[Genderswap (Male to Female), Mental Changes]

The Halidom. The cornerstone and center of New Alberia. Ever since the Empire moved in and tried to strongarm its way around the world, this single structure served as the home for many of the refugees left by its actions. It also served as the home to the many people that earned the trust of the young Prince Euden, who had formed this new kingdom out of an attempt to fix things. They were his brothers and sisters in arms, not his subjects. As such, he had a special place in his heart for every single one of them, no matter their origins or their homeland.

One of these special guests that had earned his trust, was the Empress of the forgotten lands, Nefaria. A dainty brown-skinned woman, who never seemed to be too surprised about anything in life. Her body was as cold as her general outlook on the situation at hand, and she always seemed so distant when they first met. That all changed as she stayed with the Prince and his allies, as the mystery of her forgotten Empire was unveiled. She was the last thing that was left behind, leaving her as the sole mark the Empire had on the world. Something that would make anybody somber, and yet...

Here she was. In her little room, the one the Prince had graciously allowed her to stay in until they could find a better home for her. Nefaria sighed as she stared out of the window, looking up at the moonlit sky with a longing look in her eye. "My people. They were left behind, all because I went to sleep. How... cumbersome..." She muttered to herself as she caressed her arm, not even feeling a shiver despite how cold her skin or her touch felt. She was simply cold, and she had come to live with that.

The brown-skinned empress smiled to herself as a thought came to mind. Something that she hadn't even dared dream of when she first awoke in this day and age. Something she wouldn't even have considered before she met the young man that had helped her so much. "Of course. I know just the way. My Empire may have fallen, but its people will not be forgotten. I assure you all, the ones that linger in the stars above..." Her smile curved further upward as she breathed a sigh of relief, turning towards the door to her room. "Just wait a little longer, and everything will fall into place."

Almost as if on cue, a knock echoed from the hall outside. "Nefaria? Are you awake?" A familiar voice spoke through the wooden frame, awaiting an answer before he stepped inside.

"Prince Euden. Please, come inside. I've been waiting for your arrival." She replied, keeping her seat on the windowsill until he would enter to face her.

Indeed, the red and silver-clad Prince came inside, only to gasp a little given how precariously the empress was sitting. "Nefaria, I... Shouldn't you be sitting somewhere safer? Maybe on your bed?" His endless concern for the friends that he had made bubbled to the surface through his uncertain words while he closed the door behind him. He didn't want to panic since he knew that his allies were perfectly capable, but that didn't mean that their actions didn't perplex and worry him from time to time.

"I'm merely enjoying the night time breeze, my Prince. Do not worry for my sake, when you could be worrying for somebody that's truly living." Nefaria replied with a slight curve to her smile, as she beckoned him closer with a single finger. "If you must worry, then join me. I want a companion to view the stars with."

The blonde youth tilted his head slightly as he stepped closer, feeling a little weirded out by her unorthodox behavior. "You seem in high spirits tonight if you think you can feel something. Has something happened?" Euden asked as he sat near the bed, refraining from sitting on the razor-thin windowsill to avoid being blown out of the castle suddenly.

"I wouldn't say that. More, you've finally opened my eyes to something I've been ignoring. Something that I can't neglect any longer." His ancient friend explained as she turned to look directly into his eyes. "Something that I should've done so long ago after I realized that I lost my old kingdom. A kingdom that loved me, from the very bottom of their hearts..."

The prince tilted his head, still not quite understanding what she was getting at, yet the chill that ran down his spine was a new sensation. His friends usually didn't make him feel that way. It was only when he was being toyed with by one of his siblings, Chelle especially, that he felt this way. So why was Nefaria making her feel like this? "I... You're going to have to be a bit more direct with me, Nefaria. I'm not sure what you're trying to say..."

She laughed at his response, uncharacteristically so as she placed one of her cold hands on his cheek. "I propose a union, my dear Prince. Let this be my new Kingdom, and we shall ensure that peace will cover the entire world. You have my word as a former Empress. And as a friend." The brown-skinned woman said, sincerity in every word that left her mouth. It was a little wild to hear her speak of something so lofty, but... She seemed to believe it with all of her heart.

"Your kingdom..." Euden rubbed away at his cheek, weighing the options. He knew exactly what the Empress was like, and it was much preferred to something like his siblings, or the Demon that had taken his sister's guise. In truth, she was right. She could rule his Kingdom with the air of authority her cold demeanor gave her, while also being gentle enough to let even a single peasant live without any issue. It didn't take him long to answer, once he realized that fact. "You're right, Nefaria. You would make a great Queen. I wouldn't mind handing over the reins, as long as you promise you won't hurt our subjects."

Nefaria couldn't help but smile a little at the use of 'our'. "I thank you, Prince. Now, hold still. You'll feel a deadly chill, but you must endure. Otherwise, you may not be able to serve me and you won't be able to survive either." Her voice was as gentle and as soothing as usual, yet the words that she spoke were foreboding at best. What exactly was she doing..?

Before he had a chance to think about it further, he felt a massive chill overrun his entire body. This time it wasn't just a hunch either, as when he looked down to try and examine where it might be coming from, he noticed that his armor had been stripped off him and that his skin was completely enraveled in what seemed to be pure darkness. All of it coming from the empress' palm.

Despite the cold that was now blanketing his body, he didn't feel fear or discontent beyond what the freezing substance normally would. He instead felt... comfort. Trust. She wasn't doing this because she thought he was a challenge to her rule, far from it. She was doing it because she thought that he would make an excellent partner to have at her side. Just like he thought that she was a great friend.

His breath grew slower as the darkness pressed down on his body, slowly resculpting him in the image of one of the empress' inhabitants. He could feel his hips widening as his stomach grew flat, losing just a little bit of the tone that had grown there over the last few months. His chest followed a similar fate, with the width shrinking as something started growing on the front. Something heavy, something with great volume and something that benefitted what he was becoming. A pair of voluptuous breasts, perfect for a concubine.

Indeed, that was what he was becoming. Nefaria's first and most precious concubine. The crown jewel of her harem, and the symbol of her succession. She would take over the Kingdom and make it hers, and in return, she would care for everyone, as she promised. That just so happened to include the Prince that ruled said Kingdom, who had turned into a woman by this point, given the utter lack of anything dangling between his thighs...

"N-Nefaria..." His, or rather, Her teeth clattered against themselves as he tried to move, only for the darkness to bind her arms behind her back as the changes continued. While her form had been feminized, she hadn't yet been completely converted into the proper concubine that her Empress desired. She still needed longer, darker hair befitting one of her subjects. Her skin met a similar fate, the light skin tone darkening until it was the same desert-borne shade of brown as her Empress. She was truly the kind of woman that would've lived in her olden kingdom, and the perfect example of a concubine...

Finally, the darkness started to creep into the former Prince's mind. It wasn't intending to erase or erode any of her memories, far from it. Instead, it would just fill up the gaps in her head with the image of her empress. The beloved Nefaria. Her smooth skin. Her soft lips. Her caring gaze. Her beautiful body. All of it was circling inside of Euden's mind, making it that much harder for her to think straight. Sure, she still understood that she was once a royal in this Kingdom, but that didn't matter. What mattered, was her empress. The one that would lead them all to prosperity, the one that would keep them safe and secure...

The black substance that had crept all over the young man retracted to unveil the feminized body that she now possessed, as she practically collapsed into the cold empress' body. She felt a shiver run up her body as she let out a yelp and a gasp, a little bit of slick liquid dribbling down her thigh in response to being so close to the one that ruled over her... "E-Empress..." She muttered, feeling a little disoriented after the way that her mind had been completely thrown for a loop by the darkness...

"Sssh. You mustn't strain yourself, Eu. You're going to need rest before you can serve me, otherwise, your body will just reject the changes. You won't be able to serve me if that happens." Nefaria's voice was gentle as could be, which helped her when she lifted the plump-breasted woman into her arms. "I would return you to your quarters, but it would be best to keep you here instead, wouldn't it?"

The changed prince's heartbeat was so loud that it was impossible to not hear it beating against her ribcage. "I... I would love to be by your side, Empress. Forevermore..." Her voice was still shaky as she wasn't quite used to anything that had happened to her body, but she was just happy to be held so close. To be treasured so wonderfully by the woman who trusted her above anything else...

With a smile on her lips, the empress-to-be gently slid her concubine underneath the covers of her bed, kissing her on the cheek. "Then, perhaps I should join you. Keep us both warm underneath those covers, until night passes on by and gives way to the dawn. I imagine that would please you greatly, now wouldn't it?" There was a bit of a teasing edge to the words that left her mouth at this point, especially as her eyes peered straight into the tender-bodied woman's own...

Their tender moment was abruptly interrupted as the door to Nefaria's room was kicked open by a familiar blonde. "Prince Euden! Are you oka-" The voice of Elisanne echoed throughout the room, only for her words to get caught in her throat as she saw the scene in front of her unfold. "N-Nefaria!? What is the meaning of this? Where is the young Prince!? Answer me!" She readied her spear, panic, and frustration explicitly colored on her face.

"Oh my. You're certainly in high spirits, Elisanne. But that can't do. Can't you see that the Prince has given me the keys to the Kingdom, knowing that I would be a better ruler?" The brown-skinned woman replied in the usual gentle tone as a bit of darkness dripped from her hand. "If you'd be so kind as to come over and kneel before your new ruler, that'd be just fine. I'm sure you'd love to get a closer look at what your Prince has become, after giving in and joining my new Empire."

Elisanne twitched, her blue garbed armor blowing in the wind from the open window. "I will not yield to a potential usurper, especially one that has blatantly admitted that she has done something awful to the Prince! You will return him to normal, or you will face punishment beyond comp-" She started launching into a tirade, only to find her mouth suddenly blocked by something thick and chewable. She tried to bite down on it and spit it out, but that just made it bloat out more.

As the Paladyn muffledly screamed beyond her new darkness-filled gag, the Empress approached with a shaking head on her shoulders. "Oh dear. You're being awfully rude, you know. Perhaps I should just deal with you the old fashioned way, and then have my beauty sleep with my beloved Eu. Or, perhaps..." Nefaria mused aloud as she drew the shape of something in the air, causing the darkness in the blonde woman's mouth to react in turn.

Immediately, the ball-shaped darkness exploded outward, covering the poor and loyal woman's head in a hood made of the substance. Her cries and her screams were still plenty muffled, but this time the darkness began to spread, just like it had across her Prince. Her transformation would be much less drastic, and yet at the same time much less gentle. A pang of pain shot through her body as she felt her womanly features shifting, becoming more emphasized through her armor... or rather, lack of it, as the darkness had quickly swallowed it all up after covering her from head to toe...

Much like it had happened to her Prince, the darkness made an effort to penetrate her mind. But since she had incurred the soft wrath of the Empress, her mercy was lessened this time around. All of her memories, all of her thoughts and all of her former identity was eaten up by the black substance, replaced with nothing but the Empress. Beautiful Nefaria. Her entire world would consist of nothing but her Empress... And how she could defend her...

The darkness retracted back onto the brown-skinned Empress, once it had finished blinding the Paladyn to everything that she once was. Standing before her now, was an equally tanned and black-haired woman who was proudly displaying her naked body for her empress. Her curvature had increased every slightly, making her just as fit for something soft and loving as she was for combat. She was the perfect blend of affection and aggression.

Elisanne dropped onto her knees. "My Empress. I apologize for my rude behavior. Please, is there any way that you can forgive me so that I may earn your favor? Your forgiveness? Your love? State your wish and I will do anything in my power to make it real." The words that left her mouth oozed with regret, the formerly blonde woman no longer serving as a proud symbol and a defender. Now, she was just another pawn in her Empress' employ, that's what her mind thought.

Nefaria had other ideas, however. "Stand, Ne. Join me and Eu in my bed, and rest your weary worries away. Then, we can talk about what you can do for me to earn your forgiveness." The mercy that was lacking in her words had returned, as she walked towards the queen-sized bed where the former Prince was laying, still waiting for her Empress to join her.

The former Paladyn was rechristened as she quickly stood up, shambling behind her regent. She was equally quick to pull the covers off the bed to help her lay down beside her existing concubine. "Are... Are you sure that I may join you, My Empress? Have I not sin-"

Her questioning was quickly cut off by the olden Empress pulling her closer, kissing her on the lips in the process. "Hush, Ne. For now, rest. I want the two of you to spoil me in the morning, and you need your own beauty sleep to do so. Do you understand?" Both of the tanned and transformed girls nodded in tandem, though one less eagerly than the other. "Good. Now, do as you've been told. Rest, and recover." She gave them one last command as she slowly closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep herself. Her concubines followed suit not long after, as a trio of snores filled the forgotten Empress' room...

Nefaria had a long day ahead of her. Filled with subjects to make, and a Kingdom to rule. She was going to make good on her promise to the young Prince, and protect her new Kingdom until she drew her last breath.