Chapter Text
You glanced in the mirror, admiring yourself for a moment. Mel’s sweet laughter rang out through the room, pulling you away from the mirror.
“You look absolutely divine.” She assured you, as she adjusted the gold earring in her hand. She moved towards the mirror to stand beside you.
“As do you.” You responded with a cheeky smile, and snickered. The two of you had chosen similar dresses to wear to tonight’s event, as you often did.
Neither of you really wanted to attend, of course, but there wasn’t exactly a choice when you were born into Piltover’s high society.
Attend this dinner, dance at this party, mingle at this funeral, you did as you were told to do. Still, that didn’t mean you couldn’t have any fun with it.
“Shall I wear the silver broach or the gold necklace?” You asked her with an air of pretentiousness, mimicking how the Lords and Ladies of Piltover would often speak.
Mel pretended to think for a moment, before responding, “Both!”
You were glad you had Mel by your side during these events, you didn’t know what you’d do with yourself otherwise. You two had been friends since childhood, your friendship starting during the yearly visits your family would make to Noxus.
It was there you had met young Mel, and the two of you have been inseparable ever since, even moreso once she was sent to Piltover by her mother.
As you secured the gold necklace around your neck carefully, you spoke again. “Let’s have fun tonight. I want to dance.”
Mel pulled a face. “With who?”
You laughed, looking at her through the mirror. “With you!”
You were poking fun at her now, you knew she didn’t enjoy dancing at these events, or really speaking to anyone who attended them. You, however, saw the funny side of being forced to attend these parties.
The last party you two had attended, you’d engaged in a rather ridiculous conversation with a man from Bilgewater, that had gone on for at least forty minutes before he realized you were just humoring him.
“You know,” Mel started, her earrings now in place as she moved to securing her hair in an up-do. “I heard the Talis family will be attending tonight.”
That had caught your attention, and you knew why it had caught hers, too. “So… Jayce will be there?”
You watched the woman look away almost shyly, and you continued quickly. “The Jayce Talis? The handsome, rich inventor?”
You knew him very well, in fact, because he was the reason your family was currently facing financial ruin.
Mel scoffed, now looking at you with a small smile. “What does it matter that he’s rich?”
You looked away as you reached for a perfume you particularly fancied. “It may not matter much to you, Mel. But certainly it matters to every other woman who’ll be attending tonight.”
Mel said nothing for a moment, seemingly thinking over your words. Finally, she responded, “He is quite handsome, isn’t he?”
The party itself was a grand affair, with at least one hundred attendees, Piltover’s finest, of course. The hall was just large enough to fit everyone inside, and the center of the room was reserved to those who wished to dance.
There had already been quite a few people dancing before the two of arrived. Your family was in attendance, too, but you hardly wished to spend this evening with them. They were probably too busy mingling, anyway.
A band of musicians played loudly, off to the side of the room, and the upbeat song made your heart hammer in your chest with excitement.
Everyone dressed in the most stunning gowns and suits, all attempting to stand out amongst the crowd. As a waiter carrying drinks walked past, you quickly took two for you and Mel.
You handed the drink to her, which she graciously took, and you had to speak up slightly to have your voice heard over the music. “Now, if every man in this room does not end the evening utterly in love with you, then I’m no judge of beauty.”
Mel laughed, and replied quickly, “Or men.”
She took a drink as you laughed, linking your arm in hers. “No, they are far too easy to judge.”
The two of you watched the people dancing, yourself with a bit of envy, and you sipped your drink idly. Mel spoke again, now closer to your ear. “They’re not all bad!”
“Humorless poppycocks, in my limited experience.” You laughed again, and your companion couldn’t help but smile as she glanced around the room.
“One of these days, someone will catch your eye, and then you’ll have to watch your tongue.” She cheekily replied, bumping you slightly with her hip.
Suddenly the crowd at the entrance parted, and though the music continued to play, you noticed some of the couples had stopped dancing.
You and Mel watched on with curiosity as three figures walked slowly through the entrance. You immediately recognized Jayce Talis, beside his mother, Ximena, yet the man beside them was a stranger to you.
The host of the event, an older man you had spoken with maybe twice before, met with them at the door to greet them. Some of the people around you had broken out into whispers, and your curiosity only grew.
The man beside Jayce walked with a fancy cane with a golden top, and wore a white suit similar to his companion, with the shoulders accented in red and gold, matching his red tie. He stood quite proudly, with a stiffness in his stance, and reached the Talis son’s shoulders, though that still made him quite tall.
Compared to Jayce however, who smiled sociably at the man who had greeted them in, this stranger wore an unreadable, almost disinterested, expression.
Curious, you thought.
“Who is that, beside Jayce Talis?” You whispered to Mel, and though you wouldn’t comment on it outloud, you noticed her eyeing the man you had mentioned very closely.
“That’s his friend, Viktor.”
You let out a small, hushed laugh. “He looks miserable, poor soul.”
“Miserable he may be,” Mel started, now turning her head to watch you with a playful look in her eye. “But poor, he most certainly is not.”
“Oh?” You questioned, your own smile forming on your face.
The party of three moved further into the room, Ximena now speaking to the host as he guided them. The attendees had picked up their previous conversations, and most had resumed dancing, though there were still eyes glued to the newest additions to the party.
“He created Hextech, alongside Jayce. They’re business partners.” She informed you, and your smile lessened slightly. That was a shame, you thought.
You barely had any time to notice the group were on their way past you, until you had seen Mel’s attention turn to them. She bowed her head slightly, and you quickly but clumsily followed.
The host was still speaking eagerly to them, yet Ximena and Jayce bowed their heads in response as they walked past. Your eyes caught the man’s beside them, Viktor, for only a second, before he looked away.
He was quite handsome, you thought.
Once the party had moved on, you laughed a bit at Mel’s smitten expression as she watched them walk away. The music had picked up slightly now, and you wanted to dance, but before you could pull her with you to the center of the room you noticed your family approaching you.
Your mother called your name, an excited smile on her face as your Father followed closely behind her. “Girls, would you come with us to be introduced? This is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a good impression!”
You looked towards Mel, who of course would never say no to your mother, and the two of you began walking behind them, reluctantly.
You knew why your mother thought this moment especially opportune, and although you didn’t particularly want to be apart of it, you knew it would benefit your family to be close to the inventors of Hextech.
Your family were hugely involved in powering Piltover before Hextech’s creation, after all.
Now, barely a year later, the invention had quickly taken hold of the City like nothing else. Playing nice would mean the potential for a partnership between the two families.
That didn’t mean you particularly wanted to get close to them, though. There was a bitterness in the back of your head because of the situation they had put your family in.
The Talis’ and their companion were stood at the furthest end of room, up two or three steps that allowed them to overlook the event. Ximena was still in conversation with the host, and Jayce was speaking eagerly to Viktor, though the latter man seemed preoccupied with watching the couples dance.
Your Mother and Father stopped in front of them, and the Host greeted them with a warm smile, before introducing your family name to the three.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ximena smiled, seemingly genuine, and your Mother quickly responded. “The pleasure is all mine!”
Before a pause settled in the conversation, your Mother quickly spoke again, now gesturing to you as she introduced you by name. “And you already know Mel Medarda! She’s a good friend of our daughter.”
Jayce replied with a small smile. “It’s good to see you, Councillor.”
Mel merely nodded, before he turned his attention to you. “I’m delighted to make your acquaintance.”
You nodded, instantly recognizing why Mel had become so interested in him. He had a warmness about him, very genuine, the same as his mother.
The host spoke again, “And may I introduce the Co-Founder of Hextech, Viktor.”
Viktor looked away, but quickly nodded his head. You were a bit stunned by his lack of response.
The conversation moved on quickly enough however, with Ximena stepping forward to speak to your parents about something you couldn’t quite catch due to the loudness of the music.
After a moment of awkward silence, Jayce looked towards Mel. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Miss Medarda.”
Mel, still stood beside you, smiled at him, in a way that almost made you laugh aloud. You had known her for so long, it had become very obvious to you when she was interested in something, or someone.
“Nor did I expect to see you, Mister Talis.” She replied effortlessly, and again you had to stop yourself from snickering. A bold faced lie.
Your attention drifted towards Viktor, who’s eyes quickly darted to the ground. He didn’t seem much interested in conversation, you thought to yourself, but you thought it rude to not at least make an attempt.
“Do you dance, Viktor?” You spoke up, and it took him a moment to realize you had directed that towards him. But once he did, his response was almost immediate.
“Not if I can help it, Miss.”
His abruptness had caught you off guard, and you hesitantly turned away to face the conversation Jayce and Mel were having, though you could barely focus on it at all.
Though he barely spoke, you had noticed his interesting accent, and his voice had a pleasant melody to it.
He couldn’t even look you in the eye as he responded, which you thought was strange, but his message was quite clear. He was not interested in conversing with you at all.
Not even ten minutes later, you had excused yourself to the restroom, if not mostly to get away from Jayce and Mel, and their utter infatuation with each other. You had noticed it in him almost immediately, the way his eyes would still fall on her, even when you were speaking.
It wasn’t as if you really minded, anyway. You were happy for Mel. It was just a bit awkward when you were the third wheel. Or, you guessed that wasn’t exactly true, Viktor had stood there the entire time in silence.
When you left the restroom in search of Mel, you were pleasantly surprised to see her dancing with none other than Jayce Talis himself.
You fought a large, stupid smile, and glanced around the room in search of your parents, instead. You couldn’t spot them in the crowd, however you did spot Viktor and the man that had introduced him walking in your direction, talking to each other.
You quickly moved to hide behind the large, white pillar beside you, hoping to not find yourself in a conversation with him again. Unlikely, you thought to yourself bitterly, the man refused to speak.
As the two walked past, you heard a quick segment of their conversation.
“Their daughter is quite magnetic, wouldn’t you say? I know of many that say she is a skilled conversationalist.” The older man spoke, quite loudly, about you.
“She’s perfectly tolerable.” Viktor all but mumbled out, and you felt his words dig deeply into your heart. “You should return to your guests, sir, I fear you are wasting your time on me.”
The two continued on their way, yet you stayed leaning against the pillar.
Perfectly tolerable? Rich, coming from a man like him, you thought. No amount of money in the world would make you want to speak another word to him.
You wondered how someone so warm like Jayce Talis could be friends with someone like Viktor.
You’d try not to dwell on him, you thought, that would be an absolute waste of a fun evening. Instead, you sought out a dance with Mel, who was still dancing with Jayce.
“Mind if I interrupt?” You asked as you approached them, catching Mel by surprise. She had stopped to look up at Jayce, who smiled and good-naturedly replied. “Of course not!”
You caught her expression as she watched him walk away, and this time, you laughed outloud, which earnt you a light smack on the arm.
Later in the evening, after the two of you had danced yourselves silly and without a care of how you appeared, you found yourself yet again in a conversation between your Mother, Mel, Jayce and Viktor, though of course the latter was seemingly uninterested in the conversation at all.
“And have you boys found yourselves any admirers?” Your Mother asked, clearly feeling the affects of the drink in her hand. You glared at her in warning, though she ignored you in favor of Jayce, who looked slightly red in the face.
“Ah… No… Not quite yet.” Jayce admitted bashfully, and you had opened your mouth to attempt to change the topic of conversation, when your Mother spoke up again.
“Oh, you’ll find one eventually. Mel and my daughter receive requests from suitors almost every month!” You bristled at that, and your eyes shot towards Mel’s, who also looked embarrassed.
“My daughter here is quite popular at these events, oh, I remember last year her receiving a letter from an admirer she met, a boy from clan Ferros!”
“Mother,” You almost hissed, though attempted to hide your discomfort with a smile. “It was simply some poorly thought out poetry.”
Mel spoke up quickly, with a knowing smile only you’d recognize. “Ah, but isn’t poetry the food of love?”
She was teasing you, reciting a line from the letter you’d received. You were mortified once you read it, of course, though Mel found it particularly funny.
You countered, smiling at her. “I find poetry rarely encourages affection.”
“Then what do you recommend?” You startled slightly when Viktor spoke up, and for the first time that night his eyes watched you intently. “To… Encourage affection?”
His eyes were almost luminous, a stunning gold you hadn’t recognized until they focused on you. Now as you stood under his stare, you almost felt your knees go weak. There was no hint of malice in his expression, either, but a stern curiosity.
You quickly snapped out of your daze, remembered the words he had spoken earlier in the night.
“Dancing.” You replied with a coy smile. “Even if one’s partner is barely tolerable.”
He watched you with an expression you couldn’t quite place, though there was a hint of recognition in his eyes. He said nothing in response, though you were slightly unnerved that he still watched you with intensity.
Jayce spoke up again, though you paid very little attention to the conversation, and quickly Viktor looked away. You excused yourself, feeling satisfied in your subtle dig at him as you walked away from the group.
Though you had the strangest feeling you could feel those gold eyes following your figure.