Begin Chapter III

You slowly return to consciousness buried in a pile of softness. You are laying on your side on a cushioned bed, wedged in against a pile of cushions at your back, and your Companion's breasts are squished against your chest. You slowly open your eyes to see Brighid already awake and watching you from only a few centimeters away. She smiles when she sees your eyes open and tightens her arm around your neck, pulling you in for a long, tender kiss, which you happily return. After an indeterminate amount of time spent trading kisses, Brighid sighs happily and pulls back just a little.

"As much as I would love to spend all day cuddling with you, lover -- and I would love that very much --" Her voice grows a bit throaty with that last, but she continues, "you have too much to do today. Most importantly, you need to learn as much about the Realms as I can teach you, but we really should go see Mother as well, and you will probably want some more clothes from Siwan. I need to talk to both of them also, and I am not at all comfortable with you wandering the village alone just yet anyway, so we can go together. That, unfortunately," She leans in and kisses you again, "means that we really should get up." Having said that, however, she makes no move to rise from the bed or untangle herself from your arms, so you press your lips to hers, lovingly at first and then with growing hunger. She moans as your kiss grows passionate and you take the opportunity to slide your tongue into her mouth. She suckles on your tongue and you feel her nipples harden and begin to dig into your chest, but after a moment she pulls back from the kiss, panting softly.

"Please, love, we really do have work to do." She bites her lower lip and looks indecisive. You realize with the way she's acting that she's definitely in the mood and will let you do whatever you want, but you think about what she's saying and let out a sigh.

"You're right, I really do need to learn everything I can, and we do need to talk to some people. I also want to get our people used to seeing me. Hopefully increased familiarity will ease their fears and worries. First, though," You say, "I think the two of us need to have a short talk about us." A worried look crosses her face but you chase it away with a kiss. "Don't worry, nothing like that. I just mean that our relationship has grown very, very quickly, and I think it would be best if we talk about what we want and expect from each other. We already did a little bit of that yesterday at the end of our bath, but that only covered a little of it. Alright? And I don't see any reason why we need to get up for this part..."

Brighid smiles at you and nods, then kisses you softly. "Alright, I see what you mean," She says. "You are right, that is something else which we need to do. I can go first, and please understand that anything I say is just to do as you say, outline my expectations, not because I think you would do anything in particular." At your nod of acceptance, she continues, "As I told you yesterday, I am proud of who I am and my role in the village. I expect you to support me around others not to undermine me with my friends or our people. I will be happy to be known as your lover in public, but we should probably ease into it, and I do not think you should order me around where people who do not know us both well can see or hear. In private, I expect you to be my lover. Some days I will need to be taken and used, like last night," She shivers at the memory. "Other days I may need us to be on more equal terms. I expect you to learn to handle me and give me what I need, even when I do not know it myself." She smiles at you sheepishly and says a little quieter, "That sounds really unfair now that I say it out loud."

You smile back at her and give her a quick kiss. "Don't worry, I understand. Building off of that, I expect you to have patience with me when I make a mistake and to always tell me when I do, rather than letting frustration build up. When we make love, I expect you to be vocal; not necessarily loud, at least not always, but rather I want to hear your pleasure." You breathe deeply and let it out, steeling yourself a little for the next part since you don't know how this is treated in her culture. "I expect you to be sexually exclusive to me. I don't even want to think of another male touching you like that."

Brighid presses herself tightly against you and gives you a brief but hungry kiss. "Do not worry about that. I would fight any other male who tried anything. I told you last night, I am yours forever." She bites her lip and asks meekly, "I have a question, though. Does that extend to females as well? If I find someone who I like and am attracted to, and think you would like and be attracted to ... would you mind if I brought her to our bed?"

You blink at her in response; that was unexpected. You know she has had female lovers, but you didn't expect her to actually propose a theoretical three-way right here and now. It's not like there's any chance in Hell that you're going to turn that down, though. "If you find such a person, we can at the very least talk about it. I have no objection to the idea itself. I am surprised, though; you wouldn't be upset watching me have sex with another woman?"

She shakes her head and begins to rub herself against you, clearly aroused. "No, Aidan. I already told you that centaurs have more daughters than sons, right? Well, that means it is common for us to share men. When you told me last night that you would find someone else to play with..." Her eyes close briefly and she moans quietly, "The thought of you mounting other women and making me watch is making me wet again." She shakes herself free of the mental image and continues, "I will say that I expect to be your primary woman, though. Do not ignore me or my needs just because you have someone newer around. And I know that you expect the same in return from me, do not worry."

How did I get so lucky? You muse to yourself, but say out loud, "I don't think I could ever ignore you, I've had trouble keeping my thoughts pure from the very first moment we met. I wanted to feel your lips around me from the very beginning. Tell me this, though: what would you rather me be sparing with when you're being my good girl, and what do I need to avoid completely?"

Brighid blushes and lowers her eyes, then forces her gaze back to you. "You spanking me last night was amazing, but I do not want much more pain than that. I have been stabbed and cut and had bones broken and it is far from arousing. I do not want to be shared with any other males; I know we just covered that but I want to make it clear that I am yours and do not want to be anyone else's, even temporarily. You can touch me however you want, whenever you want. I ... got really turned on when you told me to let the whole village know you were taking me last night. If you want to gently ... remind me of your ownership from time to time, you will have a very wet and willing mare on your hands when you decide to take advantage of the situation. I do not think I want that part of it to be in public view, though. Maybe." She shifts and you smell a hint of her arousal again, but then her nose wrinkles in disgust as she continues, "Some of the younger males have taken to marking their mares by ... pissing on them. That is not on the table and I hope it never was." She pauses and considers for a moment, then shrugs and says, "That is all I can think of at the moment. If I need to, I know that I can say a word and you will stop."

You nod and say, "I think I can live with all of that. In return, I expect you to be a teacher and a friend as I need them. You know just how much shit is stacked against me and how little I know compared to everyone else around us; I am going to rely on you heavily for, I expect, a very long time. I don't know what place I will find here with the Starchasers, but I expect you to help and support me in whatever that may end up being. I expect you to tell me when I'm being dumb and to tell me your opinion whenever it differs from mine, within reason. I will do the same for you, of course. And if I decide that I have to leave, to protect our people or for another good reason..." You swallow, your heart in your throat. "If I have to leave, I hope that you will come with me. I don't know that I can face the Realms without you at my side any more."

Brighid kisses you and hugs you closely to her. "We already covered that yesterday. I love my people and my village, and I would argue against you if I did not think your reasoning sound, but if such a thing did come to pass ... I am yours, Aidan, and I will be by your side as long as I live." You thank her with another tender kiss.

"Alright, I think that about covers everything I can think of right now. If you don't have anything else you need to say..." She shakes her head. "Then we can call this discussion tabled for now. We can always talk about it more in the future if either of us thinks of something else or if our expectations change or aren't being met."

"Speaking of tables, if my Lord will permit, I will prepare a meal for us to break our fast." At your nod and after another lingering kiss, she works her legs under her and gets up, then begins to putter around the house.