Chapter 8 | The Tale of Two Kingdoms

Not long after the Travelers left the princess, the woodsman who lived in the only nearby cottage left his home, folding his tall, lean frame to cross the low threshhold. A slight breeze played with the ends of his neatly braided dark hair as he walked into the forest to check on the horses he thought he'd heard; he wasn't sure if he'd been asleep or dreaming. The path opened up onto the clearing, and he froze. There before him, a beautiful girl lay sleeping. She was naked as the day she came into the world, despite the autumn chill. Her long hair was a glossy chestnut brown that shone even in the moonlight. It had been a great deal of time since he'd seen any woman's body, let alone one quite this lush. For a moment, he thought she might be dead. He knelt down and brushed her hair from her soft cheek, and she awoke with a start.

"It's all right, it's all right," he soothed, moving away slightly. "I won't hurt you. My name is Warin. Here--" He took off his cloak and offered it to her as she frantically tried to cover her body. "Who are you? How did you get all the way out here like this?"

The girl huddled into the cloak and stared around her. Her eyes must be blue, he thought, it was hard to tell in this light. Oh, to see such eyes in such a face, looking up at him--A shiver passed through her, and she blushed. "I--I don't know!" She burst into tears. "I don't know how I got here!"

"What's your name?"

She didn't know. She didn't know who her people were, or where she was from. She didn't know the answer to a single question he asked her.

"Never mind, it's all right," he said, and took her to his little cottage. Once inside, he found a soft, old smock for her to wear, stoked the fire, and put her next to the hearth on a little stool to warm herself. "I have some porridge left from supper, would you like some?" he asked. She nodded, and he spooned up a bowl, then sat nearby on his only chair.

Warin studied her in the light from the fire--a strong brow, fine nose, soft mouth and round chin set in an oval face. From the set of that chin, he could see she was probably quite obstinate when she wasn't frightened, which she was now.

"You must be from Leutefloss, that much I can tell," he said.

"Oh?"

"You have an eastern accent."

She smiled briefly, and charming dimples appeared in her cheeks. "I think that perhaps you have the accent, not me."

Her hands, when she took the bowl of porridge from his, were soft and white. This was not a girl accustomed to work of any kind, it was clear.

"Do you live here alone?" she said.

He nodded. "Not even a dog." They lapsed into silence again as she ate, scraping the bowl clean. He wondered how long it had been since she'd last eaten.

"What's going to happen to me?" she finally said in a small voice.

"You have no memory at all of your people, where you belong?" Warin asked. She shook her head. "Well," he said, after some thought, "you're welcome to stay here until you decide what to do. I'd take you to the nearest village if you'd rather. Maybe you could find work there."

"I don't know how to do anything," she said, tears forming again. "I don't remember what I did before you found me, not a thing!"

"It's all right," he repeated as reassuringly as he could. "I can teach you how to get along, don't cry, you'll be all right." Warin took her soft hand in his callused one and tried to comfort her. But it had been so long since he'd touched another person, let alone a girl; he gently stroked her hand, so white and soft in his own tanned and callused one. The image of her lying there in the clearing--naked, vulnerable, such full breasts and hips--came unbidden into his mind's eye. He wondered what she would feel like in his arms, and his cock twitched in response, hardening. Her mouth was so inviting, her eyes wide and dark and filled with desire--desire?

She quickly averted her gaze. She was shivering again, and a blush was spreading upward from her breast to her face as she fidgeted on the low stool. "Are you unwell?" he said, concerned.

"I don't know," she cried, "I don't know anything, I don't know what I'm feeling, I don't understand. No," she clutched his hand as he moved to drop hers. "Please, I don't know what's happening to me, don't leave."

"I won't," he said softly, watching the struggle on her beautiful face. "Eddin, Wise One," he prayed silently, "please give me strength, otherwise I shall have her whether she's willing or not."

"It's you," she whispered. "I can feel what you want to do to me." She stared at the floor, still clutching his hand, and tears dripped off her chin onto the hearth tiles. "You want to--and I want to--how can I feel this way? I don't know you, I shouldn't feel this way, oh, Amma, what do I do?"

Speechless, Warin tilted her gaze up to meet his. He searched her face with his dark eyes, brushing away her tears with his thumb, then leaned down and gently kissed her. She returned it, opening her lips with a moan.

Warin's resolve broke, and he swept her up into his arms, crushing her to him. She didn't fight or protest. But though she clung to him, he felt a hesitation, as if she were fighting her body's own inclination and losing.

Warin pulled away from her and cupped her face in his hands. "Will you come to bed with me?" he asked her. He felt more than saw the fierce blush in her cheeks. She twined her arms around his neck, let out a small whimper, and held him even closer to her.

He took that for her answer. Warin picked her up and carried her to his narrow bed. He helped her out of her smock, then quickly stripped out of his clothes himself.

Warin was awkward. It had been a long time since he'd had a woman, and he fleetingly worried whether he could please her. But when he looked into her eyes, he saw his longing returned. Suddenly, he didn't really care how awkward he might be.

He groaned and buried his head in her plump breasts. She smelled of fresh air on skin, campfire smoke, roses and lavender, and warm girl. He breathed deep, his erection pushing against her belly.

But the strange reluctance remained, and it troubled him. Even so, Warin pushed her legs apart and centered himself. "I'm sorry," he whispered almost to himself, and entered her. She was breathtakingly wet, so wet he groaned in pleasure, and so tight he was sure she was not used to this. He closed his eyes. Surrounded in her heat, he paused to control himself, until he made the mistake of opening his eyes and looking down at her. "Oh, Nerr," he swore. She was suffused with pink and breathing hard, her breasts rising and falling beneath him, conflict clear on her face. He felt himself harden further.

"It's been so long--I'm sorry, I'm not going to last--oh gods, I--" He felt his orgasm begin, and there was nothing he could do but push into her as fast as he could. He felt her walls pulsing in time with her heart and to his surprise she began arching up to meet him until she cried out, eyes closed tight, fingers digging into his arms. He came, hard, shouting incoherently until the shudders shaking him subsided and he fell next to her, breathless.

When he recovered, he rolled over to face her, only to find her holding the smock tightly against her body. Her eyes were still closed, but tears seeped through and rolled down the sides of her face.

"Was this not--didn't you want this?" he said, chagrined and guilty, for deep down he'd known the answer all along.

"I don't know what I want," she sobbed. "I don't know what I want!"

"Oh!" said Warin, heartsick. "Oh, don't cry, please!" But her tears continued to fall, harder than before. He got up from the bed, urged her to stand, and turned down the blankets. He coaxed her back into the bed and tucked her in by herself, stroking her hair and murmuring nonsense until she calmed, then got up and threw on his shirt.

He sat back down on the edge of the bed and took her hand again. "I'll sleep by the hearth tonight," he said.

"No," she answered, struggling up on one elbow. "This is your bed."

"And so I decide what to do with it," he said firmly, pressing her gently back down. They looked at each other quietly, and a little warily. "I wish I knew your name," Warin finally said.

"Give me one."

"All right," he said, thinking. "I'll call you...Emmae."

"That's pretty," she yawned. "I like it."

"Go to sleep, Emmae."

She closed her eyes, and was asleep in minutes.

Warin watched her until he was sure she was asleep. He rose from the edge of the bed and looked down on her soberly, then turned to the hearth. He threw a log onto the banked coals. "Burn," he said, and the flames rose up instantly. He watched the flames flicker until he saw one that was bright, bright as the sun, and he made a snatching motion in the air. The light gathered in his hands, and he drew it out into a wand. He drew patterns in the air with it above the sleeping girl's body, glowing gold, and stared as other figures appeared in answer, floating silver in the air. Warin studied them, frowned, and drew the covers back until he could see the girl's hip. There was the silver mark, glowing faintly. The wand dissipated into the air with a wave of his hand.

He covered her again and sat down hard in his chair. He should have known, he thought. She was so obviously unused to work or hardship of any kind, and so obviously enchanted. "I hadn't wanted to know, and could you blame me?" he thought. "Yes," he answered himself, "you were taught better than this."

Remorse filled Warin's heart. He wasn't sure of the exact enchantment, but he had a fair notion. There was nothing he could do to break it, but he could protect her for now until he figured out how to lift the spell and which rich merchant family she belonged to in Leutefloss. Besides, he'd been alone for many years, though by choice, and he was lonely. Even if he had to sleep on the hearth, her presence seemed to be a good omen.

In the meantime, he would teach her how to survive, keep away from her as best he could, and not frighten her. In his mind, that included not telling her about the spell that held her. He fetched his bedroll from the cupboard, spread it out before the hearth, and quickly fell asleep.