Chapter Text
Hisirdoux Casperan, first of his name, legally thirteenth or fourteenth because he couldn’t really be Hisirdoux Casperan for 900 years, was on his way from a long and arduous meeting, England claiming that the flying castle of Camelot was theirs and that Jim should give it up, yearning for a hot soak and his silken sheets when the stars decided that his life had become too plain and they plucked him from the very fabric of his universe and tossed him into what could only be described as a depressing, solitude, absolutely, definitely damned forest of snow.
He would have nearly cried if not for his friends being tossed right into him. Which then turned into hysterical laughter before devolving into bleary-eyed silence.
Jim leaned over him, taking one look at his prone form and the divine king shook his head before grabbing him by the shoulders and hauling him up, a ball of black fluff jumping into his arms, Archie.
The dragon pressed his head against his wizard's chest, purring softly. An amused huff left his lips as he gave his familiar a soft scratch between the ears. “It's fine, Arch, I'm fine… just tired,” a shiver left him as the chill seeped into his bones, “and cold, fuzz, it's cold.”
He looked up, taking in the forest they had landed in, a layer of snow covered the ground, weighing down the branches of the trees. His companions and friends scattered around him, Jim and Claire, Aja and Krel, and then Toby. A breathless laugh escaped him as he took in Toby's exaggerated groaning before he felt a tug, subtle yet strong, pulling at his very essence, calling to the power that buzzed under his skin, magic, old magic.
Wonder filled his gaze as he breathed in deeply. They were in a cold place, not unlike the higher lands of Camelot when winter would set in. The chill was enough to penetrate the more formal cloak and coat he had put on for the meeting.
Gripping his staff, Douxie summoned warmer clothes on his body along with the others, murmurs of thanks filled the air as fleece-lined clothes warmed their skin.
“Where are we?” Sharp, blue eyes met his gold-flecked hazels as his brother held Claire close.
Douxie shrugged, right hand fidgeting with his enchanted bracelet, “We're not home, that's for sure."
A groan to his left alerted him to the fact that Toby had finally gotten off the floor, “The world must be ending if it snows in California.”
“It already happened once, Tobes, the world ending, I mean, not the snowing in Cali, but if Skrael got there then maybe it would…” Jim shook his head, letting his words die in the wind before continuing, his arm wrapped around Claire’s waist. “So, Claire’s got her ring, Douxie's got his bracelet and staff, my amulet is in my pocket, what about you three?” Jim looked to Toby and the Akiridions.
Toby stuck his tongue out of his mouth as he dug into his back pocket, letting out a few hums before he pulled out his amulet, brandishing it with a triumphant ‘Aha!’. The twins looked at each other before waving their serrators with one of their lower arms while the upper ones remained crossed.
Douxie took in Aja and Krel's Akiridion form before the sound of voices nearby caused him and Jim’s head to snap to the side, “You two might want to activate your human disguise.” he muttered, his staff disappearing into his bracelet as a group of men appeared, the subtle flash of light gone before the mounted group took notice of the six adolescents.
Two boys, aged around him and the others, moved, their hands on their swords, a much younger boy stared with wide eyes, fidgeting with the reins of his pony, looking nervously towards a man with shoulder length brown hair and a white streak in his beard.
The boy with red-brown hair spoke, “Who are you, strangers? What reason do we find you here in the land or our fathers?”
Douxie sighed, he showed them his empty hands, a small grin on his face as he easily slipped back into what he hoped was the proper decorum, “We mean you no harm, my goodman, I am Hisirdoux Casperan and these are my companions, we've found ourselves lost and in need of help.”
“Well? Where are you headed?” the bearded man asked, his horse advancing a step.
“The nearest settlement would do us well. We truly do not know where we are. We'd lost most of our supplies, I apologise for the inconvenience.”
An air of unease passed through the rest of the party, the man at the front not minding it at all, “You and your friends won't cause us any trouble, will you?”
Jim took a step forward, and Douxie let himself relax with a barely concealed yawn, his hand coming up to his face before falling back onto Archie's fur. It was fine. His king was taking the lead, “No, we won't, unless you harbour ill will then not a hand will be raised to harm you or those under you.”
The man nodded, “I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and you?”
“James Lake J-”
“Second of his name, his sire held the name first, my lord.” Douxie interrupted, placing a hand on Jim's shoulder.
“And the two young ladies?”
“I am Aja Tarron, this is my brother, Krel.” the blonde said, gesturing to her twin.
“Claire Nuñez,” Claire muttered, nodding her head.
Toby waved a hand, a jovial grin on his lips, “And I'm Toby, Tobias Domzalski, but just call me Toby.”
Eddard Stark sat back on his saddle, gaze to the sky as he thought to himself, he let out a hum before looking back to them, sight drawn to Jim and Douxie, “Very well, my keep is a few days ride from here, I will allow your company to stay so long as they don't raze the place to the ground.”
He looked over his shoulder, garnering his party's number, “I can offer two of our pack horses for the ladies, but I'm afraid the rest of you will have to walk.”
Jim bowed his head, “That will be no problem.”
—
Winterfell loomed in the horizon, causing a small smile to break on Ned's face, from this distance he could see the group forming at the gates, three figures standing at the front, his daughters and wife, his youngest most definitely in his wife's arms.
He let out a huff of amusement as three figures bolted past him, Theon, Jon, and Robb bounding for the keep, whoops of laughter coming from both Theon and Robb as they spurred their steeds onwards. Looking to his second trueborn son, who kept his pace with him, to his right, Bran stared at his brothers and their friend with wide eyes before his gaze went to his mother and sisters, a smile on his youthful face.
Ned Stark set his horse to a gallop–not as fast as his boys but fast enough that he left the rest of the party behind– he slowed down when he neared and dismounted, snow scattering as he landed, a grin on his face as he took in his loving, beautiful wife. He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before pulling her into an embrace, a startled laugh leaving her lips as Rickon squealed.
“You weren't even gone that long!” Cat exclaimed with exasperated amusement.
He laughed, looking up as the rest of the group arrived, Jory at the head. The ten odd men he brought with him dismounted and bowed to the family before heading to the stables, leading their horses. Leaving the six strangers standing awkwardly.
The young man, James, was helping the maiden, Claire, down from the packhorse, smiling softly as she nearly slipped and he caught her, setting her down and letting her lean on him as she caught her breath, muttering something in that strange language that their party only knew.
One of the knights came back to collect the two packhorses as Catelyn looked at the strangers, her gaze going back to him, an eyebrow raised.
“We found them in the wolfswood, claimed they were lost.” He explained.
Cat let out a hum, “And you believed them?”
“It is big forest, Cat.”
“Well where are they from?”
Ned frowned, eyebrows pulling together, “I never asked. They gave their word that no harm would come to us.”
He heard her sigh, giving his cheek a pat before handing off Rickon to him. She turned to the group, shooing away their children, Jon nowhere to be found. “I am Catelyn Stark, wife of Lord Stark. Where do you come from?”
The group exchanged glances, slipping into those other murmurs, James looked to Hisirdoux and then he looked to them, “Arcadia,” he said with a nod of his head, the others muttering their agreement.
“Arcadia?”
“Yes,” he paused, considering, “my lady.”
An afterthought, strange, like the words came unnaturally to the younger man. During the few day journey they took, Ned had noticed a few things, that James, despite being the leader, relied on his companions opinion to make decisions, that he relied the most on Hisirdoux more than anyone, that he was polite but he seemed to forget to address people by their titles, having to consider before speaking.
Cat nodded, “And you are?”
“James, James Lake, second of my name, Lady Stark.”
“So you are of nobility, I've never heard of House Lake.”
A crease formed on James brow, “Pardon?”
“Your name, boy, you say that your last name is Lake.”
Ned watched as confusion pulled at the young man's face as realisation dawned on Hisirdoux's.
“No, no my lady, Jim's family lives by a great lake where we come from, legends say that there was once a goddess named Nimue known as the Lady of the Lake who gifted a man a greatsword, the Lakes are said to be descended from this man.” The hazel eyed man gave his cat a pet, scratching between its ears.
“Well where is this sword now?”
“In the stories.” Krel said, crossing his arms, shrugging.
Ned waved a hand, taking notice of the cold, “No matter the sword, the night approaches and these fellows have yet to eat since we've broken our fast.”
James, or was it Jim, gave a grateful nod, and the group followed after them into the fort.