Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, Stargate SG-1, Reign, or anything else I reference.
Chapter Thirty: New Targets
(Edinburgh, Scotland)
"So, are you enjoying the game King Daniel?" Queen Mary asked as she hit her ball with the mallet.
"I like it." Danny said as he twirled his mallet in his hand. This game that they were playing was the one they were playing when he went to Honduras called Pall Mall. From what he could tell it was similar to golf and/or croquet. The goal was to move your ball through wickets until you reach the end goal. You had to be wary about both the angle you shot and the other players that might hit your ball to make the game more difficult.
"We can play as long as you want." King/Prince Francis said.
"Not like you guys are busy ruining our country." James said with a scowl.
"Sounds like someone is not appreciating their sister's gift." Danny said as he turned to the man that was standing to the side enjoying the sun and warm weather.
"I wonder why? Maybe because I know this is another attempt to get me to turn away from god and accept your pagan ways." James said.
"Your sister misses you and wants to spend time with you." Lady Kenna said as she moved to take her turn.
"That is why she has me caged like animal and then collared?" James asked gesturing to the handcuff on his wrist.
"That was my decision. You are a risk. If you are to be let out of the dungeon, then she or I need to know where you are." Danny said. The only reason that people accepted Mary over James to rule Scotland is because James is a bastard and the Christian faith held issue with that unless it was useful. In the situation Scotland was in now there were some that might figure that it would be better to follow James and fight them.
"It's humiliating. You are treating me as if I am an animal." James said.
"You have to work with me James." Queen Mary pleaded as she turned to her brother.
"Why have you not released your mother?" James asked.
"I need a while before I can talk to her." Queen Mary said after she put her mallet to the ground.
Danny could see that Queen Mary was holding on to the mallet tighter than before and her eyes had grown colder than when they had begun playing.
"What do you mean?" James asked/
"I think we should talk about other things." Danny said moving the conversation away from topics that would ruin their game.
"I think that is a great idea." King/Prince Francis said aware of Mary's issue with her mother.
"There is a place in the new world. On certain night sky lights up with the most beautiful colors of blue and green. It is beautiful." Danny said. seeing the aurora borealis was something that he had wanted to see ever since he decided to visit the Earth. His kingdom did not have such an event. It had others but the aurora was something unique to Earth as far as he knew.
"It sounds wonderful." Queen Mary said as King/Prince Francis went to take his turn.
"I wonder if you guys would like to see it in person?" Danny asked.
"That sounds wonderful." King/Prince Francis said.
"I wonder if you would like a trip to see such a thing?" Danny asked as he moved to take his strike.
"What about the war you are starting? Are you going to let your soldiers die while you are enjoying some light show?" James asked sick at the sorcerer's manipulation. They were his puppets. It's not like they had the ability to say no to him.
"Is that any different from what that Pope of yours does?" Danny asked as he watched the ball move closer to the wicket.
"That is not the same." James said.
"How?" Danny asked.
"He is the representative of God. He sits in the chair of Saint Peter." James said.
"I am the representative of Nirtti goddess of Dinai." Danny said as he watched Queen Mary come to take her turn again.
"There is only one God." James said.
"James you are speaking of heresy." Queen Mary said.
"Me? I'm the heretic?" James said unable to believe how deep the sorcerer had corrupted his sister. Not even her faith in God had survived his touch and she had been raised with nuns.
"Yes. You do not worship the faith of the people of the Empire of Ra so that makes you a heretic. You are lucky that we do not treat you how your faith has treated others of a similar opinion." Danny said. In Thorfinn's time the Danes living in England were massacred by Aethelred the Unready.
"Please do not agitate him further James." Queen Mary said.
"My king you have a call." Karmen a werewolf that was waiting by a table under an umbrella serving drinks called out to him.
"I hope this is the call that I was waiting for." Danny said.
"What are you expecting?" Lady Kenna asked.
"I have sent men to go and find the city of Troy." Danny said and he could feel the amazement of the others.
"You found the lost city?" King/Prince Francis asked. He was royal so classical readings had been part of his instruction. Learning about the Iliad and the Odyssey were just a small part of it.
"I had an idea of where it was, and I sent my men to look." Danny said. he had tried what Seline had suggested to him. Looked into the Earth's memory and saw how the fall of Troy began.
(Flashback Begins)
Paris had been having a grand time with some woman before his adoptive father had shown up and demanded his help to find their farm animals that had been scared by wolves and run away. His search had brought him to a forest where he heard laughter. He should have run away but instead he went deeper and encountered a group. The group consisted of two men and three women. The men looked like random travelers that you might meet on the road. It was the women that differed in appearance. The oldest looking woman had cold look on her face. Her dark hair and pale skin seemed to suck all life in from her. No smile could make her look like a happy sort of person.
"Paris. Son of Agelaus the herdsman." The white man covered in a hood said.
"Who wants to know?" Paris asked in response.
He was right to be suspicious, but it was too late. He was under their spell.
The next one to stand up a muscular woman with dark skin. She looked like her favorite thing in the world would be sharp weapons and her favorite hobby would be hunting.
"You have been chosen to resolve a dispute." The white man said as he began to walk through the thin branches of a tree and towards the fire. "Decide which of these three goddesses is the finest."
Paris was lucky that they all wanted him to live. Have to choose between three Goa'ulds with the same question and the ones not chosen would hunt you down, skin you, and place your pelt upon their mantle as compensation for the insult and a warning to the others.
"Goddesses?" Paris asked confused.
"Whoever you choose shall recieve the golden apple." the white man said as he stuck his hand into the fire.
"I herd cows, How can I decide something like that?" Paris asked.
"Zeus, Bringer of Storms selected you personally." The White man said pulling the "apple" out of the ground.
Seems that this is how the Apple of Discord was created. He wondered what happened to it after Paris made his choice? It would fit wonderfully in his museum.
The white man had glanced to the black man covered by a hood as he said that.
"Why me?" Paris asked.
"It's just a game." The white man replied.
There was humor in his voice as he lied to the man. Paris may not know what was going on, but he had no doubt how the group felt watching him. Watching him walk into their trap.
"But maybe we have the wrong person." The white man said after he placed the apple on a tree stump.
"No Hermes. We have the right person." The man calling himself Zeus said. "Take it."
The whole group watched as Paris approached the apple that should have been too hot to touch as it just came from a fire. They showed expressions of curiosity and excitement.
"As I thought." Hermes said with scorn in his voice as if to taunt Paris. "The man is not brave enough for such a simple task.
Paris hated that and to show that he was brave he went and picked up the apple.
"Now Paris listen to what the goddesses have to offer you." Zeus said. "Hera."
The oldest looking woman started moving forward.
"Give me the apple, Paris. and I will make you the most power man alive." Hera said.
"Don't listen to her..." The muscled woman began but did not get to finish.
"Athena." Zeus said looking at her.
Athena stopped talking but rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Choose me, Paris. With me by your side you'll be the most admired man on Earth." Athena said.
That was when the other woman decided to step in and tap Paris on the shoulder.
"You know me, of course from your dreams." The red-headed woman said as she stood in front of him.
"Aphrodite. Godess of love." Paris said.
He was obviously being swayed by her spell and beauty. She looked the prettiest out of the group. If he had to choose between Nirrti's current body and this one, he would have to say that Aphrodite was prettier. The other goddesses had looks of irritation on their faces. Aphrodite saw that and had a pleased look in her eye.
"Grant me the apple and I will give you the most beautiful woman in the world." Aphrodite promised.
It was clear what Paris would choose but he could not help but notice that no matter which "goddess" Paris picked his choice would result in large amounts of blood being spilled one way or another.
"Who is she?" Paris asked.
"Hmm. You'll know her when you see her." Aphrodite responded.
"Time to decide." Zeus said.
Paris looked around the group. Focusing on each goddess and what they offered him before walking to Aphrodite.
"I choose you." Paris said handing over the apple.
That decision was what would lead to hundreds of thousands of people dying in Troy. On the bright side though it would lead to the formation of Rome once all this was over. Though plenty of people conquered by the Romans would curse this event as without such a place they might have been able to lead happy lives. After Paris's decision thunder rumbled in the sky and he could see Hera and Athena beginning to freak out. Hear let out such a scream that it echoed throughout the forest.
"What have you done?" Hermes asked.
"Enough. The mortal has spoken" Zeus said unaffected by this tantrum.
Paris was gripping his hands to his ears probably hoping to drown out the noise. The scream had forced all birds in the forest to fly away as far as they could go. When Paris let go of his ears, he was alone in the forest and the only thing he could see beside the trees was a cow. The symbol of Hera.
"Wait! When do I meet my prize?" Paris cried out to the sky.
(Flashback End)
'One small choice causes such a large disaster.' Danny thought to himself as he looked up at the sky.
"Can we go with you and see it?" Lady Kenna asked.
"I am not going to sight see. This is a very dangerous place and I do not wish to risk you." Danny said as he walked over to Kenna and put his hand on her cheek.
Before anything else could be said a member of Queen Mary's court came in their direction.
"Queen Mary, I wish to speak with you." Lord Ruthven said.
"Have at it. I have to go anyway." Danny said as he teleported away. Lord Ruthven was the man that would have killed David Rizzio and tried to imprison Queen Mary in her own castle. He did not like the man and had men watching him waiting for the opportunity to catch him plotting but nothing so far. It seems that he was going to have to set the trap up himself. Luckily, he had just gotten a new pawn that could be of great help in this matter.
0-0-0-0-0-0
(Ruins of Troy, Turkey)
"Wow." Danny said as he appeared and looked at the ruins.
"Can you feel it?" Qetsiyah asked him.
"Oh yeah." Danny said as he placed his hands on the sand. The entire area was soaked in a dark energy. It may look normal, but it reeked of malice and bloodlust even worse than Hammunaptra. If it took over two-thousand years for the energy to become like this, he could not help but wonder what it was like during the battle.
"This is the type of damage that warlocks cause to this planet." Qetsiyah said.
Warlock was the title that those who turned their back on their community and started using expression.
"They need to be found and dealt with." Danny said as he let the sand fall back to the ground.
"The worst bit is that all of it could have been avoided." Qetsiyah said walking next to him.
"How?" Danny asked.
"It is told that a witch with the gift of premonition had told King Priam and Queen Hecuba that their son would bring doom to their kingdom." Qetsiayh said.
'Given how things went they clearly responded the wrong way.' Danny thought to himself. It sounded like they were dealing with a self-fulfilling prophecy here. "What were they advised to do and what did they actually do?"
"According to the stories. They were advised to kill the child. Instead, they abandoned him in the forests and let him be adopted by a stranger. When they found out that he survived they adopted him back into the family." Qetsiayh said as they walked to the place where the outer doors had been to keep people out of Troy.
"Which led to all of this." Danny said as he placed a hand on the walls.
"Yes." Qetsiayh said agreeing with him.
"My king." Iok called out gaining his attention.
The Jaffa were positioned around the beach with devices that would absorb the energy still stored in the sand. It would be transferred to their ships and then they would be able to tell if any similar area had been tainted.
"What is it?" Danny asked turning away from the ruins towards his Jaffa.
"There is someone trying to contact you in your quarters." Iok said.
"Alright." Danny said as he turned away from the ruins and walked to the Ha'tak.
"Hello King/Prince Francis what is the occasion behind this call?" Danny asked
"I wanted to be the one to inform you that my father has decided to move forward and attack England." King/Prince Francis said.
"Really?" Danny asked feeling his eye twitch. This was not a part of the plan. The royal family was to remain in France while the soldiers' moved forwards to invade England.
"I am sure my father meant no disrespect." King/Prince Francis said.
"Has he left already or is he still thinking about it?" Danny asked. The level of punishment depended on the answer. He had been dying to try the Blood Eagle on somebody that truly angered him. The method of execution had been the one that had killed Jarl Borg and King Aelle of Northumbria.
"He feels that he has enough men defending Calais and that he should do something in response to the Englishmen trying to invade his country." King/Prince Francis said.
'He should worry more about the French that are trying to leave.' Danny thought to himself. Queen Catherine tried her best to guard the docks and prevent men from joining the enemy but that just led them to create different routes to leave.
"He needed to give the men confidence and the way he knew to do that was to lead from the front." King/Prince Francis said.
"Very well." Danny said. He wondered if this was because of the poison that was infecting the king. He knew that King Hnery had taken his personal bible with him on his march. The original may have found it amusing watching the crazy man lead this country but that was because he was not here to see it in person and deal with the consequences. He was too busy in space terrorizing Marduk and hunting the Highbreed that were building bases on other worlds.
'If you want a vacation, you can go and see Athena's festival. You can take Kenna with you.' The Original thought.
Athena is the Goa'uld that was in charge of ensuring peace for Zeus's kingdom. Every five years she held a tournament to rank the hierarchy of the Jaffa. Goa'ulds loved to come and so he had Nirtti enter talks with her to make it an entire festival after all the Goa'uld loved showing off their wealth and power to the others. It was mostly the mid-level and low-level Goa'ulds that showed up. In a rare situation a High-level Goa'uld would show up. Jaffa and Human slaves would come and trade showing off the prizes that their world had to offer. In return for agreeing Nirtti would provide the monsters for her Jaffa to fight. Zeus and his pantheon taxed the Goa'ulds for each stand that they would open.
'You do not wish to go?' Danny asked the original. It was rare for him to miss such an occasion.
'I have recently found a planet that holds a quantum mirror. It isbig enough that people can walk through so I am going to stay and study it' The original thought to his shock.
That is wonderful news.
"King Daniel." King/Prince Francis called out.
"Yes?" Danny asked focusing back on the person that he was talking to.
"I beg you to forgive my father." King/Prince Francis pleaded.
"Alright." Danny said. He was too happy right now to bother with King Francis right now. Not to mention that he was getting another call. It seemed that people really wanted to talk to him today.
"I thank you King Daniel." King/Prince Francis said.
"You are dismissed." Danny said ending the call and starting another one.
"I greet you, my king." Raios said.
"What news do you have for me Raios?" Danny asked. Had they found out who was targeting his villages.
"I am sorry that it has taken so long for us to give you our findings." Raios said.
"It does not matter have you found the ones responsible?" Danny asked.
"We checked the villages that had been attacked by these raiders. They burned the village homes and granary before they left taking men and women with them." Raios said.
"What message did they want the survivors to spread?" Danny asked.
"The survivors say that the leader of the Raiders was a monster." Raios said.
"What kind of monster?" Danny asked wondering if the Muzan or other demons of the east had come this far. The Eastern duplicate was supposed to warn them if anything like that was happening.
"None of their weapons could hurt him. He ignored arrows that pierced him, caught spears that were tossed at him, and cut men in half with a single swing of his sword." Raios said.
"Impressive." Danny said.
"His men drank the blood of many villagers. It seems like the Raiders are vampires my king." Raios said.
"So, some vampires have turned on me already." Danny muttered to himself.
"I do not think it is that my king." Raios said.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked.
"The villagers left behind were told to walk to Paris and tell the royal family under the control of the foreign sorcerer a simple message." Raios said.
"What is the message?" Danny asked.
"Mikael wants his children back." Raios said.
"You have done good work. Now I have another task for you." Danny said.
"Should we continue the hunt?" Raios said.
"No Mikale is too strong for your group to deal with. I will deal with him myself." Danny said. He would need to return to Paris to get some white oak.
"Very well my king. We await you next order." Raios said.
Danny stood up and flew through the Ha'tak to the roof.
"What has caused such a smile on your face?" Qetsiyah asked.
"I am about to go on a hunt." Danny said. He would have his Jaffa place a force field that would prevent any vampire from leaving France without his permission. Mikael and the legion of soldiers he was probably compelling or turning would be stuck and with the B.I.R.D.S. scouring the land for a lead there were only so many places they could hide and feed.
"What are you going to be hunting for?" Qetsiyah asked.
"An old Viking that dares bare his fangs at me." Danny said. Qetsiyah and her spirits would be great help with the searching. They may not be able to use magic to find them, but they were able to look for them from the Other Side.
He was glad that he had come to Earth. The nine years he had left here were definitely not going to be boring.