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For days, she stared at the Mystical Sorcerer’s large pumpkin patch, and finally she insisted on having one of the pumpkins. No other pumpkin would do but one of the Mystical Sorcerer’s. She--she made my father steal one.
That makes Jimmy ... kind of like Rapunzel, doesn't it? Isn't that the original Rapunzel story, that her mother craved some herbs from a witch's garden and made her husband steal some, only to need to barter the newborn for her husband's life?

How nice for James that he now has someone else to talk to in Loisette. Though how sad for him that he doesn't feel he can see his parents again.

Hey, if James is still a bird at the end of the story, you could write a spin-off where Lady Penny restores him to human form with a kiss. goofy

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The younger boy was standing up in his saddle on Agides and whooping.

“Sit down!” Clarkent yelled at him, laughing. “You’re going to get hurt!”
This brings up an interesting point. With Gawain approaching 17, would Clarkent really still consider him a younger boy needing to be watched over? Obviously Gawain is smaller than the average boy in the kingdom (assuming he's similar in size to Loisette), but they've known each other for years now at this point, and I would think they'd be past the "playing" stage and moving into a peer relationship.

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When Clarkent had asked months ago for help in sending his parents a letter, Gawain had readily agreed. Since then, Gawain had assisted Clarkent in sending several letters to his parents.
This is a really sweet scene. I'm not sure how his parents can actually read the letters, mind wink , but it's sweet.

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Clarkent smiled. “Yes.” He began tugging at his shirt, his mind already on the cool relief of the water. “It makes a great place to swim.”
LOL, of course it is. And since they are just two young guys hanging out together, there is absolutely nothing stopping them from stripping down to go swimming ...

How could Gawain possibly have a problem with this? lol

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“You wouldn’t understand!” she shouted. “You have the perfect set of loving parents who would do anything for you! I have nothing! Do you know how hard it is for me to look at them and see what I can’t have?”
Yeah, he has it so great ... taken from his parents at 7, only seeing them once a year, and only after 10 years being able to send them a few coins periodically to help support them. She needs to get over herself. :rolleyes:

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He nearly cried out after Gawain, but he didn’t think the other boy would listen even if he did. With clumsy fingers, he put his shirt back on, staring mournfully in the direction that his friend had disappeared.
Poor Clarkent. These two kids need to get the aired cleared soon!

Kathy