Chapter 10

Present. Freljord. Avarosa's Palace. Inside The Royal Hall.

Ashe fell to her knees in front of an already kneeling Sejuani. The tribal warrior said, "I didn't want to be their leader."

In looking up to give her a confused look, Ashe almost gave a verbal protest. But decided just to hold it back.

"At first I just wanted to kill. Just kill…anyone."

"Me?"

Sejuani locked eyes with her in a quick jerk up of her head. "No…" She shook her head as her lips shuddered. "…no."

"Whom then?"

"Anyone…and everyone but you." Sejuani shook a little from her shoulders to her knees. "I killed a man who had saved me from the cold. I enslaved his son. I killed a chief. I fed a woman to wolf-dogs. I killed," She took in a deep and painful breath before confessing, "three men as I used fruit resting upon their heads for target practice with my flail." Sejuani brought a hand to her mouth. "I can remember the looks on the other two men's faces the moment they realized I wasn't aiming for the fruit. Ashe… I killed a servant woman who was trying to feed her children from my food storage." Sejuani gasped in terror. "I… I made her children watch as I punished her by whipping the chain of my flail around her neck and popping her head off of her shoulders, like a cork from a bottle!" She held both hands up as if she were hoping someone could tell her what to do with them. "Ashe… I-!"

Either she didn't want to know, or she couldn't bear to be the confessor for Sejuani's many grave mistakes. But no matter the reason, Ashe put her palm over Sejuani's lips and held her cheeks with four digits on one side and her thumb on the other to keep the seal tight. "STOP! Okay? Just stop." Ashe shuddered. "I can't even imagine what you're going to say next. But I can imagine it has already torn you up inside just to think of it. And I do not want to sit here with you, watching you tear yourself apart with each memory."

Ashe pulled the warrior into her chest and wrapped an arm around her back and head respectively. Hesitantly, Sejuani brought her arms behind Ashe, but she didn't feel strong enough and let her arms drop as she tried to pull away. "No, Sej. Stop it. You're not to blame. Whatever you did, you did so because of me. Blame me for those mistakes." Sejuani kept fighting to break free as she muttered 'No.' over and over again.

"Sej, blame me. I sent you out there alone. I was the coward. I cursed your life." Ashe squeezed harder and harder until Sejuani stopped fighting. "I broke your heart and mind. And I broke my own in turn. Blame me Sej."

A muffled "No!" was returned.

"Yes." Ashe bit her bottom lip. "I know why you won't. I know you don't want to do that. You don't ever want it to be me that did this to you. Just like the way you killed. You want to blame anyone…and everyone but me. And I love that about you so much. But you have to Sej."

"No!"

"You know you really do blame me. And I know you feel that it would kill you to say, much less think, it. But you know I'm right."

"No!"

"Say it."

"No! I won't!"

"Sej, I know you are strong. I know you want to keep this pain to yourself. To save me from it. But you can't. I did this. Be fair to yourself and me. Say it."

A nearly silent scream came tumbling out of Sejuani's mouth before a deep breath proceded, "Damn you! I just wanted us to be together, no matter what. And you forsake that just to save our lives. The only life I wanted was with you. And all I got was a life without you!" Her yell was somewhat more audible now, but very feminine. "You stupid fucking idiot! Five seconds of life with you was worth more to me than a thousand years alone. I thought you felt the same, but you didn't. You just saved me so you could live knowing I was alive as well. You're so fucking selfish!" Sejuani's thoughts, if any of them were still waiting to be expressed, fell in a long line behind all of her feelings as they poured out in a salty liquid form onto Ashe's shoulder. She had said what she needed to say, and had needed to say for so very long.

"Yes, I am."

The pair sobbed into one another for nearly an hour until, "Ashe?"

"Yes?"

"I think my foot's asleep."

For a moment there was an eerie silence, as if those words were so incredibly inappropriate, and then they both broke out if laughter. The likes of which neither of them had done in so long they couldn't remember even if they tried.

Ashe helped Sejuani up on her feet as the laughter continued. Tears ran down over older streaks of their predecessors. But with a more joyful expression tagged to them. Almost as if the new streams were washing away the pain the old ones had left in their wake. Pure water could not have performed such a task better.

"Better?" Ashe asked through a remaining chuckle.

Sejuani was still giggling as she cleverly replied, "Nope, but I'm sure I can just walk it off." This put them both into a fit of laughter once again.

Sejuani was the first to calm down to a smile and point out the elephant in the room. "So what now? We still got the two armies rearing to go."

Ashe grinned. "Forget about that for right now." She grabbed Sejuani's hand. "Come with me, I have things to show you."

Sejuani's face contorted in confusion, but she gave no resistance as Ashe led them through a corridor in the back of the Royal Hall. Ashe was fixated on where she was leading them, While Sejuani just took in the sight, and then smell of Ashe's hair as she bumped into her with an abrupt stop.

Ashe whipped around. "Did you just breathe in the hair on my head?"

"I missed that smell." Sejuani replied without hesitation.

"I swear it's like you needed to breathe in that scent just to fall asleep sometimes. I kept telling you it was just a bath soap."

"Memory serves you well still, I see. But I've tried smelling just the soap." Sejuani made sure their eyes were locked on each other, solid. "It was not the same."

"Memory was my greatest joy for fifteen years."

Sejuani smiled before looking just past Ashe, curious as to why she had chosen to stop here. "What am I looking at?" Her gaze fell on two large blocks of jagged ice before them.

"Recognize them?" Ashe inquired.

It took Sejuani a few moments to bring back painful memories from a time when they were still together. "The…Galte's! What are they doing in…ice?"

"I forbad the use of capital punishment on my subjects and simultaneously froze the two of them to remain punished forever."

Sejuani just threw it out there. "Um, I really think they are dead already."

We can't know that unless a medical professional examines them for signs of life, and I ordered they never be allowed to thaw." Ashe chuckled. "Technically I have made them immortal."

Sejuani bowed her head a little and grinned. "Nice." Her tone was tainted with wicked joy.

"I think his wife, her mother, was a little too relieved to see them go. She barely gave them a service, and now she's using their fortune to tend to the impoverished in our kingdom. She was nearly broke before I assigned her family to the task of the job she was already doing and began funding it from the Royal Treasury. She requests to see them sometimes, but she stays no more than a few seconds. I suppose she's just making sure they're still here."

"I wonder why she was such an opposite of Lawrence?"

"You know why." Their eyes met as Ashe explained. "His son was too pure of heart to be the son he wanted, but his daughter fit the profile correctly. Take a guess whom the mother favored between son and daughter?"

Sejuani nodded. "Makes sense, I guess."

"Come on." Ashe began striding away with Sejuani in tow once more. "I have more to show you."

Sejuani took once last look at the Galte's, to revel in the looks they had before their respective ends. For a moment she remembered Leon dying in her arms. He died better than they had. He died at peace with himself. A jolt of joy rose up in her with this thought, but she still felt it was too good for them.

The pair wandered into the depths of the Royal Hall. To the crypt of Freljord royalty that has passed on, to the next world. Walking back along the line of so many sarcophagi, they found their way to the last one to be sealed.

Sejuani spoke first. "So…this is where your mother now rests?"

"No." Ashe replied. "She's in the previous one." Pointing a thumb behind her.

Sejuani looked back at it, then at the sealed one before them. "But that would make this yours. Or rather, yours one day. Why is it already sealed?"

Ashe breathed in deep. "Harriet Reese. An aide of mine who had done so much for me in the last fifteen years, lies in this one."

Sejuani stared at the sarcophagus for a moment as she pieced it together. "You fell in love with someone while I was gone. Didn't you? Her." She gestured at the sarcophagus.

"You have to understand."

"I do."

"I needed-."

"To sleep."

Ashe shot her head straight up to gaze into Sejuani's eyes.

"I know you, probably better than she thought she ever did. That's why I don't need to ask if you two ever did anything. I know you didn't. I hope she made you happy for as long as she could. And I hoped she died in peace."

Ashe hung her head low. "She did. Just fell asleep and…didn't wake." For an instant Ashe could have sworn she was being embraced by Reese's arms. But she quickly realized they were Sejuani's. "Thank you. Harriet."

Sejuani looked over at the former Queen's sarcophagus. "I wish the same could be said for your mother's death. I read the report. I hope you didn't."

"I still haven't. Should I?"

"It wouldn't help."

"Then I won't. But I know how Doris died. I kill-." In an instant Ashe's jaw felt like it was just unhinged before realizing she had just taken a punch to the side of her face that in no way felt like it was from someone holding back.

"DON'T EVEN FUCKING GO THERE!" Sejuani roared. "Don't! Just… don't." She held an index finger up in Ashe's face as she waited for their eyes to meet. "You hear me?"

"I love you." Ashe smiled.

Sejuani's tense state subsided as she returned a smile of her own. And then dragged two fingers along the jawline of Ashe's face where the blow had just been struck.

Ashe gave an appearance such as if something that could not actually sooth such a pain, was in fact doing so.

Sejuani kept at it as she looked at the sarcophagus before them once more and said, "I wish they could have been buried together."

Ashe hunched forward a little a chuckled.

"Are you…?" Sejuani was a mix of anger and confusion at this point. "Do I have to slug you again?" She reeled back her arm again for another swing, half-heartedly.

Ashe put her hands up in a feigning attempt to shield her face. "No, no. It's just funny that you say that." She stopped giggling enough to meet Sejuani's eyes. "Because they are."

Sejuani was now just puzzled. She looked back and forth between Astraea's sarcophagus and Harriet Reese's. "Man, you are just breaking all the rules, aren't you?"

Ashe placed her fingertips very lightly under Sejuani's chin. "Every chance I get."

"How? I mean Reese, maybe, but Doris and your mother… Ashe, these sarcophagi are magically sealed."

Ashe pointed a finger at the side of the sarcophagus. "See where there seems to be a streak of stone that doesn't match the rest of the stone lining the sarcophagus?"

Sejuani looked closely and saw what she was talking about, like the wrong pieces of a jigsaw puzzle put into place. "Yeah, I see it."

"I pointed that out to a priest and let me say he was quite astonished that someone would try to break it open, but we both concluded it never was." Ashe held up her hand. "From before it looked like someone had taken an extremely powerful, magical weapon," She brandished an ice arrow meant for her bow in her hand, "and tried to tear off the seal to open it." She let the arrow dissipate. "I instructed him to keep it to himself while I conduct a very private and thorough investigation. So far I have found no leads." She giggled at the end of her rant, and Sejuani joined her until they both began laughing.

As they quieted down Ashe remarked, "They're both in there. Next to one another. Hand in hand."

Without thinking Sejuani retorted, "But how, you would have had to remove-." Sejuani saw Ashe's head jerk slightly from side to side as if to say, 'I don't want to hear you say it.' She knew Ashes mother would have been wrapped in dressings, and just to get Doris' hand together with hers, someone would have had to remove the dressings on at least that much of her corpse.

Sejuani embraced Ashe. "It's okay. You did the right thing. I'm proud of you. They would be as well."

"It didn't seem fair not to have them decompose together." Ashe's words solidified Sejuani's understanding of what Ashe put herself through to make this happen. "I bet there just bones by now."

Sejuani sighed. "Thank you for burying my mother with yours."

Ashe looked away from the sarcophagus containing her and Sejuani's mothers, to gaze upon her final resting place. "That's going to be ours one day."

Sejuani looked over there now as well. "You still see that future?"

Ashe looked up, nearly straight up. "I think it's about time we go find out." She locked her eyes with

Sejuani's. "Don't ya think?"

Sejuani smiled. "Let's give it our best shot." She grabbed a hold of Ashe's hand. "Together."

Ashe replied, forcing a smile through gritted teeth, "Together."

Half an hour later. Freljord. Avarosa's Palace. Atop the roof of The Royal Hall.

As the pair strode out onto the roof, Sejuani became nostalgic with the knowledge of how much dedication the custodians of the palace had to their craft. It had recently snowed here before her arrival, but no a flake of which was found on the roof. Not in any corner or crack. The pristine of this place took her back to the feeling of awe she had had for such a well maintained barn. She thought of how angry the staff were when they found she had made a campfire in the middle of it. Ashe had argued against them making her clean the charring off of the floor, but Sejuani had agreed to do so anyways.

Hand in hand they approached the edge wall, but Ashe paused. "What is it?" Sejuani turned to ask.

Ashe stood there for a little past an instant, motionless, and then said, "Let them see you first."

Sejuani looked confused. "Um…not together?" She held up her hand still holding Ashe's.

Smiling, Ashe replied, "Let's ease them into this incredibly sudden change of attitudes towards one another."

Considering this for a moment, Sejuani realized Ashe was right. Walking up to the edge wall, hand in hand, might be kind of hard to explain to two armies awaiting the start of what would no doubt be a bloody battle. "You're right," she let go of Ashe's hand, "I should try to get my people to stand down first."

Sejuani came up to the edge wall. It was quite wide. Probably more of an aesthetic choice than an architectural design. She would need to lean forward a bit so her generals could see at least her face. For a moment Sejuani considered just getting up on the edge and standing in front of them from there. But before she go start climbing she felt Ashe's left hand rest down on her shoulder.

"What is it-uh?" Before she could look back to face Ashe, Sejauni felt the woman's teeth dig softly into the base of the left side of her neck, and her lips pressed down in a seal. "Not exactly the time for this. We should have done this…"

It felt strange at first, for Sejuani. Not like it wasn't a somewhat familiar feeling, but that it just wasn't one she would have ever thought she could possibly feel. It took only a moment for her to understand it though. "I get it."

Ashe breathed deep into her nose and held it for a moment.

"No I do. If I had won, your army would still charge. But if you win, they may follow you for the sake of being the stronger one. I get it."

A shaking and loud moan came from where Ashe's mouth had been connected to Sejuani's neck. It sounded very unsettling.

Sejuani reached back over her shoulder to pull up some of Ashe's hair to her face. She took a deep breath to catch the scent. It only just covered the taste of metal in her mouth. Just enough for what she had hoped it would.

Looking down at the right side of her chest she could clearly see what it was. A shard of marble from the floor of the Royal Hall where she had brought down her flail upon earlier. It was poking just an inch out of her chest. The now crimpled lung it was piercing through had been the cause of blood flowing up and into her mouth.

Only one little spec of a tear came out of Sejuani's right eye as her attacker burst into sobs. "It's okay. Ashe, really. I think…this whole time…this whole time I think I knew I'd die here. I think I was hoping I'd die to save you." Sejuani began to chuckle. "Maybe I knew my fate was to save the Freljord by delivering all of this power and influence to the kingdom. Rounding them all up, to join them together, here, under your control. Under your influence. Into the fold."

Ashe left her neck with an audible popping sound. "You're half right." She admitted. "I knew your reputation already. I baited you with the peace offering."

Sejuani's eyes closed tight, and she bent her head down a little.

"I knew you'd come at me with everything. I knew I'd have to kill you this whole time." Ashe reeled in a sob full of snot. "I didn't want to, but you were so past reason that I knew you had to be crushed." Ashe rested her forehead into the nape of Sejuani's neck. "I only brought up the past to distract you." She breathed in a deep, rough gasp of air. "I never suspected either of us would delve so far that we'd remember our love. I only meant to distract you. To kill you as quickly and painlessly as I possibly could. I didn't wish for you to suffer."

Sejuani threw her head back with a laugh. A nearly bitter laugh. "And what might I ask do you call this?"

"You deserve to know why I'm betraying you. I owe you that much."

"Yeah…I suppose you do."

"I kept finding so many chances to just…"

"But yeah…you couldn't. Neither could I. I suppose you're not the only deceiver here."

"But I am the one who went through with it. Even after we found our love again. The thing I never suspected we would bring back out of each other."

"So I was a walking corpse the second I walked into the Royal Hall, huh? So…what did you mean by I was half right?"

Ashe peered over Sejuani's shoulder and brought her lips up close to the warrior's ear. "Do you remember the night we met?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what led you to me?"

"A bright light. The bright light?"

"Yes. I'm also using you as bait. Ever since I have received Avarosa's bow, I've realized what that bright light was that we followed."

"Avarosa?"

"Yes, her bow. The power behind the pendent of your flail."

"No, Avarosa…I see her. Do you?"

Ashe noticed it now too. The bright light from her past racing towards her. "Yes, I see it. But this one is not Avarosa. I know what it truly is."

"What is it?"

As soon as Sejuani said the last word of her sentence the bright light materialized into the form of a beautiful woman encased in a bluish blow of unimaginable brightness. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING CHILD!?"

Ashe brought her right hand up to Sejuani's left shoulder and shoved her sideways, out of her line of sight on the apparition before them. She did this while brandishing Avarosa's bow and knocking a massive Enchanted Crystal Arrow. "DIE NOW, LISSANDRA!" She cursed before releasing her shot at the figure.

The unbelievably powerful shot flew at the ghostly entity, through it, and carried on into and out of the atmosphere to fly through space for all eternity.

The ghastly figure made a hand motion and threw her back and into the ground. "Did you really expect my own bow to hurt me? Where do you think that power comes from child?" The figure turned her attention on Sejuani. Picking her up, removing the shard of marble, and imbuing her with magical healing. "Why…why would you do this?" Her question wasn't sent to Ashe with eye contact, but it was meant for her.

Ashe tried to knock a volley of arrows onto her bow, but immediately felt the bow become pried from her grip, slot her torso through it, and shrink to hold her arms in restraint against her side. It threw her off balance and she fell over. "NO! LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU BITCH!"

But the figure was already half done with healing Sejuani. "For fuck sake. You two have me cursing. Why would you two even end up like this? Complete failures, by every definition, you are."

"Lissandra! Release me! Do so and let me fight you." Ashe roared.

The figure craned the form of her head to focus on Ashe. "You think I am my sister?"

"I know who you are, deceiver. This is all of your fault. And I will make you pay!"

The figure shook her head in disgust. "Foolish child. Foolish, stupid, angry child. I am Avarosa."

Ashe shook her head. "NO! Avarosa would never have done what you did to us. You tricked us into coming together, knowing full well that this would all happen. You've been deceiving us from the start Lissandra you witch!"

Avarosa's tone became latent with bile. "I am Avarosa! Do not curse me with my wretched sister's name!"

"Liar! You brought us together. You fated us to love one another. To destroy one another! You used our entire lives for your sick pleasures!" Ashe was livid with fury. But her anger was nothing compared to Sejuani's newfound disposition.

Pushing herself off of the floor she stumbled her weary body over to Ashe. Immediately she began to wrench the bow off of Ashe, and whether it be because Avarosa had released its grip, or Sejuani was strong enough to do so herself, she got the bow up and off of Ashe. Before slugging her in the face one way and smacking her head back the other way with the back of her hand.

"DON'T YOU DARE ASHE! Don't you dare tell me you only love me because she made us who we are to each other! Do you really believe that!?"

Ashe's eyes had glazed over. She couldn't believe what was happening. She had just thought that Sejuani was about to help her fight Avarosa, but instead she was fighting her.

"Answer me!"

"Sejuani…" Ashe looked for the right words. "My mother…Doris…I found out one night when I was younger. This bitch," Ashe gestured at Avarosa, "she had brought them together too. Their love nearly brought down the kingdom. This isn't Avarosa. It's the deceiver Lissandra. She knew we'd-."

In an ear shattering screech, accompanied by a flash of furious light Avarosa wailed in agony. ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING!?" She waited to have the girls' undivided attention. "Do you mean to tell me that Astraea and Doris were in love?"

Ashe's eyes blazed with cold anger. "WELL NO SHIT YOU FUCKING BITCH! That's how they DIED!"

"Aaagrh!" Avarosa bellowed. "Every time! Every time. For centuries I had a Tribal boy meet a Kingdom girl, or a Tribal girl meet a Kingdom boy. All descendants of my sisters and I. Hoping they could bring the Freljord together just a little bit more. But then I'd come back years later to check on them." Her tone began to sound manic. "And they'd be all lovey-dovey and distracted by starting a family or betraying one another with their love. Missing the point of trying to bring the two sides together. So recently I decided 'Hey if I want them to just be lifelong friends I'll just bring Tribal and Kingdom girls together, and Tribal and Kingdom boys together. That'll make sure they just stay friends."

Now her eyes were fixated on the two before her. "But now…you two are telling me that not only the two of you fell in love, but your parents did as well?"

The girls nodded together at Avarosa, silently.

"Well! Isn't that just great!" Avarosa threw up her materialized arms in disbelief. "So I guess it doesn't matter who I bring together because they'll just fall in love. Am I right to assume now that the boys I brought together are going to be men in love as well?"

They looked at each other, and then back at her, as if to say, 'Well if logic follows so far.'

"Great!"

Ashe finaly broke Avarosa's rant to ask, "So you're saying you didn't bind us to loving one another?"

"No I didn't. In every case in the past, true love conquered all, even my plans, and especially each other. And obviously it did so with you two also. You almost killed her over love and this…" she pointed out at the overpopulated field before them, "…war you've started."

Ashe's head hung down low, very low. "Then…it was all my fault. All this time. I'm the monster I-!"

Springing up from the ground and out of Sejuani's arms, Ashe sprinted for the nearest wall at full speed. Avarosa and Sejuani both feared the absolute worse and chased after her. Just before she had completely cleared the wall in one mighty jump, Sejuani caught one leg, as Avarosa gripped an arm and they reeled her back onto the floor. Sejuani jumped on her to pin her down.

"NO! STOP! IT WAS ME! It was all me! Let me die this time! Just make it stop! Make it all stop!" Ashe was more saltwater than flesh at this point. She had completely broken to the very core of her heart.

"Foolish child!"

"Don't you fucking dare Ashe! Don't you fucking dare do this to me!" Sejuani was becoming the mess of tears Ashe had already congealed into, herself.

Ashe thrashed so violently against the ground in the grips of the both of them it was as if she may have been trying to use self-inflicted blunt force trauma to commit suicide. "NO! I'll just hurt you again! I'll just fuck up again! I'll just fuck everything up again! I'll damn the Freljord! End me! Let me die! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my fault! It's all my-!"

Whilst in a most twisted position and with her right elbow pining Ashe's left forearm, Sejuani gently began to drag two fingers across ashes jawline. Making direct eye contact as she did so.

Ashe cringed. Her face was contorted. "Why?" She moaned. "Why would you still…?"

"Because it's my fault too you fucking idiot. I'm in love with you. And I won't see you leave me again. I'll never let you go again. I don't care what power and by what means would try to tear us apart, I will never let you go again. Especially not of your own will. You can never rid yourself of me. I love you. And anytime you feel like running away from me again I will slug you, and stroke your cheek, and tell you I love you, again and again and again until we die. So don't you dare." Her tone became so soft and sweet. "Don't you dare try to leave me again. Because I'm going with you, wherever you go."

"But why love me?"

"Because you've been my whole life. I can only imagine a life without you again being just as worse if not more so than the one I've had for the last fifteen years. I had no reason to live besides a fear of death before I met you. And now that fear is nothing compared to the fear I feel in trying to imagine a life without you."

"And what about me, how can you be sure I love you?"

Sejuani almost laughed as she smiled, continuing to drag two fingers across the girl's jawline. "Because, it took me awhile to fall for you. But you. I remember that look on your face when we first met. For you it was love at first sight, wasn't it?"

Ashe made a relieved smile. She gave Avarosa and Sejuani a little pressure with each arm. Not excessive, but enough to beg for them to become unrestrained. As they let her arms go, she wrapped them around Sejuani's back and pulled her in close.

"I don't know what I could possibly promise you. I just get so mortified with what I've done and I…"

"I know."

"I can't be sure if I could keep a promise not to try and escape what I've done again. It hurts too much to carry it with me."

"I know."

"I know in my heart that each time I'm torn between wanting to run, and wanting to thank you and bless you for stopping me."

"I know."

"Tell me what words I should use to assure you I'll be okay."

"You won't be. I know you'll keep tearing yourself down with this for the rest of your life."

Ashe squeezed Sejuani even harder and bit her tongue, while squinting her eyes.

"All I request of you, not a promise, a request, is that when you really want to…you'll tell me. Don't keep it from me. Tell me you want to escape. Let me at least know before you make a decision. Is that too great a request for you?"

Ashe shook her head as she nuzzled it into Sejuani's. "No. That sounds just fine."

After a few minutes the two of them noticed at once that Avarosa had just started to drift away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sejuani called out.

Avarosa turned to look at them. "I'm going to check in on the others. But I suspect I may not need them anymore. I think I can see that united Freljord happening right now, before my eyes." She smiled joyfully.

Ashe and Sejuani smiled back as they rose to their feet. Helping each other up and not breaking contact.

"Good luck you two, not that you'll need it." And like that she became a bright light once again and sped off into the night.

Sejuani turned her focus towards the armies, still writhing with anticipation. "What now? What do we do with all of this?"

Ashe sighed. "Well it didn't work out to try and kill you and you won't let me die alone," Ashe gave a wry smile, which Sejuani returned for this dark inside joke they had just made for themselves, "so I suppose we'll just have to call it all off."

"Really? Just call it off? Just like that?"

"I don't know what else to do."

"They're all here for a war."

Ashe felt like that word had some meaning that could help them. She pondered it for a moment and then blurted out, "Oh yeah!"

"What?"

"This Institution of War, or something like that. Institution, Institute…whatever. They sent us a letter saying they'd be sending an emissary out to us today to speak about an alternative to war for the lands of Runeterra."

"Okay, and?"

"We'll just tell everyone we both accepted their proposal."

"Do you even know what it is?"

"No. Do you?"

"No. So wait, you want to just accept something you don't even know about?"

"I mean…we can always change our minds. But at least today it would give us an excuse to call all of this off."

"Good enough I guess." Sejuani sighed.

"Hold on a second." Ashe approached the edge wall and climbed up onto it. Before she could stand up straight she felt a hand grip her right ankle tight. "Sej, I'm just signaling Tryndamere."

"Okay, then signal him." Sejuani kept her grip tight.

"Ashe looked down at her and mouthed, 'I love you.' Sejuani nodded.

Ashe began a series of signs and awaited Tryndamere for a response. When she got it she turned around to climb down and Sejuani let go of her ankle.

"What'd you say?"

"For my generals, and yours, to meet us outside the Royal Hall."

"Hmph…I usually just shout and punish them if they didn't hear me."

"Yeah that's good. You'll need to keep up that appearance for a while."

The pair made their way, hand in hand until the doorway leading outside, to meet the generals.

Everyone was there. Tryndamere, Andros, Olaf, Udyr and Volibear.

"Good you're all here." Ashe began. "The Avarosan people and the Winter's Claw Clan have decided to accept the Institute of War's invitation to settle our affairs. In this way only the strongest amongst us need spend their lives towards victory over one another."

Olaf looked at Sejuani. "Is this true? You want to call off this battle?"

Sejuani walked up to him. "I'm sorry did I cut her off? Did I argue? Are you hearing things? If I don't want to do something, ya'd think I'd say so, wouldn't I?"

Olaf, Udyr and Volibear nodded. They didn't need to hear anything else. They turned around and began orchestrating the Winter's Claw Clan's forces away from the battle field.

Ashe was trying to look serious, but something was eating at her and she felt she just had to ask. "Tryndamere?"

"Yes, my love."

"Just out of curiosity. You could have chosen a tribesman for your Highguard. The introduction of which would have tied or peoples together even more so. Why choose a Highnoble's son for your Highguard?"

Tryndamere looked at Andros, who smirked back at him. "Well, you see. We know one another from childhood. His lands are near my tribal lands. It's an odd story for how we met. You might not believe it if I told you."

Ashe fought back any and all emotions from showing. "Try me"

Andros replied for him. "It was this ball of light that guided us together. But since then we have been close."

Sejuani almost busted a gut, but just chuckled instead.

"Amusing to you, eh demon?" Andros sniped.

"Nope." Sejuani stated. "Just different." Sejuani gave a glance to Ashe and saw her biting her cheek. "Well then, I will take my leave as well." And without another word between them, their time together came to an end.

Epilogue

One month later. Institute of War. Champion Quarters. Sejuani's Room.

A knocking came on the door.

"Come in." Ashe replied.

Cautiously, Caitlyn strode into the room. Immediately she took notice of the three tea cups on the table, still full of tea. As well as Ashe and Sejuani sitting on exact opposite sides of the table. Both with arms crossed. Staring each other down. Motionless.

"Bad time? I can come back later." Caitlyn offered.

"Good as any." Sejuani replied. "Take a seat."

Caitlyn set her rifle against the wall behind her and sat down. She placed two cubes of sugar and a touch of crème into her tea.

"So. You guys look like you always do. I see you're having this blinking contest in Sejuani's room today. I wonder who will blink first."

"When is our match again?" Sejuani asked.

"Ten minutes I believe. Or at least we need to be ready in ten."

Ashe cut in with, "Caitlyn, can you leave your tea for now and leave us. We have business to discuss."

"I'm surprised at you Ashe, are you planning on exhausting her before her match with another fight?" Caitlyn demanded.

Ashe and Sejuani had both cringed slightly at hearing Caitlyn say 'exhausting'. "No, nothing like that. It has to do with the Freljord. I promise."

"I swear you guys fight all the time. No, I'm not leaving until we need to get to our match."

"Please Caitlyn." Sejuani was asking now.

"No."

Ashe broke eye contact with Sejuani. "Caitlyn, we'll be fine."

"I don't believe you. I swear one of these days someone is going to come in here and find that you killed each other."

"Caitlyn…" Ashe's tone was calm. "How is your family?"

"Yes, change the subject. Good." Caitlyn relaxed. "AX is progressing rapidly. Those genes I swear. And CJ is still trying to master crawling. Chasing after her older sister is going to be tough. Especially with such a huge gap such as that."

"You and Vi are still madly in love?"

Before Caitlyn could answer she paused to take notice of what she could almost swear was Sejuani making a face at Ashe. 'What was that about?' she wondered. "Yes, as always. I live in a madhouse."

Ashe made her request again. "Caitlyn we really need to discuss some business."

Now Caitlyn was suspicious. She looked down and noticed that each of their chairs had these drag marks under the pegs, like someone had made them while sitting down too abruptly. "It's just…"

"Caitlyn." Sejuani chimed in, "We'll be fine. I promise."

Caitlyn's eyes darted back and forth between Ashe's eyes and Sejuani's. Both sets were on her and it made her feel like a third wheel for some reason. And then it dawned on her. 'No…no way…are they?'

Caitlyn stood up in a hurry and said, "Um…right…yes, I'll leave you to your… discussion… business… things." She turned to grab her rifle and headed for the door. She stopped once to look back at Ashe. Ashe winked. And Caitlyn left it at that as she walked out of the room.

In the instant that the door sealed shut, Ashe leaped out of her chair and planted a knee on each side of Sejuani's hips on her seat. "Miss me?" She smiled.

"Much." Shifting in her chair Seguani got her arms around Ashe's waist. "But you really shouldn't have given away all of that to her about us."

"We can trust her. Did you notice how she left without worry, she knew exactly what would happen as soon as she left."

Sejuani dragged two fingers across Ashe's jawline as the girl melted like butter on top of her. "Do you really think we'll be free to be us one day? I know I told you it could happen, but it just seems so difficult right now to sway any of the Nobles about these sort of things. And my own people. Marriage and love for power. That might be a hard sell."

Ashe smiled. "You said you'd never let me go. And for all that I am, you can still say you want to love me forever. Well then, I can believe in anything."

It was just an urge at her words that put Sejuani over the top. She grabbed the back of Ashe's head and pulled her in.

As Ashe came back up she began to shudder and shake uncontrollably. "Whawhawhawhawha…what was THAT!"

"I think they call it a-."

Ashe grabbed both sides of Sejuani's head with her hands. "Yoyoyoyo…you just did that…for real?"

"Did I do it wrong?"

"Why now? Whwhwh…why now of all times? Why right now? We're not in bed. Or even in the Freljord. Why did you…right now? What was different? Why did you do it now of all times?"

Sejuani smiled with joy. "I just really wanted to. I'm sor-."

Ashe practically slapped Sejuani in the face as she clamped her hand down. "Never ever apologize to me for that. EVER."

Sejuani got her to let go. "Okay. I won't. Not ever."

Ashe had this look on her face like a doggy begging for a treat. It would have been pathetic for anyone else to see her like this but for Sejuani it was both adorable and foreshadowing at the exact same time.

"What?"

"Can I…can I give you one back now? Is it okay? I mean I just want to be sure it is absolutely okay."

"Yes, it is okay."

Ashe dove in and locked her lips with Sejuani's, and for the moment it didn't seem like she'd ever let them separate again.

A/N 03/11/2018: It took me so, so many revisions to get this ending the way I really wanted it to be. I knew from the moment I first started this story how I would end it in a general sense. It helped keep me on track with the storyline, but it was also an increasingly painful experience as I moved towards the end of this story. It took me so long to finish because in many ways I never wanted this story to end. But I had to end it. And I had to end it at the perfect spot.