Jori - A Fairy Tale of Sorts Ch. 04

Jori Part 4 – Liberation

A Fairy Tale of Sorts

Author's note: This is part 4 of a 4-part story arc. Please read the previous parts first. As always, character development is important to me so most of my stories start slowly. All characters, mythical and otherwise, are over eighteen.

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Jori was as stunned as Angelique was, in the very vivid shared memory.

She was pregnant with Roul's child – or children. Just one good fucking and she was pregnant. Well, one great fucking, but he did only cum once, even if it was for fifteen minutes.

Slowly, Jori's vision clouded over and he returned to the here-and-now of the old woman's hut. It took a few minutes for his senses to adjust back to his present reality, but when they did, he was back to sitting in front of the fireplace, the remains of their light meal still on the tray, and her still naked – because he had asked to stay that way. He turned to her in astonishment.

"So you see, my Jori," she said gently, "my life became inextricably interwoven with the Clan. I became Roul's companion and bore his heirs. Four, in fact. Two sets of twins. I raised them with the help of the Clan until they were adolescents and ready to take their places among the young adults. My oldest, Nicolas, was groomed to be Alpha Male someday. The vision the shaman had about my being good for the clan appeared to refer to his psychic abilities, which manifested about the time he hit puberty. The same was true for his twin sister, Alison. She, too, exhibited prophetic abilities and at about the same time."

"My other twins were Guilbert and Liliane, brother and sister, born about four years after Nicolas and Alison. They, too, had abilities inherited from me. And I loved them just as much as their siblings."

"Somehow, my being pregnant with and birthing them caused a change in me. Perhaps through the sharing of blood while they were in utero. I don't know. What I do know is that I seemed to stop aging. And I suppose I took on some of their amazing animalistic qualities – I think others thought I became more beautiful. I know that I became more attractive to both the men and women of the tribe and that I was not only accepted and welcomed into the tribe, I became a beloved part of it – Roul's partner and a de facto leader of the Clan. La Belle Dame des Loups. The Fair Lady of the Wolves."

"In time, that very attraction began to cause complications for me. The story of Marthe des Loups began to spread, beyond the forest, to the human habitations slowly crawling out from under the desolation of the dragon. Myths and legends arose, some concerning my abilities as a Seer; some concerning my ability to heal; some concerning the great fortune that possessing me would bring. Many men, and not a few women, sought me out in the forest, for different purposes. I did not want Roul to kill them, or have them killed, so I sought to avoid them."

"Every once in a while, one would stumble upon me and usually fall in lust. They would become obsessed with possessing me. I would have to discard them, break their hearts as it were, and escape into the forest before anything got worse. When some organized groups of hunters came after me, I allowed Roul and the others to defend me as needed. There was usually one survivor sent back to the village with a stern warning about what would happen to further pursuers."

"I had all but forgotten about the world of Men, except for the rude intrusions into my life. The Clan was my be-all and end-all. I gave them my absolute loyalty and they gave me theirs. And that is what led to my current predicament. To an extent, I suppose you could say I had them beguiled – under a spell or enchantment, although it was not intentional."

"I don't know if you know Abnoba, Jori. She is the Gaelic Goddess of the Hunt, the guardian of the rivers and forests. She is the goddess to whom the Clan holds allegiance. It is to her that they look for guidance. It was she that pointed them in my direction. Considering that, she's also a bit of a fickle bitch."

"Like any god or goddess, she craves attention, and she was used to getting it from the Clan. Every pup grew up knowing who she was and what her earthly avatar looked like. They were taught to venerate her and to treat her with reverence and awe. I missed out on that training."

"So when I was out walking with Guilbert and Liliane, my younger son and daughter, along with several of their single friends, and was approached by a tall woman in a dark green cloak with flaming red hair peeking out from the hood, and a bow and quiver slung over her shoulder, my children and their friends stepped forward to put themselves between me and her, intending to protect me. That turned out to be a mistake."

"The woman was Abnoba in her human avatar form and she was very displeased that the shapeshifters would move to protect me rather than prostate themselves at her feet in fealty. I believe her exact words were, you must be the Seer. How cute. I suppose you think your great beauty and prophetic skills make you more important than me. Everyone fawns all over you, falls head over heels in lust with you, merely by being in your presence. I had to see it for myself – even the wolves abandon me, to cling to you. I tried to protest that she was mistaken, but she wasn't listening."

"Let us see how you handle life without your youth and beauty, she went on. Maybe, if someone ever loves you for who you really are, you might learn something. You might learn not to disrespect your betters. She made a gesture with her hand and I blacked out. When I awoke, the world was different."

"I woke beside a stream, with a group of men standing around that I instinctively knew were shapeshifters. Every bone in my body hurt, but I was glad to see them. They would take me back to Roul. When I tried to arise, however, several of them took a step back and nocked arrows, which surprised and scared me. The leader, though, leaned forward, taking a good look at me."

"Who are you? he asked as if puzzled."

"I am Angelique, Marthe des Loups, I told him, and my voice sounded funny in my ears, as if parched and cracked. He stepped back in shock."

"You cannot be, he told me. She is dead."

"Apparently not, I told him. I may hurt like hell, but I feel it, so I must be alive. Can you take me to Roul, please? I just had a run-in with a very unpleasant goddess."

"Roul has gone to join our ancestors, this wolf leader told me. So have Nicolas and Grégoire. If you seek the Alpha of the White Hawk Forest Clan, you must deal with me. Now tell me... who are you really?"

"My entire being filled with dread, Jori. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. I am Angelique, I insisted. Please help me up. I stretched forth my hand so he could assist me and nearly passed out from shock. My hand and arm were withered and wrinkled, ancient and leathery like some old crone. I looked at the rest of my body and found a naked old woman instead. I suddenly realized Abnoba had meant her words and I was now in the body of an old woman. Fear gripped me."

"Please, kind sir, I begged. I really am Angelique and I have been cursed by the goddess Abnoba. I do not understand all this, but I will die without assistance. Roul was my mate and Nicolas my son. I do not know Grégoire and I do not know you. I ask for your mercy anyway. Can you please help me?"

"Grégoire was my father and Nicolas my grandfather, he told me. I am Hilaire Silvain. He looked at me very hard. If you are Angelique, then you can Clan-speak to my mind and tell me who your companions were on the day you disappeared. Only you, outside the Alpha and the Shaman, could know that."

"I could remember as if it had just happened. I turned my mind to communicate telepathically to Hilaire and told him, Guilbert and Liliane, who were my younger son and daughter, and their friends Adelard, Donatien, Suzette, Vincens, Céline and Perrin. He looked as if he'd been clubbed. He ordered the others to back away and not threaten me, but he stayed and held out his hand to me."

"Even with his help, I struggled getting to my feet. I was old and weak, and everything hurt. And I was afraid. Afraid of what had happened to me and afraid of what the clan might do. At least, the Alpha was helping me, at the moment. If Roul was dead, then probably so was Yvette, the Shaman."

"Can you tell me, please, how long it has been? Who is now the Shaman of the clan? I was hoping I could be taken to her. She might know how to undo deific curses."

"It has been three hundred and twenty years since our Belle Dame was taken from us, he told me. Julienne is now Shaman. I nearly fell back down again. Three hundred years? All I had known, all of my happiness was gone in an instant."

"Can you take me to see Julienne? I asked. Maybe she can undo this wretched curse."

"No, I cannot, he told me. I cannot risk taking you back to the clan-home. You could, after all, simply be a clever demon, intent on doing us harm. I can, however, send a runner and ask her to come to you. And... he motioned to one of his men, I can give you some protection from the elements. Jorge, your cloak. The man he had summoned reached in his pack and withdrew a large travelling cloak, meant to cover everything against the weather. On withered, old me it was like a tent."

"Aubert, go get Julienne, he went on. Louis, supervise making camp. Then he turned to me. We will stay here with you until our Shaman can give us insight. I simply nodded and huddled under the cloak. I was confused and afraid... and really angry. Part of me had the good sense not to start cursing the gods and goddesses. Which was very good, because I was not lacking in the desire to do so. The men got a fire going and some food together, and offered me some. I gratefully accepted anything they were willing to do for me."

"When the runner returned with news that the Shaman would be along shortly, he brought a tent which they put up, pending her arrival. I was moved to it and made comfortable. When she arrived, there was no mistaking the resemblance to Yvette. I smiled weakly at the memory."

"You are causing quite a stir, she said to me as she squatted down next to me. I must probe your mind to know if you are telling the truth. If you are who you say you are, you will not mind. I told her she was not only quite welcome but that I would assist in any way I could. She reached out and touched me, and stayed like that for several minutes. Eventually, she took her hand away."

"You are indeed Angelique, companion to Roul and Marthe de Loup, she announced. You are cursed by Abnoba, I am afraid, and thus beyond my help. The Clan can help you live comfortably among the woods, but we cannot interfere with her curse. You must work out how to break it on your own. And we cannot welcome you into our home. The risk is too great."

"She stood up and turned to Hilaire. Assemble our best craftsmen, she told him. Build her a suitable home, protected from intrusion and want, and let me know when it is done. I will come back and help her settle in. She is to be treated with all the respect and honor you would have with me. Then she turned back to me. I will return when a more appropriate place has been constructed for you. She did not say goodbye or anything else for that matter. She simply left."

"I will have a suitable cot and chair brought to you, Hilaire told me. As well as food and water, and a small stove for cooking and washing, until we can provide better. Please, rest, Madame. There will be someone outside should you need them."

"Thus began my new life as an old crone, living alone, deep in the woods. They built me this home in this living tree, which Julienne blessed with health, long life and protection. She created the bramble hedge that keeps out most unwelcome guests. She started my garden and planted the orchards, and several of the men would come around on a regular basis to see that I had food and water, and firewood, and so forth. They were never allowed to remain overnight."

"I had some visitors from the clan who wanted to know my story, straight from the source, and I enjoyed their company. Over time, though, the frequency of the visitors has slackened and I have had many decades to think about Abnoba's words. And to despair."

"I have aided the occasional lost traveler who has found his way to my doorstep. Each time, they have been healed and are grateful. Then they go their own way and I return to my simple life. It is just not in a human heart to love that which is ugly and old. A failing of our race, I suppose."

"You are wrong," Jori spoke up vehemently, suddenly agitated. "You are wrong, because I love you."

"Oh, my Jori..." she sighed. "I am not sure you know..."

"Yes, I do!" he interrupted her. "I do know and I know I love you. It's been all wrapped up with fear and confusion and fascination and a whole bunch of other shit, but I figured it out. Even before your incredible story. I love you, Angelique Silvain, Mistress of the Wolves. It isn't your hot redheaded youth or your warm, inviting womanhood. It's you, just like you are. All parts of you, but particularly the part that cares about a wayward stranger enough to save his life and ask nothing in return. There isn't any age to that. It's just who you are. All of you. And I love you, and I know what I'm saying, and don't argue with me!"

She looked at him softly for several moments before she told him, "I would like to believe you, Jori. I really would. I'm not sure I can."

"Believe it!" he almost shouted. "In fact, you don't have to believe me! Get that bitch goddess Abnoba back here and I'll tell her to her face! I love you for who you are! Beauty, charm, skill... makes absolutely no fucking difference! You get that fucking goddess here and I'll fucking tell her to her face!"

"Did you call?" a strange, unearthly, woman's voice came from the doorway. Jori froze in mid rant.

"I am sorry," Angelique said as she looked to the door then lowered her head and shook it slowly. "He doesn't know what he's say..."

"Yes, he does," the stranger interrupted. "I want to hear him tell me to my face."

Jori slowly turned to face the door. She was almost predictable. A curvaceous, sensual woman in a long green cloak, a long mane of bright red hair swirling around her alabaster face, tight leather bustier and pleated leather skirt, knee high soft leather boots, a bow and quiver slung on her back and piercing green eyes that nearly froze him where he stood.

Nearly. Not completely.

"Are you Abnoba?" he managed to get out.

"Of course," she answered derisively. "Or as you might call me, the Bitch Goddess Abnoba. I understand you have something to say."

The fear melted under the heat of Jori's anger, rising up like magma, ready to burst forth with awesome power.

"You're damn right I do!" He found his voice and it only got stronger as he spoke. "You fucked this woman over for no good reason and you've got the power to fix it. So fix it! She doesn't deserve this. Not in a million years. She is warm and caring and nurturing and healing and all the things a goddess like you should be and aren't! You want to be loved? Adored? Worshipped? Try being worthy of it!"

He had a feeling he might disintegrate into ashes at any moment, but right then he didn't care. He was going to rub this egotistical bitch's face in it.

"You talk about love like you know anything about it," he went on, taking half a step towards the door as if to protect Angelique. "You don't have a clue. You think love is all about the physical, because you are all about the physical. Love embraces the physical. Love celebrates the physical. But it is far more than that. Love is a connection between spirits – two, three, a hundred... it doesn't matter. Love is that sharing of self that allows selflessness. Something you know nothing about."

"I love Angelique for who she is, not what she looks like," he went on, taking another step. The eyes of the goddess began to glow and he thought maybe he'd pushed her too far, but he wasn't about to stop now. "I have loved her since the morning I woke up with this lovely old crone's body tucked against mine and feeling better than I ever have. Except maybe for when I was with my family. But that's the point. I loved them, too. I was afraid and stupid and naïve, but I got past that and I figured it out."

"Her different selves are just aspects of who she is, and I would be happy to be with her no matter which form she's in. But it matters to her, and you're the cause of it and you can fix it. You took her life away from her and planted her in this forest for spite. Because her family thought about her before you. You said if someone ever loved her for who she really was, she might learn something, that she might learn not to disrespect her betters. Well, I've sure learned something."

"I've learned that you're not her better. You meant respect you, but you don't deserve it. It should be the other way around. You should be thankful to be in the presence of someone who truly knows what love is and practices it every day. The fact is, you don't deserve any respect at all!"

"ENOUGH!" The goddess' eyes flared brilliant green and Jori knew he was dead. But he'd said what he needed to say, to stand up for Angelique because she was too kind and caring and loving to stand up for herself.

The wild woman in the doorway seemed to struggle with her anger for a moment before getting it under control. She did manage to calm down, though, and the fire in her eyes subsided.

"Setting aside whether your opinions have any merit," she told Jori, "I can see that in your heart you do, in fact, love this woman. You seem blind to the physical you accuse me of espousing, to the exclusion of all else. If you truly do not care about the physical, then prove it. Make love to her, now."

"Oh, I care about the physical," Jori retorted and a small smirk began to play around the goddess' lips. "I care about it enough that I want you to let her stay in this form when she cums and not be forced into her other selves. I truly enjoy the feel of her skin, the warmth of her touch, the sights and sounds of such a beautiful creature. If you will do that, I will prove I am right."

The smirk disappeared. "Done," was Abnoba's simple response.

Jori turned and walked over to Angelique, still sitting naked in her chair. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the mouth, taking his time to savor her delicious taste.

"Just ignore the bitch goddess standing in the doorway," he told her softly. "And allow me." He leaned in further, to slide his hands under her to lift her, and she acquiesced by raising her arms and wrapping them around his neck. She didn't say anything, but when he lifted her, to carry her to the bed, she lay her head into his shoulder and sighed.

Jori carried her to the bed and gently set her down, then lay down with his back to the door, effectively shielding Angelique from Abnoba's gaze – if the bitch had been human. He leaned over Angelique and cupped her face with his hand, slowly stroking it and smiling down at the old crone. He started to lean down to kiss her when she softly spoke.

"You have taken a great chance, my Jori," she said through a sort of sad smile. "It is not wise to piss off a goddess."