With his friends changed into powerful beasts, his enemies reduced to servile weaklings, and his meal finished, Colin was ready to go and twist more of the town to his desires.
He stood up, stretching his arms, wings and tail. “I feel like taking a walk through the park, how about you guys?”
As he heard the droning response of “yes” from everyone at the table, he fought the urge to slap himself. Every time he thought he was getting the hang of this, power he made another mistake. Getting through life without asking the wrong yes or no, (now “yes or yes”) questions was going to be tricky. But at least this mistake was harmless; the only thing he caught changing was that Jane’s meal had been finished sooner.
The five dragons, and their loyal kobolds (and Jane’s living lovedoll) stood up, and made their way out of the restaurant, the transformed staff waving them goodbye with friendly smiles. “Come back anytime.”
Once they were outside, Colin motioned for Robyn to grab ahold of him again, and the little kobold did so obediently and eagerly. Jane easily lifted up her hollow companion, hugging him to her side. Sally, meanwhile, turned to her four bullies-turned-servants. “Rhonda, would you and the girls hurry back home? You can help tidy up my house, and I’ll see you when we get back.”
“Of course Your Majesty!” Rhonda said, bowing low with a bright smile on her face. “Let’s go, girls!”
The five dragons took to the air while the fairy kobolds all piled into a small car in the restaurant below them. Colin still felt awe at the sensation of the wind under his beating wings, soaring high above the heads of the humans below. Yet, looking at his friends, if any of them were experiencing the same amazement as he was, they didn’t seem to be showing it.
‘Oh, right,’ he thought to himself, after a moment, 'they’ve always been dragons now, as far as they know. For them, flight probably wasn’t any more special than riding a bike.'
The group dropped down just outside a wooded area at the edge of the local park, Robyn got off of her master’s leg, and Jane released her grip on Jack.
As they made their way down the narrow concrete path, Colin noticed a woman, probably in her early thirties, and pretty good-looking, reading a plaque on a stone pedestal on the side of the path. Feeling in the mood to try out more of his power, the wheels in Colin’s head began turning.
He looked over to his friends. “Will you guys keep going on ahead without me for a bit, until you get to the wooden bridge by the creek? Will you wait there until I arrive? And will you forget I asked these last three questions, and believe I was following you the whole time until I get back?”
With three simultaneous repetitions of “yes,” the dragons, kobold, and love doll continued down the path.
Colin approached the woman. “Hello.”
She looked over her shoulder at him, then shrugged. “Uh, hi.”
“Are you going to stay here until I give you permission to leave?”
“Yes.” The minute the woman’s droning reply was finished, a look of intense fear appeared in her eyes. She backed up against the pedestal, but didn’t dare make any sudden moves, or look away from the dragon man in front of her. “Wh-what do you want?”
Colin was surprised by her reaction, but didn’t let it distract him. “Is it true that everyone coming to the park is going to completely ignore you and I while we talk? Will they think that anything and everything they see you or me do here is normal, if maybe a bit weird, and not worth commenting on?”
Two drones of “yes,” and the woman looked even more panicked than before. In a way it gave Colin a feeling of power… but this fear just wasn’t quite as satisfying, or as twisted, as his power could make things.
“You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” She droned, then perked up again, no trace of fear in her. “Yes I have. I-”
“Because you had a dream last night that told you I could grant your deepest desires, right?”
“Yes.” The woman’s eyes widened. “I know, it’s kind of silly, but… OH! OH! You know about it! Then maybe-”
“You have a secret fetish for petrification, right? You want to be turned into a statue, an object to be owned and stared at, with no control over what happens to you?”
“Yes. Yes. Er…” The woman blushed deeply. “It’s kind of embarrassing, but I-”
“You’d do anything for the chance to fulfil it in real life?”
“Yes. YES! Anything! If you can really do it-”
Colin smirked. “Beg me.”
“What?”
“If you’ll do ‘anything’ then beg me to turn you into a statue.”
Without a hint of hesitation, the woman dropped to her knees in front of him. “Please, Mr. Davner, use your power to make me nothing more than a statue! You can keep me, leave me out here, change me back later, or let me be still for the rest of time! I’ll do anything, give anything, for this chance!”
It was actually working! Colin did his best to hide his giddy excitement. “Alright, now, address me only as ‘Master.’”
“Of course, Master, I’ll serve you in any way you wish, for I want to be YOUR statue, Master, to please your eyes, and your desires.”
“Roll over!”
“Yes Master!” The woman quickly turned on her side and flipped around, her clothing picking up leaves and dirt, as she did.
“OH, what a mess,” Colin snickered. “You can’t be seen out here like that. Take those clothes off."
“Yes Master!” As if by reflex, she was already out of her shirt, and her pants followed, the bra and panties dropping after that, leaving the woman exposed, blushing, and doing her best to cover herself as strangers walked past.
Colin looked her up and down. She didn’t have the greatest figure, but he’d fix that soon enough.
“Well, you’ve convinced me. One last question; are you a statue of a dragoness?”
“Not yet,” She said without a hint of droning, “but it’ll happen soon, right.”
Colin blinked. It was a yes or no question, why hadn’t his power worked? He thought for a moment, and spoke again.
“Did that dream you had last night also explain why my power didn’t change you when I asked the last question?” He would have asked if he, himself, knew, but he figured since his was the only mind not changed, it would be a moot point.
“Yes.” She droned, before suddenly looking very apologetic. “I’m so deeply sorry, Master, I hadn’t understood the meaning at the time, so I didn’t mention it. A voice in my dream said that ‘A question Colin asks that would make the person answering unable to reply cannot be truly answered with ‘yes.’”
Colin snorted. That voice from his dream could have had the decency to mention these little exceptions. ‘Any time you ask a yes or no question.’ But nothing about it having to be verbally, with someone to respond both before and after. Still, better that he find out now. And it’s not like there’d be any fun if things were too easy.
“The next time I snap my fingers, will a curse on you activate, turning you into a shining statue of a hot dragoness, crafted from pure gemstones?”
“Yes. Oh YES! Please do it, Master!”
“Give me a minute to think.” He held a finger over her mouth to silence her.
“Will everyone beside you and I completely forget you’d existed as a human after the change is finished?”
“Yes. Yes…” The second ‘yes’ sounded much more melancholy.
“Will you not care at all, because you are just THAT into being a statue? Would you refuse to go back, if you were somehow offered the chance? Will your mind alter to fit your body, no longer caring about being able to move or interact, only wanting to be appreciated and admired?”
Three drones of “yes,” were heard, followed by a quiet but eager “please, yes!”
‘And for a little icing on the cake to build my hoard while I’m out…’ Colin thought, before speaking, “Will this curse of turning into an anthro dragon statue, and all it’s secondary effects, spread to anyone that touches you besides myself, my family, and my friends, minions, and any servants asked to clean you? Will anyone changed have a few seconds to step away from you, while they instinctively adopt a pose as they change? And will you, and any statue turned this way, be legally recognized as my property, to do with as I please?”
Three more drones of “yes,” followed by the woman’s face reverting to tense, eager anticipation.
“Well, I think you’ve earned this, then. Strike a good pose for your owner.” And with that, he snapped his fingers.
The woman quickly stood up, holding her hand to beckon viewers toward her. A shimmering, ruby red platform appeared below her, which her feet fused to, turning the same deep, translucent red. Her feet reshaped slightly, hundreds of tiny etchings appearing in the skin to mimic the appearance of scales, while the nails stretched into pointed claws. Her legs became thinner and more defined as they shifted from flesh and blood to solid, unmoving gemstone.
“Oh, this is amazing!” The woman said, doing her best not to break her pose. “It’s everything I’ve dreamed of and more.”
She shivered subtly as the red stone overtook her hips, widening them, as a long tail, topped with lines of short, sawblade-like spikes, wound out above her bigger butt. Each part of her that changed didn’t feel like it was becoming stiff, instead, it felt like it was relaxing into the easiest position to ever hold. Even without the curse affecting her mind, she imagined she’d never want to budge from her pose even if she could. She could feel the ground through her pedestal, and the gentle breeze against her new tail, as naturally as if she had been born with them.
Her waist narrowed, and her chest swelled up, not quite as big as the teenaged Colin would have liked, but a noticeable step up regardless. Several subtle horizontal grooves went across the front of her torso to create the impression of scutes. As her arms turned to ruby and thinned down, claws appearing on her fingertips, a new set of limbs grew from her back as well, spreading into thin, translucent wings.
‘I am beyond beautiful,' the woman thought to herself. 'I’m gorgeous! A work of art! No more eating or sleeping, or any ugly, messy, fleshy things. Being pleasing to my Master’s eye, and spreading the joy of being Master’s treasure are my only reasons for being. When Master and his friends enjoy my presence, I am complete.’
Her face began to stretch out, her teeth sharpening and her nostrils growing more prominent as her jaw stretched into a pointed snout. Her ears shrank back to holes in the sides of her head, while a pair of horns stretched out from the back of her head. At the base of the statue, the words “Desire in Ruby” were written.
Colin looked over his first addition to his horde with pride. She was stunning, alright, and she was all his.
For half a moment, he wondered if she had any family, or kids. He realized he’d never even asked for her name. But he just shrugged. It wasn’t his problem. And if it ever became his problem, he’d just need to ask the right question to make it all go away.
He turned away, and followed the path his friends had walked down earlier, leaving his statue by the roadside. The more fools tried to touch what was rightfully his, the bigger his hoard would become, without him having to lift a finger. He’d pick up her, and anyone her curse was spread to, and bring them back home later.