The Slave Princess

Author's Notes: Yay!!! You are reviewing! ^_^ that makes me feel appreciated. Thank you and I'm glad to see that those of you who review are enjoying the story. I noticed that you had some questions so I'm going to answer them as best I can without giving too much away. Unfortunately, most of the questions are answered better in the novel I plan to get published... feel free to blame any plot gaps in this story to the fact that I don't have a storyboard and I'm just writing whatever goes into my head, hitting a few key points along the way. Anyway, to answer your questions:
Why doesn't Nyrobi know where she is?
This is better explained in my novel, unfortunately. She herself has never left Ankara (the capital of Nyru) aside from the immediate area around it, but keep in mind, Ankara is right smack in the middle of Nyru so that's why she doesn't know how to get home from where she is. Also, she was unconscious for most of the trip and pretty hazy whenever she was conscious so it was hard for her to pay attention to where she was much less how long she'd been away from home. Nyruans keep to themselves mostly. They go out to find men to get pregnant with then they go back and they haven't really had much of a reason to "know thy enemy" as you put it. The only real wars they've been involved in are tribal wars with neighbouring countries but as I said, Nyruans tend to keep to themselves.
How is an all-female country possible?
I knew this question would come up! Once again, this is better explained in the novel aaaand because I'm evil like this, I'm not going to tell you right now. Keep reading and you'll get your answer ;)
Aren't Nyruans supposed to be a warrior-type tribe? How come they were captured so easily?
They were in the middle of a huge celebration. Security went pretty lax because everyone was in the city partying. There were still a few scouts out which is how they were warned of intruders. They are warrior-type people and you'll *probably* see more of that from Nyrobi at least later on in this story and a lot more if you decide to read my novel when it's finally published and finished. As for them being captured so easily... well, I really don't have a good explanation for that haha! I was trying to go for them getting a surprise attack pulled on them and they didn't really have a chance to react. I really didn't put very much thought into that part ^_^' Sorry!
What's with the "not a happy story" thing?
Well, I KIND OF changed my mind on that. It's still not going to be a happy story, persay, but it won't be a horribly sad story either. Nyrobi's a slave. Slaves aren't treated well. Bad things will happen to her and she'll have to deal with them so it'll be sad in that sense. I really have no idea how it's going to end yet, but I do have a few surprises in store for you guys and I'm thinking of changing this story from a general story to something else more fitting. I'll give you plenty of warning before I do that though.

Anyway! Sorry for that novella of an Author's Note but I hope it answered your questions. Feel free to ask me more questions or comments. It helps me a lot with my writing and getting a feel for what you guys want to read. Keep 'em comin'!

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Chapter 5: Honoured Guest?

Nyrobi was set in such a deep sleep that not even dreams dared to touch her mind. Her body refused to let anything disturb this much-needed rest and when she finally did awaken, it was well into the afternoon of the next day. The room was tidy and the sun was shining in from a big window, illuminating all the way to the farthest corners. Someone had been in to clean up after her bath and had brought in a tray of food. Grapes, melons and various other fruits were laid out for her. She looked over at them, longingly, not quite wanting to move from the bed just yet.

Her stomach protested her laziness loudly, though, and she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She hadn’t noticed just how high the bed was until her feet touched the soft rug, covering the hardwood floor. The mattress top was about even with her waist. In all fairness, Nyrobi was quite a bit shorter than most of the women in this city, but even so, she thought that anyone would feel tiny in comparison.

Her stomach made another loud growling noise and she walked over to the tray, picking up a grape and popping it in her mouth. She wrapped her free arm around her stomach, resting her hand on her hip. The nightgown she was wearing was a bit too large for her and the movement made it fold over and look strange.

There was a stool nearby and she pulled it over to sit on while she ate. It felt so good to be able to feed herself again. And to be clean… This would almost be heaven if it weren’t for the fact that she had no idea where she was, no idea where her friends and family were and happened to be a slave for a man she couldn’t understand. That thought felt like an ominous cloud hanging over her, threatening to rain and shoot lightning at her.

Nyrobi stared off into space as her mind wandered to Nevi. Where was she? What were the chances that she’d been bought by someone who was treating her the same way that Nyrobi was being treated? Really, Nyrobi couldn’t complain much about her new… owner. He had treated her well thus far. As for what he expected of her… she couldn’t understand that unless he managed to learn Nyruan or teach her his language.

She seemed to be a step up from where she was a few nights ago; cold alone and unconscious in a cage held captive by lusty men. They made her sick to her stomach all over again and she was forced to put the fruit down that she’d been eating. What of this man? Would he want her to… sleep in his bed or anything?

The thought alone made her blush. He wasn’t unattractive by any stretch… but Nyrobi was a virgin. She’d made love with Nevi before, but it was a fair bit different for a woman and a woman to make love than it was for a man and a woman. The mechanics were just… different. And not only that, but she actually loved Nevi. Nyrobi even know Darius!

She groaned helplessly. Her current situation wasn’t bad in comparison with the last few weeks of her life, but it certainly wasn’t a good situation. Escaping was pretty much out of the question for her. Even if she DID manage to get away from Darius… where would she go? Back to the city to be sold into slavery again? Or worse?
If she had the energy, she would have cried again but alas, her tears were all gone. She was all dried up.

The door opened and Nyrobi jumped at the sound. A maid just a little older than herself walked in with another tray. On it was a jug of water and a glass. When she spotted Nyrobi, she smiled distantly and moved over by the tray of food to place down the new tray. Nyrobi backed away. Would this woman turn on her, too? She watched as the woman bustled around the room, tidying up, and then moved over to the wardrobe. She opened it and searched through the contents. At last, she chose a scarlet dress. Then she walked over to the bed and laid it down then walked out of the room.

After a moment of silence, Nyrobi walked over to the dress to look at it. The fabric was smooth and shiny. It slipped through her fingers easily. She decided she liked the feel of it but the style was… unfamiliar to her.

A moment later, the door opened again and several women walked in. Two of them approached her and picked up the dress, while the rest walked to other parts of the room. Nyrobi didn’t get a chance to see what they were doing as one woman began removing her nightgown. She was forced to cooperate as the clothing was removed and the scarlet dress was put on. It took a bit of work, but finally the dress was on her and she was surprised to see it fit her nicely. The top was nearly skin tight. The sleeves were more like poofy shoulder pads, hiding her toned shoulders and making her appear less capable of fighting off anyone who came at her. Not that she’d really had much success with that lately. Up until recently, she had thought she was a decent fighter. She had been one of the best hunters in Nyru and was well up there in the Games when it came to swordplay. She’d beaten most of her opponents without too much trouble, but those that could beat her, beat her by a lot.

The women then proceeded to put long, white gloves on her that reached all the way up just past her elbows. The dress had to be synched up at the back and a woman tightened the strings that held her chest in but pushed her breasts up. It was tight enough to be a bit uncomfortable for someone who was used to loose, flowing clothing, but it wasn’t difficult to breath by any stretch.

The dress propped her breasts up nicely and comfortably and flattened out over her abdomen where it curved into a V. From there, it puffed out slightly at the sides. Not excessively, but enough to accentuate her natural curves.

Nyrobi had never been put in an outfit like this before and didn’t quite know how she was supposed to act in it. It was different but she didn’t exactly dislike it. She looked at herself in the mirror and was surprised at how elegant such an impractical outfit made her look. Next, she was given a pair of matching red heels. They were very uncomfortable and she disliked them from the start. When the maids weren’t looking, she slipped them off at the first chance and walked around bare foot the rest of the time after kicking them under the bed.

Finally, she was brought over to the vanity to have her hair brushed out and put up in an annoyingly extravagant fashion. The women tried to curl her hair and pin it up. It was so tightly pulled to her head that it hurt and finally made such a fuss over it that they stopped and let her do as she pleased with her hair. She opted for a simple high ponytail. Her crimson hair reached just past her buttocks and the colour of the dress went very well with her olive skin and red hair.

Next, they put a bit of make up on her. They pulled out a lot of whitening powders but clearly decided against using them on her darker skin. Instead, they used just a touch of eye make up to make her bright green eyes stand out.

When at last they had finished, it was starting to near suppertime and the sun was just beginning to set. The whole time, the women had spoken in that language Nyrobi didn’t understand. They were clearly gossiping about one thing or another, but Nyrobi stopped paying attention. Goddess, how was she ever going to understand these people?

The maids led her out of the room and down a hallway. Next, she was taken down a flight of stairs and down another hallway. This house was enormous! She suddenly didn’t feel like the Fortress had ever been all that big. She decided that if she ever got back to Nyru, she’d order the Fortress to be added to and built up to be as big as she remembered it being.

The hallway ended with a grand doorway. The door was carved with an intricate design that flowed all the way to the roof. One of the maids pulled the door open and stepped aside, clearly wanting Nyrobi to walk in before anyone else.

Before her was a massive table, much like the one she’d eaten at in the Grand Hall at the Fortress. At the far end, Darius was seated, dressed casually and practically, waiting for her to take a seat.

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A/N: There ya go. Another chapter is up! This one was kind of dry, I know. I'm sorry. This was more a bit of practice for myself than really adding to the story. BUT! I promise you a fair bit of excitement soon enough! I plan to have a lot of fun with the language barrier and there will be some new sides to characters to keep you all on your toes! Don't forget to review!