Battle Academia (The original one)

Chapter 53: Death's hand

"Where are you taking me? What is going on"?

The guards opened her cell that morning without answering the frightened girl's questions. Instead they dragged her across what seemed like a luxurious mansion.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized who her cellmate was. It was none other than Marcus DuCuteau. The former principal of Durrandal's God-Weapon Academy. And Katarina's father.

His clothes were torn and dirty. He seemed like he hadn't eaten in a long time. Luxanna shuddered at the thought of what he must had been through. Mental images of the man being tortured to his breaking point flashed before her eyes. He had been missing for almost a year now. It was a common secret among the school body, but at this point everyone presumed he was dead. But that was something that she would never dare to tell Katarina.

She tried to talk to him. Find out what happened yet the man would only ever let out confused grunts as he was drooling all over his chin. His stare was blank. The redhead could tell that he didn't recognize who she was even if she'd lived just across the street for all of her life. His mind seemed broken.

They had taken her to a large room. She immediately spotted a kingsize bed and a big closet. Every sheet, every carpet and every painting ornating the walls looked way too expensive. The guards ordered her to bathe and get formally dressed before they ultimately locked her inside.

Lux stood at the closed door waiting to hear something. Check if there were any guards posted outside. She needed to try to escape. She could still use her powers but without her staff.. she had no control over it. She might've ended up killing someone innocent or even herself if she wasn't careful with it.

She heard her stomach growl as she sat on the soft mattress. Where am I? She buried her face in her hands and wept silently for a moment. It didn't take long for her to snap out of it. She took a deep breath, then followed the guards' instructions.

They opened her door without bothering to knock first. Luxanna followed them obediently to wherever it was that they were taking her. She was wearing a long black dress with no details whatsoever apart from a small silver flower embroidered on the center of the bustier.

Luxanna had heard stories about the Noxian usurper. He may not have been in power for that long, yet he had somehow already succeeded in starting wars and conquering lands. All in the name of his vision of a mighty Noxian empire. What she had never seen coming, however, was that she'd ever see the man in the flesh. Let alone live to share the story.

Jericho Swain was standing across the room, looking out a big window. A large table with sets of plates and cutlery was placed at the center.

"Ah the future queen of Demacia! Good to have you here", Swain said casually when he noticed her presence.

Luxanna noticed four chairs around the table, yet the only people there were her and the usurper. She clenched her teeth. Swain wore no sign of rank apart from his scars. A telltale sign of his life as a soldier. His arms were folded in his long, black coat that was draped over his shoulders. His hair were slick and white and his gaze piercing.

Lux felt the tiny hair in the back of her neck stand as she realized how mortal the grand general actually looked.

"Come on now don't be shy have a seat", the man urged her with a smile before he himself took a seat at the head of the table.

Her heart was beating in her ears and an unpleasant knot was stuck in her throat. She wanted to know where she was. What was happening. But for the first time in a while Lux couldn't bring herself to say anything back to him.