Chapter Five

Cora kept running through the forest, there just had to be a way out of there. Her heart was pounding, worried that Pan was going to catch up to her. She had kicked him in the balls as hard as she could, and was worried about what he might do if he found her.

Is he going to rape me, is he going to kill me, or both? She wondered. The forest was thick, and full of lush green trees. But it was like running through a maze. Every path she took, kept leading her back to what seemed to be the same spot. It felt as though she had been running for hours, maybe even days.

But then again, why was she even running? For all she knew, he could have been telling her the truth. Maybe they were actually engaged, and she agreed to be with him willingly. But it was as if deep down inside, she knew that wasn't true.

If only she could remember who she actually was. How was it even possible that she couldn't even remember her own past? Yet, she could remember the world itself. She was afraid—afraid that she would never know who she truly was, or who she actually is.

Exhausted from running, Cora dropped to her knees. What was she going to do, how was she going to get away? Suffering from both physical, and emotional exhaustion, she began to cry. At that moment she hated herself—hated herself for being weak.

"Cora!" She heard Pan yelling. He was coming for her, there wasn't much time—she had to move quickly. Still tired from all of the running, she reluctantly forced herself to stand up. Her body was weary, but she was determined to not let him catch her. With what little strength she had, she took off running.

Pan kept calling her name, as she kept on running. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing, or where she was even headed. All of a sudden, she felt something wrap around her ankle. Before she even had a chance to react, Cora fell face first to the ground.

With what little strength she had, she quickly rolled over on her back. Some sort of vine was wrapped around her right leg. As she sat up, she tried to untangle the vine that held her prisoner. But when she started to try to unravel it, another vine came out of nowhere, and wrapped around her left wrist.

What the hell? She thought. It was at that moment when another vine wrapped around her right wrist. Cora struggled against their hold, as she began to panic. Her breathing increased, as she started trembling.

"No!" She cried. "Let me go!"

"Now you know that I have no intention of doing that." She heard Pan declare, as she looked up at Pan as he had his arms folded—staring at her. To her dismay, he also had a wicked smile upon his face. She was angry, and terrified at the same time. More than anything, she wanted to smack the smug look right off of his face.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Cora cried.

"As I told you before, my pretty little mortal—I have bestowed a great honor upon you." He replied. "I have chosen you to be my forest queen."

"Please just let me go!" She begged. Pan then leaned down, and cupped her chin.

"And if I do, where will you go?" He asked. "You have no memories. You have no past. Perhaps you remember the mortal world, but you do not remember your place in it. I am the only person you actually know."

Pan then looked up towards the sky. "Release her!" He ordered. All of a sudden the vines began to unravel around her wrists, and her ankle. Pan then leaned in, as it looked as though he was going to pick her up off of the ground. Frightened, she jerked away as he tried to scoop her up into his arms.

What the hell? Cora wondered. Did he just give a command to the vines, and they actually followed his orders?

"Don't be ridiculous." Pan sighed. "You're tired, and we both know that you will not be able to get away from me, no matter how hard you try. This forest is my domain and my kingdom. Besides, you are too tired to run from me. Why don't we get you someplace comfortable. Then after you get some much needed rest, if you are so hellbent on running away from me—you can try again after a good night's sleep."

Tired, Cora felt defeated. At this point, she didn't know what else to do. Even if she could escape his forest, he was right. She really didn't have anyplace else to go, she didn't even know who she was. The only reason she even knew that her name was Cora, was because that was what he called her—or at least named her.

"I give up." She told him. "You win, but you don't have to carry me. I can walk."

"Nonsense." He said, as he smiled. "I insist, on carrying you. It's been a long day, and you need your rest."

With that Pan scooped her up in his arms, as they made their way through the forest. Tired, Cora leaned her head against his broad shoulder, and leaned her body against his rock hard chest. She looked up, as she began to study his face. It was beautiful, and he definitely had the face of a Greek god. But then again, that made perfect sense—for he was one.

Still feeling tired, Cora started to drift off to sleep. At the most she was likely out for a minute or two, until she suddenly was woken up by a loud proclamation.

"Well, we're here, this is your new home." He exclaimed, as he smiled while his head faced forward. Cora then turned her head to see what he was looking at—it was amazing. It was a beautiful tree, yet it was magical.

"It's incredible!" Cora proclaimed, as she was in complete awe of what stood so proudly in front of her. She didn't know what kind of tree it was, perhaps it was a mighty oak tree. But whatever kind of tree it was, it was an extremely powerful looking one. Light illuminated around it, as if the large tree was making it's presence known to her. What only added to the tree's ambiance, was the creek that streamed its way around it.

"There is much more to this tree than meets the eye

"There is much more to this tree than meets the eye." Pan told her. As they got closer to the tree, Cora wasn't sure what was happening. Was he going to try to take her inside of the tree? How? There was no sort of opening. However, as they got closer, they were soon enveloped by a brilliant, bright, and even blinding light.

The next thing she knew, they were inside a bedroom. Even though the room looked as though it was inside of a hollowed out tree, it was beautiful. White silk adorned a round canopy bed, as the floor, and walls were decorated with bamboo stalks in a zigzag pattern. The room lit up with natural light. The sun's rays illuminated through an opening above the canopy bed, as well as through the bamboo stalks.

She was so taken aback by how amazing the room looked, that it took her a while to realize where he had just brought her

She was so taken aback by how amazing the room looked, that it took her a while to realize where he had just brought her.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked. "Why did you bring me to your bedroom?"

"Because were both tired, and we need some rest." He chuckled.

"But—" She started to say, but he soon interrupted her.

"Shh..." he said, as he whispered in her ear. "You need to go to sleep." His voice sounded soothing, and hypnotic. Before she knew it, her mind began to slip into unconsciousness. Too tired to fight, Cora soon drifted off to sleep.

Pan couldn't help but smile, as his little human nymph fell asleep within his arms. She was truly beautiful, and best yet—she now belonged to him. Gingerly he carried her over to the bed, as he gently lay her down upon it. As he tucked a strand of her fiery ember hair behind her ear, he bent down and placed a kiss upon her unresponsive lips.

Slowly, he ran his index finger around her plump ruby red lips—while his loins were burning with desire. Pan then ran his finger down her neck, down to her clavicle, and between her cleavage until he reached her waistline.

As he did so, Pan delighted in watching her chest heave—with her bountiful bosom. He smiled as he watch the trail of goosebumps, form behind his delicate touch. What was even better than her physical response, was her verbal one. Even in her sleep, a smile signaling her pure delight soon appeared upon her face. And a pleasant sigh had soon escaped her.

More than anything, he wished he could have taken her. But he decided that it would be best to wait, until she was ready. Soon her desire for him, would only match his great desire for her. And if not, well—he would teach her to return his affections.

Pan yawned, even immortal gods needed to sleep now and then. He soon crawled in bed with his fire haired mortal goddess, and pulled the cover up over the both of them. As he placed his arm around her, everything felt perfect as he held her body close to him.

"Good night my love." Pan whispered. "Once you learn to love me—your body, your heart, and your mind shall be greatly rewarded." Feeling content, as the beautiful mortal slept within his embrace, Pan too soon fell asleep.

***************************