A/N-
A fan- oh my god, no LOL. Completely unintentional. His name started out as 'Cadvers' or something like that, and I didn't like it so I changed it to 'Maddock', but that sounds like paddock so I just switched out a vowel.
Oh my god.
Antonio - a Fanfiction reader-Thank you! ^-^
Noxus was riddled with secrets.
Every corner, underground or not, hid some sort of mystery, and even though Lux despised being in the city, she also loved to know things.
And there were many things for her learn there.
At fourteen, Lux had been in the household of every Noxian noble. She knew who had a drinking problem, who slept in separate beds, who had ordered the wine of another family poisoned.
At fifteen, Lux had been sent deep into High Command, slinking around in the shadows with her heart in her throat, her baton in hand. Every second she spent in that building she felt that at any moment she was about to captured and dragged away to be tortured and killed, but in the end, it was worth it; High Command held the most jealously guarded secrets in all of Noxus.
The information she found there helped stop a war.
Ionia's struggles weren't over, not by far, but Lux laid awake many a night interrupted by nightmares and tried to imagine the beautiful countryside that she was told Ionia was, and then tried to imagine it ravaged by war and death.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
But she'd stopped it. She'd helped.
Lux saved them.
Lux had only ever met with the King of Demacia once before.
It was years ago and in secret, because the aging man had wanted to meet the prodigy that was Luxanna Crownguard, the poster child for the College of Magic and Demacia's most secret spy. Lux remembered the King closely resembled his son, and that he spoke little and nodded his head a lot. She remembered that at the time, she hadn't known what to say to him.
She didn't know now, either.
She and Quinn dressed nicely and made the trek to the Royal Palace together, all the while trying to guess what it was the King could possibly want.
"Maybe we're getting promoted."
Lux snorted. Not likely.
Quinn tapped a finger against her lip, vaguely following where Valor was in the sky with her gaze.
"Okay, maybe we're getting demoted."
Now that was more likely, but considering how good Quinn was at her job, Lux highly doubted it. There was no one else on the road; for some reason, that unnerved Lux, and when they finally arrived at the palace courtyard she was almost squirming.
They were stopped by a few fancifully dressed guards outside, and Quinn brandished the letter they received the week before. The soldiers gave the piece of paper a cursory glance and then waved them in, and the clang of the courtyard gates closing behind them refreshed Lux's unease.
"I doubt they would bring us directly to the King if we were in trouble; there's a lot of authority between us and him. Relax."
Lux pursed her lips, slightly embarrassed. Quinn was right; the King wasn't the one who disciplined out of line soldiers, and Lux probably didn't have a real reason to be so uneasy. They'd even allowed her to bring her baton; she tightened her hold on it now, as if checking that it was still there.
They crossed through the courtyard and then into the Palace itself, and Lux let her eyes wander. It was very extravagant; there were intricate tapestries hanging from the walls, domed ceilings broken apart by skylights, and almost everything was covered in gold filigree. Even though the display of wealth was more excessive, it reminded Lux of the Du Couteau mansion, in a way; it was also covered in rare, expensive things that made it feel like there was nothing in the house you could actually touch. It made Lux even more uncomfortable, and she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to tuck her limbs as close to her body as she could manage.
If anything, Quinn was the exact opposite; she gazed at the wealth around her with a wide-eyed wonder, and as they walked she would occasionally point out something particularly eye-catching.
"How did they even get that statue inside?"
Having Quinn around made Lux want to smile, and she was grateful for the momentary distractions she would provide; without her, Lux doubted she would have been able to make it through the Palace without being sick.
Lucky for her, they weren't walking through the Palace for very long before they were intercepted by another pair of guards that called them by name, and then told them they were to take them to the King. Quinn raised an eyebrow while they were walking behind them, whispering quietly to Lux.
"Our own escorts. Neat."
Lux laughed this time, if quietly, and she did have to admit that it was kind of funny- she'd never been escorted anywhere in the Palace before. It was a pretty good thing that they had the escorts too; they were led through hallways that twisted deep into the Palace, and Lux was sure they would have gotten lost on their own.
Well, maybe not Quinn. She never got lost.
It was longer before they arrived at the King's meeting chambers; it reminded Lux of Katarina's office, with two wide doors that evenly split the Lightshield crest. The woodwork was fancier here, as was expected, but Lux didn't have long to stare before each guard stepped to a door, slowly pulling it open and allowing Lux and Quinn inside. The chamber had a domed ceiling like most of the rest of the Palace, only the room was covered by painstakingly painted portraits that Lux recognized to be the Lightshield predecessors. There were dozens of portraits, and even though they were in gilt frames and painted with expertise, the amount of eyes that Lux felt following her around the room was unsettling.
She didn't focus on the paintings for very long; the King was sitting in the back of the room at a long, dark wood desk, a thin circlet of gold on his brow and dressed in finery that put what Lux and Quinn were wearing to shame. On top of the inadequacy she now felt, the King had sharp, watchful eyes that unnerved Lux more than all of the portraits combined. There was nothing malevolent in his expression, but Lux was still wary, and she felt that even Quinn's mood had diminished some.
The King wasn't alone, either; his son stood at his side, and Lux gave him a subtle nod when he caught her eye. They'd been friends for some time now, and besides Quinn, Jarvan was the only person that Lux really felt somewhat comfortable around.
Both Quinn and Lux were silent while they waited for the King to speak, and it wasn't long before he cleared his throat and waved a hand at where both of them were standing.
"Quinn and Luxanna; it's a pleasure to see you both again."
They both gave courteous nods, and the King continued.
"I asked you to be here today because the world is changing, and you will be instrumental in the future of Demacia."
Lux thought that the King meant to sound reassuring, or even flattering, but the vague way he spoke made Lux grip her baton tighter, and she saw Quinn stand a little straighter in the corner of her eye. It seemed that the King noticed their worried postures, and rushed to explain.
"I'm sorry- that sounded a little ominous, didn't it? I wanted to ask you both a favor, of sorts."
That made more sense to Lux; she was used to people telling her what to do.
"There's been an establishment gaining power for quite some time now, a powerful organization that wishes to bring about peace in all of Valoran. It's called the Institute of War."
Lux watched the King a lot closer now, sufficiently interested; she'd heard of the Institute, if vaguely, and she wondered what it had to do with them.
"It means to end the wars that threaten to tear Valoran apart. The heads of each interested country and city-state, myself included, have agreed to send a select few of our best and brightest to this Institute in a gesture of good faith. Each country that participates is forbidden from war, and is instead expected to use the Institute as a replacement."
It sounded more like a fantasy to Lux than anything else; how could this Institute expect to keep countries like Noxus from engaging in war? War was their lifeblood- they would never agree to something like this.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What countries have pledged themselves so far?"
If the King was offended by Lux's interruption, he didn't show it, and he turned his attention to her.
"So far, Demacia, Ionia, Bandle City, and Noxus. Piltover and Zaun haven't had the time to decide, and there are no current representatives for Bilgewater or the Freljord."
Lux must have looked incredibly dim right then, because she stood there without saying another word, blinking while the King's voice echoed in her mind.
Noxus. Noxus.
Had she heard him wrong? There was no way the Noxians would involve themselves. The war between Noxus and Demacia was generations old, and there were feuds between families so ancient that no one living could even begin to remember how they started.
And if what the King was saying was true, the war would be over. Just like that.
The implications of what the King proposed were far reaching; if Noxus and Demacia were banned from war, then that meant all of the soldiers they had deployed, every spy stationed in enemy territory, everyone; they would come home.
Her brother would come home.
He wouldn't have to fight in the Vanguard anymore. He and his company wouldn't be on the frontlines anymore, and Quinn wouldn't have to take dangerous forays into enemy claimed territory, and Lux-
Lux would never have to go to Noxus again.
She felt weak all of a sudden, like her legs had turned soft and couldn't support her weight anymore. She reached out a hand and clutched Quinn's arm for assistance. If the King thought her behavior was strange, he didn't comment, and he waited patiently for Lux to collect herself.
"No more war?"
Her voice was soft, hardly carrying through the room, and her gaze met the King's unwavering stare.
"With the stipulation that each country has to have champions to fight for them- yes. No more war."
Lux didn't know what to feel, but one thing was for certain; she was very near to collapsing.
Quinn let her lean a little more heavily on her, and when it became apparent that Lux wasn't going to speak again, she asked in her stead.
"That's… amazing news, but I don't understand. Why did you tell us first?"
The King seemed reluctant to turn away from Lux, but he spoke to Quinn directly now.
"I wanted to ask you and Luxanna to be our official Champions, along with Luxanna's brother and my son."
Not even the mention of Garen could rouse Lux from her thoughts.
The war was over.
"That's an incredible honor."
Lux heard Quinn's voice at her side, but the words seemed fused together, and she couldn't really make sense of them.
"Do you accept? Garen Crownguard already has, as well as my son."
Quinn nodded eagerly and stood straighter, still supporting Lux's weight.
"Absolutely."
The King turned back to Lux, but before he could speak, Jarvan interrupted.
"What about you, Lux?"
Jarvan's voice seemed to brush away the haze clouding Lux's thoughts, and she looked up, meeting his familiar stare. He would be a champion. Jarvan and Quinn, her only friends, would be champions.
Her brother would be going too.
And if she refused? If she refused to fight in Demacia's name and instead chose to fade away into obscurity- safe obscurity, but obscurity nonetheless- what then? Lux wouldn't be deployed anymore. As long as the Institute stood, she would never again be sent off to Noxus disguised as someone else, she would never sit idly in the Du Couteau mansion, she would never sneak through High Command's halls, she would never be chased out of Noxus by an assassin that was after her blood.
Never. Never again. She would have nothing.
Lux dropped her gaze to the baton in her hands, the only thing she had ever owned with any degree of permanency. It hit Lux then that her life was entirely dedicated to the war; she grew up learning magic, and from the minute she turned thirteen she was pitted against Noxus.
Ten years.
Ten years spent fighting a war that was over in seconds.
Everyone watched as Lux leaned away from Quinn, lifting her eyes from her baton and back to the King, and everyone watched as she let out a quick peal of laughter so unsuited to the conversation that it made everyone's skin crawl.
"I accept your offer."
Talon was quickly reminded why he didn't like going to Demacia.
The entire city was surrounded by wet marshes and thick forest, and it provided assassins like him with countless numbers of places to hide, which meant that it was much more difficult than he initially anticipated finding the man Katarina had sent him after.
He had wanted a challenge, but this was pushing it.
Talon wasn't really a man of the great outdoors. He knew how to live off the land and he knew how to hide, but he didn't like it; he much preferred crowded cities and the orderly landscape of buildings to the haphazard layout of the wilderness. He was sure Katarina felt the same, which is probably another motive for her not wanting to trek out here herself.
Damn her.
He was fed up to the point of almost wanting to kill Crownguard himself, not only to spare himself the arduous task of hunting down his would-be killer, but to keep Katarina from getting caught and ruining her family's name. With the way she was handling things, it wouldn't be long before that happened.
Honestly, he didn't understand what allure the Demacian could possibly have for her, but he'd never claimed to understand the thoughts behind Katarina's actions before.
As it was, Talon decided to just do what she asked him so that he could return home. The sooner he found the assassin, the sooner that would be possible.
He knew he was close already because the assassin had left a clear trail of hardly-concealed camps throughout the woods. He was either inexperienced, which was most likely, or he didn't think that anyone knew he was there; the second option was possible since not a lot of people took jobs in Demacia anymore, but Talon was still leaning towards the first thought.
And if it was the first, it would make his job easier.
He'd been walking all day and the sun was rapidly approaching the horizon. He picked a good spot in the trees to rest, resolving to find the man sometime in the night; with any luck, he would make the mistake of lighting a fire, and it would be easier for Talon to find him then.
So Talon settled among the boughs and waited for nightfall.
After Quinn and Lux were dismissed by the King, Lux had bid Quinn a very hasty goodbye and abandoned the confused ranger with not a word explaining her earlier conduct. She hadn't really recovered yet; every time Lux's thoughts returned to the war with Noxus that was essentially over, she was struck with the intense desire to laugh, and when the feeling passed, she wanted to bury herself somewhere dark and lonely where no one would ever find her.
Instead, Lux ignored both feelings and walked away from the Palace, not stopping until she reached the edge of the city and the streets gave way to docks. It was a long walk and she wouldn't be home until well after nightfall, but the last thing that Lux wanted to do right then was go home, where Quinn was no doubt waiting to spring.
Lux walked along the bay, watching the last of the day's light glitter on top of the ocean waves. It was so deceptively calm, much like Lux herself, and it wasn't long before she couldn't stand to look them anymore. She turned away from the ocean in favor of the crowded marketplace, certain that there was somewhere in the busy city that she could lose herself.
It was more difficult than she thought.
Every face she passed, every man, woman and child- happy or sad, joyous or angry- would go home when the day was done, back to a family or a job or something. They would all be happy to learn that there would be no more war. They would all praise the champions sent by the King to represent them, and they would all sleep safely in their homes.
Lux hated them.
She hated every smile, every laugh, everything, and she immediately began to regret leaving home at all. At the very least, Quinn was better company than the ignorant citizens of Demacia, and she would rather endure her questions than wallow any longer.
She immediately began to walk back home, regretting the distance she had come, and night had settled around her for quite some time before her apartment came into view. She couldn't see any lights on from outside, but she knew Quinn would be up; she doubted either of them would get a good night's sleep today. She walked up the flight of stairs leading to the apartment, hesitating at the door with her key in her hand.
There was no point in delaying.
She opened the door with a resigned sigh, and sure enough Quinn was waiting for her, sitting on the couch with Valor perched on the armrest nearest to her. They looked so similar that Lux almost laughed.
Almost.
Lux took the seat next to her without a word, laying her baton carefully across her lap, perfectly straight.
"You were gone for a while."
Close to two hours, if Lux's timing was correct- and it usually was.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Lux shook her head.
"I don't think so."
Quinn bit her lip and Valor twisted his head, peering at them with his left eye now.
"You don't have to say yes, you know. The King isn't forcing us- he's asking."
Lux knew that, and he knew that if she refused, the King would probably understand (he'd proven to be a reasonable man before), but that wasn't it; Lux didn't feel obligated to accept because of a sense of duty, or because she feared repercussions if she denied the offer.
"I can't say no."
Lux was who she was because of this war. Without it…
She was glad that Quinn didn't ask her to elaborate, because she didn't think she could say the words out loud. It was terrible, the thoughts running through Lux's mind.
It was terrible to have nothing.
Talon was in luck, somewhat.
He had guessed correctly; the man he was tracking evidently wasn't worried about being caught, because he lit a rather large fire that night, and the closer Talon got to it the heavier the scent of his meal became. It made Talon's stomach clench uncomfortably, but he ignored his hunger, his mind on the task at hand.
Find him. Kill him. Return home.
He'd spent the better part of a week away from Noxus, and he was sure Katarina expected him back soon- he was certainly not eager to extend his imposed vacation.
Talon moved carefully through the woods when he was closer, stepping silently through the night. Once he got close to a target he had this way of losing himself, and it was almost second nature to move through only the darkest of the shadows until the man's camp came into view.
It was hastily put together, and everything about the arrangement screamed novice. He was sitting by the fire that had been his downfall, holding his hands over the flickering flames and shooting the forest around him regular looks of uneasy fear. Talon almost wanted to laugh.
He bet that the man couldn't kill Crownguard even if he tried.
It made the entire trip seem like an incredible waste, and that made him angry; Talon descended upon the unsuspecting assassin before he had a chance to look up, and buried his blade in him before he had a chance to scream. He glared disdainfully at the blood now coating his blade, pushing the still-warm body away and flicking his arm in an effort to somewhat clean his weapon.
He gave the small campsite a cursory glance before he left, unable to immediately spot anything of value. He moved to patting the man's pockets next, searching slowly and thoroughly. Talon didn't have to steal to survive anymore, but people had a tendency to carry around important things when they were alone, and Talon wasn't disappointed.
He pulled out a wad of papers stuffed into the man's left breast pocket and unfolded them, turning towards the fire so that he could read the fading ink.
There were a lot of maps of the surrounding countryside and Talon thumbed past those, eventually uncovering a letter at the bottom of the pile that was well-worn, like the man had opened and replaced the letter every chance he got. There was a purple seal on the outside that was mostly missing, and Talon thought the edge of the seal might have been the wing of a bird- but he couldn't be sure. He pulled the letter out, careful not to wrinkle the thin paper beneath his gloves and slowly unfolded it.
There wasn't a lot written on the letter: a name that he assumed was the dead assassin's, a number that was probably his payment, and another name written larger than the rest.
Luxanna Crownguard.
Talon frowned at the letter, squinting to make sure he read it right. He'd didn't think he'd ever heard the name before, but it picked at him like it should have been familiar. There were other Crownguards? He turned the letter over but it wasn't addressed by anyone, and there was no other sign of the purple seal in its entirety. Talon tucked the letter into his cloak, tossing the rest of the papers into the fire and pausing only to wipe his blade on the coat of the fallen assassin.
Back home, then.
Lux and Quinn received another letter the following morning.
The King wanted to officially announce the pact between the city-states and the Institute, and in celebration of the closing war he was throwing some grand, extravagant ball that the champions, their families, and probably every family in a mile radius were invited to. Lux had to remind herself that this was a day most Demacians only dreamed of- the ending of the war would be celebrated for years to come, and this party would only be the first of many.
Lux must have been making a face, because Quinn was quick to comment.
"You don't have to go."
She didn't; it was an invitation, which meant she could refuse, but Lux knew she was, at the very least, expected to be there.
"That would be poor form, wouldn't it?"
Truthfully, the thought of attending a gala where her parents and Garen would be made her feel a little sick. As an unspoken rule, neither she nor Quinn talked about their families, but Quinn knew about Lux's distant parents and absent brother; she didn't know the specifics, but she knew enough.
"A lot of people will be there. You won't have to see them."
Lux sighed, running her fingers over the print on the neat invitation. It seemed so innocuous, but it made Lux's stomach twist in the worst way.
"I want to see Garen."
And she did, so badly that it pained her that she couldn't see him right away. She wondered what he was like; brave, no doubt, since she led the Vanguard, but what else? Was he kind? Was he happy?
Was he like her?
They weren't all questions that could be answered in one night, but the fact that the ban from seeing her brother was being lifted was more than she could ever hope for. She wanted to go.
She needed to go.
Quinn laid her arm around Lux, squeezing her shoulder.
"You'll like him. Valor doesn't, but you will."
Quinn's comment -so strange, if it came from anyone else- made the corner of Lux's mouth lift in the tiniest of smiles.
"Valor doesn't like Garen?"
Quinn smiled widely, and the bird in question made a soft sound at hearing his name.
"Gosh, no."
She lifted her arm away from Lux so that she could gesture freely, and the animated look on her face was enough to make Lux truly smile- wide and genuine.
"See, Val has this thing about stubborn people…"
It wasn't long before Lux began to realize that she couldn't save everyone.
There were still hundreds of Demacians fighting a war that showed no signs of stopping; there were people she knew regularly planted in Noxus, their lives always at risk, and they were no closer to victory. It was frustrating, at first. Lux felt like nothing she did affected the war, like nothing she would ever do would have an impact. It made her stays in Noxus torturous, and when she returned to Demacia, it was hard for her to look anyone in the eye knowing that she was doing her best and her best wasn't enough. She wasn't helping these people.
She couldn't save them.