Story plots (F/F)

[Zeitgeist]

Two plot ideas needing a writing partner! Reply here or by PM, either way is fine. Thanks.

The Witch of Hercynia
The beating heart of Dacia lie in the storied Mures valley in the shadow of the Oresties mountains. Here King Burebista of Dacia ruled from a citadel of stone quarried from the mountain range that loomed over. Running through the valley flowed a river. The Mures, and the fertile plain provided the nearby villages with much of what was needed. The lands were tilled, the river fished and the people prospered. King Burebista was not master of all in this valley however.

On the south bank of the river, where the villages thinned lie the borders of the Hercynian Forest. This was a foreboding and unwelcoming wood that few delved within, and fewer yet emerged from. Its trees were tall, and stout; close together and hindering passage. Its ways were ill known and treacherous with fetid bogs. Tales told of feral beasts, wicked wolves and wild men that prowled its confines. Feared more than fang or man was the Witch. The Witch of Hercynia. Said to be an old and despicable crone of black arts, it was she who was feared most. She was the boogeyman who mothers warned their children of if they didn't behave. It was her stories of evil deeds that were told around low burning fires under moonlit starry skies. So legendary was her reputation, few dared venture into the wood. This deprived the people of much needed timber and game. Instead, logs were poled down from upriver, and huntsmen traveled far to more hospitable forests. Even the King's men steered clear of the forest, and issued declarations that the common folk were to stay out also.

The legend of the Witch was in truth, no older than a generation. Myth and imagination though have a way embellishing history, and so the  people of the Mures valley believed all but the tallest of tales told of the Witch and the wood. Some claimed to have seen the old crone themselves, but when pressed it was always second or third hand. Accounts told of yellow eyes, a long and crooked nose, and clawed nails that clutched a gnarled stave. Blame was quickly placed on her shoulders when the crops failed or the yield was low. Bouts of sickness bore her name too: The Witch's Cough, some called it. In darker times, signs of warding were painted on doors in vain hope to keep her influence at bay.

Preoccupation with such things however faded into the edges of people's worries. The King's beautiful princess, was sought after by many suitors. Some whispered at the fickleness of the princess, while others spoke of her prudence at not marrying the first handsome fop who came calling. She was universally adored by the common folk with heaps of praise and adulation spoken of. Unlike most royalty she could be seen from time to time out riding with a modest contingent, much to the joy of the surrounding villages. Word of both her beauty, and the King's call brought suitors from the far reaches of Dacia. Royalty of course would only be considered, and others were quickly turned away. She was young yet, time enough for royal weddings and an heir there was, so the people occupied themselves with rumors and tales of handsome suitors, rather than of witches and their evil deeds.


How Aurora earned her wings
The brook trickled musically along the smooth stones, an accompaniment to a spectacle no worldly eyes have witnessed before. The queen’s attention was undivided and pleased though she was at the progress made, she would see it through. This was business she told herself, though even she would admit what she spied aroused her deeply. There underneath the generous secreted shade of a willow did the queen’s handiwork unfold. The patient grooming her handmaiden studiously practiced was paying off in spades. The fey creature, a woman in all aspects but tell-tale faerie-wings, plied her mouth to that of another, albeit very human woman. It was that human’s maidenhead the queen would see washed away down the brook. Aurora was her name, an unwitting if now all but willing victim. In truth Aurora was a princess, though ignorant of her royal standing, she was destined for far greater roles than such petty human titles. Aurora too would earn her wings, like all the other pretty fey of the queen’s domain. Aurora would be groomed to be the queen’s lover.

Such delicate matters were not to be left to chance.The queen had no patience for adolescent fumblings and pawing. For now she would watch over them, two younglings playing at adult games, awaiting the right moment to pounce and take Aurora’s maidenhead herself.