Empires SMP oneshots

Warrior women

           Sausage was showing Princess Katherine around Sanctuary. She hadn't been there before, but she really liked the place the instant she saw it. Sanctuary was magical, in both the literal and figurative sense of the term. Each building was splashed with differing hues of color; towering structures that looked more homey than imposing.

           Strings of flower garlands and tiny lanterns stretched from tree to tree, lighting up the area and making it even more beautiful at the same time. Wind whistled through the bamboo in the nearby jungle, producing a sweet, natural melody that was enhanced by the chirping of birdsong. Sunflowers burst into bloom right by the cobbled yellow streets. 

           "That's an empanada stand that I handle myself, that's the tavern and inn, that's my house, and that's Hermes' house!" Sausage babbled, pointing to various buildings. Katherine was struck by the sheer beauty of it all, the aliveness. Her kingdom of Glimmer Grove was beautiful too, but Sanctuary took it to a different level. It didn't hurt that her kingdom was also cursed in a way that left half of it blackened and dead-looking.

            "Sausage, this place is so pretty!" Katherine exclaimed. Sausage grinned. "Yeah, Sanctuary's the best, isn't it?" Just then, they rounded a corner and nearly bumped into two humanoid rabbits. Sanctuary had regular villagers, but it was also populated by a breed of anthropomorphic rabbit folk called Hareons. 

           "Oh, Katherine, this is Eddie and Maria! Eddie, Maria, meet Princess Katherine! She's a friend of mine." They waved. "You can call her 'Catalina'! Oh, wait, Katherine, you're okay with being called 'Catalina', right? It's 'Katherine' in Spanish!" Sausage said, getting ahead of himself in his excitement.

           Katherine nodded, looking at the hareons. Eddie was large and bulky, and covered in old scars, but he had this twinkle in his eye that made him look more friendly than dangerous. Maria was shorter and more wiry, with a shrewd expression and the energy of someone who liked to gossip.

           "Just a friend?" Maria teased. "Not a girlfriend?" Sausage immediately turned red and launched into a series of protests, all spoken in rapid Spanish, half of which Katherine couldn't catch, but she could get the gist of it. Sausage did not have a girlfriend, and it definitely wasn't Katherine. 

           "Eddie's the best weapons and armor smith in Sanctuary!" Sausage said proudly. He patted his silver and turquoise armor. "Eddie made most of this. Maria, on the other hand, is the best seamstress and leatherworker ever!" "How come I'm just the best in Sanctuary when she's the best ever?" Eddie complained, but then he chuckled to show that he was only joking.

           Maria friendly-punched him in the shoulder. "Of course I'm the best ever," She chided, smiling. "I think you and Maria would get along well," Sausage said to Katherine. She looked at Maria, then at herself. "Uh, okay," Katherine said, not really getting it. But the again, she'd just met Maria, she shouldn't just assume she knew what she was like just yet. 

           Maria inspected Katherine's clothes with the keen eye of someone who spent hours eying miniscule stitches. "I made this dress myself," Katherine said, noticing her glance. "You are very good at sewing, Catalina," Maria said approvingly. "Oh, thank you!" Katherine blushed.

           Not many people noticed how much work she put into making clothes. It was mostly a hobby that she'd developed after hours and hours of being bored with nothing to do all day. Princesses had this weird curse of having overprotective parents who never wanted them to leave the castle. Katherine wondered why she had to have that curse along with the other one she had. 

           "Katherine's also secretly a monster slayer by nighttime," Sausage was telling Eddie and Maria. Katherine shot him a double take. "Sausage! It's supposed to be a secret!" Sausage blinked. "What? Eddie and Maria can keep a secret." "You little gossiper," Maria chuckled. Then she turned to Katherine. "What kind of weapons do you use?"

           "Well, uh," Katherine looked around for a second to see if anyone was watching before she pulled out her battle ax. It was huge and heavy, made of tough metal that wouldn't let her down in a fight. Eddie borrowed it for a few minutes, swinging it around and liking its weight and how it was made. 

           Suddenly there were screams and the citizens of Sanctuary started running into their houses and barricading the doors. Confused, the group looked around and found the source of the fear and mayhem. A raid of pillagers were invading Sanctuary.

           Immediately, Eddie and Sausage unsheathed their weapons; Eddie tossing Katherine her battle ax back. They rushed into battle against the pillagers. Katherine was about to join them when Maria grabbed her arm. "Do you have another weapon on you?" She asked urgently. Katherine nodded and held out her sword. Maria took it and ran into the fight as well. 

           "Maria?! ¡¿Qué estás haciendo?!" Eddie yelped, stabbing a pillager. "You are not the only warrior here, hermano," Maria replied coolly. She leapt into the air, did a flip, and sliced up three raiders before her feet touched the ground. Eddie somehow managed to look awestruck and dumbfounded while still holding his ground and not being distracted from the fight.

           Sausage giggled under his breath, but the hareon caught it. "Sausage! You knew?!" He growled. Sausage immediately went to fight pillagers on the other side of the battle. Katherine found herself fighting next to Maria. They glanced at each other, then, as if they could read each other's minds, fought back to back, chopping at any pillagers who came close and somehow never getting even a single scratch. 

           Eventually all the pillagers were dead, and they started the gruesome process of clearing away the bodies. The Sanctuary citizens who were watching the fight through the cracks in closed windows came out of their houses to assist with the clean up. While they did that, Eddie walked up to Maria and started shouting at her in Spanish.

           "They're having the talk," Sausage said, looking at them. "What kind of talk?" Katherine asked. "Eddie's mad that she never told him she was such a good fighter," Sausage giggled. "She's been secretly training for a while, and she only ever told me that she'd been doing that. Eddie's found out now, though, so they're having the talk about keeping secrets." Katherine blinked. "Um, context, please?" "Oh, this'll be a long story to explain," Sausage said eagerly. 

           "You see Eddie's battle scars? He got all of them from fighting in three different wars. Except the one on his face, he got that one from me accidentally throwing Bubbles at him. Don't ask what happened that day. But anyway, Eddie fought a lot, became a powerful warrior from the experience. Maria always stayed at home and did the cleaning up and all that. But she was getting bored. She didn't want to just stay at home while Eddie risked his life. She wanted to be with her brother, be just like him. So, she watched him train every day. She soaked up his moves and his skills like a sponge. And at night, when Eddie wasn't looking, she would use the fighting equipment in secret and practice. Maria became a very good fighter, and when a war came around, she disguised herself and fought in it, right next to Eddie. The thing is, she's actually a better fighter than him. You see all his scars? And look at Maria. Not a single scratch." 

           "Wow," Was all Katherine could think to say. Now she knew why Sausage thought they would get along. Two seamstress girls who wanted to defend their homes and secretly practiced fighting at night. They were a lot more similar than she thought they would be. Just then, her thoughts were distracted by the sight of Maria walking over to her and leaving Eddie behind with a bewildered and annoyed expression.

           "You are a strong warrior, Catalina," Maria praised, and Katherine smiled. "Thank you!" "Would you like to spar with me?" Maria asked, passing back the borrowed sword. "With my own weapons, of course." Katherine grinned. "Of course!"