The Moon's Deceit
Quinn lays next to the body of the warrior she had slain. Her muscles cried from exhaustion, and her head pounds from the harshness of the blows the pommel of the sword had on her. Valor sits perched on her chest his eyes giving away a sense of fear. "I'm fine Valor, just tired," Quinn says with a deep pain clearly failing to be concealed. Valor lays his head on her bosom, and looks into her eyes pleading for his feathers to be stroked. Quinn shakes her head while giving off a slight chuckle. She removes one of her gold embroidered gloves Garen had given her back at the camp, and strokes the feathers of the eagle.
Her eyes stay fixated on the glove while Valor closes his eyes enjoying the comfort. She clutches the glove in her hand as her mind goes into deep thought. How am I supposed to save one of the greatest knights Demacia has ever known if I have difficulty with a cutthroat? She was not a cutthroat she was an honorable warrior. Anger flashes across her face for a split second.
Her eyes move from the glove to the body of the woman next to her. Golden locks flow down the woman's face with a slight crimson highlighting their beauty. Sky blue eyes sat slightly below her thin eyebrows, but slightly above her crooked nose. She was a woman of beauty if you could look past the scars.
Quinn looks back toward the glove, and slides it back onto her slim fingers. Valor gives her an annoyed look as she begins to sit herself up. She ignores the bird, and turns her attention toward the warrior. Before fully leaving the body she kneels down, and rests her fist against her heart. Tilting her head toward the sky she begins a soft prayer, "She fought with honor, and until her last breath. She deserves the slumber that awaits us all. I beg for you to guard her as her soul finds its resting place. Praise our saviors,".
Quinn stands, and gives the body one last look before she walks away from it. Demacian blood is on my hands, and I'll have to live with that until my blood is spilled. Tears begin to form in her eyes, but she bites them back. I'm a Demacian soldier I have no need for...this farm girl behavior. Don't lie to yourself, you're no soldier ever since they killed everyone that turned you into this. You couldn't save them because you're weak. You've never been able to save anyone ever since you lead your brother into the teeth of the Noxian hounds. You're just a petty girl that has already been cursed to a life of damnation.
Quinn quickly looks around herself to move her thoughts to something more pleasant. She finds herself deeper in the forest surrounded by the oak trees of central Demacia. You don't even know where you're going to find the one man that still gives you a chance. Sad, you should just give up this quest and return back to your father. You clearly don't match this life, just look at yourself. Quinn looks down at herself to see a disturbing sight. Many slight cuts cover her clothing, and some blood seeps through the gold. She can feel her hair and face covered in what she presumed was mud and dirt. God I'm a mess…
A vicious pull at her hair brings Quinn back into reality. Valor quickly lets go of her hair, and perches himself on a branch. He points himself toward an area deeper in the forest. Quinn feels the frown that sits upon her face, but she leaves it there. I deserve for the world to witness my shame. Quinn nods her head at the eagle, "We best head forward. We've come too far to turn back now," I'm not sure if I even know the way out of this forest. Valor flies off of the branch, and Quinn instinctively follows the eagle.
Quinn finds herself making more noise than a drunk Noxian as she walks through the forest. There's a reason I'm not a scout. Animals ran away as they heard her coming through the forest. Valor ignored her seeming to focus on gaining full control on his flight. His wing still showed difficulty keeping him in the air, but it didn't seem to stop the stubborn eagle. Quinn begins to turn sour as she continues to watch Valor. I wish I could have the level of confidence, and the push an eagle a fifth of my size has. Quinn shakes her head, and attempts to rid herself of the thoughts. The thoughts leave her as she continues to follow Valor.
Valor leads his companion to a piece of steel that glints in the moonlight. Valor lands next to the steel, and begins to call for Quinn. Quinn sees that the eagle had descended, and began to approach the curious metal. Her eyes stay glued onto the metal. She didn't care to look anywhere but at the metal as her footsteps snagged onto a piece of rope. She quickly looked down to see she had sprung a small animal trap. She let out a relieved sigh before reaching for the metal.
The jagged steel bit into her hand as she picked it up. She let the pain consume her for a few seconds before she began to examine the metal. She found very little significance in the metal other than that it was clearly placed to attract wildlife. She looked down at the trap, but found she had destroyed it when she triggered it. Quinn sits down as she twirls the metal between her fingers. Why are Hunters traveling through these woods? They have to know the Royal Guard is close. Why would they risk hunting in these woods?
Her head snaps to attention as she hears footsteps in the distance. Quinn reaches down at her swordbelt to find herself unarmed. She curses lightly at herself for forgetting the weapons at the site she had slain the warrior. Two men entered into her view as she slowly began to raise herself from the ground. The party looks onto her, and begins to approach her. She notices the royal guard crest that sits on their coats. Speak of the devil and he shall appear… She rests her hand against her swordbelt instinctively. Damn fool they'll think you mean to threaten them.
The guards look at her, but seem to have difficulty seeing she is unarmed. Good, they may lay off of me if I act as if I have a weapon by my side. One of the gruff voices of the guards interject her from though, "What brings you this far out?". The guard begins to look at her more closely, but gives off no sign that he sees her as unarmed.
She gives off a annoyed tone as she looks at the guards, "Hunting, what brings men like yourself into these parts?"
"Odd time to be 'hunting' don't ya think, Wallus?" the gruff guard says to the man on his left. The other man simply nods, and pushes past Quinn. He walks onto the ground where she had destroyed the trap. He begins to examine it, and turns to back to the other guard with a shake of his head. The guard next to Quinn let out a soft sigh as his partner raises the broken trap into the air. "Much use broken traps are doing for you?" the guard says taking a step toward Quinn.
Quinn found herself a little short of the man, but straightened her back showing she wouldn't back down. "I swear the rabbits are getting smarter with every year that passes," Quinn says as a slight sweat begins to show.
The guard continues his assault of questions, "Ah… it's the rabbits. Well answer me this then. Why is a Hunter walking in the forest alone, unarmed, and without any hunting tools?" The guard smirks as he sees shock begin to spread on her face.
"I am not alone… I have my Eagle with me," she says straightening out her right arm. Valor flies out and lands onto it. His talons dig into her skin as the jacket she wore had gone into a terrible state of disrepair. She holds back a grimace as she continues on, "He is the only weapon I need,".
The guard looks at the bird, and at her attire before continuing his questioning. The guard lets out a sigh of defeat, "We don't have time for these foolish games. Just send your hunting to the west, and you won't have any interference. May the gods bring you much success hunter," the guard gestures for the other to follow.
As the two begin to depart Quinn finishes the farewell, "And may the gods bless your shield guardsman,". Quinn lets Valor fly back into the air when the guards break out of her sight. She subconsciously fiddles with the metal she had placed into her pocket before looking towards Valor. "They know, Valor. I could see it on their faces. It was recognition...we may only have a few minutes before they come back,".
Quinn looks around nervously, not knowing which direction she should travel. "Valor, find us a way out of this damn forest. The Royal Guard will have to run into Garen. We'll need to find another way…" I'm sorry Garen, but I can't risk being caught between the Royal Guard, and your captors while being unarmed.
Quinn follows Valor through the forest this time being much more aware on how much noise she was making. Valor flies slowly through the air carefully examining the path he leads them both on. It seems like hours to Quinn before the pair break out onto a road. She looks down the road finding herself at another tough decision. Quinn wittily remarks, "Which way do you think is west Valor? I hear it's safer for people like us there."
Authors Note: It's been nearly four months since my last chapter. I share your disappointment in the lack of uploads. It's always been something that's irritated me, creative minds abandoning a work for a period of time without telling their audience, and it hurts me deeply that I feel into this action.
Writing has always brought me joy, and it puzzles me why I stopped for this long period of time. I think a mix of lack of self worth, and stress lead me down this road, but I plan on clawing my way back to gaining back all those I lost in my brief absence. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope I'll stay dedicated on this writing.