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It was going to be a busy day for the Kirammans. Cassandra was unexpectedly booked for a site visit out in the countryside and it unfortunately fell on the same day that the house was going to hold a Progress Day party. Tobias had been overseeing the party preparations so as the dutiful daughter she is… sometimes, Caitlyn offered to accompany Cassandra instead. They would leave early in the morning and return just in time to change into their party outfits before the guests arrive.
With a last touch to her light makeup, Caitlyn put on her watch and straightened out her outfit. It had been awhile since she accompanied her mother on official Kiramman business so she had to dig around her wardrobe for a bit that morning.
Her mother has it easy since she has an array of signature councilor outfits. While Caitlyn could wear her usual work ensemble, she didn't think the visit warranted her to wear a heavy padded leather armour. Not to mention all of the buckles and straps are a hassle to put on.
Caitlyn settled on a crisp white shirt with light gold detailing on the front, a modest cravat around the collar held together by a brooch with her family's crest. She paired dark blue slacks with ankle-length leather boots and a heavy overcoat completed her look. It was simple, unassuming and keeps the spotlight on her mother, just the way she prefers it.
In the mirror, she spotted Vi inappropriately checking her out from the bed. Caitlyn felt a spike of jealousy since Vi could still lounge around in bed while she had to start getting ready at an ungodly hour. Vi drowsily flopped onto her back and threw a wink, "Are you sure you can't join me for just a few more minutes, cupcake?" Vi looked devilishly handsome with mussed pink hair and shirt riding up. Caitlyn was tempted but she really needed to head downstairs for breakfast already.
Caitlyn rose from her vanity chair and placed a chaste, soft kiss on Vi's lips. "Unfortunately, I'll have to get going now, darling. Help my father out, okay?" Vi nodded, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, then did a full body stretch in bed. The shirt rode up even further and Caitlyn had to immediately get out of the room. One more look and they may never leave till noon.
After a quick breakfast with her parents, Caitlyn piled into the carriage along with Cassandra and took off. The journey wasn't too far and should be fairly quick. They were going to be discussing business plans at the ranch they had just bought. Breaking into the food industry was something Cassandra had been eyeing for a while but her plans wasn't set in stone yet and only a site visit could help her determine it. It's a shame it had to happen today due to scheduling conflicts.
The ride in the carriage was quite rattly, especially once they left the cobbled streets of Piltover and reach the dirt roads of outer Piltover. Cassandra hadn't felt nauseated yet thanks to remembering to take her medicine in advance, however she did feel a slight headache slowly overcoming her. She pinched the spot between her eyebrows and let out a deep exhale.
Caitlyn, sitting opposite of her mother, saw an annoyed frown on her mother's brows. "Mum, are you alright?"
At that, Cassandra blinked her eyes a few times and looked outside, setting them on the horizon in the hopes of quelling the incoming headache. "I'm alright, dear. Just a slight headache. The road is a bit too uneven that even the new suspension system your father installed couldn't eliminate it completely."
Caitlyn looked outside of the carriage into the sprawling grass fields passing by them. That is to be expected. At least it wasn't like her mother's severe nausea episodes. One of the unexpected side effects, other than an injured leg, from the council building bombing was her mother feeling nauseated and getting headaches easily whenever she feels like the ground under her shakes.
The Kirammans found out about it the hard way while heading towards their summer home for Cassandra to rest and start her physical therapy. Her headache and nausea came in slow waves on the train and within the hour, she could no longer keep her breakfast down. When urged to get off at the next station to go to a hospital by Tobias, Cassandra adamantly refused and asked for the family doctor to be on standby at their summer home instead. She was sick of being at the hospital. She endured the rest of the trip downing painkillers and a worried Tobias by her side. Caitlyn, along with Vi, rushed from Piltover that evening to check on her mother.
Experts were brought in and her mother was screened through multiple health checks to pinpoint the cause of the nausea but it had all came up empty. Some of the doctors surmised that it may be caused by trauma and Cassandra being Cassandra, waved it off as nothing to worry about. Tobias and Caitlyn knew such things are definitely not trivial and began the massive undertaking of talking to Cassandra for over 6 months just to get her to step into a therapist's office. Caitlyn likened it to wrangling an old grumpy cat to meet the vet. A lot of avoidance and hissing but they managed it anyway with enough time.
After a couple of years, her mother had slowly worked her way through the mental trauma and even started opening up on her other worries to the therapist and her family. Unfortunately though, the nausea and headache persisted and all she could do was continue taking medicine when the journey is long and shaky.
Concern started to build inside Caitlyn. The ride was expected to be short, hence they forgo taking the train and airship. She glanced towards the concealed storage, where she's fairly certain there's spare medicine if her mother needs it. Cassandra, who was sitting with her back straighter than before, seemed to prefer toughing it out for now. Caitlyn suspected her mother would refuse the medicine if she offered.
Caitlyn reached inside the storage box anyway and retrieved some medicine. Cassandra already started to make a motion of declining but Caitlyn cut her off. "I'll hold on to these in case you need them." Her mother paused then nodded. "Very well." If she still refuses to take the medicine later on… well, Caitlyn managed to wrangle Vi into taking her medicine a few times. Her mother shouldn't be too much of a problem. Like an old grumpy cat.
Both mother and daughter then trained their eyes to the scenery outside. The rolling grass fields were littered with a few trees and patches of wild flowers. On the far end of their vision, they could see the fields became sparse at the edge of a cliff that drops off into the ocean. Sparkling blue waters meet the morning sky in the horizon. The view was breathtaking.
Cassandra inhaled deeply and willed the headache to stay at bay. It was working somewhat. She started to feel the aches and pains that comes with age settle on her shoulders. She needed a break. They all did. "This reminds me that we're overdue for a vacation. When was the last time we went? Two? Three years ago?"
Caitlyn's eyes flicked upwards, trying to recall the memory. "Three. We went to Ionia to visit grandpa and grandma." While her maternal grandparents have long since passed away when she was a child, her father's side are still going strong.
Her Ionian is now quite rusty from disuse but she could still write letters fairly well, having been taught the Ionian script since childhood by her father. With an Ionian dictionary by her side and Tobias proofreading her letter, Caitlyn exchange letters with her grandma, every few months or so. The letters are always accompanied with snacks and sweets from Piltover that she thinks her grandparents would like. She misses them.
Tapping her fingers on her armrest, Cassandra said, "Hmmm… We should go and visit again." She side-eyed her daughter. "Maybe this time we can even invite Violet along? In a more official capacity, of course."
Caitlyn's demeanor stuttered ever so slightly at that moment, a clear sign that her mind was starting to whirr. Evidences are gathered, motives are inspected and memories are recalled in the briefest of moments. The expression always trigger a sense of amazement in Cassandra ever since Caitlyn was still a little girl. Caitlyn tilted her head to the side and her eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you saying here, Mum?"
Cassandra lifted a finger and was about to reply when the carriage came to a stop and the footsteps of Leonard, the Kirammans' ever-present driver, can be heard crunching over gravel to open the carriage door. She instead settled on "We will continue this conversation later," straightened out her clothes and managed to take a second to fix Caitlyn's somewhat crooked brooch.
An affirmative to Leonard was spoken and the carriage door was opened. As if second nature, Cassandra's diplomatic smile was instantly affixed and pleasantries were exchanged as what seemed to be like the entire staff welcomed them to the ranch.
Caitlyn took a moment to adjust to the attention as she stepped off the carriage behind her mother, glancing towards their security detail hovering nearby. The four guards that were following them on horseback earlier were standing at the ready and put her heart slightly at ease.
The both of them were escorted by the manager through the main building, the centre of operations, and the visit started in earnest. They were shown a large pasture where nearly 200 beef cattle were grazing, a barn for dairy cattle, and a horse stable.
Caitlyn took great interest in the machines used for daily operations in the barn and asked various questions about its functions while making mental notes on what her father could probably take a look at and improve upon. Glancing off to the side, Cassandra's attention was drawn away from quizzing the manager and the accountant to watch her daughter making her way through the facility to inspect the machines. It somewhat felt nostalgic to her.
There was a time when Caitlyn used to frequently accompany her on site visits when she was younger. When the journey wasn't too far and the business wasn't too serious, Caitlyn would eagerly dress up in her finest garb, looking almost like a smaller blue haired version of Cassandra and followed her around while she worked.
Cassandra would teach Caitlyn the ins and outs of commerce and sometimes councilor affairs during those trips. The topics would range from the importance of keeping good accounting, supply and demand, even occasional tidbits of gossip about the other councilors. When it was appropriate, she would let Caitlyn lead the questions about operations or machines she found interesting, where she would get engrossed in learning how it all worked. Knowledge and curiosity are fundamental for a Kiramman to have, after all. Cassandra herself was taught by her mother in a similar fashion, as do her mother's mother.
Seeing Caitlyn as an adult now, it dawned on her that the curiosity she once nurtured has now become a driving passion. Her husband's good heart gets thrown into the mix and Caitlyn's priorities now fall on uncovering evildoers and helping the poor and destitute. She wished Caitlyn achieves it in a safer manner but Cassandra really couldn't be anymore prouder of her as is.
Caitlyn spied her mother looking at her between the sprawling pipes with a wistful expression for a moment before she caught her gaze. Cassandra shot a quick smile before immediately went back to interrogating the senior staffs. Caitlyn swore the two gentlemen sweat enough to fill buckets since her mother was so thorough.
After a few hours, the operations seemed to be satisfactory but her mother noted that she will be bringing in new machines to make the ranch run more efficiently. Staff restructuring would also be necessary and workers may need to be retrained. The manager glanced nervously at the rest of his staff while Cassandra was busily examining the operation costs paperwork.
Caitlyn, sitting on her mother's right, noticed his shift in mood and immediately added on, "Of course, since we're planning on expanding the business even further, we will be hiring more workers. Not dismissing them," with a pointed look towards her mother. Cassandra snapped up from the file and hastily confirmed her daughters assumptions, hearing faint sighs of relief from the staff.
For lunch, the both of them were served a meal prepared with the best local ingredients around. The steaks were delicious and they even had the opportunity to sample the freshest milk the ranch had to offer. Soon, they were finishing up the visit with a quick tour of the horse stables with the staff told to keep a slightly wider berth. Their hovering was starting to get a bit too stifling.
"So what do you think, Mum?" Caitlyn looked around the stable.
Cassandra stopped in front of a stall of a beautiful white mare with splotches of brown and black on its back. "It seems like it is a good purchase and there are a lot of potential to be uncovered here. We will have to consult the board but I have a better idea of what to do after this." She saw a bag of feed on the side and handed some to the horse. She had enjoyed riding horses in her youth. If it wasn't councilor duties getting in the way, she likely would've become very skilled at mounted shooting.
Humming her reply, Caitlyn continued down the stable and found herself pausing in front a black and white gelding. His eyes were sharp, with dark mane flopping to one side and covering his right eye. He kept a good distance away from Caitlyn in his stall. He reminded Caitlyn a bit of Vi and she had to hold in her chuckle at the thought. She scooped some feed into her hand and held it out. He slowly took a tentative step towards Caitlyn and eased into eating from her palm. Her mother walked by and offhandedly said, "My, my. He looks like Violet." Caitlyn sputtered at the comment.
A few more quick discussions later, the staff was dismissed and Leonard was called to prepare the carriage. Both mother and daughter then started the journey back to Piltover where a grand party awaits them and yes, Caitlyn reminded her mother to take her medicine before boarding. In the carriage, Caitlyn gathered her thoughts and asked her mother, "So what did you mean about Vi earlier?"
Straight to the point as ever, Cassandra thought. "Can’t a mother simply ask her daughter's partner to join in the next family holiday?"
Caitlyn rolled her eyes at that. They both know Cassandra wouldn't throw questions like that out in the open without a reason. There is always a purpose with Cassandra. And her mother is fishing for something. Caitlyn was quite certain she knows what it was but she wanted to hear it straight from her. With an unamused pout, she folded her arms over her chest and stared at Cassandra.
Cassandra said in the most light-hearted manner, "No need to look at me like that. The both of you have been together for quite some time now. Maybe now is the time to consider… marriage?"
The M word strikes again. Caitlyn's first instinct was to sigh, facepalm and roll her eyes so hard she could see her brain. The word was frequently floated around when she still thought high society parties were fun. Maybe you should say hi again to the girl you met at the Florences' party. Or Johannes was nice, they seem to be fancying you. Even Jayce came up in that conversation once to Caitlyn's vehement rejection, the idea making her skin crawl. Caitlyn thought she would always be at odds with the M word. But now…
Now, the word sparked warmth and a feeling of, dare she say, giddiness. It filled her with a certain yearning for a future of waking up every day next to Vi. She was already doing that quite often but this next step would solidify their relationship even further. Maybe it's the romanticisation of marriage getting to her but it really did felt right. So Caitlyn held her sigh, stilled her hands and fixed her gaze to the evening scenery outside. Marriage doesn't feel like a bad word anymore. "Yes, I have considered it for a while. I…"
Cassandra leaned against the backrest and spied a slight uncertainty in Caitlyn's feature. "Then why haven't you proposed?" Caitlyn paused and started to twiddle her thumbs. A devious expression fell on Cassandra's face and she said in a goading manner, "Or are you scared of doing it?"
Caitlyn immediately said "I am not!" Cassandra honest to goodness laughed and it was not her diplomatic, polite laughter either. She then huffed and worked her jaw to think of how to word it. She knows precisely why Vi and her weren't engaged yet at that point. Because you see, Vi talks in her sleep when she's tired.
Caitlyn doubted most people would've noticed it because it always comes out as a sleepy murmur or a slow whisper. She herself only noticed it happening roughly 3 months after them officially becoming a couple, leading them to spend most nights together at each other's place. The first time she found out, it was after a particularly physically taxing case that had them running around Piltover in pursuit of a mischievous yordle.
She had woken up from the cold, drafty air of Vi's apartment and tucked herself as small as possible to curl up closer to Vi, trying to soak in her warmth. That was when she heard Vi mumbling to herself about a "damn yordle" and "my legs hurt". She held back a giggle and had arranged a massage for both her and Vi the next day.
Ever since then, Caitlyn would sometimes be woken up by Vi's sleep talking. She learns that it is very different compared to her slightly frantic gasps and anguished mumbles for when the nightmares came, a precursor to her jolting up in bed awake and alert. Instead, the murmurs are about nothing and everything. Most of the time it's about the events of the day, sometimes it's her plans for tomorrow like wanting to get dessert with lunch.
That was what Caitlyn was expecting when she heard Vi calling her name softly one night. They had been conducting a stakeout for 2 days straight at that time, after all. Instead of the usual, she heard Vi murmuring brokenly in her sleep,
"Cait... Caitlyn... Cupcake... Will you... marry me?"
It was the most shocking wake-up call Caitlyn ever had and she was in a seating position in a flash. She looked at Vi, million thoughts and worries instantly raced through her mind but the loudest one she remembered was 'Say yes, say yes, say yes!'
But then blood had stopped rushing to her head and she realised Vi was still asleep. Practically dead to the world and unaware of the nearly heart attack inducing words she was saying. Caitlyn put a hand over her rapidly beating heart and tried to compose herself. Vi's asleep. She's just saying these things because she's tired. She's just sleep talking.
She then noticed that Vi kept repeating the line. Calling out her name and cupcake again and again, the words 'will you marry me' spoken brokenly and in slightly different ways. Almost as if she was rehearsing it in her sleep. So Caitlyn returned back to her spot, tucked herself into the crook of Vi's neck and card her fingers through her hair, softly answering yes each time Vi asked until she drifted back into sleep. Vi wondered why Caitlyn was in such a good mood the next day but she simply said she had a nice dream.
Now she looked at her mother who was expecting a response. "I… just get the feeling that she wants to be the one who proposes." Cassandra gave her an unamused look in return.
"Well, I hope the proposal happens soon, either by you or her because if you wait too long…" Cassandra trailed off in a singsong manner. She wasn't blind. She knows how much attention Violet attracts from the "proper" women of high society. Caitlyn must have noticed too.
Caitlyn huffed again, opting to look out the window and stop entertaining her mother's teasing. She needed to plan her next course of action for the party. Come to think of it, Vi hadn't fret over what she was going to wear like she usually does. Maybe she settled on wearing the old suit Jayce gave her?
***
At the end of the night, when Cassandra and Tobias left early from the party and returned to their chambers, her husband had excitedly recounted what happened between him and Violet during the party preparations. He talked at length about sneakily calling his personal tailor to get Violet her own suit (which looked very dashing on her) and of course, her asking him for his blessing. Tobias dabbed at the corner of his eyes, already feeling teary eyed again at the memory.
Cassandra felt a bit slighted that Violet hadn't asked for her blessing as well but Tobias consoled her and told how worried Violet looked when Cassandra came up in the conversation. It honestly puzzled her because there she was telling Caitlyn to hurry up and propose to Violet already. Tobias instead advised her to wait until Violet was ready to come to her at her own time.
She waited for a month before her patience ran thin. Cassandra was patient in business and work but that was only out of necessity. She by nature was absolutely not. So to get the ball rolling, she thought to herself on how to get Violet to talk to her alone one day.
Hmmm… She did purchase an Ionian vase that was currently sitting in the parlour…