Love Will Find a Way

by Tekwolf

Erin was the son of a very affluent merchant He had just turned eighteen years old and had been given a new horse for his birthday. It was a gelding and was soot black. Erin prized this more that anything that he had ever gotten. He was up early the next day to take it for a ride. He didn't know where he was going, but just decided to go for a ride. He left the town, riding on the main road for several miles, at a fast pace. He was into the pace and flow of the horses muscles. He had been riding since he was 10 and was an excellent horseman. He slowed to give the horse a chance to cool down and turned down a little used lane, that he dimly remembered ended at a natural lake, where he had fished years earlier. As he neared the lake, he slowed even farther, as the lane got tighter. It seemed that no one had kept the lane clear for several years.

Erin tied the gelding to a tree and walked on to the lake. He wanted to see the place that he remembered. As he came in sight of the water, he remembered a rock that he had fished from so many years ago. He climbed up onto the rock and looked across the lake. There on the other side stood a centauress. Erin had seen centaurs before, but had only seen a female at a distance, because the centaurs were jealous of their females. Both wives and daughters were closely guarded, usually. As centaurs and humans, didn't get along very well, he had never been to a centaur camp. Erin considered himself to be some what a man of the world. He had dalliances with several girls his age and had never been really attracted to any of them. Some were quite lovely, but none could compare with the vision that stood before him. She was most lovely. She had light brown hair that led to a shapely upper body, with nice breasts. They were covered with a type of clothing that both covered and supported her breasts. At her waist, there started a light down that rapidly changed to brown horse hair , that matched the hair on her head. She had black stockings and a black tail. Even the horse part of her was as lovely as any he had ever seen. He had to meet her.

He hailed her. She started, as she had never seen anyone here before. She was also intrigued by the human that stood before her. She had never met any humans, except for the traders that her father had bought their supplies from. She waited for the human to make his way around the lake to where she was. She wasn't scared of him, as she could outrun any human alive, but she was curious. The human was very handsome. He didn't have the horse part as she did, but his human part , quite excited her. He was the most handsome human that she had ever seen. "Hi," he said," I'm Erin, son of Earl the Merchant." "And I am Sheri, Daughter of Andre," she told him. Erin recognized the name of her father as the leader of the centaurs of the area. "I know of your father," he told her, "Even though humans and centaurs don't get along, you father has the reputation of dealing fairly with the humans." "Your father Merchant, has always treated us fairly in all trading matters. I am interested in hearing of the humans. Let us talk for a while." Erin was happy with that idea, as he was curious also. They hit it off at once. Although they were of different species, they found that they had a lot in common. As they parted after some time, they agreed to meet there again several days from then, to continue their conversation. After only several of these meetings, Erin came to realize that he was in love with her. It didn't matter that she was a centaur, he would have loved her in any form. He was surprised when she declared the same thing to him. They had a problem. That was the relationship between humans and centaurs. To say the least, they were strained. There was a truce between them for now, because the human traders needed the trade the centaurs provided and the centaurs needed the supplies provided by the humans. In no way would either party condone a relationship between a human and centaur. Erin and Sheri continued to meet in secret and see each other. One day, one of Erin's friends followed him to the meeting site. He was curious as to where his friend disappeared to, so often during the week. He silently crept up to where the couple sat and was horrified at what he saw. Erin had leaned over and kissed Sheri on the lips. He was horrified at this. This could not be allowed. He ran back to where he left his horse and rode hard to inform Earl the Merchant of the inappropriate behavior of his son. He burst in to the house and blurted his story out to Earl. As he talked, Earl's face got red as he got more and more mad. Earl was waiting on Erin when he got home. As he entered the house, his father hit him and knocked Erin to the floor. "How dare you embarrass by consorting with an animal? I know that you were with that centaur filly and that will stop immediately." Erin tried to explain what had happened, but each time he tried to speak, his father hit him again. Erin was unconscious soon enough and Earl had his son carried up to his room and bound. Then he made arrangements for Erin to be apprenticed to a company of soldiers. They were to pick him up tomorrow and be forcefully trained in the art of battle. Erin would not be given the chance of consort with that trash any more.

Erin woke up and discovered his fate. He was tied to a horse and was held between two armed and armored soldiers. He was taken far from his home and to the camp of the company. There he was given like armor and weapons and his training began. He was hounded from sun up to sun down. Never was he given a chance to be alone or given any time to himself. At first he was battered and bruised, but then he started to give as good as he was getting and the men began to respect him. Erin was informed that the company's services had been purchased by a local Lord to battle thieves in the wood near his castle.

Erin was never given a chance to say good by to Sheri or anyone else before he was whisked away to battle. There so happened to be a wizard as a part of the company and Erin had become friends with him.

Paul the wizard had always treated him better than anyone else had. Paul had treated his bruises and cuts during training and they had become friends. They went into battle side by side. The company had been pursuing the thieves, when they were surrounded and found that they were greatly outnumbered. Before Paul could bring his magic into play, he was struck by and arrow and collapsed to the ground. Erin stood over his friend and defended him against the enemy. When it was over, there were several dead thieves around Erin and he and Paul were alive. Paul swore a great debt to Erin for saving his life. If Erin was ever in need of magic help, he could call on Paul.

Sheri was heart broken when Erin didn't show up for their meeting. She had no idea of the fate that had befallen Erin. She went to her father and poured out her heart to him. Andre, although he loved his daughter greatly, could not condone the liaison with a human. He told Sheri that she had better forget about the human and find a mate from among the centaurs. She found several of the stallions handsome, but she found that her heart belonged to another. Her father had made it clear that she could never marry anyone but another centaur. She was forlorn for many months and would take no mate at all. Her father begged her to relent, but could not bring himself to force her to relent. He could only hope that she would come to her senses. Sheri found that her love was not dulled by the time Erin was away or from the distance he was from her. She constantly dreamed of him and would wake crying. She was truly and surely in love. She used her friends and her position as Andre's daughter to search for her love, but none knew or could find anything about him. It was though he disappeared from the face of the earth. Erin, through all of his trials had not forgotten Shari either. When he was not in battle and had time to rest, he dreamed of her. There seemed to be no answer. Erin, after the battle in the forest, was released from the service of the company. They hoped that he would stay, but he had other plans. He had to find his love or die trying.

Erin found his way back to the town where he had lived for so long, but did not immediately confront his father. He went instead, to the centaur compound. He was taken to Andre, the leader, and he explained what he wanted. Andre did not immediately refuse him, but explained that he could condone no union with a human. "Son, I sympathize with you, but I am leader of the Centaurs. As such, I won't allow a human to compromise the purity of the centaur race," Andre told him. "If you were a centaur, I would admire having you for a son." Erin was sent away from the compound in despair. He wasn't even allowed to see Sheri. There had to be a way!! There had to!!

He went back to the lake where they had met, so he could try to reason out what to do. He knew that Sheri would never leave with him and Sheri's father had made it clear that he couldn't live with the centaurs. He sat there for several hours, thinking of the past months, when he remembered the oath that Paul had sworn to him. Maybe, there was a way. He left to find the wizard and ask the favor he needed.

The wizard had also left the company after the injury and had retired to his home. He had told Erin where this was and now he made his way there. Erin explained what he wanted and Paul flatly refused. He wouldn't even discuss if it was possible. Erin was devastated. He called Paul on the oath that he had sworn. Paul didn't want to even consider the proposal, but had sworn a powerful oath. "I will help you Erin, if I must, but please reconsider, I beg you!"

Erin told the wizard,"I would rather die than live without Sheri. I could not ask her to change her life, but without her, I have no life." Paul said,"

Think about what you ask. There is no going back if you do this. You will no longer be welcomed in human society and what of your father?"

"My father cared more for his reputation than he did for his son," Erin told him. "He no longer matters to me. After what he died to me, this will be my revenge on him." Paul was resigned to the thing he now had to do. He hoped he could find no way to accomplish this. As he searched his arcane books, he found what he dreaded. The means to transform a human into a centaur.

He explained what was needed to Erin and again begged him to reconsider. Erin refused and left to collect the items needed. He would not be swayed. He searched with a dogged determination for the herbs required and made plans to steal the last item. He quietly broke into his father's barn and found what he was looking for. A two year old stallion, that was the pride of his father's stable. This horse was lean and strong, with buckskin colored hair and a blond main and tail. He was a creature most people would have killed to own. His father should have guarded it better. Erin saddled the stallion and rode it back to the house of the wizard. Paul completed the preparations and explained what was going to happen to Erin. He told Erin that he might die. Few people had ever survived this. Still Erin could not be swayed. Paul took Erin to a workroom where the stallion was . He had Erin to remove his clothes. He took the salve that he had so carefully prepared and smeared it on Erin's body from the waist down, including his genitals. Then he bade Erin climb on the horse, that was strangely still. Erin did as he was told and Paul gave him one final chance to back out. When Erin refused, Paul began to chant. As the chant rose in volume, Erin felt a strange tingling in his legs and thighs. Then as a blue glow surrounded both him and the horse, it began.

His legs began to sink into the flesh of the horse. They were firmly stuck and his feet were being absorbed inward. Horse hair crept up and over his genitals, covering then as they were absorbed.

As Erin looked down, his legs were now gone. There was now hair covering everything from his lower chest down. The pain was increasing. The horses head was slowly being drawn into Erin's chest He could feel the bones rearranging as they were drawn in. Now, there was only a small part of the horse head left to be seen. Erin screamed! Everything was on fire and there was a red blur in his vision. Suddenly, the backbone of the horse and Erin's own backbone fused and became one. New thoughts were seeping into Erin's mind, through the pain, but Erin didn't notice. As the spines fused, bright flashes exploded before his eyes. Pain beyond comprehension, drowned Erin's thoughts. His last coherent thought was of his love, then nothing. Blessed unconsciousness. Erin clawed his way back into the light. Slowly, but slowly he regained conscious thought. The first thing that he realized was that there was a wrongness about him. He was not alone in his mind. He turned from the waist and looked at his new body. There was, he could see a mane extending down his back to the beginnings of the horse part. Paul provided a mirror and Erin could look at himself. He saw ears that belonged on a horse, but were attached to him. He reached back and felt the horse body behind him and as he patted it, he could feel it. Something moved. It was a tail; his tail. He could now feel his body now, like he never could before. He tried to take a step and almost fell. He felt strange. He had no control over his new body. The horse was fighting him for control of the body. Now he knew why few survived the procedure. It was not the change, but the two minds fighting over one body. Erin tried to dominate the horse mind and couldn't. The horse mind clamped down on his and could not succeed there either. It was a stalemate. Neither could overpower the other. Paul watched the struggle going on in the new centaur. Erin thought of a way to end this. He quit trying to assert his will and accept input from the horse, suddenly there was almost a snap within the mind of the centaur and two became one. There was peace and a completely new creature was born.

Erin spent time over the next few days getting used to the new body. The knowledge the horse brought to the partnership was invaluable. He gloried in the speed of which he was now capable. Paul was relieved to see the change. His friend had gotten his fondest wish. Now he could join his love. Erin thanked and started for home. He was now certain of his reception. Sheri waited and he couldn't wait to surprise her. His revenge on his father waited also. As he trotted forward, he realized; love will always find a way!

Love Will Find a Way copyright 1997 by Tekwolf.