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Mandy found her aunt teaching her young cousin how to train a foal, and waited behind some rocks for her to finish. Madison had matured a lot in her twenties, though she was still a difficult student. Especially for a pregnant teacher.
“Watch her, Maddi, and watch your to- oh dear.”
“Don’t worry grandma, I’ve got it,” said Madison. She raised her injured foot off the ground, and Mandy watched as dark energy surrounded it before she put it back down.
“I hope that you haven’t been using your powers in public,” said Jess. “Your real grandmother would flip out if she knew.”
“Don’t worry, I’m careful,” said Madison. “Aunty Kitty has been teaching me how to hide memories.”
“Well, I suppose that I can’t get mad at her for that. I did make her daughter a princess, after all,” said Jess. She glanced around. “I know that you’re there, Mandy. You have a very unique magic signature.”
“Mandy’s here? Oh yay!” Madison cried, and ran to embrace Mandy when she finally deigned to show herself.
“It’s weird seeing you your normal age again,” said Mandy, and laughed as she returned the hug. “You were up to my hip last time I saw you.”
“But how come I never remember you?” asked Madison.
“It’s a different timeline,” said Mandy. “Anyway, how have you been?”
“Very happy,” said Madison, and beamed. “Grandma has been teaching me how to train foals.”
“With very little success,” said Jess. She watched the foal gallop away to rejoin the herd and sighed.
“I’m learning,” said Madison.
“Yes, you are,” said Jess, and ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry, your Aunty Kitty took ages to learn how to ride a horse, and training one is much harder.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” said Madison. “Anyway, I guess my lesson is over now. Dad wants me to go to Jorvik University, so I have to study for that.”
“If you just apply yourself, you’ll go far,” said Jess. “Will you be joining your grandfather and I for dinner?”
“Yes,” said Madison. “Will you be there, too, Mandy?”
“Uh… yeah, maybe,” said Mandy. She suddenly began to feel nervous. She’d come all this way to ask Jess, though, so there was no turning back now. And it wasn’t like she had anyone else she could ask.
“So, what are you here for?” asked Jess once Madison had mounted Son of Midnight and ridden off on him.
“Is it that obvious?” asked Mandy.
“You have the nervous tell of your mother,” said Jess. “The Soul Rider one.” Mandy immediately took her hands out of her hair.
“Okay,” said Mandy. “So, you know how I have a boyfriend?”
“Yes,” said Jess. “Let me guess: you want to take things further with him and your mum sent you to me to get the contraception spell.”
“That’s part of it,” said Mandy. “But I don’t know how it… works.” She blushed and began playing with her hair again.
“Well, I guess that you couldn’t ask any women at the bunker except for Elizabeth. And she’s married to your godfather so that would be weird,” said Jess.
“And she’s always busy,” said Mandy. “But you’re… still… active…”
“If you turn any redder, you might hurt yourself,” said Jess. “I won’t tell you what it’s like but I will tell you how it works. He’ll probably know how it works, being a farm boy and all.”
“And I guess you can’t teach me the contraception spell now,” said Mandy.
“Not in my condition,” said Jess. “But after I have this baby, I’ll teach you the spell. Can you wait that long?”
“You know, we have other forms of protection,” said Mandy. “Condoms and…” She fanned her face, biting her lip.
“That’s not good enough for your mother,” said Jess. “You have to understand, though, we were just raised that way. Spells were all we had, and it was drummed into us from a young age to use them. Not that your mum or aunt needed that one, though.”
“I know,” said Mandy. She took a deep breath and let it out. “This feels weird, talking about this with you.”
“You’ve probably walked in on everyone else in the bunker at least once,” said Jess. “It’s a big place but…”
“The library is a public place, for heaven’s sake!” Mandy shouted, and Jess laughed.
“Aideen must have limitless libido,” said Jess. “It was the same with your aunt and her girlfriend.”
“So how does it work?” asked Mandy. “Mama won’t let me watch videos.”
“Porn is unrealistic,” said Jess. “But it does get some things right. It might hurt a little when he goes in, depending on how big he is. Have you seen him?”
“No,” said Mandy. It came out like a squeak.
“Really? You have all that farmland and you two haven’t ever seen each other naked?” asked Jess.
“He did once when I came back from a swim,” said Mandy. “He didn’t know I was there and I didn’t know he was there and he saw…” She covered her face with her hands.
“You don’t have to jump into penetration right away,” said Jess. “Work up to it if you want. You don’t seriously think that your first time has to be that, do you?”
“I share a bunker with four lesbians and a pansexual, of course I don’t,” said Mandy. “But I… want it to be that.” Her fiddling with her hair had pulled it out of its braid, so she hid her face with it now.
“Oh,” said Jess. “Don’t worry, I did too.”
“What do I do if it hurts?” asked Mandy.
“Tell him to stop,” said Jess. “And he’s a good boy, so he will. Try changing position a little and then when you’re comfortable tell him to go again. Communication is really important in sex.”
“Okay, I’ll remember that,” said Mandy. “And if I don’t want to wait a few months, how do I put a condom on him?”
“He can put it on himself,” said Jess. She laughed. “You shouldn’t be asking me about safe sex anyway, I used the song until I wanted a baby, and then I’ve been unprotected ever since.”
“So then how come you haven’t been pregnant until now?” asked Mandy.
“That’s kind of a difficult question,” said Jess. “But mostly it was because of your mother.”
“She finally told me about it,” said Mandy. “After we got my big brother back, anyway. Thanks for waiting for her.”
“She was heartbroken when I had Jonas,” said Jess. “Your mother has been through a lot of pain. That’s why she’s so protective of you.”
“I know,” said Mandy. “She didn’t say it but I figured it out. But I didn’t come here to talk about this.”
“Is Walter ready for sex?” asked Jess.
“He stayed over and we started making out and I felt him,” said Mandy. She blushed at the memory. “But he didn’t have any protection. And then mum came in and made us sleep in separate rooms.”
“Did your mum also give you the lecture on how babies are a huge responsibility?” asked Jess.
“She gave you that too?” asked Mandy.
“Yep,” said Jess, and laughed. “Or she tried to give me a version of it when I was pregnant with Jonas. In the end she just wrote me a letter.”
“Eventually she let me talk and I told her that I didn’t want kids yet anyway,” said Mandy. “And then she sent me to you.”
“Well, Nathalie is probably the best person to talk to about condoms,” said Jess. “I’m assuming Walter’s mum isn’t someone you want to ask.”
“That would be way too weird,” said Mandy. “I’ll talk to Nathalie on my way home. Thanks, Aunty Jess.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” said Jess, and hugged her. “Just remember: communicate, consent, and contraception. Those are the three most important Cs.”
“But where should we do it?” asked Mandy. “Mum or someone will interrupt if it’s at home.”
“What about his home?” asked Jess. “Like me.”
“I guess that could work,” said Mandy. “And like you said, they do have a lot of farmland.”
“Just be safe,” said Jess. “I completely understand if you can’t wait, but try to.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” said Mandy. At least this way, they could plan it out. Make it perfect. Like in the movies.