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Message-ID: <48134asstr$1086523802@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Vulgar Argot <vulgarargotREMOVEALL@CAPSinsidejoke.tv>
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Subject: {ASSM} Princes of Mannsborough, Part 14
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Date: Sun,  6 Jun 2004 08:10:02 -0400
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Princes of Mannsborough, Part 14
by Vulgar Argot
(tags moved to bottom to prevent spoilerage)

Marigold watched Dawn with a clinical eye as Thule drove them towards
his house. Her first aid instructor at the hospital had been an
emergency room nurse who had taken great pains to remind her students
that not all injuries were immediately visible or even physical.
According to the nurse, it wasn't all that uncommon for a patient to
completely avoid physical injury, then die of shock because it went
undiagnosed.

She didn't say anything, though. For the time being, Dawn seemed all
right. Certainly, at some point, it would hit her what had nearly
happened. Just thinking about it was making Marigold quake. It
wouldn't be easy, but it didn't have to be shock in the medical sense
of the word, either.

Still, Marigold had seen the other side of it, too. Shock could
sometimes be incurred by asking too aggressively if a patient was
going into it.

Still, Dawn was unusually quiet. So, Marigold watched her carefully
while trying not to look like she was watching her.

Even before the car's engine had entirely stopped, Thule was out of
the car, bounding across the yard, and into the house.

Dawn and Marigold sat in the car, waiting. Finally, Dawn said, "Do you
think we're supposed to follow him inside?"

Marigold shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."

After they had sat there for another minute or so, Dawn said, "He
seems to do that a lot. Doesn't he?"

Marigold nodded, "The bounding thing? Yes. He bounds quite a bit."

They both sat there, not moving for another minute. Then, Marigold
said, "Well, shall we go?"

Without inflection, Dawn said, "Yes. Let's go."

They didn't move. After a few seconds, Marigold laughed, "Did Mr.
Gaspare make you guys read that awful play, too?"

Dawn didn't answer for a few seconds. Then, she said, "We should
really go inside. I'm freezing out here."

Marigold was out of the car in a flash, coming around to open Dawn's
door, "Come on," she coaxed. "Let's go inside."

Dawn looked up at Marigold as if she didn't recognize her, "Thule
won't mind?"

Marigold shook her head, "Thule won't mind. He's waiting for us." She
guided Dawn out of the car, up the walk, and in the front door. As
soon as the door was open, she shouted, "Thule!"

Thule came bounding out of the bedroom, concern clear on his face,
"What?"

"Get a blanket," said Marigold. "Dawn's going into neurogenic shock."

Dawn turned to Marigold, a look of intense puzzlement on her face,
"I'm not..." Then, her knees buckled. Marigold, having expected the
faint, caught her friend on the way down, grunting as her own knee's
buckled under the sudden weight.

Thule, having disappeared into the bedroom, re-emerged with a silver
emergency blanket with the word "ORACLE" etched across it in red.
Wrapping Dawn in the blanket, he lifted her up into his arms, scooping
her up as if she weighed nothing at all.

"She's fainted," said Marigold. "We need to get her somewhere that her
head will be lower than her heart."

In a surprisingly dextrous move, Thule kicked the headrest on the
EZ-Boy near the TV. He said, "Put a pillow on the footrest."

Marigold did and Thule placed Dawn in the prescribed position on the
chair, wrapping the blanket more firmly around her.

"Now what?" he asked. But, Marigold was already crouching down next to
the chair, holding Dawn's wrist, reading her watch, and counting.

After she had an accurate pulse rate, Marigold said, "Just give her a
couple of minutes. She should come out of it on her own. She's young
and her heart rate doesn't seem to be out of control. She wasn't
injured at all today, was she?"

"No," said Thule.

"Okay," said Marigold, "whatever you rushed in here to do, it's
probably more important than standing around, waiting for her to wake
up. Why don't you go finish?"

Thule said, "I was just checking the police bands. I thought maybe
this would be the end of it, that Randy couldn't possibly get away
with this. But, the cops are reporting the shooter as a false report
and calling the cars back in."

"Well," said Marigold, "why don't you go see if anything new has
developed? I've got this taken care of."

Thule looked like he was going to argue, but went back into his room.

A few minutes later, Dawn looked up and asked, "Why am I upside down?"

"You fainted," said Marigold. "I'd like to keep you in this position
for a few more minutes, make sure you're getting enough blood to your
brain."

"Oo," said Dawn shakily, "Have I ever told you about my bossy nurse
fetish?"

"See?" said Marigold, deadpan. "Clearly, more blood is needed."

"I feel stupid," said Dawn.

"For fainting?" asked Marigold, "Don't. It happens."

"No," said Dawn, "for believing June Kane...for running off to have a
secret rendez-vous with her, for putting myself in such a dangerous
position after I swore it would never happen again."

"For that," said Marigold, grasping Dawn's wrist to take her pulse
again, "you should feel stupid."

"Doctor Tarr," said Dawn, "your bedside manner sucks."

"My bedside manner is fine," said Marigold briskly. "My armchair-side
manner could maybe use some improvement."

"I'm sorry," said Dawn. "I shouldn't have run off like that."

"It's okay," said Marigold, her face softening. "But, it was a very
foolish risk."

"Well, I know that now," said Dawn, sounding a little annoyed. Then,
more penitent, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," said Marigold, sighing. "I'm mad at me. I was supposed to be
watching out for you. I let you slip away. We should have stuck
together."

"I didn't think June had a threeway in mind," Dawn pointed out.

"Dawn, I'm serious," said Marigold.

"So am I," said Dawn. "My danger sense was completely off on this. I
was so focused on getting laid, I completely stopped thinking. Damn!
June Fucking Kane. How could I be so stupid?"

Marigold crouched down and stroked Dawn's hair, "It's okay. I'm sorry
if my nerves are a little jangly. I screwed up. Thule was trying to
call me the whole time he was driving to the school and I had my phone
on vibrate in my purse, which was in the events office."

Dawn grinned sheepishly, "I left my phone home by mistake. I'm not
used to having one."

Marigold sat down on the floor, next to Dawn's head, "We haven't been
taking this whole thing very seriously, have we?"

"It is a lot more life and death than I thought," admitted Dawn.

"Sorry you volunteered to be the plucky sidekick?" asked Marigold.

"No," said Dawn, shaking her now-flushed head. "He needs all the help
he can get, doesn't he? I'm just sorry I unintentionally volunteered
for the damsel in distress role."

"Actually," said Marigold. "It's not so bad being the damsel in
distress as long as you're rescued in the last act."

"Yeah," admitted Dawn. "Getting to ride off on the back of the white
charger is nice."

Thule stepped out of the bedroom. He had stripped off the green shirt
and now wore only a towel, draped over the back of his neck, and the
khakis. As he emerged, he said, "If you haven't taken it seriously up
until now, it's probably because it's been too abstract. Mea culpa."
He sat down on the couch.

"How much of our conversation did you hear?" Marigold asked.

"All of it," admitted Thule, his tone faintly mocking. "You didn't
really think that I was going to run along to my room and go back to
what I was doing while Dawn was passed out in the living room, did
you?"

"I passed out?" asked Dawn.

"You fainted," said Marigold. "You were going into shock. How do you
feel?"

"Like all of the blood is rushing to my head," said Dawn. "But, other
than that, fine."

Marigold took Dawn's wrist again, timing her pulse. After a
half-minute, she said, "You should be able to sit up now. If you get
light-headed, get your heart above your head."

Dawn frowned, "I already made that mistake once today." Then, she
looked around, "Hey, if I fainted, how did I get inside and upside
down?"

"You walked to the front door," said Marigold, "then fainted on me. I
kept you propped up until Thule came out with the blanket and carried
you to the chair."

Dawn spun herself into an upright position, never taking her eyes off
of Thule. Marigold covered her mouth as if she were coughing, unable
to suppress a chuckle at the look of worshipful adoration in Dawn's
eyes.

With her mouth still hidden, Marigold allowed herself a little frown.
She now considered Thule and Dawn getting together a foregone
conclusion and wondered if her own relationship with him would
survive. Dawn hadn't started out her relationship with Thule by
treating him like dirt for three years.

For Thule's part, if he noticed the intensity of Dawn's stare, he gave
no sign. His own eyes showed nothing but concern and a sort of casual
affection. Marigold snuggled in, drawing her feet up on the couch and
laying her head on Thule's chest. With the exception of Brianne, there
probably wasn't a woman in the world who deserved Thule less than she
did.

Watching how Dawn looked at him made Marigold realize something else.
As lonely a path as he had chosen, Thule had the air of a natural
leader. People were inclined to follow him. She'd seen the effect in
the people who surrounded him when he held court on the front steps or
at lunch. She'd seen it in Dawn and herself and even in Jonas.

Once they went away to college, it would be impossible for people not
to notice. Only the warped social structure at Mannsborough High could
have let him go unnoticed this long. When that happened, Marigold knew
that Thule would be surrounded by people more deserving of his
attention than she was. And, no matter what he'd promised, Marigold
wouldn't be able to hold onto him then unless she'd become more worthy
herself.

"I've got about an hour before I need to start getting ready for the
party," said Thule. "I think it's about time I told you what's going
on."

"Both of us?" asked Dawn.

Thule nodded, "You already know enough to betray me if you were going
to. I trusted you enough to tell you that, I might as well tell you
the rest."

So, he did. And, while he covered a lot of details that Marigold
already knew for Dawn's sake, he skillfully expurgated any mention of
Marigold's complicity.

When he finished, Dawn was wide-eyed. She asked, "But, it's over,
right? There's no way they can get away with what they did today, is
there?"

"They have before," said Thule, "at least three times. But, maybe. I
don't know how thoroughly the Vandevoorts control the police and I
doubt the cops have ever walked in right in the middle of it before.
But, I'm not relying on that. I still have to go to this thing today."
He stood up and started to pace, running both hands over his hair, "I
still have to play nice with Randy and Brianne, at least for a little
while longer. He groaned and blew out, a gesture of fatigue and
frustration.

"Sit down," said Marigold, patting the couch next to her, "We can't
have you going off to battle without your A game." Thule sat down and
she began to massage his shoulders, kneading the flesh of his back.
Thule sighed in pleasure and relief.

"Not too much," said Thule, "My A game doesn't come out if I'm too
relaxed."

Marigold chuckled, "I don't think I have the strength to get you too
relaxed. You're safe in my semicompetent hands."

Thule sighed contentedly and leaned back against Marigold, laying his
head on her shoulder, and closing his eyes.

"Hey," said Dawn, chuckling uncomfortably. "Get a room, you two."

Thule gestured vaguely towards his room, "No time," he muttered, "and
I would be too relaxed afterwards." The last word was elongated by a
yawn.

                                     -=-

After Thule went into his room to get dressed again, Dawn stayed
wrapped in the blanket, holding it as tightly as she could and not
speaking.

"Are you okay?" asked Marigold.

Dawn shook her head in the negative, but said, "I'm okay, I guess."

Marigold gave her an even stare, "You don't seem okay. You seem kind
of freaked out."

Dawn nodded, "I am. I just don't know how I'm going to deal with my
parents after this."

Marigold raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to tell them?"

Dawn shook her head, "Nothing. They're just...a lot to deal with when
I'm in the best of spirits. After I went to Randy's party and narrowly
escaped the first time, they tore into me about coming home late. It
was...not a good situation."

Marigold made a snap decision, "So, come home with me today."

Dawn shook her head, "No. I wouldn't be very good company. I should
just go and face the music."

"Don't be silly," said Marigold. "Dawn, I realize we haven't known
each other very long, but..."

"We've known each other since I was in the ninth grade," said Dawn.
"We used to cheer together."

Marigold didn't remember, but didn't say so. Instead, she tried again,
"All right. We've known each other for a while, but we haven't been
friends for very long. Still, I have to ask...Am I going to have to be
perfect to be your friend?"

"What?" asked Dawn, looking deeply puzzled. "No. Of course not."

"Good," said Marigold. "Because I'm not--not even close. If my friends
were, I would find them insufferable. Whatever flaws you have, I
expect you to keep them so that I don't look too bad in comparison."

Dawn's smile was uncertain, but she said, "All right."

Marigold nodded, "Good. I have an afternoon of vigorous tanning and
light studying planned. Does that meet with your approval?"

"Oo," said Dawn. "I'm not sure about the tanning bit. Any time I get
sun, I freckle."

"I know," said Marigold. "It's part of that sexy girl-next-door thing
you've got going."

"What?" asked Thule, emerging from his room, "The freckles?" He
smiled, "Definitely. Oh, and the blushing, too."

                                     -=-

Once Thule had dropped them off, Marigold said to Dawn, "I'll have to
introduce you to my parents. They're a little bit scary, but don't let
them put you off. They mean well."

As soon as she opened the door, Jonas yelled from his office,
"Marigold, is that you?"

"Yes, sir," she called back. "And I brought a friend over."

Jonas came to the front door. He was wearing blue jeans and a gray
cardigan, "Hello," he said peremptorily to Dawn, "Hon, can you come in
my office? I think I deleted something I shouldn't have."

"Let me see," said Marigold, following him inside.

Jonas brought her into his office, around behind the desk, "Look," he
said, sounding flustered, "I had a spreadsheet open. Then, I hit
something and now it's blank."

Marigold looked it over, "Do you have any idea what you hit?"

Jonas looked helpless, "Something near the bottom, I think."

 From the other side of the desk, Dawn said, "Did you maybe change
spreadsheets?"

"How do I do that?" Jonas asked.

Dawn came around the back where Marigold and Jonas were standing.
Taking the mouse, she clicked once and columns of numbers appeared on
screen, "Is that what you're looking for?"

"That's it," said Jonas, clapping his hands once in relief, "How did
you know to do that?"

"Office automation class," said Dawn. "I accidentally did what you did
in the middle of the midterm. I almost started crying before Oksana
showed me what I did wrong."

"Office automation," said Jonas, his voice somewhat distant.
"Marigold, did you ever take that?"

"No, sir," said Marigold. "I would have liked to, but it would have
conflicted with either honors French or AP chemistry, both of which
had higher differentials."

"Right," said Jonas, "differentials. Marigold's going to be
Valedictorian."

"I know," said Dawn.

"Well," he said, "I won't keep you two. You've obviously got better
things to do than listen to an old man complain about these damned
machines. It was nice to meet you, ummm..."

"Dawn," said Marigold. "And, you haven't met her yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jonas. "Where are my manners? It's nice to meet
you, Dawn."

"Dawn," said Marigold, "this is my stepfather, Jonas."

Dawn shook Jonas's hand, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Jonas got a pained look on his face, "Don't call me sir, please. Only
Marigold calls me that. She didn't want to call me Jonas once I
married her mother."

Marigold said, "When was I ever allowed to call you Jonas?"

"What?" asked Jonas, "Oh, right until the wedding day. Then, you asked
me what you should call me now and I told you not to dishonor your
father's memory, but to find something appropriate. You came up with
'sir.'"

"I did?" asked Marigold, "Wait. I did, didn't I?"

Jonas nodded, "Yes. Now, if you two will excuse me, I lost an hour on
this stupid spreadsheet already." As he was shooing them out of his
office, he said, "Again, it's nice to meet you, Dawn. Thank you for
figuring out the spreadsheet thing." Once they were out of the office,
he closed the door behind them.

Dawn giggled, "I thought you said he was scary."

"I know," said Marigold, "He was mellow and vaguely befuddled. I
wonder if he's got low blood sugar or something." Then, as if thinking
of something else, she said, "We're about the same size, other than
those legs of yours. If you want to swim or sunbathe, I'm sure that
I've got something that will fit you."

"That would be great," said Dawn. Up the stairs they went.

Upstairs, Marigold opened her walk-in closet, "I've got some stuff I
bought for New York and never got around to wearing, other than to try
it on in the store."

"Oh," asked Dawn, looking around Marigold's room, "What were you doing
in New York?"

Marigold emerged hurriedly, closing her bedroom door, locking it, and
turning on her stereo. Paul Desmond's "East of the Sun," emerged from
her speakers. When Dawn raised a quizzical eyebrow at her, Marigold
said, "Sorry about that. My parents don't know I went to New York.
They think I was at my aunt's."

"So," asked Dawn, dropping on the bed and sliding into Indian-style,
her elbows resting on her knees, "what were you doing in New York?"

Marigold sat down next to her, mimicking her pose in perpendicular,
"That was where Thule took me the weekend I lent you my blouse. We
stayed at this gorgeous hotel overlooking Gramercy Park."

Dawn grinned, "Really? He is so romantic."

Marigold laughed. Then, once she started laughing, she found it hard
to stop. Soon, she was gasping for air.

"Obviously," said Dawn, puzzled. "I said something funny."

"Let's just say that 'romantic' is not the first word that comes to
mind about that weekend," said Marigold, holding her ribs from
laughing. Then, after thinking about it some more, she said,
"Although, it was incredibly romantic, too." Before Dawn could ask any
more questions, Marigold went on, "Now, let's see what I have that you
can wear."

"No," said Dawn, "you can't just say something like that and then
leave me to wonder. What happened in New York? Did you fight? Did he
ignore you and spend all of his time focusing on work?"

Marigold started giggling again. Dawn waited patiently. Finally, when
the giggles had subsided, Marigold began to explain, in some detail,
what the weekend had been like. Dawn already knew more about Thule and
Marigold's relationship than anyone else and Marigold thought she
would burst if she didn't find someone to share all the details with.

"Oh...my....God," said Dawn slowly, awe clear in her voice. "He really
is romantic. Isn't he?"

Impulsively, Marigold wrapped her arms around Dawn, hugging her, "I
thought I was the only one who would think so."

"Lord, no," said Dawn, fanning herself with her hand. "Now, I'm
starting to wonder if I didn't waste my high school career by not
finding some boy to make miserable so he would do that sort of thing
to me. What did you do to Maya to make her go medieval on you? Is it
something I could duplicate?"

Marigold shook her head emphatically, "No, Dawn. You do not want to do
what I did. I would give up anything...not to be the person I was back
then."

Dawn twisted so she could look Marigold in the eye, "What did you do?"

Marigold shook her head harder, "No. Dawn, you're the first real
friend I've had since Maya. I don't want you to hate me."

"Hey," said Dawn. "If I don't have to be perfect to be your friend,
you don't have to be perfect to be mine."

In spite of herself, Marigold smiled in recognition of her own words,
but said, "Believe me. Perfection is the least of my worries. I..."

Dawn didn't say anything. Looking up at her, Marigold said, "Did you
learn that trick from Thule?"

"What trick?"

"Where you don't say anything so that the person you're talking to
will blurt something out to break the silence."

Dawn shook her head, "I don't know that trick. I'm just trying to
figure out how to get you to tell me what you did without being a
total pest."

Marigold took a deep breath. Slowly at first, she found herself
telling Dawn everything about her friendship with Maya. Dawn listened
and asked a few questions, but mostly sat quietly, absorbing it all.

"Wow," said Dawn when Marigold was done talking. "That was pretty
shitty of you."

Marigold nodded. Her face was tear-stained, but she didn't remember
crying, "That's a bit of an understatement."

"You're not telling me everything, though," said Dawn.

Marigold looked puzzled, "I didn't leave anything out."

Dawn frowned, "Thule took you to New York to get revenge for something
you did to his girlfriend years ago. But, you were clearly in love
when you got back. Hell, the two of you were clearly in love before
you ever left. I can't believe I misjudged Thule so badly to think
that he would fall for you if what you just told me was the whole
story. Why did he forgive you?"

Marigold shook her head, "I don't know. I know it sounds crazy, but I
don't think he needed to. I think he'd already forgiven me before that
weekend. The revenge was just...something he did for Maya...and
because it was the right thing to do. I don't...entirely understand
Thule."

Dawn nodded, "He does march to the beat of a different drummer,
doesn't he?"


Marigold, who hadn't even realized she was crying, shook her head
miserably, wiping tears away from her eyes. "Oh, Dawn," she whispered,
"I don't deserve him."

Dawn muttered a sympathetic sound and drew Marigold into her arms. As
Marigold cried herself out, Dawn rocked her like a child and pet her
hair. Marigold clung to her, holding on to Dawn's shoulder and burying
her face in Dawn's neck. The response was startlingly Thule-like. When
Dawn kissed her on top of the head, Marigold gave a little shudder of
pleasure. She wanted so badly to tilt her head back and be kissed
properly. That sort of kiss meant forgiveness, absolution.

Dawn leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, then on the cheek.
Marigold trembled in anticipation, but seemingly at the last second,
Dawn pulled back.

"So," asked Marigold. "Do you hate me?"

"No," said Dawn, quickly reassuring her, "not at all. And, you need to
stop beating yourself up about Thule. I've never seen anybody in love
as the two of you. You two are going to be together forever."

"Eventually," said Marigold. "I hope. At least, I think I hope so.
Christ, I don't know what I mean. I hope you're right...I think.

"Of course I'm right," said Dawn emphatically. "Now, why don't you go
wash your face so that we can get some swimming done before he gets
dark."

Marigold nodded and slid off of Dawn's lap, "Second dresser on the
right, third draw, is this season's bathing suits. If you see anything
that looks good on you, grab it." Then, she went into the bathroom to
wash her face. When she emerged, Dawn was rummaging around in the
closet. Marigold stepped in behind her to see if she needed help.

Dawn rose from a crouch, bare from the waist up, "Tell me what you
think."

Marigold glanced down and asked, puzzled, "About your...."

"No," said Dawn, slapping her playfully on the arm, "I'm going to try
on a top." Seeing Marigold blush, she added, "You really thought I was
asking about my chest, didn't you?"

"Well," admitted Marigold, the flush rising in her cheeks, "I haven't
really had much experience with girl talk. I don't know."

Dawn slid on a red bikini top, relatively demure as the type went. She
held her shoulders back so that Marigold could get the full effect,
"What do you think?"

"Oh," said Marigold, surprised, "it looks really good on you, like you
picked it out yourself."

"It doesn't look too...chesty?" Dawn asked.

"I'm the wrong person to ask," admitted Marigold.

"Oh," said Dawn, getting flustered, "I didn't mean that you..."

"No," said Marigold, blushing again herself, "I wasn't saying....I
just mean that Elliot hated my chest, so I always thought that it was
hideous."

"Oh, no," said Dawn, horrified, "you have great breasts." Realizing
what she had said, Dawn blushed a deep crimson that went all the way
down into her cleavage.

They both stood there, blushing for a minute before Marigold said,
"Why don't you hand me the black one?"

Dawn did and Marigold backed out of the closet. Once she was around
the corner from where Dawn could see her, she leaned against the wall
and laughed silently to herself, getting it out of her system as
quickly as possible.

She was in the middle of changing when she felt Dawn's eyes on her
back. As she turned, Dawn asked, "So, how do I look?"

Marigold said, "Oh, that is so unfair."

"What?" asked Dawn, looking confused.

"I bought that one because it elongated my legs. Now, you wear it and
it looks like it's made for you, particularly in the legs. I hate you.
I want long legs like yours."

Dawn laughed, "What are you talking about? You have very pretty legs."

"Maybe," said Marigold, "but I'm so short."

"I think you're just right," said Dawn.

Marigold snapped on her top, "Well, I thank you for saying so. Are we
ready to go?"

                               -=-

Marigold's top didn't stay on long. As soon as she got out to the
poolside, she unsnapped it and took it off. Dawn looked around, "Is it
okay to...?"

"Sure," said Marigold, "Jonas accidentally saw me topless out here
when I was sixteen. He was too embarrassed to look me in the eye for
like two weeks. If he needs to get a message to us, he'll send my
mother out and she's not here yet. We'll be able to see her coming up
the street a long ways. There's a fence around the pool and a fence
around the yard. We might as well be indoors."

"All right," said Dawn, still sounding uncertain, but stripping off
her top.

"Oh, wow," said Marigold, "you're starting to freckle already." She
patted the towel in front of her, "Come over here, so I can get some
sunscreen on you."

Marigold had settled on a plan, one she thought everyone involved
would benefit from. But, now that she'd committed to it, she wasn't
sure how to proceed, having never been on this side of a seduction.
Truth be told, she'd never really been seduced, either.

Because she was facing Dawn when she rubbed lotion into her shoulders
and neck, Marigold saw the other girl's lip quiver and eyes flutter
shut at the first touch of her fingers. Dawn regained her composure in
a moment, but Marigold knew she hadn't imagined what she'd seen.

Making another quick decision, Marigold went from using her clinical
touch, the one she had learned as a candy striper, to what she had
used to massage Thule. Marigold was already coming to think of it as
her "probably platonic," touch--somewhat sensual, but with an edge of
plausible deniability in case Dawn reacted badly.

Slowly and deliberately, Marigold worked her way up Dawn's neck, down
her arms, and across the top of her chest. As she worked, Marigold
kept Dawn engaged in conversation. For the most part, the conversation
was light and inconsequential. Marigold hadn't engaged in a lot of
small talk with her classmates in the last few years, but found she
had a natural gift for it. The conversation meandered from topic to
topic with Marigold consciously avoiding only two topics: what her
hands were doing and what had happened (and nearly happened) today.

Dawn, for her part, seemed happy to let Marigold drive the
conversation. and the application of sunscreen. With the hot sun
beating down on her, she kept her eyes slitted and spoke with a
languid drawl.

"Lie on your back," said Marigold. "I want to get your legs and
stomach."

Dawn smiled as she complied, "Yes, Nurse Bossy."

"Hey," said Marigold, feigning sharpness. "That's Doctor Bossy."

Marigold continued to take her time, enjoying the conversation as much
as the feel of Dawn's flesh under her hands. This sort of talk would
never have been possible with her old social circle where every word
had to be carefully considered for orthodoxy lest it be repeated to
Brianne or June or one of their lieutenants. Comparably, what Marigold
was trying to set in motion would have been such a violation of social
orthopraxy that spoken heresy hardly seemed to matter.

As Marigold got closer to running out of other places to rub in
lotion, she considered Dawn's chest. Truth be told, she didn't even
know what the protocol was for these sorts of things anyway. She
didn't know if telling Dawn to do her own chest would be a clear
rejection or touching them an obvious pass. Deciding to go with what
worked so far, she struck a middle ground. Without breaking the flow
of conversation, Marigold allowed her touch to become clinical again
as she slid her hands up the sides of Dawn's breasts.

Dawn's eyes flew open. For a moment, Marigold's heart seemed to stop.
But, there didn't seem to be rejection in those eyes--only curiosity,
a hint of excitement, and a question.

"Can't have these burning," said Marigold. "They can be very sensitive
to the sun."

Dawn closed her eyes and nodded, a half-smile on her lips, "You're the
doctor."

Marigold finished with Dawn's chest, directed her to roll over, and
repeated the treatment on her back. With less erogenous areas to worry
about, Marigold massaged the lotion into Dawn's back and legs. Several
times, Dawn let out a sigh of pleasure which Marigold pretended not to
notice.

When there was no visible spot on Dawn left untouched, Marigold handed
her the lotion, "Now, do your face. Then, do me, please."

At first, Dawn's hands were not as steady as Marigold's had been. But,
Marigold guided her with nods and words of encouragement. Soon, Dawn
was rubbing the lotion into Marigold with the same vigor that Marigold
had used on her.

As Dawn's hands inched closer to her breasts, Marigold could feel her
own heart beating faster and her breathing getting fractionally
shallower. When Dawn paused with her hands on Marigold's ribs,
Marigold cleared her throat and said, "Make sure you get everything.
My prom dress is pretty revealing and I would hate to have patches of
sunburn showing.

Dawn's hands on her chest were not at all clinical. Several times, the
heels of her hands brushed Marigold's nipples until Marigold had to
bite her lip to avoid moaning out loud. When she finally did gasp,
Dawn looked up, her face guilty as if she'd been caught doing
something she wasn't supposed to.

Marigold wasn't sure if Dawn was overtly making a pass or just thought
she was getting away with something. Besides that, she didn't know
when her mother would be home and doubted she'd be able to keep an eye
out for the car if things proceeded much further. Reluctantly, she
said, "Maybe we should move on to my back now." When Dawn's look of
worry deepened, Marigold gave her the sauciest smile she could manage
before rolling over.

                               -=-

The next few hours passed in relative idyll. They alternately swam and
sunbathed, read, talked and laughed. Most of what Marigold would
remember of that afternoon was how much they laughed. It was the sort
of friendship she hadn't had in years, if ever, the sort of friendship
she should have had with Maya if she hadn't poisoned it from the very
start.

At the same time, she kept up her flirtation with Dawn, touching
stroking, hugging, staying closer than mere friendship granted
permission for. Marigold thought she was incredibly bold, but Dawn
still seemed afraid, unsure of whether she was being seduced or just
reading too much into Marigold's affection. Marigold felt like she was
being a horrible tease and had to remind herself that it wasn't really
teasing if she intended to make good her promises.

As darkness became an undeniable fact, they went inside. Holly looked
up from her cooking, "Oh, Marigold, I didn't know you had company.
Will she be staying for dinner?"

"If I can..." said Dawn. "I didn't realize how late it was."

"I hope you like ham," said Marigold.

"Don't be silly," said Holly. "We finished the ham on Wednesday.
Tonight is lasagna and meatballs."

"That sounds great," said Dawn. She looked into the pot of red sauce,
"It smells great, too."

Marigold grinned, "Mom, would it be okay if Dawn stayed over tonight?"

Dawn looked startled, but Holly just said, "It's fine with me, but
check with Jonas."

Marigold stepped into Jonas's study, "Jonas," she said quietly.
"Dawn's had kind of a rough day today. Would it be all right if she
stayed over tonight?"

"Sure," said Jonas, "if it's okay with her parents. Is it something I
can help with?"

"No," said Dawn. "It's just boy troubles. Nothing serious."

"Boys are nothing but trouble," grumbled Jonas good-naturedly, "I used
to be one myself. You stay away from them."

"Yes, sir," said Dawn. She glanced meaningfully at Marigold, "I'll see
what I can do."

                               -=-

When Marigold heard the shower start, she had to resist the urge to
slip into it with Dawn. She felt certain now that the two of them were
on the same wavelength. But, they were expected downstairs for dinner.
Reluctantly, she took her clothes down to the guest bathroom for a
quick, solitary shower. As she stood under the water with her eyes
closed, her fingers snaked down between her legs. None of the old
hesitancy was there. She still felt a little guilty about it, but knew
that, as sins went, it was about as venial as they came. Still, she
touched herself only lightly, preferring the longing ache she felt
right now to a quick fix.

Downstairs, over dinner, Holly asked, "Should I make up the guest room
for Donna?"

"Actually, Mom," Marigold corrected gently, "her name is Dawn. And, I
thought she could stay with me. That way we can stay up for a while
before we go to sleep and talk or...do girl stuff."

Holly nodded, approval obvious in her face. Dawn kept her face
carefully neutral. Marigold smiled and dished herself more salad.

As Dawn and Marigold were sitting, chatting in the living room, the
television droning in the background ignored, Jonas stuck his head in,
"Dawn," he asked, "will you be joining us for church tomorrow?"

"Sure," Dawn said, "I haven't been to church in years."

"Great," said Jonas, "You two don't stay up too late, then. I'll see
you in the morning."

"Good night, Jonas," said Marigold.

They sat there talking for another half hour or so, the conversational
pauses becoming longer and more meaningful.

Finally, Marigold stood up, "We should get to bed, then." Dawn nodded
and followed her upstairs. Once the door was closed and locked and the
stereo on low, Marigold asked, "Do you want me to find something for
you to sleep in or..."

"That would be great," said Dawn a trifle too quickly.

Marigold went into the closet and emerged with a long, white t-shirt
that read, "Windows 2000 beta."

"You have vendor t-shirts?" Dawn asked, holding it.

"Actually," said Marigold, "it's Thule's. It got mixed in with my
luggage in New York."

Dawn looked at it uncertainly. Marigold added, "I did wash it. I just
haven't given it back yet."

"I just don't know if I should wear Thule's shirt," said Dawn.
Marigold was confused by the statement until she saw a look that could
only be described as reverence in Dawn's eyes.

Not wanting to Marigold shrugged, "Suit yourself. I could find you..."

"No..." said Dawn, deciding quickly, "I'll wear it."

Marigold smiled and started to undress.

Later, after ablutions had been done, Marigold asked, "Do you have a
side you prefer?"

"I don't know," admitted Dawn, "I've never shared a bed before."

"Never?" asked Marigold, cocking an eyebrow.

Dawn shook her head, "Never."

"Well," said Marigold sitting on one edge of the bed, "I like this
side. Why don't you get in over there?" She slid under the sheets.
Dawn got in awkwardly, staying as far away from Marigold as she
physically could without falling out of the bed. Somehow, whatever
rapport they'd had earlier had faded with the setting sun.

As Marigold turned off the light, she decided that, whatever the
outcome, nothing would be served by leaving things uncertain between
them another night. Lying on her side facing Dawn, she said, "You can
move a lot closer. I don't take up a lot of bed."

Dawn scootched closer to Marigold, lying on her side and facing away.
Marigold curled up closer to her, moving in a little at a time until
she was spooning Dawn. Her hand lay gently across Dawn's stomach, her
fingertips gently teasing through the shirt.

For a few minutes, she just held Dawn there, listening to the other
girl's shallow breathing, feeling her body quiver with anticipation.
Then, Dawn said, "Marigold, you know I'm...you know I like girls,
right?"

Marigold's hand slid down to the bare flesh just below the bottom of
the shirt and above Dawn's knee, "I've heard you say so," she said.
Her hand slid up under the shirt, tracing a line up Dawn's inner
thigh, "but, I have yet to see you do anything about it."

Dawn rolled towards Marigold. Marigold wrapped her free hand behind
Dawn's head, drew her in and kissed her, slowly and sweetly. Dawn's
mouth opened and her tongue darted out. Marigold's hand slid up to
rest on Dawn's bottom, fingertips stroking the silky material of her
underpants. As the kiss went on, she slid Dawn's panties down and
free, her hand coming back up to the already moist place between her
friend's thighs. Dawn sighed in pleasure as Marigold's fingertip
teased their way inside of her.

"Wait," said Dawn when the first kiss broke, "I thought you were the
one who told me less than a month ago that I was too pretty to be a
lesbian."

A month, thought Marigold. It might as well be a million years ago.
The person she'd been then was barely recognizable now. But, that was
too much to explain. So, instead, she just said, "I was right."
Sliding a finger deeper inside of Dawn and kissing her briefly again,
she added, "Much too pretty."

Dawn gasped and trembled. Marigold slid her finger out of Dawn,
rubbing wetness on her outer lips. She teased Dawn's clitoris and
planted small, gentle kisses on her mouth. Soon, Dawn's hips were
rising and falling, the pleasure building up her body. But, she was
fighting it.

"It's all right," whispered Marigold. "No one will hear us if we keep
it reasonably quiet."

"It's not that," said Dawn, her voice coming out as a moan.
"It's...Thule."

Marigold chuckled, "I told you before. I love Thule and want, one day,
to be with him forever. But, not yet. He understands that. Neither one
of us is ready for forever yet."

Dawn writhed, caught Marigold's wrist, and guided her friend's finger
deeper inside of herself. Within a few seconds, her body was
trembling, a harsh moan escaping her lips. Marigold slid down the
length of the bed, sliding Dawn's t-shirt up so that she could lay her
head at the apex of Dawn's thighs. Then, her tongue darted out,
teasing, licking, probing, working around and past her finger. Dawn's
moans were low and guttural.  Marigold tried to remember what Thule
had done to make her so crazy and, while she doubted she approached
his facility in the field, received no complaints from Dawn, who
gripped her by the hair, holding her in place.

"Oh, God," Dawn whispered loudly. "Oh, Marigold. Oh, please don't
stop." For a long time, Marigold obliged, her hands sliding up to push
away Dawn's t-shirt until Dawn got the hint, stripping herself and
then Marigold.

Marigold slid up to put her head back on the pillow, kissing Dawn.
Meanwhile, her finger continued to probe, now joined by a second one.
As she kissed Dawn, Dawn's hand snaked down, slid inside of Marigold's
panties, and between her legs. Marigold wiggled to give Dawn a better
angle and soon, Dawn was stroking her clit while Marigold returned the
favor. Both of them sussurated their pleasure, moaning occasionally,
Dawn's entire body trembling with pleasure, Marigold's gaining ground
quickly. Then, Dawn slid down, one hand and her lips stroking and
teasing Marigold's breasts. Marigold felt herself lose control and
came, moaning into the pillow. Dawn kept stroking and licking
Marigold's nipples, using her tongue like a cat would until Marigold
felt her neat, even progression of orgasms starting to fray, tumbling
in on her now, one on top of another. As she lay there with her eyes
rolled back in her head, she thought abstractly of how absurdly
inefficient it was to pile so much pleasure on her all pell mell like
that. Surely, it must be spilling out of her body, soaking the sheets
and carpet. All she could reach of Dawn was her head. So, she held on
for dear life, swearing to herself that she would get even with Dawn
when she could.

She got the opportunity. When Dawn slid back up into her arms, now
coated in a thin sheen of sweat, she slid two fingers back into Dawn,
fucking her fiercely with them. Dawn's hips rose and fell, her eyes
closed against the pleasure that washed over her. Then, Marigold slid
one finger out of her and teased Dawn's anus with it. Dawn's eyes flew
open in startled surprise. Whatever she saw in Marigold's eyes caused
her to shudder and moan, but she didn't speak, only pushed Marigold's
face into her chest. Marigold kissed and licked Dawn's nipples,
knowing how good it must feel to be on the receiving end. Their two
bodies writhed together like caducean snakes, seeking and giving
pleasure.

Three times, Marigold lay back, thinking she was spent. And, three
times, Dawn convinced her otherwise, licking, teasing, and
penetrating. The fourth time, she caught Dawn before she could pounce
again, "No more," she begged, "please....I can't. I can't take any
more. You have to stop."

"You started it," said Dawn, pouting, but she acquiesced, coming back
up to lie in Marigold's arms, her hand gently stroking Marigold's
bottom.

"I've just wanted to fuck you for so long," said Dawn. "So very long."

"You have?" asked Marigold, surprised.

Dawn nodded, "Since we were cheerleaders together. You were the first
girl I ever realized I wanted. You were so pretty and so sad. I just
wanted to hold you and make love to you."

Marigold, who had given up cheerleading her sophomore year, was taken
aback, "That long?"

Dawn nodded, then seemed to correct herself, "That long ago. It wasn't
until you got up and walked away from Brianne that I really started to
feel it again. That's really why I followed you to Thule's table."

Marigold nodded, taking in this new information and wishing she could
say something similar. But, she knew it wasn't true. She'd wanted Maya
a long time ago and pushed her away, partially to remove the
temptation.

As she lay there thinking, Marigold felt a change in Dawn's breathing,
indicating that she had fallen asleep. Marigold took one last glance
to make sure that the door to the hallway was locked and followed
suit.

Princes of Mannsborough, Part 14
by Vulgar Argot
(FF, rom)
--Vulgar Argot
  http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/VulgarArgot/www
--
"Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit."
  --Doris Day

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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