A/N: This chapter took a bit longer to write (sorry) :c
I had quite a bit of writer's block + School was packing on hard ^_^'
But I hope the chapter is received well :3
Also I added an OC, but she was just added for fun and entertainment, won't be always there.
The crowd stood speechless, unable to comprehend such a development. Garen didn't quite understand it either, and he gave her a blank stare. Swain knew this situation was a recipe for disaster, and quickly made his way to the opposite side of Garen.
"I believe you owe us an explanation Katarina, of all things to do to this...lowly Demacian, why a servant?" he challenged.
"It's simple, what better way to weaken the morale of the Demacians if they see their… precious vanguard captain, The Might of Demacia, sink so low that he becomes a loyal Noxian pet" she replied, eyeing Garen as she did so. "Isn't that something you'd all want to see?" Katarina now addressed the crowd.
They readily agreed, the prospect of destroying a Demacian in any way was okay in their minds. Garen was quickly taken off the stage, to be moved to the Du Couteau manor. The Sinister Blade also began to make her way off the stage, unaware that Swain's raven was watching.
Upon arriving home, Katarina collapsed onto her bed, tired from the whole ordeal. She just wanted to rest and tackle it tomorrow, where she could more thoroughly plot with a clear head. Slowly, the sound of the bedroom door opening could be heard. The assassin was quickly upright and looked towards the open door, nobody was there.
"Behind you!" a familiar voice exclaimed cheerfully.
Katarina groaned, and turned to face her sister, who was resting her head on her hands, which were placed on the bed. "Why now Cass? Shouldn't you be bugging Talon or something."
"And miss out on this development with a Demacian? Absolutely not." she teased.
"Just what are you talking about?" The Sinister blade was too tired to think straight.
"Oh you know, you captured Garen… Let him live… He's going to be your personal servant, I see where this is going." she winked at her sister upon saying the latter bit.
"Cass, it's nothing like that at all, I simply want somebody to control… To keep me from my boredom."
"Oh sure of course, there's no way you could fall for someone like him right?" the sarcasm in her voice was unbearable. Cassiopeia made her way towards the doorway. "Remember the talk we had a couple days ago, you plus love equals 'I'm sorry Cass, you were right'. Oh and a hug, I want a hug too." with that, Cassiopeia was gone, long before Katarina's dagger had hit the door where she had once been.
Garen eyed the room he would be staying in. It wasn't anything special, only containing the necessities: a small oak desk and chair, a dresser with a mirror, a twin sized bed and a small closet. However, he didn't really have much time to think about things, he was tired from the trip and the stage situation. The Demacian quickly went to sleep, leaving his troubles for another day.
When he first arrived, he found a set of formal clothes and a note reading Servant clothes, put these on during work. Originally, he had set it aside, but it was now morning and he had the feeling he would be either called or put straight into work soon. After a brief bout of clothes changing and shifting, Garen looked like a typical butler, aside from the extra broad shoulders and unkempt hair. The Might of Demacia, now took up his comb and as he was about to start, the door burst open.
"You! What are you still doing here!?" A female voice panicked from behind him. Garen turned around to see a young maid, she was panting as if she had ran from the main floor to his room on the third floor.
"I'm just combing my hair, is something wrong?" he replied obliviously.
"YOU were supposed to be downstairs ten minutes ago!" she yelled, grabbing him by his arm and jerking him towards the door in a half run. She continued the movement down every hallway and flight of stairs until they reached the main floor; the maids and butlers were assembled into two organized lines. Garen, quickly stood with the butlers, but now and even on the way down, all eyes were on him. The room was silent, until he heard footsteps on the other end of the room slowly creeping towards him. Soon, a hand was rested on the Demacian's shoulder.
"You're late" a smooth but intimidating voice whispered in his ear, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. Before he could reply, or finish turning his head towards the source, he was slapped across the face. The same voice spoke again, but now from in front of him. "A little Demacian thinks he's too good to be on time? and with messy hair to top that." the source was a silver-haired woman, who unlike the other servants of the house, wore a black pantsuit.
"Well, I didn't intend it to be this way, I was completely unaware I was supposed to come down at a specific time." Garen replied, tensing up in the current situation.
"Uh huh, I'm sure you didn't, hey everyone, let's show this man what we do to people who are late."
Slowly the butlers and maids surrounded him in a small circle, each wearing a stern and unforgiving expression. It was odd, Garen was not fazed by Noxian soldiers, and he had been around them long enough to not have any fear. However, being around these servants in such a way, made him fear, and it was evident on his face. Then, a mop and bucket skidded towards Garen, stopping perfectly in front of him. It then changed from a look of fear to one of utter bewilderment. Before he could respond, the silver-haired woman, followed by the house servants, burst out laughing. Garen was now more confused than ever.
The silver-haired woman regained her composure and spoke to him once more: "Whew, a good laugh is perfect in the morning. We do that to all the newbies, purposely not tell them when to assemble, get somebody to tensely drag them down here, scare them just a little, then give them their first assignment: washing the floors." now she smiled innocently.
Garen began to laugh, understanding he was just on the other end of a joke. "Oh I get it, new guy washes the floors, sounds fair enough."
"Exactly, don't worry, we aren't like a lot of people you see outside this house, so let us know if you need anything. This will be your only assignment for today" the gathering of people smiled at him as the woman finished, reinforcing what she had said.
With everyone dispersed, it was time for Garen to get to work.
Katarina woke up to the sound of laughter on the floor below. Must they do that to everyone new? she thought. Although, she couldn't help but smirk thinking about what Garen's reaction might be and soon she wished she could have watched.
The Sinister Blade was quick to get up and start the day, but before she could think about what she was going to do to torment Garen, she had to take care of other daily business.. First on the list was training, Katarina threw on a tank top and long shorts.
She made it to the training room rather quickly, passing by Garen without being noticed. It was unnecessary, but the assassin wanted to know how good he was at housework for future reference. She was frustrated, he was good at it. Soon, the training dummies were the ones who suffered her wrath, as blade after blade were infuriatingly buried into them.. Initially she had thought that he wouldn't be used to it due to his prestigious family, but that was not the case.
After her fury ended, she walked out of the training room, leaving eight shredded dummies lying on the ground. Katarina soon learned that nobody was on the assassination list today. It was probably due to the fact that now more soldiers were out gathering troublesome Demacians so that they could dispose of them in any manner they saw fit, which was mostly execution anyways. However, she saw it as an opportunity to really think about how to break Garen down.
Upon returning to her room, Katarina laid her head down on her pillow and tried to think. She knew making him some sort of housework machine would not be any good. The house staff was like a family, and there was no messing with that, even she knew that. Then it hit her, she realized she hadn't been following her own plans. I said he would be my PERSONAL slave, and he's out there doing housework instead of following my orders, what have I been thinking? She quickly ran out the door of her room to find Garen.
She was so excited in her own dark way that she practically jumped sections of the staircase. However, when she reached the bottom, excitement became astonishment. The floor had never looked so clean for as long as she could remember.
"Sylvia!" she yelled. Out of nowhere, the silver-haired woman Garen had encountered earlier appeared, leaning against the back of a couch, filing her nails.
"Yes?" Sylvia replied, seeming to take little interest in anything other than her nails.
"Did… Garen clean these floors?" she stuttered, still stuck in awe. Sylvia looked down for the first time, becoming quickly bug-eyed and then a wide grin grew across her face.
"He is such a keeper, I can't wait to see what else he can do."
"About that.. I've decided to make him more of a personal servant, you know, fulfilling my requests" Katarina eyed Sylvia, in a way that she almost seemed to be asking for approval.
Sylvia put down her nail file and gave the assassin a sinister smile "how about we have a sparring match to decide?" the look on Katarina's face become instantly disheartened. The silver-haired woman lightened her face "I'm kidding, do what you want with him, just lend him to me now and again alright?"
"Of course, he's bound to get on my nerves anyways. Speaking of, where is he anyways?" The crimson-haired woman asked, trying not to seem to interested.
"Probably up in his room, the floors were his only chore today, and damn he did a good job." Sylvia replied, once again staring at the mirror-like hardwood floors. By the time she looked up, Katarina had already left.
Garen was tired due to the previous day's events as well as the early wakeup and washing of the floors. However, he was proud of the job he had done. So, he decided to take a nap after returning to his room. Soon, he was fast asleep.
Katarina slowly opened the door to Garen's room, trying not to make the door hinges creak, but alas, she could not stop that. She looked around the room, quiet. Turning her attention to the bed, her eyes fixed on Garen's sleeping form. She wanted to yell at him for sleeping midday. However, instead she sat at the edge of the bed and without knowing why, she just watched him.
"How long do you plan to watch me sleep" he asked abruptly after a few minutes of her doing so. She jumped at his sentence, although as an assassin she was used to sudden action. Katarina was embarrassed, although she would never show it.
"How long have you been up!" she shouted.
"Since you opened the door, I'm a soldier after all, I'm trained to wake up to unaccustomed noises. Need me for something Kat? Or would you like me to fall back asleep."
Katarina gave him a dark look before continuing: "Tomorrow, will be just the beginning for you, from now on you report to me and only me." She laughed evilly "We'll see if you can keep up that attitude of yours." she taunted. Before Garen could respond, the assassin shunpoed out of the room and did not return. Leaving him alone to his thoughts.
"So tomorrow, the real fun begins." Garen muttered to himself, he grinned as he fell back asleep.