(A tragic little ficlet/song ficlet about….well I'm not sure. I think I took the term "I will go down with this ship" a liiiiiitle too literally, but ah well. This is the scene in my head. It's got "White Flag" by Dido in it
P.s. I'm still a BIG A/J shipper. But I'm on break right now)
Alanna of Pirates Swoop and Olau, King's Champion, wiped angry tears from her cheeks. Carefully she turned to stare accusingly at the hills separating Corus from the harbor at Port Caynn, as if Jon could see what he had done if they weren't there. Of course, he knew what he had done. The King had denied her request for another furlough from the quickly-dwindling war. That had resulted in an pitched argument, ending in Alanna storming out of Corus.
Why does this seem familiar? Alanna asked herself silently. Behind her waited a group of mainly green knights, along with several other important people ready to return North. Unfortunately for Alanna, they would travel by ship, her least favorite means of transport.
I know you think that I shouldn't still love you
I'll tell you that
But if I didn't say it
Well, I'd still have felt it
Where's the sense in that?
"Lady Alanna?" Keladry of Mindelan bowed quickly.
"Ah…Kel!" Alanna said, surprised. The ship lurched and she grabbed for the rail. "I was---was hoping you would….be here." She fought to hold back her nausea.
Kel didn't know whether to laugh or be alarmed before she remember that her message didn't leave time to be either. "Oh Gods, I almost forgot! Alanna, there's a fleet…Wolf ships and catapults, carriers and battering vessels… An estimated four hundred Scanran soldiers, prowling the coast and coming this way." She fought a shudder.
Alanna remained motionless, doing several calculations in her head. Kel watched her closely.
"Thank you, Kel," the Lioness whispered. "Please…I must think."
Kel nodded hesitantly and returned to her friends, face carefully blank.
Alanna squinted along the horizon, and thought she could see a speck of Tortall's shore.
"This is it, Jon," she breathed.
I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder
Or return to where we were
The Scanran armada came at the Tortallans at an almost leisurely pace. They knew their quarry had nowhere to go. The Tortallan ship's rail was now lined with grim knights, soldiers, and a few mages, Alanna prominent at the forefront.
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
The Lioness closed her eyes and reached out with her gift. Quickly she located Jon, and with a quick movement of her hand she had partly unsheathed her sword, revealing the scrying blade.
"Alanna?" the King asked, confused. She held up the blade, giving him a view of their oncoming enemy. Inevitable death on the sea. "No!" he yelled. "Alanna!"
She had already slammed the blade back into its sheath and closed off her magic. She wanted him to know how it was going to end.
I know I left too much mess
And destruction to come back again
And I caused but nothing but trouble
I understand if you can't talk to me again
And if you live by the rules of 'It's over'
Then I'm sure that that makes sense
Within hours the first stone ball was flung off the catapult and landed with a sickening splash dangerously close to the ship. A red flag with white corners was raised from the Scanran's flag ship--the flag asking if they wished to surrender. The knights looked around warily. Alanna stood resolutely, making sure to convey her wish to remain strong. Her former squire, Nealan of Queenscove, wore a worried frown, hand clenched around some kind of locket around his wrist.
Yukimi, Alanna thought. She looked around at those waiting for her orders. Most of them had loved ones to return to, and she knew that there was only a small chance of seeing them again; surrender.
"I can't do it," Alanna whispered to herself. "Ready weapons!" She cried out loud.
This order was met with mutters of shock that were quickly silenced. The Lioness's face was set with grim determination. She was bestowed with a sense of pride that even a full fleet of lethal Scanran ships couldn't dent.
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Neal approached his former knight-master.
"Alanna, this is crazy," he said urgently. "I know why you're doing this. King Jonathan really does care for you, you know."
Alanna cast him a sharp look.
"My father," he replied in explanation.
"Well, Neal, look at it this way." She stared at the oncoming threat. "We're a breath away from winning this war. To surrender now might bring us back to square one. Better to fight, and end as heroes."
And when we meet
As I'm sure we will
All that was then
Will be there still
I'll let it pass
And hold my tongue
And you will think
That I've moved on
The ships were on them now. Capture or death was inevitable.
"Surrender!" A Scanran officer called out in common. "You are outnumbered and outmatched!"
Slowly, the Tortallan knights and soldiers raised their hands, swords cradled in their palms: the sign of surrender. Neal and Kel, hands in the air, looked back at Alanna. She stood resolutely, challenging the enemy to attack.
The two friends didn't know what to do. It seemed, however, that the rest of their crew had seen the Lioness as well. In ones and twos pairs of hands were coming down, shifting instead into fighting position.
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
Alanna carefully bent over to take Issy's hands. The five year old was coming North to be reunited with his family. Now, he had his small arms as high in the air as they would go, and his face was screwed up in concentration. Gently Alanna lowered his arms and prompted him to relax. He looked at her in confusion, and she smiled sadly.
Well I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
The Scanrans shifted restlessly one their boats. A catapult was launched. It slammed into the Tortallan vessel with such force that all onboard lunged for support to keep from falling. The Scanran officer leapt onto the rail.
"Attack!!!"
I will go down with this ship
And I won't put my hands up and surrender
There will be no white flag above my door
I'm in love and always will be
(A/n: sad, isn't it? Well, there's one heck of a cliffy for you. Hope you enjoyed! Now…review!)
