I stared at myself in the mirror with a shocked expression. I couldn't believe that my body would have just changed like that, and the changes themselves made me barely recognise myself. I touched my own face and realised how much softer and sensitive my skin was. I could feel my clothes brushing up against my nipples as well, making me squeal. Fate slowly approached me, blushing and avoiding eye contact.

"S-so..." She shyly said while writing some notes. "The potion is taking effect really quickly. It takes your subconscious desires and uses them as a blueprint to-"

"No!" I replied, louder than I anticipated. I try to talk a little bit quieter. "No. This isn't what I want. I... I don't want to be a woman!"

"Well I'm sorry, b-but that's just how the potion works. You'll get used to it!"

I sighed and sat down on the chair. I looked down at myself, staring at the changes once again. I tried to cross my arms, but ended up pressing them against my chest and feeling terrible pain as I did. Pain, and... A slight bit of pleasure. I blushed and got up, pacing around the room.

"There has to be like, an antidote or something." I turned to the alchemist and pointed at the desk behind her, full of colorful flasks.

"Not really. To make these potions I need Heather's magic and the queen's blessing." She started to go over her notes.

"Heather?"

"Oh, she's the royal wizard. She works in the room right above us, but-"

"I'll go talk to her! Thank you!"

"N-no, wait! That's not-"

I quickly walked out of the lab, and even that felt different. My hips were swaying slightly, and I could swear it had gotten colder since the moment I woke up. I walked up the stairs and looked for Heather's room. It didn't take too long to find the one with her name written above, and a few seconds after I knocked on the door it opened.

The woman that opened the door had dark blue skin with purple marks on her face. Her ears were pointy and her eyes were pitch black. She wore long, dark purple robes. They looked intricate and comfortable, with beautiful images of dragons and other mystical creatures sewn along the cloth. 

"Hey." She said in a low, relaxed tone. "What can I do for you, lady?"

"I'm not a lady." I said, blushing once again and trying to keep my composure. "And that's exactly what I need your help for. I want to find a way to stop the potion's effects."

"Hah! Good luck. The only way to do that is with an ancient anti-magic scroll or something. Finding one of those is... tough, to say the least."

"And how can I find one?" I asked with conviction in my voice, I wanted to make sure she knew I was being serious.

"You don't. Listen, I can put up a search order for my scouts but that's it. Unless you're good enough for the queen to take note and send you out in your own quests, it's just not gonna happen."

"Fine." I crossed my arms and sighed. "I'll wait. What do I even do in the meantime?"

"Hell if I know." She scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. "There's a lot to do in the city, go check that out. And do your job, of course. That's important too."

She went back to her desk and started writing on some scrolls with an incredible speed, gesturing me to leave the room. I open my mouth to say something but end up just leaving. As soon as I go through the door, Fate is waiting for me with a worried look on her face.

"H-hey! Naomi!" She nervously asked while holding tight to a book. "Did... Did you get what you wanted? People are normally not allowed to... just talk to her like this."

"Maybe I will. In the future. Right now, I just want to take my mind off things. If this is my new life, I want to get used to my surroundings. Can you show me around?"

She look at me, wide-eyed, and blushed.

"Of course! I'd love to!" She grabbed my hand and quickly started to walk down the hallway. "There's so many great places around here, I can't wait to show you!"

I followed her out of the castle and we slowed down to a more comfortable walking pace, although the sway of my new tail was a strange feeling. The weather outside was beautiful, and everyone around seemed to be happy. Eventually we reached what looked like a small fair; there were food stands and vendors all over the street. I sat down with Fate at one of the tables and tried to take in my surroundings.

Everything looked like it came right out of a medieval show in terms of design and architecture. The streets were clean, the houses were usually no taller than two floors and clothes people were using were colorful and varied. Once again I could tell that everyone there had peculiar traits like animal features, horns and things of that nature. I even saw orcs, elves and demon-looking folk walking around. I still wasn't exactly used to it, but it wasn't as jarring.

"You wanna get something to eat?" Fate asked me, excitedly looking at each of the stands. "I'm down for a soft pretzel!"

"I'm... Yeah, that sounds good." I answered, half-distracted by all that I was seeing. Before I even realised it, she was back. 

"Here you go!"

"W-wait, already?"

"Yeah they had a new batch all ready for the taking." She takes a big bite of the pretzel.

"So, what is this whole place?" I asked while trying the pretzel. It was pretty good.

"It's the Lumalight Kingdom. We try our best to make the place as comfortable and lovely as possible. How you got here, though, you'll have to ask the queen."

We kept eating in silence. Even though I had so many questions, I didn't know what to ask. The entire situation was so surreal that I didn't know how to react but to keep going as if it was all normal. I didn't know if there would ever be a way to leave this place and get back to my previous life, but I wasn't about to get my hopes up.

Once we were done we got up and she once again grabbed my arm, gently guiding me to where she wanted to go. We walked around the city for a bit, looking at the huge public library and some of the shops around the area. There was even a music shop, displaying lyres, flutes, guitars and such. I never did see any prices, though.

The walk felt good, and talking to Fate was a nice time. I told her about my interest in music and sports, while she talked about how much she loved chemistry and reading. She was passionate about the books she had read, fiction or otherwise. I listened with attention as she spoke, and everytime she noticed that it only made her more excited. It was kind of adorable. We slowly made our way through a small park, taking our time on our way back to the castle.

"This isn't half bad." I said, taking a moment to smell the flowers around me. "This place is actually pretty nice."

"It is! Since you're staying with me, we could do stuff together if you want! I've always wanted a lab assistant." She chuckled. "But seriously, I'm glad you like it here. Some people take a long time to get used to it. I'm impressed at how you're handling the situation."

"Well, no use in fighting it. If I'm going to be staying here, I might as well enjoy the good that comes with it."

We made our way back into the castle and then to the lab. I made sure to remember the path we took to try and get more familiar with the huge structure. I yawned a bit more loudly than I realised. It was getting late already, and the day had been tiring.

"Tired? You can sleep in that room again today, the bed is pretty comfy. And if you need anything, you'll have all you need in the lab. It's all labeled. Mostly." She looked at the floor to avoid my line of sight. "And... Thank you for spending the day with me. I'm... usually pretty lonely."

"Thank you for showing me around." I smiled at her, awkwardly lifting up my hand slightly to give her a tiny wave. "You made things a lot more pallatable."

"Good night! I'll see you tomorrow. Oh! And don't forget to go back to Robin. The lady with the sword, you know?"

"Will do. Good night, Fate."

She closed the door before leaving, and the room was almost completely dark apart from the new, small candle lamp on the nightstand next to my bed. I put it out and got under the covers, surprised by just how comfortable it was and how exhausted I felt. I spent some minutes in bed, rolling from side to side. My body was still tense from the fighting and walking, and I sighed while trying to breathe a little slower to calm down.

As I let my body relax, I also felt once again how sensitive my skin actually was. Simply running my fingers across my leg was enough to give me goosebumps. That wasn't the only sensitive spot, however. Almost without thinking I gently placed my hands in the middle of my chest, slowly moving them to my nipples. It hurt slightly, but I also felt a wave of pleasure shoot across my whole body.

I felt a little bit ashamed at that moment, knowing there was someone else so close to me while I explored the changes to my body. But the feeling of pleasure was far more overpowering, and I had to keep going. With my right hand, I made my way from my chest to between my legs, making sure to brush against my inner thigh first. I bit my lower lip and grabbed my cock, moaning quietly as I started stroking.

The slight feeling of shame got stronger as I did that. I couldn't believe what I was doing, but I also couldn't stop. The feeling was much better than ever before, and my hands were nearly moving by themselves. As I kept going, it started to get hot. First I removed the covers, then my clothes. The feelings just kept getting more intense.

I completely lost track of the time, and as I finally reached a climax I had to cover my own mouth with one of my hands to muffle my moans. The feeling lasted for a while, sending wave after wave of heat and pleasure across my whole body. My legs started to shake and I let my body completely relax. I looked down, staring at the mess I had made on myself. I thought of getting up and finding something to clean myself with, but I never even got to get up.

I fell deep asleep almost immediately after.