; ; "Would you like to free your wife from hell, Matthias?"
; ; I snapped my head up and reined in my horse hard, almost making the ; animal rear. My narrowed eyes searched the shadowy forest around me ; for the source of the voice, but met only grayish trees and twisted ; underbrush. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
; ; No answer.
; ; "What do you know of my wife?" I demanded.
; ; The voice was deep and echoing. "I know she died on a night howling ; with the snows of mid-winter three years ago, after you drove her from ; your castle screaming she was a whore. Her cheek purpled with the welt ; from your fist. She did not live to see the dawn."
; ; The words strangled in my throat. "No."
; ; She had never been found. Most assumed she had died that night, but I ; had held out the hope that somehow, someway, she had found a haven ; somewhere and had simply run away from me. After that night, who could ; blame her?
; ; Seasons, what have I done? "Iolanthe..."
; ; "Do you wish to free her soul from its suffering, knight?"
; ; I looked up, blinking into the depths of the towering trees that rose ; like a loose palisade on either side of the trail. "How do I know you ; speak the truth? Is she truly in Hell?"
; ; The underbrush rustled, and I could barely make out the silhouette of ; an enormous horse's head cloaked by the shadows of the forest. Its ; head mounted a large, tapering horn.
; ; I felt a stab of fear. A unicorn. A powerful creature of the Fae. The ; common folk's tales of them relate them being guardian spirits of the ; forest. And that was true, to an extent. They were obsessed with ; maintaining nature's balance within the forest, always acting to ; prevent over-hunting or cruel trapping.
; ; But I had also heard darker tales of the beasts, told in whispers by ; drunken sorcerers over late-night mugs of ale. Of how Unicorns could ; lure virgins to them, only to consume the maidens' souls to fuel their ; dark powers...
; ; The unicorn quivered its lips, the voice booming. "I was with your ; wife when her soul left her body. I know its fate."
; ; The creature turned and walked casually into the vast depths of the ; shadowy forest. "Come." It disappeared from sight, its voice echoing ; after it. "Come, if you wish to know of your Iolanthe."
; ; I was torn only for a second. Of course this had to be a trap, some ; sort of trick. But if there was even a small chance I could find my ; wife...
; ; I slid from his horse and prepared to lead the beast through the ; underbrush, but my mount refused to move. Too spooked by Faerie ; magic. Instead I left the animal where it was, taking only the sword ; belt hanging from the saddle. I trotted off after the unicorn on foot, ; wishing I had more armor on me than just a leather shirt.
; ; How long I followed the magical beast's trail, I have no idea. It was ; easy enough to mark, as the creature left behind large and very ; distinct hoof prints in the leaf-strewn mud of the forest floor.
; ; Yet the character of the trail changed slowly but significantly the ; deeper into the forest I plunged. After a few hundred yards the hoof ; prints shortened, then elongated as any evidence of the fore hooves ; vanished. As if the creature no longer walked on four legs.
; ; A changeling unicorn. This was new to me. Dark magic was a certainty ; here.
; ; My stomach knotted and pulled taut. Against the unnatural sorceries of ; a creatures of the Fae, the bowels of even the bravest man can easily ; to turn to water.
; ; I continued on anyway, squelching my fear with one thought: Iolanthe.
; ; An argument coiled at the root of it. A stupid, stupid argument.
; ; As always, Iolanthe and I had screamed at each other about my ; mistresses.
; ; With a fief inherited from my father, I was a lord now, but only a ; minor one. As was the custom, I was expected to warm the bed of pretty ; young women. I kept up two mistresses. Not an impressive number ; compared to some of the other lords at court, but in the constant ; struggle for status among the nobility, it was enough for the barons ; and dukes to at least consider talking to me at court. A lord without ; mistresses was considered to be domineered by his wife, and was thus ; less than worthy of consideration. And I had to admit I enjoyed my ; time with my illicit lovers. Kayla had fiery red hair but a meek ; temperament, willing to do whatever I bade her, no matter how ; humiliating. Hita was a bit plump, but commanded a bosom most men ; would gladly die snuggled in.
; ; Iolanthe fumed at the practice, at my willingness to go along with it, ; at my mistresses themselves. SHE was my wife. She was adamant that my ; bed should be reserved for her and her alone.
; ; She was technically right, of course. I should have been content with ; only her, the other lords be damned. Iolanthe was not a great beauty ; like the sorcery-enhanced courtesans that haunted the castles of the ; upper nobility, but she had a way of looking at me under fluttering ; eyelashes that made my heart stammer like no other. Her dark tresses ; flowing in the moonlight, pale skin arcing across pert breasts, deep, ; deep emerald eyes that sparkled with mischief whenever she ; ever-so-slowly let her unlaced dress fall to our bedroom floor...
; ; Why could she never understand that Hita and Kayla were just ; playthings? Courtly trappings, really. As useful to me in court as a ; sword was useful to me in battle. And of course I enjoyed laying with ; them. What man wouldn't? But in truth they were interchangeable with ; the millions of other women in the Eleven Worlds. Iolanthe was the ; woman I always came home to. Always.
; ; But that did not keep her from yelling at me for my indulgences, as ; she had the night three years before. The argument was as bitter and ; nasty a one as we ever had. But then, in the heat of her screaming, ; she blurted out her own affairs, with a squire and then with the ; squire' friend a year before. She realized what she had said only ; after it escaped her lips, and her tirade stumbled abruptly to a ; halt. She fell to the straw-strewn floor, sobbing quietly, blurting ; out that she loved me so much but was always so lonely and mad at ; me. That she slept with the squires only to have her revenge on her ; unfaithful husband...
; ; Moments of stunned silence stumbled by. A small part of me accepted ; what she did and even sympathized with it. That was almost instantly ; drowned by a sea of crimson rage that welled up from the dark pit of ; my bowels. I tasted bile and before I even understood what I was doing ; I punched savagely, sending her sprawling across the room.
; ; I had never hit her before. Many men, of course, beat their wives to ; ensure their obedience. It was a husband's prerogative in the Worlds ; we lived in. But before that moment the idea of physically hurting ; Iolanthe truly repulsed me. Now it was all I could do to stop myself ; from hitting her again and again until she moved no more. Instead, I ; had my men-at-arms throw her out of our castle, hissing to her that ; she was no longer a wife of mine.
; ; The pain of that memory tore at every corner of my soul ever since. I ; stumbled after the unicorn's trail, tears welling in my eyes at the ; thought of it.
; ; It took only a few hours for me to come to my senses that night. I ; ordered my men to bring my wife back in, thinking she would be huddled ; by the castle doors. But she was not there. Barely-visible prints in ; the snow led out into the blizzard-tossed night and soon disappeared ; completely in the constantly shifting drifts.
; ; We searched. Seasons, my men and I searched, for days, then weeks and ; months, and now for years, for her.
; ; What had she done that had been so truly terrible? She slept with ; other men even as I slept with other women? If she had been guilty of ; anything, than I was also, tenfold more. And she had done it only to ; spite me.
; ; And I had killed her for it.
; ; I am the one who deserved to be in Hell. I quested for her almost ; constantly these past three years, as much as the limitations of my ; mortal frame would allow. My quest became all-consuming, for what ; meaning had my life without Iolanthe? My fief fell into utter neglect ; and was finally rewarded to other hands, but I did not care. I had a ; horse, a sword, and coins occasionally donated by sympathetic ; friends. That was enough.
; ; The forest trail left by the unicorn gradually thinned out and opened ; into a broad, sunlit glade overrun with heather shushing in the soft ; breeze. Tall gray standing stones dotted the broad clearing, their ; mysterious, ancient carvings obscured by thick coats of ivy.
; ; In the center stood my quarry, no longer a horse-like creature but a ; human-shaped being with horse-like features. It stood taller than me ; by at least a head, its entire body covered with short, soft hair the ; color of newly-fallen snow. The beast was definitely a female, judging ; by the enormous breasts she now sported and smooth cleft between her ; legs. She also possessed a massive musculature unmatched by even the ; most powerful knights in five kingdoms. My skull would be naught but ; an eggshell in her thick-fingered hands. A mane of pure gold spun down ; from her equine head and muzzle, matched by a lustrous, similar-hued ; tail falling away from her backside. It still possessed its unicorn's ; horn, a cream-colored appendage coiling about itself to an impossibly ; thin point an arm's length from her forehead.
; ; Judging from the altered aspects of the tracks I followed, I had ; expected the unicorn to wear an altered form when I saw it again, but ; the being before me still made me pause in shock for a handful of ; heartbeats.
; ; Steel rasped on leather as I freed my blade from its scabbard. My ; knees proved weak from fear, but many years of battle experience ; served me well. No matter what this demon intended, it would not find ; me easy prey.
; ; She smirked. When she spoke, her voice now had a decided feminine ; timbre, but still very deep. "If you wish your beloved free, it would ; be wise not to threaten me."
; ; "Your kind knows nothing but lies, demon. Give me proof that you know ; of Iolanthe!"
; ; The creature nodded and then dipped her great head, eyes fluttering ; shut. Tremors seized her limbs, her muscles spasming and twitching of ; their own accord. Finally her movements stopped and she stood ; still. Her lips trembled. "M-Matthias?"
; ; "Iolanthe?" Her voice was unmistakable, no matter how out of place it ; seemed on the equinoid behemoth before me. "Is it truly you?"
; ; "Husband, help me! I suffer! Gods, I suffer! Forgive me for what I ; did, forgive me..."
; ; "Iolanthe!" My sword fell to the ground as I ran up to the creature, ; shouting up at what I hoped was my wife's spirit. Had the creature ; channeled it somehow from the netherworld? "There is nothing to ; forgive! It was my fault! Mine! Forgive ME! Seasons, please, forgive ; me, Iolanthe! Oh, gods..." I thumped on the creature's midriff in ; anguish.
; ; The Unicorn woman shook her head, fluttering open her eyes. She looked ; down at me, herself again, her expression unreadable. I thought ; briefly about diving back toward my sword, but no. What was the use? ; What was the use of anything, now that I knew what I had condemned my ; wife to?
; ; The creature had its own voice once again. I had expected it to mock ; me, to deride me, but instead it raised its massive hands and gently ; stroked away wetness from my cheek. "Tears," she said. "You must still ; love your wife greatly, even after all this time." She pursed her ; lips. "I can allow you to join her. How you rescue her will then be up ; to you. But the price I ask will be twofold."
; ; "Anything," I said, surprised by how sincerely I meant it.
; ; "First, you must give me your soul. Freely."
; ; "Done." I had expected such a demand, and was more than willing to pay ; it.
; ; "Second, you must sire a child for me."
; ; "What?"
; ; "I desire an offspring, and my time to conceive is nigh. You will do ; as well for a source of seed as any other. You will lay with me, and I ; will take you in body before I strip you of your spirit."
; ; "But..."
; ; "Those are my demands, knight. Accept them or not. But I do find it ; amusing that the second would be the one which is causing you the most ; difficulty. Did you not keep mistresses before you sent your wife ; fleeing into the dead cold of a winter's night?"
; ; "I haven't cheated on Iolanthe since."
; ; "Yet in order to help her you must do so again. Choose."
; ; I was torn. I swore I would never betray Iolanthe again, in this life ; or the next. But if I didn't now how could I ever free her? Damn this ; creature for making me choose.
; ; My voice sounded very small as I formed my answer. "Very well."
; ; She smirked. "Come," she said, beckoning as she slowly ambled to the ; far side of the clearing. "I desire the second half of our bargain ; immediately."
; ; I meekly followed. Her long tail swished almost playfully, briefly ; exposing the deep cleft of her backside. Despite myself I became ; momentarily mesmerized by the interplay of taut muscles.
; ; A dozen steps into the treeline we stopped in the shade of a broad ; oak. Leaves of all colors and shapes lay in a wide nest beneath ; it. The nuisance insects that had been buzzing around us in the glade ; seemed to disappear altogether, perhaps held back by the unicorn's ; magic.
; ; She leaned back against the trunk of the tree, arcing her back and ; emphasizing her impossibly pronounced feminine curves. "Come to me," ; she purred.
; ; I stumbled forward, unsure if my will was still my own. She reached ; out and deftly began divesting me of my clothing. She seemed instantly ; to know every clasp to undo, every knot to unwind in the exact order ; to have me trembling naked before her in the beat of a dragon's ; wing. She twirled me toward the trunk of the tree and shucked my boots ; off in quick succession, leaving me completely exposed to her.
; ; She looked me over, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "It has been so ; long..." she half-whispered. She leaned forward, hands on the tree on ; either side of my ears, her enormous bosom hovering not even a ; handspan from my eyes. "Touch my breasts, my handsome knight. Let your ; tongue set them afire."
; ; I reached up hesitantly and cupped her mounds in my hands. Just one of ; them was easily the size of my entire head. They proved heavy, but ; surprisingly soft. Her coat of short hair was like feathery down, not ; at all coarse like human hair. My instincts slowly overpowered my ; reluctance. Perhaps it would be best to do what she wanted and get ; this over quickly. My mouth moved of its own volition and I quickly ; encircled a thumb-sized nipple with my lips.
; ; As soon as my mouth made contact the unicorn woman threw her head ; back, moaning. She ran her thick-fingered hands through my hair as I ; continued to nurse on her enormous breasts, suckling on one before ; moving to the other and back again.
; ; My hands began roaming of their own accord. She exhaled heavily as my ; fingers glissaded over her flanks. As my hands cupped her taut ; buttocks, her entire body began quivering ever-so-slightly, like a doe ; cornered by a hunter.
; ; "More," she breathed, pushing me back against the tree once again. "I ; need more." She sank to her knees as her hands found my growing ; hardness. Her hot breath tickled the tip as her hands delicately ; explored what made me male. A pink tongue flicked out for an ; experimental taste, its moist contact making my hips hunching forward ; for more. She eagerly sucked me into her mouth until my entire shaft ; rested along the length of her inhuman tongue.
; ; Her hands tickled my sack as she began her rhythm, moving her vaguely ; horse-like head back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, ; sucking hard with each backstroke. Seasons, the sensations! I thrust ; my hips forward in time with her movements, my voice growing hoarse as ; I moaned into the countryside.
; ; The pressure built almost too quickly. It had been a long time for me, ; after all. "S-stop," I gasped. "You're going to make me... I thought ; you wanted..."
; ; She disengaged and looked up at me, her hands stroking me slickly. "I ; know," she said. "I want our true coupling to be long and ; pleasurable. Spurt now so you may last longer later." Her voice became ; throaty with excitement. "Give me your seed, knight. Do it!"
; ; She wrapped her lips over my shaft once more. "Forgive me, Iolanthe," ; I whispered. The unicorn woman's eyes flashed up to meet mine, her ; expression unreadable. Did she...pity me?
; ; A heartbeat later all coherent thought left me as the pressure within ; could be contained no longer. The world was reduced to nothing more ; the sensations of my demonic lover's mouth as I released jet after jet ; of my gift onto the length of her tongue. Her gulping motions were ; apparent with the expansion and contractions of her throat muscles.
; ; When I at last finished she pulled back and licked away the last milky ; drops from the tip of my manhood. I shivered.
; ; Without a word she stood up to her full height and with both massive ; hands on my shoulders slowly pushed me to my knees. The splaying of ; her legs and thrust of her sex toward me left no doubt what she ; desired.
; ; She smelled impossibly of honey and wildflowers. I flicked out a ; tentative tongue, its brief contact cascading a powerful shudder down ; her frame. I wrapped my hands about her steely buttocks and drew her ; to me, spearing my tongue between her labia, already drenched through ; with her juices. She cried out, panting and moaning in staccato gasps ; as her fingers slowly ran through the smooth hair of my head. I worked ; my way around the most intimate part of her, my fingers soon joining ; my mouth in its work.
; ; Her nub was impossible to miss, its size approaching that of my ; thumb. When I finally worked my way up to it, she cried out in orgasm ; as I lathed it generously with saliva. Her convulsions were ; awe-inspiring, great muscles throughout her body bunching and ; uncoiling like a siege engines. Her hands clutched hard at my head, ; and I was amazed that in her state of ecstasy she did not accidentally ; cave in my skull.
; ; I sucked the center of her sex into my mouth, amazed at how much its ; shape reminded me of a male's organ in miniature. I repeated with it ; much of what she did with me, sending her over the edge again and ; again, my fingers penetrating her in rhythm with my sucking.
; ; After her third orgasm she pushed my head away, my mouth disengaging ; from her nub with an audible pop. Her breath came in shallow gasps as ; her voice was as deep as I've ever heard it. "Enough," she ; half-whispered. She led me to the center of her nest and laid me on my ; back on the soft bed of leaves. She knelt on either side of my hips, ; her quivering sex a finger's width above mine, dripping her ; lubrication generously onto my raging organ.
; ; "And now, my handsome knight, I would feel you within me. Seasons, I ; NEED to feel you." She slowly, agonizingly impaled herself upon me, ; her warmth enveloping me completely.
; ; Surprisingly, impossibly, I encountered a barrier within her, taut but ; yielding. I looked up at her, startled. How could this be? She seemed ; so experienced, so skilled, and yet...
; ; The unicorn woman only smiled winsomely, and, bearing down, continued ; her downward plunge until her virginity burst. She grunted in pain as ; small trickles of blood meandered down my shaft and pooled in my pubic ; hair. Another few breaths and she was completely impaled upon me. "At ; last," she breathed.
; ; After taking another few heartbeats to accommodate herself to my ; presence in her virgin flesh, she began moving again, hesitantly at ; first, but quickly with more and more forceful abandon. The momentary ; pain she felt at her violation faded quickly, replaced with lust that ; was rapidly building to a peak once again.
; ; The wet friction within her was incredible. Her body was so large ; looming over mine, but her folds gripped as tightly as a fist. I ; reached up and pulled at her nipples. She shuddered and climaxed ; powerfully again.
; ; But this time as she went rigid and her womanhood spasmed around my ; member, I noticed through my haze of ecstasy an unusual phenomenon-her ; horn began to glow with a soft, hazy luminescence, like a golden ; candle flame through a fog. "What--?" I managed to squeak as the last ; of her convulsions began dying away.
; ; She pulled herself up off of me, feeling her horn. "Yes, it is ; happening, just like the Father Trees said it would. The magic is ; building." Before I could ask her what she meant, she lay on her back ; and spread her legs wide. "You are getting close, aren't you, knight? ; Come to me. Plant your seed in my womb. There is nothing I have wanted ; more in my life than to feel you in me at this moment."
; ; Odd words, for a creature that acted so malevolently just a short time ; ago. For a moment I hesitated, suddenly reminded of our pact. My soul ; would be forfeit after I completed this deed.
; ; Would even being with Iolanthe again be worth such a terrible price?
; ; My manhood throbbed, aching for release. I was long past the point of ; thinking rationally. I did as she bade me, lining up myself with her ; willing gate and plunging in.
; ; This time her folds hugged me even tighter. Her horn glowed brighter ; with every one of my frenzied thrusts, the glow creeping down her body ; and up into mine, soon enveloping both of us. I did not care; the ; sensations I was experiencing were too intense to think about anything ; else. We cried out together each time my pubic mound met hers. My ; precipice was fast approaching.
; ; She sensed it as well. Her hands shot to my face as she climaxed yet ; again, holding it still so her eyes could penetrate mine.
; ; Through our haze of passion, something indefinable passed between ; us. Gone now was all the malice and haughty pretension she had shown ; earlier. Now something tender, almost loving, shone in her eyes now.
; ; Something almost...familiar.
; ; No. It couldn't be.
; ; "Come," she whispered, her deep feminine voice sending shockwaves ; through my sex-soaked brain. "Come in me. Come INTO me."
; ; With those words and a final tight gripping of her folds, I was past ; all rational thought, all earthly concerns. A climax of unnatural ; proportions seized me, sparking throughout my entire body like a ; thunderstrike. My seed blasted into her womb, sparking a great ; crescendo of sensations within her as well. She cried out in what must ; have been the most intense orgasm of her life, tears streaming down ; furry cheeks.
; ; But with each spurt I felt something more than just my seed leaving ; me. My conscious began fragmenting, falling away. I felt myself, my ; deepest, most intimate self being disintegrating like droplets of ; water in a hearthfire. Darkness spiraled all around me as my climax ; abated, my soul leaving forever its prison of flesh.
; ; With the last of my coherent thoughts I heard the unicorn woman speak ; two last words, her throat catching with emotion:
; ; "Matthias. Beloved."
; ; - - -
; ; I remember the playing most.
; ; Galloping for endless hours in fields and meadows, honeysuckle and ; heather tickling my nostrils. A great many creatures to chase after ; and be chased by, to wrestle and nip and whinny at. A vast forest to ; explore, with wonders and fun behind every tree.
; ; Mother was at my side through it all. Mother. I knew her by no other ; name. What other name could she possibly have? Large, powerful, with a ; mane of spun gold, hooves the color of a starless night, and eyes as ; green as the forest. Her tapering horn was a beacon of hope and ; kindness for all who dwelled within the woods. She watched after me in ; both her four- and two-legged forms, cared for me, fed me, and loved ; me unconditionally with gentle nuzzles and encouraging words.
; ; It was her voice I heard as she now knelt next to me, stroking my mane ; gently to comfort me in the ordeal ahead. She called not only to me, ; but to the magic within me, the magic that existed in all living ; things in all the Eleven Worlds. She called to me to summon it, to ; shape it, to meld with it. I tried my hardest, wishing for nothing ; else in this world than to please her.
; ; Somehow, the magic heard, and answered. All at once my limbs burned, ; my bones and flesh throbbed and ached and creaked and screamed in ; agonizing ways I never imagined possible. My body burst with pain as ; the change Mother had spoken of often at last overtook me. I had come ; of age, she had said, and it was time to embrace my destiny.
; ; It was time to at last transform.
; ; My limbs and spine straightened and lengthened. Muscles shifted and ; bones ground, ligaments and tendons groaning their torture.
; ; How long the agony lasted, I could not say. A turning of the Seasons? ; A heartbeat? It was impossible to say.
; ; When at last it was over, I lay on my now curiously flat back, staring ; up at the canopy-framed sky. As the pain ebbed away, clarity ; returned. Clarity, and much, much more.
; ; Memories. Recollections which had been suppressed for a decade and a ; half. My REAL memories, of my life as a human.
; ; I cautiously sat up, my thick, my just-formed fingers running ; hesitantly over my new body. It proved large, coated with soft white ; hair, and sporting a muzzled face more horse than human. A tapering ; horn coiling out from my forehead. I guess I was now a male version of ; the creature I had made love to in that glade.
; ; "Mother?" I asked.
; ; No, not Mother.
; ; "Iolanthe?"
; ; Tears squeezed from her eyes as she leaned over and embraced me ; fiercely, her deep voice trembling. "Matthias! Seasons, oh Seasons, at ; last! At last..."
; ; After she squeezed me breathless, she leaned back on her haunches, ; looking me over at arm's length. Her voice came hesitantly. "You ; remember! The Father Trees said you would, after the ; transformation. Thank the Seasons! I am so sorry for what I had to ; do."
; ; I reached up and wiped the moisture from her cheek. I looked deep into ; her eyes and knew at last why they had seemed so familiar to me in ; that glade now many years past. They were my wife's.
; ; She took hold of my palm and lick-kissed it gently. Her voice was ; barely a whisper. "Husband. Son. Beloved."
; ; "I-I don't..." was all I could say as I struggled to form words in an ; unfamiliar throat.
; ; "Its all right, its all right," she whispered, stroking my mane. "I ; died that night I ran out into the wilderness, when you threw me out ; of the castle. That I did not lie about. I stumbled about lost for ; hours, my breath ragged, the cold seeping through my limbs to my ; gut. I collapsed, regrets biting deeper than any freezing wind.
; ; "But as my last desperate prayers wheezed out of me a voice rumbled in ; the wilderness around me. Strangely, impossibly, an immense tree, its ; canopy still full and green even in the midst of howling snows, slowly ; pulled itself out of the forest to crawl to my side. It asked if it ; could help. I thought I had at last gone mad in my last moments of ; life. Delirious, the only thing I asked for with my final heartbeat ; was my husband's forgiveness.
; ; "It was a Father Tree, one of the ancient gods of the forest, the ; immortal guardians of the Fae. My words moved it and it used its ; immense power to capture my soul as it left my body. It protected me, ; comforted me, held me close to its mystical bosom as I told it how and ; why I had ended up dying on its roots.
; ; "My words moved it, and it told me it could give me life again, and ; perhaps much more, If I desired. I would have magic, and could live as ; long as I wished. But in return for such an immense gift I would have ; to serve the forest and the people of the Fae that the Father Trees ; loved as their own children. And I could never return to the world of ; humans, who had long ago turned their back on the magicks that had ; created the Worlds.
; ; "I agreed. Using their ancient magicks they created a new body for me, ; one not only of flesh but of magic as well. The one you see before you ; now.
; ; "But as the months passed, despite all the joys I had found in my new ; body and its nascent magic, I discovered I was immensely lonely, for ; there were no others like me. My heart also weighed heavily with how ; much I still missed you. I pleaded with the Father Trees to help me, ; and they promised me they would give me the magic necessary to create ; my own Mate, using my own womb. But like myself, my Mate would have to ; be a human who chose to give up his soul willingly.
; ; "Yet I did not want just any Mate. I wanted you, Matthias. Our vows on ; our wedding day were not hollow words to me. I was so stupid to betray ; them, then to yell and scream at you when you had done the same. I ; watched and waited, following your searches from afar with my newfound ; magic, hoping you would eventually come to the woods of the Father ; Trees, so that I could make you mine once again.
; ; "I am so sorry for the deception I had to play on you. I never wished ; you any harm. But I had to know, truly, if you still loved me, if you ; would be willing to do anything for me. And I was in hell, Matthias-a ; hell of my own making, without you."
; ; She looked away, unsure and afraid. Would I reject her even now?
; ; "I...am...the one who is...sorry, Iolanthe," I said, picking my way ; carefully around the words in a still unsteady throat. "I made ; so...many mistakes..."
; ; "We both did, husband. But this is a new life now, a clean slate for ; us both. There are no nobles to please here, no traditional vows to ; uphold. There is only you and me and what we feel. Mother and ; son. Husband and wife. Mates."
; ; "Mates," I echoed. "Will...will we..."
; ; She smiled warmly. "Yes. That is why the Father Trees created me, why ; they gave me the magic needed to create your new body. Our children ; will become a new race, a new kind of life in the eyes of creation. I ; will nurse them in my womb, as I nursed you. We will be the guardians ; of nature, living in a world of joy and magic. We will start it all."
; ; She leaned in close, began massaging my furry chest. Her scent waxed ; incredibly pungent, with many more layers to it than my human nose ; could ever have perceived. Her entire presence was intoxicating. I HAD ; to have her.
; ; My head spun with wonder. So many years ago, but in a sense only ; yesterday, I had been a miserable, lonely, wreck of a man. Today, the ; most beautiful creature in all creation welcomed me into a life of ; hope I had scarcely imagined possible.
; ; Her touch wandered lower and became more urgent, my response ; immediate. Without pretense or preamble she pushed me back and ; straddled my hips. I started in astonishment at the sight of my ; rapidly-growing member; it was easily the three times the size of my ; human appendage. But of course I was part horse, now, in a way. She ; poised her entrance at the tip of my shaft, chest heaving with ; anticipation as her eyes locked with mine.
; ; "Mates," she whispered.
; ; "Mates," I answered my wife, my mother, my beloved, as she slowly ; speared herself upon me. Our love making lasted hours, each moment of ; ecstasy building on the one before. And when I at last planted my seed ; deep within her, our cries of passion echoed through the forest ; entire. ; ;