"I like beautiful girls," he said. "And I like smart girls. But I don't trust the combination. I'd settle for an ordinary girl, except she'd get dull after a while. Sometimes I want to talk with someone intelligent, and sometimes I want to-" He broke off. Her mind was like that of a child; it really wasn't right to impose such concepts on her.
"What?" she asked, turning her eyes upon him. They had been black in her last beauty phase; now they were dark green. They could have been any color, and she would still be lovely.
Bink knew his chances of surviving the day were less than even, and his chances of saving Xanth worse than that. He was afraid-but he also had a heightened awareness of life right now. And of loyalty. And of beauty. Why hide what was suddenly in his conscious mind, however long it had developed subconsciously? "To make love," he concluded.
"That I can do," she said, her eyes brightening with comprehension. How well she understood, or on what level, Bink hesitated to ponder.
Then he was kissing her. It was wonderful.
"But, Bink;" she said, when she had a chance. "I won't stay beautiful."
"That's the point," he said. "I like variety. I would have trouble living with a stupid girl all the time-but you aren't stupid all the time. Ugliness is no good for all the time-but you aren't ugly all the time either. You are-variety. And that is what I crave for the long-term relationship--and what no other girl can provide."
"I need a spell-" she said.
"No! You don't need any spell, Chameleon. You're fine just the way you are. I love you."
"Oh, Bink!" she said.
After that they forgot about the duel.
Reality intruded all too soon. "There you are!" Iris exclaimed, appearing over their makeshift bower. "Tut-tut! What have you two been doing?"
Chameleon hastily adjusted her dress. "Something you wouldn't understand," she said with purely female insight.
"No? It hardly matters. Sex is unimportant." The Sorceress put her hands to her mouth in a megaphone gesture. "Trent! They're over here."
Bink dived for her-and passed through her image cleanly. He took a tumble on the forest floor. "Silly boy," Iris said. "You can't touch me."
Now they heard the Evil Magician coming through the forest. Bink looked frantically for some weapon, but saw only the great boles of the trees. Sharp stones might have been used against these trees-therefore all stones had been magically eliminated. Some other area might have potential weapons, but not this highly competitive wilderness, this fringe near the farms that were always in need of more cleared land.
"I have ruined you!' Chameleon cried. "I knew I shouldn't have-"
Shouldn't have made love? True enough, in one sense. They had wasted vital time, loving instead of warring. Yet there might never be another chance. "It was worth it," Bink said. "We'll have to run."
They started to run. But the image of the Sorceress appeared in front of them. "Here, Trent!" she cried again. "Cut them off before they get away."
Bink realized that they could get nowhere so long as Iris dogged them. There was no place they could hide, no surprise they could prepare, no strategic placement possible. Inevitably Trent would run them down.
Then his eye fell on an object Chameleon still carried. It was the hypnotic gourd. If he could get Trent to look into that unwittingly-Now the Magician came into sight. Bink gently took the gourd from Chameleon. "See if you can distract him until I get close enough to shove this in his face," he said. He held the gourd behind his back. Iris probably did not realize its significance, and she would be able to do nothing once Trent was out of commission.
"Iris," the Magician called loudly. "This is supposed to be a fair duel. If you interfere again, I shall consider our understanding terminated."
The Sorceress started to react with anger, then thought better of it. She vanished.
Trent stopped a dozen paces from Bink. "I regret this complication. Shall we start over?" he inquired gravely.
"We'd better," Bink agreed. The man was so damned sure of himself, he could give away any advantage. Maybe he wanted to wrap it up with a completely clear conscience--such as it was. But by so doing, Trent had unknowingly saved himself from possible disaster. Bink doubted he would have another opportunity to use the gourd.
They separated again. Bink and Chameleon fled deeper into the forest-and almost into the quivering arms of a tangle tree. "If only we could trick him into running into that," Bink said-but found he didn't mean it. He had somehow gotten himself into a duel he really did not want to win-and could not afford to lose. He was as dumb as Chameleon--only somewhat more complicated about it.
