Festival of the Hills

This is part one of a short two-part series, It's a spinoff of Moon Witch (on hiatus at the moment) but can also be enjoyed as a standalone. Enjoy!

- V

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Something in particular catches my attention, something that almost looks like a necklace, but is much wider than the necklaces I've normally seen. It is made of a gold metal chain, with small colorful flowers attached that look to be crafted out of stone.

"It's from the country of Benam," says a familiar voice.

"Gods, Hes! You scared me."

He laughs, coming forward and plucking it up and putting it in my hand. "This is from my days as a merchant. Benam is known for its annual Festival of the Hills. They like to celebrate the coming of life and the transition from youth to adulthood. It is tradition for a father to give his daughter one of these before the festivities begin."

"Does it do anything?" I ask, turning it over.

"I don't believe so. More than anything, it is meant to be a symbol of courage. I've never actually been to the Festival of the Hills, but from what I've heard, the youths require more courage than we outsiders may think."

"But why? What have you heard?"

He shrugs. "I do not know much, either. The people of Benam are quite secretive. Not many actually know what happens during the Festival of the Hills. Either way, this little trinket supposedly supports the young women who take part in the festivities."

~ Moon Witch Chapter 6

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Once, after the creation of our world, the earth goddess descended from the heavens, fell in love with, and then bore a child to a respected chief of the hills. The earth goddess gave birth to a beautiful daughter, named Q'iyea in the traditional tongue of the gods. The earth goddess had to return to the heavens, but before doing so blessed her daughter with strength and grace. The earth goddess knew that Q'iyea would grow to be beautiful, and also knew that she would not be present as Q'iyea grew older. So she placed a heavenly protection over her baby - until her father gave a blessing, no man would be able to do so much as even touch Q'iyea lest he be afflicted with pain and suffering to his death.

So the earth goddess whispered this protection over her newborn, kissed the chief of the hills sadly on the cheek, and ascended to the heavens. And everything happened as she foresaw; Q'iyea even as a small child had beauty wrapped around her. She was well loved by everyone. And of course as she grew closer to adulthood, she had no shortage of suitors looking to court her.

Though many would seek to catch her eye, approaching her father to ask for a chance to win her over, few of them were so bold to approach her directly. They'd all heard of the curse that would befall any man who had the audacity to draw too near to her. Through all of this the chief refused to even look at them, only having adoring eyes for his daughter.

Little did he know, though, that Q'iyea had fallen in love with one of these suitors. His name was Junde. She always saw him admiring her from afar, not coming close and being direct as some of the others did. Secretly she began to yearn for him, his stoic form and his gentle demeanor.

As the day came closer of Q'iyea's coming to age, her father spoke seriously to her. He said, "Q'iyea, once you reach your twentieth year, the time for you to wed will come. Your mother has given to only me the power to reverse this protection placed on you; once I give you my blessing men will be able to court you. But never forget that this also means that they may want to do what is evil and take advantage of you. Do you understand this?"

Q'iyea looked at her father with her large beautiful eyes and nodded her understanding.

Neither of them knew that someone had been listening outside of their home. This rascal went to spread the word, and soon enough, everyone who would be interested in it knew that when Q'iyea came to age, her blessing would be expired.

In just a few days, the day before her twentieth year, her father again sat her down. He asked whether any of the young men of the village had caught her eye, and blushing the maiden told her father about Junde. He seemed pleased as well, with a small smile on his face. He promised to have Junde come to their home the next day and that they could go on a walk in the flower gardens.

He then presented to her a parcel wrapped in burlap. She opened it to see the most beautiful thing she had seen. A large gold chain, decorated with pearls and stones of deep colors. She looked up to see her father with tears in his eyes and he held her close. "Let this chain be a symbol of my protection over you. Every stone is a mark of your virtues. Let them surround you so peace fall over you. I bless you."

That night Q'iyea practiced wrapping the gold chain around her neck, waist, wrists, daydreaming of what it would be like when she finally met Junde. She put meaning over each stone. There was red for strength, green for justice, white for beauty, yellow for dignity, and blue for wisdom. As night fell and the whole village quieted, the maiden was still dreaming of her lover's soft eyes and steady strength.

With no notice, though, someone came into her room and stole her into the night.

Q'iyea was terrified, never being away from under her father's protection and care. She was dragged into the forest, the grass feeling cold and slick underneath her. She was unused to the rough grip on her wrist and cried out whenever her body was jerked one way or another.

After what felt like too long, Q'iyea was sat down on a wooden stump. The night was cold, and even despite her blindfold she could tell that her breath would be making silver clouds in the frigid air. Her arms had raised bumps all along the otherwise unblemished skin. She balled her hands into fists, hoping that her shakiness was less evident. At last her kidnapper spoke.

"Hello, Q'iyea. Let us be the first to congratulate you on your coming of age." A finger hooked under her chin, pulling it up. A thumb stroked her bottom lip, making her tremble. This intimate touch was almost too much to bear. "We have been admiring you for so long. Your beauty and grace. Yet you have never seemed to even care for one moment about our adorations. That is much too rude."

A hand settled onto one side of her face, continuing its stroking on her alabaster skin. The soft caress was a perversion when it was accompanied by the threatening words she heard.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, fearful.

"I think that it's too late for you," the voice said. One of the grips on her wrists yanked her right hand from her back so that her grip was to her side. Her small hand was placed on what felt like hot flesh, but it was unlike any part of her body she was familiar with.

"Touch it," a throaty groan came from her right. Afraid, she tentatively squeezed, surprised to feel just how rigid this felt. The voice chuckled and placing a hand over hers, slid her loose grip back and forth so that her fingers glided over every inch of skin.

The original voice from in front of her continued. "Here is what will happen, Q'iyea. You are ours now. You will marry one of us here. But we have been graceful and are offering you the chance the choose. And you also have the chance to run. For a bit we will have fun with you, and that mouth..." Here, a thumb stroked against her trembling lips once more. "Then we will unblindfold you and release you. If you want to try to escape you may, we will give you some time to try to gain a head start. But don't worry, we will be after you. And when we find you, know that we will do...

whatever we want to you.

And mind the village rules that if you are taken before you are married, you will belong to whoever it is had you first. Tonight you will find your husband."

Goosebumps raised on her arms once again as terror set in.

From that moment on, her body became a plaything for these young men who she could not see. They used her mouth and her hands and even her hair until some of them released on her body, what felt like searingly hot liquid cooling rapidly on her arms and face and chest.

Throughout this Q'iyea cried, wishing for someone to help her and to save her. Her jaw ached from the thick flesh that ravaged her mouth and she was tired of keeping her arms raised.

Hours might have passed since the beginning of Q'iyea's ordeal, but suddenly the blindfold was ripped from her eyes. "Go!" They laughed at her. "You may try to save yourself!"

And so the young maiden fearfully ran into the night. Hot tears fell from her heavy lashes as she tried to quietly and quickly run to the direction she thought was home. She had no idea if this was correct, though. All she knew was that she would rather be lost in the forest than to be subject to the same attentions she had endured. She could only think that if her father were here she would be safe. Or if Junde were here he would be honorable and protect her from these barbarians.

She ran until her lungs burned, and then some. Finally she had to double over to suck in large gulps of the cold night air, the only thought on her mind that she had to put more distance between herself and the group of men. She hadn't even paused to properly look at them, and having interacted little with her male peers of the village she hadn't a clue whose voices she had heard while blindfolded.

A whoop and a echo of gleeful voices came from general direction she'd come from, and again Q'iyea began her desperate attempt to preserve herself. She could not run so long this time and quickly became too winded. And so this was her new strategy; she walked slowly at an angle, careful not to make noise. She continued walking until she felt chilled to the bone, even the heavy cloak she'd kept with her unable to keep her warm. The heavy sense of dread within her seemed to multiply as she continued walking, the mindless action the only thing keeping her from lying prone on the ground to save her freezing toes.

It was no use, though. Q'iyea had no idea how long her feet had been going numb on the cold ground but at last a strong pair of arms enclosed over her upper body. She seized up, a sob finally escaping.

"I did it! She will be mine to wed!" The deep voice behind her rang out. His rough hands tore from her body her sleep dress, revealing what she had kept hidden away from them all these years. More yelling came from around her, though these voices sounded further away.

Q'iyea's body was for the first time revealed to another, as the man firmly laid her down onto the grass and slipped off her underclothes. Her pale and lithe body shone in the moonlight, and she looked into his eyes with fear and trepidation. "Please," she whispered. His gaze seemed to soften for just a moment before lust hardened his gaze once more.

He reached out and shakily touched her full breast. A thumb caressed her nipple, which was already erect in the cool night air. He ran his hands down her sides, following the curves of her body. Q'iyea gripped the coat under her, too terrified to do anything other than accept his tender touch.

Excited, the man knelt down and kneed apart her legs, revealing her sex. He licked his finger and then swiped it into her slit. Q'iyea squeezed her eyes shut and gasped, the feeling electric. She couldn't stop the sound that escaped her mouth despite her embarrassment, her chest heaving.

But then as quickly as it came, the feeling disappeared. Q'iyea looked up at the man between her legs, her face feeling flushed. He had pulled down his trousers, finally revealing to her what had been defiling her mouth and her hands earlier. She had never seen this part of the male anatomy before, and with fearful curiosity saw just how absurd this piece of flesh looked, jutting out from his pelvis and bobbing back and forth with his movement.

"How I've wanted you for so long," he groaned, and knelt down. He hiked her knees over his arms so that her pelvis was pointing upwards. Q'iyea could not move and could only watch in panic as she saw his engorged flesh sink into her most private place at a horrifying, tantalizing pace.

Her body had not created enough lubrication and it burned with the unwelcome friction. She again squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that she could be away from this place. She was unused to being so full, and cried out as he slowly sank into her. It wasn't until he had filled her to the hilt that she dared open her eyes, seeing the taking of her maidenhead.

It was at this moment that she noticed the audience surrounding their coupling. They stood from the trees, seeing these evil beings watch her defiling. So she cried as he began to move, every move hurting her tender flesh. He thrust forward quickly and drew out slowly so that her insides gripped onto him.

It didn't feel like long before she finally felt her tightness adjusted enough to accommodate his size, but then he quickened his pace and gripped tightly onto her hips, warmth flooding her insides. He pulled out, kissing her breasts, and stood up shakily.

"Don't hurt my wife too much," he said.

And this was the real hell for Q'iyea. They put her in a crawling position with her bottom up in the air and took her from the back, hands gripping her bottom. They had her with her back on the ground, with another man enjoying her mouth and her throat so she could not breathe. She did not know for how long she was given attentions on the forest floor from these evil men, but the sky began to lighten and through the masculine sounds she heard the sound of nature waking to greet the morning.

It nearly felt as if she were out of her own body. Her body was unbearably sore and the constant pushing and pulling against her sensitive tunnel made her cry out in pain. Yet at the same time it was as if she was merely observing the ordeal of another young woman. It constantly stung between her legs and tears danced in her vision as she stared desperately up into the sky.

The only thought on her mind was that she wished someone, anyone would come to save her from her cursed fate.

"You always thought you were too good for us, huh," the one currently between Q'iyea's legs mocked. "Now look at you, speared on our dicks." Q'iyea sobbed, entirely humiliated. Pockets of laughter rang out from the edges of her vision. Someone pinched her nipple as if to punctuate her shame.

Somewhere up to this point more lubrication had appeared for the men's erections to slide back and forth much more easily. Q'iyea had no idea how this had happened and momentarily wondered if it was her body or their bodies that had eased the friction. More pain muddled her thoughts as whoever was between her legs at the moment angled their bodies so that he was thrusting towards her belly button instead of towards her womb. He grunted as she scrabbled at the grass besides her, crying out.

"Q'iyea!" A yell broke through her misery. Q'iyea looked towards the source of the sound to see a broad figure against the barely lightening sky. She blinked, willing the figure to become clearer. All of the movement around her stilled as her tormentors too looked to the enigma.

"What, do you think you can do anything?" She felt more than heard the speaker rise. "You're too soft. And now you've lost her to me."

Then, another figure surfaced through the morning fog. Her heart soared. She knew that silhouette. Q'iyea tried to push herself up but someone placed their hand over her throat, keeping her lower back pressed to the ground. "Father!"

"Shit!" Two things happened simultaneously: firstly, the hand on her throat disappeared. Secondly, a high pitched whizzing pierced Q'iyea's ears before it was punctuated by a sickening thud. There was scrambling all around her as the men who had their hands on her tore away from her side.

Disoriented, Q'iyea made to get up once more and was once again stopped, but this time by the face over her. She froze, unsure what to do with Junde's countenance so close to hers.

He draped a cloak over her freezing body. "I apologize for being late, Q'iyea-na. We came as soon as we found out." She barely registered his use of the old-traditional formal suffix, but a small part of her brain reacted with pleased surprise. He helped her up on her shaky legs, taking care to wrap her nudity tightly.

"My love." Warm arms wrapped around her torso, and when she soaked in the familiar scent of her father, she broke down. Tears that had never really stopped for the past few hours began to gush out, tears and snot dripping down her chin. She held onto her father and he hugged her back just as tightly, stroking her hair.

As soon as she had calmed down enough to suck in deep breaths, her father and Junde and she headed back to her home.

They just returned to the house as the sun broke. The warmth of the morning light cast upon her skin, but it was a stark contrast to the cold emptiness within her. She could barely bring herself to speak, but shakily explained how she had been carried away from her bed in the middle of the night.

It was unspoken up to this point, but Q'iyea had to bring it up. "Father, they mentioned the law... That I must be wed to whomever it is that..."

His hand, which had been resting over her fingers throughout the whole conversation, tightened. "My poor child," he murmured, before giving a reassuring smile. "You forget who I am? I make the laws!"

Q'iyea remained silent, the worry not leaving her thoughts or her furrowed brow.

"Do not worry, child. You will be free to marry who you choose. That law has not been enforced in a long time. And those who have wronged you have wronged me. They will be forced to come to terms with their wrongs."

And after that day the chief of the hills put into motion his swift justice. He found a couple of the transgressors within the village and a few in their neighboring communities - but there were a couple who they never found. The chief had them executed and publicly announced the new formal change of law.

Throughout this time Q'iyea stayed home, feeling empty and lifeless. She woke up every night in fits of nightmares and stared up at the ceiling until she cried herself back to sleep.

In the morning Junde would come to find her at home bearing some sort of gift. Most days it was something simple like a flower he had picked, but very rarely he would bring her something exciting. It was one of these days in which he brought her a pair of handmade socks. They were long and thick and would be very useful for the cold winter months.

"I feel bad taking these..." Q'iyea did not reveal much of her emotions and inner thoughts when Junde came to call upon her, but when he revealed the socks to her today she could not help the wettening of her eyes and subsequent outpour of emotions that surfaced.

"Why is this, Q'iyea-na?" Junde also tended to be less open, in accordance with his stoic manner.

"I never prepare any gifts for you, Junde-she." He looked at her when she used the traditional formal suffix and just a ghost of a smile played on his mouth. Up to this point Q'iyea had refused to make direct eye contact with him, let alone address him by name.

"That does not matter to me," he responded. "I know that you will give to me a gift when you are ready. Or if you decide that I should no longer come to see you and the chief decides to chase me away from our village."

He enjoyed seeing her beautiful eyes widen. "I would never do such a thing!" She said, scandalized.

He fought not to let any more smiles show and smoothly bid his goodbye. "All I mean is that I will always wait for you to be ready. Whether that is for gifts, or for courting, or for marriage."

Stunned, she gave him a quick bow as a farewell. It was when she heard his softly spoken words, carried on the wind, that her heart began to really race: "Though I do think we may already be courting."