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Journey to Carlin (5/6) (mf, fantasy, cons)
by Remmelt de Haan <remmelt@kosterix.icce.rug.nl>

***


    Bronze Elegance is an autumn plant with three-fingered leaves. It can
stand salty air but needs shelter from the sun. Frosted Elegance, however,
is an early spring plant which... which... Miriam racked her brains. What
was so special about Frosted Elegance? Could stand in shallow ground? Did
its leaves changed color overnight? With one eye she glanced at the page.
Its leaves could not be dried, but when still fresh, they could be boiled
to make herbal tea. 
    She clenched her hands into fists, trying to not give into the temptation
to throw the expensive libram across the room. This was the third afternoon
in a row that she was grappling with Herbal Lore. And of her treatise "On the
Treatment of Poisonous Injuries" only the title was written down. The joys
of being 1st grade apprentice!
    The door at the opposite of the room opened and Sanna, her roommate, came
in. Miriam looked up and asked eagerly: "Did you get it?"
    "I can't believe this, Miriam! You're studying on our day off!"
    Sanna groaned.  "It's Apprentices' Night! Close that book!"
    Miriam's eyes lit up when Sanna produced a brown parcel from underneath
her cloak and gave it to her. Miriam grinned and started unwrapping the
parcel. She unfolded the dark blue dress and held it to her chest.
    "Trust me, you'll look great in it," Sanna assured her.
    "What'll you be wearing?" Miriam asked.
    Her friend smiled mischievously.  "Something which I can jump out of in
a hurry."
    Miriam rolled her eyes.  "San, you have a one-tracked mind."
    "Well, isn't that what Apprentices' Night is for?" Sanna asked and
spread her arms imploringly.  "The Temple knows it and even condones it!
Why else would we all have gotten the day off? 'To contemplate your new
vows and your new responsibilities.' Right. It's our last night as free
women, Miriam! They keep you on a tight leash once you're an Acolyte."
    She patted the bed she was sitting on and added: "I'm not sleeping in
this bed tonight, that's for sure."
    Miriam managed to suppress a wince at Sanna's words. She was getting
used to her roommate's boldness. Or perhaps some of Sanna's attitude was
finally rubbing off on her.
    "So, are you ready?" Sanna pressed on.
    "I don't know what you think I'll be doing tonight," Miriam replied
absent-mindedly. She started clearing out her cupboard. In a couple of
days they would be moving across the hall.
    "I'll have a few dances, drink some wine and have a good time."
    "Listen to yourself! You sound like you'll be back before midnight,"
her friend complained.
    Miriam sighed: "Sanna, you know me. The best I can hope for is that
a nice guy asks me to dance. It'll take me a full week before I dare tell
him I like him!"
    Sanna squatted next to her and told her: "That innocence of yours is
a very potent weapon. If you only could forget your nerves for one evening."
    Miriam glanced at her.
    Sanna smiled.  "Not that you need it. With a face like yours you'll
have guys turning heads left and right. Every guy will ask you to dance."
    "But you always know what to say to them. They like listening to you,"
Miriam said softly.  "Why couldn't I have your strength, San?"
    Sanna smiled at her.  "Shilohin gave me this plain face and my
confidence to make up for it."  She took Miriam's hand, put a small vial
in it and closed it.
    "What's that?" Miriam asked suspiciously.
    "Something I bought for you. It will help."
    "Help me how? With what?"  She got up on her feet.  "What's in this?!"
she challenged her roommate. Sanna stood up.
    "Keep your voice down, Miriam! I don't know, alright? All I know is
that when you drink it, you will become stronger," Sanna said. She looked
at her nails and added casually: "And uhh... more... passionate."
    Miriam paled and her pulse quickened. A drug! She threw the vial
across the room.  "I-I-I don't n-n-need anything to be p-p-passionate!"
she stuttered.  "Do you think I'm a c-cold fish or something?"
    "Calm down, Miriam, please," Sanna said. She grabbed her friend's
shoulders and gently pushed her back on the chair.  "I didn't mean to
hurt your feelings. You're not a cold fish, far from it."  She sat down
on the bed next to her friend.
    "You're like the girl who wants to go the playground and have fun,
only there's a wall between her house and the playground. And the wall
is too high to climb."
    She reached down in the space between the desk and the bed and recovered
the vial.  "This will help lower that wall."
    Miriam nervously tugged her tresses. Trust a friend like Sanna to come
up with this kind of help! She already got a queasy feeling in her stomach
when she thought of Sanna's idea of 'playground' and 'fun'.
    "You've had your head in the books too long. You deserve a night of
pleasure with a great guy and this will make sure you will leave your worries
at the door of the dance hall."
    Miriam took the vial with two fingers and looked at it as if it was a
dead mouse.
    "But... what happens if... it works too well? Suppose it will tear down
the wall completely?"  She blushed at her own words.
    Sanna gasped in mock-alarm.  "Gods... you would become exactly like me!"
    Miriam smiled despite herself.
    "Honestly! If that could happen, don't you think I would have a second
vial for myself?"  Sanna laughed.
    "You would!" Miriam shot back. Sanna nodded.  "Yes, I would. But I tried
it already. It doesn't work for me. I guess I have everything I need."  She
smiled whistfully and brought her hand to Miriam's cheek.
    "Except for a pretty face like yours."



    In the City of Korinth dances and parties of this kind were held in the
Hall of Festivities. Built by the Merchant's Guild near the market square,
it was a short walk from either the Temple of Eesyan, the Warrior Academy
or the School of Mages.
    Standing in an alcove in a corner of the entrance hall, Miriam looked
at the vial. Sounds from the main room told her the dance had just begun.
She broke the seal and swallowed its contents in two mouthfulls. It was sour
and burned as it went down to her stomach. Her heart beat in excitement as
she thought: Gods, I did it.
    Slowly she walked towards the double doors of the dance hall, checking
herself. Was she blushing? How long would it take before the potion started
taking effect? She forced a smile on her face as she entered the dance hall. 
    Four huge chandeliers shone down at the chequered tiles of the dance
floor. Around this space was a carpeted section with tables laden with food
and drinks. The orchestra consisted of a group of gnomes. At this moment they
were tuning their instruments. Throughout the hall, various groups of
apprentices, magic users and warrior trainees stood talking and laughing.
    As Miriam was scanning the room for Sanna, her friend appeared from the
right.
    Sanna whispered in her ear: "Well?"
    Miriam whispered back: "It tasted sour! How do I look?"
    "Like a thousand sovereigns! If I was a guy, I'd know what I would do
with you," Sanna whispered and grinned wickedly. Miriam grinned back. They
were still giggling as the music started and two young men approached them
and asked them for the first dance.
    Sweeping across the room in a slow waltz, Miriam thought: it /is/ easy.
I have nothing to worry about. I don't even need that potion - I'm already
having fun! She nearly laughed out loud as she realized the fallacy of that
thought. She found herself trying out her new limits. Staring at some of
the guys; smiling when they looked back instead of looking away. Joining
small groups of people she didn't know. Several dances later she was talking
to a handsome warrior trainee named Alan. 
    "I've seen you a few times in my writing class," she told him.  "We
don't get many trainees who take up writing."
    "Well, it's not one of my favorite subjects," Alan admitted.  "I skip
it as much as I can. Don't let my father hear it, though. He'd disown me!"
    He smiled at her.  "What about you? I've never seen you in our training
halls."
    "I've trained with a quarterstaff. And you don't strike me as the type
for a quarterstaff," she said. He shook his head.
    "I passed my third fencing exam today. I'm a first grade fencer,
longsword specialist."
    "Congratulations! So you really have something to celebrate!" Miriam
said enthusiastically. Just then the orchestra switched to a slow tempo.
    "Do you want to dance?" she asked simply.
    "Wasn't I supposed to ask that?"
    Alan smiled bemusedly as she took his hand and lead him onto the dance
floor. He didn't turn out to be the best of dancers, but knew his limits
and took his mistakes in stride. Miriam enjoyed the closeness and the feel
of his hands. They moved closer and she rested her head on his shoulder.
The world narrowed around them. The feel of his body against her and his
musky scent caused her heart to speed up in excitement. She looked in his
eyes and realized she wanted to kiss him. The thought changed to 'I'm going
to kiss him' and was blotted out when their lips fused together.
    Alan was pleasantly surprised by the kiss and gave it all his attention.
Her lips, sweet and soft, were like a delicious fruit he couldn't get enough
of. Gently he opened her mouth with his tongue, to be welcomed by a slow
caress of hers. Her hand came up and stroked his neck softly as they were
kissing. He inhaled her breath, hot and sweet, with a vague taste of fruit
juice. He had to remind himself that young woman pressed against him from head
to knee was an apprentice of Eesyan, not some girl of pleasure. Yet she gave
him little doubt about her intentions for the rest of the evening.
    Miriam revelled in the sensations of their kiss. Her heart, like a
blacksmith's hammer on the anvil, had settled in a slow and heavy rhythm.
Her nipples, hardened with desire, rubbed against her chemise on each intake
of breath. She was certain he could feel them through the layers of clothing
as she could feel him through his breeches. Taste, touch and smell, she was
overwhelmed with longing, which poured into her with each heartbeat. She was
aware of the awesome feelings between her thighs, where her flower was
awakening, opening. In a far corner of her mind, a shy apprentice told her:
I guess that potion is working... She swiftly crushed that thought along
with any insecurities or fears of rejection. She no longer cared. Thoughts of
vows and treatises, even of the Father of Reason, were forgotten. Shilohin
had taken over and the Lady of Love was making up for lost time.
    Eventually their lips parted and they caught their breaths. Alan looked
at her in admiration. Around them, couples applauded for the orchestra. The
music stopped and they listened to their ragged breathing. Miriam broke out
in a weak smile and whispered: "I don't know how else to say this. I desire
you. Can we please go somewhere private."  
    Alan, not trusting his voice at this point, swallowed and nodded. He
took her hand and lead her towards the side exit. Miriam walked on clouds.
She had never more felt so alive. A few yards away, near a huge potted
Greenspire, Sanna stood in an intimate embrace with a tall, curly fellow,
who was kissing her neck. Her friend's face registered surprise, then
admiration. She winked, lifted her hand and signalled in caster's cant:
good one! Then she closed her eyes and started kissing her partner.
Miriam smiled gratefully. Shilohin was smiling on both of them.



    They ran through the dark streets of Korinth to Durgan's Rest. Instead
of using the front door Alan led Miriam around the back of the inn, produced
a key from one of his pockets and opened a small door between the main
building and the stables. A high and narrow corridor ended in a flight of
stairs. Two glow-baskets provided light.
    "You rented a room here?" she asked.
    "Permanent residence," Alan said. "My father didn't want me in the
barracks of the Academy. I just rented the key for the back entrance."
    Clever, Miriam thought as she took the stairs two at a time. When they
were two floors up, in a well-lit corridor with only two doors, Alan took 
the door to the right. Light from the twin orbs, the Eyes of Koriel, fell
through the open windows and bathed the room in a pearly glow.
    Miriam looked at the lavishly furnished room. A double-sized bed near
the window and... a tall standing mirror! She stepped in front of it and
looked at her reflection.
    Behind her Alan cleared his throat.  "Are you... having second thoughts?"
he asked. Miriam gathered her thoughts before answering. Did she really
want to go through with this? She felt the smoldering cinders inside her
light up again. Of course she was going through with it. She wanted to see
how this fencing master handled his other sword. Her lips curled up in a
smile. First she would... From deep down a shy apprentice asked: what if he
isn't ready? You sure are: that potion's got you so steamy you're ready to
do the wild thing with an orc!
    For a while the voices tried to gain the upper hand. Eventually her
reason won. Sighing inwardly she put her desire on hold.
    "I don't want you to get the wrong idea about this, Alan," she said
softly.  "I think you're gorgeous and I want to do everything my mother
warned me about, but at sunrise we part our ways again. Tomorrow I'm taking
my vows as an Acolyte - I'm sure you know what that means."
    She turned around looked at him. She squinted in the semi-darkness to see
the expression on his face. He smiled.
    "Good," he said. "Then you won't bring in the Temple guards and claim I
forced myself onto you?"
    Miriam stifled a laugh. If only he knew. She ran a finger lightly down
his shoulder and right arm.  "Well..." she cooed. "I might claim I didn't
have a good time..."
    Alan laughed at her veiled insult.  "You are quite outspoken for an
apprentice, aren't you?" he said. He kissed the side of her neck and started
to unfasten her dress.
    "You haven't met my roommate Sanna yet," she giggled.
    Alan stopped and looked at her. Miriam stared back, non-plussed.
    "I have a sister named Sanna," he said slowly.  "She's an Apprentice."
    Miriam opened her mouth in surprise.  "You're... you're Sanna's brother?"
    "Apparently," he said.  "I hadn't seen her in a while and was going
to meet her tonight at the dance. But then you came along..." 
    Miriam didn't know whether to laugh or to feel embarrassed. She was
about to share sheets with her best friend's brother! What would she think?
The image of Sanna's face flashed through her mind. She reconsidered the
signal and the smile Sanna had given her. Obviously she had seen Alan at
her side. She had been surprised but not alarmed. She was happy for me,
Miriam concluded. If the situation would've been reversed she would've
trusted her friend with her brother, she conceded. If she had had one.
    Alan suddenly groaned in frustration.  "I just realized I really have
to perform now, don't I? I know you girls tell each other everything! Sanna
will skin me alive if I didn't meet your expectations!"
    She burst out in laughter. The thought of Sanna kicking her brother in
the shins and yelling at him for being such a lousy lover for her roommate
was incredibly funny. She raised her arms around him.
    "Let's see how well you perform under pressure," she said. They closed
the distance and kissed again, softly. Without haste they explored each
other's lips, tongue and the ridges of teeth. Their hands worked lower,
frantically untying straps and laces. Miriam had unfastened his buckle and
threw it aside. His tunic fell to the floor in a rustle. She kicked off a
mocassin which flew through the room and knocked over a candelier. Alan
turned her around and pushed the dress off her shoulders and down her arms. 
He gently bit her shoulder and scraped his teeth over her skin, causing
shivers run down her spine. Impatiently she pulled the chemise over her
head in a swift, practiced move, baring her upper body.
    Ignoring the jittery feelings in her stomach she turned round and faced
him, her chest heaving. A light breeze from outside caressed her breasts.
Alan stared at her pearly breasts, the nipples casting small conical shadows.
Her drawers, starting just below her flat stomach, accentuated the smooth 
curve of her hips and thighs.
    "Shilohin was in a generous mood when she shaped you," he whispered.
He reached towards her but checked himself and took off his shirt. His
muscles were developed, but not overly so. His light, athletic build 
combined agility with strength. Miriam looked at his slender hips and the
bulge in his breeches and felt her pulse quicken. The shy apprentice inside
her fell silent. 
    They just stood there for a while, savoring the moment. Then Miriam
sat on the bed and crooked her finger at him. They kissed and fell over. 
For a while they rolled over the bed, kissing, hands exploring everywhere.
Somehow they managed to shed the last clothes and then there was only hot
skin sliding against slightly hotter skin.
    His teeth raked over a rigid nipple, causing a long-drawn-out moan from
her. He drew a shiny trail across her ribcage and stomach with kisses and
short licks. His hands slowly slid upwards from the insides of her knees,
softly pushing her legs open. The core of her glistened with anticipation
and excitement. Alan drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly over the matted
wet hair around her sex. Miriam gasped and tried to pull him towards her.
She hunched up her hips to close the distance but he backed away, teasing.
When she finally gave up and fell back to the bed she felt his tongue on
her private parts, eliciting another moan. With each lick she gasped until
she was panting as if she were running for her life. Lightning bolts shot
from her flower to her nipples and back. Never before had her heart beat so
fast. She dimly recalled stories of people whose hearts had given away with
extreme exertion, but she only wanted the sweet agony to go on and that
wonderful tongue to continue.
    Alan lightly wriggled his tongue over her hardened pebble and sensed
that she was almost gone. He firmly pushed her hips down to the bed and
withdrew his mouth.
    "What... are you... doing?" she said in between breaths. She felt herself
come down to earth again. He just looked at her, a faint smile on his face.
"Come on, Alan! Continue, please!" she begged. "I was almost gone! Don't
tease me like this! Please!"
    Alan continued where he left off and she sighed in relief when the
lightning bolts grew in strength again. She tried to relax and let the
feelings overtake her but he gave her no respite. Her hands tried to
tear holes in the sheets, the muscles of her arms stretched stretched
and trembling with the effort. Her stomach and hips were taut, straining
to follow his tongue. And of course, high up along the insides of her
thighs, powerful muscles clenched and relaxed in a maddening rhythm. Soon
she found herself soaring like the eagle, higher and higher, until he
slowed his ministrations and stopped again.
    Miriam trembled all over. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her
ragged breathing slowed again.
    "You... you bastard!" she whispered. "Finish me!"
    Alan chuckled. He started to lick again with long, slow strokes.
    Determined to leave this time she began to twist and pull her nipples,
adding fuel to the fire. Soon she reached that plateau where pleasure can
be prolonged almost indefinitely. For a while he let her stay there, but
suddenly she felt one of his digits enter her warm and wet flower. His tongue
movements quickened and then she was away, crying incoherently, clawing her
hands through his hair. His finger moved in and out and she tried to clamp
down on it on the outgoing movements. When she came down from her high she
relaxed her grip on his head.
    She smiled lazily and sighed. It had been way too long since the last 
time. Already she felt the craving for more.
    Alan slid up next to her and asked: "Can I join with you, Miriam?"
    Miriam blinked. What was she going to say... no?
    "Of course, silly," she smiled. Now she was going to take him to the
stars. Her hand snaked down his engorged member and gave it a few playful
strokes.
    Alan grunted appreciatively. He settled between her legs and rubbed
his head up and down her flower.
    Miriam stifled a moan. Yes, it was his turn... but perhaps they could
reach the stars together. Usually, her partner's orgasm would trigger hers,
so technically it still would be his turn for pleasure. She sucked in her
breath through her teeth when he leaned forward and slowly, too slowly,
started to enter her. It felt so good she decided one orgasm on her part
wouldn't really matter. After that she'd take care of him. His considerable
length smoothly became part of her.
    "Mmmm," he said. "That's nice..."  He withdrew and started a slow rhythm.
    Miriam moaned again. She was dizzy with the continuous stimulation and
well on her way to her next peak. She tried to move with him but noticed
it didn't add a whole lot. Finally she dropped all pretense of trying to
pleasure him. Her hands pulled at his buttocks and tried to speed up his
rhythm.
    "How's this for you?" he said breathlessly. He bent over her, leaning on
his arms and licked the bridge over her nose.
    "What do you think?" she laughed in response.  "You're so fine, Alan...
yess!!"  She arched her back as waves of pleasure kept washing over her.
    Eventually Alan couldn't hold off any longer and orgasmed inside of her,
setting her off again as well.
    For a while they lay next to each other.
    "I almost am sorry to be taking my vows tomorrow," Miriam told him.
"I could get used to this."  Once or twice a week, to be sure, she didn't
add.
    Alan smiled and said: "So could I."  He tenderly caressed her face.
    "Is it really true that you're not allowed to have any sex as an Acolyte
or a Priest?"
    "Well," Miriam said thoughtfully,  "Casual sexual relationships are
prohibited. It is unheard of, at any rate. Once you enter a romantic
relationship you are expected to marry and resign as a priest."
    Alan traced her eyes and nose. She playfully bit his finger when he
touched her lips.  "Remember when Kieran Batey became Mayor? He had his
share of affairs, eventually married but is still Mayor."
    Miriam turned and looked at him. She had heard that the High Priest
had tried to make Kieran Batey to resign from office. Since that hadn't
happened, the rumour had to be untrue or Kieran's popularity had deterred
the intervention.
    "And what about Morat Van Gulick, the Grand Magus?"
    "Those are individual cases," she said defensively.
    "I just mean... Well, I think you should be able to be a priest and a
human being at the same time."
    "Oh, so that you would be able to take care of my 'earthly needs'?" she
teased.
     Alan chuckled.  "Well, I'd like to," he said. "But I asked because I
wondered about San. Whether she'll be happy as an Acolyte."
    "Knowing her, she'll try to bend the rules as far as they'll go. She
likes men too much," Miriam said thoughtfully.
    Alan started kissing her breast.  "And women," he added.
    Miriam was surprised, then shocked at being merely surprised. She covered
her astonishment by pushing her chest up against his mouth. Her desire rose
again. It was time for round two, she decided.
    "Roll over," she said.
    Straddling him she took his penis and let her warm, wet flower engulf 
him. She sighed as she impaled herself. Pulling away almost completely, she
straightened her back and slid down that delicious flagpole again. Her eyes
fell on her reflection in the tall mirror, showing the perfect rhythm for
her to follow. Never before had she so consciously judged her naked body.
I do have a nice body, she thought. She gasped in surprise when he pressed
the first knuckle of his thumb into her butt.
    Her thoughts drifted back to her friend. So San likes women, she thought.
Why didn't she tell me? It was uncommon, but nothing to be ashamed of. Love
between women was most common among the Elves and in most cases referred to 
as 'elven love'. She thought: what if she didn't want me to know? What if...
Her mirror image flushed at the unspoken suggestion and picked up the rhythm.
    She discovered his other hand rubbing her nipples. Shilohin, this was so
easy! She hardly had to do anything before she would leave again! She closed
her eyes and imagined that Sanna looked at her, smiling and whispering: "Go, 
little sister!"
    Pumping fast and furious, she left hard.
    She lost count of the various styles they tried out. First hard and fast
they moved, like animals in heat, then slowly and tenderly they continued
their lovemaking until the early morning.



    It was just after sunrise when Miriam walked back to the Temple. She
felt sore in a few places, an apropriate reminder of the night before.
She had woken up in his arms only half an hour earlier. Miriam missed
him already, had almost become infatuated with him. He was nice to be
with, considerate, witty... They really had hit it off; in more ways
than one. A slight gnawing feeling entered her gut when she passed the
white pillars at the Temple entrance. Alan belonged to that other world.
She belonged to the Temple.
    The Temple guards were, as usual, silent, their faces inscrutable. 
Five paces later Miriam realized she had forgotten to show them her
holy symbol, which also functioned as her admission pass. The guards
probably knew her face. She was grateful that they had let her pass;
Koriel knew she hardly looked like an Apprentice.
    Her mood lightened when she entered her room and saw Sanna lying
on her bed, arms folded behind her head and looking at the ceiling. Her
friend still wore the skimpy dress of the night before and looked
dishevelled. Sanna smiled that slow grin she usually did when she had
gotten lucky.
    "Well?" she said.
    Miriam took off her robe.  "It was alright," she said.
    "Alright? Alright!?"  Sanna jumped off the bed.  "Did my brother..."
    "Aha," Miriam interrupted her. "So he really was your big brother."
    "Well, actually he's younger than..."  Sanna's voice trailed as she
caught the double meaning. She stared in disbelief.
    Miriam giggled: "You're blushing, Sanna Penhale!"
    "I can't believe you just said that!" Sanna laughed, then frowned and
added: "I can't believe I blushed!"
    Miriam shrugged. She felt a lot more at ease discussing sexual matters
than the previous afternoon. 
    "So you didn't know you singled out my little brother, huh?" Sanna
continued.
    Miriam shook her head.  "When it came up he was scared that if he
couldn't satisfy me, you would skin him alive," she laughed.
    "And rightly so," her friend said coyly.  "I would've felt bad if you
hadn't enjoyed yourself."
    "I had a good time, San. No, I had a /great/ time. At the dance as
well - I felt I could do anything! I wasn't nervous or anything." On an
impulse she embraced her friend. "I owe you, San," she whispered in Sanna'
ear.
    Sanna cleared her throat and said: "Miriam, I gave you a fake potion."
    Miriam felt as if someone had upended a bucket of cold water over her.
She stepped back and said: "Wha... what do you mean?"
    Sanna looked down and repeated softly: "The potion was a fake. It was
water, sugar and lemon juice. Made it myself."
    "But it... it..."  It had worked! Hadn't it? Miriam felt lightheaded.
    "I wouldn't dare giving you anything that makes you do things you
normally wouldn't do. But I did want to help you - and then I thought of
a fake potion."
    "So all this time... it was just me?" Miriam whispered.
    "I did all those things?"  She sagged down on her bed. She still
remembered the exhileration when she had told Alan that she wanted him,
the look in his eyes when they had left the Hall of Festivities. They were
all wonderful memories. Would she now try to forget them and bury them under
a load of guilt?
    "Don't be angry with yourself, be angry with me."
    Sanna started plucking pieces off lint off her dress.
    Miriam calmed down. She wouldn't let guilt rule her life. Last night
was now a part of her. Besides, it was unwise to denounce the blessings
of the Lady of Love.
    "What I said yesterday," she said softly.  "You knew that I didn't need
anything to be passionate, didn't you?"
    Sanna nodded.
    Miriam searched herself for anymore questions that needed to be answered.
There were none.
    She had danced with, seduced and slept with Alan. She had enjoyed doing
all of those things and would remember them fondly. She smiled, welcoming
her newfound confidence.
    "I really owe you, San," she said again.
    "I lied to you. Will you forgive me?"
    Miriam nodded and smiled. It felt good to forgive.
    "Let's go for a steambath. I smell like a pack of swamp trolls."




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web: www.icce.rug.nl/remmelt/index.html

Continued in part 6. . .

Kristen's collection------------------------------------------------