1 day before the Awakening Experiment
“It was a good haul, Rob. By this time next year, we’ll be able to hire help to take some load off our backs.”
The young man half listened to his father as he stared uninterested at the sprawling countryside. He didn’t mind the farm-work, but the day spent carting their goods to the market was his least favourite part. Used as he was to running through their property in all manner of back-breaking labour, the hours spent doing nothing but bouncing up and down on the rickety old cart did a number on his nerves. He’d sometimes jump off and trot along, but would soon chastise himself and jump back on, telling himself he’d better save that energy for something productive.
Thinking about it, he and his dad were the same. The two loved to work with their hands and never complained no matter how tough things got. This is why he knew his dad’s words didn’t mean much: hiring farmhands would just mean they’d both end up finding something else to work on. Not that he was opposed to it and he loved to see the fruits of their work making their farm prosper, but sometimes he worried that they were working for work’s sake.
“We could have swung by the tavern and set off in the morning, pa,” he said. “We don’t get much of a chance to check out the city.”
“There’s not much to see there anyway,” answered his father dismissively.
The exchange, often repeated as of late, held a special meaning for both. Rob knew his father had caught the eye of a very nice and good-looking lady that ran a tavern by day in the neighbouring town. Riona, as she was called, was brash and straightforward, and it made her a good match for the grizzled, silent but stern old farmer. It had been over ten years since Rob’s mother had passed away, and he feared his dad had just lost the will to do anything but work and raise his son. Grateful as he was for his father’s care, he was nearly an adult now and it would take many a worry off his mind to see his father try and live for himself again, something he felt this energetic woman could really help him with.
In addition, the tavern also functioned as a less reputable establishment during the nights, when Riona’s professional title changed to “matron”. It was, needless to say, the kind of service someone of Rob’s age would find deeply appealing, but his father had politely refused her invitation and he could not convince him to delay their departure until the following day.
“Hmm? Look at that…”
Rob sat upright as his father spoke suddenly, and glanced in the same direction as him. Two women were walking by the road in the direction of the farm, wearing what, despite the distance, seemed to be rather expensive clothes.
“Nobles?” asked Rob. “What are they doing here?”
“Dunno,” answered his father. “’specially at this hour. They’re not gonna get anywhere before sunset at that pace either.”
As their cart drew closer, the two women stopped, turned to look at them and smiled, and the sight nearly took Rob’s breath away. The two seemed to be kin, though it was hard to guess their ages. One of them looked like a young adult woman with long hair white as snow, and her companion seemed slightly younger, with a slightly pinkish hue to her similarly smooth long hair. They were both wearing what seemed like party dresses with scandalously low necklines that exposed much of the women’s generous cleavage, and their garments clung to their skin with such tightness that the curves of their bodies were in open display.
“Good afternoon ladies,” said Rob’s father in his usual gruff, detached voice, stopping the cart and gently kicking his son’s foot to stop him from staring. “If you don’t mind me sayin’, you are a strange sight around these parts. Are you in trouble?”
The older-looking woman’s smile widened into an expression of pure joy, and Rob felt his knees go weak. He had no idea why, but he had never been more attracted to a pair of women in his life.
“That we are, kind sir,” said the woman. “Our carriage came under assault by brigands, and they made off with it and our possessions. We scarcely escaped, but have nowhere to go. We thought to follow the road and seek refuge in the nearby city where a friend of our family resides.”
Rob’s father took a moment before he answered. “You’re goin’ in the wrong direction. Nothin’ but farms this way. And you’re not gonna get anywhere before dawn at your pace.”
“Oh dear,” said the woman, exchanging a worried look with her companion. “Whatever shall we do then?”
There was another moment of silence and only a passing nod of acknowledgement between the two men as they both thought the same thing. For victims of a recent robbery, the two women seemed strangely calm. Nevertheless, Rob’s father would sooner cut his tongue than abandon someone in distress, and he saw no way the women could pose them any danger.
“My son and I are going back home now,” said Rob’s father tiredly. “If you wish, we can put you up for the night and drive you back to the city in the morn’. Mind you, I’m gonna need some payment for the trip back if I have to leave the farm for another day, but you seem like you can afford it.”
“Certainly!” said the older woman, her smile brightening still. “You have our gratitude, kind man. I am Lyra, and this is my younger sister Liana.”
“Pleased to meet you, kind sirs,” said the younger girl, bowing courteously to the two farmers. Rob swallowed as he struggled to take his eyes away from the girl’s bosom.
“Name’s Roy, and this is my son Robert,” said the gruff farmer as he jumped off his cart and helped the two women climb up.
The remaining trip to the farm was as quiet as before, but a new mixture of tensions now hung over them. Both Rob and Roy, practical and suspicious as they were, silently wracked their heads about what possible dangers the two women could pose that they hadn’t considered. The situation was strange, bizarre even, and the women’s gentle mannerisms did nothing to put them at ease. Neither had much contact with rich people, but assumed as a matter of course that aristocrats or those of similar stature were not usually as courteous with peasants as these two.
Rob, on his part, also grew restless in their presence for another reason entirely. He sat still, eyes fixed on the countryside to stop himself from gawking at the women’s figures, yet the mere whiff of their sweet perfume filled him with excitement. Once or twice he had let his gaze wander their way, and the silent women had instantly realized, flashing him smiles that sent his heart aflutter. He had simply no idea how to deal with such presence around him and knew not what to expect. All he knew was that it unsettled him to the core.
The foursome continued their ride in silence until they reached the prospering farm and made their way into the men’s house.
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Roy’s cottage could be considered luxurious by the standards of most frontier farmers, for whom a single room with rags to sleep on was the norm. His, instead, had a large ground floor room where they cooked and ate, an adjacent pantry and a second floor with two separate bedrooms. This was less the result of wealth than it was the tireless labour of the two men, and their pride and joy was a tube running from the fireplace in the ground floor up to the roof, which spread the fire’s heat throughout the house. Nevertheless, both men knew well that their home was but a meagre shack in the eyes of wealthy city-dwellers, and were quite surprised to hear their guests compliment them on it.
Flattered, though no less suspicious, Rob and Roy arranged for the women to take Rob’s bed while they slept on Roy’s and proceeded to cook as good a meal as they could manage. The younger girl, Liana, kept chatting amicably with Rob throughout dinner, while the elder Lyra contented herself with paying occasional compliments on the food or repeating her gratitude for Roy’s aid. She insisted on helping clean up afterwards and, caught up with trying to dissuade her, Roy only too late noticed that Rob and Liana had snuck out of the house.
“There is no cause for concern, your son seems quite the gentleman,” said Lyra as she helped put away the wooden plates.
“I’m not…” Roy hesitated, fixing his gaze on the beautiful woman. There was something strange about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and it grinded his teeth to try and figure it out.
“You are wary of me,” she noted, wearing a smile that told Roy she didn’t find it surprising.
“And I don’t believe a word you said either,” he added, fishing in his pockets for his pipe and tobacco as he sat down on his favourite chair.
“Yet you welcomed us nonetheless,” she noted, sitting on the nearest chair to his. “I’m curious why that is.”
“Figured the danger you could pose wasn’t worth the risk of letting two women die alone at night on off chance I was wrong,” Roy grunted, taking a long puff from his pipe. “Getting less confident by the minute though… you’re a sure weird pair.”
“And what is it you believe we are?” asked Lyra, and as she spoke, she leaned forward with a catlike smile, letting her cleavage show more prominently.
“That’s the thing that gets me. I don’t bloody know,” answered Roy, scratching his head in confusion. “It can’t be money. Those clothes you’re wearing probably cost more than my whole damn farm. I got nothing worth stealing, and I sure as hell ain’t worth deceiving or manipulating’ for nothin’.”
“And doesn’t the lack of motive put you at ease then?” she asked.
“On the contrary. Not knowing what yer after just gets me even more nervous,” Roy answered with another frustrated grunt. It was obvious the woman was enjoying playing with him, and in spite of himself, he was almost having fun guessing himself.
“I suppose you will have to keep thinking until you get it then,“ Lyra said, resting her smiling face on her hand.
“Or you do what yer here to do,” Roy added, pausing for a minute as he looked at a wooden case on one corner of the room. Silently, he got up and reached inside it, pulling out a bottle full of a dark-red liquid. “Drink?” he asked, not waiting for a response before fetching two mugs and pouring the wine.
“I will, thank you,” Lyra answered, taking one of the mugs with her usual appreciative smile.
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Outside the house, Rob did his best to seem interesting and insightful as he walked the younger Liana through the stables and showed her their animals as she had requested. He had very little idea of what he was doing, but having such a pretty girl pay attention to him was not something that happened often, and he was not about to let that opportunity pass.
“They’re beautiful,” gasped Liana as she examined the horses, caressing their manes with fascination. If she was acting, Rob had to admit that she was very convincing, as her sparkling eyes would have been at home in the face of an innocent child. Yet as pretty as her face is, he could not stop himself from sneaking glances at her bottom as she walked in front of him.
“Do you and your father take care of them all alone?” she asked, and Roy had to snap himself out of his leering to respond.
“Yeah… been doing it seen I remember,” he shrugged.
“Must be hard work,” she added, gently petting the nose of Sprinter, their best stallion. Rob did a slight double take at that: Sprinter was often foul-tempered and didn’t like strangers, yet he allowed the girl to touch him without protest.
“I dunno, it’s been like that since I care remember,” he shrugged again.
“What about your mother?” she asked again.
“She passed away a long time ago, so it’s been me and pa’ since,” Rob answered without enthusiasm. Truth was that getting accustomed to doing without his mother’s help had been harsh, but he didn’t want to show how much it got to him. “Don’t get much visits out here in the country.”
“And you’re all alone?” she said. “Doesn’t it get you down?
Damn right it does. He thought, sniffing suddenly and realizing that he was breathing quickly. He was not an emotional boy, yet for some reason the girl’s few words were piercing at him.
“Look, lady, what is it you want?” he asked suddenly and with more aggressiveness that he intended. “Y’all show up here acting weird and pretend like you’ve never seen a bloody horse before!”
“I hadn’t,” she answered honestly, seemingly unperturbed by Rob’s reply. “We don’t have them back home.”
“You don’t have horses? Give me a break,” he spat.
“It’s true,” she added, still smiling brightly. “We have beasts of burden, but they’re not like these. These horses have such beautiful hair and eyes, and-Oh my!” She exclaimed, covering her mouth as she let out an amused giggle.
Following her gaze, Rob looked at the horse and saw the beast’s member erect and stiff between his legs.
“What are you getting’ excited for!?” Rob scolded the horse. “It ain’t even season for that!”
“They’re impressive there too!” Leila continued, giggling now more at Rob’s reaction.
“Can’t tell me you’ve never done heard of a horse wiener before,” Rob grunted. “I don’t like getting made fun of, pretty girl or not.”
“I’m not mocking you at all,” she said pleasantly. “Now I’m curious if all males around here are like that,” she added, her eyes now twinkling with something besides mirth.
“Nothing ‘round here’s got a package as big, though that don’ mean it’s not as good,” Rob grunted.
“Ohhh, would you mind if I made sure of that?” Leila said, turning her attention now fully towards him.
Rob stared blankly at her, his throat suddenly dry and his attention too focused on not blushing to think of a witty retort. He chastised himself for being so transparent, but he could do nothing but stand still as Leila slowly moved towards him, her hips swaying with each step.
He did nothing as she pressed her soft body against his and the sweet smell of her perfume filled him. Slowly, the girl kneeled before him and unfastened his trousers, lowering with a ceremonial kind of grace to reveal his already stiff cock.
“Not as big as he beast’s but a good specimen regardless,” she cooed, wrapping her delicate hands around his length and stroking him with slow, careful movements. “Would you mind if I tasted it?”
Rob did not – or could not – answer, but the girl’s mouth was already closing around his head, and a feeble whimper left his lips as he surrendered to her.
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The sound of creaking wood filled Roy’s bedroom as its occupants busied themselves trying to one-up the other in enthusiasm.
They had chatted for a while as they drank the wine, and as Lyra encouraged him to try to guess her intentions, she had coaxed talk out of him on other topics. She had gotten him to speak of the farm, the hardships of day-to-day work, until the topic came to Roy’s deceased wife. He spoke little of it, save for the facts: she had passed away from disease, and he had made it his business to raise Rob properly.
“And what of you?” she had asked.
“And what of me?” he answered surly.
At that point, she had suddenly stood and walked upstairs without uttering a single word, and Roy had followed her, picking up the candle lamp to light the way. She moved naturally and neither signalled him to follow her nor seemed bothered that he did, as if they both knew exactly what was happening.
“You are dead,” she said with a hint of pity as she reached Roy’s bedroom.
“News to me,” Roy grunted.
“You breathe and work, but do not live for yourself. When your son needs you no more, you will be lost,” she continued, reaching behind her to undo the clasps of her dress.
“And what do you suggest?” he asked, closing the door behind him.
“Your life is like a dying fire, it needs only be rekindled,” she continued, letting her dress fall and exposing her gorgeous body in full. “Why do you not try living for yourself again, only for one night?”
A gust of wind blew out Roy’s candle, and he almost gasped as he saw her body shine under the pale moonlight. He stopped thinking, stopped doubting, and stripped off his clothes as quickly as he could, pouncing on the woman at once.
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The woman’s technique was exquisite, but she had little chance to use her finer skills as the grizzled farmer ravaged her body with abandon. Instead, she met his passion with equal fervour, clawing at his back and crying out in joy in tune with his growling grunts.
The sounds carried far in the quiet night, but the only people near enough to hear it were too absorbed in each other to care. After blowing his load in the Liana’s mouth, Rob had collapsed on a heap of hay before the young girl jumped on him, tearing out her clothes impaling herself on his too-quickly recovering member and finally making him a man.
The night dragged on, with the two couples lost in their respective worlds until the men finally collapsed, each seeing a similar strange sight as they laid on their backs and – too exhausted to do otherwise, they allowed the girls to move as they pleased. It was a vague memory when morning came and they found themselves alone in their respective beds, but both could swear they had seen for a moment the shape of wings and horns on their lovers’ bodies.
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Both father and son woke up later than usual and still felt throughout the day the weight of fatigue on their bodies. The women were gone, yet all the men’s belongings were accounted for. Nothing had been stolen or broken or otherwise tampered with. They went to bed early that following night, and by the following morning felt completely rejuvenated. It was only then, as they busied themselves with the tasks that their tiredness had prevented them from fulfilling the previous day, that Rob first dared comment on what had transpired.
“You think we’re goin’ to hell, pa? He asked suddenly.
His father snorted. “What kind of nonsense are you on about?”
Rob hesitated, unsure of how to answer.
“I taught you not to think ill of someone who does you no harm, and I got not harm done to me,” Roy grunted. “You any different?”
“No.” his son answered.
“Well, that’s that then,” he said. “By the way, we gotta make sure to clean up the house for tomorrow.”
“It ain’t that dirty,” said Rob.
“Not for us slobs, but Riona’s a stickler for that sorta thing. I wanna give a good impression,” he said curtly before walking off toward the house.
Rob stood there blinking for a moment, and then remembered his father had sent a message to the city the previous day. As he watched him walk, he noticed a subtle lightness to his step that he hadn’t seen for years.
In the following days, Rob kept noticing the light returning to his father’s eyes in the presence of the visiting barmaid, and did his best to hold back his own eagerness as Riona promised him to set him up if her ever visited her establishment. His uneasiness aside, there was now more life in the house that he had seen in over a decade and, whatever his uneasiness regarding the mysterious women’s visit, he felt that whatever they did had been for the better.
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The morning after the strange women visited the farm, their “guide” – such as he was – busied itself in a nearby forest, using its enormous magical eye to oversee its various charges.
The two at the farm were top-grade students, and it showed. Unlike many of their sisters, they took the time to study their marks and not only did the deed as necessary, they managed to somewhat ease the older guy’s heart… The Spectator himself couldn’t really care less, but he was supposed to report that sort of thing, as the Grand Matron stressed on the need to give as much as they took when it came to their targets.
Others from the group had not been as refined. One had simply waited until nightfall to approach an old farmer a few kilometres east and enchanted him in his sleep. Another had just shown up naked in front of two young brothers and let puberty-addled impulses do the work, and yet another had hit the jackpot and found her way into a nearby garrison outpost housing about a dozen tired guards that had been stationed to the frontier for several months. The mere indication of consent on her part was all anybody needed to close that deal.
The Spectator’s clairvoyant eye finished its last sweep as the girls slowly made their way back – the last one with a noticeable wobble to her step – and he planned on their next destination. There were still over eighty girls who needed to pass their task, and he could not afford to have them do it in the same area. He had warned them to make sure their targets were spaced out, but rumours had to be flowing already about the visitations suffered by men in the region and he wanted to avoid any encounter with the waking tincans from the church.
He cursed the day he accepted the assignment, but at the very least it would soon be over. There was another farming village further to north where the rest of the batch could eat their fill and then he’d be rid of his insufferable charges.
Sluggishly, he set his sight to the north and ordered the last group to pass through the portal. If he was lucky, they’d be done by the following day.