Dark Knights of Steel: Ice and Fire
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Chapter 3
After chopping up the remaining wood, Aegon then left it to Victor and Garfield to stack in the woodshed. Kory soon greeted the young knight.
"All done?" she asked him.
"For now," came the reply.
"Good. I think you should get washed up. You're all dirty and sweaty," Kory then said to Aegon as she looked at his dirt and sweat stained tunic.
"I suppose you're right," Aegon admitted with a chuckle. "Is there anywhere I can bathe?" he asked.
"There's a stream nearby we sometimes use to wash ourselves," Kory told him. "I'll take you there," she said as she took Aegon by the hand and led him off.
A few minutes later, Aegon and Kory arrived at a shallow running river. "Here we are. You can wash up here," the Tamaranean told the Valyrian.
"I don't have a spare change of clothes," Aegon reminded her.
Kory smiled brightly at this and replied, "That's okay. I can head back and bring you some clean ones while you wash up here. Be right back!" She then flew off before Aegon could stop her.
With a sigh, Aegon said to himself, "May as well wash up while I'm here." Stripping off his tunic, trousers, smallclothes and shoes, Aegon submerged himself in the river. It was about waist high and it was a little cold to begin with, but it was clean and didn't look to have any creepy crawlies in it. Splashing some water onto his face, Aegon used his hands to scrub off the dirt and sweat that had set in his hair. The water began to turn a slightly cloudy brown colour as the young knight washed himself. Deciding to dunk himself in the water, the Valyrian submerged himself fully.
Spending but a few seconds in the watery depths, Aegon rose up from the water sopping wet and he soon met Kory who was watching him curiously. Aegon blushed as he suddenly felt very self-conscious of his state of deshabille. "Oh, you're back?" he asked Kory. "I thought you would've taken longer to find some clothes for me," he remarked as he lowered himself in the water to keep his modesty concealed.
"Victor and Garfield were kind enough to lend you some clothes that they don't use anymore. I think they should fit you," Kory replied. "Would you like some help washing up?" she inquired helpfully as she set aside the bundle of clothes in her arms and made to strip off her own clothes.
"That really isn't necessary!" Aegon protested but too late, Kory had stripped off her clothes so that she was naked. Seeing the golden-tan plains of Kory's bare skin, combined with her natural curves which were nothing to sneeze at, had Aegon blushing like a little girl and he turned his head away, forcing himself to not look.
"Is something wrong?" Kory asked as she entered the water and moved over to standing in Aegon's personal space, much to his discomfort.
"Kory, we shouldn't be doing this!" Aegon stated as he tried to not look anywhere at Kory. "We barely know each other to do something like this!" he stressed.
"Then perhaps we can know each other better this way," Kory said sweetly as she turned Aegon's head so that his purple eyes met her vibrant green ones. "On Tamaran, it is perfectly normal to bathe together," she explained with an innocent smile.
"This isn't Tamaran," Aegon said weakly.
"Perhaps," Kory admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't do it with each other," she said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Aegon's neck. Glancing over his shoulder, Aegon saw that there was no malice nor any kind of seduction in Kory's eyes. Her eyes were filled with a charming innocence that began down the wall Aegon wanted to put between them both.
Reluctantly, Aegon turned around to face Kory fully and said to her, "You're really clueless, aren't you?"
"About what?" Kory chirped at him a carefree smile on her lips.
Sighing to himself, Aegon just said to her, "Let's just wash up." Cupping some water in his hands, Aegon began to wash himself and Kory did the same. The entire time, the young knight tried not to think about Kory's nude body and it was taking all his self-control to not let his arousal show. Whilst he had seen his teacher Septa Lemore bathe naked in the River Rhoyne every morning, he saw her as a mother figure and had little to no attraction to her whatsoever. But here was a beautiful young woman bathing naked, with him no less. Suffice to say, it was a struggle for Aegon to maintain his composure so that he would not do anything unseemly of himself.
"Aegon? Could get my back?" Kory asked him sweetly. "I can't quite reach," she informed him with a smile.
"O-Of course. Not a problem," replied Aegon, his cheeks becoming stained crimson as Kory turned on the spot to give him access to her back. Hesitating for a moment, Aegon began to scrub Kory's nude back. Her skin was surprisingly warm to the touch, despite the coolness of the stream itself. Being thorough, Aegon washed Kory's back before announcing he was finished.
"Thank you," Kory turned back around with a beaming smile. "Would you like me to wash your back in return?" she enquired sweetly.
"I'm fine, but thank you for asking," Aegon said in response, smiling bashfully at the offer.
"Alright then," Kory said with a nod of her head. "Shall we head back to the farm now?" she suggested.
"You can go ahead. I'll catch up," Aegon told her and he turned firmly on the spot to give Kory some privacy.
"You would not let me walk back alone, would you?" Kory asked him teasingly.
"Well, when you out it like that, no," Aegon grudgingly admitted. "You can get dress first," he was quick to say.
"Alright then." Aegon heard Kory wade her way out of the stream followed by the sound cloth brushing over bare skin. "You can come out and get dress now!" Kory called out to him.
"Alright…" Aegon turned around and waded out of the water and saw Kory standing at the bank, the spare change of clothes for him in her arms. "Umm, could you give me some privacy?" he requested firmly. Kory smiled and closed her eyes firmly indicating that she would not peek.
Not fully trusting her, Aegon took the spare clothes and dressed himself. After dressing himself, he announced he was done. Kory opened her eyes and smiled innocently. "Shall we head back now?" she offered.
"Yes. Of course," Aegon replied as he offered a hand to Kory who clasped it with her own. The pair of them then headed back to the Kent Farm where they were greeted Jonathon.
"Ah, there you two are. Where ya been?" the former soldier turned farmer asked them cheerfully.
"I needed to wash up and Kory took me to a nearby stream to do so," Aegon said giving a half-truth.
"Really? That all you did?" Jonathon asked with a twinkle in his eye, a playful grin pulling on his lips.
"…Yes," Aegon said awkwardly after a moment. Jonathon only smiled more widely as if enjoying the young knight's discomfort.
"Well, Victor and Garfield have stacked all the wood in the shed. Should last us a winter or two," the aged farmer said. "I was just about to head into town to pick up a few supplies. Like to join me?" he asked Aegon.
"If that is what you need, then certainly," the young knight replied.
"Alright, I'll get the horses and wagon ready. Meet you there," Jonathon then headed for the stables to ready said horses and wagon.
"I'd better go see what Raven and Martha are doing," Kory said to Aegon. "I'll see you at dinner," she told him as she flew off to find Martha and Raven.
"R-Right…" Aegon mumbled as he headed for the stables and found Jonathon waiting for him.
"All set?" the farmer asked and Aegon nodded. "Climb aboard then." Aegon climbed into the passenger seat beside his host and the former soldier gave a flick of the reins. With a slow creaking rumble of wood grinding against the earth and the huffs and pants of the horses, the wagon trundled out of the stables and began to the trek out of the Kent Farm and onto the road.
"Not expecting any trouble, but you might wanna keep this handy," Jonathon told Aegon as he took out a wooden crossbow from behind the driver's seat and offered it to him.
Aegon inspected the weapon; it looked old but well kept for its age. Accepting the weapon with a nod of thanks, Aegon cradled the weapon in both hands. Going through the forest in companionable silence with only the sounds of the forest, the horses and the wagon wheels, Aegon sat beside Jonathon as the latter drove the wagon.
After a moment of quiet, Jonathon asked, "So, what happened at the stream?" His tone was conversational and this alone alarmed Aegon.
"I… I don't know what you mean," he feigned.
Jonathon gave a warm good-natured chuckle and said to him, "You ain't in trouble, youngster. You're a young man who was with a beautiful young woman, only natural you might wanna have a go at each other."
"We… We didn't!" Aegon protested. "I certainly wanted to! But Kory seemed too innocent for that," he said quickly.
"Yeah, comes with the territory knowing Kory," Jonathon said knowingly. "Being from another world, she has different views of things. Can't tell ya how many times Martha and I have had to tell Kory to not walk around the house naked all the time," he added.
"Surely you jest?" Aegon asked dumbfounded.
"I jest you not, youngster. By Kory's own admission, many of her people don't wear clothing all the time, and when they do, it leaves little to the imagination if you get my meaning," Jonathon replied. "But Kory means no harm by it. She's a very sweet and innocent young woman," he said fondly.
"It doesn't help she has little concept of personal space," Aegon groused.
Jonathon laughed, his shoulders shaking from mirth. "Yeah, that too, I suppose. Kory's very free with her emotions and it shows when she goes to hug someone."
"Any advice you can give me?" Aegon asked listlessly.
"Just be patient and understanding of Kory is the best advice I can give you," Jonathon told him. "And it's not like you youngsters all invented sex," he joked.
Aegon gave a groan of annoyance which only made Jonathon laughed loudly, his merriment echoing in the forest. Aegon palmed his face in one hand as his host laughed.
After Jonathon got his mirth under control, the pair then continued driving the wagon through the forest. Aegon then asked, "So, what can you tell me about the village we're going to? What is it called?"
"It's called Small Village, although it's shortened to Smallville. Ain't anything grand, but it's got all the essentials you need to live out here," Jonathon prattled. "It's on the outer edges of the El Kingdom," he said.
"Must be dangerous being on the edge of a kingdom that has outlawed magical beings. How have you not been discovered?" Aegon asked.
Jonathon shrugged and replied, "Lucky, I guess. Between the Bat Prince's Robins watching the comings and goings of whomever enters the El Kingdom, it is difficult to keep a low profile, but the Robins can't be everywhere at once."
"The Robins. Who are they?" Aegon asked.
"The Bat Prince's troop of spies and apprentices," Jonathon told the young knight. "They started out as pickpockets but fell in with the Bat Prince after he recruited them. They're his eyes and ears, keeping watch for all who would bring harm to the El family," he said.
"Hmph. Much like Varys the Spider and his Little Birds," Aegon said sardonically.
"Varys? Who was he?" Jonathon asked curiously.
"The Master of Whispers, a spymaster for two kings where I hail from," Aegon then described the eunuch known as Varys, how he came to be in service to the Mad King before swearing allegiance to Robert Baratheon but secretly plotted to restore House Targaryen to power.
"And you're saying this Varys was a eunuch?" Jonathon asked.
"So it is said. And being eunuch means he is not beholden to the temptations of the flesh so no-one can tempt him into their service that way," Aegon stated. "Many do not trust eunuchs because of that, though there are more reasons why," he said grimly.
"I can imagine," Jonathon remarked. The farmer then looked at the road ahead of them and pulled on the reins of the horses. "Whoa, now." The wagon came to a stop.
"What is it?" Aegon asked.
"A tree's fallen down across the road," Jonathon replied pointing to the tree that lay across the road. "We might have to double back and go another way," he said.
"Could we move it?" Aegon enquired.
"Maybe, but we'd need Victor and Garfield to help us move it," said Jonathon.
Aegon got down from the passenger seat of the wagon to examine the felled tree. It certainly looked big that it would require more than Jonathon and himself to move it. But something else caught Aegon's gaze; right at the base of the stump, the wood was not broken, but rather chopped into. Aegon suddenly realised something and he cried out, "It's an ambush!"
"What?!" Jonathon blurted out in alarm and dropping down from the trees were four individuals; one was a hulking man with a mane of chestnut red hair and a muscular build and a savage looking face. The next was a petite young woman with magenta-pink hair and eyes. The third, a young woman, had a similar hair colour to the mammoth of a man, wearing a revealing dark outfit and dark makeup on her eyes and lips. The last person was a diminutive young boy with no hair on his crown and wearing a green tunic.
"You!?" Jonathon squawked out in recognition and the large man grabbed the farmer by the neck, his meaty fingers going all the way around Jonathon's throat and squeezed firmly.
"Let him go!" Aegon shouted aiming his crossbow at the hulking man.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the pink haired girl said to the young knight silkily.
To spite the bandits, Aegon squeezed the trigger of his crossbow to loose the bolt within. The pinkette wiggled her fingers, electric pink sparks flickering between the slender digits. The same electric pink sparks danced around the crossbow in Aegon's hands and the drawstring snapped, rendering it useless.
"Wh-What?!" Aegon uttered in surprise as he regarded the bandits who seemingly had a magic-user in their ranks.
The chestnut haired woman smiled smugly and spoke. "Good. We have your attention it seems," she stated. "The Titans. We want them," she then said brusquely.
"Titans? What are you talking about?" Aegon demanded.
"The four teenager living with you and this old man and his wife. We want them," the bald headed boy told the young knight. "Tell them to come to the old sawmill outside of Small Village and the old man won't be harmed," he said threateningly.
"Aegon, no! Forget about me!" Jonathon shouted to the young knight and the hulking man squeezed the old farmer's throat firmly making him choke in protest.
"Tell the Titans to come meet with us and we'll spare the old man," the pinkette told Aegon. "You have until midnight tonight. Oh, and don't make us wait, or else we might see just how much an old man can endure," she said with a giggle.
"Aegon! Forget about me! Don't tell the others to come rescue me! I'm not worth it!" Jonathon cried out through choking gasps.
Aegon gritted his teeth in frustration and conceded. "Very well… I shall tell them…"
"Good boy," the chestnut haired woman smirked dangerously. "Best head home now. The longer you take, the more inclined we'll be to take our frustration out on the old man," she warned silkily.
Cutting through the forest, Aegon ran as fast as he could all the way back to the Kent Farm. The muscles in his legs ached and his lung burned with exertion.
Crashing through the farm house door, Aegon nearly collapsed to the floor as he saw everyone in the house.
"Aegon?! What's the meaning of this? Breaking down the door like that! What's gotten into you?" Martha chastised.
"Jonathon! They've… eurgh, got him!" Aegon tried to say through gulps of air.
"Jonathon? Who's got him?" Martha asked.
"Let him talk, Ma," Garfield said as he helped Aegon to a chair.
Catching his breath, Aegon spoke. "The road was blocked by a tree… we though it might've fallen, but it was cut! Four bandits came out of nowhere! They took Jonathon hostage!"
"They? They who?" Garfield asked.
"They did not say," Aegon replied. "They've demanded that you four meet them at the old sawmill outside of Small Village and they'll return Jonathon then. We have until midnight tonight," he explained.
Victor looked at Martha and asked, "Do you think it could be him?"
Martha pursed her lips in thought and replied, "It could be, but we'll never know for sure."
"Him? Him who?" Aegon caught onto that detail.
"There are bad people out there who wish to capture magical beings and use them for their own ends, Aegon," Raven replied. "One of those individuals is the Demon, Ra's Al Ghul," she said grimly. "I'm guessing these bandits were mercenaries hired by the Demon to capture us by holding Jonathon hostage," she surmised.
"What do we do?" Kory asked with a serious expression on her face.
"We're going to rescue Pa and kick those bandits asses!" Victor stated as his right gauntlet shifted into a stranger weapon with a glowing red head.
Aegon frowned in thought and said, "Not without me, you're not." He stood to his feet and headed for his room to retrieve his sword.
"This isn't your fight," Raven told him calmly.
"Maybe. But you were all kind enough to take me in and give me shelter here," Aegon replied as he came back out from his room, tying Blackfyre to his waist. "I refuse to spit on your kindness by not helping," he declared.
"Are you sure about this?" You haven't got powers like we do," Victor reminded.
"Powers or not, I have good hard Valyrian steel and strong arms to wield it," Aegon stated boldly. "It's all I need for this fight," he said bravely.
"I'm down with that," Garfield said giving a thumbs up to Aegon. "What about you guys?" the green-skinned boy asked his friends.
"Good enough for me," Victor said with a smile and nod of his head.
Kory nodded in agreement whereas Raven said, "Well, don't come crying to me if you end up coming home in a bodycast." She directed her words at Aegon who replied, "Oh, ye of little faith…"
Martha then looked at everyone and said, "I don't suppose I can dissuade you all from going. Just be careful, please."
"We will, Ma," Garfield told her, giving her a warm hug. "We'll bring Pa back home safe and sound!" he promised.
"I know you will," Martha said with a watery smile. "Now go on, 'fore I change my mind and stop you all from going," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.
"Let's go!" Aegon said as he led the Titans out of the farmhouse and they began the journey to the old sawmill.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After little more than a year, I've finally updated this! Not too much action in this chapter, but the next chapter we'll definitely see some with Aegon going on his first outing with the Titans against the Fearsome Five (technically Four in this scene…).
Not much to say about this, but I hope it was enough to show that I'm not dead in this fic and I hope you all enjoyed it. If you have any suggestions for this story about characters from DC Comics you want to see, apart from the ones already seen in the Dark Knights of Steel series, leave them in a review and I'll see what I can come up with. Some other characters are already going to be seen in this story such as our favourite one-eyed assassin/mercenary Deathstroke who is set to appear in Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter; Viking Deathstroke, let that sink in for a minute.
And I haven't got too much more to say, so I'll see you all next time.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.