Love is a concept so many fail to fathom. They fall in and out of it, almost as quickly as water wheels move. Their eyes fall on someone, this individual tugs at their heart strings, gives them a tight feeling in their throat, and makes their mind wander. Why is this? A chemical reaction to something? Perhaps your mind playing tricks on you to make you appear weaker. After so many dreadful years, there was not a single situation where Laidre had felt this ‘love’.
The occasional nighttime partner stumbled into his bedroom and left the next morning, but there was no love hidden away there. His family noticed this too, and eventually grew anxious. They feared it was impossible for him to grow attached, but was it really? The answer to that question sprouted up not long ago. A woman, a doppelganger, made the attempt to break into his camp, invade his element. This siren was the only one who knew what for. He evaded her efforts, and was moments away from sealing her fate with a silver bullet, but for the first time in so long, he hesitated. Had any other living soul attempted to enter this land without permission, it would be the token that sealed their fate. Their tale would end face down in the muck of the swamp. He stopped his instinct to protect, let her tell her side of the tale, then welcomed her home.
Time passed, and he ultimately felt the pleasure of love for the siren. He was comfortable with her, like there was no burden to stomach when they were shoulder to shoulder. They could take on the world. He planned to, with her by his side, not riding along his coat-tails. He wished to fix the world, rid the troubles of greed from its surface, and welcome her to join his attempts. Together they could accomplish admirable things. This was his dream.
The night of bloodshed came. Laidre returned home, only to see the entirety of his family laying face down in pools of their own golden, reflective blood. Their vine home tangled, burned, ruined. Stolen property, years worth of memories spilled all over the floor, mixing in with the golden shimmer. But there was one thing missing. One body missing in fact. His lover’s, the siren. She had vanished. His mind raced like a wild horse, running and running to all versions of conclusions, not even possible to be true. Was she the murdering savage? Was she concocting this all along? Was she thrown out to sea? Was she swiped out from under his nose? His investigation was soon revealed by one of their men left behind. One of the savages who did this horrible deed.
Soon enough, Laidre learned the truth. An attack, his love kidnapped and hidden away. She was the original target. His family simply stood in the way. If someone could describe just how horrendous heartbreak felt, Laidre’s experience would be the example in the text.
Eventually, he found her. In the worst state she’d been in. Tortured, ruined. She barely resembled a living Sylvari. In that moment he despised her. He wanted her dead. In fact, he was mere moments away from ending her life again, but she begged, and begged, and the antipathy that fogged Laidre’s conscious cleared. He learned that it was the animosity towards the ones who did this act of violence that made him hate the woman they sought to capture. It wasn’t her doing. She never wished for this. She never expected to get their family hurt.
As time passed, she questioned him. She endured the conclusion that Laidre shouldn’t love her. She believed she deserved the worst. To be throw away, cast aside, forgotten. For reasons unknown, he hadn’t agreed to that. He wanted her to remain, wished for her to continue their goals and plans to fix the world.
Love surely is a confusing emotion, but Laidre steadily began to understand it. Despite these horrible actions that took place, despite the death of his family, he still loved her? Why? It’s simple. He saw himself in her. He imagined it was similar to peering into a mirror. Laidre saw a glimmer of hope in her, that he could ignite into an ever burning flame. She could accomplish amazing things, she even held the same ideals he had. He wanted to support her. He needed her support as well. He wanted to guide her through hardships, and never let go of their weaved hands. Downsides came, issues arose, but he stayed. No matter what, he stayed, and he begged for her to stay too. There had to have been a reason she survived. He constantly reassured himself of that. The reason was simple, it was due to their destiny of being together. He saw them as two creatures made for each other, and never feared for a different outcome. Who was she to him exactly? She was his better half, but his equal at the same time. She kept him grounded and kept his light of hope burning. To put it simply, she saved him from a life of horrendous actions, pain, suffering, and regret. They were partners in this everlasting life of tests, they were to be the other’s rock. She was Laidre’s first true love, and daily, he had hoped it would always remain that way.
So, on a warm day somewhere down the line, Laidre sneaked away with claims of having important business. Sure it was important. Maybe not for their new family, but at least to him and his siren. A trip to Lion’s Arch, and an exchange of coin later, Laidre was the new proud owner of a set of two matching rings.
