Judy involves homemaker Andy in selecting dresses, with a surprising result.

The party was sprawling down the lawn towards the harbor, splashes of bright colors against blue skies, scudding white clouds and a crystal clear view of the Boston skyline. It reminded me of the dream I had taken across the threshold into morning. It had been years since I had seen that dreamscape, but there it was, whole and healed and perfect: me, making a graceful dive from a wooden pier into a deep, pristine lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, pine forests and the clearest air in the world. Wearing a lime-green one-piece and curves that were, finally, all my own.

-24-
Blood on the Plaza

According to the sun it was around the middle of the day when Oliver, as tired as he was, followed me into the center of town. I had set a blistering pace after the bandits had ambushed us, and Oliver, though he struggled, had managed to keep up with me. Oliver was covered in blood, not his blood, but blood from the bandits that had tried to ambush us. The boy's long brown hair was matted with sweat and his feet were blistered and bleeding.

The Imp ran at the strange human, it's mind filled with blood lust and glee at the impending kill. The human was sick and injured, barely able to hold its blade. Its claws would gut the prey, then it could find the unarmed humans, the weak and young. It would play with them for hours, listening to them scream, tasting their flesh, feeling their life leave their bodies.

“She already knows, Cami. I talked to her.”

I must have looked as astonished as I felt. Though he was uncomfortable, he didn’t look away.

“It was a couple days ago. Before we made love. I knew what I wanted, but I was so afraid that I would hurt you, somehow. Especially because of your issues with PTSD. So I talked to Fiona. She’s your dragon. I figured if she thought there was any likelihood of a problem, she would wave me off. She . . . ah . . . well. She didn’t.” He was blushing, bless the man. “She also wasn’t surprised.”

Previously: Amber has been trained at a slave school in the ways of a pleasure slave. Sold into the house of a feudal lord named, Gaius, she has proved useful in enlarging his fortune; but at the cost of enraging the emissaries of the Seven Gods who have promised to chasten her. She disappears suddenly from Gaius' villa in Albion, and awakes in Thamud where she is sold into the royal household. A break in the narrative follows.

Marcy’s epilogue

It had taken Marcy a while after John was finally permanently gone from her life to truly relax. She had felt his eyes and control on her for so very long that even now after weeks she still felt like she was being watched at times. It was always slightly unsettling, but in the end she managed to tell herself that it was just her imagination, after all if John hadn’t been gone he would have certainly reared his ugly head by now.

GAMBIER TERRACE

There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all

1

This is an experimental first chapter just testing the waters.

The Story So Far: A story taken from the Journal of Lady Zhou Yu, (known to us as Amber) – a slave girl living in the capital city of Thamud. A war currently rages between Talos and Thamud. Amber is a former Chinese military contractor from Earth (Ki) who has been kidnapped and transported to the planet, An. Now transformed into a slave girl, she has been tasked with infiltrating the Qin (the Chinese-like people of An) in order to regain her male body and return to Earth.

Chapter Four – Crystal’s Demise

Soviet spy Crystal Greystone is under pressure from her handler to get her hands on the documents in Professor Brett Beaumont's safe before her cover is blown by the FBI agent Liam Dresser who has become besotted with her and is closing in. This is the climax and final chapter.

Chapter 2 I Am A Slave Girl

There are legends that a group of travelers from ancient Qin arrived in this land a thousand years ago bringing with them their culture and their language.

A former military contractor of Earth wakes up as a slave girl in a distant land.

A pastiche of the Gor inspired Zhor stories of which the finest exemplars are Aardvark's The Warrior From Batuk and some short stories by Christopher Leeson. Except I didn't want to deal with all the exotic terminology and tinkered with many of the properties of the serum as well as the world at large.

I slid, as quietly as possible, another ten yards down the hill and began to circle away from the Cabin and the track down to the road. The small bushes and trees that had been left to grow in recent years gave me plenty of cover. The ‘crew’ that my half-brother had with him were making plenty of noise like you do when driving hogs into a trap. The hog they were after was me!

Chapter Two – Project Excalibur

Soviet spy Crystal Greystone is given a most dangerous mission. She must use her feminine charms to seduce an American scientist who is a genius in the field of X-ray lasers that could possibly render the Soviet nuclear arsenal useless. Set in the Reagan years the premise for this story is true so if the sex scenes aren't your cup of tea, read the story for the intriguing plot.

He continued to glare at me, until suddenly his expression changed completely and he simply looked like he’d been hit by a locomotive. “Fi IS saving the world, jackass,” I said conversationally. “And you’d be the first to agree that the world can spare a lawyer or five. So stop being stupid, will you?”

A Coy Pond and a Couple of Trees Part 4 (The End)
By Sabrina G. Langton

***

Author's Note: Thank you for making it to the end. One door closes and another one opens, and we find Bryson's plan all coming together. I hope YOU like it...

***

Friday

Bryson was lying on the bed watching me get dressed. The 'Personal Shopper' found me a beautiful dark blue dress with polka dots. It had a little black belt and it went perfectly with my heels. I hadn't worn my own clothes all week. I was thinking everyone had better taste than me.

New hairdos, a mani-pedi for Greg, and impassioned, heartfelt confessions pave the way for Greg and Jill's future as Lisa and Blake.

awyers can usually find trouble to get into. COVID’s a disaster, and disasters breed lawsuits like prize bitch spaniels breed puppies. I doubt I’ll see the inside of a courtroom anytime soon though. So, I decided.”

She said, “Decided what?”

I opened my hands and showed her the bottle.

Keir, Von and Hanina were escorted through the halls of the keep at the center of Desolate Fort to the main hall. The escort watched them warily, particularly the ghostly maid who floated silently behind Keir. The necromancer wondered how the dignitaries would act when they met. So far he'd been greeted mostly by fear and wariness, he could understand why they felt like that, but it was getting annoying.

“Shall I introduce you as Keir or Keira?” Von asked.