Chapter Five


Kat grimaced. "I'm trying to eat breakfast, Crownguard," she said as she spread strawberry jam atop a piece of toast. Today was Saturday, the first day after she and her brother and sister had started living with the Crownguards. Katarina had slept in until about noon, exhausted by the events of the previous day, and the lack of sleep she'd had the night before. She'd gone to bed late, unable to do anything but stare at the ceiling and wonder where her father was, whether he was okay. She still had no clue as to who comprised the Black Rose, and what their plans were—why they'd targeted her father. She'd stared at the silver moonlight streaming in through the windowpanes, and while Kat wasn't religious and wasn't one to believe in miracles, she had made a prayer for her father's safe return.

She'd been woken by the sun's rays shining through the windows. The rose-colored curtains were drawn back, since Katarina had forgotten to draw them closed the night before, and by noon, the sun was shining at just the proper angle to alight upon her face; she opened her eyes and was promptly blinded. She let out a groan as she rolled out from under the covers.

She had made her way down to the kitchen and had been lucky to avoid running into anyone. Katarina had yet to meet Garen's parents, and quite frankly, that suited her just fine. She had no desire to acquaint herself with the police chief and his wife, not when she was guilty of having committed many, many crimes for which Garen's father would gladly put her in jail.

She'd just taken her toast out of the toaster when Garen had come bumbling into the kitchen, going on about their English project. Katarina hadn't been paying all that much attention to what he'd been saying. She'd been distracted by his appearance.

He was wearing a simple white t-shirt which hugged him just enough to accentuate his muscles—and boy, did he have some nice muscles. It made sense—he'd been a football star, and he seemed like someone who would keep in shape. The tight-fitting jeans didn't help her focus, either. She had to force herself to look away, and she stared pointedly at the jam throughout their entire conversation.

"We agreed to work on it today, and it's on the schedule. I just wanted to remind you and make sure that, even with all that's going on, we still have this project as our top priority."

Top priority, my ass, Katarina thought as she bit into her toast and let the sugary jam tingle on her taste buds. Honestly? The project wasn't even on her radar anymore. "Let me eat," she said once she'd swallowed, "in peace, Crownguard."

Garen scratched his ear and then tugged at it. "A-all right," he said, and Kat noticed his ears begin to redden in that way that they did when he was flustered. "But we'll talk after you're finished eating?"

She sighed and nodded. "Fine," she said, and he gave her an awkward thumbs-up.

"Great!" he said. "Um, okay then. I'll... talk to you later, I suppose."

"You suppose," Kat muttered before taking another bite and watching as he scurried out of the kitchen. Well, watching his ass. It was a nice ass, Kat had to admit.

She rolled her eyes as she realized what she'd been thinking, and she finished off her toast wondering if she'd be able to get out of working on the project for today. There were still so many questions she had about her father's disappearance; could she really afford to waste time on this stupid assignment when her father might be dying?

She banished the thought as soon as it occurred to her. No. Her father was not dead—Marcus DuCouteau was not dead. He was still out there, somewhere, and Katarina would find him and bring him home alive. Even if it meant she had to kill a thousand men and women, she would do whatever she had to save her father from the Black Rose.

She threw away the paper plate she'd used, and then checked the dishwasher to see if the dishes inside were clean or not. Somebody had already emptied it, so Katarina dumped the knife she'd used to spread her jam into the machine, and she put the jam back in the refrigerator.

She made her way down the hall, where Garen was waiting for her. He opened his mouth to speak, but Kat stopped him with a raised hand. "I need a toothbrush," she told him.

He got a bemused expression on his face and nodded. "Of course," he said, "Let me grab one. I'm sorry I didn't get you any last night." He moved down the hallway and opened a closet, dug around for a bit, and then produced three toothbrushes. "For your brother and sister. Fresh out of the package." He offered her a wide grin as she took them from him.

She headed up the stairs to her room, with the intention of going to the bathroom and brushing her teeth. She didn't expect Garen to follow her up the stairs, but in hindsight, she really should have; he was just so persistent about things.

"You know," he said as they reached the landing, "I don't understand how you can eat breakfast without brushing your teeth beforehand."

She snorted. "Cuz toothpaste tastes like shit, and I don't want my food to taste like shit," she replied.

"But your mouth is dirty," he countered. She couldn't think of a good response to that, so she decided to just ignore it entirely.

She made it to her room and then closed the door behind her, pretending she didn't see Garen waiting patiently outside with his hands clasped behind his back.

She brushed her teeth and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was knotted since she hadn't bothered to brush it when she woke up, and she hadn't removed her makeup the night before; as a result, her eyes now bore an uncanny resemblance to those of raccoons. She sighed, opening the bathroom cabinet and looking for things she could use to wash up. The Crownguards seemed to keep things well stocked for their guests and Katarina found all she needed. She decided that she was in need of a shower, and so she marched to the door and opened it to let Garen know. Otherwise, he might just wait outside her door the entire time. The thought was amusing.

"I'm going to shower," she stated, "I'll find you after."

Garen opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded as his face turned the color of a ripe tomato. "All right," he said, his voice slightly higher than normal. Kat worked hard not to laugh at the poor young man as he practically ran down the hallway, away from her room. She also tried not to think of how she found herself enjoying the act of teasing him and eliciting such reactions.

She spent the next fifteen minutes showering and drying her hair. She searched the cabinet for makeup but found none; perhaps the Crownguards weren't as prepared for guests as she'd originally thought. Kat hadn't brought her makeup with her; the night before, she'd been on a mission with a backpack carrying only a few things. She'd had some notebooks so she could work on homework in her spare time, and some weapons, but that was all. She hadn't thought to pack in advance—couldn't have imagined what would happen.

Kat sighed and left the room, intent on finding Garen. So she'd work on the stupid project, but maybe she could convince him to drive her to the store so she could pick up a few things. They were staying here for an indefinite amount of time, so she might as well.

She found him in the drawing room, sitting on a sofa with his sister. He had one leg of his jeans rolled up, and Lux was inspecting his leg with a frown and pursed lips. Kat quirked an eyebrow at the sight, and despite herself, her gaze was drawn to his toned leg. Very nice.

"Doesn't look too bad," Lux said, and Garen nodded as he rolled down his jeans once more.

"Yeah," he said. "Thanks for taking a look."

"It happens more often than I'd like," Lux said softly, reaching out a hand and placing it on her brother's shoulder. "You have to be more careful. Please."

Well, that was certainly a tender gesture she hadn't expected to intrude upon. Kat crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, smirking as she counted the seconds that passed until they noticed her. One... two... three...

Five seconds later, Garen started as he saw her. "K-Katarina! I-I didn't hear you!" he said, and Lux's eyes went wide as she swiveled to face Kat.

Kat nodded at Garen's leg. "What happened, you trip or something?" she asked.

His eyes grew wide, and he began to stammer, apparently unable to form a coherent sentence. Luckily for him, Lux stepped in to come to his rescue.

"He bumped it against one of the tables. Looks like it'll bruise, but that's all," she said, offering a sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Anyways, I've been meaning to tell you—your sister got a call on the phone this morning from her... what was it, math tutor? A lady named Leblanc."

Kat tensed. Shit. "Yeah?"

Lux nodded. "Cassiopeia said she had to go to a tutoring lesson, so she wanted me to tell you something about being sure you scheduled your doctor's appointment. She didn't say which doctor, though."

No, she hadn't specified. That was because the DuCouteaus had a phrase they used among themselves when they were amidst others they didn't want to know—'be sure to schedule your doctor's appointment'. They used it to secretly let the others know that they were on a mission for Noxus—and that if they weren't back by nightfall, to be worried.

So Leblanc had called Cassiopeia in on an assignment. That in and of itself wasn't unusual. Although none of them trusted Leblanc, Cassiopeia was still the woman's protégé, so the two would often work together.

No, what was strange was that Leblanc had known where they were. They had told no one about staying with the Crownguards, and they'd only travelled in vehicles that had never been associated with them before. Leblanc had spies everywhere, but if those agents had been tasked with tracking them, they wouldn't have tracked Garen's truck... would they?

That was confusing, but Kat supposed it was just Leblanc. The woman was the best in her field, after all, able to avoid detection by federal agents and local law enforcement alike, and able to locate even those who'd been hidden for decades. If she wanted to know where someone was, there was no hiding from her.

The thought was a disturbing one. Kat wouldn't want to ever get on that woman's bad side. She couldn't imagine the consequences.

Lux interrupted her thoughts. "Did you want to speak with Garen?"

Kat nodded. "Yeah. You said we're going to the library to study, right?" He nodded. "Can we stop at the store on the way back? I need to buy some stuff, since we're... staying here."

Garen's eyebrows drew together, and he frowned. He looked like he was about to answer in the negative, but Lux spoke before he did, clapping her hands together.

"Of course he'll take you! You should pick up anything you need, and Garen can carry your bags for you!"

Katarina smirked at Garen's aghast expression and she was about to laugh, but then Lux continued.

"It'll be like a mini-date!"

Now it was Kat's turn to look aghast, and she knew her face was heating up just as much as Garen's was.

"W-we aren't—" Garen stammered.

"We're not—" Kat sputtered.

"Except you two aren't dating, or anything!" Lux finished, beaming. Then she burst out laughing. "Sorry, sorry," she managed through laughs, "I had to. The looks on your faces—priceless."

Kat scowled. Usually it was an intimidating look on her, but she was fairly sure it was mitigated by the raging blush currently adorning her cheeks.

Garen cleared his throat. "Um... Yes, yes, I'll take you shopping. Are you, uh... Ready to leave?"

Kat sighed. Stupid project. "Let me grab my backpack," she grumbled.


Kat groaned into the book she had placed on her face. Her head was thrown back across the wooden chair she sat in, and she balanced one of the books she had started to read on her nose after she'd grown bored by the words on the pages. The book was old and smelled musty, and she instantly regretted putting it on her face in the first place. She removed it from her face and sneezed, earning a poorly muffled snort of laughter from the young man sitting across from her.

"Bless you," Garen told her, struggling to contain a laugh. She threw the book at him, and this time he wasn't able to hold back the chuckle that escaped as he caught the book easily from the air, without even bending a page.

"Shut up," she muttered as he offered the book back to her and she took it. Their fingers brushed momentarily, and Kat felt a tingle that rushed up her arm from the contact. She drew away quickly, book in hand.

"I take it that's an uninteresting book?" Garen said with a lopsided grin. Was he teasing her? She was the one who was supposed to tease him—not the other way around. Kat was offended.

"If I have to read about another weed, I'm going to kill something," she muttered darkly as she opened the book and flipped back to the page she'd been on, the pages letting out a soft crinkling sound, stiff with age. Before she'd even begun to read the words on the page, however, Garen's voice spoke softly.

"Sometimes," he said, "weeds can be beautiful."

Kat eyed him carefully as he shuffled his papers and began taking diligent notes from a large tome, some text about the history of England. Katarina glanced down at her own text.

It was about stupid-ass plants. She was supposed to be looking up all the plants and flowers and herbs that were mentioned in the play (Garen had provided her with a terrifyingly long list, god help her). She'd only looked at two entries before deciding that the author of this text must have actually been the single most boring and tedious person to have ever walked the earth. Whoever had decided this was a book worth publishing must have been the second most boring and tedious person.

As she thumbed through the book, looking for the next herb on the list, her thoughts turned to her family. Her father was missing, Talon was off on his own (probably flirting with Garen's sister—ew), and Cassiopeia was off on some mission with Leblanc. And she was stuck here, reading a book about goddamned plants when the Black Rose—

Katarina froze, her eyes widening. She returned her attention to the book once more, this time giving it her full attention, and she flipped through the pages with a frantic intensity that gave her the appearance of one who had little time to spare, and everything to lose, which wasn't far off from how she felt. She searched for the entry for 'rose' and skimmed through its contents, looking for any sort of mention of a black rose.

But there was nothing. Katarina sighed and let the book fall shut, and she rubbed her eyes. "This book is crap," she muttered, and Garen sighed.

"Language," he said in a weary voice. This was the fifth time he'd asked her to watch her language since they'd arrived at the library. He'd chosen a location far from the children's section this time (he probably thought Kat hadn't noticed, but she had), so he wasn't as adamant about it as he'd been before, but he was still persistent.

Kat rolled her eyes but bit her tongue, and she began reading through more boring-ass passages about flowers and shit she didn't care about. After an hour and a half of this torture, Garen glanced at his watch and announced that it was time for them to leave.

"Finally," Kat grumbled as she threw the book unceremoniously onto the table.

Garen cleared his throat. "You should probably treat that book a little more carefully," he told her, "since it's old. It might fall apart if you're too rough with it."

"Probably," she admitted, "but I don't care." To emphasize her point, she pushed the book across the table, where it teetered over the edge before Garen scooped it up and placed it upon a small stack of books on the table.

"Time to go shopping," Kat stated as she stretched and stood, and Garen grimaced.

"Time to go shopping," he agreed, and Kat couldn't help but be amused by how extraordinarily off-put he seemed to be by the idea.

They left the library after checking out a few more books, and then they rode Garen's beat-up old blue truck to the nearest supercenter store.

Kat grabbed a cart on the way in and noted that one of the wheels seemed to be acting up, as the cart didn't move in a straight line, but rather veered to the left, and it let out a bit of a squeak as the wheel rolled. She hated when carts acted like this, so she shoved it into Garen's hands, then marched in front of him to take the lead, and leave him to deal with the annoying wheel.

Garen followed her without question (she could tell because of the squeaking that followed her through the store), and Katarina made her way down the aisles, grabbing such essentials as deodorant and mascara. She also made sure to grab things for her siblings, as well, though they could undoubtedly ask Garen to bring them shopping at some other time.

Kat didn't hesitate before grabbing any items; it wasn't as if she couldn't pay for the expenses. So she gathered everything she and her brother and sister would need for the upcoming weeks (perhaps months, if the Crownguards were willing and if Kat wasn't driven insane by Garen's stubbornness), and threw them in the cart.

Finally, Kat moved to the entertainment area and spoke to Garen.

"Do you have any video games at your place?"

Garen shook his head. "Our parents don't really like them. I think Lux plays some online games she calls 'mohbuhs', but—"

"Gotcha," Kat said before heading to the counter and speaking to the clerk, ordering several gaming consoles. She waited as the young clerk gathered the consoles, and it was only when she'd dumped them into the cart that she noticed Garen gaping at her. "What?" she asked.

Garen shook himself, his ears darkening to a deep red. "S-sorry," he said, "I just didn't take you for one to play video games."

She shrugged. "I don't play them that much," she admitted. "But Talon does." He loved video games a lot, actually—played them every day after school, once he'd half-assed his homework, as long as they didn't have any Noxian assignments or meetings to attend to. Kat had started playing with him on occasion when they were younger, since he had told her that they improved hand-eye coordination and reaction time, skills she was constantly trying to hone as an assassin for Noxus. The games were enjoyable and helped to pass time, so Kat thought them worth the investment, especially when it came to keeping Talon entertained.

She grabbed a few games and tossed them into the cart as well. They bought a few more things before they moved to the checkout aisles. With her card, Kat paid for it all without even batting an eye at the outrageously high total, though Garen balked when he caught a glimpse of the high number.

They put it in the back and secured it, and then they were off, Garen taking care to drive extra slowly in order to prevent any of the more fragile items from breaking. Kat appreciated that; she hadn't asked him to drive slower, he'd just done it on his own, knowing some of the things were breakable. It was kind of him. Considerate.

Katarina wasn't sure why, but the realization sent a strange, fuzzy sort of feeling through her chest.

When they made it back to the Crownguard estate, Garen helped unload the truck and set everything up. They put the video game consoles in the downstairs entertainment room, which was meant for guests to watch tv in. The room had two sofas, a large flat screen tv, and several comfortable armchairs, as well as a coffee table.

"Talon can play down here," Garen told her once they'd finished putting the boxes beside the tv. "Nobody comes down here, so he won't be bothered."

"Why do you guys avoid this room?" Kat asked, genuinely curious. It seemed like a perfect setup for the Crownguards to sit around together as a family and enjoy movies or shows, and to bond. While they hadn't had this setup, back at the DuCouteau mansion, they had several rooms that functioned in a similar fashion. Though they seldom had the time to watch movies together, Katarina had treasured any time they were able to do so as a family.

Garen pursed his lips and turned, heading towards the stairs. "We don't... do much," he said over his shoulder softly, and Katarina snorted.

The hell does that mean? she thought as she followed him upstairs. She'd never seen Garen so unwilling to answer a question before. But she didn't pursue the subject any further; frankly, she wasn't that interested in the Crownguards' living habits one way or another.

They finished unpacking everything within an hour, and Garen offered her a water bottle he had grabbed from the kitchen. She took it and drank, refreshed from the cool taste after having walked around carrying all the supplies and necessities for her and her siblings.

Katarina surveyed the results of their work and nodded in satisfaction. She'd done well, if she did say so herself. She'd gotten all of the school supplies she'd need and put them on her desk, to be organized later. Her makeup and toiletries were all in the drawer, and the bathroom counter had everyday items that the Crownguard family hadn't provided.

"So," Kat said, "up for some friendly video game competition?"

Garen's face lit up, but then his smile faltered. "I... I probably shouldn't," he said. "I haven't finished my pre-cal homework..."

"Who gives a shit about math," Kat said. "Come on, we worked all afternoon, and it's Saturday; we need a break."

Garen hesitated once more, though he was visibly torn between the prospect of having fun and being his usual, super boring self. "I... I don't know," he began, "I haven't played video games since—"

"Did someone say video games?"

Kat turned to find Garen's bubbly little sister bounding into the room—literally bounding. What a weirdo.

"Yeah," Kat said. "There are enough controllers for all of us. I—"

"Controllers?" Lux asked, perplexed. Then her eyes widened and, even though Kat would have sworn it would have been impossible for her grin to grow any wider, Lux managed to do just that. "You bought a console?"

"Yeah," Kat said. "I'm trying to convince your brother to play."

Lux turned towards Garen and grabbed his arm, tugging him slightly. "Garen, please? Pretty please?" She batted her eyes at him and jutted out her lip, and Garen relented. Seemed like he couldn't resist the puppy eyes Lux was giving him.

"All right," he said, "I suppose playing for just a little bit can't hurt. I can finish my homework later."

"Yay!" Lux said, clapping her hands together excitedly. Kat schooled her features to keep from making a face at the girl's reactions.

The three made their way to the basement and set up the game, and then began to play.

"How do I jump?" Garen asked right before Katarina killed his character.

"O button," she said as the game loaded the next match.

"You should move around more," Lux said, watching from over his shoulder, "that way you're harder to hit. Mobile, y'know?"

Garen frowned and pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes in concentration as the match started, and Kat found her eyes drawn to his lips, which were pursed. She wondered what they might feel like, pressed against her own—but then she caught herself and turned her attention back to the game, her emotions spiraling in a confused jumble within her. She took out her frustration on poor Garen, and beat up his character easily. His character died within seconds.

He sighed. "I guess I'm not very good at this."

Kat stared pointedly at the screen, ignoring him as best she could. "You just have to practice," she muttered.

"May I try?" Lux asked, and Garen handed her the controller. She took a while selecting her character, looking at the stats and asking Katarina a few questions regarding their combos. Then, she finally selected one, and the two girls started their match.

At first, Kat easily had the lead, attacking Lux's fighter easily and wearing down her health bar. But as the fight progressed, Lux grew more and more difficult to pin down, and when Kat made the mistake of underestimating the speed of Lux's character, Lux took full advantage and landed combo after combo on Kat, who was barely able to retaliate or block the attacks in time. Kat eventually managed to dodge the attacks and land a full combo to finally wipe out Lux's remaining health, but Kat was... stunned.

She turned to the smiling blonde. "Have you played this before?" she asked her, and Lux shook her head.

"Nope. I only play computer games," Lux replied.

Kat couldn't believe it. Her reaction time, her mastery of combos, her ability to predict and time her opponent's moves—it had felt as if Katarina had been playing against someone of equal skill to her, not someone who had never played before. It was... impressive.

"Let me try," a voice spoke from behind them. Garen started and Lux actually jumped, and Kat turned to see her brother push himself off from leaning on the wall behind him.

"How long have you been standing there?" Kat asked, rolling her eyes. Talon had always had a flair for dramatic entrances.

"Long enough to almost see you get your ass handed to you," he said, smirking. Kat couldn't exactly argue that; she had almost lost to a beginner.

She tossed the controller at him, perhaps a little harder than she should have, but he caught it out of the air easily and moved to sit beside Lux. Kat didn't miss the way Lux brightened visibly at the action, and the way Talon leaned ever so slightly so that his shoulder touched hers.

Gross, Kat thought as she retreated to one of the armchairs and sat next to Garen. She remembered, too late, about her thoughts regarding him previously, and she felt her face heating up despite herself. God damn it, she thought. She tried to reason with herself about it—it was normal for a teenager to think about kissing another teenager—especially one as handsome as Garen. It wasn't that she was actually attracted to him in any way, though she appreciated his good looks; he was too stubborn, too nice, too dedicated to following rules. That was definitely not something she was attracted to in the slightest, the good boy act. Besides, even if she were attracted to him in any way, it would never work out.

She was a Noxian; her family had been in the business of killing people and making millions for generations. Katarina had a specific skillset that she'd honed her entire life—the art of murder, of assassination. Of getting away with it and avoiding police. Garen's father was the police chief of Valoran city. Even if she did like him—and she definitely, definitely didn't—it would be impossible for anything to work out between them. It was… It was just the hormones talking. That's what it had to be.

And so, having resolved the issue, Kat was fully confident that she wouldn't feel any more heart skips or warm feelings when she talked to Garen. And if she did, she could dismiss it as simply a natural teenager's reaction, and nothing more.

She watched as her brother and Lux began to play, and she had to admit that Lux... somehow, Lux was already proficient at the game, after only having observed her and Garen and played it once. Talon was grinning as they fought, evenly matched—a rare sight. Kat was nowhere near as good as her brother, which meant that in the short time she'd played, Lux had already surpassed Kat's skill level.

"She really is a genius," Kat said quietly, so only Garen could hear.

"You don't know the half of it," he said, grinning proudly at his younger sister. She was laughing as she executed a combo, knocking Talon's character to the ground.

It was... strange. This whole situation almost felt surreal. Katarina had hardly given the Crownguards the thought of day just a week ago, but now she was living with them. Playing video games with them. Why they had even extended such an offer perplexed Kat, though she was grateful for the opportunity and the safe haven that their mansion represented. The Black Rose—whoever they were—wouldn't be able to get to them, here.

Kat watched her brother play against Lux, and she couldn't help but notice the way his eyes sparkled in a way she'd never seen before, the way his cheeks flushed ever so slightly. Lux brought this side out of him, and for the first time since Kat had met Talon, he seemed to not only be happy, but enthusiastic, and sharing in that happiness and enthusiasm with the blonde next to him. Kat had never seen him so... open, she realized as he laughed at a comment Lux made regarding his skills.

"I'm glad you guys are here," Garen said, interrupting her thoughts with his deep voice. He turned to face her with those stunning bright blue eyes, and Kat almost felt lost in them as he spoke, falling into his gaze and the deep, low rumble of his voice. "I haven't seen Lux have this much fun since we were kids." He inclined his head. "Thank you."

Kat blinked, taken aback and unsure of how to respond to such a heartfelt statement. "It's... just a game."

"I know," Garen said. He hesitated before reaching out and, when she didn't resist, taking her hand. "But you don't know how much it means to me, to see my sister this happy. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart." Katarina swallowed as he squeezed her hand once before letting go, and she drew her hand back slowly, her other hand absentmindedly tracing the warmth from his palm that still lingered on her skin.

"You're welcome, I guess," she mumbled. Then she shook her head and stood carefully, so as to not disturb their siblings. There was little chance of that, seeing as how the two were entirely focused on the game, but still. She stretched, then nodded towards Garen. "I'm bored," she complained, "I'm going for a walk."

"Do you want some company?" he asked, and her heart skipped a beat. Stupid hormones, Kat thought, and she shook her head.

"Nah," she told him. She definitely did not want him to accompany her, given the way her heart couldn't seem to sit still and beat regularly when he was around. And Kat wanted some time alone, some time to think, without having to worry about the strange fuzzy feelings she was starting to experience more and more frequently around Garen.

"All right," Garen said before returning his attention to his sister and Talon.

Kat climbed the stairs slowly, letting her fingers hover over the wooden railing as she ascended. She made her way to the front door, then left, surprised that the door had been unlocked. Then again, this was a nice neighborhood, so perhaps the Crownguards werent in the habit of locking up. What a luxury. Kat snorted as she began walking along the paved sidewalk, kicking a stray piece of gravel down the path ahead of her and watching it bounce along the cracks.

She'd lived in a good neighborhood, too; the DuCouteau estate was located in one of the oldest and safest neighborhoods in town. But then, it was also the DuCouteau household, and her family had made many enemies in their Noxian dealings. Locking the door wasn't just a habit, at her house—it was a necessity.

But of course, the Crownguards weren't part of any gangs; even if Garen's father was affiliated with Demacia, the only enemies that would net him would be Noxian High Command. And a simple police chief—who had subordinates who could be bribed—that wasn't even on High Command's radar. It wasn't as if the Crownguards had powerful enemies after them.

Enemies who would kidnap, torture... maybe even kill them. The Crownguards didn't have enemies like the Black Rose. Kat balled her hands into fists, fingernails digging into skin, hard, and she glared at the stray pebble before kicking it with enough force to send it flying over the street and into the yard across the way, where it was lost among the countless blades of grass.

Kat stuffed her hands into her pockets and continued walking, her glare turned towards the pavement.

She's taken the book with the DuCouteau family history from the safe, and she'd stuffed it in her room last night. Today, she'd bought a small safe when Garen had taken her shopping, and she intended to put it in there for safekeeping. She hadn't done it yet, but Kat doubted that would be an issue; nobody was going to break into the Crownguard home. Even if they did, there were enough security cameras around the perimeter that there would be a close up of any culprit's face. Kat had counted at least twenty on her way out of the front of the house and to the sidewalk in front. Some were out in the open, but there were several that were hidden. One had even been cleverly disguised as a flower, though the way it moved from side to side against the wind gave its presence away to Kat.

There weren't any cameras in their private quarters, which was a relief; but it was a small comfort to her. She'd grown up learning to avoid being watched; being surrounded by cameras and police was more than just uncomfortable—it was invasive. Kat needed a breath of fresh air, to take a step away from the Crownguards and their goodness and their cameras and their… Crownguard-y-ness.

She walked down the streets aimlessly, hands in her pockets, watching any stray passerby or cars that crossed her path. There went a businessman dressed in a suit, driving his new Mercedes. There went an older woman walking her dog, giving Kat a disapproving look from under her thick-rimmed glasses.

She didn't know what she'd done to deserve such a glare, but Kat glared right back until the woman was out of sight, then continued on her way, shoulders slumped. She needed to talk to Cass and Talon. They needed to figure out a plan to find their father and to bring him home. To find the Black Rose... Kat's lips thinned as she pressed them together, anger rising within her at the thought of the organization that had stolen her father from her and her siblings. If she found them... she would kill them for what they'd done. Slowly. Painfully.

Kat turned a corner and found herself near a park. It was nearing evening, and there were only a small handful of kids playing on the equipment. Two of them threw a ball between them as their mothers watched from a bench nearby.

Kat's heart constricted at the sight, and unbidden, thoughts of her own late mother returned to her. Picnics, games of tag, laughter... Her scar burned. Kat banished the memories, her chest feeling hollow as her thoughts returned to her father. She only had one parent left. She wouldn't let him be killed—she would save him.

"They're cute, aren't they?" asked a familiar voice, and Kat tensed before spinning around, a frown of annoyance on her features.

"I said I didn't want company," she said, and Garen had the grace to look uncomfortable.

"I know," he admitted. "But it's getting late, and I'm going to get dinner started soon. Nothing fancy. Just leftovers." He met her gaze and shoved his hands in his own pockets. "I also... I also wanted to ask you something."

She frowned, and waited for him to continue.

He took a deep breath. "I... when you left, you seemed a little... upset. If that was something I caused, I just want to apologize for it."

Kat was quiet for several moments before letting out a sigh that bore burdens far too heavy for her young shoulders. "It's not you," she said, and tried to find the words to express herself adequately without letting him know the truth of the situation she was in. "I'm... just worried."

"About your family?" he asked, and after some slight hesitation on her part, she nodded.

"I don't know who those men were," she admitted, "I don't know what they wanted with me or my family." Kat's voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath to collect herself before her emotions made themselves too known. "I need to know. I need to find out. Those men we captured are the key to figuring out what's going on." She met his eyes again, and she sighed. "It has nothing to do with you. I'm just… frustrated."

Garen seemed to struggle with something before sighing. "Katarina," he said, "there's something I need to tell you." He shifted from side to side.

"What?" she asked.

"Those men... Last night, they were murdered."

Kat's eyes widened, and her breath left her as if she'd been punched in the gut. "What?" No. Nonononono no no. They were the only lead she had to finding the Black Rose. They were her only clue as to her father's whereabouts... And… and they were dead?

"Last night, the police station was infiltrated by a woman... The police don't know who she was. She disabled all of the security measures in place, slipped past the guards—"

"What the hell?!" Kat cried, and Garen glanced worriedly at the children on the playground. The mothers were eyeing the pair worriedly and gathering the kids up to take them home. Kat didn't give a shit what they thought was going on as a surge of anger rolled through her. She grabbed Garen's shirt and closed the distance between them, looking deep into his eyes, her free hand clenched into a fist just waiting to fly into his face. "You're telling me that this person just screwed over the police—just walked right by them?"

"I'm sorry." Garen raised his hands and carefully pried Kat's hand off of his shirt, his other hand moving to her fist. He tried to lower it, but she didn't let him. He swallowed. "I don't know how they did it, and I don't know why—but I'm sorry."

Actions, not words—that was a phrase her father had taught her, a phrase she lived by. Words meant nothing—but actions meant everything. His apology was empty—it wouldn't bring back those men.

"Fuck you!" Kat yelled, wrenching her hand free from his and taking a step back, away from him. "You got me mixed up with the cops, and now you can't even keep good on your promise to help. Thanks a whole fucking lot, Crownguard."

"Katarina, I'm sorry, but—"

"Just shut up!" she yelled. "You always apologize. You always say you're sorry, as if that's going to fix anything." Those empty words wouldn't get him anywhere. "Apologies don't matter in the real world, Crownguard. Those men are dead, and I still don't know who they are, or where they came from, or why they were even in the fucking safe house in the first place. Your stupid apology won't change that! You think you can just fix the world with an 'I'm sorry'? That's not how it works. That's not how it fucking works. 'I'm sorry' means nothing." Her breath was ragged, and her nails were biting into her palms hard enough to draw blood in her curled fists, and she would have kept yelling had Garen's brows not drawn together, and a dark look crossed his features. She must have struck a nerve, because the tone in which he spoke was scathing.

"You think I don't know that?" he asked quietly. "You think I don't wish I could change that? You think I don't care that those men died—that they broke into your home, and were murdered because they knew something? I'm not stupid, Kat—I know there's more going on here than you're letting on. You say I don't understand how the world works, but you're the one who's deluded about the way the world works, Katarina." He narrowed his eyes. "Sometimes, there are good people who just want to do the right thing, despite everyone telling them not to; and sometimes, people screw up! So I'm sorry that I screwed up, all right? I'm sorry that I couldn't stop that woman, and I'm sorry that you're caught up in this mess. But don't think for a moment that I don't mean every single word of my apology, that I don't wish fervently that I could change this."

Oh, fuck that.

Kat grit her teeth and glared at him, and he glared back, his blue eyes alight with an intensity sparking behind them. "You're an idiot, Crownguard," she spat. "Don't pretend like you're some tragic hero who tried his hardest, but failed—"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Garen countered, his voice raised. "I'm just trying to do right by you, and—"

"What if I don't want you to 'do right by me'" she cried. "What if I just want you to leave me the fuck alone?!"

Garen ground his teeth and pressed his lips together, his nostrils flaring as she panted from her outburst, her shoulders rising and falling. Sweat ran down her back, and her nails had most definitely drawn blood from her hand at this point; Katarina made a mental effort to release some of the pressure in her fist, relieving the stinging pain that the injury caused.

"If that's what you want," Garen said roughly, "then all you need to do is ask."

She narrowed her eyes, their gazes never leaving one another. "Then will you leave me the fuck alone, Crownguard?" she spat.

"Gladly," he returned with just as much venom in his voice, and he spun on his heel and stormed out of the park, back in the direction of his house.

Once he had turned the corner and was out of sight, Kat forced her fists to unclench, and she let out a hiss of pain as she raised her hands and observed the damage she'd done with her nails. Nothing too serious, but the pain would be annoying as they healed, and her hands would be tender for a day or two.

As her breathing evened and she started to process the things she'd said in the heat of the moment, Katarina realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she'd screwed up again. She was staying with the Crownguards, and she'd just gotten into a shouting match with Garen. That didn't bode well. If she'd just lost the hospitality of Garen's family, it would mean she and her siblings would be out of a place to live. They'd be on their own, for real this time, and with dangerous people after them, this could prove to be the worst mistake of her life.

And even though she was still upset about the three men being killed, she knew Garen was right; it wasn't his fault.

Katarina had to fix this. But she didn't know how. Garen was upset, and rightfully so—she'd yelled at him and struck all the right nerves, it seemed. Kat let out a groan of annoyance and spun around, stalking towards the nearest tree and kicking it with as much force as she could. Her foot stung on impact, and she hopped on one foot and cursed. That wasn't the brightest thing she'd ever done, she had to admit, but it had helped to relieve some of her pent-up frustration... a little bit.

It was as she was hopping, holding onto her foot, that a car pulled up beside her—a familiar, dark one with tinted windows. The window on the passenger side rolled down, and Katarina met green eyes that almost mirrored her own.

"Kat, what in the world are you doing?" Cassiopeia asked, confusion evident in her tone and worry etched on her face.

"Being a fucking idiot," Kat muttered. She trained her eyes past Cass to the driver's side and beheld Leblanc, smirking.

"Hello, Katarina," Leblanc said, her voice smooth as silk.

Kat narrowed her eyes and inclined her head in greeting. "Leblanc," she said.

Leblanc unlocked the car and gestured towards the backseat. "Come, Katarina. I was just driving your sister back to your... new residence. I'll take you, as well."

Kat hesitated before giving in and taking her seat in the back of the car. Leblanc didn't move, though. Instead, she put the car in park and adjusted the rearview mirror so that she could see Katarina; all that Kat could see of her were her amber eyes in the mirror.

"Your sister tells me that your father has gone missing, and the three of you have no idea where he might have gone."

Kat glanced towards her sister before returning her gaze to the mirror and meeting those shifty eyes. So Cass had lied to Leblanc; she would go along with the lie, then. "Yeah," Kat said.

"Cassiopeia has told me that your house was broken into."

"It was, yeah," Kat said.

"And now the police are investigating and have you staying under the watchful eye of the police chief," Leblanc concluded. "It seems to me that they don't see this as a normal burglary."

"Our dad's missing. Do you think it's a normal burglary?" Kat snapped. She realized after the words had left that they were highly inappropriate to say to Leblanc, a powerful member of High Command. "I meant no disrespect—" she began, but Leblanc waved it off.

"Oh, no. You're right," she replied. "You'd be a fool to think otherwise. For you and your siblings to suspect foul play is expected... But for the police to suspect foul play, when you haven't yet informed them of your father's disappearance? That is what's causing me worry." Leblanc lifted her hand and ran it along the steering wheel, tracing the dark leather with the tip of one of her sharp, pointed nails. "The problem here is that the police should have no reason to suspect you three outside of rumors. So why have they gone to such measures to keep an eye on you?"

Kat shrugged. "Luxanna Crownguard's a trusting idiot," she murmured. "She's the one who invited us."

"So I've been told," Leblanc said. "Tell me, Katarina... Do you think there's anything odd about the two Crownguard children? Anything... unique about the way they behave?"

Kat narrowed her eyes. What was Leblanc getting at? Lux was a genius and an airhead, but she was also just, what, sixteen? Garen was a stubborn, righteous ass, but he was nice. They were both nice. Disgustingly so. Kat couldn't figure out what Leblanc was hinting at. "No," she said. "They're normal."

Leblanc let out a long laugh, and Kat felt goosebumps rise along her arms and neck at the cold sound. "The Crownguards are too trusting for their own good. That will get them killed someday," Leblanc said, and Kat noticed her sister stiffen from the corner of her eye. Leblanc changed gears and began heading down the street, and within a minute, they were at the Crownguard residence.

Kat made to leave, and unlocked the car door, but then it clicked shut once more, and Kat turned her gaze to Leblanc, those eyes staring at her from the mirror once more; cold, unreadable.

"Katarina," Leblanc said, her tone the same as if she were commenting on the weather, "be a dear and tomorrow, after you've finished with your classes, fetch your brother and meet me outside of the school."

Kat's heart pounded in her ears as understanding set in. Leblanc wanted her and Talon; she had a mission for them. Whatever Leblanc wanted, they would have to do it; they were Noxians, after all. Katarina didn't wonder what the mission would entail. There was only one reason why she would need Kat and Talon, the two best assassins in all of Noxus, after their father. And with their father missing… "Of course," Kat said.

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then," Leblanc said, unlocking the car door with a quick flick of her finger on the controls, and Kat couldn't scramble out of the vehicle fast enough. Cassiopeia, as usual, left with far more grace and poise than Kat could ever muster, and bid farewell to her mentor with a wave as Leblanc drove away.

Once her car was out of sight, though, Cass's smile dropped and she pressed her lips together tightly. It was then that Kat noticed how pale her sister was; Cass was fair, yes, but now... She was unusually pale, almost pasty, and this in addition to the way her eyes narrowed told Kat that something was wrong.

"Cass—" Kat began, but Cass shook her head violently.

"Not now," she said. "Later."

Kat eyed her sister with concern; she'd never seen Cass so shaken up before. Whatever had happened, Leblanc must have been involved, and that realization didn't make Kat any less worried. She followed Cass into the Crownguard mansion.

"Find Talon," Cass said as she opened the door, "he needs to hear this, as well."

Kat nodded and headed to the basement. Talon and Lux were still playing video games, though they'd switched to a different game and were working as a team. Katarina entered the room just as Talon let out a guffaw of laughter, and his character died as Lux giggled. Kat crossed her arms and cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt," Kat said, and both of the teenagers jumped before turning to face her. "I need to steal Talon from you."

Talon rose to his feet as Lux paused the game, and he gave Kat a questioning glance. When she wasn't forthcoming with a reason behind needing him, he bent over Lux and whispered something in her ear; the blonde's cheeks were flushed, and she nodded enthusiastically as Talon grinned at her, and then he made his way towards Kat.

As he followed her up the stairs, Kat grimaced. "I don't even want to know what you said to her to make her blush like that," she muttered, and Talon's face reddened.

"I-it's not—"

"Don't want to know," Kat said, a little louder than needed, the grimace on her face deepening at the thought of her brother flirting with Garen's little sister. That was just… gross.

They made it to Cassiopeia's room, and after Cass let them in, Kat threw herself onto her sister's bed face first and splayed herself out on the blankets, letting out a groan.

"Fuck everything," Kat grumbled as Cass locked the door and gave her a disapproving stare.

"You have no manners, Kat," Cass chided as she took a seat at the edge of the bed, but her heart wasn't in the rebuke. Talon opted to sit on the floor and lean against the wall facing his sisters. Why he would choose to sit on the floor over a comfy bed, Kat had no idea; sometimes, Kat just didn't understand her brother.

The silence pervading the room made Kat serious once more, and she rolled over so that she could face her sister, and she rose to a sitting position. "Sorry," she said quietly. "What was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

Cass took a deep breath. "It's... it's about Leblanc."

"What about her?" Talon asked, wearing an expression of disinterest.

" We can't trust her."

"That's a given," Talon said. "Is that all?"

Kat frowned. "What do you mean?"

Cassiopeia shot Talon a glare before continuing. "What I mean is that we cannot trust her, under any circumstance. To begin with, she knew we were here even though we've told no one. She's spying on us—what reason would she have to spy on us? Not only that, but she took me on a mission today and picked me up and drove me from here. She wants us to know that she's watching us. Any time we leave this house, we are under her surveillance."

"She has spies everywhere," Talon said, "so what? It's always been like that."

Cassiopeia turned livid. "No," she said. "It hasn't always been like that. You aren't giving her enough credit—you aren't thinking the way she does. She was making a statement today, a warning.

"This morning, after collecting me, we went down to the docks and into a warehouse. Ten men were chained to chairs. Ten. She tortured them and forced me to watch," Cass said, anger clear on her face by the slight blush on her cheeks; but Kat remembered how pale her sister had been earlier, and knew that there was fear under that frown as well. "She tortured them to get information out of them. That's not unusual; what is unusual is the length of time she took to do it, the amount of pain she inflicted on them. Six hours."

Cassiopeia took a ragged breath, her shoulders heaving. "Six hours," she repeated, "even though she got the info she wanted after the first hour."

Kat swallowed. Cass had never spoken of the missions she had undertaken as Leblanc's protégé, under Leblanc's supervision. Kat had suspected that torture might be one of the techniques Leblanc had showed Cass, and her sister had just confirmed that it was so. But... Six hours of torture? Kat had seen the fruits of Leblanc's mentorship in Cass the other day, when it had only taken a minute for her to get info out of their targets. She could only imagine it would take Leblanc even less time... if she wanted. Extended periods of torture… It wasn't unheard of, but the screams of ten men, for six full hours... Kat knew now why her sister had been so shaken, so disturbed, when she'd gotten back.

"Then she killed them slowly, painfully," Cass said quietly. "It took another three hours for them to die."

Kat was horrified. Yes, she was a Noxian, and she'd done horrible things and had killed dozens of people, some of them in painful ways. But... Nine hours? Nine hours of torture and pain, and for what? Now she knew why Cass had been so pale; Leblanc had made her watch, or perhaps conduct, the entire thing.

"Why?" Kat asked.

Cass closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. "I said it before—it's a warning." She opened her eyes and directed them towards her siblings in turn. "She knows we're hiding something. She might even be part of the Black Rose. I don't know why, exactly, she sent this message, but the message was clear—there are consequences for crossing her. And she wants to make sure we know that."

Kat swallowed and felt the blood drain from her face. Leblanc was a woman she never wanted to have as her enemy; she was unreadable, unpredictable, and knew... everything.

"But I thought the Black Rose was a group that gained power from Swain's rise? Leblanc didn't benefit," Talon said.

"You're right," Cass admitted. "It's possible she isn't part of the Black Rose at all. She had no reason to support Swain, and she was close to the Darkwills. But that doesn't matter right now; what does is that Leblanc clearly made a show of power today and wanted to ensure that we understood it for what it was. She wants us to know that she could do that to us just as easily, and she has no reservations about or qualms with using... extreme measures."

'Extreme measures' is a nice way of putting 'despicably long and cruel and unusual torture', Kat thought.

"But why wouldn't she just kill us?" Talon asked. He seemed paler than usual, his frown deeper than usual; clearly, the thought of Leblanc as their enemy had shaken him just as much as it had shaken Kat. "If she suspects something, why not just kill us?"

"Because we're here," Cass said. "We're under the Crownguard's protection. This place is so secure, not even her spies could get in without being exposed. And as long as we're staying here, she can't kill us, or else it would attract too much attention. Leblanc doesn't want attention drawn to her or her agents. That's not how secrets remain secret," Cass reasoned. "As long as we stay here, we're safe. As long as the Crownguards allow us to remain under their roof, we're safe."

Kat felt her stomach drop and her breath leave her in a whoosh, and she must have made some sort of choking sound, because Cass turned to her, eyes wide.

"I..." Kat began, remembering her argument with Garen earlier in the park. "I might... have screwed that up."

"What?" Cass nearly screeched, and for the first time, Kat saw real fear in her sister's eyes.

"I... Garen and I had an argument, earlier..." Kat mumbled. "I... I upset him pretty badly... I don't know if—if he'll let us—"

A knock on the door interrupted them. Kat swallowed, and Cass issued her a withering glare before standing, straightening her dress, and opening the door.

Lux stood in the hallway with a cheerful smile, oblivious to the tense conversation she'd interrupted. "Dinner's ready!" she said brightly. "Garen wanted me to fetch you all so we could eat it before it gets cold."

Kat shared a cautious glance with her siblings before Cassiopeia smiled. "Thank you, Lux!" she chirped. "We'll be right down!"

Lux grinned and waved before skipping down the hallway, and Cass closed the door and spun around, the glare on her features more vicious than Kat had ever seen.

"Katarina, once we've finished eating, you will go to Garen and you will apologize to him; I don't give a damn who was in the right. You'll do whatever it takes to make sure he isn't upset, do you understand? We can't afford to lose our good standing with the Crownguards—we can't. Do you understand?"

Kat couldn't meet her sister's eyes. "I understand," she said quietly. And she did. If Leblanc was after them, Cass wasn't exaggerating in the slightest—if the Crownguards kicked them out, they were as good as dead. So she would have to suck it up and apologize. She could do that. She had to.

But she didn't have to sit here any longer and withstand the glare her sister had turned on her. Kat stood swiftly and marched to the door, wrenching it open roughly, never glancing back towards her siblings. She closed the door with a little more force than necessary and stomped her way down the stairs and to the kitchen, where she came upon a table filled with food. 'Leftovers' he said, she thought dazedly.

There was a veritable feast laid out on the table before her. There were vegetables of all kinds, a pot of still-steaming soup, a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, steaks. This was what the Crownguards considered leftovers? As the heir to a wealthy family, Kat was no stranger to fine meals, but when she thought of leftovers, she didn't think of anything quite so... much.

And there was Garen, wearing an apron and those blue oven mitts, bent low so as to retrieve a pie from the oven. He straightened, pie in hand, and turned around, and when their eyes met, Kat thought she saw a scowl on his face before it was quickly wiped away, replaced by a painfully neutral expression.

"Apple pie," he said as he placed it on the counter to cool, and he closed the oven, removed the mitts, and turned the oven off.

"This is..." Kat said, eyeing the food.

"Not very healthy, I know," Garen said. "I didn't have fish, and I didn't have time for the usual recipes I make."

"You cook?" Katarina asked, surprise evident in her tone, and he nodded.

"A bit," he said, and then he gestured to the table for her to sit.

She did so, and her stomach let out a growl. Garen didn't seem to have heard, thankfully—god, that would have been embarrassing—for he made his way to the cupboard and retrieved plates and cups, and he set the table for everyone.

Kat swallowed, remembering Cassiopeia's words from earlier. "Thank you," she said awkwardly, the words feeling foreign on her tongue.

"You're welcome," Garen said stiffly, and he didn't meet her eyes. That couldn't be a good sign. She really needed to fix this, but before she could open her mouth to speak, Lux skipped into the kitchen with Katarina's siblings in tow.

"He's a great cook!" Lux said proudly as Talon's jaw dropped at the sight of the food. "Even though these are mostly leftovers, it'll still taste fresh!"

"Leftovers," Cass said weakly in much the same way Katarina had thought it just moments before. The DuCouteau siblings took their seats besides one another, to Katarina's left, and Lux and Garen sat across from her. Throughout the meal, Lux chatted animatedly with Cassiopeia about school gossip, and Talon chimed in every once in a while just to confirm or deny certain rumors. But Kat found herself unable to bring herself to care about the conversation, her mind instead focusing on the young man seated across from her who ate in silence, picking at his food occasionally.

Kat herself was enjoying the meal. Lux hadn't been lying when she'd said the food would taste fresh; it was well-seasoned and cooked to perfection. It made Kat wonder how this football star had learned to cook so well. She couldn't cook for shit. Maybe she could make spaghetti. Maybe.

Once everyone had finished their meal, Garen moved to put away the dishes, and the others retired to the drawing room. Kat lingered, fiddling with some of the dishes before taking some and helping Garen put everything away in silence.

Finally, Kat broke it. "About earlier," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." She glanced towards him, hoping for a reaction.

He sighed before turning to face her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, either," he said. "I... I've been under some stress, and I should have kept my composure, but I didn't. I'm sorry, Katarina."

"It's my fault," Kat said, the words leaving her before she even realized she was speaking, and she couldn't meet his eyes. She'd thought she would leave it at a simple apology, but now that she was talking, she found she couldn't stop. "I've been under a lot of stress, too, and I took it out on you, and I know I shouldn't have done that because you've been nothing but nice and kind to us, and I don't know why, but I think that's part of what made me upset—that I don't know why you're so nice. And I get angry when I don't know why things are happening, and I..." Kat had to stop, as she was out of breath, but she took a deep breath and rushed on, before the courage to speak the next words left her. She could feel him watching her as she cotinued. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I'm sorry for being a bitch, I'm sorry for not treating you right. I'm sorry." She finally looked up and met his eyes.

And she was surprised to find them crinkled at the edges, a soft smile on his lips, and her breath was once more gone, but for an entirely different reason as those electrifying, clear blue eyes stared into her own emerald ones.

"I accept your apology, Katarina," he said, "as long as you accept mine."

Kat forced herself to inhale, to exhale, and she wet her suddenly dry lips. "Okay," she breathed.

"But for the record, you're not a… a b—… A bit—" he stumbled over the word, and the tension in the room lifted as Kat realized he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'bitch', and she laughed.

"Thanks, Crownguard," she said quietly once her laughter had subsided.

Though his ears were red, Garen gave her a smile. "Actually, I have one condition," he said.

She owed him that much.

"Call me Garen from now on, please," he said, and his ears turned just a slightly darker shade of red, and Kat snorted.

"Fine," she said. "You've got a deal, Garen."


A/N: Alternative title: A whole chapter of just Kat's POV, which means lots of f-bombs. Oops? This was a long chapter. Hope it was worth the wait. I barely edited this, since I wanted to post it. Let me know if there are any glaring errors or if there's something like 'insert word' or 'blahblah'. I write on my phone, so I do that sometimes, and I might've missed something since I... didn't really edit this. I basically have nothing written past this point, so it's going to take me at least until winter break to post another chapter.

In other news, the Kat rework looks so fun. She's harder, that's for sure, but she still seems fun. I like the daggers. And the new VFX are pretty nice, especially her ult. I've only tried her in custom games, though, not against real players. I'm not confident enough to. Talon also looks SO FUN. I tried him in a custom, and it's gonna take some getting used to without his old e, but I like his new e soooo much more. I tried Leblanc, but I'm not very good with her in the first place, so besides being able to feel the new delay for going back with w, I can't really say much about her.