I followed close behind Jennings and I heard the rest of the staff get up and follow my lead. Jennings lead us to a room that, from what I could tell, was connected back to the room where the front door stood. It was a large room with a tall ceiling and there were enough fancy chairs and mini-couches so that everyone could sit.
Everyone took a seat except for me and Jennings. He seemed compelled to remain standing for some reason. Maybe it was some kind of butler protocol. It was actually better this way for what I planned to do next. I was definitely sincere when I said I wanted them to have a choice about staying on the staff. But I wanted to have some fun with the ring.
"Now before I get formal introductions from all of you," I said, "I'd like to give you at least this warning. I don't intend to make any changes in terms of the staff itself, but I do want to make some changes within the grounds of the mansion itself."
"How exactly do you mean, sir?" Jennings asked.
I answered, "I want to change all of you. I don't want to change your personalities, but I want to change your appearances." I sensed a great deal of apprehension fill the room. I stayed true to my promise not to force them into anything they didn't want, so I made a silent wish that they would not leave the room until I allowed, just so that I could control the situation. I felt that this way while I did have control over them physically, I did not control their minds.
"Change our appearances?" Alice asked. "How so?"
"Let me demonstrate," I replied. I turned to face Jennings. "Jennings, what would you say is your favorite animal?" I asked.
"Well, I...I am not really sure," he said. "I have always liked the strength and characteristics possessed by gorillas, I suppose."
I nodded. "OK. Now I apologize in advance if this hurts at all," I said. I swallowed hard and said, "I wish you would change into a kind of human/gorilla hybrid like I am picturing in my mind right now."
"What in the hell did you just say?" Alice exclaimed as she jumped out of her chair.
I smiled and said, "Just watch."
Jennings looked a bit confused but he didn't have enough time to remain that way. He looked down at this shoes which showed signs of strain. The leather seemed to be separating from itself. Then the sounds of the material ripping apart echoed in the cavernous room. Jennings' feet had grown too large for his shoes and were still getting bigger. The color of his feet also changed into a gray type of color and also appeared to be leather-like themselves.
The same gray color spread to Jennings' hands and we watched as his fingers grew larger and thicker. The changes continued to his arms. They quickly expanded and in the process swelled against his butler's uniform. His wristwatch snapped off and fell to the floor. The sound of ripping and tearing fabric was heard as his shirt and jacket shredded around his arms. His arms added layers of muscle that he had never possessed.
The shirt and jacket stopped tearing at his shoulder blades. Black hairs began to cover his impressive arms and they soon thickened considerably and grew into a coat of fur. Meanwhile Jennings' feet finishes growing and now resembled those of a gorilla. Next tearing fabric was heard again as his pants tore in the same way his other garments had previously. His legs grew more muscular and fur quickly grew over his bare skin. His pants tore all the way up to his waist, where they remained intact.
That did not last for long, however, as his waist expanded and caused the pants, and the belt that held them in place, to rip apart and fall to the floor. Jennings was now naked from the waist down. I took this opportunity to glance at the rest of the staff. Except for Alice, who remained standing in place, they kept their seats and seemed to be mesmerized by the changes. I looked back at Jennings and saw that the black fur continued to envelope his body.
I couldn't help but see his penis. It did appear to change its appearance, except for the change in color that matched his feet and its being covered in fur, but it definitely enlarged. Now Jennings' stomach swelled and this caused the buttons on his jacket and shirt to pop off and shoot across the room. His chest also swelled as his torso assumed gorilla-like proportions. The buttons of both pieces of clothing popped off one by one and the garments split up the middle of his growing back. They too fell to the floor in tattered shreds.
The fur grew over his entire upper body and next grew up to his face. His face took on the same color and appearance of his hands and feet. His mouth grew larger and pushed into a small snout. His nostrils flared out to his snout while the rest of his nose seemed to flatten. His ears changed to those of a gorilla and the fur finished growing up to the top of his head. In the process it largely covered his own hair. His head itself did not change to completely match that of a gorilla and remained in relative human proportion. It did grow in overall size simply to match the increased size of his body.
It was now that I noticed his arms had grown longer as well. They reached down to his knees. Perhaps instinctively Jennings bent over and placed his knuckles on the floor. He then stood up straight again before replacing his knuckles on the floor. It seemed as if he was trying to find a comfortable posture. He settled on standing upright.
With the changes now complete, I asked him, "So, did it hurt?"
"No," he said. His voice remained unchanged, or it may have been slightly deeper. I could not tell since he was still practically a stranger.
"What in God's name have you done to him?" Alice demanded as she walked over to me.
I was about to defend myself, but Jennings spoke first. "Alice, dear, please," he said as he walked up next to me. "Do not be cross with him. I have to say...I rather like this." Alice gasped at his revelation. "Look," he said. "I can walk normally." He walked away from us in a completely normal, human posture. "Or I can do this," he said as he placed his knuckles on the floor and walked back over to us as a gorilla. "It is incredible. Like being both things at the same time!"
I heard a few soft expressions of relief from the rest of the staff. Alice placed her hands on Jennings carefully. Apparently she wanted to know what he felt like. Since their first exchange back in the servant's quarters, I had a feeling that they might have had a relationship. This confirmed it, as far as I was concerned.
While Alice continued to examine Jennings' new body, I smiled and said to the room, "So who's next?"