Though the main door was wide open, Quinn and Vianna hadn't set foot in the family house yet. Quinn's mother made a step forward and stood at her husband's side. She crossed her arms, coldly studying her daughter.

Quinn noticed that her mother had more iron strands in her hair than a few years ago. It was pulled in a tight ponytail, as most rangers used to do so for practical reasons. Though her mother had retired from her duties after Caleb's death, she lived and served like she still was a ranger.

"Why... Why did you think I was dead?" asked Quinn in a little voice.

"Oh, I thought you'd know." Her mother spoke in a voice that hurt more than the sharpest metal. Was she not happy to see her daughter?

"It's complicated." Quinn blew out.

"Come on, let's not linger out there. Let's get some dinner, so you can explain everything... And introduce your friend."

Quinn was thankful that her father intervened. Though he was troubled, she could still sense a great relief from him. He put a caring hand on her shoulder, a gesture she had almost forgotten. While they walked inside, Quinn's mother waited by the door and didn't take her eyes off them.

They all sat in the living room, a cosy space that Quinn had associated with the happiest of memories. On the side of the room was a stone chimney that was filled with the dying embers of a small fire. Quinn's father brought a deer stew that he had cooked with Quinn's mother, and a pot of soup made with onions and carrots from their garden.

"Can I have your bowl, Cian?" asked Quinn's mother.

"Sure darling."

Quinn's mother held out her bowl for her husband to fill it with the soup. Quinn and Vianna already had their bowls and plates full, but the Demacian woman had no apetite. Her stomach was a tight knot mostly because of the distance her mother kept between the both of them.

"Quinn... Aren't you hungry?" Her father asked.

"Not right now... But the meal looks really good, dad." Quinn reassured him.

"You must be tired from your journey... Eat a little at least!' He insisted.

Quinn couldn't resist her father's kindness, and ate a mouthful of stew. The taste immediately brought her back to childhood, when her and Caleb came back from their antics in the forest to a warm meal at home. Her father had always been kind and caring, even though people who didn't know him could mistake him for a brute. He had always been guarded with strangers, but was quite outgoing with his loved ones, especially his beloved wife and children.

Quinn found herself wondering what kind of father Talon would make... The mere thought made her stomach churn, and she repressed her sudden urge to throw up. She had almost forgotten... Talon was gone.

Her mother must have caught up on the weird face she was making, and chose the worst moment to start the awkward conversation.

"My daughter... It is time you shed light on what brings you here... And on the strange news that were brought to us by the Demacian guard."

Quinn hardly swallowed and almost choked on her food. Her mother kept on talking.

"Weeks from now, a ranger envoy was sent here to tell us about a man named Sylas, his rebellion, and the carnage he caused in the Royal City. A few Demacians betrayed their kingdom on this cursed day, and joined his side. I heard about Luxanna Crownguard's treachery... And yours."

Quinn's heart had gone far beyond her control. Her mother breathed in, and put her fork by her plate. She had no intention of eating either.

"That's when the envoy announced me your death... In his words, you had been sentenced to death right after the rebellion. When Valor arrived here soon after, he was so devastated and didn't eat for days. Seeing the state he was in, I truly believed you had died."

Her last words betrayed the anguish she had been in, but she pulled herself together. Her eyes pierced a hole in Quinn's heart.

"Maybe you should have stayed where you were."

"Tara!" Her father exclaimed.

"What, Cian? Our last remaining child is guilty of high treason. Her honor will never be saved, never!"

That's when Vianna chose to finally open her mouth, after havnig carefully observed the dynamics in the family for a while.

"Your daughter isn't guilty of that crime, Tara. She did not participate in the rebellion, in any way." Vianna calmly asserted.

Tara turned her head to her in hostility.

"What tells me you aren't lying to protect her? Maybe you're part of it, too."

"I am not."

Quinn was glad Vianna hadn't revealed her magic to her parents... Her mother would have kicked them out instantly, chasing after them with her long bow.

"Then please explain why I was given such news!" Tara angrily rose from her seat.

Quinn was trembling. She didn't know what to answer. She felt like a child being yelled at, guilty of simply existing. Though she loved her mother, she very well knew that she would never listen to her if she was set in her mind. Quinn was about to leave the table, apologize, and never come to Uwendale again. Coming here had been a mistake.

"Your daughter was imprisoned though, and was lucky enough to barely make it out alive."

Vianna contemplated Tara with a judgemental look. Quinn's mother didn't flinch, but something had changed in her attitude...

"What has she done then?"

Vianna looked at a petrified Quinn, but wasn't asking for permission to talk. Quinn was mortified: she was about to spit everything out. Vianna straightened her back, and sighed.

"She was in love... With the wrong man." She seemed to hesitate. "A Noxian."

Quinn couldn't tell which dropped the lowest: her parents' jaws, or her self-esteem? Sometimes, she wanted to smack the older woman in the face. On their way to Uwendale, they had briefly argued about what they would tell them, and Vianna had pleaded in the favour of brutal honesty. Quinn had been against, of course... But there was nothing she could do to change Vianna's mind. She hadn't lied, and Quinn was left with the weight of her shame in front of her parents.

The ex-ranger expected her mother to disown her on the spot, but her father was the first to react.

"Quinn, is that true?!" He had shouted without wanting to, but it had been stronger than him.

In front of his daughter's silence and reddening cheeks, he took his face in his hands.

"This must be a lie. This has to be!"

"Thank you, stranger, for telling the truth..." Tara wasn't soft, but something in her had changed.

"Quinn, what have you done?! Have you truly dishonoured yourself?"

"Answer us. We are your parents and deserve to know."

"Who is that man, Quinn?!"

Quinn couldn't hold it in anymore and rose from her seat as fast as lightning. The tension in her was so strong that it kept her from speaking, but she was done. The tears were readily pushing at the corners of her eyes, like they always did these days. She couldn't bear the humiliation, and anticipated the tarnishing of Talon's name.

Her blood painfully boiled. She knew all eyes were on her, but she had to get away from them all. Her beloved parents thought of their last child as a dishonour? So be it. Quinn would never be seen by anyone again.

Before they could stop her, she stormed out through the main door.

Quinn aimlessly wandered in the fresh night, walking through the forest that she knew so well. She didn't know where her legs were taking her, nothing mattered anymore. The memories that were constantly revived by this peaceful place ended hurting her more than anything else.

She longed to live in the past again. To be her old self again, unbroken, and loved.

But this life was gone. The last remains of her past happiness were taunting her, reminding her of everything she had lost. She had no right to become this person again. Quinn was alone in the world, abandoned by the last person who had cared about her, and the most important. Her desire to go looking for Talon had crumbled in front of her parents' brutal disgust of their own daughter... She had failed everything, and been rejected by everyone. And in the end, she had betrayed Talon.

Quinn's feet had carried her on top of a high cliff. She had been there so many times, to simply think, and grieve about Caleb. There usually was a splendid view of the mountains around, but only the stars shone on her from above. And before her... Only the darkness was there.

The night air was a gentle caress on her cheek. Quinn closed her eyes at this unexpected comfort. These past months, she had painfully discovered that the people she thought she knew would never accept her for who she truly was. Her love for a Noxian had put a target on her back. Her years of dedication and sacrifices for her kingdom hadn't changed anything, all of it was forgotten in an instant. She had seen the filth under the golden image of Demacia, and all of those who were dedicated to it. And the ease with which the people she had fought for had been ready to violate her...

But even if she had struggled to accept this harsh reality, Talon had been there. Even on the verge of his own death, he had been ready to offer his last breath to her. Quinn cried, her tears were wiped away by the soft breeze.

She contemplated the dark space below the cliff. Just a step was needed to end it all.

Never in her life had she contemplated the implications of such a small step in the dark... And there she was now.

A sudden thought invaded her mind, and didn't help at all... Caleb. What would her brother have thought of all this? She had sometimes imagined what he would have said, never daring to linger there for too long and avoiding the answer. But tonight, she faced it fully: Caleb would have rejected her too. He would have been ashamed to call her his sister. He had always been so righteous, so... Demacian.

If the only person she wanted to live her life with didn't want her, so be it. No one else mattered anyway.

Quinn lifted her foot from the ground...

All of a sudden came a high-pitched screech from the sky. A cry of happiness echoing at the sight of a friend... Valor.

The majestic eagle was a large shadow in this moonless night. He deployed his wings, and landed right in front of Quinn, blocking her path to her free fall. A breath she didn't know she was holding escaped her lungs. Quinn fell on her knees in a thud, bruising them on the sharp rocks of the cliff, and embraced Valor. She cried all her profound pain in the pine-scented feathers of her friend.

Valor cooed in worry, and rubbed his cheek against Quinn's head. He had no words to express it, but Quinn deeply felt how much he had missed her. She plunged her fingers in his thickest feathers, and stroked them over and over again to prove herself that he was still there.

"Valor..." Quinn said in a murmur.

For the first time in ages, crying felt liberating. No shame, no need to hide... Only the secrecy of her winged friend could allow it. She hiccuped when she realized that she would forever be in debt to Valor. For he had saved her a second time.

Torture had never been Talon's thing.

Over the years, the murders that had provided him the most pleasure were the perfect executions. Never seen, never heard... And a dead body found when he was already miles away. Talon was the angel of Death, no one could keep him from taking the life he had chosen to take. And he loved that.

He had found that he prided himself in the most difficult kills to execute, especially upon dangerous and powerful enemies. Talon usually studied them for days before taking action, and knew how to find the best opportunity to strike. Justice had never been a concept that he liked, but there was some form of blind justice in the brutal equality brought by his hand. Whether they were poor, rich, powerful, protected... Death treated everyone the same.

But torture was different. Talon had always found it low and pathetic... A pleasure only inflicted and searched by degenerate beasts.

Had he become one of them on this night?

The Noxian assassin had penetrated with ease in the guard's wing, and had visited each of their separate rooms. For three days straight he had studied their routine, and had chosen the perfect moment to execute his plan...

But Talon had lowered himself to torturing his victims for information... And for pleasure.

With each of their muffled screams and pleas, he had ripped from them the knowledge of who had tortured and abused Quinn amongst other things. Feeling that he was killing them for her was so good. Talon had never needed to lie to himself in order to bear what he was doing... And this time was no different.

He roamed the lower city as discreetly as an invisible spirit. The perfect hour was now: every living being was either asleep, or drunk in the gutter.

Breaking through the lock of his last victim had never been so easy. Talon sneaked into the decrepit house, and found the miserable wretch soundly sleeping in his bed. He remembered him perfectly, after all he had been tortured by him too. Kendrick.

Talon had trouble controlling his breathing. The man was right there before him, as vulnerable as he could be. But Talon wanted to feel him suffer and beg for his life... One of his previous victims had been one of the witnesses of Quinn's torture. He had told him everything... Even what she had been too ashamed to tell.

Talon had become vengeance itself. A painful, dirty vengeance. He woke up the frantic man by grasping his hair and pulling his head back to have better access to his throat, and pushed his blade against his skin so hard that it almost killed him too soon. He only drew a thin trickle of blood, controlling his dark urge in the last moment.

A startled gasp escaped Kendrick's mouth, but Talon was standing right in front of him, revealing himself. He brought a single finger over his own lips, mimicking an order of silence...

"Shh... Remember me?" Talon huskily said.

Kendrick's eyes were filled with a mix of fear and hate. He trembled like a leaf under Talon's grasp, but didn't dare move under the threat of the blade. Talon carefully bound his hands and feet to the bed while the man couldn't even fight back. Talon had an eye on him... Kendrick was powerless, and he knew it. Lastly, Talon put a cloth in his mouth. This would be of great use for what was coming.

"Maybe you thought I would never know what you did to her. Maybe you thought I would never come for you."

Talon was almost chanting those words in his low voice, and Kendrick groaned in the cloth.

"Turns out you were wrong... All along."

The blade moved so fast it seemed like it was animated by a conscience of its own. It planted itself in Kendrick's upper thigh. Talon knew perfectly well that it was one of the worst places to get stabbed. He had avoided the femoral artery though... He wanted his pleasure to last. He would only experience it once after all. Kendrick had a muffled cry of intense pain.

"Pig." Talon spat on him. "And you thought you could touch my woman with your filthy hands."

He barely recognized his own voice. It was not only hoarse, but had become an animalistic growl. Hatred blinded his eyes, Talon wanted to destroy this man and rip him to shreds. But he had to think of the plan.

Talon forcefully planted his blade on Kendrick's bound hand, impaling it on the mattress. The pitiful scream that escaped the man's lungs didn't bring him as much pleasure as it should have...

Thinking of the abuse Quinn had been through only made Talon more feral and full of hatred. It was so hard to focus, he was going to kill him on the spot... Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of the dark blood pooling on the floor. This familiar sight grounded him, and reminded him of the real reason of his presence.

"Don't be impatient..." He darkly purred. "You and me have all night."

[A/N: FINALLY I CAN POST! FFnet was down and it felt like forever... I was scared the site would never be back up at some point. I want to thank the owners of this site for keeping it up, it made me realize how important fanfiction was for so many people, it was actually surprising. Though I like to exchange with readers, I always saw it as a personal thing. And seeing people unite and search for solutions while the site was down was a beautiful thing.

On another note, here's a really angsty chapter. There are no trigger warnings in my fic for several things, maybe I should put some at some points. Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy the reading.]