Meg was prodded and led through the dark for quite a while. She wished someone would light a torch. She could feel the cave had become much larger. She was able to stand up and the ceiling and walls were beyond her touch. She found this disconcerting. The touch of the ceiling and walls had been reassuring. She now had no sense of direction and was completely at the mercy of these strange goblins.
To her relief, Meg noticed a glimmer of light up ahead. "We nearly there" a goblin said, knowing she had seen the light ahead. Meg started to walk a little faster, now that she had a point of focus.
When they reached the source of the light, Meg discovered it was a cavern in the side of a mountain. The light was being made by a campfire about 50 metres away. There were creatures gathered around the fire cooking some food. The goblins held Meg back while a couple of them went forward for a parley. The parley went on for a long time. Meg smelled the food being cooked and it made her feel hungry.
After about 30 minutes the goblins returned happy.
"You are lucky we meet wood elves. They will look after you. They will take you to Lady of the Valley who will show you how you can go home. We barter. Made good deal. Come." The goblins gestured to Meg to follow them to the campfire. One goblin handed her panty to her, he had been sniffing it. Meg quickly put it on. It made her feel clothed.
When Meg reached the campfire she saw three creatures who looked like dwarves but with green skin. They were twice the size of the goblins and stronger in the torso, with sinewy arms and legs. They were roasting what looked like rodents and a rabbit. The goblins exchanged some fish with them for a rabbit and left happily to go their way, back into the cave.
The three elves stood there looking at Meg. Two were bearded and one looked like a youth with stubble. They were garbed in clothes formed by stitching together miscellaneous animal skins. Their hair, long and unkempt, had leaves interwoven with the strands. Meg did not know what she had been parleyed into.
"Come on, join us" said the Theodenst elf. "We will take you to the Lady of the Valley. I am Zelfar, this be Shandalar and the other is Saria."
The names seemed to describe their sizes in width. In height they were the same, they came up to Meg's chest.
"I'm Meg. I'm from the other side of the mountain." Meg said quietly.
"Come, eat." One elf suddenly said. He cut off a piece of meat from the rabbit and placed it on a plate with some roast potatoes.
Meg was pleasantly surprised. She had been delivered to civilization. She was so hungry she scoffed the rabbit and potatoes and licked her fingers. The elves joined in. The fish was added to the fire with more vegetables from the elves' sack. This was going to be a good feed. Meg had a taste of all that was cooked. The flavor was gamey but tasty. Meg had been brought up on a dirt farm. She was not fussy about which animals she cooked and ate.
There was no conversation while food was being eaten.
Once the food disappeared, the elves put some wood on the fire and reclined on the grass to sleep. It did not take them long to doze off.
Meg lay on the grass and looked up at the starry sky. She was no manor lady. There were plenty of times growing up her family had to sleep out in the open. That was just a way of life for peasants. Meg worried about her parents. She saw they had escaped, but wondered about the farm. It kept her awake for a while until tiredness overcame her and she fell asleep.
The early rays of the sun awoke Meg. The elves were snoring in a huddle, covered by a couple of fur rugs. During the night, they had placed a fur rug over her to keep her warm. It was not large enough to cover her completely, but it was sufficient.
When the elves awoke they packed their gear into their sacks and carried their bows and spears in their hands. Their game was draped over a pole which they took turns carrying.
"Meg, keep that rug. Wrap it around your waist. We can't have you walking around only wearing a panty." Said Shandalar.
Meg nodded. Meg followed behind them. The forest they were walking through was quite beautiful. The leaves and shrubs were all the shades of green and the sun filtering through the canopy was brilliantly clean. It seemed an idyllic world.
It was the apparent that the family had been out hunting. They would stop to replenish the leaves in their hair and clothes, before stalking prey. They were very good at it. They had more than replenished the game we had eaten overnight. Their sinewy muscles made them very athletic and fast.
After walking for a couple of hours, the elves stopped for a rest and to drink some water. They were muttering among themselves about something they thought they should tell Meg. Zelfar was elected as the person to tell Meg their secret.
"Ahem." Zelfar cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. "Miss, the land bound by the mountains surrounding this land is subject to a curse. There are no females of any humanoid species in the valley. You are the only female we have seen in years."
Meg looked puzzled. She looked at the three elves not knowing what to say.
Shandalar stepped forward "Many years ago we woke up one morning to find all our womenfolk had been changed to men. I and Saria were once women. We are now male in every way. I am Zelfar's wife and Saria is our dear daughter."
Meg studied Shandalar and Saria closely. Neither of them showed any female features. Their faces, bodies and gait were completely male.
"Neither you nor Saria look anything like women. You mean to say I will not meet any women while in this land?" Meg asked incredulously.
"That's correct. Because there are no females, none of the humanoid species in the valley are able to reproduce. I have no desire to have any conjugal relationship with Shandalar no matter how much I love her" sulked Zelfar.
"And as a man, I have no wish for Zelfar to have sex with me either" sulked Shandalar.
Saria looked at Meg sadly "I lost my boyfriend." She/he said softly.
Meg collapsed to the ground, shocked.
"Miss, in this country, stay away from all folk. None of them has seen or been with a woman for years. Even the women, who are now men, will lust for you." Shandalar said looking at Zelfar guiltily.
"We believe the curse is connected to the Lady of the Valley. She is the only person who is able to give you passage out of the valley, but be careful about dealing with her. We will take you in for the night, but we can't take you to see the Lady. It is just not safe for us." Shandalar said with a disappointed look on her face.
Saria stepped up to Meg and took her by the hand. "Come, you'll be okay. We'll clean you up when we get home and after a good nights sleep you'll feel a lot better."
Meg was shaken by this revelation. She wondered if the curse would turn her into a boy. She did not want to be a boy. She did not want an ugly protrusion between her thighs, forcing her to walk with stiff hips and wide gait. Meg sighed and looked at Shandalar and Saria with sympathy.
They did not reach the village of the elves till the late afternoon. There was a murmur of excitement as they entered the village. The village started to clamor around Meg. Zelfar and family kept them at bay. The elves looked disheveled and unkempt. This was in sharp contrast to the picturesque look of the huts and gardens.
Meg did not feel threatened. The elves were not aggressive, they were just curious. Meg noticed that some of them had erections. She naively thought they were just happy to see her.
Meg was taken to the hut of the village Head.
The Head excitedly came out of his hut to greet Meg as she approached. With a smile on his face he was about to hug her in welcome but stopped when he realized a hug would place his face in Meg's breasts. He quickly raised his hand in the universal sign of 'hello' and introduced himself as Theoden.
Meg was flattered to be welcomed and be treated so generously, she waved to everyone in return, like a naΓ―ve peasant girl. They all waved back at her.
Meg was quickly guided into Theoden's hut. It was the largest and grandest hut in the village. Meg had to duck to get in the doorway but otherwise her size was not a problem. She was offered a chair at a table, on which a bowl of fruit had been placed. Her bottom covered the whole seat of the chair and her legs were a little cramped so that she had to spread them under the table. Theoden was seated next to her.