She eyed him slantwise. "Oh, you will be fun to educate!"

"No, I hate education," he said stoutly.

"We shall see. Go on with your history."

Disgruntled for no special reason, he resumed where he thought he had left off. "So Electra was sleeping, because she had gotten fouled up in the spell intended for the Princess, and took a bite of the apple. According to the enchantment, she would sleep for a thousand years or until a Prince kissed her awake, whichever came first. And I was the Prince who came and kissed her, so naturally she was instantly in love with me and wanted to marry me. I really couldn't tell her no."

"Why not?" the demoness asked mischievously. "All you had to do was say 'Read my lips, freckles: go back to sleep.' Then you could slam the lid down and get out of there."

Dolph opened his mouth in an O of horror. Then he realized that she was teasing him in her demoniac fashion. He decided to plow on regardless. "She was already out of the coffin. She will die if she doesn't many me. She's been on hold during the betrothal; I guess the enchantment understands about my being underage. After all, so is she. But in a week she will be eighteen, and if she isn't married to me by then, she will die anyway. So I sort of have to decide."

"But aren't you still underage?" Metria inquired alertly. "Or will you have your sixteenth birthday this week?"

"No, not for a few months yet. But my sister made Grey Murphy research that, and he found that it's the age of the girl that counts in Xanth: she has to be at least sixteen before she marries. It doesn't say about the boy. We think that whoever made that rule just assumed that the boy would be older. So I can marry now, if I marry a girl who is of age—and both my Betrothees are. So I have to choose, soon. My mother won't let me marry both of them, for some reason."

"What does your father say?"

"He keeps his mouth shut. I think it's not in his department."

"It isn't? Then what is in his department?"

They had covered the Region of Fire, and now were entering the Region of Water. It seemed to be one big lake, but Dolph knew there were some islands and shores in it, and the foal might be on one of them.

"He handles the big things, like Kingly Policy. She handles the little things—"

"Like everything else," Metria finished. "Now I understand. It's a true matriarchy, all right, as it should be. I'll bet you aren't allowed to look at panties, either."

"How did you know?" he asked, surprised.

"It's Female Policy. No unmarried or underage men can see such forbidden things. It would zonk out their feeble minds. So which one are you going to marry?"

"I don't know," he said. There was the substance of his dilemma: he still could not make up his mind. "I'd really like to marry Nada and see her panties. But I don't want 'Lectra to die."