Hello Everyone! Thanks for reading the 2nd chapter! I don't think that my chapters will be coming out so quickly as this, but I have been in love with writing this story so far, so I will write as I see fit. Enjoy this chapter and please review. I take all feedback and appreciate all that's given to me. Thank you so much, once again 3
-Ariel
Where do I begin? Over the past few months I have been on the run. I began my new journey as an exiled-Noxian by staying in Ionia, which is known for peace, but apparently because of the war, all unknown members are thrown out. Even those who are suspected of treason, like a man I know, who is called Yasuo. Apparently during the war he was to protect an elder and he slipped away to help the fleet. I, unfortunately, slipped in and killed the elder in the beginning of the war. He is now being blamed for the murder, I committed. Ionia has no idea of my involvement since, because of my stealthy ways. I also have been undetected in the nation ever since I ditched my Noxian attire.
I now live in the Freljord, in a secluded village. It seems wherever I go there is war occurring. The two queens have annihilated any ties between each other, which has put the entire Freljord in jeopardy. Queen Ashe seems nice enough, while Sejuani is more of a dictator with a Noxus-like attitude. Ashe has let me live in a remote village on the outskirts of the main village, which I'm perfectly content with. While the climate is less than desirable, the people are very welcoming and enjoyable. I have refrained from battle while I wait for Talon to tell me where the battle is to be had. The village is very informed of the outside world, so if a civil war was to break out, I would be able to know.
The other members of the village have brought me into their hunting group. On the outskirts we hunt for anything we can really find. Elk and deer have been the main meat for our village, and the occasional frost berries. Surprisingly with the help of Demacian forces, the villages have been able to adapt to farming in these icy mountains. The cozy village has become a true home to me. No fighting, or corruption, it is filled with just simple people who have simple needs. It's all I've ever wanted.
I walk towards my hut and greet my neighbors as I walk. It's smaller than the other homes, but that's because of my little family of one. It's made of brick and only has one story, two rooms and a bathroom. I walk into the cozy place, brushing off the snow from my winter coat. Inside there is a fireplace, a couch, and a small kitchen set to the side, equipped with a fridge and oven, and a few cabinets. The small room to the side is my bedroom, which has a bed, a chest, and dresser. Inside the chest are various items, mainly my hunting gear, but underneath in a secret compartment lays the crystal and my broken blade. While the villagers accept me and treat me kindly enough, they don't know my Noxian past. They wouldn't understand, and I wouldn't expect them too. I believe that what they don't know won't hurt them.
Once I'm inside, I start a fire and start a pot of boiling water, and combine the herbs I gathered from Mrs. Ravonski into a small mug. Pouring myself an herbal drink, I sit down on the couch made from rabbit skin, and sip carefully. I begin to slowly reflect on my past and can't help, but feel my guilty conscience come back to me. Truly, I'm not accepted anywhere. I can't help, but know that no matter where I run, I will always be haunted by my past. The chemicals. The burning. The screaming. I couldn't forget that either. I could never forget that. Their screams still echoed my dreams. Even the screams from before then. The people I had tortured while under Noxian rule, have haunted my dreams as well.
"Why can't I forget?" I scream out, throwing my cup into the ground. My time in the village has been ruined by the never ending memories from my past in Noxus. Once I hear the mug shatter and I can become of what I've done, I can't help, but feel tears rush to my eyes. "I don't deserve to forget," I say to myself head starts swimming with a guilt that I can't forget. It feels as though the world has settled itself on my shoulders. I sit back on the couch holding my head. "I don't deserve to forget." Their screams continued to echo in my head.
"Riven, stop." A voice says calmly. Strong hands grip my forearms. "It's okay." The hands pull my arms down. "Shh... Shh..." I calm myself down and looked up. Dark eyes looked back up at me.
"Talon?" I ask. His smirk appears in front of me for the first time in months, and I hadn't realized how much I have missed a friendly face. He slowly releases my arms and nods. "Has the rebellion begun?" I ask. He looks into the other room and emerges Katarina from the darkness. I gasp and bow my head towards her.
"Are you ready?" She asks. Her red hair flows elegantly behind her. She took her place next to Talon and they looked so comfortable together, like a perfect match in that moment. I nod towards her.
"Yes commander." I say obediently. Katarina had always been my superior. Her father let her obtain that role. I'm not saying that Katarina isn't a worthy soldier, but I don't think she can command an army.
"Good, we're leaving now." I ran into my room and packed my things to prepare myself for the trip to Noxus. I had a burlap sack donated to me from the village, and it came in handy quite a lot. I put some clothes inside it, no armor for me, I wasn't the warrior I once had been. I hid my blade inside as well, I hope we won't need it until we leave the Freljord.
"Is it okay if I say my farewells to the village?" I asked once my things were packed. Katarina nodded and I walk outside. I went up to Mrs. Ravonski, a few of my neighbors, and asked the leader if he would give my regards to Ashe. Everyone seemed sad to see me go, maybe I would return, but who knows.
Once I returned, there were three horses waiting for my arrival. Katarina and Talon were already ready to go, sitting comfortably on top of their respective horse, they were dressed in winter coats and heavy clothing items to deal with the cold. The Freljord is very different from Noxus' warmer climates. The fact that they aren't shivering like I was, is impressive. I walked over to my horse, a white mare, and settled myself on top of her. She whinnied as I sat on her back, and then Katarina began moving out without saying a word. Talon and I flanked her as we moved across the Freljord and nothing was said for a while, the silence as thick as the snow around us.
"I suppose we should talk about our battle plan." Talon said.
"Yes, we should, now that we're out of any listening range." Kataraina continued to ride on into the dry winter air. "Ever since General Boram Darkwill was assassinated, the High Command has been in a political war over who will take his place. As you know, the military is everything in Noxus, and only the strongest will prevail." I nodded, a pang of guilt from my past surging through me. "Well this time it was wits, instead of strength. Swain came back after the war with Kalamanda and instantly formed an alliance with Darius. Then the time came and Swain was only opposed by Keiran Darkwill. Keiran challenged Swain to a duel, and shockingly Keiran lost."
"But, Keiran is one of the strongest duelists in Noxus." I said aghast.
"That's what everyone thought, but now Jericho Swain is the new Grand General of Noxus." I could feel the anger coming from Katarina. "And now Noxus is becoming something that I was never a part of."
"What about your father?" I asked.
"My father has disappeared." She said. Talon stiffened next to me and I could feel the growing tension.
"What is our battle plan then?"
"We sneak you into Noxus, assassinate Swain, and take back the general command." Blunt and to the point, that was Katarina's style. As a commander myself, it seemed way too simple, but Talon and Katarina are assassins, so they were the experts on how to kill quickly.
"I'm not much of an assassin, but I will do my best." That earned a laugh from Katarina and Talon.
"You're kidding right?" Katarina said, turning around and raising an eyebrow.
"I mean you're the first Noxian commander that is an assassin." Talon said. "I mean you can get in and out can't you?" He said with a stupid smirk. I nodded sheepishly.
"Speaking of which," Katarina said coming to a full hault. She turned and looked at me dead in the eye. Her blue eyes sparkled with anger. "If you leave us or betray us, like you did Noxus, I will have your head." She pulled out her blade to make her point. I gave a curt nod. I have never feared Katarina, and I wasn't going to start now. She may be the jewel of the Du Couteau family, but she hasn't matched my skill in a long time. "Good, let's keep riding then." Katarina led us into the outskirts of the Freljord and then into Piltover. From there we traveled by boat to Zaun, and then we were outside of Noxus. It took about a day and half to get here, but the trip was led in silence by our trio. I didn't want to be the one to start talking, but I also didn't really want to have a conversation begin anyways. I wasn't a social butterfly like Cassieopia or Draven. I lived my life by the word of Noxians, so I kept my word shut. I had no one to command anyways. What would I say to these two anyways? How's Noxus since I've been gone? Is the market still good? Have we changed our colors? All stupid questions.
Once we were outside Noxus' city limits, Katarina stopped. Talon got off his horse and beckoned me down with him. I unhooked my burlap sack and jumped down, hefting the bag onto my shoulder. He handed the reigns to Katarina, who took off with the horses. She ran into the city without being stopped by any soldiers, a perk of being a Noxian princess.
"Okay, here's the part that gets tricky." Talon said smirking at me. He handed me a bag of clothes. I took the bag and looked inside and saw various items: tights, high heels, a corset, and... bunny ears?
"What is this?" I asked. He chuckled lowly.
"It's a costume. We need you to use it to distract the guards." I shook my head instantly.
"I will not succumb to be a lowly dancer for some perverted high command officers." I said.
"You will succumb to treason though?" Talon asked. I frowned and took the bag. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that." He said again touching my shoulder. I looked up at him, his face didn't show any emotion to make me believe him, but Talon was a man of few words so I let it slide.
"It's fine." I said. "Where can I change?" I asked. He pointed to a tent by the gates. Quickly we walked over there, trying to not arouse suspicion. Once we were inside the tent, I began removing my winter cloak and clothes. Talon gave a small blush and moved outside quickly.
"You could have warned me you were changing." He said from outside the tent. I rolled my eyes. It's not like he hasn't seen a naked woman before. He goes to the Noxian dancing parties too, just like every other male in this city. I began to put on the uniform and once it was on, I felt a little sexy. Not enough to erase the shame of wearing such a provocative outfit. As I placed on the bunny ears to complete the outfit, I felt the last of my pride leave me. I walked outside the tent and watched Talon watch me. He looked me up and down and he let out a small whistle, while giving me a smirk.
"Shut up." I said. I had my broken blade in hand and I wasn't really afraid to use it on him.
"What? You look great." He said smirking. "How do you feel?"
"Humiliated, but what else is new?" I asked, giving a sigh. I hefted my blade onto my shoulder and popped my hip to play the part. "Let's go." I said. He nodded and led me to the gates. The soldier standing by didn't even recognize me, he just looked me up and down and whistled. This is how Cassiopeia probably felt when she used to be a beautiful woman, but she probably liked it. Talon quickly took my blade and hid it under his cloak. We walked side by side for a while, receiving dirty comments as we went.
"Talon, got yourself a nice broad there!" "Does she have a sister?" "Is she a part of the Du Couteau family also?" And other sayings like that, Talon didn't say much, he just played the part that Talon plays I guess. I stayed by his side, clumsily walking in the high heels he gave me. Soon we arrived to Noxus' Bunnies, people were already lined up at the door, and the whistling only increased when they saw me. Talon guided me towards the back of the dance club and a bouncer was located outside the back door.
"Oh who is this?" The bouncer said eyeing me up and down. Talon pushed me forward rather roughly.
"Some girl wandering around outside, thought you might be interested." Talon said, and he promptly left me. Is he really leaving me here? I thought panicking.
"Get inside, baby, you and the others are on in 10 minutes." The bouncer said pulling me inside. I was lead into a room filled with other bunnies. They were all fixing their hair and their make-up. Some girls were running around without anything on, or hastily pulling up their outfits. "We got a new one over here!" The bouncer called out. A few girls came over and pulled me onto a chair, practically pulling my face in different directions to inspect me.
"Ooh, you already have the outfit on, perfect!" One of them said. She had red hair pulled back into a ponytail. Looking around, everyone had the same outfit on, bunny ears and all. "Do you have any make-up on?" She asked and I shook my head. She used a hand motion and several girls came over, applying mascara, eye-liner, foundation, blush, lip gloss, the works.
"Her hair is too short to do anything with it!" A girl complained behind me. I felt my irritation rise, but honestly I never gave any consideration towards my hair. Long hair got in the way of battle, so I always kept it short.
"Don't worry about it then!" The red-haired girl said. She seemed to be the leader of the entourage. Suddenly the group of girls fixing me up left and the leader did a few extra touches. "Alright honey, you're ready to work it!" She said excitedly. I was pulled out of the chair and rushed over to the curtains. "Okay people, we're on in 10, 9, 8..." The countdown started and instinctively I popped my hip out and did my best to look sexy. So far, I just felt incredibly awkward. The curtains went up, and male cheers went up around the audience. The stage lights blinded me and I missed the beginning strut to the end of the half-circle stage. I hurried to walk with the girls and instead tripped over in the high heels. Landing face flat on the floor, I was officially and horribly humiliated.
"Come on, get up." A girl said nudging me in the side with the toe of her heel. I did my best to not look like a bigger fool than I already did while standing up. As I looked out, I saw the washed out faces of men staring at me. They were whistling like they did in the streets and were cheering for the dances to start. A jazz number began playing and the girls broke out into sexy dancing. It was probably choreographed, but all it looked like was dancing that was to appeal to the male sex. Any other dancing might have ruined the effect of the delusional perfect woman. I tried to mimic their gestures, but only felt more awkward due to the fact that I wasn't used to sticking my butt out that far or bending in certain ways. Girls started working the runway, and some other girls walked off stage to go greet the men. My mission started coming back into mind, and slowly I worked my way off the stage and went to go find Swain. I did my best to flirt with men as I looked for my target, so as to not look suspicious. These men were animals though.
I had never felt so many hands on me besides in the event of hand-to-hand combat. My ass had been grabbed several times, but at least my chest remained untouched. I fought my way through the hands as I spotted Swain. He was flirting with several girls, who were probably trying to find a way into the Grand Commander's heart.
"Is that Riven?" A voice called out. I turned to look behind me only to see Darius. He was standing up, and was not in his usual Noxian armor. He seemed to be dressed more casual for the ladies. Shit I thought. I quickly moved, trying not to be spotted, but it wasn't working. Darius followed me throughout the crowd and several other soldiers started noticing. I could hear the comments about who the new bunny could be, but I kept walking towards Swain, trying to look confident. Then an arm slid around my waist and drew me away from the line of eyesight from the men.
"Hey, I don't know who you are..." I was cut off by a hand on my mouth and I looked up into Talon's eyes. He was wearing his usual hood. He made the motion for me to be quiet, and then started twirling me.
"You're gaining a lot of attention." He said, looking somewhat angered.
"I'm sorry that I have a familiar face." I said. He smirked at me. We continued to dance as the stares shifted back towards the dancers. Darius roamed the dance floor searching for me, but Talon kept dragging me away.
"What should I do?" I asked. Talon shifted his gaze as we continued to dance. Suddenly he pressed his hand into my lower back and he crushed our pelvises together. I gasped and he wrapped me in his cloak.
"Attack." He whispered. Under his cloak he handed me my blade and then pushed me up the stage stairs. I stumbled up the stairs and I heard the roar of laughter coming from Swain. Locking onto my target, I felt the surge of adrenaline that came to me during battle. My animal like instinct came back to me as I imagined my lioness figure gracing myself once again. I looked over to see the runic symbols on my blade light up. I walked up the stairs confidently, hiding myself behind the dancing bodies of the other bunnies. I weaved through the bodies as I was losing sight of my target, but then with a stroke of luck, I spotted Swain in the right center side of the stage. And for a moment it felt like I wasn't wearing heels, I ran straight forward gracefully like a lion and sprung for Swain. My blade in the air, I swung down and landed on a table, that crumbled under my feet. Swain and the others moved away quickly to avoid collateral damage.
"Riven?" Swain gasped out. I looked up at him and went back into action. I went into my attack combo and Swain was slowly running out of space to run away. Crows were flying into my face, but I knew where he was and I kept rushing to attack him. A sudden pain ripped across my abdomen and I was pulled back. Darius held me in his arms and looked down at me smirking.
"I see you've broken your blade, what a shame." He said, fingering the shattered edges. "You're dead to Noxus," he said to me and raised his axe. I dodged away quickly, and I surged all of my power into my blade. The shattered pieces formed together and I felt the weight come back to me, everything for a moment felt natural and right. I raised my weapon up and cut Darius down. Luckily for me, my blade was infused with wind powers and I slashed out the wind energy towards Swain. Both men fell, but soon the other soldiers collapsed on me. The adrenaline of the fight continued to rage through me, and I was trying to dodge all of the attacks.
"Riven!" I heard someone shout out, and then I was being carried. "Hang in there!" Talon, I thought, it was Talon who was carrying me. I looked up at him and his hood and cape were gone. His black hair was flowing behind him. As the adrenaline wore off, I started to black out. "Hang in there, just for a bit longer." He said. And once the words were out, I felt my abdomen burn in pain. I felt the pain surge through me and I reached my hand out to touch the wound. The blood had seeped through my clothes and made my hand wet as I touched.
"The Freljord, get me to the Freljord." I said weakening. Talon scoffed and continued to run. I looked out past his arms and noticed that we were on top of some buildings, but I don't remember any jumping. Once we were on the outskirts of Noxus, Talon placed me down on top of concrete building. He took off his shirt and ripped it apart and made makeshift bandages. He carefully lifted me and ripped apart my corset, my top half exposed. He reached into his side bag and took out a needle and thread and a vial.
"You're bleeding too much, I have to stitch the wound as best I can." He said. He poured the contents of the vial carefully onto the wound, disinfecting it as necessary. The burning pain from the liquid brought me out of my groggy state. "I'm sorry Riven." He said. And then he threaded the suture through the needle and began sewing the wound together. The pain was so intense that any drowsiness I contained was washed away. I was more alert than I had been before, and the pain only became more and more evident as he continued sewing. I held back my screams as best as I could, but every now and then the muffled yelp came out. Talon did his best to soothe me, but nothing was really working. As he finished the last seam, Talon brought out his blade and cut the rest of the suture and finished.
"Are you okay?" He asked. I nodded and then he picked me up bridal style again. My abdomen was quite sore, but I was so exhausted from the pain I barely noticed. "I'm taking you back to the Freljord. We have to get out of here." He said as he started moving. I didn't realize how much endurance Talon had, or if I was just that light. Slowly I passed out in his arms, slipping into a sweet darkness.