Heroes of the Past and Present
Disclaimer: Do not own Victorious, do not own the video game
A/N:
Chapter 39 (Audience with a King)
Within a week, Trina had managed to reach Sviederbach and be granted an audience with King Gunther and his Queen. Both of whom were, surprisingly, younger than she was. What did they know about ruling a kingdom? Granted, it was none of her concern, but she had to wonder what happened to place him at rule.
She sat at a large round table with Trina, Sinjin, and Jade. Across the table was Gunther. His queen, Cece, sat on his right. His bodyguard, Rocky was on his left. Cece was holding a small baby in her arms, the infant was sleeping silently. "What is the child's name?" Trina asked. Cece looked up from her baby and grinned.
"Aveline." No relation to Jade's ancestor of course, but it still made the girls smile as it brought fond memories for them. "Princess Aveline. One day she's going to grow up and make us all proud, I'm sure."
"I bet." She leaned back and glanced up to Gunther, sighing heavily. "So the reason we're here." She folded her hands over one another on the table and straightened her back as she cleared her throat. She wanted to look tall and strong like Cece and Gunther were. Their shoulders were flat and broad, their backs straight and their chests puffed out. "I believe someone is trying to take over or destroy this country. Erin Lamont, maybe you've heard of her?" Gunther raised an eyebrow and looked to Cece for a minute, then back to Trina.
"I recognize the Lamont name from ancestry. It was a Lamont that assassinated King Astor in 1870. They've been exiled ever since, and the last I heard from any of the Lamonts was a few years ago. We received a letter from them, apparently a letter of apology that was sent to my grandfather's staff before I took the throne."
He got up from the table and walked from the room, only to return a minute later with a letter in his hand. He unfolded the paper and set it down on the table. When Trina looked at it, she could see it was an official letterhead with official return addresses and everything, and it was signed Henry Lamont, the patriarch of the family. The letter was dated in late 2008, before Erin ever had anything to do with the Lamont family, according to Denise.
To the King and Queen of Sviederbach, I send this notice from the States to give you my sincerest apologies for the actions of my grandfathers and my ancestors. If you must know, my eldest has happily pursuing the idea of marriage to a lovely woman named Denise, whom I hope he will be very happy with. I believe my family to be turning around, and I give the royalty of Sviederbach my best wishes. Please accept the enclosed item as a token of our family's separation from our legacy, and know there will never be another Lamont of our blood to attempt an overthrow of the throne.
Sincerely, Patriarch Henry Lamont
It was a very well written letter, but at the same time, it saddened Trina deeply considering the effect that it seemed Erin posed upon the family. When Gunther started talking, she looked away from the letter and watched him lean back and fold his arms over. "The Lamont family goes back many generations and is connected to our family line. If there were no heir in my blood, they would be the first to be looked at for another heir. We've neither heard nor seen them since. You're telling me a Lamont would try and take the throne?"
"Erin forced her way into the family. We spoke with this Denise who told us that Erin used some sort of magical power or spell to control them. She forced her way into marriage with the eldest, and Denise had been thrown out." Gunther frowned and Cece put her hand to her chest, gasping softly.
"I can't believe someone would do that!"
Gunther curled a finger at his chin and narrowed his eyes, "So you say Erin could be attempting an overthrow. If she saddled with the Lamont family, it makes sense…she could be using their past against them. How would this spell be broken?" Nobody knew, the spell was an unknown and likely powerful one. It was possible that maybe use of magic could counteract it, but there was no guarantee. Plus, she really wasn't there to save the family, though she truly wanted to. "So Miss Vega, what do you propose we do? We can't very well go on a witch hunt for a woman we have no clue of the whereabouts."
"If she is not defeated, the country could fall at her hands. That's what I'm proposing, we kill her…that may also break the spell…" She wasn't sure how to locate her, she wasn't sure if killing the woman would be right, but the way it sounded was this truly was a very vile and vicious woman. Whatever made her the way she was, Trina didn't know, but she pitied anyone that would be put in this woman's path. "Because you said it yourself, if she knew every member of your family had to pass to take the throne…how far would she go?"
"I am not sure. To be honest. I've never seen this woman, never heard of her before, so…we will definitely consider her a threat." She practically leapt for joy. This was exactly what she wanted, but more action still was need.
As Trina was about to speak, however, a loud cackle echoed in the air. Chills ran down her spine, and her body tensed up. Behind her a cloud of red and black smoke appeared, and a woman with long black hair and deadly eyes stepped out in casual stride.
Behind her walked two men, brothers, and their father. The father was elderly in appearance and shared the same blank expressions as his sons. Alongside the second man was a young boy, six years old, who looked positively terrified. He was trembling and looking away from his father. The boy had short blond hair and scars all along his arm. Trina's heart broke when she saw the boy, it was now she desperately wanted to help, but wasn't sure how. "I thought I'd introduce you to the family," Erin said with a slow smirk, "But just a part of it." She pointed to the elder son, who had wavy grey hair and hazel green eyes. "That's my husband, Eric. Beside him is his brother Steven, and his son Martin."
Trina and the others stood from their seats and glared at Erin. What was she planning? Was bringing her family here a part of some sick, twisted plot? "You're a monster," Tori declared while shaking a fist at Erin. "A demon! Take that spell off the family now! That poor boy…he's terrified of you, and for some reason, his own father!"
"Yes, well…they are not needed at the moment. I wanted to give them, and Martin, a glimpse of the castle they will rule. Very soon." Erin looked to her husband and smirked. "I won't be needing you for this dear, I can handle them."
There was a glaring expression that Trina noticed just as they made eye contact. Eric was sweating, trembling, as if something inside of him was fighting. Maybe Erin's poison could be dealt with?
The family members vanished back into the cloud of smoke as Erin turned towards Gunther and extended her hand. Her smirk grew and her eyes narrowed darkly as Gunther's hands flew to his throat. Cece screamed out and Rocky charged, only to be blown back by a gust of wind. "Soon King Gunther, this place will be mine. I heard what you said…to destroy your entire family, the Lamonts would inherit the kingdom. That…is grand…"
Trina clenched her fists and cracked her jaw. She had to swallow the fear of seeing this woman firsthand, especially considering Zander let her get used to the kind of magic that this woman could use. Instinctively, she charged towards Erin and extended her leg, throwing a flying kick into Erin's side. The witch screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her side. Gunther took a deep breath and Trina looked over, urging him to get to safety.
"We'll deal with her! Go!" She waved her hand through the air as Rocky and Cece helped Gunther out of the room. Erin's head flew up and an angry, venomous glare fell upon Trina. She was unfazed, however. "I've dealt with worse than you, Erin. You? You're just pathetic…trying to take control of an entire family…"
"The fuck you know. You don't know me." Erin pushed herself up and threw her hands down at her sides, palms upwards and igniting with flame. "I know you foiled my plan in the past, but no matter. As long as I live, I shall never quit attempting this land!" Erin thrust her arms forward, throwing blasts of flame towards Trina.
Sinjin and Tori jumped in front of her and fired off blasts of water and light, dousing the fire and striking Erin cold. As they did this, Trina rolled to the right and pulled her father's pistol from the holster on her hip, firing off a shot into Erin's right arm. The woman let out such a screech that everyone threw their hands over their ears. It was Jade that, while still struggling over the woman's scream, unsheathed the sword she had and charged towards Erin. She slashed upwards, digging into Erin's back with the blade.
The witch twisted her body and countered by striking an impressive blow onto Jade's head, sending her crashing into the nearby wall. Trina's eyes widened and Tori called out to Jade in concern. She could see Jade still breathing, but unresponsive. "That's the last any of you attempt a sneak attack on me," Erin's left hand was over the bullet wound on her right arm. Her eyes were narrow, and her chest was rapidly moving in and out. "You won't stop me so easily…"
Trina tapped the nozzle of her pistol on the side of her leg and chuckled slightly, "You nearly destroyed Kirkwall, not take it over. Your ancestor, Zander?" Erin raised an eyebrow and watched as Tori hurried over to Jade's side. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "He was going to kill Meredith and Orsino. That was his plan. To kill them and smear blood all over Kirkwall. That was his plan. You were no closer to taking over then, than you are now. Rather if we hadn't succeeded, there wouldn't be a Kirkwall for you to take over."
"You lie."
"No, we were just there. Nearly died because of Zander, but one thing rings true…we stopped him just like we're going to stop you." She raised her pistol to Erin and wagged her eyebrows. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. What's your choice? Better yet, why don't you tell us why you're so obsessed about a kingdom."
"It isn't about a kingdom," Erin scoffed, "It's about control!Dominance! If I have a kingdom, I have even more to control."
"Oh. So one family wasn't enough for you?"
"Fuck you." Erin swung her hand through the air, dragging trails of blood behind her finger. The blood hardened into blades and shot out at Trina. She quickly leapt to the side, barely escaping the catlike slashes. She countered with another gunshot that struck Erin in the left shoulder. The woman cried out again. Dust began to fill the room as her hollow eyes burned into Trina. "You bitch…you'll pay for that! You'll pay!"
Suddenly Erin lifted from the ground, lightning and dark clouds began appearing all over the room. Trina's head jolted up as she heard Sinjin shout out, he'd been hit by one of the lightning bolts. Concern filled her heart as she searched the hazy room for any sign of him, or Erin. "Shit…Sinjin where are you!"
"Right here," he grunted, "I'll be fine. I swear to god, I hate magic so much."
Trina started moving towards her voice when she felt a powerful jolt to her stomach. Her eyes widened as she staggered back. "No," she whispered, remembering how Ross took her years ago. Striking her, then grabbing her from front. She clenched her eyes and shook her head, growing sick to her stomach, screaming as she fell to her knees. She heard Sinjin and Tori call out to her, asking if she was alright, but her mind was going through the heart wrenching memory.
Ross had thrown her down to the ground. When she looked up, Erin was flying towards her, but she looked like her ex. A trick of the mind, but a nightmare to Trina. "No…" She screamed as he grabbed her and threw her on the ground, hovering inches over her. Trina shook her head, struggling to push. "Get off!"
"What's wrong?" Erin asked, "You were fighting so well. You've got no fight left in you?"
Those words.
They burned her to the core. Ross's words.
Did Erin realize?
NO
Trina let out an ear-piercing scream as Erin lifted her hand, flames appearing in her palm. What Erin had done, without realizing, was create the very scene from Trina's nightmare. The one event in her life, over all others, that she could never forget. "Get off, Ross!" She cried. Erin froze, raising an eyebrow as Trina continued to struggle and push. The witch began to put two and two together, but never got a chance to react.
"Get the fuck off my sister!" Tori exclaimed. Cursing was rare for Tori, but it was what began to slowly pull Trina back into reality. She began panting, looking around as several wind tunnels appeared throughout the area, sucking up all the dark fog created by Erin.
To her right, she saw Sinjin, huffing angrily and glaring down at Erin. He lifted his leg and kicked Erin in the chest, kicking her off. As Erin landed on her back, Sinjin snapped his fingers and pinned her wrists and ankles with magic.
Trina whimpered as he knelt beside her and took her hand. Tori hurried to her side and stood protectively beside her, Jade simply watched from the wall with wide eyes. Trina withdrew her hand, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself. "Trina, listen to my voice," Sinjin whispered. "You're safe…Erin's pinned, no one can hurt you. You're still in the Sviederbach castle. Look, my hand…" Her eyes slowly moved to Sinjin's hand on the ground. It was relaxed and unmoving. She carefully reached over and put her hand over his. "Your sister's here too."
She nodded and cleared her throat, scanning the room, then turned her glare to Erin. She wiped her eyes with her arm, still trembling. "Is she…is she…"
"She's not moving," Tori replied. "Her magic's completely gone." Trina looked to Sinjin's warm, comforting gaze. His smile soothed her and pulled her back to him, back to where she was.
"I'm right here Trina, nothing has you."
"I'm not weak, I can't be-"
"You're not. You were caught off guard, that's all. You're strong." Tori reached over and helped her to her feet. As she started to regain her composure, they looked over to Erin's body. "I'll be glad to get out of here, though."
"Yeah…I'm sorry about what just happened. I…I don't think Erin knew what she was doing. The fog, darkness, I-" She put her hand to her forehead, her stomach was still nauseous and her heart was pounding with excessive force in her chest. She was still scared that he would show up, though she knew it was impossible. She had to tell herself that, over and over, in hopes that it would still be true. "I lost it. Moving on though…"
She hated for anyone to see her vulnerable, and now, Jade had seen it. Jade slowly limped over, rubbing her hip where she struck the wall. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine!" Trina snapped, immediately regretting it. Jade didn't flinch. "I'm sorry Jade."
"It's all right…" Jade moved to Erin's body and peered down, frowning slightly. "I think she is dead. She's not moving and her chest sure isn't breathing." Erin's body began to sink slowly into the ground, any and all traces of her vanished with her.
Minutes later, Gunther and Cece returned to find the room in shambles. Gunther let out a sigh and moved his hand up to his forehead. "God…is it over?" Trina glanced over at him, still a little wary of any man's voice or presence in the room. She shrugged it off the best she could and re-holstered her gun.
"Yeah, it's over. I don't think Erin will be a problem anymore. Hopefully, this means the curse on the Lamonts are over as well." She had a moment of weakness, she wasn't proud of it, but at the same time she was glad that everything was okay. Needless to say, Trina could not wait to get back home. "The threat to Sviederbach is over. Thankfully."
"Yes. Thank you. Please feel free to come visit anytime."
"Thank you…don't take it the wrong way, King…but I don't think I want to come back to this castle anytime soon. On the off chance that Erin is still alive, which I doubt-"
"If that's the case, we'll pursue her and put a warrant out for her arrest."
"She looked pretty dead to me," Jade muttered. "I think we're good."
Trina nodded while Tori and Sinjin smiled. "I agree." She moved closer to Sinjin and gently rest her head on his shoulder, holding her arms around her stomach and sighing heavily. "Besides. I feel sick, tired, and just want to go home to my daddy and baby sister."
"I'm feeling like home too. Glad we could be of some help, King." Jade sheathed her blade and shook Gunther's hand. "Keep in touch if anything more happens."
So, Erin has been dealt with, and the country is safe from danger. For now, with its heritage being Kirkwall, who's to say? In Varric's immortal words "I'm beginning to think this place is in love with crisis." At least Trina, Tori, and all others can relax. There are a couple chapters left.