And I say I hate you but I don't.

by magicants

Summary:

Leblanc was taken by a Demacian radical group that aimed to use her magic to power a mech. Swain saved her from that fate, but that is not where the struggles end. She has to learn to live without magic that she had for centuries, and realize just how much she relied on it. Not to mention that both her and Swain are struggling with their feelings regarding one another.

Notes:

• For Deadr0tten.

Based on a rp me and my partner are writing. Chapter 1 is a memory snippet I wrote that Swain discovered while looking for Leblanc.

Chapter 2 onward is the epilogue to the rp.

Chapter 1

Leblanc had been on the move since the explosion, pulled along, dragged and thrown by her captors. She had been near petricide before, but nothing compared to the cuffs that they had chained her hands in. She felt weak, hardly awake and her usual magical energy was completely gone. The woman could feel it being pulled out of her, siphoned away from her use. She could hardly muster the energy to move, and sometimes they would take more than she had.

She desperately tried to stop herself from crying out from the pain, but it continued whether she begged or not. No one was listening, and whatever device they were using, it took without care. She gasped out in pain, banging her cuffs as she pulled and twisted. It was so dark, it had felt like it had been dark forever. How many days had it been?

The woman went silent as sunlight flooded her eyesight, making her wince from it. She tried to pull away, but she was super weak. It felt as if the mechanism took her energy just as much as it took her magic. They pulled her along by her cuffs, giving no mind as she fell down from the carriage, they had trapped her in.

"What a sorry fate for the Pale Woman." The man that had grabbed her chains commented, and she tried to use her magic to free her hands. No matter how much she focused, she couldn't muster anything. Nothing like this had ever happened before, never had technology robbed her from her power. "You're a perfect magic source, no wonder you are so popular in Noxus." Leblanc tried to spit at him, but it didn't even get close to hitting him.

"Fuck you, I will make you and your children suffer-!" She was cut off by a cloth gag being shoved into her mouth and tightened to the point of hurting her jaw.

"Shush, you can't do anything even if you wanted to." He dragged her inside a mine, locking the door behind him. Her hair was sleek with perspiration from hours and hours of struggling. The sharp rocks of the mineshaft cutting into her skin as she was dragged, her body growing limp as she felt another tug at her magic when she had not regenerated near enough to handle it. Her head lulled, her eyes barely open as she tried to muster strength. She was growing delirious, the world around her moving and shifting.

Was anyone coming? She had caused so many problems, it had been her joy to play chess with everyone else's lives. Would Talon consider looking for her? She wished that she knew... Swain? That nobleman that she had played with more than anyone, her fruitless attempts to kill him and him constantly proving her wrong. She shivered, her eyes darting around at the shadows that the torches made. Her heart hurt, and she didn't realize just how deeply she had alienated herself. She felt herself begging. "Swain... please..." The only one she could think of that would maybe save her, that would consider her important enough to worry about. Vladimir was likely celebrating her absence, their alliance was shaky at best.

Her consciousness slipped away, only waking up when the next harvest of her magic happened. They had her in a petricide made room, from what she could tell. Her cuffs were anchored to the center of the room, feeding into the walls where it snaked out of her sight down a hall. What were they going to do with all her magic? What did they want? They had drained her so regularly that she often felt feverish and ill, her body struggling to manage the extraction. She couldn't even manage sitting up, the exhaustion sweeping her back up into delirium.

-

"Swain, is that you?" She saw a raven, reaching out to it with desperate hope. It was dark again, and she could hardly make out anything. The raven took off, and she jumped out to try to stop it. "Please... No, no more." She curled up and put her hands to her head.

"Someone... please." She had never felt the way she did now, dried tears on her face from each harvest. The energy taken from her sending her in and out of consciousness that she couldn't string words together. Her being dragged barely even bothered her anymore, the gravel feeling soft under her scratched raw skin.

"Eat, now." The big man demanded, food that resembled slop in a bowl. She forced it down, eating it with her hands without a thought before she threw it all back up again. He punched her in the face. "Idiot, you pathetic Noxian, look how far you've fallen. Next time, I give you food you hold it down." He barked at her and she just felt sicker. Was she going to die? Could someone have all the magic drained out of them to the point where they died? She got as far as she could from her vomit, curling up in a feverish attempt to stay warm.

She kept hearing things, seeing things, and her fever kept worsening. Sometimes when her captives visited her, she thought it was Swain. Or it was maybe Darius, or Talon... She would nearly call out to them before her eyes finally allowed her to see the truth. No one was there to save her. She would hear ravens, despite knowing she was nowhere near the exit of the mine. She couldn't stop coughing, her body rejecting everything she attempted to eat, her shivering becoming a constant and whenever she felt her magic being tugged from her... She had started seizing along with the pain that it would cause her.

"We need to stop for some time, or she might end up dying from fever or her seizures." She heard, her eyes closed with her head resting against the ground. She wondered if it was real, she couldn't tell anymore. She shivered.

"We can't stop right now, we are so close to a breakthrough, and her magic is only getting stronger." She heard the man who usually cared for her, she still couldn't tell if she was making it all up. Her eyes were too heavy to open.

"What good is she if she's dead? You can't exactly find anyone else like her to replace her and then you won't have anything." She wondered if that was true, if they couldn't find anyone like her. Wasn't there?

"Extractions will continue as scheduled, but you make sure to break that fever. She needs to be ready in a week, you understand?" She didn't like that, a time limit of some sort. What more could they want from her in a week time?

"That should be enough." The other voice answered, and she heard the door open. The cuffs unattached from the anchor in the middle of the room. Leblanc barely could open her eyes to look at him, a short sturdy scientist. He threw her over his shoulder with no issue, even though it nearly caused her to throw up again. She made no effort to struggle, as if she was watching a movie in slow motion. She dozed off before finding herself in a bed, her cuffs were attached to the bedframe, and she could see the tubing that took her magic away. Leblanc glanced around the room, her shivers only minutely better than they had been previously. She felt herself seize up again in anticipation, feeling the cuffs pull at her.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Leblanc is saved from her captivity.

Her fever finally broke, and she was thankful to be free of it. They didn't move her back to the other rooms, allowing her to remain in a proper bed. Likely only out of concern that her seizures would cause her to hurt herself badly, and considering each extraction was a guaranteed seizure at that point, she did quite a bit of damage just in a bed.

She was still weak, and more times than not she could do nothing more than look around and observe her surroundings. The delirium had finally passed, she was thankful for the quiet and knowing what was real or not. Food was a battle of its own, but the scientist was much more patient with her than her captor. Leblanc reminded herself that the reprieve was momentary, and that in less than a week, she would be back under her captor's hand.

Or so she had thought, because when she woke up shortly before her first extraction of the day, it was. Eerily quiet, something that hadn't happened in the whole time she had been there. There was always noise, talking, and everything. She tensed up, and she hardly made any noise at that point. Every few hours for days on end was making her used to the horrible minutes that stretched on where she couldn't control her body before it released her into limpness.

She saw a tall man enter the room, searching around for something. Long white hair combed back, pale complexion, wearing his jacket like a cloak… And. A red… No, it wasn't possible. “Swain…?” She whispered out, unable to speak louder, but she didn't need to as the two connected eyes. He raced over, grabbing the chains and destroying them with his demon hands. He wasn't able to do anything about the cuffs, she knew that.

“Let's get you out of here, then we can talk.” He told her, at first looking like he was going to have her walk. Then he saw her weakness and took a deep breath, he wrapped her with his coat before picking her up in his arms. The lack of movement from Leblanc speaking to her exhaustion, not even a sly comment made its way from her lips. He quickly made his way out of the facility, his eyes searching around for something. Were there others with him? Darius perhaps? Darius was his good friend, he would do anything for Swain if he asked. No tall man came anywhere close to them, instead she noticed two other familiar faces. Katarina and Talon, the two, stood out just as their father did.

“We need to get out of here and find a doctor.” Swain told the two, who looked at each other before they sprung into action. She felt herself doze off once again, listening to Swain's heartbeat. The cuffs still made her unable to use her magic, but it was no longer able to take her magic out of her body, and that was enough for her to regain a small degree of strength.

She woke with a start, at first panicking before she realized she was in… a hotel room, she guessed. Swain was in a chair near the bed, asleep, from what she could tell. She wondered if she wanted to wake him, if she had the words to express how thankful she was. Her cuffs still remained, but she could tell there had been a few attempts to free her from the due to some bruising around where they rested.

The dark-haired woman laid herself back down, feeling more awake than she had in a long time. “Swain.” She called out softly and placed her hand on top of his shoulder. He startled at first, grabbing her hand before releasing it when he realized it was her.

“Leblanc, you're awake.” He was using his general voice, as if the two of them were nothing more than acquaintances.

“Thank you.” She whispered, her eyes fluttered open and closed as she struggled to stay awake. Her body was demanding more rest, but she wanted to talk, she wanted to make up for everything.

“We're getting you help, and then we're going home to Noxus.” He told her, and she only managed a nod in response before losing consciousness again.

“Her magic is struggling to return, those cuffs are interfering. Unless you get them off, she has a long road to recovery, and it's hard to say if she can recover with them on.”

“They're unbreakable, I've tried everything to get them off. Unless we catch the inventor, I'm not unsure if they are removable.” Swain answered the unknown voice.

“I need to be honest with you, Grand General. She may struggle to use magic in the future even when she recovers. It would be best if someone she knows tells her the news. I'm sorry.”

Leblanc sighed, wrapping herself in her blankets, she didn't want to hear it. She wanted to push it as far away as she could manage. They were fucking with her, surely? There was no feasible way that her, Leblanc, who brought Noxus together by the reigns, was unable to use magic. Tears gathered at her eyes, an unnatural reminder that she could do such a miserable thing. She had cried so often during her captivity that she had grown used to the feeling, but often it was out of pain, not the weeping, that she found herself grieving.

She gasped as she felt a hand on her side, looking up immediately at Swain. She felt it all cluster together, and she couldn't find any words to say. He didn't say anything in return, pulling her closer to him so she can rest her head on his lap. Despite every proud bone in her body, she buried her face into his leg to muffle her tears. She felt his hand on her head, combing his demon hand through her hair that had matted from neglect.

“I'm sorry, I tried to find you as fast as I could.” He whispered, regret heavy in his voice. He continued his combing, being gentle with any tangles that arose. Leblanc's crying quieted, her exhaustion making her wonder if she would ever not feel tired. “I will find and kill every single one of them.” He growled. She felt small in his lap, despite the fact she was not small. Or at least, she wasn't so small before her captivity and starvation, but she had become bones and weak muscles loosely stringed together.

“It. Doesn't matter.” She mumbled, the damage was beyond done, there was nothing that she could do about it. She was essentially powerless, she tried to make even a small illusion within her hand. She couldn't even muster a magical cloud, the easiest of magic given its lack of form. “It won't change anything.” The woman let her hand fall down, she wiped her face and continued avoiding Swain's gaze.

It was humiliating for her to be this way, for him being the one who saved her, for him to be the one to comfort her despite all the pain she had inflicted upon him. It didn't make sense, none of it made sense. Why did he touch her with such fondness? Why did he rage with such ferocity at her injustice? “Why, why do you care?” She asked, tempted to look at him for the answer, but she was scared of what she would find out from his expression.

Swain pulled his hand away, as if he had been unaware of his behaviour up to that point. She didn't move, she still had so many hours of exhaustion to work through.

“I will admit that a life without you, would be… uneventful.”

“Uneventful. You're a madman, Jericho Swain.” She responded, feeling a little peeved at his reasoning. “I actively try to kill you, and you find that. Eventful? You actively miss my attempts at your life?” She growled at him, she expected a laugh at her frustration, but silence was all that remained.

“Leblanc, it's. Not that.” She glanced up at him, what had him acting so cagey all of a sudden?

“Then what is it?” She sat up despite her body protesting in pain at her movement. She searched his face but found no answers.

“You matter to me, a lot more than I realized.” He whispered, avoiding her gaze. Leblanc wanted to laugh, to call him names, anything other than admitting that he was telling the truth.

“You're joking, you're obviously fucking with me.” She tried to will it into existence, how ridiculous Swain was being. There was no way it was true.

“I'm not, Leblanc. I genuinely want you in my life.” It was a miserable sight to see such a tall man looking so nervous. It was the one thing that made her aware that it all was a practical joke.

“Jericho, you don't want to fall in love with a woman who will outlive you, five times over.” She warned him, she needed to get him to realize that he was hurting himself. It was also a way of pushing him away, because it would be a lie if she said she didn't like him.

“I doubt I will be going anywhere, given my arm. Courtesy of you, I suppose.” He snickered, before getting up from the bed. “I thought I would let you know.”

Leblanc felt completely uncomfortable, her coping skills begging her to insult him to make him stop saying such absurd things. “Jericho, wait…” She got off the bed, standing for a few seconds before her legs gave out and Swain caught her.

“You need to stay in bed.” He warned, returning her to the bed and as he moved his head away, she grabbed his cheeks.

“I swear, I better not regret this. I'll make sure to rip off all your fingers and toes if you're messing with me.” She growled, kissing him on the lips for a second before pulling away. “Bring food with you next time.” Leblanc deflected, turning to face the nearest wall.

He cleared his throat before saying. “Rest well, Leblanc. We'll be heading back to Noxus tomorrow.” She considered responding to him and wishing him a good sleep, but she was already dozing off before she had a chance to say so.

Chapter 3

Summary:

Swain ends up in arguments with both Leblanc and Darius.

In the morning, she went to get up from the bed, determined to care for herself. She clenched anything close by to stop herself from falling. The woman made her slow expedition to the bathroom, getting to see herself for the first time in sometime. She grabbed a comb, leaning against the vanity to keep herself supported as she worked through her hair.

After some time standing, she felt some strength return to her legs, so they were not shaking constantly. However, walking, she was still struggling plenty with. She didn't enjoy the implications of what that meant for their journey home, would he carry her again? No, they would have a carriage, there was no way the two would travel by foot. Leblanc found herself trying to use her magic over and over again, most of the time out of habit, and each time she got nothing. She banged her fist against the sink in frustration. "Maybe I should let him kill them." She grumbled to herself, making her way back to the bed.

She heard a knock. "You can come in." She answered from the bed, sitting on the edge. The Grand General made his way into the room.

"We have a carriage, do you need my help?" She had gotten up again, holding onto anything she could to stay standing.

"No, I will get there." She hissed stubbornly, yet it made no difference as she could hardly get further than the bed. Leblanc expected him to make a comment, but he didn't, she expected him to pick her up without asking, yet he didn't.

"Here, you can lean on me." Swain told her, taking one of her hands to steady the shaking of her legs. She felt thankful that he didn't bother her about her powering through her weakness, it felt like it was the only thing she had control over anymore. Her plans, her power, her everything. It weighed her down like a thousand tons of steel. She could never have that power again, and she still couldn't handle the reality of it.

The two made their way to the carriage, where he helped her up the steps to her seat before taking his own. Leblanc leaned heavily against the side of the seat, her breathing unsteady from the walk. She kept expecting him to say something, it was odd to hear Jericho so quiet, maybe it was because she was equally as quiet. She put her hand underneath the crook of her neck, leaning into it. She swore in her head frustrated with her lack of energy, her cuffs likely the cause, they were dormant, but they still functioned to keep her unable to fight back.

"Leblanc." The silence being interrupted, and she lifted her head with the call of her name.

"Jericho." She echoed, a tired smirk on her face. His face was loose, yet his body was tense, she wondered what was going on in that brain of his. He seemed offput by her using his first name, considering she often called him by his full name, it had more emphasis, and it flowed perfectly.

"That kiss yesterday..." He trailed off, avoiding her eyes again, which she had come to expect. She knew she was going to have that conversation sooner rather than later. She readjusted herself in her seat so she could lean more comfortably into the wall.

"Jericho, perhaps its best if we leave it until we get back." She muttered, the wall was super uncomfortable, and she decided she would give up on the wall and lean into Swain instead. He tensed up even further at first, before wrapping his arm around her loosely.

"I feel like we should talk about it now. I need to understand how you feel. Please." He looked down at her, a plead prominent in his face. She scrunched up her face, she really didn't want to talk about it. Her head was already swimming from the walking, she could hardly think of anything to say never mind her behaviour from the previous day.

"It's complicated. I can't say more than that."

"Sorry, I should have waited to tell you." She looked up at him, he was staring off into the distance. She sighed, things were much too complicated to add to the mixture.

"I love you too." Leblanc whispered under her breath, and she felt his breathing hitch. He didn't say anything in return, and frankly, she was still too tired to care more than she already had.

--

Leblanc slept most of the journey from Demacia to Noxus Prime, at some point her leaning into Swain became sleeping curled up and her head buried into his abdomen. There were a few times where he adjusted to get more comfortable and nearly woke her up in turn, but she fell asleep quick after as if she hadn't been conscious at all.

When they arrived, Leblanc was still deeply asleep, and Swain wasn't about to wake her up if he could avoid it. He positioned her onto his back that she limply held onto his neck before lifting her up and carrying her piggyback to his manor. She was in no state to return to the Black Rose, even if she wanted to. He also imagined that she didn't wish for anyone to see her in such a state, especially on the back of the Grand General, so the decision was easy to make.

He tucked her into his bed, which she hardly moved in response, she was still deep asleep from what he could tell. Swain decided he would make her some food, deciding on a soup considering she was still struggling with keeping food down after captivity. He wished he had been able to free her sooner than he had, but the group had been relatively thorough, between the merchant contact giving their location for them to find out she had only been there temporarily. A dead end, that soon resulted in more time lost while they tried to find out where they took her from there.

He had truly tried everything to get the cuffs off her, but nothing budged from his attempts, only him unintentionally hurting her in the process. He decided to take advantage of her resting to make the broth from scratch, something that he typically didn't bother with given the hours it took. It was a nice distraction from the strange situation that he found himself in and stopped him from needlessly fretting over her while she tried to sleep. Part of Swain felt anxious any moment that he wasn't in the same room as her, subconsciously worrying that she would disappear any moment. That somehow, they would kidnap her again, despite how irrational it was.

So, Jericho made sure to keep himself busy, and considering he had a manor that had been neglected for a few weeks, he had plenty of housework to focus on and he was thankful for it. He would need to speak with Darius regarding the negotiations with Demacia, they were trying to avoid a war, but their treatment of Leblanc and his responding violence made the situation precarious at best, reason for Darius to handle it rather than himself.

-

"Do you think she will care about you saving her? I mean no disrespect, Swain, but she has always been more trouble than she's worth." He recalled Darius's words, how much they filled him with rage, how it inflicted insecurity into his thoughts.

"I don't care if she thanks me or stabs me in the back for it. I will save her anyway." He had replied in the moment, and Darius met his eyes with pity on his face.

"You have lost your mind, Swain. These feelings are getting in the way of your duty."

"Don't accuse me of losing my mind, Darius. I don't care what I have to do, I will do what I need."

"Noxus needs you, Swain. You will become just like Darkwill if you let her get her hands into you. She will use what feelings you have against you. You know that, she has always lied, double crossed and backstabbed everyone she's ever known. You should know that more than anyone." It was a tricky thing to dispute with zero evidence, and Swain could hardly stop himself from feeling that Darius may be right. Anger, however, didn't care and his arm started to glow red strongly.

"Darius, you're dismissed. I won't hear another word." He told him, and Darius stood up taller.

"We have the same rank, Swain. I will not be dismissed, not until you understand. If I must remove you from your position, I will. I won't have Noxus fall into Leblanc's hands just because you can't put your feelings aside." Darius barked at him, glaring at him.

"I said, you're dismissed. Get. Out." Swain stood up, slamming his hands on his desk.

"I will be speaking with Guile, I'm not going to ignore this, and neither will they." Darius retorted, before leaving the room.

-

Swain sighed, the conversation had spiraled out of control, he didn't think Darius would act so childishly, or was that him? He wasn't sure, but the words of Darius lingered and cut daggers into the deepest parts of his body. Did he have to choose between Noxus and Leblanc? Was there really no way to safely serve both? He heard a thump at the stairs, and he quickly made his way over, his heart in his throat. Leblanc on her hands and knees at the bottom of the stairs.

"Leblanc, are you okay?" He bent down to help her up, looking for any wounds.

"I'm fine, I just missed the last step." She pulled her hand from his own, uncomfortable with his worry. She put a hand on the stairs railing.

"You should still be in bed, the doctor said you shouldn't be up and going for at least a week." He insisted, but she shook her head.

"Jericho, you will not tell me what to do and neither will some random doctor. If you must have me here, I will do as I please." She responded indignantly, glaring at his hands as he had been in the motion of assisting her back up the stairs. He let his hands fall to his sides.

"Leblanc, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. You're not well, you're not thinking straight." He tried to coax her into listening to him, he hated to do it, but she really needed to continue resting.

"Oh, I'm not thinking straight? Is that why you told me now that you care about me so? Because I'm unwell, and you think I can't see you messing with me?" Leblanc's face scrunched up, her face growing red with each word.

"No, that's not what I meant, Leblanc, please go back to bed." He shook his head, his words being completely messed up and he was making the situation worse.

"No. I won't, and I won't have you telling me what to do. I'm not afraid to leave this manor, Jericho, if you continue, I will leave." She noticed one of Swain's spare canes, taking it so she could more easily move around. He let her go, his demon hand clenching tightly. Between Darius questioning his authority, and Leblanc disregarding his words entirely, he was struggling not lashing out in turn. How was he supposed to make the situation work when he was questioned at every corner?

Chapter 4

Summary:

Swain struggles to understand what Leblanc wants from him.

He returned to the kitchen, remembering his broth, he filtered out the bones from the broth a few times to catch as much bone as possible. His original plan of having food for her ready in bed squandered, he prepared the contents to be added to the broth to boil. Was there anyone who would actually listen to him? Draven, possibly, but when he was in trouble with Darius, the younger brother often found it hard to be in the middle of the two. Maybe he would just speak with Draven about the situation and avoid Darius as a topic all together. He whistled, one of his ravens coming to him and landing on his arm, upon seeing he didn't have a letter prepared, the raven moved to his shoulder.

Swain grabbed a notepad, writing quickly. 'Draven, could we meet tonight for drinks at our usual?' He handed it to his raven, who took it eagerly before flying out of the kitchen.

It wasn't long until he got the response he expected. Draven never passed up on drinks. The general continued making the soup, once satisfied with the softness of the vegetables, he portioned out two bowls. He wasn't sure exactly where Leblanc had disappeared to in the manor, so he opted to put it in the dining room and once he had put his own at the table, he started searching. Luckily, she hadn't gotten too far, she had made it into the study where she had fallen asleep reading from the looks of it. For a few moments, he hesitated, not wishing to disturb her, but she needed some good hot food, so he pushed through. He lightly shook her, and she frightened like someone was killing her in her sleep.

"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away with heavy quick breaths as she woke up and realized where she was. Leblanc put her hand to her head, groaning as she tried to calm her shaking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I made us some soup, I thought it would be good for you." Swain spoke quietly, hoping that it would help Leblanc recover faster from her scare. "It's in the dining room." He turned around to leave her, but he felt her grab his hand.

"Don't go, Jericho. Don't, leave me alone." She whispered in turn, her voice cracking as she started crying again. He turned around to face her and seeing her like that ripped his heart to pieces. The proud and determined woman he knew completely ruined by the power ripped away from her.

"I won't. I'm here." He wrapped her in his arms, holding her against his chest. She gripped at his shirt, muffling her crying with it. Swain knew it was going to take a long time, if not forever, for her to be okay. He wished he could kill every single one of the people who did this to her, but there was far too many and not under Noxus rule made it hard for him to make them suffer. He didn't speak again until she quieted down, he thought she might have fallen asleep, but as he moved to get comfortable, she let go of his shirt and pulled away. Jericho let her go and stood up.

"Leblanc, do you want to talk about it?" He asked, but she got to her feet and shook her head. Her head angled downward that caused her face to be obscured by her bangs, she used his cane to make her way to the kitchen. It was much too tall for her to be using properly, but she didn't seem to care.

As they started eating, the silence started to become deafening. Leblanc looking half asleep as she sat in front of her food, a slow mouthful at a time. Swain started to regret his decision of requesting Draven's presence... Leblanc needed him, and he also didn't like the idea of having him at the manor either, Leblanc was vulnerable and he guessed that she wouldn't want to be seen by anyone other than himself which was out of pure necessity. He couldn't cancel after his invitation had been accepted so last minute.

"Leblanc, I need to step out later this evening. I had a last minute arrangement." Jericho told her after he had finished his soup, getting up from his chair to clean up after himself. She was nowhere close to finishing her food yet. He looked at her attentively, loathing how she might answer because of him not thinking before offering his company. She didn't respond to him, seeming to be thinking to herself.

"Do what you need to do, I don't care." Leblanc grumbled after a few moments, her face showing lifelessness. She got up from her spot and pushed in the chair with some difficulty.

"You should try to eat some more." He tried to be gentle about it, but she just glared at him.

"I'm full, leave me alone." Why did she keep acting like he was demanding things of her? One moment she wanted his attention, then the next she said she didn't care. He found it hard to understand. He couldn't deal with it anymore.

"You obviously do care. You told me not to leave you earlier, and now you are changing your mind again. I don't understand what you want." Jericho put his bowl down, going to stop Leblanc from leaving the room without talking to him.

"What I want? I want my powers back, Jericho. I want to disappear and have control like I've always have. You don't understand because you don't know how this feels! You don't understand what it feels like to lose centuries and centuries of work because of your enemy and then someone comes and takes literally everything you have left!" She shouted at him, digging her nails into her palms. "I've been alive for all this time, and I have absolutely nothing left, I have nothing to show for it! So please, keep telling me how you don't understand why I am acting the way I am. I will strangle you in your fucking sleep if I have to!" She automatically tried to use magic, her frustration having often affected the world around her, she looked at the lack of magic in her surroundings despite her emotional outburst and she started breathing heavily. "This isn't real, this can't be." She veered to the side against the wall, and Swain knew he needed to do something, just barely stopping her from falling to the ground. She was seizing up again, he hadn't seen her have a seizure since they had disconnected her from the machine.

"Leblanc, I'm here, it's all okay." He tilted her head to the side, so that she didn't choke on her spit. He didn't know enough, he had thought that she wouldn't have anymore of these. He wished he had asked the doctor more, he was begging himself to be calm, reminding himself that she was more scared than him. She couldn't do anything. Jericho put his fingers through her hair, he tried to think of anything else that would help. He hummed, softly, he wasn't sure what to hum so he improvised a little tune instead. He thought about getting her help, but that also meant parting her when she needed him the most. He would swallow his fear and continue to be there for her despite her pleads otherwise.

It was a long couple minutes, it felt like it had been an eternity, but she stopped moving and he was thankful. He let out a long breath.

"I'll try to be more understanding." He whispered, he moved her head off his lap and crouched to scoop up the woman in his arms. She was so light that it was hard to believe that she was alive at all. He brought her up the stairs and back to the bed, tucking her back in. Her eyes drifting open and close as she came to, her eyes looking around at everything around her.

"Wasn't... I downstairs?" She muttered, her eyes searching for answers.

"You had a seizure, I bought you up here to rest. Will you please stay in bed?" He hoped that if he asked nicely that she would listen to him better.

"I thought, they couldn't take my magic anymore, how did I have a seizure?" She looked at the cuffs on her wrists. "Get them off, Swain, its their fault." She tugged at one of her cuffs, growling in frustration at their lack of budging.

"Leblanc, stop. We can't get them off, they weren't activated. I've seen the diagrams of these cuffs, they don't work without the rest of the machine." He stopped her hands, noticing the bleeding she had caused in the palm of her hands. "You hurt yourself, let me keep care of it." He had no idea what he would say to Draven, maybe he would have him come to the manor and give him money to take to the tavern alone. He needed an excuse, and he knew that he had to be careful about what he shared about Leblanc. She was having a hard enough time without others knowing the severity of her situation. She looked at her cuffs, as if frozen, she didn't respond to him as if she didn't hear him at all. "Why is this real?"

Swain wished he had an answer, but he knew that there was nothing he could say in response. He went to grab bandages for her hands, he was thankful when he saw she didn't move from where he left her. She let him take her hands, bandaging the palm of her hand on each side.

"I'll be here with you, Leblanc. I won't leave you. I'm sorry, about everything I said and did."

"I accept your apology." She shifted herself upward to grab his shirt and pull him closer. "I can't stand you." She muttered before kissing him, but she didn't pull away this time. Jericho stiffened out of complete shock then returned the exchange, his demon hand lifting to caress her face. He hated that he had to force himself to stop it.

"Leblanc, we shouldn't do this when you're like this. I don't want to take advantage of you." He took his hand away and Leblanc's face fell, she looked away from him.

"This is my decision, you're not doing anything."

"That is exactly why I think we should wait... Until you get a bit better. You can't walk without assistance right now and I want this to be real." He wasn't sure if it was the situation, or if he was too scared of her caring about him.

"Fine, have it your way." She growled, turning around in bed and laying back down. "Good night, Swain." He wasn't being ridiculous, was he? Wasn't this the right thing to do? He sighed, getting up from sitting on the bed and leaving the room, he closed the door behind him. Weariness was seeping into his bones, the emotional toll of Leblanc's rollercoaster starting to wear down on him. Jericho knew that his own tiredness paled in comparison to what Leblanc had to conquer, with none of the tools that she had used to cope before. He tried to remind himself that her irrationality only made it more important that he didn't let them rush into things, despite how much he wished to throw his own rationality down the drain when she kissed him.

He put his hand on his head, combing through his hair in a futile attempt to get control of himself. He needed to get away from her, just for a little bit, so his mind wasn't so muddled and weak. Darius's words only continued to penetrate his mind, weakening his resolve.

-

"She was calling for me. Specifically, for me, Darius." He tried to explain what he saw in the memories he had reaped from the men who had her captive.

"What difference does it matter that she said your name? She was probably calling out for help to anyone." Darius questioned, and it made Jericho boil.

"You accuse her of twisting the truth, manipulating reality to fit her rhetoric while boldly doing the same yourself, Darius." Swain defended, and Darius was never one to falter under Swain's gaze, no matter how different their strength, Darius would meet him wherever he stood.

"Yet you excuse her of all her wrongs the moment she cries out to you for help. Have you lost your sense? You think that she is more innocent than that of me?" He could see Darius clenching his teeth, avoiding raising his voice any higher than it already had.

"I'm not excusing what she did! The fact you don't understand that what she went through is worse than death and yet you don't see her worth saving other than to wrestle a weapon out from underneath Demacia."

"Because, I know what matters. I don't let my feelings cloud my judgment and throw away my honour to the ravens because I fell in love with a mage who has been undermining Noxus's freedom since the beginning of time!"

"I thought as a friend you would understand, it disgusts me to hear how little you seem to know about me."

"Don't pull our friendship into this, Swain. We are speaking about Noxus, not gossiping over trivial matters."

Chapter 5

With his mood at rock bottom, he knew he needed some time with a somewhat reasonable person, and a good drink. He'd prefer if it was quiet, but that was asking much outside his home, never mind from a tavern with his loudest friend. He arrived early to their meeting spot, and finished two drinks before Draven had arrived. Swain could tell from the look of him that he likely had come directly from the arena, presumably after another guaranteed win.

“Jericho, you look miserable. Never seen you a few drinks in before me, except for when you're fighting with Darius.” Draven chuckled, before reading his face and taking a seat. “Fuck, you're fighting with him again, aren't you?”

There went the plan to avoid talking about Darius. The general grabbed his drink and took a big swig. “Yes. That's not the only thing on my plate, either.”

“Are the things on your plate related to each other?” Draven inquired, and Swain nodded solemnly. “Don't tell me you two are fighting over women.” Swain choked on his drink.

“Darius? Fight over a woman. Draven, let's not joke, that man has no interest in women.” He stammered out, clearing his throat to relieve the choking feeling.

“Look, I can dream that my older brother finds someone that he will actually chill the fuck out with. He needs something to loosen his marbles.”

“I am disgusted by the implications of your statement, Draven.”

“I wish I was joking, but sometimes a woman really can make all the difference. I certainly chilled out after my first time.”

“I'm going to throw up before I get drunk if you keep talking about your brother's virginity like some coveted prize.” Swain certainly felt nauseated by the whole situation, he wasn't exactly exaggerating.

“Alright, topic done, what is happening in paradise?” Draven swept the table as if there were crumbs to discard onto the floor. A drink placed in front of Draven without an exchange, Swain really needed to help him curb his drinking, but that night was not a night that he was willing to provide any more help than he had already offered up to an unwelcoming host.

“You remember the attack on the banquet that was hosted about a month ago.” He paused, waiting to see the recognition in Draven's face before continuing. “Leblanc was taken by a cult group based in Demacia, they were using mages like batteries for a weapon they had constructed. She was kidnapped from that banquet, imprisoned, cuffed where they drained her of her magic even when she had nothing, starved her, and nearly let her die from the fucking flu.” He didn't even realize he had gotten up from his seat, raising his voice in rage at the injustice that was committed. That had not been fully avenged. His demon hand was glowing, and he swallowed hard, sitting back down before too many people stared at him.

“Leblanc. Isn't that... The woman who had you rat out your parents and have them killed?”

“Yes, but-”

“Leblanc, the Pale Woman, the matriarch of the Black Rose, a cabal that has had its thorns in the government until you usurped Darkwill.”

“Yes, but-” Swain said with seething frustration, annoyed with his friend's continued interruptions.

“Leblanc, the one who has tried to kill you on several different occasions?”

“That doesn't matter!”

“Sheesh, no wonder Darius was acting like he got stabbed with a thousand knives.”

“Will you listen to me or not, Draven?” Swain spoke in a warning voice, glaring at the carefree man who was sipping his drink like he was relaxing at the beach.

“Okay, I remember her, go ahead, I'll listen. We've been through a lot, so I'll hear you out.” He leaned back in his chair and waited for Swain to continue.

“I had a diplomatic complication when I was looking for her. A mine that had been used to contain Leblanc blew up.” Swain explained, Draven looked super unconvinced by it but rolled his eyes and motioned for him to keep talking.

“I'll skip to the point. I found her, and I brought her back to Noxus with me. The things they did to her have caused irreparable damages, and I can't even free her from those damn cuffs that those monsters put on her. Darius is trying to tell me that she is messing with me. I saw memories of her, begging for help, my help. He would have me leave her for vultures for the things she's done.”

“Which she does deserve.” Draven mumbled.

“Why do none of you understand? Are you heartless that you can't stop thinking of what she did for two seconds?” Swain banged his hand on the table at Draven's comment.

“So, this really is about a woman.”

“Draven. Do not bring her gender into this, I swear. I am not in the mood for your jokes.”

“Look, Jericho, we've been friends for a long time. Same with you and my brother. This situation is very sticky, and sadly you're caught in its web. Darius isn't trying to undermine you, he's just trying to cut you free from the web that you stepped in. I'm not about to lie to you and say you're in the right here. I hate when you two fight, he gets depressed, and his anger gets ick.” Draven shivered in response. “He isn't all just about Noxus, I don't care what he said about his duty and all that, but he cares about you and honestly worries about you like a mother about her child. If you believe that Leblanc deserves what kindness you give her, then you have to bear in mind that you're the minority. You can't expect people to understand why she deserves better just because it matters to you.” Draven rambled, glancing at his drinking partner, who let out a long exaggerated sigh before taking a long swig of his drink and finishing it off. He motioned to the bar for another.

“I don't know what to do, Draven. Leblanc keeps giving me whiplash, she wants one thing one second and then something another. She'll go from cursing my name to begging me to stay with her.” He grumbled, collapsing his arms on the table and resting his head down.

“So not only are you fighting with the unmovable object, you also have yourself an, uh, whatever is hot and cold back to back. I can't think of the word.”

“In crude words, yes. Are you going to add to my miserable situation?” He said wearily, and Draven shook his head.

“Jericho, you know I would never hit you while you're down. I was with you when you were hurt, that isn't changing just because you caught feelings for. An unfortunate person.” The brown haired man continued nursing a drink at each pause. “This shit is complicated, and I'll continue to be honest with you. I'm not sure how you're going to get Darius to understand, if at all. I'll see what I can do, because there's nothing, I hate more than seeing that man more depressed than he already is. As for your problem with her wanting and not wanting everything? Give up trying to understand, you won't. Hardest trick in the book.” Swain looked at him, sitting back up as he felt a little better about his situation given Draven's advice
.
“Thank you, I... I needed a rock. I appreciate it.” Jericho smiled at him with gratitude.

“Not about to stop helping you now, old man.” Draven chuckled, grabbing his drink and offering a toast. “Let's forget it tonight, okay?”

---

Forgetting the night they did, the two of them getting drunk to forget their worries. Draven accompanying Jericho to his manor.

“Mind if I crash on your couch?” Draven asked, his voice not even slurred, given how often he indulged in drink.

“Why sleep on the couch, you know I have a spare bedroom, several in fact.” Swain narrowed his eyes in confusion.

“I'm not used to my friends being nobles, spare bedrooms aren't exactly a common thing to have in Noxus.” Draven responded, opening the door for Swain who was a lot more unsteady than himself. They both came in, taking off their shoes with great difficulty before heading upstairs to the bedrooms. Jericho auto-piloted to his bed, sitting on the edge to get changed.

“Swain. You reek.” He nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice behind him in the dark. His mind catching up and remembering. He had been in the process of stripping to get into bed wear, he got up quickly, one leg in his pants and the other free. It made him fall face first, he swore and pushed himself up to take it off his other leg.

“Were you seriously drinking?” Leblanc asked, he could make out her moving to his side of the bed.

“What does it matter, can't a man have a carefree night?”

The door opened, and the light turned on, Draven standing in the doorway. “Jericho, I heard you... fall.” He looked at Leblanc then to Swain with his pants off, who immediately went to cover himself. “Um, sorry. I'll...” Draven cleared his throat, closing the door behind him and turning off the light again.

“Fucking kill me.” Jericho growled, not excited to what conversation that would spawn in the morning.

"Why are you in here with your pants off?" She asked, her voice strangely calm given the circumstances.

"I gave you my room."

"You put me in your bed." She repeated back to him.

"You make it sound like my bed is disgusting. I'll have you know I wash those sheets regularly." He protested, getting a loose pair of pants to wear.

"Regularly being?"

"Weekly."

"I guess that's sufficient, I expected worse." He watched the black figure return to where he had originally put her. He went to the door, his hand on the doorknob.

"Jericho, could you sleep here? No cuddling, just. Could you please?" She asked, failing to find a good reason other than she wanted him to stay.

"You know I'm not sober. Do you really want me to share the bed with you?" He asked, before whispering. "Draven is spending the night, do you really want him to think we did more than he already found us doing?"

"Okay. It's fine... You stink anyway." She grumbled and laid back down before Swain left the room to get a bed of his own. Thank goodness for manors.

Chapter 6

Summary:

Swain makes his guests breakfast, but Leblanc is not interested in sharing the dining room table.

Swain passed out as soon as he got into a bedroom, thankful for the comfort. When he woke up, he felt his arms wrapped around something. He opened his eyes to find the former mage in his arms again, he wasn't bothered that she hadn't asked beforehand. She had been hesitant to sleep alone that night, which he understood why, the night worked evil spirits into everything, and he could only imagine what had caused her to seek refuge with him.

He took his arms back, trying to free himself without waking her up. Thankfully, he managed to do so with relative ease. He hoped that she would manage to get some more sleep without him, he didn't want to deal with Draven's comments even though he knew he would get enough comments from his mistake the prior night.

He looked out the window in the hallway, early morning rays making the sky look like it was on fire. He definitely didn't get enough sleep if the sun was rising now. Swain decided he would get started on making some food, after all he had two guests to please instead of one. He made a thin batter, frying it into a circle with finesse considering how quickly each side cooked. Then once he had finished with a decent portion of the crepes, he moved onto preparing sweet filings for the toppings. A whipped cream, powdered sugar, some jam compote and other mixed fruit. Swain felt satisfied with his work, covering the leftovers once he had prepared himself a plate.

He expected that he would be the only one awake for a while, so he stopped by his library and grabbed somewhat randomly. He hadn't had a chance to start a book for a while, but with Guile and Darius working so diligently, he was left with mere scraps. It was not common, and he knew it was likely because his previous actions were causing him to be held at arm's length. Swain dearly hoped that they were not talking about removing him from his position as Darius had mentioned in their arguments. He wasn't about to throw Leblanc on the street for Noxus's betterment, she was not a threat anymore. He shuttered at his thoughts. Was that really what he thought? He felt guilty of making such an assumption, but it was cruelly true, without her magic and recovering from the shock of it, she couldn't stand up against him if she wanted. It wouldn't stop her from acting tough and standing up to him anyway, and he didn't plan to take advantage of her weakness. She had gone through enough, even though everyone seemed to beg to differ.

He ate his breakfast while he paged through the book, his lack of sleep and hangover was starting to really get to him. He had ignored it by keeping himself busy, only for him to find a headache crawling its way across his forehead. Jericho had a feeling that he would regret his decision to drink with Draven. As if on cue, the younger man came in with tousled brown hair that made him look like he had fought someone in bed and lost.

"Good morning, Draven." Jericho lifted up his hand in greeting. "Food is in the kitchen." He told him and Draven's exhaustion seemed to lessen in his face.

"You made food? Thanks, Jericho." He patted Swain on the back before disappearing into the kitchen and returning with food. "What was the deal with you and her last night?" He whispered, probably convinced that the woman had ears in the walls. Not anymore, definitely not anymore.

"I didn't think and ended up putting her in my room, I forgot when we came back, and she scared me." He grumbled, using his hand as a tent to hide his eyes as if he was rubbing at his temples. "It isn't like I am used to having people over in my manor other than you."

"Wait, you gave her your bed?"

"What does it matter that I gave her my bed? Why are both of you focused on that for?" Swain couldn't stand the constant mention of things that as far as Swain knew, didn't matter yet it mattered so much to everyone else. Was he missing some unspoken rules that he kept breaking?

"Because you sleep in that bed, its like, third base at least." Draven answered, not that it was an answer that the man understood. It only made him more confused.

"What are you even talking about? Bases? This is giving me a migraine." He replied exasperated from how he seemed to be on a different planet, where all the people he knew started talking in some cryptic code.

"Damn, is this your first relationship, Jericho? No, fucking way. You don't know bases?" Draven spoke with the chipper of a teenage boy, despite his age, Swain would never understand how he managed to speak with such energy.

"Stop speaking in riddles, Draven. I don't know what you're talking about." He avoided the question about the situation being his first, it was, in his opinion, a completely unrelated fact to the matter.

"Okay so like, when it comes to dating someone, there's different positions in the process of getting closer to them. You got first base, kissing and making out, basic stuff, then is second base, you can touch above the waist with consent, third base you can go below the waist. Home base, sex." Draven explained, and Swain wished that he could hit him.

"Thank you, Draven for the explanation. We're not even at first." Leblanc, of course, had to join at the worst time. "Swain, tell me why you have to have such a stupid slang explained to you? Not to mention that I thought you weren't going to take advantage of me. Have you changed your mind?"

Draven froze up, and Swain considered banging his head into the table.

"Draven misunderstood what happened last night, and I had to explain to him there is nothing going on."

"Sure, nothing going on, you heard it here, Draven, off you go then." She clapped, motioning for Draven to exit stage left.

"Leblanc, seriously, you're making this more complicated than it needs to be."

"You think this is complicated? Jericho, dear, you don't even know what complicated looks like."

"Ugh, get a room. I'll see you later, Jericho. Thanks for the food and bed." Draven opted out of the conversation, foreseeing the inevitable argument. Swain noticed Leblanc's smile.

"I didn't expect it to be so easy to make him leave." She commented, going to the kitchen to grab her own food. Was he punishing himself from having her there? Why did she take pleasure in driving Draven away?

"Why did you do that for?" Jericho crossed his arms, glaring at her.

"Jericho, you're not telling me that you were enjoying that conversation about scoring bases with a girl, were you?" The former mage smiled knowingly, and Swain hated that she was right.

"That doesn't mean I asked for you to chase away one of my friends." She shrugged, seeming unbothered by his frustration.

"He was being awfully nosy, do you really want to deal with that?"

"That's not for you to decide, Leblanc." He was getting really annoyed with her behaviour and considering how badly he needed a night with Draven. His hangover just made his anger burst forward.

"Emilia. You can call me, Emilia, after all, I'm your housemate, am I not?" She stared at him with challenge, seeing his anger and daring him to hurt her. His hand was glowing, he tried to hide it, but he could already feel the power surging.

"You're a guest here, Emilia." He over empathized her name, he wasn't convinced she was even telling him the truth. "I won't have you acting like my manor and my life is yours to control, do you understand?" He clenched his fists together. He stood up from his spot and approached her, she stood up to match him.

"What will you do to stop me, Jericho? Will you kill me? Who has no powers now? After all the work you did to save me? Do it. Throw away all your hard work." She egged him on, and he turned away. He slammed his demon hand into the wall, making a significant impact crash and shaking the house in the process. His wings having sprouted from his fury.

"You witch, I'm giving you mercy, I'm giving you solace, and this is how you treat me? In my own manor. When you are nothing, but a pest that I've tried to rid this country of for as long as my parents have been dead. You think you hold power over me?" He turned back to her and shouted.

"I do. Have power over you. I don't even have to lift a finger to guide your fist from me to, something more suitable. Look at you, such a knight in shining armour, unwilling or simply unable to hurt me. Honestly they really should give you a reward." She stared at him unblinking as he displayed his anger, and his wings remained.

"Do you have any remorse? Any guilt, anything? Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now." His teeth were clenched, and he raised a fist.

"Because you love me. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you killed me. A hopeless magic less woman." She put her hand on his, pushing his arm away. "You're just doing this all for yourself, self-fulfillment, because you see yourself as the man of mercy. You will fall to the same thing that ever man ever has, greed. I don't even need my magic for the world to make it so." He hated that he couldn't resist her pushback, that underneath everything, she was ripping out his insides in many ways.

"Well, Jericho Swain, what do you want? "

"Get out now. I won't tell you again. Disappear like you want to." He growled, letting his hands fall to his side and for a few moments, he saw Emilia hesitate.

"Fine. Fine, I will." The first sounding uncertain, as if she was convincing herself. Emilia took her stuff and slammed the door behind her, leaving the manor quiet and desolate.

Chapter 7

Summary:

Swain and Leblanc part ways and regret their decisions.

To say he regretted what he said would be a lie, but to say he regretted the consequences of what he said would be more accurate. Once she was gone, he felt himself glued to a spot in the floor where she had challenged him. Daring him to kill her, to hurt her for what she dared say to him. Calling out his lack of desire to fight against her, truthfully, despite it being against a person with no magic.

He felt miserable, his wings disappearing and his demon hand dimmed with his emotions turning inward. On one hand, Darius had been right, there was nothing he could do to promise that Leblanc... Emilia, wouldn't have any control over the Trifarix through his weakness. On the other, he felt paranoid regarding her safety, they hadn't truly found and punished the culprits, and while he had wanted to be rid of her at that moment, reality found him terrified that she would get taken again. Or was that as she said? That he was trying to make what he did worth it, that he was only working for his own benefit?

He grabbed onto the table with shaky hands and forcing him to sit down. The remaining food, plates, cutlery and cups only worsening the loneliness that was already taking control of him. Jericho leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and pushing his hands into his hair. "Fuck." He cursed, tears escaping despite his futile attempts to keep them from falling.

"I didn't do this for myself, I did it for you, you ungrateful-" He slammed his hand down on the table, it completely shattered underneath his strength. "Fuck, Emilia, why are you like this?" He swore again under his breath as he tugged at his hair.

-
To say she regretted what she said would be a lie, but to say she regretted the consequences that came from what she said would be more accurate. The moment she found herself outside was the moment she became profoundly aware that she didn't have anywhere to truly go. The Black Rose would fall apart without a dedicated mage like she had been, she was nothing without her powers and she knew that besides her sisters, she would have no one to call upon. No loyalty could be given to a weak, powerless woman in Noxus of all places. Her previous experiences were nothing of value, her manipulation and plans absolutely useless without her powers.
That was only one woe that she became acutely aware of once she had left Swain's manor. Next was fear. Something deep and primal that she couldn't shake even with the most kind of words for herself. Without a shield, her weaknesses were open to the cruel world. Without Swain's watchful eyes... Jericho was supposed to bend and break, he was supposed to beg. She knew the truth, didn't she? His feelings made him weak, and she had proven so, yet he demanded her to leave. The one action that she had not expected, the one that she didn't think he would have the guts to make, almost as unlikely as that of him killing her with his bare hands.

She was scared. Jumping at every small thing that skittered about, whether rat or child, she couldn't beg her heart to still. She had been sheltered, blissfully unaware of how terrified she was without him. She had thought it's nothing more than her needing him to feel safe while she slept, that she could push through that if she put her mind to it. Emilia Leblanc was strong, she didn't need him, she didn't need Jericho Swain, she didn't need his comfort, she didn't need his kindness, she didn't need him. The former mage stood underneath the Immortal Bastion, staring up at it with twinkling eyes filled with tears. Everything she ever created, everything she had put together and played like a beautiful chess game. She had lost control of the pieces and had checkmated her out of the game. She would never know what it would be like to be so carefree, to have such strength and power.

She didn't even realize she had spent the daytime hours, walking around Noxus Prime aimlessly. The sun setting brought a chill to the city, one that she felt she had never experienced quite like then. Her fear during the day paled to the panic that soon lined her movements as the sun settled behind the Immortal Bastion, casting half the city in shade.

She tugged her cloak tight, forcing herself to a Black Rose safe house situated underneath the Immortal Bastion. A hideout she had made early in Noxian history when the city was still nothing more than Noxii barbarians. She hadn't returned to the Black Rose since she had been freed, terrified to what her disciples would say upon realization of her ineptitude.

She had gone unnoticed by those working hard to likely further what plans she had left behind. There were much fewer people in the safe house than when she had left it, likely the cause of the missing matriarch. Before she knew it, she stood in front of her office, a decal noting that Elise had taken control while she was gone. Emilia didn't bother to knock, pushing the door open and seeing her coven sister at what used to be her desk.

"Emilia, Lady Leblanc!" The woman dashed to her with her spider speed, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Emilia let her head rest in the crook of her neck. Tears whelming up as she felt everything escape her. Her hands clenching onto Elise tightly as she started to sob.

"Emilia, sister, talk to me, tell me what happened." Elise begged for her to speak, but Emilia couldn't, she couldn't muster a single word to explain anything. Her absence, her return, her delay. Nothing, she couldn't say anything. Once she had managed to stop crying, Elise continued to hold her.

"Let's get you home, no one needs to see you like this, alright?" Emilia nodded, sniffling and trying to keep herself from starting all over again. With unusual luck, they were not called upon by the other staff, Leblanc wasn't entirely surprised, she was not one to be uncloaked readily. Only the closest knew what her appearance truly was, but she guessed that would change too. There was no more hiding that she could muster.

Her own house was not anywhere near a manor, out of the necessity of her staying out of the public's eye. An estate drew attention, and in turn, drew attention to her that she desperately avoided. She found herself looking at the place with despair and discomfort, memories of what she had achieved, what she could do. Elise had left her for a few moments to prepare the two of them some tea, and when she returned, her sister put her hand on Emilia's shoulder.

"Emilia, it's alright, whatever happened, everything will be okay." Leblanc had been staring into nothingness, looking through the walls as if they were see-through and her eyes distant. She looked at Elise with helplessness, and she could see her dear friend's worry perfectly clear.

"Can you speak? Are you injured?" She asked, a little more frantically than previously, considering Emilia's silence.

"I can speak... I'm not injured physically." Emilia forced out, she could feel the ground moving underneath her. She was struggling to breathe again, she couldn't escape, she swore she could feel them taking her magic again. She faltered, before collapsing to the floor, Elise in such shock that she had no opportunity to stop her.

"Emilia!" Elise cried out, trying to stop her from shaking, it only hurt her more. She could hear her panic, which only made her own worse, trapped within with no control as she had a seizure, and Elise had no idea what was happening and kept trying to help without the realization that it only made it all worse.

She blinked her eyes open slowly, taking a deep, long breath as her head tried to catch up to the present. Her body sweltered with muscle pain, her arms showing bruising from Elise trying to help, or so Emilia assumed. She turned her head to see Elise laying there, deep asleep.

"Elise." The spider woman startled awake, realization hitting her moments after.

"Emilia, what happened, why did you collapse, why did you shake like that? I was so scared, I... I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do." It hurt Leblanc to see her like this, she forced a soft smile of reassurance on her face. She put her hand up to Elise's cheek, hoping it would calm her, and it seemed to help her take a deep breath.

"It's, a really long story. I..." Emilia was struggling to stay awake, despite her coming back to consciousness, her body was completely exhausted once again. Unable to push past her physical and mental needs. "I can't tell you it right now. I'm..." She mumbled, her words turning incoherently as she fell asleep.

 

 

Chapter 8

Summary:

Swain and Darius have a really important conversation.

It honestly took Jericho a fair amount of self control to not go looking for Leblanc, because despite how worried he was for her, he refused to crawl back to her and beg her to return. He was the Grand General of Noxus, he couldn't bend, he couldn't break under a magicless mage. It made him feel guilty that he felt he needed to remember that she had no magic, that that was the reason that she held no power over him, not what she used to do with a ready hand.

They were in Noxus, and he knew that only the strong bowed to the strong. He hated that he blamed her for not bowing to him, that she had the audacity to continue acting like she was almighty and powerful when she was nothing. His anger made his feelings about their last conversation only more complex.

During one of his meetings with Darius, he had zoned out, unable to focus. A slam on his desk brought him back to reality. "Swain, are you listening to me?"

"Sorry, Darius, I haven't been sleeping well." He apologized, sitting up to show that he was paying more attention than previous.

"What is Leblanc doing?" Darius narrowed his eyes, and it made Swain completely uncomfortable under his stare.

"She's gone." Jericho answered, trying not to show how much that fact hurt him.

"Wait what, what do you mean, she's gone?" Darius's face contorted with confusion and bewilderment at what he said.

"She left, I told her to after she overstepped my boundaries." He decided he wasn't going to hide it from Darius, there was no point to it. He obviously wanted to know if she had control over him, and with her leaving, Darius had nothing to worry about, he was uncontrolled.

"I... Didn't expect you to listen to me." Darius seemed so shocked that it almost looked like the big man was embarrassed, Jericho was never sure with him. Darius cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I was worried about you, Jericho. As your... friend, I..."
"Darius, don't worry about it, I was being stupid, and I didn't see what she was doing. Can we not talk about it here?" Swain responded rather lifelessly, and Darius nodded.

"Of course, not at work." He focused up and continued his report, mainly political conversations with Demacia to correct their earlier 'aggressive attack', also known as Swain getting super pissed off at a group of cultists and blowing up their base because he found out what they did to Leblanc. It took many diplomatic meetings for both sides to agree on terms that wouldn't involve them going to war. As much as Noxus liked expanding, it was currently happy with its stalemate with most of its previous enemies. They couldn't afford to always be fighting and right then was not an enjoyable time for anyone involved. The current political atmosphere in Demacia was the worst that it had ever been, considering the passing of Jarvan III was still recent in memory, and many of the elite in Demacia found the prince Jarvan IV lacking which was rather hilarious to Swain. A monarchy that was trying to remove their monarch, despite having an heir available for the throne.

Afterwards, Darius had stopped on his way out of the room. "Jericho, are you free to have dinner at my place? Draven is a given." He offered, it was an occasional request of his whenever the two of them weren't in arguments with each other. Usually, he would jump at the invitation, but considering how he was feeling, he knew it would likely make him feel worse. Feeling bad was not enough for him to reject.

"Of course, usual time I imagine?" He struggled out a smile in response, it was good to see Darius happy. It didn't feel right, like his friend was rewarding him for adhering to his rules. Swain reminded himself that he didn't do it for Darius, that Emilia left because he, himself, wanted her to leave. No matter how much he said that to himself, he felt as if he was just lying to satisfy himself.

"Exactly. Draven would eat us out of house and home if it was a moment later." Darius chuckled, and Swain couldn't help but join him. It was a rare moment, Darius not falling into his routine of being cold and business oriented.
"I'll see you then, I got some things that I need to finish up here. You're dismissed for the day."

"See you later, Swain." Sometimes that was the only indication that kept their business relationship and friendship separate. Typically, Jericho didn't care about their stations, but that wasn't exactly an option with Darius. He was too proud of his rank to not keep his friendship and business relationships separate. It often caused a schism between the two, and the core cause of most of their arguments. Friendship wasn't simple for Darius, his lack of friends outside of Jericho often worried him. Darius seemed unbothered, often responding with a simple 'I'm committed to Noxus' and both him and Draven would always insist 'You can have more than work, Darius'. Not that the proud man would accept either of their opinions, which brought it back to how wrong it felt that Darius changed his tune so quickly as he found out Leblanc was out of the picture. Why?

-

"I got matched up against an Ionian today, said he sailed all the way to Noxus to kick my ass. That's some dedication, but also he was delusional, man could hardly last a few minutes wrestling without weapons before he was booking his trip back home." Draven gossiped as the three shared a meal. Swain kept noticing the staring that would take momentary breaks, and he gave up his attempts to ignore him.

"Draven, what do you want to ask?" Swain said as if he didn't know what his friend was going to ask.

"What did Leblanc do to get kicked out? Was that after you two were bickering?" He asked, and Jericho was completely not surprised that it was exactly as he expected. Draven lived off being nosy, he said that he found the best fighters by ceaselessly bothering others or as he called it, evaluating the competition.

Before Swain could, Darius cleared his throat. "I don't think it's important, Draven. Let the past stay where it belongs. Jericho did the right thing, and I imagine it was hard enough considering what he did for her." The older brother looked to Swain with a knowing smile.

"I mean, he was pretty head over heels, which isn't exactly a thing one fight does to a relationship." Draven did as he always did, beat a dead horse until it was viscera. The man's curiosity knew no bounds, and he wanted to know everything if he could manage it.

"Draven. I'm not asking for a discussion. Can. It." Darius raised his voice at Draven, who grumbled. "Sorry for looking out for him, wasn't like he blew up a mine in an enemy country for her or anything."

"Draven! Enough!" Darius slammed the table and shot a look of apology at Swain. Swain motioned for Darius to sit down.

"It's okay, Darius. You know your brother won't give this up unless I satisfy his curiosity."

"That doesn't mean he's entitled to be given that information, you're giving him too much power."

"You both know I am right here, right? Right beside you even." Draven crossed his arms in annoyance at him being insulted.

"I won't hear this, tell me when you're done talking about the witch." Darius growled, getting up and going to leave the room. Draven seemed flabbergasted, while Swain wanted to rip his brain out.

"Why did you do that? You know he doesn't like her." Jericho whispered, giving Draven a nasty look.

"Maybe I've been too ignorant of this for too long, but you two need to have a conversation. A proper one, outside of work because I can't stand you both and your constant obliviousness." The younger brother rubbed at his face when Swain didn't seem to understand what he meant. "You two are certainly special. Do you perhaps need glasses, Jericho? Did you maybe ever think that the reason he doesn't like her is because-" Draven leaned forward and whispered. "-he's jealous."

"Jealous of me?"

"Please release me from this terrible task of explaining obvious things to the dumbest men, I've ever met." Draven groaned. "You fucking idiot, he is jealous of her."

"What are you talking about? That's a bit of a jump, isn't it?" Swain didn't know what to do with the completely unrealistic assumption.

"I know my brother really well, Jericho. I've seen him everyday and every time he is the happiest when you are with him. Before you interrupt and try to say, oh we're guy friends, I have more friends than you both and the way you two act around each other isn't just 'guy friends'. I admit, I was holding out for him to call me a fool for thinking this, but-" Draven took a deep breath. "The worst mood he ever had was when you started talking about liking Leblanc. I didn't want to out him, but he will continue avoiding this to the day he dies."

Jericho sat in his chair, baffled by the information that he was given. "Why tell me now?"

"Well... Um."

"Draven is leaving on a trip, work related stuff and apparently he believes that he has more understanding of my feelings than me." Darius interrupted, anger clear in the man's expression. "Did you seriously think that I wouldn't keep tabs on what you were saying about Leblanc?"

"Is he wrong, Darius?" Jericho knew he had to put him on the spot, Draven likely had planned on his older brother hearing him. He sure acted stupid, but he was sly and often thought deeply regarding plans, he wouldn't make a mistake like that without planning for it. Darius straightened his back, struggling to return Swain's glance which was more than enough for the man to get the picture.

"Were you ever going to tell me? That you felt we were more than friends?" It felt like a betrayal, Swain wasn't sure why. He thought that they were close enough that something like this wouldn't matter. Maybe he was unbothered because he had already come to terms with his own sexuality...

"No. I wasn't." Darius would throw daggers at his brother if he could with his glares. "I was happy as we are, and I know both of us don't have friends for this not to cause some weirdness. Since Draven finds it okay to put my feelings out there for me, I will admit, my hatred of Leblanc is partially because I was jealous. But my main worry is for Noxus and what damage she could still do even though she has no magic."

"Darius, you know that without strength, loyalties die, and militaries fall. Even you, when I returned from war, an injured soldier, you were uncomfortable to associate yourself with me." Swain couldn't help but find Darius's evaluation of Leblanc's capabilities unrealistic. How many times did he have to explain that she was tortured and had no magic? The last thing she had time for was messing with Noxus.

"And I regret that decision every day of my life." Darius responded gruffly, a hard conversation topic for them both. When they had both reconnected when he had gotten his hand, they had both tried to move on from his time of disability.

"Why, because I became strong later on? That you saw my strength return and decided I was worth your time again?" Jericho had swallowed that fact for too long, that insecurity of his own, maybe that was why he couldn't stand the idea of Emilia going through the same thing. Why despite all the grasping he made, he didn't agree that the strong were the only people worth anything. Unfortunately, that sentiment was strongly engrained in their society, and he wondered if Leblanc had been one of the ones who had made it like that. That unknowingly her past punished her future self, disability was inevitable, some found them there sooner than others, but just like himself, anyone could lose an arm, leg, some bodily function and that's all it took for them to lose everything.

"Jericho, you know that was a complicated time for me. I couldn't afford to look weak, I had a warband that I needed to direct." Darius's voice warbled uncomfortably, looking to Draven as if his little brother could explain him.

"Exactly, Leblanc just like you, cannot afford to look weak. Her cabal may have been the ones who started the strong lead the weak. Who says they would be more understanding to her than your warband to you?" Swain let that sit in silence, Draven sitting and watching the two intently.

"Fine, if you insist that she is as weak as you say. I will overlook your... involvement with her if you two make up or if you remain just friends with her. As I can't promise Guile won't found out, I will appraise them on her capabilities as you have detailed them to me." Darius gave in, a heavy sigh as he sat down. "I trust you a lot, Jericho. As my idiot brother made abundantly clear, I don't want you to get hurt. I will admit I also overstepped your boundaries, and I apologize for letting my personal feelings cloud my judgement."

Swain was surprised by Darius's response, it was even better than the best situation he had predicted within his head. "Don't take this as a rejection of your affections. My feelings for her, don't change the feelings I have for you." Darius raised his head, meeting Swain's gaze.

"Genuinely?" Jericho had never seen Darius in such a sorry state.

"Genuinely, we have been through thick and thin, I wouldn't have gotten this far without your support in and out of the war room." He placed his hand on top of Darius's curled up fists. It made Jericho's hands look miniature in comparison.

"Okay, as cute as this is, if you guys are going to make out, I'm gonna leave the room." Draven interrupted the moment, and both the two stared at him before clearing their throats.

"We'll talk about this more at a different time."

"Yes, when we are done celebrating. Draven traveling for a world tour, you're going to kick every challenger's ass." Darius got up and went to his little brother, giving him what looked to be a painful noogie. "You better bring back some souvenirs, and you stay out of trouble, got it? I don't want to have to arrange a criminal transfer with some place."

"Oh, I'll be busy enough that I couldn't do trouble if I wanted to. The itinerary has every ten minutes of the day planned for. It's going to be fun, sure, but it's going to be really exhausting becoming famous."

Chapter 9

Summary:

Leblanc decides to sunder her ties to the Black Rose in an attempt to keep the cabal safe. Elise needs to return to Vilemaw, leaving Leblanc alone once again.

Emilia found it extremely hard to be back in her home, even with Elise's nearly nonstop care, it didn't seem to soothe her anxiety to the same degree that Jericho's presence had. She had told her everything, starting from the beginning to the fight that led her to finally have the courage to return. As she had expected, Elise's loyalties didn't bend to her magic, her dedication sound and one less person she had to worry would leave her.

"You can't stay missing, you know that right? I wish you could avoid the cabal's eyes, but their eyes are as watchful as you had made them. I won't leave until you've broken the news, and I will do everything I can to support you." Elise tried to reassure Emilia, but Leblanc just couldn't seem to see her telling the truth as the beginning of the end. Would Vladimir worm his way into the power vacuum that she would inevitably leave behind? Was their alliance still honourable despite her condition and what did it mean if it was? There was too much, too many years, too many promises, too many plans. All of them no longer magically available at her fingertips, where she had kept a gigantic number of notes. Completely shredded like the dreams that she had for the ideas that she had.

"Elise, I think it's better if they think me dead. I can't speak with them, I can't do it." She cradled her head in her hands, her legs pulled up in the armchair she had chosen in her living room. Elise having sat down on the couch, probably to be ready if Leblanc wanted to cry. In the week since Jericho had asked her to leave, she had done a shameful amount of crying, most being loud, gross crying. It was easier with Elise than it had been with Jericho, considering the differences in the two were profound.

"Emilia. You won't lose everything, I'm still here, and I promise we will always be sisters no matter what happens to either of us. There will be others. The Black Rose is Noxian, but there are those who would never dare abandon you no matter your power."

It was a conversation that the two had repeatedly over the week, and it wasn't that Elise disregarded her feelings, she was not aware what could happen if she told the truth. Their worlds were different, and even though she had taken control while Emilia was away, she knew that Elise could not lead the Black Rose permanently. Their sisterhood required a need, one that Leblanc could no longer fulfill with just a simple change of a plan at her fingertips.

"I can't even help you anymore, sister."

"You think I can't hunt for myself? I can capture prey, you need not worry about that." Elise smiled at Leblanc, but she was too deeply in her head and hands to see.

"The cabal is guideless without my magic, their efforts useless, and unfocused. If I don't have the ability to constantly monitor their progress, it would not function. It would collapse."

"Are you more scared of them abandoning you, or not having control of them?" Emilia really wished that Elise wouldn't ask her such tough questions.

"It doesn't matter, Elise. If you told them that I was dead, I could be replaced, the cabal would live on. I would still have something left of what I made. If I tell them the truth, it will destroy itself. I know it will, do you think I haven't undone groups with something so simple and destructive? I know how this situation will happen, the Black Rose isn't immune just because it is my creation, just like how I was not immune." She really hoped that her sister would understand that her explanation would finally stick, and she wouldn't have to think of words to unmake her greatest creation.

"I'm sorry, Emilia. I wish that those were not the two options you had to choose from. If you truly wish for me to say that you have died, then I will. I will hand it off to a suitable woman that you can take solace in knowing this is not where your creation died." The spider woman buckled under Emilia's finality, finally deciding that there was no changing her mind, nor the future.

"They have already coped with my absence, this will just end the unneeded hopes that I will return. I will be content when my tie to the Black Rose is sundered." Leblanc twisted her hand, as if holding a rose in her hand. She often would make an illusion of one when she was making decisions, a soothing motion. Instead, she leaned to grab one from the vase closest to her, the physicality of it making her wonder if reality could overpower the illusions that she once was able to make.

"I understand, when would you like me to inform them?" Elise asked, watching Emilia closely.

"Tell them once you have found a suitable candidate. I fear you would get stuck in the position if there is not someone ready." Leblanc got to her feet, her energy had improved greatly, no longer needing to rest for most of the day. She was grateful that she was also getting as physically strong as she had been before her capture. Sometimes an idle and foolish hope blindsided her into considering the possibility that her magic may return with her strength. She just reminded herself of the truth, as far as she knew, she was forever unable to produce her magic.

It wasn't that she was completely unable to produce magic, but more that the damage of her mana pools had dried the bottom resulting in ground cracks where the water seeped and was hard to harness, if possible, at all. The cuffs that still covered her wrists had started to become an expected sight, a constant reminder of the pain she had been put through.

"Do you think that I should call on Cassiopeia to lead?" Elise asked, Emilia looked up to acknowledge her.

"Yes, that would be the best option. She is the only other person than yourself who can know I'm alive, understood?" She answered.

"Understood."

-

Cassiopeia had returned to Noxus with much haste, and that made Emilia thankful. Cassiopeia and she were close, coven sisters as well, but not to the same degree as that of Elise and herself. Cass was young, ambitious, and made a perfect leader, Emilia couldn't help feeling slightly relieved that they had decided on her. The news of her confirmed death lit a fire of gossip that was soon sweeping through Noxus, and it settled the former mage's fast heart. There were no more worries of coming clean, no more worries of having to act stronger than she was.

She thought she had nothing else to worry about, Elise having shared her bed since she had returned. The two of them having curled up together, and it kept her fear away, it made her ignore the reality. Elise couldn't stay, she never could stay in Noxus for too long, Vilemaw would always call her back and she would have to leave. Emilia had tried to ignore the problem, trying to enjoy what time she had with her sister.

"Vilemaw is calling." Elise said in the morning a mere few days since Cassiopeia had taken over the Black Rose. The cabal was still alive, reorganizing itself under her sister's lead and Emilia was impressed by the news that Elise had provided her.

"Is it really so soon?" Fear had crept into Emilia's voice despite her best hope to hide it, she knew that the moment she didn't have someone to protect her, the flashbacks would return stronger than they ever were. She would occasionally have moments where she startled, where she would find herself back hooked up to that machine, but she could handle it with comfort.

"I'm sorry, Emilia. I have pushed it back as best as I could, but Vilemaw cannot wait too long. I also need time to hunt before I head home with prey." Elise didn't say it exactly, but Leblanc knew that her being unable to provide a suitable sacrifice also meant that Elise had to do that herself.

"I'm sorry for keeping you. I-" Leblanc took a deep breath. "-I will be okay, I can handle being alone." It was a complete lie, and she hugged Elise tightly, all the effort pushed into her voice to convince Elise as well as herself.

"I will come back as soon as I can. Please stay safe." They separated, and Emilia could already feel herself panicking at the prospect of being in the house all alone. Elise gave her a big smile and Emilia felt it tug at her heartstrings. She needed Elise, but Vilemaw could not be denied.

"You too, Elise." Emilia watched her leave, leaning into the doorframe and not stopping until there was no longer any trace of the woman. Leblanc closed the door, her hand shaking as she pulled her hand off the doorknob. She tried to calm herself, she was strong enough, she could handle being alone. It was okay. Her mind didn't heed her words, it felt like it was spiraling out of control again. She sat down, the silence overwhelming her overactive mind. She thought about Jericho, the only person she knew that could ward her from her fear. She had completely messed up with him, she shouldn't have provoked him, she shouldn't have left. Leblanc knew that she needed to leave, otherwise she likely would have avoided dealing with the Black Rose as long as she could.

Her selfishness would have shown worse than it already had, and Elise would have been left with no idea whether she was alive or dead. The fight was needed, but she was terrified that Jericho was still angry with her. That he didn't wish to see her ever again and considering that she had essentially faked her death once again, she didn't exactly have a great deal of confidants. She wasn't about to ask Cassiopeia to leave the Du Couteau manor to live with her for the near future, the two would likely drive each other crazy and that was ignoring the fact that the Du Couteau family had unexpectedly reunited under the same roof again. Leblanc knew that Cass loved her siblings, and in favour of not rousing suspicion, she would need to figure out how to handle being alone.

Emilia stared at her cuffs, how much she wished that she could free herself from their clasps. They often made her think that she was being drained of her magic sometimes, sending her in panic. "Atonement for the pain I inflicted, a victim of my own creation. Strong to nothing, I should not be surprised." She whispered to herself.

Chapter 10

Summary:

Swain hears the rumours and decides he needs to verify the truth. Luckily, he didn't have to work nearly as hard as he had prepared.

Swain heard the mutterings of secrets that his ravens relayed to him, there was a vast variety, always different. Except that day, he heard it like a resounding echo throughout Noxus Prime.

'The leader of the Black Rose was confirmed dead, a new leader taking over.' It made Swain freeze, he had told her to leave, had someone taken advantage of it and killed her? He had put her in danger, he had lost his control and in a fruitless attempt to be free of her influence, he had condemned her. It made it hard to focus, his heart struggling to beat properly. A knock on his desk brought him to attention, he swallowed his woe and tried to carry himself as the calm and collected man that everyone expected him to be.

"Come in." He said, and as he saw Darius, he felt his tenseness release.

"Jericho." No business, it was personal, and Darius locked the door behind him before he walked to the side of the desk to stand by him.

 

"She... Fuck, I didn't want this! She wasn't supposed to leave, she was scared, I saw it in her eyes, she was terrified of leaving and I should have told her to stay." His guilt was riling in his stomach, his breathing unsteady. Darius bent down, wrapping his arms around him, it felt strange being in such a hug when usually he had been the bigger one in most of the hugs he had given or received.

"Jericho, listen to me." Darius's voice spoke so softly, Swain wondered if it was someone else who had said it for a few moments. "She has faked her death before, have you actually sent anyone to verify this?" Jericho hadn't realized he had taken his ravens at face value, that he had discarded his most crucial step, verification.

"No, no, sorry. I usually do." Jericho dried his tears, trying to pull himself back together. Darius only released his hold slightly so that they could look at each other.

"Sometimes things catch us off-guard, don't mourn yet. I doubt that woman would be easy to kill even powerless." Darius wiped Swain's tears away with his thumb.

"Thank you, could you call Katarina to my office on my behalf?" Jericho asked, taking a few deep breaths as he willed himself into composure. Darius let go of him, standing up tall once again.

"Of course, and if you need me, I'm here. Business or not." He gave a smile that lit Swain's body on fire, it was always a relieving thing to see such a beautiful smile. He had thought it had been nothing more than joy that his friend was happy, but after their dinner where truth was laid bare, Jericho had been doing a great deal of thinking. Their relationship had not been decided upon, the two both feeling uncertain about what a relationship would look like for them, not to mention that Jericho found himself wishing for both Emilia and Darius.

It was odd, to find himself wishing to not just have one partner, but two and the odd relationship between Emilia and Darius also made it feel like he had to resort to choosing one or the other. His feelings towards each were unquantifiable, both completely different, the feelings that they invoked in him were like that of sunshine and starshine. He still felt uncertain if he was sorry about what he had said to Emilia, he was unsure if he could manage her doing what she did once again. The demands and disrespect that she had thrown on him with reckless abandon.

It didn't matter if she was dead, he would feel the pain of his decision for the rest of his life even if she had been the one in the wrong. It had been him who had cast her out, ignored the fear in her eyes.

It wasn't long until Katarina had shown up in his office, whistling and twirling her dagger idly.

"You called for me, Swain?" The assassin reminded Jericho of Draven with how unbothered she was whenever she came into his office. He couldn't help trusting her, especially considering all the work that she had managed for him. The most impressive of her feats being that she had achieved what many believed was impossible, dethrone Jarvan III despite all the security that protected the old man.

"Yes, could you verify the rumour that the Black Rose leader, Leblanc, was found dead?" Swain asked, he knew that Katarina's siblings would aid her in verifying the rumour as quickly and efficiently as possible.

"Oh, you sure you don't need a man hunt? Wouldn't you usually have Guile do this?" Katarina seemed shocked by the simplicity of her assignment, no doubt.

"Yes, they will also be doing their own work to investigate it. It's super important that we keep our information up to date regarding the Black Rose." An excuse for getting information regarding Leblanc without saying it directly. He had a feeling that Guile knew his intentions, but there was also a possibility that Darius had never mentioned his situationship with Emilia and considering that he had promised to keep Guile out of the know now, there was a small chance that they didn't know.

"Oh, my bad, Swain. I'll report to you my findings, may I have one of your ravens to expedite my report?" Katarina would occasionally ask for one of his ravens, sometimes he wondered if it was truly because she wanted to be efficient or if she had fallen in love with caring for them as he did.

"It's no problem at all, feel free." He whistled, and a raven landed on his shoulder. He motioned for the bird to fly to Katarina, who offered up her arm. If she wasn't an assassin, most people wouldn't be able to handle a raven's weight on their arm considering they were a few pounds. The red-haired woman rubbed under the raven's beak, before focusing back on Swain. She tapped her shoulder, which the raven then shifted to perch on as requested.

"Thanks, Swain. I'll get this done." Katarina smiled at him before parting, leaving him back with his thoughts. He just needed to get through his day, then he could do his own investigation, he wasn't going to take the rumours as true until he had seen her body. Sure, maybe that was morbid, but as Darius had said, she faked her death before and that could be just as true then.

The day felt extremely slow, and he often found himself thinking about whether he wished to call the day off, but he could not react in such a way. There were too many eyes on him most days and with Demacia still in negotiations, there was foreign interest in his position. Once he was free, he realized how little he could help the search beyond sending his ravens to try to find her active, it was too unlikely. He would need to wait patiently for Guile and Katarina, and regrettably, that left him returning to his manor as a thunderstorm started. The grand general barely avoided getting soaked through, he decided he would take a book to his study for the rest of the night. Jericho moved one of his armchairs so he could stare out the window, he wedged the window open just enough for his ravens to seek refuge as they needed. Even if it risked some rain escaping inside, he was satisfied with the ambience and it's volume.

The storm was a bigger than most they endured, the wind bending whatever it could touch. The cracks resounding louder and louder as it grew darker. He barely heard his door bang from someone knocking, he put his book to the side and headed downstairs to open the door.

"Darius?" Swain automatically assumed, before he saw Emilia, her makeup completely smudged down her face. Her clothes absolutely soaked through, and her hair dripping streams and slick against her head. Jericho couldn't even bring himself to speak because the shock of seeing her and having mistaken her for Darius. Not to mention when she raised her head to look at him, her eyes glowed a bright gold.

"Jericho, can. Can I stay with you?" Swain grabbed her hand, pulling her inside and closing the door behind them to get her out of the rain.

"What are you doing out in a thunderstorm?" She stumbled from the force of his pull, and Jericho quickly let her go. He was completely confused about whether he was happy that she was back, alive, or if he was outraged at her endangering herself.

"I... Can't handle being alone. I messed up, I'm sorry." Emilia stuttered as she started shaking, the cold must have started to get to her. Her clothes and hair making a growing puddle below her.

"Don't talk, we'll get you cleaned up and then we'll talk about this, okay?" It was all Jericho could do to stop himself from reacting, he needed to focus on getting her warm. He went to his closest linen closet, pulling out multiple towels as he knew that the first one, he gave her would soak up the worst of the water and become useless in trying to keep her warm. Swain returned to her, seeing that her shivers had escalated to full on chattering of her teeth. He wrapped the first towel around her shoulders, the next he decided upon using for her hair, not asking before he squeezed the ends of her hair to get the excess water out. He realized that she had listened, absolutely silent as he got her as dry as he could manage so that she could actually go past the mudroom.

"Follow me, I'll start a fire for you." Jericho motioned for her to follow, moving an armchair close to the fireplace, he quickly set up a small fire with little kindling.

"Thank you." He heard as he passed her to go upstairs, he thought about talking to her then, but then he reminded himself that she was in wet clothes. It wasn't until he got up the stairs that he realized that he had absolutely nothing suitable for her to wear. Jericho took a deep breath and tried to pretend he was doing nothing more than picking clothes for himself. It would have to work for the time being, after putting together a haphazard outfit to keep her warm, he headed back downstairs to Leblanc.

"Leblanc, I have some clothes you can wear while yours dry." He watched her head perk up in response, she must have drifted off and he woke her up. Leblanc got up, holding the towel closed and taking the clothes. Strangely she continued her silence, and Jericho wanted to tell her she could speak, but at the same time, he didn't want them to get distracted from getting her warm. He opened his mouth to tell her where the closest bathroom was, but he already heard the click of the door closing. Swain remembered the mess he had left upstairs, so while she was getting changed, he returned his chair back to where it had been originally and closed the window since he was moving downstairs for the time being.

As he came down, he saw Emilia in his clothes, and he couldn't help thinking about how cute she looked. They were similar heights, so the main problem with his clothes was the width rather than the length. She was wrapped in a wool sweater that he had essentially never used, and some loose house wear for her pants. She didn't look to him as she adjusted a new towel on the armchair where she had sat previously before sitting down.

"You can talk now." Jericho let her know, surprised that she still continued to be quiet as he had asked.

"I'm sorry. The last time we spoke. I was frustrated and irrational, and I wanted control again. Even if it meant being unfair to you." He nearly didn't hear her when he sat down nearby, she spoke so quietly and with defeat. "I didn't want any of this to be real, but I can't escape from it."

"Is that why you faked your death again?" Swain asked, interrupting for a moment.

"The Black Rose is all that remains of what I was, if I told them the truth, I would lose it too. I no longer hold a rank in it." She clenched her fist, staring at the cuffs as she did so. "Now I can rest easy, I no longer have to worry." Jericho listened, letting her words sink in. "I guess it makes sense that you would have heard. Did I make you worry?" She flashed him a weak smirk. At first, Jericho had thought about refuting that fact, but she would likely see through his deceit.

"Yes. We didn't exactly part on good terms." He admitted, and she nodded solemnly.

"We were bound to hurt each other, after all, we were enemies for all that time. You got in the way of my plans more times than I can count. There are no plans left, if you wanted to know. I had locked my notes away with my magic, easily ready for me to construct as I needed. I can't keep up with anything anymore, I can't even rest without help." She muttered, her voice was still so quiet. "Can I stay?"

"I won't make you leave unless you make my friends leave again." He warned her in turn, and she nodded in agreement.

"I will not question your strength." Jericho then realized why her voice had continued to get quieter and quieter, her head slowly falling to her shoulder repeatedly as she tried to avoid falling asleep. He didn't respond, and she lost the battle against sleep. He wondered if he should move her, but he was worried it would just wake her up; he decided that a single night in an armchair wouldn't hurt her too terribly.

After a quick trip to the linen closet once again, Swain grabbed a spare blanket and pillow. He would stay with her so that the fire could continue to warm her as she rested. He wedged the pillow under her neck, and she readjusted, her hand brushing his own. His heart feeling as if it had lit on fire, an indescribable happiness filled his chest. Jericho then draped the long blanket around her, and returned to his spot, he could see and hear as the lightning and thunder cracked further from each other as the storm passed.

He would have to tell Darius, Guile and Katarina that their assistance in verifying the rumour was no longer needed as he had confirmed it. That would be just for Guile and Katarina to believe, there was no way that he would lie to Darius about something so important. He found himself watching Emilia rest, a soft smile on his face, he didn't completely forgive her for the things she said, but he was thankful she had returned. He wondered how she had managed without him for so long, if what she said was true, who had guarded her like he had? It would need to be a question he asked once she woke.

Chapter 11

Summary:

Leblanc and Darius begin a truce, and Leblanc tells Swain off for being controlling. Something is making Leblanc sick, and she doesn't know what.

Another knock resounded through the manor, and Emilia heard it, she looked to Jericho for his reaction, yet the general was asleep. She took note that she was given a pillow and blanket after she'd fallen asleep. The person waiting at the door knocked again, yet Jericho continued to sleep. Emilia sighed, she would need to answer it on his behalf. Most people were unaware of her appearance, so it should be no problem, and she could make up a story about who she was if she needed to. She gave Swain the pillow and blanket, before going to answer the door.

She opened the door partially, glancing out before she realized that it was... Darius. She tried to close the door, but he wasn't letting that happen. His hand stopping the door so effectively that his hand likely didn't get hurt from her trying to close it.

"Leblanc, back from the dead I see?" Darius pushed the door open and forced his way in before closing the door behind him. Emilia backing up from him in uncertainty, as if he would launch himself at her at any given moment.

"How, how would you know it's me?" Emilia stuttered, finding him immediately knowing it was her very terrifying.

"Jericho only lets one woman into his home, and I know that he certainly wouldn't offer his clothes to anyone other than you." Leblanc found herself feeling the need to run away, that Darius would try to kill her, and she had to admit, she probably deserved it. Her hair was curling from drying in her sleep, and the fact she was wearing Swain's clothes when Darius of all people showed up made her shrink.

"Jericho is asleep, you should probably come back a different time." She tried fruitlessly to coax him into leaving, but Darius didn't respond to her nor acknowledge she had said a word. "I may be weak, but you don't get to completely ignore me!" She growled at him, loud enough to wake Swain before Darius had made his way over to him.

"Darius? What are you doing here?" Jericho rubbed at his eyes and spoke with an exhausted drawl.

"I knew you would be struggling, but I didn't expect the dead would be at your house when you just started your search." Darius explained, still ignoring Emilia's presence despite talking about her.

"You disrespectful asshole, I answered the door for you, the least you can do is acknowledge me." Emilia fumed, part of her anger was that Darius interrupted Swain's rest, and the other was his unwanted entry.

"Emilia, it's okay, calm down." Jericho tried to soothe her anger, but she looked like a porcupine with how tightly she was clenching her fists and tensing her body.

"Emilia, who is-" Darius started before looking to Leblanc with realization.

"I'm Emilia, the so called only woman that Jericho ever has over?" Leblanc looked the opposite of very intimidating with her ill-fitted clothes.

"Can you two please stop arguing? There's no need for this." Swain begged them as he sat up and gather the pillow and blanket that Emilia had covered him with.

"I am not arguing with her, she's just upset that I know she's not dead." Darius said, defensively as he shrugged. "I thought I was doing you a favour by coming to check in, did I interrupt something?" He looked between Jericho and Emilia.

"No, she just arrived uh, a few hours ago?" Swain couldn't tell easily how long he had fallen asleep for, but going exclusively by the fire, it likely was two or three hours. "She got soaked outside, you want me to let her soak like a wet rat?"

"I know what I said, Jericho, but you are already making me want to kill you both." Emilia shot them both glares, crossing her arms at them.

"Is she always like this?" Darius asked, and Jericho hesitated in responding. "Just sometimes."

"Alright if you two are going to keep talking like I'm not here, I'm leaving." She stomped, and Swain got up quickly grabbing her with magic and pulling her away from the door. Darius and Emilia stared at Jericho, shock and anger nearly in both their faces. Swain wanted to throw his head into a blender, he was not awake enough for the situation.

Jericho got up quickly and grabbed Emilia by the arm, stopping her from leaving again.

"Let go of me, Jericho." She warned him, her voice barely calm.

"Let her go, if she wants to leave, you can't keep her here." Darius chimed in, still standing by the armchair where Jericho left him.

"Emilia, you just arrived in the rain, you begged me to stay and said you couldn't be alone." Jericho didn't let her go, and Emilia couldn't get herself free even if she tried.

"And? I didn't realize that being in your house would mean that you would ignore me and shit talk me while I'm in the same room! You think that's fair to me, Jericho?" She actually looked to Darius for assistance, and Jericho felt his certainty shift.

"I will admit, I was rude when I came in, Emilia-"

"You don't get to call me Emilia." She shot Darius a glare, and the bigger man sighed. He moved over and grabbed Swain's arm, which made him finally let go of Emilia.

"Leblanc, Jericho. Let's stop." Darius spoke, strangely becoming the mediator in the situation. Emilia looked satisfied by Darius correcting himself. Jericho put his hand through his hair, combing it back.

"I don't want either of you to leave. I care about you both, and I know you two can't stand each other but I can't stand you two fighting." Jericho admitted, looking between Darius and Emilia as the two seemed to come to the realization at the same time.

"Fine." Emilia turned and offered her hand to Darius. "If you treat me with respect, I will do the same for you."

"Alright." Darius answered, taking her hand and giving a single shake before letting go.

"Satisfied, Jericho? I think you also need to look at your own behaviour. If I want to leave, you can't stop me." Emilia added, and Jericho tried to get support from Darius, but he was alone in that decision.

"The city will hunt you down, Emilia. This isn't the first time you tried to disappear." Swain defended himself, not seeing his own wrong. It made Emilia want to yell at him, but she kept her calm.

"It will be the last time I disappear, there won't be a reappearance this time." She retorted.

"I'm trying to keep you safe, I thought you died when the rumour came around. I don't want to lose you, Emilia. I'm scared of losing you." Jericho admitted, his anxiety finally breaking through his exterior.

"I respect you trying to keep me safe, but I'm not yours, Swain. If I'm staying here with you, you need to respect that even if I'm weaker than you, you can't boss me around. If I wanted to be treated like shit, I would have thrown myself to the Black Rose and let them do what they would with me. I know I made Noxus this way, but I won't bow to you as you won't bow to me. Understood?" Emilia really hoped that the Grand General would get it through his relatively thick skull. It typically wasn't so hard for Swain to get the big picture, but Emilia had become acutely aware that the man's feelings could outwit his rationality. She thought about the day she had provoked him, and how much damage he had done. Was he losing his control to his demon? She sincerely hoped that she was overthinking it.

"Alright, I understand." Jericho sighed, and Emilia felt herself relax slightly.

"I'm going back to bed, you two can do whatever you two do." Emilia yawned, going to grab the blanket and pillow before leaving the two men alone without waiting to hear their response. She started to notice how the floor seemed to slant to the right, resulting in her tilting and placing her hand against the wall. For a moment, she wondered if she was going to have another seizure, but she didn't collapse, and the ground leveled out again shortly after.

The former mage was weary, she had avoided having more seizures with her being more mindful about what caused them. What she was starting to feel was different, and she hated that she didn't know what it was. As she got the pillow tucked in and added the extra blanket to the blankets, she tucked herself in. Emilia felt as if the room was moving around her and her eyes were struggling to focus on a anything, so she closed her eyes, hoping that it would help. It only helped a little, she hoped sleep would help.

-

She couldn't be more wrong. She woke up only a few hours later, barely making it in time to throw up in the toilet. Two deep breaths before more joined. It continued until her sides hurt, her nose running and tears running down her face.

She laid down in the bathroom, too weak to think of getting herself back to bed, and the fear of her needing to run back was too much. She grabbed tissues, blowing her nose and using the sink to pull herself to her feet. Emilia felt her legs shake weakly underneath her, making her hold onto the sink. She looked at herself in the mirror, and she could hardly recognize herself. Between wearing Jericho's clothes, her hair being messed up, and her face betraying how sick she was, she looked like someone else entirely.

Leblanc took some water from the sink, cleaning her face and sighed. She needed sleep, she felt so tired, and her sleep had been interrupted a few times at that point. Emilia grabbed the bathroom trash, bringing it to the side of the bed before climbing back under the covers. As she was falling asleep, she would wake up suddenly thinking she was falling and completely panicking her to the point where she was back to the beginning of trying to sleep.

She was luckily able to fall asleep, and nothing woke her for the rest of the night. As soon as she woke up again, her body wished to purge, and she was thankful for having the foresight of bringing the trash to the bed. Devolving into nothing more than dry heaving, she couldn't help crying at how painful it was. Leblanc cleaned her face again and left her bedroom, having made sure to not choose Jericho's room.

"Jericho?" She called out, her arm wrapped around her stomach and her other arm planted against the wall. Emilia wondered if her dizziness was due to hunger or dehydration, but she couldn't think clearly. "Jericho!" She called out when she didn't hear him coming.

"Emilia, what are you yelling about?" Jericho looked down the hall from his room, he went to her as he noticed her leaning against the wall. "What happened? Did you catch a cold from the day before?" He asked, his worry so apparent that she would have laughed if she wasn't feeling so terrible.

"No, it's something else, I keep throwing up." She grumbled, her head was swimming badly again, her body growing shaky as she struggled to keep herself upright.

Jericho put her arm around his neck, before leading her back to the room she had claimed. "Get some rest, you likely got the flu." He begged her as he brought her back to bed. He cleaned up without a word, replacing the bag in the trash in case it was needed again. Emilia got herself back in bed, feeling the world move around her. Swain put his forearm to her head for a few moments before pulling it away. "Let me get you some water."

Leblanc felt pathetic, and she had felt that feeling a lot since she lost her magic, but it seemed worse then. It felt as if something was desperately trying to free itself from her body, and she didn't know what was happening. A flu? She never had a flu as terrible as that, but maybe it was her magic that made it more manageable. She wasn't sure. The moment Jericho returned with a pitcher and glass of water, she drank two cups readily before she laid back down.

"I'm sorry I can't stay with you today, I have work to do. I will leave a raven with you, if you need me to come urgently, just tell them to find me and they will." Emilia noticed how Jericho adjusted everything for her, it was almost senseless how he adjusted everything.

"I will be okay, I've been through worse." Leblanc told him, trying to reassure him yet it only seemed to make him fret more. He opened the window, whistling for one of his ravens and bringing it over to lay near her. It was... odd to say the least. Emilia didn't exactly have much experience with birds, and with Swain's ravens she had even less experience.

"If anything changes, or you are scared, you can send for me." He furthered his previous suggestion.

"Jericho, go to work, I know how to keep care of myself when I'm sick." Swain sighed, nodding in response.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Just be safe." He listened and left her alone in bed. It would be a long day, or so she had thought, worried she would be unable to fall back asleep.
It didn't end there, Emilia wished it would, waking up freezing cold and shaking. She refused to call upon Jericho, she didn't want to think of what he would do to excuse himself. Would he tell the truth? Would he tell Darius that she was sick, and she couldn't handle herself? She refused to use such a lifeline, unless she was dying, she was more than capable to care for herself. Leblanc grabbed a smaller blanket to wrap around her shoulders to venture out to the kitchen for food. Her shivers and dizziness making the stairs a game of chance, and after many close calls, she found herself on the main floor. The mage continued her journey, searching for anything small and easy to digest.

She grabbed some crackers and found some soup leftovers in the fridge, packaged into multiple containers. She heated it up on the stove, leaning against the counters as she waited for it to boil. Once it was ready, she brought it towards the dining room, totally unaware that there was no table, and the chairs were stacked against the wall. The damaged wall had been filled in but had not been repainted since. Emilia cursed at the lack of table, returning her food to the kitchen and dragging a chair from the dining room so she could eat using a countertop.

She was thankful for the warmth of the soup, and she was feeling rather proud of herself for doing it despite her body working against her the whole way. She was still strong, just in a different way, surely?

The stairs up were a different challenge all together, requiring such energy that she ended up having to climb up on her hands and knees. Maybe it was best that Emilia was alone, she didn't want anyone to see her in her state. But she honestly didn't want anyone seeing her since she lost her magic, so it wasn't much of a change. As she climbed back into bed, she heard something.

"Emilia, help!" It sounded like Elise, but she was on her way to the Vilemaw, there was no way she could be there. Also, why would she be calling her for help in the middle of Noxus Prime? She forced herself to try to sleep.

-

She saw the white blinding petricide underneath her, and when she lifted her head, she could see the room covered in the white stone. She went to move, but her cuffs rattled with chains and tubes attached. Emilia pulled on the chains, it was absolutely useless, the chains weighed so much that even resisting the chain's pull on her arms was hard enough. The cuffs were attached to each other to make it so she couldn't move her hands, and despite her attempts, the tubes that the cuffs were attached to were too far from her fingers.

She tried to remain calm, but it was all so vivid, the environment was so physical that she could barely tell herself that it wasn't real. She felt the start of the tug, and she started panicking, throwing her body away from the chains only for her arms to pull her painfully back to the floor. "No, no, please!" She cried out, looking for something, anything that would free her before the true pain started. She couldn't breathe, and she couldn't see anyone, not even the people who did it to her every few hours, every day, what felt like endlessly. "Jericho! Please! Don't do this, don't do this." She sobbed, and she gasped out in pain as it truly started. She curled up tightly in a ball as she screamed from the pain, it was real, they found a way to bring her back, they found her. She had woken up from a nightmare to only find herself back in the worst nightmare of them all. Her hands kept clenching and releasing as she tried to cope with it, but it never got easier.
"Please, I will do anything, please, don't do this, don't do this to me. I'm sorry, I don't know what I did to you, but I'm sorry please I'll give you anything you want, I'll give you power, I'll give you the power to conquer the world, anything." She screeched, collapsing onto her side and she heard the release. It would end for then. But it was only a short reprieve, she gasped for breath, her throat hurting from her cries. Emilia heard the door open, shoes clapping the floor as they approached her, the one who started it all. She was limp when they grabbed her by her hair, pain overwhelming her ability to fight back, her eyes searching over the blank face that stared at her. "You didn't escape, you will come back to me, whether you like it or not." They laughed, letting go of her hair suddenly and letting her bang her head on the ground.

She fell out of her bed, kicking and screaming, panicking over the blankets tangling her. Her eyes shot around, fear overwhelming her ability to think clearly.

"You'll come back to me, Leblanc." She turned, and they were there, standing behind her. She scrambled to her feet, running as fast as she could, missing a step on the way down the stairs. She twisted her ankle and cried out from the pain, but she looked back, and they were following. Emilia pulled on the door, panicking when it didn't open, and she remembered the lock. Undoing it and slamming the door behind her, anything to put distance between them and her. She didn't stop running until she was free from Noxus Prime, and skidded down a slope before her ankle gave out and she fell.

Chapter 12

Summary:

Swain finds out Leblanc is missing and Darius helps him.

Jericho had told Guile and Katarina that their assignment was cancelled, they both seemed to not care that he had done so. During the afternoon, one of his ravens returned to him with panic. It was the one he had left with Leblanc, and the memory he received from his raven showed her screaming before his raven had fled to inform him.

"Fuck, fuck." Swain got up from his desk, he didn't have time to worry about anything else. He slammed his door open and went to the nearest exit, crashing into Darius causing him to fall on his butt.

"Swain, what's the rush?" Darius asked, but he quickly noticed the General's panic.

"Emilia, something happened, I need to find her." He got back to his feet and took the exit, he called upon his powers for his wings to fly back to his manor.

"Jericho, wait!" Darius called after him, but Swain only was focusing on getting back to the manor. He destroyed his front door, and he didn't care, he went up the stairs to Emilia's room and he saw the damages. There were slashes over the bed, tears in the mattress and blankets tangled and discarded off the side of the bed. Jericho took deep breaths, trying to find anything that could bring him to knowing where she went. He went to the front, calling on his ravens to scour the city for Leblanc, she was too sick to be out on her own. He couldn't think of what to do, and he turned restlessly before deciding he needed to join his ravens. However as soon as he took off, something grabbed his foot and dragged him back down.

"Let go of me!" He unleashed his magical lightning from his demon hand without a thought of who had stopped him. Darius cried out in pain, letting go of Jericho to put his hands to his face.

"Darius!" He landed as he realized what he had done. "Let me see, I'll do what I can."

"Jericho, let me help you. Fuck, I can't see." Darius growled, covering one of his eyes. The lightning had hit him in the face.

"I didn't mean, I didn't know who you were." Swain tried to breathe, moving Darius's hand to look at the damage he had caused. "I'm sorry, I hope this will help for now." He put his demon hand over Darius's damaged eye, channeling magic to give some temporary first aid.

"Tell me what's going on. I can help you." Darius insisted, the man really was the feat of Might, to take such an attack and still focus entirely on Jericho.

"I love you, Darius." He found himself saying before he could explain anything else.

"Now's not the time, you hit me for a reason, get me up to speed, Jericho." Darius brought him back to reality.

"Emilia was unwell this morning, very unwell. I thought it was a flu or maybe a cold from the thunderstorm, and so I left a raven with her in case she needed anything or if it got any worse. My raven returned to me, she was screaming, there's scratches and tears in her bed, and the blankets were thrown all over the floor. They haven't been able to locate her." He explained quickly, and Darius nodded in understanding.

"I will arrange a search party, I'll say we are looking for a woman called Emilia, and we'll cover what ground your ravens and you can't cover." Swain really couldn't believe Darius was truly helping him that much, it meant more than he could ever express.

"Thank you." Jericho kissed him quickly before flying off to try his best to locate where Emilia could have possibly went.

The search stretched on for hours and hours, both parties working diligently to locate Emilia, and after a few hours, Swain was confined back to the ground due to lack of mana. They had swept through most of Noxus Prime at that point and had found nothing. They asked passersby and a few had mentioned seeing a woman with black hair running, but most had not seen where she went. It was already sunset by the time they had checked all of Noxus Prime, and Jericho felt like his heart was beating out of his chest. It was all too much, and to know she was sick and out somewhere alone made him weak to his knees out of fear. He tried to keep his composure, but as each hour crawled on and it grew darker and darker, it only got bleaker.

Darius and Swain met at midnight at the edge of the city after sweeping an area with no sign of her. "I've done what I can, Jericho. I don't know where she could have went, and I really should get my eye checked out. I think your magic is wearing off." Darius grumbled with regret, he put his hand on Jericho's shoulder. "We will find her, I promise. She couldn't have gotten far." Swain wished he had the hope and confidence that Darius had, that he could wrestle the fear armed only with Darius's words.

"I'm really sorry about your eye, I didn't mean to." Jericho apologized again, looking at what he did.

"Does it make me look badass?" Darius asked, a smirk on his face. "I can make up some real good stories about it. If not me, I'm sure Draven would write a perfect cover story."

"I will never understand how you stay so calm, but maybe it's just because my brain is on fire. It would be easier if it was anyone else." Swain shook his head.

"If it was you, I think I would have hurt Leblanc in the process. Stay strong, I'll be back in a few hours. My team will be working into the night." Darius continued to smile at Jericho, and he wondered what he did to deserve such a good friend, and maybe more. Darius left him there. Jericho glanced over the steppes outside Noxus Prime.

"Emilia, please, don't die on me." He begged, clenching his fists.

--

They had walked through most parts of the steppes by the time the sun had started rising. Darius has returned with a blindfolded eye, and Jericho was exhausted and mana bankrupt, but he couldn't think of sleeping until he found Emilia.

Swain skidded down a steppe, a particularly nasty one. He nearly had it take him down with it, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked down the steppe and he noticed the clothing that he had given to Emilia and his heart hitched in his throat. As he got closer, he saw her more clearly, crumpled up as if she had rolled all the way down.

"Emilia!" He called out, trying to get her to react before he made his way down safely to her despite the rocky surface that he had to navigate down. He finally got to her side, she hadn't roused from him yelling which had nearly paralyzed his heart. Jericho checked her pulse, feeling one weak but steady. Her body was freezing, but her forehead was boiling way too hot.

"Emilia, can you hear me? Can you wake up?" He attempted again for her to wake up, but she didn't move, and he noticed that her ankle was swollen as well as bent unnaturally. Swain took a deep breath to prepare himself, pulling her onto his back because he knew he couldn't manage getting up the steppes if he carried her any other way.

"I found her!" He called out to the group as he neared their rendezvous point, and they got her under the eyes of a watchful doctor.

"Her condition is really bad, her fever has been running for hours from what I can tell. She broke her ankle. Not only that, she is showing signs of mana poisoning." The doctor explained to Jericho, who was really starting to struggle staying awake after finding her.

"Mana poisoning?" Swain hadn't exactly heard of anything like that, maybe he wasn't around mages enough.

"When a mage's magic cannot flow properly through their body and the user cannot use their magic, it will build up in their body until they reach a state where it starts overwhelming their body. Usually, medications can help with stopping it from getting this severe." The doctor sighed.

"What else can be done?" Swain asked impatiently, he was ridiculously tired, and all the bad news was making it hard for him to sit still.

"You need to find a way to drain her mana. Sadly, such an option is hard to come by and I am not sure how you would find treatment."

"Thank you, I think I know exactly what to do." Jericho hated what he needed to do, on one hand, he would murder that inventor himself, but on the other... He had to put Emilia through the pain she had been subjected to everyday for months.

Chapter 13

Emilia blinked as she woke up, rubbing her eyes before she panicked that she was in bed. Then she recognized the room, she wasn't taken, she was okay. Her ankle hurt terribly, which confirmed what happened prior had been real. Leblanc looked over and noticed that Jericho was on the floor beside the bed. It didn't fail to make her smile, and she realized just how badly she had probably scared him. She had no time between her dream and panic to realize that it wasn't real, that she didn't need to have run.

She still felt a terrible chill throughout her body, she did not dare venture out from under covers nor did she want to move her ankle anymore than she already did to lean over the side of the bed. Emilia watched him rest for a few seconds, his eye bags betraying his exhaustion. How long had she been out? How long did it take him to find her? How did he find her? There were too many questions, and her head felt foggy and unfocused. She dangled her hand over the edge and tapped the tip of Jericho's nose. He startled away and Emilia laughed at his panic, leaning her head over the edge and resting her head on top of her hands.

"Must you scare me to death every time I leave you alone?" He grumbled, yet his smile spoke more than enough words.

"They were here, they found me." Emilia's smile faded as she continued to recall why she had ran away in the first place.

"Emilia-" Jericho sat up, taking her head in his hands. "They weren't here, it wasn't real. Your magic, it's hurting you because you can't use it. I promise you, they will not find you, and they will not hurt you."

"What? What do you mean? I would know if my magic was building up to such a high level." She searched his eyes as she couldn't seem to wrap her head around it. If it was concentrated enough to make her so sick, she should be able to harness it, bring it to her blackened fingertips.

"No, you wouldn't. The damage that they did to you..." She saw his face fall, and she grabbed one of his hands.

"What, Jericho, what do you know?" Emilia readjusted herself to get comfortable in his hands, leaning into his touch. It was soothing after the pain and fear that she went through, her whole body hurt so badly. She fell down a steppe, and then it had went black.

"I'm sorry, Emilia. The only way to help your condition is to find the inventor and use his blueprints for treatment. It would have to drain you of your mana." Swain looked down at the ground, his hands loosening around her face.
Leblanc pulled herself away from Jericho, shaking her head, putting her hands in her hair. "No, no, no, no." She cried out, just the idea of returning to that situation overwhelmed her head and sent her into an anxiety attack. "Jericho, no, you're lying, you're joking, there is another way, you need to find a different way." Swain stood up with his shoulders limp in defeat. His expression only made her feel even more helpless. "I won't let you, I won't, you can't do that to me. I would rather die, I-" Jericho climbed onto the bed to her side, wrapping his arms around her quivering body tightly.

"I will find the inventor, I will kill them, I will torture them for every second they hurt you, Emilia. I promise. I will find a way to make it not hurt, you won't be hurt anymore." He whispered determined, and she grabbed his clothes tightly as if he would escape her hands if she let go.

"Don't leave me alone. You can't." She begged him, she couldn't stand the idea of being alone while she was in her current state, it was the worst it had ever been. From what she knew, it would only get worse as her magic continued to build, and considering her strength as a mage, it could kill her.

"We don't have time, I won't be leaving you alone, Darius will be taking care of you. He will be here every night, and he will arrange someone to take care of you during the day. You won't be alone." He pulled out of the hug slightly to point to a vial of medication. "I need you to take this every day I'm gone, otherwise I..." Jericho trailed off, he didn't want to tell her any of it, but he needed to.

"I will die before you return..." Leblanc finished his sentence, and Jericho nodded in response. "How long... Do you know how long I have?" She could tell he knew, and was trying not to tell her, but Emilia was not going to ignore her mortality.

"A month." He whispered. Emilia trembled even more in response, not only did she lose her near immortality, but she also had to wrestle with the knowledge that she was on the precipice of her death. The mage started to sob.

"Emilia, it's not going to happen, I won't let it. I will be back in time." Jericho promised the impossible, and she shook her head, there was no way. She reached up, fiddling with Jericho's hair for a few moments before taking his chin in her hand. If he was going to be leaving, she was done waiting until she wasn't in a vulnerable state, if it was going to be the last time she saw his face, then she was not going to regret not doing more.

He went to speak, but she put her finger on his lips before kissing him. She took his head in her hands, adjusting herself so she could kiss him easier. He listened, not pulling back to speak even though she knew he wanted to. Jericho held her shoulder with his demon hand firmly, he pulled out of the kiss momentarily to kiss more needily. It made Emilia smile, she pushed him down and intensified the kiss. She pulled back, looking down at him.

"Jericho Swain, I... I really do love you." She admitted, wanting no misunderstanding in what could be their last interact.

"Emilia, I love you too." He answered, before pulling her in for a deeper kiss. Emilia pulled off her sweater, getting too hot to wear it any longer and threw it off the bed, despite the shivers that still made her body tremor occasionally. He reached up to caress her face once again.

"Let me get up, I'll join you in bed for a while longer." Jericho offered, and she did so as he asked, making sure to be careful about moving her ankle. He moved to lay in the bed properly, and Emilia rested her head on his chest, looking up at him.

"I hate how handsome you are." She chuckled, she loved each little detail of his face. He had a crease from the resting bitch face that he didn't realize he had. He placed his hand on her head, combing his fingers through her hair.

"I used to hate how pretty you were, makes it hard to hate you for all you did." He responded, his sincerity making her feel a little guilty for her comment.

"I cannot take back what I did, Jericho. I will admit, despite how you messed up my plans, you didn't deserve anything I did to you." She mumbled, the soothing feeling of him playing with her hair was already making her start to doze off. There was never enough energy in her body, and she knew that the moment she gave in, he would be gone.

"I won't forgive you for what you did, but you are too important for me to cast aside." Jericho trailed his fingers down her cheeks, across her brow, and Emilia wondered if he was purposely doing so to make her eyes so heavy under his touch.

"Jericho, I really hope you prove me wrong, like every other time, like every time I tried to kill you. I don't want to be right." She told him, taking his hand in hers for a few moments before letting it go so, he could continue the soft touching of her face.

"I will try with all my heart." He ran the back of his hand across her eyebrows, making Emilia's eyes flutter closed and she could barely bring herself to open her eyes again. Her body calling her to sleep, but she didn't wish to part with him, she didn't want him to try to save her if it meant leaving her. The magicless mage had no choice as Jericho petted her head, and she lost her battle with exhaustion.

-

She felt a hand on her shoulder as she woke up. "Jericho?" She called out softly, lifting her head and taking the hand with her own before she became acutely aware that it was not in fact, Jericho's hand. She let go of the hand suddenly, blinking to focus her vision and seeing Darius standing by the bed. Swain was no longer there, her head having been moved to a pillow in her rest. It brought her an indescribable sadness to know the moment had passed, that their last moment could end so suddenly and he had left her.

"He told me to apologize for him leaving while you were asleep. He wanted to stay longer, but he couldn't without worrying he would forfeit precious time finding your captor." Darius explained, and Emilia nodded before sighing, she pushed herself to sit up.

"I came up here to also remind you to take your medication, it is a magic suppressant, and it should weaken your symptoms and lower your magic regeneration." He added on further, and Emilia realized that something was different.

"Darius, what happened to your eye?" Leblanc asked, wiping her eyes to try to wake herself up further. She grabbed the water on her nightstand, and taking one of the pills given to her.

"I got attacked by a bear." Darius said, elusively and with the smile of a hyena.

"Inside Noxus Prime, within the single day that I didn't see you." Emilia narrowed her eyes at him, calling him out on such a bullshit response.

"Fine, I didn't have enough time to come up with a better story. You set Jericho off so badly he was freaking out, I was trying to help so I had stopped him, and he hit me with his magic not realizing it was me." The soldier came clean, and Emilia couldn't help feeling embarrassed that she had done so much damage by getting scared. At the same time, it really sunk in how much Jericho would do to make sure she was safe, and she was eternally thankful for him, even if he didn't have the guts to actually say goodbye properly.

"Wow, I didn't think he would do panic magic, he always looked so in control of his powers."

"Love makes you do really stupid things. Like abandon your post to hunt down someone to avoid your girlfriend dying." He spoke with a knowing smile as he looked down at her.

"We're not dating." She corrected, and Darius cranked his head to the side.

"Sure, and I'm Guile."

"Look, he is very adamant that we are not dating until I'm better and considering that’s probably never, I guess we'll never date." She shrugged, she wasn't the one making the rules and she certainly didn't care at that point. Jericho would figure out what he wanted when he wanted it, and she was hopelessly waiting for the moment to arrive. Her death seemed more possible than him finally deciding to put her situation out of vulnerability anytime soon.

"Honestly we're not any better, but I guess he hasn't actually gotten his mind made up about either of us." Darius shrugged. "Anyway, I came up to get you to take your meds, and to let you know that Katarina will be keeping care of you during the day. She will make sure nothing happens. I didn't tell her it was you, Leblanc, I said she'll be looking after Emilia."

"It literally doesn't matter, she knows exactly what I look like, her father brought her with him plenty enough times for her to know what I look like before she was casted out of the Black Rose." Emilia groaned, another person that would be aware of her first name, she wasn't sure if she hated it because she was so used to anonymity or because she wanted the respect of her last name being used to address her.

"Sorry, I wasn't aware of her ties."

"Oh dear, that's exactly why I got away with so much." Emilia chuckled, before starting to have a coughing fit. The tall Noxian man came and rubbed her back until she stopped.

"I will be back later today, let Katarina know if you need anything."

"Thanks, Darius."

Chapter 14

Summary:

Darius and Guile have a meeting about Swain.

Darius was exhausted and that was excusing the mad pain in his injured eye, which decided would also include most his face in pain. He would have found it relieving to return to his house to see his brother and explain the ridiculous situation that he found himself in, but there was no solace in his little brother's presence. He was not used to Draven being away for longer than a few days, and that paled to the multiple months that he would be away. Then adding to that was having to make that situation worse by Jericho needing to leave Noxus in pursuit of the inventor. A month time limit that ticked faster and faster every day, and while he hadn't forgiven Leblanc, if Jericho wanted her safe then he would gladly die as her shield.

The first day of his duties quickly overwhelmed his schedule: Demacian negotiations, trade manifestos, market incentives to help with the lack of food that Noxus Prime produced, and that was only scratching the surface. His schedule combined with Swain's only caused grief, he had so many people to reach out to fix double bookings and communicating Swain's temporary unavailability. He had hoped that in the last few hours of the day that he because he had some free time that he could work on the paperwork that had been staring at him nonstop since the morning during all his meetings. A note was delivered to him.

"Letter from Guile, for your immediate attention, sir." The messenger told him, and he immediately wished that he could disappear off the face of Runeterra for a moment to breathe. He waved the messenger dismissal before he broke the seal and opened the letter.

'Darius, please meet me in our usual meeting room, immediately upon this note's arrival. I am sure you know exactly what I need to speak with you regarding.' Darius sighed long and hard, groaning in frustration, what a terrible time for them to decide to grace him with their presence. They hardly ever came to the Immortal Bastion, it posed too much risk in their honest opinion and found it much easier to relegate their duties and often work through Darius. For some reason, Swain often preferred him speaking with Guile on his behalf, and so Guile had decided that they would prioritize their contact with him instead of attempting to do so to Swain. It was so unneeded, but he would not change it if he could, maybe it was perhaps due to Swain and Guile having different opinions regarding situations and considering Darius was often the leading figure in political meetings, it was often easier to have Darius interpret their opinions to each other.

He got up from his spot and headed to the meeting room they had referred to, and with the door closed behind him, Guile sat waiting for him and tapping their fingers on the table. Their typical golden mask worn in a way that made it impossible to distinguish their features, and that was only one of the many accommodations that Guile required to appear in the Immortal Bastion. It didn't bother Darius, what was the point of Guile if the Trifarix met often with them, and they had their face accessible? Considering Guile's work as their spymaster, it was best that they remained distant, and so the fact they were there meant that he was not going to have fun in the conversation.

Darius took a seat, adjusting himself to make sure he'll be comfortable for what he assumed would be another long meeting. "Guile, typically you are not one for last minute meetings." A futile attempt to try to have them reveal their reasons.

"Darius, I have heard troubling news, and with Swain's absence, I am concerned." An anticipated statement, nothing went unnoticed by their spymaster, who could watch even more diligently than Swain's ravens.

"I am listening, what is your concern?" Darius could tell that they wanted to pause and make sure that the severity of their words would speak loud and clear. Guile flicked their finger, the door clicking as it locked.

"You forgot the door, be more diligent. As for my concerns, it has come to my attention that Swain has been showing some disappointing behaviours." Darius hated the way that Guile purposely beat around the bush rather than just telling him exactly what they were bothered by. Maybe that was partially why Swain couldn't stand their meetings, and why Guile was often left to him.

"I apologize, I've had a long day. I need you to be more specific, it has been an eventful few months for him." He spoke in defence of his friend, and Guile tilted their head and tapped their mask.

"Both of you are distracted. Not working effectively at all, and I heard that Swain had used his powers in broad daylight, and your eye, which was him, was it not?" Darius wanted to groan in response, but he knew that it would only worsen the situation. He needed to pacify them, to assure them that no action was needed. He severely doubted that he could force the conversation into his favour.

"It was a mistake, he was under extreme stress, someone important to him was in trouble." Darius slipped up, not knowing what else he could say to reason Swain's actions other than the truth.

"Darius, does that someone happen to be... Emilia Leblanc?" Guile narrowed their eyes at Darius, he could see it just barely beneath the mask. "I will admit I had helped him in his search for her prior, hoping that once he finished his fruitless expenditure that he would settle down and return to his duties. As this is not the first time he has left recently, you must understand that I am not happy regarding his priorities." There was the cruelty that Guile could display and often did, the coldness of a winter Noxus night and the sharpness of an assassin's blade, a warning that only a spymaster could deliver.

"The situation with Leblanc is complicated, he returned without finding the culprit, and due to that, her health has deteriorated, and she is at risk of death." Darius responded, arms crossed as he sat back looking at Guile. They were lean, it was hard to tell anything about their gender, nor their strength, they were a Noxian skilled with magic close to the power of Leblanc's, or so he imagined. He didn't exactly know many born magic users, as Swain had been powerless before he found his demon.

"There are times when a leader must choose their country over their own interests. Even if means the death of someone dear to them. He has been vulnerable for too long, making decisions without our opinions, disrespecting our Trifarix, and endangering Noxus. It especially troubles me that instead of scolding him, you have been neglecting your own position to assist him in this disruption. Must I rid of the problem myself?" Their anger was peeking through their mask, the tightened fists that sat on the table in front of them. They took a deep breath. "I have been tolerant. I have been understanding, but Noxus cannot constantly lose it's Grand General for the smallest of issues. If Emilia Leblanc is too weak to stay alive, she is not strong enough to bother with." Darius struggled to keep his own feelings in check, he knew the conversation would have come at some point, but he had hoped that Swain would have been available to defend himself.

"Guile, moving away from that strong vs weak behaviour is exactly what Swain is trying to eliminate in Noxus. While we are supposed to be the pinnacle of our titles that doesn't mean we have to treat the weak like that. Swain's after the inventor of those cuffs. The cuffs that we found Leblanc in, the ones we can't take off despite all the methods we tried, the ones that prevent you from using magic, the ones that could be used on you to completely take away half of your strength. They cause mana sickness and could kill half the mage population if we're not careful, because this inventor is trafficking mages for that purpose. This is ignoring what the inventor is using the harvested magic for.

Lastly, you wouldn't actually be helping Swain come back to earth. Guile, you don't know him like I do, if you killed Leblanc, you'd break him in a way he can never fix himself. It'd be like if you killed my brother- as much as I hate to admit it. I understand your frustration, but before we jump to action, how about we, you and me, talk and come up with a plan to make you happy or him happy. So, tell me, what's really on your mind?"

Guile grabbed their mask, taking it off and planting it down right-side up, she adjusted her golden blond hair. With the mask removed, Guile's appearance and voice became more specific than beforehand. She used magic to adjust her appearance to make sure that people could not make her out no matter how much they tried. "He's been disrespectful of you and me, all because of a woman that has repeatedly tried to kill him. I agree that the inventor needs to be dealt with, but we can't always afford to do what needs to be done. He has plenty of soldiers that could easily do it, but instead he forgets he has a job to do and friends that he's abusing with his escapades. Honestly, if you want me to get rid of her, maybe he will move on and get the clue that she isn't worth that."

"Guile, genuinely no. We've talked this out, he likes us both."

"Sorry, what? When did you tell him and why didn't you tell me? That doesn't excuse that he hurt you, and you're helping him despite it." Guile growled, banging her hand on the table. "You literally lost an eye for him."

"It's not lost, I still have it."

"Don't lie to me, I know you won't be able to see from it once it's healed." She glared at him, before letting it fade. "I don't want him to hurt you, and if he's telling the truth, I'm happy for you but he already hurt you emotionally more times than I can count. Now this one is physical, yet you're defending him. I'm scared for you."

"Stop, he's not playing with me. I am making these decisions myself. What happened to make you think he would do this on purpose?"

"The moment he sees something he wants, he ends up hurting you in the process, because he knows you will follow him to hell and back." Guile crossed her arms and got up from her spot.

"Guile, it doesn't mean you get to overstep your boundaries and execute a woman who is about to die not even a month from now." Darius got up and stared down at the smaller woman, who seemed completely unbothered by the height difference.

"Fine, I will accept this once, and only once. I'll give him one month to find the cure, and we'll see if he can do it in time. If he gives me any further worries that he is going to hurt you again, I won't hold back." She barked at him, grabbing her mask, she went to put it on, but Darius grabbed her wrist, but he let it go immediately.

"Quiletta, are you being any better than him?" Darius broke the rule, the most important of their rules. The woman went quiet, looking away from Darius then back to him.

"Enjoy your work, Hand of Noxus." She put her mask on and as she left the room, she simply disappeared before he could say anything more.

Chapter 15

It wasn't long until Katarina arrived, and as soon as Katarina had come into her room as Darius had instructed, Katarina immediately recognized her, Emilia could see it in her eyes.

"Katarina, thanks for coming." She forced herself to say, because anything else was too hard to say, and the awkwardness crept over her like an icy shadow.

"That's why Swain wanted to know if you were dead." Katarina smirked and let out a laugh. "Wow, who would have thought that I would be keeping care of a magicless Leblanc? Thanks for Cassiopeia's promotion, it's good to have her back home." Leblanc was thankful, that was what she wanted to say in response to finding out she was taking care of her of all people.

"I suspected you would be more inclined to stabbing me than that, considering your father." Emilia admitted, sitting up and adjusting the pillow angle.

"It's a bit hard to stay mad at you when you, one, make my boss happy, two, give work to Tal, three, bring my sister back home." Katarina grabbed the chair near the bed, leaning it back onto it's back two legs.

"Used to give Talon work, the Black Rose is no longer my own. How is your little brother? Enjoying his utter lack of work?" Leblanc asked honestly, because she had forgotten about him in all the chaos that had ensued.

"Probably bored out of his mind. Why, do you want me to send for him?" At first, she wasn't sure about letting another person know of her existence, but then she thought about it. She would have both the best assassins in Noxus at her bedside to keep her safe. She would sleep dreamless and content.

"Yeah, that would help me feel a lot better." Emilia answered, she just hoped that didn't entail Katarina leaving the manor. Luckily, Katarina had thought of that, pulling a pigeon out of a relatively small bird cage to put a message on before letting them fly back to the Du Couteau manor. She pushed up the window to it's biggest, leaning against the edge of the window looking out and whispering what sounded like counting.

"Ah-ha, not even two minutes." Katarina laughed really hard at the returning pigeon when she noted it in the sky.

"What do you mean, not even two minutes?" Leblanc asked, perplexed, what had the assassin laughing the way she had.

"Oh, I know how long it takes for the family pigeon to get home, and with Tal, he's super predictable, if I'm calling on him, and he's busy, it'll take five minutes. If he has nothing to do, I'll get a response in two minutes."

They heard the door knocking downstairs and Katarina burst out laughing only more. "And he'll be here in three. Honestly, so predictable." Emilia knew that Talon was really dedicated to his work, but that response time was bewildering to her. She grabbed a crutch that had been left for her to get up with, thankful that she didn't need to be helped to get around. She paused at the top of the stairs, able to see Katarina open the door, and a heavily panting Talon was visible in front of the door.

"Kat, are you-" He stopped talking, looking Katarina up and down and seeming to realize the lack of urgency in her face. "You did it again, didn't you? Were you seriously timing me again?"

"Less than two minutes this time, you're getting faster." Talon growled, before coming inside and closing the door. He noticed Emilia up on the stairs and looked like he was having a heart attack.

"Leblanc? But Elise said..." He stammered before pausing to look at Katarina.

"Wait, didn't you say you were keeping care of someone with mana sickness?" Talon asked, before looking back to Emilia. "Why would you have mana sickness?" Leblanc sighed, adjusting the way she stood to lean better against the crutch.

"Turns out someone found a way to take a mage's magic, destroying their ability to use magic themselves. Regretfully, they found a perfect candidate, and now that I'm free from them, my magic is poisoning me." She explained as simply as she could manage, just standing there had already tuckered her out. She moved back to the bedroom, she heard the two coming up the stairs to follow behind her.

"Something like that exists? But you're one of the strongest mages in Noxus, if not the strongest. How could they?" Talon seemed absolutely baffled, but she guessed that was only fair.

"Cuffs, these things on my wrist are how they stop me from using magic and store it until it is reconnected back to the machine they built, and because I haven't been there and can't use magic, the storage of my magic is causing me to be sick. Understood?" Leblanc explained, sitting down on the bed and motioning for Talon to come closer, which he did. She had forgotten just how obedient Talon was, almost comically so. She motioned him to kneel and ruffled his hair.

"You can get up now."

"Oh, my gods, do you make him do that all the time?"

"It's not important." He tried to silence his sister's judgment, Emilia had forgotten that Katarina wasn't quite aware of the business relationship between her and Talon.

"It's a tradition, a way of showing respect. I can't help it." Leblanc added, finding Talon's embarrassment just as amusing as Katarina.

"Did you two bring me here just to humiliate me?" He crossed his arms, his pouty face looked so pathetic that the two kept laughing.

"A little, but Leblanc did request for you, so I didn't do it just because I wanted to." She paused purposely. "Well, not exactly, I definitely wanted to time you." Katarina responded.

"As you two are plainly aware, I am not exactly an innocent woman. I would prefer both of you here while Darius is away." Leblanc explained properly, deciding to stop the joking to be serious for a few moments. She started coughing before she could continue explaining, it ended up becoming a fit, leaving her with her chest hurting once it had finally stopped. The two assassins having stepped away to give her a moment to catch her breath.

"I worry that word may get to some people that I am still breathing. Considering I am on borrowed time already, I would prefer if I could manage to stay alive until my mana sickness kills me rather than get murdered by one of the people I wronged." She finished explaining.

"Easy enough, better than being at the manor, Cass is repainting and moving things." Talon admitted, looking at Katarina.

"Oh no, what rooms? She better not be painting the whole house. We'll go bankrupt overnight if she took that on." The red haired woman seemed concerned.

"Don't worry, it's her old room and the master bedroom, which she insisted I give to her." Emilia found the two chattering about their sister to be a nice background and served as a way of distracting her from her thoughts.

The siblings had kept their promise, returning day after day diligently and because they could keep each other company, Emilia could sleep rather well as it slowly got harder and harder to do more than roll over to take her meds, force food down, and visit the bathroom for anything else. Her coughing was getting worse, most devolving into fits that left her breathless and dizzy, which only served to discourage her from ever getting out of bed if she could avoid it. It started to wear down on Emilia, and with a constant fever, it often felt like she was freezing while her brain was burning holes into it.

"Is she alive? She didn't even move when we turned the light on." Talon asked, and Kat pressed her fingers to Emilia's pulse, which finally brought her back to consciousness.

"I'm still alive." She whined, her voice scratchy from hours of coughing.

"Darius reminded us to make sure you take your meds and wake up. Can you sit up?" Katarina waited a moment, but Emilia struggled to pull her body to sit up, so Katarina helped her. The assassin grabbed Emilia's medication and offered it to her with a cup of water. It had been a week since Swain had left, and she was already feeling the extreme weakness that her body was invoking. She finished the water, returning it to the bedside before leaning back to lay down.

"Leblanc, you need to eat." Talon chimed in, but Emilia didn't respond, starting to allow herself to fall back asleep. She wanted Jericho, every time her eyes closed, she kept thinking she saw him, that he was even on his way back. She felt a shake, and she groaned in protest, her eyes shooting up and looking around.

"I hate to wake you, but you already skipped multiple meals, Darius demanded that you eat this one." Katarina spoke with her hand on the mage's shoulder.

"I'll just throw it up, let me sleep." Emilia growled, pulling the blanket up and over her head, wishing them away. One of them took the covers away while the other sat her up against her will, she dug her nails into Talon's hands, which he took away with a hiss of pain.

"Leblanc, you can't skip several days of food, I don't care if you end up throwing it up. You need to eat if you want to stay alive." Katarina shot a look of apologies at Talon, placing a tray in front of the woman, staring daggers into the two of them before doing as she was told. If she got any more tired, she felt like she would rip someone's heart out to stay sleeping.

Chapter 16

Summary:

Darius tries to find a way to give Swain more time to find the inventor. Even if it means owing both Vladimir and Guile.

"Darius, I know you said that she would be getting worse, but she is completely unresponsive sometimes when we try to wake her." Katarina sat with Darius at the Immortal Bastion, Talon having taken over for her while she stepped away to report to Darius. "Was the doctor telling the truth when they said she had a month? It's only been a week and she's hardly awake longer than an hour most times."

"I worried that they had calculated that time based on common mages, but with Leblanc, her mana could be restoring nearly triple that most mages replenish." The Hand of Noxus muttered, he didn't look like he had been sleeping. He hadn't heard anything from Jericho, and he wasn't sure if either of them could communicate if they wanted to. There was no telling how far he had made it, nor how close he could be to finding the inventor.

If the doctor had underestimated Emilia's mana regeneration, then Swain likely wouldn't be able to even find the inventor before Emilia passed.

"What do you want us to do? She is refusing to eat, and she has been scratching us and biting us." Katarina sighed, putting her hand on her face.

"Can you two continue insisting? I am sorry for her behaviour, I worry that her brain is starting to be affected. I'll look into what I can do, but I am not entirely sure what more we can do." Darius asked, knowing it was cruel of him to have them continue despite the damage she was causing. He hated that he considered them having to restrain her, but he seriously didn't want to put her back in that situation of her being captured. Her behaviour was getting too severe for him to have them fight against her, even if they could quickly overpower her in her weak state, he hated thinking about what might be going on in her head.

"If you say so, we'll do our best, we've had to lock the bedroom and the windows."

"Thank you."

-

"Quil-."

"Darius, don't disregard our rule, you know better than this. Or has Swain's absence caused you to disregard rules?" Guile growled at him, and Darius just took a deep breath and put his hand over his eyes.

"I need you, I need your magic. I need you to try syphoning magic from Leblanc. The doctor that told us about her mana sickness gave us the wrong timeline, she won't last if someone doesn't intervene." Darius tried to get his friend to feel for him, he couldn't think of what he could say to Swain when he returned thinking he had found it on time only to find that she died much earlier than he had thought.

"Get a hemomancer, they should have better luck anyway. What's that one that's friends with her? Vladimir was it, that annoying noble always complaining about the Trifarix. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help." She deflected. "If that doesn't work, then I'll think about seeing this pitiful sight myself."

"Thank you, I'll send you notice if I require you. Thank you, Guile."

"I'm only doing this for you, Swain be damned."

-

It was not an easy task to locate Vladimir, the hemomancer was slippery and often was sighted virtually all over the city multiple times a day. Darius was forced to resort to having Katarina hunt the man down, the situation was growing grimmer every day and he felt the fear of failing Swain in keeping her safe. Soon, Katarina fell in step behind the hemomancer, who was quick to noticed her and he tried to slip away by disappearing into the ground. She luckily had seen his powers before, and with a few tips from her hemomancer friends, it was predictable.

When he reappeared, Katarina pinned him again the wall and he sliced into her skin. He absorbed the blood from her wound before pushing her back with a wave of power.

"Stop! This is about Leblanc. I know you have a pact with her." Katarina called out, not wanting to lose him after all the work she had put in to find out where he would be in the first place.

"Leblanc, so she isn't dead after all? What could she possibly need for her to send Swain's plaything?" He cocked his head, resting his chin in his hand as he looked at her with hunger that made Katarina squirm.

"She is nearly dead. She needs help, she has very severe mana sickness. We will give you whatever you need in exchange, she needs her magic sapped." Vladimir continued to stare at her, tapping his finger on the side of his chin.

"What an odd thing to learn randomly. If you are telling the truth, blood and magic should balance it slightly, but I am limited by her blood supply." He answered, probably expecting Katarina to fill him in on the way and that she did because she had a feeling that the man would insist to know all the details.

They returned to the manor in time for Darius to arrive as well, Vladimir lifting his nose up as if he was about to sneeze. "Katarina, you're dismissed, I will handle them." Darius told her, and Katarina nodded before taking off as requested. He led the way up to Emilia's room, the bed was in terrible condition from her constant fighting, whether it was scratches, kicking and punching. He had needed to wake up Emilia himself to eat, otherwise she would end up hurting herself or whoever woke her up.

She was covered in a cold sweat, curled up tightly in a ball. She was muttering things under her breath, but Darius could tell that she was fast asleep. During their fighting, he had seen her nearly able to conjure something, which worried him as well. If she was able to use her magic, it would help her condition, but she was essentially delusional at that point in her illness, and he could only do so much against magic.

"Your assassin friend let me know what's going on. My pact with her doesn't cover me saving her from dying, so I expect to be compensated." Vladimir explained, grabbing Leblanc's arm.

"I'm warning you that despite her state, she's going to fight back and... She is going to scream a lot."

"Works in my favour, pin her down, I'll take as much as I can, but it won't save her and I can't do it more than once, I doubt she will last the six weeks to replenish her blood." He told Darius, who took a deep breath, climbing on to the bed to pull the covers from Emilia, who immediately tried to find warmth. He really despised doing this to her, he pinned down her arms and legs and luckily, he didn't quite wake her up yet. Darius looked to Vladimir.

"Do what you need." He told him, and Vladimir cut several long scratches down her fore arm and channeled to absorb the blood that came seeping out. Emilia screamed out, her eyes looking around in panic, pulling desperately against Darius's grip. Her vision was clouded, only making it clearer that they were running out of time.

"Let go! Let go, you can't take me! Please, stop stop, it hurts, enough!" She screeched, clawing at Darius's hands holding her cuffs down and all the scratches that littered his forearms from her attacks.

"Emilia, focus, you're okay, we're getting you help right now, I know it hurts." Darius tried to calm the mage, but she showed no sign of understanding or even hearing her.

"Darius, hold her still, I need to be able to focus." Vladimir demanded, his hand wrapped around her forearm.

"I'm trying. She may be weak, but she makes this a challenge." He responded, adjusting himself to get a better grip but for a moment her arm got free luckily the one that Vladimir wasn't working on. She tore at him, her nails having grown ridiculously sharp from her time in bed. Her hair an absolute mess from her struggles. "Fuck, Emilia, stop, you're hurting me." He growled in pain, getting her arm pinned down again after a few moments.

"Stop! Stop it! I'll kill you all, I'll rip you all apart!" She screamed, before she repeatedly attempted fighting against him. He was terrified she was hurting herself in the process, but he knew she couldn't see, and her fever was making it hard for her to even try to be rational.

"It's unfortunate to see her this way, she truly is a strong mage." Vladimir spoke, it was odd hearing pity from the hemomancer that had originally not seemed to care regarding Leblanc. He let go of her arm, sowing the scratches together with his magic.

Her vision cleared slightly from what Darius could tell, but he didn't let go of her out of worry that she would return back to fighting moments after he stopped pinning her down. She let her head fall to the side, breathing heavily and tired. She looked at Vladimir, and Darius wondered if she was even seeing him in that moment.

"Bastard, I'll kill you." She barked, trying to get at Vladimir. "Hemomancer, get over here so I can get you, you coward!"

"Ah, so she recovered a little, that is good. It won't work for too long. Leblanc was the best mage for a reason. Hemomancers can only do so much about this ailment, we take more blood than we do mana. If you wanted me to try to balance her mana, we would risk her dying from blood loss. I am sorry this is the most I can do for you, Leblanc. Stay strong, I know you'll get through it, it would be disappointing to lose your snide remarks. Good bye, Darius." Vladimir put his hand on her arm for a moment, running his thumb over her shoulder before he turned to leave.

"Vladimir, I need you to find Swain, he needs to return as soon as possible. I don't know where he is." Darius insisted and Vladimir looked back at him.

"I'll see what I can manage." The hemomancer disappeared.
"Fuck you, fuck all of you." She continued her insults, and Darius sighed at her behaviour. He was starting to worry that he would have to restrain her despite his attempts to keep her able to move. It was getting to the point where it almost looked like Emilia could conjure something in her hand before it fizzled out of existence immediately after, her body probably bursting under the pressure of her mana.

When Emilia has fallen back to sleep, Darius had to make the call, there was only two things that were left to try. He grabbed rope, and against every muscle in his body, he roped her hands and legs, trying to get a specific tenseness to avoid hurting her and also allowing her to hurt others.

'I've sent Talon and Vladimir to hunt down Swain, I hope they find him quickly. The days she has left are dwindling, Vladimir had cleared her vision, but the next day she was back to being blind. I can only guess she has a week left, and it will become torture. Please, help, Guile.' Darius pleaded in his letter to Guile, and he was relieved when Guile stood outside Swain's estate. They welcomed themself in to the house, awaiting Darius's directions.

Guile took note of what they saw as they entered the room, they took off their mask again likely to get a better look at Leblanc. Darius had hoped she would stay asleep until Guile and from what he could tell, she hadn't woken up since he had to tie her down.

"I can see why you are so antsy and panicking." Guile commented, opening one of Emilia's eyes to take a look at the milky yellow iris that didn't respond to the light. "You said she's aggressive?" She returned her attention to Darius, and he nodded his head.

"Every time she wakes up, it makes no difference if we wake her for good reasons or not, she doesn't seem to hear anything we say and from her eyes, I doubt she can see us." Darius deeply took a breath. "Please do what you can, anything will help." Guile didn't respond, but she took the arm that Vladimir had used prior. The skin scarred from the healing. She placed both hands on her forearm, motioning Darius to come closer with her eyes so they were ready for her to wake up.

After all, the moment she felt the feeling of her magic being siphoned, she woke up in such a panic that Darius could not sit idly.

"Darius, why, what's going on?" Emilia called out, pulling tightly at the ropes that held her back from attacking Guile.

"We're doing a small treatment, we needed to do this, I'm sorry, Emilia." He couldn't help but feel that he should call her by her first name when she was feeling terrible. Emilia quieted only a little, before she started coughing again.

"Where is Jericho? I'm scared, it hurts." She groaned, and Darius put his hand on her forehead.

"I know, but it'll help you stay alive and that's more important. Jericho is doing his best to find the inventor, then we can make sure you don't get this sick again." Darius tried to soothe Emilia, but she shook her head and pulled ruthlessly on the rope.

"Stop it, let go of me now!" Darius sighed, really wishing he could calm her down, but until Swain returned, she wasn't going to.

"Emilia, enough, let us do our work. It'll just be some time longer, I will be here with you, but if you want this to stop sooner, I need you to calm down." He tried to reason with the former mage, and she glared at him, the gold returning strongly in her eyes and she seemed to focus on him more properly. He looked to Guile, who was intently staring at her hands holding Leblanc's forearm.

"Calm down?! You have me tied up like some animal! Jericho would kill you if he knew you were doing this to me!" She screeched at him, her struggles starting to show on her arms and legs as the rope burnt her skin.

"He would understand, you were hurting people, including yourself even now. You are dying faster than we thought you would, so I had to do this." Darius continued to try to explain to Leblanc, but if there was a single trait that Emilia adhered to like tape, it was stubbornness.

"I hate you, I hate all of you, you're lying, you're doing this because you want me to suffer. You're doing this so you can keep Jericho all to yourself, you asshole." She spoke, hardly less than a yell at them.

"Shush, Emilia, enough please. You're exhausting yourself." He could see how hard she was breathing from the fighting, how her face was covered in sweat. "It'll be a few moments longer. Then it'll stop." She only quieted down to cough again.

"I bought her some time, this is the most I can do. I suspect it'll only last a few days." She let go of Emilia's arm, standing up and rolling her shoulders. "And Darius, keep care of yourself alright? You look absolutely rancid."

Chapter 17

Guile despised the fact that they had let Darius coax them into helping Emilia Leblanc but considering what Swain had done under the stress of her missing, it confirmed that it would indeed be much worse if she killed Leblanc, as much of an issue as she was. She found the fact that the group, Mamba, was making a weapon very troubling. From what information she could get herself, unless they found another suitable mage of respective power, then they could not use the weapon, making it effectively useless without a stable power source. While Darius had sent Talon and Vladimir to find Swain, she could have done the same, but opted to instead have him focus on the Mamba. The last thing they needed was a group that was taking mages and destroying their power. It was already bad enough that Demacia had such a cruel treatment of mages, but with the Mamba, it could easily spiral out of control.

It wasn't the last time she was called to help maintain the mana sickness that clouded Leblanc's judgement and vision, something that she doubted was unclouded previously in a more figurative way. She had to visit the manor several times a week, Darius always struggling to keep the irrational woman from hurting her. With Guile taking supplemental mana from Leblanc, a mage thousands of years old, she had to admit that her mana was potent and gave her more power than she was aware that Emilia had.

Quiletta decided that their arrangement was sound, and that Darius had no need to pay her back the favour that she had requested upon his first plead. The mana that she got from Leblanc empowered her so greatly that she could effectively do her work with half the effort, and so her visiting the woman started to bother her less and less. Despite the treatment, it was nowhere near enough to bring Leblanc far enough away from death's door, and at the end of two weeks, Leblanc had fallen unconscious and could not be woken up even with Quiletta's help.

"The storage the cuffs are providing is stopping me from being able to help her, most of her magic is stored in the cuffs and inaccessible and that's what is killing her. I can only pull what is readily available in her pathways, which is miniscule in relation." Guile explained, looking to Darius after they had finished Leblanc's treatment for the day, the mage stretched and yawned.

"There's only a few days left, isn't there, Guile?" Darius's words trembled and Guile couldn't help feeling wounded by how distraught he sounded.

"She's lucky if she makes it the night." She wasn't going to lie to him, and she knew that he deserved to know the truth. "I say prepare yourself for the worst and steel your resolve before Swain hears of the news." Guile frowned at him, knowing that he probably had grown close to Leblanc in his care of her and that he might hurt about the situation like that of Swain's grief at discovering their timeline had been wrong.

"Thank you, Guile, for doing this. She would have gotten to this point even sooner if you didn't." Darius explained, and Guile turned her gaze back to him.

"I hope that she recovers, for both you, and Jericho's sake."

-

At that point, Guile had started to prepare for the terrible news that they were all holding their breath regarding. Yet none came, and she found it uncomfortable. So, once it was late that night, she returned to Swain's manor. The door was ajar, and Guile pushed the door open to the manor. The place was in shambles, a fight was clear, and she looked around desperately. "Darius?!" She called out, before seeing the man hardly upright against the furthest wall in the living room. He was clenching his chest, blood pooling down from a large puncture wound that if it went deep enough, he might have damaged his lung. She ran over to him.

"What happened? Who did this to you?" She asked him, and he struggled to put words together.

"Leblanc, they, took..." He gasped in pain, and she was trapped in her thoughts. The Mamba, they were in Demacia though, were they not? She had kept eyes on all the groups in Noxus, but had she really overlooked the snake hunting the rats?

"They can finish their weapon with how much mana she has stored up." Her realization spoken out loud made her shiver, she pulled out the wood chunk that had embedded itself in Darius's chest. With her additional mana, she was able to weave the skin back together, then make a bandage for him.

"I tried to stop them, but they were stronger than I thought. They, used magic, but they weren't magic users." Darius explained, and Guile felt as if her spies had failed to track the problem. Or was it her own neglect that caused such a problem.

"Non-magic users using magic. That must mean that the weapon may not just be one weapon, but several." She offered her hand to him, and he took it to help himself get up, his other hand against the wall.

"They can't even leave her be when she's already nearly dead. I'll make sure they suffer for this." Darius growled, wincing from the pain of his wound.

"You won't be doing anything of the sort, you'll rest. You leave this to me, if anyone can find where their hideout is, it's me. I'll try to send some spies to find Jericho, but he will likely be too late." Guile demanded, and Darius grumbled in turn.

"It's just a single wound, it should be fine. You'll need help." He insisted, and she shook her head.

"I need you to stay here, I can't bring you with me. You'll only slow me down, big guy." She stood on her toes to pat Darius. "I'm going to go after her, and I won't kill her, if she's dead by the time I get there, I really can't do much." Guile announced before leaving the manor. She had to admit, it had been a long time since she had a mission to herself, and she was going to make her childhood friends see how powerful she was.

It grew tiring to be Guile sometimes, while she loved being faceless, hard to see and determine. She found herself, bored, there was only so much management that she could stand before she wished for nothing more than to get out of her position. It was partially part of what had her frustrated with Jericho, it felt like he could just decide whenever that he needed, and he didn't tell Darius and her. Then suddenly the next morning, she's backed up with situations that he had told her that he would handle, and Darius so overworked that he looked like he was sleeping at his desk on his breaks.

At least she could have some fun, kill some scientists and see if she could stop whatever might be coming next. If they had captured her, they must have a base in Noxus, and if they had a base in Noxus then they could have the weapon in Noxus as well. It meant they had been looking in the wrong place the whole time, or perhaps, the wrong place to find the inventor as they had originally taken Leblanc to Demacia, considering Swain had found memories of her being there and they were never wrong as they were reaped directly from bodies most times, but other times secrets were spoken in plain tongue.

Guile remembered a hideout she had been informed of, on the farthest side of the Immortal Bastion located within the mountain that bordered Noxus Prime. She wished she had Swain with her, despite how insufferable he may become and how risky it was. He deserved to be there with her, because if she wasn't able to make it in time, there was no way of truly knowing what would happen next.

She morphed herself to take a scientist's form, she was not an illusionist like Emilia, but she could manipulate her appearance in a similar manner as an illusionist would. Instead of making an illusion appear, she morphed her physical body plainly like her body stripped away in to the form she wished. She followed behind someone who she had convinced that she had forgotten the keycard, so they gave her a temporary one. Almost laughably terrible security, but humans were inclined to errors, and those errors caused loopholes.

She tied up her hair, pulling on some glasses and adjusting her white coat. It looked surprisingly good, and rather convincing. It helped that the group seemed to be rushing to and fro, which was not surprising considering they had little to no time to use Leblanc's power before she gave out under the weight. It was like if a bomb had grown inside her, bigger and bigger until she was bursting. The damage that the weapon could cause with her mana? It would destroy Noxus Prime with nary a chance to stop it.

Guile followed behind groups, falling into the back lines almost too easily. The urgency worked in her favour, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of a monster of machine. It was built solidly, it's height similar to that of a hill she estimated it being nearly fifteen feet tall. She was caught off guard, unable to rip her eyes away from what she was seeing until she saw what lay behind the machine. She hid behind one of the legs, there was a machine that looked like it channeled something directly into the middle of the triangle area.

Quiletta shuttered as she looked at the machine, she wasn't sure what it did, but considering they were strapping Leblanc in. She didn't need to think long and hard, it was clear they were preparing to harvest her power, and it didn't look like it would help her. No, they were probably using the fact that mana sickness left you with such a great deal of magic that they could harvest it better and use it in some manner. Guile felt intimidated by the situation, there was so many people working all around her and unluckily they chose the most see able containment.

"We're running low on time, start the machine now, if we don't do the procedure now, she will die, and her power will be lost." She heard one of the scientists say, and Guile took a deep breath, she had no time. Her eyes trailed over the situation, trying to think of what she could do. She heard the extraction machine whirr to life, and she panicked. Just as the beam seemed to start, she jumped in the way shielding Emilia's body with her own. She cried out as she felt her body being ripped apart, but she refused to move, she would save Emilia... She had to.

Chapter 18

Swain had finally received contact with Vladimir of all people, the noble having done something so odd as coming to find him.

"Why do you care? Leblanc only has a pact with you." Jericho spoke, cynical.

"It is complicated, but I can't stand to see her in her current state, and I imagine she's even worse than I last saw her. You need to return to Noxus immediately, Darius asked me to relay this to you." Vladimir explained before twirling his fingers. "Bye, my job is done." The hemomancer disappeared from vision, leaving Swain with fear digging into his heart. He had to return, and he would. He took every mode of transportation that he could, making sure he was travelling back to Noxus as fast as he could.

He quickly made it to his manor, seeing the door destroyed and going inside to see the destruction that had happened in his absence. He ran up the stairs, immediately to the room he had left Emilia in, and he saw the bed empty, except for the chair that sat Darius. He was bandaged, with an eye patch having replaced the bandages for his eye injury.

"Darius, where is Emilia, am I too late, where is she?" He asked in rapid succession, and Darius looked at him with such despair that Swain was struggling to breathe at the possibility. "Did, did?" He stuttered out.

"They took her, she was on her death bed, and they took her. Guile went after them, I-" Darius grunted, his hand going to his wound that hurt from him talking. "I failed you, Jericho. I didn't keep her safe. I don't know if she's even alive." Swain took a deep breath, he couldn't handle the news, and he knew he was going to start losing control.

"Where did Guile go? You didn't fail me, things are worse than we thought." He insisted, and Darius handed him a map.

"She told me to give it to you if you showed up." He explained, and Swain nodded.

"We'll talk soon."

"Go Jericho, save them both." Darius looked absolutely destroyed by his inability to follow along. Swain didn't waste a moment, he went to the door as he heard an ear-piercing noise that rounded like an echo across the steppes. Swain went outside to take a look, he noticed from the farther mountain a huge machine had appeared and the light that beamed from it. Then with the screech finished, the great beam of light hit the mountain that Noxus Prime bordered. Jericho couldn't move, absolutely trapped by the unreality of the damage. The mountain burned and half of it was gone with no sign of debris or dust. All that showed was the disappearance of half the mountain, and the red hot burning stone that remained.

Darius stumbled outside and took in the terrifying sight, standing beside Swain.

"They..." Darius tried to speak, but at that point, Jericho could no longer take a moment longer. The magic that would have been needed to cause such damage, it had to be from either Guile or Leblanc, which meant that they were running out of time. He needed to save them.

His anger made it hard to avoid his demon form, more demonic than his usual conversion. He would kill every single person he found, and he wouldn't stop until he had the inventor in his hands. He would torture him forever if he was given leave to do so, he would make sure he never had a happy moment in his life ever again for the pain he caused. Not just to Emilia, but to all the mages that they had hurt with their cruelty. The machine was visible, having blown a hole into the mountain that had been hiding it from sight. It had been there the whole time, under their noses.

He went as quickly as he could, but the mountain was kilometres away and he knew he would struggle to get to it in a decent time frame. He had to fly, and his wings accommodated him as he let his anger fill him. His eyes focused on the machine, which seemed to stop moving or attacking. He wondered what happened to cause it to stop, but before he could even wonder. The machine blew up, splitting into multiple pieces that shot up and blew up. The explosion having started at the base of the machine. His eyes sharpened his vision to try to make out anything among the debris, there was bodies littered throughout the area. He noticed someone standing, and he gasped.

Barely standing was Guile, her mask broken in half, blood streaming from all over her body and he saw that she had Leblanc on her back. Her legs shaking before she collapsed. Jericho flew as fast as he could to the two.

"Quilletta, Emilia. I'm here." He panicked, trying to figure out what to do. Emilia looked as unharmed as she could in that situation, but Quilletta's wounds were severe.

"The cuffs." Quilletta gasped in pain, grabbing Swain's hand and dropping a pair of keys in Jericho's hands. "Now! She... she's not breathing." Quilletta demanded when he hesitated moving his attention from the mortally wounded mage. He undid Emilia's cuffs and threw them as far as he could away from them before he returned to attend to Quilletta. Her back was ripped open, as if a beam had stabbed her through and burned everything it touched. Quilletta's mask finished shattering as Guile lost consciousness, revealing that she was bleeding from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. He tried his best to tend to her wounds, but they were so severe that his magic was limited in the help he could provide. He looked at the two unconscious mages that laid at his feet, trying to think of the best way to return them.

Then he remembered that he could make himself additional limbs, and considering the situation, he was going to need all the help he could get. He focused his energy, giving himself another two sets of wings, and another set of arms. He grabbed Guile, pulling her onto his back before adjusting her so he wouldn't be worried about her on the flight back. Next Jericho scooped Emilia into his arms, he could see that she had started breathing again. Her face showing the wear that she had gone through in his absence. Her hair matted once again, tear stains visible on her face and deep bags under her eyes. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was dead. She grabbed his shirt, leaning into his chest as he made sure that he was set to take off.

Swain took a deep breath, he was really testing his powers by attempting such a flight. It took much longer to fly back to the manor than it had to fly there, due to his delicate cargo. He landed in front of his manor, his legs wobbling as the effort of flying with two bodies as well as his own caused him to struggle to maintain his form.

"Darius, Guile needs you right now!" He called out, he was forced to place Emilia down when his legs fumbled underneath him. Then he grabbed Guile from his back, she was still bleeding, but it had slowed during the flight.
Darius came out as soon as he heard Swain's voice, gasping and grabbing Guile in his arms. "Swain, what happened?" He tried to search for answers, but Jericho shook his head.

"I don't know what happened, everything was done before I arrived." Swain pushed himself to his feet, regaining some strength after putting away his wings and extra set of arms. He scooped Emilia into his arms, before the two headed inside together. It was hard for the two men to not know what had happened, and luckily Quilletta didn't bleed anymore. Whatever had caused her to bleed from her face had passed, and all that was left was the burns and massive wound on her back.

"The machine was destroyed, I saw it blow up, is it all gone?" Darius asked, as Swain and him had set up the two in the same bed for the time being to keep an eye on their statuses.

"Something blew it up, I don't know what. It killed everyone there, the only two alive were them." Jericho looked over to the two women, before looking back to Darius. "Guile found the cuff keys." He whispered, thankful of their luck, but part of him wished he had found the inventor so he could deal with him himself.

"She said she would save her. I didn't think she would go so far. She obviously cares a lot about you, Jericho." Darius replied, smiling at him.

"So, it seems. I hope Guile wakes soon, we need to figure out what happened."

"Given what they went through? I wouldn't be surprised if they don't wake up for a week." Darius speculated.

"Don't joke about that. I can't do her work, and you wouldn't do any better."

"Then you'll have to learn, Guile said she wants a vacation, and I think I should have one too."

Chapter 19

Her body ripped apart, yet she didn't die. She had interrupted the extraction, and she felt as magic filled her with each moment under the sharp beam that burned her back. She cried, she could feel it, she was getting the magic from Leblanc, but it was too much. The great mana font seeping into her, and when they finally turned the machine off, she shakingly stood up despite everything in her body begging her to stop.

She felt what she thought were tears, but it was blood dripping down her face from her eyes. They weren't the only place bleeding, her nose was, same with her ears and she coughed up blood when she attempted to speak. The strength in her body was overwhelming, it was ripping into her skin, the mana trying to escape from her veins. "You, fucking, monsters. I'll kill you all." Guile growled, and she heard the machine wake up behind her. She grabbed Emilia with little difficulty, pulling her onto her back. Guile didn't have to worry about not having her hands accessible, her magic was so strong that it needed little more than a thought. The machine shot an entrance out of the mountain, and made its way out of the cavern.

She pulled down unstable rocks that the machine had weakened, crushing whatever and whoever was unfortunate to be underneath. "I will use your anger, Emilia, I know you have wanted nothing more than to do this yourself." She said, before she clenched her fist and crushed scientists heads. She noticed a set of keys left behind by one of the scientists, she hoped that they were the ones they were looking for. Quilletta looked back at the machine, seeing as it tried to focus its fire on her, and Guile couldn't find that more hilarious. She threw her hand out, pushing the machine back and messing up the targeting before she clenched her fist, causing it to implode for a few moments before she blew it up. The explosion shook the ground, blew out her ears even worse than they already had from the attack. It didn't matter to Quilletta, she felt alive, and she was going to make sure that she was the only one left. Just her, and Emilia.

It was too easy to kill them all, but blowing up the machine had been a vast majority of her mana. She could feel Emilia fading, her lack of breath on her neck, and she swore as her wounds finally caught up with her. Her back was burned, the muscles struggling to work after the direct burns. Guile wondered if she would actually manage to get Emilia back, if she would manage to survive. She thought she saw Jericho in his demon form, his face barely human. She felt her body release out of relief and exhaustion, collapsing face-first into the ground.

"The cuffs." She huffed with her exasperated breath, she saw him hesitate and growled. "Now! She... She's not breathing." She demanded, knowing that if he hesitated any longer than he would lose her and Guile would be pissed. Her mask finished shattering, the borrowed mana exhausting her and pulling her deep and fast into unconsciousness.

-

Quilletta groaned from the pain of her wounds, gasping as she tried to move herself into a more comfortable position. She didn't find one that didn't send terrible pain down the middle of her back.

"Quilletta, you're awake?" She raised her head, seeing her best friend's face and she sighed.

"Knock me back out, Darius. I'll take that over being conscious." She grumbled, struggling to get comfortable.

"I know you just woke up, but. We need to know what happened. We need to make a statement." Darius asked, and Quilletta glared at him, not even two seconds awake and they were back to work.

"I broke their stupid machine, I got infused with Emilia's power, and I killed them all. Satisfied? Reason for the scars." She summarized, having no more energy to explain it any better than that.

"You know I don't want to ask you this, but it's hard to explain why half the mountain is gone." Darius crossed his arms.

"Sorry, what? They hit the other mountain? And half of it is gone?" Guile said a bit too loudly before she groaned from the pain of her wounds. "Those bastards, I should have killed them slower."

"I don't think you should have, if Swain hadn't gotten back when he did, both you and Emilia would be dead." She looked at him, before looking around. "Emilia. Did, did she recover? I didn't shield her for her to die on us."

"She woke up a few hours ago, she's with Jericho in the other room. Do you want me to bring you home? We're still fixing the front door." The man answered, leaning back in his chair to look at his friend with a soft smile.

"I think, I'd like to talk to Emilia Leblanc, alone. I think I deserve as much considering what I did." Darius seemed unsure how to respond to her request.

"She is still recovering, just as you are. She is missing memories of the past two weeks. I agree that you two should talk, but now is not the time."

"I don't, particularly care. I think I deserve to have this one moment." She climbed out of bed, cringing from the pain that rocketed out of her back and into her lower body. Darius looked like he wished to say something, but he let out a heavy sigh.

"Be respectful, Guile." He warned her, and she shot him a look.

"As if I'm not." She left the room and went to the next bedroom, which she took a wild guess that they had chosen as their own. Guile knocked on the door before opening it, her eyes connected with Swain's. Emilia was curled up with her head on his chest, from what Guile could tell, she was fast asleep once again.

"Guile, can I help you?" He placed his hand on top of Emilia's head, as if he was covering her ears to avoid her being woken up.

"I wanted to talk to Emilia." She demanded, but Jericho didn't make any motion to wake her.

"That needs to wait, both of you need rest." Swain responded, continuing to cover Emilia's ear.

"You see, I don't care. I think she deserves to know what happened, right now." Guile growled in frustration, stepping forward and shaking Emilia before Swain could grab her arm. Leblanc startled like a cat, quickly pulling herself away from them both and coiling herself tightly together. She calmed down slightly as she realized who she was with. Jericho let go of her arm, since the damage had already been done.

"You look familiar, do I know you?" Emilia asked, staring at Quilletta with nervousness, and it made her confused. Was Emilia really that scared by everything now? It seemed completely out of character for her, but Jericho had mentioned that she had grown, meek in the loss of her magic.

"Quilletta, I saved your life, and I was treating you for a week prior to that." Quilletta answered, sitting down on the side of the bed. "I am Jericho and Darius's childhood friend, we went to war together."

"I think I remember you, but not you saving me, or treating me. But the last two weeks have been, undecipherable." Emilia put her hand to her head, rubbing subsconsciously at her wrists that were free. She glanced to Jericho, obviously wanting his confirmation.

"She did save you, I didn't make it in time." Jericho whispered low, and Quilletta sighed.

"Jericho, you got us back here, the fact I'm alive despite all this?" She motioned to her arms, they were covered in bandages. "Was all you, mister."

"What do you want, Quilletta? I don't have anything to offer you." Emilia avoided her gaze, and Guile wondered what she actually wanted. She hadn't thought much beyond speaking with the person she had thought she would die for. How would she even explain it to someone who had lost her mind for two weeks?

"Nothing, I suppose. Other than a break, I guess." She shrugged, looked pointedly at Swain, who sighed loudly.

"Darius has already told me of your plans to take a vacation, both of you." He pressed his hand to his face, before pulling down off her face. "You are aware what that does to me right?"

"Huh, it's kinda like when you disappear without saying anything that you get hit by a bunch of work." Quilletta chuckled.

"Wait, she's Guile?" Leblanc's voice peaked loudly as the realization hit her and Quilletta only laughed more. "You made the Trifarix into a government of childhood friends? Darius I can excuse, but seriously, Jericho?"

"She is a talented mage, it had nothing to do with our friendship." Jericho defended.

"Emilia, if you doubt my talent, know that I took the magic from you. I took all the mana you had accumulated during your mana sickness and blew up a machine, killed countless people, and only then did I pass out from it. If you think that I don't match up to your standards, then I'd love to see who you think is better." Quilletta crossed her arms, raising her head in smug pride.

"If you're speaking the truth, then I have no opinion, it doesn't matter what I think." Emilia trailed off, and Quilletta brought her attention back to the former mage.

"You shouldn't get sick again, with those cuffs gone, the nightmare is over. All that is left is adjusting to this, Emilia. You may not be a mage anymore, but-" She climbed onto the bed, bridging the gap between herself and Emilia. Leblanc froze up, and Jericho looked at her reassuringly as Guile took her hand. She drew a sigil in the palm of her hand, before tapping it in the middle. "-You aren't alone, if ever you feel you are, look here and I will come to your side."

"Why do you care? I don't understand." Emilia asked, and Guile let go of her hand before climbing off the bed with a grunt.

"You saved Noxus, Emilia. I think that speaks enough of how strong you are."

Chapter 20

Summary:

Leblanc thinks about what Quilletta said, and when she returns to her house, she is forced to accept that she cannot keep running from the future.

Quilletta's words lingered, and so did the sigil on her hand. She looked at it whenever she was idle, which was more often than she liked to admit. Emilia still didn't understand why Quilletta had been so nice, why she drew such a sigil in the palm of her hand. It did help, it helped her a lot even though it's use was simple, it made her feel stronger than she had in a long time. Yet there was no magic that had enchanted her from the sigil, it changed nothing about her, only giving her piece of mind.

Jericho had fallen asleep, his arm reached over her as he snored. She couldn't sleep, she had a tough time believing that it was over. The cuffs she thought she'd have on forever, finally removed. It felt like they were constantly itchy, as if all the times she hadn't been able to access her wrists had caught up with her. Leblanc didn't struggle with seeing in the dark, finding it almost as easy as seeing during the day. She took Jericho's hand, wrapping herself in his arm. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking about what Darius has said happened during her amnesia. The insane anger and screaming that Darius felt he could not refuse to tell her but plagued her mind despite her lack of control over what happened.

She turned again, burying herself in Jericho's chest. They had became inseparable upon their return, and if she was anything like her past self, she would have chastised him for his clingy behaviour and how unbecoming of a leader it was for him. She wasn't anything like that version of herself, as if without her magic, she didn't have the fortitude to push the way she had. There had been a faint hope that with the removal of the cuffs that she may be able to do simple magic, but it was only hope that was crushed nearly immediately.

"Emilia, you don't have to worry about your magic. You're strong enough." Jericho muttered, and Emilia wasn't sure whether he was awake or asleep.

"I'm not, I don't know why everyone keeps saying that." She responded, finding it frustrating that they didn't seem to understand that without magic she was weak and nothing. That she could speak with the confidence that had spilled into all her words, warming her as she worked.

"Because you don't need magic to be strong." He mumbled, but Emilia continued to doubt his words. Everything had proven the opposite was true, that without her magic she had became hopelessly weak and had to be protected by everyone around her. There was no strength to be seen, only weakness that seeped into her memories.

"No. I do." Leblanc refused to believe that he was right, and she felt him release a deep breath before he curled around her. He rubbed her head.

"I won't argue with you." His voice speaking with finality, and Emilia gave up the argument. She felt him fall asleep, and with his arms entwined around her, she soon joined him.

-

Emilia woke up, getting up from the bed when she saw that she had woke up earlier than Jericho. She needed to grab some more stuff from her house if she was going to continue staying with Swain. It reminded her that they still had not talked about their relationship, of course the man was elusive and avoided it like no tomorrow.

Leblanc sighed, she would need to force him into that conversation, and she wasn't confident that it would go well. Luckily a few nights of rest were more than enough for her to feel healthy again now that her mana sickness was gone. Quilletta, however, still had numerous wounds that would keep her in bed and out of commission for maybe a few months. She knocked on the room Quilletta had claimed for the time being, Darius having insisted that Guile remained with Emilia and Jericho after she had pushed herself too hard the first day.

"Come in." Emilia heard, closing the door behind her as she came in. "I didn't expect it to be you at this time." Quiletta commented before yawning, Emilia could see that some spots had started bleeding again and the way Quilletta sat on the edge of bed betrayed how much pain she was in.

"I didn't sleep well. Let me redo your bandages." Emilia grabbed the supplies that had been placed on top of the dresser, moving what she needed over to the bed. "You can lay down if you want."

"No, I'm fine." Guile grunted in pain, and Emilia shook her head, but didn't push. Quilletta's stubbornness far outweighed her own, especially with all she had been through in the last few months. Quilletta took off her shirt, covering her front while Emilia took off the bandages, Quilletta quivering underneath as the tape was pulled off. Emilia took a sharp breath through her teeth when she looked at the mage's back. It was charred and warped, the epicenter carved deeply into her back. Emilia found it terrifying that she was still alive after such terrible damage.

"I imagine it's still really bad." Quilletta muttered, trying to stay still as Emilia started adding burn cream and some clean bandages.

"Yes, it is. I doubt it will fully heal, but the cream should help with the pain and whatever itchiness you may feel." Emilia responded, before she took Quilletta's arm and tended to the several places that looked as if something had punctured directly into her skin. The wounds were deep, and even with stitching, they seemed determined to keep bleeding. Once she had finished with Quilletta's arms, she handed her shirt back to her avoiding staring at anything other than the wounds she was dealing with. Quilletta probably preferred her doing it, but that didn't mean that Emilia felt comfortable doing so, especially when Guile was really pretty despite everything.

They moved onto her legs, which had similar wounds to her arms, as if the magic had punctured her skin like a balloon holding too much air. Leblanc was thankful when they were done and Quilletta was fully clothed once again, but she knew that she would likely be helping her again in a few hours when the dressings stopped being effective.

"Thank you, you're much better at it, not so terrified of hurting me like Darius." Quilletta let out a small laugh, which she winced after.

"I genuinely don't know how you survived, your back..." Emilia couldn't get over the gruesome sight, it felt like it was singed into her brain.

"Darius showed me what it looked like, honestly the pain is worse than it looks. Feels like I'm on fire." Quilletta admitted, laying back down on her side.

"Probably the last thing your skin remembers, and it's just putting that sensation on repeat." Emilia speculated out loud, and Quilletta nodded wordlessly. "Do you need anything?" She asked, grabbing the leftovers and returning them to their designated place so that Quilletta could get back into bed easier.

"Honestly, Leblanc, if you could just knock me out until my wounds are better, that would be amazing." Guile grumbled, her eyes closed tightly. Emilia touched Guile's wrist, giving it a little brush with her hand. She went over to grab some herbs and prepare them for Quilletta to eat.

"Wish I could. I would do it in an instant. Have this and try to stay in bed." She decided that, with the knowledge of how it felt when people demanded that she rest, she would request that Quilletta stay in bed instead of demanding it. It unintentionally worked like a charm.

"Alright, I don't want to move anyway." Quilletta answered, taking the herbs and chewing on them unhappily. Emilia went to leave the room until she heard Quilletta and turned her head to look at her. "Thank you again, I appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, it's the least I can do when you saved my life."

"Don't waste it. I won't be able to do it again." Guile's grin with the threat made Emilia smile and laugh.

"Understood. I will treasure it." She closed the door behind her, wanting to make sure that she left before Jericho insisted on following her. On one hand, she really enjoyed Swain's clingy behaviour, but when she was trying to get comfortable in her new reality, it only served to make her feel worse. His paranoid behaviour worsening her own, making it hard for Emilia to even step outside without feeling that she would get attacked at any moment. She took that one step out the door and her hands shook terribly, closing the temporary door that they were given while they fashioned a more suitable one for the Swain manor.

It took more time than she would like for her to make her way out of the area of Noxus Prime that was essentially all manors to the nobles that lived within the city limits. Not all being used as frequently as those like the Du Couteau and Swain manors and instead housing nobility that only occasionally stayed within the capital. It was easy to see the border between the two areas, the architecture changing so drastically that you would think they were not part of the same city at all. The lesser noble houses barely standing out among the area conserving apartments and houses, she had to admit, she was thankful for the cramped streets to make her feel like she wasn't being followed at any given moment. She unlocked her door and took a deep breath once she had passed the threshold.

"I do miss this place." Emilia commented to herself, it was a positive change of scenery, and the smaller house made her feel a lot safer than Swain's manor. She couldn't seem to bring herself to try to ask him to stay with her in a smaller home, it seemed selfish, and demeaning of his position. It would be yet another hard conversation that she would dread for days to come. It felt relieving to go up to her room, her bed, and somehow it still smelled like Elise's perfume, bringing her serene comfort. Leblanc could not describe the small joys that she found herself taking note of; her clothes lined up as she had left them, changing into something else other than the few outfits that she had at the manor.

While it was nice to have been cared for, she sincerely missed her little house in the loud working class area of Noxus Prime, and she would have called for them to find her home sooner so she could have more options of clothing, but considering it was the last of her remaining secrets, she found it hard to oust her safe place, even to those she trusted with all her heart. A refuge away from reality, a place where she could nearly fool herself into thinking nothing was different. Then she saw herself in her full length mirror, and it became obvious that she couldn't ignore it. Emilia stood before her, the confidence that once made her stand tall despite everything had withered, causing a hefty exhaustion to display in her stance and face. Her hands struggling to stay still at her side, and that was excusing the terrible condition her hair was in. Leblanc sat down, grabbing a comb from her bedside before working through the tangles and matts despite the pain that came with it.

She could pretend over and over that nothing had changed, but it was fruitless, a lie to herself that served no purpose other than to falsely soothe her racing brain. She threw away the gathered hair and looked in her mirror again, her hair looking better, but the changes had not faded. She would need to accept it, that it was all different and she couldn't keep wishing it away. She closed her eyes, clenching her fists turning away from the mirror before she let tears fall. It made her thankful that she was hidden away, that she didn't need to explain her woes, that she could just feel and accept her feelings as they were.

Leblanc packed up a bag, putting the small selection of her items along with some more outfits that she wanted. Once her tears had stopped, she did her makeup and it gave her some strength to see a familiar sight, a boost to her pitiful self-image. It felt terrible to go from feeling the confidence of being a powerful mage, to struggle under the gaze of her reflection in the mirror. Soon it became too much for her to bare, she flipped it over to spare her makeup anymore tears.

Emilia collected a few extraneous items as she left her house, pausing while closing her door to look at it with longing. She would figure out what she would do, she wouldn't flinch away from the future any longer, and she would return to her strength. In time, she will become as confident as she had previously. She knew that it would be a journey, and she couldn't flinch away from it any longer.

Chapter 21

Notes:

Raw dog this chapter I dare you. Enjoy.

Jericho woke to his arms empty, and the bed empty as well, his still half asleep brain already making him panic. He got up, leaving the room to start looking around the manor to find no sign of Leblanc or where she went. He felt his breath quicken, going to check Quilletta's room and being rather loud with the door as he found nothing other than Quilletta.

"Fuck, where did she go?" He went to leave, but he felt something hold him in place. Quilletta had a spectral hand grabbing onto his leg much like his own magic, she sat up and started coughing.

"Swain, she's fine. I didn't hear anyone break in, and you saw that nothing was moved." She told him, not letting go of his leg.

"She should have left a note, and you shouldn't be using your magic." Jericho grumbled, attempting to free himself from Quilletta's magic, but she just clenched it tighter.

"She isn't a child, and she's lived a lot longer than you, so don't you dare baby her." Quilletta responded, ignoring his criticism regarding her using her magic. "She likely forgot to tell you, or she purposely avoided it for this reason."

"You're being ridiculous, why would she do that?" Quilletta just stared at him with no expression, before motioning at him.

"You're the one being ridiculous, look at you, you're still in your pajamas are you're running around like she is getting attacked."

"Because she could be! There can be plenty of people looking for her, we didn't get rid of the Mamba, you only got rid of the source, the roots are still visible." He huffed, completely blind to his behaviour and how he felt the moment she was out of his sight that she would be ripped away from him. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Swain, calm, down. Are you listening to yourself right now? The Mamba is not going to come after her now, if ever. If they do, I will destroy every single ant until they are eradicated, you hear me?" The man crossed his arms, avoiding Guile's stare. "How mature, you are really such an adult right now." She golf-clapped passive aggressively, removing her hand from his leg. "Don't, go after her-" Quilletta started coughing again, she grabbed a tissue to catch the blood that had made it's way up. Luckily it was dark, whatever had been damaged within had healed from what she could tell. "-I will know if you do, and I'm not in the mood, Jericho Swain, to be your relationship counsellor right now."

"There is not relationship, as far as he's concerned." Emilia butted in, and Swain hated how he wanted nothing more than to hug her as tightly as he could. The words she said, froze him to the ground.

"Oh gods, save me, I'm not dealing with this." Guile slammed the door, deciding that was more than enough for her to exit the situation before they started fighting more.

"We're just waiting... For when you're feeling better, Emilia." He went down the stairs, so they were not yelling down and up the stairs.

"For when I'm feeling better, and what would that take, Swain? I have the cuffs off, I am not sick anymore. What are you waiting for? Why do you continue to toy with me? All this cuddling, physical affection and yet you still don't have the guts to make it official?" She had swallowed her annoyance for too long, she had let him take the reigns and she couldn't stand it anymore. If she was still vulnerable as he believed she was, then why did he continue to break the rules that he made?

"I don't want to rush, and I'm not trying to toy with you, I-"

"You what? Think I can't make decisions for myself anymore because I don't have magic? That despite everything coming out of your mouth saying I'm strong, you don't truly believe it. You think the moment you stop caring for me is the moment that I just die?" She interrupted, and Jericho struggled to start a few sentences before he finally forced something out.

"I'm scared for you, Emilia. I really do believe you're strong, but I..." He trailed off, and Leblanc felt anger overwhelm her.

"Go on, say it. I want to hear it." She prompted.

"I don't think you understand how strong your enemies are. You can't just go run off without a word when just a few days ago you were kidnapped, nearly dead when I found you and Quilletta." Jericho continued to defend himself.

"Then what are we, Jericho Swain? Lovers or friends? Decide now, I'm not letting you squirrel out of this forever." He could tell that Emilia was struggling with her anger, her fists clenched tightly.

"L... Friends, just for now, Emilia, please." He begged, and Emilia shook her head.

"Fine, Swain. We're friends, I'm not letting you touch me, hug, cuddle, kiss, nothing. I'm not sharing a bed with you or even sharing your fucking manor with you. Good day, Grand General." She lifted her head up in defiance, leaving and slamming the door behind her and Jericho couldn't bring himself to move despite everything in him wanting to stop her. Part of him acknowledged what she was saying as true, while his own anger brimmed, causing him to want nothing more than to make her stay and listen to him to make her see his rationality, to make her OBEY. He put a hand over his face, he could feel his demon energy manipulating his thoughts, his anger being pulled tout like a sail in calm winds.

Only could Emilia make him fume so, only she could make him feel like he was losing himself and his mind. He could hear all the terrible things that he was struggling to fight against, usually it wasn't so loud, but she wasn't his. He said so, didn't he? They aren't lovers, and he had been ignoring the line for a long time despite saying they weren't together. He forced himself up the stairs and into his room, his anger ebbing into sorrow as he realized he would be alone in bed once again.

He knew he needed to control himself, that emotions were exactly what caused demons to take over. It was when the feeble human mind was the weakest, when their head was hung low, and they were promised the world. He refused to let himself be beckoned to the wolves, to offer himself as prey to his own power. It was harder than he had ever had to fight, and he found himself nearly at the mercy of his own power. "I did so much for you, I gave up so much to be there for you. Why can't you wait just a few weeks more?" His hand moved without his control, crumbling the nearby wall emitting dust. He grabbed his demon arm, fighting with it to obey to his word, to not let himself be overcome.

His knee ached, too many days standing too long made him collapse onto his hands and knees, growling as he tried to keep himself calm, but with every moment thinking about Emilia, it wore down on his control. "Enough!" He yelled futilely at himself, groaning as he let himself lay down on the ground because his knee cried in pain from his abuse. "Jericho Swain, control yourself!" His hand was glowing strong, and his power was seeping out tainting the air around him, he couldn't give in. Jericho had done so much to not have himself be overcome, and a magicless mage ruling over his heart was what did him in? He refused, he tried with all his heart to reign his power to his control.

He didn't think he would lose, but he also didn't think she would leave him again, he was ignorant, and he couldn't stand the thoughts that whelmed his mind. It started to feel further and further from his grasp, that as he pulled and wrenched himself to be free of the power, it had already hooked itself deep into his chest and pulled him under the water. The world around him being swallowed by the dark water that toiled in front of his attempts to break free. "Quilletta! Emilia!" He shouted, but it never breached his lips, and hopelessness took control.

Chapter 22

Guile heard the argument, and the subsequent yelling from Swain, a hit against the wall that bordered their rooms. Before it turned eerily quiet, and Quilletta felt, scared and concerned. What had he done? Did she want to force her weak legs to stand and investigate? Is he losing control as he had warned them of their duties if he ever did? The uncertainty kept her in bed, hoping that she would hear something that would reassure her that nothing was going on. She couldn't fight, she couldn't do what she needed if he was in trouble. Maybe she should have joined their conversation, maybe she should've helped him calm down once she heard Emilia's final verdict.

Quilletta forced herself to her feet, her wounds prickling from the pain of walking radiating up her back. She winced, checking the hallway for anything before she left the room. Then she peeked into Swain's room, internally saying sorry if she happened to see him in a compromised situation. The room was covered in red mist, a distinct smell of demon energy clear, and she saw him there on his hands and knees. His body transforming before her very eyes, and then he turned his eyes, and they shared eye contact.

She closed the door loudly, because the gig was already up, she ran back to her room, knowing that she would pass out if she attempted to run from the manor. There was the sound of the door crumbling after two hits, and the mage went to the closet, ducking in as far as she could manage and thanking adrenaline for sparing her the pain of her back while she genuinely thought she was going to die.

How could he lose control now? He had gone through so much, and this was what broke the demon free from it's chains? She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to tell her how stupid he was being, but she knew it made no difference, he couldn't hear her and if he could, there was no telling if he could break free or not. Most didn't, she reminded herself with grim thoughts, she didn't know what to do. There was no way to warn anyone, and she could heard the foot steps crossing the manor. She needed to figure something out, there needed to be something that she could maybe make fly, was the window even open? She couldn't remember. Quilletta searched the floor within the closet blindly, hoping to find a suitable object. A shoe was the best she could find, and she couldn't believe that she was sending Darius a shoe, of all things. She knew she couldn't write in the dark, but sigils she knew by heart, so she would just make a sigil for Darius to read. First, she altered it's purpose to make it grow wings, then signed a sigil for demon and friend.

'Please be enough.' She begged internally, crawling out when she was sure that Swain was the furthest, he could be. The window wasn't open, which meant she had to struggle with opening it and her back flared with pain at her attempts. It finally opened and she threw the shoe out before she went crashing back into the closet just before she heard Swain enter the room. The looming huffing so close that it felt as if her heart skipped beats, the fear of being stuck made her unable to move, and her back was starting to catch up with her body.

'Swain, please don't find me.' Guile kept begging, hoping the demon would turn away from her hiding spot, and he did. She was surprised that the demon had not left the manor yet, perhaps it was lethargic from getting control after so long? She wasn't sure, she tried to think of anything else she could do, but nothing came to mind. She had to wait, she had to stay in the closet until he left or until help came. Darius couldn't handle Swain, or at least, not to the extent that he would need to. There was a possibility that they would need to kill him, and she knew Darius, he couldn't bring his axe to his lover's neck. Official or not, he could never kill Swain.

-

It took some speaking around, but she soon found Darius and Draven's house. She didn't think the place would be so easy to spot, an absolute stack of fan mail placed beside the mailbox definitely gave it away. Emilia took a deep breath, knocking on the door, an eye peeked out at her before it opened.

"Emilia, is everything alright? How did you find-"

"You two aren't very good at hiding your address. I think you should work on it. I'm fighting with Swain, and I need a place to stay that isn't my own. Can I stay here?" She interrupted, hoping he won't ask more about what happened.

"Of course, come in, I'll let Draven know when he comes back that we should work on that." Darius luckily left it as she wished, locking the door behind her before taking a seat in his chair, she could tell it was his due to his lumber frame sitting so perfectly within it that it looked like it had been crafted exactly for him. There was a possibility that the Hand of Noxus had such a chair commissioned specifically for him, the idea brought an idle smile to her face as she sat down on the couch, unaware of it's problems.

It seemed to be broken, the undercarriage of the couch holding the cushions must have broken at some point and had been left to leave the couch uncomfortably unsupported. She felt as if she was falling into the couch cushion as she sat there. Not interested in sitting anywhere else though, she didn't think any of the furniture would match her expectations.

"Your couch has seen better days." She commented, not out of ill intent, but out of genuine worry that it had gone unnoticed.

"Yeah, that kind of happens to all of them, so I said Draven had to buy the next one if he broke it and well... He hasn't bought one yet." Darius grumbled, motioning to the couch with exhaustion. "We don't have visitors often, so it got neglected. Swain likes his manor for our hangouts if he can, and I can only get Draven to do so much."

"Sounds like living with a teenager." Leblanc remarked, upon knowing that it was the inevitability, she adjusted herself, so she was leaning into the arm rest and wasn't just sinking into the couch. "Do you think I could stay the night?" She asked, nervous about asking about it considering the couch, but she couldn't afford to be picky if she didn't want to be alone back at her own house.

"Um, I'll be here for a few days more before my vacation, you can take my room after that. You would have to sleep in Draven's room, it's all cleaned up and everything, I just want you not to get scared by the heads." Darius said with such ominous tone that Emilia blinked and tilted her head.

"Sorry, the heads? I know Draven is an executioner, but he has heads in his room?" She asked in disbelief.

"No, no, no. I wouldn't allow that, I meant his bobbleheads, he has a collection of them and they're all him and so sometimes it feels like you're being watched by them when you're in his room." Darius crossed his arms in the air as if he was trying to swat away the possibility of Draven keeping actual heads in his room.

"I don't know whether that's creepier, or better than having heads. Both are pretty terrible." Emilia muttered, but she nodded. "Fine, if its clean, I'm fine with it."

"Do you want something to drink? Tea maybe, we also have alcohol if you prefer, it's, mainly beer though. I might have some wine tucked away somewhere." Emilia found the way that Darius spoke in private really endearing, thinking out loud and being oddly very expressive to the point Emilia didn't even recognize the man.

"If you do have wine, which would be really nice. I haven't had some in a while. I'm okay with white or red." She smiled at him, and he got up from his spot, disappearing into the kitchen. Leblanc heard a noise that sounded like a bird hit the window, she went to go look, only to see. A shoe, with wings? Odd, maybe it got lost? It hit the window again with it's toe, making it clear that it believed it's destination was there. She opened up the window, snaking her hand outside before pulling the shoe inside and flipping it right over.

She saw there was the sigil that enchanted the shoe, something about the writing was familiar, then she read the other sigil that was not glowing, meaning it was not activated. It did nothing when she pressed on it, so the intention wasn't any magic, so she read it instead. 'Demon, friend'. What could it be talking about? She then looked to the sigil on her hand, noticing the similarities and with that she quickly realized what it was about.

"Darius!" She called out, running over to him and handing him the shoe. "It's from Guile, I think Swain lost control." Darius had just been popping the cork of the wine, making a pop noise while his brain caught up with him.

"Fuck! Not now, you goddamn idiot! Emilia, stay here, he told me what to do if this happened, I need you to stay here. Do you promise me?" Darius rushed for the door, grabbing his armour and putting it on as quickly as he could and grabbing his axe before looking to Emilia for her confirmation.

"But I can maybe help, Darius, I caused this." She said in defiance, but Darius shook his head.

"He doesn't have control, he could kill you and he will not be able to live with himself if he gets free. You stay here. Promise me, Leblanc." He said with more the voice of a battle-hardened commander that did not take no for an answer.

"Okay, save Guile. I promise I'll stay here."

"I will, I'll be back soon." He left quickly once she promised, locking the door behind him.

Leblanc felt anxiety pool in her chest, she couldn't stand the idea of staying, she couldn't do anything, and she was being told what to do again. She grabbed the wine bottle, pouring and slightly spilling it from the tremors that reeked havoc on her muscles. She would just drink the bottle, then her fear would calm down, right?

Chapter 23

Darius was terrified, out of all the situations where Swain could have lost control, Guile being stuck in the crossfire was the last thing that he expected. Guile had her own set of instructions for situations like that, but she couldn't perform any of them with how wounded she was, and if Swain got hold of her... He tried not to let himself think about not arriving in time, he tried not to let him think of what would happen if Swain didn't get control of himself. He was relieved that he didn't hear any chaos as he neared the Swain manor, which meant that the incident was isolated likely, that he wasn't trying to escape and kill passersby. It would be easier to contain, and less work for them over all.

He opened the door, taking a deep breath in anticipation to what he might see. Immediately he was looking directly into Jericho's big raven eyes, he swung his axe to give him room to move inside. He didn't want Swain to attempt to leave the house if he could avoid it, if he stayed inside then the incident could become nothing more than a bad dream.

"Swain, can you hear me?" He asked, holding his axe to keep the huge raven with human legs and arms away from himself.

"Why do you disturb my abode?" The voice was Jericho's own, but it was deep and echoing. "Leave now, or I will kill you." Darius took another deep breath, trying to think of how he was going to fight. He was scared that Quilletta was hurt, he wanted to call out to her, but he didn't want Jericho to find her. Given what Jericho said... He didn't seem to know anyone else was here other than him, that was reassuring.

"I want Jericho back, I know he's in there, I know you're upset, I know you are hurting, but this isn't how you deal with this, Swain." Darius responded, but Swain made a guttural noise, launching himself at Darius, and the man barely could stop himself from being trampled by the big creature. He threw the weight with the rod of his weapon, making Swain fall to the ground. Then he felt the ground move underneath him, a demon hand grabbing him and tugging him close to shoot lightning at him. Darius was struggling to respond to the fast attacks, deflecting it with his axe face and breathing heavy.

"I will rid myself of your presence, scum." Swain continued to speak before grabbing Darius and throwing him into the ground. It fissured the floor under the impact and Darius grunted as he pulled himself back to his feet, wearing his armour had certainly helped his situation.

"Swain, please, stop this. I don't want to fight you, this isn't you." Darius still continued to try, he would hold his hand until he couldn't no longer. He could see him recognizing his words, hesitation before anger took over once again. He slashed at Darius, his claws reflecting loudly off his steel armour. Darius swung again, seeing an opening to cut Swain's chest, something that should be able to heal easily, and he didn't need to worry about. Jericho put a hand to his chest, glaring him down.

"You know not of who you speak to! You lowborn rat!" Jericho screeched in anger, ramming himself into Darius's chest, sending him into the wall. Even through his armour, Darius could feel the pain of the impact, he knew it was going to be a hard fight. He tried to get up quickly, but Swain thrusted forward, taking Darius's head in his claws.

"Swain! Don't, please!" Darius cried out, his hands immediately going to his arm. He saw more hesitation, but he was still not there. He felt as the hand started to pressure his head, before a chair was thrown at Jericho's head, he barely responded.

"Fuck, I don't want to do this, Jericho!" Guile called out, grabbing a dresser with her magic and throwing it at Swain. He let go of Darius, he shook his head, before recentring his attention at Quilletta.

"Darius, now! Don't hesitate!" Quilletta begged, and Darius grabbed his axe, he had the opening. If he didn't do it, he was going to hurt Quilletta, if he didn't stop him, he might lose, and yet he couldn't do it. He couldn't cope with the idea of hurting enough to possibly kill him.

"I'm sorry, Quilletta. I can't." He admitted, his axe faltering as Jericho flew directly at Quilletta and grabbed her by the leg.

"Another vermin to rid my home of your magic won't save you." Darius could hardly breathe, he didn't have a choice anymore, he needed to. He ran up the stairs and aimed his axe to pierce him in the back, shoving it down into the floor when he cried out and tore around him. Quilletta hit the floor, gasping out and coiling up into her chest to cry from the pain.

"No, I will, I will get rid of you!" He was still in his demon form, he was still fighting against the wound in his back. Darius closed his eyes, begging internally for Swain to stop, he pulled his axe out of the demon's back before slashing across Jericho's back. The feathers feel free, and Jericho screamed out, his wounds bleeding profusely now that he was back in human form. Swain choked, his hands digging into the carpet. Darius grabbed the carpet, ripping it to try to stop the bleeding, Jericho's blood smeared across his face.

"Jericho, fuck, I tried I really did try. Don't die on me, we didn't get to have our conversation, we didn't get to do so much." He pressed hard on wound, but because it had lodged so deep, he was bleeding in the front and back. He probably broke his ribs.

"It's, my fault." Swain spit out more blood, looking at Guile who still was coiled up in pain.

"I told you... I told you, Darius." She mumbled.

"I know please, both of you stop. I can't do this, I know I fucked up. But can we not talk about this when Swain is dying?" Darius stuffed the carpet as deep as he could on both sides, he didn't care about his cloth choice, because the bleeding was so severe that anything was better than nothing. He pulled off his armour, taking his shirt ripping it to shreds to make rags.

"Tell Emilia, that I didn't mean to..." He trailed off, and Guile pulled herself free from the pain and grabbed his head.

"You tell it yourself, you fucking asshole." Quilletta channelled some healing, Darius wasn't sure if it would be enough. He held the wounds with as much pressure as he could manage with his hands.

"Stay awake, Jericho, please. Don't you dare make this the last time Emilia talked to you!" Darius couldn't help his panic, it was all his fault, if he had hurt him when she wasn't in danger then he wouldn't be so gravely wounded.

"I... See... my..." He stopped talking and Darius cried out, his hands shaky going to Jericho's neck, relief pouring into him when he still felt his pulse. Quilletta groaned, pulling herself up to come over to Jericho easier and place her hands on his back.

"Get the supplies, we need to stitch him, otherwise he'll keep bleeding." He nodded, trying to dry his hands off on whatever he could before he grabbed the supplies. It wouldn't make much of a difference until they stitched him up, they were both covered in Swain's blood. He returned to Quilletta, and she grabbed the needle and thread, quickly threading it before she took the cloth out of his wound to stitch it together as if she was doing nothing more than a sewing project. Without any direction, he grabbed Swain's head, pulling him up onto his lap so that Quilletta could stitch the opposite side. He pressed his fingers to his neck, his heartbeat was barely readable, but he could feel it weak and steady somehow.

"Darius, focus, I need you ready in case he stops breathing. Don't zone out on me." Guile called out to him, and Darius didn't even realize he had lost himself at the moment, that his mind was struggling to stay focused over the repeated fear in his brain.

"I'm, I'm focused, I got this." He was a soldier, he had lost plenty of people before, but yet he could hardly function at the most important moment of his life. He could tell his attempt to prove he was present had failed, Guile shaking her head before she returned to her work with deft hands. She tied them off, taking a deep breath as she bandaged them temporarily. She would get him into clean bandages the first moment she could, not to mention that she had to get her own fixed now because of the mass of blood that Swain had bled. Once he was bandaged, Darius picked him up and brought him to bed. He ignored the mess that all three of them made, Swain needed to rest before they did anything more.

Darius checked his pulse again, he was still alive, he hoped that it would stay that way. His bare chest covered in his blood. He looked over to Guile, who leaned against the wall. "I, can't do more than this, Darius." She muttered, leaning onto the wall as she descended to the floor. "It hurts, really bad." He grabbed her bridal style, making sure to avoid her back.

"It's okay, I can handle this from here, you've done enough, Guile."

"What would you do without me?" She chuckled, wincing from the pain and clenching her grip on Darius.

"Obviously, nothing. Stay here, I'll... I'll get this sorted out. Rest." He answered, getting her back to the bed and tucking her back in. He found himself rushing back to Swain, checking his pulse again out of fear, still alive.

"Too close, Jericho, too close." Darius groaned, leaning down against the bed and sitting on the floor. He would need Emilia's help, but without Guile and Swain's help to contact her, he couldn't figure out how he would let her know without risking Swain dying in the process. He needed to stay where he was, he would figure it out when Swain was conscious and cleaned up properly. "I really hope you never do this to us again. We can't do this again, I can't handle it."

Chapter 24

Darius didn't come home that night, and it made Emilia even more scared that before. Prompting her to continue indulging her want to purge her brain on worry, even if it meant making herself really sick by drinking wine before drinking a few bottles of beer on top of the whole wine bottle. Was she being smart? No. Her stomach stirred and toiled with pain, and she forced herself to eat something in hopes of negating it. They were fine, totally fine, the lack of response was not at all a decider of whether Darius, Swain, or Quilletta were dead, definitely not. She just kept telling herself lies over and over to try to fool herself into not leaving the house like she was told, but by the time midnight rolled around, she was really woozy, and her body threatened to give up on her.

She thought about Katarina and Talon, maybe she should ask them for help? They were fast, responsive, and she wasn't going to the Swain manor, so she was following the promise, kind of. It was hard to walk, but she needed something to tell her that they weren't all dead. That Swain didn't kill them both, or them having to kill him. She wasn't going to compromise, no matter how Jericho acted, he obviously needed to learn it all the hard way. Even if it meant that she was the cause of him losing himself, she had to accept that it didn't change the fact he was just as guilty as her if not more.

The stumbling and nearly falling walk took forever, it was probably a whole hour before she arrived at the Du Couteau manor with little idea of what that entailed. She knocked on the door, leaning against the door frame for support.

"Who is there?" Emilia could hear Talon's voice clearly, and she smiled.

"Talon, let me in please. I need your help." Leblanc answered and the door opened quickly upon her request.

"You're aware how late it is, right?" Talon crossed his arms, motioning for her to come in. His face scrunched up as she came in and he closed the door. "Are you drunk?"

"Maybe, I need you to check the Swain manor, now. Darius, and uh... Guile is there, and Swain earlier lost control. I haven't heard from them, and Darius made me promise not to go, but I need to know they are alright. So could you do that for me, my little puppy?" She explained, reaching out her hand and ruffling his hair. He grunted.

"I'm not a puppy, and I'm only doing this because you're in my house and Cass would kill me if she knew I declined helping you." Talon turned around, grabbing his gear to get ready.

"Oh Cass, I forgot she is home. Where is she?"

"Asleep, Leblanc, just like you should be." Talon answered, before he reluctantly opened the door. "Stay here, and I will check in on the Swain manor, please don't wake up Kat and Cass, I really don't want to deal with their crabbiness."

Emilia groaned, saddened by the fact she couldn't wake up Cass, it would be nice to see her sister. She hadn't managed to since she had taken over for her, everything was so busy, and it kept slipping her mind. Instead, she sat down at their table, the walk was tiring so she rested her head on the table. She closed her eyes and dozed off, waking up to hear the front door open.

"Leblanc, Darius would like your help at the manor. The fight was bad, and Swain sustained bad injuries. He's worried about him not recovering. I didn't, mention that you were drunk. Do you need me to walk you there?" Talon informed her, before offering his arm to her.

"Thank you, Talon, I appreciate you." He didn't respond to her, and she didn't particularly care to talk anyway. She didn't like what she had been told, and she really hoped that Swain didn't decide to die when she had drank too much. Maybe she had overdid it, but the boredom in Darius's house was terrible, she couldn't even find a book to read. It made her realize that she needed to scour her own library if she wanted to stay with Darius for some time.

Talon stopped in front of the manor, taking his arm back from Emilia. "Can you avoid coming to the manor when you're drunk? Especially so late, you're lucky I was awake." He grumbled, and Leblanc smiled at him.

"Thank you, Talon. I really appreciate this, and I'll avoid doing this in the future."

"You're welcome, don't cause trouble, Leblanc." Talon departed, and Emilia found his comment strange. What trouble did she cause to make her say so? She pressed the door open, and the manor had been through some rough stuff before Swain's transformation, but it was properly destroyed after that. A dresser discarded in the living room, upside down, impressions in the wall and the floor. It made her feel small, and to think that Darius likely had been the one being thrown, she didn't like the idea of how hurt he would be.

She knocked on Swain's door, and it was immediately opened by Darius, completely shirtless and wow, he was furry. Like really furry. Was it really like that or was her vision messed up by the drinks?

"Whoa, that's a lot of hair. Wait, why are you topless?" Darius pressed his hand to his face.

"I'm not upset with you, Emilia, but are you drunk?" There was the second time she was asked, she shrugged, before leaning to look past Darius, but she didn't think of how much balance that took. Darius stopped her from falling over, grabbing her arm and helping her stand up straight.

"Is he okay?" She asked, and Darius was slow to respond, she went to his side and looked at the long lines of stitches on both his back and stomach. "What did you do to him, Darius?! Did you stab him?" Darius covered her mouth.

"Calm down, Emilia. I have enough to deal with without you waking up Guile and Swain in the process. I had to do what I did, he... He nearly killed me and Quilletta." He let go of her mouth and turned away.

"He..." Leblanc stared at Swain, terrified that he would do such a thing. "He wouldn't... He shouldn't."

"He already did, and I tried my best to get him to break free without hurting him. He was losing that fight, and if Quilletta hadn't..." Darius put his head in his hands. "He nearly crushed my head, Emilia." They stood there, staring at each other in pure disbelief.

"This can't happen again."

"No, it can't."

As the night went on, Emilia sobered up and helped tending to both Quilletta and Jericho's wounds. Darius mainly had bruises, not sustaining much worse somehow. "Emilia, could... could you lay with me? I... it hurts a lot, and I..." She struggled to say anything more, and Emilia felt guilty that she was in so much pain.

"Of course, anything to help." She crawled into the bed, pulling the covers over her and Quilletta. Guile moved to rest her head on Leblanc's chest, her heart racing as she got used to it. It was odd to have it done to herself rather than being the one who did it, but she wrapped her arms around her upper body avoiding her back as best as she could. Often Quilletta would grunt in her sleep, likely from pain, before returning to near silence. Her warmth making her doze off, forgetting that she needed to also tend to Jericho, she hoped Darius would be alright without her.

When Emilia woke up, her head hurt really bad, which she guessed she deserved. Quilletta was still curled up to her, holding her rather tightly too. She accepted she wasn't going to be moving, not that she particularly wanted to. While she had come back to Swain's manor willingly, she was still not going to give him what he wanted. After the previous day, it only made her feel more resolved to make him decide how things would be. It was obvious that with, both of their complicated relationships, it left a lot of words unsaid. It was odd with Quilletta, because she would akin her connection to her like that of her coven sisters, but it didn't fully grasp how new and different it was at the same time. Part of her wondered if it was merely that she felt like she owed her, but then she remembered what Quilletta said.

'I don't need anything.' What an odd woman, which was silly coming from her of all people. She had been called odd more times than she could count, especially when she refused to fawn over most men. She had lofty standards, honestly what were her standards anymore? Flawed people who stick to her like glue? Seemed so, especially with Swain and she still had to keep reminding herself that she couldn't let herself stick to him in turn.

"Quilletta, I got us some breakfast." Darius entered the room, seeing the two and looking confused for a moment before accepting it. "Ah, there you are, Emilia. I was wondering where you slipped off to."

"Sorry, she was in pain and asked me to keep her company." Emilia explained herself, moving to get up and she was unfortunately unable to do so without Quilletta noticing.

"I'm still in pain, I thought it couldn't get worse." Quilletta groaned, curling up again. "That dresser hurt."

"Did you get hit with a dresser?" Emilia asked with worry.

"No, I threw it at Swain, so he wouldn't kill Darius. My magic makes my back hurt so much worse." She continued to groan, biting into the pillow to smother her pain.

"I should, get her some pain relief, and then I'll be right down." Emilia smiled at Darius, and he nodded before leaving the room. She checked the herbs that she had put together the previous day, making sure they were still fresh and mashing in another herb that she had been uncertain about adding. Considering how much Guile was crying out, she was willing to give her anything that would help even if it made her a bit sick.

"Try this, I think it'll work better than yesterday." She offered the bowl up to Guile, taking miserable bites of it until it was gone.

"If this tasted any worse, and didn't work, I'd force feed it to you in your sleep." She grumbled in obedient defiance, a staple of an unhappy Guile from what Darius had said.

"Do you want me to bring you food? Or would you like me to put it aside for you later?" Leblanc asked, and Quilletta stared at her before deciding. "Later. I... I want some more sleep." She mumbled, laying back down and the speed in which she fell asleep was impressive. Emilia closed the door behind her, noticing that Jericho was up and walking and the two met eyes. He turned his head, avoiding her gaze. She bit her lip lightly, she didn't need to start an argument again, especially after the events of the previous night.

Chapter 25

Summary:

Swain wakes up from his transformation, and he is brought back to reality by Emilia and Darius with a harsh lesson.

Notes:

Swain is depressed the chapter. lol I feel this was really needed because his behaviour was getting out of hand, so they needed to be harsh. Swain become a better boyfriend dust applied.

His stitches felt terrible, and him waking up to Darius brought him pain that he couldn't fight. The previous day and night showing exactly why he had given express orders to Darius and Quilletta about him losing control. He had doubted Darius's ability to kill him, and neglected the possibility of Quilletta being unable to help him do what needed to be done.

"I'm sorry, Darius. I... Your head, is it okay?" At first, he went to touch the man's head but stopped when he saw Darius shift away and he pulled his hand back.

"It's fine, it really didn't hurt too much." Darius muttered, and Jericho sighed, pressing his hands into his temples.

"How are they?"

"Probably pissed at you, but honestly, after what you did, Swain. You need to get help." Darius shook his head.

"What do you mean get help?"

"You are not coping with your emotions properly, and you obviously can't handle it on your own. If you transform again, you can kill us all, don't you realize that?"

"I am coping fine, Darius. Yesterday was a mistake, I let it get the best of me, it won't happen again."

"I'm sorry, but we don't trust you."

"We?"

"Quilletta, Emilia and me. You've scared us enough."

"Darius, surely you don't mean this, I would never..." He trailed off as he saw the stern look in his eyes.

"You haven't been a good friend, nor a good leader. You put off making anything official even when we are okay with being with you at the same time. It's not even Emilia that you've been playing and toying with, but you've been doing the same with me too." Darius crossed his arms, getting up.

"I haven't, what are you talking about?"

"Swain, don't pretend you don't know what you're doing. When did I come out to you?"

"One month ago, I think."

"Exactly, and we were supposed to have a conversation, even with everything that happened, you still could have said something, anything."

"Darius, come on, you're not actually upset over this right?" The silence only served as a painful reminder that he had failed, both him and Emilia. He couldn't seem to think of a way to explain why he was scared of saying it was anything more than friendship.

"We're staying with you just for today, then we are going because I think you need to have some time alone. Because obviously, you have forgotten what friendship looks like."

"Darius-"

"Swain."

"Don't leave me alone after what happened yesterday, I didn't mean for it. I'll be better, I will treat you both better."

"No, we've done this enough. You lie out of your mouth constantly, and you don't even think about it. I don't know where my best friend went, but he disappeared."

"Darius-" He tried to get up and intercept him, but he glared at him.

"Don't. If you still think you're in the right despite this, then you miss the point." Swain let him leave the room, and when he felt his anger wish to surge, he squished it with Darius's words. He felt wronged because he wanted a reason to feel wronged, he felt justified in his reasoning because he couldn't stand the idea of being wrong. It had grown so badly out of hand, and he had contorted everything to fit that assumption. He had two people who loved him so much that they kept coming back to him despite everything that kept pushing them away.

He left the room, seeing Emilia and avoiding her gaze. They were supposed to be happy. He needed to fix it, but how? They didn't trust what he said or did, how was he supposed to make them understand? He kept speculating while he ate, all three of them eating quietly.

"We should talk, all three of us." He spoke up as he finished his food. Darius and Emilia looked to each other for a moment before returning their attention back to him.

"You've both made it clear that I haven't been treating you properly, and that you both want this to be official. I know you're upset with me, but. I love you both with all my heart. Darius, I would be honoured to call you my boyfriend, and Emilia, I want nothing more than to call you, my girlfriend. I am... Scared of what changes when you start using labels. I'm sorry."

"Jericho, I'm happy you came to realize that, but we need some time." Emilia avoided his gaze once again, and it felt like he had seared his heart open.

"Emilia is right, this isn't something you can just fix with one conversation." Darius also avoiding his gaze. Swain tried to force his mind to not immediately turn the situation on its head and blame them. He was frustrated, he couldn't seem to understand how it wasn't fixed with him admitting it.

"Why? I thought this is what you want. I made it official, did I not?"

"Swain, it's about you avoiding it, if it takes us both saying we want to be acknowledged as important in your life, what will it take for you to do so in the future?"

"I'm sorry, let me prove it to you, I can't do anything to change what I already did. I want you both to live with me, I can't stand the idea of either of you getting hurt and I let it justify my actions."

"We need to think, Jericho. You can't just change like this, you can't expect us to accept it as it is. This is exactly why we told you this, you will say anything to make us listen to you and stay with you."

"So that's it then? You're both leaving?"

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be, you're blowing it out of proportion. It's just a break. You need one and so do we, you're acting this way because you are over relying on us. If this is making you feel like the world is ending, you need to stop and think. You lost control over yourself when you said Emilia and you were only friends." Darius tried to soothe him, but Swain only found himself more frustrated and annoyed. He had thought he had it all figured out, but suddenly the problem had changed, and he was only increasingly confused why.

"I made a mistake."

"Swain, listen to yourself. You're so codependent that you're doing everything to keep us here."

"Isn't that how relationships are supposed to be?"

"No." They both answered in unison.

"Darius, if this is your first relationship how do you know?"

"Jericho, I have a brother, he's had more girlfriends than I can count. If they acted the way you do, it didn't last. It's suffocating." With the final word from Darius, their conversation came to a sudden end. Jericho scooped up his bowl and returned it to the kitchen, his manor was quickly becoming a disaster, and his knee was not feeling happy about the idea of dealing with it by hand. He could swear he heard Darius and Emilia talking to each other, he wanted to listen, but he let their words keep him from his curiosity. He started to wonder if they had instead fallen for one another, as unlikely as it was, maybe Emilia was an exception. There he went again, looking for something else to blame.

Before he knew it, his decrepit manor was empty once again, left with what remained of the night prior. Not even Guile remained, as she seemed to have her own problems with him. It felt like he was being targeted, but it was another futile attempt to erase the guilt that ate at him. He wouldn't lose control again, but he genuinely felt terrible enough without his transformation. Jericho had to remember what an empty manor felt like, he had to remember what it was like for him to be on his own, to not constant worry over his would-be partners. He wished he could wish it all away, but he knew it would make no difference. The Swain manor was so quiet, it felt like the world had stopped moving around him, and he felt hopelessly stuck awake.

It would just be a break, a small break, then they could all be together again, right? He wasn't going to mess it all up again by missing something. Were they not as guilty as him? Was that also why they pulled themselves away?

The Immortal Bastion was also uncomfortably quiet, whenever he wasn't called into constant meetings, and endless paperwork filled every other second. He started to understand, he started to realize how oblivious he had been to his friends' plights, so absorbed by what he needed and wanted. He was thankful for his ravens, that he had keep him awake when he needed a long day to deal with paperwork. It started to feel, normal. The only thing that reminded him was the pain in his side, which had scarred in an extensive line on his front and back. It was not going away, that he was very sure of. He wondered what Darius would have said, 'Could make a good story about that one, maybe you killed a Baron, and it pierced you as you killed it.', scars could never have simple stories with Darius, they had to show character and strength. It just made him wish he was there whenever he saw his scars, wanting him to make up the most preposterous stories as he pointed to each on his skin.

His torment didn't end there, it felt like his bed was giant without Emilia, her cuddles were unmatched. The perfect size to curl up in his chest, and her smile whenever she made a coy comment. Before he knew it, it felt like each moment of the day was a reminder of how he fucked up. A reminder that he took everything for granted and it was gone because of him. He was holding his lead ball that he was attached to by a chain, next in line to be pulled down into the lake.

Soon, Darius left for his vacation, and had taken a boat to Ionia to meet up with Draven for a more duel type match that didn't result in death. He, at least, had seen that ship leave port, but didn't bother with trying to get the man's attention. He even saw Emilia and Quilletta waving to Darius, Quilletta's excitement for him present in the frantic waves that she did. It still remained quiet in the Swain manor, he had kept himself busy with all the repairs that he had been left with between the break in and his fight with Darius. Not to mention getting a suitable replacement dining table, as his one was unsuitable due to its tiny length. However, when he got the new one, it only made it clearer that he was supposed to have people to entertain that nobles did that for fun.

It was hard to believe it was only a week, but he had been busy for every part of it. The tasks left for him were hefty, showing just how badly all three were needed for the Trifarix. Quilletta would be recovering from her injury for so many months more, then she also wished to go on vacation. It was only fair, it was the least he could do for them after all they had done. Even if it meant, so many nights at his desk, sometimes mornings where he fell asleep. Whenever he went to the Immortal Bastion, he occasionally passed by Emilia, who had taken up helping Quilletta with her workload. Everyone blissfully unaware that it was Leblanc in such a position, as if she had disappeared over two months ago without a trace. He often considered trying to talk to her, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he was left with a feeling of regret for even thinking of it.

He probably looked miserable, exhausted, and ungroomed. Often forgetting to refresh his clean shave when days of paperwork consumed him.

"Swain, could I get this signed, Quilletta needs it urgently." Emilia offered a paper to him, and he signed it with not much care for what it was for. Quilletta got what she wanted, he trusted her to need it for a good reason. "Thanks, and I hope you have a good day, Jericho." She smiled a weak smile as she left, and Jericho felt it kick him in the gut. He was so caught off guard he didn't even respond. He redirected his attention, trying not to let her smile haunt him.

Chapter 26

Summary:

Quilletta tries to keep Darius and Emilia from crawling back to Swain. That's not the only thing she has to fight with, her position as Guile is no longer achievable with her sustained injuries.

It was hard for Quilletta to be moved from her bed as the group had decided, the pain from her back causing her to nearly pass out in Darius's arms as they brought her with them to Darius's house. Darius had given up his bed, and granted Emilia, Draven's. Darius instead opting to make himself a bed on the floor in his room despite Quilletta's constant attempts to get him to just join her on the bed, Swain must be a fan of endlessly stubborn people, or she thought.
She could tell their decision weighed hard on Darius and Emilia, it was plain to see on their faces that Swain wasn't the only one fighting with codependency. It hurt her to see them so lifeless, but within the small house, it felt as if it had came to life as they started to push past their worries. Whether it be building a puzzle together on the carpeted floor, which they would never put themselves through ever again, bigger table was definitely a better option. Darius seemed to enjoy making dinner for them, sometimes Emilia would join him, and they would have some interesting creations to make together.
If someone was blind, they could easily misunderstand Darius and Emilia's relationship as romantic, yet it seemed abundantly clear to her. The two understood each other, and they had found each other in their own troubles loving the same man.
"Maybe I should visit him, just to check in with him?" Emilia considered, not even three days into their break. She pulled at her lips and paced, the bobble heads in Draven's room being covered with a sheet. Each with distinctive styles of outfits that Draven had thought about performing in. Not all of them particularly good looking and some of them made Quilletta want to puke at the idea.
"He's fine, Emilia. If you go visit him now, you are just reinforcing the problem. He can handle you not being there." Quilletta responded, leaning into a plush that they had gotten her so that she could sit up and not hurt her back by leaning against something.
"He's been looking, sad. Just one visit should be enough, then I'll come back, and it'll be okay." She paced more frantically, and Quilletta sighed.
"No, you have to let him be. I know it hurts for you to see him like this, but it's the only way all three of you are going to get through this." Quilletta insisted, trying not to fall asleep sitting up. Her back was not healing well, and the muscles were damaged pretty badly to the point where she had muscle pain constantly. She wasn't sure if she could return back to being Guile, but that was it's own complex issue. First, it was getting her friends through the break.
"Okay, okay. I won't, I just. It's really hard. I miss him, Quilletta." She huffed, Guile could tell she wanted to cry but stopped herself.
"I know. It will be okay, this isn't forever." Quilletta didn't have to wait long until Darius started wanting to give in too.
"I'm leaving on my trip soon, I should see him, or something. Invite him to see me off?" Darius looked to Quilletta, and she shook her head.
"No, Darius, don't. I hate telling you both this, but you can see him when you get back from Ionia." Quilletta heard them ponder breaking the break more times than she could count, and constantly she had to be the voice of reason to stop them from running back to Swain with apologies about how they acted when they were the ones in the right. Swain wasn't made of glass, the fact he was acting that way just showed how badly they all needed to step away.
"I know, Guile, I-"
"Yes, I know you miss him, I'm sure he misses you too, but it will be okay. He will be here when you get back." Often Quilletta felt herself grow impatient with Emilia and Darius saying nearly the exact same things, it felt like a VHS stuck on repeat over and over. Her pain made her snippy, which didn't help, and the pain relief that they made her have often left her wanting to be knocked out on top of the pain. It just never did enough.
She was barely well enough to stand and walk when Darius got on the boat, she had to get herself crutches to help her stay standing. Then she moved onto using forearm crutches instead once he left, and Emilia offered for them to move to her place, which had been a well needed move. She liked Darius's, but she often wished the man had more furniture, especially functional furniture. It grew even worse for Emilia when Darius was away, her resolve tested by Darius not there to also keep her from giving in. Quilletta often fell asleep throughout Emilia's house, the couches and bed were so comfortable that it felt as if she was on feather. Somehow even surpassing the Swain's manor in comfort, but then she considered Emilia's status, and her luxury became obvious. Small house be damned, Emilia didn't spare expense within.
The single bed became an easy share, and Quilletta often found it much easier to fall asleep in pain if Emilia was there. With the inevitable reality of her not returning to being Guile, she knew she needed someone to fill her spot, while she never said it, she sent Emilia in her place to the Immortal Bastion. If ever there was a worry about her being recognized, Quilletta would offer a sufficient disguise that changed just enough to make her hard to determine and other times she would offer her mask, and no one would even realize. She had settled into Emilia's home well, having sent Emilia to gather her belongings for her, because she couldn't live on her own anymore. Even with magic, she was severely limited in her ability to walk and stand.
"Quilletta, I know you probably already know this." She turned her attention to Emilia, her hand on one of the many roses that was in the bases.
"Emilia, you don't need to tell me if you think I already know. I know things before you ever see them." She shone a smile at her, adjusting her crutches to make it easier for her to pick out a rose that had started to shrivel, placing it to the side of the vase for Emilia to throw out later.
"Your back, I... I'm not sure if it's going to get much better. It may as well not have changed over this whole week." Emilia continued anyway, and Quilletta just looked at her from the corner of her eye before moving back to the couch, grabbing her plush and leaning forward into it with a sigh. Putting her crutches on the floor in front of her.
"I know. You don't need to tell me. It's burns, and those burns are so bad that my muscles are destroyed. You think I don't know?" She looked at Emilia with half lidded eyes.
"Sorry, I wanted to make sure you knew, and I wanted to ask what you planned on doing about your position." Guile grunted, she knew that the conversation would come up sometime, she had hoped it would be later rather than sooner. She had hoped to put it off as long as possible.
"I'm going to have to give it up, I don't have the endurance nor the strength to handle it. Not to mention, the nobles would riot if we let another cripple take a position in the Trifarix. It sucks, but honestly, my pain is enough for me to handle." Guile closed her eyes, trying to avoid falling asleep and failing.
"Is there anyone who would be a better spymaster than you?" Quilletta started laughing, wincing once she had finished.
"Emilia, dear, are you oblivious? You're right there, doing it all yourself already. They won't even notice the difference."
"But aren't you worried about giving me your position? You know who I am and what I used to do." Emilia adjusted herself in her chair.
"Emilia, if you hated Noxus, you wouldn't have made it in the first place. I am sure whatever you do, you'll be more than fine."
"But I don't have magic, I don't have anything to offer."
"Sweetie, how many times do we have to go over this? Darius has no magic, and he has no problem at all. Stay calm, you are perfect." Quilletta's words grew slurred, leaning hard into her plush as she was drifting off.
"Do you want me to move you upstairs?" She asked, Guile shook her head, drifting off.
-
Emilia started to work harder after that, and Quilletta noticed how much it seemed to make her shine. It made sense that Emilia liked to keep busy, considering how much Emilia had mentioned that she had constantly been checking her notes and calendar about anything she had arranged. It sounded exhausting to Quilletta, but Emilia spoke about it with such whimsy and joy that she had Quilletta convinced, she liked to have things to do. That worked in Guile's favour, considering whenever Emilia tried to get help regarding some paperwork, Guile would usually end up falling asleep at some point during it. She got tired of needing to sign her name, she got tired of hearing about the work drama that she had no interest in. Not to mention, it started to make her not want to wake up whenever Emilia asked her for help. The number of times that she woke up to give a yes would make her bankrupt. So, at the end of just, one week, she had decided she couldn't handle it anymore.
'Dear Swain, Darius and all concerned parties,
As you're aware, I have been injured for some time now and have come to the realization that I am unfit to continue my position as Guile and wish to offer my position to a suitable candidate that both of you are well acquainted with. I will teach her everything she needs to know, please be patient with her while she learns the ropes.
If you have any questions, or concerns, you always know where to find me.
Sincerely,
Guile'
Quilletta sealed the letter, handing it to Emilia to give as soon as possible.
"Are you sure, it's so soon? Things may change." She tried to make her change her mind, but she shook her head.
"Emilia, I can't even manage staying awake for a conversation with you, do you think that will really change?" Her silence spoke loudly for her. "Guile will continue to be whoever, there is no need to mourn my retirement, the public never knew me anyway. They won't know you either, that's why it's perfect. They never need to see you."

Chapter 27

Summary:

Leblanc finally visits Swain after their week break.

Emilia found delivering that letter, one of the hardest things that she ever had to do. She knew the outrage that it may invoke, and then having to say she was the one that Guile chose to succeed her? It felt like terrible joke to play on Swain, but it was real, and it was true. She knocked on the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" His gravely voice betrayed his exhaustion, she knew that she had been unable to take on all of Guile's work, but she tried to handle as much of it as she could.

"Emilia." The door clicked open as Jericho opened it with his magic. His eyes were set on a document, but she knew that he wished for her to speak.

"Guile has a message to deliver to you, and Darius upon his return." Swain put the paper down and immediately took the sealed letter.

"Typically, they don't bother you with deliveries. They have messengers when they need them." He muttered, cracking the seal.

"It's... important. So, they had me deliver it." Emilia avoided staring at him while he read, not wanting to see his reaction to the news. She thought he would get upset, insist that Guile could continue working.

"I had a bad feeling that they would say that. I imagine they relayed their successor to you, Emilia?" He looked at her with such a business look that she wondered if she had been gone for too long. That she had pushed too far, but she didn't have time for it now.

"They... They wish for me to take their position as Guile." Emilia braced for his response, an expected cough and sputter.

"Truly? I don't doubt you, I don't pretend to know who Guile would choose in this situation." He seemed unsure what to do, which Emilia guessed only made sense, the Trifarix was a young government, and no other position had any change. Swain being the most unlikely candidate to change, with Darius only compromised with a human lifetime. Jericho held out his hand to her, and she took it uncertainly. "Congratulations on your promotion, Guile." It felt wrong, it felt like she had stolen something that wasn't hers.

"Thank you, Swain." She turned around and left the office quickly, wanting for the moment to be over. She was busy the rest of the day, taking on Guile's mask, it felt odd at first and slowly it became less and less odd as the day went on.

-

"Quilletta, do you think I could try talking to him now?" Emilia asked after returning from the Immortal Bastion for the day, she was antsy, and she wasn't sure if Swain's behaviour was just because they were working or if she had messed up something.

"Fine, go ahead. Don't stay there though." It felt strange that Emilia had to ask Quilletta to go see Swain, but otherwise it was too easy to fall into letting their relationship return to the way it had been prior.

"I won't, I'll be back to make you dinner in a few hours." Emilia promised, and Quilletta nodded, laying down on the couch.

She knocked on the manor door, having done her makeup fresh and wearing one of her favourite dresses. A simple long black dress that had two slits on each hip to allow for easier movement. It felt once again felt strange for her to act in such a way, they had jumped past the point where they would dress to impress. They had seen each other at their worst and had been happy to fall face first into a relationship that lacked the development it needed. Maybe Jericho had been right about their vulnerability, but it wasn't just her own situation, it included him as well.

The door opened and Swain stepped back, seemingly shocked by her appearance on his steps.

"Can we talk?" She asked before Jericho had a chance to say anything in response.

"Yeah, come in." Swain pushed the door open further and moved to let her in.

"Wow, you must have been busy, it's almost looking like a real manor again." Emilia commented as she saw how the repairs were going.

"Emilia, can we skip the pleasantries?" The impatience was clear in his voice, and Emilia sighed.

"I missed you, and... Well." She had put so much idea into all the things that she could say, yet no words came to her. "I want us to start again. The proper way this time, if you still feel the same." Jericho stood there stiffy, making Emilia feel like her visit was either too late or too soon, she couldn't tell.

"I missed you too, we can do this however you like. Honestly talking to you makes a world of a difference." He said as if that wasn't the cutest and saddest thing she had ever heard. She closed the gap between them, hugging him tightly.

"You're such a lost puppy, and here I thought you were all tough and grumpy before." Emilia put her hand on his cheek before giving him a kiss on his forehead, causing her to need to stand up on her toes. His own hands slow to return the gesture, but after a few moments, he held her just as tightly.

"My face has that affect on people." He answered, not saying in response to being called a puppy. He pushed her hair behind her ear, looking at her with such forlorn that she wanted to apologize for her departure.

"I am needed at home, but the break is over. At least with me, I don't know what Darius plans on doing when he returns. Keep care of yourself, Jericho. You look like you've been struggling to sleep." She exited his arms, returning to a more comfortable distance between the two.

"I have, had some trouble sleeping." He muttered, she wasn't sure if he understood what she had said. "Is Quilletta alright? Her letter concerned me." Swain still had the habit of avoiding uncomfortable conversations, but Emilia let him change the topic.

"She is alright as she can be, she struggles getting around and standing. She doesn't seem to let it phase her, it's hard to believe that she continues to bounce back even after such a nasty injury." Emilia responded, and the two seemed to fall back into silence.

"Is she upset with me? She wasn't exactly in a good state when she left." Jericho asked, but Emilia shook her head.

"No, she wishes the best for you and us. She's been holding us accountable."

"Accountable for what?" Jericho's cluelessness was sometimes too funny for Emilia deal with, she snorted.

"Do you think it was easy for us to leave and stay that way? I think Quilletta had heard more than enough of our reasons for wanting to visit you sooner." Swain adjusted the way he stood, leaning against the nearest wall avoiding pressure on one of his knees.

"You both seemed fine without me, and I... Thought maybe..." Jericho trailed off, and Emilia looked at him with disbelief.

"You're trying to tell me, that you thought Darius, the man who was happy to forever be in the closet would suddenly change his mind on women and date me? Jericho, he's a flower, but he blooms on the opposite of the tracks and only shines for you."

"I don't know, Emilia. I was searching for reasons why you both seemed so unbothered." She noticed him shuffling to get his weight off his knee.

"Let's sit down, your knee is bothering you, isn't it?" Leblanc walked over to him again, offering her hand. He took it, leaning into her as they moved to the couch.

"How did you know?"

"Both you and Quilletta avoid accommodating your pain, also I'm not blind. I'm not going to get mad at you if you need to sit down." She let go of his hand as he sat down, letting out an exhausted breath.

"Do you need help with your work? I can probably manage some of it outside of work hours. I know they left you a lot to do." Emilia offered, she was worried about how tired he looked, and he almost looked sickly.

"As Guile, you already have more than enough to do. You taking her position was honestly the best you could do to help. Darius was just in the middle of several negotiations, and they take, a ridiculously long time and eat up most my day. The same ramble and ramble over and over. We want this, we want that. I think you could put the idea together." He declined, but Emilia was happy that he was talking more. It didn't feel so terribly awkward.

"It feels wrong to call me Guile, she lost her job because of me, she's in pain all the time because of me and yet she handed it to me with such confidence, with no concern whatsoever." She was thankful to get her thoughts out, the guilt that she had squished down and tried to avoid talking about around Quilletta. "How can I accept it? How can I take her position and not feel the guilt that I had caused it all?"

"You didn't make that decision for her, Emilia. She likely thought she would die for what she did, that was her choice, you didn't make her do anything." Jericho tried to rationalize the situation, it dug deep and sharp in response.

"Is this really any better than being dead? She's constantly in pain, she struggles so much and yet she hides it all behind her smile. No matter what I make her to help with her pain, it makes little to no difference. How can I not feel guilty for my hand in that?" Emilia hated to think of Quilletta being dead than how she was.

"You will always feel the guilt, whether it was your fault or not. It isn't fair for you to decide if it's worth living for her, would it be any better than me deciding without magic that you were better off dead?"

"No, of course not. I, just wish I could do more, that I could find something to rid her of her pain, that there was something, anything that I could do to give up myself to spare her."

"Emilia. She sacrificed herself for you, do you think it would change anything to give up that chance and disrespect her decision?" Leblanc turned inward, clasping her hands together to stop herself from picking at her skin.

"No. I'm feeling her pain, and I can't handle seeing her like this."

"It'll get easier, I am sure. You becoming Guile is a substantial change, and it won't feel right for a long time, but you can't let that stop you. I know you, staying at your place with nothing to do, would drive you insane, would it not?"

"Yes, but-"

"You need this, and I think Quilletta needed this too. Did you not realize that her handing it off to you was her asking for reprieve?"

"I didn't realize, I didn't think of that." Emilia wondered why she didn't think of it sooner, she was so tied up in Guile giving up her position that she had completely forgotten that Quilletta had to come to that conclusion herself, that she had to accept that she couldn't do it. "You're right, she had been less responsive to me. I thought it was the pain." Emilia admitted.

"How are your wounds? Are they healing alright?" She changed the topic, coming to sit beside Jericho before she thought much about it. She nearly went to touch him but stopped herself.

"They are healing alright, already getting scarring, the stitches should be removed in the next few weeks." Jericho looked disappointed, and Emilia reminded herself that what she already done was more than enough. She didn't even know what they were doing anymore.

"That's good, do you mind if I see them?" So much for her bright idea to not touch him. "I just want to check for you in case you missed something." Emilia wanted to laugh at her own terrible excuse, and Jericho tilted his head before taking his shirt off avoiding her gaze.

Could she have made it more awkward? No, she had reached peak levels of awkward, but she genuinely did want to make sure there was no infection in his cuts. Not that she thinks there would be, Darius's axe was well tended to, and clean. Emilia trailed her blackened fingertips over the front part of his wound, feeling for anything that may be out of place. Quilletta had done a rather respectable job considering how much the two were panicking over him. She definitely was good at working under pressure.

She felt him flinch from her touch, wondering if her hands were too cold or too hot, but Jericho didn't say anything. The slash to his front had healed quickly, not being anywhere as deep as his other wounds. She adjusted herself on the couch to get a better look at his back, because of it being the entry point, his skin showed the damage. The scarring would be much worse on his back, and it was even bigger than the exit was. She sucked in a deep breath, nothing to worry about there, it would heal with time. No bumps, and the she could see some spots that were red from inflammation were the stitches tied the skin together.

"There's some inflammation on your back, have you put anything on it?" She asked, and Jericho shook his head.

"I haven't had a chance to, doctor isn't coming for some time, and I can't reach back there." Good point... She got up and headed to where she remembered they stored their medical supplies, it seemed that they were in desperate need of restocking. It only made sense, there had been plenty of wounds for all of them to share.

"You know, you should probably say something before you go running off into my manor." Jericho called out, but his light tone brightened her mood. They could free themselves from the awkward space they had put between them. She grabbed some cream, a roll of bandages and alcohol swabs. She sat down beside him again.

"You know, you should probably still be wearing bandages, these are still fresh. You're asking for a problem."

"I don't plan on leaving home, and the bandages were uncomfortable."

"What are you, three years old? 'The bandages were uncomfortable'." She spoke in a high-pitched voice to tease him.

"I have dealt with plenty a wound, Emilia, I am not a child." Yet the moment she put the swab on one of the inflamed stitches, he gasped. She couldn't help but chuckle at it. "You enjoy my torture, don't you?" He glared at her with the least serious look he could muster.

"Oh, you're just so hilarious when you're in pain, I can't help it." She moved onto the next stitches, cleaning up any dirt or debris that had made its way intwined in the stitches. She felt him tense every time she reached a particularly bad stitch.

"Evil witch, I'll tell Darius you were torturing me." He muttered.

"Oh? He'd applaud me, pat me on the head and say you deserved it."

"Betrayal, mutiny, insurrection. How dare you?"

"Where will you fall, Jericho Swain? Scared of the same thing that happened to Darkwill happening to you?" Jericho shook his head.

"As if. With you and Darius at my side, I might as well be impervious to attack."

"Oh yeah? What a smooth talker you are." She responded with such a big smile, applying the cream to his back.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Emilia Leblanc?" He turned to her, and she felt her face grew red.

"Quilletta is going to kill me, but I can't say no to your dumb face."

Chapter 28

Summary:

Swain gets letter from Quiletta, gets to see Leblanc's house and takes Quileta out for dinner.

Swain had thought when Emilia said that they would start over, that she wouldn't accept his request. Yet she took it, she said yes and despite the fact she left him that night, it brought him solace. Was that the power of a label? If he had known, he never would have pushed it away, but he had been so scared to find out what relationships were genuinely like. Especially in his odd situation where he found himself fawning over Darius and Emilia equally, both of them brought smiles to his face with little effort. He wondered if it would be that easy with Darius? When he returned to Ionia, would he get the opportunity to ask him the same question? Would he, like Emilia, bypass their original opinion? He tried not to let it go to his head, Darius wasn't Emilia, and he wasn't nearly as impulsive as the woman, so he couldn't expect the same of him.

When he returned to the Immortal Bastion the next day, one of Guile's messengers had showed up almost immediately upon him getting in office. "Which one, new or old?" He confirmed, the messenger gave him a smile.

"Both actually, new on the outside, and old on the inside." The messenger pointed to the little note on the top of the letter before handing it to Jericho and leaving with nothing more said. Have mercy on his soul, he must have invoked the wrath of Quilletta. That became abundantly clear when he saw the note from Emilia, 'I'm sorry, Jericho.' Yes, if she felt the need to put that, then he was going to regret opening the letter. He noticed magic had been placed on the letter, and as he opened it to read, it decided that wasn't good enough and started yelling at him.

"Jericho Swain, what part of take a break do you not understand? I don't know what you said or did with Emilia, but neither of you learned anything from this week! Did I seriously go through the week listening to Emilia begging to see you just for you two to make it official the first fucking time you see each other again. I swear the next time I see you, I will throw another dresser at you and if you hurt Emilia or Darius after this, I will personally see to plucking your eyes out, so you never see them both again." He sighed as the letter stopped speaking, ripping it apart and throwing it in the trash. Great, a dresser was going to get thrown at him, again. At least the next time it happened, he would be more in control of himself.

In the interest of avoiding being murdered by his childhood friend, he started his own letter, minus the screaming sigil. It would only serve to poke the bear more than he already had with his actions.

'Dear Quilletta,

How are your injuries recently? I know you're upset with me, but I didn't do anything to make Emilia decide that she wanted to be my girlfriend. We talked, and she decided from there, I didn't mean to cause you grief with my actions. I truly did take the break seriously, and I did use it to realize my shortcomings. I won't shy from calling her what she is to me, and when Darius returns, I plan to tell him the same.

I would like for us to meet sometime soon, perhaps without a dresser present? I could arrange a meal for us three, but if you prefer it to be just you and me, I am more than happy to accommodate. Please keep care of yourself, and don't worry so much about Darius and Emilia, they will keep me on the strait and narrow. After all, they made this break decision themselves, did they not?

Sincerely your apologetic friend,

Jericho Swain'

He sealed it up and called for one of Guile's messengers to deliver it. He hoped that he wouldn't wake up in the coming morning with a dagger at her throat, but he couldn't completely put that out of the realm of possibility. Just when Jericho had started returning back to being productive, he heard a knock and knew who it was immediately, he flicked the door open.

"Guile? How can I help?" The mask was still something that Swain had to get used to being on Emilia, and calling her Guile was also another thing that would take some time. He continued working on his documents while he waited for her to speak. She cleared her throat.

"I have some things that require your review before they are sent out."

"You can send them out, there is no need for me to check them." Jericho tried to wave off the additional work, but Emilia shook her head.

"I was told that this was required to be reviewed, may I help you with anything so that you can review it?" Jericho sighed, going through his desk to pull out a stack of folders.

"If you insist, return these to their keeper while I review." They exchanged their stacks, and he watched Guile as she left, and he wanted to swear at himself for putting himself in the situation where he had both the loves of his life as coworkers. He knew it would get easier, after all, Darius and he had found themselves a comfortable wall. Since Guile's presence wasn't always needed, it helped, but until Emilia was confident in her role, she likely would spend more time at the Immortal Bastion than her predecessor then she would adjust to suit her preference.

He finished the review that Guile requested, setting it aside to be sent out the next day with no reason to relay it back to her. Just as the day ended, another of Guile's messengers appeared with yet another letter.

"Thank you, you're dismissed." He nodded to them, and it was as if they disappeared as soon as their presence was no longer needed. Swain broke the seal, taking the letter out with a breath of relief. No sigil on this paper, and he was thankful for it, he was tired enough without being yelled at again.

'Dear Jericho,

I will accept your apology and the dinner you offered, because it has been some time since we have spoken directly to each other, I would prefer it to remain one on one. You have more than enough time to bring Emilia to wherever you desire.

As for my injuries, I will require your assistance in attending your meal as I am still limited in my standing and walking. This is twofold if you plan to treat me to a restaurant, as even with my magic, I will struggle with stamina. I am sure that you are well acquainted with being at the mercy of your body.

Excuse my sudden request, but I would prefer our conversation be sooner rather than later. Is it possible that we can meet later tonight? It would be a lie to say I have not missed you, and the situation we left on was-.' Several words were written before being scratched out over and over. ‘Terrible. It would be a pleasant change to be free from being stuck inside.

I apologize for the harshness in my previous letter, and I promise there will be no dresser for me to throw at you at the venue you choose. Don't make me regret that.

Sincerely,

Quilletta'

Swain hadn't thought long or hard about being stuck within a house for days on end since he had been victim to the war. It often was too hard for him to get where he wished to go, and instead he opted to stay where he was even if it meant that he ended up worse off for his sedentary lifestyle. He wouldn't let Quilletta have to endure the same fate, if he could help, he would. Given how late the letter arrived, he had to be quick with writing a response.

'Quilletta,

Are you still at Darius's house or have you moved back to your home? I am happy to meet you where you are staying. Feel free to call my ravens if you are unable to write to me before I leave.

Swain'

He didn't bother with signing it off, nor sealing it. They didn't exactly have the time to worry about it, and he hated to call Guile's messengers any closer to the end of the day if he could avoid it. As he expected, no messenger had visited before he was getting his jacket on. He was exhausted, but he could push through it for Quilletta. and as he left his office, he saw a mask appear in front of him and he jumped out of his skin nearly.

"Em-Guile! You scared me, aren't you typically home by now?" He felt stupid for nearly saying her name, at the Immortal Bastion no less.

"She told me to come get you. She's not at either place you mentioned, and you won't find it unless I show you." Emilia said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along before he had any moment to catch up.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you forget that I live in Noxus Prime?"

"No, I just. uh, thought maybe you don't... Honestly Emilia, I don't know with you. You could say you have fifty houses, and I would need to believe you because honestly, I will have no idea otherwise." Jericho answered as they left the Immortal Bastion, Emilia taking off her mask once they were far enough away. Still pulling Swain along with her, he thought for sure that she would have a decently sized place in the middle class area of Noxus Prime, but they walked right through the area with no sign of stopping.

"Wait, we're still going?" Swain asked, confused by where they were even going. Leblanc didn't live in the slums, did she? Emilia Leblanc, willfully living in the working sector of Noxus Prime? It seemed completely unlikely.

"We're nearly there, just hold on." Emilia responded, following the twists and turns of the stone laid city as if she knew it by heart. Then she stopped in front of a building that was similar to a bungalow, but with the crowding of other buildings, it barely looked detached.

"Here? You live here?" Swain couldn't help feeling confused, it seemed, unlike her to choose such a place.

"Yes, do you have a problem with it?" She crossed her arms, and he shook his head.

"No, I just thought, you would choose a different area, that's all." Jericho shrugged.

"Yeah yeah, don't criticize until you see inside." Emilia unlocked the door and holding it for Jericho.

"Quilletta, Jericho is here." She called out, and Quilletta soon moved into view with her forearm crutches tucked away on the back of her wheelchair.

"Jericho, it's good to see you. Tonight, works for you?" She seemed antsy, and Swain attributed it to her wanting to get out of the house and Jericho understood why, he felt claustrophobic in Emilia's tiny abode or maybe it was because he was used to being in a manor so everything else felt too small.

"Of course. Emilia, will you be alright for tonight?" Swain checked, and Emilia laughed.

"I know how to cook, Jericho. There's no servants around here, as you can tell, no room for them."

"I just wanted to make sure my girlfriend was okay with me taking out another girl for dinner." Jericho said, pulling Emilia in for a kiss and she grew red in the face fast.

"Swain, you know I'm a lesbian, she has nothing to worry about." Quilletta chimed in, ramming into his leg with her wheels. "Can we go please?"

"Yes, we'll go now. See you later, Emilia. Quilletta needs a thousand desserts to free her from the mortal realm." Jericho chuckled, and Quilletta put her hands together in a prayer.

"Oh, Jericho Swain, you better bring me to a delicious dessert house, or I might have to haunt you."

"Both of you get too much mileage about of using my full name. I swear, it feels like I have my parents back constantly."

Finally, they parted, at first Jericho letting Quilletta push herself as she requested, before he pushed her for some of it. Once they got to the restaurant they had chosen, Quilletta got annoyed with trying to get in with her wheelchair and instead decided to move to her forearm crutches. Which allowed Swain to collapse the wheelchair and place it under their table out of the way.

"If you get me their most expensive dessert, I will forgive you asking Emilia to date you officially the first time you saw her again." Quilletta commented, and Jericho knew what he had offered when he had asked if she wanted to share a meal.

"Little did people know that Quilletta could be won over by sweets alone. That if there were enough desserts that you could get her to forgive you for anything." He teased, cringing when he saw what she had asked for. He decided that the numbers didn't exist, because otherwise he might sincerely regret his decision when the night was over.

"Not anything, just some things like forgiving one of my childhood friends for disrespecting the plan." Quilletta leaned forward, resting her upper body again the table.

"Why am I being punished for Emilia's choice?" He refuted, but Quilletta just stared at him with no expression.

"Because, that wasn't a conversation you two should've had the first time talking again. I've been trying to teach you all patience, but I can see you and Emilia are lost causes there." She waved over to the waiter for them to get drinks and decide what dinner they would go for.

"Alright, you can have that dessert. I want to know more about your situation with Emilia." He conceded, looking at Quilletta with an intense stare.

"What situation? She's just keeping care of me. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I know for a fact there is no second bedroom in that tiny place. Are you both sharing a bed?" Swain asked, and Quilletta looked away from him.

"Yeah, and? Are you saying that means anything? You both shared a bed as friends for plenty of nights, did you not?"

"You know I don't mind if you have a crush on her." He placed his hands together on the table.

"I um, no. We're just close, because of other things. You have nothing to go off of, so you have no idea." Yet, Quilletta was desperately drinking a glass of water like she was in a desert. It just made Jericho smile at her, deciding he wouldn't push anymore. Their food soon arrived, and they could focus on that instead.

"What made you both decide to move to Emilia's?" Swain asked, working into a piece of meat with his knife.

"Darius's place really needs some TLC and neither of us could deal with it, and well, I think Emilia likes smaller houses anyway. She's less flighty when we are there than when we were at your manor or Darius's. Not to mention that even if we were sleeping in different beds, she sometimes wakes up so scared that she ends up in my bed anyway." Quilletta rambled, looking over the dessert menu while she ate, her eyes on the prize.

"Nightmares, I imagine they won't go away anytime soon." Swain sighed.

"No, but she is handling them better each time as far as I can tell. Or maybe it's just because I'm more accessible than we were at Darius's. He insisted on sleeping on the floor you know? Gave up his bed and even when I offered it, he still declined. Acting as if we didn't have sleepovers before." She grumbled. "Is he trying to give himself a bad back? You shouldn't be sleeping on the floor either, don't think I forgot. Both of you need to keep better care of your bodies, you I can excuse, you have plenty of time to keep care of yourself, but Darius that man is going to be the death of me. He still acts like he's freshly in the military."

"Little did everyone know that your biggest weakness is how much you care, that's why you're so snippy." Jericho laughed, listening to her worry over them like a worried mother.

"Yeah, and none of you have parents which only makes this harder on me." She glared at him, but her forehead remained loose.

"Alright, grumpy, I'll buy you two desserts."

"How dare you think you can just coerce me with sweets."

"Each dessert, once." He watched as Quilletta absorbed his terms.

"And I take them for left overs." She answered, before Swain nodded.

"They are all yours."

Chapter 29

Summary:

Darius and Draven return to Noxus.

The boat ride to Ionia and back had been several weeks long, but luckily, it didn't seem to bother Darius much besides the fact he really wished he had invited Jericho to see him off. He thought he might have saw him, but he wasn't sure. Draven was due to come back with him for a break, then he would continue into other Noxian cities and so forth as he was wanted. An exchange of a show and a prisoner, simply done, and a spectacle to watch. He terribly missed Noxus, the steppes and their rocky landscape versus the Ionian wilds with its exotic colours in the foliage as well as the fauna. The place bloomed so brightly in magic that it seems unsurprising that those who lived there often grew with the magic that prospered around them.

Once he saw the Immortal Bastion, he could breathe easy, knowing it would just be a little bit longer.

"Homesick, Darius? Honestly when was the last time we left Noxus? Might have been the war." Draven chimed into his thoughts, leaning against the railing with his upper body and patting his brother on the back.

"Roughly then, I would say." Darius wasn't sure when was the last time, but if his homesickness had anything to say, it likely had been since the war as Draven speculated. He didn't respond to his brother's patting, it felt nice when he did that. In turn, he placed his hand on his little brother's head and shook his head.

"We should do this more often, it has been too long since it was just the two of us. As much as I love our little circle." Darius commented, he really was happy to see home less than an hour from where they were.

"What are you going to do when you get back? Are you two going to make it official?" Draven had been bothering him about the situation with Jericho for nearly the whole boat ride, and that was not even to mention all the things he wanted to know other than that. Where is Emilia staying? How fucked up did Quilletta get? Is she okay? If there was a question to be asked about, chances were that Draven had asked it at some point between the month they were in Ionia or the weeks on the boat.

"I don't know, Draven. I told you already, he was pushing off talking to me about our relationship for a whole month after you outed me. How is that fair to me? Emilia, at least, got his attention and his praise and shit. I got what? A kiss when he fucking hit me in the face with lightning, then nothing else?" Darius slammed his hand on the railing, before putting his hand to his eye. As he knew, it barely could make out figures despite being healed as best as he could manage.

"Honestly I didn't realize it was so bad, I thought I was bringing him closer to you, not further away. I'm sorry." Draven apologized, seeing his brother's anger and even with all the excuses he could make, he knew it was on him. "I should have done it at a different time, I don't know, a better time."

"You think there was a good time to talk to Jericho about feelings?" Darius scowled. "I will listen to what he has to say, but he has to make up for it. Quilletta was right that we needed to be apart for me to realize that he was using me."

"I don't think he was trying to use you, Darius. That's a bit of an overstatement, do you think?" His brother was trying his best to calm him, he knew that it was to try to avoid the confrontation that may come next when they landed at the pier.

"If he was telling the truth, that he loves me just as much as Emilia, then why was that all I got, Draven."

"I mean, Emilia was kidnapped and all that so he probably didn't realize just how badly it would hurt you. Maybe he took you for granted, maybe this break was enough to make him realize it." Darius growled in acknowledgement, he would decide what he felt when he saw Jericho's face. He might even considering punching him, depended on how he felt in the moment. He looked forward to seeing all three of them, he had missed them a lot.

-

It wasn't too long until they pulled into the dock, and he had to grab his and Draven's luggage. Draven had collected way too much, resulting in him becoming a pack mule with four pieces of luggage under his arms along with the rucksack that he had brought with his items in it. He led the way off the boat, thankful for the sea movement to be over. The paranoid fear of things falling over being elevated by steady ground. Draven saw Quilletta in front of Jericho and Emilia, passing by Darius. At first, Darius thought he was going to throw himself into Quilletta's arms, but when he saw she was using a cane, he actually stopped and thought better of it.

"You can still hug me, just be careful." Quilletta said, wrapping her arms around Draven and it looked like she was squeezing him as tightly as she could manage. "Have you been good to your brother?" She looked over to Darius and he let out a snort.

"If being the luggage horse, yes. He has been good." Darius placed the luggage down to also give a hug to Quilletta. Then Emilia gave him a big hug as well, whispering in his ear.

"We got a surprise for you at the manor." She said nothing else before pulling out of the hug and looking over to Jericho.

"Darius-" At first, it looked like he wanted to hug Darius but decided against it and offered his hand instead. Darius was honestly more than happy to do that instead of a hug, otherwise he would have wanted to decline for the time being, as much as he missed Swain.

"Will you two come to the Swain manor for the night? Don't worry, Draven, I got your favourite drinks, and they are ready for you." Quilletta asked, probably seeing the tenseness between Swain and him.

"Oh Quilletta, are you sure you're a lesbian because gosh, you'd be the best wife." Draven commented, and Quilletta slapped him.

"Don't you dare call me that, Draven. In your dreams, or maybe it'll be a nightmare because I would cook you alive before dating you."

"She just as mean as when we were kids, injury be damned." Draven muttered, putting his hand to his cheek.

"I don't know why you keep thinking that she is going to take you up on that." Darius responded, laughing at his brother's repetitive mistake. "Literally invoking the wrath of the blonde devil."

"Darius, I will kill you too if I have to. I can make you both your own fire spire, I think I know exactly where to start them. Emilia, be a dear and help me with making them their caskets!" Quilletta turned and went to head off, and Emilia looked between them and her.

"Is, she being serious? I can't tell sometimes." Emilia asked, but the stares from the childhood friends made her quickly run after Quilletta.

"It's good to see you back home, Darius. Genuinely. Is your eye doing alright?" Swain turned and they started walking together, Darius grabbing the luggage and throwing one of them at Draven.

"Hey!" Draven said, nearly dropping it.

"At least carry some of your shit, hoarder." He then turned his attention back to Jericho, struggling to decide how he felt about seeing him again. "My eye is doing as good as it can, it might as well be useless though." He ignored his brother's huffing and puffing, he knew it was all a ploy to make him do it, he was more than strong enough to carry his luggage especially only one bag.

"I'm really sorry that I did that to you."

"We're even, I nearly killed you after all. I imagine it scarred up really bad." Darius quickly said, he didn't want to linger on the injuries that the two had given each other. It also worked in his favour that his little brother was being quiet and not butting in for once. Probably didn't want to manipulate the situation, it was nice when he did think before doing.

"It did, I kept thinking about the ideas for stories you would come up with. I can't come up with anything special." Jericho chuckled, looking to Darius with a soft smile. "I really missed you, it feels wrong without my right hand man especially because I don't exactly have a right hand anymore." He glared at his demon hand. "I won't make excuses, and I won't ask you to forgive me. We should have had our conversation sooner." Darius grabbed his arm, making them stop.

"Swain, did you ever sit down and think about us? Have you thought about how you feel about me? Or are you just reciprocating because you can't stand the idea of me liking you that way without returning it? How can I trust that you aren't just doing this because Draven outed me? You like Emilia, I'm sure you both have already made up, but we didn't have that, you were told how I felt and..." Darius let out a deep breath. "I don't want to force myself into your home life, if we are to stay friends, rip the band aid off now. You know I can handle it, but now that you know how I feel, I can't handle not knowing how you feel." Draven had continued on, leaving the two of them alone.

"I will admit, how I feel about you and Emilia is different, but that is because we've known each other for longer. I don't even know how my life would be without you. If I didn't have your help when Emilia ran away, if I didn't have your help with Darkwill. Name anything, we did together, I would never have gotten to where I am now without you. I know that this doesn't answer your question, but I want to find us in that feeling." Jericho answered, and Darius felt uncertain.

"I don't think that we are ready to say we're any more than friends. We never even got to the point where we entertained the idea of dating, I can't make that commitment without knowing. I can't trust you until you prove yourself, that you aren't just grabbing on to me because you're scared, I will leave you if you don't feel the same. I will be in your life either way, Swain. I won't abandon you again unless you beg me to leave." They stood there for a few moments before Jericho spoke.

"Then I will prove it. We will build it before we test it. You're not Emilia and I shouldn't have treated you both the same, I was stupid to think that my strong coolheaded friend would jump into a relationship as soon as we knew that we liked each other. We'll do it your way, and I'll be patient just like you always are."

"Yeah, dumb ass, I'm nothing like Emilia." Darius flicked Jericho in the side of the head and Swain gave him a small glare, but it was so easy to see how fake it was.

"You're not, and that's also why I like you."

Chapter 30

Summary:

The gang has a party, and Draven can't help being nosy.

Darius couldn't quite believe the surprise when he arrived at the manor, he was so used to choosing a spot that struggled to accommodate him. He was quite a bit bigger than most Noxians, and that was even if furniture came in Noxus sizes. Yet as he came into the Swain manor, and saw the seating arrangements, he saw what looked almost exactly like his chair at his own home themed to fit Jericho's own style.

"You made it like the other one? That must have been expensive, you didn't need to do that. Wait, you're a noble, that doesn't matter or?" Darius's disbelief making him ramble like an idiot.

"Darius, I wanted you to be as comfortable here as you are at your own home." Jericho seemed to take joy in his wordlessness, and he was thankful that he could hear the others in the kitchen. Not there to witness him surprised.
"Thank you, Jericho. Do you mind if I sit down?" He asked, and Jericho shook his head and moved over to him.

"Of course not. Sit down, I'll deal with your luggage." Jericho grabbed some of the luggage, and the rest he used his powers to lift up.

"You could have done that for me earlier."

"Would you have let me?" Swain lifted his eyebrows knowingly at him.

"No, but the offer would have appreciated."

Quilletta soon returned back to the room, limping with her cane to sit down at the closest seat.

"Fuck, I shouldn't have walked that. I thought the pier would be a quick and easy walk." She growled, leaning against the arm rest of the couch.

"Do you need anything?" Darius asked, ready to get up. Quilletta shook her head.

"You just got back, don't worry, Emilia has me covered. Emilia, bring some tea please!" She called out before Draven and Emilia returned to the living room. Draven with a beer, and Emilia with a teapot and some cups.

"Quilletta, you didn't need to yell, you knew I was bringing it." Emilia poured her a cup and prepared it for her, so it was obvious that Emilia did this for her often.

"Wait, are you two a thing?" Draven narrowed his eyes at the women.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about Draven, Emilia just helps me out. Right?" Quilletta glanced to Emilia and the raven-haired woman shrugged.

"If you said that a month ago, I would agree, but now I'm starting to wonder it too." Emilia rebutted before she turned her attention to Darius. "Do you want tea, wine, beer, or whatever? Jericho keeps everything well stocked."

"A beer would be more than fine. Thank you, Emilia. Quilletta, be nice, thank her at least." Darius narrowed his eyes at Quilletta, disappointed in how she ordered Emilia around.

"I thank her all the time, she works so hard and-"

"Quilletta, do I have to remind you to stop ordering my girlfriend around the house like a servant, again?" Jericho called down from the stairs.

"Not this again, both of you, it's fine!" Emilia spoke up to interrupt the argument, pushing her fingers into her forehead. "We're not fighting over this, not when Draven and Darius just got back."

"Honestly arguing is our second language at this point. Sometimes I wonder if we were born arguing." Draven added in, and Emilia just gave him a harsh stare before going back into the kitchen.

"Quilletta, don't tell me you talk to her like that and you're not dating. I'm hurt that you criticize me for that kind of behaviour while you're being a hypocrite." Draven started, giving a coy smile at Quilletta.

"I'm not a hypocrite, and we're not dating. Jericho, tell Draven how it works." She tried to pawn it off on Swain as he came down the stairs.

"We're not having this conversation, you're more likely to end up six feet under. Also, Quilletta, you can't order me around either."

"You already did it, Jericho." Quilletta devilishly smiled at him and Darius ended up laughing loudly, stopping the talking.

"I really missed this." He said once he could stop laughing. They looked like they were going to start talking about it, but Emilia had returned and the two had decided to not speak further about it. Leblanc held a wine bottle with some more glasses as well as Darius's beer. She put down the wine bottle and glasses before handing Darius his drink.

"There you go." She said, before pouring two glasses of red wine. She handed one to Jericho, who took his armchair and Emilia sat down beside Quilletta.

"Let me guess, you all were talking about me while I was in the other room. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so quiet right now." Emilia immediately found out, scanning their reactions.

"It's kind of hard not to, when Quilletta orders you about like that." Draven was the only one to have the guts to say it.

"Look, I sometimes forget to say thank you, I make it up to you, don't I, Emilia?" Quilletta immediately went on the defensive and Darius just sipped at his beer, amused and enjoying such low risk arguing. It certainly made him feel at home.

"Sometimes you make it up to me, other times you forget to do that too. But we're not talking about this, not now. Gosh, you all are a nightmare." Darius recognized that tone of voice, it was a warning that she was planning on leaving the room if they continued.

"Yes, if Emilia doesn't want to talk about it, we won't, Draven." He warned his brother with an emphasis on his name.

"Why are you acting like it's my fault? Aren't you curious as well?" Oh, his oblivious younger brother was sometimes too much for Darius to cope with.

"I said enough!" Emilia shattered her glass in her hand, making her spill it on herself. She got up, avoiding Quilletta trying to grab her arm and shooting Swain a glance, stopping him from getting up anymore than he already did. She stopped upstairs and left all of them in silence.

"Draven, I was trying to get you to stop before you did that." Darius grumbled.

"She's a tad sensitive, isn't she?"

"Do you really think she was ready to have that conversation with all of us right now?" Jericho sighed, taking a sip of his wine.

"Honestly all of you are too sensitive." Draven murmured, taking a swig of his beer. "Never would I think that my childhood friends would struggle so badly with relationships. It isn't that complicated." Draven shrugged, but he only got sour stares in response.

"She said, to stop talking about her, Draven. Do I need to drill boundaries into your brain?" Quilletta reminded, taking a deep breath. "Tell us about Ionia, it's been a long time since Jericho, and I have been out that way. Has it changed much?"

Darius was thankful they finally had gotten Draven off his gossip fixation and onto a better topic. He could then just listen to his little brother ramble on and on about his victories with the amount of commentary that parallelled that of a sports commentator. He wondered about Emilia, and if she was alright, but considering her warning to Quilletta and Swain, he reconsidered getting up to speak with her.

He had hoped that she would return later on in the evening, but as time went on, it became clearer that Leblanc had no intention of returning.

"I need to head to bed, the couch is starting to hurt." Quilletta was the first to turn in for the night, while the three men continued on for quite a few hours longer until it was well past midnight. Draven had fallen asleep during a pause in conversation on the couch, leaving Darius and Swain the only two awake.

"I'm sorry about Draven, again." Darius sighed, he was tired of having to constantly say that following a night of drinking.

"We'll have to teach him how to apologize, you can't keep apologizing for him, Darius." Jericho commented, pouring himself the last of the wine bottle.

"I wish it were that simple, he finds an excuse for everything. I'll talk with him tomorrow, and I'll get him to apologize properly."

"I should check in with her, she's probably asleep already." Jericho pushed himself to his feet.

"Jericho, what is going on between them?" Darius genuinely wanted to know, not just because of curiosity, but out of worry for his friends.

"I wish I could say, but their relationship is somehow more complicated than our own. Your bed is ready at the end of the hall when you're ready to turn in."

"Sleep well, Jericho."

"Sleep well, Darius, I'll see you in the morning."

Chapter 31

Emilia bandaged up her hand after she had made sure to get any glass out of her hand, she forced herself into the shower to get rid of the wine smell that lingered on her after she changed. She tried to get the wine out of the dress she had chosen, but the cuts in her hand made working the stain out painful. So, she threw it out instead, too frustrated to deal with it any longer.

Why did they have to talk about her? What did it matter that she helped Quilletta? Isn't that the least she could do considering all she had done? Why did Swain have to tell Quilletta off in front of them? Then they talked about her the moment she had stepped away, like it didn't matter. She had more than enough people talk about her behind her back, but she was unpracticed to hearing it happen by her boyfriend and his friends.

Emilia pulled the covers up over her shoulders, curling up in her spot. She was tired anyway, she had put a lot of work into making sure everything looked good and that Quiletta was cared for. 'You can't order her around like that and not be dating her.' Draven's words made her wonder if it was such an odd thing. When she had started to help Quilletta, she hadn't thought anything of it, she owed Quilletta and Quilletta needed her help.

It wasn't odd until Jericho had asked for her to start living with him again, then things started to get confusing. Quilletta grew restless, snippier and over all was in more pain despite needing less support. Then Swain started getting annoyed by Quilletta asking for help constantly for anything that he thought she could do for herself, whether that was true or not was a different issue entirely. Jericho didn't demand things of her in the same way that Quilletta did, yet from what Draven said, that was more of something a couple would do. Was she supposed to be upset that Quilletta needed her?

Even as she laid there in bed, she couldn't help but think that Quilletta might need her. They had spent so many nights in the same bed that it all became second nature, not that different from how Jericho may have felt about her when it was closer to her rescue. Quilletta acted like she knew better, and she was falling into the same pitfalls it seemed. Emilia dozed off into light sleep, only waking up when Jericho came into the room. She didn't move, she didn't really want to talk to him, especially not about her leaving.

He moved around the room, getting ready for bed in the dark. He climbed in bed and moved to drape an arm over her, taking her arm to check on her hand. She continued pretending to be asleep, but she wasn't any good at that.

"Emilia, I love you." He whispered, giving her a kiss on her forehead. She grunted in response, and he pulled her tighter in his arms.

"I love you too. I wish you and Quilletta would stop fighting over me. I'm yours, am I not? What does it matter if I keep care of her? I owe her so much, Jericho. I don't care if she doesn't thank me, she gave me this. You." She grabbed his arm and pulled it into her chest. "I hate seeing you two argue about me."

"I... I'm not jealous of her. You live here, you are the head woman of this manor, Em. You're not some servant that has to run around all day long tending to this place. Don't lie to me, I know you didn't use the money I gave you to get help with cleaning."

"You think I don't know what it's like to be a matron? It's my decision how I want to treat our guests, and if I want to serve them like a servant, I will." She pushed away his arm and kicked him away from her. "If you want me to act a certain way to fit your understanding about what a head woman of a household should do, then I will show you how unsuitable an option you chose."

"Em, why are you acting like this? I'm just saying that Quilletta isn't in charge of you because she saved you. She can't order you around because this isn't her manor, it's yours. I was trying to remind you of that." Jericho sounded so crestfallen, but she could tell it was partially the wine talking.

"Thank you for the reminder, goodnight." Emilia pulled the blanket tight around herself.

"I don't want you pushing yourself so hard. You don't need to prove yourself to me, you don't need to perform to make Quilletta happy. You can say no."

"What would you have me do, Swain? She falls and asks for help, and I leave her there? She can't get herself food and you suggest me to let her starve?"

"It's not that black and white, not everything she asks you to do for her is needed. Em..." He tried to put his hand on her shoulder again and she swatted it away.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to hear it, I said I didn't want to talk about it, and you all seem to think you know how this should work when you don't understand!" She went to get up, and her eyes shined gold in the dark. Jericho grabbed her by her wrist.

"Em, where are you going? It's the middle of the night." He tried to coax her back into bed.

"I'm going to see if I'm needed." She huffed, ripping his hand off hers before leaving the room. Leblanc sighed, pushing the door open to Quilletta's room, hoping she wouldn't say anything.

"Hmm? Who?" A sleepy voice called out, and Emilia climbed onto the bed to wrap herself around Quilletta.

"Emilia, what... Is everything okay?" Her words were seeping with exhaustion, and Emilia shook her head.

"I just want to go to bed."

"Okay, goodnight." Quilletta wrapped her own arms around Emilia's, rubbing her fingers lethargically before she dozed back off.

---

Of course, the next morning was made into a mess, because of her. She unintentionally pitted the two against each other, and she wanted nothing more for them to stop caring about her so much. Their constant worries, their constant arguing, it drove her mad. It felt like she couldn't breathe without one of them accusing the other for wronging her in some way.

"Em, can we talk?" Jericho asked while Emilia was folding laundry, something to keep her mind busy while Quilletta was eating. She had gotten up before her and had prepared her breakfast along with some pain medicine. It was their usual schedule, and she had also made some for herself and Jericho, but they usually didn't eat immediately upon waking up.

"Is it about Quilletta? Then no. I'm not talking about her with you." She immediately dismissed his request, not looking up at him while she folded.

"We can't keep ignoring this. I refuse to ignore this." He stepped closer to her, but she didn't look at him.

"Jericho, why does this matter? I don't care, I will keep care of her as long as I live. As far as I'm concerned, she owns me."

"Em, that is exactly the problem, your worth isn't determined by any one thing. Your magic, and you keeping care of Quilletta? All of that doesn't decide your worth at all." Jericho grabbed her arm, and she slapped it off her.

"Stop touching me when I'm talking to you, Jericho Swain!" She glared at him, and he stepped back. "I owe her everything, I made her lose everything so the least my useless body can do is give her my life in turn. I don't care that you think I don't owe her that. I wish she didn't save me, so I don't have to regret living. I wish that you both left me to die because I deserve it for everything I did!" She pressed her hands to her face, unable to stop herself from crying.

"Emilia. Love, I didn't know it had gotten this bad." Jericho settled down in front of her on the floor, reaching out his hand to leave it close to her if she wanted.

"I thought that if I did enough, that I gave her all my attention, that if I kept care of her that it would get rid of this feeling. It would make it, so I didn't feel so guilty. It got worse when we came here, she started to forget to thank me, she started demanding rather than asking and I... Jericho, I don't want to live like this. I can't stand this, I don't want to be here." Emilia cried, getting off the couch to climb into Jericho's lap and shove her face into his chest. He put his hand on the back of her head, holding her tightly. She lifted her head, glancing to the dining room and spotting Quilletta there.

"Quilletta, I-I..." Emilia reached out as Quilletta disappeared from her view, using her magic to leave. "Quilletta, please come back, I didn't mean it, I just." She tried to break from Jericho's arms, but he held her tighter.
"Em, stay, nothing will come out of you running after her." He said with finality.

"Jericho, you fucking asshole, what if she gets hurt? What if she collapses, don't you care for her?"

"I do, Emilia, but you're going to hurt yourself." She tried to pull herself free, but her boyfriend didn't allow her to budge. She just started crying even worse, she pushed the top of her head into his chest and sobbed. Her tears and snot dripping down off her nose, her face looked terrible and only furthered her sadness.

"She needs me. Jericho, please, she needs me so bad." He continued holding her.

"Em, it's okay. It will be okay." Jericho whispered, putting his hand through her hair while the other held onto her. "You don't need to do any of this, you're worth so much, I wish you knew how much you mean to us. I love you." He whispered, stroking her hair while she calmed down. "I'll do the rest of the laundry, you've done enough, dear." Jericho pulled back so he could caress her cheek, and Emilia leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.

"I'm worried about her, we should go looking for her." Emilia said, wrapping her arms around his arm.

"She won't let herself be found. I've known Quilletta for a long time, and every time she does this, no one is able to find her for as long as she wishes to be gone. There's a reason why was chosen as Guile, no one could disappear like she could, other than yourself." Swain explained, giving her a quick peck. "She will be back, and she will be fine."

"I... I'm not used to not having anything to do." Emilia admitted, getting up so they could try off the hard ground.

"There is part of your problem, let's find us something to do." Jericho told her, and she nodded. Her eyes drifting to the door, she really hoped that Jericho was right that Quilletta would be okay without her. She didn't feel convinced, and she sorely missed her constant shadow.

Chapter 32

She had wondered about her relationship with Emilia plenty of times, and she had thought there was more to it the more it kept being pointed out. What Emilia said that day would haunt her, Quilletta suddenly didn't know what was real anymore. She had taken her mobility aids and bag with her, and with all the difficulty of having to get everything to stay where it needed to. She used her magic to avoid the gazes of the lower class Noxians that she passed by as she made her way to Emilia's place.

"Do you want your key back?" Quilletta had asked her when they had decided to move to the Swain manor permanently.

"No, I have my copy, and I think I would like for you to be able to access this place when you need it." Emilia responded, and Quilletta had felt honoured in that moment. A whole month where it had been them together in that small house.

It took a lot of work to get her stuff in the door and into the living room, causing her to have to twist and turn too much for her back to handle. It also didn't change the fact that she had to go up to the stairs to the bedroom that the two of them had shared with no thoughts about it. She made her journey up the stairs, whining with every step that she had to conquer while using her forearm crutches. Quilletta barely made it to the bed before she felt exhaustion and pain grabbing at her like a frenzied predator. It still smelled like Emilia, and that was enough for Quilletta to climb into the bed and sob.

How much did Emilia do because she felt like Quilletta owned her? How much of their memories were fake? Had that been growing in the background the whole time? That was to ignore the fact Quilletta still had no idea if Emilia was interested in a polyamorous relationship, because she was okay with Swain dating Darius didn't mean that she was automatically polyamorous. Most of the time, it didn't feel like Emilia showed any interest in anyone except Swain. Then she would remember the moments that made her heart flutter like butterflies taking off.

Quilletta would remember the way she tended to Quilletta's wounds, how her hand would shake or how she would freeze up when Quilletta took her shirt off to make the process easier. The gaze that the two had shared a few times when sleeping face to face, her golden eyes shining so brightly in the dark. The reassurances and comfort. It was fake. There was no way for her to know what Emilia had felt, but she never thought that she made Emilia think she was so dreadfully indebted to her. That night previously Emilia had come to her, having a fight with Swain from what Quilletta could figure out. Did Emilia care about her truly? How much of their relationship had been affected by the cavity?

Quilletta wanted to be wrong, she wanted to wake up and see Emilia. To kiss her and say that no nightmares would get to her. It had been so simple when, as much as she hated to say it, Jericho and Emilia weren't talking. Maybe she was jealous, or maybe she felt completely inadequate and how she lacked everything that Swain had. She wasn't Guile anymore, she wasn't a noble. That was ignoring her physical disabilities which only made her feel more inadequate. Karma was cruel, she must have been paid back in full for inferring that Emilia was worthless because she didn't have magic. She had never said it to Emilia, she had came around and realized how wrong she had been, but yet somehow Emilia ended up feeling worthless anyway. Quilletta wiped away her tears and curled up with the raven-haired woman's pillow. If anyone should have felt useless, it should have been her.

The pain from her back made it nearly impossible to move more than a little bit each day, and the more times she took the trip between upstairs and downstairs, it nearly made her stuck where she lost the rest of her energy. She had been forced to skip meals, skip hydration, and especially skip caring for her hygiene because if she couldn't manage to feed herself and drink. Then how would she make it through something even more exhausting like getting clean. Only a few days into her being away from Emilia and she could feel herself wasting away, her exhaustion always at the forefront of her mind. Not to mention that she didn't have any pain relief anymore because she didn't even know what Emilia had used previously. She needed to go back, but her fear of how Emilia would respond made her terrified to make her way back to the manor. Would Jericho even allow her after what Emilia said?

Emilia wanted to die because of her, she was suffering because of her and if she went back, she wouldn't blame Swain for kicking her out. It was only fair. She had overstayed her welcome, so she would pay the price. Quilletta opened up the window, she seriously doubted that Jericho's ravens were within hearing distance, but she tried their call anyway. A few minutes later and it was obvious that they were much too far away. She would need to call for her messengers, which often was easier said than done.

She decided that a letter would be the best that she could do.

'Dearest Emilia Leblanc and Jericho Swain,' She stared at it, glaring daggers into the blank paper. What could she even say? She couldn't think of a single thing, there was no words to say in response to what Emilia had said. No matter how much she thought, nothing came, she would start a sentence to just scratch it out because nothing would come out the right way.

'Emilia, I love you a lot. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I'm sorry that I made you feel like you were my slave. I'm sorry that I stopped saying thank you. I'm sorry I started ordering you around. I'm sorry that I never realized how terrible I was being. I'm sorry for it all. I can barely function without you, and I didn't realize how bad it would be. You made my life so much easier, and I don't expect you to care for me any longer. I don't expect Swain to even let me in his manor, I wronged you. I love you, I would have done what I did a thousand times over if I had the chance. I would give up my magic to give it to you if I had that opportunity. You don't deserve what I did to you.

I'm where the roses bloom. I am sure you know exactly where that is. If you still wish to see me.' She decided that it was the best she could draft, sending it off to be delivered. Quilletta was worried, terrified even that Emilia wouldn't come, that she would have to continue her punishment, and she was so tired.

She was spared such cruelties, hearing the door unlock, open and close. Quilletta sat up in bed, wishing she looked even slightly presentable. Her eyes were probably bloodshot, she was dreadfully thin, and she hadn't changed clothes recently either. Emilia opened the bedroom door, their eyes meeting and Quilletta immediately started crying seeing her golden eyes and makeup.

"You came." Quilletta stammered, not moving from where she sat.

"Quilletta, I was so worried." Emilia gasped, climbing quickly onto the bed to envelope Quilletta into her arms. "You idiot, I thought you were smarter than this, why would you do this to yourself?" Emilia's voice wavered as she spoke, betraying the emotion lingering beneath.

"I... I didn't want to use you anymore."

"I would hate for you to not ask for my help." Emilia pulled out of the hug to look the mage in the face, Quilletta looked at her with tears in her eyes. "I love you too, that's why it all hurt so much to know what pain you're in."

"Does Jericho know? Is it okay to kiss you?" Quilletta wanted to kiss her, but she was uncertain about doing so without making sure first. Emilia took Quilletta's face in her hands and kissed her instead of responding, and Quilletta melted into her touch. So happy to smell the fresh scent of her, she probably looked like a star-struck puppy.

"Emila, I'm sorry." Quilletta repeated as Emilia pulled away after a few moments of kissing.

"It'll be okay, we'll figure out a better way to accommodate us both. Have you been eating? You also honestly smell horrible." Emilia said it with such genuine worry that Quilletta didn't even take it as an insult.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" Quilletta asked, unsure about it, but Emilia nodded.

"Jericho said that he would help too, so it's not just me caring for you." Emilia responded, rubbing her thumb across Quilletta's cheek.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything." She couldn't help, but cry more for Emilia's kindness.

"Thank you for saving my life." Emilia whispered, kissing her on her head.