A Nightmare Come True
Waking up was probably the worst thing that ever happened to Syndra. As the sovereign's deep violet eyes fluttered open, she was instantly greeted by a throbbing pain that pulsed throughout her entire body. With a groan, Syndra tried to push herself up into a sitting position. Pain ripped through her arms and left leg the moment she put any amount of pressure on any limb. The sovereign grunted as she allowed herself to fall back down onto her bed.
"Strange..." Syndra thought drowsily. Usually whenever she fell asleep, her body completely recovered from any injuries she sustained. She had her magic to thank for that.
Her power.
Abruptly Syndra's eyes widened in terror. Instantly, she shot up into a sitting position, ignoring her body's protests and glancing down at her own body.
Nothing.
She felt nothing.
Horrified, Syndra balled a hand into a fist, attempting to focus her energy.
Nothing again.
Finally, it dawned on her. Her powers had been sealed. Shutting her eyes, Syndra felt dread wash over her entire body, filling the very depths of her mind with misery. Heaving yet another groan, the sovereign tossed herself back onto the bed, landing with a solid thump. Syndra grimaced the from the impact, having struck something extremely dense with her back. With as little muscle movement as possible, Syndra ran a hand across the surface of the bed, searching for the hard object she landed on. She found none. Finally, Syndra ran her hand across her back, immediately coming into contact with the object she thought she hit. It was a part of her. Though she was laying on the bed, Syndra's shoulders sagged with grief. She didn't need a mirror to know what the object was; it was a rune. A suppressant to be exact, the very object which sealed away her powers and clung relentlessly to her back like some leech burned into her flesh.
After a few moments, Syndra shut her eyes, mulling over the events that lead her to this point. She only bothered to recall one thing before immediately knowing why she was in such a situation. Aaron. She killed him. Frowning slightly, the mage buried her face in her pillow.
"He deserved it..." Syndra told herself bitterly as she recalled the bright red stain on the floor that was her creation. Syndra shifted slightly so she could at least breathe while the majority of her face remained glued to the pillow. Syndra groaned again as the dull pain returned, more persistent than before. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and attempted to return to sleep, but alas, she wasn't allowed to. Minutes after she had closed her eyes, there was a light, but authoritative knock on the door.
"...Go away..." Syndra mumbled, her voice muted and muffled by the fact that her face was ingrained in her pillow. Either the person on the other side of the door didn't hear her, or chose to enter anyways. Within a few seconds, the door creaked open, followed by the sound of booted steps.
"Hey..." A familiar voice spoke up. Syndra opened an eye slightly to peek at the speaker. It was Irelia. Syndra closed her eye without replying, hoping that the blossoming young woman would leave without disturbing her more.
"They told me you were awake..." Irelia spoke up softly. She hesitated slightly before continuing, "Are you... alright?".
"nnnnnnnnnnnnn... I hate you..." Syndra muttered, opening an eye again to stare at Irelia. From her position, Irelia fidgeted uncomfortably, unaccustomed to the sovereign's coarse way of greeting other people.. Biting her lip, Irelia gathered the will to speak up again.
"Hey umm... I just wanted to say sorry for... you know, putting you in a position to get hurt..." Irelia allowed her voice to trail off. Her discomfort was evident in the almost guilty tone of her voice. Abruptly, Irelia stopped speaking, catching a glimpse of the rune burned into the back of the sovereign. She bit her lip again, the guilty feeling in her chest rising.
"... You're welcome." Syndra finally spoke up, her voice crooked and hoarse. Irelia blinked in surprise, almost not recognizing the sound of Syndra's voice without its characteristic hollow echo.
"What?" Irelia asked, puzzled at the sovereign's reply. Finally, Syndra dragged herself into a sitting position, fixing Irelia with a glare filled with utter hatred.
"I said you're welcome." Syndra spat disdainfully. "You should thank me."
"Uhm..." Irelia hesitated, clearly perplexed as to what Syndra could have possibly been referring to.
"I went along with your stupid plan." Syndra snarled with increasing anger. "You wanted me to kill him for you so you wouldn't have to deal with him ever again. And now that I did, I'm in this position!"
"Uhm... What?" Irelia repeated, utterly baffled as to what Syndra was talking about.
"IDIOT!" Syndra finally shrieked, her temper finally exploding. "I KILLED THAT MORON JUST LIKE YOU PLANNED, AND BECAUSE I DID THEY SEALED AWAY..." the mage stopped speaking abruptly. Furious, Syndra slammed a fist into the cushioning of her bed before snatching up her pillow and hurling the fluffy object at Irelia. It missed by a good meter, but Irelia reached out and caught the pillow as it passed by. Although she initially came to apologize to the sovereign, Irelia found herself completely put off by the mage's unreasonable accusations.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you even think for one second that I wanted you to get hurt or wanted Aaron to be killed, you are being an unreasonable idiot." Irelia said in a low, serious voice. "First of all, I would NEVER advocate the injury of another person if other options were available. Second of all, I didn't even know who your summoner was. Connect the dots." Irelia finished decisively, clearly upset with the sovereign's hospitality.
"Fuck you." Syndra spat, completely ignoring Irelia's proof of innocence.
That did it.
Now angry herself, Irelia viciously fluffed up the pillow in her hands before speaking furiously.
"You realize what you're saying?!" Irelia demanded adamantly, "THIS is why people HATE you. THIS is why you have NO friends. I came here to see if you were alright and say that I was sorry that you got hurt and what do you do? COMPLETELY IGNORE EVERYTHING I SAY! I'm sorry, okay? You can either take it, or leave it." Irelia finished, her face slightly flushed with emotion. Taking a deep breath, the Ionian warrior allowed her anger to dissipate as much as possible. With that, Irelia chucked the pillow back at Syndra, whirled on her heel, and stormed back out of the room, kicking the door shut behind her.
The pillow caught Syndra on the face with enough force to flatten the sovereign on the bed once more. Syndra didn't more. Nor did she bother to remove the pillow from smothering her face. Beneath the fluffy white object, Syndra grit her teeth in pure anger.
"Friends? What says I want those? What says I need them? What says I want your god damn apology? This is all your fault!" Syndra thought to herself. Finally, she yanked the pillow off her face and threw her blankets over her entire body.
"Damn Ionians..." Syndra thought with contempt. "Just wait... I'll kill you all..."
With that, Syndra closed her eyes and continued to fume with anger until the freeing touch of sleep descended upon her troubled mind.
Unlike the sovereign, who found peace in sleeping, Irelia was restless. Aimlessly, the Ionian warrior stormed about the Institute of War with no particular destination in mind until she found herself standing outside her favorite bar, The Blazin' Flintlock. Irelia stood staring out at the bar's flashy illuminated logo for a good minute before actually realizing where she was. Blinking, Irelia tried to shake the feeling of unrest in her mind. Unfortunately, she barely even got the chance.
" 'Relia! My faaaaaaaavorite!" A loud and rambunctious voice suddenly spoke out from behind her. Before Irelia even got the chance to turn and look at the speaker, the voice's owner wrapped an arm around Irelia's lower back and almost carried the Ionian into the bar. However, Irelia caught the flash of bright red hair, instantly telling her who it was.
"Sarah! Stop that!" Irelia laughed as the pirate hunter essentially pushed her onto a stool in front of the bar's serving counter.
"Or else what hmm?" Miss Fortune teased. Playfully, Sarah's hand slipped down Irelia's back before quickly and deftly slapping Irelia hard across her rear end.
"H-HEY!" Irelia cried out, abruptly sitting straight up, startled by the unexpected playful harassment. Embarrassed, Irelia's face flushed red as she shifted uncomfortably and fixed Miss Fortune with a pouting look.
"Oho, don't give me that!" Miss Fortune said with a laugh. The pirate hunter advanced on Irelia again with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Nu-uh!" Irelia immediately countered, lightly slapping away Sarah's hands.
"Still got some fight eh? That's more like it!" The pirate hunter commented, still smiling. Irelia answered by making a playful grab at the saucy woman. Sarah easily danced backwards, out of reach.
"Nope!" Sarah quipped. She immediately spoke again in a taunting manner, "You couldn't have this even if you paid for it!" Miss Fortune teased, shifting her body weight from leg to leg, wiggling her hips tauntingly. Irelia rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.
"You're right. You would give it to me for free." Irelia countered, teasing back.
Miss Fortune pouted back before immediately smiling.
"Only for you." Sarah said with a smirk on her face. Turning around, the pirate hunter vaulted over the bar counter and landed on the other side, facing Irelia.
"So what's it gonna be today? The usual?" Sarah asked, glancing sideways at the Ionian as she pulled out a glass from underneath the counter.
"Uh... Sure..." Irelia replied airily, her eyes absentmindedly wandering about in search of something to focus on. Miss Fortune frowned slightly as she watched the Ionian. After half a minute, she set an ice blue drink down in front of Irelia. Instantly, Irelia brought her gaze down to the drink.
"That's not the usual..." She commented somewhat skeptically. She raised the glass and peered into the depths of the icy blue drink.
"Trust me girl, it'll help." Sarah replied, waving off Irelia's skepticism. Irelia's eyes flicked over to Sarah's face before refocusing on the drink.
"Not trying to knock me out in one punch are you?" Irelia asked half jokingly. Miss Fortune smiled wryly before nodding at the drink. Irelia obliged the bounty hunter and took a sip. Cold. Extremely cold. As the fluid trickled down Irelia's throat, she felt as though her insides had turned to ice. She shivered involuntarily before the feeling disappeared after a few seconds.
"So what is it?" Sarah questioned before guessing a few options, "Match cancellation? Country problems?"
Irelia didn't respond to any of the options, so Miss Fortune continued guessing.
"Family problems? Guy problems? Need relationship advice?"
No response.
"Girl problems?" Sarah finally asked, clearly running out of things to guess.
Finally, Irelia glanced up. Sarah gawked at her.
"Girl problems?" Miss Fortune repeated incredulously.
Irelia sighed and took another sip of the drink.
"You could say that I guess. Definitely not what you think it is though..."
"Oh..." Miss Fortuned answered, sounding disappointed. Sarah leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bar top and placing her hand atop her palms. "Well, all ears anyways!" the pirate hunter quickly replied, sounding eager to help the Ionian.
"Syndra..." Irelia finally muttered after a few moments of silence. Miss Fortune raised an eyebrow.
"Girl, you sure aim for the money. Mmmhmm... she's got guns that rival mine!" the pirate hunter commented. "Y'know I didn't know you were into that kind of thing... exotic!"
"Not like that." Irelia replied, frowning slightly and rolling her eyes.
"Right." Sarah quipped, "Continue?"
" She got hurt in the finals match because of some summoner error."
Sarah nodded knowingly.
"Afterwards, she killed her summoner."
Sarah pursed her lips and nodded again.
"Her magic got sealed away."
Sarah's jaw dropped.
"What?!" she asked incredulously. "Wow... Wait. Doesn't that like..." Miss Fortune paused for a second to organize her thoughts. "I thought you would have been happy about something like that?"
Irelia glanced at Sarah with a frown.
"I do not wish ill upon other people." Irelia stated flatly, displeased that the bounty hunter thought she would be happy about Syndra's punishment.
"So... You aren't happy? Why not? I thought you guys hated each other." Sarah questioned befuddled with Irelia's logic.
"I don't like her." Irelia replied bluntly. She took another sip of the drink and glanced off into the distance.
"But...?" Sarah pushed, intrigued.
"Well... I don't know, I visited her earlier to say sorry and..." Irelia swallowed uncomfortably, "I yelled at her instead." Irelia finished with a sigh.
Miss Fortune leaned back with a smile on her face.
"Feeling guilty?" Sarah questioned, already knowing the answer.
Irelia nodded mutely as she took another sip of her drink.
"Well then go apologize... Again..." Sarah replied simplistically.
"I would... But she only snapped at me the last time I tried that." Irelia muttered.
"Then don't let her rub you the wrong way!" Miss Fortune answered with a laugh.
"Easy for you to say." Irelia answered darkly, "Do you have any idea how... mean she is?"
Sarah stood up to her fullest height and planted her hands on her hips, fixing Irelia with an expectant gaze. Irelia glanced up and rolled her eyes in response.
"C'mon babe." Miss Fortune finally spoke up. Nimbly, the pirate hunter vaulted the bar's counter and landed beside the Ionian.
"Up ya go!" Sarah said with a devious smile, "Or I'll start having fun at your expense again!" Miss Fortune clasped her hands together with anticipation before making a shooing motion with both hands.
"Alright! Alright..." Irelia finally caved in, making exaggerated haste as though being touched by the pirate hunter was something she feared.
Miss Fortune gave Irelia a mock offended look, pretending as if she were disappointed that Irelia was escaping her grasp. After a few moments, the look was quickly replaced with a smile.
"Hey!" Sarah called out to the Ionian as she moved towards the door. "Don't forget."
Irelia nodded and moved towards the door.
"And also, since the finals ended in a tie, all of us win the prize. You should invite her!" Sarah hollered after the Ionian's figure.
Irelia waved a hand in acknowledgement. In her mind however, she remained skeptical. Inviting Syndra to a beach party where all of the other champions would be? That didn't sound like a good idea...
Twenty minutes later, Irelia found herself standing in front of the locked door to Syndra's room. Biting her lip, Irelia hesitantly raised a hand and knocked lightly on the door.
Silence answered her efforts.
Irelia frowned, worried that her outburst had done more damage than she actually though it did. She knocked again, slightly louder.
Again, no response.
With a deep breath, Irelia unlocked and slowly opened the door. A part of her expected to find a pillow or some other object to greet her face, but there wasn't even a sound from within the room. Finally, Irelia pushed the door entirely open and quietly moved into the room.
"Syndra...?" Irelia asked, hesitantly in a soft voice. As the Ionian stepped into the room, her eyes fastened on the lone figure laying curled up on the bed.
Syndra was asleep.
Unsure of what to do, Irelia quickly considered leaving the sovereign to her rest, but a sudden word from the mage instantly stopped her.
"No." Syndra muttered in her sleep. Restlessly, the mage shifted slightly on the bed. The movement brushed the blankets off her body as she turned her back towards the door and Irelia. Instantly, Irelia felt the lump in her throat return as she got a clear glimpse of the rune burned into the mage's back. Pushing her prior thoughts of leaving out of her head, Irelia moved to the one chair in the room and sat down quietly, watching the sovereign as she slept. Upon closer inspection, however, Irelia noticed several scratches on the sovereign's back in the area surrounding the rune. Irelia leaned back in her chair with a mixed expression on her face. On one hand, the warrior almost felt bad for the mage, though another part of her was still resentful of Syndra's toxicity. Her thoughts, however, were abruptly shoved aside when Syndra shifted again, mumbling more as she unconsciously scratched her back again, adding more lines to the damaged surface. Irelia cringed subconsciously as she watched the mage.
"Ouch..." Irelia thought to herself. Alas, she set her personal thoughts aside and focused on her objective. Irelia sighed and settled into her chair. Unwilling to wake the resting mage, Irelia shut her eyes and folded her arms; letting her mind drift aimlessly while she waited. It could be a very long wait if the sovereign didn't wake soon... Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
"How long do I have to pretend to sleep until you leave me alone?" An unfamiliar voice finally startled Irelia out of her daze. Blinking, the Ionian looked up, searching for the speaker. Finally turning to gaze at Syndra, Irelia was momentarily startled to find the sovereign staring straight back at her.
"Oh.. . uhm... yeah..." Irelia stuttered, frantically searching for words to explain her presence. She found it difficult to form words after staring into the depths of the sovereign's deep violet eyes. "I was just uhm..."
"Just leave me alone already." Syndra interrupted unenthusiastically. Breaking her stare, the mage shifted an arm beneath her pillow to support her head while using her other arm to toss her blankets over her body. Bleary with sleep, Syndra accidentally tossed the blankets off the bed and onto the floor. Instantly, Irelia made a motion to retrieve the blankets for the sovereign, but Syndra reacted even faster. With immense annoyance, the mage leaned over the side of her bed and almost hurled the blankets back onto the bed before fixing Irelia with another one of her trademark glares. Finally, the sovereign buried herself underneath the mess of blankets and ceased all movement; clearly hoping to discourage Irelia from bothering her further.
Standing up from her chair, Irelia sighed and spoke up softly.
"I was just going to tell you that you are invited to the tournament celebration. It ended in a draw so we are all sharing the prize." Irelia concluded concisely. Moving to the door, Irelia stole one last glance at the mass of blankets. No movement, or hint of acknowledgement. Again, Irelia felt the guilt in her chest increase.
"Sorry about before. I didn't mean it." Irelia finally blurted out before hurrying out the door and closing it with a swift click.
...
...
...
Even though the Ionian had already left, Syndra mustered enough annoyance to mutter two words.
"Screw you..."