Thud
Vi closed her eyes as the dull pain spread along her left arm. On the back of her eyelids, the scene was replayed for the hundredth time…
Lord Vander Warwick was falling down the high castle tower, face surrounded by a cloud of glowing smoke, exchanging a last look with his helpless adopted daughter…
NO !
Thud
Her right fist hit the black stone of the wall with full force. Her teeth clashed so violently that they emitted a grinding sound, reverberating throughout the cell in which she was locked. Vi squeezed her eyelids even tighter, as if to erase all the memories that were flashing through the darkness without her consent, …
…unsuccessfully.
He was here, so close ! They have finally reached him, despite the vile presence of Silco's henchmen in her own father's castle. The Usurper had locked the King in the highest tower of the castle after having dishonourably captured him. But Vi and her loyal servants - her squire Mylo and her groom Claggor - had managed to find it and were on the verge of success…
Thud
In spite of herself, a faint smile loosened slightly her clenched jaws at the memory of the intense joy she had felt at finding her father alive, albeit a prisoner. In the days leading up to his attempted release, she had feared the worst…
Of course, Silco the Usurper was quickly aware of her presence thanks to his minions and spies everywhere. She had to fight against a creature made of some kind of disgusting dark magic he sent at her, and did not notice her arrival...
This time, she could not suppress the tears.
Her arms fell back by her sides, stripped of their strength. She was banging on that wall non-stop for at least half an hour. It was not as if there was anything more interesting to do down here, in the dungeons… the guards were all complete idiots - the night one was a drunkard, it was a wonder he had not been fired yet - and, even if she wouldn't have admitted it under torture, it had to be said that her cell was pretty cold, so hitting the wall helped her to warm up a bit.
It was only at this moment, when she stopped, that she more or less instinctively noticed someone's presence…
She caught her breath for one, two seconds. Almost no sounds to be heard, instead… instead…
… instead for a very soft, discreet breathing, and a light, subtle scent of violet and lilac that came to her from the corridor in a draught.
Someone was watching her…
Vi tilted her head to one side, curious and a bit irritated. She was locked here for a week and nobody ever came except the guards giving her her meals or mocking her for being a Zaunite. Whoever was that, it wasn't a guard - this person was too quiet and smelled far too good to be one of those vulgar fools.
What could they want from her ?
At first, she thought she wouldn't react until the other person spoke up ; however, her hot-headed temper got the better of her patience and, after only a few seconds, she couldn't help shooting in a harsh tone:
"For Janna's sake, who are you ?"
There was a sudden silence. The other person had caught their breath.
Vi sighed and finally decided to turn to see her unexpected visitor.
It was a tall, young, beautiful woman. Her long dark blue hair was mostly held back in a delicate, sophisticated style by several clips and ribbons, but a few thin strands fell over her high, pale cheekbones. Her chin was slim, her cerulean eyes were almond-shaped ; overall, in spite of her long, covering grey and lavender dress and rigid posture, she seemed soft - and maybe a bit scared, although she tried to hide her emotion. She was holding something wrapped in a dark blanket under her arm, but in the dim light the prisoner couldn't tell what it was.
Vi raised an eyebrow and took a step closer after having discreetly swept the tears and the sweat still covering her face. The unknown lady did not flinch at the sudden movement - may she be braver than she looked ?
She managed to surprise Vi for a second time when she took the initiative to speak first in an inflexible, serious voice:
"I witnessed your trial. I don't understand why you are here…
"Only for my sunny personality, Milady," Vi retorted sarcastically.
The lady slightly moved back her head and pursed her lips, probably unsettled, but showed nothing more and simply resumed as if not interrupted:
"Normally, for your crimes, you should have been executed. According to knight Marcus Rem, you assaulted our lands and murdered General Grayson."
The knight suppressed the sudden urge to cry in anger when the woman mentioned this felonious bastard at the beck and call of Silco. Of course, as she never had any interactions with General Grayson - except for the one letter she sent her when she resigned herself to bear her sister's involuntary crimes on her own shoulders - there was no proof to submit to court : therefore, they could not apply the execution sentence and it was the only reason why she was still alive.
"Seems I'm lucky then…" she muttered.
"General Grayson was a friend of mine," the blue-haired lady added in a cold tone.
"Sorry for your loss." But I never murdered her ! Vi wanted to cry, but her knight's pride prevented her from doing so. Instead, she stayed silent and turned away from her visitor, as if she lost all interest in her.
A moment passed. Vi assumed that the mysterious lady had no more reasons to stay here, in the cold corridor, watching her back, but strangely, she did not hear her leave.
Finally, the blue-haired woman's impassible voice resonated again in the stone cell:
"You know, actually I'm not accusing you - not yet at least. All I do is try to understand : General Grayson was one of the main Piltovan lords, but nobody's officially talking about her death nor blaming Zaun for it. If you were her murderer, if you were proven guilty, there is no chance you'd stay rotting in the dungeons : you'd be publicly executed on the Capital's main square. So… please, tell me what really happened in Zaun and why you are here."
Vi widened her eyes as she listened to this delicate lady's speech : she had to be pretty smart if she figured all of this while only witnessing one quick, artificial trial ! The knight had always thought that these Piltovan nobles were all soft-brained, half-degenerated by too much comfort - but this one was proving her the opposite ! Perhaps she had been too quick to form an opinion about them, after having encountered only the worst of them ?
The pink-haired knight turned again to face the young lady and headed straight for the bars of her prison to stand as close as possible while analysing the expressions of her face, trying to determine her true motivations. Maybe she was sincere with her - but one could never know until it was too late, life taught her that with Silco's and the other Zaunite nobles' treason.
"What do you want ?" she asked bluntly while frowning after she understood she was not that good at analysing this pretty woman's impassible face.
"Your version of events. Why did you attack Piltover's villages ? What happened to General Grayson ?"
Vi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. On one side, for some unknown and unsettling reasons, she wanted to give the whole truth to this woman - to make her understand she was innocent (well, mostly innocent) and that all of her acts were guided by her sense of duty and honour - that she was a valiant and faithful knight. On the other hand though, she had no logical reason to trust her - she even did not know her name nor her title ! - and she was not the kind of person to put her pride aside and confess her in order to please people.
Moreover, she could not tell her anything, because it would mean betraying her sister. And Vi was above all a knight of her word.
"Sorry Milady, but I have vowed in my honour to keep this information secret."
There was another silence, but shorter than the former one. After a few seconds, the blue-haired lady stopped staring at the prisoner and stepped back while whispering in her clear voice:
"I see. Thus, I have nothing more to learn here."
And she started to leave.
Vi clenched her fists. She knew she could never earn her trust if she didn't say the whole truth, but still…
"Silco."
The lady froze. The word had been pronounced in a rasp, deep, hateful voice. If she was as smart as she showed before, she would get its importance.
"What did you say ?" she asked while backtracking - in spite of herself, Vi could not help but notice the fluidity and lightness of the movement.
"Silco Warwick" the knight repeated herself. "He's the one you should investigate, not me.
"Warwick ? Is he a member of your clan, then ?" the lady questioned with a sudden interest.
"Yes, indeed." Vi's tone made clear her disgust at this fact.
"How am I supposed to investigate a man in Zaun, exactly ?" the blue-haired woman frowned.
"Err, I don't know, maybe by getting there," Vi sarcastically answered back.
The woman bit her lips and looked away, visibly uncomfortable. It surprised the prisoner a bit : the lady seemed almost ashamed of something, but what could it be ?
Eventually, the blue-haired lady looked back at her and a slight, almost unnoticeable smile brightened her elegant face.
"Thank you for your cooperation, knight Violet.
"You're welcome, Milady."
The visitor was ready to leave again, but just before she left the field of vision of Vi, she stopped again and slowly turned back. In the dim light, it was hard to tell, but… for a moment, Vi had the impression that she was slightly blushing.
"And… err, knight Violet, I could not help but notice your legs are shaking… Shall I… Do you want a blanket ?"
Vi was completely taken aback. She blinked once, twice.
Usually, her pride would have been deeply hurt by having displayed such weakness - but strangely, this time, she did not feel offended.
Would it be dishonour to accept a gift from a member of a hostile clan ?
Almost in a second state, she silently nodded - simultaneously feeling her legs shake even more.
The lady bent down and leaned something out of Vi's field of view against the wall of the corridor - it had to be the long object wrapped in a blanket - then approached Vi's cell again and handed her the blanket.
Vi hesitated a bit, then reached out for the fabric. It was soft and warm, made in some kind of fluffy fur. It also smelt violet and lilac.
She raised her gaze and looked into the lady's cerulean eyes.
"Uhh… Thank you.
"You're welcome."
The blue-haired woman had such a cute smile…
Before Vi recovered from her astonishment, the lady was already reaching the stairs leading out of the dungeon.
"Wait," the knight said hurriedly. "I don't even know your name ?
"Sorry dear knight, I have vowed in my honour to keep this information secret," was her only response.