The three of us marched across the wide open desert. Me and Shantae were exhausted and hot. Rottytops, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content. Probably because she was a zombie, which I was still trying to get over.
For a Zombie, she definitely seemed free spirited and lively, and she wasn't rotten. She was actually fairly attractive, which is something I would never have said about a zombie. However, I didn't feel attracted to her. I probably would have, if it wasn't for Shantae.
Wait, what about Shantae?
I had this strange feeling when it came to Shantae. As far as being attracted to her sexually was one thing, and sort of normal for me. But I had a different feeling. She made me feel butterflies in my stomach, and always set them free whenever she touched or spoke to me.
Was I in love with her?
Before I could dwell more on the thought, I looked over at Shantae. She seemed miserable. Her tongue was practically hanging out in dehydration. I wished I realized a while ago. I quickly opened my bag up and pulled out a bottle of water. I held it out to her.
"Here, drinks are on me." I said, trying to be humorous.
Shantae looked at me and gave me a half smile, half grin. "Well, well. Aren't you the gentleman." She joked, before taking the bottle from me and drinking from it. After drinking an adequate amount of water, she pulled the bottle from her lips, gasping in relief before handing it back to me. "Thanks, 'handsome.'" She joked, clearly only calling back to what Rottytops was calling me earlier.
Then Rottytops suddenly got in between us. "What about handsome? Are we talking about Mr. Muscly over here?" She teased, running her hand down my arm sensually. Shantae was practically fuming.
"My name is Y/N, ya know.." I mumbled, though I was a bit embarrassed with how she was feeling my arm up. But before Shantae could say anything about it, I looked ahead, and suddenly happiness gleamed in my eyes. "There it is!" I said, pointing.
Tan Line Temple. Remembering what Shantae explained to me, there was a civilization of people and servants who lived there, who separated themselves from the rest of society. Well, except for grocery runs, apparently. But ever since Shantae and her friends came into the Temple, they've been leaving the entrance open for the world. And as we approached the massive stone building, I realized that she was right. The enourmous door was completely open to the world.
Shantae groaned. "Finally! Some shade!" She said, running over to the building. Me and Rotty ran behind her, and stopped right at the entrance. Me and Shantae leaned against the stone edge, taking a short water break, while Rotty just stood right beside us, bouncing with energy.
"This is great! I'll have a replacement bikini in no time!" She said with glee.
"Wait, bikini?" I asked curiously. I won't lie, it caught my attention.
"Well, not really a bikini..." Shantae said, looking down and rubbing her arm. She seemed flustered about it again. "More like a skimpy garb, kind of."
"Oh. I see." I said simply. However, I became a little excited. So I decided to change the subject. "Well, the map leads here, so I'm going to guess that there's some sort of underground passage either near the temple, or inside of it. Either way, I think we could all.." I glanced at Rotty for a moment. "..well, some of us could use a rest break. Let's just go and introduce ourselves. Maybe they'll have clean water, because I didn't bring as much as I should have.." I said.
"Alright, that does sound like a smart idea." Shantae said. "Although let's just hope their princess isn't out. I don't want to be held hostage again."
"It should be fine!" Rotty said enthusiasticly. "I'm sure the advisor guy remembers us anyways! There shouldn't be any confusion!" She put her hand on her hip, smiling at Shantae.
"Yeah, maybe. But I'm not as optimistic about it." Shantae said. "Regardless, let's just head in."
I nodded at her and then to Rotty. Then, we all faced the entrance and headed inside.
The temple on the inside was much more ornate and clean than I thought it would be, considering that it was in the middle of the desert. There were stone columns supporting the temple, painted yellow and bright with designs consisting of arches and lines. The floors were flat and clean of any dust or sand. At least, they were, before we started to track sand in with our shoes. Not that I really cared. All I cared about was enjoying the shade for once.
I did, however, care about the several people staring right at us. They all wore white robes, which definitely put me off a little. They whispered to themselves quietly, mostly staring at Shantae and Rotty. Probably because they've been there before. Still, it must have been unnerving for them.
Suddenly, a shorter, more slouched man came out. He was wearing a more darker robe, which led me to believe he was the Advisor that Shantae told me about on our way here. He seemed to be happy, and relieved of our presence. "You've returned! And not a moment too soon...the ritual is close!" The Advisor suddenly said, grinning with his hands out.
Shantae only sighed. "Sorry, but we're not here for any ritual." She explained. "We have this map, and-"
Suddenly, very large men came out from hiding and stood guard behind the Advisor. They were much taller than what was normal, and they seemed very..muscly. They wore gold plated armor, which was decorated with animal skins, which also acted as a hood to cloak their faces. To say the least, I felt very threatened.
"What do you mean?" The Advisor asked, confused. "You are the princess, are you not?"
"Princess?" Shantae asked. Then she groaned. "No, we've been over this. I look nothing like-"
"I am!" Rotty suddenly interrupted, pushing past Shantae to stand up front. "I'm the princess! And I request to be dressed accordingly!"
"Wait, I'm confused..." The Advisor said, looking over the three of us. "Which one of you is the princess?"
"Ugh..we're not the princess! Where did she even go this time?!" Shantae asked, clearly annoyed. But I heard a hint of worry in her voice.
"She left to go visit her in-laws." The Advisor said, rubbing his chin. "She left yesterday. Right when we were coming up to the ritual too.."
"Then you see..!" Shantae said. "If she's been gone to visit family, she'd be gone longer than one day! We just need to look around for any hints on where our map leads!"
The Advisor thought to himself for a long moment. "That is good reasoning..." He said. "Still. Can't take any chances. The ritual is tomorrow. We need our princess. Guards, take them to the royal rooms. And for goodness sake, get them dressed properly."
The guards then started to march towards us. Before anyone could react, Shantae and Rotty were grabbed by separate guards and pulled away. I started to follow them.
"Hang on a minute!" I said. But Shantae looked at me and shook her head.
"It's fine!" She said. "Just look for the way!"
"Ok!" I called to her, though unsure of leaving her and Rotty in the hands of these people. "I'll-"
Before I could finish, a third guard came up and grabbed my arm. I looked up, confused. "What's going on? Am I being kicked out?" I asked.
"What? Oh, goodness no!" The Advisor said. "I said I can't take any chances..besides, you look exactly like the princess!" He said with glee.
It took me a moment to process what he said, and realization hit me like a truck. "Oh, fuck no." I mumbled, trying to escape the grasp of the guard. But he was far too strong.
"Y/N!" I heard Shantae yell, who likely saw me getting dragged away just as helplessly as they had. The guard pulled me into a hallway, leading me to what I can only say would be the worst day of my life. Within only ten minutes, I had all of my stuff taken away from me, including my knapsack, which had my map in it. They even took my clothes. I was put into an ornate outfit much too fast for me to tell what was even going on, and thrown into the fanciest cell I've ever seen.
When I finally got my bearings, I looked around the cell. It was very...comfortable. There was a resting chair that looked far too expensive for even what I was going to be paying for my house. There were several pillows, rugs, and furniture. There was even a standing mirror. I walked up to it and looked at myself. My face flushed white instantly.
Un-fucking-believable.
I looked like a space princess. My hair, despite being short, was braided in a fancy, royal style. I had a circlet on that had a serpent statue protruding from the front. As for what they put on my body, they dressed me like I was a skimpy space prostitute. They put a fucking bra on me. I even had a fancy man-skirt on, which still ended up looking girly on me. I was covered in golden jewelry and braces.
I immediately started to take everything off. I took off the circlet, freed my hair from the braidings, took the bra off and jewelry. The only thing I kept on was the skirt, as to make sure I wasn't completely naked. But even with all of that off of me, I still felt humiliated to even be dressed like that.
I sat down on the resting chair, and looked towards the door. It was a barred cell door with a key lock on it. I wasn't sure if there was any way to get out. But I didn't mind waiting. I just hoped that Rotty and Shantae were safe. The best I could do was wait. For now. Maybe after this 'ritual' the Advisor was talking about, they'd let us go. Whatever it was, it sounded important.
I decided to take the opportunity to get some rest. So I laid down on the chair, relaxing and looking out the door. I started to do my best to memorize the pattern in the guards movements, and eventually, I fell asleep.
