Babes in the Wood
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 48049
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Pronklezilch decided that, delightful though the two girls undoubtedly
were, keeping them around might be more trouble than it was worth. He had
had his revenge on Candy, so that the pair had served their purpose. He
would send them back to where he had originally found them. It was a
remote spot, and they would probably quickly fall victim to some brigand
or wild creature, but - as the reader has doubtless already realised - he
was not an overly compassionate man.
Astra and Freda looked around them and blinked. "What happened?" Astra asked. "Where are we?" There was still enough daylight for her to see that they were no longer on Rudolf's elegant terrace. Instead they stood on a path that led through a dark forest. "I don't know," Freda replied. Her musical voice sounded identical to Astra's. "And where's that nice old wizard gone?" She raised her hand to her neck and rubbed her shiny metal collar distractedly. "It doesn't look like we'll ever get paid now," Astra said ruefully. "No. And, whilst the Mistress might have cheated us, she did at least provide us with our meals and a roof over our heads. But this looks like it's miles from anywhere. Have you ever had to fend for yourself before, because I never have?" Astra frowned as she examined what she could recall about her history. There seemed to be a faint memory of herself wielding a sword, oddly enough, but it was elusive and she couldn't pin it down. "No," she said eventually. "I've never had to look after myself. My mother was a bawdy girl, and I've always lived in a brothel. When I was old enough to become a bawdy girl myself, I was sold to Mistress Candida's, and I've lived there ever since." "My own story is much the same. You know, it's funny that we look like identical twins, when we aren't related at all." "Maybe we had the same father?" Astra suggested. "I never knew who my father was." "Good point. I'm the same. But we had better not waste time talking. I think that we should try to get out of this forest whilst it's still light enough to see the path." "You're right. Who knows what nasty things might be lurking behind the trees. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it." Before they could decide which way to go, they spotted a wisp of smoke curling up from between the trees not far away. Then they realised that a faint path led off the main track in that direction. Hoping to find a cottage where they could take shelter for the night, they followed it. They soon came to a glade amongst the trees. In the middle of the glade was a cottage made out of:
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JH
12/31/2004 3:17:00 AM
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