"He's gorgeous, tall and strong and intelligent, you've got to meet him."

Marta thought it was too early for Anna to be making decisions like that, but her mind seemed set, it had been love at first sight. Marta blamed herself, she should have gone with Anna on Sunday, but she had heard all the details, several times, how they had gazed into one another's eyes, how they had shared an apple, and then gone for a canter around the paddock. The thing was he wasn't even available, but Anna had heard the rumour that he was about to get the heave-ho.

Marta couldn't help wondering how their parents would take the news, it's not like they wouldn't find out, it was more a matter of timing, and Anna having laid her claim was plugged into the local grapevine, keen for the latest news about her handsome stud.

Well stud was actually a misnomer, as he was actually a young bay gelding with a white blaze and two front socks, and Marta hadn't recalled seeing this horse before herself, but then it didn't belong to the stable as part of their string, but was one of several privately owned horses that were stabled at the riding school. Anna had heard through one of the staff how fees from the owners had been consistently late, and they were now getting concerned as to whether the owners would catch up with outstanding payments.

If matters weren't resolved, legal action could follow, or the horse could be sold to pay off the debts that were slowly mounting up, and no doubt someone at the stables had seen Anna as a potential buyer who could be the solution to their current problem.

Anna was busy planning, and had heard about 'her horse' from one of the instructors, and went to meet him, and he was beautiful, the perfect horse for her. Speaking to the stable girls who she had befriended, she found out the background story of the owner, a fifteen year old daddy's girl, who was once a regular, and she hadn't been riding for over nine weeks now. Rumours were her family was in some sort of financial trouble, and it was expected there would be a showdown by the end of March.

Having learned from both her sister and father, Anna was doing research, looking through her last few copies of the equestrian magazine that she subscribed to. It seemed the horse market was doing just as badly as the housing market, in most sectors there were more sellers than buyers, and prices were low. She might be able to get her own horse for quite a small sum, even possibly little more than paying the outstanding bills, then she would just need to meet his ongoing stable fees.

For some time Anna hadn't bothered to keep track of their studio statements, but she had asked Marta who did follow the numbers, and it was plain her TTMF earnings could cover stable costs, vet insurance, and all the other bills with ease, maybe even twice over. This was now an established regular income, unlike the more lumpy but considerably larger payments that her photo sets, and videos generated, and that was without considering any of the bonus commissions she made for work on projects for other models.

Anna liked the thought of the TTMF funding her horse, as it was a topic her fans on the forum often asked about, and she had created the fiction she owned a horse called Trigger like the famous horse in the old western movies, but later on she found there was another famous horse called Silver, and that's what she would call her real horse. He wouldn't mind if she changed his current name, and talking her dad round if things went to plan should be a walkover.

Anna would be taking part in the St Patrick's day Irish bonanza, having sourced some very cute pointed pixie ears from a specialist theatrical company as part of her make-up to go with her costume. Several girls would also be launching themed photo sets leading up to that date, and there would be one model doing an English video, but trying to give it an Irish accent was a step to far, it would have a Ukrainian one like all the others.

The rich green dress for Anna's set was made out of many layers of a wispy see-through net type fabric, with a high zigzag hemline with plenty of leg. There would be a lot of body make-up starting at her feet in greens and browns, but fading as it reached her thighs, then just faint steaks of colour up her torso, so it would look like she had grown right out of the ground.

Fairy-tales and myths loomed heavy in many of the studio sets, and this would fit in well for this themed holiday for this Irish Saint, as there were a lot of Americans claiming to be of Irish descent. In their research they found a mythology of leprechauns and little people was very strong in the Irish culture, and many of the studio's models had ideal bodies to play these slim fantasy creatures.

The evening Anna got to do her set, they called the cab before they even arrived home from school, so he waited while they changed and swapped back packs for the trip to the studio. Valya worked on the ears in the salon so the stylist could work the hair around them afterwards, and then they headed to the studio to continue the transformation.

Standing on a low table she wiggled as her legs were painted, the body steaks were worse catching some of her ticklish spots, making her jump and laugh, so it was just as well they wanted the colours blurred and random. Anna loved performing what with her drama class, music, and modelling, causing Marta to say it proved she was an exhibitionist. Preparing for the shoot had raised her adrenaline levels, and with the sort of mood she had been in to start with, it didn't take long in the bathroom to accomplish a little liquid gloss where it mattered most.

Anna nearly brought herself off, but realised staying horny through the set would give her show more of an edge than if she had temporarily satisfied her need, but checking in the mirror found her vulva was looking a little more red and prominent than she had intended. Slightly embarrassed she delayed leaving the bathroom until she was called to the set. John was set up and ready to go when Marta called for her sister to hurry up, the green outfit suited her, and with the body paint and a faint flush to her skin tones he was looking forwards to another successful encounter.

The backcloth was painted to show a rural scene, of a country lane winding off into distant hills, with patches of green fields and woods. In the foreground was the edge of a stone cottage, and they had a rustic bench seat and an old fashioned spinning wheel as props in front of the building. The lumpy 'grass' was dressed with both real and fake plants, and to complete the illusion the construction guys had built a wishing well, furnished with a little thatched roof.

Anna moved with confidence about the set, turning the big handle on the well to ensure John caught her bending over to catch a glimpse of her undies tautly stretched across her bottom as she moved the crank. She imbued a sense of lively movement even into the still images that John was shooting as she scrambled about including all the props in her poses. Then bending over the wall to look down into the well, the growing patch of dampness could be seen clearly for the first time, then raising one leg it looked as if she were almost about to fall in.

At this point they took a break for refreshments and catch up on each others news, which of course lead to word of the horse Anna wanted to get. John told them his wife had ear marked his next bonus commission to refit their kitchen, but wasn't too upset as she was a very good cook. Anna had to tease him that's why he was so fat, though that wasn't the case as being in his mid twenties he was fit and healthy. Marta suggested he call Melenki to see if the IMC builders wanted to quote for the job, as he had seen their level of workmanship when he had photographed the house.

Back on set Anna braced herself for the next part of the shoot. Supposedly having emerged from the well she needed to be wet, and Marta was happy to oblige by throwing a few cupfuls of water over her until they achieved the desired results. She stood there arms akimbo as she dripped on the set as John captured the image from different angles.

Next he recorded the slow removal of her dress, to see a drips running down her skin, making her little nubs stand out due to the sudden shock of the cold water, that Marta had said would be warm. Anna would be swearing payback if it wasn't for the fact she knew it had made for better pictures. With the dress gone the panties had remained dry, other than the natural wetness that could be seen as a long darker oval in the close-ups.

The white panties were quite fulsome at the back, and high on the hips, but cut to scoop down lower at the front, where an iron on transfer of a leprechaun had been placed on the fabric just over the mound above the camel toe formed by her pussy. John making sure to have plenty of shots, thought that the members would be envious of that very lucky leprechaun, wishing they could be in the same place.

Anna then sat astride the base of the spinning wheel as she played with the mechanism as if she had some clue as to how it worked, then with exquisite slowness removed her panties to roll and play on the floor. As she peeked through the plants, small gauze figures of fairies could be seen hiding among the leaves, an idea of Marta's having read of the Cottingly fairies, a famous hoax by some young English girls nearly a century before.

As John caught Anna's signature pose, he also zoomed in for a couple of shots, and the filigree strands of wetness could be clearly seen clinging between the small gap formed by the lips of her tightly defined purse, with the small hood of her clitoris looking larger on this shoot than it had appeared in the past. As her knees settled further apart on the soft flooring material the red interior he had briefly glimpsed during the set glistened in the bright studio lights as the gap became wider.

Not for the first time John thought his wife was again to be the beneficiary of a hot studio set, and it would be something they would laugh over when he got home, between hectic bouts of feverish sweaty sex all over their apartment.

Being a Friday they had the weekend to look forward to, so Ann was more hyper than normal after a photo session, and was impatient to get all the additional make-up removed from her body, but she would still need a soak in the bath when she got home. She had seen some pictures on one of the news-groups of a girl getting off using the cascade of water from a bath tap aimed straight at her pussy, and from Anna's interrupted play earlier this was something she wanted to try out as soon as she got back.

With their bath tap mounted half way down the bath she thought this would be even better as she could sit sideways in the bath and slide her shoulders up or down the opposite side to get the best position. She had shown Marta the pictures she had saved, and suspected that her older sister would also be trying out this experiment.

As if to make a good day even better in the quiet of the reception area waiting for the taxi to take them home Anna heard the faint bleep of her phone indicating she had a message from a missed call. It turned out to be the manager at the stables to tell her that a certain party was looking to sell their horse, as they could no longer afford the upkeep, and so far they had found nobody willing to buy. The owner had placed adds that had garnered no response, and approaching the riding school had been disappointed to find they did not want or need any more mounts at this time, so the field was clear for Anna.

Anna could hardly sit still on the journey home, and ran in to hug her father as soon as she had taken off her shoes and hung up her coat. Igor new something was afoot, even though his daughters were not shy of showing their affection, he knew Anna was about to come out with a good one.

"OK munchkin, what are you after?"

"Daddy as if, you know I'm just pleased to see you."

"So this has nothing to do with the call we had earlier from the manager at the stables?"

"Arr, you know then?"

"Know? I hear you've even planned to change his name."

"I could pick him up for a song, as the owner is behind on several weeks stabling fees, and they cant find anyone to buy him, please daddy. The costs will easily be..."

At that point Anna noting the boys were listening, couldn't actually say how the costs would be easily covered, so ran out of steam.

"So would you like me to give you a lift in the morning?"

Her squeal of joy, was followed by her thanking her father repeatedly, and it was only the smell of one of her favourite dishes on the table that reminded her she had not yet had supper. The rest of the family had not long eaten, unsure what time the girls would turn up that evening, and as the two sisters sat to eat, Marta grinned hearing the plans for the new tack and accessories Anna wanted to buy for Silver. Though Marta enjoyed riding almost as much as her sister, she was happy enough to ride horses owned by the stable, but her thoughts drifted to the idea of one day riding a different mount. It was an inevitable step that was as exciting as it was scary, and she was sure by the turn of the year she would no longer be a virgin.

Irisha was still in shock that she still had a boyfriend, last weekend she was certain that once he knew she would be treated like a leper, instead he reached out hesitating to put his arm around her, then he just held both her hands in his as she related her sordid tale.

Reaching the end of her story she knew there were secrets that weren't hers to tell, so the heroine remained the same, but the ending changed, with just her mum being offered a job at a nearby business Marta knew of.

Taras didn't criticise the choice she had made saying it was about the only way women or girls survived on the streets, he even knew of some boys who had taken that option, but it could be a very dangerous existence, and he was glad Marta came along when she did. Having been on the streets since he was a small boy he had a different outlook, staring up from the bottom of the pond, he was more pragmatic about survival, and saw no reason for shame. He was even sympathetic that she would need time to heal, and that coming to enjoy any type of physical relationship wouldn't happen overnight.

That day they had spent a long time talking, him of his life growing up as part of the vast underclass, surviving between one meal and the next on his wits, and the occasional handouts from one or other of the charities that tried their best. Each of his gang had similar stories, either becoming orphans through drugs, drink or sickness, or choosing to leave due to violence or abuse. With neither family networks or help from the state, they often had no choices, and life could be hard, brutal and short.

Only the smart and the wary survived, and he knew that many of the girls fell prey to pimps or just vanished completely, with stories of them being shipped off to brothels abroad with little hope of escape. Irisha came to realise she had come so close to being sucked into that world of vice, and not having the street smarts to avoid what could well have been her fate. She and her mother never spoke together of that time when their lives had reached such a low ebb, her mother not knowing just how low, only focusing on today and the future, making plans for the things they wanted to do, and dreaming it was now possible.

Thinking about Taras she came to the conclusion he was much smarter than he first appeared, true he didn't have school or book learning, but he could read people and situations. Since hearing her story he had been very caring, holding her hand or putting an arm around her more like a protective big brother than a boyfriend, reinforcing the point that it was her choice what they did together. He didn't even try to kiss her as he had done before, it was as if he wanted to regrow their relationship again from day one at her pace.

Friday evening in the Squat, and Taras was sitting in the 'classroom' whereas this time last year he would have been busking near one of the clubs or theatres in the hope of a few coins, or the remains of a discarded takeaway, and keeping an eye open for the cops. Now he sat with a full belly, teasing the words off the page of a book meant for kids of five or six, but he had a dogged determination to prove to himself, even if to no one else that he could do this. He had to keep dragging his mind back to the task at hand, rather than think about seeing Irisha tomorrow.

It had been like a slap in the face to discover what had caused her to suddenly freak out, but it must have taken a hell of a lot of guts to fess up like she did. The one thing he would never admit to, was he almost ended up selling himself that way, just a few lucky breaks at the right time took him on another path. He didn't tell her the half of how bad it could be, he knew, he'd seen it, girls taking all sorts of dirty mixed up drugs to escape from the hell of their lives, and the bridge jumpers who had had enough.

It had been lucky that she had survived three nights on the street without attracting the attentions of a pimp, and even greater luck that Marta stepped in to help. Taras believed to an extent you could make your own luck, learning to play that beat up harmonica gave him the small edge over others who just had their hands out, the lads dancing along as well upped the odds just a bit, in that they would earn a few coins. Now if he could get reading and writing cracked that would up his luck quite a bit.

As soon as the office opened Anna wanted her dad to phone the stables, but Igor replied if things were how she said then 'Sliver' wouldn't be going anywhere, being careful not to upset her by mentioning the meat trade, for if all else failed the owners could take up that option. Many butchers would ask no questions.

Despite the constant stream of chatter on the way to the riding school, Igor couldn't help grinning at the joy this would bring Anna, to have her very own horse, and he was sure no other girls her age would be paying for one with money they had earned themselves.

The stable's manager had phoned the owner to say a prospective buyer was coming in, and to bring in the relevant papers in case a sale could be negotiated. The moment Igor set eyes on the owner he formed an instant dislike of the man, who was standing there in his expensive designer suit, selling off just another 'asset' regardless that it was his daughter's most cherished pet, fortunately the girl herself wasn't here to see it.

As they dickered over the price, Anna cut in to say it was too expensive and she would have the other horse instead, that one was a much more reasonable price. Both her father and the stable manager knew there were no other local horses for sale at that time, but the man facing them didn't, and caved in as this was the only interest that had been shown in the damned animal.

When the figure was settled, Igor knew how things stood, and asked how much was owed on stabling fees, then wrote two cheques, much to the previous owners disgust, so the back fees were paid off directly and the man just walked off in a huff with the balance.

The manager thanked Igor, saying it was doubtful if they would have been reimbursed, without him taking that stance on their behalf. Igor then got dragged across the yard to the stable blocks to be introduced to Silver, whose friendship was easily bought with an apple. Even as a man more at home with a toolbox and a set of drawings he had to admit this was a fine looking animal, but more important to him was the joy in Anna's heart, and the smile on her face.

Anna wanted to stay and ride her new horse, and would call the cab company to get a ride home, so Igor went back to the office to make arrangements regarding the ongoing costs of keeping the horse at the stables. The manager cut Igor a very reasonable deal as Anna still had time to run on the riding and tuition gift he had brought both the girls, membership was part of the deal in the stabling fee for horse owners, and Marta could make her own mind up about continuing her membership when the time came.

Having seen the other stalls at the stable, as he was walking back to his car Igor phoned Melenki to explain what he wanted, giving the approximate size and confirming the plaque should be carved with the name 'Sliver'.

---

Probably to be continued in Chapter 55.

Hi jprsauve - Thanks for spotting my stupid error in 53, twice using Karl's name when it should have read Taras, it doesn't matter how many times I proof read, they still slip through. I see there are some people following this narrative who fail to read the codes that explain the nature of the tale. This is mainly a story with a plot, only part of which has some erotic elements concerning some young characters, which is why it would be unwelcome elsewhere, and therefore it is not promoted as a porn or stroke story, so as to avoid disappointing those looking for that type of writing. There are a wide variety of fine authors on this site catering to a broad range of tastes, so these people may be better served by someone else. I personally have sampled many of the writers who post here, and I have found about half a dozen that I look forward to following. I greatly admire the work of Renpet and a few others, but I don't waste time to criticise those writers whose genre is different from that which I wish to read, for I know others must enjoy their writing.