I

They watched as ships sailed past the island from Bilgewater. From the rich district of Navori, one of them came here from Demacia every so often and the other, while she lived on the island, was a stranger to Southern Ionia. They sat on one of many cliffs on the island, close to a waterfall that connected with the ocean.

"It's been a long time... a little too long." one of them said, watching the clouds roll through the sky with her cherry red eyes. She then turned to her friend, her light blue hair gliding through the wind as she also turned as well. "How have the performances been?"

The young woman simply shrugged, then propped her musical instrument against her hips and played a tune. Immediately, the other woman was drawn in by the mesmerizing notes. "Is this what you played?" when she smiled and nodded, the other woman responded, "Sona, this is great! It really captures the feeling of warmth. If I had a recorder, I would record it and play it over and over!"

The blue-haired woman, Sona, reached for the small purse she brought to Ionia and rummaged through it. A few moments later, her hand emerged from the bag, holding a few sheets of paper that were folded in half. On the back of it said, "To Usagi" as she handed it to the other woman.

"A copy of the song.. playable on my flute? This is perfect!" Usagi tackled her and hugged her to death. Once she let go of the blue-haired, she put herself at arm's length from her and said, "But what I really wanted were those books! You remember those ones that I requested from the Noxian Library?"

At first, Sona glanced at her dumbfoundedly, unsure of what she was asking. After a few moments, her ears perked up and she took out a large book with a magic sigil on the front cover. The book was a rusty burgundy colour that seemed to fade over time. Usagi placed it in her lap and in her right hand formed a small, light blue spark on the tip of her fingers.

"Now this, Sona, is an ancient magical book that has been binded with magics. You must carefully break the bonds with a special type of magic." she explained as the muse peered over her shoulder. She placed the spark above the sigil and it glowed orange briefly before it was smashed to pieces. "It looks easy, but this took me eons to master. It's a tricky process..."

Sona didn't know much of magic seals, but she kept listening to her friend. She watched as the green-haired flipped through the book, her light red eyes glossing over the pages. "Hmmm, a lot of these spells are strength enhancements." she turned to the muse and asked, "What do you say Sona? Take the enhancement and benchpress triple my weight?"

Both of them laughed, though only Usagi's was audible. When the laughter ceased, she said, "I remember my mom used to scold me. She would always say I lack physical strength. I would tell her that I'm a girl and girls have less physical strength than boys, therefore I won't be able to compete with them in my class."

Sona nodded, then she made a hand gesture of flipping something over. Usagi laughed and said, "Yes, you remember the story! When my mother proved me wrong by defeating some of our teachers, I couldn't believe it."

Though, Sona didn't see nostalgia in her eyes, but rather regret or remorse. She tilted her head over to try and see the green-haired's face when she turned to the scenery of Ionia. Usagi jumped at her sudden reaction and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that...?" they were now face-to-face, both of their eyes held a cloud of sadness. "Don't be like that, you know what happened to my parents."

Sona lowered her head, letting her ponytails fall in front of her. The other patted her head, saying, "And I'm okay with that. There's been a lot of orphans since the Noxian Invasion." when she started to lift her head, Usagi crossed her arms and moved her head to the side. "Don't pity me, I'll be just fine!"

The blue-haired tilted her head and smiled as she turned to the view from the mountainside. Down below was the Ionian City Capital; not very large, but still had livelihood enough to compete with Demacia's. People carried large trays of food, paper, and other necessities across from building to building. Everyone had large smiles on their faces as some stopped by to say hello. Sona lied on the grass and watched them, fascinated by what seemed like small ants up here.

Usagi's eyes traced to where Sona's were. "What do you find so interesting about them?" she asked as this was the third time she caught the blue-haired staring down at the city. The other couldn't see what was so enjoyable about watching the city. "Don't you see the same thing in Demacia?"

She puffed her cheeks and shook her head fiercely, then returned to her sightseeing. A large group started to gather around the center of city where a pedestal stood for the Duchess of Ionia. The crowd's noise died down as she stepped onto the pedestal and looked on with light green eyes. Usagi had been close to the Duchess a few times, however the last few times were met with threats. Not just with what she was doing... but who she would attract. Not that she heeded any of her warnings; she was more than capable of handling herself.

"Karma's really pretty, I'm surprised she has no wrinkles from leading an entire nation." she said, in which Sona nodded in agreement. "Especially one that's been in torment and war for years. She is really an amazing leader."

"My fellow countrymen, we have risen from hard times, stood for what we believed in and paved the new way for a brighter Ionia that has learned from the many scars." Karma said, causing the crowd to cheer and whistle, then she silenced them with the wave of a hand. "However, our work as a nation is not done. There is still evil that lurks deep in our island that we must stand together and defeat."

Usagi rolled her eyes and muttered, "You're going to need more than a nation of powerless to stop those evils."

The blue-haired glanced at her friend, who now looked towards the North and the East, where darkness shrouded the forest; so thick that you couldn't see deeper in. She couldn't tell what Usagi was thinking; although she was her friend, her inner thoughts were often closed off to everyone.

"Sona, my dear! Where in heavens did you go?" they both heard a woman's voice and looked at each other before looking at the where they walked from. They both saw her adoptive mother, Lestara Buvelle, speedwalking up the path with an umbrella in hand. "There you are! It is almost time to head home." then she looked at Usagi and smiled, "I see you're with Usagi though. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing pretty good Ms. Buvelle."

"That's very good darling. You should get going home to your family, it is getting late." Sona shook her head at her mother while she said it, but she ignored her warning.

Usagi scratched the back of her head, careful not to touch her bun. "I don't really have a family, Ms. Buvelle. But I should be getting back home."

"No family?" Lestara looked distraught that she would have no family. "No parents? No husband? No kids? No relatives or extended family?"

"No, no, none of that. My parents died a long time ago and I... never really thought about starting a family." she shrugged, but Lestara shook her head at her.

"You are a fine woman in adulthood. You should find a man at some point and have a nice family." Lestara said, patting her head. She puffed her cheeks a little, but didn't say anymore. Then she turned back to Sona and gently took her hand. Her etwahl lifted from her lap and hovered around them as Sona waved to her friend. "It was nice seeing you, Usagi. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye Sona, goodbye Ms. Buvelle." she waved to them while Sona waved back to them as she was being pulled down the hill.

When they were out of her sight, she sat at the edge of the hill and looked down at Karma's speech. She could feel her head droop into her magic book and her eyes slowly close. When she awoke again, people scattered as Karma answered some questions and started to pack.

Usagi figured now would be a good time to visit the Duchess once again. As she stood up, her magic book levitated in front of her around her chest. She jumped down the hill and activated a magic spell. When she approached ground, her body glowed a light shade of blue as she found herself levitating above. She propelled herself towards Karma at an accelerating rate that she almost had a hard time stopping herself.

As Karma finished answering the last question, she could see her from the corner of her eye, waiting for her to finish. Karma simply closed her eyes and thanked them for listening to her speech before they departed. Usagi approached her and said, "Busy as ever, I see."

"My work is never done, we still have Noxus and Bilgewater knocking at our doorsteps. And in our own, we have the likes of the Order of the Shadows, that mage in the fortress above and Yasuo who still manages to evade the law. That and..."

"And? This can't be good."

"The Golden Demon has escaped. I do not know how or when this happened, I just caught word of it from the head guard at the prison."

Usagi's eyes shifted as she muttered, "He was right when he kept saying 'art cannot be contained'."

"Watch yourself, he might come looking for revenge." Karma's light green eyes met her light red eyes.

Usagi smiled and said, "As with many."

Karma sighed as she explained, "It is the price you pay for indulging in this obsession with magics and trying to separate from the past." Usagi seemed to pay no heed, but the Duchess knew she was listening well. "I knew your mother, she was a sweetheart..."

"...And always wanted the best from her only daughter." Usagi finished the sentence, then started to levitate again. "I'm heading back, it's getting late."

"Take care." she said as she flew back to her home.

Usagi stood at her doorstep, placing the palm of her hand on the door and a sigil hidden by magic appeared. It glowed light blue as the door opened. As she took a step inside, she could feel something was amiss. The wind shifted different directions and the birds flew away.

She put a hand to where her heart is as it glowed light blue. Her other hand was stretched to her book. "...Who is there?" she stepped back, hoping that it wasn't who she thought it was. "Show yourself!"

"My dear, there is no need to be hostile." a man said in a calm voice. She knew he was behind her, so she stayed completely still. "However, you are late. I waited four minutes approximately for you to welcome me inside. I am hoping we could have a little chat about my production."

Usagi's eyes widened a little. It wasn't who she feared, but it was still someone she didn't welcome. "Khada Jhin...?"

"Just Jhin is sufficient, my dear." he spun her around so she could face the mask of him. Even as he wore it, she could sense his emotions and passion through it. "You have grown quite well. Have your eyes changed colour? I remember them being brown instead of red..."

"Yes, it's because of my magic studies." she said, stepping backwards into her house. He stalked after her as he closed the door behind them. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he had a twisted smile behind the mask.

"Being locked away for ten years, I yearn to hear the stories of my countrymen."