AN: There was originally more to this chapter, however I decided to save it for the next chapter because it skips ahead a few months and advances from the contents of this one.
As for this chapter, a lot of this could be considered filler, I guess, though some side-plot things are brought up which later tie into the story. I feel the end is fast approaching, though I suspect chapter posts are going to get slower as I try to get there as coherently as possible.
Also sorry about the filler stuff, I know it's annoying as balls.
"Wait for me, Diana!"
The small girl paid no heed to her mother as she ran ahead through the dark field. Diana looked over her shoulder to her mother, who trailed behind her at a half-sprint with her robes held in one hand. She fell to the grass, vanishing underneath the vegetation and sending up a white puff of dandelion seeds. She rose a few seconds later and continued her sprint as though nothing had happened, but a pair of hands caught her under the arms and lifted her up and spun her in a circle. She was abruptly turned in her mother's arms and clutched to her chest. A gentle growl was pressed into pale hair.
"You know better than to run from me, Diana. I'm not as young as you are, I can't keep up." Diana's face dipped into the curve of her neck in a silent apology and she gave a quiet sigh, perching her chin atop her head. She lifted a hand to rake gently through soft hair. "What if you go too far ahead of me and get hurt?" Her mother paused a moment before withdrawing from Diana to look at her. "You're not hurt, are you?" Diana shook her head and she was pulled back to her chest. "Good. Your father would throw a fit." After a few silent moments she lowered Diana to her feet and continued through the field.
She came to a stop when she was sure they were far enough from the village and lowered herself onto the grass. She pulled Diana into her lap. Diana's pale blue eyes stared up at the sky, darting everywhere, and finally settling on the moon, which poked its face around passing clouds. Her mother's head tilted slightly to watch her and fingers combed through her hair. "Why can't we see the moon sometimes?"
Her mother was silent a moment as she thought. "She's resting," she finally answered.
"Doesn't she rest during the day?"
"Well, yes, but she's much stronger with the night." The girl fell silent and she wrapped her arm around her, pulling her back into her frame. "Even if we can't see her," she continued, pressing her face into her hair, "She'll always be there. She can always see us." Fingers withdrew from Diana's hair and the woman's legs shifted away from her daughter's sight in a painstaking manner. Slowly she pulled the hem of her robes up over her left leg. "No matter what happens, Diana," Her fingers slid over the rough, ornate sheath of a dagger. Slender fingers curved around the hilt and slowly withdrew it. "I'll always be with you."
Diana turned in time to see silver metal plunge into her mother's neck and she let out a screech as blood sullied pale skin and dark robes. Tiny hands rushed to her neck uselessly, which were caught nonetheless by the other's free hand.
Grey eyes shot open in the dark with a harsh gasp. Diana lifted herself on her arms, eyes searching frantically around the room. As her sense slowly started to calm the familiar smell of books filled her nose and she fell back down onto the sofa with a sigh. Diana lay motionless for a while, knees curled close to her body and fingers pressing over her hair. The Lunari brand partially illuminated her face and some of the furniture below her.
There was a sudden shifting noise behind her and Diana sat upright again, eyes again shifting in the darkness. She swallowed nervously, turning to look over the back of the sofa. "Nasus?" No response. There came another clatter of noise followed shortly by a growl. "Nasus, turn on the light. This isn't funny." Her eyes narrowed and she slowly stood. She groped her way around the table and made her way to the door where the light switch was. A gentle clicking pattern followed behind her.
As she reached out for the switch a hand placed itself on her shoulder and she sharply turned, slamming an elbow hard into the figure, which produced a literal yelp. It fell forward, pushing Diana to the wall and a hand clenched itself on the space next to her head. She reached to the side and quickly flipped the switch. She was met with the Curator's chest, her face only inches from it. She forcefully pushed him away a few steps. "Are you okay?" Ears pinned against his head and he growled low in his throat. "You should know better than to do something like that," she continued, slipping beneath his arm.
"All I wanted was to check on you," he strained, stumbling forward so that his head was against the wall. "I heard you gasp; it woke me. You repay my kindness by hitting me?"
"Oops," she answered half-heartedly. She went back to the sofa and sat, a hand going to rub briefly across her eyes. "I thank you for the concern, but I'm fine. It was just a dream."
Nasus released a groan and turned , slowly retreating into the library's backroom. Diana spent a few minutes in silence; the smell of brewing tea leaked from the room and she turned her head when she heard claws clicking against the wood floor. "About that dream," he said, going to his chair and sitting.
"What time is it?"
Nasus tilted his head slightly at the question. "It's six o' clock." Diana's eyes shifted away momentarily as though she were thinking. "What is it?"
Diana shrugged placing fingers to rub at her temple. "Nothing." She fell silent again and her hands went to rest in her lap. "I need to go to the temple for a few hours," she finally said, pushing herself up. Nasus gave her a questioning gaze. "I need to move some of my things here before the tournaments start. I'll be back later." The Curator's eyes did not falter. "What?"
"Are you positive you're okay?"
"I'm fine," she answered flatly. Diana turned and retrieved her blade from its resting place against the end of the sofa and set it upon her shoulder. She made for the door and started to open it, but hesitated, turning her head slightly to look at him. "I'm sorry, Nasus, truly." A growl escaped him and a smirk pressed its way onto her lips.
It was dawn when she arrived at the temple, but the clouds overhead casted dark shadows across the sanctuary. The air was cool and thick with the scent of approaching rain, and thunder boomed in the distance. Diana was still, a sickening feeling holding her in place. Grey eyes quickly scanned across the valley. They passed over the deceased Lunari's grave and stopped, narrowing at the strange movement in the grass near it. Diana started for it cautiously, her blade ready beside her. From a distance all she could make of the movement was a squirming grey form. It was only when she was about ten paces from it did she realize what exactly it was and her eyes went wide. She dropped the blade, sprinted the remaining distance to the grave and dropped on one knee. A black marble eye stared up at her. A mouth gaped silently and fins uselessly flailed against the air. "How did you get out here?" she asked quietly, carefully lifting the muddied fish in her hands.
She quickly went to the water and again sank to her knees, placing her hands and the fish in the water. She kept her hold on him gently, one palm underneath its belly and the other over its back. After a few minutes she lifted the hand at its back and passed her fingers over sullied scales. Eventually the fish left her touch and swam slowly into the darkness. Diana turned her head to look back at the grave site; it was at least fifteen feet from it to the water's edge. She shook her head and stood, brushing off the incident. Diana retrieved her weapon and entered the temple.
The brazier on the wall roared to life and with it the chamber was illuminated; light and shadows danced across several books piled at the foot of a makeshift bed. A few woven baskets and pottery sat against a wall; in front of them was Diana's discarded robe. A rundown bookshelf sat adjacent to the bed; pelts of different animals and sizes were draped over it.
There really was little Diana could or wanted to take from here; most of the important things she brought soon after her arrival at the Institute. She had to at least take something so that Nasus would not question her. She could take the pelts; spending the winter at the Institute rather than the temple was something she considered in the past. Having them there would make the upcoming winter games easier to bear. She could take the books, though there were too many to take all at once and there were plenty of them sitting on the desk in her room at the Institute.
Diana let out a growl and went to the bookshelf. She picked through the pelts, throwing the ones she wanted onto the bed. When she finished she turned to grab one of the baskets against the wall; her eyes landed on the discarded robe and they narrowed. "I really need to get rid of that," she grumbled, going to it and picking the burgundy fabric up. She made to toss it but stopped when a quiet clink came from below. Her eyes shifted down; between her feet was Leona's Iron Solari locket. Diana threw the robe aside and slowly bent to pick the locket up. She turned the piece over in her palm, stormy eyes prying over every detail. She pressed her thumb to the tiny button in the center and the wings of the locket expanded into a circle with a shrill cry.
"I know you don't think too kindly of the Solari sometimes, but this way you'll have some of me with you, and maybe you won't feel so alone."
Diana's fist clenched around the locket and her brow furrowed in anger. She raised her fist and for a split second considered throwing the object against the stone wall, but slowly the anger within her died into embers and she sighed. She instead turned and tossed it onto the bed. She took one of the baskets from the wall, went to the pile she set out on the bed and began folding the pelts to stuff into it. Her gaze switched to the locket as she went to place the last one in the basket. She hesitated as she reached for it, fingers curling in midair. A nagging hiss ran in the back of her mind.
This is part of your past; you're no longer a Solari. You're one of us.
"I don't have to like you, Solari. I just have to work with you."
Her fingers uncurled and she quickly took the locket and dropped it in with the hides before she gave herself the chance to change her mind. Diana slid the handles of the basket onto her blade and set it upon her shoulder.
Diana returned to the main chamber of the temple. By now the sun lit up the stone walls and poked its way along the murals lining them. Her eyes peered around; the air was still cool and damp. "Selene," she called out, walking along the wall towards the altar, "Do you remember my mother?" There came no response, only a quiet dripping sound and the chatter of birds outside. "Selene?"
"Address me properly, acolyte."
Diana's brow furrowed and eyes narrowed. "Goddess," she said, nearly hissing. She made her way to the altar; eyes immediately latched onto the still bloodstained stone floor and she circled slowly around it. The memory of finding the cadaver here briefly flashed into her mind; the smell, the darkened bones, the tattered robe and the clinging pale strands of hair all stood in her mind as though she had seen it just yesterday.
"She was a docile woman, up until your birth. You were born beneath a harvest moon. Your mother was…" There was a pause; Diana's eyes narrowed upon the stain and she knelt. Her fingertips passed over the dark outline. "Distressed, I suppose would be the word, because she knew the elders would see the act, however natural, as an atrocity."
"She sought you afterwards," Diana said, slowly rising. Her eyes shifted up to the opening. "Did she find this place?" No response was given and Diana heaved an inward sigh. She exited the temple and went to the grave; the Lunari was silent as she looked over it, mind racing with thought. Finally she turned and left the sanctuary.
When Diana returned to the Institute, she went straight to her room. Much to her delight Nasus was not out wandering the halls or spectating in the lobby. Diana dropped the basket off in her room and, after relieving herself of her armor and enjoying a quick bath, she went to the desk sitting across from her bed. Papers, scrolls and books covered its surface and sat in its chair, some of them from the Institute's library, some of them stolen from the Solari library, and others she found at the temple. It had been a while since Diana touched any of them, despite the Curator's nagging to return his books.
She picked through the pile carefully, opening some of them to briefly read the contents, until she came to a green leather-bound book; on its face was the Solari symbol. Diana quickly flipped through the pages until they hitched to reveal Selene's makeshift journal. Diana pulled the pages from the book, closed and replaced it on the desk, then went to sit cross-legged on the end of the bed. She flipped through the first few pages and skimmed over the badly faded text; some of it she had tried to renew in the past as was done with some of the entries, but quickly tossed the idea for fear of destroying the text altogether.
Diana eventually skipped Selene's entries and went to the Lunari acolyte's contribution to the journal. Several of the pages were filled with miniature star charts, calculations and notes on the locations of celestial bodies at a given time of the year. The later pages included dates of lunar events, particularly eclipses, full moons, Harvest and Blood moons. When Diana came to the final page, her eyes narrowed upon the scrawled message and her heart sank, just as it had done the first time she read it.
Found the temple, on the run from Solari elders, not safe anymore.
"You were never safe," Diana said quietly, her lids closing; her chin dipped down and a few strands of still-damp hair fell over her shoulder. "Your safety left with my birth." Diana still had no proof that the calculations or the message were from her mother, but all of it made sense; her disappearance, her father's vague answers, the writings, the cadaver in the temple, all of it made sense. Now she just needed proof.
There was suddenly a series of loud knocks on her door and Diana's mind was pulled away from thoughts of her mother. "You in there, Diana?" An indistinguishable male voice; Diana figured it may have been a Summoner.
She ran a hand through her hair and suppressed a sigh building within her chest. "Yes."
"Suit up, matches start in twenty minutes."
"I'll be ready," she replied. Her hand went to cover her eyes and she rubbed them. She was motionless for a few minutes, save for her breathing, as she tried to pull her mind together. The ache was still there, nagging at the back of her skull, though it was not nearly as severe as it usually was. The hand dropped to slide down and off her face. If I woke up at six, she thought, I had to have slept at least eight hours, probably longer. No dreams from Selene, although the one I had was no better…but it's better than nothing.
"Maybe I should sleep here more often," she muttered, turning to toss the journal onto the head of the bed, next to where she discarded her armor half an hour earlier. She rose and donned nearly all of the armor, but stopped when she went to fix the breastplate and pauldrons. Grey eyes shifted to the basket near the door and she swallowed. Diana set the pieces of armor down, slowly went to the basket and dug through it until she found the locket. The Lunari unfastened its clasp and fixed it around her neck, then pulled the neck of her bodice out so that it slipped beneath it to rest against her skin. Diana went back to the bed, equipped the remaining pieces of armor, and left for the lobby.
A javelin seared right past Diana's head and imbedded into a tree beside her. Her brow twitched and she quickly turned, running through the enemy's jungle and back toward her own. It had been a risky move by her Summoner to pursue the now-slain Fiora after an unfruitful gank. In the time it took Diana to find and kill her, Fiora's Summoner had alerted the Bestial Huntress', who was now hot on her trail. The final scrape to end Fiora's life had left her wounded and barely in the condition to take on Nidalee and, possibly, their jungler.
Go to Dragon's Pit, everyone is going to meet you there.
"Summoner, with all due respect," she strained, "I'm already dangerously close to Nidalee killing me. Don't put me in Leona and Ashe's line of fire. I know what I'm doing."
Trust me. We've got you.
"Insolent little—" Diana growled, stopping the insult short. "Pride will get me killed," she muttered quietly. "What's the plan?"
Ideally, Nidalee will follow you all the way there and tip Leona and Ashe off, bringing them to the Pit; it'll be a bonus if Udyr shows up—
"You're using me as bait," she growled. "I don't appreciate that."
—The rest of us come in, we kill all four by the time Fiora respawns and we push to an inhibitor. She won't have much of a choice but to defend against all five of us.
"You Summoners amaze me with your theories. Never underestimate your opponent." Nonetheless she did as she was told and crossed through the empty middle lane for Dragon's Pit. Another javeline went past her head when she disappeared into the brush, which was followed shortly by the sound of the huntress' roar. "Summoner, I hope you and the others know what you're doing." Diana forcefully came to a stop at the empty pit. Her eyes shifted around and she turned in each direction. A low growl came just out of sight. Diana turned the hilt of her blade in her hand, eyes narrowing to search through the Fog in vain.
The shrill cry of a hawk pulled Diana's gaze upwards; above her Ashe's crystalline hawk circled twice before exploding into a shower of tiny ice crystals. The area remained lit and Diana's face dropped and she turned. "Summoner, where—" The sentence died on her lips; from the corner of her eye she saw Ashe's crystal arrow emerge from the Fog of War and she attempted to run, but it was already too late. The arrow collided with her body, freezing her in place. Its Champion and Leona emerged shortly after; Nidalee stalked from out of the brush and Udyr followed suit, rushing straight for the rapidly thawing Lunari. Nidalee and the Solari charged in with him; Ashe readied a slew of arrows on her bow.
Renekton's form displaced over the Pit's wall and rushed for them. A roaring command transformed him with Dominus. His blade swung, cutting through the three enemy Champions and making them recoil. Diana finally became free of the ice and her head turned to look at Dragon's Pit where the rest of her team—Morgana, Vayne, and Cassiopeia— had joined them.
All three rushed in; Morgana initiated Soul Shackles, which was punished by a Solar Flare. By sheer luck and the grace of Morgana's shield, Diana and Renekton were the only ones fortunate enough to escape its stun; the others, however, were not so lucky. Ashe fired a volley into their team followed by a few quick arrows. Before Morgana could complete the spell, she had been slain.
The full weight of Nidalee's cougar form sent Diana backwards into the river. She snapped her blade up to fend off sharp teeth and claws. From her peripherals she saw Renekton lunge for Udyr, while Leona went straight for Vayne and Ashe followed suit; the Night Hunter didn't stand a chance.
"Ashe has slain Vayne for a double kill."
"Dammit, Renekton!" she yelled, "Priorities!" Diana landed a fist to the cougar's jaw, temporarily stunning her and giving the Lunari the opportunity push the cat away and struggle to her knees. Claws again swiped for her; this time freeing a gauntlet and tearing over the sleeve covering the arm.
"Ashe has slain Cassiopeia for a triple kill."
Diana's brow furrowed in frustration. She again felled Nidalee and quickly rose before the cougar could react and slammed the tip of her blade through the cat's ribcage. There came a low howl from her and then she became still; Diana's blade withdrew and blood stained the water below her.
"Diana is on a rampage."
Diana's gaze turned to Renekton, who had returned to his normal form. Several arrows stuck from his form and blood gleamed over cobalt scales. Diana threw an arc toward Udyr, the closest to the crocodile, and rushed for him. Three quick strikes brought the already wounded Spirit Walker to his knees and Diana relieved him of his head, but not before the Butcher had been felled.
"Ashe has slain Renekton for a quadrakill; Diana has slain Udyr for a double kill."
Diana's eyes turned to rest dangerously on Ashe. Her head thrummed with voices and rage welled within her. With another cast of lunar energy she was upon the archer, sending both into the water. The curve of her blade met with that of Ashe's bow and the Lunari pressed harder. Her face was stoic as the bow began to creak and tiny splits started to form throughout the ice. "Not today," she whispered, pushing on the blade with all the strength left in her body. The bow snapped and the released tension sent the blade through the archer's neck.
"Diana has ended Ashe's killing spree for a triple kill."
Diana recoiled from Ashe's body. Her head tilted slightly as she drank in the fear still present in Ashe's hollow eyes. She lifted her blade, planted its tip into the ground and made to push herself up with it only to be struck in the side of the head by the Radiant Dawn's shield. The Lunari collapsed to the side on her elbow. Her vision went blurry for a few seconds and finally refocused in time to almost completely dodge the other's blade; its tip grazed along her cheek and broke the skin. A loud splash mixed with a hissing noise told Diana the Solari had dropped her shield into the river, and suddenly the freed hand clutched the silver breastplate and pulled her to her feet. Her face met with Leona's; it was hard and expressionless, and Diana found it hard to stare directly at her for the heat exuding from the Sun Avatar's form.
In a mere second Leona's face formed into a scowl and the Lunari was tossed effortlessly to the side. She landed in the water and slid until her back met with stone. Her vision blurred briefly and when it refocused she saw the Solari's boots a few feet from her, steam rising around them. They advanced toward her and the toe of one poked at her side. Diana turned on her back with a groan, and when her eyes met with the Solari's darkened form, her mind flitted back, if only for a second, to the image of Leona standing over her in the Solari village. Her heart sank deep within her, and somehow she could almost feel the hidden locket burning against her skin as if to mock her.
Diana raised her blade with a trembling arm in attempt to pull the Solari's feet from under her, but the other simply pinned the weak limb with her boot. Leona's hands wrapped around the hilt of her blade; she lifted it above her head and brought it down to pierce through the Lunari's forehead, through the Lunari sigil. Diana's mouth gaped open uselessly, though a few strained noises managed to escape her throat. The blade withdrew and the Solari knelt. Grey eyes shifted to her and arms uselessly reached towards her form; Leona simply took her wrists and lowered them. Lunar energy thrummed from her body, refusing to leave her, begging the body to rise. A hand rose to Diana's face and fingertips glided down her brow and over her eyes, pulling the lids over them. "Let go, Diana. It's okay." A choked sound sputtered from Diana's throat as if to protest, but her body began to dissolve into the energy pouring from her. As Diana's consciousness left her, she felt a hand pass over the crown of her head. "I'm sorry."
"Leona has ended Diana's killing spree. Purple Team has scored an Ace."
The rest of that day passed Diana in a blur. She easily forgot all of the matches she participated in, save for the first one, though none of it mattered now.
It was well past midnight and all of the Champions had either left the Institute or were asleep in their rooms. Diana, however, was wide awake, sitting on the first landing of the Institute's steps. She had left her armor on a pedestal in her room and instead wore a simple black camisole and grey sweatpants. In hindsight the camisole was a poor choice; the night air was much cooler than Diana had expected it to be.
But the Lunari simply sighed and pressed her hands over her arms to press the cold away, if only for a moment.
She leaned back to lie on the concrete. Stone eyes darted across the clear night sky, over the countless stars and the waning half-disk of the Moon; her fingers idly went to the locket on her chest. It's been so long, she thought. Far too long since I've taken time to simply gaze. With this thought her mind began to unwillingly dip into her memories.
"Have you ever just watched the stars?"
"Out of all the times I've been outside during the night, I don't think I've ever actually looked at the moon."
There was a hesitant pause in her thoughts. Her eyes closed and a sigh escaped her lips.
Diana was spun as Leona pulled her towards her, the white dress she wore lifting slightly with the centripetal force. They changed hands and again Diana was spun; this time when she returned to Leona, she ran forcefully into her, sending both of them to the grass in a sputter of laughter.
The celebration of the summer solstice had long been over, but the two decided to continue the celebration outside the village. Diana rolled off of Leona's form, but remained close to her as her gaze shifted to the full disk of the moon. Leona propped herself on her elbow to look at her. "And you said you can't dance."
"I obviously can't," she replied, her head shifting over to smile at the other. A slender brow rose to question her and she lunged forward, arms going around the Solari's neck and sending her back to the earth. "Don't look at me like that," she growled into her shoulder. Diana became still against her and an arm curved around her ribcage.
"Did you at least have fun at the celebration?"
Diana was silent a moment and finally answered, "Not too much." A hand went to the back of her head and her chin dipped.
"Why not?"
"It's not fair that the Solari only celebrate the Sun and not the Moon. You heard them at the celebration, they said—"
"—Long live the Sun and down with the bastard Moon, I know," Leona finished. Diana shifted uncomfortably against her and Leona let her fingers rake reassuringly through her hair.
"I don't understand, Leo," Diana continued, "They fear and abhor the Moon so much, but if you dare ask them why the only response you'll receive is that you're a heretic for questioning." Leona was silent a moment.
"Why would anyone fear something as beautiful as the Moon?"
Diana's eyes reopened but quickly closed again with the sting of tears. She pulled herself up to sit, bringing her knees to her chest and pressing her face into her arms. She suppressed the emotion the best she could, though her breath came in shaky gasps. Dealing with Selene's memories was one thing, but dealing with her own was torment in itself. "Goddess," she sputtered, lifting her face from her arms enough so that her eyes bore into the darkness. She felt a familiar weight envelop itself around her shoulders as if in an embrace, though it was not nearly as strong as it usually was.
"What troubles you, child?"
"Why do my memories haunt me more than yours?" she questioned. "Why don't they anger me more? Why do they bring me to my knees?" She paused; the feeling loosened slightly. "My childhood, Leona, my mother—all of it just hurts. All of it has been so sudden since my arrival here." A tear slipped from her eye and she silently cursed herself. "Selene, what happened to my mother? What are these voices I hear, and why do they tell me to kill?" Her head snapped up to look at the Moon, but no response came; the weight around her had completely dissipated from her form. Rage burned in her chest and her brow furrowed in frustration. "Selene!" Still no reply came, and Diana's hands clenched in her hair in anger. She pressed her face into her knees.
After a few minutes another weight, this one literal, fell around her and brought warmth with it. Diana's eyes shifted up and she unclenched her hands from her head to pull the throw blanket around her shoulders. Her eyes shifted up and found the hollow glowing eyes of the Curator staring down at her. "If you came here to pity me, save it and go back inside."
"No," Nasus replied, slowly lowing himself beside her. "I came here as a friend, not to pity or delve into your brain." He propped an elbow onto a bent knee. "I figured you would be here anyway. You left the library and when I went to your room to check on you, you weren't there."
Diana's head tilted slightly. "Check on me? What, did you think I'd disappear?"
"Your mental state worries me at times. I always check on you when you opt to stay at the Institute rather than return to the temple."
Diana's shoulders boxed and she pressed her face into her knees again. "I'm fine, Nasus."
"Do you always bottle your emotions?" Nasus' head tilted curiously to regard her. She gave no reply. "So far the only emotions I've seen from you is anger, some flashes of guilt and sadness which then spirals into rage."
"Emotions lead to hesitation. If I think about what I'm doing while I kill someone, I stop immediately." She heaved a sigh. "The first few Solari I killed in the weeks of my ascension were…difficult. I felt guilty halfway through and ended up leaving them badly wounded. Some I had to come back a second time to finish. But over time I learned to turn my emotions off, and I hardly felt anything. Ever since I came here, it's been much more difficult to stifle those emotions off the Fields. I imagine it's only a matter of time before I become defunct on the Fields."
"You can't make all this stop at once, especially since you've repressed it so long. If you try it will run you over and leave you to die." Nasus paused as Diana's head turned. "Do you still consider killing Leona?"
"What does it matter? She probably wants my head on a platter as much as I wanted hers." She paused, a gnawing pain growing in her stomach. "I think as long as I can find release through the Fields, I can stifle the urge, but if this keeps up something is going to break." She paused and a hand ran through her hair. "Sometimes I wonder why I came here, why I chose to join the League. I could have easily waited until I was ready to kill Leona and done so without all this crap. I used to feel nothing but hate for her, but now that I have to almost constantly be near her, I've had memories that I haven't thought of in ages come into my mind. " She paused, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "It's not just restricted to Leona. It's other things, too, memories that aren't my own."
"I think you just need some time. It's been a month, everything has been a bit sudden to what you've become accustomed to."
Diana swallowed. "Nasus, do you know what the most difficult part of my ascension was?" He gave no response. "I didn't want to admit it to myself, but being alone," She paused. "Being alone was the hardest part of all of it. I still feel alone at times, especially when I leave this place at night to retreat to the temple."
"You're not alone anymore. My library is always open to you, Diana, you know that," the Curator replied. Diana was silent. "What, does my company not please you?"
A smile stretched across Diana's face and she leaned to rest against his arm. "You've been good to me, even through all my faults. I'll admit that."
Nasus shifted away and stood, then extended his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. "Come. We both should be resting. The tournaments aren't far off."
Diana gave no argument when he turned and ascended the stairs and she followed behind him. Her mind began to wander and finally her brows furrowed in frustration. "Nasus?" His head turned slightly, but he did not slow his stride. "I need you to go through the library, and if you find anything that mentions the Lunari, I want to see it."
This time he stopped and halfway turned to look at her. "You think I'll have something about them that you don't already know?"
"Everyone has secrets. The Lunari are no exception. This is personal."
AN: I think I write solely to beat around a bush. I'm sorry. /facekeyboard