Isle Of View (35 page)

“Was I really?” she asked, hardly believing that he could have seen her that way.

“Really! They told me the dress would make a difference, but 'Lectra, it made so much more than I knew! Then you came closer, and I saw a freckle under your veil, and I knew it was you—”

And that was the end of the illusion, she thought.

“And you were still so lovely I could hardly stand it,” he said. “All this time I've been betrothed to you, and I never realized how beautiful you could be!”

Electra was elated. "You mean that's why you were in a trance? Because of me?”

“Yes. I never truly saw you before, 'Lectra. I was such a fool! Not until that dress—”

“And then I took off the dress,” she said with resignation.

“And I saw your panties. And your—your—I don't know the word.”

“Bra?”

“I guess. I never saw that before. I didn't even know it existed- And you were still so beautiful, and I knew it wasn't just the dress.”

“Pink panties are special,” she agreed. One thing she knew: having discovered their magic, she was not about to take them off! She wanted him to go right on thinking she was beautiful, even if it was only the magic of the panties and bra. Nada might not need such magic to be beautiful, but Electra did.

“Then you kissed me, and—”

“Oh, Dolph, it's kind of you to say you liked it!” she said, bursting with appreciation.

“To think I could have been kissing you all this time, instead of trying to kiss Nada when she didn't want to be,” he said. “You would have kissed me anytime, but I—”

“You can catch up now,” she suggested.

“Yes!” He kissed her again, and then she kissed him, and then he kissed her. Electra's fondest dream was coming true. “Oh, 'Lectra, I just didn't know!”

But after a time they were sated even with that, and just lay beside each other staring at the ceiling. Electra realized that there must be special magic associated with the entire wedding ceremony to make him love her for the moment, and she hated to break the enchantment. But there was business that had to be accomplished. “You know we have to consummate this marriage,” she said, finally.

“I'd rather just look at you, and hug you, and kiss you,” he said.

“That, too. But still we have to signal the stork.”

“But how do we do it?” he asked plaintively. “I never found out.”

“Neither did I.” For they both were still victims of the Adult Conspiracy, being underage. They had married because they had to, but had to discover the secret themselves. If it had been possible to wait one more day, Electra would have been old enough to learn it, ironically.

“I think it has something to do with mushy stuff,” he said. "But what?”

“I guess kissing isn't it,” she said. “Because if it was, it would have happened by now.”

“And I guess hugging isn't it,” he said.

“And pillow fighting.”

“And looking at panties.”

They considered everything they could think of, but nothing seemed to be it. The secret remained impenetrable.

They realized that they just weren't going to figure it out. Dejected, they hugged and kissed a few more times, then got serious. “Maybe I can sneak out and ask Nada,” Electra said. “She's staying in a cave on the south end of the island with Naldo and King Nabob, because it's easy for them in snake form. I think she'll tell me, if I beg her.”

“Promise her you'll never tell she told,” Dolph said, awed by the prospect of violating the Adult Conspiracy. “They have to think we figured it out for ourselves.”

“Right,” she said. She got up, then found that she didn't have anything to wear. She refused to use the lovely wedding dress for this, and her regular clothing was in the other chamber where she had changed. But maybe the door wasn't locked.

She wrapped a sheet around her, and Dolph wrapped another around himself. Then, feeling mutually guilty, they sneaked quietly out, looking like two ghosts.

No one was around, which was fortunate, because they were about as inconspicuous as the sun and moon on a dark night. More so, in fact, because the moon seldom appeared on a dark night, and the sun had never been known to do it.

They slunk around to the bride's changing chamber. The door was unlocked, to their relief. They went in, and Electra found her yellow shirt and blue jeans and put them on. “You had better go back to the bedroom,” she whispered to him. "If someone comes, you can say 'Go away!' and throw a pillow at the door.''

“Right.” But he lingered. “Would it be all right if I kissed you again?”

“But I'm in my blah clothing!” she protested.

“But you aren't blah,” he said.

Her heart was catching fire. “Oh, Dolph, I'll always love you!” she said, and kissed him with as much passion as she dared risk without turning him off.

Then they left the room, Dolph slunk back toward the bedroom to guard the fort, and Electra set off through the moonlight for the naga camp.

The beach was gorgeous in the night. The sand was soft and bright, and the waves of the sea lapped gently up to smooth out the disturbances of the day. The moon was using the water as a mirror, reflecting itself in every wave. Everything was lovely, and everything loved its neighbors, for this was the Isle of View.

“Well, now, bride pro tern!” a voice exclaimed, causing Electra almost to jump out of her skin. Fortunately she was able to clap her hands to her bosom and hold herself down in time to save her skin. She had thought she was alone.

“Who—?” she gasped.

“We've met. I'm the demoness Metria. Remember?”

Oh. When it came to folk Electra did not want to meet at the moment, this demon was two places ahead of the very top of the list. Metria could take great pleasure in blabbing about this embarrassing mission to all and sundry and everyone else. But it would be impossible to get rid of her merely by being hostile. Electra wasn't sure she was up to being hostile anyway, right now, even to Metria, because she was still glowing from Dolph's kiss. He had actually asked her, when she had been in her blah clothing! So she tried to be neutral. “I remember.”

“What's on your freckled mind?” the demoness asked.

“Dolph kissed me!” Electra said. “I mean, even in this clothing!”

“Of course. You still have your pink panties on underneath.”

Electra's heart descended from the clouds. That was true. The magic of those panties was still operating. Had she changed back to her old ones it would have been different. “I guess so,” Electra said dully.

“Where are you going?”

What use to lie, even if there were any point in it? The demoness probably had already guessed. “We can't figure out how to signal the stork. I'm going to ask Nada.”

“Oho! So you're going to do that tonight! Maybe I'll watch.”

“If you do, we won't do it!” Electra said defiantly. But it was a bluff, because they had to do it. If they didn't, the marriage would not be consummated, and it wouldn't count, and Electra would die the moment she turned eighteen, tomorrow. Well, not right at the moment; actually she would start the process, with her heart bleeding and her body aging as the enchantment expired, and she would age and weaken into oblivion within hours. Then Dolph would be free to marry Nada anyway, but he would be unhappy because of having let another person die. She did not want him to be unhappy.

“And if you do it,” the demoness said relentlessly, “then Dolph will be free to divorce you and marry Nada tomorrow. That must make you feel great.”

“At least he'll be happy,” Electra said shortly.

“He's an idiot.”

"Right.”

Metria, taken aback by Electra's ready agreement, faded out. That was a relief.

She was now at the south end of the isle. Where would Nada and Naldo be? Then she spied them in the sea. They were swimming in their natural forms, laughing as they used their tails to splash water on each other.

325

“Nada!” Electra called.

Nada's head whipped around. “ 'Lectra! What are you doing down here?”

“Oh, Nada, please, it means my life! Tell me how to signal the stork.”

Nada and her brother were forging to the shore. They hit the beach and slithered up to Electra, their serpent bodies moving in perfect parallel. “But, 'Lectra,” Nada protested. “The Adult Conspiracy—”

“But I'm married now! And I have to do it! Please—”

“Tell her,” Naldo told his sister, and slithered back to the ocean.

Nada had respect for her brother, and of course he was the one who had suggested this two-marriage course. So Nada told her.

“You mean that's all there is to it?” Electra asked, amazed and somewhat disappointed.

“Not much of a secret, is it!” Nada said. “You must promise not to tell any children, because if they ever found out how little there is to know, they would laugh the adults right out of the picture.”

“I can see that,” Electra agreed. Then she hugged Nada, and set off up the beach. Now at last she knew how to do it. Now she could save her life and free Dolph for tomorrow. Her feelings remained oddly mixed.

Back at the bedroom, she found Dolph waiting anxiously. “I was afraid something had happened to you,” he said.

“No, it's perfectly safe here, now,” she said. “Remember, this is the Isle of View.”

“Isle of View too,” he said, laughing.

She whammed him with a pillow.

He grabbed her and kissed her.

They got into another hugging and tickling fight. It was great fun. But finally they had to get down to business.

“We have to embrace each other very closely,” Electra said. “But there's a catch.”

“We've been hugging,” he said. “I don't mind that. What's the catch?”

“No clothing.”

“You mean—?”

“No undershirt. No shorts for you. No panties for me.” That was the awful thing about it. Without the fabulous pink panties she would lose what remained of her attractiveness.

But he seemed to handle this unfortunate aspect pretty well. “How do we know when the signal goes out?”

“We see the ellipsis.”

“The what?”

“It looks like three dots. It always marks the signal to the stork. Nada told me.”

“So we just keep hugging until we see dots?” he asked, having trouble with this notion.

“That's it.”

“It seems too simple to work.”

“It's magic.” What was the point in admitting that she hardly believed it either? It had to work.

“Oh. Yes. Well, we'd better do it.”

They took off their underclothing and hugged. “This close?” Dolph asked.

“Closer ”

He squeezed her so that her ribs hurt.

“That's hard, not close,” she gasped.

He eased up immediately. “I'm sorry, want to hurt you! I'd rather kiss you.”

“We can do that too.”

“We can? Gee, that's great!”

He kissed her, and she kissed him. They rolled over and hugged some more and kissed again, and the more they did it the more fun it became. The lack of clothing didn't seem to be hurting, surprisingly; Dolph seemed to like her just as well this way. Soon they forgot about what they were supposed to be doing, and just kissed and kissed and hugged and hugged and got closer and closer. They were so close it was hard to tell where one of them left off and the other began. Like ghosts or demons, they seemed to be overlapping each other. But it didn't bother them at all. Electra knew that eventually they would have to get back to the business of signaling the stork, but that could wait; this was too much fun. She was loving Dolph, and he was loving her back!

She felt an electrical thrill, and realized that she was losing control of her magic talent. The current was leaking out, mildly electrifying them. She hoped that was harmless, because she just couldn't stop kissing him.

Then Dolph's body got hot and his eyes stared glassily past her face. “Dolph! What's the matter?” she asked, afraid he was going into another trance or that her current had tingled too strongly and hurt him.

“I see them!” he gasped, shuddering.

“See what?” she asked, really worried. His whole body was shaking.

“I see the Dots!”

Electra turned her head and looked where he was looking. There they were: three dots floating just above their bodies:

The dots paused to get their orientation, then lined up in a row and took off through the wall, heading for the stork.

“We did it!” Electra exclaimed. “We got to the ellipsis!” She had elected to do it right, and they had made it.

Dolph kissed her, relaxing. Then he lay back and closed his eyes. “Oh, Nada, I'll always love you. . .” he whispered.

Electra felt her wildest hopes collapsing. Her fond dreams dissipated like the smoke of the demoness. Her heart began to bleed.

Afterward, Dolph lay beside her. His mind and heart were spinning. Today he had not only gotten married and learned how to signal the stork, he had discovered Electra. Three great shocks had come to his indifference: he had seen her beautiful in her wedding dress, as lovely a creature as he could imagine. He had seen her in panties, and that had excited him in another strange yet wonderful way. He had kissed her, and discovered to his astonishment that her kisses were just as thrilling as Nada's were. After that, the idea of summoning the stork with her had become interesting instead of burdensome.

But that brought another burden he had never thought he would have to handle. How was he going to do it?

Oh, Nada, I'll always love you!

But as he pondered it, the answer fell into place. He knew it was right.

Satisfied, he fell asleep.

In the morning he woke and kissed Electra, but she was strangely subdued. Maybe all their pillow fighting had worn her out. He considered telling her what he had in mind to do, but feared she would object, so he didn't. She would learn soon enough, anyway.

They dressed. Dolph had only his good suit, so he got into that. Electra got into her marvelous panties and bra, then into her dull everyday clothing, leaving the wedding dress hanging in the closet. It was true she had no further need of that, though he was sorry not to see her in it again. But even in her ordinary clothing she was a wonderful girl. It had taken him six years to realize that, but he would never forget it.

Electra helped get his buttons in order, and she combed his hair and dusted off his shoes. “You're quite handsome, Dolph,” she said sadly.

What was wrong? “ Lectra, I—”

She forced a smile. “It's all right, Dolph. I know what to do.”

He concluded that he did not understand women. “We'd better get breakfast, then.”

They went out to the main pavilion. There were assorted fruits and pastries that someone had obligingly set out. Dolph picked up an éclair.

Electra walked to another table, where the two vials of potion had been put. She picked up the null potion.

“'Lectra, wait!” he cried. But he was too late. She drank the vial in one gulp.

He went to her. “ 'Lectra, I didn't mean for you to—”

“It's all right, Dolph,” she said. “My love would only get in your way at this point.”

“But—”

“If you don't mind, I think I'll sit down. I think I have a headache.”

“Well, of course, then. But—”

She was already walking away. Baffled, he chewed on his éclair. Each time he took a bite, it made a little “Eeeek!” because that was its nature.

The demoness Metria appeared. “Well, Prince, how are you feeling?” she asked.

He gazed after Electra. “Sort of confused,” he confessed.

“Really? Now you've had your one night stand, you've had your fun, and it's time to run. Time to dump Electra, who still loves you, and go for the one who doesn't love you. Why should you be confused?”

“But she just drank the null-love potion!” he exclaimed. “I would've stopped her, if I'd realized, but—”

“Why should she wait?” the demoness inquired. “The longer she went on loving you, the more she hurt. Now she's cleared the way for you, just as she promised, fool that she is.”

“Your teasing won't work, Metria. I made my decision last night.”

“Yes, I heard, when I snooped on your oval. So did she.”

“Snooped on my what?”

“Your circle, loop, omission—”

“You mean those three dots?”

“Right. Your ellipsis. But here's something that should really delight you, Dolph. You know that potion she drank?”

“Yes. I didn't want her to—”

“It didn't work. At least not the way she thought it would.”

“But the Good Magician's potions are guaranteed!”

“Oh, it abolished the love spell on her,” Metria said. “But that's immaterial.”

“Why?”

“Because her magic love faded out years ago. It was replaced by natural love. So the potion had no effect. She still loves you, dope.”

“But why didn't she tell me that?”

“I presume because she wants you to be happy and doesn't want to spoil it for you. It's a kind of generosity no demon would indulge in, but human beings aren't up to our standard.”

“That's great!” he exclaimed.

“I thought we demons were callous. You have real potential, Prince.”

Dolph ignored her, for he spied Naldo and Nada slithering toward the pavilion from the beach. With them was another person, a human woman of middle age, in a full-length white robe. Her dark hair was neatly pinned back, and her nose was straight- He had never seen her before.

“Prince Dolph,” Naldo said. “Please meet Clio, the Muse of History, who has come to record the details of this unusual event.”

The Muse of History! “But the Muses stay on Mount Parnassus!” Dolph said.

“Normally we do, Prince Dolph,” Clio said. “But this is an extraordinary situation, so I came to make sure I had it right.” She entered the pavilion and took one of the empty seats, writing busily on her notepad.

“Uh, sure,” Dolph said, disgruntled. He hadn't realized that this would be an occasion warranting recording in a history tome! The Muse had not attended the wedding yesterday, after all. How could this be more important than that?

“I suppose we had better get on with this,” Naldo said. “Most of the others have chosen not to attend, but the centaur family will be here, and my father, King Nabob, to handle the formalities.” He and Nada went to the changing rooms, where they evidently had sets of clothes stored. Soon they emerged in human form. Naldo glanced back the way they had come. “Ah, yes, there they are now.”

Dolph looked. In the sky were two centaurs flying side by side, somehow supporting a third between them. As they came in for their landing in the sand he saw how they did it: a girl riding each big one was holding a hand of the little one, Che. They sent up a waft of sand as they touched; then the centaurs folded their wings, the girls jumped off, and all five of them and a small orange cat came in. All of them were wearing big spectacles, apparently enjoying some family joke.

Dolph turned—and there behind him was King Nabob. “Do it,” he said.

Dolph realized that the stage was his. “Urn, 'Lectra,” he called.

Electra got up and came to him. “Of course, Dolph,” she said. She brought out a small handkerchief and used it to wipe his face; he had a bit of eclair on it. "May I kiss you one last time?''

“No,” he told her gently.

“Beautiful!” Metria murmured.

Electra turned away. She wanted him to be happy, so she was not making any scene. She was dutifully giving him up because she loved him. So many aspects of her were coming into focus now that he should have seen long ago!

Nada was not in a wedding dress, but it didn't matter; she was beautiful in ordinary clothing. She took a step toward the table where the vial of love elixir was.

“Please, no,” Dolph told her. “I—I have something to say, and I hope you will understand.”

“Of course, Dolph,” she said, exactly as Electra had.

He took a breath, nerved himself, and spoke, as he had rehearsed it to himself in the night. “Oh, Nada, I'll always love you. But I can't marry you.”

Electra's face turned to him, expressionless.

Nada blinked. “What?”

“Oh, for censored's sake!” the demoness snapped, fading out in a cloud of deep disgust.

Dolph gulped. “I—I am breaking our betrothal, Nada. Because the fault is mine, the forfeit is mine. The alliance between my folk and yours must be honored as it has been. You may—may marry whom you choose. I hope always to be your friend, and the friend of your folk. And—but— may I kiss you one last time?”

Nada was recovering her wits, which had scattered somewhat. “Not till you tell me why,” she said as she caught the last one.

“Because I won't divorce 'Lectra. I—I know her better, now, and she loves me, and she's doing everything she can to make me happy no matter how it hurts her, and she's really more my type—I mean, she likes pillow fights and things, and she's closer to my age, and you—I guess I thought no one else could have what you have, but 'Lectra does, and freckles too, and I can drink that vial of love potion and look at her, and it's just better this way.”

“So you're dumping me,” Nada said.

Dolph scuffled his feet. “Yes.”

“So that's the meaning of the Answer!” King Nabob said. “The Good Magician Humfrey told us to 'Marry what Draco brings'—and Draco brought Dolph, and yesterday I married Dolph to Electra!”

“I'll kiss to that,” Nada said. She took hold of Dolph and gave him a kiss that reminded him of the past night. Oh yes, he loved her—but not quite the same way as he had before. He had learned some things, and matured, and he knew what he had to do.

When she let him go, Dolph turned and took a step toward the table with the vial. Then he paused, turning to Electra. “No, I don't think I'll need it. ‘Lectra, you can't kiss me one last time because there isn't going to be any last time. Not for as long as I can imagine. But if now you want to get on with one of the middle times, or if you want to be mad at me for being so stupid about you—”

“I do!” she exclaimed, and stepped into him. Her face was tear-streaked, but her electricity tingled the way it had during the night, and her kiss practically sent him floating. “I love you as you are, stupid,” she whispered tenderly.

“I—I guess that's it, then,” Dolph said when his head steadied somewhat. “I, we—I don't know what we'll do, except to stay married. Thank all of you for being here.”

“You're welcome, stupid,” King Nabob said gruffly, and slithered away, seeming quite satisfied.

Dolph looked around the pavilion, dazed by the neatness of the resolution. But when he saw Clio talking to Jenny Elf, he realized that of course it had worked out, because the Muse of History had been here to ensure that it was correctly plotted. Magician Murphy's curse on Che's abduction could have messed up other aspects of Xanth history, so it had required personal intervention to get it all straight again.

“Clio is explaining to Jenny about Muses, I suspect,” Chex remarked. “The elf has been telling stories, and her details have not been completely accurate. Also, she is from another land, and perhaps has not before been written into the books of the Muses. I can appreciate why Clio decided to give this matter her personal attention.”

So it hadn't been because of Dolph's undivorce! He was glad of that.

“Nada and I will return to Mount Etamin,” Naldo said. “But we shall certainly be in touch.” Somehow Dolph had the impression that the naga prince wasn't much surprised by this outcome. Maybe he had a notion what it was like spending a wedding night with a woman. He had been the one to suggest this marriage and divorce, and he had wanted to spare his sister grief; it seemed he had found a way. If so, Dolph was grateful, because it had led to his discovery of Electra. It wasn't that Nada was in any way diminished in his eye or heart, but that he did after all have an alternative that he knew would keep him happy.

“Wait a bit, Naldo,” Cheiron Centaur said. He did not seem surprised either. Perhaps none of the menfolk at the wedding were surprised. “We would like you to foal-sit our family this afternoon.”

Nada was surprised. “You mean Che and Gwenny and Jenny?”

“And Sammy,” Che said. “The spectacles spectacle.”

“But why?”

“Because we have to take Prince Dolph and Princess Electra to the far side of the moon,” Cheiron explained.

“What?” Electra asked.

“Your honeymoon,” Chex clarified. “It's traditional.”

“I mean—you called me—I'm no—”

“You married the Prince,” Naldo said. “You are the first princess in memory to wear blue jeans.”

“That's right!” Dolph agreed, realizing. “And when I'm king, you'll be queen.”

Electra began to wobble. Naldo caught her and supported her before she fell. “Princesses swoon rather easily,” he said. “Especially when they are new. You will have to stay very close to her and keep an eye on her for the next few days, Prince Dolph.”

“For the next few weeks,” Nada said. “But princesses mend readily with affection.”

“Months,” Chex said. “Perhaps years.” Her voice was authoritative, in the adult manner, but somehow Dolph no longer found that annoying. He would do his best.

Dolph felt a bit dizzy himself. Before he knew it, he was on Cheiron's back, and Electra was on Chex's back, and they became light indeed as the tails of the centaurs flicked them. Then they were in the air, rising above the beach and pavilion, headed for the moon, wherever it might be at this hour of the day.

Dolph looked down. The children were already running to the water's edge to build sand castles around the cat, who did not deign to move out of the way. Except for Jenny Elf. She was standing by herself, looking somewhere. Dolph knew it was toward her home, the World of Two Moons. He knew how she felt, losing one thing she loved while finding happiness with another. Her story was not yet done, he suspected. But he knew that the Muses were on top of the situation now, so they would see her story through, as they had seen his own through.

“Look!” Electra cried, pointing down.

Dolph looked where she pointed. Beyond the central ridge of the Isle of View were two unicorns, a male and a female, walking toward the place where Jenny Elf stood.

“Why, I believe I know of those unicorns!” Chex exclaimed. “They were in a dream we made!”

“Che spoke of a dream he had with Jenny,” Cheiron said. “Do you suppose—?”

“With that talent of hers, it could be,” Chex agreed.

“Look, Clio is finishing the chapter!” Electra said, looking to where the Muse was putting away her notepad.

“She's finishing the whole volume,” Cheiron said. “I'm afraid this honeymoon isn't going to be recorded.”

Dolph looked across at Electra, who smiled. The Muse of History was not putting their next week's activity into her book? It was just as well. They were now, after all, part of the dread Adult Conspiracy.

Author's Note

This is not an ordinary Xanth Note. Do not read beyond this page if you are squeamish.