From the west coast of Ireland, to west Tennessee

Mary walked down the hall as quiet as a grave. She’d had trouble sleeping all night, and had eventually decided to give up. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get those persistent dreams out of her head!

I’m unclean, she chastised herself. A Christian girl should not be having those sorts of thoughts.

Her dreams had been filled with filth of all kinds since she came to this wretched place. But the one that had awoken her tonight was far worse than the others. She suspected it was because of her upcoming date. Only a few hours away now. And the fear of what Nick might do when they were alone was overpowering. Even though Holly, Kim, and Dani had all assured her that he would never do something she didn’t want, some part deep down was wondering “well, what if you did want it?”

Of course she couldn’t want it. She was pure!

But she’d had unclean thoughts. And when that happened, there was only one place she could turn to.

The chapel was aglow in candlelight as she stepped inside, almost as if it was waiting for her. Her eyes scanned the wall, landing on what she’d hoped for. The source of her solace.

A confessional box.

Mary didn’t know what she hoped for when she stepped inside. She doubted a priest would actually be waiting for her. And yet, when she entered the confessional, she could undoubtedly feel the presence of another person in the adjoining booth.

That was enough for the words to slip from her mouth.

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession.” She didn’t know if that was quite true (time was weird here, after all) but it was close enough.

She waited anxiously for the priest to say something. She could hear the sound of stirring beside her, but nothing else, not even a-

“Speak, my child, confess your sins,” a strangely deep voice replied. Not Father Gregory, it sounded like someone was trying to mimic his voice.

But they were better than nothing. Even if this wasn’t a real church, she still needed to confess her sins before God and be absolved.

“I have been having lustful thoughts,” she confessed. “In my dreams, I imagine being with a man who I am not married to. Even tonight, he did so many unspeakable things to me, and I… I enjoyed it. I am an unclean girl with unchaste thoughts. Please father, what must I do to atone?”

The priest mulled this over. “Well, that’s hard to say,” he murmured. “Perhaps if I had a better understanding of the breadth of these unchaste thoughts, I could better advise you on the proper penance.”

“…Father?” Mary asked, confused.

“Please my child, describe one of these dreams to me, so I may get a better understanding of the unchaste thoughts that plague you. This last dream, perhaps. And be as thorough as you can.” Mary thought she heard something like a hushed snicker, followed by “God will know if you are lying.”

Something about this didn’t feel right, but Mary needed to relieve this burden that hung over her. “In this last dream, father, I imagined a man-"

“Was it a particular man?” He interrupted. “Someone you know, perhaps?”

She turned red. “Y-Yes,” she admitted. “His name is Nick. And he is my- err, he was my… my friend.”

“My child, God views all falsehoods the same,” the priest warned her.

She swallowed and nodded reluctantly.

“…I confess that I… at one point I had feelings for him. I wished that he would someday be my husband.”

“I see. How admirable. And what did this man do?”

Mary bit her lip. She closed her eyes and **** herself to do something shameful. She returned to that dream. It stood out so vividly in her mind, like it had actually happened.

“We were on a picnic. Out in a field, beneath a tree and beside a lake. It was simply beautiful, there were flowers there, and swans…” Even though she knew what was coming, the image she conjured still brought a smile to her face. Such a tranquil place was the ideal spot for a date. “At first it was sweet,” she continued. “We sat and chatted for what felt like hours. But then… I saw it in his eyes, father.”

She tensed, feeling heat well up in her loins. She clenched her legs tightly and bid it go away.

“What did you see?” The father urged her.

“Desire!” She blurted out. “I could see it in his eyes how much he wanted me. Carnally, biblically, they were not the sort of eyes a man should have for a woman who is not his bride!”

“So he wanted you, is that it?” The father asked, and she thought she could hear a smirk in his voice. “You were sitting there looking all pretty and delicious, and he just couldn’t get enough. He just needed you that badly?”

Mary’s eyes snapped open and she stared at the gridded partition in confusion. What kind of question was that?

“Father-"

“Continue.” The priest’s stern tone brooked no arguments. Mary flinched and nodded obediently, continuing her confession.

“Before I knew what was happening he pushed me down into the grass and leapt atop me… I tried to fight him off, father, believe me, I tried! But his hands were everywhere. He grabbed fistfuls of my blouse and tore it open like an animal, so hungry he couldn’t even think to undo the buttons! It was like he was so **** to see my naked body he just had to get it off me as fast as possible!”

“Oh, yeah… ungh, did he grab your tits next then?”

WHAT?!

“Continue!” The voice behind the screen shouted, sounding a lot less masculine all of a sudden, and far more frantic. Mary could hear a strange “schlick, schlick” coming from the other booth, like something wet being dug into.

“I-I… I didn’t know what to do, but… my heart, it was racing, and suddenly, I- oh, forgive me, father, but when he removed his pants and exposed his- his rod-"

“Cock,” the voice hissed. “Call it a cock. Calling it anything else would be another lie, you slattern.”

The schlicking was getting louder.

“His… c-cock…” Mary whimpered, feeling the heat between her legs getting even more insistent. She clung to the hem of her dress so tightly her knuckles turned white, terrified of what might happen should she release her grip for even a moment.

“He took out his… cock, and he… and it…”

“Describe it. Describe it!”

“It was so… so big!” She wailed. “So fat and red and throbbing, I thought… I thought ‘if this goes inside of me, I’ll break!’ But I still… I couldn’t resist, and… forgive me, father, but my maidenhood grew slick at the idea!”

Just like it was getting right now.

“Yeah, that’s right… you wanted it, didn’t you, you slut?” The voice sounded nothing like Father Gregory now. It sounded familiar, but in her heat Mary couldn’t place it.

“I diiiid!” She cried. “I knew I shouldn’t but at that moment, I couldn’t help myself! And then he… he took me, he-“

“NO! Say it right!”

“He f-f-… he FUCKED me!” She practically screamed. “And… it was supposed to hurt, everyone says that becoming a woman is meant to hurt, and yet… even the pain felt better than anything I’ve ever known! He was so hot and hard, thrusting inside of my depths, mounting me like a beast, and he… he didn’t wear a _condom! _Yet I said nothing, I just let him do as he pleased to me!"

“Ungh, that’s good, yeah… ahn, the lord says that it’s forbidden for a man’s seed to, hng, spill anywhere but inside a woman, right? You made the right choice, not having him use one of those sinful things."

“B-But father, I still… I haven’t even gotten to the worst part,” she sobbed. “He made me like it! The heat, the pleasure welling up inside me, in the moment I didn’t even care that I was committing a sin! I lost myself to my own lust just as he did, and I… I begged him…”

Her voice broke and she tried to stop there, but the traitorous gash between her legs urged her to continue.

“I begged him to finish inside!” Mary wailed.

“Mmfh, ungh, yeah, I’ll bet you did…! go on, tell me! Confess! What did you beg him to do?! I want to hear you say it!” She shouted- the voice was definitely a she now, Mary was sure of it. That should have bothered her, she should have put an end to this, but she couldn't think clearly enough.

“I told him… I said…” She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t repeat those words. Saying them aloud would make them real.

“Do it! I don’t care! Knock me up! Plant your holy seeds in my womb! Fill me with your essence and make me a mother! Turn me into your pregnant Christian slut-wife! I want to bear your broooood!”

Unable to take any more, and thoroughly convinced this was nothing resembling a true confession at this point, Mary burst from the booth and shamefully fled the chapel.

The other side of the confessional creaked open and Sylvia stepped out, clothes disheveled and face hot with passion. She quickly slipped her leotard back into place and wiped her forehead.

“You’re forgiven, my child,” she whispered sarcastically after the fleeing redhead.

---

Kim woke up the next morning to find no Mary and a note on the door telling her to come to the banquet hall.

When she got downstairs, her roommate indeed was there, along with almost everyone else. The redhead was at a table of her own, though, with her back to the door, diligently slaving away over… something. It didn’t look like breakfast.

“Good morning,” she yawned, causing Mary to jump.

“O-Oh, good morning,” Mary mumbled, glancing over her shoulder. The others all said their hellos as Kim walked over to join Mary, trying to get a peak. But Mary leaned over and shielded from her sight.

Knowing better than to pry, Kim just laughed, “all ready for your date?”

“Yes, I am,” she nodded numbly. It was clear from the look on her face that the redhead hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“Well, Carly invited me on a nature hike today,” Kim stretched, waving at the short-haired girl. For her cosplay today, Carly was dressed in a fancy suit of armor and, for some reason, a skirt. Probably from some anime show Kim never bothered to watch. “Something about scouting out for her date tomorrow. We’re gonna check to see if Dani can come too. Hey, maybe tomorrow, you and I can-“

“Good morning!” Everyone turned to see Sylvia approach, with Nick being dragged behind her. Dani followed alongside him, meaning that for the first time in ages everyone was together in the same place.

Sylvia flashed a smile at Carly. “Nice costume once again, my girl.”

“It’s Erza,” Carly informed her. “From Fairy Tail. No wig though.”

“Pity. Now then, I suppose you’re wondering why I called you all here today,” Sylvia said, glancing around the room. “And it’s not just to give our congratulations to Mary for her date today.”

Mary flinched and kept her back to the blonde, afraid to meet Nick’s eyes.

“No, the reason I’m calling you all her my girls is because there has been a shift in the point totals!” Sylvia declared, catching everyone’s attention. That caused Mary to turn around.

“Seriously?” Holly gasped in surprise, glancing at Dani and Nick.

“No fucking way!” Gina laughed.

Dawn sulked, giving Dani the stink-eye. Someone had gotten the edge on her. It was clear to everyone by the embarrassed looks on their faces that something happened.

“Allow me to show you!” Sylvia crowed, summoning a screen in the air displaying their prior scores. Dani’s slowly began to tick up, rising over the other girls until it passed Gina and Dakota, resting firmly at the top.

1st: Dani – 15 VP

2nd: Dakota – 10 VP

3rd: Gina – 4 VP

4th: Dawn – 0 VP

4th: Carly – 0 VP

4th: Holly – 0 VP

4th: Mary – 0 VP

4th: Kim – 0 VP

Kim’s eyes widened in disbelief. Dani was a lesbian, and she’d somehow managed to accrue 15 points in one night?! Her shock was shared by the others, who all glanced at each other in confusion, but mostly at Dani, who was trying to hold her head up high, but was still clearly floundering.

“I’ve must say my girls, I’m surprised,” Sylvia said, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “Three dates finished, and the only girl to do anything is the lesbian? Hopefully Pretty Mary Sunlight here will show some initiative herself!”

Mary was petrified. She started to shake as memories of that sinful confession from the morning flooded into her. That voice…!

“You!” She whimpered, and Sylvia just smirked, flaring her eyes in a taunt.

“Now then, that’s all. You may continue with your day. Oh, but Mary? I would suggest finishing up your preparations soon,” Sylvia urged her. Mary gulped and turned pale. She grabbed what she’d been working on and scurried for the door. Nick moved to follow her but Sylvia hooked his collar with his shirt.

“You’ll have plenty of time with her later, my boy. At 7:00. But until then, this is her time.”

She turned to the other girls, who were all staring questioningly at him.

“For now, I believe you have some explaining to do.”

And with that, she vanished.

Dani immediately blurted it out. “It’s not what you think! It was an ACCIDENT! I just fell on him!”

“What, with your pussy?” Carly smirked. “Exactly how many times did you ‘fall on him’ before you, ahem, ‘got off’?” She asked, making quotation marks with her fingers.

“NO!” Dani sputtered, turning red. “I didn’t- we didn’t-! I just…”

She turned to Nick, **** for help, but Nick had no idea what he could say to fix the situation. 7:00 couldn’t come soon enough.

---

Nick left the banquet hall feeling completely drained. And not like he had been yesterday. The interrogation from the girls had been brutal, particularly Holly and Dawn. Neither were willing to let things go until it was made absolutely clear that what happened had been an accident.

He and Dani had explained things as best as they could. All he could do now was hope that the others believed them.

Maybe this is for the best… if they’re all disgusted with me, then maybe they won’t try to do anything with me after this…

But that was dangerous too. After all, Sylvia had said it herself, if the girls didn’t try to win, then there was a chance they could get eliminated. Nick didn’t want to imagine what would happen then.

He headed for the elevator, only to be stopped by Sylvia.

“She’s not waiting for you there,” the blonde informed him. “Mary decided that she’d like your date to be… outside.”

Nick followed her out of the lobby and around the side of the hotel, and was amazed at what he saw. Connected to the large building a stable for horses, and outside that stable was a sleek black carriage attached to two steeds.

Standing before the carriage was Mary. She looked beautiful like when he’d first seen her, a farm girl from Tennessee in the big city for the first time. She wore a white long-sleeved blouse with frills and a long white skirt that reached down to her ankles, and she wore a white wide-brimmed sunhat that gave her the fitting look of a southern belle. In the crook of her arm she was carrying… a picnic basket.

Nick realized that must have been what she was being so secretive about earlier.

“Mary…” He stepped forward unconsciously before he stopped himself. This wasn’t the same girl he’d had a crush on five years ago, she despised him now.

But he didn’t see that in her eyes. She was wary of him, certainly, and clearly nervous. But she had a smile as bright as wildflowers in the spring.

“Good morning,” she greeted him. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly?” Nick sighed. “I’m sore. I’m in an unbelievable amount of pain right now.”

Mary gasped. “Really? Why?” She reached out her hand on instinct to comfort him, but caught herself and drew it back. She bit her lip, staring worriedly at him.

“It’s fine,” he said, forcing himself to smile. “I just had a rather vigorous workout yesterday, so I’m feeling a little sore.”

Mary’s face started to redden. “Y-Yes, a vigorous workout, I see…” She tilted the brim of her hat down to hide her embarrassment and Nick realized what he’d just said.

“N-No, I mean, not like that!” He shook his head. “Lifting weights! That kind of working out, not… you know.”

“I-I see,” Mary swallowed. Nick had no idea if she believed him or not, she still wouldn’t meet his eyes. He tried changing the subject.

“So… a picnic basket?” He asked. “That’s so like you, Mary. I’m honestly flattered you’d go to that much work for me.” He tried to make it sound casual and not like a joke. Hopefully she took his words as genuine.

“Oh, um… well, it wasn’t that much work,” Mary stammered. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t help but smile when Nick talked to her. His voice just brought back memories of better days, when they were so close and she was certain she loved him.

And it certainly didn’t bring to mind any memories of his animalistic grunts and groans as he-

“Well? Shall we go, then?”

Mary flinched, snapping out of her fugue.

“A-Ah! Yes, yes, let’s go,” she said, turning to the carriage. “I was thinking, that… for our activity today, we could take a carriage ride somewhere nice, and have a picnic together. Wh-What do you think?”

Nick thought it was the most adorable thing he’d ever heard. Exactly the sort of date a pure girl like Mary would choose. And the kind of date he so desperately needed after yesterday, which had exhausted him in too many ways to think about.

He realized she was staring at him expectantly.

“Mary?”

“Well, um… it’s customary, well…” She glanced at the carriage then back at Nick, trying to signal something with her eyes. It took him a minute to figure it out.

“Oh, okay. I gotcha,” Nick nodded. He stepped around her and climbed onto the carriage first, then held out his hand to Mary. She beamed up at him and let her help him aboard, and suddenly they were off.

“Is this… is this really okay?” Nick asked, shocked that the carriage was driving forth with no rider. “Do the horses know where they’re going?”

“I-I suppose so,” Mary said. “I asked the faerie attendant to take a scenic route to a nice spot to share meal together, so perhaps they’re just smart enough to know…”

Mary knew horses. She’d grown up with horses all her life, which is how she knew that they wouldn’t move like this without someone guiding them. More magic. The devil’s sorcery.

But a gentle, swaying carriage ride like this made the magic almost worth it.

While Mary was contently enjoying herself, Nick was ****. He didn’t expect her to be so… chipper. Mary had completely broken down their first day here. And while she’d apparently been getting better, this was the first chance Nick had gotten to really have a discussion with her.

“Mary… are you doing okay?” He asked.

She turned those sweet green eyes upon him and searched his gaze for understanding.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… after… well, the other day, you seemed sort of…”

“…Yes, you’re right, I didn’t take things very well,” Mary admitted, hanging her head. “After what that woman did, can you blame me?”

“No, not at all!” Nick said, shaking his head. “I’m just surprised. I thought you would be way more nervous, honestly.”

“I am,” she said bluntly. “I’m terrified. I’m on a date with a man I used to care for deeply, riding in a magic carriage to an unknown destination on an island I have no idea the location of, being **** to act in ways that disgust and horrify me.”

Saying it all out loud made Nick feel like bursting into tears.

She pinched her lips in a tight smile, which he could see clearly now was her attempt to hide her concerns.

“I’ve had trouble sleeping these last few nights,” she admitted. “It feels like I’m being changed into something I don’t want to become. You can’t imagine how scared that makes me. I’ve always tried to be a good girl, and do the right thing, but these dreams…”

Her voice trailed off and she turned away, staring at the forest the carriage was driving past.

“Forgive me, talking about such things must not make me very good company.”

“No, it’s fine, please,” Nick assured her. She was far from the first girl to use her date with him to clear the air. “I would rather you be honest with me than try to pretend to be something you’re not just to make me happy.”

“…That would be lying,” Mary replied. Her voice sounded sulky and she refused to look at him. “Are you saying I’m a liar?”

“What?! No, I’m-“

Mary turned to face him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

“I’m so confused,” she sobbed out. “I've been thinking about it for days, ever since I saw you again! And then with what Dani said yesterday, I just- I don’t know what to do. Before, I had the lord’s wisdom to guide me, to help me see right from wrong. But now I’m beginning to doubt myself! Tell me, Nick, was I wrong for what I did back then? To end things with you so suddenly?”

Nick winced. There was so much desperation in her gaze. She was looking for someone to tell her what to do. He knew right then that she would believe anything he said. If he told her Holly was a filthy liar and shouldn’t be trusted, she would believe him. If he told her that the right thing to do was give in to her urges and love him, maybe she would even believe that, too.

“…I don’t know,” he admitted, glancing down. “Holly and I… we have our issues. But I want you to know, Mary, my feelings for you were always genuine.”

“And what about her?” Mary croaked out. “Holly. Were your feelings for her genuine?”

“At the time, yes, they were. But I had already moved past her when I fell for you.”

She looked away. “Was I just some kind of replacement, then?”

“What?!” Is that what she’d thought all this time?

“Holly rejected you. So you moved on to me,” Mary accused him. She wasn’t even angry about it, she just looked defeated. “That’s all I was. A rebound. I know I’m naïve when it comes to things like this, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Mary, you weren’t a rebound,” Nick promised her. He reached out and placed his hand over hers, and to his surprise, she let him keep it there. Confidence increasing, he pushed, “my feelings for you were always genuine. Holly’s rejection of me gave me the opportunity to develop those feelings, yes, but I always liked you for who you were.”

“…Even though if we went out, you wouldn’t have been able to sleep with me?” Mary asked. Now she pulled her hand away.

“Huh? Is this about-“

“I told you, things like kissing and sex were not permitted until I got married,” Mary said, narrowing her eyes. “Would you have accepted that?”

Could he have agreed to that? Nick had known her position when he asked her out before. It had never amounted to anything because Mary had cut off their friendship not long after, but at the time, he knew where she stood.

Had he been lying to himself? Thought that he was willing to wait until marriage to be with her, while deep down he really wanted her as soon as possible?

Even now, sitting next to her, pretty face right in front of his, he knew how much he wanted to be with her. Could she have sensed that even back then?

“…I want to be with you,” he admitted. Not past tense, present. “Married or not.”

She scowled, her fears confirmed.

“But if you didn’t want me that way, if you told me you wanted to wait, then I would have waited,” he swore. “I didn’t ever want to hurt you. If not for you supporting me all that time, I never would have been able to publish my book. You mean a lot to me, Mary. Please believe that.”

Mary tried to remember all the bad stuff Holly had said, she really tried to stay mad at him. But she couldn’t see any dishonesty in her eyes.

Had it really been all her fault? Had she misunderstood?

She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms. He hugged her and let her cry out all her feelings of guilt onto his shirt.

Hugged the Master! +1 VP

First! x2 Multiplier

---

The picnic Mary prepared was delicious. She had always been an excellent cook, and it seemed her skills had only improved since their time apart. When they arrived at their destination, a tree beside a field of flowers and a lake, she’d been very tense for some reason, and had eyed him suspiciously all through the meal as if she expected something.

Whatever she expected to happen he apparently met her expectations because by the time they finished their early lunch and packed up, she was relaxed and smiling again just like he remembered her.

She’s gone through so much already in this sick game, Nick reminded himself as he stared at her smiling face on the carriage ride back. They all have. I wish there was something I could do to make this easier on everyone.

Nick was sure Mary’s next transformation would probably send her to tears again. At least he’d be able to comfort her this time. He placed his hand over hers in the space between them on the carriage, and she let him. The carriage turned and she shifted a little closer towards him. Then it made another turn in the opposite direction, and he did the same.

Soon enough, that wide space that separated them had closed, and they sat hand in hand right next each other.

“I still won’t,” she whispered, peeking up past the brim of her sunhat. “I made a promise with god. Until I’m married, I will belong to no man. Only my husband.”

If Mary emerged victorious in this game, she’d be bound to Nick forever. Those were the rules. But neither of them were sure what that meant. Nor was Mary sure of her own feelings.

Did she love Nick? Had those feelings resurfaced? She couldn’t say for sure. But with the air cleared between them, maybe now she might be able to.

If she kept her boundaries and made it clear what she wanted, then perhaps the day could come. But Mary couldn’t abide infidelity. How could she love a man for who she was not his one and only?

Perhaps that was why she wasn't sure yet. She was waiting to see what would happen.

“We’re here,” she said as the carriage pulled to a stop. They hadn’t returned to the stable. Instead, they’d arrived in the shopping district!

Nick looked around, confused. He was certain that they were just in the forest. Then they’d passed through a tunnel bridge and now they were here?

Too confusing. He gave up trying to make sense of this crazy island.

“Wait, let me,” he said as he noticed Mary moving to get off. She paused and smiled shyly at him as he dismounted the carriage, then helped her down as well. They left the basket on the seat, no longer having a need of it. Even when the horses galloped away they didn’t mind.

Right now, it was still just the two of them, like the good old days. Mary squeezed his hand and allowed him to lead, even though she had picked out the destination. But Nick already knew exactly where she’d chosen to go to spend their afternoon.

A large bookstore stood in front of them, Mary’s favorite place in the world to be that wasn’t a house of God.

They stepped inside and were greeted by the familiar smell of countless books. This wasn’t the first time Nick and Mary had gone to a bookstore together, although it was the first time they had classified it as specifically a date. In their younger days, when things were better, they would spend hours walking through the shelves of the city’s many bookstores, picking out different things they might like to read, or just laughing about the interesting and unique titles they’d found.

Nick could be forgiven for thinking that no time had passed at all.

He stood back and let Mary go, releasing her hand so she could explore freely. This date may have been about making him happy, but he took comfort just in seeing her not look so panicked and nervous for once.

“Oh, what’s this?” Mary wondered, pulling a book off the shelf. “Is it an Indian epic of some kind?”

Nick saw the title and immediately went pale.

Kama Sutra

That’s right. We’re in that sort of place.

Nick should have known. Of course something as pure and wholesome as a bookstore wouldn’t be allowed to exist in this twisted place.

“Mary, put that down,” he urged her. “It’s a sex book.”

Mary dropped it like he’d told her it carried a plague.

“Why would such a thing be here!?” She gasped, waving her hands frantically.

"Clearly because our hostess has a sick sense of humor," Nick grumbled.

"But still... a sex book..."

“Just look at these titles,” Nick continued, checking some of the other books on the shelves. “They're all like this. ‘The Da Vinci Load’. ‘A Tale of Two Titties’. ‘Michael Stroke-off’. ‘To Drill a Mockingbird’. ‘Around the Earth in Eighty Lays’. ‘Fantastic Breasts and Where to Find Them’. ‘The Old Man and the Semen’. ‘Moby Dick’.”

With every title he read, Mary got progressively more and more flustered. She began to tremble, shaking her head.

“N-No, there has to be something!” She insisted. “Some book that isn’t… filth like that!” She kept digging, but all Nick could fine were more stories that were obviously going to be porn parodies of existing books, or books that were just plain old porn without any creative flair, or heck- just sex guides. Whoever had chosen the selection here had certainly been dedicated.

“Ah! Here! A book about the church! I knew there had to be something wholesome to read!” Mary proclaimed triumphantly, presenting the book to Nick.

Everything You Need to Know About Missionary

Nick buried his face in his hands. Poor, sweet, little Mary was too pure for this twisted game.

“Ahem.”

Nick turned to see a faerie floating behind them, dressed in yellow and wearing a pair of glasses. Her golden hair was tied up in a stern bun like any other librarian.

“O-Oh, sorry, were we being too loud?”

“By half,” she grumbled. “But I was just wondering why, if you two are so indignant to our selection, did you decide to go to the porn aisle?”

Nick blinked.

“Hah?”

Mary’s jaw dropped. “I-I just…” She averted her eyes frantically before landing on a sign that read “PORN BOOKS ONLY”.

In her haste, she had completely missed it.

She sobbed in her hands in shame and rushed out, heading for the children’s section. The only place she might find some solace.

Nick sighed and shook his head, following her. He found her about a minute later, curled up behind a giant teddy bear. Why a bookstore on this island even had a children’s section was a question he didn’t want an answer to.

“Mary…”

“It’s all my fault!” She sobbed. “Making a mistake like that! Exposing myself to such… filth! Because I’m a dirty, wanton girl!”

“Hey, no, you just made a mistake,” Nick assured her. “It’s fine. I’m not upset, really, it’s just… you know, a funny story. I bet the others will have a big laugh when we tell ‘em about it.”

Mary glanced up at him, face streaked with tears.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. For sure. Trust me, on my date with Dawn… never mind. That’s private.”

Mary smiled a little, glad he was trying to make her feel better.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’ve been trying to have a nice time with you, but I… well, you know. I’m just not used to all this.”

“It’s fine,” Nick assured her, sitting down next to her. “Let’s just look around and see if they have anything we actually want to read.”

Mary sniffled and perked up, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief she handily prepared earlier. “Like mysteries?”

He’d almost forgotten.

While there were a multitude of reasons he had fallen for Mary, what first drew him to her was her love of mysteries. Unlike most of the people in their writing club she wasn’t a fan of fantasy or sci-fi, and she refused to read romances because they were “smut”. But mysteries? Mysteries were a genre they both adored.

“It’s been a while since I challenged myself,” she said, standing up and brushing off her skirt. “I’ll find one where the culprit is captured for sure.”

“Let’s go look for the section,” Nick agreed, and before long, they found a whole stack of mystery novels- and to their shared relief not one of them was a porn parody.

“Mysteries are certainly a wonder,” Mary smiled as she took a few books that seemed interesting. “It’s been far too long since I’ve read a good one.”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “After… well, after what happened between us, reading a mystery just make me uncomfortable. It was like you were still with me, and that, well…”

“It’s okay,” Nick laughed. “Trust me, it’s fine. But that just means that your detective skills are a little rusty. I bet I’ll beat you this time.”

Mary’s jaw dropped.

“I don’t think so!” She said, placing her hands on her hips. “I can hold my own, thank you very much!”

Nick smirked. We’ll see.

Back in the good old days, they used to play a game where they would each pick out a mystery to read, and time themselves on who could solve it- correctly- first. Then when they were both done, they’d mark the page they solved the mystery on, and switch.

And Mary dared to challenge him? Well, she’d see about that! They spent the rest of their time gathering together mystery titles that excited them, and when it was time to finally return to the Master’s Suite, they each filled two bags with all the books they’d picked out.

“I’m surprised this is all free!” Mary was amazed as they walked towards the elevator, which was somehow waiting for them even though they’d come here by carriage. She hadn’t needed to spend a single BP.

“Probably because mystery books aren’t meant to, um… you know,” Nick mumbled, suddenly embarrassed at the prospect of explaining what Sylvia wanted the girls to spend their BP on. Thankfully Mary got the message, turning red and dropping the subject.

A few minutes later they arrived at the suite, and Mary stared at the golden room in amazement.

“You… you live here?” She asked, jaw dropping. “It’s so… extravagant!” Her own room had been fancy, but this one… well. It was certainly something alright.

“You get used to it,” Nick sighed. He was even starting to get used to the girls’ shocked reactions at this point. “Anyway, what do you want to- Mary? What are you doing?”

Mary had set down her book bag and was heading for the kitchen. She glanced back at him, confused.

“It’s dinner time. I’m cooking you dinner,” she replied.

“You, uh… you don’t need to do that,” he said. “They bring all the food we need here.”

“I know, they do that for us, too, if we don’t want to go to the banquet hall.” Mary had been too ashamed to show her face for the first few days, so she knew all about room service. “But I want to cook for you.”

She gave him a shy smile. “You know, as thanks. And to make amends, I guess. I really… I had fun today. So at least let me make you something! What would you like to eat?”

The thought of tasting Mary’s cooking had suddenly made Nick very hungry. “Um… can you do mac and cheese?”

She raised her eyebrow in a way that seemed a lot sassier than he expected from her.

“Mac and cheese, huh?” She laughed, shaking her head. “All my skill at cooking and he asks for mac and cheese.”

Nick didn’t regret his request for a second, because it was delicious. She even mixed in tiny slices of bacon and green onion. Mary could give the cooks at this resort a run for their money, and the best part of it was the fact that she did it for him. Unlike the prepared food that was made out of obligation through the use of magic, Mary had made this for him herself.

Maybe that was why it the mac and cheese was the best thing he’d eaten since coming to this horrible place.

“It was amazing,” he said, smiling cross the table. The way she lit up with joy soothed his spirit. The awkwardness of the day before and his soreness had all been driven away by Mary’s nurturing presence. And the gentle way she said “thank you” made it even better.

But dinner was one thing. When it came to solving mysteries, Nick could give her no quarter. The only had time to make it through one pair of books before Sylvia **** them to go to sleep, but he had absolutely destroyed her.

She didn’t seem to hold it against him too badly.

“So… the bed,” he said, glancing at the golden sheets. Mary was pale with anxiety, her freckles standing out even darker in the dim light.

“Y-Yeah… the bed…” she mumbled, shaking. The thought of sleeping with Nick still frightened her. Not because she feared he would do something to her, she’d overcome those worries by now.

She was terrified that she’d have those dreams again. That he would see her for the wanton woman she was.

If he finds out what I’ve been dreaming about, it will be impossible to have these pure moments again… she feared. He would look at her as the wanton slut her dreams were telling her to be.

Mary glanced at him, and he placed his hand on her shoulder to ease her shaking.

“Hey, look, it’s fine,” he said. “I’ll get in first.”

Nick climbed into bed and wrapped the covers around him.

“You can just get in when you’re ready. I promise, I won't do anything.”

She knew he wouldn't. That didn't make it any easier. But she didn't have a choice. She swallowed and climbed into bed. She turned her back to Nick and scooted as far to the edge as she could get. Sylvia could make them lie down in the same bed together, against the wishes of the lord, but she couldn’t make her sleep.