Since everyone else who wasn’t working in the club at the moment was already asleep, it was Carmen, Jessica, and Carmen’s mother who came down in the elevator to help me with Melody. Together, the four of us were able to get Melody to her room where Dr. Diaz would look her over. On the way up I had given them the basics of our date and was admonished by Carmen’s mother for not using my new ability to travel to the fire plane and back to come home and get help.

I thought that we did okay, given the circumstances, since we were both still in one piece. Dr. Diaz had to pop that bubble though, just to make my crappy night complete as she told me, “You are still new to being a Nymph and need to learn to control your abilities and your magic, Crystal. You were lucky that you found a Salamander that could help you and that you weren’t attacked by something else on the Fire Plane while doing so. Also, Melody might be streetwise and tough and she may be half Demon but she has no formal combat training and she does have weaknesses. What if one of them had Paramace and thought to use it on her?”

She let me think about that as she ushered me and the others out of the room so she could remove Melody’s bloodstained and torn jeans and top and look her over. She promised to come and let me know what the prognosis was once she was done so Carmen, Jessica, and I went to our own rooms to get ready for bed. Or rather I went to my room and Jess followed me in.

I had just hung up my jacket and kicked off my boots and I was starting to strip off the rest of my clothes and kick them in the general direction of my clothes hamper when my sister sat beside me on the bed and said uncertainly, “Carmen’s mom had a point, Crystal. Melody still needs the training to be a proper bodyguard and you need to learn to control your magic. Tonight shows just why that’s so important. You’re not a guy anymore, you’re a Nymph now, and things like tonight are going to happen if people discover that. Did you really feed that bitch to some kind of lava Kraken?”

She was right, and I knew that she was only bringing it up because she was concerned about me. There was no point in responding to most of what she said since we both knew that she was right and that I knew that. “Yeah, that’s how I roll. I’m cold as ice, yo.” I said, giving the devil horns with my hand as I tried to make light of it. “Seriously, I knew I couldn’t take her in a fair fight so I used what Ice magic I could manage to make her think I meant to put up a fight and as a bit of distraction to get close enough to her so I could get her to where I could maybe get some reinforcements. Sal was a big help.”

“I’m kinda surprised that you thought of that, and I’m so glad you got home safe,” Jessica said as she wrapped me up in a hug.

“I’m not a fucking bimbo!” I snapped, pulling away from her. “I just get distracted easily when I’m not really focused on something,” I added lamely. It hurt to think that she thought of me the same way as everyone else.

“I never said that you were, Crystal,” she said calmly as she hugged me again. “I know you better than anyone. Yeah, it’s been hard for you, you’re still getting used to things and you’re often distracted by your need for sex and your clothes causing you anxiety, but you’re still one of the smartest people I know. What I meant was that I’ve never seen you be so devious before. For the record though, I’m proud of the way you handled it, I might make an actress out of you yet, Sis.”

“Don’t count on it, I’d still suck at remembering lines,” I retorted hugging her back tightly. Yup, she was still my sister and knew me better than anyone, even myself, and right now that was just so damn reassuring. “So how was your night, Sis? I hope it was better than mine.”

“Carmen and Sorcha kicked my butt at monopoly a few times and I’m not convinced that they weren’t conspiring with each other through that Salamander psychic network of yours. That would be so useful for doing the twin speak thing,” she said echoing my earlier thought. “Not sure that I’d want a tattoo like that though. If Mel has one now too then people at school are probably gonna think that you, Mel, and Carmen are part of some gang or something. I hope those school uniforms have long sleeves.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda worried about how we’re gonna explain that,” I agreed with a sigh as I extracted myself from her arms and flopped back on my bed. “So, did anything other than monopoly happen?”

“Well… umm... I…” Jessica stammered as she blushed and looked away.

I hadn’t really expected my question to garner a response quite like that and if she was flustered enough not to play it cool and act like everything was normal then this had to be something juicy. Maybe juicy enough to take my mind off my own problems. Her ears twitching away confirmed it so I moved in for the kill. “Come on, Sis, we’re sisters now and you’re supposed to share everything with me. I think that’s, like a rule or something.”

“Rose called,” my sister admitted, her face crimson. “She asked if I wanted to do something tomorrow night… something like a date.”

“So what’d you tell her?”

Jess was still bright red and looking down at her knees, ears twitching away as she more mumbled than spoke in reply. “I… uhh… kinda fibbed. I told her that I had plans with you and Mel tomorrow. I said that we had to get some Christmas shopping done since Friday is Christmas Eve and we only have a few days before then.”

“It wasn’t really a fib, Jess. We haven’t done any Christmas shopping for one another yet and I’d like to get some stuff for Mom, Rhissa, Carmen, and the others too, for accepting us the way that they have. So we can totally do that tomorrow after we get through our new lessons and stuff. I’m surprised though, I thought that you might be interested in Rose,” I said as I sat back up and took her hand in mine.

“Well, that’s the thing… you see she’s kinda very determined and impulsive and she sorta suggested that we make a double date of it; some shopping, dinner, and a movie, and I kinda agreed to it without asking you and Mel,” she replied as she cast a guilty look my way. “I think I’m interested in her, but I guess I’m not really sure. I’ve been so damn attracted to her since I found out that she’s a Púca too but until recently we hated each other’s guts. We’re both kinda competitive too and I’m not sure if we’ll get along or drive one another crazy. I figured that it would be safer finding out with you and Mel along with us.”

I squeezed her hand in mine. “It’s cool, Sis. I’m up for another date, it couldn’t possibly go worse than tonight did, right? Call her back tomorrow and find out where we need to pick her up.”

“You’re sure, Crystal?” my sister asked hopefully.

“Yeah, absolutely. I don’t think that Melody will have a problem with it either as long as we’re…” I was interrupted by the knock on my door and quickly padded over to answer it, clad only in my panties and bra. Dr. Diaz would understand, I am a Nymph and she had seen me in less. “How is she?” I asked as I opened the door and let her inside.

“If Melody sustained any serious injuries from your evening’s escapades then her regeneration has already healed them. She is running a slight fever and sleeping from the joining process, but it isn’t quite as bad as it was for Carmen and Sorcha and you were by far the worst off of the three of you during that process. I anticipate that she will pull through it with no real issues by the time that we all get up for breakfast in the morning,” Dr. Diaz reported before taking a long look at my shoulder. “That’s quite a bruise you have there, Crystal. Let me take a look. Did you get any other injuries?”

I sighed and sat down on the bed as I dutifully reported. “Lita clipped me pretty good with that big wrench of hers and I didn’t dodge fast enough I guess. It’s a bit tender but that’s the only hit I took.”

Carmen’s mother nodded and took a look at the bruise, probing it and the area around it a bit with her fingertips. I winced a little but while it was tender it didn’t really hurt now. “It’s not serious and I would think by looking at it that it was a day or more old. It looks like Cinder is helping you to heal considerably faster, so it should fade completely over the next few days. It’s not Demon regeneration but it’s still impressive. Would you like me to cast a healing spell on it to speed things along further?”

I didn’t answer verbally, just nodded my head self-consciously. I felt bad for wanting that, it was just a bruise after all. But to me, it was big and ugly and it was gnawing at my sense of vanity now that I was actually seeing it. Dr. Diaz shook her head and tried to cover a smile. “Why did I even ask? You’re as bad as Rhissa and your mother about this kind of thing. So self-conscious about a little bruise but none of you can help your nature can you? Sit still and let me work, dear. Between the magic, Cinder, and a good night’s rest you’ll be looking flawless again by the time you wake up.”

Relief flooded through me at her assurances and I could feel the warmth of her magic taking hold. I’d have to learn some healing magic if I could manage it since I was aligned to the Divine, then I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about going to Dr. Diaz or Carmen every time that I got a little scratch or bruise. “Thanks, Dr. Diaz,” I mumbled in embarrassment.

“You’re welcome, Crystal. As I said, you can’t help being who and what you are. Maybe your mother can teach you to take care of small injuries like those on your own,” she said, echoing my thoughts. “I suspect that she is quite adept at such things and has only been coming to me about them to maintain her ruse that she’s a River Nymph. Now, you two girls should get some sleep. From what I hear, the two of you and Melody have lessons starting tomorrow.”

Dr. Diaz left my room and, after a quick hug, Jess went to do the same. Before stepping out the door though my sister turned to say, “Don’t forget that you have lessons with me tomorrow too, first thing in the morning. I’ll be here at six.” Then she stepped outside and closed the door, leaving me to take off my undergarments, toss them in the direction of the hamper, and collapse into bed. It wasn’t long after I climbed between the silk sheets and turned off the light that I fell asleep, horny but too damn worn out from my night to do anything about it.

As promised, Jess showed up promptly at six am to put me through the first lesson of girl boot camp. I had barely finished slapping the alarm clock to shut it up when she knocked at my door. I made my way to the doorway to find my sister standing there in her bathrobe, far too cheerful for that time of the morning as she smiled at me and said, “C’mon, Sis, we have lots to do.”

She half-dragged me into the bathroom and showed me which of the products that we used were for what part of our morning regimen. It wasn’t just about what products were for what since I knew what shampoo, conditioner, and body wash were for. There was stuff like proper feminine hygiene, how to properly exfoliate without being too harsh on the skin, and preventing split ends and tangles, which was important for my long hair.

She also insisted on showering and going through my routine with me, which was really awkward, for me at least. Being naked and close to anyone else naked was practically guaranteed to make me horny, she was my sister, and it was cramped with two of us there in my shower. I couldn’t even use my new best friend, the showerhead, to attempt to relieve all of my pent-up lust since she was there with me.

At least she didn’t have to teach me to shave since Nymphs don’t grow body hair and she never gave herself any when she changed shape. She told me that we both dodged a bullet with that one since shaving and other forms of hair removal can be really rough on the skin. Not only that, but you risk nicking yourself, and just thinking about any kind of imperfection on my body made me worry and get all self-conscious. Just the thought of it had me checking to make sure that my bruise from the night before was fully healed and thankfully it was.

When we were out of the shower, Jessica had me only lightly towel my hair and pat rather than rub myself dry. Then we were on to combing my hair to make sure that it had no tangles and then using the blow-dryer to carefully dry it. Too much heat could damage my hair and too little made it take forever but she showed me how to do it properly. It took forever so thankfully we only had to do mine since Jess had worn a shower cap.

Once my hair was dry she had us massaging a moisturizing body lotion into our skin to make sure that it stayed soft and touchable. She had a separate special lotion for our faces that would help prevent acne or any blemishes. Neither of us would likely have to worry about that, but she said that it was best to take precautions if I wanted to always look my best.

That was where my Nymph vanity came in. Jessica made sure to tell me how and why everything that we were doing would make me look, smell, and feel my best and that was enough to keep me laser-focused on what she was teaching me. I had to be as pretty as possible and always look my best and she damn well knew it.

Soon, I was deodorized, my hair was brushed and styled, I had properly cared for my new piercings, and I was dressed in an outfit that Jess had chosen for me. She had gone to her own room to change and came back in a matching outfit, so it looked like we were doing the full-out twin thing this morning. She claimed that she chose my outfit because we didn’t have much time before breakfast and she would be teaching me about fashion and makeup later in the day. Sure that might have been part of it since we would barely make it to breakfast on time, but I think that she liked it when we matched and so did I sometimes.

Thankfully Melody was awake and waiting in the hall outside my room and, as I thought, she had a Salamander mark on her upper right arm that matched mine. I practically attacked her with a hug and kisses to show her just how much I had missed her. “You okay, Melody?” I asked when I finally came up for air and held her close.

“Better now, I’m starving though,” she admitted. “I can sort of guess what happened, I guess I got Salamandered when things were getting hot? Ashe was curious about the new mind that she felt and popped into my dreams. She figured it out after I told her about our date and the audience that we had on the Fire Plane, and she told me what I was in for with Ember. Sorry that I passed out on you just when things were getting hot.”

“It’s not your fault Melody, that Salamander surprised us both at the worst time and I know how hard it is on the body going through that whole bonding thing. Let’s go get you fed,” I said taking her hand and leading the way to the elevator. Then I gently probed the Salamander network. I recognized Ashe’s mind and those of Sorcha, Carmen, and their symbiotes and one unfamiliar mind that I felt seemed infant-like much like Cinder and her siblings. So it was the other mind that I asked, ~Ember, huh? I take it she’s female? She kind of feels female.~

“Yeah, she’s a girl. I know it sounds similar to Cinder but I…” Melody started to answer aloud before realizing that I had said the last part mentally. This earned her a curious look from Jess as we all stepped into the elevator. Her mind was full of confusion and uncertainty as she flushed and sent back, ~Okay, that’s weird, having someone in my head like that. I suppose that it could be useful if we need to communicate privately for some reason though.~

~I’m not really in your head,~ I replied thoughtfully. ~I think that it’s just communicating surface thoughts and emotions between those connected at the time and I don’t think that it can go any deeper than that, except maybe with our own symbiotes. Granted, even that can be embarrassing enough at times and some ground rules may be needed. Carmen caught me at the absolute worst time the first time that she tried it with me.~

Breakfast was the usual chaos of conversations and everyone talking about their plans for the day. It appeared that word about my seemingly cursed date with Melody and her resulting symbiosis had already made the rounds somehow because nobody seemed very happy when Jessica brought up the double date slash Christmas shopping excursion. It would seem that after last night they wanted to be more careful with my safety until Aunt Merry could get Melody and Jess trained in combat and I had a bit of magic training under my belt.

Needless to say, I was not happy when they wanted to have us put off the date and have us do our Christmas shopping during the day with Merriwynd and Annika the Amazon as a protection escort. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aunt Merry and Annika seemed cool and nice but they wanted to keep us locked in the proverbial tower here and only let us out under armed guard. I didn’t want to be a prisoner, no matter how well-intended.

“No way! We are not spending the next who knows how many months under lock and key! I get it, I probably fucked up last night but Melody and I are still here and the bad guys aren’t. There has got to be a better way than this. I might be perfectly happy finding something to do with Melody in my room for hours at a time but Jess isn’t like that and we need to spend time outside these walls sometimes,” I argued.

“Snowflake, you and I attract too much attention out there, even when we cover our ears to blend in but maybe we can allow the occasional outing if you have a chaperone with you,” my mother conceded. At my look of disgust, she quickly clarified. “Someone to watch you from a distance, I don’t want to ruin any fun you might have, but someone should be watching in case something comes up and you run into something that you can’t handle yourselves.”

Carmilla spoke up then. “I would be willing to take tonight off to watch them while they are on their outing, so long as they leave after dark. I have been feeling a bit trapped within these walls lately myself, and it would be nice to get out for a while. I can blend in well enough and I will follow from a distance and grab a bite to eat while they are having their dinner. If they run into anything that they cannot handle on their own, then I will intervene.”

I suddenly felt sorry for anyone who might try to mess with us tonight. From what information I had been able to gather from comments that she and the others in the club had made, Carmilla was centuries old and turned by the Night Queen herself. Don’t believe that Bram Stoker shit, there was no Dracula and half the things in that book and those that followed aren’t even close to true. The Night Queen was the first of her kind and if she had turned Carmilla and she really was that old, then that made her a terrifying creature to have as an enemy.

Hell, I was half-terrified of her and she was acting all maternal to me and the other ‘kids’. To be fair though, she was like that with practically everyone at the club. She considered us all family and she was much older than any of us so I guess that she felt that made her the mother of our group of Paranormal misfits. I was worried though since she and Melody kind of shared the same weakness with being aligned to Death. So once I had finished a mouthful of scrambled eggs I said, “Umm… Dr. Diaz made a good point last night about Melody. What if someone thinks to use Paramace.”

Several of the group laughed and Aunt Merry grinned. “It has happened before and probably will again. Carmilla has never hurt an innocent who pulled that, she is used to the fear that her kind generates and knows that they are just defending themselves, that is why she only feeds on willing people here at the club or people who prey on others. But if someone trying to hurt a member of her ‘nest’ tries that then they will just piss her off. And if they want an ancient Vampire and the original Night Princess pissed off at them when doing that, then they deserve what they will get.”

“Night Princess?” Jess asked after swallowing a mouthful of pancake and syrup.

“There are only three to whom the Night Queen has given her ‘gift’ in all the time that she has existed,” Carmilla offered. “All other Vampires are descended from one of those three. I was the first, and some idiots at the time thought that since I was the heir of the Night Queen that made me ‘the Night Princess’ and it stuck in Paranormal circles. The second of her ‘children’ was Vlad, and yes he was the inspiration for most modern Vampire legends among normies. He was of course called ‘the Night Prince’, he wasn’t exactly stable before she turned him, and he has only gotten worse in the centuries since. The last that she turned was fairly recent, only about a century and a half ago, and her name is Danica. She was a sweet enough girl when she lived but I fear that immortality has turned her somewhat eccentric.”

I think that her little lesson had quite a few of us at the table shocked, especially us ‘kids’. Carmen and Lou looked as stunned as me, Melody, and Jessica and so did Sukoha, who was the most recent arrival before the three of us. That possibly made Carmilla one of the scariest Paranormals on the planet. Even Demons knew better than to fuck with the Night Queen, and if Carmilla was the first Vampire she ever turned and was still around and growing in power that made her nearly as scary.

After breakfast, it was time for lessons. Aunt Merry would be allowing Jessica and Melody the rare pleasure of going to the second floor for their combat lessons. She and Annika had an exercise room and a training room on that floor past all of the rooms used for ‘entertainment’. The dancers often used the rooms to stay in shape and Merriwynd planned to use both in getting Melody trained as a bodyguard and Jessica in self-defense. Annika would also be joining them since the Amazon had offered to assist in their training as well.

That left me with the Dicken sisters. The three Succubae were eager to see what I was capable of and to start teaching me the ins and outs (if you’ll pardon the expression) of their profession, well the exotic dancer part of it anyway. Stella had whole choreographies planned out and I had to remind her that I didn’t really know how to dance yet. So, she began teaching me various moves that they used on stage and how to move seamlessly from one to another. Adora quickly added to that by showing me some of the sexier moves that she used to work up a crowd and told me how to read a crowd, when was the best time to slip off a piece of clothing, and how to get them eating out of the palm of my hand.

I felt clumsy and awkward but the trio assured me that I was doing very well for a beginner. We didn’t really have me actually take off any clothes, just mimic the actions since I was still technically a minor. That kind of sucked since I would have felt better getting out of my clothes and I knew that it wouldn’t have bothered them. They planned on having Lana make me an outfit to practice with though and some form-fitting underclothes that would be easy to practice in, which I discovered later would be particularly important for pole dancing.

Anita was eager to get me on the pole but she was worried that my clothes would get in the way and I’d fall on my head or something, so that would have to wait until the next day when I had those new underclothes to preserve my modesty, not that I actually had any. With that in mind, she just had me familiarize myself with using the pole to assist my movements and trying some very simple things to start off with. She did give me a demonstration though after stripping down to her underwear.

The way that she moved was amazing and I found myself mesmerized the whole time. At times it was like she was flying and at others, it was just perfect control of her thighs or a knee and ankle that kept her from falling. She was so graceful, precise, fluid, and sexy at the same time and for some reason, I found myself jealous of that. I really wanted to be able to do that too, to mesmerize people like she did and give gravity the finger, and I found myself thinking that maybe doing what they do for a living might not be so bad after all.

Before I knew it, two and a half hours had flown by. I was actually interested, having fun, and joking with the three Succubae, and some of those jokes were pretty raunchy. I really enjoyed the time with them and just like with Rhissa we seemed to have so much in common that I could see us all becoming close friends. They even offered advice on how to deal with my current sexual frustration, and not just suggesting what toys to use if I didn’t have a partner, but useful stuff too, stuff that would help me concentrate on things around me a bit better.

It was an hour before lunch and my Mom came to interrupt our little session. “Hey, girls. So, how is Crystal doing?”

“She’s a natural,” Stella said with a grin. “We weren’t able to do much practical stuff with her today but her movements are great and she’s really sexy and graceful, so she’ll take to it quickly once we get her started tomorrow, I think.”

Well, sexy and graceful are kind of the default for Nymphs when doing just about anything so it wasn’t like I had to work at that. Still, I kind of felt proud that they thought I was doing well so I admitted, “It’s more fun than I thought it would be.”

“Well, I’m glad that you’ve been having fun, my little snowflake. But I’m going to steal you away for a bit before lunch,” Mom said with a smile as she took my hand and led me to one of the booths to sit down. “You’ll have to learn Ice magic at school, Crystal, but I’m going to be teaching you Divine magic myself, and we’re starting right now.”