AN: Quick updates! Yay!
The carriage rolled into the dark gates of Noxus as the sun passed its peak in the sky. Garen placed a gold coin in the driver's palm, then hopped out and set off on foot down the cobbled street.
He hadn't gone more than five or ten meters when a hand reached out and grabbed his right shoulder, pulling him into a small alleyway. Uttering a most unmanly quip of fright, he staggered after his attacker, whirling his arms around him like clubs. "Would you cut it out?" A voice hissed. "It's me."
A clamped a hand over his mouth. "Katarina?" He shook himself out from her grasp.
"Why are you here? I'm not late. I was heading to meet you in the hall as we planned. Aren't we supposed to report to Swain?" Katarina crossed her arms and frowned. "You're awfully chatty, aren't you."
Garen made a face in return. "I'm sorry for plaguing you with the rich baritones of my voice," he said sarcastically. Katarina rolled her eyes.
"Any word of your sister?" she asked. Garen was taken aback.
"Why does everyone care so much all of a sudden?" he muttered. "And no."
Her hood hid her change in expression as she turned her head away, and she quickly said, "Nevermind. Anyway, today we're not going to the hall. I've got a lead that we need to check out concerning the assassination." Garen brightened immediately.
"Really? Where?" She tipped her hood back slightly, so that one green eye pierced Garen's blue ones.
"The House duCouteau."
The last time Garen had been that nervous was the day of his induction to the Demacian Guard. Of course, he would soon become captain of said guard, but he was younger and more naïve at the time.
The House duCouteau was, like many other buildings in Noxus, a towering black manor that covered almost an entire city block. The gargoyles adorning various pillars around the outer gate were grimy and in disrepair, and the guardstation by the main gate was unattended. Overall, it had an eerie air reeking of disrepair and desertion. The path leading to the front doors was littered with dead leaves, and the door itself creaked horribly as Katarina unlocked the six locks and swung the portal open, revealing a surprisingly well-furnished sitting room. There wasn't a single horizontal surface that had a mote of dust on it.
"Who lives here, other than you?" Garen asked.
"A lot of street whores," Katarina said snidely. "No, just me, Talon, and Cass. TAAAAAALOOOOOOON!" She shouted.
The chandeliers tinkled. Footsteps were soon heard coming down the polished wooden staircase, and Talon marched into the room, clad not in his usual purple armor but rather a simple cotton tunic and a stark white apron. He held a featherduster in his right hand and a dead rat in his left. Garen stared at him in great confusion.
"Why can't we just hire a housekeeper?" He grumbled. "Welcome home, Kat."
Katarina looked at him with a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Brother dearest, fetch Cass, would you?" Talon seemed to suddenly notice Garen's presence.
"This one?" He raised and eyebrow and pointed the featherduster at the tip of Garen's nose. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Kat?" Katarina sighed impatiently.
"Go. Get. Cass."
Obligingly, Talon stomped back up the stairs, carrying his featherduster and rat. "CASS! WE'RE HAVING A FAMILY MEETING!" Katarina and Garen heard his muffled shouts. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Have a seat." She said, gesturing for Garen to sit in one of the comfy-looking chairs.
Not too long after, Talon came trudging back down the stairs, without his apron and accessories, and trailing behind him, making a soft whumpwhump noise as she came down the stairs, was Cassiopeia. Her glowing eyes scanned the room, resting on Garen, who was huddled into a chair way too small for him.
"Demacian intruder!" she hissed. "Kat, who let him in?"
Katarina looked as if she might explode, but Talon spoke before she had a chance to open her mouth. "She'll explain soon enough, Cass. Have a seat." Cassiopeia slithered across the room and made a small hop onto a futon, still glowering at Garen.
"Tea, anyone?" Talon asked politely.
"Sit." Kat growled through clenched teeth.
She composed herself, taking a deep breath.
"You all know about the ongoing investigation surrounding Darkwill's death and the circumstances of Swain's rise to power," she began. Garen raised his hand.
"What…" She sighed.
"That's not exactly what we've been discussing as of late? And I thought you had a lead?"
Katarina made a discomforted face. "Yeah, no, that was a cover to get you to come her. Relax, we're not going to stab you to death. I need your help."
Garen really was surprised now. "You're asking me for help?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes. Now shut up and listen.
"For the short time that Swain has sat upon the Grand General's throne, the Noxian way of life has changed drastically. We're supposed to value power, and that the strong should have responsibility over the dominion of the weak. However, there is nothing in the Noxian Doctrine that gives our chancellors permission to blindly execute civilians at random in order to gain power, and thus, fame and success. Swain clawed his way to the top, and he's the one who ordered the whole investigation into Boram's death. What's discrepant is the fact that no one looks to him as a potential perpetrator, seeing as he's the one who killed Keiram for the control of Noxian High Command."
"It was a fair duel," Cassiopeia hissed.
"That's how they made it seem," Katarina nodded, "but Swain's lockdown magic isn't exactly a fair game."
"Okay, so why exactly did you bring me here? To tell me about Noxus' political issues? Because I honestly couldn't give less of a shit," Garen said pointedly.
"Hush, she's not done yet," Talon chided. Katarina continued,
"Now, the other corruption theory surrounding Noxus' government is the missing Marcus duCouteau, the head of our clan. Swain has him as one of the prime subjects of Darkwill's assassination. But that doesn't line up, you see, since Marcus went missing long before Darkwill's assassination.
"My father was the last man who believed in the true Noxian Doctrine. I believe that Swain either forced him into exile or killed him and framed him for Darkwill's death to cover his own tracks."
"Oh." Garen said. So this is all about searching for her father…
"This is where we need your help. If I take either Talon or Cass with me, people will get suspicious very quickly, and we're already being watched. As much as I'd hate to admit it, it's too dangerous for me to go out looking for him on my own."
Garen put his hand up. "Okay, okay, you've got me there. I would be a hypocrite to say that I would willingly turn my back on you; I've got enough family problems of my own. I'm doing this as a favor, not to help your country regain its glory or anything like that. Got it?"
For the first time, Katarina smiled at him genuinely. "Thank you, Garen."
"So what do I have to do with this?" Cassiopeia said, still sounding irritated. Talon grinned mischievously. "We're here, in Noxus, to make sure that our Grand General stays occupied." Cassiopeia humphed in annoyance and slithered out of the room. Talon trailed after her, trying to win her cooperation.
Katarina folded her hands in her lap and awkwardly sat in silence across from Garen. After a few moments had passed and the tension was almost palpable, Garen cleared his throat slightly. "You must understand, Katarina, that I do have one condition," he said slowly. She blinked. "Yes?"
"I can't up and go running around Valoran with you while Lux is missing. So if I'm to help you find Marcus, you need to help me make sure Lux is safe first." Katarina sighed, but not as heavily as before, nor did she make any harsh statements.
"Alright. We have a deal."
It was a full day's trip from the Institute to Freljord by carriage, and in that span of time, Lux slowly blossomed back into her usual cheery state. As she and Ezreal wobbled down the road in the rickety, cheap passenger carriage, she eagerly pointed out every unusual rock, tree, hill, mountain, person, and animal they passed. And Ezreal found himself not irritated, but rather addressing each of her questions patiently, conferring to her the knowledge he had gathered over the years of his travels across Runeterra.
When the yellow and green fields finally gave way to snow-covered tundra, Ezreal paid the driver and the two hopped off. Lux took a deep breath, inhaling the cold air happily.
"It smells so clean!" She exclaimed. "Where are we going? What kinds of things live here? Are they dangerous? Can we go see the different tribes? Is Ashe's city really big? Does Tryndamere have bad body odor? Will Volibear really eat me? Is he cuddly? Can we sleep outside? Does it get colder at night? Can we make a campfire? CAN WE HAVE SMORES?"
Ezreal laughed. "Slow down," he said. "We can go where ever you'd like. I'm your very own personal travel agent." He flourished his hand and did a little bow. Lux giggled.
"So, where to, Madam?"
Lux tipped her head to the side. "How big is the capital city? If it's like Demacia, I'm not interested…" O gods, I sound like a little whiny bitch… she worried.
Ezreal shook his head. "It's nothing like Demacia, trust me. I think you'll love it." He started walking forward, wading into the snow up to his knees. Lux hesitated. UM NO….
"What's wrong?" he asked when he noticed she wasn't following.
"How long is the walk?" She asked. Ezreal rolled his eyes. "No more than fifteen minutes from here, if we go this way. It's an hour by the main roads." Lux shifted her weight from one leg to the other, jutting out her hip. My boots are going to get ruined…and frostbite…
Ezreal sighed. "Never gotten your feet wet before? Adventuring means stepping out of your comfort zone once in a while." He met her wide blue eyes and offered his hand. Lux's face flushed in spite of the cold. She slowly reached out and took his hand, stepping one foot off the path and then the other, shivering when the cold seeped into her feet, but stayed close to his side as they waded away from the road.
They'd waded through the deeper drifts for about ten minutes when she realized that she could no longer feel the warmth of Ezreal's hand. Or his fingers, for that matter. Or her own hand. She tried to speak and tell him that, but her voice caught in her throat, and all she could do was cough. Staggering, she tripped and fell face-first into the snow.
"Lux? Lux!?"
Okay that's a really awkward point to leave off, it's not even supposed to be cliffhanger-y but the next part would make this chapter like 4000 words long, and I'm trying to have shorter chappie's in this fic, so bear with me!
Thanks for reading! Review pls
