Disclaimer: I am not Riot and I do not own League of Legends or any of its champions
A/N: Hello fellow summoners and LoL fans. This is my first fic in a good while and it will also be my first official smut fic. This is chapter one of the two part story. The following chapter will contain graphic non-consensual sexually explicit material. This is a dark fic. No kiddies allowed! Reviews are appreciated.
Update 7/27/15 – Minor changes, cleaned up for readability. All chapters up to six will be updated accordingly. Special thanks to Yuuki24688 for helping me make this look pretty. Also, while I'm at it, thank you all for your feedback and support. I know it's been a long (and sometimes painful process) but after 2 years I still intend to carry on with what I have come to affectionately know as my "novel". And it is in large part thanks to you, my reader. For the newcomers please enjoy this tale of craziness. Let me know what you think, if you feel so inclined.
It was a typical day at the Avarosan festival which welcomed the New Year. In the courtyard congregated the typical Freljordian officials and generals in their finest ceremonial garments. Ashe too was in her traditional royal robes that were passed down through the generations. They were eloquent, yet relatively simple. The robe was as white as the Freljordian snow with blue highlights along its sides. On the center of the robes, sewn with golden thread sat the Avarosan crest, the symbol of her undying loyalty to her clan and the nation of Freljord.
Ultimately, the wellbeing of Freljord was her life's purpose. The unity of the large and sparsely inhabited country was the most challenging goal in fulfilling that purpose. Going against Sejuani with her rough mountain Winter's Claw clan and Lissandra leading the mysterious Frostguard made every step she took feel as if she walked on thin ice. One wrong move and the favor of the people could sway to another of the clan leaders, or worse, the clans could take advantage of a misplaced step and attack.
Just thinking about the seemingly endless war bothered Ashe as she rubbed her hands uncomfortably in her lap. Soon the musician, playing a classical Freljordian ballad, would be finishing up and it would be time for both her and her husband to give the first speech of the New Year. There was only one problem with that. Tryndamere was nowhere in sight. Ashe was accustomed well enough to his antics by now to guess that he was already over indulging in wine. She held a deep admiration for the man, but sometimes his less than civil ways were just short of insufferable. Silently she wished that she had her bow to fidget with while waiting impatiently for the barbarian to arrive. As was the tradition, all attending the festival came unarmed to symbolize the utmost respect and adherence to peace. The talented musician was on the final verse of the ballad as Ashe began to think she would have to go through with the speech without Tryndamere. Before the song finished, however, a loud disruptive boom resounded from the east. It came from inside the city.
Ashe got to her feet as she, and all the festival goers, looked in the direction of the unsettling sound. The alarm bells sounded immediately. Soon enough a guard from the eastern watch tower came charging through the courtyard gates. The bulky man seemed out of breath as short bursts of condensation seeped out of his thick beard. On his face was a look of panic and on his clothes were stains of what appeared to be blood. "My Queen! My Queen! The Frostguard are attacking the city! The Iceborn are here!"
The Frostguard? Iceborn? But the only Iceborn in existence was Lissandra. Unless…
"Calm yourself Trajan. Get everyone inside and tell them not to come out until the guards say otherwise. Gather as many soldiers as you can and defend the inner towers while I find Tryndamere to gather the barbarians." Another boom sounded as the courtyard walls shook.
"Quickly Trajan." She said harshly.
"Yes, Your Majesty." He said, bowing his head slightly before jumping on stage to begin giving orders. Ashe resisted the urge to frown. She never did get used to being called such flamboyant titles of royalty. Even in these dire circumstances she couldn't help but feel awkward being referred to as anything other than Ashe.
There was no time to dwell on it. The archer needed to find her husband. She needed to grab her bow. Without a moment of further hesitation she bolted to the direction of the palace. The nimble young woman made it to the doors of the palace in what seemed to be mere seconds. She hurriedly threw the doors open and ran into the large elaborately decorated common room. A fire roared in the fireplace at the right wall of the room. The room was all but vacant aside from one woman cowering in the far corner of the room by the staircase. When the woman saw Ashe she anxiously came over to her, fear evident on her face. Ashe recognized her as the housemaid. She spoke quickly, "My lady, what is happening? Are we under attack?"
There was no time to humor her or herself by pondering exactly what was going on. "Bertha, where is my husband?" The housemaid seemed lost for a second as if the question failed to register.
Then the lights came on and she replied "He said he would be heading to the bedchamber to dress for the festival. I thought he would have left by now. Have you not seen him?"
Ashe shook her head. "Gather everyone in the palace. Head to the cellar and stay there. We will come for you when it is safe. Go now."
Without waiting for a response or making sure her order was obeyed, the Freljordian queen made her way to the staircase. If Tryndamere was still in their bedchamber then she could retrieve both her husband and her bow. She ran as fast as her petite legs could carry her, skipping a step or two as she scaled the flights of dark granite steps. Finally she made it to the top floor. The royal bedchamber was situated at the end of the hall. Panting and out of breath she pushed her heavy legs onward through the hall. When she finally arrived she realized that someone had beaten her to the room. Dark, almost black ice encased the heavy oak doors that lead to the bedroom. The ominously dark ice was solid and at least an inch thick. There would be no getting to the other side of her own accord and it was doubtful she should bother anyone else with the task of breaking into the room.
Frustrated to be unable to retrieve her bow and fight with her soldiers or find her husband from within the confines of the room the young Freljordian woman slammed her fist on the icy door. To her horror she soon realized that gaining entry to the room was not her biggest problem as laughter resounded from behind the frozen doors. Without warning a surge of energy forced its way through the door. It instantly shattered. Shards of both wood and ice were sent flying at the Avarosan queen as she was sent back into the stone wall behind her. A jarring clout of pain was sent through her shoulder as bone collided with rock. Both ice and wood splinters alike ripped through her flesh and embedded in her skin. Ashe could not help but release a cry of painful surprise.
For a moment she sat against the cold stone wall disoriented and unable to hear anything but a muffled ringing sound. As her senses gradually came back to her the frost archer was keenly aware of that same laughter.
A chilling and maniacal laughter that shook her to the core of her bones.
She slowly looked up at the source inside the dark icy room and found herself staring into the emotionless mask of the third child of Freljord. It was the merciless and powerful Ice Witch, the leader of the Frostguard, keeper of Freljord's ancient secrets: Lissandra.
The hair on Ashe's neck prickled up as a chill crept up her spine. The noble queen stiffened and straightened her back in an attempt to look as proud and dignified as possible while sitting on the ground bleeding. It was then that she noticed her shoulder was resonating with a deep numbing pain. It was broken. Despite the discomfort Ashe refused to allow anything but a stoic expression to rest on her face as she peered behind Lissandra's mask to look her dead in the eyes. But something behind the powerful witch begged her attention and Ashe was too compelled to ignore it. Her gaze shifted to just a few feet behind Lissandra where, within a colossal mound of tainted ice, rested a figure. A human figure. Ashe gripped her robe when the realization hit her. It was Tryndamere. An expression of rage still visible from beneath the shadowy ice tomb.
Her stone cold glare trailed over to her fellow Freljordian who returned the look with a grin that was devoid of any joy. With a free hand the witch gestured over to the recently deceased barbarian. "What did you expect? The barbarian was a simple minded fool driven by nothing but animalistic rage." She scoffed allowing her hand to return to her side. Then Ashe noticed that Lissandra held not just one of her most treasured possessions in a frozen grip. In her left hand was Ashe's most sacred possession, her one companion that stood with her through countless battles and, in her hands, had slain thousands of capable opponents. The bow had been a rite of passage and the ultimate symbol of her leadership. It had been with her through numerous deaths and rebirths on the Fields of Justice and had carried her through the League as an iconic champion. Now the centuries old Avarosan bow was in the possession of the bitter witch of the north.
Ashe bit back her anger, not wanting to give any more control to the already empowered woman. Her voice was steady and untiring as she spoke "You traitorous witch. Do you not know that the League will have your head for this? How can you-" Lissandra cut her off before she was able to finish.
"Foolish child. Just as blind as I had suspected. Too arrogant to realize that in fact you are the traitor, not I." Lissandra's gaze was as expressive as the barriers of stone and ice that coated the room.
Inwardly the mage felt a sense of pleasure she had waited centuries for. Now was the time she was finally able to begin to unfold plans within plans. The witch couldn't feel too excited because, aside from the fact that she hardly had a sense of humanity left, she knew this day would come. Still Lissandra had waited so long for this, the day the Frostguard took over Freljord. This was the day The Watchers would return to claim the frozen wasteland. Ashe opened her mouth to begin to question but Lissandra cut her off again "By allowing this simple minded barbarian to rule at your side… by allowing this animal of a man to be your husband and by opening the doors of Freljord to his barbarian horde you have defiled the sanctity of Freljord. You have betrayed our nation and her people. Likewise, you have betrayed yourself."
Ashe was somewhat taken aback by the accusations. She was well aware of Freljordians general disdain of outsiders and that of all the possibly unfit rulers, non-natives were considered to be the very worst. She had made the sacrifice however, as it was necessary in order to protect Freljord from a brutal Noxian conquest. Besides, the barbarians and Tryndamere didn't hold any real power in the future of Freljord. Just as she was prepared to explain this she was denied yet again.
"No doubt one as blind as you would be compelled to justify your actions. You have been just as foolish as this barbarian." Lissandra nonchalantly gestured to frozen corpse of her husband once more before continuing. "You have been so ignorant in your assumptions that Freljord could not protect itself from outside rule that you invited the idea in with open arms." The mage sneered as she spoke. "How pathetic. To assume that Freljord is as helpless without outside forces as you are without a bow. You disappoint me, dear child." Lissandra spoke with distaste while in reality she was gloating. The Barbarian kingship had been just what she expected. It had all been according to plan. The act made gaining quiet entry into the Avarosan city and the conversion of its people that much easier.
The witch pointed a ghostly hand in Ashe's direction "You disappoint Freljord who so desperately needed a competent leader. You are far too smart to be so naive, Ashe. I knew that you would fail though. That is why I could not sit ideally by while you defiled our great nation. That is why I have raided your city, killed your husband, and stolen your bow. The order of Freljord cannot be restored by your hand and you have not earned the right to call yourself its Queen. You've had no right to wield this bow. You have no right to this progeny that your predecessors were blessed with."
Lissandra flicked her wrist and the sacred bow was sent flying across the room to be suddenly captured large claws of ice. "As if you could wield it in your current state. Your power resides in that bow while my power, the power of Freljord comes from within." Her cold stare never left the wary queen.
Lissandra had infinite control of a deadly magical ice. Ashe knew of this not only from her displays tonight but also from having quickly succumbed to the frigid grips of this merciless magic on the Fields of Justice many times before. The situation was hopeless; she could not outrun the claws of Lissandra's magic.
The Ice Witch of the North had won.
Even worse was that her accusations had placed doubt in Ashe's mind. Perhaps she was right. After all the barbarians were camped just outside the city walls and offered no resistance to the Frostguard. They did not even warn the Avarosans within.
Tryndamere was murdered by the wicked witch before her without leaving as much as a scratch.
If she had been stronger, if she had been smarter, she could have found a way to unify Freljord so that it could protect itself instead of having to rely on the Barbarians who were only willing to help in return for refuge. Without having to marry and consummate with their brutish chieftain… If only she could have done it all differently.
Lissandra had been silently eyeing the wounded and bleeding archer, allowing her words to soak in. Then she raised an eyebrow from beneath her mask as Ashe bowed her head and spoke softly, her normally confident tone replaced with the somber sound of defeat.
"If have been so unworthy then please just go ahead and execute me as the traitor I am."
Lissandra, was now elated with the ease she, literally and figuratively, had brought the queen to her knees. Her hand which still pointed at the injured woman flicked upward at her and a massive icy claw charged at Ashe with a frightening speed. Ashe closed her eyes waiting for impact and for the inevitably cold clutch of death to consume her. But it never came. Instead the daunting form of the Ice Witch now stood mere inches in front of her.
"Kill you? I'm not even close to being done with you. Death would be too merciless for the wrongs you have committed. You will bear witness to the power of Freljord and the coming of a new world and of a true Queen." Ashe cried out as the lifelessly cold hands of Lissandra gripped her shoulders and flung her through the doorway. She landed awkwardly a few feet away from her recently deceased husband. Ashe turned to eye the lofty woman with dread as she patiently strode across the room and over to her.
"And I want you to realize that your denial as meant that you and your tribe are nothing but snowflakes. And we, the Frostguard, are an avalanche that will bury the world." Ashe stared at the woman with mounting fright. Would Lissandra consume all of Valoran just as she was now beginning to consume Freljord?