The Sun on their Side

Fiora stifled a yawn as they passed beneath an archway. Now that she had returned, her body succumbed to the constant aching that came from endless horseback riding. But the Grand Duelist forced herself to stay alert, ushering the Solari closer to their location. Part of her, however, remained curious about how Jarvan would approach the idea of an alliance. At last, the streets opened up and slowly inclined, leading to the palace. 

As the group approached the massive steps leading up to the castle, two guards stationed intercepted them. They slowed as they approached Fiora, the obvious civilian amongs the foreigners.

'Hail!' one of the guards barked, not impolitely.  He recognized Fiora, but ever since the invasion, security had tightened and all parties entering the castle had to be checked. Fiora handed over the parchment bearing Jarvan's signature, allowing them to read it. The guards scanned it once and nodded, looking over her shoulder. 'And they are with you?' one of the guards asked.

'Oui.' Fiora replied. She was grateful they did not show any outward signs of hostility--she was very much aware of the potential intricacies involving an alliance; everyone would have to be on their behavior. 

The guards allowed the group to ascend the steps, and before long, they crossed the courtyard and entered into the great hall. Fiora slowed as the doors closed behind them, waiting for someone to receive them.

Leona and her guards took careful note of the mannerisms of the guards, although they showed little to that extent. They took careful note of their posture, their weapons, their armor, down to every single minute detail of their appearance, as if they were their superior officers performing an inspection. These soldiers were much unlike the ones they were familiar with. All of the ones they had seen were veterans with at least a single kill to their name, these seemed rather...substandard.

Although they were clearly disciplined, it was not to the standards of absolute military perfection that all Rakkor were held to. It showed in many of their eyes that they had not yet killed. The gaze of one who had seen firsthand what they can do to another human being was one that could be discerned from even the most serene of visages. It was almost...relieving, to know that there were souls who had not yet witnessed their hands end another. It was so much unlike what they were familiar with on the mountain.

Leona had herself jolted out of thought by the sounds of a human voice. The captain of the guard addressed Fiora, who had become rather familiar to them over the course of their journey, and then turned toward them and smiled. A thin smile, but still, a smile, and then he welcomed them to the palace. Leona and her two guards nodded toward the man before proceeding into the brilliant white structure. Many thoughts were on her mind from the things she was seeing, but Leona kept them well concealed under a straight face and proceeded onward.

The lines of statues were a rather familiar sight to the Solari, whose people had a penchant for their construction, and who where also incredibly skilled at their craft. It brought familiar thoughts of home back to mind. The activity of the palace also brought to mind their home, the occasional armored patrols and the occasional cloth garbed figures. However, their different style of dress and their differently designed armor brought them back to their present location.

Before them was what must have been their destination. The guard captain who had escorted them there stopped to salute before handing them to the other man. The man who they were handed over to had the gaze which they were so familiar with. The gaze of a man who had taken another's life, and seen others' lives taken. Leona and her two guards stopped a few paces away from him, and then waited as he addressed them.
"Leona of the Solari is more than adequate." Long winded, fancy titles meant little to Leona. She could have said Leona the Avatar of the Sun, Leona the Sun's Chosen, but she chose a simple title. She did not need any excessive formalities attached to her name. She was simply Leona. She would rather have her actions speak to her status than her title.

Fiora entered the room inconspicuously as Jarvan finished his opening sentence, having detained herself  momentarily to speak with the nobles on the way to their destination. The Grand Duelist's eyes narrowed as she realized the Solari had not knelt in the presence of the King. Were they simply unaware, cooped up in their sun-worshiping temples, or was it something else? As her entrance drew the attention briefly to her, she knelt.

'Your Majesty,' she greeted quietly, eyes downcast. It felt strange for her to kneel, but years of training kept her from hesitating in presence of royalty. Her father, despite his many shortcomings, had made sure his children were drilled for perfection in formal settings--and this situation definitely called for it. As she straightened she gave a curt nod to Poppy, no doubt doing her job as ambassador for Bandle City. But her attention was ultimately drawn back to the Exemplar of Demacia; his title gave him a gravitas very few had.

Fiora's lips twitched imperceptibly as she remembered a comment her father had said about the Lightshields but she willed herself to ignore it. Her father did not matter and the same applied to his words. Her eyes traced the rest of the room, but the Duelist remained still, content to stay quiet until matters were under way.

Leona let out a small sigh of relief, although it would be indistinguishable from a normal breath to any onlookers, save for her two guards. It was fortunate that she was not expected to kneel, for even were it demanded of her, she would not. Nor would her guards. Their allegiance rested in other places, not before a foreign king. Even if it were courtesy to the Demacians, it was submission to them. Leona gave Jarvan a polite nod, and her guards followed her lead.

The three stood in place like statues. Their occasional motion when they breathed and the sporadic darting of the eyes was the only indicator that they were not made of marble. Leona appeared more lifelike than her two companions, partly due to the faint glow she gave off, and partly due to her lack of a helmet. Her companions, faintly distinguishable from under their headgear, were a man and a woman, both with steeled, emotionless eyes that tracked every image they caught. The three of them wore a distinct type of plate armor, the Rakkor influence in its design clear, made of a golden metal with chainmail and crimson cloth poking out from the occasional gap in the plates. They still had their travel gear on them, numerous assorted pouches and a pack each. All three of them had their shields on their back beside all they carried, and underneath a crimson cloak with a golden Vergina sun woven into it. The three carried blades clipped on to a belt at the waist, a fairly simplistic design intended for practicality and efficiency in combat above all else, with Leona's sword being slightly more adorned than the other two. While Leona's equipment on the Fields of Justice may have seemed overly flashy and impractical, what she carried now was clearly meant for the battlefield, although it lost none of its glamour.

Leona recalled Jarvan being a prince of Demacia when she was a champion in the League, but she noticed now they explicitly referred to him as king. Despite the fact that her curiosity may have been piqued, she held her tongue. The answer as to how this change came about would come eventually. She could tell that the yordle whose name escaped her at that moment was speaking with Jarvan. She caught a few of their words, having been trained since she was a child to be highly aware and observant of her surroundings among several other things, but tried not to intrude too much. She waited briefly after Jarvan had addressed her to reply.
"I appreciate your welcoming and the hospitality you have shown to us thus far." Leona replied, rather tonelessly. She waited for one of the others in the room to continue.

Leona was by no means exhausted. Neither were her companions. Still, she hesitated a moment before outright refusing and starting the talks at that very moment, as would be the Rakkor way to go about it. Perhaps he and his entourage were the ones that needed the extra time, not them. Also, Leona thought, it might be considered polite in Demacian culture for her to accept Jarvan's offer. Although she was not immensely favorably disposed to Demacians, considering her heritage, she had no wish to alienate them, certainly not this early and during a diplomatic mission.
"I accept. I only ask that our quarters may not too lavish and that we may be given someplace to train so that we may not be idle all day." came her reply. She waited for the reply and reaction.