A Song of Ice, Fire and the Dead

…

Chapter 7: The Swallow, the Samurai & the Dragon

"So, these 'Them' you spoke of? They just appeared one day?"

Aegon and Saeko nodded in response to their newest companion's query. After introducing themselves to her, Ciri had a lot of questions on the world she had currently arrived on. Aegon had asked the ashen-haired woman how it was that she appeared and she told him that it was an ability to move between space and time, between worlds. Aegon's mind then began whirring with the possibility of making it back to his original world. Of course, he wouldn't be going alone, he'd take Saeko and the others with him to get them out of this godforsaken world. But he then pondered on it, or rather, he pondered on Saeko and his… relationship with her, if it could even be called that.

There was a deep bond between them, as well as mutual attraction and desire for each other which had culminated into last night's recreational nocturnal activities. But if Aegon made it back home, he would be made to set aside Saeko, to free himself for marriage and Aegon was not quite ready to set Saeko aside. He was certainly enamoured with Saeko, and she seemed to reciprocate the attraction. A thought crossed Aegon's mind of making Saeko his mistress appalled him; he would not have Saeko as his mistress or bedwarmer. A more childish part of him was telling him to toss what Jon, Illyrio or anyone else would say to the wind and take Saeko as his wife. A perverted part of him whispered that he could take Saeko to bride and take another bride as well. The Conqueror did, so why couldn't he? Aegon had pushed the thoughts out of his head and told himself that when the time came, he would make his decision and learn to live with the outcome.

Ciri was then told of the threat of Them and her curiosity was piqued, and she even examined one of the fresh corpses of Them that Saeko had dispatched. It had been interesting to see Ciri examine a corpse; she spoke aloud of her observations, regardless if anyone would hear her and she even used her knife to cut into the corpse and ascertain whatever had created the undead. Ciri's examination had turned up something, Ciri called a mutagen which she told them was a concentrated solution of whatever had created Them.

Saeko asked Ciri how it was she knew such things to which the ashen-haired woman gave a smile and replied, "I'm a Witcher."

Saeko had asked what a Witcher was and Ciri explained that a Witcher was a monster slayer for hire, taking bounties on monsters that troubled the land in exchange for money. Aegon bluntly asked if Ciri was a mercenary which made her laugh yet there was a clear note of annoyance in her forest green eyes. Ciri then quite firmly told Aegon that she did not take contracts on humans, her prey were monsters and monsters came in many forms.

Aegon and Saeko then decided to take Ciri with them to Saya's house, as it was more logically safer to travel in a group and Ciri certainly looked capable. Ciri had accepted their decision but did warn them that she may need to make a quick exit if They showed up and she did not mean Them.

Saeko asked Ciri what she meant and Ciri had a cautious look on her face as she said that she was being hunted and They were relentless in their pursuit of her. Aegon had pressed her on the subject, but Ciri remained tight-lipped.

And so, the three sword-wielding warriors set off from the shrine towards the upper echelons of the area where the estates would be. While Aegon confessed to not be as familiar with Saya, she was no pauper by any means and from the way he heard, Saya's father was deeply involved in Japan's politics as a member of a faction of Right-Wing Nationals. Aegon could only guess that Saya's father was involved in more than a few dirty dealings and probably faced death many times; politics was a cut-throat business to say the least.

As they walked together, Saeko walked close beside Aegon, her hand intertwined with his. Aegon returned the gesture with a smile directed at her every now and again. Ciri had something a sly smirk on her face when she saw Aegon and Saeko were acting around each other but made no comment on it. Saeko looked up at Aegon with adoration in her ocean-blue eyes and he looked back with equal affection.

As the trio neared the upper area, they were met with a roadblock.

"Halt! What is your business here?" asked a stern-faced man armed with a shotgun. A few other men stood behind the barricade, armed with rifles.

"We're looking for a friend of ours. Saya Takagi," Aegon answered right away.

The stern-faced man pursed his lips before nodding to one of his men who began to talk rapidly into a walkie-talkie. "Very well. Wait here, please. We must also ask you to turn over your weapons for the time being. If you are telling the truth, you'll get them back."

Sighing to himself, Aegon reluctantly handed over his weapons, trying to not look anxious as Blackfyre was taken from him. Saeko and Ciri had equally anxious looks on their faces as they handed over their weapons. After a few minutes of waiting, the man on the walkie-talkie whispered to the leader who nodded before looking at Aegon.

"You're cleared for entry. You'll find your friends waiting for you in the house," the man said before nodding at his men who handed back the trio's weapons. Aegon exhaled in relief as Blackfyre was passed back to him. Passing through the makeshift gate, the trio were then escorted down the road by one of the men and were lead into a large estate which had been set up as a camp with tents of people, civilians, being sheltered within the walled grounds.

"Seems like a good set-up, they have here," Aegon said to Saeko who nodded. "Indeed, Saya's father must've been well-prepared for a crisis to happen," she said as the electric gates of the estate slid open for them to pass through. Entering the estate grounds, Aegon took stock of the surroundings; so far it seemed safe from Them, but all it took was for one little mistake to tip the scales. Who knows how long before this safe haven was no longer such?

"Saeko!" a tiny voice cried out interrupting Aegon's train of thought and sprinting towards them was Alice, wearing much cleaner clothing. A broad smile graced Saeko's face as Alice leapt into her arms, embracing her as much as her arms could.

"Alice, you're alright," Saeko said fondly, a she held the child in her arms, ruffling her magenta red hair fondly.

"I'm so glad you and Uncle Aegon are okay! We were all worried about you!" Alice replied.

Aegon blinked. "Uncle Aegon? Am I your uncle now?" he asked Alice teasingly.

"Uh-huh! And Saeko is Aunty Saeko!" Alice said proudly.

"Well, I don't know what to make of that, but I'll accept it," Aegon said as he gave a friendly pinch to Alice's left cheek making her giggle. "How about you, Aunty Saeko?" he then asked Saeko with a smile.

Saeko gave a chuckle and replied, "Gladly." The indigo-haired woman then noticed Ciri watching with a smile that seemed a little nostalgic, sad even. "Alice, meet our new friend, Ciri," Saeko told Alice who looked at Ciri who gave a big smile to her.

"Hello, Alice, it's nice to meet you," Ciri said to Alice kindly. "Uncle Aegon and Aunty Saeko told me you're a very brave little girl," she added.

"Your eyes are pretty," Alice said with a smile.

"So are yours," Ciri said with a laugh. "They're almost as pretty as Uncle Aegon's," she added with a teasing grin at Aegon.

"Yes they are," Saeko put in with a smile at Aegon who blushed and shuffled his feet at the attention.

Then jogging up to them was Takashi and Saya. "Aegon, I'm glad you and Miss Busujima are alright," Takashi said to them.

"We had a close call, but we're alive, Takashi," Aegon replied. He then looked at Saya and said to her, "Are you happy to see your parents, Lady Saya?" he asked.

Saya had a frown on her face and mumbled something under her breath. Takashi had a saddened look on her face and shook his head slightly at Aegon who quickly got the message and dropped the subject.

Takashi then noticed Ciri. "Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you new around here?" he asked the ashen-haired. His dark brown eyes took note of Ciri's attire and the sword she had on her back.

"I am new around here. I just so happened to run into Aegon and Saeko and we decided to travel together as a group," Ciri replied. Aegon and Saeko shared a glance with each other at Ciri's half-truth; would Takashi believe them if they told him Ciri appeared in a flash of light out of nowhere? Possible, but unlikely. "My name's Ciri. You are?" Ciri said to Takashi.

"Takashi. Takashi Komuro. And this is Saya Takagi, her parents own this estate," Takashi replied.

"Well, it certainly seems well defended. My compliments to your parents, Lady Saya," Ciri said to Saya who replied, "Yeah. Thanks…" was all she muttered. The fiery bespectacled pinkette then stalked off towards the house, leaving them behind.

"Is something the matter with Lady Saya?' Aegon asked Takashi once Saya was out of earshot.

"That, and more," Takashi sighed tiredly.

"Troubles?" Aegon asked cynically.

"A few to put it lightly," Takashi said, running a hand down his face.

Sensing this conversation was not fit for a childr, Saeko said, "I'll take Alice and see if there's something to eat. C'mon, Alice, come with Aunty Saeko." Saeko then took Alice towards the house while Aegon and Ciri stayed with Takashi.

"What kind of problems are facing here?" Aegon asked Takashi seriously.

"Tension is pretty high around here. People sheltering here are questioning Mr Takagi's leadership," Takashi replied.

"Is he incapable of leading these people?"

Takashi shook his head. "Opposite, but his leadership methods are harsh and demanding," he said. "He's the head of a ultra-nationalist political movement and many of the survivors here are opposed to his views," he added.

"Seems to be similar to what we saw on the news of that protest mob," Aegon remarked.

Takashi nodded. "He may not seem like, but Saya's father is a good man who wants what is best for the people of Japan even if he doesn't show it," he said.

"But he has trouble conveying that?" Aegon asked and Takashi nodded and replied, "Yeah, he does, and Saya hates him for not ensuring her safety when this outbreak started. Plus the fact that since we got here, no-one's allowing us to be our own charges," he said bitterly.

"Should we worry for our weapons being taken from us?" Aegon asked, putting a reflexsively on Blackfyre and glanced around.

"For the moment, no. But it's only a matter of time," Takashi said with a sigh.

"Wonderful…"

Aegon sighed; perhaps it was too good to be true, but it was how it was. Then marching footsteps were heard and Takashi stood straight as a tall dark-haired man with fierce orange eyes with a dark uniform and walking slightly behind the man was tall graceful looking woman with light purple hair and deeper purple eyes wearing a thin red dress and a white cloth around her arms and mid-lower body. Aegon stood straight as well, guessing this must be Saya's father.

"Mr Takagi, sir! This is Aegon Targaryen, he helped assist with rescuing Saya," Takashi said formally, bowing his head.

Mr Takagi looked at Aegon penetratingly. Aegon stood straight and proud, looking directly into the man's fierce orange eyes. It was almost as if looking in some beast of prey's eyes, a dragon perhaps, Aegon thought to himself for the man looked intimidating enough.

"So, you are one of the few who helped rescue my daughter?" Mr Takagi asked Aegon who replied, "I did, my Lord."

Mr Takagi's eyebrow quirked at the formality used by Aegon but he did not move to correct him. "I trust my daughter was not too much of a burden?" he then asked.

"No, my Lord. Saya has proven herself to be of invaluable help," replied Aegon. "She was the first to deduce that They react only to sound which has been useful against Them," he said.

"I expected as much of Saya. She has great intelligence, much like her mother," Mr Takagi said nodding his head. His gaze then swivelled to Ciri who looked at him calmly. "And who might you be, young lady?" he asked her.

"Ciri. Just Ciri, Lord Takagi," Ciri replied formally.

"I am no lord, but I appreciate the formality you and Mr Targaryen are showing me," said Mr Takagi with a slight upturn on his lips. "Did you also assist in rescuing my daughter?" he then asked Ciri.

"No. I just so happened to run into Aegon and Saeko and I decided to travel with them, as there was safety in numbers," Ciri replied.

"A smart way of thinking," Mr Takagi said in approval. Then a uniformed man marched up to Mr Takagi and whispered in his ear. Mr Takagi nodded at the man before he looked at Aegon, Takashi and Ciri. "If you'll excuse me, there is something important that must be attended to," he said before turning around and leaving, leaving the woman behind. The woman walked up to Aegon and Ciri and spoke to them.

"Hello to you both, Mr Targaryen and Ciri. I am Yuriko and you've already met my husband, Souichiro Takagi," she said with a warm smile.

Aegon relaxed slightly in the presence of Yuriko and replied, "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Takagi. I assume you've met Saeko?" he asked.

"I briefly met her just a moment ago. She and little Alice were getting something to eat from the kitchens," Yuriko replied. "I hope Saya wasn't too much a burden?" she asked.

"She was no burden, Lady Takagi," Aegon said firmly.

Yuriko smiled knowingly and said, "It's alright, you can be honest with me. I like honesty in men."

Aegon sighed softly and said, "Well, Saya is a tad… arrogant and loud," he admitted.

Yuriko gave a soft smile and said, "She does come across that way, but she is a good person underneath."

"She is, Lady Takagi, although she could learn to be more humble," Aegon said hesitantly. Yuriko gave a chuckle and replied, "Indeed she could, but as her mother I love her regardless." Looking at Ciri, Yuriko said, "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ciri, although you will forgive me if I point out your attire."

"It's nothing," Ciri said with an airy laugh. "I don't plan on being here long anyway," she added.

"Oh? Do you have family somewhere?" Yuriko asked.

"I suppose you could say that, yes," Ciri replied cryptically. Yuriko raised an eyebrow at Ciri's cryptic response but said nothing. Looking at Aegon, she said to him, "Well, I imagine you'll want to freshen up and have something to eat, yes?" she asked.

"A shower and some food would be nice, Lady Takagi, but I don't want to impose," Aegon said formally.

"It is no imposition, Mr Targaryen," Yuriko replied. "Follow me and I'll show you where the facilities are," she said firmly.

Following Yuriko, Aegon spoke with Takashi. "Where are Kohta, Rei and Shizuka?" he asked quietly.

"Rei injured her back falling off the hummer. Miss Shizuka is tending to her, and Kohta is working on the guns," Takashi replied.

Yuriko then led Aegon and Ciri into the bathrooms. "I'll leave you two to it," she said to them. "There's fresh clean clothes in the lockers if you need them," she added before closing the door with a click.

Aegon sighed and turned around to speak to Ciri, but his eyes widened when he saw Ciri was now stripping off her clothes. "Uhh… my pardon, Lady Ciri!" he squawked out, averting his eyes as he saw the pale plains of Ciri's back and spied the hem of her underwear.

Looking over her shoulder, Ciri asked, "What's wrong? We're just showering, right?" she said.

"I'll let you go first," Aegon said hurriedly as he made to leave when Ciri's hand grabbed his shoulder.

"It's alright, there's more than one to use in here," Ciri said to him firmly but not unkindly. "And I'm not some blushing maiden who's never seen anyone naked before," she added in jest.

"I should give you your privacy," Aegon said firmly, more to himself than to Ciri.

"You're acting like a virgin," Ciri pointed. "You're not a virgin, are you?" she asked pointedly.

Aegon felt his ears burn hot as he replied, "No, I'm not."

"Then what's your problem?" Ciri said.

Aegon sighed in defeat before stripping off his clothes, keeping his back to Ciri while she undressed. After stripping off so that he was naked, Aegon entered one of the shower bays and turned the knob, letting hot water and steam fill the room. Ciri entered her own shower bay and turned on the knob and began to wash herself, pulling one of the pins in her hair, letting it fall down her back.

Sighing in relief, Ciri said, "Damn! Been a while since I bathed! I must stink worse than a alghoul on a battlefield!"

Aegon raised an eyebrow at the phrase and said, "Umm… yes, I've worked up a bit of a stink as well."

"So, mind telling me how you found yourself on this world?" Ciri asked conversationally.

Aegon blinked and replied, "What makes you think that?"

"Oh, come off it. You look about as out of place in this world as I do," Ciri said knowingly. "For one thing, your features are different than most people I've seen here and I haven't been here that long," she remarked.

"Perhaps you haven't seen all the people this world has?" Aegon countered.

"Possibly, but then there was your sword; looks to be better quality than most swords I've seen. Almost the quality of a Witcher's sword and mine," Ciri replied.

"Perhaps," Aegon said guardedly as he poured some soap into his hair and began to scrub the follicles with his fingers.

"So, are you going to admit it?" Ciri asked him.

"Admit what?" Aegon said feigning confusion at the question.

"That you're from another world," Ciri said as if it were obvious.

"I am, I will admit that much," Aegon confessed.

"So how did you find yourself here?"

"I don't know for certain, all that I can remember is that it was nine-and-tenth nameday when a red comet appeared in the night sky, as though the stars were bleeding and then I woke up in this city and been here ever since," Aegon said.

"A portal then?" Ciri said as she rubbed some soap on her body, getting it all sudsy, letting the water wash it away.

"You seem more knowledgeable than I about the subject. What can you tell me about them?"

"Well, most good sorcerers and mages can conjure portals to other places, and if their magic is strong enough, to other worlds," Ciri said. "But sometimes, if there is enough ambient magic in one place, a portal will appear on its own, but there's not a foolproof way of telling where it will take you," she added.

"Magic? Magic exists where you are from?" Aegon asked in interest.

"It doesn't where you're from?" Ciri said.

"It was, once, but when the last dragon died, magic was said to have died as well," Aegon replied. "Although there are some places in the world where people claim to be practitioners of magic, but take that with a grain of salt," he said cynically.

"You don't believe?"

"Well, I'd like to believe and given what I've seen so far, and with you arriving the way you did, I must say I'm starting to."

"Interesting," Ciri mused. "And forgive me for asking, but what is your relation with Saeko? If you don't mind my asking," she said.

"I… I cannot say for certain what my relation with Saeko is," Aegon admitted. "I am certainly enamoured with Saeko, and she reciprocates my feelings for her and… she was my first," he said reluctantly.

"Ah, lovers, I take it?" Ciri said with a tinkling laugh.

"I… uhh… don't know yet," Aegon said nervously. "I've only just slept with Saeko last night, so I don't know if there will be any more of such in future," he added.

"Well, if the way she looks at you is any indication, I imagine there will be more," Ciri remarked.

"Well, what about you? Any lovers in your life?" Aegon asked trying to turn the tables around.

"No. My lifestyle isn't conducive to relationships, and I've had very few of them," Ciri said softly. "My last relationship didn't end well," she added bitterly.

"He left you?" Aegon asked.

"She," Ciri corrected. "And it was the other way around; I left her and she was killed by a man I loathed," she said venomously.

"I'm… sorry, I didn't know and I would never have asked if I did," Aegon said awkwardly.

"It's alright. I have heard more insulting questions before, and you didn't offend me by any means. You asked a question and I answered," Ciri said.

Aegon hummed and said, "That doesn't mean I can't be sorry for what happened to your lover."

"Thank you for the kind words, Aegon. Do you mind if I call you by your name?" Ciri asked.

"You can call me Egg if you'd like," Aegon replied.

"Egg? A strange nickname, but I've heard stranger," Ciri said with a chuckle.

"Well, have you any nicknames?" Aegon asked as he turned off the shower and prepared to step out.

"Ciri is my nickname. My real name is Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, followed by a whole list of titles to go with it," Ciri said as she turned off her shower and stepped out to see Aegon naked. Aegon blushed as he saw Ciri naked and his hands shot to his privates and her averted his eyes.

"Sorry," he quickly said.

"Don't be. It's not like I haven't see men naked before," Ciri said easily. "I won't be offended if you looked at me," she added.

"I shouldn't," Aegon muttered as he reached for a bath towel and began to dry himself off and wrapped it around his waist.

"Because of Saeko?" Ciri asked kindly as she reached for a bath towel and dried herself off.

Aegon pursed his lips. "Perhaps," he said quietly.

Ciri hummed thoughtfully as she cinched the towel around her bust and said, "Well, Saeko appears to be a good woman. She's lucky to have you."

"Maybe I'm the lucky one?" Aegon replied as he looked in the locker for some clean fresh clothes and found some underwear in the form of boxer briefs and slipped them and discarded the towel. He could feel Ciri's eyes on him and he looked over his shoulder and said, "Drop something?"

Ciri gave a little grin and replied, "Not all." She then looked in the locker for some fresh underwear as well. Slipping on a thong then discarding the towel wrapped around her, while keeping a hand over her bust if only to not cause discomfort for Aegon, she slipped on a lacy bra. "Not bad," she mused as she looked at herself in a mirror. "Not quite my style, but it'll do," she said as she admired her reflection. "What do you think?" she asked Aegon.

"It's… fine," Aegon said as he tried not to ogle Ciri. An eyebrow quirked upwards as Ciri said, "Quite the way you have with words, don't you?" she asked Aegon.

"I'm… not really one to judge on a woman's preference for underwear," he said.

"I suppose you have a point there, but you're imagining what this might look on Saeko, yes?" Aegon's eyes widened and he looked at Ciri's face which had a large Cheshire grin on it.

"You certainly have a way with words," Aegon muttered sullenly as he rummaged in the locker and found a pair of pants and a shirt and jacket and put them on.

"I say what I think, nothing more," Ciri retorted as she looked in the locker and round a kimono dress which was a burnt yellow colour with black lapels and hems with cherry blossom petal designs on them. Slipping it on, Ciri said, "Not my usual choice of clothing, but it's better than a corset." Looking at Aegon, she asked, "Well?"

"You… make it work," Aegon said, not wanting to look or sound like a fool.

Ciri smiled slightly before slipping on some slippers and said, "We'll work on your repertoire of compliments to give to women. Right now, I could do with some food." She then left the bathroom. Aegon ran a hand down his face and sighed; he must've looked a fool to Ciri. He was ill equipped when it came to the fairer sex, but it was what it was.

Deciding to take Ciri's example, Aegon left the bathroom and headed for the kitchen to get himself something to eat to still the quiet cries of his stomach.

…

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There! The seventh chapter of this done and dusted! I hope I got characterisations right, such as Ciri, Souichiro and Yuriko. Aegon's characterisation is largely unknown to readers of the books so I have some creative leeway with him, but the others I mentioned are harder to get right because Ciri is large from the books and in Wild Hunt, some of her responses are dependant on the player's choices, so I hope I got ger right. Souichiro and Yuriko are hard, because Souichiro is a tough hardened leader of an ultra-nationalist political movement in Japa in the HOTD universe and Yuriko, his wife, is an intelligent woman, maybe more so than her own daughter and is certainly more humble than her but she is deeply devoted to her husband. I'm sure most of you will correct me on the characterisations of characters in this story and if anyone has any input on characters and the like, feel free to do so.

Not much action in this chapter, but perhaps within the next couple of chapters I can get the Manor attack underway and that's where the anime dies, but there's still the manga content to get through and I'm thinking I might diverge a little from that as well as change some things such as Asami staying alive and joining Team Takashi. And from there, like I planned, I'll have the team go to another world, either the Fallout world, specifically Fallout 4, or perhaps to the Witcher world since Ciri is in the story.

Anyways, not much more to say, so I'll just leave this here and see you all in the next one.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.