trace

Lux dreads seeing Jinx again. She avoids the Institute for a week, choosing to stay at home. She locks herself in her room, installing a laser grid to ward off any unwanted visitors. She spends her time finishing paperwork, organizing her files, reading a couple of books, and writing a few letters. She does everything but lie on her bed and wait. More than seeing Jinx again, Lux dreads not seeing her. She dreads the truth of her words, that she was only a distraction, a fun way to pass the time. It's not even a terribly surprising admission. Lux had known from the start. She really was a fool, confessing her love to someone like Jinx.

Each day finds Lux more tense, more anxious. She jumps at shadows and the slightest of noises. The seventh day ends and there's still no sign of Jinx. She ends up lying on her bed, face down on her pillow, and she absolutely does not cry. Her streak of stupidity stops here. She knows what it means for Jinx not to visit, not to break into her room - laser grid be damned. Ever since they first met, Lux couldn't go two days without Jinx popping up somewhere, sometime. Now, she had seven days of silence. Jinx was finally bored of her.

At the end of the week, the Institute summons her presence. Lux wants to throw up. It feels like a nest of worms made a home in her guts. She wants to call in sick, but she's been absent for too long. The Institute will not stand for it. Whatever illness she could claim to have, they will send a whole team of healers just to cure her. She has no excuses. She has no escape.

Lux meditates the entire ride over. She wants to see Jinx with some level of equanimity. At the very least, she wants to see Jinx and not collapse into tears or punch her in the face or punch her in the face and then collapse into tears. But arriving at the Institute disintegrates whatever semblance of calm she had. Her stomach performs an entire gymnastic routine, and the worms in her guts fester. She's half expecting to see Jinx behind the grand double doors. She doesn't; only a summoner is there to welcome her.

"Ah, Lady Crownguard. You're here."

Lux blinks, blanking out momentarily, before mustering a reply. "Yes. You summoned me."

"We did. Come."

The summoner turns and walks away. Lux follows, anxiety bleeding into confusion. Summoners rarely interact with the champions outside the Fields of Justice. Something is going on. Something happened. Lux wasn't called to participate in scrims like she initially believed. They needed her for something else. She frowns, her naturally inquisitive mind latching on to the mystery. It provided the perfect distraction from her personal problems.

They enter an office where a senior summoner sat waiting behind a desk. Her summoner escort bows, gestures at an empty chair, before leaving. The door closes with an echoing click. Lux feels a touch of anxiety return.

"You are not in trouble, Lady Crownguard," the senior summoner tells her. "Please sit."

For lack of other options, Lux does sit. Belligerence would not be advantageous in such an unknown situation.

"You summoned me," she says again.

"We did. We wanted to ask you a question."

Lux swallows. "Alright."

"We know you've been… involved with the Zaunite champion, Jinx the Loose Cannon."

Out of every possibility Lux considered, her relationship with Jinx was not a subject she expected the summoner to ask about. It's not as if the Institute had ironclad rules regarding fraternization. They know. They should know, from the pyschic links formed in every match, from the peek into a champion's thoughts and emotions. The rush of adrenaline often led to arousal. Most champions ended up spending a night or two together. The summoners never interfered, barring situations lacking in consent. And that's not the case between her and Jinx.

Lux knew it was a bad idea. Lux knew it wouldn't end well. Lux knew from the very start, but she didn't stop. She didn't think. She didn't fall more than she walked into loving Jinx with eyes wide open.

The summoners had no reason - no right - to be interfering like this.

Lux sticks her chin out, a challenge in her eyes. "What about my relationship with Jinx?"

The summoner studies her carefully, then says, "We wanted to know if you had any information regarding her current location."

Lux can feel her thoughts dissolve into white noise.

"What?"

"She hasn't reported to her assigned parole summoner for seven days now. She's long overdue to check in. We attempted to track her via scrying magic, but something is blocking our view."

"I… I don't understand."

The summoner sighs. "Jinx is missing. Do you know where she went?"

Lux swallows, wetting her lips. It's like her brain caught the business end of a tazer. Her senses feel fuzzy. Time appears to slow down. The summoner is talking but all she can hear is an endless buzzing. She fixates on a single thought.

Jinx is gone.

"Lady Crownguard?" The summoner says. "It is imperative that you offer your assistance. The Loose Cannon must not be left unsupervised. I ask again. Do you know where she is?"

Lux mutely shakes her head. No. She doesn't.