Chapter III

People were tired. Feet were dragged across the ground almost uselessly as the night descended. There was a heavy sound of uneven breathing as our power came to an end. If we didn't rest soon, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves if attacked, despite there being hundreds of Demacians. Jarvan didn't seem to acknowledge that as he carried on leading, occasionally saying something encouraging. He was determined to stop this war, just so he wouldn't look bad as Demacia's leader.

Valor was circling overhead, his endless squawking becoming background noise in my tired state.

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" he went on and on and on.

"You're a baby, Valor. Just like a baby." I said back to him but he pretended to not hear me.

"Shyvana why can't you just turn into a dragon and fly us all to Freljord?" Fiora asked.

"And what? Carry a hundred idiots on my back? No thanks."

"Cheer up, Shyv, you'll get a pet poro, remember?" I told her.

"Which she'll burn."

"Stop calling me hot, Fiora." She replied straight faced, and I chuckled as Fiora blushed.

As the night dragged on, Jarvan must have become aware of our exhaustion and ordered us to stop and set up a small camp for the rest of the night. Each tent housed a small number of soldiers and I chuckled upon seeing Jarvan and Garen sharing one. I ship them so much.

After a few agonising minutes of trying to figure out how a tent works, Fiora, Shyv and I finally got ours up and fell asleep almost immediately, dreading the harsh cold that we'd have to wake up to, or worse - Jarvan.

Despite really needing sleep however, I woke up some time before dawn as Valor pecked my face. I was about to shoo him away, but then saw the grave look on his face. He didn't make any noise, so I followed him silently outside.

Everyone was sleeping, even the two idiots that were supposed to be up as guards, but somewhere in the distance, something moved behind a snow covered bush. I didn't think it would be a threat, so I approached it slowly, careful not to wake anyone. It seemed like it was just a wolf or something, but for some reason I wanted to check it out.

As I neared, it darted away from the bush and disappeared into the forest. Whatever it was, it seemed like a big animal, as I only caught a glimpse of its thick fur. I had never seen such a creature before so I went after it, following Valor as he guided me towards it deeper into the forest. Soon though, as we neared it, he called out for me to stop, his squawking urgent and frantic.

"Go back! He's not an animal!"

Before I could react, something hit my left arm and sent me tumbling onto the ground. An axe lay deep within my shoulder, and above me towered two men with full beards. As my vision blurred, I caught a glimpse of the deceiving bear head that one of them wore.

"Fiora, wake up!" I shook her gently by the shoulders, despite the fact that I was panicking.

She let out a groan as she unwillingly looked up at me. "What..."

"Quinn's gone! I can't find her."

"Calm yourself, maybe she went for a walk or something... she's crazy like that."

"But Valor isn't here either!"

"He'd be with Quinn."

"And where is Quinn?!"

"On a walk!"

We breathed deeply for a moment to calm down. I didn't think Quinn would leave without telling us, even if it was just for a stupid walk.

"Why wouldn't she tell us?" I asked.

"Because she's a good person who doesn't wake Fiora up!" she replied and turned her back on me.

I sighed. "Fiora! This could be bad!"

She paused for a moment before replying. "But what if it isn't? If she doesn't show up for breakfast we'll announce the others. There's no reason why she would have gone missing, Shyv. Out of all people? Just her?"

"You're right. I'm just paranoid. She'll be back soon."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"But what if she's not ok?"

"Then we'll go look for her. She knows better than to wander off on her own though. She won't get hurt." She replied.

I gave in and sat back down, waiting for Garen to wake us all up. I couldn't go back to sleep, and neither could Fiora. No matter how much she denied it, we were both worried.

"Fiora?" I whispered finally.

"Oui?" she muttered.

"What if Freljord plunges into a civil war? What if we're stuck in the middle of it?"

"You're not seriously afraid, are you?"

"No, but... Just how many people would be left amongst the tribes? What is a kingdom good for if its people are dead?"

She shrugged. "I'm not the one giving orders."

"And if you were?"

She didn't answer. "Just go back to sleep."

Humans were weird but I was glad to be friends with a couple of them. Slowly, I put an arm around Fiora's tired figure. She didn't complain. Instead, she let out a small sigh and brought herself slightly closer to me.

Humans were indeed weird, but I liked it.

"Who?"

"A Demacian. Just a soldier."

"Is she alive?"

"Injured, but alive."

"Patch her up."

"But..."

"I said patch her up. Clean the wound, bandage it."

"But why..."

"Did you not hear me?!"

The voices that surrounded me were unknown. I couldn't move and saw nothing but darkness. Suddenly, someone hauled me up so I sat with my back resting against what I thought must have been the wall. A damp cloth was applied to my shoulder and the sudden wave of pain woke me as I let out a cry.

Awakened, I could finally open my eyes. The sudden light made me feel dizzy and I nearly fell onto my side, but was caught by someone. They steadied me again so my back was against the wall once more. As the world came into focus, I was met by a pair of icy blue eyes. She held a cloth in one hand and was cleaning my wound, making me wince again at the pain.

She muttered something along the lines of "weakling" under her breath as she proceeded, before wrapping my shoulder up in some bandages.

"Valor... Where's Valor...?" I asked, my voice uneven due to my dry throat.

She looked baffled for a moment, before realization struck her. "The bird?"

I nodded slightly.

"Is he important?"

I nodded again, praying that he wasn't hurt.

"Brilliant." She answered. "You'll get him once you give us information."

I mentally cursed myself. I had no idea what she was after, and all I could think about was Valor.

As she finished patching up my shoulder she hauled me up again and sat me at a table. She sat across from me, next to two other men which looked familiar. It was axe guy and bear guy.

"Why are your people coming here?" She asked suddenly, her voice harsh as it seemed to bellow throughout the room.

I didn't know what to do. I shouldn't tell our plans to strangers, but my thoughts kept going back to Valor. Had they hurt him? Would they hurt him? In a moment of panic I blurted out all I knew.

"They... We're here to stop the war in Freljord. We were heading to the Avarossan."

"Why are you helping them?" Her voice rang once more, this time filled with more anger.

I nearly flinched, but replied quickly. "Because the Winter's Claw attacked them and they were going to retaliate. We're not directly helping them, we just want to stop the war."

Silence.

The woman looked at the two men confused. She turned back to me.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" her voice sounded more like a threat than a question, so I was hesitant to answer.

Eventually, I shook my head.

They chuckled - a small laugh which was not as amused as it was angered.

"I'm Sejuani. Leader of the Winter's Claw. Now tell me again... Why are you helping the Avarossan?"

I gulped. I looked into her cold eyes and I was almost frozen to my seat. My voice trembled slightly as I spoke, out of fear that they'll get angrier if I remained quiet.

"They told us that the Winter's Claw... your tribe... attacked them and..."

She turned to the bear guy. "You were right, Udyr. I'm sorry I doubted you."

He shook his head, dismissing the apology. "It doesn't matter anymore. What do we do now?"

She lowered her gaze as she thought and for the first time, I managed to get a proper look at her. She had short light blond hair that fell near her strong jawline. She wore heavy armour and thick furs, making me think that she wasn't half as cold as I was.

"More importantly at the moment," the axe guy broke the silence, "what do we do with her?" He gestured towards me. "Aren't the Demacians gonna look for her?"

"Perhaps." Answered Sejuani. "But she might be useful. And Udyr..."she turned back to him, "we attack as soon as we're ready. I won't have Ashe bullshitting anymore. Tell the others."

"Certainly." He replied and left the room.

"Where's Valor?" I demanded once more.

"Olaf, bring her the bird."

"But I thought I could keep him."

"Just bring her the damned bird."

He sighed and left as well, leaving me alone with the leader.

"You can't attack the Avarossan again." I said suddenly, unsure of where my courage had come from. "There'd be war all across Freljord then."

"Isn't there already? And it's not again. I never attacked them in the first place."

"But... Ashe sent a letter, she said..."

"Bullshit. On my honor I wouldn't attack without first declaring war. It's cowardly."

"Well then who would?"

"There's not just two tribes you know."

There was indeed a third. Something made me trust the leader's side of the story. I don't know why but she was suddenly not as scary as I thought she was.

"But if you attack, Demacia would already be there. You wouldn't stand a chance against two forces."

Her eyes locked with mine once more and a chill ran down my spine. "You still don't know who you're talking to."

The door opened and a gust of wind blew in. The axe guy walked in holding Valor whose wings and feet were tied. He was squawking angrily until he was in my arms, having his binds removed.

Note

This chapter is so tacky I could die. BUT on the bright side we got Her Majesty Sejuani in finally.