Chapter 1 - Bel'zhun
If you were to try and capture the essence of Bel'zhun in one word, it would be dull. This exceptionally dull settlement in Shurima occupied an equally dull corner of the desert. With its streets typically barren and markets sparsely populated, Bel'zhun was anything but 'bustling', and yet, on this particular day, the inhabitants of the settlement pushed and jostled each other in the streets. Stall merchants shouted out to customers with a new gusto; shops, taverns and inns were at full capacity and the city was filled with an uncommon vigor. Yes, Bel'zhun was bustling on this day, bustling in every sense of the word. For today, this out-of-the-way town was graced with the presence of the famous Battle Mistress, Sivir; her title and name were known throughout all of Valoran, as were her wealth and exploits. Leading her band of legendary sell-swords across the golden seas of Shurima, she made a name for herself as top blade for hire. When she was not guarding the treasures of the wealthy, she was amassing a fortune for herself. She had no scruples about cracking ancient tombs and absconding with the treasures of the departed, and her success story was the dream of every mercenary from the humid jungles of Kumungu to the frosty peaks of the Freljord.
The mystery for the townsfolk was why Sivir was in Bel'zhun in the first place. Surely there was no job in such a humble, normal, and, most importantly, poor settlement that would satisfy the grand Battle Mistress. But whatever the reason, she was here, and Bel'zhun's chief was more than happy to accommodate such a personage. The small settlement would easily profit from the attention as merchants and travellers flocked to see such a famed company. People would come from all over to pay for the services of this legendary group, making the journey with their pockets filled up with as much gold as they had or whatever valuables they could pawn. Of course, more often than not, their travels would prove fruitless. As the gang's fame rose, so too did the cost of their services, eventually becoming out of reach for the common man. Nevertheless, people (along with their meager coin and high hopes) still traveled far and wide to see the legend. Roaming merchants, drifters, and all manner of swindlers soon caught on and started to prey on the gold-laden crowds. And thus whenever the fabled adventurers were in a local settlement or village, it would transform into a bustling hub of trade for however long the Battle Mistress's band chose to stick around.
In this case, they would not be staying for very long; the inhabitants of Bel'zhun did not know that their esteemed guests had no intentions of lingering, but Sivir had planned it that way. A disgruntled crowd only brought more attention, something she wanted to avoid if possible. She was uneasy, a feeling uncharacteristic to this champion of the desert. She was only in town to meet her contact for the next job, something that was routine and that she had consistently completed with ease. But she was still nervous. One thing she knew, one thing that was a certainty in the ever-changing sands of Shurima, is that life is always full of inconsistencies.
The horse drawn carriage jostled abruptly every few seconds as it followed the narrow path. This part of the desert near the Mogron Pass was mostly comprised of grainy silt, leading to a very uncomfortable and bumpy ride, much to the noblewoman's annoyance. As if to spite her, a dip in the path hit the carriage with extra force, knocking over a bag and spilling parchments and papers across the carriage floor. She rounded up the loose papers and sat back with a venomous look on her, while frustrated, still immaculate face. In the seat across, her bodyguard tried to avoid the gaze, as if locking eyes with her meant certain death. Eventually, however, he broke the silence by clearing his throat several times as he prepared to speak the lines he had been carefully rehearsing over the past several minutes.
"Lady Cassiopeia, we shall be arriving at the settlement of Bel'zhun within the hour. Our guide should be waiting to meet us there as soon as we arrive."
Cassiopeia turned to the man, her expression swiftly shifting from malice to a pleasing, albeit dangerous, smile.
"Thank you, Magnus." She paused briefly before continuing. "I appreciate you accompanying me on such a journey. Your presence makes me feel much safer."
Her sultry voice was like velvet to the ears, but Magnus simply nodded and promptly broke eye contact to look out the window as Cassiopeia nobly sat with her pristine smile. Many a man or woman would have been overjoyed by the praise, Cassiopeia Du Couteau was the gem of Noxus after all. It was said that gaining her favor was the same as gaining favor with the gods; to lose it however, was to lose everything. That being said, Magnus was her bodyguard who was approaching a year in her service and he knew she was far from the innocent beauty which she often appeared to be. Being with her when she was angry was terrifying, but not something he could not handle. What truly made his blood run cold was the sight of that sickly-sweet smile and the sound of her melodious voice, saturated with hidden desires. Many a poor soul lost their lives upon her poisonous lips. Where they expected to receive her warm embrace, they were only met with the coldness of deceit. Magnus shifted uncomfortably in his seat after his train of thought, letting his eyes scan out the window, he longed for their arrival at Bel'zhun.
Barely two days had passed since Sivir and her group arrived in Bel'zhun and it was already brimming with travellers and merchants. The swift and dramatic increase of population had put the Battle Mistress in a sour mood and she decided the best way to improve it was with hearty food and drink. She found herself sitting in the corner of The Nomad's Oasis, a local tavern, as she brooded to herself, forehead creased with wrinkles. Sivir poked idly at her food while she was deep in concentration, mostly about how stale and warm her beer was, when an ear splitting crack of pottery breaking brought her attention back to the tavern. Her eyes focused on the scene that had broken out, her light blue irises glowed from the dark corner of the room she resided in. Two men seemed to be fighting over a late payment on a delivery, when one of them knocked over a plate as their tensions rose. Sivir took one last bite of her food before wiping her hands on a napkin. She rummaged around in the pouch at her waist, pushing the gold circlet that she normally wore to the side as she pulled out a simple cloth headband. Pulling her dark black hair back, Sivir stood and made her way over to the pair of men. A young barmaid was timidly trying to intervene, but the bickering men paid her no heed and their argument only escalated. The older of the two men pushed the younger back, causing him to stumble and knock into the barmaid. The girl lost her balance but Sivir caught her before she fell, one hand grasping the barmaids arm, the other fidgeting with her hastily made ponytail. Sivir smiled at the trembling barmaid before speaking.
"Do you think you could fetch me a new drink? Mine seems to have been a bit warm."
The barmaid, who realized Sivir's request was less of a question and a more of an order, nodded eagerly as she retreated to the back. The yelling between the men was starting to get on Sivir's nerves and she approached the two belligerents who had been disturbing the peace of the tavern for quite long enough. She was taller than either man, standing just shy of six-foot. She placed a hand on each man's shoulder as both whipped their heads around to see who would dare interrupt them and their faces drained of color.
"Now, now my friends, instead of bickering at an extremely unreasonable volume, why don't we try and resolve this… problem?"
Cassiopeia watched the carriage retreat down a back road of Bel'zhun, and pushing the desires of being home in Noxus aside, she turned to face Magnus. The bodyguard shifted uncomfortably in his garb, a film of sweat lining his skin. He had expected Shurima to be warm, just not this warm. Cassiopeia, though more appropriately dressed, was also feeling the effects of the midday sun. She wore a white sheath dress with a leather belt at her waist that held a short blade, which looked more ornamental than practical. Magnus stood beside her, re-adjusting his claymore on his back as he looked around the back alley of Bel'zhun they were located in. The silence was broken by the sound of multiple footsteps approaching and Magnus let a hand reach for his blade as he turned to face two figures that had appeared in the alleyway. A young man and woman came into view as they approached him and Cassiopeia; they were dressed in brown and dark blue linen outfits with leather sandals that laced up their calf. Both of the newcomers were armed and looked capable.
"You must be Cassiopeia."
The man, who had spoken, was close to Magnus's height, both of which surpassed six-foot. Though the young man lost several inches of height as he was slouched over, with both of his hands shoved into his pockets. He had short black hair, was well muscled, and carried a long, curved blade slung over his shoulder. He had dark brown eyes like his compatriot beside him, though they were not as stern as the girl's, partly due to the childish and carefree grin across his face. The man received a quick elbow in the ribs from the girl to reprimand his lack of formality with Cassiopeia before she turned to face Magnus and Cassiopeia, handing the bodyguard a letter.
"We were told this letter would prove our legitimacy."
Magnus glanced over the letter skimming the contents before noticing a crest at the bottom, a black rose. The letter was indeed legitimate, these two sellswords were with Sivir, and he nodded to Cassiopeia. The girl bowed slightly, placing a hand over her heart before speaking.
"If you would follow us, we will take you to where Sivir is."
Cassiopeia let her critical gaze shift now to the woman; she had light brown, shoulder-length hair, and was equipped with a short curved sword that sat sheathed on her lower back. The blade ran parallel to her belt and the handle ran beyond her waist so that it could be drawn quicker than those with usual over-the-shoulder sheaths. She was small and petite, barely reaching over five-foot and was thin, but she still carried herself with an air of strength and maturity. Along with her deep brown eyes, she bore freckles that danced around a scar that spread across the bridge of her nose to her cheeks.
"Why is Sivir not here to greet us in person? Does she not view me or this job as important?"
The unexpected venom behind Cassiopeia's words took the sell-swords by surprise, but they quickly recovered after glancing nervously at each other. The girl's voice shook slightly as she spoke;
"Of course not. I will retrieve her at once, she is just...currently preoccupied."
Sivir rifled through the bags of the two unconscious men that lay across the broken table. Sivir tossed two gold pouches in the air, snatching them up as an exasperated voice directed at her spoke.
"It hasn't even been two days since we arrived and you already got into a bar fight. Are you trying to set some kind of record?"
Sivir gave the brown haired, freckled face girl an amused glance. "Oh don't look at me like that Myra, these guys had it coming." Sivir tossed the bag of coins to the frightened barmaid
"That should cover the expenses." The barmaid, still dumbfounded, nodded and mumbled a small thanks in response. Sivir turned back Myra who shook her head in disapproval, muttering something about irresponsibility.
"Have they arrived in Bel'zhun yet?"
"Yes. She was...not the most pleasant person I've met." Myra said exasperatedly.
Sivir let a smirk spread to the corner of her mouth as she walked back to her table. "What? Are you telling me that Noxian noblewomen are snobby? I would have never guessed." Sivir said sardonically as she picked up her crossblade, slinging it across her back, before returning to Myra at the taverns entrance, her smirk still glued to her face.
"Well...shouldn't keep our clients waiting." And with that, both figures exited the tavern.
The afternoon Shuriman sun seemed to beat down with more force than Sivir was used to. She tugged at her clothes absentmindedly, her garb was the usual brown and dark blue that her group sported, however, she was not wearing her usual high cut top that revealed most of her midriff, instead her shirt was long sleeved and covered her torso completely. Even her pants now covered all the way down to her ankles. She was never fond of having to cover up every inch of her skin when in the desert heat, but for this job she would be travelling long hours under the sun in the desert. The irritation from long sleeved clothing paled in comparison to the blistering burns one would receive to prolonged exposure from the sun. Sivir followed Myra through several twisting back alleys as the young sellsword confirmed the group was ready to leave at Sivir's command. Sivir was only half paying attention to Myra because she was deep in thought, twiddling the white scarf at her neck occasionally or pushing stray hairs up only to have them fall back seconds later. Myra shot a furtive glance at Sivir, noticing the worry on her leader's face. Sivir's band had seen many people come and go. It's not like Sivir ever forced anyone to stay; it was only natural for mercenaries to come and go, never wanting to be tied down to one place, and Sivir respected that. Myra, however, had been fixed next to Sivir's side these past years. She had soon found herself fiercely loyal to the Battle Mistress and her ideals within months of joining with her. And after the time spent together, Myra had picked up on a few of Sivir's nuances. With the arrival of the letter about this job from Noxus, Myra instantly had seen something was off with Sivir. Myra broke the silence as they walked.
"Cassiopeia arrived with a bodyguard but he doesn't seem too bright, he should be nothing to worry about."
Sivir still gave a concerned glance towards Myra, her face seem to be hoping for extra reassurance, which Myra was happy to divulge.
"We have also been monitoring everyone who enters and leaves Bel'zhun, rest assured Sivir, we will not run into any problems with this job."
"You can always tell when something is bothering me." Sivir chuckled to herself continuing on.
"Maybe that's why Desmond is so fond of you." Sivir said, giving Myra a playful push as they rounded the final corner to where the group was.
They had arrived at the edge of Bel'zhun where a small caravan of camels was being loaded up with supplies by Sivir's band of sellswords, all clad in her telltale colors of cerulean blue and tawny brown. Sivir's gaze landed on a woman, who could only be Cassiopeia, skeptically sizing up the mercenaries while sitting leisurely under an awning.
"Myra, help them pack up. We will be leaving soon." Myra nodded, but was stopped as Sivir caught her arm before she left to add in a final remark.
"Do you have some of the sun cream, the one to reduce burns? You know how noblewomen and their creams are." Myra nodded, as she fished the container out of her bag and handed it to Sivir before heading on her way. Sivir glanced over to where a tall, dark haired boy was trying to make conversation with the Noxian bodyguard.
"Desmond quit slacking off and help Myra and the group. And stop slouching will you? Just stand up straight for once...and wipe that dumb grin off your face!"
Sivir shook her head before taking a deep breath and headed over to the Noxian noblewoman.
"Cassiopeia, I apologize for not being there to greet you. I trust that Myra and Desmond were accommodating?"
Cassiopeia stood, and although she was a good deal shorter than Sivir, she still carried a distinct air of power as she rose. Her face, now void of any dejection, was filled with a beautifully intoxicating smile, that set Sivir's nerves on edge.
"Of course my dear Sivir. I am just glad to finally meet you. The Noxian high command sings nothing but the highest of praises for you, the famous Battle Mistress of the Shuriman Desert."
Sivir almost wretched at Cassiopeia's facade, Noxians- they're always full of deceit.
"I am surprised to hear that. I figured they would still harbor ill will after I declined their offers to work with high command during the Ionia war. In fact, I am almost positive that they do."
"Rest assured that is not the case Sivir. Noxus values your services and skill-set too much to have such feelings."
Sivir nodded and decided it was time to change the subject. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, she glanced briefly towards the sky.
"We will be doing a short ride to an outpost not far from here, and we should make it before sunfall. When we arrive we can get more of the needed supplies before making our journey into the heart of the desert the following day."
Sivir reminded herself and quickly pulled the cream Myra had given her out of her pocket. "Also I recommend this ointment, you can use it on your skin that will be exposed to the sun to help prevent burning. It is also said to help with clearing up your skin… not that you would need that"
Sivir started to stumble with her words in the end. Trying make pleasant conversation while appealing to a noblewoman's tastes was not her forte.
"I appreciate the thought Sivir, it was most gracious of you. I will tell Magnus, my bodyguard, to get ready for departure. Thank you again."
"No need to thank me. I'm just glad Noxus came to me with another job and not an assassin." Sivir let out a half-hearted laugh that abruptly trailed off. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before realizing that jokes were not her forte either.
Luckily Cassiopeia let out a small chuckle as well before responding. "Of course! We would never do such a thing."
Sivir nodded and excused herself before turning to help out with the preparations for departure. Cassiopeia eyed the crossblade that was holstered on Sivir's back, letting her last words hiss out as she watched the Battle Mistress walk away
"No, Sivir, we would never harm you. After all, your blood is much too precious to spill...for now."
A/N: Hey guys just wanted to drop a few shout outs here:
Thanks for anumbrellafortwo on tumblr for letting me use their art as my cover photo!
Also huge thanks for my beta readers:
MeltedJujubees was a huge help in cleaning up my story, went above and beyond to help me and can't thank her enough.
DeepChicken, my story wouldn't be the same without the grammar and syntax Chicken! :^)