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 4

Sam,

I really liked our conversation the other day. You said I could help you groom sometime. How about today? Meet me here at 3PM.

Kieran.

Kieran read the note one more time before she shove it underneath the door of Sam’s locker.

The note was short, still it had taken her an hour to write and still she wasn’t sure if she shouldn’t have made some last minute changes. But it was too late for that now

  ***

Kieran was walking behind Sam on the way to the riding school. She still remembered how excited she had been at first when Sam had invited her to come another day, but now she wasn’t exactly thrilled anymore.

A wry smile marred her otherwise beautiful features. It was exactly as she had said to Sam. Horses had always fascinated her; they looked so strong, but at the same time they never lost their graciousness. That was from a distance of course. Kieran looked at the small woman in front of her and knew she had had no trouble controlling the massive animal. They were coming closer and closer to the door with the blue ribbon on it, the ribbon Sam had won at the competition and Kieran wanted to turn around and run.

“Well, here we are”

Sam had stopped and looked at Kieran. “Kieran, you look a bit pale, are you okay?”

Kieran’s jaw was set. She knew Sam could see her distress. It had started the minute they walked into the stable complex. Slowly she had started to panic. The whole place just breathed horses. A long lane of stables stretched out to the far end and she had stayed close to the wall; well away from the heads that hung over semi-open stable doors, stretching their necks trying to sniff the new visitor. She heard the straw rustling accompanied by low snorts and occasional neighs that set her teeth on edge.  Only the smell of horses mingled with straw and fresh cut hay offered her some consolation.

“Yes,” she squeaked, her voice an octave higher than usual, “I am fine.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were scared of horses, if I had known I would have never brought you here.”

The look of regret on Sam’s face made Kieran only more determined to overcome her fears and cautiously she peered in the box. Moon looked even bigger than she remembered, but at least she was behind bars this time. 

Hesitatingly she stepped forward until she was only one foot away from the door. She took a deep breath and slowly let her hand slide down the warm neck; it felt quite good actually. Moon, not used to the light touch, was growing more and more irritated. It made her ticklish and she shook her head vigorously up and down until the feeling was gone. She snorted contently and went back to her food.

“AAHHHH”

Kieran had jumped back and she slumped against the cool wall. This wasn’t a horse, this was a nightmare! Surely Sam would agree.

The person in question had a hard time not to laugh out loud. She didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings, but the sight of the tall, usually so composed woman, scared out of her wits only because Moon had swung her head was just too funny.

“It,” Kieran’s eyes were large as saucers and disbelief was written all over her face,“It wanted to BITE me!”

Sam looked at Moon, who was sweetly tugging at a few strands of hay, unconscious of the anxiety she had caused and then back at her friend who was still plastered against the wall. With difficulty she pushed back the urge to giggle and walked up to Kieran.

“Hey it’s all right. She just got ticklish. She would never bite you. Trust me.”

Kieran looked at Sam incredulously. It had tried to bite her! She glanced over at Moon and had to admit she didn’t look very evil. She looked down and said,  “I’m scared, Sam” 

Never had she admitted her fears to anyone except for her grandma and Elena and now all of a sudden she had let this young woman in. It made her feel like as if she was completely naked. But something told her that it was okay.

“Come on, girl, I’ll show you”

A bit shaky Kieran abandoned the safety of the wall. Slowly she edged closer until three feet from the box her legs cried off. She hated showing weakness, but she was on the verge of tears.

Sam sensed her Kieran’s uneasiness and she wondered if she should give up for today. Part of her knew that if she let her go now she would not return another time, so she decided against it.  To her own surprise she found her self moving up behind Kieran and slipping one arm around her waist as the other sought that of her friend.

A river of emotions flowed through her and she wanted the impossible; she longed to just stay in this position and lean down to kiss Kieran’s neck. Shamefully she kicked her mind out of the gutter as she gently nudged Kieran.

Kieran stepped forward and let Sam guide her hand. She kept her eyes focused on the large golden head expecting it to make a lunge for her, but nothing happened. Instead the brown eyes starting closing.

 “See, it’s not that bad”

“Yeah. She’s kind of nice like that,” Kieran said

She let herself relax and suddenly became aware of Sam’s arm wrapped around her waist. Here she was; standing next to this giant horse and yet Sam managed to make her feel completely safe. She wished she could  tell Sam how special she was, but she didn’t have the guts to do so.

Grudgingly Sam let go of Kieran. No sooner had she let go or a feeling of loss came over her.

“Ehm, listen, I really have to groom her and give her some exercise. There are some magazines in the foyer…”

Kieran kept a straight face and raised a brow in mock anger, “Oh, so you’re getting rid off me already, missy?”

“No, no, of course not, but …” Then she realized Kieran was just messing with her.

“You tease! I just thought you would get bored watching me groom.” Sam explained herself. She wasn’t sure what Kieran meant; would she go home already or did she say it because she wanted to watch. She definitely hoped it was the last.

“Well,” Kieran said, “I just thought maybe I could give you a hand?”

The look of surprise on Sam’s faced mirrored that of Kieran. That was definitely not what she had in mind to say. Still she hoped Sam would let her.

Sam quickly regained her senses and hastened to tell Kieran it was okay before she would have a sudden change of heart.

***

Kieran was amazed by how fast she had gotten used to being around Moon. They had been silently brushing the mare for some time and Kieran would sometimes put her brush away and just let her hands warm up under the thick shock of mane while she inhaled the typical horse scent.

“So, is there someone special in your life?” Kieran asked Sam, looking at her from over the mare’s broad back.

Sam’s breath caught in her throat and she started brushing an imaginary spot as if her life depended on it.  She knew Kieran was waiting for a reply and she was puzzled what to tell her.

Without looking up she mumbled, “Not really”

She felt her cheeks getting hot and she moved down to brush the mare’s tummy so that Kieran wouldn’t be able to see it. She was tired of lying to Kieran, but the threat of losing her was too much to bear.

Kieran had laid her head down on the mare’s side, she wondered if it was just a coincidence that Sam had disappeared from her view, or that maybe she had tried to dodge the question, when Sam popped back up.

“What about you?”  Sam wasn’t sure why she asked. She didn’t want to hear about some wonderful boyfriend,or about the cute guy from class. She regretted asking and she wanted to take it back.

Kieran had stopped brushing. Sam was still busy brushing Moon and she decided to take the chance.

“I’m still waiting for the princess on the white horse.”  Kieran blurted out. It didn’t sound that bad. She had said it as rapidly as she could, trying to sound as casual as if she were listing her groceries.

“Oh okay”, Sam said. It was funny, she had always figured Kieran was straight, but now that she actually heard her say it it hurt a lot more.

“Wait a minute ... princess?” She looked up from her brushing, her mouth half agape.

“I am sorry Sam. I thought you knew.”  It was clear to see that her friend was disgusted with her. If only she had just talked her way around it. But it was for the better she told herself. The longer the illusion would have lived on the more hurt would have come from it.

“No I didn’t know, it’s fine though, really. You just threw me for a loop there.”

Kieran could see Sam’s mind racing. “I think I’d better leave and give you some time to get used to it.”

She knew it was a lame excuse, but it was probably best for them if they kept a distance and she felt tears well up in her eyes.

“No, please, Kieran.”

Sam had made her way to her side of the horse without Kieran noticing and now she was there, holding her hands. “Please stay!”  Kieran heard the words but they didn’t register in her head. The sweet scent of apple shampoo started to replace that of horse and she found herself inhaling eagerly. Sam’s emerald eyes held an unspoken promise in them and although she wanted to leave it was like Sam had cast some kind of spell over her that made her unable to move. Kieran swallowed hard, couldn’t Sam see what she was doing to her? Fire raced under her skin, any longer and she would explode. Her hands trembled as Sam put them behind her back so that she was holding her. This was her chance to walk away, but she couldn’t and soon she felt Sam’s arms come around her as well. Suddenly she felt Sam’s soft lips brush her cheek.

“Do you believe in fairytales?”  she whispered.

“I do now, princess, I do now”  The most beautiful smile had worked it’s way up Kieran’s face and she held Sam as close as possible.

***

Kieran stood in the middle of the enormous riding track looking at her friend full of admiration. The high ceiling was made out of sheets of corrugated iron placed on tie beams. In the summer it provided fresh air and let some of the heat escape at night, but now it only made the track drafty.

She felt shivers running over her spine and her limbs were getting numb. It had crossed her mind a few times to sit down in the foyer, but she didn’t want to be wimp, especially not around Sam and being on the track had its advantages; like hearing the hooves hitting the sand, or occasionally a powerful bang as one of them hit the wooden fence. Sometimes she could even hear Sam talk to the horse.

Moon didn’t show any signs of fatigue as she crossed the track for the n^th time. Her step was light, yet it displayed a great deal of strength and control. But Kieran had paid a lot more attention to Sam. It didn’t really look all that complicated; the horse went forward when Sam put her legs against her sides and she stopped when she pulled the reins. Like driving a car, only then without all the silly buttons that seem to be there just for decoration.

“What do you say, wanna try?”  Sam’s clear voice brought Kieran back to reality.

Sure she had thought it was easy, but this was different. It was not like she had tried to send out some divine message to whoever was listening begging to give her a try. Horses were not really her thing and well maybe there was more to it than it appeared to an outsider, Sam’s cheek had acquired quite a blush after all.

But she wanted to try and Sam wouldn’t offer if she thought she wouldn’t be able to do it, now would she?

Kieran looked back and forth between Sam and Moon;  it sure was a big horse, undoubtedly falling down would be far from pleasant.  She wondered how it would feel to ride a magnificent creature like that, even more so, how impressed Sam would be when she showed she could ride Moon as well. Just how hard could it possibly be?

“Will you help me to mount her?”

“Sure will!”  Sam came to a halt right in front of Kieran and dismounted quickly. She explained how to get on the horse and to her surprise Kieran mounted with the ease and grace of an experienced horsewoman. But she could tell by the look on her friend’s face that there was no doubt she had never been on a horse before.

***

Kieran held on to the saddle for dear life, she had looked down and gauged the distance to the ground. She could be wrong of course but she was pretty sure her bones would be shattered if she hit the ground from this height. If anyone had told her the horse had gained 5 feet as she mounted it, she would have believed them right away.

She fumbled through the shock of mane until she felt the edge of the saddle. Unconsciously her hands closed around it, holding on so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She closed her eyes, convinced that the end was near, but so far so good. It scared the hell out of her, but at least she was still on the horse.

Moon wasn’t used to beginners, but, like any good horse would, she just let it happen. The woman on her back wasn’t that bad really; no endless tugging at the reins, or kicking in her side, she just sat there. Sooner or later the woman would probably make a move, but Moon figured she could take a nap for the time being and she shifted her weight to get comfortable.

Kieran’s eyes flew open and she tensed all her muscles trying to retain her balance. She had started to get used to the feel of the horse and then without a warning it had tried to get her off, tilting it’s side as far as it could. Moon felt the pressure on her sides and started a slow pace.  Kieran swayed from left to right as the horse moved underneath her. It was just like before, only this time she tilted even further and in both directions. She hunched her back and clung to the saddle, trying hard not to lose her balance and end up face down in the sand. She could see the feet moving with the motions, kicking up the sand with every step and she realized the horse had not tried to get her off, it had simply started to walk.

“Try to relax a bit, then you won’t sway so much.”  

Kieran hadn’t realized Sam was there walking next to Moon holding the reins. It figured she had been there all the time. So much for impressing her! She had wanted Sam to be impressed with the way she controlled the horse. Now Sam could be proud of the way her horse controlled Kieran. It felt like a she was in a kayak on high seas, like one of those rides at amusement parks. She could only imagine what it must look like if it already felt like this.

“Relax?” Kieran looked at Sam as if she had hit her head, “Just how much do you want me to relax? Anymore and I will fall off!”

Sam had to admit Kieran had indeed some problems with her balance, but as for her actually falling off, she thought it high unlikely.

“Kieran, if you don’t relax a bit you will be very sore tomorrow.”  She tried to catch Kieran’s  eyes but the tall woman didn’t take her eyes of the broad shoulders that caused her to sway.

“Rather sore muscles than all black and blue,” she muttered. She had meant it in earnest but Sam grinned and shook her head in disbelief, this was so unlike her friend. Sam halted the horse and turned around to face a rather sullen looking Kieran.

“This is just not working,” she said

Kieran nodded warily and clenched her jaw, somehow she had a feeling her riding lesson wouldn’t be over yet.

Sam’s brows were puckered with concentration as she walked around the horse trying to come up with a better plan. She had put one hand on her hip, while the other unconsciously rubbed her chin. Just as Kieran was about to suggest her to help her down Sam leapt up with a triumphant expression on her face. If it had been another situation Kieran would have loved the radiance, the broad smile, the sparkles in the emerald eyes. Now it only signaled more trouble.

“Ohh, I know, why don’t you take your foot out of the stirrup on my side!”  

Kieran had reached a point where she was convinced Sam had suffered some kind of brain damage when she had fallen off of Moon that day. It was obvious for all to see she had trouble staying on the horse as it was, and now this insane woman wanted her to also take away the little bit of support she had. There was no way she was going to take her foot out.  

“Please Kieran,” Sam tried to coax her into doing as she had told her, and much to Kieran’s dismay it worked.

She sighed deeply but removed her foot. As far as possible this only made it worse. She even had to change her grip so that she wouldn’t slide off on the stirrupless side. She started to suspect Sam was just playing games on her when, without a warning, Sam suddenly put her foot in the stirrup and before Kieran fully realized what was happening she had swung herself on the horse behind Kieran.

Gently Sam pried Kieran’s hands away from the saddle and guided her hands with her own until she held them correctly. The minute Sam’s hands left hers, she battled the urge to make a dive for the saddle again, instead she trusted Sam not to let her fall. The young woman had slowly started correcting Kieran’s posture. Most of the initial fear had abandoned Kieran and gradually she became aware of Sam in all ways possible; the small hands caressing her body, the hot breath in her hair, the faint scent of apples, Sam’s breasts pressing against her back.

Oh riding turned out to be not so bad after all.

Sam wasn’t aware of the feelings she was evoking at all. She was quite pleased with the way she had finally gotten Kieran to hold her knees to the saddle and she moved back a little to make Kieran straighten her back and correct her shoulders. She placed one hand on the small of Kieran’s back and the other on her midriff, accidentally brushing Kieran’s breasts in the process. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and her cheeks burning, but no one would be able to see and she tried to proceed as if nothing had happened.

Kieran moved willingly to her touch, she relaxed into Sam until she could feel her body against hers again.

She knew Sam hadn’t meant to touch her breasts but it had made her gasp and she wasn’t sure if the younger woman had heard it or not. If she had, she didn’t show it and that was probably a good idea.

They spent the hour with Sam explaining several things to Kieran. All the time she kept one arm wrapped around the older woman’s waist and the other on Kieran’s thigh giving her instructions without using her voice. She was stunned by how fast her friend picked up on things and secretly made plans in her heads to take her out riding by the time the weather got better. But she wasn’t even sure Kieran would continue riding or not and although she did quite well it would take a lot more than that before she could go outside.

***

Sam and Kieran stood in front of the box looking at Moon. She had a horse-cloth over her back to prevent her from cooling down too much. Their own breaths condensed in the cold air too, but they didn’t notice the cold.

“Thank you, for taking me here.” Neither Kieran nor Sam looked away from the horse. They had had the most wonderful day and they desperately wanted to come up with a reason to stay longer. Saying bye now would mean the day had come to an end.

“You’re welcome. I hope you had a good time.” Sam knew Kieran had enjoyed the afternoon, but maybe she could stir up a little conversation and lengthen it a little.

Kieran smiled at her friend. It had been long ago that she had been this happy. She thought about asking Sam over to her place. Her sweater had smears all over it from brushing Moon, her pants were so hairy it looked like she had developed fur and not to mention the smell. It was not bad, at least it didn’t smell bad, but not the way you want to smell when you first ask someone like Sam over.

“I had a great time, if I didn’t need a shower desperately I’d ask you out.”

To Be Continued . . .

Back to FanFic Index