Premium
A pretty young girl sits in her room combing her doll's hair. She is wearing her pink princess dress she wore on Halloween. A plastic pink tiara sits crookedly on her her head. There is a knock on her closet door.
"Come in!" her little voice sings.
The closet door opens slowly. A middle aged man steps into the room and smiles. He is dressed for a dinner party, black tuxedo and a bow tie. His shoes are black and shiny. He
removes his top hat and flows into an over exaggerated bow.
"Dear Princess, it is an honor to once again make your acquaintance."
The girl looks at the man with arms crossed and a black arched brow.
"You're late Good Knight! The tea is getting cold."
She points at a small table in the corner of her room. There are three chairs around it and a plastic tea party set is set neatly on the table.
"Please forgive me Princess, I had a problem with the Dark Knights again."
The man holds his hat in both hands and looks at the floor.
"That's ok!"
She smiles, hops to her feet and sits her doll down in one of the chairs. The man pulls out one of the little chairs out so she can sit. He then sits awkwardly in one of the little chairs, his
knees uncomfortably high. The girl pretends to pour the tea into the cups.
"So what do these Dark Knights look like?"
The man thinks for a second, looking up and rubbing his chin for added effect.
"They wear very ugly suits for one. Nothing like the lovely outfits that I wear."
The man says motioning to himself. The girl laughs.
"They look like they should be agents for the IRS."
The girl interrupts.
"The IR...what?"
The man begins to speak, then closes his mouth. Then he speaks again.
The IRS...you'll have the pleasure of knowing them when you're older."
The man continues with his story.
"They can barely talk and when they do, they usually say something rude."
The girl once again arches one of her eyebrows.
"That doesn't sound like a very scary Knight."
The man continues.
"Well they are very fast and they can appear and disappear before your eyes. If you ever see one, the best thing to do is run."
The girl nods slowly.
"What do they do if they catch you?"
The man narrows his eyes at the girl.
"They take you far far away, to their dark castle and no one ever sees you again."
The girl's eyes are wide.
"I'll promise to run if I ever see one."
The man smiles.
"You do that Princess."
The man sips the last of his tea and stands up.
"I must leave now, but I'll be back soon to take you to my Kingdom where you too can become a Good Knight."
The girl stands up and gives the man a menacing look.
"You better come back, if you don't, I'll come and find you..."
They stare at each other for a few seconds, then they both laugh. The man bows once again and opens the closet door.
As he turns to close the closet door behind him, he hears the tea party set crash to the floor. He whips around, reaching for his gun in his shoulder holster.
"Don't bother, you'll never get it out in time."
An agent is standing where the little girl just was, a pistol pointed at the man's chest.
"A strange place to hide, it took me a while to find you."
The man glares at the agent.
"The girl?"
The agent eyes the man quizzically.
"The girl will be fine. We can't afford to lose anyone. Didn't you know? Power is at a premium."
The agent fires his pistol. The man falls into the closet. The agent slowly closes the door.
"A strange place to hide."
The girl is standing by the closet door.
"Carrie-Anne! Are you playing with your imaginary friend again?"
Her mother is standing by her room door.
"You better pick up your room and get ready for bed miss!"
Her mother closes the door and the girl hears her walk downstairs. Carrie-Anne looks around her room dazedly and sees a black top hat next to the little table. She picks it up and studies it with her pale blue eyes.
"I'll come and find you..."