Rated M for violence. Wait the series is now rated M so why am I still rating it? So that people won't have to read something they don't want to, drawing.. Ohhhh... Tags: Riven, Irelia
Riven's eyes narrow and she raises her left hand in a fist when she suddenly spots the bloodstained pile of Noxian corpses. Her squad instantly halts, alarmed eyes scanning the ruined buildings and silent trees as the soldiers fan out and assume defensive positions. The white-haired Noxian commander pauses for a few tense minutes. Her agitated maroon-colored gaze wandering across the surrounding flora and the eerily silent entrance of the Ionian village they were ordered to capture. Riven's face constricts into a rather concerned hostile expression.
…
The stoic swordswoman only kneels down to examine the dead bodies after she confirms that there are no Ionian forces hiding among the trees, but she doesn't find out anything of great importance and so she cautiously signals for her unit to move on and her gruff-looking soldiers instantly obey at once and so the Noxian unit's grim march continues.
0000
Riven and her comrades avoid encountering any problems until they almost reach the village's square. There are no assassins or Ionian martial artists hiding inside the filthy shacks, no archers perched on their brittle wooden roofs and no guards or watchmen announcing their arrival with hysterical cries of pure terror. A quick search of the first few shacks soon reveals that most of their villagers' belonging are either destroyed or missing from their homes and so Riven has to assume that the villagers had hastily fled when the Ionian scouts had spotted the approaching Noxian forces.
That's good. Riven is secretly relieved that she won't have to spill innocent blood today. Their objective is just to capture the secluded Ionian village after all and fighting scared cooks and sheep farmers armed with shovels, sticks and hoes would certainly leave a bad taste in the warrior's mouth. Where is the honor in killing those that can't even wield a proper weapon after all?
Loud laughter and jeers soon draws the Noxian commander's attention and derail her solemn thoughts. Red eyes narrow, her sword quietly crawls out of its sheath and Riven crouches low as she exchanges a meaningful look with one of her appointed scouts. Fang subtly nods, a small iron dagger suddenly appearing on his right hand and the lithe scout soon disappears behind a crooked wooden shack as the rest of her comrades silently draw their respective weapons.
A heartbeat passes and then two more. Riven carefully moves towards the small building she has last saw her scout with eyes burning like hungry embers, but she is suddenly put at ease when Fang abruptly runs back to them without being riddled with spears and arrows or looking particularly concerned for that matter.
"They are Noxians!" He joyously answers Riven's impatient look before he even reaches his agitated squadmates and various sheathes clank and hiss as the majority of the soldiers instantly put away their steel and weapons. "It is Marcus and his unit, they reached the village almost half an hour ago, but it was already mostly deserted when they arrived."
Riven nods in affirmation, her runic blade already hanging behind her back as the Noxian commander pointedly looks towards the village's entrance and the unseen pile of bloody corpses.
"And what about the bodies?" Fang instantly grimaces, probably remembering the sickening sight of the butchered Noxian squad and the young white-haired commander raises a single curious eyebrow in response as she briefly wonders just what kind of Noxian warrior shudders at the sight of fresh corpses and lost lives.
"They were part of Marcus' squad. They apparently stumbled across some kind of big shot Ionian warrior as she was trying to evacuate the village. They managed to subjugate her but they suffered some loses."
The Noxian commander just hums in return. Some loses. Yeah right, that was a great understatement since Riven had counted at least half a dozen of heads among the twisted bloodied remnants of the dead Noxian corpses they had previously seen near the entrance. Marcus' squad had been all but annihilated. Riven's eyes narrow once more as loud chuckles can be suddenly heard from behind the abandoned shacks and the Noxian commander decides to find the source of all the commotion.
She navigates the deserted streets, hurriedly walking between the crooked houses. The female commander's crimson eyes calmly examining the ruined gardens and the broken doors, the empty streets and the dusty cobblestones until the white-haired swordswoman finally steps foot into the small village's square and stumbles across an almost heartbreaking sight.
There is a young Ionian woman standing at the very center of the small crowded square, with long black hair in the color of a healthy raven's wings and eyes as green as the lavishing Ionian forests. Her crimson armor is almost torn and full of scratches and bumps and her face is stained with dirt, sweat, blood and surprisingly enough with the angry fires burning in the woman's eyes, bitter tears.
Riven blinks, her hard crimson eyes seemingly locked with the captured Ionian's. Cold red Noxian chips meeting hurt wet pulls of emerald Ionian lightning. And then a small jagged stone is mercilessly hurled at the apparently tied subjugated woman and the black-haired warrior suddenly howls in pain. The red-clad Ionian attempts to steady herself as the stone collides with her unprotected forehead splitting her fair smooth skin and the restrained warrior releases a low choked sob when a little voice behind her abruptly starts bawling and sniffling. The magic is broken and the Noxian warrior averts her eyes from the pitiful sight.
"Hey, Marcus." She greets the male commander and the burly man snorts as he kneels to gather some more shattered cobblestone to throw at his defenseless captive.
Riven recognizes Marcus' howling laughter as another stone collides with the captured woman's face, but the ashen-haired swordswoman blatantly ignores him as her eyes dart from the red warrior's bleeding tearstained face, to the thick length of rope coiled around the woman's neck. The female Noxian commander slowly approaches her and she soon takes note of how the rope disappears into the rich foliages of an old oak tree only for it to once again sprout from between a series of smaller branches and wrap around the neck of the young bawling child cowering behind the back of the Ionian warrior.
"I see you wanted to meet Irelia, Riven. Excuse me, but she seems to be rather preoccupied at the moment..."
The female swordswoman nods her head even though she hasn't heard a word, her crimson eyes entirely too focused on the captured Ionian that's currently struggling to keep standing on her tired toenails and the young male child standing on top of a splintered stool right behind the restrained Captain.
It is such a disgusting game, Riven notes with some degree of distaste. Irelia will soon tire out and won't be able to stand on her toes. The rope will strangle her and the warrior's weight will make the child's noose rise up, effectively killing it in mere seconds.
A cruel and disgusting game with no honor in it and no other possible winner except from Marcus. Riven suddenly remembers why she dislikes the obnoxious male commander.
"P-Please." A scratchy feminine voice whispers as someone laughs and hurls another stone at the Captain of the Ionian Guard. Riven moves to better face the bleeding warrior and she instantly notices the woman's dry cracked lips and her sweaty exhausted face, the swollen skin around her crying eyes and the endless flood of desperate tears. Irelia's stare is scared and desperate, but Riven can somehow feel the immense inner strength hidden behind the beaten warrior's gaze and she can even witness some kind of brooding conviction still burning inside those wet jade-colored eyes.
Irelia is scared and yet she is not. There is visible defiance in her eyes and yet she is currently begging her enemies for mercy. Riven doesn't understand why such a mighty warrior is sacrificing her pride just to preserve herself. Wasn't the fabled Ionian Captain supposed to be a bane to the invading Noxian army?
"Please.." The raven-haired warrior chokes out once more and her voice is almost lost to the sea of mocking jeers of the Noxian invaders and the whines of the young child quivering behind the beaten Captain. "L-let the child go, it is me you want to kill. The child doesn't have to die. He is innocent."
Riven raises a disbelieving eyebrow at the captured Ionian's words. Irelia wasn't begging her to spare her life… but the child's? Brutality and strength was everything in Noxus. The strong will live and the weaklings must die, was the motto every man, woman and child had to memorize and abide by if they ever hoped to survive in the dark city carved of black stone. Nobody had ever cared for her or protected Riven while she had been a young starving orphan living on the streets. She has had to prove her worth and rise to power on her own.
There was no reason for the stupidity that was kindness and love in this world where betrayal and cruelty reigned supreme after all, and Irelia was a brainless fool if she hoped that any decent Noxian would ever consider her desperate pleas.
"I refuse." More tears start leaking from the red-clad warrior's jade-colored eyes, the jeering soldiers around them cheer and applaud and the female Noxian turns around to leave as both of the Ionians' sobs abruptly rise in volume.
"It is just a kid.."
"See ya, Marcus."
"P-please! Please! He is just a kid! It is innocent! He is an innocent!"
The Noxian just shrugs in response, her back still turned on the crying warrior as Marcus swiftly moves towards the restrained Captain of the guard and brutally punches her in the stomach.
"Yeah, yeah! I've grown tired of this shit, so just die already!"
Riven almost flinches at the choking sounds coming from somewhere behind her. Some of her soldiers are watching the show either with smiles on their lips or bored neutral expressions. Except for Fang, Fang's gaze is glued on his dirty boots and his hands are forming clenched fists silently quivering by his sides.
"Die! Die! Die! Stop standing back up! Come on, I don't have all day to waste on filthy Ionians! Stop standing up! Just die already!"
Riven can hear the repetitive sound of armored fists colliding with fresh and breathless grunts as the bawling of the little kid behind her alternates between muffled sobs and disgusting sounds that makes her sick to her stomach. Riven doesn't even notices it when she suddenly stops walking away from the grim spectacle.
"Die you whore! Die! No! No! Don't stand back up! Can't you see that your struggling is useless?! You fucking-"
Riven closes her eyes and she sees a pair of jade-colored tearstained orbs laced with despair and another pair of young innocent brown eyes begging her for mercy.
No one had protected her back in Noxus. This Irelia woman was just prolonging her suffering.
"Die bitch! Die!"
Would the female Ionian's eyes normally glitter that much if the Captain wasn't in tears?
"Die! Stand down! You are already dead!"
Would the child choose the path of a warrior?
"You are a fucking walking corpse already!"
Now Riven was curious.
"…"
"Now you've done it bitch! You there, give me your damn quarterstaff! Now you fucker!"
There is a sudden crushing sound followed by a feminine howl of pain and then all the sobbing abruptly stops in an instance. Riven swiftly turns around, narrowed crimson orbs as hard as tempered steel. Both Irelia and the child are currently choking, their eyes unfocused and their faces wet as their bodies thrash about violently. Irelia is still trying to stand on her weak feet, but one of her legs seems to be motionless and unresponsive and Riven assumes that the Captain's limb is broken.
The strong will live and the weaklings must die and yet she is witnessing an Ionian lion dying for the sake of a pitiful lamb. Wasn't that showing the strength of Irelia's character? Weren't the strong supposed to be spared to be allowed to grow even stronger?
"Good riddance!" Marcus smirks at the dying Ionians before he starts yelling orders at his remaining two men and someone makes a loud sound of disgust when Fang doubles over and throws up somewhere behind her. Wait? When did Riven even reach the choking Ionian lioness?
"Riven?"
The silent swordswoman doesn't waste her time responding to the puzzled man or even turns around to face him as Noxus' poster child leans down and gets a hold of one of the bloodied leather straps securing Irelia's shoulder guards before she roughly lifts the beaten woman until she is standing on her weak trembling toes.
"What the actual fuck?!"
Irelia chokes and coughs as she tries to regain her breathing and the Noxian female spares the panting child a quick glance in order to make sure that the boy is still alive. Riven waits as the two Ionians attempt to replenish the missing air in their lungs, but unfortunately for them Marcus clearly isn't that polite or that patient.
"Riven, the fuck you want stealing my kill?! You wanna bed the Ionian whore or something?!" Irelia is still shaking and panting as she weakly raises her blurry half-lidded orbs to stare into her savior's emotionless cold ruby eyes.
"Let the child go." The woman croaks and her face is still red and coated with sweat, tears and blood when the Captain of the Guard hesitantly whispers under her uneven breath that Riven can do whatever she pleases with her after she releases the child. Riven ponders over her next course of action for a few silent moments.
On one hand she could save this woman and keep her as a trophy. Irelia seemed like the honorable sort and so the Captain would probably keep her promise and won't attack her. Riven would gain a beautiful slave and a faithful ally and she might even be able to understand why she had come to the lioness' rescue instead of letting her perish as she should in the first place. Some of her soldiers and her comrades might perceive those actions as a sign of weakness on the other hand. She would certainly make an enemy out of Marcus and his remaining men and she will have to fight twice as hard to appease the Grand General and the rest of her superiors.
…
Letting Irelia die here like a dog will be a great waste of a warrior of the Ionian's caliber, but Riven will just have to deal with it, she supposes. For the last time Riven locks eyes with the Ionian Captain and then lets her body collapse back on the hard cold ground.
Irelia is still staring at her. Her piercing jade-colored gaze serious and unyielding, silently scrutinizing the Noxian's emotionless face and maroon-colored orbs as if trying to piece together the pale swordswoman's decision. A faint blush currently visible on the famous Captain's exhausted but beautiful face. Riven raises a single eyebrow and glances down at the Ionian's dangling feet, quietly wondering why Irelia hasn't collapsed yet only to blink owlishly when she suddenly realizes that she had never quite pulled her hand away from the Ionian's shoulder. Wait? Just when did she even find the time to wrap her other arm around the flustered Captain's waist to alleviate some of the injured Ionian female's strain?
Riven internally sighs as she silently removes the knot that was placed around the jade-eyed warrior's abused neck and then carefully lowers Irelia to the ground. She then turns around to face the frothing Marcus.
The reward is so not worth it, Riven muses. She is going to be endangering her life in order to save the lives of two Ionians, and yet she can't help but admire Irelia's spirit and was never fond of seeing unarmed civilians and children getting slaughtered like cattle. Maybe she is just being stupid. Maybe there is really something wrong with her head. But the Noxian commander simply refuses to stand by and let those Ionian lives be snuffed out in such a cruel and dishonorable way.
"Marcus, I challenge you to a duel for your claim on the captured Ionians."
The infuriated commander snarls and draws his crooked swords and Riven mimics him before the two of them simultaneously charge at each other. There is a pause as the enemies clash and so crimson flowers rain down the square of the deserted village as Noxian fights against Noxian and a commander's life abruptly ends before the wide unbelieving eyes of two shocked Ionian captives.
…
*Step
…
*Step
…
*Limp
…
*Step
A scarred bleeding hand silently removes the noose from around the speechless child's neck. Pale palms grip each of the Ionian captive's clothes and start dragging them away from the armed stupefied men and the scene of the recent massacre without uttering a single word. The figure's cold crimson eyes are obviously clouded by conflicting thoughts and yet they are shining bright with unwavering conviction.
The end
Notes: This was the original ending until I realized that I am ruining a serious story to go Yolo and by doing so I am messing up the theme. So I changed it. I think that it was the right choice and you are welcome. Was I wrong perhaps?
Wait? Just when did she even find the time to wrap her other arm around the flustered Captain's waist to alleviate some of the injured Ionian female's strain?
"Eh, Miss Riven Sir?"
"Valoran to Riven, do you copy?
"She is my kill!"
"Commander? Hello? Ya in there?"
Riven shakes her head to clear her thoughts as she glances at the rude spectators before her gaze returns back to her beautiful captive. That was weird? One moment she is staring into Irelia's striking green eyes trying to convince herself to let the Ionian warrior fall and seal her fate and the next one she is removing the rope from around the Captain's neck, Irelia is looking at her with an extremely red face and surprised big emerald eyes and Riven can suddenly taste something sweet but mixed in blood and Fang is clapping like there is no tomorrow.
Riven attempts to school her facial features into an emotionless mask before she suddenly whips her head around to send a death glare at the obviously speechless Marcus. But it seems like her body has a mind of its own and her arms somehow manage to pull Irelia against her chest during the time it takes her to observe the one that had previously hurt Her Captain. Hmm that mysterious and possessive reaction was probably not that important.
"Marcus, I challenge you to a duel for your claim on the Ionian wench!"
"…"
"And the child." Irelia urgently hisses against the female captain's neck sending a pleasant shiver down the white-haired swordswoman's spine and Riven instantly raises her hand in a dramatic way to point an index finger at the other Noxian commander accusingly.
"Fine! Marcus, I challenge you to a duel for your claim on My Irelia and the extra!"