hex |jinx [on hold]

iii.

hex | chapter three

Nova, aged ten

An ominous sound could be heard from the fog surrounding Nova's trembling body. Someone was singing, a melancholic melody that flew in between bodies and destruction. A tune so soft that could be wrongly mistaken for a happy summer song.

That voice was anything but cheery. It was haunting, like a child's tune to keep nightmares away. Unfortunately, this nightmare was very real and wouldn't disappear with a simple lullaby.

And Nova's nightmare was the biggest of them all.

Lying in a pool of blood -her own mixed with someone else's- Nova couldn't move. She felt something on her chest, pressing her body against the cold cement of the bridge. Her eyes hurt from the tears that had fallen and her head felt like it was going to burst at any moment.

"He-help?" Nova tried to call out but in between all the cries and yells, her whisper was inaudible.

Her right hand was strangely cold, gripped by another set of frigid hands. As her vision started getting blurry, Nova could finally understand the weight on her body.

Her mother, who had tried to cover her daughter with her own body, was now dead on top of her. Slowly letting the tears fall from her dirty cheeks, Nova cursed her bad luck and stupidity. Her father was nowhere to be seen, but the girl couldn't move her head around to check.

Nova could only guess her hand was being gripped by her father's. And by the coldness of it, he wasn't breathing.

Just like her mother. And everyone else around her.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

Why didn't she stay put?

___

A few hours before

Explosions could be heard from The Last Drop, where Nova and her parents sat alongside the owner -and the sweet girl's godfather-, Vander. The adults had been discussing a possible gathering around the bridge extending between Piltover and The Lanes.

The girl had zoned out once her mother covered her ears at a grotesque joke Vander had made. Not that Nova wasn't used to her godfather's sense of humour, but her mother needn't know that.

"It seems our plan has been stolen." Nova's father snickered, dismissing the situation. "Too bad we're not going through with it."

Her mother soon followed, both grabbing their drinks and downing them in seconds. It wasn't like them to ignore trouble, much less when it could be involving their people. Nova believed it was the alcohol speaking and not her parents' disinterest and lack of compassion.

At least that's what the girl chose to believe.

"We have to go." Nova looked from her parents to her godfather. "What if they need help?"