Gabe’s POV

  We dress quickly and head to the Mayor’s office.

  We take turns carrying Carly. She loves getting attention from all of us.

  The messenger is talking to Jandar, so to Carly’s disappointment, my oldest brother cannot take a turn caressing her.

  “Do you have any idea what this is about?” she asks, gazing up at me when I take her from Eldrin. “The messenger looks pretty serious.”

  Jandar finishes his muted conversation with the messenger and turns to address the rest of us. “Apparently, the evil sorcerer, Master Discord, is attacking our city.”

  Carly’s eyes widen in shock. “Master Discord? The Dread Disciple? Isn’t he that powerful undead master of chaos magic? This is bad!”

  “That’s right,” I confirm. “We need to see the Mayor. After that, we will need to gear up quickly and defend our city.”

  00O00

  We enter the Mayor’s Office. The Mayor informs us that Discord is on the Blasted Plain out to the west. My brothers and I must take Carly to fight Discord. Carly can use her magic powers, and as sons of Coltbridge, we must fight using weapons.

  Carly quivers on my shoulder where she is perched. “Mayor, I understand that you want us to fight Discord, but… these sons of Coltbridge are still so innocent. They have those cute freckled faces. Do you want to gamble their lives again by sending them into a deadly battle a second time?”

  “It is my duty to protect the citizens first and foremost,” says the Mayor tersely. “I believe we have been over this once already?”

  Carly sighs, her flat body quivering. “I understand. I still worry for my guys’ safety.”

  I know what we must do. We must comfort her again. My brothers and I pass the flat green Carly around, so we can all cradle her in our arms and kiss her until she is comforted. She flaps around in my arms as I kiss her. “Mmm. You guys are so sweet.”

  “Once we defeat Discord, we will come straight back home and spend the day doing what we want,” I reassure her.

  “OK, sounds like a plan,” says Carly. “Let’s go kick some chaos magic butt and then come back home.”

  We clad ourselves in armour and then head to the stables to collect horses to ride to the windward plane.

  I put Carly on my shield like I did last time and she sticks there, a green membrane with the flattened face of a girl. She surveys the stables, her brown eyes flickering over the beasts of burden.

  “OK guys, let’s get some real sturdy horses that can handle a long journey.”

  We mount our horses and pick up speed as we ride the worn weatherbeaten track that leads away from Coltbridge and to the bleakness and desolation that is the Blasted Plain.

  The wind blasts in our faces as the horses pick up speed.

  Carly appreciates the increased speed from where she is, attached to my shield. “Woo-hoo! This is kind of fun!”

  “Hold,” Orrian warns. There is something awful up ahead…”

  We see a looking shape ahead, a monstrosity carved of rock with flinty eyes that glow red from within like burning coals.

  “A Boulder Beast,” says Glorandal.

  “A demon carved from rock,” says Eldrin.

  “Hold me towards it, my love,” Carly urges me.

  I raise my shield and point the side with Carly attached towards the Boulder Beast. Carly opens her mouth wide and spews forth a concentrated soundwave at the monster. That’s the power she appropriated from Lord Shriek. The Boulder Beast crumbles into a pile of rubble.

  “Take that you rock demon!” crows Carly. “Hey, Jandar… did you see how awesome that was? That Boulder Beast didn’t stand a chance.”

  Jandar nods. “Very impressive, Carly.”

  Carly grins so that she is a beaming flattened green face attached to my shield. “Thanks! I took some cool magic away from Lord Shriek. But don’t worry guys, I’ve got plenty more tricks up my sleeve.”

  The air grows heavy as we ride further west. Carly squirms on my shield. “Ugh, chaos magic. I can feel it in the air, something really sus. We must be getting close to Discord’s lair. OK guys, we need to stay focused now. Master Discord is going to be tougher than anything we’ve faced so far.”

  A grotesque, unnatural darkness descends, like it’s a starless night. The ground trembles and a blood red light glimmers around us.

  “I curse the name, the one behind it all,” says Eldrin. “Discord!”

  Carly’s flat green face glows weirdly in the near darkness. “Yeah! We’re not afraid of you, Discord! You can’t stop us!”

  Huge flying insects surround us, their mandibles moving and clacking threateningly.

  “Hold me up, Gabe!” says Carly.

  I raise my shield and Carly quivers and glows and spits forth icy stars at the giant insects. The monstrosities freeze in place and then fall to the ground.

  “Take this you flying menaces!” says Carly.

  I hold her up towards the sky so she can spit icy sparks at the insects that are swooping down on us. We’ve got them all.

  “Whew, that was close,” says Carly. “But we can’t stop now. Let’s keep moving.”

  But soon the ground rumbles beneath us and a chasm opens in the road, making it impassable.

  “Hey guys! I have an idea. Let me try something?” says Carly.

  We wait for Carly to do her thing.

  “OK, here goes nothing!” Carly writhes on my shield and spits a concentrated sonic blast at a wide pillar of rock causing it to fall across the chasm, creating a makeshift bridge.

  “Thank you, Carly. That worked perfectly,” I tell her.

  “No problem!” she replies. “I’m glad it worked out. We make a great team.”

  As we ride, we feel a sense of dread stealing over us. Now we see a towering dark figure with glowing red eyes standing on a stony hill ahead.

  “It’s him… It’s Discord.” Carly says.

  Discord speaks, his voice dripping with malice: “Insolent worms, I will crush you.”

  “Yeah right,” says Carly. “You talk big for someone who’s all alone up there.”

  “You know nothing,” says Discord, his hollow voice reverberating with scorn. “Minions!”

  Nightmarish demonic creatures made of living fire appear. I hold up my shield with Carly attached and she spits a combo bold of her sound blast, ice breath and disruption spell at the demons. “Take this!”

  One by one, the demonic minions turn into ash. “Ha! That showed them,” says Carly triumphantly.

  “You cannot defeat the true master of chaos!” rants Discord.

  I hold up my shield with Carly on it, and she spews another bolt combining her ice breath, sound blast and disruption spell, this time directed at Discord. The fiend disappears and reappears a short distance away, so the blast misses. The lord of chaos can teleport very short distances. Carly curses and sends another blast his way, and this time she is too quick for the Dread Disciple. The blast makes contact and Discord’s head is blown to smithereens.

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  “We did it!” cheers Carly as my brothers whoop. “We actually did it!” Her flat green face is grinning from ear to ear.

  But then Discord grows a new head and laughs scornfully at us.

  Carly is as nonplussed as I am. “What the – how did he do that?”

  Discord’s gauntleted hands morph into talons. “I will tear the boys to doll rags. I’m sure you don’t want to miss that, green monster,” he says in a sneering voice.

  “Over my dead body!” Carly leaps from my shield, flinging her flat green body at Discord, ready to take him down or die trying.

  Carly bites onto Discord’s taloned fist and makes a weird slurping sound. Discord swipes at her, but there is a flash and an explosion. Discord is blown to bits and Carly goes sailing through the air and lands in my arms.

  “Hey there, handsome,” she whispers.

  The unnatural darkness lifts and it’s daylight again.

  Carly groans and writhes in my arms. “I’m hurt…”

  My brothers gather around us. “You are the heroine of the hour once more,” says Glorandal.

  “What ails you, magic one?” asks Eldrin.

  “Will you be alright?” asks Jandar.

  “I’ve been better,” Carly admits. “I think I absorbed that creep’s morphing power which is why he blew up. He couldn’t use it to regenerate any more. Lay me down on that flat rock please, Gabe.”

  I lay her down on the rock and she begins to vibrate and to my surprise, swells and grows and distorts before my eyes. The air seems to warp around her and now my heart leaps as I suddenly see her in her human form again, a slender red headed girl, although still with her green mask on. She looks just as she did before she was hit by the spell that turned her into a flat green creature. She’s even wearing the same clothes.

  I am stunned. Carly, human again, runs forward and I automatically put my arms around her and she hugs me with two arms.

  My brothers murmur in astonishment.

  “I can’t believe it,” says Carly breathlessly, gazing up at me with bright brown eyes through the eyeholes in her mask. “I’m back to normal! Well, sort of. I still have this mask on my face.”

  I hug her and kiss her green nose. I’m giddy with joy. “I – I’m so glad you’re back,” I say hoarsely.

  She grins up at me. “I’m glad to be back,” she says, wrapping her arms around me. She puckers her lips in expectation, so I lean down and kiss the lips of her mask.

  My brothers all surround us and offer Carly their congratulations on her return to her human form.

  Carly’s mask ripples as her face underneath moves to form a smile. “Thank you,” she says gratefully. “I’m so happy to be here, in the flesh, with all of you.”

  It’s time to go back to the Mayor to report our success. Eldrin takes the warped gauntlet of Discord to show the Mayor. Carly rides with me on my horse. She wraps her arms around me tightly to keep steady and presses herself against my back. “This is nice,” she says. It’s distracting, feeling her firm breasts mashed against me.

  00O00

  Back at the Mayor’s office, we share the news of Carly’s good fortune in regaining her human form and her heroism in defeating Discord singlehandedly.

  “I don’t know about singlehandedly,” says Carly with a shrug. “We all played our parts.”

  “I award the Masked Maiden a hero’s stipend of 500 gold pieces a year,” says the Mayor.

  “Five hundred gold pieces a year?” says Carly. “That’s so much money!”

  Carly had quite a frugal childhood.

  Carly turns to me and grins, the green mask rippling as her face underneath it moves. “It’s time to talk about our marriage. I want to be your wife and have that duty, but I still don’t wanna be bound by societal expectations. I don’t want to be like other women. I want to be able to spoil you and pay for dates.”

  I remember how upsetting she found the topic of the traditional role of women in Coltbridge and nod. If she marries me, it must be on her own terms. If she doesn’t want to be a traditional sort of wife, then so be it.

  “He’s always been our littlest brother,” says Eldrin. “Our baby brother, really. Pampering him will work out just fine.”

  “Well I guess that means I have permission to spoil him rotten,” says Carly, smiling.

  00O00

  Carly hires a pair of horse drawn private carriages to take us back, one for herself and me, the other for my brothers. When we reach our destination, she wants to treat me like a prince and escort me down from the carriage, so she touches my arm when I reach for the door and gives me a meaningful look. Then she snaps her fingers and teleports outside using the teleportation magic she drained from Discord. There is a thump and the carriage door swings open, but to my dismay, Carly is lying on the ground by the carriage, totally flattened. She looks like a paper doll with a green face. Not like her inhuman green disc shaped form, but like her human form flattened into two dimensions.

  “How did his happen?” she demands, her voice sounding flat and echoey. “I was trying to teleport outside the carriage to open the door for you.”

  I notice a breeze is causing her to begin to blow away, so I grab her paper thin arm so I don’t lose her. “Focus. Use your morphing powers,” I urge. “Change yourself back.”

  “OK,” says Carly, as she hangs limpy in my hand. “I just need to concentrate.”

  “Focus on your heart. Feel your blood pumping in your veins. You’re alive. You’re not dead. Concentrate on your heartbeat.”

  The flattened green face girl closes her eyes. “OK, I’m focusing on my heartbeat. I want it to pump blood through my veins again.”

  “Now morph yourself back.”

  “I can do this…” comes Carly’s echoing voice.

  “You’re doing great. Just focus.”

  “I’m trying,” says the flattened girl through gritted teeth. “It’s just hard to concentrate when I’m flat like this.”

  “Keep focusing.”

  “I think it’s working,” she says excitedly. “I can feel myself tingling and changing.”

  “Good job. Keep going.”

  Her flattened body begins to inflate. “I’m almost there,” she says, her voice growing stronger and less flat. “Just a little bit more.”

  “That’s it, Carly! Keep focusing! You’re doing it!”

  She inflates further and starts to fill out. “I’m doing it!” She exclaims. “It’s working! I can feel myself becoming 3D again!”

  My brothers have gathered around us and are watching as Carly regains her human form once again.

  “Congratulations,” I say, helping her to her feet. She is now a flesh and blood girl yet again.

  “Phew, I can’t believe it,” she says, looking down at her hands. “I’m back to normal. Thank you so much for helping me.” She glances around at my brothers and bites her lip. “Umm, hi guys,” she says sheepishly.

  “For what purpose did you become a paper doll?” asks Eldrin. “Was it an ingenious disguise?”

  “No, it was not a magical disguise,” says Carly folding her arms. “It was a magical accident. I could have been in serious trouble if my prince wasn’t here.”

  “Why do you call Gabe a prince?” says Eldrin.

  Carly smiles, crinkling her shiny green nose. “Because he helped me morph back when I was flat like a paper doll. And because of that, I want to pamper him like royalty.”

  Carly takes my hand and we enter the parlour. Mother is here and so is Elmaya. Little Maya gives a little squeal as she recognises Carly restored to her human form. The little girl runs forward with her small arms outstretched to greet her masked playmate. “Hey there, munchkin!” says Carly, grinning from ear to ear. She scoops little Maya up in her arms and they rub noses together happily.

  It is time for my brothers and I to share our bath. “Come, brothers…” says Jandar.

  “No ladies allowed,” says Eldrin.

  “Oh,” says Carly sheepishly. “I guess I can’t share a bath with you guys anymore since I’m human again.”

  “No, mother and sister will share a bath with you instead,” I assure her.

  Little Maya giggles.

  Carly blinks. Is she taken aback by this news? “Oh,” she says awkwardly. “Um… OK then.”

  Mother touches Carly’s arm. “You look lovely once again, Masked Maiden.”

  “Thank you,” says Carly shyly. “I have to admit, I’m used to having a green face now.”

  Carly’s POV

  So, I can’t share a bath with a bunch of hot guys. Never mind. I’m trying not to mind. I carry Elmaya as I follow Lilyanya to the Ladies’ Bathroom. I look around in awe at the blue marble walls and the small swimming pool filled with rainbow coloured bubbly water. “Wow,” I say softly. “This is some bathroom.”

  I supervise Maya with getting undressed as Lilyanya lights green candles and adds green essential oils to the bubbles. The room is soon filled with a soothing spa-like atmosphere.

  I carefully step into the tub with Elmaya. I lift up the little girl and sit down, placing her on my lap. “Isn’t this nice, sweetheart?”

  Elmaya giggles and kicks her legs. “I’m a little mermaid.”

  I laugh softly. “You are indeed. A very cute little mermaid.”

  Lilyanya undresses and steps into the pool. All three of us are now sitting together in the bubbly water. Elmaya snuggles against my chest and I stroke her hair.

  “Let me wash you, my dears,” says Lilyanya.

  Lilyanya wants to wash our hair. She hums as she does it, clearly enjoying taking care of us. I suppose that’s a mum thing.

  “I will get lonely sleeping on my own tonight,” I say.

  “Then sleep with little Maya and me,” says Lilyanya.

  “Are you sure?” I think I’m blushing under my mask.

  “Of course I am. You are welcome to join us.”

  “Thank you,” I say, smiling with the lips of my mask. “I’d love to join you and Elmaya tonight.”

  “Yay!” Squeaks Elmaya. She bounces on my knee and claps her hands.

  “It sounds like you’re looking forward to a fun sleepover,” I say, caressing her damp hair.

  After the bath, I dress Elmaya in her cute blue onesie covered in pink bunnies. I haven’t used my night clothes since before I was transformed into a flat green blob, and I’m not sure where they are, but Lilyanya has a spare nightdress for me.

  Lilyanya’s room is covered in blue velvet drapes, and so is her bed. Little Maya and I climb into bed with Lilyanya and the three of us snuggle together under the blankets, enjoying each other’s warmth.

  Little Elmaya falls asleep almost immediately. I smile softly and stroke the little girl’s long brown hair, feeling a sense of contentment wash over me.

  When I said I was lonely, I had hoped that Lilyanya would let me sleep with Gabe, but I suppose she’s adamant that if I have lady parts, I can’t sleep with him until we’re officially married.

  Now Elmaya’s asleep, I have to vent to Lilyanya about what’s on my mind.

  “I’m so afraid for all of you,” I say. “There is one Dread Disciple left. The Duke of Death. We all know he is a dangerous monster, and I’m scared that he could hurt anyone I love at any moment. I have all this magic power now, but is it enough?”

  I remember how my spell went wrong earlier when I tried to teleport.

  “I have complete faith in you, dearest,” says Lilyanya.

  I look at Lilyanya’s freckled nose and cheeks and her dark blue eyes. She does remind me of Gabe.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you or your kids,” I vow. “I’ll do everything in my power to protect all of you.”

  00O00

  The next morning, I jolt awake and see that the sky outside the window has turned blood red. There’s a panicked woman in messenger’s uniform by the bedside. “The Masked One is summoned as a matter of urgency,” says the messenger in a shrill voice. The Duke of Death is near!"