Morals of Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat (Favourite) :: Ode to the Death of a Favorite Cat Essays

Morals of Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat (Favourite) It is very difficult to understand what a writer mean when they write a poem, because you have to get in to a frame of mind that you think the writer was in when they composed the poem. In the Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes, Thomas Gray uses a cat and fish to teach a moral. In the Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes the setting was set in the first stanza. The poem gave you an idea that it took place in a very nice house that had a large china vase, that held water, also it give the allusion that in this vase were flowers and fish. It describes beautiful blue tinted flowers in bloom and the fish as angel like Beta fish, which had a coat of amour made in gold with the hint of royal purple. When Gray went into describing a fluffy black and white tabby cat with deep green eyes. The cat's name is Selima and she is perched at the top of the vase watching the fish glide through the water. Selima was planning to eat the fish as soon as she could catch them. So she slowly reached with her paw to nab one of the fishes, her first attempt fails so she thinks again of how she can reach them. Eventually she falls in and tries to get out eight times while crying for help from a forgiving soul. No one seems to hear her and she drowns in the water where the fish swam. Thomas Gray asks two questions " What female heart can gold despise? What cat's averse to fish?" (lines 23 and 24) the meaning of those questions are that some gold is not meant for women and these fishes were not meant to be eaten by Selima. Also the "female" could reflect the cat since cats are generalized has feminine and "gold" referring to the fish. Gray also states "Malignant fate sat by, and smil'd" (line 28) which leads me to believe that fate was laughing at the cat and not helping it cause fate knew what was going to happen. In line twenty-nine "The slipp'ry verge her feet beguil'd" is an illusion to that the cat thinks it has balance and yet she does not cause she falls into the fish bowl.

Bladerunner: Humanity Of Deckard & Roy Batty Essays -- essays research

Roy Batty and Deckard are both able to show us what it means to be human. To what extent do you agree? Through Blade Runner, we see an epic quest filled with meaning and symbolism applicable to the human condition. Replicants are basically human beings, except for the fact that they lack a history. As a consequence of this, perhaps, they also lack proper emotional faculties especially empathy. Empathy is the ability to place oneself in the position of another living being and understand that person’s feelings. Blade runner promotes that empathy is the defining characteristics for humanity. The replicants, designed not to show any emotion, develop spiritually and emotionally throughout the film. The characters in the movie, even the ones that were not human, had many humanistic and believable qualities. Many of them were able to feel love as well as hate. Although Deckard is supposedly human he at times shows less emotion than Roy. He seems heartless and uncompassionate making himself look very unhuman. We see that Deckard is possibly not "human" as well, but a replicant. He shows no compassion when he tells Rachel of her being a replicant with implants. In tears, Rachel sneaks out of Deckard’s apartment and into the streets. The only time in which Deckard really shows emotion is accomplished when Roy, forging Deckard through the fires of a harrowing battle, looks terrified knowing that he is going to die. Through this, Roy tries to communicate his life experi...

Digital Artists Essay -- Argumentative Papers Art Essays

Digital Artists When we think of artists, we think of paint on canvas, or clay masterpieces, or beautiful, timeless drawings, but what do you think when you hear digital artists? The acceptance of digital art into the mainstream art community is a controversy that is slowly becoming history. The controversy is essentially that many people believe that the art is created by the computer, and not by the artist. Numerous art exhibits and shows do not allow digital art in just for that reason. This is a lack of understanding of how the art is created, because images can not be created unless there is a creator with an idea and that person has gone through the creative process just like a normal artist. When it comes to the history if digital art, it also is a controversy because many say that it has no history. This again can not be true because there were pioneers in the field of digital art just like main stream traditional art. Digital art from the beginning was rooted in military defense systems, and was its research centers were funded by the federal government. It is debated so much because the history dates back to only 1956. This is the date is given to the start of Computer Art. This is the decade where the first imaged processed photos and art animation. The first computer art competition was held in 1963 by the US journal Computers and Automation. Also in 1963 was the first computer generated film by Edward Zajec. From then on more and more competitions and exhibits sprung up from all over the world. Many organizations emerged such as EAT or Experiments in Art and Technology (1967), SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics), The Computer Arts Soc iety, and CTG or Computer Techniqu... ...gital technology so that they can understand and fairly judge the great works of digital art. Works Cited ArtandCulture.com. 1999. Digital Art. 10 October 2003. DAM.org. Digital Art Museum- Technology Timeline. 20 October 2003. EZBoard.com. Acceptance of Digital Art in Exhibitions. 20 October 2003. Jesdanun, Anick. â€Å"Digital Art Gaining Acceptance.† South Bend Tribune. 10 December 2001. South Bend Tribune 2001. 20 October 2003. Scates, Brian. â€Å"Please Accept Me As Art.† Spark Online.com 2002. 12 October 2003.

Raleigh And Rosse Essay

1) What is the cause of the problems described in the case? How serious are these problems? The problem is a law suit that is being filed by the sales associates against Raleigh and Rosse. The sales associates are unimpressed by the amount of hours they are forced to work and that many of these hours are unpaid and their services may be required at any time. The reason that employees are frustrated can be derived from how their performance is measured. Employee productivity at R&R is measured by their sales per hour ratio (revenue-return/hours worked). The main flaw in this method is that employees are expected to do both on the floor selling work, and additional work. Everyone in the company needs to maintain a standard for SPH or else they will receive worse shifts which will likely lead to their departure from the company. Operating under this model provides incentives for employees not to submit how many off the clock hours they have worked in order to increase their SPH and hopefully make room for promotion and bonuses. However it is ethically and legally wrong to not pay or harm an employee for putting in more time. This issue is very serious as it may cost R&R over 200 million dollars as well as damage their reputation. 2) Are R&R employees pressured inappropriately by the sales-per-hour system? By management? Yes, R&R employees are pressured inappropriately by this sales per hour system. The SPH ratio is vital to an employee’s success with the company and the metric incentivises employees to not account for all of the hours they put in. Employees are forced to donate their time to the company to provide services off of the books. The reason that the company outperforms its competitors is because it asks too much of its employees. This model likely would not be profitable if the firm all of the costs that should be associated with running the company this way and that is why their competition is not doing it. 3) How would you redesign performance management at R&R?

Poetic Edda and Prose Edda Essay

Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are the two most popular (and deemed to be the most comprehensive) representation of Norse mythology. These two works are written on the same line of interest; but on different periods. The Poetic Edda is much older than Prose Edda; because of this most Norse mythology experts pertain to Poetic Edda as the elder Edda and younger Edda for the Prose Edda. It is worthwhile to note that the term prose was only attached to the Prose Edda to distinguish it from the Poetic Edda. Even if the underlying logics behind these works are similar, they are different in terms of the manner by which they chose to discuss the specifications of Norse mythology. Uncovering the similarities and differences of these two works will be the basic foothold of this paper in tackling Norse mythology through its general nature of deism, and even through its very specific citation of events and characters that created both the mysticism and belief in it. Generally speaking, the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are different from each other, because of the literary arrangement inherent to these texts. The ways that these pieces are structured follow the conventions of both poetry and prose writing. From the free verses of a prose up to the almost rhythmic and tune bound poem, these two pioneers of Norse mythology represents different ways of passing on Norse mythology. However, this is not the nature of similarities and differences that this paper would seek to delve into. Instead, a closer analysis on the evolutionary pattern discernable from these texts will be explained and expounded in this paper. The reason for this is simple; these works have been written on a long differentiated timeline which can further imply that the details of these texts may pertain to similar message but by being modified to the present day forms of literature and even to the present day conventions. Adding up to its primary objective, this paper would also try to establish a more elaborate manner of relating such changes to the general aspects of Norse mythology. The Elder Edda and the Younger Edda The Younger Edda or the Prose Edda is dated approximately around 1220. It was said to be written by one of the pioneers of Nordic mythology, Snorri Sturluson. Prose Edda as established earlier is the younger version of the Poetic Edda; following this line of logic, it can be said that the Poetic Edda, even if without a specific date of writing and compilation, started to exist earlier than the 13th century. It can even be further said that the authorship of the Poetic Edda as far as history and attribution is concerned up to today is still a very big mystery. As said in the earlier parts of this paper, the similarities and differences of these two major Nordic mythology pieces of literature will pave the way for a better understanding not only of the Nordic mythology, but also of the evolution of literature in general. For the sake of organization, this paper will explain the justifications it will use to establish such an evolution through the basic information discernable from these literatures. Notes on the start of human and gods’ existence, the existence of mythical creatures and on the basic nature of gods which can be found in both Prose and Poetic Eddas will be used in this paper. On the Start of Human and Gods’ Existence Following the Poetry Edda or the Elder Edda the basic aspects of the start of human and gods’ existence can be best understood through its poem titled the Seeress’ Prophecy or Sybil’s Prophecy. The visionary in this poem prophesized that process of creation, destruction and renewal can be seen in the first stanzas of the poem (Bellows n. pag. ). In a way the seeress saw the creation of the whole world in a very chaotic setting. The strong tensions with the houses of Esir and Vanir are included in her prophecy, alongside with the destiny of their conciliation. She equally foresaw the trickery of Loki and the punishment accorded to the crime to be done. This setting is even put more value through the citation that the long brewing war between gods and giants will only result to their equal destruction. However, the seeress still shone a sign of hope by stating that good things are still destined to arise from the primary disasters essential to the formation of the whole world (Bellows n. pag. ). However, in this part of the poetic Edda the seeress also foresaw a glint of good and desirable things such as the famous golden halls of the dwarves (Bellows n. pag. ). There is also an imminent sense of redemption which can be seen in this part of the Poetic Edda, the tragedies that she foresaw will be countered by an inevitable rise of another parch of green earth after the total destruction of everything that is considerably bad (Bellows n. pag. ). The same can be discerned from the Prose Edda as translated by Brodeur, life started from an almost dramatic unfolding of every single feature of the whole earth. From the simple grass to the deepest depths of the see, the whole world was formed in a high level of likeness (Sturluson 7-11). Odin as the head of both lands and humans journeyed to establish the kingdom that he assigned to twelve dooms men (Sturluson 12). Everything is specifically created accordingly, as narrated in the Prose Edda the beauty of the whole world even transcend up to the descendants of the gods alongside with the other beautiful things in the world. However, bad things appear to be an inevitable part of the whole world. The existence of these negative things is cited in the Prose Edda through the coming into life of creatures of worse nature as compared to those that are created out of the creatures which are created in the likeness of the gods. The existence of these bad natured creatures further resulted to the turning of negative events such as war, trickery and chaos as seen in the section of the book, Gylfaginning. Even if gods may experience their downfalls because of their own doings, there is still hope for redemption. Such as seen in the latter parts of this section of the book, balance was restored, even if it took a high toll on each of those that seek to return balance to the whole world (Sturluson 56-58). Happiness such as the regaining of the domains of the gods’ sons and daughters is a turning point for the redemption of the whole world from the horrors it suffered from the bad natured characters in the prose (Sturluson 58). The Existence of Mythical Creatures The recognition that creatures of other nature exist can be discerned from both Poetic and Prose Edda. These creatures when compared to the present day conventions of being human can be considered as mythical in nature. The common classification of these creatures is the dwarves, elves and giants; each accorded with their very own nature of interest and characterization (Bellows n. pag. ). General characterizations on these individuals can be seen in the Poetic Edda. However, more detailed characterization of these kinds of creatures can be seen in the Prose Edda. The differentiation that Struluson put on the different norns shows that such creatures exist (28). The three basic kinds of norn such being the gods, elves and dwarves can be seen also be seen in the Prose Edda similar to that of the Poetic Edda (Sturluson 28). The Basic Nature of the Gods In the Poetic Edda, the basic nature of the gods can be seen in the poem Sayings of the High One. In this poem Odin was characterized through the exposition that it is plausible that gods have a strong will in imposing what they have to say (Bellows n. pag. ). The importance put by Odin on the need to put value on his teachings show that it is within the nature of gods to put the notion of death behind their subjects and replace it with a stance not only of belief, but even the highest sense of reverence. It can be quoted that Odin stated that death is irrelevant and even immaterial to the whole act of believing. On the other hand, the nature of the gods can be discerned from the Prose of Edda through the long characterization of each god provided in the prose. Odin for example is treated as the All Mighty who governs all; this is followed by the characterization on other gods as his children (Sturluson 26). This characterizations found in the prose can also be considered as the representation of a divided rule among the gods; each god is accorded with his or her own power. The practice of those power even if subjected to the guides of Odin is sole to that god alone; this characterization of gods even set up the stage for the perfect chaos and struggle in the world. Conclusion: After explaining the basic specific details which can be seen in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda this paper comes to the need to conclude its discussions. In line with this, this paper conclusively implies that the Prose Edda is indeed as modification of the Elder or Poetic Edda. The Prose Edda being a simple result of the modification of the anonymously written Poetic Edda. The modifications experienced by the Poetic Edda can be deemed to have evolved to become a more detailed version and an almost Christian version in the form of the Prose Edda. In terms of detailed discussions it can be said that it can be possibly attributed to the fact that the prose in terms of literary value is freer as compared to that of poems. However, the Christian nature which can be discerned from the Prose Edda can result from the Christianization in the European countries. The Christian values may have been integrated by Struluson which makes the Prose Edda more Christianized as compared to that of the Poetic Edda. Nonetheless, the main teachings including all connotative definitions which can be found in both Prose Edda and Poetic Edda are undeniably similar with differences only up to the extent that the Prose Edda is a result of the evolution of the Poetic Edda. In a way it can be concluded that the Prose Edda is not just a contemporary version of the Poetic Edda, but also a more modern type of the Poetic Edda in terms of being integrated with Christianity. Bibliography Bellows, Henry Adams. The Poetic Edda. New York: Princeton University Press, 1936. Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. London: Oxford University Press, 1916.

Administrative Ethics Paper Hcs/335

Administrative Ethics Paper HCS/335 November 5, 2012 Administrative Ethics Paper In today’s world of technology patient’s face an ever challenging issue of protecting their privacy. One of the biggest areas infringing on a patient’s privacy would be the prescription health information that is being released by pharmacists and the way in which that information is used.Information is given to a wide variety of entities and to individuals, which raises enormous concern about the privacy rights of patients, especially considering the fact that the patient has not given consent for the release of this information. Legislative and judicial attention is being given on how to protect privacy identifiable information on prescription data and the harm that can be done by the release of this information. There is a lot of focus on exploring privacy issues with regard to personal health information (PHI), especially with the prescription drugs containing so much information. The computerized databases in a pharmacy collect a host of patient information including the patient’s address, the patient’s name, the date it was filled, the place it was filled, the patient’s gender and age, the prescribing physician, what drug was prescribed, the dosage, and how many pills. How a patient’s information is used once it is de-identified most likely doesn’t even cross anyone’s mind because most patients don’t realize that anyone other than the pharmacist, the doctor, and the insurance company for processing the claim, are going to see it.There is a long list of companies and individuals that want the patient prescription PHI, including lawyers, educators, researches that are performing clinical trials, marketing purposes, government officials, and employers. The article, Somebody’s Watching Me, lays the groundwork in legally developing the framework for protecting the privacy of patient prescription PHI, especi ally the information on de-identified PHI. There are 5 parts to the legal framework.Part 1 basically states why there is a need for federal legislation to step in to help protect both patient prescription PHI, and de-identified patient prescription PHI. Part II shows the process of how the information is collected and used. Part III talks about federal and state laws that are currently in existence to protect a patient’s privacy rights, with a focus on three state statutory attempts that would curb information being used for marketing purposes, and the Supreme Court and circuit court responses.Part IV looks at the existing laws regarding unauthorized disclosure of patient prescription PHI. This is a more intense look at all of the statutes, ethical guidelines, federal and state statutes and laws, and other option for protecting a patient’s privacy. Part V suggests having a federal statute allowing patients to control the use of their information for both patient prescr iption PHI, and de-identified PHI. Most people would think that de-identified PHI would be protected because it is encrypted before it is transferred to others not authorized to access the identifiable information.Unfortunately, there are ways such as geo-coding that allows others to re-identify the information. Even if a company sells the data information that they have and they state that personal information is not to be used by third parties, there is no guaranty that the purchaser will uphold the agreement. In today’s technological society it is difficult to have a program that will continue to make re-identification impossible, especially if an individual’s privacy was once breached by re-identification. Encryptions are codes and codes are broken all the time.Moreover, encryption requires use of a key or cipher, which is used to lock and unlock the hidden data. Such a key is necessary to allow the hidden data to be viewed in an intelligible manner by those who ar e authorized to view it. However, there is always a risk that the encryption key might fall into the wrong hands, thereby allowing the information to be accessed by unauthorized viewers. There are many problems that could arise from a patient’s information landing into the hands of a stranger, a boss, an enemy, or any other individual that does not have permission to view that information.The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) needs to take a hard look at the problems that exist with the identifiable patient prescription PHI, the de-identified patient prescription PHI, and the encrypted prescription PHI. These issues affect the entire population and can have a devastating impact on those that have their personal information get into the wrong hands. If there is an employee who has Aides and they don’t want other worker’s to know, it would be too easy for an employer to obtain that information.The arguments and facts that are used in the article support the proposed solution by stating the problems that arise without having laws in place to protect the privacy rights of patients. There are many ethical and legal issues when you are dealing with privacy rights, including the chances of getting sued by individuals for letting their information be obtained and used by others. Having privacy information released into the wrong hands can be detrimental to a patient. A manager in a health care environment should be there to support and help bring laws into place that protects both the patient and the organization. REFERENCESSmith, C. (2012) Somebody’s Watching Me: Protecting Patient Privacy in Prescription Health Information, Vermont Law Review, retrieved from the University of Phoenix Library on November 4, 2012. Kendall, D. Protecting Patient Privacy in the Information Age retrieved from http://www. hlpronline. com/kendall. pdf Thacker, S. , (2003) HIPAA Privacy Rule and Public Health CDC, retrieved from http://w ww. cdc. gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/m2e411a1. htm ——————————————– [ 1 ]. David Colarusso, Note, Heads in the Cloud, A Coming Storm: The Interplay of Cloud Computing, Encryption and the Fifth Amendment’sProtection Against Self-Incrimination, 17 B. U. J. Sci & TECH. L. 69, 78-80 (2011)(describing the details of symmetric key encryption and public key encryption) [ 2 ]. Id. at 789 (describing how a cipher or key renders plaintext unreadable gibberish). [ 3 ]. Robert D. Fram, Margaret Jane Radin & Thomas P. Brown, Altred States: Electronic Commerce and Owning the Means of Value Exchange, 1999 STAN. TECH. L. REV. 2, 15-16 (1999) (outlining the risks of cryptography, including the possibility that encryption keys may not always be kept secret. )

Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Eight

About two days passed before I had enough of a grip on consciousness to get out of bed. I had dim recollections of a commotion outside Aeson's stronghold after returning to my body that night but little more. Shaya had cradled me in her arms. Dorian had yelled for a healer. But best of all, beside me I'd seen Kiyo stir. Now I woke up in one of Dorian's many guest rooms. It was smaller than his but as opulently decorated as everything else around there. I'd come to a few times before this but only now found the strength to stay up. Nia, who had hovered by my side the entire time, remained less convinced. â€Å"You shouldn't†¦you need to sleep more†¦.† I was stripping off the long chemise they'd put me in, trading up for my recently laundered clothes. â€Å"If I sleep any more, I'll be dead, and I've already come too close to that. Where's Dorian? I need to talk to him.† â€Å"I'm sure he'd come to you, your majesty.† I winced at the title. â€Å"No. Just take me to him.† Despite her protests, her sense of duty couldn't disobey the order. She led me through the maze of corridors where I earned a number of curious looks from the various occupants. Since my initial arrival, I'd become sort of a common fixture around here, accepted and ignored. Now people regarded me with the same frightened curiosity I'd first received. Outdoors, we found Dorian in one of the gardens, standing over a small, fluffy dog. Muran hovered nearby, and between them, they tried unsuccessfully to coax the dog to lie down and roll over. It merely sat looking at them, tail thumping. Dorian noticed me first, his face breaking into a wide smile. The healers had been at work on him too; no trace of the burns remained. â€Å"Queen Eugenie, lovely to see you out and about.† Muran nearly fell all over himself to bow. â€Å"Y-your majesty.† â€Å"We need to talk,† I told Dorian firmly. â€Å"Alone.† â€Å"I never tire of being alone with you. Nia, take this unreasonable beast away with you. And take the dog too.† He waved them off. Once alone with him, I demanded, â€Å"What the hell were you thinking?† â€Å"There are so many incidents to which you could be referring, I don't even know where to start.† â€Å"Yes, you do. You made me queen of Aeson's kingdom.† â€Å"Your kingdom now, my dear.† I paced around in the grass irritably. It was the middle of the day, crisp and sunny. â€Å"I didn't want it. You had no right to do it.† â€Å"It's done. Besides, if I hadn't, someone else might have snatched it up. Would you have liked to see your charming little sister on the throne?† That stopped me. Extensive searching had found no trace of Jasmine. She seemed to have gotten away cleanly during the yeshin fight. â€Å"Give it to someone else. There has to be a better choice than Jasmine or me.† â€Å"Give it away?† He laughed his wondrous melodic laugh, the one that declared all the world was a joke. â€Å"The land recognized you. You can't go back on that. It's yours forever†¦well, at least until you die. Or pass it on to an heir.† â€Å"Great. Here we go again. I might have known you'd start pushing that.† â€Å"I did no such thing, but†¦since you brought it up†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stopped pacing and glared at him. â€Å"Quit it. I don't want to talk about it. I don't even want to think about it.† Some of his humor faded. â€Å"Maybe you should. Jasmine certainly will be. If she has a son first, all your good intentions won't matter. You say you don't want it, but you know†¦it could all turn out differently if you beat her to it.† It was so alarmingly close to what Storm King had told me in the Underworld that I didn't even know what to say at first. Was this a coincidence? I felt pretty sure that all I'd seen there had been an illusion, meant to test my resolve and make me face my fears. â€Å"What's wrong?† Dorian asked, seeing my face. There was nothing sly or knowing in his expression, only worry. â€Å"Nothing. Look, forget about the prophecy for a minute. Go back to the Alder Land thing. If you were so worried about it falling into the wrong hands, why didn't you just seize it for yourself?† â€Å"Why, Eugenie, do you think me so power hungry?† â€Å"Yes. I do. I've heard and seen as much. When these kingdoms were formed, you wanted more. And you had your chance when Aeson died.† He didn't answer, and I pushed on, knowing I was right. â€Å"But that would have upset a lot of people, wouldn't it? Maiwenn and the others might have turned against you. But by making me Alder Queen†¦you got a placeholder. No one can say anything because I defeated Aeson fairly in battle, and now you have easy access to the same power. You plan to use me and this fucking title to extend your control.† â€Å"You have a very low opinion of me. No wonder you're so upset.† â€Å"Come on. Why else would you have done it?† He stared in astonishment. â€Å"Why, because I love you.† He said it as though it was the most reasonable thing in the whole world. Like I should have known this already. â€Å"You barely even know me.† â€Å"We've known each other almost as long as you've known the kitsune, and I daresay you think you're in love with him. Your little foray that night demonstrated as much. By the gods, that was one of the most foolish things I've ever witnessed. You stopped breathing. I thought you were dead.† I heard the catch in his voice, and it really struck me that he just might love me after all. It gave me a strange feeling, one I didn't know how to cope with. Dorian loving a person was almost incomprehensible. I thought of him as loving only his own amusements and ambitions. â€Å"I do love Kiyo,† I said in a low voice. â€Å"And if we can work it out†¦I'm going to – â€Å" He shrugged, carefree and lax again. â€Å"It doesn't matter. I don't mind sharing you.† â€Å"You told Aeson you don't share.† â€Å"As a general rule, no – and certainly not with the likes of him – but I don't think you'll give me exclusivity, so I must compromise.† â€Å"There isn't going to be any exclusivity or compromise.† â€Å"So you say. You also said you'd never come to my bed in the first place. Or that you'd ever use magic. You probably said a dozen other things too. We all saw how those turned out.† â€Å"Stop it. I'm serious about this.† â€Å"And so am I. You're a queen now. You control part of this world. Ally with me, and we'll be the greatest power since your father.† â€Å"I don't want the power or the Alder Land.† â€Å"It's the Thorn Land now.† â€Å"I – what?† â€Å"The land conformed itself to you. The Alder Land was Aeson's domain. Yours is the Thorn Land. You're the Thorn Queen.† â€Å"The smokethorn,† I recalled. If someone tried to force a crown of thorns on me, that was going to be seriously fucked up. â€Å"Very fitting actually. A tree covered in beauty yet possessing a sharp and deadly core.† I shook my head. â€Å"I don't care about metaphors. I don't want to rule this kingdom.† He moved into my space, something passionate kindling in those gold-green eyes. â€Å"So what? You think you can just ignore it? Pretend it'll go away? The land conformed itself to your will! You can't turn away from that. Its survival depends on you – particularly since, for reasons only the gods know, you turned it into a wasteland.† I faltered. â€Å"Well†¦I'll get one of those people†¦you know, someone who rules in your place†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"A regent? That'll only work for so long. You can't avoid the land. You have to come back and visit it, or it will die. You're connected now.† â€Å"I didn't want this, Dorian.† I felt tired. Maybe getting up hadn't been such a good idea after all. â€Å"You shouldn't have done it.† â€Å"We'll have to agree to disagree on that, but I'll do what I can to make amends. Take Shaya. She'd make an excellent regent. And I'll give you Rurik and Nia and any other servants you seem to like reasonably well.† â€Å"I don't really like Rurik.† â€Å"No, but he'll be as loyal as that dog I just had. More so, actually, considering what an unreasonable little bastard it was. Rurik will sift through what's left of Aeson's guard and keep only those who'll support you.† â€Å"You mean who support Storm King.† â€Å"It's the best I can do,† he said with a shrug. â€Å"You may take it or not. And you'll still have to fill other positions yourself. Nia will do nicely for a lady-in-waiting, but she's not quite up to being a seneschal. You'll need one of those. And a herald too.† He spoke like he was reciting things I needed to pick up at the grocery store. â€Å"Oh, God. I'm trapped in the fucking Chronicles of Narnia.† â€Å"I'm sure that would be an amusing reference, if I understood it. For now, I can do no more. I'm giving up some of my favorites for you. The rest is in your hands.† There was a smile on his face, but his eyes were serious. â€Å"No matter what you think of me and my motivations, I swear to you I wouldn't have had you seize Aeson's land if I didn't think you were worthy. There's power burning inside of you, Eugenie. I meant it when I said you'd surpass us all.† I shook my head and turned away, unable to hear this. â€Å"I'm leaving now. I really don't want to see you again. Nothing personal. Well, yeah, actually it is.† I started walking toward the door. â€Å"What about your magic lessons?† I froze. â€Å"What about them?† â€Å"Don't you want to continue them?† I slowly turned around. â€Å"I have some control now. Not great control, but enough to keep me from doing something stupid.† â€Å"And that's good enough for you?† He took a few steps toward me. â€Å"You killed one of this world's greatest magic users with a novice's control of water. Imagine when you master it – and the other elements.† â€Å"No. I'm not going to. I don't need to.† â€Å"I thought you liked the way it made you feel.† The ghostly memory of power flared up in my mind, and I swallowed, willing it to go away. I shook my head at him. â€Å"Goodbye, Dorian.† I started to turn again, but he caught my shoulder and pulled me into a kiss. He deserved to be slapped, but the kiss was exquisite, just like all his kisses. And feeling him against me reminded me of our night together, how he'd brought me to a wildness I didn't think myself capable of. â€Å"That's the last time you're going to kiss me,† I warned when it ended. He smiled knowingly, and in his eyes, I could see his own memories of that night. â€Å"So you say.† I left him and returned to my own world. Kiyo found me a few days later, as I'd know he would. I'd been out running errands and came home to see him sitting on my doorstep, in human form. He wore a white cotton shirt, tucked neatly into khakis. The black hair was brushed away from his face, and his dark eyes were as smoky and sensual as ever. He looked good – and healthy. Like Dorian, he'd enjoyed the benefits of gentry healing magic. In fact, Kiyo had received the very best: Maiwenn had tended him during his recovery. â€Å"Come on in,† I said, unlocking the door. He entered wordlessly, following and waiting as I put away my keys and purse. I offered him iced tea and then sat down with him on the couch, wanting to say so much and not knowing where to start. â€Å"You look better than the last time I saw you,† I finally said. His teeth flashed in a lovely smile. â€Å"Wouldn't take much.† I looked away. â€Å"Maiwenn did a good job.† I felt his hand reach out and turn my face toward him. Those fingers held the same warmth I remembered, the same electric tingle. â€Å"The way I hear it, it was more you than her.† â€Å"I didn't do so much.† He tsked me. â€Å"Honesty, Eugenie.† â€Å"All right, it was bad. Really bad. But I'd do it again.† â€Å"You're a crazy, wonderful woman. I can't repay what you did.† I started. â€Å"There's nothing to repay. Why on earth would you think that?† â€Å"Because I didn't deserve it. Not after the way – â€Å" â€Å"No. Forget it. I†¦I shouldn't have freaked out over it. Not over something that happened before you even met me.† What I didn't add was that I could suddenly empathize with how dangerous certain bits of information could be to a relationship. Like, say, revealing how a gentry king had initiated you into sexual bondage. â€Å"I still should have told you.† â€Å"Yeah,† I conceded, â€Å"you should have. But it's done. I can live with it.† His arm had snaked around me in that subtle way he had. â€Å"What are you saying?† â€Å"You know what I'm saying. There's too much between us†¦I'm not ready to give that up yet.† The arm pulled me closer, and there was a slight tremble in his voice when he spoke. â€Å"Oh, God, Eugenie. I've missed you so much. You're like a part of me.† â€Å"I know.† We held each other for a quiet moment, and then I heard him say in carefully measured tones, â€Å"I hear you're a queen now.† â€Å"That's what they say.† â€Å"How do you feel about that?† â€Å"Use your imagination.† â€Å"Dorian had no right to do that.† There was a growl in Kiyo's voice. â€Å"You're preaching to the choir here. I already had that argument with him. He doesn't see it as wrong. He thinks I should keep progressing in magic too.† The hand stroking my face stopped moving. He pulled away slightly so he could look me in the eyes. â€Å"That's an even worse idea. You aren't going to, are you? I mean, you got what you needed from him, right?† â€Å"Right.† He visibly relaxed, again touching my cheek with a sensual languor. â€Å"We'll get you through the queen thing. I won't let anything happen to you.† â€Å"There you go again with the macho protectiveness thing. Who brought who back from the dead?† â€Å"Fair point.† I gave voice to something I'd wondered about for a while now. â€Å"How†¦how did you know when I was at Aeson's anyway? Did you really stake out his place and wait for me?† His eyes crinkled with seductive mischief. Moving his hands to my back, he let his fingers trace the still-healing scars from where he'd scratched me. â€Å"There's no place you can go that I can't find you.† I groaned. I'd forgotten about that. â€Å"Those damned things are going to heal one of these days.† â€Å"I'll make more.† We leaned into a kiss, and like that, things were solved between us. We didn't need many words to get across how we felt. Maybe that's how it is with someone you really love, someone you're connected to. That wasn't to say we didn't have reams of communication to hash through in the future, not if we were going to attempt some sort of relationship. But for now, the kiss conveyed enough. It was an exchange of heat, an exchange of love, and it felt like coming home. â€Å"I've still got to make amends,† he told me, his lips only a fraction of an inch from mine, â€Å"no matter how magnanimous you're feeling. You know, the usual. Chocolate. Flowers.† â€Å"Whatever. I don't need the covert signs to know you want to have sex with me. There are plenty of more obvious ones.† â€Å"Like what?† â€Å"Like your hand on my breast.† â€Å"No. This is still subtle.† He pulled my body to his, melding us together. â€Å"Now, when my mouth is there, then you'll know – â€Å" â€Å"You're such a freak. Sex got us into this mess. I don't know that it's healthy to rely on it to fix everything.† â€Å"Only one way to find out.† Queenly authority or no, I didn't do a very good job of protesting. And when he pushed me down on the couch, I didn't do a very good job of protesting that we should go to the bedroom. Fortunately, Tim never came home, so I didn't shock his sensibilities again. Whatever words he'd withheld in our conversation came out as Kiyo made love to me, telling me he wanted me, would love me forever, and would do anything in the world for me. They were the sort of promises all people make when they're falling in love, but that didn't make them any less powerful. I floated on them long after he left that evening, awash in emotion and contentment and residual lust. I was getting dressed in my bedroom when a voice behind me said: â€Å"He's a mistake, you know. So is the Oak King. You're better off without either of them.† I jumped and spun around angrily on Volusian. â€Å"Don't sneak up on me like that! Christ. Were you watching me out there? What is it with you Otherworldly types and your fetishes? Exhibitionists and bondage and voyeurism. Good grief.† His red eyes regarded me levelly as I finished pulling on my shirt. â€Å"I was not joking, mistress.† â€Å"About Dorian and Kiyo? What's the matter with them? Well, Dorian's kind of obvious, but Kiyo's all right.† He shook his head. â€Å"Hardly. He is a fox, and part of him thinks like one. He regards you as his mate, and that is a dangerous thing. He and Dorian are both zealots in their way. They sit at different ends of the spectrum, perhaps, but both are fixed in their beliefs. Each will have his own agenda for you – even the kitsune, whose views you tend to agree with. They will each try to dominate you and make you think it was your idea.† For one uneasy moment, I thought about how sex had been with each man. Aggressive. Controlling. I'd had small pieces of control, but in the end, I had always been pushed to submission, a submission I welcomed. There was only the one night with Kiyo – the night I'd woken up in the afterglow of remembered power – that I had truly been the dominant one. â€Å"You would do better to find someone milder and more malleable. Someone less ambitious.† I considered his words. Maybe he was right. Maybe. â€Å"Men without ambition are boring.† â€Å"And that attitude, mistress, is why the females of your kind continue to struggle for equality. And why they continue to fail.† I sat on the bed and clasped my hands in front of me. â€Å"I didn't summon you. Was that all you came to tell me, Dr. Love?† â€Å"No. I came to tell you that you need to visit your kingdom sooner rather than later. The people are nervous and restless. You are their queen, and that means something, no matter how much you loathe it. Your people need to see a strong monarch right away.† â€Å"I was hoping to put that off.† My people, huh? â€Å"I wouldn't recommend it. Not unless you want a disaster on your hands.† â€Å"So should I appoint you as one of my advisers now?† â€Å"You may do anything you like. As for me, I tend to share Finn's view. If I cannot rip you apart yet and must be enslaved to someone, I would rather it be to someone more important than a human shaman.† I'd been teasing him, but my feelings sobered at the thought of Finn and poor Nandi. â€Å"You're the last man standing, Volusian. Who would have seen that coming?† â€Å"I did, mistress.† The incredulous look on his face resembled Dorian's when he'd told me he loved me. â€Å"There was never any question. They were inferior.† I laughed. â€Å"I never thought I'd say this, but after everything that's happened, you're the only normal thing I can rely on.† He didn't reply. â€Å"Go back to the Otherworld and stay with Shaya. Tell her I'll be there soon. Only cross over if there's a message I need to hear.† â€Å"As the Thorn Queen wishes.† â€Å"Oh, be quiet.† I spoke the banishing words and sent him on. After that, I stretched out on my bed and tried to assess my life thus far. I was still a shaman, one of the most powerful around if the stories were true. I possessed human means of working and controlling magic, using it to fight and banish anything nasty that slipped into this plane. But I was also gentry, the daughter of one of the Otherworld's biggest tyrants, and I could supposedly be the one to bring about a terrible prophecy – provided my woman-child sister didn't do it first. I was dating a guy who could turn into a fox and who might very well turn on me if I ever got pregnant. I had the love of a king who could tie damned good knots and wanted my help to take over his world and my own. Somehow I'd developed the power to call storms and blow up people. I'd been to the land of death and returned. And finally, I was a queen: the Thorn Queen, which didn't exactly sound flattering. Why couldn't I have been the Violet Queen or s omething? Why trees and not flowers? There was no accounting for Otherworldly tastes. I needed tequila and Def Leppard right away. I walked out to the kitchen, hoping to uncover one or the other but found neither. Instead, I settled for water from a large glass pitcher we kept chilled in the refrigerator. I poured a cup for myself and then set to refilling the pitcher while my mind spun. Why had everything turned so confusing lately? I didn't want any of this. I just wanted Kiyo and the occasional exorcism. Love and a way to pay the mortgage. That was it. I didn't need all this Otherworldly entanglement or the gentry and their games. They offered me nothing. I didn't want anything from any of them. Angrily, I slammed the faucet off and turned toward the refrigerator. I didn't realize how wet my fingers were until the glass pitcher slipped from my hands. Everything after that happened in the space of a heartbeat. The pitcher fell. It hit. It shattered. Without thinking, my senses reached out and seized the water, ordering it to stay where it was. There was nothing to be done for the glass – Yet, it didn't move. The shards hung frozen in midair, just like the water, suspended in the pattern created from the impact. I stared, dumbstruck, until a faint breeze brushed my skin and I realized the fragments trembled slightly. Cautiously, I reached out to that air with my mind and felt its answering resonance. Stretching further, I could sense the currents of power running from me to the space around the glass. The air shifted there as its molecules fought to keep the pieces from falling. Somehow, without even knowing how, I'd made the air obey me, just as I had the water. Only this was a lot more difficult. I gradually became aware of exactly how I affected the air molecules, and the longer I did it, the harder it was. The pieces of glass felt like bricks, their weight heavy on my senses as I kept holding them up. With a casual thought, I sent the water away to my sink. Forcing all of my attention to the glass gave me a little more strength, but I knew my control would give out soon. Still, I held on. I suddenly wanted to dominate the air, understand how it worked and what I needed to do to command it. Imagine when you master it – and the other elements. As I connected to the air, I felt that burning, glorious feeling start to run through me. It still had yet to ever come close to the levels in the dream-memory, but the surge I felt now was stronger and sweeter than anything else I'd felt from controlling water alone. Tim walked in just then, freezing midstep when he saw me. â€Å"Eugenie?† Fatigue beat at my muscles, and sweat broke out along my brow. The glass would fall any moment now, and when it did, the magical high would disappear. I fought as long as I could, but when the glass started to shake violently, I hastily ordered the air to carry the pieces to a nearby garbage can. My control was clumsy; only some of the glass made it. I thought you liked the way it made it made you feel. Gasping, I sat down in a chair, staring at the glass on the floor. Tim was staring at me. â€Å"Eug†¦what just happened?† The euphoria of power flickered briefly as I desperately tried to summon the air again. No luck. That achingly wonderful glory drained out of me, like embers fading from orange to gray. Some part of my soul screamed for it as it disappeared, begging it to come back, swearing that I would do anything at all for it to return. I closed my eyes and swallowed. â€Å"Eugenie,† Tim tried again, â€Å"what was that?† I opened my eyes and followed his gaze to the glass that still lay on the floor. It took me a moment to find my voice, and when I did, it came out soft and husky. â€Å"I don't know. But I think I want it.†