Light.. Andrea flung up her hand over her eyes to shield them. It was too bright, it was giving her a headache.
Something felt wrong with her arm, it was too heavy. And the floor felt so.. soft. Her eyes shot open, only to be met with the sight of her.. rather his hairy forearm across his field of vision. That's right. He had somehow become Andrew. Even his mind seemed to be accepting the fact that he was Andrew now. And that he was a he.
He sat up, the sheet that had been covering him slipped down his hairy torso. A sheet? A quick look around confirmed he was sitting upright in a bed. He looked to where the light was streaming into the room, the sliding glass doors to the balcony were letting in sunlight. It had to be morning, it was late afternoon when he had been at the castle. Speaking of the castle, there it was in the distance, the sun rising from behind it. Still on the island then, and the room had the distinct feel of a hotel. He could even hear the shower running in the next room over. Andrew looked down at himself, eyes running over his furred chest, down to the tent under the pooled fabric of the bed sheet. He slowly lifted the sheet, once more shocked to find a cock rigid with morning wood under there.
"Enjoying the sights?" The feminine voice made Andrew pull the sheet tight up against his chest in a still distinctly feminine gesture.
His eyes darted towards the source of the voice, the fortune teller sat in a chair at the room's single table. "You? You did this to me!"
"You did this to yourself child. Anything to find your brother you said." The fortune teller had her deck of tarot in her hands, idly shuffling the cards like a dealer at a poker table. "The price was your body." She pulled out one of the cards, showing it to Andrew. There was a female figure on the card, her old body, dressed in a revealing robe and holding up a lantern. It very clearly said 'The Hermit' underneath. Andrew felt almost annoyed that was what his old body was assigned. How did a smug ass like the old Andrew end up on the Emperor.
No... This wasn't the time or place. He quickly hopped out of bed, hardly bothered by his blatant nudity in front of the strange woman. Either not caring because it wasn't his body, or because it was a great body to show off. Even he didn't know anymore, and that worried him. "I need to find my brother."
The fortune teller let out a deep sigh. "You don't listen, child. You paid the price so what you wanted is yours. There's another price to pay, but not yours." The sound of the shower shut off, and Andrew suddenly realized that wasn't the neighboring room's shower, but the one in this room. "That's my cue. Enjoy your stay, I have a feeling it's not over, yet." And like that the fortune teller disappeared into mist.
The bathroom door opened and a young man stepped out, his brown hair damn against his head, a towel wrapped around his lean waist. He gave a little start when he noticed the naked Andrew standing in the middle of the room and burst into a grin. Andrew couldn't help grinning himself. He'd know this young man anywhere, Luke. And suddenly two emotions welled up in him, the sisterly affection he felt while still Andrea, and something else he was having trouble pinpointing. "Luke... I.."
Luke spoke right over Andrew. He was jabbering, it was a bad habit of his when he was excited. He'd speak fast and over anyone. "Thank god, I was worried. When I found you passed out in that castle... And do you know how hard it was to lug your neanderthal ass back here, had to kept telling people you passed out drunk."
Andrew blinked a few times, trying to absorb the wave of information. But Luke just kept on rolling. "I've been looking for you for days since you disappeared. And when that nutty fortune teller told me she'd tell me where to find you if I paid her, she told me to head right there. Then disappeared before I could pay her. Almost didn't believe her, but figured what the hell..."
Fortune teller? Shit. Andrew had a sudden bad feeling wash over him. "Luke, shut up a second and.." Andrew tried to but in, but in true Luke fashion he kept on going. Their parents used to joke that Andrea never talked because Luke never stopped.
"What's this?" In the course of his yammering, Luke had wandered over to the table where his glasses were. He reached out towards something sitting on the table.
Too late, Andrew saw it was a tarot card. "Luke, no!" But Luke already had it in his hand, and it was glowing...