A/N: Well hot diggity dang. I was not expecting as many people to take a peek at this. I know it's been a hot minute since I updated, mostly because I wasn't sure what angle to tackle the next chapter with. At least here we get to take a glimpse at what goes on inside Lux's head.
Lux stared at the swirling orb of light in her palm for what felt like the umpteenth time since visiting the Laurent manor. After relaying to her mother the fact that Fiora was an incredibly busy woman and spared not even a moment to step out and talk to her, she felt caged. Augatha was far from pleased by the response and instead sent the blonde away to take care of more pertinent things, along with the expectation of better results the next time she inquired. And it had been a few days since she visited the Laurent estates.
"Maybe I underestimated Fiora..." she muttered, leaning back in her chair and idly fiddling with the hilt of her wand. The orb danced around in the air and she gazed into the shifting light patterns, displaying a rendition of the two women in a replica of the youngest Laurent's office space. From the shapes and lines, everything looked tidy, well-organized and practical. There were no photographs of anyone or anything and the impressive display of liquor on the other side of the room left her to wonder if she too endured the stresses of life by simply drinking a glass every night.
"That's impossible." Inebriation seemed entirely out of Fiora's composure – after all why would she compromise her own skills with such a thing? Yet, they remained there and she appeared to be quite the skilled hand at pouring and mixing drinks. Shiny, blue eyes followed every flick of the wrist, the way the muscles tensed in her arm as she kept the bottle steady, the curl of fingers around the neck of the bottle. Even in such a simple gesture, the Laurent made it look incredibly graceful. How long did it take to perfect such a routine?
Three knocks came to her door and Lux waved her hand, letting the light dissolve in the air before the doorknob turned. A woman poked her head in and relief flooded her body. Lux could trust anyone who knew how to hold a sword to escort her, but this woman was one of the handful that knew about her... 'tendencies.' "Pardon my interruption at such an inconvenient hour, Lady Crownguard..." The blonde glanced to the clock on the wall and her eyes nearly bulged out. It was nearly two in the morning! How had she let time slip away so easily?
"Worry not, I was already awake Eyrin." She feigned a smile when said woman raised an eyebrow. "I anticipate you as my late-night messenger, though I tend to forget at times."
"Ah, yes." Eyrin didn't hide the fact her eyes also went to the clock. "You requested I directly bring you any information regarding inquiries from House Laurent, though I'm afraid this one is a bit...odd."
Lux didn't reply immediately, signaling her to continue. She drew from behind her a small bouquet of flowers. "It was left by a rather... mean-looking woman. She insisted it was from Mistress Laurent herself, and I had it scanned for any traces of foul magic at first-"
"Eyrin, you know how risky that is, especially under this roof." Eyrin's surprised expression led her to juggling the small bundle of flowers, trying not to drop it as she realized the gravity behind her actions. "I-I hadn't thought- I'm so sorry. I was just concerned for your safety, milady."
Lux rose from her seat at her desk to take the flowers from Eyrin, inspecting each one carefully. "Who were they from then? What did they look like? Did they leave a name?"
"Um..." She scratched her head. "She didn't leave a name, but kind of tall like..." Eyrin tried to indicate the stranger's height, gauging it with her own before ultimately giving up. "...this maybe? White hair, kind of loosely tied back. Smells strangely like roses? I wasn't about to go asking too many questions.."
Lux frowned slightly. Here she was hoping the youngest Laurent would come in person. "Thank you for bringing this to me, regardless. I've been waiting for a response from their house for a while. Will you be retiring soon?"
She nodded. "Yep. I don't want to linger too long, you look like you could use some sleep yourself, Lady Crownguard."
Considering the time, she wasn't wrong but Lux had a feeling she wouldn't be heading to bed anytime soon. "Thank you for your concern, but I'll be alright."
Eyrin could only look on forlornly, though before she departed she left the younger Crownguard sibling a cryptic message. "Be careful Lux. I don't like any of this."
The first thing that Lux did was set the bouquet on her desk and stare at the flowers. Of all the people to deliver messages, Fiora didn't seem to be the type to send someone in her stead. Topping it off, these flowers were not the standard or typical variety found within the kingdom. She'd seen them on her travels, in extremely well-cultivated environments so how in the bloody hell did the Laurent manage to acquire these?
A monkshood... and a begonia? Why would Fiora give me these two...? Aside from mild disappointment of Fiora not having delivered them herself, Lux still felt drawn to the flowers. There's got to be something more. Perhaps a little more research was in order. If there was anything to be gained in all her time growing up in such a stringent household, it was the vast collection of books she acquired ranging from Demacian laws to the basics of sewing and anything and everything in between. In fact it had been on her insistence (read: overbearing zeal) that she have an addition to her room or be upgraded under the guise that 'a young lady needed a space larger than a cupboard to live inside.' Her chambers functioned as a living space and a study, leaving her able to retreat to her quarters whenever she felt she needed some space to think. Many outside of the household believed her to be an innocent, young mind that could be easily bent and shaped to fit the ideals that Demacia strove to uphold.
That much was still true – Lux believed Demacia could rise to great heights, but not in the way they forged for many decades, or even centuries, to this point.
"Where is that book- ah!" The blonde tapped her finger on a volume after perusing through the botany section and withdrew the hefty tome with some difficulty. Gardening hadn't been her specialty, but given the fact opponents of their household or the current regime went to any lengths to try and offset them, she had to learn to recognize the deadlier strains that passed off as harmless. Thankfully the two in her possession didn't fit the bill.
"Let's see here... Monkshood foreboding hatred...Well you'd have to be an idiot in love to not know Fiora hates you," she murmured quietly to herself. The begonia she knew before, having been given that once before by an old friend. Seeing the two together, and delivered by someone least likely to do such a thing, tickled the back of her mind as if teasing her into the real message.
Someone is warning me to be careful. The message felt too direct to originate from Fiora herself, which was saying something given the fact the woman was a very blunt person from the tales she heard. In fact Fiora probably would have thrown the bouquet in her face the first chance she could get. Few people in the world had striking white hair outside of old age, and there was one person that stuck clearly to her mind within the last few days.
"...who are you?" Despite the seemingly harmless gesture, there were so many things that hit her at once, she nearly dropped the book in her hands. That servant, so harmless and subservient, somehow figured her out. It was a warning to her of Fiora's hatred towards the Crownguard name and the potential consequences of dancing with the snake. 'Hatred...' She'd known Lux had used magic to try and sneak extra information, or caught her somehow despite the precautions she took. That in itself sent fearful chills down her spine and she wondered if she may have stepped into something she shouldn't be messing with. Lux knew Fiora was cutthroat, but if this person served Fiora, just how far could the Laurent go?
Yet, a niggling feeling of security and trust budded underneath all the apprehension. The blonde surmised it from the effects of staying up too late and letting her thoughts hop on a runaway horse.
There was a chance, a small, improbable chance, that she was being warned to keep her magic on better reins. And with that, the possibility of Fiora harboring mages and protecting them -
Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Lux chided herself mentally and shut the book before placing it back in its spot. It was a stretch of the imagination to assume Fiora would associate herself with any kind of magic – the woman was brilliant with a rapier and bested many in fair duels. And with the fact she still had a stain on her name thanks to her father, foul play was the last thing on her mind. In any case, it was a response and one she intended on following up with the next day.
The blonde returned to her desk to undo the papers holding the bouquet together, so she could put them in the vase by her windowsill. Just as she did something fell to the ground from between the stems. Curiosity baited her in and she knelt to pick up the small slip of paper and brushed away the dirt stained on it. A strong fragrance of roses hit her nose and she soaked up the few words on the slip.
'Meet me at The Grand Plaza, high noon, two suns from tonight.'
Lux stared at them, repeating them like a mantra in her head.
So much for seeking out Fiora now.
Afterthoughts (shortened to A/T from here on out): This chapter took a few revisions to write. At first I wasn't so certain with the symbolism of the flowers, but I did try to do as much research as I could. Another thing about my stories is that I try to stick as close to the lore and backstory as much as I can, so that it doesn't feel so far fetched that the pairing is forced rather than natural.
With that being said, expect this pairing to take quite a while to develop into any sort of relationship. That was the anticipation due to the complexity of each character and their backstories, and the complexities of the two OCs (wait, hold on there was only supposed to be one in planning, now I've got two), and the inclusion of other side characters for plot developmental purposes, and lore of the cities involved. Honestly, this story which was only supposed to be a silly one-off because my friend insisted on it has received a lot more and attention than I anticipated. If you were here for some lemons, you may be disappointed for a while longer. If you're sticking it out for the long run, I hope I can do them justice!
As always, thanks for the reviews, visits, and comments! You guys rock, seriously. [Insert some sort of lame Malphite pun here, HA!]
