Ch. 1
Author: Miss Lizz ^_^
Rating: R maybe more.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned the League but I don't. I'd gladly take J'onn thoughBG.
Author's Notes: I feel I must tell you this. The story takes place in the mid 500s A.D. It was during this dark age in history that the great Boar of Cromwell lived. Yes, that's King Arthur, but he won't make an appearance. Not much is known of this time in Britain's history but I have strived to be accurate in the face of the information I possess. Most of the League are knights in the full regalia of chain mail and leather armour and in Prince Bruce's service (it made sense to have him be a prince). Diana is still the same warrior princess she is in the comics, more or less, in this context. J'onn is the outsider in this, as this is the 6th century and remembering who and what he is. He wears no armour like the rest but I see him more in his flared boots and cape and the red harness but with breeches instead of trunks. If the guys act differently from normal its because they are now acting more like medieval men. In other words: sexist pigs who mistrust anything overly different. After all, these are the middle ages. Oh, the story takes place mainly in Leith, Bruce's castle, which is located on the Firth of Forth. Meaning Scotland if you want to go by modern boundaries. I think that's everything. If you have any other questions, a history book or encyclopedia with ancient atlases would probably be of more help than me. On to the story!
In the year 541A.D. in the great, old forests of Bernicia there rode a band of heroes who owed no allegiance save to each other. No ordinary men were they, though appearances belied that, for far greater than mere men were their powers.
Throughout the past sennight in these waning days of autumn, the envoy Princess Diana could have sworn she heard screaming from the dungeon of the castle Dunthrope. When questioned, the laird of this castle professed no knowledge of any prisoners. The fiery warrior trusted the man little, he was a known scoundrel of the highest, and he was a fair sadistic man as well. She had little doubt there was actually a prisoner and that a grave injustice was being transpired. The dungeon must a visit be paid, aye, but secretly, tonight, while the feast of Mabon was occurring. She would need a companion for this.
So it was that in the night she and a fellow knight, Clark of the southern kingdom of Kent, went on their investigation. The grand feast of the autumnal equinox in the great hall had drawn everyone in the castle as well as visitors; the dungeon should have been deserted. It was not. As the two descended the dank staircase, voices and cries of pain carried up from below, then silence for a while. The voices heard before were approaching the two knights but the owners never suspected them when they passed their hiding place near the ceiling. From the fire lit dungeon came nary a sound.
Once in the torture chamber-- for what else could the foul place have been-- the sight before their eyes in the dimness of the cell was almost beyond words. No strangers to death on the battlefield, what awaited below was enough to give even the seasoned fighters pause. He was clad only in torn and bloodied breeches, or, for all that remained, a loincloth. The being before them had been in captivity and tortured cruelly for a great length of days. Never had been seen such blood-loss from a man still living. As if sensing the new arrivals, he painfully lifted his head and--- revealing heavy brow, swollen bruises, cracked lips, and crimson eyes--- barely croaked out, "m'not a daemon," before blacking out.
"What manner of creature is this?" the raven-haired Clark asked astoundedly.
Diana was bolder, approaching the green-skinned man and tentatively touching his shoulder in a place that was unmarred, his battered face, "One that needs our help desperately," she gazed defiantly at her compatriot, "We must help him."
Her tone was firm and offered no leeway for argument. It would have been time wasted had he attempted it, though it galled him how she was so often right, so he conceded on this occasion also. Personally, he would have assumed the man a daemon and left it here to speak with the laird. Still, Diana won the matter, he knew better than to argue with the amazon. If she believed the cause was just, there was no stopping her. Clark broke the manacles cutting into the man's skin, it was a simple task, as was spiriting him away from Dunthrope what with the guards caught in the gaiety of the feast. They would have failed to look skyward regardless.
Their destination was already decided upon, it was the most logical place after all. With being the group's meeting place and home court, it would mean less talk and suspicion and a greater chance of survival for the green man. Though his living long was doubtful at the moment.
On the battlements of Nocturnus, in Leith on the Firth of Forth, the two dungeon thieves met with Bruce, the laird of the castle and the dreaded Dark Knight. He arched a black brow upon seeing their burden and hearing the princess's plea. There was no doubt he was far from delighted to opening his castle to a decidedly non-human stranger. The young bat-laird agreed though, much to their surprise.
"No one visits the North tower, it can be held there until you decide anything further."
"Held?" Diana began with a glare, "He is not a captive. He's hurt and he's a person, like you."
That arrogant brow arched up again, "Are you so sure of that?"
She gave him a baleful glare and was mightily tempted to strike him if the man sagging to the stones between herself and the powerful Clark were not her major concern. She promised herself to deal with the curmudgeon prince later. At least he did not turn them away. Not that it would have stopped her from giving this man the help he so desperately needed.
The North tower looked to have been rarely visited in years, possibly even decades. It wasn't exactly filthy but the dust had built up over time to become a fine film on everything. It was also very chilly and a fire was promptly begun in the old hearth. At least it had a cot, though she was a bit wary in placing the injured man in it. But what choice did they have?
They settled the green man onto the cot and went to get healing supplies. Diana would do the job herself, as it was unlikely a healer would willingly assist. No matter, she had quite a storeroom of magical herbs, salves, potions, and tinctures in her chambers. Clark, who still thought it was ill begotten on her part to offer aid to a possible daemon, was pressed into service as a pair of arms to carry whatever she needed. The Amazonian princess chose a fairly large variety: the root of comfrey for healing; lemon balm, mustard, and tansy to promote health; and hops to both aid his sleep and his health. There was a kettle of water to wash him and brew some of the herbs, and rags and dressings, and blankets of better quality than the ones on the cot now.
Clark did not stay, it was not because he trusted the man; Wallace and Kyle called him to play a game of faro. And he trusted Diana to take care of herself. She was left alone with the strange man and wasted no moments in pouring some water into a bowl, soaking a rag, and wiping the grime off a best she could. Not a simple task, burns that had been torn open to add to his suffering covered his body making it difficult to clean him without causing him enormous amounts of pain. She had some cooling salves but they were for fevers and blisters not open burns caused by pokers. For now the water would have to suffice.
She bathed his entire body as best she could and bandaged him tightly before covering him against the chill of night. It was past midnight when she fully finished her ministrations and could let him rest but she did not leave his side until the end of that first day when still no sign of infection had gotten into the wounds. He was sleeping rather fitfully when she left the small chamber to fetch herself some food and some fresh bandages for her patient.
Bruce stopped her on her way to the kitchens, his hard eyes like slits. "Art thou feeding it now?"
"He is asleep still, but I will give him food should he want it. Your coldness is unwarranted, he has done nothing to you," her eyes flashed anger then understanding as she realized something, "You know I would never ask you to trust anyone completely. However, you could be more hospitable." She turned on her heel and left before he could reply though she knew she risked his infamous rage by doing so.
Food was rye bread and sheep's milk cheese and a bit of mulled wine. She pondered bringing food to the strange man in the North tower but knew not if he would be awake or when he would awake. Still, mayhap it would be wise to put some broth to warm. He would need some sustenance in his body after what she could only assume were weeks of starvation and torture.
A mild curse rang through the great hall as Clark threw his cards down in disgust.
"Giving up?" Wallace smiled evilly.
"I've lost enough coin to you two."
Kyle and Wallace exchanged glances and grinned up at him, "Let us buy you a tankard then," Kyle suggested, "We have more than enough money."
The larger man scowled slightly, that used to be his money but a tankard of ale did sound good, "Very well."
Diana was changing the bandages on the green man's mangled wrists where the shackles had bit cruelly into, when she felt the prickly sensation of someone watching her. It was the green man, regarding her with pain-fogged red eyes that slid closed again when he once more lost consciousness. He hovered in and out of wakefulness for a sennight more and every time his eyes opened a dark-haired angel was with him.
In that time, the League met swords against an old foe that they could not seem to rid themselves of. Though a princeling in his own right, he acted more the smooth daemon than any proper sovereign should. He was greedy for more lands and power and levied harsh taxes upon his villeins. The man was tyrant, pure and simple.
His soldiers, or a band believed to be comprised of his soldiers, had attempted to burn a village to the ground. It would have succeeded if not for the League who fought both the raging flames and the arsons.
Diana was near dozing before a fire in the tower room, she nigh on fell from her chair several times before catching herself. She yawned in a very unladylike manner and became aware of the prickling sensation that always meant her patient was awake and watching her. He was regarding her rather warily; he blinked several times and coughed wetly. When she tried to get him to drink, he refused weakly and swallowed like something thick was in his throat.
"Why?" his voice, though weak, was deep and promised a beautiful resonance when he was fully healed.
"Pardon?"
His red eyes closed, he swallowed thickly again, "Why…did…help m--?" he was too weak to keep his voice in hearing range for long and that simple question was broken and faded and took most of his strength.
"How could I refuse you help? I would see no one tortured. But you must rest in order to heal," sleep had already unintentionally caught him. Diana wondered if she could slip back to her chamber for a few hours sleep without the risk of him awaking alone. Would someone be willing to sit with him? Not likely considering their reactions so far.
The risk of him awaking while she slept was small and one she must take before she collapsed from exhaustion. Which was more likely than not at the moment with how she felt.
She needed rest more than she thought for when next her eyes opened the sun was on its downward slant toward nightfall. It was dawn when she went abed. Had she truly spent the day in sleep? Nothing overly important could have happened or she would have been awakened. Her stomach growled noisily then, spurring her to leave the warm bed and seek out the kitchen for bread and cheese and strong mead. One of the cooks was making a thick stew that she thought would feed her guest well and which the cook felt no qualms about giving a bowl to the warrior woman.
When she entered the tower room, she nearly dropped the bowl of soup. Her patient was wide-awake and he was trying to gain his feet. His mouth was compressed into a thin line, whitening about the edges in pain etched so deeply on his face it seemed permanent. One of the bed furs was clutched around his sweat-soaked waist for he had been stripped of clothing when she bandaged him.
"What do you think you do?!"
His head snapped up, he almost looked panicked. He was definitely wary of her. She approached him after setting the bowl down and he followed her every movement with those piercing eyes of his. There was a barely noticeable flinch when she touched his shoulder. She reassured him that he would come to no harm and managed to push him back onto the pallet.
"Your strength has yet to return, you must lay down," she left him propped up slightly and went to retrieve the soup, "Though you do needs walk around, mayhap after you eat."
His attempt to feed himself did not last long before he became exhausted. Diana took over, ignoring his weak protests. She knew it was humiliating getting fed like some helpless infant but sometimes it was an issue of swallowing one's pride in order to swallow one's food and gain strength. After a few minutes he stopped arguing all together and simply ate in silence.
"By the way," she began in an attempt to learn something about him, "Do you have a name? It is rather longwinded to call you 'the green man.'"
He smiled—a very handsome smile---obviously amused by that, "My… name is J'onn. May I ask yours… milady?"
"It is Diana. Are you a Frank?" She asked, referring to his name. It was a popular one in that kingdom she'd heard. She had not been there in quite a while.
He swallowed the broth she had just spooned into his mouth. "Far from it, milady… I don't believe… you would believe me were I to tell you the truth."
"Hmm… you are a mystery, aren't you? Rest now, I'll come back after today's training to check on you. Sleep well."
"Thank you." He said it as quietly as everything else he had said and it only added force to the words. She had a feeling he incurred everything she had done for him.
End Ch. 1
Well? Please be so kind as to tell me what you thought of this first chapter in what will hopefully be a much longer story. Thank you verily.
Miss Lizz ^_^