Queen of the Forest Ch. 01

"Ayenna is glad," she said simply, and they walked in silence for a while longer. "Does Kynna find Ayenna attractive?"

He stopped and looked at her seriously. She gazed back, her heart in her gorgeous green eyes. "Of all the beauty in this forest, Ayenna's is by far the greatest."

Ayenna flashed him a smile of pure joy, and then she stepped close and kissed him again. It started out slow and gentle, but that didn't last for long. Soon she was pressing her entire body against his own and kissing him with a passion to which he responded in kind. He looped his arms around her waist. She had one hand on the back of his neck, and the other laid on his bare, muscled chest. Slowly, unconsciously, his hands moved towards her butt. First they ran down, feeling those two perfect mounds through the furs, and then he slipped them under her skirt and gently squeezed the Queen's soft flesh. She moaned quietly against his lips and kissed him even more fiercely, periodically pausing for short intervals to speak breathlessly, "Ayenna is... Very wet... Kyna... Makes Ayenna... So horny!"

Kyna could feel his own arousal growing with each passing moment, literally. His lips moved along her jaw, and he began to kiss her neck, just below her ear. "I want to fuck you," He whispered. Filled with lust as he was, the words came naturally from his lips.

She moaned again, as if the mere thought of it caused her pleasure. "Mmm, Ayenna wants to be fucked by Kyna, but... Can't..." The last word came out quietly, reluctantly. She gently pushed him away. "Ayenna and Kyna should return now." When she saw his erect member, she quickly turned away. Kyn could not know that it was taking all of her self control to resist giving into temptation. He was disappointed, frustrated even, but she took her people's traditions seriously, and he admired her for that too. He would not want to be responsible for her breaking those traditions. He realized that she was already heading back to the clearing, and he quickly followed. He did not particularly like the idea of remaining in the forest all alone, naked and unarmed.

"Is it just the Queen who cannot... You know... Be with men?" As his lust slowly drained away, his usual awkwardness with all things sex-related began to return.

"Why?" She suddenly sounded angry, for some reason. "Does Kyna want to fuck Ayenna's sisters?"

"No!" He said quickly. "I was just curious..."

"Oh. Ayenna is sorry. Ayenna was jealous." Her tone had softened again. She answered his question, "No. Warriors are also forbidden to mate. Warriors understand this when Warriors choose to become Warriors. Warriors take their pleasure from other women, like Ayenna must do until she chooses a mate."

"Ah," he said simply. Kyn thought he was beginning to understand. He had heard about lesbians in his own land, but they were uncommon, and it was generally frowned upon. Though, judging by the way even the warriors stared at him, they were not actually lesbians, but bisexual. Intercourse with males was just forbidden.

They had returned to the clearing and were now walking past the animal pens and tents once again. "Not-Warriors are free to mate with slaves." She continued. "Except one slave in each village. One slave in each village is kept until Queen chooses a mate. Queen's mate must be virgin."

"You have other villages?" He was a little surprised by that, though when he thought about it he realized that it had been silly to assume that this was the only village in the forest.

"Yes. Nine in total. This is biggest one."

"And when will you choose your mate?" He blurted the question. He found he was also jealous, both of the women she had been taking pleasure from, and of the men from which she would select her mate.

"Ayenna is ready. Ayenna will tell Ayenna's sisters to prepare for the ceremony. But first, Ayenna wants pleasure. Kyna made Ayenna horny, and after Ayenna announces she is ready Ayenna will have no pleasure for seven days, when Ayenna will choose a mate."

"So the ceremony will be in seven days?" The thought of Ayenna choosing a mate made him feel physically ill.

"Yes. Ayenna will see little of Kyna before the ceremony. Ayenna is sorry." He nodded stiffly. They were approaching the palace now. Ayenna paused at the entrance to speak to one of the guards, who Kyn recognized as the young Rana. "Rana will give Queen Ayenna pleasure. Come." The young woman nodded, eagerly it seemed, and then followed Ayenna inside.

Kyn turned and kicked at an unoffending rock with his bare foot. It didn't help much, but the pain gave him something else to think about as he wandered aimlessly through the village. As the day wore on, he invented ever more ridiculous plans to escape. He suspected that someone would stop him if he tried to just walk out of the village. Even if he did escape to the forest, he had no clothes, no weapons, and no horse. Even were he mounted, it would take around five days to reach either border. As night descended he gave up on an impossible plan to disguise himself as a warrior woman and headed to his small room in the palace, where he found food waiting for him. He ate, then wrapped himself in the furs and went to sleep.

Kyn felt better when he awoke the next morning. Breakfast was more or less the same as the previous day, except the water seemed to have been flavoured with something different, and the meat seemed to have come from a different animal. It wasn't a whole lot of variety, but it was better than eating the same meal over and over.

His mood was soured somewhat when he emerged from his room to find Rana waiting for him. He felt another surge of jealousy, more powerful than before since this time he had a pretty, young face to direct it at.

"Queen Ayenna has instructed Rana to guide Kyna, and to answer any questions Kyna might have."

"That isn't necessary," he growled.

He tried to step around her, but she barred his way. "Rana will accompany Kyna wherever Kyna goes." She used that same commanding tone that her Queen occasionally used. The one that instantly told him that arguing would be a waste of time.

"Fine."

"Where would Kyna like to go?"

"Nowhere."

"Kyna would prefer to stay here?"

"No."

"Kyna is being childish," she said reproachfully.

"So?" He knew she was right, but he didn't care.

"Would Kyna like to spar?"

He was just opening his mouth to say "No" again when he changed his mind. "That's a marvelous idea," he said enthusiastically. Maybe giving her a thrashing on the practice field would make him feel better.

The corner of her mouth curled upwards, and she turned and led the way down the corridor.

They exited through a side entrance and, after a minute or two of walking, arrived at a fair-sized training ground. There was a structure that looked something like a barracks on one side, and the field itself was divided by simple wooden fences. There were just as many children here as there were grown women, some practicing archery, and others pairing off against each other. The youngest of them were hitting each other with sticks, but most of them used real weapons with startling proficiency.

"What is Kyna's weapon of choice?" She asked him.

"A sword." There was a certain amount of hostility in his voice. She looked amused by his answer, but said nothing. She wandered off, then returned a few moments later with a sword, which she handed to him. He hefted it, then swung it experimentally a couple of times. It had a nice weight to it, and it was well balanced.

Rana selected an empty practice ring and leapt over the fence. He joined her, and they stood a few paces apart, facing each other. She gripped a spear in both of her hands. Kyn judged the weapon to be about the same height as Rana herself. It may have a good range, he thought, but it looks like a pretty clumsy weapon. He soon found out how wrong he was.

His first charge was disastrous. He had assumed that, because of her age, she would be an easy opponent. He had been wrong about that too. She kept him at a distance, jabbing the spear at him and forcing him to defend himself. He found it difficult to guard against her attacks with only a sword, and when he side-stepped a thrust she would quickly deliver a blow with the shaft of the weapon. No matter what he tried, he could not get close enough to counter-attack. He even hacked at the spear in an attempt to shatter it, but the wood was resilient and flexible.

He was growing increasingly frustrated. His sword was near useless against her skill with a spear so, the next time she thrust at him, rather than dodging to one side as she had expected, he caught the shaft of the spear in his hand and pulled it from her grip. He was more startled by his sudden victory then she had been by the loss of her weapon though, and she quickly closed the distance between them and delivered a solid kick to his torso before he could react. He doubled over, relaxing his grip on both the sword and the spear as he tried to recover the breath which had been knocked from him.

A small group of spectators had gathered. When he finally caught his breath he approached a young girl who was leaning on the fence to watch the fight and asked if he could borrow her spear. She nodded and handed it over to him. It was a little shorter than Rana's, but he figured it might even the odds a little.

The fight resumed. He wielded the spear clumsily at first, but he felt he was getting the hang of it pretty quickly. Soon they were feinting, parrying and trading blows even more ferociously than before, and the crowd of spectators grew steadily larger.

They fought for the most of the morning. Every time he thought he had gained a victory over her, she immediately knocked him off his feet or disarmed him. He began to suspect that she was holding back most of the time. Finally, when she held the point of her spear to his throat, he yielded. After thanking the young girl and returning her spear, he set off towards the central structure which, in his head, he referred to as the palace.

Rana caught up with him. "Is Kyn still mad at Rana?"

He thought about that for a moment. "No," he admitted. The fight seemed to have cleared his mind, which might have been why she had suggested sparring in the first place, he realized. "I apologize for my earlier behaviour."

She smiled at him. "Rana accepts Kyna's apology."

"Are there are any baths here?" His muscles ached, and he was covered in sweat and dust.

She laughed. "Does Rana smell like Rana never bathes?" She looked down at herself, then laughed some more. She was as sweaty and dusty as he was. "Forget Rana said that. Come. There is a lake nearby. The sun warms the water there, so it is good place for bathing."

She led Kyn back into the forest a ways, and they came to the shore of a large lake. The huge trees still cluttered the shore, but the sun was in a position where it reached the water there, for the sky above the lake was open. There were other women already bathing there, and they all stared curiously at Kyn as he waded out into the warm water. He was slowly growing accustomed to the constant ogling, but he was still greatly embarassed by their nudity, and he avoided looking directly at any of them. He heard splashing behind him, and he knew that Rana was following. He ducked beneath the water as soon as it was deep enough, then swam out until he was a fair distance away from the others and felt he had some small amount of privacy. All of a sudden, Rana's head popped out of the water nearby, and that privacy was shattered. He glared at her.

"Rana was told to watch over Kyna," she explained calmly.

"I know but... Can't you watch over me from there?" He gestured at the area where the other women were bathing.

"Why? Are Kyna and Rana not friends?"

"I wouldn't quite go that far..."

"Is Rana's company unpleasant?"

"No, I guess not. It's just that... You're naked."

"Kyna is very observant," she said sarcastically.

He struggled to explain it to her. "Where I come from, men and women aren't naked together..."

She laughed. "How silly!" Then she proceeded to wash her hair more thoroughly.

When they were both finished bathing, they returned to the shore. As they passed the other women again, Kyn couldn't help but notice that some were now doing more than just bathing. He felt his face heating. He waited on the shore while Rana carefully washed her clothes, staring at the trees the whole time. He was relieved when she finally finished and they headed back into the village.

They ate lunch together, then passed the afternoon touring the forge and tannery, which were both set apart from the main village so as to not disrupt day to day life. Obviously, they were both run by women. Rana told him that the men were only given simple jobs when they weren't being used for breeding. All in all, Kyn found the afternoon quite interesting, and by the end of the day he felt he had actually become friends with Rana.

For the next six days, Kyn spent most of his time with Rana. The whole village was abuzz with the news that Queen Ayenna was ready to choose a mate. He frequently heard women talking about the candidates, comparing the sizes of various parts of their anatomy, or talking excitedly about how they would get the chance to mate with the ones which Ayenna didn't pick. It seemed that after the Queen had selected her mate, the rest of the candidates were given to the women who had yet to bear a child, and a mass orgy took place. The whole thing made Kyn quite sick, not because he disapproved, but because he could not bear the thought of Ayenna having a mate.

The bouts kept his mind occupied though. Each day he and Rana would face each other on the practice field. She began to teach him the finer points of wielding a spear, and he found that he actually preferred it over a sword. His skill advanced rapidly, and the spear became his new weapon of choice. Their practice bouts often drew huge crowds, and he was frequently compared to a Rlramwa, though he still had not found out exactly what one of those was. It seemed to be a compliment of some kind though.

Once, even Ayenna came to watch them fight. It was the first time he had seen her, and it was a painful reminder of why his heart ached for her.

After their bouts, Rana had asked, "Kyna loves Queen Ayenna very much, yes?"

He had scoffed at that, but it had given him a lot to think about. He had only spent a short time with her, and though he was extremely attracted to her, his feelings for her went quite a bit beyond lust. Perhaps it was just an obsession born from the fact that he could never be with her, but she was never far from his mind. Everything from her blunt honesty to her stunning beauty. Her accent and her laugh. Her smile... Oh, her smile...

And so it was that on the morning of the seventh day he refused to get out of bed. He could just sleep until it had all passed, and he could finally get over his ridiculous infatuation he had for a Queen, of all people. Granted, not a Queen of any 'civilized' country. No, a Queen far more dignified and civilized than any of them would ever be, he thought bitterly, and she was not beneath ordinary tasks. She was very much one of her people.

It was already long past midday when Rana barged in, tore the furs back, and splashed freezing cold water on him. "Go away," he grumbled.

"Does Kyna know what day it is?"

"Yes, which is precisely why I'm staying in bed."

"Kyna is not staying in bed. Kyna will present himself to the Queen."

"And why would I do that?" He rolled over and covered himself with the furs again.

"Because Kyna is a possible mate. Rana thought Kyna was more intelligent than slave-men. Get up."

He untangled himself from the furs and climbed to his feet. "Okay, okay. I'm up. I don't see what good it's going to do though."

"Does Kyna wish Rana to help him shave?"

He blinked at her. "Shave?"

"Yes, shave." She pointed at his beard, which he had not shaved in at least ten days. "Kyna cannot present himself to the Queen like that." She held up a bowl of water, presumably the water she had splashed him with, and another bowl containing some kind of pale paste.

"No, I'm quite capable of shaving myself, thank you."

He rubbed some of the paste into his beard, and she then offered him her dagger. He found it was rather more difficult than using a razor for some reason. Perhaps due to the larger size and weight. After he nicked himself a couple of times, Rana took the dagger from him.

"Kyna will slice Kyna's face off like that," she said, and proceeded to shave him. Then, when his face was completely smooth, she took some of the paste and began to rub it around his crotch. He leapt away from her hand, and she rolled her eyes. "Kyna is being silly. Kyna must be shaved there too. It would be a shame if something were accidentally removed, so Rana will do it. Come here." He sighed rather loudly but did as instructed, and she carefully shaved him there too.

Rana cleaned her dagger and had Kyna wash off the remaining paste before they left the room. Kyn found that he felt even more naked now. He grumbled some more on the way out, and even more as Rana led him down the corridor. They did not go directly to the throne room, but instead circled around until they were in the main corridor. They were not the only ones there, however. Nine tall males formed a line, each accompanied by a warrior. Kyna fell in behind them with Rana at his side.

The full implications of what was happening were just beginning to dawn on him. Would Ayenna choose him? He had not considered that possibility until now. Did he want Ayenna to choose him?

Yes...

Almost as if they had been waiting for him, the ceremony began. It was a simple enough ceremony. No blazing trumpets. No festive decorations. No long, boring speeches. The tall slave at the front of the line was simply led into the throne room by the warrior who accompanied him, he faced the throne, introduced himself, then stepped off to one side. Some of the other slaves said a few words after introducing themselves, but Kyn wasn't paying attention. It was almost his turn to present himself before the Queen. His heart was hammering against his chest, his mouth was suddenly dry, and he felt more than a little dizzy.

"Know that Rana thinks of Kyna as a sister, not a slave." The woman at his side whispered to him.

He couldn't quite get his voice to work, so he nodded at her in reply. He understood, at least partially, the meaning behind her words, and he was touched.

Suddenly her hand was pressing against his back, "Come. It is time."

He took a deep breath and stepped beyond the fur door into the throne room. There were fully twice as many warriors lining the room than was usual, and on top of that, he estimated that there were approximately eighty of the women who had not yet bore a child, yet they all fit easily into the gigantic dome. As always when he entered the room, he was mesmerized for a moment by that strange, dancing green light...

...Then he laid eyes upon the Queen, and all else fled his mind. She was seated regally upon the throne, her circlet atop her deep red hair. She was dressed in white leather and white furs, and Kyn found the similarity to a bride's wedding gown oddly appropriate.

She was smiling at him.

He approached the throne and dropped to one knee. Placing his hand on his chest he said simply, "Kyna will gladly serve Queen Ayenna." It was far from being the most eloquent speech, but it was honest.

She gazed at him, and even while she looked directly into his eyes she announced, "Kyna will be Queen Ayenna's mate. These slaves," she gestured at the other nine men, "Queen Ayenna gifts to Queen Ayenna's sisters."