The pale young man in the robes of a wizard studied himself with clear disgust. “I don’t want to be some useless wizard! Where are my muscles! My armor! My breasts! And why am I male!?”
Mika had no words to contribute. Instead, he pulled on a lock of russet red that now tumbled over his shoulders and touched the side of the generous breasts now pushing out the top of a thick armored vest. This garment left his arms bare, revealing toned muscles that did nothing to take away from their gracefulness. Leather bracers lent a bit of protection to thin wrists, and the hands beyond showed calluses that belied their long-slender fingers. Below, he wore a set of leather breeches that seemed to hug every curve of his slim, muscular legs and nicely rounded hips. Swallowing, he reached down to pat the crotch area now devoid of any bulge. The brief check only confirmed what he suspected. She was now a woman and, judging by her clothing, a warrior as well.
Suddenly, Audrey charged at Mika, putting his hands on her new breasts and squeezing them painfully. “How dare you take these from me after I spent all that silver for that potion!”
“Hey! Ow!” Without thinking, Mika reacted. In a heartbeat, she had Audrey in a headlock. Oddly, she recalled how the old Audrey had done the same to her every time she tried to stand up to the stronger woman. Now, it seemed that she was now the stronger woman.
Audrey flailed about, his pathetically skinny arms trying to push off his captor with no success. Standing firm, Mika tried to be reasonable. “Look, we can’t go losing our heads over this. We just need to use the stone again to get back to our rightful shapes. And now that I can think straight, I should be able to handle it this time.”
The scrawny wizard glanced over to where the others now watched silently from the sidelines, a couple of them smothering laughter. Going red with shame, he went limp. “Gah, fine. Anything to get rid of this body. It was bad enough having to look at your pasty little hide, day in and day out, but-”
Snorting, Mika sent the boy tumbling to the dirt. “Mind your words or I won’t change you back.”
Immediately, Audrey shut her mouth and glared.
For Mika, this was a new experience. She had never been able to get the mercenary to do anything she asked when she had been a he. Threatening to use magic on her had only made things worse since they both knew it was a bluff. He couldn’t afford to lose her fighting skills by turning her into an animal or something, and even if he could, he would have to turn her back eventually to avoid being disciplined by his master. Now, Mika had a lot more leverage on her side. Though not for much longer.
Picking up the stone where Audrey had dropped it, Mika resigned herself. Having this advantage over Audrey had been nice, but it could never last. She knew nothing of fighting, and Audrey was no wizard. It would be better to get this over with, face Audrey’s terrible retribution, and get on with the mission. So, taking a deep breath, she invoked the spell.