Mara wrapped a towel around herself, and carefully stepped out of the apartment's shower.

Peorth stood in front of the bathroom sink and mirror, brushing her hair. She was wearing her loose wide belts again. "Ah," she said. "You are done at last. I was starting to become worried."

Mara toweled her own hair. "It's not easy to wash off that much oil. I almost slipped and fell in the shower a dozen times."

She stopped, and watched Peorth for a moment. "Oh... You have such beautiful hair, Peorth. It's so long, and so straight..."

Peorth smiled sweetly. "Merci, Mara. So, did you have le fun, zees evening?"

"Well... maybe," Mara said. "A little. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again— I'll strip you naked, paint you purple, and handcuff you to a traffic light."

Peorth perked up. "Ooh! Zat sounds like fun! Are you free to do zat to me tomorrow?"

Mara grimaced. "Oy!... Peorth, were you repeatedly dropped on your head, as a child?"

Peorth put down her hair brush, turned to Mara, and crossed her arms. "What do you mean? I am only le splendiloquent Yggdrasil goddess, doing her job. I was brought into existence to grant le wishes. And I have le open mind, and ze eagerness to please. As long as eet ees all in fun, why should I not do all ze things zat ze nice yet creepy men wish le women could do?"

Mara blinked. "Huh. I guess I never thought of it that way."

"You should." Peorth held a hand to Mara's cheek, much as Rick had done, the day before. "You are le immortal and invulnerable goddess, like moi. And you are almost as beautiful as moi. Ze fangs are a bit odd, but your little friend seems to like zem."

Mara blushed again, and responded much as Rick had done. "Uh, thanks, I think."

"And you had le reputation as le demon for ze cunning plans and ze wacky schemes. I am sure zat you would like to do many of ze bizarre and outrageous things with your little friend. And I do not mean watching ze Three Stooges with him...

"For example, have you ever taken le whipped cream, and..."

Mara bit her lip. "Well... actually... no..."

"Have you given him ze plastic cling-wrap and ze duct tape, and told him to..."

"Not... really..." Mara said, slowly and nervously.

"Well, have you not used ze weed-eater, ze live chicken, and ze jar of peach preserves?"

Mara was out of her depth. "I'm afraid that's a new one to me."

Peorth was both surprised and disappointed. "Eh? Why ees zees? Your little friend is not ze immortal, and mortal life ees short. If two clever people like you and him are happy to be together, and if you trust each other... well... why not?"

Mara stammered. "Uh... well... um... It's not that simple..."

"Zees ees not false modesty, ees eet? You were never le modest demon. Your little friend seems quite modest... but he seems to care for you. Ees zees not your job, as le girlfriend, to learn what makes him happy? And, even better, to help him learn how to make you happy?"

Mara was withering under Peorth's questioning. "C'mon, Peorth! Gimme a break, here! I've only been a Yggdrasil goddess with a contract for a couple of months! I mean, I'm a big girl, and I have lots of, um, experience... but this is different, y'know?"

Peorth smiled slyly. "Oh, *I* see. You wish to return to your old life and your old affairs. You do not trust yourself... or he does not trust you. Or perhaps you do not truly love him—"

Mara suddenly slapped Peorth. "How. DARE. You," Mara snarled.

Peorth smirked. "Well, if zees ees true... ze truth hurts, oui?"

Mara glared at Peorth with sheer fury. The former demon's eyes burned with demonic red light. She seemed as if she might try to tear Peorth's still-beating heart from her chest.

But then, Mara shoved past Peorth, to dash out of the bathroom.

Peorth frowned, and raised a hand to her cheek, where Mara had slapped her. She suddenly seemed to regret what she had said. "Whether eet ees ze truth, or not," she softly said to herself, "eet hurts all of us..."

Peorth sat alone at the apartment kitchen table. She held her chin in one hand, and absent-mindedly stirred a cup of tea with her other hand. She stared through the kitchen window, into the early night sky.

Rick leaned into the kitchen, and he knocked at the side of the doorway. "Peorth? Got a minute?"

Peorth sat up. "Oh! Of course! Can I make for you le cup of tea? And perhaps le slice of pie a la mode? Or le quiche?"

Rick sat down with a smile. "No thanks. But we need to talk."

"Oh." Peorth slumped over her tea. "Of course."

The smile fell from Rick's face. He spoke calmly and quietly, but Peorth could hear an edge of anger in his voice. "Uh... Peorth? Mara's upset. Really upset. Angry and crying. It's none of my business, but..."

"Oui," Peorth said. "I have said ze thoughtless thing. But she would not wish to see me now, and so I shall apologize tomorrow. And I am sorry to have troubled you, as well."

"Oh. Okay." Rick smiled again. "Thanks, Peorth. And there's another thing. Uh, this is just between the two of us, okay?

"I'd really appreciate it if you could, uh, take it easy on me. And on Mara, too. I mean, it's wonderful to get all this, uh, attention from an amazing girl like you, but..."

"But eet ees merely your wish," Peorth said. "You wished to enjoy your last summer break with moi."

Rick shook his head. "No, Peorth. I wished to enjoy it with Mara. You didn't let me finish saying my wish. But you must know what my heart's desire really was, by now.

"But the thing is... I don't think that I can handle this much attention for three months. You've only been here for a day and a half, and I'm exhausted. I just need a little space, okay?

"And much more importantly... you've upset Mara, whether you meant to do it, or not. I'm a guy, and I have enough trouble reading a girl's moods, as it is... I don't know how to..."

Rick's voice rose slightly. It was clear that he was struggling to control himself. "Well, to get to the point, I'm not enjoying this. I'm not enjoying my last summer break with Mara or with you. You're not granting my wish, Peorth. No matter which way you interpret it.

"And... I don't care about the wish, or the Ultimate Force, or any of that. If you put us both through another day like this, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Rick breathed out heavily, and slumped back in his chair.

Peorth briefly dropped her French accent again. "I understand. I have always lived my life to its fullest, as if each day was my last. But not everyone wishes to live their life like that. Perhaps an immortal goddess should not live like a mortal man.

"I shall endeavor to, 'ow you say, 'put ze lid on eet?' Yes... Perhaps a more quiet and restful summer break would be good for moi, as well."

Rick was visibly relieved. "That'd be great. I knew I could count on you, Peorth."

Peorth winked. "Why, Rick. You can count on me, write on me, draw on me... anything you like, sport."

"Gah," said Rick.

Rick returned to the apartment bedroom, after his evening shower, wearing a T-shirt and sweat pants. He closed the door behind him, and came into the room. "Mara?— OOF!"

Mara jumped at him, and she embraced him tightly— a little too tightly. But Rick remained silent for as long as he could.

"Mara?..." he finally said again. "Can't... breathe..."

Mara giggled, and relaxed her super-human grip. "Sorry, hon. But Peorth kinda spooked me. You think you know what you're doing, and then someone like her comes along..."

Rick smiled, but he was careful not to mock her. "Welcome to my life, Mara... Uh, I talked to Peorth, and she said that she was sorry."

Mara stepped away from him, sat on the bed, and slumped over, with her elbows on her knees. "Um, Rick? Do you trust me?"

Rick sat beside her. "Where did that question come from?"

"Something Peorth said. And it spooked me. If I was sure of myself... and of you... then it wouldn't have—"

"Yes," Rick said firmly, to cut her off. "I trust you, Mara.

"I know you used to be a demon. Not a demon as I was brought up to think of them, but still... Well, you must have done some bad things. But that's all in the past, and unless you want to talk about that, it's none of my business.

"You're a goddess, now. You're my goddess. Your just being here for me, and putting up with me and all the annoying things about me— that just goes to show that you deserve my trust.

"And you helped me rent this apartment... and I'm living on your salary, at least, for the summer. I don't have much choice but to trust you now."

"I've always wondered..." Mara said. "You seem comfortable with the fact that I'm much more, um, experienced, than you."

Rick laughed nervously. "Aw, you know how I am. You'd have to be a nun to be less experienced than me. And I don't mean, uh, one of those really creepy nuns with a latex costume and a whip."

"But..." Mara said. "Aren't you... curious?..."

"Well, yeah," Rick said slowly. "Of course, I'm curious. But you'll know that. And I know that you know that. So I figure, you'll tell me anything I need to know, when I need to know it.

"I trust you, Mara. And I hope that you trust me too."

Mara leaned against Rick slightly. They remained silent for a minute or two, lost in their thoughts.

But then, Mara giggled to herself, and sat away from Rick. "Um, Rick? It's been a long day... but the evening's still young. Whad'ya say we forget about today, and have some fun?"

Rick gulped. "Uh... 'fun'? As in... fun 'fun'?"

"Sure," Mara said. "Why not? Peorth had a point. Since we're here, now, and we're together, and since we trust each other."

"Uh, Mara? What exactly did you, uh, have in mind?"

"Oh, I get to choose first? Thanks!" Mara rolled up her eyes and rubbed her chin. "Well, let's not get too creative. I don't want your mortal brain to break. And it has been a long day. And besides that, we're all out of cooking oil...

"Hey, how about this? When I became a goddess, they taught me about this thing called the 'Triple Challenge Of The Goddesses'. And— you'll love this part— the first challenge is..." Mara whispered the rest in Rick's ear.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding!" Rick said.

"I kid you not. In fact, Belldandy and Peorth fought that duel, not too long ago, with their angels."

"Peorth and Buh— Belldandy!" Rick stammered. "I mean, Peorth, that makes sense, but— sweet, innocent Belldandy!"

"Yup. And get this— Belldandy and Blessed Bell won."

Rick held his face in his hands. "Wow. Just... wow."

"So, whad'ya say?" Mara asked again, with a cute smirk. "Think you're up to your 'First Challenge Of The Goddess'?"

Rick grinned. "Seriously? Well, sure. That sounds like fun." He held up his open hands. "Uh... this means that I won't get slapped while I try to find the places where you're ticklish, right?"

"Eh? Oh no, my little friend. You let me choose first, remember? I mean, if you're still able to move after I get through with you... But this is my choice, and I get to go first!"

Rick's smile vanished. "Wha— what!" he stammered again.

Mara stood up, and at the same time, she silently summoned her new angel. The impossibly beautiful ethereal creature known as Fred appeared next to Mara, slightly larger than life, with a gust of warm swirling air and a few loose feathers.

Fred grabbed two of the large feathers, and handed them to Mara. And then, she grabbed two more feathers for herself, before the loose feathers dissolved into thin air.

Mara held the feathers up like knives, and leaned towards Rick. He instinctively drew back, away from her and Fred. He squirmed to the center of the bed, and held his arms around himself.

"Now, then," Mara said, with a demonic fang-y grin. "You just hold still for Mistresses Mara and Fred, like a good little boy, mm-kay? This won't hurt a bit!" Mara's eyes began to glow with terrifying red light again.

Rick glanced at the sweet and gentle Fred. She was slowly but surely leaning towards him too, feathers raised, with a deeply disturbing expression on her own sweet and gentle face.

Rick whimpered. "*mother*!"

Peorth reclined on her back, on the gently sloped roof of the apartment building, with her arms crossed behind her head, and one leg propped up on the other knee. She was tapping her foot to some imagined beat, and gazing up at the starry sky.

She suddenly heard a deeply disturbing sound. It was partly a terrified scream, and partly a hysterical laugh. It was far too high-pitched to be manly, but Peorth still recognized the voice.

Peorth smiled. She raised one hand, and summoned up one perfect rose. She held it up to her nose, and smelled it— even as the tortured screams from below her went on and on.

"Ah," she sighed. "Eet ees ze sounds of ze satisfied 'client'. To ze ears of le Yggdrasil goddesses, eet ees truly le sweetest music."