It was official: Quinn was miserable. She'd returned to Demacia and had been waiting for a new mission assignment for nearly two weeks, caged up in her room with nothing to do aside from the occasional training sessions Garen required the Vanguard to participate in.
When Jarvan finally decided to announce the mission assignments, Quinn couldn't be happier. It was suffocating staying in Demacia too long, and while she loved her kingdom, she preferred to be out serving it instead. It also gave Valor the opportunity to properly stretch his wings, which he was always happy to do. Said bird was currently perched on Quinn's shoulder, alert and focused as he waited for his assignment.
The members of the Dauntless Vanguard had all been lined up and Jarvan IV himself was assigning the missions, a task he usually left to Garen due to his busy schedule.
"I apologize for the delay, but I've come to inform you all of your latest missions," he explained, "Demacia is in a fairly peaceful time, so there's nothing terribly dangerous for you to worry about."
Damn. Quinn had never been a fan of domestic missions, but if it got her back out in the world then she wouldn't complain.
The prince first addressed Fiora and explained her mission, but Quinn didn't bother to pay attention. As usual, her thoughts had wandered to Talon.
They'd been apart multiple times during their affair, but it seemed different this time. Katarina had sent him away and neither knew how long he'd be gone. A few weeks at the least, he'd said, which Quinn felt was far too long. He'd just laughed and assured her they'd be together again soon. She felt her stomach flip as she remembered their parting embrace, the way he'd kissed her forehead and held her hand as long as he could. She hoped that the scarf she'd gotten him was keeping him warm.
"Quinn."
The scout was snapped out of her daydream and turned her attention to Jarvan, who had at some point made his way to stand in front of her. He seemed concerned about the distance in her eyes, but decided it best not to bring it up in front of the entire vanguard.
"Freljord," he said simply, "To the Avarosan tribe. You'll be acting as an emissary, informing their leader that we extend our hand during this time of rising tension between them and the Winter's Claw. We are already on friendly terms with the Avarosa, so it shouldn't be too difficult a mission."
Quinn couldn't believe her ears. Jarvan was sending her to the Freljord? The exact place that Talon was? This seemed too perfect to be a coincidence, but Quinn wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
"Yes, Your Highness," she replied, Valor squawking in agreement.
Jarvan nodded and Quinn couldn't help but notice the glint of worry in his eyes before he moved on to address the next member. But she was too thrilled to think anything of it. She was going to the Freljord! Granted, she couldn't guarantee that she'd be able to find Talon, but the odds were a lot better than if she were to remain in Demacia.
Valor made a small disgruntled sound and Quinn reached up to stroke him reassuringly.
"I know, you hate the cold," she sighed.
The bird nodded, ruffling his feathers as if to emphasize his distaste.
"If I could get you a scarf too, I would," she teased.
Quinn laughed softly when the eagle rolled his eyes at her, clearly unamused about being compared to Talon in any way.
Once he finished assigning missions, Jarvan dismissed himself to return to his usual obligations, but not before instructing everyone to carry out their assignments swiftly.
As Quinn began to return to her room to prepare, she was stopped by Lux, who seemed like she was about to burst from excitement.
"Quinn!" she squealed, "Are you excited for your assignment?"
"It's nothing exciting, but I suppose so."
Lux looked around to make sure that the others weren't listening and spoke quietly.
"I know you said your boyfriend was going to the Freljord. So, I might have mentioned to Jarvan that you were interested in going."
No wonder she'd gotten so lucky. Quinn couldn't help but beam and wrap her arms around the smaller girl. It was impulsive and she quickly pulled away, but Lux didn't seem to mind judging by the grin on her face.
"Of course," Lux continued, "I tried to convince him to let me go with you. That didn't work though. I'm stuck here with Garen as usual."
"Thank you," Quinn said, "Really, I owe you."
"When you come back you have to tell me everything! That seems like a fair deal to me."
The scout laughed nervously, playfully ruffling Lux's hair. She had no idea what would happen on this mission and she knew the girl was referring specifically to anything that involved Talon. If anything did happen, she wasn't sure how much she'd be able to tell. Regardless, she could at least humor Lux.
"Sure. And you can tell me about your boyfriend."
The blonde's face turned a brilliant crimson and her confidence seemed to evaporate as she turned into a stuttering mess.
"Boyfriend!" she squeaked, "I-I don't have a boyfriend! Me? Never! No way! I mean, there's this one guy… But he's not my boyfriend!"
Quinn laughed again and placed a reassuring hand on Lux's shoulder. She hadn't really expected Lux to react in such away and wondered if Garen knew about his little sister's infatuation.
"Alright, fine," she said, "You can tell me about your crush when I get back."
Lux stammered to try and find an answer but came up short, turning her head away in shame.
"I gotta go!" she said quickly, "I think, uh, Garen needs me! Bye Quinn! Have a safe trip!"
Before Quinn could stop her, Lux had already run off to follow her brother, who had luckily been nowhere near to hear that disaster of a conversation. Quinn smiled fondly as she watched the two return to the citadel, Valor squawking loudly.
"Jealous?" Quinn teased, "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll still give you plenty of chin scratches whether she has a boyfriend or not."
Valor squawked again, quieter this time, happy with Quinn's answer.
"Now," she sighed, "Let's go get ready. Maybe I'll let find a scarf for you to borrow."
While she'd teased Valor about his dislike of the cold, Quinn had to admit that she wasn't the biggest fan of it either. The cloak she wore was thicker than her usual one, but the frigid wind was relentless against her skin. She tugged at the fabric to pull it tighter, but it was of little help.
Valor called to her, flying at a higher altitude than normal in an attempt to avoid the heavy winds. She raised an arm in acknowledgment and pushed forward, her lips feeling as if they had frozen shut.
Their journey had been pleasant up until now, and Quinn was quickly regretting her quick agreement to this mission. It could've been worse, she thought. It was only late autumn and the cold now was nothing compared to that in the winter, when men were frozen into statues where they stood.
Still, her teeth chattered as she trudged along, grateful that the snow wasn't deep yet. She'd visited the Freljord before, although it had been in the spring, and was somewhat familiar with where she was going. She had come to a small lake that had recently frozen over and took a deep breath. The Avarosa were near, maybe another hour or two at the most if she were to cross the lake instead of going around it. She sighed as she thought of reaching the village, longing for the roaring fire she knew would be waiting for her.
Valor's screech brought her out of her daydream, her body stiffening as she focused herself to be more alert. He'd sounded concerned, as if there was a possible threat, but Quinn saw nothing but the frozen lake and the sparse woods behind it. Most of the trees had already lost their branches, so she couldn't imagine anyone trying to hide or take cover in them.
Quinn forced herself to open her mouth, feeling the skin on her lips crack after being sealed shut for so long.
"What do you see up there?" she called out.
It was silent for a moment and Quinn wasn't sure if he'd been able to hear her over the wind. She looked up and was surprised to find that Valor was nowhere to be seen. Had he flown that high up?
"Valor?" she cried, panic rising in her voice.
Without thinking, she had wandered onto the frozen lake, scanning the sky for her companion. She could hear the ice creak beneath her weight, but was too concerned about Valor to notice.
"Valor!"
After what felt like days, Valor finally answered. He squawked at her again, his body finally appearing above her though it was blurry against the wind and snow. He'd sounded annoyed which was extremely unlike him.
"Val, what is it?"
He squawked again, but Quinn couldn't understand what he meant. Was there something ahead she needed to worry about? She looked away from the sky and realized that she'd gotten halfway across the lake without any attempt at caution.
"Shit," she breathed.
How had she been so careless? One wrong step and she'd fall into the icy water beneath her. She wasn't sure what would be worse: drowning or freezing to death. Her body trembled at the thought.
It took a moment for her to calm herself, but once she'd taken a deep breath she managed to continue her journey, stepping as softly and carefully as possible, her eyes locked on the forest ahead.
There were a few pines that were still full of needles, but most of the trees were barren, their leaves dead and brown against the snowy forest floor. As she cautiously made her way forward, Quinn thought she was one of the trees moving. Squinting her eyes, she tried to get a better look.
It was a tall, black silhouette, that was certain, and it was definitely heading her direction. Had this been what Valor had warned her about earlier? But he seemed annoyed at the matter, as if whatever it was would just be a mild inconvenience.
There was no doubt that it was a person as it came closer, Quinn able to see the fabric of their cloak flapping violently in the wind. Their hood was pulled over their head and they were staring downwards, probably in an attempt to protect their face from the bitter wind.
Should she call out to it? It was clear that the figure had no idea she was there, as it just kept moving forward, looking down and unaware of its surroundings. She wasn't sure if this person was friendly or not and she was already in a precarious situation on the ice. What would they do once they reached the ice? Would they try to cross it as she had? Or would they go around?
Quinn glanced up at Valor, who was still flying above her, seemingly unfazed by the figure in front of them. Her eyes darted back to the figure and, despite her gut telling her not to, she opened her mouth to call out to Valor. But she was drowned out by a particularly strong gust of wind, one that nearly sent her falling. She flung out her arms in an attempt to keep her balance and held her breath, waiting for the ground to swallow her. Once she felt stable enough, she looked back over to the figure.
The wind had blown off its hood and Quinn was able to make out a dark mop of hair that flew around haphazardly as the person attempted to put their hood back on. There was a blur of color around their neck, a familiar blood red that made Quinn's heart race. It was impossible, but she had to try.
"Talon!"
The figure looked in her direction, clearly surprised to hear another voice. She could tell they were inspecting her and for a moment she was worried that she'd been mistaken.
"What the hell are you doing?" he cried.
Quinn was relieved to hear the familiar rough voice and couldn't help but laugh softly. What were the odds that they'd meet here, in all the places of the Freljord?
"Idiot, you're walking on ice! You're gonna get yourself killed!"
It was almost cute, the way he seemed worried about her. She knew he wasn't, as he had made it clear he wasn't invested in his feelings, but she still smiled thoughtfully. He'd begun to make his way towards the edge of the lake and Quinn started to explain herself when something whizzed through the air.
An arrow had lodged into the ice mere inches in front of Quinn, creating a crack that made Quinn's eyes go wide. Her hands reached for her crossbow, but she couldn't see where the arrow had come from. Valor shrieked from above and Talon drew his blade, body tense as he listened for some form of movement.
The silence was deadly and Quinn swore she could hear the ice cracking under her feet. She wanted to move but worried that the shift in weight would only cause the ice to give way. Her finger hovered against the trigger, itching to pull, but at what enemy?
Talon took a step towards her, nearly at the edge of the lake.
"Stay there!" he called, "I'm going to come to you."
Quinn wanted to yell at him that it was too dangerous, but the words caught in her throat.
"Don't move!" he warned, "Just… stay still!"
She opened her mouth to reply when another arrow soared through the air, this time lodging itself in the scout's calf. Her scream sent Valor in a frenzy and he took off having seen where the arrow had come from this time.
As she stumbled, she pulled back on the trigger, sending a bolt flying through the air, lodging itself in a tree after missing Talon by a foot. The crossbow fell from her grasp and skid a few feet away out of her reach. She'd barely been able to remain standing, the crack from the initial arrow having spread out like a spider web.
"Don't move!"
There was an edge to Talon's voice that Quinn had never heard, something that she might've thought was concern had it been anyone else.
She nodded and looked down at her leg, wincing at the sight of the arrow and the blood that seeped from the wound, turning the ice at her foot a brilliant crimson.
This wasn't how she'd wanted to die. She knew the ice would break and she'd be at mercy of the unforgiving water. Talon wouldn't save her, she knew that. He didn't care for her and had no reason to risk his life for hers. The realization brought a tear to her eye.
"Talon!" she called.
He'd reached the lake and was examining it when her voice reached him. The fear in her voice sent a chill down his spine and he looked up to meet her gaze. Even as far as they were, he could see the terror in her face, the glistening of her golden eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek.
She wasn't sure what had caused it. A shift in her weight, the tear falling to the ice or perhaps fate just growing bored with her. But before she could finish speaking the ice collapsed and she fell into the water.
"Quinn!"
He'd called her name, she thought. It felt as if thousands of small needles were being jabbed into her skin, paralyzing her and still she smiled. She'd always loved it when he called her by her name.
The arrow in her leg was a brick, dragging her down despite her attempts to fight her way back to the surface. Cold seeped into her veins, rendering her limbs motionless. Her fingers reached to find something, anything, but only flailed helplessly through the water.
So this was how she would die. She thought about her parents back in Uwendale and how they'd have to go through the grief of losing a child all over again, as if the first time hadn't been difficult enough. She thought of Caleb and how disappointed he'd be in her, coming so close to their goal of bringing glory to Demacia, only to fall short. She thought of Valor, her loyal companion who was probably screaming for her up above, wondering what would happen to him without her after they had been together for so long.
And she thought of Talon. She saw his face, sharp and harsh, only softening for her when she laughed. How he'd hold her throughout the night, despite insisting he'd leave every time. The way he'd kiss her relentlessly and how she'd melt against his touch. She realized that maybe she was growing feelings for the Noxian, feelings that she knew were dangerous and had no place in their strictly physical relationship. But the smile he'd given her when she gave him the scarf made her think that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the only one who felt something.
For a moment, she thought she heard something, as if something else had fallen in the water above her. Probably more ice, she told herself. Her lungs had run out of air and she could feel her consciousness slipping away from her. She managed to look up as her eyes began to close, lips parting as her final breath escaped them. There was a blur of red and she thought she saw a hand reaching out for her.
And then there was nothing but darkness.
Author's Note: Alright, I wasn't expecting to be updating so quickly but I've just been writing nonstop lately, which is both a blessing and a curse. I'll do my best to keep the momentum up, but I know it won't last forever and you'll have to bear with me when updates become weekly or bi-weekly. Also, please take your time to leave a review, they honestly mean so much to me and motivate me to write more than anything. Even if it's just a few words, I love hearing your thoughts and knowing that some of you out there really like this stuff. That's all for now, sorry about the cliffhanger!