EmilieEmber

Content Warning: The following chapter includes depictions of violence and blood. It's not particularly graphic, and I don't think there's enough of it to require putting a content warning on the whole book, but it is present.

Melissa shifted nervously on her horse, one arm across her midsection - beneath her breasts - and the other clutching desperately at the reins.

They’d left the city walls behind almost an hour ago, heading out and onto a forest road. They had been lucky enough not to pass anyone, yet, but Melissa was sure that their luck wouldn’t hold. There’d be witnesses; there’d be a trail. Melissa knew that, but she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

There was another, more pressing problem, though.

“Lonna?” Melissa called, nudging her horse forward.

Lonna had taken the lead in their flight, and was riding a horse the color of roasted chestnuts. Melissa’s own dun stallion was eager to get close, the horses whickering to each other as Melissa drew near.

“Lonna?” Melissa called, again.

“You’re going to fall off if you don’t hold on,” Lonna warned, yellow eyes flicking to Melissa, and then back to the road in front of her.

“Lonna. I need to talk to you.”

“If this is about what happened in town, then keep your mouth shut. I don’t want to talk about it.” Lonna’s lips twisted into a scowl as she spoke; she was still looking straight ahead, rather than at Melissa.

“No, it’s not that...  It’s…” A slow blush started to cross Melissa’s cheeks. “It’s just. Can we stop for a bit? Being on horseback without a bra is killing me, and also I really need to pee?”

Lonna’s head snapped around to face Melissa. 

“You… We’re being hunted, and you want to stop and pee? And what’s a bra, anyway?”

“Well, I usually go in the morning, and before bed, but with everything going on, I just…” Melissa trailed off, blushing bright red. “And uh. A bra is like. Something that cups your breasts, and stops them from bouncing all about?”

“You’ve been riding a horse without a breast band this entire time!?” Lonna demanded, voice rising in pitch. “We were galloping! Have you just - have you just been keeping your arm under your chest, the whole way!?”

“Maybe…” Melissa admitted. “My legs are pretty strong, now, so I just sort of gripped the horse with them? And it seems to have been working, but my arm is getting tired, and my chest is really sore, and… I do kinda have a bra on me?”

“...You…  I was under the impression that you didn’t have breasts in your last life?” Lonna asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… I was sort of…” Melissa gestured awkwardly, with the hand holding the reins. “There was a laundry mix up? And I was holding it when you transferred me, so…” Reluctantly pulling her arm out from under her breasts, Melissa reached into the pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out a crumpled pink bra.

Lonna took one look at it, and then shook her head. “There’s no way that’s going to fit you…” she pointed out. “...But I guess a too tight breast band’s better than nothing, if we’re riding a horse.” Lonna brought her horse to the side of the road, stopping it there. Melissa did the same, and Talith - seeing this - pulled his riding drake to the other side, before dismounting and walking toward them.

“Why are we stopping?” Talith asked, his stone monobrow furrowing in worry as he looked about.

“The heroine needs to pee,” was Lonna’s dry response. “And put on a breast band.”

“Well, let’s be quick about it,” Talith sighed. “I’ll lead you into the forest, and you can take care of business.”

“Um… Actually… Can Lonna come with me?” Melissa asked, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “I. Kinda might need help putting on the bra?”

“And you want Lonna to do it?” Talith asked, arching his monobrow on one side. “You’d rather have a woman see you without your top then another man? Is this because I’m an androphile? Because trust me - you do not pique my interests.”

“What? No! I didn’t even know you liked guys. It’s just… Well… The hooks are kinda small?” Melissa explained, awkwardly. “Your fingers are kind of. Huge. And yeah, I sort of didn’t want to see a man looking at… You know...”

“The body of another man?” Talith suggested, monobrow still quirked.

“...Sorry. You can do it if you want?”

“I swear by every Majesty Tree there is, if you two keep wasting time on something this stupid I’ll roast the both of you,” Lonna declared, scowling. “Now someone help me off my horse? Apparently I need to 'support' the heroine.”

“...Fine.” Talith moved, even as he spoke, wrapping two hands and all six of his fingers around Lonna’s waist, before lifting her up and placing her delicately on the ground.

Melissa dismounted herself, stumbling a little when her feet hit the ground. Her inner thighs were sore from riding, even though it had barely been more than an hour. She was not looking forward to riding more.

“Come on,” Lonna called, gesturing for Melissa to follow her, off the road and into the woods.

Melissa followed, until they were deep enough into the treeline that they couldn’t face the road, and Lonna had come to a stop.

“I’m just going to face away from you,” Lonna declared, “so take care of your business, and let me know when you’re ready.”

Melissa nodded, a faint blush on her cheeks as she looked about the woods. She found a spot, quickly “taking care of business,” while trying not to think about how weird it was to be doing this as a girl. Then, after pulling her boxers and sweatpants back on, she stripped off her pink shirt.

Thanks to her new height, bigger muscles, and new breasts, the fabric felt practically painted to her skin. It was difficult to peel off, without ripping, and Lonna’s impatient toe tapping didn’t help anything. Eventually, however, she managed to pull it over her head.

Then came the bra. The cups were too small, and the band barely reached around her back, but she could just barely get the hooks to touch, but she couldn’t seem to maneuver them into position to clasp on.

“A little help?” Melissa called, turning so that her back was to Lonna.

“...What kind of heroine loses a battle against an elastic band?” Lonna demanded. 

A moment later, though, Melissa felt small hands press against her own, taking the clasps from her and slipping them into place. “There. Done. Now put your shirt back on, or you won’t even be able to enter the next town.”

Melissa nodded, pulling the shirt over her head, and forcing her arms through the too tight cloth. It took a few tugs, and she heard a few stitches popping, but the clothes did get over her.

It was even less comfortable than before, though.

“What am I going to do with you?” Lonna muttered, shaking her head.

“You could… try a little more respect, maybe?” Melissa suggested.

Lonna stopped, mouth opening and closing, before snapping shut. 

“What did you say?” she asked, teeth gritted together.

“I said you could treat me with more respect? You called me useless earlier; I’m not useless. I’m just sort of… I’m not used to this. But I’m not useless. I might not be able to punch as hard as Talith, or use magic like you. I don’t have anything you’d consider common sense, in this world, either.

“I’m probably not the heroine you wanted, either. Even if I do end up being able to defeat Sorissa, I know I can’t be the girl you wanted… I know that… but. I’m smart? I mean, I think I am - I got into a good college, anyway, and I’ve always gotten good grades.”

“College. Like where the big brainy types go and learn? You were in one of those?” Lonna asked. She sounded almost impressed.

“It’s more common for people to go in my world, but... Yeah. I majored in history, and minored in botany, with a focus on medieval herbalism. So far, a lot of the plants around here seem the same as my world - so if you ever need help foraging for edible berries, or medical herbs, I’m your girl.”

Melissa smiled, as she spoke. For some reason, Lonna’s cheeks darkened, though, and she turned her face away from Melissa. “I’ll keep it in mind. Plants are dangerous in this world, though - so don’t go checking any of them out without me, alright?”

“Okay? I promise,” Melissa agreed. “Are there a lot of poisonous plants around or something?”

“What? No. I mean how they sometimes turn into monsters and attack people,” Lonna explained. “Now come on. Talith’s probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”

With that, Lonna’s cloaked green figure began to move back toward the road. 

Melissa hesitated for a moment, before following, catching up right before they were on the road.

“The heroine’s going to need new clothes,” Lonna declared, the moment Talith was in earshot. “We’ll have to pick some up when we get to Koleff.”

“Koleff?” Talith asked, narrowing his eye sockets. “I thought we’d be going off road, not traveling to a major town.”

“Going off road would only slow us down,” Lonna declared, dismissively.

“And if the Queen has sent word to Koleff?” Talith demanded, crossing a pair of arms long enough to hang most of the way to the ground.

“I’ll look for a poster at the gate before bringing Melissa in,” Lonna promised. “But I happen to know that the countess of Koleff has long hated the queen, ever since Sorissa killed the Countess’s brother. Whenever Sorissa sends her a missive, she always drags her feet.”

“And how do you know that?” Talith asked, the slit of his mouth pulling downward into a frown.

“I know a girl,” Lonna said, waving the question away. “Look. There are four major roads from Koleff, and a seaport. It’s the perfect place for us to elude them.”

“What if they’re using magic to track us, though?” Melissa asked, a little concerned. “I mean. They managed to figure out what I look like? So maybe they have some sort of - do you guys know what ‘scrying’ is?”

“...Scrying?” Lonna shook her head. “What’s that?”

“Like. Looking people up in a magic mirror?”

“...That would be a nightmare, wouldn’t it?” Lonna laughed. “If Sorissa could do that, she would already have caught us by now, surely?”

“She does know what Melissa looks like, though,” Talith pointed out, concern rising in his voice.

“Okay, yeah, but we called her with an extremely powerful ritual spell. If she can do this ‘scrying,’ she probably just keyed in on that. Trust me - If Sorissa could do magic of that nature? There’s no way any of us would be walking free.”

***

Laying back on her bed, cradling a crystalline egg against her breast, Sorissa smiled at the three dimensional image held within: three figures, two horses, and a riding drake. 

Within the image, Lonna was currently being helped onto the horse by the brutish Laspi - the one who she insisted on treating like an equal, for some reason. What was his name?  Something with a T?

Lonna was shooing T’s hand away, now that she was situated, slipping her boots into the stirrups. She looked so much like a little girl, riding on that big horse, that Sorissa simply had to smile.

The smile turned into a frown, when the door to her bedroom was thrown open.

A redheaded woman was standing in the doorway, holding a sword and panting heavily. There was bright red blood splashed across the white tunic she wore, and her brown trousers held many dark stains.

Without waiting for Sorissa to speak, the woman lifted her sword arm, and pointed the blade straight toward Sorissa.

“You took my sister!” the woman accused; her eyes, which reflected the light like polished jade, were filled with anger and hatred. “You took Mona!”

“Mona?” Sorissa frowned, pretending to think for a moment. “I’m sorry, but if it’s been more than a week since I killed her, you really can’t expect me to remember her name. Did she have any defining features?”

The woman didn’t respond. She had lowered her sword, while Sorissa was talking, and was now staring at the maid standing by Sorissa’s bedside.

That maid, who wore a black skirt and red apron, was another redhead with green eyes. Her gaze, however, was lacking the fierce emotion present in her sister. Her eyes were glassy, and her smile was complacent. Even as the intruder stated at her, she simply stood stock still and awaited instructions.

“Mona...” The intruder ran toward the maid, shifting her sword from right hand to left so that she could grip her sister’s hand. “Mona,” the swordswoman repeated. “It’s me. It’s Daphne. It’s your sister. I came to rescue you, okay? I know you said not to, but I came anyway. I trained in the sword, and I fought against the Queen’s guards, and I. I came here for you, Mona. I came to rescue you.”

“The guards would have let you in, if you’d only waited. I happen to accept duels, when I’m not scheduled for relaxation.” Sorissa set the egg in its wrought iron stand, beside the bed, the picture turning pitch black as soon as she removed her hands from it.

“Why…” Daphne’s voice broke, here, her voice coming out shrill. “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

“Should you really be ignoring me?” Sorissa asked, standing up and walking toward the pair.

“Mona,” Daphne repeated, tears now streaming down her face. “Mona, please. I came here for you. Please.”

“She can hear you,” Sorissa  informed the woman. “She just doesn’t care anymore.”

“You’re lying…” Tears dripped down Daphne’s cheeks, yet her words were spoken with conviction. Eyes wide, she turned her gaze toward Sorissa. “Mona would never abandon me. I’m her sister, and we love each other. You might be powerful, but even you can’t defeat love.”

“...Love, hmm? Shall we put love's power to the test, then? 

"Mona - kill Daphne.”

Without hesitation, Mona drew a blade from beneath her apron, and slashed her sister’s throat.

For a moment, all was silent; all was still. Then, with a faint gurgling noise, Daphne fell to the floor, knees striking the red carpet, quickly followed by the rest of her.

Mona wiped the blade on her apron, and put it away, not showing a hint of sadness, or remorse, or…
Well, any emotion, really.

“Would you take care of that?” Sorissa gestured to the dead body. “Dump it out the window, or something. The gardeners will find a use for it, I’m sure.”

“Yes, my Queen.” Mona dropped into a perfect curtsy, fingers pinching her black skirts just so, and smiled brightly for Sorissa. Then, straightening, she turned toward her sister's corpse.

Sorissa frowned as she turned away from the gruesome reunion. She thought that, perhaps, she’d gone a little far in stripping Mona’s emotions.
It simply wasn’t as fun now that she couldn’t hear the girl protesting…

Perhaps she’d dispose of her, and acquire another girl, at some point. Start the whole process over again. That almost sounded amusing.

“Mona…” Sorissa started, only to stop as she felt a shiver of unfamiliar pain through her stomach. Looking down, she was surprised to see a red splotch had spread across the peach colored dress she’d chosen to wear today. 

The blade of a sword was sticking out of her gut.

“Mona,” Sorissa said, again, reaching down to touch the blade. With a whispered spell, the metal began to corrode and rust, until it was easy for her to snap off the protruding metal. Then, calmly stepping forward and off the blade, she turned to face her servant.

Mona was still smiling, but now tears were running down her face.  “I - I’m sorry, my Queen. I don’t know what’s gotten into me…”

“...Why don’t we find out together?” Sorissa suggested, a small smile on her lips. It seemed she wasn’t out of ways to play with her maid, after all. "Once you've taken care of the body, head to testing room three. I'll meet you there shortly. Understand?”

Mona nodded, misery written across her features, as she turned back to her sister’s corpse. Hefting it over her shoulder, the broken blade held loosely in one hand, Mona moved to toss both out the window.

Sorissa, meanwhile, turned her attention to the wound in her stomach. Or what had been a wound - while she was talking, it had already closed up. 

“...A shame,” she whispered to herself. She got hurt so rarely, and it had been nice to feel a different shade of pain....

Sighing softly, Sorissa waited until the maid had made her exit, before  turning back to the egg-shaped crystal. The moment she placed a finger on it, the image of Lonna and her friends once more lit up the void. They’d gotten back on the road, during that little tiff.

“Still playing the runaway princess, I see. Running as far away from me as your little legs can carry you… But you’ll be back soon. You, and that so-called heroine.

“I look forward to it, Lonna. After all - who better to plot my demise than my own daughter?”