Hello dear readers! This story contains various kinks which will continue to shift and evolve as the story progresses. This chapter is more voyeurism-based, but be aware that the series overall
will
revolve around noncon and D/s themes. So heads up that while this chapter is softcore, things get a bit darker moving forward!
Enjoy ;)
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Arya was out hunting with her brothers the first time she saw a brigand. She had grown up in a small keep in the woods, her life simple and quiet. They had money, but no pretensions, an honorable family name, but no hubristic pride. The many farms and homesteads scattered across the sprawling landscape were under her father's thumb, but his touch was kind and generous, and most of his people had a deep respect for him.
Unfortunately, there are always those who are poor, desperate, or simply deranged, who fall by the wayside and cause trouble for others, and it was one such a man that she was destined to meet.
But the day started slowly and with the usual tedium that Arya was accustomed to. She was supposed to be studying, and felt a bit guilty watching her sisters hard at work while she lounged, only pretending to be reading. But they were older and prettier and would grow up to have responsibilities, like marrying rich men. With all eyes on them and their recent "coming out" into society, Arya was frequently overlooked and wily enough take advantage of it. Today, she decided to escape her duties and roam through the woods with her two brothers, Luc and Weyn.
They were skulking through the forest that morning, following the tracks of a deer. Hunting was a pastime the boys frequently enjoyed, and Arya was often invited to tag along; though she spent her time exploring and admiring the woods rather than trying to kill the things living in them.
She wasn't paying them much mind, knowing that despite their bravado they had no hope of actually bagging a deer. Luc was the only one with a weapon and it was a child's sling with a few pointy pebbles. Still, the boys fancied themselves great warriors, envisioning themselves creeping silently through the woods chasing a great and beautiful beast that they would slay with a single shot, and bring home in triumph.
In actuality, they were three children ages eight, ten, and eleven who were crashing through the underbrush with no hope of a successful hunt as they argued in loud whispers.
"I saw it, I did!" Weyn, the youngest, said petulantly. "It was a boar the size of a carriage!"
"Shh!" Luc warned. "Be quiet for ten minutes, for the love of God. Do you want to draw thieves and murderers and-and.. ruffians to us!?"
Luc was was their leader and Arya was often his "yes man", but at this she scoffed. "Ruffians? In Parnage? Father wouldn't let anyone like that to stay in our woods, you idiot."
Weyn, annoyed that the others were ignoring his story of the boar, loudly agreed. "Of course there are no murderers here, Luc! And who would these imaginary ruffians steal from? It's not as though the serfs have got anything and we are protected by the keep."
"Not out here you aren't," a deep voice replied.
The children screamed, Weyn bolting into the woods towards home. Luc stood his ground defiantly, his sling in his hand. Arya stood a ways behind him, afraid but unwilling to show it as she willed Weyn to run quickly and bring help.
The man laughed, stepping out from behind a tree.
He was tall, at least to their eyes, with a broad chest and several missing teeth. "Good thing I have no wish to do you harm."
He leaned down, peering at them. "However, you pampered keep children may wish to be a bit more careful in the woods alone. I am not the only one here, and even I would not pass up the opportunity to pinch any valuables if I thought you had any."
Luc frowned at his words, clearly offended. Arya kicked him, seeing that he had opened his mouth to retort. The man looked at her and winked. "She may have been wrong about my existence, but she clearly has a bit of sense." His gaze darkened, and Arya stepped back, afraid without knowing why. "Stay home next time darlin'," he said bleakly. "Deer are not the only game men seek around here. Lucky for you I don't like them young."
Arya nodded her assent and quietly thanked him, although she had no idea what he was talking about. Luc seemed to grow angrier at the man's words, and she pulled insistently on his arm. "Let's go," she said earnestly. "please, Luc."
Luc glared at the man for a moment but he simply replied with an amused chuckle, so Luc grunted in dismissal and stalked back towards the keep with Arya in tow.
"What was he talking about?" Arya asked as they neared their home, wincing as she finally wrenched her arm out of his grip.
Luc said nothing, walking straight ahead with tight lips.
"Luc," she whined.
He turned abruptly, snapping, "Nothing. He was being a right arse is all."
She gasped, surprised to hear her brother curse so rudely, but he ignored her and kept walking. She never did find out what that man meant, and the incident was soon forgotten.
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As Arya reached pubescence, her life changed dramatically. She was now required to do all the boring things she had watched her olders sisters do, and despite knowing that they had survived it - and even thrived in some cases - Arya sincerely felt that she would not. Her sisters all had some genteel skill, be it sewing, singing, drawing, etc., but Arya found it so tedious that she wanted to rip out her hair and scream, "I will NEVER be a lady!".
The best part of the week was the one riding lesson she was allowed as a special indulgence by her father. It was the only time she ever felt truly free.
She had once thought that her family's isolation meant that they were unimportant; the minstrels and artisans who occasionally visited always brought stories of the splendor and wealth of the major cities, stories which reinforced her assumption that they were poor and insignificant. And she was right in some ways. They were little thought of at court, since they rarely ventured there except to present a son or daughter who had come of age. She was very wrong, however, in assuming they were poor. She began to understand the importance of the mines their land encompassed, and was astonished to eventually realize that they were quite rich, all things considered, and that she had a substantial dowry.
There were other insights that shaped Arya's perspective as the years went on and bolstered her dislike of conventional rules and marriage. For one, her keep was so small that she often saw people of different classes socializing and helping each other regardless of station. She was too naΓ―ve at first to recognize that this was unusual and only due to necessity. As she began her studies in earnest, she realized how big a role social class played in politics, especially for those with wealth. And, more importantly, how limiting it was. As a noble-born she would have no say in her future, she would not be allowed to fall in love, and she would certainly not be allowed to go hunting in the woods. She began to understand the bleakness of her future.
After 18 Arya began to be groomed in more than just her education, her manners, and other ladylike skills. She did not understand at first what was happening, because she was not close enough to any of her sisters to think to ask, or to have heard their confessions regarding their own sordid experiences.
It began innocently at first. One of her teachers, a woman in her twenties with brown wispy hair and large eyes, suggested Arya try shaving her legs. Arya had never heard of such a thing and was intimidated by the sharp blade. Her teacher was gentle yet insistent, and Arya was surprised to find how much she enjoyed her hairless legs afterwards.
Then her teacher began showing her other things. Some were easy to understand, like learning how to emphasize her breasts and other attributes with the correct underclothes. Some were trickier, such as the visits Isla and Arya began making to the midwives and wet nurses to learn about childbirth and childcare. Surprisingly, it was exploring
herself
that was the most difficult thing for Arya.
The first time she held the mirror to her groin and saw what Isla had been so graphically describing a few moments prior, Arya knew that she was about to dive into deeper waters than she had ever anticipated. It was even worse when her teacher spread those lips and she glimpsed for the first time her pink, wet womanhood. Her teacher informed her that there was a hole there, and that something very special went into that hole. Arya was unsurprised, having grown up with many brothers in an environment where they were regularly exposed to the lower class men, whose language and stories were often very "adult" in nature. But she admitted that she didn't know what that part of her actually did except bleed, and didn't see why a man would want to touch it, or put anything inside of it.
When she said this, her teacher Isla smiled sweetly, though her large brown eyes were hungry. "Well," she said slowly, her fingertips grazing Arya's thigh, "there are many things that can be done to your pretty pussy. And your husband will like it even more knowing that he is the first to place himself inside of you."
"Many things? Like what?" Arya asked, nose wrinkling.
The smile widened to a wolflike grin.
"At first a finger touches you. Like this... "
Arya gasped, her eyes widening at her teacher's touch. Isla's fingers confidently ran up Arya's thighs, before dipping into her folds. Arya knew that there was a place where she felt wet at times, but she had never explored it. Isla did, however. She ran her index finger in tiny circles around the girl's entrance, her fingertip becoming coated in the mysterious liquid. Isla paused, seeing Arya's surprised and uncomfortable face.