Reviews are appreciated.

~ Wings


Lux caught up to Kayn, who was currently sauntering down the street with his hands in his pockets. She slowed down to his pace once she got next to him, although given their height difference, she still had to walk at a brisk pace to keep up with his long strides.

"What was that!?" She said in a flustered, but quieter tone since they were now out in public.

"What?" He asked, lazily checking out a market stall as they passed into one of the more crowded parts of Demacia.

"You kissed me!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.
"You were talking too much." He said in that lazy drawl of his, stopping to peruse a fruit stall.

"You did that to shut me up?" She asked indignantly after a moment's shock.

"It didn't really work, did it?" He said in an amused tone as he picked up an apple and turned it around for his eye. "Well, at least it made you drop the topic."

"We are not done talking about that." She said with a frown, already fishing out a few coins out of her purse.

"Yes we are." He said simply, turning and beginning to walk down the street, biting into his apple. Lux scowled, paying the apple-vendor and going after him again.

However, before she could utter another word, a voice yelled nearby, "Make way for the Prince!"

Kayn paused, turning around to look at the commotion with a slightly interested glaze to his eyes despite the bored look on his face.

"Oh no." Lux muttered as she spotted the guards, and the tall man with dark hair in their midst. The man turned his head towards her just as she started trying to duck away behind Kayn.

"Luxanna?" The man called out, as the guards all turned around and the small throng of people all parted, clearing an open path towards Lux, hiding behind Kayn, who was standing there lazily chewing on his apple as he fixed a bored glance at the prince.

The man made his way over as Lux groaned internally, before stepping around Kayn. Jarvan the Fourth beamed at Lux as she came into view. "Luxanna! It is you! I thought I saw that golden shimmer of your hair!" Jarvan said as he stopped in front of her, gesturing his arms forward towards her to receive her for a hug.

"Uh… Hello Jarvan." She said awkwardly, not going in for his hug and instead just standing there rubbing her elbow. The moment stretched, as did the awkwardness, until Jarvan lowered his arms and cleared his throat. "How have you been, Luxanna? I haven't seen you for a long time." He said with a cordial smile.

"I'm alright." Lux said curtly, unconsciously taking a step back, hiding herself behind Kayn partly. That drew his attention to Kayn as Jarvan straightened up. Jarvan was tall, very tall, taller than Kayn, who was already quite tall. They stared at each other, Jarvan jutting his chin out with a dominant smile on his face, Kayn staring boredly at the Prince, taking another unconcerned bite of his apple and chewing it louder-than-necessary.

"And uh… Who's this?" Jarvan asked, his eyes not leaving Kayn.

"He's my bodyguard. His name is Rhys." Lux said, realizing she was drawing attention to Kayn. She stepped out from behind him again, trying to make herself prominent, but Jarvan seemed to already be in some kind of silent pissing contest with Kayn.

"Rhys, huh? What's his last name?" Jarvan asked, still staring at Kayn, who took another impudent bite of his apple, as if he couldn't give two shits about Jarvan. Which he probably didn't.

"Uh… Cromwell." Lux said, thinking fast.

"Not a noble family then." Jarvan said, looking down and up at Kayn. "Thought so." He added.

"What are you doing here, Jarvan?" Lux said with a bright smile, trying to get Jarvan's attention away from Kayn. It finally worked as Jarvan's eyes went over to Lux and his face softened into another smile.

"Oh I'm just enjoying a day out on the streets. It's a wonderful day, and it was made more so by the fact that I run into you of all people." Jarvan said.

Kayn took another noisy bite of his apple. This man had a talent for eating an apple slowly.

"Yeah, quite wonderful huh?" Lux said with a glance at Kayn, who glanced back at her with the same uninterested look.

"Indeed. Not everyday when I get to meet my dearly betrothed out on the streets. This is the Light's will, it is." Jarvan said. At the word 'betrothed', Kayn's eyes shot to her, his head turning as he narrowed his eyes at her. She gave him a helpless glance. I'll tell you later.

He raised an eyebrow but his eyes shifted away from her.

"Why don't you join me for a walk, Luxanna?" Jarvan asked, offering her his hand. Lux hesitated. They were out in public, and the Crown prince had just offered her his hand. Denying it and refusing him would be… catastrophic in terms of scandal and rumors. It would be a massive slight to him as well. She cringed inwardly before putting her arm in his grip, which he took gently.

They walked down the street, escorted by Jarvan's guards, Kayn following close behind Lux. She heard a soft 'thunk' and turned to see a guard rubbing his helmet and looking around, an apple core on the ground next to him. She turned her eyes to Kayn, who had an innocent look on his face, despite the slightly sly smirk he got when he saw her looking.

"What are you doing out here, Lux? I thought you always only stayed on your estate grounds." Jarvan asked.

"I was feeling a bit stir-crazy. Needed some fresh air, some color." She said. She uttered a small gasp of surprise as Jarvan pulled her closer, her side now stuck to his as he draped an arm over her shoulder, keeping her close. She cringed at that again, unable to keep a slight grimace out of her face. She did not like this man.

"If you needed some enjoyment, you could've simply called for me. I would've arrived to save you from your distress." Jarvan said in an amused tone, his thumb spinning lazy circles over Lux's shoulder, which caused more discomfort in Lux.

"Don't be silly. Calling the Crown Prince over such a small matter?" Lux managed to say, trying to keep her voice steady despite the disgust in her stomach.

Jarvan stopped, turning to face Lux as he cupped her chin with two fingers. "Oh come now, you are my betrothed." He said as he leaned in close to her face, Lux trying to pull away but unable to. "All you need is to say the word and I'd come running." Jarvan said in a quieter tone.

"W-what a pleasant offer. I'll be sure to remember that." Lux said, still trying to pull away from him. His grip tightened on her chin, slightly painful to her as she winced.

"Is something the matter, Luxanna?" Jarvan asked her, oblivious to her discomfort.

"No. Nothing is wrong." She said in a quiet voice.

Jarvan stared at her for a few seconds before smiling. Then he closed for a kiss.

Lux couldn't help the small yelp of distress that managed to come out before his lips attached onto hers. His kiss was rough, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth like an invasive, slimy worm, tasting the inside of her orifice. It lasted a few seconds but it felt like too long for Lux before Jarvan finally broke the kiss and straightened up.

"I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of your day then, beloved." Jarvan said with a cordial smile, nodding at her.

Lux was unable to say anything but nod as Jarvan departed with his entourage of guards. She felt Kayn's presence behind her, but didn't say anything. He didn't speak either.

She stared until Jarvan was gone. Until whatever attention he had garnered from the populace dissipated. And then Lux turned and ran, ran for the nearest alleyway. Since they were in the noble part of the capital, there wasn't any dark abandoned alleyway. So Lux ended up going into a smaller deserted street before she fell to her knees, retching out the contents of her stomach into an empty garden plot.

She felt gloved hands instantly at her neck, pulling her blonde hair back and away from her face so she didn't get her mess on them. One hand held the hair back, the other one rubbing on her back as she continued to heave. She vomited out the entirety of her lunch, dry heaving several times after that as sobs broke out of her throat, tears falling from her eyes. She felt so violated and disgusted by what had just happened. And helpless, she felt helpless. Just like she always had for so many days, months, perhaps years, before she had struck this bargain with Kayn.

She sat there, taking deep, heaving breaths to clear her throat and stop her crying, perhaps a minute or two passing as she calmed down. She stood up then, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief she fished out of her purse, wiping her tears on her sleeves.

"Thank you." She muttered in a hoarse voice, turning her eyes to look at Kayn's face, getting slightly taken aback with the serious look on his face.

"So, what was that about?" Kayn asked, his tone indecipherable.

"That… Is the crown prince of Demacia, Jarvan the Fourth. Best friend of my brother, general of the King's armies, one of the biggest egotistical bastards and my betrothed." She said with disgust and anger in her voice.

"Your betrothed, huh?" He said casually, despite the dark edge his tone held.

"Yes, much to my displeasure… We used to play as children, me, him, and my brother. But as I grew older, he got this insane notion of love for me. And once he reached of age and I was a teenager, he declared his love openly for me. And ofcourse, my parents decided to accept his proposal without even asking about what I thought. Everyone congratulated me for becoming engaged to the crown prince. Something I never wanted. No one even asked me what I wanted or how I felt. They just celebrated." She said bitterly, looking down at the ground, before turning her eyes up to him. "Now you know another reason why I want to…" She didn't finished. Didn't need to.

"Did you never have any other boys you liked?" Kayn asked.

"I did. But Jarvan and Garen would always scare them off. They never let me have any friends who even remotely had a penis." Lux said, feeling steady enough so she began to walk back towards their home.

Kayn didn't say anything for the entire walk back home until they passed through the door of their house.

"I could kill him for you, you know." Kayn said as the door closed. Lux fixed a shocked glance at Kayn, finding him to be completely serious.

"You could've just hired me to kill him. You could afford it." He said, his voice containing the lethal sharpness to it that he always got whenever he was in a dark mood.

"I wouldn't be able to afford that, and you wouldn't be able to kill him." Lux said, taking her shoes off.

"You can afford it now. I'll pull some strings and give you a cheap offer. All you need to do is change your contract and say the word." Kayn said, completely seriously.

Lux turned to look at him again, completely taken aback by his offer. But then she grimaced, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to send you to die, Kayn. He's too well guarded, even for you."

"Like hell he is. I've never failed."

"There's a first for everything."

"Not for me."

"Why do you suddenly want to help so much Kayn?" She asked, a slightly annoyed tone to her voice. "I thought you didn't like to help or get help?"

"This is different."

"How is this different? You are asking me to send you to your death and you're willing to pay for it, and correct me if I'm wrong, I've only known you for a few days, but you don't strike me as the charitable type."

"Because I saw what he did to you, how you feel about it." Kayn said, anger simmering in his eyes. "What he did, how he talked. It reminded me of my father. And what he did to my mother." He said.

"Your father?" Lux asked, concern entering her. "You met your father?"

Kayn was silent for a few moments before turning his eyes towards her, the red eye shining through his lock of hair.

"I killed him." He said in a voice void of emotion, void of regret. His eyes bore a hole into her with their intensity, as if he was daring her to judge him.

Lux, however, cocked her chin out as she gave him an understanding look through her eyes. "Good." She said.

"Tell me to kill him Lux." Kayn said. "Give me the order and I'll go. You won't die and your problem will be solved."

"It's not that simple, Kayn… And no, my problems wouldn't be solved. You can't fix everything by killing them."

"I can damn well try."

"No, Kayn." She said firmly. "I will not tell you to do it."

Kayn narrowed his eyes, before shrugging. "Well, I just realized I don't even need your permission for it actually."

"What?"

"I can just go kill him because I want to."

"No you will not."

"Sure I will."

"Kayn!" Lux said, her temper flaring as she ran around him, blocking the doorway from him.

"You will not!" Lux said angrily.

"Move or you will be moved." Kayn said in that deadly quiet tone.

"No." Lux said.

"I'm doing this for you."

"I don't want you to do this for me."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't."

"Why not?"

"You will die!"

"So? That doesn't matter, I'll kill him first." Kayn said as he raised a hand to move Lux.

"It matters to me." Lux said quietly, lowering her face. Kayn froze, his hand a few inches away from Lux.

"You matter to me." Lux added, raising her face to fix pleading eyes on Kayn, tears breaking out and sliding down her cheeks. "I don't want you to die, Kayn. Not on my behalf. You matter to me… Don't do it."

"You…" Kayn breathed, before gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, "You don't know what you're saying."

"I do." Lux said, shaking her head and hastily wiping away the tears. "I'm a stupid girl, I've always been a stupid girl. But I won't be for this. I won't be stupid about this."

"You've given me more than anyone else has within these few days against the years of my life." Lux took a small, shaky breath before continuing, "With you I feel like I can be myself, free of any chains, free of the cage I was born and kept in. And I know I'm stupid for feeling this way, for saying these things, you're just an assassin doing his job and you're going to kill me in a few days anyway… But…" She raised her eyes up to him, seeing the shocked look on Kayn's face.

"I'm in love with you, Kayn." Lux said finally. She finally said the words that had been weighing down on her ever since she saw him at the edge of the clearing that one fateful night. It felt like a great weight was finally off her shoulder. Everything suddenly seemed to make sense again.

"I've been falling in love with you ever since we've met."

"You're delusional. You're crazy." Kayn said in a voice filled with disbelief, though there was a look of longing in his eyes.

"I'm not. I'm a lot of things, stupid being one of them. But I'm sure of this. I want to live before I die. I want to love before I die. My heart chose you, the man who will show me life before he gives me death."

"How?" Kayn asked, anger in his voice. "You say you love me? How do you love this?" Kayn asked, a demonic secondary tone entering his voice as he took a threatening step towards her, brushing his hair away from his eye, revealing the darkin corruption. "I am a weapon, I am death imbued within a body. How do you claim to love a killer bathed in blood you silly, daft little girl. You've known me for less than three days!"

Lux raised a hand and Kayn froze. Her hand neared his face and Kayn stood still. Lux wasn't sure if he was breathing or not. She wasn't sure if she was breathing either. Slowly, gently, her hand laid on his chin, right under that corruption of his eye.

"I just do." She said, Kayn's eyes going from her hand to hers, a myriad of confused emotions flooding around in his mismatched eyes.

"I know you, Kayn. You are in a lot of pain, all the time… Not just from the darkin, but you've been abandoned and neglected all your life. It's made you afraid. You're afraid to love." She swallowed, taking a breath before adding, "So am I. I'm afraid."

Kayn looked at her helplessly as Lux searched his eyes for a sign. Any sign. Anything that might confirm his feelings for her. And a decision was seeming to be reached as Kayn's face set into a grim acceptance. His eyes darkened, with sorrow. Lux's heart skipped a beat, not in love but with fear.

"Kayn, don't. Please don't." She said, fresh tears coming out of her eyes again.

"I'm sorry Lux." Kayn said, his voice thick with emotion. "But you don't love me… You can't. Even if I don't kill you… You… Me… We won't work. You are a bright light, brighter than the sun. I'm glad I met you, you showed me a lot, taught me a bit too." He admitted with a small, sad smile.

"Kayn, no. No no no…" Lux muttered, her hand still resting on Kayn's cheek as Kayn closed his eyes.

"You're a star. And me?" He opened his eyes to look at her one last time. "I'm nothing but a shadow."

Kayn's form darkened as the feeling of his cheek on her hand suddenly turned to smoke. With a small sound of wind, Kayn turned into black smoke and dissipated into the shadows of the house, disappearing without a single trace.

Lux stood there, her hand still trembling in the air, where she had been touching his face. She let it drop then, not a sound coming out of her. Just silent tears. She stood there for a few more moments. A minute. Half an hour. An hour.

And then finally, she put on her shoes, wiped her eyes, opened the front door and stepped out.

The door closed with finality upon the empty dark home as Lux began to walk.

To walk back towards the Crownguard estate.