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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: analogies00.txt

Analogies

an improfanfic submission by Dot

---

Prologue

GODS : MONSTERS :: HUMANS : ?

---

	Although the dragon hadn't completely died of exhaustion trying to throw 

off the screeching thing from its back, I felt somewhat compelled to put it out of 

its misery.  After all, the locals did consider these creatures as "godlings", 

and even if they had no idea I was doing something this sacrilegious, the poor 

beast deserved a better fate than meeting its ignoble end at the hands of Her 

Highness.



	"Aww," pouted Her Highness as my sword severed the dragon's aorta and it 

collapsed in a fountain of blood.  "Didja have to ruin my fun, Adam?"



	"In a minute, you'll be too hungry to care about 'fun'." Another swing of 

the sword opened up the dragon's chest cavity.  "Maybe this time, you'll wait for 

me to _cook_ the meat before you--"



	*SPLORT* went the ex-dragon as Her Highness thrust her arms deep into its 

interior and began cheerfully devouring its innards.



	"--stuff your face like an animal," I muttered as I massaged my twitching 

eyelids, something that's been happening with increasing frequency.



	"But it tastes the best when it's fresh!" Her Highness protested through 

mouthfuls of meat, inadvertently showing me the contents of her meal in the 

process.  "You said so yourself, didn't you?"



	"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I sighed, not really wanting to expend any more effort 

in the pointless debate.  "Enjoy yourself as much as you want.  Just find a place 

to wash up when you're done."



	"Okay!" And back to gorging herself she went, gobbling up the heart, 

intestines, and even liver.



	'Those idiot cultists don't know what they're missing out on,' I thought 

to myself with a small smirk.  'Fresh "godling" is one of the greatest delicacies 

out there.'



	A piece of flesh was practically thrust in my face.  "Hey, aren't you hungry?"



	I raised an eyebrow.  "You're being generous today.  What did you do this 

time?"



	Her Highness pouted, an amusing sight since her face was now more or less 

completely caked with blood.  "What, I'm not allowed to be just plain nice?" 

She waved the piece back and fourth tauntingly, like a flag.  "Hurry up, or 

I'll eat it myself."



	I squatted down, took the proffered meat with my teeth, and under her 

"careful" watch quickly devoured the whole thing.  "There." I flicked the blood 

from my lip with my thumb, still savoring its aftertaste.  "You happy now?"



	"Uh-huh!" Her most recent flight of fancy satisfied, the beaming Highness 

skipped off in search of some water to wash herself off, leaving me the task 

of preparing the remains of the dragon for provisions.  That, however, was a 

simple matter of stuffing the chest with various salts and spices, then 

concentrating enough energy into it to cook the flesh, cutting off the finished 

portions for storage, and then repeating until all the salvageable meat was 

safely in my pack.  Then, I carefully cut out a few of the largest scales, to 

sell either to jewelers or devout monks in case we needed the extra income.



	'Her Highness might even want one of these things as a necklace charm,' I 

thought as I turned the scale in my hand.  It shimmered playfully in a variety 

of colors, as if responding to the idea.



	Responding to the idea...



	I stuffed the scale into the pack.  What a ridiculous thought! "Being 

around that girl is definitely bad for my mental health," I muttered to myself, 

incinerating the dragon's remains before marching in the general direction that I 

had seen Her Highness disappear.



***



	My paranoia about avoiding human contact was not unfounded.  The same 

poachers that I had spent half the night hiking away from had moved even further 

into the forest, carelessly leaving behind signs of their massacre.  My mood 

only worsened when I caught up to Her Highness at the particular river she chose 

to clean herself off and discovered that the poachers had broken camp recently.  

_Very_ recently.  I was, to say the least, highly displeased at the prospect of 

having to explain my presence should I cross paths with them.  My only consolation 

was that they would have an even slimmer exuse for being here than I did.



	Well, no point in getting _too_ negative just yet.  They were no longer in 

the area, and given how thoroughly they had either killed or scared away the 

wildlife, the chances that they would return on this path were slim.  On the other 

hand, if I absolutely had to deal with people, I'd rather just head back to town.  At 

least the idiots there know how to treat a "Savior".



	Her Highness stopped splashing and craned her neck into the distance, as if 

listening for something.  "Hey" she gestured like a peddler hawking shady goods.  "Do 

you hear that?"



	I was about to ask what when I, too, noticed it.  The ripple was distant and 

tiny, but absolutely unmistakable.



	"Locke," I muttered, trying to quelch the obligatory sense of irritation that 

was welling up, but my eyelids were already fluttering madly.



	"What's the matter, Adam? Isn't he your friend?"



	"Well, he hasn't tried to kill me yet." I sighed; this was not a day I 

looked forward to, but there was no point avoiding the inevitable.  "I guess I should 

go hear him tell me what I already know."



***



	Locke was, as usual, a mask of grins.  "Aww, don't be so cold, Adam.  I 

haven't seen you in...how long?"



	"Not long enough, obviously.  I'm surprised they haven't tried to lock _you_ 

in a dark, dank pit somewhere yet." But his cheerfulness, no matter how false, was 

infectious, and soon I was smiling as well even though inwardly I was hoping he'd 

give me a reason to punch his face in.  "So what have you been up to lately?"



	"Oh, you know, the usual." Noticing Her Highness, Locke pulled her into a 

tight glomp.  "Why, if it isn't Alice! You've grown so big now!" He yanked playfully 

on her pigtails.  "And you have such an adorable new hairstyle, too!" As Her Highness 

giggled and twisted in Locke's arms, his attention turned back to me.  "Looks like 

you haven't bothered telling her how much trouble she's in."



	"What's the point? It's not like she can lock me up again." I felt my hands 

clench into fists.  "And there's no way in hell I'm going to let those idiots punish 

her for their own mistakes."



	Locke smirked.  "Is this on the principle that you can't stand them, or do 

you have an alterior motive?"



	"If I have one, I'm hardly telling _you_ about it."



	Locke laughed, sounding something like a hyena as he chuckled.  "True, true!" 

He gently set Her Highness to the ground and patted her on the head.  "Well, I'm off.  

See you around, okay?" With that, and a flippant wave of his gloved hand, he melted 

into the surrounding landscape, his cheeky grin the last to disappear.



	Her Highness gazed longingly at the spot where Locke had vanished.  "Do you 

think he'll come back to visit us soon?"



	I finally remembered to unclench my hand, and it popped loudly as I freed 

my fingers from the vise grip I had on them.  "You can count on it."



	"Good! You're always such a grump, but being around Locke really cheers you 

up!"



	"That so...?" Despite myself, a grin worked its way up my face.  Her Highness 

shrieked as I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder.  "I think I'd rather be 

a grump."



***



	One look on the townspeople's faces when we rejoined civilization told me that 

there would be work to do.  All it took was a little casual eavesdropping to find out 

the exact nature of what got them so worked up.  By the time I pieced everything 

together, I was pretty sure even my eyeballs were jumping.



	Even Her Highness seemed to realize the implications of the gossip going on 

around her.  "They've...come to get me, haven't they?" she seemed to shrink a little 

as she clutched onto my pant leg.



	"If it were that simple, they wouldn't have bothered with the subtleties.  

They're probably more interested in what _I'm_ capable of handling.  Dealing with you 

would mostly be an afterthought."



	"What should we do, then...?"



	"I have a feeling they won't stop bothering us no matter what, so let's humor 

them a bit." I ruffled Her Highness' hair.  "There's nothing to worry about.  Knowing 

how neurotic they are, even you could handle whatever they're throwing our way."



	"But if not, you'll protect me, right?"



	Her Highness exuded nothing but total and absolute trust, her tone of voice 

and body language completely different than mine when I once uttered those exact words.



	She tugged on my sleeve so hard that it nearly lost a button.  "Right, Adam?"



	"Yeah, yeah..."



***



	Having changed into clothes appropriate for a "Savior", Her Highness went on 

to draw an elaborate magic circle around the afflicted area while the populace watched 

in awed silence.  It was all for show, of course, since there were no "gods" who were 

willing to lend their powers to us, but who was I to disappoint the expectations of my 

paying customers? In the meantime, I could scout on the opposition and formulate some 

plans.  Other than Her Highness and myself there was no signs of anyone else from the 

Outer Realm, Locke included, but I knew they would be watching my every move, so I 

wasn't planning to do anything unless I had no other choice.



	There was no reaction from the supposedly haunted house, but there definitely 

was something in there.  Either this fellow was waiting for us to make the first move, 

or it was so phenomenally stupid that it thought the magic circle to be real.  Of 

course, I preferred the second option, but in my experience things were never that 

easy.



	Finally, Her Higness was finished with the theatrics, and stood at the focal 

point of the elaborate pattern.  Now the _real_ show was about to begin.



	"You're in there, aren't you? I know you are." Her Highness, her nervousness 

completely forgotten, bounced lightly on her toes as she activated her usually 

supressed abilities.  "Don't be shy! Come on out!"



	The gawkers in the very front pressing for a better view thought better of 

themselves and began retreating as the dark aura surrounding the house began to 

coalesce into a twisted...well, for lack of a better term, thing that dripped venom 

from its pointed teeth as it leered at them.  It looked like any other garden-variety 

monster used to scare up tribute, but I kept my guard up.  Better to be overly cautious 

than careless.



	The demon's attention turned to me.  "Hello, ugly," I greeted, keeping a 

deceptively casual defensive stance.  "And whose pet might you be, hm?" It moved to 

swipe at me, but to my surprise the magic circle sprang to life and held it quite 

firmly within.



	"Oh, no you don't," Her Highness shook a finger at the demon.



	I quirked an eyebrow at her.  "You figured out how to work that thing on your 

own?"



	"Uh-huh! It was simple!" With a wave of her hand, she imparted just enough 

energy into the circle to give the demon an unpleasant case of static cling.  "And 

you think I never listen to a word you say."



	"Do I?" I certainly doubted that her attention span was any longer than a few 

seconds, but I also forgot that she was so much more than just a brat.  She was a brat 

with Powers.



	"Hey!" Her Highness crossed her arms as the demon persisted in slamming itself 

against the invisible barrier.  "Stop ignoring me!"



	Instead of humoring Her Highness with whatever pathetic abilities it might 

have, the demon only continued to use its body as a battering ram.  "I don't think it 

speaks human, Your Highness." I leaned against the mailbox behind me.  "Maybe you 

should try something a little more other-worldly." Of course, I doubted that the demon 

understood _anything_, but the crowd was getting restless and they needed something 

exciting to happen.



	Her Highness took in a deep breath and stamped her foot.  "[PAY ATTENTION 

WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!]"



	The demon was a little slow to react, but the crowd was definitely worked up 

now; after all, this was what they had paid to see.  The most vocal of them began 

voicing their "support".



	"You tell 'im!" "Kick ass, Miss Alice!" "Go! Go! Go!"



	"[That's right, come're, you,]" Her Highness flipped the bird at the demon as 

it turned toward her.  "[I'll show you not to look down on someone smaller than you.]"



	The demon rushed her, and then all hell broke loose.



	With her mind fully occupied on "playing with" the demon, Her Highness 

completely forgot about maintaining the barrier to keep the spectators from getting 

too involved.  Fortunately, the demon was likewise too busy attempting to attack Her 

Highness to consider the tasty morsels running around like headless chickens.  I took 

this opportunity to make a few discreet adjustments to the magic circle so that it 

would remain effective even without Her Highness consciously maintaining it; I also 

wrote in an extra ring just in case Her Highness was not the endless overflow of 

youthful energy that I imagined her to be.



	It didn't take long for everyone to forget the terror of the demon getting a 

bit too close for comfort, and once again they were lost in their vicarious thrills.  

The display finally ended as the demon exploded, leaving no doubt that we "Saviors" 

had once again done our job.  Ironically enough, the ecstasy surrounding the successful 

exorcism also provided just enough chaos for us to slip away before we had to endure 

endless rounds of socializing.



***



	Her Highness was dozing soundly against my shoulder by the time I found a 

sufficiently quiet place to collect my thoughts.  Today's confrontation had come and 

gone, but I hadn't gained any insights, and I doubted my enemies had taken the hint 

that I wasn't interested in their games.  And most of those who could be potential 

allies were even more opportunistic than Locke; currently, they were _still_ sitting 

on the fence, even those who knew the truth and didn't simply brand me as Satan 

Incarnate.  As for the rest of them, even if they were willing stand up to the ruling 

council, none of them would be willing to hear me present my side of the case.



	Damn it all.  What's the point of keeping a stupid promise if I'll end up 

getting killed because of it, like she did?



	The left side of my face began to warm slightly, starting from just above my 

eyebrow and spreading downwards vertically.  I quickly clamped down on my darkest 

thoughts, and the warmth faded slowly.  As tempting the idea of giving those assholes 

what they deserved was, now was neither the time nor the place to entertain it.  It 

would be infinitely less trouble for them to come to me instead.  Then I could show 

them how much of a grave they had dug for themselves by doing what they did.



	And for that, I was willing to wait another thousand years.

---

Long and Tiresome Authoress' Notes:

It's a shame that the SAT will remove the analogies section.  As difficult as 

it was, it forces people to think about the various nuances of words, and 

meanings within meanings.  That's why I'm submitting this as a moderated impro, 

because I would like it to be a story full of layers, with one portion alluding 

to, foreshadowing, or recalling another.  Hopefully, with the guidance of a 

moderator, the various authors could work together in making that possible.

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