Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, they're Tamora Pierce's, and the song isn't mine either - it belongs to Mark Hall of Casting Crowns.
A/N: Well, I decided that I was going to make this a series instead of just leaving it as is. It's now a bunch of songfics about the heros and heroines of Tortall. Enjoy! This one's completely AU, as opposed to the last one.
It hasn't always been this way
I remember brighter days
Before the dark ones came
Stole my mind
Wrapped my soul in chains
Alanna hung in the dungeon, literally. King Muggar of Scanra was not a kind man, particularly concerning the Tortallan prisoners he had attained.
From where she was she could see King Jonathan, stripped of his shirt and bleeding from a multitude of cuts and long gashes, hanging opposite her, his wrists shackled to the wall.
Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak was nearby, lying a few feet from where Jonathan was, both of his hands were severely mangled, and his left leg broken in at least two places.
All of the prisoners of this dungeon were injured in some way or another. Tortured for the amusement of the king.
She hung listlessly. Bruises speckled her body, most of her visible skin was a violent shade of blueish-purple. Almost anywhere there was unharmed skin visible, and a more than a few places where there wasn't, there were cuts and gashes.
She had been tortured for hours – she had been beaten by clubs and used as a practice target for the feral dogs, among other things. She could barely move, not that it mattered much to her.
Now I live among the dead
Fighting voices in my head
Hoping someone hears me crying in the night
And carries me away
Alanna just didn't care anymore. George was dead. She had seen him die, taking a knife to the chest while trying to prevent the Scanrans from taking his wife.
Nothing mattered anymore. She had lost George. She had lost her world. She didn't feel that she could hope anymore. Not without George…He'd been a big part of her life for the last twenty-four years.
The father of her children, and the love of her life was gone. Even after being taken captive and being mercilessly tortured, nothing compared to the emptiness and pain of losing him. Nothing ever would.
Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free
Her thoughts drifted back to the life she had lived. She wouldn't have changed a minute of it.
She still would have turned Jon down. She still would have disguised herself as a boy to earn her shield. Given a chance to relive her life, she would have done everything the same.
Except watch George fall in battle for her sake. Except let them kill him.
Morning breaks another day
Finds my crying in the rain
All alone with my demons I am
Who is this man who walks my way?
The dark ones shriek
They scream his name
Is this the one they say will set the captives free?
Dawn approached, the last dawn Alanna would probably ever see. King Maggot had ordered her execution. She was to hang just after dawn.
It was raining, too. It seemed fitting to the Lioness, after all, she would have been crying from the pain in her heart if she hadn't known that in the Dark God's Realm George awaited her.
The Scanrans had given her one last round of torture, jeering at her that the mighty Lioness of Tortall had been tamed, that she had no right to be called the King's Champion.
She hadn't cared. All she wanted was to see George again.
As she climbed the scaffolding, there was a great crash outside the gates. She was at the top before anything more happened.
The gates flew open. An army stood there. Queen Thayet at its head. Alanna smiled. The Scanrans would get what they deserved for all the people they had killed.
Set me free of the chains holding me
Is anybody out there hearing me?
Set me free
The army was motionless. Thayet gave them no signal, but smiled coldly at Muggar's men. From what Alanna could tell, the queen of Tortall was none too pleased with these men for taking her husband and her friends.
Slowly the front ranks of the group around Thayet moved aside. All Alanna could do was gasp.
As the god man passes by
He looks straight through my eyes
And darkness cannot hide
From amidst the cluster a man moved toward the scaffold. He was tall, with green-flecked hazel eyes, light brown hair, and a nose that was too large for good looks. George Cooper.
Alanna stood in wonder. He shouldn't have been there. He couldn't have been. She had seen him fall herself.
The Tortallan soldiers moved quickly, while Alanna was transfixed. All over, the Scanrans were dropping their weapons. George grinned wickedly at Alanna, plucking the key to the chains binding her from one of the men on the scaffolding.
Do you want to be free?
Lift your chains
I hold the key
All power of Heav'n and Earth belong to me
As soon as she was free, Alanna threw herself on George, ten times more than joyful to see him again. "How, George? I saw you die. How did you make it?" she asked, but George just grinned.
Shifting ever so slightly, he pulled away a portion of his shirt. A thick white scar showed where Alanna had seen the knife sink in. "You didn't think I was that easy to kill, did you, lass?"
Alanna buried her face in his shoulder, tear of joy leaking from her eyes. "I thought I'd lost you, George. Nothing mattered after that," she whispered.
George smiled softly, stroking her hair gently. "It's all over now, lass. It's all over."
You are free
A/N: Review, please! It'll only take a minute!