" Perhaps we could meet with Nehir before we leave… I wanted to thank her thoroughly for her help. Do you think we could find her at her home near the marketplace? "

Annabelle was pouring tea into a plain porcelain cup , the amber liquid smelled of mint and lemon leaving a serene and heartwarming atmosphere floating in the air ; once she was done with task , the young noble pushed the beverage towards the sovereign before taking a seat to her front. A thoughtful silence fell upon the bedroom basked in the morning sunlight , Luxanna's eyes fell upon the dark liquid.

" At this hour? It could be possible but she could also be away from her home at the time and we have no time to look for her in the early day crowd. I understand you feel like you own some proper thanks to the woman but, " The lady - in - waiting's gaze lowered as if it had been heavy with an untold shame. " I just want us to be on our way as soon as possible. "

At first , Lux had no answer. She simply mindlessly sipped at her tea while lost in thought. Annabelle was correct , they barely had time to spare wandering around in town for something as little unfortunately , and she couldn't blame her for such words. She pushed some blonde - white messy curls of hair behind her ear.

" You're right… We don't have time for it. Let's eat and pack our bags , shall we? "

Their trip back to Demacia had passed just like a fever dream in which Luxanna barely remembered the moments she had been conscious , the most of her moments being stuck in Morpheus' realm. Yet most of these unconscious times had not been cradled by the arms of serene dreams but rather tormenting visions of her own anxieties ; but the inner fatigue that burdened the sovereign's mind kept her anchored into this alternate dimension.

" We have arrived , Your Highness. "

Annabelle's whispering voice greeted her ears tenderly despite the use of her title that would make Lux grimace ordinarly , the monarch stirred from her deep slumber with heavy eyes blinking away the blur of her sight. The carriage had come to a stop without her notice in front of the familiar scenery of the pearly white palace ; a quiet sigh escaping from her chest as Luxanna fixed her hair with her fingers.

" Home sweet home. "

She hoped Annabelle hadn't caught on the sarcastic way in which those words were pushed out.

She had found the silent halls of the royal castle once again , its stillness only disturbed by the clicks of her heels upon the tiles and the vague white noise of the living city. The palace did not count many souls in its insides apart from the sovereign and her lady - in - waiting , simply a few aids needed and the unexpected visits of courtiers who most of the time had nothing good or interesting to say.

A letter had been left in the monarch's private quarters upon the delicate surface of her bedsheets , Luxanna had no trouble guessing who was the sender thanks to its neat and elegant handwriting. It also bore the seal of House Buvelle at the back. The letter's content was short and straightforward : Sona Buvelle explained that she would be away for a time , she had decided to travel to the faraway ionian lands upon which she was originally born but her reasons were not mentioned.

Well , of course , she had no need to justify herself. Lux considered Sona to be close to a friend without truly being able to consider her one , a trusted confidant to whom she could tell her problems and think about a solution to them. Yet , the noble woman had this distant air to herself as if she had been impossible to truly grasp and understand. And now , she had vanished , gone away with the wind for heavens knew how long.

" Hopefully she returns safely soon. "

Luxanna thought that perhaps she was being too selfish as she wished for the head of House Buvelle to return to her in the following days and that she needed to hold up on her own without the older woman's help all the time. But could she be blamed for such thoughts? The sovereign felt starved for guidance, lost not upon a path but in a wild sea.

Maybe another ruler would have found her pathetic.

Three knocks echoed against the smooth oak surface of her door and pulled her out of her thoughts , Annabelle's voice ringing from the other side quietly and explaining that the young woman was about to see herself off for a moment in order to pay a visit to her brother that lived in the city ; her footsteps the only sound coming from her after the words.

Home sweet home.

The declining sun cast its last specks of sunshine upon the emperor's luxuriant gardens , blessing the emerald life below with its light. Rhaast's glance swept over this miniature garden of Eve blankly , uncaring of the blossoms underneath his balcony. The beauty of this field had a more appalling nature than one would believe , a frightening ugliness buried in the soil for flowers to take roots in ; each plot represented a grave , each grave represented a being he had ended with his own hands. Albeit , his golden gaze anchored itself on an empty spot near a blooming kumquat , an unoccupied grave. He wondered who would fill its blank spot and even if it would ever be filled.

What gruesome thoughts he had! Unbecoming for one that was preparing a diplomatic trip to an unknown kingdom. He had never traveled farther than where a war needed him to be nor was he ever allowed to see more than Shurima's dunes ; and , in this instant , he was tasked to depart from the only land he had ever known in a few days. It was nothing else but interesting.

Of course , there was knowledge of these faraway lands all stocked in The Great Library , diaries of countless travelers who had seen the peaks of Freljord and the magnificence of Ionia. Nonetheless , to read about these places was not as gratifying than seeing them with his own eyes.

Now to hope Demacia would not disappoint him.