Chapter 3 – Riven, the Exiled
Three years passed since then and finally it reached the present day when Poppy joined Demacia as an emissary. The secular war between the two states resumed in battles. So many battles, so many dead bodies and hate. Their hate reached the new generation from the ancestors stories. This fact stained the general Du Couteau`s family for generations. Marcus Du Couteau, the actual father of Katarina and Cassiopeia, lost everything in this clash. The only things he remained bonded were his daughters, while his wife died not so long after Katarina`s birth, while he was sent to battle. He knew that not even noxian leaders were his true friends and he always suspected that her wife was just an innocent victim or the traitors. As Talon joined the house, he felt like entrusting him, but in the same time, he was skeptical.
Katarina on the other side plays tricks on the slums boy just to make him look bad in her father eyes. The general knew that and mostly ignored her rudeness, but he very knew that she wasn`t a bad girl. She just wanted to have some fun and he only could pretend to be mad at Talon for the moment. After all, he cared more about his daughter`s entertainment than the street boy, so he just watched Talon`s insecurity everytime Katarina asked him to do something not allowed just to break the rules.
And all this time, Cassiopeia ignored the whole scene. She thought that Katarina is having a play friend or maybe a friend to toy around. It has nothing to do with her anyway, so she returns in her mirrors, locking the door and admiring her beauty. After all she was one of the beautiful young women from Noxus.
Garen smashes a noxian body under his feet, sliding his sword away. His face looked rained, but it was just the sweat and sorrow imprinted on his pale skin. That day was too hot for a battle and the heavy armour exhausted him. The sky was open and carefree turning his already blue eyes look like shining upon the bodies and blood all over the battleground.
There was Poppy lifting her hammer stained in blood. Her cruel attitude made the blood on her face look like a normal behavior.
"Have you ever killed before?" Garen asked looking upon her small stature. His question was just informal, because she looked scary enough anyway and the blood looked like a pin into a princess hair.
"I can show you if you really want to know." She growls back tightening the grip on her spiky hammer.
On the Noxus frontier, a tired grayed hair female wearing an ancient armour drove crazy. Her rage was unlimited, as her woman biceps could bear the weight of a longer sword than her whole body. After she winded them up and cut their bodies like a scythe shaves the grass, a few dared to stand in her furry. Her exhausted body screamed to be left alone. She was sick of their war and the past battles only destroyed everything she found precious to her. This was the last drop! After all her alike died she made up her mind. That couldn`t be Demacia`s will. No. It was Noxus that wanted to breed hate between his people. Noxus, that wanted to see the despair and devotion for the further battles. Noxus, that was ruled by traitors.
A blood wave mixes with the poor air as her barbarian sword cuts through another noxian soldiers. The woman was too mad to stop now. Even if those damned soldiers stood in her blade, she couldn`t even feel sorry. Her selfish pain controlled her.
Not far from the massacre, an older Katarina, with focused patience was watching over the gray haired one. The red head was nothing like the girl she used to play tricks on Talon back then. She was serious and controlled.
"What are you...? Do you want all my attention at once?" The dirty female soldier notices Katarina as she sticks her heavy sword in the ground. That blade looked chopped by the damage it dealt till the red head made her appearance on the battle field.
"Riven?" Katarina spoke forcing her eyes a little.
"Heh. It seems you are well informed." The grayed one lifts her sword jumping at Katarina to finish the conversation. For her it didn`t matter who she was as long as she left behind her soldier dignity.
In a second, Katarina is kicked back and a bare arm wearing a forged blade crushes over Riven`s blade. There was silence.
If Riven`s eyes could speak it would tell a story. Her backup and her slums origin. The man who just stepped in was the same Talon who was rescued from slums by Katarina`s father. He cannot deny that he and Riven belonged to same sad backalleys of their childhood.
"Riven, stop." His voice was too calm for the angry woman, but raw enough to make her listen to him. Her damaged sword slips on the ground.
"Talon! Why are you here?" She looks concern dropping her deadly rage from a moment ago.
"I`m happy to see you too, Riven." He looks in his back for Katarina who just received a kick. She looked fine in his eyes, even if there was written "revenge" on her forehead.
"Why are you wearing a noxian uniform, Talon?" Riven goes on asking him and her voice melts the previous image of a barbarian killer. Still Talon didn`t care much why she killed so many people. He just wanted to stop her. That was his mission right there and Katarina wanted to prove that she is much more than him. She wanted to prove her superiority as always.
"You mad, Kat?" He looks over his shoulder at Katarina with a sarcastic glaze under his blue hoodied noxian uniform.
"Like hell, rat!" She gets up and pats her dusted clothes after reaching the ground in the clash.
Riven tilts head at the two. "Your friend?" She looks at Talon for answers again.
"I don`t know this girl. She just keeps fallowing me when I am in missions." He looks at Katarina with a smirk doing in on purpose. Katarina`s eyes were flaming in rage. If her death stare could kill, Talon would be dead already, but this was the challenge between them since the general, her father, uses to send them together in missions.
"Oh. Are you a soldier?" Riven gasps at the idea that Talon got in the army.
"Something like that." He returns his attention to Riven and steps on her sword. "From now on you are no longer in service." He said it as a noxian soldier would say. Cold and grunt.
"I..." Riven was interrupted by Katarina who came closer and punched Talon.
"That was my line, damn rat!" She growls starting to punch and kick Talon from all sides confusing Riven.
As Katarina and Talon infiltrated on the noxian camp, they had to leave as smooth as they entered. The good part was that the night started to set and the twilight made them look like normal soldiers. Too bad for Katarina that she`s wearing leather clothes making her easy visible.
"I just told you to dress like a soldier." Talon shouts at her pushing her to move faster.
"And I told you that I don`t like to fallow anyone`s orders."
"You didn`t listen to me because of your girl fashion side." He notices some fierce and strong soldier staring at them, but he didn`t stop arguing with Katarina anyway. "Too bad your girly personality reached you this late."
"What are you implying?" She notices that guy too. He had a scar on the eye and a husky stare at Katarina. His hands rubs on his axe`s handle and it made him look even scary.
"You will never be a lady in leather." He gave her an acid answer wanting to see her angry as result of his glumy childhood spent together.
"How about a mistress then?" She answered back stop staring at the frightening soldier on the battlefield.
"Well, f ck then. Hope that guy is a plain soldier." He let her win, but he was thinking about the real deal. Someone saw the general`s daughter on the battlefield.