Beginning ... Chapter: One ... Two ... Three ... Four ... Five
With a fading growl the chair lost it's animation and resumed being a normal chair.
"Emile, very few things in this room are what they seem. This way, please." The Baron took her by the nape of the neck and lead her to a shaded corner of the library. There they stopped in front of a foot-across crystal ball held up by the coils of three brass dragons.
"Gaze into the ball, Emile. Show me your conspirators." She resisted, but the Baron's hand forced her head down to gaze at the massive reticule.
In moments a scene of winter snow glowing in afternoon sun appeared. In it were three men waiting by a low stone wall, The smallest was staring intently into the distance, the other two were walking around swinging their arms to keep warm.
"Outside waiting for a signal are they? Lets see . . ." The baron gazed a moment at Emile, then at the afternoon sun shining through the windows. With a wave of his hand, the heavy window curtains, one by one, drew themselves shut. In the glass the men perked up. As the final curtain closed they jumped the wall and started across the snow-covered lawn. The small one pulled a dagger, the medium a sword, and the third, a lumbering fellow, recovered his cudgel from beside the wall.
"Oh No!" groaned the Baron, "You've recruited Gunther for this. Poor, slow Gunther. He's an excellent, dedicated gardener. He'll be hard to replace."
"You aren't going to kill them, are you?" Emile's gaze turned to the Baron and she straightened. His hand moved from her head to her shoulder. Then to her chin.
"I wasn't planning on it. Like I said, Gunther will be hard to replace. But if you are willing to intercede on their behalf, I surely won't. Are you willing to intercede?"
She stared back for a moment, then pulled her chin away from his hand and took a step back.
"I could have lied and told you their lives where at stake."
"No, I won't." Emile said quietly.
The Baron stared at her for another moment, then grinned. "Good." He finally said. "I'd rather win you another way. Now watch."
"Beast. You'll never win me!" Emile twisted her arms helplessly, then stamped her foot, the Baron ignored her.
"Watch, either here or through the window." With a motion, the curtains began to open again. Emile moved to the nearest window. The men, half-way across the lawn, stopped when they saw the curtains open. They looked around suspiciously. The Baron made several more complex motions directed at the crystal ball.
The snow in front of the men trembled and churned. It drew together into three lumps that shaped themselves into snowmen. The snowmen grew arms, and at the end of each arm grew a round, beautifully-formed snowball. As each snowball was completed, the snow man threw it at one of the conspirators -- still standing in awe at this sight -- and grew another. The tosses were true, and soon the men were being pelted with a shower of snowballs. They tried to parry the snowballs with their weapons, but after a few moments it was clear the barrage wasn't going to stop, and they retreated in confusion. The snowmen pursued; the Baron laughed; Emile looked at him.
"That's all? You're defeating them with snowmen throwing snowballs? Will they be hurt?"
"Their prides will be devastated. But yes, that's all the snowmen will do." He sighed, "Yes, that's all the snowmen will do. And your friends, like you, will be undaunted. They will return.
Beginning ... Chapter: One ... Two ... Three ... Four ... Five