Jarvan IV Shortstory

Decided to write a short story as writing is the only artistic talent I am even remotely decent at. Let me know what you guys think! (yes its long. sorry)

Clarification: Caitlynn is not Caitlin the champion (I would hope that would be obvious honestly but for clarification). It was just the first name I thought of.

The Untold Story of Jarvan IV

It was two years ago, I remember. I was a little girl living on the outskirts of Demacia. My family ran a small little farm hardly worth mentioning. We were nobodies. It was hard to make a living yet somehow we did it every year.

It was during the night. I remember it was a full moon that night which allowed me to see despite the darkness. Otherwise I might have been too scared to leave my bed. I was trying to get some sleep so I wouldn't be as tired the next day but with the work we did you were never not tired, just less tired. I was 9 back then though and still had energy whenever the work was done, despite how it would disappear the next day when my chores came back. This energy often kept me up at night, wiggling toes and toying with my blankets. That is when I heard it.

I heard hooves at the gentle walking pace. The travelers were obviously in no hurry. There looked to be approximately 13 riders. Soldiers by the looks of them. Their armor was was packed away but you could still tell by their mounts and the swords that hung by their side. All of the riders seemed to be in good spirits with the exception of their leader, who either looked up at the stars or down towards the earth sullenly.

I wondered why all the other men could be so happy while one of their companions seemed to suffer. Whenever my siblings were sad I always wanted to stay with them until I had cheered them up. Perhaps that is why when I heard they would camp soon I followed them. I wanted to talk to this man and cheer him up like the air head I am.

After they passed our small cottage, I got up out of bed slowly. This was no easy task when the entire house was one room. Quietly I put on my shoes and left the house. It was spring so I did not have to change clothes into warmer clothes than what I was wearing. I knew the area well from playing through out it with my siblings. I might have lost them that night if I hadn't. I thought if they had decided to camp they would camp at my favorite glade. Sure enough, as I approached the glade the glow of a campfire showed me their location. I felt like I was intruding so for whatever reason I tried to sneak up on the camp. However, Demacian soldiers never seem to lose their vigilance.

"What do we have here?" A voice said, slightly laughing as he grabbed my shirt collar from behind, "A little mouse out of bed late at night?" I struggled but it was completely hopeless. I resigned myself to be dragged towards the camp. "Look what I caught!" The soldier said grinning as he announced his prize to his laughing entourage. "A little doll strayed far from home!" He released my shirt collar. I was afraid. Even if these were Demacian soldiers they were still strangers and I was only nine after all. One of the soldiers gestures to me, "Come here sit down. It's spring but you still must be just a little bit cold." I sat down near the fire still shy about being held captive. "Why are you here? Where are your parents?" One of them asked. "I live nearby on a small farm. You camped in my favorite glade so it was pretty easy to find you," I whispered, avoiding eye contact. "Well it seems we need to pay better attention when we pick a camp ground. If this little girl could find us, imagine a trained Noxian assassin!" He bellowed, stirring up laughter in the entire camp. "Well that answers one of the questions," he continued after the laughter died down, "but why are you here following us?" I remember blushing as I told them. The reason why I came suddenly seemed silly. "One of your men looked sad while the rest were really happy. I never leave my siblings until they're happy so I wanted to come see the man and cheer him up." The group suddenly turned very solemn. "I think you should go back now miss," one of the soldiers said. "That man really does not want to see anyone right now." I glared at the man and said "I'm not leaving till I at least see him." The group let out a collective "ooooooh" at my reply. "Listen kid," a soldier said, irritated at me, "we have a long road ahead of us tomorrow. So go back to whatever little hut you came from before I take you there myself." I looked at him and jeered, "How are you going to take me there if you don't know where it is?" "That's it kid," He said getting up "Calm down Doran it's just a girl" "A girl that is irritating me." "What are you going to do Doran?" "What's it matter to you?" "Because I'm not going to let you do it." "As if you could stop me!" Soon enough the entire camp was in an uproar. I shrunk, aware I had caused the conflict. Tears began to well in my eyes. "Enough!" A voice boomed, "Why are the finest soldiers in Demacia quarreling amongst themselves like children over!?" The soldiers became silent and my eyes turned towards the source. He was intimidating but I saw something else as well. "Perhaps," he continued, "I should turn around now before we get even half a day's journey from Demacia and re hand pick my entire squad of men! I thought I chose better but perhaps I was wrong. Now tell me what exactly is worth starting a fight against your own comrades?" The men waited a while before one of them answered. "We found a girl from around the surrounding countryside sneaking up on our camp. We were about to send her away sir." "Good," the man replied, "Apparently you have some sense to you although the fact a little girl could cause this bickering among a group of highly trained soldiers as if they're little school children makes me wonder if I should not just invite her with us since you all are obviously on the same level." The men all looked away. "Do not disturb me again," he said returning to wherever he came from. "Sir," the man who had found me said "Yes?" "She said she wanted to see you?" The man stopped and turned around. He sighed, "Well you did manage not only to find us but have to deal with this sorry excuse for soldiers. I suppose I can see her. Little girl," he said, looking at me now. "will you return home if I talk to you?". I nodded. "Very well," he said, "come with me."

I followed him as we walked through the woods. Eventually we came upon two conveniently placed stumps and sat down. "What is your name little girl," he asked me. "My name is Caitlynn." "Alright Caitlynn. Why did you want to see me?" "Well what is your name?" "My name!?" the man asked, taken aback. "You don't know my name?" "I haven't met you before so why would I know your name? It seems like common sense to me mister." I replied. The man smiled. "I suppose that makes since. My name is Jarvan. Now tell me Caitlynn, why did you want to see me?" I looked down sheepishly, "I was trying to sleep and I heard your group. All of your other friends were happy. But you looked sad. You either looked down at the ground or up at the stars. You looked like you needed some cheering up so I wanted to come see if I could cheer you up. So mister Jarvan why are you sad?" Jarvan looked astounded. I wasn't sure why. He looked at me with a sad little smile and said, "Yes, Caitlynn, I have been a little sad. You see I had a job and...I failed. I wasn't able to do the job I was supposed to do." "What was the job mister Jarvan?" "The job? Oh, I am supposed to help people. And I wasn't able to." "It's ok Jarvan. Sometimes I mess up at the farm and my dad gets a little mad at me but he forgets about it the next day." "Most people won't forget about this thing Caitlynn. Some people will never forget. I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't serve the people. I CAN'T server the people. Not until I become stronger..." his voice trailed off. Jarvan seemed to stare at the ground as he recalled something. "Why don't you come work at the farm? My dad's really strong and he only works at the farm," I offered. Jarvan began to laugh, "I wish I could work at a farm. Perhaps then I wouldn't be such a failure." I looked back at him. "By the way Jarvan, why are you here around my family's farm anyway?" "I am preparing for my next job. I don't know when I am going to be back." "If you do this next job will you be happy?" Jarvan just stared at her. "I don't know if this job will make me happy. It doesn't matter because I have to be able to do it." "Of course it matters if you're happy!" I cried. "If you're not happy then you're sad and being sad is no fun. You can't have fun if you're sad." Jarvan just smiled. "Jarvan will you play a game with me?" I asked. "What kind of game?" "It's a game I play with my dad whenever he goes away to sell food closer to Demacia. We trade something to each other. That way, when we each find each other again, we like the thing we traded even more when we get it back. But I also like it because that thing reminds me of my dad whenever I miss him. You said you were going away so lets trade something." Jarvan's smile grew slightly. "Alright, what do you want to trade?" "Hmmm," I said thinking. "How about my favorite hair ribbon? You can have it till you get back." "Alright", Jarvan replied. "And now I have to think of something. hmm...how about this?" he said, pulling a pendent out from underneath his shirt. "It's been in my family for a long time." "Is it important to you? The only rule is it has to be important to you." "This pendent is VERY important to me." "Then it's a deal." I untied the ribbon from my hair and he gave me his pendent. "Promise me Jarvan that you will come back and give me back my ribbon. It's my favorite after all." "I will Caitlynn." "And remember that whenever you look at the ribbon to think of me alright?" "I definitely will Caitlynn. And will you promise to think of me whenever you look at my pendent?" "I promise." "Good Caitlynn. It's late and time for you to go home. I will take you back." I yawned. "Thanks mister Jarvan." "No Caitlynn. Thank you for coming to cheer me up. Thank you for offering to play a game with me. And most importantly," he said while kneeling to look me in the eyes, "thank you for reminding me of the most important reason why I do my job."

Jarvan offered to carry me on the way back. I accepted as I was more than tired after the nights events. I directed him towards the direction of my house. Perhaps it was just me but I thought I kept seeing a tear or two despite the fact he was smiling. When we finally got to my house, he lowered me down and told me to go to sleep. I yawned and made him promise he would come back and visit me. He promised and said next time we could go visit his house. I hugged him and told him to be safe on his journey. We said good night and good bye one last time. I opened the door to my house quietly and climbed back into bed, instantly falling asleep.

"Well you seem to be in much better spirits today sir," one of Jarvan's men said as they rode out. "Where did you get that ribbon tied around your arm?" "This? I've always had it. You must have just now noticed it." Jarvan answered. He couldn't let them know the real reason. He was supposed to lead these men after all. "Gentlemen. We ride for Demacia!" Jarvan shouted. "Demacia!" they all cried out. Jarvan looked at the ribbon now tied firmly around his arm and smiled. "And above all for the people." he whispered.