Now There Are Three

Fred and Josh, who have adopted a rather relaxed dress code, are hurriedly rearranging their rags to ensure that they cover the bare essentials. Only when they have done this do they study the girl properly. "It's Princess Exotica!" Fred exclaims. "Your Highness, how do you come to be here?"

"A spell went badly wrong," she says. "I think I should have used toe of newt rather than knee of toad. My father was set against my learning witchcraft, but I went ahead with my studies in secret anyway. But sometimes I think that he might have had a point.

"But I recognise you two. It's Lord Fred and Sir Josh, isn't it? We feared you had both died at the hands - or claws - of the dragon. This doesn't look like the place to stand on ceremony, so please drop that 'Your Highness' nonsense. It's not as though you are members of the servant class. 'Exotica' will do fine. So how do you both come to be here, anyway?"

So Lord Fred tells that part of his story that he can remember, and Josh makes up something that he hopes will be more believable than the truth. Both of them tend to embroider their stories a little so that they will sound a little more heroic. Fred and Josh have got along very well whilst there was only the two of them, but Exotica's arrival might ultimately lead to conflict between them.

When they have finished, Exotica asks them: "So why haven't you tried to escape?" Fred and Josh look at each other in perplexity. Why haven't they tried to escape?

1. But then the orange globes intervene again, and thoughts of escape disppear from all three of their minds.
2. "I might be able to magic us back home if we can find the necessary spell ingredients," Exotica says. Fred and Josh exchange worried looks.

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