A New Beginning

Run.

Run!

My legs were burning, but they did not stop  moving, as I fled.

“What am I running from?”

I turn my head around, and see an incomprehensible screaming mass rush towards me like a river. Within are places, faces, and feelings that I cannot outrun. They cannot catch me, they must not catch me.

My pace quickens, as I run through a dense forest, fog obscuring the path ahead. It does not matter, for it is surely better than what pursues me. Yet no matter how quickly I move, the mass gains on me with each passing second.

Help.

Help!

“Help me!”

A beam of pale moonlight shines directly upon me through an opening in the canopy, bright enough to blind me. With my hand over my eyes, I look up at the moons, their faces shining brightly, and within them I can see the outlines of a smile on each of them.

New warmth floods my body, and with it my courage returns. I channel that moonlight outwards, and fill the entire forest with its gentle light. It dispels the fog, illuminating the peaceful woodland, and brings forth the flowers. The hulking mass stops in its tracks, howling in pain at the bright light and seeks retreat. Escape is for naught, as its cohesion lessens, leaving the contents on the forest floor for me to examine.

I see myself. Smaller, with dark eyes and hunched shoulders. The child that had the weight of the world on his shoulders, who sought to live up to his uncle’s expectations, and could never succeed.

I approach the younger me, his expression falling upon me with confusion. It’s true, I do not look anything like how I used to. Was I still the same person? Even after it all, was this still me?

He takes a timid step forward, his hand resting on my skirt, and he looks up to me with envy. “You’re so lucky…”

I smile softly to him, and lean down, placing my hands upon his shoulders. “It will be you, one day.”

His expression falters, and he looks to the side. Holding my arms wide, I offer another smile. He hesitates, not accustomed to affection. But I know how badly he wants it. How badly I wanted it.

He finally rushes into my arms, and I embrace myself with tender care. Hot, wet tears fall onto my shoulder, as I gently stroke his… my head with my thumb.

Hefting the small child up into my arms, we look at the forest around us, the gentle and pale glow of the moon shimmering through the dappled leaves. We feel the same presence in the twins, shining upon us with approval.

A warmth rises in my chest, and with it a feeling of familiarity.

This light… this warmth… It has been trying to reach me for a long time now.

But who was trying to reach me?

*

My eyes crack open slowly, and I wince at the pounding in my head. Turning my head to look over the side of my bed, I see the familiar sight of Lilia. The head maid’s eyes grow wide, and tears stain the edges of their sapphire beauty.

“... You’re awake? Oh thank the goddesses, you’re awake!”

I try to lean up, before strong hands gently press me back down.

“Easy there Iris… you’ve only just awoken, take it slowly.”

One of my hands comes to my forehead as I realize I’ve got a killer headache. Lilia offers me a drink of cool water, which I happily obliged. “What happened? Is everyone all right?”

Pursing her lips, the head maid shakes her head, face contorted with fear and worry that makes my heart sink. “Are we okay? You go into a week-long coma, and you ask if we are okay?”

A Week?!

Panicking, I bolt upright, only to be pushed back down again. “Iris, panicking won’t do you any good. What’s important is that you rest and recover for now.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and I saw her eyes dart back and forth beneath the lids a moment, then she opened them once again.

My brow furrowed as I looked over the maid in concern. Her face is  haggard, eyes forming dark circles beneath. I knew something happened, but she would not disclose it until I was ready to rest. So I leaned back down and let out a sigh.

“Can you at least tell me where everyone is right now?” I bargained.

Lips pursed, the head maid nodded in acquiescence. “I suppose so. Azalea is-”

The door burst open, and an unfamiliar person entered the room.

She was dressed in a maid outfit like Lilia’s, but unlike her, the girl’s head was punctuated by a pair of triangular cat ears. A long and bushy tail trailed behind her, twitching back and forth. I’d never seen her before, but somehow she looked familiar-

“Oof!”

Pouncing onto my bed, the catgirl wrapped her noodle arms around me tightly, and refused to let go.

“Grrrkh! Getting… crushed…!”

Lilia’s surprisingly strong hands gripped around the nape of her neck, and the girl let out a yelp and clung even more tightly to me. “Keira, go easy on her, she needs rest!”

“No! Don’t take me away from Lukas!” She protested, in a voice that sounded more like a cute whine than human speech. My brow furrowed and I looked over the diminutive girl in confusion.

“Wait, how did you know my-” I questioned, but was quickly cut off.

“So it’s true! You turned into a girl! And a wolf girl at that!”

Blinking again, I reached my hands up to my head in search of my changed ears, only to find that they had grown even bushier and prominent when I was asleep. Beneath me, I could feel my formerly small tail, now fully grown and very soft. It felt kind of nice actually, like a big bed of floof.

At some point in the chaos, Lady Azalea had gracefully slipped in, and was looking upon the events with amusement. “You certainly inspire loyalty in your friends, Iris. Not that I don’t understand.”

My friends?

I slowly turned back to face the catgirl. Looking closer at her features, they became increasingly familiar. Her name was Keira as well, which was similar to…

“... Kendrick?” The catgirl’s expression adopted a curious mix of happiness and disappointment as she was recognized, and I realized my mistake a moment later. “I-I’m sorry, Keira! You just look so familiar, but so different, and I don’t-”

Fangs dug their way into my arm as she lightly bit me, and I let out a quiet whimper in response. “That’s for disappearing on me!”

Yup, definitely the chaotic Kendrick that I remember.

Slowly turning my head to look at Lady Azalea and Lilia, I blinked again, and slowly brought up my hands for emphasis. “What in the Lord’s name is going on here you two?”

The head maid turned her head to the side, and sighed softly, her expression looking even more exhausted than it had a moment ago. Azalea placed a soft hand on her shoulder, and turned to me with a soft smile. “She’s been a busy girl lately.” Her eyes darted to Keira, still clinging tightly to me like flotsam in a storm. “I’ll take responsibility for explaining things this time, since Alder is busy helping the townsfolk with repairs.”

“Is that where Matthew is too?” I questioned.

Lilia nodded softly, and smiled. “He wanted to stay by your side the entire time, but I needed space to work on you, and eventually Alder convinced him to come help with the repairs. Though, I did let them both know you’re awake, and they are returning with haste.”

Telepathy sure was a handy skill to have. “Thank you… now then, you were going to update me on how…” I motioned to Keira, who had begun to gently nuzzle against me. “... This happened?”

Sighing softly, the head maid leaned back in her chair, and Lady Azalea gently held her in place. “All right, but I reserve the right to postpone the explanations if I start passing out.”

Cat ears perking up, Keira grinned widely and finally pried herself away from me.

“I’ll be happy to help explain my daring rescue as well!”

The catgirl yowled as one of her ears was caught by Lady Azalea, who regarded the catgirl with a look bordering exhaustion and exasperation. “Hey! Be gentle with those!!”

“Give Iris some space, you silly thing. She’s still recovering.” Gently tugging the catgirl off of my bed, Azalea sat down in a chair next to Lilia, and placed Keira in her lap. Lavish pets followed, and the catgirl turned her head to the side, crossing her arms in annoyance and huffing. “This won’t be enough to pacify me!”

It definitely was enough. Before long she was leaning her head into Azalea’s hands, and her lengthy tail was wiggling to and fro happily.

Stifling a giggle, Lilia turned from the admittedly adorable sight and returned her attention to me. “All right… now that that’s all settled. Let me tell you about the past two weeks…”

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital

Beaulivere stared out over the vast expanse of the Capital, with its crested towers, steepled churches, and ramshackle homes, from the comfort of his balcony. The setting sun signaled the end of the day’s activity, and now the subjects would be returning to their homes.

At least, that’s how he remembered it.

Now as darkness fell upon Rhineben, the street lamps turned on, providing illumination to the denizens. One of the many wondrous applications of Magetech, the technology at the heart of the revolution that now dominated the Valyran Empire. The revolution that his daughter had begun. He did not know if he should feel ashamed, or proud of her.

Reaching up to stroke his long greying beard, the wizened councilman sighed, wondering if this was indeed the best course for the Empire.

“My Lord, won’t you retire to your chambers now?” A servant, dressed practically in a jacket and trousers, innocently asked.

Slowly turning to face the young man, Beaulivere shook his head. “Nay. The people do not sleep, and thus, neither should I.”

Pursing his lips, the servant pushed up his glasses and let out a long sigh. “It wouldn’t do for you to push yourself into an early grave, my Lord. You should get your rest while you can.”

Stepping back from the balcony into his chambers, Beaulivere settled back into his chair, a mess of paperwork stacked high upon the desk before him. “Let me review a few more reports, and then I will sleep.”

Narrowing his eyes, the servant considered protesting further, but ultimately nodded his head in acquiescence. “Understood. Would you like a pot of tea, my Lord?”

Already pulling the first paper from the top of the pile, the old man nodded his head ever so slightly. “Yes that would be lovely, erm….” For the life of him, he could not remember the servant’s name.

Without a word, the servant bowed and departed, leaving Beaulivere to his work. The first paper was a standard report on the state of the troops, having taken another minor province on the Imperial borders just a few weeks prior. Not a surprise, given their expansionist policies for the last decade or so, and it was another opportunity to bring civilization to the backwater provinces.

But they had been moving too quickly. If they kept snatching up provinces at the rate they were, then it would doubtless provoke the ire of the other empires. And united, Valyra would not stand a chance, no matter what technological advantage they might have.

His eyes glazed over in boredom as he continued reviewing report after report on the activity of his political rivals, the church’s new policies, the bounty of this year’s harvest.

Thus it came as a shock when he read the words on the following paper.

Lord Grey murdered. Identity of assassins are unknown. Will investigate further.

-V

“Lord Grey… was murdered?”

In truth he had suspected foul play ever since his sudden decline in health, followed by an equally sudden death. Many were quick to blame old age, or even the failure of his sole heir in the Academy, but Beaulivere knew his friend better than most court gossipers. Old age would not so suddenly claim him, nor would his heart break at Lukas’ setbacks in the Academy.

Lord Grey had been one of his staunchest allies in the pushback against the new bloc of young noblemen with more courage than sense. With the newfound power of magetech, they wanted to begin a war for conquest, and to establish their power over the other great Empires on the continent. Logically, it would make sense that they might decide to hasten Grey’s sojourn into the grave, but if they were willing to go so far as assassination…

The servant returned, pouring a cup of tea for him with a mechanical level of precision. Lord Beaulivere watched him warily, searching desperately in his memory for a name or a face to place this young man. His eyes settled on the tea in concern, and as he brought the cup up to his nose, he could pick up the scent of almonds.

“Is the tea not to your liking, my Lord?”

Gripping the cup tightly, Lord Beaulivere turned to look the young man in the face. “I don’t suppose there is another way out?”

Silence dominated the tense air, and the servant smiled widely, brushing his jacket aside to reveal his hand resting on a knife. Beaulivere eyed the deadly object, his suspicions confirmed. “There is another way, though I’m afraid it might be less pleasant.”

“Guards!” Beaulivere shouted, twinged with a hint of desperation.

The door opened, and a pair of guards, armed with magetech muskets entered the room, in their prominent red and black uniforms. Neither of them moved to stop the servant, and both looked to Lord Beaulivere with a haughty disdain.

Swallowing, Beaulivere realized that he’d been thoroughly outplayed. Whoever this young lad was loyal to, it certainly was not him, and neither were his guards. Mouth dry, he strongly debated drinking the tea. Poison wasn’t such a bad way to go, after all, and it was certainly a quiet way to die. Doubtless, the radicals would enjoy that.

He set the cup down. “I’m afraid I’ll have to do this the hard way. I wouldn’t want to make your job too easy, after all.”

The young man’s expression contorted into annoyance, and he quietly shook his head. Hi-her illusion dispelled, revealing a young woman dressed in black, her face obscured by a cowl. “How disappointing.” Bealuivere caught a quick glimpse of the shadowy, jagged blade as it was removed from its sheath.

Before the knife found his body, Lord Beaulivere’s final thoughts were of his daughter. If only he had accepted her, and hadn’t driven her away to the south, then perhaps…

“Alder… I’m sorry.” Were his departing words.

End of Act 1

Violet_Velvet

Thank you for reading Chapter 29 of Getting Comfortable, and a special thank you to my Beta Readers who helped with the editing!

I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you all like it!

I've been working on this series on and off for the past year. It started as a small project for a struggling friend, but as it turned out, I enjoy writing stories, so I kept at it.

There are definitely points where I feel things could have been done better, but overall, I'm quite happy with a cute fantasy story about a trans girl finding a home where she can be happy and comfy. For your continued enjoyment, I'll be working hard to refine my writing, and make it the best it can possibly be.

I am truly, deeply grateful, and humbled at all of you joining me and Iris on this journey as we both Get Comfortable.

Remember to stay safe out there!

-Violet Velvet