Author's Note: In celebration of bombing my programming final, I have posted the new chapter seven! At least if I can't make it as a programmer, I'll still have league! I jest, I jest. I'll just major in math if I have to. ;)
But anyways, about the chapter. Well, there's not much for me to say without spoiling it for you! I will say though, I'm really pumped to write the next chapter, and perhaps by the end of this read, you'll find out why. ;)
"Lux." Looking up from his papers, Jarvan addressed the newcomer. "Take a seat. I've been waiting on your report for a couple days now."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Lux conceded as she sat across from Jarvan in his study. His tired expression told the mage he had experienced a day full of paperwork and meetings, not something she envied about his title. "It's been a little hectic recently."
"I should say so." He regarded her sternly. "You have been seen with Talon Du Couteau at the library, and as far as I can see, you still haven't produced a book."
"Well I'm trying to work something out with him. A sort of deal."
"A deal?" The prince raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You do remember who Talon Du Couteau is, Luxanna? His sister might be marrying your brother, but that doesn't mean he'll spare you any blood."
Lux shied away from the use of her full name. He was treating her like a child. "I know, Jarvan. I can handle this."
Jarvan kept his suspicious expression in tact, but said nothing.
"He wants me to help him forge a sword. Once I've done that, he'll give me the book." She explained.
"And the sword is mentioned in the text?" He queried.
Lux nodded.
"You shouldn't help him, Luxanna. Not even to get the book. There is very dark magic written in that tome." He warned solemnly, but leaving her with little information.
"See now this is where you could tell me some stuff." She leaned back in the chair casually. "Who wrote it? Why is it dark? What kind of magic is written in it? These questions need answering."
"Unfortunately, I don't know a whole lot about the tome." He stated simply.
"Tell me what you do know." Lux requested.
Jarvan was hesitant, but he spoke nonetheless.
"It was written by a man whose name has been lost to time, but it is quite clear from the little records we do have that its author was heavily influenced by the Darkin. That's about all I can offer you regarding its content. As for how it came into Noxian hands, I can perhaps say more on that subject.
"The book had been a part of my great-grandfather's personal collection. When he passed, he had willed the book to his most favorite mage, a nephew of his, who, shortly afterwards, ran off to Shurima in search of better things. While I don't know exactly what happened to the man, it is largely assumed that he perished in the desert and left the tome in the sands. Not three years ago, the Jenkinses got hold of the book, apparently having bought it off of Sivir, and offered to sell it to us. As it happened, the price they requested was one we could not pay, and so it lay in the Jenkins estate until you and Talon happened upon the text.
"If you're looking for more information, Sivir may be able to help you out." He suggested after finishing his story.
"I will talk to her then. She could also offer me some good information for travelling to Shurima." Lux thought aloud, planning her moves before her departure.
"Shurima?" The prince questioned. "Why are you going to Shurima?"
Sheepishly, Lux looked down at her lap, knowing Jarvan would not like the answer to that question.
"Lux." He said sternly. "Don't help Talon forge this sword. Especially not if it requires travelling to Shurima to make it. Didn't I just finish telling you that the last Demacian mage who ventured into Shurima with that book died? And probably none too happily either."
"Talon's not going to kill me." She tried to reassure the prince because, after all, there was no way she wasn't going to Shurima. Darkin influence? Book full of evil spells? Unknown fates? Too much temptation for the mage.
"It's not Talon I'm worried about." Jarvan ground out, but then paused a second. "Well, that's not entirely true. Let me rephrase, it's not only Talon I'm worried about."
"Let me do this, Jarvan." She stared fiercely at the prince, her iron will visible in her eyes. "I need to do this."
"Fine." He put his hands up in defeat. "You're an adult. Do what you please."
"I'll be departing on the 19th." She stated simply as she rose from the chair. "I'll see you on the rift."
"Take care, Lux."
For a woman who made her living by buying and selling artifacts, information, and murder, Sivir was notably difficult to get a hold of. It seemed that in order to catch the Battle Mistress's attention, one had to be a certain sort of person that Lux most definitely was not. For this, Lux had turned to her long time friend, Ezreal, whom she had been meaning to talk anyway.
"Ez!" She smiled brightly at the man as she sat down across from him at the Institute of War's cafeteria. "How's it been?"
"Good." He replied nonchalantly, munching on a sandwich. "What's up?"
Lux got straight to the point. "Do you know Sivir?"
"Yeah," He replied, taking a sip of water. "Why?"
"Think you could get her attention for me? I need to talk to her about something, and I'd be willing to pay a fair price for good information."
"What something?" If there was anyone as matched in curiosity as Lux, it was Ezreal.
"Jarvan asked me to retrieve a book, and, given what little I do know about the text, it would be prudent for me to do some research beforehand." She explained, neglecting to tell him the intricacies of her mission. "From the sounds of it, Sivir might know something."
"Well, sure I can talk to her. How soon do you need?" He asked.
"Before Garen and Katarina's wedding would be great." She breathed a sigh of relief. This had been easier than she thought it would be.
"Alright, I'll ask her to speak to you by then. Mind if I give her your institute apartment address?"
"Not at all." Lux smiled at the explorer. He was so useful at times.
"Speaking of the wedding, do you have a date yet?" He asked casually, though the blush on his cheeks betrayed him.
"No, I don't…" The mage replied hesitantly. She had been thinking about asking Jarvan, in fact, but given their earlier conversation, that seemed less like a possibility. For all of the utility that Ezreal offered, he still did have a schoolboy crush on her, and, in situations like this, there was little Lux could do about it.
"I could escort you if you like." He spoke a little too eagerly.
"That would be nice." Smiling politely, Lux accepted his offer. There were worser dates in the world. But still, she was not finished with the explorer. "Actually I have another request for you."
"Hmm, what's that?" He raised an eyebrow, returning to his sandwich.
"Think you could help me prepare for a trip to Shurima?"
The explorer was visibly shocked. "You're going to Shurima?"
"Yeah I've always wanted to travel there." Not a lie, in fact. She continued. "I'm leaving two days after the wedding, but I'm afraid I don't have proper supplies to venture to the Oasis of the Dawn."
"The Oasis of the Dawn?" He repeated. "That is far. Well yeah I can help you, but you're going to have to do a lot of shopping before the wedding. Are you travelling with anyone?"
"Yeah." The mage replied simply, hoping he would let the question drop.
But he didn't. "Who?"
"Um, I'd rather not say." Lux said cryptically, leaving Ezreal without an answer. She knew he would assume the worst, but, truth be told, the worst was Talon and better to have him assume than to know.
Ezreal frowned. "Ok. Does he or she know how to get there?"
"I think so…" The mage hedged.
"Alright well I'll help you with some of the navigation too. In case you get lost."
"Thanks Ez." Lux smiled at the explorer.
He returned her smile sheepishly, blush intensifying. Lux hadn't meant to lead him on with the smile, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. While she didn't like to be manipulative, Lux did what she had to in order to get what she needed, and if that required a couple of pretty smiles, so be it. Besides, she'd agreed for Ezreal to be her date to the wedding. She'd make her sacrifice in due time.
It wasn't that she didn't like the explorer. In fact, she thought Ezreal was actually rather cute, and of the guys that were present in her life, Ezreal was a good choice as far as boyfriends were concerned. The problem was that he just wasn't man enough for her tastes. He had a small frame, large eyes, and he blushed nearly as much as she did. Ezreal was undeniably cute, but Lux didn't want cute. She wanted someone tall, dark, and handsome. She wanted a mystery.
Despite Ezreal's connection and Lux's money, Sivir refused to speak to the mage. While it had not surprised Lux that the mercenary was difficult to contact, given her elusive nature, it was rather shocking that she wouldn't agree to be paid. From what Lux had been able to discern in Ezreal's letter addressing the issue, he had been astonished as well. Immediately she knew something was suspect.
While the explorer might not have seen it, Lux, being the spy that she was, was well versed in the business of buying and selling information, enough to know that Sivir wasn't refusing to talk to her because of personal reasons. No, someone had paid her to keep quiet, and it wasn't hard for Lux to guess who.
At first, the mage had grumbled and resolved to do her own research with the resources she had access to. The Institute Library, Royal Demacian Library, and the College of Magic's multitude of books had offered her some answers, such as why Sunwater was important, which was that it held magical properties, apparently capable of enhancing blades, something it had done in the past with particularly notable swords such as the Infinity Edge. From her reading in the Royal Demacian Library she had also learned the meaning of Parfuin Gúl, which was ancient Demacian for "Book of Sorcery".
Still, neither of those discoveries were very fulfilling for the mage. The book's name was altogether a disappointment, and to find that Sunwater was magical was hardly profound. Something told the mage what the real mystery was lay in knowing what the importance of a fëa was. But Lux had run out of sources, and had largely assumed her research to be complete until she, more or less, had an epiphany.
Talon clearly knew of Sivir's involvement in the retrieval of the book, which, while not a very profound realization on its own, gave way to a different understanding that Lux had failed to think of in the week and a half she had been trying to learn the mysteries of the text. She wasn't the only one who had been researching.
Of course, this thought seemed very obvious to Lux, but its implications meant much more. While the libraries she had visited had little useful to offer, there was one library Lux suspected might hold more information. The Du Couteau collection. Gaining access to that particular book repository would normally be a near impossible task to accomplish subtly, but Lux had been presented with the perfect situation. Her brother was marrying a Du Couteau.
As is tradition with noble families of both Noxian and Demacian backgrounds, the bride's family is expected to pay for the wedding. What this meant for Katarina and Garen, but more importantly, for Lux, was that the wedding was being held at the Du Couteau estate. Initially, Lux had not been surprised at all by this choice of venue, given the fact that Katarina, the bride and also the source of money, had the final say in location. But now it offered her an easily excusable access to information she may not have otherwise been able to retrieve. And for that, Lux would travel to Noxus without complaint.
The Du Couteaus and Crownguards lounged in the Red Room with a surprising amount of pleasantry. Dinner, as far as Lux was concerned, had gone relatively well between the rival houses, and she hadn't once felt the need to silence her parents. The mage had somehow managed to avoid Talon during dinner, and even had escaped him as the families retired to socializing and polite card games. While Talon was conversing with her relatives in what seemed to be an appropriate manner, surprising indeed, Lux had deftly avoided the assassin and quickly became involved in a separate circle of discussion.
"I hope you're enjoying your stay here, Lux." Katarina said to the blonde as she sat casually next to her husband to be.
Leaning back unto the plush arm chair in the Du Couteaus' Red Room, Lux smiled at the redhead. "Oh of course! Your estate is quite beautiful. And dinner? I dare say your chefs are the best I've ever tasted."
"My my, where did your sister learn such flattery, Garen?" She swatted the captain's arm playfully.
"You have your trickery, and we have ours." A small smirk formed at the corner of his lips as he teased his fiancée.
The redhead's eyebrows raised. "Oh so your saying she's just lying to me? My house is actually a dump?"
"I would never say that." He said firmly, but Lux could tell he was still playing.
"Goodness Garen, cut her a break." Lux laughed at the couple. "Besides, you're going to be moving here soon enough, so you better like the place."
"She's got a point, Garen." Katarina brought out her signature sinister smile.
"I surrender!" He said, holding his hands up in defeat. He then offered the redhead a sincerely sweet look. "It is a really nice place, Katarina."
"Well, before you two start jumping each other's bones, perhaps you could point me to one room I've heard so much about but never had the pleasure to see." Lux offered, hoping the Du Couteau would take her bait.
"What room is that?" She asked curiously.
"The library. I've heard it's quite the sight to behold." This was not in fact a lie. Working at the Main Palace, especially as an undercover secretary, she'd heard a lot of things about the Du Couteaus and their residence. The magnificence of the library had just been one.
"Yes, our collection is something noteworthy, I've been told." She smiled, getting up from her seat. "Come this way, I'll show you."
Lux followed the redhead out of the room, but a creeping sensation in her back told her someone unfortunate had noticed.
But the mage shook off the feeling and continued alongside Katarina until they reached an ornate set of double doors someway down the hall. The redhead pulled on the handles, grandly opening the entrance to the library. Stepping inside, Katarina turned on the lights and gestured for the mage to appreciate the view.
Lux, for her own part, could barely contain her awe. Truth be told, she didn't know such works of art existed in Noxus. The age-old room bore a certain mystical feeling that rumored of arcane knowledge hidden within the books. A grand staircase lead to a beautiful upper level, from which railing skirted along the half layer, allowing viewers from above to glance down onto the ground floor, or vice versa, as was the case with the mage.
"Do you mind if I…?" Lux unintentionally let her question fall short as she gazed at the library. Her eyes soon caught sight of a beautiful balcony entrance, shielded by two white gossamer curtains, hinting at a bench on the other side of the doors.
"Not at all." The redhead practically laughed. "I'll be back in the Red Room if you need me. Enjoy your reading."
And with that, Katarina shut the door and left.
As stunned as Lux was by the beauty of the book repository, a part of her wondering why Demacian libraries weren't as enchanting, she realized she had a job to do. Now, for any normal person, finding the information Lux was looking for would have been a near impossible task, especially considering the size of the collection. But the mage had learned a thing or two in college, one of which being a particularly useful spell that allowed the user to immediately sense the location of all books referencing a specific topic. Within a certain range, of course.
So Lux channeled, thinking of only the fëa, and was soon rewarded. She found herself climbing up the stairs and into one of the further back sections of the library where two books glowed dimly to her eyes, marking them as sources of pertinent information. Pulling the two texts out of the bookcase, Lux regarded them briefly, making note of their titles.
The first was a glossy new paperback titled The Intricacies of Ancient Shuriman, and upon closer inspection, seemed to be a sort of dictionary. The second was an old dusty tome with the word "Absolution" embossed on the spine. It didn't take much thought for Lux to figure out which one she was going to read first. Immediately, Lux turned to head towards the balcony she had spotted on the lower level, but stopped abruptly as she came face to face with a pair of hard eyes.
"I'd ask you what you're doing with those books but I think I already know the answer to that question." Talon's deep voice rumbled and immediately Lux felt like a toddler who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Lux cautiously regarded the assassin who stood casually in his neatly pressed suit, hands in pockets. A foreign look for the man, but not necessarily a bad one.
"Is there a problem?" Lux asked brightly, hoping he would just let the incident slide, but she knew that was rather unlikely.
"I told you not to do any research." His enigmatic eyes fixed to her form as he leaned against a nearby bookshelf.
Looking up at the man, Lux wondered what she had done to land herself in this situation, aside from trying to discreetly find information in Talon's own library. She tried to think of a way to escape the assassin while still holding onto the books, but in that moment all she could focus on was the five o'clock shadow cresting his jaw. Given how often he sported that look, Lux wasn't sure she could call it five o'clock anymore.
"I don't know what you expect, Talon." She crossed her arms defensively. "You tell me to do your bidding and to run off to Shurima to forge some magical sword, but, oh wait, I can't know anything at all about what I'm trying to accomplish."
"You could just do what I say." He smirked, as if he realized she'd never heed such a suggestion.
A blush crawled onto the mage's cheeks as she registered just how handsome he was in that moment. His dark hair fell lazily around his face, still retaining it's shaggy appearance despite his formal attire. The nearly sinister smirk he must have learned from his sister tugged at the corners of his mouth, hinting at his evilly playful nature. For a moment, the mage wondered if his games were driven by latent feelings and immediately she felt her heart begin to race. Not a second later, her blush intensified as anger coursed through her for having such girlish thoughts.
"That's bullshit, Talon!" She exclaimed in a fit of fury. "If I'm going to venture to a foreign land with an assassin who wants to kill me, then forge some obscenely powerful weapon so he can dispose of me when I'm done, you can be damn well sure I'm going to do my research first."
But the assassin just regarded her coolly, seemingly unphased by her outburst. He said nothing for the better part of a minute, smirk still teasing at his lips, as if he enjoyed watching her rage. Though his expression was hardly calming, the pause in conversation gave Lux just enough time to regain her level head.
"Why are you trying to hide information from me?" She asked coolly, setting the books on a nearby table and peering up at the assassin, feeling as if she had finally asked a question that he might find difficulty answering.
Lux had thought that she would feel proud for unnerving the assassin, but as Talon's expression grew unsettled, the mage instead felt herself drawn into his enigmatic aura. Time seemed to halt as his dark eyes bore into hers, a flurry of indistinguishable emotions swirling in his irises. His casual smirk faltered and his eyebrows creased the slightest amount, alerting the mage to his trouble choosing an answer.
"I don't trust you." He admitted, voice lower than normal.
"Don't trust me to what?" The mage pressed, seeking an explanation. "What do you think I could possibly do, Talon?"
He said nothing, mysterious eyes fixed to her, and something in his expression told Lux she had finally gained the upperhand.
"You'll just kill me," She mused aloud, as if trying to reason through Talon's curious emotions. "If I do something you don't want me to. You're an assassin. I don't see what you have to fear."
His eyes remained focused on her, dark and unrelenting, flickering around her face. Lux wondered if he was trying to read her mind, like she was the puzzling one, but that train of thought did not get very far before the assassin spoke.
"I'm not going to kill you, Lux." He said in explanation, repeating a sentiment he had shared with her years ago.
Lux was initially caught off-guard by his declaration, wondering what had possessed him to say such a thing. It seemed such a strong statement, so out of character, but then the mage saw it in his eyes. She saw the dark, enigmatic expression for what it had been all along, and before a reasonable thought could save her from her own emotions, the mage fell into a trance that would ultimately be her undoing.
Something about the assassin's words had resonated with Lux so profoundly, and in that moment she only felt the need to be closer to the man. She took a wary step forward, closing the distance just four inches, but it wasn't enough. Another foot moved closer to Talon, and by that point Lux was merely an observer of her own life. As she crept towards the assassin, she watched his mysterious stare flicker over her figure, seemingly unsure of her motives.
Her eyes roved over his jaw, eventually dropping to his strong shoulders. They moved further south until her gaze met her hand as she reached out to his blazer, latching onto the fabric. Flashing her gaze back up to his, pupils wide in desire, she ever so gently tugged on the jacket, using the cloth as leverage to pull her face up to his.
Softly, her lips grazed against his, the mage too shy to fully commit, but within a second the assassin had slipped an arm around her waist, pulled her flush against him, and returned her bashful kiss ardently. Lux's free hand found itself at the crook of his neck, barely pulling his neck closer as their kiss grew more heated. Though it started slowly, momentum worked its magic and the couple soon fell into a kiss that was both supple and urgent. It wasn't long before Lux found her lips drawing apart, sequencing an exchange of hot air between the couple, followed by a curious tongue darting out to play with her lower lip.
In a moment of courage, the mage gently caught his tongue between her teeth, allowing the muscle to slowly slide out of her grasp. A growl of appreciation rumbled from the assassin's chest as he returned to kissing her hungrily, slowly turning her body so that she eventually felt her back press gently against a bookcase. The kiss was so consuming that Lux barely registered one of Talon's hands drifting lower until it came to rest on her left buttcheek. The igniting hand gripped her firmly, using the leverage afforded to him by both his hold on her rear and around her ribcage to lift her up slightly, sitting her just barely on the ledge of a shelf.
A different rim pushed against her back, forcing her breasts to press against his chest, a movement that nearly made her sigh as she realized just how tender her nipples were beneath her silk shirt. But the assassin payed no mind to her torso, his lips instead moved from her mouth to her jawline, sucking on the flesh while his hand ran down her hamstring, hooking behind her knee and pulling her leg aside. The next movement he made caught Lux completely off-guard, as he pressed his hips into hers, shifting his manhood against her core in a way that forced a hiccup of a moan from Lux's lips. The hand that had been at his coat had somehow found its way to his deltoid, fingernails digging into the cloth as a wave of pleasure rushed over the mage.
Exhaling a sigh from the experience, Lux pressed a compelling kiss against the skin of his neck while her hands roamed along his shoulders and chest, appreciating his taut muscles despite the fabric in her way. Lux then felt a knuckle settle under her chin, turning her face towards his, and for the slightest of moments, the mage was able to appreciate the lustful gleam in Talon's eyes before he bent his head to kiss her. Once again his lips moved easily against her yielding mouth, the couple swept up in the desirous mist that seemed to surround them.
Despite the pressure of his lips against hers, the feel of his hands creeping underneath her shirt, barely tasting soft skin, and the sound of her own sharp intakes of breath in between kisses, Lux still heard the creaking of a door and the racket of voices. She halted the kissing for a moment, trying to concentrate on the noise from the lower level, but was not having an easy time as Talon continued to move his lips against her jaw, landing kiss after kiss on her silky flesh.
"She must be up above." Lux heard a familiar female voice say, but given the muddiness of her thoughts, she couldn't determine who.
Gently, Lux pushed on Talon's shoulders, urging him to stop his assault of her skin despite the wonderful feeling it generated.
"Someone's here." She whispered against his ear, and reluctantly, she could tell, the assassin pulled away, regarding her with a dangerously carnal look.
The pair listened to the sounds of footsteps on stairs, but remained unmoving, just staring at the other with glazed eyes and swollen lips, until the sound of shoes got too close to their location. At the last minute, Talon and Lux stepped apart from each other and turned their attentions to the newcomers.
"Hey Lux." Katarina smiled at the mage, then turned towards the assassin. "Talon! I didn't realize you had run into each other."
Garen was giving the man a notably callous glare. "I didn't know to two even knew each other."
"Oh I thought I told you. They met when Lux was undercover in Noxus some time ago. You know," Katarina smirked, turning towards the mage. "It took me a little while to recognize you in the League of Legends, but once I spectated a game between you and Talon I realized you were Lucy. You're very good at hiding in plain sight."
Lux felt herself blush, though she was probably already red from what had been happening moments earlier. "A trick of the trade, I suppose."
"No kidding." The redhead replied. "Well, look, dessert's about to be served, and it would be a shame for you to miss it."
The mage laughed, following Katarina and her brother towards the library exit. Though she still felt weak in the knees from her previous interaction with Talon, and rather concerned about how messy her hair might be, all she could think about was the unsated desire still lingering within her, and, if the stare burning into her back was any indication, within a dangerously attractive assassin. But the moment that caused her to flush had passed and Lux was forced to return to the real world, where staring at Noxians with googly-eyes was something you just didn't do. Or, at least, shouldn't.
For the remainder of the evening, Lux had done a fairly decent job of avoiding the assassin, though she suspected her task had been too easy. It made sense to Lux that he evaded her too, as she guessed he had not intended on kissing her, much less some of the other things he did. But that made Lux wonder why he had returned her kiss in the first place.
Of course, as Lux lay awake in the guestroom, unable to fall asleep from pent up feelings of lust, continually reliving each moment of her encounter in the library, she was faced with accepting the fact that she had initiated the flash of passion. At first, the mage had tried to deny her instigation. He'd been the one to say such sentimental things like "I'm not going to kill you, Lux", which seemed very touching, considering his profession. But, the matter of the fact was it was she who had kissed him first, and so she was left with the very disturbing question of why.
Now Lux wasn't the kind of woman to deny her emotions until they grew so large they became impossible to control. No, she was a sensible mage, and she certainly knew she was lusting for Talon. Hell, she'd known that since she woke up with her face pressed into his bicep and her hand resting on his abs. There was no way a man as cut as he was couldn't turn her on. But Lux was normally in control of these sorts of feelings, and she was having a hard time believing it was only desire that had driven her to kiss the man.
So, sometime around two in the morning, Lux was forced to accept that, on some level, she had legitimate feelings for the man. Granted, there was only so far you could like an assassin, but she knew she felt enough for Talon to be touched by his words, at least enough to kiss him. In the past, realizing she had a crush on a guy had never done much to rattle the mage. For the most part, Lux had either determined herself too busy or too removed from the fella to actually do anything about her feelings, but the fact that she was having a hard time controlling herself was a dangerous sign.
Then there was the whole inquiry regarding how he felt about her. There lay a similar answer to the question she asked about herself. Obviously Talon was attracted to her, and likely wanted to do crude things to her, something Lux tried not to think about too much lest she be thrown into another fit of lust. But did he like her? The age old question that haunted young and old girls alike had, for the first time in a very long time, appeared to pay Lux a visit. Of course she could speculate and consider for hours on end, but ultimately, she'd learn the answer one way or another. There was no way their relationship could remain unresolved through a wedding and an entire trip to Shurima and, with any luck, back.