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edenfallingThis is NOT branchandroot's mini-ficlet. It is, instead, the version that failed to work, mostly because it's not actually a response to her prompt. (Naruto and Narnia, Sakura and Susan, the hidden sides, for the record.) This could develop into a reasonable story in its own right, I suspect, but I'd need to come up with a proxy antagonist for Team 7 to fight plus some kind of action/spy plot and resolution thereof, and I don't feel like writing a ten-thousand word fic along those lines. But here is a hint of what that story could have been if I'd worked out those problems and continued.
Summary: In the aftermath of Anvard, Edmund attempts to hire a trio of assassins to guard Susan from potential Calormene retaliation. Susan accepts their contract. (1,250 words)
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Set a Thief
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Victory at Anvard was a decidedly mixed blessing, particularly once Aslan had involved himself. Rabadash's twin humiliations in love and war were difficult enough for Calormen to swallow. His curse raised the insult to levels that would, if Susan's understanding of Calormene customs was correct, trigger automatic blood feud were it not for the obvious political difficulties.
(She did not trust her understanding anymore. If she had only thought that the Calormene rules of love might be as different from Narnian ways as the two countries' systems of law, or styles of poetry and art -- if she had slogged through Calormene romances instead of pounding the drafts of potential alliance treaties and trade agreements into her aching head -- so many things might have been avoided. Aslan could keep his silence on 'what would have happened' all he wished. Susan could work out basic logic perfectly well on her own.)
The absence of blood feud did not, of course, mean that the Tisroc would withhold vengeance. No. It would merely take a subtler form.
Susan suspected tariffs and a revived campaign against the supposed scourge of northern piracy. Edmund, who had a somewhat bloodier and more direct turn of mind, feared assassination, and took measures accordingly: he hired assassins of his own.
"They also work as bodyguards," he said when his siblings protested. "Set a thief to catch a thief. Fight fire with fire. Who better to keep our sister safe than those who know the methods of their potential foes?"
The trio of assassins stood silent and alert in the Great Hall of Cair Paravel while Edmund argued with Lucy and Peter. Susan examined them in equal silence. They all wore short-sleeved tunics over loose trousers, thick-soled sandals on their feet, and cloth bands with a metal plate tied around their foreheads. The symbol on the plate seemed to be a sort of stylized spiral leaf, with three crossed lines gouged through it.
Aside from those things, they were all quite different. The leader, Fox -- or at least the one who stood in the center and a half-pace ahead of his fellows -- was blond and his tunic was bright orange. He shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to another, his gaze darting curiously around the room. Hawk, who stood to Fox's left, had his arms crossed over his dark tunic, displaying his odd fabric gauntlets. He seemed to be doing his best to ignore everyone in the castle, including his teammates. The third assassin, on the other hand -- who had given her name as Spring -- met Susan's eyes with a rueful smile and a shrug of her shoulders.
Susan thought the woman's red tunic rather fetching. It certainly looked more comfortable for riding than most of her own dresses. The pink hair, however, made her wonder if Spring had some dryad blood, from one of the flowering trees. That sort of mixing was unusual outside of Narnia.
"I accept the contract," she said, speaking firmly to be heard over her siblings' clashing voices. "I, Susan Pevensie, by the grace of Aslan Queen of Narnia, hereby and forthwith retain Fox, Hawk, and Spring to guard my person and honor until such time as either they or I declare the contract ended. Do you accept in turn?"
"We do," said Fox. "You won't be sorry. If anybody tries anything while we're on the job, they won't know what hit them!"
Hawk kicked his ankle. Spring rolled her eyes.
Susan surprised herself by laughing. "I suspect any assailant would indeed be surprised. Come. Let us go to a more comfortable chamber where we may discuss the details of your work."
---------------
The first days of the contract involved much soothing of ruffled fur and feathers, as the guards of Cair Paravel bristled at the implication that a trio of humans unfamiliar with the structure of the castle and the ways of the country could guard their queen better than Narnia's own children could. Human senses were dull compared to those of Beasts; what, therefore, was the use of looking elsewhere for defense?
"Magic," Fox said with a grin as sly as his namesake. He made a peculiar gesture with interlocked hands. Suddenly there were two of him in the courtyard, then five, then twelve, then a full score. "You see?"
"Or rather, you don't see. Nor do you smell, touch, taste, or hear, unless we will it so," said Spring as she stepped out of what seemed to be empty space. She spread her hands to show she carried no weapons, though Susan doubted that meant much when set against her other talents.
"Pretty tricks. But Calormen has no truck with magic," Sallowpad the Raven observed in his dry, croaking voice. "Why should we need defenses against nonexistent threats?"
"There is magic in Calormen, as in all lands," said Spring. "This world is built on the Deep Magic, and it springs up and flows where it will."
"Even if the Calormenes refuse to touch the power themselves, as you Narnians refuse to touch the power of your own land, others can gather and use it," Hawk added, looking idly at the flames that danced over his outstretched fingers. "Our country has many villages. Each goes its own way. Who can say what contracts others may have accepted?"
"But don't worry. We're the best," Fox concluded as his doppelgangers vanished. "Your precious people are safe with us."
"And when your contract ends? What then?" Mr. Tumnus said in a thoughtful tone.
The three assassins exchanged a rapid network of glances and minute gestures before Fox laughed and said, "Technically speaking, we could accept a new contract to kill all of your in your sleep the minute our current contract ends, but we wouldn't do that. I promise."
"Does he speak truth?" asked Mr. Tumnus.
The Beasts of the castle guard grumbled and muttered amongst themselves, for apparently the assassins' illusions had fooled their senses as neatly as they had fooled Susan's. This was not the same as Rabadash, who had hidden his uglier half underneath his genuine intelligence, curiosity, and admiration for her beauty and her way with words. He had used one truth to obscure another. This magic simply obliterated truth.
Susan wondered if Jadis had used her power in such a fashion. If that was how she had won so many Narnians to her side after the Tree of Protection fell and her armies swept in from the west. If she had spoken fair words and cast a spell of blindness, deafness, numbness to spread poisonous tendrils through the air and land themselves.
"Truth, in its purest form, is unknowable outside of Aslan's country," she said, stilling the brewing argument before it could spill into true animosity. "I will take our new comrades' word on trust. You will watch to ensure my faith is not misplaced. Thus I give myself into your keeping, as you have given yourselves to me and my siblings. Today I plan to spend the remaining hours of day in the library. Attend me as you will, and set a guard schedule amongst yourselves for days to come."
Spring immediately moved to stand on her left, a tactful half-step back and to the side. The castle guard took a minute longer to make their selection, but presently Hela and Sunbright moved forward, the wolf mirroring Spring's position on Susan's right and the hawk perching briefly on the ornate carvings over the doorway into the castle keep.
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And that's where I realized I was writing the wrong story, ditched the political intrigue, and went off to start a new fic with a much tighter focus on Susan, Sakura, and their respective personal issues.
branchandroot's mini-ficlet. It is, instead, the version that failed to work, mostly because it's not actually a response to her prompt. (Naruto and Narnia, Sakura and Susan, the hidden sides, for the record.) This could develop into a reasonable story in its own right, I suspect, but I'd need to come up with a proxy antagonist for Team 7 to fight plus some kind of action/spy plot and resolution thereof, and I don't feel like writing a ten-thousand word fic along those lines. But here is a hint of what that story could have been if I'd worked out those problems and continued.Summary: In the aftermath of Anvard, Edmund attempts to hire a trio of assassins to guard Susan from potential Calormene retaliation. Susan accepts their contract. (1,250 words)
---------------------------------------------
Set a Thief
---------------------------------------------
Victory at Anvard was a decidedly mixed blessing, particularly once Aslan had involved himself. Rabadash's twin humiliations in love and war were difficult enough for Calormen to swallow. His curse raised the insult to levels that would, if Susan's understanding of Calormene customs was correct, trigger automatic blood feud were it not for the obvious political difficulties.
(She did not trust her understanding anymore. If she had only thought that the Calormene rules of love might be as different from Narnian ways as the two countries' systems of law, or styles of poetry and art -- if she had slogged through Calormene romances instead of pounding the drafts of potential alliance treaties and trade agreements into her aching head -- so many things might have been avoided. Aslan could keep his silence on 'what would have happened' all he wished. Susan could work out basic logic perfectly well on her own.)
The absence of blood feud did not, of course, mean that the Tisroc would withhold vengeance. No. It would merely take a subtler form.
Susan suspected tariffs and a revived campaign against the supposed scourge of northern piracy. Edmund, who had a somewhat bloodier and more direct turn of mind, feared assassination, and took measures accordingly: he hired assassins of his own.
"They also work as bodyguards," he said when his siblings protested. "Set a thief to catch a thief. Fight fire with fire. Who better to keep our sister safe than those who know the methods of their potential foes?"
The trio of assassins stood silent and alert in the Great Hall of Cair Paravel while Edmund argued with Lucy and Peter. Susan examined them in equal silence. They all wore short-sleeved tunics over loose trousers, thick-soled sandals on their feet, and cloth bands with a metal plate tied around their foreheads. The symbol on the plate seemed to be a sort of stylized spiral leaf, with three crossed lines gouged through it.
Aside from those things, they were all quite different. The leader, Fox -- or at least the one who stood in the center and a half-pace ahead of his fellows -- was blond and his tunic was bright orange. He shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to another, his gaze darting curiously around the room. Hawk, who stood to Fox's left, had his arms crossed over his dark tunic, displaying his odd fabric gauntlets. He seemed to be doing his best to ignore everyone in the castle, including his teammates. The third assassin, on the other hand -- who had given her name as Spring -- met Susan's eyes with a rueful smile and a shrug of her shoulders.
Susan thought the woman's red tunic rather fetching. It certainly looked more comfortable for riding than most of her own dresses. The pink hair, however, made her wonder if Spring had some dryad blood, from one of the flowering trees. That sort of mixing was unusual outside of Narnia.
"I accept the contract," she said, speaking firmly to be heard over her siblings' clashing voices. "I, Susan Pevensie, by the grace of Aslan Queen of Narnia, hereby and forthwith retain Fox, Hawk, and Spring to guard my person and honor until such time as either they or I declare the contract ended. Do you accept in turn?"
"We do," said Fox. "You won't be sorry. If anybody tries anything while we're on the job, they won't know what hit them!"
Hawk kicked his ankle. Spring rolled her eyes.
Susan surprised herself by laughing. "I suspect any assailant would indeed be surprised. Come. Let us go to a more comfortable chamber where we may discuss the details of your work."
---------------
The first days of the contract involved much soothing of ruffled fur and feathers, as the guards of Cair Paravel bristled at the implication that a trio of humans unfamiliar with the structure of the castle and the ways of the country could guard their queen better than Narnia's own children could. Human senses were dull compared to those of Beasts; what, therefore, was the use of looking elsewhere for defense?
"Magic," Fox said with a grin as sly as his namesake. He made a peculiar gesture with interlocked hands. Suddenly there were two of him in the courtyard, then five, then twelve, then a full score. "You see?"
"Or rather, you don't see. Nor do you smell, touch, taste, or hear, unless we will it so," said Spring as she stepped out of what seemed to be empty space. She spread her hands to show she carried no weapons, though Susan doubted that meant much when set against her other talents.
"Pretty tricks. But Calormen has no truck with magic," Sallowpad the Raven observed in his dry, croaking voice. "Why should we need defenses against nonexistent threats?"
"There is magic in Calormen, as in all lands," said Spring. "This world is built on the Deep Magic, and it springs up and flows where it will."
"Even if the Calormenes refuse to touch the power themselves, as you Narnians refuse to touch the power of your own land, others can gather and use it," Hawk added, looking idly at the flames that danced over his outstretched fingers. "Our country has many villages. Each goes its own way. Who can say what contracts others may have accepted?"
"But don't worry. We're the best," Fox concluded as his doppelgangers vanished. "Your precious people are safe with us."
"And when your contract ends? What then?" Mr. Tumnus said in a thoughtful tone.
The three assassins exchanged a rapid network of glances and minute gestures before Fox laughed and said, "Technically speaking, we could accept a new contract to kill all of your in your sleep the minute our current contract ends, but we wouldn't do that. I promise."
"Does he speak truth?" asked Mr. Tumnus.
The Beasts of the castle guard grumbled and muttered amongst themselves, for apparently the assassins' illusions had fooled their senses as neatly as they had fooled Susan's. This was not the same as Rabadash, who had hidden his uglier half underneath his genuine intelligence, curiosity, and admiration for her beauty and her way with words. He had used one truth to obscure another. This magic simply obliterated truth.
Susan wondered if Jadis had used her power in such a fashion. If that was how she had won so many Narnians to her side after the Tree of Protection fell and her armies swept in from the west. If she had spoken fair words and cast a spell of blindness, deafness, numbness to spread poisonous tendrils through the air and land themselves.
"Truth, in its purest form, is unknowable outside of Aslan's country," she said, stilling the brewing argument before it could spill into true animosity. "I will take our new comrades' word on trust. You will watch to ensure my faith is not misplaced. Thus I give myself into your keeping, as you have given yourselves to me and my siblings. Today I plan to spend the remaining hours of day in the library. Attend me as you will, and set a guard schedule amongst yourselves for days to come."
Spring immediately moved to stand on her left, a tactful half-step back and to the side. The castle guard took a minute longer to make their selection, but presently Hela and Sunbright moved forward, the wolf mirroring Spring's position on Susan's right and the hawk perching briefly on the ornate carvings over the doorway into the castle keep.
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
And that's where I realized I was writing the wrong story, ditched the political intrigue, and went off to start a new fic with a much tighter focus on Susan, Sakura, and their respective personal issues.
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Date: 2013-11-25 04:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-11-26 03:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-11-25 03:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-11-26 03:21 am (UTC)I am retroactively amused that I got this far into the fic before I realized I was writing the opening scenes of a complicated action/thriller plot when I wanted to write a tiny character-study-and-conversation vignette. There is bad aim, and then there is bad aim. *wry*