The birds chirped outside a small cottage. The cottage was open, and its occupant stepped out, her long, greying hair flowing in the gentle breeze. The years that had passed had worked their magic on her body and condition, but if people looked at her face, they would say that time hadn't taken her beauty away.
Irelia gingerly stepped down the steps of her cottage before walking towards a stone that was rooted to the ground a few feet away from her entrance. A bittersweet smile spread across her face as she walked closer to the stone. Many years ago, the stone hadn't been signalling the home of the person she loved so dearly...
oooooooooo
The forest was dense, but the rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate through the small gaps of the trees were enough to light up the surrounding. Irelia smiled softly as Syndra jumped at the sight of an insect crawling up a tree. "Not an insect lover, my love?" She asked playfully, to which the latter poured. "The sight of them is disgusting." She muttered as her face went red from embarrassment.
Irelia chuckled softly as she reached out to wrap her arm around her lover's. "There's no need to be afraid to admit you have a fear of these things around me." Syndra looked at her as if she were crazy. "Scared? Ha! If anything they should be scared of-Ah!" Syndra's sentence was cut off as she gave a short yelp and jumped into Irelia's arms. Irelia looked down and saw the cause for it. A centipede was crawling around, going about its daily business.
Irelia laughed as she looked at her lover, whose face had turned beet red when she realised what she had just done. "You were saying?" Syndra turned away, stuttering, "W-whatever."
Before Irelia could continue teasing the Dark Sovereign, her attention was taken away when she saw two nightingales flying away. "See that, love?" Syndra's blush faded as she too turned her attention towards the nightingales. "When I die, I will come back as one of those," Irelia said. "You're one of the people who believe in spiritual animals?" Now it was Irelia's turn to blush. "My grandmother told me stories of this when I was young, so I guess I would believe them even now." Syndra chuckled and planted her lips against her lover's face.
"You're so adorable."
oooooooooo
Irelia's brows furrowed slightly when she saw her knitting was off. Sighing, she put it down and raked a hand through her dark hair. Knitting was something she did to dispel her stress, but now it did nothing to help her against the issue she was facing.
Syndra and her argument.
Syndra and Irelia had quarrelled in the past before, but this one seemed to have struck personal issues more than the others. Irelia knew she had said things that would have hurt her lover's feelings, but she hadn't known it would. Syndra on the other hand knew her regrets, and she had hit a sore spot when she raised them in their argument.
Irelia couldn't face her anymore, she had turned and left Syndra out in public, trying not to leak tears. And now she was here, knitting her problems away in futility.
Irelia was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door open and a familiar purple glow being emitted into the room. She stiffened instantly when Syndra buried her face into her shoulder. "Syndra..." She started when Syndra mumbled, "I'm sorry."
This was new. Syndra never apologised. Even when she was clearly the one at fault in some situations. "I shouldn't have said those things." Syndra said shortly before burying her face in Irelia's shoulder again. Irelia smiled. The whole time she had been with Syndra, Syndra had never been known for her humility, but to think that now she was admitting to her fault and apologising for it? It was progress.
Irelia placed a hand on the back of Syndra's head and turned it to face her while she herself turned to face the Dark Sovereign and pulled her head in, pressing soft lips against her own. Syndra immediately caressed Irelia's face, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Irelia's lips parted, and Syndra's tongue engaged in a passionate dance in familiar territory.
Eventually, the need for oxygen became too great, and the two reluctantly parted, a string of saliva still connecting their mouths together. As the two caught their breath, Irelia stared into the purple orbs she loved so much.
"I forgive you, my love."
oooooooooo
Irelia sat beside the stone. "I'll be with you soon, Syndra." She said as she kissed her palm before planting her palm against the stone. Anyone who saw that would have thought that she was crazy, but Irelia believed that her lover was watching her, smiling upon her.
A gentle breeze hit her again, and she smiled.
It was almost time.
oooooooooo
Irelia had promised to never abandon Syndra's side. She had meant it. Despite the high chances of her fellow Ionians never accepting the fact that their beloved Captain of the Guard was secretly romantically involved with the Dark Sovereign, a sworn enemy of Ionia, Irelia allowed herself to be selfish and continued her relationship with Syndra.
What she never expected was Syndra's death.
It had been a dark night. Ionians reported sounds of fighting to her, and so she and Karma set out to investigate. As they neared the site, she saw a familiar purple glow and her senses were alerted instantly.
Syndra was probably there.
She quickened the pace of her run, and Karma struggled to catch up. She hoped with all her heart that Syndra had already fled from battle or was at least still in the middle of one. Knowing the Dark Sovereign's pride and stubbornness, the latter was more probable.
But the sight presented to her sank her hopes immediately.
Syndra lay on the ground, bloodied and bruised while the Exile, Riven, towered over her, broken sword in hand. "No!" Irelia cried out as she ran for her lover, pushing Riven aside as she knelt beside Syndra, lifting and cradling her head. Syndra smiled at her lover but said nothing. "Say something, say something damn it!" Syndra looked up at her lover, and despite her headdress blocking her eyes, Irelia could sense the violent purple that lit in her eyes getting dimmer.
"I love you." Syndra's voice was barely louder than a whisper. What alarmed Irelia further was the fact that Syndra's head dropped, her body going limp in her arms. "No," Irelia put her head to her lover's chest. No heartbeat was heard. "No!" Irelia tried everything, stopping the blood that leaked from the Dark Sovereign's gaping wound. It wasn't until Riven tried pulling her away did she realise that the love of her life was dead.
Because of the person behind her.
Irelia stood slowly, causing Riven to back away nervously. To her credit, Riven had the decency to look slightly guilty for what she'd done, despite not knowing what she'd done wrong. She had rid Ionia of one of its greatest enemies, so why did the Will of Blades look like she wanted to tear her limb for limb?
"I-" Riven started, only for Irelia to interrupt. "You killed her. You. Killed. Her." Riven licked her lips nervously. She had quickly learnt that a livid Irelia was a scary and dangerous Irelia.
"I had to." Riven said lamely, causing Irelia to clench her fists. "You killed the one person I loved!" Irelia yelled as she shoved Riven with a force that sent her to the ground. Riven merely looked at her, too stunned to reply. Irelia stormed to her lover's corpse, gently grasping it and carrying it bridal style. She would personally bury it and ensure Syndra got sent off into the afterlife properly.
As she walked off, Karma grasped her arm. She turned to look at her mentor, fully expecting the Enlightened One's face to hold disapproval and shock. But to her great surprise, Karma looked sorrowful.
"I'm sorry." Karma said before letting go of Irelia and letting her walk off. Irelia began to cry. Her tears streamed down her face and dropped onto her lover's corpse, breaking instantly as if they were crystals.
"I'm sorry, Syndra. I'm sorry."
oooooooooo
Many years had passed since her death. After struggling with herself for a while, Irelia decided to step down as Ionia's Captain of the Guard and live by herself. Despite keeping her reasons as vague as possible, the Ionians couldn't believe what they were hearing. Irelia Xan, a young woman, the person who led them in the Noxian Invasion, stepping down for reasons that seemed to be irrational and unreasonable?
They were outraged. They begged, they threatened, they did everything in their power to try and persuade Irelia to reconsider, but the young woman's mind was made up, and she left the next day for peaceful lands.
She had been living by herself with Syndra. She survived on crops. Karma came by to check on her once in a while. Irelia smiled. Today was another day Karma was coming to visit, but it was also the day she was leaving.
She slowly made her way back to her room, she kissed her father's blade before laying down on the bed. "I'll find you Syndra." She said as she closed her eyes.
It was time for her to finally rest and reunite with her love.
ooooooooooo
It was dark when Karma reached the cottage. She had known Irelia's expiry date all along, but had kept herself from talking about it in order to enjoy her last conversations with her student. She sighed sadly as she stepped into the house. "I have gone through this many times," She said to herself. "But it's always hard for me to go through it again."
She had promised herself she wouldn't cry. Irelia despised it whenever someone cried for her. It made her feel pampered and looked down on. As a result, she prohibited shedding of tears whenever she had struck a tragedy, often scolding those who did cry for her loss.
But when she saw the lifeless body of her student, how could she control her emotions? She had gone through this many times as she had said, but whenever she saw that a student of hers, a close friend, had passed, how could she steel her heart and prevent her eyes from watering?
She threw herself onto the floor, head buried in Irelia's chest as she wept openly. "Irelia," She wept. "I can only wish you the best of luck in your endeavours now, be it for good or evil."
As she continued to weep, a nightingale that was perched on Irelia's cottage chirped once before flying off in the night.
A/N - Did anyone else cry like how my heart did? *Baby autotuned crying intensifies*
This story was mainly inspired by xNekorux's story 'The Willow Maid'. I wanted to write an angst story that was a little different in order to be original. When I thought of characters, I called upon one of my OTPs, Syndrelia!