A Song of Ice, Fire & the Dead
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A/N: Hi there, a couple of disclaimers and to answer some concerns from some reviewers about the current arc of this story about me "bashing" Aslan, I never exactly said it was Aslan, now, did I? Nor did I claim that this was a full-on crossover with Narnia. Think of this current arc as being similar to the short stories of the Witcher books where classic fairy tales and such were deconstructed or given a new twist.
An example of what I'm talking about is a Grain of Truth that was a deconstruction of Beauty & the Beast where the Beauty was the real monster of the story in a quite literal sense given that she was a bruxa/vampire. Another example of a deconstructed fairy tale was The Last Wish where the Djinn was not the happy-Disney Genie but instead a malicious trickster that took one's wishes and twisted them around. I could go on, but the point is to address the concerns about how I'm apparently bashing Aslan and to clarify that this arc is in a way a deconstruction of the classic Narnia story.
Moving along, let's get on with this, shall we?
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Chapter 30: The Winter Wardrobe Wonderland Part V
Everyone looked at the map spread across the table. Saya's orange eyes scanned the landmarks drawn on the cloth determinedly and she spoke, "So, we've got Kaer Peraval on the shores of the ocean and the Great Plains north-west of the camp, but where would the Stone Table be?"
"It doesn't appear to be on the map anywhere," Saeko said thoughtfully. "Makes me wonder and more curious if there is something there that someone doesn't want us finding," she added.
"All the more reason we must find it," Aegon said giving voice to the sentiment everyone present had. "Any ideas?" he asked looking at Saya who glanced at him before looking at the map more carefully, picking over the details.
Shaking her head, Saya said, "Cartography isn't exactly in my wheel house." Giving a frustrated sigh, the pink-haired genius looked at Aegon and Saeko regretfully and added, "I can't exactly think of where the Stone Table might be. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, Saya. We can't expect you to have all the answers," Saeko told her kindly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Saya smiled bashfully in response then Alice spoke.
"What about the hills?" Everyone looked at Alice in confusion and said, "A hill would be a good place to put a table on top of, right?"
"Huh, I hadn't thought of that actually," Aegon said feeling embarrassed at missing such an obvious detail. "A hilltop would be an ideal spot to put a stone table atop of, or at least an altar of some kind," he mused.
With that detail in mind, Saya looked at the map and gave an "Aha!" Putting a fingertip on the drawing of a hill encircled by trees, she said, "This spot might be where the Stone Table is; it's eastwards of the camp and if it's on this map, it must mean something."
"Alright. Now we wait until nightfall, then we sneak out of camp and find the Stone Table and find out how the curse was cast and what we can do to lift it," Saeko declared. She looked at everyone, she said, "This will be dangerous. If anyone has any concerns or wants to back out, now is the time."
"We've come this far, so I will see this through to the end," Aegon stated as he put his hand over his chest as a show of promise.
"Good." Saeko smiled in approval of her boyfriend's resolution before she looked at Saya and Alice and said, "How about you two? Either of you want to back out? No hard feelings if you do."
"Like hell I will!" Saya barked. "I'm not sitting this one out and I won't let either of you sideline me like all those other times!"
"Good." Saeko nodded in approval. Looking out the tent flap, the samurai saw that the sun was beginning to set in the distance. "We've got about an hour before nightfall. We'd better get ready."
…
An hour, night had descended on the Lion's army camp. Peering out the tent they had been given, Saeko saw that torches lit the darkened camp with patrols of two walked up the rows of the tents. In the distance, the large glow of cooking fires accompanied by the sound of the Lion's soldiers having their evening meal could be noticed.
Moving back into the tent, Saeko looked at her companions; Aegon was cleaning his sword free of any dirt or residue with a rag, Saya was pacing back and forth nervously, gripping her Luger so tightly her knuckles were bone white and Alice sat in a chair, staring at the grassy floor intently as if trying to discern some truth from it.
"It's time," Saeko told them. "Let's get to the Stone Table before anyone notices we're gone," she said with a determined look in her eyes.
Aegon nodded before sheathing his sword by his side. "Let's go," was all he uttered as he prepared to lead everyone out of the tent. Pushing aside the tent flap, Aegon peered outside and looked left and right. No patrols were coming which satisfied Aegon before he ushered his companions out of the tent.
Saeko then led the foursome through the almost labyrinthine pathways of the camp. Sticking to the shadows and blind spots, taking care to avoid the patrols that made their way through the camp, Saeko felt her heart beat in her chest as patrols passed them by as she and her companions hid between tents in the shadows
Slowly, the four companions made their way out of the camp and entered the forest. Saya heaved a sigh of relief and whispered, "I almost thought we'd never get out of there!"
"Hard part's over. Now we have to reach the Stone Table before anyone realises we're gone," Saeko told her.
"Let's go then. The sooner we do this, the quicker this can be dealt with," Aegon said as they began to make their way through the forest. The moon slowly rose into the starry night sky, casting down silvery white light down onto the earth. The added benefit of the moonlight illuminated the forest, allowing the group clearer vision to make their way through the forest.
Looking behind them, Saya saw the distant glow of the Lion's campfires. A gentle tap on the shoulder had Saya turning to look at Aegon who said, "C'mon. Can't waste time. We need to move." Saya nodded, seeing the sense in Aegon's words and she focussed her attention on what was ahead.
Picking their way through the forest, they soon started to enter the hills and Saeko spoke, "Alright, we're starting to enter the hills. We need to find the tallest one, that's where the Stone Table should be."
"Should be?" Saya parroted in scepticism.
"There is the chance that we could be wrong, but let's hope that isn't the case," Saeko said to Saya. "We'd better hurry," she added grimly. Saya nodded in agreement at this and they continued onwards into the hills.
The undulating terrain of the foothills proved to be hard going. Aegon had picked up and carried Alice in a piggyback carry so that she wouldn't tire herself out. Saya felt a sheen of sweat on her brow as she traversed the slopes; thankfully it was relatively cool providing some relief for the genius, but it was still a slog making their way through.
Saeko then spoke, "There! Just ahead of us!" Pointing to where she was looking, Aegon, Saya and Alice saw easily the tallest hill in the region and on its maximal apex was some kind of stone architecture that was bathed in silvery moonlight.
"What are we waiting for?!" Saya exclaimed as she found a surge of energy renew her limbs and rushed forward.
"Can't fault her enthusiasm," Aegon said to his girlfriend in jest. Saeko gave a small grin and hurried forward to make her way up the hill towards the structure.
Reaching the top of the hill, Saeko and Saya found there was a massive stone table that looked like it was roughly hewn from a slab of stone on squat fat stones that acted as the legs of the table. At the head of the table was a lone willow tree that looked stunted but somehow still alive, its roots penetrating the stone floor.
"So, we've found the stone table. Now what?" Saya asked Saeko who gazed around the area before replying, "Look for anything that could tell us how the curse was cast and how we can lift it."
Aegon and Alice soon reached the top of the hill and found Saeko and Saya examining the area. Setting Alice on the ground, Aegon panted a little before looking at Saeko and asked, "What are we looking for?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Saeko admitted. "But I suppose we can look for anything that can tell us how the curse was cast and how to lift it," she then said.
Aegon nodded before he looked at Alice. "Stay close to us, Alice and don't wander off," he told her sternly. Alice nodded in understanding and held Aegon's hand in hers to indicate that she was staying close to him. Aegon smiled despite before he began to look over the Stone Table.
Running his free hand over the rough stony surface, Aegon muttered, "Big thick slab, roughly hewn and cut from some large piece of rock, maybe from a mountain?" He then look at the lone stunted willow tree, wondering how one ended up in this place and why it was the only one in the vicinity.
Approaching the tree, Aegon felt a soft breeze blow across his face and for a moment her heard a sad sigh of a woman in the wind. "Strange…"
"What is?" Saya asked as she looked up from examining the arches of the structure.
"It might be my imagination, but I could've sworn I heard a woman sighing," Aegon replied. "It wasn't one of you, was it?" he asked looking at his companions.
"It wasn't me," Saeko said in denial.
"Yeah, I didn't make any sighs," Saya stated. "Was it you, Alice?" she asked and Alice shook in her head.
Shaking his head, Aegon then moved closer to the willow tree and as he approached, he heard a soft voice amidst the rustling leaves.
"Free… me…"
Aegon stopped dead and he stared at the willow tree in a mixture of fascination and apprehension, fear and wonder.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Saeko asked him as she moved to stand beside him.
"I… I heard a voice… coming from the tree," Aegon said in a hushed voice.
"A voice? Coming from the tree?" Saya asked as she stood beside Aegon. "Are you sure you aren't hearing things?"
Aegon glared at her and said, "We're in a land of walking, talking animals and you think a talking tree is impossible?"
"Just covering my bases," Saya said defensively throwing her hands in defence. "I don't know the first thing about magic and I always thought it was just overactive imaginations on my part," she added.
"Even so, we can't discount anything about this place," Saeko said as she approached the willow tree. As she approached the tree, Saeko heard the voice that had spoken to Aegon before.
"Free… me…"
"There is a voice coming from the tree!" Saeko exclaimed and she moved closer to the tree to examine it.
"Are you sure it wasn't your imagination?" Saya asked. Saeko ignored her and examined the trunk of the willow. The tree was a stunted thing but was miraculously still alive for who knows how long it had been in this place.
"The trunk is shaped a little oddly," Saeko noted out loud. "Almost about the same measurements of a human woman's body," she observed.
"What about the branches?" Saya asked as she moved to examine the tree as well.
"Only two major branches, like arms and a small but noticeably thick branch at the juncture where the branches meet," Saeko replied.
"Do you think this might've been a person?" Aegon asked as he and Alice approached the willow tree.
"Maybe, but I don't speak tree to ask it," Saeko said in jest.
Alice looked at the tree and spoke loudly, "Excuse me, Miss Tree? Can you speak?" she asked.
"Don't be silly, Alice!" Saya admonished her. "Trees can't talk!" she stated.
Then as if to gainsay her, a soft woman's voice spoke from the tree, "Please… free me from my torment!" the voice pleaded.
"A talking tree… A. Talking. Tree," Saya said slowly as if she couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
Aegon then spoke to the tree, "Were you the Lion's lover?" he asked.
"Once I was his lover… until his wife discovered our affair and cursed us both," the Voice replied.
"How were you cursed?" Saeko asked.
"Once I was a woman, beautiful and fair and the Lion was a man, brave and handsome, and the Witch was his wife who loved him so," the Voice began to say. "Mine own eyes and the Lion's met and we met many times. But our affair was secret for his wife was jealous and spiteful, until she found us embracing on this spot."
"And there she cursed you both," Saya said as she put two and two together. "How do we lift the curse?" she then asked.
Then an enormous roar broke out into the night follow by an inhuman screech. Barrelling in from opposite directions was the Lion, his teeth bared in a snarl and the Witch-Queen, her dark eyes flashing like beads of jet.
Pulling Alice and Saya behind him protectively, Aegon put a hand to his sword, ready to draw it out for what he could only assume a fight that would happen.
The Lion growled, his voice deep and snarling, "Why are you here in this sacred place?!" he demanded. "That woman put you up to this, didn't she?" he accused.
The Witch-Queen hissed like an angry snake, "And I see you have not done as I asked of you!" she said furiously looking at Aegon and his companions.
The Lion heard this and bellowed, "So you sent these assassins to destroy my beloved!"
"Your beloved?!" the Witch-Queen shrieked in anger. "I was your wife by oath and marriage! And you spurned my love for you! For what?! A cheap roll in the hay with some common wench?!"
"Wench or not, she was not as cold as you, nor did she curse me to be like this!" the Lion snarled in anger.
Saeko looked back and forth between the Lion and Witch-Queen and she whispered to her friends, "Seems like we're in the middle of a lover's quarrel." Saya nodded in agreement.
"You were unfaithful to me! Your own wife!" the Witch-Queen screamed at the Lion. "I loved you!" she then cried.
"Loved me?! You constantly nagged and harangued me! Accusing me of the most absurd things!" the Lion roared.
"And I was right about one of them!"
Aegon watched the two argue and shouted at each. Feeling a his head ache from the shouting match, he then decided that he'd enough and spoke loudly, "Enough! Stop it, both of you! You act like children!"
"How dare you!" The Witch-Queen uttered. "You should've done what I had asked and killed that unfaithful wretch when you saw him!" she demanded angrily.
"We will do what we must, and right now? I'm inclined to let you two hash this out yourselves!" Aegon retorted. "This is a quarrel between a husband and wife, one that my companions and I have no wish to be a part of," he said firmly.
"A quarrel?! That's what you think this is?!" the Witch-Queen asked in disbelief. "This wretch was unfaithful to me! Spurned years of faithful marriage to cavort with a common wench!" she howled.
"It was worth it! To get away from a cold loveless bed and even colder shrew of a wife!" the Lion growled angrily.
"Shut up! I'm talking now!" Aegon said coldly and he looked at the Lion and the Witch-Queen and stated, "Obviously there's some issues that need to be worked out, as well as a curse that has caused this land to suffer a century long winter. Something needs to be worked out."
"I know of one way to work this out!" the Witch-Queen hissed venomously. "The Lion must die! Here and now!" she declared.
"Nay! The Witch must die!" the Lion stated furiously.
"Enough! There's no reason to spill blood over a marital spat!" Saeko said coldly. Looking at the Witch-Queen, she asked her, "How do we lift the curse that grips this land in eternal winter and has your husband assume the form of a lion?"
"He must die! His blood must be spilled on the Stone Table for the Winter to end!" The Witch-Queen said in answer.
"She feeds you lies!" the Lion argued. "It is she who must die for the Winter to end and me to take human form once more!" he said.
Then a wind blew in and emerging from the willow tree's truck was the ghostly apparition of a woman mostly nude save for long dreadlocked hair covering her bosom and a loin cloth of leaves covering her womanhood. A sad expression was on the apparition's features as she spoke in a distant sounding voice, "Please… enough. No more of this."
The Lion and Witch-Queen looked surprised and shocked. Aegon and his companions were wide-eyed at this turn of events.
"My love?" the Lion asked, his amber eyes wide with disbelief.
"It is me, my brave one," the apparition said gently before she looked at the Witch-Queen who could only glare at her spitefully. "My queen… I have no ill will towards you… but I have seen this land suffer for too long…"
"No ill will towards me?!" the Witch-Queen scoffed. "You jumped into bed with my husband who was all too glad to as well!" she accused.
A sadder expression was on the spectre of the Lion's lover's face before saying, "I am truly sorry to have hurt you so, but it was never my intention to."
"But you hurt me regardless!" the Witcher screeched angrily.
"I know and I will never forgive myself for that," the spectre said unhappily. "All I ask is that you learn to forgive your husband for his infidelity and let this land be free of Winter at last," she pleaded.
"Forgive him?! After all he's done?!" the Witch-Queen uttered in disbelief. "There's only one thing that can make me forgive him for what he's done!" she spat.
Aegon glanced at his companions and muttered to them, "Stand by for trouble."
The Witch-Queen looked at Aegon and his companions and said to them, "Hear me; I shall let you leave this land unharmed and unmolested if you destroy the Tree, right here and now!"
The Lion roared angrily and spoke, "Kill the Witch for me and I shall let you leave this land also!"
"No! There need not be any bloodshed this night! Enough have suffered already!" the Spectre of the Tree stated. "Convince them to forgive one another!" she implored.
Aegon and his companions looked at each other; they were thrust into a situation that they had no idea would turn out.
"What do we do?" Saya whispered to her friends.
"The only thing we can do," Aegon said sombrely as he drew Blackfyre from it sheath.
"Aegon?" Saeko looked at her lover a worried expression on her face as she saw him draw his sword.
Glancing at his lover with a sad smile, Aegon then looked between the Witch-Queen, the Lion and the Spectre of the Tree for a long moment; the Witch-Queen glared spitefully at him and the Lion, the Spectre of the Tree had a sad look on her ghostly face and the Lion bared his teeth in anger. Looking at each of the three parties for a long moment, Aegon then cast his gaze at the Stone Table that sat there seemingly innocuous and blameless.
Aegon then approached the slab of rock, gripping the hilt of his sword in both hands. Everyone looked at him in confusion and the Witch-Queen spoke slowly, "What are you doing?" she asked. Aegon ignored her and raised his sword high above his head, ready for a downward strike. A look of alarm passed over the Witch-Queen's face as she shouted, "Stop! No!" She rushed forward to stop Aegon as he swung down with all the force in his body.
Saeko and Saya covered Alice with their bodies as the resulting force behind Aegon's action caused a massive explosion as the Stone Table was split in half by his sword. Splinters, shards and chips of stone flew about as magical energies spewed forth in a wave, spreading out from the table and across the land. Aegon was knocked back by the force and landed on his back, covered in dust and some scratches on his face from where the stone splinters had struck him.
Saeko quickly rushed to his side, helping him up. "Are you alright? What got into your head doing that?" she asked him in bewilderment.
"Not sure to be honest," Aegon replied embarrassedly. "I figured destroying the table would be better than killing anyone here," he said. He then asked, "Did it work?"
A collective groan was heard and Aegon & Saeko looked over to see a tall man with features that were very lion-like stand to his bare feet. He was naked save for a loin cloth and his chest was broad and covered in brown hair and his arms looked thick and heavy with muscle. His eyes remained an amber colour as he looked at his now human hands and laughed, "I'm human once more!"
"My love?" a voice asked and everyone looked to see the Spectre of the Tree had regained human form, although her skin was a deep tint of green but she still looked lovely to behold.
The Lion or now Man gave a cry of relief and rushed forward to embrace her. "We're free, my sweet! Free at last!" He then looked at Aegon and asked, "How did you know that would free us from our curse?"
"I didn't to be honest. I just guessed that this place being where you were cursed, the Stone Table would be that which tethered the curse to you both," Aegon admitted.
"Good guess," the Lion/Man said with a nod of his head. "Where is my… wife?" he then asked with some distaste in his voice.
And on cue, the Witch-Queen rose up, her face full of fury, a long jagged shard of the Stone Table in her grasp, gripping it so tight between her fingers that blood dripped onto the ground. With a scream of anguish and fury, the sound so piercing that it almost made everyone's hears hurt as she lunged forward towards her husband and his lover. Reacting quickly, Saeko drew her sword in one swift motion and slashed at the Witch-Queen. The tempered hand forged blade bit deep into the Witch-Queen, causing her to give a cry of surprise as blood sprayed out from the wound and she fell to her chest, blood beginning to pool around her.
The Witch-Queen's husband face went ashen as he rushed to his estranged wife's side, cradling her in his brawny arms. "Wife?" he asked in a small voice. He then looked at Saeko, an angry look in his lion-like eyes. "You killed her!"
"She tried to kill you!" Saya argued.
Saeko bowed her head in shame and the Witch-Queen gasped out in short breaths. "My love?" Her eyes were beginning to glaze over.
"I never meant for this to happen!" the Witch-Queen's husband began to sob, tears pouring from his eyes. "Forgive me!"
"I… I…" The Witch-Queen's eyes then went dull and her body went limp and the sun began to rise over the horizon, casting orange, red and gold fingers of light over everything, adding to the sombreness of the moment.
…
An hour later, Aegon and his companions stood with the Lion/Man and his lover in his camp. All of the Lion's subjects were surprised to see their liege had been restored to human form. Now clad in red robes, the newly returned King looked at Aegon and his companions, a sad grim expression on his face as he spoke to them.
"I should thank you and your companions coming to my land and lifting the curse that has gripped this land for night a hundred years," he began and he drew a massive hand across his face and said, "But I cannot rightly forgive what you did to my Wife."
"We understand," Aegon said calmly. "We only acted in the best way we thought possible given the circumstances," he added in his and his companion's defence.
"I know. Which is why I am inclined to be lenient in this case," the King said slowly. "I will not execute you and your friends, but I can banish you from this land to never return," he then declared regally.
"We understand," Saeko said softly. "We only came to retrieve Alice," she added as she placed a gentle hand on Alice's shoulder. Alice had a sad look in her purple eyes, tears threatening to leak from them.
"Then go. Leave and never return," the King said.
"If I may ask a question, your grace," Aegon began tentatively. "Was what your deceased wife said about you true? Were you truly unfaithful to her?" he enquired.
The King had a sad look in his amber eyes before answering Aegon's question. "I was faithful to my wife, at least in the beginning. But over time, we drifted apart and changed and then I met the one who captured my heart and made me feel alive again. So, yes, what my former queen said was partly true," he admitted.
"I see," Aegon said calmly.
The King then raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "Do you judge me as a faithless cur?" His voice tightened a little as he said those words.
"It's not up to me to judge you for what you've done, your grace," Aegon said respectfully. "Perhaps in your shoes, I might've done the same," he added sagely.
The King gave a growling hum of thought before nodding at Aegon and his companions. Taking this as a cue to leave, Aegon looked at his companions and nodded and they then left the Lion's Camp and began the journey that would take them back to where they had come from.
…
Cerys An Craite paced back and forth anxiously. It had only been fifteen minutes since Aegon, Saeko and Saya had gone into the Wardrobe to search for Alice. She knew she had been told to wait an hour before fetching Ermion or Yennefer, but the waiting was killing her.
Just as she prepared to fetch the druid and the sorceress, the wardrobe door swung open and stepping out was Aegon, Saeko, Saya and Alice, apparently no worse for wear.
"That was quick!" Cerys exclaimed.
"Quick? We were gone for a couple of days! How long has it been here?" Saya asked in confusion.
"It were only fifteen minutes since you went in to search for Alice," Cerys said to her and she looked at Alice and added, "And you've found her it seems. What happened in there?"
"It's a long story," Aegon replied as he rubbed the back of his head tiredly.
"Well, if you've been gone for as long as you say you have, then I imagine you must be hungry," Cerys said. "C'mon. I'll take you to see Ermion and Yennefer and get you all something to eat," she offered.
Nodding their heads, Aegon, Saeko, Saya and Alice then followed Cerys out of the room. Alice stopped for a moment to loom at the wardrobe for a moment before looking away and following her friends.
…
A/N: There! Thirtieth chapter of this story is done and dusted! I hope you all enjoyed, and like I said in the disclaimer/notes in the beginning, the arc was more or less a deconstruction of Narnia's Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe story, so I hope that clears it up.
In other news, I've got the idea of a Super Smash Bros/Elder Scrolls Self-Insert story where the Self-Insert ends up in the Smash Bros universe as the Dragonborn/Dovahkiin from Skyrim. With that in mind, I've set up a romance poll of some lovely lasses for the Self-Insert Dragonborn to end up with and so far, Samus Aran is the top choice. The poll isn't limited to just female characters from Smash Bros/Nintendo, there's a mix of girls from various fandoms such as Fallout, Soul Calibur, Devil May Cry, Witcher, to name a few. So if you have a choice on which lovely lady you want to be SI-Dragonborn's girl, feel free to cast your vote.
And that's about all I have right now, so I'll leave this here and catch you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.