A Hard Won Peace (Skeith & Neomah)

How long had the land been burning? How long had the flames of war threatened to engulf the land? Few historians could date the war's origin, and even fewer could recall what started it. Both sides spun a different story, both blaming the other. While some of the more progressive members of both societies recognized that the truth probably lay somewhere in the middle, they were so outnumbered that their voices were lost in the cries for war and vengeance. The land between the two warring societies had been reduced to ash. In the truest case of fighting fire with fire, the whole world would literally be left to burn.

The war had been called to halt by a third, stronger party. A nation that revered nature and its right to grow unhindered. Fire served as their greatest threat, which made establishing peace an absolute necessity. Threatening to bring their full military might to bear against both nations, they demanded that each attend a peace summit where the two parties would be forced to come to some sort of arrangement. The ceasefire was bitter and unwanted by most, but fearing their destruction, both sides were forced to agree.

Enter Ashe Alistair , warrior princess of Phoenicia. Up til this point, her military career had dominated her life. She hadn't given herself any time for meeting potential suitors, much less marriage. The idea of being seated on her parents throne almost disgusted her. She wasn't a bureaucrat. In fact, she hardly even saw herself as a woman. She was a soldier first and foremost. Her parents had intended for her to be a soldier from birth, her validity as a potential queen only recently having been decided. She had recently come to change her tune, her hatred and rage being replaced by sorrow and grief. Losing her elder brother in the war, and seeing her entire battalion destroyed, she felt no need for vengeance, only peace. Which made the trip to the summit an awkward one. Her parents both were defiant of the peace summit, neither approving of the meeting. This bode ill for the potential for peace. She could only hope that her desires would be given voice and that at least someone from the other side would agree.

The forest was a bizarre sight for the young princess, having come from a mountain nation, barren of living trees. Her golden eyes stared out the carriage window at the massive trees. Lights emerged from cracks in the bark, doors seated at their base, making it clear that these people truly lived in and around nature. The air was fresher here, which was strange. The sights, sounds, and smells bizarre and alien. When the carriage came to a halt, so to did her parents ceaseless wining about the summit. As she exited the carriage she stretched her wings out wide. She would have preferred to simply fly here. The carriage was so cramped. They were greeted by officials and disarmed of their weapons before being led to the gathering hall where the meeting was to occur. She caught a brief glimpse of what she had thought to be the royal family from her recent enemy, but cast her eyes to the ground just as quickly.

The great hall, resting within the trunk of the largest tree was truly an astounding sight, stealing the breath away from the young Ashe. Her eyes fell the neutral party that had demanded their attendance. They stood armed and prepared to strike down both parties if an agreement could not be reached. She took her seat on one end of the room, content for the moment to let her parents attempt tor each peace, despite having no desire for it. The leader of the third party rose from his seat, his elegant robe dragging behind him as he stepped forward. "We have assembled this gathering in the interest of peace. History has shown that it is impossible for your two nations to exist separately as independent entities. She we present to you both a singular option. A union between your two societies. A bond of marriage between the youngest of both of your offspring. Bitter and spiteful you may have been apart, but together, you might reclaim some semblance of your former glory."

Enraged, Ashe's father rose from his seat, his voice echoing throughout the hall. "We would never agree to such terms! To wed our child in so despicable a union is out of the question!" Her mother nodded in agreement.

Amid the chaos and shouting, Ashe quieted her mind breathing out uneasily. She was unsure how she felt about the concept of marriage. It was sudden, and nerve wracking, but in the interest of peace she could hardly refuse. She rose from her seat, stepping towards the center of the room, she balled her hands into light fists as she prepared to speak, breathing out an uneasy sigh. "I've lost many to the flames of war, and have on far to many an occasion, found myself slave to my rage. Desiring only violence and vengeance. Such desires are petty and selfish, and reflect poorly on myself and my name. I, Ashe Alistair, princess of Phoenicia and heir to the Phoenician Throne, hereby accept the terms of peace. A treaty forged through wedlock is the shortest and stablest route to peace." Her parents stared slack jawed, certainly viewing her as guilty of treason. Despite knowing that daggers were being stared into the core of her soul for her words from all around the room, she stood bold, concealing her fear behind the face of a seasoned warrior.

How long had the war gone on? Isa, being the youngest had known only the conflict. Her older siblings had focused on a great deal of pursuits-war, scholarship, attending to their home. The oldest was heir-and eager to not forget the wrongs Phoenicia, the raids, the battles, the soldiers killed in the conflicts, the cities lost and a great deal else. At her coming of age, Isa had elected to undergo a holy transformation. Some of her people chose to dedicate themselves to the dragons. Over the course of seasons, she'd transformed from her people's more human appearance to a far more dragonic one. Some who'd gone through it were priests, many did not-but they were regarded with some religious awe. She'd considered swearing herself, but had never quite gone through with entering the religious life.

Fate seemed to have something entirely different in store for her.

Isa was curious about the newcomers-she felt sad to wonder what peace was like-and when the meeting had been called, the royal family coming to attend. There had been many arguments between the king and queen, though in public the pair provided a united front. Her mother, the empress regarded the proceedings with an imperious expression, though the royal consort was calm-though his face grew pale and he clenched his jaw. "My youngest died in one of the attacks. The next youngest is a futanari. Isa, come."

The young woman in white walked to her father's side, blushing. She was a lovely, almost delicate woman. It was with a blush on her face that she came up. She looked so alien next to the Phoenicia delegates, strange and yet-her human features blended well with the draconic, her digitigrade feet graceful. Her expression was kind, though she seemed clearly nervous. The empress took a deep breath and looked to the young woman regretfully. "I will accept this. My youngest will fulfill her duty." The empress finally conceded.

The princess might have been scaly, but the smile she offered to the more warlike of the pair was gentle. "May our descendants honor the sacred union that comes of this." She stated in a kind, warm voice. "And may our marriage be long, healthy and fruitful."

With the two women in agreement, the room fell into a stunned silence. Certainly there were people on both sides of the political struggle who were red faced with anger. It was heartbreaking to realize that Isa's parents were at least trying to be supportive of this peace, even if they didn't like it, while Ashe's were not. It was difficult for Ashe to look Isa in the eye, but she held her gaze when she spoke. Her words were touching, if a little naive. It had been to easy to assume her enemy to be evil and to ignore that the situation was far from so black and white. Fear caused her breath to catch, the thought of knowingly disobeying her parents and being forced to face the world with only a stranger as an ally and companion terrified her. That being said, it was reassuring to know that at least one person from the other side shared her hope for peace, and was fortunately the one in the best position to help make it a reality. She knew that hostilities wouldn't end over night, it would be a long hard road to truly establish peace, but the war itself would be over. For Ashe, that was enough for now.

In an act to show unity, she reached slowly to take Isa's hand. She wanted to look to Isa, to see the woman with whom she'd just sworn to spend her life with to save their world, but fear kept her eyes locked on the king of the neutral kingdom, who wore a faint but satisfied smile. He gave a nod as he looked about the wide room. Only anger and shock could be seen on either side of the room, but in the center he saw hope, and a promise of peace. "Very well, with the consent of those whose voices matters most, we will see it done." He raised a hand signalling his guards who immediately stepped forward. "Those who stand in disapproval will be removed from my hall and returned to their home." The guards each moved to usher the angered people from the hall. Ashe's eyes fell to the floor as she heard the shouts of rage from her father. Mixed in his shouts of disapproval were blatant threats on her life. Promising to see her pay for her treason. Her eyes burned as tears threatened to spill. She knew that this decision made her and Isa a target for many people they had formerly called allies and family. After the sound died down, the hall became eerily quiet, as it momentarily left the two alone. Though it allowed Ashe a moment to collect her thoughts.

She flattened out her uniform before running her hand through her long crimson hair. Her normaly bronzed skin seemed to pale with uncertainty. She turned to face Isa, breathing out an uneasy sigh. "Milady Isa..." She began bowing her head slowly. "I am grateful to you for your sacrifice. Not only for your people, but for mine. Or, perhaps I should say ours." She said hesitantly before raising her gaze. "I humbly thank you for your willingness to agree to this union, and beg your forgiveness for the atrocities committed by my kin." She forced a faint smile, in lieu of wearing her concern on her face. "You have my word, that I will do everything in my power to leave the animosity between our people behind and forge a new path forward."

The draconic princess's father and mother seemed very strained indeed in their acceptance, even angry but controlling that anger. The father still had a clenched jaw but he seemed to truly have a soft spot for Isa, visibly relaxing when looking at her. A cherished child indeed she was. Isa's hand was was warm, smooth and strangely dusty, but hard instead of the giving human flesh elsewhere on her body. Her hands were muscular, the talons carefully dulled but still sharp and able to rend the unexpecting. She was short, all the strength seeming to be coiled within. Yet the human parts of her were as expected for a young noblewoman; curvy, soft, unmarked and beautiful. Her white hair and strange eyes-just a bit too long and pointed like a cat's still marked her as different. The ornamentation she wore up close were revealed to be as much utility as for the prettiness of it.

Yes, she was younger than the soldier. Naive. But as she squeezed Ashe's hand, with that nervous but strong smile, she seemed to light up into something more beautiful than her alien features would allow. "It was said to me when I was young, dragons are patient and jealous of what they treasure. I don't think fighting will end just because of this agreement-but it is a start. I will choose to trust in you, milady wife to be." She blushed scarlet as she spoke quietly to the phoenix princess.

She looked to her parents briefly and sighed before looking back. "This will be an interesting night. Futanari marriage is still seen as a... holy and unusual thing. It once was forbidden, them expected to give themselves to many to mirror the passion and generosity of the dragons who protected us. But it... became a twisted thing, so the tradition changed to both protect us and to protect from us." She seemed hesitant to bring it up. Indeed, there were stories of atrocities brought by two dragon futanari who fought in foreign lands before being killed in a great battle.

Isa herself seemed utterly incapable of such cruelties. "I want to try to bring peace. I've never known it in my life. I'm tired of the fighting and of the mourning those killed in the fighting. I am hopeful that something can be done and this... this is my chance to help make that happen." She sounded sad.

She held her head up, for all that. And smiled to her people bravely as she could. She was afraid.

Ashe felt her lips curl into a faint smile. She was frightened, but she was choosing to be brave. She could respect that. Isa's fear was well placed. She wanted to reassure her, but she wasn't certain what would come of this. "Things will get worse before they get better, but this step is the pass to peace. Though who do want it to work will flock to us in time." Her words about her concerns regarding the evening were strange to her. She wasn't certain why she felt that it would be different than any other. She had her own nervousness regarding the evening, but only due to her own lack of experience. She shook her head free of her long term concerns and focused only on Isa and the evening. "Let's worry only about the wedding and the evening. Let's put the fear of the future aside for now."

She looked up at the sound of the King returning to them. "My dear guests." He greeted before bowing his head respectfully. "We have decided that a grand celebration will be arranged tomorrow. Those who share your passion for peace will be invited to stand in attendance at your ceremony." He looked to each of them after a long moment. "Normally, we would have sealed this in private. But this needs to be a public affair. We need the world to see and celebrate this." He walked back towards the throne. "Rooms will be prepared for each of you for the night. Guards will be posted to protect each of you, in the event that someone would seek to foil these proceedings. Perhaps sleeping on it will allow for the reality of this to sink in and to settle your nerves."

Ashe looked to the king with a faint smile, nodding slightly. "Your hospitality is most appreciated." She turned to face Isa again with another smile. "Perhaps we should retire for the time being." Looking past her as aides approached to guide them. She was certain that tradition would imply that they occupy separate rooms before their wedding. But curiosity, and honestly, the emotional baggage of being cut off from her family, had her plotting to perhaps fly from balcony to balcony to visit her soon to be wife.

"Nothing is ever as simple as the legends tell it." The young woman said in response to Ashe, wistfully but smiled faintly. "I suspect we might find friends in unexpected places."

At the mention of the upcoming wedding, she took a deep breath and smiled more brightly. "One day at a time is all we can do."

Thoughts about preparations often undertaken for marrriage back in Long Guo crossed her mind as the king hostng the ceremony spoke. Incense would be lit and the couple annointed in crushed obsidian with gold and exchange treasures they valued most. If the pair lacked for gifts, they would spill blood in promise of themselves. Perhaps a new tradition was needed. When the king finished, Isa bowed respectfully. "Thank you, your excellency."

She was still a younger princess, after all-not even the heir of her country. She'd never expected to rule-and outside being taught the basics of rulership, she was never intended to hold power in Long Guo. "Perhaps we should." She looked just a tad overwhelmed-but excited. A moment of checking Ashe out-she loved the unusual to Ashe's wings and the soldier's trim figure. "I look forward to this new day to come."

She had a few ideas on how to prepare for her upcoming wedding as she walked to her roorom, chin up in pride. The door was closed behind her and she explored the room briefly-and opened her balcony, taking a part of her belt and hanging it from the door. The gold links clattered and glittered faintly in the evening air, the young woman letting her dress fall to the ground. She pulled out a sheer nightgown and pulled it on, touching to her wrists and throat some light patchouli, a scent thought to encourage desire and intellect back home.

And she waited.

Ashe waited a moment before being lead to her room. She wanted to take a moment to truly appreciate her future bride without appearing perverse or rude. Her scales would take some getting used to. She'd been raised to believe that reptilian creatures represented malignant forces. She always knew better, but it was hard to shake what was so ingrained in her mind. Beyond that, of course, Isa's beauty did not go unnoticed.

Once in her room, she worked to remove her armor. Piece by piece, the heavy plating was set on the floor beside her dresser. She certainly noticed the absence of her sword among her gear. It was likely still housed by the palace guards. She unbuckled and slipped free of her uniform before turning to face her things, what she had packed anyway. She was prepared for an extended stay, fearing that the negotiations would take several days to complete. That it was over already was truly surprising. She paused a moment to examine her naked frame in the mirror. Her body was decorated by numerous scars, reflecting her life of warfare. Would those scars effect her attractiveness in the eyes of her newly betrothed? She had never considered her beauty to be important before this evening. She dawned a feathered top that tied loosely around her chest, draping the feathers over her breasts. A similarly loose fitting feathered skirt was tied about her waist.

Her eyes still glowed brightly, her true eyes always shielded behind the fire-like glow. As her excitement and nervousness raised, her veins began to exhibit a similar glow through her bronzed skin. Her kind lacked traditional blood, but rather had something that was more akin to liquid fire. It glowed a golden color and, if drawn in battle, would spray hire hot liquid at her opponent rather than her blood. She paused once again to examine herself in her mirror. Though feminine enough, she had no idea how to behave in a feminine or enticing way. She drew in a deep breath before heading to her balcony and stepping out into the evening breeze. She looked towards her betrothed's window and stepped off the balcony in its direction. Her wings carrying her with ease to her railing. She touched down slowly, her bare feet silently meeting the wooden railing. She peered inside of the space. "Milady Isa?" She questioned the night air quietly before stepping down. Her longest feathers dragging slightly behind her, due to the sheer scale of her mighty wings. "I am aware that it is bad luck to see the... Um... Bride... Before the wedding. But, I thought it might serve us well to spend some time in private before the big day." Her words were official, but her tone lacked it's usual authority, replaced rather by a subtle nervousness.

The gold on the door rattled lightly as Ashe entered, finding Isa in her demure-if entirely sheer-nightgown. "Please, come in." The young woman called. She had let down her braided hair, white-blond hair. Her parents had been dark red-haired, so it was fair to suspect that the same magics that had changed her body had also rendered her so pale of hair.

The makeup had been washed from her face, the light on her face bringing out her cheekbones. "I'd never heard that being bad luck, actually. The bride and groom go through a number of rituals together before, but aren't allowed to speak. They touch hands. Like this." She gently touched Ashe's palm to her own, a thumb wrapping around. "Instead, they sing or sing-song if they don't have talent for song." She sang a quiet, trilling song of strange, almost purring sounds that still somehow eerily beautiful.

"I think though... that tonight, both traditions can be set aside." She smiled. "I am glad to speak to you more privately-and personally. I know... nothing about you aside from your pretty name, now that I think about it."

Ashe found herself momentarily speechless at the beauty she was met by. The garment she wore left very little to the imagination. She watched as the woman approached her, their hands joining momentarily. Ashe's wings fluttered lightly at the contact as her veins flared once more. Isa's kind's traditions were so much more romantic and beautiful. The simplicity of the contact and the concept of singing to one another. She looked at where their hands met with quiet acceptance before being floored by the brief song that Isa sang. "Beautiful." She whispered almost inaudibly as she finished. Where she came from, everything was much more straight laced and official. In fact, she wasn't certain how many pairings back home yielded any kind of romance at all. If her kind were to emulate birds, it was certainly a gilded cage she had lived in.

She cleared her throat softly. "It seems that whether the traditions are as lackluster as my own, or as romantic as yours, it is wisest to leave them behind." She spoke quietly. Ashe smiled faintly. "I'm not sure what there is to tell about myself." She admitted quietly. "I've lived my entire life as a soldier. No prior loves or adventures. Everything is quite strict back home. Most of us are promised to our future mate at a very young age. There was very little room to wander or stray from tradition. If you'll forgive the ill-flavored pun, our wings are clipped when we're very young. I had been promised to no one. My life as a soldier was decided from birth." She looked down momentarily. "It is relieving to know not only that will this end large scale conflict between our people, but that I am not duty bound to remain alone." She looked back up to Isa again. "What of you?" She asked softly.

Isa smiled. "Among the nobility, there are also arranged marriages. I had a bit more freedom as one of those who were pursuing a religious life, though some of our traditions changed as I came of age. I would not have likely married in my life and pressured not to. Instead, I would have been encouraged to visit the houses of the earth, where ah. People go to have children if a partner is unable to." She flushed. "Nothing romantic about that. We are encouraged to have many children, in case some fall to war, sickness or misadventure. It's very shameful for a pair to be childless-and people like me are encouraged most of all to have many children, if that's carrying or siring those children. Even if..." She became even brighter red, hesitating. "Even if it's leaving bastards among the enemy."

She seemed ashamed as she stated that. "But it just didn't seem right to me. It's why I'm actually glad to be promised to you."

She looked up at Ashe. "Not much was expected of me-but I'm glad to have responsibility, now. It's big... but it feels right."

It did not take a great deal of imagination for Ashe to understand what sort of life Isa would have been made to live, had this arrangement not happened. Many would have considered an arranged marriage to be entering into a passionless imprisonment of a life, but it seemed that for both Ashe and Isa, despite the fear of what would come of their union, that it was a liberating decision. By being sworn to one another, they had cast of the chains of their respective people and were put in a unique position to build something better for future generations. "I'm glad then, that we are to be wed. It will provide us both with an opportunity to grow."

"Let's not worry yet about the prospect of offspring. I've only just learned that I'm to become a wife and a queen. I'm not sure I'm ready to think about becoming a mother." And she would be the mother, considering the nature of her bride to be. Considering her kind were notably fertile, she would have many children. Despite her life of war, Ashe was still a young woman, and the curiosities regarding what the actual wedding night would be like for them were exciting.

She shook her head free of her thoughts for after a long moment. "I know this seems scary right now. Things will get harder from here. There will be violence between our peoples still, but more directly, there might be violence towards us. Time heals all wounds, but old wounds take quite some time to heal." She reached for Isa's hand, holding it loosely, surely the heat burning in her veins would be noticed. "I would ask that for the wedding, and the few days that follow, you allow yourself to forget the fears of the future and the pains of the past. Give both us, and those willing among our people, an opportunity to celebrate what this union gives us." Her lips curled into a faint smile.

The young woman was simply that as she touched Ashe's face, a hand on each side. She ran her hands down her neck to her shoulders. She ran her hands over her chest with a frank earnestness, neither lingering nor hurrying. "I am your husband." She speaks softly, reverently.

She looks into Ashe's eyes with a surprising amount of passionate focus as her hands go to the warrior's hips. Her thumbs slide over Ashe's hips gently. "And you are my wife." She lifted one hand to Ashe's face, stroking her hair in a frank, open manner. She leaned upward, a bit shorter than Ashe; and she kissed the phoenix woman, ever so gently. For a long few breaths, she is content to stay there. And then she broke away. "Is that okay? Is this okay?" She speaks with a breathless tenderness and affection.

There was but that moment for her. That room with Isa and Ashe.

Ashe's smile spread some as she felt Isa's hands touched her face. Her wings fluttered some as her small hands began slowly moving over her shoulders and chest. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised by her intimate touch. No matter how recently they had met, they were set to be wed the following day. If there was chemistry between them, which seemed to be the situation, there was no harm or shame in exploring that connection. That being said, the warrior was made nervous by her own lack of experience in such an intimate moment. She didn't know how to carry herself in an attractive or appealing nature. Perhaps that obvious honesty being appealing by itself.

Then their lips met. The warrior froze momentarily. Her surprise faded quickly as she slowly returned it. The contact lit a fire in the young woman that she wasn't aware that she had. When she pulled away, the warrior breathed a shallow breath as her glowing eyes came to rest on her draconic bride to be. Her hands came to rest on Isa's, trailing up over her scaled forearms, til those scales became soft human flesh. She smiled softly. "This is more than okay." She replied before leaning forward and pushing a more intimate kiss upon Isa's soft lips.

Isa's hands and scales were cool, though her skin was warm under Ashe's. She gently took the lead, a hand gently pulling Ashe's hips flush to hers and slowly grinding those hips against the woman as she kissed Ashe again and again, a hand gently threading through Ashe's hair. "Don't be shy. I won't hurt you. I know how it's done, even if I haven't done it myself." She smiled brightly. "Even so, you are so beautiful to me."

The young woman's face had flushed-though her words were collected, her tone was breathless and husky with desire. With their hips so close, Ash could feel Isa's loins stir, firm and virile. She stroked Ashe's hair and kissed the woman more deeply, encouraging Ashe to open her mouth before slipping her a little tongue. She traced designs on Ashe's tongue with her own, content for the moment to stroke Ashe's hair gently. Her focus was continually narrowing.

Ashe was a little surprised when she was pulled closer to Isa, only to be greeted by her lips again. The feathers scattered throughout her hair would certainly be noticable, she thought, as Isa's hands ran through her crimson locks. She was amazed by how forward and bold the young draconic woman was, considering how shy she had seemed when they met earlier. "I know you won't. I trust you." She responded softly. Ashe's veins flared momentarily as she felt Is'as arousal against her. Then their lips met again, this time more passionately and deeply. Her lips parted when they met, her tongue eagerly moving forward to meet and play with Isa's.

Her hands slid from Isa's waist to her shoulders, brushing the shoulders of the gown away from her soft skin. She pressed closer against her as her hands gently guided the gown away from Isa's shoulders. She was not so naive as to need direction, if anything, she was relying entirely on instinct.