When Colette and Will arrived at the dock on Verdure Island, there was a rope stretched across the dock, with a sign saying "Back in ten minutes" hanging from it. Two strangers were already waiting for the boat, despite the early hour. The pair of newcomers beamed happily at them as they walked down the dock.

"Good day!" the man cried as soon as they were within earshot. "And what a beautiful day it is!"

"Yes, so it is," Colette agreed. "Are you two guests at the inn?"

"Oh, no-no indeed. We're here to investigate one of your new islands."

"Oh?"

"Yes," the young woman replied in a soft voice. She was very pretty, with strawberry blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a sweet expression. "Nathan is a missionary. He travels from one place to another, teaching others about the Harvest Goddess and building new churches to honor her."

"I... I see. Then why here particularly?" Colette asked, glancing over at Will, who just shrugged.

"Well, my dear child," Nathan responded, "Word reached me that there is a cenote, a very deep natural pool, on one of these islands. And not just any cenote, but one of absolute, perfect symmetry."

"Oh yes? And...?" Colette looked between the pair, confused.

"Why, these are the Goddess' own springs, child! She has been known to appear to the worthiest of her followers at bodies of water such as this."

"Really? Has she appeared to you, then?" Will asked, amused.

"Well... no," Nathan admitted reluctantly. "Not as such. But I am patient! Someday, I am sure she will reveal herself to me, her faithful and tireless disciple. Until that glorious day, I will naturally continue to perform good works in her name. Alisa and I shall explore this island thoroughly, and if the this pool is indeed as perfect as rumor has it, we will scout out a place close by to construct a church for her faithful adherents."

Colette looked at Will in dismay. "Oh... really? Today?"

Will interrupted, leaning forward toward Nathan. In a low tone, he said, "Perhaps you weren't aware of this, but...." He straightened up and looked around, then leaned forward again. "Well, on Meadow Island there is a shrine."

"A shrine?" Nathan asked, likewise in a low voice, his eyes lighting up with interest.

"Yes. A very old shrine. In marvelous condition. Rumor has it that it's an ancient shrine to the Harvest Goddess herself."

"Oh, Nathan!" the girl gasped, her eyes sparkling.

"Yes, this is wonderful news!" Nathan exclaimed. "Alisa, my dear, we cannot pass up an opportunity such as this. We must investigate!" Turning back to Will, he grasped his hand and shook it vigorously. "Thank you, sir. Thank you very much indeed! I am Nathan, and this is my foster daughter, Alisa. May we know your names?"

"I'm Will, and this is Colette," he replied.

Kirk returned just then, surprised to see four customers queued up and waiting for his return. He removed the rope, and they all stepped into his boat. "Where to?" he asked as he collected their fees.

"Meadow Island, my good man!" Nathan exclaimed enthusiastically as Alisa nodded her head happily.

"We're going to the two new islands in the southeast. I don't believe Taro's named them yet, has he?" Colette replied.

"Not yet," Kirk said. "Well, that dock is a smidgen closer than the dock at Meadow Island, so we'll go there first."

Kirk dropped them off on the new dock, and they arranged for a pickup in four hours before he sped away toward Meadow Island. Looking at Colette, Will grinned. "Come on, let's explore this island first, before those two get tired of staring at that rock and return!"

Colette stifled a giggle as he grabbed her hand and ran up the dock onto the steep shore. The dock had been built on the same island as the cenote, as it was the more stable of the two, so they began to climb up the steep hill. To their amazement, it was already covered in lush green grass halfway to their knees and thickly dotted with wildflowers. Strangely, several tiny tree seedlings were pushing their way through the grass, too, and stranger still, the farther up the hill they went, the larger and more mature the young trees appeared. By the time they reached the crown of the hill, the trees surrounding the vividly blue pool had already grown taller than either of them, as large as if they were few decades old.

Dropping down on the grass near the edge of the pool, Colette sighed deeply. "It's beautiful!"

Settling down beside her, Will nodded. "Yes, it is. I never imagined anything like this on such a new island. How did everything grow so quickly?"

"I know, it's like magic, isn't it? Maybe there's something to what that man said, after all!"

"Hmmm, could be," Will murmured, putting an arm around her and pulling her a little closer as he gazed down at her.

Colette stared into his eyes for a moment, then reached up and stroked his cheek gently before drawing him closer for a kiss. She brushed her lips across his, then over his chin and down to the sensitive spot just below his throat. A sharp intake of his breath sent a thrill down her spine, and her pulse quickened as she lay back on the grass, pulling him down with her as she returned to his mouth.

He leaned over her as he tasted her lips, explored her mouth as she reached up to run her fingers through his golden hair. His free hand caressed her cheek for a moment, then slid down to her shoulder, bare except for her camisole's slender strap. He ran his hand lightly over her side to her hip, hesitating there a moment before sliding along her thigh to her bent knee.

As he ran his hand back along her thigh and over her belly, she arched her back slightly, pressing up into his hand and his mouth, and this eager response was as heady as a fine cognac to his senses. Groaning softly, he nuzzled down her neck, leaving a trail of kisses. He slipped his hand up beneath her shirt, and discovering she wore nothing beneath it, he felt a surge of heat inflaming his desire for her.

Then there was a crashing sound nearby, and they both jumped at the sound.

"Alisa, my dear, are you hurt?" they heard a familiar voice cry, and they looked at each other in dismay.

"Damn!" Will swore beneath his breath, resting his cheek against her breast.

She hugged him for a moment, then with a sigh, she pushed him back and stood up, adjusting her clothing. "Good thing I'm wearing dark clothes," she sighed. Then Will stood and helped her brush the grass from her back, then they both schooled their faces into plastic smiles and went to greet the interlopers.

After a few minutes of small talk, during which Nathan wondered what in the name of the Harvest Goddess he could possibly have said or done to have offended that pleasant young man, they moved along. "I really thought they'd be away for much longer than that," Will muttered in chagrin as they approached the bridge.

They crossed the bridge to the other island, and as they had heard, it was a swampy mess. But as with the other island, the trees and plants were much larger and mature than they should be. As they looked around, they caught a glimpse of something vividly violet at the edge of the marsh. There, half-hidden from view within a thick grove of twisted willows and trailing vines, they saw a quaint cottage, painted in shades of lilac and purple.

Stopping in surprise, they stared at it a moment, then at each other. Colette said, "A house? Here? And... is it just me, or are there an awful lot of frogs in this marsh?"

"Rather a lot, yes," Will agreed. "I can't imagine how they got here in the first place, let alone how they could possibly have multiplied so quickly."

She stooped down to look more closely at one particularly large, fat, green frog that had just landed at her feet, looking up at her with large, unblinking eyes.

"Don't you touch her!" a shrill voice screeched from somewhere to their left, and they whirled around to see a girl of about nine or ten years of age, racing through the reeds toward them. She looked beside herself with worry and anger as she rushed up to the frog and snatched it up. After a careful examination, she sighed loudly in with relief, and turning her back to them, she set it down at the edge of the water. "There you go, Olga. You're safe now."

The frog croaked loudly at her, then hopped away. She turned and scowled fiercely at them. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but you'd better not touch my froggies! Do what you like with the bears-I'll even help if you want to play tricks on them. But leave my froggies alone!" Then with a last decisive nod, she turned and slipped away, vanishing into the thick tangle of undergrowth.

"Do... do you suppose she lives in that house?" Colette exclaimed. "And what does she mean by bears? There... there couldn't be any bears here, could there?"

"Oh, surely not. She was only a child. Perhaps her family lives there," he replied, taking her by her hand and heading toward the cottage, carefully skirting the murky waters of the marsh.

"I'm sure they'll be equally delightful," she muttered drily, and he gave her hand a squeeze as they stopped before the door.

He knocked, but when there was no answer, he tried the knob. As soon as he touched it, it swung open with a creaking groan.

"Hello?" he called, stepping into the doorway and peering inside the dim interior. "Is anyone here?"

"Who are you?" a feminine voice demanded from the shadows. "Well, don't stand there all day opening and closing your mouths like codfish. Get in here and close that blasted door!"

Stepping in, they saw a woman dressed in ragged clothing, her long blonde hair unkempt and disheveled, as if she'd forgotten to brush it that morning. And probably several mornings before that.

"I'm warning you," she said, eyeing them suspiciously and shaking a finger at them, "you'd better not have any designs on my bears!" They glanced nervously around as their eyes adapted to the darkness, and to their surprise, they saw teddy bears displayed all over the house, every one of them some shade of purple. "I don't care about the frogs, not one bit. But don't you dare touch my bears!"

"No, of course not," Colette murmured.

The woman turned to look sharply at her, peering closely. Then with a satisfied nod, she said matter-of-factly, "You are Colette. And this other is Willem."

"H-how did you...?" she stammered.

The woman shrugged carelessly, though a pleased look lingered in her red-violet eyes. "I'm a witch. We know things."

"A... a witch? I thought witches were old and ugly and green and made disgusting soups in huge black cauldrons. You don't look much older than we are!" she exclaimed, then looked fearfully at the woman before her, afraid her outburst might have caused offense.

"Well, some are, of course. Do all you humans look alike? Well, neither do we witches. Nor the warlocks-the male witches, that is. And while I am young for a witch, I'm much, much older than you two. Hundreds of years, I should think. I am called the Witch Princess, and I have chosen this island as my new home. My pain-in-the-ass niece, Witchkins, lives here, too." Then she turned back to her worktable, where a massive tome lay open, and picked up her ratty quill pen. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work before that little brat returns and ruins my focus. Just be a dear and close the door quite firmly behind you, will you? Good day."

They stepped back out into the light, closing the door snugly as requested. Walking back toward the dock, Will said, "Well, that was... unexpected." Then he started to chuckle, and Colette looked at him curiously. "I was just thinking-I wonder what Nathan will say when he learns he's neighbors with a pair of witches!"

They were still laughing when Kirk arrived to pick them up a little while later.

**************

"Father, I... I have a confession," Sabrina said in a small voice as she stood before Regis's desk, twining her fingers together nervously.

"Oh?" he replied, setting his pen down and smiling indulgently at her. Her confessions were always of such trifling misdeeds, for which he was grateful. She truly was a thoroughly good child. So her next words came as something of a shock.

"I... I overheard you talking with Will yesterday. About Colette. Father, what are you and Will planning to do to her?" She looked at her father pleadingly, with tears in her eyes.

"You heard that, did you?" Regis replied as soon as he recovered the use of his voice. "That is so very unfortunate, my dear." He stood, and taking her by the elbow, he led her toward the stairs. "Come, pack your bags immediately. I'm taking you to your grandmother's house. You must not remain here now. I will not have you jeopardizing my plans."

"But... but Father! No, I don't want to go! Please, let me stay! Can't you just leave her alone? What harm has she ever done you?"

"You wouldn't understand, Sabrina. Besides, you know that everything I do, I do for your sake. Now pack your things, and quickly. The night ferry will be here in half an hour, and we will be on it when it departs again, whether you are ready or not."

"But all I really want," she whispered with a ragged sob as her father left, closing the door to her bedroom firmly behind him, "is to be friends with everyone here."