Ambessa Medarda

Caitlyn jumped in surprise and instinctively reached for her neck. She took a step forward, then turned around—and saw Vi.

Vi had both hands in her pockets, watching Caitlyn with a carefree air and a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

"What are you doing here? Are you crazy? How dare you come up here?" Seeing Vi behind her, Caitlyn started in alarm. She straightened and frowned.

Piltover had been anything but peaceful lately. A Zaunite coming topside at a time like this? Crazy. Completely crazy!

"What, didn't you say last time you'd arrest me if you saw me? Well, here I am, handing myself over." Vi grinned and held out both hands, wrists together and palms up, making a show of offering herself for arrest. "Go ahead, Officer."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. She grabbed Vi by the arm, steered her out of the other Enforcer's sight, and led her over beside a tree. Then she said sternly, "I don't have time to mess around with you right now, Vi. I'm busy, okay? I'm working."

"Sure, protecting kids in a park? That's a real fucking important job. What do you Piltover people say again? Oh, right—children are the future. So I guess you're protecting Piltover's future?" Vi raised an eyebrow and teased her.

"..."

"What do you want? Spit it out!"

Seeing that Caitlyn was genuinely losing patience, Vi smiled and said, "I just came up to buy a few things. What, does Piltover not sell to Zaunites anymore?"

"Then go buy what you need. Once you're done, go straight back," Caitlyn said.

Caitlyn kept treating her that way, and Vi was starting to get annoyed.

When she'd spotted Caitlyn in Piltover, Vi had immediately thought of the few days they'd spent together. Honestly, she liked Caitlyn quite a bit. She thought the Enforcer was interesting, unlike the others. Caitlyn was polite and kind, especially in the way she treated Zaun. She didn't look down on Zaun; quite the opposite, she wanted Piltover and Zaun to get along.

When Caitlyn enforced the law, she didn't pick sides—she judged each case on its own. That was another reason Vi liked her so much.

But what was with her now?

"Right, I'm just some Zaunite thug who came topside. I shouldn't bother an esteemed Piltover Enforcer like you. I'll be off, O-f-f-i-c-e-r." Vi gave Caitlyn a cold look, then turned and walked away with her hands in her pockets.

Caitlyn watched Vi's back, then suddenly called, "Wait!"

"What? Changed your mind? Want to send me back to prison?" Vi looked over her shoulder.

Caitlyn shook her head. "Vi, I'm not angry with you. It's just that Piltover's been unstable lately. You'd better not come topside again for now. You'll run into trouble. I'm telling you the truth."

Hearing Caitlyn say that made Vi feel a lot better.

Thinking of the red-clad people she'd seen on her way here, Vi looked at Caitlyn. "What happened?"

"Noxus." Caitlyn took a deep breath, then continued in a low voice, "The Medarda family has arrived. There are a lot of them, and their ships are docked at the harbor. Their army has already moved into Piltover."

"Then what are you waiting for? Fucking kick them out! Isn't this your turf?" Vi said, exasperated. "You drove us out, so how the hell did you turn into this when it comes to the Noxians?"

"Calling you Skinflint topsiders wasn't wrong after all. Let them try coming to Zaun. See if we don't kick them out." Vi sneered.

"..." Caitlyn took off her hat and shook out her hair, then said quietly, "It's not that simple. The Medarda family isn't just a military dynasty in Noxus. Their matriarch is also Councilor Mel's mother."

"Wait. You mean that pretty dark-skinned lady?"

"Could you show a little respect? Why do you always have to talk like that?" Caitlyn looked at Vi, pained by her words.

She really wasn't good at dealing with someone like Vi.

"We Zaunites are just like that. Don't talk to us about manners. We can barely stay alive—what the hell do we need manners for?" Vi spat.

"Tell me the whole story, Cupcake. What exactly is going on?"

Caitlyn watched Vi walk toward her, hesitated, then nodded.

In a room in Piltover's council building, reserved for hosting important guests, a dark-skinned woman in a golden gown stood anxiously before another woman. Her hair was pinned up, her bearing dignified, her figure full, and she wore a variety of gold and silver ornaments.

The woman facing her was tall, with white hair and scars on her face. She wore heavy armor, and her wolfish gaze and imposing presence radiated power.

"Mother, I'll say it again: this is an internal matter for our city-state. You have no right to interfere in Piltover's domestic affairs!"

At her words, the imposing woman smiled and looked at her daughter with faint derision.

"Mel, when you took the family name, everything you had became the family's as well," Ambessa said evenly. In front of Mel, she raised a hand. Four guards carrying spears nodded, bowed respectfully to Ambessa and Mel, then left the room. They took up positions outside as they closed the doors behind them.

Ambessa sat down on the sofa and rested her large hand on the armrest, her fingers stroking one of its decorations. She lowered her head and said softly, "Everything you've achieved in Piltover is because of the family. You were able to profit and become a councilor here because the Medardas have business interests in Piltover, weren't you?"

"What exactly do you want?" Mel said. She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm herself.

"Truthfully, I don't want much. But I can't stand by and watch anymore." Ambessa looked up at Mel. Seeing that she'd calmed down, she let a flicker of approval cross her gaze.

"You've let Zaun's problems go on for far too long. Hextech shouldn't be used only for business. It's a weapon—a powerful one."

"Don't even think about it!" Mel snapped. "You want to turn Hextech into a tool for winning glory? Your plans will destroy Piltover!"

"Fool! What you're doing now is destroying this city!" Ambessa rose and walked toward Mel, step by step.

She was taller than Mel, with a powerfully built body honed by years of training. She raised an arm and clenched her fist. Ambessa flexed, her muscles rising like stone, and stared at her fist as she said in a low voice, "The wolves are circling, yet you use iron to build houses and fences. When the pack charges, you'll be nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered!"

"Foolish!"

"What's happening between us and Zaun is more complicated than you think, Mother. You don't understand," Mel said calmly, looking at Ambessa. She still couldn't see what her mother was thinking, but that didn't stop her from holding firm to her own beliefs.

Mel bowed to Ambessa, lowering her head. "I am Mel Medarda, that's true. But I am a Medarda of Piltover."

"I am not a Medarda of Noxus."

Mel stood up, glanced at Ambessa, and said quietly:

"Mother, I have other things to attend to. Excuse me."

Ambessa didn't stop her. After Mel left, she clapped her hands.

A Noxian soldier entered the room. He was tall and stern-faced, with a thick beard, and looked at Ambessa with deep respect.

"Miss Mel is against you. Do you still not intend to tell her?"

Ambessa casually raised a hand and rested the other on her hip. With her back to the soldier, she said loudly, "Tell her? She knows nothing. Her opposing me is a good thing. It'll make them believe she and I are at odds, and she'll be safer."

"Send someone to find those councilors. Tell them it's time we made our move."

"She'll be hurt," the soldier said after hesitating.

He knew how much Mel meant to Ambessa. That was why he was willing to entrust his life to her and remain loyal to this powerful woman.

"Have I done so few things to hurt her already?" Ambessa gave a sardonic smile.

"Yes." The soldier nodded, bowed, and left the room.

Ambessa stood before the window, looking out at Piltover.