Chapter 1

This is an explicit tale featuring a broad spectrum of sexual experiences. If you are at all sensitive please leave now. :)

“Liana, I need fresh tilweed, this stuff is useless. Would you be a sweetheart and get me some more when you’re in the woods next?”

Liana placed the herbalism book back on the shelf and rose from the chair. She was a young woman, her Branching Day was fast approaching where she would be expected to leave her parent’s house and start a home of her own. Typically a girl, or perhaps woman was becoming a more suitable word, would have found a partner by now. She would not be married of course, not while she still lived at home, but her future would be planned. She’d have picked out a plot of land and her husband-to-be would be getting a group together to start the construction of a house. Liana was not typical though. Her spirit was too capricious to even consider the idea of settling down, and to be honest, though she would not tell her mother such a thing, the thought of being with just one man for the rest of her life, was utterly soul-crushing.

She had her pick of suitors of course. She was easily the most beautiful woman in the village, perhaps even the kingdom. Her long dark hair framed a classically pale face set with dark, smouldering eyes that fostered a playful but wicked gleam. She was taller than most of the girls and had the full chest and slim waist that made men stare slack-jawed whenever they got the chance. Today she wore a full, dark skirt and her white bodice laced up tightly across her chest. She knew very well that this look drew even more attention than normal but she enjoyed teasing and well, she figured that it would help weed out the gentlemen from the perverts.

Liana picked up a few tilweed leaves in her hand and rubbed them between her fingers. “You’re right mother, these are no good. I’ll get some more immediately.”

“There’s no hurry darling.” said her mother looking up from the table where she was crushing seeds with a pestle and mortar. Anytime in the next few days is fine.”

“Oh no, it’s no trouble.”

Liana opened the front door of the one storey wooden house and stepped out into another glorious summer day. The midday sun had burned away the clouds leaving a clear blue sky and the warmth felt good on her skin. The trip to the forest was quite an undertaking, it was almost two hours walk each way and finding decent tilweed could take another hour or two. Liana was not daunted, far from it, she was excited, already tingles rose from her stomach at the thought of what, aside from picking tilweed, she was going to do when she got there.

“Morning Liana,” said Eldon, the farrier’s son. He was carrying a crate on one shoulder.

“Good morning Eldon,” replied Liana smiling. She cast a look around the village. It was made up of around fifty small wooden houses, an inn, a few communal buildings and several outlying farms. It had been the only place she’d ever know and she loved it, but by the gods, it was boring. Nothing ever happened, the people were nice, they seemed to love the predictability and safety that such as life afforded, but if you didn’t fancy working with plants, animals, metal stone or wood, your options in life were zero.

“You got anything planned for today?” asked Eldon

“I’m going to get tilweed for mother, I’ll be gone most of the day.”

“Fancy some company?” asked Eldon, hefting the crate onto the other shoulder.

“No thank you. It’s kind of your to offer but I prefer to walk alone.”

“No problem. Will you be at the Sheaf tonight? I hear they’ve some crackin’ mead in from the city.”

“That sounds good. Perhaps I’ll see you there.”

“Alright, go careful now.”

Liana smiled. After Eldon had disappeared she returned inside for a moment to get her bag, a simple cloth affair with a water bottle and various jars for herb collection, slung it over her shoulder and took the northern track leading out of the town. As she settled into an easy pace, her mind once more turned to what was waiting in the woods and her stomach did a small somersault in anticipation.

Liana had been walking for over two hours now and had just left the main trail to head into the forest. The sunlight still broke through the trees but the leafy canopy caused it to be dappled and tinged with green. It was still wild and dangerous out here if you didn’t know what you were doing but Liana had spent countless hours out here with her mother and father, collecting herbs and getting familiar with the ways of the woods. Few people came out this far, there was little need - they had everything they needed within a few miles of the village. She stopped by a small, tumbling stream and stooped to refill her water bottle. As she did so she heard a rustle and the snap of a twig. Spinning around she staggered backwards, dropped her water bottle and almost fell into the stream. Emerging from the dense undergrowth was a great beast - four powerful legs supported a great horse-like body coated in shining black fur but where it’s head should have been was a man’s torso. The centaur’s scared face was locked in a hungry snarl and it’s thick muscled arms held a pair of short, brutal looking axes. Long tangled brown hair hung down its back and as it spat out some cruel words in its hissing tongue, it reared up on its hind legs, clawing the air with its hooves.

Liana couldn’t step back, the opposite side of the bank was too steep, she’d be trapped, but she couldn’t go forwards. To her left she could make out a low limbed tree, perhaps if she could get to that she could climb up and be safe, at least for a while. She made a break for it but the beast was upon her, it had dropped one of its axes and with a huge, calloused hand grabbed her hair and yanked her backwards.

She turned her head to regards the creature who was looming several feet over her. “Okay, Kurn, you got me again.”

The centaur looked down at her, it’s hideous expression replaced with a wry smile. “You’re so easy to track. Have you considered taking a little more care when moving about the forest?”

Liana smoothed her hair back into place and picked up her water bottle.”

“If I took more care,” she said “then you might not have found me and then where would I be? Alone in the woods looking for tilweed and that doesn’t sound much fun, does it?”

The centaur rubbed his hands over his face dislodging the clumps of dark mud he’s smeared there, revealing a strong, broad face with deep-set, jade eyes.

“No, indeed it does not.” He reached down and ran the back of his hand over her cheek. “It’s been a long time since you last visited me. I thought perhaps you’d grown tired of me.”

Liana laid her palm on the heavily muscled flank, slowly walking around Kurn as though she was inspecting a new stud animal for her father’s farm.

“Oh no, I could never get bored of you. Things have been a little difficult of recent.” she pulled a few of the brambles from Kurn’s hair, they had done their job - indeed, he’d looked terrifying - if she hadn’t known better she might have passed out the spot when he came bursting out of the brush. “Mother and father want me to find a man, settle down and have children. They say that all the time I spend alone makes men suspicious. Apparently, some of them think I’m a witch.”