The Knight and the Hunter
Queen’s Knight or Hunter’s Knight
Content warning: non-con hypnosis, surprise ninjas
Leaves rustled as the trees shifted in the gentle breeze, the only reminder that time still moved. The forest was otherwise still, quiet, as if the animals were wary to venture there.
The knight had no such qualm. She stepped around the underbrush, hand on her hilt.
The lady knight’s leather armor weighed on her, her thick, puffed clothing stifling in the warm forest. Much as her heavy, sandy orange hair did, as big as a pumpkin on her head.
Teagan ignored the discomfort. She had a job to scope out the forest for any danger.
The queen planned to search the forest for a rare plant, one said to contain holy magic, to share its benefits with her people. She sent Teagan to take a preliminary look at the forest for anything dangerous, any wild beasts or rebel camps. So far it had been quiet. Too quiet.
A sharp thud against a tree ahead of her shattered the quiet. Teagan glanced up at an arrow stuck in the tree, then turned around, sword out.
“Who’s out there?” she asked. “In the name of the queen, I order you to show yourself.”
Following a nudge something grabbed Teagan’s boot.
Before Teagan could turn it pulled her leg up and flipped her upside-down. It wrapped around her leg as it lifted her up. She lost her sword and shouted, scrambling to reach it on the ground, but she rose too high to reach it.
“Hello, sweetie.” A lamia lowered from the canopy.
“Mira.” Teagan recognized the voice. She glared at the hunter lamia, her dark green hood over her head. Mira lifted the hood and shook her green hair, smiling to Teagan with her shining yellow eyes.
“Fancy meeting you out in the forest,” Mira said. She brought them face level.
Teagan glanced at her leg. Red and blue striped tail—Mira’s.
“If you’re out here, I’ll have to tell the queen it’s too dangerous to come out here,” Teagan said.
Mira laughed and twirled one of Teagan’s braids. “Now, now, I’m the reason why it’s safe to travel here, Pumpkin Head.”
Teagan grabbed at Mira, but the lamia pulled away.
“Let me go!” Teagan shouted. She lifted herself up, reaching for Mira’s tail around her leg. She’d met this lamia before. She seemed harmless, but she didn’t trust her more than the thinnest width of her tail.
Mira leaned close over Teagan, looking into her eyes.
“You don’t want to hang around a while?”
Teagan looked at Mira’s eyes. They seemed to glow, new colors forming in them.
“Halt!”
Mira looked up at the shout. A crowd of ninjas surrounded the pair, hands and feet up to attack.
“A royal knight of the monarchy!” a ninja said. “Hand her over to us or we’ll capture you both!”
“Looks like I’ll have to let you down,” Mira said. She flipped Teagan and released her leg. “Grab your sword!” She dropped her tail from the tree on a line of the ninjas.
Teagan grabbed her sword and charged at the ninja crowd. Mira held some at bay with her tail and fired off arrows from her bow at others. Teagan fought two or three ninjas at a time, any who began to overpower her felled by an arrow from Mira.
A line of ninjas leapt over Mira’s whipping tail, but Teagan jumped back and slashed the ninjas, felling them. Mira shot a ninja sneaking up on Teagan. The two fought on until the Inexplicable Ninja Attack had all been felled, the two surrounded by fallen ninjas.
Teagan panted. She took a few nicks from the ninjas, but she felled them fast enough to avoid serious injury. She sighed and put her sword away; Mira helped much. She turned to the lamia.
“Thank–”
Mira leaned in and kissed Teagan on the lips. The knight squealed and stumbled back
“What’s the big”—Teagan stared at Mira’s eyes—”idea…?”
“Just a little victory kiss,” Mira said. She slithered closer. “It was quite a tiring fight, though.” She stared at Teagan, her eyes pulsating vibrant red, blue, and green in a sharp, dizzying pattern. “You should rest.”
“No way!” Teagan backed away. “I’m not falling for…” Mira’s eyes drew the knight to her. The forest looked blurry, and Teagan tried to yank her gaze away. She stumbled into Mira’s slithering tail, which pushed Teagan right into Mira’s open arms.
“Now, now,” Mira said.
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, I’ll make sure you’re back on your way to the castle before you’re missed.”
Teagan grimaced through the colors flooding her vision, dimming everything in her sight but Mira.
“No… No! No…” She twisted in Mira’s arms.
Mira’s tail snaked around Teagan and held her in place.
“That’s right, dear knight,” Mira said, “struggle and squirm. It’s more fun that way.
Teagan reached for her sword, but Mira held her arm down with her tail.
“No weapons, though. This is a mental challenge only.”
Teagan’s legs quaked. At rest Mira stood shorter than Teagan, but as her legs threatened to buckle she stood lower, held up more by Mira than herself. The longer she stared the more her mind was held up by Mira than herself. She felt dark patches in her mind splashed with color.
Teagan let her arms go limp in Mira’s rising, coiled grip, focusing her efforts on standing.
“Ah, dear knight, you’re so proud.” Mira placed a hand on Teagan’s head. “I admire that in you, but you need to learn when it’s okay to just let yourself…” She stroked Teagan’s chin.
“Drop.”
Teagan’s knees fell to the ground.
“That’s it, sweetie,” Mira said, holding Teagan’s chin up. She grinned and leaned down until their foreheads touched. The hypnotic colors pulsating from Mira’s eyes suspended Teagan’s thoughts, hiding her memory from access as Mira filled her mind. Teagan’s mouth hung ajar.
Mira slithered her tail under Teagan’s leather armor, loosening it as she wrapped around her underclothing. As she removed the straps of Teagan’s armor and clothing Mira slipped her tail lower to pull off the knight’s boots.
“All this clothing is so stifling, isn’t it?” Mira said
A few stray thoughts on Teagan’s head sounded a warning; she shouldn’t remove her clothing, she would be vulnerable, exposed.
Mira’s words rang truer in her head and stuck to her mind. Her clothes were stifling, uncomfortable. She would feel better without some.
Mira found an opening with her tail and slithered under Teagan’s tunic, up her back and around her torso. Mira pulled Teagan’s tunic up as she slipped her tail around Teagan’s shoulders, sliding around her chest and coiling loops around her now-bare arms.
Mira snaked around Teagan’s body, a set of thin coils sliding against her skin as thicker coils wrapped outside her clothes tight. Teagan could only mumble and moan at Mira’s cool scales massaging her hot, itchy skin. Her legs buckled further, but Mira’s tail caught her.
Teagan sat on Mira’s tail, and the lamia wrapped around her legs, squeezing her from neck to foot. Teagan sighed and a smile formed on her lips as her mind and body acquiesced to Mira’s control. Mira laughed and kissed Teagan, on the forehead, on her cheek, and on her lips.
She lifted Teagan and herself into the canopy.
“A little break sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? I know you’re always too stubborn to admit it, but it’s exactly what you’re thinking of when you see me.” She chuckled. “At least, it’s what you’re thinking when you look into my eyes.”
Mira wouldn’t keep her. She had two reasons to let the knight go. The local monarch wouldn’t be happy and might send a force after her.
More importantly, it wouldn’t be the same not catching Teagan when they met. An occasional catch was always more enjoyable than keeping her.
Queen’s Knight or Hunter’s Knight
Content warning: non-con (kissing, hypnosis, cuddling a cat)
Mira rested on a branch high in a tree, reclined against her tail as she scratched the jungle cat Mahini behind her ears. The small puddle of fur purred as it lay atop her. For the longest time Mira would spend those quiet moments alone, but somehow the cat was comforting.
Mira hadn’t seen Mahini for a few weeks, but she never worried. She knew the cat would pop up again sooner or later. They had their own lives and schedules, and Mahini would seek her when she wanted company again.
Rather like herself, Mira supposed. A human to coil would be nice.
Mahini jumped as a shout shuddered through the jungle. Leaves scattered in the distance as trees bent and swayed, a whooping scream rising into the sky and dropping to the ground–or close to it, anyway. Mira watched the scattering of shaking tree leaves come closer.
The shout became laughter as a pile of pink and blue snake coils plopped onto a nearby branch, the end of the tail wrapping around the branch from the centrifugal force alone.
Enna popped out of the coils, her tangled hair and dress wadded with falling leaves.
Enna’s hair looked like a poor bird’s nest, and a small bird even fell out from her hair. She grinned.
“Hey, Mira! Cute cat!” Enna reached to Mahini, who still stood tense from the disturbance.
“Hello, Enna,” Mira said. “Be careful, Mahini is a wild animal.”
Enna petted Mahini. Mahini scratched Enna and tore her dress. Enna held the cat in her arms. She let Enna hold her, if scratching someone counted as letting them hold her.
Enna was an odd one, Mira thought. In many ways she was wilder than Mira despite being raised in a village.
As for her sister, the would-be princess… well, she fancied herself a queen, but from what Mira heard even those in her village didn’t think her fit for leadership. Mira felt a bit sorry for her, she was a nice lady in general, just a bit full of herself.
“What’s your sister up to these days, Enna?” Mira asked.
“Oh, same as usual,” Enna said. “I think she said something about finding a knight so people would recognize her as a queen more. Someone tall and imposing.”
The jungle grew still.
“You know, I think I’d like to see her.”
—–
Teagan marched through the jungle. She served her queen without a word back, but she did wish she weren’t sent into the jungle so often.
She checked the map again. Diplomatic relations with the local lamia village… there was a thought. Not one Teagan relished.
She didn’t trust any of the lamias. She always suspected Mira to be up to something, and it usually involved her. She hoped the queen knew what she was doing.
Teagan looked up and yelped. One of the snakes was hanging from a tree watching her! The lamia smiled to Teagan.
“Good day, lady knight.” Despite hanging upside-down her long hair was tied and fastened so tight it didn’t move. Her robes flowed around her nearly as gracefully as the queen.
Teagan only looked the elegant lamia in the eye for no more than a second. She wouldn’t take chances.
She didn’t trust her. A direction would be useful, though.
“Would you direct me to the lamia village? I am visiting on behalf of the queen.”
“Ah, certainly.” The lamia placed a hand to her mouth. “A queen should always help the loyal subjects of another queen.”
Teagan glanced at her–longer than she’d have liked. She shouldn’t be caught off guard.
“You’re a queen?” she asked.
“Quite so. Queen Anne; a pleasure to meet you.” She beckoned the knight closer with a finger. “As for the village, I must whisper its location. It’s a secret.”
Teagan took a few steps closer, looking away from Anne into the trees. She expected the other end of the lamia to come down at any moment and kept her eye on the leaves and certainly not on Anne’s eyes.
Teagan stumbled when Anne’s lips met hers in a sudden deep kiss.
The knight blushed as Anne held her face with her hands, the lamia’s tongue slipping into hers, though whether flustered or angry even the knight didn’t know. By the time Teagan pulled away the world spun around her. One eye glared at Anne, her other rather wobbled.
“What’s the biiig…” Teagan slurred into a mumble as she stared at Anne’s shimmering pink and blue eyes, too disoriented and woozy to remember to look away.
“Just a little royal gift,” Anne said, grinning as she stared into Teagan’s eyes. She flipped around and slithered closer.
Anne knew her hypnotic ability was weaker than others. Even now the knight was trying to pull her swaying head away. With just one kiss, that head would find it hard to know which way to sway, and that gave her a way to hold her. Spin the mind a little and she could amplify it.
Anne dropped her tail over Teagan’s shoulders as the knight tried to look away, and she squeezed her face to push her closer to Anne.
Teagan’s mind was reeling from Anne’s hypnotic eyes. She knew she had to look away, she knew she had to resist, she knew she couldn’t trust Anne.
But the longer she stared the harder it was to remember that. Teagan’s mind flashed between resisting and lost in fascination. Teagan forgot to not trust Anne as the growing pleasure soaked through her head. She felt heavy as Anne pulled herself closer and giggled against her.
“That’s it, lady knight,” Anne said. Her tail shifted and wrapped around Teagan. “Your duty is to your queen.” Anne pulled her arms around Teagan and shifted all of her weight onto the knight, who crumpled backwards to the ground. “And who is your queen?”
Teagan tried to think.
“I… who… my queen… she…”
Teagan found lapses in her memory. When she tried to remember, she could only think of Queen Anne. That seemed wrong, but the longer she stared into Queen Anne’s eyes the more it seemed right. Teagan’s thoughts blanked as she grew drowsier.
Her eyelids drooped, the world blurry, dark, Queen Anne’s colors filling in the blanks, washing over what remained. Teagan sighed as Queen Anne brushed a soft, royal hand over her hard face.
Anne kissed her again, dropping Teagan’s few remaining thoughts deeper into darkness.
Anne grinned after she pulled away. “I am your…” A small point appeared above her. She shifted and her head hit something sharp. “Ouch!” She looked up.
“Let go of the knight, short stuff,” Mira said, holding her bow taut, a point-blank range arrow at Anne.
“What?” Anne asked.
“She’s not yours to take,” Mira said. “She already has a queen.”
“No!” Anne said. She frowned. “There are certain laws in place. You’re not allowed to interrupt.”
“Do I look like I care about your laws?” Mira asked.
Anne sulked.
Eventually she relented and released Teagan.
Anne grumbled about the ill-mannered archer as she did, and complained loudly to her sister upon noticing her.
“Do you really want to risk having the local human monarchy after you?” Enna asked.
“I’m not afraid of them,” Anne said. She crossed her arms. “I should be ruling.”
Enna shrugged. She shrugged at Anne, she shrugged at Mira. Anne left muttering that she’d find another knight.
On the ground Teagan stared at the colors in her mind. She felt a yearning for the scales of a queen, but didn’t understand what that meant.
The colors in her eyes broke
Pink and blue were pushed aside by red, green, and blue. The fog in Teagan’s mind faded, and she saw a familiar face.
“Mira…?”
“Awaken, Teagan. Let your senses return to you. You are under no one’s control.”
Teagan blinked. The darkness lasted a moment but it felt longer.
Teagan stared up at the sky, laying on the ground. She shouted and sat up.
“What? What happened?” She held her head.
“God morning,” Mira said.
“Oh.” Teagan glared at her. “I should have expected you.”
Mira glowered. “Is that any way to thank someone for restoring your thoughts?”
“Wait.” Teagan ran through her thoughts. “That was–then you–”
Mira kissed Teagan on the cheek. The knight blushed and looked away. Mira chuckled.
“You’re welcome.”
“Yes. Fine.” Teagan stood up and walked away. “Thank you. This is why I don’t like working with lamias.”
Mira laughed. Teagen felt a loop around her belly and Mira pulled her back around, holding her arms up as she wrapped around her and kept their faces close.
“Perhaps your mind is still a little scrambled,” Mira said. She laughed as Teagan shouted, struggling out of Mira’s grasp.
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