The Great Stag

         I met Cernunnos once, in a waking dream.

         I conjured a dolmen in my mind and slowly walked through the stone structure.  The large stones that made up this monolith felt cool to the touch as I ran my fingertips over them.  They were cold, unforgiving, yet somehow powerful and as potent as the living earth from which they came.  I nervously walked through, soft grass under bare feet, my white summer dress flowing gently around me stirred by a light wind.

         On the other side, the land opened up before me.  A lush green field edged by a thick forest on my left and right and in the middle of the field stood a lone oak tree.  Beautifully proud, spreading its limbs out as if to welcome and invite.  Beneath sat a figure, comfortable reclining against the trunk of the tree, legs crossed at the ankles, watching me.

         I moved closer, intrigued by the figure, and when I was close enough, noticed how immense he was.  Though he sat, I could tell he was commanding in stature, and I felt small by comparison.  His powerful body radiated strength, his dark hair clean and long as was his beard. Atop his head were the most magnificent horns I had ever seen, stag horns, which should have looked out of place yet didn't.  The need to feel them overwhelmed me, to see if they were as real as my eyes told me they were.

         He held himself still as if not to frighten off the curious doe that now approached.  I went to sit next to him, but he grabbed me around my waist and positioned me atop him, legs either side of his hips, facing him.  My breath hitched, and I wondered at all that I felt.  There was protection, strength, love, kindness and understanding - an overwhelming aura of maleness that did not threaten nor, oddly, induce desire.  I felt no fear.

         We did not speak, only looked at one another and then my gaze moved back to his stag horns I had been admiring before being seated.  I raised my hands and ran them slowly from the base where they started in his hair feeling the bone beneath my palms, sliding along them to the tips, slightly ridged yet smooth to the touch.  I realised that stags had come out of the forest, though whether to watch us or graze I did not know.  I glanced at the many stags and then back to this strange being who still had not said a word, and I knew it was time to leave.

         I moved off his lap to head back to the stones.  Strangely, I was unable to see the dolmen until I was closer then it appeared as if out of the mist.  Suddenly, the wind whipped my dress about, and I felt great energy heading towards me.  A powerful arm snaked around my waist pulling me into a muscular chest.  He was here, cradling me into his body but this time and this time I could feel the masculine energy and desire, held in check before. I wanted to turn in his arms and give into it, taste the pleasure of being with this creature.

         LEAVE, my mind screamed, and I broke the embrace, turned and ran, as if for my life, towards the dolmen.  With my dress flying from the energy and wind I had left behind I managed to make the sanctuary and pass through once again. 

         My eyes flew open, staring at the wallpaper in my bedroom, the soft light filtering through the curtains where a summer morning waited to be let in.  My eyes are open now, though I had not felt asleep before.  I had been to another place, I was sure of it, yet here I was.  What would have happened had I stayed?

         I went through the dolmen many times after that, but I never met Cernunnos again nor any other creature. 

Word count: 663