Take Me: The Maiden and the Monster (An Erotic Fairytale)

The Maiden and the Monster

She
shivered with nervousness, and closed her eyes tightly. She could feel the tips
of her nipples harden in the cool air, and the breath of the wolf-beast on her
skin. Then, she felt the smooth tongue lick a long line over her breast,
lapping at the nipple. It was hot, and moist, and sent a little thrill through
her. With a deep breath she tried to relax, burying her fingers in the thick
fur of the beast’s head while he licked and teased her breasts, first one then
the other.

Ella
willed herself to be still while the creature licked its way down her body,
down below her stomach to where she tried to cover her sex with one hand. It
nuzzled her, and she moved the hand aside, quivering in anticipation.

The
beast inhaled deeply, sniffing her scent, and made a low rumbling growl. He
gripped her hips in his huge hands, the skin turning pink under his claws.
Suddenly, he roughly spun her, turning her around. He rose from his crouching
position as he put one paw on her back and pushed her down, bending her double.

“Don’t
hurt me,” Ella murmured, her voice quavering.

––––––––

T
he
forest was dark, with only scatterings of moonlight showing through the trees
and making flittering shapes on the forest floor. The moon was full, of course.
Ella had waited for this very night to go out "hunting".

She
was eighteen years old, a delicate girl - slim but with a curve of hip and
breast that never failed to turn heads in the village. Her hair was a deep
auburn and fell in soft waves to her slender waist. Her eyes, a deep green,
sometimes looked bluer in the sunlight. She wore a white dress that flattered
her creamy pale skin, and her red travelling cloak, the hood pulled up to cover
her head. Her feet were bare - like many of the village youth she had little
use for shoes.

Ella
knew the forest inside and out. She had lived on its outskirts for all of her
life. It had always been peaceful, uneventful, and easy. Her family was what
passed for wealthy in the area - which really meant that they had a couple of
servants and people to work on their farm, and Ella had been tutored by the
best teachers. Her father was the mayor of the village, and spent most of his
days resolving small disputes and dispensing advice.

Until
recently, there had been no conflict, very little crime, and no violence.

That
had changed suddenly, when this year there had been an unexplained long and
brutal winter. There had been reports of strange creatures in the forest, and
then livestock going missing. Howls began to echo down through the hills. And
then, young girls had begun to disappear.

They
had turned up days later, wandering back into town disoriented and unable to
remember much except for one common theme: a huge, wild beast had taken them
from the forest path and dragged them off somewhere to ravish them.

In
her village, everyone knew everyone. Ella knew that most of these girls weren't
wholly virtuous, and had suspected at first that they had been sneaking off to
meet boys from the neighbouring town. It wouldn't have been the first time. But
then the latest young woman to go missing - a girl named Alys, who Ella knew
well - showed her the giant, raking claw marks that ran down over her back.

Ella
was angry. She was upset for her friends and annoyed that she was now forbidden
to enter the forest, which had always been her favourite place to wander. She
had always been a headstrong girl, and now she felt she had to do something to
protect the village. Besides - she was morbidly curious.

She
was good with a knife, and passable with the bow. Not being interested in
dallying with young men, going to dances or gossiping, she had instead spent
her time teaching herself to shoot. Her father had even indulged her when she
was younger, taking her hunting for rabbits. Though, he had stopped when she'd
gotten older, as he said it was not a sport for ladies. She carried her knife
at her belt now, and the bow slung over her shoulder.

It
was her village, and she was going to get to the bottom of this.

She
hummed to herself: quietly but not too quietly. She wanted to attract the
beast, after all. She stopped to pick white flowers in a patch of moonlight,
because she had nothing better to do, and because she liked their scent.

Far
off, she heard a sudden howl. There was always a lot of howling when the moon
was full. The sound echoed off the hills and she couldn't figure out where it
was coming from. Shivering, she pulled her cloak tightly around her, and
continued along the narrow path.

Everything
was quiet for a while, and just as she was beginning to despair of anything
happening, she heard another howl - it sounded like it was right behind her.
She jumped, spinning around on the spot. There was nothing there.

Inexplicably,
Ella felt angry.

"Stop
screwing with me and show yourself!" She shouted to the empty air, using
language she wouldn't dare to use at home.

Suddenly,
there was a heavy weight on her left shoulder, dragging her around. She yelped,
the flowers falling from her hand and landing on the grass. She batted wildly
at whatever held her in its iron grip, then remembered herself and went for her
knife.

Her
hand was grabbed and restrained, the knife dropping uselessly from her fingers.
Huge, hairy paws held her. They were tipped with long, sharp claws. Ella
screamed, and kicked out with her feet.

The
thing roared as she felt her foot connect with something. She caught the long
sharp teeth shining in the moonlight. She didn't get time to see anything else,
as she was snatched up roughly, thrown over the beast's hard back and carried
at a swift, jolting pace through the woods.

Branches
whipped leaves against her, slashing her clothes, and she tried to shield her
face and protect her eyes. She kicked and thrashed to no avail. The beast
growled and shook her, and she screamed. A tear squeezed from the corner of one
eye, but she blinked it away stubbornly. She would not give up. She would find
a way to end this beast and its reign of terror.

As
strange as it was, eventually Ella found herself dozing as she was carried
along, only waking when she was deposited roughly on a hard stony ground. She
opened her eyes, squinting into the dim light. She had been about to scream,
but held her tongue, thinking better of it.

She
was in a small cave, with no light but that of the moon shining in the
entrance. A beast stared down at her. It was nearly seven feet tall, hairy all
over, and its eyes glowed yellow. Its ears were tufted with hair and twitched
this way and that. It crouched on the stone floor as though ready to pounce at
any moment. Ella thought it was wolf-like in appearance, with dark grey fur and
a bushy tail - though it was vaguely human shaped.

She
rubbed her eyes and sat up, meeting the animal's gaze. It looked at her almost
curiously. Ella could see the intelligence in its eyes. She cocked her head,
puzzled. "What are you?" She asked.

The
thing made a snorting growl, a soft shake of its shaggy head, and looked at her
as though astonished. It opened its mouth. A long sound came forth, as though
it were trying to speak.

Ella's
brow furrowed. "Are you the one who's been taking girls from my
village?" She blurted out.

The
wolf-thing snarled, baring teeth and gums, but somehow it didn't make her
afraid. It looked defensive, as though her words wounded it. It gave her
courage to voice her anger.

"Why
are you doing this?" She yelled. "Don't you have anything better to
do than terrorize innocent maidens?"

A
pause - the beast's head cocked to one side. Then its body began to shake
slightly. Ella drew her legs up under her, backing against the cave wall. A low
rumbling noise emanated from the creature. It straightened up, throwing its
head back and making a barking, growling sound. Slowly, she raised an eyebrow.
Was... was it laughing at her?

The
thing crouched back down, wiping the back of one huge hand over its eyes in an
oddly human gesture. It opened its mouth again. She caught a glimpse of a long
red tongue, as it moved its jaw and contorted its face in an effort to speak.

It
forced out a sound. "N...Not..." She thought it said. Its voice was deep
and rumbling, inhuman.

Despite
herself, Ella found herself learning toward the wolf, straining to decipher the
strange sound. "Not what?"

The
thing blinked, and its mouth widened as though in a smile, its tongue lolling
out between long teeth. It looked pleased that she had understood.
"Mmmm-" It rumbled, then shook its head with a huff.
"Mmmaaidenss." Then it began to laugh its panting, growling laugh.

Ella
gathered her cloak around her, unconsciously trying to preserve her modesty by
hiding her legs, which were exposed where her white dress had been torn. She
got to her feet, swaying a little, and put one hand on a hip. "Excuse
me
!"
She cried, indignant. She felt her face grow flushed with anger and stalked
closer to the wolf, pointing one long finger right at its face. "How dare
you?" She spat. "Those girls did nothing to harm you!"

To
her surprise, the creature snapped its mouth shut, the smiling expression gone.
Its ears flattened against its furry head, and it sank down to the ground,
folding in on itself.

Ella
was more confused than ever. It looked for all the world as if it had taken her
scolding to heart. She didn't know what to do.

The
beast spoke. "I'm... sorryyy." It rumbled, holding its giant head in
its hands.

"Then
why?" Ella cried, dumbfounded.

The
wolf-thing looked up, its yellow eyes shining. It huffed, and slowly stretched
a hand out toward her. It opened the palm, as though to show her something.

Warily,
Ella took one more step toward him, and looked. The palm of its hand was
hairless, leathery and grey-black like his fur. In the middle was a symbol,
like a star with some squiggly lines. Ella hadn't seen anything like it before,
but something clicked in her mind. Something from stories her Ma had told her
as a child.

"Witchcraft!"
She exclaimed, with a shiver.

In
confirmation, the beast nodded. Now she thought she recognised sadness in its
eyes. It lowered its hand and curled it back against its body, staring at Ella.

"You've
been enchanted..." She murmured, beginning to put together a theory in her
mind.

"Cuuuuurrsed!"
It snarled.

"Cursed."
She acknowledged. "And you are... trying to break it."

The
furry ears perked up a little, and the beast raised its long nose. It said
nothing.

Another
shiver came over the girl. "What do you need to break your curse?"

It
stared at her for a long moment. "Mma.." It snarled, shook its shaggy
mane. "Maaaiden." It looked like it was trying to get another word
out, the tongue coming out to lick the snout and the lips curling back.
"Luh... looovve."

By
now, Ella had quite forgotten to be afraid. It seemed as though she were in no
immediate danger, and the beast seemed to have some semblance of humanity.
Although he had done some terrible things, she was beginning to understand his
motivation.

"You
won't get a maiden to love you by abducting one!" She said.

What
happened next almost made her laugh. The wolf-creature shook its head again,
and covered its face with its hands, its ears lowering. It peeked out at her
between open fingers. It almost seemed embarrassed.

Realization
slowly kicked in. "Ohh," Ella said, then began to blush herself.
"OH. You don't need them to love you, exactly..."

It
nodded.

"You've
taken three girls, only to discover that none of them were really...
virgins." She said quietly.

Another
nod.

Ella
sighed heavily. "You can't go around stealing people!" She
admonished. "Don't you see - they're just about to come and hunt you
down."

The
beast sunk down onto the floor, hiding its head, and suddenly Ella found she
felt pity. After a moment's hesitation, she closed the remaining distance
between her and the monster. She reached out one hand. Trembling a little, she
laid it on top of the great furry head.

"My
name is Ella.” She said. “I will help you."

The
beast looked up, its ears twitching.

"I
don't know how," she continued, "but I will help you."

––––––––

A
fter
hours of questioning, and deciphering the beast's crude attempts at speech,
Ella had a better idea of the conundrum.

The
beast had been a man - she couldn't understand the name he had tried to say -
and had been cursed by a woman he had wronged (he hadn't told her how he had
wronged her but had seemed embarrassed). It had been many months now, and he
was beginning to forget his former life. He was growing desperate, and more
animalistic. He had trouble remembering things she queried him about, and she
suspected that the longer he spent in this form the worse he got. If he
remained like this for long, she had no doubt, he would be completely feral.
And if he preyed on any of the villages' livestock, or women - well, he would
be hunted down and killed.

The
problem was, Ella could only think of one way to help him.

Of
course, she was a virtuous girl. She had been saving herself for marriage, like
her father had always told her good girls did. And because she didn’t like any
of the boys in the village enough to marry them, she had simply not been
interested. She was subjected to constant stories of misadventure from her
friends, telling her about the ways their boyfriends had wronged them and the
various stupid things they did. They were all immature and crass, she thought.

But...
she cringed to think of it... but if she were to give herself to this beast,
would it not be a noble thing? He was a poor man trapped in an animal’s body,
and she was quite sure he had learned his lesson - whatever he had done.
Besides, she was quite sure no one deserved this kind of curse. If she refused
and ran, would he catch and take her anyway? She wasn’t sure. But if she did
escape, one thing was certain. He would remain a beast, and become more and
more violent. It was a matter of time before more people were hurt. Or the
beast would be killed. She couldn’t stand the thought of either.