Latella began to run as fast as she could, finding herself truly scared out of her wits for the first time in her life. She found it difficult to keep track of her companions in the panicked crowd, and before long she couldn't see any of them. At the moment survival seemed more important--if they had any sense they'd be running for all they were worth too. As the giantess plucked up one fistful of girls after another, panic threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't think of anything but running, running as fast as she possibly could.

She almost fell flat on her face when she heard Ishiar and Sudvana yelling for her. They were huddling at the entrance to a small cave, looking like it had been awkwardly dug out of a large hill. Of course! The Giantess' enormous hands couldn't reach her in a cave! She abruptly switched direction, summoning the strength for one final sprint towards her waiting friends. The short distance she crossed felt like a thousand leagues, each second stretched into an eternity by her adrenaline. Just a few meters from the cave, she saw a look of panicked surprise come over her friends and felt the firm, enormous hand of the giantess clamp around her like a vice. The ground abruptly pulled away from her with a sound of rushing wind, and she took a panicked breath as she realized what had happened. She could see a huge finger just below her chin, and felt three more wrapped around her chest, belly, and legs. A warm palm was pressed against her side. She turned and, though the rushing air made her eyes water, she clearly saw the giantess' face being brought close to her. The Giantess was looking at her other hand, though--there were several screaming girls kicking helplessly between her fingers. The giantess opened her mouth wide and cupped her hand over it, forcing all of them into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged slightly as she closed her lips and swallowed hard. Latella imagined she could still hear the muffled sound of their screams as a bulge in the giantesses' throat marked their passage into her body.

The giantess looked at her other prize, and for a moment time seemed to stand still. Latella's breath caught as she stared into the gigantic lavender eyes of the giantess, and her heart fluttered wildly as she realized--just for a moment--how beautiful she actually was. The lips began to part as the giantess tilted it's head back and Latella finally saw down into the fleshy cave that would be her doom. It was ringed with perfectly white teeth and a giant strand of saliva stretched between her tongue and the roof of her mouth as it opened. Almost the moment it snapped, she felt the hot press of the giantesses' fingers abruptly vanish, and she began to fall.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. She felt the air get slightly warmer as the walls of the mouth rose around her. There was a warm, slick feeling on her leg as it hit the tongue and began to slide. There would be no escaping from this one; not this time. Her feet touched the soft, wet flesh at the back of the giantesses' throat and began to turn her legs downward. She wasn't even going to land--she would just slide all the way down. She felt the warm flesh begin to wrap itself around her thighs as the light began to fade from the giantesses' mouth. Inch by inch her mouth shut, closing off all natural light. As the last ray of the stars vanished, the throat enveloped her face and she began her journey towards the Giantesses' digestive tract.

The lubricated flesh of the throat held her loosely and she slid down it very quickly. Her journey abruptly stopped as she hit a tough, leathery ring of tissue that held her upright in the throat. As it suddenly opened, she was hit by a breeze of hot, muggy air, almost like steam billowing up between her legs, and what was perhaps the strongest stench she'd ever experienced followed with it.

She looked down as she began to fall into the giantess' stomach. It was filled not with the digestive brine that she would have expected, but with people--dozens of people, soaked in viscous glop and writhing against each other like a bowl full of worms. Latella dropped a good ten feet before she landed awkwardly, falling sideways as the girl she landed on provided very poor traction. She immediately felt naked skin all around her, moving seemingly in all directions, shifting her back and forth. Everyone was struggling to get to the top; even as Latella attempted to stand, her leg fell between two writhing bodies as one of them tried to hoist herself up. The slow but wide movements of the stomach walls made this even worse, pushing girls against each other and contributing to the obvious instability of the whole collection of wet bodies. Those on the top were not safe from digestion, however. As Latella pulled herself up to her hands and knees, a large, gooey blob of warm digestive juice splashed onto her butt, making her whole backside tingle as the warm goo ran in small rivers down her right leg.

There was a slurping noise and Latella saw the sphincter above her open up--she had to shove herself sideways to keep from being hit by the three girls that fell from above, joining those who were already stewing in the Giantesses' belly. She desperately tried to keep her "footing," but one girl who she was pushing down grabbed her hand and pushed it off of her.

Latella fell to the side and another girl's shoulder pushed it's way into her ribcage, even as her arm became pinned between two writhing bodies. Her clothing was already dissolving off and she could feel her bare skin slithering against squirming masses of girls on all sides. She realized to her horror that not everything that touched her was a person--as she was shoved deeper, her feet poked into places where there were piles of gooey flesh and bone.

The entrance to the giantesses' throat was impossibly high, surrounded by slippery, sloping walls of her stomach. She tried using her magic, but the energies she summoned instantly drained into the stomach walls. Latella's only hope for survival was if someone killed the giantess--a very unlikely prospect.

Finding herself exhausted by the constant state of panic she had been in, Latella could not resist being shoved down into the writhing mass of dripping bodies. She lost all sense of direction as she was pushed and shoved this way and that, bubbling rivers of slime flowing down her body as she went.

As the warm tingle became a painful burning, everything abruptly lurched and girls began to topple end over end over one another. She scrambled to stay above the pit of the stomach as bodies squirmed past her. She felt herself being shoved up against the soft, gooey wall of the giantess' stomach, rapidly pinned there by who knew how many bodies--some still squirming, some having given up. She twitched and squirmed against the hot, slimy surface as she was rapidly buried. She knew it was hopeless.

As the stomach began to contract and churn, the Giantess--oblivious to the chaos ensuing within her belly--burped gently, laid down, and went to sleep.

******

The green glow of the map table was briefly broken up as the door to the briefing room slid open. A tall, muscular woman stepped in, her crimson armor showing several deep scratches where beasts of unfathomable power had sought to pierce it. She was covered in blood which the attendants of the briefing room knew better than to assume was hers.

Normally, some sort of clever remark would accompany such a dramatic entrance, but levity was a luxury they didn't have right now.

"Klayer, I know you just got back, but you're the only one we've got. I was afraid I was going to have to go myself."

"We both know you can't," the armored woman replied. "So I hear we're already late."

The woman standing over the map table gave a concerned nod. "Her name is Latella--she's already down, doesn't look good."

"What got her?"

"A giantess."

"Then we'll need to hurry."

"You don't know the half of it. The nearest portal to the area is twenty miles away."

"Send me."

The woman nodded and started pressing buttons on the map table's keypad. "You'll know her when you see her. Good luck."

There was a flash of light.

The map room had vanished. Klayer felt dirt and stone beneath her feet, and a starry night sky gave light to an otherwise dark and motionless forest.

There was no time to waste.

With a hiss and a rush of air, Klayer shot into the sky after her target.

******

The giantess snored gently, her fingers dipping into the lake which she was curled around. Only hours before, there had been girls swimming and frolicking here. Many of them were still swimming in something, but they weren't exactly frolicking anymore.

Now the lake was still and empty, the whole area motionless but for a few scavenging Kari who, despite their alliance, knew well enough to keep their distance from the slumbering giantess. She would occaisionally awaken, stretch, and turn herself over. At first this had caused an abundance of panicked screams from her stomach, but now they were all but silent, replaced by a quiet, sporadic gurgling.

She awoke abruptly as the monsters that were milling around the lake screamed, each of them apparently having died a very sudden death. Opening her eyes and scowling with annoyance, she saw a peculiar sight--a woman standing on the water in front of her, glaring, holding a sword that was practically burning with some strange energy.

Doubtless a sorceress, come to avenge her friends.

"Eat me," the little sorceress said.

The giantess chuckled. Apparently she thought she could rescue her friends. Stupid girl. Or maybe she was suicidal. Either way, she was more than happy to oblige her.

"I was gonna do that anyway!" the giantess said with a smile as she snatched the woman and glumped her down.

******

The esophagal sphincter practically burst open as Klayer fell into the Giantess' stomach. It was a dreadful mess of slime and half-melted bodies, like someone had taken a bunch of clay people and mushed them into a ball. Some of them were still twitching; others had been cleaned to the bones, and even those were beginning to crack and fall apart.

Things didn't look good.

She waved her hand and the mass of bodies and it suddenly lurched, violently splitting itself apart and revealing a the body of a girl which had been buried within it just a moment before. She was lying against the stomach wall, her half-melted face covered in ooze. Klayer's jaw clenched as she saw that not all of her organs were still there; her skin looked like a shredded sweater pulled over a pile of oozing tomatoes. Small red chunks spilled out and lost themselves in the mush that still piled all the way up to her waist.

Through the chunky glop, Klayer couldn't even tell where Latella ended and the other girls began.

This was bad.

Stepping through the mush towards her, Klayer gently shook her. Bits of goo bubbled out and ran down to join the rest of the mush.

Latella's eyes slowly opened and she turned to face her.

"Are you..." she said weakly, her voice barely audible at all, "...are you here to rescue me?"

Klayer's teeth clenched.

That had been the plan, but it was pretty clear that she was too late.

"I can't," Klayer said. "If I take you out now, your body will self-destruct. Her stomach is the only thing that's keeping you alive."

Klayer thought for a moment. She couldn't heal her--any healing magic she used would just be snatched up and absorbed by the giantesses' powerful stomach. She could have used a healing potion, but Latella didn't have a stomach to hold it in--her whole body was riddled with holes where the stomach acid had bored clean through it.

That only left one option. If she couldn't stop the hero from dying, she'd at least make sure it happened on her terms.

"I need you to relax," Klayer said. Latella couldn't put up much resistance anyway, but if she tried, she might shake off what little flesh she had left.

Klayer gently took hold of Latella's body, cradled it in her arms, and brought it up to her mouth. Inch by inch, she carefully started swallowing Latella's gooey remains.

A few moments and one very slimy meal later, she stood up, her stomach now gurgling and full. Eating a half-digested woman wasn't the tastiest thing in the world, but it had been a long time since Klayer had considered such purely carnal preferences as relevant.

The bigger problem was time. Even with her powers, she couldn't stop her stomach from finishing the job that the Giantess had started.

"Giantess!" Klayer yelled. "I am done here. Vomit me up."

The stomach jiggled and shook as the giantess giggled to herself. "You're funny!" she said.

Klayer grinned wolfishly in spite of herself.

"Wrong answer."

******

The first thing she felt was a soft breeze, gentle and cool. It ruffled her feathers ever so slightly as it passed. She took her first breath of sweet air, the tiny pieces of her shell tickling her from underneath. Her mind filled with the sensations of her newborn body--her slender fingers brushing against the grass, her long legs stretched across the glade, her wings...her glorious, downy white wings. She stretched them out into the air and smiled as the twilight breeze gently fluttered through them.

Happily, she opened her new eyes and took in the starry night.

Something about the sight of the stars, the emerald grass and the beautiful trees that surrounded her made her shiver for a second.

Before she knew it, she heard voices. Giggling voices, coming towards her from the trees.

"I'm so excited, I can't wait to meet her!"

"I hope she's a summer angel! I'll bet you she is!"

"No way, she's gonna be a spring angel! Just you wait!"

"Look! There she is!"

Three creatures came into view from behind the trees. They were giggling and smiling, a beautiful innocence almost gushing from their perfect faces. Their skin was bright and their wings magnificent.

They huddled for a moment at the edge of the trees, shyly looking at her. One of the three, an angel with curly red hair and a brilliant white robe, stepped slowly into the glade.

"Good morning!" she said with a beaming smile. "My name is Chia."

Her smile turned lopsided as she looked back at the clump of trees. "Come on, you guys!"

The other two angels stepped out. One was slightly taller, with short, wavy hair that was blacker than the sky behind her. A blue silk dress hung regally from her shoulders. The other was slighly shorter, with bouncy white hair and freckles dappled all over her face.

"This is Arandra," Chia said, motioning to the black-haired angel before indicating the freckled one, "and this is Shumi."

The three came close and kneeled next to the newborn. "And what's your name?"

"My name..." she said slowly, searching her memory, "...my name is Annelique."

It was her name, but something seemed wrong with it.

The thought lasted only an instant, however, as all three angels bent forward and hugged her all at once.

"Welcome to Golden Star, Annelique!" Chia chirped.

The newborn Annelique couldn't help but hug them back.

******

"This is Golden Star Hall! This is where we live." Chia said as the group passed through the front archway. The inside of the building looked like something out of a dream--assymetrical stairways curved this way and that around walls that were packed with doors, no two looking quite alike. Some were shaped like stars, some like hearts, some circles, some rectangles. There were even doors set into the floor and cieling.

"So which room do you want? You can pick whichever one you like best."

"Ooh!" Shumi called, running over to a blue, crescent-shaped door. "Pick this one! This one is next to mine!"

"Shumi! Let her choose," Chia said calmly.

Annelique looked around the wondrous hall and the seemingly hundreds of doors. Only one door seemed to catch her attention; it was a pale blue door set into a giant pillar on the ground floor, just underneath the staircase that was winding it's way around it.

"What's in this one?" she asked, walking over to it.

"Why don't we see?" Chia replied.

Annelique nervously turned the star-shaped knob and pushed the door inward. Inside was a small but very cozy-looking bed, a festively-carved wooden desk, and a bookcase. There was even a large pink envelope on the bed that said "Annelique" in pretty red letters.

"Is this my room?" Annelique asked, wondering how they knew.

"Of course!" Arandra said.

"We should get to bed," Chia said. "Goodnight, Annelique! We'll see you in the morning!"

The three angels tiptoed away and closed the door to Annelique's room behind them. There was light coming from a small lamp on the desk, and she noticed there was a small, circular window on the wall that led outside.

But how could it lead outside? This room was in the middle of the building!

She decided she'd ask later.

Slipping open the envelope on her bed, she withdrew a white slip of paper.

~~~

Dear Annelique,

It is my honor and my priviledge to welcome you to Golden Star! I am Miss Sara, your caremistress. Everything you need should be in this room somewhere--I don't think I forgot anything.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. But for now, you get yourself a good night's sleep!

Love and kisses,

Miss Sara

~~~

Annelique smiled, leaning over and putting the letter on her desk. This sure seemed like a nice place.

She noticed that there was a neatly folded silk nightie just barely poking out from under her pillow. She tried it on, looking it over in the shiny mirror that was hanging above her desk.

Her heart jumped as she saw her own face for the first time. She was beautiful! Curly black hair bounced around her head, giving her angular face a cherubic but almost alluring look. Her skin was perfectly smooth and even, carved into the most adorable shapes. As she looked, her pretty mouth curled into a wide smile. She almost felt like she could spend the whole night looking at her own reflection.

But the bedsheets were warm and very soft, and part of her couldn't wait to snuggle up inside them and test them out.

That's just what she did.

******

Annelique awoke to the sound of chattering and footsteps outside her door. She sat up, feeling refreshed but a little nervous--it sounded like there were a lot of angels outside.

Shoring up her courage, she tiptoed over to her door and opened it a crack.

There were indeed a lot of angels--there might have even been hundreds. They were gathered into groups that looked like big clusters of wings with little legs poking out the bottom. Amidst the clusters she saw white wings, gold wings, lavender wings with black tips, jet black wings, blue wings with white tips, hazel wings, brownish wings, greenish wings, and many, many more.

"Annelique! Annelique!"

She looked over to the source of the voice. A very tall angel--easily twice the height of most of the others--was standing in the middle of a cluster of angels motioning for her to join them.

Stepping out of her room and pulling the door shut behind her, she started walking towards the assembled group. She realized that all of the groups were roughly the same way--one tall angel surrounded by many smaller ones, all chattering happily with one another.

Chia and Shumi were in the same group, also waving her over. "Come on, Annie! Come on!"

She jogged over to them and found herself surrounded by angels. They were dressed in a hundred different ways--t-shirts, silk vests, long dresses. The green-winged angel was even wearing a tank top. Annelique suddenly felt very self-conscious, still wearing her light pink nightie that barely reached her knees.

The tall angel knelt down in front of her, bringing her head down to just above Annelique's. She was a beautiful woman with soft pink hair that was straight in some places and fiercely curly in others. She had red, bow-shaped lips and tiny, almost imperceptible freckles on her cheeks. Her face was very loving, but also seemed very strong.

She placed her hand reassuringly on Annelique's shoulders and smiled.

"Are you miss Sara?" Annelique asked gingerly.

The woman laughed. "Yep, that's me." Miss Sara placed her other hand on Annelique's shoulder. "Are you nervous? First day?"

"A little," Annelique replied honestly. This was pretty new to her.

"Well, don't worry," Miss Sara said, gently turning her around to face the rest of the class. Drawing her close so that her back was pressed against her, she draped her arms over Annelique and looked to the angels that were watching.

"We'll take good care of you. Won't we, girls?"

The angels all nodded simply, a few of them smiling, a few of them blushing.

"Everybody, this is Annelique," Miss Sara continued. "I want you all to be extra nice to her, okay?"

They nodded again.

"Okay then, let's get started!" Miss Sara said. She stood up and Chia led Annelique back into the circle with the rest.

"Okay, is everybody here?" she continued, looking over the huddle of angels and mouthing their names as she waved her finger over each one. "Arandra!" she finally said. "We can't get started without Arandra!"

As one, the flock of angels migrated over to a small, grey door set in the floor of the hall. Kneeling down again, Miss Sara knocked gently on the door.

"UH, JUST A SECOND!" was the frantic reply.

"Arandra?" Miss Sara called down.

"YEAH, UM, I'M COMING!"

The door opened suddenly and Arandra popped out. Her whole body was flushed and sweaty and she seemed to be out of breath. There were little kiss-marks that ran from her cheek all the way down to the black satin bra that was still hanging out of her unbuttoned silk dress. She rapidly began snapping it shut.

"Sorry, I just, uh...yeah. Let's do this."

As she scampered up onto the main floor, Annelique got a look down the stairs that led down from the door, curious to see what the underground rooms loked like. She recieved a shock when, at the bottom of the stairs, she saw a girl with tiny black batwings, a pointed tail, and horns lying on a very dishevelled-looking bed.

"Hey, new girl." The succubus said with a fang-toothed smile, just before the door swang shut.

"Okay, everybody together?" Miss Sara asked, once again looking over the assembled group. "Okay. First thing, breakfast!"

The girls cheered as Miss Sara led them outside to the main grounds. It was a beautiful day--the stars were shining brightly and the clouds traced big white shapes in the light blue sky. The sunlight felt very nice on Annelique's skin--she had already forgotten that she was still wearing her nightie.

She followed the group over to a set of white, picnic-style tables set across a large grassy area. In the center was a gigantic circular serving table, stacked high with more kinds of food than Annelique could count.

Well, more than she could count without actually stopping to count them, anyway.

The angels converged on the serving table like a flock of birds, wings and all, grabbing little china plates and stacking them high with food. Annelique walked over to see what was available. Pancakes, eclairs, fruit, salads, muffins, cakes, pies, bacon, a dozen different juices, ham, cooked potatoes of several varieties, and quite a few things she couldn't even identify.

The angels courteously made room for her, a few of them by waiting, a few by quickly grabbing what they wanted and flittering away. She picked up a plate and, not having any better ideas, grabbed a few random items--an eclair, a strange, spiral shaped fruit, a muffin, and a dollop of some sort of unidentified orange casserole. As she stepped away from the table, a small group of angels was waiting for her.

"Annelique, you want to come sit with us?"

"NO!" Chia suddenly squacked, pulling herself from the serving table. "She's got to come sit with us! Please, Annelique?"

Before Annelique could face this seemingly intractable situation, Miss Sara was standing over them. "I've got a better idea. How about all of you go sit together?"

The angels seemed satisfied at this simple wisdom, hurrying over to an empty table. "I was gonna say that," Shumi said as she took a seat next to Annelique.

"I brought you a fork," Chia said as she sat herself on the other side. Annelique didn't even realize she had forgotten to get one.

"Thank you," she replied.

"Hey Miss Sara, will you come sit with us too?" one of the angels called out.

"Of course," Miss Sara answered, taking a seat on the end. "Thank you, Yuma."

The table was soon filled with several conversations, each angel's mind seemingly on a completely different thing.

"Hey Arandra?" Annelique asked, trying to keep her voice quiet even though Arandra was across the table from her. "Who, um...who was your friend?"

Arandra's face went red.

"That was Saccarine," said an angel with dark red hair.

"Oh!" Chia exclaimed. "Miss Sara, will you tell her the story?"

Arandra's face was already buried in her hands. "Oh Goddess, not again..."

"Arandra gets embarassed easy," Shumi said. "But she actually likes it when we tell the story."

"So what if I do?" Arandra said, her face still buried in her hands, her expression now more sheepish than embarassed.

Miss Sara smiled. "Once," she began, "long ago, there was a great warrior named Sumietra. She lived on the planet Eastros; a dangerous world filled with evil. But was Sumietra scared?"

All the girls shook their heads.

"YES."

Except for Arandra, who said yes.

Miss Sara laughed, looking over at Arandra with a warm smile. "She was very brave, fighting monsters and demons every day to keep her people safe. She had to, because Eastros was a demon world, filled with portals to Faneglut itself that would let people just walk right in and out. Who can tell me what Faneglut is?"

Several angels raised their hands. At a gesture from Miss Sara, one of them began to explain. "Faneglut is the underworld. It's where the demons live."

"Right you are. The planet was filled with demons and monsters from Faneglut, all of them thirsting for a taste of Sumietra's flesh. Hers was a battle for survival against powerful demons and great evil. But are all demons evil?"

The angels shook their heads.

"No," Miss Sara echoed. "Sumietra learned that when she found herself in a very unlikely alliance with a succubus named Saccarine. Many of Sumietra's friends didn't trust Saccarine, and at first, Sumietra didn't either. She was worried that Saccarine was in it for her own benefit and was planning to turn on Sumietra and her friends. She thought that Saccarine was just waiting for her chance to sneak into her room and gobble her up completely whole!"

Miss Sara smiled and looked teasingly at Arandra, who was blushing again.

"And she actually did!" Chia said.

"Yes, one day she did. But do you remember why?" Miss Sara asked.

"Yeah!" Shumi started, turning to Annelique. "See, there were a bunch of demon monsters coming to attack her, and they were all like 'Get in my belly!' And she's all like 'No!' But there were like a zillion of them, and they were gonna take her spirit back to Faneglut and do all kinds of gross things, and they were gonna do it to Saccarine too, because they'd become friends, so you know what happened?"

Annelique shook her head.

"Saccarine ate her!" Shumi said. "Ate her right up like a bon-bon, before the demons even got a chance to!"

"Why?" Annelique asked.

"Because," Miss Sara explained, "Saccarine's belly was the one place in the universe where Sumietra would be safe. The demons couldn't get to her there. And because Saccarine loved Sumietra so much, she wanted to protect her from the demons."

"But wouldn't it be the same thing? Wasn't Saccarine a demon anyway?" Annelique asked.

Miss Sara smiled. "Tell me, Annelique. If I were to take off your clothes, and put you in demon's clothes, would you still be an angel?"

"Yeah," Annelique replied.

"And if you were to lose your wings, and I gave you demon wings, would you still be an angel?"

"Sorta. I'd be an angel with demon wings."

"So...what if I took out your soul, and put it into a demon's body? What would you be then?"

"I...guess I'd be a demon with an angel's soul."

"Exactly. It's not what we are on the outside that counts. Being an angel isn't about having wings, or having blonde hair," she said, toying with the blonde locks of the giggling angel sitting next to her. "It's about what's inside you."

"And..." Annelique said, stifling a laugh, "what was inside Saccarine at that moment...was most certainly an angel." She looked tellingly at Arandra.

One by one, the angels "got it" and started laughing.

"In more ways than one!" Shumi blurted out.

"Yes, Shumi, that was the idea."

"So what happened next?" Chia asked.

"Well, Saccarine was a clever demoness, but even she couldn't hide from an entire planet of demonesses for long. Her demon sisters would definately punish her for trying to save Sumietra, so she came to the only place where she and Sumietra would be safe from them."

"Brightwind!" Shumi said.

"Right," Miss Sara said. "But by the time she got here, Saccarine's belly had already absorbed Sumietra."

The table went quiet.

"But you know what happened then? She found an egg--a tiny little angel egg, out in the forest, just barely beginning to take root. There was something about this egg that intrigued her, so she stayed with it, nurturing it with her magic until it hatched. And you know what she found out then?"

All the angels smiled.

"Sumietra had been reborn as our own dear Arandra." Miss Sara finished.

Everyone looked over at Arandra, who's face was now reaching untold pinnacles of blush.

Annelique noticed that most of the girls had finished their food--several had already had seconds or thirds. Annelique realized she hadn't even touched hers yet.

She started scarfing.

"So who wants to show Annelique around the grounds?" Miss Sara said. A half-dozen hands shot up.

"Me! Me! Oh please, me!" Chia pleaded.

"Alright, Chia."

Chia beamed and hugged Annelique close, causing her to smear the eclair she was eating all over her cheek.

******

The Golden Star grounds were bigger than Annelique had thought. They needed to fly to get around half the time, but that wasn't a burden--in fact, the only burden seemed to be in stopping once they reached their destination. Flying was new to Annelique, but it was wonderfully easy and ever so much fun.

Right now they were on foot, with Chia pointing out buildings as they walked. She was gesturing at a particularly large building; a somewhat strange one. It's face was made of marble and pillars, but large areas of stone, polished wood, and even glass jutted out of it off in the distance. Several strange towers rose out of it as well. One looked like a wizard's tower; another, a giant telescope. One appeared to be a gigantic tree.

"This is the university," Chia said. "They have classes every two hours."

Leading Annelique up the alabaster steps to a large sign, she pointed to the schedule of classes for that day. "This is where you find out where all the classes are."

"So, how do I know which ones I'm supposed to take?" Annelique asked.

"You take whichever ones you want!" Chia replied. "Or none at all. Arandra and Saccarine don't take any classes. Usually. Though Arandra tries to sneak a few in now and then. Saccarine just thinks they're boring!" Chia said, as if the concept was unbelievable.

Annelique glanced over the list of classes. Advanced healing, intermediate healing. Rain magic. Arts and crafts. Fencing. Each class had a time scrawled next to it, along with a list of teachers. Apparently Miss Sara was teaching something called "Advanced Science."

"THERE you are!"

Arandra and Saccarine were jogging up the hill, clearly winded. "We've been looking all over for you!" Arandra said.

"Yeah, we never would have thought to look for you where you were supposed to be," Saccarine said, looking at Arandra. She seemed the more winded of the two--while Arandra seemed a bit short of breath, Saccarine was hunched over and gasping, a sheen of sweat gleaming on her rather scandalously leather-clad body.

"Miss Sara told us to go get you and bring you here," Arandra said.

"What for?" Annelique asked.

"I can't believe I completely forgot!" Chia said. "You haven't been formally welcomed yet."

"Formally welcomed? Is that like an orgy? Because I know I'm spoken for but I MMF!" Saccarine stopped as Arandra's hand clasped over her mouth.

"She knows what it is," Chia said to Annelique. "It's where we get everyone together and introduce you to all of the teachers and caremistresses."

"What exactly is a caremistress?" Annelique asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Saccarine interrupted. "A caremistress is a special time in a young angel's life when a succubus pries open her nighty and MMF!"--she was stopped by Arandra's hand again.

Chia was blushing and her forehead was sunk into her hand. "A caremistress doesn't do that."

"Oh sure they do--"

"Caremistresses are there to care for you; to make sure you're happy and to make sure everybody loves each other!"

"That's exactly what I was talking about!" Saccarine said.

"Not that kind of love!" Chia said.

"Why not?" Saccarine replied, clearly appalled.

"Because that's for little angels to do," Chia said, gently grasping Annelique's hand as she did so. "With each other."

Annelique's whole arm tingled with excitement at the sudden touch.

"Eww," Saccarine said. "Fine, but as for me, I'd hit that. Your caremistress is H-O-T hot."

"Oh Goddess, Sac..." Arandra said, burying her own face in her hand and chuckling in spite of herself.

"Why thank you, Saccarine!"

Everyone froze upright with guilt as they heard Miss Sara's voice--especially the wide-eyed Saccarine, who was now officially too mortified to even turn around and look. She didn't need to, as Miss Sara walked up from behind and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"That's quite a compliment," she said. "I'm glad you find me attractive."

Annelique could swear the succubus' hair was about to leap off of her head. She looked like she was going to bite through her own teeth.

"Umm...you're welcome, Miss Sara," Saccarine said with great effort.

There was a sound of stifled laughter coming from several directions now. Chia was smirking and giggling, Arandra doing the same, and two of the tall archangels who had quietly arrived with Miss Sara were smirking and giggling under their breath. Even Miss Sara herself was chuckling softly, patting Saccarine on the shoulder.

"Can we just pretend this never happened, please?" Saccarine said, her body wound up like a cat, her cheeks having turned a fierce red.

"Of course," Miss Sara said with a wink. "So does everybody know?"

"They'd better," Saccarine said, glad to change the subject. "We practically tattooed it on them."

Sure enough, angels were beginning to gather around the university building now, only a few of whom Annelique recognized as being part of Miss Sara's group. Caremistresses were fluttering down with groups of angels flocking around them, sometimes just a few, other times over a dozen. Before long there appeared to be hundreds of angels filling the grassy area in front of the university, loudly chatting amongst themselves.

Miss Sara looked around, seemingly counting them up in her head. After a few minutes she was apparently satisfied and turned to Annelique.

"So, are you ready, Annelique?"

"Ready for what?" she replied sheepishly, her eyes on the crowd before her.

"Ready to meet everyone!" Miss Sara said. Gently taking Annelique by the hand, Miss Sara led her to the top of the the stone steps. Already the crowd had started to quiet down, and with some gentle prodding from their caremistresses, soon every angel's eyes were on Annelique.

"Everyone," Miss Sara said, "I'm very happy to announce that a new angel has been born in Golden Star!"

The sudden cheers that came from the crowd caused Annelique to almost jump out of her skin. Angels were waving at her, blowing kisses, clapping--for one moment it was like she was the center of the whole universe. For her part, she gave the crowd an awkward smile and a big blush.

"Her name is Annelique," Miss Sara continued, but already angels were rushing up the stairs to introduce themselves.

"Hi, my name is Mina..."

"I'm Susan! Welcome to Golden Star!"

"This is Amiatra and I'm Aisi!"

"Hi Annelique! I'm Monica! Have you picked a room yet? Because the one next to mine is empty!"

Miss Sara did her best to control the number of angels assaulting Annelique at any one time, but it still seemed a bit overwhelming. So many people, and so friendly--they were shaking her hands, giving her hugs, asking if they could stroke her feathers, giving her kisses on the cheek. She even felt a set of fingers squeeze her left breast, but she was pretty sure that was Saccarine. (Either way, her shocked "Gah!" elicited plenty of giggles from her friends.)

Eventually, the crowd began to thin. Annelique was all but exhausted from the excitement at this point. A few more angels came to shake her hand and welcome her, and soon all that was left were the caremistresses, who had all remained behind. They stood quietly in a semicircle in front of her, waiting for the last eager angel to make her way back to her usual activities.

"Annelique," Miss Sara said, "These are the other caremistresses." She named them off as she gestured from left to right, "Miss Swan, Miss Goldenheart, Miss Penelope, Miss Azalea, Miss Lalialidala, Miss Mary, Miss Tanya, and Miss Lockheart." Each one came forward, knelt down, and gave Annelique a big hug before welcoming her to Golden Star.

As Miss Swan released her from her gentle embrace, she said "Now remember, if you need anything, we're all here for you. Not just Miss Sara, but the rest of us, too."

Annelique nodded and the rest of the caremistresses walked or fluttered away. Miss Sara stayed, placing her hands lovingly on Annelique's shoulders.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Kind of sleepy...that was intense." Annelique said. "I had no idea I was so popular."

"We welcome every newborn this way," Miss Sara said. "Because every one of you deserves it."

She knelt down next to Annelique and placed her arm around her. "Would you like me to carry you to bed?"

Annelique looked into Miss Sara's big, loving eyes and practically melted. She didn't even have a chance to say anything before she'd draped her arms around her and felt her legs being lifted up. In no time she felt herself being cradled in Miss Sara's arms as she flew swiftly to Golden Star Hall. Miss Sara's embrace was so gentle, so warm, so secure...Annelique snuggled into her chest and felt the whole world melt away. She felt her body being lowered into it's bed, and the covers being drawn over her. She felt a kiss on her cheek, and fell asleep.

This was, of course, in sharp contrast to the bouncing jolts she felt some moments later as something repeatedly thumped down on top of her.

She pulled herself upright with a yelp, immediately finding herself entangled with Saccarine, who was bouncing up and down right on top of her.

"Hey, Annelique!" the succubus said with a wry smile. "We were wondering when you were gonna wake up! It's been almost ten seconds already!" She peeled herself off and took a seat at the foot of the bed.

Was it Annelique's imagination, or was Saccarine suddenly wearing lipstick? Did succubi even wear lipstick?

She sat up, panting a bit with the shock. She simply looked at the succubus, and at Arandra, who was sitting at her desk.

"So how was it?" Saccarine asked.

"It was..." Annelique said, sort of at a loss for words.

"Come on, all that angel honey grinding up against you?" Saccarine said. "You must have been horny as hell by the end. I'm surprised you didn't get off all over Miss Tanya when she hugged you."

"Why would it be Miss Tanya?" Arandra asked.

"Oh, come on. You've seen her mate, the Lotus? Word has it they're both into some pretty kinky stuff. She's visiting tonight, so I'm willing to bet Miss Tanya already had all sorts of studded bondage gear on underneath that kimono-thing..."

"I would have thought you'd pin Miss Swan." Arandra said. "If Annelique had moved her nose an inch, her whole face would have been between her robe and her boob."

"Do you guys always talk this much about caremistress sex?" Annelique asked.

"Nah, just when we're around you," Saccarine replied.

"But I just got here!"

"That's why we haven't gotten to the heavy stuff yet!" Saccarine said, slapping Annelique on the back.

"I'm not sure I want to know what the 'heavy stuff' is," Annelique said.

Saccarine suddenly leapt from the foot of the bed and pinned Annelique down, pulling her wrists to either side of the bed while simultaneously using her knees to pry Annelique's legs apart. She was on all fours now, her head hanging directly above Annelique's.

"You will, oh, I promise you will," Saccarine said, a cross between amusement and burning excitement visible in eyes. Her lips were wet, just a hint of tongue and teeth showing from between them.

Annelique took a deep breath--she wasn't sure what the succubus was planning to do, but something about her was excited by the eager woman on top of her.

Arandra was blushing something fierce. "Saccarine...sometimes...likes to...er...WELCOME...new angels...in her own way." She was stammering with embarassment.

A pouting smile appeared on Saccarine's lips.

Annelique yelped and her body arched upward with pure surprise when she suddenly felt something brush against her flower. She still had her panties on--hell, she still had on her nighty from the night before--but the slight brush she felt was nonetheless enough to jolt her. Her face quickly reddened, half at the sudden touch, half at her own reaction. The demoness' tail was the culprit--Annelique could just barely see it past her leather-clad body.

She slowly lowered herself down onto Annelique, prying her legs even further apart as she did so. She released Annelique's wrist and started caressing the underside of her arm. Her face descended until her lips were only inches from Annelique's. Her tail started ever-so-gently stroking the inside of Annelique's thigh. "So...do you feel welcome yet?" she asked.

Arandra's face was the picture of embarassment. "Uh, I think I'll leave you two alone--"

"You stay right there!" Saccarine said. "You might learn something! Besides," she continued, licking her lips, "I might need a hand."

"Oh God, you're not going to eat her on her first night...?"

Saccarine's face went from seductive to scowling. "Eat her!? Oh, is that all you angels can think about!?" She huffed. "Well, for your information, I WAS, but now you've completely ruined the moment. Thanks a lot, Arandra." Saccarine sneered at no one in particular.

"You were going to eat me!?" Annelique asked, suddenly horrified.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Saccarine asked as she sat up on her knees. "Every newbie angel is always so terrified, like they don't know they'll just be reborn the next day. They should just print a damn pamphlet! But since they won't, I see myself as next best thing, okay? Besides, I don't do this for just anyone!"

She threw the covers off of Annelique's bed, leaving only the sheets. "You're a special case, you know?" She sidled back a bit and grabbed the bottom of Annelique's nighty.

"Sac, what are you doing?"

"Well, if I can't eat her," Saccarine said, yanking Annelique's nighty clean over her head, "the next best thing is to fuck her senseless. So you can either sit there blathering or lend me a hand."

Saccarine tossed the nighty aside, leaving naught but a pair of panties with a tiny pink bow. Annelique's breasts bounced slightly under the rough movements of the succubus as she plopped herself down on the angel's belly. The succubus' thighs were warm against her bare skin, and she could feel the texture of the leather thong that separated her tummy from the succubus' sex.

"Ah," Saccarine said, looking at Annelique's exposed breasts. "Running with the attic unfurnished, eh? Good for you!"

Annelique was excited and scared at the same time. Seeming to sense her trepidation, Arandra walked to the head of the bed and ran her hand through Annelique's hair. "It's okay, she's actually quite nice once you get to know her."

"Arandra, there's a useful function for that mouth right now, and that ain't it," Saccarine said.

Arandra pursed her lips. "Okay, then what SHOULD I do with my mouth, SIR?"

"Well," Saccarine said, still sitting on top of Annelique. She stopped and thought for a moment, tapping her finger on her chin for emphasis. "Well, since she's a newbie, let's start simple. You start on the right nipple, I'll get the left."

"Sounds good."

Saccarine swung her right leg over and laid on Annelique's side, making room for Arandra to make her way on top of the other. All Annelique could see at this point was the tops of two heads and four mismatched wings--two feathered, two leathery. The feeling of the two of them moving against her bare skin was kind of nice, she had to admit. She was just about to consider letting herself relax when she recieved another shock--a flood of sensation as both of her nipples were engulfed between two pairs of wet lips. Her jaw popped open, her eyes rolled back and her head followed suit as her whole mind was suddenly sucked into the flood of feelings. Her breathing became rapid and she almost instinctually wrapped her arms around the two girl's heads, pulling them to her. She was awash in every detail, feeling Arandra's smooth tongue on her left breast, the shape of her lips as they pushed and pulled, the nebulous warmth of the mouth beyond. She was the soft, careful one, taking the breast into her mouth and then slowly letting it escape.

Saccarine, on the other hand, was diving into it with the zeal of a pro. She was using both hands to squeeze the breast, engulfing the ariola and beyond like she was trying to swallow the whole thing, sucking hard and fighting for every inch before letting it emerge again from her mouth. Yet somehow she always knew which way to move it, which way to suck and pull to make her breast scream out for more. Before long Annelique wasn't even holding on to them anymore--her arms were flailing left and right as she tilted back and forth in the bed, moaning as she did so. Her fingers were grasping at the sheets and at the bedposts and her legs were squirming underneath Arandra and Saccarine. She felt her flower getting hot, even though neither of them were even touching it.

"Is this...!" she said between gasps, "is this what being welcome feels like?"

Both of the girls on top of her stopped and looked at her mischievously.

"Sister," Arandra said,

"--you ain't seen nothin' yet," Saccarine finished for her.

They both pulled themselves off of her momentarily. Arandra's clothes were off in an instant, leaving her free to walk over and help Saccarine remove hers. (Saccarine was fully capable of taking them off herself, but it wasn't nearly as much fun for either of them.)

Despite their vastly different "Ethnic Backgrounds," Annelique couldn't help but notice the similarities in their bodies. They both had light, creamy skin, breasts that were on the smaller side (especially surprising in Saccarine's case) and curves that seemed neither exaggerated nor bony, but "just about right." They seemed almost a perfect match for each other, and the little differences--Saccarine's slightly darker skin, Arandra being slightly taller--only seemed to enhance that fact.

Annelique realized she was the only one in the room who wasn't naked.

"Umm..." she said, "What happens if someone comes in here?"

"Hey, if it's this much fun with three, imagine how much fun it would be with four!" Saccarine replied.

"Is there a lock on the door?" Annelique asked.

Saccarine looked crestfallen and sighed as Arandra walked over and locked the door.

"Just for that, I'm gonna..." Saccarine started.

"...Gonna what?" Annelique asked.

"Ah, hell, I dunno. But I definately know those panties need to come off."

Despite her lingering arousal, Annelique bit her lip.

"Well, come on, are you going to do it, or should we?"

Annelique's face turned bright red as she shyly brought her hands up to her face, practically hiding behind her knuckles.

"You guys do it," she said.

Her eyes pinched shut as she waited, but another surprise was coming. Instead of pulling her panties down as she expected, she felt a pair of fingers rubbing against them--first along the edges, then right down her little girly parts.

The feeling wasn't as strong as when they were sucking on her breasts, but it still sent tingles down her spine. She removed her fists from her eyes and looked down past her navel to see the culprit, Saccarine, slowly drawing her fingers up and down Annelique's crotch.

"Weren't...um...weren't you supposed to take them off?" Annelique said. Her excitement was still building, and she wanted to get to the good parts before she exploded.

Saccarine smiled mischievously. "Oh no. It's not that simple. You need to *ask.*"

They'd hit her right where it hurt--they knew she was too shy to ask!

"Sac, you are ruthless!" Arandra said with a chuckle. She was standing behind Saccarine, one hand on her waist, simply watching--for now.

Saccarine's fingers were slowing down, her movements becoming almost lazy, yet this only seemed to make Annelique's desire even more intense. Saccarine's eyelids drooped in an almost taunting fashion as she waited for her victim to succumb to the pressure. Annelique clenched her teeth at the sheer pressure of it all.

"Well?" Saccarine said with an almost lazy smirk.

Annelique hid behind her fists again. The finger slowly marched it's way up and down her sex, making her whole body feel hot.

"P-please!" she stammered.

"Puh-puh-please what?" Saccarine said.

Several long moments passed.

Then it was Saccarine's turn to be surprised.

Annelique screamed and bolted up off the bed, tackling Saccarine in the process. Their bodies crashed together as they fell against the wall--as Saccarine's skin slid against hers, Annelique realized she had been sweating profusely.

"FUCK ME!" Annelique yelled.

Saccarine's eyes went wide for a moment.

"FUCK ME! IN THE NAME OF THE SEVEN STARS, FUCK ME! PLEASE! PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR AND FUDGE, TAKE MY PANTIES OFF AND *FUCK ME!!*"

Saccarine laughed and answered without skipping a beat. "Now, was that so hard?"

Annelique's panties were off in an instant, but still she froze in shock. She couldn't believe what she had just said! what if someone had heard her? Could anyone have NOT heard her!? She'd been screaming at the top of her lungs! She'd never been so embarassed in all of her life! Of course, her whole life had only been a day long, but--

That's about as far as she got with that train of thought before Arandra's face was buried in her flower and Saccarine's naked body was grinding against her like the world was going to end. The sudden sensations washed over her like a monsoon. The front of her body described to her every soft inch of Saccarine's skin; the firm nipples, the soft breasts, the skin and the hints of the ribcage beneath. She felt fingers tracing their way up and down her back. Another set of hands wrapped around the sides of her breasts, squeezing them even as they were pushed up and down by Saccarine's.

Suddenly, the succubus stopped. Annelique closed her eyes as Saccarine moved in to kiss her. Soon she felt a pair of lips meeting her own; soft, gentle. They softly kissed again and again, Saccarine's lips holding Anneliques just a little longer each time. Their bodies slowly began to sway from left to right as Arandra continued massaging Annelique's breasts, now switching her tongue-work from Saccarine to Annelique as suited her.

Annelique lifted her arms and wrapped them around Saccarine, slowly caressing the skin of her back. Saccarine smiled and reached behind her, grabbing Annelique's hands and placing them firmly on her buttocks. Annelique obliged and began squeezing Saccarine's firm butt. She was rewarded with renewed grinding--Saccarine began sliding back and forth against her, this time with an even greater intensity. But just as little Annelique thought she was about to climax, Saccarine stopped.

She lifted herself up to a sitting position, then pulled Annelique up with her. The two were now sitting flush with one another. Arandra walked around and sat down on the other side, pressing her hot body against Annelique's back. Arandra reached around the downy wings to gently pinch Annelique's nipples as she leaned her face forward, causing their cheeks to rub together. Saccarine reached past Annelique to grab Arandra's breasts, likewise leading forward and placing her cheek against her. Slowly, Arandra and Saccarine began to move, almost as though they were trying to have sex with one another regardless of the obstacle Annelique represented. Now she felt skin rubbing against both her back and her front. She almost came the second she felt Saccarine's tail suddenly burrowing into her flower, but still the blissful sex continued. Arandra and Saccarine began licking the sides of Annelique's face and soon Saccarine had stopped massasing Arandra's breasts so she could focus her full attention on Annelique. Two pairs of hands started moving up and down her body, front and back, occaisionally sliding into her sex, sometimes grabbing her ass, even the occaisional stroke on the cheek. Annelique never wanted it to stop; every touch felt like heaven. Every inch of her skin exulted in this experience.

Sensing that she was almost ready, the duo began sliding up and down again, grinding their flesh against Annelique with ever-increasing intensity. The feelings spread, becoming more and more powerful until she felt they would be impossible to contain. Every part of her body pulsed with ever-increasing waves of pleasure and desire. She started moaning loudly, rubbing any part of herself she could against her two partners--anything they weren't already touching, she pulled against them--legs, lips, even her wings. Her moaning grew ever louder until she was practically yelling with each movement. Time and activities blurred together--Saccarine's breasts in her mouth, Arandra's tongue moving up her ribs, kisses, legs rubbing against each other. Her feelings grew so strong that they seemed to take on a life of their own. She felt the two other girl's hearts open up inside her own chest like flowers blooming--flowers the size of stars. And then it happened.

By the time the three reached climax, it was as though the whole world had been remade.