Tales of A Stranded Angel
Chapter Eleven
By Mr. David R. Dorrycott
Angelica Silfverlindh nee Popoluma, Kama copyright Mr. Frederick Anderson. Used with permission.
Ada Cronstein, Miss Devinski, Popoluma household, Songmark copyright Mr. Simon Barber. Used with permission.

Part One
Oharu Wei reached deep within a grove of white flowers, carefully selecting several stems whose buds had
yet to fully open. Again she had not slept the night before and it was showing. Having three days before
returned from a night of island wide celebration, her dreams still kept her from sleep. Creating the sacred
fire that then was used to burn a huge sculpture of a tourist had been but the beginning of that night. She
had spoken with many of her new people through the night of their problems, their needs. Answering
questions, helping find new paths around old problems. For her it had been a wonderful night, for she was
helping. She was serving. It was all she ever in her life had wished to do. Her secret pleasure had
continued until near morning when the last had made their way to a place to sleep, or find a water taxi still
able to take them to where they needed to be. She had even spoken with two priestesses that she had not
met before. It had been a wonderful night, one that had lifted some small part of that great weight attempting
to crush her into the ground. She had even been able to watch her love Molly Procyk for several hours.
From afar of course. Approaching the soul scarred doe would have endangered Molly’s recovery. Thus she
had remained within the shadows.
Molly Procyk. At that name her paws stopped their work. Molly. She for whom the mouse had fallen,
knowing in her mind that there was no possibility of even a simple kiss from the hard bitten Chicago
mobster’s daughter. Her heart though refused to believe that, so Oharu had moved to Main Island, to the
remote near forgotten ancient temple site now known as Great Stone Glenn. Oharu had done everything
she could to insure that their paths never crossed. Yet cross they had. Again and again. That fact bothered
her more than she would allow even herself to admit. Was she unconsciously hunting the doe? Was there
some darkness still within her that would not allow her to leave the American alone? Or was love simply
that powerful. This she did not know.
Footsteps drew her from her thoughts, informing her that her students had finally found the courage to
approach her. She had been aware of their unsettled conversation upon their return. A conversation that
had continued these few days. Something of importance had occurred on festival night that bothered them.
That they had taken this long to decide upon exactly what to do warned the mouse that their concern was
important. Silently she sent a prayer to the Glenn’s spirit that one of her students had not taken advantage
of that curse they had so foolishly created. Watching helplessly as the High Priestess Huakava ripped
forever from her student that gift given her would hurt Oharu almost as much as it would the girl. Certainly
the boy Tehepoa would have had no luck with Angelica. Not on that night. No male would have dared hope
for even a glance from the blonde feline on that night.
“Shishou Oharu” Tehepoa’s voice called. Setting aside her blade and flowers Oharu composed herself even as she turned to face them. “Yes” she asked, fearing what she would hear.
“May we ask questions?”
“Of course. Always. For you are students. It not possible to learn without asking questions. So sit. Let us speak.” She settled down on freshly turned earth, uncaring that it would stick to her lavalava. “I will listen.”
Her students too settled into comfortable positions, though Oharu noted that Nuimba kept further away from her than normal. Could her fear be true? Had Nuimba failed this test?
It was Tehepoa who spoke, as he always tended to do when whit the others. “It is of the woman Angelica Popoluma that we wish to speak of Shishou. We feel that we have failed her. Still in speaking carefully of our actions, of searching all paths available to us that night we can find no failure. Thus we must ask for guidance.”
“I listen” the mouse answered, overlaying her own emotions with calm. Angelica was Spontoon’s newest adopted native. That social problems would occur with such a newly adopted woman were a given. She still had so much to learn.
“We watched over her as you instructed” the fox continued. “As you expected, that Songmark class again
appeared. It was as though they were called. Again, as you warned us. Angelica chose the woman Ada.”
“I understand. Then none of you approached Angelica?”
“I.. I did” Nuimba admitted softly. “I wished to apologize to her. For our curse.”
“Was there more” Oharu asked, knowing already from the young woman’s voice that there must be.
“I..” Nuimba shivered. “I wanted her” she admitted. “I still want her. I think I will always want her. I know that I will never touch her. It is painful.”
Oharu remained silent. Not because she was angry, but because she was surprised. Nuimba? She had not even suspected the girl’s life choice. Had taken for granted that because the three were one, that in truth they were one. “I was not aware you drank from the same stream as I” she finally admitted.
“I did not wish you to know” the younger badger admitted. “I feared that you would send me away.”
“Send you away? For being what the Gods decreed you would be? We shall speak of this later. For today. You did not offer yourself to Miss Popoluma?”
“No Shishou” Nuimba answered quickly. “I wished to. Oh Shishou how I did so wish. I believe that I love her, yet I did not. I could not.”
“Then you have no thing to fear. You did what was both correct. And honorable.” Oharu turned her
attention back to her male student. “As I see this. No thing was done wrong. Then what is this question
you feel so desperate to ask.”
“Shishou. We wish to know. This curse we created. Does it change what one is?”
“Ah” the mouse said, catching the drift of this conversation. “You wish to know how badly you have violated the law. Badly yes, but no, not that badly. Though I could, with effort do such, even the three of you
together still do not have the power to do such. Even by accident. Not yet. Your curse, once a month it
does waken within Angelica’s heart that which she herself would never have woken. It is true that she would
never have walked the path that I, and it seems Nuimba walk. Yet within her had to have been the desire,
no matter how buried. Else such would not have happened. Certainly never as strongly as it does now.
When this curse is lifted she will no longer feel this need. She will be as she was. Simply with experiences
that she may. Or may not decide to taste again. Then it will be fully her choice.”
Tehepoa turned to look into each of his co-students faces. Turning back he took a deep breath before
continuing. “Shishou. Would this curse make one do something one would not wish too. Such as a binding
contract?”
“This curse? No. It is possible to do so. Yes. It is true that one may be made to do anything. With great
effort, great abuse of power yes. One could be made to do anything one would not do of their free will. One
could be made to believe all their life that this was their free choice. Yet to enter a contract, this curse?
No....” Oharu paused, looking again at her thoughts. “What kind of contract” she asked softly. There was
fear in her heart. For there were many contracts available in these lands. Had Ada, in her anger, sold the
feline? At that time. It was possible that Angelica would allow herself to be sold. Could Ada, in her pain,
have done so?
“Angelica Popoluma and Ada Cronstein made Tailfast rings” the fox answered.
Oharu felt the blood flow from her face, felt her entire body weaken. Anything but that. Even Kuo Han rather
than that. “No priestess...”
“No Shishou. No Priestess blessed those rings. Yet to their own Gods did they swear.” Tehepoa blushed under his fur. “It is the same as if a Priestess had blessed them is it not? For their Gods did not refuse
them. We. We were listening from under the window. Hidden well.”
“No fault to you” the mouse answered, though her voice was not as strong as it had been. “I must again study this curse. Nuimba, you will lead in my absence.” She stood, pausing only long enough to retrieve
her blade before walking towards her hut.
“She called me Nuimba” the young badger gasped. “She has always called me Nui.” Quickly she stood, hurrying after her teacher. “Shishou Oharu” she called as she ran.
Ote’he looked after her sister as she stumbled down the path. “This is true. Since we stepped into this place Shishou has never spoken our full names. My sister has much impressed our teacher with her restraint.”
Tehepoa reached out, taking Ote’he’s tail in his own paws. “Had I know that was all it required was to
renounce the love of my heart...” He grinned at the look his companion gave him. “I’d be her student until
my death from old age” he admitted.
Oharu gathered the few things she would need for her trip, ignoring the waiting badger standing just a few meters from her until she was ready. “It is time you stepped up the path” she told the waiting girl in
explanation. “Your sister is none too many steps behind you, nor is he. Yet you have been the one to work
hardest.”
“Tehepoa?”
“He is male. I may only place him upon the path, give him a foundation upon to build. When his time comes one will arrive to take him. He will become a Priest. If that is his choice.”
“Then we will never see him again.”
“Nuimba. This I cannot answer. Perhaps even the High Priestess cannot answer. This you must look into the fires for.” She reached out, touching the badgers forehead. “As I think you should. Tonight. I cannot
see a future that the three of you are not in some way linked. Perhaps you may find the truth. Now I must
hurry, for each second now is precious for Miss Popoluma’s own future. If what I fear is truth. Though, this
is not a great possibility it must be investigated.”
She left the stunned girl behind, making her way up the path, back into the world. Even so Oharu was not too far away when her student abruptly screamed her joy. Nuimba had just realized that she could hear the
Spirits again.

Part Two

Main Island was a short trip this time of day, for both wind and currents had this time decided to help Oharu’s
water taxi along. For the mouse this was a good thing, as her unreasoning fear of the ocean forced her
always to sit in the boats center section, not in the least the most pleasant position to choose. She passed
the time speaking with her pilot, her constant wolf companion when on the water it seemed. By the time she
had arrived to her destination Oharu had learned much of the wolf’s family, yet not his name or his true
reason for ‘being there’ when she needed him. It was a touch unsettling for her, yet she was absolutely
certain that the wolf had no physical interest in her.
‘I have a lifetime’ she reminded herself. ‘I will learn. By the stretching out of my learning, he makes such the more interesting.’ Her wolf companion had landed Oharu almost within sight of the Popoluma
household, leaving her only a bit of a walk to her destination. Soon she discovered that Angelica was
asleep, having joined the night fishers. With her schedule now that of a night person she slept each morning
through. Such fishing was a dangerous occupation Oharu was informed, for if one fell overboard. Well in
the darkness oft times one never found their way to the surface again. Even with battery powered lamps
shining upon the surface there had been those who had become confused, swimming away from the light
instead of towards it. Angelica had made her native family double proud by taking such a dangerous
position. Mrs. Popoluma also spoke in glowing terms how Angelica had saved young Kama’s pet from being
killed by a Euro Scientist. All her words impressed the mouse, who took her leave after only a single cup
of the households cool water.
Accepting that it would be late afternoon before the feline awoke Oharu had taken her leave for another reason. Walking down the beach to that beautiful silver aircraft that waited to speak to her. There she
smoothed out the beach sand above high tide and settled down to meditate. If what she had been told was
as she feared, her work would both be the easier and the more difficult. Had Nuimba’s desire for the feline,
even if only budding at first sight, corrupted the feline’s curse for an instant? Oharu hoped not, still the only
way to be certain was to again approach that twisted knot of curse, desire, hate and dream.
Angelica had been awake some time before she was informed of her visitor, and where her visitor awaited her. Fearing for her precious aircraft Angelica hurried down the beach to find Oharu still meditating, a safe distance from her precious Silver Angel. Realizing that her aircraft was safe from harm Angelica
approached the mouse, only to find that nothing she did (short of actually striking a native Priestess) would
wake her. Once she was aware of this Angelica did something that not long ago she would never have
thought of doing. Entering her craft she returned with a small tarp, a bag of stakes, rope and several
collapsible poles. In a very short time she had constructed a shelter, protecting Oharu from the afternoon
suns baking heat. Assured that her shelter would not fall in the days mild breeze Angelica hurried back to
her home. From a seasons experience diving for pearls the feline knew one this for certain. This long in
the heat, unprotected, anyone would want water.
Oharu withdrew from the dreamworlds to find herself under shelter. This both pleased and amused her. Opening her eyes only a little she found that her shelter was made of European materials, expensive
European materials. Only Angelica could have done this. It explained even more of what she had found.
“Water, Honored Mother?” that dream soft voice offered.
Opening her eyes fully Oharu found herself gazing into Angelica’s so soft eyes. “Yes, please” she answered. “You are more beautiful even than Molly.”
“Your doe” the feline said as she poured water from a large pot that had been half buried in the sand.
Something else the European would not have bothered to do before. “I understand you have given her your
heart.”
“She is mine only in my dreams” the mouse admitted, accepting a large mug of cool water. “She has no desire for me. Thus I wish never to speak of her.”
“I wish I could say the same” Angelica admitted, sitting in the sand no more than an arms length from Oharu. “I wish to apologize.”
Oharu sipped her water. “For?”
“I laughed at you.”
“You were right to do so. At that time. For I was the fool. I knew better. Yet in my feelings of being right, I gravely erred. I bear you no ill will.”
“I know now what that curse does Honored Mother. I know how powerful it is. You were strong not to take me that day, I know now that I would have given myself to you. Freely. I stole from this village. I admit that now. I wanted money for fuel. I wanted my beautiful Silver Angel repaired so that I could leave this place.
You could have had me arrested. Deported. My Silver Angel sold as scrap metal to repay my crime. Still
you gave me another path, a choice. Few in Europe would have done as much.”
Oharu sipped her water, enjoying its coolness. “You may leave at any time Angelica Popoluma. Your aircraft may leave at any time. You may not fly your aircraft from this place. Or returning fly away again. Not as
long as this curse is upon you.”
“So I have to marry Ada?”
“Only if that is your true desire. Is it?”
	Angelica hugged herself, looking first back to the Popoluma compound then to her aircraft. “I’ll do whatever I have to. To leave this place.”
“Then you will never return. Do you truly wish to marry Ada Cronstein? To be her wife forever. To bear
children with her? To grow old in peace with her and your grandchildren? Is this truly your great desire? For
if the answer is yes then you must marry her. For she has already given you her heart.”
“Why am I so calm?” Angelica asked abruptly. “I should be screaming. I should be yelling.”
“You have had shock after shock so great that even now your emotions are dry. Soon you will scream. You will shout. Soon you will look again at a certain shark killer.”
“And in a months time I will be back in Ada’s arms, won’t I?”
“Or another’s. Yes.”
Angelica stared at the Priestess before her. Studied the mouse as intently as she had every studied anyone. “I am not attracted to you. I am not thinking of Ada. I know the difference now. I know that soon my
thoughts will turn towards her again. Stronger each day until I may no longer bear them. Why? What is
happening to me”
“That thread which so binds your heart is a very dangerous one” Oharu explained. “It has reached deep within your heart. It has found within you an ancient love. One from lives before. Angelica. You are not
being forced to do anything you have not, in some life before done. It is only letting that ancient love
freedom for one night every twenty nine. What you feel is real. Real for an Angelica who rode a horse, wore
armor and had for her mate another. A Lady who died much too young of an illness you could not defeat.
Such was your oath to her that even now she is with you.”
This statement brought laughter from the feline. “And you know this how?”
Holding out her empty mug Oharu waited in silence. Finally Angelica took the hint, refilling that mug with cool water. After drinking half the water in one go Oharu looked towards the aircraft. “She has been part
of you all your life. Your time with Ada has woken her. She likes Ada yes. She accepts Ada, but you must
know that she loves you still.”
“Wait” Angelica snapped. “You’re saying you can really talk to inanimate things. That some ancient woman I supposedly loved once has woken. Is floating around here like a ghost? You think I believe that?”
“No. I do not. There are no ghosts.”
“What? Prove your claim.”
Oharu finished her water, setting the mug down. “To learn how to fly as well as you do took years correct?”
“A lot of years yes.”
“Angelica. To learn to speak with the spirits, the Gods as I do now took me sixteen years. Do you wish to speak with her yourself? It will take that long to teach you. Thus I can not expect you to believe me any
more than I can believe you could fly through a storm and not lose your way. I cannot do this. Thus I either
take on faith you are able, which I do, or consider you a charlatan. Why should I expect different from you?”
“Because you have never lied to me” Angelica admitted. “How much longer must I live with this curse? How long for you to unravel it?”
“But the one thread, it is gone.”
“WHAT? How?”
“You saved Kama’s pet from death. In payment for endangering your own life she banished the curse. It is more than I or any Priestess now living could have done. But she left behind that one thread.
Strengthened it in a way I do not understand. Angelica. I do not know why she did this, but remember
Kama is a child with no family. Still I would no more attempt to undo something that child has done than you
would attempt to drink aircraft fuel in the center of a bonfire and expect to survive. For myself, the results
would be as fatal.”
“So I still can’t fly out.”
Oharu pushed herself up from the sand. “No. Any other place in this world you may fly your aircraft. Here? No. Nor do I know what it will take to release you. For as I said. Kama has changed that thread. Changed it in a way that I find unsettling. Changed it as only a child would. I will speak with her, but until she herself understands I cannot hope that this will change anything soon.”
Angelica watched as Oharu brushed the sand from her own lavalava, realizing that it was true. Other than a growing respect she felt nothing for the mouse. No desire, no love. Not even friendship. Absently she
reached up to the ring of fur hanging from her neck. Even in her horror, even days after she found that ring
she still couldn’t part with it. “What do I do, Priestess? Bind myself each full moon as a monster is bound,
or a madwoman?”
“You are neither. Find one who you may trust. Explain your problem. She will care for you without taking advantage. You have a family now. Use their resources. I will speak with them. Explain. You will not go
out with the boats tonight. For we must talk.”
Standing Angelica again looked to her aircraft. “If I had to choose. I must accept that I prefer Ada. But I will never marry her. It is a man for me. Strong, giving. Not a woman.”
“Then I will speak with Ada as well. I will bring her here tonight. We will find an understanding.” Oharu
noticed what Angelica was playing with. “You still wear that?”
Looking down Angelica pulled her paw away from the ring, yet made no move to remove the necklace. “I don’t know why” she admitted.
“Angelica. Ada would make you a great friend. If, as I fear, Kama has made this thread a part of your life then there is not an honorable citizen of this nation who would deny you your full moons. Perhaps Ada is
the answer to this puzzle. Perhaps her being with you will allow you to fly out. I can not know, I am simply
a Priestess in training. I am not a Goddess. Now I must go to Ada. My thanks for both shade and water.
I will return before midnight. You will be waiting me.”
“Oharu...”
“Yes?”
“You called me Miss Popoluma. Why?”
“That is who you are. You were adopted into the Popoluma family. You are as much a Popoluma now as if you were born from her womb. You are no longer a Euro. You are a Spontoon native. A citizen of this
nation as much as any born here. Subject to Spontoon law you hold all the privileges that go with those
responsibilities.” Bowing slightly to the young feline Oharu turned and left.
For a few moments Angelica stood, her mouth open. Very slowly, very deliberately she raised one paw, closing her jaw. Then she fell to her knees dumbfounded.

Part Three

Songmark’s gates were locked closed by the time Oharu arrived. Instead of turning away though she
walked up to the two girls holding council over a deck of cards. “I have come for Ada Cronstein” the mouse
announced, as though it were something she did every day.
“Too late. Come back tomorrow” the second year girl announced, still studying her cards. “Gates are
closed.”
Oharu’s paw coming down slightly cupped against the gates many times painted wood released a sound much akin to a gunshot, causing both girls to jump. “You will call Miss Devinski. You will tell her that Oharu has come for Ada. You will do this, or explain why there are two aces of hearts in standard deck to the third years now watching. NOW!” Her rough voice ripped through the two like a rusty sawblade. Fumbling, one picked up the phone, closing a switch while the other began picking up cards as fast as she could. When the hound arrived she was none too pleased.
“I was reading a letter” she informed Oharu.
“Catherine. As much as I value our friendship I have been much too long without sleep” the mouse
explained. “I am most short of temper. Much ashamed of this. To my actions I offer apologies. I require
Ada Cronstein come with me to Main Island now. Not tomorrow.”
“If I refuse?”
“I will come in and take her. It will be most messy. Our friendship may suffer. Please Catherine. I beg you, I am near the edge of a disaster and must deal with this tonight. Else I will watch a great error occur.”
“Has this anything to do with that Tailfast ring Ada was crying over last night?”
“Everything” the mouse admitted.
“Get her, and tell her to bring that ring” Miss Devinski ordered, pointing at one of the girls. “You, cards.” Sheepishly the second girl surrendered her deck while her partner ran. Spreading open the deck Miss
Devinski studied each one. “There is only one ace of hearts” she reported.
“Are you certain? Or are they all ace of hearts?” Oharu asked with a grin.
Looking again at the cards the hound released an oath than near blistered her students’ delicate ears.
“How...”
“You saw only what you wished to see Catherine. Nothing more.”
“In short, don’t play cards with you.”
“Or any Priestess” the mouse admitted. “We cheat. We have to, for we are all very bad card players. We all much dislike lies. Even those over a simple game of cards. Catherine please. Again I apologize for my
actions. My nights have not been pleasant of late. I slept not at all last night or the night before. It does
affect me.”
Turning her attention to the student standing beside her Miss Devinski gave one quick order. “Five laps around the parameter fence for being caught with cards on duty. Now.” Almost instantly her student
vanished. “Molly is tearing you apart” she stated without turning her eyes from the running student.
“She is a large part of my burden yes” the mouse admitted. “There are many weights upon my shoulders my yellow furred pet. Molly is greatest yes, but nothing I could not normally carry with ease for life. My daughter Tatiana as well. My students. My own studies. The Great Book. That book Malou brought with
her that now resides within the Great Mothers care. So much more. It is draining me yes. But each weight
must be carried. No one else is able.”
“Tell your High Priestess then.”
“Admit I am not suitable to be a Priestess? Pet, I believe that I carry no more weight than you did creating Songmark. Do you believe that I am less capable than you?”
“No. No I don’t. And your wrong about that weight Oharu. I have never in my life carried such weight alone. Even with China and Henrika added to my own burden. Ah, here comes our little problem child.” She turned to meet Ada, only taking enough time to order the second girl to follow her companion. “Ada Cronstein.
Explain why I have a native priestess demanding you go with her. At this hour.”
“I don’t know Miss Devinski” Ada admitted, not yet seeing which priestess it was waiting in the dark.
“You will travel with her. You will do what she says. You will return when, or if she brings you back. I will not have Songmark reduced to kindling by one angry priestess simply because you have done something
terrible. Is this understood?”
“Yes Mam” Ada agreed, though in truth she could not for the life of her understand what was going on. “I will need a pass.”
“You will need your head sewn back on if you upset this woman. That is if she lets you keep it. Now get out.”
Ada didn’t even bother to ask about the locked gate, proving to both women her fitness she was over the fence in a flash. Only then did she discover who was waiting for her.
Oharu though said nothing, simply turning to walk to her waiting water taxi. Ada though had walked only a few dozen yards when she remembered something vitally important. She had been in bed, and had
nothing on but her thin nightshirt at the moment .
It was on the water taxi ride that Oharu finally spoke. “You brought your Tailfast ring” she asked.
“Its not real” Ada explained. “Yes. But honest its worthless. Angelica screamed and ran as quickly as she could get dressed.” She waited, but Oharu said nothing. “I’m in deep trouble, aren’t I?”
“What makes a Tailfast ring true?” Oharu asked, ignoring the question.
“Two people in love use their own fur to create two rings. A Priestess blesses it upon Scared Island. After a year, and two Tailfast ceremonies they can marry. But no Priestess blessed these rings. I swear this on
my grandmother’s grave.”
“Your Grandmother is still alive, yet it is truth no native Priestess swore over those rings. Tell me, what was said over them.”
“How... But... I never...”
“Ada. You carry the truth in your voice. It was calculated risk. Now answer.”
“You’d make a great Jew” Ada admitted. ”You want the rough draft or word by word?”
“For now, the general words.”
“Okay. We pledged our love to each other until death took us both. Then. Well, we swore to our Gods that our love was true. I should have known the Swede was lying. Using me. A night of pleasure on my shells.
Then leaving me like a used rag. I just can’t help it.”
Oharu took a drink from her water bottle. Main Island was approaching quickly but they were going to the far side. They would be fighting both current and tide at this hour and that would cost time. It was still a
long trip and she was so tired. Tired and out there in the darkness it waited to feed upon her body again.
That thing in her soul, that thing that had made even the touch of salt water an uneasy event. Her fear was
doing nothing to steady her nerves. “Do you truly love her Ada. Or just wish her body.”
A short laugh came from the canine. “First time, when she was drunk. Her body. Oh yes that sweet
delicious body. She was a prize, nothing more. A prize that night I cold not get enough of. I could have
forgotten her if she had left these islands then. Maybe. I had a month to think about her. Watching her
when I could. Honored Mother. I am in love with her.”
“Your other lovers?”
Ada shrugged, defeated. “Yes, I have other lovers. Maybe I’m punishing myself. What else do you know about me?”
“What you have told me. What your friends spoke of while I drew you. Nothing more.”
“Oh. Oh yes. We did speak freely. I’m sorry Honored Mother. I thought you had been spying on me. That was petty of me. I’m truly sorry.”
“Oharu will do, I have yet to spend my night upon Sacred Island Ada. Until then I am not officially an
Honored Mother. I do not think your favorite lady will desert you. She will understand, one night a month
is impossible for any but a fool. Now I must explain to you the truth of Angelica. Her problem, her own
difficulty.”

Part Four

“Ada” Angelica said in greeting, standing stiffly by the aircraft she had been busy inspecting and polishing.
“Angelica.” Ada’s voice was the softer. From Oharu’s viewpoint it was obvious that Angelica was doing her best not to run away, while Ada wished only to run into the feline’s arms. “You are cursed.”
“Yes. I... I apologize. I woke remembering everything. That last, the rings. It was more than I could
withstand at one sitting.”
“Oharu has so explained. She has explained everything. Even that each lunar month you will be the same. Have you chosen someone else yet?”
“Why?” the blond beauty asked. “You don’t like me anymore?”
Ada stepped back, looking first to Oharu then to her own paws. “Angelica Silfverlindh. Those words I said in that room are still true. I love you. My heart is yours. But I won’t touch you again. Not now. Not knowing
the truth.” She shrugged, still looking down. “As much as I desire to do so. Never again. I’ve loved and lost
before, what’s another time? I was just... Oh hell, I wanted to know because I want to be her, and I can’t be.”
“Why not?”
“Because you silly fool. You don’t love me. Oharu said something about a past life being woken at the full moon. Angelica, I don’t want thirteen nights a year with you. I want every night. Every day. Every moment
I want to be a part of your life, I want to share with you everything. I want to name my first daughter after
you. That can’t happen.” She lifted her head, locking her eyes with the feline as she released the borrowed
sheet she was wearing. It fell to the sand at her feet, leaving her in the paper thin nightshirt she normally
wore to bed in Spontoon’s tropical heat. A nightshirt that soon joined the sheet. In the waning moon’s light
there was nothing about the Songmark student left hidden. “Look at me Angelica. Look hard. You feel no
desire do you. No need to touch. No need to hold. I’m just another woman to you aren’t I? Nothing worth
a moment of your interest.”
Angelica did study Ada. In her memories she touched her, tasted her, smelled her. True, at this moment she had no interest in Ada Cronstein. Yet those memories were of a great shared pleasure. That was the crux of this problem, it had been shared pleasure. She hadn’t been forced or drugged. “You’re right, Ada.
I don’t want you. Not right now. But I will. Oharu explained that I have chosen you twice. Having done so
I would probably always choose you. I don’t know. After the New Moon I know I’ll start thinking that way
again. Wanting to smell your scent, hear your voice. Touch you.”
She looked away, towards her beloved aircraft. “Ada. When the time comes I’ll take the first girl who says yes. Gods, I might even take one that says no and that scares me. I’d rather it be you. I won’t live my life
with you as your wife. I can’t be that. I don’t know how long this curse will be with me because its been
changed by someone who scares even Oharu. I don’t know, maybe we could try being friends? At least,
when were not ripping each others clothes off while this curse is on me. It isn’t just the full moon Ada. As
we approach the full moon I’m more and more interested. I’ll want to touch, to kiss. And sex has nothing
to do with sharing ones life anyway. Oharu warned me that if she cannot find a way to release me, that after
twelve months under this curse it will change me. I won’t become Sappho, like you are. But I won’t care
either way anymore. On any day. I’ve been under this curse almost three months now, counting when it
was first bound to me. Do you really think one Priestess can save me in nine months?”
Oharu stepped away from the two, allowing them their own personal time. To her it was still evident that where Angelica was barely holding herself from running away from the canine, Ada was barely holding
herself from running to the feline. Ada though now knew the truth. Knowing it, the mouse hoped that she
would be able to deal with her disappointment. What the two would work out she wasn’t yet certain, yet at
the moment they were talking. From a distance of over ten feet yes, yet they were talking. Keeping her eyes
on the two in case she would have to intervene, Oharu found a date palm to lean her back against as she
sat in the sand. She was tired, so tired. Within minutes she was asleep.

Part Five

Asleep, to find herself not upon the dream plane but upon the spirit plane. “Who” she asked, knowing that
this journey had not been of her own making.
A form came from the mists, neither male nor female, yet pleasing to the eye. “Oharu Wei.”
Oharu bowed as deeply as she could without falling. “How may I serve you” she asked, discovering that
here her voice was again that sweet pure song of before her mutilation. A gift, but why?
“You serve us well Oharu Wei. You serve as well as any can.” That spirit or God, for here it could be either while appearing the other, settled upon a stone that appeared beside it. “You bring together Kama’s family. This is good.”
“Kama... She wished Angelica and Ada as her parents?”
“Oharu. Kama is still a child. A child who is. You know what Kama is. Why we dote upon her though her form is mortal. If you did not, you would have touched that thread. Kama does need a family. In her child’s
way she has chosen whom she desires. Whom her own heart cries out for.”
“Touch that thread and been forever bound to Angelica as she is bound to Ada.” Oharu noticed a stone appear beside her as silently as the first had appeared. Tactfully she settled upon it, for it was a fool who
ignored a Gods gift. No matter how small. “I would have fought that.”
“To have your heart burned to ash where you sat. We would not have liked losing such a servant as you Oharu Wei. Your intelligence is more than we hoped. For when we approached your Gods we had hoped
only for one that would help weave this lands rituals into a whole again. You have proven to be many times
more than our greatest hope.”
“You turn my head. It is unseemly” Oharu warned.
“You have no Honor Oharu Wei. Thus you have no pride. Nothing we say to you would endanger your
usefulness to us. Yet we feel that you must regain your Honor in order to be fully useful to she whom you
will next serve. This we are aware. So we will make such possible. In the fullness of time.”
“Angelica?”
“You are aware of her fate. Her pride. Her selfishness. She now pays for that, as all pay for their ill actions. Perceived or not. Her payment is light. We have insured that she will not fully reach that point you so fear for her. Angelica has learned. A hard learning yes, still she has opened her eyes. Protecting Kama’s pet
is something she would not have done just two moons ago. Angelica is growing.”
“That thread?” Oharu asked.
“Will fade as Angelica becomes that which she should be.”
“This is good. May this one ask a question?”
Amusement struck her. No laughter, yet it was certain that the emotion was amusement. “You have asked many questions already. Still. We see this is one that you feel important. Ask.”
“Angelica was warrior so long ago. Now she is not. Her love was a Lady. I feel her love near, yet cannot locate her.”
“Think, Oharu Wei. Warrior to Lady. Lady to...”
“Warrior. But there are no female warriors in Angelica’s village.” She stopped speaking, her mouth falling open as amusement struck her again. “Shark Hunter?”
“The same. Very good Priestess, who is no longer to refer to herself as Priestess in Training. Else a certain mortal mouse will feel our displeasure. Allow Angelica to discover this secret upon her own.”
“I shall. I have yet to spend my night upon Sacred Island” the mouse reminded that which was before her. “For all that matters, this is your night on Sacred Island Priestess. We will see you again, in the coming of
time. As we see all, judge all who wish to serve us. We fear that there is not time enough for your ritual
meeting with us. Events unfold too quickly for such luxuries at this time. Now we have an instruction for
you. Once you have returned Ada to her place you will withdraw from observing Angelica, though you may
visit her as much as you desire. You may no longer protect her. You have performed your task. Your
students have performed their task. Now there are other tasks for you. This village’s Priestess will care for
Angelica’s needs now.”
Abruptly the figure became serious. “We have great need for you Oharu Wei. We have great tasks for you. Each could be your ending. Each is important. You may live a month, or a full life. Yes. We are aware of
your passing from your present body. We are aware you will not rest, but return to serve again and again.
As you have too many times to count. We are aware of your life tread. Its full length, its ending. This we
will not tell you.”
“I serve. Thus I am happy” Oharu admitted.
“Yes. That one finds simply being a servant such a pleasure in all her lives. We think that we shall give you your doe...”
“NO!” Oharu screamed without thinking, standing from her stone. Almost instantly she was thrown to the misty ground by a power she could no more defeat than an ant could defeat a battle cruiser.
“YOU WILL NOT....” Silence followed, long and cold silence while Oharu fought for breath under the
crushing pressure. “We see. You love her that much?” That voice was again soft, though Oharu still could
not move.
“You are aware...”
“Answer Priestess.”
Oharu gasped a bit of air into crushed lungs. “Yes” she admitted. “I love her this much.”
Abruptly the pressure vanished, as did that figure. Struggling to her feet Oharu found the stone still waiting. Carefully she settled upon it, feeling pain lance through her chest as she breathed. ‘Fool’ she thought. ‘To argue with the Gods.’ Her thoughts though changed nothing. To protect Molly, even from her own love,
Oharu was well aware she would die before forcing a whisper of thought upon the doe.
“What will be will be” that voice announced from around her. “We have looked upon the future between you two. You still refuse to accept her love in payment for your service to us?”
“I so refuse” the mouse answered, feeling her body begin shivering in fear of her actions.
“Then you are truly a Priestess. We accept what will be, though you could be surprised when that future unfolds. Or not. This secret we withhold from you. We welcome you fully within our fold as a beloved and needed servant. No rules of restrainment now hold you other than those you place upon yourself. Go
Priestess. But know this Oharu Wei. Should you anger us again your futures will not be comfortable ones.
For a very, very long time.”

Part Six

Oharu woke to the dark of early morning. Her body was sore, as sore as though she had been beaten
again. She shivered, not from the cold but from her own actions. Arguing with Great Stone Glens spirit was
one thing. Saying no to a God was... Madness. Pure madness. For it had been a God, not a Spirit she had
spoken so glibly with. This she was now certain. She had won, but felt no greater for having done so. It
had been pure luck she had not died right then. Had she what those Texans called a luck bucket, hers was
now missing its base. Voices caught her attention, bringing her from her thoughts. Angelica and Ada were
still talking, but they were not talking about each other.
“I still need much money for Silver Angel’s care” Angelica was saying. Ada’s answer was the same of
almost all students. “I haven’t any to spare. Not for that.”
Struggling to her feet, finding that they had swollen and were extremely difficult to balance upon Oharu made her way to the two young women. As she did she was pleased to note that they were much closer together.
Still several feet apart, but no longer was one ready to bolt while the other pounced. “Money?” she asked as she settled down again, saddened slightly to hear her torn voice back. For the gift of her birth voice she knew now she would willingly pay a high price, were it offered.
“To care for Silver Angel” Angelica explained. “Barnacles and seaweed grow upon her hull. Rust its eating into her metal. Without turning her engines at least once a month her bearings will flatten. I need to find
covered storage for her, cleaning, fuel and new oil. All that is just a start.”
“How much?” the mouse asked.
Ada gave her a number. “That’s a month” the canine explained, noting Oharu’s stunned look of shock.
“So much to care for a single aircraft?”
“High performance” Ada explained. “Delicate equipment, constant care and very expensive oils.”
“I could not pay for more than a months cost” Oharu admitted. “Were I to give every coin I have. I cannot help you.”
“You might” Angelica explained. “That poster you made of me, Ada tells me it is exceptionally popular.
“There is no money. You gave publishing rights away.”
“True, Oharu. But you are an artist, and Ada tells me that there are rumors that I was kidnapped. I do not wish to demand money from my own father no. Simply by asking him he would give it, then have me dragged back to his horrid banana company. There is a way we think. Ada thought of this. I wish to very much
repay my father for his abuse. I love him greatly, I would never do anything to really hurt him. There is
though his using me as his company model when he knew I could not bear his product. For releasing that
poster, now I can not walk the streets of Copenhagen now without catcalls. I want to offer you a project.
I wish to repay him a very small amount of the pain, the humiliation he has given me. Yet only a very small
amount.”
“That being” Oharu asked carefully. “For my free time is limited.”
Angelica and Ada stood, Ada moving closer to the feline. An action that surprised Oharu. Taking Angelica’s paws in her own Ada held them behind the feline, forcing Angelica into a pose that looked a bit painful, but abruptly made the feline appear very desirable even to Oharu.
“Angelica, slave to the Fire Queen” the feline announced. “A twenty four plate series of a certain felines fall into slavery. A High Society European reduced to some crazed natives play toy. It is a very popular fantasy in Europe at this time, becoming more desirable in certain circles since the publishing of that Hareem book.”
Ada carefully released Angelica, stepping away though obviously not wanting to. “Very adult” the canine continued. “Released to the blue market. It should sell well enough to keep Silver Angel in oil and fuel for a while. At least until I graduate.”
“This is what you wish?” the mouse asked.
“It is the best idea we could come up with” Angelica admitted. “You have perhaps a better one?”
“This I can do. I will be most honest with you both. This is not a style of art I like to work with. Yet you are in need and to be honest, I also require money to live in these lean times between tourist seasons. I also
have three students to support. I must see you naked” Oharu admitted. “It will take three weeks. Perhaps
four. You wish large plates?”
“As large as you can manage” Ada agreed. “For a portfolio that aged old overweight males will hide in their dark libraries. To withdraw to in the evening with a bottle of Port and their lady of the night. I’ll talk with my
dorm mates. I think we can come up with the needed funds to start this. But they will want a share of any
profits.”
Oharu stood again, brushing the sand off her dress. “That is between you and your partners in this
endeavor. For myself, my charge is twenty shells for each drawing. The why, doing this will take all my free
time. My other drawings will suffer. I must support not only myself, but three students. Of course if my fee
is too high there are many other artists in Spontoon. Almost all would grasp this commission with eager
paws. I will certainly understand.”
“Four hundred and eighty shells? At one time” Ada gasped.
“I will accept one hundred shells when I turn over the completed work. You will pay the rest in two months.”
“If we fail?” Angelica asked.
Oharu looked to the two girls, running through her options. “I will demand the money from Songmark of course.”
Ada turned white. “How about I just sell myself to Krupmark first?” she stammered.
“That is your choice. Is this contract accepted?”
In answer Angelica let her own lavalava fall to the sand causing an involuntary gasp from Ada. “What do I need to do Priestess” the feline asked
“Simply turn, move into several positions” Oharu answered. “I will memorize what I must know. This will be noticeable as yourself?”
“Impossible for father not to know who it is” the feline answered. “Or anyone who has ever seen that poster. Ada as the Fire Queen.”
Ada however remained silent now, drinking in the beauty of Angelica. Her Angelica. Between her own
breasts her Tailfast ring felt like a firebrand. She so wanted this woman. With tears in her eyes she turned
away from the view. Once a month, at best twice. Could her heart stand this? For the first time Ada was
certain she knew how Oharu felt about Molly. Knew, and wondered how such pain could be endured for so
long.
Eventually Oharu indicated that Angelica could dress. “I will start” she agreed. “When I return home. Now most important thing. Ada?”
Ada turned back to the two, giving a wan smile that was less than she wanted to give. “Yes Oharu?”
“We will now speak with Mrs. Popoluma. She waits with dinner for you even so late. Angelica must have a home, for Kama has taken her as mother. Taken you I think as well.”
“Kama? The kid? But... I’m not ready to have kids” the canine stammered.
Oharu shrugged as though in defeat. “You wish Angelica. You see if can live with good and bad. Kama is nice girl. She needs care, she is not like other children. Allowing her to wander uncared for. Ada, is that what you mean by marriage. By love?”
“No. No, of course it isn’t.” Taking a deep breath Ada’s paw lifted to her own Tailfast ring as she looked to Angelica. “For you I’ll do it. Even if for only one night a month.”
“Then I will bless your Tailfast rings. If this is your desire” the mouse announced.
“Here? Now?” Both women asked.
Oharu managed a tiny smile of her own, even through her exhaustion. “Rituals are that. Rituals. They are the formalized results of age old practices. They are not law, thus may be modified as need calls. Do you
wish this?” Oharu knew Ada’s answer, it was Angelica whose voice she listened for.
“I think it best. But... It is true that a woman may have both a wife and husband?”
“As a male may have both a wife and husband, or two wives, or more as he is able to support equally” Oharu answered. “Though in truth such houses are not common, they are not rare either.”
For a long while the feline thought over her potential future. “Then yes. I would think this best” Angelica finally decided. “Ada, this is an engagement. Not a marriage. If we are not able to find a common ground, then please do not be angered should I return this Tailfast ring to you. If we do find common ground” the Swedish woman blushed in the moonlight. “I can think of no other woman I would accept that way than you.”
“Better than I could have ever hoped for” the American admitted. She looked to Oharu. “I accept fully my loves desires. What do we do?”

Part Seven

“Many will be saddened Honored Mother” Mrs. Popoluma told Oharu as she served the mouse pineapple
juice. “So many wanted her.” She was speaking Spontoon, as Oharu had indicated her preference for that
language earlier.
Accepting the juice, Oharu tasted it. Not fresh, not this late at night, still tart as she loved it. “Angelica has accepted Ada” she explained. “This is still a test, for Ada must still prove that she can accept Angelica as
she is. Kama too. Then there is this truth. Angelica wishes a husband. Perhaps Shark Hunter?”
Mrs. Popoluma eased her considerable bulk onto the matted floor of her home. “Many sweet eyes have fallen upon Shark Hunter. He has never chosen. He does still play.”
“Ah” Oharu said after swallowing her poi. “Then other males may have a chance. Does the thought of Ada joining your family bother you?”
“No Honored Mother. I have given a daughter to a Euro before. She now lives in Italy, though from her last letter she does not much like what that country has become. I have several grandchildren from her already. Her husband is a very virile male.”
Oharu laid a paw over her stomach, feeling its pleasure at learning her throat had not been cut as it had so feared. “It is my thought that Angelica will give you many grandchildren as well” she remarked. “Though we both are aware than Spontoon will never be her lasting home. Sveden is her home. I would enjoy her as long as I had her, were I you.”
“Oh I shall Honored Mother” Mrs. Popoluma agreed. “I will see that a small longhouse is started for her. Taking Kama into her arms is a great gift to our village. And she does work hard now. As hard as most
girls. Honored Mother. When she arrived she was harsh. Now she has softened. You are certain she will
not remain here forever? It would be a great pleasure to watch my grandchildren grow.”
Oharu turned her eyes to the small fire within the longhouse. Understanding what the Priestess was doing Mrs. Popoluma remained still. For some time the mouse searched that fire for an answer. “She will leave, then darkness comes. Watch for her, for she will return with her child to the protection she feels these
islands will give her. Yet, when the darkness passes she will again leave. Returning yes, but Sveden is her
home. It is her heart. Just as this land, this village is your heart.”
“Thank you Honored Mother. I had not expected such from you.”
“I but serve” Oharu answered. “You did ask, it was such a little question.” She yawned then, a jaw cracking yawn that could not he hidden with both paws though she tried. “I must return Ada to her place, then home myself. I will have a long day today I think. Your Priestess will enfold Angelica within her arms. I will return yes, but only to visit. I have been informed that she is no longer my responsibility.”
She yawned again. Her fire search had drained the last of her energy. It was with surprise that Oharu found
she could not stand. In fact, could not rise from her place. “May I lean upon a pole, to rest” she asked.
“You will have a bed Honored Mother” Mrs. Popoluma announced. Turning around she switched to English for a moment. “Angelica. Ada. Help Honored Mother to pallet” she ordered, breaking the two from their
conversation.
“Thank You” Oharu managed before sleep enveloped her. She barely felt the two women lift her. She never felt her body laid upon Angelica’s own waiting pallet. It would be late afternoon before she woke.

Part Eight

“Thank you Honored Mother” Ada said as the water taxi approached Eastern Island. “I never dreamed...”
“You dreamed” Oharu corrected. “You hoped. Even as I still do. You could never believe.”
Ada threw up her paws in surrender. “Is there anything about me you don’t understand?” she asked.
“Ada. You and I shared a common problem. Yours is now a possibility. Mine never. It is simple to
understand one who is so like oneself. What name will you take, should you marry her.”
“Silfverlindh” Ada answered. “Cronstein is a good name yes. I would be a fool though not to accept a name that would open more doors of commerce to me. I’ve already asked her, she’s said yes. I will have to inform Songmark.”
“You would make a good Jew” the mouse decided, repeating what Ada had said to her earlier.
“I am a Jew” Ada corrected. “And proud of it. Besides, I like the name Silfverlindh. I am simply worried that I won’t pan out. That I won’t be able to be what Angelica needs. And Kama. Oh my when she looks at you
it’s like she’s looking into your soul.”
“She is” Oharu admitted.
“She... Then... Oh my. I do take on the impossible dream don’t I.”
“Not to dream. That would be a death of a kind. Would it not? And your education?”
“Oh... Yes. Oh my. I am in a fix, aren’t I?”
“Quite so”
Ada let a paw drift through the water as she thought. “Its not going to be an easy thing to work out” she admitted. “After what the Rotes did, and now myself. Oh, this is scary Honored Mother. It isn’t as easy as
I thought life would be.”
“Such is the spice that makes life worth living” Oharu agreed.
“Honored Mother. Will it work?”
Oharu shook her head no. “Do not ask me this. Ask your Rabbi. It is not my place to answer that question. Nor could I without great effort. Even so, it would be no more than an educated guess. With the coming darkness all paths are twisted. Should she gather Shark Hunters heart. Should he die, she could not
survive without you. You will give me your oath you will care for Angelica and Kama?”
“I give you my oath I’ll die protecting them.”
“I prefer you do not do so. It would hurt Angelica more than she yet understands to see your lifeless body. You are part of her life now. You will become more, if you pass this test of love. Ah, we are arrived. I will
pay the pilot, then we will see if you are still a Songmark student, or simply a wife to be. I will speak to
Songmark for you. This time.”
Oharu could not quite know the joy those last words gave Ada, though in truth she did understand
somewhat. Which was why she said them in the first place.

Part Nine

“Why should I allow her to return to class?” Miss Devinski asked through the sealed gate.
“I ask this” Oharu answered.
“You ask. Does she ask?”
Ada stepped between Oharu and Miss Devinski, though the fence already separated them. “Please Miss Devinski. If you want I’ll grovel in the dirt and beg I will. Here and now. I want to come back to class.”
Cocking her head the yellow furred hound studied her student. “You’ve changed. Not much, but you have.”
“I’m Tailfast to Angelica Silfverlindh” Ada admitted. “I’ve responsibilities now. Kama depends upon us both.”
“Kama.”
“A village child Miss Devinski. She hasn’t any parents so Angelica decided to take care of her.”
“I see. Return to your Dorm Miss Cronstein. No demerits, but you will catch up on your studies.”
Smiling Ada reached for the fence, only to have Oharu’s paw stop her. “It is unlocked” the mouse
announced.
“It is locked” Miss Devinski argued. “I checked it myself.”
Looking first to her instructor, then to the Priestess Ada shrugged. Nothing ventured... Walking to the gate she pushed on it, oddly unsurprised when it opened without more than a whisper of sound. Looking to
Oharu in amazement she stepped through, closing the gate behind her.
“Ada.”
Ada looked back to Oharu. “Yes Honored Mother?”
“You no longer need a guide on Main Island, though Sacred Island is still denied you. For now.”
“Thank you Honored Mother.” With a curtsy to Miss Devinski, something not easily done in a form fitting lavalava, Ada hurried to her waiting dorm and the bed within it.
Once Ada had left Oharu turned to go, only to be stopped by Miss Devinski’s voice. “I’m not going to ask you how you did that”: the hound admitted.
“It was never locked” Oharu answered, returning to her place to speak.
“It was locked. I checked.”
“You saw what you wished to see.”
“And the squeak?”
“Squeak?” the mouse asked. “Are you being speciesist now my little pet?”
“No. That gate is designed to squeak when it opens. It always has.”
Oharu looked at the gate. “Then you must not have heard it.”
Frustrated Miss Devinski walked to the gate, to find it locked. Taking out her key she unlocked it, then
opened it. A squeak that could be heard across the compound answered her actions. Stepping outside the
compound she walked over to her visitor. “Suitably impressed” she admitted.
“Should I get collar and leash now” Oharu asked, though there was humor in her voice.
“Only for Molly” the hound answered. “She’s digging herself deeper Oharu. I’m afraid that one day and soon she is going to need the Seventh Calvary to come to her rescue. Will you?”
“Her needs are my needs” the mouse admitted.
“Then I will endeavor to keep you informed of her life. As best I can. Oharu, I have a question.”
Oharu cocked her own head for a moment. “We will never be a couple” she answered. “Mrs. Whitehall now holds your heart. I have lost my opportunity I much fear. For myself, this is a great loss. For Ada, she has
accepted the name Silfverlindh. This makes her part of the Popoluma family. Even should Angelica and
Ada not marry, Ada is not a Spontoon citizen. I would not tell her of thing though. Not until she needs.”
“Oh my...” Throwing her paws into the air the hound looked past Oharu for a moment. “More paperwork. More name changes. Still that isn’t the question you... You... Oh hell. What do you get out of all this. Helping my girls. Bringing Henrika back to us. All you have done. What do you get out of all this?”
Reaching out Oharu gently laid her right paw over one of the hound’s. “Truth. Truth Catherine. My life is to serve. To serve is my greatest pleasure. I have always served. I have always wanted to serve. Doing
so is my reward. Nothing else. I want nothing else, I need nothing else.”
“Lies” the hound snapped. “You want Molly. You need Molly. It’ll destroy you one day if you don’t get her. Still you break your back helping people like Ada and that Swedish woman who would never have come to you. I’ll accept the serve thing, but Oharu. Never. Never lie to me about what you need. What you desire.
Not when it comes to that doe. Not ever. I won’t stand for lies. Especially not from someone who lies so
badly.”
“She is?”
“She will pass. Barring something unforeseen all third years pass. We have only had one third year fail, and her failure even you could not have kept from occurring. She is well, she’s still in love with Lars. But
understand me Honored Mother. This I swear. If I discover that Lars had anything to do with Henrika’s
destruction I will skin him alive myself. Even if it does get me the short end of a rope, or a swim in certain
waters.”
“Do not do so on Songmark grounds. She would be angered beyond calming” Oharu warned. “I must go now, I am needed elsewhere.” She removed her paw, looking past the hound to a certain dorm for a
moment.
“You didn’t correct me when I called you Honored Mother” the hound noted abruptly.
“You made no error” the mouse admitted.
“Congratulations. And Oharu. Don’t stop flirting with me. Nothing will ever happen of it, you’re right. Helen has caught my heart. But I do enjoy it. Honestly.”
“Then when you are upon the slave block I shall bid for you” Oharu decided. “An old broken down hound, whose body is no longer young should be a bargain. Good night Catherine. We will speak again.”
Miss Devinski watched the mouse walk away. “Oh, we will speak again” she whispered. “I just don’t think I’m going to be any more happy about it than last time.” When the mouse was no longer in sight she too
returned to her bed. With luck she’d get a few hours sleep before that first year dorm tried to return from
their little adventure. Fifty demerits and a ten mile march on Main Island in full pack should teach them to
damage school property in their escape attempts.

End Chapter Eleven