Wriothesley was in the middle of reviewing this month's roster of prisoners when he heard a commotion right outside his office. He was seated at his desk, one hand with silver rings on each finger was placed on his cheek, while the other rustled through the stack of papers. Next to him was an empty cup of his fourth serving of tea that afternoon. He was used to the hustle and bustle of the Fortress. After all, he had personally authorized so many different types of clubs and activities, it would have been strange if there wasn't a bit of noise every now and then.
He had already read through five files. Nothing crazy to note so far. All of them committed basic crimes, such as thieving, breaking and entering the Palais Mermonia, breaking and entering the Opera Epiclese, or just starting another illegal smuggling business.
Always the same old shit.
It was only after he had picked up the sixth file did he have the slightest change of facial expression. This particular file had no photo on it, which rarely happened.
(f/n) (l/n).
He stared at the name for a couple of minutes, before he finally let out a knowing smirk. There was only one reason why Monglane at the Administrative Area would exclude it.
It was a young woman's name. A pretty name too. Wriothesley had a reputation of hitting on all the attractive female prisoners.
He flipped through the file to read the details of the crime when someone suddenly banged on his office door.
"State your name and business," he said annoyed.
"Your Grace! I have an urgent report to make! It is regarding the Pankration Ring!" a hurried voice sounded from the other side.
He recognized the voice as Elise, one of the prison guards, and replied, "Enter."
Elise rushed inside the office, one hand on her chest as she slowed her breathing. Her heartbeat would accelerate every time she was around Wriothesley. After all, he was the most handsome man to exist on the surface of the planet... and below!
Forgetting why she was there for a moment, she practically drooled at the sight of him. As usual, he was wearing a large fur cloak that resembled raised hackles and several wolf-head emblems on his clothing. Beneath it was a vest and a loose red necktie; grey pants with handcuffs hanging from his belt. Completing the look were tall black boots. His black hair with silver streaks in his bangs was spiked up in two points, almost giving him the appearance of a pair of perked ears.
But nothing beat his eyes. Those damned and gorgeous pale blue eyes would be the death of anyone who stared into them for too long.
Wriothesley was already annoyed that Elise had interrupted him just when he was about to learn more about the mystery prisoner, (y/n), whose photo was hidden from him, but now he was becoming irritable.
"Well? Give me this urgent report," he said.
"Oh, right! Ah... I'm not sure if you heard yet, but there is a bit of a situation. One of the new prisoners, who arrived only this morning, is fighting in the ring right now."
Wriothesley neatly stacked all the files, putting (y/n)'s at the top, and set it aside. "What's the big deal? All prisoners are welcomed to fight in the ring--new or old."
"It's just..." Elise hesitated. She didn't want Wriothesley to know that this prisoner was a young woman. In fact, if it was in her power, she would do anything right now to keep him away from her. But she knew that if she didn't tell Wriothesley, one of the other guards would.
Wriothesley let out an obvious annoyed sigh. "Let me ask again, what's the problem?"
Elise's face suddenly reddened at the thought of another woman at the Fortress even breathing in Wriothesley's direction that what she said next just came out like word vomit. "She's basically singlehandedly kicking everyone's ass! She fought freaking 7 rounds in a row! SEVEN! She's unbeatable! All the other guards and prisoners have left their posts to watch her fight! They're all literally shirking their duties because of this woman. I think she is a cheat and a threat to the Fortress of Meropide. You must lock her up and throw away the keys! Or better yet, just kick her out completely. Some other prison can take her!"
Wriothesley raised a brow. Aside from himself - even without his Cryo vision - he has never met another person who was that successful in the Ring. He wondered what kind of monster this person was to be able to sweep the floor on their first day in prison. Maybe Elise was right and this prisoner was not just a regular Fontainian. Maybe she was a member of the Abyss Order in disguise.
Intrigued by the very thought of it, Wriothesley rose to his feet and nodded his head at Elise.
"I will head to the Pankration Ring," he said, trying to maintain a calm demeanor.
But in reality, he was very excited to know something crazy was happening inside the Fortress again. It gave him something to look forward to.
As he made his way across the Fortress, he let his thoughts run free. How long has he been inside the facility now? Was it two decades already? Was it more?
As each day passed by, the more he began to long for a feeling he couldn't explain. There was a void inside him, which he didn't know how to fill. In everyone's eyes, he was just their "Duke". His only responsibility was to maintain order in this secluded underworld, thousands of feet below Fontaine. But what did he truly want? What was his utmost desire?
Little did he know the answer to his question was right in front of him. His breath hitched as he entered the Pankration Ring and saw the prisoner in question land the final blow on a couple of Gardemeks, winning her eighth round without any breaks.
You had flawless (s/c) skin, bright (e/c) eyes, beautiful (h/c) hair, and a smile that quite literally took Wriothesley's breath away. In fact, he had to reach to feel his chest to see if his heart was still beating; if he was still alive. Wriothesley had never seen a more beautiful young woman in his entire life inside the Fortress of Meropide.
"That's her!" Elise intruded his thoughts. "She's the monster I was telling you about!"
Monster? Are you fucking kidding me? Even if you were a member of the Abyss Order destined to destroy the Fortress, he would not have cared in that moment. He had a strong desire to approach you. To talk to you. He wanted to know what your voice sounded like. What your laugh was like. He wanted to touch you. Everywhere.
His pale blue eyes were slowly transforming into a lustful gaze as though he were a predator eyeing his prey, and Elise knew exactly what was going on. It was as she had feared. She needed to get rid of you one way or another.
You celebrated your victory by pumping a fist into the air, and then playfully twirled in your spot. As you stopped your little victory dance, you now faced Wriothesley, who still remained speechless in the crowd. Your eyes scanned him for a few seconds as he most definitely stood out in the crowd.
"(y/n) has done it again!" exclaimed the announcer, grabbing your attention once more. "She has made her way to the finals! Unbelievable!"
The crowd cheered, as they waved their Credit Coupons in the air at you. Never before had there been such a show like this.
"Alright, to all those who betted against me," you started to say with a little smirk, "you know what to do."
Some of the prisoners groaned as they dropped stacks of Credit Coupons inside a small box, which Wriothesley realized was for you.
Not bad, he thought. Day one and she's already in a good place financially. She's seriously going to be trouble.
And what he meant by trouble also extended to his ever tightening pants. He couldn't stay away from you any longer.
You noticed from the corner of your eyes that the Duke was making his way towards you. Before he could get any closer, however, your best friend Lynette jumped out of the crowd and almost strangled you in her embrace.
"(y/n)! You are amazing~" she cried, still holding on to your body as though you were a stuffed toy, her tail wagging behind her. "Lyney and I knew you'd make it to the finals!"
Lyney, who stood a few feet behind his sister smiled and then winked at you. You smiled back at him, and Lyney's heart began to race. A faint blush crept up on his face.
"Lynette, you're crushing me," you said half-jokingly, as you forcibly pushed her off. "You know I still need all my bones in order to win the final match."
Lynette clasped her hands behind her back and sweetly laughed. "I'm sorry!"
Lyney now took a step closer and grabbed one of your hands. "You got this, (y/n). You're going to be the new champion."
Wriothesley noticed the interaction between you, Lynette, and Lyney. He recognized Lyney immediately. Not long ago, Lyney had served a sentence in the Fortress for secretly being a member of the House of Hearth. But his sentence was long done.
Why is he back here?
Wriothesley's eyes lowered and that's when he saw Lyney who was quite openly and indecently caressing your soft hands. He instantly realized that he must have returned as a visitor because of you.
That bastard came back for her?
Knowing that Lyney had a crush on you pissed him off.
Lynette observed the situation in barely silent glee as Lyney made his first move that afternoon. She only hoped you would respond positively.
"As a performer myself, I gotta admit, you were totally made for the stage," Lyney now whispered to you as he leaned in close. "Maybe you can personally help me rehearse for my next magic show?"
"Haha, I'll think about it," you said, as you casually removed your hand and now stretched your arms, readying for the final fight.
Lyney was a little disappointed that you didn't catch his intention of wanting to spend time alone together. I'll try again later.
At this time, Wriothesley had had enough of the damned ash blonde guy in the damned hat trying to flirt with his prisoner inside his fortress. So, he switched gears, and quickly made way to the commentator.
"Hand me the megaphone."
The commentator at once obeyed.
Wriothesley spoke into the loud speaker. "Alright, everyone. Show's over."
The crowd groaned in displeasure.
"Get back to work now, or there will be no welfare meals for any of you for the next three days."
The prisoners quickly dispersed from the Ring and returned to their daily work. They knew better than to go against a direct order of the Duke.
"The guards too," he added.
Elise muttered something inaudibly as she reluctantly left with the rest of the guards. You, Lynette, and Lyney made your way out of the Ring, but Wriothesley stopped right in front of you, blocking your path. It seemed he was was almost a foot taller than you.
"You two visitors from the overworld may return to the Administrative Area," he said to Lynette and Lyney. "I would like to have a word with our new champion-to-be."
The siblings reluctantly left the room, both of them looking back to make sure that you were going to be okay. You secretly gave them a thumbs up.
You stared up daringly at Wriothesley, who you had heard was basically the administrator, overseeing the Fortress of Meropide's overall status. You heard the rumors about how he was too young and handsome to be the Head.
I guess the rumors were true, you thought, subconsciously biting your lip.
Seeing him from this close, you noticed a scar beneath his right eye. Three more scars extended from high on his neck down to his mid-chest, with one on the right, one on the left, and one along the midline. He had additional scars on his left and right forearms. You wondered what the stories behind his scars were.
"So, you're the infamous (y/n)," he said now smirking.
"And you're the famous Duke," you responded back.
"Still infamous." Wriothesley let out a small chuckle .
You let out a halfhearted laugh. "Is this where I bow down, or something?"
Nobody had ever before dared to joke around with him. It was a good feeling. "You can stay upright."
"Thank goodness. It may not look like it but eight fights in a row did a number on my poor back."
He nonchalantly looked you up and down, making you slightly nervous.
"You're a Vision holder," he finally said.
You nodded. "Anemo." (A/N: you can be any Vision holder. I just put Anemo for a particular naughty scene later on!)
"If you had spent a little more time around the Fortress instead of gallivanting, then you would've known that you've broken a pretty big rule."
You were taken aback. He was right. You didn't even bother trying to learn anything about the Fortress. Your goal was to make a lasting impression on your first day so the other prisoners wouldn't look down on you.
"I.. I did? What rule?"
Wriothesley smirked again, his blue eyes suddenly beaming. This time, he had you exactly where he wanted. You had walked straight into his web. "Unfortunately, you won't be entering the finals. You see, Visions are illegal inside the Pankration Ring."
"Shit... I didn't realize that."
He inched closer towards you, your bodies almost touching. You had to lean your head further back in order to look up at him.
"Are you ready, then?" he asked in a low and husky voice.
Your eyes widened a little. "For what?"
"Your punishment."