Disclaimer:I don't own any of this! Lord of the Rings and everything it contains was originally the idea of J.R.R. Tolkien. Credits for Narnia and everything associated with it go to C.S. Lewis. The idea for this originally came from the video 'The king, the girl and the lion – Trailer' by Nonokun24 on YouTube. While being inspired by the book and especially the movie 'Voyage of the Dawn Treader', 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R.R. Martin and the TV-show 'Game of Thrones' based on it, I like to think this is fairly original material.

Author's Note: Merry Easter everyone! Or merry Ishtar day, as you prefer (I hope someone will get this…).

The best way to celebrate, to me, is by writing, of course. I have taken too much time already to get back to you, my dear readers. And if you wouldn't mind, please take a few moments to review! Let me know what I should keep, what to drop, what I should consider changing.

When at war, two things matter: what to fight for, and who fights.

I dedicate this one to a friend of mine I based a new character off! If you're reading: you know it's you, and you should know I'm grateful!

I do hope you'll enjoy this one!

Please read and review!

The Lone Islands

The albatross is flying, making him daydream

The time before he became one of the world's unseen.

Princess in the tower, children in the fields;

Life gave him it all an island of the universe.

Oh, now his love's a memory, a ghost in the fog.

He sets the sails one last time saying farewell to the world.

Anchor to the water, seabed far below,

Grass still in his feet and a smile beneath his brow.

This is for long forgotten light at the end of the world,

Horizon crying the tears we left behind so long ago.

So long ago…

So long ago…

Nightwish: 'The Islander'

Cattle for auction(?)

The grass was as green as it always was

That sinister day.

The blackbirds sang their songs as they always did

That black-letter day.

We passed the great gates

For the very last time.

I did not look back;

I knew we'd stay.

I knew they would not let us go

Leave the death strip.

I saw the gleam in their eyes

Of fear and enslavement;

The crushing weight.

Beloved ground,

Take me home.

(…)

The grass was as green as it always was

That sinister day.

As we walked the alleys like a thousand times before,

I knew we'd stay.

Alesia,

Alisanos,

Wake me when I'm gone.

Ianotouta,

Eternity

Proclaim our barren sacrifice.

Eluveitie: Alesia

(Peter)

Peter threw a cold look at the slaver.

Lucy's Blood Warrior despised him too, that much was clear. Logical: he was a noble, the slaver was a merchant, and like most slavers, he was rich enough to be arrogant. Nobles, even the lower ranks of the Daimyo, saw themselves as inherently superior to commoners, including merchants.

And, well, ethically, most nobles were easily superior to slave traders.

That's when he noticed the girl. Like most Islanders, she appeared to be a mixture of East and West, but the East was definitely dominant in her. Her hair didn't just fall down but flowed, and it could've been easily mistaken for Susan's, but like that of every Eastern girl it was long and dark. Like about 90% of all Easterlings, she seemed small for her age; Peter guessed she was about 14, maybe 15. By Eastern standards, she was probably above the mean in length, but to his Western eyes, she looked small. Like 99% of all Easterlings, she was also slim; he suspected that, according to good Eastern tradition, she had burned whatever fat she had gained during rigorous training.

That's basically what Easterlings usually were physically: small, sometimes even tiny bodies, but all organs, blood, bone… and muscle. As much muscle as they could pack in such a small shell, and every bit of it steeled. There was no Dragon Academy on the Islands, Drinian had told Peter, but that didn't mean the Islanders – especially those of the Old Blood, almost pureblood Easterlings and especially their nobility – didn't train. Peter scanned her body. Since she was naked, like most slaves, that was pretty uncomfortable, but he had a few drops of Eastern blood of his own.

His eyes confirmed what his mind had already concluded: this girl trained better than his soldiers. Her body was of Eastern type, though some Western blood couldn't be denied – especially in her complexion, which wasn't white, but not as dark as full-blood Easterners would be. Even from a distance, he could see every muscle and each one was just as strong as he had guessed, little doubt about that. She would be an opponent to reckon with. Peter couldn't help but be happy they were on the same team here. If the slaves would revolt at the same time his Imperial Marines attacked…

She addressed the merchant: "Sir, do my brother and I get to remain together?"

The Emperor had to admire her nerve. Few slaves openly addressed free men, even their owners, like that. It was unwise to test the slaver. And how she spoke! One would think she was talking to an equal. She obviously wasn't familiar with the customs of the trade; relatives were usually kept together. But most, especially if they had just been taken and collared, were terrified. What really surprised the Narnian was that she seemed to try to be docile and obedient and submissive, but she didn't really manage. Yes, she was only recently enslaved. Maybe she was of the Old Blood.

One of the mercenaries rewarded her with a lash to her back. "You dare disturb a free man like that?"

A younger boy, who Peter presumed to be her brother, stepped forward, but his sister shouted: "Kahé!"

Peter and his sister's Blood Warrior were stunned. That was the Eastern tongue. That was definitely no Narnian, Old or High, and certainly not the mongrel tongue of the Islands. This was pure, civilized Eastron, like a Shogun would use.

The Eastern noble asked: "Blood of my blood, if I may?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, of course."

The ar-quan stepped in. The mercenary had lashed at her again; this time, she had caught the whip with her arm. Her new ally drew one of his katana and cut the whip in two. The noble and the mercenary faced off for a while, until another Daimyo intervened with a small band of foot soldiers.

Peter could understand every word and roughly translated for Lucy. He thought the second Daimyo knew the girl somehow, but of course he didn't say so. He did say he would not allow mercenaries to attack a noble of his own Clan, told both the slaver and the slave girl to remember their places, and pointed out to the mercenary the girl had been sufficiently punished for a minor offence. The mercenary obviously disagreed and started pleading his case with the slaver, but this once the merchant and the nobles were on the same team.

"Sir, if you'd just let me…"

The slaver cut his mercenary off: "Damn it, we only caught her yesterday and you've asked that five times before! And for the sixth time: no. Let her buyer teach her manners. You don't often find them like her on the market. Don't spoil her. Understood?"

The mercenary didn't like it, but he finally conceded: "As you command."

The slaver nodded. "Good."

The mercenary did spit the girl in the face, and that was fine with the slaver – but the Eastern warriors were more demanding. The girl calmly wiped it off with her hand. Peter was now convinced she descended from Eastern nobility and was still raised by her ancestors' standards. But the Khândian wasn't quite so well-mannered and dignified.

"Lick it up," he demanded.

The ar-quan reached for his swords again, but the leader of the patrol was quicker.

He coldly asked: "Which part of 'That is enough' didn't you understand?"

The mercenary was furious, but he backed off. The Easterlings nodded at each other and the patrol left.

Only now the ar-quan took a few moments to look at the girl.

He quietly said: "I remember you."

The slave smiled up at him. "Glad to have made an impression."

The noble smiled back and beckoned for her to follow him. The girl's brother kept his eyes on the mercenaries for a while, and then joined them. Peter and Lucy came forward to meet them; they had gotten curious about these two.

The Blood Warrior said: "Blood of my blood, I present to you Lady Annabella, daughter of Lord Admiral Drinian, and her brother, the Heir to the Imperial Navy."

Immediately, Annabella and her brother knelt before their Emperor and Princess.

Peter quickly said: "Get up! We're trying to prevent the Nazgûl from figuring out who we are exactly. If he finds out, we're dead or worse."

Both quickly got up.

Annabella spoke: "Our apologies. We didn't mean to…"

Lucy cut her off: "We know."

The girls smiled at each other.

Drinian's son turned around and watched the mercenaries.

His sister said: "Pardon my brother. He knows all too well one cannot be careful enough. And… He hasn't been very talkative of late."

Peter looked at the boy's back and he could understand why. He had seen Annabella's back and heard what the slaver had said; he was pretty sure she hadn't been systematically whipped. Her brother hadn't had that kind of luck.

Peter looked down. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" the girl asked. "As far as I know, you didn't even condone the presence of the slavers."

"That's true," Peter answered. "But I should've been here to fight earlier."

"About six years earlier. Forgive me, but you were no older at the time than my brother is now," Annabella remarked.

Lucy intervened: "Drinian never even told us he had children."

The fresh slave shrugged her shoulders. "When the Empire is in danger, what are children?"

"I figured you were of the Old Blood," Peter smiled. "Eastern mentality."

"Exactly," Annabella smiled. "My mother was pureblood Eastern. Her father married her off to Drinian, who has about one drop of Western blood in every liter of his blood. It was that or keeping the blood pure by having her marry her full cousin, so it was a pretty easy call."

"I'm sorry about your mother," Lucy said softly. "My father… is gone."

"My parents were killed a few years ago," Peter added. "We know how it feels, Annabella."

"My father calls me Annabel. He thinks that is easier," the girl said. "My name allows for many abbreviations; my mother was even shorter with 'Anna', and my brother has often called me 'Bella'. You may call me by whatever suits you best."

"Thanks," Peter smiled. "So… What happened to her?"

"6 years ago, when I was only a child, the Easterlings, our kin, came," Annabel told them. "But with them came Corsairs from the dark lands in the south, and men who sold others as cattle. They attacked us, and our people fought back, and before the Easterlings could restore order, a few Corsairs had reached our house and used my mother. She took her own life. The Corsairs were butchered by the Easterlings."

"I'm so sorry…" Lucy whispered.

Annabel shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. You have met my father?"

"We arrived here with him," Peter confided to her.

The girl grinned. "Good. When he attacks, with the help of the Two Gods, we will show you they haven't beaten the fight out of us. All we need is a glimmer of hope."

After that, a few mercenaries came for Lucy. Drinian's children quickly withdrew. The Eastern noble brought his hands to the hilts of his katana.

"Alright, lass, you're up first!"

Two of the Khândian mercenaries grabbed her arms. Involuntarily the girl shrieked. Her Blood Warrior unsheathed his blade, but Lucy quickly gestured there was no need for him to intervene. The Easterling bowed and re-sheathed his sword.

"Do not fret, blood of my blood. I will not stand for another to buy you," he assured Lucy.

Author's Note: Well, I like to think this was better :) Though, of course, that's for you to decide.

You'll probably see more of Eluveitie for the quotes; not necessarily because I'm an undivided fan, but because I appreciate their effort and genuine cleverness and their historical theme.

It is time for an Emperor and his people to fight side by side… The Easterlings refusing to aid Sauron, the back-up ready to strike, rebellion impending. It's time to get real.

Coming up next on 'The King, the Girl and the Lion: With a Vengeance': The doom of the Lone Islands is about to be decided. Perhaps even the fate of the West. But one fact remains: a nation will never fall without bloodshed.

And, of course, I'd appreciate you seeing the trailers for 'The king, the girl and the lion' by Nonokun24 (the original source of inspiration) and EdwardElricGirl200 (who was kind enough to make a trailer for the prequel). If you want something completely different, please check out my dear friend Supreme Arcanite Magician and his fanfic 'Yu-Gi-Oh: European Duel Academy'. If you like LotR-fanfiction, and if you're here, that's a sign you do, there's an awesome story by Modern Artifact called 'The Sun Sets in the West'. And if you like the crossover part, well, there's Shadow's Hollow and his work 'Coronation's Lore'. There are really some seriously good writers on here that are worth checking out.