A Reunion with Misery

Syndra's floating castle slowed to a halt, twenty meters above the ground. Lifting herself up off of the island, she glided the rest of the way down. Syndra's feet had not even touched the ground when Irelia reached up and forcibly snatched her out of the sky with a bear-like hug. Words failed both of them, as they clung to each other until finally; Syndra placed her hands on Irelia's shoulders and gently pushed her backwards. She gave Irelia a scanning gaze, eyeing her up and down. Irelia smiled shyly as she couldn't form any words to speak. Syndra finally broke the silence:

"I... missed you so much…" She managed to stammer, her voice quavering as countless emotions flooded her brain. Syndra opened her mouth again to speak, but Irelia interrupted her:

"Not here, let's go back first…" Syndra nodded mutely in agreement as the two turned and began walking back to the Irelia's camp.

The trip back to the camp was awkward. Neither Syndra nor Irelia spoke a single word to each other, but they continuously stole glances at one another. Whenever their eyes met, there was a pause, as though one were expecting the other to speak; only neither of them did. Irelia's soldiers on the other hand were far from quiet. The entire battalion kept a twenty meter distance behind them and Syndra. They were afraid, deathly afraid.

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Two hours passed by like minutes as Irelia and Syndra caught up with each other on recent events. Irelia described her acquisition of balance, her training, and her eventual promotion to commander. She was about to wrap up her tale when she was interrupted by a swift knock on the door.

"Enter." Irelia said curtly. The door creaked open and Irelia's second in command entered the room with a swift salute. He gave Syndra a hesitant glance, traces of fear present in his eyes. Syndra knew he was looking at her, but pretended as though she were oblivious.

"A word if you will, commander." He finally spoke, his voice cracked out of fear. Irelia sighed and rose from her chair, motioning for the man to lead her outside. After the pair had moved a significant distance from Syndra, the man finally spoke:

"Commander, I don't know how to go about this other than to say this directly." He paused before continuing "That woman, no, that thing… Is currently the most wanted criminal in all of Ionia. The bounty on her head exceeds the next highest bounty by more than triple the reward." Irelia blinked, and raised an eyebrow.

"Syndra? A wanted criminal?" She said doubtfully "You will need evidence of that."

The captain twitched slightly but didn't offer any words. He simply retrieved a sealed envelope from his pouch and handed it to Irelia. Irelia rolled her eyes in annoyance before taking the envelope and opening it.

Commander Irelia: 33rd Battalion

Ionia Central Command hereby orders the capture and or execution of the rouge mage Syndra (Bounty #193 Reward: 1.4M) by reason of eight accounts of murder, treason, and the destruction of Ionian land. Failure to adhere to orders will result in disciplinary action at the discretion of the head council.

Irelia lowered the letter, stunned. Syndra was a murderer and was the most wanted criminal in all of Ionian history. She searched the bottom of the letter for proof of authenticity. All eight seals of the head council were there, giving full support of the order.

"Orders, commander?" Her second in command questioned quietly. Silence. He cleared his throat and said louder.

"Orders, commander?" Irelia let out a shaky breath and swallowed hard.

"Gather some men." Irelia finally spoke, her voice hoarse and quavering.

"Yes ma'am." The man saluted quickly and hurried off in another direction. Irelia stayed for a moment longer, drawing in deep breaths and trying to calm herself. Finally, she headed back into her quarters.

Syndra still had not moved from her position on the floor when Irelia re-entered her quarters. An awkward silence filled the room, but Syndra smiled happily at Irelia when their eyes met. Irelia tried to smile back, but she couldn't.

" 'relia, something wrong?" Syndra finally asked with a worried expression on her face. Irelia bit her lip and drew in a shaky breath.

"Syndra…" She finally spoke, her voice shaky and hoarse "What did you do?" Syndra blinked in response, failing to understand what Irelia was referring to.

"They said… you destroyed our homeland, you committed treason, and you… you…murdered…" Irelia broke off, biting down on her lip trying to hold back her emotions. Syndra stood up and moved towards Irelia in effort to comfort her, but Irelia backed away.

"Did you?" Irelia finally managed to whisper.

Syndra's face grew cold and impassive, her eyes, glazed and distant.

"They lied." Syndra finally said, her voice was quiet, hollow and had an icy echo to it.

"They told me I killed you… They hid every letter you sent to me… They tried to seal my power away… They… They…" Syndra's breathing again became rapid and shallow "They can't… They won't… I won't let them... take… you…" Her voice trailed off as she watched the horror on Irelia's face grow.

"No…" Syndra spoke with quiet panic in her voice "No… It's not like that! I just want to protect you! I just-"–BANG-

The door to Irelia's quarters slammed open as a dozen troops flooded the room and formed a ring around Syndra, blocking Irelia from her view. Finally, Irelia spoke:

"By order… of Ionia…" Irelia's voice shook as she fought back her emotions "I hereby... demand that… you surrender yourself…" Irelia stopped as she bit down on her lip again, quelling the tears that surged to her eyes. Syndra's face went blank, as though refusing to believe what she had just heard.

"No…" She said quietly as silent tears rolled down her eyes "Not you too…" Syndra's voice raised as she spoke, her emotions constricting her throat.

Irelia's heart sank as she watched Syndra's eyes slowly sink into the depths of despair. Every inch of her wanted to rush forth and comfort her friend, but Irelia knew she had to maintain her composure. She bit down harder on her lip, drawing blood. Finally, Irelia drew her sword. She lunged with a tear-choked war cry. Syndra refused to move, instead choosing to close her eyes as though she were had no more will to live. Irelia deliberately missed the swing, instead using her momentum to push Syndra, making it look as though she had dodged the blow. Syndra's eyes snapped open upon not feeling the sword's cold steel pierce her body. Irelia looked straight into Syndra's eyes with a stare that said Run. Please… Just run… Syndra understood the glance, but still refused to move, her will to live completely extinguished. Finally, Irelia whirled and sent a kick into Syndra's ribs. Syndra cried out in pain as the powerful blow sent her to the floor. Irelia screamed at her:

"I hate you! We were never friends! I…" Irelia's voice cut out as her emotions refused to allow her to lie further.

Syndra heard enough. Heartbroken, she screamed and unleashed her magic at the ceiling, completely annihilating the roof. Immediately, she lifted herself out of the encampment and flew back to her castle, simultaneously lifting the structure back into the sky and off in a random direction.

Irelia watched as the entire scene unfolded within seconds. Although Syndra had disappeared, Irelia finished her statement:

"…always loved you…." She whispered to the air.

"Shall we pursue her commander?" One of the soldiers questioned from the background.

"She escaped." Irelia replied.

"We can still-"

"I said, she escaped." Irelia interrupted through gritted teeth.

"Yes ma'am" came a hasty reply.

Be safe, Syndra, I hope you will forgive me… Irelia thought to herself as she watched the floating island disappear into the sunset.