Where something ends, something else must begin.

Recommended listening:

"What Could've Been" - Sting

"Goodbye" - Ramsey

Running in an evening gown, in the dark, through the unfamiliar twists and turns of the undercity, was a very frightening experience. Magnolia kept her eyes glued to the back of Corrine's cloak, knowing that if she lost track of her, she had absolutely no way of finding her way topside again. The undercity was so vast and sprawling, the lanes even more so, each alley and turn seeming to form a maze.

Corrine seemed to be slowing down, although whether that was because they'd reached their destination or because she was tired was yet to be determined. They were approaching a large square building, probably a warehouse of some sort. The windows were all dark, but a metal door on the side stood ajar. Before Magnolia could propose that maybe it was unwise to barge right in, Corrine had already slipped through and disappeared in the darkness. Magnolia cursed but hurried after her.

Corrine came to a stop in the middle of a great, open room, the windows high up allowing just enough light in to make out her friend's face. She had lowered the hood of her cloak and seemed to be looking around with a worried expression.

Catching her wrist, Magnolia turned Corrine to face her.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" The far reaches of the space were still cloaked in an inky darkness and Magnolia could not shake the unsettling feeling of being watched. "Why would your brother come here of all places?"

Earlier that evening, Magnolia had been fulfilling her duty as the blushing bride at her rehearsal dinner, chit chatting with the upper crust of Piltover. It was a dull affair as always, full of people trying too hard to kiss up to her and win favour. She could only handle so many thinly veiled backhanded compliments and over the top praises before she lost her mind.

These events became especially tedious these last few months, ever since the engagement. She, Magnolia, of the House Danverport, was to be wed to Jurian, of House Rivington. On their own, their houses were two of the wealthiest and most powerful in Piltover, but together? Well, that was a couple you wanted to be in the good graces of.

It didn't matter of course, that there was no love involved in this carefully orchestrated union, nor that the two lovebirds had barely met a handful of times. They'd play their parts as prescribed and everyone else would pretend to believe it. The whole charade made Magnolia want to spit.

The incredibly trying nature of the evening was why she found herself on the front steps of her family's estate, allowing herself a few stolen moments of peace and quiet before her absence would surely be noticed. That was where Corrine had found her, who herself came flying up the path like all the bats of hell were after her.

"My brother! Magnolia, you have to help me! He's gotten himself in so much trouble!"

It was well known through most of their circle that Corrine's brother, Anton, had a rather troubling habit for drugs. Their family tried to handle it discretely, sending him to rehabilitation centers abroad, but he always came home and relapsed. With time, his habits became more extreme, more frequently driving him down to the Undercity in a constant chase for his next high. These trips often ended in him having to be retrieved by Enforcers, who quietly returned him home and took their hush money without question.

Magnolia didn't have a moment to even form a thought before Corrine tore off the way she had come and towards the bridge to the Undercity. Without hesitation, Magnolia followed, breathing hard as she tried to match her friend's break neck speed.

That was why she now found herself feeling a healthy dose of dread as she spotted movement in the distant corner of the room.

Corrine had pulled her wrist free and taken a few steps forward, her back to Magnolia. Magnolia tried to reach for her again but she was already out of arm's reach.

"Corrine," she hissed, barely daring to speak above a whisper. The door was behind them and if they moved quickly enough they could still possibly escape whatever was coming towards them from the dark.

Corrine, not listening, kept moving forward. The shadows were definitely moving and an eerie dot of orange glow seemed to hover in mid air, steadily approaching. Magnolia did not care to find out what it was.

"Corrine," she repeated, louder this time, flinching at the way her voice echoed in the vast space.

The other woman's shoulders tensed, a clear indication that she heard her name being called, but she kept walking forward. Magnolia, frustrated and terrified but unwilling to let her friend walk into danger by herself, went to follow.

"Corrine, what are you doing!?"

Magnolia came to a jarring halt as a figure finally emerged from the shadows. The glowing orange light, she realized with a start, was the iris of an eye, which in turn belonged to a tall, wiry man. In the weak light, it was hard to discern many details, but he looked to be wearing a carefully tailored suit, his dark hair perfectly swept away from his face. He held an air about him of authority and power, and something much more sinister. Magnolia froze.

"Corrine?" she called, in one last vain attempt to reach her friend. The man glanced at her briefly before turning his attention to Corrine.

"Is this her?" he asked, his voice low with a rolling, growling quality. Magnolia's heart stuttered in her chest. Did Corrine know this man?

She could see more figures emerging from the shadows, at least four in total, not counting the man. A towering woman rippling with muscle and a grim expression on her face stood behind the man.

A roaring began in Magnolia's ears as she watched her oldest friend curtly nod her head.

"Corrine?" Her own voice sounded small and frightened, confused. Corrine still had not turned to look at her.

"Very well." The man nodded to someone over her shoulder and Magnolia nearly jumped out of her skin when a giant hand grasped her upper arm. She had not noticed the huge man approach her from behind. He grinned down at her as she futilely tried to struggle out of his hold, the tattoos on his chin stretching in a disconcerting way.

In front of her, she watched in horror as Corrine handed a heavy sack of coins over to the stranger. He opened it briefly and verified its contents, before passing it to the woman behind him.

"Corrine, what in the world is going on!?" Magnolia pleaded, not understanding. "What do these people want with me!?"

When she finally turned, Corrine could barely look her in the eye. She kept her gaze on the ground as she replied.

"I just need you to go away for a while."

"What are you talking about?" Magnolia felt completely baffled. Go away? Why?

Corrine looked vaguely apologetic. "I can't let you take him away from me."

Magnolia felt like she was going to throw up. A thousand pieces from that evening, from the prior days, the prior months, all suddenly came together, showing her a story she never would've believed if it wasn't staring her in the face.

"This is all because of Jurian?" she cried.

She remembered that Corrine was ambitious in her social climbing, desperately wanting to elevate her wealthy but humble house to a new playing field. She remembered that Corrine had once had a crush on Jurian, when they were kids. She remembered the surprising look of anger on Corrine's face when the news came of Magnolia's engagement. She remembered that ultimately Corrine's demand that she come help her brother made no sense, that she was so insistent that they go at once before Magnolia had a chance to think clearly.

Magnolia was beyond words. She felt her chin quiver as she held back a sob. Something horrible was about to happen, all because Corrine was too blinded by her own ambition. The taller woman glared at Magnolia, a look of such fury twisting her face that Magnolia flinched away.

"Of course you don't understand! How could you possibly understand?" Corrine yelled, one hand coming up to point an accusing finger in Magnolia's face. "You've always been the prettier one, the wealthier one, the more important one." Corrine's face was red with anger. "It's not fair! It's not fair! You could have anyone you wanted and you picked Jurian!" She threw her hands up into the air and barked out a laugh. "Well not anymore! He's mine. Mine! You can't have him!"

Magnolia blanched, completely taken aback by this wicked side of her friend that she had never seen before. Corrine could be immature and selfish, prone to fits of jealousy, but never like this. She was never hateful.

"You know I didn't get to choose. We're just pawns played by our families," she pleaded. But Corrine wasn't listening. She shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, it's too late."

Magnolia felt her own anger rising, almost unable to hear anything over the pounding of her own heart. With her free hand, she reached up to tear the dangling earrings out of her lobes, throwing them at Corrine's feet. "You want it so bad? Here!" A violent tug had her pearl necklace tearing, the tiny beads scattering in all directions. "Take it all! I don't fucking want it anyway!" Her chest heaved against the tight constraints of her corset, making her feel lightheaded. "I just wanted my friend."

The whole situation felt completely surreal. Here they were, two grown women, surrounded by a gang of criminals, fighting over who got to marry some stupid heir to some stupid house. Absurd. Twenty years of friendship and they were reduced to this.

"They'll come looking for me, you know they will." Magnolia turned her glare at the man with the glowing eye. He seemed to be the leader. "They'll turn the entirety of the undercity upside down to find me." The man remained quiet, no emotion whatsoever showing on his face.

"They won't." Corrine's tone was resolute. Magnolia's eyes shot back to her, her heart sinking. "They won't look for you. You," the emphasis made it sound like it was in quotation marks, "left a letter telling your family that you'd fallen madly in love with another man and that you're running away to be with him. Packed a bag of your favourite dresses and took off." A skinny, blonde man standing not far off wiggled the suitcase he held in her direction. Magnolia hadn't noticed until now that it was in fact her suitcase, the delicate pink striped pattern unmistakable. Corrine must have packed it at some point, which wouldn't be difficult considering she was a frequent and unmonitored guest in the Danverport home.

"That's absurd, no one would ever believe that," Magnolia retorted, but she didn't sound completely convinced to even her own ears.

"Is it?" Corrine looked almost like she pitied her. "Everyone knows it wasn't a love match with Jurian. You've always been so vocal about how we should be allowed to choose for ourselves, regardless of our station." Corrine's expression turned dark. "Not to mention that half of Piltover just saw you running head long from your own rehearsal dinner, following a cloaked stranger." She paused, her voice dropping. "Running towards the docks, where a ship headed to Feria leaves in ten minutes."

Magnolia felt like she couldn't breathe, her stomach having long ago twisted into a painful, horrified clump beneath her ribs. She hadn't thought twice about the cloak that Corrine wore, but now she realized that with the hood up, it would be impossible to tell who the figure underneath was.

"My God," Magnolia gasped, in complete disbelief. "How long have you been planning this?"

Corrine's jaw clenched but she didn't acknowledge her question.

"Jurian will be devastated of course, he's a good man." She nodded to herself. "And as your dutiful best friend, I'll be there to comfort him in our shared grief. He'll see that I'm the right match for him." Corrine looked deranged, her eyes glittering. "I'll finally get what I'm owed."

Where had her friend gone? Who was this madwoman?

Turning to the leader again, Corrine crossed her arms.

"We're done here," she told him. The man bristled at that, frowning, seemingly unaccustomed to being dismissed.

Magnolia felt panic flood her system.

"You're having me killed? Are you insane?" she yelled.

"I didn't say you needed to die." Corrine's face seemed to soften, just a touch. "You just need to go away, long enough that everyone forgets you."

All the anger left Magnolia, the fight draining out of her in an instant. She sagged in the tattooed man's hold, feeling like someone had scooped out all her insides, leaving her a hollow, tired shell. This was her friend, her oldest, dearest, friend. Her best friend. They were practically inseparable. How could this person that she held so dearly in her heart hurt her like this?

"I loved you." A hot, salty tear tracked down her face, the only one she couldn't contain. "You were everything to me. How can you do this?"

For a moment, Corrine looked truly heartbroken, looked like the woman that had been Magnolia's companion for longer than she could remember. Just as quickly though, her face hardened and she pulled her hood up.

Seemingly having had enough, the man with the glowing eye silently signaled his cronies, gave a mock bow to Corrine, and the whole group headed to the exit, an unwilling Magnolia in tow.

Craning her neck, Magnolia took one last, disbelieving look at the friend that had betrayed her so deeply.

Outside, it had begun to rain, big fat drops that soaked her almost instantly. Magnolia tilted her head up to the sky and finally let herself cry.

The angst! The drama! I live for it! Also, Silco can take me captive anytime ;).

I haven't posted in forever so I would love to hear what you all think! Next time - Silco's POV, fluff, all the good dad feels, and more!