Tanya backs slowly through the dark woods. Horror and disbelief will not let her accept that Desmond is gone. Spirited away by that purple seductress. What will she tell everyone? Will they believe her?

  Tanya trips over a stump sticking out of the ground. She puts out a hand to steady herself and prevent her fall. A loud hiss freezes the blood in Tanya's veins. An enormous black snake strikes in her direction, fangs sinking into the flesh on the back of her hand.

  Crying out, Tanya draws her hand away. The snake slithers into the brush, but not before Tanya spies the elaborate purple symbol on its hood. She has seen that symbol before. Inside the circus tent of the purple hussy. On the lid of the silver platter, on the tent's walls, and on the golden chain the ringmaster wore around her slender neck. What the hell?

  Tanya presses her injured hand to her chest and sobs. A strange throbbing begins in the center of the snakebite and radiates outward. Tanya's body trembles violently. Even in the pale light of the moon, she is able to observe the change which takes place on her hand.

  The skin on the back of Tanya's hand darkens, covering over with scales. Turning her hand and raising it up to the moonlight, Tanya issues a loud gasp.

  "No. Oh no. What is this?"

  Before long, the scales have covered Tanya's entire arm and most of her neck and shoulders.

  "Oh no!"

  The last coherent thought Tanya has is of Desmond's pistol sitting on the purple witch's circular table. She should have played the game. She might have won. Or she could have shot the old hag. Oh well. Too late now.

  With a hiss, Tanya slithers through the trees. Her powerfully coiled body moves slowly and rhythmically. She is headed for her new home. And her new master.

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  The ringmaster sits across the table from her new lover. The purple dress she wears leaves little to the imagination. However, her lover is far from interested. He stares off into space, a solemn look on his face.

  "Why do you not eat?" the ringmaster inquires, her mouth drawn into a disappointed scowl.

  "I am not hungry," her lover says in a soft voice "I feel as if I have lost something. But I can't remember what."

  The ringmaster's disassociated lover stares at the glass ball of swirling energy sitting directly in front of him on the table. The colors within the ball are mesmerizing, ribbons of reds, oranges and blues enveloping and flowing past each other. So beautiful.

  "You say...The one you love is inside of there?"

  "Yes," the ringmaster replies.

  She is grateful to see her new lover interested in something other than trying to remember his past. She has gone to great lengths to bury his true identity beneath multiple spells. Yet, still he wrestles with memories of that cursed woman. His former lover. The one who abandoned him to his fate. She will have to try harder.

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  "He need not stay in there forever, Percy. I intend to release him. You can help me, Percy!"

  "I can help you? How can I help you?"

  "You will become his new vessel. He will live inside of you. We can live for an eternity as lovers. Isn't that what you want too, Percy?"

  Percy, formerly known as Desmond, smiles sadly. He tilts his head to one side and gazes questioningly at the ringmaster.

  "But...How can I be your lover? I thought...I thought...That is what I have forgotten. I already have a lover. Her name is...Her name is..."

  Percy stops to think, unsure of himself. Snapping the fingers of one hand, he grins widely.

  "It's starts with an 'a'. Or maybe, it has an 'a' in it. Angela...Alison...Alice. Yes. Alice. Her name is Alice. I remember now. I love her so much. I was going to ask her to marry me one day. But...She is gone. I don't know where she is."

  The ringmaster becomes visibly angry. She places a slender hand over Percy's, in an attempt to bring him back to the present. The longer Percy goes on about his lost lover, the greater the risk he will undo the identity spell she has cast. She must turn his attention elsewhere. She must offer him pleasure. She must dissuade him from seeking it elsewhere.

  "Alice is gone. Just as my lover is gone. We are here. We are together. You can be the perfect vessel for my lover. He has been gone from me a long time. We will have an eternity to be lovers. And when the time is right. When another is found...One who is worthy to serve as a vessel for your...Alice...I will return her to you."

  "You can return Alice to me? You promise?"

  "Yes. Break the crystal ball, Percy. Accept the energy of my lover. Restore to me...The bringer of my great bliss."

  Climbing from her seat at the table, the ringmaster goes to stand behind Percy. She reaches a slender hand into the opening of Percy's suit jacket, rubbing her hand across his bare chest. She leans forward and kisses the flesh below his right ear.

  "Break the crystal, Percy. Accept my gift. Know pleasure beyond anything you have ever known. All you have to do...Is break the crystal."

  Percy turns his head in order to see the ringmaster's face more clearly. She takes this opportunity to kiss him deeply and passionately, whispering the same request as they part.

  "Break the crystal."

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  Three hours later

  Percy lies beside the ringmaster on an immaculate bed, covered all around with purple curtains. Despite the shards of crystal littering the tent floor, and the ringmaster's energetic coaxing, Percy is still unable to perform the necessary duties. He continues to mutter and ramble to himself.

  "Alison...No Alice. I miss her so much. Her hair was so beautiful. I loved to run my fingers through her hair. I miss my Alice."

  The ringmaster flings off the purple covers and climbs from the bed. She storms out of the bedchamber. So long she has waited. So many times, she'd believed she was close to finding the perfect vessel for Percival's essence. All in vain. This fool's body will not suffice. His mind is a mess. The transfer spell has been corrupted by his love for Tanya. She will have to cast her lover into another crystal. To await another--more worthy--vessel.

  Or maybe, she will keep her fated lover within the brainless fool. Even if he is more than a little confused. There will be days ahead when even Desmond's miserable company is preferable to nothing. There is also a chance that the spell could prove effective. It may take time. Precious time. She will have to be patient.

  In the meantime, she will find other lovers. She will play the game. She will know pleasure and teach pain.

  Until next time.

  The end of story....Not really 3. Hahaha