Chapter Text
“I always loved summer,” Caitlyn tells the young woman across from her, “because, in the summer, my parents and I made the trek out to our summer house in Zaun.”
Caitlyn smiles as memories washed over her like the gentle waves on the lake - sandy feet, the county fair, ice cream smeared on her nose, the warmth of the sunburn that came from days spent lying on the dock.
She looks out the window, watching the midday sun sparkle off a lake that was nearly untouched by the years and the memories.
“Miss?”
“Hmm?” Caitlyn says, turning toward the source of the gentle prompt. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I’m afraid I became lost in thought.”
The young woman nods kindly, and Caitlyn’s eyes sparkle as she continues, the expression seeming to smooth the lines on her face, fade the white from her hair. “I especially loved the summer after I turned seventeen. That was a special summer.”
______
“--and tomorrow we have lunch with Councilor Bolbok and his wife. You are not to even allude to the scandal.”
Caitlyn looked up from her book at her mother, mischief twitching at the corners of her lips. “To which scandal are you referring, Mother? The embezzlement or the harem of mistresses?”
Her mother looked distinctly unamused as she regarded Caitlyn over the top of the small pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose, before she finally arched one regal eyebrow.
“Either,” she said firmly, waiting pointedly for a response.
“Of course, Mother,” Caitlyn replied, attempting to keep her expression neutral.
They were on their annual summer holiday in Zaun, and Caitlyn was making every effort not to anger her mother, who was somewhat infamous for her icy moods and ability to hold grudges.
Sometimes, she had a fair amount of patience for Caitlyn’s “spirited” behavior, but judging by her stiff posture and the way she had been writing furiously at her desk since they’d arrived at the house they’d call home for the next few months, it was clearly not one of those times.
Wary that any perceived insult could land her under house arrest for the rest of the summer, Caitlyn made no other comment, instead going back to her book - or, books, as the case was, since she had tucked a tawdry romance novel behind a dusty tome on foreign relations.
At least she had tonight to look forward to.
The fair was one of Zaun’s biggest events of the summer, and the Kirammans had arrived just in time for its opening night.
Caitlyn could already taste the candy floss and fried food - and picture the look of defeat on Jayce’s face when she won every game.
Her best friend had absolutely dreadful aim.
Caitlyn’s eyes flicked to the grandfather clock in the corner, slowly ticking away the minutes until she would have a modicum of freedom.
Only a few hours to go.
______
“I was terribly sheltered when I was young. I recognize that I still am, even now, given my position and my family’s legacy, but I am, at least, now aware of that privilege. The privilege of wealth, of security, and of reputability.”
The interviewer makes a few notes, the small recording device still on, but apparently not sufficient.
The corners of Caitlyn’s lips twitch, and after a moment, she sighs, mouth parting to continue her story.
“My family spent our summers in Zaun - you are likely well-aware of the relationship between Piltover and Zaun, what happened to create the tension between us - but, what you might not know, is that when I was young, Zaun was… shared between the elite in Piltover and the local residents.”
The interviewer looks surprised, her brow crinkling and her pen halting on the page of her small notebook.
Caitlyn hums. “Yes. For the Piltovan elite, Zaun - or, the wealthy part of it - was a premier travel destination. For the local residents, Zaun was a poor mining town. My family’s house there was beautiful - an enormous, wraparound porch, furnishings from all over Runeterra, every amenity we could have wished for. We even had indoor plumbing, which, in Zaun, back then, was a commodity.”
Caitlyn’s expression shifts, becoming serious. “The residents of Zaun were miners. They spent their lives harvesting the minerals used and sold in Piltover, and they received an absolute pittance for their backbreaking labor. The locals lived in community housing that was falling down, or ended up crammed into single family dwellings that had neither plumbing nor effective heating for the brutal winters.
“The glamour of a summer holiday for a Piltovan socialite could not have contrasted more with how the locals lived.”
Caitlyn pauses, leaning back in her chair and looking out the window again.
“I had no clue, prior to that summer. I’d never considered that the experience of the locals was different than how it was advertised in Piltover. ‘The dedicated, hardworking, simple people of Zaun,’ was what we were told.
“And part of that was true. Zaunites were - still are - dedicated and hardworking. But they didn’t live in peace born from simplicity and contentment. They lived in squalor.
“That summer, I learned more than I ever expected to - about Zaun, yes, but also about myself.”
______
“And we have a winner! Go ahead and pick your prize, young lady,” the game attendant said, gesturing toward the wall of prizes.
Caitlyn laughed, patting Jayce consolingly on the shoulder as he stared dejectedly at the sight across from them - every one of Caitlyn’s blue-painted rings hanging around the neck of a bottle, his red ones scattered in the dirt.
Truly, he had appalling aim.
Caitlyn was still laughing as the attendant handed her the teddy bear she had pointed to, hugging it close as they turned away from the booth.
“Alright, what next? Are you up for being humiliated a third time, or have you had enough?” Caitlyn asked, tugging the toy watch out of her pocket and holding it up along with the teddy bear - her winnings - as proof of Jayce’s defeat at each of the games they’d played so far.
Jayce laughed good-naturedly, “I think I’ve had enough, unless you want to find the one with the hammer.”
Caitlyn made a face - there was absolutely no way she would win that game against her best friend. Aside from being enormously strong, the Talis family had earned its fortune and status making hammers. Jayce was an expert.
“Hmm. No, thank you, but I’ll be happy to join you for an alternative activity of your choice,” Caitlyn said magnanimously.
Jayce leveled her with a look.
Alright, so, not fooled, then.
He raised an eyebrow. “Any activity?”
Caitlyn squinted at him, meeting the challenge. “Any activity.”
He grinned.
Oh no.
“The Ferris wheel,” Jayce said, voice firm.
Caitlyn groaned. “Jayce!”
“What? You said ‘ any activity.’ I pick the Ferris wheel,” her best friend said teasingly.
Caitlyn spluttered, “Yes, well, I didn’t think you’d pick that!”
Jayce shrugged, unconcerned. “Come on, Cait.”
With no other choice - she had agreed “any activity,” after all - Caitlyn followed Jayce through the crowd of flushed, excited fairgoers.
When they arrived at the queue, the ride was already loading, so it was only a few moments before they were at the front of the line.
As Jayce handed their tickets to the ride attendant, Caitlyn stared up…and up at the chairs, swaying gently back and forth in the warm, summer breeze.
Caitlyn swallowed.
“Right this way, folks,” the attendant said, gesturing toward the platform where another attendant would help them board.
Jayce thanked him, and Caitlyn nodded politely, swallowing again against the dryness in her throat as they walked toward the little stairs that would take them up onto the platform.
The noise from the fair faded away until all Caitlyn could hear was her heartbeat in her ears, pounding louder with each step they took toward the ride.
Woodenly, she followed the attendant’s direction to slide into the chair, looking to the side at the large, metal legs of the “fun” contraption that had been erected in the center of the fairground, stiffening at the sound of the little metal door closing, and startling when the chair started to move with a judder, lifting them away from the platform with a series of alarming creaking noises.
Turning back to Jayce to demand why on Earth he enjoyed this awful thing, Caitlyn’s eyes widened as she realized…
She was alone in the chair.
Gripping the bar in front of her firmly, teddy bear swinging beneath her grip, trapped as it was between her hand and the bar, Caitlyn twisted and looked down, her stomach lurching as her eyes found Jayce getting onto the next chair.
Oh, God.
Turning back around abruptly, Caitlyn took a deep breath, trying to rationalize what was happening.
The little chair likely wasn’t large enough for the two of them - it looked as though Jayce, on his own, was barely going to fit, but that did absolutely nothing to stem her rising panic.
She hadn’t expected to be alone, suspended so far above the ground.
Caitlyn bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut.
She sucked in a breath as the chair juddered again, beginning the next part of the ascent, trying to force herself to keep breathing, to stay calm.
Suddenly, the chair swayed harshly, and Caitlyn gripped the bar tighter, certain she was about to plummet to the earth - even more certain that her death was approaching when shouts filtered through her panicked haze.
Something brushed against her arm, the chair gave a final, hard lurch, and then there was solid warmth next to her, radiating through her sundress.
Caitlyn’s eyes flew open, and she blinked in shock as she came face-to-face with a girl with grey-blue eyes and shockingly pink hair, peeking out underneath her cap.