Author: Pirate Turner
Especially Dedicated To: My beloved Jack, our son Sammo, and all our darling babies
For: My beloved Jack and our babies as part of their presents for Solstice/Christmas/Kitsmas
Rating: G
Summary: Salem will conquer the mountains in his world.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,295
Date Written: 24 December 2010
Disclaimer: Salem Saberhagen, Sabrina Spellman, the Council, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch are & TM Disney, ABC, Archie comics, and any other rightful, legal owners, none of which are the author; are used without permission; and may not be used without permission. Everything else is & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
He could conquer this mountain! He was Salem Saberhagen, the greatest Wizard who ever lived, and he could do anything - absolutely anything - to which he put his mind! Salem's long, ebony tail swished back and forth as he climbed, the mantra silently repeating over and over again in his mind. He could do anything at all, as long as he wanted to do it, and the world was putty in his paws!
He could take the world as it was, the small ball of earth and water that the foolish mortals had spent centuries doing their very best to destroy, and turn it right side up again. He could create life from disaster and love from chaos. He could right all the wrongs in the world and build a new paradise where all of his people would be welcome. He could fashion a brand new world where love and equality, and, of course, he, the great and fabulous King Salem Saberhagen, reigned over all!
He could do anything! He would conquer this mountain, no matter how hard it bucked underneath him or how swiftly it swayed. It didn't matter that he kept losing his paw holds and having to scramble just to stay on the beast's scraggly hairs. He wouldn't look down, and he refused to be thrown off. He would conquer this mountain and transform it into what it should be!
His air escaped him as he was punched in his belly. His claws tore frantically at the mountain he was determined to shred into a molehill as it tried to pull out from underneath him. He held determinedly to its skinny limbs while shaking his head to clear his bedazzled eyesight.
He would not, could not, fail! Far too much was riding on this simple endeavor, and he would come out the winner in this, as he did in all things! Well, all things sooner or later. There was, after all, the small matter of the blasted Council betraying him and turning him into a cat, but he would resolve that, too, and regain his rightful Wizard body when the time was right. In the mean time, and even after, he would conquer every mountain that came his way, starting with this green beast thrashing wildly beneath him!
Salem dug in his claws and hung on, his black fur fluffing out at all angles, as the mountain swung recklessly beneath him. For one terrifying, heart-rending moment, Salem almost thought that the thing was going to take him with it to the floor, but at the last possible second, he let go of his hold with a tremendous, roaring yowl and sailed into the air. He scaled the mountain and landed on top of its bucking head where upon he swiftly dug all of his deadly, twenty claws into the beast and squeezed it until it finally went limp.
Salem closed his eyes as the tenseness rushed from his muscles, and he released a breath to which he would never admit to holding. He simply held to the mountain and breathed, concentrating on the breath slowly coming in and leaving his body, before reopening his green eyes. He caught a glimpse of how far down it was to the floor and quickly reshut his emerald orbs. When he opened them again, he made certain not to look down and instead raised his gaze high.
There, above him, a single star twinkled, and Salem resumed his climb. A Celtic carol sang throughout his head, and his tail swished in tune to the ancient song. Now that the beast was calm again, it took the great Salem Saberhagen only scant moments to scale its remainder and reach the singular star.
Gold gleamed in Salem's green eyes as he gazed upon the star, and then he reached out with his paw and knocked it from its place. Turning around, he backed up carefully until he was able to settle into the arms of the beast that had once thought itself vile enough to win against him but which he had proved completely wrong. He proudly surveyed his world from his new perch.
He was the King, the greatest King either realm had ever seen, and he would always be King! None would take his throne, regardless of whether they stripped him of his powers, turned him into a cat, or any of the other, endless things that had been done to him by those sniveling ingrates, and no other power could stand against his might for long. He would best any foe who came his way and always win the day the Salem Saberhagen way!
He smiled, and his paws arched beneath him. He sheathed, unsheathed, sheathed, and unsheathed his claws once more as he began to knead in celebration of his sweet victory. He had conquered this mountain just as he would the world, and after this world and its meager mortals, he would turn his attention back to his own world and not stop until he had conquered it and his love ruled supreme over all.
He was Salem Saberhagen, and he would be King forever! He smirked, and his tail tapped the branches beneath him. The Spellmans would receive a firm reminder of that undisputable fact first thing in the morning, he vowed, surveying the wreckage below him with a keen eye. How dare they put up a Christmas tree without asking him first! They'd soon know that no tree was to come into his territory without his clear and direct purrmission first, and he would remind them too, starting with the young Witchling Sabrina Spellman, that the real Winter holiday was the Winter Solstice and not just a day put aside for a jolly, fat man in red to give every one but him presents across the globe.
Salem's green eyes narrowed. Purrhaps it was time to take another look at his plans for global domination. He had started with this tree tonight, but his next move just might be Santa Claus. He began to purr, and his tail swished happily from side to side. Yes, indeed, they'd never see that coming! He'd start with Santa and taking back the Winter celebrations, and then he would take the world by storm!
Smiling pleasantly to himself and still purring deeply, Salem nestled into the highest branches of the withered Christmas tree to drift off to sleep. Broken ornaments and dewinged Angels lay all around them in a million pieces, and his message to the Spellmans in the morning would indeed be crystal clear. In the mean time, he thought, stifling a yawn behind a paw, he'd just catch a few winks of shut eye.
And then he'd start on his conquering of the globe again, Salem thought as he drifted off to sleep to dream of his coming presents. After all, what better day than Christmas to get the presents that were rightfully already yours? His smile curved his furry lips as he slept on, and his tail began to swish more slowly as it tucked into his side. He slept on, dreaming of everything that belonged to him and would be his, as his pathway of destruction glittered clearly beneath him. The world was his oyster, and any one who disagreed would meet with his might and claws and be turned into mincemeat just as this mountain of a tree had been transformed into a miniature pine.
Salem's smile grew, and he stretched out further across the tree limbs, kneading in his slumber. The world was his, and he would conquer every mountain to keep it that way! It was only a matter of time before he had his own body back, his every dream fulfilled, and all the presents he deserved!
The End