Fairies and Warriors

By Victoria Oldham


     Lyea, sat on a rock by the river, still dressed in her priestess robes.  She was pleasantly exhausted. The wood nymph listened to the sounds of laughter and lovemaking still whispering through the forest.  Solstice celebrations were always grand affairs, with the animals, the fae and dwarves all joining in raucous enjoyment of the Great Mother earth and all She gives. As one of her servants, Lyea presided over the offering festivities.  She accepted those things that the creatures of the forest wished to donate to others, and gave it to those in want or need.  She helped settle disputes, helped the healers with those things they asked for, and spoke with the few who had lost a loved one in the preceding year, helping them find peace with the goddess. 
 

     Lyea sighed and stretched her wings to their full length, standing on her toes to ease the ache in her calves.   Although she loved her position as priestess to the goddess in Windfell Forest, it was times like this, listening to the whispers of passion in the forest, when her loneliness asserted itself like an old, unwelcome friend.

     Stripping off her robes in frustration, she dove into the lake, and the warm waters instantly refreshed her. Lyea felt it soothe her sore muscles. She dove and swam, imagining the waters caress as that of a trusted lover, enjoying the sensation of it flowing around and over her, touching her most sensitive places. Climbing out of the water, she curled up on a large rock and drew her wings tightly over her body. She fell asleep listening to the sounds of passion she herself had been denied.
 

     At dawn she was startled out of intensely sensuous dreams by the sound of a large animal crashing through the trees.  Curious, she lifted her head and watched as a lone rider dressed from head to toe in black rode to the edge of the lake atop a midnight black horse. The rider sat slumped over the horses back, not moving. Lyea sat and watched, confused. Humans never came this far into the forest. It had been decades since Lyea had seen the last one, a hairy man she was happy to watch leave.

     She sat up quickly, startled when the human fell off the horse and to the ground without trying to save herself. The horse whinnied and nudged her gently with its nose.

     Lyea didn't know what to do. Humans were dangerous. They could capture a fairy and do horrible things. Fairies and dwarves were caught and caged, occasionally tortured and then sold to the highest bidder at the riotous markets the humans held in their villages.
  

     Lyea took a deep breath and flew over cautiously, ready to flee if the human regained consciousness. It was a woman and even dirty and bruised, she was stunning. Short black hair was pushed away from pale ivory skin. She was tall and muscled, and the leather covering her legs and torso showed a hard, smooth body. Lyea was glad the woman couldn’t see her staring so blatantly. She bent down slowly and felt the large bump on the woman's skull, noticing the darkening bruise on her cheek and the slight split in her upper lip.
    

     Lyea looked at the horse and explained, "She's too big for me to move. I'll have to go get help. I'll be right back.  I'll need your saddle blanket. May I take it?" The horse nodded, and Lyea took the blanket from its back.  She covered the woman’s long, lean body with it and flushed once again as she briefly pictured the woman without her leathers.
  

     Leaping into the air, Lyea flew swiftly to the forest of the Elves, and went to directly to Serina's house in the largest oak in their forest. Hearing voices, she flew up to the second story window and tapped on it.  Serina turned, and Lyea blushed at the sight of the naked woman Serina had bound and gagged on her enormous bed.
  

     "Lyea? You never come this far from your forest. Is something wrong?" her elf friend of many years asked.
 

   "A human woman has collapsed at my lake, Serina. She’s hurt and unconscious.”
 

     "A human? You interrupted my fun here for a human?" she asked, gesturing back at the woman on the bed, who managed to look faintly annoyed at the interruption, even with a gag in her mouth.
 

     "I know, Serina, I know. But there's something about this one…" Lyea blushed a soft pink that made its way through her wings and found something of interest in the window frame to stare at.
 

     Serina sucked in air through her teeth. "A human, Lyea? You know what they do to the fae. They’d do it to us, too, if we weren’t their size and stronger. They’re best left to themselves.”
 

     "C'mon, Serina, I'm just saying I don't want her to die at my lake. Please?"
 

     Serina stared at the three-foot tall wood nymph perched on her window for a moment.  With a perturbed sigh she walked to the door.  She yanked it open and yelled, "Basra!!"
 

     A beautiful young woman with strong arms and long legs bound into the room, her silver hair flowing around her body like a cape. The woman on the bed shifted and glared at Serina suspiciously as she turned to speak to the new arrival.
 

     "Finish this for me, please. Do not let this lovely body leave here without being nicely welted and well satiated. I have something pressing I have to attend to."

*****

     Serina and Lyea made good time back to the lake, their magic showing a path through the forest that few could ever actually see. Lyea flew next to Serina, and along the way they spoke of the Solstice festivals in their different forests, laughing over the yearly foibles caused by too much drink and too many hormones.
 

     When they got back to Lyea’s lake, the woman on the ground hadn’t appeared to have moved, and the bruises had darkened slightly, shadowing her face and adding to her striking good looks.
 

     "Damn, Lyea. You would have to pick a warrior," said Serina.
 

     "A warrior? How can you tell?" asked the nymph in surprise.
 

     "Can't you feel the darkness on her, Lyea? Or is that what is calling you, little one?" said Serina with a wicked grin. "I always thought you might have a little of the dark in you."
 

     "I wouldn't know," confided Lyea, "I've not been--touched--that way."
 

     Serina nearly dropped the warrior she was in the midst of throwing over her shoulder.
 

     "What? A creature of the forest, and, if I'm not mistaken, older than myself, and not been touched? But why?"
 

     "I'm a half breed, Serina, or have you forgotten? We’ve known one another for more than seventy years, and not even you have been interested in me. The people of the forest have no problem with me, and I think they’re happy with me as their priestess, but they certainly don't want to mate with me." The bitterness was evident in the small woman's voice.
 

     Serina's brow furrowed as she mulled over Lyea’s confession.  They walked quietly, each lost in their own thoughts, with the warriors dark horse following along behind.  The horse grazed occasionally as they went, oblivious to the forest creature’s emotional undercurrents.

*********

     When they arrived at Serina's house, the midnight black horse automatically went around back and joined the other horses, while Serina carried the dark warrior through the soft carved door in the oak and up two flights of stairs to a guest bedroom.
 

     One of the young Elvin women that lived under Serina’s “care,” brought up a poultice of comfrey, valerian and willow bark, which Lyea gently placed over the large lump on the warriors forehead.
 

     "Good thing she was out of it the whole way here," said Serina, stretching her shoulder blades. "She's going to have a rotten headache when she wakes up."
 

     "Can I stay, Serina? I'd like to make sure she's okay, since I'm responsible for you having to drag her here."
     "Right. That's why you want to stay.  Lyea, think hard before giving yourself to a human. Being away from your tree will shorten your life, and they can be cruel."
 

     "More so than yourself?" asked Lyea, teasing.
 

     With a slow grin, Serina reached out and grabbed the little wood nymph. Lifting her, she pulled Lyea’s three-foot frame tightly against her, careful not to crush her delicate wings.
 

     "I never thought to take you to my bed because I always thought of you as a creature apart, one of the Goddesses chosen, and one probably not given to my, uh, particular tastes. But if you're willing, little one, I'd be more than happy to introduce you to the pleasures of the whip…" whispered Serina, nuzzling the nymph’s ear and neck, sending shivers down Lyea’s spine and making her center throb.
 

     "Don't go taking pity on me now, Serina," she gasped out between sensations.
 

     They were both startled by the sudden clearing of a throat behind them, and a husky voice saying, "If you're busy, I can probably find somewhere else to be."
 

     Serina slowly released Lyea from her embrace, but her eyes promised that the conversation was not over.
 

     Lyea tore her gaze from Serina’s emerald green eyes and gazed at the now awake human warrior. The woman's eyes were the color of the sky right before dawn; a crystalline blue that was almost clear, a blue that Lyea felt herself falling into as the woman stared back at her with equal intensity.
 

     Serina felt the silent energy crackle between the two women, unsure what to make of it. More gruffly than she intended, she said,   “You fell down nearly dead at poor Lyea's lake, and she came to me because as you can see, you're a bit too tall for her to carry. So, here you are in Elf country. I assume that since we've saved your life we can call you friend?"
 

     The warrior began to nod, but immediately winced at the pain it seemed to cause her. “Friend, yes. My name is Ashwin. My friends call me Ash.”

     Lyea watched as the warrior briskly felt over her face and ribs, checking to see how much damage had been done. When she looked up, her eyes narrowed slightly, and a lecherous grin appeared as her gaze raked over Lyea’s perfectly formed body in its semi-sheer dress.
 

     Lyea, intimidated by the warriors gaze, blushed and glanced out the window, her gently quivering wings a sign of her anxiety.

     "Come here little one," said Ash, holding out a chapped and dirty hand.

     Lyea shook her head, unable to speak. Serina placed a protective hand on her shoulder from behind, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

     "I promise I won't hurt you."
 

     Lyea fluttered over to Ash who held her hand out further. "Thank you for your help," Ash whispered, drawing the back of her hand down Lyea’s silky smooth cheek.
 

     "I should go make sure Flame is okay," mumbled the fairy and flew out the window.
 

     Serina shook her head, flustered, and headed toward the door. "Rest Warrior. I'm sure Lyea won't be too far away should you need anything."
 

     "Again, thank you," groaned Ash, running her hand over her sore head. "I'll take a little time to rest and let Flame get some water, and then we'll leave."
 

     "No rush," reminded Serina as she gently closed the door.
 

     Ash tore off her boots and pulled a blanket over her bruised, aching body. Her mind immediately drifted to the beautiful winged creature who only moments before had captivated her with her beauty and purity. "Maybe," thought Ash, "just maybe," as she drifted off into a painful and restless sleep.
 

     Ash’s dreams were of blood and betrayal.  She tossed and turned in anger and then became calmer when images of Lyea’s forest and flower colored eyes took over her dreams. When she woke some time later it was almost dark and although it took her eyes a while to adjust to the night, she knew she wasn't alone. She reached down to her side and pulled a knife from her belt. She heard scuffling and sat up slowly, raising the knife from her side. A candle flickered and Lyea rolled her shoulders to ease the stiffness.
 

     "Please put down your knife Ash. You’re among friends.”
 

     "You shouldn't just sneak up on sleeping warriors," chastised Ash as she put the knife back in her belt.
 

     "I didn't sneak, I've been here a while. You were fighting in your sleep but you settled down when I sat next to you. I put a cold rag on the bump on your head. It’s gone down a little, but the bruise on your cheek is worse."
 

     "I see," replied Ash warily. She was concerned that she slept through the fairy's presence and astounded that she didn’t stir when Lyea put a rag on her head.
 

 "Your horse is doing great," Lyea informed Ash. "Better than you I would say."
 

     "I'm just fine," replied Ash with an edge in her voice.
Ash watched the small body sway across the room toward her, and flinched away slightly when Lyea placed one hand over her cheek and one hand over the lump on her head.

     “This wont hurt, but it might feel strange. I don’t know how a human will take it.” Lyea hummed under her breath, calling up the healing blue light of the goddess and allowing it to flow through her hands and wash over the warriors wounds. From a distance she heard Ashwin’s sudden intake of breath, but she concentrated on the wounds.

     Opening her eyes, she saw that the wounds had begun to heal nicely. Although they weren’t gone, they would be better in just a few days.

     Ashwin’s eyes were wide and she looked slightly panicked.

     “What did you do?” she whispered.

     “I’m a priestess of the goddess. She has given me the ability to heal, to a degree. Although you are not completely better, the process has started and it shouldn’t take too long. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

     Ashwin shook her head, unwilling to have the fairy repeat the strange healing on her bruised ribs, so close to her heart.

     Lyea nodded, and Ashwin saw the doubt in her eyes, although she didn’t press.

     Lying back against the ultra soft mound of pillows, Ashwin said, “Tell me about yourself. How do you come to have a friend like Serina? Or are you more than friends?” At the thought, Ash felt a strange knot in her stomach. For some reason, the thought of Lyea on her back beneath the elf woman bothered her.

     “Serina and I have been friends for more than seventy years. We met at a Solstice Gathering of the Forests, which only happens every hundred years.”

     “How old are you?” Ashwin asked in an incredulous tone.

     Lyea tilted her head to the side, thinking, and Ash had a sudden urge to draw her tongue over the exposed skin.

     “Two hundred, I would guess. Maybe a little more. Not so old, really. How old are you?”

     Ashwin stared at the fairy with her mouth open slightly. Two hundred? She looked hardly more than twenty. “I’m thirty two,” she said, feeling slightly silly at the discrepancy of their numbers.

     Lyea laughed, and her smile made Ashwin’s heart beat faster. “I had forgotten that humans have such short life spans. Well, you look as though you’re rushing to your end, if you don’t mind my saying.” Lyea left the question unasked, in case the warrior did not want to discuss her reasons for landing at the lake the way she did.

     Ashwin sighed and tried to get comfortable, saying, “I got caught out by thieves on my way home from a visit to another tribe. I was careless.” Lyea reached over and moved one of the pillows, allowing Ash to settle in a position that didn’t put more pressure on her ribs. Sniffing, Ashwin reached out and pulled the fairy close, taking in the strange combination of citrus and pine that wafted from her pearlescent skin.

     Lyea gasped at the warriors touch. It was hot and rough, and it sent chills through her body in a way nothing else ever had.

     They remained that way for a long, drawn out moment; Lyea’s arm held tightly by the warrior, their heads only inches apart, their eyes locked in an almost physical embrace.

     With a tiny squeak, Lyea pulled away and slowly backed out of the room, her eyes never leaving Ash’s face.

     Distraught that she might have hurt the fragile woman, Ashwin put out a hand and said quietly, “Lyea, please…”

     But it was too late. The fairy disappeared behind the huge wooden door.

     Ashwin grimaced at the board in front of her. Playing the Forest Dance with a creature of the forest wasn’t the best idea she had ever conceived. Serina sat across from her, her long legs splayed in front of her, and a beautiful Elvin woman perched on her knee. Her large, translucent hand drew lazy circles over the woman’s breast, although she seemed to take no notice of the woman’s growing distress and kept her eyes on the checkered board.

     Looking down at the game board, Ash said, “Tell me about Lyea. She seems so shy and unsure of herself. I thought you people of the forest were all about the sensual nature of life.” 

     Serina raised an eyebrow and inadvertently tweeked the woman’s nipple, eliciting a tiny squeal. Giving her a contrite smile, she gently moved the woman off her lap and gave her a gentle pat on the butt to send her on her way.

     “Lyea. She’s a priestess of the goddess in Wildfell forest. She’s the daughter of a wood nymph mother and a fairy father. What people here call a half-breed. Her mother died about twenty years ago, when a human cut down her tree for firewood. Her father was captured by the same human and sold to other humans. She’s never heard from him again.”

     Ashwin blanched at the horror story. She knew there was a booming trade in fae creatures, especially among the wealthy who thought of them as novelty items. Her own village stayed away from the trade in living flesh, although with prices soaring, she worried that someone would eventually give in to temptation.

     “No wonder she’s so afraid of me.”

     “Not afraid enough, if you ask me. She still asked my help in saving you, and she flies to and from her forest everyday to check on you. That’s a lot of flying in a fortnight.” Serina’s face was devoid of emotion, but Ashwin sensed the danger that lurked just below the elf’s calm surface.

     Bluntly, Ash said, “I wont hurt her. But yes, I do want her. Is that a problem?” Her warriors instincts failed to warn her of Serina’s movement before the woman’s hand was clasped around her throat.

     “No, warrior, its not a problem, if you understand us. Take Lyea from her forest, and her life will bleed away. She’ll get older faster than she does here, but not at the same rate you do. So not only will you take her life, you’ll take her soul as she watches you die.”

     Serina let go of Ashwin suddenly and stormed away from the table. Ash sat rubbing her neck, glad she had never met an elf in combat, and wondering at the strong feelings of the elf for her fairy friend. Did Lyea know the depth of Serina’s feelings? Did Serina know?

     Lyea flew through the open window and into Ashwin’s room. Landing softly, she returned Ashwin’s smile and joined her in front of the fireplace. She sat on the floor next to Ash and wrapped her wings protectively around herself, even though she was more comfortable with the human warrior than she had ever been with anyone else.

     “Lyea.” Ashwin’s voice was husky, and Lyea’s eyes grew wide as she looked up and saw the naked desire on Ash’s face.

     “Please. I can’t take being close to you and not touching you.”

     Moved by the tone of desperation and craving in Ash’s voice, Lyea slowly stood and pressed herself against Ash’s legs. With a    soft moan, Ash opened her legs and pulled Lyea to her, wrapping her legs around the small body. Taking the fairy’s face in her hands, she gently kissed the soft lips. Suddenly overwhelmed with desire, she kissed her harder, her tongue exploring the fairy’s mouth. She pulled Lyea on to her lap and thrust her hand down the fairy’s dress, roughly grabbing her breast and seizing on the nipple. Lyea cried out and pressed herself further into Ashwin’s embrace.

     Standing abruptly, Ash carried Lyea to the bed, but after setting her down, belatedly realized there was a logistical issue.

     “Lyea, how—I mean, I don’t want to hurt you…”Ashwin fumbled, unsure what to do next.

     Lyea gave Ashwin a shy smile and stood. “I’ve not had to do this before, but I’ve seen other fairies do it. Stand back?”

     Ashwin took a step back, confused. As she watched, Lyea raised her arms, closed her eyes, and stretched her wings. Suddenly electricity shot through her multi-colored wings, and within a breath, she was nearly Ash’s height. Opening her eyes, she glanced down at her body as though surprised it had worked, and then peeked up at Ash shyly.

     “Bloody hell,” Ashwin whispered, and unable to keep her hands off the amazing creature any longer, she pressed Lyea back onto the bed with her own body, smothering her in hot kisses. She lifted the dress over Lyea’s head and groaned softly at the sight of Lyea’s soft, naked body beneath her. So many nights she had dreamed of this, and now that it was here, she found herself so crazed with need she couldn’t slow down. Fortunately, Lyea seemed just as passionate, if the dripping wetness between her legs and her heaving chest were any indication.

     Ashwin drew her tongue over Lyea’s lips, over her jaw, and down her neck, sucking and biting slightly along the way. When she got to Lyea’s perfectly round, heavy breasts she took a deep breath before taking a hardened bark colored nipple into her mouth. Lyea groaned and arched off the bed, pushing her breast deeper into the warrior’s mouth. Ashwin’s hand came up and kneaded her other breast, taking the nipple between her fingers and twisting it just enough so that Lyea began making inarticulate sounds of desire. She wrapped her legs around Ashwin’s waist, trying to rub herself against the rock hard stomach on top of her.

     “Do you need something, love?” Ashwin whispered against Lyea’s nipple.

     “Please. Goddess, please. Take me, Ash. Make me yours.”

     Ashwin moaned and slid down Lyea’s soft stomach, stopping at the nest of soft, multi-colored curls between her legs. Hoping the fairy was put together like a human woman, she thrust her tongue into her, and felt the hard nub of her clit right away. Taking it gently between her teeth, she flicked her tongue against it in a fast rhythm, and as Lyea began to scream and arch, she wrapped a hand in Ashwin’s hair, the other grasping at the bed. She came hard, and Ashwin held tightly onto her thighs to keep her mouth firmly in place until the fairy was done.

     Lyea collapsed on the bed, her wings spread beneath her, her hair in disarray. Ash rested her wet, sticky face on Lyea’s equally wet, sticky thigh, and devoured her with her eyes. Lyea’s wings and hair were subtly changing color, like the colors of a rainbow as the sun moves. Her skin was flushed to a delicate pink, like an early summer rose. Her nipples were still hard, but her breathing was slowing.

     “You called me love,” Lyea mumbled, unable to move.

     “Yes, I did.” Ash moved up to Lyea’s side and pulled her tightly against her. “I want you, Lyea. To be mine.”

     “Mmhmm.” Lyea snuggled against the warm body against hers, and fell into a deep, contented sleep.

     “How? How can you make it happen, Lyea?” Serina paced the length of her room in frustrated motion.

     “She’s agreed to live in the forest with me, Serina. We’ll build a human style house. I don’t lose my life, and she can come and go as she pleases.” Lyea was calm, but puzzled by her friend’s obvious distress.

     “Lyea, can you trust her? If she can come and go as she pleases, how do you know she wont bring more humans to your forest? How do you know she wont betray you and the people you serve under the goddess?”

     Lyea flinched, stung by Serina’s assertion that she could not have love and still belong to the goddess.

     “My people will be glad I have someone, and I’m willing to bet my life that Ashwin wouldn’t betray us.”

     “But are you willing to bet other’s lives?”

     Lyea sat frozen, confused and disheartened.

     “Why are you so upset, Serina? When Ash first came here, you said to think about it, but not that it would be wrong. Why are you so against it now, when I’ve finally found someone who wants me?”

       “I want you, damn it! If you’ve given yourself to someone, it should have been me.” She ran a frustrated hand through her short silver hair and flopped into a chair, unwilling to meet Lyea’s eyes.

       Lyea didn’t move, shocked by her friends outburst. “Serina, you’ve had seventy years to decide you want me. But you do it now, when someone else does? You cant suddenly decide you want me just because you cant have me.” Lyea stood, shaking with anger at what felt like a betrayal.

     She watched as Serina’s eyes narrowed and the elf stood to her full height, towering over the fairy.

     “If you want to give yourself to a human, and maybe suffer the same fate your father suffered, fine. I’ll be here if and when you make it back, broken and lifeless.”

     “That’s enough.” Ashwin leaned in the doorway, her head tilted to the side and a cold, dangerous glint in her blue eyes. “Lyea is safe with me, Serina. We’ll do what we have to do to keep her safe and still be together. I wont have you saying otherwise and scaring her to death. And she’s right. You cant decide you want her just because another woman claims her heart.”

     Serina took a step toward Ash with her fists clenched, but stopped of her own accord. Lyea knew that a battle between these two warriors would turn very ugly.

     “Serina, please.” Lyea knelt on the table top to be eye to eye with her closest friend. “You only want me because we’ve talked about my—situation. If we hadn’t, you’d still be happy with your various partners, like the one in your bed only this morning.”

     Serina had the grace to blush and look away. When Lyea had come by to ask her to have breakfast, she had been between the lovely thighs of an elf with hair down to her ankles and perfect, enormous breasts.

     Taking Lyea’s face in her hands, she inclined her head at Ashwin, who moved forward protectively. “My sweet little friend. Have no doubt that although I may not have realized it before now, I believe you and I could have been good together. Right. But I will respect your decision. Know that if you ever need me, I will be here for you with open arms. You are a part of my heart, Lyea.” Serina swallowed hard and abruptly stepped back. Spinning to face Ash, she said, “Take care of her, warrior. I believe you care for her as much as a human can.” Ignoring Ashwin’s raised eyebrow and look of bemusement, she continued, “But have no doubt, warrior. If anything happens to this woman, I will find you. There will be nowhere you can hide from the elves.”

     Ashwin nodded but stayed silent. Lyea saw her jaw clenching and knew it took an amazing amount of self-control to allow Serina her say.

     “Good-bye, sweetling. I hope you’ll come visit again soon, and tell me how life is going.” Placing a gentle kiss on Lyea’s forehead, Serina stared into the fairy’s eyes for a long moment, and then swiftly left the room without a backward glance.

     Releasing a long breath, Ash said, “I’m so glad that didn’t come to a confrontation. I’m not bad, but I have a feeling I’m not to her standard.”

     Lyea nodded solemnly. “I’ve never seen her so wound up. I pity the woman under her tonight.”

     She smiled and held out her hand. “Shall we go set up our new home, my love? I believe we have a life to begin.”

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