It was a predetermined fate that Ashe, the Frost Archer of Freljord and Tryndamere, the Barbarian King would be married. It would be the two of them that would unite Freljord once more. The two had agreed that this marriage would be the best way to begin to unite the tribes of Freljord. Tryndamere's men would follow their new queen until their death and Ashe's men would follow their new king without question. The only thing that stood in their way was their feelings towards each other. The marriage had begun as a purely political gesture, but after living and fighting side by side had they developed feelings for each other? Or did their hearts remain as cold as the frozen tundra that is Freljord?

Tryndamere paced back and forth in the pairs bedroom. His head down, clearly deep in thought. The muscles in his back and chest tensing periodically, as his eyebrows simultaneously knit together. Ashe sat quietly in the corner, watching her king. It was times like this that she wished that the two of them were closer. Wanting nothing more than to reach out to him, know what he was thinking. Clearing her throat she stood slowly, pushing her hood down so that her hair flowed freely and her face was clear of shadows. "My King.. Are you thinking about Aatrox again?" She questioned as she made her way to him, gently resting her hand on his shoulder. His body went rigid as she touched him, although he stopped pacing and did not shrug her off.

With a heavy sigh he turned to face her. "But of course, there must be some way to get revenge. He will pay for what he has done to my tribe and my people…" He looked slowly into Ashe's piercing green eyes, holding her gaze only for a moment before casting his eyes elsewhere.

"Do not fret.. I promise you that you will have your revenge when the time is right. But, we must not forget that Olaf and Sejuani have joined forces, as well as Trundle and Lissandra. Although Aatrox is a large threat to us we can't simply ignore the fact that we are hated by many of the tribes here in Freljord… We have to be aware that we could be under attack at any moment." She reached up and touched his beard lightly before turning away and walking towards the window.

"Ashe… You do know that you and…" Tryndamere took a step towards her as he began to speak.

"Tryndamere stop. I know. We can discuss a change once Freljord has been united. You know as well as I do that this is the only way. I must go seek advice from Anivia, do as you please while I am gone. Perhaps you and Gragas could continue his quest of making the ultimate brew." Donning the hood of her Freljordian outfit she grabs her bow and exits the room. Going to seek the advice and comfort of her dear friend Anivia, the Cryopheonix.

Ashe headed silently into the forest, looking to the skies to see if Anivia would be joining her soon. A clearing opened up in front of her and her boots crunched the snow and ice below her feet. A deep sigh created a large cloud of her breath and within moments Anivia came swooping down, landing swiftly in front of her. A single tear seemed to be frozen in the corner of Ashe's eyes. "Oh Anivia, what am I to do… I can't continue pretending that I don't love him…" Ashe's voice sounded angry and hurt as it did so often when she talked about Tryndamere.

"Ashe you knew when you and Tryndamere married that this is the way it would be. It is to unite Freljord before evil strikes. You cannot let your feelings get in the way of your purpose. What would your mother think if she heard this?" Anivia gazed intently at Ashe as she spoke, her red eyes seemingly staring into her very core.

"She would want me to set this aside.. Unite Freljord and then once.. And only once that has happened would she want me to put my feelings first. But, Anivia my mother is no longer with us. I am the Queen… So far my feelings have not created any extra conflict… I just truly wish he felt the same way about me Anivia. We have fought side by side for so long now, I honestly don't know what I would do without him." Ashe sighed, more tears welling in her eyes.

Tryndamere watched silently as Ashe left, with a frown he grabbed his helmet and sword and headed out to the tavern where he knew for a fact he would find Gragas. He walked in and sure enough, his over-sized friend was sitting at the bar. A long row of empty mugs sitting in front of him. Shaking his head slowly the king walks over to Gragas and grabs a seat, turning to look at him. "Gragas you old fool… You will never get drunk off this stuff. Come! Let us try again to create the perfect brew for you."

With a laugh Gragas stood up and walked out of the tavern with Tryndamere, heading back to his home to once again try and find the perfect mix of ingredients to get him truly drunk.

"So what it is that is bothering you Tryndamere? I hardly ever see you unless something is wrong." Gragas questioned, never taking his eyes off his still.

"It's Ashe again. She wants this so much to be more than what it is. But how could we ever be while Freljord is at war with itself and I am at war with Aatrox? I could never be the man she wants me to be." Pulling his helmet off and setting it to the side he takes a seat to watch Gragas' efforts.

"Do you not want to love her? Are you afraid?" Gragas questions, tugging on his large beard and throwing another ingredient into the mix.

Tryndamere falls silent for awhile, his blue eyes growing cloudy as he begins to lose himself in thought. Gragas looks over and shakes his head, already knowing what his answer would be. Tryndamere's thoughts raced to what would happen if Aatrox were to find out that Tryndamere truly loved Ashe. He couldn't allow himself to put her in that kind of danger. He knew she was entirely capable of holding her own, but against an enemy like Aatrox? He wasn't even sure their entire army could hold of someone that powerful. Finally Tryndamere lifted his eyes and looked at Gragas.

"If Aatrox got a hold of her I'd hunt him down until one or both of us died." Gragas nodded, knowing fully well what he meant by that. He truly loved Ashe, he just knew he couldn't risk losing her. She was after all the only person besides Gragas that Tryndamere had left.