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From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Prudence, Texas Population 1276 14 (Mff)
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This is a continuation of "Prudence, Texas Population 1276", a
collaboration between my husband, Shalon (dstar@pele.cx), and I.  The
raw material and dialog were produced by both of us.  The final editting
on the first two files was done by him, but I took over after that,
thus explaining any stylistic differences between the first files and
the rest.

Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://prudence.pele.cx.  Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet



PS: I've given up on trying to update on any predictable schedule, so
if you'd like to be notified when Prudence updates, feel free to
email me at velvet@pele.cx with the word "Prudence" in the subject
line of the email, and I'll be happy to add you to our new mailing
list.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Giggling happily, Kristen led the way down the path to the pond.  If
Mark looked closely, he could see that her feet didn't quite touch the
ground.  She didn't seem to notice, though.  Her hair also floated
independent of her movement or wind.

Kayla grabbed a couple of towels and wrapped one around her before they
went outside.  Kristen just happily strolled down the path totally
nude, lighting up the trail more than adequately.

Mark looked at Kayla. "Come on, why the towel?"

She shrugged.  "We're _outside_, y'know?"

"And? We're equally screwed whether you have the towel or not, if
someone's around."

"Okay, it's _not_ logical, I know.  We all have our hangups."

He stopped and kissed her. "You _are_ beautiful too, you know."

Kayla grinned, kissing him back quickly. "Yeah, sure.  You're a
sweetheart.  Now c'mon before our nightlight drowns her giggly little
self."

He looked at her, frowning. "I'm serious, Kayla. You are."

"Sure, Mark."  She shrugged uncomfortably, "If you say so."  She
turned away and followed Kristen down the trail to the edge of the
pond, and Mark followed her, still frowning thoughtfully.

Kristen turned, already knee deep, and smiled at them.  The water glowed
from where her legs were underneath it. "It's warm.  C'mon.  Come play."

Mark stopped Kayla, tugging at the towel gently.

"I wasn't going to _swim_ in it, Mark," Kayla said, laughing, "I'm not
a total dweeb."  She dropped the towel and walked towards the water.

Mark stopped her again before she reached the water. "Kristen, what do
you think of Kayla's body?"

"Pretty.  Soft _and_ firm all at the same time.  I wish I had nice,
round tits."

"Would you say she's beautiful?"

"Well, duh?  Of course."

"See, Kayla?" he asked.

Kayla smiled.  "Girls don't count, Mark.  Don't worry about it, I
don't really care, honestly."

Mark stared at her, dumbfounded. "Don't care about what?"

"I don't care what I look like.  It's no big deal.  So I'll never be a
supermodel, so what?  Looks aren't everything."

He kept staring at her. "Kayla...damnit, look at me. From the first time
we met, I have _always_ been honest with you, even when it could have
gotten me arrested or killed. I have _always_ been straight with you,
haven't I?" He waited for an answer.

"Mmmm...not entirely, you did try to pretend you didn't know what I
was asking a couple of times, but yeah, you have."

"Ok. Look at me. Look me in the eyes." He tried to show that he was
telling the truth, looking straight at her. "You. Are. Beautiful."

Kayla's face softened, and she stood on tiptoe to kiss him.  "Thank
you for thinking so, Mark."

He kissed her back, then nodded towards Kristen. "Look, I think I've
already shown I've got good taste."

Kristen floated on her back, a slowly drifting island of light in
the placid pond.

"Mark, dear heart, _no one_ could possibly think that Kristen was
anything _but_ divinely beautiful."

"She is. And next to her, you _still_ look pretty good. You are
beautiful, Kayla, and you're just going to have to deal with
it. Denial won't help."

Kayla laughed.  "Oh, Mark!  You just can't stand for anyone to feel bad
about anything."

He looked at her, fighting the urge to shake her. "Damnit, Kayla, I'm
telling the truth. You _are_ beautiful. I've never lied to you, and
I'm not just saying this to make you feel good. You are. I think
so. She thinks so. And girls _do_ count -- at least when you are in
love with them."

She sighed.  "Mark, look darlin'...I believe that you think I'm
beautiful. And that Kristen does...hell, she's the kind of person who
thinks that _everyone_ is beautiful.  And that is _enough_ for me.  It
makes me happy, okay?  But it does _not_ make me beautiful to anyone
else."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Really. Wanna bet?"

"Mark, I have a mirror.  And I have ears.  I know what people think of
me."

He snorted. "Kayla, dear, most people have never _seen_ your body.,

"Mark, dear, it's not my _body_ that I wish were more attractive."

"What is it, then?" he asked, confused.

Kayla looked at him in frustration.

He looked her over, closely, trying to figure out what she was
dissatisfied with.  He didn't see anything.  With her hair down and
the glasses she hid behind left in the bedroom, she was lovely, in a
delicate, pixie-like fashion, with high cheekbones and huge grey eyes.

Mark shook his head. "You're going to have to tell me, dear, because
_I_ can't see anything to be dissatisfied with.

She sighed.  "Honey, that's a _good_ thing.  If you can't see it, I
don't _want_ you to."

He rested his hands on her shoulder. "Kayla, please, tell me. I don't
think there is anything."

"Fine.  I am just plain.  Brown hair that looks like a fright wig if I
let it loose, boring grey eyes...grey, not even blue...a pointy face
that makes me look like a reject from the Keebler company, and I can
either wear coke-bottle bottoms on my face or keep running into trees
and adding a nifty blue and purple coloration to my already pasty pale
complexion.  Satisfied?"  She stood there, glaring at him, hands on
her hips.

He stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing. "My _gods_,
Kayla, you have the wrong side of the stick! I'd call your face
pixie-like, and it's beautiful, by the way, your eyes are gorgeous,
big grey eyes. You've got lovely high cheekbones, and your hair has
the kind of spirals my friends in college used to pay large sums of
money to get."

She shook her head, smiling.  "You're impossible, darlin'."

Mark shook his head right back. "Hey. I've been around enough, I know
what guys like. You _are_ beautiful, and I'll bet you I'm right. Want
to bet?"

"You can't prove something that's subjective opinion, Mark."

"Yes, I can. I pick someone that I know will give us an _honest_
answer, and we ask them. All I ask is that you have your hair down,
and not be wearing clothes designed to hide your body. You can have
your glasses on or not, your choice.

"Um. No.  No thanks.  I don't have a humiliation kink, sorry."

Mark threw up his hands. "I give up. You aren't even _considering_
the possibility that I could be right. I don't know why you are so
determined not to believe you are beautiful!" He paused,
thoughtfully. "Then again, as long as you keep dressing the way you
have been, Kristen and I won't have any competition, so maybe it's not
all bad."

Kayla kissed him on the cheek.  "c'mon, let's swim."

Mark kissed her back, and they headed for the water, swimming towards
Kristen.  She was lying with her arms and head on a flat rock on the
opposite shore, the rest of her body floating, and she appeared to be
asleep. 

Mark kissed her gently on the lips.

"Awwww....see what you did?  She's asleep," Kayla whispered.

Kristen smiled and murmured dreamily, but didn't open her eyes.

Mark looked over at Kayla inquisitively. "Let her rest? That's probably 
incredibly comfortable, come to think of it. I think I'm jealous."

"What if she slips off and drowns?"

"She's floating, remember? And I don't think she's so asleep that
she'd not wake up. Besides, we can stay right here, near her." He
looked at Kayla. "And I kinda wanted to get some time to talk to you
alone, anyway."

"You just _did_."

He shook his head. "I didn't know she was asleep, so I didn't bring
up what I wanted to talk about." He treaded water in front of
Kayla. "Y'all talked last night. Are you ok?"

She moved closer to the bank, where there were underwater boulders to
sit on.  "Yeah.  Everything's fine."

He studied her face, finally decided she was being honest, if a bit
guardedly so.  He nodded. "Ok. Did y'all talk about the lifebond thing
at all?"

"Not really."

"Well, I think you should know this. There is a _possibility_ that she
has more than one lifebond. She thinks maybe she feels several other
places like our lifebond, but it's hard for her to tell."

Kayla shook her head.  "I don't think that's _possible_, Mark."

Mark glanced over at the glowing figure. "I didn't think that was
possible either. And it would make sense for her kind to have multiple
lifebonds, potentially. And, well, remember what you told me?"

"What what that I told you?"

"You told me you fell in love with her the first time you saw her. And
that you weren't gay, or even bi."

"So?  She's _special_ Mark, always has been."

He smiled. "Yeah, she is, isn't she?" He glanced over at her,
fondly. "But that's also exactly what I'd expect if you have a
lifebond." He sighed. "I almost didn't tell you this. I don't want to
get your hopes up if it's not the case, but I also don't want you to
think it's _not_ possible if it is."

"I'm _not_ going to get my hopes up, Mark.  I'll be happy with
anything she'll give me.  I just want to see her happy, and I think
she is."

He smiled again, reaching out to touch her face. "Yes, she is. And you've
been with us. I don't know what will happen, Kayla, but...don't give
up hope, okay?"

"It's _okay_, Mark.  I'm having a wonderful time.  I'm ecstatically
happy.  Don't worry so much."

He glanced off to the side, almost as if embarrassed.

"What?" she asked.

Mark sighed. "Nothi -- oh, hell. I've never lied to you, I won't start
now. I like having you around, ok? I like seeing you with her, and I
don't mean just the sex. Y'all seem...right together."

Kayla raised an eyebrow.  "Even though it means you're still not safe
even after you marry her?"

He nodded. "Yeah." Just that. The single, affirmative word.

"I don't know what to say, Kayla admitted, "I like being with her.  With 
both of you.  It feels...well...natural.  I can relax.  I've never had 
such a good time, and I don't mean just the sex, either."

Mark nodded again. "If y'all are lifebonded, or even just fall in love,
well...I could fall in love with you real easy, Kayla." He glanced
over at Kristen, making sure she was still alright. "I probably need to 
have a talk with her about that. I always want to be up front with her
about things like this."

Kayla played with a drifting piece of Kristen's hair.  "Yeah, you do.
I like you, Mark. A lot.  You're one of the sweetest, smartest,
hottest guys I've ever seen.  If Kristen didn't love you, I'd let
myself fall for you, no problem.  But I am not going to hurt her.
There's no one worth it to me."

He smiled. "And there's no one worth hurting her to me. You need to
understand that, Kayla. Even if I _do_ fall in love with you, if it
comes down to you or her...well, it seems unfair to me, but there's no
choice. I'm sorry."

"Don't be.  I feel the same way."

"So...you wouldn't feel, well," he hesitated, trying to find the right
word, "shortchanged?"

"Why would I?  I mean, _I_ love her more than I do me, why shouldn't
you?"

Mark laughed. "Good point. I don't know. It just feels, well, odd, you
know." He glanced over at Kristen. "We need to head back up to the
house and go to bed, so we'll have to wake her up. Want to make love
to her, here in the water, first?"

Kayla laughed.  "What an interesting idea.  Sounds kinda unhygenic,
though, doesn't it?"

He shrugged. "No more so than being in the water in the first place."

She smiled.  "You have a point."

By the time they were ready to go back to the house, Kristen was
glowing brightly enough to light the whole pond.  It was quite a
lovely effect.

-------------------

Later, Mark found a chance to talk with Kristen alone for a few
minutes, and asked her if she'd be willing to convince Kayla to let
them take some pictures of her.

Kristen misunderstood at first, and was very hesitant.  "Um...I don't
know, Mark.  I mean, you needed the pics of me to screw over that
bitch, and besides, if you do get caught, no one can prove you took
them before we got married.  But if you have pics of *another*
underage girl..."

Mark shook his head. "Not pictures of her _naked_. Just her head and
shoulders, actually. Look, she thinks she's _plain_. I think that if
you did a portrait of her, and showed her, she'd realize she's
not. But I don't think it would work if she knew that's why you were
doing it."

Kristen said, "Hmm...I'll see what I can do.  I've actually had
something in mind.  "

Mark nodded, and left it in her hands.  She managed it with minimal
effort, telling Kayla that she wanted to do some fantasy art, and that
she thought she'd make a perfect elf.  The girls had a lot of fun with
the photo shoot; it turned out that Kayla didn't actually mind
_Kristen_ playing with her hair.

Around noon, Kayla sighed. "Sorry guys, but I need to get home.
Promised Mom I'd help her bathe the squirrel."

Mark blinked. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Were y'all _dying_ a
_squirrel_ when I called Friday?"

"Not _exactly_.  Um, see, my little brother was trying halloween
costumes and stuff on his pet squirrel, and he got the idea of dying
its fur blue and putting a little smurf suit on it.  Unfortunately,
he used laundry marker for the blue."

"So now it looks like one of those poor pitiful little bunnies you see
at Easter."

Mark laughed. "Oh, my. So you have a blue squirrel. Wonderful." He
packed up the doctored photos of Vanessa in a thick brown
envelope. "I'll drop you and these off at your dad's on the way into
town, love, so that you aren't here by yourself."

Kristen looked relieved.  "Thanks."

They drove the short distance to Steven's house, then Kristen hopped
out of the car, looking around to make sure no one was near, and
kissed him.  "I'll be here."

"Ok, love."  He watched until she was safely inside, then started the
car and drove on.

The grass had mutated at Kayla's house.  Instead of puce, it was now a
rather pretty swirly rainbow pattern.

Mark shook his head, looking at the grass.  "OK. I have to ask."

"My dad, probably.  Could be Aunt Ellen.  He's been trying out new
fertilizers, and she's just plain insane."

"I see. You seem to have an interesting family."

"Interesting.  Good word."

He shook his head again, smiling.  "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah."  She smiled, a bit shyly.  "Tomorrow.  Try to restrain
yourself, okay?  Kris needs to be able to go to school, y'know."

"I'll try."  He grinned.  "But I think that come a nice long break, we
ought to see just how bright we can make her glow. Doesn't that sound
fun?"

"Mmmhm," she said, grinning enthusiastically.  Then came a huge crash
from inside the house. "Hey!  Danny!  Get your lizard out of the
pantry!  He's breaking the test tubes!"  "aw, moooooom...I'm trying
out his nightvision goggles."

Kayla flinched.  "Gotta go, c'ya!" and ran into the house.

Mark headed back to Kristen's house, finding her curled up in the
front porch swing, drawing.

He smiled. "Hey, love. Your dad inside?"

She looked up, pencil still moving distractedly.  "Hmmm?  Oh.
Yeah."

"Ok. I'm gonna go talk to him."

" 'k," she said, and returned her attention to her sketchpad, brow
furrowed cutely.

Mark went looking for Steven, finding him in the library.  "Hey, I
just wanted to let you know, if you want me to be there when you
confront Vanessa, I'm perfectly willing."  His jaw clenched tightly as
he thought of all the pain the woman had caused Kristen over the
years.

Steven shook his head. "No, I don't think that will be necessary."

"Ok. I just wanted to offer."

"Understandable."  Steven smiled coldly.  "Don't worry, she will _not_
be a problem."

Mark studied the look on his face for a moment, then nodded,
satisfied.  "Ok. I'm gonna go sit with Kristen, then."

She didn't look up when he sat down, very carefully, so as not to
jostle her, but frowned and stuck her pencil in her mouth, grabbing
the eraser from her cleavage, muttering something unintelligible.

He sat there, watching her and enjoying being close to her.  She was
hyperfocused, totally absorbed in what she was doing as she gently
blew the charcoal dust from the sketch, then held it at arms length
and smiled, tucking the pencil behind her ear and leaving a dark
smudge of charcoal across her cheek.  "There," she said.

He looked at the drawing.  It was, frankly, amazing.  Exquisitely
detailed, proportions perfect.  It was a sketch of a centaur, standing
by a pond.  On his back was a naked girl.  The centaur had Mark's face
and upper body.  The girl, though her face was turned slightly away,
was still recognizeably Kristen.  There was a _life_ to the drawing,
as if when you looked away the figures would move.

"My god. You are...wow. You ought to show this to your father."

She blushed.  "Um.  No.  This is just for you."

He bent and kissed her, ignoring the charcoal smudges on her cheeks.

They spent that night at Steven's house.  Kristen's bed was smaller
than Mark's, but still big enough, though rather lacey and fluffy.

She woke up at five in the morning, still glowing faintly, and kissed
him.  "C'mon...time to get up."  

He cracked one eye open and glanced out the window.  It wasn't even
even light out yet.  He closed his eyes and stretched.  "Don' wanna
get up."

"That's a first," she giggled.

Mark opened his eye again, and stuck out his tongue at her.

Kristen snickered.  "Cmon...it's after five."

She giggled when he sighed and rubbed his eyes, then bounced around
the room getting dressed and gathering her school things.  Mark
watched her, too charmed by her honest delight (and her delightfully
jiggling breasts) to really be annoyed at finding her such a morning
person.  She hummed happily as she moved around the kitchen, cooking
breakfast.  Bouncily.

She set an absolutely beautiful omelette in front of him, smiling.  He
smiled back; her attitude was infectious.  "You don't drink coffee?"
he asked her.

"Never really needed it, love.  Do you want some?"

"Please," he nodded.  "Need it to wake up."  He bit into his omelette
and his eyes widened.  He wasn't sure what all had gone into the
omlette, but he knew it wasn't just the standard eggs, cheese, and
ham.  It was light and fluffy and delicious.  "This is _good_!"

Kristen smiled delightedly.  "Oh good!  I'll make you some coffee,
too." Bouncy bouncy, grind grind, drip drip, coffee.

Mark sipped at the coffee, eyes closed with pleasure.  "Mmmm."
Kristen giggled, then grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

Mark looked at the clock.  6:30.

"Sweetheart," he asked, "Where are we headed?"

"Um..I was going to school?"

"It's only 6:30..."

"It takes a while to get there."

Mark looked confused. "It's only a five minute drive."

"Drive?  Oh.  Mark, you can't drive me to school, love."

He grinned. "Yes, I can. Your father is holding me _personally_
responsible for your safety, remember? I can't risk you walking to
school alone, so I have to make the supreme sacrifice of picking you
up every morning and driving you."

"Oh.  Um."  She blushed.  "So I don't need to walk to school.  I feel
silly now.  We could have slept more."

"We could cuddle for an hour or so," he suggested.

Kristen smiled happily.  "Guess we could, at that."

They spend the next hour snuggled contentedly on the couch, then leave
in time to get to school a bit early.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

http://strangelove.pele.cx

Take a look!
.

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