Free Essays on Female Weakness In A Midsummer Night’s Dream

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare portrays the difficulties of love and, in particular, the weakness and vulnerability of the female characters in their relationships. They have little influence in deciding who they will marry, and the marriages and relationships that they are involved in are strongly male-dominated. The power of men and weakness of women are seen through the characters of Hippolyta, Hermia, Titania, and Helena, and the relationships that they are in. The first female character that Shakespeare portrays as weak is Hippolyta. Hippolyta is married to Thesus, who â€Å"wooed [her] with [his] sword, / And won [her] love doing [her] injuries† (Act I, Scene I, lines 16-17). She is not married to Thesus out of love, but instead seems to be his possession. She has lost much of her fighting spirit since the commencement of her relationship with Thesus, and he often ignores her opinions. For example, at the end of the play, when Thesus is choosing which play is to be performed at their wedding ceremony, Hippolyta states that perhaps he has not made the best choice. When Thesus ignores this statement, Hippolyta does not protest again. It is obvious that their relationship is very male-dominated, and Hippolyta has become a very weak character as a result of her relationship with Thesus. Another male-dominated relationship is that between Hermia and Lysander. The two seem to be a happy couple and have a strong, loving relationship. However, Hermia’s desire to be with Lysander strongly goes against her father’s, Egeus’s, wishes. Egeus wishes for Hermia to marry Demetrius. Hermia has little effect on trying to influence her father to allow her to be with Lysander. Egeus expresses that Hermia has no choice in this matter; he is her property, and the laws declare that he can do as he wishes with her. Egeus claims that if Hermia does not adhere to his wishes, she will be sentenced to death. The dominant male figures in... Free Essays on Female Weakness In A Midsummer Night’s Dream Free Essays on Female Weakness In A Midsummer Night’s Dream In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare portrays the difficulties of love and, in particular, the weakness and vulnerability of the female characters in their relationships. They have little influence in deciding who they will marry, and the marriages and relationships that they are involved in are strongly male-dominated. The power of men and weakness of women are seen through the characters of Hippolyta, Hermia, Titania, and Helena, and the relationships that they are in. The first female character that Shakespeare portrays as weak is Hippolyta. Hippolyta is married to Thesus, who â€Å"wooed [her] with [his] sword, / And won [her] love doing [her] injuries† (Act I, Scene I, lines 16-17). She is not married to Thesus out of love, but instead seems to be his possession. She has lost much of her fighting spirit since the commencement of her relationship with Thesus, and he often ignores her opinions. For example, at the end of the play, when Thesus is choosing which play is to be performed at their wedding ceremony, Hippolyta states that perhaps he has not made the best choice. When Thesus ignores this statement, Hippolyta does not protest again. It is obvious that their relationship is very male-dominated, and Hippolyta has become a very weak character as a result of her relationship with Thesus. Another male-dominated relationship is that between Hermia and Lysander. The two seem to be a happy couple and have a strong, loving relationship. However, Hermia’s desire to be with Lysander strongly goes against her father’s, Egeus’s, wishes. Egeus wishes for Hermia to marry Demetrius. Hermia has little effect on trying to influence her father to allow her to be with Lysander. Egeus expresses that Hermia has no choice in this matter; he is her property, and the laws declare that he can do as he wishes with her. Egeus claims that if Hermia does not adhere to his wishes, she will be sentenced to death. The dominant male figures in...

3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation

3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation 3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation 3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation By Mark Nichol When and where to use a single hyphen is perplexing enough for many writers, but when two or more are required, or one of the terms to be connected with a hyphen consists of more than one word, confusion is rampant. Here are several sentences that illustrate various problems with hyphenation of complex elements. 1. The Medal of Honor winning Navy SEAL described the rescue. Here, the noun to be modified is the noun phrase â€Å"Navy SEAL,† and the adjectival phrase is â€Å"Medal of Honor winning.† There should be a hyphen there somewhere, you think, but where? And because â€Å"Medal of Honor† consists of more than one word, shouldn’t multiple hyphens be deployed? In this case, because that phrase represents a single concept, only one punctuation mark is required to attach it to the adjective winning, but it’s not a hyphen. Here, use an en dash, a superhyphen of sorts: â€Å"The Medal of Honor–winning Navy SEAL described the rescue.† The distinction is obscure, but that’s the right way to do it. Alternatively, relax the syntax of the sentence so that neither a hyphen nor a â€Å"superhyphen† is required: â€Å"The Navy SEAL, who won a Medal of Honor, described the rescue.† 2. What made him leave his comfortable, high-paying position as head of an Asia Pacific-wide sales team? In this sentence, â€Å"high-paying† is correctly hyphenated to modify position, but is â€Å"Asia Pacific-wide† the correct style for the phrasal adjective modifying â€Å"sales team†? In the previous example, I stated that an en dash replaces a hyphen when one of the terms to be connected consists of more than one word. But there’s a complication here. â€Å"Asia-Pacific† is the label for a region of the world (though its parameters are imprecise). Because the hyphen comes along with the phrase, in this instance, the reference should be hyphenated as shown here: â€Å"What made him leave his comfortable, high-paying position as head of an Asia-Pacific-wide sales team?† 3. With a quarter billion dollar industry possible, there is a real possibility of supporting the community in a new manner. The phrase â€Å"quarter billion dollar industry† includes a phrasal adjective followed by a noun, so at least one hyphen is required. But the three words in the complex phrasal adjective â€Å"quarter billion dollar† should be connected: â€Å"With a quarter-billion-dollar industry possible, there is a real possibility of supporting the community in a new manner.† But what if the value is represented with a dollar sign and a numeral? The phrasal adjective â€Å"$250 million† is considered a single element, just like â€Å"Medal of Honor† in â€Å"Medal of Honor winner.† â€Å"Medal of Honor† requires no hyphenation, and neither does â€Å"$250 million†: â€Å"With a $250 million industry possible, there is a real possibility of supporting the community in a new manner.† On a related note, multi-million has a superfluous hyphen; it should be multimillion (which is never used in isolation- it’s always part of a phrasal adjective), so avoid constructions such as â€Å"multi-million dollar damages,† which erroneously refers to dollar damages of a multi-million nature, or â€Å"multi-million-dollar damages,† which correctly inserts a hyphen before dollar but retains the extraneous previous one. The correct treatment is â€Å"multimillion-dollar damages,† which correctly describes damages costing multiple millions of dollars to remedy. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Loan, Lend, Loaned, LentWords That Begin with Q

The Different Aspects of Heroism in Animation Assignment

The Different Aspects of Heroism in Animation - Assignment Example Taking the case of Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke, 1997) a film directed by renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki, it can be seen that there is a clash of nature versus humanity. Ashitaka is the main character who has to treat dangerous grounds in an effort to save the community. The animated version of the film shows Ashitaka killing the demon but does not go unscathed as his right arm is corrupted with a curse and he has a long journey into the Great Forest Spirit to get help (Beane 5). The ensuing battle between Princess Mononoke and a mining village requires a courageous and industrial person to save the situation. This film presents Japanese cultural definition of heroism as an ability to wade through evil, save lives and remain self-less in defence of the society as seen in Ashitaka’s dedication to rebuilding Iron town in his last interaction with San and Eboshi. In Sylvain (Gandahar, 1988) the Queen Ambisextra and the Council of Women believe in warrior Sylvain as the ultimate saviour of the kingdom against the Machine-Men. In this cultural setup, the courage to face supernatural beings in the form of metals is considered heroic. Sylvain is a great warrior and from the animated version, is wit of incorporating the mutant beings called the Deformed (physically deformed, but mentally and spiritually advanced) and by a beautiful woman named Airelle. Considering his ability to strategize on a way of completely eliminating these metal creatures is exhibited through creative animation that exposes his heroism at the end of the encounter (Beane 9). The animated presentation of Peter (Peter and the Wolf, 2006) is entertaining and informative as it explores an exciting show of heroism by Peter against the much hated and dreaded wolf. The film has a combination that is attractive to children and captivating to music enthusiasts. Peter’s ability to unwit the wolf, tie and prevent the hunters from killing it is a show of true hero.  

Issues in corrections Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Issues in corrections - Essay Example According to research, the correctional systems are running out of ideas on how to manage the issues affecting the correctional systems. The United States of America correctional systems are believed to be one of the most advanced prison system globally. This is because of the increased crime rates in the country. However, like other countries globally the American correctional system faces many issues that tend to be hard for the legal system to handle. There is one major issue of overcrowding in the prisons that have been caused by high crime rates, harsh laws made by the legal system for certain offenses, high rate of criminals returned to jail for committing felonies and long term sentences for certain offenses (Scott, 2010). The rate of the population of inmates is growing faster making it hard for the prisons to hold the capacity. The issue of high population in prison has pushed the legal system to set free the well-behaved criminals in prison, which has posed a threat to society (Scott, 2010). The law is forced to release the criminals to create space for the other criminals. Criminals serving long sentences are freed through good behavior and presidential pardons. Alternatively, according to researchers, some prisoners are pretenders who only pretend to behave well so that they are set free and proceed to carry out their vengeance on the witnesses who testified against them in court. The problem for the correctional system not being able to accommodate the criminals until they are has posed a major threat to society. Over population in the correctional system has also led to various problems to the inmates. The inmate’s health is at risk due to various airborne diseases caused by overcrowding. Diseases can also emerge from the dirty toilets shared by the large number of prisoners. Prisoner’s health has also in turn affected the economy of the country trying to treat various diseases that arise among prisoners like HIV/ AIDs,

Client Pitch Presentation Essay Example for Free

Client Pitch Presentation Essay Introduction The Coca- Cola Company was incorporated September 5, 1919. The company is the leading nonalcoholic beverage company. Coca-Cola offers over 500 different brands. Coca-Cola â€Å"originated as a soda fountain beverage in 1886 selling for five cents a glass† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) in Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola puts its â€Å"â€Å"Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) {The Coca-Cola Company is the leading and the most popular nonalcoholic beverage (soft drink) company. Coca- Cola connects with its consumers on a level where the consumers feel comfortable with the company. Because the company has been around for so long, many customers knows what the company stands for and continue to remain loyal to the company.} Coca-Cola Brands â€Å"The Company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages, such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks† (Forbes, 2015). {The Coca-Cola company offers its consumers a variety of different beverages to choose from. By meeting the different tastes of consumers, the company is able to successfully satisfy customers worldwide. The different brands developed by Coca-Cola include Diet Coke, Dasani, Sprite, Fanta, and many more.} Target Market Coca-Cola’s target market includes consumers from all demographics. Men Women Non-Alcoholic beverage drinkers Consumers of ages 10 -60. {Coca-Cola strives to target men and women of different ages, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, and locations. The company has many different brands that can satisfy the needs of customers of different demographics. The Coca-Cola brand is known world-wide so there are different brands to meet the needs of those consumers from around the world. The company targets consumers of all ages, but will focus mainly consumers between the ages of 10-60. There are different brands that meet the needs of consumers within  each age group.} Coca-Cola SWOT Analysis Strengths : Quality product, Loyal Customers, Effective Marketing Techniques Weaknesses: Most of the products are carbonated beverages, Many brands innovated are not very popular amongst consumers, Subjected to negative criticism. Opportunities: Create more healthy beverages, Create juices or beverages suitable for toddlers and babies. Threats: Competitors such as Pepsi whom are developing new brands. {Coca-Cola is the most valued company when it comes to the development of nonalcoholic beverages. Because the company has been around for so long and has sought customer feedback when engaging in making changes that relate to the products, Coca-Cola has a loyal customer base. There are some weaknesses that are associated with the company primarily only sales beverages, and there are sometimes negative criticism. There are opportunities for the company to branch out into other areas such as making food products. The threats faced by the company come from competitors.} Goals Objectives To be the leader in the beverage industry.  To make sure that the consumers of Coca-Cola brands are aware of the company and the products that the company offers. Increase the company’s sales and revenue.  To make potential consumers around the world aware of the companies’ products and what they have to offer. {The goals and objectives of Coca-Cola are set into place in order to increase sales and revenue and to make sure that consumers are happy with the products offered by the company. The goals and objectives can be utilized to take the company to another level which will completely set it apart from other companies within the beverage industry.} Customer Loyalty The company will provide its’ consumers with a quality experience when utilizing the products. The Company will build customer loyalty by continuing to be innovative in creating the different brands that fit the needs of their consumers. The company offers its consumers Coke Rewards that allow them to gain savings for the products. {When it comes to customer loyalty, it is important that companies make sure that they maintain the brand image. According to the course text, â€Å"A strong brand community results in a more loyal, committed customer base† (Kotler Keller, 2011). Another way for the company to promote customer loyalty is to make sure that the products are available to the consumers at a reasonable price. It is also important to make sure that the products are easily accessible to consumers in all locations where the products are being sold. By offering opportunities for consumers to save, the company is able to build gain loyal companies because they can see that the company does care about their finances.} Competitors Coca- Cola’s competitors include other companies that produce nonalcoholic beverages, the main one being Pepsico, Inc. Pepsico is the 2nd most popular soft drink company. Like Coca- Cola, this company also have beverages that are offered within a number of restaurants and stores. Nestle is another competitor that offers beverages. Although this company has drinks, it also has some food products that are available to consumers. With Nestle having water as one of its’ brands, it poses competition to Coca-Cola. Branding Strategy Coca-Cola manages its brand by â€Å"constantly striving to improve their products, services, and marketing† (Kotler Keller, 2011). â€Å"Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) â€Å"Get out into the market and listen, observe and learn† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) â€Å"Possess a world view† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) â€Å"Focus on execution in the marketplace every day† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) â€Å"Be insatiably curious† (The Coca- Cola Company, 2015) Coca-Cola has formed partnerships with restaurants and stores where the company’s products can be offered to consumers. Communications Methods  Advertising- Coca-Cola uses the TV, internet, newspapers, magazines, and other sources to advertise their product. Company Website- Coca-Cola’s company website provides consumers with information about the products that the company offers. The website also allows for the consumers to be involved in the activities that the company  works on in order to have an effect on the environment. Print Ad ~Open up to new possibilities with Coca- Cola! Conclusion Coca-Cola is the leading nonalcoholic beverage producer. The company builds on customer loyalty by keeping their customers involved and informed. The company’s programs and The company’s IMC will allow for the company to reach an even larger customer base which will lead to the continuing of the company’s success. Coca- Cola’s brand image and loyal customers will help in their ability to face the encounters of the company’s competiton. By analyzing the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, Coca-Cola will be able to make necessary changes and continue using successful strategies that have allowed them to be the number one soft drink company! References Coca- Cola Company (2015). Mission, Vision, Values. Retrieved February 18, 2015 from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values. Forbes (2015). Coca Cola. Retrieved March 7, 2015 from http://www.forbes.com/companies/coca-cola/. Kotler, P., Keller, K. (2011). Marketing Management, 14th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Strategic Management (2015). SWOT Analysis of Coca Cola. Retrieved March 8, 2015 from http://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/coca-cola-swot-analysis.html.

Simultaneous Multithreading :: Threads Caches Hyper Threading Essays

Simultaneous Multithreading Simultaneous multithreading  ¡Ã‚ ª put simply, the shar-ing of the execution resources of a superscalar processor betweenmultiple execution threads  ¡Ã‚ ª has recently become widespread viaits introduction (under the name  ¡Ã‚ °Hyper-Threading ¡Ã‚ ±) into IntelPentium 4 processors. In this implementation, for reasons of ef-ficiency and economy of processor area, the sharing of processorresources between threads extends beyond the execution units; ofparticular concern is that the threads share access to the memorycaches.We demonstrate that this shared access to memory caches pro-vides not only an easily used high bandwidth covert channel be-tween threads, but also permits a malicious thread (operating, intheory, with limited privileges) to monitor the execution of anotherthread, allowing in many cases for theft of cryptographic keys.Finally, we provide some suggestions to processor designers, op-erating system vendors, and the authors of cryptographic software,of how this atta ck could be mitigated or eliminated entirely.1. IntroductionAs integrated circuit fabrication technologies have improved, provid-ing not only faster transistors but smaller transistors, processor design-ers have been met with two critical challenges. First, memory latencieshave increased dramatically in relative terms; and second, while it iseasy to spend extra transistors on building additional execution units,many programs have fairly limited instruction-level parallelism, whichlimits the extent to which additional execution resources can be uti-lized. Caches provide a partial solution to the first problem, whileout-of-order execution provides a partial solution to the second.In 1995, simultaneous multithreading was revived1in order to com-bat these two difficulties [12]. Where out-of-order execution allowsinstructions to be reordered (subject to maintaining architectural se-mantics) within a narrow window of perhaps a hundred instructions,Key words and phrases. Side channels, sim ultaneous multithreading, caching.1Simultaneous multithreading had existed since at least 1974 in theory [10], evenif it had not yet been shown to be practically feasible. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 2 simultaneous multithreading allows instructions to be reordered acrossthreads; that is, rather than having the operating system perform con-text switches between two threads, it can schedule both threads simul-taneously on the same processor, and instructions will be interleaved,dramatically increasing the utilization of existing execution resources.On the 2.8 GHz Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading processor,with which the remainder of this paper is concerned2, the two threadsbeing executed on each processor share more than merely the execu-tion units; of particular concern to us, they share access to the memorycaches [8]. Caches have already been demonstrated to be cryptograph-ically dangerous: Many implementations of AES [9] are subject to tim-ing attacks arising from the non-constancy of S-box lookup timings [1].

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 14

I woke the next morning and stretched my arms outward, dejected when I touched nothing but goose-down pillows. A slight indentation in the mattress next to me was the only proof that what had happened had been real, and not one of the fever dreams I'd been having since Rosalyn's death. Of course, I couldn't expect Katherine to have spent the night with me. Not with her maid waiting at the carriage house, and not with the way the servants talked. She'd told me herself that this had to be our secret, that she couldn't risk ruining her reputation. Not that she had to worry about that. I wanted us to have our own secret world, together. I wondered when she'd slipped away, remembering the feeling of her in my arms, a warmth and lightness I'd never felt before. I felt whole, and at peace, and the thoughtof Rosalyn was just a vague memory, a character in an unpleasant story that I'd simply put out of my mind. Now my mind was consumed with thoughts of Katherine: how she pulled the curtains closed as the summer storm pelted hail on the windows, how she'd allowed my hands to explore her exquisite body. At one point, I was caressing her neck when my hands fell on the clasp of the ornate blue cameo necklace she always wore. I began to unclasp it when Katherine had roughly pushed me away. â€Å"Don't!† she'd said sharply, her hands flying to the clasp, making sure nothing had been disturbed. But then, once she patted the charm into place on the hollow of her neck, she'd resumed kissing me. I blushed as I remembered all the other places she did allow me to touch. I swung my legs out of bed, walked toward the hand basin, and splashed water on my face. I looked in the mirror and smiled. The dark circles were gone from my eyes, and it no longer felt like an effort to walk from one side of the room to the other. I changed into my waistcoat and dark-blue breeches and left the chambers humming. â€Å"Sir?† Alfred asked on the stairs. He was holding a silver-domed platter–my breakfast. My lip curled in disgust. How could I have lain in bed for an entire week when there was a whole world to discover with Katherine? â€Å"I'm quite well, thank you, Alfred,† I said as I took the stairs two at a time. The storm from last night had disappeared as quickly as it came. In the sunroom, the early-morning light was sparkling through the floor-to- ceiling windows, and the table was decorated with freshly cut daisies. Damon was already there, drinking a mug of coffee while flipping through the morning paper from Richmond. â€Å"Hello, brother!† Damon said, holding up his coffee mug as if he were toasting me. â€Å"My, you look well. Did our afternoon ride do you some good, after all?† I nodded and sat opposite him, glancing at the headlines on the paper. The Union had taken Fort Morgan. I wondered where exactly that was. â€Å"I don't know why we even get the paper. It's not like Father cares about anything except the stories he makes up in his head,† Damon said disgustedly. â€Å"If you hate it here so much, why don't you just leave?† I asked, suddenly annoyed with Damon's constant grumbling. Maybe it would be better if he were gone, so that Father wouldn't be so frustrated. An odious voice in the back of my mind silently added, And so I don't have to think about you and Katherine, swinging on the porch swing together. Damon raised an eyebrow. â€Å"Well, I'd be remiss if I didn't say things were interesting here.† His lips curved in a private sort of smile that made me suddenly want to grab his shoulders and shake him. The force of my emotions surprised me, so much so that I had to sit down and shove into my mouth a muffin from the overflowing basket on the table. I'd never felt jealous of my brother before, but suddenly I was dying to know: Had Katherine ever snuck up to his bedroom? She couldn't have. Last night, she'd seemed so nervous about getting caught, having me promise over and over again that I'd never breathe a word to anybody about what we'd done. Betsy, the cook, came in, her arms laden with plates of grits, bacon, and eggs. My stomach rumbled, and I realized I was starving. I quickly tucked in, reveling in the saltiness of the eggs combined with the sweet bitterness of my coffee. It was as if I'd never tasted breakfast before and my senses were finally awakened. I sighed in contentment, and Damon looked up in amusement. â€Å"I knew all you needed was some fresh air and good food,† Damon said. And Katherine, I thought. â€Å"Now let's go outside and cause some trouble.† Damon smiled wickedly. â€Å"Father's in his study, doing his demon studies. Do you know he even has Robert in on it?† Damon shook his head in disgust. I sighed. While I didn't necessarily believe all the discussion about demons, I did respect Father enough to not make fun of his thoughts. It made me feel vaguely disloyal to hear Damon's dismissal of him. â€Å"I'm sorry, brother.† Damon shook his head and scraped his chair back against the slate floor. â€Å"I know you don't like it when Father and I fight.† He walked over to me, pulling out my chair from under me, almost causing me to fall. I scrambled to my feet and good-naturedly shoved him back. â€Å"That's better!† Damon called with glee. â€Å"Now, let's go!† He ran out the back door, letting the door slam shut. Cordelia used to scream at us for that offense as children, and I laughed when I heard her familiar groan from the kitchen. I ran toward the center of the lawn, where Damon had unearthed the oblong ball we'd been tossing two weeks before. â€Å"Here, brother! Catch!† Damon panted, and I turned and leapt into the air, just in time to catch the pigskin in my arms. I pulled it tightly to my chest and began running toward the stable, the wind whipping my face. â€Å"Y boys!† a voice called, stopping me in my ou tracks. Katherine was standing on the porch of the carriage house, wearing a simple, cream-colored muslin dress and looking so innocent and sweet that I couldn't believe that what happened last night wasn't a dream. â€Å"Burning off excess energy? â€Å" I sheepishly turned around and walked toward the porch. â€Å"Playing catch!† I explained, hastily throwing the ball to Damon. Katherine reached behind her, braiding her curls down the back of her neck. I had a sudden fear that she thought we were tiresome with our childish game and that she'd come out here to scold us for waking her so early. But she simply smiled as she settled on the porch swing. â€Å"Are you ready to play?† Damon called from his position on the lawn. He held the ball far back behind his head as if he were about to throw it toward her. â€Å"Absolutely not.† Katherine wrinkled her nose. â€Å"Once was enough. Besides, I feel people who need props for their games and sports are lacking in imagination.† â€Å"Stefan has imagination.† Damon smirked. â€Å"Y should hear him read poetry. He's like a ou troubadour.† He dropped the ball and ran toward the porch. â€Å"Damon has imagination. too. Y should see ou the imaginative way he plays cards,† I teased as I reached the steps of the porch. Katherine nodded at me as I bowed to her but didn't make any other effort to greet me. I stepped back, momentarily stung. Why hadn't she at least given me her hand to kiss? Hadn't last night meant anything to her? † I am imaginative, especially when I have a muse.† Damon winked at Katherine, then stepped in front of me to grab her hand. He brought it to his lips, and my stomach churned. â€Å"Thank you,† Katherine said, standing up and walking down the porch steps, her simple skirts swishing down the stairs. With her hair pulled back from her eyes, she reminded me of an angel. She gave me a secret smile, and finally I relaxed. â€Å"It's beautiful here,† Katherine said, spreading her arms as if blessing the entire estate. â€Å"Will you show me around?† she asked, turning and glancing first at Damon, then at me, then back at Damon again. â€Å"I've lived here for more than two weeks, and I've barely seen anything besides my bedchambers and the gardens. I want to see something new. Something secret!† â€Å"We have a maze,† I said stupidly. Damon elbowed me in the ribs. Not like he had anything better to say. â€Å"I know,† Katherine said. â€Å"Damon showed me.† My stomach fell at the reminder of how much time the two of them had spent together in the week I was in my sickbed. And if he'd shown her the maze †¦ But I pushed the thought out of my head as best I could. Damon had always told me about all the women he'd kissed, ever since we were thirteen and he and Amelia Hawke had kissed on the Wickery Bridge. If he had kissed Katherine, I would have heard about it. â€Å"I'd love to see it again,† Katherine said, clapping her hands together as if I'd just told her the most interesting news in the world. â€Å"Will you both escort me?† she asked hopefully, glancing at us. â€Å"Of course,† we said at the same time. â€Å"Oh, wonderful! I must tell Emily.† Katherine dashed inside, leaving us standing on opposite ends of the stairs. â€Å"She's quite a woman, isn't she?† Damon asked. â€Å"She is,† I said shortly. Before I could say anything else, Katherine came bounding down the stairs, holding a sun umbrella in one hand. â€Å"I'm ready for our adventure!† she cried, handing me her parasol, an expectant look on her face. I hooked it over the crook of my arm, while Katherine linked arms with Damon. I walked a few feet behind, watching the easy way their hips bumped each other, as if she were simply his younger, teasing sister. I relaxed. That was it. Damon was always protective and was simply being a big brother to Katherine. And she needed that. I whistled under my breath as I followed them. We had a small labyrinth in the front garden, but the maze on the far corner of the property was expansive, built from a boggy marsh by my father, who had been determined to impress our mother. She'd loved to garden and had always bemoaned the fact that the flowers that bloomed in her native France simply couldn't withstand the hard Virginia soil. The area always smelled of roses and clematis and was always the first place couples would retreat to when they wanted to be alone at a Veritas party. The servants had superstitions about the maze: that a child conceived in the maze would be blessed for life, that if you kissed your true love in the center of the maze, you'd be bonded for life, but that if you told a lie while within its walls, you'd be cursed forever. Today it felt almost magical: The arbors and vines provided shade from the sun, making it seem that the three of us were in an enchanted world together–away from death and war. â€Å"It's even more beautiful than I remembered!† Katherine explained. â€Å"It's like a storybook. Like the Luxembourg Gardens or the Palace of Versailles!† She plucked a calla lily and inhaled deeply. I paused and glanced at her. â€Å"Y ou've been to Europe, then?† I asked, feeling as provincial as any of the country bumpkins who lived in the shanty town on the other side of Mystic Falls, the ones who pronounced the word creek like crick and who already had four or five children by the time they were our age. â€Å"I've been everywhere,† Katherine said simply. She tucked the lily behind her ear. â€Å"So, tell me, boys, how did you amuse yourselves when you didn't have a mysterious stranger to impress with a tour of your grounds?† â€Å"We entertain pretty young things with real Southern hospitality.† Damon smirked, falling into his overdone accent that always made me laugh. Katherine rewarded him with a giggle, and I smiled. Now that I saw Damon and Katherine's flirtatious friendship as being as innocent as the relationship of cousins, I could enjoy their banter. â€Å"Damon's right. Our Founders Ball is just a few weeks away,† I said, my spirits lifting as I realized that I was free to go to the ball with whoever I pleased. I couldn't wait to twirl Katherine in my arms. â€Å"And you'll be the prettiest girl. Even the girls from Richmond and Charlottesville will be jealous!† Damon pronounced. â€Å"Really? Why, I think I should like that. Is that wicked of me?† Katherine asked, glancing from Damon to me. â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"Y Damon said at the same time. â€Å"And I, for es,† one, think more girls should admit their wicked natures. After all, we all know the fairer sex has a dark side. Remember when Clementine cut off Amelia's hair?† Damon turned toward me. â€Å"Y es,† I chuckled, happy to play the role of storyteller for Katherine's amusement. â€Å"Clementine thought Amelia was being too forward with Matthew Hartnett, and since Clem fancied him, she decided she'd take it in her own hands to make Amelia less attractive.† Katherine put her hand over her mouth in a gesture of exaggerated concern. â€Å"I do hope poor Amelia's recovered.† â€Å"She's engaged to some soldier. Don't worry about her,† Damon said. â€Å"In fact, you shouldn't worry about anything. Y ou're far too pretty.† â€Å"Well, I am worried about one thing.† Katherine widened her eyes. â€Å"Who shall escort me to the ball?† She swung her parasol back and forth on her arm as she gazed at the ground, as if thinking through a deep decision. My heart quickened as she looked up at both of us. â€Å"I know! Let's have a race. Winner may get to take me!† She threw her parasol on the ground and ran off to the center of the maze. â€Å"Brother?† Damon asked, raising an eyebrow at me. â€Å"Ready?† I smiled, as if this were just a casual children's footrace. I didn't want Damon to know how fast my heart was beating, and how very much I wanted to catch Katherine. â€Å"Go!† Damon yelled. Immediately I began running. My hands and legs flailed, and I propelled myself into the maze. When we were in school, I was the fastest boy in the class, lightning quick when the school bell rang. Then I heard peals of laughter. I glanced back. Damon was doubled up over himself, slapping his knee. I gulped air, trying not to seem winded. â€Å"Scared to compete?† I said, running back and slugging Damon on the shoulder. I'd meant it to be a playful punch, but it landed with a heavy thud. â€Å"Oh, now we're on, brother!† Damon said, his voice light and full of laughter. He grabbed my shoulders and wrestled me easily to the ground. I struggled to my feet and tackled him, throwing him onto his back and pinning down his wrists. â€Å"Think you can still lick your little brother?† I teased, enjoying my momentary victory. â€Å"No one came for me!† Katherine pouted, wandering out of the maze. Her frown quickly turned into a smile as she saw us on the ground, breathing heavily. â€Å"Good thing I'm here to save you both.† She knelt and pressed her lips first to Damon's cheek, then to mine. I released Damon's wrists and stood up, wiping the dirt off my breeches. â€Å"See?† she asked, as she offered an arm to Damon. â€Å"All you need is a kiss to make everything better–although you boys shouldn't be such brutes with each other.† â€Å"We were fighting for you,† Damon said lazily, not bothering to stand up. Just then, the sound of horses' hooves interrupted us. Alfred dismounted his horse and bowed to the three of us. It must have been a sight: Damon lying on the ground, resting his head on his hand as if he were simply reclining, me frantically brushing grass stains off my trousers, and Katherine standing between us, looking amused. â€Å"I'm sorry to interrupt,† Alfred said. â€Å"But Master Giuseppe needs to speak to Master Damon. It's urgent.† â€Å"Of course it is. Everything is always urgent for Father. What do you bet he has another ridiculous theory he needs to discuss?† Damon said. Katherine lifted her parasol from the ground. â€Å"I should get going, too. I'm all disheveled, and I'm due to visit with Pearl at the apothecary.† â€Å"Come,† Alfred said, gesturing for Damon to jump onto the back of his horse. As Alfred and Damon rode away, Katherine and I slowly walked back to the carriage house. I wanted to bring up the Founders Ball again but found myself afraid to do so. â€Å"Y don't need to keep pace with me. ou Perhaps you should keep your brother company,† Katherine suggested. â€Å"It seems that your father is a man who's best taken on by two,† she observed. Her hand brushed my own and she grabbed my wrist. Then she stepped on her tiptoes and allowed her lips to graze my cheek. â€Å"Come see me tonight, sweet Stefan. My chambers will be open.† And with that, she broke off into a spirited run. She was like a colt, galloping free, and I felt my heart gallop along with her. There was no question: She felt the same way I did. And knowing that made me feel more alive than I ever had in my life.