It was odd, staring at the document presented to him. Of course he recognized the red wax seal upon it and the spidery script. His father. It wasn't the document itself that bothered him so much as what was upon it. He read over it twice, thrice, four times, content to keep the rather fidgety clerk that had delivered it waiting. His eyes weren't deceiving him it seemed. The ink didn't magically change despite his expectations. Calmly he set the parchment upon his neat and tidy desk, leaning back in his seat to tap lightly at his chin.

Prince Erik Lostrem turned his gaze to the man who had delivered the missive, finally opting to address him. He tapped at the document once. "What is this?"

The older grey haired man cleared his throat. "A list of names, your grace."

Cool blue eyes narrowed sharply. "I can see that, you fool. Why has my father sent it to my desk?"

The man stood ramrod straight under the displeased gaze of the prince. "Your father opted to compile a list of... possible suitors from abroad. It is quite comprehensive, your grace."

Suitors? Erik picked up the list once more, looking over the names listed. There were four columns and each column had twenty five names. Beside each name was the name of their respective nation. Sure enough none of them hailed from his own country. Meaning that none of them were homunculi. Just what was his father trying to pull with this? The man stood, crumpling the document in his fist as he rounded his desk and barged straight out of the room. The rather shocked clerk stumbled after him, sputtering incoherently but Erik paid him absolutely no mind as he stomped through the halls of the Citadel.

The Citadel was a maze of elegantly wrought steel, blue globes lining the hall as they glowed with a magical light. High vaulted ceilings bore extravagant chandeliers, runes engraved into the surface beyond. Tapestries depicting various magical and scientific disciplines lined the walls, each one more outlandish than the last. Servants and courtiers went about their duties, shuffling through the halls while others discussed this or that breakthrough in research. Any along the irritated prince's path were quick to step aside however.

Erik knew well the hallways of the Citadel and navigated them with ease, paying little mind to the goings on around him. There was only one place his father could be cloistered after not even having the courtesy to speak of this matter in person. He entered a large chamber, columns arrayed along the path towards the double doors atop a set of stairs. The prince climbed these stairs quickly enough, silencing whatever one of the guards on duty had been about to say. He then pressed his hands against the doors of brass and pushed hard, a light squeak of metal heard as they drifted opened easily enough.

A round table dominated the large room, chairs set and filled with various robed men and women. At their head was an older man with a comically large mustache that curled up at its ends. He stood rather than sitting, his arms behind his back. Erik locked eyes with him and held up the hand that held the crumpled parchment in it. The prince's brow was pulled into a deep scowl, his displeasure clear as day.

"What is this rubbish about suitors, father?" He asked, loud enough that everyone would hear.

All chatter at the round table stopped and the mustached man let out a sigh. He waved a hand errantly to all at the table. "Leave us."

With bowed heads the circle of advisors and councilors cleared the hall, the double doors closing with a resounding clang. The older man tapped his fingers idly against the table, shaking his head slightly. Erik took the opportunity to stride up to the table and set the crumpled parchment out on the surface. His father, Mage-King Fredrick Lostrem clucked his tongue in displeasure at the sight of the wrinkled document.

"You've no idea how long that took to compile." He remarked.

"I'm certain it was a great effort. However I would very much like to know the reasoning behind its very fabrication." Erik shot back.

Fredrick walked around to the other side of the table, the various medals and his uniform clattering loudly with each step. He took the parchment and smoothed it out as much as he could; nodding once he was assured that it wasn't ruined. After this he turned a tired pair of blue eyes to his son's sharp and irritated ones. He looked entirely unsurprised, something that very much pricked at Erik's pride.

"You are of age. Thirty-two is right about the time I was wed to your mother, Erik." The king stated.

Thirty two and yet he looked half that age. His youthful, sharp, and rather arrogant features were as a younger reflection of his father. They had the same eyes, the same dirty blonde hair, and the same fair skin. Their clothes were similar as well; a vaguely military style blue and gold uniform with epaulets and knee high boots though Erik lacked the impressive array of medals his father possessed. Homunculi tended to take after their creator race, the short lived humans in appearance. Indeed but for the aging and a few rather... scale related differences one might never tell the two races apart. Erik crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his father.

"Perhaps. The different being is that mother was a homunculus as you were. Judging from the list... humans? Dwarves? Elves? And Creator only knows what else? Is that your idea of a joke?" Erik demanded.

The king removed his crown, setting it down upon the table with a loud clattering noise. He rubbed at his temples, as though he was dealing with a pouting child. It rankled at Erik's pride once more, something flashing behind his eyes briefly. "Erik, I understand politics have never been your forte. You much prefer your books and your illusions, however even you must understand my reasoning."

"Please, enlighten me oh wise father." Erik ground out venomously.

"You know well that all the realms are recovering from the long wars five years past. We homunculi can no longer remain cloistered in our burrows of metal. We must embrace the world or face it unprepared. To that end we need alliances. Alliances forged through marriage." The king stated.

It made sense Erik supposed however there was also another matter to consider. "What of Walter? He is the elder sibling. Certainly his wedding could be canceled if this was so important. Would not the elder Lostrem brother be a much more enticing prospect?"

"Walter's marriage is to a very influential family. We cannot simply insult the Yistols by calling it off. You have no such arrangements in place."

Erik frowned, looking away from his father's gaze. He had contented himself as the youngest because it meant avoiding this, avoiding politics. Despite his pride the prince knew well that when it came to politics he was hopeless, the complex web of social intrigue escaped him. Magical research and development, mathematics, science, these things made sense to him. He was happy he was not the heir, let Walter have the spotlight and waste away over endless piles of grievances and approvals. Erik was a genius. A prodigy. His talents couldn't be wasted on trivial matters of the heart or state.

His shoulders slumped as a sigh escaped him. Screaming and crying and blustering would do him no good here. He needed a logical solution, an argument based off of factual data and not so much on emotion. Such things would not move or convince his father. Erik needed to get out of this. He needed to just slink back to his workshop and melt into the background again. Anything but... this!

After thinking for a moment he came up with something. "I can't imagine finding a woman from the other races would delight at the prospect of a homunculus being her partner. Would not those named here consider such a match... insulting?"

"Actually those named there are quite eager to meet with you. I already corresponded with each and every one of them." Fredrick stated.

Well, that was out then. As were the next two arguments. Alright... something else. Erik traced a finger down the list, turning a half gaze towards his father. "Quite a few names here. Surely you are not thinking of my meeting all one hundred at once, father."

"Why not? It will make matters easier and we do have some more... to scale accommodations for non-homunculi around."

Erik saw an opening there and struck quickly. "Ah, but father, might it not be more efficient to grant attention to each one first? Narrow the prospects as it were. It will seem much more respectful than simply calling them all to Eteria for what might be a wasted trip."

Fredrick seemed to consider that. "You are suggesting meeting each one in their turn."

"Indeed! It would allow both I and this potential suitor to see if we even possess a bit of chemistry. I would very much prefer not to be shackled to one that might make me miserable."

The king considered this for a long while, tapping at his chin. Erik was felt his palms grow clammy. This might make the selection progress longer but if he simply turned down each one in their turn then perhaps his father would surrender this foolish idea of forcing him to wed. It would put far more control in his own hands at the very least rather than his father's. Of course he could very well not end up going for it. Fredrick was a rather shrewd man after all.

Instead he actually smiled. Oh dear, that wasn't good. A smile curling along that wrinkled face was rather a bad sign. "A good idea, my son. Indeed. I think it might behoove you to travel to meet with each one. Spend a little time out of that workshop of yours. I'm certain absorbing culture outside of our own will be quite the experience."

Erik's heart sank immediately as his father took his own idea and turned it on its head. Not only would he be forced to waste his time on this but he'd have to travel across the entire blasted continent to meet one hundred women? He felt set to smash his forehead upon the table. He didn't want to broaden his experience with foreign... culture. He wanted to be in his workshop and in his private study!

Feebly Erik tried to salvage something. "If I refuse each one you have to drop this father. Agree to that and I'll meet with them."

"Very well, however I expect you to spend at least a day with each prospect. With them, not just near them or across the way. In their company, making conversation and playing nice. I will be sending someone along to see that you do just that." Fredrick said.

The prince was trapped in a cage much his own making. There was an out, a light at the end of the tunnel; however there was a long road to reach it. He couldn't just refuse outright and move on. His father had thought of everything. Still... if he could endure then certainly he would be left to his own devices. He stared down at the list of one hundred names forlornly. Some were from places months away in remote parts of the continent. Truly the Creator was quite cruel to one he had imparted with such brilliance.

With a weary and defeated sigh, Erik met his father's eyes. "Very well, father. I will do as you command."

Erik grunted as the carriage rolled along a rough patch of road, feeling each and every bump along the way. It was a lovely thing really; a product of very advanced golem crafting in that it required no horses to get where it was going. Its elegant metal frame was both durable and very beautifully crafted, a work of art as much as a mode of transportation. The interior was both comfortable and suited for long rides through the countryside. Truly it was gift he would have normally delighted in, now however there was not so much joy.

There was one tiny little issue about the whole construct: it was scaled for human use. While homunculi and humans might have outwardly looked the same, their scale differences were quite noticeable. Hence why the prince sat upon a rather plush cushion on one of the seats, the thing easily able to serve as his bed. Compared to a human the average homunculus was a mere two and a half inches tall. Something the prince was made constantly aware of by his surroundings and his companion.

The well-dressed older gentleman sitting across from him idly looked through the curtains over the window. "It appears we are nearing the castle, your grace." He said, his tone soft and respectful.

"Fantastic."

Erik had been hoping that his attendant would end up being another homunculus; however it seemed his father wanted him to feel utterly out of place beyond Eteria. Lucius was one of the few human residents in Eteria and a servant to the royal family, skilled in combat magic, tact, and possessed access to a large network of spies. Normally Erik found him pleasant to converse with however most of the two week journey from Eteria had seen him stewing in his own silence. The older man sighed at his charge's obvious lack of enthusiasm and allowed the curtains to fall back into their place.

Humans didn't bother him, not really. Certainly they could be big or imposing, but so was pretty much every other race out there to the homunculi. However most of his dealings with humans had been in a place of comfort and security, both of which he was lacking here. Well, security was why he supposed Lucius was along but comfort at least was lacking. He felt like a tiny doll resting on such a large cushion!

Finally after a few more minutes of silence he felt the dirt road become much more stable and less bumpy, no doubt signaling they were very close to their destination. Erik let out a slow breathing, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm himself. Everything was going to be alright. This was just a formality and at the end he could politely refuse interest. A day was nothing. He could endure a day.

He turned his gaze upwards towards Lucius, raising his voice to be more easily heard by the relative giant. "What can you tell me about... what was her name again?"

Lucius sighed. "Princess Marie Delacour. Please do try to remember her name, your grace; it would not do to insult her as she no doubt memorized yours."

Erik waved a hand errantly. "Right, right, anyway what do you know of her."

"She is rather far down the line of succession, below two brothers and two sisters. She recently turned eighteen this past spring and is all around rather unremarkable. No great feats or accomplishments. Although..."

The prince didn't like how his retainer trailed off there. "Although what?"

Lucius cleared his throat. "Ahem, she is a tad... well, not exactly as academic as you might be used to."

The prince snorted. "She would need to work fairly hard to match my academic prowess."

"That's not exactly... you know what, you'll find out."

Erik supposed she didn't sound immediately dreadful. Unremarkable was something he could work with and since she was down lower in the line of succession he wouldn't need to worry too much about politics. Who could say, it might just be quicker to say yes to this one and just return home with the news. His father would have what he wanted and Erik could research away once more unhindered.

The carriage came to a stop and Lucius stood, offering a white gloved hand to his prince. The young homunculus stood and walked primly onto the surface, bracing himself upon the human's thumb. Moments like this, where he stood upon the steady hand of his retainer reminded him just how small his people were. Perhaps it was a good thing every homunculus possessed such natural durability; otherwise a single misstep from a member of the larger races could very well be fatal.

With his charge in hand Lucius opened the door to the carriage and stepped outside, each step still managing to shake Erik up a bit. The pair emerged into a large courtyard of a rather storybook looking castle. Large spires of clean and white stone stretched up seemingly forever, armored knights standing about here or there. A fountain was in the very center, a gentle flow of water escaping from the stone urn held by a mermaid statue. The air smelled crisp and clean and the sky was clear and blue. Truly a good day.

As one who didn't get out much Erik's response to the daylight was to cover his eyes a bit, prompting Lucius to cup his other hand in the direction where the sun was shining down. The prince nodded in satisfaction of his retainer's artificial shade. Fortunately they were not kept waiting overly long as a servant dressed in white livery trotted up to them, snapping off a quick bow. Erik didn't miss the raised eyebrow he send his way, earning a rather sharp prick at his pride. Just because he was small did not lessen his standing!

"Prince Erik Lostrem, her grace awaits your company in the garden. If you would both accompany me."

Erik collected himself and gave Lucius a quick nod. The older man followed after his fellow servant, his pace slow and careful to avoid disrupting his charge's standing abilities. To say this larger world was intimidating was rather an understatement. Everything was just so... big! The people, the buildings, even the plants looked much too big. He supposed it was rather a good idea to send Lucius along in this case. Considering his size, getting around in this world on his own would be rather difficult.

Their escort easily navigated the halls of the castle and eventually Lucius removed his other hand from its place of providing shade. Erik could feel his heart racing the closer they came to their destination. Despite himself he was nervous. His father was expecting him to pick out a woman who stood at the size of Lucius? To actually engage with and speak to them? And then actually marry one? He fitted nicely in the palm of his retainer's hand and if they were standing side by side he wouldn't even come up to his ankle. The very idea seemed ludicrous!

Eventually they entered a rather scenic looking garden, a rainbow of flowers sprouting up all around the place. A single solitary tree stretched up, providing shade to a small table and a set of chairs. The hedges were obviously meticulously tended to, all square and measured carefully. The grass was as green and healthy as Erik had ever seen. There was even a little stone path leading to the sitting area.

Sitting under the tree was the woman he was to meet. Marie Delacour certainly looked the part of the classically beautiful princess. She was fair skinned, possessed long blonde hair pulled into a braid with bangs framing her youthful face, blue eyes and high cheekbones. Her slim form was wreathed in a voluminous gold and white dress, a pair of almost crystalline slippers on her feet that peeked out when she gently lifted the skirt to curtsey. A silver circlet encrusted with sapphires was set upon her brow.

Erik felt his breath taken away at the very sight of her. Without a doubt she was the most beautiful woman, human or homunculus, he had ever seen. She stared at him in wide eyed wonder just as he stared at her in shock. His tongue had gone dry and words failed him as he was brought closer to her. He hadn't exactly had much in the way of experience dealing with human women, or women in general for that matter. For the moment his almost narcissistic arrogance was gone.

Eventually Lucius stopped before the royal blooded woman and clicked his heels together, standing ramrod straight. "I present Prince Erik Lostrem, son of Mage-King Fredrick Lostrem of Eteria. Master of Illusionism, Vice-Director of Golem Design and Manufacture, Holder of thirteen separate patents on various inventions, and second in line for the throne of Eteria." The man stated crisply.

Lucius held out his hand slightly and Erik swelled out his chest and stood as tall as he could, no doubt looking rather ridiculous standing in the palm of his servant's hand. "It is a pleasure, Princess Delacour to meet with you on this finest of summer days." He said.

"The pleasure is mine, Prince Lostrem." She said, her voice bubbly and cheery.

Lucius held his hand upon the table to allow Erik to step off. The prince promptly did so, finding himself surrounded by the towering structures of teacups and a massive ceramic pot. The plates and silverware present were also ludicrously big, all being much bigger than he by far. It was dizzying to be so out of place, to be so small in comparison to everything around him. Just two weeks ago he had sat at a normal table, now he had to sit on a table. There wasn't even a chair to sit on.

Marie's servant pulled her chair out and she primly seated herself down. Her movements were elegant and measured, the very definition of proper. In comparison Erik's felt awkward. He had never cared much about maintaining a noble bearing, his cool arrogance typically filled in the gap. For the first few moment there was silence as he stared up and across the table at Marie and she down at him.

Lucius cleared his throat. "If it pleases you both, perhaps I and my fellow might retrieve something for you to sup on?"

Erik was prepared to politely refuse but Marie's voice beat him out. "Oh yes, please! I haven't eaten all day I was so nervous!"

Well, that made two of them at least. Erik watched in despair as both servants promptly left, leaving him alone in the garden with this young woman. Logically he knew there was nothing to be intimidated by; they were just two royals meeting for a pleasant day together. However he just couldn't get over how massive she was. He was around Lucius all the time but he wasn't intimidating really. Maybe it was the fact that there was some expectation he actually marry this princess. Whatever ring might fit on her finger could serve as a belt for him!

He cleared his throat. "Pleasant day we are having no?"

"It is pretty, isn't it?"

Silence. Eventually it was broken again by Erik.

"That is a... um, very pretty dress, milady."

Her eyes lit up at the compliment. "Thank you! It was a gift from daddy for my birthday! He said it was made in... um... Eder... Edera..." She said, trailing off as her face scrunched up in thought.

"Ederath?" Erik suggested.

"Yes, that's the one! Supposedly there are elves there!" She said with a smile.

Ederath was indeed an elven nation... which directly bordered Marie's nation to the south. And had supposedly been their allies for centuries. Erik shook it off. Not everyone was good at accurate geography or history he supposed. Besides she seemed pleasant enough and carried herself well.

"So how was your journey, Prince Lostrem?"

"It was well enough. Rather uneventful if I'm being honest though I suppose that is better than the alternative." He said at length.

Marie's face looked somewhat blank. "Than the what?"

Erik blinked. "The alternative. The thing that could have been but wasn't. Like being attacked or having a wheel get broken."

"Ah! Sorry."

Okay so she was a little lacking on some of her language. Not... the worst he supposed. He made a mental note to try and keep his vocabulary less advanced. The princess promptly took up her teapot and started to pour them both some tea, the movements flawless as always. Erik stared at his own cup forlornly, watching Marie sip at her own cheerily. She gave him a look and stared at him for a few moments before slapping a hand against her forehead.

"Oops! Sorry, not used to supping with a tiny person!" She said, looking around for a solution.

Erik kept his cool. At least until soft fingers wrapped around his body suddenly. Air was squeezed from his lungs from the rather careless grip, his arms pinned at his side by a prison of flesh. Marie hummed as she lifted the overly large teacup and pressed it to the tiny prince's lips, no doubt proud of her solution to this culinary issue. She lightly tipped the cup back and any protests Erik could possibly vocalize were quite literally drowned out as the gallons of tea rushed towards his mouth.

It actually tasted rather good, possessed of an almost minty edge to it. Normally Erik might well have enjoyed it... if it wasn't being poured down his throat. He was forced to take in gulp after gulp of the hot liquid, scalding his tongue. It was obviously meant for sipping and to a normal human the little tipping of the cup was no doubt a mere sip. To the little prince however it was a flood of tea that was restricting his breathing and burning at his mouth. When he did try to breathe it only got in his airway, making matters worse.

After a few moments of this absolute torture Marie set the teacup down, setting the tiny prince in the palm of her hand. Erik coughed and sputtered, taking in short gasps of air as his eyes watered. He was on his hands and knees, the soft flesh below yielding rather like a cushion might. However unlike a cushion he had just felt how easily it could constrict him. He looked up at Marie, a distraught look on his face.

"What- *cough*- was that!?" He cried.

Marie blinked. "Well, I helped you drink the tea, silly."

"I could have just done it myself!"

The giantess giggle slightly. "No you couldn't, you can't lift the cup! You can't drink the tea if you can't lift the cup."

"I could have just sipped from the edge." He retorted, coughing once again rather pitifully.

The princess placed a finger against her chin and looked like she was deep in thought. "Oh yeah, I guess that would work. Huh."

Erik knew in that moment, beyond the shadow of a doubt that the princess holding him was a complete airhead. It's obvious she wasn't malevolent or trying to screw with him, she legitimately hadn't thought of any other way he could drink tea. He was stuck with an airheaded princess many times his size without anyone around. And he had to spend the rest of the day with her. Most of it without anyone else supervising them most likely.

It was in that moment that he knew what the word 'screwed' meant.

After the... debacle with the tea Erik found himself sitting back down on the table. Marie was chattering away about flowers, pointing to her favorite ones in the garden. He was mostly focused upon how he could come out of this with as little bodily harm as possible. He had already been nearly drowned and they had only known each other for a few minutes. So far he wasn't liking his odds. He desperately looked towards the entrance to the garden, praying for Lucius to return.

It took him a moment to realize Marie had stopped talking and was looking intently at the air in front of her face. After a moment Erik realized exactly why that was. A little black dot was buzzing in the air in front of her face. A little fly by the looks of it, though little to her was no doubt bigger for him. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she raised her hands up, poising them to strike. Erik moved to cover his ears though it was too little too late.

Her hands smacked together loudly, like a thunderclap of flesh. The fly slipped through her fingers and she clapped at it again, a frustrated frown upon her face. Erik felt like his eardrums were about to burst from the continuing series of slaps above, even covering his ears didn't entirely mute it. He squeezed his eyes shut as the clapping continued, her hands slapping together again and again.

Finally it stopped and when he removed his hands from his ears Erik first thought he had gone deaf. Until he heard a buzzing nearby. Sitting almost right in front of him was a fly the size of a dog, rubbing its little legs together as it regarded him with alien eyes. A shadow fell over both of them and it took one look up for Erik's veins to freeze with fear of the purest kind. Smooth creamy skin was poised above, the creases of Marie's hand visible as her fingers were squeezed together to leave no escape for the little bug.

Her motion was automatic obviously, not exactly thought through as her mind was set on killing the fly. "Wait Marie-!"

That was all Erik managed to get out before the giantess smacked her hand down upon the table, all of her strength smashing the tiny prince between the hard wooden table and the soft flesh of her palm. The movement crushed down upon him hard and fast, compressing him flat against her hand. It was somewhat yielding though the force was certainly not. Were it not for his natural durability the prince had no doubt he would be a smear upon the table and on Marie's hand. As it was, once her hand lifted and light flooded his vision once more he groaned in pain.

"Whoops! Sorry about that! Are you okay, Prince Lostrem?" The young woman asked, concern in her tone.

Erik wanted to scream at her and yell that of course he wasn't okay. He had been torn away from his research and sent out from his homeland. In the last twenty minutes he had been nearly drowned and then crushed flat by her. That was the very definition of not okay! The homunculus managed to compose himself with a heroic amount of willpower. He managed not to scream at the princess.

"I... am fine. Homunculi are naturally durable. It would take a lot to squish me." He said.

"Oh! I think someone told me that. Good! I got the fly, by the way." She said, looking rather proud of herself.

Erik took in a few deep breaths. Right so Marie wasn't very bright, had almost unintentionally killed him and seemed to get distracted easily. Not exactly something Erik could see himself living with. With a wife like that he'd constantly be afraid she would step on him or obliviously roll over in her sleep and smother him. Still, he had to admit she was indeed very beautiful. Perhaps he just needed to look at things from a different perspective.

Like how if he just sucked it up and went with her he could end this little run around he had doomed himself to. A selfish thought perhaps but Erik was still considering it. For the sake of his research he could be made to put up with a lot. The princess was looking towards the flowers again. Well she seemed to be captured by simple things at least, which was a good trait he supposed.

"Want to take a closer look at the flowers?" Marie inquired.

Looking at flowers was... safe. Erik didn't see how that could go wrong at least. So he nodded in assent, forcing a smile to his lips. The princess reached towards him but he held up a hand quickly, backing away from her slowly curling fingers in alarm.

"Please, milady, just present your palm. Grabbing can be a bit painful." He informed primly.

"Oh, of course! Sorry. Not used to handling homunculi."

That much was obvious. At the very least she was trying to treat him as an equal, which was a mark in her favor he supposed. He suspected most might think of him as a doll or lesser because of the height disparity. It was common enough that most homunculi avoided leaving their homeland. Marie hadn't done that though. Instead she offered her open palm with a lovely smile that melted at Erik's annoyance a bit.

He stepped onto her hand and she lifted it up off the table, standing and moving to a nearby rosebush. Her hold was a little unsteady but kneeling down made it manageable. Erik admired how soft her skin was, like a feather mattress. He leaned back and allowed himself to be carted around, the sound of Marie's babbling voice soothing at his nerves. She seemed happy enough for the company at the least.

She moved from flower bed to flower bed, pointing out her favorite ones. Whatever else Erik could say about her she knew her plants well. It was probably best she had been born a princess though in his opinion as she was a bit too... dense for other fields. Mean to think perhaps but the prince was still a tad understandably irritable after the tea incident and the crushing. Not everyone could match his genius he supposed. Some were born with untold beauty and others actually had brains behind their- why as Marie breathing like that.

The princess had been sniffing daintily at a few flowers but now her nose was wrinkled and she was taking in great gasps of breath. Almost as though- oh dear. Erik's eyes widened and he braced himself. Apparently flower watching was not nearly as safe as he had first thought. It almost looked like it passed for a few moments as she held it, not taking another deep breath for a few moments.

"Achoo!"

The diminutive prince found himself covered in spittle a flecks of disgusting greenish snot a moment later, the force of the sneeze knocking him onto his back. He tried to brush himself off only succeeding in smearing it in more. He spat out whatever had managed to get in his mouth and wiped away anything that had gotten in his eyes. His hair felt sticky with Creator only knew what.

Marie dabbed at her nose with her handkerchief her eyes widening when she noticed Erik's situation. "Oh dear! I'm sorry about that, here let me see if I can't wipe it off..."

Erik was about to protest, however soon enough his whole vision was stolen away as he found his entire body wrapped in cloth. Marie twisted it around his squirming form, wrapping him up in it completely as she rubbed at him through it to try and clean him up. The unfortunate prince was tossed around and battered by her titanic fingers, occasionally nearly suffocating in his prison of cloth. He tried to cry out but it was no use. He was trapped as his captor diligently tried to dry him of snot and spittle.

She managed to get everywhere. His head, his legs, between them even. That last big he was made very aware of, causing more than a few unwanted responses from his body. He had never thought very long and hard about what he enjoyed in women aside from physical beauty. That side of his life was most certainly very stunted. However he got the feeling that being aroused from being tossed around effortlessly by the massive woman was most certainly not normal. That along brought up a confusing swirl of emotions that mixed in with the pain and discomfort in a confusing manner. He should be able to figure this out; he was a genius after all! The youngest Master of Illusionism ever!

After a time Erik felt the cloth unraveling around him and he ended up lying out upon his back in Marie's hand, breathing heavily. His body felt so battered and bruised that it wasn't even funny. The giantess looked satisfied with her work though Erik already suspected his once pristine clothes were still stained and now were ruffled and wrinkled. He didn't even want to know how his hair looked.

It was in that moment that Lucius and Marie's servant returned both bearing trays with small little cakes upon them. The princess bounded over to the table and set Erik down, sighing in contentment as her treat was set down before her. The rather ragged looking prince sent a glare at the first sign of a little smirk from his retainer. He made a mental note to come up with an illusion so horrifying that the man wouldn't sleep for weeks. He was barely resisting the urge to do so to Marie herself for her... 'help'.

With their delivery completed both servants left the royals to their own devices, heading back into the castle to give them privacy. Erik didn't want privacy; he wanted witnesses for when this woman killed him by accident! Alas once more they were alone and Marie picked up a knife to cut bits from her own cake. The sight of her holding anything sharp was enough to make the tiny prince fear for his life.

She noted him not touching his food. "Do you need some help?

"NO! I mean, ahem, no thank you." He said quickly, his eyes never wavering from that knife.

Marie shrugged and happily bit away at pieces of her little cake, pleased with her sweet treat. For his part Erik resigned himself to tearing off bits of it with his hands and eating those. A pity he lacked telekinesis of any kind, physical magic was unfortunately not his thing. It was improper perhaps but if it was eating with his hands or having this dim witted princess move a knife anywhere near him he would choose eating with his hands.

They ate mostly in silence which was more than fine with Erik who took his time with his food. Noon quickly fell into afternoon and Erik found himself wishing the sun could move faster. He wondered what ill fate was in store for him next. Was she going to accidently knock the table over? Maybe drop him to the ground and step on him by accident? At this point Erik feared the worst. He knew right now that there was absolutely no way he could spend an extended period of time with this princess if he wanted to continue breathing.

After their meal was finished up Marie smiled brightly at Erik. "I like spending time with you, your grace. It is a pity it is only for today. You seem pretty smart and are patient and a great listener!"

Erik opted not to point out that the word was genius, that his patience was very nearly at the end of its rope, and that he remembered perhaps half of what she had said. He really didn't want to be mean here, it was obvious she was being earnest but she was just so... oblivious! Not exactly a great start to his journey. Still she had tried to be a good host at least.

"Thank you, Princess Delacour, you are quite something yourself. However my journey is long I suspect and my father wishes me to make my choice very carefully. I would not do to offend the others I am to visit." Erik said diplomatically.

She sighed. "I understand. I hope to maybe hear back from you of course! Maybe to visit Eteria instead?"

At that Erik immediately had the mental image of a burning city of slag and ruined libraries while the princess jumped around slapping at a big fly. He suspected that her getting anywhere near Eteria was a rather... unwise idea. Still he offered an agreeable smile and nodded politely to the blonde giantess. It was time to wrap up this first little meet up. He still had a whole slew of potential ones to get through and now it was really starting to sink home just how difficult this was going to be.

An hour later as the sun was dying in the sky his carriage was rolling away from the castle. Lucius chuckled across from him when he relayed the events that had occurred, earning a very sharp glare from the prince. One that sobered him rather quickly. Erik slumped back upon his cushion as the carriage rolled along, dreading whatever was too come next. Then again, after that little debacle how much worse could it possibly get?

Rolling hills and green countryside were what dominated the landscape around the carriage of Prince Erik Lostrem as it rolled along a dirt road. Inside the well-dressed homunculus currently sad cross-legged, reaching deep within his spiritual reserves to summon up an image from his imagination. In his mind's eye he saw it, black fur, sharp teeth, and gleaming green eyes. All he needed was to give it substance, to have it tug at the senses like something that was actually there might.

The air before him shimmered slightly, twisting and changing as his energy poured into it. Soon enough it was before him, the illusion of a black cat. It was scaled to his size and did not just appear to be there it actually smelled like it was there. When it meowed the sound was registered by his ears and when his fingers brushed at its fur it felt soft. The hairs tickled at his bare palm, the sensation traveling up to his brain and telling him this was really a cat. It was as complex as they came; the sign of a true master was the ability to manipulate all senses.

Erik heard Lucius clear her throat loudly and the prince immediately dispelled the cat, the illusion simply vanishing from existence. His retainer was looking out the window of the horseless carriage; no doubt they were close then if he was bothering the prince. It was a pity; the homunculus had been enjoying the rush of magic through his veins. However he turned his full attention to Lucius with a sigh.

"We are nearly at the city. Our next visit is with one Princess Amelia Valendris." He stated.

"Joy. She can't be any worse than my last meet up." The prince remarked morosely.

"She is the second child of the emperor and is... a tad entitled from what I understand. She is eighteen years of age and most suitors apparently find her a tad too demanding, which is why she has yet to wed."

Erik narrowed his eyes at that. Demanding eh? Well as long as she wasn't empty between the ears the prince was willing to put up with it. That didn't sound overly bad really. "Anything else?"

Lucius produced a little leather bound book and flipped through it. He muttered to himself as he traced a finger down one of the weathered pages. "Hmm... very little of note aside from her long list of scared suitors. Twenty seven."

The tiny prince raised a brow at that. Twenty seven. She'd been at this a lot longer than he it seemed. Perhaps she might have some advice for getting through the list quickly and painlessly. Erik didn't mind the fact he might be refused right off the bat, he wasn't actually trying to find someone to marry. He was trying to look for a way out of marrying. Perhaps he could explain the situation to the picky young woman, have a pleasant chat, and then go their separate ways. Lucius likely would disapprove but he could go fuck himself after chuckling at his earlier misfortune.

The grey haired man set his little book aside and crossed his legs, checking through the drapes of the carriage. The rolling countryside had given way to well-tended farmland and cobbled roads, pillars arranged at intervals leading up to the city. Supposedly the center of all civilization and commerce in the region as Erik understood. A very powerful player among human nations and one no doubt eager to ally with a race as advanced as the homunculi. Besides fringe trading there had been only light contact between the two nations.

Within the city itself crowds made way for the strange metal construct, its four wheels slowing to avoid hitting those too slow. Erik could hear the hustle and bustle of the city and it made him homesick. He longed to return to Eteria. Not just his workshop but the city itself. The gleaming city of metal and magic, the squeaking of golem wheels, the chatter of intelligent debate, and the more... to scale company. The feeling weighed heavily upon his heart as the carriage rolled on.

"Have you been here before, Lucius?" Erik inquired.

"Certainly, it was with your father actually in our travelling days. Looks much the same through the window." The older man stated.

The full circle implied in the statement was not lost on Erik. He idly wondered if his father felt as homesick as he currently did. Then again, his father's adventures hadn't involved travelling the land in search of a good suitor. Or rather trying to find a way out of finding a good suitor. The prince shook his head. He needed to focus. Princess Amelia Valendris. That was her name. Hopefully he'd be the twenty eighth to be turned away.

The chatter of the common folk faded away as the carriage clattered along through the well cobbled streets of the city. Eventually it rolled to a halt, signaling their arrival at their destination. Erik took a deep breath. He had already been through a rather horrid start, so it could only start looking up from here. He could work through this. He was a genius after all. Compared to formulating new theoretical alchemic algorithms this was nothing.

He stepped onto Lucius' gloved hand and squinted slightly at the sunlight. He waved off the retainer's attempt at providing shade. No need at the moment. They stood before the great steps of a grand palace, the columned entryway looming over both men. Guard's bearing great tower shields stood about, garbed in purple armor with the symbol of a laurel wreath a constant upon their attire.

A young woman approached the pair, a silver collar around her neck and a dark tunic all she had to cover her form. She bowed deeply to both of them. A slave no doubt. Erik had been informed of the practice though it was rather... jarring to see it still. Golems handled such matters or well-trained servants, the royal constitution of Eteria prevented the sale of others. Still he shook off his surprise and kept his posture as regal as he could make it.

"Her Highness Princess Valendris awaits your presence in her study. If you would follow me, masters." She said, her tone pleasant though rather demure.

They followed after the woman, ascending the stairs. Erik was impressed by the inside just as much as the outside. The building looked to be carved of marble and was rather a far cry from the castle he had been a guest at two weeks prior. Great statues of men and women were arrayed through the great entry hall, the great gods of their people no doubt. Above was a mural of a great battle, the same gods themselves descending from the very heavens to stand around one man. Interesting.

Their path took them through the maze of halls, through a garden or two and then past a large pair of double doors. Within was a rather large room with a desk in the middle, stocked bookcases set around the room. There was a couch of some sort set in the corner for lounging and a small round table with some chairs arrayed near one of the bookcases. It was a rather impressive study, one even Erik was envious of.

Lounging upon the strange couch was a young dark haired woman dressed in a white toga trimmed with purple. She wore a white tunic under the toga itself and a rather fine pair of belted sandals. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun and her brown eyes shifted from the book in her hands to her new visitors. Unlike Marie her beauty was less soft and classic and more... pouty. Seductive he supposed. Her form was certainly more... well rounded. So this was Amelia.

Lucius clicked his heels and stood ramrod straight. "I present Prince Erik Lostrem, son of Mage-King Fredrick Lostrem of Eteria. Master of Illusionism, Vice-Director of Golem Design and Manufacture, Holder of thirteen separate patents on various inventions, and second in line for the throne of Eteria." The man stated crisply.

Erik swore that he had memorized the introduction. The prince puffed up his chest and stood as tall as he could manage. Amelia merely turned her gaze back to her book for a good few moments. That most certainly infuriated the prince. How dare she just ignore him like that!? He hated decorum as much as the next person but even still she could at least acknowledge him! He ground his teeth in irritation.

Finally the woman snapped her book shut and rose, smoothing out her close. "Great, father can't get me to marry a full man or a half man so he sends in the quarter men." She remarked.

Lucius looked fit to say something; however Erik beat him to it. "If my father had told me I'd be set up with a giant insulting cunt I would have skipped this place and moved on." He shot right back.

The temperature in the room dropped drastically at that and both Lucius and the slave girl looked rather nervous as both their respective master's glared at each other. After a time the young woman set her book down and walked forward, standing an arm's length away from him. Erik felt some slight intimidation being this close up to a potentially hostile woman, however with Lucius so close at hand he knew he was relatively safe.

Finally she chuckled. "Well, you have more balls than the twenty seven other fools that came through here. They just sputtered and looked disbelieving when I insulted them."

She nodded to the table and Erik gave a subtle nod to Lucius, who set him down there as Amelia sat down herself. She leaned in on her elbow, her expression one of perpetual boredom. Her eyes flicked to Lucius and back to Erik, a silent message the prince got quite clearly. At the moment the homunculus felt safe enough so he offered a wave of his hand to dismiss the older servant. Amelia likewise banished her slave, leaving them both sitting alone in the study.

"So. Let's cut to the chase. Why should I marry some squirt that doesn't even come up to my ankles?" She inquired.

Erik raised a brow. "Here I was about to ask you why I should marry a giant bitch that might roll over on me in my sleep?"

Amelia snorted. "I get the feeling you don't want to be here either."

"Was it really that obvious?"

"Well, you haven't dropped any long or pathetic soliloquies about my boundless beauty while staring at my tits, so it's a fair assumption."

At that Erik actually smirked. So far this was MUCH better than his first meeting. This one actually had a good brain between her ears from the looks of it AND apparently had little interest in him to begin with. Hopefully he could run into more like her as this journey went on. Amelia returned his smirk with one of her own, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms under her ample breasts.

"That said... never gotten a homunculus suitor before. Father already tried humans, elves, and dwarves and I sent them away right quick. Homunculi are really rather rare though. You also are pretty easy on the eyes, tiny." She commented.

"It's Erik."

"Whatever. Marriage really isn't my thing. I don't like the idea of being tied down to anyone, despite what father might want. I just want to read, drink, and party. So no offense but I'm not interested in actually courting you." She said.

The little prince nearly broke into dance at that. It was over and done with, no need for formalities or anything. He could just move on to whoever number three was now. Quick and painless, like pulling out a splinter. Since it was obvious Amelia didn't want to actually pursue a courtship with him that was the perfect excuse to just leave. After all it wasn't his fault if she wasn't interested.

"You've no idea how much of a relief that is. My father said I needed to spend the day with each woman on the list, but I guess I can just move on. So, if you will excuse me..." He said.

"Woah, woah, hold on. A day huh? Why waste a day? You've still got quite a few hours with me. No servants around, no pressing business." She said, leaning in with interest upon her face for the first time since Erik had met her.

The prince turned back to her. "If you aren't interested in courting, I don't see much reason- ah!"

Erik suddenly felt a tugging at the back of his shirt as the ground vanished beneath his feet. His legs kicked slightly at open air as Amelia held him by the collar with her thumb and forefinger. Her full lips turned up into an amused smirk. A smirk that the prince found he rather didn't like the look of. He swallowed hard as he dangled in the woman's tenuis grip, trying very hard not to lose his composure.

"There are plenty of other things we can do that don't involve courting, little man. Plenty." She purred.

"It's Erik!" He asserted.

"You really need to loosen up. Here, maybe this will help."

The prince squirmed and writhed, protesting the whole while as he was handled so disrespectfully. Soon enough open air was replaced by soft flesh and fabric as he was pushed down between her breasts. All of his thought processes immediately shut right down as he became very painfully aware of just where he was. His struggles ceased and his eyes shot comically wide as he looked around at his new surroundings. She... she hadn't really just put him there had she?

He actually felt her next chuckle in his very bones, the laughter vibrating through him from his current position squished between her tits. Of all the ways he had imagined this going... this scenario was not even on the list. His mouth was completely dry as he became very aware of her scent all around him, giving rise to an almost painful arousal. There it was again, rather irritating how it scrambled his ability to think about things logically.

"There, much better." She remarked, playfully pressing her massive mounds against him briefly.

"But- ah!- you said you weren't-!" Erik tried to get out, cut off by another pressing from all around compressing him completely between her flesh.

"Yeah, I'm not interested in courting, but that doesn't mean we can't screw around. I've lain with pretty much every civilized race out there except for a homunculus. Might be interesting. I like trying new things." Amelia said, releasing the pressure on Erik.

Sex might not be something Erik was schooled in but he knew exactly what it was she was implying. He didn't even know how he could respond to that! How did one respond to an offer like that normally? He'd literally just met her and had thought she hadn't possessed the slightest interest in him, clearly he'd misread the message all wrong. He tried to open his mouth to say something, anything, but for once the prince found himself at a complete loss for words. He didn't even properly grasp his own arousal at the situation!

"I-I-I don't... I mean, I can't..." He stuttered incoherently.

The young woman pressed a finger on top of his head and pressed down slightly, pushing him further down between her breasts. He couldn't escape; he was trapped in a prison of faintly floral smell skin. Erik could hear her heartbeat thrumming in her chest, unlike his own it was rather steady. Did he even want to escape? What a foolish question, of course he did! He wasn't some princess' glorified sex toy!

"Come on, it will be fun! What else are you doing today, prince? We could just go to my private chambers and fuck each other's brains out. Then you leave tomorrow, no harm no foul. No marriage promises or anything like that, just a lot of mutual pleasure." She enticed, squeezing him between her breasts once more.

Fear. That was what this was. He was afraid of what he was feeling. In his workshop everything was simple, it had a place and he could control the environment. In this situation it felt like he had no control. Homunculi society in general was one that didn't exactly breed passionate romance. Still... what he was feeling now stirred at her simple offer. Cool logic was fighting with curiosity and arousal and losing rather quickly.

Apparently to Amelia though his lack of ability to speak was taken as acceptance. "Right, let's go. Enjoy the ride, little prince. I know half of my other suitors would have."

Erik felt when his captor started moving, the mounds holding him in place bouncing ever so. Her ever step jostled him, rubbing him against her constantly. This was utterly ridiculous! His first prospect had been an airhead and now his second one was apparently a bored nymphomaniac! At the moment he wasn't exactly sure which one was worse. He tried to mumble out a protest or cry out to anyone nearby, but with his face being pressed into one of Amelia's breasts it wasn't exactly an easy task.

His mind was starting to work in a normal fashion and he found himself of a mind to resist Amelia taking him along to her bedchambers. She was treating him rather like a toy in this instance as a number of cautionary homunculi tales spoke of. Erik had higher ambitions that being Amelia's taste of what fucking a homunculus was like. He tried to focus on his magic, on an illusion that might get him out of this mess. With all the jostling movement outside and the rather embarrassingly intense arousal however he couldn't focus.

Finally he felt a pair of fingers dip into her bosom and pull him out, his hair all out of place and his clothes wrinkled. He was dangling before Amelia's smirking face as she leaned against the shut door to her bedchamber. Erik looked around desperately for someone else, anyone else that could get him out of this woman's grasp. They were alone. The dark haired beauty licked at her lips as she looked at him, her boredom having fled in favor of naked lust.

"Alright, little prince, I already informed your retainer you'll be staying the night. Some bullshit about us hitting it off or something. So we have plenty of time to see just what you can do. I hope you don't disappoint."

Erik remembered how many times his older brother would boast of his sexual conquests at the Academy. It wasn't exactly a secret that Prince Walter Lostrem was a notorious womanizer. As such the younger sibling could wager that Walter would delight being in Erik's boots right about now, dangling from the fingers of a lustful and bored human princess. Erik on the other hand was mostly just confused. The whirling swirl of emotions roiling in his gut was making him feel woozy, like he had accidently inhaled hazardous chemicals during and experiment.

Amelia's private chambers were impressive. The center of the circular room was dominated by a large and plush bed with purple sheets and a pile of plush pillows. The bed itself was also circular and looked far better than his little cushion in the carriage. Two massive wardrobes were pushed to the side, no doubt stocked with whatever clothing she might desire. There was even a small sitting table and some chairs set out. The large bedroom certainly put his sleeping quarters to shame.

The princess walked over to the sitting table and set Erik down upon the surface, taking up a nearby pitcher of wine and pouring some of the ruby liquid out into a jewel encrusted goblet. She guzzled half of it down before slamming it down on the table. It landed near Erik who flinched away rather violently, trying to vainly compose himself in the presence of this woman. He had though that he had gotten a good read of her at first, though it appeared he was very mistaken. Now he didn't know what to think.

"Right, so the clothes. Off." Amelia commanded.

The young man felt a prick at his pride from the regal command being directed at him of all people. He focused on the indignant anger. It was something he understood. He wasn't just some servant she could so easily order about! He was Prince Erik Lostrem, a genius of his craft. He gritted his teeth and glared up at the massive woman looming over him.

"I think not! You can't just order me to do that! I'm also not even sure I want to do anything you are suggesting with you! Back off." He said, finally managing to find his voice.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Right. You were really resisting me when I had you between my tits. Really gave it your all there, little prince."

Erik saw her reaching towards him again and he thought quickly, closing his eyes and beginning to concentrate. He needed everything to slow down. Just enough so he could regain control of the situation. In his mind's eye he could see what he wanted. Cool, sharp, threatening. Enough to stall Amelia and give him some room to actually breathe. He held out his hand and focused his spiritual energy into the air, weaving something into reality.

The princess let out a squeak of surprise and backed away as hovering just in front of her face was now a dagger. It was a rather plain thing really with a leather handle and a chipped edge but nonetheless looked very real. Erik got every detail upon it that he could, even down to the reflection one might see upon the blade itself. It simply hovered there between them, not moving an inch.

"What the fuck!? How- How did you do that!?" Amelia cried, her eyes wide and never wavering from the weapon.

With a series of deep breaths the young prince managed to compose himself just a little better, smoothing out his clothes while concentrating on keeping the dagger in existence. For him it was a rather large spell to constantly keep up, especially with that level of detail upon it but it gave him some space. Suddenly he was in control of the situation and it felt good. He allowed some arrogant command to enter his tone when he spoke next, narrowing his eyes and standing with as regal a posture he could manage.

"Sit down. Now." He commanded, moving the dagger forward in the air just a bit.

Fear was clear upon the princess' face as she slowly moved to her chair at the table, the blade following her the whole while. Erik smirked at the turnaround that had just occurred. Of course it had! He was Erik Lostrem after all! No way was some bored brat of a princess going to catch him off his guard. He licked his lips, trying to gather his scrambled thoughts so he could actual figure out where to go from here.

"Now, let's talk shall we? Assuming your species is actually capable of civil conversation without trying to manhandle someone against their will." Erik said.

"Sure, you can start with just what the hell you are!" Amelia growled, clearly none too pleased by the jab at her race.

"I'm a mage, my dear, do try and keep up. My retainer announced as much at my entrance. Maybe you should have paid more mind to it than you book." He sneered.

The princess winced as the blade drifted just a bit closer, reminding her just who was in control here. It felt so good to finally be the one not completely helpless. Even in the land of the big his skills could keep him moderately safe it seemed. Never mind that the effort to keep the dagger materialized was draining him immensely. Scale was unfortunately quite the factor in illusionism.

"Right. So first off, I'm not a toy. Treat me like one and I guarantee you'll regret it." He growled.

"I didn't- ah!" She started, cut off as the cool tip of the blade was pressed against her throat. The feeling was that of a real dagger, her brain's responses manipulated into believing this was real.

"Did I say you could talk? No, I don't think I did. So shut up and listen." Erik cut off loudly.

Amelia promptly closed her mouth, glaring silently at the diminutive prince standing before her. That felt good, putting the woman in her place. His confidence was returning after his rather humiliating ride in her bosom. There was of course also the boost he got from actually using his magic for an extended period of time. It felt good, like the magic was actually coursing through his very veins to give him all the strength he needed. Why not twist the knife and give her a taste of humiliation herself? Surely he had the energy to pull that much off and then leave. Of course he did.

"Now then, I'm feeling a tad parched. Fetch me some water over there and pour it in a saucer." He commanded.

"There is wine right here- ah!"

"What did I say about talking, Amelia dear? Did I say I wanted wine? No, I said water." Erik said with a tsk.

The clearly prideful woman gritted her teeth and rose, the dagger following her the whole way as she fetched some water from across the room. The distance made it a little difficult to control but the prince managed. This was nothing, not for him anyway! He was a genius of Illusionism after all. As this brat was finding out. The princess poured out a bit of water in the saucer, setting the rest aside before sliding it forward slightly. If looks could kill Erik suspected he would have been a little flaming pile on her table.

With some amusement and quite a bit of arcane power coursing through his veins the homunculus sipped at the water. After being trapped between her breasts not too long ago Erik wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic towards Amelia. Let her glare and stew over how he was in fact better than her, how he had managed to turn the situation around. He hummed slightly as he sipped away at his drink.

"Interesting how the tides have turned, Princess. Maybe next time you won't underestimate a homunculus." Erik said at length.

"You see, you may indeed be many times my size but I have access to powers beyond your wildest imagination. Did you really think you could just do what you wanted to me? I think not." The young homunculus continued, watching with glee as she was powerless to retaliate to his verbal onslaught.

"In fact... I think you owe me an apology. For handling me so roughly." Erik said.

He looked at Amelia expectantly and she muttered something under her breath. The illusionary blade was at her throat once more, eliciting a sharp inhale of breath. There was that fear again, sharp and real. He had screwed up and the best part was she knew it. The princess had misjudged the tiny prince and now found that she was at his mercy. Of course he wasn't going to actually harm her. One, it was an illusion, and two it would spark a war between her nation and his own. However she still couldn't risk her neck on the possibility that he might if she pushed him.

"Louder please."

"I'm sorry." She muttered darkly.

"I'm sorry..." He said, rolling his wrist and trailing off to suggest she continue.

She blew a strand of hair from her face. "I'm sorry, Prince Lostrem for stuffing you between my tits." She said, all but gritting it out.

Erik smiled genially at that, certain that the princess' head would explode for having to debase herself so. He allowed the blade to lower ever so slightly and let the woman breathe more easily. This was fun and everything however he supposed that it was about time he made his exit. There was still plenty more travelling to go on this journey of his after all. He would just tell Lucius that they had hit an impasse of some sort and had opted to end it there. The old man would probably buy that.

"Illusionism."

The sound of her voice cut Erik from his self-congratulatory thoughts. "I'm sorry."

Her voice was steady when she spoke next. "Your retainer. He said you were a Master of Illusionism."

With that the princess waved her hand at the dagger. It passed right through the image, banishing it from the world. Immediately the temperature in the room dropped drastically as Erik's face started to pale. There was an absolute dead silence between the prince and princess as both stared at each other. Neither moved and it seemed like neither one of them breathed, both simply standing utterly froze in time.

After a good long while Amelia placed her hands on either side of the table and slowly, very slowly, leaned in. Her shadow loomed over Erik and the prince could only stare up at the very slow grin that split across her face as she looked down at him. He swallowed hard as he tripped over onto his ass, staring up at the woman he had just gotten through humiliating and talking down to. Immediately he knew it had been a mistake to give her time to think about the situation. A very big mistake.

"You know something, little prince. I recall hearing somewhere that homunculi are really durable. That's good. You're going to need that durability to endure the payback I've got planned for you! Hope you are ready for one hell of a day!"

In that exact moment Erik realized that his situation with Marie hadn't been so bad. No, he hadn't been screwed there. Now, staring up at the scorned princess' sadistic smile he knew was it was truly like to be completely and utterly screwed.

Hindsight was a wonderful thing. Even now, being pressed against the smooth marble floor by the dark leather sole of Amelia's sandal Erik had the ability for self-reflection. As his hands pushed vainly up at Amelia and he took in labored puffs of vaguely leather scented air, he knew well it had been a mistake not to immediately command his captor to take him to Lucius. One of his few glaring mistakes in life of course, but at the moment, as Amelia applied just a little more weight and stole the breath from his lungs he figured it was the one with the most consequences.

The natural durability of his people was both a blessing and a curse at this particular moment. The scorned princess currently pressing him between marble and leather could press as much as she wanted and still not kill him. She might give him quite a few bruises and the pain was certainly unbearable but at least she couldn't break bones. Unfortunately that meant that as far as punishment went she could probably do whatever she wanted to him and still not have any consequences fall on her head.

She pressed down fully this time, setting her full weight onto Erik. At that point his face was turning purple and the dirt clinging to the underside of her sandal had dirtied his hands, face, and clothes. He couldn't do anything, couldn't cast a spell push her off him. His magic was mostly depleted and his body was exhausted as a result. All he could do was try to push her off of him, a vain effort all told.

Mercifully Amelia set her foot back on its heel and shifted it to the side slightly, looking down at the tiny and dirty prince as he lay on his back. "Oh that was just a little taste of your day, little prince. I think you were under there for five minutes. We've still got hours of fun ahead." She said.

Erik coughed and spat out any of the dirt that had gotten in his mouth, glaring up at his captor. "Fuck yo- ah!"

The words were cut off as the lower half of his body was pressed down upon by the toe of her sandal. "Such a foul mouth, is that anyway to address a potential suitor? Someone really needs to teach you some manners."

Erik was going to point out that Amelia tongue was hardly clean. Instead he favored a gasp as she removed her foot once more and reached down, snatching him up in a rather rough grip. She squeezed at him while he was in her fist, pressing his arms painfully against his sides. He opened his mouth in a soundly cry of pain, squirming vainly to try and escape the hold she had over him. That only prompted her to squeeze more, her eyes glittering in amusement as she stared down at the tiny prince writhing to escape her grip.

"Maybe you would make a good husband after all, I could get used to this." She remarked.

The woman gave the prince another light squeeze before bounding over to her bed and opening her hand, setting Erik out lying in her palm. Lying was perhaps far too generous; he was more sprawled out on the soft surface. In this moment he actually wished he had just sucked it up and offered Marie a marriage proposal. This visit blew hers out of the water in terms of things going south fast.

He was so weak that all he could do was squirm slightly as Amelia removed his boots, flicking them to the floor without much care. The nail of her pinky snaked under the waist of his trousers and wriggled it down his legs before she simply pulled his shirt off, buttons snapping and popping easily under her strength. He was naked and bare in the palm of the vengeful young woman's hand, everything laid out for her to see. With an amused snort she flicked at his flaccid member.

"Well, that's disappointing. You aren't enjoying yourself, little prince? You know you might have enjoyed yourself earlier if you just went along with my idea." She remarked, flicking it a little more harshly and eliciting a cry of pain from Erik as he curled up upon himself.

With a roll of her eyes the princess tipped her hand over, sending the prince tumbling from her hand and into the open air between it and her bed. He cried out as he fell, landing on the plush and soft surface with a grunt. His head lolled from side to side as he tried to reorient himself. Each moment seemed to bring new ways for Amelia to torment him; honestly the prince didn't see how things could get much worse.

His question was answered as once more he was pressed down upon, sinking into the yielding mattress below. The difference here was that it was the soft and doughy flesh of Amelia's bare sole above him, his face forced against it as he was forced to inhale the slight scent of sweat. It would appear that the Creator most likely had it out for him. He certainly knew Amelia did as she pressed down as hard as she could, trapping Erik between the mattress and her foot. He couldn't even move as the surfaces were yielding to his form to trap him further.

There was no light and he couldn't feel anything but the skin above him, which was slowly starting to stick to his own bare skin and the mattress below. Every breath was filled with only Amelia's scent, the faint traces of leather, sweat, and her floral perfume mixing together to form a strange cocktail of smells. As the moments went by she would arch her foot to press down upon him more and more or twist her foot slightly. Erik had never thought to feel utterly helpless but beneath Amelia at that moment he most certainly did.

The worst part was that her movements were stimulating at his member, teasing and caressing at it and giving form to arousal. He couldn't stop himself from feeling as he did as arousal entered the mix of emotions swirling in his gut. The prince wanted her to stop, but at the same time he wanted her to keep going just to alleviate that ache that had settled between his legs. Just enough to get him going.

Finally and mercifully the princess let up, raising her foot up. Erik ended up going along for the ride as sweat had stuck him to the bottom of her sole. Amelia looked back on her foot and giggled at the sight of the tiny prince sticking to her foot, sitting down and crossing her legs so she could get a better look at him. Erik felt pain flare in his back as her thumb pressed hard against his back and he was forced against her foot once more.

"Aww, looks like you really like being there. Maybe I should wear you with my sandals, then you could be as close as you want all day." Amelia said, chuckling at the end.

Erik felt fear freeze the blood in his veins at that threat and stopped squirming altogether. The princess wriggled her toes slightly and flexed her foot, wrinkling the flesh of her sole enough to affect the prince stuck there. Her long silence suggested she was seriously considering the idea. Anything would be better than that. He'd rather be her personal sex toy than end up spending the whole day under her feet!

"No protests then? Alright then, who am I to argue? I was just thinking I could run a few errands." She said cheerfully.

The princess chuckled as she lowered her feet down into her sandals and started buckling them back up, pressing down especially hard when Erik touched down. The prince writhed and tried to cry out, but all that accomplished was getting a mouthful of sweat from the sole now trapping him against the leather sandal. Amelia tapped her foot experimentally, wriggling her toes as she got used to having Erik beneath her foot. With that done she started moving.

Each step compressed a mountain of flesh further upon him, sticking him further to the bottom of her foot. He could only see the creases of skin directly in front of his face and could only hear the slap of her footwear touching the ground. The prince couldn't move an inch and felt each and every step she took. At first it seemed like she was stomping to deliberately cause him as much discomfort as possible however eventually her steps became normal. The difference was barely noticeable but her steps didn't cause quite as much pain.

This was all he knew as the hours ticked by, the constant motion of being compressed under her peachy sole while being forced to inhale only her scent. Occasionally there were merciful moments when she stopped moving and was likely just standing in one place for a bit. He was still being crushed beneath her full weight but at least there wasn't the dizzying sensation the walking brought with it.

Erik was trapped and he felt as lowly as he had ever felt in his life. His hatred for Amelia was at the moment overshadowed by a fear of her. She was in so complete control over him that it was unbelievable. She decided when he got a break and when she wanted to torment him. He couldn't lift a finger to stop it. The most he could manage was to weakly wriggle against her occasionally, though those slight movements earned rather heavy step upon him. He was bruised and battered and it seemed like it had been days since he had first been slipped inside her sandals.

Eventually other things set in. The arousal was still there of course, however hunger was also fast settling over his stomach as it let out a dejected groan. His tongue felt so utterly foul from having been forced to take in little beads of sweat that formed in Amelia's foot. He was also certain he would only been smelling Amelia's scent for days after this meeting, constantly reminding of his time spent trapped under her foot.

Hours continued to tick past with no end in sight as the princess spent the entire time on her feet and moving about. He wished she would just lounge about in a chair and read, to do something that didn't involve walking. Irrational fear started to take hold. What if she kept him like this? Or what if she convinced his father to have him marry her? Every day of every moment this would be where he'd be, stuck under her foot while she did whatever she pleased. She had already remarked that he'd be a pleasing husband to have.

These thoughts were all buzzing in his skull as his torment dragged on and on, his only company in this sweaty and soft hell. He was more afraid of Amelia right now than anyone else. Marie's clumsy airheaded ways would be preferable to being trapped under a sadistic wife day in and day out. Her country was rather large after all and somewhat advanced, an ideal ally for the homunculi and all it would cost would be the prince's sense of being. The irrational fear hung over his mind, dominating his thoughts as he convinced himself that it would actually happen. All because of a stupid mistake.

Eventually Amelia came to a halt again and Erik heard buckles being removed outside. Cool air replaced the leather upon his back as the princess mercifully removed him from his prison. She gripped one of his legs between her thumb and forefinger and gently peeled him off from the bottom of her foot. Cool air assaulted the skin where only Amelia's sole had been not moments ago and the prince found himself sprawled out in her palm once more, staring up at her amused face.

"Well, that was fun. Why can't all my suitors be so easy to handle? Life would be so much easier that way." The giantess wondered aloud.

She smirked as she noted Erik's involuntary arousal. "Well, looks like you could use some stress relief. Such a pity you turned me down earlier, I might actually be inclined to alleviate it."

It must have been late as Amelia had already shed her toga and her tunic in favor of a nightgown. Her dark hair spilled about her head, curling gently as it fell. Erik couldn't form a proper sentence as is mouth was so dry and his belly felt so empty. The young woman seemed to realize this and set him down on the table nearby, a saucer of water and some bread set out. Erik didn't think before immediately tearing into the meager meal, princely decorum evaporating under the sheer need he felt.

"Eat up, little prince, I want some good use out of you tonight before you depart." Amelia stated.

The command pricked at his pride, but fear outweighed the anger in this instance. If he displeased her she might well decide she could do with a little nighttime stroll. After enduring the worst hours of his life Erik wasn't exactly in a hurry to add on to them. The prince finished his little meal and felt himself immediately be snatched up by the princess, who strolled right back to her bed and tossed him down upon it.

Erik watched from the bed as Amelia shrugged her gown from her shoulders, revealing every inch of her sumptuous form to him. She stretched slightly, blatantly showing herself off to her captive audience. She crossed her arms under her ample breasts, pushing them up. Erik remembered those quite well and what it had felt like being stuck between them. He found himself mesmerized by the sight of them all the same.

Amelia reached down a gripped the slightly squirming prince in her hand before lying back in her bed, setting one arm behind her head to give her a rather relaxed look. She smirked at her tiny captive for the night, licking her lips. Erik swallowed hard as he waited for whatever was to come next. After having spent an entire day under her, the homunculus doubted there was much worse she could do to him.

"Right, so I want to see just what a homunculus feels like between my legs. Go ahead and squirm all you want, little prince, it will probably end up feeling better. For me anyway." Amelia said, slowly lowering the prince lower between her legs.

The prince ended up dangling by one of his legs as she held him over her rather moistened lower lips. His eyes were wide as he stared down at them, like the closed maw of some great monster. Oh he struggled alright, squirming and writhing as he tried to escape the hold of the vengeful giantess. Her free hand was lowered and spread her lips, her interior nice and moist and just waiting for its meal as it practically drooled.

"Wait, no-!"

Whatever he had tried to say was cut off as he was lowered headfirst into Amelia's folds. He slid inside, lubricated by her arousal and pushed by her fingers as deeply as they could push him. It was then, trapped in the sweltering humidity inside of the princess that he realized that this was far worse than his stay under her foot had been. Worse in a way that he hadn't thought possible in his wildest nightmares.

She was all around him. Her slick and slipper flesh practically pulsed around him, tensing occasionally at his slightest of movements. Moisture dripped and formed all around him, her flesh squelching as he put his hand down as more formed from the stimulation. He couldn't see of course but he could let his mind fill in the blanks as to just what this place was actually, really like.

When he opened his mouth the only thing he got was a mouthful of her juices, the salty fluid forced down in one horrid gulp. Her fingers were back and apparently she was impatient as she used them to push him deeper into her, the flesh around him pressing up all around him to receive him. It was then that he started to struggle and back it way out of her, instead only serving to pleasure and stimulate the sensitive flesh around him.

Her distant heartbeat grew to be more audible as he struggled, her heartbeat increasing as he stimulated her. This couldn't be happening! He was Erik Lostrem, not some sex toy of a princess! At the moment though that was what it felt like he was, a toy Amelia was using. The thoughts from earlier were in the forefront of his mind now. He couldn't marry this woman; if he did he doubted he'd emerge from it whole. Was this how it would be? Kept under her foot until bedtime when she opted to use him for whatever?

As his struggles kept going the flesh around him continued to twitch and press up against him, pulling him deeper and deeper into Amelia. Her heartbeat was thundering in the distance now as more of her pleasure secreted from the flesh. Eventually everything tensed up and squeezed at him, crushing the foul and humid air from his lungs. He felt light headed at that moment and felt even more do in the next moment.

Jet after jet of her pleasure washed over him. It was in his eyes, in his nose, in his hair, and in his mouth. It coated him from head to toe and in the end the battered and bruised homunculus felt absolutely horrid. Amelia seemed to calm down which gave Erik time to climb backwards. He felt that he was making progress, at least until the woman's finger pushed him back up into her. Apparently she had plenty more energy left in her... Erik prayed to the Creator that it wouldn't last long.

_____________________________________________________________________

Erik sat upon his cushion in the carriage as it wheeled away from the city, sighing in contentment from the familiar material. His body ached and hurt more than he had ever thought possible. His clean clothes felt good upon him and his hair was no longer a mess. All in all he looked like a tolerably civilized homunculi once more. He stared up at the ceiling of the carriage as he allowed himself to fall into his thoughts.

Amelia had handed him off to his retainer, though not before leaving him with a rather frightening set of parting words. "I can't wait to meet you again, Prince Lostrem. I'll be certain to tell your father how delightful you were as company."

Just thinking back to her warm breath upon the back of his head was enough to send chills down his spine. However, while his fear of her was still very much present Erik knew the threat of actually wedding her was unlikely at best. His father had set him out to find a woman who he liked and would strength Eteria through alliance. He most certainly was not going to consider Amelia for that. In all likelihood the princess just wanted to give him one last vindictive scare before they parted, hopefully forever.

Even still... the irrational fear was still there. One couldn't just forget the time where they spent an entire afternoon stuck beneath the foot of a suitor and then an entire night spent as her personal toy. He still couldn't believe that last bit. Four times. He hadn't even known women could have more than one in a row much less four! Erik shivered, ignoring the inquisitive look Lucius was giving him. He most certainly wasn't going to talk about the details. All he had needed to say was that it hadn't gone well. The rest was faaar too embarrassing. He'd be the laughing stock of Eteria if anyone found out! Best to just brace himself for whatever was to come next. It could only go up hill from here after all.

Her lips were spread in a wide grin, one that seemed to stretch from ear to ear. Her dark hair was wild about her face and she looked rather like a goddess of old staring down at him. There was cruel mirth in her eyes, a mirth that brought fear to the forefront of his mind. There was nowhere to run or to hide and no one else around. It was just he and this grinning giantess. She blew a strand of hair from her face as she leaned in very closely, a chuckle bubbling up from within her chest.

"Well now, husband, we have all the time in the world to have fun now. You are all mine, forever! Let's get you set up in your proper place, shall we?" The young woman boomed, her voice seeming to echo out for miles.

Erik tried to move, tried to cast a spell but his body was completely frozen. He could only watch in horror as her hand, so much bigger than it had seemed in reality descended. Its grip was suffocating, tearing the air from his lungs. The next moment he was falling through the air, his arms flailing as desperately tried to find purchase for his hands. He cried out as he fell for what felt like and seemed like miles.

Eventually he landed hard upon a hauntingly familiar leather surface. He looked up at the woman looming over him and his eyes widened as five wriggling toes started to descend towards the surface of the sandal. He couldn't move again, he could only watch as the woman's foot drew closer and closer to him. Amelia's chuckle rolled across him like a thunder clap across the sky itself.

"Welcome to your new place in life, little prince, I just know you'll enjoy it..."

Erik finally gained the ability to scream as a mountain of flesh pressed down upon him...

"Your Grace! Wake up!"

Erik opened his eyes as he was shaken awake by the gloved fingers of his retainer. The young prince flinched away from the touch and looked around warily, trying to get his bearings. The rumbling of cobbled road, the artfully shaped metal surrounding him, and the cushion he laid upon told him he was in his carriage. Right. The carriage, his journey. It all came back though with it came the memories that rather horrid dream had been based off of. It was just that though, memory. Amelia was miles behind him now.

The homunculus noted the rather worried looked Lucius was giving him, naked concern writ across his face. The young prince sat up and worked to compose himself, smoothing out his hair and his clothes as best he was able. He wasn't horridly disheveled but it would certainly be noticeable. He couldn't afford that today. Regardless of how he might feel about this task that had been forced upon him, he was representing his race.

"Are we there yet?" Erik inquired, clearing his throat as he attempted to divert inquiry towards his nightmare.

The look upon Lucius' aged face told the homunculus that he wanted to pursue the topic but he opted against it thankfully enough. "Nearly. The castle isn't far now."

Erik nodded, falling into silence once more as the carriage rolled along. Ever since his... ordeal with Amelia Valendris he'd been having the rather unpleasant dreams. The faintest traces of dark circles ringed his eyes though she hadn't been the only subject of his darker dreams. Marie had been there as well, the clumsy princess having once accidently knocked him into one of her fancy slippers and trapped him there. They weren't constant but they were enough to have him dreading sleep.

Were all of his encounters going to be so dreadful? Was this one big horrid affair where members of the larger races could just do whatever they pleased with him? Given his last two suitors Erik wasn't exactly optimistic about his next one. The only thing he could say for certain was there was absolutely no way she could be any worse than the last one. She would need to be some kind of demon for that to not be true.

"So, who is next on the list again?" Erik inquired.

Lucius produced his little leather bound book and scanned it briefly, still frowning slightly. "Knight-Princess Lea Silverhand. She is the only child of the Order Master-King and is twenty-one years of age. Veteran of four campaigns and a distinguished commander as well as a very skilled warrior. With a recent sickness having befallen her father she has taken over many of his duties."

So a dull minded warrior brute. Fantastic. "Anything else?"

"She has had few suitors call upon her due to her... rather authoritative presence. Those that did she turned aside for being unworthy. A rather hard woman to impress by all accounts." He stated.

Erik barely suppressed a groan. He was doomed from the onset it seemed. A warrior and a rather hard to please woman did not exactly add to his odds. Maybe he'd be lucky and she would take one look at him and send him away. It wasn't exactly a likely scenario but he could at least hope. As the carriage rolled along he imagined some giant muscle bound ox of a woman, missing half her teeth and three fingers. Those who pursued such mundane endeavors certainly couldn't possess much in the way of intelligence.

The carriage continued to roll along the road and passed under the massive arching gate of a large castle. When it lurched to a stop Erik took a moment to compose himself. No matter what he needed to be polite and cordial unless he was openly insulted. He had to show he was civilized though also not weak willed. Otherwise this princess would walk all over him, perhaps in a very literal sense.

Lucius offered his hand though before he stepped on Erik opted to finally speak. "Lucius... how do you deal with things outside of your control?"

He pursed his lips. "You accept that you can't control them and endure."

The prince chuckled as he stepped onto his retainer's hands. He had always been in complete control over his destiny. To just accept that it was now possible in the hands of numerous others was not something he could just do. He was a prince after all, born to command and control. He wasn't sure he could accept the twists life was throwing at him lately.

Like the one both he and Lucius received immediately upon exiting the carriage.

Arrayed in rows within the main courtyard of the palace were dozens of armed and armored knights, the sun glinting off of their metal figures. They were at attention and stood ramrod straight, one in each row holding a banner that moved slightly in the light breeze. This... was certainly more fanfare than his last visit had received. They made it certain that the only path open was the one up a set of stairs and into the main keep itself. Erik blinked and looked to Lucius who looked just as shocked as he.

A loud voice carried across the courtyard. "So, you are the prince I am to meet?"

From within the keep emerged another armored figure though this one was a woman. She was tall, taller than any human Erik had laid eyes upon. Her armor hid her form completely, the polished metal gleam in the sunlight. A white cloak was set over her shoulders with the symbol of her nation prominently upon it. Upon her brow was a circlet of silver, rubies inlaid upon the surface though the woman herself was rather not what he had expected.

Her strawberry blonde hair was cut short at her ears, certainly given credence to her more militant nature. Her right eye was covered by a black eyepatch with metal studs, a rather ugly scar streaking down where her eye had once been. She was handsome as opposed to classically beautiful, though certainly attractive enough even with the scar as a detractor. She exuded a heavy air of authority, her shoulders squared and her posture denoting one of absolute command over those around her.

She stopped in the middle of the courtyard, the heel of her boots clanking loudly. She smacked the bottom of her scabbarded sword upon the stone ground as her blue eye bore into Erik's, her gaze as hard as steel. Erik did not waver under the look, his composure refusing to crumble even under the eye of this woman. There was silence until Lucius opted to speak his piece as he was required to do.

"I present Prince Eri-."

"I addressed the man standing upon your hand, retainer! Unless he perhaps lacks a voice of his own." She bellowed, silencing Lucius.

Erik narrowed his eyes at the woman and sucked in a great breath. "I am Prince Erik Lostrem, son of Mage-King Fredrick Lostrem of Eteria. Master of Illusionism, Vice-Director of Golem Design and Manufacture, Holder of thirteen separate patents on various inventions, and second in line for the throne of Eteria."

The armored woman tapped her scabbard upon the ground once. "I am Knight-Princess Lea Silverhand, daughter of Order Master-King Laurent Silverhand. Knight-Captain of Sixth Regiment, Blademaster of the Iron Tower, and current Knight-Regent."

The exchange of titles was crisp and clear and both royals stared each other down. The princess' posture never wavered and neither did Erik's as such would be a sign of weakness. Perhaps she might more quickly dismiss him were he weak willed but he had his pride to think of. He would not waver under her stare. There was an almost electric intensity between them as mage and warrior refused to yield.

Finally after a good few moments Lea walked forward, her armor clanking loudly. She held out her free hand and the homunculus got the silent message. Lucius looked rather concerned at the idea of handing him over to the armed and armored princess. The tall woman snorted as she noted his hesitation.

"Your loyalty to your charge does you credit sir; however I am in no hurry to spark a war with the homunculi. I assure you, my intentions are non-violent." She said.

"Its fine, Lucius. You are free to do as you please in my absence." Erik said, dismissing his retainer easily enough.

The older man sighed and allowed the prince to step off onto Lea's gauntleted hand, the metal cold and unyielding. With that she turned on her heel and walked towards the keep. It was a test and one he actually understood. It tickled at his pride, as though to admit he required his retainer close by was a sign he was weaker than she. Erik doubted very much she was another Amelia, she seemed too... proper for that. Too rigid and less like a bored brat. A little like him in some ways.

The princess marched through the well-lit corridors of the castle, navigating them with ease. She didn't speak to him and he didn't speak to her. The young prince considered requesting her thumb be offered for support, casting the thought aside a moment later. He had to stand on his own two feet. He needed nothing from this knight and would not give her the satisfaction of a request for her aid.

Eventually they reached a rather well lit study, a small room with a few book cases, a fire place and a table with some chairs. Upon the table was a simple wooden chess board, the pieces looking to have been hand carved. It was not grand or ornate and in fact was very much rough, lacking in polish. Regardless it was clear what it was. Lea set him down on one side of the board and she sat down upon a chair on the other side.

"I want to see if you are worth the effort of getting to know. So I will give you the same challenge I gave all of my other suitors. Beat me." She challenged.

"How do I know you are worth my time?" Erik shot back.

Lea smirked. "You'll have to play me to find out. I have never lost a game. I have my doubts a man of your talent is looking for a woman of fine silks and little brains. Homunculi value intelligence."

Erik conceded that point though he stared at the board in thought. He could just turn down her offer and that would be that. She'd likely not consider him and they could part ways with no harm or foul. However there was a slight competitive itch that rose in him at the sight of the board. No one back home had managed to beat him at the game, his genius reigning supreme upon the battlefield as well as in academia.

"To make things interesting, how about this. If you win we will conduct this meeting however you wish it to go. If you wish to simply play and part ways then so be it. If I win then I will control the course of the meeting. Including what fate the loser shall suffer." She said, a light entering her sole eye.

The homunculus didn't like the prospect of what she might possible have in store for him, the time spent with Amelia flashing through his mind. However he supposed that by extension he would also have a say in what her fate would be at the end. A high stakes game of pride on both sides of the board. Not one that Erik could possibly back down from once presented before him, such was his way.

"Very well. I believe you have white so the first move is your, my lady." He stated.

Erik was quickly realizing that Lea's claim was no mere boast. She was actually fairly good at this. The opening moves had been rather standard of course as both players got a gauge of each other. The prince was personally favoring a rather defensive strategy, trying to lure his opponent into wasting her more valuable pieces. The knight however was not so easily fooled it seemed and worked around most of his feints with some quick moves of her own.

The homunculus found the pieces rather light thankfully and were about half his size so it was easy for him to make his moves. Indeed he made a habit of inspecting the board closely, pacing up and down his side and her side as he plotted out his moves. This seemed to actually amuse the princess. Currently she was watching him closely, her eye following his every movement and likely getting a feel for his posture.

Of course they also chatted a bit. Erik had never been fond of playing in silence and it appeared Lea was much the same. For the first time since embarking on this cursed task the prince was actually feeling tolerably good. His ill fortune with his previous suitors was forgotten as he allowed himself to enjoy the presence of this rather good opponent. As he moved back to his side of the board the woman took up her cup of water and sipped at it.

"Hmm... don't you find it interesting how, in chess, the queen holds all the strength while the king sits idly by?" She inquired.

Erik pushed one of his pawns forward and rolled his eyes. "You are not the first to ask me that. I've had plenty of time to ponder their power dynamic actually."

Lea took hold of her rook and moved him to the side, tipping over the pawn and snatching it up. Her gauntlets had been shed; revealing long rough fingers covered in callouses. Her fingernails were short and worn, obviously frequently filed down. The hands of a woman who plied her craft on a battlefield and practice ground. Yet it appeared she was not quite as uncivilized as the prince had been expecting.

"Oh? Do tell."

Erik had expected the move and immediately moved his nearest bishop towards her rook, capturing it easily and stealing it away to his side of the board. "The queen has strength but the king has power. He need not move as he is the one commanding the troops. Power is not measured in mere physical prowess but in the influence one has over others. The king influences all."

It was a few moments until Lea opted to respond, the princess frowning as she peered at the new board. She seemed to think over his analysis of the philosophy of the game, mulling it over with her own thoughts. Her fingers were poised over her queen, her eye darting around in contemplation. Erik rather hoped she would use it, moving it into one of his traps. After a time her finger left it and instead she moved one of her unused knights into a rather unfortunate position. One that would set him back a few moves. If he took it he would be in the path of her other rook.

"An interesting take on the concept. I'm inclined to agree with it to some degree."

She leaned back in her chair, content with her move and the situation it put Erik in. This was when the game was slowing down, each player carefully considering their next moves. The homunculus was very conservative with his next few moves, focused upon setting up rather than on taking one of Lea's pieces outright. The princess on the other hand was content to keep with her aggressive tactics, snatching up a couple of pawns with little consequence.

Erik was left staring at the board rather forlornly, not at all pleased by the current set up. His queen was in a very bad spot and one of his rooks was hanging a little too far out in the open. He supposed there was nothing else for it, though... he could do something. The homunculus was not going to lose this game. His pride would not allow it. Perhaps if he could get Lea to look away or leave the room...

The tall woman rolled her shoulders, metal clanking loudly. "Eh, I think I'm going to go get changed before my next move. You don't mind, do you?"

Perfect. "Not at all, my lady. Take your time."

With that Lea stood and departed the room, metal clanking all the while. With her gone Erik set himself to looking at the board and pondering just what positions he should alter. He was not so foolish as to think of stealing a few moves on her, the princess would likely notice that bit of under handed tactics. She would also likely not appreciate it. Instead he looked at his queen and his rook. The queen was obviously much more valuable and the rook, while out in the open and alone was not in much danger. The queen also currently couldn't escape its doom while the rook had a retreat open.

The homunculus dipped into his magical reserves and crafted a simple illusion called image transfer. He transferred the rook's image and the queen's, swapping them to have them change places. The change was seamless and quick, requiring very little magic to maintain. It was a gamble that Lea wouldn't notice but it was more likely than taking one of her pieces while she was away. The prince was certainly not above altering a few parts of the game to his advantage.

He moved his new queen in a quick retreat in the corner of his territory. Satisfied he awaited the princess' return. The woman returned quickly enough, wearing a simple tunic, a skirt and a pair of supple leather boots. She sat down, setting her sword down next to her chair as she surveyed the board. She frowned slightly as she gazed down at the new board and for a few moments Erik feared she had discovered his little trick. However she simply took the new rook and passed the turn onto the homunculus, none the wiser it seemed.

"That is a fascinating carriage you arrived in. The tales of the technological prowess of your people are quite accurate it seems." Lea noted as she sipped at her water.

Erik felt a swell of pride as he quickly pulled a number of his pieces back on the defensive with his next series of moves. "It was a gift from my father when he sent me off, based off of one of my own designs actually though obviously scaled up."

The princess was quick to pursue him, never once letting up or leaving much of an opening for him to exploit. "The technology of the homunculi is unmatched it is said and looking at that I can believe it. A race that lacks in size and strength possesses wit and intelligence in abundance it seems. Well... perhaps not all smaller races. I've met a few dwarves after all." She joked lightly.

"Wit and intelligence are not so important to them as honor and a good fight. Actually... I think there are a few dwarves on my visit list..." Erik said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"One of my past suitors was a dwarf. A nobleman with a thick red beard and a belly as round as a barrel." She said as she stole one of Erik's last remaining pawns.

"How did that go?"

"He got so drunk he could barely see straight and passed out over the board before the fifth move."

The homunculus chuckled at that as he moved his queen through an opening that had finally been revealed in Lea's defenses. The move took him straight to her king, nothing between his queen and the valuable piece. The princess licked her lips at the rather risky move, her eye narrowing as the ball was placed in her court. Erik felt a swelling in his chest as he finally had her on her toes.

"Well, this meeting is going much better than my last two." He remarked aloud.

"Oh?"

"Indeed. One was sweet but clumsy as anyone I've ever met with nothing between her ears. The second was a complete brat. She opted to keep me stuffed under her foot for most of my time with her." He said, unsure why he had just admitted that to the woman across from him.

After a long moment of thought the princess opted to just move her king out of check, smirking at his words. "Trust me, if your list is as long as you say there is more of that to come. Chances are I might even know a few of the women you are to see."

Erik didn't think about moving his queen to put her king back in check, instead focusing upon her words. "Really?"

"Certainly. I would suggest being on the lookout for two in particular. Eva Redfist, a rather violent and ill-tempered dwarven princess and Isina Utlas, a rather ambitious woman with a mean streak a mile wide. One you might actually enjoy is Elrina Myssia, an elven princess. She's a little shy but very pleasant." She said at length.

Erik made a note to look up all three names on the list to check if they were there. Unfortunately it appeared as though his distraction had kept him from noticing the bishop poised to take his queen. The princess seized the opportunity to snatch the valuable piece right up, grinning as she did. The homunculus paled as she claimed the piece, staring at his side of the board with a sinking feeling in his gut. So few pieces... he'd sacrificed too much trying to lure some of Lea's pieces into traps.

The prince set up a defense around his king, looking for an opening his last remaining bishop might be able to exploit. The situation was once again with him on the losing end after his quick move to set the princess on her heels. He licked at his lips as he watched as one by one the princess cut away at his defenses mercilessly, battering aside any attempt at retaliation. His king was forced into a corner and soon enough he was completely surrounded.

"I believe that is checkmate." Lea stated, placing the last nail in the coffin of his king's fate.

With a deep sigh Erik knew well that he had lost. It had been a long game at the very least and far more entertaining than anyone he had ever played against. Still, it galled him that even after cheating he had managed to lose to her. He had been certain he had been but a few moves away from victory at that point. His distraction with his queen was what had likely doomed him in the end.

Suddenly Lea slammed one of her hands down on the table, standing up to her full height. Erik fell over in surprise, along with a few pieces. She stared down at him with a hard and cold eye once more, her lips set in a line. The prince felt a chill roll down his spine from the look, the temperature in the room suddenly dropping.

"Prince Erik Lostrem, you are intelligent but are also overly cautious and conservative." She declared her voice seemingly ringing off of the walls.

"I... what?" He asked in surprise.

"Over half your moves were defensive and attempts to lure me into a bold attack, and when it became apparent I would not fall for these tricks you did not adapt! You played it safe, only showing a bit of daring near the end. Even cheating you could not defeat me." She said forcefully.

Erik swallowed hard. "You mean... you knew?"

She nodded. "Indeed. Most might have overlooked it but I remember well your introduction as a master of illusionism."

The prince winced and wondered just how Lea dealt with cheaters. She did not seem the type to allow slights to pass her by easily. What would it be? Stuffed in her boots perhaps? Squeezed in her fist? Maybe she'd stomp him repeatedly upon the floor. His experience with Amelia had him fearing the worst for his transgression. He dared to look up to Lea's face, finding the woman sitting back down with an amused smirk upon her lips.

"Worry not; I was actually hoping you would cheat."

Erik blinked. "I'm... sorry?"

Lea waved a hand over the board. "The point of the game for me is not to see who wins or loses, of course that is important but not nearly so much as seeing how far you would go to win."

"In warfare there are no hard or established sets of rules like this game. Generals must do what they can to win no matter what. Those that keep to conventions are doomed to failure; however those who are willing to think outside of them often find success." She said at length.

"I didn't win though." Erik pointed out.

Lea nodded. "Perhaps not the game but you won my test. You wanted to win enough to do anything you could, even cheating. You adapted your situation to better suit you. My other suitors did not. Despite your defensive ways, I accept you as a potentially worthy suitor."

Erik blinked again. The game wasn't actually what she had cared about? He followed her logic and supposed he could see something to it. She wanted someone that was willing to fight for what they wanted. In this case Erik had wanted to win, to prove his superior intellect. Of course he hadn't won but apparently she considered him worthy enough to pursue. Though... he wasn't exactly trying to marry someone. Lea did have an air about her though, an appeal in testing himself against. That was more than the previous two had given him.

"Of course, I suppose I did defeat you on the field of battle. Which means, Prince Lostrem, you are now my prisoner or war." She said with a chuckle, clearing aside the board.

With that the princess slipped off her boots and stretched out, setting her feet out on the table before the homunculus. The tiny prince stared up at her feet, the scent of sweat and leather assaulting his nose. A pit opened in the bottom of his stomach as he looked upon her feet, her toes flexing and curling in the cool air of the study. Lea sighed as she leaned further back in her chair.

"I think I'd like you to give my aching feet some attention, prisoner. Do a thorough job; the victorious princess should enjoy her victory after all." She said, actually managing a little giggle at the end.

Perspective was quickly something Eric was learning to appreciate. Considering his rather rocky first two encounters on the journey to find a future bride, his current situation wasn't honestly that bad. Even if that current situation involved rubbing at the feet of the Knight-Princess who had just defeated him at a game he had never lost at before. As degrading as it was it wasn't as bad as, say, being stepped on repeatedly or used as a personal sex toy.

Lea's feet were by no means either easy to work with or pleasant to be near. They were as calloused as her hands, rough and difficult to properly knead at. It was obvious they spent most of their time in her boots and that she was constantly on long marches or intense training regimens. The smell of course was dreadful, the scent of sweat and leather far more overpowering than it had been with Amelia. However compared to his earlier difficulties this wasn't actually that bad.

Not to say he didn't complain because he most certainly did. "This is revolting." He commented as he strained to rub at the rough skin beneath his hands.

"You agreed to my terms at the beginning. I won, you lost, fair is fair." Lea responded.

"Technically, ah, you said I won." The homunculus said, grunting as Lea pushed at him lightly with her foot.

"You won my interest, not the game. The fair princess may adore the prisoner of war, but he is still a prisoner. Stop whining and put your back into it." She said with a chuckle.

Erik muttered a few unflattering words under his breath as he kneaded at the rough skin, all but pounding at it. The work was actually quite grueling and much more difficult than he had first anticipated. Her feet were much larger than he after all and in his current position he wasn't really having much effect he suspected. He stopped after a few minutes of his, his arms sore from having to work this continually.

Lea shifted her foot and smirked at him. "What, too much work to give me a massage?"

"Maybe if you turned it on its side I could cover more ground." Erik said, glaring at the princess.

She rolled her eye and turned one of her feet onto its side, giving Erik a much more accommodating condition to work with. With this he started kneading at her sole now that he could reach it, straining to actually do something through her thick callouses. She let out a slight sigh of pleasure so obviously he was having an effect. Encouraged by this the prince worked harder, putting his whole body into the task.

Minutes quickly turned into an hour and by that point Erik had actually discarded his shirt, sweat pouring down his body as he had moved onto her other foot. Of course she allowed him breaks here and there, a merciful and graceful victor really. However after a few minutes it was right back to work, his hands becoming quite familiar with every crease and callous. He felt sympathy for those that actually had to do hard labor for a living. If this was what it was like then he was very glad he was born a prince.

As he worked however he also had time to think. Marrying Lea... it wouldn't be terrible he supposed. The main issue is that he would have to leave his homeland to live in hers as she was to be the Order Master-Queen of her nation when her father died. Which meant leaving Eteria forever. However Erik could see himself tolerating her enough that he could spend his life with her. Assuming of course these little foot massages weren't something she'd want frequently. However he supposed it would mean he could end this journey finally.

Eventually Lea shifted her feet, laying them flat on the table and splaying her toes. "Good enough, now get between the toes."

Erik gritted his teeth and stared at the wriggling digits in resignation. Maybe he thought a little too favorably of her. This bit blew the rest out of the water in terms of being awful. He actually had to hold his breath as he worked between each of her toes, ending up getting whatever filth and dirt that had been in her boots upon his hands. The skin of her webbing was especially sensitive it seemed and was actually rather soft compared to the rest of her feet. She actually let out a few sighs as he got to work here.

That wasn't to say there weren't difficulties aside from the smell. More than once her splayed toes would clench on reflex of his touching the sensitive skin, squeezing his face between the digits. He was actually on his knees as he worked, degrading as it was. There was some bitterness in his loss but Lea didn't attempt to deliberately torment him as he worked. At times he found himself getting a little too lost in the task, his pride unwilling to let him fail at something as simple as this after his loss at their game.

"Not bad at all, Prince Lostrem, I think you might have found a calling there." Lea quipped as he toiled away between her toes.

Erik snorted. "I have, ah, higher ambitions than slaving away at your feet, Knight-Princess Silverhand."

"Maybe it wouldn't be so grueling if you built up some muscle. Try working out a little, might help pass the time a little more on your journey. You are a tad... scrawny. Get some more food in your belly as well." She shot back.

That certainly prickled at his pride, though as his arms burned from the strenuous task of just massaging at the feet of one of his suitors there was obviously something to what she said. As he sucked in slightly he could indeed see his own ribs, his tendency to work and research for long periods without food having caught up to him. His field had always been one of the mind rather than one of the body. As she was now, outside of her armor, Erik could see that Lea's muscles were lean and taut from endless hours of physical training. Few homunculi chose to pursue physical disciplines; it was in fact looked down upon as being too 'human'. Still, who could say what the journey might hold before the end?

Finally after a long while Lea removed her feet from the table and Erik slumped over, his arms feeling like lead and sweat coating every inch of his form. His chest heaved as he stared up at the Knight-Princess, marveling that such a simple thing could take so much out of him. The woman leaned forward and shook her head slightly, a smirk upon her lips. The tiny prince fancied that she had a rather nice smile. Her face was not as beautiful as Amelia's or Marie's had been, her ugly scar and lack of an eye certainly detracting but there something about it he liked well enough.

"I believe my point stands. Work out some and eat more. I'm certain your other suitors will appreciate it for aesthetic reasons if nothing else." Lea remarked.

Erik raised a brow. "Here I was pondering ending my little journey by asking for your hand."

She simply shook her head. "You interest me, Prince Lostrem, more than other suitors but I feel as though you can be more."

"Oh? I'm already quite intelligent as you've stated." He pointed out.

"Indeed, however you could not beat me. Not only that but I am but the third name upon your long list. Perhaps at the end of your journey, should you remember me, I will offer you another game and we will see well what you have learned." Lea said.

Erik frowned at that. Wasn't the point of his father sending him out to find a suitable woman to marry? Clearly the Knight-Princess was implying there was another reason. He thought over it for a few moments before giving up, settling focusing on just how sore his body was. It was probably the most he had ever worked physically. His head thudded against the wood of the table as he wiped at his brow. If nothing else had come of this, Lea had at least given him something to think about.

The Knight-Princess gave him some time to cool off and even offered him a bath and a quick meal, which he gratefully accepted. Lea gave him his privacy in those matters, returning once he was finished to take him out to leave. The homunculus felt a tad regretful to have met a halfway enjoyable suitor only for them to part so quickly. Still she had stated her reasoning and he could only accept it for now and hope that there were more like her on his journey and less that were like Amelia.

Lucius stood at attention and accepted Erik back, raising a questioning brow at his charge. The homunculus would fill the man in later on the situation, perhaps leaving out the massage from the tale. All in all this had been a surprisingly good meet up; certainly Lea was not at all what he had expected. The Knight-Princess had fewer knights waiting outside than when he had entered however they all stood at perfect attention for their lady.

"Before you leave, I would leave you with a parting gift. A show of good will from my people to your, regardless of how your journey goes." Lea said, half turning to the gathered knights.

"Ryna!" She bellowed.

A woman, likely in her early thirties, stepped forward from the gathered pool of knights. She was slightly shorter than Lea and possessed short red hair and a freckle ridden face. A single scar cut along the bridge of her nose. She looked rather as well composed as her fellow knights... until she tripped over her cloak and ended up falling flat on the ground in a noisy clatter of metal. Erik lifted a brow and Lea let out an exasperated sigh. Lucius chuckled lightly at the misstep.

Ryna scrambled to her feet and stood as straight as she could. "Y-Your Grace!"

Lea turned to Erik. "Ryna has been one of my personal attendants for a long time, a tad... clumsy as you can see but sharp as a spearhead and good with her blade. I offer her to you so that you might have more protection upon your journey and perhaps eventually find your way back here."

The homunculus hadn't been expecting that. "I thank you for the offer, though I assure you my retainer Lucius is quite well trained in combat. He protected my father for many years."

"That may be so and I do not mean to insult your abilities sir, however your path is long and it will be very dangerous before the end. Having another sword at your side might well be useful. Besides, Ryna is also quite the good cook." Lea said.

The homunculus looked up to Lucius, who simply shrugged to indicate he had little opinion upon the matter. Erik stared long at Ryna, the woman looking rather nervous at the new assignment set upon her by Lea. There was logic in her words and he supposed the carriage certainly had room for another on their journey. Also, neither he nor Lucius were exactly culinary geniuses. He considered the offer for a good long while until Lea spoke again.

"Before, when you told me your theory of the king's power in chess, I found it to be incomplete. You stated he was powerful however he is also wise." Lea said.

"The king possesses few skills of his own, and thus he trusts in the individual abilities his subjects can bring to the table. A wise leader understands that it is the company that surrounds him that makes him powerful, that their skills and talents make up for the gaps in his own." She stated.

Erik blinked at that theory. He actually smiled when she finished and finally nodded in acceptance of her offer. Despite his loss he felt as though he had learned a bit from the woman and her ways, just as he liked to think he had given her a few things to ponder. After this Ryna stepped forward.

"Knight Ryna of Squad One, First Company, Sixth Regiment! At your service and disposal, Prince Erik Lostrem!" She said loud and clear, her chest puffed out and it looked like she was standing on her toes to make herself look a little taller.

The homunculus blinked and wiped a bit of spittle that had fallen from her lips from his face, causing her to pale slightly. Lea shook her head slightly and the young prince wondered if perhaps this wasn't a mistake after all. Only time would tell he supposed.

It was a strange day where Erik was actually bothering to look out the window of the carriage as it rolled along, however for once he wanted to see the city they were approaching. He stared out in wonder as the wagon rolled across a cobbled road towards their destination. Holding him up was Lucius, smirking slightly as he did and also looking out the window was the newest member of his cadre, the knight Ryna.

The city was one of the few Erik knew of by reputation as opposed to mere geography. Sikarus, also known as The Floating City. As the moniker suggested it sat stationary in the sky, held aloft by an intense flux in magical energy. The energy was so very thick it seemed to buzz in the very air, invigorating the homunculus the closer they got to the lake outpost where one could be transported to the city proper. Of all the sights he had seen since his journey had begun looking at the city floating so high above the earth was certainly the highlight.

"Woah..." Ryna breathed, her green eyes wide as they marveled at the feat of magic.

The word felt inadequate to describe the awe a true mage might feel. To Erik it was the closest thing to being in a place that felt... right since leaving Eteria. Since the day he had first drawn breath he had been born in a place saturated in magical energy. Departing it had left him feeling melancholy however now he felt a surge through his veins, one that ensured he could weave illusions that were massive and spanning as opposed to merely objects or image transfers. His eyes trailed over the floating crystals of solidified magical residue and sighed. This was going to be a good visit already.

With a final look at the looming city the homunculus signaled for Lucius to set him down on his cushion, knowing quite well there was a catch to visiting this place. It was irritating. The one place he knew for a fact actually had a sizeable population of fellow homunculi and of mages and he was here for a suitor. One that could very well put a damper in his mood. The question was whether she was going to be a Lea, a Marie, or an Amelia. The last one he prayed to the Creator himself she was not.

Ryna sat back down beside Lucius. The woman had indeed proven to be a very able chef; her first meal cooked having both of the men nearly in tears compared to their normal fare on the road. However the offset to that was that, while certainly smart in her own way, she was horridly clumsy. Erik had nearly be sat on by the knight more times than he cared to count and had stepped on Lucius' foot at least twice, while wearing her full armor. Needless to say the older man had since developed a slight limp.

"So, Lucius, who is next on the list?" Erik inquired.

The older man produced his little book and Ryna looked over in interest. The man frowned and slightly moved it so that she couldn't see the contents. The knight huffed at the denial and crossed her arms over her breastplate with a loud clank of metal against metal. Erik rolled his eyes at the behavior of the two.

"Hmm... ah, you will be seeing two today. Mistresses Olivia and Lucina Liolis."

The homunculus and the knight gave him a rather strange look. "Sisters?"

He nodded. "Identical twins to be precise. The second and third in line for the position of Archmage respectively. Both eighteen years of age. Mistress Olivia is a known illusionist and Mistress Lucina is a powerful elementalist."

Mages at the very least which presented an immediate common ground between them at the very least. Erik wrinkled his nose at the mention of one being an elementalist however. The art was typically used for military purposes and its practitioners were often very violent. Even still however it was more in common than he had with his previous suitors. Better yet, due to trade relations between Eteria and Sikarus and their common ground of magic the community of homunculi there was supposedly healthy.

Ryna opted to vocalize one of his concerns however. "If they are both twins won't seeing both be... awkward? I mean if I was looking at pursuing a man and my sister was pursuing the same man there would be blood."

Lucius actually squirmed in his seat, looking very much uncomfortable. "Ahem, actually, they are apparently looking for a... shared husband."

Erik didn't bat an eye at the words though he quickly noticed the look of open disgust upon Ryna's face. "They WHAT!? What is wrong with them!?" She yelled.

The homunculus blinked at the reaction the knight gave to it, rather taken aback by how vehemently. Lucius was rather uncomfortable with speaking about it as well. "I don't particularly see the cause for distress." He remarked.

The knight looked at him incredulously. "WHAT!? Are you joking? There are two of them wanting to marry one man and just... share him! Its- Its not right!"

Erik sighed as he found the issue finally. Humans were sometimes rather difficult to comprehend. "Polygamy is common enough among the homunculi. Often in research groups or communities of likeminded wizards. The previous Mage-King had three wives at one time and one of them had two husbands." He said with a shrug.

Lucius quickly took a very keen interest in his shoes when Ryna looked to him to dispel that bit of knowledge. The young prince found it odd Lucius had been among his people for so long but had yet to properly be comfortable with commonalities. Most human civilizations were typically monogamous in their marriages apparently, so in hindsight he supposed Ryna's reaction was actually understandable.

"Also, Ryna, do try to remember your manners and try not to yell at me once we are in the city." He stated.

The knight looked even more mortified for having blurted that out without thinking. "Yes, your grace! Please forgive me, your grace!"

Erik waved it away, wishing that she wouldn't raise her voice so much. His ears were ringing enough as it was. Still he hadn't expected to run into two at once. After his encounter with Lea he was at least a little heartened by the possibility some of the women on his list might be nice company. He was locked in at this point so he would have to see the list through to the end at the least. Best to keep his options open. Lea might have been his best encounter but certainly she wasn't the only good one.

The carriage rolled to a halt and the air grew thick with magic around it, the very air starting to swirl and twist. The carriage had rolled upon a large circle, one that glowed briefly before blue strands of energy wafted up into the air. The energy spun and spun and there was a sudden lurch before the spinning stopped. The air once more reverted to normal and the carriage was no longer within the outpost, but was now surrounded by fine marble buildings and archways that carved a path through the city. One couldn't enter Sikarus normally after all.

Erik and Lucius, used to such magic were relatively unaffected though Ryna looked ready to spill her breakfast within the carriage. Fortunately she kept it down as the carriage started rolling along the streets of Sikarus. The sight of a horseless carriage was likely not exactly unusual in the city of magic, though a few did stop to marvel at its craftsmanship. Regardless the path of the carriage was unimpeded as it rolled towards the distant towers. In the center of the city.

Once they arrived before the gates of one of the monolithic towers Lucius offered Erik his hand and they hopped out of the carriage, Ryna bringing up the rear. A robed figure was quick to approach the trio, bowing low. "Prince Lostrem, the Mistresses are expecting you. Please, follow me."

The prince and his retainers filed in behind the man as he entered the tower, starting up a flight of stairs. Lucius' limp was showing and Erik found his own footing unsteady as a result through the gloved white thumb was useful as a purchase of sorts. They stopped before a large gilded set of double doors, the man escorting them presenting his hand out to the young prince. He bowed his head low.

"The Mistresses would like to meet with the prince in privacy. They welcome you to adjourn to the floor below this one. The servants will tend to your needs." He said.

Both Lucius and Ryna frowned at that, however the prince raised a hand to forestall protests. He already had a feeling in his gut; however he doubted he would get to confirm it with both of them here. He stepped onto the man's hand and the robed servant bobbed his head to the concerned retainers before opening one of the doors and pushing it closed behind him. They then proceeded down a rather long hallway with a high ceiling.

As they walked Erik closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. "An impressive weave you wrapped around yourself. The image seems simple enough but the pitch of voice of an opposite gender is no easy task. A lesser illusionist might well have been fooled."

A chuckle, a rather feminine chuckle emerged from the robed man's throat. "I see you are quite perspective. What gave me away?"

"I can still smell your perfume. Lavender, quite expensive and a servant is unlikely to possess access to it."

He felt a tingle down his spine as there was an unravelling of the weave behind him. The hand he stood upon lost its callouses and became soft and supple to the touch, coffee brown skin replacing pale skin. Erik felt at ease even after exposing his escort, this much quite familiar to him. At the academy such little games were common enough though he himself hadn't bothered much with it.

He turned his head slightly, getting a good look at the new person holding him. Her long glossy dark hair fell in gently curling locks about her youthful and angular face, a smirk upon her dainty lips revealing a dimple on her right cheek. Her silken white robes hugged her form nicely, showing her to be rather lean and slender, her curves not nearly as pronounced as Amelia's had been. Below a pair of sandals clacked loudly with each step, her nails painted a bright white color with the gleam of diamonds set upon each nail. Likely her finger nails were similarly painted. Her eyes were an eerie shade of gold, likely an illusion of some sort and she had a tiny diamond insert into her forehead.

He turned his gaze forward once more, bracing himself on an offered thumb as she started up a flight of stairs. "Mistress Olivia Liolis I presume."

She giggled coyly. "Indeed, Prince Erik Lostrem. My dearest Luci awaits us in the sitting room ahead. We have a lovely meal set out, if you would care to join us."

"I would be delighted." He responded civilly.

Erik was completely at ease in the palm of this young woman's rather steady hand. Olivia at least seemed rather like many of his fellow colleagues, wrapping herself in an air of mystery. One never knew were the illusion ended and reality began with many. Even the young prince couldn't be entirely sure what about her was real. He supposed one look at her twin would tell him enough. Unless of course there was an illusion cast over her as well...

Eventually they entered a large wide open room with a few plush chairs set around a table. Sitting at the table with her bare feet upon it and a hovering ball of fire in her right hand was the obvious twin of Olivia, Lucina Liolis. She had the same angular features, the same brown skin; in fact they looked so alike that physically it was nearly impossible to distinguish them. The difference was that Lucina wore dark robes as opposed to Olivia's white ones, her nails were painted black and had little pieces of obsidian inlaid upon the nails and upon her forehead.

Upon the table Erik was pleased to note there were utensils and a chair sized for a homunculus, the gesture already warming him to both mages immediately. This changed the minute Lucina opened her mouth. "Finally. You sure took your sweet time getting here, smallkin." She said, dismissing the flickering flames upon her hand.

Erik narrowed his eyes and was about to say something he would probably regret before Olivia intervened. "Darling, don't be rude to our guest. He's probably had such a long journey to get here." She said.

Any hostility in Lucina's eyes vanished the moment she looked upon the face of her twin, a smile gracing her lips. "Forgive me, dearest sister, I was irritated by being separated from you this past hour. My tongue wagged before my mind had a chance to catch up." She said.

Olivia set Erik down upon the table and then offered a quick peck upon her twin's lips, her eyes half lidded. "I thought of you every minute, Luci." She purred.

Erik was more than a little uncomfortable by the rather... intense display of affection the twins showed but he supposed human family dynamics were different. The white clad twin sat down in the chair beside the black clad one, her attention turning to Erik once more. Lucina seemed a tad put out by the breaking of eye contact but instead she returned her gaze to Erik, inclining her head in a display of professional courtesy.

"My apologies, Prince Lostrem. The day has been long and I meant no insult by my words." She said.

The homunculus nodded towards her. "Apology accepted, Mistress Liolis."

Olivia clapped her hands together, smiling widely. "There, much better! The prince saw through my illusion by the way, Luci."

The twin raised a brow. "Did he now? He could probably see the boundless beauty under the illusion. It tips me off every time." Lucina stated.

Erik cleared his throat loudly, earning him the attention of both twins. "I understand you are seeking a suitor that might wed you both?"

Olivia nodded, opting to go ahead and separating the cuts of pork from the nearest platter out to her sister and the homunculus. "Indeed! I understand your people have no reservations about such affairs. It would certainly strengthen the bond between our two lands, no?"

The homunculus nodded at her statement. Of all the places it made most sense to strengthen ties with, Sikarus was certainly the closest thing to another Eteria out there. Olivia herself seemed as polite and cordial as could be and obviously held some sway over her sister since the other seemed to differ to her. As far as he could tell this was so far looking to be his most normal meeting so far. Lucina had obviously slighted him, but had retracted her words easily enough with some reprimand.

His nibbled at his food, appreciating finally being able to use homunculus sized cutlery. "So I understand you are a master illusionist, Prince Lostrem."

Erik looked towards Olivia and smiled cordially. "Indeed, I have the distinction of being the youngest one in history."

"Ohhh, impressive! My own skills are likely nothing compared to yours though father and my tutors praise my ability to shift terrain and the surroundings. Perhaps you would care for a demonstration?" The young woman offered coyly.

"Certainly."

Olivia closed her eyes was obviously gathering her energy. Lucina simply nibbled at her food while stealing little glances at her twin, smiling this rather dopey smile as she watched her focus. Eventually the large room vanished and suddenly they were dining outside in a rather sleepy little meadow, birds chirping happily. It looked and sounded and smelled as the outdoors might, a rather convincing illusion but that was not what amazing Erik. With enough time and concentration he might well be able to do the same. Instead what surprised him was that she didn't seem to need to concentrate to keep it up.

"How are you managing to keep everything as it is? Such a detailed and vast illusion typically drains quite a bit of energy." He inquired, setting his utensils aside.

"Ah, it is self-sustaining. The magic saturating the city is all around us so I simply designed the illusion to divert the excess energy to maintain itself." Olivia responded.

Erik was impressed despite himself, which didn't happen very often with other people. He hadn't thought of that, a rarity that another illusionist might have stumbled upon something he had not considered. The young prince made a mental note to attempt it upon his own time, instead opting to look around at the impressive illusion crafted for him. Had he not known it was a product of illusionism he might well have thought they had been teleported to some little meadow a ways away from the city.

Lucina's hand snaked over to Olivia's, her fingers twining around those of her twin. "Mmm, even masters are impressed by your talent, darling Olivia."

"Oh stop it; I just made a few pretty images. Nothing compared to your power, Luci." The white clad woman said with a blush.

"Both of our set of abilities are beautiful in their own ways. Just like you." Lucina said.

Erik felt an itch as he watched the two monochromatic giantesses staring dreamily one another's eyes. The itch turned to abject shock when Lucina turned her head to capture Olivia's lips in her own. This certainly wasn't a kiss two loving sisters might share with one another; it went on for quite some time as they only broke for breath. All illusions about this being a more normal kind of meet up flew out the window as he watched the two lock lips with the burning passion of urgent lovers.

The kissing the twin giantesses indulged in soon turned a bit more... hands on as Lucina openly groped at her sister. Erik was feeling more than a little off his guard as he watched the two go at it as though there wasn't another person in the room. A rather creeped out person actually. Polygamy was fine enough but even his culture had some very strict laws regarding blatant incest. The twins went at it without a care in the world.

He supposed, in hindsight, a normal meeting between suitors was wishing for far too much at this point. To date his suitors had been an airheaded klutz, a bratty nymphomaniac, an authoritarian knight, and now incestuous twins. He was certain by now that the Creator actually had it out for him. Erik didn't even yell or shout; instead he simply rubbed at his temples as the twins indulged in their... passion. It was going to be a long day.

After a good while the homunculus cleared his throat loudly, receiving no response at first though Olivia's gaze eventually turned towards him. She broke off their kissing and eased away from Lucina's exploring hands, much to the despair of her black clad sister. Erik tried to keep his composure, not exactly easy when he just witnessed two identical twins snogging each other right in front of his face.

"Sorry about that, you know how it is sometimes..." Olivia said, sounding anything but regretful.

"When you're with someone you adore..." Lucina added.

"In a romantic meadow..."

"Kind of a given really."

Erik resisted the urge to gag from the sugary sweet manner the two had towards each other. It was enough to turn him off of candy for the rest of his days. They both turned fully to face him, their hands locked together upon the table. He tried; he really, truly tried to keep from saying anything which was probably more than Ryna would be able to do. In the end however there was only so much one could take.

"You are both related! Like, twins!" He exclaimed finally.

Olivia quirked a brow while Lucina scowled. "Have a problem with that, tiny? I'll have you know I love my sister quite dearly. Don't you dare tell me that's wrong." The elementalist hissed, the flames of the candles on the table flaring just a bit.

"But it is!" The prince said.

Lucina's hand lashed out and snatched him up so quickly that Erik felt as though his head might literally start spinning. Her fist crushed around him, squeezing him tightly and drawing a loud cry of pain from him. He was brought before her snarling face, her squeezing not letting up in the slightest. He couldn't even scream in pain, only parting his lips in soundless agony as the woman squeezed once more. His durability would keep him alive but it did absolutely nothing for the pain.

Olivia placed a hand on Lucina's shoulder. "Luci, please calm down. I'm certain he-."

"Apologize."

Lucina cut off whatever her sister had been meaning to say, glaring down at Erik the whole while. She let up just enough that the prince could suck in a deep breath, his face regaining some of its natural color. Maybe it was spineless of him, but given how quickly Amelia's meeting had gone south the prince had no desire to have that repeated here. His pride didn't even enter the equation in the face of Lucina's naked anger.

"I'm sorry- urk!"

She squeezed him again. "Not to me, to Olivia."

Lucina moved her hand so he was facing her white clad twin, who looked down upon Erik not without a little sympathy. That said she did look a tad put out with him. Given that the last thing he needed was both women willing to just abuse him on the slightest of insults he figured it wouldn't do to get on Olivia's bad side.

"I'm sorry, Mistress Liolis! I was hasty in my word choice!" He yelled, writhing in the grip of her beloved sister.

Olivia sighed. "Luci, it's sweet of you to be so defensive of me, and I love you for it, but please put him down."

Lucina obliged... after giving Erik one final squeeze. Her fingers curled so tightly that her knuckles whitened and the homunculus could actually feel his bones creak threateningly. A moment later she dropped him onto the table and he immediately began coughing and sputtering, taking in great gasping breaths on his hands and knees. The message was certainly received, don't slight their affection overtly or he would enter a world of hurt. Lucina leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms as she glared at Erik.

For her part Olivia shook her head. "In any event, Prince Lostrem, we are indeed twins. Our father has no issue with our affection for one another; however he still requires we wed. Being that being separated is not something we desire we wish to marry the same man."

Now it made sense. The pieces fell into place and Erik felt his blood run cold. The only reason they were looking for a shared husband so they could freely indulge in their perverse desires while still upholding their duties. It was clever really, though it narrowed their pool of prospective suitors a great deal. Finding a suitor who had no problem with polygamy was hard enough, finding one that was alright with incest would be especially difficult.

His presence here was making sense now. He was a homunculus, a race known for their small size as much as anything else. The twins would very easily be the more physically dominant of the relationship, which meant they could make the rules. They would have the power. Essentially they weren't looking at him as a prospective husband so much as a prospective slave. Similar to Amelia though just less up front about it. Erik knew he had to proceed very carefully here. Unlike Amelia, it might very well be possible for the twins to push his father into handing him over. Sikarus was a valued trade partner after all.

With that rather disturbing thought in mind Erik stood and looked to Olivia, who was smiling quite politely down at him. "I see. I am not certain I can accept your offer. While generous, Eteria already possesses strong relations with Sikarus. The point of my journey is to establish good ties with a nation we are less familiar with." Not entirely true, but Olivia didn't need to know that.

Olivia frowned slightly. "Oh? Why not make those strong relations even stronger? After all, no formal alliance has been declared."

Because it would involve marrying a pair of incestuous twins to serve as a smokescreen! "That is true; however I also personally know little of you both beyond your names and magics."

Her eyes lit up at that. "Well, extending this meeting is a simple matter. I'll send word ahead to your retainer that you will be spending the night. Plenty of time for all of us to get to know each other much better." She said, standing and dismissing her illusion as she started walking from the room.

Erik opened his mouth to protest but Lucina cut them off easily, slamming her now empty crystal chalice down over him to trap him in a fruity smelling dome. He smacked his fists against the sides of the chalice, hitting his shoulder against it repeatedly. It did him little good as Lucina was pressing down upon the base of the item, keeping him from so much as budging it. The outside world was distorted into thousands of tiny images refracted by the crystals. The remnants of her red wine dripped down from above, staining his clothes and hair with the alcoholic substance.

Even struggling with all of his might he couldn't so much as move his prison of crystalline glass. His shoulder ended up battered and bruised and his abused body was still reeling from the squeezing Lucina had given him earlier. He had absolutely zero desire to spend any more time with the twins, especially not with Lucina. Olivia seemed easy enough to handle but when put together with her sister he could bet she could be downright cruel as well.

He rested up against the side of his prison, rubbing at his forehead with the heel of his hand. He was trapped. Maybe Lea had been right in suggesting he work out a little. Maybe he wouldn't currently be stuck in this situation if he was just a little stronger. At the least Lucina probably wouldn't have been able to so easily trap him like she might a bug. The giantess currently was leaning very close to the outside of the chalice and though her voice was muffled he could certainly hear her.

"My darling sister might be a perfect little angel, but if you piss me off I'll make this the worst day of your tiny little life. Don't insult her or our love, and don't question her or me. Everything will go smoothly if you heed those simple rules." She said.

Given that his own voice was muffled he opted to unload a very choice few words towards the more violent of the twins. She likely didn't hear him and if she did she obviously didn't care too much. The twin was pretty much everything expected as an elementalist, violent, blunt, and extremely mean-spirited. Her soft spot for her sister was clearly her only soft spot. Lea had been quite right in claiming his path would be dangerous before the end. He had endured Amelia and had to wonder just how much worse these two could possibly be.

He cast the thoughts from his mind. He needed solutions. Currently it looked like the Liolis twins would have him for the rest of the day and night. Meaning they were that much more in control of the situation. Physically starting a fight was laughable; maybe he could bruise one of their toes. Erik needed to do something a little more subtle. As his previous suitor had stated using unconventional methods could lead to victory. Perhaps... it was a long shot but there might be a way out of this whole affair.

Eventually Olivia returned and Lucina promptly removed the chalice from over Erik, giving him so much needed air that didn't smell like wine. The twins embraced and giggled as they kissed at each other briefly, obviously quite pleased with themselves. Why wouldn't they be? It looked to them like they had found the solution to their problem. However Erik intended to very much add to their problems before ending up being their slave.

Olivia turned her gaze to Erik briefly before her eyes flickered back to Lucina, her hand trailing down her side. "Mmm... shall the three of us retire to our quarters to lounge for a bit, love?"

Lucina giggled. "You read my mind, sweet sister."

Erik barely resisted gagging at their sweetness towards each other. This was going to be a long day.

If Erik had to rate his current situation on a scale of bad to nightmarish, it like would go far past the stuff of nightmares. He had thought Amelia's treatment had been as degrading as he had gotten, however now he was wishing he was back under her foot. That had been horrid but it was nowhere near as bad as what he was being commanded to do now. He locked his jaw, considering protesting before a memory of a clenched fist and creaking bones reminded him why that was a poor idea.

"Hey, are you deaf, little prince? I said kiss them. Now."

Lucina's voice cut into his stewing of anger and shame from on high. Before him were the ten wriggling digits of her twin sister's bare foot, her white painted nails as pristine as they came. The tiny diamonds inserted into each nail appeared to indeed be real. His pride cried out against the task being forced upon him. Olivia said nothing though she was giving her sister a rather coy smile, her hand wrapped around her waist.

Since the very minute they had entered their shared private quarters Erik had, in order, been stripped, flicked across a table, stepped on, dropped from a great height, stepped on again, stuck between their hands as they held them, and now forced to pay homage to Olivia's feet. All things Lucina had initiated of course, Olivia would either faintly protest the especially cruel things or just smile coyly when she found something attractive. They thought the whole thing was so completely romantic of course, kissing and feeling each other up while tormenting their suitor.

Erik swallowed his shattered pride and shuffled across the floor, kneeling down before Olivia's big toe on her right foot. Rigidly he forced himself to bend over, kissing at her nail. She let out a coo of delight as she watched from on high and Lucina let out a satisfied grunt. At this point the prince was more concerned with escaping this with his sense of self intact as opposed to escaping in general!

"Keep it up, tiny. Stay on your knees, you look better that way." Lucina sneered.

"Luci..." Olivia chided softly.

"I'm just making sure he knows how to properly show devotion to one as radiant as you. I'd love to be in his place right now, every moment of every day." The crueler of the duo said, her tone husky.

Erik chuckled slightly at that as he went along the line of Olivia's toes, placing his lips upon each one. She said that but he wondered if she properly understood what it was like. Being small in the world of the big. Then again, given how much the twins adored each other that might not be so bad for them. Olivia alone wasn't actually that bad, the few moments Lucina left them alone she was downright personable.

"Hey, stop slacking down there! In fact, why don't you go ahead and lick her nails as well. Give them a good shine down with that princely tongue of yours." Lucina said, noting his slowed movements as he was wrapped in his thoughts.

"Ohhh, Lucina you are so mean! Have mercy on him." Olivia protested weakly.

"Pffft, if he marries us he's going to spend a lot of time down there. Might as well get him used to it." Lucina said, blowing a strand of hair from her face.

Once again Olivia let the matter drop and Erik forced his tongue from his mouth, feeling his remaining pride shrivel up as it was dragged over the glossy white surface of her pinky toenail. The smack of lips above and the slight movement of the digit beneath his tongue told him they were kissing... again. Fear was fluttering in his heart as Lucina talked of marriage, the vague possibility it might happen almost paralyzing him. That would be far, far worse than Amelia had been, no doubt about that.

However, as Erik toiled away with coating Olivia's toenails with a film of his saliva, the foul taste of her nail polish assaulting his tongue he pondered well the traits of the two women above. From his observations he had noted as Olivia as somewhat kind though one that preferred to avoid conflict or argument with her sister. Clearly the more... submissive of the two. She held some sway over Lucina obviously, but not where it counted. It was obvious which of the two was in control of the relationship, unfortunately for Erik it was Lucina.

He licked and licked, going from toe to toe while above the giantesses giggled and whispered in each other's ears and stared lovingly at each other. This was perhaps the only time he actually felt like a slave in his life. Amelia had treated him like a thing but more out of vindictive anger than anything else. Here, toiling away and running his tongue along the smooth nail of Olivia's big toe he felt like all autonomy had been stolen from him. Out of fear of punishment and reprisal he worked, stripped of clothes and dignity though not of vengeful thought.

Finally he reached the last of Olivia's nails and started licking at it, only to have Lucina pluck him up from the ground by one of his arms suddenly. He flailed weakly in the air, as she took him over to a nearby table. A moment he found himself plunged into a shock of chilled red wine, the alcoholic liquid being breathed in by accident. When Lucina raised him up out of her goblet he was coughing and sputtering, his eyes burning with the drink. Red wine dripped from his form, coating every single inch of his body.

"Mmm... Olivia, you are right. I shouldn't be so mean. I should let a potential husband join in on our affections." She said, promptly opening her mouth wide and dangling Erik over it.

Erik stared down into the cavernous maw below and felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his skull. She- she wasn't really going to-! She couldn't. He looked to Olivia for some form of assistance, relieved to find her looking more than a bit concerned. He would have preferred horrified but consider it was Olivia he would settle.

"Wait, Lucina, you aren't going to...?"

The dark haired woman held up her finger to silence her twin and that was that support gone. "Please, wait-!" Erik tried to protest before he was promptly plopped right into Lucina's mouth and her lips closed behind him.

Much like being inside of Amelia it was a sticky and wet hell inside of Lucina's mouth. Her tongue slid under him and around him, coating the prince in a thick coat of saliva. Red wine slipped off his form, dribbling down her tongue and into the dark pit in the back of her mouth. His fingers struggled to find purchase on the tongue as he was casually tossed around, breathing in her rather fruit scented breath.

She pushed him against her right cheek, pinning him there by clamping down her teeth. Erik couldn't see but he could feel the surface under him expand in a yielding manner. He writhed and opened his mouth to scream, ending up swallowing a gob of saliva that dribbled down the inside of her cheek. He coughed and coughed, trying in vain to expel the substance from his body.

Her mouth opened and Erik found himself rolled onto her tongue once more. Beyond he could see a pair of familiar lips parting and his heart stopped as he realized just what Lucina meant by having him join in on the fun. Olivia's mouth grew closer and closer and Erik tried to squirm away, only to be pressed against the roof of Lucina's mouth. The air was crushed from his lungs and he ended up dazed, helpless against what was to come.

The twins lips crushed together and Olivia's dainty tongue entered her sister's mouth, probing around gently around. Erik ended up getting a lick from the member along his body, his member standing erect from the stimulation. From behind Lucina's tongue pressed him against her sister's, trapping him in the passionate dance of the two tongues. The twisted and writhed around him, caressing at every inch of his body.

His mind started to fog over and that scared him, his arousal aching between his legs. No. No, no, no, why was this happening!? He was being toyed with a used in this little game between sisters, why was this of all things arousing him? Lucina pushed into Olivia's mouth, passing him between their lips. Their lips closed around him, Lucina holding onto his upper half and Olivia upon his lower. Were they going to bite him in half? It was irrational but this entire situation was irrational!

Lucina's tongue vanished and her lips were gone, allowing him to see the world around him. However he was still firmly pinned between Olivia's lips, her tongue playfully flicking at his member playfully. A low groan escaped his lips, frightening him. These sounds escaping his lips couldn't be his, just like these feelings or sensations couldn't be his. Part of him couldn't possibly enjoy this horrid treatment... could it?

Thankfully Olivia took his arm between her fingers and lifted him from between her lips. He landed on the palm of her hand with a wet smack, saliva pooling around him. He was coughing and sputtering, tears threatening to rise to his face. Her pinky finger traced down his back, a little purr escaping her as she petted at him lightly. Was that what she thought of him as really? A pet? The thought have him longing for Lea's honesty and her humane treatment.

A knock sounded at the door to their quarters. Lucina perked up. "I'll get it. Probably just Qora."

With that she headed out the door and Erik caught the voice of the woman outside just before the door closed behind the twin. "Luci! Sorry to bother..."

With that the door closed shut and Olivia hummed happily as she started to dry Erik off. She wasn't nearly as unpleasant at it as Marie had been but he still didn't exactly appreciate being handled as such. Still, even though he ended up looking like he had just exited a tornado it was better than being covered in spit. The white clad woman sat down and let Erik sit in her hands, content to wait for her twin to return from whatever business had her. The homunculus saw a possible opportunity here; he just needed a bit more info.

"Ahem, who is Qora?" He asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Ah, Luci's best friend. She's a little... odd and takes up a lot of her time away from being with me but I like her I suppose. They'll be a while."

The slight waning of her smile told Erik the opposite was true. Perfect. Now he just needed to wait for a good opening. This could very well blow up in his face, and if it did he would be faced with two rather abusive giantesses as he doubted Olivia's good will extended that much. However compared to the possibility of being their plaything for the rest of the night he would much rather take his chances. This was his only opportunity to escape from their rather twisted love affair.

Sure enough Olivia took him up and started to move towards the bedroom itself, taking her close to the door. Erik focused upon the manipulation of sound, weaving an illusion that would either save him from further degradation or doom him to the worst night of his life. At this point the prince had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. He needed to get away from here no matter what.

When Olivia drifted close to the door she would catch bits of the conversation beyond. "...Olivia's here, so we can't tonight."

The sound of her sister's voice jerked Olivia to a halt at the door. Erik used his brief hearing of Qora's voice to manipulate her illusionary voice. "She's always there. You need to get her out at some point."

"I know, I know. I'll see about getting her out tomorrow after we finish this thing in here. Then we can have the place all to ourselves..."

If Erik were to describe the expression upon the white clad twin's face, jealous rage would be it. Her fingers were curled up and trembling, threatening to clench into a fist around Erik at every work. The homunculus felt little pity for the woman as she had gone alone with Lucina's humiliations easily enough. She looked minutes away from ripped open the door and giving her twin a piece of her mind. Instead she opted to lean against the nearest wall, her face becoming eerily calm.

It looked like she had taken the bait and his initial bit of the gamble had paid off. Now he just needed to hope Lucina couldn't talk her way out of her twin's accusations. Erik opted to keep dead silent, suspecting that so much as making a sound with Olivia in her current state was an unwise decision. All he could do was wait as she did, though instead of anger he was feeling nervous anticipation.

Lucina opened the door and stepped back inside, closing it behind her. She turned a grin to Olivia. "Now, where were we with our erstwhile suitor?"

"Lucina."

The use of her full name got the woman's attention immediately, as did the calm in Olivia's voice. "What is it? Did he insult us again? Here I thought he'd learned his lesson, give him here and I'll make sure-."

"Shut up." Olivia hissed, setting Erik down on a shelf nearby.

Lucina looked as though she had been slapped. Erik could bet she was not used to Olivia speaking as such to her. "Darling what-."

"I said shut up! I heard you out there, making plans with HER! Talking about getting me out of the tower so you can probably fuck around all you want! Like I'm some nuisance!" The white clad woman said, her hands clenched into fists.

A surprised expression was written across the other twin's face. "That's not true! How could you-!"

"Don't try to deny it! I heard you! I heard you both! What happened to just us, Lucina? Huh? I only have eyes for you but you can't seem to stop yours from wondering! Am I boring you? Is that it? Is it!?" Olivia shouted, jabbing her finger into Lucina's chest.

The rather distraught and confused twin tried to grip Olivia's shoulder. "Olivia, calm down!"

She twisted away from Lucina's touch as though it was aflame. "Don't you dare fucking touch me! Don't even speak to me! Get out, get out now!"

A strong push sent Lucina tumbling onto her backside and the black clad twin actually looked on the brink of tears. Erik was surprised she was actually capable of a vaguely human response to being rejected and accused of infidelity by the one she loved most. Her lips were trembling and it looked rather like her mind couldn't properly catch up to what was happening. To Erik the expression was as sweet as the most sugary of treats to look upon.

Olivia, obviously impatient used illusionism to increase the timbre of her voice, the sound booming through the room like a thunderclap. "I SAID GET OUT!"

Fear likely prompted Lucina's flight from the room, the woman scrambling to her feet and out the door. Olivia promptly slammed it shut and let out a shriek of anger and rage. Erik, forgotten until now found her angry gaze settling upon him. Any feeling of triumph evaporated immediately under the frightening gaze. Her hand lashed out and gripped Erik in a fist as she stormed off into the bedroom.

The woman promptly threw herself to the bed and started crying her eyes out onto the pillow, holding onto the helpless homunculus as she did like he was some stuffed animal she might cling to for comfort. Pitiable sobs were torn from her throat in an unending flood and Erik found himself drenched in her salty tears and smeared with her snot. There seemed to be no end to the flood of sorrow and Erik honestly thought that whatever they had planned for him was probably better than this.

While Olivia might not have lifted a finger to help him she hadn't exactly done him much harm, and she looked positively wretched in this state. As such it was more out of pity than anything else that prompted Erik to eventually pat at her tear soaked and puffy cheeks, trying to simultaneously escape the crushing grip she had on him as much as comfort her. He spat out a mouthful of her snot and managed to speak miraculously enough.

"Ah, there, there..." He said awkwardly.

Olivia's vice grip loosened as she looked down at him, sniffling miserable as the tears continued to roll down her face. "I-I-I s-suspected for so long. B-B-But she said we'd always be together. I love her; I love her so much it hurts! It's like there is this gaping and bleeding hole in my chest! W-What did I do wrong...?"

Despite her faults and how wrong it was, it was clear to see how very much she loved Lucina. Enough that just the idea of her having been unfaithful was enough to completely reduce her to a wreck. Erik tried to wriggle from her loosened hand, which tightened quickly enough to keep him from fleeing. "I-ah, don't know. I've never... loved anyone like that."

She smiled sadly. "T-That is sad. I feel so *sniff* warm when I'm with her. It hurts now but I still love her, I-I still want to hold her and kiss her. People that don't have that must have such... emptiness."

Erik blinked at that. He tried to imagine needing someone so much, caring for someone that it felt like he couldn't live a day without. The thought weighed heavily upon his mind through the night as Olivia held him, the one that had actually caused her hurt, close. It remained in the back of his mind even on the morrow when he departed the magical city, both sisters opting to be absent at his departure. What did love feel like and did he truly want something like that? Especially when he had just witnessed what it could do to a person when it backfired? Annoyingly, it was one of the few things he had no clear answer to.

Of all the races upon the world, there were none that were more considered opposite of the homunculi than the dwarves. The stout mountain folk were honorable warriors and craftsmen, always delighting in a good fight and spilled blood in an arena. The homunculi meanwhile were often underhanded and preferred to be as far away from a fight as possible, sending in combat golems to do the fighting. Friction between the two races was legendary. One might think two rather short races might find kinship in the world of the big; however that was not the case.

Ever since the carriage had entered the mountains Erik had been stewing in a foul mood. A dwarven princess. The fact that the dwarves possessed the capacity for social order at all astounded him. He just assumed they preferred to figure out who was in charge by hitting each other hard enough. He also found the images conjured by the word princess and the ones conjured the word dwarf to be in conflict. Rather like pleasant housefire. Or soothing snakebite.

Lucius cleared his throat, jerking both the brooding prince and the gently snoozing knight at his side to attention. In his hands was his little leather bound book. Ryna had taken to calling it The Princess Diary, which Erik had also started calling it as it flustered the prim and proper Lucius to no end. Regardless he was already not looking forward to this next suitor and he didn't even know who she was.

"Right. So next on the list is one Princess Eva Redfist." He said.

Ryna's eyes shot so wide at the name that Erik gave a fifty-fifty chance to them rolling out of her skull. "Eva Redfist? The Eva Redfist?"

Erik lifted a brow. The name sounded vaguely familiar but it didn't cause immediate recognition. "You are familiar with her?"

The klutzy knight nodded, her expression darkening. "You know Knight-Princess Silverhand's missing eye? She's the one that took it."

The homunculus blinked and his face quickly paled as he remembered why the name had sounded so familiar. Lea had warned him of her, calling her violent and ill-tempered. She had not however mentioned the bit of her losing her eye to her. He swallowed hard. Ryna opted to continue as Lucius was also granting her his full attention.

"She is a ruthless warrior on the battlefield, seeking out the strongest warriors to fight. Supposedly one of her hands was blessed by a dwarven god of war, turning it red. Hence her name, 'Redfist'. According to legend, she has never lost a single fight." Ryna continued.

Erik shakily turned his gaze back to Lucius who was frowning as he looked at his information on her. "She is the sixth born of the High King and is considered a social pariah among the upper circles of the dwarven nobility. Fifty years of age, so she is still rather young. Has killed at least two of her suitors in duels and castrated another. Naturally this has led to fewer- are you feeling well, your grace?"

The diminutive prince was running his hands through his hair as each word spoken about his newest suitor added an increasing bit of panic in him. He was now convinced that his father was trying to kill him. A dwarven princess known for having killed and castrated suitors. Why couldn't any of his suitors be normal? Why couldn't he just spend a nice, quiet afternoon with a moderately attractive woman who wasn't incestuous, stupid, domineering, authoritarian, or bloodthirsty? Was that too much to ask for really?

"Ahem... I'm certain that this will go well, your grace. Your charm and tact will see you through no doubt." Lucius said, turning a look to Ryna.

"Uh, y-yeah! I'm sure it'll be fine! I mean you've survived this long, this should be a cakewalk!" She assured with a forced smile.

Erik groaned. "When she cuts me in half be sure to tell my father I hate him, Lucius."

With that the carriage fell into a rather awkward silence as it rolled along the road leading into a rather large city. Lucius opted to check his book, likely looking in vain for any reassure information on this new suitor while Ryna looked out the window. Erik was just slumped over back on his cushion, staring up at the ceiling. It would have to be a dwarf that finally did him in wouldn't it? He let out a sigh when the carriage eventually came to a final halt. Time to face the music.

The trio stepped out of the carriage and were actually outside of an arena of sorts. The braying and cheers of a blood crazed crowd were audible from the outside. A rather gruff looking dwarf in servant's livery walked over to them and jerked his head towards the arena itself. He was a squat creature as all of his kind were, standing at roughly half the height of the average human. The prince's entourage followed after him, both retainers alert and ready for anything in this place.

The entryway of the arena was massive and sweeping with a high vaulted ceiling to boot, statues of various warriors arrayed throughout the chamber. Erik didn't miss the dirty looks he received from other dwarves gathered her and he adopted a scowl in response. To him most every single one of them was an ugly crude creature. Whatever gods had created the dwarves could have likely taken lessons from the human creator of the homunculi.

They were led to a vacant spectator booth and bid to awkwardly seat themselves in the dwarf sized seats. With this done the servant left, likely to fetch his mistress. Erik was a little put out she wasn't here to meet them, though more as a matter of pride. He was silently hoping she had passed out drunk somewhere and he could just leave. Regardless he supposed he would have to indulge watching the barbaric bit of blood sport. Not much else to do really.

The rather mangled form of the loser of the previous bout was carted off the arena floor and a voice boomed through the grounds. The words were in the traditional dwarven tongue so Erik understood nothing though he was more curious as to how the voice was projected through the stadium. He looked around and spotted what looked to be a brass horn of some sort sticking out of the wall nearby. Interesting. It was similar to a homunculus design. Quite a few of them must have been placed through the arena to carry the voice of the announcer.

He turned his eyes back to the battleground and saw two warriors emerge from gates on either side of the bloodstained arena. One was clad entirely in rocky looking black armor, the other in spikey red armor. Both had helms obscuring their faces. The red warrior hefted a mace in one hand and an axe in the other, while the black clad one held a massive hammer. The two warriors bowed to each other and the announcer spoke one word, prompting them to begin.

Lucius was peering down in obvious interest while Ryna was squinting slightly, as though in thought. For himself the prince watched in obvious distaste as the two fighters went at each other with the intention to kill. The one with the hammer moved first, charging the red warrior and swinging the massive weapon in a wide arc. The red warrior backed off out of the range of the hammer and moved in, axe at the ready. The dark warrior anticipated this and thrusted out with the base of the hammer, jabbing the red warrior in their helmet.

The red warrior was sent reeling back, disoriented and confused. The hammer was swung over the head of the dark warrior and returned to its original arc, this time managing to clip the red warrior in the shoulder. They were sent spinning to the ground, their mace torn from their fingers to skitter away across the arena floor. They managed to just roll aside in the nick of time as the hammer was brought slamming down upon the ground, cracking the floor where the red warrior had been moments ago.

Despite himself Erik found himself actually feeling a slight bit of excitement watching this, a bit of adrenaline working its way into his veins. The deafening roar of the crowd mixed with the sight of two people fighting to the death had something to it, an almost intoxicating feeling that clouded at one's mind. It was still rather disgusting and he doubted he would ever understand its appeal entirely but actually sitting here he thought he grasped something. He had sneered at the idea back home with his colleagues, laughing at dwarven barbarity with his few close friends. Now that he was actually confronted with it though... it was hard to say what he actually felt.

The red warrior looked to be in trouble as they were forced to duck and weave their way through the continuing assault from their opponent. There was no letting up and the hammer wielding dwarf seemed to never tire no matter how many times the weapon was swung. If Erik had to bet at the moment he would say the dark warrior was going to win. It was only a matter of time before their opponent was going to make a mistake.

However the red warrior surprised him by suddenly charging forward between one of the hammer swings. The red warrior actually tossed aside their remaining weapon and tackled their slightly off balance opponent. The pair were sent tumbling to the ground as the red warrior quickly tore of their opponent's helmet, revealing the scarred face of a balding grey bearded dwarf. What Erik witnessed next cemented the idea of the dwarves being one of the most brutal of races.

The red warrior started pounding away at the fallen warrior's face, the spikes on their gauntlets quickly turning bloody. They pounded and pounded and knocked aside any feeble defenses from their opponent, punching away at the exposed flesh. His face was mashed and bloody, almost unrecognizable however still the beating continued until the skull was cracked open and bits of brain matter went flying. The dark warrior went limp and Erik felt his heart pounding in his skull, unable to look away from the scene before his eyes. The crowd cheered and for the briefest of moments he forgot himself and almost cheered with them.

A single blood and gore soaked fist was thrust into the air as the red warrior stood over their opponent, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The voice of the announcer shrieked over the arena as the red warrior basked in the fruits of their labor. The body of the defeated dwarf was dragged away as the victor collected their weapons and departed by the same gates they had emerged from. Erik let out a breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding.

"Huh, I suspected as much." Ryna said aloud.

"You saw it too?" Lucius questioned.

"Of course, it was pretty obvious."

Erik looked to his two retainers. "What was obvious? What are you two going on about?"

Ryna shrugged. "The outcome of the fight of course. The red one was the more skilled one by far though the black one had experience. Skill, unfortunately, outweighs experience."

"Not in all cases, but it was pretty obvious how wide the gulf between the two was." Lucius said.

Erik blinked. "How could you tell?"

Lucius smirked. "The dark one was pretty skilled with the hammer but the red one was quicker on their feet. Speed trumps raw power usually. Not always but in this case the end result was clear the moment the red warrior escaped the initial barrage."

The prince turned his gaze back to the arena floor. He still didn't see it. Then again both of his retainers were more martial minded than he. He shrugged it off and turned his eyes to the arena again. Even if he didn't meet with this dwarven princess he was going to come out of this with a basic education in martial skill. Before he would have cast such things aside as worthless but after his time on the road it seemed less so.

The clank of metal alerted the trio of a visitor at the entrance of the viewing booth. A quick turn had both Ryna and Lucius on their feet and gloved fingers moved protectively around Erik. Through them the prince could see their visitor. The red warrior, blood still dripping from their gauntlets, stood at the entrance. Erik's eyes widened as they stepped forward, fumbling with their helmet. Muffled and heavily accented common came from beneath.

"Fuckin' thing never comes off right! Must have dented it with that first hit..."

Finally the helmet popped off, revealing the red warrior for all to see. A rounded feminine face lay beneath, rather plain all things considered in Erik's opinion. Neither shockingly beautiful nor hideous and lacking in scars of any kind. Red hair was pulled back in a tight bun behind her head. Her full lips were turned down in a frown as she inspected her helmet. She stood slightly taller than Lucius's waist though managed to seem imposing even without the height. Her green eyes were currently narrowed and her fair skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.

She snarled at the dent she found in her helmet, baring her teeth to reveal one missing from the front row. Not exactly surprising given her profession. It was hard to get a feel on her form, given that the armor was quite bulky. "Eh, I'll need to get it fixed. Great."

Lucius cleared his throat. "Excuse me ma'am, what are you doing up here?"

She turned her gaze up, raising a single red brow. "I'm here because I heard some bite sized princey was here to try and work his way into my panties. Is that him?"

Erik felt his like his heart was about to stop. This was Eva Redfist. Of all the ways to start a meeting with a suitor this had to trump them in terms of awful. Looking at her, from the unimpressed look upon her face to the gore sliding down her hands the prince knew one thing. He was going to die.

The room was as Spartan as they came. Barren walls, a small bed, a chest of drawers and a little table tucked into the corner. There was a rack for a set of armor and a pair of weapons but nothing else really. It was fairly small really, not something Erik would have expected to belong to a princess. It was however very neat and tidy. Erik was surprised honestly that this place could belong to such a brutal warrior.

He stood upon the table alone in the room, his host having left to clean herself up. It gave him ample opportunity to try and keep himself from shaking like a leaf. To say he was afraid was an understatement. The fact she had been able to carry him here without him pissing himself in terror was an accomplishment. He rested easy with the knowledge that both of his retainers were right outside the door now. Far closer and ready to save him should he need it. Better late than never he supposed.

The door opened and in she walked, having changed into a rather plain white tunic with a brown skirt and boots. Any traces of blood were gone from her body and her form was displayed rather nicely. She wasn't as broad as most dwarves though she was as well muscled as Lea had been. Her breasts swelled rather pleasingly, though Erik kept his gaze from them lest the dwarf take offense from his ogling and decide to cut him in half. As far as age went she looked physically his age.

"So, princey, what did you think of the fight?" Eva asked, smoothing out her skirt as she sat down.

He jolted at being addressed. "Ah, uh... well it was certainly... bloody."

Eva actually laughed at that. "Damn straight it was bloody! Fuckin' glorious! Nothing quite beats the feeling of a good bloody fight." She said.

Erik paled a little bit as she leaned upon her elbow, swallowing hard. She noted his response and snorted. "Figures, you tiny folk can't stomach a good fight. Not exactly a turn on, princey. Doesn't exactly get me all wet looking at a man who looks like he's going to piss himself at the mention of violence."

There was some bristling on Erik's part at that. A few choice words threatened to rise to his lips regarding her race; however his desire to avoid becoming a fine red smear on the table had him choke them down. She snorted at his lack of a response the air blowing out her nostrils managing to kick up a light breeze past him. Another reminder that he was indeed much smaller than even one of the shortest races.

"Well, can't fight you really since I'd just end up crushing you. Let's see... how can we test your manhood, princey..." She said, drumming her stubby fingers across her chin.

Erik made a choking sound. "I don't need my manhood tested."

"Uh huh, you might not but I don't bother with little sissies. I want an actual fuckin' man in my bed." She said.

"Ah, that's it!" The dwarven princess exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table and just narrowly missing smacking the prince. She bounded off towards her chest and started rummaging through it with a grumble.

When she returned it was with something Erik actually recognized. His eyes widened slightly as she set it down upon the table. A bottle of Eterian Whiskey! A rather fine export for the pleasure of the upper classes. She set down a shot glass on her side of the table and one fit for a homunculus on his side. She looked at the bottle with obvious affection, smirking slightly as she broke the seal.

"Your people aren't good for much, but you know your alcohol. I also don't even consider suitors that can't hold their drink, so let's see if you have a pair swinging between your legs or not!" The princess said, pouring out a bit into her shot glass and then carefully setting some out for Erik.

The prince lifted a brow. Eterian Whiskey was notorious as hands down the most potent of alcohols in the known world. One bottle was nothing to balk at. Especially one so big. Well, big for him at least. Still he supposed after his experiences up until now a drink was probably the least he could go for. Besides... it would do to have a dwarf outdrink him on a brew crafted by his own people. He lifted up his little glass and locked eyes with the giantess. He then tipped it back up over his lips and swallowed quickly.

Liquid fire travelled down his throat and had him shaking his head slightly, blinking a bit at the first drink. Eva took up her own glass and downed it easily, not a bit of discomfort showing on her face as she swallowed. Her smirk was gone as she refilled their glasses and Erik took another shot, that one going straight to his head. Again she downed another without much effect showing on her face. All she did was refill the glasses.

Erik lifted his once more. "Hmm... you know I never drank much back home, however I think my previous suitors are going to have me taking it up." He said conversationally.

Eva snorted as she downed another shot. "Don't need to tell me. My father threw waves of them at me until I killed a couple. They really stopped showing up after the castration."

The homunculus winced visibly as the third shot went down, the mental image conjured by mention of castration not exactly appetizing. Still, the alcohol was certainly taking the edge off of his fear for now. The dwarven woman waited until he was finished with his to refill both of theirs, downing the next one immediately. So casual violence seemed to be something she indulged in quite a bit... not exactly something Erik considered redeeming.

Their drinking went on into the rest of the night, both downing shot after shot. At the tenth was when a blush started to creep across Eva's freckled cheeks, which was when Erik would say he was reasonably drunk. There was a reason he drank very little as he tended to be something of a chatty drunk. They talked very little at first though eventually Erik started going at it. Currently Eva rested her elbow on the table, her finger circling her empty glass with a smirk.

"...Then she tossed me in her sandals and wore me around all day! It was a bloody nightmare!" He exclaimed.

Eva snorted in amusement, actually giggling a bit as she imagined it. "Sounds like a right fuckin' bitch. Human women... I'll never understand em'."

"You and me both! All they do is throw their weight around! Like them being taller makes them better or something!"

"The trick is laying into them. It fixes that high and mighty opinion real fast; ask two of my former human suitors." The dwarven princess said, downing another shot.

Erik laughed at that. "Sure thing, I'll punch at their toes until it works."

That mental image got Eva roaring with laughter, smacking her hand on the table. Erik immediately lost his tenuis balance and fell down, laughing as well. Why had he been so stressed out before again? Something about Eva being some scary warrior princess? Well she was a little scary but not all that bad really. When she was tipsy at least. Sober she seemed plenty scary. She refilled her glass shakily, spilling a little bit as giggles continued to wrack her body.

Impulse struck Erik as he wobbled to his feet and walked over to her glass. The rather inebriated prince promptly placed his mouth onto the glass and drank in a mouthful, swallowing the burning liquid. It hurt going down but it felt damn good in his head moments later. Eva poked him back with one stubby finger, sending the prince tumbling back into the little spill from earlier. She had an expression of mock anger.

"Hey, drink your own! It's rude to drink another person's liquor." She admonished, snatching up her drink and tipping it over her lips.

Erik slumped over. "Anyway, then she decided to stuff me between her legs all night. Got me all frustrated but no payoff at all for it!"

Eva rolled her eyes at that. "Human women. Never finish the job they start. Almost as bad as elves or homunculi women."

"Hey!" Erik said, offended on behalf of all the females of his race.

"You know it's true. You need to find yourself a good dwarf woman!"

The homunculus wobbled as he tried to stand, ending up flat on his ass. Instead of trying to work his way back to his seemingly distant glass he opted to cup his hand and drink from the puddle formed from Eva's spill. Which one was he on? His fifteenth? Twentieth? Erik was sure that big gulp of his had to count for like three or four. His body felt so numb and higher thought was really not something he found himself capable of. He simply said the first thing that popped into his head.

"You're a dwarf woman." He pointed out.

She giggled. "Damn right I am! Prettiest one you'll find this side of the mountains! Strongest one too!"

Erik stared up at her. She was rather pretty, wasn't she? How hadn't he noticed that before? She was pretty strong as well. He looked at her red right hand. Her skin was indeed red there, how had that escaped his attention before? He looked at his own hand. Pale skin. Nothing special about it. He crawled over to her right hand and poked at it, finding the flesh to indeed be actual skin.

Amused by this in her drunken state Eva promptly poked at Erik with her index finger, pinning him on his back with her pinky finger. The homunculus tried to push it up off of him, not managing to budge it an inch. It wasn't fair. Why had their Creator made the homunculi so tiny? Even the shorter races towered over them! Fairies were like double their size! After a while the homunculus started pounding at Eva's pinky, earning a giggle from her.

"Come on, I'm not even trying!" She mocked.

The little prince squirmed and writhed under her pinky, trying in vain to get out from under it. Of course his suitor thought it was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen and simply applied just a bit more pressure. After a good little while the prince simply slumped back, glaring up at the dwarven princess. She seemed most pleased by her little petty victory. She picked Erik up between the fingers of her red right hand, dangling him upside down by the leg. That certainly had the homunculi's stomach doing flip flops.

"You are weak. Need to bulk up, princey. No woman is going to want a wimp between the sheets!" She mocked.

Erik fought back a wave of nausea from being moved around too quickly. "Lea Silverhand said the same thing! Urk- Not sure why I should bother, I've got magic."

Eva's good humor vanished in an instant and Erik found himself clutched in a tight fist as he was moved uncomfortably close to the dwarven princess' face. Her green eyes were narrowed and she squeezed enough that Erik thought his organs might indeed come out of his mouth. She was certainly stronger than Amelia or the twins had been. He cried out as the air was squeezed from his lungs.

"Silverhand? You a friend of that bitch?" She demanded, her breath smelling very heavily of alcohol.

"Ah- I met her as a suitor! We talked a bit, nothing else!" Erik said, struggling to escape her grasp.

She continued to squeeze Erik for a few more moments before abruptly dropping him to the table. He landed with a thud and could see Eva practically gritting her teeth. Dazed and drunk he had forgotten about the whole, her having taken her eye thing. It made sense that they were probably not the best of friends.

"She's kinda nice though. Nicest suitor on the list so far." He said aloud, sighing.

Eva snorted. "She's an uptight bitch with a stick up her ass."

"Why'd you cut out her eye?" Erik questioned, ignoring the bodily harm he'd just experienced.

The blushing and drunken giantess frowned. "It was in a fight. She cut off my hand, I cut out her eye." She said.

"But you still have both hands."

She lifted up her red right hand. "A god gave me the new one. Said some shit, told me to keep fighting, like I needed to be told or something."

Erik nodded like what she had just said made perfect sense. In reality he wasn't much one for religion. The homunculi were unique in that they knew exactly who had created them. They owed nothing to a god; rather instead it was to the human mage Eteria. As such religion didn't enter into homunculi culture. The prince himself didn't believe in all powerful beings like that. There was this world and its laws. Even magic had some grounding in reality. He knew magic existed since he could use it, he had never seen a god before.

"Your hand is beautiful." Erik said.

She blinked and looked at him. "You think so huh? You don't think it's scary or strange?"

He shook his head. "You are scary and strange, but I wish I had a red hand. It's unique."

Eva laughed at that and looked at her own hand with something approaching affection. The anger from before was gone and in its place there was something approaching vulnerability. She really was rather beautiful herself. How her red hair was half spilling down one half of her face, the way the light played off of her green eyes, that little dimple on her right cheek. Everything about her screamed desirable to the homunculus at the moment.

He managed to get up and wobble over to her regular hand and then he promptly knelt down and kissed at her fingers. It seemed like a good idea at the moment. He didn't know much about romance but one was supposed to kiss the things they found beautiful right? Her green eyes fell upon him as he kissed at her, pressing him lips against the rough skin of her fingers. She giggled and picked him up by the arm, grinning widely at him.

"Nice try, princey but that ain't a kiss." She said.

The next moment Erik found himself pressed up against her full and rather plush lips, his face sinking into the cushiony flesh. He felt his body melt into the kiss, letting himself sink into her affection. In his drunken stupor he could think of nothing more desirable than being kissed by this red haired giantess. After a long moment he was pulled away from her lips and stared into her lustful green eyes.

"That is how you kiss someone."

It felt rather like someone was pounding at his skull with a war hammer. Erik groaned, the sound of his own voice sounding as loud as a thunderclap. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to return to blissful slumber. Another painful flare shot through his brain, eliminated the possibility that he was ever going back to sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, the dim light of the room stabbing at his eyes.

Erik grunted as he tried to move, his body sticking to the soft surface he had been laying upon. He lifted his arm up, wiping at a bit of drool that had formed on the corner of his mouth. He felt sticky and it only took a moment for him to realize he was completely naked. The homunculus blinked for a moment as he looked down at his slim form, his eyes narrowing as he wracked his muddled brain for why the hell he would be naked. He found is answer in the gentle rise and fall of the 'ground' beneath him.

Suddenly alert he managed to lift the rest of his body from where he had lain and wobbled to his feet, joints popping slightly as they received use finally. The surface he was on was soft and plush and pale, and a distance away he could see the slumbering face of Eva Redfist. Her hair was unbound and wild about her head and she looked almost peaceful in her slumber. Judging from a nearby pink protrusion Erik noted with some embarrassment that he had been resting on her right breast.

He ran his fingers through his hair, finding it as sticky as the rest of him. Considering his previous misadventure with Amelia and the fact they were both naked, it didn't take Erik long to put two and two together. His face immediately paled, vague little snippets of memory shining through here or there. There was nothing cohesive though, nothing that could properly create a narrative in his mind of the events of the previous night. He remembered drinking a lot, then something about her red hand and her lips but nothing else.

The homunculus took a step back, which turned out to be a mistake as he ended up losing his balance. The tiny prince cried out as he tumbled and rolled down Eva's breast and into the valley between the two ample mounds. He squirmed a bit, pushing against the flesh around him as he tried to struggle his way to freedom. He was surrounded by the rather pungent smell of her sweat, to say nothing of the heavy smell of sex that was already upon him.

A loud groan sounded in the distance, his miniscule attentions clearly having roused Eva herself from her slumber. Her eyes cracked open and a yawn escaped her lips. She ended up turning over in the bed, which in turn pressed her breasts up all around him. Erik found his cries immediately muted when stuck inside of a prison of sweaty, sticky skin. He squirmed even more as he soon found himself very much lacking for air.

So, this was how his little adventure ended then? Suffocating between the tits of a violent dwarven princess after a night of passion he couldn't even remember? Erik had thought on many occasions that this visit would be the death of him and it turned out he was right. Only instead of Eva chopping him in half or something suitably gruesome she was going to kill him in her bid to try and get back to sleep. The prince marveled at the irony.

Something tugged at one of his arms and suddenly Erik felt himself squeezed and pulled, hitting cool open air a moment later. He dangled from Eva's fingers as he was brought before her sleepy face, gasping for the blissful fresh air. Fresh air that was very soon polluted by her alcohol scented morning breath as she yawned. The foul air nearly had him retching on the spot, instead having him settle on coughing and sputtering.

"I see you just couldn't contain yourself, had to dive right back in." She noted with a tired chuckle.

Erik groaned in pain. "Stop talking so loud, I feel like my skull is going to split in two."

A bark of laughter met that. "Considering how much you drank I'd be surprised if you didn't. Never seen a tiny drink that much. You've got stones, I'll give you that much."

She shifted her hand and sat up in her bed, allowing Erik to sit in the palm of her hand. The homunculus rolled his eyes around in his skull and applied immediate pressure to his temples, trying anything to make the pain just go away. Again he was immediately reminded of his lack of clothes and he shifted himself subtly to give some semblance of decency. That elicited another loud laugh from Eva.

"Saw it all last night, princey. A little late to be shy after what all we did last night, surprised you aren't sore from it all." She said.

Erik clutched at his head as he felt a blush rising to his cheeks. Truthfully he was indeed a fair bit sore all over though it was nothing he couldn't manage. Homunculi durability was more useful among the larger races than he had first expected. He most certainly did not like the sound of what Eva spoke of though. The prince also swore to never touch a drop of alcohol again after this little incident.

"Uhhh, what, exactly did we... um, do?" He asked, almost dreading the answer.

"It might be quicker to tell you what we didn't do. You can be a real animal between the sheets when you want to be, princey, I love that in a man." Eva responded, winking at the homunculus.

Erik wasn't exactly sure whether he wanted to remember what had happened now. From the sounds of it the night had either been one of the worst of his life, or one of the best depending on how one chose to look at it. The prince was at the moment banking on the worst given the aftermath. He chuckled nervously at Eva's apparent approval of him. The homunculus had been hoping she'd be turned off him, though it appeared as though the exact opposite had occurred. Fantastic.

Suddenly he found two fingers gripping him by the chest and his face mashed up against a gigantic pair of lips. His pained brain immediately shut down as he remembered this much. The kiss felt as good as the first one had been. A taste of what the previous night have been like. Now Erik quickly ended up banking on it having been one of his better nights. For some reason not being able to remember that actually hurt worse.

"Mmm, you need a bath." She commented.

"You need to do something about your breath." Erik shot back.

Eva chuckled. "I'm not the one that smells like cum and sweat."

The prince flushed at her vulgarity. At the very least the dwarf was as honest as Lea had been, though she was certainly a fair bit more violent and brutally honest about her passions. Lea was more dutiful by far, the perfect picture of a future authoritarian queen. Eva was a warrior through and through. She liked simple things, fighting, drinking, and fucking. A marriage to her didn't seem as bad as he had first thought going into it. Indeed there was some attraction, though there probably would have been more if he could actually remember their night together.

"Anyway. You've got a pair, you aren't too boring, and you don't make me want to stab you. Perfect suitor material. You need a wife, look me up. Long as there is plenty of fighting to be had afterwards." She said.

Erik chuckled at her simple logic. Though, given how he had been treated through his journey so far his standards were rather shockingly low. At the moment his idea of a good suitor was one that wouldn't go out of her way to abuse him. She also had to have some modicum of intelligence. So far there were two that fit the bill out of the six he had met thus far. He could only hope Eva and Lea weren't simply the exceptions to a rule.

Sometime later when Erik found himself back in the carriage with his retainers, fully dressed and cleaned, he noted well their careful aversion of looking at him. It was then that he remembered that he had ordered them to be placed right outside of the room, just in case. Which followed that they had probably heard everything that had transpired. Erik pinched at his brow and tried to soothe his rapidly returning headache. Life simply wasn't fair.

Erik had seen many wonders in his life. He had seen golems that could dwarf human castles, balloons that could drift through the skies, and architectural marvels of the dwarven people. The very carriage that rolled along ivory stones was an engineering marvel. However as he stared out his window at the elven city beyond he found that this was perhaps the most magnificent. Not normally fond of elves it was a rather high compliment for Erik to even think such a thing.

A massive canopy of trees had replaced the sky, strange blue growths of fungi glowing from above like thousands of gleaming stars. Stray golden beams of light managed to dapple down between the thickets, informing one of the daylight beyond. Exquisitely carved buildings were held aloft on great ancient branches and roots. A lake glittered silver in the very center of the city, the statue in the center was of a massive and heart achingly beautiful elven woman. A goddess of their pantheon perhaps?

Erik heard a sharp intake of breath to his right and saw a similarly dazzled expression on Ryna's face. Her nose was pressed up against the glass, fogging it up slightly as she took in the sights with wonder gleaming in her eyes. Lucius regarded it all with a soft smile on his face. Considering how well travelled he was the prince wasn't exactly shocked by his lack of reaction. Instead he removed his little book of names and cleared his throat to get their attention. Ryna sighed and set Erik down on his cushion once more, both giving the older man their full attention.

"Elrina Myssia is next on the list. Second in line for the throne and before now was rather adamant in even permitting suitors to see her. A fairly secluded woman by all accounts, very evasive. Rarely leaves her villa in the Noble Quarter. I possess little information about her general reputation unfortunately, my prince." Lucius said, his tone apologetic.

Elrina Myssia... the name sounded familiar to the homunculus. After a few moments he remembered it as another name mentioned by Lea. Supposedly a shy elven princess, pleasant enough though. After his previous visits he would actually welcome someone who was relatively calm and decidedly not crazy. A refreshing change from the usual visits hopefully. Unless Lea was off the mark entirely and she was a moronic, sex crazed, incestuous and violent example of elven royalty.

"Well, she's elven. The elves are well known for their poise, grace, and decorum. No doubt she will be a fine maiden, my prince." Ryna assured, crossing her arms and nodding to herself.

"The elves are leery of homunculi in general. To them we are unnatural constructs created by a human seeking to stand at the shoulders of the gods. More extreme examples of their people call us blasphemous in the eyes of their gods. Do not assume anything, Ryna." Erik replied, his lips turning down into a prominent frown.

The knight winced at his reprimand. "Apologies, my prince. Though perhaps since she did accept your father's request she might be more amenable."

"We shall see. I want both you and Lucius on high alert. I would rather not fall to an assassin's blade or zealot's wrath." He commanded.

"Of course, your grace, no assassin shall harm you while we stand watch." Lucius said.

With that said Erik gestured for Ryna to hold him up to the window again. The knight held out her gauntleted hand and held it aloft at the window, giving him full view of the world outside. His newest retainer had proven rather capable, though still remained as clumsy as ever. It was hard for him to believe she hadn't impaled herself with her own sword by now. Lucius had tested her prowess one day while Erik slept; all the older man had said was that she was indeed worthy of her title. Perhaps the clumsiness was a front then? Some means of throwing those around her off their guard?

Regardless, despite his reservations regarding the elves the prince would be the first to admit their city was a marvel to behold. In many ways it was the opposite of his own homeland. Here everything looked natural, blending seamlessly together in a vista of vibrant color and life. Eteria was a place forged of metal and magic, molded and carved out from the land. It was shaped to suit the homunculi. There was no symbiosis involved and his people were proud of that.

The carriage itself earned no small amount of gawkers and onlookers, elves of all types peering at the mechanical device with wonder. The carriage rolled along a particularly thick root, one used as a wide street of sorts and ascended the central tree of the city. Guard's stood wearing armor of leather and cloth. Not a scrap of metal was found upon them, not even their weapons appeared to be made of metal. Their arrows and spears were tipped with the same ivory white stone. It was an odd sight. Erik thought it primitive, his nose wrinkling slightly in distaste. It was a foolish thing, throwing away the uses of metal for stone.

Elves were renowned for their beauty and it was honestly hard for Erik to find any elf he saw outside unattractive. They possessed a strange style of clothing. The men favored shirts that possessed sleeves and a hem but left their slim chests exposed. They also wore a form of kilt, which traced to an old dwarven joke that all elves wore skirts. Even the men. The women typically wore tunics with a very deep V-neck, knee length skirts, and sandals. Liberal was what Erik would generously describe it as.

The carriage rolled through the forest city, ascending higher and higher. Eventually the residential districts vanished and instead places of worship and congregation grew more common. Erik could hear quite clearly choirs of lyrical voices all rose in song and praise to their various deities. Here was where there were more dirty looks directed at the carriage as opposed to wide eyed wonder. The prince brushed it off, scoffing at their weak minded superstitions. The homunculi had no need for gods. They knew exactly who had made them and why he had done it. There was no illusory grand design to it.

Eventually the wheels of the carriage halted before a massive palace of ivory and flowing waters. It was from here that the waters of the lake came from. A waterfall of clear and cool water cascading below, casting a rainbow upon the city. It flowed out through a canal of sorts, the bridge handing over it leading into the palace proper. It was from two passageways on either side of the palace the water continued to flow. Magic perhaps? An enchantment? Something to take up with the princess perhaps.

The doors of the carriage opened and the prince and his cadre stepped out from it. Erik took a deep breath. The air here smelled more... clean he supposed. More crisp, more natural, if there were such smells. At the bridge there was a young elven man who greeted them with a bow. Well, at least no one had brought out the pitchforks or whatever the elven equivalent was so it was a start.

"Greetings, Prince Erik Lostrem. Her grace, Princess Elrina Myssia, awaits the pleasure of your company at the palace shrine." He stated, his common flawless.

The prince nodded and waved a hand to signal for the man to carry out his charge. He led them over the bridge and into the courtyard proper, the calming sound of running water filling the ears of the visitors. The strange blue lights upon the tree were much closer now that they were so high up, humming softly. The palace itself was a strange blend of masonry and natural additions, gnarled roots and branches seeming to mesh with elven construction. It was like nothing Erik had ever laid eyes upon.

They were led through the western wing of the palace, occasionally happening upon canals in the halls where more of the water flowed. Blue lamps of the harvested blue substance glowed here, casting everything in a soft blue light. Erik was rather impressed despite himself; the elves were quite inventive when they needed to be. If they could get past their preposterous religious dogma they might actually be an equal to the homunculi one day. Maybe. Given another two hundred years of course.

Finally they arrived at a set of doubles doors which the servant cracked open. He stopped the procession from entering with a raised hand and an apologetic look. "The princess would like to speak with the prince alone. She is someone... reclusive."

Erik frowned before nodding to Lucius. "I'm used to it by this point. Try not to get into too much trouble."

"I was about to say the same thing, my prince." The older man remarked as he set Erik down near the opening between the doors.

With that the homunculus left both of his retainer's behind and stepped into the shrine. It was dimly lit and as massive as most other rooms in the palace, though his size might have contributed to the appearance. Pews were arranged in neat rows and at the very end of the hall knelt an elven woman, her back turned to Erik as she prayed at her shrine. The shrine itself bore a statue of the same woman that had towered over the center of the lake so he had been right in assuming her a goddess.

Long golden hair cascaded down her back, smooth and seemingly without a lock out of place. She wore the same style of dress as other elven females though this one was cream colored with trims of gold. She wore nothing on her slender feet, her position displaying them for any to look upon. Her voice whispered words in the elven tongue, sounding more like music than like a normal person speaking.

Erik approached her cautiously for a few moments closing the distance as she prayed before her shrine. Eventually he ended up feeling more than a little put out. He had travelled all this way to see her and she couldn't even bother to stop praying to note his entrance. It prickled at his pride and was what prompted him to dip into a bit of illusionism to amplify his voice when he cleared his throat.

It was when the startled princess stood and turned to face him that he found the line between mortal and goddess blurred.

On his journey thus far he had met many beauties; even Eva Redfist had been moderately attractive for being a dwarf. Every single one of them paled in comparison to the one peering down at him now. Her angular delicately shaped features were utter perfection. She was as slim as they came though her form was suitably filled, not overtly but not overly modest either. As Erik looked upon what he was certain was the apex of physical perfection he felt an urge to kneel and be the one doing the praying.

"You- you must be Prince Lostrem. I'm so very sorry; I got wrapped up in my prayers and didn't notice you!" She said, a flush climbing to her cheeks.

"Not a problem. I take it you are Princess Myssia then?"

"Y-Yes, Princess Elrina Myssia. I-Its an honor to meet you." She stuttered, bowing a little too quickly and stiffly.

Erik raised a brow as she started to fidget openly. Her blue eyes were darting from him to the floor at her feet and the pews, trying to avoid direct eye contact. It appeared the rumors of her shy nature weren't exaggerated. Still this was a pleasant surprise compared to watching Eva pound a man's face in for the sheer sport of it. He gave a polite incline of his head to the giant elven princess.

From there an awkward silence seemed to rule the air between them. Elrina was busy looking anywhere but him with the nearest exit being a location she looked to multiple times. Erik meanwhile was trying to overcome his own awe at the elf which was probably not helping. Between his gawking and her skittish nature things were not looking to start off in the most smashing of ways.

Finally Erik cleared his throat. "So... did you want to do anything today?" He asked.

"Not really..." She said.

The silence immediately returned. This was worse than how Marie had started off. Erik tried again.

"Your clothes look nice."

"Thank you."

More silence hung over the pair. The prince let out a weary sigh. So far she wasn't as bad as any of the others at first impressions but the silence was starting to grate on his nerves. He needed to think of something to get this going. The prince tossed aside most small talk topics as it was clear those weren't going to go anywhere. Perhaps a different route might avail them in this case.

"Maybe we could take a walk around the palace. I'm curious how the water flowing around here is generated." He said.

"Oh, uh, sure! Right this way." The princess said, hurriedly walking past Erik so fast that her skirt kicked up a harsh wind and the prince had to jump out of the way to avoid her bowling him over.

"Hey, wait! I can't keep up with you." He called out.

Elrina jerked to a halt mid-step halfway across the room and turned in place to face Erik. "So, how are we going to take a walk then?"

Erik lifted a brow. "By you carrying me?"

At that her blue eyes shot comically wide and she looked on the verge of panic at the mere thought of her handling him in any capacity. The shade her face took on was something Erik would have described as cherry red. The homunculus let out another sigh as she started stumbling over her words. He had met shy homunculi in his days at the Academy but Elrina was in a class all her own.

"B-B-But what if I drop you or something!?" She blurted out.

"Then the landing will hurt. Homunculi are very durable. Just try to avoid dropping me." He said as calmly as he could.

The elven maiden approached the homunculus gingerly; almost tip toeing her way over to him. She reached down and lightly pressed her thumb and forefinger against his back and chest before lifting him up. With some nervous worry he noted she was holding him out at arm's length and that her grip was anything but sure. He shook his head slightly. He predicted this was going to be a very long day.

The artfully carved halls of the elven palace were a sight to behold. Really it was rather like they hadn’t been carved at all, rather molded. It was engineering and construction so wholly different from that of the homunculi. Truthfully, for one like Erik who had spent his entire life surrounded by brass and steel, this place was alien. More alien than any of the places he had visited thus far. Now it was not just the unfamiliar people it was the very world around him that was off putting. Was this a sign of things to come perhaps?

Erik’s situation was certainly not helped with Princess Myssia’s handling. She continued to hold him out at arm’s length, her grip so feather light and timid it felt like he might plummet if he so much as twitched. His arms were currently braced against her thumb, trying to give him some safety from an immediate fall. The prince cleared his throat loudly as the princess walked slowly, following the internal canals of the palace.

“Perhaps it might be more… comfortable for both of us if you set me in the palm of your hand?” Erik suggested.

Elrina paled at the very suggestion, her grip loosening ever so. “B-But, you won’t be a-able to keep your balance! I d-don’t want you to fall.”

“With this grip you’ve got on me I’m surprised I haven’t already.”

The elven princess flushed scarlet at the remark and Erik found the grip holding him loosen enough to nearly send him plummeting to the ground. He cried out and tightened the grip his arms had on her thumb, dangling from the digit precariously. His legs kicked at open air as he clung to the thumb of the elven princess, trying desperately to avoid falling. Just because he could survive it didn’t mean he was looking to deliberately fall!

Elrina quickly set her other hand under him, the prince falling onto his rear on her smooth palm. “I’m so so so sorry, Prince Lostrem! Oh Goddess I’m such a worthless klutz, I nearly dropped a potential suitor!” She apologized, biting her lower lip harshly.

Erik managed to catch his breath. Months ago he might well have yelled at Elrina, however since his journey had begun a little slip up liked this seemed minor compared to his other experiences. Experiences that included being the insole and sex toy of a bratty princess and subjected to the twisted love of a pair of twins. He forced himself to calm down. Honestly, looking at this princess she was clearly an anxiety ridden mess. Compared to pretty much every other princess it was a little refreshing honestly.

“Its fine, saw it coming really. Just keep holding me like this and we should be fine.” He said with a weak smile.

She looked very much not convinced so Erik opted to divert the conversation away from this slip up. “So where does this water flow from?” He asked.

The princess looked towards one of the nearby canals. “They flow from one of three orbs located within the palace. They were gifts from our Goddess, signs of her divine favor passed down to we mortal servants.”

Erik lifted a brow. “Goddess? Seems more the work of enchantment by that description, a powerful enchantment but one nonetheless.”

Elrina gave him a strange look, not exactly offended by his seeming dismissal by the work of the elven goddess but certainly a bit put off. “It is written in the holy texts that such happened. Texts my people have followed since before the first human climbed down from their trees to walk on two legs.”

“The age of a document doesn’t increase its authenticity. If my people went by that logic half of our advancements wouldn’t have been made. Any moron can put pen to paper and write something halfway coherent.” Erik stated.

Now she looked offended. Flustered as well. “W-well, I… you…” She seemed to lack the words to properly express her offense.

“Furthermore, such belief in a higher being making the waters flow seems incredibly narrow-minded. There are completely logical and scientific explanations for everything in the world. Simply saying ‘a goddess did it’ is backwards and doesn’t uncover anything.” The homunculus prince continued with a wave of his hand.

“Bu-but- I mean. Y-you can’t disprove that…” The elven princess stuttered weakly, her steps a bit uneven as Erik’s words bit into her conviction.

Ah yes, the most circular of arguments. “Perhaps not. However I can prove through the research of my own people why tides come in and out and why rains fall. Not due to the actions of some goddess.” The very idea was ludicrous.

“I-I…”

Elrina had stopped walking and her cheeks were red. Erik looked up at her and sighed. She really was shy. Too shy to debate him it appeared. Well not that he blamed her for he’d doubtlessly lacerate her pitiful arguments like a skilled duelist, but still it was jarring. No zealous dogma, no fiery retorts to defend her beliefs. Just a stammering wreck. Really, the prince actually felt sorry for her.

“Never mind. Let’s… let’s just keep going.” Erik said with a sigh.

Elrina’s shoulders sagged and her beautiful face crumpled with misery as she padded along the smooth tiled floor. She even sniffled here or there. What was he supposed to do with this? She was bigger than him! Most every princess he’d met up until now had possessed some form of self-confidence. Or arrogance. Or sadism. Actually, a lot of sadism. Now he was dealing with a creature like Elrina. How was he supposed to act?

“I… I’m sorry, Prince Lostrem. P- please forgive me for being so… so…” The elven princess stuttered.

“Meek? Yielding? Timorous? Insecure?” Erik tossed out.

She jerked her head up and down, biting her lower lip. The prince sat upon her palm and shook his head sighing. Well. Only one thing for it, it seemed like. “Actually, let’s nix the orb visit. Let’s go to your sitting room shall we? I have an idea.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“Positive, come on, let’s get moving. Daylight wasting.”

“Ah! Alright!”

She beat a brisk pace back through the halls of the palace. Erik meanwhile steeled himself. He swallowed his pride, no easy task, and went through some things in his mind. He’d remembered reading some books on the behavior of sentient races before. Self-esteem had featured heavily in one of them as well as the lack of it. Normally he wasn’t one to stick his neck out like this, but Elrina was just so… pathetic he felt he had to do *something.* Maybe his suitors previously were rubbing off on him. That thought drew a snort.

As they entered the sitting room Erik stared up at Elrina and drew himself up to his full height. Which didn’t even measure up to her ankle naturally, but really it was the thought that counted. The elven maiden squirmed under the intensity of his gaze, her bare feet shifted on the ground below, toes curling nervously. Her eyes darted about, looking for anything but him. The homunculus’s gaze sharpened.

“Stop fidgeting. Stand up straight.” He barked, as much royal command as he could manage in his voice. It had been a long while since he had produced that tone.

Elrina froze and forced herself to stand up straight. Erik’s eye twitched and he sighed. Looked like he had quite a bit of work cut out for him. The prince hopped down from the table, shimmying down the elven princess’s dress. He landed upon the floor and walked over to her still fidgeting feet and promptly kicked at her smallest toe, drawing a sharp yelp from the elven women.

“I said, stop fidgeting. You’re a bloody giant. There’s absolutely no reason to be nervous around me.”

“T-that hurt!” Elrina protested, looking on the brink of tears.

Erik schooled his face into a sneer. “Did it? Well. What are you going to do about it princess?” The homunculus delivered another sharp kick.

“Ow! Stop it!” She squealed.

“Make me.” Another kick. Really, Erik was impressed by just how spineless Elrina was. Pretty much every suitor he’d had thus far would have him pinned between foot and floor by now.

“B-but y-you… I-I-I…”

“Not seeing a reason to stop here.” Erik mused with another kick.

The shadow of her abused foot was quick to fall over the prince. A glance up revealed the pale sole above hovering above him. A sole that immediately mashed against him, pinning Erik between the smooth floor and the unbelievable soft skin. Since his journey had begun, the prince had been under a number of soles. He was rather intimately familiar by now with the creases upon the bottom of the female foot by now. Right now it was like being crushed by a mattress filled with feathers. Still hurt like hell.

There was a surprised squeak as Elrina hopped back, lost her balance and fell onto her ass. She was looking at her own foot like she’d never seen it before. “I-I-I’m SO sorry! I d-didn’t mean!”

Erik waved a hand airily. “Please, not the first one. That was downright pleasant. Besides, you defended yourself.”

The elven woman bit her lower lip. “B-but, I could have squished you…” She muttered.

The prince actually laughed at that. “With that? That was a love tap!”

He’d gone completely and totally insane clearly after his long trials underfoot, in mouth, and between breasts. He knew it too. The Erik that had started this journey certainly wouldn’t be doing this. Besides, it wasn’t like he’d be marrying this woman. Maybe he was still coming off the high Eva had put him in. Distinctly possible. Only rational explanation for him acting so illogically.

“Now then. You’re a princess. Not some stuttering wreck about to piss herself from the big scary homunculus. What am I going to do? Punch you toes until you get irritated and stomp me again?” Erik bellowed.

Elrina shuffled slightly. “Well… I mean… when you put it like that…” She mumbled, her cheeks flushing at the indignity. Good. Embarrassment. 

Erik looked up at the figure towering over him and snorted. “That didn’t sound like how a princess should say that.”

“I’m not scared!” She managed to blurt out, stomping a foot on the ground for emphasis.

Frustration was good, but not quite what Erik wanted. “You sound like a petulant child. Especially in the face of someone that pisses all over your wishy washy religion nonsense.” He said with an airy wave of his hand.

Elrina let out a sound that was halfway between a growl and a scream and before Erik knew it he was getting a face full of foot flesh once more. The pressure this time didn’t abate and indeed was actually uncomfortable. He caught himself pushing up against the soft flesh of her sole on reflex, his breath torn from his lungs as the rather miffed elven princess ground her sole into him on the floor.

She lifted the foot again, only to immediately stomp on him again. Her heel struck him this time. Actual pain flared from that blow as she started stomping him again and again. By the end of the dizzying array of crushing stomps Erik was left dazed on the floor, wondering again what part of him had decided that playing Lea or Eva with this elven princess had been a good idea. A part that was currently in agony as he lay sprawled out like some manner of overly large and squished bug on the floor.

After a moment a pair of fingers reached down and plucked him up by the leg. He was lifted up, up, up, getting a good rising look of Elrina’s body until he dangled upside down before her face. A face that was red with actual anger and indignation. So on the upside. He’d succeeded in making her spine up and actually do something without stuttering. On the down side… well. That anger was kind of directed at him judging from how her eyes stabbed into him.

“So-ah, sorry abo-.”

“Shut up! You’re mean, and awful, and irreverent and I-I don’t quite know how to deal with that but I’m going to find out you-you awful person you.” She managed to get out with all the conviction of a wet noodle.

Well… was a work in progress clearly.

Now this was more in line with what Erik was used to, he mused as Elrina had him tied upside down from her finger. Her other finger was wagging in front of her as she lectured him very sternly on having more tolerance of nonsense religions. Really it was kind of white noise to an extent. At the very least she wasn't stuttering. The good news was the confidence boost had worked to a degree. The bad news...

"...And that's why you can't just go around making fun of people for believing in what they believe in! Its rude and mean and very ungentlemenly of you! I thought your people were supposed to be wellspoken and nice, well you are just a big meany!" Elrina lectured, poking Erik in the head with a finger.

The homunculus prince winced from the poke as well as the blood currently rushing to his head from the treatment. Evidently this was an elven custom for dealing with minor crimes. Tying someone up upside down and slinging verbal abuse at them. How very barbaric. Erik let out a long sigh as the woman finished and nodded, trying his best to look apologetic. Necessary for the act of course.

"I understand, Princess, you have shown me the error of my ways! I will never again make fun of someone or demean them for believing in the divine!"  Erik said.

The princess looked surprised but set her hand on her hip. "Well, good! Ye-yes, good. I'm happy to see you aren't being as unreasonable as you were before." The look in her beautiful eyes was enough that told Erik she considered that a huge victory.

"So... uh... would you kindly untie me. I can feel my head starting to ache." Erik asked.

"O-oh! Sorry, yes, of course." The princess stuttered and fumbled with nimble fingers to remove the knot around his leg. Erik fell a short distance into her open palm as it was placed beneath him.

He would give this to elves, their skin was unbelievable soft. It was like laying out on a cloud. Erik almost felt like he could drift off to sleep resting upon her open palm but he managed to resist the urge. He instead sat up and met the gaze of the princess. She was certainly a cute one, she was also a woman that he wanted to help find some kind of stride. Erik didn't agree with her religion but he believed that if someone believed in something they should defend it. If he left today and she felt more comfortable doing that, he considered it a win.

Elrina started walking over to a little shrine that was in the corner of her room and Erik blinked as she was. "Uhhh... what are you doing?"

"Well, its custom for suitors to be baptized in the eyes of the Goddess, otherwise they are unfit to touch the skin of royalty. S-so..."

It was only then that Erik saw that there was a basin filled with water right next to the shrine. His eyes widened. "I don't think that's really necessary- hey, wait stop!" He protested as Elrina's fingers came in and started tugging at his clothes.

She said nothing, her pretty face a mask of concentration, tongue in her cheek as she started removing the clothes of the little prince. Erik protested rather loudly but as ever even the hands of a meek princess were possessed of strength beyond anything he could ever hope to manage. One finger was stronger than his whole body. She dexterously removed every article of clothing he had, stripping him bare as she stood over the basin beside the shrine. Erik shivered from the cold air from so high up and moved to cover himself.

"Now then, be cleansed in the eyes of the Goddess." The elven princess said as she pinched her fingers into either side of Erik carefully but firmly and dunked him below the water of the basin.

The homunculus felt the cold shock as the water hit his bare body. He squirmed and writhed and tried to escape but it was to no avail. He was trapped below the surface of the water and he could feel his lungs starting to strain. Elrina had to know he wouldn't be able to last much longer. Yet still she kept him under the water. His squirms grew more and more frantic as he felt his lungs screaming. Was this it then? Was the shy and meek one going to kill him? What a way for good intentions to be punished.

Finally the strain was too much and he opened his mouth, forced to inhale the water. Yet... there was no pain. The water filled his lungs and he could feel it but there was no pain or agony from it. Instead, when he opened his eyes he could see... something incredible.

He was no longer in a basin. He was in a vast hall beneath the water. All around him were ivory colored walls and marble floors, the water basically taken in as though it were air. However that was nothing compared to what was before him. Seated upon a throne more magnificent than he had ever seen was a woman that had such beauty that almost brought tears to the eyes. Her long dark hair flowed through the water as though alive and her pale flesh was utterly without flaw. She looked to have been sculpted from marble. The pointed ears named her as an elf but she felt like so much more.

Erik found his body moving without him intending it, almost mechanically, like he was an occupant while someone else drove. Soon enough he was before the sandal clad feet of the woman and he found himself getting down on his knees and pressing his lips to the surface of the sandal. Indeed it felt insinctively like putting his lips upon her bare flesh would have been a crime. Like it would have spoiled her in some way.

"Before your journey is over, Erik Lostrem, you will give up that which matters most to you and have gained that which will become your world." The woman's words rang with the clarity of a bell. "You will become less than you are and yet greater than any prince has ever become."

He opened his mouth, perhaps to ask for clarity. Perhaps to simply thank the woman for deigning to speak to him. However when he did, a flood of water escaped his mouth and suddenly the sharp air of Elrina's room struck his skin. He coughed and sputtered into her palm, the water dripping from his bare form made colder for the elevation. The prince was like that for a good few minutes before looking up at Elrina. There wasn't anger on his face, just confusion as he looked at her.

"What... what was that? I saw-" He was cut off by a raised hand, a surprisingly forward thing for the shy princess.

"What you saw was for you alone to see." The princess said, sounding as though she was repeating something told to her. She lifted a handkerchief up and draped it over Erik's body. "The holy waters show everyone something the first time they are embraced. The words of the Goddess are for the one she gives them to. So it is said."

A Goddess? Had he... no. It had to be something in the water. There was no scientific evidence of the gods. No proof that there was anything that was divine in this world. He dried himself off and spent the rest of the day enjoying a bit of polite chatter. It seemed at the least, Elrina was a bit more comfortable now that he had seen whatever he had seen. Or at least confirmed that he had seen something. Whatever that thing was though Erik had no idea. Indeed, when the next morning came and Elrina bid him a mutually polite farewell, Erik still felt like the words would haunt him for days to come.

Much about the last visit was actually... rather tame compared to Erik's visits thus far. No getting forced into being a pleasure toy, no being made to rub feet, just a few bruises from his own making there. Of course there was also that vision. Part of him, the logical part of him, wrote it off as a hallucination brought on by nearly drowning in water. However there was a part of him deep down that couldn't rightly dismiss it, no matter how illogical it was.

They were back on the road again, the automated carriage taking them deeper into the forest roads from the Elven kingdom. The sky was something they hadn't actually seen in days, the only light in these deep forests came from the strange plants and fungus that grew upon the trees. Large mushrooms that glowed in the dark. It was honestly rather eerie. Like they were in another world, one that Erik wasn't used to. He was far more accustomed to the cobbled roads of civilization.

"Our next visit will take us to the fairy kingdom and to Princess Travi Silvermoon, only daughter of the Fairy Queen." Lucius said as he read aloud from his book, dragging Erik from his musings.

Ryna blinked. "Fairies? Those are real?" She sounded like she didn't quite believe that.

"You've met me, and also found yourself in a city within the sky a while back." Erik remarked with a little chuckle. "That fairies are where you draw the line of disbelief." He shook his head and looked at Ryna with a lifted brow.

The Knight scratched her cheek and let out a little laugh. "I guess that is a bit strange, isn't it, my prince. Just, hard to believe something so small... actually I'm gonna stop embarrassing myself." She must have realized that would sound silly since her current master was maybe level with her ankle.

"Like most fairies she has something of a notorious streak for playing tricks on people. Previous suitors tended to get lost and end up never meeting her, or scared off by an illusion of some monster." Lucius continued after they finished their little exchange.

"So we might get lucky and she just diverts us out of the forest on a prank." Erik surmised. Well there were worse ways to spend a trip he supposed.

The first day through the forest was actually fairly uneventful, if scenic. The roads that went through the forest were not maintained very well and often the carriage would tilt a bit, however the advanced mechanisms used for its construction compensated for rough roads. The vista of the forest was alien to Erik, but there was only so much greenery that could entertain him in ways that magic couldn't. It was strange though, despite the rumors there wasn't a sign of a single illusion. At least none that he had noticed.

Eventually they made camp for the evening and Erik settled himself for a nap inside of the carriage as his retainers took up revolving watches per norm. Ryna was currently slumbering on the seats across from him while Lucius watched the outside. The homunculus closed his eyes and tried to drift off without thinking about the vision he had been treated to. No easy task. It dominated much of his thoughts. Whatever it was, it had managed to rattle him. Maybe he would consult Lucius for advice. He surely-

Suddenly Erik felt a jerk upon his leg and his eyes opened wide. Looking down he could see a hand, three times the size of his own hand, wrapped around his ankle. His eyes flew wide and he opened his mouth to yell in alarm before another large dainty hand was pressed over his mouth. Well, really most of his face. His arms were restrained and he struggled and looked around in alarm.

"Whoops! Guess we grabbed him too roughly, woke him up."

"Ugh, now he's gonna be squirming the whole way back. Such a pain, make sure you've got a good grip on him."

"We *suuuure* this is the guy? He's kinda small."

"Dummy, that's what he's supposed to look like!"

A trio of very beautiful women, a redhead, a blonde, and a brunette, were all sides of him. One had his wrists in her hands and the other had his legs while the last one had her hand over his mouth and another over his chest. He tried to let out a muffled and indignant noise, glaring at the blonde as she had a hand over his mouth. She looked down at him and rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, think he's getting feisty. Lets get him out of here before the lady knight wakes up. On three. One, two, three."

Erik tried to squirm his way free, but even among the smaller races of the land it seemed he was destined to be the smallest. The fairies beat their wings in the air and took off, the trio wrapping him in a restraining grip from all three of them. He could barely get out a noise or squirm, much less free himself. He tried to shout as loud as he could to Ryna, but the woman did little more than snore lightly as the fairies took him out through one of the windows.

They sped off into the forest on their tiny wings, landing on a tree branch some unknown distance away. It was only then that Erik found himself freed from their grasp and he pushed himself back, stumbling and falling onto his back upon the branch. "How dare you handle me in such a way! Do you- do you have any idea who I am?" He blustered.

The redhead scratched her cheek. "We were kinda hoping you were Prince Erik Lostrem. I mean if you aren't this is a little awkward."

Erik went red in the face. "Exactly! I am a prince and to kidnap a prince is a high crime no matter where it is done, release me immediately!"

"Hey, we're just doing what Travi said we should do. Though I gotta say... kinda figured you Homunculi would be just a *little* bit bigger." The brunette said. "Anyway, we still got a ways to fly to the castle and you squirm too much sooooo..." She looked at the blonde who was already pulling out a length of string which looked like a rope and the redhead who pulled out a piece of cloth.

Erik got up and started trying to bolt. He got exactly three steps before the brunette grabbed him by the back of his tunic and lifted him up off the ground. "Unhand me I say! This is a highly unorthodox way to meet with a suitor! She could just come out and see me herself!" Erik protested.

"Yeahno, that big metal thing you are traveling with is super ugly. We don't want it anywhere near the castle. Stop whining alright, we ain't gonna hurt ya or anything." The fairy said as her fellows moved in.

"Hold o-mmpphhh!" Erik was silenced as the cloth gag was wrapped around his mouth and pulled very tightly by those dainty fingers. His words were unintelligible behind the gag as he was pushed to the surface of the branch and had the string used to tie his hands feet up behind his back in a very uncomfortable way.

This was absolute madness! Of course he had experienced some rough welcomes before but this took the cake since he was being literally kidnapped by his suitor! He tried to struggle but it was absolutely not happening, those bindings were tight and the gag wasn't coming out of his mouth. The fairies stepped back and examined their handiwork, the brunette, clearly the leader of the bunch, was nodding in approval as she reached down and grabbed the extra bit of string and started taking off again, hoisting Erik up with her.

"Alrighty, got the goods, lets get back home." She said.

"Hope we didn't miss evening teatime, they were gonna be serving that orange fruity tea tonight!" The redhead piped up.

"I'm sure the princess saved some for us." The blonde said. "Would be cruel to make us miss that."

They chattered away while Erik was basically just cargo along for the ride. He gave up on trying to break his bonds simply because given the height at which they were flying, if they dropped him Erik was going to actually take some damage. Maybe he hit a branch going down, maybe not. Regardless it wasn't a risk he could take. His shoulders would have sagged if he could move them that much. All he could do was wait to arrive wherever they were taking him to. As well as hope the princess wasn't planning anything... untoward.

The flight through the forest of fairykind was rather scenic actually. Indeed, if this flight was a bit more comfortable and under less humiliating circumstances then Erik might have even enjoyed it. The trees this deep in the forest had vibrant and beautiful pinks and purples on their leaves and the soft glow of mosses upon them lit up the place when the sun no longer served to do so. The air was crisp and clean in a way even the elven kingdom had failed to produce. It felt… untouched in a way. Primal. Like this was a place no one had seen in eons beyond fairykind. How in the name of the gods his father had managed to get them a message was a matter of mystery. 

Unfortunately his marvelling was rather dampened by the fact he was being hovered high off of the ground and carried around in a rather undignified manner. Other fairies occasionally pulled up beside the trio and spoke in their strange bubbly language and giggled when they saw him. He let out muffled curses into the gag and glared at the fairies but that was about all he could do as he was taken along. 

At last they reached their destination and it was… breathtaking. Erik felt everything melt away as he saw the resplendent and vast ivory castle carved out of the center of a lake. Behind it loomed a grand tree that covered the canopy on high, fairies buzzing around here or there. The castle was like something out of a storybook, a fairytale brought to life before his eyes. There was something that stirred in the prince he hadn’t felt since he was very young. A childlike wonder at the beauty of this place. 

Something he was rather rudely snapped out of when another group of fairies buzzed up to his captors. “Hey hey! Is that the outlander? Wow! He’s so small!” A pink haired fairy marveled. 

“I know right? Didn’t expect him to be so teeny tiny either! We gotta deliver him to the Princess though right away.” The brunette carrying him said. 

“Aww… that's no fun, can’t we play with him for a bit?” The pinkette said with a pout. 

“Yeah yeah! C’mon, just one round of air catch, the princess doesn’t have to know!” Agreed a green haired woman with a vigorous nod of her head. 

“No, no, no! We have to get there or we’ll miss tea time and the princess will be super duper cross, no playing with this one.” The brunette said as she shook her head. 

“Bleh! You’re no fuuuun Hera! All work and no play makes a dull fairy!” The pinkette argued with a huff. 

“Now you listen here, you little-!” She was evidently not super bright as she lifted her hands up and took them off the string holding Erik up. She was waving them around for a second before seeming to realize her mistake. 

Which was a bit too late for Erik as he was sent plummeting toward the lake below. He screamed behind the gag as he was plunging toward the crystal clear waters and heard some squeaks of surprise from above in the air. Well. This was very clearly the end. And it was the dumbest end that he could ever have imagined. Dropped several stories above the air by an airheaded fairy into the drink. He would have probably laughed if his mind wasn’t screaming in terror as the water came closer and closer. He squeezed his eyes shut as he didn’t want to experience what came next of plunging into the water. 

The seconds ticked by and the expected shock of cold never came. He dared to open his eyes and instead found himself being hefted up by a single fair with large purple butterfly pattern wings. She was flapping her wings rather furiously to keep him up before regaining control and letting out a sigh. She was a purple haired specimen and as pretty as the rest of the fairies that had collected him. 

She turned her eyes upward and glared at the five fairies gliding above. “You just cost yourselves fruity tea today, you dolts! You almost dropped my new toy- er, the prince into a lake!” She called up. 

“It wasn’t us, princess! Hera has butterfingers!” The blonde and redhead pointed accusingly at their fellow. 

“Hey! It was these two trying to snatch him before we got there, no fair no fair!” The brunette pouted. 

The purple haired princess shook her head. “Dumb-dumbs. Let's get to the castle before they, I dunno, accidentally collapse a tree on us.” The princess grumbled as she started flying back toward the castle. 

Erik was currently a bit too gagged to be able to speak but he was sure he’d be somewhere between anger and also sheer thankful gratitude to be alive. Then he remembered he had almost died because of the princess and it shifted right back to indignant anger as they fluttered toward the castle. There were no guards standing around or anything, then again, it would probably be pretty hard for anyone to sneak here. 

She flew right into one of the chambers and dropped him to the floor unceremoniously before rolling her eyes. “Ugh, well that was stupid and annoying. I bet my tea got cold and everything.” She pouted as she started untying Erik. 

Who proceeded to jump to his feet and point accusingly at the princess three times his size. “You stay back! Gods above, this is probably the worst introduction a suitor has given me! Why in the name of the Creator did you kidnap me!” He demanded. 

She cocked her head to the side and then shrugged, her pretty purple dress shifting as she did. “I dunno, sounded like it would be fun. Plus your carriage was all icky cold iron and metal and bleh. No. Thanks.” The fairy said. “Wow you are waaay shorter than I expected you to be.” 

Erik was quite used to hearing that by now so it washed off him pretty easily. Instead his shoulders sagged and he let out the heaviest sigh imaginable. “By the Creator, Father, this list of yours is going to be the death of me.” He grumbled. 

She giggled and held hand to her mouth. “Not really my type for a suitor, but I wasn’t really looking for a suitor anyway! I just wanted to see one of you Homunculi and you certainly don’t disappoint!” 

Erik started squirming immediately when she placed her hands under his shoulders and lifted him up like he was some kind of child. He certainly looked it in her hands. “Gah! Stop! Unhand me at once!”

“Oh be quiet, I just wanna play with you is all and then I’ll put you back in your dumb carriage.” Travi blew out through her pursed lips and a purple cloud puffed its way to Erik’s face. 

He inhaled the magical cloud and it smelled sickly sweet. A few moments after inhaling it a haze washed over his mind and he found his body going rather numb. His higher brain functions were pretty easily sealed off and Erik felt… well like he could only feel and not think. Like he’d been robbed of his ability to form rational thoughts and instead could only act on what he was feeling in the here and now. A spell where all concerns about his travels and his discomfort were gone. 

“Woah… you’re pretty.” Was what came out of his mouth as he looked at the fairy. 

The purple haired fairy giggled and rolled her eyes. “I know *that* silly. And you are just the most adorable little thing. Oh I know! We should play dress up! You’d look suuuuper cute in a dress.” She said with a laugh as she set down the bewitched prince and pulled out a little golden bell and rang it in the air. A few fairies appeared her window and she started excitedly chattering with them while Erik was currently busy staring at his hand. 

“Huh… it makes trails… woah…” He suddenly was quite interested in the trails his fingers were making as he moved his hand back and forth. 

“Oh wow, maybe I gave him too much of a dose!” The princess laughed. “Oh well, he was kinda uptight anyway!” 

With that said Erik blinked as he felt himself suddenly lifted up off the ground and pulled up by a couple of fairies. The princess was following after them as they headed to a frankly massive chamber filled with all manner of colorful dresses. A rainbow splash of color to the eyes really. In his current hazy state of mind Erik found himself just staring wide eyed at the sheer array of colors before him. It was enough that it was blowing his addled mind. 

“Pretty colors…” He muttered. 

“Yep, deeefinitely hazed him a bit too much.” The princess giggled as they set him down and slowly set about undressing him. 

Erik found himself completely naked soon enough, his pale and slender form on full display for the fairies. One of them turned her head to the side when she looked between his legs and reached out to touch his manhood. The Homunculus blinked at that and it felt incredibly good in his current state of mind. 

“Huh… whats this?” 

“Ohhhh I’ve heard about that, other races have males and worry about things like genders and stuff. Males have a, uh… I forget what it's called. A stick? It's something like that. Anyway they apparently really like it when you touch it!” Another fairy answered cheerfully. 

“Oh, neat!” The fairy laughed as she patted him down there before turning to go find some clothes. 

Erik in his better state of mind probably would have corrected the fairies but for some reason his brain was currently just utterly fascinated that stick and dick rhymed and he was currently giggling like a dummy. It was pretty funny because they were like, totally different things. But they rhymed. Like, wow. It was so weird. 

The princess meanwhile worked at his hair with a nice and shiny comb, adding a sheen to his dirty blonde hair. Normally he kept it no longer than shoulder length but the comb evidently was enough to also cause it to grow out and flow down to his back. She schooled the flowing locks back and was humming as she did so. The amazonian fairies towered above him and did what they pleased, applying makeup to his body and his face and even painting his nails a lovely blue color. 

“You’d make for a lovely fairy, prince! You look so pretty!” The princess giggled as she held up a mirror and showed Erik his reflection. 

He looked at himself and he scarcely recognized himself. Erik was a handsome example of his race, though his features tended at least masculine enough that he couldn’t be mistaken for a girl. Now with the work of the fairies it was hard for him to tell he was a male. He looked at the reflection and blinked as he touched the mirror. “Is that me?” He asked. 

“Yep yep! And now the finishing touches!” The princess laughed. 

Erik felt himself grabbed by the wrist as the fairy princess tugged him along through the array of dresses and the fairies behind him were pushing him along with stronger hands as well. In a state of mind where he would have cognitive abilities he might have reflected that despite his rough introduction, this was actually one of the less cruel visits. Erik mind you would have been protesting and squirming through the whole thing otherwise. So perhaps it was for the best he was high as a kite. 

The princess pulled out a lovely blue dress and Erik grunted as he found himself grabbed and moved around and forced into the dress by the fairies. A bow was used to tie his hair back and he looked at his reflection again. It was a woman that looked more like one of the suitors he was supposed to meet that stared back at him. He blinked as he ran his hand over his face, looking at his newly done up visage. 

“Its pretty…” He said. 

“Glad you think so! Oh, oh! Let's go for some tea!” The princess clapped her hands together and gripped him by the wrist, tugging him along as her fellows giggled and watched the two depart. Erik was very quickly about to learn that fairies tended to have two modes, sleeping and playing.

When Erik started gaining his senses again he was aware of some weight all over him. He didn’t know how long it had been and honestly felt groggy, like he was waking up from some deep sleep. He blinked away the blurriness and tried to focus his eyes. And when he did he was rather immediately aware of where he was. 

The prince of the homunculi was currently under a table dressed in a fine blue dress that was now a bit dirty. The weight upon him was due to the fact he was currently tied down to the smooth floor with some restraints and a trio of pale and flawless pairs of lithe feet were settled on him like he was some kind of foot rest. There was the sound of the chattering above and some laughter. 

“Gah! Hey! Release me and let me up! This is degrading!” Funny how indignation was the first thing the prince was feeling. 

“Huh? Oh, you came to your senses huh? Took you long enough, like wow you were loopy for a couple days now, little prince!” A chair scooted back and the princess looked down at him from on high. 

“You charmed me, thats why!” He accused moments before his voice was muffled by the purple haired woman pushing his head down to the floor by stepping on his face. 

He let out some muffled cries against it but she just casually rested her foot there for a bit and the other fairies seemed in no hurry to give up their foot rest either. In fact one of them was currently straying their foot a bit lower and… oh. Erik felt an involuntary flash of arousal shoot through him that silenced his protests. Princess Silvermoon gripped his nose between her big and second toes and squeezed teasingly before looking back above. 

“Oh he seemed to like that since it shut him up. Non-fairies are super weird. Who knew you could make them happy just touching certain body parts?” The princess sounded completely bewildered by that as she shifted her foot off of his face. 

“You ready to not be so fussy, prince? I can put you right back under and go back to enjoying my tea otherwise.” She said. 

Erik was about to say something he was very sure to regret but bit his tongue. The fairies were pretty and quite delicate looking but that hid power that he certainly couldn’t hope to match. Their power of illusion and mind alteration was vastly beyond his own. He had thought himself a master really and having been so utterly and casually dominated for evidently two days was enough to put him in his place. 

The fairy princess smirked. “Good boy. Don’t worry I’m gonna take you back. Your friends are all worried and stuff and searching around the forest. Will say, not really a suitor but you make an amazing foot rest for fairies. Maybe add that to your titles?” She giggled a bit. 

His brow twitched in annoyance. “I’ll take it under advisement.” The homunculus growled out. 

“Tsk, that’s the problem with you riiiight there. Very serious and stuck up. Can’t stand that. You gotta learn to live a little. Sure, I charmed you but you were pretty fun and free there. You were about dumb stuff when you’re like this. I’d probably have to charm you brainless to marry you.” The princess rolled her eyes. 

Erik wanted to avoid *that* potential future and so he kept his mouth shut. That seemed to satisfy the fairy as she tapped her foot against his face for a moment before standing up and snapping her fingers. The restraints around him flickered out and he sat up, rubbing his wrists in annoyance as he slowly pulled himself out from under the table. It was a harsh lesson of sorts. That even in an art he considered himself very knowledgeable in, there were always those that would be stronger. These fairies weaved illusions effortlessly and used magic like it was as easy as breathing. 

“Oh don’t look so sour and grumpy Prince Lostrem, I’ll even give you those clothes since you look so good in them.” She giggled. 

Erik looked down at himself. He had known he was in a dress when he woke up but it only now just sank in when he looked over himself that he was indeed in a dress. His face flushed a bright red as the giggling of the amazonian fairies filled his ears. He really really was wishing he had some of the whiskey Eva had drank with him. It would prove an amazing brain cleanser after this whole episode. 

The fairy princess gripped him under his arms and hoisted him up in the air again. She abruptly tossed him to one of the other fairies, which he recognized as the brunette that had dropped him in the lake. The fairy grinned at him in greeting and he paled a bit remembering her rough handling of him. Looked like she was going to be his escort going back to the carriage and his retainers. 

There was a strange feeling as he sat how he did in her hands. A feeling different from when he was compared to the rest of the women on his journey so far. This was a race he was comparable to and yet here he was, handled like a toddler. It was this more than many other moments that really ground in that if not for his race’s ability to craft immense and powerful golems they probably would not be so well regarded. 

“In annnny event, it was fun having you here, Prince. Had lotsa fun playing and dressing you up, but yeah, for the sake of every other suitor on your list maybe loosen up a bit. Get some fun in you instead of being all serious all the time. Your face will stick that way.” The princess giggled before nodding to the brunette. 

“She’ll take you back to your fellows. Don’t squirm so much this time. Maybe won’t get tied up.” The royal fairy said as she waved to the prince. 

“Hey! I was being kidnapped!” He shot back. 

“Psshhh, kidnapped. Just some harmless fun. Like I said, loosen up.” The fairy said dismissively. 

That caused Erik’s blood to boil but he let out a breath as he was lifted up further as the fairy took off into the air and they were flying out of the castle. He was silent for the way back as he pondered things. He pondered this whole journey really as the wind whipped by his face. The point of it was to find a suitor. Yet each and every place he had gone were a bust or even those he found enjoyable were unconvinced by him. Was there something he was lacking? Something I needed to figure out? 

He found no answers in the air that moved past him. By all rights this quest was something he should have abandoned but for his people he was willing to do many things. Even if it meant suffering indignity after indignity. Erik valued his companions at the very least and for what it was worth, the travel was great. As he saw the forest moving around him at a high speed he reflected that this was probably the best part of the journey. Going to all these places, places many might never see in their lives.

He had gone to the highest cities above the clouds. He had gone below the earth. He had been in the realm of elves and fairies. He had walked the cities of man and still there was more open road to travel through. Put through that lens, with that in mind, he found the conga line of humiliations almost worth it. Almost. 

At last they reached the carriage, stopped and with both of his retainers shouting his name into the forest. The fairy promptly dropped him right upon Ryna’s head and waved as she fluttered away. “He’s your problem now!” She said by way of parting. 

He was currently holding the bangs of the rather clumsy knight for dear life and she was cursing from the tugging at her hair. She lifted her hand up and curled her fingers around Erik and pulled him off. “Your Grace! We’ve been looking everywhere- why are you in a dress!?”

Ah this would be fun to explain. 

It was with a pang of both relief and regret that Erik and his retinue found their road taking them out from the mythical forests of the fae folk and headed for civilization. The splendor had rather been dampened by his rather mixed experiences and he was just happy to have the wheels of his metal carriage rolling along cobbled roads. Sweet, sweet evenly cut and competently constructed cobbled roads. 

The forest gave way to vast rolling hills which eventually led to fields of wheat and grain as they’d passed by many a town and village on their way. The diminutive prince found himself starting to relax at the familiar sights and sounds. It was naturally vastly different from his homeland but it was a civilization that wasn’t built around a tree. That was a bonus in his book even if it wasn’t as memorable or scenic as either the elf or fairy kingdoms. 

Of course he wasn’t here for sightseeing and a city loomed in the distance Lucius opened up his Princess Diary. He had given up on that particular battle of refuting the name, much to both Erik’s and Ryna’s amusement that it could fluster the older man. He scanned the pages of his little book before speaking up. 

“Our next visit is with her Grace, Duchess Iona Vastar, mistress of the Duchy of Livana, the largest duchy within the Queendom of Telys. While not a royal herself, she is perhaps one of the wealthiest women in the region.” Lucius said. 

“Not a royal? Interesting. Father really reaching down for anything at this point.” The prince snorted. 

Ryna scratched her chin. “Telys isn’t a country we know much of where I come from since the forest between us and them is vast and hard to get through. A Queendom though?” She looked at Lucius curiously. 

“Yes, as opposed to a number of human nations, Telys is a matriarchal feudal nation. Family lines are traced down the women.” The man confirmed. 

Erik rolled his eyes. “Sexism is sexism, whether it’s men lording over women or women over men. The sign of a regressive society no matter which way it flips.” The prince remarked. 

Ryna tapped along her chin. “I’m inclined to agree, however it's easier to say than put into practice. Our country is nominally egalitarian but for years it was the case no woman could hold a sword. While it's illegal to bar women from military service, the military has a number of elements that are holdovers from before Princess Silverhand took over operations.” The knight stated. 

He lifted a brow. “The difficulty of making such a society happen should not be a bar in the way to start walking along the course. Still, a fair point I suppose.” Odd, Princess Silverhand had seemed so utterly towering and strong to him. Yet because of how she was born she had difficulties in her own society. It was something he had never considered. In that vein he could see the appeal of a society ruled by women some might find. 

Whatever the case their carriage made its way through the streets of the city. There were many that gave the automated carriage a wary eye as it traveled through the urban center. Eventually they arrived at the courtyard of a rather impressive castle and Ryna offered her hand to Erik. He stepped onto the palm of the knight as both she and Lucius stepped out into the courtyard and were met by a couple of maids. They bowed their heads to them. 

“I present Prince Erik Lostrem, son of Mage-King Fredrick Lostrem of Eteria. Master of Illusionism, Vice-Director of Golem Design and Manufacture, Holder of thirteen separate patents on various inventions, and second in line for the throne of Eteria.” Lucius announced to the servants. 

“We are honored to receive his grace. Her grace, the Duchess, has requested a private audience with the prince. She has also prepared quarters for his retainers that they might rest from the trials of a long road.” One of the maids said. 

Of course she did. This was becoming old hat at this point. He looked at Lucius and then to Ryna and shrugged. “Sounds like you two get a break. Royal orders. I’ll entertain the Duchess privately.” This was at the very least a step up from the kidnapping.

“Good luck, your grace, I’m sure this time will go swimmingly!” Ryna said with a bit of optimistic enthusiasm. 

With that he was handed off to a dark haired maid and found himself carried along through the halls of the castle. Strangely enough, not a man in sight that he could see from their walking through the halls. All ladies, even the servants. What an odd place. Well he didn’t dwell on it too much and instead focused on his task at hand. He wasn’t particularly interested in marriage and honestly still just wanted to get this over with. The ironic thing is the quickest way to finish it was to just marry. His father clearly had composed the list to wear down his will. 

The maid knocked upon a fine oaken door and a voice called from within. “Enter.” 

As the door swung open Erik found himself in a room that actually looked familiar to him. An office of sorts, not unlike his own. It was rather neat and tidy with actual bookcases arrayed behind the desk. Fine art adorned the walls on either side and behind the desk itself was where his suitor for this visit sat, quill in hand with the slightest smudging of ink upon her fingers as she worked. 

She was… different. Not different so much from other humans, but in the way she looked. Every princess he had spoken with and enjoyed the company of was, by the standards of their race, a young woman. Duchess Iona was not. He would have placed her in her high thirties or early forties. She had aged rather gracefully, but the slightest signs of her maturity were clear to see on her face. Mature was indeed what sprang to his mind when he looked at her. Her blonde hair was tied back in a fancy bun and her red and black dress was quite impressive and thick. When she looked up from her work, her blue eyes met Erik’s and when their gazes met he knew immediately he was not dealing with an airhead. 

“Prince Erik Lostrem? You arrived a bit earlier than expected. Set him down on the desk and fetch some wine.” She spoke first to Erik and then to the maid who bowed and set him down. 

He stood upon the desk and looming before him was this woman. Iona finished writing whatever she was working on before setting her quill aside and taking out a handkerchief to wipe away at the slight ink stains upon her slender pale fingers. There were echoes of Princess Silverhand in how she carried herself, her movements being purposeful and it was quite clear she was a woman used to work. 

“Ah. Yes, well, the roads were kind since arriving in the Queendom. The roads are well maintained and not a single brigand set upon us.” He said.

“Yes we do rather like to keep the cockroaches firmly under their rocks around Telys.” The woman said with a chuckle. “I’m pleased you’ve found your travels here easy, Prince.” 

The woman reached for a little wooden box nearby and opened it up to reveal a rather fancy looking and long pipe. She worked with it for a moment before lighting it and taking a long drag of the device. Smoking was quite common among the Homunculi, pipes and cigars mostly, it was frankly shocking to see it here and a bit nostalgic. At least until the massive blonde exhaled and a cloud of noxious tobacco found its way over to him. He coughed and sputtered, waving his hand in front of his face as the woman leaned back in her chair. 

“When Frederick sent word he wanted to potentially match his second son with me I must admit, I was a tad surprised. While similar in age numerically you are rather… youthful. Still I’m not one to turn aside his requests.” She stated. 

“You, ack, know my father well then?” That was surprising to hear. Thus far all of the suitors seemed to know of him through correspondence but Iona spoke as though she knew him personally. 

“Oh indeed. Years back he was searching for some artifact or other in my lands. I was younger then of course. An interesting little man. Bit eccentric but I hardly hold it against him. Still it almost feels criminal for him to request you as my suitor. Tsk.” She shook her head. 

“Let me guess, not your type?” He was getting a bit of that lately. 

“Oh no, you certainly *are* my type. Small, easy on the eyes, a bit prissy even. A delightful combination. For me anyway.” She chuckled as the door to her office opened up and her maid entered. 

For whatever reason there was an ominous way she said that last bit. The maid set a wineglass down on the desk and started pouring out a ruby red liquid into it. When she finished she left the bottle at Iona’s bidding. The Duchess picked it up and took a long sip before setting it aside and offering Erik a smirk. 

“Less fortunate for you sadly, Prince.” She said as she flicked her fingers over the homunculus. 

He knew the feeling of magic taking hold of him from anywhere. She muttered some words under her breath and Erik felt a twisting feeling take hold of him. He tried to use his own magic to push back against whatever was gripping him, but the force of whatever spell Iona was using was far too great. Erik felt the world spinning around him as the two and a half inch tall prince lost his balance and fell over. 

He blinked away the blurriness in his eyes and when he looked up again he found his breath halt in his chest. Two and a half inches had rather waned, decreasing down to a mere quarter of an inch tall. The homunculus found himself staring up and up, and up further still as he looked upon the now much *much* larger form of Duchess Iona. All humans towered to some degree, but with his scale reduced to such a pitiful size Erik found the vastness of the world around him even more than normal. 

The wineglass she had set down had seemed tall compared to him. Now it seemed like a building in its own right, the gleaming class holding a lake of red wine inside of it. The expanse of her desk was a landscape in its own right and in the distance there sat the older blonde, her blue eyes possessing a light of amusement as she looked down at Erik Lostrem more than any other suitor on his journey thus far. 

“Only issue was you were perhaps a bit too big for my tastes, but that takes care of that. Consider yourself fortunate, Prince Erik Lostrem, I, Duchess Iona Vastar will accept your proposal of marriage and adoration.” The woman said with a booming chuckle. 

“B-but I haven’t proposed yet! Also, change me back right this instant!” He shouted up to the woman. 

“Details. After I’m done with you, you’ll be on your knees and begging for the opportunity to be bound to me. Also, you’re a mage of some skill aren’t you? Surely such a *simple* spell as a human like myself could cast would be no trouble for the great Erik Lostrem. Now sit still.” 

Iona’s free hand descended for his reduced form and Erik didn’t hesitate, he started running before finding himself upon the edge of the desk very quickly. He looked down and saw a vast drop toward the carpeted floor below. He looked back and saw her hand coming for him, having just needed a slight adjustment as he hadn’t really moved all that far comparatively. He looked down again. Logic was telling him it would be fine to jump, his durability combined with the fact falls like this were not damaging to smaller beings would ensure he would be fine. Yet his legs shaked as instinct told him it was impossibly far down. 

He schooled himself and took a deep breath before jumping just as her hand reached him, the fingers of the blonde catching open air as he plummeted toward the carpet below. He let out a scream as air blew by his body and he fell the extremely long drop to the carpet below, landing hard atop one of the fibers. He grunted from the impact but it was indeed not lethal or even enough to hurt him all that much. The reduced scale working for him here. 

A sound echoed through the sky above. A booming chuckle that sent his blood cold. “Oh Prince, you really haven’t thought this one through have you? For a race known for its intellect you’re managing a rather bug level of thinking.” 

It was when he could hear her chair being pushed back and the booming of her steps from her standing up that he reflected that maybe she was correct on that part.

Erik was already running when the first booming step echoed out. It wasn’t logical, it wasn’t smart but he was running as fast as he could as Iona was stepping around her desk to pursue him. His heart was pounding in his chest as he fled but it was almost hilarious how little progress he was making at the utterly pitiful scale he’d been reduced to. At one point Erik had mused that it wasn’t possible to feel any smaller than he normally was. Iona had taken that idea and smashed it quite firmly. 

Her heel clad foot came down from around the side of the desk, followed by the other as a great and looming shadow suddenly fell over Erik. He stumbled and fell face first into one of the carpet fibers and looked up, feeling his blood freeze over as he drank in the sheer enormity of the woman. It was like a biblical titan gazing down upon him, her face far away above him and her form almost like that of a living landmass. She lifted her pipe to her lips and took a drag as she watched him. 

“Not really going to stop me from doing what I want with you, but amusing effort.” The woman remarked as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. 

Her steps cut across the floor, the blonde moving faster than anything her size had any right to do. Erik tried to get up… only to smack face first into the side of a wall. Iona’s expensive and fine heel was pushing down on the carpet and he was right next to the base of it, stopping right in his tracks as this vast and endless wall towered above. He couldn’t see beyond the inside of her large and voluminous skirt, tracing up her legs and beyond. A sky of fabric in its own right that stole away his view beyond. 

She shifted her skirt aside and looked down at him, noting his expression probably and that was why she smirked. “Now where were we, ah yes. I think it was here.”

The heel shifted and wobbled as she slowly pulled her foot from within the confines of the footwear, flexing and curling vast toes and wrinkling at her mature sole as it danced overhead. The prince stared upward in naked terror as he was reminded of his second visit with a princess only too well. Compared to that, this was far worse just due to the incredible difference in scale. One would think his mind well equipped to get used to it, but it was too much. 

“W-wait, my lady! Stop!” He cried. 

She didn’t hear or she didn’t care. Whatever the case was her foot came down for him and he suddenly found a grand pressure upon him that shifted to a squeezing. The toes of the woman wrapped around him as she lowered her foot down and he was firmly locked in place as they held him tightly. He squirmed and writhed and that only made her squeeze him tighter, knocking the air from his lungs. The ever so faintest scent of sweat filled him and he could feel the battering was going to leave some bruises. 

At last he was released as the toes uncurled and he plummeted straight down until he landed upon something soft and leathery. He groaned from the vertigo and looked around. What he gazed around at was the vast insole of her heel, specifically he was upon the slight incince just above where her toes would normally rest. He looked back up and swallowed hard as fear filled him again. 

“I’m sorry for any offense I’ve given, my lady! Please, let's be civilized about this!” He pleaded. 

Again she didn’t acknowledge or hear whatever it was he said and her foot came down toward him regardless. He scrambled to his feet and was running for the imprints her toes had made upon the insole as fast as he could manage as the pale digits came closer. He let out a cry as he was bowled over and his scream was perhaps audible for a moment before Iona’s foot settled back into its heel. 

The prince was caught in a nook between her toes, mashed and pressed tightly as her toes were squeezed into her fine heel. The pressure was intense, enough that it was something even he could feel. He could breathe but only just barely and when he tried to speak only muffled noises escaped him from his cramped and tightly packed place. There was motion as she tapped her foot upon the ground beyond, the movement jarring Erik and shaking him to his core. There was no room to wriggle or squirm. Her soft and doughy skin was an inescapable prison for him at this scale. 

It was hell but it wasn’t nearly so bad as when she started walking. Moving. Navigating the world and all without a care for the prince in her shoe. He was getting flashbacks to Amelia, a lot of flashbacks to Amelia as she had worn him around in her sandal while she went about her day. That was what Iona was doing only it was with an even wider gap between them. A gap where he truly was a bug to this woman. 

It was a motion machine that never seemed to stop. When it did stop it was only for a few moments. He could hear indistinct muffled booming noises from beyond at times, her speaking to this or that person no doubt. The Duchess was unfortunately a busy woman and not simply someone that sat around and enjoyed killing time. Every step would have killed him if he was human, would have rendered him a tiny red stain between her toes. There were points when she stepped down especially hard that he almost wished for that. 

As with Amelia it was hard to know how much time was passing beyond as he was trapped in his dark and cramped prison inside her shoe. It was even harder from in here. There was no light and no glimpses of the world beyond. For all he knew he could have been trapped for minutes or hours. The only metric of time he had was how many steps the Duchess made. Even those were hard to track in his daze. 

Then that was when thoughts started to creep into his brain. Unwelcome thoughts. Thoughts that told him it was no accident he ended up like this a good few times. That this was pretty appealing in an illicit way. The way this woman in particular just threw around her power with such confidence. It went beyond a lot of the ladies he had met. A self assured woman that did things because she wanted to. It was pretty hot. 

That thought was killed in his brain quickly. No, no this was horrible! He hated this! She was treating him like a plaything. If he was thinking thoughts like that it was clear the constant impacts from her merciless steps were doing a number on him. Erik tried to squirm weakly and immediately regretted it as his form was squeezed by her toes and he felt for sure that he was going to pop from the pressure before it stopped. 

Eventually he felt her toes shifting around him a bit and clean fresh air flooded in, the prince taking great gulps of it as Iona pulled her foot out. The motion and movements beyond him caused his head to spin before he was aware of a distant impact. Then another, and then nothing. Erik opened his eyes and looked around, trying to get his bearings as he blinked away black spots. 

He was pushed up against her big toe between her big and second, the prince having to peel himself from the side of the sigit many times his side. Iona had set her feet upon a table and crossed them at the ankles. He looked out across the way and could see her seated upon a couch, taking a drag of her pipe as she looked between her toes at the miserable looking prince between them. 

“Proper look for you down there, Prince. I think I see some lint between the toes. Clean it out.” She ordered. 

A flash of hot defiance welled up. “I will not- Urk!” 

All at once her toes curled. Hard. He felt himself squeezed and pushed to near bursting before her toes relaxed again. “You will.” 

“Y-you can’t-!” 

Again her toes curled hard around him, battering him and sending black spots dancing before his eyes. She relaxed again. “I can.” 

He wheezed and coughed. “I’m a prince-!” 

Again the digits enveloped him, this time holding him like that for a few moments longer, the agony mounting before he collapsed, coughing and sputtering. It was her words that might have hurt most. “Who cares?” 

Erik felt the words slam hard against him. They rang in his head, repeating endlessly. Who cares? She didn’t. Looking up he could see it in her eyes. She didn’t see a prince. She saw some small amusing thing squirming between her toes. And that was what he was. Erik could argue and bluster, but all she had to do to silence him was curl her toes. A simple gesture from her that utterly dominated him. She was so far above him it was hilarious. No, he was so far below her that it was only natural. 

So it was that the prince whimpered under the casually uncaring gaze of the Duchess, getting down and using his hands to clear away any lint clinging to the webbing between her toes. The woman chuckled as he got to work, the rumbling noise drawing a wince from him as he worked, dirtying himself for her whims.

“Good boy. You’ll make a fine husband in the end. Even if you somehow manage to make it a few days, I’m sure whatever suitors you have after me will be most happy you know what the natural order is.” The woman said. 

Erik was in such a state that all he could manage to do was nod meeking, shutting down mentally to just try and get through this.