lose
Summer of Noxus 977
A year of military service, like a rough millstone, smoothed away some of Draven's boyish features, but failed to erase his rebellious spirit. At thirteen, he had grown taller, but was still below the average height of a Noxian soldier; his lean frame, encased in the smallest size leather armor, still appeared somewhat empty. However, no one dared underestimate him because of his height anymore. The wildness in his eyes hadn't faded; instead, it had become even sharper, like a falcon ready to pounce.
This was a rare short rest, giving the two brothers the opportunity to return to Besilico. Twenty-one-year-old Darius, his shoulders increasingly broad, exuded a quiet authority and was already a highly respected corporal in the army. This return home was both a responsibility and a solace for him—twenty-year-old Quelletta awaited him. Quelletta had been assigned to another garrison and would also be returning to Besilico.
For Draven, this journey home had only one meaning: Alice.
The moment the carriage entered Besilico territory, Draven's heart was already in Riverside Village. He didn't even wait for the carriage to come to a complete stop north of the town before impatiently jumping down and sprinting towards Riverside Village, leaving Darius with only a rapidly receding silhouette and a cloud of dust. Darius watched the direction his brother had disappeared in and shook his head helplessly.
Pushing open the familiar courtyard gate, the afternoon sun lazily spilled into the neatly tidied yard. Laurie was hanging out the laundry; seeing the travel-worn Draven, she smiled timidly, her hands continuing their work. Winnie came out of the house at the sound of the commotion, her face bearing the weariness of years of labor, but her eyes holding an almost numb calm. Draven's gaze swept past them, urgently landing on the eaves—there, on a cushioned chair, sat the figure he had longed for day and night.
Alice saw him too. Her eyes, which had been gazing absently at the treetops outside the courtyard, instantly lit up, as if stars had fallen into them. A bright smile spread across her face, and she excitedly waved to him: "Little De!"
At that moment, all the dullness, oppression, and inexplicable restlessness in the military camp vanished with that clear call. Draven stretched into a carefree yet genuine smile and strode over. He habitually reached out, intending to ruffle her hair as he always did, but stopped halfway. Alice before him seemed to have changed again; her baby fat had faded further, her facial features were more defined, and her long, silvery-white hair shimmered softly in the sunlight. In the end, he only awkwardly touched the ends of her hair with his fingers and chuckled, "Oh, you've grown taller."
The next two days were the most relaxing time Draven had had in nearly a year. Darius and the returning Quelletta went to Black Rock Lake to enjoy some rare time alone. Draven, on the other hand, took Iris and explored almost every fun place he could think of near Besilico.
With the money he had saved from frugal living in the army, he rented a gentle mare. He carefully lifted Alice onto the horse's back, sat behind her, and held the reins, letting the horse carry them slowly along a country road. Alice was a little nervous at first, clinging tightly to his arm, but she was soon captivated by the scenery and giggled incessantly.
He also took her to the city market. The market was bustling and noisy, and everything was new and exciting to Alice. At a stall selling trinkets and trinkets, she spotted a hairband adorned with colorful glass beads, her eyes sparkling with delight. Draven followed her gaze, and without a word, pulled out a few coins and bought it. "Like this? Easy!" He picked up the hairband, his movements not particularly skillful, but he carefully tied it around her hair, awkwardly making a knot. "Draven, is it pretty?" Alice looked up, her eyes sparkling.
"Beautiful! Alice looks good in everything!" Draven grinned, his tone exaggerated yet sincere. "When I, Draven, achieve great things and make a fortune, I'll buy you a whole box of them, so you can wear a different one every day!"
"Little De is the best!" Alice happily leaned over and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
He led her to a high point overlooking the bay, pointed at the shimmering sea, put his hands on his hips, and faced the sea breeze with an air of dominance: "Just wait, Alice, see? When Draven achieves great feats and becomes a general, he'll buy this entire sea and give it to you! Then we can do whatever we want!"
What they lingered most at was the seaside. On summer evenings, the salty sea breeze caressed their faces. Draven, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, sat quietly on a rock, watching Alice sit on the sandy ground covered with planks, excitedly pointing at the seagulls flying by, chattering about the new lambs that had arrived in the village, the new knitting techniques her sister Laurie had learned, and Aunt Winnie's occasional faint smile. He would occasionally chime in, exaggerating the tedious training in the military camp into thrilling adventures, of course, automatically omitting all the beatings, solitary confinement, and scoldings.
He showed her how to skip stones, the pebble leaping nimbly across the water's surface and flying far away. Once, a pebble accidentally struck a small fish leaping out of the water, eliciting clapping and exclamations from Alice. He then proudly performed a backflip, only to land on a slippery seashell and fall flat on his backside, while the seagulls nearby seemed to cackle mockingly. Alice was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, while Draven himself scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.
Alice watched the people playing in the shallows, her eyes filled with longing. Draven then joined her in the water, and in the knee-deep water, he took her hand and taught her how to splash around clumsily. Strangely enough, Alice felt dizzy standing on solid land, but the buoyancy of the water made her feel much more at ease.
They played until it was completely dark. Draven carried the tired Alice and sat on a large rock to enjoy the breeze. The cool summer sea breeze quickly dried their damp shirts. The not-so-bright moonlight shone on the beach, making everything hazy. Alice frequently turned her head to look at another dark rock about twenty meters away.
“Draven,” she tugged at Draven’s sleeve and whispered, “why is that stone glowing?”
Draven squinted in the direction she pointed, but saw nothing but the blurry outlines of rocks in the moonlight. "Where? Which rock? Is it a firefly?" he guessed, thinking that Alice was indulging in her wild imagination again, perhaps seeing a glowing jellyfish or a phosphorescent creature, or maybe even making up a story about crabs and bioluminescent algae.
“That’s it!” Alice insisted, pointing in that direction. “There are two little people talking over there! Tiny, and twinkling!”
Draven strained to open his eyes, but the darkness remained silent. He was just about to laugh at her, wondering if she was still half asleep, when suddenly, something unexpected happened!
On the pitch-black sea, several lights suddenly appeared without warning! They weren't fishing lights, but the shadows of ships rapidly approaching! Several warships flying the flag of Fendo City tore through the night like ghosts, silently approaching the port of Besilico! The two Noxian patrol warships anchored in the port didn't even have time to raise their sails before the enemy ships opened fire!
boom!
The first cannon shot, like a thunderclap, shattered the tranquility and peace of the beach!
Draven's smile froze. The sheer shock left his mind blank for a moment. Then came a second, a third… a series of muffled booms as black shells, trailing piercing whistles, tore through the night sky and rained down on Besilico's dock area!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
The dock area was instantly engulfed in flames, the explosion's flames illuminating half the sky, and thick smoke billowed up! The ground trembled violently from the explosion, and scorching blasts of air, carrying debris and sand, rushed towards us!
"Oh no!!" Draven's pupils constricted sharply, his adrenaline surged, and his survival instinct and the thought of protecting Alice overwhelmed everything. He scooped Alice up in his arms, jumped off the rocks, and charged frantically toward where the horses were tethered.
But the attack came too fast and too hard! A shell landed on the beach not far from them with a terrifying whistling sound and exploded! The huge shockwave, like an invisible hammer, slammed into Draven's back!
"Ugh!" Draven felt a tremendous force and was thrown away while holding Alice! The world spun wildly and buzzed in his ears as his back slammed heavily onto the sand. The intense pain and suffocation instantly overwhelmed him.
Alice let out a short scream in his arms, and was also dizzy from the shock.
After a brief period of disorientation, Draven struggled to his feet with sheer willpower. The ringing in his ears persisted, and the sounds of explosions, cracking wood, and distant screams filled the air. He saw the horse, frightened, pacing anxiously back and forth. Gritting his teeth, he mustered all his strength to mount the still somewhat dazed Aristotle.
"Hold on tight to the saddle! Hold on to the horse's neck!" he shouted hoarsely.
Just then, another shell whistled in and exploded to their side and rear! Sand and shrapnel flew everywhere!
"Neigh—!" The horse was completely startled, let out a long neigh, raised its front hooves high, and suddenly leaped forward!
"Ah!!" Alice was ultimately too weak and had never experienced such a scene before. In her panic, she lost her grip and was thrown off the horse, crashing heavily onto the sand with a cry of pain! "Little De! Save me!!" she cried out, her small figure appearing incredibly fragile in the light of the explosion.
"Alice!!" Draven's eyes widened in horror as he lunged towards the direction where she had fallen.
However, fate did not grant him that chance. Almost simultaneously, at least two shells, carrying the scent of destruction, precisely struck the area where they were located!
Boom! Boom!
The deafening explosion drowned out all other sounds. Draven felt an irresistible force slam into him, his vision instantly filled with scorching flames and flying sand, followed by endless darkness.
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"Hey! Kid! Wake up! Are you still alive?"
Draven was violently shaken awake. He struggled to open his eyes, his vision blurred, his head throbbing. Before him stood a strange face, blackened by smoke and fire, wearing the leather armor of the Noxian dockyard garrison. Dawn was breaking; the once beautiful beach was now a scene of devastation, riddled with charred craters, burning ship wrecks, and shattered dock planks, the air thick with the stench of gunpowder and acrid smoke.
Draven shook his still-ringing head, as terrifying memories of the moments before he lost consciousness flooded back: artillery fire, explosions, frightened horses, Alice's cries…
"Alice!" He jolted awake, as if struck by lightning, and staggered to his feet. He looked around, but there was no sign of the horse. Alice was nowhere to be seen either!
"Alice? What Alice?" The garrison soldier who woke him up looked blank and shook his head. "I didn't see her. We only found you alive around here."
Draven's heart sank to the bottom. He frantically searched and shouted among the ruins after the explosion, like a madman.
"Alice! Where are you! Answer me! Alice!!"
He screamed, his voice distorted by fear and anxiety. He flipped over the charred planks with his bare hands, untangled the twisted ropes, and dug through the cold sand, again and again. His cries, initially desperate, gradually became hoarse, until finally only desperate sobs remained. His arms trembled and ached from the exertion, his fingernails filled with mud and blood.
Finally, his gaze settled on the rock not far away—the one where they had once sat side by side, now half-shaved off by artillery shells, leaving only a shocking charred crater and scattered rubble.
A sense of foreboding gripped his heart. He staggered forward, his legs giving way, and he collapsed to his knees at the edge of the crater. His fingers groped unconsciously through the cold rubble and ashes until they touched something—
A colorful hairband, with a scorched corner and glass beads covered in black ash, was still recognizable as the one he had tied for Alice yesterday.
Draven's body stiffened abruptly. He carefully picked up the hairband, clutching it tightly in his hand, as if trying to draw the last vestige of warmth and hope from it. But the icy touch only brought deeper despair. He knelt in the ruins, head bowed, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably, a sob escaping his throat, but not a single tear could fall.
Darius and Quileta also heard the deafening explosion at Blackrock Lake and rushed back overnight. They found Draven on the ravaged beach, looking like a lost soul. Darius looked at the charred headband in his brother's hand, at his empty eyes and clenched fists, and he understood everything. He didn't ask any questions, nor did he offer any words of comfort. He simply stepped forward, extended his large, rough hand, and firmly and steadily pressed it against Draven's trembling shoulder.
The brief leave ended prematurely in the most brutal way. On the way back to the barracks, Draven was unusually silent, almost uttering not a word. He still participated in training, still carried out orders, and even showed more fearlessness than before in the ensuing conflict. But his eyes had completely changed. The youthful spirit he once possessed had vanished, replaced by a gloomy and obsessive gaze. The charred, colorful headband was now tightly bound to the handle of his favorite throwing axe with a leather cord. With each swing, with each throw, that charred black mark silently spoke volumes.
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