Pity the pack. They thought her vulnerable. With the sun in her eyes and the wind at her back, they considered her fair and foolish game. Daughter of Zeus, sister to Apollo, Goddess of the Hunt, she was ever fair and never foolish. Artemis took them one by one.

Bogardus fashioned his pieces with particular care, using only the finest stones. He infused each with a singular knowledge so the pieces moved of their own accord, and that was the problem. The King, all too aware of his strategic position, kept to it. The Rooks were stallwart and held their ground as well. The Bishops were righteous and would not be swayed. The Queen was a real beauty. Carved of pink plagioclase and turquoise, she held her head high above the rest. This haughty piece would not be moved, though the field was wide open and becoming wider. As the pawns forged ahead and knights leapt into the fray, the Queen held her power close.

She found a quiet place in a low meadow far from the Shee. There she knelt and closed her eyes as she waited for the spell to end. The fires inside had burnt out. Now, she felt nothing save a gentle tingling in her fingertips, a slight trembling in her limbs, the last embers of the enchantment. Since daybreak, she had grown, now standing twice as tall. Soon, she would rise and stand again twice as tall. With a shrug, she would shed her wings and walk in the world of man where no one would be the wiser.

Johnathan drew himself up to his full, unnatural height and sighed. "This has been hard for me, sir -- all these days of standing straight and still."

Thomas smiled and told Johnathan he was "the soul of patience."

"I'm not, you know. I've none at all, so says Mother. She says I'm always leaping to conclusions and that I should always look first. I'd like to look now. Are you almost finished, finished enough that I can see?"

"If you promise me an afternoon of absolute stillness and silence."

Johnathon nodded. "Oh, I promise, I promise!" then leapt to the master's side. "Heavens! You've made a prince of me!"

"My dear young fellow," Gainsborough smiled, "I only paint what I see. Everyone knows that."