Katarina cursed when she finally spotted the Demacian army's camp. The mission sounded simple enough – infiltrate the camp alone and assassinate the prince – but the scouting information that she received was completely inaccurate. The route she had been instructed to take was impassable and the camp was not even in the right location. She had had to waste several days finding a detour and a few more to locate the camp. She was tired and hungry. Hoping to complete the mission faster, she had gone without sleep ever since her food supplies had exhausted three days ago, but haste makes waste, and it had only slowed her down even more.
The Demacian camp was located in a valley, surrounded by mountains in the South and West, a grassy plain in the North, and a dense forest in the East. The mountains gave her a natural vantage point from which she could observe the camp. Security appeared fairly lax with not too many patrol guards. She identified Prince Jarvan's tent in the South-East area after seeing a figure walking into it while carrying a lance with a tell-tale Demacian standard on it, which fit the description given to her by Noxian sources.
From afar, Katarina observed many people walking in and out of the tent. Two of them drew her attention in particular. The first was a female soldier wearing red armour and a pair of asymmetric gauntlets. Was this the rumoured half-dragon? The prince had recently rejoined the army after embarking on an extended journey, and there were rumours that he had recruited a half-dragon along the way. Some Noxian soldiers involved in the last few skirmishes with the Demacian army reported a fierce warrior fighting on the frontlines, but there were no eyewitness accounts of a dragon yet. Katarina made a mental note to find out more about that soldier in red if time permitted.
The second person that caught her eye was an exceptionally rugged soldier wearing blue and gold heavy armour. Garen "Might of Demacia" Crownguard, leader of the Dauntless Vanguard. Katarina had not met him in battle, but she knew of him through some… personal history. She had told no one about their previous encounters, and she was certain that Garen had not either. It would be an understatement to say that their higher-ups in Noxus and Demacia would not take it well if they ever found out about their shared history. Katarina pushed those thoughts out of her mind. They were all just illusions being confused with her memories. He had moved on, and so had she.
The day passed quickly by as Katarina waited for the sun to set. She had memorised the sentry patterns and planned her entrance and exit routes accordingly. She would infiltrate the camp when the sentries changed shift, kill the prince, and then escape into the dense forest, taking advantage of a gap in the patrols paths. No killing of guards this time because she did not have the energy to drag their bodies away to an unseen location, having not eaten for three days. She spotted Garen leaving Jarvan's tent fifteen minutes before the targeted change of shift. Perfect timing. Katarina stumbled to her feet, feeling a little groggy from the lack of nourishment. It was time to set off.
Entering the camp was the easy part. The night served as an invisibility cloak for an assassin, casting shadows that sheltered her from the drowsy eyes of a sleepy guard. She followed the route plotted in her head. Right turn, straight ahead, stick to the wall of the tent to avoid the oncoming patrol, then belly-crawl under the ropes of the tent. Wait for the moon to be blocked by clouds and then cross to the other side. Now turn left… or was it right? It had to be the left… wait, no, it should be straight ahead. Or had she taken a wrong turn? Katarina silently cursed. Her exhaustion was taking its toll. She could not remember the path anymore. She was lost while deep inside the enemy camp.
Footsteps approached from behind her. Katarina stepped around the corner to the left and squeezed horizontally into a gap between two adjacent tents. There was a puddle conveniently located beside her, its reflection allowing her to observe the person approaching. It was the rumoured half-dragon. Katarina managed to get a good look as the half-dragon walked past. She had bluish-brown skin and bright red hair tied into a single long braid. Her red armour with gold trimming was recognisably different from the rest of the Demacian soldiers'. A horned helmet protected her head, while a short breastplate armoured her shoulders and chest. Low-rise leggings covered her lower limbs and a pair of asymmetric gauntlets shielded her forearms. The gauntlet on her right arm was designed to look like a dragon's head, while the left gauntlet resembled a dragon's jaw. Her upper arms were left exposed, as well as her entire belly from the lower ribs to the lower abdomen. Katarina could not tell whether she was a real dragon or simply that her armour made her look like one.
The soldier in red walked past Katarina's hiding place. Katarina was about to slip out in the other direction when the unthinkable happened. Her stomach growled. Katarina's eyes widened as the soldier in red stopped in her tracks and turned her head at the sound. Luckily for Katarina, the moon was behind her, allowing her to remain hidden in the shadows of the two tents, but she would definitely be seen if the soldier in red stepped too close. Katarina did not dare to breathe. The soldier was coming closer. Any second now and she would be seen…
"There you are Shyvana! I've been looking for you!"
Prince Jarvan stepped out from the tent behind Katarina and drew the soldier's attention away. Katarina closed her eyes in relief. That was a very close shave. Plus, she had located the prince. Jarvan muttered something inaudible before taking Shyvana's hand and walking away with her.
Jarvan was only lightly-armoured this time and was not wearing his helmet. This was her chance! Katarina stepped out from her hiding spot and unclasped a throwing knife from her belt. All it would take was a single throw to the back of his neck. Jarvan was completely unsuspecting. Katarina held the blade of the knife between her thumb and forefinger. She pulled her arm back and flung. She knew it would be a bulls-eye right after she released it. The aim was true and the follow-through was perfect. The knife flew a few metres through the air, homing in on its target.
It did not hit.
Shyvana had somehow sensed danger and turned around just in time to deflect the knife with the dragon-jaw gauntlet. Her face was lined with fury as she glowered at Katarina with her arms spread wide, clearly determined to protect Jarvan.
That was it. She had been discovered. Mission failed. Time to run.
The peaceful camp burst into life in response to the assassin alarm while Katarina ran. She turned right at a corner before skidding to a halt. Garen Crownguard stood at the end of the path with his full armour equipped in all its glory and his sword pointed towards her. Katarina would have relished the prospect of a duel on any other night, but she was too physically and mentally drained this time. She sprinted away in another direction.
Garen's footsteps thundered after her, pursuing her out of the camp and into the dense forest. His shouts rang in her ears every few seconds. Katarina was running out of stamina, but try as she might, she could not seem to shake him off. She was running like a headless chicken now, having long lost her sense of direction after entering the forest. She was forced to stop running after what seemed like ages. Ahead of her stood a rock wall. Garen emerged from the clearing behind her. Katarina was trapped now.
Katarina unsheathed her twin daggers before turning around to face her opponent. The moonlight illuminated the familiar features of his face. He looked exactly as she remembered, except a little more rugged. Garen raised his sword towards her in a defensive stance. She had not wanted to fight, but there was no choice now.
Taking the initiative, Katarina dashed forward and Garen did too. She disappeared just before they got in range of each other and reappeared behind Garen, throwing two knives that embedded in the back of his armour. She followed up with a slash towards his neck but Garen caught her arm and swung her into the rock wall.
A dazed Katarina shook her head to clear her vision. The next thing she knew, Garen had gripped her shoulders and rammed his knee into her stomach. Katarina grimaced, the wind knocked out of her. A second strike in the stomach from Garen's other knee caused her to gasp. A third one followed, and a fourth, and a fifth. After the tenth hit, Katarina brought her knees up in a desperate attempt to end the barrage, kicking Garen's chest and forcing him back. She slid down the rock wall and immediately rolled to the side, her head narrowly avoiding Garen's boot.
The fight continued with a Shunpo from Katarina. Both fighters threw attack after attack at each other. Swords, daggers, hand-to-hand combat, even hurling surrounding objects as projectiles. The fight had devolved into a battle of attrition.
Katarina panted as she held her twin daggers in front of her. Long face-to-face battles never favoured her, since she specialised in taking out important targets swiftly without giving them the chance to react. She could already feel her attacks slowing down due to the exertion, as well as the hunger and lack of sleep. Garen had taken almost no physical damage from Katarina's daggers except for a few shallow cuts on his face from the throwing knives that barely grazed him. His armour had taken the brunt of her attacks, which scratched and poked small holes in the metal without really penetrating. He looked slightly exhausted from swinging his heavy sword around, but was still very much battle-worthy.
Katarina, on the other hand, was almost worn out by that point. Garen's sword may have been slower than her twin daggers, but it took all of her strength to block the fierce slashes with both hands, leaving the rest of her body wide open. Her unarmoured belly ached from the punishment dished out by the punches, kicks, knees, and elbows that had connected. She was sure that it would bruise for the next few days. Her back also continued to sting after a botched Shunpo had ended with Garen slamming her onto the ground.
There was no way for her to win after Garen survived her initial barrage of attacks, but there was no escape route either. Garen had chased her to a dead end in the forest with a solid rock wall behind her.
Garen charged forward with his sword held above his head, swinging it at her in a downward arc. Katarina just managed to block the strike with her twin daggers crossed before it could cleave her in two. Garen was staring down at her, and she forced herself to return a defiant glare, as her muscles screamed in pain from the effort it took to hold back the sword. Gritting her teeth, Katarina managed to push Garen's sword to the left. Defending that one attack had used up the last of her energy, however, and she could not react in time to block the next one. Using the momentum from the deflected attack, Garen spun around full-circle before viciously smashing the pommel of his heavy sword into Katarina's now-unguarded midsection.
Katarina gasped and staggered backwards a few steps before landing on one knee with her left arm cradling her sore stomach. She dry-heaved a couple of times before blood rushed up her throat and out of her mouth, staining the ground red. That last strike had hit her right in the bellybutton and caused internal injury.
The grass rustled as Garen rushed towards her. His sword was down by his side and Katarina could see the concern clouded in his eyes. He reached for her shoulder but she swiped his arm away with her free hand.
"Don't touch me!" Katarina screamed. She willed herself to stand, but was forced back onto one knee again when her abdominal muscles protested.
"Enough, Kat, you can't even stand. I'll let you go this time."
Garen's words triggered a deep-seated reaction in more ways than one. If there was one thing Katarina resented, it was being looked down upon by her opponents, especially if it's Garen. Aside from that…
"DO. NOT. EVER. CALL ME KAT AGAIN!"
Katarina spit out a mouthful of blood and lunged forward, ignoring all the pain in her body. She kept one hand over her stomach, protecting it from further injury, as she slashed at Garen with the single blade in her right hand. Her attacks were random, a far cry from her usual precise and calculated assaults, and her offensive capability was blunted with only one weapon. Garen easily parried the single dagger with his sword. Katarina's battered state led to several gaps in her defence, but Garen never capitalised on them, which made her even more infuriated.
With an indignant cry, Katarina dropped to the ground and swept Garen with her legs, causing him to land on his back. She mounted him before he could react and held her dagger to his exposed neck. She was starting to feel a little light-headed as blood continued to pour out of her mouth.
Garen remained silent. Katarina could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he regained his breath from the fall.
"Looks like we're in a very familiar position, aren't we, Kat?" Garen breathed. "Why don't you kill me now?"
"Why don't you stop holding back?" Katarina bit back.
Garen closed his eyes briefly. Their eyes met when he opened them again.
"Because I am not going to harm my wife."
"Then I will not kill my husband," Katarina whispered, before collapsing.
Katarina could hear Garen calling her name over and over, but his voice was becoming more and more distant as her vision faded to darkness.