Chapter 21

The sun peeking through the half-drawn curtains managed to hit Quinn perfectly in the eye, interrupting her unusually peaceful sleep. She made a disgruntled sound of protest, squeezing her eyes tight before sighing in defeat. Her eyes blinked open to see the offending window, large and draped with gaudy red curtains. Not the balcony of her room she'd been living in the past few months.

She panicked for just a moment as her hand flung to her neck; her ring was still safely secured around her neck and she didn't notice any injuries right away. Glancing down at her body, she realized she was completely nude and everything clicked. She wasn't in Demacia anymore.

Talon had come for her. Granted, he'd come to kill her, but it was a misunderstanding. A rather large one, but it had ended without any harm coming to her. Once he knew that she still loved him and had never willingly left, he insisted she come with him. So now here she was, in the Du Couteau manor, laying in the bed of what she could only assume was a guest room. What happened next, she had no idea.

"Talon?" she mumbled as she forced herself to sit up.

But the bed was empty aside from her, an indent in the mattress where he had once laid.

Quinn twirled the ring between her fingers nervously, glancing around the rest of the room. The door to the bathroom was open, but there was no sign of him.

They'd been apart for two months and their reunion, while initially awkward, had been quite intimate the night before. Her eyes fell downwards, taking in the sight of her belly. She was definitely pregnant, and she wondered if it had bothered Talon to see her like this. What if he no longer found her attractive? Why would he leave her in bed like this after taking her away from the only home she'd ever known?

Wracked with anxiety, she quickly hopped out of the bed and pulled on the oversized robe she'd found yesterday and poked her head into the bathroom to make sure Talon wasn't hidden in a corner of some sort. When she found it still bare, she pulled the robe tighter around her body and made her way to the bedroom door. She had no idea where anything was in this house, but she knew that she needed to find Talon and make sure everything was alright.

Opening the door, she'd barely taken a step when she collided into someone, stumbling back a few steps to catch her balance. Hoping to see Talon, she looked up with anticipation, only to find a red haired woman holding a box of what looked like fabric, eyeing her questioningly.

A moment passed before Quinn remembered that this was Katarina, the person who definitely did not want her staying at her family manor.

"Katarina!" she gasped, "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you -"

"Here."

Quinn blinked in confusion as Katarina offered her the box she was holding, her expression difficult to read but definitely not happy.

"Um… did you need help with that?" Quinn asked.

Katarina rolled her eyes and stepped into the room, walking over to the bed and setting the box down with a huff.

"It's clothes," she said flatly, "Talon said you didn't get to bring a lot with you and Cass doesn't wear any of this anymore, so here."

This was surprisingly thoughtful for someone who hated her, Quinn thought. Katarina had made it clear the last time she was here that she never wanted to see Quinn in Noxus again, so it was a bit of a shock to see her rummaging around through a box of clothes she was now gifting to her.

The redhead lifted something out of the box, a gaudy blouse that probably wouldn't even fit Quinn and scoffed at it, tossing it back in before rummaging around some more.

"Thank you" Quinn said softly as she stepped over to join Katarina, "That's… really nice of you."

Katarina just rolled her eyes while inspecting the next article of clothing, a long flowy dress that wasn't nearly as ornate as the blouse. She turned to Quinn and offered it.

"This should fit," she stated, "It's flowy and shouldn't be tight on your stomach."

Quinn's mouth fumbled to form words, but found herself unable to respond. How had Katarina known? Was it that obvious?

"Relax, Talon told me what's going on."

Oh, right. Of course.

"Speaking of Talon…" Quinn started.

"You want to know where he is?" Katarina cut her off before she had the chance to ask.

Quinn just nodded meekly. He mentioned yesterday that they needed to talk, and that was certainly true. Now that she'd left Demacia, Talon was all she had. She needed to know how he felt and what his intentions were. She couldn't even begin to think of what she'd do if he suddenly no longer wanted her.

"He went to the border," Katarina answered, "Was checking to see if your prince sent anyone after you. It'd be stupid if he did, but you never know with Demacians. No offense."

The scout just chuckled nervously, unsure how to respond.

"He'll be back later," Katarina continued, "Until then, you can stay in the manor. We can't have you going outside and being seen by anyone. If you need anything, just ask one of the servants."

With that, she dropped the dress into Quinn's hands and made her way back to the door.

"Katarina!" Quinn called, turning to watch her leave.

The Noxian turned back, an inquisitive eyebrow raised in anticipation.

"Thank you again. I know that this isn't easy for you, but I really appreciate what you're doing."

A look crossed Katarina's face for but a moment, one that seemed heavy with familiarity and grief. It passed in a blink, only to be replaced by a smirk.

"It's my job to clean up my little brother's messes. And…"

She hesitated a moment before continuing.

"You're welcome."

Luckily for Talon, it wasn't raining. Cloudy, but at least he didn't have to deal with being wet.

He'd been here for about an hour now, watching from the tree line to see if any Demacian forces were making their way to Noxian territory. Katarina had told him it was unnecessary, that Jarvan IV wouldn't be stupid enough to do that, but Talon came regardless. After what Quinn had told him, he had a feeling that the Demacian prince wouldn't take her disappearance lightly.

He passed the time whetting his blade, his eyes trained on the horizon as the sound of metal scraping echoed through the trees. Assuming Jarvan had taken time to assemble and debrief a squadron, they should be leaving Demacia as quickly as possible.

But it was nearing noon and there was still no sign, no blue banners or cavalry of knights peeking over the horizon. Talon sighed; perhaps he had been a bit overly paranoid.

If they did decide to show up, news would travel quickly and he'd have at least a little bit of time to prepare. He was already plan on getting Quinn out of Noxus regardless, so by the time they did appear she could already be long gone.

Talon turned around to begin his trek home when he heard a twig snap. He stopped, trying to determine where the sound had come from and where the attacker was located. Another snap, but it was coming from somewhere strange. Above?

Just as he tilted his head up, a loud shriek pierced the air and Talon found himself being dive bombed by an enormous bird. He fell to the ground with a thud, his hood getting knocked off in the process.

The bird continued to shriek and grabbed at his cloak with its talons, yanking on his hair with its beak in between its cries. Talon's hands flung up to fight the bird off, but to no avail. Managing to twist his head around and actually get a look at it, his eyes widened.

"You!" he called out.

The bird squawked angrily, it's eyes locked onto the Noxian's as it continued to pull at his clothing.

It was Quinn's bird. How the hell did he get here? Was he leading a troop of Demacians this way? Or had he really gone off on his own to find his partner?

Frustrated, Valor's talons raked into Talon's flesh, causing him to cry out in surprise.

"Hey! Wait! She's ok! She's ok!"

Talon always thought it was weird how Quinn claimed she could speak with the bird, but if he wanted to avoid being mauled to death he had to at least try to communicate.

Valor released his grip on Talon's clothes and hopped down to the ground, eyeing him intensely. He ruffled his feathers a bit and tilted his head, as if asking Talon a question he couldn't possibly understand.

"She's… she's alright," Talon said, "She's with me. I can take you to her. You're… not being followed, right?"

The bird blinked a few times, but otherwise remained silent, still watching Talon as if ready to strike at any moment.

Talon sighed hopelessly. Even if the bird did understand him, it wasn't like he could understand the bird. Even so, he didn't have a lot of options. He could leave the bird and go back, but it would probably either try to maul him or go back to Demacia and notify them somehow of where Quinn was. He wasn't sure if all Demacians could speak bird, but it wasn't a chance he was willing to take.

"Alright, look, you can come with me," he explained, "I'll show you that she's alright and I'm sure she'd want to see you, too."

Valor cawed and flapped his wings. Talon hoped that was a good sign.

"Only thing is, you're very… obviously a Demacian eagle. In Noxus."

Talon glanced around, as if there was somehow a disguise for a bird in plain sight. Unable to think of anything, he kicked at the dirt, muttering to himself about how much of a pain this was.

Valor looked in the direction of Talon's foot, seeing the dirt kicked in the air. He tilted his head, clicked his tongue and immediately dove towards the ground, rubbing himself and rolling around in the dirt.

Talon watched, half in confusion and half in awe, as the bird's blue feathers became a musty, dirty brown color.

"No shit," he mumbled, "That's… that's crazy."

After a few minutes of this, Valor had transformed himself into what looked like a normal, although rather dirty, bird of prey. He could almost pass for a Noxian hawk, Talon thought.

"You're lucky it's not raining," Talon grunted, "Or this wouldn't be nearly as impressive."

"Piltover?"

Jarvan looked up from his papers at the young Vanguard member that had suddenly asked for an audience with him. She rocked back on her heels and nodded earnestly.

"Lux, I…"

"Your Highness, please let me help!"

The girl grasped her hands in front of her, practically begging.

"Quinn is my friend," she continued, "I can't sit here and do nothing!"

Jarvan sighed and rubbed his temple. Since Quinn's disappearance, the prince hadn't slept and had been spending most of his time with the Dauntless Vanguard and discussing plans of action.

"I've already sent your brother on a covert mission to Noxus," he sighed, "I'm sure he can handle it."

"But what if they're not in Noxus?" Lux insisted, "That's exactly where they'd think we would look!"

Lux bit her lip in anticipation. She had a feeling that Quinn and her Noxian lover had fled both kingdoms, probably looking to seek refuge in another part of Runeterra. All she wanted was to know that her friend was alive and alright. If she was, then she would be happy for her and let her live her life in peace. Jarvan didn't have to know that last part though.

"Then why Piltover?" Jarvan asked.

"It's the transportation center of Runeterra," Lux answered, "Plus, I have a friend there who could help! He's an expert at finding lost things."

Usually those lost things were ancient artifacts, but she was sure that Ezreal would be willing to help her track down a friend.

Jarvan could see the girl practically bursting at the seams with excitement. He knew that Lux cared about Quinn, she seemed to look up to her as a big sister type of figure. And if Garen's search in Noxus did end up fruitless, it wouldn't hurt to already have a head start in Piltover where they could spread news across the continent far more rapidly.

If he denied her, she'd surely be miserable and possibly a bother to him while he was working on his own plans here in Demacia.

"Fine," he relented, "But you must send correspondence every day. Your brother will kill me if I ask for anything less."

Lux squealed joyfully and ran around the side of Jarvan's desk, leaning over to hug him tightly.

"Thank you so much, Your Highness! I won't let you down!"

Jarvan just gave her a pat on the hand and then waved her to leave the room. She nearly sprinted out the door, presumably to go back and get ready.

The prince looked back down at his notes, going over every piece of information he had. He would figure out the identity of Quinn's lover and once he did, it would be his hanging or war with Noxus.

Once Lux had finished packing, she checked over her belongings. She wasn't sure how long she'd be gone, but this seemed like enough to at least get her to Piltover and stay for a few days.

Reaching into her pocket, she fished out the drawing she'd found in Quinn's room. The handsome man in the drawing glared back at her and the words "The Blade's Shadow" seemed so menacing for him. In all honesty, he just looked grumpy.

"If this really is the guy you're in love with," she sighed, "Jarvan's going to kill me."

Author's Note: It's been a while. "Arcane" made me want to write in the League universe again and after re-reading all the lovely reviews, I'm gonna try to give this another go. If any of you past readers are still out there, hope this was worth the wait.