Hey guys, sorry for the long update between posts! We are officially at 15,000 words! CRAZY! AHHH! Hope you enjoy and Keep It Classy!
The slums of Demacia were not as bad as Lux was expecting. The fact that she could have light whenever she needed it helped. Her wand was almost constantly illuminated. The Demacian underground could be dangerous and she took comfort in having her magic ready at a moments notice. Her Imperial Guard armor drew more attention then she was liking and any street she turned onto was cleared almost immediately. Their fear thrilled her but eventually decided that her whereabouts were better left a mystery.
The air was salty and her eyes were staring to get heavy. The darkness above her head was starting to wear on her. She shook herself and focused on her next agenda of getting herself less recognizable clothes. Eventually, after picking her way through blacksmiths and mercenary holds, she found a shop that would work. Some clothes that she had in stock should work for her with some minor alterations. She settled for a purple t-shirt that clung to her body tightly. Over her head she wore a brown leather clock that didn't go far past her shoulders. It was mostly to cover her face to prevent her from being recognized then to provide any warmth. What few possessions she kept with her were stored in pouches along her belts. What little gold she had should cover it and a room for the next couple of nights until she could plan her next move.
As she was leaving the tailors, she heard a loud, low voice boom through the street.
"Thanks for the lunch money, kid," followed by a deep rumbling laugh and a wheezing cough. The voice was metallic and grinding, like an aspirator with a screw loose. She pressed her back against the nearest wall and watched as a thin man, maybe just a little older then she was tumbling through the street. He landed about 15 feet from her and groaned as he tried to sit up.
The metallic voice echoed out. "Find more gold, I want to treat my woman to salmon tonight," followed by the same laugh. The sound of boots echoed off the stones and some were heading for her. She had been carefully watching the thin man and they made eye contact. She gave a sly grin before covering herself in a shroud of light, making herself practically invisible. The man gasped and she took a deep breath before stepping into the street.
The source of the voice was a large men both in height and width. He looked like he had never starved a day in his life. Half of his face was missing, replaced by dark metal and a green sensor in place of his eye looked around. His men were brutish and were scouring around for money that wasn't theirs. One was a few feet in front of Lux and he swung his head around before he looked at her. She caught her breathe but he looked away.
She slipped past him and made her way carefully up the street. The ring leader was counting his ill-gotten gold and had just put it in his pocket when she made her move.
She flung a prism at the half-man which exploded, temporarily blinding him and knocking him back. He yelled and his brutes came rushing in. She hurled a snaring spell and caught them, rooting them to the ground. They banged against their light prisons and she took a deep breath. Her wand began to spin in the air in front of her hand. Faster and faster until it was a large circle of pure energy. She could feel the power building up in her, begging to be released. With a roar she forced the energy out of its containment and a large pillar of burning light exploded before her. It was mesmerizing and brilliant, like a sunbeam that she had created. The brutes stood no chance and they were nothing but burned, smoking piles on the cobblestone by the time the light had faded. Her chest heaved, trying to regain the breath that had escaped her with the spell.
She stood tall and faced the last of the rag tag group as he was struggling to get up. She placed her wand an inch from his face and he looked at it nervously. She held out her hand and without a word, he handed her a bag of gold he was just counting, the jingling of the coins in his shaking hands was almost deafening. She snatched it from his before pulling her wand back. He watched in disbelief for half a second before scrambling to his feet and running in the opposite direction from where she stood.
When his footsteps could no longer be heard, she returned to the thin man and found him cowering behind some garbage bags. She knelt in front of him. "You don't need to be afraid," she said and smiled. She held out the coin, "I believe this is yours?" she asked and he looked, relief washing over his features.
"Yes! Thank you so much!" he said and took it from her, "How can I repay you?" he asked earnestly and stood, offering to help her up as well. She took his outstretched hand and felt the exhaustion creek her knees as she too stood.
"Well, if you have any spare gold for a room at a decent inn, that would be most appreciated," she replied and he grinned.
"I will give you some gold and a room at one of the best inn's in the Eastern District!" he said, "Follow me!"
He grabbed her hand before she could reply and he dragged her through the winding streets of Demacia. They took so many turns that soon, she was hopelessly lost but he stopped in front of a large, brick building. The sign swayed in the breeze. The Ivy Inn. It was properly named as long stands of the green menace crawled desperately up the sides. Some windows were softly lit while others stayed dark. The bottom floor opened into a nearly empty eating area. Tables were spaced apart and bar maidens were wiping them clean and up heaving the chairs while others swept behind them. A fireplace on one side glowed warmly and an elderly man snored in a chair in front of it, a well-worn leather bound book draped over his chest. A short, heavy woman in a stained apron shook her head at him before acknowledging their presence.
"Charon! You are home! You had me worried sick you daft boy, I was just about to send the hounds after- Who is this?" she asked mid-lecture.
"Mama! I have the most incredible story! I was on my way to pick up the meat for tomorrow and I was robbed-" he said hurriedly.
"Robbed?!" his mother asked but he cut her off.
"-and then she came," he gestured to Lux, "and killed some and got my gold back!" he said.
The mother looked her up and down before letting out a hearty laugh. The elderly man snorted awake for a moment before snoring again soon after.
"You mean to tell me this spit of a thing saved you?" she said and laughed.
"Yes, Mama. She is a mage," he said and she looked over Lux again. Lux could feel her cheeks burning and the tried too appear taller and tougher then she was, but the tax of the day and the spells were taking their tole on her small body and she craved rest.
"Ahh a mage have we? What is your specialty child?" the mother asked as she turned towards the bar.
"Light and light magic," Lux replied, taking a stool.
"That is rare, is it not?" the mother asked, drying a mug before pouring some water into it. She placed it on the bar before Lux and she drank greedily.
"It is a form of elemental magic, but it is one of the least popular ones," she nodded and breathed deeply.
"It was incredible!" the man, Charon, remarked and she blushed.
"The night is growing old children, drink up and get some rest. Charon, show her to a room, I will not let a mage who saved my dear boy be tired tonight," she said and Charon jumped up from his chair eagerly. She swallowed the last of her water and followed him up the stairs. When she came to her room, he opened the door for her.
"Will you be needing matches or anything?" he asked.
She formed balls of energy in her hands and the flew to the candles and fireplace as if they had a mind of their own. Small flames erupted and the room was warmly lit. His eyes were wide and she smiled. "Matches is one thing I don't think I'll ever need."
He chuckled, "No kidding!" his neck turned red and he looked at his feet. "What name should I put the room under?" he asked shyly.
She contemplated, but decided that this was far away enough from her home, that there was no need for secrets. Plus, she wouldn't be staying long.
"Luxanna. Luxanna Crownguard," she said as she pulled off her hood. His eyes seemed like they were going to pop from his head. She knew the weight her House Name carried, but she didn't realize it carried all the way to the far east of Demacia. She almost regretted telling him.
"I don't know if anyone has told you this, Luxanna, but you have very beautiful eyes," he said and she could feel the blush spread across her cheeks. Oh how mother would kill me if she knew what I was about to do right now... She thought before she closed the space between them in a heartbeat and kissed him deeply. He stood in surprise before tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling her in closer. Her staff hit the floor and she started pulling his shirt off of his chest. He pushed her onto the bed and all of lights in the room blinked out simultaneously.
Garen sat in his tent looking over notes from the previous meetings. There was nothing of particular interest, although he did notice his sketching getting better. Although, they were shifting to Lux as the main focus instead of Katarina. A good explanation of this could be that Katarina had been gone for a few weeks. She had left Kalamanda soon after the bar fight.
The bar fight still bothered him. His men should know better then to get into spats with the enemy. They were supposed to be well trained, elite soldiers. They were supposed to obey him without question and wear the Demacian armor with honor. They were supposed to be the best. And yet, he had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't the Noxians who had started it. And then there was the incident the first day with Katarina. His stomach turned thinking about what could have happened. She would have either killed all of his men or they would have overpowered her and done disgusting, treacherous things to her. And there is still no guarantee that she wouldn't have killed them even after that and he wouldn't blame her. Neither scenario was pleasant but both would have been cause for war.
He lifted up one of his more recent notes and was greeted by Lux's smiling face. He looked at it fondly, although he could never get the eyes right. He could never get them to catch the light right. He missed her like crazy. She was his best friend, and his partner in crime. She also drove him crazy in only the way a baby sister could. He smiled and looked at the face again. She certainly didn't look like a baby anymore.
A voice called from outside his tent. "Sir, permission to enter?"
"Granted," he said almost without thinking.
One of his soldiers stepped in and stood at attention. "Sir, I have come to remind you about your next meeting in 15 minutes, as you asked."
"Thank you soldier, any word on Luxanna?" he asked and looked over his paper.
"Not that we have sir, I can send another letter to your mother if you wish."
He thought for a moment before deciding against it. "No soldier, that is all."
The soldier hesitated for a moment.
"What is it, soldier? You don't get paid to sit and gawk, spit it out!"
"Sir, the Noxian representative has returned," the soldier said nervously.
"And?" he asked.
The soldier licked his lips, "Nothing sir!"
He looked at him levely, "Then go."
The soldier left without a word and Garen looked at his papers. "Where are you, Lux?" he asked the sketch before collecting his things for yet another meeting.
He was one of the last to arrive but the only open seat was in front of the red-head. Of course...
Her hair was a little lighter if he wasn't mistaken. The sun was bleaching his dark brown hair to more of a hazelnut and her hair was a little more orange. Or what he could see of it as she wore a white cap with long strands and a white covering over her neck to her collarbone. Her top was low cut, revealing more of her chest then Garen thought was appropriate. Her pants were airy and loose around her legs. Thin gold coins from her outfit caught the light occasionally. She looked more like she belonged in the desert.
He sat in his chair and arranged his fresh paper and pens so he would have easy access and tried to listen intently. Katarina thought balancing a pen on her finger was more entertaining. She went between balancing it to twirling it around so quickly between her fingers that it just looked like a blur. She wrote almost nothing in her notes.
When the meeting was over Garen returned to his tent to find Prince Jarvan sitting at his desk looking over his papers. Garen stood at attention.
"At ease, Garen." Jarven said without looking up.
"It's good to see you," Garen said and Jarvan waved his hand.
"I unfortunately don't come bearing good news," he said and frowned.
Garen felt his stomach drop. He immediently thought of Lux.
"What is it?" he asked and Jarvan rose.
"Not here, my friend. Not here."
He led him out of his tent and they began walking out towards the mines. The waiting was killing him. "Is it about Lux?" he asked.
Jarvan gave him a sympathetic look. "No, I wish it were something that simple. I haven't heard from Luxanna until I removed her from this assignment. If I had, you would have been the first to know. You know that."
Garen felt the pressure in his chest disappear. "You are a true friend, Jarvan. Now will you please tell me what troubles you?" he asked as they approached their section of the mining operations. Jarvan took a deep, troubling breath.
"Garen, we are in a very difficult time right now, politically. I'm afraid some troubling things are about to happen, at home and all across Valoran," he said and shifted his eyes to Garen. They looked old. "Recent events have made me question loyalty. I need to rely on only those I can trust." He learned on a railing overlooking the cave entrance.
Garen hesitated, "Do you trust me?" he asked.
Jarvan nodded, "You are the closest thing to a brother I will ever have. I would trust you with my life, and have on several occasions." A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "But now, I must ask you the same question brother." He gave him a hard look.
"Of course I do Jarvan! How could you even ask me that?" he said.
"Because things are going to happen that will make you question me. Because things are about to happen that will seem impossible. Because I am going to ask you to do things that border on treason and I will expect my orders to be carried out to the letter. Now think before you answer. Do you REALLY trust me?" Jarvan asked, his blue eyes gaining a sharp and dangerous new youth. Garen looked at him, matching his look with his own.
"Jarvan Lightshield IV. I have followed you into battle. I have killed men in your name. I have and will always follow you to the ends of this God-forsaken land whether you will have me or not. When I took the Soldiers Oath and Code, I swore to protect and serve you. You are my Prince, my commander and my friend. I trust you more then just about anyone else on this planet besides my own flesh and blood. Never question my loyalty to you, brother. It is about the greatest insult you could ever lay upon me," Garen said sternly.
Jarvan chuckled and clapped his hand on Garen's shoulder, "Well you don't have to be all dramatic about it."
Garen returned the chuckle. "Now, what treacherous act will you have me do, sir?"
Jarvan's eyes became hard again, "I need you to protect the Du Couteau woman."
Garen's eyes bulged and he regained his composure, "Protect her from what? There is no war, no battle here."
"Yet." Jarvan replied simply.
Garen felt his stomach flip, "Jarvan... What are you planning?" he asked nervously.
"Nothing, and I NEED you to believe that, Garen. No matter what it appears to be," he said.
"I don't understand, Jarvan," Garen replied.
"The things were take for granted to be true can be tainted or twisted. Things that seem to make perfect sense will no longer be true. The things we see with our very eyes can be false. There are dark things afoot, Garen. And I intent to figure it out, but I need you with me. You're the only one I can truly trust to carry out this order. I need you to protect Katarina Du Couteau. At all costs."
