A/N: I hope I'm not overloading you with updates! Here's my latest chapter. Don't forget to review or PM me with your thoughts. I love to hear them!

~R3d

That night, Ashe couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned to no avail, and eventually resigned herself to quietly listening to Tryndamere's even breathing. After lying there for what felt like an eternity, she slipped quietly out of bed, dressed quickly, and grabbed her bow. The castle was silent except for the crackling of the massive fireplace in the great room. She tiptoed toward the castle doors, where two guards stood casually whispering to each other. They snapped to attention when they noticed their queen approaching.

"At ease," she assured them. "I'm just going to go sit and think for a while. If the king should wake and wonder where I've gone, tell him I'll be back after sunrise."

"Would you like an escort?" one of them offered. She smiled, but shook her head.

"I've got one already," she raised her bow, "but thank you."

She walked through the quiet, snowy neighborhood between the castle and the city gate, mesmerized by the way the snow sparkled in the moonlight. Her breath hung comfortingly in front of her face with not even a hint of a breeze to blow it out of sight. The sheer number of new homes shocked her. She hadn't taken much notice of the construction that'd been taking place. The city's population must've more than doubled. Bryndle was on night watch at the front gate with a handful of soldiers.

"My Queen, it's quite late to be leaving the city, especially alone," he worried aloud.

"You're right. I should've done this months ago," she sighed, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Would you like an escort?"

"I think I need to do this alone," she whispered. He began to protest, but thought better of it.

"If you aren't back by the end of my shift, I'm coming to make sure you're alright," he promised.

"Deal," she smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "As you were, men," she waved. Bryndle looked on as she neared the tree line. In an eerie, ghost-like manner, the darkness swallowed her up and she de-materialized between the trees.

Ashe stopped at the foot of the two solemn mounds in the clearing, where their shadows in the moonlight nearly touched her toes. Avarosa and Weylan's tombs sat next to each other with just enough room between them for Ashe to have stretched both arms out and touched them at the same time. She took a deep breath before forcing herself to look up at them. A rune sat atop Weylan's mound. A surge of warmth filled her chest when she read it.

Captain Weylan – Avarosa's protector.

A slight breeze slithered between the cairns and pushed her hair away from her face, making her smile and fall to her knees at the base of Weylan's grave.

"Weylan," she whispered. The breeze strengthened briefly before ceasing. She laid her bow in the snow at her knees and bowed her head, praying that Weylan could hear her somehow. The flutter of feathers broke the silence. Ashe looked up to see a hawk perched atop Avarosa's cairn. "It's rather late for you to be out, don't you think?" she asked him. He tilted his head at her. She moved to stand when a rustle in a nearby bush startled her. She grabbed her bow and readied an arrow, anticipating that it would be nothing more than a rabbit at most. She was stunned when an arctic fox peeked its head into the clearing. It hesitated when it saw her, but eventually crept into the clearing after she placed her bow down again. The hawk swooped down to perch on Ashe's shoulder, knocking her hood down in the process. She sat perfectly still as the fox came to sit a few inches in front of her. She gasped at him.

The silvery white creature in front of her was the most beautiful specimen she'd ever seen in Frostfall Forest. He was well muscled and his coat was long and clean. But arctic foxes generally had green or blue eyes. The ones that now gazed up at her curiously were…

"Amber…" Ashe reached her hand out, but moved a bit too quickly and the little animal bolted off back into the trees, but not without a curious glance behind him. "If he's… Then you're…" she looked at the bird on her shoulder. "Avarosa?" The hawk blinked before leaping off of her shoulder and weaving through the snow-laden branches of the firs that made up the border of the clearing.

I'm crazy.

Looking at the sky between the tops of the trees, she realized her trip had already taken nearly three hours. The sky was lightening and the stars were gradually going out as dawn approached. She gathered herself and her bow and started back toward the city, a new peace settling itself into her chest.

He's always with me. I can always visit him. But maybe it's time to let him go.

Ashe snuck back into their room a little after dawn, suddenly exhausted from her excursion. She lazily threw her cape on the loveseat and stepped out of her battledress and armor with her back to the bed so that if Tryndamere woke up he'd have time to cover his eyes… or at least pretend to do so…

It was at that precise moment that the bathroom door flung open and a steamy, squeaky-clean Barbarian walked out in nothing but a towel.

"Whoa!" he shouted, surprised to see her. He began laughing.

"Tryndamere!" she shrieked, mortified. She reached for her cape and threw it over herself quickly. "What're you doing up?!"

"Showering," he chuckled. "Where the heck were you? I woke up and you were gone."

"Can we discuss this when we're not half naked?"

"I'm afraid I'm always half naked," he reminded her, teasing.

"Tryndamere!"

"Okay, okay," he surrendered and retreated into the bathroom. "Just tell me when you're ready."

Ashe wanted to change back into her pajamas, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Tryndamere?"

"That was quick," he noted, opening the door again. She stood in front of it so that it hit her.

"No, I just wanted to ask you where my pajamas went," she corrected.

"Oh. Ahnja came up and took the laundry while I was showering. She must've taken them with her. Don't you have another set?"

Ashe grumbled to herself. All of her pajama sets were in her Institute room. She hadn't thought to move some of them back to the castle because Ahnja was so prompt with the laundry she only needed one…

"Dammit," she muttered.

"You don't have another set, do you?" he guessed, chuckling again.

"Shut up…"

"You're the queen of the Freljord, for Avarosa's sake, and you only have one pair of pajamas?"

"It's not that, it's just… My other pajamas aren't really… well…"

"They're sexy, aren't they?" She could hear the smile on his face just as he could hear the exasperation in her reply.

"Yeah… I guess you could put it that way…"

"I promise not to look at you if you want to wear your sexy pajamas," he chortled, unable to contain his amusement.

"Just wait until I tell you I'm in bed," she growled, clutching her cape as she ran across the room to her wardrobe. She threw on her longest nightgown, as sheer as it was, and zipped over to the bed to cover up. "Okay, you can come out now."

Tryndamere walked into the room with his eyes covered mockingly.

"What a shame my gorgeous wife has a lingerie collection which she wears to bed and I've never seen it before!"

"Ass," she muttered. He peeked at her between his fingers.

"So where were you, anyway?"

"I went to see Weylan," she replied.

"Oh?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "And?" He turned his back to her and dropped his towel to pull on the elk hide leggings he wore under his armor. She did her best not to stare, but couldn't help but notice the way his muscles bulged under his dark skin.

"I… Uh… I feel much better," she stuttered. "I think I'm at least back to where I was before Lissandra took that shot at me yesterday," she articulated, tearing her gaze from him.

"That's great," he smiled sincerely over his shoulder, but noticed her averting her eyes. "Something wrong?" He turned around, still wearing very little of the sparse clothing he normally wore around her.

"Aren't those really tight?" she wondered aloud, not daring to look at him now.

"So they don't rub under my armor, yes." Sensing the source of her discomfort, Tryndamere walked over to his side of the bed and slid under the blanket. "Better?"

"Well, now you're barely dressed in bed with me, so perhaps not," she snarked, laughing.

"Anyway, did it help any?"

"Yes," she nodded. "The guilt I felt has diminished greatly. For the first time I feel as if I can do this without him."

"I'm happy for you," he smiled, touching her cheek with his hand. "I've got to get the reports from Bryndle before he goes to bed. You should rest a bit."

As if in response to his remark, she yawned.

"I plan on it. See you later," she smiled. He leaned in to kiss her, as per their morning routine, on the cheek, but at the last second Ashe changed her mind and turned so that her lips collided with his. This time she tickled his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue before breaking the kiss off after a few seconds. He sat back from her, shocked.

"I don't need sexy pajamas," she declared, a triumphant look on her face.

"Perhaps, but now I need new pants," he joked.

"You're disgusting," she laughed.

"Nope," he laughed, "Just really attracted to you."

She shoved him, giggling.

"Just go," she smiled. She flopped back in the bed and rolled onto her side while he finished dressing. He looked longingly back over his shoulder at her before closing the door.

"Nothing unusual besides Her Highness leaving and returning very early this morning… Is everything alright, Sir?" Bryndle sat with Tryndamere at the dining room table as Tryndamere drank a large mug of hot chocolate and glanced over the Journal of Justice that had been delivered by a page. Kalamanda's a madhouse, he grumbled in his head as he read. He looked up at Bryndle.

"Things are actually relatively good, all things considered," Tryndamere admitted between sips. "I'd say the queen is slowly returning to her normal self. Her trip into the woods this morning was something she had to do, and I'm glad she decided to go on her own."

"Good to hear," Bryndle smiled. "Welp, I'm going to go catch some sleep." He stood to leave. "Oh, Sir," he turned, "I've told the other guards to keep a keen eye out for Lissandra, but reports from the watch towers say they've not seen her. Anivia should be returning from the Institute at some point. She said she wanted to file a complaint with the Council of Equity."

Tryndamere nodded. "Sleep well, Friend."

Tryndamere sat reading the Journal in silence for a few hours. Apparently Zaun had been discovered to be bribing the city's council, vying for the mining partnership that was up for grabs. Now that they were out of the running, having been exposed, the two main contenders for the contract were Demacia and Noxus. Of course. He flipped the page and read a recount of the Ionia vs. Noxus match that had occurred a few weeks prior. He smiled to himself as he read of Ashe's influence in changing the game and winning independence for their friends in Ionia. Soraka had asked the Frost Archer to fight with them, since Freljord's fight against Noxus had been so inspiring to Ionia's people.

"What are you reading?"

Ashe's voice startled him. He jumped and turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"Catching up on the journal," he replied. "You're in here!" He pointed to her name on the page. She smiled.

"I'm glad I was of some use to them."

At that moment, Anivia peeked her head around the corner into the room.

"Pardon the intrusion, Your Majesties," she began, "but I've news from High Councilor Relivash." Her tone was irritated and she narrowed her eyes at the High Councilor's name. Her conversation apparently hadn't been a good one. She entered the room to report the entirety of the message. The Council would not accept Freljord's complaint against Lissandra. Relivash had openly mocked Ashe's foolishness in allowing herself to be manipulated by an Iceborn, a race of people thought to be extinct. It was not the League's concern that she attacked Avarosa because the Institute is only in charge of external affairs in Valoran, not civil disputes. Tryndamere's face flushed in his anger, but Ashe's hand on his arm stayed his rebuke.

"We'll just have to deal with her ourselves, then. From here on out, Lissandra is excommunicated. We need to keep the citizens of Rakelstake on our side, though. Since it's such a central location in the country, I think it makes sense to name the town the capitol." She turned to Tryndamere who looked incredulously up at her. He hadn't heard her involve herself in the country's politics in what seemed like ages. He was truthfully glad to have her back.

"I think that's a great idea. I'll send word to them immediately. Nunu has returned to Rakelstake already and has been hard at work setting records straight. Anivia, could you…"

"On my wings," she bowed her head. She turned and exited the room and swiftly took flight just outside the castle's front doors.

"It's good to have you back at the helm, Your Highness," Tryndamere flirted, turning back to the Journal. Ashe smiled and squeezed his forearm.

"It's good to be back."

That afternoon the two of them went for a walk together through Frostfall to Avarosa and Weylan's clearing. Ashe told Tryndamere of the hawk and the fox on the way there. He was a tad skeptical that it could possibly be Avarosa and Weylan, but if it brought his wife peace, he thanked the creatures for appeasing her. They sat silently meditating in the clearing for a few moments, enjoying each other's company and allowing the serenity of the clearing to seep into them. The fox's footprints from that morning still pocked the snow in two little jagged tracks from the forest's edge to Weylan's grave, and back. Tryndamere hesitantly spoke up.

"It's strange how quickly the world changes," he murmured. Ashe nodded, leaning farther back on the rocks of Weylan's cairn. She gazed up at the purple-hued January sky.

"If you're not careful, it changes right out from under your feet," she agreed. She looked at him, a sad smile twisting her features. "I'm lucky I had someone to catch me."

"From experience, yes, you are," he chuckled, closing his eyes. Ashe took the opportunity to form a loose-packed snowball and toss it onto his bare chest. He howled as he quickly brushed the snow off. When he looked back for her, she was gone. "Ashe!"

He turned just in time to meet a new snowball with his face. She giggled and darted back around the mound. Instead of arming himself, Tryndamere ducked behind Avarosa's cairn. He could hear her breathing as she snuck between the two graves. As she walked past him into the crevasse between them, he pounced, grabbing her and pulling her backwards into the snow and landing expertly on top of her with her arms pinned high above her head. She laughed so hard she snorted.

"You're a child," he chuckled.

"I am only twenty," she giggled.

"Uh, twenty-one," he corrected. She racked her brain for the date. I forgot my own birthday.

"It's pretty awful when I don't know how old I am, but you do," she admitted.

"I'd say," he laughed.

"I don't even know how old you are."

"You might not want to."

"Try me," she dared him.

"I turn twenty-six in May," he flinched.

"Huh," she thought aloud. "I really am a child, then."

"Detracts from my allure, doesn't it?" He cleared his throat. "I had just turned eighteen when I lost my tribe."

"You're not that much older than me. Five fits on one hand," she giggled.

"It's six for half of the year," he corrected.

"Big deal," she rolled her eyes. They laughed for a bit before they could regain their composure. When they finally settled down Ashe whispered.

"Hey, Tryndamere?"

"Hmm?"

"You're still on top of me," she pointed out. He leaned down to hover over her face, her hands still pinned in one of his massive hands over her head.

"You hit me in the face with a snowball. I think I deserve an apology," he toyed. "A kiss also couldn't hurt."

She tilted her head up and pressed her thin, cold lips to his dark, warm ones. He released her hands and helped her to her feet.

"Sorry for throwing balls in your face," she teased.

"I guess I forgive you," he sighed theatrically. "Though I'm pretty sure the snow was on my lips longer than you just were."

"Ass." She turned to walk away from him, her cape flapping in the Northern wind that was now picking up speed as it swirled around the tree trunks. He moved to follow her but stopped momentarily as he checked the clearing one last time. A little arctic fox sat quietly at the foot of Weylan's mound. His amber eyes warmed Tryndamere from the center of his chest to the tips of his toes. The tiny creature closed his eyes and slightly dipped his head before standing and sprinting off into the woods.

"You're welcome," he mumbled.

The pair of them walked side by side through the snow-laden woods on their way back to the city for dinner. For the first time, their conversation turned to trivial things, like favorite colors, pet peeves, and annoying mannerisms of fellow champions. At some point in their stroll, Ashe had snuck her hand into Tryndamere's. He internally noted how bubbly she'd become since the day before. They reached the edge of the trees and stopped to take in the reflection of the sunset across the plane of the glacier.

"Beautiful," Ashe sighed, smiling and leaning her head over to rest on his arm.

"Incredibly," he agreed, looking down at her. The waning light made her gleaming blue eyes shine the color of Taric's gaudy crystal armor. In her irises though, it was the single most beautiful shade of blue he'd ever seen.

"Race you," she winked, turning to take off across the icy path to the front gates.

Tryndamere, taken completely by surprise, sprinted to catch up, but resigned himself to jogging after her. His heavy muscled figure and heavier sword and armor didn't lend well to racing with a tiny archer in a battledress. It gave him the opportunity to appreciate her truly athletic build though, which he was silently grateful for.

Dinner was served shortly after they reached the castle. Bryndle sat next to Tryndamere and Bristol took the seat at Ashe's left. He reported to Ashe that the afternoon watch had been as uneventful as the morning and night leading up to it. With no eminent signs of Lissandra returning, Ashe told the two of them to return the guard shifts to their usual numbers. About to go on shift again, Bryndle turned to Tryndamere to ask if he agreed with decreasing the numbers for tonight.

"Actually, I'll let Ashe make the call. What do you think?" He turned expectantly to her.

Ashe thought for a moment before facing Bryndle directly.

"Keep a few extras tonight, just in case, but when shift switches in the morning, return to the normal rotation. I don't want to exhaust the men."

"Yes ma'am," Bryndle dipped his head respectfully before excusing himself to join the watch. Tryndamere fought a smile. Confident Ashe is incredibly attractive, he noted. As they ate, Ashe noticed her husband staring at her from her right again, but his expression was less worrisome this time. She smiled, confused at first, but as he settled in for the meal and became more comfortable, he began to flirt more aggressively with her than ever. She pushed a coy smile to her face, but her brain bombarded her with questions. Am I ready for this? Am I okay with risking losing part of myself again? She eyed Tryndamere's necklace. What is the price of love? She twisted the amethyst around her finger nervously. What's the point of love? She reprimanded herself for that thought as soon as it entered her mind. Even I'm not so bitter to believe there's no reason to love someone so much.

A sudden warmth on her knee drew her out of her mind and back to the dinner table. Tryndamere's palm rested lightly just below Ashe's hem and above her plated knee-high boots. He was laughing about something someone else had said, but his thumb traced a slow circle on the inside of her thigh signaling to her that his attention was still completely directed at her. The tip of his middle finger slipped conveniently under her skirt, though it only reached to about mid-thigh. If he was intentionally trying to tease me, I feel like he'd reach farther, she reasoned. Once he'd finished laughing, he turned to her.

"You look tired, Dear," he observed, squeezing her knee. "You should go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll be right after you."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," she nodded, grabbing his hand and giving a light squeeze before standing to leave. "Goodnight everyone," she smiled to the table. They all bid her a sufficient night's rest before she left and pulled herself up the stairs, instantly realizing how heavy their trudge through the snow earlier had made her legs. Upon reaching their room, she realized her choices were laid out clearly before her on top of the blue and white quilt on her bed. Silky blue baby doll nightie, or flannel poro pajamas? The nightgown on the bed was not the same one she'd worn that morning, but a note in Ahnja's handwriting apologized for not realizing she'd missed the longer one that morning and suggested that this one was just as cute. Ashe held it up to her. It's also my shortest nightgown, she mused. She brought both outfits into the bathroom with her, as well as a pair of dark blue, lacy panties that complimented the baby doll's deep blue straps and lace hem.

Ashe forced herself to look at her reflection in the full-length bathroom mirror as she modeled the racier of the two ensembles. She turned and scrutinized every detail before turning to the mirror over the sink and staring herself down.

What are you doing? she questioned, feeling weighed down with a growing fear. What is it that you're afraid of? He loves you. She mussed her hair and stepped back again, feeling the anxiety tighten in her chest. What if I'm reading him wrong? What if he changes his mind? She covered her face. Rejection? Really? That's what this is all about?

Upon that realization, the butterflies in her stomach dissipated. You can do this, she told herself. She heard the door to their room open and Tryndamere called out. More importantly, you WANT to do this. Her anxiety turned to anticipation. She wondered what he'd do when he saw her like this. The possibilities flashed through her mind, making her light-headed. How did I get to this? she wondered, incredulously. But hearing him rustling around in the next room was reminder enough. Somehow, in such a short amount of time, her heart had grown irrevocably fond of this rough, crude, loud man. And now was her opportunity to reward him for his efforts to bring her back to reality.

Wiping all expectations from her mind, she flicked off the bathroom light and opened the door gently. Tryndamere sat on the loveseat by the fire looking over the Journal of Justice again. She tiptoed behind him and placed her hands over his eyes.

"There you are." She felt his smile lift his cheekbones under her palms.

"I'm ready for bed," she breathed into his ear. It'd been a decent amount of time since she'd had to actually seduce the man she loved into her bed, and she hoped she hadn't sounded stupid. He pulled her hands down and rotated in his seat to peer over his shoulder at her. The sight of her in the glow of the firelight rendered him utterly speechless. He guided her around the couch to stand in front of him, his eyes falling victim to the lacy pattern that peeked out from under the silk of her nightgown and clung to the last of several inches of Ashe's legs he'd never seen before.

"Are you sure?" he smiled pulling her closer to stand between his legs. He'd already removed his armor, leaving him in the leggings she'd avoided looking at earlier that same morning. She nodded, relief flooding over her as his hands dropped to caress her thighs. "This outfit is cute, and all…" his gaze sharpened, becoming almost predatory, "but like you said before, you don't need sexy pajamas."

A/N: Chapter 19.5 will be available soon in my deleted scenes story. Again, the lemon is not 100% imperative to the plot, but I think it's a good look at the way I feel Ashe and Tryndamere's relationship would be like and it gives them more dimension as a couple. But in the name of my rating, and for the benefit of uninterested eyes, I've posted the smut in a separate place.