A veil of mist hung tenderly over the forests. The royal family of Misty Glen gathered that morning on the beach were making prepartions for the next move. This was their pilgrimage that occured once every ten years...Myrna could only remember being on four of them and this was Aideen's first. They had come in boats across the dark lake to the island that lay a jewel in its heart. From the coast they were to move inland toward a plateau where halls were built decades ago to house the worshippers and a ceremonial platform was circled by ancient trees.

The journey inland would take but half of a day and was a mild upill climb that the children would make with great ease. Aidan was once more at the head, as the set forth into the deep forests lit now by feeble rays of morning sunlight. The path had been cleared earlier by the first group of men such that the walk became a pleasant strool through the body of the goddess. Her hair fell about them in the stray creepers adorned with white scented flowers...they saw the brilliance of her eyes in the light that shone through the dense canopy...they heard her whisper among the creatures and felt her embrace in the gentle wind.
The children collected pebbles and oddly shaped leaves along the way and the pockets were bulging by midday when the grand Hall came into view.

Built of grey stones, chiseled to perfection it stood commandingly on the plateau. Dense ivy grew along the walls and borderd the windows. Birds flew round it and a serene aura hovered. The sky was a perfect blue and the sun shone intensely above. Beads of sweat trickled down his smooth, angular face as Aidan's eyes drunk the sensuous perfection of Aideen's lithe body...her hair now tied up in the noonday heat.

The group set down the bundles that they had brought and began settling in. The halls were opened for air....blankets laid out on the bed stands....cushions thrown around the hearth for the evenings...fresh water brought in to wash away the time from kitchen utensils...with this being done by the others, a fatigued and incredibly hot Aideen was tempted away from the group to the pool of water just about a fifteen minutes' walk away from the Hall.
Trusting that all was in the capable hands of Helena and Aidan, she stole away into the woods.

Making her way throught the thick undergrowth to the pool she felt a mild thrill run through her body at the thought of being alone...being someplace where none knew she would be. Excitment lit up her eyes and her perception of the pool with the rising stony mountain to the farside of it was unbelievable. A large stone jutted out from the moutain at the base and into the placid water. Lilies bloomed and watery shrubs formed a charming border.
She removed her clothes...let fall her hair down her back and round her face and took timid steps into the cool water. Delicious shivers ran through her being and cooling waves dispelled the heat of the day.
She swam into the centre of the pool then made her way to the stone that stood in the midst of a splendid ray of sunlight ... she spread her languid limbs there and basked in the warmth from above..leaving her toes to kiss the waters surrounding her.

Aidan perciveing her absense from the group felt the pang of possesivness grip his throat and a need to know her loaction ravaged him. He plunged into the woods and followed the rough path she had made...to the pool. Stealthy steps like the cats of the jungle....narrow eyes beneath angular eyebrows...red lips stretched thin...he crouched behind some shrubs and percived her beauty and felt her beauty through his insatiable eyes. The heat of the day caused sweat to run down his chest now bare to the random breezes of the jungle...his face flushed with the passion of deisre for a body left open upon a stone...such desire that peaked to crescendos unimaginable...that led to the frustration that comes when release is clutched by norms that prevented it.

Then the water level creepd above her toes touching now her ankle and her body arched upwards. Surges of energy ravaged her and her eylids flutterd...she trembled, her face flushed pink and immense pleasure overcome her then she fell back onto the stone - intoxicated.
This display caused Aidan to dart foward from his hiding spot and his sudden noise made her turn round quickly and shield her beauty. She saw him. Her features creased into a frown as she jumped into the water to conceal herself from the lust of him who she percived as an intruder.
But other things came into her range of vision. She shook her head...batted her eyelids and looked again. They were there! Little things...creatures almost.
Wings...little lights...daze...mind spinning...collapse.

Aidan waded into the waters and brought out her limp body in his hard arms and set her head down....