Well, hello. I am no writer, English is not my native language, so if you find any mistakes or get ready to make some brilliant suggestions (except me dying from cancer or being burned as a heretic), speak freely. But keep in mind that I find disgusting slash, trash and whichever sort of perversion you'd like to add in this list. However, some people call me a sadist.
Now, some words about this fanfic. The idea is not a new one; it has been pestering me for a while, so I have got quite detailed plot in my head. Still, I have no clue which details need to be added or replaced. Shortly, the main idea is as simple as two plus two. Imagine Valoran that never knew summoners. How could the history of Runeterra (and in particular the history of Demacia and Noxus) change? My personal version of this is full of dirty tricks, easter eggs, unfunny jokes, deus ex machina, violence and me like GLaDOS doing science. So, I've chosen the point of view of the silent and sullen assassin, who just happened to be less inhuman and more curious than he was safe to be.
By the way, story in not focused on some lovey-dovey things and some characters may appear completely different from your vision of them! T rating is for slight swearing and violence, but I consider changing it to M and just in case, since I'm having fun adding some inappropriate things to my drug-on-born writings. Please don't kill me! :D
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No shame in being maimed
It annoyed him to no end. Who'd like lying in the room faintly lightened by bunch of candles, bedridden and vulnerable? Candles emanated sweet smell of some magically composed medicine that seemed to be a painkiller. All people in house were sleeping, and, of course, they wanted Talon to sleep too. He didn't want to, instead, he'd better stay awake and just look into narrow window at stars. His dreams had gotten too vivid and disturbing recently. Talon saw a big house in flames every night, people and blurred pictures of Noxian streets passing by as he ran. He felt tears on his face drying and lungs crying for breath. And then woke to the sharp pain in his body. Day by day, night by night. Now it was night again.
'If only I had a book to read,' he thought.
It had been a day or so since he read one. It was a book about economics. Book was quite boring, but it killed time well and kept Talon conscious. He understood less than a half of things written in it, but he believed he got the main idea. Still, his self-esteem was eating dirt somewhere between "At least I am not the worst living being" and "Oh, gods, kill me, I am a worthless creature". The lack of education had never been an issue for him. Any other day he would go to the training ground and turn some dummies into mess, or spar with Katarina and get back as a bloody mess. But not today, not this month and not this year. Possibly, he wouldn't go there till the end of his life. All because this fucking brain injury plus a dozen of stab wounds.
"No, Lady. I can't do my work," came low, somehow menacing voice from behind the door.
"Oh no, you can," Katarina spoke angrily, "And you will. If he stays crippled, I'll make sure you won't be walking around. My father was way too kind to you."
"Of course, my Lady. But firstly tell your brother or whoever he is that if he refuses to let the medicine do it's work, there's no way he'll ever stand from his bed."
And then he left. Katarina, however, did not. She entered the room, shut the door and gave Talon, who had decided not to fake sleep, a heavy and furious glare.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" there were some hysterical tunes in her voice.
"No."
"Have you heard what Vladimir said?"
"Yes."
"Why are you still awake, then?"
"I don't want to sleep."
Katarina sighed.
"Talon. We found you nearly dead, and nobody around could explain why. Now we help you to recover, but you're fighting this! Why?" Katarina turned on. Bedridden assassin opened mouth to answer, but she continued, "Why are you doing this to me? To Cass? She spent five weeks beside your bed, crying every time you moaned in pain!"
"I..." he took a second thought about excuses an decided to be honest, "Sorry, Kat. Nightmares are just getting on my nerves."
She sat on the side of his bed near his legs. He could feel it, but couldn't move a finger.
'What a pathetic creature I have become.'
"Please, Talon. I know you are strong. You always was. Why would you give up now, for some dreams that are not even real? You swore you would help me to find my father. Do you remember this?"
Suddenly he felt some sort of itching guilt. Katarina had never acted like this before. Of course, they had grown together, sometimes sharing missions and free time, but this...
"I do. I will."
"Fine!" she looked relieved, "Don't be afraid of Vlad. He's dangerous mage, yes, and quite... devoted to his art, but he's only one both skilled and loyal enough to heal your wounds. We need you."
She lift from the bed, her face wore calm expression. Katarina's eyes examined room.
"These candles need to be replaced. And curtains," she mused, "Aren't these walls a bit dull?"
"I don't really care," said Talon, doubting, that his answer was really needed.
"Okay. Have you finished this book already?" Katarina pointed at Economics on the nightstand.
"Yes."
"Really?!"
"It was better than just staring into the window."
"Now I feel myself stupid, because I could never get over the first paragraph of this," Katarina smiled, "Cass will come with breakfast and bring you something new and less boring."
Cassiopeia. The girl that had grown up so fast, lived in the moment and turned into a freak all of a sudden.
Katarina still stood here, lost, holding handle of the door, but not leaving. She was surely stressed, her mood unstable, and Talon felt himself a bit guilty for that state of her.
"You still can't recall what happened then, can you?" she asked.
"Not a thing. Sorry."
"It's okay. Be well, br... Be well," and then she left.
Talon closed his eyes. Candles burnt out, leaving the room in darkness.
'There's nothing to be afraid of. Only dreams, bad unreal dreams.'
You know, some things are better to stay forgotten. And some are best to never be known.
He woke few hours later, the hollow voice echoing in his head. Faint sunlight colored walls with antic gold and now they seemed less dull and empty.
Something crashed in the next room and someone let out fruity curse. Then there was a knocking in the door.
"Tal..."
"Don't you dare to treat him like an equal! Know your place!"
"M-mister Talon! May we enter?"
"Yes, come in," he answered, but his voice suddenly let him down, turning into creaking caw.
The door opened wide and two servants came in. One was holding a little table with a breakfast in his hands, other carrying something in the box. Cassiopeia entered last.
"Good morning, Talon," she said with a fake smile. She had always been a good actress and even her deep depression couldn't change that.
Servants helped him to sit up (well, he was just pulled out of covers, but the fact hurt his pride too much), put box and table on the nightstand beside the bed and left, following Cassiopeia's hissing command. As the door closed, everything changed. Smile fell from her face, and she stood silently neither nearing Talon nor leaving.
Assassin shifted a bit and tried to reach the bedtable. Cassiopeia reacted immediately and passed it to him.
"How are you?" she finally asked, as her clawed hands slightly touched his.
"Alright."
"Don't lie to me!"
"Will you be happy to know the truth? I'm feeling shittier than I've ever felt. Look," he glared at his trembling limbs, trying not to spill tea out of the cup, "I can't even feed myself. Pathetic!"
She neared him and took his hands with hers.
"As if you never been a baby, little helpless crying creature..." her voice, still hissing, soften a bit.
"At least I don't remember a thing about my childhood. Heavens spared me. Only you were able to make me..."
"I was. And I wonder if I am," Cassiopeia lowered her face and brushed her lips over Talon's dry ones. He closed his eyes, and forgotten moments flooded his mind with bittersweet feeling of lost precious. Then low laughter brought him back to reality, and he saw unhuman eyes instead of green ones.
"You know, I find it rather amusing," said lamia, "like, you, one step from grave, lying here, and me, freak, kissing you. We're nothing but shadows of ourselves, and all these shadows have got to do is to reminisce."
"First, you're no freak. You're cursed. Second, I'm not going to die..."
"Oh, come on, Talon. We both know this is the only thing you wish after you woke up in this bed for the first time!"
"Maybe. But I've got much to do and family to take care of, so I'm not going to die, no matter how I hate myself right now," Talon tried to make himself sound confident, but the result was just clear and steady. He returned to the long forgotten cup of tea and porridge, while Cassiopeia unpacked the box.
"I've brought you some fiction books, they could be less boring. Try these and tell me which you liked most," she cooed sounding more like herself eighteen-year-old. Assassin wolfed down tasteless porridge, listening to her, "...Talon?"
"Yes?"
"I think I loved you."
A lump of porridge stuck in his throat. Cassiopeia gave him a long gaze.
"I suppose I did, too," said Talon after an awkward pause. He wasn't really sure. Most of their 'love' never left walls of a bedroom.
"Okay... Rest for now. I'll send servants to bathe you later."
And he did, feeling extremely annoyed. Talon took a look at books, noticing, that at least half of titles sounded like a love-story. He didn't feel like reading such things, so he just watched clouds floating in the sky. It was dull grey color of late autumn and fit his mood well. Pain slowly came back, and all Talon's limbs went sore.
'How did I get myself into it?'
He still couldn't recall a thing of the day he had been found nearly dead. Not even a moment of it, and there was nothing weird in this fact. Shit like this happened to brain injured people quite often. But he had been told strange things after he woke up, and story about him loosing consciousness on backery's backyard, made Talon especially suspicious. Was he supposed to die then, or an unknown enemy just wanted to warn the family of Du Couteau in such rude form. He could only guess.
Afternoon flew by, filled with pain in stab wounds and horrible headache, as servants pulled the unfortunate assassin out of the bed and washed him. But this little torment left Talon clean, and when he got back to the room, he found a bookshelf there. After a dinner, finally feeling dead tired, he whispered titles to himself, slowly sinking into a deep dreamless sleep.
Talon didn't actually feel the intruders presence until he was rolled over onto his abdomen like a baby.
'My life turned out to be a humble pie. Someone is going to eat it one day.'
"Don't move."
"Oh, good morning healer-killer. It is morning, right?" Unwilling patient was both bored and afraid, so he just needed to talk to somebody, even if this somebody was slightly insane hemomancer going to 'fix' assassin by the only mean he had. Deathly magic.
"You were supposed to sleep, Talon," answered Vladimir in his trademark cold and menacing tone,"Do not move and don't distract me, my magic can easily kill you."
And Talon shut up, trying to breathe as quiet as possible. He felt... strange. His body moved on it's own. Magic in his veins flowed making heartbeat steady, lifting one leg, then other, stretching muscles and scilencing the pain in wounds.
"Your spine is fine," finally said hemomancer, "This is a good sign. We're not being short on time anymore. However..." he rolled Talon back on his back, "That means that there's something wrong with your head. You're suffering some sort of amnesia, aren't you?"
This time assassin nodded rather reluctantly. He'd talk about such things with family, but Vladimir was just one more person in debt to General.
"This is bad. I have no experience in such things. But we can find a real healer for you."
"No," cut off Talon, "do what you can do and let's finish it now."
"Hmph. And they called me insane," Vladimir made assassin sit up, his muffled laugh somehow reminding Draven's, "Now we're either both dead or you'll get your legs and I'll get an ultimate way to do everything I want."
'Oh, well, I'm so fucked,' Talon thought distantly.
And that moment everything went black.
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So it goes.
I promise I'll be dead serious next time.