A Song of Ice, Fire & the Dead

Chapter 27: The Wardrobe Winter Wonderland Part II

The sounds of footsteps crunching in heavy snow reverberated throughout the snowy tundra forest as Aegon, Saeko and Saya followed the faded footprints of Alice. Aegon kept his sword ready, his eyes darting about, searching for any sign of danger as he and his companions traversed the wintery landscape. He looked at Alice's footprints in the snow frequently following the trail she had left behind.

"How far have we come now?" Saya asked as she followed Saeko and Aegon.

"Not sure," Aegon said in response. "Time seems to move strangely here," he added as he looked up at the overcast sky. The cloud were a bright grey-white colouration as the sun's rays shined through them. Soon, they came to a rocky ravine that speared through two mountains. Alice's footprints had disappeared in the gravel.

"Alice's footprints die in these rocks," Aegon said before he gave a curse. "Might be she went through this ravine to the other side," he added thoughtfully.

"Do we even know where this path leads?" Saeko asked.

"No, but I haven't any better ideas," Aegon said and he looked at Saeko and Saya. "Unless either of you have a useful suggestion?" he asked.

"Let's go through the ravine, see where it leads," Saeko said with a nod of her head.

"Yeah!" Saya agreed.

"Alright then," Aegon said as he then led them through the ravine. The narrow path twisted and turned through the mountains. Getting an idea, Aegon carved an X into the rocks with his sword.

"What did you do that for?" Saya asked him.

"So we don't get lost trying to find our way through this place," Aegon said. "Best to leave a marker telling us where to go and how to find our way back," he added.

"Good idea," Saeko said in approval.

"Yeah, probably a good idea to leave markers so that we can find our way back," Saya with a nod of understanding.

Soon, the three made their way through ravine and came into a wide snowy valley. It was vast and nearly everything was covered in snow and a frozen river speared through and pooled in a lake where an island sat and on that island sat a great structure made of ice in the shape of a castle.

Saya gazed at the ice castle and spoke. "Do you think Alice made her way to that castle?" she said.

"Maybe," Saeko said. She looked around and she soon spotted a column of smoke coming the river. "There's smoke. Maybe it's Alice?" she wondered.

"May as well go and see the locals and ask if they've seen Alice," Aegon said. "Let's go, I think it might be nearing nightfall," he added as he looked up at the slowly darkening night sky.

The three companions then headed in the direction of the smoke. As they entered the forest, the sound of heavy footsteps along with bestial growling. Saya tensed up and she held her breath as she heard those heavy footfalls grow closer. Suddenly something yanked Saya and she gave a yelp of alarm, but a hand clapped itself over her mouth to silence her. She looked up to see Aegon and Saeko pulling her behind a tree. Saeko had a grim look on her face and Aegon looked tense.

Then the heavy footfalls came closer and Saeko peeked out to see a gigantic vaguely humanoid creature wearing rags and holding in one a massive tree trunk as a club. Its face was hideous with one massive eye in the centre of its forehead and its hair was matted with filth and it drooled from a mouth filled with broken yellowed teeth.

Following behind the creature was a pack wolves, their fur a dark grey with patches of white and black. Their golden-amber eyes wild and ferocious as they looked about. Then the largest of the pack, one with more grey in its fur spoke in a human voice of all things.

"Where did you see the human, Grog?" it demanded of the one-eyed giant.

Grog, the one-eyed giant growled before speaking, "Weren't far from here, Morgrim," it said. "Saw tiny little human come this way, Daughter of Eve with pinkie hair and dress!" it added.

"You'd better not be lying, Grog! Or else it'll mean your head on a pike!" Morgrim threatened baring his teeth.

"Captain! I smell humans!" one of the other wolves spoke.

"Then the Daughter of Eve came this way," Morgrim said with a grin. "Push on! Smell her out! The Queen wants this human alive!" he said.

The wolves barked and growled as they began to spread out through the forest.

"C'mon! We have to find Alice!" Saeko hissed to her friends. Saya nodded in agreement as they prepared to peel away from their hiding place and try to escape the wolf pack and the giant. Then as luck would have it, Saya's foot stepped on an errant twig which snapped loudly, alerting the wolf pack and the giant.

"Find whatever made that noise!" the alpha wolf commanded.

"Damn it! Stay behind us!" Aegon said to Saya as he and Saeko drew their swords to fight.

Then one of the wolves saw them and gave a howl to alert its pack members. The wolf pack howled in response and the giant came lumbering into view and gave a roar, "Humans!"

The alpha wolf Morgrim bounded into view, a wicked snarling grin on his face. "Well, well. What have we here?" it said sounding pleased. "Humans, and so far from home?" it asked. "Awfully long way out here," it added. As the alpha spoke, its packed slowly began to surround Saeko, Saya and Aegon. Keeping Saya between them, Saeko and Aegon kept their swords up and ready for the wolfpack to make the first move.

"My Queen extends an invitation to any Human who enters this land," Morgrim said with a bow of his head. "Surely you would not deny the offer of hospitality, would you?" he asked with a grin.

"This isn't exactly a friendly looking welcoming committee," Aegon shot back as he kept a tight grip on his sword. "And the way you have us surrounded doesn't help things either," he then said.

Morgrim gave a rasping chuckle and replied, "A simple precaution, Human. Most humans who come to this land are by and large hostile towards us."

"Can't imagine why!" Saya snapped out.

Morgrim appeared to ignore Saya's jibe and continued with, "But why not break that cycle of distrust and violence? Come with us to my queen's castle and we shall show you we intend you no harm," he said.

"What do you think?" Aegon whispered to his companions.

"I don't trust them!" Saya hissed in response. "Wolves in wolves' clothing!" she stated.

"Saeko?" Aegon looked at his girlfriend who thought about it for a moment. "I agree with Saya. We can't trust them easily, but we might learn more of this place if we meet with this queen," she said.

Aegon nodded as he considered what both Saya and Saeko's thoughts. On one hand, these wolves and their giant looked hostile. On the other, they knew very little of this land and they had no idea where Alice may be and they needed information.

Making a decision, Aegon looked at the alpha wolf and said to him, "Very well. We shall accept your queen's of hospitality, with the understanding of that we are to be given safe conduct."

Morgrim grinned at this and replied, "Of course. You shall be safe with us."

Staying close together, Saeko and her friends followed Morgrim and his wolfpack. One of the pack ran on ahead, presumably to let this queen know that she was to receive visitors. An hour later, the three friends arrived at the Queen's castle, crossing over the ice bridge and reaching the gates which swung open to allow everyone inside.

It was cold within the ice palace Saya had noticed as she shivered briefly. Aegon wrapped an arm around to keep her warm. The pinkette looked up at Aegon gave a smile of thanks who nodded at her in response.

Soon they reached a massive great hall where a long table sat in the middle and a on a dais sat a throne of ice. And reclining on the throne was a woman wearing a long white gown and a crown of silver resting on her brow. She was beautiful, but her beauty could be described as cold; skin as pale as milk, rips red as blood and eyes an icy blue colour as she stared at her three visitors and her ears ended in sharp points.

This had to be this mysterious queen the wolves followed, Saeko thought as she locked eyes with her and she felt a spike of dread fill her heart as those icy depths seemed to pierce her soul. The queen's crimson lips curled into a sinister smile that had Saeko almost shivering and she then spoke.

"Humans? How many years has it been since my kingdom has last seen a human, much less three?" she said mirthfully, her voice as cold as an artic blizzard. She hummed in thought before saying, "Never. Congratulations, humans. You are the first humans to have entered my kingdom in many an age."

The queen then stood from her throne and descended down the steps of the dais and spoke, "So, how is it you entered my lands? And what brought you here?" she asked regally.

"We came searching for a friend," Aegon said as he tried to not let his voice quaver as he gazed upon the queen. "Perhaps your… men have seen her?" he asked respectfully. "A small girl, a child, with deep pink hair and violet eyes?" he described.

The queen hummed in thought as she pulled from her robes a long thin wand of blue crystal and replied, "Perhaps." She then looked at the alpha wolf and asked, "Captain. Have you seen anyone matching the one described?"

Morgrim bowed his head and replied, "Regrettably not, your grace. My network had informed me that a human had entered your kingdom. We went in search of the human when we found these three. Perhaps the human we were searching is the one they're looking for?"

The queen hummed in thought, a frown on her face before she looked at Aegon and his companions with a smile on her face. "Well, in any case my good captain shall help you search for your missing friend," she said graciously. "But you all must be tired from your journey here. Won't you join me for dinner?" she asked.

"We don't intend to stay long, your grace," Aegon said in a tight voice.

"Oh, but I insist!" the Queen said in a slightly shrill voice. "It's so rare I get visitors in my home, much less human company! Won't you join me for dinner?" she asked in a way that sounded more like an order than a request.

"We'd be… delighted," Aegon said with a forced smile.

The queen snapped her fingers and some short hideous little creatures rushed forward bearing platters of food. Aegon and his companions reluctantly took their seats at the long table as the queen took her seat at the head of the table. The food was served and Saya blinked a little as she looked at what was served; cuts of cooked meat and fish along with breads and cheeses. Taking a wedge of orange cheese, Saya nibbled a little as the queen spoke.

"You must forgive my rather lacking selection of food," the queen said with another high cold smile. "It has been so long since I have had visitors, my larder doesn't have much for entertaining," she admitted.

"It's fine," Aegon said for his friends as he took up a piece of cooked fish and took a bite of it. It was a little salty for Aegon's liking, but he supposed in a wintery landscape such as this, one needed to preserve food for as long as possible to make the stores last as long as possible. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he added as he looked at the Queen who tittered in response.

"No. We have not," she agreed. She hummed in thought and said, "You know it has been some time since anyone has asked my name that I've quite forgotten it."

"That is unfortunate," Saeko remarked 'And convenient,' she thought privately.

"Do any of your subjects know your name?" Saya asked hesitantly.

"Oh, my subjects simply refer to me as their queen," the Queen said quickly. "But what of your names?" she asked swiftly. "Might I know your names?" she enquired.

"Griff," Aegon said quickly in response. "And with me are Yuuki and Naomi," he added. Saya and Saeko glanced at Aegon who nodded quickly at them silently telling them to play along.

"Yes, those are our names," Saeko said quickly catching on. "I am Yuuki and this is Naomi," she added pointing to herself and Saya.

The queen's eyes narrowed a little before she said, "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Griff, Yuuki and Naomi, I bid you welcome to my kingdom."

"It's a very… nice kingdom," Saya said tersely. "Forgive me for asking, but how long has it been winter here?" she asked.

"Oh, for nigh on a hundred years," the Queen said dismissively. A frown then marred her face as she added, "But that is soon to change." The way she said those words hinted to Saya that she was displeased with this revelation.

"I see," Saya said as she nibbled on her cheese. "What can you tell me about your kingdom?" she asked.

"From the western woods to the eastern ocean is my kingdom, Naomi," the Queen said haughtily. "Every twig, leaf, every icicle is my kingdom," she added.

"And how is it you became queen?" Aegon asked.

"It was my birthright and my duty," the Queen said haughtily. "I guard this kingdom from one who would wish to take it from me," she added.

"And who is this person who seeks to take your throne?" Saeko asked.

"Not a person," the Queen said with a sneer. "A creature who would seek to usurp my throne and stir my subjects into rebellion," she added.

"What kind of creature?" Saeko asked.

"A lion, gold of mane and black of heart," the Queen replied. "He makes false promises to his followers that if I were deposed, they would be free," she said mockingly. "The fools scarcely realise that I am all that halts him in his plans," she added.

"What plans?" Aegon asked cautiously.

"He is a lion, he believes that the strong must prey on the weak. I believe that the strong must protect the weak and I shelter the weak from those who would prey on them," the Queen replied.

"Very noble, your grace," Aegon said politely, although he wasn't sure he quite believed the words from the Queen's mouth.

"Perhaps you three could help me?" the Queen suddenly said with a cold smile. "I need some capable warriors and you three certainly look able bodied," she added.

"What do you want us to do?" Saya asked although she had a pretty good idea what the Queen wanted.

"Nothing very big," the Queen said simperingly. "All I need perhaps is for you three to… persuade my enemy to lay down his cause and leave my kingdom," she added.

"How do you want us to persuade your foe to leave?" Aegon asked.

"I shall leave that to you. Whatever method you use is of little concern to me," the Queen replied dismissively.

"You want us to be your assassins," Saeko said rather than asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds horrible," the Queen said in mock hurt. "But really, you'd be doing my kingdom a favour. I've already told that my foe, the Lion, seeks to usurp my throne and hunt and oppress the weak," she pointed out. "You'd be doing everyone a favour saving them from him," she added.

"And what do we get out of this?" Aegon asked.

"You shall my eternal thanks and your young friend returned to you safe and sound," the Queen said magnanimously. "I can offer other rewards such as gold and other treasures if that entices you," she offered silkily.

Aegon, Saeko and Saya looked at each other warily. It seemed simple enough if a little grisly to assassinate a rebel leader, but they didn't quite trust this Queen.

"Very well, your grace. We shall what we can do about your foe," Saeko said speaking for her comrades. "Where do we start?" she then asked and the Queen gave a sinister smile in response.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: There! The twenty-seventh chapter of this is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed it and I apologise if it is a little short, but I was struggling what to write. Now Aegon, Saeko and Saya will be acting as the Queen's assassins to kill her foe, the Lion, but given that this is in the Witcher universe, things may not be what they seem.

And I've recently set up a poll for this story as to which Fallout setting should be used for a crossover arc. I won't say which Fallout is the highest voted as I don't want to introduce any bias to influence your votes, so feel free which Fallout setting should be used.

And speaking of Fallout, I've finally got around to writing a Justice League of Amazons/Fallout crossover using the Courier from Fallout New Vegas as the protagonist and some friends have given me some suggestions as how to make the story a little different from my other JLoA (Justice League of Amazons) crossovers.

And apart from that, that is all I have at the moment, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.