Big Bang Fic: The Red Leather Trousers Escapade (12/17)
Title: The Red Leather Trousers Escapade (12/17)
Author: wingedflight21
Rating: K+
Word Count: ~24K
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia do not, never have, and most likely never will belong to me.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Occurs in an AU of The Silver Chair.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to snitchnipped, rthstewart, and especially accidentalsquid as well as anyone else who helped me through these last few months and numerous chapters.
Summary: An assassination attempt gone wrong sends Jill and Eustace off to solve the mystery behind the attacks, all while playing dead. SCAUverse.
-X-
Chapter Eleven
-X-
The door to The Lucky Cobbler opened with a jingle as Teriko barged in at the head of the group. The others followed rather more cautiously: Isak at the front, Eustace and Jill immediately after, with Tankana bringing up the rear. As they spread out, a large man bustled over from the back room, a wide grin on his face.
“Teriko, my favourite niece! I just fixed your shoes yesterday. Don’t tell me you’ve worn them out already? Climbing through the lava caves again?”
“Not just the caves,” Teriko responded with a grin, “You wouldn’t believe the plants I find growing out among those rocks.”
The man appeared to be aiming for a hug from her, but Teriko managed to sidestep it by pretending to examine a shelf of shoe-repair tools. As if to hide his original intentions, the man turned to the next closest person. “Isak,” he boomed, “How’re your soles? And foreigners?” He raised an eyebrow at Teriko, who rolled her eyes and dodged another near-embrace.
“Erlian,” Eustace said, and stretched out his left hand awkwardly for a shake, half afraid he would receive a hug instead. Indeed, it seemed to be a near thing, the man pulling him forward before a glare from his niece put a stop to things.
“Ranell,” said Jill. She was unable to avoid the embrace, but took it good-naturedly. Eustace caught a wistful half-smile on her face as she pulled away, smoothing down her hair. “And you, sir?”
“No ‘sir.’ Simply Dinenku, at your service.” He nodded at them happily before frowning suddenly. “Erlian, boy, you have terrible fashion sense. Your shoes don’t match those trousers at all.”
Eustace hadn’t received so many comments on his clothing in all his years in this world as he had in the past two days. “They’re not my shoes,” he said, and then proceeded to add, almost as an afterthought, “and not my trousers, either.”
During the exchange, Teriko had edged to the back of the room. She tipped her head at the others, inviting them to follow. Tankana moved along the side of the store and Isak took a step to the side to move around the cobbler.
“Pardon,” Dinenku said, his cheerful disposition darkening suddenly. He threw out an arm to block Isak’s path, “but if you’re not here for cobblin’ expertise, I can’t have you making a mess of my shop. Out, Teriko, and your friends with you.”
Eustace exchanged an uneasy glance with Jill, uncertain of whether he should move forward to help or wait the situation out. None of the others seemed to be paying Dinenku any heed; Teriko had rolled her eyes and Isak had reached out to push Dinenku’s arm down, but Tankana was stationing herself to the right of the door to the back room.
“Teriko,” Dinenku warned. His niece rolled her eyes again and rapped a hand on the door before pushing it open.
“Cos!” came an exclamation from the other room, and then there was a shout of alarm as Tankana moved in. Barely a moment later, she had reappeared with a young man in tow. He was young, with a two-day beard and scruffy hair, and only half-dressed. He glared at the group assembled in the shop, and when his eyes landed on Isak, attempted to dive back to the sanctuary of the back room. Tankana’s grip on the man’s arm was strong, and to save face, the he wheeled back to face the group.
“How’s it?” he asked sheepishly, and tried once more to break free of Tankana’s grasp.
Isak pushed past Dinenku to stroll across the room and cross his arms. “Jakono. You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Nothing personal,” Jakono responded nervously. His eyes flickered about the room as if searching for an escape.
“We’ll see how personal it is, aye?” Isak responded irritably.
-X-
Jakono had pulled a tunic on and now sat perched on the corner of the bed that took up half the living space of the shop’s back room. Tankana wasn’t restraining him anymore, but there wasn’t any escape; the group had formed a tight ring about him. Eustace thought, with an odd flare of pride, that they were quite intimidating. Even so, Jakono had a habit of glancing nervously towards the door as if expecting someone else to enter; it was getting to be incredibly distracting.
“Look,” Isak said irritably, “We know what the job was and we know you were discussing it with Rov and Teth. So where are they?”
“And I’ve been telling you I’ve no idea!” Jakono hissed back. “We got the job, I backed out, the others went to the cliffs, and I’ve been hiding in the back ever since.”
“Hiding from what, though?” Eustace asked.
Jakono glanced at him nervously and looked away again. “The job was bungled, that much is clear. Otherwise, Rov and Teth wouldn’t be hidin’ their faces.”
Jill was rubbing at the side of her head. Eustace wondered if it was a headache still remaining from the drinks the night before, or whether it was due to this whole mess of a situation. “Bungled how?” she asked wearily.
“Well, it was completed sure ‘nuff,” Jakono said warily, “or at least, so I thought.” He looked between Eustace and Jill’s faces again and exclaimed, “Look, there was a reason I squirrelled out of it! I didn’t want to kill ya - didn’t want to kill anyone!”
“But someone wanted us dead?” Eustace asked eagerly. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tankana wince at the question and realized from her regretful expression that he’d accidentally confirmed Jakono’s suspicions.
“Sure. She’d offered a way off the island for it.”
“So you accepted an assassination job?”
At Jill and Eustace’s obvious incomprehension, Isak shook his head and clarified, “Emigration’s near impossible. Calormen wants to control the island and that’s how they do it. Same reason there’s so many o’ us young folk with no jobs hanging about. Not surprised some would kill for the chance at a life.”
“Or die for it,” Jill said softly.
All eyes turned to her. Her face was pale and she was biting her lip unhappily. “I’d forgotten. You must have, too, Eustace.”
He had no idea what she was talking of. “Forgotten what?”
“The mermaid. When we were swimming away.” She paused, eyes flickering uncertainly between everyone. “Someone fell from the cliff into the water. It could have been - possibly -“
A heavy silence greeted her words. Eustace remembered suddenly the sickening moment of watching someone plummet into the water, of watching them disappear beneath the waves and seeing the mermaid dive down after them. Nothing had come up afterwards, either.
“She’s right,” he said heavily, “And the other may have been killed up on the cliff. There were others there with us. They may have had a struggle.”
Jakono’s eyes were wide with fright. “I’ll tell you anything,” he said quickly, “Anythin’ you want. The lady - she what gave us the job - I bet I can tell you where to find her, even.”
“Lady?” Teriko repeated.
“Aye. A lady it were, proper Haluan noblewoman. Dark hair, thin face, very small eyes. No height to her, either.”
The description was familiar but Eustace couldn’t quite place it. “Anything noteworthy about her clothing? Accessories? Habits or mannerisms?”
Jakono pursed his lips in thought. “She was - she did this thing with her fingers. Wove them together like - ” To demonstrate, his held his hands folded before him, index fingers pointed upward.
It was Jill who managed to place the woman. “Akili Lenukah,” she said softly. “It’s Akili Eker Lenukah.”
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Epilogue|
Author: wingedflight21
Rating: K+
Word Count: ~24K
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia do not, never have, and most likely never will belong to me.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Occurs in an AU of The Silver Chair.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to snitchnipped, rthstewart, and especially accidentalsquid as well as anyone else who helped me through these last few months and numerous chapters.
Summary: An assassination attempt gone wrong sends Jill and Eustace off to solve the mystery behind the attacks, all while playing dead. SCAUverse.
-X-
Chapter Eleven
-X-
The door to The Lucky Cobbler opened with a jingle as Teriko barged in at the head of the group. The others followed rather more cautiously: Isak at the front, Eustace and Jill immediately after, with Tankana bringing up the rear. As they spread out, a large man bustled over from the back room, a wide grin on his face.
“Teriko, my favourite niece! I just fixed your shoes yesterday. Don’t tell me you’ve worn them out already? Climbing through the lava caves again?”
“Not just the caves,” Teriko responded with a grin, “You wouldn’t believe the plants I find growing out among those rocks.”
The man appeared to be aiming for a hug from her, but Teriko managed to sidestep it by pretending to examine a shelf of shoe-repair tools. As if to hide his original intentions, the man turned to the next closest person. “Isak,” he boomed, “How’re your soles? And foreigners?” He raised an eyebrow at Teriko, who rolled her eyes and dodged another near-embrace.
“Erlian,” Eustace said, and stretched out his left hand awkwardly for a shake, half afraid he would receive a hug instead. Indeed, it seemed to be a near thing, the man pulling him forward before a glare from his niece put a stop to things.
“Ranell,” said Jill. She was unable to avoid the embrace, but took it good-naturedly. Eustace caught a wistful half-smile on her face as she pulled away, smoothing down her hair. “And you, sir?”
“No ‘sir.’ Simply Dinenku, at your service.” He nodded at them happily before frowning suddenly. “Erlian, boy, you have terrible fashion sense. Your shoes don’t match those trousers at all.”
Eustace hadn’t received so many comments on his clothing in all his years in this world as he had in the past two days. “They’re not my shoes,” he said, and then proceeded to add, almost as an afterthought, “and not my trousers, either.”
During the exchange, Teriko had edged to the back of the room. She tipped her head at the others, inviting them to follow. Tankana moved along the side of the store and Isak took a step to the side to move around the cobbler.
“Pardon,” Dinenku said, his cheerful disposition darkening suddenly. He threw out an arm to block Isak’s path, “but if you’re not here for cobblin’ expertise, I can’t have you making a mess of my shop. Out, Teriko, and your friends with you.”
Eustace exchanged an uneasy glance with Jill, uncertain of whether he should move forward to help or wait the situation out. None of the others seemed to be paying Dinenku any heed; Teriko had rolled her eyes and Isak had reached out to push Dinenku’s arm down, but Tankana was stationing herself to the right of the door to the back room.
“Teriko,” Dinenku warned. His niece rolled her eyes again and rapped a hand on the door before pushing it open.
“Cos!” came an exclamation from the other room, and then there was a shout of alarm as Tankana moved in. Barely a moment later, she had reappeared with a young man in tow. He was young, with a two-day beard and scruffy hair, and only half-dressed. He glared at the group assembled in the shop, and when his eyes landed on Isak, attempted to dive back to the sanctuary of the back room. Tankana’s grip on the man’s arm was strong, and to save face, the he wheeled back to face the group.
“How’s it?” he asked sheepishly, and tried once more to break free of Tankana’s grasp.
Isak pushed past Dinenku to stroll across the room and cross his arms. “Jakono. You’ve been avoiding me.”
“Nothing personal,” Jakono responded nervously. His eyes flickered about the room as if searching for an escape.
“We’ll see how personal it is, aye?” Isak responded irritably.
-X-
Jakono had pulled a tunic on and now sat perched on the corner of the bed that took up half the living space of the shop’s back room. Tankana wasn’t restraining him anymore, but there wasn’t any escape; the group had formed a tight ring about him. Eustace thought, with an odd flare of pride, that they were quite intimidating. Even so, Jakono had a habit of glancing nervously towards the door as if expecting someone else to enter; it was getting to be incredibly distracting.
“Look,” Isak said irritably, “We know what the job was and we know you were discussing it with Rov and Teth. So where are they?”
“And I’ve been telling you I’ve no idea!” Jakono hissed back. “We got the job, I backed out, the others went to the cliffs, and I’ve been hiding in the back ever since.”
“Hiding from what, though?” Eustace asked.
Jakono glanced at him nervously and looked away again. “The job was bungled, that much is clear. Otherwise, Rov and Teth wouldn’t be hidin’ their faces.”
Jill was rubbing at the side of her head. Eustace wondered if it was a headache still remaining from the drinks the night before, or whether it was due to this whole mess of a situation. “Bungled how?” she asked wearily.
“Well, it was completed sure ‘nuff,” Jakono said warily, “or at least, so I thought.” He looked between Eustace and Jill’s faces again and exclaimed, “Look, there was a reason I squirrelled out of it! I didn’t want to kill ya - didn’t want to kill anyone!”
“But someone wanted us dead?” Eustace asked eagerly. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tankana wince at the question and realized from her regretful expression that he’d accidentally confirmed Jakono’s suspicions.
“Sure. She’d offered a way off the island for it.”
“So you accepted an assassination job?”
At Jill and Eustace’s obvious incomprehension, Isak shook his head and clarified, “Emigration’s near impossible. Calormen wants to control the island and that’s how they do it. Same reason there’s so many o’ us young folk with no jobs hanging about. Not surprised some would kill for the chance at a life.”
“Or die for it,” Jill said softly.
All eyes turned to her. Her face was pale and she was biting her lip unhappily. “I’d forgotten. You must have, too, Eustace.”
He had no idea what she was talking of. “Forgotten what?”
“The mermaid. When we were swimming away.” She paused, eyes flickering uncertainly between everyone. “Someone fell from the cliff into the water. It could have been - possibly -“
A heavy silence greeted her words. Eustace remembered suddenly the sickening moment of watching someone plummet into the water, of watching them disappear beneath the waves and seeing the mermaid dive down after them. Nothing had come up afterwards, either.
“She’s right,” he said heavily, “And the other may have been killed up on the cliff. There were others there with us. They may have had a struggle.”
Jakono’s eyes were wide with fright. “I’ll tell you anything,” he said quickly, “Anythin’ you want. The lady - she what gave us the job - I bet I can tell you where to find her, even.”
“Lady?” Teriko repeated.
“Aye. A lady it were, proper Haluan noblewoman. Dark hair, thin face, very small eyes. No height to her, either.”
The description was familiar but Eustace couldn’t quite place it. “Anything noteworthy about her clothing? Accessories? Habits or mannerisms?”
Jakono pursed his lips in thought. “She was - she did this thing with her fingers. Wove them together like - ” To demonstrate, his held his hands folded before him, index fingers pointed upward.
It was Jill who managed to place the woman. “Akili Lenukah,” she said softly. “It’s Akili Eker Lenukah.”
Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Epilogue|