The White Titan and the Caged Little Bird Altera x Nitocris

by Gamer95

Once there was a monster adorned in pure white fur. It destroyed all it saw, none safe from its wrath. Then it met a beautiful bird... The bird was injured. The monster helped it heal. But the monster wanted its beauty to itself. So it didn't let go, keeping the bird in a cage, a chain around its ankle. But the bird's pleas for freedom slowly cause the monster to have a realization

1. Chapter 1

[AUTHOR'S NOTE! Before we begin, my co-writer, relevantlab5442 has a special notice he'd like to share with all of the lovely readers... Here he is, take it away, buddy!

So, I'm sure you've now noticed how Gamer has begun to adapt more romance into the Motherhood stories. Well, given how we work together on most of these, we've decided to create a new method to incorporate both romance and Motherhood aspects into the same story idea. We'll post each romance as a separate story of their own, the Motherhood aspects having their own separated stories that put focus on the moms more than the romance, without forgoing the actual romance itself. And our first try, are the following two stories, this one, and one other. Also, you may notice how this story is...a bit darker than some of Gamer's other works. That is entirely on me, since Gamer allowed me lots of creative freedom when making this. Rest assured, this won't be the only chapter here, as the romance stories will still have multiple chapters that establish the love bit by bit instead of one gigantic sheet of a chapter. If any of you have gripes about this, blame me alone, as none of this was Gamer's idea but mine. And, again, the romance WILL be established, even if darker moments happen along the way, such as here. If you want to see the romantic, sweet and wholesome conclusion to this story, you'll have to wait for the second chapter, which will be done very soon. Until then, enjoy this one for now, and we'll see ya in the next one, with a happy ending swiftly on the way! With all due respect, Gamer95's co-writer, out!]

The multiple locks on the wooden door clicked shut as a woman in the traditional servant garbs of ancient Egypt approached with an order to "Open the valves!" A pair of guards above nodded in understanding before turning a pair of metal wheels, and before long the sound of a large amount of water being poured out sounded off behind the locked door. Screams and banging were heard from behind the door as people yelled and begged and demanded to be let out, yelling how they're all gonna drown, before their voices were eerily drowned out by the sound of water rushing in.

At the top of the stairs, sitting in a golden chair and drinking from a golden goblet was Nitocris, the rumoured "Reincarnation of Horus" and the latest Pharaoh in the sixth dynasty of Egyptian rulers. She took a sip of her drink, and narrowed her eyes. "Yes... Yes, you all scream... Scream and beg like my brothers did before you had them slain..." She said coldly, smirking now that payback has caught them. The guards and the servant lady were visibly uncomfortable from the last screams of their ruler's victims, and Nitocris sighed deeply and rubbed her temple. "You may go now. Your job is done."

"A-At once... my liege..." The leader of the three bowed. The trio left the pharoah alone, waiting for the screaming to stop as she drank and ate some strawberries.

"...And somehow... I feel nothing..."

She shook her head. "Hmm... Perhaps nothing isn't quite the word, it is... relieving that they have been avenged... Still... I imagined I'd feel... stronger about this..." She thought back on everything. How she watched sibling after sibling be taken into the pyramids to rest forever. How she watched the noblemen who backstabbed them laughing and gloating about their victory, how she pretended to be their puppet like her brothers were. "Those days of being controlled were the worst thing I could possibly imagine... But... I suppose it's all worked out in the end..." She smiled softly and closed her eyes.

After a while, the screams stopped, and she looked down at the door to see some water and red leak out from under the door. "So it's done." She said calmly before drinking up the last bit of wine and getting up from her chair. She left the dining room and walked towards her throne room, stopping in the hallway to look through the window at the vast kingdom of Egypt. HER kingdom now...

She heaved out a deep sigh. "I have full control over a kingdom that is completely and utterly worthless to me..." She had already planned out what to do once her vengeance was done. "...Perhaps I can rule it...? No... No, I have no qualification to do so..." As much as it pained her to admit, the noblemen did have the useful trait of actually knowing how to rule, so she was always listening to them even if begrudgingly. She took one last look at the kingdom through the window. "...It's going to be okay..." She assured herself, clenching her fists. "It is..." The throne was free from the sullying hands of the evil nobles, and a true Pharaoh could now rule the land like they should. They just... needed to find one...

She shook her head and left the room, arriving in the throne room, approaching her throne, and sitting down. Snapping her fingers, a servant lady entered. "Is my order ready?" She asked, and the lady nodded, approaching, bowing and giving her a goblet with what looked like strawberry juice, even though Nitocris knew it was poison. She took the drink, and before the servant could leave, Nitocris spoke again. "One last order. Do not arrange for a burial and do not tell the public of my end." She ordered. The servant was surprised, opening her mouth as if to argue, but complied and left.

Nitocris was now alone, idly looking at her drink. She sighed as she could already feel the blessings of the gods leave her body and soul, before steeling herself and downing the entire goblet in just a few gulps. The cup fell out of her hand, and she coughed, leaning back in her throne. Looking up at the ceiling, she spoke what she assumed were to be her last words. "Dearest brothers... Are you watching me...? Are you proud...? Have I... done the right thing...?" She asked softly.

Little did she know, at the exact same time, several hundred miles away just next to the river Nile, a massive army of over 100 people on horses approached the kingdom. Warriors wearing pants made from skins, their clothes unkempt and barbaric... all but one. A beautiful tan-skinned girl with red eyes and white, veil-like hair under her actual white veil, wearing a revealing outfit of a simple top that barely covered her breasts and a pair of 'leggings' that only covered the sides of her legs from the thigh to the knee over a pair of black undergarment. Her body is carved with the white marks of war and tattoos of combat. This was the strongest warrior of eastern Europe and Asia, also known as the "Scourge of God", Attila the Hun, though only she knew herself by her real name, Altera.

The army stopped, and Altera sniffed the air a few times, "The air is clear. No obstacles in sight. Not even the river." She declared. She turned to her army, her tribe. "We have travelled through burning thirst and desert heat, and we shall now quench it with the blood of all who cross our paths. The slaughter begins." The men all cheered with their weapons in the air. "Steal, burn and kill all you desire. There is nothing than will or can stop us. Spare no one. Not one of them." She pulled out her red, blue and green sword, before pointing it at the kingdom in the far off distance. As soon as a cloud of sand from the wind fell down, she said one last word, "Charge.",

At her command, the army ran forward on their horses, screaming. They took a few minutes of running to reach it, and when they did, all hell broke loose. Sheer slaughter ensued. Houses were lit ablaze as they ran by. Soldiers trying to defend the citizens were the first to die in battle, before their attention was turned to the helpless citizens. They stole as much food and valuables as they could.

Altera herself participated in battle, albeit unlike her tribe she stayed away from the defenseless, as there was no challenge in slaughtering those who couldn't fight back. She trampled soldiers under her horse and decapitated or cut down any soldier getting too close. She even used one soldier as a meat shield against a barrage of arrows, before swinging her sword so hard she launched the corpse at the bowmen hard enough to break the wall they were shooting from and cause them to plummet to their deaths. In short, it was Hell on Earth whether they be killed by Altera herself or by her men.

After a while, the slaughter stopped, and Altera approached on her horse towards the palace. The two guards at the front protecting the entrance attempted to attack her, but got sliced down instantly. She climbed off of her horse, followed by some of her tribesmen. "Follow me inside." She instructed. They entered. "Steal anything valuable you find, kill any servant or guard you discover." She ordered.

The men let out an affirmative cry and ran off as Altera decided to ignore them and explore, seeing if there was something she could take for herself.

Altera explored the palace, observing the many hieroglyphs, being utterly confused by what was depicted. "Hmm... Their language is quite unusual..." She murmured before looking through a nearby window at the destruction she brought to the once beautiful kingdom. She gave it a cold stare, "This is meant to be." She said simply. She was not human, but a living catastrophe, and wherever she walked, destruction would follow

.She shook her head and continued on, eventually arriving at the dining room. She smelled the scent of blood, approaching a hole in the floor that led to a flight of stairs, at the bottom of which was a door. Interesting. She approached the door and stepped into what she realized was water and something red. She raised a brow and tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. She tried again, and this time she got smashed against the stairs when a massive burst of water and blood erupted out of the now open door like a geyser, slamming into her face, filling up the hole and even flooding some of the dining room.

As soon as this happened, a few Huns burst into the room at the sounds with weapons drawn. They saw the water flooding the floor slowly, before Altera burst out with a breath, swimming to safety and squeezing the water from her hair and veil. She shook her head with a frown, then pointed at the water. "These men were wealthy, Dredge up the corpses and take anything valuable they have on their person." She instructed.

The huns didn't need to be told twice, eagerly diving into the small sea to collect all the dead bodies they could get their hands on, and Altera turned to leave, before looking back at the table that still had food on it.

She cleaned the bone of the turkey leg she had picked up clean of its meat as she walked down the hallways before casually tossing the clear bone aside as she arrived before a massive door. This certainly looked promising. Probably the throne room... Opening it, she found that she was correct, it was indeed the throne room, and it was absolutely massive.

She looked around at the room, spotting various statues of what she assumed were the Egyptian deities, as well as busts of what looked like previous rulers, all made of brilliant, shining gold, gems and silver. She looked around some more, before her eyes landed on what looked like a person. She stepped back, readying herself for a fight, but she quickly saw that the body wasn't moving. Suspiciously, she caught a scent of a snake in the air. She approached the throne, and her eyes widened and a small breath escaped her mouth at what she saw.

A dark skinned woman, with long, flowing black hair, and the most volpuptuous body she had ever seen in her life... "She's... She's beautiful... Almost... perfect..." Altera breathed out. The only real thing marring the woman's perfect physique was the liquid dribbling from her mouth...

Interested, Altera touched the line and sniffed at it. "...Snake poison... She's just barely recently consumed it... shortly before we arrived, it would seem..." She murmured. She pressed a finger against the woman's neck, looking for a pulse, and found one... But it was very slow. She was dying. She didn't like that, it was a waste for such radiant beauty to perish like this. She used the tip of the blade to slice a small cut on her neck, causing the clotted up blood to drip out and bubble. She heard steps from her tribesmen as they trailed in and started taking valuables, but she tuned them out in favour of staring at Nitocris, who despite bleeding out and seeming almost dead, looked not even a bit less divinely beautiful.

After a few minutes, the tribesmen approached the throne, seeing the body and went to try and remove the jewellery from her. Altera grabbed the hand of one of her men. "Stop." She said firmly. They looked at her, confused. "...Get everything you have collected and get back to the horses." She instructed. The huns exchanged glances, but left without any kind of fuss. As they left, one turned back to his leader.

"And what of the body?" He asked. Altera stared at her for a moment. "...She is mine. She'll be my treasure, my trophy from the conquest, as she's still alive. No one else is to touch her, no one but me alone." She said simply.

Her men looked either confused, or intrigued, before they complied and left, and the scene cuts to outside. Altera was carrying Nitocris bridal style before laying her on her horse and climbing on. "We leave now, men!" She called out, and the rest of her army ran out. The army ran through the city, and in the distance was a cloud of dust as the barbarian nomads retreated to their camp in the desert, leaving behind a ruined, burning kingdom, it's ruler taken as a spoil of war.

Much later, Altera's camp*

Dizzy.

In pain.

Weak.

Those would be the words Nitocris would use to describe herself as at this present moment. Her body was numb, her head felt like it was flipping around, and her neck felt like it was being constantly cut by a sharp blade.

'Where...am I...dead...?' Her thoughts rang tiredly. She remembers not arranging a burial, which would probably be considered sacrilege. Probably why she could feel the blessings of the gods leave her before she drank the poison. So, she probably didn't end up in the afterlife.

Suddenly, she felt something grace her skin. A warm feeling like a blanket. A breath escaped her nose as...

Wait...

Breath?

"Mmmgghh..."

Her face scrunches up as she slowly came to. A groan escaped her mouth as she opened her eyes, greeted by darkness and...a small light next to her. Her head turned, and her slightly blurry vision registered candles. Probably the source of the warm feeling she experienced just now.

She shook her head a little, feeling something hard against her back. She attempted to lift her arms to massage her head, but found that she couldn't move them from behind her back. Confused, she looked down to see...her wrists bound behind a wooden pillar in a cross with rope.

At that sight, her mind cleared up and became confused. She attempted to pull her hands free but was just met with resistance. She then felt something on her legs as well, and looked to see her ankles bound as well. Her face grew worried, and she attempted to speak, but found something in her mouth, made of wood. She attempted to push it out, but found it fastened to her head by more rope. Now thoroughly worried, Nitocris started struggling desperately, but before she could keep on...

"Ah, you are awake I see."

A female voice alerted the former Pharaoh to another presence, and she looked up to see a very beautiful girl with white hair and various white tattoos on her body. Seriously, she was so beautiful Nitocris wouldn't at all be surprised if she were a Pharaoh.

The girl approached her, kneeling down and reaching around her head, before untying and removing whatever was in Nitocris' mouth. The ruler gagged at her jaws being free, letting out a few coughs, before the other girl lifted a flask to her mouth and let her drink.

A few gulps later, Nitocris gasped at her throat no longer being dry and now wincing at the sharp pain that erupted in her neck. The white girl placed a hand on her neck, and Nitocris could now feel something soft wrapped around it.

"Easy. Don't aggravate the wound."

"Aggra...what?" Nitocris spoke, voice still a bit raspy. "Who...who are you? Where am I? Why am I tied up!?"

"Calm yourself." The girl replied. "You're safe. In my camp. I found you almost dead on your throne and took you with me. I removed some of the poison from your body, but you're still badly sick from it. You'll take a while to recover."

"What?" Asked the Pharaoh. "You...saved me? But...but why? Who are you even?"

"I am a Hun."

"A...Hun?" Nitocris remembered learning about these people from the scrolls she read as a child. "You mean...the barbaric nomad tribes from Europe who pillage and conquer nations?"

"Exactly." The girl nodded. Nitocris paled, before something registered in her head. "Wait...then...what am I here for? What do you need me for?"

"Is it not obvious?" The girl asked with a tilted head. "You're a trophy."

"A...what?"

"A trophy. Or more precisely a slave." The girl explained. "Specifically mine, as I'm the leader of the tribe."

"S...slave...me..."

Nitocris remained silent for a second. Then, a small chuckle escaped her lips. Then, it became laughter.

"Ahahahahaha! What audacity! Me, a Pharaoh, taken as a slave? Who do you think you are?"

"Your owner."

"As if!" Nitocris replied angrily. "Ra smite you where you stand! How dare you call me your slave?! I'm a Pharaoh! The reincarnation of Horus! I would never become a slave to a mere barbarian like you!"

"And yet you are." The girl spoke, not at all threatened or offended by her words. "I captured you after raiding your kingdom. I won you fair and square, and now you belong to me. Everything that is you is now mine."

"Everything..."

"Yes. Everything." The girl reached out, grabbing some of Nitocris' purple hair. "Mine."

She placed a hand on Nitocris' face, stroking her cheek as gently as a lover would. "Mine."

Her hand then slid down to her chest, touching exactly where her heart is. "Mine."

Then it slid further down, stopping at her stomach. "Mine."

Then even further down, touching her knees. "Mine."

Lastly, it went up again, laying against Nitocris' head as gently as a feather, as the girl started stroking her head like one would a cat or a rabbit. "You're mine. Everything about you. Your soul. Your body. Your mind. You're now entirely mine and mine alone. My property."

"You...you dare..."

"I do." The girl nodded. "But I can't understand why you're angry. You will enjoy this life."

"Hah?"

"I will take care of you." The girl spoke. "You aren't just a slave. You're my treasure. I'll take care of you, feed you, clean you, keep you warm, safe and in peace. You have nothing to be afraid of. Not a hair will fall from your head under my ownership. So, I can't see why you're so opposed to this life. Is it not nice to know you have nothing to worry about?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Nitocris angrily snapped as she shook the woman's hand off of her. "I am not a pet! It is not dignified for me to be some slave! I am a pharoah! A deity! I couldn't possibly be lowered to something so...so...pathetic as being a slave to a mere barbarian! My subjects will notice my absence, and when they do, you and your camp will be finished!"

"...Do you not remember what you said earlier? We pillage and conquer nations. Surely you can put the pieces together." Altera said simply.

At that, Nitocris froze up. "...Impossible..." She breathed out..

"We left your kingdom in ruin. You are a spoil of victory." Altera said simply.

Nitocris felt fear coursing through her. "No... No! Egypt can't fall, it can't!"

"Fall entirely? No. Not yet. It will likely recover after a while. But you will not be there to witness it, as you will be with me from now on. And given how I found you dying from poison and what I found in the dining room, I have a sneaking suspicion that you didn't either like or even want to rule it in the first place. So I don't understand why you're making such a fuss."

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean I don't care about what happens to my people!" Nitocris snapped.

Altera simply shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done. The kingdom will be without you, and you will now be living a comfortable, peaceful life as my property."

"DAMN YOU!" Nitocris snapped furiously. "HOW DARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU TREAT ME LIKE SOME KIND OF ANIMAL?! I AM A HUMAN BEING JUST THE SAME AS YOU, YOU TWISTED, EVIL, CONNIVING WHOR-" Nitocris' rant stopped when Altera gagged her again.

"You're being too loud." Altera said bluntly.

"MNSTR! BTCH! YR EVL! HRLT!" Nitocris was undeterred and continued to shriek and shout.

Sighing, Altera rose to her feet and moved behind the pillar Nitocris was tied to. At first, Nitocris was confused, before squeaking out in pain when the ropes around her wrists grew tighter. Altera moved back around and did the same with the ropes around her ankles as well, before getting up and crossing her arms."Now then... Here is how things will be from now on... There are ground rules we must set. One: you will remain tied up and gagged at all times until you are required to be moved. You will be released for bathing purposes, but immediately returned back once it's done. I am NOT letting you escape, and I hope that the ropes keeping you bound will be a good enough reminder of your new situation. Two, you are to be obedient and respectful to me. I will care for you, feed you, keep you clean, and will give you the best care I can give, but no matter what, you will still be my slave, and you are to listen when I speak, be quiet and avoid noise when I tell you to, and never try anything funny like an escape attempt, as I WILL know, and I WILL catch you and bring you back. If you obey everything I just said, no problems will arise and as I said before, you will live a life of peace, happiness and tranquillity as my trophy.

Nitocris was practically foaming at the mouth in anger and was about to curse her again before yelling in pain at the sharp sting in her neck. Altera clicked her tongue. "I told you to remain calm and not aggravate the wound, and you didn't listen... Now it's bleeding again..."

Altera sighed and shook her head, taking a knife from the ground and kneeling in front of Nitocris. The latter's eyes widened at the sight and she started to struggle and yell through the gag, thinking Altera was intending to hurt her. "NNN! STP!" She begged to no avail. When she saw she wasn't getting through to Altera, she flinched and closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain.

Instead, Altera cuts open whateve it was that was wrapped around her neck, removing it and revealing a pair of bloody bandages and a leaf. She crumpled them up and threw them away, before looking at Nitocris. "Stay still, unless you want to slowly, painfully bleed to death." She ordered. Rising to her feet, she turned and left the tent for what honestly felt like forever to the worried Nitocris, before coming back a new roll of bandages and another leaf. Nitocris watched as Altera made small cuts on the leaf, causing some weird liquid to seep out, before rubbing it against the bandages and flipping the leaf over. She then returned to Nitocris and gently wrapped the new bandages around her neck, securing them. "Now. Listen to me and stay. Calm. You'll aggravate the wound again." She ordered firmly.

Nitocris let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Altera rose to her feet. "I will be leaving now. I will return later with your first meal for the day. Until my return, make yourself comfortable, and be patient. Nitocris simply glared at her again, as Altera turned around and left the tent, leaving her alone. Nitocris breathed a long sigh through her nose, before a whimper escaped her throat. She started struggling as hard as she could, yelling through her gag for somebody, anybody to come and help her, save her, before breaking down and letting her tears flow as she lowered her head and silently wept.

Outside, Altera was standing just at the entrance of the tent, listening in on her crying. She sighed. "Crying is useless, it helps nothing... She had better get comfortable soon, whether she likes it or not. She has no choice..." She then stood still for a moment, before harshly punching herself in the chest, leaving behind a blue bruise. Whether it was from the pain from her self inflicted injury or something else, she noticed the pain in her heart had disappeared. Satisfied, she walked away from the tent, leaving her prisoner alone with her despair.

She walked over to a nearby weapons rack and took a random spear, before running off to hunt down some food. She had to find something good. Only the best for her trophy.

After a long wait, she returned, carrying several fish she speared in the Nile. Sitting down, she started cleaning and cutting them with a knife, and once she was done, putting them into a bowl and taking some timber, she entered her tent. Inside, Nitocris looked miserable. Head hanging low, tears running down her face, and small whimpers escaping her mouth. She looked up to see Altera approaching and immediately switched to a hateful glare. Altera ignored it. "I hope you are comfortable now, as it's time for food." She said simply. She then arranged the timber and lit a campfire, taking the clean fish and roasting it over the fire as Nitocris watches.

The fish is done roasting after just a few minutes, and Altera removed a piece of its cooked flesh and and put it on a smaller stick before approaching Nitocris and removing the gag, offering her the food with a simple command. "Eat."

Nitocris glared at her, scoffing. "You can't possibly expect me to eat THAT."

"I do. So eat."

"No! I am not an animal! I will not be fed like some dog from a stick!"

"Eat."

Altera pushed the stick with the fish closer to her face, Nitocris shut her mouth and turned her head away, carefully enough to not open her neck wound again. She waited for a moment, before looking back at Altera, who was staring at her without flinching, still holding the fish. Nitocris clicked her tounge in annoyance. "Give up. I won't eat it, so you can go ahead and shove it back into the fire to bur-!" Before she could end her sentence though, the fish was shoved into her mouth,

Altera changed her command to "Bite down." Nitocris snarled at her in hatred, but was forced to comply because the hot fish was hurting her tongue.

Nitocris bit down and the fish crunched as she took off a piece. Her face scrunched up in disgust at the texture as she chewed it, before her expression turned confused and she swallowed. "What...? Where are the bones...?" She asked in confusion.

"I was careful to remove each and every bone from these fish, even the tiny needle like bones that always get stuck." Altera replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh..." Nitocris looked down, seeming... impressed. "...Even the royal cooks couldn't do that..."

"I am a barbarian. I needed to learn a lot of important things to survive on the move. It wouldn't do me well if I choked on a fishbone in the middle of a swordfight, after all." Altera explained. She then speared another piece of fish and offered it again, and Nitocris remembered what was happening, before snarling and begrudgingly continuing to eat the fish.

After a while, both girls were satiated, Nitocris being full from eating and Altera satisfied she had finished her food. Altera left the tent for a moment, before returning with a bear hide which she spread out next to Nitocris and sat down. "What, exactly, are you doing?" Nitocris asked.

Altera stared at her for a couple seconds and blinked twice. "Oh. I forgot to gag you."

"Wha-No! You can't just- Stop! Get away, leave me-Mmph mpmh mmmmmmph!" Altera shut her up again with another gag.

"I can't expect you to sleep outside my own tent, can I?" Altera said simply. Then Nitocris realized she was in Altera's own tent.

'Damn it all, she's always going to be here, that's going to make any escape attempts even more difficult!' She seethed. Altera gave Nitocris a headpat. "Now then... Good night." She spoke before laying down and closing her eyes. She began snoring a few seconds later.

Nitocris sighed, looking at the fire, thinking about all that had happened to her. ...Death would possibly have been better than this... At least she would still have her dignity intact... What was the point of being alive if it was not on her own terms? These were her last thoughts before the warmth and exhaustion eventually got to her, causing her to drift off to sleep along with the woman who had kidnapped her.

Morning came, the Sun just rising over the horizon. Nitocris was the first to wake up, flexing her body with a groan and being confused for a second, before her mind caught up and realized what was going on. She leaned her head back and whimpered a little. She'd REALLY been hoping this whole thing was just some lucid dream from her final moments alive... Then, she realized there was something heavy on her legs, before looking down and squinting her eyes to see better in the still dark tent.

Her eyes then became as wide as dinner plates when she realized she was looking at the girl who took her, who was now hugging her legs and sleeping with an adorable expression on her face, tongue out and a bubble on her nose. Nitocris blushed and attempted to pull her legs out, but had to stop herself from screaming in pain when Altera hugged her legs tighter. 'HOW IS SHE THIS STRONG?! FOR GOODNESS' SAKE, SHE'S THIN AS A BROOM!' She raged inwardly. Then, Altera groaned and slowly lifted her head up, looking around with still sleepy eyes before she looked up at Nitocris. She then looked down at her position.

"Oh sorry. I grab things in my sleep." She said simply before sitting up and leaning in close to examine Nitocris' wound. She wassatisfied that she didn't aggravate it again. "Good girl. You stayed calm." She gently caressed her cheek and stroked her face. "Did you sleep well?" Nitocris just scoffed and moved her face away. "I will assume that's a yes." Altera nodded before leaving the tent to prepare breakfast.

After another long while, during which Nitocris seethed silently, she returned, this time carrying a bowl of vegetable soup. She removed the gag and once again began the process of feeding Nitocris, who, while still begrudgingly, ate the food without struggle. She would admit this much, the girl knew how to make good food.

After she was done, Altera put the bowl to the side before taking a different one with some sort of greenish white sludge. "...What is that? Am I meant to eat it?" She asked, grimacing at the thought.

"As I said yesterday, while I did manage to remove a majority of the poison from your body while you were unconscious, you are still sick from the effects of it. If left unattended, it could lead to serious problems, and I can't let my new treasure suffer and be sick, so I made a cure I know will clear out the rest of the side-effects of the poison. I made a promise to give her comfort and happiness, and I can't do that if I leaves her sick." Altera explained. She balled up a small rag and dipped it completely in the sludge, before approaching Nitocris. The latter protested, but it was in vain as Altera pushed the cure into her mouth and secured it with more rope. "Oh... I neglected to mention this... As the heat has started to get to my men, the camp will be moving back to Europe starting this morning. The preparations have been made, and the last one was for me to give you this cure, as you need to keep it in her mouth for a while to let it set in." Nitocris' eyes widened in fear as she realized she was being taken away from her country forever, and started to struggle. "No! Please, you can't do this! This is my home! I don't belong over there, I belong here, please, just let me go, don't do this to me!" She begged.

Altera gently patted the teary eyed girl's head. "Hush. It will be okay. You have nothing to fear as long as I watch over you. And you have no choice anyway, so there's no point in being scared now."

Nitocris tried to beg more, but it just comes out as nonsense due to the fact that Altera had gagged her again. Altera moved behind her, and Nitocris felt the rope around her wrists become loose. She quickly pulled her hands out, but Altera grabbed them and pulled them back behind her, tying them behind her back without the pillar this time. She then lifted the whimpering Pharaoh in her arms in a bridal carry, before taking her out of the tent. For the first time since her enslavement, Nitocris saw the sky again, looking around and seeing many tents with snoring still coming from them. Altera sighed and shakes her head. "How lazy they all are, still sleeping this late into the morning..." She muttered before she walked over to a wooden cart and laid Nitocris down in a bed of straw, patting her head. "Apologies if the straw is not comfortable. You will be back in the tent in one day's time, next morning at the latest if we keep a steady pace. You can rest a little longer if you wish, it'll be a long journey." She explained before leaving to have her own breakfast, leaving Nitocris to lay alone. After the Sun rose a bit more, Nitocris felt the cart start moving, and looked up over the edge at the pyramids in the distance. Realizing this was the last time she would be seeing them, she laid back down and started to silently sob, mourning her situation. 'Why?! What did I do to deserve this?! Why me?! Why does this have to be happening to me?! What did I do wrong?!'

After several, long hours of travel, Nitocris was exhausted despite not even moving. Even though she was born in a desert country, she had never been exposed to this much heat for so long. She breathed heavily and was sweating buckets, before the cawing of vultures reached her ears. Her eyes turned towards the Sun, before she eventually passed out, her last thoughts begging the gods and her brothers to end her pain and let her die and shrivel up in the heat.

Later, she slowly woke up again. Her conciousness returned and she looked around as her vision cleared and she noticed several things.

One, the bitter cloth in her mouth was gone, replaced by her usual wooden gag.

Two, she was tied to the pillar holding the tent up again, like last time.

Three, it was cold. VERY cold. Even with the candles and campfire on, she could feel a huge chill in the air that she wasn't at all used to. She looked down at the ground, seeing not sand or or solid earth, but brown soil and grass. Her memories returned, and she looked down with a muffled whimper of misery as a single tear slid out of her eye, realizing this was it. Egypt was far away from her. She was never going back.

Her mind went to the pyramids as they slowly grew more and more distant. Her skin already missed the heat of the sunlight, as hairs she didn't even know she had began to stand on end due to the chill in the air. She noticed something cold on her forehead.

Shifting of fabric was heard, and Nitocris looked up to see her...owner, walking towards her with what Nitocris assumed was meat on sticks. "Hello. I hope you had a good sleep. You were extremely hot and sweaty, so I put a cold rag on your head to refresh you after placing you in the tent."

Nitocris remained silent, simply staring at her as she began to work. She set up the meat and began to roast it over the fire. After a while it was done, and the girl ungagged her, offering her the food. Nitocris stared at it, and knowing she had no choice, she let a teat flow as she bit down and began to eat. Like last time, the food was good.

Albeit that did nothing to alleviate Nitocris' pain.

Once it was done, the sticks were thrown into the fire to keep it burning, before the girl turned and kneeled in front of her. "Now, it's time."

Nitocris raised a single confused brow, a single "Eh?" escaping her lips...

..before gasping as the girl reached forward and unclasped the ring around her neck holding up the white strips of cloth covering her chest.

"AH! WHAT?! HEY! YOU- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Nitocris demanded with a red face. Altera blinked and realized she forgot to release her. She clasped the ring back on, keeping some of Nitocris' dignity intact, before quickly untying her legs and arms, and grabbing her by the elbow, lifting her up. Nitocris gasped at the grip. "Ah! N-No! Stop, you're... You're hurting me!" She choked out.

"Oh... I'm sorry..." Altera loosened her grip and looked down.

'...By the gods, this woman is strange...' Nitocris thought to herself. 'She's forgetting stuff constantly and looking like a strong and tough warrior one moment and a defeated puppy the next.' Altera guided Nitocris away from the pillar and plopped her down a little away from the fire, before unclasping the ring again, causing Nitocris to gasp and quickly catch the cloths before they fell off her chest. "What is WRONG with you?!" She exclaimed.. She watched Altera grab something, which turned out to be a bucket of water, before setting it down and kneeling behind her.

Nitocris blinked, remembering Altera said she'd be releasing her every time she needed to wash her, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah... So that's all that's happening... Thank goodness..."

Altera looked back at her, head tilted to the side in confusion. "Of course it is. What did you think I was going to do?"

"I thought you were going to violate me." Nitocris replied simply.

Despite it not being invented yet, a record scratch was almost audible when Altera froze up and blinked, looking at Nitocris in confusion as to why she thought she'd do that to her. Now it was Nitocris' turn to be confused. "What? It is common for masters to use their slaves for such stress relief."

"...No. I I have no intention of doing that to you. I promised you a life of comfort, peace and happiness, and I can't give you that if I take advantage of you in such a way." Altera explained.

"As far as slave owners go, I suppose that's ideal..." Nitocris huffed.

"...Of course, if you ever WANT to do that, I won't decline." Altera said bluntly.

Nitocris blushed intensely. "Wh-N-NO! I WOULD NEVER ASK THAT, NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS, I'M NOT SOME KIND OF SUBMISSIVE TOY!" She protested.

Altera nodded in acceptance. "Well, no matter what, I would never use your body without your consent. It would go against the good life I am trying to build for you.

"Fine then." Nitocris simply nodded her head, ending the discussion at that, before Altera set to cleaning her.

About 15 minutes later, Nitocris was putting her clothes back on, looking herself over. 'She really went out of her way to completely clean me off...' She thought to herself. She looked over at the bucket. "She even made sure the water was warm, and... Is that the scent of cleaning oil...?' She was quite surprised by the effort she put into this. Hmph... Seems she really was some fancy doll or something...

Altera came back, having cleaned herself up after Nitocris, and grabbed her by the arm again, leading her over to the fur she slept on.

Nitocris was confused. "You're not going to tie me up again?"

"No. Tying you up all the time can't be all that comfortable, so, on special occasions, I will let you be free for a while before tying you back up again."

"So you're concerned I'll try to run away." Nitocris huffed.

"Yes. That's why I'm doing this." Altera answered simply before she suddenly knelt, enveloping Nitocris in a hug, and dragged her to lay down with her.

Nitocris squeaked in fluster. "Wh-What are you doing?!".

"This is the most comforting thing I could think of unless you wantt to be tied again." Altera answered.

"No! No, I don't want that, this is nice, there's no need." Nitocris said hurriedly.

"Oh. Good. I appreciate that you are open to it." Altera said before gently pushing Nitocris' face into her chest, stroking her hair. "Now. Rest."

The extremely close proximity caused the former pharoah to be even more flustered. 'Too close, too close, too close, too close, too close!' She exclaimed in her mind. Then, after a moment, Altera started humming a gentle tune, and Nitocris was at first a bit indignant, did this woman think she was some kind of child?! But she did have quite a nice singing voice, and she was quite tired... Maybe... she would take some time to... rest...

Eventually, Nitocris succumbed to it and fell asleep. Altera noticed this, smiling softly and giving her a kiss on the head. "Good night..." She murmured softly before falling asleep herself as both girls spent the night in a warm, peaceful hug.

After the morning sun slowly rose, Nitocris groaned groggily as she woke up. "Mmm... What... What happened...?" She asked tiredly, before her mind caught up and remembered what transpired yesterday. She blushed brightly. "Oh... Right... That was... an odd experience..." She murmured. There was a moment of silence before she paled when she realized she didn't even dislike it that much.

She felt something on her arms, and looked to see Altera was tying her hands back up again, realizing she was again restrained. Altera noticed her. "Good morning." She greeted her, coming out from behind her and stroking her face. "Did you sleep well?"

Nitocris blushed and looked away. "It... wasn't that bad." She said reluctantly.

"Oh? I figured you had enjoyed it." Altera remarked.

"I most certainly did not! I was saying it was simply more comfortable than I expected." Nitocris huffed.

"Hmm. Well, be prepared, there will be more of it in the future." Altera said simply before moving to gag her again.

Nitocris sighed. "Is the gag really necessarry? I think we can make do without it." An angry grunt silenced her as the gag was added. She huffed.

Altera patted her head. "Now. Breakfast will be ready soon, but for now, I must hunt." She turned away and was about to leave the tent, when Nitocris got a little idea and tried to use a mind control spell. A buzzing was heard before Altera slapped her ear, looking at her hand for a moment. "Odd... I thought I'd heard an insect buzzing..." She murmured before turning to Nitocris. "Did you see anything?" The now unnaturally pale, weirded out and internally terrified Pharaoh just shook her head slowly.

Altera simply shrugged her shoulders, leaving the tent to start hunting. Meanwhile Nitocris gave a long, hard stare towards the exit of the tent, and slowly turned her head away and looked down, sweating buckets. 'That spell... controlled an entire nation... and she just shrugged it off like a fly buzzing around her ear. Who IS this woman?!' She thought in pure shock, before leaning back against the pillar and sitting still, now significantly more terrified.

After a while, Altera returned. "Hello." She said to Nitocris, who jumped and yelped at her sudden arrival. "Oh. I'm sorry I frighrened you. I hope you weren't waiting too terribly long, it was a bit hard to chase the animals down."

Sitting down, she set up another campfire, pulling a knife out and starting to skin the rabbits she caught. Nitocris almost vomited, looking away and closing her eyes so she didn't need to watch the disgusting process. "I've finished. You can look back now." Altera said after a few minutes, and Nitocris saw her already roasting the rabbits. She then left them to cook while she leaned forward and examined the bandages on Nitocris' neck. She hummed in thought. "I can still smell some remnants of the poison... but I can remove the bandages now that the wound is healed. I will do so after breakfast." She promised.

Ungagging the Pharaoh, Altera placed the meat on the stick in front of her mouth, and Nitocris groaned in her head. 'Have I really been reduced to being fed like some sort of pet?! This is so demeaning!' Regardless, she began eating, and yet again, the meat was absolutely delicious.

As soon as she was done, Altera ate her own portion, and Nitocris watched in disgust as she ate like a messy animal. "Are you even enjoying the food?" She asked.

Altera stops to look at her, asking what she means. Nitocris explains that she's eating like a wild beast would, gobbling food up way too fast. She asks her if she even feels the taste of it. Altera stayed silent for a moment. "Hmm... I've never bothered to taste it. It's just there. I pay no mind to taste, the goal is to fill up." She said simply.

"Well! That's hardly any way to eat, you should do it a bit slower, to try and taste the food a little." Nitocris insisted.

"I haven't the time for that." Altera insisted.

"What is there to hurry for? There are no enemies, monsters or otherwise attacking, nor are we moving. You can afford to slow down." Nitocris replied with a raised brow.

Altera looked back at the food, and back at Nitocris, a look that said 'Can I really?' Nitocris rolled her eyes. "Yes, you CAN really, go on, try it!" Altera looked back at the stick, before slowly taking a bite out of a piece of meat. She tore it off, and Nitocris nodded. "Okay... Now just... chew slowly, let the taste linger, savour every second, and then slowly swallow." She instructed. Altera obeyed the instructions, before swallowing and breathing out, looking down at the meat again. "Well? Was that better?"

"...It was... good." Altera said, surprised, slowly touching her mouth with wide eyes. She then began eating again, now much slower, and after a while, she was done, breathing heavily. "It was... delicious..." She murmured.

Nitocris smirked, proudly looking up. "You see? I was right! Food always tastes better when you give yourself some time to savour it." She all but gloated.

"Did you always do this back in Egypt?" Altera asked.

Nitocris nodded. "I adored the wonderful meals the royal cooks prepared for me each day, I savoured every bite whenever I could. Perhaps, if you could untie me, I can teach you some cooking techniques I learned from them."

"Out of the question. You will remain tied up unless I make the choice to undo the knots." Altera replied.

Nitocris slumped. "Right..." She muttered as the rabbit like tufts of hair slumped in defeat. Altera looked at her with a tilted head, then looked at the ground for a moment.

"But if you wish to instruct me on how to do it verbally..." She murmured. At that, Nitocris perked up, before sighing softly.

"I will take what I can get." The former pharaoh agreed softly;

Altera patted her head. "There there, good girl..."

Nitocris blushed and pouted. "I am not a pet!" She protested. Altera ignored her and slowly moved to remove the bandage. Unwrapping it, she looked at the wound, moving her finger over it. "Does it hurt?" She asked.

"No..." Nitocris denied, before suddenly starting to cough rapidly. Altera patted her back, and once she stopped coughing, sighed softly. "You still need the cure from before." She explained.

Nitocris looks up at her pleadingly, "Don't make me chew that again! It tastes awful!"

"I'm sorry, but there's no other option." Altera said apologetically. "You just have to endure for a while longer before the poison is completely extinguished. If you want, I can add some sweeter herbs in to make it taste a little bit better." Altera offered.

"I... suppose that would be fine..." Nitocris sighed softly. Altera nodded and went off to make the medication, leaving her alone again.

Altera returned with the medicine about ten minutes later, Nitocris noticing that the paste was a bit brighter, probably because of the sweet herbs Altera said she'd add. Altera dipped another rug into it, before moving to Nitocris. "Now. Open." Nitocrus obeyed, and Altera placed the rug in her mouth. "Can I trust you not to spit it out?" She asked. Nitocris nodded, and Altera put everything away, before laying down and placing her head on her lap. Nitocris yelped and blushed. "You have nothing to do either way, so I may as well take a nap before the next meal, now please keep her legs still." She instructed. She then dozed off, and Nitocris sighed and shook her head.

'She's so lazy...' She thought as she resigned herself to her current fate.

Nitocris quickly found her situation was quite boring. Maybe she would take a quick nap, it might get her mind of the rotten taste in her mouth... She closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep...

When she woke up, she found it hard to breathe, and she couldn't stop coughing. She began to struggle, her issues only compounded by the ropes tied tightly around her limbs. Altera woke up from the shifting and saw her suffocating. Eyes wide, she shot up and pulled the rag out of Noticris' mouth. Nitocris coughed uncontrollably, choking out one word between hacks. "Water... Water..."

"Of course." Altera nodded, giving her several sips of water from her flask. After drinking to her satisfaction, Nitocris coughed a few more times, before relaxing and breathing more easily, albeit still wheezing. Altera put a hand on her forehead, before her eyes widened. "You're cold. It seems the sudden change from Egypt to Europe is not doing you well..." She looked to the hide she slept on, picked it up off the floor and gently covered Nitocris with it. "I'll go and make another medicine." She declared before leaving the tent once more.

Nitocris' eyes became blurry as she watched Altera leave the tent, and she coughed a bit more before leaning her head back, wheezing slowly. 'I guess the desert heat was slowing down the poison... I feel numb... My lungs are about to burst... I'm sweating even though I'm freezing... Will I be dead soon?' She laughed bitterly to herself and coughed some more. "I... expected to... die with...dignity... not as a... slave to... a backwater... barbarian leader..." She said between coughs. "I suppose this is my punishment for insulting the gods with vengeful, petty behaviour... They cast me away and let me suffer before death..."

Altera interrupted her words as she walked in. "I am not letting you die so easily after the effort I've went through for your safety and comfort. Now drink this." She held up a different medicine to her lips.

Nitocris obediently drank down the medicine, thankfully easily as it was completely tasteless, and once she was done, Altera put it away to the side. "I'm going to set up a fire so that the heat can warm you up and slow the poison down." She explained.

After a few moments the campfire was set up, and Altera placed a warm, wet rag on Nitocris' forehead. "Do you feel any better now?"

"I can breathe again..." Nitocris replied, her voice being much more clear, and Altera sighed in relief.

"That's good..." She said softly before she went back to managing the campfire. Nitocris watched her at work for a short amount of time, but after a few minutes, had to get out a burning question.

"Why did you sound so relieved earlier?" She asked.

"It's simply how anyone would feel after learning someone important to them is okay." Altera replied simply.

Nitocris snorted. "Important? I'm just a slave. A master wouldn't feel relieved that their slave is okay, they wouldn't care."

"You are much more than just another slave. You are MY slave. I will take care of my treasure the best I can." Altera replied simply.

Nitocris scowled. "You just doesn't want to lose her precious object!" She said bitterly. Altera didn't reply to that. "I'm right, aren't I?!" She huffed, looking away. Altera turned to look at her blankly for a few seconds, before turning back towards the fire.

'She isn't wrong...' She thought to herself. She was scared to lose her beloved treasure. But was that REALLY everything...? She sighed, discarding the unnecessary thoughts. It's what it is. She was her object, and she didn't want to lose her, and that's that.

Even though her heart still thought there was more to it than that.

Altera decides to break the silence after a few more minutes. "Originally, we intended to go raid a local Roman colony this morning, but with you being so sick, I have decided it would be better to stay and keep taking care of you."

"No." Nitocris refused. "Just... go ahead and leave to pillage the place."

"I won't leave you alone and sick." Altera insisted.

"WHY do you CARE so much?! I am your slave, your toy, nothing more! Why do you think I'm worth so much care?!" Nitocris snapped.

Altera, for an unknown reason to her, found herself growing more and more frustrated at Nitocris' self deprecation. "None of that is true, you are more than that." She said firmly.

"Just shut up and go, that's all barbarians like you are good at, after all. Killing, destroying and ruining lives." Nitocris snarled.

For a reason yet unknown to Altera, those words especially stung hard, and she narrowed her eyes. "You have said quite enough." She said coldly, and before Nitocris could even finish protesting, Altera gagged her again, making it much tighter this time out of frustration and causing Nitocris to moan in pain. Altera sat down before the fire, stewing internally and trying to ignore the strange pain in her chest.

After a while, Altera decided to go train some more. Before that, she stood up and moved behind Nitocris. The latter then audibly moaned in pain after the ropes around her wrists suddenly became extremely tight. Altera did the same with the ones on her legs too. "This is your punishment for backtalk and disobedience." She said emotionlessly. And then she suddenly became more gentle, lightly pressing the warm rag on Nitocris's forehead and readjusting the fur covering her to properly swaddle her as much as possible. "I will be gone for a time to practice my skills as a fighter. As punishment, you shall have no lunch. I understand that it's no way to treat a sick person, but sick or not, you're my property. I may promise you comfort and safety, and I may have said that I won't use your body for pleasure, but you still have to learn your place and be the obedient little pet you are, otherwise there WILL be repercussions." She said this with a glare that made Nitocris stare at her in fear, the rabbit eared hair on her head falling low.

Nitocris muttered a quiet "Mhm."

"Louder." Altera commanded.

"YS!" Nitocris said through her gag in fear.

"Good girl." Altera petted her, glad she understood her role better, and left. "Expect me for dinner." She said as she stepped out, leaving behind a terrified Nitocris trembling in her own skin.

'Monster...'

Nitocris thought back on the glare she saw on Altera's face. 'That expression was... inhuman... That woman isn't human... I was enslaved by a monster in human skin...' She thought. She started to violently struggle, desperately trying to remove the ropes around her wrists and ankles, but only serving to hurt herself more. She grew even more anxious now, breathing heavily. 'I need to get out... I need to run... I need to get out of here and never come back! I'll have to walk to Egypt, but I will take the risk if it means getting away from that THING. But how will I do it...?' Obviously, her struggle was fruitless. The ropes were far too tight, and she was basically watching over her all day. She needed to trick her. She could use sorcery to escape, but not now. Her magic was much weaker without the support of the gods, and she would likely be immediately found during the day. She would need to run during the night. With that, Nitocris began devising a plan of escape.

Back with Altera, she was practicing her fighting skills against a tree, which had been completely mangled by her strikes. She roundhouse kicked it once, causing it to get split into pieces. Altera was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down her face in droves. '...A rest... I need... a rest...' She thought to herself. She sat down on a nearby stump and touched her chest, realizing the pain in her heart was not gone. She was confused, perplexed by what she was feeling. 'Is this... an illness...?' She thought. Her thoughts returned to the Pharaoh, and she breathed through her nose, noticing how her heart hurt more when she thought about her. 'Why...? Why did those words her so much... Not just insulting her, but also her self deprecation. Why did those words make me so angry?'

Now angry again, she rose up and moved to attack a different tree. 'I can't feel. I am not hurt. Humans get hurt, and I am not human. I'm a catastrophe. A cataclysm. All I am meant for is destruction.'

She couldn't feel.

She was not angry.

Her heart was not in pain.

After a long while, Altera finally stopped, breathing heavily and looking around. She was now surrounded by countless trees that had been completely and utterly destroyed in every sense of the word. Splinters, stumps, logs, yet not a full tree in sight It was essentially a tree cemetery. She finally stopped breathing heavily, making one last breath through her nose, before opening her eyes. She realized it was strangely dark, and looked up at the sky to see that the Sun had just fallen, peeking out very slightly above the mountains. She realized she had been training for half a day now, and her stomach groaned, meaning she must be quite hungry. She then heard chittering under herself, before spotting a hole in the ground. She grabbed the ground above the hole, pulling it up to reveal a pair of rabbits. "Apologies, but I really don't feel like hunting, skinning and roasting anything bigger." She said stoically before grabbing the screeching rabbits.

Back to Nitocris, the girl sighed through her gag as her stomach gurgled, and she moaned in her head at how hungry she was. She figured she probably should've watched her tongue when she talked back, because at least then she wouldn't be dying of starvation. She called out through her gag, asking if anyone was there. No one responded, and she sighed again, giving up, her stomach groaning a second time. She heard shifting, and saw Altera walk in, carrying a rabbit on a stick.

With blood staining her face and mouth.

"Hello. Were you obedient while I was gone?" Altera asked. Nitocris simply stared at her in fear. "I will take that as a yes." She began setting up a campfire. "I found rabbits. I didn't feel like hunting for anything bigger. As part of your punishment, you will have to make do with one."

Nitocris was looking at her in terror, trying desperately to move as far away as she possibly could despite her restraints. 'So much blood, so much blood, it's terrifying...' She panicked internally. Where did it come from?! The rabbits?! I didn't know rabbits HAD that much-" Nitocris' eyes widened in realization at the fact that Altera just ate a rabbit RAW.

She almost vomited through her gag, and her face turned green. Altera was soon done roasting the animal, before ungagging Nitocris and offering the food. Nitocris looked at it, the image of a raw, dead rabbit impaled on the stick flashing in her mind. Before she could try to deny the food, Altera placed the stick into her mouth, and she had no choice but to bite down and swallow. The rest of the food was done soon enough, but Nitocris felt like vomiting with every bite. When Altera gagged her, Nitocris almost eagerly bit down on the stick, never imagining she'd be happy to be gagged. Altera stroked her cheek and planted a good night kiss on her head. "Now, if you behave tomorrow, I might just lift your punishment and allow you to eat as usual, maybe even untie you for the night." Then, she laid down on Nitocris' lap. "Good night. Sleep well." She said before falling asleep. Nitocris stared at her sleeping form. '...How can someone so terrifying and monstrous look so adorable when she's asleep...?' She thought. She shook her head with a blush. 'No... Focus. She isn't cute. She's a monster. One I need to escape from...' She let herself fall asleep, praying to whatever God that would listen that her plan of escape would work, before dozing off for the night.

The plan was this. Nitocris intended to behave better for a while. A few days at most. She would be obedient, not talk back, being mostly silent, only speaking when she really needed to. She would eat obediently, not struggle when she was bound, and she'd follow her role as a slave for as long as she needed.

After about 8 days, on the evening of the 9th, she set her plan in motion.

Nitocris felt the ropes around her wrists tighten once again, with Altera coming out and gagging her soon after. She gave her an affectionate pat on the head. "I must say. I'm impressed. You've behaved well these last few days. Have you accepted your new life?"

Nitocris answered with a simple nod and an "Mhm."

"Good girl." Altera nodded. "I'm very glad you're finally relaxing yourself in my care... For that, I might consider untying you for a whole day as a reward." She murmured before giving her a kiss on the head and laying down on her fur to sleep.

Nitocris sighed, letting herself relax. 'If all goes well, I'll be untied for more than just one day...' She waited patiently until several hours had passed. She looked to see Altera was snoring away without a care, sprawled out like a starfish. Nitocris leaned forward to truly confirm that she was fast asleep. Then, she set to work. She cast a small spell that set the ropes around her wrists on fire, and after a few seconds, the flames weakened the ropes enough that she could free her wrists. She then removed her gag, adjusting her jaw a little to ease the pain, before untying her legs as well. Then, she rose up and stretched her limbs, breathing in satisfaction at the popping of joints. She turned around to walk out, before stopping and looking back at Altera. Narrowing her eyes, she developed a devious idea. telling herself that it's time for a little sweet vengeance. She slowly but surely moved Altera to her pillar, before taking some fresh rope and tying Altera's own hands and legs, before gagging her just like she was herself. She stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Revenge is a cruel mistress..." She whispered. In her native language, she cursed Altera in the name of Anubis, and snuck out from the back of the tent.

And all the while, she failed to notice Altera's bound hands clenching as the Hun opened her eyes, turning them in the direction Nitocris left in.

Nitocris stepped outside the tent for the first time since she came to Europe. And immediately, she started to shiver due to the temperature being significantly lower than what she was used to. Her teeth began to chatter as she shivered. "How can Europeans bear to be this cold every day...?" She murmured softly. She then slapped herself harshly. "Stay focused, you've made too much progress for these sorts of distractions..." She muttered. So, she hugged herself and with a shivering breath, walked away from the tent and into the cold air of Europe. As she moved, she looked around herself, admiring the new environment. "Everything is so much darker in Europe..." She murmured. "So many trees... and they're not even palm trees... What are they...? Such smooth bark and tiny leaves..." She looked into the distance to see the mountains. "Imposing... Yet somehow quite beautiful. I hope I won't have to climb them to reach Egypt..." She continued on, freezing and shivering all the while, before she broke down into a harsh cough that gave her a sore throat. "Ah... The poison might be taking effect now..." She murmured. Despite the pain, she got up and forced herself through to go forward. "I won't stop now... and that I will get my freedom even if I were to have poison replace my very blood." She said firmly. Nitocris continued onwards, determined to reach her freedom no matter the cost.

Meanwhile, after some minutes passed, another figure leaves the tent, that being Altera, who had no problem freeing herself from Nitocris' restraints. She took a long, hard inhale through her nose, exhaling through the mouth and looking towards the forest far away. The same direction Nitocris went in. She then began to briskly and casually walk like was taking a stroll, in the direction she could smell Nitocris in. She moved for a moment, before stopping next to a tree. She then grabbed the tree and ripped it out of the earth with one arm, before reeling it in like she was about to throw a spear. "A little to the left...there." She then hurled the tree with all her strength.

Back with Nitocris, she had significantly slowed down, falling to her knees and trembling as a mist emitted from her mouth. "I... I can't stop... I must push on..." She whispered to herself, forcing herself back to her feet. She walked for a short while longer, before finding a blocked path, which she saw could only be passed by going underneath a log. She sighed deeply, then fell to the ground and crawled under the broken tree, before a whistling sound caught her ears, and she looked up to see a tree heading straight at her from the sky. Eyes wide, she desperately attempted to crawl out and run, but the tree met its mark and pinned her leg just enough to not hurt her but still keep her pinned in place. She yelled out in pain, realizing she was trapped, and began to desperately struggle to pull her leg out. After a what felt like an eternity of struggling, she yanked her leg out with a scream of agony, looking down and seeing it scratched up by the tree's roots. She stood up on shaky legs, before spotting a shadow approaching her from the distance. Immediately, she breaks into as much of a run as she could with her newfound limp, pushing her body to the limits despite the cold, poison and injuries, all in an effort to escape.

Altera meanwhile, was still strolling casually in the direction she saw and heard Nitocris run off too. She knew her tree had hit the mark, if Nitocris's screams were anything to go by. She continued walking, while Nitocris was breathing heavily and whimpering at the pain all over her body. "Please... Please... Please please please please please..." She pleaded to no one and nothing in particular to let her escape, let her go, leave her alone. She collapsed to the floor again, the pain in her ankle too much to keep her up. But instead of stopping, she began crawling, using all the strength in her arms to pull herself forward. She broke into another coughing fit, this time suffocating and breathing heavily, wheezing out from her mouth. "I can't go on like this... I've gone so far... Brothers... Help me..." She heard a crack from behind her, and her eyes widened when she, through her blurry eyesight, saw Altera.

Immediately, the sheer aura coming from her, in combination with the poison, caused Nitocris to vomit in fear, before she began to desperately keep crawling. "No... Just stop, just STOP, just let me go home. Eventually though, she couldn't go any further, losing all her strength. She collapsed, head hitting the grassy ground beneath her. Steps on the grass came to her ringing ears, before her eyes started to darken, the last sight being her owner's face, filled with concern and fear.

"Are...those...te...ars...?"

That was her last thought as the poison and exhaustion caught up with Nitocris, and she finally fell unconscious.

When Nitocris woke up, it was with a headache. Her throat let out a small, raspy breath, but her body could not move. She couldn't feel any of her limbs, nor could she feel the rest of her body. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing blurry images of something golden and triangular. Her thoughts cleared up. "Did... Did I do it...?" She asked, voice raspy. "Am I in Egypt...?" She tiredly and slowly used what little strength she had left to lift her arm towards what she thought were the pyramids, before a sudden and painful heat caused her to pull it back, hissing in pain. Her vision cleared, and she realized those weren't pyramids, but candle flames. She turned her head and looked up at the ceiling, seeing red fabric and a pillar holding everything up at the center.

A very familiar sight.

Now that she was fully awake, her eyes widened and teared up. "No... It's not possible... It's not real, I must be dreaming...!" She breathed out. The pain in her body as she tried to move it proved to her that it wasn't a dream, and her coughs escaped her throat as she slowly but surely lifted her hurting, pained body up into a sitting position. She began sobbing when the reality caught up with her. "I... I've done so much... tried my best... and I'm back here again?! Damn it, damn it all!" She looked down and saw that she was sitting on a brown, dirty yet also soft pillow. Very different from the usual fur and hard, cold ground. She then heard shifting of fabric, and looked up. Her eyes widened when she recognised Altera, who was now standing still at the entrance, looking at her with an empty, expressionless face. They remained staring like that for a while before Altera began to approach her. Nitocris wildly began to shake her head. "Stay back! Get away from me!" She demanded. Altera ignored her and continued approaching. "No! Reconsider!. I'm sorry I escaped, I won't do it again, I will be obedient, honest!" Altera still kept approaching, "DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF MY OPRESSOR!" She turned around and started crawling away from her, still begging to be spared with a face of terror and tears, before she suddenly stopped and froze up once Altera's gentle, soft hand touched her shoulder, causing her to go rigid and remain frozen in place, Nitocris's voice dying in her throat.

Silence suddenly started reigning in the tent. Neither woman moved a muscle. Altera was kneeling next to Nitocris, hand on her shoulder. Nitocris was meanwhile frozen in place, sweat running down her skin and her fingers trembling. Both girls, regardless of position, were as still as statues, to the point where you would think they were frozen in time.

Then, one moved.

Altera slowly adjusted her position, sliding her other arm under Nitocris' stomach, gently pulling her up and into a sitting position of her own on the brown pillow. She'd place her hands on her shoulders, pressing down on them gently, as if telling her to stay there. She then got up, and left the tent, leaving Nitocris frozen in place, an expression of anxiety on her face.

Eventually, Altera returned, carrying a bucket of water and a rag over her shoulder. She set the bucket down, dunking the cloth in the water, before moving to slowly start undressing Nitocris like she always did whenever she bathed her, the Pharaoh doing absolutely nothing to resist or even showing any embarrassment like always.

Altera proceeded to clean Nitocris' entire body. Not a single body part was left dirty as the Hun chief took great care to not only clean Nitocris, but also be gentle about it with the Pharaoh. This did barely anything to relax the woman however, as Nitocris was still extremely tense despite the warmth spreading all over her due to the water.

Eventually, the washing was done, and Nitocris was dressed again. Altera put the rag and water away, before pulling over her fur pelt, setting it down in front of Nitocris and placing her hands on her back. With a gentle push, Nitocris laid face down on the fur, it's softness causing her to slowly start relaxing due to the comfort. Then, a pair of hands would be placed on her shoulders, and Altera would began to gently massage the other woman. Over time, Nitocris would feel her entire body going slack and relaxing as Altera's hands slowly but surely removed every single bit of tension in her body, relaxing her muscles, straightening her back, even making her fingers stop trembling as she massaged her hands.

Once that too was done, Altera would pull Nitocris back into a sitting position, the Pharaoh having lost all her rigidity and pain, and being completely relaxed, her body feeling not only clean, but also refreshed and...reborn, sort of.

She slowly lifted her head to look at Nitocris, who leaned down and took something from another corner of the tent. Nitocris recognized it as several loops of rope, much longer than the simple restrains she was subjected to previously. There was also a pair of small bags, usually used for holding coins. Altera knelt down before the Pharaoh, placing the rope and the bags on the ground, before looking at Nitocris and lifting a hand. Nitocris, too tired to respond, watched as the hand gently set itself on her head, beginning to stroke it softly and as gently as a feather. She looked at Altera, and was surprised to see not anger, or indifference. Instead, in her eyes was nothing but relief and calm. A calm so deep, Nitocris could almost feel herself sinking.

"I'm not angry that you ran away."

The hand left her head, moving to pick up one of her arms. Altera took one of the two bells, sliding it over her hand and clicking it shut.

"I'm glad you're okay." Altera spoke.

Then, she took her other hand, and repeated the process, and once she was done, Nitocris looked down at her hands. She couldn't move her fingers properly or use her hands to do anything with these on.

Altera waited for a moment, letting her adjust, before she picked up one of the chains, and then clamped two thick cuffs on Nito's wrists, restraining them close together.

"When I saw you...suffocating and vomiting there, on the ground..."

Altera then began to wrap the chains around Nito's arms, stopping just before the elbow. She then took the other end of the chain with one shackle, lifting Nito's head with her hand and clamping it around her neck, thankfully not enough to choke.

"I...I don't know what came over me. I...you were so scared...so hurt...you looked like..."

She moved behind Nitocris then, grabbing another chain and beginning to wrap it around her torso. The former Pharaoh gasped lightly at the cold feeling of metal against her arms, prompting a silent apology from the hun chief. She stopped when Nitocris' arms were now secured to her sides.

"You looked like you were about to...to...ngh..."

Altera but her lip at the memory, the mere thought of seeing what she was imagining making her heart ache. She shook her head, deciding to distract herself with her current task.

"I...I don't want to imagine it...so..."

She took the last chain, attaching it to the shackle on Nitocris' neck, making a makeshift leash.

"I'll remind you of what is happening to you right now."

She grabbed a small handful of Nitocris' hair, letting it slide through her fingers and over her hand.

"Mine."

She then let go of the hair, placing a hand on Nito's face, using a finger to wipe away a stray tear on the Pharaoh's face and holding her hand on her warm skin.

"Mine."

The hand slid down, stopping at Nito's chest, specifically exactly where the heart was. She let it linger there, allowing Nito's heartbeat to gently echo against her fingers.

"Mine."

Her hand slid down again, stopping at Nito's stomach, gently stroking the skin.

"Mine."

Then, it slid further down, stopping at Nitocris' legs, Altera's hand passing over the rope restraining her and eventually leaving.

"Mine."

Altera's hand then placed itself on Nitocris' head again, petting her gently, slowly and without any sort of force or pressure. It was soft. Loving. Gentle. Kind.

"Your body. Your mind. Your soul. Everything about you, is mine. You don't have any rights anymore. You have only one thing left to do. Submit."

'Submit?' Nitocris thought.

"Stay here. Please. As your master, your owner, and as someone who cares for you, give up."

'Give up?'

"Don't try to escape again. You almost died due to hypothermia and poison slowly killing you. Had I been a moment too late..."

Altera's hand clenched around the impromptu leash, before the one on Nito's head lowered to her face, cupping her cheek.

"Stay with me. Don't run, ever again. Don't even think about it. Surrender yourself to your new life."

'Surrender?'

"I promised you, that I would grant you comfort, happiness, and love, unlike any slave or master has ever had between them. I want to make you feel safe, happy and content in your slavery to me. I want you to be happy here. I broke that promise when I made you go through that. So, please...please..."

Altera's voice grew shaky.

"Give up. Give up on everything. Let yourself grow happy in my ownership, and I swear, I will make you happy, comfortable, and you'll never experience any pain, suffering or anguish in my ownership. Give up. Stay with me. Accept your situation, give up your rights and resistance, and I will give you the best life a slave can ever have."

That word...

That... WORD...

Nitocris stayed silent for a moment, before she started to break down into a tearful laugh, Altera looked on, confused, and then Nitocris spoke.

"You're the same as THEM..."

"...What? Them? Who is them? What do you mean?" Altera asked, confused.

"I have seen your type before...While I was ruler, I was constantly being used as a royal puppet by the backstabbing nobles who killed my siblings. I was being told how to behave all my life, never being given permission to think for myself. That's exactly what's happening here, you are no better than them, since you're doing the exact same thing they did: Telling me what to do, to surrender and not think for myself... I will give you this much, you at least have the decency to try and cover your manipulation in a veil of lies about happiness and peace, while the nobles very blatantly told me to be an obedient puppet on a string!"

Altera leaned back in surprise. "You were... used before...?"

"Of course I was! I have far too much experience with this sort of thing!" Nitocris exclaimed.

"I see... So then... That was why you were poisoned when I found you." Altera said with a nod.

"...What? SAVED me? Are you stupid?" Nitocris demanded, baffled.

"I arrived just after you were poisoned! Your subjects or some of the nobles probably saw what you did with the ones I found drowned, so they rebelled and poisoned you as retaliation." Altera said. "I saved your life! Why are you ungrateful?!"

Nitocris erupted into laughter. "Oh my goodness, you really ARE stupid! I DID THAT TO MYSELF!" She screamed the last sentence in Altera's face.

Altera paused long and hard as those words caught up with her. Her eyes widened in surprise. "You... What...? Why... Why would you do that...?"

"I did EVERYTHING for my brothers..." Nitocris began. "The nobles backstabbed and got them all killed, so I stepped up, and as soon as I got the chance, I trapped them in the basement and drowned them as vengeance."

"That's no reason for suicide..." Nitocris was quick to interrupt Altera.

"The very act of thinking about enacting vengeance was selfish of me, and Egypt cannot be ruled by a selfish Pharaoh. And I was, after all, nothing more than a little girl being controlled on a string. Someone as selfish as me sitting on the throne would tarnish not only Egypt's beauty and people, but also the legacy my predecessors left behind as rulers. So, I intended to kill myself to keep the throne and the people clean of my selfishness." She said firmly.

She then looked at Altera with fury. "And then YOU showed up... YOU SLAUGHTERED THEM ALL! YOU BARGED INTO MY HOME! DESTROYED MY LAND, MY PEOPLE! UNDID EVERYTHING I'VE EVER DONE AND RUINED MY DEATH, FOREVER RUINING MY COUNTRY'S LEGACY BY LETTING A SELFISH, VENGEFUL AND CRUEL RULER LIKE ME WALK IN THE LIVING WORLD AGAINST MY WISHES!"

Altera looked at her. "Do you even know what you're saying...? Have you never considered your own happines, your own life...? What would your siblings think of this decision-"

"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THEM. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK OF THEM." Nitocris hissed out through gritted teeth. Altera found a slight shiver run down her spine at the sheer fury in the former pharoah's tone before Nitocris continued. "My happiness is meaningless! A ruler shouldn't care about their own happiness, as the happiness of the people comes first. I did the opposite, so death is the only thing someone like me deserves."

"...I see... Well... It's a good thing I thoroughly tied you up, because this way you won't be able to take your own life."

Nitocris just smirked, before she started making biting motions. Altera was confused for a moment before Nitocris suddenly spat and coughed out blood, glaring defiantly into her eyes all the while.

Altera realized what was happening, but she didn't want to believe it. "You didn't..." She breathed. Nitocris responded by spitting blood in her face. The Hun chief immediately drew close and tried to force open Nito's mouth, but the ruler kept resisting. So, Altera, desperately, chopped her on the neck, paralysing her and opening her mouth. "You absolute FOOL! You would bite your own tongue because of a selfish desire to cease living?!" As she spoke, she quickly laid her down on the side and left the tent, coming back moments later with small leaves and a bowl of different sludge than usual. She quickly dipped some leaves in the sludge, before sticking them on Nito's tounge in hopes of stopping the bleeding. After she made sure the wound was closed, she wiped the blood off and quickly gagged Nitocris with her usual stick, making sure she wouldn't bite again. She looked at Nitocris with small trembles in her voice. "Why do you refuse to let yourself be happy...? Why do you keep resisting me when all I wants go do is help you and make you happy...?"

Of course she received no answer, since Nitocris was paralyzed. Even still, Altera felt like she knew what the other woman would answer. So, she laid down in front of her, took the leash, wrapped it around her wrist and pulled Nitocris into a hug, just like the last time. "I hope you will eventually relent and let yourself relax... Until then, I will help you get comfortable." She promised. Then, she fell asleep alongside her treasured woman.

The next morning came a bit later than usual. Altera was the first to wake up, finding Nitocris gently breathing as she still slept. She slowly moved away to not accidentally stir her awake. She lifted her up, tying the leash to the pillar of the tent, ungagged her and checked over her wound on the tongue, breathing of relief at the fact that it stopped bleeding. She examined her for any other injuries, and once she'd confirmed that she was okay, Altera then quickly gagged her once again to stop her from biting again, before checking all the restraints, fixing anything loose and then kissing the top of Nito's head. "Do not worry. Leave your health and peace in my hands from now on..." She whispered.

She laid Nitocris's head down on her lap, gently stroking her hair and observing her. "You're even more beautiful now than you were when I fist saw you sitting on that throne, especially because you aren't dying of poison... I'm glad to have saved you, as someone so beautiful and kind would've been a waste to let die." She remembered Nitocris' words from the night prior, about how she refused to remain ruler because her selfishness and vengefulness would've tainted her people's dignity, and how she said that she wouldn't be a good Pharaoh because she was too selfish. "...You chose the well being and dignity of your people in the end, and that means you are a superb ruler, I don't understand how you cannot see that..." The two remained like that for a few hours as Altera silently admired Nitocris, before eventually the Pharaoh stirred awake, and looked up to see Altera's face looking down at her. "Good morning. I hope you slept well." Altera greeted before adjusting and lifting Nitocris upright. Nitocris groaned and squirmed a little, Altera hugging her close. "It's okay. Istopped the bleeding, Now, promise me you will not do this again, I don't want to almost lose you a third time..."

Nitocris remained still for a moment, before she grunted and with what limited movement she had, pulled herself out of Altera's embrace, glaring daggers at her because her second plan to die was foiled. Altera sighed. "You shouldn't have expected it would be that easy.. I will warm you up to me eventually, and I will do all in my power to make that day come as soon as possible." Nitocris just looked away with a grunt. Altera then left to make breakfast, roasting some meat in record time and ungagging Nito to feed her. Yet, Nitocris deliberately refused to eat, turning her head away and keeping her mouth shut. "What...? No... No, eat. You must eat, you need your strength to recover quickly."

"No: Nitocris said through greitted teeth. "I REFUSED to be tricked again. You will have to force the food down my throat from now own, and I'm sure that wouldn't align with the "comfort" you apparently want to give me."

"No... Please. Eat." Altera insisted. Nitocris simply answered with silence and continued refusing to even take a single bite. This went on for an hour, before Altera sighed and gave up.

She ate everything herself, sometimes looking back at Nitocris to see if she was trying to bite herself again, with her looking away and refusing to even peek at her. "...You really won't eat? You WILL need it..." She warned. Nitocris...stayed silent, refusing to even give in for a second. Altera sighed as she finished the last bite, then gagged Nitocris again, before checking over her restraints one more time. "Stand up then." She ordered, helping her do so, before grabbing the leash."We are moving camp again, and this time I won't be leaving you in the cart, I will keep you close to me."

Nitocris glared and fought with all her might to resist getting pulled along to spite her. Altera sighed and yanked slightly harder, causing Nitocris to stumble and snarl as she stopped resisting and was pulled along. They left the tent, and Altera moved to her horse, and attached the leash to the saddle before climbing up. She turned to Nitocris. "I am sorry for this, but you will have to walk behind me this time so I can keep you close and stop you from running away. You really should have eaten, the trip will be long."

Nitocris huffed in anger and looked away in disgust.. "...When the terrain gets a bit rough or you grow tired, I will pick you up and have you ride on the horse with me." Nitocris remained silent, and Altera gave up, figuring it was useless to try and talk to her at the moment. "We will go earlier than everyone else because I don't feel like waiting for my lazy tribesmen to wake up." She said simply, and the horse began moving, Nitocris getting pulled along.

They travelled for a very long while, and Nitocris progressively slowed down until she could barely even move and eventually fell to her knees, hungry and exhausted. Altera stopped the horse and jumped off to check on her. "I told you you should have eaten, but you refused, and now look. You can't even move." She sighed. She gently helped her get up, before scooping her up and lifting her onto the horse, before climbing back on and continuing the journey.

Whether she liked it or not, Nitocris was too weak to resist, and her body involuntarily leaned against Altera's back as she sighed in exhaustion, disgust filling her at the close proximity. At that, Altera took note of how tight the chains were on her torso and grew a bit concerned. 'Perhaps I should loosen them just a little bit...' She quickly threw those thoughts away. 'No... It's for her own safety, even if it does hurt her... She'll get comfortable in them eventually.' They continued their travels for a long while, before Altera spotted a huge line of walls in the distance. She could tell by the designs that it was Rome she was looking at.

A sudden voice in her head told her a single word in a whispering tone. "Destroy..." Altera quickly pushed it back. 'No... I mustn't fall into that urge... Not here, and not now...' She wouldn't do it while there was a possibility of her companion getting hurt in the crossfire.

She decided the best course of action would be to personally scout out if there was anything valuable to take in case of a raid, and gently stirred Nitocris awake, the dark skinned woman giving her an annoyed glare. "We are going to visit the city for a time. I have... business there."

Nitocris paled and squeaked in embarrassment at the realization that people in the city were going to see her sorry state.

"Will you try to run or attempt to escape again?" Altera asked sternly. Nitocris, even if she wanted so badly to resist, bowed her head and shook it for a no. "In that case, I will let you stay outside the city walls to preserve your dignity." Nitocris visibly grew relieved, and Altera continued the journey, eventually arriving after forty five minutes at the gates leading into Rome. She climbed off the horse and pulled Nitocris off into her arms, before sitting her down against the wall and tying her legs with some rope. She patted her head. "I'll try not to be gone for too long. Just remain obedient and stay where you are."

As soon as Altera said this, she leapt up the wall and was soon out of sight. Nitocris squirmed a little in her chains. 'Tch... She really made these restraints as tight as she possibly could…and these bells…they're entirely covering my hands...' She seethed internally. 'Am I going to try and escape again, she says... As if I could when I'm trapped like this...' She was ever so slightly relieved at the fact that she was merciful enough to let her keep her dignity, but that didn't change the fact that she would keep resisting her to the last breath. So, knowing she couldn't run and doing it just to spite her captor, she began to struggle and squirm to at least loosen the chains around her torso a little bit before she returned…

Then, she heard footsteps and froze up, gasping and realizing someone was coming.

Meanwhile, Altera was expertly and silently jumping from roof to roof, observing from above the people moving about. "Hmm... so far, nothing seems to be of particular value..." She mused.

She looked up at the palace miles away, admiring the architecture and suppressing another urge to rush down there and tear it down. "There are likely plenty of valuables there, but there are several problems that could very well end with Rome attacking the tribe..." She mused. That was something she couldn't allow now that she had someone to care for. She continued searching a little while longer, and after a short while realized she was being stupid and the search was going nowhere, and decided to leave.

It took her record time to return, and as soon as she jumped down, she spotted Nitocris...

Being very clearly mistreated by a pair of Roman guards, who were touching her against her will while the woman was struggling to get away. One picked her up. "So what do we do? Notify someone?"

"No. She can be our little secret. We found her and weget to keep her for themselves." The other man said with a lecherous grin...

Then, his head was kicked off, and before the other guy could react, he received a fist through the chest, his heart being ripped out and thrown to the ground as the soldier collapsed dead. Altera betrayed no rage as she finished them off. Just cold, silent anger as she glowered down at the corpses before turning her attention to her charge. Altera quickly seized the whimpering and terrified Nitocris and hugged her tightly. "Hush now, it's all right, you're safe, no one is hurting you anymore, I'm so sorry for my carelessness..."

Nitocris let out a choked sob, trembling violently at what they had been planning to do to her, and Altera felt a clench in her chest at the way she was acting. She punched herself in the chest in an effort to curb the feeling, not wanting any distractions from bringing her treasure back to safety. Grabbing her off the ground, she placed her back on the horse carefully, then climbed up herself, cracking the reins to ride back to their designated campgrounds, leaving the corpses of the soldiers to rot away.

As soon as they arrived back at the camp, Altera hopped down from the tent, and quickly set to setting up her tent once more. She decided the best course of action was to patiently wait for her tribesmen to arrive. In the meantime, she needed to tend to Nitocris. Carefully ungagging her, she quickly pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have been so careless... I'm sorry for leaving you in danger..."

Nitocris looked away, not thankful in the slightest. "You should have left me in their hands."

"What?!" Altera asked, appalled. "Are you aware of what those men would have done to you?!"

"It would be preferable to being held captive and fed lies of a comfortable life!" Nitocris snapped.

"How many times must I repeat myself?! I'm not lying! I DO want you to be comfortable and happy-"

"WELL I'M NOT!" Nitocris yelled.

Altera was taken aback. "But why...?"

"I DON'T WANT HAPPINESS OR COMFORT!" Nitocris snapped. "I DESIRE ONLY DEATH! THAT IS THE ONLY PEACE I WANT! I INTENDED TO EXECUTE MYSELF AS PENANCE FOR BEING A SELFISH RULER! BUT INSTEAD, I WIND UP BEING HELD AGAINST MY WILL AND TREATED LIKE SOME PET ON A LEASH! THIS IS HUMILIATING, DEHUMANIZING! I AM ASHAMED TO BE SEEN LIKE THIS BY ANYONE! YOU'VE TAKEN MY DIGNITY AND IGNITED IT! YOU SHOULD HAVE LET THEM HAVE ME BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T HAVE TORMENTED ME BY FORCING ME TO CONTINUE LIVING AGAINST MY WILL! THEY'D HAVE USED ME, YES, BUT THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY LET ME PASS ON FROM DISEASE OR EXHAUSTION, OR KILL ME ONCE I COULD NO LONGER SATISFY THEM! SURE, THEY MAY HAVE HAD A PAINFUL END IN STORE, BUT AT LEAST IT WOULD BE AN END!" Nitocris ended her rant, breathing heavily and trembling.

Altera's eyes widened, and her mouth slowly opened in silent horror. "You're... You're truly so desperate to perish that you'd allow them to violate you to death...?"

"Yes. I am. ANY death is fair game as far as I am concerned. Death is what I want, what I DESERVE." Nitocris said coldly. She glared defiantly at Altera, the expression only turning more enraged when she had the nerve to look angry at her. "Ah. You're angry at me, are you? Well then, go on and kill me! Come! Coward! Whore! Monster! Abomination! KILL ME! KILL ME NOW, YOU PATHETIC WASTE OF OXYGEN! TAKE YOUR BLADE! END ME! I HATE THIS EXISTENCE! I REFUSE TO LIVE LIKE THIS!" Nitocris was smiling manically as she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "HANG ME BY THESE CHAINS UNTIL I CAN NO LONGER BREATHE! BEAT ME TO DEATH WITH YOUR BARE HANDS! USE THAT PRECIOUS SWORD TO CARVE ME TO SMALL PIECES! DO WHAT THOSE MEN PLANNED AND RELIEVE YOUR FURY UPON ME UNTIL I DIE! DO IT, YOU DAMNABLE CUR! DO IT NOW! STOP PRETENDING! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! I'M NOT BEING YOUR OBEDIENT, PERFECT LITTLE SLAVE, SO FINISH ME OFF!"

Altera felt a sudden sharp pain in her head, prompting her to grab it. 'Do it.' The voice in her head whispered softly. 'Do as she says. Destroy. Annihilate. Punish her. Her disrespect and disobedience is punishable by death.

"SHUT UP!" Alteara screamed in rage, grabbing a nearby stone and swinging it down, an audible crunch sounding out, blood splattering all over the ground.

Nitcoris froze in shock, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth.

She had no wounds.

The blood was not her own.

She stared with a gaping mouth at Altera, who still had the now bloody rock held up to the side of her head.

She breathed heavily, and, after a pause, slowly moved the rock away from her head, skin and tissue stretching out as it was pulled away, Nitocris feeling ill at the sight. Altera turned and threw the rock with all her might, shouting in frustration as she did so, then breathed heavily and covered her face with her shaking hands.

"...What the hell is wrong with you...?" Nitocris asked when she finally found her voice. "Why would you nearly cave your own damn head in?" Altera didn't respond, still breathing heavily in an effort to calm herself. She moved her hands away from her face, before lifting the clean one and gently rubbing Nitocris' head, like she always did. Nitocris looked at the other woman to see she was... smiling... And not a mad, unstable smile. A small, gentle, genuine and comforting one. One of her eyes was closed, while the other was narrowed and tearing up.

"I love the way... these rabbit ears... twitch and feel in my hand..." Altera murmured softly. "They're cute... So cute... I would hate to see them bloody or lifeless... That is why I will never harm you... Ever... Your death would be an absolute waste... Someone like you does not deserve death... No matter what lies you tell yourself..."

Disoriented, Altera moved in and embraced Nitocris as tightly as she could. gently running her fingers through her hair and even kissing her cheek. "No matter what... I swear... I will... change your mind..." Altera murmured. "Make you see... death is beneath you... That you do not deserve to perish... I will repeat these words as many times as it takes, I WILL ensure you have comfort, peace and happiness, I promise I will..." Even if I must spill my own blood to make it happen... Does... Does my injury... make you feel any better...? It's okay if it does... It means I am... making progress..."

"...You're crazy..." Nitocris breathed. "You're absolutely out of your mind...!"

"...If being out of my mind will fix you..." Altera spoke softly. "I will hurt myself as much as it takes to bring you joy... That is proof of my devotion to my promise..." The injuries would not stay. But they would still hurt immensely. It was the very best she could do to prove herself.

Altera then noticed something was off, and she realized that Nitocris had managed to loosen the rope somehow. She rose to her feet and wobbled away. "I'll be gone... for just a moment..." She spoke. She left the tent, and Nitocris was now alone with her thoughts.

"Is... Is she serious...? She intends to harm herself... to satisfy me...?" She murmured softly. Doubt began to fill her. "She could be lying... But she could genuinely want the best for me too... No..." She shoved her doubts aside and narrowed her eyes. "She just wants me as her pet for her own self satisfaction..."

Altera returned, her head now properly bandaged while one eye was covered up. She knelt down and readjusted the binds. Nitocris gasped in pain at the unexpected roughness. "I'm sorry... Very sorry..." Altera murmured softly. After finishing up, she gagged Nitocris. "Now... I can't have you biting your tongue again, this is necessarry." She explained before hugging her and pulling her down, laying with her held in her arms. "Now sleep... You've had a rough morning... I'm sorry... It's my fault..." She placed her chin on Nitocris' head. 'I WILL help you heal...' She thought. 'I will help you love yourself... Ensure you understand your true worth...' And before long, these ropes will become more comfortable than any silken royal blanket you've ever had. Even if it takes all of my blood, sweat and tears, I WILL make you feel happy and loved... You WILL believe you are worth something, if not to yourself, then to me...'

Altera gently began to hum a song, her voice trembling slightly as she did so, body still unstable due to her head injury as she tried to soothe Nitocris.

A few hours earlier...

The remainder of the tribe was headed off towards where they assumed their chief was, following both horse and human footprints.

"It's all your fault, Conan, you kept us up all night with your snoring!"

"Me?! Well maybe if Shan Yu had woken everyone up like he was supposed to!"

"Excuse me, but Balamur was the one eating breakfast before I even had the chance to wake, he could have done it!"

"Hey, cool your jets!" A big, burly man stepped in front of the group. "C'mon, guys, don't start yelling at each other this early in the morning, you know the chief doesn't like that, gives her a splitting headache and all that, she might decapitate one of you if she hears it, it's happened before."

"Aw, shut up, Gug, just cause you're the chief's favourite doesn't mean we have to listen to you!"

"Well, actually, she DID make me second in command, so technically that does kinda mean that you actually do have to listen to me. Now, I don't wanna abuse my authority or anything, I want all of us to get along, keep the morale up, but, at the end of the day, I do have orders to bash your heads open if you don't comply, so uh... Please don't make me do that, I don't like getting blood on my hands, it's gross and it doesn't wash off and it makes me wanna puke..." A little red squirrel on his shoulder chittered. "Ah... Thanks, Conker, that's a relief, heh..."

"Why are you always talking to that squirrel? How can the chief not see how useless you are?! If it were up to me, she would have cut you op-AAAAAGH!" The man didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. Because Conker had leapt off of Gug's shoulder and sunk his large sharp rodent teeth into his jugular vein, tearing into a vital spot that bled profusely as the squirrel scurried off back onto the large man's shoulder.

"Hahahahaha! Yeah, uh... Kinda got the animal kingdom on my side, they really don't like you guys, so um... ya might wanna be a bit less... hard on me, I can't really control how they respond to it. Conker's my enforcer now! I'm the carrot and he's the stick, isn't that right, buddy?" He gently tickled the little squirrel's head with his finger. The other huns looked at him in contempt. "Oh yeah, has anyone seen Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk?" A chicken clucked at his feet, and he looked down to see it was missing several feathers. "...Were you guys trying to kill and eat Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk again?" Gug asked sternly.

"...No."

"Oh, you're lying, it's all over your face, you're definitely lying. It was Dave, wasn't it? I see you back there, Dave. Not. Cool. Do it again and I'm gonna give you a write-up. We do not eat Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk." He picked the chicken up. "Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk is our friend. He is a part of the group. Now tell Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk you're sorry and give him a kiss." He held the chicken up to Dave's face. The man rolled his eyes.

"I am...sorry..." He muttered.

"Now kiss him on the head..."

"Urgh..." Dave growled and obeyed... Only for Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk to promptly turn and peck his eye clean out of its socket, causing him to scream in agony and fall off his horse. "...Yeah, he's not very happy with you." Gug said simply as Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk sat in his arms with the man's eye stuck on the end of his beak, basically just vibing.

Leaving behind the corpse of Conker's victim, and giving the hun that lost an eye a rag to stop the bleeding, the group continued on their way, following the footprints for the longest time, until eventually, Gug pulled out a pair of binoculars made from wood and glass that he had cobbled together. "All right, I can see the chief's tent! Ooh! And a Marmora's Warbler! Look at it go, chalk up one more for exotic bird bingo! I am loving this! All right, fellas, time to get caught up, let's go and pitch the tents!" Hopping off his horse, Gug took the time to give her a gentle pat on the mane and set to grabbing the camp gear. As the huns set everything up, Gug put his hands on his hips and nodded with a smile, pleased that all was well. Turning to go and look for some food, he ended up tripping over a nearby rock and falling flat on his face. Pushing himself back up, he looked to see the rock in question, Conker angrily chittering at it and throwing an acorn to punish it. "Whoa, easy there, buddy, no need to be so violent, it's just doing what rocks do best." He calmed his little companion down before investigating further.

"Hmm... The rock is... red. That can only mean someone... painted it! But why would someone paint a rock and just leave it sitting out here in the middle of the wilderness...? Unless... it's not paint... It's... smashed tomato! But no... tomatoes don't grow all the way out here, there's not a farm for miles... What else is red and sticky and gross though...? Wait... Red... sticky... gross... Ah-ha! It's blood!" He picked up the stone and studied it closely. "And it came from..." He looked down at the ground, and he saw the small red trail leading towards the tent. "In the boss' tent! But why would there be blood coming from the boss' tent...? Unless the boss hurt herself... Ah... Must be trying to curb those impulses of hers again... Well, she'll probably need a few stitches. Let's have a looksee..." He slowly peeked inside the tent, and he saw that his chief was cuddling up to that girl she liked so much. Both were fast asleep, and the chief had a bandage on her head.

He blinked twice, then smirked to himself as he left. "Well. Looks like she's making progress." He chuckled, walking away and whistling merrily.

Soon enough, the whole camp was set up, and by the time her men were done, Altera managed to force herself awake with a soft groan, a stabbing pain in her head forcing her to remember what had happened. She felt a warmth in her hold, and looked down, smiling softly when she saw Nitocris still sleeping, seemingly at peace. Slowly, she removed the gag and put it away, as she couldn't exactly bite into her tongue while she was fast asleep. Carefully, she placed the other woman's head on her thighs to give her a pillow, stroking her hair gently as she slept. Then, the tent shifted, and she looked up to see her second in command smiling at her.

"Up and at 'em, chief! Ya sleep well?!" Gug greeted her in his usual cheery manner, causing her to smile.

"As well as I could have with the wound on my head..." She replied.

"Yeah... Those evil, creepy voices in your head are some nasty pieces of work, ya gotta keep your head in the game and all that. But hey! I whipped up some meds to give ya! I even put them on a nice fluffy towel, just the way you like it! Here, let's get ya all set up!" Gug set to wrapping the towel around her head, and she immediately relaxed.

"Well done, Gug... You always know how to make things better for me..." She complimented.

"Awww, it's nothing much, really, I'm just doing my best."

"You undermine your own aid. There is a reason I hold you in higher regard than the rest of the tribe." Altera insisted.

"Ah, thanks, chief, heh. So! D'ya... need anything?" Gug asked.

Altera was about to decline, before remembering something. "Gug... How do you help someone feel like they matter when they adamantly refuse to do so?"

"Hmmm... Ah! Bet you're talking about her, aren'tcha?" He nodded at Nitocris. "Well... Ya did kinda kidnap her from her homeland, tie her up and keep her here against her will, so... you should probably find some way to earn her trust, and uh... that might be a little tricky."

"Indeed... She refuses to trust me no matter what I do..." Altera sighed.

"Well, just keep on trying then. Show her she can trust you. Try and make everything just... smooth out." Gug suggested.

"...How do you give such simple yet effective answers?" Altera asked.

"Ah, no big deal! Sometimes simple's just best!" Gug shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmm... Yes." Altera agreed. "And you're right... I will ensure she sees that I am trustworthy."

"That's the spirit! Just keep your head up and be optimistic!" Gug cheered her on. "If you do that, then everything's gonna be a-okay!"

"Yes... You're right, Gug. Thank you for your services, really." Altera said softly.

"No problem! Now... Uh... I'm gonna go ahead and get some hunting and cooking done. Ya want a bite to eat?"

"Hmm... No, thank you. I don't feel up to eating at the moment... Still, you should make something regardless." Altera replied.

"You got it, chief!" Gug saluted before leaving the tent, leaving her alone with Nitocris.

The hun stroked her slave's hair gently, remembering her right hand man's words about optimism and holding her head high. She sighed. "I just hope she will do her part as well... Trust cannot be formed with just one party putting in the effort..."

The rest of the day was relatively silent for her, as the camp was carefully set up all around her, and the food was prepared. Gug had done as he was instructed and brought the food to Altera, which she fully intended to feed to Nitocris. Unfortunately for her, the pharaoh just simply never woke up. It seemed the day was simply too tiring and traumatic for her mind to handle, so she remained asleep the entire day as a coping mechanism. With a sigh, Altera laid down next to her, honestly feeling fully prepared to go to sleep herself after such a long day. "I wish you had woken up... I don't wish for you to sleep hungry..." She murmured to Nitocris. "I just hope you will be willing to eat tomorrow..."

She went to sleep with a heavy heart, knowing deep down that everything currently wrong with the former pharaoh's life was a direct result of her actions.

However, there was still a large part of her that was still deluded into thinking that she was doing right by this woman...

Altera found herself awakening much earlier than she would normally, she had found it difficult to sleep properly. She stretched with a yawn, then turned her head to see how Nitocris was faring. She studied her closely to ensure that she was okay, checking her temperature to see if she was cold or sick, or if she had injured herself again. Thankfully, none of the above seemed to be true, but when her fingers passed over her chest, Altera's brows furrowed when she noticed Nitocris was thinner than she had been before. It was because she was refusing to eat... Altera's heart clenched. She began to think of ways she could convince her to eat again, she didn't want her to starve... And as she thought, she gently stroked her hair, finding herself growing calmed and clearer of mind as she ran her fingers through her long, soft hair.

Her pondering was interrupted by the sound of a soft grunt, and she looked down to see Nitocris had a pained look on her face. She squirmed and twisted in her bonds, chains clicking as she moved, and she began to talk in her sleep. "No... No, please don't... Please... Don't kill me... Spare me... Please..." The sleeping pharaoh teared up, and it was clear to Altera she was suffering from a nightmare. She leaned down and gently pressed their foreheads together, then began to hum a soft, gentle song. Eventually, after a few moments, Nitocris ceased struggling and calmed down, now sleeping more soundly. Altera gently used a finger to wipe the tears from her eyes, smiling softly in relief to see her at peace.

Altera's eyes shifted over to the chains binding her. 'I restrained her thoroughly to ensure that she has no chance of fleeing, but... Perhaps... I've gone a touch too far...?' She thought. She shook her head and snuffed those thoughts out. 'No. It is for her own good. She will grow comfortable with them eventually.' She assured herself. But still... The restraints WERE rather harsh... She couldn't help but feel at least a little bit guilty. Perhaps... Perhaps she could untie her, just for a little while, she would put the restraints back on in good time... After all, being so tightly and harshly bound wasn't likely to feel all too comfortable. Having made her decision, she slowly set to unshackling her, until eventually, all the chains were taken off. Altera finished by removing the bells over her hands. She carefully observed her slave's body, wincing at the burn marks on her skin. It was chain burn... She immediately regretted how harsh she had been with the restraints. She decided that, when she put them back on, she would be gentler, less punishing. Even if she did run, she didn't deserve to be hurt like that.

Altera closed her eyes in thought, then carefully flipped her treasure onto her back to face her, taking one of her arms and gently, carefully massaging it so as to not wake her up. She spent the next hour carefully massaging every inch of Nitocris' body where the burns were, and in time, she had almost completely removed them. She heard a small hum, and looked down to see Nitocris had a small, relaxed smile on her face, the sight of which warmed Altera's heart. Her face... It was so gentle and cute... She noticed the warm feeling in her chest, resting a hand on it and silently wondering to herself just what it was. Magic? Another one of her usual destructive urges? It didn't seem to be either of the two... But it also didn't feel bad at all... She shrugged and carefully laid Nitocris' head in her lap, stroking her hair and admiring her sleeping, smiling face. It was nice to see her looking genuinely relaxed and at peace for once, for the first time since her slavery started.

The next few hours, until sunrise, were spent with Altera gently stroking Nitocris and admiring how beautiful she really was. "Even when thinned out and starving, you still look breathtaking..." She murmured. Her beautiful face, her soft, smooth skin, her perfect figure...

Immediately, Altera wildly shook her head, forcing those thoughts away immediately. She swore. She swore she would never use her body like that without her consent. Thinking such filthy thoughts when she was in such a state was utterly wrong. She couldn't do that. She had to save it. Save it for... when she allowed her. As she'd told her, if she wanted her to, she wouldn't complain, but ONLY if she wanted her to.

Once she was certain her thoughts were clean, she turned her attention back to admiring and caring for her. And eventually, a soft hum was heard, and she looked to see Nitocris was slowly stirring back awake.

Nitocris blinked her eyes tiredly, slowly opening them to find Altera's face looking down at her with the smallest trace of a smile. "Good morning." Altera greeted softly. Nitocris responded by squirming around, blinking and slowly lifting her arms up, eyes wide when she realized she was able to move them. "I have decided to untie you for a little while to give you more freedom." Altera explained.

"...Why?" Nitocris asked. "I already tried to run away once, what makes you so sure I won't do it again?"

"Make no mistake, I do plan to tie you back up again later." Altera said simply, causing Nitocris to scowl.

"Why would I ever expect otherwise?" She snorted. Altera felt a pang of guilt in her chest, but she pushed those feelings away, and simply grabbed the food Gug had cooked the day prior. She had been careful to ensure it stayed warm just for Nitocris. Using a wooded spoon, she prepared a bite for Nitocris to eat.

"No." Nitocris said plainly, turning her head away. "I will not be eating, regardless of what you have to say about it."

"...Please reconsider." Altera said. "You're getting thinner. You need to eat." Nitocris' stomach rumbled, and she clutched at it. It was painful, and she wanted to keel over, but she held strong and simply glared back at Altera defiantly. "Please...?" Altera looked worried. Good. Nitocris wanted it that way. She wasn't letting her win.

"If you want me to eat so much as one small crumb, you will have to force feed me, and I will not make this an easy task." Nitocris declared.

Altera opened her mouth to plead again, but Nitocris raised a hand to silence her. "Don't resort to begging, woman! Show some pride! What sort of slave master would beg and plead to their own slave?!" Altera relented, setting the food away in case she changed her mind. Wordlessly, she moved to set up a fire, and she and Nitocris watched it burn in silence. Altera would occasionally steal a glance at Nitocris, fighting the urge to wince when she saw the woman's clear discomfort from her starvation.

'Despite being in such a miserable state, she is doing her best to remain proud and regal as a ruler should be...' Altera realized. 'A truly admirable feat of will...' She would know firsthand, it was nothing new to her, she had been starved before, but she hadn't expected this sort of strength from someone as dainty and frail looking as Nitocris, especially considering her status as a queen. Despite the pain, she was keeping herself upright with a stern glare. It was amazing... And it would have been even more amazing had the reason for it not been so sad and painful for her... Starving herself on purpose... Entirely to spite her...

'Why...?' She thought to herself. 'Why is she doing this? She has every right to be angry, but even still, why can she not recognize that I'm trying my best to ensure she feels at home...? I'm trying to make her feel accepted and loved, even as a slave... But she just shoots down my efforts...'

Altera's mind flashed back to what she had told her back then, about how the nobles treated her as little more than a puppet, using her for their own political ends and causing the demise of her family. 'What did they do to her, to make her so distrustful...?'

She decided it was for the best to let it go for the time being, She would restore her trust, and make her see that she didn't need to fear betrayal from her.

The rest of the day was spent in relative peace. But not once did Nitocris accept a bite of food or a drop of water. She did allow herself to be bathed, however, so Altera was grateful she could at least do that much. But Nitocris continued with her self inflicted suffering for the rest of the day, and Altera felt that it would be just too cruel to tie her up. And so, she allowed her to sleep free again, embracing her just as she always did.

But the following days after that were nothing short of an absolute hellish nightmare, for both master and slave. With each passing day, Nitocris would refuse to eat more and more, and Altera was afraid to do anything about it out of fear of damaging her, barely even able to force water down her throat to keep her alive for more than two days. As time went by, Nitocris grew thinner and weaker, and it was to the point where the chains would slide right off of her body if they weren't secured to the point of cracking her bones. The poison seemed to be acting up too, as the lack of food and medical treatment left the venom festering and spreading further and further, until it reached the point where Nitocris looked like she was mere moments away from death. But despite it all, the former pharaoh remained upright, regal and confident, immensely determined not to let any more weakness show, wanting to pass on to the next life with as much dignity as she possibly could.

This went on for what essentially amounted to an entire month. Even with her pride and refusal to back down, Nitocris didn't look anywhere near as regal as she desired to. No, she resembled a shrivelled up mummy straight out of a sarcophagus, having shed its bandages. Her once beautiful face had sunken in cheeks and eyes that had lost all light. Her body was empty and hollow. Her arms were practically sticks, her ribs were protruding from her stomach, and she looked like her entire body was on the brink of falling apart. Altera didn't even keep her close anymore. She was terrified that even the slightest touch would snap her clean in half. Nitocris hadn't experienced the sensation of touch in over three weeks.

And all the while, Altera still tried desperately to feed her. "Please... Please eat it, please..." She practically begged. But the pharaoh, weak as she was, remained steadfast, turning away and pushing the bowl back with her hands,albeit with a minimal amount of force due to not having the strength to push it any harder.

"Please! I beg of you!" Altera pleaded. "Just look at you! You're thin and sickly! I don't want you to suffer, I'm begging you, eat and grow better! You're going to die at this rate!"

All Nitocris could do was look at her, smile weakly, and muster out only one simple word.

"Good."

And that was the moment where Altera realized that Nitocris was simply too stubborn. She truly no longer valued her own life. She craved only the release death would offer.

And if she hadn't stepped in to save her... She wouldn't be suffering like this...

All she had wanted to do was help her... Save her from an untimely end... And all she had done was make her suffer even more...

She lowered the bowl, putting it away, and just stared at Nitocris for a while. Nitocris looked back at her weakly. Altera lifted a hand to touch her, but stopped midway through, afraid one wrong poke would end her then and there. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head. "...I'm sorry..." She said softly. "For everything... For saving you... For putting you through this torment... For trying to reduce you to less than human... For... For everything..."

Nitocris laughed weakly. "Do you mean it...? Sounds like... you're... just... saying that..." She choked out. "Do... you really... understand... what you did wrong...?"

"...Yes... I do..." Altera said softly. "...I took away what you believed was your rightful punishment... Your right... I don't believe that you were correct at all, you did not need to die, but it's clear to me now that it has caused you much grief... And that was never what I wanted... I saw you as my treasure, but I wound up treating you as... as a pet... as a lesser being... An animal... All because I thought that... that you were too beautiful to die... I'm sorry... For all of it..."

Nitocris felt a surge of satisfaction coursing through her. "...You should be sorry..." She said softly. "You saved... a woman... who has no worth... A woman who... doesn't deserve... life..." Altera's heart broke, but she didn't comment. She briefly considered her next move, looking at her weapon, and then back to Nitocris. She picked the weapon up, looked at the woman contemplatively for a few moments... and then turned around and left the tent in a hurry, unwilling to go through with it as she decided to head off and train, leaving Nitocris alone.

Nitocris watched her leave, then let out a pained laugh. "You... coward..." She choked out. For someone so barbaric and violent, she certainly seemed to have a squeamish side. She leaned against the pillar she had once been tied to, grateful to at least enjoy her last few hours in relative freedom. The groans in her stomach jolted her out of any positive emotion, as she spat up blood, just as she always did when her stomach groaned. She looked up, her eyes glazed over.

"I'm sorry..." She murmured, looking up the sky, referring to her brothers. "I wish I could properly join you in the holy land... But in the end, I die after living miserably..." Her body was too weak to be able to sit, and she slid down, falling unconscious as she approached death's door. She swore she saw someone peek their head into the tent, a rather large man, he seemed concerned... Probably just a dying hallucination though...

Meanwhile, Altera was busy in the forest, chopping down trees with her sword. She wasn't even smashing them on her own, her swings, while strong enough to split trees, had no will behind them. She was putting no effort into it. Her face was sad, melancholic... She looked to another tree, lifting her sword... before heaving out a sigh and letting her arm fall. She sat down on a rock, impaling the sword into the ground, and covered her face with her hands as she breathed through the gaps between her fingers.

"...What should I do...?" She asked herself. She had no clue how to fix this awful situation she found herself in. She looked back on everything, and she began to wonder about herself. She remembered the moment she first saw Nitocris, dying on her throne... How beautiful she had looked, how she had wanted to be by her side, how she had forcibly taken her along with her... But why...? Why did she do that...? She was never one for beauty... She was a force of destruction, she didn't care in the slightest about how beautiful anything was. So why? What happened? What was it about this stranger that had made her the exception to the rule...? She had seen other women with similar beauty, and yet she had destroyed them and their homes all the same. And yet, every time the thought of hurting Nitocris crossed her mind, she would vehemently shove them aside. And every time she punished her or saw her in pain, her chest would clench and feel sore. Was it magic? Sorcery? What did she see in her? What about it caused her heart to flutter every time she looked in her direction?

She had heard the the Egyptians typically practiced magic... Was it possible that Nitocris had been casting spells on her while she wasn't looking...? But that wouldn't make any sense. She was terrified of her, there was no way she would be daring enough to try something so bold. But she just couldn't think of any other feasible explanation...

Altera slammed her hands against her face and breathed out through her fingers again. "What are you doing to me...?" She asked softly. "What did you do to make me so smitten, to make me behave so warmly and softly with you...? So... weak with you...?"

She needed to clear her thoughts... She picked up her sword and returned to her training, still internally trying to figure out just what it was that had made her life the way it currently was.

Eventually, after an hour of gruelling hard practice, she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, All around her was a graveyard of torn down, split open, smashed to splinters and uprooted trees, her training sword now split in half clean down to the middle of the blade. "...I'll need a new training blade now..." Was all she could say in response. She took a few moments to consider what she was going to do next, before deciding that she would stay there a little bit longer. She laid down on the ground, staring up at the sky, at the stars and the moon that shone their light down upon her. She had really hoped that some hard training would help clear her mind up, but it was very clear to her that it had accomplished absolutely nothing, as she was still struggling with her internal dilemma. Perhaps it would go away if she punched herself in the chest...? It seemed to help before...

Before she had a chance to try it, however, her eyes spotted something moving through the sky, causing the stars to dim as it passed over. "...Smoke...?" She thought to herself. "...Too much smoke... Far too much for a mere campfire..." She turned her head in the direction the smoke was coming from... And her eyes widened at the realization that it was coming from the same area as the camp.

She could see the bright lights glowing where the campsite was, and her eyes caught the sight of something orange, red, and thin soaring through the sky. She quickly caught it in her hand and narrowed her eyes at the realization that it was an arrow, doused in flames. Her eyes widened in shock when her thoughts caught up with her, and she pulled her arm back. With all her strength, she hurled the arrow back where it came from, hearing a scream from off in the distance.

Eyes narrowed, she called upon her rainbow sword, her trusty Photon Ray, and dashed off towards the campsite with all the speed she could muster up, praying with all her heart that what she feared most was not coming to pass...

Approximately thirty minutes before anything had gone down, Gug had set up a small campfire in Altera's tent, cooking up some rabbits he had caught earlier. He seasoned them carefully, and once they were done, he turned to Nitocris. "Hey. Ya want some of this? ...Oh. Right. You're unconscious right now."

She was stable for the time being. He'd managed to slide some oatmeal he'd prepared down into her throat, she was in no state to resist, she hadn't been awake to. He had checked her condition regulardly to ensure she wasn't dead, but she still hadn't woken up, which was more than a little worrying to the large man. "So uh... Think you can try and... stick it out till the chief comes back?" No response. Obviously. "...I'll take that as a maybe." He moved to grab another stick to cook more rabbit, only to accidentally knock over a bucket of water he'd been having Nitocris drink from, dousing the flames. "Oh... Shoot..." He muttered, upset. "How am I supposed to ignite it now?"

Suddenly, he heard a whooshing sound, before something cut clean through the tent and impaled itself into the ground in front of him, igniting the campfire back up. Blinking twice, he grabbed the object and found that it was an arrow engulfed in flames. "Hahaha! Hey, thanks for the light!" He called out gratefully. "Really appreciate the... arrow... Ooooooohhhh..." He realized what had just happened and looked to see a burning hole in the tent. Yeah. He saw what was going on. "Well that's the opposite of good."

Pulling out his binoculars, he rushed outside to check the situation, and he saw the army of Romans approaching from the distance.

He watched as the archers notched more fire arrows, before firing them into the sky. The arrows all soared towards the camp, shooting down and igniting a fire that began to rapidly spread all across their resting place. "Oh boy..." Gug muttered before pulling out a horn and blowing into it with all his might to alert everyone to the situation. "THE ROMANS ARE ATTACKING! THE ROMANS ARE ATTACKING!" He yelled. before pulling out his sword and rushing into battle with a scream. However, he then screeched to a halt, watching every other tribesman was running around, each one grabbing a weapon and rushing to take on the Romans. He looked back at Altera's tent, realizing there was still precious cargo in there that needed to be defended. And if no one else was doing it, it seemed he would just have to. Thinking fast, he used water to douse the burning flames, saving the majority of the tent, before deflecting a few more arrows and standing his ground outside it, preparing himself for another onslaught.

The situation escalated as the two armies clashed. The huns had the edge in sheer might, being far more violent and destructive, while the Romans had the edge in smarts, being more tactical and methodical. But both sides of the armies decreased swiftly, and a half hour later, the battle was still going. Gug was still doing his best to protect the tent, gradually getting more and more worn down, causing him to accidentally miss an arrow that ignited the tent once more. He tried to trudge over to the water bucket, but the heat from the flames and the exhaustion began to get to him, causing him to very nearly collapse, until a hand around his arm caught him and kept him from falling. He looked up to see Altera looking down at him worriedly.

"Gug. What is happening?" She asked.

"Uh... The... romans are... attacking..." Gug managed to get out.

"What...?" Altera asked. "But... Why would they...?" And then it came back to her, and she remembered what she had done the month prior, killing the two guards that had the audacity to touch her treasure. It appeared the Romans had found the bodies and chosen to retaliate. She felt the sinking realization that she had put her entire tribe in danger. And not just her tribe...

She rushed into the tent, and let out a sharp gasp when she saw the unconscious Nitocris surrounded by flames. Coughing slightly from the smoke, she forced herself to go through the tent and collect her, unaffected by the heat. She leaned down to grab her... But then she stopped...

She remembered everything up to that point... How adamantly she had wanted to die... How she refused to eat or drink, starving herself... How she told her she would have preferred to be left to be violated and murdered than be brought back with her... She had even contemplated impaling her herself earlier that day to relieve her of her suffering...

She would want this. She would want to be left to burn. To be left alone to turn to ash and die once and for all.

With that, Altera turned away and began to walk out of the tent.

Or she would have. If her legs would actually move.

She looked down at her legs. She was trying to move. But she couldn't. She felt rooted to the spot. She wasn't going anywhere. With enough effort, she mustered up enough will to take a single step, only to turn back around and stand by Nitocris once more. She looked down at her, lying on the ground as the fire closed in on her. 'GO! LEAVE HER!' The voice in her head screamed. 'THIS IS WHAT SHE WANTS! LET HER DIE! DON'T KEEP HER ALIVE TO SUFFER!

She had an internal struggle as she grabbed at her head, grunting in pain. Looking back at Nitocris, she saw the fire was mere inches away from her.

She moved.

She grabbed the former pharaoh, lifting her over her back in one swift motion, taking care to be as gentle as possible, and rushing out of the tent.

She saw Gug standing up, and she handed the unconscious Nitocris to him. "Gug. Take her and run." She ordered. "Run and don't look back."

"Uh... But chief, what about you? Are you gonna take on the Romans all by yourself?" Gug asked. Altera simply turned around and pointed Photon Ray at the Roman city, the blade beginning to spin at full speed like a whirring drill. "Ooooh, I know exactly what's gonna happen next. Better scram, miss pharaoh!" And with those words, Gug turned and sprinted the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him. "GO GET 'EM, CHIEF!" He called back.

Altera nodded, then placed both hands on the handle of her sword. the blade twirling even faster than it already was, rays of rainbow light shining around the leader of the huns, completing the drill. "I treasure life... But for the crime of not treasuring the lives of those I care for, your entire nation is going to pay the price." She said coldly.

And then, what would one day become her Noble Phantasm was unleashed.

Altera lunged forward, resembling a thunder strike more than a human being, a massive rainbow drill headed straight towards Rome, annihilating every soldier that got in her path. In mere seconds, she made it to her destination, slamming against the walls protecting the city, before piercing clean through, and soon engulfing everything surrounding her in a blinding white light.

The next day, as the sun rose, Altera was in the middle of a walk through a burned, charred and ashy wasteland, Photon Ray now gone from her possession.

In less than a minute, all of Rome had been destroyed.

Altera put a hand to her head, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, before smiling softly. "Ah... The voices... They've gone away..." She knew it wasn't a permanent fix, they would return once again soon enough, but for now, they were finally silent.

She continued to move, then stopped in the middle of the battlefield, where her tribe had clashed with the Romans. She looked to see that many members of her tribe had been killed in the battle. She could estimate just from a glance that they had suffered a huge loss. They were likely down at least half their numbers, very likely more. She was going to have to find other tribes to combine with hers, to replenish their numbers.

And then, she thought of Nitocris.

Yet again, her heart began to ache and her stomach churned. "...What is happening to me...? Why does the mere thought of her invoke such... confusing emotions...?" She murmured. She shook her head and began to walk again, faster this time, using the tracks her tribe left behind to track them to their current location. She hoped with all her heart that Nitocris and Gug were okay. They were the ones that she wanted to lose the absolute least. Especially Nitocris... She was in such a weak, frail state... She hoped she was still alive... ...Just what have I done to her...?"

After about four miles, her walk became a run. After another six miles, her run became a sprint as she saw she was almost there. to the point where her movement left behind a trail of dust. Eventually, after ten miles of running, she stopped after seeing the tents far off in the distance. Smiling, she continued to run, eventually coming to a stop and heaving out a deep breath after she reached the camp. She was seconds away from collapsing, but she remained standing tall as her men all gathered around her. It was a relief to see them okay. She still continued on her path though, staggering and lumbering forward towards her tent. When she reached it, she shakily, tiredly opened it to find the familiar form of Nitocris on the ground, not moving. She moved to see if she was alive... But she collapsed from exhaustion.

'...Have I... failed her...? Was I... too late...?' She thought as she slowly passed out.

Thankfully, she didn't hit the ground, as Gug, with some bandaged injuries, caught her in his arms, lifted her up and smiled down at her. "Not to worry, chief, ya didn't fail anybody. Matter of fact, you're just in time." He then approached the sleeping Nitocris on the floor, laying Altera down next to her, figuring she'd he happy to see her when she woke up. He propped his hands on his hips and smiled down warmly at the peacefully slumbering pair, then turned to the opening of the tent to find several huns were peeking in on them. "All right, fellas, scram and let the ladies catch up on their sleep." He ordered with a nod, making his own way out of the tent as well.

After several hours, all the way into evening, one of the two women slowly, but surely, woke up.

However, this time, it was not Altera.

Nitocris slowly opened her eyes, grunting at the pain she felt all over her body. She made an attempt to move, but to no avail. She was just too weak. She could only look ahead, her vision blurred, as her mind began to swim with inner thoughts. 'What's happening...? That big man made me eat porridge... There was... fire... Smoke... Couldn't breathe... Fire was coming...

She'd thought she was going to die... She'd thought her suffering was finally going to end...

But... She didn't FEEL very dead...

Her vision cleared up, and she squinted her eyes, recognizing a familiar figure in the darkness.

Familiar dark skin.

Familiar white hair.

Familiar gentle, beautiful, smiling, peaceful face...

She was startled when she saw her. Was she dead too? Unfortunately for her, several things denied that was the case. One, she was filthy and bruised. Two, she herself was still thin and malnourished. Altera had saved her again. Ruined her death AGAIN.

Furious, she mustered up what little strength she had to lift her arm and slam her fist down on Altera's face. It wasn't even enough to make her shift in her slumber. She only had the strength to manage a limp tap with her fist. Tears welled up in her eyes as she glared hatefully. "Damn you, why...?" She seethed. "Why are you so determined to force me to keep living? Why do you keep saving me? Why do you want me to suffer?"

Altera subconsciously grabbed her fist, holding onto it, smiling softly and humming in her sleep a little. Nitocris looked at her. The smile seemed... genuine. Yet again, a smile with no hint of cruelty or deception. Nothing but a true, genuine, sweet smile with no malicious intent behind it.

It made her skin crawl. She was overjoyed about having her as a damned SLAVE.

And at that thought, her seething ceased as her face turned blank. Her stomach began to rumble, and she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming at the pain. She was so weak... She could barely move... She remembered how many attempts on her own life she had made. How many times she had attempted to set herself free. Each one stopped. Foiled. Each and every last one. This woman refused to just let her DIE. She could endure the pain for as long as it took... If only because her 'master' wouldn't hurt her and leave her be without forcing food down her throat. But now...

Now she was tired...

Tired of pain... Of hunger... Of resisting... It was all foiled... No exception, every single time... So... why even bother resisting anymore?

She couldn't... It just hurt way too much... She couldn't bear it anymore... She was no longer a ruler, she willingly gave up the role. What was the point of stubbornly holding onto pride she already rejected? It would be better to give in... To just stop... She couldn't take the suffering anymore... She was done... She surrendered... She was a subservient, submissive, enslaved little toy.

No more... The pain was too much...

Remaining silent, Nitocris patiently waited for Altera to wake up. It took several hours, but eventually, Altera slowly came to. Blinking tiredly, she looked up to see the familiar face of Nitocris gazing back at her.

Eyes open.

She was alive.

Altera's heart soared, and she raised her arm, draping it over Nitocris and pulling her in close. Nitocris let out a pained grunt, and Altera realized she probably pulled a bit too hard. She lightened her hold. "I'm glad... I'm so glad that I saved you..."

Wait...

She saved her life.

Her expression turned mournful. "I'm sorry... I know this is against your wishes... I was selfish, and unwilling to let you go..." Nitocris tried to reply, but all she could do was groan in pain as she clutched at her stomach. Altera hissed at the sight of her suffering.

"Food...Need... food..." Nitocris begged.

Altera's eyes widened in shock. She asked for food... She wanted to eat...

Altera was briefly stunned, but she quickly looked around to find some meat, likely prepared by Gug in case she awoke and wanted food. She quickly grabbed it, then held it out for Nitocris to take. After an entire month of starving herself, Nitocris could not eat that hunk of meat fast enough.

As soon as she swallowed, she looked at Altera. "More... Please, I need more!" Her eyes teared up as she let out a sob, so relieved to have finally eaten.

Altera smiled softly. "All right... But just a little bit. I can't feed you too much... You need time to adapt to properly eating again." She explained. She filled a bowl with just enough food to keep her going. Nitocris devoured it in moments. Once the bowl was clean of food, Altera rested Nitocris' head on her lap, stroking her hair gently, smiling down softly at her as she finally rested peacefully, no longer squirming in pain and struggling to breathe. "I'm grateful you finally ate... I hope this means you will finally accept my care..."

She had no idea of the horror that awaited her.

Nitocris quickly lost the strength she needed to keep herself awake, not at all helped by the relief of finally eating after so long spent starving herself, and so, she wound up passing out and falling asleep once again. Altera was left to stroke her head gently, lightly playing with the bunny ears sticking up from her hair. She was just so happy...

It didn't last.

The following months were a complete and utter reversal. Instead of refusing and resisting food and medicine, Nitocris would readily accept, and occasionally plead for, both. The poison, which festered inside her while she had been starving, slowly receded again, and after a while, it had been well and truly purged from her body, leaving Nitocris free from the threat of the toxins ending her life. And as food, water and proper care was slowly introduced back into her life, Nitocris' original beauty and voluptuous figure slowly, but surely, began to return to her, until eventually she finally once more became the divine beauty that had left Altera so smitten with her in the first place. In fact, Altera could swear she somehow became even more beautiful and well built. Altera often had to stop herself from... 'observing' her slave during bathtime or sleep.

She couldn't DO that! How could she ever ogle her like some sort of filthy, disgusting pervert when she was trying to provide her comfort and safety? She had to be cautious how she viewed her...

And speaking of cautious...

Altera still didn't trust Nitocris not to run away again. Now, of course she was glad that she was making improvements, but that paranoia just wouldn't stop nagging at her. Even if she seemed to have surrendered to her, Nitocris still held small traces of those burning embers in her eyes,that dazzling flame that could not be extinguished. Even if she had so far been obedient, she couldn't give her too much freedom, or that dazzling fire would potentially wander away from her again.

She was about to learn just how wrong she was.

It was night time. Altera had just finished washing herself and Nitocris, now pulling back the clothing covering the latter's chest, then began to stroke her face gently. "Are you feeling comfortable...?" She asked softly. The response she got was a brief silence, followed by a silent nod. Satisfied with the answer, Altera grabbed Nitocris' arms and shackled her hands once again, first with the bells, then the wrists, and then arms to her body.

Something seemed off however…

'She's being…too calm.' Altera thought. This was new, she'd never done this before... Normally she put up at least a little bit of a fight. Now she was entirely willing. How strange...

Regardless, Altera opted to ignore it, thinking it was simply her being more obedient.

But still…something was nagging at her. Something telling her that this…wasn't right.

Ever since that day, Nitocris had...changed. She was less resistant, less fiery. She would obediently follow everything she guided her to do. When they moved camp again, Nitocris would follow her horse along again, not at all resisting and even walking despite being tired.

She rarely spoke, being mostly quiet and only speaking when wanting food, drink or medicine, and going back to being quiet. Her head was also low. She would lift her head to look up at her, but never once kept it up when she left. She'd be staring down, silent as a rock.

Altera found it suspicious. And not in a good way.

Finishing up her torso, Altera took the last chain, about to put on her leash. Nitocris practically eagerly lifted her head for her to slide it on around her neck.

That made Altera pause.

Tentatively, she slowly moved the chain to connect it with the shackle, waiting to see her resist.

She didn't. Not even a second.

She kept on, slowly and lightly tugging on it to see if she reacted. Again, not a peep or a struggle. She did squirm a little in her bonds, before closing her eyes and opening her mouth, waiting to be gagged like usual.

Okay, now this was not right. Altera knelt down, pulling on the leash a little to snap her out and make Nitocris look at her. "What is going on?"

Nitocris looked at her, confused. "Is there a problem?"

"Yes. You. YOU are the problem." Altera replied. "I should be overjoyed that you're no longer resisting, yet all I feel is... suspicious. Ever since that day, you haven't resisted even once, and it isn't natural. I ask again. What is going on? Why are you being so... obedient?"

Nitocris was confused by her words. "...Why is that suspicious?" She asked. "You enjoyed watching me struggle and squirm? If it will entertain you, I will do so again." For emphasis, she squirmed a bit in her binds. Altera's mind slowly processed what she just heard and what Nitocris was doing.

"...This is wrong. This is all wrong. You're not supposed to say things like that. Ever." Now her suspicion was replaced with worry. "...Enough. I didn't mean it like that." Nitocris blinked and stopped 'entertaining' her. "What I mean is, you haven't attempted to flee or struggled to resist even once. And you've begged for food you previously rejected! And your head is always held low, and you never speak except to ask for nourishment, and it... it isn't right... It isn't you..."

Nitocris simply giggled, a sound that made Altera's skin crawl, goosebumps forming all along her body. Once upon a time, she would have adored to hear that sound, but now, it sounded so very, VERY wrong... "What are you talking about?" Nitocris asked. "This IS me. The same slave you took as your trophy that day. I'm the same as always. I just decided to give up."

"But WHY?!" Altera asked. "Why, when you were so adamant before about resisting me at every turn, do you surrender to me now?!"

"Because every time I resisted, all it did in the end was cause me pain." Nitocris explained. "I learned that fighting it will only bring me pain, so what's the point of trying when it's clear now that it's a useless effort? If I am doomed to simply hurt more and more for resisting, then all I need to do for that pain to go away is surrender, right? To accept the role you've chosen for me? To be the obedient little toy you want? The pet you desire? I simply don't want to be hurt anymore, so I will do as all slaves should do. I will obey. I will submit. Just as it should be."

"No..." Altera tried to deny, but Nitocris wasn't done.

"I will do everything you ask of me without question." Nitocris continued. "If you want me to struggle and squirm, then struggle and squirm I shall. If you want use of my body, I shall allow it. If you desire me to bow down and kiss the ground you walk on, I will do so in a heartbeat. You are right. I shouldn't resist. I will be your slave, just as you asked me to."

Then, she did something that shook Altera down to the very core of her being. She leaned forward slowly, then rubbed her face against the hand holding her leash with a blissful smile. Then, she gently kissed her hand, before opening her eyes and looking directly into Altera's own. "From now on... I belong to you. My body, my mind and my soul. Please... Keep using me at your leisure... Master."

That last word caused Altera's heart to seize up.

She looked into Nitocris' eyes. Those same eyes that had once been so full of life. Of a fire that refused to burn out. But no more. Now, they were empty. Dead. Dark. Her pupils were gone. Now there was just a deep, dark, sick purple. The candle in her heart, the one that had once lit her soul in a way that forced Altera to develop more and more respect for her by the day... it was extinguished.

And it was her breath that blew it out.

Nitocris looked up at her in confusion, perplexed at the silence. "Master? Is everything okay?" She asked. "Was the kiss to the back of your hand not satisfactory? Here..." She set about compensating for it by gently nibbling and licking at one of Altera's fingers, trying to satisfy her master's desires.

"Stop..." Altera whispered. Nitocris froze up, looking at her in confusion, before Altera suddenly let the leash go and pulled her hand back swiftly. "Stop it." She breathed out. "This isn't you...! You shouldn't be doing this! It's wrong! This shouldn't be happening!"

Nitocris' rabbit ears flopped down, and she looked up at Altera timidly, beginning to tear up. "I'm sorry, master, I'm not trying to displease or anger you... Please, forgive me, I'll do anything to earn it! Here! Let me!" She got down, and Altera was mortified to realize she was going to attempt to lick her feet as penance. She took a step back to get away. Nitocris simply began to plead. "I'm sorry, master, I'm sorry for what I did to make you upset with me!" Her voice was filled with such terror...

"Enough!" Altera said, desperate to end this self humiliation. She grabbed Nitocris by the shoulders and lifted her off the ground to face her. "Stop this! Stop all of this! Stop behaving this way! I don't want you to lick me! I don't want you to humiliate yourself like this! I want you to STOP! Stop being so submissive! Stop acting like... Like a slave..."

Nitocris, once again, was confused. "What? But why would I do that? I AM a slave. You wanted me to submit and be your pet."

"I DIDN'T WANT A PET! I JUST WANTED TO KEEP YOU SAFE AND HAPPY!" Altera yelled, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I WANTED TO CONVINCE YOU TO ACCEPT MY CARE AS MY TREASURE, NOT BREAK YOU INTO SOME OBEDIENT DOG WITH NO FREE WILL OF ITS OWN THAT TRIES TO LICK MY FEET AND BEG FOR FORGIVENESS WHEN YOU'VE DONE NOTHING TO WARRANT IT! I WANTED TO HELP YOU, NOT BREAK YOU!"

"No, master!" Nitocris denied it. "You didn't break me! You FIXED me! I was a disobedient and ungrateful pet that didn't listen to you when I should have, so I was punished with the pain and suffering I rightfully deserved! You DIDN'T break me! You made me better! I'm your perfect, obedient toy that will follow your demands without question and do my best to please my master in any way I can!"

Altera said nothing, remaining absolutely silent. She gazed at Nitocris in pure horror and despair. Despite her silence, her thoughts were speaking a mile an hour. 'No... No... No no no no no, what have I done to you?! I ruined you, I crushed your spirit, I've done nothing but hurt you, what have I done?!'

The voice from before spoke again. 'Well done. You've done it. You've destroyed her. Just the same as you destroy everything else. That is all you are good for. All you are meant to do. All that is left now is to ravage her body, and all will be complete. And you have the perfect chance to begin right this very second.'

'What?!' Altera thought back. "What do you mean?!' She received her answer.

"Master. You seem stressed and tired." Nitocris acknowledged. "You must have had such a long day, and my awful disobedience certainly hasn't helped... Please, relieve that stress on me! Use my body to relax, end the anxiety!" She leaned down to lay her head on Altera's lap, rubbing her head against her stomach and legs. "It's okay! I'm willing to do anything to make sure my master is feeling okay again!"

"...Shut up..." Altera responded quietly.

"I'm...sorry...? I... didn't fully hear you, master..." Nitocris said softly, looking up at Altera. "It... It kind of sounded like you said shut up though... What did you mean by that...?"

"I meant shut UP." Altera repeated her command. "Shut up shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!" She suddenly snapped, tears forming in her eyes. She lifted Nitocris up by the shoulders, and before she could say anything more, Altera put the wooden bit in her mouth, and tied it up tightly, harshly gagging her and making her grunt in pain. "Just stay quiet! Stop talking! I don't want to hear you speak that way! I don't want to hear you call me master! Just stop talking! Shut up!

Nitocris flinched in fear again, her ears flopping back down. She did her best to apologize to her master through the gag, however, bowing her head and tearing up. She made an attempt to crawl closer to her, but Altera grabbed her leash and tied it to a pillar. Once it was tied, she rose back to her feet and frowned at Nitocris. "Stay. Away." She warned. "Leave me alone! I don't want you near me!" Stomping away, she laid down a few feet away from her, back turned.

Nitocris still continued to let out muffled begs and please for forgiveness, breaking down and crying as fear slowly took over her. And Altera began to cry herself, tears rolling down her face as her hands covered her head. 'I broke her...!' She thought, terrified. 'I... I can't bear her like this!'

She didn't know how long it took, but eventually, somehow, she managed to force herself to fall asleep, tears streaming down her face as her treasure's painful, terrified whimpers lured her into a painful, heartbroken sleep.

When Nitocris realized her master was asleep, she lessened her whimpering to be more silent. She didn't get it... What did she do wrong?! Why was her owner upset with her?! What did she say or do to make her so angry?!

She hoped with all her heart she wasn't hurt or killed for it... She was already hurt for her disobedience, and now she would also be hurt for obedience? It seemed odd to her, but the master was always right in the end...

Perhaps... Perhaps she would forgive her if she relieved her stress...? She did offer her body to play with, but she hadn't seemed to be in the mood... Nitocris squirmed a little, making sure none of the chains were loosened, and slowly got up, sneaking over to Altera. She looked at the leash tied to the pillar, and she sighed in relief when she saw that it was long enough for this, before she laid down by Altera's side and nuzzled in close to her.

She remembered how she once said she grabbed onto things in her sleep. Perhaps she could use that to calm her master down...

And indeed, after a solid minute, Altera subcounsciously reached out, wrapping her arms around Nitocris and pulling her close, starting to gently stroke her skin. The formerly proud pharaoh smiled softly at the contact and closed her eyes, nuzzling her face against Altera's own.

'I promise I will make you happy, master...' She thought. 'I'll make you happy and comfortable... Just like you did for me...'

And with that thought, the freshly broken Nitocris fell asleep in relative peace, happy that her owner could make use of her.

The sound of the birds chirping outside was what woke everyone up the following morning. As usual, used to waking up early, Altera groaned as she returned to the waking world, still trying to make sense of what was going on. Her head hurt a little... And... What was this... soft feeling she was experiencing on her hand...? It was strangely comfortable...

Suddenly, a soft moan reached her ears, immediately triggering her senses into full alarm. She woke up swiftly, her eyes darting to the source... and she saw the familiar face of Nitocris, still gagged, her face red and scrunched up in... discomfort...?

She looked down at her hand, the one she could feel was holding something soft and delicate... And she realised it was touching her treasure's chest.

Immediately, she gasped in unimagineable horror and jumped into a sitting position, backing as far away as possible from her prisoner. Immediately, her thoughts went to the worst outcome. Did she violate her unwittingly?! Did she force herself on her?! Did she hurt her?!

Slowly, she approached her, leaning down and inspecting her body carefully. She didn't seem to be in any pain... Unless the rather tight restraints she'd had on her were accounted for... She still had her clothes on, but that didn't say much considering she barely wore anything much in the first place...

Altera leaned down to take a sniff... And she picked up her own scent all over the unconscious woman.

Did... Did she really do it...? Did she take advantage of her broken mental state to violate her...?

Nitocris let out another grunt and began to struggle slightly, slowly sitting up, moving over and leaning herself against Altera, her eyes opening to look up at her with a gaze of adoration and a bright, happy smile.

The sight made Altera's stomach churn and twist, she felt absolutely sick to her stomach.

'I made you into an animal...' She thought in pure horror. 'Never in my life did I ever think I'd feel this horrible for having destroyed something...' Since her childhood, she was always propped up as a force of destruction, not allowed to have happiness because she was simply doomed to end up destroying it. And now that she had tried to bring herself some happiness... Tried to share that happiness with another... She'd broken them in the process... The one single person she treasured for reasons she couldn't understand... She'd killed her soul...

Kill...

Maybe... Maybe that was the answer...

Altera's eyes wandered to the leash around Nitocris' neck.

Nitocris mumbled through her gag, clearly asking her what was wrong, a curious expression on her face. Altera gazed at her empty, dead eyes... And, after a second, she made her decision.

She checked over Nitocris' restraints, tightening them the best she could, making Nitocris yelp in pain. 'It will all be okay... You won't hurt anymore...' She thought to herself. 'It'll be over soon...' She picked her up and carried her to the pillar. Untying the leash, she wrapped the chain around her stomach and chest, tying her to the pillar. Nitocris was curiously looking at her, wondering what her master was doing. Altera took a few deep breaths before placing a kiss on her cheek. "Don't worry... You'll be all right... You just need to... wait a little bit..."

Nitocris blushed deep red, then watched her move behind the pillar. She looked down in fluster, shifting in her bonds and squeeing in her head. 'She kissed me, she kissed me!' She thought.

Altera took another rope, stealthily wrapping it around Nitocris' neck and the pillar, waiting a few seconds, breathing heavily and beginning to tear up...

Before she pulled back with all her might.

Nitocris let out a startled, strangled gasp before madly struggling, grunting and choking when she realized what was happening. Altera didn't let up. She continued with tears in her eyes. "Don't be scared... You'll be safe... You'll be healthy... Just a little more..."

Nitocris tried to scream through the gag, tried to beg for her life, desperate for any kind of mercy, wanting to be spared, her body still uselessly struggling against the restraints...

It wasn't long before Nitocris' begging and terrified pleas grew silent, and Altera, through her tears, watched her hands tremble in the air... before falling limp.

Altera released the ropes, breathing heavily, before slowly, she moved back in front of the pillar... And she saw it... Nitocris' head... Low... Still... With a shaky hand, she lifted her chin up, now face to face dead white eyes, slacked mouth and cheeks marred by water and blood dripping out from under her eyes.

There she was.

The most beautiful woman Altera had ever seen. The woman that made her heart flutter. The woman whose name she never even knew. The one that brought her happiness, which she sought to return in equal measure... was now dead. Strangled to death by her own hands, after breaking her on every possible level.

Altera's lips quivered, and she pulled out a dagger. She looked at Nitocris one last time. "I'm... I'm sorry..." She whispered before jamming the blade into her own throat.

Then, she woke up with a mix of a gasp and a scream, clutching at her neck with one hand and breathing heavily.

Her other hand was holding something soft.

And a familiar voice was speaking next to her. "You... bitch... monster... damn... liar... Not my master... Can't believe you... Killing me... Stupid... Waste of energy... You're awful..."

She was... She was saying the exact sort of things she'd expect of her back before she was... broken.

She slowly turned to look at her. Laying on the ground, still tied up. Her gag was loosened, and she was tearing up, choking on...

Immediately, Altera pulled her hand away from her neck in fear. Nitocris coughed and wheezed a little, and Altera swiftly used her strength and ripped the chains off her torso to let her breathe, also removing the bells and freeing her hands. Nitocris slowly pushed herself up, shaking and coughing and wheezing, before slowly turning to look at her. The hun opened her mouth to speak...

And she promptly found her neck seized in Nitocris' hands as the former pharaoh set to throttling her with a look of wild rage and betrayal on her face. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I DID EVERYTHING YOU WANTED, I BECAME OBEDIENT, I SURRENDERED TO YOU, I EVEN GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO USE ME AT YOUR LEISURE, AND YOU TRY TO MURDER ME?! WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO SATISFY YOU?! ARE YOU GONNA BE HAPPY WITH ANYTHING I DO?! DO YOU JUST NOT WANT ANYTHING TO BE LEFT TO BREAK?! I JUST CANNOT WIN WITH YOU!"

Altera was largely unaffected by Nitocris' attempts to strangle her, as she was stronger and Nitocris had been weakened. As a result, she had no trouble moving her hands off of her. Nitocris desperately pushed on in an effort to satiate her anger, but eventually relented and resorted to just angrily beating at Altera with her fists. "Monster! Liar! Kidnapper! You're nothing but a killer! You don't even want me as a slave, you want me as a toy you can just keep crushing, breaking and damaging until you're satisfied! Even when I obey and submit, you keep finding new ways to hurt me! I'll bet you were just waiting for it so you could BACKSTAB AND MURDER ME!"

As soon as she said those last words, Nitocris broke down in tears. Not tears of anger, but tears of sadness and frustration, letting out whimpers as she spoke again. "First my Pharaoh ancestors, then the nobles, and now you... Will I ever be good enough to satisfy ANYONE?! EVER?!"

Altera's words died in her throat. She would normally assure her that she absolutely WAS satisfying to her, more than satisfying in fact... But every fibre of her being screamed at her that Nitocris wouldn't listen, and just did not need to hear those words from her of all people.

And so, with a sigh, she slowly reached out towards her. Nitocris recoiled at the touch and scurried back. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" She snapped. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Altera winced, and continued to reach towards her. "NO! GO AWAY! STAY AWAY! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, GET LOST! PLEASE! PLEASE JUST... JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE! STOP!"

Her yelling ceased when, instead of grabbing her, Altera grabbed the chain connected to the shackle around her neck. She yanked it, pulling Nitocris towards her. "NO! DON'T! DON'T KILL ME, I'M BEG-" Nitocris began to scream, but stopped when Altera shoved her away. Blinking, she lifted her hand and touched her neck, finding no cuff around it.

Altera threw the removed chain to the side, looking back at Nitocris. Nitocris stared back. "Wh-Why are you staring at me? Are you eyeing something else you can strike to hurt me?!" Altera simply turned and laid down, planning to go back to sleep.

Nitocris remained tense regardless, waiting for her to spring up and attack her. She didn't. She didn't even move. Eventually, Nitocris allowed herself to relax a bit. But she knew she was not going to be able to sleep anymore... She was afraid for her life after that ordeal... And so, the former pharaoh spent the rest of the night watching Altera sleep like a hawk, searching for any signs of danger from her captor.

Leaning back against the tent, she sighed and looked up at the ceiling. '...What did I do wrong...?' She thought. 'I was obedient, I never did anything without command, I followed after her when it was time to move, I even offered her my body like some... lesser woman from a brothel... Why...? Am I just not good enough? Is my existence too small for anyone to acknowledge my worth...? Do I even have worth...? Am I just... worthless...?'

Nitocris let out an empty, hurt laugh as she slumped back against the tent. She was. She was worthless. Of all the children in her family, she was dead last in line to rule, her brothers had been killed by the nobles. She was the least worthy to rule, so they kept her alive because she was not perceived as a threat. As soon as she'd made an attempt on her own life, the gods left her and took their blessings back. She was only worth anything thanks to the wisdom, morals and resolve the gods bestowed upon her after the crowning, and she lost it all as soon as her selfish, vengeful actions had been completed. She was so worthless the gods couldn't stand her dirtying up everything they stood for.

Nitocris hugged her knees and started to sob softly. That was how she spent the entire night, crying quietly to herself, breaking as she processed her own worthless existence.

When the sun rose up the next morning, Altera was the first one to wake up, groaning softly and clutching at her head. She remembered what happened last night and sighed softly. "I hope she ran off when I freed her..." She murmured.

"Why would I do that?" A familiar voice asked, and Altera snapped her head over to see Nitocris roasting some birds over a fire

"...I don't understand. Why are you still here?" Altera asked.

Nitocris snorted. "You expected me to run off?" Altera nodded, and Nitocris scoffed. "And where, exactly, would I go? I can't run no matter how badly I want to. I'm God knows how many miles away from my home. Running off would either get me killed by wild animals or captured and enslaved by someone else. Logically, there is no other option but for me to stay under your captivity, even if I do despise it with all my heart."

Altera winced at her brutal honesty, but it was clear as day to her that the woman was correct. Suddenly, a stick with a roasted bird on it was tossed her way, and she caught it before looking up to see the former pharaoh eating hers without sparing her a second glance.

She looked at her for a second before biting down on the bird and chewing, blinking at the taste when she realised it was really delicious. "You prepared it well..." She said softly.

Nitocris just ate, not even caring to acknowledge her.

Altera accepted it and just continued to eat her own bird.

Eventually, they were both finished with their meal. Nitocris grabbed the sticks and threw them into the fire. She then turned to look at Altera expectantly, the latter sitting on the ground, awkwardly staring at her until Nitocris broke the silence. "Well?"

"...What...?" Altera asked. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you going to tie me up again?!" Nitocris snapped.

"...No... Never again... I'm not going to treat you that way anymore." Altera denied.

Nitocris was unconvinced, giving the other woman a look of clear suspicion. Then, she scoffed and turned her attention back to the fire, not caring the least bit.

Altera heaved out a sigh before standing up. "I'm going to train for a little while." She said. Nitocris still ignored her. Altera figured she wouldn't respond. Best just leave her alone.

The following days descended into... calm, for lack of a better word. Nitocris was no longer kept restrained, and was allowed to roam freely, though she never left Altera's tent. She'd eat, she'd bathe, although Altera was now entirely uninvolved with the latter, she did everything by herself. Every time Altera tried touching her, she'd back off with that fearful expression in her eyes that she hated so much, though she did her best not to let it show on her face. Altera couldn't beat seeing her so scared. For some unknown reason, her heart would clench up whenever she saw that look. So, she left her alone. Stayed away. She didn't want to hurt her anymore.

For once, she didn't want to destroy something until it was gone. Like she did with everything else in her life...

And one day, after about two months of life like this,Altera had to move camp once more. After about two days of travel, they arrived near what looked like a small settlement on the edges of the country. When they arrived, Altera's eyes widened upon recognizing a familiar structure off in the distance. Memories... Memories of lying in the dirt, as a bunch of adults came to the ruins, one attacking her, then dying by her hand. The others began whispering how she was 'godlike', something about 'destruction', words she didn't understand in the least.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts by a hand waving in front of her face. Blinking, she looked to see Gug, looking at her with a raised brow. "Uh... Chief? You okay there?" He asked.

Altera shook her head to regain her bearings. "Yes... Yes, I'm perfectly fine, Gug, I just... This place has... significance to me... A lot..."

Gug rubbed the back of his head, not wanting to pry, but not quite wanting to just let it sit. "You should uh... probably talk to someone about that. If not me, then... someone else. Plenty of people around here that'll give ya an ear."

Altera smiled. "...Thank you for the promise, Gug. ...Is she doing all right back there?"

"Oh yeah, mostly fine!" Gug nodded. "But still grumpy as ever, some soldiers were trying to bother her and she ended up putting them to sleep with some weird mumbo jumbo magic before she went right back to sulking."

Altera took pause at that, remembering how she tended to sometimes interact with the soldiers. None of them were good, however. Most of them got put to sleep, or zapped, or even outright punched unconcious. She'd always had to go in and resolve that last one.

She looked back and saw Nitocris was hunched over in the cart, seemingly fiddling with something. Curiously, she turned to Gug. "Oh, I gave her some gold to keep her mind occupied, I had nothing else on me. Seems she's made something out of it though." Altera was extremely curious to know what that might be, but she decided it best to put that thought away for now. They needed to set up camp. She looked down the hill and saw a nice straight flat grassland, perfect for their camp's size. She led everyone down, and they began to set up camp...

And then, she heard the panicked screaming of her men, turning to see one of them jumping in place, yelling as he reached all over his body, as if trying to find something under his clothes.

The man was now rolling around on the ground, screaming at the other two tribesmen by his side to help him get it out, much to their confusion. One of them spoke up. "Get WHAT out?!"

Altera's ears picked up a high pitched squeak, and she looked at Nitocris, who was covering her mouth, trying to surpress a laugh as her shoulders trembled. The sight brought a smile to Altera's face, it was always nice to see her smile and laugh. She'd learned to treasure those moments, especially since they were so unbelievably rare.

The man rose back to his feet and started punching all over his body, trying to hit whatever was under his shirt and just hurting himself in the process, until eventually, something tiny slide out into his nose, making him plant a punch into his own face that knocked him down.

Nitocris couldn't hold it anymore, and she just burst into laughter, banging her fists against the wooden cart she was in as her voice echoed with melodic laughter. A laughter that warmed Altera's heart. One that even forced a soft chuckle out of her mouth, which she reflexively covered in surprise. Before she could contemplate this surprise, however, she saw the small figure emerge again, crawling across the ground, up and into the cart, Nitocris taking whatever it was in her hand and petting it with her finger.

She looked at the soldier, who stood up, forcing himself to calm down and rubbing his nose in pain. He saw Nitocris chuckling, still recovering from her earlier laughter. "YOU!" He pointed towards the former pharaoh. "YOU DID SOMETHING!"

Nitocris turned to look at him in annoyance, though a small smile was still on her face. "I did absolutely nothing. You were the one who punched himself for no reason."

"Don't you play dumb with me! You put a bug or something in my clothes!" The soldier snapped.

"Again, you're making wild accusations. It could have just as easily been your stench attracting vermin that snuck into your clothes." Nitocris huffed.

"Why you..." The man seethed angrily, stomping his way over to grab her, only to be stopped by a hand harshly grabbing his wrist. He turned to see Altera looking at him with a dangerous glare. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Wh-Well, I... I just wanted to..." The man sputtered. "I want to teach her a lesson!"

"She was only having a bit of fun. She doesn't deserve to be hurt for that. And need I remind you she is my treasure, so any punishment, not that she'll get any, will be performed by ME. Stand down now or die where you stand." Altera said sternly.

The hun tried to argue some more, but a stern, angry glare from the leader immediately cowed him into submission. He backed away, and Altera stared after him for a moment before turning away and moving off to prepare her tent. Nitocris watched after her as she left before turning and sticking her tongue out at the man, who seethed at her, but kept his distance.

Altera quickly finished preparing her tent, but when she turned to get Nitocris, she found herself shoved out of the way as the former pharaoh quickly scurried inside. Altera blinked twice, then shook her head with a sigh. She really wanted to get on better terms with her, but she didn't know how...

She had tried everything she could think of. When she approached her, she'd scurry off, looking at her with such fear in her gaze, seemingly expecting to be struck or hurt. She tried talking to her. She wouldn't respond, continuously ignoring her. Once or twice, she had humoured the idea of being forceful, but she had been quick to shove those thoughts away, as well as the screaming voices in her head and the destructive urges of her heart, way down to the deepest, darkest corners of her mind. She would NEVER hurt her again. She had broken her quite enough.

But... What else could she do...? What was left...? She just couldn't think of anything...

Sighing, she collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, hands resting on her head. "What can I ever do to make all this up to you...?"

Her distress was not noticed by her tribesmen.

But they did not confront her about it.

That was their first mistake.

Their second mistake was gathering up amongst themselves Their conversation went like this.

"The chief looks a lot different than before. Sadder..."

"It's all because of that worthless slave of hers! She made her like that with her rotten attitude!"

"Why doesn't she just destroy her like she does everyone and everything else that makes her mad?"

"Probably her weird magic. I heard that Egyptians practice some kooky magic stuff, so she probably cast some kind of spell on her that made the chief weak."

"It's not just that. She's been using it on us too! She punched a guy's tooth out once!"

"She needs to be taught a lesson."

"Well I have just the plan..."

Altera didn't notice their discussion. She simply sighed. "I need food... Where's Gug? I want some of his cooking."

She looked around. No sign of him. Seems he had gone out hunting. He always did that when they settled down on a new campground. She would go look for him, she supposed. Rising to her feet, she walked off, leaving the camp to settle down and her tribesmen to prepare the food.

That... was HER mistake.

But her tribesmen were about to make their third mistake, and the greatest one of all.

Back inside the tent, Nitocris laughed as a small golden centipede that more closely resembled a mechanical toy crawled all over her. "S-Stop, that tickles!" She managed to get out through her laughter before eventually taking the centipede into her and and stroking it with her finger. "Hmm... That large man was rather generous, giving me the gold to play with... He seems surprisingly kind for a savage barbarian. At least someone here is decent... But how I despise those other men..." She hated their lecherous gazes on her body, their constant attempts to bother her, their annoying attempts at retaliation when she defended herself...

"...Honestly, they should keep their hands to themselves, it's not my fault they lose when they attempt to do something stupid..." Though she couldn't exactly blame them, all she could really do was pity their idiocy.

Suddenly, the shifting of fabric was heard, and as she had her back turned, she wasn't aware who it was that came in. She had a vague idea though. Sighing, she set the toy centipede down and turned to address her slaver...

Only to yelp in surprise when a bag was put over her head. She began to scream in protest, her voice muffled, before she was roughly grabbed and hoisted to her feet by arms she knew most DEFINITELY were not her 'master's'.

A familiar male voice caught her ear. "You've been messing with us and the chief long enough... Time for a little payback..." The voice said, dripping with venom.

Nitocris began to struggle, but the rope was wrapped around her arms tightly enough to crack bone. She gasped in pain and started to struggle more, but she was dragged off, screaming and struggling.

Little did the men know, the centipede was watching it all unfold. A small golden glow enveloped it, and it scurried out of the tent at high speed, thinking of a solution to its creator's predicament.

Several miles away, Altera hummed as she walked through the forest path, admiring the scenery. Due to her urges and nature, not seeing destroyed greenery and beauty was something she tried to take advantage of whenever she could. No matter what.

Unfortunately, the animals were not exactly fond of her, seemingly able to sense her nature as a destructive being and keeping as far away from her as possible. A shame. She really wanted to pet an animal once in her life... She never had the opportunity to...

Regardless, she continued walking as she thought to herself, 'Where could Gug be...? He's always around the densest parts of the forest while hunting, so where...'

There.

The ruin.

The one she saw in the distance.

Immediately, her head threw away any thoughts of finding Gug, and she began to approach the ruins. Walking through the ruined stone and dirt path, she stopped before the entrance looming over her, the image of her moving away from it as the old men that found her took her away... She walked inside and looked around, the stone and engravings much clearer on it now than it had been back in the day when she had first became conscious in her life.

She approached the carvings, her hand sliding over the cold stone, wiping off dust and plants that had gathered on it. It showed people gathered around a gigantic figure clad in brilliant armour, with a sword in three different colours. Her beloved Photon Ray. She remembered the old men talking more, something a "spawn of mars" and a "gift of war". She was brought to their village, and then...

Then what...?

She could only remember one detail. Everyone was scared of her. Everyone worshipped her. She was told that she was only there to destroy everything. Never anything else. And that... was all she could recall. She looked to her left. A basket, bit enough to fit a small infant. Even after so long, it didn't look all too damaged, even if a bit withered. She woke up in it, she came out and began to walk for the first time.

She knelt down to examine it, touching its edge, feeling the crackling reeds comprising it under her fingers. She reached in and pulled out a small blanket, the bugs underneath it scurrying away. She patted it and removed the splinters and dust, before feeling it in her fingers. And in that instant, some kind of instinct compelled her to slowly wrap her arms around it, hugging it close. Laying down, she felt a slight dampness in her eyes as she closed them... and unintentionally drifted off to sleep.

In her mind, in her dreams, she woke up. Her eyes gazed upon a sea of stars. Billions of them. Galaxies, planets, comets, everything. Sitting up, she looked around, and before her sat a miniature version of planet Earth. Small enough to fit in her palm. She lifted her hand to touch it, and suddenly, her vision blurred before the Earth changed to something: A small body. Laying down on her hand.

Wait... That hair... That skin... Those cute rabbit ears...

It was her. The woman she cared for the most. She leaned in close to examine her closer, an index finger lightly stroking her head... before a slice appeared along her stomach, gushing out blood. She gasped and hurriedly tried to stop it with her finger, but more cuts appeared along her body, blood flying everywhere and dribbling out of her hand. Tears welled up in her eyes. "No... Please..." She begged. "Stop... No more bleeding... What have I done...? I didn't mean to...!"

Suddenly, a male voice called out to her, echoing through the wide universe, and in the next moment, the universe, the bleeding body, everything around her disappeared, and she came face to face with Gug, looking concerned as ever. "Uh... Hey, chief, you having a bad dream there?"

Altera blinked several times as she processed what she was seeing and the position she was in, before hastily sitting back up and clearing her throat, wiping her eyes clean of tears. "Gug. There you are." She said with a curt nod. "Where have you been? I looked all over and couldn't find you anywhere."

"Ah. Yeah, sorry about that, chief, the hunt took a bit longer than I would've hoped, the boar I was going after had a wife and six kids, so I couldn't go for that one. And then the next one was really fast, but hey, I got it eventually! Took a lot out of me though..." He held up a massive boar by the leg. "So I was just on my way back to camp to deliver it, saw the ruins, thought I'd check 'em out real quick, and I found ya sleeping on the floor. I didn't wanna wake ya up, so I thought I'd wait, but then you started tossing and turning and crying and stuff and I felt bad."

Altera couldn't help but smile at how caring her subordinate was. There was a good reason she always went to Gug first and foremost when her destructive urges popped up. "I appreciate your concern, but it was only a dream. Nothing special."

"Well, I dunno, that blanket and basket seem important to ya." Gug replied.

Altera nodded. "Yes. These were the items I first had when I woke for the very first time, alongside my sword... Perhaps I'll bring them along with me to the camp, I don't wish to separate from them..."

Suddenly, a rock hit the ground behind them, and Altera immediately jumped into high alert, hopping to her feet and taking a defensive stance. "Who's there?!" She demanded. Then, her eyes caught a familiar gold creature scuttling across the ground... towards her. The creature stopped at her feet and began to flash and flicker with golden light. Gug knelt down by its side and made a series of clicking noises with his tongue, the creature turning to return the same vocalizations back. Gug's eyes widened, and he turned to Altera. "Oh, they're doing bad stuff. Very... VERY bad stuff."

"...Who is, and to whom?" Altera promptly demanded.

"Uh... It's the tribesmen, they seem to have gotten it in their head that they can... y'know... rough up your uh... treasure..." Before Gug could get into any kind of full explanation, Altera was immediately gone, the sound of stone breaking following after as the future Saber smashed her way out of the ruin. Gug sighed. "Boy... They sure can be downright stupid." He spoke to the bug, who actually seemed to be paying attention. "And lemme tell ya, it is about to bite them HARD." He set the little bug on his shoulder before grabbing the basket and blanket. "Chief'll want this..." He turned to the bug. "Off we go, buddy, gotta get back to your creator!"

Altera ran through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her, her face cold, unfeeling, doing nothing to convey the blazing fury she was feeling inside. The anger, the terror, the desperation... She was pretty sure that was what those feelings were called, though she was far from certain. She couldn't care less, however. She shoved a tree out of the way, spotting smoke rising in the distance, high up in the sky. Picking up her pace, she burst through every obstacle in her way, before she arrived outside the forest, the camp in the distance. She narrowed her eyes, focusing her sight on what she could discern as figures at the campsite.

She could recognize her tribesmen. They were...maniacally swinging something. Something thin...rope? Wait...whips? And...they were...hitting a pillar?

Oh...

She tried to come close, before suddenly she heard it.

"NNNNNMMMMMGGHGHHHHHHH!"

A shrill, muffled scream. Clear to be from a sore throat, meaning the voice screaming had been doing so for a while. And that voice...

She knew it.

Immediately, she rose up and ran straight towards the camp, summoning Photon Ray and rearing it back, before letting out a furious yell as she threw it forward with all her power.

The sword practically teleported with the sheer amount of speed it had been swung with. Several huns were struck dead on by the blade, their torsos immediately being torn into giblets as their upper and lower halves were separated, stopping the remaining huns in their tracks as they processed what just happened. They looked at the remains of their fallen comrades, eyes wide, but before they could react any further, they found themselves drop kicked into a weapons rack, impaling them on swords and spears. Another hun had his jaw grabbed and torn clean off, before his skull was smashed clean open with the dismembered jaw. His corpse was then thrown into another tribesman, knocking him down and opening him up for Altera to slam her sole on his head, forcing it down inside his ribs. Breathing heavily, she turned to the other tribesmen. "Who. Else.?" She asked, seething the words out through gritted teeth.

"I-It was all them, promise!"

"Yeah, we didn't want to invoke your anger!"

"I'M AFRAID OF YOU!"

Altera nodded. "Good. BE afraid. Be VERY afraid." She hissed angrily. She was snapped out of the rage that was building inside her by the sound of her treasure's muffled sobbing. She snapped her head over to look to the owner of the voice. Her blood ran cold upon the sight.

Nitocris was tied to that pillar so tightly, her bones might as well be crumbling. On her head was a bag, tied to her head by the rope around her neck. Her previously unmarred brown skin was littered with lacerations, bruises, cuts and other injuries she was all too familiar with, the same ones she had seen in her dream earlier, the brown obscured by the blood dripping down her body.

And... were those handprints...?

Oh how she regretted making their deaths so quick...

She hurriedly approached to free her, but as soon as she touched her, the woman started the scream, whimper and struggle in fear. Altera hesitated, but pushed on and tore the ropes off of her, catching her in her arms as she fell and gently lowering her to the ground, carefully removing the bag to see a face stained by tears and a bleeding mouth.

Her heart clenched, and she gripped her chest with her free hand instincitvely before forcing back those feelings and turning to her remaining me. "...You are to bring medicine, bandages, everything to help me tend to her." She said firmly. Her men quickly scattered to obediently get what was asked of them. Altera turned back to Nitocris, lifting her into her arms and running into her tent. She quickly set her down on the fur, before grabbing her hand and gently holding it. She remembered seeing people do this to help their loved ones when they were in pain. She gave the former pharaoh's hand a gentle kiss, then stroked it gently before leaning down and whispering softly into her ear. "It's okay... I'm here... They won't hurt you anymore... You won't be in pain anymore..."

Nitocris just whimpered and shook like a leaf, breathing rapidly and sobbing in fear and pain as the wounds bled and bled. Soon enough, one of the huns came in with a bowl of balm and some water, which Altera seized immediately. She set to cleaning the wounds, then applied the balm to every bleeding inch of Nitocris' damaged body. After she was done, she took the bandages from behind her without even turning around, then began to wrap Nitocris up. Eventually, she stopped to examine the now borderline mummified pharaoh. She let out a sigh of exhaustion and relief as Nitocris' soft voice turned from whimpering and sobbing to simply groaning in pain.

Altera clenched her fist in barely restrained fury. The whimpers... The tears... They were real. She was suffering. All because...

Because she... she left her alone...

She should have considered it. That her men would want revenge for all the times she had displayed cockiness towards them. She... she shouldn't have left her alone...

A whimper escaped Nitocris' bandaged mouth. Altera moved to touch her, to comfort her... but stopped. She pulled her hand back. She knew she'd just destroy her even more. That was all she was even good for... She couldn't touch her or she'd lose her. She couldn't touch her, or she'd kill her by accident. She couldn't comfort her. All she could do was watch her suffer.

And yet, it seemed that fate had other plans.

Whimpers escaped Nitocris' mouth as her hand weakly lifted itself up. It moved shakily, before lightly touching Altera's own. The hun leader attempted to move her hand, but Nitocris held it in a vice grip, refusing to let go. Altera slowly and gently attempted to pry her fingers open and pull her hand back. "No... I'm bad for you... It's best for your own good if you don't..."

Then, she heard it.

"Mm... Dnt... gooooow..."

Altera stopped at that. It was clear as day what Nitocris had just said, she... asked her not to go... She... wanted her here... With her... And... And the pain in her voice...

But she couldn't! She COULDN'T stay with her! She was too dangerous to be around her! She had almost killed her TWICE due to her negligence and ONCE deliberately! It was dangerous for her to stay! It would only end badly if she did!

But Nitocris didn't let up. She held Altera's hand in a shaky grip, moaning and whimpering the more Altera attempted to pull away. Each sound just cracked Altera's heart more and more, until eventually, she sighed and gave in. Laying down beside her, she held her hand gently, and began to softly whisper into her ear. "I'll stay with you... You don't need to be afraid anymore... I'm here... I'm not leaving..." She whispered.

Nitocris let out one last moan, one significantly calmer than before, as her grip slowly relaxed. Soon, her breathing turned shallow, and she fell asleep. Altera remained by her side though. She refused to let her go. She wanted her to be near, and she WOULD be near. For her.

However, she still needed to address something.

Making sure Nitocris was soundly unconscious, she slowly pulled her hand away and left the tent. She saw her remaining men immediately stand on high alert, clearly scared of what she was going to say.

Altera was silent for several long seconds. Then, she began to speak. "...Today I almost lost something important. Because of this tribe's idiocy. While the ones who committed the act of treason have been executed, the fact is, the rest of you are guilty for inaction. You allowed it to happen, despite knowing how I would feel." The men all flinched. "However... You didn't directly participate, and for that, I will not kill you. But make no mistake. There WILL be punishment..."

She lifted her arm and pointed her finger towards the mountains. "...Go. Leave. Travel around. Gather other tribes. Hun, foreign, doesn't matter, through peace of subjugation, I don't care. Build a massive army. And use that army to conquer. I want you to conquer and build me an empire. A vast one, one that spreads all thoughout Europe. That is your penance. Once you have done this, you may come back and once again be my tribesmen. I don't care if you lose all your lives in the process. Either way, both results will be atonement, and once the empire flourishes and grows, you will be allowed to return under me once more. You may leave at any point."

The huns all stopped for a moment, then they did their trademark salute to show their vow to follow through on the demand. "I promise we'll build you the most glorious empire in history, chief! We'll make you proud!" And with that, every hun that stood in attendance began to cheer for her, praising their leader. Altera's response was to simply nod her head, before she returned to her tent. Quickly, she laid back down and slid her hand into Nitocris' own. Her last thought before drifting off was a promise to make sure she recovered.

When the night came, Altera eventually awakened, yawning, until she noticed the hand wrapped around her own. She looked to see Nitocris still soundly asleep, no longer looking like she was in serious, life threatening pain. Smiling softly, she propped herself up on her elbow and planted a kiss on her head, keeping her lips pressed against it and breathing softly before pulling away. Sitting up, she stretched her arms, before the shifting of fabric was heard, and the familiar form of Grub stepped in. "Uh... Hey there, chief." He greeted softly. "I saw you uh... made a bit of a mess today."

"They deserved it." Altera said simply.

"Yeah, they...really shoulda known better." Gug agreed with a nod. "Sooooo, what do I do with the bodies?"

Altera shrugged. "Just feed them to the dogs."

"You got it, boss." Gug turned around and left. Altera could hear him shouting "Sniffy! I got a snack for ya!"

"Gug, wait." Altera called him back, prompting him to turn and step back into the tent, head tilted to the side. "Yeah? What's up?"

"...We'll be moving camp earlier than expected this time." Altera said simply.

"Oh. Wow. Already, huh? Okay then! Uh... Where to, boss?"

"Egypt."

Gug's face morphed into confusion, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oooooooh." He nodded and smiled at her. "All right. Good luck, chief." And with that, he left, Altera looking at the place where he had been standing before turning back to look at the still sleeping Nitocris. She began to gently stroke the woman's face. "...If there's one thing I know will help you recover, it's recognizing your old home... It's the least I can do to show you how sorry I am... It's time... You'll finally be free this time..."

And with those words, Altera laid down and joined Nitocris in her slumber.