Part 4

The sunlight piercing the trees struck Harlen in the eyes, and brought him to wakefulness quickly. Hyandai was still asleep, which, he thought, was just as well. His manhood was swollen in his sleep, and pressed between her thighs. He gently tried to pull loose, and he felt the muscles of her thighs tighten on his handle. "Leaving me so soon?" She said with a tone of accusation.

He could not speak, so stunned was he. Finally he said. "You're awake?"

She half turned to him and smiled. "I have been awake almost half an hour." She said. Her hand crept between her legs and the tips of her fingers stroked the glans of his penis. "As has your soldier, here." The feeling of her fingers almost made him twitch into an orgasm, but he controlled himself.

Harlen murmured. "Would have been nicer to have invited both of us over."

Her fingers caressed the shaft under the head. "It was his idea, he would not be told no." She said, her voice noticeably deeper in tone to her norm.

He noted that he was no longer trying to pry himself loose, and pushed back to her. Using his arms about her to pull her tight to him. She moaned as his shaft slid over her opening.

'Even through two layers of cloth, ' Harlen thought, 'she is so responsive.'

Her hand left the head and shaft of his swollen pole and slid over her hip to his belt buckle. It worked clumsily behind her own back and finally unfastened it. Harlen pulled back a bit, and she pushed his pants down a bit, letting his manhood spring free. He then pushed back to her, feeling the ultimate softness of her thighs on the sides of his organ, and the wetness of her... she was not wearing her loincloth! What he felt was her opening, sliding slickly over the top surface of his throbbing member.

Her juices were flowing quite freely, from what he could feel, and as he slid forward, she gave a soft gasp, then moaned, clenching her thighs together. He pulled back, exhilarating in the intimacy of the contact. When he pushed forward again, the swollen glans of his penis tried to part her labia. She pulled forward, gasping. "No. We cannot do that yet." She said. "As much as I wish it, we must wait a few more days."

Harlen, without any fuss, pulled back again, and lifted his trousers. "We probably shouldn't rush you, then." He said. "I can't guarantee I won't try if we're that close."

Hyandai rolled over and kissed his cheek. "I understand." She said. "But it was fun for that moment." She smiled widely. She pushed his shoulder and forced him to his back. She leaned up, then, onto her arm, so that she was surveying his person.

Her hand touched his chest, and started tracing a line down it. The fingers slid over his stomach, then his pelvis, eventually, they found and enwrapped his erect member. Harlen felt his pants being lowered again. And laid back with his eyes closed. If she wished to stroke him again, he would never think of stopping her. Her hand felt cool on his pole, and the breeze was even more cooling. Then, suddenly, he felt warmth engulf the glans, warmth and wet. His eyes popped open to see Hyandai's mouth stretched wide and taking him into her. His head fell back as he groaned deep in his chest.

Her sharp little teeth scraped his flesh and her warm lips held him. He could feel her tiny tongue flicking over the glans, and under it. Then she slowly started to take more of him into her mouth, inch after inch, until just over half of his organ was gone. He looked down again, and saw her eyes watching over her head, and at him. She started to move up and down, slowly, and gently. Her hand went to his scrotum and played gently with his testicles. When next he looked, she was watching his face. He moved one hand to her cheek and caressed it. She smiled with her eyes, then grabbed his hand with her massaging hand, leaving his stones unturned. He felt his release building, starting at his balls, and working its way up his organ.

"Hyandai." He said, struggling to even produce understandable noise. "You must stop if you do not wish me to spend within you." His voice was now strained, he was fighting his orgasm to hold it back until she had time to stop.

However, she seemed to have differing plans. She started moving her head faster, and the sensation of suction increased. She began to moan as his hips bucked and he started to climax. Pulse after pulse of semen shot out, he felt, yet she did not seem to slow at all.

Finally, spent, he laid back, and looked down. Her throat was working furiously, swallowing what he had just put within her mouth. She looked up, lifting her mouth from his now drooping tool. She smiled. "I hope you did not mind that." She said. "I wanted to see what the fuss about that act was."

Harlen stroked her hair. "What fuss would that be?" He asked. Suddenly feeling very worn out.

"They say that doing that will make a man do anything you wish." She said, smiling at him.

"I can see why." Harlen replied, still stroking her hair. "It was marvelous."

She giggled. "So, I did it rightly then?"

Harlen shrugged. "It felt wonderful, so I would say yes. You did." He looked down at her. "Did it not bother you to eat my seed, though?"

She pulled his pants up and fastened his belt. "Not really, no." She said. "Though, I will admit that it was not the most pleasant tasting thing I have eaten." Then she looked at him. "Nor the worst." She sat up and caressed his chest. "I did it to please you, not my tongue." She concluded, nodding.

Harlen sat up as well, and kissed her. "Then you did it perfectly, for I am totally pleased." She kept her mouth shut for the kiss, causing him to pull back and regard her with curiosity.

"Kissing me for a few moments would be a bad idea, unless you wish to taste of yourself." She explained, smiling brightly.

He shrugged again. "If you can force yourself to do it..." He let the sentence fall off and kissed her soundly, she opened to him this time, and her mouth once again filled with his tongue. After a few moments, he stopped and regarded her. "I didn't taste anything but your own taste, of cinnamon." He said.

She giggled. "Then you are fortunate." She said. "As I said, it is not the most appealing of tastes." Then she hugged herself to him. "But, I will do it when you like, until my body is whole again."

Harlen stroked her hair again, and put his other hand on her back. "Hardly seems fair." He said absently. "For you to serve me thus, and I cannot please you as well."

Hyandai looked at him with her head slightly tilted. "Can you not? You pleased me quite adequately last night." She said. "I have no complaint on that count." She stood up, and started putting her loincloth back into her skirt. Harlen made no effort to look away, in fact he watched her with fascination. Her pubic mound was indeed hairless, and very smooth. The barest of clefts separated the two halves of her groin. Then below, the thin folds of her labia protruded very slightly. She noticed his stare. "Fear not, you shall get ample opportunity to look at my body." She said, smiling gently as she tugged the loincloth into place.

He blinked a couple of times, then stood up. The morning was clear and very bright, as if the rain yesterday had cleaned the air and made it more transparent to the sun. The couple gathered up their goods and began to trek northward again. As they walked, Harlen, as usual, kept up a pattern of scanning around them, and seldom spoke. She simply walked alongside him and kept her words until opportune times. After two hours, they rested, sitting beside a small brook, and drinking.

Hyandai looked up from the water. "How do you think your people will react to me?" She asked, looking at him through his reflection in the water.

Chuckling, the hunter said. "Very likely, they will be fascinated with you." He looked at her reflection, too. "Remember, they've not seen an elf in nigh fifty years."

She nodded. "I hope the reaction is so positive." She said, touching his reflection in the water and tracing his outline. Tiny ripples spread from her fingers, causing him to waver, like a mirage.

He hefted his heavy pack. "We shall see in about two hours more." Harlen pronounced. "I'm sorry for pushing you so hard yesterday, but it did get us most of the way." His face took on a apologetic look.

She stood and kissed his cheek. "We will speak no more of it." She pronounced, and left him smelling the cinnamon scent lingering in the air as she stepped away.

The forest was rich with sounds as they walked through it, and the floor springy beneath their feet. Soon, they passed a small farmstead, one of many around Morrovale. As they walked down its fence row, Hyandai saw a group of three children playing in the yard beside the main house. They looked to be between three and six years of age. She stopped and watched them play. There were two little girls and a boy. The boy was the middle child, probably about five. The kids caught sight of the travelers and ran toward them, screaming happily.

As they drew close, they started saying "Harlen! Harlen!" And they stopped at the low stone wall at the edge of the lawn, jumping up and down. Harlen laughed and stopped beside Hyandai.

"Hello there, children, is the household well?" He asked.

The kids nodded in unison, causing Hyandai to giggle. This drew the kids' collective attention, and the eldest girl gasped. "You're an elf!" She said, smiling and her eyes went wide. "You're an elf-girl!"

Hyandai said, "Cormamin lindua ele lle." And bowed to the kids. The eldest girl giggled at that and bowed back. The other two simply stood an gawked. She said. "It means 'My heart sings to see you.'."

The boy asked. "Harlen, is she your wife?" He was awestruck. "She's very pretty."

Uncomfortably, Harlen said. "No, she's a friend."

Hyandai leaned over the low wall and beckoned to the boy with a finger. He got closer, and she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "And you are very handsome, young man." She said, her face serious, but smiling.

The boy covered his cheek and blushed almost purple, then dashed toward the house screaming gleefully that an elf-girl had kissed him. Hyandai and the eldest girl giggled at him. "He's a silly boy." Said the girl.

Hyandai nodded agreement. "All boys are silly." She said. "But they are sometimes cute."

Three small cloth-wrapped bundles appeared in Harlen's hand, and he handed them to the oldest. "Here, share with your brother and sister, now." He said, and the girl took them and immediately gave one to her sister.

She unwrapped hers and it seemed to be some sort of sweet roll. They started eating them happily calling, "Darvid." Then the girl said. "Thank you Harlen." Then sped off toward the house.

He watched Hyandai's eyes follow the children and watched them sparkle as she did so. "You like children?" Harlen asked as they resumed walking.

"Oh, my, yes." She said, looking at him curiously. "Does not everyone?"

Harlen nodded. "Pretty much, I suppose." He said. "But you looked almost like you wanted to run off with them."

The elf-maiden blushed a bit. "I did." She said. "Children are such a blessing. We have few in our village at any one time. The bane of a long-lived race." They had entered a large orchard, the trees planted in regimented rows. They were pecan trees and not yet ripened. The two walked along at a brisk pace through them.

Finally, they came to a unpaved road, just two ruts in the ground, half muddy, but with a well-beaten foot-path alongside. They followed this road. "Just a bit farther, Hyandai." Harlen said.

They were walking past several small cottages of the half-timbered design that seemed to be favored by the people of this land. No one seemed about, and Harlen said. "It is the day of the Market, so they're probably all in town."

Hyandai asked. "Market day?" She looked at him. "A special day?"

He shrugged. "Sort of, I guess." He said. "We have it every week on this day."

She smiled. "Will we be going to market?"

"Yes, after we go by my home." He replied, then a moment later, pointed off the road at a small house set back among some trees. "And we're there."

She gasped and looked down the foot path. The grass in front was tall and lush, and the trees around it thick and heavy. "It is lovely." She said. She examined the house, another half-timbered home, slightly larger than most, smaller than some. He opened the gate and they proceeded down the path.

He came to the front door and opened it. There was no lock. A boy was dozing on a bench inside the door. He looked to be about twelve to Hyandai. When they came in he came to wakefulness quickly. "Wha. Huh? I'm awake." He said.

Harlen laughed. "Hyandai, this is Trevir, he's my groundskeeper." He said, holding a hand out to indicate the blinking youth. "One day, I'll teach him to hunt, but until then he sleeps and runs errands for me, and now for you, too."

Trevir looked at him, then at his companion, then his eyes went wide. "Harlen, she's an elf." He stammered out. Then he looked at her more, and said. "Gor, but she's pretty." Smiling and gawking quite unabashedly.

Hyandai blushed at this. "Thank you, Trevir. I am Hyandai, and I am pleased to meet you." She bowed low, and winked at him. She followed her elven tradition by saying. "You look to be a strong and smart boy." She said.

Trevir gawked a moment more then said. "Wow." Then sat back down.

"You can go home early today, Trevir." Harlen said. "Just after you fetch me the perishables from the market." He added, and gave the boy a small number of coins.

Trevir absently took the coins, still staring at Hyandai. "Sure, Harlen." He said. "The usual?"

Harlen nodded, then said, "Yes, and please get a variety of fruits, also."

The boy looked at Harlen a moment, then locked back onto Hyandai. "Fruit, right." He said and started for the door, walking slowly, and backwards.

Hyandai simply stood with her hands behind her back and her feet together, and smiled at the boy.

"The fruit is for her, Trev. Don't forget it." The hunter said to him.

He blinked. "No sir! I won't then!" He turned and with one last glance at Hyandai, bolted out the door."

"Well, now you shall not be a great surprise to everyone in town." Harlen said, grinning.

Hyandai looked at him curiously. "Why is that?"

He chuckled. "Because they are being informed even now by the unofficial town crier." He pointed out the door toward where Trevir had left the door ajar in his haste.

She giggled. "I see." She said. "Perhaps you should have made for me a cloak." She said, nodding seriously.

"Well, let me show you around the house." Harlen said, waving her in past the entryway. They entered a large room that took up over half of the ground floor. "This is the common room." He said, waving his hand expansively. There was comfortable, but very functional-looking furniture in here, a couch and two rocking chairs, along with a long table and chairs about it. A small kitchen led off to the right. To the left was another small room, with a closed door. A stair led up and down to their immediate left. Harlen pointed to the closed door. "Tanning room." He said. He pointed to the downward stairs. "Root cellar." Then up the stairs. "Bedrooms." Then he led her to a door on the far side of the large room. Opening it he said. "And the grand finale, the bath room." He waved at a massive wooden tub set over a low, squat fireplace. "My pride and joy." He said, beaming at it.