"The three night mares carried that dream to him that very night. But instead of driving Tristan Troll mad with remorse and fear, it made him only somewhat uncomfortable. In short, it bombed. The night mares were greatly embarrassed, and the Night Stallion snorted acrid smoke. He investigated the dream, and this time discovered what I had done. No wonder it had failed; I had delivered reassurance and support instead of terror. I had ruined the whole production, and made the effort of the gourd into a laughing stock.
"That was why I was exiled," Grace’l concluded. "They sent me through and destroyed the gourd after me. I was devastated, and hoped to find another gourd and sneak back. But that was foolish, and about the time that Marrow and Dolph arrived, I realized it. I assumed that Marrow would want to return to the gourd, despite what he said, or that he might have been exiled for some valid reason, so I was cautious. But now I know he is a truly fine skeleton, and I wish I could pick a bone with him, but—"
"Pick a bone? Do you mean you have a disagreement?"
"By no means! That is our way of joining in what to you would be matrimony. To pick out bones and assemble a baby skeleton. But of course I am unworthy, because of my exile, so I can not broach the subject."
"But it is obvious that Marrow likes you, and the two of you work so well together," Nada protested. "That sailboat—' *
"But would he like me if he knew my crime?"
"But it was no crime!" Nada protested. "It was a decent thing you did, for the decent thing the troll did."
"No, it was a betrayal of my kind, just as was the act of the troll a betrayal of his kind."
"But that makes no sense!"
"Perhaps not, in your terms. But Marrow is a skeleton; how would he feel about it?"
Nada, conscious of her own deception, was unable to answer. Now it was her turn to tell her grief, and she did so. "And so I cry for the happiness I shall never have, because I will never know true love," she concluded. "My dreams of marrying a handsome and magical prince will be realized, but the essence of them will be absent."
"Because he is younger than you? I do not understand."
"A girl is supposed to be younger than a boy. I could only love an older prince."
"But that makes no sense!"
Nada smiled tearfully. "Perhaps not in your terms. But I am sure Prince Dolph would be appalled if he knew.”
Grace’l thought for a while. "Need you tell him your age?"
"Indeed, I need not! I shall fulfill his expectation in every way, so he will be happy. My private sorrow is irrelevant, and must not be known."
"I said I would keep your secret, but I do not understand why the age difference should be important, or why you should suffer alone for it."
"If Dolph knew, he would break our betrothal, and my folk would be lost. I would suffer far more then than otherwise, both for my folk whom I had failed, and for Dolph's unhappiness I caused."
"We are certainly of different types!"
"Why don't you tell Marrow how you feel? He would surely be glad to pick a bone with you."
"But I would first have to tell him of my crime, and then he would not."
"We are of different types," Nada agreed. "But I think we have similar problems. We both must deceive those to whom we are closest." With that she slept.
Next day they came into a glade, and were abruptly surrounded by an assortment of beautiful folk, each of whom was marred by an animal feature. The majority of them were lovely young women, dressed in white, with long fair hair. But some had dog's paws, or buzzard's feathers, or a snake's tail. And all of them had bows with strings drawn and arrows aimed. "Halt, trespassers!" their leader cried. He was a handsome young human man, except that his feet were exactly like those of a duck. "Identify yourselves!"
This was Dolph's Quest, so he spoke. "I am Prince Dolph of the human folk, and these are Princess Nada of the naga, Marrow of the gourd, and Grace’l of the gourd. Who are you, and why do you detain us?"
"We are the fee, and I am Fulsome Fee, and we mean to breed with you to revivify our diminishing stock. Each of you may pick a partner from among us for this purpose.”
Dolph smiled. "We can't do that. Nada and I are betrothed, and—"
"That has no meaning for us. Whichever ones of us you select will become your permanent mate, and you will breed with that one the rest of your life. Now choose."
"And we are only nine or eight years old," Dolph concluded. "We could not breed with you even if we wanted to. We don't know how to summon the stork. As for the skeletons, they are not of your kind; I doubt the stork would come for them either."
"Your ages and types matter not," Fulsome said. "We shall simply keep you until you are of age or close enough to it, then demonstrate the mechanism for summoning the stork. We shall assume forms compatible with the skeletons. Our powers of change are limited but sufficient for this. Choose!"
Dolph glanced at his companions. "What do you know of the fee?"
"They are of the elven folk," Marrow said. "They are an old species, as old as all Xanth and Mundania both. They disappeared for a time; this is the first I know of them recently. It is considered best for other folk to avoid them."
Dolph glanced around at the drawn bows. "I can guess why. Suppose I change?"
"Nada would suffer."
Nada knew what each meant. Dolph could change into a dragon and wipe out the fee, but not before their arrows killed her. She could assume only three forms, all of which were vulnerable to arrows. She did not like this at all!
Dolph spoke again to the fee. "I am a Magician. I can change form and my powers are not limited. You must either kill me immediately or let us go. In neither case will you keep us for your purpose."
That, Nada thought, was very well spoken! Dolph was certainly bright enough and brave enough. How sad that he wasn't ten years older!
Fulsome laughed. "A likely claim! Prove it!"
Dolph became an armored dragon. Smoke puffed out as he breathed, signaling a formidable internal fire.
"Now you can not kill Prince Dolph," Marrow said.
"If you kill Nada Naga, Dolph will attack you and destroy you. Let us go our way in peace."
But the arrows were unwavering. "If that dragon moves, we shall kill the naga. If he cares for her, he will not like that."
What would Dolph do? For the first time on this trip, Nada was afraid for her life. A nine-year-old child—he could panic, or make a misjudgment, and she would be the one to pay.
But fortunately it was Marrow negotiating now, because Dolph could not talk in dragon form. Obviously Dolph would not resume boy form while the arrows pointed!
"I repeat," Marrow said, "if you shoot Nada, you will be destroyed. Your arrows cannot hurt me or Grace’l or the dragon, but we can hurt you. All of your lives are hostage to Nada's welfare. You will not be able to increase your tribe then!"
Fulsome considered. "Perhaps a compromise.” he suggested, "Let us have a fair contest, and the winner will prevail without violence."
"What contest?" Marrow asked.
"One of your number will choose companions to depart. If the other three of you are chosen, you depart in peace. If one of us is chosen, you are bound."
"But of course any one of us would choose the others of us!" Marrow said.
"Not if our folk resemble yours."
Marrow paused, and Nada well appreciated why. If the fee changed form to resemble the travelers, it would be hard to tell who was whom. But Marrow probably knew all of them well enough by now to tell. "But each of you has an animal trait. We could tell you by that.''
"We have captured a drift of illusion, that will mask our animal features. It isn't much, but is enough for that. You will be allowed to talk to each, but not to touch; the one you touch is the one chosen."
"But the real ones would identify themselves!" Marrow pointed out. "That would make it no contest."
Fulsome shrugged. "Do you agree?"
Marrow checked with the others. Non
e of them were easy about the matter, but the arrows were unwavering. Nada certainly did not want to die, and she was sure that Dolph did not want to kill the fee. It seemed better to accept the contest, and to make sure they did not lose.
"We agree," Marrow said. "I shall—"
"Not you," Fulsome said. "The naga. She will choose."
"Me?" Nada asked, dismayed. "I can't—"
"Take it or leave it," Fulsome said. "She is the vulnerable one. She cannot cheat."
"None of us will cheat!" Marrow said indignantly. "Are the fee planning on cheating?"
"The fee do not cheat," Fulsome said.
"How could anyone cheat?" Nada asked. "Everyone will be watching."
"The form changer could become a bird and fly away alone," Fulsome said. "The skeletons could find a gourd and escape."
That did not make much sense to Nada. But Marrow shrugged. "Let her choose, then."
Thus abruptly Nada found the weight on her own coils. "Don the hood while we mix," Fulsome said, putting a thick velvet hood over her head.
In a moment the hood came off. Nada looked—and blinked.
All of the folk in the glade looked just like her companions. There were about ten Marrows and twice as many Grace’ls and another ten Dolphs. There were even several Nadas, for good measure. She could not tell which were true and which were false by appearance; the likenesses were perfect.
She could talk but not touch, until she chose. So she would not touch any until she was absolutely sure. She had three tries; if all were correct, then all her companions were free. But her first mistake would be her last, for she herself would be captive, along with whoever she had not yet freed.
Nada was glad she did not have hands, in her natural form, for hands had an unpleasant tendency to sweat cold and be clammy. How could she be sure of the others?
She slithered up to the nearest Dolph figure. "Who are you?" she asked.
"I am your fiancé", Prince Dolph," he replied. "Touch me and save me."
She considered that. Fiancé"? Dolph had never used that term. He was her betrothed. This was one of the fee!
She approached a Marrow. She really did not know him well, so planned to guess him last. That way she might save the other two before risking herself, and if Prince Dolph and Grace’l were saved, that was certainly better than nothing. So this was just a preliminary testing; even if she thought she was sure of him, she would not touch him yet.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am Marrow of the gourd," he replied promptly.
"What is your last name?"
"I have none."
"Too bad," she said. "If you were real, you would know that your name is Marrow Bones."
"Oh, no!" a Dolph figure cried. "You gave it away!"
Nada was stricken. She had done just that! Now every one of the fee knew, and she would be unable to identify Marrow by his knowledge.
But maybe she could recover something from this blunder. She slithered over to the Dolph who had spoken. "Are you the real Dolph?"
"Of course I am!"
"Then you must know Grace’l’s full name."
"Grace’l Ossein," he replied—then clapped his hands to his own mouth, stricken. "I did it myself! Now you'll never pick her out, either!"
Nada was appalled. It was her error too; she should have know better than to ask the question of anyone but Grace’l herself. Now she was in trouble with two selections!
But at least she was sure of Dolph. He knew both Marrow and Grace’l better than she did. She could select him, then ask his advice on the others, and recover them all. She brought her tail around, to touch him with the tip—
"Don't do it!" another Dolph figure cried. "I gave her full name when I introduced us at the beginning! He's a fake!"
Nada froze. Was that true? If so, she had just missed making a terrible mistake!
"I did not!" the Dolph in front of her said. "I said 'Grace'l of the gourd.' Don't you remember, Nada?"
Nada tried to remember, but now could not be sure. That meant that she could not be sure of this Dolph. She turned away.
But the Dolph pursued her. "Don't let them fool you, Nada!" he urged. "I know I can prove myself to you!"
"If you do, she's lost!" the other Dolph retorted. "You had your chance, faker."
Nada hesitated. Suppose this first one was the right one, after all? How could she risk passing him by?
"Nada, listen to me!" the nearest Dolph said. "I can tell you what questions to ask! If you don't like them, don't ask them, but don't pass me by!"
"Sure, he wants to fool you," the other Dolph said, and there was a murmur of agreement from the remaining Dolphs. "If you listen, you'll get so confused you won't be able to recognize the right one when you come to him!"
"That's a lie!" the nearest Dolph said. "You're the fakes!"
"Why don't we let her decide that?" the other inquired sensibly.
"Because she might pick wrong! She's younger than I am, and I'm just a child."
Just a child. Nada fixed on that. Of the two Dolphs, the more distant one seemed more mature—but the real one was a child, given to things like stuffing himself on cake when he got the chance. He believed she was younger man he, and in that he was mistaken—but this was also evidence of his validity. Meanwhile, that murmur of agreement from the other Dolphs rang false; they could not all be real Dolphs objecting to her deception by a false one. It was more likely the other way around.
"What questions?" she asked the closest Dolph.
He grinned. “Like what happened first time we kissed?''
Excellent suggestion! She turned to the distant Dolph. "What happened the first time we kissed?"
"It was great!" that one replied. "You're a very pretty naga."
She turned to another distant Dolph. "What happened?"
"It's a trick question," he replied. "We are too young; we never kissed."
"Anybody else?" she asked, sweeping her gaze across the remaining Dolphs.
There was a chorus of answers, all different. "It made a loud smack!"
"You blushed!"
"I blushed!"
"Your mother caught us!"
"Our noses bumped!"
"It was a forehead kiss."
Nada oriented on the one who had mentioned noses. "You!" she cried.
That Dolph stepped forward. "Yes, I am the real one," he agreed. "How clever of you to ask that question."
Nada looked at the nearest Dolph. "But you suggested it!"
"I've got more," he replied. "What did your mother say when we bumped noses?''
"My mother?" she asked sharply.
"Ask him," he said, giving her a straight look.
She turned to the other Dolph. "What did my mother say?"
"I already answered one," that Dolph said. "Make him answer!"
She looked at the nearest one. "Well?"
"She wasn't there. I never saw your mother. But your father said—" He screwed up his features in thought. "He said to tilt your head, stupid, because—"
He never finished, because Nada slithered up to him, lifted her head, and kissed him. She had never been so pleased to be called stupid in her life!
"Gee, that's fun, stupid!" Dolph said.
She bit him gently on the ear. "That's enough of that! You proved your identity. Now help me pick the others."
"Hey, no fair getting help!" one of the Marrows protested.
"Of course it's fair," another Marrow said. "There's nothing in the contest that says she can't."
"Yes there is!" the first said hotly. "She has to pick, not the boy."
"Well, then," said the second Marrow. "Let's take a vote on the rules. All in favor of letting the Prince help her, raise their hands." He raised his own hand.
Only one other joined him, one of the Grace’l’s.
"All opposed?" he asked, somewhat hollowly.
All the remaining hands went up.
"Guess which two are real," Dolph murmured.
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Of course! "You two!" Nada called. "Come here!"
But now the fee realized their error. They crowded in, so that by the time the two real ones arrived, they were surrounded by all the fake ones. The fake Dolphs had disappeared, replaced by Marrows and Grace'ls. Nada could not tell any of them apart.
Now she was bound not to use Dolph's help. But at least she had saved him. She turned to him. "If I guess wrong, will you tell your folks I tried? My people still need—"
"I will go and help them myself," Dolph promised. "But I don't want you to guess wrong, Nada! You're the neatest girl I ever knew!"
"I'm the only girl you ever knew," she retorted. "Aside from your big sister."
"Yuck!" he exclaimed. "I hate all fourteen year olds! Don't ever get that old!"
She smiled, but mere was a pang inside her. If he ever found out—but of course she could never tell him. At least that reminded her of her session with Grace’l. She knew she could identify the female skeleton—but she might have to betray a confidence to do so.
Maybe she could avoid that, though. "All you Grace'ls," she called. "How did we cross the water? You first." She pointed to one.
"We found a boat."
"You," she said to the second.
"We were carried across by a big bird."
"You."
"I became a sail."
Nada oriented on that one. "What did Marrow become?"
"The rest of the boat."
Naga nodded. She slithered up to touch that one.
"Don't!" another Grace’l cried. "It was a lucky guess! Out of all those answers, one was bound to be right."
They had tried that when she was about to touch the true Dolph. Making it seem that he had guessed. Trying to confuse the issue. This time Naga was not fooled. She brought her tail around.
"Last night!" the more distant Grace’l cried. "Tell!"
Heaven Cent Page 21
