After the two of them finished breakfast, they set out together on the road back to the Demacian camp.
It was morning, and there were no signs of people around them, leaving the area especially quiet. The narrow path ahead seemed long and distant.
They walked one behind the other. Luke took the lead, deliberately slowing his pace as much as he could. Annie followed behind him, hugging her teddy bear, her wide eyes drifting toward Luke every so often.
Seeing that, Luke stopped and reached out to her with a smile. "Let's walk together."
Annie immediately understood his invitation. Without hesitation, she reached out her little hand as well.
His large hand held her small one, and the two of them walked down the path like family. Annie's steps became much lighter.
As they walked, Luke looked for something to talk about. "Annie, do you know what magic is?"
"Magic?" Annie tilted her head, thought for a moment, then said, "Do you mean what happened last night?"
"That's right." Luke nodded and said, "The land we live on is called Runeterra. Runeterra itself is made up of all kinds of magical energy. Because of that, many people like Annie, people with a gift for magic, have been born in this world."
Only then did Annie learn that the fire she used was called magic. She lowered her head and said, "A lot of people make faces like they hate Annie after they see my magic."
She had once been taken in by many households, but every time she showed her talent, the people who had taken her in would show a kind of disgust.
At least, that was how Annie saw it.
Most people who learned she could use magic would not stay involved with her for long.
Those people reminded her of her stepmother. Her stepmother had sometimes shown her a similar expression. Only later did Annie understand that it was called disgust.
So after that, Annie rarely stayed too long in any one household. She became more and more distant from people.
For a time, she thought that as long as she had Tibbers, that was enough.
But people were not cold, heartless creatures, and Annie was still only a child.
After living alone for too long, she longed more and more to find someone like her.
Then Luke appeared. In Annie's eyes, he was an interesting and mysterious person.
So Annie wanted to follow him.
"That's because there are also many people in this world who have no talent for magic, and they make up the majority."
Luke spoke patiently. "So to them, magic is a very dangerous power. A very, very long time ago, magic hurt far too many people. That's why, even now, they are still afraid of magic and hate it. The one they hate is not Annie."
Annie said sadly, "Then is my magic a bad thing for everyone?"
"Of course not. Your magic is a talent given to you by the heavens. It is a treasure that belongs only to you. Besides, there are people who hate magic, but there are also people who like magic." Luke smiled gently and said, "It's just that too many people have used magic to hurt others with malice. Because of that, all mages have been dragged into it."
After listening, Annie immediately said in earnest, "Annie doesn't want to be someone like that."
"Annie definitely won't become someone like that," Luke said with a smile. "In short, you need to cherish your magical talent properly, but you also need to learn how to control it."
Annie lacked knowledge in this area. Before this, she had always lived in seclusion with her parents. Even after her father later took another wife, she still never came into contact with more knowledge, including knowledge about magic.
Because her understanding of magic was limited, she also did not know how much danger her unfathomable magic could bring to others.
Sometimes, she might end up hurting well-meaning people instead.
"Mm-hm." Annie nodded obediently, her eyes shining with a lovely light.
Before this, no one had ever told her any of this.
Luke then said, "Once we get back, I'll introduce you to a lot of friends who also have magic."
Annie's eyes lit up when she heard that, and she said happily, "That's great!"
She was full of hope that she could find someone similar to herself.
Two days later.
The forest in the early morning was covered in a light mist. Damp air carried the green scent of plants into the nose, making it feel rather refreshing.
In the Demacian camp, many soldiers had gotten up early and begun their morning training.
The sounds of training rang out without pause.
Demacian soldiers usually needed no one to maintain their discipline. Every soldier's self-awareness far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Luke brought Annie into the camp, instantly drawing the attention of quite a few people.
Annie also looked around the Demacian camp with curious eyes, vaguely sensing how different this place was from Noxus.
"Your Highness."
Along the way, the soldiers all bowed to Luke. At the same time, when they saw the soft, pink-cheeked little girl, they felt an urge to pinch her cheeks.
Luke nodded to each of them in response.
Hearing how everyone addressed Luke, Annie's eyes suddenly brightened. That title sounded just like what people used for princes in fairy tales.
Was he really a prince?
She felt a little pleasantly surprised.
Soon, Luke ran into Quinn coming toward him, with Sona following behind her. The two of them shared a tent, so if one woke up, the other did too.
"Your Highness, you're back."
Seeing Luke, Quinn immediately greeted him. Then she saw Annie beside him and paused slightly. "And this is..."
Before Luke could speak, Annie had already introduced herself obediently. "Hello. My name is Annie."
"Hello."
Quinn crouched down and gently rubbed Annie's head, not continuing to ask about where she came from.
In any case, she was someone His Highness had brought back, and she looked like a harmless little girl. What kind of problem could there be?
"What an adorable little girl."
Sona also smiled gracefully at Annie, her gaze gentle, and reached out to rub Annie's head as well.
She had the ability to sense hearts, so she immediately noticed the hurt and loneliness in Annie's heart, along with an extraordinary magical power surging like flames.
Annie looked up at Sona and saw a face as gentle as water. For some reason, she immediately felt fond of her, so she gave Quinn and Sona a sweet smile.
"Where's Lux?" Luke asked.
Quinn replied, "Probably still sleeping. These past few days, Miss Crownguard usually sleeps until noon before waking up."
"Got it."
Luke thought for a moment, and an idea surfaced in his mind.
So he immediately brought Annie along and headed for Lux's tent.
Before that, he made a small preparation.
Lux, Poppy, and Yurna slept in the same tent. The two of them soon noticed Luke, who had disguised himself, and also realized this guy was probably about to do something wicked again.
However, neither of them stopped him. They both acted as if they had seen nothing and went about their own business.
When he reached the entrance of the tent, Luke picked Annie up and quietly slipped inside.
As soon as they entered the tent, they saw Miss Crownguard sleeping soundly on her back.
Annie saw her too and blinked, only feeling that this woman was so pretty that even the way she slept looked beautiful.
She cooperated with Luke and did not make a sound.
Luke had already crept closer. Then he set Annie down and unceremoniously reached out to shake Lux by the shoulder. "Wake up. Wake up."
Annie noticed that Luke's voice had become rougher, filled with a mature flavor.
Lux was currently wandering through a dreamland ocean of delicious food, completely immersed in it. When she was suddenly shaken awake, her consciousness was hazy and drifting.
As soon as she opened her eyes, still thick with sleepiness, the first thing she saw at her bedside was a little girl with a delicately carved face, bright eyes, white teeth, and wide, curious eyes staring at her.
Then, when her gaze wavered, she seemed to see someone who looked very much like Luke.
The reason he looked like Luke was that his facial features were almost the same, but he looked older. There were also two small tufts of mustache under his nose.
He looked like he was in his thirties or forties.
She had only just woken up, and her brain was not functioning. Then she heard Luke speak in a deep voice. "You're finally awake. I didn't expect you to sleep for so long this time. Ten years have already passed."
"?"
A question mark practically popped over Lux's head on the spot. Her already not terribly sharp gaze now looked even more confused. "What are you talking about? What ten years?"
"I tried to wake you every day for the past ten years, but I never succeeded." Luke sighed softly, his voice carrying a trace of sorrow from the passing years. He looked at Annie and said, "This is my daughter, Annie. Say hello to Aunt Lux."
Annie was incredibly obedient. In her young, childish voice, she called sweetly, "Hello, Aunt Lux. Daddy and I came to see you lots of times over the years."
She even knew how to cooperate with Luke. When she spoke, her eyes were full of innocence, making her look nothing like someone who was lying.
As soon as her words fell, Lux felt as if a thunderbolt had crashed down on her, leaving her whole body in terrible shape.
She sat up in bed all at once and clearly saw Luke's aged face, as well as the sadness in his eyes.
Then she looked at Annie's face, then Luke's face, then Annie's face again, going back and forth several times. At last, she noticed that Annie really did seem to resemble Luke a little.
Between the brows and eyes, there was faintly some similarity.
Boom.
Another thunderbolt struck down at once.
Lux's eyes were filled with disbelief, and she said blankly, "How could this be... I actually slept for ten years..."
So many years had passed, and Luke even had a child now?
He... how could he do this?
For no reason at all, she had become an elder, called aunt by Luke's child.
If possible, Lux did not want to accept that title.
She felt as if her mind had turned into a tangled mess, and her heart was a mess too. She was in a state of doubting life itself, her worldview collapsing around her.
"It's already happened. No one can do anything about it."
Luke sighed softly, patting her shoulder to comfort her. "A lot happened in these ten years."
After hearing that, Lux's first reaction was to look at Annie and ask, "Who is her mother?"
Luke said, "A woman I met after I finished fighting Noxus and returned to Demacia. I'll introduce her to you later."
"Ah..."
Lux had never expected this kind of outcome. She lowered her head with a lost expression, and her heart was even more tangled than before.
For an instant, she almost wanted to cry.
But very soon, the fog of sleep passed, and intelligence reclaimed the high ground in Miss Crownguard's mind. She suddenly noticed that the surroundings looked rather familiar.
Seeing her begin to look around, Luke calmly said, "Back then, you fell asleep in the tent and never woke up. Later, to prevent you from feeling unfamiliar with the outside world after waking and suffering a gap in your memory, we specially recreated the environment from when you first fell asleep."
His explanation came one layer after another. Annie's big eyes flickered, but she also found it very interesting.
"Is that so..."
Lux nodded in confusion, then suddenly reached out toward the area under Luke's nose.
Luke immediately leaned back, but she lunged forward and caught him anyway. One hand grabbed his mustache and yanked hard.
In an instant, several strands of mustache were forcibly plucked out by her, followed by the sound of Luke sucking in a cold breath.
Lux looked at the few hairs pinched between her fingers and immediately froze.
How was it real?
She had originally thought Luke must be lying to her, which meant the mustache must be fake too.
But seeing Luke clutching his nose with his face twisted in pain, it looked completely real.
At that moment, Miss Crownguard's state of mind underwent another subtle change.
She had just woken up, only to suffer such a massive blow. Her whole person was dazed.
However, after accumulating experience time and time again, she was no longer the naive little rookie she had once been.
Even if Luke had carried the act this far and had even brought in such a small supporting actress to cooperate with him, she still stared at him suspiciously.
She even threatened him aloud. "If I find out you're messing with me, I'll fight you to the death."
She gave him a fierce look that said she really would risk her life.
Hearing that, Luke smiled calmly and said, "I just wanted to give you a surprise. Let you experience a special wake-up call in your life."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lux immediately gritted her teeth. The anger in her stomach had already hit its limit first thing in the morning.
This bastard really had been messing with her!
Making her emotions swing so violently so early in the morning had already pushed Lux to the edge of fury.
But very soon, she noticed Annie beside them, still looking at her with pure, innocent eyes, and forcibly swallowed the anger that was about to erupt.
Image. Maintain her image.
She forced out a smile. "I really have to thank you."
Next time, I'll be the one giving you a surprise, you bastard!
She turned to Annie, and her smile became a little more genuine. "Your name is Annie, right? You're so cute."
Annie also smiled sweetly. "You're so pretty too."
"Oh, this child really knows how to talk."
Lux's mood instantly improved. She reached out and, without the slightest hesitation, pinched Annie's cheeks. They were soft and tender, and the feel was quite excellent.
"My name is Luxanna. You can also call me Lux."
"Lux."
Annie called her name again.
Compared with the gentle Sona from earlier, she could sense more clearly that the Lux before her was more like the same kind of person as herself.
By a natural instinct, she seemed able to see the light shining from Lux.
Looking at the straightforward and adorable Annie, Lux's mood brightened. She also sensed that this little girl was not ordinary, but did not mind it. Instead, she said seriously, "I've decided. From now on, you're coming with me!"
"Coming with you?" Annie shook her head and said, "Annie already said she would follow Luke."
Lux glanced at Luke and snorted. "Who does he think he is? Follow me, and I guarantee you'll be living the good life from now on."
Annie blinked. "Luke said the same thing to Annie."
Lux glanced at Luke again, then looked back at Annie. "It's fine. We don't need to bother with him. Girls should obviously play with girls."
When Annie heard that, she nodded happily. "Okay!"
At this moment, Luke was quietly calculating whether he should add a few lines of defense inside and outside his own tent. Otherwise, he always felt like it was unsafe, or rather, that he could not feel at ease.
He did not notice that Lux had already quietly begun stealing his place in Annie's heart.
At that moment, Lux reached out and poked him. "Where did you kidnap Annie from?"
"What kind of wording is that? How can you call it kidnapping?"
Luke came back to himself from his thoughts and emphasized, "I, Luke, never do that kind of thing. Annie, tell her. Did I kidnap you?"
Annie said, "No. Annie wanted to follow Luke herself."
Looking at the obedient Annie, Lux liked her from the bottom of her heart. Although they had not known each other for long, she had already made a decision in her heart.
If she had a child in the future, she absolutely wanted a girl like Annie.
Luke said, "In short, starting today, Annie has officially joined our big Demacian family."
Before long, the news spread through the entire Demacian camp, passing from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Everyone learned that a new member had joined the camp.
She was a soft, delicate little girl, and she was extremely lovable.
Everyone warmly welcomed her. Whenever they met her, they would greet her kindly, and Annie responded very politely as well.
Luke also issued an urgent mission, which was to make a set of clothes for Annie as quickly as possible.
She had been wearing the clothes on her body for a very long time. They were even somewhat ill-fitting now, so she had to change into a new set.
As it happened, the camp had a logistics team, and many among them had once worked as tailors. They guaranteed that within the morning, they would make a dress suited for Annie.
As for Annie, she was quickly dragged away by Lux to learn five-in-a-row.
Miss Crownguard had gone far too long without encountering a worthy opponent on the board, meaning no one could beat her, so after seeing Annie, her dust-covered heart was stirred once again.
Five-in-a-row was not difficult, so even Annie quickly got the hang of it.
In fact, she learned very quickly, because Annie was already a very intelligent little girl.
So the matches between the two went from Lux swiftly ending the game at the start to the games lasting longer and longer.
After glancing at them a few times, Luke felt that before long, Miss Crownguard would be unable to beat even a child.
He shook his head sadly and stopped watching. Then he went to find Tianna and Lev.
He informed the two of them about Noxus preparing to deploy living weapons.
Regarding living weapons, they unanimously believed they were something similar to Sion.
Normal methods probably would not be able to kill them. They had to think of a way to deal with it.
The morning passed in the blink of an eye. Near noon, Annie was brought into a prepared tent so she could take a bath.
The person bathing Annie was Yurna. As a maid, she seemed to know how to avoid provoking a child's resistance.
And Annie indeed did not resist.
During the bath, Annie behaved very obediently. Her eyes, meanwhile, never left her teddy bear.
Whether it was Luke or the others, everyone respected her greatly and did not forcibly make her separate from Tibbers.
She had always taken good care of Tibbers, so even though the teddy bear looked a little old, it had always been clean.
She knew that Luke and the others were doing this for her own good. Although she had only arrived at the camp that morning, Annie already liked this place a little.
Everyone here looked kind and pleasant. It was not something they deliberately put on because of Luke's status, but a gentleness that came from their very bones.
Although Annie was little, she was exceptionally sensitive to emotions.
She could clearly feel that the people here were different from the people she had met before.
Early in the morning, several women had taken her measurements.
After her bath, she changed into clean clothes. It was a carefully sewn pink dress, much more suitable than what she had worn before.
She happily shared the news with her teddy bear. "Tibbers, I have new clothes."
After changing into new clothes, Annie looked even cuter. No flaw could be found on her at all, and she was especially lovable.
Hugging her teddy bear, no matter where she went, someone wanted to give her a welcome gift.
However, Annie did not accept them. She only accepted a few things she liked, such as milk.
And that was only after Luke agreed.
Just by strolling around the camp once, Annie had secured all the milk she could want.
When lunch was being prepared, she sat on a small stool, her short legs unable to reach the ground. Her expression was tangled as she wondered whether she should drink another bottle of milk.
She had already drunk three bottles. Although she still wanted more, if she drank another, she would not be able to eat lunch later.
She was struggling over that.
On Luke's side, he briefly introduced Annie's situation.
When Lux heard that Annie had lost her parents and wandered alone for a long time, her sympathy immediately overflowed.
She had once helped many similar children at the Church of the Illuminators, and now she silently decided to help Annie as well.
"Compared with them, her situation is a little more special."
Luke glanced at Annie on the other side and said, "She has a magical talent that other children don't possess, and it's probably among the strongest kinds. She just lacks knowledge and guidance in this area. I'm worried she'll go down the wrong path because of that, so I decided to keep her by my side."
Lux said in surprise, "She's that powerful?"
"She is." Luke nodded and said, "Basically, she's about the same as you. It's just that she controls the element of fire, and at the same time, she hasn't recognized the danger of magic."
What Lux had awakened was light magic, a very rare kind of element.
Even in history, there had only been a few famous mages capable of wielding light.
Without guidance in this area, even she had to face the risk of her magic slipping out of control from time to time.
As for why Annie could control the element of fire so precisely, aside from her astonishing talent, another reason was that Tibbers was helping her control the element.
But even so, she still ran the risk of losing control.
At a time like this, she had to receive magical instruction.
After listening, Lux immediately patted her chest and confidently declared, "Don't worry. Leave this to me. I'll teach Annie how to control magic."
In this area, she already had plenty of experience.
After all, she had been through it herself.
That had been Luke's intention as well. And from the looks of it, Annie also liked Lux very much.
In the afternoon, the clear sky suddenly became covered in dark clouds. Before long, rain began pouring down.
Judging from the weather, the rain might get heavier by evening. Because of that, the original plan to officially move the army forward that afternoon was postponed until the rain stopped.
With rain falling, people were not going to run all over the camp.
They sat down one after another in places where they could take shelter from the rain, watching the constantly falling raindrops as their thoughts stretched far away.
Annie sat under the rain shelter, watching the falling rain very quietly.
She hated rain quite a bit, because when it rained, she and Tibbers would both be soaked to the bone, and the tree hollow would become damp too, making it hard to sleep.
If she dried it with fire afterward, there would be a strange smell.
In short, she did not like rainy days.
Sona was sitting not far away, her exquisite etwahl, Etwahl, resting across her long, full thighs.
Listening to the sound of the rain curtain falling, a melody gradually formed in her heart.
So she lifted her slender, elegant hand and gently plucked a string.
In an instant, beautiful notes flowed out, drawing Annie's attention.
She looked over curiously and saw Sona preparing to begin a performance.
As the movements of Sona's hands gradually rose and fell, then slowly grew faster, waves of graceful and pleasant melody drifted out.
In no time at all, Annie was captivated by the music.
She had never heard such a beautiful melody. Even the sound of the rain had become part of the music.
Gradually, she was drawn into the song.
In a daze, she returned to a small but warm wooden cabin. She lay asleep in a cradle inside a room. It was very quiet outside, until the rain began to fall.
The falling raindrops patted against the window.
Annoyed by the noise, she burst into loud crying.
Then a woman walked in. Annie could not see her face clearly, but she was very gentle.
The woman gently picked her up and softly rocked her from side to side. Her right hand patted Annie lightly as she hummed a familiar lullaby.
Annie could vaguely see the gentle smile at the corner of the woman's lips. It was so beautiful. Every movement she made radiated incomparable gentleness, and the scent coming from her was especially pleasant.
Gradually, Annie fell asleep again.
Everything was blurry, yet not blurry, as if it were truly happening before her eyes, and yet as if it were very far away.
At that moment, the melody flowing from the strings resonated with the lullaby echoing in her memory.
Without realizing it, Annie's eyes shed several large teardrops. They slid down her cheeks and fell onto the teddy bear.
"Annie, why are you crying?"
Lux, who had been immersed in the music, suddenly noticed Annie's tears and hurriedly sat beside her, wiping them away. "What's wrong?"
Sona also stopped playing.
Annie came back to herself. Feeling Lux's concern and the concern of the others around her, she shook her head. "It's nothing. Sona's music was too beautiful. It made Annie think of Mom."
Lux gently pulled Annie into her arms and said softly, "We'll always be with you."
After a while, Annie looked back at the curtain of rain.
Although she had thought of her mother, she did not feel sad at all. Instead, there was a warm feeling in her heart.
She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had dreamed of her mother.
She felt that it might be because of Sona's music.
"Sona, I want to keep listening to your music."
Annie looked at Sona and spoke obediently.
Sona looked at her gently and nodded. Then her fair hand fell back onto the strings, and she continued playing.
Amid the curtain of rain, the beautiful melody gave off a warm scent. Everyone around listened with their hearts.
Annie did too.
Looking at the falling raindrops, at that moment, she suddenly did not hate rain quite so much anymore.
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