Twenty-Five

                                    

                                          
The night felt colder that day.
Maybe it was because you knew it marked the day you lucked out.
Maybe it was just your imagination.
With your head lowered, you stood high up on one of Piltover's roofs once again and let your gaze wander over the empty streets.
This city had the privilege of rest. Whenever the daylight declined and the shadows of the night came, the people could turn to their homes and lay down to rest until new, golden light would shine on their faces.
If there was one thing you envied the people of Piltover for, it was this.
Safety.
Something you had never known.
As you took a deep breath, the air felt as crisp and fresh in your lungs that it almost hurt to breathe.
Your eyes fell onto a building.
It was the same from the day before, huge and fancy, like nothing you had ever seen before.
But this time, light kept the windows alive.
A small silhouette jumped from one lit square to the other.
It was strange, Heinerdinger was a small creature, but somehow managed to be seen on every room he walked into.
Something wasn't right, you could feel this dull supposition nag in the back of your head.
And yet, you decided to move forward anyways.
All you needed to do was to avoid Heimerdinger and that little poro of his.
At the memory of this small creature, you had to smile.
It had been nothing but nice to you.
The urge to pet its soft, pure white fur again awoke inside of you.
But you quickly shook it off. This was just the child in you that had loved animals more than anything.
You still remembered the day you had bought home a cat. One of its legs had been broken. You had managed to patch it up, only for it to be sold for a bag of food the next day.
It still hurt you to remember the look on Viktor's face as your mother had had to tell him the truth.
A sigh made your chest tremble.
Life in the Undercity really hadn't been great.
"Soon...", you mumbled as your eyes fell into one of the windows that wasn't lit. "I promised you."
Without thinking about it, you rubbed your fingers together to get rid of the tingling feeling that started to spread on the tips.
It was strange, somehow you didn't give it a second thought why the window was wide open. All you did was take a few steps back and jump right into the house.
It was like an invitation.
Like a wide open door.
As silent as a cat, you managed to land in the hallway, on all four.
A sharp pain chased through your limbs.
Coughs scratched the inside of your throat.
You managed to hold it back, but only for the cost of the feeling of passing out.
"Fuck!", you squeezed your eyes shut to regain the power over your own senses. "Not now..."
Breathing heavily, you managed to get back on your feet and walk down the hallway, head pulled in.
The first time you walked towards the salon and laboratory.
This time you decided to turn to the opposite direction, in hopes of finding something valuable.
Bedrooms usually were stacked with jewellery and clothes. Most of the times, garments weren't worth a lot, but you imagined that a being, as powerful and influential as Heimerdinger it was, must own things with golden details.
Buttons, zippers, any kinds of accessories, would make quite some money on the black market.
Holding your breath, you slid past paintings of creatures you've never seen and landscapes you wished to visit one day.
You had to huff bitterly.
As far as you could tell, you wouldn't be visiting anything any time soon. Or ever.
Your health was declining by the day. It was only a matter of months now.
Maybe less.
Maybe more.
Hopefully more.
You had told Viktor that you would look for a doctor once he was in the academy. Originally, it had been a lie to serve the purpose. But maybe you would be able to turn this lie into a truth.
"Maybe...", you whispered, tears rising to your field of vision. "Maybe we can be happy one day."
You could still taste him on your lips.
In the heat of the moment you had not payed any attention to him in detail. But now that there was a moment to think more about it, you realised how clean he tasted.
It was unusual for people in Piltover to taste like toothpaste and something pleasant like mint. Viktor had tasted quite sweet, like candy even, but like honey instead of sugar, mixed with the freshness of herbs.
It was as if he already tried to fit in with the people he'd be a part of soon.
It made you feel ashamed to know that he took such good care of himself. Meanwhile, you didn't even remember the last time you've had a decent shower with enough soap to clean your hair and body.
Doors appeared to your left.
The knobs were as shiny as pure gold.
At first glance you thought about taking them. But at second thought it seemed unlikely to you that they were made of actual gold.
The first door you tried was locked.
The second one opened, only to reveal an empty room.
Confused, you frowned.
Why would a being like Heimerdinger keep an empty room?
Surely he must have had something to put into. Maybe a bed for guests, or one of his many trophies.
A shiver crawled down your spine.
Something felt off.
The room was empty though, nothing hidden or covered. Just emptiness.
You threw a glance over your shoulder.
The hallway was deserted too.
The only noise came from the other end, where the salon was lit.
But it didn't feel like you were alone.
"Well...", a little voice suddenly startled you. "You must be who took my things the other night. Don't you want to be polite and apologise?"