December 2022 Story (Chapter 7 - Final) (Patreon)

The next morning Pawel found the forest quite calming. The sun cut through the gaps in the trees, revealing shiny dewdrops on the grass. Masha broke wind loudly in her sleep, suffering from a bout of morning gas. Pawel smirked and shook his head, amazed at how she slept soundly through the intensity of her farts.

Just when he thought that, she stirred awake with a snort. Another loud but short fart accompanied her.

“Ey, wha? We there yet?’

She then took in her surroundings and said, “Oh. Not yet.”

Pawel cooked some eggs at the bonfire. They sat in relative silence, smiling at each other and sitting next to each other. Before packing up again and following the river, Masha said, “You are sure about this, right?’

Pawel nodded instantly. “I have never been so sure about anything else in my life.”

She nodded too. “Good.”

The landscape changed as they continued their journey. The forest became less foreboding and more welcoming, with tall skinny trees and plenty of wildlife like squirrels and woodpeckers. They seemed to be headed towards a bountiful land, with rolling green hills in the distance and a thick flowing river. The land also showed more variety, with groves and dips and ditches scattered here and there.

No bandits or beasts threatened them, and it was not long until Masha wanted to take the lead as she started to remember the path she walked so long ago from her old cottage to Walcha.

The main road stuck out more as a long brown dirt path. Eastward led straight back to the main gate of Walcha. They had avoided the main road until now in case Walchan soldiers were on it. If one were to continue taking it westward, one would pass Pometzia and reach Zavesh.

Masha stopped to think by the riverbank. She scanned the woods and thought hard, then snapped her fingers and remembered that they needed to cross. They found a shallow point in the river through which they could cross without danger of being swept away. A few large boulders also helped them cross.

It took two more days than expected, but they finally found her cottage.

Pawel actually was the first to spot it. They were on a side road with thick foliage when he spotted a chimney poking out above a small hill. They found the old dirt road that curved up the hill to the cottage. Once they reached the top, Masha had to stop and put her hands to her mouth.

The cottage wasn’t in bad shape. Maybe a bit weathered and a few stones having fallen out of place, but otherwise still in one piece. It sat there settled into the ground as if it had been waiting for her all these years. To the side was a well with a broken bucket. She had once grown a garden which now lay unkempt.

Pawl found it cute and endearing. Something about it called to him. Yes – this was the perfect place to live. Away from everyone else but available to nature’s resources.

Masha went in first. Pawel unsheathed his sword just in case. The hinges on the door creaked, a bit lopsided. They stared into the darkened cottage full of overturned wooden furniture, knickknacks, cobwebbed corners, and kitchenware still in place from when she last left them.

A moldy smell filled the air. It actually reminded Pawel of…

“Smells like the dungeon in here,” Masha said, grimacing.

“I didn’t want to say it,” he said. “But I’m glad you did.”

They both laughed.

And so, they began the long work tidying up and revitalizing the cottage. They both had an awkward moment looking at the one bed she had. They exchanged a glance, and Masha actually showed some modesty for once by blushing and looking away.

“I can sleep on the floor,” Pawel said.

“If you wish.”

They eyed each other from across the room as they cleaned up. Pawel began to feel warm and took off his shirt, baring his taut and lean muscles. Masha gave him sideways smirks throughout the day, studying his body up and down, and Pawel smiled to himself about it.

Before settling down, they bathed in the river. Masha was ecstatic to finally cleanse herself after decades of living underground. The water washed away every inch of grime and filth that was on her. Pawel watched, amazed at how she looked now that she was much more presentable. She combed her hair gently, finally straightening out that tangled mess. Her face looked brighter and more alive. She glanced over her shoulder at him with a luscious smile, running a hand over her hip as if to entice him. He looked away and continued bathing himself.

Their first meal was the remainder of the rations he had packed. There was nothing more after that.

“I assume there are animals to hunt around here?” he said at the table, sitting across from her.

“Deer roam these woods. Fish in the river. Bird if you’d like, sometimes duck. Preferably duck. Blueberries down by the path.”

Pawel had never had to live off the land before, but this felt grand. A sense of autonomy made him feel excited about life.

Masha moaned with pleasure as she munched on more bread and cold cuts of turkey.

“H-hey,” Pawel said. “don’t eat it all. We’d have to hunt first thing tomorrow morning then.”

Masha licked her lips. “YOU have to hunt first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Heh. Well. True.”

“And what if I want to eat everything we have?” she said, batting her eyes at him.

Pawel watched her eat and stuff herself out of her own volition. She huffed at her little gut and headed for the bedroom. She sashayed away and said, “I might need to lie down. I’m so damn full.”

Pawel had never flirted before but he took that as a beckoning call.

He grinned and followed her to the bedroom. They had cleaned up most of it and replaced the bedding with sheets she had stored in a cupboard from long ago. She laid down first on her back and spread herself out, inviting him.

When he awkwardly towered over her in bed, she then closed her legs and said, “Are you sure you want to do this? The city between my legs has been sacked many times before…as they say.”

Pawel held her face gently and said, “Yes. It could be sacked a thousand times over, and I’d still want it.”

He crawled over her and they made love. Slow at first, and then quick and powerful. Pawel wasn’t quite sure when to stop. Masha wailed louder than ever before and even shivered. Her wailing made him stop, thinking he did something wrong.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded fiercely. “Yes…yes…oh gods yes.”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, no. Shut up. Keep going. Shut up.”

She wailed a second time. Pawel felt as though her cries would rupture his hearing. He recoiled a bit but she drew him in again, wanting him to keep going. When she wailed a third time, she needed to stop.

“Too…overwhelming…” she breathed. “Stop. Please.”

“Is it hurting?’

Masha laughed briefly. “No, no, not at all. It feels…very…sensitive…is all.”

Pawel sat back watching her. She was locked in a blissful state, eyes closed and sighing often. When she calmed down, she said, “By the gods, Pawel. That was…. every bit…heavenly.”

Pawel smiled. He did well after all.

He still was feeling greatly aroused, and a little frustrated that he had no release. It wasn’t that he found her unattractive or anything. Rather, he was expecting something, something he wasn’t quite sure how to put into words because he felt awkward saying it. Masha seemed to understand though, and with a smile she said, “Enter me once more.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Gently though.”

He did so, once more holding her tightly. She then whispered in his ear, “I know what you want…what you’re looking for…”

PPPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP!

When she broke wind, Pawel regained his arousal. Masha giggled. “I see you like something…I wonder what it is…”

Pawel watched her scrunch up her face as she emitted another foul, loud fart.

PPPPPPRRRRrrMMMMMMmmmMMMppppFFFfFhhhhhhhhhhhHHHhhttttTTTtTTtT!

Watching the relief on her face was enough to make him loose his seed. He had done this before alone, of course, but being inside her was so much more different. The tightness of her vagina added to the pleasure, and his love for her heightened his senses. He felt a carnal desire to be one with her forever, to never pull out ever again. He felt himself lose control and he moaned aloud. She moaned with him, and then he became flaccid and tired and fell on his side, sighing.

They stayed there for hours, holding each other and staring into each other’s eyes. They held tight and nuzzled their faces close. Pawel was in a state of pure bliss, forgetting entirely about Walcha and the king and Jacek and that dreadful dungeon.

“Masha,” he uttered, “I can be here forever.”

Masha didn’t say anything. He was worried for a moment that something was wrong. She actually frowned for a moment and seemed sad.

“What is it?” he said, heart quickening.

“Remember how I said I have always been able to tell people when they are going to die?”

Pawel gulped, now completely lucid. “Am I going to die soon?”

“No, no. Heavens no. In fact, I don’t know when you are going to die.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I have never been able to discern your death. No vision comes to mind, no words, no phrases, nothing. You are a wall that I cannot peer over.”

He wasn’t sure he liked that. It sounded foreboding. “What does that mean?’

“I don’t know,” she half-whispered. “But I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

Masha didn’t answer.

“I hope you don’t think of me a certain way if I ask this,” Pawel started, “I wouldn’t think of you as a bad person if you are. But are you really a witch?”

Masha smirked. She nodded. “That I am. But not in the ways men often think. I can’t do many things other witches do. There are some with specialties, see. And mine was always prophecy over death.”

Pawel stared at the ceiling. “Even if you did do all those other things witches are said to do, I think it was wrong for them to do what they did, leading you to leave all this behind.”

Masha appeared to be contemplating something. When Pawel asked her what it was, she said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. In his sleep, he thought he heard her say something and move around. He might have woken up but thought he was still dreaming.

The next morning, Pawel woke up alone.

He waited a moment expecting to hear Masha move around the cottage. When minutes of silence dragged by, he got up and tried to find her. It was early in the morning, but he could still see far through the woods. She had not disturbed anything nor did she leave any note behind. He checked the supplies but didn’t find any clues as to where she went. Everything was still in place.

Pawel wasn’t sure what to do. He even began to wonder if Masha had been some figment of his imagination this entire time.

After an entire day without seeing or hearing from her, he tried tracking her footsteps in the woods, but to no avail. He doubted all of this for a brief moment, but then knew he would stay here forever if he had to if it meant seeing her again. He focused his efforts on fixing the house.

Pawel spent several days fixing the roof, the bucket for the well, and the floorboards. When those major renovations were out of the way, he dusted the cobwebs and swept the floor. He stacked all the books together that he could find. He cleaned the clothes in the river, learning by himself how to do such things. He even stocked the jars of salt with meat and fish.

The last thing he ended up doing before the cottage was entirely livable was fix the garden. He had never gardened before, but with the help of a book from the shelf he learned how to trim and care for the plants. Soon, he had a neatly arranged garden ready to seed sunflowers, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes.

He lost track of time. It might have honestly been a month since he last saw Masha. Wherever she was, he hoped she was okay. He couldn’t believe that she seriously left him behind without saying a word. She couldn’t have.

He had hunted plenty of wild animals but had neglected to find fruit. He went out venturing for berries. He realized that he never picked berries before and couldn’t tell which ones were good and which ones were bad. Masha maybe had a book somewhere in the cottage about it.

As he was staring at the branches, a young woman’s voice said, “The ones on the left are good to eat. The right not so much.”

Pawel turned around to see a woman around his age with raven black hair down almost down to her feet, wearing a similar traditional garb that Masha wore, except new and bright. Pawel was about to thank the woman when he realized whom he was speaking to.

“Masha?”

Masha smiled. Her wrinkles had gone. Her body still had those curvaceous hips that he so loved, but her breasts looked perkier and her movements were more fluid. She smiled and giggled at his wonderment.

She ran to him and the two embraced, and she said, “I understand now why I could never see your death. I was never meant to…because I’ve been in love with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I went out to make a trade. I’m sorry for worrying you. I could never tell you where I went. It is a secret place meant for witches like me. A faraway place. Maybe it was a little test after all, to see if you’d still wait here for me. I was afraid you might stop me if I told you what I was going to do.”

“But what did you do? I don’t understand.”

“I traded my witchcraft. I can and will no longer see the future, and, well, I break wind as normal people do now.” She looked down at her hands. “And I did it…so that I could spend the rest of my life with you at the same pace.”

Pawel didn’t know what to say. He felt so overcome with joy that all he could do was pick her up over his shoulder and carry her to their cottage, the two of them laughing along the way.

The End