the awakening of a silly girl - 3. franz

by victorine de valois

illustrated by danny delacroix and eddie el greco

editorial consultant: Prof. Dan Leo

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dora was filled with an overwhelming foreboding as she walked up the steps of the administration building with adelaide, and they approached the massive doors. "have you ever been here before?" she asked adelaide. "yes, i came here to get my servant's papers when i first started to work." dora pushed at the right hand door, and it swung open easily and noiselessly. they stepped into a surprisingly small foyer. there were no signs or signs of life in it, just another set of doors, made mostly of impenetrably dark glass. the front door swung closed smoothy behind them, shutting out the morning light and leaving them in shadow, with only a little dust-moted light coming through the glass doors, which adelaide now pushed open. they did not open quite as smoothly as the first set of doors had. a narrow staircase loomed in front of them. corridors on either side of the staircase faded away into long rows of closed doors with small glass panes and smaller brass name plates. there were no people in sight. "i seem to remember, " said adelaide, "that it was a little more lively when i was here before. at least there was someone you could ask directions of." they heard a voice behind them. "looking for directions, missus? i would be happy to assist you." dora and adelaide turned. a ragged little person with a bat-like face looked up at them, with his thumbs hooked aggressively in his vest. it was not clear to them whether he was a small boy or a midget. adelaide stared down at him. "are you here in an official capacity? your dress would indicate to me that you are not." "no, missus, i am not. i am an independent operator." adelaide looked around and down one of the corridors. "are there no officials here to guide us? when i was last here there seemed to be an abundance of such personages." "ah, but you must have been here in the old days, missus. things have changed. this is the modern age now, and you have independent operators such as myself to deal with." "you do not say. tell me, have things changed so much that there is no longer a marriage bureau in the building, where this young lady can obtain a license for her scheduled nuptials?" "well as to that, missus, i couldn't say. i couldn't rightly say. there may be a marriage bureau and there may not. but i can help you look for it. for a price, of course." adelaide laughed. "for a price! i think not. come, dora, we will find our own way. who knows, the marriage bureau may be just around the corner." "it is easy to get lost in here, missus - " "stop calling me missus. it is fraulein, or mademoiselle , if you please." "that's as may be, miss - fraulein, but everything has its price. why, i daresay i could get a good price for you, and an even better one for the young lady here, if i were to offer you to the turk - " "what sort of talk is that!" and adelaide smacked the little person on his ear, causing him to shout in a manner to echo down the corridors. "here, what is all this? what is going on here?" a tall, gaunt figure emerged from the gloom of the corridor behind the would-be guide. an old man with bags under his eyes and wearing a gray suit that looked even older than himself looked down at the guide and then at adelaide. "this creature has insulted us, " adelaide replied evenly. "tell me, are you in charge here, sir?" "i am in charge of what i am in charge of," the old man replied. "well then, can you direct us to the marriage bureau?" "i am afraid that is not at all my responsibility or my function. our friend franz here is quite a good guide, you could do worse than retain him, especially as there seem to be no others about." "i am afraid your franz has insulted us, insulted us most grievously." adelaide glared at franz, who was still rubbing his head with a piteous expression on his face. "well, his manners might not pass muster at the court of the kaiserin or the empress eugenie, but he can take you where you want to go - or at least make an honest effort." "an honest effort!" "who can do ought else?" "he talked of selling us to the turk! what sort of talk is that?" "the turk pays in honest coin, mademoiselle, not in this damnable paper money." "do you know," adelaide replied. "i think we have had quite enough of this place, which is not at all as i remembered it - " "all things change, mademoiselle," the old man answered. "this is the modern age." "no doubt. but i think we shall take our leave, and ponder the ramifications of modernity in more congenial surroundings." at this franz laughed, and the old man shook his head sorrowfully. "i am afraid you have come about your business, mademoiselle, now you must go about your business." "really? are you saying we may not leave?" "no, you may not. what sort of business would it be, if people came to do their business, and then did not do their business? i ask you." "and if i were to push or pull at the doors behind me?" "they would not open." "i see. and if we find the marriage bureau and - do our business, as you so forthrightly put it, then the doors will open?" "they will indeed, though perhaps without the sound of trumpets." "i see." adelaide looked up the staircase. "well then, i think we will try the upper floors first. perhaps we shall find a little more light up there." "as you wish, mademoiselle. but i tell you you are making a mistake not hiring a guide." "we will take our chances. may i ask your name, sir?" "certainly. it is manfred, herr manfred. my office is first on the right, in the corridor behind me. drop by, if you like, on your way out, and give me an account of your adventures. they might prove amusing." at this franz gave a surprisingly hearty laugh, which caused dora to shudder. "so, " said adelaide to herr manfred, "you are in charge after all, sir." "i am in charge of what i am in charge of. no more and no less." 4. the staircase

the witches - 3. a digression and a dream

by rosalind montmorency-st winifred

illustrated by rhoda penmarq and roy dismas

editorial consultant: Prof. Dan Leo

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there are perhaps no subjects which have so exercised the imagination of fearful humanity, and about which so much has been written, and so little known, as witches and witchcraft. those learned authorities who have pondered and studied the subjects, and discoursed and written on them at length, begin by disagreeing, in the most extreme manner, on the extent that they have ever existed. the learned friar h-------------, resident scholar of the abbey of p----------, in the century of otto the great, averred confidently, not only that witchcraft has existed in all human societies since adam and eve were banished from the garden, but that as many as seventy-five percent of all eve's daughters have been initiates of the dark arts since that event (an event the culpability for which he ascribes entirely to adam's unfortunate helpmate). the modern reader, heir to what he perceives as centuries of "enlightenment", will no doubt smile at the monk's conclusions, and might smile even more, if he were to take the time to peruse his arguments, derived about equally from scripture and from the recorded lives of such heroes as alexander and charlemagne. the most opposite, and most aggressively argued opposite view is found, somewhat surprisingly, not in the most recent scholarship, which tends to the view that belief at least fostered some attempt to justify the beliefs, but from the perhaps unjustifiably obscure writings of the erudite abbess s------------, a contemporary of gervase of tilbury and rudolf von ems, who took the stance that the very notion of the black arts was a canard to be ascribed to the sages of the early christian era, particularly the "pagans" who sought to question the validity of the new society coming into being under the twin aegises of the church fathers, and constantine and his imperial successors. a modern reader, thinking from my description to find a kindred spirit in this learned lady, should be forewarned that no small part of her arguments derive from the study of astrology, which was just then beginning to be reintroduced into europe from the moorish world. i have briefly sketched the two most opposing views. the most notable aspect of the cacaphony of intermediate views may not be their divergence or their multitudiousness, but their dispersion over the whole terrain of recorded human existence. the witch is young or old, a woman of the country or the town or the forest or the desert, the woman in the next cottage or the follower in the train of the invading army, she is in possession of the most terrifying powers or the most trivial, but she is everywhere, or somewhere, in every time. the ferocious were-wolf, the insatiable vampire, the ghastly zombie, and the dread leopard-man, among others, have had their local fear and fame in various corners of the globe and odd stretches on the track of time, but perhaps only the ghost can rival the witch in the lore and belief of all peoples and eras. in conclusion it must be noted, that in this as in so many other subjects, the most confirmed skeptics often pass by in silent contempt, not deigning to spend their allotted time on earth arguing beliefs that seem to them beneath notice. *** reader, we apologize for this digression, which says both too much and too little. the dust emanating from the corners of our library has no doubt affected our brain and caused us to imagine ourself possessing some little authority on this elusive subject. we return to our story, where we left the old soldier probus on the dark road in quest of father propertius, whom he sought in order to administer the last rites to his old master barentius. the laughter of the three women he had encountered faded away behind him as he hurried down the road to mother ariana's, where he hoped to find the cleric. if not there, he would have to try the church, where the priest would surely be asleep. as he hurried his aged frame along as best he could, guilt and fear went back and forth in his mind like wind and waves. guilt - at having fallen asleep by the side of the road, thereby endangering his chance of finding father propertius in time to give barentius the last consolations - perhaps putting the very soul of barentius in jeopardy? fear - of the three women behind him , who had answered exactly to the most common description of witches - one young and beautiful, two old and wizened - the third indeed, old beyond description. the fear gradually overcame the guilt. he had difficulty imagining his masters soul but the three witches had been there before him - they could have reached out and touched him! was that their laughter - the laughter, in particular, of the young one - that he still heard? no, it was only the wind in the trees. suddenly he remembered the dream he had had before awakening. he had been walking alone down a dark road much like this one - or was it the road to the capital city - or the road to heaven - or the road back to the forest where he had been born? unlike this road, though, it had had a light at the end of it - a light now golden, now red, blazing brightly, but without lighting up the darkness around it. and without growing larger or smaller as he approached. in the dream he passed a dark building made of rain. and the rain spoke to him in a language he did not understand. he passed another building on the opposite side of the road. the building was made of wind, and it laughed at him. he came to a third building, low and round, on the same side of the road as the first, made of blue flame. and the blue flame spoke one word to him - the word was blown away by the wind. the light in the distance went out. three forms appeared on the road before him. and then he had awakened. or had he? was he dreaming now? the three women - had he really seen them? or just dreamed them? in the center of the dark road, in the shadows beside it - what did he see now? and did he hear laughter? 4. celia

10. the losers

by emily de villaincourt

illustrated by rhoda penmarq, roy dismas , and konrad kraus

click here for previous chapter, here to begin at the beginning

editorial consultant: Prof. Dan Leo

dorine took immediate likes and dislikes to people - and she decided even more quickly than usual that she did not like celine. dorine was a polite person, and she had spoken to celine when celine had sat down opposite her, pointing out that there were tea and coffee available etc, out of her usual politeness. but she did not much care for what she perceived as celine's off handedly queenly response to her offer. what she really didn't like was the way celine used her charms - oh so casually - on jolene, seeming to make the poor girl her slave as easily as picking up a fork or spoon. dorine had thought at first glance she might make friends with jolene - not the way she yearned to make a friend of the still absent paulette - but just a friend. of course she still could - if anybody could really make a friend at all in this place with all its rules. that remained to be seen. after jolene's mild remonstrance - " i think we settled that" - none of the girls at the breakfast table seemed inclined to respond further, either positively or negatively, to celine's apology about being late the night before, and the matter was dropped. quinette had entered, accompanied by olga, and took the last seat on the side of the table beneath the window, on the opposite end of the table from miss prue. quinette mumbled greetings to sabine and florine, who sat opposite her, and sat looking down at the table. olga took charge of getting her tea and a croissant and ordering her a breakfast. eight of the fourteen girls had now settled at the table. the guards began bringing plates to those who had placed orders. a silence settled over the table. even florine and coraline stopped talking to each other. nobody seemed to be doing anything but sipping tea or coffee or picking at their food. "can i ask a question - again?" dorine finally asked, after getting a few forkfuls down. it wasn't bad, but she just was not hungry. "of course, of course," miss prue answered with a slight start, as if she had started to doze off. the poor old thing looks exhausted, dorine thought. "i am glad at least one of you wants to ask questions." she looked down the table. "of course i understand if you are all tired and still somewhat - disoriented. perhaps in the next few days you will all feel a little livelier." "can i ask a question?" ameline asked miss prue suddenly. she was seated in the center of the table, on dorine's left, with two empty spaces between them. "yes, please do." "have you ever done anything like this before?" "excuse me?" "have you ever -um - conducted - or supervised anything like this whole procedure before ? i mean, maybe during the war?" miss prue laughed. "oh, my dear! what a question!" "i am serious," ameline persisted. "of course you don't have to answer -" "oh, no, it's a good question. an excellent question. it is just that - such an idea never crossed my mind." miss prue laughed again. "i can assure you this is all as strange to me as it must be to all of you. even stranger, as i am older and my brain is not so flexible." "the thought just flashed on me," ameline said. "it just - it just flashed on me." "where would i have done such a thing? i mean - i was on the losing side. as we all were. none of us would be here if we were not, would we?" helga and some of the other guards exchanged amused glances, but none of them spoke. "i suppose," ameline answered. "you suppose?" suddenly celine entered the conversation. "what do you suppose, sweetie? we are all here, aren't we? none of us went down in flames with knives between our teeth, did we?" "well," ameline answered, looking around the table, " some of them might have been a bit young -" " 'them' is right. did you spend the war in a convent?" "no." "nor did i." dorine was more startled by celine's outburst than ameline had been. she did not understand what had caused it. "well," said miss prue, "i hope i answered your question." "yes, " ameline answered mildly. "i did not mean to upset anyone." "you started to ask a question?" miss prue asked dorine. "i was just going to ask - what can we talk about, if we can not talk about what we are doing - the contest." "anything else you like." "but - if you don't mind my saying so, i find that hard to believe." "really?" but prue smiled at her, encouragingly. "so we can talk about politics?" "as much as you like. why not? say anything you like. the war is over." dorine looked around and down the table. ameline beside her and celine and jolene across from her were attending to what she had to say. further down the table, florine was talking softly to coraline again, but coraline seemed to be only half listening to her. sabine was staring straight ahead, with an attentive look on her face. quinette was staring vacantly down at the table in front of her. "so we can say anything we want about the emperor?" dorine asked. "i haven't had any personal contact with the emperor, and don't expect to, " miss prue answered. "i do not think he is much concerned with what you think. he has declared freedom of speech and freedom of religion throughout his domains -" "religion! " ameline laughed. dorine laughed with her. " - and i do not see why we should not take him at his word," miss prue concluded. "can we talk of escaping ?" jolene asked. "no, but that has to do with the contest. all the rules we have are to do with the contest." "but if we are so free," jolene went on, "why are we here?" coraline spoke for the first time. "we are here because the emperor - or more likely someone in his entourage - finds it amusing for us to be here." "yes," miss prue agreed, "that probably sums it up very well." "and yet," said ameline, "when all this is over, one of us will supposedly be empress." "oh, yes, empress," celine agreed. "whatever that means." dorine, ameline, coraline and sabine all laughed at this. just then rosalind and nanette arrived by different doors, each accompanied by a guard. "did i hear someone laughing?" rosalind asked. "you all sounded quite jolly." "we were having a very stimulating conversation," ameline answered. "thanks to this young lady." she nodded toward dorine. dorine flushed. she was actually quite heartened by the conversation, by the boldness at least some of them were showing. jolene had actually mentioned the subject of escape! and prue had hardly batted an eye. dorine almost forgot that paulette had still not shown up. 11. troublemakers

the awakening of a silly girl - 2. the biggest building

by victorine de valois

illustrated by roy dismas and rhoda penmarq

editorial consultant: Prof. Dan Leo

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click here to begin the 14th princess

luncheon was served. despite the assurances of the two aunts, dora, who was uncomfortable with any change in her settled existence - who in fact had difficulty even imagining such a thing - felt considerable apprehension about her proposed visit to the marriage bureau, and had little appetite. the two aunts attacked the luncheon in their usual manner - aunt grunhilde with singleminded gusto, and aunt delphine with a delicate air of indifference, managing nonetheless to dispose of everything put before her . as the minutes dragged by, dora's agony increased. she would have liked to ask a number of questions - but she was too well bred to open her mouth or to question the older women. finally aunt delphine finished her last cup of tea and the cups and plates were removed. as the afternoon sunlight receded dustily through the curtains, neither of the drowsing aunts seemed inclined to bring up the subject of the marriage bureau - could they have forgotten it? with a supreme effort, dora summoned up the effort to ask - "should i have adelaide summoned, so that she can make ready to accompany me to the marriage bureau?" "of course, of course," aunt grunhilde answered absently. "and i must be getting along to the countess of g---------'s". aunt delphine seemed to have fallen asleep. in due course dora found herself outside on the chilly street with her maid adelaide, waiting for the coachman to bring the carriage around. despite aunt delphine's low opinion of her faculties, adelaide was as capable as anybody of shepherding dora to the administration building and the marriage bureau. a sharp-featured, impertinent creature with ideas very much above her station, adelaide was as well versed in current affairs as delphine herself, and took a particular interest in womans suffrage, a subject on which she held the most uncompromising opinions. she would have very much enjoyed discussing such things with her young mistress, who, by adelaide's lights, should have been in the forefront of the suffragette movement given her youth and social standing, but had found her a most apathetic and indifferent listener, and had therefore refrained from voicing her opinions too loudly or too often. "do you think gustav will know the way?" dora now asked adelaide, as she watched her breath float away in the clear, cold air. "know the way? miss, i know the way. we could walk there if that was your pleasure." "oh no, no. it's - it's much too cold." "pooh. bracing, i should say. anyways, it is the biggest building in the city, probably the biggest in the empire. if you don't count castles and such. it is so big it will find you if you can't find it." "oh?" the phrase "biggest building in the empire" had struck a chord in dora's brain. "is it the biggest building in the world, then?" "i do not know about that. i suppose it might be. but here is gustav." gustav, an ageless servant, wore a blue uniform perfectly suited to his station and to the station of the von d------ family. on this occasion he was driving the townhouse's smallest coach, with a single small and well behaved pony. "so, where are we headed this fine this morning?" he asked adelaide. "the administration building." "ah." gustav looked around. " nice afternoon for a walk, seems to me." "that is not for you to decide, " adelaide answered sharply. she opened the door of the coach for dora to get in, but dora hesitated. "which entrance?" gustav asked. "do you know where you want to go?" "take us to the main entrance, please. we shall find our way from there." gustav shook his head. "are you sure about that? folks have been known to lose their way in there. disappear, never to be seen again." "we will have none of your old woodchopper's tales today, if you please!," adelaide quickly answered, seeing the look of horror on dora's face. "pay no mind to him," she added to dora, "it is just his country cousin humor. most inappropriate, at this or any other time. " adelaide and gustav were old adversaries "below stairs", with adelaide generally standing up for the forward looking modern world and gustav inclining to the worldview of his peasant forbears. dora and adelaide finally got into the carriage, with adelaide virtually pushing dora in, and they set off. it seemed to dora that she had hardly settled in her seat before adelaide was jumping out and opening the door for her. what a hurry everyone was in! the administration building stretched as far as dora could see. and though it was only a mile from her home, she had never seen it before. it filled three full city blocks, with enclosed passageways in the alleys between the blocks. a huge brass double door, unadorned with any inscriptions and unflanked with any statuary, loomed before her. seven broad marble steps led up to it from the street. adelaide pointed her to it and she put her foot on the first step. adelaide stayed behind for a word with the coachman. "i have told you before, gustav, for your own good, you should hold your tongue here in town. you are not in the country with the old baron lying on his dirty sofa with his pipe and his dogs not minding anything you say. these people in the city are not so quick to laugh." "yes, duchess. tell me, do you think i will have time to smoke a pipe of my own while i wait for you?" "i do not care what you do. but be here when we return." gustav nodded and took his pipe out of his pocket, and then his tobacco. he began stuffing the pipe. he watched as dora and adelaide began ascending the steps. 3. franz