ForevaXena's FanFic . . .

Moonstruck

by Catherine Q

Disclaimers

Copyright: Although the main character in this story might bear some physical resemblance to characters from Xena: Warrior Princess, the story was born out of my overactive imagination and I modified character traits to suit my needs. No copyright infringement implied or intended.

Love/Sex: This story depicts a loving relationship between two consenting, adult women and contains scenes of intimacy. The subtext has clearly processed into main text and might be unsuitable for really young ones or sensitive adults. I’d say PG13.

Setting: The story is set in modern day West-Virginia.

Author’s note: This is my first attempt at writing fan-fiction. English is my second language so please don’t get too upset if I left any mistakes in it. I really, *really*, would appreciate feedback so if you have a minute to spare please let me know what you think. You can reach me at:   tiggerclaws99@hotmail.com.

I can not promise regular updates, but I will do what I can.

Chapter 1

Samantha inhaled deeply as the sweet scent of Jasmine filled the air. She had been out riding for nearly two hours already and tiny beads of sweet started to from on her forehead. The perfect ponytail she had made in the morning had partly come loose and strands of strawberry hair fluttered wildly in the breeze. Although Sam would be the last to admit it she was a sight to behold.

Big emerald eyes with long lashes gave her an appearance much younger than her 20 years. There was this openness about her, this innocence. Her face showed no irregularities or sharp angles and it looked like as if she had just walked out of a fairytale.

The tight blouse showed her ample chest heaving and rolled up sleeves gave way to trimmed arms, that were still a little pale from the winter. Although it didn't really matter a lot, no matter how much time Sam spent outside she never got really tan.

Underneath her she felt the horse speeding up as it spotted nothing but fields ahead of them.

Sam felt tired and out of breathe already but she decided to let the horse have her way for a little while. 

"Gallop Moon", Sam hadn't needed to say the words, Moon raced away immediately.

Sam felt the sun beat down on her face and the wind going through her hair. No doubt this was when she felt happiest. No one but her and Moon, fields flying by as if it would never end.

She didn't feel tired anymore and her worries about next week’s exam seemed miles away, in fact it felt like all thoughts had fled from her head.

Sam didn't notice the dark clouds gathering overhead, not did she notice the silence around her.

Nowhere did she feel as safe as in Moon's saddle and today was no exception.

She was an excellent rider, no doubt about that, but even she had had her bad days where nothing seemed to go the way she wanted. But today she was one with her horse.

A line of trees starting showing on the horizon and she could hear cars in the distance. Sam slowed her horse down to a lazy pace so that they both could catch their breath and it wasn't until then that she noticed the invading clouds and the high humidity of the air.

The sun was still there and after studying the sky for a minute Sam decided to continue where she was heading, confident that she would make it home in time before the weather turned ugly.

But no sooner than that she heard a low rumble as thunder approached. Out of nowhere thunderbolts appeared and Moon shook her head nervously. The mare danced nervously and Sam realized she had better get out of the open fields soon and she urged her mare to a fast trot until they reached the safety of the trees.

Although Sam felt much better now that she had reached the dense forest Moon did not.

Sam could feel the mare's tension growing, the unit they had formed only minutes ago was slipping through her hands as the mare started to swing her head in an attempt to free her head.

Sam had to call on all her strength as the skittish horse tried to make a run for it when she only saw as much as a leave fall from a tree.

Never did she expect what was coming at her. In the beat of a heart a bolt came down right in front of them lightening the entire surrounding area and shaking the ground with an enormous clutter.

Her legs tightened around the horse instantly and she felt for the manes frantically. As soon as it had appeared the flash was gone and a cloak of darkness made it impossible to make out anything.

She could feel the horse rearing and her head hitting a branch. Then black nothingness.

***

"On a horse we'll go to Pluto, we'll go looking at the stars, dancing on Saturn, I go everywhere with you .."

Kieran Banks was singing along with the radio in her car.  She was stuck in traffic and the car was the only place where she would indulge in the pleasure of singing. Not that she couldn't sing, on the contrary, her voice was magnificent, she just didn't feel like being the centre of attention anymore.

But she would always draw people's attention because she had a natural charm that demanded people look at her even when she made absolutely no attempt to catch anyone's eye. Though they quickly moved on when the tall raven-haired woman cast an icy look in their direction.

The sun beat down on the roof of the old little car, but Kieran didn't bother turning on the air-condition for now. The humid air would only give her a headache.

15.38 .. Now I'll miss my human rights class. Well I guess I can just as well call it a day then, that is if I ever get out of here..

With her 27 years Kieran was a lot older than most of the other sophomores at her college. She didn't have any close friends at school and to be honest she didn't really care for it either.

Not that she had ever been very talkative. But back then she had thrived on attention. She had a large following but none of them she had considered her friend. They were loyal to her but they didn't like her anymore than she liked them. The difference was that she made the rules and therefore they stuck around like pesky little flies waiting for a chance to be someone, to have influence.

She demanded they obey her and when she did not get what she wanted instantly she made sure she got it one way or another.  They didn't call her Warrior Princess for no reason, if she spoke it was the language of her fists.

But those days were over now. Thanks to her grandmother who had never stopped believing in the potential of her granddaughter she had been able to get a scholarship for a very respectable college far away from her old haunts. Her grandmother had passed away over a year ago but Kieran was determined to not let her down. And there was no way she could have, she thoroughly enjoyed the law courses she was taking and was a very gifted student. Her attention for detail was extraordinary and she had an the memory of an elephant. Someday she would make a great lawyer. Just as her grandmother had always told her.

Kieran's azure eyes studied the sky as clouds were starting to fill out the sky. She changed the station to find a weather report but she gave up quickly. She was in the warm comfort of her car anyway so it didn't really matter to her.

***

Rainbows danced across the nightly skies and colourful stars shimmered, somewhere in the distance someone played drums. So much space yet still a feeling of being trapped.

"Argghhh" Sam tried to crack one eye open, but she pressed her eyelids close together as a sharp jolt shot through her forehead and nausea almost overcame her. Her head felt like it was going to explode and the sweet smell of jasmine made her feel like she was going to be sick.

Carefully she tried opening her eyes again, this time a little more successful. Her vision was blurred and some kind of alien creature stood watching her every moot from about a foot from her face.

It didn't look quite like the aliens she'd seen on TV, but it was an alien undoubtedly. She felt nervous and she resisted the urge to giggle at the spacey outfit. It's big black eyes looked at her exquisitely and she wondered what it was up to.

Sam blinked her eyes tried to get everything back into focus and realized she was staring at a grey squirrel.

No aliens I guess, but where am I ?

The squirrel made for the woods as Sam moved her hand to rub her temples. She tried to get up on one of her elbows but her headache forced her to lie down again. She remembered riding in the fields .. clouds .. and then nothing. Moon was nowhere to be seen. A large tree had come down right in front of Sam and vaguely she started to remember what had happened.

Just great! I get thrown off of my horse in the middle of the woods. I don’t even know if I can get up - maybe it’s not safe to get up anyway?

A chilly breeze made goose bumps rise on her arms and she wished she had brought her polar Tec. Overhead lighter clouds had replaced the dark clouds, but she knew that didn’t necessarily have to mean improvement of the situation.

What if Moon got hurt, it can be days before they start looking for me then. 

The wind was packing up in strength and the sky got more and more threatening again. The smell of rain filled the air and Sam knew it wouldn’t be too long before the storm reached full strength. Carefully she lifted her limbs to make sure nothing was broken. Her back felt a little sore but other than that she seemed okay.

Getting back on her feet didn’t take a great effort but the furious pounding of her head obliged her to lean against a tree for a while before she could continue. Slowly every so slowly Sam started making her way in the direction of the highway.

***

Impatiently Kieran drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Not that she was in a hurry - class would be over long before she’d reach college - but sitting in a confined space for two hours started to work on her nerves.

The road ahead was an endless parade of annoyed commuters in little tin ovens.  The sun was almost hidden behind the clouds but the heat was still ever present. That wouldn’t have been so bad if she could at least have left the car for a little but the traffic was still moving a little.

Kieran sighed and wriggled in her car seat to try and get some of the stiffness out. Of course no matter how much she shifted it remained an uncomfortable position. For a moment she let her eyes roam over the vast woods, that embraced the road from both sides, musing what could be behind the trees, until the agitated honking of the car behind her urged her to move forward. She glanced in the mirror and made an apologetic gesture at the slim 30ish guy who had honked at her.

It was on days like this that she could feel her past still haunting her. Trapped in the small space of her car had made her jumpy and small things could set her off easily. She thought how easy it would be to just step out of the car and approach the man. But she didn’t allow her self to do so. Her grandmother had fought so hard to get her were she was now and she didn’t intend to let anyone take that away from her.

But the thought of making him sorry for his behaviour lingered in her mind a long time and it scared her. After all this time she still didn’t have full control of the animal that lay dormant inside her.

Complete darkness had taken over the sky and Kieran switched on her headlights. She turned the sound of the radio up so that she wouldn’t miss the weather report. In front of her the long line of cars formed a yellow band through the otherwise darkened landscape. She shivered involuntary. She would never admit it, but she was scared.

“This Hank Robinson with a special weather alert for South -East Pennsylvania. Gale force gusts of wind are coming your direction accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. We advice everyone to lock doors and close windows and stay inside well away from the windows.”

Kieran switched off the radio. She hated being out during stormy weather but at least she was in her car.

***

Sam rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm her frozen body.  The wind went right through her blouse and her whole body was covered in goose bumps. She had reached the highway some time ago but no one pulled over. She wasn’t sure if they could see her through the rain but she had no other option than to stay where she was - wherever that was - and try and wave someone over.

Her teeth were chattering and tears started forming in her eyes. She knew that if no one would pull over she would be in deep trouble.

The dark was not what frightened her, the situation did. Her head still felt like exploding and already the cold was causing her limbs to turn numb. The rain had soaked her to the bone and her hair clung to her face and her neck.

If she hadn’t been in a situation like this she would have had quite a laugh over it. But she was.

Heavy rain pounded on the roof of the car. The road ahead was nearly deserted but the rain that flooded the windscreen turned speeding into something suicidal so Kieran stuck to a respectable pace.

The wind had abated and the rain sounded like a soothing rhythm. Kieran cracked open the window a little and she inhaled the fresh scent of wet woods. She allowed her body to slump back in the seat a little and it wasn't before too long that her clear voice filled the room again.

Suddenly a bolt of lightening struck about a quarter mile in front of the car briefly illuminating the road in front of her. Kieran shot up from her relaxed position and she felt her heart hammer in her chest.

"Fuck!"

She reduced her speed even more and switched lanes. Her eyes scanned the dark bushes on her right trying to get a better view of what she had seen during the short flash. Something, someone was out there.

As she got closer she realized there was indeed someone standing there. Kieran's brain was racing; there wasn't a lot of time to think whether she should pull over or not.

She had heard the stories of people picking up a psychopath ending up 6 feet under.

But she pulled the car over anyway, she couldn't very well leave this person out in the rain. If she didn't like what she saw she could always drive on.

Sam didn’t know how long she had been standing there when a car finally pulled over. The brightness of the headlights made it impossible for her to make out what kind of car it was, let alone who was inside.

The light had caused her headache to come back in full force and she had to fight to retain her balance.

Slowly she made her way to the side of the car and she bent down to look at the driver.

***

Kieran was surprised that the person was a young woman. She swayed a little as she walked and Kieran started to regret her decision, for all she knew this woman could be a drug addict who would kill her and sell her car for drugs.

Huge emerald eyes studied her carefully and Kieran looked back at her trying to decide whether she could trust her. The woman made the impression of a drowned cat, but still she was downright stunning. Her hair was some kind of dark blonde, a little past her shoulders although the woman wore it in a ponytail. She looked to be about 18 and Kieran felt relieved.

She motioned the woman to come in. The woman hesitated a moment but then she opened the door.

“I - I am soaked, is there something I can put over the seat first ? I don’t want to make it all wet”

Kieran smiled, the woman had a pleasant voice. She felt glad that she had pulled over, the young woman was in serious need of  help.

“That’s okay, please just sit down, it’s cold with the door open”

And it was, very cold actually. In the short time the door had been open the car had started to feel like a fridge. She could only imagine how the young woman must be feeling.

“I’m Samantha, Samantha Hayes.  Thanks for picking me up.”

Sam studied the tall woman in the seat next to her. She looked a lot nicer now that she smiled and she started to relax in the comfort of the car.

“No problem, my name is Kieran. Where do you need to go ?”

“I live in Morgantown.”

Sam fell silent. She was so glad that she forgot that maybe this Kieran was going in a whole different direction.

“Okay, just tell me the address and I will drop you off.”

Kieran  had never enjoyed small talk so she quickly turned the car back on the road so that the young woman wouldn’t try to engage her in a conversation. She didn’t quite know what to think of her yet. There was this gash on the woman’s head that awakened her curiosity but she decided not to ask.

She was absolutely gorgeous and Kieran felt a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Elena had made her feel like that. Elena who had been her first love. Elena, who had dropped her like a brick when Kieran had thought the relationship would last forever.

Deep down Kieran still loved Elena, despite of the way she had treated her. But she promised herself she would never make that mistake again. Oh, she had had other lovers, lots of lovers; male, female, young, old. She didn’t care. She had shared her bed, but she didn’t love any of them enough to start a relationship.

As the years went by that too changed. She didn’t sleep around anymore. It was her grandmother who made her realize she was treating those people the way Elena had treated her. Sometimes she missed it, but not as much the sex as the closeness she had shared with Elena.  She wanted to be in love again, to be loved, but she was scared.

Kieran glanced over at the young woman who had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful, so innocent.

Her hair was starting to dry up, but the goose bumps told Kieran she was still feeling cold.

“Sam ?”

“Hmmmm”

“Sam, wake up. We’re here.”

Sam sat up and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t feel as cold as she looked and she was surprised to see that she was covered with a blanket.

“How - Where did the blanket come from ?”

“Oh, I bought it at a gas station” , Kieran said and she looked away shyly.

The young woman gave her a grateful look as she tried to stifle a yawn rather unsuccessfully.

Kieran felt a strange kind of sadness that she would have to leave the young woman here and she wished she could take her home to make sure she would be all right.

“Thank you so much for everything. If you come upstairs with me I can pay you for the gas and the blanket  and I can make you some coffee if you like?”

“No please, it’s fine, really”

Kieran wanted to drink that coffee with her but her head was screaming at her. She is just like Elena! Go home!

The young woman studied her face. Kieran had always been able to hide her thoughts but it seemed like Samantha could see right into her soul and she looked down before she would give herself away.

“Well - erm - I guess I should get inside now. Once again thank you so much. If you ever need help or feel like - like - dropping  by don’t hesitate to contact me. You know where I live. ‘night Kieran.”

Briefly Sam still looked at Kieran, then she turned around and climbed the stairs to her apartment. Kieran waited to make sure she got inside and then she turned the car and drove home.

Chapter 2

Back to FanFic Index