"His?" said Greta. "You're really not from around here, are you?"
Miggs was afraid. Had she somehow offended the goddesses? "I meant no disrespect."
"Tell us about this curse." Jean replied.
"I was a man, a messenger, I was taking a short cut through the world of chaos when I was transformed into this thing. Then a portal led me to your world."
"So you regard being female as a curse, then?" Greta responded, with a dangerous edge to her voice.
Miggs's subconscious was screaming BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY!
"No, no, not at all, it's just the monstrosity of this form."
"That is good, because if you hadn't been female before you came to our world you would have been once you entered it. We tolerate no men here."
"I, I noticed that."
"And wouldn't wings be an advantage to a messenger?"
"I suppose so, but in this form people would treat me as a monster, not a messenger."
"Now tell us about your message and why it's so important." interjected Jean, in kinder tones than Greta's.
Miggs told the whole story of the Prince's kidnapping and how he had been dispatched to warn the court of the impostor, gradually losing some of the fear which had tied her tongue before. She ended with a plea to be returned to her homeworld freed of the curse so that she could deliver the message.
"Very well." Greta responded. "Perhaps your sorceress has a worthy goal in mind, but there is no reason why your people should not be warned of this impostor."
"Thank you, thank you" gushed Miggs.
"But before we open a gate to your world, we need to remove your curse." She communicated silently with Jean for a few moments.
Jean smiled at Miggs. "Since we do not regard the improvement in your gender as a curse, but a blessing, we will leave that as it is now, altering it only by making it permanent." Miggs's eyebrows shot up in horror. "As for the monstrosity of your form. . ." She gestured.
Miggs felt the scales melt from her flesh. Her wings felt a new covering, that warmed them while new power surged through them. The clumsy hooves at the end of her legs softened and reshaped themselves into human feet, then hardened again as they developed calluses appropriate to a taker of long journeys. Her breasts shrank but did not disappear, leaving her a more aerodynamic form. Her color changed from green to a light reddish-brown.
"You have outdone yourself, sweetling." breathed Greta in admiration of the beautiful, angelic being with feathered wings that stood before the two goddesses. "Now allow me to make some more subtle transformations." She turned to Miggs. "You are still not altogether happy with being female, and that is preventing you from functioning efficiently. Now you are." So much quicker than psychotherapy, Greta thought.
Miggs suddenly lost all fear and trepidation about her future as a woman. Wasn't it natural that she be female? Wasn't it infinitely better than being a male, poor deprived things that they were?
"And now for the greatest gift of all." Greta gave a dazzling smile. "You are now, and will always be, a lover of women."
"Some lucky girl back where you come from." Jean grinned.
"I'm almost tempted to keep her here." Greta spoke silently to Jean. "But I suppose we said we would send her back."
It had been a long time, going back to the Astara war, since the goddesses had last opened an interdimensional gate. Working together, they managed to open one in front of Miggs. She stepped through, her new body working with a grace and efficiency she had never known as human or demon-thing.
The court of Quell was stunned by the sudden arrival of what appeared to be an angel.
+++++++
"You notice that the world our little friend came from was close to the Astara worlds?" Jean asked.
"Oh, yes. That's why when I was altering her mind I put in a link so we can keep track of what happens to her."
"You also gave her our ability to impregnate her lovers."
"What can I say?" Greta laughed. "It's nice to give people a few surprises."