8:45 a.m. Noxian High Command, Office of Jericho Swain
It's a clear and wet morning following the rainstorm last night, when a man is walking with a quick, yet smooth pace down a hall covered top to bottom in marble. In his hands he is carrying a massive file labeled, 'The Blade's Shadow'. He turns down a narrow corridor branching off the main hall and stops at a door with the name 'Jericho Swain' engraved at the top. After taking a deep breath, he knocks calmly on the door and then waits for a reply.
"Yes?", is all that comes from the other side of the door.
"General Swain, it's Captain Wilhelm, I have some urgent news that requires your immediate attention. May I have permission to enter?"
"Well if you believe it's urgent news, Captain, then by all means come in."
Captain Wilhelm slowly opens the door and makes his way into the office shutting the door behind him. He then walks up to a desk where a man petting a massive bird as if it were some sort of lap dog, and places the file he was carrying on the desk.
"Sir, we have had five more incidents concerning the rumored 'Blade's Shadow' in the last two days. The guards we sent last time to deal with the problem have already lost two of their men to this...thing, and we fear that the rest of that unit will be wiped out soon if we don't send in reinforcements who know how to handle someone of this caliber."
General Swain seems to be more interested in the bird he is holding than what the Captain has to say, but still listens to his words. He stands up and moves the bird to a roost by his desk, and gently places the bird down.
"Those morons can't deal with a lowly street rat. No wonder the Noxian slums are like a war zone for survival," he heads back to his chair and begins to write something on a piece of paper, after which he opens the file the Captain placed on his desk and takes out a handful of photos. Each photo showing the same trademark cut on the throat of various victims that has made the 'Blade's Shadow' somewhat of a legend in the ghetto. He takes the letter and photos and stuffs them all into an envelope, sealing it tightly and stamping it with the symbol of the Noxian High Command.
"I want you to take this to the house of Du Couteau, just outside of the main gates bordering Noxus. By carriage it should take you no longer than a half-hour to get there. Once there hand this to General Du Couteau and tell him this street rat is his problem now."
General Swain then hands the envelope to Captain Wilhelm, and with a quick salute, the Captain makes his way out of the office and towards the house of Du Couteau. Swain leans his head back and sighs.
"We really need to stop hiring idiot guards..."
10:00 a.m. House of Du Couteau
Even though it is a Saturday, everyone in the mansion seems to be up and hard at work keeping the massive home clean and polished. Many servants though, are catering to the needs of two girls on a dining table that could fit a whole army, yet only three chairs are set at the table. The two girls seem to be enjoying a large breakfast fit for kings, including eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, and a wide variety of fruits. They say nothing as they eat until the red-headed one breaks the silence between them.
"Cassie, do you know where father is? He's missing out on breakfast."
"He said something about talking to someone from the Noxian High Command, and that he'll be down as soon as he finishes." At hearing this the red-headed girl makes a disappointed face to which the other girl instantly notices.
"What's wrong Kat? You can tell me, sister to sister, and don't try and tell me you're ok because I can easily read your emotions like a book." Kat glares at Cassie for a short time before giving in and telling her sister her troubles.
"I've come so far in training, and have made some enormous progress; progress which I've actually surpassed my teacher in knife throwing and hand to hand combat, but father isn't around as often since he's been working so hard lately, I just want some praise from him..."
"If it's any consolation, Kat, I'm impressed. I mean I have no idea how to fight, let alone wield a weapon, and you don't need daddy's praise to know that you're going to be as good as him in combat one day, maybe even better!" The red-headed girl was taken back a little by her sister's words of kindness, and all she let out was a small smile.
"Shut up and eat your breakfast, Cassie," was all Kat said while giggling to herself.
"There's the sister I know," and with that they both begin to laugh until they hear the sound of a door shut from the upstairs corridor. They both look up in the sounds direction and see two men walking out of the hallway and down the stairs.
"Don't worry Captain, tell Jericho I'll be sure to handle it."
"Yes, sir. General Swain will be pleased to hear of your confidence on handling the situation."
"Have a good day, Captain."
"You too, General Du Couteau," and with a quick salute, Captain Wilhelm was off again. The man left standing at the door had a very upbeat look on his face. He then turned to the direction of the two girls and began to walk towards the table.
"Sorry I'm late girls, my meeting ran a little bit longer than expected," the man took the empty third seat and servants quickly came out to help him, handing him a plate, utensils, and a serving of everything on the table. Immediately he began to enjoy his breakfast. Cassie then looked at her sister expectantly, but Kat didn't seem to catch on to what she was implying.
"Tell daddy what you told me," was all she silently mouthed. Kat then spoke up, causing General Du Couteau to look away from his meal and towards his daughter.
"Father, I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear of my progress in training! I've surpassed the skill of my teacher and I was wondering if I may now train with you and your personal assassins?"
General Du Couteau took a napkin and wiped his mouth off before he spoke.
"I am very proud of you Kat, but I don't think you're ready yet to handle the training to become a killer like my elite. You're still 15. Your time will come, just not yet," with that Kat made another disappointed face to which her father also caught on to instantly.
"I'll tell you what I'll do for you...I'll find someone who you can train with that will be a worthy opponent, and partner. But don't let my words now discourage you from training hard, like I said, your time will come, just not yet."
Her father's reassuring words led her to give a big smile.
"Thanks daddy!" She said as she got up, hugged her father and went off to her room.
"But first I need to do something about this 'Blade's Shadow'...guess I could send some of my elite out to quickly deal with this problem," thought the General as he was finishing up his breakfast. "Those cuts on the throats are absolutely amazing...whoever this person is, might actually give my elite a hard time..."
