by Aurelia Fray
Ruby whimpered and tried to move her hips, to get him to the right place, the place that felt the best, but his fingers tightened on her hip, more or less holding her in place. Soon, she was unable to control her quivering thighs or the jerky motions of her hips—it was too much, the pleasure continued to build until she was certain she could take it no more. Suddenly her body went rigid and then exploded in wave after wave of ecstasy, leaving her writhing and breathless.
He stood and lifted her body, turning her quickly so that he was seated on the ledge and she was in his lap, facing him. He reached down his body and angled himself toward her and pushed his hard flesh into her body without a word. Before she could puzzle out the sudden change in position, or recover from her first orgasm, they were joined.
Ruby cried out, partially in pain, but mostly in pleasure. He did not move for a long moment. His breath had gotten shallow, his face tense. Unsure of what to do, Ruby moved her hips forward slightly her fingers dug into his shoulders. He moved deeper within her then withdrew and pressed in again, a bit further. Gradually, with this halting movement, he worked his way in, helped her accept him, at least as much of his length as her depth would allow.
When he was pressed hard at her core, he paused again. "Ruby?" His voiced trembled through them both, as she held a long breath.
She released the breath in a hoarse, "Yes."
It was enough and all she could say to confirm that having him fill her was bearable. He spread his legs wider grasped her hips in his hands, easing her up and down his shaft in slow strokes, always careful not to exceed his previous depth.
Ruby was panting. Her hands barely clasped behind his neck as he held her. She shifted with his motion inside her. Her long hair had fallen forward, covering her breasts as his strokes quickened, pushing her limits. She pressed her mouth to his shoulder and was surprised when he cried out, her teeth digging into his flesh as his thrusts tore another orgasm from her body.
Her muscles gripped him over and over again as she moaned against his shoulder. She felt him tense, then the rush of his seed filled her. His deep moans became a low roar. Slowly, as they came back to themselves, he drew her closer still and held her in his arms. Her panting moans were now nearly whimpers. She shook within his embrace, shivering with the last shock waves of her own pleasure, however stressful it may have been on her body.
When he had mind to speak and energy to move, the smooth curve of a fingernail brushed her cheek, pushing back a lock of midnight hued hair from her face. His breath was warm again, though his voice was still hushed. “I’ve wanted to do this with you many times since I brought you to my home.”
Ruby smiled shyly, though her eyes remained closed. “May we do it many times more?"
“Yes, but not here.” He kissed the top of her head. “It is time that I break this curse.”
Ruby hadn’t had time to wonder about the cave or the magic that allowed him to be a man inside the dark place. “How can it be broken?”
“If I tell anyone how to break the curse, it will become permanent.”
“Then how will I know what to do to break it?” She tilted her head, puzzling over the situation in her mind. Would it be telling if he gave her riddles to solve? She looked back to him, her brows knitted together. “I do not know your name.”
He shook his head slowly. “I cannot remember my name.”
He stood and set her to her feet. “You must go back to your family. It has been a year, and your eldest sister is to be married. We will leave tonight.”
“Leave you?” Ruby was perplexed.
“You said tonight, you missed your family.” He replied as he began to guide her from the cave.
“I do, but I don’t want to leave you.” She smelled the mist before she heard the roar of the falls. Her heart pounded in her chest as she grew closer to the exit of the cave.
“I will see you to the palace gates, and will after the wedding to bring you home.” He stepped past her, onto the slippery rocks beneath the waterfalls. The moment his body passed the invisible barrier of the cave, he became the white wolf.
Ruby climbed onto his back with a heavy heart. She was so troubled that she failed to realize that she was naked on his back. He took her to the manor house and waited while she went to her room. Lying on her bed was the most beautiful gown. It looked to be made of starlight, spun into cloth. Beside the gown was a necklace of the most unusual stones. They looked like sunlight was trapped within them. When she walked out the front door of his home her steps were slow and heavy, despite the lovely gifts.
“I don’t want to go,” she said quietly. When he didn’t reply, she climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his fur.
White wolf ran through the forest as night began to settle. He ran and ran, until he came to the road near the palace gates. “My precious Ruby, take the wreath of flowers from my head and remember me. I will come here after the wedding. Come when you hear me howl. You must come when I call or you will never find your way back to me in the forest.”
Ruby was so distraught that she hadn’t noticed the wreath of flowers on the beloved wolf’s head. She removed the flowers and placed them on her head. “What shall you remember me by?”
“Perhaps a kiss, my love?” He knelt down and she placed a tearful kiss on his muzzle.
Behind her horns began to blow and someone shouted her name from the great wall, surrounding the palace. She turned to see several guards coming through the gates and when she turned back the white wolf was gone.
Ruby was taken to her parents, the king and queen. Though she was happy to see them, her heart was broken.
“My precious Ruby, where is your pure heart and constant smile?” her father asked from the dais.
“I left them in the forest with the white wolf.” Ruby sighed.
“Nonsense. You are simply tired from your ordeal. Go to your room and rest before the ceremony.”
Hearing the news of their youngest sister’s return, the women came to her room to see the girl for themselves. Since she had been gone, their father had made it clear to them and all of the kingdom that Ruby was his greatest joy and a hero for bearing the weight of his foolishness with grace and dignity. How they hated their sister when she was born, but they hated her ten-fold after she was taken into the forest.
“Dear sister, how happy I am to see you again. What a lovely necklace. I will have it as a wedding gift.” The eldest sister stepped forward and snatched the jewels from her slender neck.
“Of course, you should have the necklace. It matches your golden hair,” Ruby said solemnly.
“What gift did you bring for me, little sister?” The middle sister looked down her nose at Ruby, seeing her hands were empty and no more jewels.
“You may have my wreath of the purest white flowers. A gift from my love, the white wolf.” Ruby whispered.
“I don’t want your flowers. I want the dress, it will look better on me anyway. Besides, why do you need such a dress living in the forest with the animals?” her sisters cackled and laughed.
“Oh no, I don’t live with the animals. I live in a beautiful manor, with servants, and lovely rooms. I am free to do as I wish, to explore and learn as I wish. The white wolf is a prince.” Ruby gushed on and on, the more she spoke of the white wolf the higher her heart flew. It flew so high that she failed to see the jealous expressions on her sister’s faces.
“Well. We must go and prepare for the wedding,” the middle sister said. “Take off my dress. I will not have you wear it at court.”
The eldest linked her arm with the middle sister and laughed as they left Ruby alone.
Ruby dressed for the wedding in plain blue dress she had worn many years before. A part of her felt sorry for her sisters. Since she was born, she had been the king’s favorite—it had to be difficult for them. Now, she had found her true love and was free of the rules and duty of living at court. She had a lovely home and a handsome prince. While he
r eldest was to marry a Duke, and the middle sister was yet to be betrothed. Perhaps she would invite them to the forest for a vacation one day soon.
The ceremony was long, and boring, though the chapel was decorated in all manner and color of flowers, all except white. Ruby thought of the white wolf’s wreath sitting on her bed and smiled. It wouldn’t be long now and she would hear his howl and return to her home in the forest, or the cave to make love again.
The wedding feast was as extravagant as the ceremony, though not as dull. Midway through the celebration, the king had ordered the musicians to play in honor of the bride and groom, and her return. She danced and danced, until her feet felt too small for her slippers. Her mother and father were over the moon to see her and she was surrounded by their love as the hour grew late. Still, she hadn’t forgotten the white wolf, and listened for his call.
Once, she thought she heard the call, but it was short and could not be her love calling her home. The cry of a wolf was long and mournful, no, the yelp she heard had to be that of a dog. The bride and groom retired, and still the party continued. Ruby began to grow weary. Why had he not come? Perhaps he was being generous, allowing her so much time with her family.
“My Lord, Father, have you seen my sister?” Ruby asked as her father pulled her to the dance floor once again.
“She is wed and with her husband.” He laughed and spun her around the floor, as he had done when she was a child.
“The other sister, Father.” Ruby giggled.
“No, my precious one.” Ruby smiled when her mother came to claim her husband for a dance. She was thankful to have one last dance, but it was time for her to go to the gates. Certainly, the white wolf was waiting for her by now.
Ruby made her way to the gates and looked out to the side of the road where he promised to meet her, but he wasn’t there. She paced in front of the gate for some time and still he did not come.
“Why do you pace in front of the gates? There is a wedding and a party for the returned princess inside.” A young guard called to her from the wall.
Ruby thought to tell him that she was the princess, but decided to be cautious. What if her father ordered them to keep her inside? “I was hoping to see the white wolf. Someone told me he would be here to collect the princess.”
“Oh, you are too late. He came and took the girl in the dress of spun starlight into the forest… hours ago.”
Ruby couldn’t believe what she had heard. How could her sister run off with the white wolf? Worse, how could he mistake her for her sister? If he loved her, as he promised he did, wouldn’t he notice the difference? “Please, can you open the gates? If I have missed the white wolf, then it is passed time for me to return home.”
***
Ruby wandered the forest for days and days, and still she could not find her way back to the white wolf’s manor. Her dress was tattered and torn and her hair had grown white from grief. She slept in hollowed logs and ate berries to keep up her energy for the search. Berries alone were not enough sustenance for a young woman and soon she became as frail as a dandelion.
One clear day, when no wind blew through the trees, Ruby came upon a small cabin. Smoke rose from the chimney, so she thought someone was home. She knocked lightly on the door.
“Come in,” a voice from within answered.
Ruby pushed open the weathered door and was surprised to see nothing but a swirling wind in the middle of the room. “Hello?”
“Yes, old woman. I am right here.” Laughed the wind as it surrounded her, blowing her hair from her face. “Oh forgive me, young lady. I thought you were… never mind. What may I do for you?”
“I am searching for the white wolf. Have you seen him?” Ruby asked.
“I have blown for days and nights, to and from, and I have not seen the white wolf,” he answered. “Here, take the shoes by the door. They will allow you to travel two hundred miles with each step. Surely, you will find him with them.”
Ruby put on the shoes and went outside, a curious thing happening as she took a step. Each step she took was not forward, but up. She walked up and up, until she came upon a star. Perhaps the star knew where the white wolf lived. After all, he had given her a gown of spun starlight.
“Dear star, have you seen the white wolf?” Ruby asked the glowing beauty.
“No, Princess, I have not seen the white wolf. He may stay inside his manor in the evening. Perhaps you should ask the sun?” the star replied and blew Ruby a kiss.
Ruby caught the kiss in the palm of her hand, but the kiss continued to move through space until she found herself face to face with the sun.
“Princess? Where is the necklace of my light? I am surprised you are not wearing it.” The sun looked at her from head to toe, but he had the sense not to comment on her haggardly appearance.
“I gave the necklace to my eldest sister as a wedding gift. Please, have you seen the white wolf? I must get home to him.”
“I have seen him. He is at his manor in the forest, but you are too late. He is no longer a wolf. His curse was broken by another. They are to marry tomorrow.”
“Oh, no.” Ruby hid her face in her hands and wept.
The sun, being a father of three girls himself, took pity on the youngest princess. “I will help you.”
Ruby’s tears turned to bright yellow stones, set inside a crown of gold. “Is it not too late?”
“Perhaps, but perhaps not. I will set you down at the palace of the white wolf. Inside the garden you will find a spinning wheel, it will spin sunlight into thread. Go and work the wheel until your sister comes. You will know what to do from there.”
“Thank you,” Ruby said, though she did not know what to do from there, or how to find her love.
The sun did as he said and slid Ruby down a beam of sunlight, into the garden of the white wolf. This was not the manor house that she so dearly loved, but a castle set high upon a mountain. Ruby sat down and begun to spin sunlit thread from moss, until her hands were aching and stiff, yet she continued to spin the wheel.
“Old woman, why are you in my garden?” called the middle sister.
“I have brought you gifts.” Ruby dared not look into her sister’s eyes, for fear she would be recognized. She let her silver-gray hair obscure her face as she worked.
“What gifts can a wretched old woman give me, the future queen?” The middle sister turned to leave, when a sunbeam came forth from the jeweled crown.
“I bring a crown of sunshine for your golden hair and can spin pure sunlight from moss, for your gown.” Ruby answered as she spun.
The middle sister snatched the crown from Ruby’s feet and lifted her chin so that she stared down her nose. “My wedding is tomorrow. You better hurry.”
Ruby sighed in relief as her sister left the garden. Though she had yet to find the white wolf and had no idea of what she would say to him if she found him. With nothing else to do, Ruby spun moss as she tried to think of a plan to win back her love.
“Old woman? Are you well?” The deep masculine voice rang through the garden and straight into Ruby’s heart.
“I am working for the princess, my lord. The day is hot and it is lonely work. Would you sit with me for a short while?” Ruby hunched over the wheel, keeping her face hidden behind a veil of tangled hair.
“Of course.” He sat on a rock a few feet from the wheel as Ruby continued to work.
“May I tell you a story?” Ruby asked, without looking at him. Her voice raw from thirst, though disguised enough that he didn’t recognize her.
“If you wish.” He answered softly.
Ruby caught a glimpse of his face and frowned. He looked troubled and heavy hearted, especially for a man who recently had a curse broken and was to be married the next day. She cleared her throat and began. “Once upon a time, a king was tricked into giving his youngest, and most beloved, daughters to a white wolf.”
The man sighed. Ruby knew that he knew the story well. Though the townsfolk had twisted
him into the villain and the princesses return into a happy ending. She could see that he had no desire to hear the story today of all days, but still she persisted.
“The young princess was not afraid. In fact she grew to love the white wolf. One day, she broke his rules and wandered into a forbidden cave, the only place in all of the forest he asked her not to explore. The princess, you see, had followed the wolf to the cave many times. He would hide in the cave most days and return to her side at night. She missed him dearly.” Ruby’s voice was even hoarser as her throat tightened and tears fell to her cheeks. She expected him to stop her and sweep her into his arms, but he motioned for her to continue.
“The princess was frightened in the dark cave, but the wolf was there and he promised her adventure. That day, he showed her love and pleasure like no woman has ever known. She never wanted to leave him, or the cave. You see, in the cave the wolf was a man, not a wolf. That very night, the wolf took the princess back to her father’s palace for her eldest sister’s wedding. The princess didn’t want to leave him, but he insisted he would come for her.” Ruby paused and murmured, “Shall I continue?”
The man nodded, but did not speak, nor did he look at the old woman.
“When the princess’s older sister saw the beautiful gifts the wolf had given her, they took them. No, that is not right. The princess, feeling sorry for her bitter sisters, gave the gifts, all except a wreath made of the purest white flowers. The princess waited and waited, but her wolf never called for her. So she snuck away and wandered the forest for days and days, never finding the white wolf. Her body grew thin, and her hair white in her grief, still she could not find her love. She found the wind, but the wind had not seen the white wolf. She used the wind’s shoes to walk to a star, but the star hadn’t seen him. The star sent her to the sun… and the sun sent her to the white wolf’s palace.”
After she grew silent for a long moment, the man stood and looked up at the night sky. She had spun sunlight and her tale well into the evening. “How does the fairy tale end, old woman?”
“I do not know, my Lord.” Ruby sighed and continued to spin the wheel as he walked away.