A Young Griff's Guide to the DC Universe

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Chapter 2: Paradise Found?

The first thing Aegon felt was a cool gentle breeze brushing his face followed by something cool and damp being draped across his forehead. Opening his eyes only to shut them as blinding white light blinded him. Giving a groan of discomfort, Aegon tried to sit up when a pair of strong hands pushed him back down on whatever he lay upon.

"Easy there. You've been out for quite a while," a woman's voice with an odd accent said to him.

"Where am I?" Aegon croaked out, his throat dry and scratchy.

"You're safe," replied the woman's voice. "I found you washed up on shore like a piece of driftwood and brought you here," she said. "You were blue as a whale, you know?" she teased.

Forcing his eyes open, Aegon was met with the sight of a stunningly beautiful woman looming over him. She had dark brown almost black hair, olive tinted skin and warm brown eyes which shone warmly. She wore a loose white tunic that showed hints of a healthy and strong body. Aegon must've been staring when the woman asked with mirth in her voice, "What? Never seen a woman before?"

"F-Forgive me, my lady," Aegon said awkwardly. "Who are you?" he then asked the obvious question.

"I am Diana and to answer the question you want to ask next, you are on Themyscira, home of the Amazons," the woman now identified as Diana told him.

"Themyscira? Never heard of it," Aegon muttered.

Diana regarded him for a moment before asking, "So, who are you? And where do you come from?"

"A… Griff, Young Griff, from Essos," Aegon said deciding to use his alias.

"A pleasure to meet you, Young Griff," Diana said with a warm smile. "Although you'll forgive when I say that I have never heard of anywhere called Essos before," she added ruefully.

"Whereabouts is Themyscira? Is it somewhere in the Narrow Sea?" Aegon asked as he sat up this time.

"I know of many seas and stretches of ocean, but I've not heard of this Narrow Sea you speak of," Diana admitted. "What was the last thing you remember?" she enquired of Aegon.

"I was sailing across the Narrow Sea bound for Westeros," Aegon replied. "A storm had hit the fleet and I was knocked overboard and the next thing I know I washed up on shore where you found me," he recalled.

Diana looked at Aegon for a moment before nodding and said, "You don't appear to be lying, but you're not quite telling me everything."

Aegon glanced away at this gentle accusation and said, "Forgive me, but there are some things that I wish to keep hidden until I am certain of whom I can trust."

"Fair enough. You are among strangers. I can understand that," Diana said with a look of understanding. "But you needn't be afraid to tell the truth," she added reassuringly.

"We'll see, won't we?" Aegon said dryly. Looking at himself and realising that he was clad in only a pair of linen shorts and he asked, "Where are my clothes?"

"They're being washed and dried right now," Diana informed him as she rose to her feet and walked over to a nearby wooden chest. Opening it, she took a small bundle of clothes. Offering them to Aegon she said, "These should fit you, but we don't receive many men visiting our shores."

Aegon raised an eyebrow at this but did not say anything as he took the clothes with a nod of thanks and dressed himself. The clothing consisted a soft white tunic of wool with a pair of shorts and sandals. After dressing himself, Aegon looked at his host and asked, "How do I look?"

"It fits you at least," Diana replied. "Come, my mother will want to speak with you," she said to Aegon as she held out a hand to take.

"Wait! Where is my sword?" Aegon piped up. "I had a sword with me when I was knocked overboard," he explained.

"It is safely secured. You'll forgive us if we do not return it to you right now, but we must be assured that you mean no harm," Diana told him patiently.

Aegon frowned at this, a little annoyed at being disarmed but nodded in acceptance. "Very well, but I would like it returned to me as soon as possible," he said firmly.

"Of course. Come, my mother is expecting us," Diana said to him as she took her hand in his and led out of the room. They were then walking along a walkway and Aegon was stunned to see what lay out below and beyond. Words failed to form in the young prince's mouth, the only word that could describe what he was paradise. Perfectly clear blue skies with nary a cloud sailing them. Buildings of white marble were spread across the expanse with numerous gardens and forests interweaving through the white buildings.

"Something wrong?" Aegon gave a start as he realised that he had been staring and saw that Diana was looking at him in concern.

"I've never seen a city like this," he mumbled in awe.

"Very few men have," Diana told him with amusement. "You should feel privileged, but do not expect a warm welcome from all the Amazons in Themyscira," she warned.

"Amazons? What is an Amazon?" Aegon asked curiously.

"The Amazons are my people and my mother their queen," Diana told him.

Suddenly realising that he was in the presence of royalty, Aegon got down on one knee and bowed his head respectfully. "Forgive my impertinence, Your Grace! I had not realised you were highborn!" he blurted out.

"Stop it, we don't do that here," Diana said to him with an exasperated if mildly amused look in her eyes as she lifted Aegon to his feet. "Most men may not be welcome in Themyscira, but we hardly expect them to grovel and scrape before us," she added.

"Forgive me, it was how I was raised," Aegon admitted sheepishly.

"There's nothing to forgive as you had not known," Diana said to him kindly. "Come, this way," she told him as they continued on their way. As they walked along the walkway, they passed by other women, some dressed in the manner of soldiers. Aegon noted the odd if somewhat cautious looks in their eyes as he & Diana passed them. A few of them had some hostile looks on their faces as they glared at Aegon making him wonder why they looked at him with such hostility.

But before he could think to ask Diana as to why he was receiving such glares, they entered what could only be the throne. And seated upon a wicker throne was a woman who hardly looked a few years older than Diana herself. She shared many similar features with Diana, dark hair and eyes and olive tinted skin and she wore more regal attire with a gold circlet upon her brow.

"Mother, our guest has awoken and I have brought him as you requested," Diana announced to the seated woman formally. Aegon raised his eyebrows in surprise when Diana addressed the woman as mother. They looked like sisters than mother and daughter, he privately thought.

Diana's mother smiled regally and nodded. "Thank you, daughter, I am curious about our guest since he washed up on shore," she said in an almost distant voice before looking at Aegon with curious regard. "What is your name, young man? And how did you come to our shores?" she enquired.

Aegon then repeated what he told Diana earlier to her mother. The Queen listened carefully, seemingly picking up on the details that Aegon was being vague about but she did not bring them. After Aegon finished speaking, she then spoke in a regal voice, "It would seem that you are from another world, different from ours."

"Is there any way I could return to my own world?" Aegon enquired hopefully.

Diana's mother pursed her lips thoughtfully at this and replied, "Travelling to other worlds is… difficult to say the least. There are many worlds besides our own; some so similar you would be hard pressed to find a single difference, and others so radically different they are completely separate with no similarities whatsoever."

"So, you mean to tell me that return is impossible?" Aegon asked, his heart sinking in despair.

"I did not say impossible. Merely difficult," the queen corrected firmly. "There is a chance your world could be closer than anticipated," she said encouragingly.

"Then I don't suppose you have the means of which I could be on my way then?" Aegon asked, although he half-guessed what the queen's answer might be.

"Sadly, we do not," Diana's mother said with an amused smile. "But, some of Diana's friends may have the answer," she added with a look at Diana.

"Friends?" Aegon parroted as he looked at Diana who smiled and nodded at this.

"A group I am associated with does have many resources with which they use to help others," she told Aegon. "They were founded with the intention of helping others," she said.

"A very noble goal," Aegon remarked. "Would they be willing to assist me with my predicament?"

"I'll be sure to ask them when I see them, which should be very soon," Diana replied with a nod of her head.

"Very well. I look forward to it," Aegon said with a bow of his head. "Now, I don't suppose I could ask for my sword back?" he requested with a slightly anxious look on his face.

"Of course, and may I say that I have seen many blades in my life but yours is quite exquisite," the queen stated. "May I ask where you came by such a weapon?" she asked.

"it's a family heirloom," Aegon replied with a half-truth. "I cannot say anymore than that, at least until I am sure whom I can trust," he said honestly.

"We understand. We all have our secrets to keep," the queen said knowingly as a serving arrived in the room with Blackfyre in its sheathe. Taking back his sword with a nod of thanks, Aegon said, "Thank you, I almost felt naked without it by my side."

"Then am I right to assume that you are a warrior?" Diana asked.

"I have had training in arms if that is what you're asking," Aegon said carefully.

"Then perhaps you would be willing to agree to a sparring match?" Diana offered. "I'd be interested to see your level of skill with that sword," she said giving the sword that Aegon now held in his grasp.

"If you wish to practice with live steel, then I'm afraid I must refuse," Aegon said dryly. "I was taught to never practice with live steel against a living sparring partner. And the fact you wish to spar with live steel has me concerned," he added blandly and Diana blushed a little at this.

This exchange amused Diana's mother who remarked, "A very sensible approach to training, Young Griff. You've clearly taken into account safety during practice."

"The only time I should ever use live steel is when I face an opponent for real," Aegon stated bluntly. "And besides, it would be bad form to wound your daughter, a princess of your people as I've noted some have already taken a dislike to my presence," he observed as he glanced at some of the guards standing beside the queen who frowned a little at the implied accusation.

"An observant one, I see," the queen said with some approval. "You are not incorrect, some of my people would take offence to my daughter being harmed by a man and would seek retribution against said man."

"You speak as if there are no men among your people at all," Aegon noted. "Why do you?" he questioned.

"Because there are male Amazons," Diana answered. "Our people are all women," she said matter-of-factly.

"Are there no men at all?" Aegon asked in slight worry and caution.

"You needn't fret, Young Griff. We do have a small colony of men living on Themyscira in Boom Town, and there are men in Man's World as well as women," Diana explained.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Aegon said looking a little perplexed.

"Then I suppose we must explain to you the finer details of the world you have found yourself in," Hippolyta said sagely. "Come, join me and my daughters for dinner and we'll endeavour to help you learn about the world," she offered.

Aegon sighed and gave a relieved smile. "Some food sounds very nice right now."

"Come then, let us share stories of our worlds over food and wine," Hippolyta declared as she rose from her wicker throne and she & her daughter then led Aegon down the hall to what would be the dining hall where he could learn more about the world he had found himself and hopefully discover a way home.

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: Chapter 2 is done and dusted and the first story I've updated since Christmas and the New Year. Can't promise regular updates for any of my stories, but with Summer holidays almost being over, things are starting to wind down a little bit. Over the last year I've been getting more shifts at work which doesn't leave me a lot of time or energy for writing and my writing suffers as a result of this. So for those of you who raised concerns about the rate which I update my stories, now you know why.

So, not much to say about this chapter, it's fairly short, and the next chapter will be an exposition chapter but we may see some action when a certain redheaded Amazon (we all know who it is) takes offence to Aegon being allowed to stay in Themyscira and challenge him to a one on one duel. Obviously, some of the naysayers will argue that Aegon wouldn't stand a chance against even a regular Amazon warrior, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to even things out a little. I've been reading up on actual HEMA techniques such as half-swording and Kunst des Fetchens/Fiore dei Liberi which could help even things a little.

And apart from that, not much more to say, so see you all next time.

Be kind to one another,

Angry lil' elf.