Prologue:

        Shalrisa sat at a table in a cafe in Bonn, but her mind was 
elsewhere.  This was mainly because she was in mental contact 
with her lord, Queen Glorianna.  Shalrisa was a rarety, a Seelie 
Fetch, able to mimic anyone.  Right now, she was mimicing a 
peasant she had met during the Thirty Years' War, a huge dark 
haired farmwoman, although she was wearing modern clothing, a 
dark blouse and skirt, instead of the rumpled dirty homespun the 
peasant had worn.  Her name had been Gretchen, and she had been 
the most cunning woman that Shalrisa had ever met.  She still 
lived, thanks to Shalrisa carrying her off to Arcadia centuries ago, 
for she could not bear to see someone so clever age and die.  She 
wore Gretchen's form to honor her, and also because it was so 
blandly non-descript except for her bigness.

       She was watching a young couple kiss, a tired looking 
American serviceman in his uniform with a buzz cut, and his 
girlfriend, a young French girl who Shalrisa thought was probably 
nineteen at best.  She worked at the cafe as a waitress, but now she 
was on her break and taking advantage of it to get in some serious 
smooching time.  

       Shalrisa smiled with the part of her mind that was watching 
them, while the rest argued with Queen Glorianna.  "Why am I 
watching these idiots?  What does two people making out in a cafe 
have to do with anything?"

        "They are of two ancient bloodlines, and great power lies 
latent within them.  While it will likely never manifest itself in 
their lives, their children will be mages of a level of power rarely 
seen."  Pause.  "Or at least they will have that potential.  Breeding is 
never certain, of course, but we shall see."

       "How do you know they're going to get married?"  Shalrisa 
asked.

        She could almost hear the grin.  "Because you, my trusted 
servant, are going to make sure that they do."

        Shalrisa spewed the coffee she was drinking.  "My queen, I 
don't know the first thing about love magic.  I'm a Fetch, not a 
Cupid."

        "Love magic is clumsy and often fails.  You will need to use 
more subtle means.  Tug them and guide them.  I have trust in 
your skills."

        Shalrisa tried not to gag.  The thought of playing matchmaker 
to a pair of mortals nauseated her.  She didn't dislike mortals; it 
was matchmakers and matchmaking that she hated.  She sighed.  "I 
will do my best, my queen."

                                      **********
 
      Days turned into months and months into years.  Two lovers got 
married and went to the United States. They went to college and 
made many friends.  One of them was a woman named Laura 
Ashton.  Laura had been Maria's boss at the Travel Agency she had 
worked at to help pay for her education.  Laura spent most of her 
time travelling, but they had become good friends during the time 
that she actually was around.  She had also helped Maria get the 
job she now held in Plano, after graduation.  She had come to visit 
them for a few days and help out while Maria got ready to go the 
hospital to give birth to her fourth child.  

       "So do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?"  Maria asked, patting 
her stomach.

       Laura put her hand on Maria's stomach and closed her eyes for 
a second.  "A girl."  Her voice sounded a little bit odd.  

       "Is something wrong?"  Maria asked.  Laura had a look of 
surprise on her face.  

        Frank grumbled, "I was hoping for a boy."  He put down the 
newspaper he had been reading.  He knew Laura was right, though.  
She had some kind of weird knack for predicting certain kinds of 
things.  She'd successfully predicted the hair color, eye color and 
sex of their first three children.  "What's she going to look like?"

        "Brown hair like her father, and her mother's eyes, a deep 
blue-green.  She'll be as lazy as you too, Frank."

        Frank laughed.  "And be as obnoxious as you, Laura?"

        "It would be a bit of a trick for her to inherit any of my traits,"  
Laura said.  Glorianna is going to be smug, Laura thought.  I had 
given up after three children without any more talent than their 
parents, but this one...I am scared of her and she isn't even born 
yet.

                                      *       *        *

        "What?  We have to make sure she is raised and trained 
properly!"  Shalrisa said.  "And that her family doesn't have to live 
like peasants anymore!  They deserve better!"  She paced about 
angrily before the throne.  "Why?  Why won't you let me take 
action?"

        Queen Glorianna sat on her throne as best she could, for she 
was in the final stages of pregnancy.  Soon, she would take to the 
birthing chambers.  Her baby idly kicked, and Glorianna smiled.  
"Perhaps you have gone blind in your old age?"

        "I can tell you are pregnant, but what has that got to do with 
anythi..."  She trailed off.  "Did you know this would happen when 
you set me to guiding them a decade ago?"

        "I am not the Lord of Heaven.  I am neither all-seeing nor all-
knowing.  Yet, there are no coincidences.  Who among us is wise 
enough to percieve all the hidden chains of causes that shape our 
lives?  There are dozens of other children whom I have set guardians 
over, and any of them or none could have turned out to be 
the one."  She tried to lean forward, but this wasn't really viable 
with her swollen belly.  "It is good to live as royalty, but the best 
monarchs are often not raised as such.  Too much luxury can 
corrupt, while adversity builds strength.  Also, this way, the 
Unseelie are far less likely to find out where to find her, for they 
will not think to look among the lowly.  They will be watching for 
families that suddenly rise to wealth around the same time they 
gained a daughter."

        Shalrisa wasn't convinced.

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

The Summer People 
Chapter 9:  The Wild Hunt

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

Harry said:

       I don't do half as much maintenance on my car as I should.  
For one thing, I hardly know what I'm doing, and more 
importantly, I'm lazy.  So most Fridays, I wouldn't be found trying 
to check the oil on my car, but this Friday, I did.  Finally, after only 
the twentieth or so try, I managed to get the dipstick back into its 
normal place, having only smeared oil all over my hands and 
forearms.  Given that the dipstick had hardly any oil on it, I was 
rather impressed.  It blended nicely with the power steering fluid I 
had spilled on my hands a little earlier.  I wish cars had built in 
funnels.  Or that I had the sense to buy one.

       As I tried to focus on cleaning my hands with some paper 
towels, my meditation on the smell of motor oil was interrupted by 
Alex.  "Hi, Harry."

       I turned around and said, "Hi, Alex,"  then did a double-take.  
She was dressed in a long, rather nice red dress that was cut very 
wide at top, just barely touching the tops of her shoulders, with 
short poufy sleeves that gathered at mid-forearm.  It dipped down 
in front to show off just the top of her cleavage, trimmed with 
yellow frilly stuff.  The skirt was pretty long, going down to a few 
inches above her ankles.  Her usually wild black hair that ran down 
to the bottom of her shoulder blades was gathered into a pony-tail, 
and she was wearing a pair of nice gold earrings, each with a little 
silver Saturn hanging from them.  Only her sandals were part of 
her usual outfit, and they seemed out of place.  For a moment, I 
wondered if she had been possessed.  "You look really good today, 
Alex."

        She laughed pleasantly and spun about.  "I would wear the 
pumps, but they're too uncomfortable.  So you really like it?"  The 
skirt flared a bit, showing off her muscular legs.  The dress showed 
off her well-muscled arms to good effect too.  You could still tell she 
worked out.  I had never seen her like this before, and I was 
impressed, though confused as to why the sudden change of look.  
Maybe she got a new girlfriend, I thought.  Or boyfriend.  

       "Yeah.  You look great."  I finished wiping off my arms.  "Angel 
and Tanya had to run down to Austin to buy something they 
wouldn't tell me about, but you can come hang out in my room for 
a while."  My arms were still a mess of filth, now smeared to a 
more even consistency by the towels.  "I think I'll be taking a 
shower when we get there."  I had got stuck parking all the way 
across campus by the Kappa Alpha house, which meant a hefty 
walk back.  

        Her voice took on a teasing tone which I had never heard her 
use before, "Is that an invitation?"  She winked at me, and I stared 
mindlessly.  

        She is possessed, I thought.  "I don't think Angel would like 
that,"  I babbled.

        Stepping a little closer to me, she said, "Well, you know I 
wouldn't mind if she joined us."  I stammered something 
incoherent, and she laughed.  "You're really easy to tease, Harry."  
She giggled, and I was CERTAIN she had to be possessed.

        I closed the hood of my car and put the power steering fluid 
bottle back in the trunk, then made sure it was locked up and said, 
"Let's go."

        We started back to my dorm, which is about a four minute 
walk away from where I was parked.  "Is Thomas going to be 
running Champions tonight?"  Alex asked.

       "Yeah.  Kathie's gonna be playing with us tonight.  She's pretty 
cool when she's sober and not dating someone."  I tried to resist the 
urge to 'clean' my arms further.  It would only make something 
else dirty.

       "Why isn't she cool when she's dating someone?"  Alex's voice 
had an odd tone to it.

        "Because she always knuckles under to her boyfriends, most 
of whom are dorks and think all gamers are space mutant geeks."  I 
shrugged.  "She could do a lot better, but I think she jumps into 
relationships too fast and wants them too much."

        Alex sighed.  "I was like that in High School."

        I didn't say anything, as I had no clue.  We passed the 
Commons and my stomach rumbled.  Alex laughed.  

         Before I could reply, a knot of guys standing around someone 
fiddling under the hood of a Trans Am spotted us.  One of the guys 
pointed at me and my imminent beating radar went off.  They were 
a bunch of the morons from the Tau Ceti house, or else they had all 
beaten up members of Tau Ceti and taken their club shirts, which I 
doubted since no sane being would willingly pretend to belong to 
that stupid fraternity.  Tau Ceti used to have a mascot, a goat, until 
one day they got drunk and killed it, then tried to claim local 
satanists did it.  

        All of them except the guy working on his car started to make 
a beeline to Alex and me.  I frowned.  "Trouble."

        She glanced over.  "Why?"

        "I can tell."

         I sped up a bit, but they caught us before we got out of the 
lot.  There were four of them, all six foot or more, all sporting buzz 
cuts and Tau Ceti shirts, mostly from their annual 'Bachanalia' 
party, which holds the honor of having been closed down by the 
police every year for the last two decades.  One of them said, 
"You're that Harry Crags bastard, right?"

        "No."  I said, and tried to detour around them.  They weren't 
quite THAT stupid.  

        "He's not a bastard,"  Alex said.  Her voice rumbled slightly.

        "Cute little slut you got there," the second one said.  Unlike the 
others who were all brunette, he was blond.  He looked slightly 
smarter, probably only because he was carrying a book.  "Do you 
seduce someone else's girlfriend every day, or did you pay her?"

         Alex growled.  I stared at him, trying to figure out what on 
God's green earth he could be talking about.  "What are you talking 
about?  I haven't seduced ANYONE's girlfriend."

        "Today, maybe,"  the third one said.  "I saw you making time 
at the Commons with MY GIRLFRIEND!"

        "She told me you were the most handsome man she'd ever 
seen!"  The fourth one said.  

        The first one said, "We'd all heard you were shacking up with 
two women at once, and that's your right, but when you start 
poaching on Tau Ceti territory, you pay a heavy price."

        "I am not shacking up with two women and I haven't been 
trying to steal your girlfriends!  It.."  I didn't know how to try to 
explain it.  The girlfriends must have all been in the mob that had 
been flocking around me when the soda machine got enchanted 
with more of Duke Ironwood's whacked out love magic.  They 
weren't too likely to listen to that.  

        "Don't lie to me!"  The first one shouted.  He picked me up by 
the throat.  He was pretty heavily muscled, and the other three 
looked like they could probably break me off their knees as well, if 
they felt like it.  

       The others started to laugh.  Alex said, her voice tight, "Put him 
down.  Now."

       "Whatcha gonna do, bitch?"  the third one said.  "We're gonna 
whup your little boyfriend good for what he's done, so you'd better 
run along, unless you want a whupping too."

        Alex laughed a cold and bitter laugh.  "Put him down now and 
I won't break any bones."  I heard her stepping closer.

        They all laughed, and I tried desperately to breathe.  Futilely, 
I flailed about with my arms, trying to hit the guy, but he just 
glared at me.  His thumb was pressing into my throat and I was on 
the verge of passing out.

         Their laughter was cut off when Alex slugged the third guy in 
the mouth, and he went flying to the ground, now bleeding from his 
gum.  A look of rage was plastered across her face, and she was 
growling even more loudly.  I could tell she'd gained two inches, 
and her eyes flashed red for a moment.  As he tried to move, she 
came down, stomping on his gonads with her right foot.  

        Never in my life have I heard a man howl so loudly.  He 
clutched himself and started to cry like a baby.  She turned and 
was on the fourth one before he could react, slamming his head into 
a nearby car, over and over again.  He went limp and she turned to 
the second one.  

        The man holding me tossed me aside, and I fell to the ground.  
My head slowly cleared as Alex faced off with the first one, who 
seemed to be the only one who knew how to fight.  The blond guy 
ran off, heading for the Tau Ceti house.  I mumbled, "He's going for 
help, Alex," and tried to get up.  

         I don't know if she heard me, or if she cared if she did.  They 
were wrestling now, rolling around on the ground.  She had gained 
two more inches, and her skin was starting to take on a greenish 
sheen.  Soon, she had him pinned in a hold, his arms trapped 
behind him and one of his legs bent backwards in a way that had to 
really hurt.  "I could rip off your legs and you couldn't stop me," 
she snarled.  "If I hear you've even looked funny at Harry, I will.  
Then I'll go into your damn fraternity house and kill everything 
that moves!  DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

        His answer was to howl in pain.  I watched, horrified and 
gratified at the same time.  She could break me into a million pieces 
any time she wanted to, but she was using that power to defend 
me.  I have some pride, but the joy I took in seeing members of 
Tau Ceti stomped on outweighed any damage to my pride.  I was 
getting pretty used to people saving me by now, anyway.  "Alex, 
you'd better stop before you really do break something."

         She let go of him, trying to brush the dirt off her dress, and 
mostly succeeding.  She shuddered slightly, and her skin tone 
returned to normal, as did her height.  "I didn't mean to get so 
carried away," she whispered.  

        "Bitch," the man muttered.

         "Do you WANT her to rip off your limbs?"  I asked.  "C'mon, 
Alex, let's go."

          She looked down at the man, then at me, and got an evil 
smile.  "It's no wonder your girlfriend prefers Harry to you.  He's a 
much better kisser for one thing."  She intertwined her right arm 
around my left.  "Let's go, dear.  You know what I always want 
after I deliver a righteous beating."

        I had to stifle the urge to laugh.  "Nothing like it to get my 
blood flowing,"  I said, barely able to keep a straight face.  

         The man slowly tried to sit up and succeeded, wincing and 
glaring at us.  We walked off, arm in arm, until we entered 
Muggleton.  Alex said, "Those guys bug you often, Harry?"

         We headed for the elevator bank.  "Not usually.  Lemme tell 
you all about it."  I told her the whole story in the elevator.  It 
wasn't until we reached my floor that I realized we were still 
walking arm in arm.  

         I glanced about, but no one was in the hallway.  All I need is 
more rumors.  "Race you to my door," I said, laughing, then took off.

         I only beat her because I had a slight head start, due to 
surprise.  I unlocked the door and headed in.  "I'm sorry your dress 
got dirty like that.  Tanya can probably enchant the dirt off it, 
though."

       "Maybe I'll wash it in the shower with you," she said, and I 
blushed again.  Her laughter followed me as I grabbed some clean 
clothing and headed into the shower.  

         It was a soothing experience, as always, but over quickly.  I 
don't live in the shower the way Angel does sometimes.  I half 
expected Alex to be in the bathroom to tease me when I stepped 
out, but she wasn't, so I changed in peace.  When I emerged into 
the bedroom, she was sprawled out on my bed, lying on her side, 
talking to Donny.

         Donny said, "So who are you, really?  You look like Alex, but 
there's no way you could be her.  Doing anything for Halloween?"

       Alex laughed.  "I'm going as the She-Hulk."

        I laughed too and said to Donny, "This is Alex, Donny."

        He stared.  "Wow, never realized you were such a babe."

        Neither had I, really.  Alex can look pretty good when she 
actually wants to, I thought.  Although it doesn't seem natural on 
her.  I still didn't know why she was dressed up like that either.  
We hung out and bantered until Angel and Tanya got back.

***************
Angel said:

     I was surprised by the way Alex was dressed.  I hadn't seen her 
like that since High School.  I'd almost forgotten she'd ever dressed 
like that.  Until College, I was the tomboy of our duo.  She sat up 
and smiled, "Guess who."

        I laughed and hugged her.  "Gee, this must be my sister Brigitte.
What brings you here from Iowa?"

        Alex laughed.  "If I'm Brigitte, I guess I'm here to deliver you 
some mail."  My sister Brigitte works for the Postal Service in Iowa.  
She's 28 with two children, and an ex-husband who doesn't pay his 
alimony on time.  I hate to say it, but my life goal is to not end up 
like her.  

       Tanya said, "You really look great, Alex!" She sounded stunned.  

       "I've got some great news!"  Alex said, beaming at me.  "I won 
an essay contest and got a ridiculously huge scholarship.  I couldn't 
believe it.  I can finally afford to transfer to this money pit you're 
going to!"

       I sat down on Harry's bed by her.  "That's great!  I guess you 
dressed up to celebrate?"

        She nodded happily.  "My advisor threw a little party to 
celebrate, and I went to it this morning in this, and decided to stay 
dressed up.  Now I just have to hope my transfer goes through."

        "Cool!  I have a surprise for you too, but I can't show it to you 
here."  I grinned.  Alex will probably faint, or pretend to.  I grabbed 
her hand and pulled her to her feet.  "Dead or alive, you're coming 
with me."  I winked.

       Donny said, "Don't let her put you in the meat grinder like she 
does to everyone else she says that to, Alex."

       Alex laughed.  "I wouldn't taste very good, anyway."

       I took her up to my room, trying to figure out how to show off 
in a really flashy way.  Not that it would probably shock Alex too 
much, but I was in a bit of a teasing mood.  We got up to the room, 
and I noticed Alex looked oddly nervous.  "You okay?"

       The nervous look vanished, but I could tell it was only because 
she was now trying too hard to not look nervous.  "So what's the big 
surprise?  Did you buy something?"  She didn't sound like she 
thought that was what it was.

       I went over to the mirror and draped the usual towel over it, 
just to be sure, although I made a face at it first.  Alex watched me, 
looking confused.  "Well, Harry and I found something out a few 
days ago."

       She sat down on my bed and said, "Why did you put a towel 
over the mirror?"

       "Just in case someone is watching.  We probably ought to take 
it down, but then the school would fine us at the end of the year."  I 
turned back to Alex.  "Anyway, Tanya and Harry know about this, 
but Donny doesn't, and he shouldn't be told.  Better not to drag 
anyone into this that we don't have to."  I struck a silly pose and 
transformed myself to my faerie form.  "I think we'll be able to be 
friends for a VERY long time, Alex."  Now I just need to learn how 
to transform my clothing.  My faerie form doesn't fit my mortal 
clothing too well.  I was about three inches taller, and everything 
else was bigger too.  What made it worse was that I had tended to 
wear clothing that wasn't too loose.  Unlike Harry, who seems to 
want to look like he stole someone larger's clothing, I like my 
clothing to fit.  My t-shirt and pants were stretched tight and I felt 
like my bra was going to break my ribs.  

        Alex stared at me for a moment in shock, then grinned.  
"Better than Nautilus, eh?"  She sprang over and hugged me, 
assuming her ogre form.  I noticed that her dress still fit her, and 
resolved again to learn the clothing changing trick.  She laughed as 
we hugged.  Finally, she broke off the embrace and said, "So what 
does Harry think about all this?"  Her voice sounded concerned 
now.  "Having a Sidhe for a girlfriend."

        I laughed.  "About the same as me having a Sidhe for a 
boyfriend, I suppose."  I turned back to my mortal form.  "He's 
Duke Ironwood's son."

       She blinked.  "Who are your faerie parents, then?"

       "I don't know.  But we have reason to suspect I'm Glorianna's 
daughter."

       Alex's jaw dropped.  She reverted to her mortal form and 
bowed.  "I...uh..."

       I grabbed a pillow off Tanya's bed and threw it at her.  "Don't 
be silly.  Even if I have to be Queen one day, you'll always be my 
best friend.  So no bowing and scraping and being embarrassed, or 
I'll keep pelting you with pillows!"

       She still looked embarrassed, falling backwards as the pillow 
struck her.  "So when are you going to go ask the Queen about 
this?"

       "Tomorrow.  You'll come with us, won't you?"

        "Sure."  She looked down at the bed, then grinned.  "You know 
what this means, don't you?"

       "What?"

       "WAR!"  She suddenly leaped up and hurled Tanya's pillow at 
me, then charged with my own pillow.  We proceeded to beat each 
other to pieces with pillows.  Later, it was time for dinner, and then 
we all headed up to Thomas' room for our Friday night Champions 
game.  

        Katherine joined us, looking a bit more rumpled than usual.  
In fact, I suddenly realized this was the first time this semester I'd 
seen her without makeup.  I guess everyone's going for a new look 
or something today, I thought.  Maybe she and Alex secretly 
mindswitched and didn't tell anyone.  I giggled.  Katherine was 
playing Blue Lantern, who was basically a Green Lantern ripoff, but 
less competent.  

         After a long argument in which Thomas refused to accept 
Katherine's claim that Vulnerability to Off-Mauve items should 
count as a Common Vulnerability, we got things underway, with the 
Vulnerability being changed to Red.  During our battle with the 
Nefarious Doctor Evil (Thomas is a good gamemaster, but he just 
can't come up with good supervillain names), Doctor Evil hurled Red 
Arrow out the window of his helicarrier.  I was hundreds of feet 
away fighting his ninja bird-bots and couldn't help.  Lightning Rod, 
Tanya's character, can't fly, and neither can Doc Ion (Harry's 
character).  However, Harry came up with a good idea.

       "Blue Lantern, make a giant catcher's mit with your ring and 
catch her!" he shouted.  I should have known we were in trouble 
when Thomas grinned.  

      Katherine easily made the skill check and caught Red Arrow.  
Only one problem.  "Sadly, RED Arrow is immune to your powers 
due to her costume.  She falls right through the glove."

       Alex howled.  Katherine hurled a pillow at Harry, who threw it 
back, and the superhero game turned into a not so super brawl.  
Harry was outmatched to say the least.  Afterwards, we all 
sprawled out mindlessly on the floor for a while in a tangle of 
bodies, pillows, and a few sheets and stuffed animals that got 
pulled off the beds.  Finally, Katherine said quietly, "I'd forgotten 
how much fun I had with y'all last semester."

         Thomas said, "You're always welcome to game with us.  Next 
time you might want to not let Alex plummet to certain doom, 
though."  He had Tanya's head on his stomach, Katherine's head on 
his legs, Harry's feet on his head, and a pillow on his face, which he 
was simply talking through.  Tanya pulled the pillow off his face 
and slid it down under her head.

      Tanya said, "So why'd you go out with that bozo, anyway?"

      "I thought he was a nice guy."  She sighed.  "I seem to find 
princes who turn into toads when you kiss them."

       Alex nodded.  "You and me both.  I kissed a lot of toads in high 
school."

        "But you did better in college?"  she asked.

        Alex frowned.  "For a while, then I got dumped by someone 
who couldn't take me as I am."  She laughed.  "So I guess I'll just 
have to go to my fallback plan."

        "What's that?"  Harry asked.

       "I'll just marry Angel."  She winked at Harry, who stared at her 
for a moment, then started to laugh.  There was something odd 
about her laughter, but I wasn't sure what.  Tanya and Katherine 
and Thomas started laughing as well.  

       Tanya said, "That would sure keep you busy, eh, Harry?"  She 
tickled him.

       Thomas sat up.  "Well, we've achieved a high enough level of 
silliness, we need to get serious now by playing a game in which 
people shoot lightning from their fingers."  He laughed some more 
and we got back to the game.

       Red Arrow managed to save herself with a grappling arrow 
fired into the helicarrier which then dragged her all over town as 
she tried to climb back up it.  The game was a success.  Tanya 
stayed in Thomas' room afterwards, while the rest of us headed 
down to my room.  Harry kissed me goodnight at the door, and I 
asked, "Aren't you going to stay, Harry?"

       He shook his head.  "You and Alex don't get to spend much 
time together, so I'm gonna get out of the way so you two can girl-
talk and stuff."

       Alex stared at him with a weird look for a moment, then she 
smiled broadly.  "Thank you, Harry."

       Harry winked at Alex and said, "Don't do anything I wouldn't 
do."  He kissed my cheek and said, "Love you, Angel.  Goodnight."

       Alex laughed loudly.  "In other words, I can do whatever I 
want with her?"

        "I love you too, Harry.  Goodnight."  I stood and watched him 
walk off.  Did those two know something I didn't?  They'd been 
giving each other weird looks all night.  I was glad they got along 
well now, though.  Having your boyfriend and best friend feud is 
pretty lousy.  
       
       We both got dressed for bed, although Alex had another 
surprise for me.  She stepped out wearing a green version of the 
same pajamas that Harry and I wear, although mine are red and his 
are burgundy.  Sticking out her tongue at me, she said, "Now we can 
match too," and winked.

       I laughed.  "Maybe people will mistake us for twins."

       I sat down on my bed and reached for Mr. Bear, but Alex had 
him.  She held his head to her ear and nodded.  "You'll get your 
usual honey payment in the mail, Mr. Bear.  They did that HOW 
MANY times?"  

         Given all the weirdness I've experienced this semester, it 
would not have surprised me if Mr. Bear really HAD been telling 
tales on me, or getting honey payments from Alex in the mail.  "Is 
he your new boyfriend, Alex?"  I asked, teasingly.

       Alex laughed.  "Give me a few minutes and I'll remember that 
list of ten reasons teddy bears are better than men."  She held the 
bear to her ear again.  "Okay, whisper the list to me, Mr. Bear."

       I giggled.  "If Mr. Bear could talk, he could blackmail me pretty 
well."

       "You can trust me,"  Mr. Bear said.  "I love you too much to 
betray you, Angie."

        I shrieked.  Alex fell over laughing.  "You spook easy, Angie.  
I've been working on magical ventriloquism.  Guess I'm getting 
better."

        I tossed a pillow at her, and we beat each other up for the 
third time today.  Alex and I have probably had enough pillow 
fights to be ready to go professional if there was such a thing.  
Finally, we both ended up on my bed, panting.  I had regained Mr. 
Bear, who I was hugging to my chest.  "Bad bear.  This is all your 
fault."  I giggled again.  

       A thought struck me.  "So who did you date in college that 
dumped you?"  I couldn't remember who she might have been 
talking about.  She'd told me about a few dates, but no serious 
relationships that I knew of.

        Alex's face clouded.  "Just this...A special person who helped 
me get my act together.  Helped me believe in myself when I never 
had.  I was very much in love, but then they found out about me 
being a faerie, and never wanted to see me again."

        Alex hadn't ever told me about this.  "I'm sorry, Alex."  I 
reached over and squeezed her hand.

       She smiled wistfully at me.  "It's not your fault.  Since I got 
dumped, only two people have interested me romantically at all, 
and they're both taken."  She sighed and reached over and patted 
Mr. Bear.  "Three if you count Mr. Bear, I suppose."  She laughed a 
little.

      "What, making time with MY BEAR?" I said in mock outrage, 
then held Mr. Bear to Alex's lips.  "Hmm.  He just can't keep off you, 
I see."

       Alex winked.  "That's the plan.  First your bear, then your 
boyfriend, then you."

       You're such a tease, I thought.  "I think that if I ever actually 
saw you kiss Harry, I'd have a heart attack."

       Alex looked surprised, and her voice sounded ever so slightly 
shaky.  "Why?"

       "I'd be sad that you were betraying your abiding love for Mr. 
Bear."  I laughed and she laughed too.  "You know he lives for your 
love, Alex."

      She rolled over on her back, crowding me against the wall.  "I 
had to beat up some punks who were after your boyfriend earlier 
today."

      I blinked.  "What?"

      "Apparently there was some sort of disaster with an enchanted 
soda machine that made a lot of guys' girlfriends love Harry and 
they came after him for revenge.  So I kicked their ass."  Her voice 
got a little more serious.  "Nobody messes with my friends.  
Nobody."

       "Thanks, Alex.  I'm glad you helped Harry out.  I hope they 
don't come back."  My magic takes too long in the mortal plane, and 
I can't kick butt without my sword, I thought.  Not too much I can 
do to help Harry.

       "Harry's a friend of mine now, and I take care of my friends.  
If they come bother you, lemme know and I'll disembowel them for 
you."  Her offer was casual, but I could see a glint of red in her eye.  
I hope she didn't hurt those guys too badly, I thought.  

       "Well, we're off to go see Queen Glorianna tomorrow, so that 
probably won't be a worry."

        "I'm going to skip my Monday classes so I can stay through 
Sunday, since that's going to be Samhain.  The Unseelie might try 
something on Samhain."

       "Like what?"

       "Like the Wild Hunt."

       This was not something I wanted to hear.  "As in Herne the 
Huntsman and his pack?"

       Alex nodded.  "On Samhain, they ride at the call of the Queen of 
the Unseelie, and on Beltaine, they answer to the Seelie Queen.  
There's all sorts of crazy stories about them, but the only thing I 
know for sure is that once they start on your trail, nothing can stop 
them except keeping out of their grasp until the sun rises on All 
Saints' Day and that everyone they encounter who isn't a target 
becomes part of the group of hunters."

       "They can't enter the mortal plane, can they?"

       "On Samhain and Beltaine, all Faeries can freely cross back and 
forth...and make full use of our powers in the mortal plane."

       "Maybe Queen Glorianna will hide us in her basement."

       "Even Glorianna would be swept into the chase by the Hunt."  
Alex stared up at the ceiling.  "I pray we don't have to face them."

       "There has to be SOMETHING that can stop them!"

       "Well, if you run fast enough and keep out of their grasp until 
the next day, you're fine, and the Hunt can never be sent after the 
same person more than once."  She laughed.  "It's said that Queen 
Teleute once sent it after one of her own children so that Glorianna 
couldn't do it.  The Hunt isn't normally sent to kill.  Normally, you 
send it to capture someone, since it can only permanently kill 
mortals, and sending the Wild Hunt to kill a mortal is rather like 
swatting flies with a M-1 tank. "  She rolled over.  "Don't worry, 
Angel.  I'll protect you."  She was trying to sound strong, but I could 
tell she was scared too.

        "Thanks, Alex."  I didn't sleep well that night.

*********************
Splinter said:

       I missed all my classes on Friday, but I didn't care.  We 
reached Kaltenberg, mother's chief castle, around noon after long 
riding.  I was exhausted, and so was Opal.  Luckily, she was 
expecting us, so we got to talk to her before we passed out.

       We met her in the Blue Room, a small parlour decorated in 
whites and blues, full of nice padded chairs and a wonderfully 
warm fireplace.  We sat and sipped tea, and I tried to pretend I 
wasn't going out of my mind with worry.

       "Mother, what are we going to do?"  I asked.  "Who IS this 
person?  He claims he was your husband before your mortal life."

       Mother frowned.  "He is a dangerous madman, a faerie who has 
been obsessed with me for a long time, seeking revenge for events 
that happened only in his mad delusions.  His name is Martius."

       Opal blinked.  "Wasn't Martius your father?"

       She laughed in reply.  "You have an uncle named Martius as 
well, Opal.  It's a common name.  He most certainly is NOT my 
father.  All four of the Faerie monarchs met their final death 
together in the Great Disaster.   Oberon, Titania, Martius, and Bialla 
would have returned by now if they still lived.  They must be dead.  
It would not have taken them so long to be reborn."  She gestured 
and one of the servants, a cranky old goblin named Rednose, 
poured her another glass of tea.  "Although it doesn't stop Coyote 
from imitating one of them every few decades."

        "So why does he claim all this, then?"  I asked.  "He sounded 
really certain of it."

       "He's insane,"  Mother said.  "Our kind goes crazy much easier 
than mortals, you know."  She sighed.  "He's become more cunning 
over the years, though.  And how he managed to kidnap all of my 
children...but you, of course, I don't know.  But I must set you to 
hunt him, Splinter.  He will underestimate you."

        "You should send the Wild Hunt after him, Mother."

        "The Wild Hunt should never be sent after anyone who has 
hostages.  If we try that, your brothers and sisters will die."  Her 
voice was far too light for someone discussing something that 
horrible.  It made my stomach churn.

       "If he hurts them, I'll KILL him when I find him!"  I shouted.  
Opal reached over and squeezed my hand, whether to comfort or to 
warn me about shouting in front of Mother, I'll never know.  "I 
won't let him get away with this."

        Mother smiled.  "You really love your brothers and sisters, 
don't you."  It wasn't a question.  "I know you often have quarreled 
with them."

        I blushed a little.  "Every family fights.  I've had screaming 
matches with you, but I love you anyway, Mother."

        Her smile deepened.  "I think you love me the most of all my 
children.  Sometimes I think Lothwindel is simply waiting for me to 
die so she can have the throne."  Again, she spoke with a light voice 
that belied her eyes.  Mother never lets anyone know what she's 
thinking if she can help it, but I have a knack for reading her 
moods.  

       Opal said quietly, "She's not the only one."

       I frowned.  "OPAL!"  Turning back to mother, I said, "That's not 
true.  I know you and Lothwindel fight a lot, but deep down, she 
really does love you, Mother.  We all do."

       Mother sighed and nodded to Opal.  "I know, Opal.  Such is the 
life of a Queen.  I lead the pack, but only as long as I am strong, for 
when I show weakness, the wolves will pull me down.  There is 
another reason I cannot send the Hunt after him, Splinter."

       "Because if it doesn't work, you'll look bad?"

        She sighed and nodded.  "Especially if he kills them all, then 
escapes.  Plus, I have reason to believe that Glorianna may have 
already sent the hunt after him once, a hundred years ago."

       "So who will the hunt be pursuing this year, Mother?"

       Opal wormed in his seat, looking uncomfortable.

       Mother smiled at me.  "You will be pleased, I suppose.  Those 
two mortals who you have had trouble with.  Glorianna has plans 
for them, plans which I intend to thwart."

       "Why is Glorianna interested in a pair of mortals?"  I asked.  I 
knew why I was interested in them, but I wouldn't have thought 
they'd done anything as bad to her as they've done to me.  Or as 
bad as they might do.  I remembered the vision granted me by the 
mists and shuddered.  I no longer envied Opal's visions of the 
future at all.

        Opal tensed slightly.  Did he know something that he hadn't 
told me?

        "Queen Glorianna plans to pass them off as her daughter and 
Duke Ironwood's son,"  Mother said quietly.  

        I began to laugh.  "She...no way!  She's got to be insane if she 
thinks that will work!"  That pathetic Angela person could never 
convince anyone she was the Queen of the Seelie Fae's daughter.  
Well, she is an adequate sword fighter, I suppose.  She wouldn't 
keep beating me if I could actually use my magic.  I sighed.  I 
shouldn't need magic to beat a mortal.

        Opal said, "I can't talk about Angela, but Harold has the 
potential to be quite a strong mage.  I don't see how Glorianna 
could explain them not being able to assume a faerie form, though."

        Mother took on a lecturing tone, as if she was explaining 
things to idiots.  "The Queen of the Seelie Fae and I both have 
sufficient power to turn mortals into faeries."

        Opal's eyes became huge, and I simply stared at Mother as if 
she had announced that she and Glorianna were twin sisters.  
"You...But I...why didn't you ever tell me before?"

        "Because it's a secret.  It's also unreliable.  Some people are 
simply too mundane to be transformed and survive.  Others snap 
mentally.  I've only used that power half a dozen times in my 
entire reign...successfully."  Her voice was quiet and a little sad.  "It 
works most reliably on infants.  They are far more malleable."  She 
paused.  "You also can't control the breed which the person 
assumes.  The last person I did it to became quite angry because 
they ended up as a three-headed troll."  She laughed faintly.  

        "But why them?  I mean...Surely she'd want someone 
less...Why them?"  I certainly wouldn't have chosen a mousy little 
fencer to pass off as my daughter.  How the woman had a boyfriend 
was beyond me.  

       "Because they are the mortals who her daughter and the 
Duke's son were to be switched for.  They already shared much in 
common with those children, which will make it easier for her to 
pull off this con."

        "Is her daughter named...Titania?"  No!  That couldn't have 
been Angela in that vision!  It wasn't possible I could be beaten 
that badly by a fake faerie!

        Opal looked as tense as I felt.  "Duke Ironwood's son was 
named Starkherz, right?"

        Mother nodded.  "Strongheart, after his own father, just as 
Titania the younger was named for Glorianna's mother.  It is a 
common practice among the Seelie."  She stared at her hands and 
nervously twisted her wedding ring around her fingers.  "I am not 
yet ready to show them that I have the real Princess and the 
Duke's real son."

        "Why?"  Opal asked.  

       "They are not yet ready to face their parents.  I have forged 
two daggers pointed at Glorianna's heart, but the forging is not yet 
complete.  If I strike too soon, I would only break them and..."  Her 
voice trailed off and she stared at her hands, whispering words I 
couldn't quite understand.  Something about a spot.  She sounded 
guilty.

       "I don't understand, Mother."

        Opal had an odd look on his face.  He often gets it just before 
he has a vision or just before he comes to understand one he had.  

       "Queens must use people, for the good of their subjects.  
Sometimes we must do horrible things.  But it is always hardest 
when we must use those we know best."  She paused.  

        "Don't feel bad because you have to send me into danger so I 
can save my brothers and sisters.  I understand why you're doing 
this.  I'd gladly give my life for my family.  I love you, I love them, 
and I love Opal, and I would do anything for any of you."  I reached 
over and squeezed Opal's hand.  "If it must be done, I will chase 
this monkey who has kidnapped them to the ends of the earth."

       "And I love you, Splinter,"  she said quietly.  "I named you ill.  
You  are no mere shard."

        "I like my name, although if I ever meet those guys who 
named a rat after me...It won't be pretty."

        Opal laughed.  "I don't think they knew you."

       "They'll know me when I get through with them!"  The 
conversation got sillier from there.

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

Harry said:

       We all ate breakfast together the next morning, then crammed 
into Alex's car, since it was the only car any of us owned that was 
large enough to hold us all comfortably.  She has a piece of junk 
Malibu Classic that has seen better days, like the Renaissance, 
maybe.  Washington probably drove it home after his Farewell 
Address.  

        The only good thing about it is that it has a great radio with a 
cd-player, which she had installed this summer.  We headed 
through Thornton, stuck in more traffic than we had expected early 
in the morning, but everyone and their dog seemed to have decided 
they had to get to I-35 as well.  I asked, "So we can actually drive 
all the way to Glorianna's house?"

        "Palace."  Tanya said.  "The Palace of the Stars.  And we can 
drive all the way there.  Finding somewhere to park is going to be 
another story."

        Alex laughed disturbingly.  "I'm an innovative parker."

        This is not something you ever want to hear anyone say.  "I 
don't suppose you can teach us that clothing changing trick on our 
way there, can you?"  I asked.  

       Angie nodded.  "Nothing fits right when I change."

       "You should wear looser clothing like Harry and I do,"  Tanya 
said.

       "I like my clothing to fit so I don't look like I can't pick out 
clothing that's the right size,"  Angel said.  "Anyway, so how do we 
do this?"

      Tanya and Thomas tried to teach us.  It's a fairly simple faerie 
trick.  You put some of your power into your clothing, then 
visualize it becoming what you want to be wearing.  The problem is 
that if you don't focus clearly, you can end up with problems.

      I kept ending up with solid purple clothing.  Angel ended up in 
something that resembled a blue sack with holes, then in her 
underwear, which made her blush horribly, then in a very plain 
green dress which looked like a green t-shirt sewn to a green skirt.  
She sighed.  "I can't get everything to stay in my mind at once."

       I, on the other hand, could wear anything I wanted...if it was 
purple.  "At least you're not purple.  I don't like purple!"

       Tanya reached over and put a hand on Angel's shoulder.  The 
green dress turned reddish gold, with golden trim, with long, right 
sleeves pinned at the wrist with a pair of matching golden roses.  It 
was high in back, but low cut in front, with a hem embroidered to 
look like a vine-covered wall.  In fact, it was lower cut than 
anything I'd ever seen Angel wear, including bathing suits.  

        Angel blushed a bit.  "Thanks, Tanya."  She looked down at her 
breasts and blushed a bit more.  Tanya didn't seem to notice.  

        "Can you do me an outfit too?"  I asked.  

       She nodded.  I got a nice blue silk shirt with silver buttons, 
covered with a black vest and a dark blue jacket with silver 
embroidery of little cliffs.  Under that, I had blue knee length 
pants, gathered tightly at the bottom and long silver hose down 
into really silly looking shoes with turned up toes.  All thankfully 
free of purple, but tighter than I like.  I prefer loose clothing.

      We got out on the open highway, and suddenly the world 
lurched, and we were driving down a long road of silver.  I was 
stunned to see so much silver in one place.  I could buy the Earth 
with a few miles of road.  "Is that real silver?"

      "As real as anything in Faerieland,"  Tanya said.  "If you 
touched it with cold iron, it would turn into limestone or some 
other cheap rock or mineral."  

        I shuddered slightly.  Becoming a faerie had its good aspects, 
but I had forgotten about the downers, or at least some of them.  
"Does that apply to all faerie magic?"

       "A lot of it.  If a faerie sets your house on fire, you can't put 
out the fire with cold iron, but if he turns your house into a 
cabbage, you probably could turn it back, as long as it didn't stay 
that way for too long."  Tanya said.

       "How long is too long?"

       "Depends on how strong the faerie is, whether or not you are in 
Arcadia, and whether or not the magic produces a 'unnatural 
result'.  Making a volcano erupt is natural.  Making it erupt molten 
cheese is unnatural."

         I laughed at the thought.  We spent the next few hours 
roaring through the forest and dodging around horses and carts.  
Most of that time was spent on etiquette lessons, not that we could 
learn everything, or even just what we needed in a few hours.  
       
      The forest changed periodically, shifting from jungle to pine 
forest to old oaks to scrub brush along sharp, highly visible, and 
mildly surreal borders.  "This is the weirdest forest I've ever seen," 
I noted.

       "Each duke, duchess, count, baron, earl, marquess, archon, 
khan, tsar, etc, has their own vision of what a forest should be, and 
weather doesn't cross the boundaries of realms, so Arcadia has 
some really WEIRD terrain.  Especially since not all the realms are 
forests,"  Tanya said.  "I've seen deserts next to rain forest."

       "Mr. Wilkins would explode."  He was our geography teacher in 
high school.

        Tanya giggled.  Her voice took on a lecturing tone.  "MISS 
Cromwell.  MISTER Crags.  If you're done giggling in the back and 
discussing slaying orcs, perhaps you'd like to tell us about the 
PRODUCTS of Afghanistan?"

        "Sweaters?"  I replied nervously, then laughed.  I had done 
really horribly in that class.  Too many facts without nice 
mathematical patterns to connect them.  Tanya did wonderfully, 
though.  I like science because everything fits together coherently.  
Tanya likes history and geography because it's so messy and 
unpredictable, I guess.  History more so than geography, but they 
both have too much memorization of odd quirks for my taste.

        "Wombats!"  Tanya shouted.

        "Lead!"  Alex shouted.

         "Churches!"  Angel began to giggle.

         "Very small rocks!"  Thomas said.  "Freedom fighters!  Elvis!"

         We all babbled incoherently for a while.  Shortly afterwards, 
the forest parted and we drove onto a vast grassy plain.  A city 
glinted in the distance.  As it grew closer, we could see a strange 
mix of architecture from many times and places.  One of the 
buildings towering over the city looked like the Dome of the Rock, 
while another looked like a Roman coliseum, and a third looked 
like a tower spun from sugar and spice.  The city sat by a huge 
lake, and other cities could be seen on the far shores of the lake, 
which looked sort of like a curvy plus sign with a huge island in the 
middle, on which sat a beautiful palace of gold and ivory and 
crystal.  Bridges from each of the cities ran to the island.  A wall 
surrounded each town, but buildings spilled out beyond the walls 
along the roads.  

        "Behold, the Palace of Stars,"  Thomas said.  "Okay, let's run 
over the formal greeting ceremony ONE more time..."

*********

Angel said:  

       I got a lot of stares as we entered the Palace and headed for 
the Blue Great Hall.  Apparently the palace has thirty one Great 
Halls, used on different days of the month.  This one is decorated in 
blue.  Having the men stare at me was kinda flattering, although I 
kept wishing Tanya had given me a higher neckline, as it got more 
stares than I wanted.  

         We were all in faerie form, of course.  Dozens of faeries milled 
about everywhere, including even a two-headed giant in formal 
garb, which is a sight to see.  The heralds were both sidhe, two 
snooty men with long red hair and formal red-gold uniforms 
marked with a golden G.  I guessed that meant they served the 
Queen.  They looked at us with disdain.  "I suppose this means you 
want to go in," one said.

        "Sorry, the Queen is only entertaining those of Ducal rank or 
above, their kin, or their invited guests right now.  She's expecting 
an important guest."

        Harry grinned.  "Well, I'm kin of a Duke and these are my 
guests."

        The first herald rolled his eyes.  "You?  You look like a country 
bumpkin.  There are no...uh...what are you?"  He looked at Harry 
more carefully.

        "My mother is Lady Rowanford, the dryad, and my father is 
Duke Ironwood."

        "The Duke's son is missing."

        "I found myself,"  Harry said.  "And I found someone else too."

        "Oh really?"  the second one said skeptically.  "And who might 
that be?"

        "The Queen's daughter."

        They both began to laugh, then actually looked at me and 
froze in place.  "..."

         My turn.  I stepped forward, "You don't want me to tell 
Mother that you kept me waiting, do you?"

         The second herald quietly fainted.  The first one turned and 
threw the doors open, then blew his trumpet.  Everyone in the 
room spun about and looked.  He shouted, "Lord Strongheart and 
his party, Lady Aquamarine, Lord Flamehair, Wildbriar the Ogre 
and..."  He hesitated.  I smiled at him.  "Lady Titania, the Queen's 
daughter."

         The room fell absolutely silent, except for someone dropping 
a glass on their foot.  We strode forward and the mob of conversing 
fae nobility parted like the Red Sea for Moses.  The Queen sat upon 
her throne, smiling at us and looking amused.  She was...She was 
more beautiful than I can describe.  I wish I could draw it for you.  
All faeries, even the ugly ones, are disgustingly beautiful.  Well, she 
stood to them as they stood to most people.  She was dressed in a 
beautiful dress of cloth of gold with red-gold trim, a rose in her 
hair, twined about her golden crown.  Her hair was long and 
reddish-gold like mine in my faerie form, running down to mid-
back.  Her face was noble, and her eyes were a  piercing blue.  For a 
moment, I wanted to get down on my knees and worship her.  

        Everyone else was down on their knees, though Tanya had to 
grab Harry's shoulder and force him to kneel.  Glorianna and I 
stared silently at each other.  I didn't know what to say.  Maybe 
she didn't either.

         She broke the silence, finally.  "Let us rejoice that our 
daughter has returned to us.  We shall feast on Samhain in 
earnest!"

         There was a great cheer, and Glorianna stood, stepping down 
the steps of her throne.  I had never seen someone look so happy in 
my life.  I tried to speak, but nothing came out of my mouth except, 
"You...I..."

         She hugged me.  "My daughter.  I am very proud of you.  You 
are everything I hoped for."  

         "I...I have a lot of questions for you,"  I whispered, hugging 
her back.  I was still scared out of my mind, and not sure what to 
do.  I resolved to discuss the problem of having two sets of parents 
with Harry later.  

         The next few hours were a blur of festivities.  I ate enough to 
explode.  I danced until my legs ached.  I was introduced to 
hundreds of nobles and got twelve marriage proposals from people 
I had just met.  Two of them were women.  Alex was dancing on a 
table with some blue skinned fellow who turned into mist below 
his waist.  A genie, I think.  The sun was setting by the time the 
Queen finally took me aside and helped me escape from celebrating 
myself to death.  

         We stood on a balcony, looking out on the lake.  For a while, 
we simply stared out onto the waters.  The sun was setting, and one 
of the four cities glittered prettily from its light, while the lake 
turned a rainbow of colors.  I still didn't know where to begin.

        "You're probably wondering how I can be sure that you're my 
daughter."  Her voice was light and pleasant.  It seemed to always 
be that way, although I had only a few hours experience to go by.

        "Among other things."  I was still in shock, trying to adjust to 
all this.

        "I marked you at your birth so I would know you when I 
found you.  I hid the mark very well, but it shines forth now, 
though only I can see it, Titania."  She paused.  "Or would you 
rather I called you Angela?"

      "Umm...whatever you like."

       "Angela is a good name.  Your mother has good taste in names.  
I look forward to meeting her."  She turned and smiled at me.  I 
could easily see her smile launching several thousand ships.

        "You...want to meet Mom?  I mean..."

        "I gave birth to you, but I know you will always see her as 
your mother.  I hope in time you may love me as you love her."  
Glorianna sighed a little.  "We must get your family to safety soon.  
They will likely be in danger from the Unseelie, if they manage to 
link your mortal identity to your true self."

         A mental image of Splinter chasing my mother with a sword 
filled me with fear.  I wouldn't let that happen.  Never!  "Yeah.  
Like that nutcase Splinter."  I sighed.  "Or what happened with 
Tanya's father."

         "He will be taken care of,"  Glorianna said.  "He will be cured, 
if we can find the way."  She paused.  "Once Samhain is over, there 
is much I must teach you."

         That reminded me.  "Your highness," I began.

         "Call me Mother," she said, smiling again.  "It will be good 
practice."

         I laughed a little.  "Mother, we're afraid Queen Teleute may 
send the Wild Hunt after us."

         "Not to worry.  Teleute has bigger fish to fry.  An old enemy 
has kidnapped all of her children but Splinter."

         "Did Splinter escape him?"

         Glorianna frowned slightly.  "He didn't even try to capture 
her.  I have no idea why.  His name is Martius.  He's a Sidhe like us, 
though Unseelie.  He stole a large chunk of our library a century 
ago."  She frowned more deeply.  "He's very dangerous, very insane, 
and I think he consorts with demons."

         I gulped.  "There are demons running around Arcadia?"

        "There are demons in the mortal plane as well.  Don't expect 
red skin and a forked tail.  Most demons look just like anyone else, 
just like angels.  They blend in, most of the time.  Anyone could be 
an angel or demon, even your friend Wildbriar."

          I hadn't even thought to ask Alex what her faerie name was.  
I liked it.  "Why wasn't she Lady Wildbriar when the herald 
announced her."

        "She's not noble,"  the Queen said.  "Most people aren't.  But I 
can fix that.  I'll make her a Countess."  She thought for a moment, 
tapping her cheek like Mom does when she's thinking.  "For her 
services in protecting you.  Yes, that'll make a good excuse.  I'd 
make her a Duchess, but Lady Somby would howl.  And when she 
howls, all the harpies go on the warpath and...anyway, I'll have 
Raven write up the papers and proclaim it at breakfast.  I'm sure 
we've got a spare tiara lying around somewhere."  She stared off 
into space.  "Ahh, yes, that silver one.  Perfect."  Returning to the 
balcony's reality, she said, "I could try to swing a ducal title, but 
that would probably cause too much trouble."

       "Harpies?  Lady Somby?"

       "I'll tell you later.  The many 'joys' of court politics."  She made 
the word joys sound like a curseword.  "For now, we will talk of 
lighter affairs.  I approve of your choice of a lover.  Clearly he holds 
your heart and he will be a politically wise husband.  Duke 
Ironwood is probably so happy he can't even speak coherently."  
She laughed merrily.  "And I'm glad you've already got the core of 
a small party around yourself.  You will need good and loyal friends 
in the days to come, friends who know you as you truly are."  She 
sighed.  "Only two people remain who remember me as I once was, 
and one of them hates me."

       "Who?"

       "My lover and Queen Teleute.  I can't blame Teleute for hating 
me.  I wouldn't have executed her if she had stopped plotting 
against me."  She sighed more.  "I did many great things in my 
single mortal life, but I messed up several times as well.  I should 
have simply packed her off to her husband's relatives in France.  
Nothing would have come of it.  That is all water under the bridge."

        "Who were you?"

        Glorianna laughed.  "I was Queen Elizabeth, and she was Mary, 
my cousin.  The famous Mary, Queen of Scots.  She even got her 
own nursery rhyme."  She turned and looked out across the water.  
"This fellow, Martius, who kidnapped her children, was one of her 
mortal husbands.  She blew him to bits."  She thought for a 
moment, then sighed.  "I can't remember if he was James' father, or 
if that was the other one.  You forget a lot in hundreds of years."

        "If he was a mortal..."

        "Has anyone told you about the Great Disaster?"

        I shook my head.  "Not in much detail."

        "In roughly the year 1500 as Mortals reckon it, Martius and 
Bialla, the King and Queen of the Unseelie Court, snuck into the 
Seelie Palace and tried to perform a ritual to destroy it.  Titania, 
who you are named for, my mother, and Oberon, her husband, 
stumbled on it and tried to stop them.  The result was a magical 
disaster that levelled the Seelie Palace of the time, the Palace of the 
Sun, and forcibly reincarnated all of the nobilities of both courts 
and many commoners.  All were born on Earth to mortal families 
and lived out normal lives, never awakening to their fae heritage, 
until they died as mortals and awakened in the Land of the Fallen."

         "So Martius, the Unseelie King, ended up as one of Mary's 
husbands?"

        "A different Martius.  Martius, Titania, Bialla, and Oberon were 
obliterated.  They no longer exist.  Or at least, if they have been 
reincarnated, they remember nothing of their past.  They should 
have shown up by now.  When your mortal form dies, you gain a 
perfect recall of any past lives you had as a faerie before your last 
rebirth.  I'll tell you about that later.  It is complex.  Let me finish 
this."  She sounded just a touch impatient.

        "Sorry."

        "Don't worry about it, daughter.  You just have much to learn, 
and I was never meant to be a teacher.  So, he seeks revenge for 
her blowing him up.  She seeks revenge for my imprisoning her."

         "So who is my father?"  I hadn't even thought about it, but 
suddenly, I realized I didn't have a clue.

         She whistled loudly, and a man stepped out onto the balcony.  
I had seen him earlier, and assumed from his simple black garb 
that he was a bodyservant or something.  He was somewhat 
balding, but he had presence.  He walked over and kissed my hand.  
"I was wondering when I would FINALLY get my cue."

        He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him.  "You don't 
look like a faerie,"  I said inanely.

        "I am quite mortal.  The Queen could change that, but having 
seen one petitioner become a six foot tall invisible chicken, I didn't 
want to take any chances.  You may call me Will."  He smiled.  "You 
may have heard of a few plays I've written."

        I boggled.  "You...and you're my..."

        "I understand you have quite a creative bent.  I would like to 
learn more of these acting games you play."

        More boggling.  "Sure...anytime you'd like to...uh...try them, 
just let me know."  The thought of telling Katherine that 
Shakespeare was going to join us for the next D&D game made me 
laugh a little hysterically.  She's an English major.  "Umm...so how 
are you still alive if you're not a faerie?"

        "The Queen and I arranged to fake my mortal death and I 
came to reside in Arcadia.  Any mortal brought here will never die 
of old age.  Indeed, in some regions, mortals do not age at all, such 
as in the Land of Oz."

        "It's real?"  Even MORE boggling.

        "Every word that Baum penned was true,"  Will said.

        I would have boggled more, but I was fresh out of boggles.  
"Does Dorothy look like Judy Garland?"  My brain was shorting out 
too much to ask anything intelligent.

        "Is Judy Garland blonde?"  Glorianna asked.

        "No."

        "Not even close then, most likely,"  she said.  "But some time, I 
will arrange for you to travel there so you can see for yourself.  
Princess Ozma is quite a gracious host and a noble ally."

        The conversation got even more bizarre from there.

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

Splinter said:

         My mother gave me a questing crystal.  It was a beautifully 
carved emerald rod  which glowed brightly when pointed towards 
whoever I started thinking about.  I couldn't find Martius with 
it...he was shielded from scrying, but I could find my brothers and 
sisters.  I kissed Opal farewell, and mounted one of Mother's 
Icedrakes, great winged white dragons.  They are among the most 
beautiful creatures in all of Arcadia, I think, with glimmering scales 
and diamonds for eyes.  I would need speed, and they have speed 
to spare, for the rod indicated a very long trip was ahead of me.

        Time flows strangely in Arcadia, but so does space, and I 
intended to cheat.  My mother's palace rests in the part of Arcadia 
most commonly visited by mortals.  Even the weirdest parts of 
Terrestrial Arcadia still look like chunks of the mortal realm, just 
strangely juxtaposed.  Yet, there is far more to Arcadia than most 
mortals dream of.  Every cloud is a portal to the kingdoms of the 
air, a great patchwork realm of cloud kingdoms with no earth 
below them at all.  A wise traveller can find shortcuts, and I 
intended to do that.  

         Zooming into a cloud, Bluefang and I chatted and made plans 
as the mist surrounded us.  Normally, an icedrake would clear a 
cloud in seconds, but entering Celestial Arcadia takes longer.   
Bluefang and I have known each other for years, but I hadn't seen 
her for months.  "So how are your children doing?"  I asked.

        "Well, that nitwit Silvertalon tried to fight three firedrakes by 
himself and now has no tail, but other than that, they're all doing 
well.   How are you and your lover?"

         I smiled.  "Opal is wonderful, as always.  Mother has selected 
him to be Herne's avatar."

         Bluefang snorted in surprise.  "I thought she liked him."

        "What?"  That didn't make any sense.

        "Nothing."  Bluefang sounded nervous now.

        I put my best warning tone in my voice.  "Bluefang, what are 
you hiding?"

        "Umm...Sometimes people who serve as Herne's avatar go 
mad."

         "WHAT?"

         "Nothing.  Forget it.  You just imagined I said that."  Most 
people can't read the emotions of an icedrake's face or voice, but I 
have the knack.  I could tell she was very nervous.

        "Why do they go mad?"

         "Well, chanelling the spirit of vengeance for an entire night 
doesn't strike me as being good for you.  Not that I would know,"  
Bluefang said.  "I mean, it's not like I've ever done it.  Icedrakes 
never get chosen, probably because we'd crush his stag he rides 
around on.  And of course Glorianna wouldn't pick an icedrake, 
anyway, so..."  Bluefang was starting to babble.  

         We broke out of the cloud into the perfectly blue skies of 
Celestial Arcadia.  We were amongst the 'river', a thirty or so mile 
wide band of small cloud islands caught in a strong perpetual wind 
current.  I checked the rod.  "Head that way."

         You're probably wondering by now how I stayed on.  Most 
people use a huge saddle and strap themselves on, but I just ride at 
the base of her neck.  She's intelligent, so I don't have to use reins, 
and saddles are humiliating.  I usually bind my legs in place with 
some magic, so I don't fall.  Magic doesn't chafe, either.  I really 
love flying.

          Bluefang banked and started tacking into the wind as best 
she could.  "He has a tough mind, though, so I'm sure he'll be okay."

         I pulled a small gem out of my pocket, an opal set in a 
roughly hewn silver thing that was supposed to be a brooch.  Opal 
has the delusion he can make jewelry.  It's all wretched, but I wear 
it anyway...when he's looking.  This one, however, is special.  It's 
still ugly as sin, but I can tell if he's okay by concentrating on it.  

         Nothing.  It was like he didn't exist.  Not dead...it would have 
told me that.  Maybe it can't find him because he's going through 
the ritual to summon the hunt.  I hope.  He had to be fine.  He HAD 
to.

         The flight through Celestial Arcadia took hours, where a trip 
by ground would have been days or weeks unless I found the right 
faerie roads, but since I didn't even know where I was going, that 
would be too dangerous.  The air gradually warmed around us.  We 
were heading into areas connected to Seelie realms.  

          Bluefang began to sweat.  "No one mentioned anything about 
going somewhere hot..."

         Well, the Seelie lands are the best place to hide them, I 
thought.  No fool he.  "Once we land, you may have to transform 
into something that can take the heat."  Icedrakes can't stand warm 
temperatures.  By warm, I mean much warmer than freezing.  
However, most Icedrakes learn a little shapechanging to a few 
forms that can take the heat.  Bluefang could become a blue-
skinned nymph or a bluebird.  Or a blue cow,  but she really didn't 
like that form.  She had a knack for it, which had gotten her 
taunted a lot as a child, which was something I could relate to.  

         We broke out of the clouds into Terrestrial Arcadia again.  
Right over a huge palace in the middle of a lake.  It was night here, 
although it had been day in Celestial Arcadia.  I was pretty tired 
anyway.  I had a feeling I ought to know what that palace was, but 
I knew I hadn't seen it before.  We headed away from the Palace 
and landed in a field, then Bluefang turned into a bluebird and I 
went to look for somewhere to camp.  We could resume this quest 
in the morning.  

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

Harry said:  

         I normally do not drink.  For one thing, you get sick in the 
morning.  For another thing, you act stupid.  Unfortunately, the 
faeries have some of the best tasting alcoholic beverages ever 
created, and they all sound harmless.  You don't expect Pixie's Kiss 
to have a higher alcohol content than whiskey, especially when it 
tastes like apple/strawberry/cranberry juice.  At least I don't 
expect it.  

          My last memory of the festivities was dancing on a table 
with Alex and a dozen pixies.  I was just starting to realize I was 
smashed after I tried to kiss a cute pixie girl and nearly swallowed 
her.  She shrank me down to her size for a moment, and we kissed 
more successfully that time.  Right as I turned back to normal, I 
stumbled and fell onto Alex, then passed out.

         I woke up in a dimly lit room with a warm body on top of me.  
I was wearing green silk pajamas, and so was she.  A moment's 
thought revealed I had no clue how I got there or into the pajamas.  
Maybe the magic clothing shifted as appropriate, I thought.  

        Angel felt especially heavy today.  And taller than usual. And 
her her hair was longer.  I was starting to get a really BAD feeling.  
It was too dim to tell her hair color for sure, but it looked pretty 
dark.  

        My fears were confirmed when Alex mumbled, "Kiss me again, 
Angel.  You too, sldfkdj..."  Her voice trailed off into incoherency, 
leaving me to guess who the other person was.  Thomas, maybe.  
It's not every day you wake up in bed with your girlfriend's best 
friend lying on top of you mumbling about kissing her.  Well, 
maybe that happens to you frequently.  I didn't know what to do.  

        For about ten minutes, I just quietly laid there and pretended 
to be asleep, or maybe dead.  I hope we didn't do anything foolish, 
I thought.  Her mumbling trailed off, and for a while, she just laid 
quietly, breathing softly.  If I hadn't been terrified of what she 
would do when she woke up, it would have been kind of nice.  
Where is Angel?  How did we end up in the same bed?

        When a maid stuck her head in the door, saw us, got big eyes, 
then hurriedly withdrew, I began contemplating suicide as a career 
option.  If this is a typical palace, even the rats will know by the 
time breakfast is over.  

        A minute later, Alex muttered, "That you, Angel?"

        I bit the bullet.  "Try Harry."

        Alex laughed faintly.  "This must be another dream."  She 
pulled herself up my body, so that her head was lying next to mine.  
"So I guess I'll just enjoy it."

        "It's real.  I guess they just scraped us off the floor and 
dumped us in the same bed."  She was taking this calmly, which 
was good, but that maid...

        "I ended up getting tossed on a bed with a dozen brownies one 
time like that at a wild party.  And a stone statue that the stupid 
people somehow mistook for a living person."  She laughed and 
ruffled my hair.  That scared me, even though it wasn't a threat.  
"You're much better than a dozen brownies or a stone statue."

        I tried to say something, and my brain shorted out.  It's good 
at that.  "I...uh...I wouldn't know."  My eyes were staring at her 
green-skinned hand that was still twirling my hair.  Alex had rough 
hands, though not tremendously rough ones, with large fingers.  It 
was a sturdy hand, rather than a beautiful one, and unadorned.  
She rarely wore jewelry, and I'd never seen her use nail polish.  
Where was her other hand, I wondered, trying to look for it 
without being obvious.  Up under my back, pinned between me and 
the bed.  It was holding me gently, with just the tiniest amount of 
pressure reminding me it was even there.  

        As paranoia ebbed, confusion moved into the vacated space.  
Was she just teasing me?  Had someone enchanted her?  Or was 
this faerie fickleness at work?  I had heard a lot about it, but I 
hadn't really thought about it before.  Her face had an emotion I 
had rarely seen on it before.  Contentment.  She looked calm and at 
peace.  Even when she's happy, Alex is usually not peaceful or 
serene.  Just watching her soothed the fear out of me, and calmed 
my mind as well.  

        We both laid there and stared at each other for a little while, 
just enjoying a lazy morning.  Finally, Alex said quietly, "I suppose 
we'll eventually have to get out of bed, won't we."

        My nervousness returned a little.  "I suppose so.  So how do 
Faeries celebrate Samhain?  And how soon can we expect the Wild 
Hunt to run wild over us?"

        "If it comes, they'll be on the way already, but luckily, it won't 
likely arrive until nightfall.  We're about as far away from the 
Unseelie court as you can get.  And as to celebrating...we dress up 
in costumes and take on another identity for the day and run wild.  
VERY wild."  She grinned.  "You never know who you are really 
dealing with.  I'll help you and Angel disguise yourselves."  She sat 
up on her hind legs and stretched, then got out of bed.  

        Human hormones are bizarre.  While she was actually 
physically in contact with me, I didn't feel any sexual impulses at 
all.  As soon as she got out of the bed, I suddenly wanted to pull 
her back into it.  That wasn't all I wanted.  I admit I've often 
looked at someone and admired their body, but except for Tanya 
and Angel, I never had an attack this bad.  

          It faded fairly quickly, before I could do something stupid, 
but it left a certain residual impulse behind, which I tried to stomp 
on.  Dealing with desire for two women was bad enough;  no way I 
was going to add a third to that list.  Unfortunately, hormones 
usually don't listen to reason.

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

Angel said:

        After spending a very long time talking to the Queen and her 
consort, I finally dragged off to bed.  The Queen had a very nice 
suite of rooms near hers waiting for me, and my own servants, 
which I had no idea what to do with.  I think they put me to bed.  
At least, somehow I ended up naked in bed.  Well, not totally 
naked.  When I woke up, I was wearing a long tunic, but that was 
about it.  

        At first, I thought the man sitting in a chair nearby whittling 
was a servant.  Then I noticed how nicely he was dressed in blue 
and gold garb that didn't look like palace livery at all.  Also, his 
clothing was nineteenth century high society in style, not the 
pseudo-Renaissance of most of the court.  Thirdly, servants don't 
carry swords.  "You've woken up," he said.

        I was groggy.  "Umm...do I know you?"

        "This is our first face to face meeting.  My name is Martius."

        Fear ran through me.  I couldn't even remember if I brought a 
sword, but I certainly didn't have one on me.  How had he gotten 
into the palace?  Of course, this might be some other Martius.  
"Umm...nice to meet you."

        "Yes, I am the Martius you are thinking of.  My affinity is 
thoughts."  He smiled pleasantly, but his hard eyes filled me with 
fear.  "I have waited a long time.  A very long time for you to be 
reborn."

        I had a VERY bad feeling I knew where this was going.  "As 
far as I know, this is the first and ONLY time around for me."  I 
think I'm going to have to go see if there are any fairy minister I 
can discuss theology with, I thought.  I was fuzzy on what faeries 
believed religously, but this wasn't covered in my sunday school 
classes.  

         He laughed.  "Oh, it's been a very long time, Ariadne, and I'm 
sure you won't remember any of it until your mortal form dies.  
That's the usual way it works.  But I remember.  I remember 
everything.  I made a deal."  He grinned, showing his teeth, and for 
just a moment, I had the irrational fear that he was going to 
suddenly turn into a wolf or something and eat me.  What big teeth 
you have, grandmother...

        "My name is Titania, not Ariadne."

        "There are few acts of ego more colossal than naming one's 
children after oneself."  He laughed.  "I must at least give that bitch 
Teleute that much credit."

        "Huh?"  Named after my grandmother, yes.  Named after the 
Queen, no.  "The Queen is named Glorianna."

        "Bialla and Titania always did believe in placing wheels within 
wheels.  They are good intriguers.  I'll give them that."  He paused 
and looked hard at me.  "Hmm.  I didn't think of that.  That would 
mean that...no, that's not possible.  Medea was never that stupid."

         He must be nuts, I concluded.  But also dangerous.  I glanced 
down at my hand.  I was wearing my ring of protection from faerie 
magic.  That might help.  

        He laughed.  "By taking on a faerie mien, you have forfeited 
any protection that might give you.  Of course, the difference is 
only semantics and awareness ANYWAY, but still...magic is often all 
about semantics."

         "Did you come here to confuse me, or did you have something 
else on your mind?"

        "I wanted to confirm a theory.  It disturbs me somewhat.  I 
have trafficed with dangerous allies in my quest, and I increasingly 
find that it displeases me when they are right about certain things.  
Tell Glorianna that I know everything, and that if she tries to 
perform the Rite of Enlightenment again, I will kill her BEFORE I kill 
Teleute." He glanced about and frowned.  "Visitors coming.  We 
shall meet again."  

        He got up and opened the elaborate wardrobe that stood by 
one wall.  It was full of warm woolen cloaks and coats, and fur 
coats as well, with a few dresses on the side.  He pressed admidst 
them, and suddenly a blast of arctic air erupted out of the 
wardrobe, blowing snow about the room.  The wardrobe doors flew 
wider open, then slammed shut.

        What did he just do to the...Someone tell me he didn't just go 
to Narnia.  No one told me that, but shortly afterward, I heard 
Tanya arguing with one of the maids.  "I tell you, I'm a friend of 
hers!"

       "About eighty 'friends' of hers have come by in the last two 
hours, dearie.  She's sleeping.  The lady needs her rest."  I half 
remembered the voice from last night.   An old white-haired sylph, 
I think.  Her name escaped me.

        "Come in, Aquamarine!"  I shouted.

        Aquamarine laughed and came in.  Irene was with her.  The 
sylph stood in the doorway and smiled, then came in after them, 
and started over to the wardrobe.

        "Umm...someone claiming to be Martius just...uh...left through 
the wardrobe."  I felt really silly saying that.

        The sylph jumped back, then stared at the snow on the floor.  
"Oh my.  I'll go alert the guards." She ran off.

        Aquamarine said, "Martius was here?"

       "He said some...weird things."

       Irene frowned and helped me out of bed.  "Let's get you 
dressed for the festivities."  

        "He threatened to kill the Queen if she performs something 
called the Rite of Enlightenment again.  He..."  I was shivering as 
they dressed me.  I didn't even ask myself why we were doing this 
the hard way when I could have just changed the tunic...then again, 
given my state of mind, I might have ended up in a straitjacket.

         Aquamarine blinked.  "You can't do something AGAIN if 
you've never done it."

        "What is it?"  I asked.

        Irene said, "It's an old faerie myth.  Supposedly, anyone who 
performs the Rite of Enlightenment gains affinity in ALL forms of 
magic.  You'd practically be a god.  Of course, every story about it 
ends with disaster.  It's just another warning about grasping after 
too much power.  My favorite was the one with the ten headed troll 
who found it, and discovered you had to cut off nine heads over a 
period of nine hours to perform it.  It kept him so busy, he bled to 
death just before he would have finished the Rite, which he was 
counting on to enable him to heal himself."  If that was her favorite, 
I didn't want to hear the other versions, I thought.  She and Tanya 
had finished dressing me up.  It was a very simple and fairly 
demure orange dress.  I liked it.  Irene said, "Now we have to 
brainstorm some good costumes."

        "Do we go trick or treating too?"  I laughed at the thought.

        "A lot of faeries do, but we'll be celebrating here.  Now come 
on, and let's figure out some good costumes."  Irene's stomach 
grumbled.  "And more importantly...food!"

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

Splinter said:

        By the time I actually got inside, I knew it was Glorianna's 
palace.  Luckily, it was Samhain, so I disguised myself as a blonde 
Maid Marian and snuck inside.  This way, I could carry a bow, and 
no one would care.  Of course, Maid Marian didn't have a bluebird, 
but I told everyone who asked that it was the bluebird of 
happiness.  That got a few laughs.

        The downside of it being Samhain was that Martius could be 
anyone I was looking at, and I might never know.  Heck, my family 
could have escaped and decided to crash the party for all I knew.  
It was breakfast and the place was already a madhouse.  

          I was also totally lost.  The palace was huge, and for obvious 
reasons, I had never been there.  Finally, I staggered into one of the 
dining halls and decided to simply snarf some food.  Might as well 
take advantage of the royal hospitality.  Then I might be able to 
find someone who could tell me where to find a staircase, as the 
rod was indicating I needed to go deeper into the building.

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

Harry said:

        I've always like Robin Hood, so with a little help from Alex, I 
finally managed to put together a nice outfit from the clothing in 
the suite, which according to the servants, was mine to use as I 
liked for the duration of the stay.  Invite as many ladies as I 
wished, one well-groomed satyr said.  I groaned.  I didn't want to 
be known as Lord Mack Daddy.  When he launched into the tips on 
how to handle a love affair with an ogre, I knew I was doomed.  

        At least he waited until Alex left.  She said she was going to go 
confab with Angel about a costume for herself and let the servants 
hustle me off to breakfast.  Everyone was unrecognizable, unless 
you knew their voices well, and not even then.  I'd met a ten foot 
tall troll the previous night, but now he was a three inch tall pixie.  
Apparently some pixie hero named 'Golden Arrow', but I had never 
heard of him, so I just told him it was a great costume.  It was.

         At least I didn't get any efforts to seduce me, unlike the 
previous night.  On the other hand, I lacked the knowlege to 
successfully join in any of the breakfast conversations, which all 
concerned people, places, and things I had never even heard of, so I 
just listened quietly.  

        A blonde woman with a bow sat down next to me.  She looked 
mortal, although I knew she probably wasn't, and she was wearing 
very nicely authentic twelfth century women's garb, although the 
shortbow and quiver wasn't a normal accessory.  She had a plateful 
of food.  "You wouldn't happen to..."  She looked at me, then 
laughed.  "Robin Hood?"

        I nodded and smiled.  "And you're Maid Marian?"  I bet Alex 
got Angel to do this disguise and sent her here as a joke.

       "The real one probably had a beard, you know."

       "I don't fake beards well.  I can't even grow a beard well."  I 
ate some melon.  "Any word on what the sheriff of Nottingham is 
up to?"

        She smiled.  "Kidnapping, I think.  I must seek him in the 
floors below this one, but I know not the way to the stairs.  Can you 
help me?"

        I laughed.  "I don't know the way well, but I'd be happy to 
improvise.  So where is Little John and Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet?"

       The bluebird on her shoulder chirped.  I hadn't noticed it 
before.  She fed it a sugar cube.  "Don't mind Bluey," she said.  "I 
would be very grateful."  She thought for a moment.  "I believe the 
Sheriff has them."  She frowned.

        I played along, although I was starting to wonder if this was 
Angel or not.  She sounded like Angel, but...something wasn't quite 
right.  Probably just some other person, who sought me out because 
by chance our costumes matched thematically, I thought.  

        We finished eating, and I got up, offering her an arm.  "Let me 
escort you, Lady Marian."

        She laughed.  "Lead on, Sir Robin."

        We wandered through a maze of pranks and dancing, out into 
the halls, which were mostly empty.  Several minutes of mindless 
wandering took us to the top of a staircase.  She released my arm 
and bowed.  "Thanks."

        "You're welcome.  I guess I'll go look for my friends now.  
Assuming I can recognize them."

         She smiled.  "Make new ones.  Samhain is a time for endings, 
but also for new beginnings.  Besides, you'll never find them unless 
you planned a meeting in advance."  She muttered something I 
couldn't quite hear, and her expression clouded.  "Perhaps one day, 
I can repay you."  The bluebird chirped, and she turned to the 
stairs.  "I never forget aid given me."

         "Or an insult.  Which you get quite more of," a cold male voice 
said from behind me.  I turned and saw a man, dressed in a 
Victorian suit-coat, with short black hair run through with streaks 
of grey.  He was a huge bear of a Sidhe, most of whom were frail, 
while he was powerfully large.  

         "That's a mean thing to say,"  I said.

         "Well, she is smarter than you, but not by much.  She at least 
has the excuse of having been raised from birth to be a pawn, while 
you are simply a sucker."

        "MARTIUS!"  She shouted.  "WHERE ARE MY SIBLINGS?"

        "Far off in a frozen wasteland.  However, there's some nice 
figurines that you've been detecting in the basement."  He yawned.  
"You shouldn't have thought I'd be so stupid as to shield myself but 
not them.  Anyway, in three minutes, the Wild Hunt will arrive and 
level this place.  Catching you up in the middle of it is just a little 
bonus prize."

         'Maid Marian' blinked.  "How could they get HERE so fast?"

         "Who are you and what's going on here?"  I tried to demand.

         "My name is Martius, 'Robin', and I have neither the time nor 
the inclination to explain myself for your benefit.  I suggest you 
take this chance to start running."  Far off, I heard a horn blow.  
"And as for your question, 'Maid Marian', it is already night at your 
mother's home.  I suppose this will be the first time a direct portal 
has been opened from here to there since the Great Disaster."  He 
raised his cane.  "Two minutes.  Better put on your trackshoes."

         I asked Maid Marian, "Can he do it?"

         "The Wild Hunt is no threat to me, Martius!"  She drew a 
sword from...somewhere.

         He laughed.  "Have it your way."  He fought her, staff to 
sword.  He was good, much better than her, the best fighter I had 
ever seen.  I could tell he was only barely even having to try.  She 
could tell too, and it frustrated her.  

         I wanted to join in, but I only had a bow.  There weren't any 
plants handy, but then I had an idea.  Been a while since I played 
football, I thought.  I dived low and tackled his legs.  He didn't even 
notice me in time, and he went flying.  

         "Not bad.  However, I was fighting people when your great-
great-great-great-grandparents didn't even exist.  Your country 
didn't even exist when I was last a king.  If you think you can win, 
you're a fool."

          'Maid Marian' simply charged him again, but he raised his 
hand and shouted something.  The air cracked  open behind him, 
and we could see a huge, dark clearing.  A horde of wolves and 
ravens followed a man on a stag, a naked horned man carrying a 
spear.  His eyes glowed red, and his horde charged towards the 
growing circle that had cut a hole between places in the air.  
Through a window in the wall, I could see clouds forming in 
seconds, boiling together and blocking out the sun. It was time to RUN.
I grabbed her and took off running as the horde pulled through the gap.  
Martius took off himself through another smaller hole in the air 
just before the horned man rode through the first gate.  

        "Got any idea how we can get out of this mess?"  I asked as we 
sprinted off down the hallway with a horde of wild animals and a 
spear wielding maniac on our tail.  

         She paused and gestured, sealing the hallway with a wall of 
ice.  "That will buy us a few seconds."  She sighed.  "We need to get 
outside.  I can get us to safety, then."

         I noted the bluebird was flying along side us.  "Hitching a ride 
on your bird?"  I joked.

         'Maid Marian' laughed.  "Something like that."

         We kept running. I had the feeling I was forgetting 
something.

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

Angel said:

        Alex found us while we were still arguing costume choices.  "I 
dressed up Harry as Robin Hood, Angel.  Want help doing a Maid 
Marian outfit?"

        I laughed.  "You gonna be Little John, Alex?"

        "Of course."

         Tanya frowned.  "Not too many women in that legend."

         Irene laughed.  "You can be Friar Tuck."

          They tussled for several minutes after that, but finally, we 
worked everything out with me as Maid Marian, Alex as Little John, 
Irene as Friar Tuck, much against her will, Thomas as Will Scarlet, 
and Tanya also as Friar Tuck, even MORE against her will.  We all 
looked like mortals thanks to the disguise magic, although all of us 
except Irene were in faerie form under the disguises.  We set off to 
find Robin Hood.

          Several wild gooses chases sent us hither and yon, and 
finally, we gave up and grabbed some food, then set out again.  It 
was at that point when clouds suddenly covered the sky, darkening 
much of the palace.  Screams and sounds of fighting erupted in the 
distance.  

         Thomas frowned.  "I can't believe the Unseelie are crazy 
enough to do this.  How did they even get here?"

         A horn sounded, and the fighting faded, but the sound of a 
horde moving through the palace didn't subside.  Irene swore.  "The 
Wild Hunt."

         Tanya began cursing in several different languages.  Alex 
looked terrified.  Irene was shaking.  Thomas frowned.  "We don't 
know that."

         "We've got to get out of here!"  Irene shouted.  "Aquamarine, 
we have to get Mother to safety!"  

         "Alex, Thomas, get Angel to the Queen's quarters.  Irene, get 
to Mom and make sure she doesn't do anything crazy.  I'm going to 
go see if it really is the hunt."

         Thomas frowned.  "What if it sweeps you up into the hunt?"

         "If I don't show up in twenty minutes, assume the worst."  
She looked worried and scared, but also determined.  "The hunt 
doesn't hurt those it turns into hunters, anyway."

         "You're planning to go find Harry,"  Alex said quietly.

          Tanya jumped.  "Uhh..."

          I had temporarily forgotten.  "HARRY!  We have to find him!  
I'm going with you!"

         "The hunt isn't after me or him!  It's after you!"  Tanya 
shouted.  "The Queen can protect you, or send you away, or 
something!  You've got to go with them."

         "How do you know it's after me?"

         "You're the Queen's only heir.  If she dies without one, it will 
mean a civil war!"  Tanya frowned.  "Alex, you'll make sure she gets 
to safety, won't you?"

         Alex nodded.  "Be careful, Tanya."

         Tanya thought for a moment.  "Thomas, come with me.  
Maybe you can get some of the palace fires to help us.  If I just 
wander mindlessly, I'll never find him."

         Alex began dragging me away.  "TANYA!"  I shouted. 

         "He'll be safe, Angel.  Don't worry,"  Thomas said, putting a 
hand on my shoulder.  "I won't let him get hurt."

          I sighed.  They were right.  I went with Alex, praying they 
would be okay.  "Does this happen often, Alex?"

          "Only twice in four hundred years.  Normally, Samhain ends 
before they could ever reach here.  How they got to the Palace so 
fast...I can't understand it."  We walked through the halls.  There 
were sounds of anarchy in the distance, but we saw hardly anyone.  
The Hunt, if that was what it was, didn't get any closer.  

         The Queen's Quarters were in a state of anarchy.  Servants 
were running about in total panic, as the Queen conferred with 
various nobles, and a tiny female pixie and a red-skinned fanged 
gentleman in nice clothing sat by a crystal ball, staring into it.  We 
were quickly ushered into the Queen's presence.  "Mother, is it 
really the Wild Hunt?"  I asked.

          She turned to me.  "Yes, child.  It is after you and your lover."

          Few words could have done a better job of panicking me.  
"HARRY!"  I turned to run off blindly to find him, and only Alex's 
firm grip held me in place.  

          "Snap out of it Angel!  You can't fight the Wild Hunt!  They're 
unstoppable!"

           The queen sighed.  "Indeed.  Even I could be compelled to 
join the Hunt."  Horns blew nearby and we could hear smashing 
noises.  "And soon, I may."

           The pixie looked up.  "The Hunt's targets are Princess Titania 
and Lord Strongheart."

         For no apparent reason, Alex suddenly started, then stared 
off into space, looking very scared.  I leaned over and asked, 
"What's wrong?"

         She wouldn't say anything.  Before I could ask more, the 
Queen said, "We must send you to safety and pray that the Hunt 
cannot jump the intervening space so easily as it did to get here."

         Fear was starting to overwhelm me.  I shuddered.  Was this 
how it all was going to end?  "There has to be SOME way to stop it!"

        "Only a miracle can stop the Hunt, but if you can elude them to 
the next sunrise, you will be safe."  She turned to a servant.  "Bring 
the Mirror of Daedalus."

         "What is that?"  I asked.  My body was shaking, and Alex 
hugged me and whispered comforting words, which I ignored them, 
since I couldn't believe them.  I don't indulge myself in despair 
often, but I had taken a double helping this time.  

          "It will take you to where its double resides, untraceably."  
The Mirror was dull and dingy, with a huge bronze frame carved 
with Greek letters.  The queen touched each one, spelling out some 
greek phrase which was, well, greek to me.  The image shifted to a 
great rotunda.  I could hear waves crashing faintly through the 
mirror.  "Go quickly."

        The smashing was even closer, and I heard wolves howl and 
ravens cry.  Alex said, "Are you ready, Angel?"

         I wasn't.  She had to drag me through the mirror.  I was 
screaming for Harry.  The last thing I saw in the room was the 
walls starting to bulge next to the door we had entered through.  
Alex carried me.  Two servants followed us.  The mirror we stepped 
out of turned back into an ordinary mirror almost immediately.  

          I don't remember much of what came next.  I screamed and 
kicked and cursed Alex, the Queen, my parents, Splinter, the world, 
various gods, God, a bully named Timmy I hadn't seen since the 
third grade, and the Unseelie Queen.  Finally, I collapsed and just 
cried and cried.  

         They fed me, although they had to fight me to get me to eat.  
All I wanted to do was scream and run off to find Harry.  I turned 
back to my mortal form at some point, and so did Alex, probably so 
she wouldn't accidentally crush me. 

          We were in the medieval equivalent of a beach house, a 
small manor house on a hill overlooking a beautiful beach.  I would 
have appreciated it more if I hadn't been incoherent and mildly 
insane.  Make that very insane.  I calmed down a lot once I turned 
back to normal, though.  Mortals can't match faeries for incoherent 
rage.

         Alex held me through it all, keeping me from doing anything 
too stupid, even though I cursed her out and tried to beat her to 
death.  We sat on the steps of the manor in front, and she watched 
the sea, trying to soothe me.  Either I wore out, or her words 
worked, or both.  Exhausted, I finally collapsed and fell asleep.  

         The stars were glittering over head when I woke back up, 
drained but calm.  Alex had dragged me back inside and put me in 
a bed.  She was sitting by the bed, reading a book, when I woke up.  
"What time is it?"

        "It's almost midnight.  About six more hours of Samhain, and 
then it's all over?"

         "Any news of Harry?"

         "The Queen sent word that the Wild Hunt left the palace, 
chasing an icedrake."  She frowned.  "Half the people in the palace 
are now part of the Wild Hunt until it ends.  No one knows how an 
ICEDRAKE of all things got there.  Or how Harry convinced it to take 
him.  We don't know for sure he left on it, but it had two riders and 
apparently, it seemed pretty clear the Hunt was after either it or its 
riders, so unless Harry somehow turned into an icedrake..."

          "I'm sorry I hit you, Alex.  You were just trying to protect me 
and I freaked out and..."  I felt really bad about it. 

          Alex got up off the chair and came over and sat down on the 
bed.  "I'm not mad.  If you had been in danger, and I wasn't able to 
help you, I'd lose it completely.  I l...You're my best friend, Angel."  
She reached over and clasped my hand.  "You're not mad because I 
dragged you off before you could go find him, are you?"  She 
sounded worried.

         I shook my head.  "I wish I could be with him, but I couldn't 
really help him.  Not if the Wild Hunt is so invulnerable.  It has to 
have some kind of weakness."  Everything supernatural has a 
weakness.  

         "The Fae have never found one that I know of."  She sighed.  
"Angel, have you ever..."  She trailed off, and looked thoughtful.  "I 
mean, you and Harry...Well, sort of.  Umm.  Donny was claiming 
that..."

         I laughed.  "Never believe anything Donny says without a lot 
more proof.  He thinks he is all knowing."  I dragged myself up to a 
sitting position.  "Did he claim he slept with Tanya on the roof of 
the Dorm or something?"

         She threw back her head and laughed, then sighed.  "Angel, 
do you...do you believe in fate?"

         I blinked.  "No.  Well, sort of.  I believe in God and that God 
gets what He wants in the long term.  So that's fate, to the extent 
that fate exists.  However, we can certainly go against what He 
wants, so fate isn't immutable, at least in the short term."  That 
didn't sound right.  "I mean...we have free will, but even if we 
wreck something God wants, He finds a way to turn it to good 
purposes."  I decided to shut up.  Theology isn't my strongpoint.  I 
cocked my head.  "Something's bugging you.  What's wrong, Alex?"  
Alex gets evasive when she's really worried about something and 
has a hard time speaking coherently.  

       "I just...this morning...I thought it was a dream, and then I got 
too distracted to really think about it, but...he must think...I 
wouldn't have...without asking...we didn't..."  Alex was making less 
sense by the minute.

        "Something strange happened to you this morning?"  A 
memory struck me, and suddenly, I had a pretty good idea what 
must have happened.  This reminded me of a time we both went to 
a party back in high school, one of the few times we ever went to a 
'high school party' style party, and she somehow ended up going to 
bed with this guy and having mad passionate sex.  Then he left 
after she fell asleep, and for days she wasn't even sure if it really 
happened.  Alex did some utterly insane things in high school.  She 
was trying too hard to find a guy, and she got hurt a lot.  

        "I...I was in bed with a guy when I woke up."  She turned and 
stared at the floor.  "I thought it must be a dream.  I didn't even 
remember going to bed at all, so I thought I must have passed out 
after dancing all night."  She sighed.  

         "So then what happened?"  She's been rejected again, I 
thought.  I reached over and hugged her tightly.

         Normally, Alex relaxes when I do that, but this time she 
stayed tense.  "I just flirted with him.  We weren't even naked or 
anything.  I guess they found us passed out on top of each other 
and tossed us in the same bed.  I never realized the nobility parties 
so hard.  Commoners like me don't get invited too often."  She 
sighed harder.

         Maybe this will cheer her up.  "Ahh, but you're going to be a 
Countess.  Mother would have promulgated the decree today, 
but...well, things kinda went nuts."  

         Alex blinked.  "The Queen is going to give me a title?"

         "We'll call you the Countess of Pillow Fights."  That got a laugh 
out of her.  "So what happened with the guy you woke up with?"

         She gulped.  "I wouldn't have flirted with him if I hadn't 
thought it was a dream.  I mean, you know I don't go after people 
who are taken."  Her voice was strained again.  "And I don't want to 
cause any trouble, or anything.  I just..."

         "Is it someone I know?"  Not that I know many people around 
the court.  "How did he react?"

       "I think I embarrassed him pretty badly."  She flushed.

        I bet she really does like him, but she's too shy to say it, 
unless she thinks it's a dream.  Alex is no good at expressing her 
feelings coherently.  And if the guy is actually taken...I sighed.  
Poor Alex.  "So is this a guy you like, but he's taken so you're trying 
to forget about him?"

         She blushed horribly.  "I used to hate him, but now I...uh...I'm 
starting to understand why he's taken."  Alex turned and looked at 
me, looking scared.  "And I can't tell if I really like him, or if I'm 
just desperate.  All my relationships end so horribly and..."

         I hugged her tighter.  "At least you have the courage to have 
relationships.  All I ever did was sit back and hope until I started 
dating Harry."

         "But you got it right the first time,"  she said, sighing.  "I...I...I 
have such a stupid heart."

          "You have a wonderful heart, Alex.  One day, you're going to 
find a really special guy."  This was the sort of thing she told me all 
the time in high school, and I felt hokey saying it, because it's one 
of those huge cliches, but in my case, it had come true, so I had an 
excuse.  "He'll give you more love than you know what to do with it.  
You just have to be patient."  What a load of worthless advice, but I 
didn't know what to say.  "Of course, Mr. Bear will be heartbroken 
if you find someone else, but..."

          Alex laughed, and finally began to relax.  "Can I borrow your 
two boyfriends while I wait for him to show up on the wandering 
boyfriend table?"

          I blushed.  "I only have one boyfriend."

          "So Thomas is really female?  Kinky."

          I was forced to noogie her.  "ALEX!"

          We wrestled for a while, and she won as usual.  "So if 
Thomas offered to swap partners with you for a night, would you 
say yes?"

         I blushed.  "We only all had sex in the same room once, and 
that was  because we were temporarily insane."  That was NOT 
what I meant to say.  "I mean, uh..."

         "In other words, yes?"  Her voice was teasing, but it had an 
odd tone to it.

        It didn't take too much thought.  "Well, maybe..."

        "Would Harry be willing to do it?"

        "Alex!"

         She sighed.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't pry, I just..."

         Very quietly, I said, "He would.  He's loved Tanya since he 
was itty bitty."

         "But he chose you over her?"

         I smiled, feeling just a tiny twinge of triumph.  "Yes.  But it 
doesn't stop him from having feelings for her.  It drives me nuts, 
but then...Thomas kinda..."  It was embarrassing to admit.  "He's a 
good kisser."  That wasn't quite what I meant to say either.  

       "Angel, do you think..."  she yawned.  

       "I think all the time."  She noogied me for that, as was her 
right.  

        "Maybe we'd better switch places.  I ought to stay up in case 
the Wild Hunt shows up, but I'm getting tired."  

         I got out of the bed.  "You sleep.  I need to get some food."  
My tummy was rumbling.

        She tossed off some of her layers of clothing, then clambered 
into the bed.  "Mmmmm.  Nice and soft.  I'll just take a..."  Yawn.  
"tiny little nap."  She slipped off to sleep.

        I let her sleep, and stayed up on watch, since I had gotten 
plenty of rest.  I ended up fretting about Harry all night.  

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

Splinter said:  

         'Robin Hood' and I got outside the palace, barely keeping 
ahead of the Hunt.  It helped that it had split up several times, 
fanning out hunting for its targets.  I hoped we would be outside 
the hunting zone once we got outside.

        For some reason, the Hunt wouldn't stop chasing us.  I was too 
distracted to think about why.  We ran out a door into a large 
courtyard.  "Bluefang, transform!"

        Bluefang began to transform, but it was slow.  The first wave 
of wolves broke through the doors into the garden.  They're going 
to get us before we can get onto Bluefang.  I resigned myself to 
getting swept into the Hunt, and prayed that the rumors Bluefang 
had told me were not true.

        'Robin Hood' turned and shouted out something in a strange 
tongue.  I have little aptitude for plant magic, but I could tell it was 
a spell.  The grass latched onto the wolves, who were slowed in 
their approach.  

      Bluefang continued to transform, wrecking a large chunk of the 
garden.  'Robin Hood' stared in shock.  "You have your own 
DRAGON?"

        "Technically, she's an icedrake.  Come on."  I climbed up onto 
Bluefang, and hoisted him up behind me.  "FLY!  Hold on tight, 
'Robin'." 

         He laughed.  "You should have brought your friend on our last 
raid against the Sheriff, 'Marian'."

        I giggled as we rose into the air.  I shouted down at the Hunt, 
"Tell the Sheriff he loses again!"

        Then the ravens swarmed after us.  The wolves transformed, 
becoming more ravens.  "SHIT!"  'Robin' shouted.  

         Bluefang began flying faster, but the ravens matched her.  We 
flew upwards towards the cloudbank.  "Hold on really tight.  This is 
gonna get dangerous."

        "I'm glad I don't get motion sickness.  Mom would be puking 
by now," he observed as Bluefang began to zig-zag randomly, trying 
to throw off the ravens, who came on, never tiring.  We plunged 
into the fog and could no longer see them.  

        It was at that moment that I realized that unless Mom had 
gotten confused and sent the Wild Hunt after ME, that I had to be 
carrying Harold Crags.  It was a good disguise.  I would never have 
recognized him.  The Wild Hunt wouldn't still be chasing us, 
otherwise.

        "Did we lose them?"  He asked as we plunged through the 
clouds.  We had been in them too long, I thought.  We should have 
broken through to Celestial Arcadia.  Was the Hunt somehow 
closing the border?  Or had Martius done something to us?  

       I sighed.  "No.  I can hear them, and we should be out of this 
cloud by now."

        He suddenly started.  "ANGEL!  Angel is still in there!  I was so 
busy running for my life...Oh God, Angel, I'm sorry...I...I hope you're 
okay."  He shut up, then sighed.  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't make you 
listen to me rant.  My girlfriend is in there and if anything happens 
to her, I just...I'd go mad."

        It was him.  He'd probably take his chances and jump if he 
knew who I was.  I sighed.  My anger at him and his lady had 
cooled.  Martius was far more important.  But if I let him get away, 
Mother will be angry.  But I owe him.  He used his magic to stop the 
wolves and...Wait, he actually stopped the wolves?  Nothing stops 
the Wild Hunt...but then again, my ice barrier had stopped them for 
a little while.  I felt confused and didn't know what to do.  I wish 
you were here, Opal, I thought.  I need your wisdom.  "I wish my 
boyfriend was here, too."

        He laughed faintly.  "My name is Harry, by the way.  What's 
your name?"

       You shouldn't give out your true name like that, I thought.  
You're so trusting.  I suddenly realized I wouldn't be able to take 
him to Mother, even though I should.  He was just a pawn in a 
bigger game.  I knew too well what that was like from my 
childhood.  Luckily, the Wild Hunt never spoke, so it couldn't tattle.  
He had put his trust in me.  I've been betrayed and taunted and 
put down so many times...only Opal ever puts his trust in me, and 
sometimes Mother.  Mother hadn't actually sent me to catch him, I 
rationalized to myself.  That was the Wild Hunt's job.  If I save my 
siblings, she won't care.  He might be able to help.  I couldn't bring 
myself to tell him the full truth, but some of it wouldn't hurt.  "My 
name is Jennifer.  I...I know you from school."

        He boggled visibly.  "Jennifer Cochrane?"

        "That fellow Martius has kidnapped my faerie siblings.  Will 
you help me rescue them?"

         He gulped.  "I don't know how much help I'll be, but...once 
this is over, I'll help you if I can.  I owe you for saving me.  How 
long do we have to run to get away from the Wild Hunt?"

        "Until the next sunrise."

         "ACK!"

         The cloudbank continued endlessly.  Not seeing the ravens 
was worse than seeing them.  I wasn't sure if they were still 
chasing us.  

       "Bluefang, dive.  I can't stand this not seeing them.  We can't 
even be sure they're still chasing us."

       Bluefang dove.  We plunged out of the clouds and into a sparse 
forest.  The reason it was sparse was that it was a ruins overgrown 
with trees.  I frowned.  Arcadia doesn't have any ruins.  Abandoned 
places gradually evaporate, but this looked like a centuries old 
ruins.  Unless some strange fae had created a realm that contained 
a fake ruins.  However, no crows plunged out of the clouds, so I 
decided to land.  "Let's land.  I think we lost them."

       "Any idea where we are?"  Harold asked.

       "Not a clue, but it beats being chased by the Wild Hunt."  What 
am I going to do about you?

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

Epilogue:

       Martius put down his bag of plunder in one corner of his 
laboratory and went to check on his prisoners.  They were still 
alive and quite well restrained.  One of them even spat at him, so 
he kicked her in the face and went back to his loot.

       As he was unloading the items he had filched from Glorianna's 
collection of arcane objects and tomes, the door opened.  "Hello, 
Caligoro," he said.

       "Did the stone work?"  Caligoro was a tall, red-skinned horned 
man with small beady black eyes.  He was dressed in robes and 
wearing a turban.  Tiny flames wreathed him. 

        Martius tossed him the glowing blue stone and three scrolls.  
"Here's what you requested and your stone back."  He wanted to 
keep the stone, but Martius was a man of his word, especially when 
dealing with very powerful fae.  Assuming Caligoro was really a 
faerie, which he suspected might not be the case.  

       "Very good.  Good luck with your experiments.  If you require 
more assistance, you know where to reach me."  He turned to go.

       "Actually, I do have one question,"  Martius said.  "Do you 
know yet what happened to Medea and the others?"

        Caligoro frowned.  "I would give much to know that for sure.  
She hid them from me after they died, but they must be out there, 
somewhere...Perhaps they are simply hidden like you."  He grinned.  
"Well, hidden BETTER than you."

        Martius frowned.  "I WANT them to know I still live.  I want 
her looking over her shoulder every moment.  I want..."

        Caligoro was quite aware of what Martius wanted.  It made 
him a wonderfully easy to manipulate pawn.  Much more reliable 
than the boy, who was starting to worry Caligoro.  Opal sees too 
much, he thought, unlike Martius, who cannot see past his revenge.  
He smiled and began making further plans.