Welcome back! Whew, that was a long break.

Disclaimer: All characters and places mentioned belong to Riot.

Warning: This story includes a lot of bad language (there's Katarina in it, duh). If you feel offended by obscenities, please do not read this chapter.

All Things Considered

Chapter 2: Never Trust a Demacian's Plan

All the anger management excersises her father had put her up to when she was a kid have finally paid off.

The sun was rising over the horizon and Katarina still hadn't killed Lux. She considered it, of course, even attempted to throw a knife at the girl once, but overall the Noxian was proud of her own patience. She tried keeping a safe, fifty feet distance between the two of them, giving the blonde a hard time to catch up with her.

But Lux was whimpering.

"I promise," Katarina's voice was as full of venom as her sister's fangs when she stopped and turned around to look at Lux, startling the younger girl even though the Demacian was still a good twenty feet away. Katarina started to slowly walk in her direction, her hands rested on the daggers at her hips. "No, I fucking swear, Crownguard, if you make that noise again, I'm going to cut your throat open, take your vocal chords out and then burn them in the sunlight."

She stopped right in front of Lux, holding one of her blades a few inches away from the girl's neck to prove her point. The blonde's reddened cheeks paled at her statement and she backed away, stumbling on a lone root protruding out of the dirt path.

"I am not doing it on purpose," she said, putting a hand up between Katarina's dagger and herself. Only now, as the Demacian straightened her back did Katarina notice the girl's chest was heaving, her mouth slightly agape and her breath rigid. Crownguard looked as if she'd just ran a mile or survived a really hard teamfight on the Fields of Justice. Minus all the cuts and bruises.

"What's with all the panting?" she asked, putting the blade down in its sheath and staring at her provocatively. She had started regretting letting Lux follow her the very instant they've left the Institute, but now she was only willing for a sole reason to kick the girl's butt. The rational part of her mind stopped her from doing so, knowing what Lux had said that night had been true. She hated the very thought, but she needed the Demacian to get across the border. It still didn't mean she had to put up with her whining.

"We have been walking for almost three hours without as much as a short break," the blonde gasped, putting the hand to her chest now and bending down a little, sticking her staff into the ground and leaning on it. She was having problems with keeping up to Katarina at first, but now she just struggled for her lungs not to burn out.

"It's a flat road," Katarina stated blankly, motioning to the dirt trail they were standing on. "No ups and downs, only a turn every now and then. Why the hell would we need to stop?"

"I'm tired."

"You're tired," the Noxian repeated, staring at her dumbly, but Lux was looking at the ground. "You're tired of walking. Of putting one of your feet in front of the other and shifting your body weight on it."

"Yes," Lux bent further down, steadying her breath. "And I know what walking is about."

And she whimpered once more.

Katarina's eye twitched. This could only remind her of how Cassiopeia was acting when she was a child. Years ago, when the Serpent was far younger than the Demacian in front of her. Katarina's fists balled and were struggling to leave her sides, grab one of the blades, throw it at a certain blonde. But she stood still. Her father would be so proud of her.

"Fine," she spat out through gritted teeth, forcing every muscle in her body to stay straight and not to strangle the Demacian. Only to the fucking border. "A break. You have two minutes."

Lux looked at her with doubtful eyes, but Katarina's face was hard. The blonde sighed, straightening herself and turning her head to face the woods around the path, searching for anything suitable to sit on it. The morning was crisp and fresh, a cool breeze played in her hair when she took off her hood. She still couldn't understand what kind of demon got into her in the night. She had left the Institute on impulse, but she had still thought of all the necessary things. She slipped a note under Quinn's door, and she prayed to gods that Quinn would catch the bait. Thankfully, Lux had a day off today and nobody would try to summon her to the Rift. She only hoped Prince Jarvan IV, Seneschal Xin Zhao and, most of all, Garen wouldn't come back from their field mission sooner than scheduled.

"Crownguard," Katarina's voice resembled a bark of a really big and very angry dog. "We're going. Now."

Lux quickly packed the half-eaten sandwich in paper and put it back in her bag. She's already tried resisting Katarina's order on the third stop by just sitting still on a log, deciding the older girl wouldn't force her to go anyway. Her bruised left arm still regretted it, and she didn't want to go through another ten minutes of Katarina mercilessly dragging her.

It was early afternoon now, and Lux's feet were crying for help, but she walked behind the Noxian with no complain. Other than that one fight, she managed to keep herself from awakening Katarina's rage by simply following her orders and keeping her mouth shut. To keep her mind of the pain pulsing in her thighs, she imagined a wide range of things that could happen to the Du Couteau right now, most of them resulting in the Noxian's sudden, but painful death. So far the best image was that of a stampede of forest buffalos running the redhead over and tearing her limbs apart, then taking Lux back to her bed at the Institute.

The bad thing was, in the back of her mind Lux knew there were no such things as forest buffalos.

"Marshes," Katarina stated after roughly half an hour. Lux stopped looking at the ground beneath her feet and raised her head. Indeed, the forest was coming to an end and now the path went downward between tall grass, leading to a couple of big ponds of muddy water shining in the afternoon sun. Lux was speechless.

"Kaladoun," she finally managed to get out, even though she still couldn't believe her eyes. They had to move much faster than she though at first, covering the distance of twenty miles in half a day. She looked down at her shaking legs and almost felt like collapsing.

"Not yet," Katarina's voice was rough and she waved her hand at Lux to force her to go. "We're still in the stray lands. We'd probably be in Kaladoun if you weren't that slow. There's a border guard camp in there, stationed by the bridge over the Serpentine river. That's where we have to get."

"How long until we reach it?"

"An hour. If it takes longer, I'm going to shove a dagger up your ass."

The sun was already setting when they saw the fire of the border guard camp. Lux's ass was intact, but the Noxian was almost spitting acid. The rage building inside her got to the point where she knew that if Lux as much as opened her mouth to speak now, she'd jump on her and start hitting the girl until she'd either pass out or die, not minding the soldiers coming to her rescue.

"The border camp!" Lux chirped happily twenty feet behind Katarina, but quickly shut up as she heard a loud crack coming from the Noxian. She focused her eyes at the camp before them. She could distinguish the figures of about thirty soldiers, some of them sitting beside the fire, some just walking around, minding their business. Four other soldiers guarded the massive stone bridge, fifty feet away from the camp. She could hear the sound of the Serpentine River beneath the bridge.

Katarina stopped, casually massaging her aching left hand, her face never showing the anger inside. She needed to stop balling her fists like this, Lux thought. That crack didn't sound too good.

"Put your hood on," Katarina ordered in the calmest voice possible, her dark brown one already covering her head and the upper part of her face. Lux complied, making sure to cover all of her blonde hair. Anything could give her identity away, even though she doubted foot soldiers had the time or money to watch the matches on the Fields of Justice in Hextechvision. "Don't do anything stupid. We don't want to start a war now."

"What if they do recognise me afterall?" she voiced her fears, gulping heavily. "I mean, they are kind of cut out of the society here, but to what extent?"

"Don't think about it," Katarina pushed Lux's shoulder a bit too hard, urging her forward. "Don't think at all. Just say what you have to say and act normal. If you hurry, you'll be in the Institute tomorrow. There's no turning back, they've already noticed us. If we run now, it will seem suspicious. Do you know what to do?"

"Yes, shut up already," Lux hissed, quietly enough for the soldiers not to hear her. She couldn't fully see Katarina's face from underneath her hood, but she could guess the bared teeth didn't come from a smile. "Noxian accent. And tie your cloak, if they see any of your blades, we're doomed."

Katarina grunted something unintelligible in response, but she tied her cloak anyway, covering the bag hanging at her shoulder. That reminded Lux of her staff, which she quickly put between her back and the leather strap of her bag, hidden under her own cape.

"They preparing dinner now," they both heard one of the guards say. Another one sniffed the air and spat.

"Lamb chops, smells so," the other one added, rubbing his stomach. "We starving, Fitch. They gonna eat all the best bits, they always do."

A third soldier - Fitch they guessed - moved from where he was resting against the stone ledge of the bridge, taking a rather big and shiny glaive from the ground.

"Alright, boys," he said while bowing at Lux and Katarina, who just approached the bridge. "You go and take your plates now, me and Kyle are gonna deal with the ladies here."

"Tell the boys from the night guard to hurry up, we're freezing here at the river," Kyle added, smiling widely at Lux who blushed a bit in response. "Just save some chops for us too, we're counting on you now."

The two guards took their own glaives and left in a hurry, talking happily about the dinner awaiting them. Katarina smirked. Of course they didn't need four men to deal with two ladies. If she had known it would be that easy, she could have left Crownguard at the Institute.

"Good evening, ladies," Fitch said, leaning on his glaive with a brisk smile. "Passing the border at this hour?"

"There's a long way behind us," Lux said in a voice lower than usual, but still normal enough not to sound suspicious.

"A long way?" Kyle cut in, showing his teeth in a wide smile. "Where are you coming from, may we ask?"

"The Institute of War," Lux answered without as much as a second of hesitation. Katarina looked at her in bewilderment, but none of the guards seemed to notice.

"Ah, young Summoners, eh?" Fitch straightened himself. "Tired of working with all the grand champions and coming back home?"

"Something along these lines," Lux smiled, but the corner of her mouth twitched a bit. Again, the guards didn't seem to notice.

"Ah, I get it," Kyle's smile widened even more. "I would have had enough of those Noxian bastards too. Pretending to accept the bloody swines. They forced you to work with them?"

"Not really," Lux could notice Katarina's hands ball into fists again at the corner of her eye. "Demacian Summoners are not allowed to work with any Noxians until classification level 20."

"Ah, pity," Fitch sighed, leaning against the ledge again. "Might be one of our young, inexperienced dearies would accidentaly destroy a Noxian brain or two."

"Yeah, like that snake-wench," Kyle added, and Lux could almost feel the heat of Katarina's anger. "Why do they even allow something like this in the League? Anyway, may we see your pass papers?"

Lux quickly undid the buttons of her bag and searched for the parchment rolls. She took advantage of the rapid movements she had to make to elbow Katarina in her ribs. The Noxian stood still, but Lux couldn't trust her enough with that short temper.

"Here," she passed Kyle the two rolls tied with blue ribbons. He undid them and read quickly, his eyes following Lux's own handwriting.

"House Crownguard, hm?" Fitch took a look above Kyle's shoulder. "Must be pretty tiring working for the bourgeois Lords. No wonder you've left for the Institute."

It was Lux's turn to get angry, and she couldn't help but notice Katarina's smile.

"Anna, right?" Kyle asked the blonde, and she quickly nodded her head. He looked over at Katarina. "And Arina Steelblade. The silent one."

"My sister is mute," Lux cut in before he could continue. He raised his eyebrows at her, but then shook his head and turned to Katarina with an apologetic smile.

"Pardon my rudeness," he bowed his head slightly and handed her the papers. Katarina took them without raising her head, the upper part of her face hidden in the shade of her hood. Kyle cleared his throat. "Everything seems fine here, Fitch. I think we can let the ladies go."

Fitch nodded his head and Kyle moved away to let Lux and Katarina pass. The girls have inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, when suddenly a shining blade appeared right before Katarina's breasts.

"Hang on a second," Fitch said, following his own glaive to stand in front of the Noxian. "I get it you're mute, lady. But I like it when somebody looks at me when I'm speaking to them."

"She's awfully shy," Lux said with a nervous smile. She started to move closer to Katarina, but Fitch moved the glaive to point at her.

"Awfully shy I can accept," he said, his eyes squinted in suspicion. "And mute too. But with that hood covering half of her face, I can't help it but feel like you're trying to hide something."

"Come on, Fitch," Kyle moved in between the soldier's blade and Lux. "Let the ladies go. It's really cold here, no wonder she's wearing a hood. Their pass papers are all fine."

"I know. That's why I will let them go," Fitch turned to look at Katarina again, whose head was bowed even lower. "As soon as I see your face, miss Steelblade."

Fitch could only hear a loud swish followed by a thud before his mind realised what happened. With his eyes turning upward, his body fell to the ground unconscious. It took a while for Lux and Kyle to figure out what struck him, but Katarina was already running through the bridge.

"What the f-" Kyle started to say, but was quickly cut of with a blast of Lux's baton to his skull.

Lux was running in the wrong direction.

She should have just waited on the bridge, explain she was kidnapped and held against her will, tell everybody how sorry she was and then wait for an escort back to the Institute. She should be able to sit comfortably in the Institute's lounge with other Demacian champions and a mug of hot tea, watching a live broadcast of Katarina's capture on the Hextechvision. Listen to Prince Jarvan IV announcing the King has recieved a written apology from Noxian authorities, and passing her a letter in which a seperate written apology would be adressed to Luxanna Crownguard.

But she was on the other side of the river now. Illegally roaming the Kaladoun district, invading her own city-state's lands. She had attacked a soldier wearing Demacian coat of arms on his chest. Her staff was still in her hand, as if glued to it ever since she swung it at the man. She could only hope the blast didn't kill him.

She felt tears well up in her eyes. One of the reasons was the sudden realisation that none of this would happen if the other guards didn't leave the post. They were just hungry and naive enough to trust that two women would do no harm to two grown men in armors. None of this would ever happen if she stayed back in her room at the Institute. Katarina wouldn't kill her anyway, she knew that now, but she was too damn afraid before to think rationally. Killing Lux, no, even attacking her just as Katarina did, in the Demacian's own bedroom meant breaking the League law, and the Demacian-Noxian treaty of non-agression.

The other reason was the burning in her chest. She could feel her heart beating in her throat, and she couldn't remember how long she has been running. Thankfully, there was a road here, so at least she wouldn't get lost in the woods on this side of the river.

She tripped over a root and fell down onto the dirt path, painfully scratching the palms of her hands and hitting her knees so badly her mind almost shut her down. She had this problem, she knew about it, but she could never do anything to help it. Hitting her knees or elbows could knock her out uncounscious. Hyperventilation could do it too. She should just lie down on the track and wait for the soldiers to catch her.

And someone caught her, indeed, but she was still counscious and it was no more than ten seconds after she fell. A tug at her right arm, painful. Has she really been running that slowly? They were going to arrest her now. Put her to prison. Luxanna Crownguard, sentenced for life for killing a guard on duty.

What would she tell her parents and brother?

"Get off the fucking ground," she heard Katarina growl through gritted teeth. Lux recognised the steel hold on her arm and for a brief moment she was thankful it wasn't the already bruised one. The blonde stood up on her feet, took the staff she had to drop when she fell and for a while she just let Katarina drag her.

They went into the woods, away from the path Lux held on to so desperately. The soggy ground was covered in tall, wet ferns and soon the Demacian's leggings were damp and sticking to the skin of her legs. But they went on, and Lux followed the Noxian even after the redhead had let go of her. In complete silence they watched the world around them go pitch black as the sun got replaced by the moon shining dimly through the trees. Lux didn't exactly know when the woods disappeared and they were on another path, going at a steady pace just as they were in the morning.

"What the..." she said as soon as Katarina stopped at a crossroads, but her voice was shaky and her throat was dry. She coughed a few times, noticing the hand she covered her mouth with was trembling. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt the rage grow inside her. Katarina was just standing there, looking at her like nothing has happened. Lux gritted her teeth. This just wasn't right. "What the fuck was that!? You attacked that man and now you act like nothing is wrong! How crazy can you be- oh, for the love of gods, what have you done! You- you killed him! And then I killed the other one! It's all your-"

Katarina covered her mouth, but Lux wasn't done yet. Her baton fell from her hands and she started to throw punches at the older girl, missing most of the times and growling wildly as Katarina let go of her face to catch her arm. The Demacian managed to land a pretty decent kick at the redhead's shin before Katarina's fist crashed against her cheekbone. Lux was caught off guard long enough for the Noxian to kick her feet away, and the blonde fell down on her back.

"Are you done now?" Katarina asked quietly yet angrily, crouching beside her. Lux looked away. "First of all, I didn't kill that man. Only knocked him down with the hilt of my dagger."

"I hit the other guard with my staff," Lux noticed an owl looking at them from a distant tree and kept her eyes focused on it. Her already cut lip was starting to swell from Katarina's punch.

"You're too weak, Crownguard, don't even worry about that," Katarina meant to insult her, but Lux still felt relief wash over her. "Why'd you follow me?"

"I-" Lux had to think for a second. "I got scared and I didn't know what to do. It was kind of an impulse. Why did you come back for me?"

"I didn't," Katarina's face looked genuinely surprised. "You caught up with me. Only difference was I didn't use the goddamn path."

She stood up quietly and started to slowly walk away.

"What are you doing?" Lux asked, getting on her knees. Katarina didn't even turn around.

"Walking away."

"You can't leave me here!" Lux cried, running up to her. The redhead raised her eyebrows and she stopped, crossing her arms on her chest.

"We had a deal," she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "Only to the border."

"It was before you assaulted a guard and forced me to do the same!"

"I didn't force you to do anything," the Noxian growled, but she resisted the urge to punch the Demacian again. "You got here on your own fucking wish."

"But-" Lux caught the sleeve of Katarina's shirt, which she quickly yanked free. "But what am I supposed to do now? I don't even know where I am anymore or-"

"I don't care. I never asked you to follow me."

The Noxian turned away and started to walk hurriedly, as if afraid Lux was going to catch up with her again. She didn't want to have to deal with anyone, especially not with a whining teenager. She needed to be on her way soon, or else Cassiopeia would have to come up with a really good lie to pull the wool over the Institute's eyes. As expected, Lux's brilliant little plan turned out to be a piece of shit and Katarina ended up doing what she would have to do anyway. She spent a whole day with the whining blonde for no particular reason and now was the time to set herself free. She turned her head around for a second. Lux was standing exactly how she left her, with eyes cast on the ground and shaking arms. Katarina stopped.

"Come on," she said, though one could mistake it for a bark. "I'll drop you off in the nearest village."

Lux raised her head and looked at the Noxian reluctantly before she quickly took the staff she had dropped on the ground. Katarina turned around once more and started to walk down the path, hearing the blonde's soft footsteps behind her. She looked up at the pale moon. A shout echoed in the distance, followed by many more and the neighing of horses. Katarina felt a shiver of anxiety running down her spine. The chase was on.

All things considered, she really couldn't just leave Crownguard here.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Sorry for the long break between chapters, but as Murphy's law states - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Unexpected things tend to happen. A lot. Anyway, as always - please leave a review stating your thoughts, it really helps me to develop the story in the best way possible.