"They have damaged one of my charges as well," the green woman replied. "We must decide on a suitable punishment for this transgression."Merry found h...r voice. "Who are you?" And what are you?" Karl added.The women's laughter was as the tinkling of bells."I am Aqua," the blue woman replied. "A water sprite, my sister is Larch, a wood nymph. We are the powers of nature incarnate and not to be trifled with." No power of nature will protect you from my wrath if you attempt to harm my princess,". ”“You’ve never really understood me because you seduce teenage girls and think nothing of it!”“Bullshit! First, I didn’t seduce you; YOU came to ME. Second, it’s been a long time since I simply fucked whomever was brought to me; a LONG time. Third, despite your accusation, I have not taken advantage of anyone. I followed YOUR consent rules! And I’ve taken it to an extreme in some cases, which, by the way, have been few and far between the last three years. Without going into specifics, the. I was good at my job, I liked our customers, and my tips were phenomenal, Al paid me well, very well, and those tips were more than twice what he paid me.And then the Lottery became law. Senator Dolcett introduced it to help with the population explosion; the economic downturn didn't help, so the State joined with the Feds, and all women over sixteen had to participate. It was legal cannibalism. And Al's Butcher Shop became our Town's Lottery Abattoir, and I was the Official Collector of. Maybe you never should’ve told me you love me, ‘cuz obviously I’m just fucking that up, too.” The still calm of his position in the worn chair didn’t begin to convey the flash in his mind of bolting to his feet and whipping his drink, seeing her jump in fear as a glittering shower of broken glass shattered whatever thread remained between them. The stronger part of him wanted to touch her, hold her like the pieces of something rare and priceless and broken and whisper his love would be strong.