The Feast

by Rowan Bree

  “…didn’t think we’d actually find her,” Jasper says. “After losing her in the forest, then her losing her memory…”

  Sybil replies, “I’m just glad it’s all over. I was worried Vale’s hold over her was too strong, or that she wouldn’t trust me in the end…”

  “We risked a lot to bring her back.”

  “I just hope it’s worth it.”

  Did they know you before all this? The way Jasper described it makes you think he knew you before you lost your memory. But if that was the case, he should have told you when you first met.

  You try to hear more, but the wind has changed direction and their conversation is lost. For now you’ll just have to trust you’re with friends.

  Epilogue.

  You may be desperate, but you aren’t about to fall for Sybil’s tricks. You hold the dagger tight, refusing to give it up.

  “Please,” Sybil whispers.

  “Gods, this is boring,” Vale says. He pushes Sybil out of the way and takes the dagger from you. He fluidly slices the man’s throat open. You can hear his blood splatter the stones, running into the carvings to complete the spell.

  The room goes cold and a dark fog floats up from the floor. Amidst the fog is a figure, a woman with blonde hair. She approaches the king.

  “My love,” she says falling into his lap.

  The king hugs her tightly. He tells her how much he missed her, how he waited for her return.

  The fog clears and you notice that Sybil is gone. You wonder what she was planning to do to you.

  With tears in his eyes, the king addresses Vale. “The Order has shown itself a true ally of the kingdom. Tyven welcomes you with open arms and bids its friends do the same.”

  One by one the nobles bow to pledge their allegiance to the Order. Vale looks smug as he watches them. He has finally gotten what he has always wanted.

  Epilogue.

  If there’s one thing you’re good at, it’s getting distracted. You go over to the centaur’s table and introduce yourself.

  The centaur is unable to take his eyes off you as you take a seat opposite the minotaur and elven woman.

  “Never seen a human woman before?” the elf teases him.

  The centaur smiles. “Not one this exquisite. Who are you?”

  You think of the forest, and the grey fog that clouds your memories before that. You introduce yourself as a noble from Doria.

  “What a pity,” the minotaur says to you. “Too far to go visit. Ever make it down to the southern sea?”

  You shake your head.

  The minotaur whispers something to the elven woman, who giggles. She says to you, “My friend and I were just about to retire to our chambers for a bit. Join us. We can show you how we pass the time in our homeland.”

  The centaur interrupts, “Or perhaps you would stay and drink with me instead.” His eyes gleam with the intoxication of both wine and lust.

  Join the couple upstairs.

  Stay with the centaur.

  You follow after Hawke, hovering near him until the prince has left.

  “I think I’ll stick by you,” you tell him.

  He looks around before replying. “There’s too many eyes here. If we’re seen together all night people might start to get suspicious. The Dorians already don’t like me for my outspokenness against the Order.”

  “Then let’s find a quiet place just for the two of us,” you reply. “We can pretend I’ve seduced you into going to the Order’s private party. No one will know where we’re really going.”

  Hawke laughs. “Sounds like a plan.”

  You take his arm and he leads you out of the hall, past the women at the table who look like they might murder you in jealousy. You find a quiet alcove with a stone bench bathed in moonlight. Hawke makes himself comfortable on the bench, looking relieved to be away from the feast.

  You drape your arms across Hawke’s chest and he pulls you down onto his lap. His strong arms feel good around you.

  “You don’t have to keep pretending,” you say.

  “Are you sure?” he teases. “What if someone sees us? We need them to think you’ve seduced me, right?”

  You gently stroke his chest letting your mind wander to what it would feel like pressed against your own naked breast, your sweat making your bodies stick.

  “I’m not pretending,” Hawke says, seeing the desire in your eyes. You don’t even have to tell him what you were thinking of.

  He kisses you hard and you kiss him back with equal passion. Lips still locked you straddle him. His hands cup your breasts.

  “Someone could find us here,” you say between kisses.

  “Then we’ll be quick,” he replies nudging his trousers down.

  “People will talk.”

  “Let them,” he says. You take him inside you.

  Hawke bites your neck and grinds against you. It is like you’ve awoken a beast inside of him. His hands run up and down your arched back, his fingertips pressing into your soft skin. His skin smells like salt and sand, like a glimpse of summer amidst the cold, dusty stone of the castle. There is urgency in his movements, in yours. You are desperate to taste all of him in the short time you have.

  He moans loudly in your ear and you bite his shoulder. You don’t think you’ve ever come this fast in all your life. But it’s better this way. With the fire dying down you have time to savor the feeling of him inside you, your connection to him as your movements slow and you rest your head against his shoulder.

  “I think I hear someone coming,” Hawke says, gently pushing you off him. He tucks himself back into his trousers just in time for a guard to walk past. You try to feign innocence though you can feel the flush in your cheeks and the residual heat between your legs from the sea chief’s cock. Once the guard is gone Hawke suggests you get back to the feast.

  You arrive just in time to see the king enter the great hall. Beside him is a woman, and atop her long blonde hair sits the queen’s diadem. Is the king about to announce a new marriage? Murmurs run through the crowd like the branches of a stream.

  The king bids everyone to be silent. His smile is radiant. The prince’s eyes keep darting back and forth between the woman and the floor. His cheeks are deathly pale.

  “Some of you may have already recognized who this is,” the king says, gesturing to the woman beside him. “And I assure you that your eyes are not playing tricks. Your queen has returned, her afflictions healed by the Dorian mages in a gesture of apology for their dishonorable past.”

  Afflictions? You were sure the queen had passed away. Goosebumps prickle your skin as you try to reconcile what you know and what the king is telling you now.

  The king continues. “Like most of you, I wary when I first heard the Order had returned to power in the East. We all know how the kingdom united to defeat them decades ago. But things have changed, and Doria has proven that even old enemies can become true allies. And their timing couldn’t be any better, what with the sudden emergence of monsters in our city. The Order has been working tirelessly to keep our citizens safe, capturing the creatures and using their magic to render them docile.”

  The king doesn’t seem to know that the Order are the ones who brought the creatures here in the first place. Either he is purposely lying or he is incredibly stupid. Either way you feel urgency to leave Tyven as soon as possible.

  You tug on Hawke’s arm. “Let’s go,” you whisper.

  “Together we will make the kingdom greater than it has ever been.” The crowd erupts into applause, giving you time to make your escape.

  Hawke takes your hand in his much larger one. It’s surprisingly soft. “Stay close,” he tells you.

  You leave the feast without trouble, though you only start to relax once the castle gates are far behind you. Hawke pulls you east, towards the sea and his ship.

  As you near the docks you feel that something is off. They are far too quiet, even accounting for
all the guests at the feast. Usually there are fishermen and merchants working into the night hauling crates and shouting across the docks. There isn’t even the usual twinkle of torchlight.

  “That’s ours,” Hawke says not noticing anything wrong. He is pointing to a slender ship with high masts and an intricately carved tentacle curving out from the bow.

  “We’ve made peace with the gods of the deep,” he says. “There is nothing to fear from them.”

  Only as you near the ship does Hawke’s demeanor seem to change. He puts a hand on your chest, stopping you from walking up the gangway.

  “My men should be here.”

  You ask to go with him, not wanting to be left alone on the abandoned dock. You stay close as the two of you walk slowly up the gangway.

  The ship is empty, at least from what you can see. There are no men, but no bodies either and more importantly no monsters. It doesn’t look like there was any kind of struggle either.

  “I’ll check the lower decks,” Hawke tells you. “I need you to stay up here and keep a lookout. It could be pirates and I don’t want to be snuck up on.”

  Wait on the empty deck.

  Ask to look inside the ship instead.

  You decline the couple’s invitation and stay with the centaur. He pours you a goblet of wine and you take a sip.

  “Know much about centaurs?” he says.

  You shake your head. Not that you remember, anyway.

  “But you do know of our reputation at least.”

  That you do remember. It’s hard to forget when tales of the noble race’s ways with women are legend. Even now one of the tables has struck up a song about a centaur’s seduction of a famous queen. It is quite descriptive and your face reddens as you listen to the words. There isn’t nearly enough wine left in your goblet. The centaur pours more.

  The song ends with a rowdy cheer as the men pound on the table, sending cutlery flying.

  The centaur places his hand on yours.

  “Come with me,” he says.

  You get up and feel the wine rush to your head. You giggle as you follow the centaur out of the hall and towards the kitchens.

  “In here,” the centaur says, pulling you into a store room filled with wooden crates. He pulls the door closed as servants rush by carrying more platters of food.

  Your breath heaves from running, the excitement making your head buzz. You could get caught by the castle’s kitchen staff at any moment.

  The centaur kisses you taking what little breath you had left. You kiss him back as long as you can before breaking away for air. He kisses your cheek and down your neck as you catch your breath. His hands slip your dress off your shoulders.

  “Turn around,” he says, still kissing his way down your neck and across your shoulders. You help him slide your dress down and step out of it. He bends you over a stack of crates, caressing and kissing your body.

  He asks if you are ready, and you nod. He rests his forelegs up on the crates and moves on top of you. You can feel the flared head of his cock hit your backside and you reach back to stroke its length. You slide it between your thighs and rub it against your pussy. You won’t be able to fit it all in, but you will try your best. You massage the tip with your palm until the both of you are wet. You will need all the help you can get to fit this beast inside of you.

  You move the centaur’s cock to your entrance, testing your readiness.

  “Go slow,” the centaur tells you.

  You push against him and feel yourself stretching until his head pops inside you. You let out a gasp and the centaur chuckles.

  “Easy now.”

  You let your body open up bit by bit to take him in, every inch making you hornier. You slide back onto his cock until you can go no further. Your pussy clenches and you quiver.

  The centaur asks if you are okay.

  You moan in response and push back on him. He fucks you slowly at first but encouraged by your reaction starts going harder. His cock is drenched by your arousal and so are your quaking thighs as he drives himself into you.

  The crates bang against the wall under the weight of the both of you. Surely someone will hear you even over the din of the kitchens.

  The centaur lets out a groan and you can feel his seed dripping down your thigh. Each time he thrusts into you more of his cum dribbles out of you. Finally his cock goes limp and slips out of you. You can feel your filled pussy gaping. You stop to catch your breath.

  “You won’t be able to go back out like this,” the centaur says. “Let me help.” You hear him shift behind you and feel his hands on your thighs, then a tongue.

  The centaur lovingly licks you clean. You enjoy the gentle warmth of his tongue and lips on your skin. When he is done you put back on your dress and follow him back to the hall, careful not to be caught by any of the kitchen staff.

  The king’s announcement.

  Hawke is waiting for you when you return to the great hall.

  “Where were you? The king’s about to make his announcement,” he says.

  You join Hawke on the outskirts of the crowd as the king enters the hall, careful to keep an eye out for any Order members.

  Beside the king is a woman, and atop her long blonde hair sits the queen’s diadem. Is the king about to announce a new marriage? Murmurs run through the crowd like the branches of a stream.

  The king bids everyone to be silent. His smile is radiant. The prince’s eyes keep darting back and forth between the woman and the floor. His cheeks are deathly pale.

  “Some of you may have already recognized who this is,” the king says, gesturing to the woman beside him. “And I assure you that your eyes are not playing tricks. Your queen has returned, her afflictions healed by the Dorian mages in a gesture of apology for their dishonorable past.”

  Afflictions? You were sure the queen had passed away. Goosebumps prickle your skin as you try to reconcile what you know and what the king is telling you now.

  The king continues. “Like most of you, I wary when I first heard the Order had returned to power in the East. We all know how the kingdom united to defeat them decades ago. But things have changed, and Doria has proven that even old enemies can become true allies. And their timing couldn’t be any better, what with the sudden emergence of monsters in our city. The Order has been working tirelessly to keep our citizens safe, capturing the creatures and using their magic to render them docile.”

  The king doesn’t seem to know that the Order are the ones who brought the creatures here in the first place. Either he is purposely lying or he is incredibly stupid. Either way you feel urgency to leave Tyven as soon as possible.

  You tug on Hawke’s arm. “Let’s go,” you whisper.

  “Together we will make the kingdom greater than it has ever been.” The crowd erupts into applause, giving you time to make your escape.

  Hawke takes your hand in his much larger one. It’s surprisingly soft. “Stay close,” he tells you.

  You leave the feast without trouble, though you only start to relax once the castle gates are far behind you. Hawke pulls you east, towards the sea and his ship.

  As you near the docks you feel that something is off. They are far too quiet, even accounting for all the guests at the feast. Usually there are fishermen and merchants working into the night hauling crates and shouting across the docks. There isn’t even the usual twinkle of torchlight.

  “That’s ours,” Hawke says not noticing anything wrong. He is pointing to a slender ship with high masts and an intricately carved tentacle curving out from the bow.

  “We’ve made peace with the gods of the deep,” he says. “There is nothing to fear from them.”

  Only as you near the ship does Hawke’s demeanor seem to change. He puts a hand on your chest, stopping you from walking up the gangway.

  “My men should be here.”

  You ask to go with him, not wanting to be left alone on the abandoned dock. You stay close
as the two of you walk slowly up the gangway.

  The ship is empty, at least from what you can see. There are no men, but no bodies either and more importantly no monsters. It doesn’t look like there was any kind of struggle either.

  “I’ll check the lower decks,” Hawke tells you. “I need you to stay up here and keep a lookout. It could be pirates and I don’t want to be snuck up on.”

  Wait on the empty deck.

  Ask to look inside the ship instead.

  You kneel before him and undo his pants. He strokes your hair, encouraging you as you bring your lips to his flared head. His taste makes you shiver, his flesh soft and warm against your tongue.

  The elf climbs onto the bed next to him, kissing him as you attend to his cock. He fondles her breasts and tickles between her thighs. His fingers come away wet with her arousal.

  She looks down at you, her cheeks blushed. You slide your mouth along the minotaur’s cock, taking him as deep as you can go. The minotaur groans and his grip tightens on your hair. He slips one of his fingers of the other hand inside the elf as you feel the tip of his cock reach your throat.

  You continue to pleasure him with your mouth as the elf grinds against his fingers. Not too long after you hear the elf coming and feel the minotaur’s cock twitch in your mouth. You aren’t about to let him cum yet. He groans as his slick cock pops out of your mouth. He lies back on the bed.

  You climb up to join the couple.

  Straddle the minotaur’s cock.

  Straddle the minotaur’s face.

  The elf kneels before him and undoes his pants. He strokes her hair, encouraging her as she brings her lips to his flared head. His taste makes her shiver with pleasure.