Disclaimer: I don't own any of this! Lord of the Rings and everything it contains was originally the idea of J.R.R. Tolkien. Credits for Narnia and everything associated with it go to C.S. Lewis. This was based on the video 'The king, the girl and the lion – Trailer' by Nonokun24 on YouTube. There are references to the works of Raymond E. Feist and Bernhard Hennen (the base story with Mandred; 'The Elves', if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, I remember quotes longer than I remember titles…), alongside one to 'Power Rangers Mystic Force: Broken Spell (part one)' and an elaborate one to 'Boudica: Dreaming the Hound'.

Author's note: Welcome, welcome and thrice welcome, dear readers! And if anyone bothered to review: thank you very much!

I had this typed out before, but I spent some time writing and translating… So that's why I'm late in uploading. However, it'll help me write out more in advance. So hopefully, it does result in quicker uploading over time. Before uploading this chapter in particular, I had to face exams… I'm very sorry about that and I pray you'll forgive me.

With Peter, Lucy and her protectors in chains and Drinian, Oreius and the Captain of Gondor's Royal Guard unaware of what's going on, the Admiral could decapitate the West. However, he has shown no inclination of doing so. He seems to hate the Nazgûl more than the Westerners. Does he? What does he intend to do? He doesn't want Peter and Lucy in Sauron's hands, that much is clear. It may be about time East and West get over their differences…

I hope you'll enjoy!

Please read and review!

The Lone Islands

The albatross is flying, making him daydream

The time before he became one of the world's unseen.

Princess in the tower, children in the fields;

Life gave him it all an island of the universe.

Oh, now his love's a memory, a ghost in the fog.

He sets the sails one last time saying farewell to the world.

Anchor to the water, seabed far below,

Grass still in his feet and a smile beneath his brow.

This is for long forgotten light at the end of the world,

Horizon crying the tears we left behind so long ago.

So long ago…

So long ago…

Nightwish: 'The Islander'

Deliberation in the dungeons

Come Hell or high water,

My search will go on.

Clayborn voyage without an end.

A nightingale in a golden cage;

That's me locked inside reality's maze.

Come someone, make my heavy heart light.

Come undone, bring me back to life.

A nightingale in a golden cage;

That's me locked inside reality's maze.

Come someone, make my heavy heart light.

It all starts with a lullaby.

Journey homeward bound.

The sound of a dolphin calling,

Tearing off the mask of man.

The tower my sole guide.

This is who I am:

Escapist,

Paradise seeker.

Farewell;

Now time to fly

Out of sight, out of time,

Away from all lies!

Nightwish: 'Escapist'

The Easterlings pushed Lucy's bodyguards, both official and informal, into the dungeon. They didn't do so with excessive consideration, but not more harshly than they deemed necessary either.

Some hundreds of men had already been imprisoned, spread over at least 20 large dungeons. The newly arrived shared their cell with some men who introduced themselves as Captain and Lieutenants of the Imperial Guard.

The Captain furiously told his story: "We of the Lone Islands have the best ships in the world and great marines, experienced in both land and naval battles. However, the Council responded to reports of piracy by sending out the entire Navy to put the pirates in their place. That left us the only military on the Islands. We are well trained, an absolute elite, but all of a sudden at least fifty ships full of attackers showed up. Before the actual main force had even properly landed, we were overrun. So we capitulated."

A Lieutenant remarked thoughtfully: "Still, we haven't had too much bad luck. The Admiral is a decent fellow. About half the population is dead or sold into slavery, but at least he manages to save the other half."

Suddenly, Legolas said: "Quiet down. You hear it too? Someone's screaming."

The Captain shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, you'll get used to it."

The newcomers gave him an odd look.

Faramir looked outside through a barred window.

"Good gods," he whispered.

The others joined him in watching.

An Eastern officer of one of the ships was mercilessly whipping a young woman of the Islands. Several marines and lots of crew members looked on calmly. They didn't seem to enjoy the 'show', but apparently didn't mind either.

The Captain of the Imperial Guard came over to the Gondorians and said, lightly irritated: "No need to pity her too much, you know. In Eastern logic she deserved her punishment. That's how it always goes. If you don't do anything wrong, you won't have any problems with those men. But who deserves to be punished, can't expect mercy."

"What has that woman done? Is she a murderess or something?" Legolas asked touched.

The Captain laughed. "A murderess? Then they would have decapitated or hanged her. Sometimes, very rarely, they think of less fun ways to die, but that's really rare."

"What has she done?" asked Gimli.

The Captain shrugged his shoulders. "I imagine she's stolen from them, or deceived somehow. Or grown a little too close to the slaver's Khândian mercenaries."

Imrahil looked up in surprise.

"For people who accept slavery, they dislike slavers very much," he noticed thoughtfully.

The Captain of the Evenstar Guard asked: "The slaver here, what kind of a man is he?"

A Lieutenant briefly answered: "Just as despicable as his colleagues. Ask the Admiral. He knows lots of unpleasant tales about those men."

Another remarked: "Those Easterlings are weird people. They are totally ruthless in combat, but rarely torture. Their sons sometimes call them their masters and they look at their sisters and daughters the same way they do at any other girl. I'll be damned if it's not true."

A third added: "They're great and fierce warriors, but at the same time devoted religious fanatics. Their culture and religion promote violence and even suicide. They kill themselves for the weirdest of reasons and if you have a quarrel with them, you're always in danger. I'll be damned if it's not true."

"You may want to hear what an Easterling has to say himself," a new voice suddenly spoke.

Shogun Jarw – Tao of the Jarw – Rhûnhirrim, Admiral of the Eastern Fleet, slowly walked down the stairs.

Calmly he continued: "I cannot disagree with these observations. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is this: we too have our quarrels with the Dark One."

The Westerners looked at each other in surprise.

The Admiral continued: "The Wolf we call him, or Kyofu, 'the Terror'. He does not recognize our god, the Great Dragon, Supreme Master of the East. He despises our code of honor and mocks our traditions. Never an Easterling worthy of his name will accept that. I'll be damned if that's not true."

The prisoners let that sink in for a while.

The Shogun calmly spoke further: "To save my Clan from destruction I must act with the utmost caution. I cannot afford any mistakes. I must be smart. Ruthless. And above all I must weigh all the options very patiently and carefully. You are of secondary importance now. It'll take Sauron at least a week to figure out you are here. A week is forever. We must get the Lord Marshal and the Leader to safety now. I had hoped to receive a visit from Mordor tomorrow at earliest. Then I could've had them sold to a noble on my side. A slave can always escape, you understand? This would be very… inconvenient. However, there already is a Nazgûl on the spot. Things are different."

Legolas took his time to think about all that and look for words.

Then he asked: "And what is the plan now?"

"I don't know," the Admiral answered simply. "I should have a secret meeting with His Imperial Majesty and his little sister. That's something we Easterlings are very good that. When I have a plan, you may notice. If you are taken out of these cells sometime soon, you'll know the plan is being executed."

Gimli grumbled: "Talk, talk, talk. When do I get to beat someone up, that slaver for instance?"

The Easterling smiled slyly. "I can assure you, Master Dwarf, you shall have plenty of opportunity to show your legendary courage."

With that, Jarw – Tao turned around. Shortly before he'd leave the dungeon again, he kept standing for a while.

Slowly he said: "The Nazgûl made me an offer. If I would sell the Leader and the Lord Marshall directly to him, he would remit all the debts of the Jarw – Rhûnhirrim Clan. Two children, among whom one warrior, for more money than any Easterling has seen amassed for 3000 years."

An icy cold silence fell.

Then the Captain of the Evenstar Guard asked, his voice trembling with wrath: "Did you tell him that, if you would dare to do so, we would track you down and slaughter you, wherever you would be hiding?"

"No," answered the Shogun. "And neither did I tell him I would die by the swords of my own people."

Now the man turned around and gave the Westerners a faint smile. "I told him I would take my own life a thousand times over rather than doing it. Did you really think I would sell them? I'm a father too, Captain. And I know well the pain in the thought of not seeing my children again. And even if, for whatever reason, I had hated them, I still would find myself incompatible with the idea anyone, child or adult, can be bought for money."

Author's note: The Admiral's in for a tough time balancing between his need to protect his people and his wish to help the Westerners. But is there 'balancing'? Is helping the Westerners opposite to protecting his people?

Easterling culture will remain pretty vague for a while; I'm open to any and all questions and I'll respond the best I can. Don't let it get any ideas in your head. For now, the emphasis is on the crisis on the Islands; more on Eastern culture will follow. It's meant to be food for thought, nothing more. I keep putting emphasis on that because Easterlings are overall portrayed in a positive way in his story, and since this is fantasy, they may look like an attempt at perfection, which they absolutely aren't.

Coming up next on 'The King, the Girl and the Lion – With a Vengeance': Jarw-Tao meets up with Peter and Lucy. They have common problems, and need to find a solution. If the Nazgûl gets his hands on either monarch, the war could be over. But that is something the Easterlings won't allow.

I hope that the few people who ever read my disclaimers and quotes have found some inspiration as to what works to check. If not, sorry, my teachers keep telling me to mention anything and everything I use. Anyway, a few things do deserve some more recommending: first of all the story by my wonderful friend Supreme Arcanite Magician, 'Yu-Gi-Oh: European Duel Academy'; then there's 'Slave Girl' by An Cathal Toirmisce (if you read the reviews, don't let me deceive you, it's awesome). And of course the YouTube video that inspired me to begin with: 'The king, the girl and the lion – Trailer' by Nonokun24; and the one that EdwardElricGirl200 was kind enough to make for the prequel: 'The King, the Girl and the Lion – Fanfiction Trailer'.