MONTHS AGO.

After the fight between sisters Vi and Jinx, Caitlyn was furious that she hadn't fulfilled her goal of killing the blue-haired girl. So much so that she started hitting a wall with her weapon out of anger.

"Cait," Vi said, somewhat confused. Caitlyn continued hitting the wall before stopping.

"You stopped me," Cait said.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," the pink-haired girl commented as she dropped her gauntlet to the floor.

"I ALREADY HAD HER!"

"She was a girl. What if you failed?" Vi asked Caitlyn, at which point the young woman turned to face her.

"I WASN'T GOING TO FAIL."

There was a brief silence between them.

"What's wrong with you?" Violet asked, worried about how her companion was behaving.

"I keep telling myself you're different," Caitlyn said. "But it's not like that. Her blood runs through your veins."

"And why are you the one acting like her?" Vi raised her voice as she grabbed Caitlyn's arm.

After that, there was silence between them, and the only thing that could be heard was Caitlyn's labored and uncomfortable breathing.

Seconds later, the little girl hit her in the stomach with her weapon, causing Vi to lose her breath for a few moments. Caitlyn looked at Vi, kneeling on the floor, clutching the spot where she had hit her. After this, the guard left, leaving the Zaunite alone in the darkness and solitude of the cave.

Vi only began to cry when she saw Caitlyn leave, not caring about leaving her feeling bad at that moment.

Now Violet was alone. But it wouldn't be for long.

(•••)

Days passed, and Vi turned to alcohol as a way to drown her sorrows and pain. The young woman was drinking outside an underground fighting venue when she began to hear screams.

"PLEASE, DON'T FIRE ME. I REALLY NEED THE JOB MORE THAN EVER." said a tall girl with light brown hair and amber eyes, crying and pleading not to be fired.

"In your condition, it's no longer possible. Go away and don't come back," a tall man told her as he threw her to the ground.

I just watched the scene, somewhat confused by what I had witnessed, but I didn't pay any attention and continued drinking alcohol.

"THEY ARE SONS OF BITCHES. HOW COULD THEY KICK ME OFF? THEY'RE GOING TO REGRET THIS." The girl said as she got up from the ground. She only took a couple of steps before falling again. I saw whoever was near the girl approach her to help her.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" I asked with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you very much. It just hurts my soul not knowing what to do now that they kicked me out of here. I need to work, I need money, otherwise how are we going to support ourselves?"

"You have a family, right?"

"I'm going to have one. I'm pregnant, and like I told those idiots, they kicked me out. Now I don't know what to do."

Vi felt bad for the girl because the conditions she was in weren't appropriate for her condition.

"Come if you want, I'll walk you home. You look really bad," Vi told the young woman.

"Thanks. By the way, what's your name?" she asked.

"Vi, that's my name, and what's yours?"

"My name is Tina. It's nice to meet you, Vi," Tina said to Vi.

Both girls walked toward Tina's house. When they got there, the young woman offered Vi something to drink.

"You've always lived here, haven't you?" Tina asked Vi, offering her a drink.

"Yes, practically since I was born, and you've lived here too."

"Just like you, I've always lived in this city, which has become a real shithole in recent years. I always swore I wouldn't have children so they wouldn't go through the same thing I did, but I broke that promise to myself," the brunette replied. "And you, Vi, do you have family in Zaun?"

"No, I don't have anyone, I'm alone."

"If you look good, you're in shape to work where I used to."

"Do you think I'd do it well?" Vi asked.

"You've got the nerve to beat up anyone you don't like."

"You're right about that, I'm not easy to deal with."

"Tomorrow you can go see if they want you to fight. Although knowing the damn owner, he'll say yes."

"I'll take your advice and go, but first I have to do something."

(•••)

The next few months were somewhat tough for the pink-haired girl. She started fighting in that place where she was everyone's favorite. Tina suggested she live with her so she wouldn't be alone. Vi had been taking refuge in alcohol all those months. Tina's pregnancy was proceeding normally; the young woman was already over eight months along.

"I always tell you not to drink too much. Look at how you're feeling, Vi. Yesterday you arrived, you were drowned in alcohol." Tina told her as she cleaned the wounds she had from fighting.

-- You know I'm like that. Besides, drinking helps me ease the pain in my soul.

-- What do you mean? I already told you that alcohol doesn't solve anything; it just makes you dependent on it. I want to prevent anything bad from happening to you if you keep drinking like this. I wish there was someone who could make you see that it's not good to depend on unnecessary things.

-- NO ONE, that's going to make me change, Tina.

"I wouldn't say that if I were AHHH." Tina couldn't continue speaking because at that moment she felt a horrible pain in her lower abdomen.

"TINA, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? ARE YOU OK?" Vi said as she got up from her seat to check on the young woman.

"No, I think it's time for this baby to be born. I've been feeling these pains since yesterday," the young woman commented, panting heavily.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have taken you to the midwife for a checkup."

"I didn't want to worry you, Vi, but now I need your help. Take me to the midwife so she can help me deliver the baby."

"Okay, I'll take you, but you have to stay calm, okay."

"Yes, whatever you say."

Vi took Tina to the place where the midwife attended to women who were about to give birth. Tina was already lying in bed waiting to give birth, but things weren't going as she expected.

"This girl is bleeding too much. I'm afraid the baby isn't okay," the woman was saying to Vi, who was accompanying Tina.

"PLEASE, SHE HAS TO BE WELL, AND SO HAS HER BABY," VI exclaimed loudly, worried about everything that was happening.

"I'll try to make sure they're both okay," the midwife told her. "Now, dear, I need you to push."

"I-I don't think I can. I'm not that brave," the young mother said in a very weak voice.

"You can do it. I'm here with you," Vi said, taking Tina's hand.

After saying that, Tina began to push, but it was very difficult because with each push, the bleeding didn't stop, and each time the young woman lost strength. It only took four pushes before the cry of a baby could be heard.

"Here she is, darling. You had a beautiful baby girl." The midwife said, handing the baby to Vi so she could be the first to hold her. The young Zaunita carried her friend's daughter in her arms with such emotion.

"Look, Tina, you had a baby girl, she looks just like you." The baby was an exact copy of her mother; her skin tone was pale, almost like snow, and her hair was brown with a few curls.

"My baby girl... she'll have a better life than us, won't she?" Tina said in a weak, barely understandable voice.

"Of course, you're going to take care of it because you're her mother."

"Vi, promise me, that you'll never leave my daughter alone, promise me."

"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT, TINA." The tears in Violet's eyes soon began to flow.

"Promise me, Vi," Tina said.

"I promise, what name do you want her to have?"

"I-I want her to be called... Mildred, that's her name, Mildred."

"Mildred, I like the name a lot."

"Me too, take good care of her, Vi..." was the last thing Tina said before closing her eyes.

"TINA... TINA, SNAP, TINA, PLEASE OPEN YOUR EYES!" Vi shouted, desperate to try to wake Tina.

"Don't try again, my dear. She's dead. I couldn't stop the blood loss. I'm so sorry," the woman told her.

The pink-haired woman was in shock. Her friend, whom she had met only a few months ago, had just died, leaving her little daughter, Mildred, in her care.

"And now what am I going to do? How am I going to take care of the baby?" she asked herself.

"It would be best if you left the baby here with us for a few days so we can take care of her and feed her well. After that, you can come and get her and take her home."

"Okay, but please take good care of her."

"Don't worry, dear. We'll take good care of her. And what are you going to do with your friend's body? Are you going to bury her?" the woman asked Vi.

"Yes, she deserves to rest in peace." Vi took one last look at her friend's body before they covered her with a sheet.

"Perfect, now give me the baby and go give her mother a burial."

At that moment, Vi felt so bad about what had happened that she didn't know what would happen next.

(•••)

A few very difficult days passed for Violet. She and her friend Loris buried Tina in a small cemetery so she could rest in peace. Afterward, Vi went to the midwife who had given Mildred bottles of milk she had managed to save in Piltover so she could feed the baby properly. The woman also gave her a paper stipulating that she was Mildred's biological mother so that no one could take her away from her.

Vi was in the small house that had previously belonged to Tina, holding the awake baby in her arms.

"Now it's just you and me, Mildred, and as I promised your mother, I'll always be there for you. Nothing will separate us," she said, then kissed little Mildred on the forehead.