The Good Life: The Fox (ch. 89)

Mel Medarda had come to the city of Piltover as a fifteen year old girl, banished from Noxus and her family because she wasn't the daughter that her mother wanted. She was a Fox, as her mother called her. One prone to actually thinking things through, utilizing diplomacy, and building up their economical foundations as a house with means other than outright conquest. She had arrived at the city with only a single ally, Elora, who had saved her life in the troubles surrounding her mother's  succession of House Merdarda. 

She’d had only the barest support when she arrived. On paper, her exile had been masked with the intent of expanding the Medarda holdings in the already important merchant city of Piltover, located as it was on the only land bridge between two continents. But the reality was that her departure and removal from consideration as her mother's heir had been nothing less than banishment.

For fifteen years, there had been nothing. No visits. No exchanging of letters. Her older brother, Kino, was the only reason why she had any news at all about the standing of her family within Noxus. But, even then, it had been fifteen years since she saw her brother and the letters were few and far between as he had experienced his own form of exile for not meeting their mother's standards. 

For not being a Wolf. A simple minded barbarian whose problems could all be solved with the tip of a spear. She was exiled for recommending restraint. To not murder potential assets because of what they might do. 

Fifteen years. The first had been the hardest. She had been filled with a desperate yearning -- she had been convinced that it was a test of some kind. That she had to prove herself once more, and her reward would be acknowledgment and the right to return home. The second year had dissuaded her of that hope, and in its place came a dark bitterness when her letters went ignored and her pleas to be allowed to come home rebuffed. 

That bitterness had fueled her. In a mere five years since she’d arrived at the city a complete unknown, she rose to become one of its major players through careful diplomacy and smart investments. By her seventh year in Piltover, she had been invited to sit on the Council. By her eleventh, she had a dominating voice within it. With the rise of Hextech, however, her influence was unchecked and the only peer she had left was Heimerdinger himself, who she had wrapped around her little finger. 

Fifteen years. Half of her life. 

And in a matter of weeks, the foundation of her influence was crumbling like sand beneath her feet. 

It was for that reason she glared in the direction of the airship that carried the source of what felt like all of her woes. The name Medarda had been a boon in her early years in Piltover. It opened doors for her that would have otherwise been closed because people acted on the assumption that she had the support of her house as the daughter of the new head of the family. Now that same last name was an anchor tied around her neck, dragging her down and undoing more than a decade of work. 

Fifteen years. Fifteen years and not a single acknowledgment. Not a word of praise. In fifteen years, she took the nothing she'd arrived with and turned it into a fortune surpassing what her family had spent centuries building up. But it was only now that her mother turned her gaze to Piltover, smelling weakness and deciding to pounce like an animal who could only think of its next meal. And in doing so, she ruined… everything. 

“You must be quite excited to be reunited with your family, Councilor Medarda,” Heimerdinger remarked, standing next to her at the dockyard. Mel only just barely restrained the urge to kick him off the airdock, and only then because she knew that he genuinely meant the remark. “You've always been quite the busy bee. I suspect you got that from your mother?” He added with a warm chuckle. 

It had been a negotiation to prevent an outright invasion of Piltover, even if her mother attempted to disguise it in a dozen different ways. A compromise was settled -- her mother would be ‘cordially invited’ into the city with fifty of her household guards, and they would arrive by airship. The remaining four hundred and fifty veteran warriors would be barred entry. Though Mel knew that, little by little, they would be infiltrating the city to prepare it for invasion regardless. 

“I suspect so,” Mel replied politely, wishing that the Yordle would just be silent. Under normal circumstances his casual obliviousness had its own charm, but now it grated on her. It didn't help that they had an audience. A contingent of fifty Enforcers to match her mother's warriors, all equipped with Law Kiramman-Trafalgar's latest invention -- the laser rifle. Bulky, ugly, but powerful enough that it could melt the traditional armor of Noxus. 

That was another bitter pill to swallow. An opportunity missed because she’d allowed fear to guide her. 

The marriage between Caitlyn and Law was set to happen by the end of the year and the announcement was a deeply unwelcome surprise to Mel. She had underestimated Cassandra and her willingness to use her daughter as a pawn to advance the standing of her family. Caitlyn had resigned herself to the marriage, though was deeply unhappy about it, which was an angle to exploit to drive a wedge between them in the future. 

Jayce and Viktor both steadfastly refused to weaponize Hextech, and both were unhappy with Law's willingness to build weapons. In the future, the public applications of Hextech would catapult Jayce's standing, but in the short term… What Piltover needed was weapons, and Law gave them what they needed. However temporarily, he had eclipsed Jayce and Hextech, and solidified his standing with a political marriage. 

She had been too cautious, Mel reflected as the airship began to pull into port. Law was too much of a Fox for her to trust. She saw too much of herself in him -- his cleverness and his political maneuvering, which saw her own faction begin to crumble as she was being edged out by Cassandra. Her influence within the Council was being fractured and divided, and now opportunities were slipping her by.

But there were still chances to regain her footing in the future. Caitlyn had long harbored a small crush on Mel and she would be trapped in a loveless marriage. Law was attracted to her as well, and while she detested the idea of seduction as a blunt instrument of diplomacy, it was still a tool that could be used. 

First, however, she had to survive one of her greatest challenges yet. 

Dealing with her mother. 

The airship pulled into the port before she was truly ready, a staircase pulling out as the airship was tethered in place. Then the doors opened, first revealing the tall, broad shouldered and powerfully built warriors that her mother had led through a thousand battles. They wore Noxian plate armor, carrying spears in one hand and shields in another as they marched in perfect harmony down the steps. She paid them little mind even as Heimerdinger muttered a quiet, “Oh my.” 

When her guards securing a perimeter, only then did Ambessa Medarda reveal herself. 

Her mother had aged. It shouldn't have surprised Mel -- it had been fifteen years. Her mother was still tall and powerfully built, with pale scars marking her dark skin, but her dark hair had faded, graying in most places while whitening in others. Yet, she was still strong. She moved with the same sense of purpose that Mel remembered all too well. She was still beautiful, gaining grace with age, while she wore a red cloak lined with the black pelt of some creature she had likely killed with her own two hands. 

More than anything in this world, Mel detested how… small she felt as her mother descended the steps, and it was only partly because she stood a head taller than Mel. 

“Daughter,” Ambessa Medarda, head of the Medarda family, greeted her as if it hadn't been fifteen years since they last saw each other. “You have grown into yourself.” There was a point that those words would have meant everything to her. Enough to justify her abandonment and exile. 

“Mother,” Mel returned, her tone sharp enough to cut. “You seem to be… yourself.” This was no heartfelt reunion. This was a negotiation. 

There was a flicker of something in Ambessa’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “And Councilor Heimerdinger. The rumors about your fair city seem to be an exaggeration. I expected only to find a sea of rubble.” 

Heimerdinger offered a chuckle, “Rumors are prone to exaggeration. As one of my students said, ‘a rumor can circle the world before the truth can put its shoes on.’” Mel swallowed her reaction -- he was quoting Law. “But the truth of it is that Piltover is a resilient city. The tragedy we suffered is regrettable, that is true, but we are far from broken. And further still from defeated.” 

It was mollifying that the Yordle could take this meeting as seriously as it deserved. Or, at the very least, that he could recognize what her mother was. 

A shark that had smelled blood in the water. 

“It is a relief to hear, Councilor,” Ambessa replied, as if she hadn't attempted to arrive with an army at her back. “But, before we begin in earnest, you wouldn't begrudge me a private moment with my daughter, would you?”

Heimerdinger returned the smile with one of his own, “Of course not!” Mel closed her eyes for a moment, but that was the only reaction she allowed herself. Heimerdinger had just invalidated the reason why she had convinced him to join in greeting her mother in the first place. She was under suspicion, but Heimerdinger was beyond reproach both as the founder of the city and his reputation for being… apolitical, despite being a Councilor. None would accuse her of plotting in secret with her mother if Heimerdinger was there to vouch for her. 

“I'm afraid that I cannot allow that,” Mel replied, opening her eyes and pinning a cutting stare at her mother. “Given the… circumstances of your arrival, such a private meeting would have implications I'd rather avoid.” 

Her mother offered a practiced smile, “Surely there can be no misunderstanding of a mother wishing to reunite with her daughter?” 

“An excuse I imagine would have more validity had you bothered to visit once in fifteen years,” Mel replied tartly, feeling a burning flash of satisfaction when she saw the remark struck home. “Or if you were not such a renowned warlord arriving in a time of… uncertainty.” 

“Erm…” Heimerdinger hummed, shuffling from foot to foot, openly displaying his discomfort. “You two seem like you have a lot to talk about.” 

“That we do,” Ambessa admitted. 

Heimerdinger glanced at Mel and gave her a patient look, “I'm sure that no one will mistake this as anything other than what it is -- a family reunion! You really should have more faith in your friends on the Council!” He chided her, and this time she almost didn't stop herself from kicking the Yordle off the airdock. There had to be a limit to his obliviousness. 

Ambessa smiled as she always did when she got what she wanted, her gaze flickering to Mel's before speaking, “Walk with me, daughter.” 

Mel nearly refused, determined to avoid the unfounded rumors that it would create… but of their own will, her feet carried her in step with her mother. Childhood habits were hard to break, it seemed. And she hated how she felt like a fifteen year old girl all over again in the face of her mother. They walked in silence for only a few seconds, but once they were out of earshot, her mother began. “War is coming, Mel.” 

“I'm well aware,” Mel retorted, her eyes narrowing into a glare. 

Ambessa scoffed, “Don't turn that glare to me, child. I am hardly the only one turning their gaze to Piltover, merely the first to arrive.” She said the words as if they absolved her of any sin. “The Hexgate made Piltover the most important city in the world, and you have been brought low. My gaze is the one you should be the least concerned with.” 

“We’re prepared for petty tyrants,” Mel retorted. 

“It's the not so petty ones that you should concern yourself with,” Ambessa replied, unbothered by her tone as they continued to walk the length of the dock. “This… disaster came at a very poor time for Piltover. And a very good time for Emperor Darkwill.” Mel didn't slow, but it was a near thing. That the Emperor himself was looking to her city was a deeply unpleasant revelation. 

“Is he not currently preoccupied in Ionia?” She questioned, appearing unbothered but inwardly, she felt unsteady. 

Her mother nodded, “He is. And currently his forces are being mauled, and their losses have been severe. Enough so, that the entire invasion has begun to stink of mismanagement, overreach, and a waste of manpower.” All war was, she wanted to say, but stilled her tongue. Now wasn't the time for petty jabs. “He hasn't managed to escape the stench, but he is committed to the invasion. He has to be. Should it fail, he will be torn to pieces by those that wish to climb and claim his seat.” 

People like her mother, Mel almost said. Ambessa Medarda was… ambition made flesh. She had known it ever since she was a little girl when she first eagerly listened to whatever wisdom that she imparted in her lessons. All the more so when Kino had been dismissed as the heir and that burden fell to her. She would fight endlessly for what she deemed hers, and no sacrifice was too great if it meant claiming her prize. First it had been to become the head of the Medarda family… but her mother would not be content with such a petty title once she finally had it. 

“So he wishes to wash off the stink with another victory, is that it?” Mel questioned, churning over the unwelcome information. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but still unwelcome. What they had anticipated was… people like her mother, in essence. 

Powerful Houses that boasted armies hundreds or even thousands strong, who would send over what they kept in reserve from the Ionian invasion. Naturally, a few hundred warriors wouldn't be enough to overtake Piltover, even in a weakened state, so those powerful Houses would make alliances amongst themselves. It had been their hope that they would need to rebuff a single invasion, or perhaps a few invasions from these alliances before Noxus turned inward as the weakened families withdrew to guard themselves from their rivals. 

That was entirely doable with their current resources. Law's laser weapons had bolstered their confidence greatly. It would be hard, there would be losses and sacrifices would have to be made, but Mel had been certain that they could weather the oncoming storm. 

The direct attention of Darkwill was something very different. He commanded the full military might of Noxus. He pointed in a direction and hundreds of thousands of warriors conquered in his name. They would be spared Noxus’ full might as they were still stuck in the quagmire that was Ionia, but even a fraction of the might if Noxus was… that was something Mel wasn't sure they could survive.

They wouldn't be facing small disjointed and decidedly personal armies of powerful Houses. They would face the power of Noxus itself. 

“Precisely,” Ambessa confirmed with a small nod. “He will dress it up in a hundred different ways, but the Hexgate has fallen into his sights as a weapon of war. As has Hextech itself. As well as the laser weapons Law Kiramman-Trafalgar has produced.” 

That was on purpose, Mel knew. Telling her that she had a finger on the pulse of Piltover before her arrival, with an ear to a door to learn secrets she had no right to know. That marriage wouldn't be announced for a few more months. 

“And you are here to offer the city to him, just as you did Ionia?” Mel stated, coming to a stop and forcing her mother to as well. Her mother turned to face her, her expression guarded while her eyes searched Mel's expression in holes to find… something. Perhaps a willing ally in this farce. 

“The city is already his,” Ambessa corrected, making Mel narrow her eyes. “You simply haven't accepted that fact yet. Darkwill cannot survive another failure, so he will break this city down to the very last brick and strangle every newborn babe in their cribs if that is what it takes. Your only hope for survival is to surrender.” 

“You're underestimating us,” Mel challenged and there was a flicker of hurt in her mother's eyes. Mel wanted to laugh when she saw it. Her mother was upset that after a decade and a half of silence Mel wouldn't side with her outright. “We don't need to fight all of Noxus. We simply need to endure. How many setbacks do you believe he could last? One pesky city at the edge of his empire, and he can't take it inside of… a month? Two? Perhaps even three? You and others like you would treat a setback the same as failure.” 

Ambessa inclined her head, telling Mel it was a point well struck. “Yet, you underestimate what you have,” she retorted all the same. “Even should Darkwill fall, whoever ascends to the throne will desire to finish what he started. Your technology has made you valuable, Mel. They will conquer this place for it, and to prove their superiority over Darkwill. So no, my daughter, not even time is on your side.” 

Then she reached out with a hand, her fingers tracing the golden tattoos that ran up her neck, following them to her shoulder before her hand rested heavily upon it. Or, at least it tried to before Mel took a half step back. 

“And you supposedly are?” Mel demanded sharply, and it was only a lifetime of diplomatic training and experience that kept her from shouting. “You don't even realize what you've done to me, do you? You destroyed what I've spent my life building here. As soon as they heard that you were coming-” 

“They would have turned on you all the same!” Ambessa interjected harshly before her expression softened. “You are clever, Mel. Smarter than me and your brother both, but you have never understood what it means to rule. Not to guide with polite words and a gentle hand, but with a closed fist and an iron will. If you had, then you would understand that the moment Noxus turned its gaze to Piltover you would be suspected of being a collaborator. Instead, you have allowed yourself to be blinded by your anger at me and declared me the source of all your woes!”

Mel simmered with a quiet anger, but Ambessa saw it all the same, and she let out a defeated sigh. “Mel,” her mother continued, “surrendering the city to me is its best chance at survival. It is in your interest as well- you… you are my daughter. I know that you don’t think I understand what you have achieved in your time here, but I do. And I am proud of you for it,” her mother continued, reaching out once more to cup her face gently. 

This time, Mel didn’t flinch away. 

“This city will be yours, Mel,” Ambessa seemed to promise her. “As it has been for years, despite what all of these fools seem to think or what they tried to take from you.”

“But you need me to give it over first,” Mel replied, her tone bitter. She hated it. She hated how she still felt like a little girl yearning for her approval, even after all this time. She hated how she felt chastised once more, because… her mother wasn’t wrong. As much as she would like to lay the blame solely at her feet, Mel knew that her mother wasn’t entirely to blame. Her influence was doomed to be hampered as soon as any invader arrived from Noxus. 

“I do,” Ambessa admitted without shame or hesitation. “I cannot take this city with the forces that I have available to me. But, there are those within it that see their chance to rise up with Noxus taking over, and I know that you know who they are. With them, this city will be ours and we’ll have leverage over Darkwill. Instead of three reinforcing armies a hundred and fifty thousand strong being aimed to take this city, they can be aimed at Ionia with the Hexgate.”

Ambessa fashioned herself a wolf, Mel knew, but she got her cunning nature from her. Revealing that three armies, fifty thousand strong apiece, were coming their way was a very deliberate decision. Something to tip her hand to make her realize how foolish it was to resist. 

Unlike Piltover or most of the rest of the world, Noxus embraced magic. Adored it, even. They were aggressively recruited, drafted to become war mages, and a single war mage was worth a hundred warriors at the very least. A team of them was worth tens of thousands. A division? Such a force was all but unstoppable. 

“As we had taken the city, by our ways, it will be ours,” her mother continued. “You will rule it -- not from the shadows, but in the spotlight. There will be no Council for you to balance and appease; there will only be you, my daughter. You need only to reach out… and take it,” her mother urged with a low hiss, a burning intensity in her gaze. 

Mel’s lips parted to deny her, but the words wouldn’t come. She wanted to deny her. Partly because she couldn’t bear the thought of meekly following her mother’s will once more. Partly because the idea was an outright betrayal of everything she had worked towards. But, the words refused to pass her lips. Hadn’t those foundations already been betrayed?

The moment that Noxus turned its gaze to Piltover, her era had ended. People had inconvenient memories. Everything she had done, everything that she had accomplished, all of it would be forgotten in favor of remembering that she once called Noxus her home. She would fall out of favor. She would never be powerless, Mel would never allow such a thing, but even if Piltover survived the onslaught, losing her position on the Council was a given. 

And that…

Was okay. 

It shocked Mel, how at peace she felt with the idea. The idea of everything she had worked for simply slipping out of her fingers -- all of the power, the influence, the prestige. Falling into irrelevance for no greater reason than where she had been born and once called home. She didn’t like it, of course. She’d never choose such a fate willingly. But, as she looked up into her mother’s eyes, she saw that she had two paths before her. 

One where she followed her mother on this little scheme of hers. 

And the other… where she embraced being the Fox. 

And that was the easiest decision she had ever made in her life.