Tales of Alavern 01 (Non-Canon)

The queen's breasts were barely visible through the fabric, as were the silver piercings that she had gotten in the ritual she had undergone when she ascended to the throne. The queen lowered her parchment, revealing the pale, pearl-colored irises of her eyes to everyone. Those eyes shot wide open as she took in the sight of their prisoner.

"A man?!" she said, her shock as evident in her tone as it was in her eyes. "In my kingdom? How is this possible? Brianna, explain." she asked, turning her gaze to Brianna. Brianna was caught up in her queen's lovely eyes and had forgotten to take a proper position in the court like her soldiers had, but managed to shake herself out of it before her actions became too suspicious.

"Your highness. Patrols were going routinely and Alexis was combing the beaches for the usual troublemakers, when she came across this...thing's unconscious form. Since a man hasn't been seen on the island long before even our eldest have lived, she took note of his position and immediately brought me to him to make sure that she wasn't mistaken in her assumption of what he is." she explained calmly, gesturing to the man every now and then. "We never expected to ever encounter a man after the Great Mother gave us our shield, so we have no official procedure on how to deal with this situation. Hence, why I've had him brought before you."

The queen brought her fingers to her chin in thought, gazing sternly at the man for several moments in silent contemplation. She raised her hand, allowing the lower-ranked soldiers in the courtroom to rise from their kneeling position and pointed a finger towards the man.

"Remove his gag. I would have him answer my questions." the queen spoke in a tone that was soft yet somehow seemed to almost roar throughout the room. Alexis nodded and forced the man off of the floor, carefully untying her cloth out of his mouth and stuffing it back in the pouch on her belt. The man turned to Alexis with an odd expression on his face as he worked his jaw, most likely to get the stiffness out after having the gag removed.

"If we're all still alive and conscious later, please remind me to ask why that thing tasted like melons." he said in an oddly polite tone to her. Alexis responded by blushing hotly and pushing him towards the feet of the queen. Brianna gritted her teeth seeing the momentary mirth on his face at her response before turning his gaze to the queen. "So if you'll allow me to predict a couple of questions you'll want answers to, your highness; my name is Cyrus, I'm from Las Vegas and I have no idea how I got to your island. The last thing I remember before waking up on the beach is working out alone in my room back home."

Brianna gawked at his brash tone and overly-casual demeanor, unbelieving that he would dare to speak to the queen in such a manner. Her queen, ever the example of poise, merely looked upon him with the slightest amount of annoyance showing on her face. Brianna stood poised to take the man down should the need arise and patiently awaited her queen's response.

"I do not recall giving you permission to speak yet, Cyrus of Las Vegas." the queen said to him, rolling her parchment up and placing it on the armrest of her throne before turning back to him. "But since you insist on speeding things along.."

"I'm sorry, what's your name? You forgot to introduce yourself. Like I said, I'm Cyrus. Nice to meet you." he said, cutting her off. Every woman in the room but the queen gasped at his arrogance and had risen to tackle him to the ground but were stopped by the queen raising her hand up. "Look, I've been cooperative ever since I woke up on the beach and I've been treated extremely poorly. Now I'm trying to be civil here and lead by example, but apparently none of the rest of your people have any basic manners. So I'm begging you here, could you please just show me even the slightest hint of decency?"

"Well, if you're going to beg..." the queen replied, a confident smirk forming on her face, "I am Naomi, Queen of the Alavern Isles. Now since you plan on remaining ignorant, I'll tell you this much. Our island is protected by a powerful barrier gifted to our people by the Great Mother. Nobody should ever have been able to find us from the outside. We don't even show up on maps, so how exactly did you arrive here? Some ancient spell, or perhaps a pact with a dark god?" she asked, her smirk disappearing. Her face twisted in a cold glare and she leaned on the railing to bring herself slightly closer to him.

"Now, I am going to have to have you beheaded at dawn in front of all of my people if you do not stop lying to me!" she shouted at him, making the man go quiet. Brianna felt great pride in her queen, thinking the man had finally found humility in the face of her stern wrath but she was wrong. She saw the man's face twist in rage as he stood up again, and was stopped from knocking him back down by Naomi raising her hand up silently again. She made herself ready in case the man tried to rush forward and attack the queen but was stunned by his actions once again.

"Oh hell no!" he shouted, loud enough that it seemed to echo throughout the entire palace. She watched him quickly crouch down and jump, tucking his feet up and swiftly moving his manacles underneath them. When he landed, his hands were now in front of him once again despite still being shackled together. He pointed at the queen, returning her cold glare with a fiery hot one. "Nobody gets to call me a liar anymore, your fucking crown be damned!"

Chapter 3

Cyrus stood there, trembling from the sheer amount of rage coursing through him as the women surrounding him stood there, tensed up and ready to strike. He knew that realistically, there wasn't a way for him to survive the situation but was no longer able to care. Between his mistreatment at the hands of the captain, whose name was Brianna apparently, being treated like a freakshow or dangerous animal by all the other women who hadn't been escorting him, and being shoved around for over an hour his anger had been brought to a boiling point for a while. Being called a liar despite his actions and behavior for most of this unfortunate visit had been the turning point and now he had to fight the urge to lash out and just hurt anyone he could reach.

"Really?" Queen Naomi said in a surprised tone from on high near her throne as rain began to pour heavily outside. "I threaten to have you beheaded and it's being confronted on your truthfulness that has you acting like this?"

"Undeserved aggression and violence I'm used to, that just makes it fucking Tuesday and me fucking mean." he told her bitterly as he turned back towards Brianna and pointed a finger at her. "You. Give me the fucking key to these cuffs. I'm leaving." Brianna scowled at him, finally drawing her short sword from its scabbard and pointing it to him.

"You only leave this room unconscious or dead while I still draw breath." she said defiantly to him. "If you want the key, you'll have to take it from me man." she spat out, glaring him down as he took a Philly Shell stance and clenched his fists. Brianna approached carefully, keeping her sword at the ready as she studied his movements. He noticed how her eyes moved over him and started flexing and twitching his right fist. Just as he predicted, her soldier training made her too predictable in a one-on-one match and she moved around, preparing to counter a right punch.

He smirked as he threw a quick flicker jab with his left hand, smacking her in the chin with loud pop and watching her head fly back. He knew it wouldn't do any real damage without any weight behind the punch but it caught her off guard and he was able to dash in and ram her with his shoulder hard enough to knock her on her ass. She fell backwards with a thud, keeping a firm grip on her sword and exposing the tools on her belt. He growled, keeping a practiced distance from her as she got back up and cursing silently that he hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of the key.

"A cheap trick." the queen stated suddenly from behind him, "It won't work again. Brianna is too fine a warrior for that." Cyrus cocked an eyebrow, but refused to look at the queen instead of his immediate opponent. He said nothing to her, hearing her grunt in annoyance and smirking slightly to himself. He noticed the gazes of the other soldiers focus on the queen and watched them take up positions to block any possible escape attempts while aiming their spears at him once again.

Brianna charged at him, keeping her sword raised and taking a slash at him. He barely managed to dodge the blade as it took a clean slice out of his shirt and stepped in towards her, raising his fist to hit her with a harder punch this time when he suddenly felt someone grab him from behind, locking their arms under his armpits and preventing him from being able to unleash his attack. He turned his head and saw the blonde looking back at him, her expression now one of someone who was acting the part of a professional.

"So, your people are bullies, cowards, and novices." he said, glaring at Brianna. "Doesn't mean you're going to beat me."

"How dare you insult my people!" he heard the queen suddenly yell from behind him. He chanced a glance back and saw her face gazing down at him in pure rage, her eyes somehow changed from their earlier color to a dark red. "My people are not bullies, cowards, or novices! We are a proud people who have been living free from the oppression of men who abused and enslaved our foremothers! You will regret your lies and insolence, Cyrus of Las Vegas!" He merely smiled smoothly and turned his attention back to Brianna.

"Here's my proof." he said as Brianna stepped forward, readying her sword for a strike. "Bullies, ganging up on one unarmed guy with an entire crew because you lack the fortitude or honor to fight one on one." he said as though he were giving a class lecture as he reached for Alexis' fingers and twisted them until she yowled in pain and was forced to let go. He stepped forward as Brianna had barely started her swing, blocking her arm with his whole body and headbutting her hard enough to cause a nosebleed.

"Cowards, constantly acting aggressive towards and afraid of someone who didn't make even the slightest aggressive move or action until you finally pushed him too far instead of trying to get to know him or acting anything even remotely reasonable." he said, delivering jab to Brianna's nose and causing her nosebleed to intensify before swiftly turning around and delivering a blow to the pit of Alexis' stomach to knock the wind out of her. Brianna roared and charged towards him, ready to swing her sword once she got in range.

"Novices." he said, grabbing Alexis and shoving her towards Brianna. The two collided with one another and got tangled up for a moment, allowing Cyrus to easily step in and deliver a hook to Brianna. Brianna head snapped to the side, the blood from her nose spraying out a bit as she tripped over Alexis, sending them both sprawling to the ground in a pile. "Being too unfocused to coordinate their efforts and staying so close it's easy to use them against each other, turning their numbers from an advantage to a disadvantage."

He smirked as he caught sight of the keys to his manacles and swiftly grabbed them off of Alexis' belt. He made a small show of unlocking his cuffs as the turned back towards the queen, smirking at her as he tossed the cuffs to the side and fixed his messy hair. The queen glared down at him, her expression seeming to house a small amount of curiosity alongside her quiet outrage and disgust.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I've made my point regarding them. Of course, since you're the queen that means that you exemplify the traits of your people the most. The biggest coward, the worst bully and a novice so green I thought that you were actually just a shapely sea turtle when I first laid eyes on you." he says, making a spectacle of laughing at her in the most condescending manner possible. "If you were even a fraction of the queen they had been gushing about on the way here, you would have fought me yourself instead of sending your royal punching bags after me."

"You insolent, unworthy filth!" Brianna shouted from behind him, grunting as she tried to get back to her feet. "Our queen does not need to sully herself with the likes of.." she stopped her tirade dead as Queen Naomi raised her hand again, never taking her eyes off of Cyrus. Cyrus dared a glance back at the women and noticed that the other guards had helped Brianna and Alexis to their feet. The whole company was standing at attention, clearly awaiting word from their monarch.

"You have made your opinions quite clear, Cyrus of Las Vegas." Naomi said as she started to bunch the lower parts of her royal attire in a pair of makeshift pants. "I shall strike a bargain with you then. I shall fight you myself, proving my people's honor in the one-on-one battle you so desperately crave. If you win, I shall give you a craft with which you may leave my island. If you lose, however, you will suffer the same fate as you men suffered upon our foremothers all those centuries ago." she said, spitting his gender out as though it were a curse word. "You shall become a slave to my people, serving whatever role is asked of you without question or complaint. You will answer every inquiry honestly, or suffer grave consequences."

"Fuck you, queenie." he replied, spitting out her title with the same venom she had said his gender with earlier. "That's just a win-win scenario for you. Either you get rid of me or you make me into a thing instead of a person. You wanna strike a deal with me? Put up something that actually matters." he said to her, pointing at the simple silver crown with inlaid sapphire currently resting atop her head. "If I win, then I get as much respect and authority as that crown grants you. If you win, then what you say goes. That way, each of us puts something meaningful on the line."

Queen Naomi appraised him silently from her elevated position before grabbing an ornate blade from next to the throne and hopping down to the ground in front of Cyrus. She looked him up and down for a moment before stepping over to Brianna and removing her crown.

"Highness, no! He's not worthy! You don't have to agree to this, just let me and my troops handle this scum." Brianna said, ready to say more until Naomi shot her a stern expression. Brianna went dead quiet, her eyes still holding great concern for her queen and friend and Naomi's expression softened.

"You are a wonderful example of our people, Brianna. I know I can trust you with this." she said to the captain, gently handing over the crown. "Our laws were not written with men in mind so there is nothing in them that prevents him from making this challenge as any of our people could if they were so inclined. Have faith in me, my friend. Uphold our laws and traditions as you always have. I shall bring us victory yet." Brianna sadly took the crown, nodding at her friend and ordering her troops to form a sparring circle around the queen and her new opponent.

Naomi strode confidently up to Cyrus, unsheathing her blade in front of him. It was longer than the short sword that Brianna had used against him earlier and just as beautiful as he had found the buildings and the scenery. The blade was a sort of light metallic blue color, with gold and black wrapping around the hilt. The queen took her combat pose as the sparring circle was completed around the two of them, her muscles flexing and she changed her breathing pattern to something more suited for the rigors of a fight.

Cyrus couldn't help but admire the beauty before him, her power and grace more evident that ever before with her form. He took his own stance, switching to a peek-a-boo style since he'd need to work hard to press in past the length of her sword and swarm her with attacks quickly. Her eye color had changed again to a less dark red, this color being closer to blood as she focused in on him. He steadied his own breathing before speaking.

"I suppose you've actually managed to prove me wrong, your highness." he said to her. "If you're the example for how your people are, then there might be hope after all. Why don't you mark the start of our fight? You've earned that respect from me." he said calmly, eliciting a slightly surprised reaction from her at his sudden change in opinion and demeanor.

"Very well then. Our battle ends when one of us is no longer able to get up from the floor under our own power and it begins...now." Naomi said, thrusting her blade at him.

Chapter 4

Naomi watched, slightly impressed with Cyrus's ability to dodge the sudden thrust of her blade albeit by the skin of his teeth. She smoothly turned as she passed him so that her back was never towards him to allow him to strike at her blind spot. The rain poured outside, like a cacophony of war drums as the two of them circled each other warily inside of the sparring ring created by her loyal warriors. Much as she hated to admit it, this man was a finely honed warrior in his own right. His unusual bare-handed fighting style had caught her most diligent and skilled warrior off guard with the way he struck.

She carefully thrust her blade towards him again, remaining in place this time to see how he would move and caught herself admiring the simple but precise movements of his sway as he leaned back just barely out of her blade's reach. She saw his eyes studying her and she smirked. He had probably thought her to be some pampered brat like most royals she had read about outside of her island but her position hadn't simply been inherited, it had been earned. She had undergone all of the education and training required of all of her people and excelled. She had proven her might in battle and gone undefeated for 10 long years. No matter what strange style of combat this man might possess, he would not catch her off guard.

He rushed towards her experimentally a couple of times but was repelled away by the elegant sway of her sword each time. She smirked, thinking he was simply delaying the inevitable until he started doing something odd. Naomi saw him swing his arms wide and she couldn't help but flinch at the odd maneuver. He clapped his hands together loudly while stepping towards her. She flinched at the sudden noise and quickly stepped back, knocking into one of her guards who pushed her gently back into the proper edges of the arena.

Her rage flashed hot, embarrassed that she had retreated from such a cheap trick until she noticed an impressed look on the man's face. He curled his toes up and lowered his stance even further, making a sincere smile towards her that made her redouble her guard. She was expecting him to pull yet another trick, but instead he began to speak.

"Wow. I was expecting you to either block or counter that. I'm impressed. I've never had an opponent not fall for the clap feint the first time they saw it until today." he said, his tone sincere and surprisingly gentle. Her brow scrunched in confusion against her will at this sudden shift in tone. He had gone from outraged, to cautious and now somehow found a genuine joy in facing her. She had never faced someone like this before.

"Your trick will not work on me, man." she said, trying to muster venom in the word again but only managing to sound annoyed at him. Her curiosity about the creature before her was now at odds with her desire to see her opponent laying defeated on the ground before her. She grit her teeth, determined to push past her emotions. She swung her sword at him in three elegant swipes, but his low profile and surprising agility kept him from taking any real damage. Worse yet, he had managed to close the gap and make her sword's reach a hazard instead of an advantage. She braced herself, ready to dodge an attack from below, but the man had decided to pull another trick.