(Garen - PoV)
It is far from the first time Lux and I have woken up in bed together.
Not even the first time we have woken up mostly naked.
But there is no pretending it is the same. I...cannot put words to the feeling. There is a new closeness, a new bond that I have never felt before. I did not think it possible to care for her even more.
I savor the new emotions running through me while I stare into her eyes, seeing the absolute adoration in them.
She smiles contently as I stroke her hair.
Is...is this how she has felt all these years?
All this time, everyone has revered me as the strong one, and in body, it may be true. But if she has endured this, silent and alone, all this time? Her will must be far greater than mine.
I can pretend, but I have never dealt with feelings well. It is not something anyone but Lux ever tried to teach me. A thoroughly Demacian failing.
I can see the flicker of deviousness in her eyes when she decides to make another attempt to push things further. I need to cut her off before she can get started.
"Up you get then Lux," I tell her, rising up to my side on one arm.
No, please. Please don't pout. I firm up my will.
"None of that, dear sister. In case you have forgotten, we are on the run from Demacia. We cannot dally too long, in case they have sent someone after us."
She whines, "So what if they do? You can beat them up anyway Brother..."
Her faith brings a smile to my face. "While I appreciate the confidence, my dear sister, if they send a psycho like Vayne she doesn't have to beat me."
My smile crumbles at the thought, and I look her directly in the eyes to convey my seriousness.
"Vayne would not hesitate for a moment to kill you. She would go out of her way, and even against orders, to do so." I explain.
"All the mage haters you dealt with? The ones who throw rocks at you for existing? She is like them, but far, far worse, and as deadly as I am. She is a Champion, Lux, and I don't know if I could stop her." As much as the admission pains me.
"I believe I can take her in a fight alone, but defending another person is vastly harder than defending yourself. And if she catches up to us, then it is over. There is no getting away. I won't be able to keep her from you, and we cannot outrun her."
Lux is silent.
Watching her carefully, I can see the dissonance in her eyes, as her mind tries to process the information.
On the one hand, logic, and the fact I am telling her this, means it should be accepted as fact and assimilated. On the other hand, absolute, overwhelming hero-worship, for her entire life.
I am uncertain if it is even possible for her to accept the idea that I am unable to do something, to lose to someone.
This is going to be a serious problem, and soon, but there is nothing we can do about it until we can fix whatever was done to her. Everything comes back to that. And yet we are still lazing around in bed. This has been a wonderful interlude, and Lux's short-term health is important as well, but time is wasting.
I close my eyes and harden my resolve.
Move, soldier!
I get up and start to get dressed after changing my underwear.
Lux complains but, seeing as I have my back towards her, eventually gets up and follows my lead, grumbling all the while.
Sorry, little sister, I will indulge you as much as I can later, for now, your life is more important. I was feeling confident before, with how much distance we have covered, but remembering how ruthless the world can be...There are too many risks, too many unknowns. We should be safe with a Noxian escort but, I have far less faith in Demacian Justice than I used to.
I reconsider before wrapping my old sword. There is no point in hiding it now. I want the attention, to make sure the Noxian's don't miss us. The choice now is, when it comes to a fight, which should I use?
I lift it and...no. It no longer feels right.
I feel dirty now, merely holding it. I have done too much wrong wielding this sword. Every moment I carried it was a moment that should have been with Lux. It is a symbol of all my failures. I could use it if I had to, but given the choice, I will never wield it again.
It should make an excellent gift for Noxus, however, and the act a nice insult to Demacia. I will carry it for the moment, even if it almost hurts to even look at it now.
Once the both of us have our outfits adjusted and settled, we head down to the dining room.
Empty, unfortunately.
We nod to the proprietor, but now I have to decide.
Wait for a contact who might not show, or move on to another town with no protection?
Two bad choices. I obviously cannot wait too long, but how long is unreasonable?
Given my recent nerves, I am inclined to move on immediately.
I turn to Lux to suggest such when the door opens and a Noxian agent enters. Full diplomatic robes, badge, the works, followed by a pair of soldiers.
Ok, when I asked to have someone meet me this is not quite what I expected but I will gladly take it.
They look rather disgruntled at first but freeze when they catch sight of me. Not an uncommon reaction of low-level Noxians to the Might of Demacia. The stare-off continues for a moment before one of the soldiers elbows the official, who manages to reboot himself with a cough.
Lux is quite amused but manages to keep herself from openly making fun of them.
Pulling out a small package he approaches me.
"Ah, good mourning sir, I believe we were sent here to give you this. We were told to ask you to activate it in private, and wait here in case you had any questions." He says, with barely a tremor.
I give him a nod as I accept the package. "Thank you."
Turning to the hefty innkeeper I ask, "Mind if we return to the room for a short bit to use...whatever this is?"
"Nah a probm, nah a probm," he assures, twirling his beard. "Yah havn even return the key so is still yours for a bit yet!" he laughs.
With his agreement, Lux and I return to our room, with the small wrapped package. The moment the door is closed, Lux pulls the package out of my hands and rips the paper off like it is a surprise present for her. I should reprimand her, but sigh instead. It just so very her I can't bring myself to do so.
The package turns out to be an ornate mirror...is this a communication mirror? There are always rumors of those but I have certainly never seen one. Somebody is taking things deathly serious if they are risking one. Jarvan's crown couldn't buy these.
Why is Lux looking at me like that?
"Brother, are you sure Katarina isn't a witch?"
What?
"This looks exactly like the mirrors she uses in the Black Rose comics."
...Of course, out of everything they could get right, it's the one that causes me problems.
"I am quite sure Lux," I assure her.
She looks at me, looks back to the mirror.
"I seek the Red Death," she intones, pressing a small nub on the mirror.
It activates.
Please no. Please be wrong.
Shuffling papers can be heard as a room's ceiling comes into focus.
"Hmm,"
No.
"That was rather quick," her voice is instantly recognizable, even as the mirror is lifted and Katarina's distinctive face looks on in amusement. Amusement which is quickly replaced with surprise, given Lux is still holding the mirror.
What is wrong with the universe?
"Oh? Well, you are certainly quite a bit prettier than who I was expecting dear," she says, surprise turning into, something else. I would ask Lux, but...oh no. No, Lux, please, we need her. This is going to be a disaster.
"You! Witch! I won't let you corrupt him, I only just managed to...er...purify him! Whatever, he's mine!"
"...What?" I have never seen her this completely off guard. Kat was expecting to deal with a stoic, desperate, simple Garen, not a damaged, enraged, likely delusional Lux. This...I need to stop this.
"Lux, stop, give me the mirror," I demand, trying to wrest it from her grip.
"But Brother! You haven't read it at all, everything fits!"
She will not let go. I am vastly stronger but, it is difficult to pry her fingers loose without hurting her. She has no such reservations, and freely kicks and scratches at me like an enraged badger. Katarina can't seem to decide exactly how she feels, watching from the mirror as a League Champion gets beat up wrestling a teenage girl.
"Give it-No! Lux, Just let it-You let go!-go. Stop-Quit it! Lux why? She's bad! Just quit-Nuh uh! Here-No! No-Ugh! Stop-Quit! There!"
Finally freeing the mirror from her grip, I get an idea and turn it to face away from us.
Lux looks ready to unleash hell, but I bend down and give her a kiss, a "proper" kiss, and she settles immediately, a goofy smile on her face.
There. I hate rewarding her for being so childish but, needs must.
I will have to find out why Kat sets her off so bad later, for now, I put a finger to my lips to shush her, then turn the mirror around.
"Ok, sorry about that, Lux was...well, that is actually the core of the problem and much of what we want right now," I tell her.
Kat raises an eyebrow. "That was a lot of words to say nothing, Garen. What, precisely, seems to be the issue?"
I open my mouth to reply but stop. Ok, I take a moment to center myself and try to control my absolute rage before speaking.
"They broke her Kat. I went to the Academy for my sister, and in mere days they had done something to her that broke her. She is losing her mind, quickly. We need...I don't know what we need. Some kind of magical specialist probably. I assume it is something to do with the magical suppression they used on her."
I have her full attention. No jokes, no playing. I know she has a sister, perhaps she understands?
"I want help. I want her fixed. And after that? I want revenge. I don't care if you want me to fight in the Rift or to kick down the gates of Demacia, I will fight for Noxus. I have the sword I used still if you want it, and I'll be happy to make speeches, appearances, whatever."
I sit back, my piece said.
I have never been able to negotiate or haggle, and right now we don't have the time to waste regardless.
"Blunt as ever, I see." I can almost feel her urge to smile and taunt.
Thankfully, she is at least trying to respect my mood. "You know you are supposed to negotiate these things? Noxus wants you. Badly. This will be a huge win for them."
She reclines in her seat as she speaks, but her attention remains focused.
"I don't think you are supposed to tell me that?" Even I know that much.
"Does it change anything?" she asks.
"No." I mean, I already knew.
"Exactly. Now, the specialist is unexpected, but we should have no trouble arranging it, and revenge? Please, your goals and ours lining up is perfect. Anything else?"
I ponder a moment.
"Well, I mean, food, shelter, regular stuff naturally, but this is not the time to debate that."
"Oh? And why not?" she asks.
"Really? Kat, even aside from Lux's condition I just defected from Demacia by stealing her from the Academy. I had a headstart, but they have to have some idea what is going on by now. How likely is it that they are going to just ignore what happened and let us wander off? I wanted an escort to try to discourage attacks."
"And you and the girl could get jumped at any moment, shit. Ok, we can do this later. Head to Redrock, and they will have a diplomatic team to escort you to Noxus."