ACT V: Wish

It was later that night, or perhaps, barely, the next morning. The exact hour was impossible to guess, the previous day was long forgotten but the following dawn not yet near enough to penetrate the deep velvety darkness of the night.

The moon shone bright as ever, keeping its silent vigil over the sleepy Piltovian countryside as it continued its steady but imperceptible journey across the inky sky.

In the distance, just creeping over the crest of the hills came an eerie and unnatural glow, like some alien sunrise. The city of Piltover never slept and the effect of its countless lights could be seen for miles in any direction, their iridescent glow seeping into the night like spilled ink.

And then there were the stars. They seemingly covered every inch of sky, appearing even in the darkest and blackest of corners if you looked there for long enough. They were pure and white, mocking the feeble human imitations far below, with their brilliance and their multitude.

Below it all, at the crest of a small wooden jetty and entwined in each other's arms, lay a Demacian, and a Noxian. The two women were as still as the world around them, only the gentle flutter of the wind in their hair persisted, like an echo of the waves that swept quietly all around them.

Lux had long since slipped from consciousness, succumbing to the weight of her exhaustion and her pain she had fallen gratefully into a deep but fitful sleep. Her eyes were closed, her body was limp and heavy in Katarina's arms, but she was still alive.

She was still breathing.

Katarina knew because she was listening. It was the only thing that kept her own exhaustion at bay. She listened keenly for each shallow breath, those tiny, almost inaudible whispers that told her Lux was still hanging on. The sound of each breath, although so quiet and ordinary, rang in Katarina's ears as though a chorus of angels stood at her side. They sang to her, a melancholy but majestic hymn that somehow made it feel like everything was ok, it soothed her soul and warmed her heart.

Only two people had ever sung to her – not counting the rowdy chant of drunken soldiers, or the sleazy, warbling serenade of one particularly imperious nobleman, who fancied himself for a romantic –No, there were only two people that had ever, really, sung to her.

One was long dead, amongst the faintest of memories buried at the back of Katarina's head, so faint in fact that sometimes she wondered whether the whole thing had been any more than a wonderful dream.

The other…Katarina looked down at Lux's pale, beautiful face. She looked peaceful; as though she might merely have been sleeping. Gently Katarina brushed a loose strand of golden hair from the other woman's cheek, just as a single tear rolled down her own.

The other would soon be only a memory too…

Katarina looked away resolutely, gazing out into the darkness, keen to think of something else.

She was tired too. So very tired. Despite her bitter determination to remain with Lux for as long as she could, sleep continued to creep up on her. It called to her, warm and inviting, praying on her every tiny lapse in concentration, waiting for any opportunity to drag her down into serene nothingness.

Even now she could feel her eyelids drooping. They were like lead; it was a constant fight just to keep them open, and it was a fight she was slowly losing. The stars would, quite suddenly, start to go out, the highest echelons first, and then more and more, lower and lower, until there was barely any light…And then she would catch herself, shake herself angrily, cold dread rising in her chest as she waited for Lux's next breath. She would swear to herself that it wouldn't happen again, only to repeat the process minutes later. She couldn't last much longer…

Careful to disturb Lux as little as possible, Katarina wriggled out from beneath her, lying the mage softly back against sacks. For a moment she waited, and watched, but Lux did not stir. Katarina crept over and knelt at the water's edge, her body was stiff from being still for so long.

She leant forwards, letting her hands trail amongst the waves, savouring the feeling as the cold water played between her fingers. Gradually, she began to feel better, more awake, and she leant a little further, letting the water wash over her arms. She splashed some against her face…

That was when she saw it – or at least, she thought she saw it - although what, 'it', was she couldn't be sure. It was a flash of blue light in the sky, brighter than any star, brighter even than the moon itself. For a second she sat frozen, the icy waves still licking at her elbows as she gazed upwards.

There was nothing there. The sky was perfectly still.

She must have imagined it, perhaps it had merely been the water catching in the moonlight, perhaps it had been her own exhausted mind playing tricks on her.

She let her weary head fall into her hands; she rubbed her eyes and wiped her brow. Cool salt water trickled down skin. Whatever it was she had seen, it-

There it was again! And this time there was no mistaking it. It was no illusion. Katarina stared awestruck, towards the heavens, where one of the stars had inexplicably began to sparkle a shade of perfect royal blue.

She blinked stupidly, expecting it to return to normal, but nothing changed. The blue star winked playfully down at her, it seemed to be growing in size before her eyes, spinning, expanding, and drawing ever closer. Watching it was beginning to make her head spin.

She shut her eyes tight, forcing herself to breathe, deep steady breaths; she counted them; one…two…three…four…five…six – her curiosity got the better of her and her eyes flew open. She looked up into the night sky and gasped, her jade eyes widening in surprise and wonder, her jaw agape.

The blue star was still there, still getting steadily closer, only now it was no longer alone. Several other stars had appeared, all the same deep shade of blue as the first. Even as Katarina watched more were appearing in every direction, spiralling hypnotically out of the nothingness and joining the glittering horde.

Katarina could only stare. A nagging sense of recognition stirred at the back of her mind, she knew what this was, she had seen it before, but right now she was unable to think. She was overwhelmed. It was breath-taking… beautiful… it was like standing with her face tilted skywards in the middle of a rain storm, except time had slowed to a crawl and she could make out every shining drop. They seemed to be converging on her, drawn directly towards her as though by some immense gravitational pull…She probably ought to have felt afraid but she was totally and utterly enraptured…

Before the long the blue stars filled her vision and to Katarina's amazement, they just kept getting closer. They drifted lazily down all around her, and up close they were more akin to tiny snowflakes than to rain, like specs of dusk caught in the beam of a powerful light – that's what it was like, like some ethereal spotlight trained on her from the heavens.

It was blindingly bright, Katarina had to squint, her eyes watering fiercely, as the blue mist descended over her. She clambered shakily to her feet, and was immediately consumed in brilliant blue light, its warmth washed over her, a physical force that was so powerful that it almost forced her back to the ground.

Katarina felt giddy, lightheaded, a strange drunken smile suddenly played on her red lips and she had to repress the urge to burst out laughing. Twinkling azure stars, like a thousand fireflies, filled the strange mist, dancing through the air – transforming the air with the mesmeric pattern of their movement.

Katarina was spellbound. She could barely remember where she was, or who she was – she felt delightfully untroubled. In fact, had she not been so delightfully untroubled, she would have almost certainly found it unsettling, just how untroubled she was…given her dire circumstances…however she was held in the embrace of the unknown blue light, and its strange magic that lifted her heart and eased her mind. She felt inexplicably happy, far too happy to be suspicious of anything.

Tentatively, she reached out a hand towards the fireflies, unknowingly holding her breath in anticipation as her fingers neared the buzzing blue light. She was desperately curious to know what they felt like but even as her hand closed around them, they disappeared in a fizzle of bright blue sparks. A strange energy tingled through her fingers and shivered up her arm. Katarina let out a sigh, mingled pleasure and disappointment.

Gradually the sensation faded, and her arm returned to normal – however, normal felt distinctly different than before. In her numb, almost drunken state, it took her a few seconds to realise quite what the difference was, and when she did, it was with a yelp of surprise.

Her arm felt strong again! - She rolled her shoulder. She made a fist. She flexed her fingers - She was sure of it! Her arm felt good as new, from the aching pain, right down to the palm blistered by the hilts of countless daggers, her arm was completely healed. Even her skin seemed, smoother, softer than she could ever remember it being. It was remarkable…

Katarina raised her other arm curiously, before instantly relaxing it again, the act of raising it alone was enough to confirm her suspicions. She winced as pain seared up her left side. This arm had definitely, not, been healed. She could still feel every bruise, every scratch even as it hung dormant by her side, all the days punishment was just as fresh as ever – but why?

She held her two hands side by side, contemplating them vacantly. What did it mean? And why did all this feel so familiar? She was so consumed by thought that at first she didn't notice the stars all around her…

They were suddenly acting very strangely. – Well, even stranger than, mysterious, star, firefly thingies usual act. They had stopped their serene, hypnotic waltz and were surging around chaotically, suddenly agitated by something...or someone.

Katarina could not help but notice as they streamed all around her, shoving urgently past her, like a swarm of angry wasps. She stood, frozen in shock as they passed, in their haste to get to whatever it was they were so drawn to, many of them brushed against her, disappearing in a hundred tiny blue explosions. Electric shocks peppered Katarina's skin, as though she was being tickled by invisible hands, her body twisted and contorted in spasm. She barely kept herself from toppling over the edge of the jetty and into the water.

She managed to sink down to her knees, out of the way of the stream of stars, and she whirled around, her breathing heavy and her heart racing. It seemed ludicrous that only minutes earlier she had been struggling to stay awake. Now sleep could not have been further from her mind.

Then she saw the source of the stars frenzy. She gasped. It was Lux. Of course it was Lux. Suddenly everything made sense. She realised where she had seen the magical blue stars before. She realised what was happening.

Oh Gods, how she wished to be right.

She raised both her hands, strong and weak, and ran them wildly through her blazing crimson hair. She was trembling uncontrollably so she wrapped her arms tightly around her bare shoulders; they were rippled with Goosebumps that had little to do with the temperature.

She could not tear her eyes away from the scene in front of her. It was hauntingly beautiful. Lux was bathed in blue light, her ghostly pale skin, alive and shimmering as an endless stream of stars washed over her limp body. Her hair was thrashing restless across her face as though caught in a fierce wind.

Katarina bit her bottom lip nervously. She was crying again, warm tears rolling down her cheeks. But she didn't know why. She didn't know whether her tears were that of sorrow or of joy, she didn't know whether she was happy or sad, she didn't know what was happening.

All she could do was hope. All she could do was wish.