Miri awoke on a beach, the waves lapping against her skin. A foot was nudging her shoulder. She rolled onto her back and stared up into the blue sky. The hours clinging to her plank were a blur, the cold water numbing her mind and body. The ship, her sisters. All gone.
"Hey, can you hear me? Do you speak my language?" It was a woman standing over her.
Miri slowly sat up, an involuntary groan escaping her lips. "Y-yes. I can understand you."
"Good." The woman knelt down and clasped Miri under her arm, helping her to her feet. "Come, let's get you out of the sun."
Miri leaned against her, not trusting the strength in her legs. She was led to a log under a stand of palms. The woman pulled out a jug of water, and Miri drank greedily from it. "Thank you," she said. "Where am I?"
The woman shrugged. "My island. I've never given it a name." She looked at Miri speculatively. "Did your ship encounter M'hal?"
"Is that what it's called?" Miri thought back to the black tentacles tearing their ship apart.
The woman nodded. "M'hal, the shredder, the locals call it. Your captain was either a fool or very ignorant." She made a face. "I apologize if you were the captain."
Miri shook her head. "No, just a passenger. We were being chased by pirates. The captain, she thought..." Miri clamped her mouth shut, knowing that if she spoke anymore she would cry.
The woman just nodded. "She wouldn't be the first to make that mistake. And not the last, I'm sure. Come, let's get you cleaned up. My home is close." She helped Miri to her feet. "My name is Thara."
"Miri." She thought about revealing who she was. Maybe help would be brought faster if it was known a princess was here. But that could make her a target too. "I was traveling to Veste, there was a storm. We were off course. Then the pirates chased us into that... thing."
They didn't speak much after that. Thara led her to a well maintained path through the jungle, lined with little white stones. It was warm, and the gentle breeze through the palms helped soothe Miri's sore body. Still, she didn't pay much attention to her surroundings until they came to a large clearing.
It had been a day of strange and terrible sights, but some small part of Miri's mind was happy that she could still be surprised.
"That's your home?" She whispered. A huge building of black stone stood in the clearing, half covered in vines and jungle growth. "Is it just you here?"
"You'll see," Thara said. "Follow me, I promised to clean you up."
The entrance to the building was massive, easily large enough to admit four horses running side by side, and tall enough that an elephant could walk through with room to spare. The interior was well lit with torches and candles, and the light reflected from abstract designs rendered in gold and white marble. Thara led Miri down a corridor and into a room where a steaming pool of water sat alongside a long banquet table.
"The pool is fed from the volcano up the mountain, so it's always warm. The waters will refresh you." Thara held Miri's hand as she walked down the slick steps into the water. From a low shelf she took out a bar of waxy soap. "Nothing fancy, but it will wash the salt and sand from your hair. I'll go get you some food."
Miri moaned in pleasure as she sank into the pool, momentarily able to forget all the events of the day. She submerged herself in its perfectly warm depths, and let the soothing waters soak into her. When she emerged, she felt like a new woman. Miri reached for the soap.
When Thara returned, Miri was massaging the soap into her scalp, humming happily. "How do you feel?"
"Much better, thank you." Miri submerged herself to rinse, and then began to walk out of the pool. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"We will come to an understanding, I'm sure." Thara held out a thin cloth, long enough to wrap around Miri's body. "There isn't much fabric here, I'm sorry to say. But you can have this." She had set some food out on the table, fruit and grilled fish. "Come, eat. I'm sure you need it."
Miri had not been mentally present enough to get a good look at Thara earlier. Now, refreshed from the bath and able to focus, she realized her host was a beauty. She was a tall, slender woman, muscles sculpted by work proudly visible under her darkly tanned skin. Piercing green eyes highlighted a face with plump lips and an aquiline nose bracketed by high cheekbones. Her hair fell down her back in dark waves touched here and there by sunbleached gold. Thara was mostly nude, a simple blue loincloth and woven grass sandals her only clothing. Her full double-handful breasts had just the barest hint of sag to them and they were capped by huge dark brown nipples easily the size of the last joint of Miri's thumb. Each was pierced with curving pieces of bone.
Miri, as she typically was around beautiful women, was struck with a sudden and intense attraction for her rescuer. Thara seemed not to notice.
She ate, suddenly ravenous, the simple fruit and fish tasting as good as any gourmet meal the palace kitchens could produce. Thara watched in fond amusement as Miri shoveled the food into her mouth. When it was all gone the princess let out a loud belch.
"Oh, sorry," Miri said, covering her mouth in embarrassment. "I was taught better than that."
Thara chuckled and waved away Miri's apology. "Among my people that is a sign that you enjoyed the meal. So I will take the compliment."
"What is this place?" Miri asked. "It's huge, and beautiful."
"A temple, I think," Thara said, looking around the room. "Long abandoned."
