Among The All
Irelia's mind was yet again in a state of turmoil. In the past twenty four hours, she had gone from a state of absolute joy to an heightened sense of confused ecstasy. In the midst of these emotions, she felt just about every emotion that ranged between the two. She was angry to the very least. Perhaps she still was angry for being deceived in such a way; her emotions and opinions disregarded by those that she thought she could trust. And yet now, the warrior sat beside the one woman she thought, for a very long number of weeks, was dead.
Sighing for what seemed like the thousandth time, Irelia turned her gaze to her right, stealing a brief glance at a woman she thought she knew very well... Only now, she seemed so very different. The way the sovereign dressed... The way she conducted herself with an air of subtle superiority and calmness... It was all so very foreign to Irelia. But at the same time, she knew that this was very much the same sovereign that she knew and loved.
"Why isn't my plaything talking anymore?" A voice startled the warrior out of her reverie.
Looking back at the mage, Irelia found the sovereign gazing straight at her with a large and very trademark possessive smile on her face. Her heart seemed to lighten at the gaze, and yet Irelia still couldn't quite bring herself out of her mixed emotions.
"I just... I..." Irelia hesitated. As she continued to struggle, an invisible hand bodily lifted the warrior and scooted her over until she was directly beside the sovereign. Once she was in a comfortable position, another hand found its way around her shoulders, only this time, the hand was real and tangible.
"...plaything..." Syndra murmured as she leaned her head onto Irelia's shoulder, letting out a mutedly content sigh as she, for the first time in many a days, publically enjoyed the presence of her partner.
As if the presence of the mage was just enough to push Irelia onwards, the warrior took another sigh and finally spoke up in a soft tone.
"I just don't know how to feel right now... So much has happened..." Irelia barely whispered. It was rather uncharacteristic of the warrior to speak in such a confused and disoriented way, it was almost as if she didn't know what to do with the newfound purpose in her life. "Just a little bit over a day ago, I thought you were dead and... and I wanted to join you there..."
As the captain spoke, Syndra's grip on the warrior tightened to a point where it grew painful.
"Don't say that." Syndra grunted, her head still remaining glued to the warrior's shoulder.
"I just didn't want to-"
"Don't" Syndra interrupted, her voice growing steely and cold, and yet at the same time showing the ever present traces of fear.
"... Syndra, I can't... I just can't, okay? You don't know how much it hurt. It... It felt like I lost everything... again..." Irelia replied, her eyes downcast and staring off into the distant setting sun.
A few moments of silence passed before the weight of the warrior's words sank in.
"... I'm... I'm... sorry..." Syndra finally whispered, her voice cracking right at the very end of her words.
It was perhaps one of the last things Irelia would have expected to hear, the sovereign actually apologizing for her actions in a manner that held nothing but regret in her voice. Finally leaning her own head to rest on the sovereign's, Irelia lifted her arm up and pulled the sovereign in for a strong, almost suffocating embrace; something that wordlessly conveyed the strength of the bond she felt with Syndra.
The pair stayed like that in silence for a few moments, neither one willing to release the other as if they were content to remain like that until the end of time. Alas, even their embrace eventually came to an end, but when it was released, both of them no longer felt the strange sort of invisible wall that had grown between them in their months of separation.
"Hey..." Irelia finally spoke up in a lighter tone, her single worded and rather bland call for the sovereign's attention immediately rewarding her with Syndra's characteristically twisted smile.
"Plaything?" the mage asked in response.
"How did you know..."
"How did I know what?" Syndra pushed forward bluntly, clueless as to what it was the warrior was referring to.
"How did you know that they would let you go?" Irelia finally managed to ask, legitimately curious as to how the sovereign came up with such harebrained plans that actually ended up working out.
"Oh you mean the trial, plaything?" Syndra inquired, tilting her head slightly as she gazed at her partner. "Well technically they haven't let me go just yet..."
"Yeah, but... how did you know there was going to be a stalemate? And more importantly how... I'm just surprised that you were comfortable with showing everyone those things..." Irelia admitted, clearly somewhat still surprised with Syndra's stunt.
"Plaything, you're going to need to be a little bit more... specific..." Syndra replied with a frown, "Which things? I showed everyone everything."
"Well that's what I mean, how can you be comfortable with showing them everything... ? Even..." Irelia blushed furiously as she hesitated ever so slightly, "Even that!"
Syndra grinned back with what looked like the most rotten smile she had ever given anyone.
"Why? Are you ashamed, plaything? I want everyone to know that you are mine! And that makes you more special!" Syndra declared, her cheeks pinking slightly as she admitted to the feelings she shared with the captain of the Ionian guard.
"It was supposed to be private!" Irelia wailed, burying her face in her hands.
"I said I would show them everything." Syndra replied bluntly, grinning at Irelia's embarrassment, "Besides, it needed to be convincing otherwise we wouldn't be together like this right now!" With that, Syndra tried to peel Irelia's hands off of her face, wanting to have a clear view of Irelia's embarrassed face. Of course she lacked the physical strength to do something like that, but it most certainly did increase Irelia's already large amount of embarrassment.
Continuing to hide her face behind her hands, Irelia knew that the sovereign had a point in saying that she had to be convincing in her presentation of her case, but that didn't make things any less embarrassing. Their relationship was rather public now...
Twenty Four Hours Ago...
The courtroom for Syndra's second hearing was yet again a crowded, fully packed, and noisy mess. Only hours ago did Syndra march through the front gates, her hands in cuffs as she was flanked by tens of guards, all carrying anti-magic gear.
And yet even as they walked beside her, the hostile aura that typically accompanied the sovereign was entirely gone. There was no feeling of venom emanating from the mage, only a sort of cool composure that nobody had ever seen before. She walked with an air of confidence... superiority. Even the magic that surrounded and cloaked her body no longer gave off its demonic purple glow, but rather a softer and more radiant golden hue.
In the courtroom, the masses of Ionians were all roaring with calls for justice. Even outside, as the sovereign marched towards the capital building, her ears could already pick up the sounds of their cries. And yet, when the doors were thrown open and she was marched in, those very same cries... faded into absolute silence.
To the citizens of the Placidium, Syndra looked like a completely different person. Her expression was neutral, almost disturbingly cool despite being surrounded by hundreds of her enemies. And then the first citizen finally broke the spell.
"WITCH! YOU DESERVE DEATH!" A single voice hollered out from the crowd.
Syndra turned her head directly at the owner of the voice; somehow giving the man a piercing look despite her eyes being hidden behind her helmet. But rather than say anything, Syndra did the last thing anyone could have expected. She bowed her head ever so slightly. It was by no means a gesture of submission, but rather an acknowledgement. One that subtly dared the man to speak such blasphemy again.
At last, Syndra was ushered into a familiar seat at the center of the stage. The weight of hundreds of stares settled upon her, but she did her best to maintain her composure. One expectant glance at the courtroom judge and the man hastily began the opening statements.
"We are here to witness and determine the fate of this here criminal... monster of Ionia; Syndra the Dark Sovereign." The man said in a dark voice.
The crowed immediately roared to life calling for justice, but they were quickly silenced by the head judge once more.
"Her crimes include hundreds of accounts of murder, millions of gold worth of damages, even the execution of elders. Sovereign. What have you to say in your defense?" The man demanded.
"..."
For a few moments, Syndra seemed to shift in her seat. Not a single movement of her body language exhibited any degree of discomfort.
"Alright then-"
"Guilty." Syndra interrupted the man in a shockingly strong tone.
Everyone in the room seemed to freeze as Syndra herself admitted to her crimes.
Seconds later, the room exploded to life again, the citizens once again screaming for bloodthirsty vengeance. It seemed as if they believed that Syndra's life was finally about to come to and end.
It took a few minutes after that, for the judge to regain control of the room.
"Ahem... well then... Sovereign, you have readily admitted to your crimes, you understand that there is only one punishment for this?" The judge inquired, in a painfully boring recitation of protocol. "Your crimes are unforgivable, the things you have done against Ionia and her people have brought about the destruction of thousands of lives. This fate that awaits you... Is none other than death."
Syndra tilted her head at the judge with a bored looking frown on her face.
"Spare me your obsessive protocols." Syndra stated with blunt disregard of the man's job. "Just get to the part where I get to make my own statements."
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the man frowned and tried to make an authoritative expression. "Sovereign, this is my court, and we will follow-"
Syndra interrupted the man again with another glance. It wasn't a threatening glance or one that conveyed hostility in any way, it was one that simply commanded authority. Almost a type of aura that dared others to defy her.
"A-all right then..." The judge finally finished rather hastily, "You may speak, the floor is now yours."
"Thank you." Syndra replied curtly. Strange words, considering they were coming from her mouth.
"Champion's judgement." The sovereign continued in a two worded, blunt statement. Those two words single handedly froze every person in the room, including Karma, Irelia, Elder Kwan, and the rest of their friends. She couldn't be serious could she? A champion's judgement was a way to probe a person's mind, exposing the very depths of their thoughts and memories. It was a process that was strictly used in the institute of war.
"I... uhm... I do not believe we have summoners on hand to render such a-"
"I brought one." Syndra interrupted crudely. "And you all will watch my judgement. You all will see what it is you did to me, and then you will tell me who it is that is the true monster here."
The sovereign's foreboding words seemed to strike unease into the hearts of everyone in the room. She had to be kidding right? Who was the monster? It was most definitely her! The one that wielded magic on a cataclysmic scale!
"Do you approve my request?" Syndra stated, her hidden eyes fixated demandingly on the judge.
When the man didn't respond in any way, Syndra leaned forward in her chair.
"I said do you approve my request." The sovereign stated in a low tone.
Finally, the judge gulped in fear before nodding vigorously. His compliance earned him a rather insincere smile from the sovereign.
"Thank you." She stated rather coldly, "Lee Sin step forward please."
The audience in the chamber seemed to shift around as they searched for the rather well known blind monk. It was rare for the man to leave his temple, and yet here he was... at the sovereign's mere request...
"... Syndra... "Lee Sin greeted with a small bow as he stepped up onto the stage. Somehow his foot placement was perfect despite his vision impairment. He didn't even seem to hesitate at all or have any difficulties in finding the stairs up, nor did he have any problems locating exactly where Syndra was seated on the stage. Indeed, he was a man who did not need eyes to see; and when he did see, he saw far beyond what anyone else ever could.
"What would you like to reveal...?" The monk questioned gently as he stood behind the sovereign.
"..."
Syndra let silence fill the room for a few moments as she shut her eyes and took a meditative breath. Thankfully, Lee Sin was a patient man as he could easily tell how hesitant the sovereign was. None the less, one of his hands descended softly on the mage's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze as if reminding the mage what it was she was fighting for.
At last, Syndra straightened her posture and opened her eyes.
"Everything..." She finally whispered.
Behind her, a subdued smile of approval broke out across the monk's face. He had known what the sovereign's reply was going to be even before she had said it. Still, when spoken with such conviction, the monk didn't need to hold back his support. Lifting his hands, he placed his fingers on both sides of Syndra's head, only a few inches away from making physical contact.
"Just breath... relax... allow the images to flow..." Lee Sin whispered softly.
"I know..." Syndra muttered back, a twinge of nervousness in her voice.
She had gone through this meditative process hundreds of times in the months while she was hiding in the monk's temple. Yet in those trials that Lee Sin put her through, those thoughts were private, shared only between her and the monk she had reluctantly forced herself to trust. But in the face of the public, in the eyes of those who wanted nothing more than to kill her and take away the love of her life, Syndra couldn't help but feel her nerves spike to new heights.
And yet there was one thing... One person who was watching her from the audience that gave the sovereign all the encouragement she needed.
Casting her eyes to her side, the sovereign watched as none other than Irelia shifted worriedly in her seat, desperate to know that Syndra knew what she was doing. Closing her eyes for a final time, Syndra took one last deep breath and spoke.
"I'm ready..."
Present Time...
"So... You did that hundreds of times in the... the past month..." Irelia finally spoke up after several long minutes of silence had passed.
Syndra removed her headdress as she turned and faced the warrior.
"It was part of the trials that I was put through... " Syndra replied, conveniently leaving out the part where she initially resisted the blind monks orders. Saying that she was uncooperative would have been an understatement, but Lee Sin had one thing over her. One very major incentive... Irelia.
"So then... did you know that they were going to let you walk then?" Irelia questioned dubiously. The sovereign's plan to simply reveal all of her emotions was certainly very daring, but it was also equally as harebrained as all of her other ideas...
"Of course not." Syndra scoffed with her trademark cockiness. She then laughed as if it was all planned even though her results were most definitely not.
Irelia rewarded the mage with an exasperated eye roll. Why did she expect anything different in the first place...
"I didn't want to do it, to be honest." Syndra finally continued after a few moments, "Those memories... everything that I shared with them... I didn't want people to know about them. I am the Dark Sovereign. I don't need them to pity me or accept me, they have to take me whether they want to or not!" Syndra snapped rather irately. "... Or at least that's what I thought..."
Of course Irelia had an idea of what was coming next. It made her feel a little bit guilty and embarrassed, but it definitely brought her a great feeling of happiness.
"But those things... I can forgo, so long as I get my plaything~" Syndra finished with a teasing smile, gazing rather expectantly at Irelia.
Irelia blushed demurely and bit a lip as Syndra gave her the trademark twisted grin that she was so very well known for. The captain definitely felt as if she should feel indignant with the way Syndra gambled and took risks, but she certainly couldn't argue with the results... At least not this time, considering how Syndra was now sitting beside her in the middle of the Placidium.
To say that Syndra was pardoned by Ionia was definitely an overstatement. There was no such verdict. In fact, there was no verdict at all. When Syndra's memories had finally finished playing after several hours of constant playing, both she and Lee Sin were exhausted and drained by the sheer amount of effort required to use such a meditation technique for such a long time. Even now, the blind monk was still resting in his private quarters.
Needless to say, a dead silence had followed after the end of the judgment. The entire audience was stunned by the revelations of what truly happened to the sovereign. Perhaps more importantly, however, was how genuine her love for their captain of the guard truly was. They had doubted both the sovereign and even Irelia, and yet through it all, the mage took it upon herself to right their mistakes... Even going as far as to sacrifice her own self just for the woman she loved. It was a true display of selflessness that went unrivaled by almost everyone in the Placidium. Clearly none of them had ever taken such a feat of courage and faith, and yet here was their public enemy number one, taking that very sacrifice without the slightest bit of hesitation.
By the time the audience recovered and the jury was called together for a verdict, almost the entire audience was wavering on the fence as to how twisted their own calls for revenge were. Indeed, when the sovereign said she would show them who the true monster was, she was not lying in the slightest. As if reflecting the confliction the audience felt, when the jury emerged from their own chambers, their decision was inconclusive. Hours had gone into their discussion, but in the end, a verdict was unreachable. And so they were released until further discussion could take place. Certainly not the most desirable result, but most definitely not one to complain about.
"... So... What did he... " Irelia asked after a few minutes, not exactly finishing her question and hoping Syndra would catch the idea of her question.
"What did he test me with?" Syndra questioned, her guess spot on as far as what it was Irelia wanted to know.
Mutely, the captain nodded with subdued yet hesitant curiosity.
"You." Syndra replied in a single worded reply as if she expected such an explanation to be sufficient. Of course it wasn't.
"Me?" Irelia questioned dubiously, "What do you mean me?"
"He..." Syndra hesitated, her eyes suddenly gaining a very distant and almost fearful look to their glow. Gulping as if she were swallowing her fear, Syndra tried again. "He made me..."
Again, the mage hesitated, balking at something that was apparently causing her a great deal of distress.
"You don't have to-"
"He made me kill you." Syndra finally blurt out, interrupting the warrior before she was able to deny Syndra the chance to finish answering her question. "He made me kill you..." Syndra repeated another time, sighing and bringing a hand up to her head as if it was a nightmare she was remembering.
"Kill... Me...?" Irelia repeated sounding confused and disturbed. "But... why?"
Syndra took another deep, calming breath as she tried to shove her emotions back into her stomach before they spiraled out of control.
"B-Because you were the only thing that I cared about, okay? You were the only one that I had any attachment to." Syndra finally answered, staring directly into Irelia's eyes as she spoke.
Irelia was about to stop the sovereign from saying any more, seeing as that the memories were painful, but Syndra refused to halt in any way.
"I killed you." She stated in a haunted tone, "I... I crushed you... Over.. and over... I don't even..."
She paused for a few moments, images and memories of every situation in which the sovereign had killed an Ionian resurfacing in her mind. Only in those memories, each person she had killed so very ruthlessly was replaced with the Will of the Blades.
"Hundreds... Hundreds of times, I watched you die by my hands." Syndra continued, her echoing voice seeming suddenly more hollow than before. "I tried to stop, I tried to fight back, I tried not to kill... But I couldn't... I could only watch..."
Another pause as the sovereign recomposed herself once again.
"It was his way of showing me how each life that I had taken was a unique and special existence in the world. Every time I felt the loss... The pain... The agony of watching you die beneath my hands... Each time I felt that, I felt the pain that every family felt when I took a life from their ranks..."
When the sovereign's voice finally trailed away, a long silence settled between the pair of Ionians. Neither one knew what was best to say in such a moment... That is until Syndra finally shattered the silence with a single word that rarely came out of her mouth.
"Sorry..." Syndra whispered, her voice barely audible as she glanced at the warrior.
Irelia stiffened at the sound of the whisper. It was a single word and yet it seemed to shatter the restraints holding back her emotions. By her side, the warrior's hand balled into a fist and her entire body shook as she heaved a shaky breath.
"I..." Syndra started, but hesitated, clearly unsure of how to continue. "I'm... I just... I'm sor-"
In an abrupt move, Irelia head butted the mage in the shoulder, wrapping her arms around the sovereign in an embrace so tight that it was difficult for the sovereign to breath.
"Don't." Irelia demanded, her voice muffled by her position. It was a good thing that the mage couldn't see her face, considering how Irelia was on the verge of breaking down again. "Just... Don't... Never... again..."
For the first time, Syndra finally felt regret for the actions she had done. Throughout her month of hiding, she kept pushing the thought of Irelia's pain and mourning to the back of her mind. It was now that she was finally forced to confront the results of her very own actions. Irelia had been hurt by many things and people in the past... But nobody had ever hurt her as much as she just had...
"I promise..." Syndra finally managed to say, her voice suddenly taught with the amount of raw emotions she was finally facing. "I promise..." she repeated a second time as if saying it again would make things better.
"P-Promise isn't good enough." Irelia managed to choke out, still strangling the mage with her hug. "Just do it. No promises, nothing. Just. Do."
There was another long silence that settled between the pair before Syndra finally broke the silence for one last time.
"... okay..."
Author's Notes:
Another long delay and finally the last chapter to the main story is finally done. Lots of fluff planned and plotted and not entirely sure how to be implemented is in store for this story's future. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it as much as I have had fun coming up with the silliest of things for this odd pair to go through. As this is the last major chapter to this story, I thought I'd share my thoughts and feelings. Read on if you're interested, or, if you're not, I'll just take the time here and now to thank you all for reading, reviewing, and supporting this story.
It's hard to believe that almost an entire year has sank into this story. I know the past few months have been light in terms of content, but we all have our reasons and, well, life has a habit of getting in the way. Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked here, sorry... It almost makes me a little bit sad seeing the final part of this story come to an end. I love both of these characters and I honestly feel like I've grown to understand them so much more throughout this story. For now, I do not know what my future projects will be, but I am most definitely leaving the door open for a sequel to this story. I've gotten a few requests for Diana and Leona, but I'll be honest, I don't really understand or have that connection to either of those characters. Those of you who understand what I mean when I say I like to get into my characters' heads should understand what I'm saying. Again, I'm not making any promises, so maybe there will be a story about them, maybe there won't. Perhaps some strike of inspiration will come to me and I'll create something completely new for all of you to enjoy.
Anyhow, in regards to this particular chapter, I thought it was a decent way of wrapping things together in a somewhat loose manner. Again, I'm trying to leave the door open for a possible sequel, so I definitely need some wiggle room and maybe a few loose ends to toy with in the event that I do come up with another harebrained plot to write. For now though, I hope you will look forward to the fluff to come. I know that I am, and I most certainly believe that Syndra and Irelia both deserve it after all the things I shoved them through. Seriously, it's a miracle they are still in one piece! Oh and should you guys have something in particular that you would like to see in these fluffy chapters, feel free to leave them in the reviews section or in a private message. Believe it or not, I have actually taken some inspiration from there!
As always, thank you for your support and thank you so very much for making this story successful. I hope to see you in the chapters to come!
~M