Couture!

I shifted the pair of translucent sandals adorning my petite feet, leaving them just wrapped up in a thin layer of white, transparent tights. I was about to take a bath. My first bath ever since coming to this world, that is.

Don’t misunderstand, I was perfectly clean thanks to regular use of Cleanse, but the desire for a hot, relaxing bath was something which was left lingering in me, nonetheless. So when it was decided we would stay for the night in the Lage Tribe village, we were guided to our rooms by the gorgeous Elven maid once she recovered her composure. The guest rooms all were fitted with large, generous baths, with hot water redirected from a river and heated by magic at a specific time in the evening for bathing. There were group bathing facilities too, but Gustaf insisted that as an outsider without Elven blood I’d cause a “scene”. Apparently, I totally looked like a girl, so I couldn’t bathe with the men. Whatever. The situation with the village elder was being “dealt with” apparently. I don’t know what that meant, but apparently it was to be kept secret for now.

I threw my dress over my head and was currently standing half-naked as the bath was filling with steamy, crystal-clear water. Hmmm, I felt like the bath was taking a while to fill up. Did it have a magical timer so as not to abuse the central heating system or something? There was also a series of carved symbols around the lip of the wooden tub, which was sealed with tree sap for water-proofing. Quite well thought-out. I guess if there was any part of the place that could use modern conveniences, it’d be the bathroom.

I turned to inspect my body.

My proportions were indeed that of a child - perhaps thirteen years old? It was hard to tell what I was exactly, since I was filled out in some places and not filled out in others that you’d expect of either gender. I looked down at my legs first.

It seemed that I couldn’t remove my tights, either by hand or with Couture completely. Experimenting with this, the best I could do to hide them was to shift them into the appearance of sheer, transparent ankle socks. I could also make them into shorts, which permit me to fan out my toes without any fabric encasing them. I didn’t have a hair on my legs, or my body for that matter, except for my eyebrows and head. I left the form of my tights in their natural state, as just that, a pair of white tights. I didn’t really care what others thought of my appearance and didn’t feel the need to hide them. It still felt odd that I couldn’t completely take them off, though, especially since I was about to take a bath.

Shifting my gaze higher, I poked at the bump underneath my white panties. The panties, like my dress, seemed to come off when I pulled on them.

Couture!

I shifted my tights to a pair of tall thigh-highs so I could take the feminine underwear off. I pulled them down and there he was. My little guy with a pair of accomplices. I felt around my butt and confirmed the anatomy there. My hips were wider than that I’d expect of a boy and my butt was full and round.

There was no mirror in the room and I couldn’t use Locate anymore to look at myself from the outside, but I was definitely flat chested. A pair of nipples adorned the flatlands. I could feel small pockets of fat under my skin there, but there was no denying I had no breasts to speak of.

Finally, I brought my fingers to my face. My skin was soft and supple. It was a girl’s face. Elisa’s face, but younger. I wonder what she was doing right now.

The bath was finally full. I got in and the hot water felt heavenly. I could feel the heat spreading through my body and warming my muscles. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. The steam tickled my nose, and the air was filled with the scent of the forest. I was completely relaxed and I could feel all the tension and stress leaving my body. I was still wearing my thigh-highs, which would have to do for now. I lifted my right leg out of the water and watched as the water rolled off the nylon-like fabric and wriggled my toes. I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my leg back into the water. It felt good. I was content. The sound of the water was soothing, and I felt myself drifting off as I leaned back and let my long white hair float on the surface of the water. Minutes passed as I gave into the sensation of the warm, scented water caressing every inch of my body as I thought of nothing in particular.

I must have let my guard down, because a sudden knocking at the door dragged me out of my bath-induced bliss and back to reality. Without even a chance to respond, the door opened, closed, and a pair of two small feet made their way into the bathroom.

It was the village elder, or should I say the little girl who used to look like an old woman, that entered, already half-undressed. She had a towel over her shoulder and a pair of sandals on her feet. I couldn’t help but notice how the towel was just a bit too big for her. Saying nothing, she took off her socks and underwear and stuck her foot in the occupied bath.

“Excuse me, but what is it that you’re doing?”, I asked. It was the obvious question, but there was something different about her demeanour, her movements, and the way she carried herself that was strange and slightly unnerving. Like she wasn’t entirely present. But she didn’t answer me. Instead, she simply continued to undress, and once she was done, she climbed naked into the tub and sat opposite me. We were face to face, our legs touching.

I had to admit the child was pretty cute, with a youthful face and large green eyes. Her hair was tied in a bun on top of her head, and her ears were covered in wet strands. She was staring at me intently and her gaze was unsettling.

Finally, she spoke.

“This is the only time of day where I can take a bath in private without being disturbed,” she said in a quiet voice. She was polite and formal, but her expression was blank and her tone of voice was cold and distant.

“And why did you choose to invite yourself here, instead of your private quarters?”, I asked.

“I’m curious about you Hero, you know that’s not a normal name for a person to have, right?”, the little girl tilted her head to the side, a lock of wet hair falling over her forehead. “Are you an enemy of the empire? Or perhaps a monster disguised as a human? Where are you from?”

Her child-like curiosity was clashing with her cool, age-won composure. It was kind of weird, but I had no one to blame but myself, I suppose.

“That’s a lot of questions coming from someone who invaded my bath, and didn’t even introduce herself,” I shot back. “Are you the village elder’s granddaughter, perchance?”. It seems my joke went over her head as she narrowed her eyes.

“My name is Myshka. What kind of mage are you? Where are your robes and your staff? You don’t look like any magician I’ve ever seen before...” Her gaze was piercing. “Why is your hair white?”. The questions kept coming. I guess she really was just a kid, after all. Still, her lack of boundaries and manners were quite jarring.

I was getting annoyed, so I slapped the surface of the water in front of Myshka, splashing water right onto her face. She blinked a few times and shook her head in confusion. Then she looked back at me with wide eyes. The surprise on her face was clear. She stared at me for a few seconds, slowly turning red before suddenly standing up and kicking a bucket-full worth of water into my face.

I wasn’t going to have any of this, so I retaliated by pulling her towards me and shoving her underwater between my negs with both hands on her head. I kept her submerged for a few seconds, her small body writhing beneath the water as she tried to fight me off. Finally, she gave up and stopped struggling. I pulled her out, gasping for air. Her hair was drenched and sticking to her face, her skin flushed red from the hot water.

“You win,” she coughed and gasped between words. “Let go of me, please,” she pleaded. I let her go, and she slumped back down, her body slapping against the water, and then sank into it up to her chin. She was panting and her breathing was erratic. Maybe I had gone a little far.

“You know, I’ve never taken a bath with a boy before. I have I ever seen a man naked, either”, Myshka said quietly, looking away from me and staring at the water. Her cheeks were burning and her eyes were moist. Her face was beet red. She was embarrassed and flustered.

“That’s a surprise, given how long you’ve been around, you old hag”, I chuckled. She glared at me with anger and annoyance. She was definitely feeling better. Still, the whole situation was quite ridiculous.

“I was always going to be the village elder. Such was my fate from birth. I was always kept away from the others. And now they are gone anyway. Everyone has left, died, or is fighting somewhere in the war. It is lonely, and there are many things I regret.” Her voice was bitter and her words carried a sense of longing and sadness. There was a pause as she sighed and closed her eyes. Then she spoke again.

“My days were filled with study, and doing what I was told. Eventually, I was the one telling others what to do. But secretly, all I wanted to do was run away…” she trailed off. Her words were soft and gentle. They were filled with sorrow. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. It was clear she had been alone and isolated. She was always just a kid who wanted to explore and play like those she saw around her. No wonder she acted the way she did. But still, her attitude and lack of tact were really something else. What kind of girl just gets into a bath naked with a boy she doesn’t know?!

“I used to fantasise about running away to the human lands and becoming an adventurer,” she said, still staring into the water. “Or becoming an actress or a dancer.”

That was unexpected. The mental image of the little girl dressed as an adventurer, or twirling around a stage in a ballerina outfit, made me chuckle. But I also couldn’t help but think of how much her dreams resembled that of any other sheltered child.

I dreamt of being a performer myself when I was young. My natural shyness and lack of coordination or any latent talent to speak of quickly put a dampener on any such hopes. My parents outright discouraged it. It was foolish to want to do anything with one’s life but follow in their footsteps, anyway. Still, I squandered that anyway. And to be denied the chance of doing what I wanted because of their disapproval stung me more than anything. Even though the opportunity to actually succeed in the world of entertainment would have been slim at best. My parents wanted to set me on the ‘right’ path, but a path which isn’t your own is a path which will leave you dissatisfied and unfulfilled, and I think Myshka realised this as well.

That is why she was telling me what she was, and why she had decided to break into my bath unannounced. She was breaking free of the confines of the society that had shackled her now that she was given another shot at life, and quite literally testing the waters when she got into the bathtub with me. And that’s why I guess I admired her. She wasn’t just some sheltered kid with a dream; she had lived a full life and realised she was left with only regret. I thought about what I was going to say next, and after a pause, I spoke.

“It’s obvious to me what you should do, old hag.”

“What is it you think I should do then, oh great wise Hero? You are clearly an all-knowing sage and know my thoughts better than I do.” The sarcasm was biting, and the glare that accompanied it was fierce, but underneath all that, was a girl who was scared and confused. It was written all over her face.

I reached for her head as if to pull her underwater again, and she winced. Her body was tense and her eyes were closed tight, but her expression was that of resignation. As my hand brushed her skin, I felt a slight tingling sensation, like an electrical current passing through my fingertips. I grabbed her hair, but instead of shoving her under, I stroked her head, as if I was petting a dog.

“You shall run away, just as you had always dreamt of,” I said softly, looking into her eyes as she suddenly opened them wide in surprise. Her face was inches from mine, her lips quivering slightly. Her green eyes were glistening and her cheeks were red. Her skin was soft and smooth, and her hair smelled like lavender. She looked so fragile and so vulnerable. She reminded me of myself when I was her age, and for a moment, I felt a connection with her.

“But about the village…” she whispered weakly. She sounded tired and defeated. Like all the fight had left her all of a sudden. Like all the years of loneliness had finally caught up with her in that moment of hesitation.

“You’ve given your life to the village and its people, and that life ended today,” I said, leaning in.

“From this day forward, you’re no longer ‘old hag’. You’re Myshka, and only that, nothing less and nothing more,” I announced as I kissed her forehead.

[NOTICE: Kiss of Death skill activated.]

…

The next morning, Jakub and his men left the village, continuing their long journey to find the Shadow and quell her despair. Among them was me, of course, but we had a new addition to our group. A little girl who had sneaked out of her village to live a life of adventure and of hope.

I removed the elaborate disguise I had created for Myshka using (Domain)Create and revealed her presence. I used a temporary flesh body she could wear for a day or so the night we decided she should come with us. It resembled one of Jakub’s men. In fact, it was one of Jakub’s men. Secretly, I transformed him back to normal, without him or anyone but Myshka knowing what I had done. Myshka had complained, and was mortified at first, but I told her this was the only way, so she agreed to my plan.

When it came to the reveal, without missing a beat, the little girl declared to Jakub that she was an adventurer and wished to join us in our quest. Gustaf protested and demanded answers, but the Myshka merely gave him a stern look and said she was free to do whatever she pleased, and he’d be a fool to deny her her dreams.

I reminded Jakub and Gustaf that to return Myshka to the village now would amount to admitting that they had, in fact, kidnapped the elder out of spite but had chickened out. I thought we had bigger issues to worry about right now than their petty, and frankly somewhat misplaced, resentment for the elders’ stance during the civil war. Begrudgingly, they agreed.

And so it was that Myshka joined us on our journey.

It soon felt like I had a little sister to take care of, and it meant I could have company during my long hours riding Zwot as we shared the saddle together.

Though Myshka was an elf, she didn’t seem to know much about her people and their ways in the forest. Her life had been filled with little or none of the more practical pursuits. Thanks to her short stature, Jakub thought she’d make a perfect scout for the party, and so in the days leading up to our arrival at our destination, he assigned a reliable Elven scout to start training her.

For the first time since meeting Myshka, I could see the beginnings of a smile form on her lips as her new instructor told her what was expected of her. Jakub had no idea what kind of effect this would have on the young girl. Within two days she was capable of masking her presence so well none of Jakub’s men couldn’t find her. Within a week, she was actively scouting ahead of our camps to warn us of an obstructions or monsters ahead. She was surpassing all expectations. I guess there was something to be said for living a full life and using all of that experience to expedite your progress.

There was another reason why Jakub chose to give Myshka a chance. It was simple really: Myshka had suggested that by having her accompany us on the quest to quell the Shadow, she would become a witness to my power, and by extension the courage and skill of Jakub’s men. And by making her part of our mission, we were showing that we had the trust of one of the most experienced and well-respected members of the elven community.

I had my doubts anyone would believe the little girl before us was an elven village elder, but I’d leave that to her to sort out somehow. No doubt she possessed knowledge that could only be known to the most senior and important of elves in her community to prove her position. The point was we had a potential ally, and if all went well, it would go a long way towards improving the strained relationship between the Sovics and the Lage tribe. It was a clever and logical idea. It made a lot of sense. I was starting to realise Myshka was not as childish and immature as she seemed.

Though the obvious hole in the idea was her disappearance, which we’d have to explain somehow. I had wondered why we were not pursued by the village, and the answer was somewhat depressing. Rather than face the embarrassment of the situation, the village leadership had likely decided to simply declare her as dead at a later date and move on.

Whatever the case, Myshka was having the time of her life. Nobody but myself, Jakub and Gustaf, knew her true identity. Quickly becoming something of a mascot among the men, they hopelessly doted on her like they would on their own daughters.

As we travelled, we managed to avoid most of the monsters on our way, thanks to Myshka’s scouting. The ones we weren’t willing to evade were swiftly taken care of by Jakub himself. It seemed Myshka wasn’t the only one with a new lease on life, and Jakub was undergoing some kind of transformation as well.

He had a new aura about him. An intense sense of purpose, almost bordering on obsession, but there was something else. He seemed focused. Determined. Confident. He had the aura of a true leader. Of a man who had found his calling and was now chasing after it.

After two and a half weeks of travel by horse, slower than originally anticipated, but also without incident, we finally arrived at the Sovic village.

“Something is wrong”, Myshka whispered while hugging me from behind.

“Something is wrong”, Jakub said, echoing Myshka’s words exactly.

There indeed was something wrong. As we approached the village gate, no one came to answer Jakub’s call.

“It is I! Jakub! I have come with the one the call Hero, open the gates!”, he called out once more.

No response.

I jumped off Zwot in one movement and landed on the ground.

“Hero, what are you doing?” Gustaf asked, but I paid him no need.

Walking up towards the gate, I swiftly scaled it in a single leap, clinging to its upper edge casually. What I saw before me was indeed an elven village, more humble than the border village we had visited on our way here, but completely devoid of any elves. It was abandoned. Carts and belongings simply discarded on the streets, as if the people here had simply disappeared where they stood.

I let go of the gate and dropped back to the ground and reported what I saw to Jakub.

“We were too late… the Shadow… the Shadow has claimed our village.”