Chapter 1

The Escape Plan

Luxanna Crownguard was rich, beautiful and smart. What else could anyone ask..? She had everything, yet she wasn't happy. She sighed and threw her heavy coat on her bed. The only thing illuminating the cold room was a thin thread of moonlight that slipped through the golden Demacian curtains.

"Tonight's the night", she thought, nervously tightening her fist.

Luxanna lived at the royal castle with her mother and brother. The Crownguards had served the royal family for multiple generations protecting them from all kinds of danger, and were the second most important and rich family in Demacia. Her father had been the commander of the Demacian army before he died bravely in war and her brother, Garen, had inherited the title after him. He was a happy-go-lucky man, a bit brute and with zero sense of preservation, but also very loyal and kind, and her best friend. Their mom was a very uptight woman whose only goal in life was to protect the family's social status. Lux on the other hand, was—or used to—be a very bright and positive magician who would always worry about the wellbeing of others. She could bend the light as she pleased, capable of burning anything or binding things and illuminate even the darkest places. She used to go on thrilling missions, doing things like recovering antique magic scrolls or gathering enemy intel for her country…

But all that was in the past now. Ever since it had been arranged that she'd marry the prince, Jarvan IV, she had been forbidden to leave the country or go in any sort of risky mission. Her only mission in life now was to give heirs to the royal family. Lux—and also the prince—were devastated. They had grown up together and she knew he was a good man, brave and righteous, but shared no interests with her. All he cared about was war and women. He was handsome, rich and strong, and naturally all the girls died to be with him, and he loved the attention. And he also loved his freedom, so much that being forced to marry a girl he considered his little sister was like a death sentence to him. But Jarvan knew his role as the prince very well and didn't dare to complain. Lux, on the other hand, was devastated. The positive girl she once was had vanished.

But she hadn't lost hope.

She had been methodically planning an escape for weeks.

Tonight, nothing could go wrong or her chances of achieving her freedom would disappear.

She clutched her magic wand and whispered, "you can do this Luxanna". She placed it carefully in an old leather bag and a sudden freezing breeze startled her. She quickly turned around and saw that the window was open. "How..?" she mumbled as she rushed to close it. "It was probably just not closed correctly and the wind opened it", she thought trying to comfort herself. "There's no way anyone knows about my plan".

"What plan?" said a cold voice behind her. She gasped in surprise, and before she could move a sharp blade was suddenly pressed against her neck and a rough hand covered her mouth. "Don't tell me you were going to run away..?" he mocked. She shivered. "Fuck! I've been caught!" She clutched his hands trying to break free but immediately gave up as the knife was pressed harder against her neck. "I guess things are not as perfect as they look in this country," he laughed. "I thought this was going to be harder, but you turned up to be just a weak little girl, as I thought…" Lux scowled. Being called weak was one of the things she hated the most in this world. "This guy clearly doesn't know how I am!" She channeled all her energy into her hands, creating so much light that her hands started burning like a thousand fires. The man screamed in pain and quickly jumped back. "What the hell was that!?" She glared at him, sobbing her hands which had been painfully burnt as well, and grunted, "who are you and what do you want?"

"That hurt idiot!" he hissed looking at her right into the eyes. "You'll pay for this".

Lux blushed, half intimidated and half confused by her sudden attraction to him. He was beautiful. His hair was long and brown and his reddish eyes were mean but hypnotizing at the same time. "I-I want to see you try!" she said in a reedy voice, "if I scream right now a soldier will come and kill you..!"

He smirked and suddenly disappeared.

"Then why haven't you screamed yet..?" his cold voice whispered from behind her.

"Wha..!" was the last thing she could say before everything turned black.

"I wonder why she didn't scream…"