Author's notes:
2021-10-12: Hey, I would like to present what I'm working on. It is just a small preview, but my free time is none-existing. Still, I will try to finish it as soon as possible.
2021-10-18: Hey, it took me quite a few days to finally finished the chapter. Sorry for the delay; however, as I have mentioned before I do not have as much free time as I used to. Still, I hope you will like what I have come up with. Enjoy reading! :)
Don't forget to comment. I really appreciate your feedback.
Note that the dialogues written in italic are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2021-10-12]: A preview was released.
[2021-10-18]: A chapter was fully released.
Info: I will be trying to focus on finishing some of the stories, rewriting some parts.
Info: I have decided to put 'The war call' into its own separate story. There, I will be slowly rewriting it and adjusting. However, it will take me some time to do so.
Info: Overall, the current plan is for me to write 'My home is where my heart lies' and 'Family tree' alternatively. Between the updates of these stories, I will try to upload other texts. Maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finish some of the short stories. However, I truly doubt that. It seems that most if not all of the stories will be extended both in terms of the time and the number of chapters.
Schedule for the nearest future:
1. My home is where my heart lies.
2. Family tree.
3. The rise of the Blood Moons' servants.
4. Fully original story.
5. Story of one lost soul.
6. Will you look past my mistakes?
7. Last Christmas.
Bonuses' section:
A new story taking place in the Warhammer 40k universe.
A story regarding KaiKali (aka Akali x Kai'sa) (Will you look past my mistakes?).
Sometimes it's just better not to know (possibly rewrite).
Kiss the rain (more than likely rewrite).
Whispers in the Dark (extending beyond 2 chapters story).
Story of one lost soul (translation of 2 of my old texts - previously written in polish).
Story of one lost soul: The war call: rewrite.
References:
The Dark Element - Not your monster
*bonuses will be worked on when I don't feel like writing the chapters pointed out in the schedule :D
** It is possible for me to change the schedule a little. So stay tuned for the upcoming information.
End of author's notes.
Back to the current setup:
Their carriage ride continued. Bit by bit, the night was slowly but surely passing by. The ghostly lights reflected by the Moon hanging high on the firmament made the already awful scenery even worse. There was no living thing nearby – of course if you had excluded them, sitting in the carriage.
"You've certainly made a fool of that douchebag," the Noxian commander commented as soon as the ninja had finished her story. "I'd pay a good coin to see that with my own eyes. Unfortunately, though, it seems I have to settle for your story this time."
"Are you not on the same side?" the raven-haired woman asked, raising her brow slightly. "Or is it that famous competition amongst alpha males? I have certainly heard quite a few things regarding it. And… I must say, I have never heard more bullshit put into a story."
"Hmmm," the bulky man hummed, scratching his scarred jaw. "Let's just say that we're not friends. However, I don't consider him my enemy. He's… he's just a kid risen on the streets, lucky enough to be taken under Du Couteau's wings. That's more or less the label of Talon," he added, failing in hiding his emotions. The Noxian general seemed upset.
"If you say so," Akali responded, shrugging nonchalantly. She opted to cut the topic short. There was no need for her to delve deeper into that matter. In most cases, the knowledge can be considered influential. However, in some, it was just a free pass to your own demise. "How much longer?" she asked a couple of moments later.
"We'll be there soon," Darius uttered quietly, not even looking at his speaker.
With no real necessity of uttering her response, she opted not to do so. Instead, she straightened up on the seating, trying to relax. Frankly, she did not have any intention to continue that dull conversation. Soon enough, the ninja closed her eyes, seeking the remnants of her inner peace.
Sometime later:
Akali began to stir from her dreamless sleep due to a gentle nudge. As slowly as possible, she opened her eyes. Frankly, she did not want to go anywhere. The carriage seat was quite comfortable. Tho she knew she had her part of the bargain to fulfil. So, the raven-haired woman forced herself to proceed.
Within moments, she found out who had woken her up. In front of her, a teenage girl stood. She was wearing an elegant and fancy maid dress. Her short golden hair was clean and neatly trimmed. It must have been admitted – tho silently – the maid smelled wonderful. After all this time spent on the ship, Akali wanted nothing more than to bathe properly and purge the dirt off her skin.
"It's good that you've woken up, miss," the maid uttered quietly, backing off a little. "The master will meet you right away. So, sadly, there won't be time for you to bathe or change your sweated clothes. Please, follow me," she added quickly, not giving the ninja a chance to interrupt her.
The golden-haired maid left the carriage as soon as the last word escaped her lips. Slightly confused, Akali was left with no other alternatives than to do as she had been told. So, without further delay, she got and followed the girl.
The first rays of the sunrise were slowly crawling their way from the far horizon. Funnily enough, it seemed that she had relaxed enough to fall asleep. And… by the looks of things, she must have slept through the night without major problems. So even though her neck was slightly stiffed, these couple of hours of rest could make a difference in the nearest future.
"What is your name?" the raven-haired assassin asked, not knowing how to approach the sudden situation she had found herself in.
"It isn't crucial as of now," the girl replied without turning around. "The master's will must be fulfilled. So, please, hurry up."
The Ionian woman quietly quickly learned that there was no point in starting the conversation again. So, instead, she decided to look around as much as possible. Unfortunately, due to the young maid's quick pace, there was not enough time to inspect her surroundings in detail. Still, she managed to catch a couple of glimpse of it.
It seemed that the estate was located deep inside the old forest. At the borders of the compound, the old trees were forming an impenetrable wall. Or… maybe it was just her imagination. After all, these borders were looming in the distance. Though, there was one thing that Akali was certain of, the enormous size of the villa. No matter where she tried to look, the edges of Du Couteau's lands were as distant as the shining stars on the firmament. If she had time, she would have wandered far and wide to see it all. However, currently, it would have been a child's dream. There was no need to hide it. She was just a prisoner of war. And… just by that fact, her life and future, frankly, was being held in someone's firm hand.
Before Akali noticed, they entered the estate. It must have been admitted – through silently, deep inside her mind – that it was breathtaking. Everything around her seemed to be of a master-crafted quality. The glimmering of gold was coming from all directions. On the pictures frames, a thin layer of that precious metal could be easily spotted. Without a doubt, furniture the estate must have been an expensive feat.
"Can you please stop looking around, miss?" the maid sounded out of a sudden. "I understand that your new surrounding might interest you; however, the master's waiting. And… he doesn't like his precious time being wasted," she added in a slightly colder tone.
"I do not have any other option but to follow you. So… lead on," the raven-haired woman replied, shrugging.
"That'd be fantastic," the girl exclaimed, not even slowing down a little. "Then, please, follow me, miss," she added, slightly increasing her pace.
"She seems to be pretty stressed out," the ninja thought. "Even though she is trying to keep her composure, her body is tensed. Her springy pace lacks grace."
As she had said, Akali followed the blond-haired maid. Within moments, they crossed the vestibule where the floor was made of polished marble. At the very back of the chamber, the two spiral staircases could be seen. They winded up, climbing up to the height of a few meters. Finally, they ended up joining on the platform located just a mere couple of meters away from a huge stained glass window. The shards stained into different shades of red were forming a beautiful, blooming rose. Once again, the raven-haired ninja found herself speechless. The craftsmanship of the stained glass could not have been questioned.
Even though Akali was still under the impression of all the beautiful things she had witnessed in the estate, she tried to keep up with her guide. To her wordlessly satisfaction, the blonde was slowly approaching the mentioned stairs. Without thinking out too much, the Ionian woman caught up to the estate servant.
The lights of a still wakening day were passing through the glass, filling the corridor with a beautiful palette of colours. But, unfortunately, there was no time to admire the scenery because the maid was relentless in her pursuit. At one moment, she was standing so close to the beautiful stained glass. However, in the next moment, she turned left, fastly vanishing from the ninja's sight. A quiet yet heavy sigh was drawn by that observation. Still, Rogue knew that as long as her end of the bargain was not fulfilled, there would be no rest for her. So, without further delays, she picked up the pace.
Soon enough, the blonde stopped right in front of the massive oaken doors.
"Finally," the ninja sighed inside her mind. "Considering the splendour visible all around, there was a decent chance that behind these doors, the throne room was located," she allowed her thoughts to run freely.
"That's it," the maid uttered plainly. "Behind these doors, the master's awaiting you. I'd strongly recommend behaving correctly. If not… the guards will be more than willing to remind you about your place, miss," she added emotionlessly. "My task ends here. So… now I can only wish you luck, miss. We might or might not meet again in the future. However, it'll solely depend on the outcome of your audience."
"I get the feeling that you are not all that happy that I am here," Rogue replied, mimicking the emotionless tone of the blonde. "Anyways, thank you for your help," she added.
"I'm only a tool in master's hand," the girl responded stoically. "It isn't up to me to decide whether your visit here should be welcomed or condemned. Though, I'd stay on high alert if I were you," she added, smirking mischievously.
"Was it a threat?" Akali asked openly, narrowing her eyes. "Knock and then, be gone," she ordered, lowering her voice slightly to resemble a hiss.
"I'm not taking orders from you," the blonde replied. "However, it wouldn't be wise of me to let the master wait," she uttered quietly, knocking the doors a moment later. "If I were you, I'd try to establish alliances, not burning down the bridges from the start. You're in Noxus; whatever rules you know from Ionia doesn't apply here."
"I will try to remember that advice," the Ionian women responded simply.
"Something happened to that girl," the ninja thought. "She seemed to be distant from the moment she had wakened me up; however, she opted to remain silent, not uttering threats. Maybe… just maybe, she has been affected by someone's magic."
The raven-haired woman kept her eyes glued to the blonde-haired maid. She observed the girl's movement, seeking clues to help her solve the sudden riddle that appeared inside her mind. The estate servant kept smirking at her as she was slowly leaving. However, after only a couple of moments, something changed. The maid stopped smirking mischievously. Instead, she began shaking visibly. It might have lasted only a fraction of a second, yet it changed the setting entirely. Finally, the teenager turned around as if nothing had happened, bowed gracefully, and then vanished from her sight.
"Sometimes… I would really want to be mistaken," Akali sighed heavily.
Before the Ionian woman could have regained her composure and collected her thoughts, the sounds of opening doors reached her ears. It took her less than a second to turn around. Frankly, she turned around exactly in time to be faced with two fully-armed guards. Each of them was holding one of the door's wings. Even though they had metal masks covering their faces, it was evident that they were spectating her.
A few seconds passed without any direct sign from the two guards. Still, faced with such an unusual situation, Akali decided to proceed forward. After only a couple of steps, she received validation of her decision. The familiar bulky frame was spotted nearly instantly on her right. The Noxian commander was leaning against the glass-like wall, visibly annoyed and bored.
"Finally!" Darius loudly exclaimed as soon as he spotted the Ionian woman. "What slowed you down? That golden-haired kid was supposed to bring you here at least a couple of minutes ago!"
"Let's just say that there were complications during my way here," the raven-haired woman replied, shrugging. "I got here as soon as I could; I can assure you about that."
"Eee…," the bulky man sighed heavily. "It doesn't really matter now. Come, the master of Du Couteau's house is waiting for you," he added, pointing out at the very end of the room.
Frankly saying, the ninja had not been mistaken assuming that the room would resemble a throne room of sort. The oblong chamber could be mistaken for a corridor at first sight. Though the numerous guards were presented, staying quietly on Akali's left, it must have been admitted. The distance separating one warrior from the other was not massive. Based on a hasty calculation, she thought it was about a metre. Still, it was just a minor detail, not worth delving deeper in.
Rogue narrowed her eyes significantly. She felt as if in a cage with many visitors starring at her. With certainty, she could say that all of these guards were speculating how the possible fight would have played out. In Rogue's case, it would have been a daring game to kill or disarm the nearest guardsmen. Then, once she had a proper weapon, she would have been able to fight off the others. However, the wisest choice would have been to escape. But, unfortunately, she knew herself all too well. Akali would have never turned down the fight. It was her blessing and the curse at the same time.
"Stop daydreaming!" the Noxian commander hissed loudly enough to catch her attention. "Your life will depend on the outcome of this meeting. It'd have been a shame to waste so much effort to bring you here just for you to screw it up."
"I do not think Du Couteau would waste their time and resources in such a silly way," Akali replied stoically. "As you have mentioned before, there is some task waiting for me to pick up and deal with. So… before I manage to deal with it, they will not try to kill me. It would have been utter depravity of resources," she provided her reasoning.
"If I were you, I'd have hoped I'm right," Darius uttered simply.
"Is there any sense of talking about inevitable?" Rogue asked quietly. "It is not like I will be faced with the master of this estate in a couple of minutes. So, I do not see the point in delving deeper into the topic."
"Yeah… there's no sense in that," the Might of Noxus agreed.
The current situation should have been named more appropriately as a farce. After all, even now, Rogue could clearly see the throne-like armchair and the man sitting on it. The furniture had been intentionally placed on a decent elevation with the small stairs attached to it. With little to no time to spare, Akali managed to shoot only a couple of glances before they closed the distance entirely. As mentioned before, the wall on her right seemed to be made out of glass. Its transparent surface showed the adjacent chamber. It was nearly completely stuffed with armours and weapons. Naming all of them would have taken too much time, so the thought of doing so was immediately discarded.
The right wall was frankly less impressive. Aside from the tensed and ready to act guards, there was nothing extraordinary here. Even the numerous large windows seemed to be out of place. But, of course, the opinion was based on the wonders that she had encountered before. Their construction was dully plain in comparison to the other segments of the estate. As if someone intentionally had left that fragment plain, nearly untouched.
Still, the most important detail held in this room was Marcus Du Couteau, the house leader. The man seemed to be in the middle of his forties. However, it was evident that he did not really care about his age. Under the elegant and possibly expensive doublet, the firm and strong muscles were moving from to time. His hand, even though marked with the passage of time, were strong, slightly tanned.
"He must be spending some time outside," Rogue commented in the deepest part of her mind.
The bright baggy pants were clearly messing up his formal appearance. So, that particular piece of clothing seemed to be taken without an ounce of care from the wardrobe. And potentially, there was some truth behind that statement. Slightly below his knee, the high boots began. The pair was made of high-quality leather and polished or smeared to reflect the light to some extent.
Marcus's face was long, noble, dangerous. Every defined feature of it seemed to be formed to yield some advantage. Next were his eyes, cold and cunning. Behind these grey irises, the true master-mind was hiding. Between the depth of his dark hair, the stands of white could have been spotted if one looked closely enough.
"It is my pleasure to welcome you in my humble abode, Akali," the Noxian noble greeted her politely. "After all these months of constant complaining from my daughter regarding you, I have finally a chance to meet you in person. Though you must forgive me for the lack of manners. So allow me to welcome you properly to the beautiful and prosperous lands of Noxus. It is so wonderful to meet you, dear."
"In any other scenario, the feeling could be considered mutual," Akali replied, bowing gracefully. "However, considering the circumstances of my arrival, I doubt I can say so without lying."
"But, of course," Marcus responded, not even slightly bothered by the foreigner's response. "It is more than understandable to feel uneasy in your current situation. Yet I have to confess that the whole scheme was arranged due to necessity. If there had been any other option, I would have gladly chosen the latter," he added courtly.
"So… would it be a misstep on my behalf if I asked for the reason behind this farce?" the ninja asked, keeping her tone as courtly as possible. "After all, I was informed that there is a very important task awaiting me."
"But, of course not, dear," the estate's master replied softly. "I can assure you that your task is indeed awaiting you."
"To what do I owe this interest in me?" the raven-haired woman asked without thinking much. Though after a moment or so, she realised that there was quite a lot of such reasons.
"I am certain that you have figured that out already all by yourself," Du Couteau's senior replied, smiling a little. "You must know that you are quite a valuable person for both your order and Ionia as a whole, do you not?"
"I am but one woman that can be replaced," Rogue responded, trying to pick her words more carefully. "If you want to threaten my homeland whilst using me as a prisoner of war, it will not work. We, Ionians, we know the true meaning of sacrifice," she exclaimed proudly.
"Oh," Marcus hummed. "About that, I am pretty sure. However, worry not; it is not the reason you are here."
"So… what is the reason behind all of that effort?" the ninja bluntly asked.
"Look… my dearest daughter needs someone to train her," the senior began slowly. "Though she is without a doubt a prodigy, she lacks the proper spine. Therefore, even though she has already surpassed Talong and other Noxian masters, she is but an apprentice. In theory, I would be a perfect tutor for her, but my duties will not allow me to do so. So, I have thought about you as a possible candidate," he explained in detail. "After all, she has already fought you and lost miserably," the man added with a nasty smirk.
"What is the name of your daughter?" the ninja asked instantly. "If she is more proficient than Talong, she must have been around Katarina's level. Wait… Katarina is your daughter, is she not?" she uttered an additional question after a couple of moments of thinking.
"Ahhh," Marcus Du Couteau sighed heavily, hiding his eyes behind his large palm. "It was to be expected," he added with a hint of embarrassment. "I can safely assume that my daughter, Katarina, has not even introduced herself properly. Her mother would have been so devastated to see what she has grown into."
"So, I am to be Katarina's teacher?" the raven-haired woman asked.
"Yes, at least partially," the dark-haired man responded, forgetting about the nuisance his daughter was. "I require you to teach her, protect her, act as both her guardian and maid. If you manage to fulfil those roles for the next 3 years, I will allow you to leave. Frankly, I will pay you a haftly amount of gold for your services. And… on top of that, I will make peace with your nation for the foreseeable future. Are you in or out? Take it or leave it."