MelissaI shifted nervously atop my horse, one arm across my midsection - which is to say right under my new breasts - and the other clutching desperately at the reins.

  We’d left the city behind almost an hour ago, heading out and onto a forest road. We’d been lucky enough not to pass anyone, yet, but I wasn’t sure that luck would hold. In fact, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t. I mean, there were witnesses, and there’d definitely be a trail, seeing as how we weren’t exactly taking pains to cover our tracks.

  Not that I was all that sure what we could do to cover our tracks…

  There was another problem I was facing, too - one that was just a little more pressing, for me personally.

  “Lonna?” I called out, nudging my horse forward.

  The woman in question had taken the lead in our flight, on a mare the color of roasted chestnuts. One my own, dun stallion, was more than eager to get close to, our two horses whickering to each other as we got closer.

  Though maybe I was just focused on that because I didn’t want to think about my actual problem.

  “Uh… Lonna?” I tried, again.

  “You’re going to fall off if you don’t hold on,” Lonna warned, her yellow eyes flicking first to me, 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 me.

  “No, it’s not that... It’s…” I could feel the heat working its way across my 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 me.

  “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…” I trailed off, fully aware of how bright red my face was. “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…” I 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 st life?” Lonna asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Well… I was sort of…” I gestured awkwardly, with the hand holding the reins. “There was a undry mix up? And I was holding it when you transferred me, so…” Reluctantly pulling my arm out from under my breasts, I reached into the pocket of my 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. I did the same, and Talith - seeing this - pulled his riding drake to the other side, before dismounting and walking toward us.

  “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?” I asked, wrapping a strand of hair around my finger and lightly tugging at it. “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?” I expined, 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 decred, 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 pcing her delicately on the ground.

  I also dismounted, stumbling a little when my feet hit the ground. My inner thighs were a bit sore from riding, even though it had been maybe an hour, so far. I was not looking forward to riding more.

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

  I did as asked, following behind Lonna until we were deep enough into the trees that I couldn’t even see the road. Only then did Lonna come to a stop.

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

  I nodded, a faint blush on her cheeks as I looked about the woods. I found a good spot after just a second of searching, 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 my boxers and sweatpants back on, I stripped off my pink shirt. Which was easier said than done.

  Thanks to my new height, bigger muscles, and of course the twins, the fabric felt practically painted onto my skin. It wasn’t that it was hard to get it off, but doing so without ripping it was another matter. Lonna’s impatient toe tapping didn’t help anything, either. Eventually, though, I managed to pull it up and over my head.

  Then came the bra. The cups were too small, and the band barely reached around my back - I could get the hooks to touch, with a little effort, but I couldn’t seem to maneuver them into position to csp on.

  “A little help?” I called out, turning so that my back was to Lonna.

  “...What kind of heroine loses a battle against an estic band?”

  Despite Lonna’s words, I still felt a pair of small hands pressing against my own, taking the csps from me and slipping them into pce. “There. Done. Now put your shirt back on, or you won’t even be able to enter the next town.”

  I did as asked - though that took a bit of effort, too, and in the end it was even less comfortable than it had been…

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

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

  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 also probably not the heroine you wanted. 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 almost sounded impressed.

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

  I smiled, as I spoke, actually excited to talk about my interests for the first time with her. For some reason, though, Lonna’s cheeks darkened, and she quickly turned her face away from me. “I’ll keep it in mind. Pnts are dangerous in this world, though - so don’t go checking any of them out without me, alright?”

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

  “What? No. I mean how they sometimes turn into monsters and attack people,” Lonna expined. “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.

  I stared after her, hesitating for a moment, before following, catching up right before we reached the road.

  “The Heroine’s going to need new clothes,” Lonna decred, 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 said, 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 her 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 pce for us to elude them.”

  “What if they’re using magic to track us, though?” I 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 ughed. “If Sorissa could do that, she would already have caught us by now.”

  “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.”

  ***

  Sorissa***

  Laying back upon my bed, I cradled a crystalline egg against my breast, smiling 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 she did as a little girl, riding on that big horse… Before I knew it, I was smiling.

  Of course, that smile quickly turned upside down when the door to my bedroom was thrown open.

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

  Without so much as giving me time to speak, the woman lifted her sword arm, and pointed the bde straight toward me.

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

  “Mona?” I frowned, pretending to think the name over 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. In fact, she wasn’t even looking at me anymore. She’d lowered her sword while I was talking, and was now staring at the maid standing by my bedside.

  Said maid, who wore a bck skirt and red apron, was another redhead with green eyes. Her gaze, however, cked the fierce emotion present in the other woman. Her eyes were gssy, and her smile was compcent. Even as the intruder stared 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 the other woman’s hand. “Mona, 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 rexation.” I set the egg in its wrought iron stand, beside the bed, the picture turning pitch bck as soon as I removed my fingers 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?” I asked, pouting a little as I stood up and strode towards the pair.

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

  “She can hear you,” I informed the stubborn woman, with a sigh. “She just doesn’t care anymore.”

  “You’re lying…” Tears dripped down Daphne’s cheeks, yet her words were spoken with surprising conviction. Eyes wide, she turned her fierce gaze toward me. “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 bde from beneath her apron, and sshed her sister’s throat.

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

  Mona wiped the bde 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?” I 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 bck skirts just so, and smiled brightly for me. Then, straightening, she turned toward her sister's corpse.

  I frowned, turning my back on the gruesome reunion. I couldn’t help but think that, perhaps, I’d gone a little far in stripping Mona of her emotions. It simply wasn’t as fun now that I couldn’t hear the girl protesting…

  Perhaps I’d dispose of her, and acquire another girl, at some point. Start the whole process over again. That almost sounded amusing. Maybe I’d even pick sisters, again - to test another bond, but this time with actual emotions in py.

  “Mona…” I started, only to stop as I felt a shiver of unfamiliar pain in my stomach. Looking down, I was quite surprised to see a red splotch had spread across the peach colored dress I was wearing.

  The bde of a sword was sticking out of my gut.

  “Mona,” I repeated, reaching down to touch the bde. With a whispered spell, the metal began to corrode and rust, until it was all too easy for me to separate the sword from its hilt. Then, I calmly reached behind me and pulled out the bde.

  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?” I suggested, a small smile on my lips. It seemed this toy wasn’t quite so broken, 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 now written across her features, as she turned back to her sister’s corpse. Hefting it over her shoulder, the broken bde held loosely in her hands, Mona moved to toss both out the window.

  I, meanwhile, turned my attention to the wound in my stomach. Or what had been a wound - while I’d been talking, it had already gone and closed itself up.

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

  Sighing softly, I waited until the maid had made her exit before turning back to the egg-shaped crystal. The moment I pced a finger upon 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 pying 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?”

  EmilieEmber