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But enough of that

He had a beautiful wo captive, so himself to face her

Fear

It gripped hiain Would his fear now keep hi withindoors and facing the girl? She was a oman Had she no idea his fate was in her hands?

The statues watched, as they always did, when he heard the click of tiny boots on the stone path heading in his direction, disturbing his s…

The odd sisters! Lucinda, Ruby, and Martha, an indistinguishable trio of witches with inky-black ringlets, a milky pallor with the texture of bleached driftwood, and red baby doll lips, were standing before hiht like those of ghosts with littered like stardust in his dark garden while the plurotesque There was a nervousness about them; they were seized by a constant series of little twitches and gestures, as if they were in continuous communication with

each other even when they weren’t speaking They see measure of him And he let them He stood in silence, as he often did when they ca for them to speak

They appeared whenever they pleased and alithout warning Never iven up on insisting that they appear at his will He soon discovered his own desires were of no consequence to them

Their laughs were shrill and seelimmer of hope the witches detected within his dark and lonely heart Lucinda was the first to speak, as was their custo transfixed by her face when she spoke to him She looked like an odd doll come to life, with her porcelain skin and ratty clothes, and her unfaltering monotone voice only made the scene more macabre

“So, you’ve captured yourself a pretty little thing at long last”