Garden Thorn, Part 3

by Nuit du Loup

Greta Inesdottor, known to almost everyone else in the Queen's Realm as the Preceptor, let out a long, deep moan of contentment.  She lay nude, belly down on her sumptuously comfortable bed with several large pillows under her chest so she could hug them and rest her head. It was a very warm night, but the magically enchanted air impeller in the open window across her tastefully appointed bedroom was pushing a gentle breeze about the space.  The four stand lamps placed in the corners were dimmed down low and the sounds of nighttime insects outside in the Palace grounds made for a relaxing background.

The bed shifted slightly when the warm weight straddling her thighs settled into a new position.  Strong, long-fingered hands on her back, now with more leverage behind them, worked and kneaded into her muscles.  The hands were intimately familiar with every part of her body and their owner knew exactly how to make every bit of stiffness and stress dissolve away like evaporating rain in the summer.  After the lovemaking she'd enjoyed just moments before, this was a fine way to spend a late evening.

With another long sigh, she opened her eyes and gazed at the bed directly across from her own against the opposite wall. It was a large, sturdy piece of furniture like her own but covered in thick red comforters compared to the plum of hers.  On it, Isanda was laying with her partner, both sweaty from their exertions. 

Like almost all who Isanda took to her bed, Lisha was a sensually lush woman with generously large breasts.  She was groaning softly because Isanda was still gently stroking her oversensitive slit.  Had she not just had a very nice orgasm of her own just moments before, Greta would have been inclined to have another go with her own partner from the sight. As it was, she just enjoyed the view of her First Guard and close friend as she brought Lisha slowly back to reality.

From the perspective of normal human society, they would likely find it strange that she shared her bedroom with Isanda. She didn't really care about that though.  Isanda had been a close personal friend during her younger years and had been with her for almost three decades now. 

As was the way among the Sisterhood, she had long ago brought Isanda into her home and when she had been appointed Preceptor; her friend came along as well to her new suite of apartments in the Queen's Palace. The other guards, like Corina, stayed in another room down the hall.

Flushed with the magic she had just taken in and the sex she had enjoyed, Isanda moved Lisha's head against her breasts. Once they were comfortable Isanda glanced across the room and they shared warm smiles.  Due to the nature of her schedule, they ended up retiring for the day at the same time. This meant they got to enjoy watching each other as they made love each day. They each had several bonded partners that lived in the suite with them who had also become very close friends and lovers. This made them all a kind of family unique to the Sisterhood.

"That looks quite relaxing," Isanda remarked, taking one of Lisha's generous breasts into a hand so she could idly play with its large nipple.  Lisha, still coming out of the post-sex fog, was used to this and just enjoyed it. "I can almost believe that you haven't spent the entire day in near constant motion."

"It's hard to feel stressed out with Sabina working on me like this," Greta replied, smiling slowly. "That doesn't mean that I'm not still thinking about everything we're working towards.  It's actually very helpful."

"Aww thank you," Sabina's said from behind her with that soft burr in her voice that always made Greta a little wet. It wasn't something Sabina caused to happen; it was the way she naturally sounded. 

Sabina's hands stopped their kneading and caressed lightly up and down her sides.  Then she felt the felt the perpetually hard tips of her lover's breasts and a rounded belly press gently against her back.  The feel of that belly always filled her with a sense of both pride and great joy. An outsider would probably label Sabina as one of her wives, and aside from the semantics of the name, they would be right.  Sabina was also bearing her first child.

"Four more months," Sabina said, hugging her from behind.  "Then you'll have to share me with our daughter."

"When are you going to get me pregnant?" Lisha pouted prettily up at Isanda, devilish delight in her eyes. Despite her outward, languid appearance, she was a sharply intelligent woman. She and Isanda were very deeply in love and Greta knew she wanted a child badly.

"The plan is about go into full motion, you know that," Isanda said, admonishing her love with a smile. "It will be hard enough around here with just Greta's baby to take care of. Once we have things settled and working smoothly, I promise that I'll put a baby in your beautiful belly"

"Speaking of the plan," Greta broke in, speaking in her business tone now to bring them to the topic at hand. "The unhappiness and hatred among the general population towards us is growing much faster now than it did just a few months ago.  The estimated time when they'll reach a critical mass is nearing rapidly.  In the last five months, there have been seven Sisters murdered. We've only been able to keep that quiet because the ones killed were some of the tiny number that lived alone.  It's only going to get worse."

"Do you still think that girl we found is going to help?" Isanda asked. 

"Let's just say that as soon as I laid eyes on her I knew she was a blessing from the Lady herself," Greta said in total seriousness. "When our eyes met on that mountain pass, I knew I had found something special.  I've been looking for almost two years now for something that would guarantee our success and the survival of the Sisterhood.  Though she doesn't realize it at all, Briar represents our salvation."

"It's been three weeks since we dragged her to this city and stuck her in the Garden," Isanda reminded her. "Why would she want to do anything for us? The only person she seemed to warm to on the way here was Corina and the few times I saw her close up, she seemed too deadly serious."

"I know that she will help us," Greta smiled. Then she nudged her lover gently. "I've purposely kept entirely away from Briar, but Sabina has been keeping an eye on her with her spies."

"Spies?" Sabina commented. Greta could well imagine her cocking one of her eyebrows with magnificent reproach. "I'll have you know that they are simply friends of mine that are unusually observant. But yes Isanda, a few of them have been keeping an eye on our young lady. One has even been living with her since she and her good friend started a new circle.  From what I've been hearing these last couple of weeks, she's been a very busy girl."

"What has she been up to?" Isanda asked curiously.

"All manor of craziness, if you listen to Sister Cecilia," Sabina chuckled. "She's been making a lot of waves."

Greta tuned out Sabina's recitation to Isanda and Lisha.  Every single day since they had returned from her investigative peregrination of the temples outside the capital, she had received Sabina's detailed reports on what Briar was doing.  So she knew all about the girl Briar had formed a deep friendship with and the shockingly swift growth of the circle they had formed out in the unused portion of the Garden building. Almost overnight younger girls and a few young women seemed to flock to Briar once they heard about her strange ideas.

 "Briar is a creature of order," Sabina said above her, oddly shadowing her thoughts. "She didn't like the lethargic and purely hedonistic micro-world within the Garden and decided that she was going to do things another way.  This was especially shown when a group came and found her, Oriana, and the two other girls of her new core group of friends cleaning up their new home all on their own with tools Briar got from the servants."

This was the part that intrigued Greta. Instead of being put off by Briar's efforts to reduce chaos, girls actually seemed interested in learning the how and why.  They willingly conformed, without being told, to the schedule she had set up for her new home.  According to Sabina's watcher that was living there, Briar never forced anyone to do anything. She just did things, along with her core group of friends, and others wanted to follow.

A rather humorous account during the middle of the first week was of Briar teaching her new community meditation.  Apparently a group of new arrivals showed up and found Briar and the other three sitting dead still with their eyes closed in the grass.  When Briar explained to them what they were doing and why, they wanted to learn too, so then it was ten girls meditating in a field.  The story brought up the memory she had of walking into her wagon and seeing talkative Corina absolutely silent and in one of Briar's odd meditation exercises.

The daily post-breakfast meditation was now done by everyone living on Moon Hill, as they called their home.  Sabina's friend claimed that it was wonderfully enjoyable and a great start to the day. After that, Briar then led them through a full two hours of daily physical exercises as well.  These involved lots of running and various muscle and endurance workouts.  Since Greta agreed with Briar's assessment that most Gardens were lethargic hedonists, she was shocked to learn that these workouts were completely voluntary and that Briar's girls were doing them willingly without prompting.

Even stranger; in the evening after dinner Briar leads her full circle, now all the way up to eighteen girls, through what she calls training katas.  These appear to be the complex and extremely strenuous forms that made up the fighting style she used.  Though her girls usually tire out quickly, Greta knew that Briar was capable of continuing for long hours before exhausting herself. Her daunting physical prowess was fast becoming a point of community pride and near hero worship even from the younger adults in the group.

Instead of commanding and telling people what to do; Briar was leading by the pure force of her personality.  Her girls wanted to be around her and learn the things she was willing to teach them.  They were soaking it up like sponges and loving it. As far as Greta knew, Briar was probably the first Garden in their experience to possess strong leadership abilities, since it was a trait that was rarely nurtured among their younger girls.

 "Also, Briar never seems to stop for very long." Sabina was saying. "She does spend time relaxing with Oriana and a few others, but she always seems to have something to do.  This part of her has been driving Sister Cecilia a little crazy."

"Why is that?" Lisha asked. "Cecilia is usually really patient."

Greta knew full well why Cecilia didn't know what to do. The woman was kind and loved caring for the Garden women, but she had never dealt with one that had a personality stronger than her own and had localized authority she couldn't touch.  Cecelia was too much of an outsider to Briar's girls, because they now loved and respected Briar on a completely different level. In fact, they no longer went to Cecilia with their problems or grievances. They went to Briar first and in almost every case, she was able to solve them without outside help.

Greta had actually had a conversation with Cecilia last week and the woman had been concerned that Briar was undermining her. When Greta asked why this was, she explained that Briar's intention to do things her way extended in almost every direction.  From the very beginning Briar hadn't been pleased with the clothing available to her. So she asked close friends she'd made among the servants for help.  Apparently even Cecilia didn't notice at first that a small group of servants were spending a great deal of their free time with Briar's circle, and not just for the friendly sex.

They came to talk and participate in the activities going on there and eventually they and the Gardens became close friends. When Briar asked for a modification to the sleek, black dresses she has taken as a sort of personal uniform, to give more support for her breasts for when she works out, they had them made without consulting Cecilia in any way. Briar also arranged for additional sleeping pallets, gardening tools, wash basins and all sorts of other things to be brought to her circle.

Not only that, but during her second week, Cecilia noticed that one of her servants was very late in returning to the coordination office and when she looked up the offending young lady's position, she found that she was on Moon Hill. Cecilia went out to verbally chastise both parties, but she got an unexpected outcome instead. As soon as Briar understood why Sister Cecilia was so unhappy, she went straight to the servant girl and told her to sit. The servant, who was years older than Briar, did so without question."

From there, Briar gave the servant the reprimand Cecilia had meant to give with utter seriousness.  Sabina's friend claims that she was probably speaking back something she herself had received, because Briar's speech seemed much too practiced.  Instead of yelling at the servant, she explained her failure to meet her responsibilities and that she was disappointed that the girl had not done her duties as expected.  Cecilia had been sure the young lady would be angry at being reprimanded by a girl at least five years her junior, but she wasn't. Instead she apologized to Briar, and then Cecilia, and promised not to skip out on her work again. And she hasn't since.

Another part of Briar Cecilia failed to understand, but Greta did, was the fact that Briar was also educating herself.  It had been very apparent as they traveled that Briar had been unable to read or write. Now that she was living among a modern society, Briar had found several of her servant friends that were willing to teach her during their off time.

Greta had worried as the reports came in that the other residents would resent Briar and her group or feel they were too different, but because of their voluntary seclusion, Briar's circle was an almost entirely separate community within the garden.  They do almost everything together when they can, including meals where they all walk together to their chosen eatery.  The first time they did that, the workers at the Sky Lounge pretty much panicked at the sudden rush.

A few Gardens had expressed mild disgruntlement at having some of their younger members leave to join Briar's group, but there isn't a lot of outright anger. Her personal theory was because Briar has already shown a shrewd understanding of Garden psychology. The one and only time Greta know of that a girl of her circle had an argument with a member of the circle she had left; Briar stopped them both with total seriousness. Then she ordered them to find a bed, make love, and come back to talk it out rationally with her. They did exactly that and the problem never reoccurred.

"Is she really that cold?" Lisha asked, bringing Greta out of her personal contemplation for a moment.

"Oh, she's not cold at all," Sabina chuckled throatily above her. "By all accounts I've heard, she cares for those in her keeping very deeply.  Beyond her small core group, she's absolutely fair as long as the situation allows. Also, whenever someone has a concern or just wants to talk, she is there for them, and despite how serious she sounds, she's more known and loved for her warm smile and constantly thinking jade eyes. Even the Sisters that stop by like her."

"Have there been many?" Isanda wondered.

"Only a few so far," Sabina answered. "The most frequent is a Healer that seems to be on very friendly terms with Briar and Oriana. She has a bonded partner that accompanies her everywhere and they both like to spend the occasional night on Moon Hill because they think it's fun and relaxing.  Some of the girls, when they are requested, have brought their Sister to Moon Hill and use the pallets Briar had put down near the baths for that purpose and none have said anything negative about their experiences."

"Does Briar not have sex with any of them?" Lisha asked curiously.

Greta knew the answer to that question. Briar was extremely active.  She spends most of her time with her close friend Oriana and with the other two of her core, but she does have sex with the others with healthy regularity.  She even has a reputation for being a fantastic and thoughtful lover. She certainly was not fighting what she is. Instead she made it one more part of herself and doesn't let it rule her like some unfortunate Gardens do.

"She sounds pretty interesting," Isanda chortled.

"She's even better I hoped for," Greta said aloud, breaking Sabina's explanation. "That's why I know that she can help save us."

"But she's so young," Lisha argued.

"Her intelligence makes a much larger impression than her age does," Greta disagreed with a shake of her head. "Besides, we actually want someone young.  It's the older generations that we're going to have the most problems with in the later phases, and especially if an early, unplanned disaster occurs.  Briar will be the foundation that we desperately need."

"But how do you know she'll work?" Sabina pointed out. "You've told me most of the plan, but Briar and the girl haven't even met yet, so it could still fail."

"Please just trust me on this, all of you," Greta said, smiling faintly. "I don't know how it is that I know, but Briar will be perfect. Tomorrow night, she'll prove it."

Isanda sat a little straighter at this news. "So the girl is finally ready?"

"Yes, she was actually ready a week ago, but her friends insisted that she go through with it on the Founding Day holiday.  I didn't actually think they still believed in that good-luck stuff, but I saw no reason to deny the request.  So tomorrow, she and Briar will meet, and I have a strong premonition from my magic that it will be an event that will not only be profound for the girls involved, but a touching off of change for us all.  I have faith that this change will be a good thing.  The Lady's hand is on us in these dark times and she won't let us down."

The room was silent for a long moment.  Then Sabina lowered down and laid her pregnant warmth along Greta's body as she spoke softly. "We all trust you, love.  And it's not just us; the Queen and the Heiress both support you too.  So you don't need to convince us that this is the correct path.  I believe that when our daughter is born, the plan will be in full, successful motion and she will be safe."

"We're with you too," Isanda added. "And I don't doubt Corina and the others would feel the same if they knew everything. All I want to know is what I can do now to help."

"Right now we all have a very difficult job," Greta replied with a smirk.  "It's actually the hardest thing to do, because now, we wait."

******

Briar stood in the comfortable fireplace-equipped meeting room at the entrance to the Garden, staring out the glass doors to the nighttime Palace grounds.  Outside, a summer thunderstorm was booming away, making everything dark and ominous between flashes of brilliant lightning.  The rain was hard and steady with big drops that were producing a constant, soothing background noise that was blending well with the small fire burning in the hearth behind her in the middle of the room.

"Briar, stop looking so worried!" Oriana chided playfully, turning her around so she could get close and look up into her face. Warm, amused eyes gazed back into hers and in them she could see how deep their friendship had grown over the last few weeks. "We were surviving perfectly fine before you showed up and changed everything, so I think we can make it through one night without you."

"I know that," Briar sighed with a small smile. She did know it intellectually, but there was a nagging feeling in her heart that she was neglecting her girls.  The fact that they considered themselves hers at all had been a real shock, but she found that she liked being there for them whenever they had problems or just wanted someone to talk to and be with. That part of her resented the fact that now, after just over three weeks, she was finally being requested.  She itched to go back to Moon Hill with Oriana.

Right now, she knew they would be beginning the nightly entertainments they had started last week.  Now that the servant friend that was teaching Briar to read and write was also teaching the others, they practiced by taking turns reading aloud to the whole circle from their chosen book, which they borrowed from servants or from other places.  Not only did it give them practice at reading, but the girls also discovered a love for hearing new stories.  They would be laying in each others arms on the hillside, listening to Kaya, tonight's reader, and having fun.

"If you know it so well, then stop looking at me like your being sent out for a punishment!" Oriana giggled. She sidled close and gave her one of the quick kisses they both enjoyed and shared often. Briar loved Oriana for her bright, innocent intelligence that tied them together so tightly. "You're going to be with you're first Sister tonight, a student. In the morning you'll come back in a great mood and you'll tell me all about it while we work out."

"I will?" Briar asked, raising an eyebrow in mock severity.  There was just something about Oriana being around that improved everyone's mood, hers definitely included. "I'll probably walk back and find you all in disarray again."

"No way!" Oriana laughed. "No one likes the old way of doing things anymore."

Briar was still marveling at just how well received her ideas were.  She now had eighteen girls, as many as they had pallets for at the moment, living on Moon Hill with her and every day they wanted her to teach them more.  Oriana was the best of them.  Despite her bubbly, outward demeanor, the girl had an amazingly quick mind that sucked in everything.  Now, when she did a new kata or meditation exercise, all of them wanted to know the how and why of it.  When she proposed something to improve their home, they were always eager to discuss and add to it.

Also, she already missed just being around them.  Having her small community to care for gave her a warmth inside that she'd never felt before. It had started with Oriana, but now it was so much more.  While it was never something she would have thought she'd be enjoying before being brought here, there was no denying that she like it very much.  It helped that she was now very comfortable with the changes to her physiology.

Like she had promised herself at the beginning, she didn't let her new and powerful sexual instincts and drives to rule her.   Instead she incorporated it all into her daily life with everything else.  She allowed plenty of time for having fun while also being as productive as she could.  For example, her girls never let her wake up all the way on her own. Thanks to a comment from Oriana, as soon as someone noticed she was stirring, one or more girls would be there, working her from sleep and into a wonderful climax.  Then she would spend a nice hour or so with whoever was in her pallet, which usually included Oriana, before they headed off for breakfast.

She greatly enjoyed the physical and emotional companionship that was developing within her circle. There were a few that had strong partner ties, like she and Oriana did, but they all spent time with everyone else and enjoyed it.  They loved that they were building a close community and showed it in their interactions.  This was why the morning, evening and other bath times almost resembled a party.  They were genuinely having fun, regardless of age differences.

That was why it was hard to suddenly leave, despite the fact that all her girls left at random times for their own requests. Oriana received an impressive amount of these.  There was a group of Sisters that asked for her at least three times a week after the lunch hour.  There was even a sort-of ritual now for when her Gardens returned.  Those that weren't busy at the time would bathe the woman and give a soothing muscle rub to welcome them back home. Briar ignored the fact that it probably got started because she'd done it several times for Oriana first.

 "This is also a special night for the student you'll be seeing tonight," said Sister Claris, standing a few feet away with Thera at her side.  She had become a very frequent visitor to Moon Hill along with her partner.  She and Thera were planning on having a child soon and they had been looking for a new circle for Thera to join while Claris arranged for or built a house for them.  Briar had been more than a little flattered that Claris and Thera both wanted to join hers. In the meantime, Claris just hung around when she wasn't working as a Healer and made herself pleasant company while checking on their health occasionally.

"Why is it special for this girl?" Briar asked, turning them slightly to face the Sister. 

"Because it's her first time with a Garden, this is an important right of passage.  It's what will kindle her magic fully alight so she can begin new and more involved magical studies. She will remember this night for the rest of her life."

Sister Claris's smile was very friendly and open, just like the woman herself.  Briar's girls liked her visits and Briar considered her a personal friend as well.  She'd been a little surprised when she and Oriana arrived here half an hour ago and found her waiting, but Sister Claris also considered them friends and wanted to see her off.  Just a few minutes before now she had smoothed and styled Briar's sleek, black hair and gifted her with a decoratively lacquered and painted wooden comb to hold it in place.

Claris reached out a hand towards Briar in a now familiar gesture and once again Briar saw the intricately complicated patterns and forms of the magic being worked. Ever since that first day, Briar could see the magic around her with little effort.  Everything about working magic outside her own body that had confused her before, now made sense.  Those that worked magic could see it and form it like Claris was doing.

Since then she had, very carefully, examined and watched any magic being performed or used around her.  She was very rarely ever alone, so it had been hard to try anything on her own.  Despite these difficulties, she had managed a few experimental tricks from things she had observed and things learned from back home.  Finding a way to teach herself more was an important item on her list of things to do.

Sister Claris's hand touched Briar on her forehead and like during their initial meeting, magic rushed and probed through her body.  It found the small cut on the back of her hand from the sharp branch of a dead tree she'd helped tear down.  Another flow of magic followed the first and the scabbed over cut healed itself completely in an instant.  When she found no other problems, Claris removed her hand.

"Do you want me to escort you to the dorm building?" Claris offered. "Otherwise you'll be soaked through before you get there."

"Does that matter?" Briar smiled back and gestured down at herself.  Her new dresses were all sown in such a way as to provide support for her breasts since it was uncomfortable to work out otherwise.  Since they were still made of the same material, it actually showed her body off even more than before. Her current garment was a black halter dress. "Getting this wet won't change much."

"She's talking about your hair and overall appearance," Oriana replied brightly. "Showing up all wet and disheveled doesn't make for a good first impression; though it would be hard to top smelling like the road when we met."

"You loved every second of that bath," Briar chuckled.

"So I did," Oriana giggled, pointedly wiggling her butt.  "But this girl is going to be very young and everything you do will be part of the memory of this night."

"Younger than you?" Briar asked. She had learned that Oriana had only just turned thirteen a few weeks before they'd met at the beginning of summer. There were a couple others that young among her girls, but most were older teens.  Mira, the woman she'd met that first day, was one of the few actual women in their twenties or older that joined. That woman was very popular and possessed a sex drive that was unbelievable even for these people. 

"Most students start learning the basics, like math and reading when they're around six or a little earlier," Claris explained.  "They begin their real magical studies around the age of eleven or so.  Expect this girl to be about that young and with little experience other than some sensual touching from her friends.  Our biology prevents us from doing much more than that."

"Why's that?"

"Well, if I tried to lick the pussy of another Sister or to taste her fluids, I would feel nauseous.  It's an inbuilt instinct so we aren't tempted to fully have sex with each other.  Aside from being banned, if a Sister deliberately impregnates another Sister, the result is usually stillborn.  Before we have sex with a Garden for the first time, we mostly explore through watching each other masturbate or a little kissing and rubbing.  You will be this girl's very first foray into real sex."

"Is that why Oriana says that the girl's friends are probably going to be there to watch us?" Briar asked.  She hadn't exactly been thrilled at that news, despite how comfortable she'd grown around her own girls.

"Yes," Claris actually giggled, which looked odd on the well endowed woman. "They will be almost as excited as the girl herself, especially if none of them have done it either.  It's fun, exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time."

"Okay," Briar sighed and ran a quick hand up and over Oriana's backside. "I guess I'll take you up on your offer then. Oriana, I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep!" Oriana replied jovially, giving her a long, parting kiss before separating herself. "Thera and I are going to head back and see if we can catch some of Kaya's book."

Thera and Sister Claris also shared a kiss, but it was far more passionate and full of romantic love. Briar dearly loved Oriana, but their love was that of close friends that trusted each other implicitly. Thera and Claris loved like a house burned, hot and a little frantic.  When they made love, the entire circle knew it and envied them.  Thera was a very soft spoken girl, but her parting whispers brought red to Claris's cheeks.  Then she and Oriana left together through the double doors by the counter to re-enter the Garden.

The walk across the Palace grounds wasn't all that spectacular due to the heavy rain that limited their sight distance to only a few tens of feet.  Mostly Briar spent the time figuring out how Claris's magic umbrella worked.  It was a clever thing that compressed a dome of air into a small roof above them to divert the cold water. This did not however, do anything for the wetness under her bare feet since she'd decided that wearing slippers in this mess was pointless.

When they got to their destination, a very tall and wide building with decorative stone moldings, Claris led them around back to a lesser used entrance.  The necessity for this was because apparently today was a holiday of some kind and the residents of the dorm would all be in the first floor commons having a party on their day off from classes.  They were avoiding the hassle her arrival might cause. Once inside a tiny, quiet foyer, Claris handed her the piece of paper she'd been protecting for Briar.

That paper was the sign that the Sisters had noticed her efforts to learn how to read.  On it was the floor number, room number, and given name for the girl she was too meet.  Ordinarily, a girl was simply told where she needed to go, or she was picked up by the Sister that requested her.  For Briar and now all the girls of her circle that could now read, they received little slips of paper.

Off the foyer were a set of stairs and an alcove containing the marvelous magical contraption she'd heard about.  After showing Briar how to operate the magic lift, Claris left with a happy wave. Then Briar touched her finger to the small brass circle with the needed floor number and the numeral glowed cool purple.  The lift car gave a tiny lurch and then smoothly rose up its shaft to the eighth and top level, depositing her in a completely silent hallway with plush, soft carpeting with colorful designs and lit by dimmed magical lights.  Her new awareness of magic let her understand those lights and how they worked, but the elevator had been insanely complex and beyond her current knowledge.

Once she understood how the dorm numbers ran, she quickly found her final goal, room eight hundred and twenty.  She was sure there weren't actually eight hundred rooms in the building, but the scheme was very logical.  For a long moment she stood in front of that portal made of a dark wood, staring at the brass room numbers and centered her mind with a quick mantra. Then she calmly raised her right hand, and knocked twice.

Almost immediately she heard excited female voices from inside, past the door. They were whispering and giggling happily. The sounds brought a small smile to Briar's face.  It was quite flattering to be so highly anticipated, so maybe this could be fun after all.  Then light footsteps pattered just on the other side of the door and the polished latch dipped as it was pushed open.  A short, blushing girl in the uniform of the students with very light-brown hair was grinning at her.

"Well met," Briar said in polite greeting. "I am Briar. Would you be Coral, or one of her friends?"

"A friend," the very young girl giggled back. "Coral is inside. Please come in."

Like all the other living spaces Briar had seen with these people, the dorm room was not actually one room, but several around a larger communal area.  The door led into the common area which was sparse, but had enough comfortable seating for at least eight people.  It was oddly shaped with four other doorways and a small side space with cabinets, including one that was oddly thick and looked insulated.  One doorway was left open and inside was an unlit bathing area.  The closed doors must be bedrooms. 

"Do you want something to drink first?" her greeter asked, sounding a bit nervous as she clenched her hands as if she wanted something for them to do.

"No, but thank you for being polite and offering," she replied. "Were you being nice or just politely giving your friend a little extra time to get herself ready?"

The young girl blinked at her in astonishment for a second, and then her smile was wide and her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Both actually, she's really nervous about meeting you."

"Well, I can kind of understand, I haven't lived here for very long yet," Briar replied. "What is she worried about?"

"I'm not sure," the girl shrugged.

Briar smiled again. She felt like her own misgivings were silly now compared to what this girl must be feeling. "Which room do you two share?" she asked.

"That one," the girl pointed at the door just to the left of the bath. "How did you know we were roommates?"

"Because it seems to me, that you are very close to Coral," Briar answered, heading towards the door with the girl following. "Did you two pick me together?"

"Kind of," the girl replied with humor. "Her mother's friend stops by to talk occasionally and to advise and help with our lessons. So we asked her if she knew someone special for Coral's first.  She brought the request book the next night and showed us your picture and told Coral and me a little of what she knew about you."

"I didn't know I was being talked about," Briar chuckled bemusedly.

"Us either," the girl shrugged. "But Coral agreed almost right away.  I'm going to see if she's okay now. Okay?"

The girl slipped through the door carefully so that Briar wouldn't be able to get a glimpse inside.  This unnecessary precaution made Briar want to laugh again.  She was nervous too.  It seemed important now that she make this night enjoyable for Coral. She had expected this to be like a chore, but there was anticipation building up in her nerves.

"You can come in now!" said her greeter's voice.

In a smooth, deliberate glide that she normally used in combat training, Briar entered the room without making a single sound.  The room was very small with only just enough room for two low beds and two desks with books and the other trappings of learning on them.  On wooden wall-mounted rods hung extra uniform pieces and a clothes chest sat at the foot of each bed.  On the left bed, were the two girls.

Briar's eyes locked onto them and suddenly she felt a tight, seizing sensation in her chest.  She had no idea what it was she was feeling at first, but then she realized that her brain had stopped just as much as her body had. It was as if her entire being had needed to recover from something.  After a quick mental kick, she understood with unparalleled amazement, why she had reacted as she had.  The girl sitting before her, was beautiful.

Not just beautiful or pretty in the normal sense, because she found Oriana and most of the other women in the Garden very pleasing to look at. This girl was something different, more.  The exact nature of the difference eluded Briar, but was there because it was burrowing its way into her soul.  It began to make her feel more complete than anything else ever had.

Coral's big, brilliantly intelligent, sapphire eyes were locked onto hers with an exact mirror of her own emotions playing behind them.  They were connected at a level neither of them had ever known existed to be explored. It was a moment so profound that no one in the room spoke for a long time. Their tongues just weren't allowed to move. It didn't really need to anyway, because this was the type of moment that could only be ruined and sullied by the invasion of speech.

Coral was just as young as Claris had warned. She was sitting upright with good posture and cross legged, wearing the soft, loose white pants of her uniform and a more formal version of the green top. It was a vest made from silk with golden brocade in designs that would take hours for her eyes to unravel.  Being sleeveless, her smooth, pale-skinned bare arms went down to where her small hands were clasped and forgotten in a formerly nervous hold.

Her body was small and very petite, but held in a way that suggested this girl liked the way she looked and was normally pretty confident.  Coral's face though, was heart shaped and framed by long, golden blonde hair that shone wonderfully in a rippling cascade.  It looked like it would be soft to the touch. Her nose was a tiny thing, as was her mouth, with thin pink lips.  Defined cheekbones created small dimples that would be accented wonderfully every time Coral smiled.  Her ears looked delicately little and hidden by carefully styled tuffs of hair.  Briar drank it all in like a starving woman, but it was those eyes that she knew would remain forever in her memory.  They held untold depths she wanted to explore as they in turn explored hers.

"You're Briar?" Coral asked, speaking first in a crystalline clear voice. It was more of a statement though because they both knew who the other was. Her friend, sitting behind Coral, moved closer in as if to lend strength if it was needed.

"I am Briar," she solemnly, speaking just as softly as the girl.  Her heart was beating like a mad drummer and she was uncomfortably aware that her nipples were diamond hard against her dress.  Also, she could feel that the small magic Claris had worked to keep her constantly leaking slit from drooling down her leg had failed already. She ignored both of those facts and slowly approached the bed, closing the door silently behind her.

There was a magic of some kind working between them. Not just the normal tugging sensation that they should have sex, but something more exotic.  She stopped a pace or two away.  Her entire soul and body wanted to know this girl and have Coral know her just as well. So very slowly she brought her hands up, and tugged the cord holding her dress up over her head, and then letting it all slide like black mercury to the floor. Both of the young girls breathed in sharply and froze as they regarded her aroused body.

Smiling more warmly than she had ever done for another person, Briar held out a hand in invitation.  Coral looked back and forth between her body and that hand, licking her lips with a renewal of nerves and probably a good dose of confusion. Briar knew it was hard enough for her to accept that she was unfathomably captivated by this young girl, so Coral was probably feeling a little overwhelmed if she was going through the same tumult.

"Go to her," the friend whispered softly near Coral's left ear. "You've been talking and dreaming about this for weeks, remember?"

"I know, thank you Tessa," Coral replied with a small smile. Then she licked her lips one more time, and slid to the edge of the bed.  There she reached out and let Briar pull her upright, where they stood in silence, once again enamored and trapped with each other's eyes.  Once again Coral broke the quiet. "You look so...strong."

A small, delicate fingered hand reached up and with a feather-light touch, ran over her powerful, but still very feminine arms. The tickling sensation made her muscles twitch a little and brought a wondering smile to the exploring young lady; for Briar realized that was exactly what Coral was doing.  She wanted to know Briar as much as Briar did her.  

"I was told you were very strong, and know how to fight," Coral said quietly, now feeling both of her arms interchangeably with both of her small hands.

"Were you worried that I might hurt you?" Briar asked, doing nothing to interfere. "I would never do so unless you attacked me, which you don't seem inclined to do."

"No, I wasn't really worried about that," Coral replied, a wide, jubilant smile blooming on her small, youthful face as her hands familiarized themselves with Briar. The expression was like the sun rising and it sparked a rush of heat through Briar. "I was worried that you would be cold and hard, both in body and in your personality.  But you're not like that at all.  You feel warm, hot even. It's really exciting, but scary in a good way."

"I was actually a little worried too," Briar admitted. "But it was for all sorts of reasons."

"So we were both being silly?" the girl asked, pleasantly amused.

"That's they way it seems," Briar affirmed. She noticed that Tessa, Coral's friend, had gone over to the other bed and was watching them with unhidden delight. Tuning her back out, Briar could see the desire growing in Coral's eyes. "You can touch more than my arms," she suggested.

"I like them!" Coral giggled happily. Briar expected the girl to go right for her breasts, which Coral kept staring at in fascination, but instead she reached higher and touched Briar's face, feeling along her jaw-line and then continuing to her hair.  Her scalp tingled as her young lover took great, open enjoyment from her tactile study.  Briar was tempted to close her eyes, but that would mean looking away from Coral and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Then finally, Coral placed one hand and then the other, on each of her high, firm breasts.  Briar was not actually very large in that area, but Coral's hands were truly small. So it made her breasts seem larger than they were. The girl's skin flushed pink at the contact and she gently squeezed and caressed them, gazing eagerly at Briar's erect nipples. When she touched one and gave it an experimental pinch and tug, Briar sighed encouragingly in pleasure.

"You feel so good," Coral said softly. Neither of them had spoken much above a whisper yet.

"So do your hands," Briar smiled back. Following a strong impulse, Briar gently pulled the girl close so she didn't scare her and lowered her head. Coral's eyes widened at first when she realized what Briar intended and she blushed again, but when their lips came together, they both moaned in pure, rapturous delight and melted naturally into each others arms.  Briar always enjoyed the kisses she shared with Oriana and the playful ones during sex with the other girls, but this kiss was something far greater.

At first it was soft and light as they both got to know the other's mouth.  It also let them get more comfortable with their height differences. Then Briar opened her mouth slightly and let her passion flow.  Coral groaned joyfully into the exchange and let Briar enfold her small form with her naked body.  The kiss was long and ongoing because neither of them wanted to end it first.  Then Briar remembered something Oriana had mentioned a while ago. 

While their tongues were sliding together in a simulated love making of their own, Briar enticed Coral to extend her tongue out a little more which she was more than happy to do. Then, with her own body flushed and hotly demanding sex, Briar sucked gently. Immediately Coral moaned deeply and loudly, surprising everyone in the room. Encouraged by this Briar adjusted the angle of her face and sucked a little harder while using her own tongue to tease around and along Coral's.  In response, Coral seemed to melt even more into their embrace as she moaned and writhed in pure sexual excitement and Briar got a surprise.

While still inside her mouth, Briar felt Coral's tongue change shape. It suddenly swelled into a squishy shape and extended much longer; so long that it was actually teasing the back of her throat.  Rather than finding it disgusting, Briar began sucking and licking on the organ more vigorously as they kissed because she could see, feel and hear how much Coral loved it.  It also aroused her a great deal and she could feel her wetness pouring down her legs.

Coral writhed and wriggled in her arms and Briar did a little exploring of her own, but she was distracted when she felt something slippery with an almost fruity sweetness pouring onto her tongue.  An oral investigation of Coral's tongue rewarded her with an answer.  The underside, near the tip of Coral's tongue, wasn't solid.  There was a small opening and in time to the small shivers running through Coral's body, tiny amounts of liquid were being ejected and happily devoured by Briar.  Now understanding Oriana's hints at how Sisters were different from Gardens, Briar continued until suddenly Coral stiffened, her tongued went flat again with a enormous ejection of liquid, and she pulled back with the half-glazed eyes of a girl who was enjoying a strong, thought-destroying orgasm.

Giving Coral time to recover, Briar filed away what she'd discovered for later contemplation.  It would be useful to know.  She also gave small kisses along the young girl's neck and ears, despite how much she had to bend down to do so. She was far too worked up to want to sit still.

"You sucked on my tongue!" Coral said disbelievingly with her eyes suddenly bright and excited again.  Her skin was very pink from her release. "You aren't freaked out? I was told that almost everyone hates kissing us like that!"

"I'm not freaked out," Briar said, smiling warmly. "I actually thought it was really exciting. I enjoyed doing it and will do it again. It felt good?"

"Yeah!" Coral looked completely astounded and hugged her tighter. "You made me cum by sucking on my tongue! I've never heard of that happening before. Usually we have to have to have our slits played with, just like you."

"I'm just glad you enjoyed it," Briar replied.  It made her quite happy to have already given the girl so much pleasure. She gave the girl's firm bottom a gentle squeeze. "Would you mind if I took off your clothes, Coral? I'd really like to look at you. It feels good like this, but I want to feel all of you."

"My clothes!" Coral squeaked, suddenly nervous again. "But I don't really have anything worth looking at yet, I'm only eleven."

"I believe, that I am the judge of that," Briar replied gently, but with a smile.  Without saying anything else, she pushed the girl back and began undoing the buttons on Coral's vest.  Coral's face turned a little pinker, but she allowed it to happen.  Topless, Coral still had the skinny, rounded belly of the very young, but Briar still thought she was very pretty.  Her tiny, rosy-pink nipples capped the barely notable swells of her breasts. Giving Coral a very warm smile, she bent all the way down and kissed one, which made the girl squeak for an entirely different reason.

"They're sensitive?" she asked, gently circling Coral's right nipple with a fingertip.

"Uh-huh," Coral sighed in reply, watching what Briar was doing closely.

"Good," Briar stopped what she was doing for the moment and grabbed the hem of the soft pants.  They weren't very tight since these ones seemed to be meant for sleeping in, so it was easy to quickly draw them all the way down before Coral could protest.  This put her face inches away from an excitedly creamy slit. Coral's girlhood was visibly wet and slightly puffy in shape.  Her inner lips were almost entirely hidden, but her clit was excited and peaking out from its hood near the top as if demanding to be touched.  Also, there wasn't even the faintest hint of hair yet.

"I'm sorry," Coral said softly.

"For what?" Briar asked with a wide smile, still in her crouch. She turned the girl a little to get a look at the back. "I still think you're incredibly beautiful. Did you know your butt is round and cute?"

"My butt?" Coral asked with pleased laugh.

"Yes, your butt," Briar nodded, giving the indicated place a gentle rub, letting her see the small, pink star of her anus.  After helping Coral kick her pants free, she stood and pulled the girl into her arms again so their nude bodies were pressed together. Then, she grabbed the girls butt with both hand and almost effortlessly lifted her up. Coral yelped and instinctively wrapped her legs around Briar, making it easier for her to carry her young lover into the bed. Once in place, Coral realized what was happening and relaxed.

Briar returned to Coral's little nipples and took turns suckling on them, like Oriana was almost obsessive with doing on hers.  That prior experience of being pleasured let her give back several fold.  Coral's nipples seemed to be almost insanely sensitive because after perhaps thirty minutes or so, she'd given the girl at least two strong orgasms and a small one, just from her oral and digital stimulations of her chest.

While Coral was still breathing hard from her last climax, Briar slipped down and raised her slim legs while pushing them gently apart to expose the flower within.  Driven by lust and a need to taste this wonderful girl, she spread those soft wet lips apart gently and lowered her face.  Coral's breath caught when she made contact and then resumed in ragged heaves as she arched her little body.  Briar kept in contact and lapped up the copious hot fluids being offered.  Coral tasted wonderful and Briar loved the small noises she made.

Her lips found Coral's erect clit and gently sucked on it along with her tongue.  When she thought Coral was going to climax again, she backed off and penetrated her impossibly tight vagina with her tongue instead.  She went back and forth this way, prolonging that edge right before an orgasm.  When Coral seemed almost delirious and was shaking all over, Briar finished her off.  When she came she shrieked with every ounce of air in her lungs. 

It was a climax so strong that it involved almost every muscle in her young body.  It lasted for almost a full minute, and then she dropped limply onto the bed, shaking and shivering. Between her legs, Briar had gone through several small orgasms as well. Making love to Coral was the most exciting thing she'd ever experienced, and there was a large wet spot under her pussy to prove it. It was also proof of just how much she wanted to know this girl.

"It's...my turn now!" Coral giggled while panting, joy and wonder in her stunning eyes. Her skin was mottled pink from her sexual release and covered in perspiration.

"Are you sure?" Briar asked gently. She'd moved up next to Coral and was gazing down at her face. "You're not too tired?"

"No!" Coral shot up, sweating profusely from the effort she'd just expended, and kissed her hard and passionately. Briar caught her weight and held her tight, drinking in the emotions roiling through them both. When Coral pulled away again, her gaze was intense and meaningful. "I need to know you too Briar. I have to! Just lay down like I was, okay?"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to convince me that hard," Briar chuckled, loving Coral's desire for her. So she rolled onto her back as Coral climbed on top.  It was then Coral noticed the unusual profusion of female wetness she produced.

"Is this all from you?" the girl asked, touching the widening damp spot.

"Yeah, sorry about the bed sheets," Briar said. "I actually leak a little all the time now. It never fully stops."

Coral gazed down at her for a long couple of minutes, then after coming to some kind of decision, she leaned down to attach her mouth to Briar's breasts.  While she wasn't even close to as sensitive as Coral was, she could and did frequently orgasm from having her breasts played with.  In fact it was one of Oriana's favorite ways of pleasuring her. Coral was more inexperienced than Oriana, but she made up for it with enthusiastic intensity.  She sucked hard and even nibbled on her nipples a little with her teeth. As turned on as she already was, this stimulation sent her into a quick orgasm that made her pussy spurt wetly onto Coral's leg. 

Then, in a return for what Briar had done to her, Coral squirmed quickly down between her legs before she recovered enough to even notice the magic flowing around them in the room.  Briar felt small fingers open her pussy lips and heard a wet sound as freed juices dribbled out.  The touching felt good and was almost enough to kick her back into another orgasm. But Coral noticed this and lightened her attentions just enough for Briar's body to calm a little. But that lasted only a moment. Without warning, something slick, slippery and hot burrowed quickly inside her.

"Ohhh!!" The feeling between her legs was indescribable and her entire body tightened and arched.  The thing penetrating and wriggling deeper into her vagina was amazing and made her feel so full.  Then she felt Corals lips seal tightly with a firm suction around her pussy lips and the hot thing hit something deep inside her. She knew then that it was Coral's tongue inside her body, but she didn't care about that.  Her vaginal muscles were going into a constant series of clenching spasms and every time the tongue rubbed hard against a certain place inside her, her juices would actually shoot in a small stream onto Coral's face. There was nothing for Briar to compare the experience to, but she loved it and from her noises, Coral did too.

The orgasm that came was so intense and lasted so long that her lungs began to burn because she couldn't get enough oxygen into her body anymore. But something about Coral and the magical storm roiling like a fiery tempest around them kept her from blacking out.

"Coral!" Briar threw every emotion into the scream as Coral's tongue flattened and then withdrew.  The aftershocks continued for a long time, but they weren't enough to keep from pulling Coral up her body and kissing her.  As they kissed longer, Briar realized Coral was shaking almost as much as she was and their eyes held something neither had seen from another person; the kernel that could grow into a passionate love. They saw it and accepted it.

Eventually their bodies stopped tingling and the magic in them and around them was quiescent once more.  They were content however to remain laying there, with Coral on top, her head resting on a breast and gazing wonderingly into Briar's face. Both of them were feeling pleasantly worn and fuzzy. When a small noise disturbed the peace, they turned and saw with much amusement, Tessa naked and masturbating herself furiously into a climax of her own.

"Was that how it was supposed to be?" Briar asked, eerily reminded of her first day with Oriana in the Garden. This was another kind of first and one that Briar wanted to continue. "That was, very intense."

"I don't know," Coral said, smiling dreamily. "This is my first time with someone other than using fingers. But I loved all of it Briar. Was it weird when I used my tongue?"

"No," Briar chuckled. "It was a surprise though. I've never had more than a finger in me, but that was incredible. I couldn't even think for a bit."

"Made me cum too," Coral said, giggling again and snuggling tight.

"How are you doing over there, Tessa?" Briar asked and they both regarded the other young girl in the room again.  She was still naked, but watching with a happy smile.

"I'm fine, but I can't wait until I pass the tests in two weeks! I want to feel that too."

"Briar," Coral was looking at her intently now. "Can Tessa sleep with us? She's my closest friend and I don't want her to have to sleep alone."

"Sure," Briar agreed easily. "I've gotten used to enjoying a bed packed full of girls over the last few weeks."

"Then can you two come over to my bed?" Tessa suggested, sliding over against the wall and turning down her sheets. "You guys messed that one up pretty bad."

"I guess we did," Briar smiled ruefully. The sheets were soaked in a smelly concoction of their combined sweat and generous helpings of their vaginal fluids. Most of the latter was provided by Briar, who was still leaking heavily. When they got out of the one bed, it was clear the girls both wanted her in the middle so she climbed in and they both snuggled in close. 

They all still reeked of sex, but the combined warmth of their bodies, orgasmic afterglow and a comfortable bed, had them all asleep before there was any point in complaining.