The beach was gorgeous in the night. The sand was soft and bright, and the waves of the sea lapped gently up to smooth out the disturbances of the day. The moon was using the water as a mirror, reflecting itself in every wave. Everything was lovely, and everything loved its neighbors, for this was the Isle of View.

"Well, now, bride pro tem!" a voice exclaimed, causing Electra almost to jump out of her skin. Fortunately she was able to clap her hands to her bosom and hold herself down in time to save her skin. She had thought she was alone.

"Who—?" she gasped.

"We've met. I'm the demoness Metria. Remember?"

Oh. When it came to folk Electra did not want to meet at the moment, this demon was two places ahead of the very top of the list. Metria could take great pleasure in blabbing about this embarrassing mission to all and sundry and everyone else. But it would be impossible to get rid of her merely by being hostile. Electra wasn't sure she was up to being hostile anyway, right now, even to Metria, because she was still glowing from Dolph's kiss. He had actually asked her, when she had been in her blah clothing! So she tried to be neutral. "I remember." "What's on your freckled mind?" the demoness asked.

"Dolph kissed me!" Electra said. "I mean, even in this clothing!"

"Of course. You still have your pink panties on underneath."

Electra's heart descended from the clouds. That was true. The magic of those panties was still operating. Had she changed back to her old ones it would have been different. "I guess so," Electra said dully.

"Where are you going?"

What use to lie, even if there were any point in it? The demoness probably had already guessed. "We can't figure out how to signal the stork. I'm going to ask Nada."

"Oho! So you're going to do that tonight! Maybe I'll watch."

"If you do, we won't do it!" Electra said defiantly. But it was a bluff, because they had to do it. If they didn't, the marriage would not be consummated, and it wouldn't count, and Electra would die the moment she turned eighteen, tomorrow. Well, not right at the moment; actually she would start the process, with her heart bleeding and her body aging as the enchantment expired, and she would age and weaken into oblivion within hours. Then Dolph would be free to marry Nada anyway, but he would be unhappy because of having let another person die. She did not want him to be unhappy.

"And if you do it," the demoness said relentlessly, "then Dolph will be free to divorce you and marry Nada tomorrow. That must make you feel great."

"At least he'll be happy," Electra said shortly.

"He's an idiot." "Right!"

Metria, taken aback by Electra's ready agreement, faded out. That was a relief.