The Fairy Ring Ch. 01

This story depicts incest, non-consensual sex, and abuse of authority as part of a fantasy tale, but it does not promote or endorse these behaviours in real life. All characters are the age of consent or older for their species.

The story is intended to be a fun exploration of fantasy characters and fantasy role-playing, but it is not true to any particular fantasy canon—my apologies in advance to any hard-core fantasy or role-playing devotees.

The elvish language used later in the story is intended to be Sindarin, which I tried to get right but probably didn't. I found its vocabulary surprisingly limited, so I may have borrowed some words from other dialects.

The story started off as a simple plot, but I got carried away with what-if scenarios, and instead of killing my darlings, I let them all live and hijack the story. So as you suspend your disbelief in the existence of the fantasy characters that follow, you might also suspend your disbelief in the existence of a well thought-out plot.

***** TWO DAYS BEFORE MAY DAY - DAYTIME *****

*** Taking a Break with Sis ***

The car tires chattered on the gravel road, which had turned into a washboard from the traffic of people already opening their cottages for the season. Fortunately, the road dust was being kept down by the coolness of the cloudy spring day.

"You realize that we're going to be there over May Day," Harmony said, jostling in her seat beside him.

"Is that significant?" Brad replied.

Feeling the vibrations through the steering wheel, Brad McQuarrie was glad that he was still driving a beater in his last year of college, but he kept his eyes peeled for potholes to avoid—no sense in tempting fate by bottoming out.

He was also watching the road to avoid staring at his little sister bouncing in the seat beside him. Over the last couple of years, her body had matured rapidly, and her filled-out breasts were quivering under her cotton shirt to the staccato shaking of the car. He was getting a little erect as he drove, but he told himself that it was because of his seat vibrating and not because of her chest jiggling.

"May Day is the festival of spring, so it's when the forest folk celebrate transformation," Harmony said.

"Forest folk?" Brad said as the lake finally came into view through the trees beside them, its shoreline now paralleling their drive. "You mean locals who live out here?" On the other side of the car, trees occasionally opened into clearings before joining the road again. He had expected to see lanes leading off to neighbouring cottages, but instead, they seemed to be driving into isolation as they drove deeper into the forest.

"No, I mean nature spirits, like elves and fairies," she said as she turned the page of a thick, hardcover book on her lap. Looking down at it out of the corner of his eye, he could see pastel illustrations of young girls in diaphanous gowns dancing with little winged sprites.

"Seriously?" he said, scrutinizing her face to see if she was smirking. He would never question his sister's fantasy fandom expertise, but she never struck him as being a full-on believer.

"I just mean that the timing is kind of neat," Harmony replied. "When I booked the cottage, I told you that the owner uses it for role-playing events. The website says there's an enchanted forest and mystical pond nearby. Maybe on May Day, magical beings will appear."

Brad snorted. "Are we paying extra for the cottage being enchantment-adjacent?" He remembered her mentioning the role-playing crap, but when he agreed to take her on this getaway, he was focused on the cottage being near a lake and far from college.

He thought it was cute that she still talked like the little fantasy nerd he remembered, but while he had been away at college, she had become a hottie. When he picked her up this morning, he really noticed how much she had turned into a young woman. Her nerdy demeanour was now at odds with her developing looks. Or perhaps her hotness and nerdiness were merging to make her even more attractive.

"Bro, I can't read if you keep shaking the car." She adjusted the oversized, dark-rimmed glasses on her button nose. She had probably had those glasses since she was a pre-teen, but now that she was 18, they gave her a naughty schoolgirl look.

He wondered if she was aware of her outward sensuality. He noticed that she was wearing a touch of makeup now, her jean skirt barely covered her private area, and her previously short hair had been grown out and was now pinned loosely to the back of her head.

"It's going to be bumpy like this until we get to the cottage, I expect," he said, "but the GPS says that we're almost there."

He didn't know much about where they were going; Harmony had arranged the rental. She had found it, oddly enough, on a forum of one of her fantasy role-playing websites.

He remembered friends in high school playing Dungeons and Dragons, but his sister was much more into the whole fantasy fandom scene. She was immersed in the culture, with books and videos and costumes and conventions.

In any case, he just wanted to spend some time alone with her now that college was over, feeling guilty that he had ignored her during his years of study. He used to enjoy spending time with her when he lived at home. They used to play "pretend" when he babysat her; maybe that experience had gotten her into role-playing.

"It can't be much of a read," he said, turning the book to see it. "It looks like it's all pictures."

"It's a folklore encyclopedia." She pulled the book back. "I'm developing a new LARP character."

"What's a LARP? One of those creatures?"

"No, newb. Live Action Role-Play. You never listen to me. We're renting the cottage from a lady named Mistress Lilin. She runs LARPs there when she's not renting it out."

"Mistress? That sounds kinky."

"Don't be a perv, bro."

"So are you saying that we're going to be playing Dungeons and Dragons with a bunch of nerds? I thought we were going to spend some alone time together."

"Aw, that's a nice thing to say." She petted his thigh, sending a shiver up his body—a reaction he found odd. "No, there's no LARP on right now. I just thought we could check the site out before I come on one."

As he looked over at her, the car hit a pothole with a bang, causing her breasts to bounce. Through the gape in her shirt, he watched the shockwave ripple across her cleavage, giving him another shiver. He returned to staring forward, telling himself to pay attention to the road.

He was a little surprised that there was no other traffic, but in the rear-view mirror, he could see a plume of dust on the road far behind them.

"And it's not Dungeons and Dragons," she insisted. "We're not a bunch of nerds in a basement throwing weird dice. We bring our characters to life in realistic outfits and go on actual quests outdoors."

"Yeah, because running around the woods in role-playing costumes is not nerdy. I hope you're not planning on wearing that outfit," he said, pointing at her book to a voluptuous woman with batwings coming out of her back and a skin-tight slip dress barely covering her naughty areas. "Are you doing sexual role-playing?"

"It figures that you would point that one out, perv. That's a succubus. I don't plan on playing a succubus."

"A suck-yer-butt?"

"Succubus! Don't make fun." She slapped his thigh. "A succubus visits men in their sleep to steal their ... you know ... their sperm."

Out of regret, she rubbed his thigh where she had struck him. Feeling her little hand rubbing near his erection gave him a shiver.

"Yikes. Explain to me what kind of live action happens at these LARP things." In the mirror, he could see the dust plume getting closer.

"Stop it. That's just the background for that character. There are lots of other characters—elves and fairies and nymphs and cambions."

"What the hell is a cambion?"

"Never mind," she said with a sigh. "I shouldn't have mentioned that one."

"Come on. So what is it?"

Rolling her eyes, she flipped a few pages to read. "Okay, a cambion is a creature that is produced when a succubus takes a man's sperm and transfers it to an incubus, who then has sex with a woman, or when a human who was an incubus or succubus in a past life is transformed during a ceremony. Cambions are shape-shifters who have the power to stimulate sexual desire."

"Uh-huh. And I'm the perv?"

"Quit mocking me." She grabbed his side with a pinch, causing him to yelp and flinch. "Don't forget you're the one who's ticklish." Her sudden intense glare and wide grin looked seductive and made him feel uncomfortable.

"What else does it say?"

"It says that a cambion can transform into a succubus or incubus by having sex with a human at an enchanted site, like a wood henge or a fairy ring, on a special feast day, like All Saints' Day or May Day," she said. "Hey, it says May Day. Maybe that's something else we'll get to see."

"Sex, sex, sex. What is the title of that book? The Nerd Book of Role-Play Sex?"

"Stop it." She grabbed his side again, making him squirm. He tried to pull her hands away, but she kept attacking him. In the struggle, she grabbed his groin, grasping his erection with a firm pinch. Looking at him in shock, she pulled her hand away and sat back in her seat.

He refocused on driving, trying to pretend nothing had happened and hoping that she hadn't realized he had a hard-on. Glancing up at the rear-view mirror, he noticed that the dust plume was almost on top of them.

"Hey, I think that's a motorcycle. Can you imagine what kind of ride it would be on this road?"

His sister turned in her seat to look through the rear window. As she leaned over the seats, she placed her hand on his shoulder, her little finger touching his neck. He caught a whiff of her floral perfume. It smelled young and innocent.

"It looks pretty smooth to me," she said. "Wow, she's not wearing a helmet. Look at all her hair blowing back. She'll be washing dust out of it for days."

Pulling alongside, the female rider did appear to be steady on her motorcycle, eerily so, almost as if the bike were floating above the road. Her long black hair looked impressively dark and lustrous as it flew back. She had on a black leather bomber jacket and black leather chaps over tight, boot-cut jeans.

Turning her head as she passed, the rider stared at them through dark, round sunglasses. With pouty lips and high cheek bones, she had the look of a haughty fashion model. Her gaze through the dark lenses seemed dispassionate, almost soulless. Turning her head back, she zipped ahead, disappearing over the upcoming rise.

"Hot biker babe. You think she's lost and needs a room for the night?" he said.

"No, you perv." Harmony slapped his arm. "But I think I know her. I think I saw her at a fantasy convention or on a website."

"Really? Maybe I could get into this role-playing crap after all."

"Wait. That's her," she said, swiping on her phone. "It's Mistress Lilin. See."

He looked at a picture of her standing on a stage, talking to an audience of people in costumes. Dressed in a black bodysuit in the picture, she looked less like a role-playing celebrity and more like a dominatrix—a hot, curvy dominatrix.

"Yum," he said. "I've got to hand it to you, sis. If she lives nearby, you did a great job of picking this cottage."

"You turned into a real creep at college, you know that? Stop perving out." She went to slap his thigh again but missed and caught his cock.

"Yeow!" he screamed.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Covering her mouth with her hands, she partly gasped and partly snickered.

Extending her hand to soothe him, she patted his upper thigh, and then, touching his bulge, she quickly pulled back. He reached into his crotch to adjust himself but felt self-conscious when he saw that he had made his erection more prominent.

"Are you okay?" she asked, staring at his lap.

"Yeah. It just stings a bit."

"Are you ...?"

"Am I what?"

"Nothing," she said, blushing. They smiled uncomfortably at each other.

"Oh look, there it is." She pointed ahead of them.

*** Arriving ***

In the distance, a forlorn-looking, clapboard farmhouse sat on top of a small hill, overlooking the lake, where the road ended. Above the house's sagging front porch, two roof gables scowled at the car's approach.

Across a field at the side of the house, a normal-looking cottage contrasted the farmhouse by its modernity and lack of creepiness. On the front deck of the cottage, a young girl with short, black hair was suntanning in a small, black bikini, and in the cottage's lane, the dark motorcycle that had passed them sat propped on its kickstand.

"Wow, are we staying with the hot biker babe?" he asked.

"No, creepy. We're staying in the house. Isn't it great? Maybe it's haunted."

He looked longingly at the nice cottage as they passed. On the deck, the young girl lowered her sunglasses down her nose to watch them go by.

"Maybe the house is haunted by the regrets of previous renters." He pulled up the lane for the house and parked at the side. The lane looked as if it continued on behind the house to a gravel parking lot in a distant field, which had a few outbuildings, portable toilets, and picnic tables around its perimeter.

"You'll love it, bro. This is going to be awesome," she said, jumping out of the car and grabbing a bag from the backseat. As he walked back to the trunk for the rest of the bags, a gust of wind caused a wood panel on the house to creak and the branches of a tree to scrape against a window. He could see peeled paint and moss on the wood.

Peering over the car, he noticed that the lawn behind the house looked pretty rough, consisting more of weeds than grass. In the far corner of the backyard, a single, tall, oak tree stood on its own, stoically ignoring the deteriorating surroundings at its feet.

"Oh look, a fairy ring," his sister said, pointing to a large discoloured circle on the lawn in front of the oak tree. "Those are magical."

He went to inspect it until she stopped him. "Don't go inside it. You have to be invited in."

"By whom? A fairy?"

"No, by the fairy queen. She conducts ceremonies inside the ring while fairies fly and dance around the perimeter. That's how the ring is created."

"Yeah?" He snickered. "Well I don't see any tiny royalty around." Kneeling down, he felt the ground where the ring appeared. It seemed a bit worn and discoloured, with toadstools growing at intervals along it.

"Sometimes if there's no fairy queen, then an elf controls the ring. It's also called an elf circle."

"So let's check it out," he said, standing up.

"Don't. You'll disrespect the fairies if you enter uninvited," she cried. "Unless you're a virgin. Then you can enter."

"Again with the sex? I thought I was the perv. You nerds have your own freak going on, I think. Why do virgins get a pass?"

"Because they're innocents," she said with a smirk, "unlike you."

"I didn't realize there were so many rules. So if I walk in there, the fairies will attack me?"

"Don't disrespect the little folk, bro." She wagged a finger at him. "They'll mess you up. Here, watch and I'll show you." Walking into the ring, she spun around without effect.

"What am I looking at? Nothing's happening."

"That's right. I'm a virgin, so I was allowed to enter," she said to him, smiling. "You see?"

He guffawed. "Ri-i-ight. Of course, noth—"

"Whoa, Brad. Something is happening," she cried as her body went into convulsions. With her arms out and her head looking skyward, she shook violently on her feet.

"Harmony!" He strode toward her until she broke out laughing.

"You are so gullible." Walking back toward him, she slapped him on the stomach as she passed. "This week is going to be fun."

Taking a step toward the circle, he noticed a heavy buzzing sound. Then a dark object flew at his face from the direction of the tree, brushing him back. As it passed him to zip around the ring, he got the sense that the object was about the size of his fist. It was like a bumble bee only bigger and louder, but it was a blur. Maybe it was a hummingbird. After a few circuits, it flew past him again and headed toward the cottage across the field.

"You going to help me with these?" his sister said, hefting bags out of the trunk.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"I don't know. It was like a hummingbird, but it came right at me." Looking along its flight path, he lost sight of it. "Never mind."

*** Checking In ***

He lugged several bags around to the front of the house as his sister, finding the key in a pre-arranged hiding place, let them in. Inside, the house smelled a bit musty but not as much as he feared it would. Old wallpaper and heavy drapes gave the inside a gloomy atmosphere, but the antique furniture and wood floors gave it a rustic feel.

The staircase creaked as he took the bags up to their bedrooms. The upstairs rooms were small, the beds squeaked when he dumped the bags on them, and the bathroom featured a clawfoot bathtub. The quaintness prompted him to check that the house had electricity—it did.

When he returned, he joined his sister in the front hall. She was reading some papers that were left out for them. "Anything interesting?" he asked.

"Some instructions and emergency information," she replied.

With a startle, he looked up to see the motorcycle lady standing on the front porch, gazing at them through the screen door. Still in her leather riding gear, she had unzipped her jacket, revealing a wonderfully busty chest in a red bikini top.

Taking off her sunglasses, she stared at him with a sultry look, as if she were posing for the cover of a men's motorcycle magazine. "You are the McQuarries, yes?" she said in a heavy Eastern European accent. "May I enter?"

"Sorry. Yes, of course." He hurried to open the door, but she came in on her own, her motorcycle boots clunking on the wood floor.

"What a beautiful couple you are," she said, walking over to Harmony.

"Oh, we're not—" Harmony started to say but went quiet as the woman caressed her cheek with her hand. His sister's eyes closed at the touch.

"We're brother and sister," he finished for her.

The woman stared at him with her dark eyes that seemed to pierce his soul. "Oh, I do not think so, no," she said, caressing the side of his face and sending a wave of warmth flowing through his body, settling in his groin like a warm compress that cradled his balls. "You two are much closer than that ... spiritually. You were great lovers in a previous life, yes?"

Harmony giggled nervously, casting her eyes to the floor. "You're ... uh ... you're Mistress Lilin, aren't you?"

"Yes, yes. Please call me Roxanne. Roxanne Encanta," she said, shaking their hands tenderly as if she were being handed a baby bird. "I am only Mistress Lilin when I am with my followers."

"You said in your email that you are interested in attending one of my gatherings, yes?" Roxanne continued, putting an arm around Harmony. "What character shares your human form?"

Brad couldn't help staring at Roxanne's chest. The red bikini top strategically cupped the ends of her heavy breasts, leaving much of their smooth curves exposed.

"I used to play a female Druid character named Caitria," Harmony said, "but I want to become an elf instead, so I—"

"Oh no, no, no. Not an elf," Roxanne interrupted her. "You are not an elf. Look at how beautiful you are." She removed his sister's glasses.

"But elves are beautiful."

"Look, look. Your brother will tell you," Roxanne said, undoing her pinned up hair, flowing it over her shoulders, and unbuttoning her shirt partway.