Horses pulled an ornately carved caravan down the main street of Demacia at the peak of the day. The sun was shining and the streets were alive with merchants and revelers alike. The Crown Prince of Demacia, along with the Dauntless Vanguard, had returned home. They had been gone for many months, at war with Noxus. There had been a break in the war where both sides pulled back for the time being after the disaster in Kalamanda.
The Might of Demacia was first to step foot into the cobblestone street, Jarvan IV following suit and the rest of the Vanguard. Garen turned to his best friend, clasping the other's shoulder and said, "It's good to be home, don't you agree?" Jarvan replied, "Aye, it is friend… It has been too long."
Garen picked up his knapsack and sword and slung them both over his shoulder, turning away from him and toward the direction of his home and called back, "See you tonight." He made this way through the streets to the Crownguard manor. He had greatly missed Demacia in his absence; the bright colors, freshness of the air, his large, warm, comfy bed but mostly his beloved sister.
Garen and his younger sister Luxanna were very close in adolescent years, but as they matured they realized their skills were not of the same nature. Lux had a gift for the light magic of Demacia and Garen had a mighty fine swing with a sword. The two went to military school, but it filled their schedules and forced them to drift apart. Finally, when Garen came of age, he had gladly joined the military and now became one of the renowned Dauntless Vanguard. Lux had just come of age for the military as Garen's most recent deployment to Kalamanda had come around and was placed in a special mages unit that would be deployed at the same time as Garen returning to the front lines.
Lux and their parents stood at the front gates of the manor, awaiting Garen's return. As the gates opened to reveal her brother, the lady of luminosity could barely restrain herself from running and jumping onto him in sheer joy. Instead, she, calmly but quickly, walked up to him and said excitedly, "Welcome home brother!"
Both of them smiled hugely at the sight of each other. Garen dropped his sword and bag to his feet and embraced his sister with a big bear hug. "Lux..." he sighed into her shoulder contently. He then twirled her around a few times and sat her delicate frame back onto the ground. Garen noted that she smelled like lemon and a mix of some other mandarin type scent. He recollected his things and ruffled her hair with his free hand. He could not express how happy he was to see his sister. Lux clung to his side like a child, looking up at him with a large smile. She had seemed to be radiating more light than usual. He sauntered up to his mother and father, who bowed to him; he gave them a graceful hello and bowed back to his parents, who were also smiling at his return.
Garen was greeted by the butlers and housekeepers of his estate as he headed up the white and gold marble staircases to his room. He walked slowly, soaking in the fact that he was home for the time being. He opened his bedroom door to find that everything looked the same, as if he had never left it behind months earlier. The large, overstuffed, double king bed was pushed against the far wall in the center of the room, large stain glass doors on the opposite wall led to the small balcony that overlooked the entire market district of Demacia. The doors shimmered beautifully in the afternoon sun and reflected many colors around the room.
Garen leaned his sword against the bedposts along with his bag and began to unbuckle his thick pauldrons and other armor pieces. He set the armor upon his mantle in their correct places and changing into a pair of Ionian cotton shorts. He stretched his exposed chest and looked in the mirror at his toned chest and stomach, flexing slightly. Then his arms, and turned around to examine his back muscles. He ran his opposite arm over his right shoulder blade to pull off a large bandage that had been placed on him by the medics back at the camp. He sighed, crumbling it and tossing it to the side. Tis just a flesh wound.
Finally he layed down on his bed, and thought about all he had here now and really appreciated it. Nothing like going to war and sleeping on a bed of rocks in a rickety tent; now his bed felt like marshmallows because of it. He breathed in deeply the scent of the down feather comforters and pillows. He turned over onto his stomach and sniffed the pillows he laid on curiously. They smelled familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. The citrus smelled tinged his nose slightly, but it was a faded scent. He discarded his thoughts toward the smell and was overcome with a feeling of comfort, dragging him into a light slumber.
Garen knew he was dreaming. He was back in his tent at camp on the outskirts of Noxus. A little confused, he tried to roll over but something stopped him from doing so. Either it was the ache in his back or it was the body lying next to him that hindered him from doing so. He felt skin on his own and looked down to see none other than Katarina Du Couteau, the sinister blade of Noxus, fast asleep, naked and snuggling into his bare chest. He had tried to forget about this little bout they had. After Kalamanda, she wanted to thank him for what he did to try to save her family and defeat General Swain even if they were sworn enemies. They had made their affections clear to each other after their first true meeting; a battle on the front lines. No clear victor was able to be determined. This intrigued them both because of their different fighting methods. The events that preceded the war declaration had only led to them sleeping together a few times but nothing more. Garen sighed and thought, "Kalamanda sure was one hell of an event." He wrapped his arm around Katarina's slender shoulders and pulled her body closer into his. He still knew this was a dream, but he played with her soft hair just like he did on the last night they were together a month or so ago. Before they got word of the troops retreating on both sides, Katarina was due to be moved to another platoon to lead the High Command. She was going to be going undercover for Noxus, so all contact would be lost after that night. He ran his calloused fingers through her long red hair. It was so soft and silky. Suddenly, as he was stroking the red locks, they seemed to appear as if they were blonde and a rush of citrus was strong in his nostrils.
Garen opened his eyes slowly, allowing the dream to fade away from him. The scent and blonde hair did not fade from his vision though. His hands were entwined in golden blonde hair. He opened his eyes fully but did not dare to move a muscle as to not disturb the lightly sleeping girl who was laying in his bed with him; head laying on his exposed chest.
"Lux," Garen questioned softly. The girl did not stir. He repeated her name a little louder, and she groggily opened her eyes and looked upwards at her brother. She saw that he had a confused look on his face. When it finally registered in her head that Garen was looking right at her, she recoiled and collected herself, sitting on the edge of his bed. She looked back at him briefly before she put her head down in embarrassment. She put her hand over her mouth and spoke muffledly, "I'm sorry brother. I meant to leave before you could wake… but I must have fallen asleep myself."
Garen smiled and sat up, petting the top of her head gently then stroked her soft hair some more.
"You're fine Luxanna, I was just a little surprised." Lux hung her head a little deeper and began to get off the bed, but Garen stopped her and pulled her back down to his toned chest. She immediately felt her face fill up with heat, even more so embarrassed. She looked up at her brother with bright eyes and a basic expression. "Just like when we were kids...And I was afraid of the storms?" she whispered into his sternum. He hummed a positive response to her and then said, "Something like that…"
They laid there quiet for awhile, unsure of what this meant. Lux nuzzled her head into her brother's chest and said softly, "Welcome home brother."