Chapter Text
The hustle and bustle of Piltover early in the morning was accompanied by the sweet and enticing fragrance of flowers and freshly baked bread. Among the line of various shops on a narrow street at the northern part of the city, stood your little flower shop. A wide cylindrical window under a sign with 'Magnolia's' elegantly scripted allowed people a glimpse at numerous bouquets and potted plants hanging inside, a cascade of green and splashes of color cheering up the day of whoever came across them.
Your clients more often than not stopped by to buy flowers to decorate their estates or to simply gift to their loved ones. You enjoyed seeing their happy faces the most, eyes glinting at the prospect of surprising their partners or families.
Your shop was the most popular that side of town because it was well-known that your flowers lasted longer than any other shop's and their fragrance was the strongest. No one could explain how you managed to do so. Of course, the secret was hiding in plain sight, but people were just skeptical enough to turn their eyes to magic when it stared right at their faces. When holidays got near, big orders also came around, and now with Progress Day around the corner, your shop had so many flowers one could barely walk freely inside.
At the chime of the doorbell indicating someone had entered the shop, you turned your head to welcome them, only to find an agitated blue-haired girl, her big doe eyes scanning the place for somewhere to hide. Worry flooded your system as she ran towards you, avoiding you at the last second and jumping behind the counter, trying her luck with the backdoor but finding it locked, she curled up against the counter trying to make herself smaller. Unfortunately for her, it was a one-way see-through counter, and she could be easily seen from the entrance, but with nowhere else to run, she just tried her best to disappear from view.
Before you could say anything, you saw through the window a big tattoed man running past your store. Instincts told you the girl was probably running away from him and you promised yourself you'd protect her, even if it would put you in danger by doing so. With a quick swift of your hand, the flowers on the floor piled up in front of the counter, effectively hiding the girl from view. Seconds after, the door was burst open by the tallest man you'd ever seen.
"Where is the girl?" He demanded.
"What girl? I sell flowers, not girls." You stated coldly, keeping your eyes trained on him. You could tell this guy was from the undercity. Just what was he doing chasing a little girl around Piltover? And why weren't there any enforcers around just when you needed them?!
"All the other shops are closed. She must have come inside here." He insisted, walking further inside as another man appeared behind him, no less intimidating than the one you were facing now. You could feel your heart in your throat, adrenaline building up. One wrong move and you wouldn't hesitate to attack them.
"There's only flowers and plants here, as you can see." You secretly congratulated yourself for not making your voice waver, keeping your poise.
The men started walking around your shop, trampling over the flowers that had found their way to the floor. You winced at that and one looked sharply at you, but you raised your hands innocently to show you weren't up to anything. When they got close to the counter, you inadvertently gasped, and they turned to you at the same time, looking at you suspiciously.
"I just remembered I forgot to order four dozen roses for this afternoon!" You exclaimed, distracting them long enough for you to make sure flowers covered the girl from head to toe. You really hoped they wouldn't ruffle through them and just left. "No girls here, only flowers and plants. So please, if you excuse me, I have a very busy day ahead of me. Progress Day is coming soon and orders are piling up! Off you go now!" You tried to dissuade them from looking further into behind the counter, and you held your breath as they turned towards the front door.
"We don't get paid enough for this bullshit." One of them said shaking his head in resignation, making his way towards the exit. But the tattooed one squinted at you.
"What's behind that door?" He asked.
"The backroom. Only more flowers and plants back there. And it's locked." You smiled at him sweetly. His eyes glazed over for a second, easily missed it if not looking for it, and sighed in defeat, finally turning to leave and join his buddy outside.
Once you made sure the men were truly gone, you turned towards the counter, where a big cocoon of vines covered in flowers waited for you. You hoped you hadn't scared the little girl with your magic. It had been years since you'd purposely shown your magic to someone else.