The warm golden glow of the morning sun filtered through the leaded glass window as she bustled about the room gathering up her traveling attire. Time was of the essence. She was not going to miss out on acquiring any of that Spanish lace the cook and her girls were talking about last night. Standing in front of the mirror, she smoothed her hands down her the front of her traveling attire, adjusting the bodice and centering the cloak pin at her shoulder then smiled a satisfied smile. With a bounce in her step she turned on heel and whirled out of the room in a flourish of movement.

She slipped out of the servant's entrance and worked her way around to the stables where one of the boys had her horse ready. She winked at the boy as she swung into the saddle and said "Remember, not a word to him if he comes around asking."

The boy bowed with a smile and replied "Mums the word, m'Lady."

Clicking her tongue at the horse and giving it a gentle prod in the flanks with her heels she set off toward the village. But, once at the crossroads she turned onto the road leading to Holywell instead of continuing on toward MacLaaran village. She knew she would have to ride fast if she were to get to the merchants in Holywell before all that lace was gone.

Meanwhile in the forest skirting the road to Holywell Wullie McKean's filthy and gnarled hand prodded at the remainder of the small fire with a stick as his narrowed eyes scanned the foliage around the small campsite.

A figure a few feet away huddled under a threadbare cloak and watched the road below and asked gruffly "Are ye sure she'll be coming by this morn?"

Wullie hocked and coughed answering "Oh aye, She'll be comin' alright. I let slip t' some o' the servants o' the castle last night at the inn that there wis a bolt o' Spanish lace newly arrived in Holywell."

The crouching figure turned and looked at Wullie with suspicion. "Are ye telling me that wis the great plan ye had?" Then said with an edge in his voice "Look, we were paid guid coin t' do away wi' that Forest Warden. We could hae jist waited on a trail and killed him ootright, but nae, ye hae t' make things complicated."

Slowly turning the stick over in his hands and speaking slowly "Smitty, ye ken as well as I do that catching him oot in the forest wid be nigh impossible. So, we get him t' come t' us. Wi' her as the bait, he shows up t' save her, we stick a spear in him, and then stick oor spears in her. After? Welllllll…" and he snapped the stick t' emphasize the point. "We're getting paid t' do a job that will benefit us all the way around. We get rid o' Maclaaran's Forest Warden and we've free reign o' this forest and get a wee bit o' the sweet and tasty t' boot." He said with a leering grin then raised his head and nodded toward the horizon.

There on the road was a rider coming at a gallop. "And there she is, right on time." Smitty turned and raised a shading hand to his eyes, then slowly worked his way down through the trees to the side of the road. He reached down into the grass and came up with a rope, pulled it tight about head high and secured it to a tree trunk, dusted off his hands and stepped back into the brush with a grin of his own.

She was making good time she thought as she galloped along the deserted road. Smiling to herself, she wondered what his reaction would be when she revealed a new set of lingerie fashioned from the delicate Spanish lace. Her reverie was suddenly cut short when she felt the breath explode from her lungs as she was lifted cleanly from the saddle. She hit the ground hard, landing almost flat on her back, then darkness.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her vision blurred and not wanting to focus. She moaned as she tried to draw a breath when a raw sting flared across her body just below her creamy breasts. It hurt to draw a full breatt, feeling as though she had been kicked in the chest by a mule. Confused as to why she could actually see her breasts it did not occur to her yet that she was, but shouldn't be nude. Then as her head began to clear, fright set in when she realized her hands were secured above her head. As she looked up she could see the rope lashed to a tree limb above. She was nude and hanging in the middle of a small clearing in the forest. "What happened?" she thought as she looked around. Her clothing lay torn and scattered about, but there was no indication of how she had got there. As her memory slowly returned, she remembered riding toward Holywell to do some shopping and that was it. Indignance and rage slowly set in. "How dare they!" she fumed. She was not some bar wench or peasant girl that could be treated thus. Movement in the bushes brought her back to reality and fear awashed her anew. What if this was the maniac who had injured Emerald or worse, killed the poor McGowan boy? Her emotions were tumbling all over themselves racing back and forth between fear and anger. It was fear that won out when she saw the glowing eyes in the shadows watching her.

She jumped as rough voice steeped in the raw brogue of a commoner came from behind her. "Look, alls I'm sayin' is we dinnae hae t' kill her. We blindfold her and she naer sees us." Rage flared within her as her face turned beet red at the thought of some stranger having manhandled and gazed upon her nude body. As she started to turn to confront this scum, a hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her to face forward. Suddenly a dark, smelly piece of dark wool was dropped over her vision and tied off roughly behind her head, effectively blinding her. She screamed in rage and fear. "That's right missy, scream. Scream loud and bring him running." the voice chortled. Another voice asked "Are ye sure that farmer will deliver the message?" The first voice replied "Aye, after I told him that the lady was seen t' be attacked and dragged away, he rode hell bent for leather in the direction o' MacLaaran village, looking fer the warden." Both voices broke into fading chuckles "Let's get a bite t' eat, it'll be a bit before he'll get here." and she realized they were going to leave with her bound and hanging in the middle of the forest.

She pulled at the biting rope in a futile attempt to break free but it was no use. She couldn't even gain enough leverage to make a decent attempt. The bastards had raised her so high that she could only remain in contact with the ground on the balls of her feet. She was nearly dangling in the wind like bait on a hook. Her shoulders ached from the constant strain as she continually tried to shift in an attempt to relieve the pressure on them. Sighing, she gave up, dejected and frightened, listening to the silence of the forest. The odd call of a bird, the breeze drifting through the trees. She drew a sharp breath and held it when she heard the crack of a twig, then another. Something or somebody was approaching.

Suddenly she felt a hand lightly caress her flesh, running slowly down her arm and side and gently over the curve of her hip. She was about to scream when she heard a low deep throated growl behind her. Hot panting breath drifted from her shoulders and down the center of her back. Large strong hands gripped and squeezed the soft flesh of her exposed bottom. She realized that whoever this was was now on their knees behind her as she felt the hot breath slip along the tender flesh between her painfully spread cheeks. A knee bumped between her calves, urging her to spread her legs. At first she resolutely resisted and clamped her thighs tightly together, but relented when another growl rumbled through the clearing, this one deeper, more dangerous.

As she slowly spread her legs, going up on her toes to keep the pressure off her strained shoulders a large wet tongue pressed against the delicate flesh of her nether lips and glistening sex. She found herself shocked and frightened by the situation but also found herself getting wetter and wetter, excited at the same time. The long tongue wrapped from the curve of her venus mound and along her dribbling slit to the entrance to her velvety sheath. Lapping slowly it licked slowly along the outer petals, causing them to swell and open, revealing the tender inner flesh. Her head dropped back between her shoulders as she released an involuntary moan as the tongue slipped deeply into her, filling her, stretching her slightly. Arching her back she pressed her bottom back onto that invading tongue, feeling hard sharp teeth press dangerously against her heated flesh. The tongue worked in deep twisting thrusts as it not so much ravished her but made love to her intimate treasure. She felt it squirm and touch places within her she didn't know existed.

As the grip of those hands tightened on her bottom, holding her steady she loosed a small feral growl of her own as her emotions tumbled over themselves in a wildly chaotic dance. She mewled in frustration as the tongue slipped free from her convulsing sex only to be followed by a shocked gasp as the tip twirled about and pressed against the tiny touch hole nestled between her soft cheeks. It pressed tenderly at first, testing the resistance then drove deeply past the tight constrictive ring as she suddenly thrust her hips back, impaling herself on that hot soft spike. Standing on her toes she moaned and twisted her hips as the tongue drove deeper and deeper into her most secret of treasures. She felt one of those rough hands ease around her hip and rove over her undulating pelvis to cup her rounded mound. The heel of the hand ground roughly against the delicate lips and tiny bundle of nerves causing her to moan and gasp.

The feeling of being so thoroughly ravished by this invading tongue and rough handling of her sex was too much and caused her body to be gripped by an uncontrollable orgasm. She bucked and ground her hips, loosing a hissing "Yessssss" through clenched teeth. As the waves of emotion crashing through her body slowed to a gentle lapping she rocked her hips backs in pure want as she felt the impaling tongue slip free. The hand cupping her sex continued to grind and explore, spreading the petals of her sex as thick fingers slowly slipped in and out of her honeyed sheath. She moaned deeply as she felt the heat of a fur covered pelvis against her tender bottom and the thick throbbing heat of his shaft slip along the length of her tender furrow, sawing slowly, driving her to madness with unadulterated want. "Fill me, take me..." she whispered.

Her voice wavering as the onset of another orgasm threatened to spill over. Another hand pressed against the creamy flesh of her thigh and slid slowly upwards, over her belly and up to her breasts, cupping and molding them. She groaned when fingers pinched and rolled a hardened nipple, causing small bolts of erotic lightning to race through her body. Sharp teeth nipped along the tender flesh along the underside of her upraised arm as the blunt head of his manhood nudged between her silken petals. A deep growl and the throbbing shaft speared deeply into her sex in a single hip snapping thrust. She bit her lip and stifled a scream as he filled her completely. She strained and pulled at the rope as she balanced on her toes and ground her hips back against his pelvis. His hands tortured and teased her breasts and rounded venus mound. His thrusts were hard, deep strokes, causing her to lose herself completely in the bliss of the moment. Consciousness began to slip as his forceful thrusts took her breath away and kept her within the grips of an on-going orgasm. Finally sagging against the rope as her legs gave way, she vaguely heard the broken howl as her sex and belly was filled with the hot thick flood of his molten seed.

Fear of the unknown gripped her as she heard the rough brogue of those earlier voices. "We've got him noo boy, stick him! Run him through!" Suddenly there was a terrified scream and one of the voices gobbled "That's not the warden! What is that??? Oh my Go..." The voice was cut off by a vicious snarl and the horrendous sound of flesh and bone being torn asunder. Growling and the sound of something crashing through the brush followed by a fading scream followed. She new the other brigand was attempting to escape by fleeing through the forest. She held her breath as she listened to the horrified wail in the distance and then it just as suddenly stopped, followed by an unearthly silence.

There was a soft scuff of a foot on the mossy forest floor and then hands were untying the blindfold. She blinked once, then twice as a familiar face came into view. "What the bloody hell took you so long???" she snapped. "Get these ropes off of Me!" He reached over her head and sliced through her bindings with a razor sharp sgian dhub, catching her in his arms to steady her. She looked up with twinkling brown eyes and leapt upon him, driving him backwards and down into the ferns.

The farmer snapped the traces against the horse's rump as the wagon trundled along the road. He was smiling and thinking how happy his goodwife would be when he gave her this length of fine Spanish lace. Suddenly a howling wail drifted down from the forest causing the horse to rear and scream. Terrified, the farmer snapped the traces hard and fast forcing the horse into a headlong gallop. Looking back over his shoulder as they raced down the road he could still hear the howling fading in the distance. He had heard the howls before, but these sounded different. Not at all angry or furious. If he didn't know any better he could swear that the Deamhan Madadh-alluidh sounded....well....happy.