*This story is intended to be wholesome and for most viewers. However, it contains themes of transgender transformation and genie transformation. It also has mentions of abuse and mortality that may be disturbing to some readers. If any of these bother you too much, I apologize and hope you find something more pleasing!

The Golden Edict

Eris was pleased with her purchase. A small, glimmering statuette of colored glass rested in paper wrapping. A sleeping dragon, deep blue with ridges of purple, she couldn't help but fawn over the adorable, fragile little thing. She had so much in life, but she always made room for such artistic creations.

What else was she going to spend money on. Food? Utilities? Such things didn't matter to her...

After all, she was a free genie. She could materialize anything she wanted. Her only limit was her imagination. Which is exactly why she bought unique artworks wherever she traveled, to reward other's imaginations.

She glanced around, making sure no one was watching her. She quickly climbed to the top of the building. She always preferred to let her magic loose here. Other genies she knew of hid their acts of magic in dark, dingy alleys. Not her. All the grime and trash, never mind a passer-by grabbing her vessel while she was inside... Not that she was obligated to heed any calls. Sure, a passing satellite could see something, but even if it had, would they even think a genie was dematerializing, or just chalk it up to a computer glitch?

Eris pulled a tube of lipstick out of her pocket. Even if someone snatched this from her, they would have thought it was just that. It even came with real scarlet lip color. But in truth, it was her home, her vessel of over 500 years.

Placing the nondescript tube on the ground, it began to shift under her power. The concealment spells lifted, and the tube transmuted and warped. Plastics and paper turned into glass and metal. Her lamp took shape - or rather, the vessel she called a lamp. Once it was bronze, that oh so stereotypical oil lamp of legend. But once she was free to use her power as she wished, she could transform the outside of it. It still resembled the old lamp, but it was now beautiful ornate purple glass, with diamond shapes studding the surface, and bands of silver around the middle, lid opening, and base. A vessel as unique as she.

Eris let her form shift, clothes and skin becoming as gas, the same shade of purple as her lamp. She swirled herself inside.

Home sweet home.

Rematerializing inside, she looked around. Roomy, but not gaudy or lined with gold and exotic pillows. She shuddered at the thought, some bad memories of her initial transformation from mortal to magic. No, it was more like a home you might walk into today, with modern cabinets and appliances. White walls made it all look bright and open, with purple accents because why not? It was her place to shape as she chose, and she was fond of purple. The place even has "real" windows - she could see the outside world through the glass of her vessel (although this is technically a trick of magic, as this is a dimensional pocket outside of reality).

But looking closer, centuries of the life she lived seep into the details. Callbacks to a lost late-Medieval empire hidden away in the modern details. Small gargoyle statues snuck into corners, crosses and arches like those of grand cathedrals, muted to blend into the background.

She pulled her new prize from her pocket. How would a genie pay for something, you ask? No, she didn't conjure money. She found performing various odd jobs could net her some income to use as she pleased. She didn't need that much. Everything she needed was at her fingertips... Well, except for social interaction. Those decades enslaved to the lamp at the start were the hardest. Trapped within for years, with no one to talk to but the walls of her prison until a new master summoned her.

And art. Sure, she could mimic anything, shape anything into anything. But she wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing a young artist's face glow with joy, memories she could carry for time eternal. And each piece gave off a distinct aura she could sense, a part of the artist carried by their creations for all time. That she could not replicate with her magic.

She peered around, looking for a spot among the vast shelves lined with all sorts of handcrafted works, centuries' worth. As she cleared a spot and gently put the fragile dragon down, she heard the dinging of a bell... A magical noise originating from nowhere in particular. She had received a message.

She watched as a ball of light fluttered into her domain. It glowed with a pure while light.

"Wait, white light? Who could..." Most genies use some other color, a wide array of hues to differentiate each other. Eris watched as the ball flew into her hands and materialized into a tablet of pure gold.

A Golden Edict. A message from the highest powers. Someone was to receive the gift of angelic genie powers - and Eris was to deliver the news personally! It was the greatest honor a genie like herself could receive, to be trusted with such a task.

Angelic genies were rare. Extremely rare. They were more powerful than even she was as a free genie.

She gazed upon the Edict. A name was inscribed: Ariel. Simply Ariel. Odd. Seemed like there should be more... But she had a message to deliver, and she wasn't going to sit and ponder. Once more she dematerialized herself into smoke and energy and left through the portal to her vessel. Upon rematerializing on the world of mortals, she spun her finger in the air, quickly applying the concealment spells once more and launching the tube into her jacket's upper pocket.

She felt guidance from the golden tablet's magic. She felt the directions she needed to go. She spun a sheet of paper into existence to cover up the tablet. Its powers were still communicating with her, but she didn't want a greedy thief trying to snatch it from her. Not that any normal human could feasibly hold it. A foot wide, a foot and a half tall, and an inch thick, it was pure gold - and very heavy. No problem for a being of pure magical might for whom the laws of physics are mild suggestions. Less so for a scrawny opportunist looking to make a quick prize.

The tablet relayed directions and locations through magic. Only a genie could make out the instructions - even magic sensitive mortals couldn't tell what the embedded magic was telling them.

Eris followed the directions of the Edict, not knowing where exactly they were taking her. She walked confidently, knowing this sacred object wouldn't lead her astray. Truthfully, she was excited to meet this Ariel to see the kind of mortal that deserved such a divine blessing.

As she was walking, she started feeling sensations unfamiliar to her, and she started having something akin to dreams forming within her. No, not dreams - memories. Ariel's. She heard about this from a couple of others who had delivered Edicts; the Edict gives the deliverer memories to help them understand the one who was to receive it, as well as what they are feeling at the time of the blessing. However, it does take some time for everything to kick in, they say.

Some of Ariel's first memories started to take shape. Finicky things, Eris could only grasp a couple at a time, a slide show happening at speeds incomprehensible to humans and barely to even her. But she was able to gleam a memory, an image of a young boy clutching a dress, looking into a mirror. She instinctively knew then Ariel was the boy in the memory.

Transgender, eh? Sounds like we have something in common... she thought.

She had once been a man. A king, a conqueror - all in an effort to be as masculine as possible. All it took to break it was to be tricked into becoming a genie by another genie... A piece of work trying to make her suffer, but instead woke her up to her true self. He was a far cry from the new genie that may be created today.

As she trekked deeper into the city, surrounded by high rises and skyscrapers, more of Ariel's life flashed by in her mind... As she felt increasingly uncomfortable. She didn't know if it was the memories - which was swiftly becoming a parade of human suffering - or something else. She was clearly being affected, though. She was stifling back tears.

Ariel was a kindhearted, sensitive child who just wanted to have friends. But it was hard for her to make them. She was "too girly" as a boy and was routinely abused by her peers. Even when she began to hide that part of herself more, she couldn't just turn off her feelings, and her tormentors always used that against her. Teachers didn't help her. Her parents were both oblivious and uncaring. She was being failed left and right.

Discomfort became pain. Eris stopped for a moment. "Why am I feeling pain? None of the other genies that talked about delivering Edicts mentioned pain..."

Stopping her motion caused a sudden surge of memories from Ariel's life. Propelling her through years of Ariel's life, Eris was fast approaching the present.

Ariel's coming out as transgender... A memory that dropped itself like a boulder into Eris's mind. A heartfelt plea... looks of rejection... thrown into the streets with nothing but the clothes on her back.

And then the pain sharpened to a spear point. If Eris didn't know any better, it was as if her own organs were failing... Which was impossible, as her organs were more or less magical constructs at this point. They didn't need to exist.

But then she realized that she wasn't feeling her own pain.

She dropped the golden tablet, which slammed into the concrete, cracking the sidewalk in a few places. She clutched her chest in pain and fear...

She was feeling Ariel's pain. Eris understood what was going on now, why it seemed like the Edict was rushing memories to her...

She hastily scooped up the Edict and began to run. The Edict's instructions kept pace with her. She so badly wanted to teleport straight to Ariel. It wasn't a violation of magic law per say, but it was often frowned upon in this age to perform magic so brazenly in public. (Granted, Eris was starting to run faster than the average human at that point, but that's less noticeable than the flash of a teleport.)

She was getting close, she could feel it. She approached an alley and began to feel an aura from it, a weak one. She had found Ariel.

Eris peered around the corner into the dark alley. "Hello? Is there anyone here?" She heard a rustling come from the other side of a dumpster, and a boot that was sticking out moved with its owner.

Eris stepped closer to the being cautiously. She didn't want to scare them. Rounding the dumpster, she saw a sight that broke her heart: Ariel.

A transwoman just past the age of 19, Ariel was pale and thin. It was clear she hadn't eaten in days. Her black hair was messy, filled with grime, and not very long. Some of it may have fallen out... And her pale blue eyes showed hints of yellowing.

Her clothes were torn and ragged, a mix of men's and women's clothes - some were probably fished out of the trash. No, Eris could tell some were. The stories behind each item came to life for her, from the lace bra that saw too many nights of fun from its original owner - too tight for Ariel but was the only thing she could find - to the moldy socks that stood in for Ariel's breasts, too nasty to be washed, never to be clean again. She was wearing a skirt taped together with used duct tape, and a shirt from her old life that had been worn to pieces, holding together by only a few threads. The boots did no job in protecting her feet, as they had lost their soles some time ago.

"Hng... Who are you?" Ariel asked weakly. There was no hint of femininity in her voice, too tired to be able to change it.

"You're Ariel?" Eris asked, trying (but failing) to hold back tears at the sight.

Ariel perked up a little. "You called me Ariel...?"

"That's the name you always wanted, right?"

"Yes, but, are you an angel or something?"

Eris decided to come closer and sit beside Ariel. "No. But I am someone here for you. My name is Eris. I am a genie."

Ariel looked up and down Eris, and she raised an eyebrow. Eris was wearing a black leather jacket over a purple v neck tee. She was wearing denim jeans and white tennis shoes. The only detail out of place for your average human was the slight pointed tips of ears poking out from Eris's long red hair. "You, a genie? You're... *cough* not what I would have expected. I thought exotic, revealing outfits and some sort of lamp."

"Yeah, those clothes are for when I am playing the role, or relaxing in my vessel. I do have a lamp of sorts, but I keep it close and hidden."

"Why are you here? To grant me wishes or something? I made a *cough* wish already, but not to you..."

"That wish is what I am here about, actually." Eris tore off the paper wrapping to the Golden Edict. "You made a wish to a higher power? You hoped for power of your own, to help others, to make sure they could live their lives to the fullest?" She leaned over and showed Ariel the golden tablet with her name on it. "This is the response. It's called a Golden Edict, Ariel. It means that your request for power was so pure, so selfless, that you have been chosen to become what we call an angelic genie, a special kind of genie with even greater power than most."

"*cough* Wait... For me?" Ariel gazed at the tablet, and as she did, she was stunned to watch words carving themselves into the golden surface.

"Ariel,

"You have suffered greatly in life. For this we apologize. But we have heard your wish. In spite of your great suffering, you wished to help others, to have the power to do so. This Edict declares this wish to be pure and that you are to be granted the highest of genie powers to fulfill this goal.

"If you accept the power presented to you, you will be forever more an angelic genie, so long as you stay the path of the greatest compassion and kindness. You will be free to choose whom you grant wishes to and which wishes to grant. You will never have to fear evil or enslavement. You will have the power and will to change other's lives for the better - as well as your own.

"You may consider to reject this power, but to take hold of the Edict means you accept the magic within and you shall begin your new life eternal as an angelic genie. This choice we leave to you.

"With regards, the Highest Power."

Ariel was stunned. Was this even real? She couldn't believe her eyes. "Am I hallucinating?"

Eris pinched her. "Ouch! Hey! ...Well, I guess not." Then something dawned on Ariel... The way she's been feeling, seeing Eris's tears... "Eris, am I dying?"

"Yes. I can sense it. Your organs are slowly failing. Starvation, malnutrition and at least six different infections. You will not live to see the sun set." Eris stated - blunt, but Eris was shedding tears as she said it.

"Then... Do I really have a *cough* choice?"

"You do, it's just... If we met again in some other life, you will not be Ariel, you will not remember. Your soul will be reborn elsewhere, some other world or form. Afterlife or reincarnation, you will continue your mortal cycle."

"Or?"

"Become an angelic genie for the rest of time, immortal and benevolent, one of the strongest beings of magic in the cosmos, with a mission to help all. But all the growth that would have happened to your soul will not happen - you will have to grow entirely through your experiences as Ariel the genie from this point forward."

Ariel closed her eyes. If she was reborn as someone else, would she care like she does now? Would she still be the kind soul who wanted to help others? Besides, there was suffering just like hers... And here she was, being presented the power to change that, something that might not happen in the next life...

She knew her decision. "Eris, can you hand me the Edict?"

Eris's face practically glowed. "Sure! Just be careful; it's heavy for a mortal..."

As soon as Ariel's hand touched the metal, she felt power flow into her from it. Suddenly, her pain was gone, a new vitality surged through her frail frame. Eris herself could see Ariel's skin warm to a healthier hue in seconds. Ariel felt the weight of solid gold vanish, the Edict becoming light as air in her grasp.

Then the words rearranged and morphed on the tablet:

"You have chosen to become an angelic genie. Let Eris be your guide into this new world of Magic. This Edict is the base of your new home, a vessel to protect you and give you a means to be summoned when you will it. Mold it as you now please.

"Your body too is now malleable. Shape it to match your dreams. It is your time. Use your new power well."

"How do you feel now?" Eris asked.

"Wow... Alive, for one. It's like all my senses are amplified. I can feel so much..." Ariel responded, not even realizing as she spoke her voice was changing.

"Like?"

"I can feel the atoms and their subatomic particles in this tablet. Is this...?"

"It's totally normal, Ariel. I experienced the same from my transformation, although I wasn't a free genie at the time, so I dealt with everything from the confines of my lamp. It can be a bit overwhelming." Eris stood up, and offered a hand. "I am to teach you about your new powers, but this probably isn't the best place for it. Care to join me somewhere with a little more privacy?"

Ariel grabbed Eris's hand and felt a slight tug, rushing through time and space to wind up in a field of white. The night sky here was lit up by dancing lights in the sky. She could feel the softness of the ground under her exposed feet. She realized where they were. "We're in the Arctic?! Why don't I feel cold?" It hadn't dawned on her yet that her voice had finished changing, a soft - almost angelic - feminine tone that was everything she ever hoped for growing up.

"Antarctica, actually. Perk of being a genie; your body is now pure magic. If you want to be affected by cold or heat, you can will it so. Many laws of science humans know are now mere suggestions to you. There are some laws to follow as a genie, even a free one such as yourself, but you will learn them in time."

Eris gestured to the tablet. "As it told you, you are now to craft your very own vessel from it. Now that you have genie powers, you have the ability to not only sense those atoms and other particles, but communicate with them, change them. Go ahead, see if you can move the material around!"

Ariel thought about concentrating, but she moved her hand with the intent to fold a corner. It responded, like putty in her hands, moving fluidly with barely a thought to it.

"This is amazing!" Ariel exclaimed. Then she finally noticed it. "Wait, this is what I sound like now?! This is..." A couple of tears formed in her eyes. "... Exactly how I always wanted to sound."

"You're already changing your body, it seems, without even thinking about it. I would guess more changes are coming, but for now, see if you can focus on your vessel."

She felt the material in her hands and closed her eyes. She drummed up a memory of playing with toy putty from her childhood. Before Eris's eyes, Ariel began to circle her hands, pushing against the material. It was like instinct, rolling metal into a ball with her bare hands as she did with the chunk of polymer years ago. Every expectation of how magic worked, the effort she expected, vaporized as the perfect sphere of gold formed in her hands.

Ariel opened her eyes to see what she had accomplished. "I can't believe how easy that was... I wasn't thinking, just... I wanted to turn it into a nice ball, and it did."

"Your mind is now hard-wired to perform magic. Every little detail of even the most complex wishes you can comprehend in an instant, see the effect of a wish to every corner of the cosmos it will reach... A lot of this you do without realizing it! Your subconscious takes care of a lot more than it ever did before."

"But, will I be able to fulfill wishes as they are intended?"

"Yes. I always search for the deeper meaning of a wish, and I make sure it is granted to the wisher's intent - without any nasty side effects. I try to guide them if it seems they may not understand the full consequences of the wish they want to make. I can at least do that as a free genie... And you should be able to as well!"

"That makes me feel better. I didn't want to grant wishes with unintended consequences..."

"You may make some mistakes at first, seeing as you're new to this, but you should also be able to clean up any mistakes you do make." Eris glanced at Ariel's ball of gold. "So, have any ideas what your vessel is going to be? I imagine it isn't going to be a plain ball of gold..."

Ariel looked again into her memories, seeing if there was something that gave her comfort. A night came to her: terrible storms came that night, and she was scared. Then the power was knocked out, and she scrambled for something... She knew what she wanted.

Feeling ever more confident in the powers she now had, Ariel levitated the gold ball in front of her. Arms out to her sides, she let her mind alone reshape the metal. Not just shape it, transmute it. She plucked protons and neutrons, warped mass, and reshaped energy. Gold became much more. She split the ball into several pieces of varying sizes, and each piece began to shift on its own.

The biggest became a long tube of silver, with one end flaring out to become wider. Along the length of the slender tube, a shallow indent was made. On the slimmer end, a piece came off, forming grooves on the bottom and subtle diamond shapes along the rim. Magic carved out the inside from that end, creating the space within which Ariel would reside. Once the hollow space formed, the new cap screwed itself back on, sealing the portal to her vessel for now.

The other pieces transmuted even further. A glass lens, multiple bulbs and reflective metals shaped themselves and moved into positions within the wide end of the object, now clearly a modern LED flashlight. Once a sky blue rubbery switch cover slipped itself onto the switch, Ariel was left with one piece of unchanged material - something she was about to rectify. The material thinned into a sheet that could easily fit into the groove along the handle of the flashlight. It changed into the same shade of blue as the switch cover. However, the material was made into something else and wrapped around the handle, slightly textured and completely seamless.

Ariel wanted her eventual holders to feel comfort and ease. The handle cover was a material unlike anything yet invented by mankind, a super-soft material that one could never lose grip of. No person would be allergic to it. And if one was overwhelmed by fear and gripped this handle, they would feel assurances that all would be alright, that they would be okay. They would feel Ariel's protection.

With the outside fully assembled, the new flashlight vessel dropped into Ariel's hands.

"Interesting choice, Ariel. A light to guide people, I assume?"

"Of course! And ward off evil; the light can dispel evil spirits."

"Not too many genies create functional vessels like that. That will set you apart from others for sure!"

"And I'm not done yet, although..." Ariel looked down at her disheveled, still-masculine body.

Eris put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. You don't want to set foot in your vessel until you change your body. You want to come into your new home as the new you, the one you always wanted to be."

Ariel nodded.

"I asked that you focus on your vessel only because you are new to this. I wanted you to take it one thing at a time. Go ahead, shape the symphony of magic that is your body!"

Ariel closed her eyes again. Eris was right: her body was no longer of DNA, but a chorus of magical energies that she could sense - and change. she imagined herself with a full head of long, silky black hair, flowing gracefully down to the middle of her back. She could feel her magic "DNA" change with her suggestion. Sure enough, her hair grew exactly the way she wanted it, fluttering down her back, and it shined with the silkiness of hair well kept.

She opened her eyes and pulled a few strands in front of her. She felt them in her hands and admired their sleekness. "So soft... So smooth... So... Feminine," she purred. Awash in euphoria, magic began to shape her body throughout. She slimmed and shortened slightly, her skin taking a slightly paler shade than before to reflect her new thinner feminine skin. From her feet to her face, nothing was untouched. Ariel crossed her legs instinctively, never feeling what had changed between her legs - she just knew it had. Still brushing her new hair against her face, she felt subtle changes to the face. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt a newly feminine face that belonged to her. She didn't need a mirror; every touch and sensation told her exactly what her face looked like now.

She opened her eyes - revealing them to now be a brilliant amethyst color - and saw the transformation she had undergone. With a notable exception, her body was the reflection of everything she wanted to see... But before she made the final change, she knew she wanted to get herself decent first. Her outfit had to change...

She glanced at Eris. Again, that outfit wasn't anything like she expected of a genie. No bra barely containing her chest, no harem pants - heck, there didn't seem to be a hint of jewelry anywhere on her. She wore something that was just normal...

... Which meant Ariel could choose anything she wanted! But first, she needed to do some maintenance. The socks still functioning as her breasts melted away, melding into the other clothes. Her bra became fuller and thicker, widening a little more to be perfect for her new form. It is here that her true breasts formed, filling into small but noticeable bumps on her chest. Had fate been more kind, she would have grown bigger on hormone treatments alone, but she had never desired a large chest - a fact she now knew thanks to her newfound powers.

Her previously threadbare grey shirt filled in and repaired itself. The pink skirt was held together by duct tape no more, as the seamless repairs revealed themselves when the duct tape fell away and disintegrated. Both the shirt and skirt became the same color, the sky blue that adorned her flashlight vessel, and began to merge into one silky flowing dress. The sleeves melted into the dress, moving more matter to the bottom of the dress, granting it more length. It had become a sleeveless silk dress, shimmering in simplistic elegance.

Turning her attention to her soleless boots, they began to reform. They shrank considerably, wrapping around her exposed feet and turning into shimmering sky blue ballet shoes. New black sheer socks formed within her shoes and moved up her leg, covering over her knees but not all the way up. Made of magic, they would never tear and be softer than anything anyone could make.

Mostly satisfied, but not quite done, Ariel decided she needed a "flourish" of some sort to represent her new power. She formed small bands around her wrists and the base of her neck. The wrist bands became silver rings, the only jewelry adorning her entire body - same as her vessel, and neutral enough that she could wear it with any outfit she might conjure in the future. Finally, the band on the neck became an elastic black band, from which a sheer black cloak formed, draping over her arms and back. Within, a rainbow of sparkles glittered like the stars of  the night sky.

Ariel's transformation was finally complete.

Eris, spectator to it all, was impressed. "You are beautiful, Ariel!" She conjured a mirror of ice from the surroundings. "Go ahead, see for yourself."

Ariel gazed upon herself in the mirror. Herself. A woman. Finally. The image she had in her head of herself all these years was right there in front of her, reflected back by something physical, tangible, real. It was overwhelming, and Ariel, hugging her body, fell to her knees and began to cry.

Eris rushed over and squeezed her tight. "I'm sorry, Ariel. I didn't mean for-"

"No, it's okay," Ariel said, trying to wipe away her tears. "This is the first time I have ever looked into a mirror and loved it. That was ME I saw for the first time. And it's that way because of what I am now... I shaped myself into that with only my thoughts and feelings. If only it were so easy before..."

"I admit, I was similar when I first transformed. But why don't we go into your vessel now? I think you probably still have some work to do in there, right?"

Ariel wiped away her tears. "Yeah, I do. I already have an idea of what I want to make in there..."

"Alright, but if you need me to be there with you, you need to take me in when you go inside. No one can get into a genie vessel without an invite."

"Will do. Now... How do I...?" Ariel wondered as she searched for the commands that would get her inside the vessel. Quickly, her legs turned into an amorphous mass of blue cloud-like energy, recognizable as a genie's tail. "I think that's step one?" Then the cap on her flashlight unscrewed itself and opened, her tail connecting to the opening. "Okay, now I think I can get inside!" Eris offered her hand, and Ariel grabbed it. Both fully shifted into clouds of energy, swirling together into Ariel's vessel. The only things left in the tundra were Ariel's flashlight and Eris's lipstick tube, as her vessel which could not follow her into another genie's vessel.

Both reformed inside. Well lit but bare, Ariel and Eris were surrounded on all sides by gold, save the portal entrance, which was a swirling mass of light at one side of this otherwise empty void. Neither of them had reformed their legs, not that they needed any at the moment, floating in the middle of the space with nothing to stand on.

"Wow, I didn't think there was that much space in here!" Ariel remarked.

"It's your own personal pocket dimension. It can be as big - or as small - as you want. It is your own world to master and shape as you see fit."

"How big can I make it?"

"Tales tell of genies who, bored out of their minds, crafted entire universes within their vessels. Others fit entire civilizations within, saving them from certain destruction..."

"Err, I think I am going to stick with my own personal home for now... I think a planet or a universe are out of my league at the moment."

"No problem, I'm approaching 800 and I still keep mine to a nice little house... Although I think it might be more accurately a mansion at this point, with all the extra space I've added over the years..."

"I think I know what I want for now..." Ariel began waving her arms around, conducting things to appear out of nowhere. Wood panels and planks of various colors swirled around them, forming new walls and floors piece by piece. "You see, whenever I was feeling lost and alone, I imagined a place where I could feel safe. A cabin of sorts, with fireplace and a comfortable couch, where I could sit and let it melt all of my stress away..." As she reminisced about the dream, a series of rocks formed and stacked themselves into a fireplace, a fire roaring to life within before settling into a calm dance. A couch formed next to Ariel, with a good view of the fire's soft glow. As Ariel sat into it, Eris felt the new furnishing. It was divinely soft, like sitting on a cloud, reassuring to the touch.

"I take it things didn't go well for you to have to imagine a place like this... I saw some of your memories while I was delivering the Edict to you, but they were rushed because you were dying, and I couldn't make out many of them. I saw some things. How you wanted to be a girl from a young age, how you had bullying problems growing up... And how your parents rejected you when you came out."

Ariel looked down. "Yeah. I tried making friends, but I was too sensitive and too girly for the guys, and I was too much of a guy for the girls. If only they knew..." Then she closed her eyes. "I knew my parents weren't going to be happy with it. Eventually, I had to say something, but..." Tears started to form.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that. How long ago was that?"

"One year ago and some change, my eighteenth birthday. They kicked me out the same day, with nothing I had once owned."

"How did you get to starving to death on the streets?"

"Once I was kicked out, the streets were all I had. At first, I was able to make use of services for homeless people. I thought with enough time I could rise up and get my life on track... Then my parents legally declared me dead, and every service shut its doors on me. Because I was 'technically dead,' no one using my legal name could possibly be alive to use services. I couldn't get anything. That was a month ago."

"That's... Horrible."

"If my parents wanted me dead, then... They almost succeeded."

"Maybe, in a way, you did die?"

"?"

"Who you were, the boy they knew and had that name... That was you, but now you are a powerful magic being that is definitely not a boy and goes by another name. The boy you were 'died' so you could be reborn as Ariel the angelic genie. You are not beholden to your old life anymore."

"That's a nice way to look at it at least... No one is going to look for the old me any more..."

More of Ariel's new home was coming together, with some pieces flying in from who knows where, placing themselves where they belonged while others simply materialized in place. Her multi-level home was coming together nicely, with a complete kitchen in open view of the living space that she formed first, and a staircase forming to make its way to a second floor balcony observing the space.

"I've noticed you have made some mentions about your own life. You seem to have had quite a ride yourself. Care to share it?" Ariel asked.

"Where do I begin? I haven't always been a genie, you may have noticed..."

"I did, and you weren't 'free' for some of it?"

"Yes. There are 3 distinct kinds of genies. Enslaved genies are those bound to their vessels either as captured souls bound by often evil magic spells or are criminal djinns who can't be trusted with unlimited power and freedom. Free genies, like I am now, are not bound to vessels but can still live in them - it grants us a form of protection from imprisonment. We can grant 3 wishes to any one being before needing to spend time recharging. There are all sorts in the vast multiverse of creation; if you can think it as a wish-granting genie, it's probably out there somewhere. Then there's you, an angelic genie, a special type of free genie that is protected from imprisonment, wards off evil, and can grant an unlimited number of wishes to anyone."

"Based on that, you were one of the captured souls, weren't you?"

Eris nodded. "I was a king, a conqueror driven by a need to run away from my feelings. Like you, I was transgender, although that was not the name for it in my time. I needed to be as masculine as possible. At the height of my power, my forces found a lamp containing a genie. Darumond. I made wishes to be powerful, beautiful, and immortal."

"Sounds like the classic genie trap."

"That's exactly what happened. He turned me into a genie and enslaved me. Fortunately, that doesn't grant him freedom, but I was also cursed by him. I was a mindless wish-granting... being... that-"

"Hang on, why don't you describe what you looked like?"

"Because... As much as he made me into a female genie, it was this hyper-exaggerated thing, male fantasy stuff..." Eris visibly shivered at the memory. "Anyway, I wasn't in control. My body was to grant wishes as they were made, exactly as the wisher intended. After my first master, I was able to break free of my curses by connecting with the magic I had felt myself use. Then I was finally able to change my body. Only when I thought about returning to what I was..."

"You didn't like it."

"Exactly. I rearranged my new form instead, until I hit upon a reflection that was me. The same one that had been hiding inside all along. Like you, it was a powerful enough moment to bring me to my knees, so to speak. I didn't actually fall to the ground, but it was... Everything I truly wanted."

"What did you do from there?"

"Long story short, I realized all the harm I caused as a mortal came from trying to run away from being a woman. I determined that, somehow, I was going to undo the harm I did. I didn't do it thinking I was going to free myself. From my binding, I knew for one I couldn't be wished free. And I didn't know I could earn my freedom either. I came to accept I was going to be enslaved forever..."

"That must have been hard."

"It was, but the worst part was being stuck in the lamp until I had a new master. I could feel the passage of time.  Years went by while stuck in it. I eventually conjured up libraries of every book ever written just to give myself something to do. I didn't even have contact with other genies for my enslavement..."

"But you are free now. How did you earn it?"

"Over time, I guided a series of masters to make wishes that not only benefited them, but to others as well, slowly erasing my old kingdom. I successfully removed my old self from history, and I was granted my freedom because I granted wishes out of genuine kindness and compassion for the people I was granting wishes to, all without expecting a reward - I was only trying to do the right thing. It took over 300 years to become free."

"At least I don't have to go through that... But I have to ask: do you know what happened to that Darumond guy? Is he still around?"

"Thank God no. After my imprisonment, he moved on to cause even more chaos. He created more genies, each worse off and more cursed than the last. Eventually, after causing a genocide, his soul was fragmented, hidden in the darkest corners of reality, and his magic siphoned and given to those who could purify it."

"Yikes."

"We were able to undo the genocide with special permission from the powers that be, but the genies... We're still cleaning that up. Somehow, Darumond managed to create 500 new genies in as many years. No doubt he corrupted wishes - changing wishes so much that they didn't resemble the original wish anymore -  the only thing he could do as an enslaved genie, because between turning me and his judgement, he went from a human-like genie to a demonic one. That is a sign that magic has been corrupted." Noting the concern on Ariel's face, Eris added, "Don't worry, you already said you want to be true to the wisher's intent. You don't have to worry about corrupting yourself like that."

Ariel's home construction was slowing down. Most of the structure and important objects had come into place. Now finer details were etching themselves into the space.

"You mentioned other genies he created?" Ariel asked.

"Yes, all sorts of people were transformed. Many didn't want their powers, and once a genie has been created, it is hard to undo. We've had some mixed results, in part because of Darumond's curses, which are still potent to this day. Being one of his victims that took to the power I was given, I was given the task of guiding others who were forcibly changed but have decided to stay genies. There aren't a lot of them, and many are confined to their vessels still. I at least give them some much needed company while they await their next masters."

"They sound lonely... Could I help you with that one of these days?"

Eris couldn't help but smile. "Not more than an hour into being a genie, and you already want to comfort those bound to their vessels against their will, give them company. I think that can be arranged." This one will go far, I just know it, Eris thought.

Both of them looked around. Ariel's new home was complete now. Lined with wood walls, high ceilings with the roof frame visible, and plush rugs littered throughout, it felt like some sort of lonely cabin out in the woods. It had modern amenities, from the highest-end kitchen appliances of today to quality electronics. Ariel even added working wi-fi. Eris could tell this place was a mix of Ariel's imagined comfort place and some of the things she had always dreamed of having in life.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Ariel muttered before closing her eyes and putting out her hand. A swirling mass of energy formed in front of her hand, slowly taking shape. Eris sensed the magic involved. Ariel was actively searching for things from her old life she treasured and bringing them here as she remembered them. Things started coming together, like a set of game consoles and games - all in the condition Ariel last left them in. Eris sensed the effort Ariel was using, as she found through her search of the cosmic timeline that Ariel's former parents sold all of her things. Ariel was searching across time and space, either retrieving the item outright or copying it at the last moment before things were erased and became someone else's. Gathered were cherished toys and the games Ariel played - and all the save data she accumulated - which then were fit into a couple of storage tubs and gently set on the ground.

"Alright, THAT is everything!" Ariel said, admiring her work.

"Just couldn't let some things go, huh?"

"Well..."

"I get it. And besides, you now will have a lot of free time ahead of you. Too, our past informs us of where we go sometimes. Having things from our old life reminds us of these things."

"Anything you kept from your old life?"

"Not much, but..." Eris surrounded herself in magic, and Ariel watched as Eris's clothes shifted and her legs reformed. When the light faded, Eris was the image of a genie the Ariel had expected before. An outfit of purple and lined with gold, it has pointed shoes, silky (but opaque) harem pants, and a strapless tube bra. On her wrists were ornate bangles that were reshaped from her old magic shackles. And Eris's red hair was in the classic updo ponytail often seen in genie legends, revealing the full extent of her pointed ears, a detail Ariel now shared. Most striking was the tube bra, which had golden sword-shaped wires acting as her bra's supports, forming the tip of a triangle at their blade tips, where a golden crown shape was adorned, conveniently covering up whatever cleavage would have been showing there.

Eris gestured to that very detail. "The delta swords and crown emblem here was mine as king. I added this after a while, the only real callback to who I was. The rest from my old life came after my time. I didn't really treasure anything from my mortal life..."

"I see... I think I am done in here for now. Let's head back outside." Ariel dematerialized into smoke, and headed through the portal. Eris followed suit, and both of them flowed out of Ariel's flashlight and reformed in the snowy field, Eris choosing to reform with the clothes she had been wearing earlier in the day.

"So, Ariel the genie, what's your plan now?"

Ariel closed her eyes. She could sense who was to need her, just as Eris described. She sensed there was a teenager, living in the same area Ariel herself grew up in. A quiet one with a lot of secrets and very lonely... One that struck close to home.

But now was not the time. She could see that. The opportunity would come a year from now, the perfect time to present herself to one who would need her help to build trust, make friends, and ultimately become the person of their dreams.

As such, she had time.

"You know what? I have some time before I am needed. For now, I think I will stay here, and enjoy the scenery. After that, who knows?"

"Alright, before I go..." Eris formed a small ball of purple light in her hands and gave it to Ariel. "This is the magic equivalent to my contact information. If you want to talk or join me in my vessel, you can send me a message!"

"Thank you for everything, Eris!"

"You're welcome, Ariel, and good luck!" With that, Eris picked up her vessel and vanished with a flash of light.

Ariel sat down into the snow. She stared into the night sky and watched the dancing of the lights. She now could soak in the beauty of the world without a worry. Her new life had begun. She grabbed her flashlight vessel and held it in her hands.

"Thank you," she said towards the sky, to the one she now knew had been listening and watching all along.

She smiled and continued watching the lightshow before her. She was content to be here for another few hours. This place was magical.

THE END, FOR NOW.

By CrystalSeaDragon44