Vayne never gagged at the sight of blood. Blood was a frequent occurrence in her line of work. She was used to it by now. Yet, somehow, this time the splattered blood on the wall and floor unsettled her. This pattern was familiar. It hit way too close to home. Literally.
She moved silently, following the trace of blood. Her crossbow was ready to shoot in her hands, her eyes scanning every single shadow behind her glasses. The silence was deafening around her, although she felt someone's presence there. Or rather something. Her hunter senses were tingling. It was quiet. In contrast, the smell of death was strong.
Vayne took a turn and then she heard it. A slurping sound, as if someone was drinking. Drinking blood, nonetheless. She tightened her grip around her weapon and proceeded down the empty corridor. Her footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet, stained with blood all over. She followed it until the end of the corridor that led to a room. The door was slightly cracked open. Vayne managed to look through the opening.
The room was poorly lit, but she was certain that this was the source of the sound; it was stronger than ever. She could not make out what was going on, but she spotted the shadows that danced on the opposite wall. Without hesitation, she slipped inside quietly, her heart drumming inside her chest.
The sight before her made Vayne's blood freeze inside her veins. Lashers picked on the corpse that laid helplessly on the floor, on top of what undoubtedly was its own pool of blood. A very lustful hum escaped the demoness's lips, unaware of Vayne's presence. The huntress clenched her jaw and prepared to shoot. Suddenly though, the demoness sensed her movements and turned her glowing yellow eyes towards her. She gave Vayne a terrible, lustful smirk.
Cold sweat dropped off the huntress's forehead. She knew that smile too well, a smile that had haunted her since she was sixteen. A smile that had seeped through her thoughts and consumed her. She was right there, sitting on top of her last victim and smiled at Vayne exactly like the first time they had met. She giggled and her laugh echoed in the empty manor. Before Vayne could pull the trigger, she disappeared into thin air. The huntress looked frantically around, not lowering her guard. She knew she was still there, somewhere in the house. Her hysterical laughter echoed in the distance. All Vayne had to do was follow her and finally put an end to this.
She glanced at the unfortunate victim. Nothing that could be done to help them. Vayne should turn around and leave to look for the demon. However, she couldn't shake off her mind that horrendous smile. It wasn't coincidental. She approached the body, carefully not to step on the blood. The lighting there was slightly better and Vayne was able to make out the form of a woman. The light illuminated the face of a young woman, her mouth still agape, frozen in her last horrific moments of pain. Not confusion, but pain. She had put up a fight before the demoness had gotten the best of her, as indicated by the blade covered in blood that she still held tightly in her right hand. Vayne gasped out loud and fell to her knees, on top of the puddle of blood.
She hadn't felt that dread and pain since she had found her parents murdered inside her own house. She didn't even think she was capable of feeling something so intense anymore. How had this happened? The demoness couldn't have known. Right? How could she…? It mattered little. Her head was spinning. Her vision had become blurry and she hadn't even noticed. Her lips were trembling. She placed her palm on top of her mouth to shuffle a scream that threatened to rip her lungs.
Then she heard it again. That dreadful laugh, coming closer and closer. Vayne blinked the tears away. She jumped up, clenching her crossbow, her eyes bearing a murderous light. The demoness found her grief hilarious, as her laugh continued to echo louder and louder. Her voice was ringing inside Vayne's ears in a painful way. She spun around, looking for her, to put an end to this.
Suddenly, the lashers grabbed her from behind. Vayne fought, but the demoness was stronger, having just been nourished with fresh blood. The crossbow escaped her grip and she fell again on her knees. The huntress growled, struggling against the demoness's grip, to no avail. She felt her breath on her ear and she jerked her head, hissing.
"She tasted so good," the demoness whispered seductively. "I'm sure you would agree." Vayne gritted her teeth and tried to headbutt her, but the demoness just avoided her and her grip grew stronger, almost suffocating. "Thank you, Shauna. You have excellent taste. I was starving. Almost as good as your mother." She giggled.
Vayne yelled but there was nothing she could do to fight the demoness off. Without her crossbow, it was practically impossible. She just wasn't strong enough. She was helpless.
"I can feel your rage from miles, Vayne. I can sense you coming. Always in pursuit of one thing; sweet vengeance." She clicked her tongue. "Always aimlessly wandering, unable to help yourself, just like you couldn't help her either." She laughed hysterically.
"I will… kill you!" Vayne screeched, trying to free herself from the demoness's grip.
"How cute," the creature said, licking her lips. Vayne felt her move but she was still immobilized. She came all the way around to face the huntress. "I'm pretty sure you would if you could. Am I right, Shauna?"
The light lit her face as she brought her head closer to Vayne's, whose pupils widened in surprise but also in terror. It wasn't the same demoness who haunted her existence, but a very familiar face, one that she once had considered a mother figure. Her yellow eyes glowed and her smile was devilish, almost unrecognizable. Vayne screamed.
She woke up panting, droplets of sweat running down her forehead and nose, despite the fact that only a small blanket covered her naked body. She looked around frantically, not recognizing her surroundings for a few moments of absolute terror before she remembered where she was. It was still very dark. Vayne sighed.
"Shauna?"
The hoarse, yet audibly accented voice drew her attention instantly. She jerked her head and met a pair of concerned, blue eyes. Fiora pushed herself up and drew herself closer to Vayne. "Are you alright? You're shaking."
Vayne hadn't noticed until she mentioned it. She closed her eyes for a moment and the images of her dream still flashed before her. She dropped her head onto her pillow. "I'm okay," she lied, avoiding the other woman's gaze. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. You should go back to sleep, it's still early."
Fiora slowly laid down next to her, watching her carefully. She reached out and took Vayne's hand into her own, running circles on the back of her palm with her thumb. She knew better than to ask Vayne questions she wasn't going to answer. The huntress was never one to talk about her feelings. Ever. She was well aware of that. "Alright," she said eventually. She pulled the covers over them and proceeded to lay there, looking at the older woman beside her. Soon enough, she gave in and her eyelashes closed.
Vayne watched her, her pink strands standing in stark contrast with the rest of her short dark hair, listening to her steady breathing as she drifted back to sleep. Fiora's grip around her hand remained strong and Vayne didn't have the heart to let go, preferring to give her the illusion that she was offering her some comfort. The room fell quiet once again.
Fiora looked so peaceful in her sleep. Such a contradictory image with what Vayne had seen in her dream. She teared her gaze away, refusing to ruin the younger woman's image with that gore scenery her mind had created. She didn't fall asleep again. She knew she couldn't. She laid there until the very first hours of dawn. When the first light of the day appeared behind the Demacian mountains, Vayne untangled herself from Fiora's hold as gently as she could, not wanting to disturb her sleep again. She got dressed quietly and left. When she reached the bedroom's door, she hesitated, her hand stuck on the golden handle. For a single moment, Vayne had the urge to look back. But she didn't. Because if she did, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave. She closed her eyes then opened the door and exited without a glance.
The Great City of Demacia was still asleep at those unholy hours. Vayne's hills clicked on the cobblestone as she walked down the street alone. She reached the nearest gate and left the city behind. She didn't have a destination; all she knew was that she needed to get as far from there as possible. By the time the sun had arisen, she was already two miles away from the city. Fiora would be awake by now, realizing that she had left. Of course, that wasn't anything uncommon. Vayne never stuck around long enough. She wasn't that kind of person and the duelist never questioned it. Once Vayne found the decency to ask her if this bothered her and all Fiora told her was, "I don't mind, as long as you always come back."
And she had come back many times. She didn't know exactly why. Vayne wasn't committed to anyone but herself. She rarely indulged in that sort of thing. To be fair, by no account could whatever she had with Fiora be called a relationship without violating the core meaning of it. It was purely physical. Both women were aware of it and accepted it. Vayne could admit that it was slightly fun. But that's just as far as she would go with it.
They had met on a random occasion, during the last Noxian diplomatic delegations. As one of the noble families, Vayne had been summoned by the Crown to represent her kin in those uncertain times. She had found this pointless. She was no diplomat nor did she have any relationships with the rest of the Demacian noble families. Fiora represented the House of Laurent. Vayne had vaguely heard about this patricide matriarch.
When they first met, she had thought of her as arrogant, too obsessed with keeping a clean image for herself and her family. Thus, she was surprised when the much younger woman had approached her. She was definitely very charming and Vayne almost admired her audacity to come up to a woman that was almost twice her age. Everything about it seemed off. But for once, Vayne allowed herself to indulge in, and ever since she had indulged too many times.
After three hours of none-stop walking, Vayne stopped by a small river to catch her breath. She washed her face and drank some water. She sat there by the river for a little while, pondering. Nightmares weren't unusual, but she had never experienced something so painfully vivid. Thinking about it made her breathing difficult. But the way Fiora had looked at last night made it even worse. She knew that look and she was smart enough to know that this wouldn't end well. That dream was a reminder that actions have consequences, that emotions make you vulnerable. And Vayne could not afford being vulnerable.
But she also couldn't deny the truth either. She had repeatedly seen her parents die again and again in her dreams. Seeing Fiora made her realize that the younger woman had managed to slip into her subconscious in a way that she shouldn't have allowed to be. Vayne didn't, couldn't make compromises like this. Not as long as Evelynn was out there.
Just the mere thought of the demoness made her blood boil in rage. Vayne had dedicated her life to avenging her parents' death and making sure no one else had the same fate as them. At the same time, she had found pure satisfaction in killing evil creatures. After Frey, she had denied herself to care about anyone ever again. The only way for her to be truly happy was to keep spilling monster blood. She was nothing more than a merciless hunter.
So why did she keep coming back then?
She couldn't really give a satisfactory answer to that. Vayne attributed this to the carnal desire of sexual pleasure. At the end of the day, she was still human. Her body still had certain needs that monster hunting couldn't satisfy.
No, it wasn't just that. Because, if that was the case, she wouldn't repeatedly return to Fiora out of all people. Vayne closed her eyes, reminiscing back to all the times she was with her and how she had felt around the younger woman. It wasn't just the physical connection. It was something more than that and it scared her. Because, for the first time in forever, Vayne was lost in bliss in a place outside of killing. Could she dare to dream then? Could she dare dream that when she put Evelynn down, she wouldn't have to leave Fiora to wake up alone again?
No. She couldn't and shouldn't dare to dream something so utopian. It wasn't that simple. Even if she managed to abolish the rage that had filled her heart for years and replaced it with love - the mere thought of it made her shudder - the social constraints of Demacian society wouldn't allow them to live their little utopian dream. More importantly, Fiora valued her honor, to the point that she had killed her own father to restore it. She wasn't going to throw everything away for Vayne, she didn't deserve it. The look of her eyes last night probably would claim otherwise, but it mattered little.
It would be so much easier if Vayne just disappeared, if she never came back. Fiora would assume she was dead. She would mourn her for a while, but then she would move on with her life. Maybe that was for the best. After all, Vayne didn't want her nightmare to become a reality.
She smiled sadly at how pathetic she was. She knew for a fact that she couldn't keep herself away from the place that held the last strings of her humanity. If she was to lose that, what would become of her? A new kind of monster would be created, one that lived and thrived inside her. Vayne wouldn't allow this monster to stay alive for long.
The sun sparkled onto the water that ran for miles until it merged with the salty waters of the Conqueror's Sea. Vayne had decided she had stayed there long enough. She continued her way, although she had no destination. Nothing was certain in her life, except one thing. She knew she was always going to come back and she wouldn't dare dream otherwise.
