A lonely man in his thirties sat at his computer, the dim blue light illuminating his room, shelves lined with either books, childhood memorabilia, or various piles of paper.
Leonard knew he was up too late, that he would probably hate himself in the morning, but he continued to read the fantasy stories before him. He would stop after the chapter was finished. This time, he meant it.
He didn't quite notice when it started, but he soon realized he heard faint flute music in the distance outside. He wasn’t quite sure how it managed to carry all the way into his home, but the music itself was pleasant enough that he wasn’t going to complain. It was so soft and relaxing, that he started to find his attention drifting from his computer to the music itself, as his eyes began to droop.
A calming female voice seemed to whisper in his ear. "Come here, Leonard, come out to listen to the music. It's a beautiful night, come, relax and enjoy yourself. You're tired, and deserve a little rest."
Leonard nodded slowly, and stood up. The music sounded so nice, it would feel so good to get outside and hear it a little clearer. He didn’t bother to put on shoes, simply walking out the door into the cool midsummer night’s air.
He lived in a quiet suburb, on the edge of a forested park. The dim street lights illuminated rows of little houses and an empty street. The music became more distinct, and Leonard found his eyes drooping further as he listened, his body feeling limp, loose, and at ease. Even standing up, he felt like he was more relaxed than he’d ever been.
“Come closer, Leonard,” came the voice again, “hear my song, and revel in the beauty of nature. It’ll feel so good to take in the sights and sounds of the forest at night.”
Her words echoed in Leonard’s mind, and he couldn’t help but agree with them. He felt so calm, that it almost felt as if his legs were moving on their own as he stepped barefoot across the cool grass and soft soil. Following the voice seemed to take no effort whatever, and it was so easy to simply go with the flow.
He reached the end of the yard, the transition from soft grass and soil to firm concrete sidewalks barely even noticed under the calming melody that sailed into his ears alone. Reaching the end of his block, he stepped into the woods, the tall trees obscuring the light of the street laps as he moved deeper and deeper in. No sticks or stones agitated him. The closer he got to the music’s source, the more it felt like he was walking on air, or even floating. Step by step he proceeded into the forest, and his mind focusing more and more on the music and the voice.
At last he reached a clearing, where dozens of tiny lights in countless colors hovered and danced like fireflies, circling around an inhumanly tall, thin woman, clad in a pale blue dress that seemed to flow like water, sitting on a rock, and playing a flute. Her just-a-little-too-large eyes were solid black, her thin lips navy blue, and her long ears came to points. On her back, a pair of pale-blue butterfly wings, each with three bright orange eye spots, swayed lazily.
She moved the flute away from her lips, and it continued to play without her. “So good of you, Leonard, to heed my call,” she said, with the voice that had led him here. “Why don’t you get down and rest? Set yourself on your knees, and let your feet relax.”
Leonard kneeled before her, his eyes unable to turn away.
“I’ve seen your fantasies, Leonard, your desires for strength, for safety, for escape… Such common desires, but fortune has smiled on you; in effort to relieve my boredom, I’ve chosen to grant them to you, if perhaps in a different way than you would hope. Hear the words of Fairy Queen Illessin, who cannot lie, relax, let go, and be at peace. Feel your body become heavier and heavier, as power builds within you.”
Leonard groaned softly as he felt his muscle begin to ripple and swell under his sin, his body steadily bulking up, his torso barreling out. His clothes began to squeeze against him as his body continued to grow.
“Yes, feel yourself keep growing and growing, your arms and legs gaining the strength to lift up your new mass, while gaining their own set of deadly weapons.”
Leonard huffed, feeling his legs and arms bulk up rapidly to catch up with his still-swelling torso, his finger- and toe-nails breaking as the bones beneath extended through the skin into sharp claws. He grunted, the sound of tearing fabric briefly rising over the music.
“Hm hm hm… Perhaps I should have given you instructions to remove your garments first. No matter. In their place, you’ll find you grow your own armor.”
Through the rips in Leonard’s shirt and pants, clusters of red scales could be seen emerging from his skin, locking together and covering his once-soft body. A patch on his left hand, a rash of red on his left thigh, each new spot rapidly spreading from its source to gradually envelope his still-growing form completely, only interrupted by the broader white scutes on his chest.
More tearing could be heard as his clothing finally fell to the ground in tatters. Leonard dropped to all fours under the weight of his own body, as his continuous growth only seemed to speed up, already six feet tall even on four legs.
The music continued, keeping the man's mind in a haze. "The feelings of growth and weight only cause you to fall deeper into trance, don't they, pet?"
Leonard's droopy eyes focused on the queen, any hint of his own thoughts drowned out by the music and her words. His feet bent upwards, and his spine began to lengthen, new flesh pushing out and quickly being filled with blood and bone. His tail, nearly as long as his body, dropped calmly onto the grassy ground. A series of pointed ridges rose from his back, trailing from his head all the way to the tip of his tail. His neck, likewise, stretched out several feet, becoming more and more flexible.
She looked up at the still growing beast, rising above even her eight foot frame. "Let every little muscle in your face relax, and your countenance become something to strike fear into your foes."
Leonard's scaly face seemed half asleep, his jaw dropped, revealing a tongue that was splitting up at the tip, and teeth that were getting longer whilst whittling down to sharp points, dozens more fangs growing in as his jaws steadily poked forward into a narrow snout, his nostrils moving forward with it. His ears became wider, and fanned back into fin-like shapes, while his eyes turned yellow. His hair had dropped out as scales took its place, and two conical horns grew from the back of his skull.
”And now, for a change I know will excite you; feel a fire warming you from within, and your wings stretch wide, feeling happy and free as you take your queen for a ride.”
Leonard felt as if his insides were on fire, his breaths becoming short, before he coughed a plume of flame into the air above him. Meanwhile, two new long limbs rose up from his shoulders, red scales, with a yellow, leathery membrane running down each limb and across his back. The new limb grew four long “fingers” with the membrane stretched between them, forming a pair of large wings.
“Such power, armour, and freedom,” Illessin spoke, her eyes trailing up the dragon’s body, his head now just able to rise above the treeline. “You must feel so delighted, so grateful to your queen.”
A thoughtless, fanged grin appeared on the creature’s face, Leonard’s mind not able to focus on the changes to his body, and whether he truly wanted them or not, over his sudden surge of happiness and gratitude to the fairy queen.
The music continued, as Illessin floated up, before dropping herself down on Leonard’s back. “Now, my pet, fly for me. Give your queen as she asks, and feel your delight and obedience grow all the more.”
Leonard nodded dully and beat his wings, taking off into the skies above, his thoughts still solely on the music and the queen’s words.
Illessin laughed softly to herself, watching the world speed past below her. Another night, another temporary relief from her boredom.