The mirror blurred and the image of her face was slowly replaced with that of her liege lady's. She curtsied and the Lady sighed impatiently, waving away her niceties. ?Get on with it,? the Lady said. ?Did you find it yet? Do you have it??

?No, my Lady. I have not found it yet, but I have found him. The warrior. I spoke to him tonight, my Lady.?

The Lady looked both pleased and disappointed with the news. ?Oh? You've found the warrior already? And you spoke to him? What did he have to say? Did he tell you where it is??

?No, my Queen. He did not say much, to be honest. He seems perhaps shy around people. But I touched him and laid the spell upon him. It has begun now, my Lady. It's only a matter of time now.?

The Lady excitedly clapped her hands together and her inhumanly beautiful face broke out in a terrible grin. ?Oh, that is wonderful news indeed. When, do you think? When will I have it...and the woman??

She chewed delicately at her lower lip in thought and then said, ?By the beginning of the mortal's year, my Lady. I will deliver it and the woman to the foot of your throne.? Bold words, but these were mere mortals after all. She and her sisters were more than equipped to handle mortals.

?I will hold you to your time table, then. You have three mortal weeks. Do not squander it.? The image of her liege lady's face blurred and became her own once more before she could respond.

Hurt slightly by the Lady's impatience, she turned and fixed her sisters with a green eyed stare. ?The Lady is ever impatient. We must do our best to complete our task in the time she has given us. But it should be an easy task, should it not? They are mortals and no match for us.? Her sisters laughed their agreement. They would succeed where the Lady's own hunter had not. The rewards were inconceivable. But then again, so were the punishments for failure.

Her sisters returned from their outings, hideous faces split in grins of triumph. "We have seen the warrior and the woman," they reported in unison. "We have seen them leaving this place. They go to the Lands of the Westering Sun, to the city of Lost Angels, to fight a horrible creature called District Attorney. They will be there for eight days and seven nights."

She chuckled softly at her sisters' provincial attitudes. She turned to the mirror and waved her right hand in front of it, the right hand that wore the Ring of Summoning. The mirror blurred, then cleared and the Lady's face was revealed, looking annoyed. "What is it? You interrupt my dinner."

"The warrior and the woman are going to Earth, my Lady," she said with a courtly bow. "The woman is practicing law once more, in the city of Lost Angels. They will be there for a week."

The Queen's brows rose in shock and she tapped a long, tapered nail against her square, white teeth. "This is interesting, indeed. Have you spoken further to the warrior or perhaps to the woman?"

"Yes, my Lady. I spoke to the warrior two days ago. He spoke rather frankly of the Others to me." She was proud of this fact; proud that she'd gotten the warrior to trust her enough to tell her of his problems and to seek her advice on how to solve them. "He revealed to me that the woman wears a special necklace. He also revealed his fear of the Others. I gave him some advice, my Lady. I hope I did not overstep my bounds." She relayed in greater detail the conversation between herself and the warrior. The Queen's face was rapt and when the telling was done, the Queen laughed in pure delight and clapped her hands together.

"Oh, that was well done," the Lady said. "Well done, indeed. Yes, your this will play nicely into my plans. Keep up the good work and you and your sisters will be richly rewarded."

The mirror blurred and went clear once more, revealing her own glamoured face. She turned smiled proudly to her sisters. "You heard her praise, my sisters. The Lady is proud of us. We must continue to do well." Her sisters agreed most emphatically.