Greetings, Ladies and Germs! Wow, so sorry it's been so long, but as I've often said, real life has to come first. And, if variety is the spice of life, then 2012 is shaping up to be one hot jalapeno for me! I will do my best to get this thing moving again. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy!

Ch. 6

Captain Hunks sighed. It had only been a few days, but he was already completely lost. He looked about his empty office, which had gone from being neat and orderly to a disaster zone. Papers were piled everywhere, some of which had been chewed a bit by a certain Labrador.

Hunks sat in his chair and sipped his coffee, which didn't taste the same at all. Mercury rested his head on the Captain's knee and whined. Hunks patted him in consolation.

"I know," he drawled, "You probably think I was too hasty to send Lily away, but she needs this. She's young, but she's growing into a fine young woman. All of the other birds have flown the nest just fine. We can't keep her locked away in this office forever, much as we'd like to. She doesn't even think of herself as a soldier, did you know that? Well…now she'll find out if she can be one or not."

To pass the time in the car, Alice studied the script Kavi had given her, and realized the play was simplistic but elegant. One could play it as a prima donna ballerina with a full orchestra, or with a bunch of amateurs with a few tables and chairs as a set. Either way, the story was poignant as well as charming.

Most of the play had no lines. Kavi played the narrator when necessary. In fact, it was built much like a ballet, with music Alice recognized as being quite similar to Peter and the Wolf, with storytelling that echoed The Nutcracker. The Dove's "voice" was the flute section. When she was a happy bird, the piccolos would play merrily. When she was sad or in human form, the recorders came to the fore. To portray the deep, ponderous voice of the Gump, the choice was obvious: woodwinds. His was a mix of the bassoon, oboe, and bass clarinet. The arrogant prince was, of course, both a militaristic brass and percussion. As for the wizard, his voice took on an almost divine role. They used everything for his voice-the cello, the harp, organ, and even a saxophone at one point.

The heat made Alice's eyes droop while she studied. Soon her head bobbed. Rather than fight it, she sighed, leaned her head against the window, and dozed. She knew it would be seen as improper, but since she didn't sleep well on the train after the incident, she thought rest was more important than manners.

She dreamed of fluttering madly, lost in the jungle and searching…searching for days, but she didn't know for what. Soon, the beast was behind her, roaring out of hunger and chasing her relentlessly. She flew up to the highest tree she could find, thinking she was safe, only to see Kavi transformed into a squirrel with an acorn in her hand.

"Can't see the forest for the trees, eh Lieutenant?" she asked. Alice tried to reply, tried to plead for help, but the only sounds she could make were tweets and chirps. Kavi looked down and pointed. Alice could see the beast climbing up. Of course, he had claws. Kavi took the acorn she was holding and aimed carefully, whacking the creature right on the nose. The roar was deafening.

"Nuts to you!" she yelled, laughing wildly before escaping by leaping to the next tree.

Alice didn't know what to do. She wanted to fight, but how? She was just a tiny bird, and this beast was huge and powerful. When the beast got closer, she tried to follow Kavi, but was so tired from flying alone for so long that she fell. Crying out, she braced for impact with the hard jungle floor…only she never made it. Somehow she had landed on something soft, something like leather…her eyes widened as she realized she was standing on someone's enormous gloved hands. She looked up and up at the arms that stretched before her, to the broad shoulders that seemed to scrape the sky, until at last she saw a familiar pair of stormy eyes that looked upon her with infinite gentleness.

The Corporal lifted her up, holding her as though she was as fragile as a robin's egg. She turned back to see the beast, but now it was only a small cat yowling in protest. She looked to the Corporal again, desperate to thank him, to plead for him to return.

Alas, he didn't recognize her. Still, he gave her a familiar crooked grin, cocked his head to the side and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Suddenly she felt someone shaking her gently.

"Princess?" Lionel called. "Princess, we're here."

Alice blinked, trying to process what the message of the dream was. After a moment, she looked to both Lionel and Jacques and plastered a quick smile on her face.

"My apologies, gentlemen. It seems the heat affected me more than I thought it would."