A Song of Ice, Fire & the Dead

Chapter 26: The Wardrobe Winter Wonderland Part I

Alice was having a pleasant dream. She dreamt that she was back home with her parents and it was a normal day. Then a sudden chill ran through Alice's body and she woke up, looking around with sleepy eyes. Uncle Egg lay in the chair, his head tilted back, a book in his lap, snoring away. Alice looked to see that the fire had died down to embers which would explain why it had gotten so cold. But the window shutters were closed firmly as was the door. So, what was it that was making the room so cold?

Feeling the chilly breeze brush her cheeks, Alice looked as to where the wind was coming from. Following the direction, Alice saw that the breeze was coming from the wardrobe. The door was ajar, and a soft cold breeze blew through it. Curious as to why the wardrobe was blowing such a cold breeze, Alice climbed out of the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. She then noticed some small snowflakes had made their way out of the wardrobe as well and were quickly melting on the stone floor of the bedroom.

Alice's first instinct was to close the wardrobe door and go back to sleep. But her curiosity was getting the better of her as she was drawn towards the wardrobe and opened it more fully. Shuddering slightly as the stiff breeze rolled over, Alice peered past the cloaks that hung in the wardrobe. Climbing inside the wardrobe, Alice quickly discovered that it was bigger than it should be. Making her way further in, Alice soon tripped over and tumbled out into a snowy forest. Getting a face full of snow, Alice coughed as she picked herself back up and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

Alice then looked around and her jaw dropped as she saw the vast expanse of a winter forest that stretched as far as she could see. Looking back to where she had come from, Alice wondered if she should go back and wake Aegon and the others up and show them this wonderous sight. Deciding to get some proof of this first by finding something that could prove it, Alice then walked into the forest, her purple eyes wide with wonder and a wide smile on her face as she began to explore this new place.

…

Saya woke up, her mouth feeling like a used cat litter tray coupled with a nasty hangover, Sitting up in the bed and groaning as the rays of morning sunlight hit her suddenly sensitive eyes, Saya looked around and saw Saeko standing in the middle of the room, currently doing some katas.

"Saeko?" Saya slurred groggily. "What are you doing here?" she asked hoarsely and gave a cough.

"You're awake. Good," Saeko remarked as she finished her exercises before slowly stretching and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked politely.

Saya's groan of discomfort was the only answer Saeko received which made her give a slight smile and say, "That good, huh?"

"What did I do last night?" Saya asked as she flopped back onto the bed and tried to fight the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome her.

"You had a drinking contest with Cerys last night," Saeko said to her. "We took you to bed before you did something you would regret," she added.

"How much did I drink?" Saya asked.

"Quite a bit when we found you," Saeko replied. "We decided that you had had enough to drink for one night and we took you to bed to sleep it off," she said. "You also said some… interesting things last night," she added dryly.

"Like what?" Saya felt a hint of panic hit her as she tilted her head up to look at Saeko.

"Well, that you found Aegon attractive and you offered to have fun with both him and me," Saeko said sardonically. Frowning slightly, Saeko looked at the pinkette and added, "I think we need to have a talk about a few things."

Saya felt her heart sink in her chest as Saeko looked at her seriously.

"So, you may have gathered by now that Aegon and I are in a relationship," Saeko said to Saya slowly and calmly. "And I can already see that you have some attraction towards him, do you not?" she asked.

Saya sat up and nodded embarrassedly. "Yeah… I do," she admitted.

"How long have you been attracted to Aegon, if you don't mind my asking?" Saeko asked.

"I don't quite know when, but I suppose the first time Aegon saved me from a would-be rapist was the start of it," Saya confessed. "And I guess the stress of everything plus being saved a second time by Aegon just added to it," she said sadly. She looked up at Saeko. "Then I found out your relationship with Aegon just recently and… it kinda stings a little," she added.

"It's okay. Girls can be weak sometimes," Saeko said to her kindly. "I also admit that I feel jealous whenever you're around Aegon or when he talks to another girl," she admitted self-deprecatingly.

"You get jealous around me?" Saya asked feeling a little surprised and pleased that she made the cool, calm and collected Saeko Busujima feel jealously.

"A little," Saeko said with a coy smile. "I have to admit that I was a little surprised that you offered to have fun with Aegon and I together," she added with a slightly impish smile.

"What kind of fun?" Saya asked feeling her cheeks heat up a little.

"I think it was pretty clear what you implied," Saeko said and Saya gave an awkward giggle at this which made Saeko smile more widely.

"So, what now? Are you gonna threaten me at sword point to stay away from your boyfriend?" Saya asked tiredly.

"I wouldn't go to such extremes," Saeko said humorously. "Truth be told I'm still very new to relationships. Before Aegon, I never had one before," she added softly.

"Really? I'm surprised, you were one of the most eligible girls back in school," Saya said. "Didn't you like anyone?" she asked awkwardly.

"There was a boy once, but I didn't have the courage to tell him how I felt," Saeko admitted.

"Why didn't you?" Saya enquired. "You never struck me as shy or nervous," she pointed out.

"Because of who I am," Saeko said in response.

"Because of who you are? What does that mean?" Saya asked.

"I think you already know," Saeko said sadly.

Saya thought about it for a moment and her orange eyes widened in realisation; she had seen how crazy Saeko could get in a fight, how she always seemed to smile when battle was joined and how calm she was during fights. A cold shiver ran up Saya's spine as she looked at Saeko more seriously. For her part, Saeko only had a passive look of acceptance on her face as if she had been expecting this.

"So all those times whenever we faced Them, that's who you really are?" Saya asked slowly.

"Yes," Saeko said not even denying it. "That's why I never felt like I could have a romantic relationship with anyone because I was afraid they would be repulsed if they knew."

"But Aegon accepted you, didn't he?" Saya asked though it was more a statement than a question.

"He did," Saeko confirmed. "He accepted me for who I am and gave me a reason to fight and live," she said with a smile on her lips and tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"What's not to love about that?" Saya said with a smile. "I suppose in a way, Aegon too gave me a reason to fight and live," she admitted. She then looked at Saeko and asked, "So? What do we do now?"

"Like I said; I'm still very new to relationships," Saeko answered. "But I suppose what we can do is tell Aegon how we feel both feel about him and let it play out from there," she said.

"I suppose that's the best thing we can do," Saya agreed. "Besides, right now I could do with some breakfast," she said. "My mouth feels like it's been used," she added.

"Binge drinking will do that so I've heard," Saeko said sagely. "Perhaps now you'll think twice about taking up any drinking challenges?" she suggested.

"We'll see won't we?" Saya said as she got out of bed and wobbled on her feet a little before standing up straight. Saeko moved to help steady Saya to which the pinkette gave a murmur of thanks.

…

After hobbling out of the room and knocking on the door to Saya and Alice's room, the door was answered by Aegon who gave a yawn of greeting. "Good morning," he said with a sleepy voice. "Did you both sleep well?" he asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Just fine, although Saya's a little hungover from last night," Saeko said jostling Saya in her grip a little which made the genius grumble a little.

"Where's Alice?" Saya then asked Aegon who blinked in surprise and said, "She wasn't with you? She wasn't here when I woke up."

"Do you think Alice went down to the dining hall to have breakfast without us?" Saya asked a feeling of panic hitting her.

"I don't know. I suppose we can ask anyone if they've seen her leave the room," Aegon replied.

The three of them head for the dining hall where they were greeted by Cerys who didn't look as hungover as Saya did. "Morning you three," she said to them chipperly. "Sleep well?" she asked them.

"We're fine. Have you seen Alice anywhere?" Saeko asked the daughter of Crach. "She wasn't in her room this morning," she said.

"I haven't seen her," Cerys said. "Perhaps one of the servants saw her?" she suggested. Cerys marched up to one of the servants and asked some questions. The servant shook his head and marched off to speak to some of the other servants. Cerys also asked some of the guards if they had seen Alice. A moment later, Cerys came back with a grim look on her features.

"No-one's seen little Alice anywhere this morning," Cerys said grimly. "Who saw her last?" she asked.

"I did," Aegon said instantly. "Saeko had taken Saya to mine and her room while I shared Saya's room with Alice," he recalled. "I'd put Alice to bed and decided to sleep in the chair," he added.

"Were the windows locked? The door?" Saya asked.

"I believe so, and it would be quite climb from outside to the window," Aegon said.

"So, who could've taken Alice? Or did she wander off by herself?" Saya asked.

"Let's search the room, maybe there's a clue there?" Saeko suggested.

The four then headed for the bedroom and began to look around to search for any clues Alice may have left behind.

"No sign of a struggle," Saeko noted as she examined the bed. "So, Alice must've left of her own accord," she said.

Aegon examined the window giving a shake. "Window's firmly locked and there's no sign of the lock being broken, so no-one could've gotten in through the window," he said.

Saya then looked around. "It's a little cold in here for some reason," she noted.

"Is it?" Cerys asked. "I hadn't noticed," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe, but with the fire still smouldering, it would still be reasonably warm in here," Saeko reminded her. Suddenly a soft breeze blew across Saeko's face. "There's a breeze in here," she said in confusion.

"How? The window's closed," Aegon pointed out.

Saeko looked, trying to feel where the breeze was coming from. She felt it get stronger near the wardrobe. "It's coming from the wardrobe," she remarked as she began to examine it and she spotted some small drips of water on the floor in front of it. "Water?" she asked herself. "How did rain get in here?"

Saeko then opened the wardrobe and she shivered briefly as a small gust of cold wind brushed against her body and some snowflakes floated out.

"By the Goddess!" Cerys cursed. "Snow coming in from the wardrobe? How is that possible?" she asked.

"Magic perhaps?" Aegon asked. Saeko nodded in agreement before she looked at Cerys.

"Where did you get this wardrobe from?"

"Da brought it home one day from a trip to Novigrad," Cerys replied. "Bought it at an auction house in Oxenfurt. Belonged to some old Professor, I forget his name, but he apparently played around with portals," she said.

"Do you think this wardrobe might be a portal?" Aegon asked.

"I suppose there's one way to find out," Saeko said as she left the room and came back a moment later with her swords. Aegon this as a cue to grab Blackfyre and after a moment of hesitation, he grabbed the Leviathan axe. Looking at Saya and Cerys, Saeko said to them, "Wait for us here. If we don't come back in an hour, grab Ermion or Yennefer and call in the Cavalry."

"Like hell I'm waiting here! I'm coming too!" Saya spat angrily. "I'm not gonna sit on the sidelines and let you two go charging off! I care about Alice too, you know?!" she said.

Aegon looked at Saeko who shrugged in response. Nodding his head, Aegon looked at Saya and said to her, "Alright. But you do as we say when we say, understood?" Saya nodded in response. Aegon looked at Cerys to say to her, "I'm afraid you'll have to wait for us, Lady Cerys. Can you do that for us?" he asked.

"I suppose it would be best if one of us stayed here to wait for any sign of your return," Cerys said wisely. "If you're not back in hour, I'll go fetch Ermion or Yennefer and let them know what's happened," she stated.

"Thank you, Lady Cerys, we appreciate it," Saeko replied. Saeko then looked at Aegon and Saya and asked them, "Are you both ready for this? There's no knowing what lies ahead of us," she reminded them.

"If there's a chance Alice is on the other side waiting for us, then I'm taking it!" Saya said as she picked up the Luger her mother had given her. "Are you both ready for this?" she asked Aegon and Saeko.

"Ladies first," Aegon said in a chivalrous manner. Saeko smiled as she entered the wardrobe with Saya and Aegon following in after her.

"It's bigger on the inside," Saeko remarked as she made her way towards the back of the wardrobe and she could feel it getting colder and colder.

"Keep going. We must be close," Aegon said as he kept a hand on Blackfyre.

Soon enough, the three friends stepped out into a wintery landscape. "Seven hells!" Aegon breathed out in awe. "It's a whole other world in here!" he stated.

"But where's Alice?" Saya asked.

Saeko looked at the ground and found some faded footprints. "Look. Tracks. Could they be Alice's footprints?" she asked.

"If they came from where we came, then they must be," Aegon said. "Should we see where they lead?" he suggested.

"What are we waiting for then?" Saya demanded angrily as she prepared to march ahead when Aegon stopped her.

"How about you let me and Saeko lead?" he told her. "You don't have much experience in fighting and you may only get yourself hurt if you do," he said.

Saya glared up at Aegon angrily but he looked back at calmly and reached out with one hand to brush a lock of pink hair behind her ear. Saya blushed before she looked down at the snow covered ground and nodded.

"Alright. Let's go find Alice, she can't be too far," Aegon said as he drew his sword and he & Saeko then kept their eyes to the faded footprints in the snow following them to wherever they may lead.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There! The twenty-sixth chapter of this is done and dusted. Is this crossing over into Narnia? Perhaps, but with a bit of a Witcher twist/flair to it as a lot of the short stories in the Witcher books were deconstructions of classic fairy tales. And there was also the Fablesphere of Witcher 3's Blood & Wine DLC where the fairy tale characters had gone a little crazy, so we could seem something similar to those in this little arc.

Anyways, apologies if this chapter is so short, but some people had been pestering me to update this and I wanted to get it out as quick as possible. So I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.