Not If You were the Last Man on Earth

1. Enter the heroine

Lianna sat cross-legged in the centre of her room with her eyes closed and her long dark eye-lashes resting serenely on her pale cheeks. Her long, black hair was tied back in a French plait and was laced with red ribbons; the crimson silk contrasting starkly with the darkness of her hair.
Her pale hands rested in her lap with the fingers gently interlaced; everything about her seemed meek, gentle, and demure that is until she opened her eyes. They were green, glowing pools of viridian that were so deep one felt as if you were falling into the greenest ocean and drowning in them and they were flecked with gold, like a panther or some sort of wild, exotic cat. Framed with the long black lashes, they were stunning and they drew you in and captured you. In the past by philosophers and religious scholars alike it has been said that beauty is a gift, and naturally, as is the unfair way of life, some receive more than their fair share. In Liannas case she had gone up to the beauty table for second helpings and received thirds!

It could be said, by those who didn't know her, that everything about Lianna was perfect. Her speech, her education and her looks were all immaculate and had been trained to perfection by some of the finest scholars that the new world had to offer. Her body was slender and athletic with an ample cleavage and curvaceous hips which only served to extenuate her beauty.
Unfortunately, like the famed statue of Aphrodite that is cracked and ugly when you get too close to the marble, Lianna did have her many faults.
Mainly she was spoilt because, as the daughter of a rich Lord, she had been granted everything she wished for, for the entirety of her eighteen year life. This had resulted in a girl who threw herself on the floor and screamed if she didn't get what she wanted when she was ten, to what she was now which was a young woman of eighteen who threw things, smashed mirrors and broke servants noses if her exact commands weren't carried out, immediately!

Looking up from her seated position on the floor Lianna cleared her throat with a blatant air of self importance. A male attendant who was clad in a pale blue robe with no shoes on his tanned feet hurried towards her like a frightened beetle scuttling towards the beak of a ravenous bird and bowed low. His forehead which was beaded in nervous perspiration nearly touched the floor.
Holding out her hands, the man helped her to her feet with her long fingernails digging slightly into his palm as she stood. Two more servants stood on the far side of the room with one on either side of a large pine panelled door. It stood slightly ajar and one could see through into the adjoining bath-room.

Lianna walked across the room slowly and then simply stood, as her female attendants undressed her. Slowly, they unlaced the back of her red dress, removing the stomacher, and then taking off the sleeves which was a time consuming effort as they were intricately fastened below the armpit. After sliding it off her shoulders, and allowing it to drop to the floor so that she could step out of it, they paused for a second to admire her naked body. The pale, smooth skin of her shoulders and the sweep of her hips, along with the ridge where her spine moved were all slightly hypnotic and it is the perverse nature of humans to stare at each other surreptitiously when they think no one is looking.
Another servant was standing demurely in the corner, holding a sponge and a jug of hot water with her eyes cast down.
Lianna stepped into the large marble pool which was sunk into the floor of the room and immersed herself up to her chin in the hot water. She sighed happily and leaned her head back for a serving girl to comb through her silky hair but before this process could commence there was an almighty crash which echoed and reverberated around the static bathroom. This was followed speedily by screaming and raised voices emanating from downstairs and the sound of servants fleeing down the steps of the courtyard.

Lianna was instantly alert and sat bolt upright in the bath with the speed of a startled gazelle. She had some bubbles clinging to her nose and was craning her neck around to try to see out of the bathroom door. Almost in synchronisation with this movement hurried footsteps were heard pounding on the stairs and male voices were bellowing conflicting orders. Servants in the bedchamber were screaming, and then there was a second loud crash, greatly amplified in the bathroom, as Lianna's bedroom door was kicked in.
A tall man with short clipped blonde hair stood framed in the doorway with his head thrown back. He was holding a sword in his right hand and had a black tunic which was flying loosely around his broad muscled shoulders as he stared into the room. Lianna's servants shrieked and scattered like hens from a fox as they rushed madly past the man, leaving Lianna alone and unprotected sitting in the bath.

The man approached slowly, watching her like a tiger watches its prey. Sheathing his sword with one deft movement, his dark blue eyes darted and snapped over his surroundings assessing everything expertly.
Other than his footsteps, silence had descended on the house and Liannas ears focused on every tread of his leather boots.
Upon reaching the bathroom he pushed the door a little wider and the hinges squeaked as if in protest, as did Lianna. Her full red lips were drawn back in a kind of snarl as she tried to verbalise a rebuke which would be sufficient to annihilate this intruder.

"Get out you son of a rabid cave dwelling fiend" she hissed. Her fear rising into dark red blotches on her cheeks and perspiration on her brow.
The man laughed deeply at this and the sound was rich and controlled, the epitome of power. Lianna shivered, anger filling her face further than any other emotion. Her hands cast about for something to throw and her fingers found the smooth edges of the soap dish which was resting on the side of the bath. Raising her arm she hurled it at his head. It flew past, whizzing harmlessly by his shoulder and spattering his tunic with water droplets.
The man smiled with his eyes glittering menacingly as continued to advance towards her. Reaching the bath he looked down at her.

"Get out of the bath" he ordered her calmly. There was no waiver of uncertainty in the command and it wasn't even a question. Lianna knew she would be coming out of the bath one way or another, but at the same time her blood was up and she didn't want to obey.

Stareing back at him defiantly she slowly formed the words on her tounge and spat them like stones at him. "Drop dead".

There was a frosty silence in which the room almost crackled with tension. Splash. The man thrust his hand into the water and gripped her arm below the bubbles with his fingers gripping her flesh tightly. He jerked her to her feet with almost no effort, sending water everywhere as the bubbles ran off her naked body.

He appraised her with his eyes, a malicious smile forming on the corners of his mouth.

"Lovely" he drawled, slapping her bare back-side with his hand. The sound of skin on wet skin reverberated and Lianna flinched before bringing her knee up into his crotch in a blind rage.
The man gasped in shock before he doubled over and crumpled to the floor clutching his groin. He'd released her arm and with the innate sense of freedom before impending doom Lianna ran out of the bathroom. The water was still dripping from her body as she went and the chill of the room only served to make her more pricklingly aware of the danger that she was in. She snatched a sheet off the bed as she ran past, wrapping it around herself and up over one shoulder like a roman cape. She had reached the door as her feet slipped from under her, their dampness slithering for a hold on the marble, and then she was toppling backwards to land like a helpless turtle on her back as a familiar leather boot stamped down on her loose hair to prevent her from rising.

Her heart beating like a butterfly in the web of a poisonous spider Lianna struggled blindly as strong hands once more clamped around her wrists and her waist. Lifting her up bodily her captor threw her down on the bed and holding her down he pushed her back he pressed his lips to hers. Lianna pulled as far as she could from this grotesque invasion of her personal space and spat. The spit flew forcefully into the mans eye and he swore, glaring at her and wiping it away with the back of his hand before grabbing her again.
Lianna growled deep in her throat and bit down as their lips connected again and he pushed his tongue into her mouth trying to explore her. The man jerked back, a trail of blood trickling from his mouth and his blue eyes glared at her as he raised his hand to his mouth and felt the wet stickiness of fresh blood there. Angrily he unsheathed his sword and smacked her across the face with the broad flat side, the metal stinging her cheek and causing tears to spring forward. Grabbing for her again he grasped her shoulders hard, and shook her roughly so that her teeth chattered.

"Listen you unworthy little she bitch" he hissed "I am Roux, I am the king of Tarabarck, and we have just defeated your small country, I am taking some trophies home with me" he paused to sadistically stroke her cheek with his hand "And you are to be the greatest trophy of all" With that, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, arranging her so that she was perfectly ensconced in her sheet and couldn't kick or thrash. Then, pulling a golden bugle from where it hung on his belt he blew two sharp blasts which was an unspoken signal to his men to stop their pillaging and to begin their return to Tarabarck.