A Song of Ice, Fire & the Dead
…
Chapter 28: The Wardrobe Winter Wonderland Part III
The Queen then showed Saeko, Saya and Aegon out of the castle. "You must journey eastwards from here," she told them. "My scouts have informed that the Lion and his followers have made camp near the Stone Table and the ruins of Kaer Peraval," she then said.
"How many follow the Lion?" Saeko asked.
"Quite a few, traitors all or those stupid enough to believe the Lion's lies and false promises," the Queen replied with a sneer. "Should any stand in your way, do as you see fit," she said coldly.
"We'll see if we can negotiate with the Lion to surrender and leave your kingdom peacefully, if not? Then we'll do what we can," Aegon said.
"See that you do," the Queen said with a high cold looking smile. "If you do slay the Lion, bring me his pelt as proof," she informed them.
Saya made a face at the thought of skinning something as proof. Aegon and Saeko simply nodded in response to the Queen's words.
"Where shall we meet you once we perform our task?" Saeko asked.
"Here in my castle shall do," the Queen replied. "Now, go. Kill or persuade my enemy to leave my kingdom and you shall be richly rewarded," she said regally.
"C'mon, let's get going," Aegon muttered to his companions and they began to head eastwards.
As soon as they were far enough from the Queen's castle, Saya exhaled in relief and said, "Oh, god! I thought we weren't ever gonna leave that… woman's castle!" An irritated look was in her orange eyes as she looked at Aegon and asked him, "Are we really gonna stoop so low as to work as assassins?"
"No," Aegon replied instantly before saying, "At least, not yet. I share your sentiment regarding the queen and I'm not entirely certain we can trust her to keep her word, and something about this job smells fishy," he said.
"I agree. We're not getting the whole story," Saeko said in agreement. "We'll have to play this by ear. Our main focus should be finding Alice and getting out of here," she stated. Saya nodded in agreement; she was desperately worried about Alice, wondering if she was alive and unharmed.
Entering the forest, the trio traversed their way through woodlands as the moon hung high in the night sky. Silvery white moonlight rained down onto the earth. Saya looked up and a small smile crept onto her face as she looked up at the silvery white coin that hung in the sky like a bright white lantern.
"Something on your mind, Saya?" Aegon asked as he noticed Saya looking up at the moon. Saya looked at him in surprise and replied, "It's nothing, it's just…"
"It's just what?" Saeko asked the pinkette.
"It's funny," Saya then admitted and said, "It's funny how dangerous environments always seem the most beautiful." She then looked up at the moon again with a small smile on her lips.
Aegon looked up at the moon and he smiled too and said, "It does have a strangely dangerous and wild beauty to it."
Saeko chuckled and remarked, "There is an appeal about dangerous places. Whether it's dark jungles or winter tundras, there's always something that draws people in."
Aegon smiled and said to Saeko, "People too." He smiled a little more widely at Saeko who caught the look in his eyes and blushed a little. Saya noticed this little exchange and fought not to groan, instead she said, "You two want a moment alone?"
Aegon blushed and said, "No. It's fine. It can wait. Let's focus on finding Alice."
"Let's," Saeko agreed as she fought to not let her blush show on her cheeks.
After an almost an hour of walking through the moonlit woodlands, they soon came to a vast frozen lake. "What do we do? Do we cross the lake to the other side, or go around the edges to the other side?" Saeko asked.
"It could save us time to cross the lake directly," Saya said thoughtfully. "But we don't know how thick the ice is and if it will even hold our weight," she added. She then looked at Aegon and asked him, "What do you think? Any thoughts?"
Aegon thought about it for a moment; on one hand, crossing over the frozen lake could save them time, whereas circling the edges would be the much safer alternative. And as Saya mentioned, they didn't know how thick the ice was and if it would hold their weight.
"We'll go over the lake directly," Aegon then said firmly. "But if it shows the ice is too thin to safely traverse, we'll walk around the edge of the lake to the other side," he added.
"Let's do it that way then," Saeko said.
"I'll go first. I'm comparatively the heaviest of us here," Aegon then said.
"Are you calling us fat?" Saya bit out indignantly.
A smirk graced Aegon's lips as he replied, "Not at all. In fact, you're both a little on the skinny side. Could do with some more meat on your bones, Lady Saya."
Saya gaped at what could very well have been playful flirting from Aegon. Her cheeks went crimson as she opened and closed her mouth a few times a few times trying to come up with some coherent response. Saeko gave a little giggle at how Saya was completely flabbergasted and she said, "I think you broke her, Egg."
"I am not!" Saya blurted out in embarrassment as she blushed even harder and said in a more composed voice, "I am the perfect weight for your information, Aegon Targaryen. Not that you would ever know what that's like. You're almost as fat as Hirano!"
Aegon gave a little shit-eating grin at Saya's words before turning to face the frozen lake and slowly put a booted foot to the icy surface. A groaning crackling creak issued from the first step onto the ice, but the surface did not break. Small cracks appeared but it did not shatter. Taking another step forward, everyone held their breath as Aegon made another step onto the ice. More groaning crackles rang out, but the ice did not break apart.
Sighing in relief, Aegon waved Saeko and Saya to follow him. Slowly, the trio made their way across the ice, all the while the moon slowly descended towards the horizon. Soon, the three searchers reached the other side of the frozen lake and Saya gave a sigh of relief.
"That took longer than I thought it would," the pink-haired genius remarked.
"It took a little time, but we made it," Saeko said to her. "Now we just have to find this Stone Table and Kaer Peraval," she added.
"It shouldn't be too difficult," Aegon said. "The sooner we find this Lion's camp, we can finally get to the bottom of this mess," he added.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Saya asked as she prepared to march forth when Aegon put a hand to her shoulder and pulled her back.
"Perhaps I should go first?" he suggested plainly. "That way if anything does come charging out towards us, I'll be the bulwark against," he explained.
"Are you saying I'm incapable?!" Saya said angrily as she glared at Aegon indignantly. Aegon then put a hand to Saya's cheek which made her blush and gasp a little at the intimate action and she barely registered what Aegon was saying to her.
"You're certainly not incapable, Lady Saya, and I would never say if you were," he said to her. "I am simply trying to keep you safe. We don't need to lose anyone whilst we're here," he explained. "Do you understand?" he asked Saya looking her in the eyes.
Saya reluctantly nodded and replied, "Okay."
"Good," Aegon said with a nod of his head as he gave Saya a brief hug and Saya tried not to blush a little as she felt the firm muscles he had before he released her and walked on ahead.
Saya felt steam come out of her ears and her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She then heard a cough and she turned her head to look at Saeko who had an amused smile on her lips.
"What a lovely blush you have, Takagi," the indigo-haired samurai teased. "You get any redder, we could fry an egg on you," she said lightly.
"I am not!" Saya blurted out angrily as she tried to fight down her blush. Stupid pretty boy that Aegon was; he had to know how he was affecting her so much with his words and actions and worse still, Saeko easily picked up on it and was willing to tease her for it.
"It's okay. Girls can be weak sometimes," Saeko said to Saya reassuringly.
"I am not weak!" Saya bit out sullenly. "Anyway, aren't you upset that your boyfriend is acting so friendly with another girl?" she asked.
"A little," Saeko said casually. "But I'm being an adult about it. Unless I find conclusive evidence that Aegon is being unfaithful to me, I will then do what I need to do," she stated calmly. A mysterious smile then crept onto the samurai's face as she added, "Besides, I have no quarrel with you taking an interest in Aegon. I could think of much worse girls who would take an interest in Aegon."
"Do I want to know?" Saya said cautiously.
"Don't ask questions of scary people," Saeko said with an almost dark looking smile on her face. Saya swallowed a lump in her throat as she saw that frankly terrifying expression on Saeko's face.
"Everything alright?" Aegon called out to them.
"We're fine!" Saya squeaked out relieved that Aegon had shown up at that moment. "We were just talking," she said to Aegon.
"Right," Aegon muttered not caring very much. "I think we're nearing the Lion's camp, plus something else," he informed his two companions.
"Why does that sound bad?" Saya said cynically.
"Well, that depends on your viewpoint," Aegon told her. "C'mon, best if I show you," he said to Saya and Saeko leading them into the forest.
…
As the trio walked through the forest, Saya began to noticed that the winter snow and icicles were beginning to melt and patches of green summer grass poked through the thawing snow. Even flowers were beginning to bloom after a long winter nap. "I think I see what the Queen meant when she said things were about to change," the pinkette remarked.
"Aye, perhaps this is the Lion's doing?" Saeko suggested.
"Who knows," Aegon said and he raised his head a little as he began to hear a cacophony of noises. It sounded like a mixture of chattering people, clanging metal and flags flapping in the window.
Soon, the three reached into a valley where the snows had fully melted and it looked as though summer had finally arrived. A massive camp came into view and its occupants were a myriad of humanoid creatures. Some Aegon recognised from myth such as centaurs and satyrs and fauns. Others were animals of almost every shape and size. The camp occupants all looked at Aegon and his companions in surprise.
"Stay close," Aegon whispered to Saeko and Saya as they entered the camp. The camp occupants all whispered to one another and began to follow the three seemingly only humans in the camp.
"Why are they all staring at us?" Saya asked. "It's creepy!" she stated.
"We must be the only humans they've seen in a long time, why else would they stare?" Saeko pointed out.
"Maybe they want to eat us, and are sizing us for a soup or stew?" Saya replied.
"Let's just meet with their leader, grab Alice and get out of here," Aegon said as he fixed his eyes straight ahead.
Soon, with a crowd of animals and mythological creatures following them, the group reached a large cloth tent where a massive centaur with long straight black hair and armour adorning his human torso looked down on them.
Aegon cleared his throat and spoke in a calm measured voice, "Good morrow, Ser. I am Aegon Targaryen and these are my companions, Lady Saeko and Lady Saya," he introduced. "We've come looking for a friend of ours. Might we speak with your leader?" he enquired.
The centaur glared at Aegon for a long moment. Aegon held his gaze firm at the dark haired centaur who then looked at the large tent and stalking out was the biggest lion Aegon had ever seen.
The creature was as large or more so than a stallion with a large tawny gold mane of hair framing a feline face with a pair of golden amber brown eyes that stared at Aegon and his companions almost hungrily. Massive paws pressed against the ground and looked liable to sprout undoubtedly sharp claws. The lion's frame was heavily muscled as an apex predator's ought to be and its tail swished gently from side to side as it stood at the tent and looked at Aegon calmly.
"That… is one big… lion," Saya whispered fearfully. Saeko put a hand to her sword ready to draw it at a moment's notice.
Aegon swallowed the lump of fear that was caught in his throat and he spoke as calmly as he could, trying to not let his fear show. "Are you the Lion that the Queen spoke of?" he asked as his voice trembled slightly.
"I am he that shall bring spring to this land, human," the lion said in a deep growling rumble. "You are envoys of the Witch?" it asked.
"We wouldn't say that, not exactly," Saeko answered.
"And what would you say?" the Lion enquired in its deep rumbling voice.
"We're looking for a friend of ours," Saya said and she tried to yelp in fright as the Lion turned its gaze toward her. "She's a little girl named Alice. Have you seen her?" she asked meekly.
"Indeed, I have, human," the Lion replied then an excited voice rang out.
"Saya! Saya!" Running out from the crowd was Alice who sprinted up to Saya and launched herself at her, wrapping her arms around Saya's waist in a deep embrace.
"Alice! You're safe!" Saya exclaimed in relief as she hugged Alice, then she suddenly frowned and said angrily, "Do you have any idea how worried we were when you disappeared?! What got into your head going into that wardrobe and ending up here?!" she screeched.
"It's fine. We're all together," Alice said happily. Saya was about to chew the little girl out some more when Aegon shook his head and said, "Leave it be, Saya."
Saya frowned obviously unhappy before sighing and held Alice closer, threading her fingers through the little girl's hair. "I'm just glad you're okay, munchkin," she said softly.
"Well, we'd best be on our way now," Aegon said calmly to the Lion and its followers. "Have a good day," he told the Lion.
"But we can't leave!" Alice protested.
"Alice, we've been here who knows how long, it's time for us to get back home," Saya told her.
"But these people need us!" Alice argued.
"It is true. We have need of you, humans," the Lion said regally.
"Well, the Queen-Witch asked us to persuade you to leave this land peacefully. That, or eliminated you entirely," Aegon replied.
The Lion's followers all bristled at this and the black-haired centaur spoke. "You would dare kill the Lion? He who shall bring spring to this land when its has suffered winter for nigh a hundred years?" he demanded.
"We had no intention of doing such," Saeko replied calmly. "We only came to find Alice and go back the way we came. Nothing else," she said.
"If you're in league with the Witch, then we can't let you leave!" a satyr bleated out as it draw a sword from its back.
"Peace, everyone," the Lion commanded sternly. "I am sure there is an explanation to be had," it then said calmly.
"What is there to explain?" the centaur said. "These humans are in league with the Witch! They were sent here to kill you!" he added.
"We were sent to negotiate you surrender or ensure your death, that much is true," Aegon replied. "We only came to this land to find Alice and bring her home with us. Nothing more," he said firmly.
The Lion huffed and growled lowly before speaking. "You speak truthfully, human. A real agent of the Witch would feed us only lies and excuses," it said. Looking at Aegon and his companions, he stated, "I would ask to speak with you privately, once you have rested and recovered from your journey here."
"Thank you, your grace," Aegon said gratefully as some female fauns and centaurs came forth to lead Saya, Saeko and Alice away. The male centaur glared sternly at Aegon who glared at him back before the centaur jerked his head over towards a tent. Aegon walked over to the tent, flanked by a pair of red-bearded dwarves armed with axes and distrustful glares aimed at him.
Entering the tent, Aegon found it was sparsely yet comfortable furnished. A small round dining table sat in the centre of the tent with a pair of straight backed wooden chairs lined with red padded leather against it. A plain looking hammock was strung up on two erect poles in the tent and a chest of drawers sat at another end of the tent.
A fair of young women with green tinted skin and wearing a mixture of flowers, vines and leaves entered the tent, each bearing a bundle of clothes. "If it pleases, my lord. We have brought you some fresh clothes," the first of them said in a voice that sounded like leaves rustling in the wind.
"Umm, thank you, my lady," Aegon replied awkwardly. "Where are my companions?" he asked.
"They are being taken care of, my lord," said the second young green skinned woman. "May we draw you a bath?" she asked.
"I… don't think that is entirely necessary. I shan't be staying long," Aegon said stiffly.
"If it pleases, my lord," the green skinned women both said with bows of their heads as they set the bundles of clothes on the table and left the tent.
Aegon sighed tiredly and looked at the bundles of clothes left on the table. They appeared to be of fine make with richly embroidered fabric and intricate gold thread, along with a fine leather jerkin and boots. Sighing to himself, Aegon shucked off the clothes he had on and put on the fresher clothes.
After dressing himself, Aegon tied Blackfyre to his waist and adjusted Leviathan over his shoulder. He wasn't sure if he and his friends would be safe in the Lion's camp; so far the Lion was allowing them to stay but some part of Aegon knew that the Lion wanted something from them.
Then a voice floated into the tent. "Aegon? Are you in there?" Poking her head inside was Saeko. "Are you feeling hungry? They've offered us some lunch," she said.
"I could eat," Aegon muttered to himself as he followed Saeko outside and he saw that Saeko was wearing a long deep purple dress with silver embroidery in the designs of flowers on it. "Wow… you look…" he tried to say.
"Yeah, it's a little different than what I'm used to," Saeko said with a blush on her cheeks. "But I don't think they have anything like kimonos here," she added ruefully.
"I imagine they wouldn't," Aegon said. "But you look lovely as you are now," he added with a soft sincere smile on his face.
Saeko smiled at Aegon and replied, "Perhaps I should wear dresses more often if it gets such a reaction from you?"
"Well, not all the time," Aegon said with a wider smile on his face. Saeko gave a coquettish giggle and said, "Just some of the time then." And Aegon nodded.
"C'mon, let's go eat and find out what the Lion wants from us," Saeko said as she pursed her lips in thought. "So far, we haven't been tried and executed for being potential enemies, but it makes me wonder what the Lion wants from us in exchange," she added.
"Everything has a price I'm told," Aegon said cynically. "I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt us," he added grimly.
"I hope so too," Saeko agreed as she and Aegon walked over to a nearby clearing where Saya and Alice sat at a table enjoying a midday meal. Saya was wearing a velvety looking green dress and Alice wore a baby blue dress.
"Lady Saya? You look good," Aegon complimented Saya who blushed in response and bashfully said, "I haven't worn something like this in a long time."
"Well, it suits you very well. Your dress looks very nice as well, Alice," Aegon said as he sat down beside Saeko and reached for the plate of bread rolls.
As the four ate, they conversed. "So, Alice, what can you tell us about this place?" Saeko asked the youngest of the group. "You've been here longer than we have," she added.
"It used to be winter all the time," Alice replied as she bit into a red apple. "That was because of the Witch, she ruled over this land and the Lion is her enemy who will bring spring to this place," she said.
"What of the Lion? Anything interesting?" Aegon asked.
"He's a little scary when I first met him, but he was really nice to me," Alice said brightly. "He wants to stop the Witch and bring spring and summer back here," she added.
"The Witch said that the Lion wishes to enforce the rule that the strong shall hunt the weak," Aegon said to Alice.
"He wouldn't do that!" Alice protested. "He was nothing but nice to me when I met him!" she said defensively.
"We're not accusing the Lion of anything, just yet, Alice," Saeko said to Alice soothingly. "We've only been told about the Lion what the Witch told us, and now we have your opinion on him," she explained.
"You believe me, right?" Alice asked looking quite upset that her friends may not believe her.
"We're not saying we don't, Alice," Saeko told her kindly. "We just need the whole picture of what's going on here," she said.
"Perhaps we ought to ask around?" Aegon suggested. "Maybe pick up on any rumours about the Witch and the Lion?" he said.
"Yeah, it could help. Someone around might know something about what's going on," Saya said in agreement. "But right now, I'm kind of hungry," she added as she reached for another bread roll.
"Indeed. Best not to do this on empty stomachs," Saeko said as she took some boiled eggs and cracked them open and began to eat.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After a long wait, I finally updated this. I needed to take a break from this story for a while and work on other projects whilst I figured out where to go from here with this arc. Now, I'm wondering if I should finish the arc in the next chapter or go for a couple more chapters, but smart money is that it will go for a couple more chapters, say two or three before ending it.
Now since this story is also a Witcher crossover, the land that Aegon and his companions have landed in is not what it seems. So far, there are two sides to the story, the Witch's and the Lion's. And our heroes can't be sure whom to trust yet and will have to do some detective work to figure out what's really going on.
A funny/humorous idea for this arc is that the Witch and the Lion were once lovers, but had a falling out and are at each other's throats, hence why the Witch 'hired' Aegon, Saeko and Saya to eliminate the Lion. That's just a funny idea I had for this arc, but who knows if it'll stick.
In other news, I recently published a Dungeons & Dragons/DC Comics (Justice League) crossover using my Justice League of Amazons idea of a D&D Adventurer landing in the Justice Leagues of Amazons universe and I've set up a romance poll, so feel free to check the story out and perhaps cast your vote on the poll I have.
And that's about it from me, so I'll leave this here and I'll see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.