northward. Now it was
deserted. She sat in the pile of leaves and thought about their encounter.
She had feared him, at first. He was massive. Even after his transformation,
he had the hairiest body Lally had ever seen. She lay on her side, facing away
from him, and begged him to be quick.
“All phenomena shall transpire in their own time,”
Great Bear told her.
Looking out into the wilderness through the mouth of
the cave, she listened to Great Bear’s low rumbling voice and no longer felt
anxious. “What does that mean?” Lally asked, folding her hair into a pillow
beneath her head.
“It means it is for neither you nor I to decide when
a nutshell will crack.”
Allerleirauh understood now. What good would three
gowns have done her in the woods? What good would they have done her when she
put the nut under the bedstead with councillor Offal? If anything, they would
have been cumbersome and added to Lally’s already-weighty burden. Looking
back, she realized how fortunate it was that mother’s walnut cracked in its own
time. But back then, in the cave with Great Bear, she was anxious for the
shell to open up and reveal its contents. “But what of my will?” Lally
protested. “If I put my best efforts into some endeavour, should it not
succeed?”
“Perhaps,” replied Great Bear. “Perhaps not. Your
will does not determine the success of your endeavours.”
“What? That makes no sense,” Lally argued. “My
parents taught me that if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Is that
not so?”
“That is indeed so,” Great Bear agreed. “But after
trying a great many times and being unsuccessful, one must re-evaluate. There
is a reason for your failure. It could be your method. It could be your
intention. Those are reasons easy to accept. But it could also simply be the wrong
time. All phenomena shall transpire in their own time.”
Lally shivered. “Will you lie with me?” she
surprised herself by asking. “I tremble in the cold.”
“You see?” asked Great Bear. “All phenomena shall
transpire in their own time.”
When his furry chest met her back, his heat soothed
her. His breath was hot against her neck. Taking Great Bear’s hand in hers,
she found his palm covered in fur. Lally laughed, reminded of an old wive’s
tale she’d heard from a shepherd of her acquaintance. Great Bear placed his
warm palm over her heart. She gasped. The sensation was akin to being held
tight in her parents’ arms as a child, but the sentiment was tinged with
physical passion and psychological fascination. Great Bear’s warmth opened her
heart and poured into it the love of all creation.
The affection spread through her body until she ached
for Great Bear’s hands to touch her everywhere. She pulled her black bustier
down, releasing her pale breasts into his fuzzy hands. It was the height of
luxury, that sensation of fur against the tender flesh of her nipples. They
hardened under Great Bear’s expert caress. When she closed her eyes, she was
transported. No longer was she in a damp, dark cave, but back in her castle
with all her sumptuous belongings.
Great Bear’s other hand wandered down her front until
his hairless fingers found her mound. Her flesh warmed as he stroked there.
Just as she craved for her cunt to be filled by the great male, his thick meat
appeared at its gateway. Great Bear entered her cavern with heaving effort,
despite her flowing juices. As they loved in comforting silence, Bear swaddled
her in his warm fur. She was safer than she’d ever been. Closing her eyes and
cuddling back into the bear’s chest, she felt like a butterfly in its
chrysalis. Perfect serenity, perfect peace. Could they not stay like this
forever?
As Great Bear rubbed her mound in broad circles,
Lally writhed against his fingers. She pressed his hand hard against her flesh
as he thrust calmly, firmly within