Prelude:

      The Queen paced back and forth on the battlements of the castle,
gazing through the darkness at the snow covered ground.  The fading
crescent moon and the stars cast enough light to make it twinkle in places
and she smiled faintly.  

       Footsteps alerted her that someone was coming.  "What news?"  She
asked.  

      "Good news.  We intercepted one of the enemy's changeling
deliverers.  We have captured two mortal children and two changelings he
had yet to deliver.  We think one of the children he was delivering was
the daughter of Glorianna, but we're not sure if it's the girl he had
already delivered or the one we captured."  The speaker was a rather ugly,
but well dressed goblin, with big ears, dark blue skin, and the usual
twisted nose.  He was dressed in the Queen's livery.  

      She smiled.  "Did you see where he dropped off the two changelings?"

       "Unfortunately, no."

       Queen Teleute frowned, then smiled again, her black hair glistening
in the moonlight.  "No matter.  We have the two mortals.  One day, we will
find them.  Meanwhile, Glorianna will not know where her daughter is...not
until it is too late."  A plan was forming in her head.  Glorianna would
rue her past deeds.  One day, I will cast you down as you cast me down,
cousin.  You will pay.

**************************************************************************

The Summer People
Chapter 4:  Rage

**************************************************************************

Harry said:

     It was a typical Tuesday afternoon and I was eating dinner with
Angel in the Commons.

     "Oh, Harry, Alex is coming to visit this weekend, so she'll be
playing in the D&D game on Saturday.  I can't remember if I told you that
earlier,"  Angel said, then returned to eating her chicken and potatoes,
as if she had not just wrecked my weekend.

      Alex was Angel's best friend back in Plano since they were little.
To me, on the other hand, she's one of my worst nightmares.  She hates my
guts, simply put, and I don't like being abused just because I happened to
be born male.  Basically, she hates men.  

       Actually, to say she hates men is an understatement.  She reviles
us.  I at least think I'm a fairly enlightened guy when it comes to
dealing with women, but she sees me as the great Neanderthal.  Ugh, me
Harry, you Angel.  Every moment I spend in her presence is excruciatingly
painful to me, but Angel seems oblivious to this.  If I complain, she
chews my head off.  Luckily, she goes to Angelo State University which is
in the middle of nowhere and very far away from Thornton, though not far
enough, clearly.

        I pretended this was not the beginning of a nightmare without end
and said, "So what character is she going to run?"  The gaming session
itself wouldn't be too bad.  With all her flaws, Alex is an excellent
role-player.  The problem would be all the rest of the visit.  Maybe I can
convince Thomas to kidnap me, I thought.  I could fake a horrible case of
pneumonia...yeah, that's it.  Yeah right. I never get sick.  Angel would
probably come try to nurse me through it and bring Alex.

        "Probably Helena."  She paused.  "Hmm, have I ever told you about
Helena?"

       "That's the one she ran the times I came to visit you in Plano,
right?  The Elven wizardress?"

        Angel nodded and launched into a long series of anecdotes about
the original campaign that Helena had been in, the one she and Alex and
two other friends of theirs had run in High School for three years.  I
tried to follow the string of stories, but my mind was too busy preparing
for disaster to really pay attention.

**************************************************************************

Angel said:

       I was so excited that Alex was coming that I could hardly
concentrate on anything.  My poli sci professor, Dr. Crocker, had to ask
me the same question three times to get my attention.

      Yeah, I was being a spaz.  Alex and I have been best friends since
we were pretty tiny, like Harry and Tanya.   Alex's real name is Alexandra
Cook.  She goes to Angelo State, so I don't get to see her too much,
except in the summer.

       She's the one who got me into my role-playing gaming.  We had both
been big fantasy readers since my dad gave us both a copy of the Lord of
the Rings for Christmas when we were ten.  When we were fourteen, one of
her cousins introduced her to RPGs and she dragged me in.  I loved it.  We
played through the rest of junior high and high school.  We were part of
the 'weird group' at our high school.  Everyone else thought we were nuts,
but we didn't care.

      Anyway, I could go on talking about Alex all day, but I won't.
After I finished ranting at Harry about old times, I ran off to my fencing
club meeting.  I wish Harry would join, but he thinks he's really awful,
even though he's not.  As I was crossing the campus, I had an eerie
feeling like I was being watched.

       I could only think of one person who would possibly want to watch
me.  Splinter.  I hadn't seen her in a while, but as far as I knew, she
hadn't given up yet.  The creepy feeling left me just before I reached the
meeting.

       I got suited up and went and found Thomas.  "I've got a bad feeling
like someone was following me across campus.  I probably just imagined it,
but...."

     He nodded.  "Want me to walk back with you to the dorm after this?"

      I nodded in reply.  "Yeah."  Looking around, I spotted three new
people.  Two of them I'd seen in Harry's fencing class, one I had not--two
guys and a girl respectively.  I smiled.  This club needs more
women...although the new people came in about the same ratio as our
membership.  We have fifteen men and five women, roughly, though not
everyone makes it to every meeting.

      Thomas frowned slightly.  "Her."

      I raised an eyebrow.  "Her?"

      "Jennifer Cochrane.  Look up snooty in the dictionary and there she
is."

       Henry, standing nearby said, "What, she turned you down for a date
once?"

       "Ha ha.  Very funny.  We went to the same private school back in
High School when I was living in New York.  I didn't think she went to
Thornton.  Just my luck, I guess."

       Jennifer went over to Cynthia, our president, and started talking
to her.  They made a fair contrast.  Cynthia is tall and bronzed with deep
black hair, skinny as all get out.  Jennifer was about my height with long
brown hair down to mid-back and fairly pale like me.  

     One of the guys approached me.  "Hi, I'm Greg.  You're Harry's
girlfriend, right?"  He was tall and broad with short brown hair, while
his friend was short and broad with short black hair.  

      I blinked.  "How did you know that?"

      "We've seen you meet him after class.  Anyway, Bob and I have fought
each other enough times, we're looking for someone new and..."

       I smiled.  "Sure.  Let's get to it."

       Beating Greg was a little harder than I thought it would be.  Most
of the people in Harry's class are pretty klutzy, from the few times I've
watched them.  I guess they're starting to get better now, though.  Greg
scored two points before I took him seriously enough, then I started
scoring on him, one after another.  

       He sat down afterwards.  "You're pretty good."

       "Thanks.  I've been doing this for over a year.  Thomas dragged me
into it."

       Greg looked over.  "Hey, looks like him and the New York chick are
throwing down."

        They were indeed.  She was pretty good, though I thought I could
probably take her.  Thomas was playing with her.  She kept trying to get
through his defenses, and he blocked every attack, but didn't launch any
counter-attacks of his own.  

       "Looks like she's pressing him too hard for him to get any licks in
on her,"  Bob sagely observed.

       "Yeah.  I guess she's pretty good,"  Greg said.

       "Is she in your class?" I asked.

       "Never seen her before."

        I nodded.  "She's good, but he's better.  He's just playing with
her."

        The fight lasted a few more minutes, then Thomas rapidly scored
enough points, one after another, to finish the match.  Jennifer snorted
and pulled off her mask.  "You never change, do you."

        Thomas shrugged.  "Neither do you.  You still dive in over your
head.  I suggest you try someone more up to your own speed."

       Jennifer snorted and stalked off.  Greg laughed.  Bob said,
"Weird."

      "What's weird?"

       "I dunno.  I just have this weird feeling like...I dunno.  I feel
like I'm having someone else's deja vu, if you know what I mean."

       I didn't.  Thomas came over to me.  "You ready to go?"

       Greg and Bob stared at Thomas, probably in envy.  Thomas is rather
studly.  He usually wins at everything he does, though I know part of that
is that he doesn't DO things he's bad at.  


        I nodded.  "Ready to go."

        "So what's up this weekend?"  Thomas asked as we started home.
"You will make it to the Champions game, right?"

       "Is it okay if Alex plays with us?"

       "A new friend of yours?  Sure, we could use another guy."

       "No, I mean my friend Alexandra.  She comes out once or twice a
semester to visit.  I know you two have met."

       Suddenly, Thomas looked hideously ill.  It passed rapidly.  "Oh
yeah.  I'd forgotten you call her Alex."

       "Everyone calls her Alex."

       Thomas' voice dropped to a lower tone than usual.  "You don't seem
to remember what happened the one time I called her Alex."

        He was right.  "Eh?"

        "I still have the lump on my head if you want to touch it."

        I still couldn't remember what he was talking about.  "She hit
you?"  No way.  Alex doesn't hit people.

       "This bump wasn't a blessing from the bump fairy," he said, taking
my hand and putting it on his head.  There was a bump there.  "See?"

       "Alex did that to you?"

       Alex is about as aggressive as a dead cat.  Her real problem is she
lets people walk on her too much, though she's getting better about it.
College has been good to her.

       "Whatever.  If you don't believe me, I can just yammer all day..."
he trailed off.

       "I just...it's not like her."

       Thomas cocked his head at me as we reached the doors of our dorm,
Muggleton.  "People have hidden depths, Angie.  We all have sides we hide
from easy view, and often its our closest friends we deceive the most."

      "If she's got a violent side, she's done a good job of hiding it
from me.  She could have USED a violent side a few times."  Like the time
with...I don't really want to think about that.

       Thomas opened the door for me and I walked in, then we both
sprinted to the elevator, which was filling up with people.  "Does this
mean you don't want her in the Champions game?"

       "It means that if she hits me again, I'm never coming near her
again, period.  If she causes any trouble, I'm kicking her out.  Let her
know that."  His voice was tight for a moment, then he relaxed.  "Does she
have any Champions characters?"

       I thought for a moment.  "Not that aren't entirely too twinky for
this game.  We played some when we were just getting started and the
characters all ended up ridiculous, like the time her character kicked the
Moon out of orbit to disrupt a spell."

        Thomas laughed.  The elevator stopped at my floor.  "You getting
out, or do you want to come hang out with me for a while?"

        I thought about it, running over my plans for the day.  I could
spare the time.  "Sure, let's go hang out."

       Thomas' roommate was sitting at his computer as we entered.  David
basically lives on the Internet.  I'd make fun of him, if I didn't spend
too much time there as well, sometimes.  Also, David is earning about
twice as much as my Dad through his part-time computer work, so I
generally just keep my mouth shut.

       "Killed the Balrog yet, David?"  Thomas asked.

       "No.  Gollum stole my ring of invisibility AGAIN, and without it,
I'll never make it past all those orcs."  David was on the Lord of the
Rings Mud again, I guessed.  "You two gonna make out?  Just close the
bedroom door if your clothing comes off."

        I laughed nervously.  David always says that and it always
embarrasses me.  "This is Angela, not Tanya, David."

       "Is that supposed to make a difference?"

       Thomas smacked David with the whiffle bat that I think he bought
for the express purpose of hitting David when he makes some comment like
that.  David acts like Thomas was some kind of gigolo sometimes.  It can
be pretty funny, but it gets annoying sometimes, too.  "Of course it makes
a difference!"

        "Oh wait, she screams in a different key, right?"

        Another whack.  David let out a great wail.

        "Hey, you okay?"

        "The damn gateway monster ate me AGAIN!"

        I laughed and headed into Thomas' room.  He and David have
basically the same shaped bedroom as I do, but his room is decorated with
handmade and computer generated art.  It's also a nice pleasant blue, and
Thomas and David each brought in their own beds and dragged the standard
ones out into the 'living room' to make a table of sorts.  I plopped down
on David's bed and Thomas sat down on his.  "Can I ask you something,
Thomas?"

        Thomas cocked his head at me, the way he often does when he either
is about to make a joke or say something profound.  "Tell Harry to let you
be on top the next time."

       I blushed horribly and threw a pillow at Thomas.  "Where did THAT
come from?"

       "Oh, you're not consulting me in my role as the God of Love?"

       "I just wanted to know why you're still rooming with David?  I
mean...umm...not to tell you what to do, but he just...I dunno.  He
doesn't seem like the sort of person I could stand to room with year after
year."

       "David's an okay guy.  We complement each other personality-wise.
Also, he's clean and neat unlike most of the slobs I know.  And when you
can peel him off the computer, he's worth talking to.  Remember what I
told you about people having hidden depths?  He's given me a lot of useful
advice."  He looked out the door and shouted, "Use the Transmute Dirt to
Mud spell!"

        "SHUT UP!"

       Thomas laughed.  "Anyway, for a guy who has never had a girlfriend,
he knows more about how people think than 95% of the people on this
campus.  He helps me understand people.  There are a lot of people I just
don't understand."  He sighed.

       "Like Jennifer Cochrane?"

       "ESPECIALLY her.  I went to school with her for four years... she's
just so...erratic.  I guess that sounds goofy coming from me, but she's
the least predictable person I know.  Other than being able to predict
she'll overestimate her abilities and get in over her head.  She's also
rather vengeful.  I still haven't figured out how she got my refrigerator
to go berserk and freeze everything in it to ice."  He turned to his
bookcase and dug out a yearbook and tossed it to me.  "Look her up in the
index."

         I paged through the references.  Student Council Vice President.
Cheerleader.  Second Place in Science Fair.  Second Place in Fencing Club
competition.  First Place had been Thomas, of course.  And...

        "She was Homecoming Queen?"  I thought about it.  She was rather
pretty.  There was something weird about the picture.

        "And I was Homecoming King.  Nothing like having royalty who hate
each other, eh?  Well, I didn't hate her, but..."

        I nodded.  "I guess she must have transferred here this year.
This school is too small for you not to have run into her before this."

        I looked at the picture again, and my imagination played tricks on
me.  I was the one in the picture, the Homecoming Queen with the
Homecoming King.  It was a pretty fantasy, though far from life.  I
couldn't have been Homecoming Queen in 10,000 years.  I wasn't pretty or
popular enough.  I sighed.

        "What's wrong?"

        "Nothing."

        Thomas cocked his head again, but said nothing.  

        Finally, I looked up and said, "Tanya was a Homecoming Queen too,
wasn't she?"

        Thomas said, "Ask Harry.  I wouldn't be surprised, though."  He
got up and came and got the yearbook.  "I never really cared about that
sort of thing.  I dated several girls in High School that people thought
were total social dweebs, but I knew better."

        But would you have dated me? I wondered.  Alex had plenty of
boyfriends in High School, but they were all losers.  There were a couple
of guys I liked, but they never liked me.  Joseph did take me to Prom, but
we were just friends.  I thought about it for a moment.  It was the
closest thing to a real date I had in High School.  I sighed.

        "What's eating you?"

      "Nothing."  It wasn't very convincing.

       "I'd have to be brain damaged to not notice all the signs you're
giving off.  What's up?"

       I couldn't ask him what I really wanted to.  "Thomas, do you think
I'm pretty?"  I could hardly believe I'd asked him that.

       He blinked.  "You're very pretty, Angie."

       "You're just trying to cheer me up."  I'm not pretty.  I'm not
ugly, either, but I have ugly hair and a rather bland, forgettable face.  

       He sighed faintly, then said, "If you're not going to believe
anything I say, why do you ask me questions?"  He had a hurt tone.

       "I...I'm sorry.  I just..."

       "Why did you bother to ask what I thought, then tell me I was
wrong?"  His voice got a little tense.  

        I took a deep breath.  "Please don't get mad.  I just...I..."  I
didn't know what to say.  I'd almost never made Thomas mad before, and I
didn't know what to do.

        Thomas picked up the phone.  He made a call and I sat and stared
at the wall, not wanting to leave, but not knowing what to do or say.

       "Harry, get up here,"  he said into the phone.  "Don't ask why,
just do it."  He hung up and made another call.

       I started to get up.  "I can make it home on my own I think."

       "Don't go."  His voice was commanding, and I found myself sitting
back down.  Thomas rarely gives orders, but somehow I can't ever tell him
no.  

       He spoke into the phone, "Tanya, get up here."  Pause.  "Your
roommate is experiencing existential angst."  Pause.  "Interpret that as
you like, just get up here."

       We sat in silence for a few minutes, until there was a knock and
then Harry came in.  He sat down by me.  "What's wrong?"

       I leaned over and put my head on Harry's shoulder.  "I got Thomas
mad at me and..."

       Harry sighed.  He mumbled something incoherent, and then Tanya
arrived.  

       "Hi, guys and gal.  What's up?"

       "Angie seems to be in a very skeptical, self-doubting mood.  She
also keeps not believing anything I say."

       "Not ANYTHING you say!  Just the stuff I know can't be right!"

       Harry listened, looking confused.

       Tanya went over and sat down by Thomas and cuddled up to him.  I
felt a brief stab of frustration, which quickly passed.  I cuddled up a
little closer to Harry instead.

       "So I have summoned two impartial judges to settle the more recent
issue.  Is Angie pretty?"

        Tanya turned and looked at Thomas.  "You called me away from the
Young and the Restless for this?"

        Harry said, "Angel is very pretty."  

        Tanya nodded.  "Of course, she can't hold a candle to my ravishing
beauty,"  she said, striking a phony pose and speaking in her best Cindy
Crawford imitation voice, "But then, she hasn't had as much plastic
surgery as I have."

        We all laughed.  "I just...I don't look very pretty to myself."

        "You're probably better off thinking that,"  Tanya said.  "That
way you won't get an ego so big your dorm room has to be enlarged like
pretty-boy Tom here."  She mimed the expansion of Thomas' head with her
hands.  

       Harry leaned over and whispered in my ear, "And the pot calls the
kettle black."

       "I HEARD THAT!"  A pillow fight was soon in progress.

**************************************************************************

Harry said:
  
       Time passed and soon the weekend was upon us.  I was in Angel's
room.  We were waiting for Alex to arrive.  She was eager with
anticipation, I was practicing dread.  Pretty much, we had nothing to do
except wait for Alex and get ready for the Champion's game, so we yammered
about various things and listened to the radio, and then got into a tickle
fight.

       Usually, I win these, but this time, she ended up on top with me
pinned down somehow, being tickled.  She paused and laughed.  "Looks like
Thomas' advice came in handy after all."

       I stared blankly.  Sometimes Angel says things just to confuse me,
I think.  "Huh?"

       She leaned in closer to me and whispered, "You know what I just
realized?"

       I could feel my heart beating a little faster.  My body was
starting to respond to her closeness.  I took a deep breath.  "What?"

       "As long as I have you pinned down, you can't change the radio when
the commercials come on."

        "You're EVIL!"

        She laughed loudly.  "Only one thing will get me to release you."

       "Okay, I'll take you out to dinner tonight."  It was her turn to
pay, but I'd say ANYTHING to get out of listening to commercials.

       "Hmmm.  Try again."

       "I won't make any Golden Potato Boy references tonight?"

       "Try again."

        "Better just tell me.  I'm a lousy guesser."  I can't read Angel's
mind, no matter what she may think. 

      "You have to pay the toll."

       The commercials began.  I twitched.  "I'll do anything!"

       "Kiss me."

        Now that was the kind of toll I like paying.  We were really
getting into it, commercials forgotten, when something whapped me on the
head, hard.  

        "Stop attacking Angel!"  A voice shouted.  It was Alex.  I sighed
mentally.  "I'll save you from the mad dog!"

        Angel leapt up from my arms and hugged Alex.  Alex is tall and
thin, with long black hair.  She's changed quite a bit since the first
time I met her.  Two years ago, she was tall and portly, with a constantly
depressed look, too much makeup, and badly mismatched clothing.  Now, she
dresses rather like she thinks she is a marine, she doesn't wear makeup,
and she's lost a huge amount of weight.  She was wearing long black pants
and black boots and one of her twelve million camoflage shirts.  She must
buy them by the truckload.  She's as tall as Thomas almost.  In fact, she
looked a little taller than she did the last time, which surprised me.  
"It's so good to see you!"  Angel said.

        "So you two are still dating?"  Alex asked.
       
       I nodded.  "Yep.  Still going strong."

       Alex frowned.  "Gonna be playing with us tonight?"

       "Yeah."

        "Yeah, Thomas told me to help you get a character made, Alex."

        "I can't use Golden Lass?"  Alex asked.

       "We don't need any planets moved,"  Angel said.  They both laughed,
and Alex's face changed.  For a moment, she was genuinely happy, with no
shadows on her face.  From my experience with her, this was rare.  

        They drifted off into reminiscing about times past, and I simply
shut up and listened.  Best to not draw Alex's fire unnecessarily.  

**************************************************************************

Angel said:

         Once we finished making Alex's character, we headed off to grab
some dinner.  Harry and I usually go out to eat on Fridays, though it's
generally only Burger King or KFC or some other fast food place.  We
headed over to Burger King, yakking away.  I had a vague feeling that
something was wrong, but I wasn't sure what.

        We went inside and made our orders.  When Harry got his order, I
realized what was wrong.  Harry hadn't actually said anything for at least
an hour.  I couldn't figure out why, either.  Harry is rarely silent for
long.  He hadn't tried to change the channel on the radio to avoid the
commercials, either.  I paid for all our dinners, then noticed Alex was
staring at me.

       "Is something wrong?"  I asked.

       "He makes you pay for him?"  she whispered.

       I shook my head.  "We take turns," I whispered back, not sure why
she was whispering.

       Alex frowned and muttered something.  We went and sat down.  Harry
asked, "You two making secret plans for tonight?"

        "Wouldn't be any of your business if we were,"  Alex snapped.  

      I sighed.  Great, now they both have their backs up for no good
reason.  I ought to ask Harry what's bugging him, but if he and Alex are
going to start fighting again...I don't know why, but they have the most
awful arguments, and they're usually stupid as all get out.  "She was just
curious about why I paid for both of us."

       "Let me guess,"  Harry asked.  "You think I should have paid for
everyone?  That I'm evil for letting Angel buy my supper?"

       "Well, I've never seen YOU get her anything,"  Alex said.  "Seems
like it's Angel shelling out all her money on you and..."

       "She's wearing a shirt I bought her, a watch I bought her, and the
Champions rulebook you used to make your character for tonight was a gift
from me too, after YOUR dog ate her old one."  Harry sighed and started
eating.

        Alex started to say something, then shut up.  I tried to figure
out some way to get them both to calm down, but everything I thought of, I
had tried before and it hadn't worked too well.  I just can't understand
why they don't get along.  They're both really nice people, but they turn
into nasty snipers when they encounter each other.  

       It was pretty much the same through the rest of the meal.  I had
had high hopes, but things had gone down hill swiftly.  Well, maybe things
will go better once we start gaming, I thought.

       They did at first.  Alex was playing Red Arrow, who was basically a
thinly-veiled female version of Green Arrow.  I was playing Sunspot, a
female superhero with fire powers and flight.  Harry was playing Doc Ion,
a superheroic scientist and gadgeteer.  Tanya's character was Lightning
Rod, a lightning throwing superspeedster.  Our little band was called the
'Gang of Four', with the normal fourth being Xenobiology Lad, who turned
into various alien beings, although Harry tends to call him Golden Potato
Boy, which involves a long story I won't go into here.  However, this
week, Xenobiology Lad was sick, so we had Alex as our guest star.

       We had an ongoing sideplot with a little girl named Caroline, who
was my 'side kick'.  Generally, she would follow us around, get in
trouble, and have to be rescued.  This week, however, things were a little
different...

      The Insidious doctor Wang Fu had kidnapped Caroline to bait us into
a trap.  We spent most of the session wading through death traps, trying
to save the poor little eight year old from rampaging Teddy Bears,
exploding mechanical nightingales, and other such silliness.  We took her
home and that's when the trouble started.

       We had never actually met Caroline's father before, just her very
busy and bedraggled mother, who was usually busy being distraught over her
missing daughter.  This time, her father was there.  He proceeded to chew
us out for dragging his daughter into danger, etc, etc, etc.  

       Thomas really got into it.  He isn't very good at designing
adventures, but he is really good at acting, and he let us have it.  For a
moment, I could almost believe I really was my character, being chewed out
by a real father whose daughter was in danger.

       Alex blew up.  "Excuse me, but it's not MY duty to make sure that
YOUR daughter doesn't sneak out of the house and follow ME around!  I just
risked my life, saving your daughter, who I JUST met, and this is my
thanks?  Maybe if you weren't off working all the time and getting drunk,
your daughter wouldn't WANT to sneak out of the house and get into
trouble!  What do you want, that I let your kid DIE next time because YOU
couldn't be bothered to keep her out of trouble?"  She was red in the face
and shouting.

        I suddenly realized I had not passed on Thomas' warning to Alex. I
hadn't even thought about it.  I had a bad feeling about what would happen
next.

       Thomas simply said, "He slams the door in your face."  He checked
his notes.  "Nice bit of roleplaying there, Alex."

        Alex blinked and suddenly sat down.  "Uh, thanks."

        "After the door closes, you hear loud thumping noises and crying.
Sounds like he's yelling at someone."

        Harry said, "Uh oh."

        Tanya said, "Oh great, now what do we do?"

         Alex got red in the face again.  "I kick the door down."

        "You what?  We can't just barge in, even if..."

        She interrupted me.  "Then I'm going to put an arrow through his
ugly skull if I see what I expect to see."

        Thomas nodded.  "Roll your kick damage against the door."

         Harry said, "I run over and try to restrain her.  We can't just
beat the guy up, I say to her."

         Alex snarled.  "I toss Doctor Moron into the bushes, then go in."
She rolled the dice.  "Looks like the door is toast."

        Thomas nodded.  "Tanya, are you going to do anything?"

        Tanya said very faintly, "Lightning Rod will go look in the room
and see what's happening."

        The session began to degenerate into a series of shouted out
efforts to act, interrupted by more people shouting out things to stop the
other things.  Finally, our characters all ended up in a tangled mass in
the doorway, after Doctor Ion got lucky and managed to get Red Arrow's bow
away from her and put her in a wrestling hold, through some lucky rolling.

         "The man is calling the police, what do you do?"

        "Let go of me, NOW!"  Alex shouted.  

        "I go short out the phone line!"  Tanya said.

        "No, don't do that,"  I said.  "You might electrocute the guy and
it won't look too good for us, either."

       "I start trying to drag Red Arrow out the door," Harry said.
"Before she gets us into more trouble."

       "Trouble?  TROUBLE?  This bastard is beating his kid for being
kidnapped!  I'm going to kick his ass into next month!" Alex shouted.  

       Sometimes, I can be the biggest idiot in the universe.  There are
times when something should be so obvious that I can't believe afterwards
I didn't notice or remember it.  If I had remembered this earlier, I
probably could have kept this situation in hand.  I had forgotten that
Alex's father used to beat her and his other kids and his wife too.  He'd
still be doing it if he wasn't in prison, but that's another story.
Thomas had picked the best of all possible ways to really send Alex over
the deep end.

       How to broach this without getting Alex to go even more berserk was
something I had no idea how to accomplish.  

       Harry said, "Beating him up won't solve anything!"

        "It'll stop him from being able to hurt her!"

       Tanya stared off into space, apparently looking for a solution.
Harry and Alex were in each other's faces, yelling.  I glanced over at
Thomas.  He had a look of mild panic on his face.  When Thomas starts to
panic, you know things are getting bad.

       "If you hit him, YOU'RE the one who will end up in jail!"

       I tried to interpose myself.  "Calm down!  It's just a game!"

       "Aren't you the one who always tells me that you have to do the
right thing, whether it be real or a dream?  That what is right, is right,
whatever the circumstances?"  Alex did calm down a little.  She stared at
me with a mixture of anger and something else.  I wasn't sure what.

         I was hoist on my own petard.  Not much you can say when someone
quotes you to yourself.  This is what I get for reading the Chronicles of
Thomas Covenant, I thought.  My brain raced, trying to think of something
to say.  I'm not good at arguments like this.  I can't think fast enough.

        Thomas said quietly, "I see I touched a raw nerve.  I'm sorry.  I
didn't mean to cause a fight.  My apologies, Alex."

        Alex froze, clearly surprised by this.  She turned to Thomas.
"You didn't think that would BOTHER people?"

       "I'm not endorsing the man's behavior...I just wanted to present a
problem that couldn't be solved through raw power alone."  He sighed.
"The last time I did that, it didn't work out too well, either."

       Alex squirmed, but the fire was going out of her.  She settled
down, and we finished the session without too much more trouble.  It was
rather easy, in fact.  I think the heart had gone out of Thomas.  Pretty
soon, we were ready to go.  

       Tanya said, "Alex, you can take my bed tonight.  I'm going to stay
with Tom."

       Alex smiled.  "Thanks."

       I took Harry's arm and tried to not think about what she and Thomas
would be doing tonight.  I'm getting better at that, slowly.  "See you
tomorrow night for D&D then!"

       "I'm looking forward to it,"  Thomas said quietly.

       We headed downstairs to drop Harry off at his room, then we'd head
up to my room.  Or so I had planned.  Right as we stopped at Harry's
floor, I realized, "Ack!  I left a bunch of stuff I need in Thomas' room!
I'll be right back.  Alex, wait with Harry at his room.  I'll be right
back."

        I hustled them out before they could argue.  Time was of the
essence if I was going to get my stuff before...well, you can guess what I
was afraid of.

**************************************************************************

Harry said:

        Sometimes I wonder how Angel manages to forget so much when she
tries to plan everything ahead.  I sighed.  "Come on, Alex.  She'll just
take a minute."

        Alex followed, frowning.  "We can wait in the hall.  I'm not going
in your room alone."

        I resisted the urge to bang my head on the wall.  "I don't bite.
Angel had my fangs removed."

        She frowned some more and muttered something.  I fumbled to get my
key.  

        Alex leaned up against the wall.  "That's not all she should have
had removed."

        A million responses sprung to mind, but I bit them back, for
Angel's sake.  I wasn't going to let Alex provoke me into another stupid
fight.  This happens every time Angel leaves us alone more than five
minutes.  It's gotten worse the last year or so.  It seems like the less
messed up Alex gets, the more she hates me to compensate, or something.  I
finally got the door unlocked.  "Well, I'm going inside.  You can stand in
the hallway and watch the drunken people start staggering home from
parties, if you like.  Some of them might not decide to chat with you or
mistake you for the porcelain goddess if you're lucky."

       Alex came inside, though just barely inside.  She kept the door
open too.  I sighed and went over to my desk.  My roommate was gone, so I
turned on his stereo.  There were commercials everywhere, on every
station.  I began punching the next station button like it was going out
of style.

        Alex said, "Can you just pick one station and stay on it?  You're
driving me nuts!"

        I tossed her the remote control.  "You find something."  My
patience was fraying badly, and it was only Friday night.  Maybe I should
fake my own death, I thought.

        She began flipping channels.  "There's nothing but commercials
everywhere!  I hate that!"

        I laughed faintly.  Finally, she settled on the oldies station.
It was playing 'Light my Fire'.  Not the Doors version...the evil original
version.  Think the Muzak version.  

        Dead silence settled on the room as we listened to the song.  Alex
closed her eyes and her face softened.  I can't stand that version, but I
guess she likes it.

        I heard footsteps approaching.  I assumed it was Angel.  I was
wrong.  The footsteps slowed and a head poked in through the door.  It was
the person I least wanted to see in the world--Splinter.  

       Abject fear curdled my veins.  I sat frozen on the desk, unable to
move.  Alex still had her eyes closed.  Some instinctive part of me tried
to claim that if I didn't move, she wouldn't see me.  Given that Sidhe
have better eyesight than say...Owls, for which that is true, it didn't
have much of a chance of working.

       Splinter smiled.  "Good, I've caught you alone.  You'll make a good
hostage."

        Alex opened her eyes and stared at Splinter.  "Who the hell are
you?"

       Splinter turned to Alex and wiggled her fingers.  "Sleep.  When you
awaken, this will all have been a dream."

       Alex poked Splinter in the forehead.  "I think your psychic powers
need to go to the shop.  What's this about hostages?"

       I sighed.  "This is Splinter, the psycho Unseelie elf who is out to
get me and Angel, especially Angel."  Alex would probably conclude I was
insane, but I was fairly certain she already thought that anyway.  She'd
likely get proof soon enough.

       Splinter drew her sword.  "Well, you seem resistant to my glamour,
but I suspect you are not so resistant to this, child.  I suppose I shall
have to take both of you."

       "You're not taking me anywhere,"  Alex said.  "Or him."

       I blinked.  How can she be so blase in the face of a woman with a
sword who wants to kidnap us?  Well, might as well back her up, I thought.
"Yeah.  She can kill you in twenty different ways without even moving."
If you're going to lie, lie big.

        Splinter laughed.  "Yeah, right.  Two unarmed mortals are about as
scary as an angry bunny."  She raised her sword and touched the tip to
Alex's forehead.  "Don't try anything funny."

         Alex growled.  "Don't touch me."

         Splinter laughed and slowly slid the blade across Alex's
forehead.  "And how do you plan to stop me?"

        "I think I'll start by breaking your arms."  Alex moved, faster
than I would have thought possible, ducking under the sword, circling
around Splinter, and grabbing her from behind.  

         Splinter and I both froze up in surprise.  They began to
struggle.  At first, it looked like Splinter would break free, but then
Alex...well...Alex grew.

          She went from five foot ten to about seven foot with her head
bumping the ceiling in about two seconds.  Her skin turned green, and her
pants got ripped up.  Her shirt, luckily for her comfort, was fairly large
and baggy, so it simply became very tight.  For a moment, I wondered if
she had a cousin who built Gamma bombs.  Her black hair took on a bluish
sheen and her body became heavily muscled.  I could see fangs in her mouth
now and her eyes turned a deep red.  

     Splinter didn't have a prayer of
escaping that grip.  She spat out the word, "Ogre."

     Alex growled louder.  "I kept one of the arms of the last person
who called me that."

     At least she's not down to Hulk-level intelligence, I thought.
"Hold her, and I'll go call Angel."  I paused.  "She doesn't know about
this...does she?  I mean, your...uh..."

       Alex gave Splinter a not so friendly crunch.  "No, she doesn't."

       Splinter sighed.  "Isn't anyone around here normal anymore?"
Suddenly, she became a hawk, and Alex lost her grip.  Splinter flew off
into the hallway, then transformed back and sprinted off.  Alex started to
run after her, then sighed, and transformed back to her normal form.  The
damage to her clothing repaired itself.

       She smiled faintly and closed the door. "Magic has its uses.  Who
was that psycho?"

        "I...that's Splinter.  She's out for revenge on us."  I told her
the whole story.

       Alex listened.  "I wish I'd known earlier.  I'd have come and
kicked her butt for Angel."

       "We didn't exactly know you were a...what would you like to be
called?"  I wanted  to keep my arms.

       She sighed.  "I don't know.  Everyone calls me an Ogre, but I don't
like the word.  I'm not a monster.  I'm NOT."  Her voice was vehement for
a moment, then she relaxed.  "Don't tell Angel about this."

       "I have to!  She has to know that Splinter is back for round 3!"

       "I'll tell her myself.  I've been wanting to tell her for a long
time, but we're not supposed to let mortals know we exist."  She sighed.
"I...I'm just afraid of how she'll react."

       "You're her best friend.  This won't change anything."  As long as
you don't get mad at her, anyway, I thought.  Yeesh, Faeries are popping
up everywhere.  I wonder if anyone I knew back home was one...Tanya would
freak if say, Rick suddenly did that.  Heck...anyone might be a faerie and
I'd never know.

       Alex slumped down and sat on the floor by the wall.  "I wish I
could believe that."  She twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.
"After I told Linda, she never wanted to see me again.  She was horrified.
She called me a..."

       I cut in.  "Linda was a friend of yours at Angelo State?  Or back
in Plano?"

       Alex didn't say anything for a long moment, then whispered, "We
were very close."  There was a long pause.  "She's the one who helped
me get out of my old rut when I went off to college.  I... I haven't
talked to her in months."

       A thought struck me.  It must have been THAT kind of relationship,
I thought.  No wonder she's worried...I mean, if your lover rejects you
over something like this, how can you expect your friends to handle it?
"Well, Angel won't do that.  And I'll sleep easier knowing Angel has you
there to protect her tonight if Splinter comes after her."

      Alex started and looked over at me.  She started to say something,
then fell silent.  Finally, she smiled at me faintly, then spoke, sounding
as if she was having to drag the words out of a long forgotten sanctuary.
"Thank you, Harry.  I'll keep her safe."

        More footsteps, this time running.  Alex got up and turned to face
the door.  Angel ran in.  "Sorry I took so long.  David fell asleep at the
computer again and I had to help Thomas and Tanya move him to his bed."

       I laughed.  "They should get him a lazyboy chair so he could just
put the seat back when he passes out and sleep right there."

        Angel came over and gave me a hug and a kiss goodnight.  "See you
tomorrow, Harry."

        I smiled.  "See you tomorrow, Angel."

        "Come on, Angel,"  Alex said, yawning.  "If we're going to stay up
too late talking, we need to get going on it."  She grinned and Angel
laughed.  They took off.

         As I closed the door, it struck me that Alex and I were the only
people I know who call Angel Angel instead of Angie or Angela.
Something to sleep on.

**************************************************************************

Angel said:

        I changed into my pajamas, while Alex hid in the closet and did
that.  Alex doesn't like anyone to see her naked.  She soon emerged in
what was basically a long T-shirt that ran down to her knees.  Quite a
change from the way she used to swaddle herself in 2000 layers of clothing
when she slept.  I was wearing my usual pajamas, the ones that matched a
set Harry had--one of Tanya's little jokes.  

       Alex laughed.  "And I thought I was the one who dresses like a
guy."

       "I normally only use these for covert operations.  It keeps the
winos away.  You really could have used a pair on that one mission, eh?"

        She fell down on the bed laughing.  It would take too long to
explain the whole joke, but it basically derived from a disaster with a
bunch of players in a spy game who didn't understand that a wino wasn't a
kind of animal, even after the wino knifed three of them to death in a
drunken brawl.  It had happened a long time ago, but we still remembered
it pretty clearly.

      This lead into a whole string of 'do you remembers', which I'll
leave out, since you weren't there and probably could care less about the
time Alex's character had to try to leap between two cars speeding down a
French highway and...I digress.

       Finally, things died down to silence.  We had both settled down
into the beds and were basically lying on our stomachs, talking in a
darkened room, like we had done a million times before.  Alex and I had
been best friends since her family moved in next to mine when we were
three.  We had shared secrets, clothing, toys, good times and bad.  We
weren't quite as close now as we had been before college, but she was
still the closest female friend I had.  Tanya's probably my second closest
female friend, which gives you a standard of comparison.  Or maybe not.

       Alex broke the silence.  Her voice was shaky, with a tone I hadn't
heard in a long time.  "Angel?  Can I ask you a question?"

       "You can ask me anything you like, Alex.  You know I don't have any
secrets from you."  I wiggled a little closer, moving up my bed, and
resting my head on my hands.

       She was silent for a long moment.  "What do you think about...I
mean...umm..."  

        She does this sometimes.  Alex will want to say something, but
she'll be so worried about what someone's reply will be, that she'll sit
there and just babble completely, beating around the bush until you're
ready to go mad.  "I can't read your mind, Alex."

        Alex took a deep breath.  "So how long has this Splinter person
been harassing you, exactly?"

        Of all the things she might have asked, that was NOT the question
I expected to hear.  "I...Harry told you about her?"

        "She tried to carry off Harry.  I had to save your boyfriend's
ass."

      I blinked.  "I...uh...You beat Splinter?"

       She took a deep breath and transformed.  The part of me that wasn't
completely stunned noted that she must have doublechecked her outfit in
both forms, since it fit both of them, though it barely went down below
her behind when she was ...big and green.  "It wasn't too hard like this."

      "I...how long have you been a faerie?"  I wasn't sure what else to
say.  This was beyond my normal range of experience.  

       She laughed faintly, then turned back to normal.  "I only found out
after I went off to San Angelo.  Let me tell you the whole story."  This
took a while.

**************************************************************************

Harry said: 

       The phone rang just as I finished changing into my pajamas, the
ones that match Angel's.  I laughed faintly at the thought and answered
the phone.  "Hello?"

 It was Tanya.  "You okay?"

       I blinked.  "Why wouldn't I be okay?"  I can't give away Alex's
secret and if I tell her about Splinter showing up, I won't be able to
explain why Splinter went away.  

        She sounded a little suspicious.  "You sure?"

       "Alex didn't rip off my limbs if that's what you're worried about."

       She laughed.  "You SURE you're okay?"

       "I'm fine.  Why are you so worried?"

       She sighed.  "I just had a bad feeling."

       I sat down on my bed.  "As long as the ceiling doesn't collapse,
I'll be fine.  Just don't be late to tomorrow's game, or Angel might send
Alex to rip your arms off."

        Tanya laughed.  "Take care of yourself, Harry."

        "I will."

**************************************************************************

Angel said:

       I listened carefully to Alex's story and started trying to figure
out how best to reassure her.  She sounded more scared than I had heard
her sounding in a long time.  Back when we were younger, she was scared a
lot, usually of her father or her current boyfriend.  She had a lot of
rather bullying boyfriends that hated my guts.  Generally, it came down to
me or the boyfriend, and to my surprise at times, she always chose me.
The last one tried to beat me up.  Alex went berserk and attacked him.
Ever since that, she started changing.  She's gotten a lot tougher and she
doesn't date losers anymore.  In fact, she hadn't dated anyone more on a
long term basis since then.  

      Alex concluded her tale by saying, "Angel...do you still want to be
my friend?"

      I reached out an arm to her and grabbed her nearest hand, giving it
a squeeze.  "Of course I want to be your friend.  I'll always be your
friend, even if I end up as a potted plant in Splinter's garden or
something."

       Alex's voice got very fierce for a moment.  "I'd die before I let
her do that!"

        "Thanks, Alex.  I feel a lot safer with you here."  I wish you
could stay, I thought.  Aquamarine and Flamehair are watching over us, but
tonight showed me we can't count on them always saving me and Harry's
butt.  We've GOT to find some way to deal with her permanently.  I gave
her hand another squeeze.  

       Alex laughed faintly.  "I was always the one who had to be
protected."  She took another deep breath, "Like from..."

       "Let's not think about that."  It was a memory I wanted to forget.
Her uncle had tried to...Let's not get into that.  Her whole family was a
mess.  "You've got the brawn; I've got the brains.  Let's make lots of
money,"  I quoted in a sing-songy voice.

       Alex laughed.  "Can I ask you another question?"

       "Sure."  I yawned.  I was getting seriously sleepy.  Some part of
me noticed I was still holding Alex's hand, but I was too tired to move.  

       "Have you and Harry...umm...I mean..."

      I blushed.  "I'm still a virgin, if that's what you're asking."

       "And he hasn't dumped you because of this?"

      I frowned.  "Harry wouldn't do something like that.  He's not that
kind of guy."

      "Uh huh.  Right.  I don't think I've ever met a guy who wasn't
looking for sex."

       I frowned more.  "Don't talk about Harry like that."  I could hear
a knife edge in my voice.  I sighed.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't snap at
you, I just..."

       She spoke again, her voice tight.  "Do you love Harry, Angel?"

       She had to ask that? I wondered.  "Yes."  I would have a hard time
saying that a few weeks ago.  My love for Harry was getting stronger,
though I wasn't sure why.  I still...I still find Thomas attractive...very
attractive, but the balance has tipped, I thought.  "And he loves me."
And Tanya, I thought.  But I think I'm finally starting to beat her out.
"I wish I could be as strong as you to protect him.  I'm so afraid of what
Splinter might do to him."  What if she comes back, I thought.  He's all
alone down there.  His roommate isn't even here.  She could find him and
no one would know.  My brain began spiraling along paths of doom.

      Alex gave a great sigh and mumbled something.  "I thought that about
all my old boyfriends."

       "Well, Harry's not like them.  He's a lot better."

       "Then why are you still a virgin?"  Alex asked.

       "I'm not going to end up like my sisters.  I'm NOT."  I sighed.
"And...it scares me.  I just...It's all about losing control and I don't
like losing control.  Even though, I usually can't control half the things
I want to."

        She squeezed my hand again, then let go.  "You and me both."  She
paused.  "Is Harry a virgin too?"

        "Yes.  I'm his first real girlfriend."

        "And he's your first real boyfriend."  Alex rolled over on her
back.  "So why do you love Harry?"

        I hate it when people ask questions like that.  I never have a
good answer ready.  "Because he's who he is."

        "What kind of answer is that?"

        "I love his sense of humor, the way he always knows how to cheer
me up, the way he understands me.  When I told him about how I didn't want
to end up like my sisters, he understood me.  Even when I mess up, he's
never mean.  He's not perfect, but I've learned that waiting for
perfection means I'll end up lonely.  He's not my perfect man, but he has
all the really important parts of that."  I paused.  "I guess I love him
for the same reasons I love you."

        Alex gasped.  "I...uh...you..."

       I laughed faintly.  "You sound like Harry does when he doesn't know
how to answer some crazy thing I've said."

       Alex kept babbling incoherently.  I reached over and put my hand
over her mouth.  "Okay, you're worse than Harry.  You're my nearest,
dearest friend in all the world and I care about you as much as I do my
own family."

       More babbling.  "Geez, Alex, you sound like you're about to channel
a Sumerian god or something."

      She said very faintly, "I just...I thought...I mean, for a moment I
thought..."

       "That I was going to jump into your bed and rip your clothing off?"
Geez, I'm getting as bad as Tanya, I thought.  

      Alex blushed horribly.  "I just...Never mind, Angel.  I'm babbling."

       "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Alex."

        She took a deep breath.  "I love you too, you know.  Anytime you
need me, I'll be there."

     "I know you will.  I trust you and Harry more than I trust anyone
else in the whole world.  And I'll be there whenever you need me."

     Exhaustion struck me.  I yawned.  "Me so sleepy."
 
     My brain finally gave out.  I heard Alex saying something as I
dropped off, but I didn't hear it clearly.  I fell into slumberland, my
arm still sprawled across the gap between the heads of the two beds.  I
had the vague feeling I'd forgotten something, but I wasn't sure what.

**************************************************************************

Harry said:    
     
      I woke up with Alex sitting on the end of my bed, reading some of my
comic books.  I quickly concluded this had to be a dream, or else I had
just blanked out a fair hunk of my life.  I mumbled, "Are you real?"

       Alex laughed.  "Angel sent me down to get you to go to breakfast
with us.  She's probably still in the shower.  It's a wonder she's not
permanently wrinkled."  

        "How did you get in?"

      "You know, if I had a maniacal Sidhe after me, I'd remember to lock
MY door."  She put the comic book back into its bag and slid the box back
into the closet.  "She could have come in and chopped you into tiny bits."

       I felt a chill at the thought and dragged myself out of bed.
"You're right.  I'm going to take a quick shower.  Go ahead and read my
comics while I'm in there."

      She looked at me and started.  "Your pajamas..."

      "What, do I have a spot on them somewhere?"  I looked down at them.
They seemed reasonably clean.  Time to put these in the wash, I thought.

       She turned back to the comic box.  "Angel has a pair just like
that."  She paused.  "Did you give them to her?"

       "Tanya gave them to both of us.  She said it was so we would look
color-coordinated in bed."  I laughed.  

       "Is she good in bed?"  Alex asked with an odd tone to her voice.

       "I wouldn't know.  We've never slept together and I'm pretty sure
she's a virgin, anyway."  I can't BELIEVE she asked me something like
that, I thought.  Yeesh, even Tanya doesn't have that much gall.

      "What, you've been dating since last April and you haven't slept
together?"

       I spun around.  "No.  We have not.  Got any MORE rude questions for
me?"

       "Are you a virgin?"

       "I haven't even come CLOSE to having sex.  The only girl I've ever
slept in the same bed with was Tanya, and that's only because we've known
each other since we were so tiny, we probably didn't even know what sex
the other one of us was."  I stormed over to Alex.  "Look, I know you
don't like me.  I don't know if you hate every guy on Earth, or if I'm
just special.  But could you please try to lay off me?  I don't see what
I've done to deserve this!  Why are you asking me all these questions?
Why do you hate me so much?  What have I ever done to YOU?"

       Alex took a deep breath and...changed without changing, if you know
what I mean.  Same body, same voice, same eyes...but different.  I'm not
sure how to describe it.  She whispered, "I'm jealous of you."

       Of all the possible things she could have said, that was pretty low
on my list, though somewhat above, "Elvis told me to kill you" or "The
alien living in my television told me to do it".  "Why on God's green
Earth would you be jealous of ME?"  No one has ever been jealous of me in
their life.  I'd be willing to bet my arm on it, I thought.

       "At first, it was just part of being mad at men in general, but I'm
mostly over that.  I went through hating all men for a while after Jimmy
tried to hurt Angel, but even I can't stay berserkly angry all the time.
Baiting you was just part of that."  She began to speak quickly, as if she
was racing against a time limit.  "I didn't really understand why it
lasted...why I kept sniping at you every time I ran into you.  Not until
after Linda dumped me."

       I muttered, "I guessed right."

       She nodded faintly.  "After that, I desperately wanted to tell
Angel everything...what I was, how I felt...about her.  Once I'd finally
realized how I felt."  She sighed.  "Assuming I even understand how I
feel.  I'm not even sure what I am."

       I sat down by her.  "What exactly do you mean by that?"

       "I mean...I'm not sure if I like men or women better...I've been
burned by both...everything Linda told me, about how it was better between
two women...that a man could never really meet my needs...and then she
dumped me when I finally found the strength to show her that I...I wasn't
human."  She stared into my closet as if all wisdom was hiding there and
if only she stared long enough, it would come out and say hi.   "I've had
sex with both, and I think I liked it better with men...but all the men
I've slept with were bigger jerks than Linda, even with her leaving me
like that.  They just wanted sex and someone to complain to."  She sighed
again.  "Not that I was much better."

       I couldn't believe she was telling me all this.  "I...I don't know
what to say."

       "I just want someone who will love me for what I am.  Who can
accept me.  Angel accepts me.  She cares about me...but..."

        The temptation to finish her sentence for her was very strong, but
I bit my tongue instead.  

       Alex began to cry.  "Last night...she told me that she loves me.
For a moment, I hoped...She really loves you, Harry.  She really loves
you.  And...I hoped...I hoped I'd find...but no, you really love her too.
You really do.  I love her, but she doesn't love me like I love her."

        I wanted to comfort her somehow.  She looked so sad, I could
hardly stand it, but I didn't know what to do.  I could only think of one
thing.  "I know what it's like to love your best friend when she loves
someone else.  I've been there and I know how much it hurts, especially
when you don't think the person they love is worthy of them.  How you
can't tell them what you really think, because you're afraid it would
wreck your friendship and they wouldn't listen to you try to warn them
about the other person, anyway.  How you long to be with them, but you
can't.  How it hurts to listen to them tell you how much they love the
other person, how it feels to try to help them make up with that person
when there's a fight."  A tear came to my eye.  "To watch them date a
series of losers who aren't worthy to clean their floor.  To never be able
to say what you really feel."  More tears.  I had never told anyone how I
felt about Tanya before, and if you had asked me, I never would have
thought Alex would be the one I would tell.  

        I shook as the tears flowed.  I had cried over Tanya before, but I
had always been alone when it happened.  I managed to choke out, "I
understand how you feel," before the tears took over completely.

       To my surprise, Alex reached over and hugged me.  We both cried
until we couldn't cry any more, then let go of each other.  Alex said
quietly, "I want to be able to be your friend, Harry.  If you and
Angel...I'm going to be seeing too much of you to fight with you forever.
I don't know how I'll manage it, but..."

       I got up.  "I want to be your friend too, Alex."  I stretched.
"But right now, I'd better get a shower before Angel comes looking for
us."

       Alex laughed faintly.  "We could play an entire game of Monopoly
while we wait."

      "I see you've waited through these special full-length Angel showers
before."  I wandered off into the bathroom.

       "I've TAKEN them with her," Alex said.  "We used to bathe together
when we were kids."

       So did Tanya and I, I thought.  I bet even SHE would die if I
suggested that now.  

*************************************************************************

Angel said:

       After a nice long relaxing shower, I went to breakfast with Alex
and Harry.  They both seemed rather subdued.  "So I thought we'd go down
to Austin and I could show Alex around the capital.  I keep meaning to do
that every time she comes, but we usually never have time.  You want to
come with us?"  I hoped he'd say yes, but expected he would say no.

       He thought for a moment.  "Sure.  I have some homework, but I can
fit it in on Sunday, I think."

       Tanya and Thomas arrived together and came over to our table.
Thomas had his usual mountain of pancakes, while Tanya had toast, bacon,
and eggs.  They both eat the same breakfast every day.  I can't see how
they can stand it.  "Hi, guys!  How's life?"  Tanya asked.

       Thomas said to Alex, "I'm sorry about last night."

       She nodded.  "No biggie.  I overreacted.  I'm sorry about that."

        I smiled.  I had worried there would be more trouble, but Alex
seemed to be on her best behavior.  I guess our talk last night helped.  I
just hope all the snugglie couple behavior that is likely going to ensue
doesn't drive her nuts.  I know I always hated watching that sort of
stuff.

       "Want to come down to the Capital with us?"  I asked.  "Harry and I
are taking Alex down to see everything."

       "Sure!"  Tanya said.  "Anything beats homework."

       Thomas laughed.  "I have stuff to do, but I WILL be at the game.
Eight o' clock as usual, right?"

       I nodded.  "Yeah."

        The rest of breakfast was uneventful.  The trip to the capital on
the other hand...

      Like almost every place worth visiting, the State Capital buildings
have inadequate parking for visitors.  From friends who have worked there,
I understand the staff isn't much better off, either.  Basically, Austin
was originally designed for feet and horses, not cars, just like most
major universities.  Thornton has exactly the same problem.  You park in
nowhereland or not at all.  

      Anyway, with effort we found a parking space where we would only
have to run back and feed the meter every few hours instead of every few
minutes.  Harry and I had been down here before, but that was back when we
were Freshmen.  We spent a couple of hours wandering around, looking at
everything like the pictures of the governors that line the State Capital
building.  Not too many states have had a governor remembered as 'Ma'
Hogg.  I kid you not, even though it sounds like something out of the
Dukes of Hazard.  Occasionally, my home state scares me.  

        We stopped at a little restaurant near the Capital to eat lunch. I
can't ever remember its name, but the food is decent, though not great.
It costs too much, but anywhere really worth eating at is too far away
from the government buildings to walk to.  I got a burger, while Harry got
a chicken sandwich and Alex had some soup and salad.  She eats healthier
than Harry or I do. 

      There's an old saying--Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice,
shame on me.  It popped into my head around the same time I finished my
burger.  The reason for this was that everyone in the restaurant had
vanished while we were eating and talking except for Alex, Harry, and
myself.  We had been suckered into eating faerie food again, I suddenly
realized when I spotted the swirling mists and forest that were now
outside the restaurant, instead of the street.  "Ack."

       Harry blinked.  "What's wrong?"

       I pointed.  He said, "Uh oh."

       Alex said, "I hope I didn't do this accidentally.  I'm not exactly
the world's most proficient faery."  

       The door opened and exactly who I expected to be there walked in.
Splinter laughed.  "You won't escape me this time."  She had a different
sword than her normal one this time.  It was a dull gray and didn't look
as finely crafted as her normal weapon, but it gave me the creeps anyway.
She also had four knives on her belt, each made of the same dull metal.  

      Alex got a look of abject fear on her face.  She whispered something
I couldn't quite hear.  I swore mentally.  I should have brought my sword,
I thought.  I hope Alex can handle her.

       Splinter said, "Step away from them, ogre, unless you want to find
out what it feels like to have cold wrought iron stuck through you."

       Alex twitched, but didn't move.  "I won't let you hurt Angel."

       Splinter sneered.  "Then you will die.  I will be revenged."  She
moved forwards and Alex transformed.  Unfortunately, this took time.
Splinter gestured and the windows exploded inwards.   A great gust of wind
flung us across the room and I got a piece of glass stuck in my arm.  I
screamed in pain.

        Alex looked over at me and her face flushed with rage.  She
snarled and charged at Splinter.  Another burst of wind sent her tumbling
into the kitchen.  Before Alex could get back up, Splinter sprinted
forward and grabbed me, smacking me in the head with something.  I passed
out.

*************************************************************************

Harry said:

       I screamed something incoherent when Splinter grabbed Angel.
Splinter carried her off through the door.  I grabbed a chair and ran
after her.  Alex quickly caught up and soon I was following her.  Splinter
was faster than us.  We ran through the woods after her, through
increasingly thick mists.

       I don't know how long we ran.  Splinter was just a white blur and a
distant footfall.  Trees blurred by and the forest gradually began to thin
out.  Alex began to pull ahead of me and soon I could barely see her as
well.  I just followed the footfalls and kept running.  I had to abandon
the chair.  It weighed too much, I was too weak, and I couldn't run with
it very well, anyway.  

       I kept shouting out Angel's name over and over.  It wouldn't do any
good, but it was all I could do.  Finally, I had to stop and catch my
breath.  I couldn't run anymore.  I leaned against a tree, and to my
surprise, it spoke to me.  "Greetings, mortal.  Who is this Angel you
seek?"

       I started, almost shocked out of being tired.  I looked and saw it
was not the tree that spoke, but a woman with long green hair and dark
brown skin.  Her eyes were a pleasant blue, and she was stark naked.  I
tried hard not to look.  "My girlfriend.  Splinter has kidnapped her."

       "Was Splinter the Sidhe or the Ogre?"

       "Alex is not an Ogre," I said.  "She hates being called that."

       The dryad smiled for a moment, then frowned.  "I fear you may never
see them again.  They have entered the Mists of Creation, a truly
dangerous place."

      "The what?"

       She moved around, forcing me to keep turning so I wouldn't be
staring at her when she was naked.  After a little while of this, I
finally realized she didn't seem to care.  I still did, however.  "The
Mists of Creation begin just beyond my tree.  Those with a strong will and
a clear vision can create new realms of Arcadia by simply envisioning it
and walking into the mists.  Entering the mists without a clear vision in
mind..."

       "Is bad?"

       "Is a disaster.  The mists seize upon some aspect of your memories,
or hopes or fears and snare you in a fantasy you might never escape
from...alive.  Or sometimes you just dissolve away into the mists."

        I turned and stared into the deepening fog.  "Why would Splinter
deliberately run into them?"

        "Because in a realm you create yourself, you can be like unto a
god...or a devil."  She looked sadly into the mists.  "Perhaps she planned
this."

        "I've got to go after them!"

        "It is very dangerous.  You seem like a nice mortal.  I would hate
to see you be destroyed."

        Like a god?, I thought.  I'll show Splinter which one of us has a
stronger imagination.  "Well, now that you've warned me, I'll be ready."

       "No one is ever ready for their first trip into the Mists."

       "I'm as ready as I'm likely to get.  Anything else you can tell
me?"

      The dryad thought for a moment.  "Just concentrate on what you want
to achieve and don't let ANYTHING distract you.  Once the mists clear away
and you're inside some sort of stable whatever, then you can afford stray
thoughts, but until then, you MUST focus.  Luckily for you, this is easier
for mortals than for Fae."

       I blinked.  "Why?"

       "Most faeries are scatterbrains, loathe as I am to admit it.
Unless we grow obsessed with something, we often have a hard time staying
focused on anything.  One reason we send our children into your world is
to help them learn some self-discipline.  Indeed, they forget their faerie
heritage entirely for a time.  Well, I could talk about this all day, but
I don't think you have that long."  She smiled at me.  "Good luck."

        "Thanks."  I turned to the mist and focused my thoughts as best I
could.  I had to find Angel.  I tried to think about what she looked like,
how she walked and talked, things we had done together.  I ran on
instinct.  The mists were abjectly silent around me.  The ground
alternated between being very hard and squishy soft.  Sometimes water
splashed when I ran, and for a few seconds, I think I ran through knee
deep water.  I bounced off a tree or something at one point, but I ignored
it and kept running.  

        My brain spun with fatigue. I was dog tired.  I had never run this
much in my life.  I stopped for a moment to catch my breath.  Panic tried
to take over, but I stomped it down.  Suddenly, everything around me
warmed up quite a bit.  I opened my eyes in surprise.

       The mists were gone.  I was in Thomas'  dorm room.  I blinked.  How
did I get here?  He and Tanya were...well, there was a lot of moaning
going on.  I blushed and turned around.  Luckily, they didn't seem to have
noticed me.  I guess the enchantment must have worn off or something and
dumped me back in my own world, I thought.  And of course, it would happen
HERE of all places and while they're doing THIS of all things.  

      I tried to creep away, but suddenly, there were two arms draping
themselves over my shoulders and down my torso.  I could feel a very
female body pressed against my back, and I heard a sweet voice,
"Haaaarry...You don't have to go."  It was Tanya.

       My voice was tight.  I was so embarrassed I could almost die.
"Tanya, please don't tease me like that.  You don't want me to watch you
and I don't want to watch."

       Her left hand slid around my chest in  a little circle.  She purred
into my ear, "Who said anything about watching?"

       I gulped, and started to try to go, then I heard noises from the
bed.  It sounded like more sex, but if Tanya was halfway across the room
with me, how could she be in the bed as well?  A few seconds later I got
my answer.

       I heard Angel cry out, "Oh, Thomas!  More!  MORE!"

       I couldn't believe it for a few seconds, then I could believe it
all too well.  A wave of despair washed across me.  I had lost my
girlfriend to the great girl vortex, Thomas.  I wanted to kill him, but
then Tanya purred into my ear, "I love you, Harry."

        This was perhaps the best of all possible ways to turn my brain
into total mush.  I wasn't ready to handle a simultaneous nightmare come
true and dream come true.  How could this be happening?  Where was
Splinter?  Where was Alex?  How had Angel gotten away?

       I heard more moaning and a very ludicrous image popped into my
mind.  I laughed faintly.  The dryad was right...letting yourself get
distracted in these mists is a bad idea.  I had whistled this all up out
of some dark corner of my mind.  This couldn't be real.  There was no way
Tanya could really love me...if she did, she could have had me a long time
ago.  

        With that thought, the entire place crumbled away into the mists.
I focused my mind again.  I would find Angel if it killed me.  I had to
find her.  I strode through the mists.  Slowly, the mists began to thin
out.  I moved faster.  Running would only wear me out, I had realized.
Surely they couldn't have gone too much farther.

        It was then that I heard a little girl crying.  I stopped for a
moment.  It had to be another trick of the mists.  They must be trying to
fool me, I thought.  The crying got louder.  I decided to ignore it and
return to my quest.  It's just a dream, I thought.  I don't have time.
Then Alex's words from the previous night came back to me.   "Aren't you
the one who always tells me that you have to do the right thing, whether
it be real or a dream?  That what is right, is right, whatever the
circumstances?" 

       She was right.  I couldn't leave a poor little kid alone in the
mists, even if she was just some fevered hallucination of my mind or a
trick of the mists.  She sounded so desperate and sad.  I'm sorry, Angel,
I thought.  I'll be with you as soon as I can...I just...I have to help
this poor child.

       I turned and plunged off towards the sound.  I was running on grass
at first, then suddenly, it turned into carpet.  I was inside a house at
night.  I was pretty sure I didn't recognize it.  I could hear the crying
through a nearby half-open door and water running in a nearby bathroom.
As I tried to decide whether to just barge in, I heard a man's voice,
sounding like he was trying to shout and whisper at the same time.  "Shut
up before someone hears you!"  

        I was rather confused, so I peeked through the half-open door.  My
stomach curdled at what I saw.  The man was...ugh, I don't want to
describe it.  Suffice it to say it wasn't something adults should be doing
to nine-year old girls.  She was crying, but she wasn't struggling.  She
looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face.  

        For a moment, I had to struggle to keep from running to the nearby
bathroom and just throwing up.  My chicken sandwich wanted to be free.
The moment passed, and nausea was replaced by rage.  I rushed forward
despite my total lack of fighting skills and the fact that the man was a
foot taller than me.  I couldn't let this happen.  

       My hands passed through the man as if he wasn't there.  I tried
again, and nothing happened.  I tried grabbing a chair,  but I went
through that too.  In fact, except for the floor, I seemed to be
insubstantial to everything or maybe it was insubstantial to me.  

       I heard the door swing the rest of the way open and heard a faint
thump of something striking the closet.  The man, lost in his...he didn't
notice.  I turned and saw another young girl with short brown hair in the
doorway for a moment, then she ran away.  She looked familiar too.  

       A few seconds later, my brain clicked into gear.  That was Angel
and the girl on the bed is...Alex.  Oh god, what kind of sick fantasy am I
having?  I sat down hard, feeling utterly disgusted with myself.  I
couldn't see the man's face...I didn't want to see it.  I had to see it.
If it's me, I think I'll just go kill myself, I thought.  I maneuvered
around to get a look at his face.  The child stared right through me, her
face a wash of horror, giving not a clue she knew I existed, crying louder
now.  

        I saw the man's face. I had never seen him before in my entire
life.  Never has anyone been more relieved than I was.  Of course, this
now meant I had no clue what was going on.  I tried closing my eyes,
finally, and willing it away.  Nothing happened.  The realization struck
me--I wasn't the one making this.  This must be...oh god, Alex must be
remembering this...I don't know how she ended up as a nine-year old,
but...

        "Alex!  Snap out of this!  It's just a memory!  The mists are
reenacting this!  It's not real!"

        The child shook her head feebly and mumbled something.  I heard
running feet.  The door flew open and the little nine-year-old Angel
charged in, carrying a shovel.  She struck the man in the head with it,
screaming, "Get away from Alex!"

        The man stopped what he was doing and fell down on top of Alex,
crushing her into the bed.  Angel hit him again, this time with the sharp
end, then lost her grip on the shovel and dropped it.  I heard more motion
in the house.  The man got up and snarled, "Damn brat, that HURT!"

        Alex started to say something and the man slapped her.  "Shut up!"
I tried to grab the shovel myself, but I still couldn't touch it.  I
couldn't do anything, except pray that whoever was coming would try to
stop the man.

       Angel tried to pick the shovel back up, but the man had his foot on
it now.  He advanced on her slowly, a grin on his face.  "You can't get
away from me any more than my niece could."  Angel tried to run for the
door, but he cut her off.

        Alex looked at her uncle, then down at the shovel, then began to
cry.  "Do something, damnit!  Angel's in danger and you're just going to
cry?"  I was getting pissed off.  The Alex I knew was not someone who just
sat around and cried when things got tough.  Maybe she had been once, but
she wasn't like that anymore.  I guess she'd regressed in mind as well as
body.  I had to say something to try to snap her out of it.  "I thought
you said you LOVED HER!"  It was a dirty trick, but I didn't know what
else to do.  If pushing that button didn't do it, I was out of ideas.

       The young Alex said faintly, "I couldn't save her.  I'm just a
child.  You do it."

       "I can't!  I've been trying for the last twenty minutes."  I put my
fist through the man's head to make my point.  Everything seemed to have
slowed down to slow motion except Alex and I.  "You're not just a child!
You're a faerie and you have the power to stop this!  At least make me
able to help!"

        "You're not part of this.  You weren't there."  She began to cry
again.  "No one ever got there in time."

        I wanted to slap her, but I knew it wouldn't do any good.  "So
you're just going to let Angel get hurt?  Let him do to her what he did to
you?"

        "I don't know how to stop him.  I'm just a..."

        I jumped up and down.  "You're not just anything!  You're twenty
times stronger than I am!  And you're not a child anymore!"

        "I'm not?"  She looked confused.  For a moment, her eyes flashed
red.

         "Do you know who I am?"

         She thought hard.  "You're Harry.  You're Angel's...Angel's..."  

         "I'm her boyfriend!  This is 1997 and you're not a child anymore!
Remember!"

          Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened, they had
turned a deep red.  She stood and hurled herself across the gap at the
man, howling in rage.  Thrown off balance, he fell down.   She began to
pound on him, and with every blow, she grew taller and older, while he
began to shrink.  Everything around us began to fade, including the young
version of Angel.  Finally, the last few things dissolved into mist.  Alex
had assumed her ogre form towards the end of the aging transformation, and
her clothing had basically all ripped off.  I turned around so I wouldn't
see her naked.

        For a moment, all was utterly silent.  Finally, I said, "Who was
that?"

        Her voice was quiet and drained.  "My uncle.  He's in jail now."

        "What happened the first time?"

        "My father showed up before he could do anything to Angel.  He
threw my uncle out the window, then shot him.  My dad was a violent
bastard, but that one night, he almost made up for all of it.
Unfortunately, my uncle pressed charges, and they're both still in jail."
She sighed.  "Which is among the reasons I'm going to a hole in the wall,
instead of here at Thornton with Angel."   She looked around.  "I wish I
could whistle up some clothing as easily as I managed to whistle up a
nightmare."

         "I trapped myself too, but it wasn't that bad."  I paused.  "So
Angel really hit him in the head with a shovel?"

       Alex nodded.  "She's always been my protector, the person who stood
up for me."  She stood up.  "I wish I could return the favor."

        "We'll find her.  And some clothing for you."

        Alex sighed.  "Just no baggy purple pants, please."

        We both laughed.

*************************************************************************

Angel said:

       I woke up in chains, in a deep, dark, dank dungeon.  Little bits of
moldy straw had worked their way into my hair, and my clothing now had
interesting stains on it.  No blood, luckily.

       Splinter stood nearby, leaning against the open cell door.  "Feel
free to rant about how sorry I'll be for doing this if you like."

        I had been about to say something to that effect, so I didn't say
it.  "Why are you holding me prisoner?  Are you just obsessive or what?"

       "Well, if I had my way, I'd kill you, but I'm afraid Queen Teleute
has taken an interest in you."  Splinter began paring her nails with a
rather out of place nailfile.

       "Who?"  I tested the strength of the chains.  They were way
stronger than I'll ever be.

       "The Queen of the Unseelie.  My mother."

        "Why does she want me?"

       "Perhaps she needs a subject for another living sculpture.  Who
knows?  Mother isn't very predictable.  She was going to send someone else
to get you, but I convinced her to let me have the satisfaction of it."
Finishing one nail, Splinter moved on to the next.

       Someone screamed in the distance for no apparent reason.  "Where am
I?"

       "My castle. "  Splinter gave me a calculating look.  "That was your
lover, by the way."

        I paled a little.  I'm already pretty pale by nature.
"H...Harry?"

        "Why, you have more than one so you have to ask?"  Splinter
laughed faintly.

      "Why are you torturing him?  He's not part of this!"

       Splinter shrugged.  "Opal was bored and the Queen doesn't care
about him."

        There was another scream.  This one was female.  I knew who it was
without asking.  Alex.  Oh god, I'm sorry, Alex, I thought.  I'm so
sorry...

       "Don't worry.  We won't kill him.  You can't do anything really
interesting to someone who is dead."

        Far too many possibilities floated through my mind.  I could hear
them both screaming.  Part of me wanted to curl up into a miserable little
ball and hide, wanted to plug my ears and pretend none of this was real.
I knew better.  It was real, and hiding wouldn't help.  Sooner or later,
she'd have to move me, unless the Queen was planning to come visit the
dungeon, and then I'd have my chance.  I'd set them free, if I had to wait
a million years.  With every scream, I got a little bit angrier.  

        Splinter kept filing her nails, one by one.  I fumed and waited.
I planned what I would do the second I got free, revising and elaborating
on my plans as the time passed.  The screams grew fewer and fainter.  I
could feel air blowing around my feet, and I could see the dust scamper in
tiny tornadoes.

         Splinter looked down.  "Cute, but not even at the level of
annoyance.  I'm sure you could do better."

        "Let me loose and I'll show you better."  The more rational part
of my mind told me to get a better dialogue writer, but then, the more
rational side of my mind was too busy planning to say anything coherent.

       Splinter laughed.  "I'm not an idiot."

      "What are you...chicken?"

       "Only fools let themselves be taunted into doing something stupid.
I will not take the risk."

       "So you do think you can't take me."  I tried to sneer, but wasn't
sure how to do it.

       "If I couldn't take you, you wouldn't be chained up.  Be quiet
while I finish my nails."  She started working on her right hand now.

        I got madder and the breeze picked up a bit.  Why couldn't
Splinter be an idiot like she usually was?  If I could just get loose,
I'd...I'd be able to do something.   I looked down at the ring on my hand.
Lot of good protecting me from Faerie magic it had done me today.
Probably just a hunk of jewelry.  "Stupid Ring,"  I muttered.

       Splinter blinked.  "Why do you think your ring is stupid?"

       "Damn thing's supposed to protect me from Faerie magic and it
didn't exactly stop you, now did it?"  A few seconds later, I regretted
saying that.  There goes my ring, I thought.

       Splinter drew her sword and walked over to me, keeping it pointed
at me.  "Give me the ring."

        I took it off and tossed it to her.  I didn't want to be stabbed.
I wanted to smash myself in the head for blabbing.  My anger peaked, and
the breeze blowing around the floor suddenly went berserk.  The ring went
flying off into the corner of the room.  The wind formed a hurricane,
slamming both Splinter and myself into the walls.  It died away, but the
wall cracked.  I still had chains around my wrists and ankles, but they
weren't anchored anymore.  I also had an awful headache.  

        Splinter, who had been flung all the way across the room, was
knocked out.  I grabbed her sword and my ring.  For a moment, I
contemplated simply chopping her head off and putting her out of my
misery.  I couldn't do it.  She might kill me one day, but I was still
better than that.  I heard a cry off in the distance, and I ran out of the
cell, heading for the screams.  Yet, as I ran, the castle began to fade.
The screams faded as well.  The walls crumbled and mists tumbled through
the holes.  Before I could find Alex and Harry, I was standing, sword in
hand, in a dense white fog.  

       I was utterly confused.  Had Splinter ensorceled me again?  Had she
been sustaining this castle in some way?  Maybe she was really dead...And
what caused that wind, anyway?  Did I do that somehow?

       I saw a glowing light in the distance, so I stumbled towards it.
Friend or enemy, at least it gave me an objective.

        I found a woman with long blonde hair, clad in a long, simple
white wrap-around that left her right shoulder and arm bare, pinned
together on the left by a golden Celtic cross brooch.  A belt gathered the
outfit at the waist, and a set of keys hung on her right hip on a long
chain, and a sword on her left.  In her right hand, she carried a lit
lantern.

       I said, "Hello?"

       Looking at me with bright silver eyes, she said, "Hello."

       I tried to think of what to say next.  "Ummm...where am I?"

       "The Mists of Creation.  It is here that Faerieland grows and here
that realms go to die."  The woman began to walk again, and I followed
her.  

       "Uh, right."  Why did Splinter bring me here?  "Have you seen
someone named Splinter by any chance?"

       "There is no one named Splinter around here."

       I continued following her.  She was constantly looking around
through the mists.  Every once in a while, she would pause and lower her
lantern near the ground and look at it.  The ground looked different every
time.  "Are you looking for something?"

       "I am looking for an honest woman."

       I laughed faintly.  "Is your name Diogenes?"

      "You may call me that if you like."

       "But what's your real name?  I'm Angela Bedos-Rezak, by the way."

     "Real names have power.  They are a treasure not to be lightly given
away, especially in Faerieland.  Still, the name I use most often these
days is Ariel."

      "Like the air sprite from the Tempest?"

      "I was honored that he chose that name for the good faerie of that
tale."  She looked behind a nearby bush, but didn't find anything.  "I had
a long talk with him about it on his birthday a few years ago."

       I blinked.  "He's dead."

      Ariel's lips quirked in a smile.  "And most people believe that A
Midsummer's Night Dream was a work of fiction."  She laughed.  "The irony
of his work is that the stories that seem most fictional in your time
often depicted real events, while his 'historical' plays were often made
up whole-cloth to please his patrons.  I suppose that applies to his more
recent works as well."

       A million English teachers would probably die from joy if they
thought Shakespeare was still writing.  "So he's been in Faerieland all
this time?"

       She nodded.  "He is the Queen of the Seelie Fae's official
playwright.  He has been for hundreds of years.  Glorianna still lives
mostly in the sixteenth century, despite the passage of time."

       "Any relation to Titania?"  I asked.  This was starting to interest
me.

       "Titania died in the Great Disaster.  Glorianna inherited the
throne from her, although she lived a long mortal life before she actually
took the throne."  Ariel picked up a coin from under a rock.  She tossed
it to me.  "I have no need of money."

        It was a gold coin with faded Latin lettering and a battered
engraving of a beautiful woman wearing a crown.  I could make out the word
'Titania' on it.  "I...do you know how to find my friends?  Or how to get
out of these mists?"

       She struck the ground with her lantern, and a tiny line of fire
sprung up, running off into the mists.  "Follow this.  It will lead you to
them."

       "Thank you.  I wish I could repay you somehow."  I thought for a
moment.  "Do you know how I got here?  I mean, I was in a castle and..."

       "The mists of Creation respond to any strong enough will and create
the vision they hold within their mind.  Thus, to seek to find anyone
inside the mists who has entered is dangerous, for you may create the
person you seek, rather than finding the person you are actually looking
for.  Sometimes you may find yourself mired in some memory of your past,
or a vision of what MIGHT be your future.  Or perhaps merely a future you
crave or fear.  There is no way to be sure.  The mists are dangerous, and
yet..."  Ariel paused and looked inside a nearby hollow tree, then
continued.

      "All of Faerieland was carved from the mists by those with a will
strong enough to hold a vision clearly in their mind.  Every inch of it
was created by mortals and immortals who saw a vision of what could be.
And those who create the vision wield supreme power within it, although if
they falter, a stronger will may sometimes overpower them.  Usually the
realm will then crumble back into the mists."  She turned and smiled at
me.  

       "So Splinter made that castle from the mists?"

       "Perhaps."  She turned to the line of fire.  "You should go find
your friends.  The fire will guide you out of the mists as well.  They
must be worried about you."

       "Thank you for your help.  I hope you find the honest woman you are
looking for."

       Ariel smiled.  "Helping the lost is one of my duties."  She turned
and walked into the mists.  Soon, all I could see was the lantern glow.  I
turned and followed the trail of fire.  

       Soon, Alex, clad in a bedsheet of all things, in her big green
form, loomed out of the mists, followed closely by Harry, who was carrying
a baseball bat.  Alex looked at my sword and got a look of fear for a
moment.  "Angel?"

       I ran forward and hugged Harry, and then Alex.  "I'm so glad you're
okay.  I'm so glad...Alex, why are you wearing a sheet?"

       She laughed faintly.  "I'll tell you everything when we get back to
the real...oh bugger, I'm going to look weird wandering out Austin in
this."

      "But what happened to your clothing?"

       They told me everything as we followed the line of fire out of the
mists.  They had found the sheet on a clothing line of all things, simply
hanging in the mists.  The bat had belonged to a goblin who tried to mug
them.  By the time they finished explaining everything, we stepped out
into a very foggy forest.  

        A green haired woman with dark brown skin stepped out of a tree.
She was quite naked.  I turned my eyes away, though not as fast as Harry
did.  The dryad said, "Ahh, you found her!"

       Harry nodded.  "Now we just have to figure out the best way to get
back to Austin."

      The dryad thought for a moment.  "It's about a three day walk to the
east."  She looked off to what I guessed was the east.  The fog was
obscuring the sun.  "Well, to get to a realm that borders the faerie realm
of Austin.  That's the best place to cross over.  Otherwise, you might end
up anywhere."

        Harry boggled.  "But...it was only maybe 20 minutes at most coming
here!"

      The dryad said, "I suppose your enemy knew a special path.  I wasn't
aware there was a Faerie Road from here to Austin, or vice versa."

       Alex looked around.  "Well, we'll just have to find it."

       I had no clue, having been knocked out the entire time coming
through here.  We did eventually find it, though it took a while.  I was
starting to get hungry again.  The road led back to the vicinity of the
restaurant, and Alex took each of us by the hand.  She stepped forward and
we found ourselves standing in front of the restaurant.  The sun had gone
down and it was pretty dark.  My watch said, '9:05 PM'.  "Ack. We've been
gone nine hours if my watch is right."  

       Harry howled.  "I'm gonna have a parking ticket!"  He took off
running and we ran after him.

*************************************************************************

Harry said:  

      Angel and Alex went up to her room to get Alex into some real
clothing before an RA could notice once we got back to campus.  I had
gotten a ticket, which sucked.  I stepped into my room to get my gaming
stuff.  At least we can explain to Thomas and Tanya about what happened.
I can hardly believe they don't think we're nuts since they haven't
actually seen anything.  Oh wait, they still don't know about Alex.

       I heard movement in my bedroom.  "You back, Freddy?"  I thought he
was going to be back tomorrow.

      Lady Aquamarine stepped out.  "There you are."  She sounded
relieved.  "Are you alright?"

      "I'm fine.  I wish you'd been there when Splinter showed up and
tried to kill us again."  

       She sighed.  "I'm sorry.  The ring I gave Angela alerted us that
she was in danger, but then we couldn't find her with our magic.  We've
been looking everywhere, but..."

       "Luckily, we got away."  I grabbed my books.  "I don't suppose you
could give us something that would enable us to get ahold of you when we
need to?"

       She nodded.  "Good idea."  She took another ring off her finger and
closed her hand around it, then closed her eyes.  She handed me the ring.
"If you need me, you can call me with this."  Her voice was tense.  "I do
NOT want something like this to happen again.  You deserve better.  I am
sorry that I failed you."

      "Well, as long as Angel's faerie friend is staying with her, we'll
be fine."  I assumed Aquamarine probably already knew about her.  "Come by
some other time and I'll tell you all about what happened."

      She nodded, then turned and stepped through the full length mirror
all the closets in this building have on the door and vanished.  Nice
trick, I thought.  I wish I could do that.  I reached out and touched the
mirror.  It rippled and felt like water.  I jerked my hand back in
amazement, then touched it again.  This time, it was solid to the touch.
I shivered and headed up to Angel's room.

Angel said:

      The game went well.  I could tell you all about it, but that would
take too long.  It probably wouldn't interest you too much, anyway.
Afterwards, as Harry and Thomas were getting ready to leave, Tanya said,
"Do you all think it's safe for Harry to sleep by himself?  I mean...if
that elf woman could step through your mirror, then so could Splinter."

       Harry had told us about his little encounter with Aquamarine.  We
had told them everything in fact.  Alex had even revealed her own secret.
That seemed to startle them more than anything else we said.  I shuddered,
not needing an extra level of paranoia.  "You're right.  Maybe you'd
better sleep here with us, Harry, so Alex can protect both of us."

       Harry said, "I'd almost rather risk my life than sleep on the
floor.  I guess I could go get my sleeping bag, though."

       Alex said quietly, "Well, if Tanya sleeps with Thomas upstairs
again, I can use her bed, and you two can share Angel's bed."

       Harry and I both blushed.  He looked over at Alex with a weird look
and she stared back at him with a strangely sad look.

       Tanya started to say something, then shut up and said, "That's
probably the best idea.  It's not like I'm in any danger."  She had a
weird look on her face.  

      I glanced over at Thomas.  At least he looked normal.  He smiled at
me.  "Try not to make too much noise you two, so you don't keep Alex
awake."

      Alex laughed with a weird tone to her voice.  "If they get too
noisy, I'll just climb in with them."

      "If they get too noisy, call us and we'll join you,"  Tanya said,
winking.

       The conversation rapidly degenerated from there.

*************************************************************************

Harry said:

       You'd think sleeping in the same bed with your girlfriend shouldn't
be scary, but it was.  I could hardly believe that Alex had suggested it
after what she had said to me before.  I know I certainly couldn't have
done that for Tanya and Thomas.  Well, maybe I could, but it would be
incredibly difficult.  If she really needed me to be there, I could, but I
wouldn't like it.  

       Anyway, I changed into my pajamas in the closet after Tanya and
Thomas had left and I had gone and gotten mine from my room and a change
of clothing for the morning.  After I stepped out, Alex stepped in to
change into her pajamas.  Angel was already in bed.  She looked as scared
as I felt.  

        Just stay calm, I told myself.  You and Tanya used to do this all
the time when you were kids.  You're not going to do anything funky, just
sleep.  Of course, back when Tanya and I used to do this, we both thought
sex was the number that comes after five.  Just pretend you don't want to
take her clothing off and...I squashed that thought.  I probably looked
scared out of my mind.  Luckily, she had her eyes closed, so she couldn't
see.  

       It was the longest four foot walk of my life.  My body was sending
off random signals.  Among other things, I was suddenly intensely aware of
an itch on my left foot.  I was also feeling rather aroused.  I pulled
back the covers and tried hard to not look at her body.  

       It had been a long time since I'd shared a single bed, and I'd
forgotten one of the most important aspects of it.  Human bodies are
really poorly designed for sharing a bed.  Heck, they're poorly designed
for sleeping in general, and it just gets harder when there's this knobby
thing in there with you.  

       It doesn't help when you're trying to avoid putting hands in places
they don't normally go.  Alex got out of the closet at about the same time
that Angel and I finally got comfortable, with her on top of me, her head
on my chest, our arms wrapped around each other.  

       Alex said, "Yeesh, I thought you two were banging the bed to
pieces.  Am I going to have to climb in there with you and separate you
two?"  She smiled faintly.  "Oh, you look sooo cute in your matching
pajamas," she said in a sarcastic tone.

       Angel muttered sleepily, "I was just taking Thomas' advice."

      "Huh?"  I said wittily.

      "He said to tell you to let me be on top."  Angel started to laugh.
So did Alex.  I chalked it up to possessing a Y chromosome putting me out
of the loop again.

       We didn't get too much sleep, especially after Alex started a
pillow fight at three AM.  

*************************************************************************

Epilogue:

       Opal stormed into Splinter's room.  She was slowly reading a very
old scroll while sitting on her bed.  He stood in front of her.
"Splinter!"

        She started and looked up, smiling.  "Hello, Opal."  She noticed
his anger.  "I...what's wrong?"

       "I thought you were going to stay away from that mortal!"

       "What are you talking about?"  Splinter had decided after her
vision it was best that she stay as far away from that Angela person as
possible.  Not that she could go too far away while being at the same
college.  Why her mother had insisted she transfer to that dreary little
school, she wasn't sure.  Probably a punishment for wasting too much time
on the mortal girl there.  Indeed, why her mother insisted she keep up
some semblance of a mortal life eluded Splinter.  It's not like I'll use
my history degree for much in my life here.  This is where everything
important happens.  The mortals are just our pawns.  

       "You tried to kidnap that girl again!"

       Splinter was indignant.  "I did not!  I've been here all the time
when I wasn't at school, going to classes and doing homework."  She
pointed at the array of scrolls.  "I've decided to study the mists."

       He frowned.  "Several of our spies saw you, and the Seelie saw you
as well."

       "They must be smoking something."  She frowned.  "Can you read
Sumerian?"

       He nodded.  "Not well.  So you're sure you didn't..."

       "How could I not be sure of my own actions?  I swear I didn't try
to kidnap that stupid girl again."

       Opal nodded.  A faerie's word was their bond.  They could lie, but
not if they swore it was the truth.  "Then someone impersonated you."

       "Or the Seelie are spreading lies about me."

      "Either way, we need to figure out what's really going on."

      Splinter nodded.  She had a bad feeling about all this.