The Debate on Euthanasia: Utilitarianism

The Debate on Euthanasia: Utilitarianism Cory Thomas Is it appropriate to end the life of a person in a critical condition who is experiencing extreme torment and enduring? This paper is going to look at how the ethical theory of utilitarianism applies to the controversial issue of euthanasia. Distinctive moral positions and contentions are held for various types of euthanasia. Therefore in this paper, I will discuss active and passive euthanasia from a utilitarians perspective. In addition, the utilitarian views of voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia will be explored. Euthanasia, also called helped suicide, is the act of discharging a person from a hopeless malady or unbearable enduring. There are two principle types of euthanasia. Aside from the fact that life is taken from these patients, the process differs between active and passive forms. In both, life is taken from the patient who is suffering from a hopeless malady. However, active euthanasia is a demonstration of executing the individual by deadly infusion to bring about quick and effortless passing. In contrast to this, passive euthanasia is when you kill that person by taking away something significant they needed to live. This can be in the form of terminating ones life support or withdrawing from medical care immediately. The second types of willful extermination are voluntary and non-voluntary. Voluntary willful extermination is the point in which the individual, who is at deaths door offers, agree to seek euthanasia. Non-voluntary is when the terminally ill is not able to give consent so they give the approval through another person. This all being said and for the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing on active-voluntary euthanasia from the utilitarian point of view.ÂÂ   Euthanasia is a social problem because most people dont agree that individuals, especially terminally ill patients in excruciating pain, should be able to end their lives.ÂÂ   This is also extremely controversial if this patient cannot give consent for themselves. There is a great deal of debate encompassing euthanasia, which revolves around whether it ought to be lawful. The debate encompassing euthanasia includes numerous religious, therapeutic and sociologic perspectives. Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher from London, created the principles of moral philosophy called utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness(Mill Pg. 4). This means that through a utilitarianism perspective, a deed or task must be done in terms of the greater good. Whats more, the best joy rule expresses that an ethical activity is one that expands the aggregate utility on the planet. As it were, if an activity is moral, it raises the measure of satisfaction on the planet. This permits activities to be positioned by profound quality. In the event that an activity fulfills one individual, it is ethically right. In spite of the fact that if another activity would make more than one individual cheerful, that activity is all the more ethically right. Utilitarianism expresse s that something is good or great when it delivers the best measure of useful for the best number of individuals. Its a hypothesis of standardizing morals that asks whether a particular activity is great or awful, moral or unethical. The main principle of Benthams theory is the Principle of utility. By utility is meant the property of something whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness (all equivalent in the present case) or (this being the same thing) to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil, or unhappiness to the party whose interest is considered (Bentham Pg.7). Utility measures the happiness or unhappiness that results from a particular action. When applying or taking this from the perspective of an ill patient, the controversy comes from whether or not this patient should be granted peace from suffering, for their own happiness, or suffer longer for the happiness of their loved ones. Mill portrays the distinction of delights as quality in joys, or what makes one joy more profitable than another. While examining delights, simply as a joy and thats it, it ought to be in more prominent sum and create the most great. Process separates amongst higher and lower-quality joys. On the off chance that a delight were of higher quality, then more individuals would pick it over an alternate joy. As indicated by Mill, this is valid, regardless of the possibility that this joy is joined by uneasiness and that same individual would not exchange it for a more noteworthy measure of the other joy. With all this being said about utilitarianism, and now applying utilitarianism to euthanasia, there are different moral positions for different forms of euthanasia. For purposes of this paper and arguments sake, Im going to discuss active voluntary euthanasia. Mills Greatest Happiness Principle states that, actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Mill Pg. 4). Mill would agree with active voluntary euthanasia because it leads to the greatest happiness of the patient and the family. Therefore from the utilitarian point of view they would agree with active voluntary euthanasia. One objection to utilitarianism is individual rights. People will argue that just because something makes someone happy, it does not make the action right. Think of it from a moral perspective, as this can be applied to various parts of life. Take for example theft. Is it wrong to steal millions of dollars in medicine to heal your sick spouse because you are too poor to afford paying for it? Furthermore, it isnt right to hurt certain people with a specific end goal to fulfill other individuals? Another protest would be that individuals trust that utilitarianism is excessively requesting. Utilitarianism infers that we ought to dependably act keeping in mind the end goal. Individuals that protest say this is excessively strict of a necessity. It is soliciting excessively from individuals to be constantly spurred to advance the general satisfaction. What happens when the general bliss has been accomplished? There are going to be individuals who are unsatisfied and the circle will procee d. One study to this is to understand the definitive results of your actions. The thing about utilitarianism is that it is a type of consequentialism, meaning an action is judged by it consequence. Regardless of whether an activity is ethically right or wrong depends completely on its results. Consequentialists will state that activities are correct when they expand for more noteworthy benefit. With the objection of utilitarianism being too demanding, Mill states, no system of ethics requires that the sole motive of all we do shall be a feeling of duty; on the contrary, ninety-nine hundredths of all our actions are done from other motives, and rightly sothe motive has nothing to do with the morality of the actionthe great majority of good actions are intended not for the benefit of the world, but for that of individuals, of which the good of the world is made up (Mill Pg. 13). Work Cited Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism

Symbols and Symbolism in To Kill A Mockingbird - Symbols, Themes and Characters :: Kill Mockingbird essays

   To Kill A Mockingbird - Symbols, Themes and Characters       Now, you're probably wondering what is To Kill A Mockingbird all about? Well that is what I am going to be telling you about in this paper. You will find out that To Kill A Mockingbird is full of different themes, symbols, conflicts and many different characters.    There is a theme of a coexistence of good and evil in this novel. Harper dramatizes Scout and Jem's transition from a perspective of childhood innocence. Many of the characters assume that people are good because they have never seen evil. So in result to this Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not fully prepared for the evil that they meet up with, and as a result of that they are destroyed.    There are a lot of different social classes in this story. The Finches are on the top of the social list in Maycomb. And then the farmers are underneath them. Then whom they call the white trash is underneath the farmers. Even though the blacks are much more gifted than some of those people they are still underneath those white trash people. This is the main topic of the whole story. A black man gets accused of attacking a white lady...but he probably wouldn't even be in the position that he was in if he was white. To Kill A Mockingbird shows the destructive attitude that whites have against blacks. Not so much the period we live in but it still exists.    There is also theme of an education of children. The children are taught to move from innocence to adulthood. At the end of the book which only scans through about two years of Scout's life. He knows almost everything about algebra. This theme is explored by the relationship between Atticus and his kids. Unsympathetic teachers confront Scout a lot through the story. The most important lessons are those of sympathy and understanding. Miss Caroline's commitment to the educational techniques that she has learned in college and it makes her ineffective and dangerous.    Also, there are some symbols in this story that are very important to the overall story itself. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, one will observe that nearly every character is a mockingbird.

Compairing the Websites of Dell Computer and Compaq Computer :: Compare Direct Marketing Websites

Compairing the Websites of Dell Computer and Compaq Computer In the exploding world of e-commerce, the ability of a company to attract customers using websites is critical for the company’s success. The use of the website by two computer manufacturers, Dell and Compaq, is evidence of this fact. Dell is the forerunner in the direct marketing of computers to customers via the Internet. As the success of Dell’s marketing approach became apparent, other computer companies such as Compaq have tried to market their product directly via the Internet as well. In evaluating the Dell and Compaq computer websites, several areas had to be assessed and compared for their effectiveness in promoting the product. The four main areas included in the evaluation of the websites were the target audiences for each company, the style chosen for the website, the content of each website, and the structure of each website. However, the experience of Dell in direct marketing has allowed them to create a website that is more effective for a wide customer b ase than the Compaq website is. The first area of evaluation was the comparison of the target markets for both Dell and Compaq. In evaluating the Dell homepage, the target audience was determined to be businesses and government institutions. The Dell homepage contains five links to other areas of the website, one each for small businesses, large businesses/healthcare, education, government, and home/home office. In splitting the business into four categories, the emphasis Dell places on business customers is evident and identifies its target audience as predominately business and government customers. However, Dell is obviously vying for individual computer sales to homes and consumers. In addition, in examining the Dell homepage, the target audience can also be identified as customers who are users of the Internet, as Dell does not sell computers in stores. Dell is a direct retailer of computers and uses the Internet as its primary source for customers to place orders, although Dell does allow for phone sales as w ell. In contrast, examination of the Compaq homepage identifies the primary target audience of Compaq to be home computer users. Compaq advertises discounted computer models directly on its homepage, creating a sense that Compaq is attracting home users since home users tend to shop for computer deals. Businesses on the other hand, tend to obtain their discounts by purchasing computers in bulk quantities. However, Compaq is seeking business customers as evidenced by its links for small and medium businesses, enterprise businesses, government institutions, and educational institutions.

Free College Admissions Essays: Art is My Life :: College Admissions Essays

Art is My Life From an early age I have always had a strong interest in art, and have been involved with it in some form all through my life. In year nine I realized that it was something that I might like to pursue as a career, I started taking it more seriously. The Chase's art department encouraged me very well and helped me develop my art skills. I am currently studying Art at A-level and have had my work exhibited in a gallery and in local industry buildings as part of the 'Art in the Workplace' scheme which is organized by my college. The piece of my artwork which was displayed, and used in a business's workplace was a painting inspired by an Art Department trip to Italy. In my spare time, I enjoy running my own comedy website with my friends, which has enabled me to learn good organizational skills. Aside from art, I enjoy playing basketball with other students from my college every Wednesday afternoon. I have found this to be a welcome break from normal study, allowing me to exercise at the same time as relieving stress. My present interest in art is more graphic/typography based, although I do enjoy all areas of art. I have been designing graphics on my computers from a young age and have work published in national magazines. Not all the graphical work I do is computer based, I enjoy using traditional mediums in a clean graphical way, as I find it more satisfying working on a larger scale and producing something more "real". My current course has helped me "branch out" more; I have experimented in many disciplines successfully producing paintings, pastels and drawings, which I had never really developed fully before. I have had two part-time jobs involving computer related work, in which I have been able to bring art influences into. When working for Retail Futures, an e-commerce company based in Malvern, I designed their corporate image, and websites for clients such as Coalport and Parcel Force. More recently I have taken another job with a more technical slant, for another e-commerce firm, eplexus. I still do design work, in which I have designed websites and images for "Highwaycode.com", and Anglo Digital a successful venture capitalist firm. Alongside my practical experience, I am also studying Computing at my current college, which aids me to learn the fundamentals of computer usage and programming, an area that I am interested in.

Causes of Ignorance

Illiteracy is directly related to two main causes; Schools and Parents/Environment. Schools maintain letter grades that represent the performance and outcome of the students. Grades throughout the semester, cumulative grades and final outcomes. When taking a step back and looking at society and seeing how much ignorance and illiteracy there is it really makes you begin to think about whether or not that is not only the type of environment you wish to be in but whether or not you wish to raise your children there. Typically the schools represent the environment. School funding is also a very large problem that is a leading cause of illiteracy. Many schools simply do not have enough funds to buy the proper, updated and on grade level books. This causes the children to have below average and grade level reading levels, comprehension skills and general knowledge. On a day to day basis parents are blamed for the illiteracy of their children; whether it be because they are not encouraging their children to learn and read, or attend school in general to even try. In many cases the parents are not supportive of their children because they do not want to see them succeed and surpass their families expectations for them. Perhaps this is because they may feel intimidated or as if the child is overstepping some kind of authoritative boundary. Typically the overall education level of a parent is what determines their behavior towards their children and the kind of future that they want them to achieve. If the child's parent did not go very far in their college career, if any college at all then they usually do not press the importance of graduating with a strong degree to be successful. Some believe that schools may also be to blame because the expectations are set too high. In reality many schools just expect too little. Many children need challenges in order to further themselves. By marking a level and saying â€Å"This is what we feel you need to know by this age. † it puts realistic expectations. They do this because the testing that is provided at the end of a high school career that is required to be taken, cannot be altered for any child. They need to be prepared for these tests and in order to do well on them classroom standards must be met. Teachers are as supportive as the student allows them to be. Proper measures and steps need to be taken in order for students to live up to those expectations. Depending on the location of the school, funding is a tremendous problem. You cannot run a school off of nothing. Without proper methods of payment for the teachers, there would be none. Without money to buy the textbooks and teaching supplies, there would be no classes and curriculum for the students to follow. The end result of ill-funded schools is poor educations or none at all. Without proper updated textbooks children would not be kept up on current events; nor would they have the ability to use their common knowledge of today's society. Comprehension skills, in the context of different teaching/learning theories beginning decades ago, up to theories still used and replaced today. Reading levels and the ability to practice reading skills in order to raise the levels for proper education consumption. Illiteracy is based on three sole factors that I have previously stated. Had many schools had better funds and systems to raise money the illiteracy rate would drop severely. The typical factors will not easily be cared for but with the proper dedication and skills, can steadily decrease illiteracy in children which in turn results in illiterate adults.

The Depiction of Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet

Set in the city of Verona during the 12th/13th century, Romeo and Juliet, is a typical love story by William Shakespeare with a tragedy twist. When Romeo Montague and his friends gate-crash Lord Capulet’s party, the last thing he imagined he would do is find the love of his life, Juliet. After realising Romeo is the son of her father’s sworn enemy they decide to keep their relationship secret and get married behind her families back. When Romeo’s best friend Mercutio is stabbed and killed by Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, Romeo kills Tybalt and is declared banished.Meanwhile, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, decides to cheer his daughter up by allowing her to marry Paris, though unknown to him, she is already married. Severely wanting to get out of this marriage and with her husband, Romeo, in a different town, Juliet seeks assistance from the priest, father Lawrence, who hands her a ‘poison’ which will mimic death for 24 hours, after her funera l she would be placed into a vault and when she awakes from her deep sleep her and Romeo would be able to run away to be together.Romeo is unaware of this plan as he is out when the messenger arrives so when his friend Balthasar learns of the death he immediately travels to tell Romeo. With Romeo thinking his love is dead he takes the risk of going back to Verona to say his final farewell to Juliet, when he arrives he is automatically spotted and the police, once Romeo had purchased poison he makes his way to the church.Soon enough, father Lawrence learns that Romeo has no idea Juliet is actually still alive. Inside the church Romeo drinks the poison which begins to kill him.. just as Juliet begins to wake, she realizes it’s too late and takes his gun to her head, Killing her instantly. Act 1 scene 1, we see several men from two families (the Capulet’s and the Montague’s) take part in a fight led by Tybalt, a Capulet and Juliet’s cousin, and Benvolio, Rom eo’s cousin and therefore a Montague.This is where we get the feel of absolute hatred between the two families. A loathing which has been passed down through generations, started between Lord Capulet, an overpowering and very controlling man and Lord Montague and equally powerful man. We are first introduced to Lord Capulet when he gets involved in a fight between Sampson, Gregory Benvolio and Tybalt. He is shown to be aggressive and confrontational because he says ‘What noise is this?Give me long sword ho! ’ as soon and he arrives. Which could indicate he doesn’t think about what he says and can be immature as well as how willing he is to get involved in the pointless feud, this is until Prince informs them ‘Once more, on pain of death, all men depart’ which implies if there is another street both Lord Capulet, Lord Montague and any other men involved will be executed, This is when Lord Capulet’s mood changes and he becomes calm.In Act 1 scene 2 Lord Capulet seems calm and willing to make peace with Lord Montague, we know this because he says ‘†¦ ‘tis not hard, I think for men so old as we to keep the peace. ’ ‘†¦ _we_ to keep the peace’ This shows he is trying to approach Lord Montague in an equal and friendly manor as he accepts there cannot be any more violent outbreaks in the streets anymore. We next see Lord Capulet in the Capulet household in the midst of a party when he is calmly talking to Paris about his daughter Juliet.Women in the Elizabethan age could refuse marriage but would be disowned by their families. In the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet thinks Juliet is ‘too young’ and ‘still a stranger to the world’ . This is showing himself to be a very caring and loving father, this could be because he has no other children and could also be the reason he treats Tybalt like the son he never had. He refuses Prince the hand of hi s daughter because he doesn’t want to lose her yet, he goes on to change his mind later in the story.In the next scene Romeo Montague gatecrashes the Capulet’s party, Lord Capulet appears to be very respected by Tybalt because when Romeo is spotted and threatened by him, Lord Capulet looks at him and says â€Å"Content thee, Gentle coz, let him alone;† He goes on to say â€Å"Here in my house do him no disparagement; Therefore be patient, take no note of him; It is my will, the which if thou respect†.This is showing himself to be a fair man, treating his family and his enemy’s son the same and shows that he is clever, powerful and respected as he doesn’t want to make a scene in public and in front of his friends and family, Surprisingly Tybalt doesn’t go against his word at all, he listens and respects the wishes of his uncle. Shakespeare is showing this man to be kind and rational, we make a judgment at this stageon how he isnâ€℠¢t reacting to the fact Romeo is his the son of his arch-rival. In this scene Lord Capulet also compliments Romeo by calling him ‘A virtuous and well governed youth’ which shows how relaxed he is about the young Montague’s presence because we couldn’t imagine him complimenting an enemy in such a way. By the next point in the story, Tybalt and Mercutio are dead and we start to get an idea of what sort of a man Lord Capulet really is.In Act 3 Scene 4 he changes his mind and allows Prince to marry Juliet for a few reasons i. e. He wants her to be married and settled to a man he approves of, He wants to be proud of her, He wants her to be married to a man who has money, is generous, powerful and respected †¦ not knowing that she is already married to Romeo. After Tybalt is killed we know Juliet is devastated because she locks herself in her room, only letting Romeo in because he appears on her balcony, unbeknown to her father.We also know Tybalt’s death isn’t the only reason for her upset the other reason she is in such shock is the fact her ‘true love’, Romeo, is the reason for Tybalt’s death although her father doesn’t know , if he knew Romeo and Juliet were married she would be disowned by him and the rest of their family. Lord Capulet decides to bring the wedding forward in order to cheer her up, we know this because he says ‘She loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly’, He sees the wedding of his only child an opportunity to lift the mood after such death in the family.Unfortunately Juliet doesn’t want to marry Prince because she is in love with the now banished, Romeo. When Lady Capulet tells Juliet of her husband’s plans for her to be wed ‘early next Thursday morn’ she is surprised but refuses and tells her mother ‘When I do marry, I swear, It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris’ , We can tell from this sentence that she hasn’t told her mother of her relationship with Romeo and that her mother thinks Juliet hates Romeo for killing Tybalt.As Lord Capulet enters her room he immediately describes her body as a ‘fountain’ and says ’in one little body thou counterfeit’s a bark, a sea, a wind, For thy eyes, which I may call the sea, Do ebb and flow with tears. Thy bark thy body is, Sailing in this salt flood. Thy winds thy sighs†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Which shows us he is concerned about her and her wellbeing, showing him to be a caring father for a split-second. He is angered when he hears that she will not bemarrying Paris and disowns her straightaway, he says unforgivable things to her such as ‘Out, you green sickness, carrion! Out you baggage! You tallow face’ he also calls her a ‘Disobedient wretch’ He goes on to say ‘Get thee to church o’ Thursday, Or never after look me in the face’ , so he’s saying she either marries Pa ris or she’ll lose her father, She has to make the decision. There is a suggestion of physical violence when Lord Capulet exclaims ‘My fingers itch.’Implying he wants to hit her for disrespecting him by disagreeing with him. He reminds her of the importance of family and marrying to obtain a high status, we know this because he says ‘And having now provided A gentleman of A noble parentage, Of fair demesnes, youthful and nobly trained, stuffed as they say, with honorable parts’ he describes Paris in this way because he is trying to persuade Juliet to marry him, its as if he doesn’t want to disown her.Lord Capulet decides that she can ‘No longer house with me’ unless she marries Paris and he would rather see her beg, starve and die in the streets than live with her if she doesn’t go through with the marriage. Lord Capulet’s behavior in this scene shocks us because we are used to seeing him as a caring and loving fathe r towards Juliet and we don’t expect him to go this far when she refuses because he has seemed like a calm man in previous scenes. It’s sad to see his behavior change this dramatically towards her because a father should look out for his daughter.It’s also sad to see because it was his decision and she hasn’t had a choice in the matter at all and the feud between the Montague’s and Capulet’s was started between the two fathers so it isn’t Juliet’s fault and she should be able to see Romeo if she wants to. During the play, the language Lord Capulet uses to describe Juliet changes a lot. In the beginning of the play he describes her as ‘still a stranger to the world’ and ‘too young to marry’ which shows he is a caring father.He is looking out for his daughter and by saying she is too young to marry, he is trying to protect her from growing up too fast. His behavior towards her changes vastly when she ref uses to marry Paris possibly because he has spent time trying to protect her and now she throws it back in his face by disagreeing with him. Although Lord Capulet is unaware of the fact she is already married, she has just delayed being disowned by her father by keeping her marriage to Romeo a secret. We notice the change immediately  because one minute he’s describing her sadness and acting like he cares about her enough to be concerned about her happiness and then he change into a stubborn and, what seems like, a care-free father .We notice the change when he says ‘What is this? â€Å"Proud† and â€Å"I thank you† and â€Å"I thank you not† And yet not â€Å"proud†? Mistress minion you. ’ We don’t think he is capable of disowning his only child but he continues to call her ‘Baggage’ and ‘Green sickness’ which shows just how upset and angry he is with her.He uses harsh words by saying ‘An you b e mine, I’ll give you my friend. An you be not, Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For, my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee, Nor what is mine shall never do thee good’ saying he no longer will want anything to do with her if she doesn’t marry Paris and he would rather see her beg, starve and die on the streets rather than give her somewhere to live and he’ll never want anything to do with her, however if she agrees to marry Paris then he will forgive her for disagreeing and she can stay living there etc.Act 4 scene 5, When Juliet is found ‘dead’ in her bedroom , Lord Capulet appears to be grief-stricken and genuinely upset even though he had said he would disown her if she didn’t marry Paris. His sadness over rules his power in this scene as he turns to Lady Capulet and says ‘ O Heaven! O wife, Look how our daughter bleeds! ’ showing that he is so upset, he doesn’t care about how he appears to any one else. We realise he doesn’t see how he is partly responsible for her ‘death’ by forcing her into a marriage just to bring joy to himself, not in fact thinking at all about what Juliet would want.If he had realised this, we may be able to feel more sympathetic towards him as he would have probably been really upset and angry with himself which, in turn, could have saved his daughter’s life when she awoke. When she does awake to find Romeo had poisoned himself, oblivious to the fact Juliet wasn’t dead at all, she shoots herself in the head with his gun so as they can be together after all, even if that means in a different life.We notice that Lord Capulet realises the feud between the two families have been to blame for the two lovers’ deaths because he offers Lord Montague his hand and overall peace between the Montague’s and Capulet’s, Again showing the loving and caring fatherly side to himself. Throughout the entire play L ord Capulet’s mood varies between a loving, concerned father and an angry, heartless, powerful man. There are 4 main points in his behaviour.In the beginning he comes across as a powerful man when he takes part in a fight , his attitude in this scene is limited as he seems to be this man who is only interested in showing the Montague family who owns the city. When he engages in a conversation with Paris about marrying Juliet, he becomes more of a caring father and try’s to look out for her by saying she is ‘Too young’ to marry and although he says she is ‘still a stranger to him ´ which suggests that he has doubts about her loyalty to him and this also shows an absence of trust in her.The next main point is when he changes again to become an angry and somewhat cold man, we think this because he feels let down and his fears of loyalty towards him are true to an extent. He decides to disown her as a daughter unless she marries Paris because he feels let down and he obviously though he was doing right by her. He says he would rather see her beg and die on the streets than stay in that house, he calls her ‘baggage’ which we can guess means she was a ‘mistake’.The last point we can gather how remorseful he is because he is totally overwhelmed with grief, we see the caring fatherly side to him for the last time in the final scene when the two lovers are found dead together in the chapel. We can tell he knows the feud has been the main reason for their deaths and rightly blames himself. We know how sorry he is when he offers peace to Lord Montague and we realise he has been a loving father and husband all the way through the play, he just thinks what he is doing (i. e. feuds, arranged marriages etc.) is all for the right reasons and he feels he is doing right by his family.He finally understands that his wants and Juliet’s wants were completely different and all that she wanted was irrelevant by him at the time. We feel sympathy for him at this final point in the play because we can see how he realises everything now and it’s now too late to make up for the mistakes he has made, The only thing he can do is make peace with his rival. Lord Capulet chose his power over his family and by doing so, two young people ended up dying, making this the perfect tragedy and love story. The Depiction of Lord Capulet in Romeo & Juliet Set in the city of Verona during the 12th/13th century, Romeo and Juliet, is a typical love story by William Shakespeare with a tragedy twist. When Romeo Montague and his friends gate-crash Lord Capulet’s party, the last thing he imagined he would do is find the love of his life, Juliet. After realising Romeo is the son of her father’s sworn enemy they decide to keep their relationship secret and get married behind her families back. When Romeo’s best friend Mercutio is stabbed and killed by Juliet’s cousin Tybalt, Romeo kills Tybalt and is declared banished.Meanwhile, Juliet’s father, Lord Capulet, decides to cheer his daughter up by allowing her to marry Paris, though unknown to him, she is already married. Severely wanting to get out of this marriage and with her husband, Romeo, in a different town, Juliet seeks assistance from the priest, father Lawrence, who hands her a ‘poison’ which will mimic death for 24 hours, after her funera l she would be placed into a vault and when she awakes from her deep sleep her and Romeo would be able to run away to be together.Romeo is unaware of this plan as he is out when the messenger arrives so when his friend Balthasar learns of the death he immediately travels to tell Romeo. With Romeo thinking his love is dead he takes the risk of going back to Verona to say his final farewell to Juliet, when he arrives he is automatically spotted and the police, once Romeo had purchased poison he makes his way to the church.Soon enough, father Lawrence learns that Romeo has no idea Juliet is actually still alive. Inside the church Romeo drinks the poison which begins to kill him.. just as Juliet begins to wake, she realizes it’s too late and takes his gun to her head, Killing her instantly. Act 1 scene 1, we see several men from two families (the Capulet’s and the Montague’s) take part in a fight led by Tybalt, a Capulet and Juliet’s cousin, and Benvolio, Rom eo’s cousin and therefore a Montague.This is where we get the feel of absolute hatred between the two families. A loathing which has been passed down through generations, started between Lord Capulet, an overpowering and very controlling man and Lord Montague and equally powerful man. We are first introduced to Lord Capulet when he gets involved in a fight between Sampson, Gregory Benvolio and Tybalt. He is shown to be aggressive and confrontational because he says ‘What noise is this?Give me long sword ho! ’ as soon and he arrives. Which could indicate he doesn’t think about what he says and can be immature as well as how willing he is to get involved in the pointless feud, this is until Prince informs them ‘Once more, on pain of death, all men depart’ which implies if there is another street both Lord Capulet, Lord Montague and any other men involved will be executed, This is when Lord Capulet’s mood changes and he becomes calm.In Act 1 scene 2 Lord Capulet seems calm and willing to make peace with Lord Montague, we know this because he says ‘†¦ ‘tis not hard, I think for men so old as we to keep the peace. ’ ‘†¦ _we_ to keep the peace’ This shows he is trying to approach Lord Montague in an equal and friendly manor as he accepts there cannot be any more violent outbreaks in the streets anymore. We next see Lord Capulet in the Capulet household in the midst of a party when he is calmly talking to Paris about his daughter Juliet.Women in the Elizabethan age could refuse marriage but would be disowned by their families. In the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, Lord Capulet thinks Juliet is ‘too young’ and ‘still a stranger to the world’ . This is showing himself to be a very caring and loving father, this could be because he has no other children and could also be the reason he treats Tybalt like the son he never had. He refuses Prince the hand of hi s daughter because he doesn’t want to lose her yet, he goes on to change his mind later in the story.In the next scene Romeo Montague gatecrashes the Capulet’s party, Lord Capulet appears to be very respected by Tybalt because when Romeo is spotted and threatened by him, Lord Capulet looks at him and says â€Å"Content thee, Gentle coz, let him alone;† He goes on to say â€Å"Here in my house do him no disparagement; Therefore be patient, take no note of him; It is my will, the which if thou respect†.This is showing himself to be a fair man, treating his family and his enemy’s son the same and shows that he is clever, powerful and respected as he doesn’t want to make a scene in public and in front of his friends and family, Surprisingly Tybalt doesn’t go against his word at all, he listens and respects the wishes of his uncle. Shakespeare is showing this man to be kind and rational, we make a judgment at this stageon how he isnâ€℠¢t reacting to the fact Romeo is his the son of his arch-rival. In this scene Lord Capulet also compliments Romeo by calling him ‘A virtuous and well governed youth’ which shows how relaxed he is about the young Montague’s presence because we couldn’t imagine him complimenting an enemy in such a way. By the next point in the story, Tybalt and Mercutio are dead and we start to get an idea of what sort of a man Lord Capulet really is.In Act 3 Scene 4 he changes his mind and allows Prince to marry Juliet for a few reasons i. e. He wants her to be married and settled to a man he approves of, He wants to be proud of her, He wants her to be married to a man who has money, is generous, powerful and respected †¦ not knowing that she is already married to Romeo. After Tybalt is killed we know Juliet is devastated because she locks herself in her room, only letting Romeo in because he appears on her balcony, unbeknown to her father.We also know Tybalt’s death isn’t the only reason for her upset the other reason she is in such shock is the fact her ‘true love’, Romeo, is the reason for Tybalt’s death although her father doesn’t know , if he knew Romeo and Juliet were married she would be disowned by him and the rest of their family. Lord Capulet decides to bring the wedding forward in order to cheer her up, we know this because he says ‘She loved her kinsman Tybalt dearly’, He sees the wedding of his only child an opportunity to lift the mood after such death in the family.Unfortunately Juliet doesn’t want to marry Prince because she is in love with the now banished, Romeo. When Lady Capulet tells Juliet of her husband’s plans for her to be wed ‘early next Thursday morn’ she is surprised but refuses and tells her mother ‘When I do marry, I swear, It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris’ , We can tell from this sentence that she hasn’t told her mother of her relationship with Romeo and that her mother thinks Juliet hates Romeo for killing Tybalt.As Lord Capulet enters her room he immediately describes her body as a ‘fountain’ and says ’in one little body thou counterfeit’s a bark, a sea, a wind, For thy eyes, which I may call the sea, Do ebb and flow with tears. Thy bark thy body is, Sailing in this salt flood. Thy winds thy sighs†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Which shows us he is concerned about her and her wellbeing, showing him to be a caring father for a split-second. He is angered when he hears that she will not bemarrying Paris and disowns her straightaway, he says unforgivable things to her such as ‘Out, you green sickness, carrion! Out you baggage! You tallow face’ he also calls her a ‘Disobedient wretch’ He goes on to say ‘Get thee to church o’ Thursday, Or never after look me in the face’ , so he’s saying she either marries Pa ris or she’ll lose her father, She has to make the decision. There is a suggestion of physical violence when Lord Capulet exclaims ‘My fingers itch.’Implying he wants to hit her for disrespecting him by disagreeing with him. He reminds her of the importance of family and marrying to obtain a high status, we know this because he says ‘And having now provided A gentleman of A noble parentage, Of fair demesnes, youthful and nobly trained, stuffed as they say, with honorable parts’ he describes Paris in this way because he is trying to persuade Juliet to marry him, its as if he doesn’t want to disown her.Lord Capulet decides that she can ‘No longer house with me’ unless she marries Paris and he would rather see her beg, starve and die in the streets than live with her if she doesn’t go through with the marriage. Lord Capulet’s behavior in this scene shocks us because we are used to seeing him as a caring and loving fathe r towards Juliet and we don’t expect him to go this far when she refuses because he has seemed like a calm man in previous scenes. It’s sad to see his behavior change this dramatically towards her because a father should look out for his daughter.It’s also sad to see because it was his decision and she hasn’t had a choice in the matter at all and the feud between the Montague’s and Capulet’s was started between the two fathers so it isn’t Juliet’s fault and she should be able to see Romeo if she wants to. During the play, the language Lord Capulet uses to describe Juliet changes a lot. In the beginning of the play he describes her as ‘still a stranger to the world’ and ‘too young to marry’ which shows he is a caring father.He is looking out for his daughter and by saying she is too young to marry, he is trying to protect her from growing up too fast. His behavior towards her changes vastly when she ref uses to marry Paris possibly because he has spent time trying to protect her and now she throws it back in his face by disagreeing with him. Although Lord Capulet is unaware of the fact she is already married, she has just delayed being disowned by her father by keeping her marriage to Romeo a secret.We notice the change immediately  because one minute he’s describing her sadness and acting like he cares about her enough to be concerned about her happiness and then he change into a stubborn and, what seems like, a care-free father . We notice the change when he says ‘What is this? â€Å"Proud† and â€Å"I thank you† and â€Å"I thank you not† And yet not â€Å"proud†? Mistress minion you. ’ We don’t think he is capable of disowning his only child but he continues to call her ‘Baggage’ and ‘Green sickness’ which shows just how upset and angry he is with her.He uses harsh words by saying ‘An you b e mine, I’ll give you my friend. An you be not, Hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, For, my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee, Nor what is mine shall never do thee good’ saying he no longer will want anything to do with her if she doesn’t marry Paris and he would rather see her beg, starve and die on the streets rather than give her somewhere to live and he’ll never want anything to do with her, however if she agrees to marry Paris then he will forgive her for disagreeing and she can stay living there etc.Act 4 scene 5, When Juliet is found ‘dead’ in her bedroom , Lord Capulet appears to be grief-stricken and genuinely upset even though he had said he would disown her if she didn’t marry Paris. His sadness over rules his power in this scene as he turns to Lady Capulet and says ‘ O Heaven! O wife, Look how our daughter bleeds! ’ showing that he is so upset, he doesn’t care about how he appears to any one else. We realise he doesn’t see how he is partly responsible for her ‘death’ by forcing her into a marriage just to bring joy to himself, not in fact thinking at all about what Juliet would want.If he had realised this, we may be able to feel more sympathetic towards him as he would have probably been really upset and angry with himself which, in turn, could have saved his daughter’s life when she awoke. When she does awake to find Romeo had poisoned himself, oblivious to the fact Juliet wasn’t dead at all, she shoots herself in the head with his gun so as they can be together after all, even if that means in a different life.We notice that Lord Capulet realises the feud between the two families have been to blame for the two lovers’ deaths because he offers Lord Montague his hand and overall peace between the Montague’s and Capulet’s, Again showing the loving and caring fatherly side to himself. Throughout the entire play L ord Capulet’s mood varies between a loving, concerned father and an angry, heartless, powerful man. There are 4 main points in his behaviour.In the beginning he comes across as a powerful man when he takes part in a fight , his attitude in this scene is limited as he seems to be this man who is only interested in showing the Montague family who owns the city. When he engages in a conversation with Paris about marrying Juliet, he becomes more of a caring father and try’s to look out for her by saying she is ‘Too young’ to marry and although he says she is ‘still a stranger to him? which suggests that he has doubts about her loyalty to him and this also shows an absence of trust in her.The next main point is when he changes again to become an angry and somewhat cold man, we think this because he feels let down and his fears of loyalty towards him are true to an extent. He decides to disown her as a daughter unless she marries Paris because he feels let down and he obviously though he was doing right by her. He says he would rather see her beg and die on the streets than stay in that house, he calls her ‘baggage’ which we can guess means she was a ‘mistake’.The last point we can gather how remorseful he is because he is totally overwhelmed with grief, we see the caring fatherly side to him for the last time in the final scene when the two lovers are found dead together in the chapel. We can tell he knows the feud has been the main reason for their deaths and rightly blames himself. We know how sorry he is when he offers peace to Lord Montague and we realise he has been a loving father and husband all the way through the play, he just thinks what he is doing (i. e. feuds, arranged marriages etc.) is all for the right reasons and he feels he is doing right by his family.He finally understands that his wants and Juliet’s wants were completely different and all that she wanted was irrelevant by him at the time. We feel sympathy for him at this final point in the play because we can see how he realises everything now and it’s now too late to make up for the mistakes he has made, The only thing he can do is make peace with his rival. Lord Capulet chose his power over his family and by doing so, two young people ended up dying, making this the perfect tragedy and love story.

Iron Crowned Chapter 24

â€Å"What?† exclaimed Jasmine. I didn't share her concern. â€Å"Damn it. I should have banished you the first time I saw you. I don't have time for this, not with everything else. You should be in the Underworld by now. Kiyo isn't going to kill me.† â€Å"I'm serious!† said Deanna, as frantic as a ghost could get. â€Å"You're in danger!† I shook my head. â€Å"Look, I'm sorry about your husband †¦ really, I am. But not every guy is homicidal. Don't transfer this to me.† â€Å"I'm not! This is real. I was going to move on after †¦ after †¦ well, after my husband was arrested†¦.† There was a mournful pause. Her story had come to a close, but it hadn't had a happy ending. â€Å"I wanted to say good-bye formally and went looking for you †¦ but found Kiyo instead †¦Ã¢â‚¬  I put my hands on my hips, wishing I'd brought my wand. I did not need a delusional ghost, not with everything else right now. â€Å"And then he said he was going to kill me?† â€Å"No. He told that other queen he would.† That cut off my snark, leaving me speechless for a moment. â€Å"What other queen?† demanded Jasmine. â€Å"The blond one. The Willow Queen.† Jasmine and I exchanged looks. Suddenly, Deanna's crazy statements had become slightly less crazy. â€Å"What exactly did you overhear?† I asked quietly. â€Å"He told her you were pregnant and that you'd have an abortion if it was a boy †¦ but that he was concerned. He was worried because you hadn't just done it already.† Deanna looked back and forth between our faces, desperate for either of us to believe her. â€Å"He said it was probably just shock and that you'd ‘do the right thing,' but that if you didn't †¦ well, Maiwenn said they'd have to make you lose the baby. Or †¦ if that didn't work †¦ that Kiyo would kill you.† â€Å"That's insane,† I said. â€Å"Kiyo wouldn't kill me.† â€Å"Kiyo doesn't want the prophecy to come true,† said Jasmine. â€Å"It's not that insane.† I turned on her. â€Å"He loves me. This whole idea †¦ it's ridiculous.† â€Å"Why would I lie?† said Deanna. â€Å"You helped me. I'm helping you by warning you before I move on to the next world. I'm telling you, I heard them. Kiyo swore he'd make sure the prophecy couldn't be fulfilled.† â€Å"Kiyo. Loves. Me.† â€Å"Dorian loves you too,† pointed out Jasmine. â€Å"And look what he did. When you think about it, Kiyo's the type who'd think one tragic loss of life was worth saving many. Or something stupid like that.† â€Å"He would.† Admitting it surprised me, and yet †¦ as the meaning of Deanna's words sank deeper and deeper, I remembered my first meeting with Kiyo. He'd found me on Maiwenn's orders. They hadn't known what kind of person I was, if I'd wanted to fulfill the prophecy or not. He'd never said so explicitly, but my impression had been that both were willing to go to extreme means to stop Storm King's heir from being born. Our relationship had obviously changed since then, but maybe †¦ maybe some things hadn't†¦. â€Å"But he wouldn't go that far,† I finished. â€Å"Do you want to take that chance?† asked Jasmine softly. â€Å"Maybe he wouldn't really kill you, but you heard what he said about Maiwenn's ‘magic' abortion.† What had Deanna claimed? That Kiyo and Maiwenn had planned to make me terminate the pregnancy if I wouldn't willingly? â€Å"We just need to talk,† I said, hoping I sounded convincing. My next words gave me away. â€Å"Somewhere I know I'm safe.† â€Å"Kiyo's in the waiting room,† said Jasmine, seeing that I was finally taking this seriously. â€Å"Is this a safe place?† â€Å"Probably not.† I had finished getting dressed. â€Å"There must be a back door. There's always a back door. We'll go †¦ we'll go home. I'll get my weapons, and then we'll go to the Otherworld. He and I can talk about this reasonably in the Thorn Land. I'll be safe there.† â€Å"You'll never make it there,† said Deanna. I'd practically forgotten about her. â€Å"He can follow you. As soon as you leave here, he'll know and come after you.† â€Å"How could he – â€Å" I lightly touched my upper arm, the spot where Kiyo's nails had barely dug in the other night. I took a deep, shaking breath. â€Å"He marked me,† I said. He'd scratched me the first night we'd met too, leaving a long-healing wound that allowed him to track me wherever I went. This one was smaller but would work just as well. Jasmine was already moving toward the door, so full of tension and purpose that she seemed much older. â€Å"We'll just go straight to the Otherworld then. You'll be safe there. Where's the nearest gateway?† I racked my brain, thinking of our location. â€Å"By Morriswood Park. Farther than I'd like.† â€Å"Well, we have to go soon. If we stay here any longer, the doctor'll come ask what's wrong,† said Jasmine. â€Å"And we can't let Kiyo find us in the parking lot.† â€Å"You'll never make it to the park in time,† wailed Deanna. I scowled, but she was right. Jasmine looked at me questioningly. For a moment, I considered calling Volusian, but he might happily kill Kiyo and claim it was in my defense. I wasn't ready for that. â€Å"I know where we can go,† I said. â€Å"Come on.† We left the exam room, stepping out into the hallway. I turned with purpose, opposite the direction of the waiting room we'd entered from. This took us deeper into the clinic, past more examining rooms and their lab. A couple staff members passed us, but we walked confidently enough that no one stopped us. They probably assumed we'd been directed somewhere. Meanwhile, my eyes were searching for an exit sign. There had to be a back door. Surely hypocritical health professionals had to go somewhere to smoke. â€Å"There.† I nodded toward an exit sign, praying it didn't lead to a fire door, which would be of no use to us. Nope. It was just an ordinary door, one probably used for maintenance or shipments. Someone did notice us then and start to ask what we were doing, but by then, we were outside and behind the building. â€Å"Eugenie, where are we going?† asked Jasmine anxiously. Deanna had faded away, perhaps now finally leaving this world after fulfilling what she believed to be her last duty. As we walked briskly toward my car, some part of me kept wanting to think she'd lied. But why? As she'd said, she had no reason. She'd held true to me before. And with every passing second, I grew more and more conflicted, wondering what I should believe. Kiyo loved me. He'd gone out of his way to win me back †¦ but he was firmly set on protecting the human world. At any cost? We'd see. Deanna was mistaken; she had to be. My worst fate was probably going to be Kiyo's talking me to death. We got in the car, and I did briefly consider trying to make a break for Morriswood Park and its Otherworldly gate. After all, what was Kiyo going to do? Get in a high speed chase with us? The thing was, with that mark, he would be able to track me. He could probably feel me moving away now. If we headed anywhere near the park he'd figure it out. He'd either try to beat us there or just catch up with us on the other side. No, I had to go somewhere else. Somewhere with protection. Somewhere I could be sure I was safe until all of this madness was settled. Jasmine's face grew increasingly troubled as we drove away from the doctor's office. She kept glancing back, as though expecting to see Kiyo right on our bumper. When we turned into a suburban neighborhood, her worry shifted to confusion. â€Å"What is this?† â€Å"Home,† I replied, pulling into the driveway of a well-kept house surrounded by trees and flowers. A fence enclosed the backyard but couldn't hide the efforts someone had made to turn a Tucson backyard into something lush and green. The gate in the fence was unlocked as I'd known it would be. The yard was unoccupied, save for birds and insects. The house's patio door had its glass open, covered only by a screen that let in the afternoon air. It too would be unlocked. â€Å"Kiyo won't really do it,† I muttered, as I jerked the door open. â€Å"Maybe he's upset †¦ but we can talk this out. Deanna overreacted. We're overreacting.† We stepped into a small breakfast nook, and in the adjacent kitchen, a man spun around. My heart leapt when I saw him. The familiar, kind face. The graying hair. The tattoos of whorls and fishes. It felt like a lifetime since our last meeting. Roland. I'd gone to my parents' house. Roland's reactions were those of a man who'd spent years fighting and training, but even that didn't prepare him for the sight of us. Astonishment filled his features, quickly giving way to outrage. â€Å"Eugenie! What are you – â€Å" â€Å"Get your weapons,† I ordered, casting an uneasy glance behind me. Jasmine followed as I strode toward him. â€Å"Whatever you've got in the house.† He didn't move. â€Å"You know you're not – â€Å" â€Å"Get them!† I exclaimed. â€Å"We don't have time for this!† I don't know what look I wore on my face, but it was enough to pierce the walls of hurt and anger he'd built between us since learning of my involvement in the Otherworld. I'd taken a risk coming here, a gamble that no matter what happened, Roland would protect me. And I was right. He transformed before my eyes, suddenly the concerned and caring stepfather I'd grown up with. â€Å"What's – â€Å" Before he could finish, the screen door flew open. Kiyo stood there, face dark and stormy. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?† he demanded. â€Å"Why did you take off?† â€Å"You first,† I said, taking a step back toward Roland. â€Å"What are you doing?† Jasmine moved to my other side. My eyes were on Kiyo, but I could sense Roland bracing for battle. Maybe he didn't know what was going on, but anyone could have seen how dangerous Kiyo was. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you, and you disappeared!† Kiyo moved forward a little but stopped, recognizing the united front that Roland and I – and yes, even Jasmine – presented. â€Å"Talk? Is that all you wanted to do?† â€Å"Yes. Of course.† Kiyo glanced between all of us. â€Å"You promised, Eugenie. You promised if it was a boy, you'd get rid of it.† â€Å"There's a girl too!† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can't get rid of one without the other.† â€Å"It doesn't matter,† he said. â€Å"The consequences are too big.† â€Å"I can't kill an innocent. She hasn't done anything.† â€Å"Not directly. Letting her live means he lives. And there's nothing innocent there. He can't live. Eugenie, you know that. I'm not trying to be cruel. Please. Do what's right.† Jasmine and Roland remained silent as this drama played out. Meanwhile, I realized how sickened the language of this whole matter continued to make me. Get rid of it. He can't live. â€Å"You're so quick to kill your own children,† I said in disbelief, echoing what Jasmine had said a few days before. â€Å"Don't you feel any remorse? You know better than me what it's like to be a parent!† â€Å"Yes,† he said, clenching his fists. â€Å"I do know. And it's amazing. I wish you could know what it's like†¦.† â€Å"But I can't? I can't have the same chance you and Maiwenn had?† Kiyo shook his head. â€Å"You aren't the same as Maiwenn. You can't ever be.† It was like a gut-punch. I was stunned into silence, and a bit of his fierceness eased. I think he read my reaction as acceptance. â€Å"Look, I don't get this,† he said. â€Å"I don't get why you're resisting all of this after what you've always said! You never wanted a baby – any baby. If you've changed your mind, then †¦ well, try again. You just can't have these.† â€Å"And what then? I just keep having abortions until a girl comes along? What kind of a sick bastard are you?† I moved forward without realizing it, my anger exploding. Roland put a hand on my arm, keeping me back. It wasn't affection. It was a warning. It was defensive strategy, keeping us together. â€Å"I'm trying to protect the human world,† Kiyo said. He hadn't come any closer, but he was as ready as we were, his reflexes even faster. â€Å"And you should be too.† â€Å"And what happens if I don't do what you want?† I asked quietly. Here it was, the moment of truth. He sighed. â€Å"I don't want it to come to that.† â€Å"To what?† My voice rose sharply, the anguish in me ready to explode. â€Å"What will you do?† â€Å"I'll take you to Maiwenn – by force. And then †¦ and then she'll take care of it.† â€Å"The hell you will,† I said. Goddamnit, I wished I had a weapon. I almost always traveled with them – but not to the doctor's office. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roland's hand rest on the counter and wrap around something. A wand. He'd had his wand in the kitchen. But of course he would. Unlike me, he hadn't become careless. â€Å"I'll never let that happen. You guys aren't going to experiment on me!† Kiyo's face displayed a mix of emotions. There was sorrow and disappointment. He did care. He didn't want this fight between us – but he also believed in his greater good. He believed he had to do anything to stop the prophecy, and I knew then that Deanna had spoken the truth. Ideally, he just wanted the pregnancy to end. If that wasn't possible, then I was what needed to be eliminated. â€Å"How can you do this?† he asked, his voice both a threat and a plea. â€Å"How can you risk all this – just to save one life?† It was only in that moment, as the words left my lips, that I learned the truth about myself, what I'd been holding deep inside. The girl and boy thing didn't matter. Only the heartbeats did – those tiny, rapid heartbeats pounding in my ears †¦ â€Å"I'm not,† I told him. â€Å"I'm saving two lives.† I sealed my fate with that. Kiyo moved so fast that I wasn't prepared for the attack. He sprang toward me, shape-shifting as he did into his giant fox form, fangs out, snarling. A blast of wind slowed – but didn't stop – his leap, providing enough time for Roland to jerk me out of the way. The wind magic hadn't come from me. It had been Jasmine, which was why the power hadn't packed much of a punch. The unaccustomed magic left her gasping, but it had been enough to buy us a brief escape. Roland pulled me out of the kitchen, out to where we had more space to maneuver in the living room. Kiyo followed without hesitation, all brute strength and speed. â€Å"He can be banished,† I gasped out to Roland. â€Å"The same as a gentry.† Roland gave a brisk nod of acknowledgment. He already knew this, but in the sudden flurry, he didn't have the necessary pause to do a full banishing. Kiyo reached us, throwing himself on me and pushing me away from Roland. I fell hard to the ground, Kiyo's weight pinning me there. As quickly as he'd turned fox, he transformed back into a man. Still displaying amazing speed, he pulled me up by the arm. I didn't know if his intentions were simply to cart me out of the house or to attempt a world-jump then and there, but I didn't give him the chance. I'd recovered my senses and took hold of my magic. The air grew thick, and a hurricane-worthy gust blasted him away – along with a substantial part of my parents' furniture. Kiyo grimaced as he regained his footing and agonizingly took one step at a time toward me. â€Å"Damn it!† he yelled over the roar of the wind. â€Å"Stop this!† â€Å"You stop this!† I shouted back. The magic burned in my blood, and no matter how annoyingly weak the pregnancy had made me, my power hadn't diminished too much. â€Å"We don't even know that this prophecy's real! I've already met one fake seeress. It could all be for nothing.† Roland and my mother had once told me that prophecies were a dime a dozen in the Otherworld, and I'd seen that to a certain extent. Until now, I'd never wanted to take the chance that mine wouldn't come true. â€Å"But we don't know!† Kiyo countered. I could see the irritation on his face. I was keeping a storm raging around me, one that held him at bay while hopefully Roland began a banishing. â€Å"We can't risk it. Please. Please come back with me to Maiwenn. We'll fix this.† I didn't answer and instead kept the storm going. My gaze stayed on Kiyo, but I felt the tingle of shamanic magic – human magic – beginning to glimmer. Roland was indeed performing a banishing spell. Kiyo transformed into a fox again, and with that extra strength, he managed to push through the storm-shield around me and knock me to the ground again. He stayed as a fox this time, holding onto that strength. His teeth bit into my shirt, through to my shoulder, and I yelled out in pain. My magic wavered, and to my astonishment, he began dragging me – slowly – across the living room. His progress was halted when a small end table slammed into his back. I tell you, those things are lethal. Instinctively, he reared up against his attacker: Jasmine. He shoved her away, and she stumbled back. Snarling, Kiyo returned to me, and I had the uneasy feeling my odds were getting worse as to whether he'd cart me away or just kill me. He could hold on to human thoughts in fox form, but they became increasingly influenced by animal reactions the longer he stayed transformed. He suddenly looked away from me, gold eyes on Roland, who stood planted firmly across the room with his wand extended. I'd sensed the banishing earlier because of my training. Now, with the spell in full force, Kiyo could feel it too. Abandoning me for the new threat, Kiyo raced toward Roland. I screamed as all that animal power slammed into my stepfather, pinning him against the wall. The wand flew from Roland's hand. The banishing spell disintegrated. Kiyo shifted to human form again, still trapping Roland. Roland was strong but couldn't match Kiyo's strength. Struggling was useless. â€Å"Stop it,† cried Kiyo. â€Å"Both of you.† His arm pressed against Roland's neck. Roland managed a gasp as the grip cut off his air. Immediately, I let the storm magic around me drop. As I did, I felt that Jasmine had been lending her strength to me without me even realizing it. She too ceased her wielding and struggled up from where she'd been knocked down, coming to stand with me once again. The room fell eerily still. â€Å"Let him go,† I growled, moving slightly forward. I knew I couldn't win against Kiyo in a physical fight, but I also couldn't let him harm Roland. â€Å"This isn't about him. Don't hurt him.† â€Å"Believe me,† said Kiyo, â€Å"I don't want to.† His eyes were dark and human again, but there was still some feral glint in there. â€Å"Come with me, and I'll release him.† â€Å"Come with you,† I said flatly. â€Å"To Maiwenn's?† â€Å"You'll thank me later,† said Kiyo. My mind raced frantically. Roland was struggling for breath. How much longer did he have? Would Kiyo really kill him? I wondered if I could get off another blast of magic. Another attack of wind? Lightning? I could create a controlled bolt indoors, but it'd probably kill both men. And if I went with Kiyo †¦ let him take me to Maiwenn †¦ well. There'd be no getting out of that, no escape. Roland looked ready to pass out. His blue eyes were fixed on me, and then, quickly, he glanced toward my feet. I thought it was him about to lose consciousness, but then I saw the purpose in his eyes. His wand was near my feet, within easy reach. I didn't let on to Kiyo that I'd noticed. Roland's eyes returned to me, some message there. â€Å"Please,† I begged, wondering frantically what Roland wanted me to do. â€Å"Let him go.† I couldn't pull off a banishing spell. There wasn't enough time. Kiyo would release Roland, true, but then I'd be the one attacked again. I honestly didn't know how long Kiyo would play it safe. He was attempting â€Å"reasonable† solutions: force me to go to Maiwenn, blackmail with Roland, et cetera. Sooner or later, if he truly believed the prophecy's threat, he would simply eliminate me. Roland was still staring at me, still wanting me to do something he thought would save us. He'd trained me. Surely I could figure it out. I had to. What could a wand do? It cast spells. It banished creatures, sending them out of this world†¦. I felt my eyes widen. I knew what he was telling me to do. Doing it would save him, I was certain, because Kiyo would release him and come after me †¦ into the Otherworld. Roland wanted me to open a gateway for myself. I could do it. It was a fast spell, one I had the power for. Forcing another being through was what took so much time and effort. But opening the gate and stepping through? That could be done quickly. If it could be done. Getting in was easy. Passing through the worlds unassisted was hard, and I'd even had trouble going through fixed, physical gates lately in my weakened state. Making a blind, unaided transition might not even be possible for me. I'd done it once before, and it had required a lot of power. And dear God, had it hurt. If I could do it, though †¦ I'd get away from Kiyo, and Kiyo would let Roland go in order to chase me down. This could buy me the time to flee to safety. The only thing that might make it possible was that I had anchors in the Otherworld to help pull me in. If I jumped with no solid destination, I could end up trapped between the worlds, my essence disintegrated. Hell, that might still happen, but an anchor would reduce the likelihood. I didn't know where I was in relation to the Otherworld's layout, but the closest anchor would pull me in if this worked. Time to find out. With speed that rivaled Kiyo's, I reached for the wand and then grabbed hold of Jasmine's hand. Bringing her only made my task more difficult, but I wouldn't leave her to Kiyo. With the wand, I summoned the necessary magic and ripped open a gate to the Otherworld. Kiyo realized what was happening and released Roland, trying to reach me – but it was too late. I threw myself into the opening, clinging to Jasmine, and knew it would shut immediately behind us, simply because I couldn't hold open a personal gate for long. It felt just as painful as last time, like I was crashing through the floors in a building. Down, down, down. Smash, smash, smash. Each layer was more agonizing than the last, and with each blow, I felt like I was being torn apart. It was likely I was, and I would destroy Jasmine with me, ripping our souls from our bodies. Then, I sensed a tug. My soul turned toward it, and I felt my fractured self coalesce and become whole, even as that falling, excruciating sensation continued. Then – there was only one impact left: a real one. Jasmine and I slammed into a hard stone floor. My body cried out at the pain. True, physical pain. I had already been hurting from the fight with Kiyo, and now, crashing through the worlds had taken that pain to new levels. Nausea welled up in me, and I fought hard not to throw up. I could hear Jasmine whimpering, but the sights around us were a blur as my disoriented mind tried to get a hold of itself. Finally, the world came into focus, the colors and lines growing sharp once more. A faint hum of magic in the air, one that was always present, told me I'd made it intact to the Otherworld. And Dorian was looking down at me.