Charlotte could not figure out what was going on. Was the liquid laced with a drug? Every sense was tingling; was she having a fit of some sort? She felt like she was losing control. At that moment, her legs gave way beneath her, and she grabbed for the counter to keep herself barely upright.
"What...did you do to me?!" Charlotte croaked out hoarsely, glaring at Gareth, who stood quite calmly before her.
"Not a bad choice, if I do say so myself. A bit of intimidation factor with the ability to restrain," Gareth muttered, nodding to himself as he looked Charlotte over. "The more fanciful ones can be left for when you're a bit more savvy about the way things work around here."
Huh? Charlotte was caught between panic and incredulity, but she finally followed Gareth's gaze downward. To her shock, her pants and socks lay shredded on the floor, and from the lower half of her body extended not legs but a long, tapering, scaly...a snake's tail?!
"M-my clothes..." Charlotte sputtered absently, commenting on the minor detail while her brain was still in denial about the rest.
"Ah, right," Gareth waved his hand nonchalantly, and her damaged lower garments flew into the air before her eyes, repaired themselves, and landed neatly folded on the counter, next to her shoes. Charlotte was so flabbergasted, it didn't even register that her underwear was sitting on the top of the pile.