Out of the Ashes

Chapter 2: Stranded

(6,8k words, plot, racism, mini gts, female muscles, slight teasing, character introductions, futanari)

Thankfully for them it was an unusually warm day in spring. The water was still pleasantly warmed up by the last sunrays gleaming over the surface and the coastline was nearby, soon the two would reach the shore. Margaret effortlessly walked out the water, her dress completely ripped apart and drenched from top to bottom.

In contrast to Alexia who still struggled to catch her breath and was washed ashore next to the blonde princess. The commander still coughed up water and crawled away from the still incoming waves.

"Lexi. Please, lay down. Rest a bit. It will take some time for them to catch up," Margaret said and helped her still heavy breathing friend to lay on her back.

She was right about their pursuers. They would need to traverse the whole palace, sneak through the ongoing festivities, sneak through the gates and from there travel around the hill to reach the shore - they got time.

Margaret was still trying to figure out who could possibly have ordered this kidnapping attempt. Who could benefit from it? She was getting married off anyway, what is the point of all this? But for now, all she needed was for Alexia to regain her strength.

The smaller hermaphrodite looked at her exhausted friend, the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains next to her. Margaret's initial adrenaline rush slowly subsided and she noticed herself looking at the sight in front of her... with increasing interest.

Alexia didn't wear much clothing underneath her armour. She obviously didn't consider the possibility of needing to completely get rid of it in the first place and her choice of underwear showed that.

Her completely drenched black hair was messily hanging down to her more than sizable chest. Alexia's breaths were still uneven and deep. Her undergarments just barely held in her now exposed curves and Margaret blushed immensely at seeing her friend like this.

It was obvious to everyone that Alexia was very "well proportioned", even for her race's standards, but Margaret never saw her friend without a uniform or armour ever since she started to develop. Silently she stared at how Alexia's toned stomach was rising and lowering, how her breasts were subtly jiggling, just barely confined by the minimalistic fabric.

"She... is strong...," an almost drooling Margaret thought, and her gaze lowered further as she looked at Alexia's even more impressive lower half.

The royal guard spent most of their days with some sort of training or exercise, from dancing to gymnastics and heavy weightlifting. They usually were in great shape... and so was Alexia.

Her legs, despite having a delicate thickness to it, rippled with strength, just like her arms and so did her lower abs. The young heir simply couldn't take her gaze away from the erotic sight ... and things were certainly not getting easier from there.

Alexia only wore a tight top, just barely big enough to fit her breasts and exposing her mid and her white briefs were equally as drenched and didn't leave anything to the imagination.

Margaret felt her body instinctively heating up as she saw the sizable bulge in her friend's panties. She was not just strongly built but exceptionally hung as well. The blonde's eyes locked on to the almost overstuffed panties and for a few seconds her mind went numb... reduced to just staring at this display of fertility and size before her.

"How... did she get THAT big?" she lamented in her mind but kept staring at her friend's crotch.

She just snapped out of it as Alexia was starting to move as she caught her breath again. The taller hermaphrodite slowly started to turn around to get up.

The fight and especially her near death experience in the water took a strain on her strong but exhausted body. She got on her knees and felt fatigue in her now weak feeling arms as she tried to lift herself up.

Margaret still had a more than an obvious blush on her face and her cheeks were firing up once more as she saw Alexia struggling to get up from being on all fours. Alexia's heavy but perk breasts were hanging lower, so did her bulge in her underpants. Her round and firm ass was also a tight fit for the fabric and the princess couldn't help herself but feel more than a bit envious.

"Can... can, you give me lift here?" Alexia asked in between deep breaths, her voice still trembling.

Margaret was immediately brought back to reality as she heard Alexia's words. The blonde was glad she didn't get an erection at the sight and hoped that her friend didn't notice her staring this obviously.

"Uhm...Sure,Lexi. Are you... alright?" Margaret asked and got up to lean next to her friend.

Margaret felt most of the heavy weight of her friend on her shoulder as she got up, almost painfully slow in her opinion.

"I am ...fine. But... we need to find shelter somewhere," Alexia groaned and got up to her full height, once more towering above Margaret.

The smaller princess couldn't meet Alexia's gaze. She felt slightly embarrassed for gawking at her friend, even worse, feeling aroused because of her.

Margaret looked down at her ruined dress and her petite and in comparison, childlike physique. The blonde wanted to mentally lament her tiny body, but Alexia was right, there were more urgent problems to take care of.

Margaret pulled some strains of her now salty and sticky hair out of her face and her gaze followed the shore until she saw the fishing huts in the distance.

"How about we ask some fishermen for help? Maybe they can borrow us some clothes atleast," she suggested.

"Bad idea. They can't be trusted," Alexia said and looked at the obvious choice for their next stop. The harbour town at the foot of the royal palace ¬ and she felt more than worried of that being the only real option.

"It can't be that bad. We are just asking for directions and maybe a place to sleep that's all," Margaret perked an eyebrow at how quickly Alexia rejected the suggestion.

"Listen. They hate us, regardless of who you are or what you want. They hate you for your race and if the rumours are true, they might even attack as soon as they spot us".

Alexia looked down at her somehow embarrassed looking friend and tried to come up with something better, but she would admit that their options were limited. Even at this usually warm day, the night might be quite cold for the two, especially without any proper and more importantly dry clothes.

"What if I order them to give us shelter. Afterall I am their heir...," Margaret suggested but got quickly interrupted by Alexia.

"No! Don't ever reveal them your real identity. Who knows what they would do to you," Alexia said assertively and laid a hand on top of the still away looking princess.

"Look. I won't let them hurt you, but we need to work together here," she concluded and tried to lower her resolute voice a bit.

Margaret felt the soft touch and looked up to Alexia and couldn't help herself but grin at seeing how messy her friend looked.

"Alright, your call," she answered and sighed. "But still... I don't wonna run around in rags".

Alexia chuckled at hearing that.

"Sure. We will find you something decent don't you worry."

The huge warrior and the more petite looking princess strolled along the beach until they reached the first fishing huts and looked for any open doors to eventually grab something that could be of use.

Margaret wasn't keen on stealing, but atleast in theory, it was her right to demand anything she wanted anyway, so the two just skipped her rightful request... atleast technically.

The brawny warrior sneaked forward and didn't spot any fishermen before she looked to the sea and saw some small boats in the distance, they were probably one of them.

Alexia couldn't open the hut and was afraid to break in the door and alarm anyone nearby but she jumped over the fence and grinned at seeing the still slightly wet laundry on the clothesline.

"Maggie, come here. Jackpot!" she grinned and helped the smaller hermaphrodite over the surely 5ft high fence.

The young heir smiled at the prospect of running around with something decent, but this was a loose term here. Nobody in the palace would even dare to wear something like the clothes here and most of it was made for men anyway, but it would surely help to blend in.

She grabbed one of the few female dresses and for almost the first time in her life her clothes felt itchy and tight. The boring looking, green and brown coloured dress didn't reveal anything and was of a very prudish cut, but atleast it concealed her male features nicely.

"Look at this, I am almost too big for these," she giggled and looked up to Alexia, who still struggled to find something nearly big enough for her.

"It kinda suits you though. Sure, it's nothing special, but still ...," Alexia chuckled and ripped open a shirt she was trying to fit her ample bosom in. She sighed and concluded "... atleast it fits"

Margaret smiled and felt the tightness around her arms and legs and wondered if Alexia and the others always strained their clothes like that. For once she didn't feel tiny, atleast for human standards she was rather tall and not nearly as petite in comparison.

The princess spent a lot of time trying to gain some muscle and mass, but regardless how much she trained or ate she was never able to gain much where she wanted to. Her trim belly didn't represent the effort she put into strengthening her body, nor did her arms.

Still, for most humans she wouldn't be considered tiny, or almost childlike - like with her kind, but quite fit over anything else.

"Lexi, maybe try this one," the young heir said and pulled some wide looking clothes down the clothesline. She tossed the wet white shirt at her huge friend and saw her unravelling the wet ball of clothing.

"That might even work," the taller hermaphrodite muttered and pulled the musky shirt over her head and crammed her chest into the strained fabric.

"So, what do ya say? Not nearly as bad as before," Alexia chuckled and was content for now that the fabric was able to hold in her extraordinary set of breasts.

The strained fabric revealed quite a lot of cleavage, obviously more than it ever was supposed to do and Margaret felt herself drawn to the now teasing bosom.

"You... fit. But you will draw some looks though... I think," Margaret whispered and blushed as she looked away from the more than inviting cleavage and even felt her delicate flower twitch slightly underneath her dress.

The two managed to find a pair of leather pants that were big and elastic enough to fit Alexia's massive backside and endowments but they wouldn't leave anything to the imagination. Everything was better than running around almost nude and drawing even more attention than Alexia would already surely do.

Both wiped their sticky and wet hair clean with some towels and were set on their way towards the harbour town... and hoped for the best.

"Lexi. I... Sorry, it took me so long, but thank you for defending me," Margaret muttered as the two were halfway there. The blackhaired hermaphrodite grinned and looked down to her blonde friend and said.

"You would have done the same. But I don't think I want to jump from the gardens anytime soon," she mused and earned a surprised chuckle from Margaret that turned into loud laughter by both.

"Fair enough," Margaret grinned and suddenly realised the more obvious question. "We won't be able to return any time soon, right?"

Alexia's smile vanished and made room for a far more concerned expression.

"No, probably not. Whoever attacked us had the backing of the military, maybe even the palace. We would only run into their arms," Alexia said with a very cautious voice and looked at the palace towering from above the hill.

"I thought so. These were not just ordinary kidnapper, even I noticed that. But, when and even more importantly, how can we return?" the blonde asked.

"We will find a way. But for now, let's just get through today and we will figure out things tomorrow, ok?" Alexia responded and rested a hand on her smaller friend's shoulder.

"Okay!" Margaret smiled back and was atleast happy to have Alexia around. She would hopefully figure something out.

The first candles were ignited at the lamp posts as the two reached the outskirts of the town. And at first glance it wasn't even that bad looking. The smaller stands and shops fortunately had already closed and that meant there wouldn't be many citizens to see them enter the town via the market square.

Margaret was increasingly curious about the history of this place. Some buildings looked brand-new and represented some wealth, while most still looked like relics of the past. The occasional burned down house was almost as frequent as the expansively decorated gardens - a strong contrast to what she expected.

The princess only heard rumours about how poor the humans living conditions were, but it certainly wasn't nearly that bad for everyone here.

Alexia and Margaret decided to walk deeper into the city, just in case the attackers would search for them at the city outskirts. The veteran warrior looked around and already felt like they were being followed, but she couldn't say for sure and certainly didn't want to scare the young princess.

The imposing hermaphrodite walked into several pubs and taverns and hoped to find someone willing to sell a room for the night atleast or just asked for directions, but most even refused to talk to her as soon as she entered. Some were even less "friendly".

"Get away futa slut!" Margaret heard as a bottle was flying out the tavern Alexia just entered.

The big commander rushed out the inn and grunted angrily while the blonde heir perked an eyebrow at hearing this new insult and walked next to the enraged fighter.

"Futa? Is that what they call us?" she asked.

"Yeah. Obviously not in a caring way," Alexia hissed and was getting frustrated by the constant insults she was receiving.

"Should I try to speak to them? Maybe, they wouldn't even notice that I am ... a futa?" Margaret suggested, but her voice gave away that she was a bit sad, that this was even an option.

Alexia was surprised by the suggestion and at first rejected the offer, but the human-looking blonde had a point and after some arguing she let Margaret try her luck at the next few taverns.

The obviously hung and well-proportioned hermaphrodite waited in front of the inns and Margaret on her own seemed to fare much better, even managed to get a map from one of the innkeepers in exchange for one of her rings.

It was obvious that this was by all means a very bad trade but getting an idea where to go next was more worth than gold at this point. It looked like she would eventually manage to find a place for the night, but as soon as Alexia entered, they were quickly chased away.

Soon they visited all the pubs marked on the map, besides one. The two hermaphrodites had to walk along the beachline and into one the most impoverished districts of the town. The initial decent look of the buildings quickly turned into almost exclusively devastated ruins, burned down years, probably decades ago in the last two wars and never to be rebuilt.

The last few minutes they couldn't find a single house that was not damaged in any way, shape or form and even the ignited lamp posts got rarer.

Alexia noticed more footsteps around them the deeper they walked into this slum-like district; they have been followed... she has been followed. Margaret wasn't really considered a threat, they probably thought of her just being a stranger, but Alexia was regarded as an enemy. The 8'6" hermaphrodite was sticking out like a sore thumb anyway and even in this darkness she was easy to follow.

"So... this... it?" Margaret muttered and looked at the two-floor high building.

Nobody in their right mind would have considered this ... ruin... to be an actual inn. Only the sign over the entrance proofed it.

"Yeah... the 'The Sailor's mug- Bed and Meals' ... that's ... it, I guess," Alexia sighed and looked at the map for conformation.

This was the last pub they knew about, after that they would need to look for something else but had no clue where to start or who to ask for a room for the night.

Alexia was getting a bit jumpy because of the group following them. Afterall she still had no weapon to defend herself and was certain that they would just wait for the right opportunity.

"I am behind you. You got this," she said and tried to encourage her smaller comrade by playfully clapping her back.

Both knew though that this was the last straw for now and Margaret had to take a deep breath to calm herself down before entering the two-floor high building.

The floorboards creaked slightly at Alexia's footsteps and the two soon noticed that the place didn't look much better from the inside. Decayed wood and the occasional tin decoration were all they were seeing in this badly illuminated mess of a tavern. Some customers, by the looks of them fishermen and sailors, were sitting at small round tables, playing cards and silently looked at these two strangers walking up to the bar and the owner.

As Margaret got closer to the bar she looked around and spotted a piano right next to the ancient looking stairs leading to the upper level.

"What in the hell are YOU doing here?" she thought to herself at seeing the out of place musical instrument but kept on walking forward.

She soon reached the row of barstools and saw the back of an old looking and almost bald man behind the counter, cleaning some glasses with a rag.

"Ex- excuse me, Sir," Margaret asked cautiously, trying to sound as sweet and friendly as possible.

"No need to be so formal here," he responded in a rough voice and turned around, still wiping the glass in his hand.

He looked in his mid sixties, a scruffy white beard and receding hairline were partially hiding his tired looking face. The barkeeper looked skinny in his loose-fitting uniform and was around the same height as Margaret, but the most obvious feature were the two missing fingers on his left hand.

Alexia was standing a bit behind Margaret and kept looking at the entrance and hoped nobody would follow them inside, while the blonde did the talking for them.

"You aren't from here. What do you want?" he asked grumpily but didn't stop his work and grabbed another glass to clean.

"We... were looking for a place to stay for the night," Margaret muttered nervously and pulled a ring from her finger and laid it on the counter for him to see.

"Hopefully this is enough. We could also work for the room, if needed," she spoke hastily in an attempt to sway him but only earned a bored smirk.

"You keep saying 'we'. So, I guess, you are with the brute behind you?" he hissed and looked at Alexia.

The massive hermaphrodite turned around after hearing him mentioning her and looked into his brown eyes. There wasn't much empathy to be found in them and she only dreaded what he would say next.

"She is a friend. As I said, we are willing t-," the incognito heir was interrupted.

"How can any human be friends with someone like ... her," he wasn't raising his voice but kept his gaze firmly on Alexia.

"Sir. Please, we ... are just looking for a room. We won't make any trouble, I promise," Margaret pleaded while Alexia stepped forward and rested a hand on Margaret's shoulder.

"If it's any problem I can sleep somewhere outside, but please, don't judge her on me... Sir," Alexia said, but her anger was obvious with every word. Especially the last on the last one.

The innkeeper wasn't showing any emotions, he still had the same bored expression on his face and kept looking up to the imposing woman in front of him. Until he let out a sigh and finally put away the glass.