The next moment, the portal closed, and you found yourself in a pile of squirming bodies, all warm, soft, and vaguely smelling of flowers.
“Get off me, fool!” The witch growled, though her girlish voice made it come across as a whine. As you got to your feet, you found her facing off against the redhead that had once been a burly man selling fruit. “You were not invited!”
“Too bad! I invited myself.” The girl snapped back. “I demand that you fix this at once, you miserable witch!”
“Oh, I will! But first, I’ll deal with you!” The aforementioned miserable witch hissed, her eyes flashing with rage. In that instant, the merchant’s face revealed she was having second thoughts about her impulsive words. The witch jabbed a finger at her and rattled off a series of guttural syllables.
Everyone cringed, only to find nothing happening.
“What?” The witch gasped, staring at her hand. “No, it’s impossible!” Desperately, she rattled off a few more spells only to be met with silence.
By now, the merchant had figured herself out of danger, and some of her previous defiance returned. “Looks like you’re in the same boat as the rest of us, aren’t you, witch.”
The witch whirled on her so fiercely that the girl stumbled back and nearly fell. For all her malfunctioning powers, the woman still retained an impressive charisma. “Hold your tongue, child! You have no idea the disaster that has befallen us all. This was not supposed to happen this way.”
You stepped forward, finally tired of being the silent audience to all this. “What was supposed to happen, then?”
The girl glared at you, but you held her gaze. It was hard to look away from those beautiful, long-lashed eyes. Finally, she sighed. “You were the only one who was meant to change.”
“Me? Why?”
The witch explained your rare blessing/curse and what her spell had been trying to accomplish.
“So you were trying to change me into a girl!?”
“Not just a girl.” The witch looked you over with a hint of pride. “A princess. Unmatched beauty, feminine grace, courtly refinement. All the things necessary for a woman of high rank.”
“Except rank,” you pointed out. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m just a peasant. No title, no noble blood. Last I checked, a princess needs these things more than those others you mentioned.”
The witch waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, those things will come to you once you marry the prince, my dear. And in this land, noble houses are disqualified for consideration in order to prevent political squabbles. Besides, when you become queen, your resistance to magic will keep the royal bloodline as well as the realm safe. This has been this kingdom’s tradition for generations.”
For a full half-minute, you simply gawked. “M-Marry the prince!? QUEEN?”
To the side, the redhead peered at the witch with new interest. “Who are you, anyway?”
This question brought an enigmatic smile to the witch’s face, and Ebony let out a strange laugh.
Adjusting her robes dramatically, the witch straightened up as much as she could. “I…am Maridena the Crone!” She paused with a frown. “Hm, I will probably have to change that name.”
“Maridena?” The merchant’s eyes went wide. “You’re the sorceress who lives out in the marshes! You’re Mad Mari! My grandfather told stories about you!”
You also stared. Stories of Maridena, both wondrous and cautionary, were taught to every child in the land for generations. Most adults, yourself included, had long ago dismissed most of them as exaggeration, but there had always been that small kernel of doubt. Could they be true, after all?
“Bah, those fairy tales.” The witch snorted. “Do they say I eat children who stay up past their bedtime? I would wager you never heard how I helped your king’s grandfather rescue this land from a troll invasion back when he was naught but a lad and I a comely maiden. When he became king, I placed the crown on his head, too. That was when he asked for my hand in marriage, the romantic fool.” She let out a wistful sigh. “Ah, but I had to refuse. A witch queen is a recipe for disaster in a magic laden realm such as ours. No, our royal line needs protection from magic, not an overdose of it. So instead, I found him another bride, one with resistance like yours, and a tradition was born.”
“I’ve heard of those legends as well,” you said. “Except you were called the Silver Lady, and they said you disappeared. Wait, so the Silver Lady and Mad Mari are one person?”
“Amazing what happens to history, hm?” Maridena smirked before growing serious again. “Now, it appears that a new history is being written, a history of the wrong sort. The Silver Lady may very well have doomed the kingdom she had helped to create.”
“Can this be reversed?” The merchant asked.
“I know not,” Maridena admitted. “The magics involved have grown beyond anything I had anticipated. As it is, alas, our world is far too magical.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind, child. Come. We must work on a solution, or the prince may find himself with a far greater problem than finding a suitable bride.”
--------------------------------------------
Far away, Geoff leaned low across his horse’s back, praying that his stallion would gallop even faster. The strange new plague had transformed the entire town, from the mayor all the way down to the pauper in the gutter - animals, too - all replaced by the most comely wenches he had ever laid eyes on.
Geoff had only managed to get away because he had just ridden into town. When chaos descended from above, he had turned his horse and retreated without hesitation. He had to warn the next town over, to warn them about this curse that had befallen the land.
Suddenly, the sun seemed to dim. Looking up, he saw a dark haze fill the sky. What was that? Then, the feathers began to fall. Like snow, millions of feathers trickled down over Geoff and the surrounding forest. At once, the trees erupted with bestial grunts and roars that quickly changed to girlish wails and screams. Here and there, more feathers launched into the winds like geysers from the treetops.
There was no escape. This occurred to Geoff even as feathers touched both him and his mount. A wave of disorientation passed over him as he felt his body squeeze and push out in uncomfortable ways. Dark brown hair covered his vision as the broad back of his horse dwindled beneath him until his feet once more rested on solid ground. Tossing the silky mane behind him, now her, Geoff gasped in her new feminine voice only to hear an answering gasp below. Glancing down, she stared at the naked girl crouched on all fours between her spread legs. Slowly, the former animal turned to meet her master’s eyes, the oversized bit falling from her plump lips in surprise.
Overhead, the cloud moved onward towards the very town Geoff had been trying to warn.
Well, Geoff thought distantly. It seems they will be getting the message anyhow.