thank you,” he said, taking the glasses. He returned a little later and spoke in a low voice, clearly not wanting the occupants inside to hear, “Miss Sevika-” “Just Sevika,” she interrupted. “Sevika, you might not like hearing this, but I won’t hide the truth. Vander is not getting better. If anything, he has only gotten worse.” “So, what? Is he going to die?” Sevika asked, feeling fear for the first time. “He can’t die. Everything will apart if he dies! He’s the reason that war hasn’t broken out!” Sevika whispered in a raised, frantic voice. Tobias shushed her, which nearly caused her to break out in a rage. “There is a chance. I can’t promise anything, but there is a chance.” Tobias said quickly.

                  Sevika paused and glared at him, “I’m not goin’ to like this am I?” “Most likely not, no. Do you know of the clinic closest to the bridges?” Sevika nodded then remembered that Tobias couldn’t really see her. “Yes, people would go there when there wasn’t any other choice.” Sevika said resentfully. “That clinic is one of mine.” Tobias replied. “It was one of the things that my wife was able to get the council to agree to. If we can get Vander there, I think that he will heal.”  Now Sevika was more hesitant than ever. It was one thing for a kid as young as Caitlyn to want to help the Undercity. But her dad – and her mom? Two people from one of Piltover’s most powerful families? It was unreal and it was making Sevika’s head hurt. “Why are you helping us? You Pilties are only ever interested in screwing us.” Tobias could tell that Sevika was struggling. “We can wait till tomorrow to see if Vander wakes up, but if he doesn’t you and Vi will have to make decide on what you want to do.” “Why do you even care what I think?” Sevika asked, uncomfortable. “Vi might be his goddaughter, but you are the adult,” Tobias answered, clearly surprised that the answer wasn’t obvious. “Fine,” Sevika muttered. “We’ll see in the morning.”

                  With that she stalked off in a huff, frustrated with her current situation. She went outside and whistled. Her gang and a few others that she trusted stepped out from the shadows and formed a crowd in front of her. Sevika was tense, this situation was tricky. Vander was inside and in no condition to fight. The Topsiders along with Vi wouldn’t be enough to defend the place on their own, plus there were two more kids who were in no condition to run let alone fight. The crowd in front of remained silent, expectant, as they waited for their orders. If Sevika was honest with herself, she wasn’t hesitating because of what she had to do, but because she just wasn’t sure who to trust. She barely knew the people in the bar, ’cept for Vander, and it wasn’t as though people assembled in front of her were any more trustworthy. They had never done anything to make her suspicious, but this was the Lanes. Any weakness was exploited. Vander being sick as he was put a target on his back. Not to mention that many of the changes that he made required making large concessions to Piltover, something that the people of the Undercity had begrudgingly accepted due to Vander’s reputation. But if anyone found out what his condition was now… Sevika honestly didn’t want to think about it, but she didn’t have much choice. She needed to make a decision and soon judging by how much her people were beginning to fidget. But again, she hesitated. The decision that she made wasn’t just going to affect the families inside, but also the future of the Lanes and the Undercity itself. Vander hadn’t had time to train her as much as he’d have liked, but from the few months that he’d had the time to so, Sevika knew that the Undercity’s upper ranks were still fighting; the chembarons, industrialists from Piltover, even the council were all players. If anyone found out that the single, biggest player was currently incapacitated, the fight at the top would spill out into the streets below, and the Undercity would burn again as it had done a mere seven – no, almost eight months ago. There was only one choice.

                  Sevika took a breath and “We’re out of here. I had a nice chat with Vander, and he wants us to start taking more responsibility.” “Sounds like the Hound’s finally gotten bored doing the grunt work!” someone jeered. “What do you mean more responsibility? We already do everything that he asks us to do.” Anther shouted. The crowd muttered in agreement. Sevika rolled her eyes at that. “What? You tellin’ me that you actually liked his babysitting?” she asked in a mocking tone. The crowd seemed taken aback. They hadn’t expected that. “Look,” Sevika said, “It’s only been a few months since… since the bridge. You all know what’s happenin’ at the top, Vander has never tried to hide that from us. He’s helped us a lot, but he’s got a lot of shit to deal with. All he wants is for us to pick up where he can’t. We can do that. He’s been training all of us.” The crowd started to mummer in agreement. “All of you know what you need to do.” With that Sevika whistled again and the crowd moved out. Sevika waited till everyone was gone then went back inside. She knew that she was making a mistake, but she didn’t have much choice. They didn’t have much time. She went behind the bar and pulled out a pen and paper. She wrote two notes quickly and, when she was done, slipped one into Vander’s office and left the other on the table in the girls’ room.

                  It was Caitlyn who woke up first. It wasn’t surprising seeing as she was sleeping in what was still an unfamiliar place. She woke up with Vi wrapped around her. It seemed that she had turned over while asleep and was now being spooned by Vi. She cuddled closer into Vi, who responded by tightening around her and mumbling softly into her neck. Caitlyn smiled and looked around, finally able to examine her surroundings. She looked around at the walls, at the toys, the furniture, and found that she liked the space. Her own room, on its own, was many times larger, but she found that she liked the smaller space. It felt fuller than her own room ever had. Truthfully, Caitlyn had never liked her own room. She hated how there was so much space that there was always a sense of emptiness. No matter how she filled or had the furniture arranged, it felt… lacking. But this space, this space that she shared with Vi and her family, felt full in a warm way. She found that she was struggling to find the words to describe what she felt in this room. Her wandering gaze eventually began to slow as her exhaustion and Vi’s warmth began to lull her back to sleep. Just before her eyes shut for the final time, she saw the note on the table. She turned carefully to look at Vi, making sure that she was still fast asleep. Then she carefully slid over to the edge off the bed, dragging Vi along with her, till she could reach the note. Vi mumbled again, but she still didn’t awake, much to Caitlyn’s relief. If there was anyone who was desperate for rest, it was Vi. Caitlyn then, very carefully, moved herself and Vi back into their previous position.

                  The note she saw had been written quickly and was somewhat difficult to read, but she saw that it was from Sevika. She struggled to decipher the message. She was concentrating so hard that she hadn’t noticed that Vi was awake till she lifted her hand to adjust the message. Caitlyn turned to Vi, startled. Vi had a frown on her face; it seemed as though she was having trouble reading it as well.

                  Vi sat up and sighed. Caitlyn reached over and gently put her hand on Vi’s arm, “Vi what’s wrong?”  Vi didn’t answer, at least not right away. “We have to go,” she said sullenly. “Why?” Caitlyn asked, surprised by how Vi was responding to the message. Another long pause, during which Vi had gotten up and began to prepare the clothes that they would be wearing. “Sevika is worried that other people might think that we’re an easy target now because Vander is sick. She thinks that we’ll be safer outside of the Undercity, but she’s worried that if anyone sees him like he is… I don’t know what to do. Sevika thinks that her own crew might be the ones to make a play. Its why she left.” Vi sat down on the edge of the bed, shoulders slumped. Caitlyn moved over and wrapped her arms around her and was gratified when she felt Vi lean in closer. “We should talk to dad first. He’ll know what to do.” “I shouldn’t even let you two get involved. This is dangerous. From what little I’ve learned from my spying; the Undercity could explode at any moment and this time it’ll be even worse.” Vi shoved her face into her hands.

                  Caitlyn felt her heart break at those words. Vi was the same age as her and yet she was now trapped with responsibilities that most adults had never had to face. Vi put her hands back down on and started fidgeting. Then she began to pull at her hair. Caitlyn was stunned. This behavior wasn’t so different from her own. Especially, when she felt stressed. Although Caitlyn didn’t pull her hair, she usually fiddled with her fingers. Or, if the stress was great enough, she would start to grip and scratch her own arms, often hard enough to leave bruises and marks. It was why her parents would force her to wear long-sleeve shirts and dresses. Vi’s current behavior nearly triggered her own reaction, but for once she was able to push it down, just like her mother always said that she could. She moved off the bed and moved onto her knees in front of Vi. She gently took hold off Vi’s hands and began using her thumbs to rub circles into them. Just like her mother would do for her. She looked up at Vi cautiously. Her mother had also warned her that everyone responds to attempts to help, Vi could just attack her in her current state. She doesn’t remember it, but her mother had told her that she had always trying to run whenever someone tried to touch her. Vi didn’t seem like she was trying to bolt or fight, but it was also clear that she didn’t really see Caitlyn. At least that was what it looked like to Caitlyn. So, Caitlyn tried something that her dad had tried once. She let go of Vi’s right hand, making sure to keep rubbing her left and carefully brought it around to the back of Vi’s head. Vi didn’t respond to any of the changes so Caitlyn pushed ahead. With her left hand she gently pulled Vi forward until their foreheads touched. Then Caitlyn brought her breathing under control and started breathing slowly, in and out. She kept this up till Vi started to match her. She kept going and eventually, Vi pulled herself out of her stupor.

                  Vi finally made eye contact with Caitlyn and breathed out, “Thanks.” They stayed like that for a moment longer and then both girls got up and began preparing to speak to Tobias. And, possibly, for moving Vander and the boys. Once dressed and, in Caitlyn’s case, rearmed, they stepped out and headed towards Vander’s office. Both girls proceeded cautiously, after the message, even the atmosphere within the bar felt different. Vi led the way, Caitlyn following closely, rifle in hand. She knocked on the door and Tobias answered immediately. Both girls looked up at him, surprised. “Sevika left me a message,” he said without preamble. “Vander is still not awake, but the boys are. Vi, is there anything that we can use to transport Vander? Carrying him is not an option.” “Benzo might have something, but I’m not sure that we should let anyone else get involved. Things aren’t exactly great down here. Plus, we don’t know who’s watching.” Vi replied, clearly on edge. Caitlyn slipped her hand into hers and began rubbing circles again. “Vi, I realize that the situation is not the best, but the fact is that we cannot carry Vander. We need something to move him, something that can also hide him.” Vi wanted to argue against moving at all but staying simply wasn’t an option. There was a good chance that Sevika herself would try to make a move, if only to provide them some kind of cover. “Do they have to be comfortable?” Vi asked. Tobias looked hesitant at that, “I would prefer it, but we just don’t have enough time. Whatever you can get to move them will have to suffice.” Vi nodded and turned to Caitlyn. “Stay here, Vander might have something in the back that we can use, but it means going outside. It’ll be faster if it’s just me who goes.” Caitlyn wanted to argue, but Vi squeezed her hand gently and moved off before she could protest.

                  “You two are getting along, then?” Tobias asked amused. “No!” Caitlyn replied, a deep shade of red. Tobias raised an eyebrow, an amused twinkle. Caitlyn huffed and returned to guard duty. She really wasn’t in the mood to play her father’s games.

                  Vi moved quickly. She made sure to pull her hood on before poking her head outside. Once she decided that it was clear enough, she made her way out of the Last Drop, to the storage area in the back. To keep up appearances, Vi and her brothers would constantly move the large carts around in the back. Sometimes they would use them to distribute food and supplies, but they usually just sat their unused. They never had enough to justify using more than one cart anyway. Right now, there were two. There were normally three, but Vander had loaned one out and, since he had gotten sick, had yet to retrieve it. Once she confirmed that the carts were empty, she went through the back door and rummaged around for something to cover the cart. She couldn’t risk turning on the lights, so she had to search in the dark. Vander usually kept tarps to cover the carts with, but in her haste, Vi was struggling to find them. Her fingers snagged on something and she nearly whooped. She had managed to find the tarp that had hooks all over it. Now they wouldn’t have to worry about lashing it down. The tarp was placed in the extra cart and Vi again made a quick search of her surroundings, before returning to the front of the building and back inside.

                  Vi froze when she saw that Caitlyn had her rifle trained on her. She immediately pointed it up and away and Vi slowly approached her. Caitlyn didn’t look happy. Vi, intimidated by the earlier rifle, approached cautiously, especially after seeing her face. Vi came up and stood for a moment. Caitlyn, finally let out a sigh and stepped up to Vi. She brought her arm up, Vi flinched, expecting a slap, but Cait ignored it and brought her hand up and behind Vi’s head and pulled her in till their foreheads were touching. Both started breathing easier.   

                  “I wasn’t mad Vi,” Caitlyn said, gently. “And I was not going to stop you. I was going to make you wear my cloak, to cover that pretty head of yours.” Vi blushed at that and it took her a second to compose her reply. “We don’t have much time, I just thought that it’d be faster if I went ahead.” “That’s fine Violet,” Caitlyn replied, “just don’t forget that you’re not alone anymore.” Vi felt fresh tears well up at that, but she hurriedly blinked them away. “Come on,” Vi said, grabbing Caitlyn’s hand and moving towards the door. They knocked and waited. “Just a moment,” Tobias shouted from inside. Caitlyn then turned to Vi and pulled her to the side. “Vi, take this,” she said, reaching into her clothes and pulling out a pistol. Vi had turned quite red when she saw Caitlyn reaching into her clothes, but she paled when she saw the weapon that was being offered to her. “Cait, I can’t take this, I don’t know how to use it. And you know that I’m better with my fists.” “Vi, right now your hands will be full, and it’ll be better to keep people away. Using it is easy, just point at whoever’s in the way, you don’t have to pull the trigger.” Caitlyn replied. “We only need to keep people away,” she added gently.

                  Vi hesitated still. Guns were not her weapons of choice. They were the weapons of Enforcers, of the people that murdered her dad and who had imprisoned her mom. But the person in front of her, she wasn’t an Enforcer and the weapon that she was offering was hers, not an Enforcer’s. She took a breath and took the weapon gingerly from Caitlyn. She tested the weight in her hand and found it to be surprisingly comfortable. She looked it over, careful to make sure that the barrel was pointed nowhere near Caitlyn. Then she looked up at Caitlyn with questioning eyes.  

                  “Cait, I have no idea how to do this,” Vi said, the earlier strain returning. Caitlyn put her own weapon on her back and gently took Vi’s hand in her own. As she rubbed circles, she showed Vi how to properly hold the weapon. “The safety is over here. As it is the weapon is in its ‘safe’ setting, flip it like this and its ready to fire. That’s it. I will teach you how to use it properly once we get back.” Vi looked up at that, slightly surprised that Caitlyn would want to teach her how to use this thing.

                  Tobias finally emerged from the room. “Right, we should be ready roll.” Caitlyn looked at Vi embarrassed, but Vi merely grinned back at the terrible joke. “How do you want to do this?” Tobias asked, looking at Vi. Vi looked slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting Tobias to ask. He was the health professional after all. Vi looked at Caitlyn, who only nodded encouragingly. “We should take Vander first, he’s the heaviest, he’ll have to go at the bottom.” Vi said. Tobias nodded satisfied, “Show me the way and then we’ll see about moving him.” Vi led him behind the bar to the door that led to where the carts were. Violet swore that her heart stopped when she stepped into the back.

                  The carts were gone! She couldn’t believe it. It had only been a few minutes. “Shit, shit shit!!!” Vi snarled. Tobias placed a hand and Vi turned to look at him. “The carts that you readied are gone.” Tobias stated. Vi nodded seething. Tobias sighed, “Come. Looks like I will have to carry Vander, you and Caitlyn will have to take the boys. I was hoping to minimize contact, but… We are out of time.” Vi nodded agreement, though neither could see them, they knew that they were out there.  They hurried inside. “Caitlyn,” Tobias called, “come.” He led both girls into the office. “Dad, what’s going –?” “No time to explain, Caitlyn, I need you to take Mylo. Vi, you will take Claggor. Both of you come here.” Tobias brought them over to where the boys were sleeping. Then he grabbed a length of cloth. He gestured hurriedly, for Caitlyn to get on her knees, then he carefully picked Mylo up and draped him on her back. He used the cloth to tie them together. He did the same with Vi and Claggor. He waited a moment for the girls to adjust to the new weight on their backs, then with a great sigh he went over to Vander. He adjusted his rifle so that it now hung in front him and then he pulled Vander over his shoulders. He buckled slightly under the larger man’s weight, but he soon adjusted and started moving. “Vi lead the way,” Tobias said, “Go through the front, not much point in trying to hide now.” Caitlyn looked at him questioningly, but Vi had already started to move.

                  The journey out of the Last Drop was made in silence. Soon everyone was struggling to maintain their composures. The weights on the girls’ and Tobias’s backs were making walking difficult. And in this place, restricted mobility was dangerous. It was still very early in the morning and few people were out, but the three could feel that they were being watched. They moved as quickly as they could, tense, short of breath, but the bridges were in sight. But then the people following them swarmed in front of them. Vi was in utter disbelief, at this point she wasn’t sure if she could take any more surprises. Leading the group was Benzo!

                  “Benzo! What the hell?” Vi shouted. Benzo looked surprised to see Vi, “Vi, what’s going on? First, Vander’s been missin’ all this time and now I hear that there are Topsiders down here. Explanation, now!” Vi looked up at Tobias, but there wasn’t an answer there. He was too tired from carrying Vander. Vi turned back to the crowd, “Look Vander and my brothers are sick. There helping me to get them better. That’s all.” Benzo and others looked at her in disbelief. “Vi,” Benzo began, voicing the crowd’s outrage, “how could you possibly trust them?! After what they did to us on these very bridges? After what they did to you and your own family?” Vi really, really wanted to put Claggor down and punch her way through. Or maybe shoot. Neither was an option. She was too worn out. Next to her Caitlyn started to speak, “Please, they are all very sick we have to –” The crowd began to shout, drowning Caitlyn out. All three were starting to buckle from the weight and exhaustion. Then the worst that could happen happened.

                  The sounds of Enforcers approaching. The crowd scattered. Benzo threw a look of hatred at Vi as he fled. Vi stared back stunned. But then she saw the Enforcers and the memories of that night came rushing back. Vi started hyperventilating, she couldn’t be here, she had to run. Before she could Caitlyn rushed up and wrapped her arms around her. Vi put everything into running, even if it meant dragging Caitlyn with her. Caitlyn, for her part, dug her heals and did her best to keep Vi in place. Though she had never seen the events that had happened months earlier, she knew from everyone’s reaction that the Enforcers would not hesitate to shoot at whomever they pleased. Though Caitlyn hated to do it, she managed to hook one leg around Vi’s knees and force her down. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that her father had fallen over and was now being smushed by Vander’s bulk. Had they been in any other situation, she would have burst out laughing. As it was there were more important things to attend. She had to calm Vi down before the Enforcers reached them. She tried everything that worked earlier, but nothing was working now. Vi was terrified. She nearly broke free, but Caitlyn grabbed her and pulled her face into the crook of her neck, hoping that if Vi couldn’t see the Enforcers then she might calm down. But it was too late.

                  One of the approaching enforcers, an Ionian from what little Caitlyn could see of his face, grabbed Vi, and smashed his baton across Vi’s face. Vi was screaming now and so were Caitlyn and Tobias. The Enforcer swung again, knocking Vi out. Caitlyn tried to stop him, but another Enforcer grabbed her and threw her to the ground, then kicked her side. Caitlyn gasped from the pain, tears streaming. At this point Tobias, finally managed to free himself from underneath Vander and had clearly lost all semblance of control. He brought of his rifle and put a round through each of the attackers’ legs. The others charged at him. He fired a round though the shoulder of the nearest and proceeded to use the rifle as a bat forcing the approaching Enforcers back, enough to get to his girls. After what just happened, Vi was definitely one of his.

                  “Stay away from my children,” Tobias screamed. One of the Enforcers that was attempting to collect his injured comrade, stopped at that. “Dr. Kiramman?” He asked voice laced with disbelief. Tobias couldn’t hear anything. He carefully pulled Caitlyn over to where Vi laid unconscious and proceeded to examine both girls. Vi was bleeding from both strikes, but her teeth were all intact and there were no broken bones. He checked Caitlyn, who was now ignoring her own pain to check Vi herself. “Caitlyn, remain still,” Tobias said sharply. Caitlyn stilled immediately, the look on her father’s face brokered no room for argument. Then a shadow appeared behind him. Caitlyn grabbed his arm, “Dad loo-” An Enforcer had come up behind Tobias and struck him on the back of the head. He slumped over Caitlyn, who screamed as pain flared in her side. It felt as though her ribs had broken. She saw her vision flicker and eventually she passed out.

                  Vi was the first to wake up and when she did, the sight she saw was… strange, to say the least. She was in a cell, but she wasn’t alone. The cell wasn’t a large one but it was cramped, especially with all the people in it. Caitlyn, Tobias, Vander, Claggor and Mylo had all been jammed into the same cell as her. Tobias was also awake, he was attending to Vander and the boys, the look that was on his face would haunt Vi for a long time after. A look of such fury! Though she had only known him a few hours, she couldn’t believe that a man as kindly as him could have an expression like that on his face. She looked around at the others, to avoid looking at Tobias. She jumped when she saw that Caitlyn was huddled up against her, a look of such pain on her sleeping face.

                  She made to adjust Caitlyn, but before she could Tobias barked, “Don’t!” Vi flinched horribly, Tobias’s voice was so much louder in this place. “I think her ribs are cracked. We won’t know for sure till we get to a hospital, but that seems unlikely at the moment.” Vi wanted to ask how it was possible for Pilties to be imprisoned, but this was definitely not the time, instead “Where are we?” Tobias looked up and saw the fear on Vi’s face. He immediately moved forward and pulled Vi into a tight hug. Vi gasped, but soon returned the hug. “We are not in Stillwater,” he said gently. “This is the Enforcer precinct. It’s not far from the council building. Don’t worry, I imagine that Cassandra will have us out soon.”

                  He barely finished speaking when the doors to the cell block burst open. Vi cowered in Tobias’s chest, fearing more Enforcers. She looked up when he let out a sigh of relief. Standing in front of the cell was Cassandra and behind were what looked like a contingent of soldiers, in colors that she had never seen before. The cell doors opened and before Vi knew what she was doing she rushed out to Cassandra, who bent down and lifted her up into her arms, holding Vi close. “I’m so sorry, Violet,” she said softly, holding her close, “I am so, so sorry.” Vi didn’t respond, she only held on tighter. Cassandra then turned to the soldiers, “Collect everyone and bring them back to manor.” Once the soldiers collected everyone, taking special care with the children, Cassandra led the group out of the station, still carrying Vi, back to the manor.

                  At the manor, Vi’s mother was waiting in a wheelchair. “What happened?” The fury in her voice made Vi cower and clutch even more tightly to Cassandra. “Felicia,” Cassandra said softly, “We will discuss this later, right now your daughter needs you.” She turned to the servants that stood behind Kaity and gave her orders, “The children are all either ill or injured. Vander is quite ill, as are the boys. Take them to the infirmary and arrange for additional doctors. And settle Felicia in the guest room nearest to our own. Ensure that the bed is large enough for both her and her daughter.” The staff moved off at once. Felicia, despite the look of protest on her face, allowed herself to be taken to her room. Cassandra, along with the soldiers made her way to the infirmary.

                  Once there she attempted to put Vi down on the bed, but Vi refused to let go. So, she moved over to the chair next to the bed and sat down, adjusting Vi’s legs as she sat. Cassandra adjusted her arms around Vi, but even this seemed to send Vi into a panic. She clutched at Cassandra and Cassandra was reminded of her own daughter. Of how she would often suffer panic attacks when overloaded. She started to rub Vi’s back, holding her close, letting the little girl who had been forced to take on too much know that she was not alone. That she had people who would protect and help her. Gradually, far longer than it would ever take with Caitlyn, Vi began to calm down. Eventually, Cassandra was able to push Vi far enough away to look at her properly. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the two large bruises on Vi’s face. With one hand still around the girl, Cassandra used the other to carefully check her for any other injuries. Vi would flinch whenever Cassandra touched an injury. Eventually Cassandra determined that Vi’s entire body was bruised in some way, but the injuries that concerned her most were the ones to Vi’s head.

                  After everyone had been settled down, Cassandra stood up, still holding Vi, and made her way over to Caitlyn and Tobias. Caitlyn was lying on the bed, breathing through clenched teeth. Tobias was sitting up, rubbing his head gingerly where he had been struck. Cassandra took a seat, with Vi in her arms between the two beds. Then she turned to Caitlyn, who was looking at her in disbelief. Cassandra merely smiled, arms still around Vi. Then she turned to Tobias, “What happened?” Caitlyn flinched; her mother’s face was lined with fury. Tobias slumped back into the bed and moved up to rest against the wall so he could be closed to his wife. “We were making our way back. One of Vander’s allies warned us that we had to leave soon. That his competitors would be looking to replace him. We were forced to carry everyone back. Vi had arranged carts, but they had vanished before we could leave. We had nearly made it to the bridges, but we were accosted by a large crowd. I am not sure, but I believe that the crowd seemed to think that we were kidnapping Vander. And it seems as though they now regard Vi as a traitor.” Vi shifted at that keeping her face hidden in Cassandra’s neck. Cassandra did not look down; she could feel the tears that pouring off Vi’s face. She held the girl closer, and she saw out of the corner of her eye that Caitlyn was reaching for Vi. Cassandra turned ever so slightly to look at her daughter. When Caitlyn made eye contact, Cassandra slowly shook her head. Caitlyn’s hand dropped at that. “What happened with this crowd exactly?” Cassandra asked, “Why are you all so injured?” Tobias sighed, “Enforcers. Enforcers arrived causing the crowd to disperse and then attacked us. They went after Vi first. Then… Caitlyn when she tried to protect Vi. After seeing them attacked, I lost control. I shot three of them and used my rifle to beat the others back so that I could check on the girls. I shouldn’t have let my guard down.” Tobias’s voice became angrier and angrier as he spoke. But when he continued, his voice was hollow and tired, “I don’t remember anything after I was knocked unconscious. When I awoke in that cell, I started tending to the sick and injured.”

                  Cassandra was silent for a long time. Then she shifted closer to her own daughter and offered her hand, palm up. Caitlyn looked on a moment longer, then slid her hand into her mother’s and gripped it tightly. They all looked up when the door to the infirmary opened. It was one of the doctors that Cassandra had arranged for. The doctor made his way straight to Kirammans first. Of course. “My Lady Kiramman, Doctor,” he said in greeting. “Doctor,” Cassandra replied, then she turned to Caitlyn, “would you like to be seen first, my little soldier?” Caitlyn looked up at her, surprised by the moniker. Her mother never used anything but her own name. She looked at her mother first, but then her eyes came down and rested on Vi’s face. The bruises were more prominent now. Caitlyn slowly shook her head and gestured to Vi. Her hand was still tightly wrapped around her mother’s, but a mother always understands. Cassandra gently rubbed her hand on Vi’s back and gently pushed Vi back so she could look her in the eyes. “Little flower,” she said softly. Caitlyn’s mind was now reeling quite badly, who was this woman and what happened to her mother? Vi blinked at that and attempted to hide again. Cassandra gently brought her hand up and again brought her face up. “Would you like to see the doctor first?” Cassandra asked. Vi looked at her blankly. The Undercity didn’t have doctors, there were apothecaries where you could get medication, but the only people that you could really trust were yourself and your family. Sometimes close friends. Cassandra looked on and realized that the decision would have to be hers. “Hold still,” she said gently, “I promise no harm will come to you.” Vi nodded and Cassandra called the doctor over to see Vi first. Before he could proceed Cassandra swiftly brought up a hand to stop him, “If you do anything that causes her too much pain or if you are… advantages, I promise that I will break every finger on your right hand.” The doctor nodded, gulping. Vi merely stared at Cassandra, slight fear in her eyes. But then she turned back to Vi and gave such a warm smile that Vi felt certain that she would quite literally do anything that she asked.

                  “Vi,” she said gently, “I am going to need you to turn around. I won’t let go, I promise, but the doctor needs to be able to see your injuries.” Vi looked over at Caitlyn, who sucked in a breath, her own body still in pain. Vi immediately returned to Cassandra and nodded. Cassandra carefully turned Vi around in her lap, careful not to let the girl go. Once Vi was in place, she put her hand around the girl’s waist, noting how thin the child was and resumed holding Caitlyn’s hand. The doctor proceeded to examine her, careful to be swift and to keep his touches light, especially under Cassandra’s sharp scrutiny. The doctor stood back when he finished and delivered his verdict to Cassandra, “She has no major injuries to her body, although with the severity of the bruises to her head, it’s almost certain that she has suffered a concussion. I will be prescribing some painkillers. She may be fine now, but I guarantee that she will be feeling the effects later. Make sure she drinks plenty of water and that she gets as much bed rest as possible.” Cassandra nodded, then gestured to Caitlyn. The doctor immediately moved off and began examining Caitlyn.

                  Caitlyn held on to her mother tightly as the doctor poked and prodded. The doctor frowned as worked then looked over at Cassandra, “May I ask how she got these injuries?” Cassandra looked at him a moment, “Only if I have your word that you will not speak of what I tell you. At least not till I make my own announcement.” The doctor looked surprised at that, but he nodded. “She and the others you see here were attacked by Enforcers.” “Gods,” the doctor exclaimed, “I was aware that they were reckless, but attacking a councilor’s family…” He shook his head and returned to inspecting Caitlyn. “May I ask that you lift your shirt?” he asked. Caitlyn looked at her mother and Vi. She really didn’t want Vi to see. Cassandra looked at her daughter and nodded. Caitlyn lifted her shirt slightly, careful to keep herself covered. All three inhaled sharply at what they saw. She had a bruise that ran through the length of her side. The worst part though was her ribs. At least one was broken, and the others were likely cracked. The doctor had seen enough. “You may lower your shirt.” Then he turned to Cassandra and the girl that she was currently holding and squeaked in terror. Both were enraged upon seeing Caitlyn’s injuries and the doctor feared their response to what he was about to say. “Ahem,” he began and flinched when both turned to him. Cassandra sighed and relaxed her face, but the girl did not. The doctor continued, “She will have to be taken to the hospital, I am not certain, but it is likely that at least two ribs are broken. The rest on that side are also likely cracked. However, since she is lucid, it is unlikely that any internal organs have been damaged. Though the pain must be… great.” Caitlyn nodded affirmation. Cassandra looked hard at the doctor, “She will not go to the hospital.” She raised her hand before the doctor could object, “I will arrange for whatever is needed to be brought here.”

                  The doctor sighed but he did not argue. He moved over to Tobias next but before he could do anything Tobias grabbed his wrist, “Before the others arrive, I need you to ensure that they take proper precautions with the other patients. They are ill and whatever it is that afflicts them is contagious.” The doctor paled at that but nodded. He did a quick once over of Tobias - his prognosis was largely the same as Vi's - and moved off to speak to one of the nurses that had arrived with him. He gave them his instructions and then left the room to intercept the other arrivals. Tobias leaned back with a deep exhale, wincing slightly at the pain. He caught the look on his wife’s face and insisted, “Its fine, dear. I should have been paying more attention to my surround-” “YOU are the last person who should have to mind his surroundings when surrounded by droves of enforcers.” Cassandra interrupted as she adjusted her hold on Vi.

                  There was no clock in the infirmary, not since Caitlyn had last decided that she had spent enough time here the last time she had been confined, though Cassandra knew that it was now quite late. Especially with the exhaustion that she could see on her husband’s and the girls’ faces. One of the nurses that had arrived with the doctor came over to her.

                  “My lady, per Doctor Kiramman’s orders we will be moving the infected patients to rooms that are easier to isolate. Is there anything that you require before we proceed?” She asked. Cassandra looked at her for a moment thinking. “We will require a larger bed,” she said after a moment. “One large enough for myself and my girls.” The nurse blinked at that but did not dare question it. Instead, she nodded and went off to make the arrangements. Vi had shifted at that but it was only to wrap her arms around Cassandra and to continue holding Caitlyn’s hand. The doctor finally returned with the others who had summoned. Vi took one look at them and let out a sharp breath. Then she turned her head and buried her face in Cassandra’s neck, doing her best to block out the view. Cassandra looked down slightly, but her gaze shifted quickly. Caitlyn, who had closed her eyes and had been doing her best to ignore the pain, shot up when she saw how the doctors and nurses were dressed. She let out a small scream from the pain of her sudden movements. The nurses immediately moved forward but they were stopped by one look from Cassandra. Cassandra stood, still holding Vi, and moved onto the bed. Then she carefully wrapped her left arm around Caitlyn’s shoulders and brought her close. When Vi realized where she was, she shifted her hand so that she was holding Caitlyn’s and Cassandra’s.

                  Cassandra turned to the doctors, fury lining her elegant face. “Did you have no alternate forms of equipment?” Her voice could have frozen over the wildest of fires. Tobias hand twitched as though reaching for the weapon that he did not have, but his gaze matched his wife’s. The doctor who had arrived first spoke first, “My apologies, my Lady, but this was on short notice, and this is the best that we can do at the moment. I assure you, that come the morning that we will have more appropriate attire.” Cassandra glared a moment longer, then, “Go on.” They hurried off to move Vander, Claggor and Mylo. She sighed then carefully adjusted herself and the girls so that they were all leaning on the wall behind the bed. The doctors and nurses worked quickly and soon Vander and the boys were moved to their respective moves. Caitlyn shifted when they went by, “Mother?” Caitlyn asked. “Hmm,” she replied. Caitlyn paused, still struggling with this woman next to her. “Shouldn’t the boys and Vander be kept together?” She asked. “Won’t they panic if they see that they are in an unfamiliar place?” Cassandra considered her daughter’s question and turned to Tobias, but before he could answer, Vi spoke. “I can watch them. I’ll go back and forth between their rooms.” “Absolutely not,” Cassandra said, outraged. She pushed Vi back so that she could look her in the eye. “You will stay here with myself and Caitlyn. You’re of no use to anyone in your current state and you will likely fall asleep somewhere between their rooms with how exhausted you are.” Vi looked like she wanted to argue but was interrupted by an enormous yawn. Cassandra looked at her, her point made, then she pulled the girl back, so that she was resting against her. Cassandra looked over at Caitlyn, who was clearly starting to get jealous at the attention that Vi was getting from her mother. She smiled gently at her daughter but did not dare try to pull her daughter in closer. She would not be the cause of her daughter’s pain.

                  Tobias took advantage of the momentary lull in the conversation to answer Caitlyn’s questions. “Considering how they had reacted to meeting us the other day, it is very likely that they will not take kindly to being surrounded by strangers. But at the moment we have no choice. We cannot risk any reinfections and the boys are likely to get better first anyway. What little that I had been able to do seemed to have improved their conditions. For now, we must rest, and we have to trust that the others will take of Vander and the boys. And they will, I picked those people myself and trained more than a few of them.” Cassandra nodded her understanding, Caitlyn gingerly lifted her hand to acknowledge her father’s words, and Vi snored to show that she had fallen asleep on Cassandra’s lap. Both mother and daughter smiled at that, while Tobias tried his best to restrain his laughter.

                  The nurse that had spoken to Cassandra returned with others and they brought the bed that had been requested. They made a space next to the bed that Cassandra, Caitlyn and Vi were on and placed the bed right next to it, so that they could simply crawl onto it. Caitlyn moved slowly but was soon lying on the more comfortable bed. Cassandra had far more difficulty as she had to move with Vi in her lap. The nurses moved to assist but Cassandra stopped them with a raised hand and indicated for them to tend to Caitlyn. They immediately moved to the other side and started working on Caitlyn’s injuries. The first nurse approached Cassandra and again attempted to help, but the second that she had touched Vi, she woke up and began to shout and attempted escape. Cassandra held the girl tighter and began stroking her back. She glared at the nurse who tried to help but did not speak. Vi’s needs were greater. Vi was still desperately trying to escape. It was lucky that the girl was as tired as she was, else she would have escaped Cassandra’s grip. Caitlyn, for her part inched over and took hold of Vi’s flailing hand. Vi did not stop and Caitlyn was forced to let go or risk exacerbating her own injuries. Cassandra was starting to get tired, but before she could give the nurses an excuse to sedate Vi, she tried one more thing. She started to gently run her fingers through Vi’s hair, and she began to hum softly. Caitlyn stared. Her mother hadn’t done anything like this since she had been a small child. At this point Caitlyn gave up. Her mother was clearly an enigma that she wouldn’t be solving right now. She gestured to one of the nurses that had been hovering nearby and took the pain pills that were offered. She downed them with some water, laid back down and shut her eyes.

                  Vi was finally starting to slow down, Cassandra’s ministrations finally having the desired effect. Once she had stopped moving and was now lying limp on top of Cassandra, a nurse hurried over and offered the same pills that Caitlyn had taken, along with a glass of water. Cassandra finally managed to move over to her own daughter and lay there for a moment with Vi on top of her. Then she gently shook Vi awake, “Vi, little flower, you need to take your medication, then you can sleep.” Vi stirred and mumbled but made no attempt to get up. Cassandra sighed then sat up. Vi’s grumbling increased and she wrapped her arms around Cassandra, but she still refused to wake up. Cassandra turned to the nurse, “Are those pills as effective dissolved?” The nurse paused, “It will require increasing the dosage, which I wouldn’t recommend for a child so young.” Cassandra returned to Vi and pinched her. “Ow!” Vi shouted jumping awake. She glared at Cassandra, who gestured to the nurse. Vi looked over at her, then she looked at her hands. She sighed and took the water and medication. She downed both as Caitlyn had done and she returned to her former position, with her face buried in Cassandra’s neck. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Cassandra said. Vi grumbled but didn’t respond. Cassandra held her close; she thanked the nurse who moved around to check on Caitlyn and then Tobias. “Help me move closer to my family,” he said to her. Once Tobias was lying beside them, he took his own medication and went to sleep. Cassandra observed her family for a moment, the old and the new. She pulled her girls close and shut her eyes. Whatever problems they faced, enforcers or otherwise would be dealt with tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

                  The first to wake was Tobias. The thundering headache that he had received from the enforcers had receded, though upon touching around the wound, he discovered that there remained a prominent bruise. He sighed and turned to look over his wife and the girls who were still sleeping soundly. He smiled at the sight before him, but the smile didn’t last. The memories of what happened came back full force. Tobias stood up quickly, he had no intention of reliving what had happened. He made his way to the door and was met on the other side with two members of the Kiramman guard. Tobias was relieved, Cassandra had thought of everything. They stood at attention and simultaneously said, “Sir.” Tobias acknowledged them with a nod, “I am going to visit the armory, after which I will be visiting the other patients. Inform Cassandra and the others of where I am when I am when they awake.” “Yes, sir,” the guardsmen said. They resumed their positions as Tobias went on his way. Tobias quickly made his way to the armory where he collected a pistol, ammo, and a holster. Once armed, he proceeded to the rooms with the isolated patients. Here he found the doctors and nurses bustling about though clearly something was wrong. Per his own orders, Tobias kept his distance and waited for one of the attendees to notice him. The doctor who had attended to them yesterday came over to Tobias, though he kept his distance. “Doctor,” he said. Tobias nodded, acknowledgement, “Prognosis, doctor?” The doctor sighed, exhausted, “All of the patients are recovering nicely. The adult male –” “Vander,” Tobias interjected. “Right,” the doctor continued, “Vander will take longer to recover as he is older and had numerous other injuries. Do you happen to know where he got all of these?” He leaned forward and handed Tobias a clipboard with Vander’s prognosis. Tobias was stunned, he hadn’t had time to be as through as he normally was, but he hadn’t realized just how injured the man was. He handed the clipboard back and then, “No, I do not. The boys?” “The boys are doing much better; in fact, they have been awake for some time now… and they have run us ragged.” The doctor said, his voice displaying the strain from wrangling two adolescent boys. “They want to see their father and their sister and have made several attempts to escape. The younger one, I think his name is Mylo, has demonstrated some skill at picking locks. He also seems to be quite the sweet talker as the nurses have been spoiling him.” Tobias chuckled at that, “You almost sound jealous, doctor. And the other, Claggor?” The doctor ignored the jib, “The other one is easier to deal with, as he is quieter. Though he can be as crafty. He seems to be recovering the fastest. I imagine that he will be free to go within a few days.” Tobias nodded his acknowledgement, “Thank you, doctor. Make sure to get some rest yourself.” The doctor nodded and returned to his duties. Tobias stood there for a moment, then returned to the infirmary.

Whilst Tobias was out…

                  Cassandra awoke shortly after Tobias had left. She found that Vi had slid off her in the night and was now lying on her right side, with Caitlyn on her left with her arms wrapped around Cassandra’s. She smiled enjoying the moment. She turned to the side to see that Tobias was gone. She wasn’t concerned though. She knew that he would return soon. For now, she had to prepare for both the public and the council. She was not looking forward to either task.

                  Cassandra carefully got the attention of one of the nearby nurses, who came over quickly. “I need to prepare for the day, I will return shortly. It would be best not to wake them, but if either does call for me immediately.” The nurse acknowledged the order and waited for Cassandra to free herself from both girls. She stood up and watched them for a moment. Both girls’ hands wandered for a moment then found each other’s. They held on tightly, as though to a lifeline. Cassandra frowned at that and turned to the nurse who was now seated on Caitlyn’s side, “Make a note that the girls may need a therapist.” The nurse nodded and Cassandra left the infirmary and nearly walked into Tobias. “Ah, your back,” she said. Tobias, however, was having none of it. He stepped forward and wrapped his wife in a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. She giggled when Tobias set her down and kissed him. “I need you to watch the girls, while I deal with the council and deal with other affairs. I am going to get ready. I will see Felicia and the girls before I leave.” Tobias nodded, still holding his wife, “Don’t let them get away with this.” Cassandra smiled, but both knew that this was a problem that was going to take years to fix. It would be a miracle if they could even begin the process within their lifetimes. Truthfully, the best they could hope for, was to set the stage for the next generation.

                  On the way to the master bedroom, Cassandra collected several servants. In the master bedroom they all set about preparing for the day. The servants applied her makeup and helped her to select her clothing and jewelry. Once they had finished preparing Cassandra, the servants were dismissed. They returned to their regular duties and Cassandra, after making a few more adjustments to her attire, made her way to Felicia’s new room.

                  “Hello, Felicia,” she said as she made her way in. Felicia did not respond. Her face was hidden behind the book that she was clearly not reading. Cassandra sighed and made her way over to the chair next to her bed. She was hoping to be quick as she would need to reach the council before the enforcers could deliver whatever false reports that they had fabricated. But this took precedent, Felicia was an old and dear friend after all. If the changes that she was trying to make her weren’t for her then for who? Cassandra allowed Felicia to continue to her tantrum for a moment longer, then she reached over and gently pushed the book down so that she could see her face. As expected, Felicia was angry, the angriest that Cassandra had seen her in a long time. She thought that she also saw pain in her friend’s eyes, but she dismissed it, there just wasn’t enough time. “Felicia, I know that you are angry, but you must understand. Tobias and the girls were put through a terrible experience. They needed time. If you wish to see Violet now, you should be able to. I imagine that both she and Caitlyn will be waking at any moment.” Felicia glared a moment longer, but then her façade broke with a sigh. “Before I go see them, I want to know what happened.” Cassandra nodded and summarized what happened. Felicia pressed her hands to her eyes when she finished. “This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. It was bad enough that she was there to see what happened on the bridge, but now… Things are worse than ever. Cassy, be straight with me, is anything that we’re doing making a difference?” Cassandra really did not want to answer truthfully. But this was her oldest friend. It was true that they had fallen out of touch over the years, but there was no loss in their ability to read each other. She sighed, “Honestly, after this latest incident, I feel much the same as you do Felicia. We are gaining some allies, but now…” Cassandra’s voice trailed as she could no longer hold Felicia’s gaze. They both leaned back and began staring off into the distance. A knock on the door shook them out of there contemplation. The head servant, Giovanni, entered, “My Lady, I am sorry to interrupt, but my Ladies Caitlyn and Violet have awoken and are requesting your presence.” Cassandra nodded in acknowledgement, “Giovanni, may I trouble you for a wheelchair for Felicia?” “Of course, my lady.” He left and returned swiftly with the requested wheelchair.

                  Cassandra helped Felicia onto and gestured for Giovanni to return to his duties. He nodded and left the room, leaving Cassandra to wheel out her friend. They made their way to the infirmary in silence. Felicia turned around with a raised eyebrow to look at Cassandra when she caught sight of the guards. Cassandra merely nodded to them as she made her way inside. Inside they found that the girls were awake, though it was most definitely not the scene that they were expecting. Tobias was standing between Vi and the doctor and Caitlyn was sitting up clearly distressed and in pain.

                  It was Felicia who spoke first. “Vi,” she called out sharply. Vi flinched as she heard her mother call her in that voice. “What are you doing?” Vi repositioned herself so that she could see her mother, but she kept her place in front of Caitlyn. “He was hurting her.” Both Cassandra and Kaity turned to Tobias with a raised eyebrow. Tobias was slightly unnerved by that, both women looked so similar. He ignored it as best he could and replied to the earlier question. “Caitlyn was having her bandages changed and it seems that all the movement was causing her pain. Vi became distressed and jumped to her defense.” Lee sighed, “Vi, come over here. Now.” Her voice offered no room for argument. Vi and her mom stared off for a moment, but it was Tobias who broke the stalemate by giving Vi a shove. Vi turned and glared at him but she went off to her mom, who pulled her into a hug. Cassandra moved off to give the mother and daughter space and to care for her own daughter. Caitlyn,grabbed her mother’s hand as soon as she was close enough. The doctor returned to his task and quickly inspected Caitlyn’s injuries and changed her bandages. Once finished he turned to Cassandra, “My Lady, I am pleased to inform you that your daughter is recovering nicely. I estimate that she will be back on her feet within five to eight weeks. As for the young lady over there,” he said as he turned to Lee, “She should be completely recovered within a week or two. Again, I must stress that she not undertake any physically intensive tasks until she has completely healed.” Lee nodded in acknowledgement, ignoring her daughter’s glare.

                  Cassandra held her daughter close, happy that she would be fine. All the parents were basking in relief when it happened. Lee had been feeling contractions since she had awoken that morning, but now they were becoming stronger and more frequent. She looked and made eye contact with Cassandra and the message was received loud and clear. “Tobias,” she said sharply. He looked up at his wife as the doctor was already moving. The doctor turned to Tobias, “Sir, I realize that you may wish to take charge but given your own –” “Yes, yes,” Tobias said waving off the doctor’s words. “Cassandra, it seems as though you will not be making it to the meeting today.” Cassandra looked at him for a moment. She was far more concerned about her friend, but this meeting could not be allowed to proceed without the presence of a Kiramman. “You will attend in my place,” she said. Tobias looked at her surprised, but then he nodded. While not as skilled in the political arena, he had been enough debates with his wife and daughter that he would have no trouble holding his own. “Very well,” he replied. He looked down at his clothes. They had patches of blood and were torn in places. “I will go change and –.“ “No.” Cassandra interrupted. “Go as you are, they will have no choice but to hear you. Tobias nodded, acknowledgement. He hesitated a moment, but then he leaned forward, kissed his wife, hugged his daughter, and then quickly left the infirmary.

                  With the council hopefully taken care of, Cassandra turned the more immediate situation. Felicia was doing her best to keep quiet to not distress Violet, but it seemed that ship had sailed. Vi was frantic and making things difficult for the doctor and the nurses who had just arrived. “Violet,” Cassandra called. She flinched again just as when her mom had called her earlier. But this time she did not turn towards Cassandra. She was now trying to help Felicia up onto a bed. That action had Cassandra rushing forward. She grabbed Vi and turned to the nurses, who had been trying to calm her. “Leave the girl to me. Attend to her mother,” Cassandra ordered. Cassandra turned, forcing Vi to move with her. Vi, for her part, was making a spirited attempt to return to her mom’s side. Cassandra gave up trying to push her forward. She bent down and picked Vi up, just as she had last night. She moved over to Caitlyn, who immediately began rubbing soothing circles into Vi’s back. Vi was still trying to get free, but another cry from her mother stilled her. Caitlyn moved her hand from Vi’s back to her hand. Vi buried her face in Cassandra’s neck as though trying to block out her mother’s pained cries.

                  They stayed that way for hours. Cassandra and Caitlyn would do her best to comfort Vi, all the while doing their best to ignore the cries coming from the other side of the infirmary. Finally, after hours, so many hours that both Caitlyn and Vi had fallen asleep, a nurse returned to report to Cassandra. “My lady, you will pleased to know that your… friend is fine.” Cassandra elected to ignore the nurse’s framing and nodded for her to continue. “There is something unexpected, however,” the nurse paused for a moment, examining her notes. “Dr.Kiramman mentioned in his notes that he had predicted twins…” the nurse’s voice trailed off and Cassandra looked at her sharply, hiding whatever fear she might be feeling. “It seems he was mistaken.” At that Vi twitched quite violently in Cassandra’s laps and turned around to stare at the nurse. Judging from the nurse’s reaction and her leaning closer to look directly Vi in the eye, the news was good. She smiled, “She’s had triplets!” The nurse announced, beaming. At that Vi launched herself off Cassandra’s lap and ran to her mother.

“                  Mo-”, Vi couldn’t even finish once she saw her mother and the three mewling infants at her side. She raised her arm weakly, beckoning Vi over. Vi rushed over and carefully took hold of her mother’s hand. Then she knelt forward and gently nuzzled her mother’s cheek. Felicia raised her arm and pulled Vi in close. She kissed Vi’s cheek and whispered, “Have you met your sisters yet, my little flower?” Vi shook her head, scared. Scared that she would hurt them. She had been building up her strength these past few months after all, running all those errands for Vander. “It’s ok,” Felicia said, gently. “If you’re not ready to hold them, that’s ok. Just stand closer and get used to them. And let them get used to you.” Vi looked at her mother with concern. It was clear that she needed sleep, but she definitely wasn’t going to sleep until Vi… did something. So, Vi cautiously went over to the triplets. She looked at them and then turned back to her mother, eyes questioning. Lee, for her part, refrains from rolling her eyes. She slowly raised her hand and gestured at the door. Vi turns to see who she was gesturing to and froze. Cassandra and Caitlyn were standing at the entrance. Caitlyn was leaning heavily against her mom. Cassandra didn’t bother restraining herself, she clucked her tongue and moved forward, carefully, to ensure that Caitlyn didn’t feel any pain. She waited a moment, turning to Felicia, who waved her hand for her to proceed. Vi and Caitlyn both choked down laughs; Cassandra looked as though she had swallowed a lemon at being addressed like staff. She let it go for the moment and returned to the task at hand, teaching Vi and Caitlyn how to hold babies. She paused for a moment. Though the three had been born mere hours earlier, they had the thinnest whisps of hair. Each one of them had a different color: blue, red, and gold. Before picking up one, Cassandra gestured for Vi and Caitlyn to come closer.

                  Then she picked up the golden haired one. She showed the girls how to pick up and hold the infant and then gestured for them to the same. Caitlyn moved forward with confidence, while Vi proceeded with greater caution. Caitlyn chose the infant with blueish looking hair, leaving Vi with the reddish color hair. Caitlyn ran her hands over the blue-haired baby’s arms, figuring that the infant would be easier to pick up. The infant did not seem to like this as she started wiggling around. Caitlyn quickly withdrew her hands, looking at her mother, scared and disappointed. Cassandra sighed, “Caitlyn, give me your hands.” Her daughter came forward, hands outstretched. One touch was sufficient, “Caitlyn, warm your hands then try again.” Caitlyn blinked surprised then prepared to try again. Cassandra turned to Vi, who was currently poking her red-haired sister’s cheek. Cassandra huffed a laugh at the sight. “Vi, you are supposed to be learning to pick her up.” Vi looked up a slight smile on her face. But she moved to do as she was supposed to. She carefully picked up the infant, just as Cassandra had demonstrated. She turned to Cassandra who nodded in approval. By this time, Caitlyn had managed to pick up her charge.

                  All three came to Felicia’s bed with the infants. Felicia was at this point was very, very close to falling asleep. But there was still one more task to complete. She turned to her own daughter, “Vi, help sit up.” Vi immediately moved forward, then blinked as she realized that she was still holding her sister. “Giver her to me, Violet,” Cassandra said, solving her predicament. Vi carefully transferred her sister then helped her mother to sit up. Well, at least lie so that she could more easily see her audience. She opened her arms, “Caitlyn, my dear.” Caitlyn stepped over and carefully passed the infant. “Powder.” Cassandra moved forward and, with Caitlyn’s help, passed the redhead. “Jane,” Lee, said. Then she turned to the last infant. Somehow, she managed to hold all three. She turned to her golden-hair child and looked up at Cassandra, “Cassia.” Lee held her babies’ close and adjusted her hold, so she had a free hand. Vi took hold and they all sat in silence, the overwhelming the events of the past several days. After their first feeding, Felicia eventually fell asleep, holding her babies close. Her hold on Vi’s hand slackened slightly, but she would definitely wake up if Vi tried to move. Cassandra and Caitlyn grabbed some chairs and sat themselves down. Caitlyn carefully dragged two chairs over. Vi carefully sat in the offered chair, doing her best not to jostle her mother. Caitlyn put her chair next to Vi and immediately put her arm around her – girlfriend? – neither girl knew the exact nature of their relationship, it was way too soon to put a label. Truthfully, Caitlyn wasn’t sure that her own mother would allow it.

                  Vi had her own thoughts on their situation. She liked Caitlyn, but she recognized that her mom not be happy with her having a girlfriend so soon. For Vi, that was who Caitlyn was and truthfully, so long as Caitlyn would be with her, she really didn’t care about what other people had to say. She leaned into Caitlyn’s side and absolutely loved how her face fit in Caitlyn’s neck. Caitlyn’s hand reached up and started to gently run through Vi’s hair. Vi let out a content sigh. Both girls leaned into each other, eyes fluttering shut as the exhaustion born of the last few days came to envelop them once again. Cassandra watched the girls opposite her, with a slight smile on her face. She looked down at her best friend and her babies. The smile only grew wider, though now it carried some sadness. She thought back to the decisions that had been that had led up to all of this.

                  Cassandra had met Felicia many, many years ago. Technically speaking, Felicia’s origins did not lie in the Undercity. She was actually a resident of middling Piltover. Her family had been prospering and had been gaining recognition among Piltover high society. Enough so that the Kiramman household had taken notice. That was how Cassandra had met Felicia. The two had met at one of the galas that the Kiramman’s host yearly. And to say that they had hit it off was in an understatement. The two were inseparable, they had always been seen together and had been the talk of Piltover high society. They remained friends well into their late teens, but that is when a rift started forming between them. Felicia had always shown concern for the residents of the Undercity and sought to help them. Cassandra, to her shame, had fallen onto the path that her parents had set for her: harvesting wealth of the lives of those who had no means to resist. Despite the chasm that was forming between Cassandra and Felicia, the two remained in touch. Even after Felicia’s shocking decision to marry an Undercity miner and leave Piltover. They had, briefly, fallen out of touch for a short period, But the reason for that became apparent when the council had deemed it Cassandra’s turn to inspect Stillwater prison. She had been shocked to find her best friend there. What was worse was the condition that she had been in. Cassandra shook her head, concentrating on pushing the memories from her mind. She looked over at Felicia, at her babies, and at the girls. This wasn’t the time. Cassandra adjusted her chair carefully so that she was sitting beside her friend. She carefully snaked her arm Felicia’s shoulders and leaned her head in close. In that moment, Cassandra made her vow; this will never happen again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

                  The first to wake the next morning was Felicia, the discomfort from being under the weight of so many people overwhelming her need to sleep. She turned to the side surprised to see Cassandra resting against her. She found herself snuggling closer to her friend, regretting all the time that had been lost between them. But she was here now and so was her daughter. She had her best friend back and now was there chance to do all they could to improve life in the Undercity. Right now, though, she had a different problem that needed to be solved. She needed the bathroom quite badly and she was buried under Cassandra, her babies and Vi was still holding her hand. She looked over at her now eldest daughter, happy to see that she was getting along with her best friend’s only child. Though, looking at them now, she wondered if there was something more going on between them. She smiled, thinking how wonderful it would be if they were able to get together. Her discomfort drew her out of her thoughts, She gently shifted against Cassandra, turning her head, she whispered, “Cassie, hey Cassie!” Cassandra shifted at that, nuzzling closer. Despite enjoying having her friend so close, Lee really needed to go, “Cassie, wake up.” Cassandra finally pulled herself up and looked at Lee in concern, “Lee, what is it? What’s wrong?” “I really have to go and I’m a little…” Felicia’s voice trailed off as she gestured to her infants. “Oh, of course,” with that Cassandra got up. She first moved to Vi and Caitlyn, who were still very much wrapped up in each other. She gently woke both girls and then whispered into their ears. Felicia, now busy with her infants, did not catch what was said. Vi and Caitlyn both got up and grabbed an infant each, Vi took Powder this time and Caitlyn took Jane. They handed the two to Cassandra, and then Caitlyn took Cassia. Vi moved closer to her mom’s side and helped her to sit up and swing her legs around off the bed. Cassandra moved forward before Vi could help Felicia up, “What do you think you’re doing?” She barely managed to keep from shouting at the pair, who were now staring at Cassandra with questioning eyes. Cassandra took a breath. She had forgotten just how harebrained the woman who was somehow her best friend could be and her – eldest – daughter seemed to be no different. “Vi,” she said with as much patience as she could muster, “get her wheelchair.” Vi blinked, “Oh, yeah,” she muttered as she went around the bed to grab it.

                  While Vi helped her mom in the bathroom, Cassandra and Caitlyn watched the infants. Caitlyn had never had much of a chance to interact with young children, let alone newborn infants. So, she watched as her mother easily walked around with the two infants, Powder, and Jane. She watched as her mother gently rocked and bounced the infants. She started to copy what her mother was doing and once more was lost in wonder at her. Caitlyn had always felt that her mother was cold and aloof, but that wasn’t all that she was, her mother could be just so kind and gentle. She truly hoped that this wouldn’t change once the triplets got older.

                  As it was Caitlyn couldn’t help herself, “Are you actually my mother?” Cassandra turned and could not have failed to notice the grin on her daughter’s face if she had tried. She sighed, continuing to gently rock Powder and Jane, “Caitlyn, my dear, I realize that I have always been strict with you, perhaps more so than I should have been. But that is the price of the Kiramman name. Yes, I am your mother and yes, I do love you very much. I know that it might not always seem that way. My own behavior combined with my dedication to my work has made things… difficult between us. But – “. Before she could say anymore Caitlyn came forward and took up the space between the two infants. Caitlyn moved back quickly though. Before any of the infants were woken up. Unfortunately for them Vi and Lee had returned right then, and they had the biggest smirks. Both Piltovan mother and daughter could only glare. Fortunately, the triplets woke up at that moment and started crying out for their mom. Vi quickly pushed her mom’s wheelchair forward.

                  Caitlyn leaned over to hand Cassia over, but Cassandra placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “I need to speak to Tobias and prepare for the next meeting. You both shall be assisting the nurses in attending to Felicia and the infants. Violet, do not cause your mother any stress!” She gave them both one last sharp look, handed Powder and Jane to Felica and Vi before turning to take her leave.

                  Cassandra found Tobias lurking in the corner, gazing at the newborns and his daughter holding them with such jealousy that she couldn’t stop the undignified snort that escaped her. Tobias jumped at the sound and turned to her slightly incredulous. Cassandra’s glare stopped him from saying anything, instead she gently suggested “Perhaps you should check on Felicia and the girls?” Tobias nodded, “Yes. Yes, I think that I shall.” Before he could, Cassandra stopped him, “I am going to meet the council. I suspect that you and Caitlyn might be asked to attend to present evidence…” She glanced behind her and smiled slightly as Caitlyn did her best to help Felicia and keep Vi calm. Tobias gently voiced her thoughts, “You don’t want us there, do you?” Cassandra’s face fell as she turned back to her husband, “No, I don’t. But I doubt that I will have much choice.” She hesitated for a moment, “What I fear most is that they will block your testimonies… Shoola has always been sympathetic to the Undercity. Her support I can count on, but the others… Heimerdinger might be more sympathetic, but his immortality has always worked against us…”

                  Tobias gently pulled his wife’s hands into his own to stop her musing. She looked him in the eyes, and he leaned forward and kissed her softly, before whispering, “We will be there when you call for us.” Cassandra squeezed his hands tightly and pressed her forehead to his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around and just held her for a moment. After a moment, Cassandra pulled back a bit and Tobias let her. She kissed him this time and pressed her head to his shoulder, muttering, “I should get going.” She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek, “If I call for you –” “We will come,” Tobias answered. Cassandra nodded and took her leave.

                  With his wife off to the council meeting, Tobias turned his attention back to what had him so jealous earlier. Though, he decided that it might be better to wait a moment as Felicia was currently feeding the infants. Once he heard the babies being burped, he made his way over. Felicia greeted him first, “Hey Toby! Here for my weekly checkup?” Tobias smiled, nodding, “Of course, my dear! I can also check on the infants if you like as well.” Felicia gave him a little side eye, “Now Toby, just cause you’re the only doctor that I trust Topside, doesn’t mean that you need to sweet talk your way into holding one of my babies. You can just ask!” Tobias blushed slightly at being caught. He cleared his throat and attempted to deny the fact, but he floundered when Felicia raised an eyebrow – far too reminiscent of Cassandra – stuttering, “M-may I hold –” “Of course! Felicia said before he could finish, “Maybe check on them first too? I can wait.”

                  Tobias smiled and said, “Of course!” But he didn’t miss the insinuation. He made no comment. This was undoubtedly extremely uncomfortable for Felicia to have to trust strangers with her health but at least she trusted him, and he intended to make the process as pain-free as possible. Before taking an infant, he went over to one of the cabinets and pulled out some empty notebooks – he had no doubt that the medical personal that Cassandra had arranged for had records of everything, but after what he had been through, he no longer trusted Topsiders to show any sort of benevolence to the people from below. He started with the child that Caitlyn was holding – Cassia – and quickly wrote down his own observations. He went to Vi next – she was holding Powder – and then to Felicia and Jane. Once he was done with the infants, he turned to their mother. With her permission, he held Jane while checking for any residual bleeding, took her vitals, asked about any irregularities in her bodily processes and finished by getting a general sense of where Felicia was at mentally.

                  Neither Felicia nor Vi had enjoyed the interrogation, but it was over with quickly, and Tobias – sensing the discomfort – made himself scarce by going over to the other end of the medical wing to check on Vander and the boys. Once he was gone, Felicia immediately turned to Vi and Caitlyn and demanded her babies back. Both girls were a little alarmed, but Tobias’s shouted explanation reassured them, “Don’t worry! She’ll just be feeling a little protective for a while!” Caitlyn immediately handed over Cassie. Vi was a little slower to hand over Powder – Felicia didn’t seem to mind her own daughter holding the infant but her remembering Vi’s lack of experience overrode the new knowledge that Vi had been taking care of a baby during her absence. Still, Vi gave Powder back without too much protest and went over to stand with Caitlyn while her mom cuddled the babies.

                  Caitlyn had noticed Vi’s earlier upset and couldn’t resist ribbing her, “You jealous of your little sisters already?” Her satisfaction at Vi’s sputtering covered up her own dissatisfaction at having to give Cassia back and she decided that flustering Vi made her feel so much better that she leaned into the pink-haired girl’s space to whisper, “I can cuddle you if it will make you feel better…” Caitlyn smirk was downright devious as Vi’s blush went all the way to her ears. “Y-you – ugh!” Vi’s incomprehensible protests only increased the satisfaction, and her pout made her look so cute that Caitlyn wrapped an arm around and pulled her in close, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. Vi’s blush managed to deepen, and she stiffened horribly at the sudden embrace. So still she became that Caitlyn started to wonder if she had pushed too far. Before she could take any of it back, Vi’s mother called out, “Caitlyn! Stop bullying my daughter! There’s only so much affection that she can handle before you break her brain!”

                  Caitlyn snorted at the comment and Vi decided she had enough. She huffed and pulled away from Caitlyn’s embrace, pouting at nothing. That got a chuckle out of the young Kiramman heiress. And it unfortunately served as fuel for the fire burning at Vi’s expense as Caitlyn started again, “Aaaawwww, its ok, sweetheart! I don’t mind cuddling with you if you want.” To emphasis that point, she went to an empty bed near Felicia and the babies and patted it, “Come here, Vi!” Vi turned at being called but she only growled a bit before stomping off to check on Vander and the others herself. Caitlyn nearly panicked at the abrupt departure, when Felicia started laughing softly. Caitlyn turned to her immediately apologetic, but the woman waved it away. “It’s ok, Cait! Vi will be fine. I’m sure once she’s had a chance to cool off a bit she’ll be back in your arms.” Caitlyn reddened at that, but Felicia wasn’t done. In fact, she had a little fear that she needed to instill into the young heiress, “And maybe slow down a bit? You both are pretty young to be dating. Oh, and if you ever hurt my daughter, I’ll make sure you never see the sun again.” Caitlyn gulped harshly at that, and Felicia laughed, “Kidding! But seriously: do not hurt my daughter!” Caitlyn immediately swore to never do so, and Vi’s mom nodded acceptance at the promise. Vi returned not long after that little exchange, slightly confused by the sudden tension between her mom and Caitlyn.

                  Cassandra’s patience was wearing thin, so far, they had discussed the trade impacts from the “riots”, the impact on each councilors’ business, the loss of profits and standing with their international partners. Hours of discussion and still nothing on why the riots happened. Nothing on why the Enforcers – that her family armed! – had opened fire on the crowd! ‘The Enforcers have yet to report in!’ Cassandra raged. It was when Heimerdinger – she had been so certain that he would bring them up – started discussing the threat of potential shortfalls in the Academy that she finally had enough. She slammed her hands on the table and stood up, “Are we really not going to discuss this?!”

                  The other councilors had the nerved to look at her with confusion. Most of them anyway. Shoola looked slightly ill and Mel Medarda, the youngest addition and whose appointment had been part of Salo and Bolbak’s proposition to consol Noxus, - her face was the well-practiced mask that it always was. Heimerdinger spoke for the rest, “I apologize for putting it off till now Councilor Kiramman. I was waiting for Sheriff Willis to report to us, but it seems that we –” “Why does this even need to be discussed?” Hoskel demanded, “It was just a bunch of worthless criminals acting out! Sending the Enforcers to clear them took care of the problem! Trade is resuming and we need to work on reassuring our partners!”

                  Salo expressed his support for that sentiment as he added, “Securing our partnerships should take precedence, while Noxus might have been appeased for now,” he was not the least bit subtle as he referred to Councilor Medarda, “there are more threats out there. We need to show strength, and the simplest solution is to flood the Undercity with Enforcers and to root out the malcontents.” Cassandra was ready to explode but Shoola was quick with her protests, “Flooding the Undercity with Enforcers would be a mistake. We are not dealing with enemy combatants. They are civilians and while they may not be your most favored constituents, they are still out people. We should pull back our forces and have them secure checkpoints instead.” Medarda voiced agreement, “I am of the same mind. From what little we do know; the rioters have suffered a great many casualties. Sending more Enforcers would cause more problems and would leave us vulnerable.”

                  Salo looked slightly put out when he realized that he had overcommitted, but Councilor Kiramman was concerned with more than a bruised ego, “That is all well and good, but what of the casualties that the Undercity suffered? Have we truly known concern for them? Or why they would take such action? My sources informed that they were armed with rusting mining tools at best! Our Enforcers are manned with the best equipment that my artificers produce. Does anyone have any explanation for the violence?!” Heimerdinger quickly interjected, “Those questions cannot be answered until the Sheriff is able to give them. If he cannot report by the end of this session than he shall do so in the next.” It seemed Cassandra’s earlier fears about Heimerdinger’s immortality were founded as the council immediately moved on to the earlier topic: the Academy’s funding.

                  Vander woke up with a groan. To a brightly lit room and a comfortable bed. That immediately got his attention. This wasn’t right! Where in all hells was he?! Turning his head took more effort than he remembered. Looking around didn’t help; nothing was familiar, and his neck started aching even more. He blinked when he saw a man with a bandana covering his face, standing over – he had moved without thinking and was now holding the man – his hair was blue in the light – high in the air by his neck. The man clawed at his arm, choking out, “V-Vander! Stop!” Vander’s fingers only tightened as he glared up at the man who was messing around with his boys. Suddenly, the world started spinning and Vander let go. He collapsed, hitting a bed and some other fixtures before hitting the ground, out cold.

                  Tobias gasped and rubbed his neck, making a note to have Vander shackled down. Even if that would probably get him in the man’s bad books. He turned to find a nurse staring at him in shock. He gestured for her to come forward. The nurse immediately rushed forward and helped him up. Tobias took another moment to catch his breathe before turning to the nurse, “We will need help to get him back on the bed and though I loath to say it, it is probably better to have the guards do it so they can restrain him properly. We can’t have him attacking the medical personal.” The nurse nodded affirmative and checked the boys quickly before leaving to get the guards.

                  Tobias watched as she stepped around Vi. He was a little surprised to see her pouting and a little put out, but he still made sure to keep the girl from getting too close. He left the bandana on to emphasis the point, “I am sorry Violet but until the assessments are done, you should not go near them.” Vi seemed even more put off by that but she didn’t try to force her way forward. Tobias was relieved that Vi did not share Vander’s temper but then she has only been with him for a short while. He also decided to address the mammoth in the room when he asked, “What’s wrong?” Vi seemed reluctant to answer as she muttered something incomprehensible. “Didn’t quite catch that!” was Tobias’s annoyingly cheerful reply. Vi glared at him before just saying it, “Your daughter and my mom are ganging up on me!”

                  Tobias…… had to work really very hard to keep a straight face. Most unfortunately, Vi caught on as she landed a well aim punch at Tobias’s elbow making his arm numb. He shook his arm a bit to get the feeling back and asked, “And it bothers you?” Vi took a moment to answer, shrugging, “I don’t know…” Tobias waited patiently for her to continue, and she whispered, “I don’t like feeling dumb. I am good at working with my hands but I’m not great with words. Not the fancy way that they are.” Tobias was slightly confused about what she meant but he made sure to make a note to let Felicia know. And Caitlyn. He suddenly remembered that he still had to lecture Caitlyn about the particularly cruel comments that she had made to some of classmates at the Academy when they had drawn her ire. Right now, though, the girl at his side was clearly in need of some sage advice.

                  “Are you certain that they had intended to make you feel that way?” he asked gently. Vi immediately shook her head, “No, probably not. I’m probably just tired...” Vi looked away a little guiltily, “I should probably go back. Cait probably thinks I’m really mad at her.” Tobias hummed at that before adding, “My daughter has been known to occasionally be… sharp with her words. But she doesn’t always mean what she says. I suppose some of that was our fault, she is the daughter of a wealthy politician – some things can’t help. Just try to remember, that she likes you and means well.” Vi reddened but she nodded and made her way back. Tobias turned his attention to the guards and orderlies that had arrived to assist with Vander.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

                  The next time Vander awoke, he found himself strapped down to the bed. He growled and pulled on the straps with what little strength he had. He tugged and stretched trying to figure how to get free. A familiar voice called out, “You planning on fighting the restraints the whole time?” Vander tried to turn to see Vi, but they had even restrained his head. He snarled in frustration and Vi couldn’t help the laugh that she let out, “You know, it’s your own damn fault that they tied you down. You should relax since that’s all they did. You’re lucky Mama Kiramman wasn’t here or you’d probably on your way to Stillwater for trying to choke out her husband."

                  Vander went still, “What did you just say?” Vi wasn’t in the mood to repeat herself, “You heard me.” Another voice interrupted Vander’s reprimand, “Vi! Don’t be rude!” She shot back immediately, “What? It’s true! If he didn’t freak out like he always does, they wouldn’t have –” ‘Always?’ Vander thought to himself, ‘What the hell? I don’t –’ “Cait, come on! Believe me when I say that this is the last guy that you should even pretend to be nice to –” The other voice – Cait – wasn’t having it, “He’s still the man who took you i –” “He’s the asshole who led the march on the bridge, Cait! He’s the reason my dad’s dead and why my mom is here!” Vi shouted back, the resentment coming back unrestrained. Vi had thought that she was over this. She told the others that she had let this go but now… Maybe it was just because Caitlyn was defending him or maybe it was because the old man decided to let out the monster just now. Either way, Vi was no longer feeling so forgiving. Especially with all the slack that she, Claggor and Mylo had to pick up when he fell ill. It was made worse when she remembered that all their hard work was for nothing! They had surely lost The Last Drop by now. ‘Hopefully Sevika’s gang grabbed it,” Vi thought to herself despairingly.

                  Vander squeezed his eyes shut before opening them. He had never meant to put such a burden on – wait…? What did Vi just say? Her mom was… “What do you mean your mom’s here? Is Felicia here?!” Now Vander couldn’t see little Violet, but he definitely felt the eyeroll that was sent his way. He heard a smacking noise and Violet’s protesting, “Hey!” The other posh, Piltovian voice – Cait – seemed slightly closer but still a ways away, “I’m sorry about her behavior, Mr. Vander. I’ll bring Violet back when she learns to speak more respectfully.” Vander nearly chuckled at being addressed so, but Caitlyn wasn’t done. Not with Vi anyway as he heard both of their retreating steps while they argued. If he had been sitting up, Vander’s head would have fallen in resignation. As it was… All he could do was stare up at the ceiling and continue to try and get free.

                  Vi stomped away in a huff with Caitlyn close on her heels. The Kiramman heiress was furious with Vi’s behavior! It was rude and unbecoming and so, so disrespectful! “Vi!” Caitlyn called after her. But Vi didn’t stop. Caitlyn needed to speak to her before she could escape. She reached out to grab her hand and blinked when she found herself staring up at the ceiling. She felt something trickle down her face and when she raised a hand to touch it, her fingers came away red. Suddenly Vi was standing over her, panicking, “Oh, gods! Oh, gods! I’m so sorry, Caitlyn!” Caitlyn wasn’t listening, she was too busy examining her blood. It… fascinated her. So many of the so-called “lower” people – and even those of her tier – lived under the illusion that their blood alone was something special. She examined the red on her hand, while Vi continued to panic and tried to stop the bleeding while trying to keep the blood from staining Caitlyn’s clothes.

                  Tobias came ‘round the corner, intending to check on Vander and the boys – he blinked. Caitlyn was sitting on one of the beds sporting a bloody nose. Vi was trying her best to clean her up and stem the bleeding while his daughter just stared at her hands in naked fascination. His daughter’s behavior was much too strange for him, so he went up to both girls and asked, “What is going on here?” Vi jumped a mile and turned to look at him in fear while Caitlyn just stared at the blood on her hand. Vi just opened her mouth to speak “I –” when Caitlyn said something that had them both staring at her. She put her hand out and said, “Look.” Vi and Tobias exchanged concerned looks. Caitlyn continued before either could ask, “Our nobles all insist that our blood is something special.” Vi moved forward to try and clean her up some more and completely missed the scissors in Caitlyn’s hand. “Vi!” Tobias shouted too late. Vi jerked back but Caitlyn still managed to cut her lip.

                  Tobias snatched the scissors out of Caitlyn’s hand, but she had already got what she wanted, muttering, “Come here, Violet.” Vi hesitated as she felt her bleeding lip but… Well. Fair is fair. She did punch Caitlyn in the nose… Vi stepped forward and Caitlyn used her clean hand to touch the bleeding lip. Tobias and Vi stared at her as she swiped the blood and held it up to compare, muttering, “No difference. And yet those Enforcers would say that this is dirty blood…” she held up the hand with Vi’s… “And that this…” she held up the other hand. The one that had her own blood… “that this is somehow better…” She scoffed, “Piltovian blood…” She turned back to Vi and pressed the hand that had her own blood to the cut she made on Vi’s lip. Vi flinched at the metallic taste but did not move otherwise. Tobias thought he was going to be sick. Caitlyn’s expression darkened a bit, “We’ll show them, won’t we Violet?” Vi trembled with fear, deeply regretting punching this girl.

                  Tobias had had enough. He reached over to take Caitlyn’s hand away from Violet’s face and turned to the Undercity girl, “Could I trouble you for some wet rags?” Violet nodded and took off at top speed. Caitlyn blinked at her sudden absence and turned to her father; the darkness gone. As abruptly as it had appeared… Tobias decided that he would rather let Cassandra and Felicia deal with whatever that was. Instead, he asked, “What happened?” Caitlyn looked away, feeling guilty, and mumbled, “I might’ve pushed Vi too hard when she was being rude to Vander.” Tobias blinked, not expecting that, “And this led to…?” He gestured to her bleeding nose. Caitlyn nodded. She chanced a glance at her father and was surprised to see that he seemed to be deep in thought. But she still had to add, “Please don’t punish Vi! It was my fault. I shouldn’t have tried to discipline her over something that I can’t even hope to understand.” Tobias blinked again, “Discipline…?”

                  Vi returned before he could ask Caitlyn to elaborate and proceeded to wipe away the drying blood. Tobias used the opportunity to examine her nose. “Not broken!” he declared after a moment. Vi breathed a sigh of relief as she continued to clean up Caitlyn. Tobias issued instructions to Caitlyn, “Sit up, lean forward and pinch it here,” he gently guided his daughter’s fingers and then turned to Vi, “Violet, could I trouble you to watch Caitlyn while I go call the medics to check on Vander and the boys?” Vi nodded and Tobias was about to leave when he caught the Undercity girl swipe at her cut lip with her tongue. He picked up a rag that Vi hadn’t used yet, wet it slightly and pressed it to Vi’s lip.

                  It was then that he had the most amusing idea: he turned to his daughter, “Caitlyn, keep this pressed to Vi’s lip – that you cut! – Violet make sure that Caitlyn does not let up on pinching her nose.” Both girls were a bright red as they nodded and followed his instruction. While he reveled in embarrassing them both, he hoped that the girls would use this time to apologize to one another. Now he had to go to his other job. Tobias picked up a rifle - loaded with tranquilizers - that he had set down when the girls had distracted him and set off to retrieve the medical staff so that they could attend to the man who had tried to strangle him earlier. The rifle might be overkill but that nurse from earlier no doubt made sure that everyone knew what Vander had tried to do. If he didn’t offer some kind of protection – oaths be damned! – the staff would be too scared to attend to him. He greeted guards he had allocated for the task earlier and together they went to retrieve the staff.

                  Vander stared up at the ceiling, confused and miserable. None of this was making any sense! What the hell were they doing Topside? If that was even where they were! They could be under miles underground for all he knew! And then there was Violet… Vander felt incredibly stupid: of course, Vi hadn’t forgiven him! He was the reason that she was an orphan now! Worse! He had robbed her of her sister! He felt bile rise up as he recalled just how many fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and more had been at the protests…

                  “Vander…”

                  A tiny voice broke him out of his reverie. “Mylo?” Vander called out. The old wolf felt his heart clench as he heard sniffles and weak coughs – more than one! “Claggor?!” Claggor’s voice was a little stronger as he mumbled a barely audible, “Hi…!”

                  Now Vander’s next set of thoughts will be hard to stomach, even for a revolutionary of his caliber, but… ‘Did Violet sell us out for a chance at getting Felicia back?!’ The thought saddened him. He felt sick for even thinking it, but he was basically a bound prisoner! He was confused. He didn’t know what was going and he was so over it! So, it was most unfortunate when the next person that he bared his fangs at was Tobias Kiramman. Now Vander wasn’t a bashful man, but… He settled for groaning as he finally recognized him! This was the Topsider who used to come down to the Undercity to try and “help”. Vander barely restrained his scoff as he thought, ‘The idiot got robbed every time!’

                  The idiot in question was currently checking Vander’s restraints, making sure that the Hound could not move an inch. With that done, Kiramman turned to assure the others – Vander struggled to gauge how many people were here – a quartet of new faces popped into view. Two of them were clearly guards based on their uniforms, the other two were a complete mystery. They were wearing white coats, and their faces were wrapped and – “What the fuck are you doing?!” Vander snarled, “Get your fucking hands off me!” The white coats snatched back their hands, and the guards moved closer, hands tight on their weapons, checking the restraints.

                  After assuring the medics that Vander couldn’t move, they cautiously got back to work. Further away, Tobias kept an eye on them while checking on the boys. Mylo was still quite delirious. Despite being only eight years ago he was alternating between speaking nonsense and flirting with the nurses. Tobias struggled to restrain his laughter – some of the things that boy was saying was truly outrageous! The other boy was much more coherent, but he was also much shyer and quieter. The nurse attending him was thankfully perceptive and was gentle when asking questions and careful of her touches.

                  Tobias turned back to Vander and – “Oh, shit,” he gasped and raised his rifle and shot a tranquilizer into Vander’s side. They gave him a minute to conk out. Tobias came over, rifle still trained on the man just in case. He turned to the guards, “What happened?” The older guard, Olrick, held up one of the straps and answered, “He’s been working on the restraints this whole time. I’ll give him this, the bastard’s tenacious.” Tobias nodded, “Keep a close eye on him…” His voice trailed off before turning back to the senior guard, “Perhaps it would be best to find guards with medical knowledge and have them work under the instruction of the medical staff.” Olrick nodded agreement, “That would be best.” Before Tobias could turn away, he added, “And sir?” Tobias turned back slightly, “I will be informing Madam Kiramman about what happened. Before and now.” Tobias turned away. There was nothing to say.

                  He checked in with the nurses who had just finished up with the boys and then made his way back to Felicia to let her know about everything that’s happened. He checked on Caitlyn and Vi on the way back and decided to leave them both with Vi’s mother. He left quickly after telling her what happened having no desire to deal with the fall out of his daughter’s actions.

                  After Tobias fled, Felicia turned to the girls. She raised a hand and beckoned Vi over. Vi glanced at Caitlyn, who was avoiding her eyes, before going over. Felicia raised a hand and touched Vi’s lip, “This is going to scar.” She hummed as she ran her thumb over and through the split. She checked it carefully and when she examined her thumb, it came a with the slightest bit of blood. Felicia turned back to her daughter, “Get another rag and keep it pressed to your lip until the bleeding stops completely.” Vi nodded and did as she was told. When she left, Felicia turned to Caitlyn.

                  She beckoned her forward the same way she did Vi. Caitlyn was bracing for the reprimand of all reprimands, so it came as quite the shock when Vi’s mother started examining her nose and the area around her left eye. “You’ll have a pretty nasty bruise around here in a few hours, but we should be able to reduce the swelling with a hot pad.” She placed her fingers under Caitlyn’s nose and, when she was satisfied there was no bleeding, she sent Caitlyn off to get a heating pad for her nose and her eye.

                  “Vi!” Felicia called. Caitlyn jumped slightly and glared at Vi when she stepped around the corner just as she went by. Vi shrugged at her sheepishly while going past. Caitlyn rolled her eyes and went over to a cabinet to get a hot pad. Felicia waited for both of them to return before she got started.

                  “Now,” the Undercity revolutionary leader beckoned them forward. The girls came forward cautiously. An utterly pointless precaution as Felicia whipped forward to grab both girls’ ears and demand, “What the hell were the two of you thinking?!” Both girls cried out, “Ow, ow, ow!”

                  Vi made the mistake of grabbing her mother hands, making Felicia tighten her grip. Caitlyn simply closed her eyes and pressed the heat pad harder to her face. She chanced a glance at Vi and saw that there was no way that she was going to answer with how much Felicia was crushing her ear. Caitlyn started the confession, “It was my fault. I pushed Vi too hard and that made her lash out.” Felicia tightened her grip on Caitlyn’s ear for a second making the Kiramman heiress wince before turning to Vi, “Is that true?” If her ear wasn’t being held so tightly, Vi would have nodded. As it was, she answered, “Mostly…” At her Mom’s raised eyebrow, Vi quickly explained, “Caitlyn just… wouldn’t stop. And I…”

                  Felicia sighed and let them both go. Exhaustion overcame her and she leaned back into the pillows. She turned back to the girls; she gestured to them, inviting them to sit on either side. Caitlyn and Vi exchanged looks. Vi went forward first and snuggled into her Mom’s right side. Caitlyn remained where she was, unsure. Felicia gave her a look and Caitlyn carefully scrambled onto the bed and sat next to Felicia. The woman in question rolled her eyes and forced herself to rise just enough so that she could pull Caitlyn into her left side.

                  Caitlyn gasped slightly and dropped her heat pad onto her stomach. Felicia picked it up for her and held it out. Caitlyn mumbled a soft, “Thank you…” While the older woman muttered, “What am I going to do with the pair of you?!” Vi simply cuddled into her mother’s side while Caitlyn remained slightly stiff, unused to such physical affection. It was quiet for a while with them all laying there comfortable and warm.

                  It came as a slight shock when Felicia spoke again, the girls were so comfortable and sleepy, “Loath as I am to admit it, Vi striking out because she’s overwhelmed is not a surprise. I will be making sure that this won’t happen again, but I need to know why you reacted the same way, Caitlyn. I am glad that you can defend yourself, but I am surprised that you were able to get Vi this good. So. Out with it. Why did you choose to draw blood as well?”

                  Caitlyn did not know how to answer this question, and she feared that if she answered truthfully that Felicia would no longer want Vi to have anything to do with her. ‘But Felicia is Mum’s best friend. Lying to her is not an option…’ With no choice but to answer truthfully, Caitlyn reluctantly explained that she had wanted to compare her blood. That she had been overcome with curiosity about what made her blood better than Vi’s. She told Felicia that she didn’t understand why people claimed some blood was better than others, “It looked the same to me.”

                  Felicia was silent for a while and Caitlyn waited in terror for her verdict. She was also worried about Vi’s reaction, but the Undercity girl was still cuddled into her mother’s side and her face was hidden. She nearly shook with fear when Felicia started laughing, “Oh you really are Cassy’s kid!” She gently squeezed Caitlyn, explaining, “Your mom was the same, Little Kiramman: she wouldn’t believe it till she could see it for herself.” Felicia thought for a moment before deciding, “You both can come up with your own apologies to each other later. I have a punishment for Vi, that should be sufficient. Caitlyn, your mother will decide on what to do in your case.”

                  Caitlyn nodded, resigned to her fate. Vi groaned and her mother shushed her. After a moment – where the girls contemplated their punishments – Felicia suggested, “Let’s try and get some sleep. Before the babies wake up again…” Caitlyn and Vi yawned agreement and they all hunkered down for the night.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

                  Cassandra was exhausted when she returned home. The council session had gone as well as expected. To make matters worse, the Sheriff hadn’t reported in yet, so they had no idea about the casualties. Out of sheer frustration, Cassandra had ordered her guards to accompany her to the bridge.

                  It was worse than she thought. A hundred – no! A thousand times worse! She watched as Enforcers so carefully moved their fellow officers’ bodies while they collected the bodies of the Undercity people and tossed them into a pile, without even trying to identify any of them! Then she saw why they were piling them up – she started running! Her guards shouted after her, while Cassandra ripped her throat out, screaming, “STOP! STOP!” But she was too late. The Enforcers tipped the bodies through a gap in the bridge.

                  The Enforcers who had done the deed looked shocked when they saw a councilor slam into the railing, screaming as she watched the bodies tumble into the river below. Cassandra was just about to turn and scream at the men who had done the deed when she caught sight of – she threw up over the side of the bridge. Her guards had finally reached her by then and were trying to attend to her when they caught sight of what their councilor was looking at. One of Cassandra’s guards joined her in vomiting over the side. Another outright fainted and was caught by the third. The third one stared down without much of a response. She set the passed-out guard gently against the barrier and turned to still sick guard and councilor.

                  She patted and rubbed both their backs until they were able to get their breathing under control, but it was a long time before they were able to look away. When Cassandra finally did, she made to charge the Enforcers, but her last guard immediately stopped her. She pushed against the guard snarling, “Step aside, Greyson! RIGHT NOW!” “And what – what are you going – stop it, ma’am! – what are you going to do?” Greyson demanded, “What can you do right –” “I am going to throw them over the side myself!” Cassandra screamed into her guard’s ear as she continued to push against her.

                  The Enforcers raised their weapons at the shouted threat. But Cassandra’s other two guards had regained their own faculties – one joined Greyson in holding the councilor back while the other stood between them and the Enforcers and raised his own weapon, “Stand down!” He shouted to the Enforcers. The guard turned to the others, “We have to –” Cassandra could only stare as her guard fell, the sound of multiple rifle shots echoing across the bridge. Cassandra screamed again as she managed to wrestle out of her guards’ hold and raced to her fallen guard. It was pointless. The man was dead before he had hit the ground. Her guards didn’t wait for her to process what had happened. Greyson grabbed her councilor’s now limp form and threw her over her shoulder and ran. The other guard grabbed the deceased guard and did the same. The Enforcers shouted after them to stop, but they couldn’t follow as Greyson and the other guard opened fire on them as they ran. They didn’t stop till they were back at the Manor, where Greyson activated the Kiramman Guard.

                  Felicia was enjoying breakfast with Caitlyn, Vi and her babies when Cassandra and the dead guard were carried in. Felicia immediately tried to get to her friend, but Vi held her down. Caitlyn rushed to her mother and climbed onto the bed to cling to her when the guard finally set her down. Cassandra glared up at the guard – Vi was impressed to see that the guard stood at attention without much fear. Felicia interrupted proceedings, pushing Vi to one side – gently – asking, “Cassy, what the hell happened?! And what’s wrong with your… other…?” Her voice trailed off, when she suddenly said, “Vi, Caitlyn? Can I trouble you to go and look for Tobias? Bring him here?”

                  Vi exchanged looks with Caitlyn, but they both left at an encouraging look from Felicia. She turned back to Cassandra and beckoned her over. The councilor glared at her guard again before dismissing them both and resigning herself to sitting with her friend and all her babies. Felicia immediately handed Cassia to Cassandra and got busy feeding Jane. Powder was still sleeping peacefully, which was a relief. ‘My nips ache…!’ Felicia thought to herself as she gazed lovingly down at her babies.

                  She turned to Cassandra, carefully reaching to place a hand on her thigh, “What happened?” Cassandra cuddled Cassia for a while and they both enjoyed the sounds of the baby cooing before she started explaining everything to Felicia: the Council’s near complete disinterest in why people were protesting, visiting the bridge… Her voice trailed off then and Felicia squeezed her thigh, urging her to continue.

                  Cassandra swallowed hard and nuzzled Cassia’s cheek a little to calm herself. Truly, there was nothing more soothing than having a baby in your arms. Cassia cooed in response and the two looked at each other for a bit before Cassandra made the baby comfortable on her lap and avoided Felicia’s eyes as she continued, “The Enforcers were collecting all the bodies from the Undercity – and – and,” her voice choked a bit as she forced out, “dumping them into the river.” Felicia’s hand slid of, and she picked Powder up to hold her close. Jane had finished and she carefully burped her while cuddling the still sleeping Powder. “And what happened to him?” she gestured to the guard, the question so quiet that Cassandra barely heard her.

                  Cassandra stared at her guard’s lifeless body. She was silent for so long that Felicia carefully shuffled over and leaned against her, startling her but getting her attention. Felicia was shocked by her answer, “Enforcers opened fire on us! Evidently, my threatening to throw them off the bridge was sufficient to justify excessive force! Though I imagine that they will use the excuses of being in a dangerous area, under dangerous conditions, while being under duress to justify their actions!” Despite the backhanded sarcasm, Felicia was compelled to ask for clarification, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that? Enforcers opened fire on a councilor?!”

                  “Hmm,” Cassandra replied, “Its certainly possible that they did not actually recog –” “Cassandra, sweetie,” Felicia interrupted, “as much as I love you and treasure our friendship if you try and defend the monsters who killed hundreds of my people – tried to kill you! – I will hurt you! And revoke baby access!” Cassandra had chuckled at the threat of bodily harm, but she looked stricken and floundered at the threat of no longer being able to cuddle these cuties! “I –” Cassandra began before clearing her throat, “Very well. I won’t offer any defense of their behavior.” Felicia nodded against her and resumed snuggling into her friend’s side.

                  Caitlyn and Vi soon returned with Tobias who had had the foresight to bring more medics with him. He went to his wife first, of course, but Cassandra waved him off. But not before she pulled him close to whisper, “Don’t let the girls get close. Send them off to do something – anything! – else!” Tobias nodded and pulled aside the girls and stepped out with them. When he returned, Felicia asked, “So? What are they doing?” “Hmm?” Tobias replied distracted, as he watched the medics move the body to a different, more appropriate room. “Tobias?” Cassandra and Felicia prompted at the same time. Tobias turned back to them unnerved and unamused, “Please don’t do that. You two already look too much like sisters. If you start speaking together, I might just flee!” He added jokingly.

                  Normally, the two would crack evil grins to frighten him further but this time they only glared, and Tobias found himself cowering as he hurried of to attend to their guard’s body. He needed to be identified, and his family needed to be informed. While Tobias was busy, Cassandra turned back to her friend and nearly jumped when she suddenly remembered that Felicia had just given birth and that she was caring for five children! “Felicia,” she said suddenly, making the woman leaning on her jump slightly – Cassandra cursed internally at her own impulsiveness – “I would like to apologize for leaving you alone for so long. Taking care of so many children must’ve been exhausting.” Felicia snorted and sarcastically replied, “Oh no it was easy! We all just slept pretty much the whole time you were gone. ‘Cept when my little gremlins woke us up for more food from my tits!” Cassandra carefully reached around to pinch her friend’s side. Felicia jumped a bit and looked at her friend reproachfully. Cassandra rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics and said, “Don’t be so crass in the presence of such innocent minds.”

                  Felicia was about to say something else raunchy and inappropriate when Cassandra leveled a glare that shut her up. They were about to discuss their next steps when Caitlyn and Vi returned, walking carefully as they were laden with dishes. Dishes that were piled high with a beautiful blend of Piltovian and Undercity cuisine. Cassandra barely restrained her laugh as she looked down. Felicia had shifted and she was practically drooling.

                  Caitlyn and Vi, luckily, were much too busy concentrating on getting the dishes to the nearby table to notice the drooling woman. They all sighed with relief when the dishes were finally laid out and Felicia pouted since she couldn't pounce on the spread with the babies in her arms.

                  “Caitlyn? Vi?” Cassandra got their attention, “Do you mind holding the babies for a moment?” She gestured to Felicia and both girls laughed when they say how the woman was staring at the food. They immediately took the babies from her – Caitlyn took Powder this time and Vi took Jane. When Cassandra and Felicia looked up, they did a bit of a double take and had a good chuckle at the sight. Both girls now had mini-me’s!

Felicia had started on her food with gusto when she exclaimed, with a mouth full of food, “Gods, you girls are adorable!” Cassandra slapped her arm, asking, “Do I really need to be concerned about your lack of manners when you now raising my daughter along side yours?” Caitlyn and Vi exchanged looks. They had initially been confused by the “adorable” comment but had caught on when they glanced at each other. At Cassandra’s comment neither could stop themselves from screeching, “What?!” Which, of course, set of the babies.

“Oh, no!” Caitlyn mumbled, as she immediately started rocking Powder gently to get her to quieten, but she kept screeching. Felicia sighed as she set down her food and gestured to Caitlyn, calling, “Give her here, love.” Caitlyn came over, looking guilty. “It’s alright,” Felicia assured her, “I fed Jane and Cassia earlier. It’s probably just her turn to be hungry.” The heiress carefully passed the baby over to her mother before grabbing a pastry from the spread and sitting down beside Vi and Jane. She broke the pastry in half and then offered a finger to distract Jane so that Vi could free one hand and eat. “Thanks,” she muttered as she munched on the pastry.

                  Tobias was once again forced to watch someone else do his job as the medical staff that he had commandeered for his family attended to the body of their guard. 'Ellias,' Tobias thought to himself, 'His name is Elias...' The autopsy was just a formality, everyone present could see the cause of death: the corpse was on its side; on the chest was the entry wound. On the back, was a gaping hole. While Tobias stared at the damage that a weapon he designed had done, the medical team finished cleaning and covering the body. Cassandra would arrange for the body’s burial, ‘After speaking to and letting his family see it – him…’ Tobias thought grimly. He took one last look at the guard’s face before taking his leave. He needed to check on his wife, but before that he went to the next room to check on the other two guards. And to thank them for protecting his wife.

                  When the guards caught sight of him, they immediately jumped to attention. Tobias frowned at them as he waved them down. And he sighed when they didn’t sit down till he did. He let it go. They had their jobs and understood their station. “I would like to begin by thanking you both for protecting my wife and for recovering Ellias.” He raised a hand to stop these objections, “I understand that you feel that you feel that you were simply doing your duty and feel that my thanks in unnecessary, but I do.” The guards exchanged looks, uncomfortable. They had served other households before settling in the Kiramman residence. It was not at all unusual for the Kirammans’ to go out of their way to thank their employees, but… it was just that the guards were not accustomed to receiving praise.

                  Thankfully, Tobias moved the conversation along. “Tell me what happened.” It was almost disheartening how the guards immediately relaxed as they explained how Cassandra, frustrated with the council’s complete lack of interest in the events on the bridges, went down to see things for herself. Tobias felt faint when they described what they saw and it was only towards the end of their discussion that they realized that the man was taking notes. Once that was done, he asked them both to review the notes. After the guards were satisfied with his work, Tobias thanked them again and took his leave. He had much to discuss with Cassandra and Felicia.

                  Cassandra and Felicia were both impatiently waiting for Tobias’s return. They agreed that neither Caitlyn nor Caitlyn needed to be here for this discussion and they sent them of on a pseudo date. Cassandra asked her own daughter to give Vi a tour of the manor and grounds. Under heavy guard, of course. The councilor never imagined that Enforcers could be so brazen! ‘Sheriff Willis and Councilors Heimerdinger, Salo, Bolbak have much to explain,’ Cassandra thought, the anger rushing back. Felicia bumped her shoulder then and asked one of the most hated questions in human history: “How are you feeling?” Now, normally when confronted with an inane question, Cassandra would give such a look of disdain that the fool would catch on. However, in her best friend’s case, more extreme measures were needed, “Oh, I am perfectly fine, of course, dear. How are you?” Felicia made face and after a moment they both chuckled lightly. They were both immediately distracted when the babies cried out, demanding more food.

                  It was cowardly, but Cassandra was relieved by the distraction. She had no idea what to tell her best friend. She had no idea that things were this bad – more than that! It didn’t make any sense! Unfortunately, Cassandra did not get much more time to think on the matter as Felicia regained her attention, “As funny as that was… You wanna tell me what’s on your mind?”

                  Honestly? Cassandra didn’t want to share her horrible, classists thoughts. But this was her best friend. She had a unique perspective after spending a life in both the Undercity and Piltover. Felicia bumped her friend’s shoulder again and gave and encouraging look when Cassandra turned to her.

                  The councilor sighed, there was no avoiding this. ‘Hopefully, I don’t lose my best friend over this…’ Cassandra thought nervously. “It –” she stuttered, “– It… It’s a horrible thought, but…” “But?” Felicia encouraged when Cassandra’s voice trailed off. The councilor swallowed and held the baby in her arms - Powder – closer before continuing, “I never imagined that things like this could happen in Piltover. I remember the letters we used to exchange. It was difficult to read about the abuses of power, but… With how often you mentioned it, I began investigating… Do you remember what I wrote to you?”

                  Felicia remained silent at the question, but Cassandra knew. How could either woman ever forget the letter that nearly ended their friendship?

                  “You wrote,” Felicia answered quietly, “That there was no substantial evidence that suggested such rampant abuse. And that I was accusing officers of considerable standing…! That I would be in danger of committing libel and accused of making false allegations of prominent, decorated officers…”

                  Cassandra did not fail to notice the anger and upset in Felicia’s voice. She cautiously took one of the fed babies – Jane – and handed over Powder. Cassia had fallen asleep, and Felicia decided to put her down in between herself and Cassandra to sleep. The woman took Powder and Cassandra used her moment of distraction to wrap an arm around her friend’s shoulders. The councilor nearly let out a sigh of relief when Felicia leaned into her side.

                  Tobias watched his wife and her friend from a hidden corner with a soft smile. That smile promptly vanished when one of the nurses, engrossed in his notes, bumped into Tobias with just enough force to send him stumbling into view. The sudden “Ooph!” he let out when the nurse reached out to steady him guaranteed that the women – there was no other way to say it! – he was spying on would be glaring at him. And lo and behold, they were! Tobias gulped harshly when met with the twin glares; he was again thrown by how much they looked like sisters!

                  When it became clear that neither of them would speak, he cleared his throat and held up his notes, “I was able to debrief the guards –” Felicia immediately reached for with a gimme motion, making Cassandra roll her eyes.

                  Tobias just managed to keep from smiling at the endearing woman as he hands her the notes. The earlier nervousness returned as she started reading. Never one to be left out Cassandra read over Felicia’s shoulder.

                  “This is very much in-line with what I can remember,” Cassandra muttered into Felicia’s ear. She cheekily muttered back to the Piltovian woman on her shoulder, “Greyson really gave you the full princess treatment, huh?” Cassandra chose not to say anything in reply, face the barest hint of pink.

                  Felicia set the notes aside and checked on her daughters – Tobias immediately turned around – and adjusted her clothes to regain her modesty. With Cassandra helping of course!

                  Felicia started the discussion after she was comfortable. “I assumed that it’s safe to say that there are currently no systems in place to address misconduct among – by – Enforcers?” Tobias, very subtly, raised a hand to cover his mouth. He hadn’t ever seen his wife out like that, nor has he ever heard her let out such a petulant, resentful, “No…” Felicia, having grown up with the councilor, smiled at the sight. It was nice to see Cassandra was able to let her guard down and it was a mark of their friendship mending. Felicia got comfortable, leaning into her friend’s side, as she said, “Well. In that case, let’s start drawing up some plans then!”

                  Caitlyn was enjoying her current role as tour guide. It was easy when the pretty girl she was escorting had a natural curiosity and asked good questions. Like when she asked why the family portrait was the first thing that people saw when they entered the manor. The heiress countered by asked, “Why do you think that we have it there?”

                  Vi hummed as she thought about for a minute, “Trencher logic says that you all just wanna show off…” It was uncharacteristic of her, but Caitlyn managed to keep from interrogating an answer out of Vi in favor of watching the Undercity girl think. Caitlyn was mesmerized by her unique grey-blue eyes… Or maybe it was the way she chewed on her lower lip and occasionally blew out a huff of air. She was so entranced she missed Vi’s answer and thoughtlessly replied, “Hmm? What was that, darling?”

                  Vi, who had not failed to notice the relentless scrutiny and had been slightly flushed as a result, had now turned crimson and started sputtering.

                  Caitlyn looked at her, confused for a moment. And became a matching red as her thoughts caught up to what had come out of her mouth. The heiress crashed through the next part of their conversation, “I – I’m sorry I didn’t –” Vi started waving her hands, trying to placate her, “N-no! It’s ok! I –” They were talking over each other for far longer than necessary and only really stopped when Caitlyn grabbed Vi’s hands to pull her closer. The sudden closeness shut Vi up promptly. Unfortunately, it also shut Caitlyn up and the two just sat there, staring at each other.

                  “Ahem!” The girls jumped and turned to see that the maids had returned with the refreshments that Caitlyn had asked for earlier. They had the biggest smiles on their faces as they set the drinks down. The older maid the asked, “We weren’t aware that you were courting anyone, Miss! How long has this been going on for?”

                  Caitlyn gapped and floundered at her, suddenly very much like a fish out of water, stuttering, “Wot?! I’m not – we only just met!” She chanced a glance at Vi, who had taken to hiding behind her drink. Caitlyn was starting to get upset at Vi’s obvious discomfort. Did she want to court Vi? Of course she did! But properly! Vi wasn’t even a teenager yet! She probably didn’t even understand stuff like courting yet anyway!

                  The older maid, Beatrice, was amused by the heiress’s obvious upset, but the younger one, Paulina, was starting to panic. The younger maid had only recently gained employment at the Kiramman household and didn’t want to lose her job just because she helped upset the heir to the clan. Beatrice decided to put everyone’s fears to rest, “It’s alright, young Kiramman! Here!” she shoved a drink into her hands, whispering, “You’re doing just fine dear! Just remember that she might not understand everything yet.” There was a slight pause where Beatrice leaned a little closer to whisper, “Although… she is from the Undercity, and I suspect that she understands more than she’s letting on.” With those parting words, Beatrice winked, gathered up a slightly faint Paulina and made her exit.

                  Caitlyn… considered her maid’s parting words. She glanced at Vi as she took a sip of her own drink. The girl in question had finished her drink and was avoiding eye contact, still slightly pink. Caitlyn couldn’t help the smirk that was slowly making its way onto her face. Vi was being a little too committed to avoiding her gaze… The heiress had an idea… It was devious and it could upset the younger girl, but…Kirammans always got what they want!

                  With Vi looking the other way, Caitlyn carefully slid out of her armchair and using every ounce of stealth she possessed, sat next to Vi while carefully putting an arm around the girl’s shoulders. Vi shuddered at the sudden contact but Caitlyn was already tucking the Undercity girl into her side. Once Caitlyn had Vi where she wanted her, she turned her head and whispered into her Vi’s ear, “You never answered the earlier question, darling…”

                  Vi decided that this was hell. She had been in Babette’s enough times, distributing food and medicine, to know exactly what Caitlyn was doing. Not only was it already overwhelming to be on the receiving end of the young Kiramman’s affections, it was just… confusing. And she was pretty sure that her head was going to explode if Caitlyn kept whispering into her ear. ‘Well…’ Vi decided, ‘At least I’m being hit on by a pretty girl instead of one of the weirdos in the Undercity.’ She decided to lean into Caitlyn’s affections physically and metaphorically. She leaned into Caitlyn – who let out a pleased hum, which let Vi know that she had made the right choice – and answered, “I guess you just want everyone to know who’s in charge ‘round here… Makes sense with all the people who work here.” Pleased with that answer, Caitlyn pressed a kiss to the side of Vi’s head – making Vi’s entire head catch fire – and decided to expand on the answer, “Very good! Honestly, though? I always thought that it was a bit pretentious. And a chance for Mum to show us of. But, one day, she sat me down, right here,” she squeezed Vi’s shoulders a bit to indicate that she meant this same spot, “and she told me how this house has been in our family for generations and that it was important that people knew that there still Kirammans here. The way Mum described it… was fascinating. To learn about how our family’s traditions are more than just a way to show of our wealth. It’s a way for us to live our history and a reminder of what we are to these cities and what they are to us.”

                  Vi was silent as she contemplated what Caitlyn told her, and she was glad that her face was hidden. She had no idea what to say to that, other than voice the thought of such a thing being a waste of time. She didn’t of course but it was odd that people would devote themselves to living in the “glory” of the past when the present and the future seemed so bleak. But then, she supposed that that was just one of the many differences Piltover and the Undercity. One side could live in the past if it wanted, while the other… the other wondered how or when they were going to get their next meal.

                  Caitlyn seemed to know what was on Vi’s mind as she added, “Of course, you probably think that its all ridiculous and arrogant, but, hey! At least you won’t confuse us with the staff…!” That last part was said so carelessly, with such an air of disdain that Vi turned so that she could look at her properly.

                  Caitlyn was staring up at the painting of herself and her family. Vi could see the thoughts racing and sighed as she tried to figure out how to move past this. She glanced around and realized that both their glasses were empty. She poked Caitlyn’s arm to get her attention and asked, “Can we continue the tour? I’m sure that there’s more to see than some pretty paintings…” Caitlyn’s head snapped to her and Vi was glad when she saw her new friend (girlfriend?) smiled and answered, “Yes, there is much more to see!” And they set of to continue their exploration of Kiramman Manor!

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

                  While Caitlyn was going about, showing Vi around the manor, Cassandra, Felicia and Tobias were drawing up plans to establish systems that would hold Enforcers to account for misconduct. “This will never work,” Cassandra huffed as she through the papers onto a bed and snuggled with a sleeping Jane.

                  Felicia and Tobias ignored her outburst, though they both felt so much joy at how relaxed Cassandra was in their presence. They continued to sort through different proposals, until Felicia and Tobias grabbed the same one. Felicia glared at him, and he immediately let go and she turned to Cassandra, “This one might work, lovey!” Cassandra looked up and eagerly took the paper as she continued to rock Jane.

                  The proposal was certainly interesting but… The councilor frowned though as she read through the details. “Are you certain that this is the plan that you wish to put forth? It could – no, it will likely backfire in the worst way possible!” Cassandra asked, worried. Jane let out a whimper, pulling the councilor’s attention back to her, “Oh, I’m sorry, darling,” she immediately started rocking the girl again.

                  She turned back to the others and saw the smiles on their faces. “What?” She asked, slightly defensive. “Oh, nothing,” Felicia replied as she exchanged a look with Tobias. A few more cries pulled at their attention as they turned to the other two children who had decided that they’d had enough sleep. Felicia sighed and turned to Tobias, “Could you help me up?” Tobias, ever the gentleman, rushed to aid the recovering woman.

                  Cassandra rolled her eyes at her husband’s overzealous display of chivalry, but he was quick to gather Powder and Cassia and return them to their mother. He turned away, so that she could feed them. He decided to go over to his wife. When Tobias sat next to Cassandra, he did so with a pleading look in his eyes. His wife rolled her eyes as she passed Jane over to her teddy bear of a husband.

                  Tobias’s time with the baby, however, was most unfortunately, short-lived. A nurse came in and announced, “The large male from the Undercity is awake and is requesting to speak to you, sir.” Tobias looked from his wife to the baby and back to his wife. He did not want to speak to Vander again, he wanted to cuddle with the little ones! And so, he gave his wife the best set of pleading, puppy eyes he could.

                  Cassandra sighed and turned to the nurse, who was suddenly looking uncomfortable, “Give me a minute and I will see him.” Jane woke up then and wailed. Tobias immediately started rocking the girl and cooing at her. “Gods, that girl has timing,” Felicia muttered as she finished with Powder and Cassia. “Here, Toby. Take these two and hand me Jane.” Tobias did so cheerfully, while Cassandra scoffed, “I suppose that I will get going now, won’t I?” Tobias, distracted with the babies’ grasping his fingers and their eyes as they looked all around, “Yes, yes, dear. Enjoy…!” Cassandra rolled her eyes and turned to her best friend, who raised a free hand, finger up and pressed to her lips in a shushing gesture.

                  The councilor chuckled and gestured to the nurse who started leading her to Vander.

                  When Vander woke up – after being tranq'ed like a damned animal! – the first thing that he’d felt was relief. He wasn’t in Stillwater. He started looking around again. It was still the same room, the same restraints, but there was one difference, though. The presence of two small bodies at his side. He shifted, trying to see what – “Claggor? Mylo? That you?” The bodies shifted and he felt their little hands climb up – “Why’ve you got your faces wrapped up, boys?” Claggor answered, “We got better but they said that you’re still sick. They said – they said that we can stay for a little if we keep our faces covered.”

                  The door opened and the caretakers stepped in, “Mylo, Claggor, it’s time to return to your rooms. The nurses are waiting for you.” Claggor looked resigned for a moment, but he complied and shuffled of. But not before he reached over to squeeze Vander’s hand one last time. Vander held on for a moment before letting go.

                  Mylo was much more resistant as he refused to let go. The caretaker came over and gently placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Vander growled at the action and Mylo held on tighter. The caretaker bent to whisper into the boy’s ear and Mylo mumbled something in response. He squeezed Vander one last time before letting go. “Mylo…?” Vander mumbled, but the boy was already gone. The caretaker was standing at the door when he called to Vander, “They're good boys. You’ve done well with them. But you should really straighten out a bit… Next few minutes aren’t likely to be pleasant for you…”

                  “Wha -?” The caretaker left before Vander could even ask. And in came the absolute last person that he’d ever want to meet in these cities: Cassandra Kiramman, Leader of House Kiramman and perhaps the third most powerful person in these cities. “Well,” she began, making the Hound of the Underground stiffen, horribly, “This was not how I imagined meeting the leader of the Bridge Riots.” She stepped forward so that Vander could see her and he struggled to remain calm as he saw the cold fury on the councilor’s face.

                  “An attack against me and the rest of the council was an eventuality with conditions as abhorrent as they are in the Undercity. But” she leaned over Vander, “Your foolishness gave the Enforcers and the more unsavory of the Council every excuse they needed to push your people further into the dirt. You got Felicia’s husband killed and then you had the gall to take her daughter and turn her into a partner of sorts, having her raise those boys!”

                  Vander’s eyes hardened enraged at the accusations, “How dare you?! You think you know anything about life in the Undercity? You think you can even begin to understand what life is like down in the Underground? Do you think that you know? Living up here in your fuckin’ ivory towers, in the lap of luxury with every need met with a snap of your fingers? You know nothing!”

                  Cassandra stared at him for a moment, “Your fury at your people’s conditions is admirable but it does not excuse the fact that your actions have made attempts at instituting change virtually impossible. And then there is another matter.” Vander felt himself shrink as her fury seemed to cause the temperature in the room to drop, “You attacked my husband and several medical personnel.” Vander felt the panic rising – ‘Not Stillwater!’ he pleaded to the Gods, ‘Please anything but –’

                  “Despite the harm you caused – and the terror you put into the medical staff! – I will be generous. Just this once! Your fate will be decided by another. Someone who is far more likely to extend mercy to you than I ever would be.” With that the Councilor turned to leave, but she stopped and turned, “The boys will be taken care of. I will assure you that no harm will come to them while under the care of House Kiramman. But Violet? She will remain here.”

                  Now that he was alone, Vander’s thoughts raced. ‘What in all hells is going on?’ He started working on the restraints again. Which was a hilarious joke since they’d tied down his hands as well. A sudden coughing fit shook his large frame and rattled his lungs. It left him gasping and slumped on the bed. ‘Ugh! Whatever was in the water –’ The thought was left unfinished as his vision flashed.

                  Silco.

                  Silco struggling under the water.

                  Silco suddenly lax, Vander’s hands around his throat.

                  Silco coming back, grabbing his knife and slashing his arm. Vander’s fist tightened as he felt the phantom pain.

                  Silco… ‘Brother…’ his brother. So ready to march to war.

                  And Vander, ‘I was so angry, so ready to march…’

                  Vander shut his eyes, trying to will the memories away. The approaching footsteps made that easy and he resigned himself to being poked and prodded again.

                  Felicia and Tobias were surprised that Cassandra had returned so soon. Though they became cautious when they saw the contemplative look. Felicia decided to get ahead of whatever it was that her best friend was thinking, remembering the last time she had been blindsided by one her plans…

                  “You’re back awfully soon, love,” Felicia commented as set about dressing the triplets – Tobias had wanted to help but the Undercity mother had said that only Cassandra, Vi, Caitlyn and select staff would ever have that honor. Tobias had been quite put out by that, but he understood. He was still a stranger to her after all and though the woman hid it well, it was clear that she was uncomfortable being alone with him.

                  Cassandra sat beside her friend and started helping. SO absentmindedly that she was trying to encourage little Powder into a onesie that was most definitely upside down. Felicia pinched her making Cassandra jump. She turned to the woman outraged, though she looked away quickly when she saw the questioning look.

                  Felicia reached over to pinch her again, but Cassandra was ready this time as her hand flashed to grab her friends. Felicia continued to try and pinch, making Cassandra mutter, “Vander is an interesting man. Though far too desperate for his own good.” Felicia leaned back on onto one hand and stared down at her babies. After a moment she muttered back, “You’re not wrong…” She sighed. “He… he means well.” She breathed in and out for a moment, “He and Silco… my husband… and I… we all spent so many weeks planning together. And then it all went to hell…” She shut her eyes as the screams and gunshots came back. “How could they…? How could they just…?” Felicia raised both hands to her eyes and pressed hard, “How could they see us and think that…?” Cassandra reached over and put an arm around her shoulders.

                  After what had just happened to her, the councilor was uncertain of how to offer comfort but, “That attempt might’ve ended in failure… but there is still a chance to set things on a better path. With you on the council –” “Cassandra… with everything that I’ve done and with everything that’s happened since, is my place truly on the council? Perhaps Vander might be the better choice?” Felicia interrupted, despondent as she let her babies grasp at her fingers.

                  Cassandra carefully reached over and placed a finger under her chin, turning her back to face her, “Vander is many things,” she said softly to her friend, “but he is not the leader that the Undercity needs to come back into the sun. The Undercity needs a leader that is capable of understanding both cities. And that person is you. You, Felicia. You’re the only person here who has lived – successfully! – in both cities. You are also the only person – in the entirety of the Undercity, might I remind you! – who has the ear of a council member!”

                  Felicia made a face, “My best friend is on the council and that makes me a leader?!” Felicia lifted up Cassia and rubbed her nose against her baby’s. Cassia babbled, making everyone smile. “Cassy, my role with the others was organization –” Cassandra, losing patience with her friend, “And yet you helped lead the protest on the bridge. You were there at the front alongside the supposed lead –” Felicia’s frown cut her off.

                  “What?” Cassandra asked when the silence stretched. Felicia was slow with her reply, as though thinking on each word as she said it, “Silco… Silco wasn’t at the bridge…” The Undercity woman passed Cassia to Cassandra, then pressed her hands to her eyes trying to remember, “… Connel was next to me. Vander wasn’t too much further away, but then… The Enforcers started to push the line back… Everyone was shouting, then…” She shuddered horribly. Cassandra gently rubbed circles into her back, “You don’t have to –” “But Silco wasn’t there…” Felicia looked up as she said it, her eyes suddenly cold.

                  “I want to speak to Vander,” Felicia said, as she turned to face Cassandra. Cassandra regarded her friend for a moment, before turning to Tobias. He was fussing over Powder and Jane, but when his wife turned to him, he nodded and left briskly to check on the man.

                  Tobias approached Vander’s room with perhaps more caution than was necessary. The medical staff was going in and out without issue, after all! He decided to speak to a nurse first, stopping her as she was leaving the room. “Oh, Dr. Kiramman! I didn’t realize that you were visiting!” Tobias offered a weak smile and asked, “How are the boys?” The nurse flipped through her notepad, “Ah, here they are, Mylo and Claggor. Both are recovering nicely. Their guardian however…” The nurse frowned slightly, flipping through the notepad again, “Ah, here we are. Vander has an infection in the lungs, but we have given some medicine for it. He should be fine in a few days. Provided he doesn’t force us to take more extreme measure again of course.”

                  Tobias nodded, resigned. Then asked, “Is Vander sufficiently coherent for a conversation?” The nurse answered immediately, “Oh, yes. We haven’t administered anything discombobulating, though…” The nurse looked around a bit. Even stood up on her toes to look over Tobias’s shoulder before leaning forward to whisper, “Half the staff are suggesting that he be placed under anesthesia because of his earlier escape attempt and a few others… have been suggesting that the trencher should be put into a more permanent sleep…” The nurse barely managed to remain impassive when she saw the fury on Dr. Kiramman’s face. He leaned forward, unintentionally intimidating the nurse as he whispered back, “Compile me a list of those making such assumptions. I will return shortly with other visitors.” The nurse nodded and only dismissed herself when Tobias left.

                  When Tobias returned the first thing, he did was whisper into his wife’s ear what had happened. Cassandra closed her eyes, pressed her fingers to her eyes and sighed. She looked up at her husband, “Fetch Caitlyn and Violet and then Felicia and I will go see to Vander.” As he moved to leave, Cassandra reached out grabbed Tobias’s arm, “And place guards in and out of Vander’s room. And the boys’.” Tobias nodded.

                  Caitlyn and Vi were walking through the gardens, towards the one place that the heiress and her mother could truly be themselves. Vi staring around in wonder, having never seen so much plant life, was completely entranced. So much so that she hadn’t even noticed that the heiress had taken her hand and was guiding her around. As Vi continued to look around with awestruck wonder, Caitlyn guided them to the bench and sat them down.

                  “I take it that you like the gardens, then?” Caitlyn asked with a grin. Vi nodded slowly, too stunned to speak, as she kept looking around. “The first time mum brought me here, she told me about how these gardens were created as a gift to the Cities. A place where all people could visit to relax,” The smile dropped from Caitlyn’s face and her head bowed, “I… suppose… that won’t –” “What’s this one?” Vi asked. Caitlyn looked up and to her side, Vi wasn’t – “Violet! When did you get all the way over there?”

                  “Oh, I promise I was listening, but these just caught my eye…” Vi looked guilty as she looked between the flowers and Caitlyn. Caitlyn scoffed, but she came over to see what had grabbed – ‘Of course!’ Caitlyn thought as she resisted rolling her eyes at the item of the younger girl’s infatuation: violets. The heiress decided to make a game out of it. A game where Vi becomes, hopefully, her girlfriend by the end of it. So, she asked, “What do you think they are?” Vi stared at her, her face blank.

                  “Umm,” Vi turned back to the flowers. She had absolutely no idea what these were, but… ‘I’m not dumb! There has to be something around here that gives a hint! Caitlyn wouldn’t ask if she was just trying to make me feel stupid right…?’ Vi quickly blinked away the tears at the thought and started her investigation. She started with the most obvious and just looked at the flowers. The most obvious characteristic was the color: purple. She leaned forward and smelled them but that was pointless, she had never smelled anything like that. Vi touched the flower and smiled when she felt how soft and delicate they were. But it still didn’t give any hints as to what these were.

                  Vi startled a bit when she realized that Caitlyn was kneeling next to her, carefully gathering up flowers and the green bits and seemed to be looping them round and round for some reason. The Undercity girl shrugged to herself and continued her investigation.

                  While Vi was busy trying to uncover the name for the flowers, Caitlyn had started sorting through all the plants she collected and started to weave them. Her mother had shown her how to do this a few times and she remembered the process well enough as she started to weave the crown. While she worked, Caitlyn chanced glances at Vi and smiled when she saw her soon-to-be-girlfriend concentrating so hard on the task. ‘She’ll do brilliantly at the academy,’ Caitlyn thought, already excited at the prospect of finally having someone around – near – her own age that she - and her mother! liked!

                  Caitlyn blinked and looked down, as she realized that she had already finished Vi’s crown. While the girl in question was still busy examining the flowers, Caitlyn carefully snuck up behind Vi and placed the crown on her head. Vi jumped as when she felt the flower crown placed on her head and reached up to touch – ‘Oh!’ Vi got it! The Undercity girl smiled as she figured it out, “These are violets, aren’t they?” Caitlyn smiled and nodded. “Then, these,” Violet asked as she pointed at the flowers in the trees, “must be cassias?” Caitlyn’s smile widened as she nodded again.

                  Violet smiled softly as she took of the crown that Caitlyn placed on her head, asking, “Does putting this on my head mean something Topside?” Before Caitlyn could answer – and before Vi could notice the blush on the heiress’s face – Vi also asked, “Can we use these to make crowns for the moms and babies?” Caitlyn – about to confess why she gave the flowers – paused and frowned. “We – we can, but…” Vi looked up at Caitlyn’s hesitance. She was a little confused to see the Topsider girl was a little pink but, “But…?” Vi asked. Caitlyn mumbled, “The gardens were designed by mum, and they reflect the Kiramman House colors and… there’s no red in our house colors…”

                  “Oh,” Vi replied frowning as she looked around. Caitlyn started panicking, thinking that she needed to fix this but Vi ended that when she pointed, “What if we use these?” Caitlyn followed where she was looking, “Oh, Baby’s Breath? Yes. Yes, that could work.”

                  With that decided, Vi showed off a little by climbing a tree to retrieve some cassias and Caitlyn started teaching her how to weave the flowers into the right shape. Weaving crowns for the babies took no time at all since they were all tiny. Weaving for the mums, however? That took longer since both girls felt they deserved a more personal touch. Caitlyn had decided to combine all the colors of the Kiramman House into her crown. Vi, after a bit of exploring, managed to find a few red flowers – “Scarlet Sage! Caitlyn had exclaimed when Vi had returned with them – at the very edge of the gardens.

                  The addition of the Scarlet Sage meant that they had to redo Jane’s crown a bit but no matter. By the Tobias arrived to retrieve them, they were just putting the finishing touches on the crowns for the moms. He smiled at them and asked, “Girls, what have you been up to?” Vi immediately became shy and mumbled something indistinct while Caitlyn explained, “Just making some gifts for everyone,” as she continued to work on Cassandra’s crown and give Vi tips for Felicia’s.

                  “Hmm,” Tobias observed. He refrained from making a comment about the mess that the girls had made in the process. ‘The gardeners are certainly going to be upset…’ Tobias thought, wondering how he was going to explain the mess to Cassandra. His attention went back to the girls when Vi asked, “I think I talked over you earlier. You know, when you were gonna say what the violets meant?” Tobias suddenly decided that those flowers off in the distance – no! maybe the trees! The point was that there was something interesting in the distance that was interesting!

                  Caitlyn appreciated her dad’s discretion while Vi watched in confusion as the man had left commenting, “I thought that he was here to take us back?” Caitlyn, only slightly flustered, muttered, “Oh, I am sure that he is, but first…” The Kiramman heiress sorted through the crowns and grabbed the one weaved of violets, the one made for Vi.

                  When Vi turned back she nearly jumped out of her skin – Caitlyn was standing so close! The heiress reached up and put the crown back on top of Vi’s head. Her fingers gently touched along Vi’s face, making the girl shiver. “You asked me what giving you these flowers meant, lovely?” Vi blushed quite hard at the nickname and her heart was racing a million miles a minute at the light touches to her face. “Can you guess the meaning behind these, Violet?” Caitlyn asked as she fiddled with the crown, positioning it just so. Violet was blushing harder than ever, but she shook her head. Caitlyn smiled and moved a little closer, whispering, “Violets symbolize many things,” she continued to gently stroke Vi’s face, the sensation almost ticklish and making Vi squirm a bit.

                  The heiress just looked at Vi’s pretty face for a moment, eyes tracing her freckles. Caitlyn continued, “They symbolize loyalty and devotion. Modestly and humility. Remembrance and mourning.” She almost stopped speaking when Vi’s fell at those two words, but she kept going, “Wisdom and Protection. Those are all the things that you embody so beautifully Vi!”

                  Vi looked away for a second, before looking back up to look Caitlyn in the eye, “So, you’re reminding me of who I am?” She sounded uncertain, a bit confused. Caitlyn smiled, softly. Vi looked away mumbling, “Stop smiling like that…” Caitlyn grinned, showing off the gap in her teeth. The heiress continued, “When they are given, as I have given them to you, they also mean one more thing…” She waited for Vi to look up and gently turned the object of her affections back so that she could whisper, “They also stand for love…!”