"But what will become of Bubbles?" Kim asked. "I can't just leave her here!" She sat down and hugged the dog.
"Then take her with you," Jenny said.
"I can do that? I can take her to—to Mundania?"
"She's a Mundane dog."
"But in Mundania she'll die in a year or so," Kim said. "She's old. Here in Xanth she can live, because of the magic. I don't want to condemn her to death because of my own selfishness." Because she realized that that was the case: she wanted Bubbles with her.
"Save the second bubble in the bottle," Jenny said. "When you can't keep her in Mundania any more, send her back to Xanth. To one of the folk she likes."
"Like Ma Anathe," Nada said. "Or Wira."
Kim felt a great relief. "Oh, I'll do that! Oh, Bubbles, I can keep you with me!" Bubbles licked her face.
"I hope you can forgive me," Nada said to Dug. "I would much rather have been your Fair Companion, as I was the first time. If you will accept my apology—"
"What, a gourd-style apology?" he asked, smiling.
"Yes." She put her arms around him and kissed him passionately.
Kim, despairingly jealous, could only busy herself with her own business. She brought out the bottle. She found the little blower, and dipped it in the fluid. She brought it out, capped the bottle, and blew. A bubble formed. It expanded, until it became large enough for both girl and dog. She and Bubbles stepped into it. “Take us home," Kim said.
The bubble lifted. It floated to the castle wall, and through it. Kim had only an instant to look back, to see Jenny Elf waving goodbye. Then they were out floating over the landscape and leaving the bone castle behind.
The scene faded, and the chamber in the Good Magician's castle appeared. There lay Bubbles, Nada, and Kim herself, looking into the peepholes of the gourds. The bubble settled over the girl and dog, and the two of them merged with their other forms. When the bubble lifted, only Nada remained there.
They floated out the window and high into the air. Xanth spread out below them, then was lost under a screen of clouds. There was a shudder.
The scene changed again. Kim blinked. She was sitting in her room, before her computer screen, which had gone blank. She was out of the game. Back in reality.
It had all been the game. Now she had to face the mundane grind of schoolwork and dullness. Who would believe the adventure she had had? They would say it was just a game. As if her feelings didn't coun.t She felt an overwhelming grief.
Something nuzzled her hand. She looked down. There was Bubbles!
Kim got down and hugged the dog again. "Oh, Bubbles, I asked for what I most desired—and I got it! It was you, to keep!" Somehow the magic had reached out of the game, and given her this.
Yet that was not quite true. There had been another thing she wanted. But what was the point in brooding about that? In or out of the game, she remained just a plain girl.
The phone rang. Startled, Kim answered it.
"Now, don't hang up on me, Kim," a familiar voice said. "It's Dug. I know I made a real ass of myself. I've been good at that, recently. But I figured I might as well go whole-hog, or whatever pun fits. I'm really sorry about what happened—I mean, when you said—and I never picked up on—"
Kim felt the flush coming to her face again. "That's all right, Dug. I shouldn't have—"
"I mean, I've always been stupid about girls, which is why I'm out a girlfriend now. But I was really out to lunch on that one. So I called to apologize, and—"
“There is no need," Kim said. "I was the one who made the mistake." Her face was burning.
"And when you kissed me, I almost freaked out."
Would he never give over! "I—I—" Kim said, trying to find some way to get away from her shame.
"But you know, I'd be a fool to judge by one kiss," Dug continued relentlessly. "So if you can forgive me for being a blockhead, I'd like to try for more. Like maybe a gourd-style apology. That is, I mean—well, how about a date? So we can start really getting to know each other, you know, to be sure it's not just a fluke. I mean, I don't know anything about you, really, except that you sure can kiss, better than Nada does, and you're real! And—oh, come on, Kim, give me a chance! I can be an okay guy, once you get my attention, and you sure did that. Is it a date?"
"Yes," Kim breathed, realizing that she had after all gotten all of what she most desired. Dog and boy. The Good Magician had known!
Demons Don't Dream Page 33
