A Melody of Water (A Song of Ice and Fire X Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

[5power]

Huzzah update! This is one of the more enjoyable PMMM fics out there.

Click to shrink...

Thank you!! Though if may ask, why is this the more enjoyable PMMM fics out there?

 

[MagisterAurelius]

It's not a Homura centric fic.

 

[5power]

Ok, source one for an originality, I guess.

 

[5power]

A Melody of Water Chapter 18: Investigations the 2nd​

The woods were perfectly peaceful as its inhabitants went about their day of feeding, hiding, and hunting, unaware of the sinister games that were being played in the town just up the road.

Clifford had been walking for quite a bit of time, enough time that he was starting to wonder if that supposed meeting with that cloaked stranger was even going to happen.

"I'm here! Show yourself!"

Upon hearing the knight's voice, the cloaked man stepped out from behind a tree.

"So you have decided to come," The man said, pretending not to be threatening and doing a really poor job, "Where's the girl?"

"She decided to stay in town," Clifford repeated the story that he and Sayaka had agreed upon.

"That is annoying. Oh, we'll just have to track her down later."

Five other men appeared from the darkness, all of them wielding spears -- the standard weapon for a man at arms.

Clifford gripped his sword and removed it from its leather scabbard.

"Standing your ground, I see," The cloaked man smiled. "I have to admire your guts, even if it is foolish to take on six other men single-handedly."

The moment their leader finished that last word, five of Sayaka's cutlasses travelled from the shadows of the trees, each of them hitting one man at arms, causing them to cry out in pain as they fell to the ground. The cloaked man just stood there, completely dumbfounded, as he watched his allies groan in pain.

Sayaka then burst into view, a flash of blue and white. She landed right in front of the cloaked man before grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground as if he were a small child. He immediately started shaking in terror, grabbing at the magical girl's arm in a futile attempt to get free.

"Who is this behind this ambush?" Sayaka demanded in an ice cold fashion that Clifford hadn't seen in quite a while.

"I don't…"

Sayaka pulled the man closer to her and looked him in the eye. "Do not try to play dumb."

"It was Sir Bronze, the... the guard captain."

For a moment Sayaka continued to look the man in eye, trying to detect any hint of deceit. "Why would the guard captain try to have us killed?"

"I don't know, he just paid us!"

"I believe you," Sayaka said. The man sighed with relief. "Now get out of here." She tossed the cloaked man to the ground, who immediately got up and ran away, his commands limping after him.

Once their attackers were out of earshot, Clifford approached Sayaka. "Why would the guard captain try to kill us?" she asked.

"Maybe Lord Crox was more desperate to keep his secret," Clifford suggested.

Sayaka gritted teeth and tightened her grip on her blade. "We don't have any more time to waste. Let's go confront the guard captain."

Sayaka couldn't help but feel a sense of dread as she and Clifford walked through Saltpan. She always assumed that at some point she would get used to the pressure of having someone else's life on her shoulders; b no, Sayaka still felt the same level of tension as when she first went out witch hunting by herself.

The duo approached the stone, rectangular barrack, where according to several locals they asked, Sir Bronze was currently located.

There was a rather bored-looking guard at the door; he immediately noticed both Sayaka and Clifford. "I'm afraid I can't let either you enter the barrack," he said.

Sayaka groaned with irritation and put one hand into the pocket of her dress, where she had stored a couple of copper coins in case of emergency. She pulled them out and held them up to the guard's face. "It looks like you've had a long day. Take this and get yourself a drink."

The guard looked briefly shocked, before thinking over Sayaka's offer. "I suppose to let you into the barrack wouldn't be too harmful, but if anyone asks, you snuck in," The guard snatched the copper coins and ran off to get his drink. Sayaka was more than a little surprised -- she honestly hadn't expected that to work -- but she quickly recovered and pushed the door open.

The barrack was silent and empty. That was strange; she didn't know much about army stuff, but shouldn't there be at least few guards or soldiers around? Even if there wasn't anything important going on there, shouldn't there be at least a few people, having meals, napping, taking care of their weapons -- that kind of thing? The fact that no one was here but the guard posted at the door meant that something was wrong.

As Sayaka and Clifford began to inspect the scene, she heard a voice; not loud enough to make out words, but just enough to get the general mood. They were both arguing and pretty intensely.

The duo slowly crept heading to the source which was behind a door near the back of the room, the conversation becoming more clear.

"Your men still aren't back yet. How hard can it be to kill one man and scare one girl?" The first voice belonged to a young woman who was very impatient.

"It can take time if you want to do it quietly." The male voice was calm but clearly irritated but the woman.

The duo where right next to the door, Clifford pushed it open to reveal that woman was no other than was Lady Mari Crox! Her mouth opened in shock when she saw the knight and the girl. There was also a very blocky, bold man who in contrast appeared to be more annoyed than anything.

"How did you find us?! How are how you still alive?!" Lady Crox demanded while pointing a shaking finger at Sayaka and Clifford.

"Those are good questions," Sayaka said angrily, "Here are two more: Why did you try to have us killed, and why did you frame Charles?"

"I have no idea…"

The guard captain groaned and stood up. "For the Seven's sake, shut it, girl. You're not going to fool them."

Lady Crox became visually offended. "How dare you…!"

When Sir Bronze started pulling his sword from his scabbard, Lady Crox immediately fell silent. Sir Bronze gained a cruel, arrogant, rat-like smile. "Good. You understand who is really in charge here. Now be quiet while the adults talk."

Sir Bronze locked eyes with Clifford. "To answer your 'squire's' question, Sir Clifford, I did order my men to kill you and Lady Crox here paid me to cut her hand."

Sayaka felted a jolt of shock.

"Why would she pay you to cut her hand?" Clifford asked, clearly just as confused as Sayaka was.

Sir Bronze smiled a made a small laugh. "Oh, nothing too serious. Just a petty spat with her lover."

Sayaka was now more confused than ever. How did a spat between two lovers lead to Charles being locked in a cell?

"You should explain in more detail, Sir," Sayaka demanded coldly; her patience was really starting to wear thin at this point.

"It was pretty dull actually…"

"I don't need you to explain on my behalf!" Lady Crox declared, suddenly finding some backbone. "Before my father sold me off for the gold of some far off merchant, I was engaged in a passionate romance with a handsome man, Tom Lake…." Lady Crox spoke in a way that eerily similar to those -- admittedly embarrassing -- moments back home when Sayaka had fawned over Kyosuke, though this coming from a manipulative bitch made it sound creepy.

"Yes, so romantic that he tossed you aside to avoid your father's wrath," Sir Bronze said with a tone that made it clear that he really didn't want to hear Lady Crox's version of events.

"To make a painful and long story short, the stupid brat tried to make her former lover jealous by flirting about with the ugliest son of a bitch in the land. But it turns out that he had a lot more sense than rumours suggested, so she came to me with silver in hand and a scheme to have me cut her hand and blame it all on the tax collector, so her love would feel guilty and come back to her."

"That's it?! You framed an innocent man over something like that?" Sayaka spoke with shock, but the anger she would normally feel towards Lady Crox didn't manifest. The most likely reason was that the noble women's motive was just so goddam petty that Sayaka couldn't feel anything but pity towards that shallow fool.

Lady Crox's expression reached a heightened level of fury. "I will not stand here and lectured at by the likes of you!"

Just then the door to barracks swung open and a small group of guards. "Sir Bronze, we caught Alec out drinking and…" The head guard stopped speaking when he noticed Sayaka and Clifford standing in the room. "Who are these people?"

Sir Bronze saw an opportunity and took it. "These criminals are trying to assassinate Lady Crox! Kill them!"

The loyal guards did what any good man at arms would do when ordered to destroy a perceived threat; they drew their swords and moved to strike both Clifford and Sayaka down.

"Crap!" Sayaka mentally yelled as the various guards charged. They needed to get out of here and fast! Thinking quickly, Sayaka summoned her soul gem and willed it to shine as brightly as it could.

Suddenly, every single guard was suddenly blinded by a powerful flash of blue light. As panic and confusion took hold, Sayaka and Clifford rushed towards the open door, shoving several unfortunate guards into nearby walls.

Not long after escaping barrack, the duo was being chased around town by every single armed man. Sayaka could have very easily outrun the mob but that would mean leaving Clifford behind, and that wasn't an option.

Eventually, the duo found themselves in a narrow alleyway out sight, at least for a time.

"That went way worse than I thought it would go," Sayaka said she turned to Clifford who was taking a moment to catch his breath. Even man in peak physical condition like Clifford would need a moment to catch their breath after all that running.

Unfortunately, they only had a moment, for Sayaka could hear someone was approaching around the corner. Sayaka and Clifford started to prepare for a fight, only to be surprised when the person coming around the turned out to be no other than Hugo Grap.

"We thought you had already fled! What are you doing?" Clifford asked.

Hugo looked around carefully and then stepped forward. "It seems that you two need a place to hide. If you're interested, I know of a little shack near the northern entrance. Some of my customers have me do more private sessions for them."

A remote place to hide did sound good right now, but there was something bothering Sayaka. "I thought were planning to run away. Why are you helping us now?"

"I was going. But then I started thinking about what you said, and... well, maybe I wanted to the right thing, once in my life."

That response caught Sayaka off guard; she had gotten so used to people dismissing her ideals that to see some random stranger actually take them seriously was a shock.

"I think saw them around here!" An aggressive voice cried.

"We should probably separate, I will meet in the shack." Hugo quickly turned around and left his new allies.

"Let's get moving," Clifford said as he rushed around the corner, Sayaka following close behind.

The sun was setting by the time that Sayaka and Clifford were finally able to escape. Now they were wandering around looking for this shack that Hugo had said was waiting for them.

"This has been a very messy day," Sayaka said with frustration.

"We're here." Clifford stopped. Sayaka looked past the hedge to see a fairly small, wooden shack; through the thin leather tarp designed to keep out the cold night, the faint orange light of burning wood could be seen.

They approached the shack and Clifford knocked on the door; a few seconds later it opened up, with Hugo standing in the doorway. "It's nice you both got off there in one piece. Come in, I have got a fire started."

The three of them gathered around the fire, allowing Sayaka and Clifford to finally enjoy some peace and quiet.

"When I came back into to town, everyone was in an uproar about a robber hedge and his company trying to murder the Lord's daughter. What happened?"

"To make a long story short, it turns out that the daughter injured herself and accused Charles because he refused to take part in a stupid scheme to make her ex-lover jealous," Sayaka described the situation with pure disgust.

"I thought it would be something like that petty," Hugo commented as if he was speaking from experience, "It normally is."

For a moment, the shack was silent as everyone took in the sour note, as the fire crackled quietly.

"Regardless, the current situation still isn't looking good. We may have escaped, but we are now wanted by the law and Charles' name still hasn't cleared," Clifford observed.

"In that case, it is time to change tactics," Sayaka stood up defiantly, her sapphire-blue eyes gazing hard into the flames in front of her.

"Are you planning to stage a daring rescue?" Hugo asked.

Sayaka's face softened into a sly smile. "Tempting, but I need to take a smarter approach." She then turned around and headed towards the door.

"I should come with you," Clifford said.

Sayaka stopped and shook her head. "Sorry, Clifford, I need to this alone."

"Are you insane!?" Hugo cried, "The guards are still looking for you! If you get caught, you will be thrown in prison or worse."

"Don't worry about it, Hugo, I can handle a few guards just fine." Sayaka then stepped outside and shut the door behind herself.

"You're not really going to let go all by herself, are you?"

"I trust Sayaka to handle the situation," Clifford explained.

Hugo looked the hedge knight with a questioning eye. "What is your relationship with that girl? You both claim that she is your squire, but she seems to be the one in charge."

"It is quite simple, actually. She is a girl who just wants to go home, and I'm simply a knight trying to repay a debt and maybe regain some self-respect."

Sayaka breathed in cold night, letting it calm her nerves. She has always been an honest and direct person; she just wasn't cut out for this sneaky and underhanded stuff, but it was the only way to prove that Charles was innocent.

Sayaka called on her magic and started sneaking into town.

 

[MagisterAurelius]

Updates in this thread always make my day.

 

[5power]

Updates in this thread always make my day.

Click to shrink...

Good to know.

 

[Krazyfan1]

I hope the Daughter gets exposed as a liar in public

 

[Renu]

Now, will Sayaka do the smart thing and TRIAL BY COMBAT all the things? We'll know in the next episode!

 

[BlackoutSampler]

Just caught up, but watched. So far this seems very interesting.

Still, back in chapter 8 I am Highly disappointed that Clifford's Secret that he was secretly three dogs stacked on top of each other wearing a suit of armor. The signs were all there.

Still an interesting story, having Sayaka's Grief handwaved away is a bit silly, but there is honestly not much that can be done on that front that won't bloat the story.

 

[STOP]

Trial by combat!
...would be funny, I mean one little girl challenging the lord's daughter and the entire guard and winning.

 

[5power]

Now, will Sayaka do the smart thing and TRIAL BY COMBAT all the things? We'll know in the next episode!

Click to shrink...

There are couple problems with that idea, trial by combat is a noble privilege, Sayaka doesn't know about trial by combat and Charles hasn't requested. So, unfortunately, there isn't going to be a trial by combat in this case but that does not mean there won't be one in the future.

 

[5power]

​

A/N: Sorry this chapter took longer to edit, my beta had college to do. Anyway hope to see for the next arc.

A Melody of Water - Chapter 19: Ghost of Justice​

Maria Anna Crox's peaceful sleep was shattered by a loud thump against her bedroom door, followed by the clank of a metal sword hitting the castle's stone floor.

Maria felt fear from within her being; she very slowly got out of bed. She nervously stepped towards the door as her sense of dread became more intense.

"What's going on out there!?" She demanded with an uneasy voice.

There was no response except for the distant howl of the wind. Maria's heart began to beat heavily; she gradually pushed the door open, the task proving to be much harder than it should have been. After what felt like an eternity, she was able to push the door open enough to peek her head through. The moment she peeked her head through, she was met with the sight of the guard who had been trusted to protect her, unconscious against the door.

Maria's terror was reaching the point where it was about to burst. She stepped away from the door. A moment later, an icy-cold steam of air cut its way through her back.

Maria turned around very slowly and saw a woman staring at her with demonic, glowing, blue eyes. The woman's face was hidden under the shadow of her snow-white cape.

Maria opened her mouth to scream, only to suddenly find it forced shut by the iron grip of the strange woman's hands around her jaw.

"Maria Crox, you have committed a great crime," the woman's voice was dark and cold. She released Maria from her grip.

Maria fell to her knees before this strange being who was judging, "I… I-"

"Don't deny it!" The woman dragged Maria to her feet and pulled her close enough that the noblewoman was forced to gaze directly glowing, cold eyes of this monster.

"You falsely accused Charles Grinder of trying murder you, a crime you committed out of spite, and now his life will be destroyed unless you come clean."

Maria started shaking, so overwhelmed with fear that she couldn't even try to escape.

"Tomorrow morning you must go to your father and confess the truth. That is the only way you can repent for your sin!" The woman ordered.

"What will happen if I don't?" Maria asked, dreading the answer.

The strange woman pushed Maria away. "Then your soul is forfeit!"

She stretched out, and blue egg-shaped gem appeared on it from thin air.

"What are you?!" Maria yelled.

The strange woman put her lips right up to Maria's ears and whispered words that would stick in her mind for the rest of her life:

"I'm a ghost of justice, and you cannot run from me."

There was suddenly a flash of blue light, and then Maria was all alone in her room with only the cold howling of wind outside for company.

Sayaka rested against a stone wall, she was breathy and felt like crap. Maria was a pretty horrible person, but she was still a defenceless woman whom Sayaka just terrified by threatening her soul with eternal damnation. She wouldn't regret it if it got Charles off the hook, but the act itself didn't bring her any pride. But her work wasn't done yet if she was going to maximise the chances of Charles been released; there was one more thing that Sayaka needed to do.

Sir Bronze had a very frustrating day; what started as a swift way to make some coin had somehow changed to a massive headache. It was supposed simple: help the stupid girl with her scheme and pocket the silver, but it turned out that ugly shit Charles had somehow gained the support of a hedge knight and his idiot girl of a companion.

Now he was out patrolling the edge of the town, just to put the old man's mind at ease.

"Nothing to report, sir. It was just a dog," said Larry Kent, a tall man who was new to the town watch.

"I figured as much. Alright then. One more round, then we can end our shift," Sir Bronze sighed with annoyance. He started walking with the recruit through the pitch-black, cold night, with only torches to give the two men guidance.

For a while it was mostly quiet, the sounds being the men's footsteps and odd animal noises. Then a single loud noise penetrated the silence, the clacking of metal striking metal.

"What was that?" Larry asked as he started gripping his club tightly, beginning to shift his eyes and body around nervously.

Sir Bronze, on the other hand, felt more irritated than anything else; these weird noises were just another problem he had to deal with. "Looks like we are going to have to deal with it."

Larry didn't seem to like that; Sir Bronze glared at the young man. He didn't have time to deal with the idiot's cowardice. "Stop being a pathetic a coward and help me investigate."

Larry reluctantly crushed any hesitation he might have had and followed Sir Bronze.

There was another clacking noise, this time just a bit closer than last. "What you think it is, Sir?" Larry asked with an uneasy voice.

"Some dumbass playing a stupid prank." It was either that or a really incompetent criminal; maybe it was that knight hedge and that girl. It didn't matter; Sir Bronze was going to make them regret pissing him off.

There was yet another clacking sound this time. Larry would have jumped in fright, if not for Sir Bronze grabbing his arm as tightly as possible. "Calm the hell down." Sir Bronze said. He wouldn't find Larry's cowardice so grading if it hadn't been starting to spread to him; Sir Bronze refused to let himself be scared by some noise in the night.

Sir Bronze let go of Larry and shoved him forward. "Focus on the task at hand!"

Larry started to move, his torch trying to illuminate the darkness and reveal the one that was messing with them.

"Who's there!?" Larry yelled at into the night; there was no response.

Suddenly something whooshed pasted them causing a blast of cold air to cut through both men.

"What was that?" Larry ask. What little bravado he had mustered now started crumbling to dust.

Before Sir Bronze had any time to react, something sprang from the darkness and pulled Larry into it; there were the brief sounds of a struggle... and then nothing.

Sir Bronze slowly stepped forward, his torched pushing the darkness away to show Larry lying on the ground, completely unconscious.

"Sir Bronze, you have committed a great sin," a hard ice cold voice said from behind him.

The knight turned around to see that nothing was there.

Sir Bronze immediately pulled his sword from his scabbard and instinctively moved his body into a fighting stance. "Whoever you are, I won't be cowed by a bunch of cheap tricks!" He shouted into the night.

Suddenly he felt someone touch his shoulder. He immediately turned and slashed widely, but his blade only struck empty air.

The voice started laughing. Sir Bronze's anger started rising, alongside his terror.

"Did you really think you could hide the truth, Sir Bronze? That you could ruin the life of an innocent man, simply because your partner was a noblewoman?"

The image of a smiling demon flashed through Sir Bronze's mind as he started shaking.

"Be silent and face me!" Sir Bronze began yelling frantically at the darkness.

He suddenly heard a twig snap to left him; he immediately started slashing madly and blindly. It was only after he had exhausted himself that the knight realised he just been attacking thin air.

The knight's breath was heavy as he began to steady his nerves; it seemed that the voice was gone. Sir Bronze felt himself relax and put his sword away. A moment later, a gloved hand grabbed hold of Sir Bronze's wrist with crushing force.

All of the nerves that Sir Bronze had gained crumbled instantly as his eyes began to water with fear and pain. He looked up to see a woman, whose face was hidden under a white hood, though he could make out a hint of blue hair. It was that hedge knight's girl! How was she able to-?

The grip on Sir Bronze wrist tightened. "Tomorrow, you are going to confess the truth to Lord Crox. If you don't-" She pulled him closer. "-well. I will leave that up to your imagination."

The woman then shoved Sir Bronze to the ground before leaping back into the shadows, laughing.

Sayaka shoved the door open and entered the shack where Hugo and Clifford were waiting for her next to the fire.

"Where have you been?" Hugo asked.

Sayaka shut the door behind her. "Sorry, I can't speak right now. I'm too tired." She yawned; who would think acting would so tiring?

Hugo thankfully didn't press the issue. "If you need to sleep, there is a chair in the corner you can rest on."

Sayaka yawned again and dumped herself on a chair and closed her eyes.

It was the early morning, and the main hall was packed as the townspeople had gathered to witness Lord Crox's judgement of Charles Grinder. The atmosphere of the crowd despite -- or more likely because of -- the stakes, was one of excitement and anticipation.

In contrast, Sayaka was on edge, her tense expression hidden under a hood that she had added to her regular clothing. Clifford stood next to her; his was face also hidden behind a hood. Hugo had followed Sayaka's advice, which meant standing very far away from the front of the crowd, because if Sayaka's plan didn't work, then she was going to garb Charles and run for it.

"Charles Grinder, the morning has come, and you have yet to confess your crime. I will give you one last chance before I sentence you, but be warned: if you refuse, I will show no mercy."

There was silence as Charles very carefully and very grimly considered his fate.

"Wait!" Maria Crox cried. Everyone immediately turned to look at her; she had bags under her eyes, her head was lowered in shame, and her hands were twitching nervously. "There is something I wish to confess."

The crowd's muttering increased to boiling point.

"Charles Grinder did not injure me; in fact, I allowed myself to injured by Sir Bronze."

The crowd all was alight with shocked gasps and whispers. Lord Crox, in the meanwhile, started at his daughter with complete confusion.

"Why would you do that?"

Maria Crox considered her words carefully. "I was trying to use Charles Grinder to get back at you for arranging my marriage to that merchant."

A desperate Lord Crox stood up and gazed at Maria. "Why would you be angry? I arranged the best marriage I possibly could, given the circumstances."

Maria Crox was about to respond angrily when someone suddenly stepped out of the crowd.

He was a familiar young man with brown hair -- where had Sayaka seen him before? She thought about for a moment, then she remembered. He was that Greg guy who walked past her when she been delivering that letter.

"I was the one who drove Maria to this," Greg confessed.

Lord Crox's body tensed, his fists tightening and his eyes hardened. "Explain yourself, boy."

Greg breathed and considered his words carefully. "Ever since we were little, Lady Maria and I have been friends; about two years ago, we became more than friends."

The tension in the room reached a boiling point as Lord Crox angrily turned dagger-like eyes straight at Greg.

The blacksmith boy looked back at his Lord nervously. "When you arranged the marriage, I ended the relationship, and I think we both said things we regret."

"That still does not explain her recent actions," Lord Crox commented while still glaring at Greg.

"I wanted him back, so I tried to make him jealous by seducing Grinder; when that didn't work, I came up with this scheme."

There was a very long, uncomfortable silence as Lord Crox fell back into his chair, stewing in what looked like the very painful sting of betrayal. Eventually, he stood back up with a hardened expression. "You both will be escorted to my chambers where I will decide on both of your punishments."

He turned to the nearest guard. "Where is Sir Bronze?"

"I don't know -- no one has seen him all day. If I had to guess, Sir Bronze has fled the town altogether." The guard explained.

"In that case, let it be known that Sir Andrew Bronze is to be stripped of his position and is to be considered an outlaw," Lord Crox commanded as he started leaving the hall.

"What about the prisoner?"

Upon hearing those words, Lord Crox immediately remembered that Charles existed; he looked at the tax collector before waving a dismissive hand.

"Release him."

The Lord then left the hall, with his daughter and the blacksmith's apprentice following close behind.

Meanwhile, Sayaka sighed with relief as Charles was unchained. It was finally over.

A day later, the promised ship finally dropped anchor at Saltpan; it looked like pretty much how Sayaka imagined an old-timey ship: a giant made of wooden planks. Clifford spent a short amount of time haggling; he bought both himself and Sayaka passage aboard the boat.

They had just finished packing their things and were about hop on the ship when suddenly Charles ran up to them with a large sack over his back. He was panting hard -- apparently, he was not the fittest person around. It took a few moments for him to catch his breath.

"I assume you two are going to be leaving soon?"

Sayaka nodded.

"I know this sudden, but would either of you object to me joining your group?"

"Why do want to travel with us? Don't you have a job?" Sayaka inquired.

Charles became angry. "The people this town have treated me like garbage! The only thing was keeping here was my misplaced sense of loyalty to House Crox, which they reward with a dagger to my back. So I have decided I'm going to explore the world a bit before pursuing my dream of working for the Iron Bank. But, I'm not the most physically-able person, so I thought it would be better to travel with someone who can handle themselves in a fight." Charles stopped when he suddenly remembered something. "If you wonder what I could contribute, I have great management skills, and I'm good with money, so I should be able to get you some good deals when haggling."

Clifford looked Sayaka. "What do you think?"

Sayaka looked at Charles and thought about everything that happened over the last few days, and when everything was said and done, she couldn't refuse him.

"Alright. You can come," Sayaka said.

Charles smiled. "Alright, then. It's time for me to haggle my way onto the ship, then."

The former tax collector stepped onto the ship, then stopped. "If Lady Crox hadn't confessed, I would have been doomed. I'm correct to assume that you're responsible for that?"

Sayaka nodded her head.

"How did you accomplish that?"

Sayaka rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "I will tell you later." She said.

"Well, it looks like I have something to look forward to."

 

[5power]

A/N: Thank you Fish for editing this chapter.

A Melody of Water - Chapter 20: Interlude s The 2nd​

Charles tapped the wood of the small table in front of him. A little habit he had picked up over the years, he usually did it when he had too much time to think.

Charles had always considered himself to be a man of reason, someone who didn't put much stock into flights of fancy or stories of magic, and yet he now seemed to be living one. By the Seven, he had been saved by one.

The sight of Sayaka's soul gem appearing in a flash of light was something that was going to stick with him. A part of Charles still didn't believe it, still thought that this was all some strange dream.

Charles' thinking was interrupted by the door of his cabin creaking open, with Sir Clifford stepping inside.

"Ah, Sir Clifford, how are you this fine day?" Charles was joking, of course; the weather was cold, dull, and misty - hence why almost everyone was below deck, sheltering from the miserable weather.

"I'm doing fine, Charles. I came to check on you."

"More likely you're bored outta your mind, and you're seeking a way to kill time."

"Sayaka is currently fast asleep, and since we are going to be travelling together, we should try to get to know each other."

"In that case, would you care for a game of dice?"

Charles grabbed the dice and cup from the table in front of him. During his younger years, Charles played dice at every inn and tavern in Salt Pan. He stopped after becoming a tax collector, though; mainly because people kept accusing him of gambling their tax money away.

"I am not one for gambling," Clifford explained firmly.

"Who says we needed gamble? We can play without any stacks."

Clifford considered Charles's offer. "I suppose there worst ways to spend time."

Clifford sat across from Charles on a wooden stool. The former tax collector dumped the dice into a cup and started shaking it.

"So what are your thoughts?" Clifford asked.

"I assume you are referring to Sayaka's true nature." Charles turned the cup over and slammed into a small table. "In all honesty, Sayaka's story is equally maddening and fascinating, while also being a little intimidating."

Charles removed the cup; every die had landed on the number four which meant he was already bust. What rotten luck.

"If she hadn't shown her soul gem to me, I would think you both mad."

Now it was Clifford's turn to roll the dice. "A world where cities are made of steel and glass, where people can make light with just the flick of a switch and flying machines travel across a single day. Not even most creative of singers or storytellers could weave such a tale."

"It is hard to be not overwhelmed by such ideas." Clifford finally passed, having scored four hundred points; he was almost at the goal of two thousand. It was Charles' turn.

"And those are just mundane parts, unfortunately." The expressions of both men became darker as Charles rolled the dice. "To become a witch, a creature that exists in a state of never-ending misery while bringing death to the living… it is not a fate I would wish on anyone, not even my worst enemy."

"Are you referring to Lady Crox?" Clifford asked.

Charles chuckled humorously, "That foolish woman, I would hardly consider her enemy. If anything, I pity her." He collected four hundred points and passed the dice back to Clifford.

"That is a very admirable way of thinking Charles." Clifford picked up a hundred points and rolled again.

"I have heard and read enough tales of revenge to know how wasteful grudges are."

Clifford rolled the dice on the again and was bust, losing all of his points. He made a mildly disappointed sound and handed the dice back to Charles, who started shaking the cup.

"I'm curious though: Why did you decide to pledge yourself to Sayaka's service? I know she saved your life, but I think there is more to it than that."

Slamming cup on the table, to his delight found he could pick up five hundred points. He then passed the cup and dice to Clifford. The knight's mind temporarily moved away from the game.

"A long time ago I made many mistakes, and until recently I had been doing everything in my power hide from the world and forget my troubles." Clifford rolled the dice. "Now… I want to serve a worthy cause with some pride."

The knight pulled the cup up to the find he was bust again. Now was Charles' chance to get ahead.

He swiped the dice and cupped off the table and shook them eagerly. "With a past like that, I can see why would ended up in the service of Sayaka." Charles placed the cup on the table, "You know, right before I was arrested, I just assumed that Sayaka was some just strange orphan that you had taken it out of pity." He pulled the cup away to reveal the dice, "But then she came to my cell and without even being asked, decided not only save me but chose to give me the benefit of the doubt. I have been shown nothing but scorn and mistrust most of my life, and for what she did, I owe her debt that I can't repay. However," Charles claimed fifty points and rolled again, "I do have one ulterior motive."

"And that is?" Clifford asked eyebrow raised.

Charles suddenly stopped shaking the cup. "A girl with an unusually strong sense of honour and justice is beyond the power of any lord or king… she has potential cause an upheaval in the world, and I want to be there to witness, and, if possible, record it."

Then, as if to demonstrate Charles' dramatic points, the ship violently jolted, causing the cup and dice to fly out of his hands as the chair that the hunk back as toppled over, casing a heavy thud.

"What the hell was that!" Charles' yelling was quickly followed by the door being swung open by Sayaka.

"We are in the middle of a storm! Grab hold of something!" Sayaka cried.

The ship then jerked violently as it crashed into the coastline and sent everyone flying.

Many Weeks later

Tom Field rubbed his two shaking, freezing-cold hands together. He had been travelling in this cart for weeks, and he still hadn't gotten used to the cold. Thankfully, he would have plenty of time to get used to the cold, since he was going to be living at The Wall for the rest of his life. Sometimes Tom wished Lord Crox had just killed him.

The cold wasn't the only reason that caused Tom to despair, however; it wasn't even the main reason. No, that was his deep shame burning - he had broken the heart of the love of his life and drove her frame an innocent man for a horrendous crime. A life serving in the frozen wasteland was far better fate than one such as Tom deserved.

"We're here." The cart driver said in a gruff voice.

The old man had been paid to transport Tom to The Wall, and he had made it clear that the boy's life meant nothing to him and warned him to stay put or else. Outside of that, the two of them had barely spoken a word to each other, which had given Tom plenty of time to reflect how much of a failure he was. The cart driver would probably forget that Tom's existence soon; he couldn't blame him since Tom wasn't worth remembering.

As he stepped off the cart, Tom finally looked up at The Wall, and for just a moment, the boy as shaken out of a state of despair and shame as the sight of the behemoth structure, its ice glinting in the light of the sun.

"It's quite the sight, isn't?" The guard at the gate asked.

"Yeah, it's amazing."

At least there was one benefit to being banished to the frozen edge of the world.

"Something troubling you?" The guard inquired.

"Nothing. Just thinking about how much of pathetic failure I am."

The guard smiled sadly. "It seems shame tightly grips you." The guard approached Tom and lightly patted him on his shoulder. "Shame is a feeling I know all too well. What is your name, son?"

"It's Tom Field."

Upon hearing the young man's name, the guard held his hand out to Tom, who took hold and shook it. "You can call me Lord Glint. Welcome to the Night's Watch."

 

[Krazyfan1]

Brilliant as always
Nice to see this continue

 

[NegativeJ]

NEEDS MOAR INTRIGUE AND ACTION!

But all in all:

 

[5power]

A Melody of Water - Chapter 21: Grip of the Blood Red Gauntlet​

"Are you alright, Charles?" Sayaka asked as Charles rubbed his bruised forehead.

"Besides a sore head and my wounded pride," Charles replied, "I'm perfect."

Sayaka looked up at the trading ship which was lying on the shore, a gaping wound in its hull, the crew standing around miserably while tending to their many different minor injuries.

The storm had pretty damn furious, but luckily the crew and passengers got through it with only small injuries and wet clothes; unluckily, the ship took the brunt of the impact and was in a less than a seaworthy condition.

The captain approached Sayaka's group. "I hate to bring this up, but I assume your ship won't be moving for quite a while?" Charles said.

The captain rubbed his forehead, which was sweaty from stress. "I won't lie, the damage might some time to fix, but luckily there is a logging town called Antler's Rest. I will need to negotiate with the lumber mill owner, which shouldn't be too hard since we have a history... but actual repair, well, given how close we are now King's Landing, if you decide to ride the rest of the way, I will repay you half of your coin."

The magical girl, the hedge knight, and former tax collect huddled together.

"I might be able to use my magic to repair the ship."

"I'm not sure that is a good idea, you might use too much magic, and we still don't know how your soul gem has changed since coming to this world, and magically repairing a ship would attract unwelcome attention. I say we wait to see how this deal with the lumber mill goes before making up our minds."

Not long after that, the group followed the captain to the town of Antler's Rest and Sayaka was immediately won over by its appearance. Unlike Saltpan, which had a misty, damp, kinda depressing feel to it, Antler's Rest looked like it had been ripped straight from a painting that could be found in an art gallery. An idyllic patchwork of log houses with a mighty, rushing river running through them, with a lush, green forest on the opposite side.

The group was immediately met by a man with a bald head and a long black beard; he smiled upon seeing the captain.

"Captain Adam Cage, you sea dog! It's good to see you again! What brings you to this humble town, and who these fine people?"

"They're passengers on my ship which suffered greatly in last night's storm. I require your aid in repairing it."

The wood mill owner rubbed his chin. "I will take a look and see how much I can do."

"While these two are inspecting the ship, we should see we can restock on food and water," Charles suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Sayaka said while stretching her arms, "To be honest, I was starting to go a little crazy after being cooped up on that ship; it will be nice stretch my legs for a bit."

After a short discussion, it was decided that Sayaka and Clifford would go shopping for food and Charles would go looking for water. It didn't take them long to find a stall selling vegetables.

"Let's see... our choices are dried carrots or dried mushrooms," Sayaka said. She pondered: there were other vegetables on sale, but they're all fresh and wouldn't last long, and Sayaka's group needed food that was cheap and would be edible for mouths. She understood the necessity, but Sayaka couldn't help but miss the glorious taste of ready-made convenience store meals.

Suddenly the villagers all stopped; they began whispering and pointing. Sayaka and Clifford turned to see a small band of men riding on horseback. The group was lead by a man on a dark brown horse. The first man had blonde hair that was already starting show signs of greying. He was dressed in a fine crimson doublet, announcing to the world that he was a nobleman.

To the left of him was another man, holding a rectangular banner which depicted red, steel-plate gauntlets that were grasped tight, which stood out against the grey field. To the right, riding on a much smaller horse, was a boy a bit younger than Sayaka with curly hair; unlike the rest of the small party of riders who seemed in high spirits or at least neutral, he was looking downwards with a miserable expression, like he had just had an awful day.

The party came to a stop and dismounted. The nobleman was greeted by an official with a short ginger beard, who was wearing a feathered cap.

"Greetings, Lord Cornwell, how was the hunting trip?"

"It was some of the best fun I had in years. How is my wife doing?"

"She is in good health; better not keep her waiting," Lord Cornwell said as he shoved his horse reins into the boy's hands without giving him a second thought and wandered off to his keep.

By this point the townsfolk lost interest and went back to what they were doing, Sayaka was about to do the same when she noticed that Clifford scowled at Lord Cornwell.

"Is something wrong, Clifford?"

"I think I have seen Lord Cornwell before, and if I'm right, we might want to leave this town as soon as possible." Clifford's eye never left the Lord.

Sayaka wasn't eager to find out what he meant.

The rest of the day passed without incident, though the friendly atmosphere was now ruined by a sense of dread. After everyone completed their task, the trio had gathered around a table in a local inn.

"So, Clifford, what is it about Lord Cornwell that you find so distasteful?" Charles asked before taking a sip of ale.

Clifford expression darkened as his mind turned to bleak memories. "It was during the twilight of Robert's Rebellion. King's Landing had fallen, devasted by the Lannisters; my brother and I still worked as squires for our father, so we part of Robert Baratheon's army. The violence had stopped a week early, but the smell of death and blood was still thick in the air, the bodies were being piled onto the backs of carts, both Stark and Lannister were constantly glaring at each other, the tension was so thick you could cut through it with a knife.

"While nobles sorted things out, we ended up resting at the inn." Clifford stopped as scowl of disgust appeared on his face. "Just down the street, there was a small house with a door that was covered in blood; next to it, a crooked banner with the crimson gauntlet on it. Against my better judgment, I asked about the house. The one who answered me was a young woman who had lost her hand recently. During the sack, an armoured group of men went down to the house and then started chopping the inhabitants to pieces; the only survivor was the young woman telling the story. The man leading this group was a sellsword called Andrew Cornwell."

Sayaka felt the room go cold; even after everything she had seen, such horrific things still managed to turn her stomach.

"He murdered all those innocent people, and they gave a town to rule over!" Sayaka shouted, unable to comprehend the insanity she had just heard fully.

"An unfortunate reality of war," Charles explained, "If you lose, everyone is up in arms about your crimes and the victors' hammer of justice deal a swift punishment, and your name is damned throughout history; but if you win, you are held as a hero and your crimes swept under the rug and forgotten."

Sayaka wished to argue against Charles' points, but after seeing how unjust the world was, she couldn't really say he was wrong, even as every fibre of her being was disgusted by it.

"Though I do understand why you might be uneasy around the man, I must point out that thousands of men took part in the sack and doubt all of them were as monstrous as Sir Gregor Clegane."

"It isn't just what he did that unsettles me; according to a young woman, he seemed to take pleasure in the act of murder."

"You mean like bloodlust, or the other kinda of pleasure?" Charles asked.

"The other kind," Clifford's answer causing some colour r to fade from Charles' face, as the former tax collector pushed his meal of dried mushrooms away.

"Suddenly I'm in full agreement with Sir Clifford; we should leave as soon as possible unless our Sayaka has any other ideas?"

Both Charles and Clifford looked to Sayaka for an answer.

It was only then that it dawned on Sayaka how strange it was. These were grown men who had way more experience than she did, and at least one of them was way smarter than her, and yet she seemed to get the final word on every major decision; talk about pressure.

"After hearing that story, I'm eager to get out this place as soon as possible."

The rest of the day was spent getting their horse and cart while getting their refund from the ship captain, before getting a room at an inn. By nightfall, Clifford and Charles were fast asleep, but Sayaka just couldn't relax enough to drift off.

She just kept thinking about Lord Cornwell. The idea that anyone could sadistically murder all those people and get rewarded for it, and go about their daily life as if it never happened… it was a hard pill to swallow and pissed Sayaka off. Not too long ago, she would've run off and try to impulsively beat the crap out of him. But that wouldn't really accomplish anything but make more trouble for Clifford and Charles.

Still, Sayaka really needs to blow off steam otherwise she wouldn't get any sleep. Luckily it was a full moon tonight so Sayaka would be able to go out; she would go just a bit further down the road and then she would come back. The teenager carefully got out of bed, taking care not to disturb anyone else, and walked out the front door.

If there was one feature about this world that was better than her own, it was the night sky. Without any light pollution, the stars were able to boldly shine, creating an amazing, majestic view.

Sayaka's star gazing was interrupted by the sound of feet walking across the dirt road.

"Where do you think the brat went?" The voice was of old, hard, annoyed man went.

"Giving state, he was in, couldn't have gotten far." The second man sounds uneasy, nervous, and full of dread. "I hope we do find him; otherwise I don't want to be anywhere near Lord Cornwell."

Upon hearing this Sayaka ducked behind a nearby fence to keep out of sight. This definitely needed looking into, but who were they looking for? Must have been pretty young to be referred to as a brat.

That was when Sayaka heard someone crying; it was pretty faint. She began carefully approaching the source until she reached a tree just outside the town.

"Hello," Sayaka said carefully.

The cry stopped. "Don't come any closer!" a young boy weakly sniffed out a threat.

Sayaka took one step around a tree, to see a boy. It was the same boy who had come into town with Lord Cornwell, and he was in an absolute horrible state: a black eye and several small, deep cuts on his arm. He was grasping a tiny knife in a shaking hand, his expression filled with fear and mad desperation.

"Stay back!" The boy blurted out while pointing his weapon weakly at Sayaka.

She raised her hands. "I don't…"

The boy lunged forward, Sayaka acted immediately, grabbing his arm and placing a hand over his arm.

"Look I know you're hurt and that you are scared, but I just want to help. Please calm down and then explain what is going on."

A few seconds passed, and the boy stopped shaking.

 

[5power]

A brief update I know it has been a while since I last chapter and sorry for getting your hopes but this is important. I have finished writing the next chapter but my beta reader has retired from the role and I need to look else well, so if anyone is interested PM. The real requirements is that have good grammar and spelling, and you can spot mistakes. If anyone is interested just PM I will send you the chapter. Thank for your time.

 

[5power]

Chapter 22: Tyrant Keep​

"I'm Richard Pale, Sir Cornwell's squire or at least I was," the boy called Richard explained as he meekly sat down against the tree, his arms wrapped around his knees while gazing into the darkness of the woods.

An alarm bell began going off in Sayaka's head, "if you're his squire, why is Sir Cornwell sending men to hunt you down?"


"Well, you see," Richard stumbled over his words trying to come up with a way to explain a horror that was clearly beyond anything he had experienced before.

"I'm not much in a fight, I mean not terrible but I needed to start learning, and during a trip to King's Landing someone recommended Ser Cornwell to my father and was sent here to squire or him. At first, everything was normal, well his words bit harsher than I expected, but most of the time he was just cold and distant. Then a few months ago, I started to notice creepy things."



"What do you mean by creepy things?"


"Well see, Sir Cornwell would go on a trip somewhere and bring back a young woman to the keep. They were always either a prostitute or a homeless woman from King Lands. At first, everyone thought he wanted them to become his mistresses, but strangely his wife didn't seem to mind, in fact, she almost looked excited. At some point, I notice that these women would disappear a few days after being introduced to the court."


"Did you ever ask anyone where they went?"


"I did, but everyone just assumed that Lord Cornwell just sent them back to King's Landing, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Then one day, I heard a faint sound coming from dungeons, it was hard to tell but sounded like someone was in pain. I tried to ignore it, but eventually, I summoned up the courage to take a look.


"I slipped in while the guards were changing posts, and found two women hanging to the dungeon wall. They covered in small and large cuts, the floors and wall close to them were covered in blood. The older of the two was dead, I could..." Richard suddenly turned a little, and his body started lurching as he forced vomit back down his throat.


"I could tell by the smell the other was alive just barely; I was so terrified ran away. I was lucky not to get caught."



Sayaka's hand clenched into a fist as quiet anger built up. Even after all this time, that asshole was still murdering people! What kind of idiot thought that this was a good idea?! "Why is he doing this?"


"To be honest, I don't know," Richard answered while shaking his head. "Anyway after that, I got called to join that hunting trip. I spent the whole week soul searching, but it wasn't until I got back that I decided I would rescue the woman."


"That was pretty brave you."

Richard lowered his head shamefully, "it really didn't amount to much, I got caught immediately, and Ser Cornwell started beating the crap out of me. Lucky he doesn't seem to have figured out that I know his secret since after the beating he just locked me in my room. After that, I was able to escape my room through the window, and now I'm resting against a tree, hiding from the lord's men who will no doubt cut me down when they find me."


Then all of Richard's composer crumbled apart, and he burst into tears, "I hate this I just.....want to....why did father send, I...I just......!" As the boy cried hopelessly, Sayaka wrapped her arms around him. The embrace seemed to calm him a bit. Eventually, Richard was able to calm himself enough to speak.


"You should go now. If they find you with me, they will do terrible things to you."


Sayaka smiled and shook her head, "don't worry, I can take care of myself." She then looked around to see if there was anyone close by and touched Richard on the shoulder. A second later, Sayaka employed her magic, and the boy's wounds disappeared.


Richard's eye winded, "how did you do that?" He spoke in wonder while scanning his body for any sign of the wounds.



"It's quite simple Richard, I'm a magical girl."



After giving a very brief summary of Sayaka situation, she brought Richard back to the inn and introduced him to her travelling companions, after waking in the most careful way.


"So after all this time Ser Cornwell is still the same vicious brute he was back during the sack of King's Landing," Charles said.


"We can't afford to wait. We must ride to King's Landing at once and report this to Jon Arryn. I doubt he would allow such an act of injustice to keep going right under the king's nose," Clifford said while grabbing his sword.


"Hang on a moment; we can't leave just yet, Cornwell still as someone imprisoned his dungeon if she not rescued soon she might die," Sayaka interjected.

"While you do make a valid point, I must point that we still have Richard's well being to consider," as Charles spoke, everyone turned to the young squire.


For a moment, Richard twitched nervously; then it suddenly stopped as he took a deep breath and a small fire lite inside him. "Don't worry about me; just save the woman."



The three travellers looked at the boy with surprise. "Are you sure about this, Richard?" Sayaka asked. There had been a time when she would have been outraged if Richard had chosen to leave. Not enough to force him to stay, but definitely enough to get angry and rant at him. It was funny how transforming into a witch and getting transported to another world could change one's perspective.




"To be honest, I'm still terrified, and I want nothing more than to get away from this horrible place, but I don't want to live with the guilt of someone else dying because I choose to run."


"You're a courageous young man," Clifford said.

"I doubt that," Richard deflected the comment glumly before looking at the ground.


Charles tapped the table, grabbing everyone else's attention, "right, now that we agree on our goal, allow me to share a few ideas I have had."



It was times like this that made Malcolm question his decision to become a man at arms for Lord Cornwell. True the work was mostly straightforward, and the pay was pretty good, but if he became a merchant he wouldn't have to stay up all night in the cold because of some idiot might get the stupid idea to steal horses from a Lord. Malcolm let out a loud bored yawn and looked where Jones would typically stand, he wondered when everyone else was coming back, and how long did it take to find some brat. Malcolm wondered what the squire did to piss off Lord Cornwell so much, maybe the brat spot the Lord making love to his whores.



Suddenly a man with a hunched back rushed up to Malcolm.

"I found him. I found the squire, can I have the reward?"

For a second Malcolm was confused, not quite sure what this stranger was referring to, but then it clicked into place.

"Alright show where he is then we will talk."

The hunchback very excitedly leads Malcolm into an alleyway between the south watchtower and the barracks. "He is here!" The hunchback gestated excited at the alley.


Malcolm headed into an alleyway with the torch raised; the gap was empty. Before he could confront the hunchback about his lie, Malcolm felt the cold pain of iron slamming into back his head, which was followed by the darkness of unconsciousness.


Clifford looked down at the unfortunate guard.


"Is he going to be alright?" Charles asked.

"I hit with just the right amount of force. Besides a small headache, tomorrow he should wake alive and in good health. Regardless we have some animals to release," Clifford said as he approached the stables.


Over a short period, Charles and Clifford carefully released every horse, pig, sheep and cow from the stables, allowing them to run amuck in the courtyard.

"Ok, the animals are safe, time for me to set the fire and for you to get the cart ready."



Charles nodded and left Clifford to his work. The hedge knight for his part bent down next to a pile of straw. There was never a point in his life were Clifford thought he would burn down a stable for just cause, yet that was the situation he found himself. There was a tiny bit of hesitation in the back of his mind, but Clifford forced it away. Stables could be rebuilt; lives could not. Without any more delay, Clifford put the straw to flame and then ran for it as the fire and panic consumed the building gripped the battlements.


"I have had a terrible day; first my idiot squire then I came back to find that my stables are on fire," Clifford turned to the voice to see no other than Lord Cornwell glare at the knight with accusing eyes while his men were pointing their weapons at the hedge knight.


From her position within a thick bush, the magical girl watched the shadowy silhouettes of panicked men rushing out the keep. Sayaka quickly pulled her hood over her head and leapt towards keeps walls; it only took a few jumps to get to the tops of the wall. Upon finishing her jump, Sayaka turned around to see an armed starting at her completely god smacked.

Before he had a chance to do anything, Sayaka punched the man right in the nose, causing him to fall ground while in pain.


"Sorry," Sayaka smiled while turning away. It was then she began to wonder how many of the people working at this keep knew about what Lord Cornwell was doing. He couldn't get away without help. Was it only a few twisted people and everyone else was kept in the dark? But if Richard suspected something was wrong, other people must have noticed. Did they know just kept quiet out of fear? The thought caused a small fire righteous fury to appear within Sayaka, she suddenly wanted to kick the ass of basically everyone at keep but ignored the impulse as life was at stake she didn't have time to waste.


According to Richard, the woman was kept in the Keep dungeon, which could only be accessed using a staircase in the south-east corner of the ground floor. Lucky, thanks to her magical girl abilities Sayaka just cleared the wall and with everyone looking for Richard or trying to stop the fire, sneaking in should be easy.



Sayaka leapt from the wall onto the ground, then pleated through a nearby window. The room Sayaka found was big, and due to the lack of people empty, it was hauntingly quiet and dimly lit with torches. On their own, they weren't noticeable, but when combined with the knowledge of what was going made, Sayaka felt like she stepped into a scene from a horror movie.


A sense of unease followed Sayaka as she crept down the stone staircase, the only sound being the echo Sayaka's boots against the floor. As she got further underground, everything got darker. Luckily, Sayaka had a solution for that. She just pushed a little bit of magic into her soul gem, and it began to glow blue, illuminating the area around her. After a short time, she encountered an iron door that was heavy and reinforced strong enough that it would take a group full armed men some to break it open.




The magical girl approached the door. Sayaka grabbed the handle and turned, and the door reminded in place; it was locked. If she wasn't under pressure, Sayaka might have found a more subtle way to open it, but she was under pressure, so the magical girl created a cutlass. She slashed through the hinges and tossed the door to one side, creating a loud crash.



"What in the Seven's bloody hell are you doing?!" A shrill terrified and yet anger voice cried out as Sayaka looked up to see an oldish woman wearing an expensive big dress which was common for women of the nobility. Her body was very skinny, with a long neck and a hooked nose, her red hair was tightened into a big bun. But what really drew Sayaka's eyes was a bloody knife.



Directly behind the woman was a girl who appeared to be only a little older than Sayaka, and she was a mess. Her blond messy, unkempt hair was grim and dirty, but that was nothing compared to a state of her body. It was malnourished, covered in cuts and scar's both small and deep, blood slowly dripping away, creating a small red puddle on the stone floor.



The girl who was chained to the wall suddenly looked up at Sayaka with desperate eyes as she tried to speak, but her voice which had been rendered so weak by the punishment she had endured only made quite noises.

Sayaka gave the woman a glare, "I'm here for the prisoner; stay out of the way."

The noblewoman suddenly became very irritated, but quickly caught herself and forced a fake smile onto her face.



"Listen I think there has been some gross misunderstanding I sure I could...."

"Stop," Sayaka said with a calm yet angry voice, "you seem to be the kind of person who is used to getting their way all the time, so let me make something clear. I don't care what you have to say or who your friends are. Get out of my or you will end up like that door."



The noblewoman took one look at the door, all her bravado crumbled into dust, and she stepped to one side. Sayaka approached the prisoner and bent down, so their eyes meet while making a warm smile.


"Don't worry; I'm getting you out of here."


The prisoner's eyes unexpectedly widened in horror, Sayaka spun around to see noblewoman with her knife raised over the magical girl's head. Sayaka quickly turned her left hand into a fist and punched her attacking in the face. The noblewoman fell to the floor like a sack of heavy bricks, her right eye now presenting a painful-looking bruise.





"Now, as I was saying, I'm going to get you out of here," Sayaka then placed a hand on the prisoner's arm, the only part that wasn't covered injuries, and called on her magic to heal the wounds. As Sayaka's soul gem glowed, the prisoner's wounds disappeared while life returned to her eyes, though scars still remind. She looked at her wounds with tears in her eyes, "Who… what are you?"


"I don't have the time to explain what I am but my name Sayaka Miki. Yours?"


The girl took one solid moment to calm herself and for the first time in ages spoke with a firm voice, "Amilia Cook."



"Well Amilia," Sayaka cut through Amilia's chain with her sword and then, with just a tiny bit of difficulty, ripped off the shackles, "it's nice to meet you."


To say that Sir Clifford Waters was in a bad situation would be a gross understatement. Currently, he had been caught burning down the stable of an angry, corrupt Lord and about twenty-five of his men with more heading his way. Clifford could have held his own against three for at least for a time. But twenty-five? Only could Sayaka achieve such a feat. There was only one thing Clifford could do; stall and hope that he could buy enough time.



"Lord Cornwell, I would say it was a pleasure to meet you face to face, but that would be lying," Clifford said with dark words.

That caused Cornwell to raise an eyebrow, "you know of me?"


"I saw your handy work in the aftermath of the sack of King Landing. It turned my stomach to hear about what you did to those people."

Cornwell didn't react to being reminded of his horrific crimes apart from roll his eyes, "did you burn down my stables just to avenge some long-dead traitors? If your heart bleeds so much, why not strom over to Tywin Lannister and try to behead him?" There was a brief pause as the brutal lord looked at Clifford like a lion that was playing with its food. "You wouldn't happen to know where my squire is?"

"Why would I know where they are?" Clifford didn't really think that playing dumb would fool Cornwell, but any amount of time bought was precious.

"To put it simply, it would be a massive coincidence for you to burn my stables on the same day he disappeared." Cornwell formed an expression of false sympathy on his face, "if you turned over the foolish brat, I might show you some mercy, maybe sweeten the deal with a bit of coin."



There was a part of Clifford that considered faking interest in the offer, but Cornwell's very existence so repulsed the rest of his being that he couldn't compel himself to try. The hedge knight stared, reaching for his sword. When suddenly the keep's main door flew open, and from the shadow of the building's interior a storm, Sayaka's cutlasses flew out and slammed into Lord Cornwell and his men. Luckily for them, Sayaka was merciful and blunted her swords. So instead of being impaled the noble and all his men fell to the ground in pain.


"Thank the Seven you got here in time," Clifford said with relief as he turned around to see that Sayaka had a young girl resting on her. While the girl had no visible wounds, her naked body was covered in horrible scar and was so skinny her bones could be seen through the skin.

"Let's get out of here!" Sayaka shouted as they rushed for the main gate, with Clifford following closely behind.


Amilia's body constantly shook as it was pierced by the chilly night air. Yet she did not care, for once in what felt like an eternity she dared to hope. Hope that she wouldn't die alone in that dark dungeon, that she would wake up tomorrow and have something to forward to other than pain and misery. But there was also dread, that Cornwell would catch up to her rescuers and put her back in chains.


But as the night went on and the cart came slow and steady stop, there was no sign of Cornwell or his men.


"I think we have put enough distance between ourselves and the keep," the hunchbacked cart puller said with heavy breaths. He clearly wasn't used to this kind of physical exertion. He then turned around to look at Amilia with sad eyes. Some time ago, she would have been irritated, but after so long of being tortured and exhausted, she couldn't bring herself to care.

"We have some food and spare clothing stored in the cart. Sayaka the clouds are starting to cover the moon, which means there isn't going to be any light, I could use your help."

Sayaka, the strange girl with blue hair and stranger powers, the one who stormed Cornwell keep to save Amilia nodded her head and leapt off the cart with a glowing egg-shaped gem her hands.



"Are you okay?" Amilia looked to her left and for the first time noticed a young boy sitting in the cart with her.

"As good as I can be," Amilia wasn't really sure if that was true.


"My name is Richard Pale, what's yours?"



"Amilia Cook. Um, I don't mean to be rude but, who are you, people?"


"Well," the armoured man said as he took hold of the cart's reins, "it's a very long story."