The midmorning sun bore down on the dry summer plains. The lack of rain was indicated by the scattered patches of yellow grass that were spread around the slightly cracked dirt. A swift breeze brought temporary relief from the scorching heat. A small group of twenty gathered in the open field.
He was a rather disappointing looking man. An uneven face with squinty eyes and a scrawny build. It was hard for anyone to imagine that he would be capable of murdering even the slightest of men, much less an armed soldier. And yet he had. A swift blade in the back was all it took for him to rob the guard of sixty coins. It was unfortunate for him that he had been seen.
Lord Baynard DuCouteau towered over the man in question. "Do you have anything you would like to say for yourself?" He asked solemnly.
The criminal looked up with pleading eyes. "Please forgive me my lord. I only needed money for food. L-let me go. I won't ever come back, I swear it!"
The Lord's eyes hardened. There was no sympathy in them. His next words were spoken so coldly they could've frozen the entire landscape. "You snuck into my gates. If food was what you seeked, you could have gone to the homeless shelter. Instead you slain an innocent man who'd done nothing but serve me faithfully. You will receive no mercy today. In the name of Jarvan of the house Lightshield, third of his name and protector of the northern realm, I, Baynard of the house DuCouteau, Lord of Drekan, sentence you to die."
The criminal let out a whimper as his fate was decided. With a nod from Lord DuCouteau, two soldiers pushed him to his knees and bent his head forward. DuCouteau drew his longsword.
From just a few paces to the side, Talon watched grimly. He had witnessed executions like this before. Even so, he had always been unsettled by the faces people made when they knew there was no escape from death. He inwardly shuddered as his adopted father swung his sword and dislodged the man's head clean from his shoulders. A pair of hands hugged his left arm tightly. He turned to find his younger sister Cassiopeia leaning into him, a look mixed with fear and shock in her eyes. She was three years younger and at age fifteen, this execution was her first. "It's ok, you did good." He tried to sound comforting. It wasn't his greatest skill and he sounded rather awkward. From his right side, his sister Katarina gave an amused look and rolled her eyes. Katarina was the same age as him, so this was nothing new for her. For some reason, she never seemed bothered by it.
As the group disbanded Talon turned and walked back towards his horse. Katarina caught up next to him. "iT's OkAy, yOu dId gOoD." She mocked with laughter.
"Shut up." Talon growled, which only made her laugh harder.
Cassiopeia was slower than her siblings, clearly still troubled by what she had seen. Lord DuCouteau took notice and walked up to her as he sheathed his sword. "Do you understand why I had to do it?" He almost whispered.
Cassiopeia nodded meekly. "He broke the law right?"
DuCouteau nodded. "He did. But do you understand why I had to do it?" When his daughter gave no response, he continued. "Whoever passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die."
Cassiopeia nodded again. "I understand father."
"I know it wasn't easy for you." DuCouteau brushed some of his daughter's long blonde hair from her face. "But there will come a day when the power is in your hands, and you may find yourself in my position. When that day comes, I want you to be ready. That is why I brought you today. All three of you."
Cassiopeia seemed to feel a little better. "But I'm not good with the sword." She said ruefully. "Maybe I'm not meant to kill anyone."
DuCouteau smiled. "Come, let's head back."
Talon and Katarina rode ahead of the group in silence.
"Not in a talkative mood are we?" Katarina commented.
She was teasing him again and he knew it. Talon was not one who was known for charisma. "Nothing to talk about." He replied curtly.
"Not even with your own sister?" Katarina feigned hurt. "Oh my heart."
"You say enough for the both of us." Talon shot back.
"There must be something you could tell me." Katarina mused on, completely ignoring him. "Oh I know!" She snapped her fingers. "How about that girl that you've been hanging around with recently? Yeah with the white hair. What was her name? Riley? No...Rachel! No..."
"Riven." Talon finished for her.
"Riven." Katarina repeated with a smirk. "That's right. Quite a head turner huh?"
"Don't know." Talon shrugged.
"Oh come on!" Katarina threw her hands up, briefly letting go of the reigns. "I know there's something going on there. You can't hide it."
"What are you talking about?" Talon said defensively. "She's just a...friend."
"Yeah, a girlfriend."
"That's not what I said!"
"My my, you don't have to get so mad about it." Katarina continued to smirk.
"You're annoying." Talon spat.
"Alright fine, let's say I believe you. She's just a friend and you don't think she's attractive. Maybe a boy might suit you better?"
Talon flushed with anger. "Fuck off you moron! Stop twisting my words."
Katarina's smirk turned into laughter. She knew she had him. "Kind of hard to twist when you only average five per minute."
"What? I...my god just shut up."
"You're too easy." Katarina shook her head, still laughing.
Talon just scowled and looked the other way. The path they were on took a slight incline, creating a ditch on either side. The sound of hoofbeats grew louder from behind. Talon turned to see Cassiopeia trotting up to them. "Guys wait up!" She came up too fast and had to veer to the right to avoid colliding with him. The horse leapt over the ditch, causing Cassiopeia to lose her balance and fall on the soft grass. Talon and Katarina immediately dismounted and went to her aid.
"Ow..." Cassiopeia lay flat on her back.
"Are you alright?" Talon knelt down next to her.
"Oh Cass..." Katarina leaned forward with both arms on her hips to regard her sister. "How many times do I have to tell you to control your speed?"
"Sorry Kat." Cassiopeia smiled weakly. "I guess I got too excited. I think I'm ok though."
Talon helped her to her feet. "You really should be more careful." He chided.
"I'm sorry." Cassiopeia apologized again. "Hey, look!" She pointed suddenly. They turned to see a large mass laying in the grass. Unmoving. As they walked closer to it Talon realized it was the bloody corpse of a wildebeest.
"Gross." Katarina muttered.
"Oh no!" Cassiopeia exclaimed. "What happened?"
"It was attacked." Talon observed.
"You think?" Katarina asked sarcastically.
Talon ignored her, instead choosing to examine the surrounding area. his eyes fell upon another corpse not too far away. A cougar. Holes could be seen on its body from where it was impaled by the wildebeest.
"What's going on here?" Lord DuCouteau strode onto the scene with his contingent of guards.
"A cougar attack, my lord." Talon answered him.
"What's a cougar doing out here?" Came a voice from behind.
"Yeah, you don't see too many of those." Said another.
A slight movement from the body of the cougar caught Talon's eye. He walked over to examine it with Cassiopeia following him. "Look." He pushed the body away slightly to reveal two brown spotted cubs.
"Oh my gosh they're so cute!" Cassiopeia clasped her hands together.
Lord DuCouteau also took notice.
"What are we going to do about them?" Katarina asked him.
"Those things are going to hunt our livestock when they grow up, we should kill them now and be done with it." One of the guards suggested.
"You can't!" Cassiopeia protested. "They haven't done anything wrong."
"Apologies my lady, but he's right." Another guard spoke up. "They may look harmless now, but these are dangerous beasts. They're not like dogs."
Lord DuCouteau nodded. "Make it quick."
"Father no! Please don't!" Cassiopeia pleaded.
"I'm sorry Cassie." DuCouteau shook his head.
"Lord DuCouteau." Talon's voice rose above the rest so that all eyes were on him. He locked eyes with DuCouteau, who looked at him expectantly. "There are two cubs, one for each of your daughters. The cougar is a sigil of your family house. They were meant to have them." Cassiopeia's eyes beamed while Katarina cocked her head to the side to watch her father's reaction.
DuCouteau seemed to consider Talon's words for a long minute. Finally he spoke. "You'll train them yourselves." He turned to his daughters. "You'll feed them yourselves. And if they die, you'll bury them yourselves." With that, he signaled for his guards to return to their horses before walking away.
Talon handed one of the cubs to Cassiopeia. His younger sister carefully held it in her arms. "Thanks Talon." She smiled lovingly. "But what about you?"
Talon shook his head. "I'm not a DuCouteau, now go on. We've wasted enough time here." Cassiopeia nodded and headed back for her horse.
"You know, I've never seen one of these before." Katarina admitted as she picked up the other cub. "I guess they're cute."
"Looks like you found your type." Talon smirked. He had been waiting for a chance to get back at her.
Katarina glared at him. "You're not funny." She began to leave.
Talon took a step after her before he noticed something else. Hidden behind a shrub was a third cub. It was slightly smaller than the other two, and jet black in color. He slowly picked it up.
Katarina saw. "Well won't you look at that, looks like you are a DuCouteau after all." She smiled at him. But it was genuine this time. Her eyes glowed with real emotion.
Talon almost smiled back, but he managed to fight away the urge. "Wh-whatever." He muttered instead. "Let's just get going."
Katarina rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass." Together they walked back to their horses. It was time to go home.
A/N:
Got a little bit of inspiration after the show ended. Interested to see if this goes anywhere.
