It didn't take long to get back to The Last Drop. Surprisingly, Magnolia didn't put up a fight. She'd simply tugged her arm free of Rolan's grasp and crossed them in an effort to ward off the chill. Quietly, she'd trudged along with her head down. No one offered her an umbrella.

Silco felt surprise, but also a slight disappointment. She'd shown such fire back at the warehouse. If he had been willing to be honest with himself, he might've admitted that she reminded him of a young Silco. The rage he'd felt emerging from that damned river and running for his life had been reflected so perfectly on her delicate face.

But Silco had no use for empathy for his prisoner so he forcefully dismissed the thought.

Once they arrived in his office, Silco waved off Sevika and took a seat in his desk chair, lit cigar already in hand. Magnolia stood in the middle of the space, shivering and dripping on his carpet. He frowned. She was rather short, the top of her head coming up to maybe his shoulder, and lightly built. The kind of physique that spoke of her gentle and untroubled life topside.

At his continued appraisal, she straightened her back and tilted up her chin. Ah, a little bit of that fire. Or maybe just that famous Piltover arrogance.

"What exactly is the nature of your deal with Corrine?" she asked him.

She was a practical little thing, he had to give her that. Set the emotions aside and get straight to business.

He took another puff of the cigar as he contemplated how much to tell her. The longer he stayed silent, the more she fidgeted, fingers nervously toying with the folds of her skirt. She looked ready to explode.

"She pays me handsomely and I make you disappear," he informed her finally.

"That's it? No other specifics?"

"No."

The finality in his tone made her fidget harder. She swallowed hard, her eyes flying about the office. Looking for a weapon? Or maybe an escape route?

She pressed one hand to her abdomen, looking vaguely sick.

"May I sit?"

Silco inclined his head to indicate the couch. Magnolia sat down heavily, elbows coming up to rest on her knees, her head in her hands. Her muffled voice came from between her fingers.

"And how do you plan to execute your end of the bargain?"

He hadn't yet decided what he would do with her. It would be easiest to put a bullet in her head and forget she ever existed. Yet a high-born daughter of Piltover could be one hell of a bargaining chip. The options she presented was exactly why he'd agreed to the deal with Corrine in the first place. But he needed to determine if keeping her alive was more trouble than the potential payout.

And then, as she had already inadvertently done so many times in her short time under his care, Jinx made the decision for him.

She had discovered the convenient space in the ceiling of his office almost as soon as they'd returned to The Last Drop. As Silco contemplated the wet, crumpled waif of a woman currently ruining his couch, Jinx dropped from above, landing with a thud on his desk.

Magnolia jumped at that, letting out a startled gasp. She watched the blue-haired girl with wide eyes as Jinx hopped off the desk and sauntered over to her, her beloved bunny tucked under her arm. Silco rubbed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. He loved his adopted daughter, he did, but it was the middle of the night and he was too goddamned old and too goddamned tired to deal with this right now.

"Jinx, you are supposed to be in bed," he chided her irritably.

"Can't sleep," Jinx tossed over her shoulder nonchalantly, her focus on Magnolia. Stopping directly in front of the now perplexed looking woman, Jinx tilted her head in contemplation. "Are you a princess?"

Silco had to admit that to a little girl that had barely left the Undercity but had read plenty of fairy tales, Magnolia made for a pretty convincing princess. Her dress was a dark shade of pink, with big billowing sleeves that ended in a line of buttons at the wrists and an equally voluminous ballgown skirt stretching from the corseted bodice. To top it all off, woven strategically into her hair was a sparkly diadem, twinkling as she moved in the dim light of his office. Even in her waterlogged and bedraggled state she looked quite regal.

Silco tensed, prepared for this posh Piltover socialite to dismiss a curious little girl who she surely saw as beneath her. One wrong word and she'd be dead before she could even think to beg for forgiveness.

Instead, he watched in fascination as Magnolia blushed prettily and huffed out an amused breath. Straightening her back, she wiped at the mascara that had run down her cheeks, as if suddenly self conscious.

"No, I'm afraid not," she told the little girl softly, an apologetic look on her face.

Jinx looked pointedly at her diadem and frowned, clearly feeling deceived.

One side of Magnolia's mouth tilted up in a smile. Reaching up, she pulled the little crown out of her hair, wincing as it snagged on and pulled some of the strands.

"Here." Gingerly, she extended it to Jinx. The little girl's eyebrows shot up and her mouth opened to form a little 'o' of astonishment. Stepping forward and ducking her head forward, Jinx allowed Magnolia to place the crown on her head.

Jinx beamed at Magnolia, reaching a hand up to feel for her new head wear. The little girl's excitement brought a rueful smile to Magnolia's lips.

"Does this mean that I'm a princess?" she asked in wonder.

"Yes," Magnolia replied, playing along. "Princess Jinx, of Zaun."

Jinx smiled even wider, turning towards Silco to excitedly show off her newly acquired status. Jinx saw a sparkly crown to play with. Silco saw a woman casually giving away something that likely cost more than most in the Undercity could ever dream to make in their lifetime. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Rule well," Magnolia added quietly, affectionately tapping the knuckle of her index finger under the girl's chin.

Jinx suddenly regarded the woman with a very serious expression and presented her stuffed rabbit to her. "As your ruler, I will loan you Bunny for a little while," she proclaimed. In a conspirational tone she added, "He's very good at keeping the bad thoughts away. You look like you're having lots of those."

Before Magnolia could respond, Jinx had dashed off to peck a kiss to Silco's cheek and whisper a quick goodnight, then disappeared out the door. Like any Undercity kid, she knew not to linger too long once she'd secured a valuable prize.

Trusting that Jinx had likely gone back to bed, he returned his gaze to Magnolia. She held the bunny almost reverently in her lap, brushing her thumb over the creature's worn face. She glanced up at him with a smile.

"Your daughter is very sweet."

She looked so soft in that moment. Blonde hair now truly a mess with the extraction of the diadem and sticking to her face, blue eyes still shiny with recently shed tears, expression quietly resigned. Entirely helpless and entirely at his mercy, but resolutely refusing to cower from her fate. Somehow managing to find a little kindness to give a little girl who certainly needed it.

Silco saw it then. An opportunity. There was much he could give Jinx, but he had his own demons to contend with. In his weaker moments, he was haunted by the thought that Vander probably took to being a father much better than he. Silco laid awake at night wondering if he was doing more harm to Jinx than good, if he had the capacity for the warmth and tenderness a troubled little girl needed.

Her nightmares were getting worse and sometimes he could swear he overheard her talking to someone who wasn't there. She was progressively becoming more wild and unstable, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. As much as he tried to impress upon her the importance of being measured, of the value of being sophisticated and controlled, the energetic little thing just kept bouncing off the walls.

But looking at this little Piltover mouse, who even now sat with poise and quiet grace, Silco saw a sliver of a possibility. One that would need to be analyzed, and tested, and carefully observed.

For now, Magnolia would live. For now, she had a chance.

After the little blue-haired girl had vanished, the man with the glowing eye had regarded Magnolia intensely, until she nervously looked away and focused on the bunny instead. The warmth of the moment with Jinx was gone and the trembling had returned to her hands. He still hadn't said what he planned to do with her and the longer they sat in silent tension, the worse the knot of anxiety got under her ribs.

Suddenly he called out Sevika, the sound of his voice like a gunshot after the prolonged silence. Magnolia braced herself, certain that whoever came through that door was going to be her executioner.

The tall, muscular woman from earlier came in. This must be Sevika.

He inclined his head toward Magnolia. "Take her to the guest room." Magnolia didn't miss the way the other woman's eyebrows lifted in surprise at his words. With a stiff nod, Sevika motioned for Magnolia to get up and follow her. Magnolia obeyed, but hesitated in the doorway. The man had already gone back to his paperwork, dismissing her before she'd even left.

"I never asked your name."

The man looked up at her slowly, pondering her.

"Silco." He said finally. Silco. The name rang a bell somewhere in Magnolia's memory but she couldn't quite remember why at that moment. After another long look, he returned his attention to his work. Magnolia didn't waste time shuffling into the hallway.

Sevika showed her to a small bedroom, with a cramped powder room peeking through an adjoining door.

"I gotta hand it to you, sweet cheeks, didn't think you'd make it to morning." Magnolia shivered at the other woman's words. All this told her was that she was one wrong move away from losing whatever temporary safety she'd secured tonight. With a wink, Sevika saw herself out. "Sleep tight, don't let the locals bite."

Before Magnolia could reply, the door shut, the sound of the lock clicked into place. There was no mechanism to unlock it from the inside, sealing her inside.

Accepting that this was at least how she was to spend the night, Magnolia turned to the bed. Considering she had spent the last few hours expecting to be murdered, the simple room was a huge improvement.

The toll of the events of the evening all slammed into her at once. She had no tears left, not now. Just an exhausted, hollow feeling deep inside.

Wobbling over to the bed, she ducked under the covers, still dressed in her gown. She had not been given anything else to wear and she didn't dare undress in these conditions. Clutching her gifted bunny close, she closed her eyes.

Completely drained, she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep, her last thought being of a pair of mismatched eyes looking at a little girl with adoration.