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trip to Lady Vaen’s was uneventful. 
Gel played the songs she wanted, the way she wanted them played,
and he didn’t get distracted.  Somehow, everything went
well.  Long, boring, and completely useless, but well.
    Not that the dragon didn’t have any
criticisms.  ‘Back straight’, ‘Chin up, eyes forward’ she
would interject at seemingly random intervals, interrupting the
flow of Gel’s performance, ‘Bend your wrists more’ she’d shout, as
if Gel were not already playing the music flawlessly.  She
gave detailed instructions on how he absolutely must dress
appropriately, so as not to shame her, and on exactly how he must
address the Duke and Duchess, again, so as not to shame her. 
It was almost as if she were more worried about how he looked than
how he played.  It was maddening.  It was with a great
bit of relief that he left that day, later than usual.  She
had kept him longer than normal, pacing back and forth as she
spouted off instructions haphazardly, slowly wringing her hands as
she walked.  She was clearly more nervous than he would ever
be.
     
    ***
     
    As he gloomily marched the same path as the
day before, down the road and out of the town towards the old oak
tree, Gel wondered how much worse the day would get.  He would
be meeting Sheane and Mae at the tree again, and not only did he
not have a new song for them, he would once again be confronted
with the thing he dreaded most.  Gel did not want to have to
choose which sister to ask to the festival.
    The problem was, as far as he could see, that
he liked them both.  Mae was fiery, exciting, and full of
energy, while Sheane was absolutely beautiful; quiet, serene, a
true lady.  Really they were both beautiful, he knew, but
Sheane was so demure, so much like a princess, that it was a
different, special sort of beauty.
    Gel was so wrapped up once again in his
reverie that it wasn’t until he sat down in the grass beside Mae,
setting his lute down to on the other side of him, that he noticed
there was no Sheane.  No Sheane, no blanket, no goodies. 
No safety.
    It wasn’t that Gel was afraid of Mae, not
really.
    It was just that he was very much afraid of
Mae. 
    She was grinning from ear to gorgeous ear
when he looked at her, and she leaned over and rapped him on the
head with her knuckles.  Hard.
    ‘Got something on your mind dummy?’ she asked
with mock innocence, still grinning widely.
    ‘Cut it out Mae, that hurts’ Gel replied,
rubbing his head annoyedly.
    ‘Aww, poor baby’ Mae laughed lightly as she
threw a slow punch at his ribs.
    Gel caught her arm and held it, quickly
trying to think of a way to change subjects.
    ‘So, where’s Sheane?’
    ‘She got a cold’ Mae replied, still grinning
like a madman.  ‘She’s sneezing her pretty little head
off.  She’s been doing it all morning too.’  Gel thought
he could hear the sound of triumph in her voice.  ‘They’re
really tiny sneezes too.  Little quiet “Choo’s”, and she jumps
up a bit, it’s super cute.  But her nose is all red and runny,
so she couldn’t come’
    ‘So I guess that means no snacks
today?’  Gel asked, more disappointed for the lack of Sheane
than for the lack of goodies.  ‘No tea either?’  He was
genuinely sorry about the lack of tea though.  He really liked
tea.
    ‘Nope!  You’re stuck with just me today’
Mae answered, inching closer, her grin showing all teeth.  She
looked almost evil somehow, and definitely scary. 
    Gel noticed that he still held her wrist in
one hand, and that she had wrapped her other arm around his. 
She was pressing closely against his shoulder, and he was having
trouble breathing.  Not because the smell of her was cloying,
she smelled wonderful, but because his heart was beating too
quickly.
    Anxious, Gel cast around for something,
anything, to distract her with.
    ‘I didn’t write you a song today’ he started
as he saw his lute sitting beside him and began to reach for it
with his