Fugitives

Irelia's legs collapsed beneath her as exhaustion overwhelmed her body. The warrior had lost track of how long she had been running or how far she had even managed to travel. Her legs burned with pain, her fingers and hands numb with cold. Everything she felt, however, took a back seat to whatever it was that the person in her arms felt.

Resting in the depths of unconsciousness, Syndra remained aloft in Irelia's protective arms. Even with the rough bumping and uncomfortable transport, the mage's mind remained consumed by the darkness of sleep. It was a source of great concern to Irelia. While the warrior took great care in protecting the sovereign against the elements of nature, the fact that Syndra remained unconscious meant that her slumber was not natural. Glancing down at the mage in her arms, Irelia adjusted the blanket that she had hastily wrapped about the mage. Briefly, a small flash of helplessness flickered across her face as she mutely gazed at the sovereign's sleeping features.

Alas, Irelia stubbornly shoved her concern to the back of her mind and attempted to force herself back to her feet. Her legs refused to obey her commands. Instead, her legs shot pain straight through her entire body as they remained limp and unresponsive to the warrior's desires. At last, the warrior gave in to her own body's cries of protest. Dragging herself to a nearby tree, the warrior rested her back against the tree's cold wood.

The warrior shivered involuntarily as a cold draft of wind cut through the air; chilling her to the bone. Still, the warrior ignored her body's complaints and returned her gaze to Syndra. The mage's complacent features seemed to make the feeling of cold evaporate from Irelia's body until another draft of frigid air reminded her of the cold she remained exposed to. At last, Irelia shifted the sovereign into what she thought looked like a comfortable position on the floor; the one blanket she had grabbed from her home wrapped securely about the mage in a cocoon of warmth while her head rested on Irelia's thigh.

"Fire." Irelia's conscience whispered in the back of her head as the cold cut through her clothes again. Alas, Irelia brushed aside her conscience's words. Surely, fire would bring warmth, but fire was a surefire way of revealing her position. She had no idea whether or not the Ionian army was still pursuing her and she most certainly had no intention of making things easier for them. Grimly, Irelia shivered again and folded her arms closer to her chest.

At last, the exhaustion pushed through the adrenaline flowing through Irelia's blood. Her breath leaving white clouds of vapor as she breathed, the warrior finally closed her eyes. Within seconds, her mind began to drift; her consciousness slowly slipping away as her body demanded the rest it needed.

Hours Earlier

Irelia raced away into the darkness of the night. In her arms, a white haired mage lay wasting away; her life's essence seeping out of a gaping wound on her back. Desperation fueled the warrior, making it impossible for her to even feel the barest hints of fatigue beginning to descend on her body. And thus, like the wind, Irelia ran.

As she continued her plight, thousands of possible locations to flee surged into her mind. Unfortunately, none of them were viable. Wherever she ran, they were waiting for her. Even if they didn't know yet, it was only a matter of time before her people discovered that she had done the unthinkable. She could rely on no one. No one other than herself.

With that in mind, Irelia abruptly turned and continued her headlong sprint down a narrow stretch of road. She paid no attention to the quizzical stares that were sent her way. Though she was in public, she knew that she was moving far too fast for the civilians around her to catch more than a glimpse or flash of her hair. Inwardly, however, the warrior's insides churned with anguish. A part of the warrior knew that if she stopped and asked for aid, it would have been given without a moment of hesitation. That, however, would have simply been cruel. They still didn't know what she had done. They didn't know that she had-.

"No." Irelia audibly told herself, "No. Focus. Syndra."

Shoving all thoughts of regret out of her mind, the warrior redoubled her efforts to reach her home. Thankfully, it didn't take long.

Moments later, Irelia barged through her own door, knocking aside a few door ornaments in the process. She paid the destruction no mind. Only one thing was on her mind; giving Syndra medical attention. Dashing to her kitchen table, Irelia frantically swept everything off the surface and onto the floor in a disorganized mess. The chaos didn't suit the perfect order and cleanliness of the house, but Irelia could hardly be spared such luxuries. She was already running out of time.

Laying the mage down on the table, Irelia tilted her ear close to the sovereign's mouth. The weak sound of pained breathing met her ears. None the less, Irelia was relieved that the sovereign was at least still breathing. Backing away slightly, the warrior stole a glance at the mage's form. Although she was slightly relieved with the mage's state, she couldn't help but cringe when she saw how pale Syndra's skin had become. Without a moment to loose, Irelia quickly turned on her heel and dashed to her bathroom before throwing open the medicine cabinet and ripping out a bag of emergency medical supplies.

Diving into the bag, Irelia haphazardly tossed out medical items. Gauze, bandages, disinfectants all flew out of the bag in Irelia's panicked frenzy until the warrior's hands finally closed on a cold, glass vial. Lifting the glass into the air, Irelia swallowed with apprehension. Within the vial sat a small amount of red fluid. It was a brew of some of the strongest healing elixir Ionia had ever created. The down side to using it? It burned like an acid.

Before Irelia could hesitate any longer, the sound of hundreds of booted feet shook her out of her trance. Glancing out of the window, the warrior caught a glimpse of dozens of Ionian soldiers marching down the street. Irelia gulped apprehensively and sprinted back to Syndra's side. Panicking and out of time, the warrior gently lifted Syndra by the shoulders and shook the mage slightly.

"Syndra..." Irelia spoke up, "Syndra! Wake up!"

When the mage didn't respond, Irelia patted the mage's cheeks and shook her again.

"Syndra... Hey!" Irelia begged, desperately trying to raise the mage.

Finally, Syndra's eyes hazily flickered open. Weakly, they turned to stare into Irelia's face, though it was clear that she was unable to see straight or think in any way. It didn't matter to Irelia though, all the warrior wanted was to warn the mage of what she was about to do.

"Hey... Syndra... I'm sorry, this is going to hurt a lot..." Irelia told the mage.

Syndra blinked with a clear lack of comprehension before slumping backwards as unconsciousness called her name once more.

"But there's no other way... You're going to bleed to death if I don't..." Irelia continued.

Again, the mage was unable to respond as Irelia gently laid the sovereign back down on the table before gingerly rolling the mage onto her stomach.

"Okay... Here we go..." Irelia spoke up, sounding more like she was preparing herself as opposed to telling Syndra to get ready.

At last, Irelia uncorked the elixir. Instantly, the volatile smell of the potion perfumed the air; filling the home with the stomach-churning scent of vomit. Irelia, however, forced herself to ignore the horrible smell and leaned over Syndra's back.

Peeling back the sovereign's bloodied shirt, the warrior found the gaping wound in Syndra's back. Blood continued to leak out of the deep incision. Grimly, she steeled herself, and finally poured the liquid onto the wound. Milliseconds later, the liquid began bubbling as it simultaneously cleansed, cauterized, and then mended Syndra's damaged flesh. Unfortunately, the mage wasn't even aware that such miraculous healing was occurring. Only one thing was on her mind.

Agony.

Moments after the bubbling began, Syndra's eyes shot wide with unimaginable pain. The sovereign let out a horrid scream that chilled Irelia to the very bone. Yet, the mage couldn't even hear her own screams of agony as pain filled every fiber of her body. All she could think of was the sensation of being burned alive. Thrashing about, the mage reflexively tried to scrape the fluid off of her back.

"I'm sorry! Syndra! I'm sorry!" Irelia yelled over the mage's screams.

The warrior forcefully threw herself down on top of the mage, effectively preventing the sovereign from hampering her own healing. Still, the mage continued to writhe in agony beneath the weight of Irelia's body until finally, her convulsions slowed into subtle spasms.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Irelia whispered, her emotions starting to get the better of her.

For a few moments, Irelia maintained her position atop the mage. She wanted to be sure that the mage wouldn't fly into another string of seizures. After a few seconds, however, she was forced to move. Her sense of her surroundings finally returning to her, the warrior took a fleeting glance out of the window. What she saw dropped her stomach to her feet. No more than fifty feet away from her home was an entire contingent of soldiers all closing in on her position.

She had to leave. Fast.

Moving with swift, yet slightly frantic precision, the warrior sprinted into the bedroom and grabbed a bag filled with a small amount of emergency supplies. Throwing the bag over her back, Irelia blindly grabbed one last thing. It was her bedroom blanket.

Dashing back to the kitchen table, Irelia rolled the mage back onto her back. Peering into the sovereign's face, Irelia caught a glimpse of Syndra's unconscious expression. The mage had passed out in the midst of the pain overloading her body. Cringing with the knowledge that she was the source of the mage's pains, Irelia shook her head before wrapping the blanket in her hands around the sovereign in a warm, protective cocoon. Seconds later, there was a loud pounding sound at the front door.

Shooting a fleeting glance at the door, Irelia unceremoniously heaved the blanketed Syndra into her arms and hurried to the back door. Just as she reached the door, the front door burst open.

"Ionian Army!" The foremost intruder yelled.

For a brief second, Irelia stared in shock at the fully armored man that had just breached the front door.

He too hesitated for a second.

Finally, Irelia moved. In a swift, fluid-like motion, Irelia turned the back to the front door and flung the rear door of her home open before catapulting herself into the darkness of night. Behind her, she could hear the man yelling.

"She's going out the back! Surround her! Stop her!" The man yelled desperately.

Within seconds, Irelia could hear the sounds of hundreds of booted feet thundering after her. Alas, even though the Ionians outnumbered her, Irelia had something they didn't. She had desperation. Desperation to protect the one thing she had left after throwing everything she had away. And just like that, the desperation she harbored once again transformed into the infinite energy she needed to run.

Present Time...

A dull warmth greeted Irelia as she slowly rose from the depths of her slumber. Drearily, the Ionian shifted slightly, halfway between deciding to wake up or returning to the warmth of slumber.

"Warm... Sleep..." Irelia thought to herself. "Wait... Warm?"

Finally, Irelia cracked her eyes open. Heaving a sleep-laden groan, Irelia tried to lift herself into a sitting position and bring her arms up to her face to rub away the remains of sleep that clung to her eyes. Unfortunately, neither action was possible. The moment Irelia tried to move, her entire body refused to budge to even the slightest degree.

"Ughhh..." Irelia groaned again and shut her eyes for a few seconds before opening them once again.

Tilting her head slightly downwards, Irelia finally caught a glimpse of what it was that was restraining all of her movements. Practically smothering the warrior with her body was none other than Syndra. The mage was still asleep with both of her arms clamped around Irelia's body while her head rested on the warrior's shoulder. Both the mage and the blanket cocooned around the both of them were the source of warmth that Irelia awoke to.

Irelia couldn't help but smile as she watched the mage's complacent features. With no hatred burning in the depths of her eyes and no hostile aura emanating from her, the sovereign appeared so akin to a child as she slept. The way she clung to the warrior made it particularly incredibly difficult for Irelia not to compare the mage to a sleeping kid. That... and the drool. Irelia's eyebrow twitched slightly as she noticed the wet patch on her shoulder that developed after a measurable amount of drool had pooled and soaked into her shirt.

Alas, even through her annoyance, Irelia let out a small chuckle before finally prying her arms loose from Syndra's strangling grasp. When the unconscious mage finally released her, Irelia smiled before wrapping her own arms around the mage and running her fingers through the sovereign's long, pearly hear.

Absentmindedly, the warrior continued to caress the mage while she left her thoughts to drift. Her mind still mildly occupied thoughts of Syndra, Irelia's brain remained blissfully blank until finally, she remembered where she was and why she was there. Abruptly, her caressing stopped as she recalled the events that lead her to her current predicament. Yet, before she could recall the past too well, Syndra began squirming about restlessly in the warrior's arms.

Frowning, Irelia squeezed the mage slightly and gently ran her fingers through the mage's hair once again.

Syndra immediately stopped her squirming and her breathing returned to its rhythmic lulling pace.

A wry smile spread across Irelia's face as she contentedly watched the mage. Finally, she stopped her caresses and began recalling the previous day's events once more. Yet again, her recollections were interrupted by more squirming from the mage.

"Ugh! You're such a baby!" Irelia muttered somewhat exasperatedly, simultaneously returning to her gentle comforting caresses. What happened next however, completely caught the warrior off guard.

"I'm no baby, you're a baby." Syndra grunted, her face still buried in the warrior's shoulder.

For a second, Irelia froze.

"I... Wh...WHAT!? YOU'RE AWAKE!?" Irelia practically shrieked, after she regained her voice.

Cackling wickedly, Syndra shifted slightly so she could gaze at Irelia's face while simultaneously remaining glued to the warrior's body.

"Morning, plaything!" Syndra spoke up with twisted happiness. Not an ounce of exhaustion was present in the mage's eyes; evidence of her being awake for far longer than Irelia had thought.

"You... You... Godammit Syndra!" Irelia sputtered, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment.

"I thought you were still unconscious, I was worried!" Irelia continued, sounding slightly indignant.

"So this blanket somehow ended up wrapped around you and I somehow ended up next to you without me moving there?" Syndra questioned with a skeptical frown.

"I... I..." Irelia hesitated, "I didn't have enough sleep." The warrior finally managed to grumble in defeat. It was an honest comment, in all simplicity. The warrior was far too exhausted from both physical and mental exertion to be even asked to analyze a situation.

Syndra's frowned deepened before suddenly twisting into a smile. Abruptly, the mage tossed herself sideways and whipped Irelia onto her lap. The action earned her a shocked and surprised yelp from the warrior.

"Then go back to sleep!" Syndra ordered demandingly as she forcefully shifted Irelia into what appeared to be a comfortable resting position.

The warrior wormed about until she found a comfortable position in Syndra's arms. Glancing upwards, the warrior fixed the sovereign with a pouting look, though it was more than evident that she was content with her position.

"Don't give me that!" Syndra snapped with feigned anger as she met Irelia's gaze. Reaching down, the mage pinched the sides of Irelia's cheeks and pulled upwards, creating a goofy, exaggerated grin. After a few seconds of that, the mage got bored and moved a hand through Irelia's hair.

"What are you doing..." Irelia murmured softly as she broke her gaze on Syndra's face and pushed her head back into Syndra's shoulder.

The mage hesitated for a few seconds before replying.

"Plaything escaped my grasp for too many days, I must make up for lost time!" Syndra declared greedily as she twirled a lock of Irelia's hair around a finger. The warrior didn't bother with a reply as she snuggled in closer to the mage. If anything was evident, it was that Irelia too missed the mage. After she finally realized that Irelia shared her feelings, a wide, winning grin spread across Syndra's face.

"Plaything is all mine now!" Syndra declared jubilantly as she squeezed the warrior.

"Right... All yours..." Irelia muttered after a few moments.

"There's so much to do now that you have joined me in the fight against Ionia!" Syndra continued obliviously.

Irelia stiffened. Abruptly, all of the images of her actions and betrayal surged back into her mind.

"So much planning to do! So much revenge to be had!" Syndra continued, failing to notice Irelia's frozen figure.

As the mage continued her rambling speech, a cold sweat broke out across Irelia's forehead. Her breathing suddenly becoming short, the warrior vividly recalled images of her own people falling before her blades. Finally, Irelia pushed herself away from the mage. Syndra frowned as the contact between them evaporated, but her displeasure instantly vanished when she caught a glimpse of Irelia's glazed, staring eyes.

"Playth... Irelia?" Syndra questioned hesitantly.

Rising to her feet, Irelia brought a shaking hand up to her head and pulled her hair backwards out of her face. Finally, she spoke.

"Eh...Eha...ahaha..." Irelia loosed out in a crooked laugh. Turning her glazed, almost stunned looking stare to Syndra, the warrior trembled violently.

" 'relia what's wrong?" Syndra demanded, simultaneously sounding worried and upset.

"I... I..." Irelia stammered before taking a hard gulp of air.

"Ahahahaha!" Irelia laughed hysterically in an unhealthily insane manner.

"Irelia!" Syndra demanded angrily, clearly upset with the fact that she didn't know how to deal with the current situation.

"I killed them." Irelia finally stated in horrified realization of her actions, "I killed them..."

"Killed? Killed who?" Syndra demanded confusedly.

"My... My own people... The people that I have protected for over a decade... I killed them..." Irelia continued. As the warrior spoke, the color drained out of her face and her expression turned to one that looks as though she were about to vomit.

"You were defending yourself!" Syndra cried out, desperately trying to return the warrior back to her senses. Irelia, however, appeared deaf to the mage's words.

"Why did I... Why did I kill them... Ahaha... What have I done!" Irelia muttered incoherently.

"I'm a... I'm a traitor! I'm... I-"

Before Irelia could continue, Syndra did the one thing that came to mind. Levitating herself back to her feet, Syndra forcibly reached out and grabbed the collar of Irelia's shirt with both of her hands. Yanking the warrior before her, Syndra shut her eyes and leaned in; planting a warm, solid kiss on Irelia's stunned lips.

It was a rare moment in which Syndra's impulsive actions actually got her the results she wanted. For a few seconds, the contact paralyzed the warrior; a whirlwind of emotions storming about in her mind as her feelings of betrayal and comfort battled against each other. At last, the lingering contact between her and Syndra won over her own sense of treachery.

Backing away slightly, Irelia gazed into the sovereign's eyes. The warrior's expression showed no hints of stunned horror at her own actions. Instead, only the resolution in knowing that she chose the right path for herself reflected in the crystal blue of her eyes. Finally, Irelia leaned forward again and pressed her face back into the sovereign's shoulder. The warrior didn't want Syndra to see her tears despite knowing that the mage would feel her shoulder grow damp. Thankfully, the mage was tactful enough to not say a word. Instead, she merely chose to hold Irelia close; embracing the warrior and comforting her to the best of her inexperienced abilities.

The two stood in awkward silence for a few minutes until Syndra finally realized how tactless she had been in her prior ramblings. Awkwardly, the mage released Irelia and held her back at arm's length.

The warrior looked away with a look crossed with countless emotions painting her face. Everything ranging from joy to despair seemed to be written across Irelia's face as all of her conflicted feelings ran through her mind. It wasn't until Syndra spoke that the warrior finally returned her gaze to the sovereign.

"Thanks." Syndra abruptly spoke in a jarringly harsh tone.

Irelia blinked in surprise as she did a double take.

"Thanks?" Irelia repeated dumbly. "Thanks for what?"

"Thanks..." Syndra hesitated with a slight twitch, "Thanks for..."

"Thanks for saving me." Syndra finally managed to grunt through gritted teeth. The mage was quite clearly annoyed with the fact that she had been rescued, though she was also genuinely thankful to Irelia for her assistance.

Rather than playing off of the sovereign's embarrassment, however, Irelia merely chose to demand a reward for her actions.

"Hug me." Irelia snapped in an uncharacteristically demanding tone. The warrior simultaneously moved forward and pushed her face back into the mage's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her back.

Rather taken aback by the warrior's actions, Syndra finally returned the embrace after a few seconds. The moment she did so, however, Irelia roughly poked the mage square in the stomach.

"Uph!" Syndra sounded in surprise. Before she could voice her anger or surprise however, Irelia spoke up.

"You don't have to thank me for anything." Irelia finally murmured, her voice muffled from still being engrained in the sovereign's shoulder.

The sentiment left Syndra speechless. She had no suitable words to reply with. Unfortunately, someone else did.

"Then perhaps you should thank me." A cold, scratchy voice sounded from the darkness of the trees behind them.

Instantly, both Irelia and Syndra released each other before readying themselves for combat. Syndra bared both of the hands into claws, blistering amounts of magic collecting within her body. Irelia's blade snapped to her side before spreading into its deadly flower shape in a crisp, metallic ring.

"Aha... Very frightening..." The voice spoke up again.

"Who's there... Show yourself!" Irelia demanded in a commanding tone.

"Oh? Alright then..." The voice answered cordially.

At last, the man emerged from the shadows. He was wearing a dark hooded cloak which concealed the majority of his face and body. Yet, Syndra didn't even need to see beneath the cloak to realize who he was. When the shadows finally receded from his form, Syndra's face had twisted into a livid scowl.

"YOU!" Syndra snarled darkly.

The man smiled and pulled back his hood before answering.

"Yes... Me..." Akano replied with a twisted smile.

"Welcome home... Syndra..."

Author's Notes:

Hello again everyone, thank you for making it to the end of this chapter. Remarkably little happened here, but I did want to take a small little respite from the relatively fast pace that this story has been taking. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the small little bits of fluff as well as the intimate interactions between Irelia and Syndra. Sorry in advance for that cliffhanger at the end, I had to find some way of keeping this chapter at a slower pace while simultaneously keeping it ready to take off in the next chapter. I kind of feel like that made the transition at the end a little bit jarring.

Anyhow, I would like to (as always) thank you all for your continued support for this story. Please do leave me a comment or any criticism you may have whether it be positive or negative. I look forward to seeing you all in the chapters to come.