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Quinn stands on the grand balcony overlooking the kingdom. The village below appears very poor and filled with peasants who bustled about. Kate stormed onto the balcony and approached Quinn near the half wall.
�You know, Quinn,� Kate said. �This weekend isn�t going to be very pleasant if Brennan doesn�t quit harassing Bev and me. That wasn�t part of our deal.�
Quinn looked at her and appeared surprised. �Brennan�s been harassing you? In what way?�
�He threatened to do things to Bev if I ever left her alone with him again. I don�t know what he exactly meant, but it certainly didn�t sound good,� Kate remarked.
Quinn smiled gently and touched her hand on the wall near his. �You know I�d do anything to please you. What would you like done? Shall I castrate him? Perhaps have him beheaded?�
Kate appeared surprised. �You�d eliminate him for me?�
�I�d do anything for you--providing you accept my proposal,� Quinn informed her.
Kate appeared nervous then attempted a smile. �I have a better idea. Why don�t you just remove the spell that protects him. All I want is some respect toward Bev and myself.�
Quinn snapped his fingers and smiled. �The spell�s removed.�
Quinn escorted Kate and Bev into the courtyard and showed them to the seats that overlooked the arena. Quinn took the seat between them and appeared pleased.
�I�ve arranged a special show in your honor, my dear,� Quinn said.
Two mounted knights in full armor rode into the courtyard and demonstrated their skills on targets with spears and swords. Both women appeared intrigued by the skill displayed. Both knights collected their jousting poles and prepared for the jousting tournament. Kate and Bev appeared tense.
�They can�t get hurt, can they?� Bev asked Quinn.
Quinn chuckled lowly. �One will be victorious--and one will die.�
Both women stared at Quinn. He didn�t look at them. Kate stared at the gleam in his eyes. She looked at Bev with some concern. The two knights raced toward one another with their poles leveled and shields raised. There was a loud thud as one pole struck the metal shield. Neither knight fell from his horse.
�This is barbaric, � Kate scoffed.
�This is the medieval times, Kate,� Quinn remarked with a chuckle. �It�s their way. I didn�t make up the rules.�
�No, you�re just the one making them fight,� Kate remarked lowly.
On the second pass, the black knight struck the shield of the green knight. Neither fell off. On a third pass, the knight in black was knocked from his horse. The green knight tossed his jousting pole aside and removed his sword. The knight in black moved to his feet and pulled his sword from his standing position on the ground.
�This is where the fun really begins,� Quinn announced with anticipation.
The green knight charged on his horse for the black knight on the ground. Both men swung their swords. The black knight knocked the green knight from his horse. Both men clashed swords at one another from their positions on the ground. The black knight struck down the green knight. The green knight lie dead. The black knight removed his helmet to reveal Brennan. Brennan faced the balcony, lowered himself to one knee, placed the tip of his sword to the ground, and bowed his head to Quinn.
Quinn rose to his feet and clapped with a throaty laugh. �Well done, Brennan!�
Kate and Bev stared at the scene with horror. Both appeared sickened.
Quinn looked at both women and laughed. �Oh, cheer up. The other knight wasn�t even real.�
Both women looked to Quinn with some surprise. �He was fighting one of your spells?� Kate asked.
Quinn chuckled and nodded. �But don�t tell him that. He wouldn�t give it his best if he knew. I like to keep Brennan on his toes. Servants should be kept happy and busy. Next week, I�m sending him out to battle an imaginary army.�
�A little controlling, are we?� Bev scoffed.
Quinn looked at her and appeared surprised. A smirk crossed his face. �Brennan owes me his life,� Quinn remarked. �By all rights, he should be dead. I provide him with everything he wants and needs. He�s challenged, rewarded, and sometimes punished, but he�s completely safe in my world.�
�Sounds confining,� Bev replied.
�He doesn�t see it that way, I assure you,� Quinn informed her.
Kate studied Quinn a long moment and sank into thought. As long as Quinn had Bev, he would be able to control Kate forever.
It was early morning before sunup. Kate hurried along the dimly lit path in the creepy, old woods. Finding witch society seemed almost impossible. Kate appeared mildly defeated but remained determined. She looked around the dark woods and frowned.
�I�m never going to find witch society,� Kate muttered softly. �And I�ll be forced to marry Quinn for Bev�s sake.�
The sound of faint music and cackling could be heard in the near distance. Kate stopped a moment, listened, and looked around. She hurried along the path. A glowing light could be seen in a clearing. She followed the dim light of the fire into the clearing. Several witches danced around the fire to strange, medieval music while other stirred something in a large caldron. The substance within the caldron suddenly erupted into a large mushroom cloud within the clearing. Kate remained by a tree and stared at the sight. A witch suddenly spotted her and pointed a decrepit finger in her direction.
�Intruder!� the witch cried out.
All of the witches suddenly turned into wolves and ran for her. Kate appeared alarmed as they approached while snarling and growling. Kate suddenly transformed into a sixteen-foot tall dragon with a ten-foot long tail. Large wings expanded fifty feet from her dragon body. She let out a loud, dragon roar and spat fire at the ground before the approaching wolves. All twenty wolves abruptly stopped and yelped. The wolves transformed back into the old witches. They stared at the dragon and looked shocked. Kate transformed back into her human form and smiled deviously.
One witch slowly approached her. �My dear,� she said in a crackling voice. �Are you one of us? It�s been so long since we�ve seen one so young.�
�All of the young witches went to France, so we�ve been told,� another said.
�I�m not from here. As a matter of fact, I�m not from this century. A warlock is holding my friend prisoner. He has a spell over her, and if I don�t marry him, she�ll never be released.�
�Quinn,� the first witch announced with a frown. �We�ve seen his witchcraft. He�s evil. He conquered that castle nearly a year ago with his powers.�
