Forest Keep 4
#6 of Forest Keep
(edited 12/10/08 for font correction and version update) James awoke after a good nights sleep with the memories of the odd night still strong in his head. He then remembered she had invited him back to her lake but he was torn between the knowledge of his growing attraction to this mysterious person and fair Caroline back home. He realized that he had left Caroline's hanky on the bench instead of wrapping it around his sword pommel for luck as he had promised her he would do. Despite this, he strangely felt little guilt. James slowly dressed in his training armor and thought about the dinner; surely, the noises he had heard while eating didn't come from a small lass. Nor could a small lass drink almost half a flagon of wine in a couple of minutes, he racked his brains trying to think of a mythical female being who could do both as he made his way down to breakfast. While deep in thought he bumped into Joe on his way up the stairs "Ah there ya are lad, well done on the gate yester eve, seems the folks comin' in were mighty impressed ya could be trusted with some responsibility now" James grinned back "It wasn't easy, but I managed to restrain myself from exacting immediate justice for the varied assortment of insults" then remembering he was supposed to be hungry "Is there any food left downstairs?" he asked "I'm starving..". Joe grinned widely "I've thought those ducks and geese would have filled ya up" he replied with a sly grin. James groaned softly as he realized he had not been as careful as he had thought he had. "Relax lad, though ya don't look that fat. How on earth did ya manage to eat all of them?" James flushed but thought quickly as he realized that telling Joe he had shared his dinner with a magical sprite was asking for trouble. "I shared them both with a passing woman" he admitted, "She was hungry and thirsty... It was really charity" Joe nodded slowly and looked at James with a grin "I know it can be hard and we all have skived off now and then... but I saw ya head right back to ya post after helpin' yoursel' when you could have joined the other guards and they would ha' covered for ya so ha' the day off... Ya look a little tired", he said with a chuckle, giving James a slap on the shoulder. James grinned widely and headed down to the kitchens, it was time to find out a little more about his mysterious visitor. Cill awoke with a yawn and a heavy head, groaning softly as she lay in her bed. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and wondered at the cause of the soreness. Her eyes flew open as she remembered the evening before. Inviting the human back to her lake, had she been insane? What had she been thinking of! Rolling off the bed, she stood up with a groan and clutched her head wincing at the throbbing pain. Drinking some water seemed to help but her head did not clear for some time so she avoided the sun and remained in bed muttering confusedly to herself. 'What if he comes? What if he doesn't?' her feelings vacillated back and forth until she had worked herself into a fine frenzy of emotions. 'He'll want to see me... I know it... it will all go wrong' she thought, a tear running down her snout until she dashed it away in anger. 'So what... if he wants to see me... I will let him... No... I can't...' she wrung her paws and paced up and down her lair, kicking at the walls in sudden fits of emotion... 'I'll go down to the pool and swim for a bit... if he shows up... then we will see' Wiping her muzzle with the back of her paw, she stormed out of the lair, heading for the lake. James patted his restive horse on the nose, feeding him a piece of apple before catching him by surprise and swinging a couple of heavy saddlebags over his rump. He grinned as he looked at them both; one bag was stuffed with as much food as he could manage to cram in while the other bag held a nice colorful blanket he had found in the market. It would make a nice gift, after all, he told himself, its not everyday one gets to share ones meal with a magical being Tying another flagon of wine to his pommel, he climbed into the saddle and rode out the gate after telling the guards he was off for a picnic. They laughed raucously and told him to be back before sunset or else he would be picnicking with the bandits of the forest for the night. The weather was fine and clear and James slowly trotted his way down the path. He thought about all the things he had heard and experienced, trying to assemble a picture in his head of the lady of the lake. It was not looking pretty. He had decided she must be an ogre if she could manage to eat and drink that much and could remain hidden. He shrugged at the image and thought to himself 'Well, even if she is an ogre... She still has good manners and is modest'. He could not seem to shake the image of laughing green eyes, though they did not look like human eyes sometimes but seemed to shift between round pupils and oval slits. He arrived at the pool at noon, whistling quietly so as not to alarm anyone by sneaking up on them. Tethering his horse to a tree and removing the saddlebags he walked to the lake, sat down and opened one carefully before spreading out the blanket out on the grassy edge. Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a black scarf and laid it beside him "Are you there Cill?" he called out quietly, opening the other saddlebag and pulling out the carefully wrapped meats he had coaxed from the kitchen hands "I've brought us a picnic" Cill cowered in the rushes, hearing him only brought back the fear of rejection; she did not expect his next words. "I know you don't want me to see you for some reason so I've got myself a blindfold." lifting her head cautiously she saw him carefully wrap the wide black scarf firmly around his eyes and smiled to herself. *That's considerate of you,* she murmured mentally to him. "If you aren't comfortable with me seeing you, that's alright." James added, "I won't pry if you don't want me to" With her curiosity overcoming her worries, Cill asked, *So what is a pick-nick?* James patted the blanket "An outdoor meal with a friend" he said with a grin. Cill's stomach growled a little at the thought of more food and she prowled nervously closer until she was on the blanket and testing it with her talons. James felt her sit on the blanket and smiled at her, wishing he could see but not wanting to risk the progress he had made with her. "I brought some more goose and some bacon. And some more wine" he said with a grin "though I expect you had a sore head this morning from drinking too fast last night" Cill nodded then realized he could not see the movement *Yes... does it always do that?* She asked, looking worriedly at the flagon upon the blanket. "No, only if you drink too much too fast, you are meant to sip it slowly". He laid the packets of food on the blanket and unwrapping them slowly spread them out so she could choose. "Help yourself," he murmured, his hand fumbling slowly for a piece of chicken and bringing it to his mouth. Cill relaxed a little; obviously he could not see her. She lay down slowly on the blanket and gently selected a piece of bacon, chewing on it carefully as she looked at a human more closely than she had ever thought she could. "So why do you live out here alone Cill?" James asked quietly before taking a sip from the flagon and putting it back onto the blanket. He could feel her near and something in him yearned to reach out and touch her but he gently put the meat in his mouth and chewed whilst waiting for an answer. *I have only left home recently... And wanted a place of my own to live in* Cill replied while reaching down for another piece of meat "But there are no houses or farms nearby" said James "just the keep... Surely you feel alone and vulnerable out here?" Cill munched on the bacon and replied, *I have a nice home, and no one tends to bother me... just strange wanderers who blunder and fall into my lake* He could feel the humor in her thoughts and suddenly realized that she could eat and speak with him at the same time. Cill shifted on the blanket and realized she had many questions she also wanted to know the answers to. *Why are you at the keep, and what do you do there?* she asked and reached down for another chunk of bacon *You all go in, funny noises come out*. James laughed at the thought "We are training to be warriors, to protect our people and homes in the service of the king so after two more years I will able to apply to be a Knight and have my own land". He could not see the shocked look that appeared on Cill's muzzle as he spoke. *A Knight... One of those humans in armor that go round hunting dragons and suchlike?* she heard herself ask, feeling an angry surge suddenly growing in her. "I've never seen or met a dragon" James replied, hearing a curious edge in her mental voice, "and I don't think I ever shall. Nor would I kill one unless I really had to". He blinked under the blindfold, had she said 'humans' as if it was a curse? Cill's talons curled in the blanket, ever since her birth she had heard tales from her mother all about the roaming killer knights that had once threatened the survival of dragonkind. Until the dragons learned to use their magic to protect themselves from sight, no dragon had been safe from them and now her... this human was proud of being one! James could feel the tension as the blanket moved under him. She was larger than he was, he was sure of that. Her breathing was stronger and a curious spicy odor filled his nostrils, making him feel suddenly nervous and yet arousing him at the same time. *So what would you do if you met a dragon* Cill managed to ask. She felt swamped with conflicting emotions. How dare this puny mammal cause her such feelings? Only the fact he had shown her respect and consideration prevented her from shredding the impudent monkey, or so she told herself, as her talons flexed in the fabric of the blanket. "The old stories say they are intelligent and graceful" James responded, "I would certainly enjoy talking to one and hearing about their kind... but I know I'll never meet one" He gave a sad shrug, and took another swig from the flagon, putting it down lightly on the blanket "If I've said anything to upset you. I apologize, I don't intend offense" Cill's eyes half closed as she considered and not thinking, she reached down for a piece of chicken at the same time as James, her paw suddenly covering his hand with her palm, flinching it back she looked at the surprise on his face. The brief leathery caress had been warm and soft, yet not like the touch of any hand he knew, and trying not to tremble he said "Well... That was pleasant... I'm glad you like me enough to touch me ..." He did not tell her that his shaft had suddenly jumped in his breeches and that he was just as shocked as she was. Cill rocked slowly from side to side, the touch had sent a similar shock running through her entire body and she wanted to moan and hide... she didn't know what to do. *I don't know why... But I believe you... and trust you*, she managed to say, trying to keep a tremor out of her mental voice. He had put himself at her mercy, she could kill him with a blow yet he sat there blithely eating his damn chicken and drinking his funny tasting wine. Her paws flexed as if trying to shake the feeling of his touch off them. Her emotions in a mess. *I-I'll be back in a few minutes* she said, standing up slowly, trying to get some space to think. He felt her flee and rubbed his hand, trying to visualize her touch again, he was sure he was close, but just lacking some vital clue as to her form. Cill flung herself into her lair and jammed the door behind her where she let out a roar of confused pain and kicked the walls until they were shredded, hot tears pouring down her snout. Trying to gather her thoughts, she cursed to herself 'How dare he!' She rubbed her paw, remembering the thrilling shock of contact and how it had felt to her, it could not be right. How could she be attracted to a smelly hairless monkey, especially one who would one day go out and kill dragons? She was not going to tell this to her mama that was for sure. She was embarrassed and hurt and... Moreover, she would tell him he had dinner and a pick-nick with a dragon and watch his face...No... She thought, he would go get his friends and hunt me down... then she felt even more foolish. 'No... He wouldn't... and you know it...' she told herself, wiping her eyes with her paw she sniffed, better to drive him off and never see him again, she felt an almost tangible pain at this thought and moaned again, rocking from side to side in confusion. 'Don't let him know... he thinks your something else...' she muttered to herself as her turmoil reached a peak, broadcasting itself in a muted form to James in the field. He wondered why she was so upset, had he really caused her such pain with his words? What had he said? Carlina sat in her own lair, suddenly alert to her daughter's distress, what had happened? She debated briefly with herself, should she intervene and disturb them or should she bide her time? Coming to a decision she touched two of her foreclaws together and vanished, not even Cill could see her if she chose not to let her, swiftly walking to the travel portal and muttering the spell, she transported to the portal outside Cill's lair - it was a short invisible flight to the lake from there. James waited patiently at the lakeside and absently played with his blindfold while he ran their conversation through his mind "So she doesn't like knights" He sighed to himself. 'Maybe she is a fugitive and hiding from the law and is afraid I'll turn her in?' As he took another swig from the flagon there was a large bump nearby, feeling it through the blanket he turned and foolishly tried to see past the blindfold. "Cill?" he blurted without thinking. Cill breathed deeply trying to calm her rampaging emotions as she lay on her bed and wiped her snout. Why did he cause her these feelings in her? He was nice for a human, at least nicer than the humans she had heard tales about. She shuddered to think what her parents would say when they found out. Her eyes widened at the thought of her father if he found she was entertaining notions of mating with a hum... No... She was not thinking that, that was not her. She recalled her gentle touch on his warm hand, how it had made her feel. Her loins gave a quiver and she moaned again, trying to think how to deal with the mess of her emotions and her body's urgent desires. Carlina surveyed the lakeside, taking in the scene and blinking slowly in alarm. Cill was nowhere in sight and there was a scrawny human at the lakeside with his eyes bound up with some sort of cloth. She did not know why, but who knew why humans did things anyway. Then the human turned around and said "Cill?" her eyes flared wide with alarm, how did this one know her daughters name - And so casually? Her eyes flicked swiftly to the basket and the remains of the food and it all came crashing in on her. Her talons flashed and with a dangerous growl, she reached down, scooped the human off the blanket, and pulled him up in front of her snout. *Where is my daughter Human?* she sent the mental probe at him, painful in its intensity. Caught by surprise, James tried not to scream as he felt himself grasped in powerful claws and lifted bodily off the ground by the angry dragoness. He found his arms pinned at his sides so he was unable to remove his blindfold, hot meaty breath washed over him as he heard the demand in his head, struggling to reply, he stammered. "S-she went off... she said she would be back, please..." Carlina hesitated, it would be so easy to rip this ones head off and dispose of the rest but she had never been a casual killer. *Hold still human*, she ordered as he looked down at him. James felt dizzy as he found the last few weeks of his life suddenly replaying in his head. All the way from his first swim in the lake, through his training and the encounters with Cill. He was startled to find how much he remembered about her - this must be what they mean about your life flashing before your eyes just before you die, he thought to himself. Carlina was shocked at what her mental probe showed her, unwittingly and innocently this human had done everything a male drake would have done when courting a dragoness. He had left his scent in her pool, marking her territory; he had given her gold and even fed her from his own paw - hand she corrected herself. There was no malice in him toward her daughter so she loosened her grasp a little and considered her next move. "Who are you?" the plaintive thought came from the human. *I am Cill's mother* the growling reply in his mind rasped *and what are you doing to my hatchling to make her so sad?* "H-hatchling?" stammered James, his mind suddenly making several important connections that shocked him to the core "S-she's a Dragon?" Cill came to a decision in her lair, she would tug his blindfold off and see how he reacted, if he screamed and ran off... so be it... she quivered a little as she thought. "But what if he doesn't run off.. Will he want to touch me?" she switched talons in her mouth and gnawed frantically, unaware of the scene unfolding at the lake. Carlina grinned to herself, he wasn't even aware of that fact? She cancelled the invisibility spell with a wave of her free paw. *Yes Human. My Hatchie is still young and foolish; else, she would never have spoken to you... For you represent the terror of the knights* Reaching up her free paw, she hooked a talon and tugged the blindfold off. James blinked in the bright sunlight and found himself looking up at twin cannons of nostrils. He thought he could even see the little pilot flame at the end, his gaze traveled upwards. Suddenly meeting a pair of angry slit-pupilled purple eyes, it was all too much; he sighed and passed out in her grasp. Carlina humphed and wondered what to do with him, raising her arm as if to hurl him away into the forest, she suddenly felt it stop. There was a swirl of mist nearby and her mate Nokala appeared beside her. The male silver dragon had also been watching with mingled amusement and interest as he held her arm down with his own paw. "Hold dear... Let us not be too hasty", he murmured to her, "Think about what we have found here..." Carlina growled back at him, "He is a knight in training... a killer of dragon-kind!" Nokala nodded, "and one who is fascinated and perhaps even now bonded to our daughter, maybe this will lead to a greater understanding between humans and dragons..." Carlina gestured with the unconscious novice dangling from her paw "He didn't even know she was a dragon until I told him", she growled. "That was because he was looking with his heart instead of his eyes", replied Nokala honestly, the comment cutting his mate to the quick. "He respected her enough not to intrude on what she feared, and that gives me hope... Leave him here while we shall go talk to the council, they will advise on the situation, you have his memories?" Carlina nodded slowly, passing on the jumble of images to her mate who chuckled at the scenes. "Leave him on the blanket... He will recover in time and I think Cill is old enough to make her own decisions about her friends" Carlina reluctantly let James fall onto the blanket, none too gently... as an afterthought she replaced the blindfold around his head once more. *Hurt my daughter human, and we will both come looking for you*. She left the powerful message in his mind... knowing he would hear it when he woke, with a silent flash, both dragons disappeared. Cill made her way down to the lake once more, hesitantly picking her way through the rushes until she could see the blanket, she blinked, something wasn't right! James was lying on his side and not moving. Forgetting her fear and anger, she ran over to the blanket and looked down at him. He was trembling and moaning with his arms wrapped around himself. She stood back a little, not knowing what to do and wringing her paws as he let out a moan and suddenly cried out "I won't hurt her!" Cill came to a decision and wrapped her paws around him, pulling him against her, hugging him to her chest as he sobbed and shook in reaction to the shock he had suffered. His arms slipped around her neck and not even listening to what he was babbling she suddenly felt warm, a rumbling purr started in her throat and she stroked his back until he calmed down, tears leaking from beneath his blindfold. James slowly realized he wasn't in danger and as the soothing purr ran through his body, his hands slowly moved up and down, feeling the warm smooth-scaled hide, the ridge running down her back. They traced lightly along her jaw line and up over her eye ridges. "Cill?" he murmured... *Yes James?* the quiet reply came "You have a scary mama", he murmured with a hint of a nervous chuckle. *You saw and met my mother? Spoke with her? ...and you're still alive?* Cill heard herself ask somewhat incredulously. "Well... I certainly hope I am alive... I like holding you ", James said, not caring what he might say anymore. "I don't think she liked me seeing you much though" Cill felt a giggle well up, *I didn't think she'd come and see... I'm glad she didn't do anything to harm you though* James did not mention he would likely have nightmares of the little pilot light for as long as he lived. "Cill... If I take off my blindfold... will you run away?" he asked quietly, his hands stroking her neck slowly, "Are you scared of me?" Cill wanted to snort and say 'I'm not scared of any human', but she thought a bit before answering, *I didn't want to scare you away, you seem so nice, and I know you won't hurt me now*. A paw came up and gently tugged his blindfold away; he was suddenly looking at a silver-scaled chest and a fairly well padded one at that. He blushed scarlet as he realized her was pressing against her breasts and he did not even realize dragons would have breasts. Tilting his head, he looked up and saw a long tooth-laden jaw. Elegant in its curves with a pair of silvery horns sweeping back from her brow and beneath the ridges a pair of gorgeous green eyes bored into his, waiting to see his reaction. He recognized them instantly from his dreams and smiled at her. "And why would I run from such a beautiful dragoness?" he murmured, his gaze traveling down her form. She certainly was not as large as her mother was, he saw. Still, even with most of her length being tail and her wings most of her width she would still top eight feet easily. Cill felt herself grow warm at his words and she slowly relaxed her grasp, letting him lay back on the blanket. "I need a drink", said James, fumbling for the flagon and taking a long swig "It's been an interesting day" He smiled at Cill as she sat on the blanket beside him, he could not take his eyes off her, he realized. She was magnificent. Cill said nothing, still feeling a little overwhelmed, he could see her clearly, and he had not soiled himself and run off in terror. He had praised and stroked her... and his gaze was intent, as if he was drinking her in... "I know now how my comments would have upset you", he said quietly after taking another swig of wine, "I bet you hate knights with a passion. I certainly got that impression from your mother". Cill sighed and laid her head on her forepaws *They aren't our favorite beings, no*, she replied. *It has only been since we perfected the invisibility spell that we have been safe from them, and even now we have to be careful, not feeding too often, not leaving bodies in plain sight*, he chuckled at that. "Your mother could have swallowed me whole..." he shook his head slowly "I don't know why she didn't... You have no reason to trust me or my kind". He reached out a hand and gently caressed along Cill's jaw. *She had her reasons I'm sure*, replied Cill as she lifted her head to allow the caress *She would have read your mind and seen your intentions*. James felt a flush creep up his face once more, even now, he could feel his own arousal as he looked at her and stroked her slowly, and wondering if that had been what spared him. "Perhaps she wouldn't want to hurt a friend of her daughters?" he murmured, knowing he was being foolish, how could he be anything more than a friend to a Dragoness. Surely she would laugh at him if she had an inkling of the pressure in his breeches and the urges he got near her. "She knows you could deal with me anytime", his hand slid down her neck and she purred again, feeling a delightful jolt run through her body and centering on her sex. "Can I come visit you again?" he asked.. "I'll bring some more goose". Cill's tongue lolled from the side of her mouth as she enjoyed the caress.. *Mm? Oh I think you can visit anytime now,* she purred. "Thank you", grinned James, and leaning over, gave her a kiss on the tip of her snout. *What was that?* she asked, trying not to look cross-eyed down her snout at the man. "It was a kiss, a gesture of affection", he chuckled, "Don't dragons kiss each other?" Cill shook her head slowly, *No, we lick, like this*. James laughed as her long, hot tongue slathered over his face, "Well... that's fun", he said, grinning at her "I'm afraid my tongue isn't like that though... so you'll have to put up with another kiss instead". Cill grinned back *It's a start; you can kiss me again if you want*. James kissed her again and slowly stood up, the sun was sinking, and he felt suddenly exhausted by the day's events. Not to mention sore where he had been grasped firmly around his chest by powerful talons. "I'd better be getting back to the keep... if I'm not back by sundown the doors will be locked and no-one allowed in". He rolled up the blanket and smiled "Please... keep the blanket; I'm sure you have a nice home and it'll go well on your bed" Cill took it gratefully, feeling a little odd all of a sudden at the thought of her human providing things for her lair. *It is pretty bare... I don't have much in it as yet*. James bowed slowly to her "I'll see what I can do milady Cill", he murmured, pleased that she had accepted his gift. "I'll try and get out again in the next couple of days, we don't get much time off though", he sighed, thinking of the next few days training schedule. Cill smiled to at him, * You never did get to have your swim. So I still owe you one*. James smiled up at her "Good, I certainly need one" he said before giving her another kiss on the snout and walking back to his impatient horse, who was looking none too happy. It had seen and smelt the dragons and was looking a little wild around the eyes. It rolled a white-rimmed eye at him and for once did not complain about the saddlebags, settling into a fast trot back towards the keep and its nice safe stables.