The Gerudo Era, part 10

Her resistance was crumbling fast.

For all her wisdom, inner strength and resolve, it was clear that Fiora was losing the battle within her body and mind. The venom coursing through her veins, her own actions were shaped by another will, making her a barely-aware puppet. Retaining even a modicum of her thoughts was a true challenge, yet one that she had not failed yet. It was a matter of time, but she had faith that the Gerudo and Link would somewhat find a way to rescue her, to free her before it would be too late. Lost in darkness, both literally and figuratively, her sight had difficulty adjusting to her environment as her dulled senses and groggy vision didn't help her in the slightest in this dire predicament. She had no idea where she was or how she came to be here, but she still held up hope. Her ignorance, however, was dispelled by the sudden appearances of two bright flames, one blue and one fiery red, as it illuminated the area to reveal the figure of a particularly tall and odd-looking witch of fiery hair, clad in a twist of Gerudo clothing.

''You gave quite a lot of trouble to my minions, fair one. But I suppose it was all worth it in the end...'' the witch said, looking down with a smug expression on her face as she crossed her arms. ''Isn't that right, Princess Zelda?''

Shocked that this person knew the truth, Fiora looked up, unable to respond with anything more than wide eyes and deep surprise within her very eyes. Having grown to actually adopt her identity as Fiora, it had been a very long time since she had been called by her original name, which meant that her captor were aware of very important information about her, which could certainly imply doom for Hyrule. Struggling with all her might, the fact that her body was not responding in any way only cemented her growing panic, even though she tried to calm herself down to not show any weakness.

''Hiding amongst the Gerudos was a very clever ruse, your majesty. I've got to give you that. I am, however, quite surprised that there was still some conversion oil left in the fortress. You must have been put under like the Hero of Time a while ago for it to work, haven't you? Perhaps, in your heart and soul, you actually belong to the tribe, yes?'' the witch continued, throwing the flames on nearby torches, allowing for a weird ambiance and a mix of cold and warmth to instill around them. ''Allow me to introduce myself, then: I am Twinrova. You'll know me by many names later in our conversation, but let's talk about how we can help each other, dear.''

Having never heard of this Twinrova before, it was hard for Fiora not to notice the power and magic radiating through the tall and decidedly feminine body of this witch. Being an experienced magic user herself, she could see that this one would be definite challenge if her spells were to cross on the battlefield. This was no combat, however, as Twinrova decidedly the upper hand in here, with Fiora trying to gather her wits and courage for whatever nefarious deeds this powerful being had planned for her.

''Now, I'm saying conversation to be polite, as you really have no say in what will soon happen, but I think respect is always a courtesy that ought to be applied when speaking to people of power like us. I have all the power here, but you surely get what I mean,'' Twinrova continued, clearly pleased by the sound of her own voice. Twirling her fingers and concentrating her powers, she began to cut a part of her vestment, doing so with an expertise as the temperature rose around her. Revealing her hips and stomach, she then began to draw circles and numerous symbols as well as Gerudo runes of old on her body, illuminating her skin to make her shine in the darkness they both found themselves in. ''You must be wondering what I'm doing, where you are and just what are my plans for you. Don't worry, dear, as soon you'll have no questions left in your pretty little mind~''

Studying her moves and trying to pinpoint just what exactly this Twinrova was doing, Fiora's small knowledge of the ancient Gerudo language was unfortunately not quite up to the task to understand every nuances in this ritual. What little she knew was that one of the runes was iconic of submission, which made her suddenly realize what Twinrova was preparing...

It was too late, however, as the blue and red circles shone and pulsated as Twinrova began to sway her hips in a pendulum-like fashion, already filling her body with wandering magic and her own power. With a smile on her face, followed by a light chuckle filling the area, she alternated the colors on her stomach in a rapid fashion as they continued to near-vibrate with arcane energy. ''You must be familiar with this, then. Judging from the look on your face and by how there is still a glimmer of resistance within your eyes, you must have not been the subject of this dance as much as the Hero of Time himself. It's a pity, but it'll make it much more challenging and satisfying for me in the end.''

With her body not responding to her desire to shut her eyes or try to look elsewhere, Fiora had no choice but to stare at this performance, her eyes stuck at the epicenter of it all: Twinrova's navel. The colors catching her gaze, what was most peculiar were the change in temperature that came along with it, with cool breezes and warm wafts being thrown her way, unbalancing her own sensations, which only added to her confusion. It was very different experience than the few times she had witnessed Namira and studied her technique, as this one was more primal, more powerful and ultimately more seductive in its raw approach. The size of this Twinrova did not help much with her resistance, as her hips filled her vision, with the witch easily towering over her.

''I can see that even with the venom in your body, you still show a certain resistance. That is good, but ultimately pointless and you know it, Princess. Soon, you will fail and slip into the overwhelming power of my dance of seduction and you'll be demanding for more, eager to please me in any way that I'll demand...And part of you is actually looking forward to this already, isn't it?'' Twinrova teased, making the flame of the torches nearby blaze anew, filling the place with contrasting light, bringing even more focus to her dancing form in the process. '' There's no shame in it. You already succumbed to the superiority of the Gerudo race, so why not actually submit to one of its finest example?''

Trying not to fall for her tortuous logic, Fiora began to experience certain spasms as the venom began to spread even further inside her body, as if her physical form was already agreeing to the words coming out of Twinrova's mouth. Whatever resistance her body had withhold, it was no longer effective as she began to feel lighter, slightly better while her body had finally accepted the invading poison that rendered her so weak. Satisfaction ran through her skin, which made her ordeal a lot more dangerous as this ruinous bliss made it all the more harder to truly defy the dancing witch and her enticing words.

''Already losing further control, aren't you? Don't worry about it and just appreciate my dance. The best part is yet to come~'' Twinrova said with a mixture of mockery and pleasantness as she spouted fire from her hands before rising them above her head, clapping them in a huge display of light, which illuminated her best traits as her routine began to get more tortuous, more intricate in its fluidity. Bumping her hips from one side, rolling her belly and then bumping her hips once more to a different side, the core of her stomach made it all the more alluring to the trained eye of Fiora as the circles pulsated with power, highlighted by the impromptu spotlight of the fire and ice magic of the witch. ''Now feel the dance and the venom truly give way to your true place: submission. Stop resisting and admit to your enjoyment. It'll make everything else much more pleasant~''

Experiencing multiple flashes of numerous imagery, Fiora began to remember the first time she had been enthralled by this mystical dance, how she had unwittingly been set on this path and how much she had enjoyed it despite it changing her life in a manner that she could never have foreseen. There was a way the dance itself seemed to instill itself in the core of what she enjoyed, twisting her values and her priorities in a manner that made way for what the dancer said, what the performer commanded. Seduction and mind-control all in a powerful and irresistible package, as the memories of Namira and the current vision of Twinrova merged, with the witch coming on top. Illusion and reality fused together, she had no way to properly discern anything, as euphoria filled her mind, indicating that she was starting to lose while her appreciation of the dance grew with each passing seconds.

''Are you starting to smile a little, Princess? That's really good. You know that there is no way to properly resist and so you just go on and enjoy yourself. That is a very nice attitude and this just makes me want to make it all the more intense for you~'' Twinrova explained, rolling her stomach like a raging ocean, her flesh bending and undulating in a manner that was truly hypnotic. The blue and red on the bronze skin of the witch never seemed more beautiful or radiant, as her smile reached a peak of satisfaction that she never felt in years. ''You look so happy, Princess. You really came to believe that submitting to me is a good idea, didn't you?''

However small was her reticence, Fiora's body surrender was beginning to be mimicked by her mind as no matte how hard she tried, she could not suppress her actual bliss that coursed throughout her entire being. The cold and warm sensations on her skin, the utterly appealing dance and the prospect of servitude, an offer that she had already succumbed to in the past, all came rushing to her as she began to genuinely smile, getting lost in this strange and dangerous euphoria. Dizzy, disoriented and unable to pinpoint much of anything, all those feelings were now much-less important than her primal satisfaction, quite like Twinrova had promised earlier.

''I see you are ready. Now, we'll have a little chat and you'll be quite happy with telling me all that I need to know about the Gerudos and their little plan. You'd do that for me, wouldn't you?''

Already accustomed to this feeling, however rare she had been lost to it in the past, Fiora knew instinctively how to respond. The dance fresh in her mind and its effects going very strongly, she had only one way to respond as her body was hers once more, albeit it was no longer her property. ''Yes mistress. As you command...''

* * * * *

Link couldn't sleep.

After such a battle, the true start of this war, he was ashamed of himself. Not only had he been unable to protect everyone like he had promised himself he would, but their victory had been quite minor, only affected through reinforcements. While adventuring and only worrying about his own safety, even in the most dangerous of dungeons, he was most capable, unstoppable even. In warfare, though, it was a different game as the battles were far grander, far more intense. What bothered him most, though, was the fact that he had nearly been vanquished because of a particularly easy weakness of his, one that had no place on the battlefield: the Gerudo dance of seduction. Damning himself for being so weak at such an important moment, he looked at the horizon on the edge of the camp, standing guard to make sure the others would have the chance to heal and to reorganize. Aware of his surroundings despite his inner turmoil, he dared not turn around as he spoke with a hushed voice. ''Will everything be all right, Namira?''

Surprised about the fact that he could tell whenever she was nearby, Namira went closer to her beloved, worried about his dour expression. ''You should get some rest. There's no telling when they'll attack again.''

''All the more reason to guard the perimeter and to let the others rest,'' Link replied, not turning back to look at the one who had brought so many worries and happiness in his life.

''What are you worried about, Link?'' she retorted, getting close, yet leaving his enough space all the while. ''You've never been able to hide much from me, beloved. I can tell when something's bothering you.''

Sighing, Link finally turned around, crossing his arms, unused to such vulnerability in front of anyone. ''I've just been a burden in this battle. That witch...she used the dance of seduction and it made me helpless. I actually had to be rescued and...It's a difficult thing for me to accept...''

''If you didn't actually get her attention and fight her at the start of this battle, if you hadn't lasted long enough for her to try this trick on you, she'd have probably decimated our ranks, dear,'' Namira explained, giving a faint smile through her tired expression. ''That counts more than you know.''

''I suppose it does. It's just...This is a lot more complicated when I was younger and when everyone just threw me around on many quests. I did not have many questions and I didn't have much to worry about besides what was in front of me. I seemed invincible back then,'' Link said, reminiscing all his past adventures. ''Now, it's much more different and I fear that it's all my fault somehow. If I hadn't been caught in the fortress and continued my quest, none of this would have come to pass.''

''You can't know for sure. You're not just a tool or an invincible being, Link. You're a person and we all fail...Although I suppose I could share the blame for this too. If I hadn't tried to seduce you and if I had just listened to what you could have said, none of this would have happened too,'' Namira said, sharing the discomfort in the air. With a few moments of awkward silence between the two, it was Namira who continued, trying to bring some hope to this depression situation. '' Lamenting our poor choices isn't going to help anything, though. What we need to do is fix this. I believe that it's not just about the Gerudo race anymore, but about the entire land of Hyrule.''

Trying to get past his own feelings of inadequacy, Link then looked straight at her eyes, then faintly smiled. ''I guess you're right. It's just going to be very different now and I'll need all the help I can get to get through this.'' Staying silent for a few seconds, he looked at the Death Mountains, worried. ''I hope she'll be okay up there.''

''You trained her. I'm sure she'll be fine,'' Namira said, confident as she placed a hand on Link's shoulder. ''What we need to worry about now is how to make sure what happened doesn't happen ever again. We're going to try to be much more prepared this time around.''

''How?''

''We're going to reinforce your mind and remove your weaknesses and your suggestions, Link, even if it makes it all the more awkward between us in the future. It's the only way...''