Two days.

It is the time Talon took to get back to Quinn.

For two days and nights, Quinn had not been able to sleep. Her heart had been racing restlessly in her chest while she looked through the window of her room, and when her mind tortured her with the worst atrocities it could possibly imagine. Though she was used to the physical torture her own body inflicted upon herself, it never got easier.

Those days had seen a stange phenomenon in the sky: heavy dark clouds were hanging there, delaying the time they would explode with rain. On her free time, Quinn had spent hours scanning them with her eyes, their darkness bringing back memories of her encounter with Talon... She could feel the suffocating dampness of the air stick to her skin.

So when her beloved assassin slipped in through her ajar window, Quinn almost jumped with joy.

She sprung to him in a second, and wrapped her arms around his cloaked figure. Talon was less taken aback by her gesture than she could imagine, and embraced her back. His pressure on her smaller body was almost too much to bear, but Quinn loved his sudden display of affection. She was already drunk on the pine sap smell carried by his clothes.

Talon took her chin between his gloved fingers, and smirked for a second before bringing her mouth to his. The gentle pull made Quinn's skin burn where she had been touched. She had craved this for what had felt like an eternity. She was surprised by the softness of his lips, and by their subtle minty taste.

"I... I have kept some food for you."

Quinn was the first to speak. Unexpected heat came to her cheeks, she didn't know why she was suddenly so bashful in front of her man. And his reaction didn't help.

"Thank you my love. I'm famished."

He kissed her forehead after speaking in a husky voice that could make all of Freljord melt. It is on wobbly knees that she opened a drawer by her bed, and took out some bread, cheese, dried meat and grapes. She had taken all of this in the castle's kitchen, pretty confident that no one would care. After all, she often brought food to eat into her room.

Wait, did he just call her my love ?

Quinn bit her lip and sat on the bed. She watched Talon take off his cloak, gloves, and leather chest plate. He then tilted his head to a side, and to another, flexing his sore neck muscles. Quinn could swear she saw him wince, even in the obscurity.

"Do you... Do you want help with that?"

"Uh... With what?" Talon was in the midst of biting into a large slice of dried pheasant meat.

"Your neck. It looks painful."

"It's a bit sore, yes." Talon maked a pause and passed a hand in his neck. "I don't sleep in a bed."

"I can massage it a bit... If you don't mind!'

Quinn was blushing hard. Somehow, offering such a simple act to Talon seemed even more intimate than sleeping with him.

"Alright..." Simply said Talon.

He sat on the edge of the bed, turning his back to her. He took off his shirt to fully expose his neck, and Quinn's heart lurched when she saw his back muscles flex in the light of the moon. She kneeled right behind him, and gently pushed away his hair from his nape. She then laid her hands on his skin.

Talon let out a deep, pleased breath. Quinn's thumbs began running up and down the muscles of his neck. She felt how taut they were, and carefully applied her pressure. After a good moment of tending to his nape, Quinn's hands started mindlessly roaming his back.

Talon didn't say a word, visibly enjoying the moment far too much. It was the first time Quinn felt Talon's skin that way: she took her time to discover every scar of his. When her fingers brushed over a particularly large and deep one, she stopped moving her hand. She was hurting to feel how bad Talon had been hurt. But the assassin remained silent, not wanting to share the secret of this scar.

Talon stretched his arms, and made his knuckles crack as he turned around to face Quinn. His face was more relaxed than it had been when he first arrived. Quinn couldn't help but smile.

"It felt good. Thank you."

It's only then that Quinn realized how tired Talon was. She furrowed her brow in worry.

"You seem exhausted! Maybe you could sleep there tonight?"

"I don't know. It's not safe." Talon's eyes locked on hers. "But it's tempting."

"Then... Do it. For once." She almost pleaded, and felt guilty doing so.

"Last time I did, your little friend almost found us out." Talon scolded her.

Quinn didn't answer. He was right. Talon put his hands on his thighs and sat cross-legged on her bed.

"I've come to tell you something, love."

This word again. And Quinn bit her lip again.

"Tell me."

"I know how to make you escape this place." He had said it so bluntly. Quinn felt like she had been punched in the stomach.

"Wh... What?! Leave? But I can't!"

"Have you forgotten there's a death threat written all over your pretty face?" Talon said through gritted teeth.

"But my life is here! I can't just leave it all behind!" Quinn protested. Her voice was shaking... The conversation had shifted so fast.

"Did you hear what I just said? If you stay here, you'll die. Swain will never let you out of this alive."

Quinn wanted to sob at how harsh Talon's voice had become. But she knew there was no hatred directed to her. Talon had taken the task of telling her the ugly truth upon himself. Since Quinn didn't answer and started trembling, Talon spoke more calmly, taking her hand in his.

"I'm sorry. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be."

"It will never be easy..." Quinn wasn't even surprised by how broken her voice sounded.

"I know. But I don't want to lose you."

This time, Talon's voice was almost inaudible. His hand simply clenched Quinn's, reminding her that he was there with her, and they were both still breathing, despite everything.

They tiredly laid together in bed. Quinn could feel Talon was weaker than usual, but he held her nonetheless. His heaving chest against her back helped her fall asleep faster than any herbal tea ever had. She hoped that he would still be by her side in the morning, but had the now familiar feeling that this only was a sweet dream that wouldn't come true.

Quinn opened her eyes.

She was alone and naked in her bed, her limbs sprawled on the mattress and held by an invisible force. She wanted to speak, scream, but her lips were sealed too. She tried to fight against it, but the force that held her in place was stronger than anything she'd ever experienced before.

Your time is out.

The thundering voice resonated in her mind. Quinn couldn't identify its origin. It sounded everything, but human.

If you don't want to give me your secrets, i'll come and get them myself.

The invisible force materialized in a large red clawed hand. The hand of a demon. Quinn's blood froze in her veins.

The hand floated to her, and straightened its fingers.

Open to me.

The hand then plunged in her chest like a spear. The pain Quinn felt was impossible to describe. The hand hadn't physically wounded her and ripped her skin, but it was in her. She could feel it rummaging through her organs, pushing and clawing at her flesh. It was searching for something.

Quinn's body fought as well as it could, but there was no match. The hand was getting angry. It did not find what it sought. It was harder and harder for Quinn to breathe. Something was sucking the air out of her...

She woke up in a violent spasm. Her sudden jolt even woke up Talon, who was still sleeping right beside her. Quinn burst into tears, shaking from the violence of her nightmare. Talon immediately held her in his arms, whispering to her that he would stay with her. She managed to nod, and curled into a ball to calm her shaking.

Talon scratched her head reassuringly. After minutes of trying to catch her breath, she finally found the strength to speak.

"I had a nightmare... Can I tell you about it?"

"Go ahead."

And she began telling him every detail of it. Though her tormenters couldn't seem to leave her alone, this time, her guardian angel of the night was there to fight them back.

The weak light filtering through the heavy clouds slowly awakened Quinn. She opened her eyes, and saw her old familiar bedroom, her beloved bookshelf, her small desk, everything seemed to normally be in place... And Talon was still in bed, with her. Leaning over her protectively, with a slighly worried look.

"Morning, love."

Quinn had a sleepy smile.

"Feel better?" Talon asked in a deep voice.

Quinn took a moment to contemplate his form over her: his messy bed hair, his muscular chest revealed by the morning light, his piercing amber eyes... Yes, morning Talon was quite the sight. Quinn's dizziness had nothing to do with just waking up, and she stuttered a pitiful answer.

"Y... Yes."

Talon's smile could have illuminated the whole court room on the gloomiest day. He planted a kiss upon Quinn's temple and hugged her even more.

"Good."

Target practice used to be one of Quinn's favourite activities. It still was kind of true. But when she arrived to the training field where the other scouts came too, she was overwhelmed. She immediately thought she should have stayed in bed forever with Talon.

It had been a while since she last saw them. Before she left on her mission to Ixtal, a few youngsters had taken the habit to come to her for advice... And to admire Valor, of course. The great eagle was famous among the rangers.

The young scouts were all over her in a second, tormenting her with questions and attention for Valor. The bird of prey didn't mind his celebrity, and gladly swallowed the snacks they offered him.

"You're going to make him fat!" Quinn scolded.

"Don't worry Miss Quinn! He'll exercise after!" promised a young girl.

"Yeah, besides, he hasn't been spoiled for a long time!" remarked a young man named Dan.

Quinn crossed her arms.

"It's not a reason to make him even more spoiled, Dan. I don't want him to start begging."

Dan giggled.

"Maybe he'll beg for you to come here more, then..."

Quinn felt like the boy was trying to tell her something in his own way, and she didn't like the underlying reproach.

"I've had responsibilities to keep. I don't have the time to come here as often."

"Hey, don't lie to me! I've seen you wander around the castle doing nothing."

This boy had a good sense of observation... A good quality for a ranger-scout. And a nosy little bastard. Quinn tried to keep calm... After all, she understood he had probably greatly missed her.

"That's none of your business, young scout. Now, go back to your target. You still haven't hit the center, I see."

Dan pouted, and aimed his bow. He took a long time to focus, Quinn noted he wasn't as confident with his physical skills as he was with his words. His arm trembled a little when he released the string, and the arrow went straigbt over the target. Dan hit his forehead with his palm.

"I suck so much..."

"You were simply nervous. Breathe, and try again."

"And I'll try again to fail again..."

"Nonsense. Come on, try." Quinn pushed his arm gently to encourage him.

Dan sighed annoyedly, and tried again. He didn't take his time like his first try. The arrow planted itself on the side of the target.

"See, not so bad." said Quinn.

"Yeah, yeah... Still not as good as you."

Quinn knew how much Dan admired her. In their previous sessions with the other young scouts, Quinn had always impressed them with her good aim, almost always hitting the target at the center. She had trained on her own after coming back, and had been mortified by her trembling arms.

"Can you shoot one for me?" Dan asked.

Quinn had known he would ask. He always did. She armed her crossbow as Dan let her place herself in front of the target. She closed her eyes, and flexed her hands a few times.

She tried to forget the world around her. She knew all the young scouts were watching her, for they always enjoyed doing so, and learning from her skill. Everything was normal. And everything was terrible.

Quinn imagined Talon was right behind her, pressing against her back. She pictured his arm guiding hers, and aiming with her. She was not alone. She was not alone.

She fixed her eyes on the target. In the blink of an eye, the bolt pierced through the air and dug right in the center of the wooden panel. Quinn couldn't believe her eyes. It was right there, even more perfect than most of her sessions.

Dan's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Wow..." He blew. "I'll never be as great as you, Miss Quinn. You're so, so good."

Quinn felt like an impostor when she heard the boy's compliment. Why the hell couldn't she even get satisfaction from a long awaited success? Quinn began thinking this was pure luck, and that she wouldn't be able to do it again. But she refrained from saying anything of her thoughts to Dan, not wanting to break the boy's confidence.

"One day you'll do that too. I wasn't born with a crossbow in hand, you know. I've had to practice hard like you." She reassuringly patted him on the head, and left him to his own practice.

She spent the next hour checking on the other young scouts, helping them adjust their aim, giving them well needed advice. As time passed, Quinn felt slightly more relaxed. She hadn't realized she had missed this, and helping the students made her forget her problems for a moment.

Valor was happier than ever, he had received more treats and caresses than Quinn could count. At the end of the session, a feather fell from one of Valor's wings while he groomed himself. Quinn picked the azure feather and contemplated it.

Dan was packing his stuff on a wooden bench and didn't notice Quinn coming right up to him. She put her hand on his shoulder, and offered him the feather.

"Is it from Valor?"

"Yes, it is. Keep it, it'll give you luck!"

"Thank you so much! See, I was right spoiling Valor!" Dan smirked.

Quinn waved him goodbye as she left the target practice field. She felt hot and famished. She took off her cloak and carried it under her arm. A quick passage to the castle's kitchen wouldn't hurt... Though she was glad she had fixed her relationship with Dan and the young scouts, she could use some time alone.

She hadn't realized two guards were on the side of the paved road. They stopped her with a sign of the hand. Their faces were stern and cold. Quinn didn't remember them, they were probably from a unit she never worked with.

"Quinn of Uwendale. You're under arrest."

Quinn felt like the air had been sucked out of her lungs, like in her nightmare.

"What?!"

"Don't protest. Follow us willingly, or take the cuffs."

Panic was freely flowing in her veins. Quinn looked over her shoulder: the young scouts were looking at her from the training field. Valor was already getting into a defensive stance. She stroked the bird's chest.

"Valor... Go find Lux, will you? She'll give you treats while you wait for me."

Valor tilted his head to the side. His eyes were filled with questions.

"Go Valor, go."

The fiery eagle finally departed, not without a worried look to his human friend. Quinn's heart was ripped to pieces when the bird disappeared behind the trees. And she knew the youngsters were still watching. Quinn had no other option but to obey the guards. For once, the choice was easy. She closed her eyes, and focused on her breath, before talking to the guards again.

"I'm following you."

[A/N: The calm before the storm... A lot will be coming in the next chapters. Thanks a lot for the reviews and the support. It means a lot. And be reassured brom2500, Lux's lover is not Ezreal... ]