The Matriarchical Women Of Tenua

The Matriarchical Women of Tenua Island

A century ago, women colonized an island found only through an invisible portal in the pacific ocean. Entire generations had been born without seeing a single male. A human could only enter one-way which seemed impossible to discover in the real world. Or so they had thought.

Three young men staying at a destination overseas from their home are lent a large boat. They rescue a stranded native folk from the waters. In return, they inform them of an ancient legend. It is said if they travel out to the sea and correctly enact a certain ritual, it is rumored to summon sirens out of the deep blue to provide healing. When the men successfully perform the ritual, they are drawn by an ethereal coercion and enter through the portal, however they are swept through by an incoming storm.

Here is where they discover Tenua Island, teeming with beauty and life. But it also contains a quadrant divided social structure unforeseen by their initial assessments, one that they must learn and adapt fast if they are to live and thrive with the possibility they may not return to their original lives.

Warning: This story may contain themes of sexual assault.

***

Jackson awoke to the sound of waves crashing against the shore and foaming at the sand, seagulls cawed as they soared through the air. He raised his neck off the hot sand that stuck to his skin and powdered off. Heat beat down on his sweaty forehead. He thought he woke up in paradise.

He pushed himself up off the sand. Giant orange-sandstone rocks protruded nearby on the beach. Waves tossed and turned, splashing onto the surf and fizzling into the sand.

"Shit." He said, his neck collapsed in exasperation once he saw what was left of the boat. All shredded metal and shattered ceramic scattered across the grainy ground. There was no chance of salvaging it. He looked over to see Gabe, laying unconscious on the sand nearby and partially shaded by a nearby palm tree.

"Hey!" He called to him. He walked over, surprised his body was somehow minimally injured. He shook Gabe but no response. His pulse was still present, thank God.

He returned to the wreckage to find a cooler of water, miraculously lodged between two shredded leather seats. He brought it to Gabe and dripped some water onto his face.

Gabe choked and gagged, then spit up some sandy water.

"Gabe! Thank God you're alive."

He coughed and slowly came to.

"Where are we?" Gabe asked as he looked around.

"No idea, I just woke up on the beach. No sign of Oliver either." Jackson responded

"I hope he survived. We have to find him."

"Yes, we do. We have to look around, find out where we are and see if we can get help."

Jackson helped Gabe get to his feet and they trudged through the sand. They found a trail of indents leading towards the nearby foliage.

"See? Footprints! Thank God that's a good sign right?"

"I'd imagine that he went to look around. God I'm starving. Let's see if we can find any sources of food."

Both boys walked onto the nearby foliage. Tropical grass and alocasia leaves surrounded the beach landscape. They pushed through the vegetation and eventually came across a row of Mango trees, all complete with dangling ripened reddish yellow and green fruits.

"Oh thank God." Gabe said exhaustedly.

Both of them picked the fruit, eating them skin and all. They relished in the rich flavor as the topical taste enriched their tongues.

"Man, these are so delicious." Jackson said.

"I know, the best mango I've ever had." Gabe responded, his mouth dripping with flavor.

Nearby, the rustling of bushes sounded and voices could be heard traveling closer.

"Oliver?" Jackson called.

The rustling paused for a moment, then intensified, dead branches snapped and the leaves were violently thrown side-to-side.

Both boys stood up in a frightened state.

The foliage cleared and out stepped three people dressed in tribal hunting gear. Clad in wolf and leopard loincloths along with a hide leather top covering, their strong figures stood tall. War paint streaked across their eyes. They each carried a satchel containing different capture items, a net, bolas, dull spears, and a carved hunting knife. Three women, obviously athletic with naturally muscular figures, shot them a grim look.

Two of them had braided their hair, the taller one just kept it in a long ponytail. An auburn haired woman, a bit stockier than the others stepped forward.

"Look what we have here!" She said, as if they had caught valuable prey.

"Ah, intruders on our territory. Where's your mark of the tribeswomen?" The darker toned woman with black hair asked adamantly.

The taller warrior one with the chestnut brown ponytail drew her net.

"Wait, please, don't hurt us. We're sorry, we don't mean any harm..." Gabe said, hands outstretched in a peaceful gesture.

"Don't mean any harm, huh." The auburn haired woman repeated, the other two laughed.

"We're stranded on this place, can you please just tell us where we are and we'll be out of your hair." Jackson pleaded.

The women laughed, obviously not listening to their pleas.

"Get them," the ponytailed woman ordered.

With a primal war cry, the women drew items from their satchels and immediately darted after them.

"Shit. Run!" Jackson yelled.

Both boys nearly tripped as they struggled to gain balance and ran through the grass. They pushed plants aside as the women whooped and hollered after them.

Almost immediately, strong arms wrapped around Jackson's waist. He turned, ensuring they couldn't clasp their hands together and turned aside, allowing him enough space to dash away.

Gabe ran into a clearing and one of the women stopped. She drew a pair of bolas, spun them in a circle, then tossed them expertly at his ankles. They wrapped around his feet, causing him to trip. He grunted as he impacted the ground. He attempted to untangle the bolas but a net covered his body. Two of the braided women were upon him immediately as he struggled but with their strength and his immobilization, he didn't stand a chance. They bonded his wrists behind his back and brought out a large wooden bar to tie him to.

Jackson turned the corner and sprinted away when a hand stopped him, grabbing him below the throat. His feet gave out underneath him, then his back slammed against the ground knocking the wind out of him. He could not recover his breath before the ponytailed woman binded his hands and slung him over her shoulder seemingly with ease. Her burly shoulder dug into his stomach as he bounced with each step.

"Caught these scavengers snooping around our lands." The ponytailed woman said, a more rugged voice than the others

"We don't take too kindly to foreigners treading onto our land whether by mistake or intent."

Jackson coughed and choked, slowly regaining his breath back.

"Now listen, ladies, we're just lost," He said, "We just-"

"Quiet," the woman interrupted, striking him center mass with the hilt of her spear. "You will speak when told to." Jackson lay there holding his chest, breathless and in pain.

"Bring them to the Captain of the Hunt. They will determine what happens to them. Tie them to the stake and make them walk."

The women binded the men's hands to the wooden stake and set off into the vegetation.

"Shit..." Jackson whispered. He winced from the pain and struggled to walk steadily along the soft grass.

"Quiet, before you get another." The woman ordered.

After a few minutes of traveling, a rustling occurred behind the large tropical leaves.

"Captain Margaret." The woman called.

"Yes," a sturdy woman's voice responded.

"We've found two scavengers lurking about." The woman said. The large alocasia leaves pushed aside and a significantly larger woman clad in leather strapped armor stepped into the clearing. The leather armor was much sturdier and refined than the other women's hide armor. It covered all vital points leaving the rest exposed. Her breasts were also strapped down allowing for better mobility and she wore a fur cloth draped over her waist. Facepaint barred across her eyes and into points down her cheeks showing a higher ranking. Just like the other women, her face showed scarring which only complemented her tough demeanor and surprisingly gifted looks. She carried thin but sharp spears and a net laid on her shoulders.

The women shoved the men down and their knees pressed into the overgrown grass meshed with sand.

"Where did you find them?" The Captain asked.

"Out by the mango trees. They were stuffing their faces with fruit grown on our land." The woman responded.

"Is that so?" The Captain retorted leaning closer to the men. "What makes you two think you could head into our territory and just take as you please?"

A silence passed. Jackson tilted his head up at the Captain's face. "Can I talk now?" Jackson asked.

A flat hand smacked across his cheek. "You will respond with respect." The woman demanded

The Captain raised her hand, "Easy on the head." She ordered politely while kneeling. "Speak."

"We got lost out at sea. We ran aground and woke up on these shores. All we want is to travel back home or send help so somebody can get us and we'll be out of your hair. Although this place doesn't seem so bad, we certainly don't want to tread onto anyone's territory."

"Lost at sea? Everyone is trained to navigate through the lands and the ocean so either you are lying or a terrible navigator."

"I'd like to think it's the latter since there's no way we'd want to end up in your hands."

"Bold, huh?" The ponytailed woman scoffed. "Where did you come from? Which area?"

"Oceania Islands," Gabe said, "We sailed into the Pacific Ocean and we were swept up into a storm then ended up here."

"Oceania Islands? Do you really think we're that stupid?" The woman asked aggressively. "How many others were with you?"

"Just us two." Jackson lied.

"Two?"

"Yes, two."

"Then why are there three trails of footprints?"

The Captain pondered a moment as the woman interrogated them, then she spoke up, "They are lying about their numbers. But I don't think they're particularly lying about where they came from."

"What do you mean? There's no such thing as the Oceania islands."

The Captain leaned over to the warrior and whispered into her ear. Her eyebrows raised curiously. The other women attempted to overhear. The warrior looked back at the men.

"Remove their lower garments." The warrior ordered.

The women looked at each other. Then they bent to grab Jackson and Gabe's pants. They kicked and fussed but their grips proved much stronger than the average man. With some reluctance, they slid off and the women stepped back, gasping in unison with mouths agape and eyes wide.

"Are they..." One woman stuttered.

"I don't know..." Another instinctively answered.

Even the Captain was caught unaware as she was subtly perplexed. Gabe was able to catch her smirking for a split second as she turned away.

"We take them back to the fortress. Hold them captive in the cells. Two of you set out to find the other."

"Ma'am?" The warrior questioned.

"The Matriarch is going to want to see this." She answered.

"Shouldn't we just kill them? We don't know how dangerous they are and we want to take them back to the fortress?"

"Are you questioning my orders?" The Captain retorted looking behind her shoulder.

"... No ma'am. Let's find them and capture them."

"I think I'd rather have them kill us." Gabe whispered.

"C'mon you wanna blow your only chance at survival?" Jackson whispered. "Just do what they say so we can get home."

Both men hoisted back up to their feet and began onto the journey. They walked for what seemed like miles across the tropical landscape. They worried about Oliver, fearing they may return to the wreckage and come looking for them. He could fall right into their trap.

***

Oliver returned back to the spot, carrying oysters in a pouch. He stepped onto the sand to find both boys had awoken and moved. In their place, two women dressed in hunter garments knelt studying their tracks. Both with tied up dark brown hair. He ducked behind a bush.

"See, three sets of tracks. They woke up here. We have two of them now, just have to find the third." The first woman said.

"He'll probably come back to look for them. Let's hide nearby and wait until he arrives." The second one added.

"And when he does, we'll have some fun with him first." She said, biting her tongue.

"Sheena, you horndog," the woman gave her a light shove, "You don't have to do that everytime you catch one."

"What? Come on, Sabre, didn't you see them? Those nice juicy pieces of steak? They were practically begging to be taken. They wanted it."

"No they were not," Sabre laughed, "practically scared them out of their goddamn minds."

"You saw them right?" Her voice was slightly quieted.

"Saw what?"

"You know, the..." she made a measuring gesture with her thumb and index finger.

"Yes!" Sabre's eyes widened, "what was that?"

"I don't know! The Captain seemed real interested once she saw them though. What do you think that's about?"

"Not sure," Sheena sat on the sand, watching the waves, "But once that fella comes back, we'll find out real quickly."

Sabre laughed in response.

"Godspeed to those boys," he thought, "I sure hope they're okay. But I mustn't be caught here. I need to find a way out before I find out where they took them."

He traveled out of sight and escaped as far as he could. After miles of travel and scavenging for food and water along the way, he arrived at a wide road. It stretched further than he could see in one direction which disappeared into the sky and in the other, a forest treeline. A wooden sign appeared nearby. He walked closer to read them.

To the right: The Metro City

To the left: Restricted Area

"The choice seems obvious," he said to himself.

***

After hours of travel, the group reached a vantage point upon a hill. The leaves pushed aside. A tall cliff with a human-made structure attached to it stood high as a skyscraper. The admirable architecture resembled a chateau beautifully meshed into the rocky wall. Much time and care had been put into it to show a perfectly symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing. The buildings resembled a castle made of sepia colored bricks. Machicolated parapets lined the multi-leveled walls. Two watch towers extended high enough to allow an unobstructed view of the inside and out towards the sea.

They walked up the cliff steps to reach the castle gates. The guards waved them in as they raised the metal doors. Inside, the stronghold looked as hardy as it did on the outside. The women looked on as the two men trudged past, drawing the attention towards them. Workers stopped temporarily stacking items to glance at then. Smiths stared as they forged weapons. Most of the women wore similar tribal attire. Even the guards clad in bronze armor shot a quick take at them.

The prisoners arrived at a dark corridor between two archways. They were freed from the stake and guided inside. Dim fires lit the stone corridors patterned with locked steel prison doors, quite a few of them housed inmates.

"Look at that girls, we got some fresh meat coming in!" A hardy accented voice hollered from one of the cells.

The other inmates hooted and hollered.

"Woo! Welcome to the grim abyss!"

"Dibs on the blonde! They look like a screamer!" A gritty voice shouted.

The boys scowled at the prisoners as they walked by. Much to their surprise, their looks did not match the ugliness of the impressions their voices provided. A proper shower or bath could make them look somewhat presentable.

"What, ya too good for me sweetheart? Why don't ya kiss up on these sweet cheeks?" A burly prisoner said, displaying her ass against the door.

"Hey, Cap! Throw em in here, I'll take real good care of em." A prisoner said, licking the steel bars.

"You can get it too, Captain!" Her cellmate said, peering through the door.

"Next time you open your mouth, it's gonna be you screaming from the lashes." The Captain stoically responded.

"Oooooooh!" The voices joined in unison. That single line did a splendid job of silencing the coarse prison talk.

They boys were separated in two different directions. They shot each other a worried and affirming glance before walking opposite ways.

The Captain took Gabe and stopped at an empty cell, away from the shouting voices and unlocked it. They entered, closing the door behind and she unbounded his wrists. He stood looking to the ground as she circled him. She must have stood 6'1.

"Please," Gabe started again, "I don't know what we did to deserve this but we just want to go home."

"Shut up." The Captain silenced him. She threw a pile of tribal clothing and a collar onto the bed. "Strip. And put these on."

He obeyed, turning around and undressing. He slipped the loincloth on, surprisingly comfortable and well fitting like a pair of Calvin Kleins. He hesitantly picked up the collar, a chill ran down his body, then he latched it around his neck. She watched him intently the entire time.

"Stand here and don't move." She said.

Captain Margaret circled around him, almost as if inspecting him while he only moved his eyes.

"Hmmm, very nice." She unexpectedly complimented. "So tell me where you came from again?"

"Oceania Islands." He answered.

"And nowhere on this land?"

"No, ma'am."

"So tell me... are there more like you further out? Because for 200 nautical miles out, there is only the ocean. The rest is uncharted."

"We ended up here by accident. We performed an ancient ritual that opened a one-way portal. There is no way back."

"Hmmm. Interesting."

She began to circle around him again.

"I've read about ancient legends which were deemed culturally deterred against to discuss with others. They say there was once another type of human unlike us women." Her leadership type deep voice echoed throughout the cell.

She leaned into his ear. "Another sex, they called it. One that supposedly possessed a stronger figure, smaller breasts, facial hair..." Her strong hand touched upon him and traced down to his pelvic region, "and this. Many of the archives omit it but if you look hard enough, you will find history that perfectly details this."

She sauntered slowly around Gabe as he pursed his lips and continued to stare down. "Forbidden literature that describes pleasure beyond belief. It was illegal to discuss any mention of it as there were none in our lands... until you washed up on our shores. No one alive has ever felt this but today, I, Captain Margaret, will be the first to break this tradition." She placed her hands onto Gabe's hips from behind. She sniffed a deep inhale. "The Legend says just your smell is enough to draw a woman towards you and vice-versa." Gabe noticed a faint and barely discernible aroma filling the air. The Captain's hands rubbed up and down his ribs as she leaned in to gently sink her teeth into his neck. Goosebumps rose from his skin and his nipples hardened as he flinched.

"Very muscular, not skinny and delicate like an unathletic woman. The stories are proving to be true." She excitedly flirted. Her voice softened up and became more pleasant.

Her hand reached underneath the fur loincloth and touched him. He shut his eyes in response as she caressed the area.

"Ahh.." Gabe yelped in pain. She had pinched his balls. "That hurts..."

"Mmmm they said these were sensitive. Aren't they supposed to... make you grow?" She asked.

"OWW!! Stop! Please. You're hurting me!" He adamantly implored looking up at her with distraught eyes. Despite the position he was in, Gabe was never the type to allow someone to boss him around. She was too excited to sympathize with him and just laughed. She placed her hand underneath his chin, rubbing it with her finger.