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Subject: {ASSM} Marie's Solstice 06/14 Jessica (new) TBD
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Marie's Solstice 06/14 Jessica (new)
---
Marie's Solstice: Jessica - Part One
----
Jessica looked at the phone number for a long time, then she sighed
and looked at her grandparents.
"Grandma? Do you think I should call her?"
The woman sighed. "We don't know, Jessi. You didn't give your word
you would, so it's up to you."
"Granddad?"
He sighed. "You heard the therapist. All of us are doing the best we
can, and it isn't enough. It's up to you, honey."
"Yeah. I'm scared. Real scared. She's... Would she really take
time out for me?"
"Marie as much as said she would, right?"
"Yeah. That's right. Marie said something about options, didn't
she?"
'Jessi' entered the numbers and made her call by pressing the
speakerphone button.
"Kay speaking."
"Umm... Hi. This is Jessica."
"Jessica? The girl who was abused all her life?"
"Yeah. Abused until I came out to Marie at that wild party, show...
Whatever it was."
"We're glad you did, Jessica. I know two weeks isn't that long, but
how are you doing?"
"A little better, thanks."
"Good! I imagine everyone is telling you it's going to take a long
time before you can put all of it behind you, and they're right. Just
remember. even extremely slow progress is better than none at all.
Marie gave you my private number, with my permission. What can I do
to help?"
"Umm... Can we talk? Marie said you might be able to tell me about
some options I have. We're doing everything we're supposed to, but it
isn't working very well. I'm... We're pretty desperate, ya know?"
"I understand. Did Marie mention I originally wanted to let you
become the Champion of Light?"
"Uh huh. She told me about that. I guess you can understand me when
I say I don't want to be used any more? It hurts real bad."
"May I have a chance to explain, in person, what would have happened,
if you'd accepted?"
"Ok. And... Could you like just be sorta normal and knock on the
front door when you get here?"
"No problem. I'll make sure I'm not seen when I arrive, and I'll walk
up your sidewalk instead of appearing on your porch. Should I bring
anyone else?"
"No, Ma'am. Please. Just you, this time."
"I understand. A low key arrival, and just be an ordinary looking
woman, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks... Umm... Do I have to be all formal and stuff like
that? They used to make me do all that pretend stuff and..."
"Jessica, I dislike formality, especially when it's a situation like
this one. You may call me anything you wish."
"Yeah, I hate it, too. Thanks, Kay."
"You're welcome. Give me a few minutes to make arrangements for my
daughters to switch forms and take over keeping an eye on Roberta,
then I'll be there. Anything else?"
"No. See you when you get here, and... Thanks."
"You're welcome. See you as soon as I can. Bye for now, Jessica."
"Bye, Kay."
She hung up and looked at her grandparents. "She's on her way."
"We heard. She sounded so... Ordinary. Promise us you'll listen to
whatever she tells you?"
"Yeah. I hope she knows a way to help me feel better."
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and her grandmother
walked over, checked, then opened it. "Thank you, Lady Kay."
Kay smiled. "No formality. Call me Kay."
"We'll try. We never expected... All this."
She stepped sideways and gestured. "I'm Harriet. John and Jessica
are in the living room. Please. Come in."
Kay nodded slightly. "Thank you, Harriet."
After they got there, Kay studied Jessica before she smiled and held
out her hand. She made a slight gesture. "It will go away shortly
after I leave, but I think in the meantime, you need to be able to see
the truth of our love and concern for you."
Jessica stiffened and her eyes opened real wide, then she looked hard
at each of them before she spoke. "That's weird. Grandma and
Granddad are surrounded by a weird rainbow that flickers and links
them together. They reach to me, too, but they flicker a lot and...
Is hesitate the right word? It's like they want to touch me, but it's
kind of like they're scared, too, so they never actually make contact
with me like they do with each other."
John sighed. "We *are* scared, honey. We've never hidden that from
you."
"Yeah, I know. I remember Kay shouting and surrounding us with that
white aura at the park. I guess that was some sort of protection
spell, right?"
"Yes, Dear."
"Thanks. The police said mom threw some sort of poisoned knife at
Marie, but she stopped it. Things happened so fast, then you left,
and I had to leave, so I never had a chance to thank either of you for
protecting me."
"You're welcome."
"So what are you doing now? I can see a sort of white glow that
surrounds all of us, but... Maybe I'm crazy. I don't feel protected,
I feel loved."
She looked at her grandparents. "You guys feel it?"
They both shook their heads before Harriet spoke thoughtfully. "I
don't feel anything except relief that it's obvious Kay cares for you
enough to offer... Whatever she plans on offering us."
Kay smiled and her smile had a little twist in that said she was sad
about something. "I'm sorry you've had to suffer so much, for so
long, Jessica. Will you forgive me for making it seem that I wanted
to use you, without concern for your own feelings? Things were
happening very rapidly, and when I am being used by The Great Purpose,
it speaks through me without regard for our conventions."
"The Purpose, or whatever you call it, uses people, right? Use, is
use, Kay. Doesn't matter what word you use. It still feels like
shit--and I hate it."
"When I was a girl, and only a couple of years older than you, the
only choices I was given were how I wanted to be used. I could have
been a wise woman, and been subject to any man's or woman's needs,
except for the sex, which would have happened when I wanted it to, or
I was going to be a Priestess someday, and my first duty would have
been to let myself be fucked as part of the Equinox celebration. Part
of the preparation was that I had to let myself be taken by a man,
because our way did not demand the deflowering of a virgin. The
ceremony was one of joy and there was no place for the pain of a
deflowered virgin in it."
"It sounds like something bad happened."
"I went eagerly, and he used all of my... Openings, without regard
for me as a woman. I expected it to be casual, but reasonably tender.
What I got was... Emotional indifference, without any pretense that
it was otherwise, while he used my body to please himself. Now, such
is called rape, but I was raised to a different way, and that sort of
sexual use was normal. It was unrealistic for any female, or man who
was used as a woman, to expect more from those who used them."
"That sucks. Did you do anything about it?"
"Inelegant, but true, Jessica. I did the only thing I could. I
collected the few things I could honestly call my own, and I ran away.
At the time, we were taught to fear Stonehenge. I did, too, but in
spite of that, I felt that going there, and making an appeal to our
gods, for justice and a new life, was better than staying in the
village and accepting a future I knew I no longer wanted."
"I think I get it, except for one part. Until you became a Priestess,
you would have had to let anyone fuck you or whatever, as part of your
duties?"
"Yes. I would have been respected, but I would have been a symbol,
more than a real person, to the ones using me It was, in my eyes, a
better choice than being an ordinary woman and becoming a wife who was
expected to bear children for whichever man took me as his wife."
"Yeah, I can understand that. Pretty primitive I bet. 'Barefoot and
pregnant'?"
"We were allowed to wear shoes or sandals."
"Yeah. Ok. So what I can't figure out is why they would have let you
train to be a Priestess someday."
"I used to pester the wise woman all the time, and she decided to take
me on as her assistant. When she died and the new one didn't want me
around, because of my 'pestering ways', another village found out and
they asked for me, so I could be an acolyte to their wise woman until
one of their girls grew up and decided to replace me."
"After that?"
"If nobody wanted me, I would have become either a harlot to be used
by anyone, or a wife, which by then, was something I was too tainted
to do well in the eyes of the men. I would have been subject to
discipline for even the smallest mistake while I was being 'broken'
into being a proper wife."
"Beaten, huh? I know a lot about that. I can sorta guess what
happened. You ran away and met someone who took you in, and somehow
you learned enough to be the Lady of The Lake and do all that stuff
with King Arthur and Merlin."
"Yes. I made it to Stonehenge and when they tested me, I thought they
were going to kill me, because I couldn't decide what I should do and
say."
"They didn't though. You're here, and you've been alive for thousands
of years, right?"
Kay smiled. "Oh, Jessica, they *did* kill me. They killed most of my
ignorance so I could become the woman I was destined to become."
"Yeah? That's it? Sounds simple."
"It wasn't. I had to do the hardest thing I've ever done. I had to
trust a man a few days after I'd been used, and trust him enough to
accept his word when he told me that it would take as long as it took,
until I could love again."
"Everyone knows how much you love Merlin, so it worked. Thing is, I'm
not you. I guess I don't have any way of doing that power stuff,
unless there's something you can do about that?"
Kay sighed. "I can cast a spell, so you can see it, but without the
inner controls, see is all you'll ever be able to do, and that only
when someone else helps you.. In that much, you are an ordinary girl,
and will always be one."
"Good!"
Kay laughed. "Am I forgiven for my poor choice of words when I spoke
of seeking to make you the Champion of Light?"
"Yeah. It was like someone else was making you say things you didn't
want to say?"
"It's a little more complicated than that, but essentially, that is
what was happening."
"Ok. I know all about someone not letting you have any say about what
you're doing. People pretended to be gentle, and love me, because
more people buy the pictures that make it look like we were fucking
because we really did love each other. I always knew better.
Anyway... Ok. you're forgiven, but I can't hug you yet. I'm not
ready for that stuff, except from Marie and Lady Chrystal, because..."
"I understand. What if I wore a different body? Would that make it
easier? It's not good, to isolate yourself, Jessica."
"Umm... I kind of have this dream. Thing is, I don't know if I'll be
allowed to do anything about it."
"Go on. Maybe we can figure out a way to let you live this dream, and
others you have in the future."
"Promise you won't think I'm being too... I don't know. Silly?"
"No dream can ever be 'silly', unless you want it to be that way."
"Oh. IwanttorideaflyingunicornsoIcanfeellikeI'mfree."
Kay nodded. "Bareback, or with a saddle?"
"I didn't know unicorns would let themselves be saddled and all that
stuff."
"They do, if they trust their rider enough."
"Would *you* trust me enough?"
"I do."
"Oh. I've never ridden a horse before. Posed on them a few times,
like I did on Marie, but that's all."
"The real question then, is if you trust me."
"Yes. I want to. I can tell you love me, but... I'm sorry. I need
more."
She looked sideways and sighed. "They have to say it's ok, too."
"Nobody trusts your judgement, yet?"
"Yeah. They don't want me to get hurt more. Thing is, not being
trusted, hurts. It's not like I didn't learn how to read people real
good. I wasn't allowed to do anything about what I knew, except for
when they decided to let me go with my grandparents, and even then I
knew they're still having some sort of background check done on them
before they'll get to sign the last of the paperwork."
Kay thought awhile, then she smiled. "Does it help all of you, if I
remind you that I am the High Priestess of a religion that is
recognized as 'official', and that the only 'scandal' that is in our
history is the extraordinary fact that while we are small, we can
honesty say we are the oldest continuously active religion in the
world?"
Harriet and John laughed before he spoke. "Yes, I can understand the
reasons such a truth is a terrible scandal, to some. Jessica said it
earlier. We are desperate. Something has to change if Jessica is to
break out of her past and start to recover from what has happened.
We've done our best, and it hasn't been enough. You have the
collective trust of most people in the world. Even those who don't
care for you, give you that much, as far as we know. We'll accept
Jessica's decisions about anything you want to do."
"Thank you."
She looked at Jessica and waited.
Jessica walked over to the window and looked out, and up. "You know
something? I never thought I'd be this scared when someone said they
could make my dream come true. Is it always like that?"
"It can be, at first. Someday, you will dare to dream, and eagerly
look forward to what might happen when you get the chance to make a
dream, reality."
"Sounds impossible."
"Did to me, too, when I was told that someday I would be seen as the
Mother of The World, and responsible for making the final decision
about revealing Excalibur."
"What about me, and that Champion of Light stuff?"
"Only you can decide that. I admit it was a dream of mine, and I
misunderstood what The Great Purpose wanted of me, until it was made
clear that Roberta is the current Champion."
"Current? Someday it will be someone else?"
"Of course. Roberta is mortal."
"Yeah. I'm tired of thinking. Will you change and take me for a
ride?"
"Yes."
"Can you put seat belts on your saddle?"
"Of course. Some men called them fighting straps and used them with
pride, because it helped them become one with the horse they rode into
battle."
"Thank you, Kay. Let's go, before I get so scared and nervous I
decide I shouldn't do it."
They all went outside and Kay looked around before she smiled. "Unless
I go straight up, there's not enough room for me to do a proper take
off. Is there a park or some other area nearby, that is open enough
to let me get a running start?"
"If you can run fast enough, there's a street two blocks away that
doesn't have a lot of signals on it. Speed limit is 55 miles per hour
and most people go faster."
"I can run fast enough. What about power lines and other stuff that
crosses it?"
"Nothing. Light poles on the sidewalks but it's all underground."
"It will do. One more thing. What color should I be?"
"Black?"
"Completely?"
"Yes, please."
"Stay where you are for a moment."
Kay walked to the center of their small lawn, then she shimmered. When
the shimmering went away, a winged unicorn mare was standing in front
of them and she was saddled, with a bit and reins.
She bobbed her head as she spread her wings. "Whenever you're ready,
Jessica."
"Oh, wow... You're... Beautiful!"
She walked over and ran her hands over Kay's body, then she turned
slightly. "Somebody help me get on."
John came over and made a step with his hands. "I'll give you a
boost."
"Thanks."
She was a little awkward about it, but eventually she was settled, and
able to focus on the belt, and the straps that were attached to it. "I
guess I wear the belt?"
"Yes. After that you hook the straps to the rings in my saddle."
"Ok..."
A few minutes later she grabbed the reins. "Two blocks, then turn
right and keep going."
Kay turned her head. "What about you folks?"
"This is Jessi's adventure. We'll stay home."
Kay bobbed her head. "We'll be back when we get back."
Then she ambled off while Jessica sat straight and waved at anyone who
noticed them. "This is fun!"
Kay laughed, and said nothing until they stood on the sidewalk and
watched traffic sometimes slow as it passed them.
They both watched for a couple minutes, then Kay sighed. "Do you have
your phone with you?"
"Yeah. It has the gps stuff so I can be tracked, just in case
something happens. Part of it's because I'm so young, but mostly it's
because they haven't arrested everyone yet."
"I see. Before we do this, you'd better call the police so we can
tell them what's going on. Is there someplace you'd like to go so we
don't disrupt things very much?"
"Well... I never got that far. I always wanted to just do...
Whatever I felt like doing while I ignored all that real stuff. We
can't do that, can we?"
"No."
Before they could say more, a man slowed down and shouted a comment.
"Great makeup job on that mare! What movie?!"
Kay snorted and started trotting along side his car.before she turned
her head slightly. "We're not acting, so there's no movie. Now, if
you'll excuse us, my passenger needs to make a phone call before we
decide where we're going. Do be careful while you're driving."
She slowed and moved back to the sidewalk, then she stopped and
waited. "Well?"
"Maybe we'd better find a side street before someone has an accident."
"And it will give you time to think?"
"Yes."
Kay turned at the first intersection they came to, then she stopped
again. "Was that long enough?"
"Yes, Ma'am. They aren't going to believe me when I try to tell them
what's going on."
"You've thought of something?"
"Yeah... Can you change back and take us to the beach? There's a
station on the pier and you could tell them what's going on. Maybe we
can run in the surf and fly around there."
"We should be able to do that. I could go far enough out that we'd be
over international waters, then we could do anything we wanted to do."
"What about when we come back? Wouldn't they sort of panic?"
"I could place shift directly to your front yard."
"Thanks, but I want to be able to see people. Part of that dream is
showing off, you know?"
Kay laughed. "I do know. I like to show off, too. Unhook the
straps, then take the belt off and hook it on the pommel. I can help
you get off, if you need some."
"Ok. I can get off ok. It's getting on that I have problems with."
She did everything and got down, then she waited while Kay became
herself. "Do you remember what we did?"
"Visualize where I want you to go?"
"Yes."
"Umm... Hug me while you do it?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Then I shall."
They hugged each other and Kay spoke gently. "Show me where."
They vanished.
Kay returned to reality in a sheltered area, then she held on to
Jessica's hand. "Take me to the police."
"Umm... Yeah. Ok. This way."
When they got there a bored looking policeman was watching them and
when they paused, he smiled. "What can we do for you ladies?"
Kay laughed and reached into the air. When her hand reappeared, she
was holding a passport that she offered to him. "I'm Lady Kay, and
the young Lady at my side is named Jessica."
He took the passport, studied it, then handed it back. "Something
unusual?"
Kay nodded. "Very unusual, for the USA. I've agreed to give Jessica
a ride on a flying unicorn, and she decided that it would be the least
disruptive if it happened here. Her plan, so far, is to ride me while
I run in the surf, then ride while I fly around until she decides
she's had enough. We're checking in to find out if that is
acceptable, or if you might be able to suggest someplace else where I
can fulfill her dream."
He thought about it while he watched the beach, then he looked at
Jessica. "If she's 'The Lady', and I'm pretty sure she is because I
watched the news when I got home the next morning, you must be
'Marie's Jessica'?"
" 'Marie's Jessica'? What's that supposed to mean?"
He smiled. "People notice when a Bard takes a special interest in
someone, that's all. Someone on the news called you that, and the
rest of the world went along with it. You're pretty special, but I
figure you must know that already."
"I want to be ordinary! You know. Just go to school, have my dreams
and all that stuff. Maybe even get married someday, but I don't know
about that, yet."
"See what I mean? You're special. Most kids that have been through
what you have, or worse, want to run away and hide. Even if you
vanished right now, we'd remember you. The policemen who were there
decided to make you their mascot, even if you never found out about
it."
"Mascot?!"
"Yes, Ma'am. We admire courage when we see it, and that's more true
when it happens in front of us. And speaking of courage..."
He looked up and offered his hand to Lady Kay. "You and Merlin
vanished before anyone could properly thank you, so all of us have
orders to make sure that whoever meets you first, does it. Thanks.
From what I heard, it was... Bad."
Kay took his hand. "Yes, it was, and I'm sorry we couldn't do more
than be transportation. I'll let Hubert know of your collective
appreciation."
"Hubert?"
"Hubert of Merlinsford was Merlin's true name, before I entered his
life."
"Oh. Anyway, the beach patrol uses horses, so one more, even with
wings, shouldn't be a problem we can't deal with. On the other
hand... We do use ultralights, so keep an eye out for them and we'll
keep an eye out for you. They usually fly about fifty to one hundred
yards off shore, and fairly low and slow, to keep an eye out for
swimmers who might need help."
Kay nodded. "So you would appreciate it if we keep an eye out for
them, because they will be too busy doing their jobs to look up and
watch for us?"
"Exactly."
"No problem. Can we expect some sort of media presence, eventually?"
"Probably. There are usually freelancers who wander around and hope
they get a scoop of some sort. We limit the media to ground crews, so
we can do our jobs while they do theirs."
"You anticipated my next question. May I assume there's is a limit to
how high I'm allowed to fly?"
"Five hundred feet or so, and don't head towards the city."
"Thank you. Anything else we need to know?"
"Well... Maybe. I have a daughter, and she likes unicorns, too. She
also tells me about a fantasy she has at least once a week, of riding
Pegasus."
He smiled at Jessica. "Has your dream included swooping and a lot of
shouting because you're enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Good! You can do all the swooping and shouting you want, as long as
you keep an eye out for ultralights, and do it no less than about one
hundred yards off shore. And... No swooping at people on surfboards,
swimmers, or boats and stuff like that, unless they've asked you to."
She went wide eyed and nodded emphatically. "We promise!"
"Thank you. One more warning, then I'll let you go. Keep some sort
of shield in place, because some of the birds around here can get
pretty territorial. They're used to the ultralights, but you'll be
new to them, so I can't predict how they'll react."
Kay laughed. "Thank you. It seems to be a universal problem no
matter where I decide to fly. Thank you for your time and help."
"You're welcome."
They used the nearest stairway to get to the beach, then they found a
clear area next to the pier and near the surf line.
Kay changed, then gently 'lifted' Jessica and helped her get settled
in the saddle.
Jessica dutifully put the belt on, made sure the straps were hooked,
then she looked up and spotted a group of policemen who were leaning
on the railing and watching them. She waved at them, then faced
forward. "Umm.. Kay, there are an awful lot of people wading in the
surf. I guess you can't run here."
Kay turned her head slightly and pointed with it. "Relax. I can run
out there, until you are ready to fly. I suppose you want me to
splash as I run?"
"Oh! Could you? Pleeease!"
"Be gentle when you work the reins, and brace yourself."
"I'm ready."
Kay was in full gallop by the time she hit the water. She kept going
without sinking, and when she was far enough out, she made a gradual
turn and then seemed to run along the tops of the waves as they
started breaking. Several times she spread her wings and jumped over
surfers, but she never slowed her rush or swerved from her course.
Jessica laughed, or shouted her joy when she felt the need, until,
finally she shouted the words she'd only shouted in her dreams. "Fly,
My Unicorn! Oh, Please... FLY!"
Kay spread her wings to their full extent, and when she swept them
down powerfully, she leapt and her feet seemed to spurn the water as
she rose. The wind rushed through her feathers each time she stroked,
and they quickly climbed into the air, until she leveled her flight.
and began a steady beating of her wings that increased her speed until
they were rapidly overtaking and passing the cars they could see on
the coast hiway.
{{Well?}}
"YES!! Oh, Thankyou, thankyou, THANK YOU!!"
{{You're welcome.}}
"Hey! How come my hair's blowing in the wind, but my eyes are ok and
I can barely feel anything on me, anywhere?"
{{I've created a selective shield. Only enough gets through, to give
us a feeling of movement. I've protected our faces, completely.}}
"What about bugs, birds, and stuff like that?"
{{Deflected around us, without harm to them.}}
"Good!"
Then she giggled. "Good thing he didn't tell you not to jump over
people, wasn't it?"
Kay laughed. {{Yes. In each case I reached ahead, told them we were
coming, and not to worry.}}
"And they believed you?!"
{{I am not the first shape shifter to run along the waves, here. Only
the first flying unicorn to do so.}}
"Oh! Duh! Tom and all them, right?"
{{And a few Rabelaisians who have taken the time to stop and relax.}}
"Ok. So... Umm... Do some swooping and diving before we get
serious?"
{{Whenever you wish, Jessica.}}
"Thanks. Warn me first, ok? How fast are we going?"
{{I do not have a built in speedometer. However, I estimate we are
moving at least twice as fast as the traffic you see, and most likely,
closer to three times that speed.}}
"Oh. So we're probably doing at least one hundred miles an hour, and
maybe one hundred and fifty?"
{{Yes.}}
"I was curious because I can tell it's faster than being in a car."
She giggled. "I just had a weird thought. Is there like a speed
limit for flying unicorns?"
{{Only when I fly where I can interfere with the normal flight
patterns. Then, I've been asked to 'move at a speed and in a
direction compliant with the normal flow'.}}
"What's that mean?"
{{Usually, it means I make telepathic contact with a flight crew, then
fly nearby until I have to leave and go where I want to go. It rarely
happens because I do have the alternative of place shifting to get
near where I wish to go, then I fly the rest of the way at a low
altitude.
{{Brace yourself. I'm going to turn so we can be far enough out, then
I'm going to bring my wings in and let us drop a few hundred feet
before I spread them again.}}
"Ok. Braced and ready, I guess.... Wow! That beat the best roller
coaster I've EVER been on!"
{{Thank you. Ready for some turns and swoops?}}
"Yes!"
Kay dipped and rose, then did some sweeping turns and other maneuvers
until she leveled out and spoke again. {{Hang on if you wish. There
will be no danger during my next stunt.}}
"Oh? What are you going to do?"
{{I'm going to dive, then do a loop before I level out again.}}
"Really?!"
{{Yes.}}
"All right! Go! Go!"
Kay dived and let her speed build, and at the bottom of her dive froze
her wings and let their momentum carry them through the loop until
she was barely above the water, then she stayed level and started
beating her wings again. {{Well?}}
"Scary, but fun, too. I don't think I want to do it again, today. Can
we make that like the finale and just cruise for awhile?"
{{As you wish. Let me gain some altitude so we are above the
ultralights that are ahead of us.}}
Jessica looked around, then grinned. "Yeah! This has been wonderful.
Do you think I could get help and learn to be a flying unicorn and fly
on my own?"
{{Anything is possible, Jessica. Yes, that could happen someday. It
will take work, lots of it, before you would be allowed to fly. Before
you fly, you must know how to run, and before that you'll have to know
how to walk.}}
"Years?"
{{Many of them. How many, will depend on you.}}
"Yeah. That makes sense. I didn't have anything to say about it but
it sounds a lot like how it was with my dad and the other members of
'The Club'. Dad started it by fondling me and getting me used to him
doing that stuff, then, as I got older he broke my cherry and started
inserting stuff in me. Stuff like that went on for years, according
to mom, before he finally fucked me for real. At least they waited
until all those dildos and stuff had stretched me enough. After that
it was fuck all the time, until he and mom figured I wouldn't fight
when someone else did it.
"So, in a weird way, I understand how some things can take a long time
before a person is ready to go all the way."
{{But you wish they'd happen instantly, or nearly so, right?}}
"Yeah. Isn't that supposed to be normal for a kid my age?"
Kay laughed gently. {{Yes, it is. In that much, you are very normal
for someone your age.}}
"Thanks, Kay. That means a lot, coming from you."
{{You're welcome.}}
"Kay? I don't know about you, but I need to take a break before we do
some more of this. Can we stop somewhere so I can get something to
eat, and do whatever? Umm... I don't have very much money with me."
{{Relax. I can 'reach' and get some from what we keep available at
home, or I could get my bank card and use it. We can get whatever we
wish. It will be my treat.}}
"Oh. Thanks."
Kay waited until they were almost back to the pier, then she angled
down until she was running on top of the water before she closed her
wings and slowed to a walk.
After that she turned and headed to shore.
Naturally, they were mobbed as soon as they got to the beach itself.
Jessica shivered, and Kay spoke soothingly. "We don't have to stay
here."
"Can you make it so people can't touch me?"
"Done. Can you get down on your own, or should I help?"
"I'll do it myself."
She got down, then without any fanfare Kay changed back to being human
before she stood behind Jessica. "Please, everyone. Let us have some
time to ourselves so we may relax and get some food, then, if she
wishes to, we will answer questions."
Someone shouted and Kay laughed. "All in good time. For now, while I
do not insist on total privacy, I do wish some space of our own. In
time, we will become more accessible."
She turned Jessica slightly. "Come. There is the stairway, and I see
we have an escort hurrying to meet us. Any preference for your food?"
"Seafood. There's a real good place up there, about halfway to the
end. I like it because I could sit at the table and watch people on
the beach instead of who I was with and it was ok, because all they
wanted was pretend, anyway, you know?"
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Welcome back! Looks like you could use some help?"
"Thank you. Jessica tells me there's a seafood place about halfway
out on the pier, that has good food and a good view."
"I know which one you mean. 'Sharkie's'. She's right. Most of it is
fresh from the boat, to the stove, then it hits your plate and your
mouth. My name's Jim. Sorry for not telling you earlier."
"Thank you, Jim. Are we keeping you from your job?"
"No. As soon as they found out who was here, people were fighting to
work extra duty doing crowd control without pay, just so they could
have an excuse to meet the two of you."
Kay nodded. "Thank you."
Jessica stopped when they were about halfway up the stairs and looked
over her shoulder. "I knew people would be watching us, but that's...
Sorta scary, that all you cops want to see me and Kay. Sure, I can
understand you wanting to meet Kay, but all I was, was a child whore
who got lucky, and I know it."
He started to say something, stopped himself, then looked at Kay, who
smiled and shrugged a little. "She's right, as much as most people
would refuse to admit the truth of her words."
He sighed. "Ok. Yeah. Jessica, I won't try to tell you you're
wrong, but I will tell you that there's a much bigger picture to look
at. If I buy lunch, will you let me try and tell you what it is?
Maybe it will make you feel better about yourself."
She studied him. "That all you want to buy, is my time and my ear?
You're not going to be thinking that in another time and place, you
could have bought my body?"
He sighed and flushed. "I'm not trying to buy anything. I'm trying
to repay you for what you and Lady Kay just did out there. You took
an ordinary day and made it so special that we haven't had anything to
do, except watch the waves instead of the people, because nobody
wanted to do anything to break the spell created by the two of you
enjoying yourselves."
"Oh. I guess I'm sorry. Can we start over? I'm new to this whole
idea of being liked for myself, instead of how someone can use my
body."
"No problem. Would you and your guardian join me for a late lunch, so
we can visit? Maybe I can be the one to tell you that you have a lot
of options open to you, in spite of the fact you've been, until
recently, a child whore with no control over her life until she
decided to seize her chance."
He held out his hand and she stared at it. "Kay? You blocked people
from touching me, right?"
"Yes. However, the block doesn't stop you from reaching out to
others, if you want to."
"I want to... But..."
She looked at his face. "You mean that? You really do think I'll be
able to be someone else, someday?"
"If you want to be. Everybody knows you now, but in a few days or
weeks, someone else will be a miracle child, and you'll be mostly
forgotten and allowed to get on with your life. See it all the time."
"So, unless I do something to get them to notice me, I can sorta do my
best to be ordinary?"
"You can do your best, of course, but you'll never really be ordinary.
You can pretend, and people probably won't notice, but inside... I'm
sorry, Jessica. What happened to you shouldn't have happened, and a
lot of people are genuinely sorry that somehow, your parents and their
'friends' managed to hide from people who should have realized it was
happening."
"Yeah. I was afraid it might be like that. I know too much for my
age, don't I?"
"It's not that you know too much. It was how you were forced to learn
it. Knowledge should arrive when you're ready for it. Not... The
way it did."
"Let's go. You know, you sound a lot like Kay does."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Like you've seen the wrong side of the world so many times
you're tired of it, but you keep going and do your best anyway.
Wouldn't ordinary people have given up trying to change things a long
time ago?"
He laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. You made my point for
me. Wouldn't an ordinary kid have let things go on and never taken
the chance you did?"
"Umm... Yeah. I think... Did anyone check yet, and find out if
there were other kids? I think there might have been. Sometimes...
Well, the men were supposed to keep silent unless they were saying all
that sex stuff to me, but late at night, I could hear them talking and
once in awhile they'd say something like 'You know, maybe we should
have her do that stuff like we used to do.'
"Ever hear any names?"
"No. Sorry."
"It's ok."
She turned to look at Kay. "Turn it off. It was ok at home, but
here..."
"I understand."
Kay made a cutting gesture with her hand and Jessica sighed with
relief.
"Thanks. Ok. Let's go eat first, then... I guess we can listen to
Jim for awhile before we go back out there like we planned."
They settled and ordered, then talked about nothing in particular
until the food arrived.
At one point, while they were eating, Jessica turned suddenly and
stared at a man who was sitting at a table nearby.
"Don't let him get away."
Kay and Jim looked at her, then at where she was staring.
Jim sighed. "As strange as it sounds, you'll have to go downtown and
pick him out of a lineup."
"Stupid, since I spotted him here."
"Maybe. People have to be sure, that's all."
"Huh. Don't trust my judgment, because I'm just a kid?"
"Yes."
"You got some buddies outside, so they can catch him if he does
something stupid?"
"Stupid? He seems calm and confident to me."
"Yeah. Maybe he thinks I haven't spotted him."
Then she raised her voice. "Why won't you listen?! I keep telling
you, there was this one guy who had a thick dick, and he loved to ass
fuck me. His favorite thing to say on camera was 'Take it, you little
whore. I want to see the head of my dick when you scream!' "
The man jerked, then rose and almost ran for the door. Jim grabbed
his mic and spoke hastily. "This is Jim. There's a guy headed your
way. Six foot, balding, and in a hurry. If nothing else, we might
get him for trying to get away without paying. Grab him first, then
we'll sort it out."
The man was almost to the door when he froze, looked around and then
started backing away. When the two cops came through the door he
glanced at Jessica, then slumped and let himself be handcuffed.
After he was read his rights, he sighed. "Get me out of here--and
away from those two witches."
Jessica slumped. "See what I mean? Everyone is so focused on my
body, they don't think I have a brain, too. Maybe I didn't learn a
lot of the school stuff I was supposed to learn, but I did learn how
to read people. Check out his right cheek. He's pretty good with the
makeup, but if you look real close, you can see the scar. Story he
told me was that a whore tried to knife him after he ass raped her, so
I shouldn't get any ideas, because he was here, and she wasn't."
Jim sat straighter. "Murder?"
"He didn't say that, so I don't know. I was pretty young, but it's
hard to forget the first time a two inch wide dick was shoved up your
ass. I was stretched, but not enough that I wouldn't scream when he
fucked me."
"Damn. Sorry, ladies. You'll have to stop by the substation before
you do anything else, so Jessica can make a statement. It's the best
I can do."
"Do my grandparents have to be there?"
"Do you want them present?"
"Not if they don't need to be. As long as Kay is nearby and she can
see me, I'll be ok. Not my first time, ya know?"
His smile was slight. "Yes, I do. Word travels fast, when The
Ambassador is involved."
Jessica giggled. "She's something else, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is. We're glad she was willing to help."
"So am I. You hear what she did for me after I was examined and all
that?"
"Something about healing you?"
"Yeah. It was weird. They had to hook all that monitoring stuff up
to me, then, while I lay there, she just ran her paws all over me and
the pain went away and all my bruises and scars vanished. What was
real weird though, was that I could tell she was doing things to
unstretch me until I felt real different. She even asked me if I
wanted my hymen back. I decided I didn't want it because it would be
painful to lose it again. I've had enough of the pain stuff done to
me, and I never did like it."
She giggled. "The Doctors were really freaked out, because when she
got done, they did some tests on me and all the tests said my body was
normal, and that my ass looked normal, too. It was like I'd never
been fucked, ever, except I don't have a hymen."
"They made me strip so they could take after pictures and if they
hadn't taken the before ones themselves, most of them wouldn't have
believed I was the same girl."
He looked surprised, then he looked at Kay, who smiled. "I wasn't
there, but that's something any healer could do."
"That explains that rumor about there someday being Rabelaisian
paramedics."
"Probably. She's wanted to do something like that for a long time.
Unfortunately, she had to wait for the right conditions."
She gestured at the breaking waves. "It's a lot like surfing. Catch
the wave right, and it's a ride you'll remember for the rest of your
life. Time it wrong, and if you're lucky, you get to try again."
He sighed. "Apt. I hope she wins her battle."
He looked at Jessica. "You finished, or do you want more?"
She looked at her plate, then sighed. "Let's get that stuff over
with. I'd kind of like to go home with some good memories and not...
The ones I have right now."
She kept looking down, but she smiled at something. "You know,
there's something funny about this. If his lawyer's smart, they'll
find a bunch of guys with fat dicks and make me try to identify him
that way. I'd have to let him fuck me before I'd be sure I picked out
the right one. As long as I can listen to his voice, though, he'll be
easy to pick out. He's in plenty of pictures, too, so as long as you
guys have those pics and videos, he won't escape."
Jim smiled. "We'll see what happens. If you get some of that luck
you've earned, all we'll need is your statement."
"I hope so. You said something about options?"
"I did. Think about what happened out there, today. You were being
yourself, and most of those people have no idea who you are, except
that you're a young girl who got to ride a flying unicorn. If you can
do it, some of them will start thinking they can do it, too.
"My real point is something else. You don't have to be famous and
stuff like that, to be a leader. Most people are cynical about
leaders right now. On the other hand, when it's someone they think is
just someone like them, who is being herself, without trying to send
some sort of message of hope, they pay more attention. Talk is cheap.
Doing, on the other hand, means a lot to most folks. When they find
out who you are, that doing will mean even more."
"So you're saying that people will pay more attention to me if they
know I'm an ex child whore who is trying to live a normal life,
instead of curling up in a ball and telling the world to go away?"
"Yes. It doesn't have to be a normal life. Any life other than being
a whore, or whining about how unfair life is, will be good enough."
"Umm... Yeah. Nobody likes a whiner, even me when I was begging for
them to stop. I knew it wouldn't make them stop, but I had to say
something, sometimes, even when it meant they'd beat me again."
He sighed. "I'm starting to wish I'd never offered to talk to you,
Jessica."
"Oh?"
"Yes. This is the first time I've met someone like you, who was
willing to drop the barriers and be totally open and honest."
"Met a lot like me?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I spent ten years working vice, before they put
me out here."
"Seen it all?"
"I feel that way. Don't know, sometimes, what makes my wife and kids
still love me enough to let me keep working."
She studied him. "Maybe it's because they know it's something you
have to do, so other kids can have something more than sex, drugs and
pain in their lives, before they're old enough to bleed."
"Thanks. Sorry we let you fall through the cracks. You mentioned
funny. Try this on. Kids who've been through Hell, like you have,
all make the same observation when I relax enough to make that
comment. Normal folks always ask me why I keep doing it, and screwing
up my home life."
"Huh! That helped. Not in the way I bet you think it would, but it
did help a lot. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Umm... You talked about paramedics. What if there were specially
trained 'perp finders'?"
"Personally, I like the idea. Professionally, I can see a lot of
problems that would have to be solved before they could be used."
"But you'd use them, if they were proven to be right all the time?"
"Definitely."
"I didn't know who was on the pier, but I knew someone who'd fucked me
was there, somewhere."
He stiffened and studied her. "You knew?"
"Yes, Sir. Before we came here, Kay made it so I could see auras and
stuff like the connections everyone has with each other.. She did it
because she wanted me to be able to know how much she and my
grandparents loved me."
"That was what you had her stop?"
"Yes. I could tell that someone on the pier had a real strong link to
me, and that is was... Only sexual. If they'd been normal, there
would have been three connections and the sexual one would have been
the weakest. I was scared, and I didn't want to have to keep seeing
that one as it got even stronger when we got real close to whoever it
was."
Jim looked at Kay, who sighed. "The links are real, and she's right
in her interpretation. The problem is, the strength of the sexual
link doesn't have to mean the person is a perp. Ordinary people can
sometimes fantasize, and there is no harm as long as they don't act on
that fantasy. Real perps can honestly love their victim, so the other
connections would be there. There are also different cultural values
that have to be allowed for. Pedophilia isn't 'one size fits all'."
"Yet, she was right, this time."
"Yes, and I promise she and I will explore that. As she noted, she
has a brain as well as a body. Perhaps, between us, we can find out
if that rightness was chance...
"Well, well, well. I can't believe we let that one sneak past us, but
we were very busy, and trying to keep a riot from happening..."
She finally stopped being introspective and she looked at the two of
them. "For Jessica, it may have been chance, or it might not.
However, I just realized someone else has the skill, perhaps in a
different form."
Jim smiled slightly. "If it's a skill that can be relied on..."
"I understand."
She smiled at something, then she laughed gently before she spoke so
softly they had to strain to hear her. "For every time of trouble,
there is a hero created by that trouble. Perhaps my vision was too
narrow, and I did not see what was desired, because of that."
They waited, but she said nothing further, except to note that they
should pay the bill so they could leave.
Jessica gave her statement, then he had Kay give her observations, for
the record.
After that, they went back to the beach and answered questions until
Jessica got tired of repeating herself all the time.
"Kay? Can we go, now? They keep asking me the same questions all the
time, and... I need to be alone for awhile."
Kay smiled. "Alone with a unicorn?"
"Yeah. I want to just... I don't know. Can you fly slow this time,
so I can just look at stuff while I think?"
"Yes."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Kay gestured and made herself enough space so she could change, then
she turned her head slightly. "My help, or Jim's, this time?"
"Jim's."
She got on, got ready, then looked at Jim. "Uhh... Thanks. Maybe I
shouldn't be telling you this, but Marie can be a unicorn, too."
He nodded. "I think the whole world knows that by now."
"Uh huh. Well, I bet the world still doesn't believe that stuff about
the 'Bard's Promise'."
"Bard's Promise? I've never heard of it."
"I just made it up. Had to call it something. One of the things they
have to do, is help anyone who asks them. You know, that
accessibility stuff. It's true. I watched her talk to people while
she was eating, before I was able to make myself believe she'd be able
to help *me*."
"I understand."
"Good. Well, maybe, someday, if your daughter goes to the mall to see
Marie, or gets to one of her shows, she can ask Marie to give her a
ride of her own."
"I... See. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Umm... I can't do it now, but someday, I'm going be
a flying unicorn. When I am... I don't know how I'll do it, but I'll
come back and give anyone who asks, free rides. Wish I could do it
now, but Kay said it will be years before I'll be able to fly like she
can."
"I... I hope I'm here to see that."
Jessica giggled. "Bet you'd like to ride me, huh?"
He blushed, then recovered. "I bet flying horses or flying unicorns
would make our jobs easier. I'd ride you, or anyone else, for the
chance to make that much of a difference, just by being visible."
"Bet there'd be a lot of pick pockets and purse snatchers working the
crowds."
He nodded. "I hate to admit it, but that's pretty petty, compared to
another possibility I can see."
"Oh?"
"There are always perps patrolling the beaches. Be nice if we had a
way to know who they are, so we can keep an eye on them."
"What about invasion of privacy and all that stuff?"
"You worry about your dreams, and I'll worry about mine, Jessica.
Maybe, someday, if we work together, without working together, both of
them will become reality."
"Umm... Yeah. Funny, isn't it? I never dreamed I'd have so much in
common with a cop. We're supposed to be enemies, aren't we?"
"A lot of people think that way. Tell you what. Can we get together
in say... Five years, to celebrate our anniversary?"
"Sure!"
She got out her phone and made an entry, showed it to him, and he
laughed. "Can you imagine what's going to happen when they read my
report for today? 'I met an ex child whore and made a date to see her
in five years'."
She giggled. "Don't forget to add that if things work out, you'll get
to see my body, because I'll be naked, except for my saddle and
reins!"
He laughed again. "I think I can say that so they'll understand what
I really mean."
She sobered. "Yeah. Any problems, have them talk to Kay. I imagine
she'll be pretty easy to find from now on, and she'll know where I
am."
"I'll add that to my report. Thank you, for a day I'll never forget."
"You're welcome. Kay? Let's go."
"Thank you, Jim. I'll call your superiors, later, and see that you
get another gold star in your file."
"Just doing my job, Kay."
"And doing it well, I must say."
They turned away and this time Kay simply walked out past the end of
the pier, then ambled along the wave tops until Jessica asked her to
run again.
* * *
They were going over a surfer who was waiting for a wave when Jessica
giggled. "Kay? Can unicorns surf?"
"This one can. I'm far more adventurous than the stories of my past
want people to believe."
Jessica laughed. "Can we?"
"Yes."
Kay slowed to a walk, and when they approached the next surfer who was
waiting for a good wave, she stopped and spoke easily. "Mind if we
join you?"
"Ahhh... Join me?"
"I've never surfed this beach. I would appreciate it if you make the
call for us."
"Oh. Ahhh... Don't you need a board or something?"
"A problem that's easily fixed."
A long board identical to his, except it was long enough and wide
enough to accommodate her stance, appeared about twenty yards away.
She walked over and carefully positioned herself, then looked at him
and bobbed her head. "Whenever you decide the time is right."
"Ohh... Wow.... A surfing unicorn, with wings. This I have to
see... I hope someone gets a video of this!"
Kay and Jessica laughed, then Kay spread her wings and waited.
Eventually he stiffened and shouted. "Go! Go! I don't know where
this one came from, but it's a once in a lifetime wave! Good luck!"
He started paddling madly, and Kay swept her wings downward once,
twice, then, as the wave took hold, she closed them against her body
and made the subtle movements that let her keep her position on the
wave as it roared towards the beach.
Eventually the ride ended while Kay kept her balance and let the board
slide to a stop with them on it.
The young man who'd been beside them the whole time jumped off his
board and ran over to hug her neck.
"My God! That was so perfect! Thank you!"
Kay laughed and pressed him into her chest with her head. "If anyone
should be thanked, perhaps it should be The Great Purpose."
He let go and stepped backwards. "Are you serious?! I've never
ridden a wave like that one. It was like it... I don't have the
words for it. It was like we were one, somehow."
Kay bobbed her head. "Perhaps you were. The world is aware, but it
seldom takes the time to... Appreciate us as individuals."
"Are you who I think you are?"
Kay laughed. "I'm not Marie."
"Oh! Umm... Will you stay long enough to let someone take pictures
of us, together?"
"Of course. Bring your long board over, and hold it upright, in
front of me. What I intend to do will not harm it, or affect its
balance. What it *should* do, is help people believe, when you tell
them you rode the perfect wave, with a unicorn at your side."
He did as she requested, then she touched it with her horn. There was
a flash of light, and when everyone's vision recovered, they could see
there was an image of a flaming sword centered on the top surface,
with the words 'Truth' and 'Justice' parallel to the blade.
Kay laughed. "There! That should help you prove who was with you,
right?"
"Ahh... That's Excalibur, right? Yeah. Thank you, Lady Kay."
"You're welcome. Now, although I would enjoy staying longer, I'm
afraid we must allow only a few pictures to be taken before we resume
our adventure. Since we no longer need it, perhaps we may leave my
long board in your capable hands, in case we ever return and need it
again. Perhaps I am too superstitious, but when I have enjoyed the
perfect wave, on a perfect board, I prefer to leave it at that
location, in case I ever return."
Jessica leaned forward and touched Kay's neck. "We return. I'll need
a place to learn how to be a unicorn who flies, right?"
Kay laughed. "And surfs?"
"Ahh... Maybe. I think I'd rather ride you for that."
The young man nodded and held out his hand. "We'll be waiting, Lady
Luck."
Jessica touched his hand briefly, then smiled at him. "Thank you.
Maybe, some of my luck will rub off on you and your friends. All ya
gotta do is believe things can be better, and they get better, ya
know?"
"I have to believe you, after what happened out there."
Kay turned her head to look at Jessica. "Five minutes be ok with
you?"
"Yes. Seems weird, all this."
"You feeling better?"
"Much better. I bet you already knew that."
"Courtesy demanded that I ask, to make it official."
"Now, you're being silly!"
"Of course I am. Surfing unicorns can't be anything else."
Jessica doubled over until she managed to recover from her fit of
giggles.
Someone collected Kay's board, then stood next to her with it while
the pictures were taken. Everyone groaned when someone shouted
'Time!', but they moved away and cleared a path back to the water for
them.
Jessica studied it, then whispered. "Fly for me again? Please?"
"Where to?"
"To... Wherever we wind up."
Kay hit her stride in seconds, then launched herself at a sharp angle
and quickly vanished into the lowering sun while she beat her wings
strongly.
Behind them, a young woman looked up from her blackberry and spoke
with tones that made her listeners think of awe, and reverence. "We
all know the unicorn was The Lady of the Lake, right?"
Heads nodded.
She put her blackberry away and shaded her eyes while she watched the
two who had briefly touched their lives.
After she couldn't see them, she turned back to her friends. "I think
the girl really was 'Lady Luck', herself. She's 'Marie's Jessica'."
* * *
Epilogue:
That evening, over their usual beach fire, they toasted the two who
would, from that day onward, on that section of beach, always be known
as 'The Luck Bringers', because as long as they were present, anyone
who was there, could count on being given at least one chance to ride
*their* perfect wave.
---
End: Jessica Part One
======
Marie's Solstice: Jessica - Part Two
----
Kay had leveled out, then turned so she was following the contours of
the beach while she flew.
When it started getting dark, a gentle glow enveloped them. Jessica
leaned sideways and looked down at their reflection. "You doing that
because you want to, or have to?"
"A little of both. The authorities are always happier when they can
see what's making that odd noise that my wings make."
"And you enjoy showing off?"
"Of course. Do you want to fly in the dark?"
"Nahh... I can see fine, so it's ok. Kind of matches the way I feel
right now."
"Oh?"
"Yes. People have to know who we are, but the light kind of hides us
at the same time they can see us, right? A glow, and they can
probably make you out, but they can't see very many details?"
Kay laughed. "It depends on what they are using to watch us. A good
telephoto lens, or a telescope, would let them see more details, but
there is enough turbulence created by my wings, that the finer details
are blurred."
"And we're moving, too. I bet we're hard to track, right?"
"Hard, yes, but not impossible. If you're worried, I can deliberately
blur things more, or eliminate the glow completely and block the
infrared."
"A unicorn with a 'stealth mode'?!"
Kay giggled. "Of course!"
Jessica laughed for awhile, then she collected herself and sighed. "I
guess The Great Purpose, or whatever it is, wants me pretty bad,
doesn't it?"
"I wish I could tell you you're wrong, Jessica. Yes, it does, and I
think you're supposed to figure out what it wants you to do."
"Yeah. I thought it might be like that. I gotta pay for all this
good stuff, somehow."
"No, you don't. You've already spent most of your life paying for it.
For some reason, it's balancing the books, so you can feel like you're
starting over."
"That's... Do you think it would let me walk away when this is over?"
Kay sighed. "You could run away, Jessica, but no matter what you do,
you'll eventually learn that you are serving a bigger picture."
"That sucks. Sounds like what they tell you about getting raped. You
know: 'It's gonna happen, so lie back and enjoy it'."
"Try looking at it differently."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. If anything you do is going to serve The Great Purpose's needs,
you might as well do what you want to do, and accept whatever it
'pays' you, for being yourself."
"It will pay me even if I hurt someone a lot?"
"Yes. It will recognize that you caused that pain because you serve a
higher purpose, and it was something that had to happen."
"Oh. Kay?"
"Yes, Dear?"
"Do you think it's letting a lot of other kids get hurt like I was, or
even worse, because... I don't know. Maybe it's some sort of test we
have to survive until someone learns what they need to know so they
can... Like get promoted?"
"Yes."
"Oh. I was hoping I was wrong about that. I didn't think something
that has our best interests in mind, would do something like that."
"It doesn't have our best interests in mind. From our point of view
it's quite selfish most of the time. However, as far as we have been
able to tell over the centuries it has been using us, it wants us to
become the best people we can be, collectively. We think it sees us
in much the same way we treat our domestic animals. If we improve
them, and their quality of life, ours improves, too."
"But, all you're doing is guessing, and making it something you can
live with?"
"Well, yes. There's more. It uses us sometimes, but most of the time
it lets us make our own decisions and just be who we want to be. It's
a good life far more often than it's a bad one, and the 'bad times'
seldom last very long. Plus...
She laughed very gently. "Special jobs usually mean special rewards,
like being able to become a flying unicorn, who can surf the perfect
wave, when it is provided."
"Yeah. It never is 'something for nothing', is it?"
"No."
"So, someday, all this overcompensation will be over, and I'll be able
to tell The Great Purpose 'Ok, Big Guy. We're even now, and here's
what I'd like to do'?"
"Yes."
"I like that idea, that I can be able to cut a deal with it. Be nice
to have a say in what happens to me, once in awhile."
"It's not... Unreasonable, Jessica. Only... Obsessed with a greater
vision than ours."
"Yeah. Thanks. I know a lot about obsessed folks, ya know? Maybe
there's a reason for that. I bet it has more respect for people who
are willing to stand up to it, right?"
She laughed. "Oh, yes! It's a great game we play with each other. We
are allowed to have our tantrums, then it uses different ways to let
us know its desires, when it needs us again."
"Let's like... Cut to the chase, Kay. I know you're serene about it
and all that, and I even know you get mad at it. But, I gotta know
one more thing, and it ain't about being happy and all that silly
stuff, because I know life doesn't work that way all the time."
"Go on."
"Yeah. You've been doing this shit for thousands of years, so I know
you've had a chance to see it all by now. Add it all up, and are you
content?"
Kay's reply was instant. "Yes."
"Huh. Maybe I expected you to think about it, or hesitate. Guess you
guys spend a lot of time thinking about that stuff?"
"It's written into our job description. Maybe, you can think of us
like we're some sort of device that lets it look at all of us and
decide what our overall feelings are. We've noticed that when
something really gets our collective attention, it seems to focus on
that, until we focus on something else."
"So right now, it thinks it's time to do something about all the perps
out there?"
"It's probably a lot more than that, but getting that under some sort
of control, or reduced significantly, will affect other aspects of our
lives in a positive way."
"Ok... Maybe, being famous for being myself, an ex child porn star,
won't be as bad as I thought it would be. Stuff like this helps a
lot..."
Kay kept silent.
Eventually Jessica leaned back and looked up before she smiled at
something and spoke softly.
"Ok, Big Guy. Here's the deal. It's been a couple of weeks, which
ain't long to you, but it's plenty long enough for me to get used to
the idea I can't live with my grandparents. We all tried, but it's
not going to work, so we have to find a way that will let me break
that up so they can live with another 'mistake', even though it was
mine, and not theirs. I'm not going to hold it against you, that you
must have had something to do with the stuff they did that made it so
my mother would go along with my dad, so relax.
"Until I'm old enough, I need to go to school and live with an adult,
because even though I can divorce my parents and all that, nobody is
going treat me the way you want them to treat me, if I'm just a kid on
her own.
"But, I gotta be pretty much on my own anyway, if I'm going to be out
there so I can convince other kids to come out of the closet, right?
"So, let's call it even and no hard feelings right now. I'll be
myself, and let Kay and Roberta be my advisors while I advise them.
Roberta's a hero, and a lot of heroes have sidekicks, right? I'll
agree to let Roberta adopt me, and all she'll have to do is let me tag
along with her. Some home schooling stuff would be nice, too, ya
know?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorta out of it right now, and I bet
I'll think of some other stuff later, but we can make a new deal for
that stuff, right? Wadda ya say, Big Guy? We got a deal, or not?"
She waited, then, suddenly, Kay laughed. "I think you have a deal.
Look down."
Jessica gasped. "Oh... Wow... Is that for real, or is it all in my
head?"
Beneath them, waves of light were flowing away in all directions from
a center that seemed to follow them.
Kay spoke very softly. "It's very real. Normally, if it was
happening, it would be triggered by the pressure waves from my wings,
and seem to restart from new centers that matched each downstroke.
However, if that were the real explanation, the centers would lag
behind us by quite a bit, because of my speed. Another detail, that
means far more, is that I am too high up for those pressure waves to
cause the effect."
"So, all that is just for me?"
"Yes. Did I ever mention that the pay scale is pretty decent?"
Jessica giggled. "No, and I'm ashamed of myself for not asking about
that."
She looked up again. "Thanks, Big Guy. I'll do the best I can.
Umm... Thanks for the early Christmas bonus."
She went back to watching the show, and eventually the circles of
light slowly faded into darkness and she sighed. "Kay?"
"Yes. Dear?"
"Umm... People talk about having a feeling of rightness flow over
them when they make a decision that's really right for them. Can that
really happen?"
"Yes, it can happen."
"Ok. I don't think this is exactly like that. I think I'm feeling
like you do when you act like all is right with your part of the
world. I felt real good after Lady Chrystal healed me, but this is
all of that, and there's something else. Am I feeling... Serenity?"
"According to your aura, yes."
"Wow. So if I do... Whatever I do, this feeling will be part of what
I get paid?"
"Yes."
Then Kay laughed again. "Just don't get so addicted to it you forget
to eat and drink."
Jessica giggled. "Does that ever happen to you?"
"My teachers used to chide me for letting it happen. You see, at the
time, the only thing I was good at, was cooking. I was obsessed with
it, and it took... A lot to distract me enough I would forget about
food."
"Really?!"
"Yes, really!"
"That's freaky."
"That'd I'd forget to eat?"
"Well, yeah, but that's not what I'm talking about. You're 'The
Lady' and you taught Merlin and you've loved him all these years, and
that's what we all think of when we think of you. You're this wise
woman who kind of stays in the background, and we never stop to think
that you had to be a girl just like me, even if it was a long time
ago."
"And?"
"All this stuff you've done recently, giving Excalibur back to the
world and helping Roberta, then me. It's not an act, is it? It's the
real you?"
"I was forced to return Excalibur to the world. Someone else could
have done it, and I think the 'Big Guy', in his way, honored his...
'Suggestion' that next time, Excalibur shouldn't interfere with our
lives as much as it did the first time."
"Next time? It sounds like this person is still alive."
"You're quick, Jessica. Yes, he's very much alive."
"Ok. What about me? Are you being forced to take care of me?"
"Not forced. There are others who can do this. They wouldn't do it
this way, but no matter what they did, eventually you would have wound
up agreeing to do some sort of 'job' for the 'Big Guy'."
"Weird. So if I'd been able to stay with my grandparents, things
would have worked out so that I'd be doing something to help abused
kids, and get the perps off the streets?"
"Yes. However, you picked me, so here we are. We're doing what has
to be done, and we're having fun while we do it. It's far more than
most people get in their lives."
"So you and Roberta can be my mothers and help me so I grow up right?"
"If that is what you want us to be, that is what we will be, Daughter.
Real mothers, not abstract ones."
"Thanks. Do I like... Get to pick my father? Since Roberta is
single, and Merlin is a good guy, but he's... He's Merlin and I don't
think I can deal with that much right now. I need a guy who's more
like you. You know. Works, but knows how to have fun with his
family, too. He's gonna have to be able to put up with my mood
switches, too."
Kay snorted. "I bet you'd like to be able to use his shoulder, and
talk to him whenever you feel the need, instead of having him put you
off?"
"Yeah. Bet he's going to be hard to find. Jim seemed pretty nice,
but he's got his own family."
"Maybe not so hard to find. Sometimes the people we're looking for
have been nearby all along."
"Hah! All I've known are perps. No way!"
Kay laughed and ignored Jessica. "Hey! Old Wolf! Heel! Bring your
grrls while you're at it!"
Three wolves appeared and moved to run beside them, before the
largest, who was obviously male, glanced sideways. "Trying to impress
your passenger? Hello, Jessica. Maybe you should give lessons in
serenity to Kay. I tried, but she still has a wild streak I couldn't
get rid of."
He sneezed. "Surfing! The aerobatics was bad enough. What's next?
Am I going to have to design scuba gear for a unicorn?"
Kay laughed. "Oh, no, Tom. You're going to have to do something much
worse than that."
"I'm not surprised. I was wondering if you'd find a way to get us
involved, so we'd help you with your shenanigans."
Kay laughed, then turned her head slightly, so she could look at her
passenger. "Well? Will he do?"
"You're kidding!"
"No."
"I can't ask *him*! He's like... Wouldn't that be as bad as asking
The Ambassador?"
"Maybe, he'll say yes."
"That's crazy!"
"Fun, though."
"Oh. Yeah. Ok. I have a real bad feeling about this, but you're
right. What's the worst thing that could happen?"
Kay giggled. "He could say 'yes'."
"Seriously? And you think it would work?"
"Yes, and yes."
"Ohhhh Kayyyy.... Umm... Tom? Kay and Roberta are going to be my
mothers, but I need a father, too. Want the job?"
"Sure. Why not? Kay would probably botch the job of teaching you how
to shape shift, and have to do it for you all the time, instead of you
being able to do it on your own, once someone links you to the power."
"Do it myself?!"
"Sure. It's easy when you have a good imagination. Yours is pretty
good, right? Must be or you wouldn't have picked such a good time to
run like Hell and never look back."
"I was scared!"
"Yeah. No problem. Anyone would be if they didn't have any idea
about what they could expect. Ask Kay, if you don't believe me. First
thing she did was ask us to kill her, because she didn't have a clue
about what might happen next. Can't blame her though. When you're
running for your life, you tend to focus on what you need to do to
survive, and forget about what you might do after you live through the
experience."
"She mentioned that."
"Huh! I've been set up. Anyway, if she's going to be your mother,
I'm going to be your father. It was a done deal before I got here. I
bet she didn't tell you *that*."
"You're moving awfully fast. Did I miss something?"
"Fast? You want me to insult you by pretending you're slow? If it
was too fast, blame Kay, for not telling you everything she should
have. Merlin is her second husband, not her first. I was vulnerable,
and she made sure I was her first one. You want me to be your father,
I will be. QED."
"QED?"
"Quod Erat Demonstratum. That which was to be demonstrated. Done
deal. I'm your father. What do you want to do next, Daughter? Don't
make it anything easy, like moving mountains. Go for the hard stuff,
right?"
"Umm... Right. How about the impossible? I'm not silly enough to
think perps will never exist, but I'd like to make it a lot harder for
them to hide, ya know?"
"Change public opinion? Good choice. When do we start?"
"I'll let you know?"
"You're one of us, now, Jessica. Don't ask. Once you agreed to do
whatever job it is that you feel needs doing, you're in charge of your
life, and ours, when you need us. Speak with your head high, a stiff
neck--and with pride and authority! Tell the world! 'I"LL LET YOU
KNOW!!"
"Kay? It sounds like Tom is telling me that I can use him. You know
how I feel about being used."
"He is. We're all part of a team. You're our team leader right now.
You're in control of your own life, Jessica. You don't need to ask,
or beg, any more. We're not going to get upset when you tell us what
you want us to do, to help you make your dream, reality."
"You'll tell me when you think I'm going to make a mistake?"
"Yes. Just remember that you will never *have* to take our advice.
Ultimately, just because we might think you're going to make a
mistake, it doesn't mean it will be one. You'll find that when you
work for the 'Big Guy', he's pretty adaptable, and will eventually do
something that changes a mistake into something that can be made to
work."
"So... Tom's really trying to help me learn how to be an adult, and
some sort of leader?"
"Yes, I am. You're new to this, so we've not going to insist you get
it right all the time.
"The most important thing you need to remember is that a leader has to
act confident when she's around others. You do that, they pick it up,
and they'll make themselves believe you have to know what you're
doing, even when you're terrified inside, and just want to find
yourself a dark room somewhere, curl yourself into a ball, then
whimper while you hope it all goes away."
"I tried that, but they always found me."
"I know."
"You know?!"
"Yes. Chrys and I are linked in a way that we know about everything
that happens to the other one of us. My body wasn't there, but my
mind was, just like she's always somewhere in my mind, so she knows
what I'm doing."
"All the time?"
"Yes."
"Umm... Oh. I think I get it, finally. This stuff about making it
harder for the perps to get away with things is my dream, and unless
you read my mind, you can't know what I want to do unless I tell you,
right?"
"Right."
"Oh! Duh! Yeah! I get it! No whining any more!"
"Right! Now, try again."
"FATHER? I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN I'M READY TO START CHANGING THE
WORLD!"
"Good! Kay has my number. Have lots of room waiting, because we'll
hit the ground running when we show up."
The three wolves vanished.
Jessica relaxed and started laughing. "Is he *always* like that? You
know, don't you? Those mood switches that happen so fast you wonder
if he's really paying attention?"
"He's not always like that. Some of it was part of the game we play
with each other, and some of it was showing off, for you."
"But he was serious, too, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was. When he has to be, he can be incredibly gentle and
tender, too."
"Yeah. I've seen them at the mall when somebody took me so people
would think I was living a normal life. They've stopped a performance
so one of them could soothe a crying baby, or do a special request to
make someone feel better. I never felt brave enough to try and ask
them for help."
"For some of us, things happen when they are supposed to, not when we
want them to."
"Yeah, but at least we get paid on time."
Kay laughed. "True."
Jessica fell silent and the two of them flew for miles before Jessica
yawned. "Oh, wow... All of a sudden I feel exhausted, but I don't
want to go home yet."
"Where do you think of, when you think of 'home'?"
"Where? I can tell you where it's not. It's not with my
grandparents. It's not where I lived with my parents, either. I want
it to be a place where my mother tucks me in and she kisses me, and I
go to sleep without wondering who is going to wake me up in the middle
of the night, so they can fuck me. It would be nice, to wake up and
see my father standing there, watching over me to make sure I'm safe.
I've always wondered what that would be like."
She giggled. "Do you think Tom would change into a wolf and sleep at
the foot of my bed so he could protect me?"
"He'd sleep *on* your bed, if you wanted him to. So would Mahika and
Sandra."
"What about you? Are you ever a dog?"
"I can be a dog, or a wolf. These days, I'd rather be a dog, or just
myself, when I sleep."
"Would you change into a dog, then let me use you for a pillow?"
"Yes."
"Thanks. Before we go tell Roberta she's going to be my mom, I'd
better call my grandparents."
She dug her phone out and called them.
"Hello? Jessica?"
"Yeah. Hi, Granddad. You're on speakerphone so Kay can hear you."
"Hello, Kay. Is everything all right? The tracking says Jessica is
in the ocean."
Kay laughed gently. "We're not in the water. We're flying over it."
"Ok. Thanks. Jessica? You folks were on the news most of the day."
Jessica sighed. "Umm.... Yeah. We expected they'd be watching
everything we do."
Her grandfather chuckled. "One of the major networks stopped by and
interviewed us, since they knew you'd gone home with us after Marie's
show. They want to do a documentary on you. Life story, all that
stuff."
She gasped. "You're kidding?! Already? Umm... What did you tell
them?"
"To talk to you, if they ever catch up with the two of you."
"Thanks. You're right. Maybe later. I got things I need to do,
first."
"It sounds like you've talked it over with Kay, and made some
decisions."
"Umm... Yeah... This is going to sound a little strange, but it's all
true."
He laughed. "Stranger than being your own air show, then getting one
of your abusers arrested?"
"Nahh... Not that strange. I'm going to do what that therapist
suggested, and divorce mom and dad."
"Understandable. What else?"
"Then I'm going to let Roberta adopt me."
"Was that Kay's suggestion?"
"No. I thought of that on my own."
He sighed. "It hurts, but we want what's right for you, Jessi. If
that's what it takes to help you, we want it to happen."
"Yeah, I know. I thought we could make it work, too."
"If something happens, and you want to try again. we'll be here, ok?"
"Thanks. Oh. Something even weirder happened. I cut a deal with the
Big Guy."
"Big Guy? Who's that?"
She giggled. "Well, I couldn't keep calling it 'The Great Purpose'!"
Harriet interrupted. "It's good to hear such self confidence, Dear.
Before we forget to ask, was that Kay doing that light stuff on the
water? One of the science reporters said it was natural, but rare in
this part of the world. He also commented that it should have been
far less visible, since you were so high."
"What, Grandma? Oh? Yeah. It was weird. I just told him what I
wanted to do, and that was his way of telling me we had a deal. Sorta
like giving me an early Christmas Bonus."
There was a pause, then Harriet spoke again. "You're saying that
this... Purpose, who uses people like Kay and Merlin, just... Let
you dictate terms to it?"
"Uh huh. Oh! Hey! Before I forget. I sorta asked about some stuff,
and I think he wants you guys to relax. You didn't do anything wrong
when you raised mom. All that stuff had to happen so I'd be who I
have to be when I grow up. You did everything right, after all!"
"Right? Our daughter was *supposed* to help your father abuse you?"
"Yes."
"I... We... We'll need some time to get used to that idea,
Jessica."
"I know. So will I. He's got some plans, and I'm a big part of them
for now. I can do anything I want, and he'll make it work for him,
somehow. That was part of the deal we made."
"That sounds like you'll get to be yourself, after all. Does this
mean you won't be coming back?"
"Yeah. Thanks, again. I'll pick up my stuff in a few days,
probably."
"You just... Get better, ok? We love you, and we'll miss you. Take
care of yourself."
"I will. You guys take care, too. Love ya both."
"Goodbye, for now, Jessi."
"Bye, Grandma."
Jessica put her phone away, then rode in silence for a few minutes
before she laughed. "Well, I guess it's time to go wake up Roberta."
"She's already awake, and waiting for us."
"Really?"
"Yes. While you were on the phone, I talked to *my* girls, and they
said not to worry."
"Those dogs are really your kids? Sounds weird."
"Mine and Merlin's, even though he never fucked me."
"Tell me the story, later?"
"Yes."
"So, where is she?"
Kay laughed. "Close. Look ahead of us, and down."
"Wow! What is that? Some sort of floating motel?"
"No. He can be used as one, when he isn't being used elsewhere. Right
now, he's berthed and the owner has agreed to let Roberta use him so
she can have some privacy when she's not out there in front of the
public."
"He? I thought ships and stuff are always called 'she'."
"Not always. The Sam Cee is an exception."
"Oh. Anyway, he's... Beautiful. I hope he's not insulted by me
saying that."
Kay laughed. "Far from it. 'He', isn't really a 'he'. Just like my
'girls' are, the Sam Cee is a true hermaphrodite. Right now, he's
being extremely... Female."
"Hermaphrodite? You mean like those people who have a cunt and a dick
at the same time?"
"Yes. Be sure and let Tom know you think the Sam Cee is beautiful. He
designed him from the keel up."
"Tom?! You're kidding!"
"No."
As they approached, some floodlights were turned on, to light up a
helipad that was on the roof of the Sam Cee.
Kay slowed, then hovered before she gently landed.
Once she was stationary, the floodlights were turned off and they were
illuminated by what appeared to be old fashioned street lights.
Jessica looked around. "Oh, wow... It's like suddenly being in the
past, isn't it?"
"Like I mentioned, it can be a pretty good life, most of the time."
"Umm... Yeah..."
A man who was dressed to look like a riverboat gambler, and a woman
who was dressed as if she were an old fashioned southern lady,
approached them.
After they stopped, he held out his left hand and suddenly fanned some
cards before he held them up so Jessica could see their backs.
"Welcome home, Daughter. Pick a card, any card."
"Tom?! Hey! Is that Roberta in that fancy dress?!"
"Hello, Jessica. Tom tells me I'm being given my just desserts, for
picking on people all my life, and telling them how to run their lives
better. You ready to help me find out if I'm as good a mother as I
insist other women should be?"
"Just like that?"
"Funny you should mention that. I keep remembering Kay's frustration
because you weren't there. My focus at the time was pretty narrow,
but it was obvious she saw a much broader picture than I did, at the
time. Now, I know it's not good taste to tell The Mother of The World
she had her head someplace it shouldn't have been, but I'm pretty sure
she did, because she got spanked pretty good, because of it.
"Anyway, I was never abused, and I know that there isn't a street
smart kid out there who would take me seriously when I tell them 'Hey,
do what I say, and everything will turn out, eventually.' Only way to
fix that, is to find some abused kid who got out, and managed to get
their head straight enough they're willing to keep reliving that Hell
in front of the cameras, so kids can start thinking they can get out,
then be able to put it all in their past, so they get a real life of
some sort.
"Then, I remembered something Marie told me during the first time I
really took the time to treat her as a real person."
Jessica took the time to think about it, then nodded a little. "What
did she tell you?"
"That for her, 'coincidence' is an abstract concept."
"Yeah. I get it. I cut a deal with the Big Guy. You were a big part
of it, so I can do *my* job. Get my drift?"
Roberta smiled and tipped her head in Tom's direction. "We had an
interesting visit while we waited for you and Kay to show up. Sort of
a mutual job interview. We can't be a traditional family for you, but
we can do our best to be your mom and dad, if you want us to be."
"You've got a strange smile, Mom. Do I get to know what that's all
about?"
"I made a mistake, and asked him to show me what he looks like when
he's being a dog. He did, then he played a trick on me."
"Yeah?"
"Take my advice, and get him to agree to do whatever it is you want
him to do, when he's only human. Don't let him be a dog or wolf until
you've cut *your* deal. When he's a dog, he cheats and uses that long
nose and those soulful brown eyes to get *his* way!"
Jessica giggled. "You're grinning, so you must have enjoyed what
happened."
"I did. Now, pick a card."
"You, too?"
"Yes, Dear."
"Ok."
She reached and took one, then held it up so Tom could see it.
He smiled. "1837 'Coming of Age' dress. Good choice."
He waved his free hand and suddenly Jessica was wearing a dress that
matched the image on the card.
He closed the fan, then spread it out again and offered it to her.
"Again."
She picked, looked at the card, then shook her head and held it so he
could see it.
His eyebrows went up. "San Francisco. Early twentieth century.
Traditional Chinese New Year's feast. Unusual, but doable, with some
help. Good thing we already have a fireworks permit."
He raised his voice slightly. "Mahika! Sandy! 1905 Chinese New Year
feast for our daughter!"
"Got it! Ten minutes!"
Tom laughed, then did the conjuring trick again. "Last time. Pick
your room for tonight. After that, you can make any changes you
wish."
Jessica took a card, looked at it, then frowned before she turned it
so he could see it. "I picked it, but it's not anything like what I
was expecting. I'm not ungrateful, but I'm pretty sure I'll want to
make some changes, later."
He looked at the card, and made his own frown. "Where'd that come
from?"
They looked at each other, and he sighed. "It wasn't what I was
expecting, either."
He flipped his hand over so she could see the cards. "What I hold are
pictures of each style of bedroom on the Sam Cee. That was all I
held, I thought."
Jessica nodded. "Think the Big Guy dealt himself in?"
"I do."
"Then I'll take it, for tonight. Must be a reason, right?"
"Yeah. My room, when I was a lot younger than you are now, if you can
call a space along one wall of a one room shack, a room. It was
before my mom ran with me and filed for a divorce. Until then, I was
happy and had a mother and father who loved me. I didn't know the
truth behind that until years later. He was a wife abuser, with a
temper."
"Bad?"
"Very."
"Sounds like a message to both of us, doesn't it?"
He studied the card before he sighed again. "Sure does. Still want
me to be your Father?"
"Let me be your Daughter, instead?"
"Sure. We're both going to make some mistakes. You know that,
right?"
She smiled, straightened, and somehow she seemed much older than she
was. "This won't be one of them, will it, *Father*?"
He studied her, and then let himself grin at her. "See? I knew you
were fast. Have to be, to be my kid."
"Oh? You going to explain that?"
Roberta groaned. "Don't ever say I didn't warn you!"
Tom laughed and shifted. When he was done, a huge, solid black Borzoi
was settled on his haunches and grinning at Jessica. "I'm fast enough
to catch wolves. Caught me a few over the years, too. Ask Mahika.
Want to learn how to do it for yourself?"
Then he tilted his head slightly, focused his eyes on her as he perked
his ears at her... And waited.
Jessica finally grinned back. "I'm thinking those wolves wanted to be
caught. At least, if they had any sense about how the world works,
they wanted to get caught, right?"
"Didn't matter if they did, or not, because *I* wanted to be caught."
"Smooth."
Mahika had just arrived, and she walked over to stroke Tom's head.
"Smooth, yes. Truth, no. He was better, but still pretty fucked up
in his head, when I decided to move in."
Tom turned his head slightly and licked her hand before he looked at
Jessica again. "Not all of the truth, but true enough, and she knows
it. I did want to be caught, but I didn't know how to play the game
all the way to the end so I *would* get caught. Still takes someone
special to see me that clearly, and see it through."
"You think the Big Guy made you that way?"
"Yes."
He changed back and pulled Mahika into his side. "Work hard, party
hard. Been doing it a long time, so I'm used to it, now. Umm...
Honey? Don't be too hard on Roberta when she takes the time to relax.
I'll be doing what I can, but I'll only be her husband. You're her
daughter, and you'll be able to do things for her that I can't."
"We're a team?"
"Yes. All for one and one for all. It's not as silly as it sounds."
"I know. We got us a pretty good Team Captain, too, don't we?"
"Best in the world."
"He *is* the world. Can't be anything except the best. QED?"
"Yes."
She looked down, unfastened the straps, hung her belt on the pommel,
then got down and walked over to stand facing Roberta. She looked up
at Roberta before she held her hand out.
"Thanks. I know we've been kinda made to be who we are, but I guess
we finally graduated, right?"
Roberta looked down, then took Jessica's hand and lifted it to her
lips. "I should be thanking you, Jessica. Will you help me by
becoming my acolyte?"
"Depends on what I have to do."
"Be yourself, just like I'm learning to get rid of all the bad habits
I learned as a reporter, so I can be myself and do a better job of
making a difference."
"I'll never stop being an ex child whore. I have to always be that,
so kids will listen to me when I tell them they can make things better
for themselves. If you want to call me an acolyte, that's ok. Part
of the deal I cut, was to be your sidekick."
"Sidekick?"
"Sure! You're a hero, right? Heroes gotta have a sidekick. Any kid
knows that much! You take out the adult bad guys, and I watch your
back, and maybe even get the bystanders out safely."
"I know how it works, Jessica. It's a big job."
"So? I told the Big Guy I'd do it if he wanted me to, and he said I'm
hired, ya know?"
"I do know."
"Good. I'm hungry! Let's eat, then I'm thinking you can tuck me into
bed, then we'll see if we can figure out a way to counteract those
eyes of Tom's, before I fall asleep."
"Got it all planned?"
"I wish! All I ever did was dream about what I wanted before I fell
asleep. You'll have take care of the rest. I knew what I was going
to wake up to, no matter what happened when I went to bed."
"I'll see what we can do."
"Thanks... Mother."
They headed for the buffet that had been set up, and once there, got
involved in building their plates of food while they visited with each
other, and sampled before they made their decisions.
Eventually they settled in a couple of deck chairs and started eating.
That was when Tom let go of Mahika and walked over to stand in front
of Kay.
"Merlin told me what happened on the pier. Get down here so I can
give you a head hug."
He held on while her whole body shivered, then, after the shivering
stopped, he kissed the center of her forehead. "Feel better?"
"Yes, Old Wolf. I'm surprised you weren't there, somewhere."
"I thought about it, but there's this stuff called trust..."
"And"
"And I didn't know if you'd given Jessica the ability to see the
connections. She would have spotted me in a heartbeat, and drawn the
wrong conclusions."
"I did, and she used it to spot one of the men who had used her, I
think."
"Merlin showed me. Well, he showed me the video someone took. Little
Minx really thinks fast and knows what buttons to push, doesn't she?"
"That, she does. Any opinion about that?"
"It had to happen. Even if she never does it again, any perp who
winds up near her, is going to get pretty nervous and be more likely
to make a mistake that gets them the kind of attention they're trying
to avoid."
"The thought had occurred to me. Where are *my* girls?"
"Mahika and Sandy convinced them to go home for awhile."
"You're up to something."
"Yes. I'm trying to give us some time so we can solve a major
problem. You going to change, or are you going to insist on being
hand fed?"
Kay laughed and shifted, then hugged him. "As much I enjoy being hand
fed, I'll do it myself, this time."
They filled their plates, then settled and let Mahika and Sandra wait
on them.
Tom caught Jessica watching them and he smiled. "Don't worry about
them. I'll take care of tipping them, later."
"Gonna take it out in trade?"
"Something like that. If it makes you feel better, after Becky and
Cathy get back and include you in their duties, we'll let you decide
how much to tip them for services rendered."
"They the ones who can be guard dogs?"
"Yes."
"Ok. Aren't there fireworks at a Chinese New year celebration?"
Tom laughed. "Takes time to set things up. We have to let the Coast
Guard know, then they need to make sure the area is clear. All that
takes time."
"Can't you folks just... Take care of all that and do it?"
"If we wanted to be law breakers, yes we could."
She sighed. "Oh. Well, it better happen pretty soon because..."
WOOOSSSH!!
.
.
.
.
BOOM!!
"Oh! Wow!"
Kay giggled. "Or what?"
"Never mind! I gotta watch this!"
The show lasted about fifteen minutes, and after it was over, Jessica
yawned and looked at Tom. "I'm ready to go to bed now. Which room is
mine?"
"Whichever one you pick, except for the ones Roberta is using."
"The Sam Cee is a shape shifter, too?"
"Yes. Tour tomorrow. Right now, you need your sleep."
"Yeahhhh... Ok. You going to check on me once in awhile?"
"You be ok if I do? No flashbacks?"
"Umm... Do it when you're a dog?"
"Sure."
"Thanks. Umm... What do I do with my plate and stuff?"
Mahika laughed. "Leave them on the deck, this time. We'll deal with
them."
"Thanks."
Jessica got up and sighed. "Umm... Mom?"
"Tuck you in and all that?"
"Please?"
"No problem."
The others watched until the two of them were out of sight, then Kay
got up and tapped Tom's knee. "Spread them so I can settle. You know
how it works."
He laughed, then spread his legs so she could settle between them
before she leaned back and snuggled into him.
"What's this major problem that involves my girls?"
"We didn't know if you'd given Jessica the ability to see the links
again, so we did the safe thing and got them out of here."
"I hadn't. She's still ordinary as far as that goes."
"Good. May we assume you were too busy to really look and follow any
links you spotted?"
"Yes."
"Better."
"You're ducking."
"Don't I know it! The problem wouldn't be one, if it wasn't happening
so soon. Becky and Cathy show all the classic signs of being life
mated to Jessica. They agreed to go home, so Jessica could have a
little time to settle in, but as soon as they come back to guard
Roberta, things are going to get... Interesting when you give Jessica
the ability to see the links, again."
"Maybe we can set something up as a test. Did that video have any
sound?"
"Some. Pretty noisy while you folks were going up the stairs. Whoever
it was, they were somewhere inside Sharkie's before you three got
there. Audio was good enough we could hear her flush that guy. Heard
his comment about 'two witches', too."
"You think I'd be used to hearing that, by now."
"How'd Jessica take it?"
"Mostly ignored it, except to comment that people are so focused on
her body, they don't think she has a brain, too."
"Ah. That wasn't on the video I saw."
"What about later? Anyone gone for the scandal angle of our
farewell?"
"Funny thing about that. Someone did, and it backfired on them."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. A scandal sheet reporter who didn't have the sense to do some
basic research, got in a hurry and went directly to Jim's family with
that 'date with a child whore' stuff. She got laughed at, and invited
to the party. Turns out he and his family do their own followup stuff
with all the people he 'rescued' or arrested when he was working vice.
The followup involves an annual party at the local park, where they
get together, seal off part of it, then everyone, cops, ex whores, ex
pimps, ex johns and ex sallys, chew the fat and find solutions that
can help those still on the streets while they keep themselves clean
another year."
"What's he doing on the pier, if he was that successful in vice?"
"Way I hear it, his wife put him up to it. Something about being
around for his family, and doing some preventative work, instead of
reactive. Lot of recruiting done there, and a lot of meetings get
arranged for later. He's a man with a mission, Kay."
She laughed. "That much, I did know! Things moved so fast I was
afraid Jessica would volunteer to do some trolling so she could smoke
out the perps in the area. Jim acted casual, but he was ready to go,
when she casually made her 'perp finder' comments."
"I know I missed something. 'Perp finder'?"
"We were halfway up the stairs when she had me turn off her ability to
see connections. I bought her act, that it was because of the crowd
and she was being overwhelmed. After that guy was hauled off, she
told us she'd known someone who'd fucked her was on the pier, and that
she'd had me stop the ability because she didn't want to watch the
link get stronger, the closer she got to him."
"Don't move. I'll be right back."
She waited, then spoke softly. "Well? Anything interesting?"
"Yeah. I used everything I have, to check her out. Nothing. No
power controls and no sign she'll ever have them. But, when I fine
toothed that pause on the stairway, It was obvious something about
that link really got her attention."
"Oh? I was busy keeping an eye on the crowd."
"I saw that. Here's the strange part. You froze a microsecond before
she reacted. Took every bit of sensitivity to power that I have, to
spot the flash caused by a link between the two of you, but it was
there, then it was gone."
"Tom? You're shaking. What's wrong?"
"I think there's something very, very serious going on, and you and
Jessica are at the center of it."
"What makes you say that?"
"As far as we know, you're still the only one hundred percent accurate
seer, right?"
"Yes."
"Ok. Naturally, I've taken the time to study you during those times
when you 'see'."
"I know."
"Ok. When you froze, you looked exactly like you were going into one
of your trances and getting ready to speak, but this time, you came
out of it and that was it, except for that flash of a link between you
and Jessica. For lack of something else to call what happened, I
think I was allowed to see a data transfer between the two of you."
"It sounds like you think *I* was the one who knew who was on the
pier."
"Exactly, and I think as soon as Jessica spotted that sexual link, our
boss used your knowledge to give her some sort of 'intuition' about
the reason for the strength of that link."
"That doesn't explain your shaking."
"I'm angry. Very angry. So are Mahika and Sandy, but they're hiding
it better than I am."
"All three of you? What have you been up to, Old Wolf?"
"Seeing that justice is done. If you think I'm angry, be glad the
'Big Guy' cut the two of you out of the loop when I showed up in
Sharkie's."
"Not good?"
"Hang on... We're busy... Ah! Good! MIssion accomplished!"
He slumped with relief. A few seconds later Mahika and Sandra came
over and managed to find a way to settle on their knees and put their
heads on his shoulders, then all three of them cried for a few
minutes.
Tom recovered first. "Ok, Grrls. We saved all the ones that were
still alive. The cops can handle things, now. And.. Kay, .if it
makes you feel better, we were told to do some wet work. The head of
the operation isn't going anywhere important, and no lawyer is going
to keep him away from justice, this time."
Kay turned so she could see his face. "Am I going to have to go look,
or are you going to come clean?"
Sandra spoke through her tears. "Sharkie's was a cover for something
else. The cops got a surprise this evening. They caught three large
dogs digging in a 'live bait' tank and fighting over something they
hauled out. Light was bad, so they thought they were doing their job
when they ran the dogs off. The largest dog went right past them, and
dropped his 'loot' when he was yelled at."
Tom took over. "As soon as one of them put their flashlight on what
the dog dropped, they forgot about something as trivial as running off
a few strays."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Pretty hard for them to miss the lower part of a kid's leg
when it still has the shoe on it. There were eight live kids on the
boat and three already dismembered bodies in the tank on the pier,
that was waiting to be loaded. It was already too late for them, so
we did what we had to do, to save the others. We had to wait for the
shipment to arrive before we could make our moves. As far as the cops
figure, it was just a fluke, thanks to some hungry strays that managed
to get on the pier."
Kay sighed. "No need for you to spell it out. One of those kids
could have been Jessica, if things had gone differently, a couple
weeks ago, right?"
"Yep. Just a little justice, courtesy of 'The Luck Bringers'. Nothing
we haven't done before, except this time, our boss had a personal
interest in the outcome, and he made sure we knew it."
"The 'wet work' you mentioned?"
"Yes. Let me up. I need to go check on our daughter, and our
co-wife."
She moved, he got up, shifted, then padded across the deck and down
one of the stairways.
The three women watched him, then Mahika sighed. "There are some
widows who are going to have nightmares for the rest of their
lives--and they earned every one of them."
"Save me the trouble of checking?"
"He let his female side take over. We think he was 'encouraged' to
respond as a woman."
"From that, I assume you feel his solution was 'elegantly
appropriate'?"
"Yes."
"Well?"
"It will be interesting to see how the deaths of six men, in various
locations, will be handled by the media and authorities."
"Identical?"
"Causes, no. Visible circumstances, yes. All six were pedos. All
six died with their arms wrapped around their latest victim, while
their wives were sleeping in the same bed. All six men also died
while their penis was erect, and inserted in their current sex object.
The children are sleeping, and they went to sleep while the man was
alive, but resting immediately after he orgasmed inside them.
Strangely, all six were bareback when they died."
"I assume there is a final, very juicy detail?"
"Oh, yes. In all six, rigor has set in. Their arms will have to be
surgically removed before the children can be freed. No further harm
will befall the children. In each case, someone called 911 and left
the phone off the hook without saying anything."
"A busy evening, for all of you."
"Yes. It was... Invigorating. Sometimes, your civilization is too
gentle. For some, the message must be delivered unambiguously, before
they will listen."
"A large operation?"
"Yes, and those who would take over have been... Warned."
"Oh?"
"For each thought acted upon, a randomly burst blood vessel. Expect
some prominent people to be suddenly hospitalized in the near future,
under circumstances that will be awkward for them, at best."
Kay finally nodded and turned to Sandra. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. You humans are too soft. When a pack member is a proven
danger to the survival of the pack, they should be culled."
"It is our way, to allow people a chance to change their ways."
"Thus you propagate the genes that are the seeds of your own
destruction."
"True. We must choose our actions wisely, Sandra, or those we serve
would act to hunt us down, because they would perceive our actions as
a danger."
Sandra sighed. "I know, Kay. It is not easy, for my reason to
override my instincts, when Tom is involved."
Kay smiled wryly. "And I am upset because I was not invited to help."
Sandra laughed. "The Great Purpose wanted lessons to be given, not
Gotterdamung!"
"You don't know how reassuring that is."
"You're welcome. As Tom is fond of saying, it's a done deal, so you
might as well relax and think about something else."
Kay yawned. "Keep an eye on them. I'm going home and getting some
sleep."
She vanished before either of them could react.
Sandra spent a long time studying the spot where Kay had been, then
she sighed. "Do you ever have the feeling that Kay is more of a true
elemental, than you are?"
"No. She's far, far, better than I am at... 'Obsessing' and
following a course of action until she reaches the end."
"You didn't do too badly, yourself, this evening."
"Thank you. You did a good job of ducking Kay."
"Thanks. I find that when I am in my true form, it is difficult for
me to deliberately cause a human emotional pain."
"Or deliberately leave yourself open to the pain and emotional
distress of a child?"
"Yes. Fortunately, I am also our Alpha. The context was unusual
enough it distracted me from the consequences of adapting our pack
behavior to it."
Mahika sighed and watched something in the distance before she spoke
thoughtfully. "It will be interesting to see what the authorities do
if they discover that each woman dreamed that a Golden Retriever
touched her nose to her forehead, and she felt the combined distress
of the child, who could not understand her indifference, and the death
agony of her husband, who was somehow cut off from all sensations just
before his orgasm, and death."
Sandra smiled bitterly. "At least we are agreed that it was an
'elegantly appropriate solution', as the burst blood vessels will be,
later."
"True. Perhaps, in the near future, people will speak of a young
witch, who somehow managed to curse her abusers, and those who would
join them. I think Jessica would find the situation... Amusing."
"As Kay, of course, will not."
"Of course."
Mahika waved a hand negligently, and the remains of the evening's
feast vanished.
Then she shimmered and a white wolfess stood in front of Sandra. "Will
my Alpha join me during my vigil, while I wait for our mate to
return?"
Sandra shimmered, and became a Golden Retriever. "It will be my
pleasure,"
The two of them padded over to the forward windscreen, then settled on
their haunches while they looked at whatever it was, that only they
could see.
* * *
Tom gently grabbed the door handle and pulled it down, then pulled the
door open until he could enter the room.
Roberta and Jessica were watching him, then, after he let the door
close, Jessica looked at him shrewdly. "You're early."
He padded over, then jumped on her bed and curled up so his head was
on her chest. She petted him for awhile, then sighed. "You're pretty
quiet, if you know what I mean."
"Will you let me enjoy being in the presence of my bride, and my
daughter?"
"Bride? You really are husband and wife, now?!"
"The Ambassador was persuaded to perform the ceremony."
"Yeah, right. You sell bridges, too?"
"No. I only design them, as a hobby."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Mom?"
"He's right. I've seen some of his designs. They are... Surreal but
practical."
"Surreal? What's that mean?"
"It means that no sane engineer would ever dream of making his bridges
look like Tom's. Imagine what a rainbow would look like, if it was
designed by a drunken unicorn, and that will be close enough for now."
"Does Kay ever get drunk?"
Tom laughed. "Not from alcohol. She enjoys experimenting with herbs
before she uses them to season her cooking."
"Really?! Does that mean she's some sort of druggie?!"
Tom sobered. "No. Did she tell you that she was apprenticed to her
village wise woman at a very early age?"
"Yes. Then she got kicked out and went to another village, right?"
"Yes. The wise woman there taught her how to use seasonings when she
was cooking, instead of just 'burning food'. Kay picked up that
obsession, along with what might be called 'The Wise Woman's Oath'."
"What's that?"
"A wise woman never used an herb on someone else, until she'd used it
on herself, so she knew what it would do, from personal experience."
"I like that idea."
"We all do. Since Kay is the herbalist of our group, she's always
looking for new ways to season food, or help others."
"Isn't that pretty dangerous sometimes?"
Tom closed his eyes briefly, then opened them so he could study
Jessica. "Not for her, in the way you're probably thinking. Part of
our deal with the Big Guy, is that we're immortal. We didn't ask for
that, he did it to us for reasons of his own. We can't die, no matter
what happens to us, or what we do to ourselves. However, we can be
hurt, suffer a great deal of pain, and we can *nearly* die."
"Oh. That must suck, sometimes."
He laughed. "Oh, yes. 'No pain, no gain', is a very real part of our
working relationship with the Big Guy."
"Oh. Yeah. You're right. Can I hug you real tight and cry some
more? All this good stuff reminds me of how *they* treated me,
sometimes. *My* monsters never came out of my closet unless they were
acting in some sort of weird movie."
Tom shifted his position until she could wrap him in a hug, then she
buried her face in his fur and cried herself to sleep.
Roberta and Tom waited, and eventually Tom spoke without looking.
"Nothing we do will wake her, for now. I'll spend the night here, if
I have to."
"Helping her a little?"
"In a way. Call it a zone of silence, combined with a slight mental
warmth that acts to reduce her sensitivity to her surroundings."
"Magical tranquilizer and sleeping pills?"
"Close enough."
"Good. I've never paid much attention to dogs, but I like to think I
can read people quite well. Jessica was right. You're early, and a
man doesn't check on his family for no reason. I think you needed us,
more than we needed you, when you came through that door."
"Good call. How honest do you want me to be? All of it, or do you
want to watch the news later, and assemble the pieces on your own?"
"Bad?"
"Very. If she'd stayed awake long enough, I wouldn't have hesitated
to let Jessica hear about what happened."
"Sounds like it was something that would help her recovery."
"Probably."
"Two weeks has been long enough for me to get a feel for the people
I'm working with, now. Bards and other Rabelaisians have a cultural
ethos that's almost instinctive, so if you get to know a few of them,
once you get past individual quirks, they're pretty easy to predict."
Tom chuckled. "Chrys would find that observation amusing, and she'd
agree with it. What else?"
"Merlin, is Merlin. He's usually an observer most of the time. All
of them are, really."
"They're more historians, than doers. Their job is to observe, and
act to save things in case it is needed later. They are very similar
to Bards, but they seldom act directly."
"I noticed. I also discovered that some researchers think Merlin and
the others are the inspiration for many of the legends about some
folks who are known as 'Luck Bringers'. Call them philanthropists
with a *very* strange ethos."
"You sound doubtful."
"I am. I think what is 'known', is incomplete."
"Legends and myths are like that, after much time has passed."
"Are you always this twisty?"
"No. The path you are trying to follow is twisty, and I do not guide,
I encourage you to explore it in your way, and not mine."
"I'll thank you later. Nobody is surprised that all of you know each
other, even though, as best I can learn, your group and Merlin's
family met fairly recently."
"Are you asking me for an explanation, that will... Make sense?"
"As your wife, I deserve one, don't I?"
"Yes, you do. Touch my forehead, and let yourself dream of the place
where you would feel comfortable when you learn the truth."
She leaned enough she could make the contact, then smiled. "Where
else, but at Stonehenge?"
He laughed in her mind, then spoke easily. "It is done."
Both of them were human, and standing on a slight rise that overlooked
the 'Stones of Power'.
She removed her hand from his forehead and studied things before she
spoke softly. "They don't look right, for some reason."
"Of course they don't. We are at the time just before the builders
realized the error in their thinking, and they decided to halt the
building. They also deliberately destroyed part of the work they had
already completed."
"How long can we stay?"
"As long as we wish. Just like we did on our honeymoon."
"That's a pretty open ended statement."
"It was meant to be. The seeds of your understanding were planted
when I ran as a wolf and agreed to be Jessica's father."
"It was the three of you, wasn't it?"
"Yes, Roberta. We were the tools the Big Guy used, to set Kay on her
path, and make sure she became the woman she had to be. It is very
circular, and very effective."
"Will Jessica and I become immortals?"
"We don't know. We're used to working in the shadows. This evening,
it was clear the rules have been changed."
"Oh?"
He laughed, then took her hand and led her towards Stonehenge. "Come,
Love, and I will give you some more of a truth few will ever know."
* * *
He led her to the center, then let himself become the young man he
had once been, and she laughed. "Attached to that body, aren't you?"
"Yes. It is also the body I wore when Kay trudged over that same
hill, and sought her future, here."
He leaned on one of the stones and gazed off at his past. "What an
appropriate name. 'The Big Guy'. I said the rules have changed. This
evening, before I came to remind myself of the reasons we three are
who we are, Kay mentioned that Jessica might be a 'perp finder'."
"She mentioned that. I held her until her shakes stopped. I think it
finally hit her, what she'd done without really thinking about it."
"Yes. I've never seen him take such a direct hand in matters. The
implication is that she, and probably you and Kay, are extremely
important to his plans."
"All three of us?"
"Yes. Why else force you to abandon a career that gave you everything
you wanted in life, and lock Kay into being Jessica's co-mother?"
"Everything except what I didn't know I wanted. A family, with a
husband I know will do whatever he must, to make our world a safer
place for us."
"Thank you. I have felt many fleeting impressions, when the Great
Purpose uses me. When I arrived on that pier, to study the situation
before Kay and I made any decisions about Jessica's abilities, I was
allowed to feel the edges of an anger that was ready to consume our
world, before I was released to act as *I* desired, to... Provide
justice for those who deserved far more than what they had been given
in this life."
"Oh?"
"We are murderers, Roberta. It was not done in cold blood, but it was
done calculatingly. Six men died this evening. Six widows will spend
the rest of their lives remembering those deaths, and the bewildered
agony of the children whose suffering triggered our actions."
"These women. They contributed?"
"Yes. They all lay beside their husbands, while those men used the
small bodies as they wished."
"Forgive me, but I hear nothing I haven't heard before, as rumors.
There must be more."
"Oh, yes. Three stray dogs somehow got on the pier earlier, so they
could seek any food they could find. They managed to open a live bait
tank behind Sharkie's, and they were seemingly fighting each other for
the choicest bits of food."
"This live bait. Was it already dead?"
"Yes. The largest dog 'grabbed and ran' when the cops shouted, and he
was startled into dropping what he'd grabbed, as he dodged past one of
the officers.
"They... Had reason to forget about the dogs when they realized what
he'd been carrying. It was the lower leg of a child who had been
dismembered, and her shoe was still on the foot. There were three
bodies in that tank, Roberta, and eight very much alive children on
the boat."
She stared at him, and finally gulped and spoke gently. "Are you ok?"
"More or less. We've done similar actions. You see it, don't you?"
"I think so, yes. Slightly different circumstances at that show of
Marie's, and one of those kids would have been Jessica."
"Yes. The men we killed were the ones who ran quite an operation.
This time, their power did not save them. They were tried in the one
court that cannot be avoided, and they were found to be...
Unacceptable, as breeding stock. Thus, they were culled from the herd
before they passed on the traits they expressed."
He gestured at their surroundings and smiled bitterly. "We are often
known as 'The Luck Bringers'. People seldom realize we do not often
speak of what kind of 'Luck' we deliver, and who we deliver it to."
"Jessica mentioned that your boss admitted that she and other children
were made to suffer, so they could become who they had to be. Was he
getting rid of tools he no longer needed?"
"I don't think so. Call the ones killed, 'rouges' who threatened this
flock's survival."
"And like any good shepherd might, He called in a specialist to
isolate them and butcher them before they caused any more damage?"
"Yes. You're taking this well."
"Do I have a choice? I am not an innocent, who deludes herself into
thinking the reality that is, is no different than the one most people
wish to see."
"Sorry to hit you with all this, but only a little. Usually, we are
guided in a way that lets us have a chance to slowly make our
decisions and come to terms with a situation we are pointed at. Being
reminded we really are tools, to be used and discarded, seldom
happens. I would like to delude myself into thinking the haste was a
result of his pique with me and Kay, mostly, but..."
"What makes this time so different?"
He chuckled, then turned to face her. "Always the good reporter.
Catch her target when he's willing to ramble, and encourage him, eh?"
She smiled and walked over to hug him. "That's part of it. Like
Jessica knows she must remember her past, I have a strong feeling that
it's a part of me that helped make me right for this job. The rest of
it is, to my... Embarrassment, something I never wanted to feel. I
want to know all there is to know, about my lover, and the father of
our child."
"May I assume that sometime in the past, you studied my web site, and
you know all about who I was, and my past life?"
"Of course. People would call me, and encourage me to find something
I could use to destroy your life and get you put away so you wouldn't
have a bad influence on people."
"You must have found something. I never hid things."
"On the surface, I found many things that are unacceptable, if one has
a too narrow view of the world. In no case, no matter how much I
tried to lead people who know you as a real person, into admitting
your past made you a bad person who hid quite well, all they did was
admit they hoped they were setting as good as an example for people as
you are."
"So you waited, until you had facts, instead of wishes?"
"Yes."
"Then you know what you need to know, to be able to understand when I
say I know the rules have changed. I have been a father, Roberta.
When circumstances allowed me to, I helped my wife give birth, and I
cradled our children when my wife did what she had to do, to break the
sack so our child could take their first breath. I grieved with her,
when I had to bury one who did not live. I wasn't the genetic father,
of course, but that didn't matter to her, or them as they grew."
She touched his lips with a finger to silence him. "Let me guess. The
anger you were allowed to feel was the anger of a father, and it was
focused on those who would dare to seek to harm his children. The Big
Guy spoke to you as one father to another, and asked you to do what he
could not, because in a very real way, you are his specially chosen
father surrogate."
"Yes."
"Let's go home."
* * *
Roberta removed her hand from Tom's forehead, and watched the two of
them for a long time, before she bent over and kissed Jessica's cheek.
"Be well, Daughter."
Jessica rolled to her back and murmured something, then she opened her
eyes and looked at Roberta while one hand found Tom's head and petted
it.
"I had a real weird dream."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I was surrounded by a bunch of kids, and they were watching me
real close, then they all came over and hugged me before they sorta...
Went in different directions and vanished."
"Anything else?"
"Umm... Yeah. I think the Big Guy wants us to go back to the pier,
and see Jim. He needs our help for some reason, and I'm pretty sure
it has something to do with those kids. I think they're waiting for
us to come see them."
"What about Tom and the others? Should they be there?"
"No. Not yet."
"Anything else?"
"Umm... Yeah. You know those old movies about the last world war?
Well, I dreamed that Tom and Mahika were on one of those ships and
shouting orders and stuff at other people, and that's why they aren't
there, because they're busy. Weird, huh? I don't think anyone would
pay attention to a dog and a wolf, would they?"
Tom sighed. "Roberta? See that red intercom button? Push it when I
tell you to.. It will lock on until you press it again.
"Let me up, Jessica."
She removed her arm and he rolled and sat on his haunches.
He looked at Roberta, then Jessica. "Jessica? You'll like Becky and
Cathy, I promise."
Before Jessica could react, he sighed. "Do it, Roberta."
She did, and the sound of General Quarters screamed into the night.
After it ended, Tom spoke briskly. "All hands! Secure for immediate
launch! We'll tidy things up on the way to make a delivery.
"Mahika! As soon as we're ready, get us into clear water and put us
on the foils. You know which pier we'll be dropping Roberta and
Jessica at, so they can do their jobs while we go do ours.
"Sandy! You're stuck with bodyguard duties until Becky and Cathy show
up to relieve you, then use your own judgement about where you should
be.
"Power crew! Spin 'em up! We're in a hurry!"
He seemed to slump, then he nodded. "Ok. You can turn it off."
He winced when they heard a high pitched whine, then he focused on
Jessica. "Sorry. Bitch at the Big Guy, for not letting you ride
along. In the meantime, you'll probably be pretty focused on those
kids you're supposed to meet."
"What's going on?"
Roberta sighed. "Whatever it is, it's important, or Tom wouldn't
bring the Sam Cee out of retirement."
"Retirement?"
"It happened before you were born. The Sam Cee is what Tom calls a
'Stealth Riverboat'.
"What's that?
"A riverboat that can... Shape shift into something else, a warship,
and Tom is authorized to operate it anywhere in the world, however he
wants to. He used to hunt pirates with it."
"Aren't riverboats pretty slow?"
Roberta smiled. "Well, yes, but the Sam Cee has some hidden extras.
What's your top speed, Tom?"
He chuckled. "Would you believe I'm not sure? The last upgrade put
our cruising speed wherever we want to hold it. The fastest we've
gone was 275 knots, during an emergency fighter recovery at sea. We
had more speed we could have used, but we didn't need it."
Roberta shook her head. "You must have held back during those
interviews you gave when you retired and opened the Sam Cee to the
public."
He nodded. "I had to. The Sam Cee is my proof of concept testing
platform, as much as he is a working warship, or floating tourist
trap."
They felt the Sam Cee shift, and Tom sighed. "I need to get to the
combat bridge. You two need to figure out what you'll need, then grab
any crew member and they'll get you to wherever I am."
He left and before the door closed he was already running.
Jessica thought about it, then nodded. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to
be talking to some kids who've been abused, so I don't need to do
anything except get dressed and get my purse."
She dressed hurriedly, then resettled on the bed, looked at Roberta,
and grinned. "You see it? He was already a million miles away, in
his head."
Roberta seemed to gaze at the ceiling, then she spoke softly. "The
good ones are like that."
"Huh?"
"Sorry. You just got a good look at a very angry husband, and father,
getting ready to protect his loved ones."
"Really?!"
"Yes."
"Something happened while I was sleeping, didn't it?"
"Before, mostly."
"Oh?"
"The three of them did what they had to do, to save the lives of some
abused kids. Unfortunately, they were too late to save three of them.
I think you're going to meet the ones they saved, and you'll get to
listen to their stories about what happened."
"You think he's going after the killers?"
"No. I think he and his people are going to go deal with some 'end
users'."
"Sounds like my dream must have been orders of some sort."
"Probably. Whatever it was, he heard something that made him act
immediately."
"Yeah. Ya know something? I like that. What about you? Think there
was anything there for you?"
Roberta touched the medallion she wore. "Of course there was
something in all that, for me. You need me there so those kids know
that no matter what others think, someone will know the truth, and
will do something more than talk about doing something."
"Yeah. I don't know if I want Tom to kill whoever he meets, or bring
them back so those kids will be able to *know* there will be some kids
who won't get abused later."
The speaker in their room beeped, then they heard Mahika's voice. "All
hands. This is the Senior Pilot. Foils down and locked. Prepare for
emergency acceleration that will include high speed maneuvering, until
we reach clear water. Roberta and Jessica. This means you grab
something solid and hang on until I say you can let go. Senior Pilot,
out."
Roberta pointed at some handles on the nearest wall. "I believe she
means those."
Jessica scrambled off the bed and grabbed a handle that was at her
height, while Roberta grabbed one, then grabbed Jessica with her other
hand before she took a deep breath and let it out. "We're ready. Go,
Love, and may the Big Guy guide your hands."
Her answer was a smooth acceleration that had some sharp turns in it,
until the Sam Cee straightened out and seemed to lunge forward
eagerly.
Eventually, the acceleration ended and Tom's voice came over the
speakers. "Secure for combat. Someone see that my wife and daughter
are... Belay that! Becky! Cathy! They're in the cabin just aft of
Roberta's suite! Grab them, and go!"
Two dogs materialized, each one focused on her target, Roberta and
Jessica were suddenly wearing jackets, with their purses hanging from
their shoulders, then the four of them vanished, to suddenly appear a
few hundred feet above the water.
The wolfhound who was leaning against Jessica spoke softly. "We
thought you'd like to watch something few get to see this close."
They found the Sam Cee, then, as if he knew he was being watched, the
faint whine of his turbines changed to a scream of anger and he
quickly vanished over the horizon.
Nobody said anything, then the four vanished again.
This time, when they reappeared, it was on the end of a familiar pier,
and in the midst of a group of policemen.
One of them noticed their arrival, and shouted. "Jessica! Over
here!"
"Jim?!"
"Yes!"
She tugged on Roberta's hand. "Come on. You'll like him."
Roberta laughed. "I've heard about him. I'm sure I will."
When they got there, Jim gestured at the horizon. "Were you folks
really on that... Apparition?"
One of the dogs took the time to look at him. "Yes, they were."
"I've heard about you, and seen you with Roberta, so I won't offend
you by asking for your papers and permits."
"Thank you. We'd like to know what's going on. We were sleeping, and
the next thing we knew, Kay was shaking us awake and telling us 'Go!
Go!' Then Tom and the Ambassador linked with us, gave us directions,
and after a short side trip, here we are."
He pointed at all the figures around them. "You weren't the only
people woken up. Everyone who works on the pier was called out."
Roberta nodded. "It involves what happened yesterday evening, right?"
He shook his head. "Trust a reporter to know more than we do. Maybe,
you should brief us."
"And maybe I shouldn't. In case you've forgotten, I'm no longer
working as a reporter, even though I still seek the truth."
"Protecting your sources?"
"No. They're quite capable of protecting themselves."
"What I figured, when we got the word about the Sam Cee lighting off.
Should have known he'd keep him combat ready."
Jessica studied him, then smiled. "Want to be there, right? In your
blood or something?"
"Smart girl. Can I get anything out of you?"
"I'm here to see some kids, and for some reason, my dad's real pissed
because of a dream I had."
"Pissed. I do believe that's an understatement. Their combat audio
has been patched into our tac net."
"Yeah? Can we hear it?"
He sighed. "Not unless you have a miracle available."
One of the dogs laughed. "At your service."
"I should have expected that. Can you amplify what I'm hearing?"
She sneezed. "Done."
They heard silence, then Tom's voice came clearly.
"Tactical!"
"Ok, Boss. For a few minutes, I thought we might have a sub out
there, but it's just a low profile speedboat. Haven't spotted its
mama, yet. Wherever it is, they've got some good tech hiding them."
"We in international waters, yet?"
"Ten minutes."
"Damnit. Sandy! You know what I want, right?"
"Back track?"
"Yes."
Suddenly a female voice shouted. "Belay that!"
"What the Hell?! Ambassador on the Bridge! Alpha wolf! We need a
new context. You have the con!"
Sandra's voice came clearly, and calmly. "I have the con. Tentative
new context. Interplanetary cooperation."
Tom surprised his listeners when he laughed. "Talk to us,
Ambassador."
"I need the standard distress frequency available."
"Communications. You have it. Speak, and you will be heard, if they
have it on."
"I have no doubt I will be heard. Hello, Kelas. It's been a long
time, hasn't it?"
"You!"
"I. Fitting, isn't it, old enemy?"
"You should have died."
"Perhaps. I have the slave shackles you sent me. It's been a long
wait, but I knew that someday I would be able to return them to you."
"That's impossible! There had been no contact with Terra, yet!"
"No physical contact. You are predictable, Kelas, and I... I am our
world's primary Avatar. We knew your plans as if you'd made them in
my presence."
"Would you destroy my cargo, to fulfill your promise to me?"
"Sandra. Take these with you, and return them to their owner. I no
longer need them.
"Fetch!"
"I can't place shift! What have you done to me?!"
"What I promised I would do, if you broke the word you gave me on that
day. You have served both our worlds well, Kelas. Perhaps you will
someday be remembered as more than a footnote in the Great Book."
"If I am, it will be your doing, not mine."
"Well, yes. Goodbye, old enemy."
"Goodbye, Vix."
"Channel closed on his end, Ambassador."
"Tactical?"
"Stationary target. No emissions of any kind, that we can detect."
"Thank you. By Rabelaisian Law, the people on that boat are convicted
criminals. The crime they committed was the breaking of their oath to
a Bard. Do you understand me?"
Tom's voice had the sound of colliding icebergs in it. "I do,
Ambassador.
"Weapons! As soon as you have target lock, fire!"
"Targeting... Lock! One away!.... Impact!... Target destroyed."
"A slow pass through the impact area, so we may search for survivors.
Then, we will go after the dog's master."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Jessica! Roberta! Show every courtesy to the Ambassador and her
guests, when she arrives."
"Communications!"
"Sir!"
"Engage commo silence and initialize the satellite interlink for an
extended search of this area..."
Jessica turned around and studied the pier. "Plenty of room, right,
Lady Chrystal?"
She appeared and was surrounded by a small group of children. "Of
course. You're doing well, Jessica."
"Thanks. Got me some pretty good therapists, ya know?"
"I do. Your step father speaks highly of you."
"He's not such a bad guy, himself. You, though... I'm not going to
ask you if this shit had to happen, but the next time you talk to your
boss, tell him we got enough troubles of our own, and he should do a
better job of keeping his at home. After that, you can tell him he's
got my thanks, for not mixing your kids up in this nightmare."
She laughed. "I've already spoken to him, at length, about this, and
other... Plans he has, but..."
"Yeah, I know."
She walked over and held out her hand. "Hi, guys. I'm Jessica, and I
am an ex child whore, who was used by some of the folks you were going
to meet. Let's go find a place to eat, or something, and we can swap
stories while we figure out what to do next."
Jim flinched. "Ahh... Sharkie's is closed, Jessica. Matter of fact,
the whole pier is closed off. You'll have to take them someplace on
shore."
"Oh... Hey! Lady Chrystal? Could you take us to where Kay and I
surfed, yesterday? I think there was a firepit, and we could have
like a campout and cook our own food."
Lady Chrystal smiled. "That area will be fine. Becky? If you will?"
Then she grinned. "Don't dawdle. Your cook might decide she's
wasting her time, and go home."
"Hah! I bet she's already grabbed her board and gone surfing! We'll
be lucky if she stays on the beach long enough to eat *our* cooking!"
Lady Chrystal laughed, then vanished.
Shortly after that, Jessica and her new charges vanished, along with
one of the wolfhounds.
Cathy brought them all back to the present when she sneezed. "Ok.
What loose ends does Roberta get to deal with?"
Roberta touched her medallion while she looked the situation over.
"Well... Since my sidekick has managed to get the innocent bystanders
out of our way, I guess it's time for me to deal with the adult bad
guys, right, Cathy?"
"I assume so, yes. Not my job, to tell the Champion of Light, how to
do hers."
"You are so kind, young Lady."
"You flatter me, and you know it."
"Odd. The medallion thinks I speak only the truth."
"You figure that out on your own, or have some help?"
"I had some help from my husband."
"Ok. *He* does know a little bit about how it's supposed to work."
"Yes."
She lifted the chain over her head, then casually offered it to Jim.
"Hold this for me? I find it distracting sometimes, when I need to
think clearly."
Cathy flinched but said nothing, and Roberta smiled at her. "A
problem?"
"A surprise, is all. Nothing you need to worry about."
"Oh, but I do worry. I expect my bodyguard to always be alert, and
unsurprised by any situation we face."
"Have your fun, Roberta."
"I will."
She gazed down the length of the pier, and sighed. "Jim? I guess you
know this situation screamed 'big news' to me, even before The
Ambassador played out her little game of justice long delayed."
"Was to us, too. I have several suspicions I haven't shared with
anyone, because they are... Based on feelings, and not facts."
She smiled briefly, then sobered while she scanned the pier and the
people on it. "I also suspect none of you know who can be trusted,
and you're wondering how to solve that problem, before much more is
done. Even if I didn't have my own sources, I would wonder at the odd
fact events revealed that something has been going on beneath your
collective noses, so to speak. Naturally, I would have pestered some
folks, until I had something more than questions about the obvious."
He sighed. "You nailed it. People are wondering how such an unusual
operation managed to avoid chance discovery."
"Years?"
"Yes."
"Do you wish my help, as the Champion of Light? You must know that
any evidence I turn up will need to be investigated before it can be
used in a human court. I now... Work for a parallel, and much
more... Direct system of justice."
"Yes. We know. I cannot stop you from doing whatever you decide to
do, but I would accept... Whatever scraps you decide to leave us."
"Noted."
She held out her hand. "Thank you for holding that."
He offered it to her and smiled. "May I assume I, at least, passed
some sort of test?"
"Yes. I had to be certain."
"I felt nothing."
"I did. The medallion speaks to only the person it has accepted as
its... Partner, unless it is properly invoked into a more... Visible
mode."
"The flaming sword?"
"Not always, but that is a good example of what can be done. Is there
an officer in charge, yet?"
"No. Right now, we have been ordered to seal the site, and await
developments."
"Cathy? May I assume you are watching her?"
"Oh, yes. I am also keeping an eye her two partners, whom I assume
are maneuvering themselves into the right position, so they can make
some evidence vanish. Perhaps I will allow them to seemingly achieve
their goal, as an exercise in futility, and so they reveal themselves
to the rest of the world. I haven't made up my mind, yet."
"Allow me to help them make up *theirs*, instead."
She held her medallion up and spoke loudly enough that she would be
heard by everyone on the pier.
"We walk in the arms of the light! We seek justice, for three who
cannot, because they were used, then casually discarded, as if their
lives were of no importance to anyone except the fishes they would
have fed! Let my fellow travellers on the path of light be revealed
for who they are, by the white flame of truth! Let those who walk in
darkness be revealed for who they are, by the dark flame that
illuminates *their* path!
"I, the Champion of Light and bearer of the Medallion of Truth, have
spoken! As I have commanded, so be it!"
Cathy padded over and put her front feet on the top rail, then sneezed
after she scanned the people on the beach. "It always amazes me, how
well sound carries over water."
She didn't bother turning her head when she spoke to the policewoman
who was surrounded by a black flame. "You are not under arrest. If
you have someplace you feel you should go, you may leave. Know,
however, that until The Champion of LIght wills it otherwise, people
will know your heart, no matter how you try to disguise it."
She then raised her voice and spoke to the stunned crowd on the beach.
"The flames are harmless, physically, and merely symbols of what is in
your hearts. If you would seek justice for three children who died
recently, do no harm, but do what must be done so the rule of law is
honored in its spirit, as well as its letter."
Cathy dropped away from the railing, then walked over and looked up at
Roberta. "The world is filled with surprises, isn't it? It seems
your husband revealed more to you, than he revealed to Kay, when she
was given control of Excalibur."
Roberta smiled wryly. "Oh, it was far worse than that. I abhor
violence as a solution. When I learned who I was wedded to, I used my
wifely skills to persuade him to reforge Excalibur into a tool more
suitable for our times."
"It was a masterful job and I will tell him so, as soon as it is
convenient to do so. What of those who may come and seek to hide the
truth from the world?"
"Credit me with some sense, Cathy. I've spent many years studying
Bards, and the world they live in. One of the first things I learned,
and perhaps it was deliberately emphasized when The Ambassador spoke
of it to me, is that manifested power, when treated with respect,
honors the intent of the invocation, and not the letter. If I had
doubted, I had to look no further than the relationship between Tom
and Mahika, to learn the truth of that statement.
"The intent of my words was justice for those children, and others.
Anyone who seeks to hinder that, will find themselves... In some
awkward social situations, at best."
"And when you are asked to remove the flames?"
"I don't know. Perhaps I will leave things as they are, until all of
the legal maneuvering is done. It is quite possible that the ones who
are taken to trial will be pleased to be able to know that the people
defending them, have their best interests in mind."
"You're laughing at something."
"Of course I am. If someone honestly changes, the flame will reflect
that change. It will be interesting to see how long it takes people
to discover that."
"Indeed. Since it appears that your job has been successfully
completed, you can officially turn things over, so we can go get
something to eat."
"As long as it's breakfast with my husband, I agree."
"When you are ready."
Roberta was smiling when she moved her attention to Jim. "Do you
think I've provided enough scraps, so you people can get on with your
jobs?"
"Scraps. You have a flair for understatement, Roberta. We will do
our best. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
She reached and put her hand on Cathy's head. "Take me home."
They vanished, and Jim just shook his head, then walked over and held
out his hand to the policewoman who wore a black flame. "Too many
know, and I must do the job I swore to do. You're under arrest."
She sighed and started stripping off her gear and handing it to him.
"I'll come quietly."
* * *
When Roberta and Cathy arrived on the bridge of the Sam Cee, Tom
studied them and held his arms open. "Showy, but effective."
Roberta hugged him, then she leaned into Tom. "Did I really do all
that?"
"Yes. You ok?"
"Not completely. Hold me."
He waited and finally she raised her head and looked around. "This
place is pretty quiet, for being a combat bridge."
"We're waiting to see what a small flotilla does. They've clumped up
just inside US territorial limits."
"Flotilla?"
"There's a mother ship out there, with a couple dozen high speed boats
in her care. Mostly smugglers of various items, with a few slavers
mixed in."
"Slavers? These people going to be getting rid of evidence?"
"No. Right now, they're trying to decide if they want to deal with
us, or turn themselves over to the US authorities."
"Seems like some of them will decide to run and hope you can't keep
track of them all."
He smiled. "We've already made it clear that wouldn't be a very good
decision. First thing we did was make a run through their center at
combat speed, and put warning shots across all their bows."
"Evil... Man. I'd like to see the footage, later."
He laughed. "No problem. Cathy mentioned you wanted some breakfast,
and Sandra already has the con, so I'm an observer for awhile. You
ready to relax on the beach and finally sample some of Kay's cooking?"
"No. If what we heard is any indication, you have the kind of crew
who doesn't need you there to hold their hands. What I would like is
a quiet breakfast for just the two of us, then a chance to spend some
time in bed with you, so we can... Be husband and wife."
He nodded. "Doable. I really don't think those folks are going to do
anything surprising, except surrender without a fight, to the US
authorities when they get here."
"You're hiding a grin."
"Well, yes. Kelas was using a spell of concealment when we caught
him. So were these folks."
"You did say the Sam Cee is your proof of concept platform."
"It wasn't anything that subtle. We're tied into the satellites, and
they are out of range of any spells that could be cast. All we had to
do was find out who we could see in the sat images, but not with our
own gear. Then, too, there's the old cliche' of spells dissipating
shortly after the death of the one who cast them."
"You're right, that's much too ordinary a solution."
She tugged on his hand. "Breakfast. After that we can talk, or
whatever."
She led him to the galley, then the two of them shared the cooking
chores before they stocked a cart and took it to her suite.
* * *
After Jessica and her companions appeared on the beach, she giggled
and pointed at the woman who was roasting some spitted ribs over the
firepit.
"That's Lady Kay. The dog who brought us here is one of her
daughters."
One of the boys looked around, then sighed. "Yeah. Riiight. Whatever
you say. Where are we?"
"West coast of the United States."
"What happens, now?"
Jessica sighed. "Lots of things, maybe. We can eat a decent
breakfast, if you guys are hungry, then, I guess it depends on...
Things."
"Yeah? Things?"
"Yeah, meat. One thing for sure, though. Nobody's gonna fuck you or
make you fuck them. You have a say in that, now, same as I do. Around
here, no means 'FUCK NO!'. Got it?"
"What if I say yes?"
"Different rules. Somebody your age, yeah, go for it, just try not to
get caught. If whoever, is eighteen or older, forget it, unless you
want to wind up *really* fucked over, and maybe dead when they
finish."
"Yeah?"
Becky spoke up. "I'm Becky. Yes. That pier with all the police?
That was where you were being delivered. Woman who rescued all of you
helped make sure the folks taking delivery would miss this one and a
lot of others."
One of the girls spoke up. "I thought we were going to be... Servants
and stuff like that."
Jessica sighed. "Damnit. I wish I still had my bruises. Anyway,
yeah, servants all right, like I was since right after I was born. My
parents worked me over and turned me into a fuck toy. Once they
thought I was ready, I got rented out, or given away. Didn't matter
what was done to me, as long as my body survived."
"All your life?"
"Yeah. I was a live fuck doll for my dad, then anyone he and mom told
they could use me. They made a lot of money off me, too. Pictures,
movies... Live shows...
"Couple weeks ago, I ran like Hell and got lucky, that's all."
The girl sighed. "Mom sold me, so the rest of them could eat for a
few more weeks."
"You want to go back?"
"No. According to our customs, I am dead. I have no family, now."
"Got it. Well, until something better comes along, we'll be your
family, ok?"
"I... Guess that's ok."
"Sounds stupid, but hey, until you find some someone else who won't
use you, and be thinking they can just kill you when they get tired of
having you around, that's the way it's going to work..."
Jessica stiffened and looked at each of them intently. "I just had a
weird thought. Maybe a few of you are thinking you'll be able to just
walk away from us right now, and figure out a way to survive on the
streets, like a lot of kids must do where you come from.
"Get a clue, guys. If you were that good, you wouldn't be *here*.
What you see on the TV and in the movies is a lot different than the
reality. Sure, you can make a good life here, if you work for it, but
not if you do it by peddling your asses or whatever, for favors or
meals."
One of the girls straightened. "They said I was good enough to make
an American family very happy."
Jessica laughed. "Yeah. So you bought that line and hopped a ride
with a fugitive slaver from Rabelaisia. You're an innocent cunt, but
it's your life. You got no money, and you'll wear your ass out by the
time you make enough to buy food to eat, if whoever decides to use you
doesn't kill you as soon as they're done for the night. The *best*
you'd better dream of is finding someone who's willing to use you
until you stop looking cute, and then you'd better hope they care
enough to find you someone else who *might* take care of you."
"This is America!"
"Yeah, cunt. Welcome to the real one. Streets might be a little
cleaner, but the assholes who use them at night are going to look just
like the ones who run the streets where you came from. I got to live
in a clean house and go to school, but that was because it was good
business to make it look like I was a normal kid, when I wasn't being
used."
Jessica sighed. "Ok, here's the way it's going to work. Stick with
me, and I promise to do my best to make sure you have good lives, if
you decide to stay and live in America."
"Yeah? Why should we believe you, cunt?"
"Any of you jerks realized who brought you here?"
One of the other boys nodded. "Yeah. That was the Rabelaisian
Ambassador, right? So she had it bad for the guy who was running us
in. That's over, now, and she's gone. All I see is two cunts and a
talking dog."
Jessica laughed. "Ignorant prick. Maybe news travels slower where
you're from. You ever hear of King Arthur, Merlin, and the Lady of
the Lake?"
"Yeah. People talk about them like they were real people. Everyone
knows better."
"I'm not everyone, and that other 'cunt' just happens to be the Lady
of The Lake."
"Yeah? Tell us another good one."
"How about we show you a good one? Kay, show these guys Excalibur."
"Are you certain?"
"You got a better way?"
"No, and these kids are ultimately your responsibility."
She walked over to the surfboard that was stuck in the sand, and
pointed. "That, children, is merely a pale image of the reality of
the Sword of Light."
She reached, and her fingers flowed into the board as she wrapped them
around the hilt. When she pulled her hand away, the sword stayed in
her hand, and she held it up so it would illuminate the area around
her.
"The Sword of Light!"
She casually tossed it so it stuck in the sand, in front of the boy
who had questioned Jessica. "Feel its reality. Remove it from the
sand, if you dare to expose the truth that's hidden in your heart."
He sneered at her. "Nice illusion. Wasn't very flashy, though."
Kay smiled. "Reality seldom is, young man. Perhaps you should prove
the truth of my illusion, so we may get on with breakfast before it
burns."
"Yeah. Wish I knew how you did it."
He walked over and casually kicked at the sword.
"Ow!"
He bounced on one foot a few times, then lost his balance and fell
over. He went to his hands and knees, got near the sword, then
reached for it.
Jessica spoke casually. "Grab the hilt so you don't cut yourself.
It's pretty sharp."
He laughed. "It's probably just a stick or something. I can grab it
anywhere I want to, right?"
"Yeah, you can, but you grab the blade, don't squeeze too hard at
first. If you get hurt, don't cry and tell us you weren't warned,
ok?"
"Yeah, yeah... Ok. Just to keep you from whining, I'll grab the
handle...
"Hey! It's..."
He slowly ran his hand along the flats of the blade, then he curled a
finger slightly so he could test the edge before he paused and stared
at Jessica before he looked at the now plain surfboard.
"It was just a painting, right?"
"Yeah, until Kay made it real, just so you could call us liars."
"Umm... If I'd grabbed, I might have cut off my fingers, huh?"
"Maybe. I suppose you could do that, then let her heal you, if you
need more proof. Or, if you remember how the legend worked, you could
try to pull the stick out of the sand. Should be easy, right?"
"Yeah. She didn't toss it that hard, so I bet it will just fall over
if I lean on it."
He casually pushed on the hilt and the sword didn't move.
He braced and shoved at it again, with the same result.
One of the girls giggled. "It's only in a few inches. Bet you can
dig it out."
"Help me?"
"Sure."
They dug the sand away until the sword appeared to be floating in the
air. They both sat back, looked at it, then she was the one to sigh
and lean forward until she could slowly pass her hand through the
blank area where a stick would have been.
There was nothing there.
He glared at her. "Move.your hand."
She did, and he gingerly passed *his* hand through empty air.
He did it several times, then sat back and studied the situation
before he looked up and focused on Kay. "How?"
Kay shrugged. "I am who I am. The power of Excalibur is mine to
command, when I feel there is need for it. Will you accept reality,
or continue to insist that you must live in a world of illusion?"
He flushed. "I... Don't know what to think."
"The path to learning, opens for you. Will you listen with an open
mind, before you make any further decisions about what is, and is not
possible, in your future?"
"Yes, Doyenne."
"Thank you."
Kay walked over and put her hand on the hilt. "Join your hand with
mine, and we will return Excalibur to his slumber."
He did, then she gently lifted the sword and the two of them walked
over until they were standing if front of her surfboard.
She spoke softly. "Do not fear, young one. Keep your hand on mine,
and together, we will place the sword where it belongs."
She reached, and he gasped and shivered when his hand penetrated the
surface, then Kay let go of the hilt and drew both of their hands
free.
He snatched his hand from hers and felt it carefully before he reached
and touched the image.
"I felt it happen, yet... It is an image again and my hand cannot
grasp it!"
He bowed his head and went to his knees in front of Jessica. "Forgive
me, my doubts, Great One."
Jessica frowned. "Great One?"
"You must be such, to be able to command one such as the Lady of The
Lake."
Jessica sighed and touched him so she could lift his head until they
could see each other.
"I am no 'Great One', even though Kay's skills are mine to command,
when there is need. I am what I claim to be, a former child whore,
and no different than each of you in that regard. You know the world
you left behind. I know the world you are about to enter. Any of you
may stay, or go, as you wish."
"Truly?"
"My word, fellow sack of meat, who would have made a predator a tasty
snack, before his bones were tossed away."
"We... I wanted to believe, so I believed them when I was offered a
life that would be better than the one I lived."
"You are in a new world, with streets that are much the same as the
ones you left behind. If you want something familiar in your life,
you may leave at any time, and... See how long you survive. Perhaps,
you *will* survive, and become the man you want to be."
"And if that man, is truly a woman?"
"It can happen sooner, and with less risk, this way."
"I... I will stay, for now, if you'll have me."
She hugged him. "I will... Sister."
"Thank you."
Jessica held him off, then shook her head and grinned. "For a girl,
you felt pretty... Manly."
He blushed and she giggled. "Come on. Let's see if Kay remembered to
make sure our breakfast didn't burn!"
* * *
They were toasting marsh mellows over the embers of the fire when
Becky walked over to stand at the surf line and gaze out to sea. "They
are returning."
Jessica looked up from talking to one of the girls. "They?"
"The Sam Cee, and your soon to be parents."
"Good!"
Becky changed into her human form and laughed. "Yes. Very good,
because we have been fortunate the authorities have chosen to leave us
alone while they try to figure out how to handle a situation that
isn't covered in any of their rules."
Jessica walked over and joined her in watching. "Yeah, maybe. You
have anything to do with that?"
"No. The Ambassador anticipated the possibility, which is the main
reason she picked me to guard all of you."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I am also a Bard, and a dual citizen of Terra and Rabelaisia.
By allowing me to take charge of the kids, she did not turn them over
to Terran jurisdiction."
"Does that mean that they aren't really in the US, yet?"
"You do your step father proud, young lady. Exactly. Until she
relinquishes jurisdiction, nothing can happen, except the possibility
we will all be asked to remove ourselves from US soil. Someone, if
they are overly zealous, could declare The Ambassador persona non
grata, and ask her to leave, immediately."
"Be stupid, if they do that."
"True, and it would only last until the President or Congress revoked
that status. The Sam Cee will be handy, because legally, it is
considered to be neutral territory. If Tom invites her aboard, all
they can do is suggest that no US citizens go aboard."
"Sounds like nothing is going to happen."
"Probably not."
Becky smiled slightly, then glanced at the other children, and Kay.
"They are in good hands, and will come to no harm. Will you walk with
me a ways?"
"Umm... Something serious?"
"Yes. When we are far enough away, I will create a zone of...
Obscurity, so we will not be overheard, or observed and understood."
"Ok. Are you going to weird out on me if I admit being around you
makes me feel more relaxed than being around Kay?"
"No."
"Good! Kay is going to be one of my step mothers, but... I guess the
only way to say it is that it will be nice to have a couple of step
sisters, too."
"Thank you, Jessica."
Becky eventually settled on a dune, then gestured slightly. "There.
We are private, now."
"Even though I can see everything?"
"Yes. We can even be seen, but people won't be able to hear us, or
even tell that we are talking."
"Ok."
Jessica settled, then sighed. "Everything is happening so fast. Will
I ever get some time to myself?"
"Soon. How soon, only Kay would be able to tell you. I think this
will settle in a couple days, then you can focus on your own
problems."
"I got plenty, don't I?"
"Yes, with many ways to solve them."
"This where I get to hear about the alternatives you think I have?"
Becky laughed. "I will appreciate it if you hear me out. I know what
I would like you to do, but it will be your choice if you do it, or
not."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. My word."
"As a Bard?"
"Yes. I was trained and made a Master, by the Coyotes, on
Rabelaisia."
"So you have to do that 'Bard's Promise' stuff?"
"Bard's Promise?"
"I call it that. It's that stuff about helping anyone who asks."
"Oh. I see. Yes, I am available to anyone who asks me."
"Good! So this stuff you want to tell me... You going to be speaking
as a Bard, or yourself?"
"Myself, I think."
"Think?"
"You have a way of seeing directly to the center of things, Jessica."
"Problems, huh?"
"Yes, and I, my sister, and you, are at the heart of them."
"Weird. Sounds like the Big Guy is messing with us, if it's really
like that."
"You're probably right."
"Oh. So..." Jessica sighed and ran her fingers through the sand,
then giggled. "Too bad we're not ostriches."
Becky matched her giggles. "No closets to hide in, either."
Jessica sighed again. "Ok. I'm not going to weird out that you'd
know about that. Who'd you find out from?"
"You. I went back in time and watched you hide and... Everything
else."
Jessica raised her head and looked at Becky. "You're shivering. Need
a hug?"
"Not yet. I... I never imagined I'd be this frightened."
"Frightened, you?"
"Yes."
"Is it something you can talk about?"
"I have to."
"I promise I'll listen."
"Thank you. After I'm done, if you want me to, I can make it so you
can see auras and connections."
"Why after? Wouldn't it be easier if you did that first?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
"Trust you?"
"Please?"
"Ok."
Becky clasped her hands together and tried to slow their shaking, then
she looked down and sighed. "Did you know they talked about getting a
dog and letting him fuck you?"
"Yeah. As best I could figure out, if I was ever fucked by a dog, it
would have really reduced my price, and they... Needed the money they
got for me, so they could survive."
"You're partly right. They... Only decided to hold off on letting
that happen. There is a specialty market out there, and they were
going to act on that knowledge, after you finished puberty and lost
your 'little girl' appeal."
"I don't get it. You sound like you were pretty focused on finding
out all you could, about me."
"We are."
"You and Cathy, or everyone?"
"I and Cathy."
"I'm going to weird out more, if you keep rambling."
"Sorry. Cathy and I have never been married, or life mated."
"All those centuries and... Nothing?"
"Nobody other than ourselves, and sometimes casual relationships with
an outsider."
"I'm gonna sound stupid, but is it because you guys have dicks and
cunts, so you don't need anyone else?"
"Pretty much so, yes. We don't count Merlin and Tom. The
relationships are intense, loving and caring, but they aren't the
relationships we'd have if they were our true mates."
"So... It's starting to sound like you have it bad for someone, and
you want some advice. You have to know I'm the wrong person to ask
for stuff like that."
Becky sighed again. "You're the only person we *can* ask. You see,
Jessica, the person we both have it bad for, is you. If you could see
the links, you'd know we're potential life mates, and the links we
see, are strongest when she and I are dogs."
She raised her head and her eyes pleaded silently before she
whispered. "We have no right to ask this of you, Jessica, but will
you help us find a solution?"
"You're not feeding me the best line I've ever heard, just to get a
chance to fuck me?"
"NO!"
"Huh. At least I know what hurting so bad you want it to stop, sounds
like. Got lots of practice at living with it."
"We know, and we... We both went back and lived it with you. All of
it, from the first time you were fondled, until the evening you asked
Marie for her help."
"All thirteen years?!"
"Yes."
"And it didn't 'cure' you of your obsession?"
"We hoped it would, in some way, counteract the life mate links."
Jessica sighed and looked up. "Damnit, Big Guy. If I could strangle
you, I wouldn't hesitate. You fucked me up so I'd feel safer around
dogs than I do people, then you fucked with their lives, so they'd be
there at the right time. Covered all your options, too, didn't you?
If I decide I can't deal with pricks in my life, I can go lez, sorta.
Never seen a herm in real life, but I bet that if I decide to do some
cunt munching, I'm going to have to find a way to deal with a hard
prick that gets in my way, 'cause I sure wouldn't ask them to be
anything other than who they really are."
She brought her head down and studied Becky. "So you guys like...
Really love me, but it's more like the love married folks feel?"
"We think so. All I can tell you that it's a lot different than what
we've felt with anyone else, including Tom and Merlin."
"Yeah. I can believe that. Right now, I feel like the Big Guy just
ordered me to spread my legs and let myself get raped. Wish he'd
warned me."
"You could say no."
"Bullshit! I'm not as old as you, but even I know when shit like this
is inevitable. It's a fucking arranged marriage, and we both know
it."
Jessica slumped and lost her anger. "I even know that I'm going to
love both of you just as intensely as Tom loves Mahika and Sandra,
right?"
"You have a point."
"Yeah. Thanks, I guess. Hey, look, since we all know it's going to
happen, let's get the physical stuff out of the way. Can you guys be
human for our first time and make it so I can't get pregnant?"
"Of course. May I make a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"There's nothing stopping us from moving in time, and taking as long
as we need, before we come back and make love to each other."
"Nahh... Some other time. Bad enough we're going to have to hide the
fact you guys are..."
"You've thought of something?"
"Yeah. If I remember it right, once I divorce my real parents, I can
be declared a legal adult. I still want a real family, but even if I
let Roberta and Tom adopt me, I'll still be able to get married and
all that suff, even though most folks are going to think 'once a
whore, always a whore'. So..."
She looked up again and raised a clenched fist. "FUCK YOU! I'm not
gonna do this for you, or anyone except Becky and Cathy, you hear
me?!"
She lowered her fist and grinned. "Ok, We'll play his game. I don't
know what the fuck he's up to, but I'm pretty sure he wants a marriage
between a normal human, and a couple of human shape shifters. So,
that's what it will be, once I'm legally an adult. I'm gonna stand up
and marry my bodyguards, while they're in their dog shapes. People
want to make something of it, they're going to have to deal with the
Ambassador, and Marie, right?"
Becky was staring at Jessica in shock, then she opened her arms. "We
love you, too. You want us to prove it now, or later?"
"Umm... Now, if you can remove the drippy stuff before we go back."
"We can. We're pretty big when swollen."
"Bigger than some of the dildos they used on me, or that guy's prick?"
"Only our knots, when we are dogs. As humans, we're a little longer
than average. Shorter than some of the men who used you, and we'll be
a lot gentler, of course."
"Ok."
Jessica sighed and looked out to sea. "Hell. As much as I want to
get this over with, I guess we'd better wait until we're on the Sam
Cee, right?"
"The people who need to know, would know, but we could take our time,
and we'd have the advantage of not being on US soil when it happens."
"Reality sucks, doesn't it?"
"Sometimes, yes. Welcome to working for the Big Guy."
"Yeah. Don't panic if I flash on you guys. Just do what they never
did, and hang on and stay with me until I come back."
"Deal with it when it happens."
"Thanks. Guess we've been away long enough."
"True."
"Umm... People really can't tell what we're doing, even though they
can see us?"
"Yes."
"Would you change back to being a dog, so I can hug you and sorta
check you out?"
"I could, but I think it would be better if we save that stuff for
later. Only be a few more minutes."
Becky pointed. "Tom's inbound and as soon as they come off the foils,
he'll beach the Sam Cee so we can all go aboard."
Jessica turned, then stared at what she was seeing. "That's... It
looks impossible."
Becky pulled her close. "A lot of people told him it was, so he found
a way to do it. Now, if they want to get close to what he can do,
they have to license the technology from him. Watch. Once they slow
enough and settle in the water, you'll get to see the Sam Cee shape
shift."
"It looks like one of those things they do in the movies. Future type
stuff we shouldn't be able to do."
Becky laughed. "Tom could have done it two ways. Power, or
technology. He chose to have enough money so he could invent the
technology he needed, which was mostly applying stuff that was already
known, or refining it. When you have the money, and you're a private
citizen, there are things you can do that a funded project can't."
Jessica giggled. "Money makes its own rules? Never thought someone
would find a way to make it work so it helps people."
"Many people do it, Jessica. Few manage to do it on the scale Tom
has, and not let themselves be corrupted by their power."
"Yeah.... Oh... Wow.... That's... Awesome, how everything folded
away and those paddle wheels came out."
"Indeed. We've seen it happen so many times, we're used to it."
"Crazy. Hey, wait... If Tom designed the Sam Cee, and did all that
other stuff himself, does that mean he's one of those genius types,
like Einstein, or that guy who did his work while he was in a wheel
chair?"
"Yes."
"So all this other stuff he does, is that him, or an act he's been
doing so long he doesn't have to think about it?"
"Both. We all do it, including you and those kids that were rescued.
We do the best we can, to be ourselves, and when we have to, we do the
best acting we can, when that is required. Public and private lives,
Jessica."
"Yeah. I hope that stuff Marie and Ted are doing works out. I'd
never be able to do what they're doing."
"If it makes you feel better, they use telepathy quite a bit. Plus,
when the time is right, Marie has the controls that will let her time
travel."
"So they'll be able to get away and be by themselves whenever they
want to? Good! And hey... You know something? I'm looking forward
to us doing it, because someday I can build a new life, that's the
real me, instead of having to put up with this one. Thing is, right
now, if we did that, it would be like we were running away, to most
folks."
The Sam Cee beached, and the ramp came down.
Jessica sighed and got up. "Guess we'd better go back. You talk to
Cathy and tell her what happened? Is that why she's got her front
feet on the railing, and has that... Happy look?"
"Yes, and yes."
Becky stood and brushed the sand off, then she shifted back to being
an Irish Wolfhound. "You can have many shapes you use. After things
slow down, we could help you learn how to be a real bitch, or... Be
like one of us, or even fully male."
"Male, so I could do to others, what was done to me? No, thanks.
Being herm, though... Maybe, someday. Hey, that reminds me. Are you
and Cathy healers, too?"
"Of course."
"Good! So you can like... Keep an eye on me when we fuck, and fix
any damage?"
"Of course."
"Thanks. Let's go take care of the serious stuff, then we can go pick
us out some rooms before we..."
She blushed. "It's gonna be weird, to make love. I'm used to being
fucked. You guys are going to have to help a lot. Plus, Lady
Chrystal fixed me up so I'm like a virgin without a cherry to pop. Be
gentle, ok?"
"We will. There are ways we can... Make the experience pleasurable
for you, instead of painful."
"Yeah? Ok. Tell me when we're private. Let's go."
Becky laughed. "Pushy human."
Jessica giggled. "Sorta silly, huh?"
"When you get a chance, talk to Tom about living with the mood swings.
Speaking of those, you'd better play by the rules, which means you
need to keep all your therapy appointments, so they don't come looking
for you."
"Yeah. Maybe I should have Roberta and Kay with me next time."
"Don't forget Tom, since he's going to be your step father."
"What about you and Cathy?"
"There's an old saying. 'Make haste slowly.' We'll be there, as
bodyguards, but you'd better leave us out of the talks."
"Ok. Hope I'm feeling up when it happens."
"We'll work on that. Something else we'll work on, is getting you a
computer of your own, and getting you signed up for some online
schooling."
"Thanks... Umm... Is it ok if I dream big, and hope I can go to
Marie's high school next year? I'm real tired of not having any
friends my own age."
"Maybe something can be arranged. Hopefully, what happened today
won't happen very often."
"Yeah. Hopefully."
Kay was watching them approach and when they got close enough she
waved her hand. "Ok, kids. Time to go aboard. Galley is always
open, so you can eat whenever you want to, if you can't wait for the
regular meal. Nobody is going to tell you when you have to eat. As
long as you don't try to enter a locked room, you can go where you
wish and explore. You can also pick out your own rooms, as long as
they aren't ones already being used. You'll know they're being used,
if you can't open the door. Once you pick a room, nobody will enter
it without your permission. If you want to share, you can. We'll
worry about all the other stuff later, when we know more about what
the possibilities are."
She sighed. "For your own safety, someone will have to go along if
you want to go ashore and explore the city, then return. One more
item, and it's important, to *you*. Right now, The Ambassador is
responsible for you. If you want to leave, and try living on your
own, all you have to do it tell one of us it's what you want to do.
However, once you make that decision, none of us will be able to help
you, if you get in trouble."
One of the boys glared at her. "So that's how it is? We walk away
and you folks write us off?"
"No. We treat you like the adult you want to be. You'll be living
under American law, not Rabelaisian. You go out there, then decide
you want help, all you have to do is make it back to the Sam Cee, or
to the Embassy. After that, we can help. I strongly suggest you wait
and talk to the Ambassador, before you make any decisions about what
you'll be doing later."
Jessica sighed. "You're an idiot, if you think you're going to go out
there and make it on your own. You may have been tough and smart back
home, but when it comes to living here... You'd be easy meat, just
like I would be if I tried to make it on my own where you're from.
What do *you* think your life is worth, right now? You're a kid who
already fell for a line once. You're in a strange country, you
*think* you know the rules, and if you want to live, you're going to
have to go out there and find someone you can trust."
She sighed. "If nothing else, stick around long enough you have some
sort of clue."
"How long can we stay here?"
"All your life, if you want to. I'm betting that all of you will only
be around long enough to grow up, and by then, you'll know how the
system works here. Plus, by then, you won't have to sell yourselves
unless you want to, and you'll know what you're worth."
"A lot?"
"See what I mean? Money don't mean shit, if you're not alive to spend
it. Forget about the money right now, and get in touch with the new
reality. Dream BIG, DAMNIT! Look at me! I went from a whore who was
being used, to someone who can help idiots like you get their head out
of their ass long enough they figure out they can finally be who they
were meant to be, and not... A warm hole who is wondering if he's
going to wake up after he's fucked."
He stared at her, then whispered through his shock. "Anything?"
"ANYDAMNTHING!"
"You think I can someday be... A woman?"
Jessica laughed. "Becky? You're the Bard here. Didn't that sound
like he was asking for some help?"
"Close enough."
She studied him, then smiled. "Think you can handle all of it? You
want the cunt so you can sell it, or do you want all of it, so you
have the option of someday getting married, and having children of
your own?"
"Children?! That's impossible!"
"For science, right now, yes. For a Bard, it's a request that can be
granted, completely."
He gulped and looked at Jessica. "This isn't some sort of con?"
Jessica shook her head. "No con, no illusion. If she says she can
shape shift you into being a true woman, she can, and if you want the
change to be permanent, it will be. Umm... You ever think about
being both?"
"Both?"
"Yeah. A herm. You know, prick and cunt, and they both work. You
could even get yourself pregnant, if that turns you on."
He stared at her, then Becky. "You guys doing some sort of scam?"
Becky laughed. "No. Like she insists, a new world, with new rules.
One of those rules is doing our best to let you know all of your
options, before you make your decision."
"I... No."
He touched his forehead. "Up here, I have always wanted to be a
woman, but when people saw my body, they laughed at me and told me I
would have to earn much money, and if I was lucky, I would be able to
wear a woman's body before I was too old to use it properly."
"Do you know what you want to look like?"
"Yes. I had a sister, and she was very beautiful, until someone
bought her from our mother, for one night's pleasure. They..."
He shook his head and slumped. "She was alive when they brought her
back, but she died in my mother's arms a few minutes later. The men
who used her left her face untouched. The rest... They laughed, when
they tossed her skin on the ground, and said that it was their parting
gift for her excellent services. They called it her burial shroud."
"You wish to wear her body?"
"Yes. She deserved to live. This way... I know I'll never be as
good she was, but perhaps, her memory will touch me and I will manage
to do things in a way that will bring her much honor."
"Place your hand on my forehead, and let yourself remember your sister
as she was. I will do the rest."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
He touched her forehead, then closed his eyes. "Can you see her?"
"Yes. She's very beautiful."
He shimmered and was hidden from sight, then the shimmering went away
and Becky spoke calmly. "And now, so are you. Be careful, until you
are used to the changed balance of your body."
"I..."
She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her body before she opened
them and looked at Jessica. "Am I?... I'm not dreaming this?"
"Want one of your friends to fuck you, so you know you're a girl, now?
First time hurts, most of the time. That's what I was always told. I
don't remember what was used on me, but it wasn't a prick. That
happened later, on my fifth birthday. It's not the sort of present a
girl forgets, ya know?"
Becky sighed. "It was a finger, and some cooking oil, a few days
after they got you home after your birth."
Jessica shuddered, then shook her head wearily. "Gods... I guess the
only reason my parents had me, was to give dad his own fuck toy.
Anyway, you're really a girl, now, and you need to do some serious
thinking before you spread your legs and get fucked from the front.
Don't... Oh, Hell. Sounds silly and I know it, but losing your
virginity should be something special, because you want to, not
because you have to. Same for guys, I guess. Anyway, do some
thinking about it first, ok?"
The new girl looked down and then at Becky. "What's this going to
cost me?"
Becky deliberately settled on her haunches and smiled. "Nothing,
unless you count learning who you are, then being that person, enough
payment. I don't put a price on what I do for others, they do."
"I... Be myself? I'll try. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, let's get aboard, so you kids can start
figuring out what you want to do, now that you will get to make your
own decisions, and make them stick."
One of the girls paused before she stepped off the ramp. She looked
at one of the women next to Tom, and held out her hand. "Thank you."
Sandra smiled and touched palms with her. "You're welcome."
"Umm... What happened after you... Took us wherever you took us?"
Sandra studied the girl thoughtfully before she spoke. "I went back
and gave Kelas the slave shackles he'd used on the Ambassador, when
she was a lot younger."
"She used to be a slave?!"
"No. She was already a Master Bard, and she let herself be captured,
as part of... A sting operation. Kelas was one of the slavers that
was captured."
"Oh. Then what?"
Sandra sighed, looked away for a brief time, then spoke softly. "The
shackles were special, and had a spell in them that kept anyone who
wore them from place shifting. Kelas couldn't run away, so he and all
his crew were killed when the boat was destroyed."
"Killed? I thought Americans always let people get tried, and if
people were rich enough, they'd get fined or something, then they
could go back to what they were doing when they were caught."
"Sometimes the American version of justice seems that way. In this
case, Kelas broke Rabelaisian laws, and it wasn't the first time he'd
done so. The Ambassador found him guilty of breaking his word to a
Bard, and she sentenced him and his crew, who were also repeat
offenders, to immediate execution."
"Just like that? No trial?"
"Not as we think of them, but it was no sham, either. When I put the
shackles on him, I read his mind, and relayed what I learned, to her.
They were guilty of slave trading, and much more. They all committed
crimes that would have resulted in them being killed, if they were
ever caught, and tried fairly."
The girl sighed, then looked around and went over to lean on the
railing next to Cathy. "Are you really a person, or just a dog and
you can't speak?"
Cathy laughed. "I am a person who can become a dog, just like my
sister, whom you've already met."
"Oh. Are all of you...Special?"
"Yes and no. Roberta is a woman who happened to be in the right place
at the right time, so she was made the Champion of Light. She has no
special abilities, unless you count her desire to make sure the truth
is never hidden."
"But the rest of you are... Able to do stuff?"
"Yes, except for Jessica. She is what she insists she is, a young
girl who was used as a sex toy, ever since she was born."
"Bad, huh? Doesn't act like it. All her bruises and stuff must be
hidden, right?"
"Bad, yes. The Ambassador healed her body, and that is helping her
recover."
"It's true, then, that our bodies and minds affect each other a lot?"
"Yes. I saw you limping. Would you like the limp to go away, and
have all your other injuries be healed?"
"People say your doctors can fix anything, if one has enough money. I
don't have any."
Cathy smiled, then turned her head slightly and gently touched the
girl's leg with her nose. "Be healed in body, young lady. If I fixed
your mind in the same manner, you would not be yourself, and all of
your experiences, good and bad, would be gone. Give yourself time,
before you consider that solution."
The girl's eyes had gone wide after Cathy touched her leg. "The pain!
It's gone!"
"Yes. Be careful when you walk. You will have to relearn how, now
that you have two good legs."
The girl spun away and dodged past everyone else, then ran the full
length of the Sam Cee, and back, before she stopped next to Cathy, and
panting from her exertions, hugged her. "Thank you!"
Then she ran off again.
Jessica was grinning when she and Becky joined Cathy. "Well, you
didn't tell her to be careful when she ran, right?"
Cathy laughed, then became human and looked at Jessica. "Thank you,
Jessica. Can you handle a hug from us?"
"Umm... Not here? I might flash. Walk with me to... You know where
my room is. Do you guys have a room, too? I... I think we'd better
do stuff there, instead of in my room. The therapist said I'd
probably need my room to be a special place for me, for quite awhile.
Sorry."
Cathy sighed. "We... Understand that better than you think we do.
Until we met Merlin, we had no place we could call our home, because
of who, and what we are. We... Sometimes survived by letting
ourselves be used, or putting on special shows, until people decided
we weren't good neighbors. Young women who did not have husbands
quite often had little, or no say in what happened to them."
"So he rescued both of you? That sounds strange, because Kay says you
two are their daughters."
Becky laughed. "This happened centuries before he learned he is our
father. That knowledge was a gift Kay gave the three of us after Vel
banished them from his castle for a year, so they could finally add
the sex to their relationship."
"Oh. This is starting to get weird."
Jessica looked around, then turned back and reached for their hands.
"Come on. Plenty of adults here, so we can relax, right? You don't
have to guard Roberta while she's with Tom, do you?"
Becky squeezed gently. "No. I don't think she needs her sidekick
right now, either."
Jessica grinned. "Roberta looks a lot like Kay does. Bet her aura
looks pretty calm, right?"
"Yes. Would you like to be able to see it?"
"No. It was nice before, but it's pretty distracting, too. Let's
just... Be ourselves? Is that how I should say it? You guys don't
have to stop looking, or anything like that."
Cathy spoke softly. "Be ourselves? An interesting request, because
we've never felt this way, before."
"Oh. I forgot about that. You guys know how to make love, instead of
just fucking, right?"
"Yes. Doesn't stop us from being scared, for you, mostly. We don't
want to do anything to make the first time bad for you."
"Umm... It's not really my first time, for sex. That should help,
shouldn't it?"
"Maybe. Might make things worse, because we can't avoid doing a lot
of stuff that's been done to you. It will look and maybe feel the
same, but our emotions will be a lot different than you're used to."
"I think I get it. You're afraid you'll make me flash?"
"Yes."
Jessica sighed. "Let's go. Maybe one of us will think of something
that will help. Where are your rooms? I never had a chance to see
more than the top, the stairway, then the room I picked out last
night. You guys want to see that first?"
They started walking, smiled at Sandra when they went past her, then
Jessica pulled her hands free and hugged Kay. "Thanks. You know
about us?"
"Yes, Dear, we do, and we're all glad for the three of you. We'll
leave you alone unless there's an emergency of some sort."
"Hah! You were there when I made the deal. If you need us, use us."
"Use?"
"Yeah. I can change my mind, right?"
"Yes, you may. Thank you, Jessica."
"Welcome. See you folks... Whenever. Tell Roberta she'll probably
have company when she tucks me in tonight."
Kay smiled. "I shall. Will it be humans or dogs?"
"Don't know yet. Guess my room is going to be pretty crowded."
"Tom did say you can make changes."
"So it can be made larger?"
"That will depend on if anyone claims all the rooms next to it. If it
can't be made larger, we can shift things somewhere else and make that
room as large as it needs to be."
"Ok. I guess we can worry about it later."
She looked at her companions and smiled slightly. "I'll show you
mine, then you can show me yours."
The three of them were giggling when they resumed their journey, and
Kay just shook her head, then watched them enter Jessica's room,
before she turned and went looking for Tom and Roberta, who had
managed to vanish from her sight while she was distracted.
* * *
Jessica settled on the edge of her bed and sighed after she looked
around. "That was weird last night, when T... Dad asked me to pick a
card that had a picture of a room on it."
Cathy settled in a chair and studied things before she nodded. "I
thought I'd seen all of the rooms on the Sam Cee, but I've never seen
this one before."
"Yeah. Dad was pretty shocked, too. Pretty obvious the Big Guy added
a card, and I picked it. We both think it was a message of some sort.
Wish I knew for sure."
"You going to change it?"
"Dad said I could, and last night I was pretty sure I was going to,
but now..."
She shivered, then looked at Becky. "God... I don't want to demand
anything, but could you change and settle on the bed with your head in
my lap?"
She smiled. "Sure."
She shifted, then jumped on the bed and settled so her chin was on
Jessica's thigh. "Like this?"
Jessica started petting her head. "Yeah. Thanks. It's weird. You
two look identical, but you move real different. And your voices...
You sound like the Ambassador, and Cathy sounds a lot like Kay. Wish
I had a better way to describe how different you are from each other."
She looked at Cathy and studied her thoughtfully while her hand kept
moving. "Don't take this wrong, Cathy, but I think it was right, for
Becky to be the one who hit me with all of it. Maybe I'm full of it,
but she and I are a lot alike, you know? So, we sorta... Fit
together better than you and I do, right now. I think."
Cathy nodded slightly. "Not many can tell us apart, until they've
known us awhile. We sometimes play games with others, just to... Keep
our hands in, and have some fun, but with you, we won't pretend we're
the other, ok?"
"Thanks. Umm... I know you guys can go anyplace you want, and Becky
said you both went back and watched all my life, up until I got brave
enough to ask Marie for help. Are you guys ok? Must have been bad,
watching all that shit and knowing you couldn't do anything to stop
it."
They both sighed, and Becky rolled to her back, then stretched until
one of her front feet touched Jessica's face lightly. "We've seen
worse."
"Don't bullshit me, Becky. Seeing, and being so emotionally involved
you wanted to try and break the link, must have made it a lot worse,
right?"
"Yes."
"Yeah. Thought so. So... How fucked up are your heads, right now?"
Cathy shook her head, then sighed. "Pretty straight, until you agreed
to marry us. We took a couple decades to get us some distance, before
we came back to linear time. Now..."
She slumped and gestured vaguely, at her sister, who took over the
conversation.
"We were already pretty cynical and pragmatic, when we first met
Merlin and Kay. It was that same evening that we found out we were
already being used by the Big Guy. He's... Pretty casual and brutal,
in our terms, the first few times he uses his Avatars."
"Some of that being obsessed stuff?"
"Maybe. We... Talk about it once in awhile, and Cathy and I don't
think it's being obsessed, in his terms."
"Oh?"
"Yes. Maybe, as strange as it sounds, even to us, the Big Guy is an
adult, while we're children."
"And kids don't understand what motivates adults?"
"Usually, no."
"Yeah. I get it. So you think maybe someday we'll all grow up?"
"As a civilization, yes. Individually... Some of us will live long
enough to become adults. Right now, only three of us are 'experienced
enough' to be... I suppose you could call them 'young adults', while
the rest of us are teenagers on the verge."
"Three of us? You talking about Merlin, Kay and Lady Chrystal?"
"No. Tom, Mahika, and... Wolf."
"Wolf?"
"Sandra's real name, when she was still a bitch."
"Whoa!... I know Dad's got it real bad for dogs and wolves, but...
Are you saying that somehow a real dog got to be immortal, and be a
shape shifter?"
"Yes."
"She a herm, too?"
"No, although she could be, if she wanted to.. What made you ask
that?"
"I had this weird thought, that since you guys are sort of everything
at once, and you're humans who like to be dogs, it would be kinda
right, if a dog who liked to be a human, would also be a herm, so
she's everything at once, too, but like a mirror image of you guys."
"An interesting concept. Anyway, the three of them spend most of
their time wandering the past. Because of that, they have no idea how
old their minds are. Most likely, millions of years."
"Wow. So... If it weren't for the way time travel works, they
probably know so much they'd never be able to talk to us so we'd
understand them, right?"
"Probably."
Jessica shivered, then bent and kissed Becky's nose. "You're cute,
like that."
"Thanks."
Jessica leaned back and stretched, and while her head was tilted back,
she laughed suddenly. "Hey... You guys wouldn't happen to have the
rooms over Roberta's and this one, would you?"
Cathy looked up, then smiled. "Nobody has claimed the one above us,
yet. Should I?"
"Yeah! Be nice to have a stairway, wouldn't it? Then we'd never have
to go outside when we want to see each other."
"I'll be back in a few minutes."
Cathy vanished.
Jessica flinched, then sighed. "I forgot you guys can do that like
I'd think about walking somewhere."
"Does it bother you?"
"Yeah. I got a real problem with people sneaking up on me, ya know?"
"Sorry. We do prefer to walk, but she wanted to make sure the room
above us will be ours, before anyone else can claim it. And..."
Becky closed her eyes. "You're family, Jessica. We already thought
of you as someone we didn't have to hide that from, like we do most
people."
Jessica stroked Becky's chest and stomach for a few minutes, then
sighed. "Hey. It's ok. We all know we're going to make mistakes. It
wasn't her leaving, that freaked me, it was thinking about how she
could come back, the same way. I don't think I'll have a problem with
it, if you guys and everyone else do it where I can't see you."
"I'll tell her to shift back to outside, then knock. Should I let
everyone else know they shouldn't just appear in your room, or right
next to you?"
"Yeah. Give me a chance to see them coming, unless... Maybe when I
get used to that telepathy stuff, then you could warn me and show up.
Sorry."
"Relax. We're all learning what has to be done, and at least you
didn't have a flashback."
"Yeah, Becky. You're right. So... What do you think of my room?"
"It's very primitive."
"Yeah. I noticed that when I saw the picture on the card. I was
expecting something a lot different."
"All the other rooms are. Many of them are themed, of course, but
this one... Where did it come from?"
"Tom's head, I guess. He said it matched his area in a one room
shack, when he was a kid and thought he was part of a normal family."
"Ah."
Becky raised her head and inhaled through her nose. "Tom and Roberta
were here recently."
"Yeah. Sorta freaky to be calling them 'Mom and Dad', but I guess you
know what I mean when I say it's pretty easy to do, and it feels right
when I do it?"
Becky sneezed slightly. "Go with the flow and listen to your heart,
Jessica. Normally, the Big Guy isn't so direct with his instructions,
and you will have a chance to feel like he's asking, instead of
telling you what you should do."
"Kay hinted at that, I think. She said that if I got upset, and told
him off, he'd sort of lay off and come at me from a different
direction next time."
"Like he did when he made me tell you how Cathy and I feel about you?"
"Shit, Beck. He's weird, isn't he? I get the impression he likes to
hurt women before he relaxes and treats us like we're people."
"Wish I had an answer to that. All we've noticed is that there are
only two men who are immortal, and they are... Not in charge of their
lives. Merlin is pretty passive and an observer of life, most of the
time. Tom's a strange case, no matter how you look at his life. He's
not passive, but at the same time, the three of them live as a pack,
with Wolf as their Alpha."
"That was weird, this morning. He stayed on he bed all night with me,
and I think Mom stayed next to us, too. I started telling them about
a dream I had, and he... Was like a big, possessive, guard dog who
got told to go after a bad guy."
Becky laughed a little sourly. "We noticed. Been a long time since
Kay shook us out of a sound sleep and shouted at us to get our butts
moving before she kicked us so hard we wouldn't have to place shift to
get here."
Jessica giggled. "Really?!"
"Yes. I think Tom woke her up at the wrong time. Plus, she's
definitely NOT a passive person, even though she's spent thousands of
years living that way. She also hates human slavery, and the people
who cater to the pedos."
"Yeah? She's so damn serene all the time, I can't picture her getting
that angry."
"I don't think there's a word that fits, when she's like she was,
unless you picture a mother who fears for her children, and knows she
has a husband who isn't afraid to do what has to be done to protect
them. I do think that a lot of her anger was because of her
frustration. She couldn't be here, herself, and she knew it, so when
Tom shouted for us to get you and Roberta to where you had to be, she
knew that whatever was going on, it was happening fast, far faster
than we are used to."
"Fast, huh? I can believe that. Dad was so calm it should have
scared me, but it didn't, when he told everyone to turn everything on,
so they could go do... Whatever."
There was a knock on the door and Becky focused briefly, then smiled.
"It's Cathy. Should I tell her to come in?"
"Please."
The door opened, then Cathy came in and closed it behind her. She
studied the situation, then smiled. "All of the kids decided to use
the rooms at the front. They like the view from there. We have the
rooms above Jessica's and Roberta's, now, and once we do some
rearranging in here, we can install a stairway. Tom liked the idea so
much, he's moving to the room just in front of Roberta's suite and
installing a connecting door to her living area, and a stairway to our
rooms."
"What about a door so Mom can come in?"
Cathy thought about it, then sighed. "I hate to mention it, but are
you going to be ok with so many ways to get in your room, right now? I
assumed we'd have an intercom so we could warn you before we came down
the stairs."
"Would I have to use it before I came up to see you guys?"
"Not unless you wanted to."
"Ok. I guess I'd better talk that over with the therapist the next
time I see her. Umm.. I know we can use the outside to get around,
but is there room for a hallway?"
"Maybe. Tom would have to make that decision. Maybe we should think
of the Sam Cee like he's a vacation home. Tom and his grrls do have a
home of their own, after all, and I'm sure they can make room for
everyone."
"That was weird. You sounded like you were growling when you said
'girls'."
"I did. Since Tom loves bitches, he started calling them 'grrls',
with an 'r' instead of an 'i'. The rest of us have picked up the
habit, when we mention Mahika and Sandra."
"Oh. Yeah. I guess Kay does it too, but I thought it was because of
the wind or something, when she called him so she could ask me if I
wanted him to be my dad. He's pretty... Crazy, sometimes, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"Hey... I keep forgetting. Since you guys don't need doors, can you
hug us both and take us all to your rooms?"
"Now?"
"Sure!"
Cathy settled on the bed and wrapped an arm around Jessica. "Well,
Love, let's go take a look at the rest of where you'll be staying,
when we're on the Sam Cee."
* * *
After they shifted Jessica sat on the bed and looked around. "Was I
supposed to feel sort of tingly while that happened?"
Cathy shook her head. "I dislike sounding like an adult who knows it
all, telling a kid 'someday, you'll understand, but, whatever you
felt, or didn't feel, is what you were supposed to feel, or not."
"Umm... Ok. I'll worry about it later, since I don't think I'll be
able to do it on my own."
"Don't be certain about that."
"Maybe later, huh? Sounds like the Big Guy is still going to be
fucking with me, if I have to live with that 'when the time is right',
crap."
Becky pressed with her head. "Relax. That stuff is just as true for
normal folks, as it is for us. things will happen when they happen."
"Yeah. Easy for you to say, because you're immortal and have had some
time to learn how to be patient. Me, I'm all fucked up in my head,
and I know stuff I shouldn't know yet, and there's stuff I *should*
have learned, or been able to do, that I need to learn. And... I
know we could make it so my head's been cleaned out, just like Vix
fixed my body, but then I wouldn't be me, and that would fuck it up
for everyone else, now that I've agreed to do whatever the fuck I'm
supposed to do."
"Pet me."
"Huh?"
"Pet me. Forget about the future, and your past, and just be a girl
for awhile, and you're petting a bitch you just met, for the first
time. Let me help..."
Becky rolled over, sat up, then started enthusiastically licking
Jessica's face.
"Hey! That tickles! Slow down!"
Jessica tried to fend her off, and she moved slightly, then came in
from a different direction, until she let Jessica capture her nose and
hold it still.
They were watching each other's eyes when Jessica finally reached and
slowly stroked between Becky's ears. "You're... As bad as a real
bitch, aren't you? You decide you like someone, and you just... Tell
them."
"Yes, and you... Needed me to be a bitch, more than you needed me
acting like I'm a human."
"Acting?"
"Yes. Right now, the only real differences between me, and a 'real'
bitch, is that I know how to speak to you, and... I have a penis,
too."
Jessica shivered. "Shit. Can you... Make it vanish for now?"
"It's gone. Cathy has removed hers, too."
Thanks. Sorry, guys."
"Don't worry about it."
"I thought I could deal with that, but I can't, yet. Can we just lie
here, and snuggle, with both of you as bitches? I need to feel... You
guys promise that no matter what I do, you won't take that as a sign I
want to be fondled or fucked back?"
"We promise. You can explore either of us, or not, and we'll... Be
bitches and suck up the attention."
Jessica sighed, then stretched out. "Thanks, guys. Cathy? Will you
get in front, so I can pet you some, now? And Becky... Oh! I know!
I was thinking you could snuggle against my back, but I bet it will be
better for both of us if I use you for a pillow, right?"
"Which way do you want me?"
"Which way?"
"I can settle so I'm sort of wrapped around you, or I can settle so
I'm facing away from you."
"Oh. Yeah. Wrapped around me. I remember doing it that way with
Libby, and it was awesome, how she could nose me and I felt like she
thought I was one of her puppies, and she loved me and would protect
me."
Becky settled, then she and Jessica sorted themselves out before Cathy
changed and settled with her back against Jessica.
Jessica started petting Cathy, and sighed. "Yeah... Maybe, someday,
I can convince both of my mothers to do this."
Cathy yawned. "You keep that up, I'm going to fall asleep pretty
fast. It's been a long day already."
"Uh huh. So... Becky? I bet you guys were linked to Tom and them,
right? What was it like out there, when they were chasing that slaver
and rescuing those kids?"
"Hectic. What makes you think we were linked?"
"Well, it was like one of those shows when somebody calls in a swat
team and tells them to get moving, the way Dad just kept giving
orders, so I figured you'd be like them and you'd all keep in touch
with each other. You guys don't need radios, so that meant telepathy.
But it was later, when I remembered when you guys helped us hover so
we could watch them leave, that convinced me you had to be talking to
them. As soon as we all got a good look, Dad must have... Floored
it, or something like that, because the Sam Cee just... Split!"
Becky laughed. "Tom did say you're fast, and that proves it. You're
right. We were all talking to each other while it was going on.
"Vel told us there was a Rabelaisian slaver out there, somewhere, and
she'd been waiting for him to make a mistake on Earth, so she could
execute him, finally."
"That sucks. She knew he was here, and that he was doing stuff, but
she didn't do anything about it?"
"He'd kept to the letter of the oath he'd sworn on Rabelaisia. Until
he broke his word to her, she had to give us a chance to deal with
him."
"That's fucked. He must have been good."
"He was a renegade Mage, so he was very good at casting his spells and
hiding from her, or anyone else that was looking for him."
"How'd he fuck up?"
"Two ways. He decided to make the delivery himself, and collect his
payment, which violated his oath that he wouldn't be a slave trader."
"Yeah, ok. You're shivering. Something bad?"
"He murdered a girl who was about as old as you, and tossed her body
overboard before Tom was told to go hunt him down."
Jessica shivered briefly, then wrapped Cathy in a hug for awhile,
before she sighed and spoke into Cathy's fur. "Umm... It wasn't just
murder, was it?"
"No. Because of... The way it was done, Vel felt it happen."
"Crap. So she was... Really, really pissed with him, but she had to
keep herself thinking right. She ok?"
"Your concern speaks well of you. She's better. After she turned the
kids over to me, she went home to Merlin, and he did what he could, to
help her deal with what happened."
"Good! I know when someone is doing their best to avoid telling me
something, so I'm going to trust you and not try to find out more. I
bet you guys think I'll flash, right?"
"Right."
"Ok... I think Cathy has gone to sleep already, and that sounds like
a good idea right now."
"She's drowsy and almost asleep. I've set a guard spell, so we can
all relax."
"Yeah... Hey, don't let me forget to find out what's going to happen
to those kids. That dream I had makes me think they won't be staying
with us very long."
"Do you want to be there when Vel tells them what options they have?"
"When's that going to happen?"
"In a few hours."
"If I'm awake, yeah, sure. Otherwise, let me sleep in. I don't have
to keep a schedule, do I?"
"You make your own decisions."
"Uh huh. Yeah. Right. That's BS and we all know it. I make my own
decisions until the Big Guy decides it's time for me to go to work
again. Still, as long as he learns to lighten up a little, I think
I'll be ok with working for him, as long as you guys are with me."
"Where you go, we go, unless we are forced to be somewhere else."
"You think that's going to happen soon?"
"No. In fact, the way Tom and the grrls do things, makes us think
that the only time the three of us will be separated, is when you send
us away or we all agree to being apart."
"Yeah? Worry about that after I wake up."
Becky touched Jessica with her nose. "Sleep well, Love."
"Thaaaannkkkssss...."
Becky watched Jessica for a few minutes, then she opened herself to
Cathy. {{Well, Sister?}}
{{What else? We wait, and move at her pace, not ours.}}
{{I'm frightened.}}
{{Oh?}}
{{She hides it well, but she's so very, very fragile.}}
{{So was Tom. Relax.}}
{{You sound smug.}}
{{I'm content. While you and she talked, she lost a lot of her fear,
and let her aura merge with mine while she petted me.}}
{{And what can happen unconsciously, can someday be made to happen
consciously. I see years of patience in our future, Sister.}}
{{So? We have them, and many, many more than we will need.}}
{{True. Watch, while I nap?"}}
{{Of course.}}
---
End: Jesica Part Two
End: Marie's Solstice 06/14 Jessica (new)
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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