Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?

Barbara gets her mind back. Myrtle finds the ground where she will carry out the assassination. Ivan explains to Pappy that she will do nothing to foul up the project because he believes it will lead to his transition. Tom explains to the others what he believes the cave is about, and Ivan agrees. He and Tom have been there before. Bob Temple asks Sandra to have a drink with him. It doesn’t exactly go well.

This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey

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This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

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Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight
 

Chapter 10

“Barbara, I’ll be right with you. I have to complete a conference call. Help yourself to some milk and cookies if you’d like.”

Barbara was absentmindedly scratching Wolf’s ears. She was carefully going over the speech she had rehearsed many times. She just hoped she wouldn’t stumble over the longer words. It had become very difficult for her to communicate in anything but the shortest sentences and words.

She had gone to the mall to get some cosmetics, there was a Clinique special, and was garnering the stares and wolf whistles she usually garnered when she was out in public. Then she saw the sign – Spells-‘R‘-Us. She panicked for a moment before gathering up the little resolve she had. She would confront The Wizard and plead with him to give her mind back to her. She knew she’d been intelligent, but now it was all gone, and she couldn’t even spell intelligent.

When The Wizard came out of the back room he couldn’t find Barbara, but he could hear her giggling, and could hear the patter of little puppy feet. As he came around the corner of the counter, he found Barbara sitting on the floor playing with the six puppies. They were licking her face as puppies do and their proud parents were sitting by watching.

“Oh, Mr. Wizard, I’m sorry. They’re just so cute and I couldn’t help it.”

“That’s quite alright. Let’s all go to the back room. I think we have quite a bit to talk about.”

Barbara stood while trying to straighten out her skirt and blouse which at the moment was displaying a rather large amount of cleavage.

The Wizard led her to a comfortable chair before sitting opposite her.

“What can I do for you Barbara?”

“I, like, wish ….” At this point she broke down in sobs. It took a few minutes for her to regain her composure. The Wizard passed a clean linen hanky to her. After blowing her nose she was able to start talking. “I had a speech memorized, but I forgot it. I don’t seem to be able to remember things like I used to.”

“It was a very nice speech, Barbara. I know you worked very hard on it.”

“How?”

“I’m a wizard, remember.

“Barbara, I was very hard on you, maybe a lot harder than I should have been. If I remember, nothing was working correctly that day. I had just dealt with a rather unpleasant pedophile. That’s no excuse, though. I think I need to fix some things.

“I think I will bring in one of my assistants, if you don’t mind.”

The Wizard turned to his desk top computer. “Charli, are you very busy? I need your assistance. I need to set some things right with a certain young lady out here in Las Vegas.”

“I’m never too busy when you have a project like Barbara. I’ll be right there.”

The Wizard turned to Barbara. “Charli is my makeup and hair consultant. She doesn’t mind me telling you this, but she used to work the streets. I know you never did anything like that; however, you’ve lived pretty close to that environment. Charli was almost killed when we rescued her, she was a boy at the time; however, with her concurrence we allowed her to start over as a six year old girl.”

They were interrupted by Charli suddenly walking out of the broom closet. She was carrying a bag of cosmetics.

“As you can see, she turned out pretty well.”

“Charli, I was just giving Barbara a little bit of your background. I was trying to put her at ease. I have a number of things in mind here. Barbara is very intelligent. I’d given her a little block, but that’s gone now.” The Wizard turned back to Barbara.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better than I’ve felt in a long time. What did you do?”

“Alice Gräber asked me to give you your mind back. That’s just the beginning.

“So, what do we do about her hair, Charli?”

“Of course the style is atrocious. I’ll show you what a college student should look like.” She ran her hands around Barbara’s head, and the bouffant hairstyle was replaced with long straight hair held in a nice pony tail. Charli worked a bit more with the style until it suited her.

“Of course, the color is terrible, but you will have to take care of that. I would suggest you take her back to her natural color. I don’t know how you can make someone grow hair that looks like it’s been bleached, and I don’t want to know.”

Barbara’ hair was suddenly a light brunette with natural streaking.

“Oh, that’s so much better. There’s absolutely no reason to mess with your color, Barbara. It’s perfect.

“Your Wisdom, the boobs have to go. I don’t see how she can even walk with those things cantilevered out there like that. I’d say a very full ‘C’. On her frame that would be perfect.”

“Not a ‘D’?” The Wizard sounded a bit disappointed.

“No, a full ‘C’, after all, you tortured her with those monsters for four years.

“Okay, how’s that?”

“Your Wisdom,” Charli said in a scolding tone, “not a ‘D+’, a full ‘C’. Yes, like that. That’s much better. Now let me work with her makeup.”

When Charli was through with her work she turned Barbara to a mirror. “What do you think?” Charli asked.

“You’ve made me look human. I don’t know what to say. I guess thank you would have to do for now. I do have a question though. Obviously I am no longer Barbara Boom-boom Reynolds. Who am I?”

“You are just Barbara Marie Reynolds, freshman student at U Conn.”

“I guess Ben Reynolds is gone.”

“In your current universe he never existed. In that alternate universe where you started, Ben Reynolds was shot and killed by an irate husband who found him in bed with his wife. The wife was also killed by the same bullet. You had no future there,” The Wizard said.

“We have done a little manipulating with events. It required a bit of adjusting things over the last century; however, I think you will find that your father is not quite the bigot he was before. You do have an older brother; however, he is not you.

“As Charli said, you are now a freshman at The University of Connecticut. I gave you six years back. You could go back to physics, you would do well; however, we think you are better suited for veterinary medicine. It’s your decision.

“Charli is your roommate for your first year. She’s going to act as your mentor until you get your feet on the ground.

“By the way, your former self in Vegas has mysteriously disappeared. They will find your car at the boat ramp at Lake Mead. It was the easiest way to explain your disappearance. You were a person unknown when you arrived, and that’s how you will have left. I also transferred the money from your bank account, quite a bit by the way, to your college fund. It should cover your post-graduate work.

“Now, Charli needs to show you your new room.”

The Wizard watched as Charli led the somewhat bewildered Barbara to the broom closet Charli had exited from a while before.

“Boss, you are a real softy,” Wolf said.

“I know, but we have more serious things to take care of.”

“Yes sir, this should be fun.”

“Serious fun,” The Wizard said.

The sun was barely creeping over the horizon as the four wheel drive SUV pulled into the parking lot. The driver, dressed in a jogging suit did a few warm-ups before taking off on a slow jog down a well-marked trail. About a half mile down the path, the jogger turned off the path towards a knoll. A lesser used trail led to a clearing near the top of the knoll. She looked for a position that gave her a clear view.

“Damn,” she said to herself. “The whole area in front of that building is blocked. This location will never do. Time to check that other knoll.”

It was a few hundred yards to the next possible position. ‘Much better,’ she thought. ‘I have a clear view of the entire area. This will be a piece of cake. Now, let’s check the range.’ She turned on her compact laser range finder and took a few measurements. ‘Fifteen hundred yards, that old bastard’s going to be dead meat.’

She jogged back to her car and headed back to her apartment. She failed to notice one thing as she proceeded down the country lane. The knolls, the valley, the entire area for that matter could not be seen. From the road, they just didn’t exist.

“What did you think when I told you I was transgender,” Ivan asked.

“I was a bit surprised,” Pappy said. “I never would have guessed; however, I’m pretty ignorant about that sort of thing. Paul was the first person I knew about who was like that.”

“We work hard sometimes to hide it. It does complicate things. Does it bother you that I’m a girl?”

“Why should it? You are the same person I met on the first day of school. Nothing’s changed. It’s sort of like finding out you don’t like peanuts when I do.”

“I like peanuts.”

“Maybe that’s not the best example. I mean, look at all the things we like to do. We added five birds to our life lists. We like gaming. We’re Greek and like Greek food. You’re really cool. I don’t care if you’re a guy or a girl.”

“What if I were a real girl?”

“That might get interesting. Do you think that could happen?”

“That all depends on The Wizard, and there’s no use taking that idea any further.”

“But you wish he would?”

“Of course I do. There hasn’t been a day go by that I haven’t wished for that magic pill, that mysterious artifact, the genie in a bottle, or that wizard that I now know for sure exists, to make my body match my brain. The only difference is that I know that there is real hope, a real chance that it might happen.

“I’ll tell you this. I will do nothing to screw things up for Paul and me. If The Wizard wants us to play a game, I’m going to play it to the hilt. This is a very complicated game. Paul and I talked about it yesterday. Then, there’s still that other thing.”

“What would that be?” Pappy asked.

“What does Mr. Temple have to do with all this?”

Pappy hadn’t realized it at first, but Ivan was very strong and determined. He was considerably more take charge than he was, and he seemed to be quite relieved when he found out that his parents had given up on that insane project to kill The Wizard. As near as they could tell, there were still several people left in the group, and unfortunately, one was Pappy’s mother. They were pretty sure there were three others including Paul’s mother.

Chapter 11

“Guys, I’ve done quite a bit of research, as you know, about the history of interactive computer games. One of the very first interactive games invented was developed by a fellow named Willie Crowther. I believe he was at Princeton University. The game caught on very quickly and was played by many on the earliest forms of the internet. You were given a scenario and from that point on you were basically on your own. You typed in basic commands, and based on the answers, you progressed to the end. Which, by the way was not that easy to get to.”

“I’ve played it,” Ivan said. “I was never able to figure it all out. I took a lot of notes, but they were lost during one of our moves. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Paul and I installed a three dimensional CAD program on my tablet. We’re going to take it with us when we enter the cave. We’re going to plot every nook and cranny. I have a laser range finder that should help us.

“I wasn’t able to solve it either, but I did get quite a bit of it done. I don’t have my notes, either,” Tom said.

“I’ve never heard of this game. What is it?” Pappy asked.

“It’s so old most in our generation never have heard of it. It’s too simple. It’s just that it isn’t that simple.

“I knew as soon as we drove into that ‘Park’ what was going on. That place doesn’t exist in the real world. The game was called “The Adventure Game” or something like that. There are several versions, and who knows what version that crazy wizard has concocted for us. As soon as we left the main road everything changed; the terrain, the geology, even the plant life. We were suddenly in central Kentucky, not western Connecticut.

“The whole intent of this project is for us to solve the problem of the cave. I’m not sure what it is; however, I’m sure it has nothing to do with an ecological study. One other thing, we are in this together. We won’t do anything without the concurrence of all of us.”

It was the after game pizza at the favorite local pizza parlor. Tom and Pappy were in the marching band, and they put on a good show. The best part was that their team won; beating a rival from a nearby city.

“Remember, the first time we looked into the spring house? There was nothing there. That’s when I knew we weren’t ready for this adventure. Many more things have had to come together before we are allowed to start. I think we should be prepared to go into the cave tomorrow. The rest of what we planned to do is just extraneous action. I’ll know if we’re to go ahead as soon as we get to the spring house.”

Across town a meeting of a different sort was taking place. Sandra Knight was having a drink with a man. Ever since her change she’d steadfastly refused to have relationships with men, or women for that matter, however, when this rather handsome, balding man approached her as the stands emptied after her son’s school’s victory, she felt compelled to listen to him.

“Ms. Knight, may I have a word with you?” he’d asked.

“I guess I’m at a disadvantage here. May I ask who you are?”

“That’s only reasonable. I’m Bob Temple. I’m one of your son’s teachers.”

“Oh yes, you’re his teacher for that class where they have that big project. What may I do for you?”

“I would like to talk with you about your son and his friends.”

“Have they done something wrong?”

“On the contrary, they are doing everything right. Your son is quite brilliant, as are the others. Look, this is not the place to talk. May I buy you a drink? I know a respectable place where no one would question your presence. I know your son and the others are going to have pizza. It will be a while before they go home. I would just like to talk with you about a few things.”

“Alright, Mr. Temple, I’ll have a drink with you. Where is this place you’d like to go to?”

“O’Flaherty’s down by the river.”

“I know the place. I’ll meet you there.”

“Thank you.”

Sandra wondered what it was about. What could this teacher know about her son and the others? She’d found a recently vacated parking spot near the front door. She and Paul had eaten there when they had first moved to Bridgeport that summer. Their meals were excellent if not a bit pricey. They had not been back since. There wasn’t the need to.

Bob Temple was waiting for her at the entrance to the bar area, and held the door open for her. The bar was a pleasant change from some she’d been in over the years. Not present were the wide screen TVs that seemed to dominate so many chain restaurants and bars. In one corner a man was playing a Gershwin medley on the piano. He led her to a booth not far from the piano. A young couple was sitting at a small table for two, and they waved to Bob as they approached.

“Hi Bob, I hear our team won; better start than last year,” the very attractive blonde said.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll have a chance this year.

“Sandra, I’d like you to meet Cindy and Don Brewer. They were both students of mine many years ago, and now Cindy’s a doctor in her residency in Boston, and Don’s a lawyer.

“Cindy and Don, I’d like you to meet Sandra Knight. She and her son just moved here. Paul’s in my advanced biology class.”

“Sandra,” Cindy said as she extended her hand, “welcome to Bridgeport. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other often.” Sandra felt a strange but pleasant warmth as Cindy took her hand. Some of her apprehension about being with Bob disappeared.

“What a lovely couple,” Sandra said as Cindy and Don left.

“Yes they are. They went through quite a bit to get where they are today. They fell in love during their junior year at school. I’ve seen many infatuations come and go during my career as a teacher, but I never saw a stronger love than theirs has been.” Bob seemed to get a bit emotional, and Sandra could hear his voice catch briefly.

“I was an assistant coach back then, and we recruited Don as a walk-on place kicker. I never coached a finer young man. He set the state record for place kicking. No one has come close to his field goal record. Then they went off to Boston College where he set the NCAA field goal record. The pros offered him a fortune. He turned it down. Instead, he went to Harvard Law School.

“Cindy might have been Valedictorian except for one of her best friends, Myrna Mankowitz. She and her husband are PhD candidates at MIT. She is doing amazing things in DNA research. Avery is an up and coming expert in alternative energy sources. I am very proud to know them.

“Enough about my students. I think I invited you here tonight to talk about other things. I always wanted to be a teacher. I received my Master’s in Education from Cal Berkley and moved here shortly afterwards. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“Wife?” Sandra asked.

“Nope, never could find anyone who’d put up with an academic neat freak. Besides, I didn’t belong to The Hair Club,” he said making an obvious reference to his bald pate.

“I don’t think that’s a problem.”

“What about you?”

“I was an unwed mother at eighteen. There never has been a Mr. Knight. There, that’s out in the open.”

Bob didn’t say anything, but continued to listen.

“My parents disowned me. They paid for the medical costs and gave me $10,000 to help get my life started. I worked the hamburger joints and got my degree in six years. Fortunately, there was daycare at the school. I went to law school after that and passed the bar on my first try. I specialize in contract law, and have built up a very good clientele on the internet. I have neither heard from nor seen my parents since the day they kicked me out. They’ve never seen their grandson.

“Such a sad story, but you have seemed to have done very well. Paul seems not to have suffered.”

“I’m not sure. I may not have been the best mother, but I love my son. He’s never been in trouble. I think he wants to be a doctor. I know he’s tired of moving. I am, too.”

“Why this bent? You have a good life. Why not just settle down and enjoy what he’s given you.”

Sandra was shocked. She stared at the man she was beginning to like.

“You’re one of them aren’t you?” she said deliberately keeping her voice low; however, the tone was not missed by Bob.

“I hardly qualify as one of them. I know The Wizard, and have known him for a number of years. He’s not a bad man in spite of what he may have done to you, and I don’t know what he did. I do know this, whatever plans you have, please consider those four children.”

“Consider the children,” her voice raised a bit, and a few heads turned their way. “Do you know what he’s done to my son? He’s made him think that he’s transgendered, that he’s a girl in a boy’s body. He’s tormented me for nearly twenty years and now he wants to torment my son.”

“As far as I know, The Wizard has never made someone transgender. He certainly wouldn’t do it to someone to get at his or her parent. That’s the last thing he would do. He fixes that problem whenever he can. If you would let him, The Wizard could fix your daughter’s problem.”

“Paul is my son,” Sandra said quietly but emphatically.

“I think you need to have another talk with Paul. Take him to a doctor, a specialist.”

“I’m sure he will have reached the doctor, too. It’s obvious I can’t trust anyone around here.

“Thank you for the glass of wine.”

Sandra picked up her purse, and stalked out of the lounge.

Bob watched her leave. ‘My God, she’s beautiful,’ Bob thought. ‘That may not have gone as well as we wanted, but it’s a start.’

“Lover’s quarrel?” the waitress asked with a smile as Bob handed a twenty to her.

“Perhaps,” he smiled as he headed to his car. ‘We’ll just have to wait and see.’

“I see what you were saying about Sandra Knight,” Don Brewer said as he and Cindy climbed back in bed after a shared shower. They were staying at her parents’ home for the weekend. “She certainly is an attractive lady.”

“Watch it buster, or I might not let you have your way with me for a while.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. She’s much too old for me, and she seems to have a boyfriend.”

“That’s not a sure thing, but the signs were good. Sandra still has a lot of anger to get over. She’s very defensive at the moment. I was able to detect several things during our meeting this evening. She’s definitely past the tipping point. She’s totally female, and His Wisdom had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t around when he transformed her, but I would be willing to bet her infatuation with football was due to overcompensation. She had to prove her masculinity to her father. Of course in their reality, she never was a boy. Her father had never wanted a daughter. When she showed up pregnant, he just got rid of her. What a jerk.

“You know, I think her being abandoned is the source of most of her anger.”

“What else did you sense with that ‘spidey’ sense of your?”

“I knew this the first time I met Paul. He is carrying the witch trait and so is his mother. That should have been, but you never know when The Wizard starts messing with things. I confirmed his mother’s status this evening. In that first meeting I also confirmed Paul is transgender. It’s very strong. His friend, Ivan, is also transgender and also carries the witch trait. The neat thing is the four of them know it. At least they know about the transgender issue. Tom has known about Paul for a long time. Ivan came out to them a while ago. Pappy’s cool about it.”

“The Wizard will take care of their problems won’t he?”

“I suspect so, but you never know. I’ve never known him not to when a transgender person was involved. He’s not a cruel person; a bit strange, but never cruel.

“Good night my handsome husband; tomorrow is another day.”

Across town, Sandra had finally cried herself out, and was asleep before Paul came in from the after game pizza and strategy meeting.

Sandra goes a bit over the top trying to convince Paul to kill The Wizard. Lois Papadopoulos tells Sandra what happened to her and why she’s giving up on the project. Bob Temple asks Sandra to have lunch with him. She agrees. Our four protagonists enter the cave.