The Ice Queen's Lover Ch.5

Jayce's plate lay nearly untouched as he gazed in awe at Lissandra as she ate. She delicately cut each piece of her steak and then chewed it with proper elegance. He was once again completely dumbstruck by this elegance. With each movement of hers, he felt his confidence in earning her heart melt away. He found himself sure that his heart had picked the wrong woman.

He pulled his eyes away from her and looked down at his own food. He steeled his nerves against his own unease and forced himself to eat. The lovely food tasted bland and unsettling in his stomach. The frustration soon became too much. He sighed and stood up. He turned to Lissandra and bowed politely.

"Please excuse me, M'lady. I just remembered that I must be somewhere. Thank you kindly for allowing me this time with you." The ice witch simply dipped her head and kept eating as Jayce left.

He quickly yet quietly left the dining hall and headed out to the gardens. He needed to get his head in order and it just was not happening in there. Irrational thoughts filled his head with every step, each one picking up pace until he was doing a half-jog down the hall.

He gritted his teeth in discomfort and shut his eyes as he finally slipped outside. The lingering remnants of his hangover protested and he could only sigh. He pulled away from the building and walked into the maze of massive plants. He knew it was easy to get lost in the mess of vegetation but this only helped him realize that he wanted to be lost. Being lost could make a person so free and free growing vegetation was a rarity in a city of hextech like Piltover.

*J~L*

Jayce was not sure how long he had been in the maze or how long he had been sitting at the fountain in the maze's center. He did not really care to either. The heat of the sun was slight and the breeze was cool.

Bowtie hanging limply around his neck, he smiled softly as he leaned his head back and just felt the wind brush against him. It was this type of atmosphere that he loved best. It always seemed to calm him, the breeze taking all irrational thoughts with it as it blew by. This time, it took his fears about Lissandra away.

Jayce shifted as he sat on the edge of the diamond-shaped fountain. His slacks rolled up to just under his knees, he moved his feet in the crystal-clear water. He loved the feel of water moving against skin, it was so relaxing. It was a strange habit he had picked up when he knew to think something through. Now was as good a time as any, the troubles of the day needed to be worked out.

With a distracted hum, he stripped down to just his dress shirt and slacks. He folded the rest of his clothes and laid them about a foot away. He gently bit his bottom lip as he contemplated his situation aloud.

"Rather than simply getting upset about the whole matter I really should just look at both sides." He leaned back on his elbows on the wide ledge of the fountain and turned his head to the right.

"Alright, on the one hand, this woman is horribly evil and will probably reject me anyways or kill me." He twisted his head to the left, "But on the other hand, she's beautiful and really doesn't seem all that bothered by me. Every person has at least a bit of good in them. I bet I could find it in her." He looked to the right again.

"But, she is an Iceborn so maybe there is no good to find. If I try to start something with her I may just end up getting used. Do I really want to go through something like? Getting attached can bring such bitter sorrow." He ran his hand along the inside of his right thigh, bitter memories making an old wound ache.

"I have to stop thinking like that." He jerked his hand away, "If I gave up on an experiment just because I didn't like the odds, I wouldn't be a scientist. This has grand potential and I owe it to myself to try. I cannot cower and hide from a relationship all my life. She shows an interest in me, I'd be a fool not to test the waters." He sat up quickly and grinned. His self-confidence rushed back in full force and he was not going to chase it away.

He clicked his tongue and focused on the water once more. His eyes followed the patterns on the mosaic glass floor of the fountain as his mind raced with plans to win Lissandra's heart or at the very least her trust. He had less than twenty-four hours to at least snag her attention before all the champions went home.