Chapter 77: The Walk
"I warned you she would get like this as she grew older," Elise said.
"You did," Karthus responded, "though I had hoped that you would be incorrect. She has never acted so distant before."
"She's almost at her eleventh Finding Day celebration. This behavior is not uncommon for young girls her age."
"The change was sudden."
"To you perhaps," Elise gave a soft chuckle, "but you have been around the dead for too long. The living change, Karthus. Sometimes it is gradual, sometimes it is sudden."
Elise's words did nothing to remove the look of concern from Karthus's face.
"Do not worry," she continued, "I will speak with her. I believe a visit from her dear Auntie is just what she needs."
"It may be," Karthus conceded, "and should you discover what it is that is causing her distress, tell me."
"I will make sure you know what you need to."
Elise went to Achlys's bedroom door and gave a knock.
"I still don't want to talk, Father," the young girl's voice called out, "I still want to be left alone."
"But what if I'm not your father?" Elise said, a sly smile on her lips, "Would you let me in?"
There was the hurried sound of feet scrambling towards the door.
"Auntie Elise?"
The door was opened in an instant and Achlys's eyes lit up as she saw the other woman.
"Hello, my little bug."
"Auntie Elise!"
She threw her arms around her aunt, hugging her as tightly as she could.
"Or maybe I should start calling you big bug, hmm?" Elise asked as she returned the hug, "you're growing up more and more each time I – oh? What's that in your hair?"
"Oh this?" Achlys took a step back and reached up to touch a white feather she had tucked into her hair, "I was trying to get my hair to look like one of the ladies in a book you gave me. I didn't have a hairpin like her though, so I used a seagull feather instead."
"I should get you a proper hairpin. Your Finding Day is only months away, after all. Is purple still your favorite color or do you want something different?" Red? Black? Perhaps something pale green to match your necklace?"
"Nothing green," Achlys said abruptly, "not right now. Purple would be nice please."
"Purple it will be," Elise nodded, "Now, may I come in?"
"Yes," Achlys said and moved aside.
Every time Elise saw the girl's room she was reminded of how out of place and out of time it was. It was a room in the basement of a Helian cathedral, furnished by Noxian goods brought in steadily over the years by her, salvaged goods from the ruins around the Isles, whatever Karthus was able to collect during a Harrowing, and, strangest of all, was the lifeboat of such unremarkable make that it was impossible to tell where it originated from. Even among the mismatched collection of things, Elise was able to spot the illustration that Achlys had been trying to mimic. Propped open on the floor beneath a large mirror, was the book, its pages open to a full paged portrait of a Noxian noblewoman with hair tied up in an elaborate manner.
"Is this what you were trying to do?" Elise asked as she pointed down at the book.
"Yeah," Achlys sighed, "but it's too difficult for me to do alone."
"You should practice on your father," Elise joked, "he has long hair."
"Would he let me?"
"You will never know until you ask."
Elise placed the book back down and stood before the mirror.
"Let me have your brush," she said, "I will help you."
While Achlys was going to get her hairbrush, Elise saw her reflection in the cursed mirror shift. A raven with too many eyes that glittered like rubies landed on her reflection's shoulder and tore off her ear. In the next instant, she was swarmed by similar birds all pecking and tearing at her. More and more covered her by the second until the whole reflection was nothing but black feathers. Then they were gone and the reflection was Elise as she was again.
"Did you see yourself being covered by the Black Mist in the mirror," Achlys ask as she returned, "I see that one a lot."
"No," Elise answered, taking the brush from the girl, "I saw something else."
"Oh. I hope it was a nice death though."
"No, I do not plan on dying in that way."
"In what way?"
"Being defeated by an enemy."
"Yeah, that doesn't sound nice. I hope you get a better death when it happens."
Elise chuckled.
"I do not plan on dying for a very, very long time, if at all."
She began brushing out Achlys's hair, undoing the little snarls she had given herself when she had attempted the style.
"I have teased out far more dangerous information from far more secretive individuals," Elise thought to herself, "so, my little bug, do your secrets hold a candle to those of Noxian inner circles?"
Elise let the silence between them grow comfortable before speaking again.
"Achlys," she said, "tell me, how have you been? I don't get to see you as often as I did when you were younger. I want to know what you have been doing in my absence."
'Oh I've been fine."
The happiness in her tone that was present when she had first greeted her aunt vanished in an instant. Elise knew she was on the right track.
"Just fine?" she asked.
"Yes," Achlys answered with a sigh, "everything is just fine."
"Hmm,"
At Achlys's behavior, Elise could not help but sigh inwardly.
"You are a terrible lair."
Had she been raised in Noxus she would have been trained better on how to conceal her emotions and weave more convincing stories. In time, Elise did plan on teaching her these skills, but for now, her obvious façade was at least making the task of finding out what was bothering her easier.
"It will be a simple matter," Elise thought, "lead the conversation through inviting questions. Make her want to speak with me."
But even that minimal amount of manipulation would prove to be unnecessary.
She finished brushing Achlys's hair and placed a hand on her shoulder. A quick whimper of pain escaped Achlys at the touch. In response, Acheron rose suddenly from his perch and flew towards them but Achlys raised her hand and motioned for her guardian to relax. Elise withdrew her hand.
"Are you hurt?" she asked.
"It's not that bad."
"You flinched at a light touch, dear. Let me look at it."
The young girl was silent for a moment, thinking about what her answers were going to be for the inevitable questions, before answering.
"Yeah," she sighed, unease apparent in her voice, "you may."
Tenderly, Elise pushed up the back of Achlys's shirt until the source of her pain revealed itself. Blue and purple, a bruise bloomed across the girl's shoulder, its dark, aching colors standing out in stark contrast to her pale skin. Its edges were beginning to turn yellow, a sign that it was healing, but from observing Achlys's earlier reaction, it was obvious that it was quite tender to the touch.
"Achlys," Elise asked, "what happened?"
"I uh- I fell down."
"Do not lie to me about this," Elise thought with a scowl.
"Tell me the truth," she said, "if this were a simple matter of clumsiness, you would not be responding so defensively about it."
Achlys lowered her gaze to the floor.
"But I did fall, kind of."
"Kind of?"
"Well, I was knocked over and fell, but it was an accident! I don't think he meant to do that."
"A wraith attacked you?"
"No! No, it was an accident. I was standing too close when he cast a spell and I got knocked over. He helped me back up afterwards. I think he was sorry about it."
"So it was an intelligent wraith that did this," Elise said with a nod, "which one?"
If she knew the wraith in question, Elise considered seeking out and reducing it back to mist, if not more. Achlys was her niece and her investment.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" Achlys asked, "anywhere away from here?"
"Somewhere where your father won't be able to hear you?"
The slight flinch at the mention of Karthus was all the confirmation Elise needed.
"We can go for a walk," Elise suggested, "just us. I'll put your hair up in a simpler bun for now so we can go sooner."
Elise's fingers quickly wove Achlys's silver strands and placed them in a bun before taking the white feather and sticking it in.
"It gets lost in the color of your hair but until I bring you something purple and beautiful, it doesn't look too bad, does it?"
Achlys lifted her head and looked in the mirror.
"No, it doesn't," she answered, "it looks nice. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, let's go for a walk."
Achlys motioned for Acheron to follow her and the three of them made their way back upstairs. Karthus was still there waiting.
"Achlys," he said, "good afternoon."
"Hmm," she responded with a nod and a small smile.
"We are going out for a walk," Elise announced, "some fresh air and quality time for just the two of us is just what she needs."
"We won't be gone too long," Achlys added.
Karthus's expression flickered briefly to one of disappointment but he made no objection.
"I will remain here," he said, turning to Achlys, "enjoy yourself."
At the edge of the cathedral's yard, several spiderlings waited by the fence, though Elise knew many more lurked in the trees beyond, hiding out of sight. Those that were not hiding scurried up to Elise as she stepped out of the yard, happy to be reunited with their mistress. One recognizing Achlys, reached two of its limbs up her leg in an invitation to be picked up and cuddled.
"Not now," Achlys said, leaning down and gently pushing the spiderlings off of her, "maybe another time."
She gave it a few, consolatory scratches on its head before standing up again to walk alongside Elise.
They walked until the cathedral was out of sight and then a little bit more before Achlys, unprompted, blurted out her concerns.
"I made a huge mistake," she said, "I've ruined everything!"
Elise blinked.
"The poor girl really does wear her heart on her sleeve," she thought, "And wearing your heart on your sleeve gives your enemies an incredibly easy target to go for. I will need to correct that behavior before I bring her anywhere near Noxian courts. She would be devoured by them otherwise. But that will have to wait."
"Oh my dear, what is ruined?" Elise asked, "what happened?"
"My father told me not to do it but I did it anyways and now he's mad at me."
"Karthus is angry with you?"
"No, King Viego is."
It took Elise's mind an extra second to catch up to what Achlys had just said and when she did, it took a great deal of her practiced self-control to not appear shocked or angry.
"Why that one? Of every wraith on the Isles to anger, why one of the most dangerous ones? I'm sorry my little bug. I adore you but I am not fighting him. As I said, I have no intention of dying soon."
Instead, she wore her mask of calm concern well.
"Ah, so he is the one mad at you," she said, "Was he also the one who gave you the bruise?"
"Yes, kinda. It was an accident, remember? And that happened when he was happy, I think, not angry, or at least not angry with me," she spoke quickly without pausing to take a breath, "I was standing so close and –"
"Achlys, please slow down," Elise interrupted, "take a deep breath and tell me what happened."
"Okay," she said and took a deep breath, "It started with a Harrowing. . ."
Achlys recounted what had happened; how she killed an albatross during the Harrowing and how she was to offer it to Viego, her audience with him, their time together beneath the temple, and how he at first seemed happy with her but how quickly it had turned to rage.
"I thought I had done it," she said, "I thought I fixed my problems and that things were going to be good between King Viego and me but I made it all worse."
She lowered her head, unable to look Elise in the face.
"What did you do?" the older woman asked.
"I asked the question."
For a minute after saying that, Achlys was silent. She leaned her head to the side and Acheron took his position at her side, pressing his crystalline cheek against her. The balefire that shrouded his form flickered harmlessly against her skin, cooling it and silently soothing her. At last, she spoke.
"Before the audience, I told Father that I had a question I wanted to ask King Viego, about why the Harrowing feels so terrible and if there was anything he could do to make it not feel awful. Father told me not to ask that question but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I felt like I had to ask it. I- I thought that maybe asking could end up making things better for the other wraiths. I thought I would try and be clever and turn the question into just offering a suggestion so that I wouldn't be disobeying Father exactly. I thought I was so clever. So when it was just the two of us, I asked him."
Elise could almost imagine it; Achlys, innocent and unskilled in the art of manipulation, and Viego, a wraith consumed by grief, madness, and delusion.
"A terrible combination."
"He did not appreciate your suggestion, did he?"
"He was so angry." her eyes clouded with sorrow as she spoke, "I could feel it. It was like when you sit too close to a fire and your skin gets hot, but it was all over, especially here," she placed a finger on her throat, "it felt too hot and too cold at the same time. Is that what it's like to get burnt?"
"He used magic on you?" Elise asked, the grave seriousness of the question reflected in her voice.
"I don't know. Maybe, but maybe he was just so angry my soul could feel it, like how I can feel other emotions when I am a wraith."
Peering out from under the sea glass pendant, the mark at Achlys's throat glowed dimly. Elise found its shine mocking.
"Does it allow him to influence her soul even though she is alive? I hope not."
"He calmed down quickly though," Achlys continued, "and when he did the pain went away just as quick, except for my shoulder. It started throbbing again and didn't stop for a bit. I wanted to tell my father about it but I was too worried. I didn't want him to know I asked the question. I didn't want both him and the king to be mad at me. I know he would be if I told him what I did. I know it! I wanted him to be proud of me."
When Elise was sure that Achlys had finished speaking, she made a long, audible sigh.
"Oh my dear," she said, "that is quite the predicament you find yourself in."
She held an arm out, allowing her niece to lean into her, and wrapped her arm around the girl.
"What do I do about it Auntie?" she moaned, "I want to do the right thing but I don't know what that is?"
"Not everything in life has a right or wrong answer."
Green eyes looked up pleadingly at Elise, desperate for answers.
"Keep walking with me, my little bug."
"Karthus," Elise scolded, "you are raising her to be a kind girl but also a foolish one. You were Noxian but it is apparent that you had never spent a single day of your life involved in its politics. She thinks with her heart first and her mind second. It's a dangerous way to live."
"Achlys," Elise started.
"Hhmm?"
"You are growing up and the world is becoming more complicated, isn't it?"
"Mm-hmm."
"And I am sorry to say this, but it is only going to get more complicated. This will be especially true when I bring you to Noxus one day."
For how much she had grown over the years, when Elise looked down at the girl she looked so small.
"What I am going to say is not pleasant, my dear, but you need to hear it. It is impossible to please everyone. Things that may make some happy may make others miserable. And what if they both want you to do to something that would benefit them but harm the other? What do you do then? And on top of that, do not forget your own wants and desires. Would you be willing to make yourself miserable to make another happy?"
If possible, Achlys's expression sunk even lower.
"I was even younger than you when my mother told me this. I do not remember how I responded, but I know how important it was that I heard it."
"I don't know," Achlys mumbled, "how do you do it?"
"I prioritize," Elise answered, "take care of those within arm's reach first; your family."
"Oh the things I did for House Kythera. Decades and decades and decades later, I still remember it."
"And even closer than your family," she continued, "is yourself. Nobody will be able to take care of you better than you."
"Not even your husband, even after all the work you do making your Houses more powerful."
Memories flashed through her mind. She remembered how it had felt plunging that knife into him. How his smug expression instantly become one of shock, his pained gasp sounding deafeningly loud, the warmth of his blood trickling over her fingers, and the sense of resolve that hardened her heart because she knew it was either him or her.
"But what about my father?" Achlys asked.
"He's dead and has been for so long. I know he cares for you, but do you think he always knows what you and your living body need?"
A look of sudden realization crossed Achlys's face.
"No."
A tug at her arm let Elise know Achlys wanted to pull away and she did nothing to stop her. She clearly needed a moment to think over what was just said to her.
"Part of you must know that this is true."
For several minutes, they both were silent as they walked and the only sounds were those of their footsteps and the skittering of dozens of legs moving through the dead trees.
"I am the one who knows what I need most."
Achlys's words were more of a question than a statement.
"Yes," Elise reaffirmed, "you are the one. So tell me, what is it that you need most right now?"
"I need my father to not be mad at me," she blurted out without hesitation, "I can figure everything else out with the king later. I can figure out how to make him happy later and how to help more wraiths later but now I just really want Father to not be upset and I know he will be when he learns what I did."
Elise nodded knowingly.
"Then let tell him to be upset about something else."
"Huh?"
"Karthus is worried about you. I am sure that you have noticed that."
Achlys nodded.
"He is worried because he knows that there is something wrong with you but he does not know what that thing is," Elise continued, "that gives you an advantage. He wants to know what is upsetting you but you get to decide what that thing is."
"But what's upsetting me is the thing I don't want to tell him."
"It is, but it could also be something else and that something else is closer than you think. Right over your shoulder in fact."
"I don't understand."
"When people want something, they are more likely to believe what you tell them if it aligns with what they want and is reasonably believable. Your bruise is a reasonably believable reason for why you are upset. It does upset you, does it not?"
"It does."
"Then that is what you will tell him. Tell him how you were knocked over, how the bruise hurts, and how you were embarrassed to tell him. He will believe you and, because he believes you, he will stop asking questions about why you are upset. Furthermore, concealing an injury from an ally is not wise. Only conceal injury from your enemies. If your allies are capable of aiding your recovery or preventing further harm, allow them to help you. Karthus will. He will probably want to keep you away from Viego for a while too, which will give you the time you need to figure out your other problems. This is catching two flies with one web."
Achlys considered the older woman's words and realized that she had already done something similar before. She had withheld the truth about Gwen from her father! But that was different. Back then, she had lied to help Gwen, this time she would be lying just for herself.
"Learning how to lie through omission is important," Elise thought as she carefully studied Achlys's expression, "If you had a more normal social upbringing, you would have figured this out by now. I need you to learn this now. I see the conflict in your eyes. Overcome it."
"Consider it," Elise encouraged.
"It feels wrong to keep things from him."
"I understand your feelings of guilt," Elise lied, "but do not concern yourself too much with them. Another part of growing up is that you will want to keep parts of your life private. A desire for privacy does not make you a bad daughter. Those feelings are normal and nothing to be ashamed of."
"It is?"
"It is."
"Oh my dear, one walk is insufficient for the amount of things I need to teach you. Ah, you're about to enter that magical time in a young girl's life where your thoughts and feelings won't be the only thing changing. I will make sure to bring other books to help with that for you Finding Day and will make sure that we have more time to go for these walks with just the two of us."
Reaching out, Elise tucked a stray hair from Achlys's bun back up to how she had styled it.
"Focus on yourself, your own thoughts and feelings separate from those of your father," Elise continued, "think about what it is you want and if what you want is to keep the knowledge of that question secret form your father, I will aid you when we return. You are under no obligation to hide the truth from him but neither are you forced to tell him everything. Think about it. Shall we return?"
"Yeah," Achlys nodded, "okay, thank you."
"You are welcome."
Achlys had already made up her mind about what she was going to do and Elise knew it. It put a portion of her mind at ease to know that Achlys would be puttering herself first more. Hopefully it would help keep her out of danger.
However, there was still much she did have to worry about, the girl's connection to Viego first among them. She had not been happy when Karthus had told her his plans to bring Achlys before Viego but she had acquiesced knowing it was the girl's best chance for survival at the time. But now with the knowledge that Viego could influence her soul and possibly kill her through their connection, accident or not, filled her with a deep rage.
"She is to be the Black Rose's, not his," she hissed inwardly, "Perhaps that monster has made some progress in his research into freeing them from their shared subjection? Perhaps I should pay him a visit?"
An hour had passed since they left for their walk and Karthus was eagerly awaiting their return at the steps of the cathedral when they emerged from the shadowed path.
"If he is this overbearing," Elise thought at the sight of him, "I am surprised she did not become more secretive earlier."
"We have returned," she announced.
Karthus nodded and gave the closest thing to a warm smile his lifeless form was capable of to Achlys.
"How was your walk?" he asked.
"It was nice," Achlys answered.
Elise placed a hand on Achlys's shoulder, mindful of the bruise, and gave her a reassuring push. The young girl took a deep breath, her eyes darting up to her aunt before turning to her father's coldly glowing eyes.
"Actually, Father," she said, "there is something I wanted to talk to you about."
With her words chosen carefully, Achlys spoke with her father and Elise listened. She told him about Viego's errant spell, her tumble onto the marble, her bruise, the discomfort it caused, and how she was hesitant to show it to him. And with each sentence, Elise nodded along, silently corroborating her story so that by the time she had finished speaking, Karthus, though still rightfully concerned, was more at ease than he had been in days.
Karthus was satisfied by what he had learned, Achlys was satisfied that her disobedience remained secret, and Elise was satisfied that her influence was as strong as ever.