Embraced (short story)

The village sits peacefully and orderly between two towering mountains. Beyond the northern mountain lays dense forest that stretches for miles, and a little bit further is the next village. To the south, the endless wars continue; houses burned down - including the people inside them, but not before the women are made to endure the desires of their attackers. But that is in the faraway lands, beyond the Shield River. The war has never come here.

The boys and girls in the village are separated in school and will be told of their other half once they are of age. The men and women too, are kept apart during their work.

The boy lives with his mother and slightly younger sister in a rather modest household; they live within their means and are happy. The boy was not yet of age, but of course he did not ever think about marriage, he did not even really understand it - and all that comes with it; self-responsibility, a wife chosen for him, their very own private home to themselves in which they could share each other in secret to then start a family. The boy enjoyed adventure more, being that age. He loved to hike alone, wherever and whenever he could. So much so that he had returned this morning from his trek to the village beyond the northern mountain. That village is much more affluent than the boy's village and holds many more opportunities for future success. His mother has always hoped he would eventually pursue a career there to one day support his own family. Between the boy's village and the neighbouring village lays an endless pit of trees submerged in darkness and mist. There is a path connecting the two villages, so it is advised to keep to the path to reduce encounters with the dangers of the forest. However, the path is withering and difficult to see at times; it is said that it will soon no longer be visible.

The boy had been unable to enjoy himself recently as his father had forced upon him the expected duty of sword-training. The father had wanted the boy to learn how to fight so that he could at least protect his mother and sister from possible thieves, and eventually join the army. The boy's mother was of course against it; she never told the boy why - how could she? But she told him that she would always love him no matter what he decided to do.

Crossing the southern mountain is forbidden unless called to war, in which case all the men of the village are required to pass over it and fight. Therefore, the boy's father could only take him so far to the southern mountain where he would train him and give him a feel for walking the path the army would walk if it came to war time. Once, the boy's father took him a short way on the path of the southern mountain but they soon returned, lest they get caught. The men of the village have once again been called to war, and they depart tonight.

The boy's father did not join them for dinner - he said he would get his fill later tonight. After his mother and sister had fallen asleep, the boy set out with just a torchlight and headed for the southern mountain. The night was truly dark, but the moon illuminated the vast sky; the boy's gaze was skyward bound, the stars reflected in his eyes. Before long he was standing at the foot of the mountain.

The boy walked much further along the path up the mountain than the time with his father. The path seemed to go on forever and the drop down was getting much steeper. The boy had to be careful not to slip as it was hard to see his feet, even with his torchlight. It also felt like the temperature had dropped greatly, and he started to shiver. He considered turning around and heading back to safety in his warm home back in the village, but his torchlight was diminishing rather quickly. Before long, it had diminished completely and the boy dropped to the cold ground in tears, shivering in absolute darkness and wishing he had not taken this path. But the boy then noticed a light up ahead coming from the side of the mountain. He was sure it wasn't there before, but had already begun running towards it.

Soon, he was standing outside what looked like the entrance to a cave, with the dim light coming from deep within. Still shivering, the boy entered the cave and headed to seek out the source. He was cautious and moved slowly. He could make out the rocky interior; it was spacious inside, the walls were far apart and the ceiling high. But as the boy went deeper the walls started to get narrower and the ceiling lower, as if the cave was swallowing him. The smell was one pungent and damp, one unfamiliar to the boy. The light source was a campfire, but it did not look like someone was camping there as it was the only thing in the room apart from the otherworldly figure that sat behind it.

The figure was sat on the floor with its knees rested against the side of its head and arms wrapped around its legs. The boy made it out to be a female. She had a cheeky and playful grin and was showing her teeth. She was giggling as he stood there shocked and in silence as he had never seen a girl naked before. She looked slightly older than him; he could tell by her long slender legs and the development of her breasts that were pushed against her thighs, her nipples concealed. The boy could also not miss the two horns on her head that poked upward with pointy ends. The boy looked back but the entrance he once came through was now enshrouded in darkness. It was as if all that existed at this point was himself, the girl and a secret cave cut off from the world illuminated by the dim light of the fire. He felt warmer now but could still not utter a word and just stared. The girl continued smirking, her alluring gaze fixating the boy's attention entirely. She then started to move: she placed her hands on the ground and stood up. She did this beautifully the boy thought, the shape of her frame slowly revealed as she came up from a bending position, the weight of her breasts bringing them down, and then resting gracefully on her chest as she stood voluptuously and elegantly opposite him behind the fire, her entire body revealed to him.

The boy felt an overwhelming presence from the girl as she stood, like she was towering over him. Indeed, she was taller than him, but he felt something much greater. She kept the same grin on her face as she began to walk slowly towards the boy. As she came around the fire the boy saw that she had a jet black tail that had a point at the end. It swung gently but heavily in the opposite direction of her hips as she began her approach. Her head lowered slightly and she bit one side of her bottom lip with what looked like a fang, her eyes on the boy the entire time, a look that captivated him. She was now biting all of her bottom lip, and what was a seductive gaze had now turned into a devouring stare as she came closer. With each step the boy could sense a dominating aura getting stronger. It was at this point that she slowly revealed her black wings, one at a time. The boy dropped to the ground in fear as she stood overshadowing him. Her stare had turned into one lustful as she forcibly undressed the boy, who had begun to shiver again. She readied the boy and lowered herself onto him, indulging herself in his first pleasures. He was made to satisfy her hunger throughout the night. When she was pleased, she pulled the boy close and embraced him in her claws and wings.
"You are to appease my desires as I command and surrender to my will. You will devote yourself to my hunger in your eternal arrest."
The boy said nothing and nodded obediently.
The girl clicked her fingers and the firelight was extinguished, leaving them both in a sea of darkness. For days, the girl commanded and received. He made sure to please her as she wished, and that kept the grin on her face. Whatever the circumstances, she was always in control.
"I will make sure you are always here with me", she ensured.

The following morning the girl informed the boy that his village was under attack. The boy looked back and could see the light of day - and also the smoke coming from the direction of his village. His eyes were clouded over and he carried on with his duty. The girl smiled.

Later that day, the girl asked the boy if he was upset about the attack of his village. It then dawned on the boy what had happened. He pushed the girl back and ran out of the cave, carefully retracing his steps down the mountain - it had been a long time. The village had been devastated; the fires had burned the houses down and left only some structure to the ones still standing. The large barn where some of the village animals were kept and where the boy and his sister would play every day had been burned to the ground. The smell of smoke and corpses was one unbearable, a smell unfamiliar to the boy. He ran to where his house used to stand modestly. It was one of the buildings that had remained the most intact, apart from one side that had been burnt down, revealing the family living room. The boy stepped inside cautiously.

Two corpses, one much smaller than the other, lay face down next to each other on the other side of the room near the big window. The boy could not support his shaking knees and fell to the ground in a panic, crying out for his mother and sister. The girl came in through the demolished wall behind the boy. She looked at the corpses, then at the boy who was still screaming. She stood over the boy and flipped him over to face her. She looked him in the eyes and smiled as she lowered herself onto him once again to remedy him. The boy's tears stopped as she had her way with him until he grew back his dutiful self again. They were there all night until the first light.

The boy awoke first and looked at the girl who was curled up sleeping peacefully. He began to see how beautiful she really was and he smiled. The boy then remembered that today was the day when came of age. He then thought back to the last time he was together with his mother, father and sister. It had already been years the man thought. He now had responsibilities. He then proceeded to wake the girl up who was in a deep sleep, laid across the floor in a man's shirt she had found in the corner of the room near the corpses, unbuttoned with every secret revealed. He took her by the hand and she gladly accepted.

They began to walk north, he ahead of the girl and she behind, pulling her along. He had a look of wonder on his face but concealed it from the girl. They reached the northern mountain and began to climb. After a long trek, they descended down to the starting point of the dark forest and the man took the girl to where the path connecting to the next village used to be. It had withered and could no longer be seen; the mist and darkness enshrouded the view in front of him. He stared into the black abyss and could see nothing. He was standing a distance from the girl, she behind him with a grin. She thought he looked sad, confused and lost from behind, and though selfish she thought, it made her happy. But the man turned around to look at her and was smiling. Her face turned to surprise, her eyes widening at this unexpected reaction. It was a smile of relief, as if he had come here to confirm something and was pleased with the result. At that point, the man walked up to her and grabbed the girl's hand again and they began to retrace their steps back over the mountain. Once more he was pulling the girl along, a lot faster than before. She took notice of how different he looked from when they first encountered. He was taller and had developed in many areas. She had a smile on her face but tried to hide it from the man. It was one filled with joy, a countenance never before seen, and she kept it the entire way as they headed south.

Alternate ending below here. This was just for fun, this isn't the "true" ending, just something I wanted to try writing.

I kind of wanted to hint at the "army" of men being an army of slaves to other succubus. The boy could only know of the existence of the succubus once he became of age and travelled up the mountain/passed over the mountain to find them, and whatever else lies beyond it, hence the men leaving the women behind and his father not being present at the end. Also, maybe the mother knew of their existence, that's why she never told the boy why she didn't want him to go to the mountain. Although, maybe his father really did die in the war.

But was there really a war, or was it the succubus that set fire to the village (since it's implied she can manipulate fire)?

(Sorry, I've gone off track a bit, but it's also helped me collect my thoughts. These are all things that will help me think about changes.)

I imagined it having the following possible implications:

- The sudden awakening just made her jump.
- She was surprised at his sudden change of taking charge since she is the one who is in charge. This is kind of implied with his "grin" which was meant to mirror the kind of grin she always had. Her having changed to smiling rather than grinning could possibly imply some kind of feelings there, but not necessarily. That's up to the reader to decide. You could take it as her being happy that things were going her way.
- Take the following sentence from the last paragraph: "It had already been years the man thought." I think this could be seen two ways. Literally, the word choice of changing "boy" to "man" occurred due to that being the day where he became "of age". But a wider interpretation could suggest that a time skip happened in a single sentence. Maybe they had returned to the village and stayed there (though this probably seems unrealistic). Or maybe they were somewhere else entirely and had slept there, and he was thinking about how it had been so long since his mother and daughter had passed. At that point, he grabbed her hand and they went to the southern mountain. Perhaps him now being a man, he has won some kind of authority over her; maybe he is aggressive and that is why she woke with a "fright". It's a long stretch, but it's definitely possible. It might be more realistic if I do not state that she is a succubus, since they conventionally the dominant ones. Though I do not think I should be restrained to conventions of the succubus. But you're right with how I establish her character.

a succubus?

p.s. the fuck is up with these double spoilers

The boy awoke first and looked at the girl who was curled up sleeping peacefully. He began to see how beautiful she really was, and he smiled. The boy then remembered that today was the day where he became of age. He then thought back to the last time he was together with his mother, father and sister. It had already been years the man thought. He now had responsibilities. He then proceeded to wake the girl up who was in a deep sleep, laid across the floor in a man's shirt she had found in the corner of the room near the corpses, unbuttoned with every secret revealed. He took her by the hand and she gladly accepted with a slight grin on her face.

He began to walk north at a fast pace, he ahead of the girl and she behind, pulling her along. He had a look of desperation on his face but concealed it from the girl. They reached the northern mountain and began to climb. As they descended down to the starting point of the dark forest, the man looked lost and confused. He could no longer see the path connecting to the next village; it had withered, and mist and darkness enshrouded the view in front of him. He turned around to look at the girl and she had on her face that same grin he had seen countless times. He dropped to his knees at her overpowering presence as her full form once again overshadowed the man. She took off the shirt she had been wearing and cast it aside. She proceeded to walk over to the man, but he stood up and ran into the forest. It was dark, very dark in the forest, so much so that the man could not even see his feet - or what was in front of him. He took care not to stumble but was afraid he may collide with a tree. He had heard about the dangers of the forest many times as a boy. It felt as if he was being observed at every angle, and although he could not see anything from the thickening mist he was sure something could see him. He had not seen or heard the girl begin to run as he set off and was certain he had made some distance from her. But as he turned around to check, she was an immediate hair's breadth behind him and grabbed him as if she had been behind him the entire time and could have done so at any point. He could not see the girl's face properly but he thought he saw a facial expression she had not made before. He was scared and he felt like a boy again. She giggled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along quickly back the opposite way, and they headed for the south.

I'm thinking I could maybe write the very last sentence a bit better, it seems a bit abrupt. But that's the event I want to happen. I just need to figure out how to word it better.

The boy awoke first and looked at the girl who was curled up sleeping peacefully. He began to see how beautiful she really was and he smiled. The boy then remembered that today was the day when came of age. He then thought back to the last time he was together with his mother, father and sister. It had already been years the man thought. He now had responsibilities. He then proceeded to wake the girl up who was in a deep sleep, laid across the floor in a man's shirt she had found in the corner of the room near the corpses, unbuttoned with every secret revealed. He took her by the hand and she gladly accepted.

He began to walk north holding the girl's hand, he ahead of the girl and she behind, pulling her along. He had a look of wonder on his face but concealed it from the girl. They reached the northern mountain and began to climb. After a long trek, they descended down to the starting point of the dark forest and the man took the girl to where the path connecting to the next village used to be. It had withered and could no longer be seen; the mist and darkness enshrouded the view in front of him. He stared into the black abyss and could see nothing. He was standing a distance from the girl, she behind him with a grin. She thought he looked sad, confused and lost from behind, and though selfish she thought, it made her happy. But the man turned around to look at her and was smiling. Her face turned to surprise, her eyes widening at this unexpected reaction. It was a smile of relief, as if he had come here to confirm something and was pleased with the result. At that point, the man walked up to her and grabbed the girl's hand again and they began to retrace their steps back over the mountain. Once more he was pulling the girl along, a lot faster than before. She took notice of how different he looked from when they first encountered. He was taller and had developed in many areas. She had a smile on her face but tried to hide it from the man. It was one filled with joy, a countenance never before seen, and she kept it the entire way as they headed south.

I'm not sure if the ending is now too soppy, but I like it. Let me know what you think.