The Taming of Terra The Guardian

Terra beamed as she walked down the cobbled street, bare feet against warm stones, waving to the cheering people around them. Her own fellows followed behind her, a procession she led, a procession of peace! The pale skinned men and women of the Rive Highlands celebrated, even though just a month or so ago, they had been mortal enemies. But her people would have shared in the same jubilation were their roles reversed, for they were not cheering their enemy, they were cheering peace! Peace after so long!

Banners were unfurled, doves set free, petals tossed joyously into the playful wind, carrying their fragrance along in a wonderful, colorful rain.

"Whoah..." Said Narra, Terra's best friend, who stood close by and to her left.

Terra nodded, reaching up and catching pedals out of the air, fitting them into her hair, before turning and placing some among Narra's chin-length locks of black. Narra blushed but did not stop her, carrying Terra's Staff, and the gem growing out of it. Normally Terra would never allow anyone to carry the stave, as it was, in many ways, the source of her super natural powers. But by allowing Narra to do so, she was able to keep her weapon close, while sending the message that she did not come to wield it.

"It's hard to believe that these...are really the people we have been fighting." Narra said softly.

"Yeah, under the old king, I thought they were demons, but now...how can I think that now?" Terra said with a wide smile, catching more petals out of the air and placing them among her long white hair, and Narra's black hair.

The old king of Rive had died, and the Prince, upon taking power, had approached her people in humility, for peace and forgiveness for old wounds. Her people, the stoics of the Deep Woods, were not easily convinced, but after conferring silently with Terra's father, and succeeding his tests, the new Prince had emerged with his blessing!

Things had been progressing smoothly since then, and now they came to what was hopefully the final peace summit, this one hosted here, in their Capital. Such was the gesture of trust between them, and the war had not progressed a step in either direction since the prince had come before them. Terra had spent so much of her life hating the Rivans, yet with that unraveling, and seeing their displays of generosity, she had felt that hate dissolve utterly. They were not so different after all, and seeing it, knowing it, seeing it, was good.

"Reveling in the coming peace already?" Said a voice from behind her.

The Youngest Guardian, the last after her father, turned to regard her elder, adopted brother. He had neither the blue eyes, or white hair which singled Terra and her Father out as Guardians, but they shared the same tan, and a love for their people. She smiled at him and tossed her hair playfully.

"The peace is already here! All of this, it's just technicalities." She said back to him.

He grinned a cold grin, and shrugged.

"Well, at least one of us is optimistic." He muttered.

"What's that?" she called back, and he shook his head.

"Nothing little sister. Lead on Terra, to a brighter future. It's what Guardians do."

She grinned widely at him and proudly puffed out her chest as she led her people up the streets of the capital, and towards the large, spike shaped castle, high on the central hill. They were met and greeted by the guards there, who saluted and bowed to her, and the diplomats. Terra entered with a bounce in her step, brazen where the others in her cadre were more stoic and refined. Such was the way, for she was a Guardian, an incarnation of nature itself! And today the sun smiled, today the world spun rightly!

They were escorted into the inner garden to await the arrival of the prince, and Terra kneeled in the loamy earth before her, admiring both the flowers which they had cultivated here, and the weeds they had failed to suppress. The stone work around them, the skylight that allowed the sun to rain despite the high walls, and these new, exotic plants, it seemed to Terra that she was discovering something novel and interesting every moment she was here, and she felt it could not be but a good omen! The prince had been so reasonable in all of these endeavors that she could not imagine anything preventing their people's peace now.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Prince Thran watched the milling, waiting forms of the stoics from above, through a high window. He smiled, an expression riddled with a long restrained depravity, one which was pulling at the bindings which had held it taught for so long, fraying them, but not yet free. Not yet.

In particular, his eyes fell onto The Guardian, the Last Guardian, the young woman named Terra. All of the savage stoics wore leathers, hides, and scant straps as clothing, and she was no different, though her own garment was composed mostly of feathers, her sun kissed skin shamelessly displayed in a way which any proper Rivan woman would be ashamed to.

Thran had always been tantalized by that exotic shade of skin, and that shameful fashion of dress, or rather, undress, which was common to all of her people. But Terra was even more tempting than even the next most beautiful savage, as she was not only a gorgeous specimen herself, but truly novel, special in many ways. Her and her father were the last of the ancient Guardian lineage, and both bore stark white hair, and bright, deep blue eyes, which set them apart from the others of their kin, who bore dark eyes and black hair instead.

And that was not even mentioning her feral beauty, a beauty he admired even then. She was not so soft and plump as the majority of the Rivan women who were considered beautiful in his land. The prince watched as she bent to admire a flower, and squatted to view its roots. Her whole body was toned with lean, tense muscle, her every movement an accentuation of athleticism totally absent from all but the warriors among his people, and Rivan women did not fight.

Combined with her natural, magical potential, it was all the prince could do not to salivate as he watched her, so unknowing of the truth, and of his plans. He would soon own her, and then tame her and her deliciously feral body. He would make her obedient, and then, he would make her his queen. His gorgeous slave Queen, bent entirely to his will, controlled by her senses by his every given whim. And by owning her in that way, he would do what his foolish father never could. He would conquer the Stoics, and create a lineage which would rule a kingdom composed of both of their lands.

His plans had been working like magic, ever since he had managed to connive his way into a meeting with the Chief of the Stoics. Now that man was dead, replaced by a magical facsimile who had done his every bidding. And yet, he could not have gotten this far, not without inside help. Had the stoics been as pure and true as they pretended to be, then he would not have been able to hide his lies for this long, but, luckily, power lust crossed all races, and he used it to his advantage.

He had painstakingly constructed his trap, assembled the bait, and woven his illusion over all of it. And all of it, every last step had led to this wonderful moment. Terra was virtually his already.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The conference was almost over, and the time spent had been time beloved! Terra had made no secret of her daily explorations of the castle, and her many mischiefs in between. Her presence was more a symbolic one, lending authority to all that happened here, but the negotiations were largely done by those who had come with her, but not by Terra herself. She teased the guards, stole odd pastries from the chief, climbed and crawled along the roof and battlements, and frolicked among the inner and outer gardens.

Though many faces would redden when she was about, she found it was mostly because of the prudish nature of the Rivans, who wore so much cloth and garments that Terra truly wondered how they could comfortably move about! Aside from that, they seemed to loosen up eventually, taking joy in Terra's constant levity and upbeat nature, even their hardest shells cracking over time as she lingered and wandered about the capital for nearly two weeks.

The people referred to her as princess, a concept that was not exactly the same as being the chief's daughter, but was close enough. Many Rivans had blue eyes, just like her, but none had her white hair, though their own skins were far paler than hers. When Terra would come by the river, she would giggle and tell stories in clumsy Rivan-speak to the girls of the nearby school, who would braid her soft, white hair, and listen carefully to the legends of Terra's people.

When she would run about the work yards and begin inspecting the crates, the men would take it upon themselves to eagerly explain the name and function of the many odd devices and inventions that she would unearth, placing them back when she had finished marveling over them. The jeweler in the town twisted a small twine of silver into the semblance of a branch, and affixed it to a steel bracelet for her as a gift. The flower woman would always break from her deliveries to tie roses into her hair, and the baker always left a few tarts out where she could easily steal them.

In all that time among the Rivans, however, she had barely ever seen the prince himself, only catching distant glances of his tall form and platinum blond hair. She had thought he would want to meet with her, if only for the novelty, but that had not happened, not that she minded. Politics were never her forte. She had ever been the warrior, though she wisely avoided that topic while mingling with the people of the capital. When the last day came, she spent it moving between all the new friends and acquaintances she had met, to find some last time with each before returning home.

By the time she had done this, the sun had set, and it had become late. She entered casually through the front gate, humming to herself, arms flooded behind her head as she walked. Terra came up short however when she noticed her brother, Jakro, standing before her, blocking the path.

"Terra." He greeted with a nod.

"Brother." She said in return, smiling, though her smile weakened when she saw he did not return it.

"You are awfully late." He said flatly.

Terra huffed and looked away, disinterested.

"I am a Guardian, I don't have a curfew." She muttered petulantly.

"You may not have a curfew, but you have kept the Prince waiting for a long time now." Said Jakro.

Terra perked up at this right away.

"The Prince? Waiting for me?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Yes. He has been very busy, but he wanted to meet with you at least once before we departed. He asked me to go fetch you when I saw you. That was hours ago." Her brother said, his voice still flat.

Terra felt her face flush, and she giggled nervously, rolling her eyes.

"Weeeeeell, I'm here now." she said past her blushing cheeks.

"Do you know where he is?" She asked a moment later.

Jakro nodded with a sigh.

"Follow me." He said, turning and leading her away and up, up into one of the towers of the castle.

She followed along, walking without breaking a sweat all the way up the winding, twirling steps, until at last they reached the top most chamber of the tower, and pushed open a heavy, reinforced door.

Inside was a bedroom and study, though certain things seemed a little off about it, though there was nothing that Terra could identify right away. Sitting at the desk at the far corner, back facing away from them, was the prince, scribbling something into a thick skinned notebook with an ink quill.

"It's about time." The Prince said curtly, writing for a moment longer, and then standing up.

As he did Jakro closed the door behind them, and then went to one knee. Terra barely understood what he was doing at first, figuring he was picking something up, not bowing. The Stoics did not Bow!

"I have brought her, my king." Her brother said from the ground, further confounding her.

"Jakro, stop joking around and get up." Terra said with a nervous chuckle.

He did not rise.

"Your brother is not joking Terra." Said the Prince, now facing her, his own eyes a piercing, pale blue, his hair almost white.

She crossed her arms and scoffed.

"He has to be, you aren't even a king yet. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't you need to marry in order to become a king?" The Guardian blood asked him sarcastically.

"Why do you think he has brought you to me?" The prince asked with a laugh of his own, eyes gleaming devilishly.

"Wha-"Terra began to say, face slackening.

"That's right. It's one of the conditions for your vaunted peace. I get you, and the Stoics get to live. Then, when it is known that your father has died, I will become king of both lands, with you as my obedient queen." He said smugly.

"Ha! Fat chance of that! As if I would ever agree to that in a thousand years!" Terra said, crossing her arms more tightly.

"Come Jakro, get off the floor! I'm not marrying that man." She snapped.

"You have to." Her brother said, stunning Terra with the unthinkable words.

"What?!" She spat.

"If you do not marry him, then we go back to war. If you do not make this sacrifice, then it is only a matter of time before our people begin to kill each other again." Jakro said, still not getting up.

"Jakro, how can you say that?! We are defending ourselves! If the war continues because of this, then HE is effectively forcing this war to go on in order to capture or spite ME! We do not surrender our own, we do not betray the tribe!" She railed, glaring down at him and stepping away.

"I refuse! I am a Guardian! I will not be bound! Father would never have agreed to this-" She began to say.

"Father is dead. He died when he attempted to "test" our new King." Said Jakro.

The words struck Terra like invisible blasts of flame, the very notion of what he was saying scorching her painfully just to consider!

"W-What? No! No, I saw him! He's been active and obviously alive!" She rebutted.

Jakro shook his head and the prince laughed.

"What you saw was a puppet of our father, controlled by our king. By the time we return to the tribe, his animating spells will have worn off, and to all it will seem as though he died in his sleep." Her adopted brother explained calmly.

"No! Why?! Why are you helping this man?! If what you are saying is true...if...Jakro, he murdered our father!" Terra screamed, arms uncross in sheer shock and despair.

Tears stung her eyes, and her brother did nothing to soothe them.

"Father was a dogmatic fool, and he would have seen our people destroyed by this war. In exchange for aiding our new king, I will be rewarded with the title of Regent Duke over all of father's former territories. I will protect and lead our people, even if I lack your white hair and blue eyes. This is the only way. This is the way into the future. And you are vital to that, sister. You should be honored." He said, standing up.

Terra spread her legs into a predatory crouch, her muscles flexing under her smooth, dark skin.

"You're a traitor! I'll expose you! I'll never let you have your way with the tribe!" She growled, voice overrun with the vicious promise of vengeance.

But then a surprised expression took over her face, and she staggered.

"W-What?" She groaned.

"The Heart of the World is far from you sister. Narra still has it, far, far below, in the castle. This far away, you can probably barely tap its power, and tomorrow, when I return to the tribe, I shall take it with me as well, leaving you with nothing." Jakro said coldly, drawing out a padded cudgel with one hand, and a small bag in the other.

Terra grit her teeth, eyes full of indescribable fury!

"This will be more than enough power to crush just the two of you!" She said, lunging forward at Jakro, who swung his cudgel down at her and was visibly surprised when she caught the swing with her right hand and threw him off his feet, wrenching the weapon out of his fist.

He hit the ground hard but rolled to his feet, turning just as Terra jumped atop him, catching him in a vice lock, and constricting his neck and arms. Choking, hacking, her adopted brother tossed the bag in his hand up, where it arched in the air, and landed on her head, spilling its contents open, the sight of which chilled Terra to the bone. Sleeping powder!

She leapt off him, kicking him off and away as she tried to shake the stuff out of her white hair, holding her breath uselessly as the narcotic powder sank into her skin. She swooned, feet tripping and falling, where she would have landed harshly, had the prince not caught her. He laid her down upon the floor gently, and smiled, stroking her face.

"Shhhh, do not tax yourself my queen. We will have plenty of time before we present our union to the public properly. But before then, I will have to teach you how to behave. Fear not, I am an excellent...teacher...And you will be my finest...hehehe, student." He said to her as her eyes fluttered and struggled to stay open, her hand reaching up to grasp his collar with a trembling grip, before fading from consciousness, and departing the waking world, leaving herself at the terrible mercy of the Rivan Prince, and his many designs.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Terra woke slowly, the drug that had stolen her senses wearing off in gradual waves. She had vague memories of being lifted and taken off the ground, and to a new, dark place. This room she awoke within was circular, and it was owned by shadow, the one exception being her. She sat within a complicated chair, a thing of many levers and gears, a thing of variable shapes, though it sat as a chair beneath her in that moment.

From above, a cone of light descended, revealing her in stark, white radiance while simultaneously blinding her to all else. Terra could not actually see past the wavering wall of shadows beyond her cone of light, her sensitive blue eyes squinting in the brightness as her mind came further and further into lucidity. The very next thing that she noticed was that she could not move, at all.

Terra had been strapped into this chair contraption, bindings laid over not just her wrists and ankles, but reinforced with tight shackles that held the Last Guardian pinned by her forearms, biceps, shoulders, and neck. Thick, unyielding straps were pulled over her midsection, across her thighs, and under her knees. Even the sides of her head had been restrained by a metal brace which forced her to look directly ahead, giving her no options for movement. Her palms were wrapped in leather twine which forced them down against the arm wrests, her feet likewise held prone to the floor.

She was given time in that darkness to fully come to herself, gasping and hyperventilating in growing panic as her dazed mind began to grasp her waking condition, this utterly trapped and confined state! Terra began to huff and puff, realizing that her mouth too was trapped, gagged by a red ball with several holes drilled into it. She could not help but drool, her saliva slicking down her chin, unable to lean or adjust her immobilized head to prevent herself from dripping her spit onto her chest and feathered top.

"Mmmm! Mmmph!" She mumbled through her gag, her wide blue eyes starting to dart and look about, but there was nothing to see, nothing but darkness.

Terra tried to calm herself, drawing in several deep breaths, and feeling for her power. But, to her utter shock, she could not feel it. The Gem in her Stave, the Heart of the World...it was now so far away from her, that she could barely call herself super human at all anymore! She tugged and pulled against the restraints, but they were unyielding, and mercilessly tight, giving her no leeway, sinking into her skin as she pulled and struggled.