Hope of Morning
Lux
Light forms darkness.
It was a cool night and Lux wandered around Demacia out of boredom. Most teenagers her age snuck out in the middle of the night to go clubbing or drinking, but she was out to make the most of her day off. In a day she would be back in the barracks to train. Such is the life of Luxanna Crownguard, prodigy mage, 19. Training for 90%, studying for 8%, and relaxing for 2% of her time.
The 2% she did have she tried to make the most of. While most people would say what she did was everything but relishing in the free time, she enjoyed the activity and found it relaxing. Her feet took her to the familiar site – a fountain at the edge of Demacia. She usually sat there to savour the breeze and observe the people around her. While it was usually unoccupied, she sometimes ran across people who had more interesting stories to tell. Huddled in the corner, despite not needing to due to her being invisible, she heard many intriguing stories and witnessed several clandestine meetings.
The spot was empty tonight. She breathed in the clean air, slightly relieved. While she did enjoy the company of strangers who didn't quite know she was there, the fact that she did not have to muster up the energy to conjure the required illusion was a bit of a blessing. Normal teenagers don't have light powers – she was just an odd one.
Lux perched herself on to the lip of the fountain and pulled a coin out of her pocket to toss it in. She has done this enough that it has become routine and the feeling that first came with it had faded. She had long stopped wishing "to be normal". While Luxanna is yet to fully accept her magical ability, she has begun to warm up to it, reminding herself that it was her duty as a Crownguard to serve Demacia through serving the King.
There is nothing worth greater than serving the King and Lux should be so grateful to be given the opportunity.
The light mage conjured another coin out of her purse and gave it a teasing flick in her hand. She did not toss it into the fountain, but instead let it spin in the air before it landed back on her palm. Lux wasn't stupid, she knew wishing into coins and tossing them into shallow fountains was useless (perhaps she needed a well instead), but there was a small bit of hope in her that wondered what if.
The peaceful silence of the night was ruined by noise and enthusiastic yelling. With a frown, she conjured up the illusion of invisibility but remained in her spot as she heard boisterous voices come from the alleyway ahead of her. Teenagers trekked out, celebrating… something. She couldn't really focus on any one voice, they were all speaking at the same time and it was difficult to discern one slur from another. They all slumped on the benches that were positioned around the fountain and continued to converse with other another from where they sat, much to Lux's annoyance. She just wanted to enjoy a quiet night – is that too much to ask for?
She paused to observe the teenagers around her, all slumped against one another with dopey smiles. Some of the girls batted their eyelashes at the boys they were with and while some of them noticed and struck up conversation, some of them were absolutely clueless and continued to yell across the fountain to a friend who sat on the bench ahead. She bit her lip to stop herself from letting out a giggle. They didn't really say anything funny or informative, but they sounded so funny to Lux that she began to giggle lightly.
No one seemed to notice her giggling as it spilled out of her mouth accidentally. They were all busy doing their own giggling that for the brief period her giggling was just one of the crowd. Soon, Lux began to giggle along to their jokes, not even bothering to mask her voice.
She continued to watch them, pretending she belonged.
When she had enough of their awful singing she stood lightly and smiled at the teenagers around her. Though they couldn't see her, she felt the need to say goodbye and thank them for their company. Before she left, she tossed her coin into the fountain with the usual wish.
Please make me normal.
The new day came and so Lux found herself back in the barracks, greeting her colleagues with a bright smile. She hated the anxiety that came with the start of the work-day, but she didn't want anyone to worry.
In her head, she began to recite her familiar mantra to calm down.
I am a Crownguard. I am battleborn. There is no greater honour than fighting for Demacia. I am a Crownguard. I am battleborn. There is no greater honour than fighting for Demacia…
Note: I tried to sneak a reference to Falconshield's Noxus vs Demacia at the end there, but I don't think I did it well. Trying to get back into doing some writing now that life is starting to sort itself into order - this was great to warm up with. Hope you guys enjoyed it - and see you next time, maybe.