Vexen's Injury

Vexen's Injury is a small chapter segment in the story Niles and Fiona. It serves as a form of filler in the story to fill the reader in about Vexen and Varian's personal experiences during their childhood.

The segment is told through short journal entries for the first few parts, but then switches to the twins' points of view.

Plot
Upon realizing the twins have inherited Rathood, Niles is concerned that they may suffer a worse version of what he had to deal with. Fiona attempts to reassure him, and much to their surprise, the twins have divine control and precision with their abilities, ranging from partial shifts to retaining near-perfect human speech.

Most of the twins' childhood consists of Fiona's training and Rat Charm, along with educating the two about Rathood and why "they can't change in front of everyone." By the twins' twelfth birthday, they are allowed to choose weapons for themselves--Varian chooses marksmanship and Vexen chooses knife-throwing.

Soon after this, Varian gradually starts losing sight in one eye for an unknown reason. By the time he's taken to a doctor due to concern that "one is black", his pupil no longer responds to light, hinting he's already lost his sight to a possible retinal detachment. Saddened, Varian dons an eyepatch and begins to face taunting from Vexen for it.

One day, just before their fourteenth birthday, Varian finally has enough of Vexen's jeering words and stabs her through the opposite eye with a searing-hot fireplace poker. Much to his horror, Vexen simply laughs at him, asking if he wanted to see her cry in pain. She then darkly informs him that she "simply can't recall ever feeling hurt from something," and that he won't get any satisfaction from what he did.

Vexen ultimately creates a cover story for her injury, but the wound is traumatic to the point of where all her eye tissue, nerves, and socket has to be removed, leaving behind her empty, cavernous orbit. Fiona initially worries about how this will affect how Vexen is judged by others (Vexen refuses to wear an eyepatch, which is really her way of mocking Varian), but soon sees her daughter attempting to place flowers into the space. Fiona develops a strangely wicked smile as she realizes what she can now do.

Although it isn't said what that is, it's hinted that since Vexen refuses to wear a patch, she could instead place somthing inside of it, so that people won't wonder where her eye is.

Ending Monologue
''That space would always be there. Nothing could go in in anymore--the poker made sure of that--and left behind a cavern where a grey eye once was. Vexen would never allow an eyepatch because of Varian, and social events would be a disaster--''

''It was a cavern. Caverns could hold things. Like lillies. Vexen loved lillies. A smile began to form on Fiona's lips. It felt strange--as if it wasn't being made from joy.''