" Well , well. What a lovely encounter it has been albeit , oh , so surprising. "
Rhaast had a hum to himself as he stood alone in the restored quietness of the empty halls , a remembrance of how these corridors used to be filled with individuals in earlier days floating in the air. He knew these pathways like he created them himself. Whether it was the most common of visitors , courtiers or the Sunborn , this palace was always brimming with life. Yet these times the only wanderers of these halls were ghosts of a heinous souvenir , undeads anchored to their place of death , the phantom scent of blood lingering against the stone and voiceless screams hanging from the ceiling. Rhaast found that this atmosphere of agony and death suited him best , he preferred keeping those corridors stuck in this depiction of violence which turned this so - great castle into nothing more than a graveyard.
He had been merciful that day , their deaths had been quick although tremendously painful.
The gears of the gates were being pulled in a cacophony of metallic - like noises , Rhaast was aware of who was to be brought in a few minutes after the demacian queen's departure ; perhaps she would have grown livid at the sight and he would have laughed. The emperor went to his throne and the echo of his shoes upon the marble followed. The gigantic doors opened on the sight of a small silhouette trapped between two much bigger ones , the shorter individual barely moved as they were brought in , or rather , they had not the strength to.
" It was quite bold of you to so shamelessly tell a tale that was not yours to people you did not know , wasn't it? What is your name? "
It was an old woman that had been brought in , her features creased and her hair bleached by time. The emperor threw a quick glance at her : she seemed so close to simply crumbling into a pile of dehydrated skin and broken bones in front of him and yet her gaze kept itself trained upon him with an almost audacious shine.
" Nehir , sir. "
Rhaast's head rolled against one of his shoulders which caused a strand of dark - red hair to fall against his forehead. He wouldn't remember her name anyway , why did he bother to inquire? Most likely out of habit. He had a smile that held nothing kind.
" Nehir , yes. You did speak to the woman that entered my palace , have you not? "
The corner of Nehir's lips twitched for an instant towards the emperor so shamelessly announcing the palace was his. Nonetheless she gathered herself.
" Yes , sir. I had no idea who the woman was , I simply saw someone in need and decided to help them. "
" By revealing something that does not regard them at all? "
The second inquiry was pushed out much more abruptly , nearly cutting the end of the aged woman's sentence , and yet the emperor's smile had not dropped. He allowed a sigh to pass his lips as he stood , the declining rays of the sun reflecting themselves upon the sun - shaped crown adorning his head.
" Please , " Finally , the woman breathed out. " Don't hurt them. "
Those shaken words resembling pleads of a desperate individual softened the features of the emperor as he stood right before this woman that was so below him ; golden eyes betrayed his amusement with the way he squinted.
" Please , worry not. I will not touch a single hair from her blonde head. "
Perhaps , Nehir had always known she would have not made it out of the palace , surely she had already put her mind at peace with the occurrence of her looming death because when in a swift instant the emperor had leaned forward and his fingers had reached her neck with a brutal pop she felt nothing.
Not an overwhelming sense of dread nor a terrible sadness. Simply the nothingness that awaited her.
" Well , that is if I don't have the desire to. "
Alas , Rhaast had always been terrible at keeping promises.
An overwhelming feeling of distress stirred Luxanna awake in the same way a nightmare would. The covers stuck to her sweat - coated flesh as she hastily sat up in her bed , the night was the only one to greet her accompanied with the quiet breaths of Annabelle next to her ; the monarch brought the back of her hand against her burning forehead , a headache ringing against her skull relentlessly. She remembered how after her meeting with the emperor she had simply returned to the inn room and barely ate before falling into a deep sleep despite her lady - in - waiting's incessant remarks ; for a reason Lux ignored she had felt tremendously exhausted at her return.
" Nothing but a nightmare , huh? "
The tenseness of her voice and the tremble in her limbs betrayed the uplifting and comforting tone of her words. A bad feeling clung to her mind and left a dreadful sensation in her stomach : something had happened but she had no clue what. Her silhouette gently pulled itself down once more , mismatched eyes staring at the obscured ceiling in search of an answer the dark would not give her.
" It must be fatigue. " The weight of her stress and troubles burdened her yet another time : between the awful deaths she had witnessed , the hellish sight of a void spawn burned into her mind and the current state of Demacia , Lux had known no true respite.
The sovereign truly hoped the return to Demacia would be without any problem or tragedies.