I ran away again… I ran down the road… tears streaming down my face… I ran as far as I could before I had no breathe left in me… I felt my heart beating faster and faster… I felt like it was going to explode. I lay down on the ground, clutching my chest. That is as much as I can remember… I must have passed out at that point.

  I woke up in a room that I didn’t recognise. It was hard to make out because it was pitch black outside and the room was only lit by a few candles. But it was definitely a large room… the bed seems large… the pillows plump… the sheets soft. I think it’s a four-poster bed. There is a portrait of a very regal looking equine near one of the candles. This must be V’Rel Manor. But… how did I get here… did they bring the carriage back for me?

  As I was contemplating that little mystery, one of the doors opened at the far end of the room and Kiyui walked in carrying what looked like a bowl of water and some towels… with a little bottle delicately balanced on top. Feiffer ran in beside him and curled up at the bottom of the bed.

  Kiyui: “Oh good, you’re awake.”

  Dwynfel: “I just woke up… how did I get here?”

  He placed the bowl of water and the towels on a table near the bed before sitting next to me. He put his hand on mine and smiled sweetly at me.

  Kiyui: “I carried you. You aren’t exactly heavy, and you’d already run most of the way here without realising it.”

  Dwynfel: “Sorry you had to do that. How long have I been out?”

  Kiyui: “Only a few hours. I told Tadwick that you were exhausted and put you straight in here. I’ve only just managed to get him off to bed. He was so excited, bless him. He was jumping on the bed for ages. He’s so chuffed to be sleeping in such a big bed.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m not surprised, he’s used to tiny little cots, cramped tents on awful lumpy floors, and that little single bed at my mum’s. Hell… I’ve never slept anywhere this luxurious before. These sheets feel so nice against my skin.”

  Kiyui moved his hand up my arm towards my shoulder. He looked me in the eyes and smiled again.

  Kiyui: “I think we need to talk.”

  Dwynfel: “I’m sorry… I really am… I’m sorry I shouted at you… I’m sorry I ran from you. I was completely out of order… I am so sorry.”

  Kiyui laughed a playful little giggle.

  Kiyui: “Oh Dwyn, no, don’t be sorry. What happened in there clearly upset you. You said that I don’t understand. So please, explain to me exactly what happened in there so that I can understand.”

  I proceeded to explain everything to him. What she had said… what she had done… the thoughts that had invaded my head… I explained everything. And… he just sat there… he didn’t say anything… he didn’t interrupt… he didn’t judge me… or her for that matter… he just listened… right up until I finished. Then he sat and thought for a moment, before eventually leaning forwards and giving me a hug… a hug that, in all honesty, I needed more than anything.

  Once the hug was over, he sat back on the bed and looked at me once more… with those big beautiful blue eyes of his.

  Kiyui: “Oh, Dwyn. That must have been horrible for you. But I need you to listen to me now. Because I need you to understand something. You… are not… a monster. You aren’t, Dwyn. You were presented with a situation that scared you… that terrified you, and you were so afraid that you’d do something horrid that that was all you could think about. Your mind went straight to the horrible things that you have been dreading. But the thing is, Dwyn. Those things… they aren’t you… they aren’t.”

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  They are though… that’s the real me… I can’t escape it.

  Kiyui: “I’ve been touching you for months, Dwyn… months. And not once… not once… have you ever done anything horrible. You haven’t even done anything that is remotely questionable. I mean, you were so terrified that it took you weeks before you could even open your eyes and look at me while I did it. Hell, that first time, simply being touched made you cum so hard you got it all over your chin. Just because your mind goes to these dark places, it doesn’t mean that you will ever do these things. You think yourself a monster, Dwyn. But I know you, and I know monsters. Trust me, I have done horrible things. But you, Dwyn… you just aren’t capable of such things.”

  He spoke with such intensity and feeling that I knew he wasn’t just saying this to make me feel better. He meant every word. He truly believes it.

  Dwynfel: “I really wish that I could believe that, Kiyui… I really do. But it’s different with you.”

  Kiyui: “How? How is it different?”

  Gods… how do I explain it? I am beyond uncomfortable talking about this.

  Dwynfel: “It just… I don’t know… sex with you… scares me in a different way…”

  Kiyui: “Again… how is it different?”

  Shit… he’s not going to drop this until he gets a clear answer… and I don’t know if I have one.

  Dwynfel: “Umm… I didn’t know her… in that moment… she was like an object, not a person… it was like she wanted to be used… and by the gods I wanted to use her. I wanted to do every horrible thing that entered my head. I wasn’t scared of hurting her… I was scared of what I would unleash within myself… if I indulged in those things… how could I ever come back from that?”

  Gods… putting feelings into words is difficult. I really want to stop… but he’s looking at me with those big soulful eyes. He just wants to help me… shit. I owe it to him to try.

  Dwynfel: “When I first started having these feelings for you, I had those same fears… but now… now that I really know you… I care about you. I could never view you as an object. What scares me now… isn’t that I might hurt you physically. With you it is more that I might… disappoint you. You’ve been with so many guys… guys who are bigger than me… guys who last longer than me… guys with more experience than me… guys who know what they’re doing. I’m so worried that I’ll fail at it… that I’ve been desperately trying to avoid it. I love you Kiyui… and I am terrified that I’ll never make you happy.”

  Kiyui: “Oh, Dwyn. I stand by what I said before. You were in a situation that scared you, so your mind went to the worst-case scenario. And you didn’t hurt her. You ran out of there without harming her at all. A monster would have given in to the thoughts and taken full advantage of the situation. You didn’t.”

  He took my hand and started gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. He then looked me dead in the eye and smiled at me is that adorable way that he does.

  Kiyui: “And as for the second part. Nobody is any good to start with. Like any skill, it develops with time. That’s why we’ve been going slow. Building up your tolerance, building up your stamina. You could never disappoint me, Dwyn. Sure, when you have sex with strangers you hope that they have skills. But when you have sex with somebody that you care about, with somebody that you love, it isn’t about skill or technique, it’s about the connection. I know it sounds cliché, but it is less having sex, and more making love. And I think that there is only one way that I am going to be able to prove this to you…”

  He leaned in and kissed me delicately on the lips. He gently stroked one of his hands down the back of my head and spoke in that sensual whisper that he does that sends a shiver down my spine.

  Kiyui: “We are going to make love…”

  The bottom of his dress should be much puffier. His arm should be furrier. His tail should also be hidden under his dress. But again... every time I tried to get the AI to correct these things it absolutely massacred something else in the picture. So here we are. His hair should also have ringlets. Every time I try to suggest ringlets to the AI it goes into full on extreme perm mode and he ends up with hair like Tina Turner.