Hatching a Heroine

[EmilieEmber]

It's one thing to be pulled into another world to fight an evil queen, but what do you do when the spell that transports you there also gives you a woman's body? And what if it feels... right?

This is the story of a trans woman who finds herself in a body she isn't yet willing to accept and a world she doesn't yet know how to save. I've been working on it for the last seventeen years. It's been reworked, rewritten, and reimagined so many times that it can hardly even be compared to the story it was when it all began - and yet it's still undeniably a continuation of the tale I started telling when I was a kid. What you are about to read is an edited first draft of the final version.

I've written fourteen chapters so far. I intend to release one every other day until I'm caught up with what I have written. With luck any luck, by that point I'll have more ready to go.

This story was written by me and edited by my friend Talia B. The cover - which can be found here - was done by PB Manning. A good chunk of the story was also proofread by my friend FallingLeaf.

 

[EmilieEmber]

Running up the hilltop, squeezing the scroll against her body, Lonna couldn't help but smile. Never mind the tightness in her chest from an hour of running. Never mind about the brambles scratching at her arm as she ducked between trees. Never mind the ringed moon overhead, which brightly lit the sky enough for even a human to see her.

...Except maybe she did mind the last bit, a little. She was grateful for the shadow of the trees, and the cover of her green cloak, which worked together to obscure her features.

Of course, no matter how much effort she put into darting through shadows, it meant nothing with a traveling companion like Talith. Every time the laspi planted his fists into the ground and swung his body forward, he made a thud that surely could reach every ear in the forest. But even if he was silent as a mouse, a six foot tall creature of clay couldn't exactly blend into the foliage. Again, Lonna wished she could have convinced Talith to stay home. Especially since he objected to her plan. But in the end, he was her brother, and she couldn't just leave him.

"I still think this is a terrible idea," Talith muttered, as if reading Lonna's thoughts.

"Don't you get bored of repeating yourself? You said the same thing about my last two plans."

"No. Coming back to Ife was a bad idea. Stealing from the queen was a stupid idea. This? This right here is a terrible idea."

Lonna just rolled her eyes and continued to stride up the hill. Her breathing was coming in ever shorter gasps, as she forced her way further up the hillside, but she squashed it down, along with her anger at Talith's constant naysaying. "If you didn't want me to cast the spell, you shouldn't have let me steal it."

Sure, Talith had tried to talk her out of stealing the scroll, back when she first brought the plan up. Lonna wasn't the sort to be stopped by mere talk, though. Maybe if he'd been willing to put up fists, things would have been different. Or maybe she just would have given him a proper beatdown. Lonna herself didn't know what could have been. She only knew that he had failed to stop her, just like the palace guards.

Intellectually it did occur to Lonna that she was being unfair; she was the one doing whatever she wanted, and it wasn't right to blame everyone else for failing to stop her. But then she shrugged off that uncomfortable thought, grinned widely to herself, and squeezed the large scroll tight against her body. "Just think of it as Sorissa giving me a birthday gift. Besides… I think summoning the heroine is my best plan yet."

The heroine. The one who would defeat Sorissa. The only one who could put an end to their immortal queen's unjust rule. Lonna had first heard that name as a child, asking for bedtime stories. Back then, the idea of someone who could kill an immortal queen had made her shiver with fright… but back then, she hadn't understood what sort of person Sorissa was. She hadn't realized how evil the queen could be. Now, if she was shivering, it was with delight. She would be the one to summon a legend and free everyone.

When they finally crested the hilltop, Lonna immediately kneeled down in the grass. Placing the summoning scroll down on the floor, she unrolled the large piece of parchment to reveal the first words of the summoning spell. Though it was really more of an introduction: "To summon the heroine in your heart," was written out clearly in fluik, an intricate script that wrapped itself into a circle.

Even though she'd barely unveiled the instructions, Lonna's heart was already pounding with excitement. "What sort of person do you think she'll be?" she asked Talith.

"How should I know? You're the one always going on about her." Talith had his arms crossed and his back turned, pretending to keep a lookout. The stiffness in his speech betrayed the anger that Lonna knew was mainly directed at Sorissa. She didn't want to think about that, though. She wanted to focus on the spell.

"She's probably strong and smart, and cares. I bet she kills tyrants for fun." While there were rumors and stories about the heroine, no one actually knew what she looked like or what she did when she wasn't killing immortal despots. The only thing Lonna knew was what the queen had said time and time again: her reign would end when the heroine came.

Now Lonna had the spell to summon her, stolen from the queen's own library- something she doubted any other thief could accomplish. Even better - when she'd taken the time to actually read the spell, she'd found it shockingly easy to cast. One simply had to climb a hill under a full moon, and carve the proper runes into the dirt.

Of course, the fact that it was so simple was cause for a little concern. Since it had no special techniques, or particular equipment, it was like a brute force sort of spell. The sort of thing that simply tore whatever power was necessary from the caster. And she had no idea how much power it would take.

"You know… You don't have to be the one to summon her."

Talith's comment dragged Lonna from her thoughts, and she blinked blankly up at her brother. Although she understood the words that were being spoken, they made very little sense to her.

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean. You did this, fine. Why not let someone else finish it? I know you care about-"

"I cared about Mom," Lonna spat at her brother, daring him to repeat his absurd suggestion that she should let anyone take away her victory.

Talith looked away. "...Mom would have wanted us to stay safe."

"We'll be safe when Sorissa's dead," Lonna said, staring at the ground. She knew what their mother would have said, sure, but Sorissa had killed her.

If not for that… if she'd been left in peace… Lonna knew she wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop Sorissa. She would have, as Talith put it, let someone else finish it.

Was she a terrible person, for not simply wanting to stand against tyranny? ...Maybe. But Lonna didn't care.

Spreading the scroll out, she skimmed the instructions one more time before turning to the list of symbols. She found a twig and, careful not to get so much as a line out of place, she began to etch the symbols into the ground, in a circle large enough for a woman to stand.

Some small part of Lonna hoped that she'd be stopped. But Talith wouldn't do it, and Mom couldn't, and Sorissa would have done so by now. The only way the spell would fail was if she, Lonna, gave up.

It wasn't like she wanted to die. But she wasn't exactly doing this as a pure hearted princess, calling on a noble heroine for help. She was just a dirty thief. So if she died… Well.

All that mattered was that the spell succeeded.

All that mattered was the heroine.

***

Arching his back, and stretching his hands toward the ceiling, David tried to shake off the stiffness that came from sitting too long in one place. The drawing he'd been working on, a sketch of a dragon fruit, had taken much longer than it should have to complete. Though the time had gone less into the drawing, and more into the research. The assignment had only been to sketch a fruit, but David had been assigned a dragon fruit, so he'd wanted to make sure he got the spikes right, and the seed placement correct. He hadn't been sure if there was really a pattern in dragon fruit seeds - there wasn't - and researching that had only led him down the rabbit hole further, until he'd ended up doing three hours of research for a single sketch. He still had a few hundred pages of reading to do for his other classes, as well.

Thankfully, it was a Friday. He could take some time off. Maybe have a nap? Though that would probably turn into sleeping through the night. Maybe if he just napped in his chair? He always woke up after a few hours when he dozed off at his desk, and that could qualify as a nap… but then he usually just ended up crawling into bed and going back to sleep. Besides, he had put laundry in the dryer before he started focusing on the sketch, and he was pretty sure it had to be finished.

...Well, he'd go get his laundry and then maybe play on his laptop in bed, until sleep claimed him. Perhaps he'd even stay up as late as Eleven PM.

"I don't get it, man?"

David froze in place, upon hearing his assigned roommate's voice. It had emanated from the kitchen and, now that David was actually listening, he could hear the faint sound of bottles clinking against each other as Anthony rummaged about in the fridge. Not that Anthony actually kept any of his own food in the fridge. He usually ate in the cafeteria, which meant that the fridge was mostly stocked by David. Which didn't stop it from being treated as communal by Anthony. Something David would have considered bringing up, if not for the nature of. Well. Anthony.

"Why can't I get laid? I thought college was supposed to be a smorgasbord of horny chicks!"

"...Maybe it's because you say stuff like that…?"

The tone in David's voice was angry, but his words were spoken low. They weren't meant to be heard. Which only meant it was a surprise when Anthony turned around, and tapped at the grey bluetooth piece in his ear.

"You say something, man? I'm on the phone."

"I…" David swallowed, took a deep breath. This was his chance. This was his chance to stand up, not just for the women on campus, who weren't here to do it themselves, but for his own self. Anthony showed no respect for anyone, and all David needed to do was say the words. He opened his mouth, took a deep breath… and looked away, so that Anthony wouldn't see the scowl on his face. "...I said I need to go check on my laundry."

"Ooooookay? You gonna check in on me about your bathroom breaks, too?"

"Sorry…"

Anthony didn't respond; to David, at least. He was talking quite a bit to his friend, on the bluetooth, and by the time that David actually escaped the room he'd heard a couple theories about why the girls weren't into "real men" at this school.

As soon as the door was closed, and the words were left behind, David moved for the stairwell. He was on the third floor, and the laundry machines were in the basement. He had plenty of time to think about what his roommate had said… and how he was at fault, too, for never having the courage to say a word.

David reached the basement quickly, his legs moving almost as fast as his thoughts. Out of breath, David decided to sit down, and lean back against the washing machines. Glancing both ways, to make sure that he wasn't being watched, he wrapped a few strands of brown hair around his finger, and tugged hard enough to hurt. It was a bad habit his mother had long been trying to talk him out of, but he honestly felt that it helped him think. It took some of the mental anguish, and pain, and made it physical, relatable, and understandable, so that he could move past it.

Today, it wasn't helping much. What was I supposed to say, he wondered. "Hey, can you stop treating women like shit?" Like that would have gone over well… and it wouldn't have made a difference, anyway. He'd never listen to me.

...I'll say something. Next time, I'll definitely say something. After all... You gotta be the kind of person you want to see.

Deciding to shelve the matter, for the time being, David got back to his feet and made his way to the dryers in the back of the basement. Opening the machine, though, caused the overflowing unit to drop an article of clothing: a pink bra, with even bright pink lace decorating the bottom of the cups.

"This… Is definitely not mine," the college student whispered, leaning down to pick it up, completely unaware of the glowing lights forming in the air above him. "None of these clothes are mine," he muttered, standing up and peering into the dryer. The lights began to descend. "Did something-"

He was gone.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

(It's been a long time since I first wrote this chapter. I feel like I've improved quite a bit as a writer since - you'll be seeing longer and better chapters once you reach the new content. Still, this chapter represented the best of my abilities back when I wrote it, and I'm proud of it to this day. I hope you enjoyed it!

This chapter in particular was edited not only by my friend Talia, but also my friend Penny - who did the cover.)

 

[EmilieEmber]

No story chapter until tomorrow, but I thought you all might appreciate a look at Lonna. The line art and shading were done by an old roommate of mine, while the coloring was done by me. More art to come! (This picture features Lonna in a poncho, an early design choice I might be returning to when I revise everything for publishing.)

 

[EmilieEmber]

David's eyes opened, slowly. The last thing he remembered was leaning down to pick up a bra. He could still feel that bra in his hand, the rough elastic band entwined with his fingers. So he'd definitely just done that. Yet he was now lying down in the dirt? Dirt which had strange symbols drawn into it, he realized. and those symbols were bisected by a circle, which had been drawn about him.

"Heroine?" A voice spoke, above David. A figure was standing at David's feet, her own boots toeing the circle, not quite breaking the line. She had bright orange hair, standing in stark contrast to her dark skin. The hair had been drawn into two frizzy buns on either side of her scalp. He was wondering if she'd dyed it, to get that unnatural orange color, when he noticed the girl's yellow eyes. Eyes that were focused solely on David.

This woman was talking to him, then? She'd said something about… Heroine? "Who…? Are you? he meant to ask. He couldn't force any more words to leave his throat, though. Not because the first word had come out high pitched. That had barely registered, as of yet. It was only that, as David had been forced to look up in order to meet the redhead's eyes, he had happened to notice the moon, behind her shoulders.

The moon had a ring.

The circle. The strange symbols, he didn't recognize. The girl's bright yellow eyes, like nothing he'd ever seen before. Like nothing on earth. Because this wasn't earth.

"Heroine?" the girl repeated, her voice soft, and excited.

David's mind was spinning, his personal beliefs about the world around him collapsing as he tried to understand what was going on. He'd been in his dormitory. He'd been in the basement. On earth. And now he was - where? How? He couldn't process, or understand, what the girl was saying. It almost seemed like she was calling out to him, but if so then the word surely couldn't mean what it sounded like..

It was too much. It was too much information, with too little context, being jammed into his brain all at once. David did the only thing he could think of, to calm down, nevermind the fact that there was someone watching. He wrapped some hair around his fingers, and tried to tug until it hurt.

Which was how David realized that his hair was longer.

Screaming, he slammed his hands against the ground to prop himself upright. In doing so, David noticed two things. First of all, his formerly lanky arms had grown a layer of proper muscle, and were capable of lifting his suddenly heavier body upright. Second of all, he couldn't help but notice the shifting of weight on his chest, as he got up. He looked down…

He had breasts.

Ah. I've finally become the daughter mom always said she wanted... was the first, ridiculous thought that popped into David's mind. ...But no. It's not like gender can be decided by my looks. I'm still me in here, after all. So I guess I'm just a guy in a girl's body? That explained, at least, what the "heroine" comment had been about. He was being mistaken for a girl, because he had a feminine body.

"Heroine?" the redhead was frowning, now. "Is everything alright? Did we catch you at a bad time?"

We?

David looked about, but didn't see anyone except the cloaked women, and a strange, clay statue that had been built to look like a simplified representation of a man. The statue was decorated in golden anklets, and a red loincloth. Its shoulders looked to be made of rock, carved into round joints. Perhaps the statue could move?

It moved, as David watched, turning its head about to look at him. Where the construct's eyes should be were glowing red dots, that narrowed and focused upon the hapless college student. "What's the hold up, Lonna?" the creature asked. He spoke with a deep, gravely voice, quite appropriate to his shape.

"I don't know, Talith. The heroine looks a little sick."

"Transportation sickness?" Talith asked, turning more fully toward David, and stepping forward.

Unable to help himself, David let out another shocked cry in response, before trying to stumble backwards.

"Is she… Afraid of me?" whispered the construct. The way his stone monobrow moved seemed to be expressing doubt.

"W-Who wouldn't freak out after seeing a statue move!?" David called out in response. Now, with the circle standing between him and the statue, the brunette began to climb to his feet. As he did so, he could not help but notice that the ground had seemed a lot closer the last time he stood. Had he grown taller?

Actually, hadn't he noticed it with his arms, too? That he had gotten much, much stronger? He didn't have a mirror, but just looking down - it had been laundry day, so all he was really wearing was a pink tee shirt with a stain, and a pair of grey sweatpants. Those were the clothes he'd been wearing when he left earth, and they were, unfortunately, the clothes he was stuck with, now. Yet he was definitely filling the clothes out a lot better than when he'd been on earth. He was taller, which was causing the sweats to ride up his body. He was more muscular, too, and broader in the shoulders.

"What the hell…" he whispered, looking down at his muscled, feminine form. "I'm ripped."

"Heroine," came a familiar voice. This time, David had to look down to see the tiny figure. She was maybe five feet tall. Her shoulders came up just about perfectly to David's elbow. Or they did, when she was standing. The redhead dropped to one knee, as David watched, her green cloak flowing with her movements, so as to cover her body completely from the neck down. "My name is Lonna," the woman whispered, bowing her head. "The laspi with me, is my brother: Talith. We have summoned you here, today, to ask for your help."

The woman lifted her head up, here, and her yellow eyes shone with fever as they met David's brown eyed gaze. "An evil woman, by the name of Sorissa, took the throne of this kingdom two hundred years ago. She calls herself the Matriarch of Resperan. She's immortal, which is why we need your help to defeat her. Only a true heroine can stop her." The girl smiled, at those words. "But I'm sure you're used to killing all sorts of immortal despots, right? I'd be happy to pour you a drink, and you can tell me all about your exploits. Like what's the fiercest foe you've ever faced? And did you just punch them out, or do you have - like - a hidden weapon, we can't see right now?"

"Lonna…" Talith's voice came out low, and slow. "There's something else you need to tell her, too, isn't there?"

The small woman flinched, glancing between David and Talith for a moment, before biting her lip. The way she nudged her foot into the ground made her look like a spoiled child, about to confess wrong doings to her parents. Before she spoke, though, there was something David desperately needed to say.

"Um…. Excuse me?" David smiled as he spoke, trying to ease the impact of his words.

The girl smiled back, bright and wide, and full of hope. Which only made David's smile feel fragile, and stupid, and wrong. He was panicking, a little, on the inside. He'd already accepted that he'd been taken to another world - and he's started to realize that they'd made a mistake, grabbing him - but he had never, for a moment, thought that he'd be expected to save this world. That was just patently ridiculous.

"I don't know who you were trying to summon? But I'm not the heroine. I'm not even a girl. My name's David…"

Silence covered the hilltop, following David's pronouncement. Although the brunette himself was still shifting from foot to foot, Talith and Lonna had frozen in place.

Talith recovered first, crossing his arms, and lowering his stone eyebrow. "I told you that this was a bad idea, Lonna. Spells have never been your specialty."

"W-What!?" Lonna, who had been standing stock still, mouth slightly ajar, snapped her jaw shut and turned to face her larger brother. "Don't you dare pin this on my spellmanship! I followed the instructions perfectly. I mean, sure, there were a couple symbols I'd never seen before - but look!" She pointed towards one of the symbols, that looked sort of like a T that had done the splits. "That one's the symbol for person. And that one…" She pointed to another symbol, a clockwise spiral. "That's the symbol for need. And there's also symbols for desire, fetching, and searching - among other things, but. This is definitely the heroine summoning spell!" She grabbed a scroll from the dirt as she spoke, unraveling it to reveal an inked copy of the circle that had been scratched into the dirt around David. "To summon the heroine in your heart - this is it! There's no way I'd mistake the spell - and there's no way I'd mistake the heroine!"

She jabbed a finger at David, as she spoke. "The muscles. The height. She's an ass-kicking machine, just like I imagined her! There's no way in hell that she's not the heroine I summoned!"

"But… I'm a guy…" David whispered, eyeing the finger like it might explode in her direction, or something. She still wasn't sure what was going on, but from the way they'd been talking, it almost sounded like this girl could use magic? That would seem a ridiculous claim, under normal circumstances, but David was all but willing to accept the existence of magic at this point.

"You can't be a guy!" the woman screeched, jabbing her finger again toward David. "You're supposed to be the heroine of my heart. And the heroine of my heart is an ass kicking woman, who's going to defeat Sorissa and save this land!"

"Lonna…" Talith's voice was low, as usual, but a hint of anger had crept into his words. "If he says he's a guy, he's a guy. A person is always what they say they are, even if not who."

"But…" Lonna's eyes flicked back and forth between Talith and David, before finally coming to center on the confused and scared look in David's eyes. "...Fine. If you say you're a guy, you're a guy," she muttered, deciding to stare at the ground, instead. "But you're still the heroine."

"Lonna…" The anger was gone from Talith's voice. Instead, the laspi sounded almost tired, for some reason. "Why would the heroine be called the heroine if she wasn't a girl?"

"I don't know! Maybe Sorissa misgendered her!" pointed to the circle that stood between herself and David. "All I know is, that spell was the heroine spell, and I cast it. So that means you are the heroine, Mister Avid, or whatever."

"It's… David, actually." The brunette's own voice was low, and uncertain. "But I'm not a heroine. Promise. I don't even know how to fight. You'd be way better off just sending me home, and trying again."

"...No way." Lonna looked up into David's eyes with a glower. "No. No way. This is a hero summoning spell, not a hero banishing spell, you know! I couldn't send you back if I wanted to!"

"Wait. You can't send me back home?" David was distantly aware that the expression on his face might be a funny one. His eyes were wide, his mouth was agape enough to catch passing flies. He couldn't seem to stop making the expression, though, as his mind kept trying and failing to process the new information.

Realizing he'd been taken to another world had been so ridiculous, when compared to his former experiences, that it had nearly broken him. Realizing that he was never going to get back to his old world, however, was a far harder hit.

"What about a message?" he stepped closer to Lonna as he spoke, but she stepped back in turn. The expression on her face was almost afraid, but David didn't have time to feel guilty about that. "Can we send a message out?" He tried to grab her by the shoulders as he spoke, but she ducked beneath his grasp and took another step back.

"I could maybe manage to send a letter…" the spry woman admitted. She was standing on one foot, now, using the other to rub against the back of her ankle. "I might even be able to send you back home, too. But that would require finding the right spell…"

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Lonna." Talith stepped forward as he spoke, coming up next to Lonna herself. "You've already stolen the poor guy from his home. If you can't send him home, you should at least give him some tips for living in the new world, and send him on his way, so that we can get to thinking about what to do next."

"Send me… On my way?" David whispered the words back, caught off guard.

The laspi turned his head to David, and gave a small nod. "Sorry, I've got my hands full taking care of this one. We can't afford another mouth to feed; especially not a useless one. If you're not the heroine, then-"

"I'm not useless, though!" David protested, suddenly desperate. "And don't you think you have a little bit of responsibility toward me!? You dragged me into this world! If there's not a way back-"

"There's one way back." Lonna was smiling, again, as she spoke.

"Hold on a second," Talith warned, lifting up a single, thick, clay finger. "I don't know what my sister has in mind, but I can promise you that it hasn't been thought out. You'd be a lot safer just making your own way, from here -"

"I want to know how I can get back." David was surprised by the certainty in his own voice. Perhaps it had something to do with his new, brawny, body, but he was willing to risk a little danger if it meant getting back home. "If Lonna knows a way-"

"It's not that I know a way," Lonna interrupted, smiling. "But I know where the way is. The Matriarch happens to keep an impressive library of spells; including the hero summoning spell, as it happens. Now, I didn't have all the time in the world to peruse that library, what with her being alive, but if she was… less alive…? We could probably find a spell that would send you back home." The redhead grinned, showing off a pair of sharp canines, but David only shuddered at the suggestion.

"I'm not killing anyone. Especially not without knowing the situation. Maybe if I go talk to the queen-"

"She'll take your head off." Talith spoke the words without inflection. "Lonna's plan is stupid, and crazy, and you're obviously not a killer. But if she even finds out about your existence, she'll take your head off a minute later. For the last time, I'm telling you - your best bet is to go find a nice farmer, or whatever, get married, and start popping out kids. Live a nice, peaceful life."

"...Kids?" At Talith's words, David looked down at his own body. They'd been accepting him as a guy, so he'd almost forgotten, but… "I… My body is… This isn't how I'm supposed to look. I was - I was smaller, and I was - I had a…" He blushed, faintly, not sure how to ask the question on his mind. Not willing to let it go, though, he eventually forced himself to met Talith's quizzical stare and ask "How do I get my dick back?"

Both Talith, and Lonna, stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, the laspi said "Oh."

Then Lonna tilted her head back to the sky, and just started to laugh. "Of course. Of course you don't normally look like this. Why would you? You said you were a guy in your old world, right? Well, even if we can't get you back, I know there's some body changing spells in that library. Come with me, and you might actually get to have a dick again, one day."

"Or you might die." Talith glowered at Lonna, as he spoke. "He's not the heroine, Lonna; he isn't even a girl. He said he can't use a weapon, either."

"Then you'll teach him," was Lonna's blithe response, patting Talith on the chest as she stepped towards David. "You say you don't want to kill someone - but I'm betting you'll change your mind after you've seen some of what Sorissa's done to this place.

"For now - why don't you come with us? We'll give you a place to stay, keep your existence secret from the queen, and help you figure out what you want to do next. Not a bad deal, right?" Lonna grinned as she spoke, but there was no amusement in her eyes as she looked David up and down. The adoration, from earlier, was gone as well. All David could sense from the girl was determination. He didn't think he had much choice about following her.

"...Alright…" he muttered, looking away. "I'll go with you."

Spoiler: Author's Notes

This is arguably where the adventure really begins. I don't have a lot to say on it - except that I'm still very glad my friend Penny suggested a ringed moon.

 

[EmilieEmber]

Thought you all might appreciate a quick picture of Talith. The art was done by my friend PB Manning, who also did the cover.

 

[EmilieEmber]

Two miles. That's how far from the city Lonna had traveled, alongside Talith, before casting the spell. That obviously meant they'd be walking two miles to get back home, too. Yet when Lonna conveyed that to the heroine…

"Two miles!?" He looked at the redhead in shock, then forcibly swallowed, and nodded his head. "I'll do my best."

Although Lonna knew, absolutely, beyond a doubt that this was the heroine, and that she had not in fact ruined the spell, she still couldn't help but wonder: What kind of heroine would balk at a measly two mile walk?

"Should we um… Stretch or something, first?" he asked, next; Lonna simply stared at him, blankly. "Whenever my class ran the mile, back in high school, we always stretched first."

"...If you think it'll help."

Lonna didn't really think it was necessary. Whatever the heroine's attitude towards walking, his body was clearly built to move, and move well. His arms were well muscled, with biceps so big that Lonna would need two hands to feel all the way around one of them. His legs, which were almost unfairly long, were so well defined that they might have been sculpted. Thanks to the heroine's too tight shirt, Lonna could even confirm that the man had washboard abs.

Too bad it was all wasted on David. Someone who couldn't fight, didn't want to kill, and wasn't even a woman! Even ignoring whether Lonna had gotten the spell right, or whether she'd gotten the right spell to begin with - she knew that she had, on both accounts - the caster still couldn't understand how she'd ended up with such a bizarre combination of mental and physical traits. It was like the spell had been working off two completely different checklists!

Perhaps if she knew more about the magic she'd cast - perhaps if she could sneak back into the royal library - she could find out what, exactly, had gone wrong… but there'd be plenty of time for that after she'd whipped her heroine into shape and kicked Sorissa to the curb.

"Alright. I'm done stretching." David grinned as he spoke, soft pink lips pulling back into a wholesome smile.

Lonna scowled in response. "Good. Talith, you ready?"

"Always." The Laspi looked about, with those words, the red glow of his gaze sweeping across the dimly lit hilltop. Lonna, too, took a look about. She wanted to cast a detection spell, but the summoning had taken a lot more energy than anticipated, and had burned through her entire store of magic.

Actually, it had taken a little more… She was trying not to show it, because Talith would never let her hear the end of it, but she'd actually used a touch of her physical life energy in the casting, as well. Which was probably why her body ached, her shoulders felt stiff, her legs were like jelly, and thinking of a two mile walk made her want to cry…

Not that she was complaining.

"What do you know about magic?" Lonna asked, lightly rubbing her aching back beneath her cloak, as she turned toward the heroine.

"I. Didn't even know magic was real, until today…" David ran a hand through his hair, as he spoke, looking a little embarrassed, for some reason. "I mean, I read lots of fantasy books. Like, a lot of them. But they all had different systems of magic, and I'm not sure if any of them apply to the real thing, sooooo…."

"So you don't know anything." Lonna sighed, taking a deep breath. "I'll test your capacity later."

"Magic capacity?" There was obvious excitement in David's voice, and Lonna couldn't help a slight smile. It had been exciting for her, too, back when it was new.

Things had been a lot simpler, when she was five.

"Magic capacity is the limit of how much magic you can hold, at one time. The higher your magic capacity, the more complex, powerful spells you can cast without assistance. I'm sure a heroine's should be high…" Lonna hoped it would turn out to be "But we can worry about that later. I only even brought it up because I'm running on empty."

It would be a long time before she had the energy reserves to cast a spell as big as that summoning, again. Which was just another reason why she'd have to make things with the heroine work.

"Is 'running on empty' dangerous?" David asked. His voice held concern, so Lonna gave a quick shake of her head.

"It means she can't use spells for a while… In fact she'd be better off not using any magic at all." A heavy thud signalled the end of Talith's threat search, and the start of their walk. Since Talith had built himself with extra long arms, he moved by pressing his fists into the ground and swinging his lower body forward. It was fast, but not subtle. The fact that he was knucklewalking told Lonna that he hadn't spotted anyone - yet - and that they had best move fast.

In other words, he wanted them to get going before Lonna did something stupid.

"What would happen if she tried?" David asked, his voice full of concern as he ran after Talith.

"I'd pass out, or die." Lonna had to walk fast to catch up to them, something she did not appreciate. She had the shortest legs there, the least physical stamina, and her legs felt like iron weights.

Not that she was complaining, of course. She'd keep moving forward, right until she dropped, if that was what it came to.

Her lungs were burning, though.

"If you run out of magical energy, it'll drain you for whatever physical energy you have, until you black out. Once you start casting a spell, it won't end until you're unconscious or dead. Even those who hang in there and finish the spell often end up dying in their sleep afterward."

David's eyes widened in surprise as Lonna talked, and he looked her over with obvious worry painted across his features. "So you could have died, summoning me?"

"That's a detail she could have mentioned," muttered Talith, redoubling his pace and pulling ahead of the pair.

"Slow down!" Lonna complained, purposefully dropping her pace to a brisk walk. Talith glanced back at her, narrowing his eye sockets angrily, but slowed down his own pace to match.

"Maybe we should find shelter for the night," he suggested. "We can head into the city in the morning."

"Homebase will get scooped up if we're gone an entire night." Lonna chose to ignore the look of confusion that crossed David's face. They could talk about the housing situation later; right now it was magic lesson time.

"So, like Talith said, spells are pretty much off the table with me, at least until morning. But spells aren't the only way you can use magic."

"Lonna…" Talith only spoke her name, but to Lonna - who had been with Talith from ages thirteen to twenty one - an entire lecture had been delivered, in those two tense syllables.

"Relax, Talith, I'm just giving a quick lesson." She flashed a grin at her brother, but the Laspi only scowled in response.

"What other ways?" David asked. A spark of curiosity was shining brightly in his gaze, and he wore an easy smile. You'd never know he'd come close to a complete meltdown over being summoned, less than an hour beforehand.

"There's a couple ways, but the one I want to talk to you about is 'gifts.'"

"Gifts?" David frowned, softly, his brow furrowing ever so slightly as he thought. "You mean, like. Special skills?"

"Exactly!" Lonna laced her fingers behind her head as she spoke, half leaning back, even as she walked through the trees. Looking at her in such a pose, one could be forgiven for thinking she was at ease. In reality, her back was screaming in protest at having to maintain that posture, while her eyes were fixated on the stars. Leaving Talith to look for threats, she was navigating by the stars to make sure they stayed on route to the city. "Gifts are special, magical abilities that don't require incantations or runes to activate. Most of the races have singular abilities, shared across all of them - but humans - humans are unique."

"Humans all have different abilities?" David suggested.

"When they even have abilities. Humans are the only race without guaranteed powers. That just means you never know what sort of talent a human might have.."

"So what's your gift?"

"I can control light." Lonna waited a tense moment, as David frowned. "I know, it doesn't sound like the best ability, but-"

"No. It sounds amazing. I wish I could do something like that…" There was wistfulness in David's voice, but no bitterness. "I gotta keep my sights low, though; do we even know if someone from my world can use magic?"

"No idea…" Lonna hadn't considered it. It would be a great boon, if it existed, but since every human gift was unique there was no real way to test for them. "You'll figure it out, eventually, if you have one. But for now - want to see one in action?"

"Gods damn you, Lonna!" Talith's voice was explosive, and the way his monobrow furrowed when he looked about showed an anger that even David could pick up on. The heroine actually took a step back, before hesitating, and then purposefully stepping back up besides the redhead. Lonna was happy to see that the heroine could use her spine, after all. Even if it was being wasted, worrying about her brother. Lonna didn't need magic to handle him.

"It's fine," she told them both, straightening her own aching back, and stretching her tired arms toward the sky. "All I'm gonna do is have a little snack…"

"A snack?" Talith's eyebrow lifted. "You mean…?"

Lonna nodded, ignoring the obvious confusion on David's face. "I'm going to have a little snack. And while I'm at it, I'm going to see if there's anything in the area worth worrying about. But it won't cost as much magic as it'll gain me, so you don't need to worry about it."

"I'm not carrying you, if you pass out," the clay man muttered, turning the red glow of his eyes back toward their surroundings. Although he tried to hide the worry in his voice, Lonna knew Talith well enough to see the tension in his rocky shoulders. He didn't like this plan.

He also wasn't going to stop her. Using eyes, alone, to detect threats could prove fatal if there was a particularly nasty beast or plant about. Besides, there wasn't any real danger.

As long as Lonna was careful, anyway.

"So… how does it work?" David asked, breaking the tense silence. "If you don't need magic or incantations, how do you activate it?"

"It's like. Stretching a muscle that nobody else has, kinda…" She frowned, uncertain how to explain what she used intuitively. "Once you get the hang of it, it's as easy as moving your own arm. When you're first starting out, though, you don't know what you're doing, and there's no one to explain it to you…" She shook her head, slowly, then closed her eyes. "Look, just watch." Even as she spoke, Lonna was already starting the process. By attuning her senses to the moonlight about her, she could feel every particle of light within a dozen feet.

Lonna pulled the light toward herself, causing the surrounding area to grow dimmer as her own skin took on a silvery sheen.

"That looks like more than eating to me," Talith muttered. He'd stopped moving, when Lonna closed her eyes, but with those words he started walking again. He still wasn't stopping her.

"Sunlight is the origin of all magic," Lonna whispered, her eyes still closed. She was sure David was listening, even if she couldn't see him. "Moonlight has barely anything, by comparison. The effort it takes to distill it, like this, takes up almost as much energy as I get… but it also means I'll know instantly if anything comes within a dozen feet of me."

"What if it's invisible?"

Lonna cracked an eye open, not able to tell if David was kidding. When she saw the serious look on his face, she closed her eye again, and started walking down the path. "The only way to go invisible I know of is making the light go around you. And if there's a pocket of space where the light refuses to go, I'll know." She continued to walk, as she spoke, deftly picking her way through the underbrush, without opening her eyes.

"We're safe right now, by the way. Come on," she called, aware of David staring at her from behind. "There's still a mile and three quarters between us and the city, and I for one intend to make it before sunrise."

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Chapter 3! Featuring our dual protagonist Lonna, and an explanation of magic. Tomorrow I'll be posting a before and after picture of our summoned protagonist, by the way, since I remembered I have a picture that doesn't spoil her proper name. Chapter 4 will come the day after that, as per the usual posting schedule.

Hope you enjoy!

(PS: I made a new Discord server for the series if anyone is interested~!)

 

[EmilieEmber]

Hi! These before and after shots were done by my friend PB Manning. Specifically, she did the sketch on the left (which I just colored as is) and the lineart on the right (which I also colored.)

It's behind a spoiler because it features our summoned Heroine in her boxers and a bra. I can't entirely recall why I thought that was a good idea? But there we go. The pictures aren't quite to scale, but our summoned heroine is in fact taller than she used to be in her new form.

Spoiler: Art

 

[EmilieEmber]

The two mile walk was a miserable experience for David. His legs were longer than they used to be, so he kept stubbing his toe, or slamming his foot into the ground. His center of gravity was off, so he stumbled whenever the forest trail had a bump or dip. His clothes were now an ill fit: the top came uncomfortably close to tearing whenever he moved his arms about, and his formerly baggy sweatpants, which couldn't even reach his ankles now, were in constant danger of slipping off his widened hips.

Mercifully his shoes still fit, which meant that he at least might not get blisters from this nightmare of a trip.

"Relax. We're almost there." Lonna smiled as she spoke. With the moonlight reflected in her golden eyes, and that smile on her face, she looked quite beautiful. Enough that David, blushing, looked away.

He only knew two people in this entire world. He couldn't afford to drive one of them away by flirting with her; he'd die if he was left on his own. Besides, he was fairly certain that Lonna wasn't interested in him.

It was the heroine she admired; David was just the fool who'd shown up in her place.

It was only when his foot clipped the back of Lonna's and his thigh bumped against her back that he realized his guide had stilled.

Talith, who'd been keeping a watch behind them, made a noise like grinding rock. David had already heard this enough to recognize it as the Laspi's sigh.

"He's like a newborn clayling," Talith muttered, loud enough for everyone present to hear. "He doesn't even know how to stop on command, and you want him to take on the queen?"

"Sorry for not knowing how to move a body I got an hour ago," David grumbled back, his voice as low as his new vocal cords allowed. "Maybe if you all weren't in such a hurry to get back to the city, I could have practiced walking."

Lonna put a finger to her lips, gesturing for the two of them to be silent, and then waved Talith forward; the large clay man made his way around David to get a better view.

"...Shit," Talith murmured. "Didn't realize we were so close."

"How close are we?" David stood on tiptoes to try and get a better view, but Talith was too large an obstacle to see around.

"Too close, considering how loud you were," Lonna whispered, gesturing for David to crouch down, as she pulled the branches aside.

They were on top of a hill. The city, of tall buildings sprawling across the land, started about fifty feet from the foot of the hill. Farmland stretched out behind it, covering a wide expanse of territory, and stretching right up to the back end of the wall itself. Despite it being late at night, David could see a few people walking about fields of maize, beans, barley and emmer wheat. The rest were probably sleeping, within the squat farmhouses that dotted the landscape.

As for the city wall itself, it towered even higher than the buildings, so high up as to be eye level with them on the hill. The wall was constructed of heavy stones, was spotted with crenelations, and had archers peeking down from atop it. It had exactly one opening, so far as David could see: a solid iron gate, illuminated by lanterns and guarded by two men.

"Think they heard us?" Talith whispered, his voice lower and quieter than David knew it could go.

Lonna shook her head, though. "You weren't that loud. Besides, they're not going to get in our way today, of all days."

"And why not?" Talith asked. The red flickers of light that filled his eye sockets were unchanging, but his gravelly voice sounded dubious to David's ears.

Lonna hesitated. "...Because it's my birthday," she said.

She calmly stepped out from the treeline and began to walk down the hill, in full sight of the guards at the gate.

There was a loud thud as Talith slapped his three fingered hand against his forehead with great force. Shaking his head, the clay man pushed his wide knuckles against the ground, and swung his lower body forward.

David, suddenly alone, hesitated at the forest's edge. If he wanted to find his own way, and his own way home, this was, probably, his last chance. If he turned and fled, he might make it some small distance before Lonna realized he was gone.

He'd probably get lost and the forest and die soon after, though.

"W-Wait for me!" he called, running down the hill, straight past Talith, not stopping until he was side by side with Lonna.

Right in front of the guards.

"Who's this?" muttered the one on the right, while the one on the left cautiously lowered his spear, aiming the tip toward David's neck.

Although the guard didn't move to kill, David still stepped back, heart pounding. It was the first time that anyone had ever pointed a weapon at him.

Lonna calmly stepped in front of the guard.

Although she was so short that the one with the spear could have simply raised his shoulder to skewer David, the guard immediately lowered his weapon.

"He's with me," Lonna declared, looking back at David. "Goes by-"

"Melissa," the heroine interrupted, smiling brightly as the guard's eyes narrowed. "My name is Melissa."

The guard frowned, faintly, looking first at Lonna, and then at the newcomer."Melissa," for his part, starred right back, trying to memorize what sort of uniforms guards wore in this world,

The answer appeared to be "not much." He was wearing a maille shirt, and pauldrons emblazoned with what looked to be a red sun, on a black field. Or, as she would have been told to call it in class: sable, a sun guiles. Melissa could only assume that it was the (supposedly) wicked queen's symbol - on earth, a golden sun on black would make more sense and wouldn't break the rule of tincture; whoever bore this coat of arms had enough power enough to break the rules in this ominous way.

The guard's companion was dressed in much the same way - right down to the same sized chain shirt, which left his midriff covered only by a coarse brown fabric. The parts of his clothes that weren't armor must have been the soldier's responsibility: while both guards were wearing brown trousers, the one who had been speaking so far had thin, tan ones compared to the other's tough, dark pants.

The guard on the right, who'd been speaking so far, had short-cropped brown hair and hard green eyes. The one on the left who was too tall and lanky for his gear had dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and an adolescent face - complete with acne. He couldn't have been older than 18, and that was doubtful. Considering the other one looked to be in his early thirties, Melissa supposed they were partnered as mentor and student.

There was only one thing Melissa couldn't figure out: the look of fear that filled both guards' eyes whenever they looked at Lonna.

"A-Alright," muttered the guard on the right, apparently having gotten his fill of staring at Melissa. " So his name's Melissa…"

"Um… Her…. Her name is Melissa," Melissa corrected, rubbing the back of her neck. "Lonna had a ...Slip of the tongue?" She smiled, trying to appear as natural as possible. The whole reason she'd given a fake name was to try and blend in, so Melissa figured that using feminine pronouns would make her less conspicuous.

So why was the guard narrowing his eyes?

"Lonna?" the guard asked, raising an eyebrow, and turned his gaze to the redhead. "I thought your name was Rigara."

"Does it matter?" Lonna asked, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. "You're going to let me through no matter what my name is, aren't you? Because you know that if you don't-"

"She'll light your pants on fire," Talith interrupted, slamming his lower body into position behind Melissa and Lonna. He'd taken his time coming down, but the effect of a huge clay creature on the guards was…

Not very noticeable, honestly; they were still just trembling at the sight of Lonna.

Melissa turned to look at the small sorceress. "Tell me you haven't actually lit anyone's pants on fire? Please?" she whispered.

Lonna averted her eyes. "I didn't know the guy was keeping oily rags in his pants… And I healed him afterwards, didn't I?"

"The captain of the city guard has strict orders not to allow her arrest," Talith explained, his voice pitched low enough that it would seem a whisper. The words were loud enough that the guards couldn't help but hear, though. "Heard around town that someone higher up in the food chain wants to recruit her. Personally."

"Those rumors can go fuck themselves." Lonna's voice was an actual whisper. But Melissa's ears picked it up, all the same.

By the time she'd shifted her focus to the little redhead, however, Lonna had already taken a step away from her companions - and toward the guards. "Now. Are you going to open the gates? Because I'm telling you right now - I won't have Breath to waste on healing you."

The guard's faces turned ashen at that.

"O-Open the gate for the Lady!" stuttered the lanky one. The older one on the right was sullenly silent as the gate started to crank open, sliding upward until there was enough room for even Talith to walk under it without stooping.

Experiencing the city for the first time, with no walls between her and the streets, Melissa's first thought was not directly about the people, or the buildings.

"It stinks," she thought out loud, wrinkling her nose.

So far, she had been treated to the smell of woods, and open fields, untouched by industry. Clear, wonderful, natural scents. But now she was confronted by the sheer stench of people - without a sewer system - cramped in close quarters and surrounded by a wall.

A sheer wave of nausea overwhelmed her, and she couldn't help reaching up to pinch at her nose.

"Come on," Lonna muttered, pulling the hood of her green cloak over her head, hunching herself over, and walking in. It was obvious, to anyone looking, that she wanted to be neither bothered nor recognized.

Talith, who couldn't hide this way, began to walk upright on two feet for the first time since Melissa had met him. Although he had no visible nose, and possibly no sense of smell, it was obvious that something about the city made him uncomfortable.

Melissa could relate. She didn't want to step into a stench so strong it seemed nearly a solid barrier. But with Lonna and Talith already inside, the gate was closing and Melissa had no choice but to lower her head and duck within, scrambling to enter before the entrance closed.

"Glad to see you made it," muttered Talith. His face was set into a scowl, however, as he looked about the city.

"Welcome to Ife," Lonna proclaimed, striding forward now that Melissa had joined them. "It used to be the greatest city on the continent. Before Sorissa."

"How can one person cause this kind of decay?" Melissa asked, taking it in. Though the stench made her eyes water, the brunette reasoned that it was normal for a walled city with gutters instead of a proper sewage system. The mouldering and pockmarked buildings, on the other hand, spoke of something more sinister.

The city was squalid. The buildings did seem a little more solidly built, as they moved toward the wealthier center of town - but only the architecture improved. No matter how far they traveled inward, nothing was cleaner, and there wasn't a single sign of wealth or prosperity. The shops Melissa saw had dingy signs, with smudged symbols she couldn't make out and faded pictures with peeling, washed-out paint. Melissa's would suppose that at least some of them had to be open during daylight hours - but all of them had the windows boarded up.

Even more upsetting were the people - or the lack of them. It might have only been because of the lateness of the hour, but Melissa saw near no one on the streets, and these wore clothes saturated with sweat and dirt and reek and hasty patchwork. They kept their heads bowed, and moved straight toward their destinations.

Melissa, Lonna, and Talith walked through street after street, but Melissa saw nothing but poverty.

Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a large house, built of unpainted red stone. It had a red door - and no roof.

"The second floor was shattered when the last owner apparently pissed off a magi," Lonna told Melissa. "But it hasn't collapsed yet, and everyone here knows I've claimed this as my territory, so no one should bother us during the night."

Lonna then pulled two slender pieces of metal out of her cloak, no longer than her pinky and no wider than it's fingernail. She inserted the metal into the lock mechanism, and began to fiddle.

"You're..." Melissa could scarcely believe it. "...Picking the lock? Don't you have a key?"

"I told you, I claimed this place after the last person and most of the second floor exploded. And the key with them, probably!"

The lock clicked open as Lonna spoke, so she gave the doorknob a test turn before nodding and pulling it open.

"Come on in, heroine. Talith, you okay with keeping a full watch?"

Talith crossed his arms. "Fine. But tomorrow evening, the heroine's taking her share of the watch." He turned to face the outside world.

From the conversation, Melissa could only hope that the clay creature didn't need sleep - because it was clear that he wasn't going to get any.

Melissa needed sleep, though - God, she needed sleep. She was only human, after all, and it was late before she was summoned. Between the drama after, and the hike after that, and the final danger at the city threshold, she was exhausted.

"Come on, 'Melissa," Lonna called, from deep inside the house, her voice desiccating when it touched Melissa's new name. "You can take the bed tonight."

"The bed?" she called back. "What about you? You were out of breath, you should-"

"The heroine needs her strength." Lonna decreed from deeper in the house.

Walking in, Melissa found himself in front of a bare-boned bed frame. There was no mattress or box-spring, but several thick looking blankets had been piled on top of a single wooden slat.

"Sleep," Lonna imperiously demanded, unaware of how disappointed Melissa was with the bed.

Melissa nodded all the same, yawning, and climbed into the bed. The wood was hard beneath her knees, even through the blankets, but since the night was comfortably warm, she decided to lay on top of the heavy wool and linen, using them as cushions.

"What's with the Melissa thing, anyway?" asked Lonna. "And the she pronouns? You trying to disguise yourself as a girl?"

"...Thought it would draw less attention…" Melissa cracked her mouth harder with this yawn, stretching her arms above her head before she curled up in as small a ball she could make of herself. "...Besides…" she added, drifting away into sleep. "It felt… Better. Being called that. In this form…"

Cracking her eyes open, Melissa's last thought before losing consciousness was Why does she look so confused? I just want to be seen as a girl, for a little bit…

Perhaps if she'd stayed awake a bit longer, she would have analyzed that thought - but in that moment, sleep swallowed her up.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

HER NAME, REVEALED AT LAST. I can finally call her Melissa! And the text is finally referring to her as she/her! Now we just need our heroine to actually hatch...

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed today's read. Look forward to the next chapter in about 48 hours! Also, there will be another picture of Melissa tomorrow~ Again in a bra, but this time with actual shorts.

 

[EmilieEmber]

Well, now that Melissa's name has been revealed there's little reason not to share this picture. I will warn that it features Melissa in a bra and denim shorts - if memory serves I was pretty fixated on making the bra Melissa grabbed important, back then. Hence me having far too many pictures of her in underwear. Regardless, I hope you enjoy this look - the art was done by an ex-roommate of mine, the same one who drew Lonna. The coloring was done by me (but made use of their shading.)

Spoiler: Melissa Picture

 

[EmilieEmber]

Melissa's eyelids opened, for a moment, before closing again. She was still laying in the same room she'd gone to bed in. She still had breasts, like before she'd gone to sleep. Not that she'd expected things to magically get better, in her sleep. If anything, she was relieved that things hadn't gotten somehow worse.

She was trapped in another world with a woman's body, and the only way home was to defeat an immortal sorceress-queen. She didn't want to think about it, but "defeat" probably meant "kill" in Lonna's eyes, too.

Melissa tried to decide whether it was worth getting up, or if she should just try and sleep until they forced her out of bed. That was when she heard it: a faint humming coming from outside the room. It wasn't loud enough to be a bother; it was barely loud enough to be heard. Still, Melissa was... intrigued.

Everything else Melissa had come across had reeked of poverty, misery, and death. By contrast, this humming sounded happy, the first bit of joy that she could associate with this world.

If someone was happy, Melissa wanted to know why. She wanted to share in it. Maybe even feel a bit better, herself.

Melissa opened her eyes to half of an unfamiliar ceiling; the rest had a hole from - she was assured - a wizard gouging it out with a magical explosion.

Melissa got out of bed, stretching as best she could in her too-tight clothing as she moved for the door. She peered past the main living area and into the kitchen, where she saw Lonna standing over a wood-burning stove. Lonna had a small copper pot bubbling on the stove - and as she took it off the flames, Melissa realized that the joyful noise from before was coming from no one less than Lonna herself.

Lonna blew on the stove, her breath instantly extinguishing the merrily dancing flames, to Melissa's surprise. Was that the result of a spell? Or was there more to Lonna's gift then she'd let on?

"I know you're there, Melissa," Lonna muttered, placing the pot on the table. "Come sit down."

Melissa hesitated for a moment, then walked up to the kitchen table and pulled out a dingy little stool from under it. Plopping down on it, she turned to Lonna with a smile. "So what's for breakfast?"

"Maize porridge, with salted pork and some mushrooms I grew in the corner. Plus each of us gets three eggs! It's practically a feast. Eat up - you're going to need your strength for our itinerary."

"Our what now?" Melissa stared into the large bowl. Pale, yellow porridge, with little bits of mushroom and pork studded here and there through it. It looked fine, and smelled good enough to make Melissa's stomach growl. All the same…. "I'm not eating random mushrooms that were grown in a corner."

Lonna rolls her eyes. "They're Freeman's Steaks, impossible to mistake for a toxic mushroom - and you'll eat them, if you want to keep your strength up. Ever been mountain climbing?"

Melissa swallowed, hard. "Can't say I have."

Lonna went back to the stove and grabbed a plate of curiously small eggs - the edges crisped in bacon grease, and with deep golden over-easy yolks - from atop the counter. She placed it next to the porridge pot, before handing Melissa a roughly-hewn wooden spoon.

"Eat up," Lonna cheerfully commanded. "But be careful, it's…"

She trailed off, wincing as Melissa stuck the spoon into the pot, and scooped the porridge directly into her mouth.

Melissa swallowed the porridge. It tasted bland, most likely needing salt that Lonna couldn't provide. Still, it was well cooked, and Melissa could tell that it would be a filling meal.

"Don't worry," she said, reaching to grab another spoonful, "I can handle hot food. My mouth is like a…"

She swallowed another bite. "Are there dragons here?" Melissa asked.

"Yes. And everyone hates them," Lonna warned, leaning forward, lowering her voice. "Don't ever compare yourself to one, in any way, if you don't want to be treated like a monster."

"What? What's so horrid about dragons? I always thought they were so cool! They're strong, and powerful, and they look gorgeous!"

"Stop. You don't know what you're talking about. Everyone says - everyone knows…" Lonna's cheeks flushed red, as she glowered at Melissa. "There's nothing across Auroras half as bad as a rampaging Dragon."

"Auroras?" Melissa asked.

"The continent? Largest land mass in all Mistina?"

Melissa stared at her, silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts. If Auroras was the continent, and Mistina the name of the world... a world with a ringed moon… "I'm not just in another world, I'm on a whole different planet," she declared, mostly to herself.

Then she had another spoonful of corn porridge. This time she bit into a little salt pork, adding an explosion of much needed salt and flavor.

"You seem surprisingly calm about it," Lonna remarked, pulling out another stool by her side of the table. Melissa offered Lonna the spoon, but Lonna simply waved the offer off. "Thanks, but a couple eggs will be fine for me. Light provides me with most of the energy I need."

Melissa nodded. She wasn't convinced light could provide proper nutrients, but Lonna probably knew best.

"I am worried about it, by the way." Melissa's tone was dry. "I'm freaking out. About everything. I'm on another planet, where magic is real, and everything is strange and terrifying and out of my control."

Melissa shrugged, helplessly. She wanted to express how scary it was to be living in a house whose last owner had exploded. How exciting, but equally worrying it was to be in a world where magic was possible.

"But if I let myself dwell on that," she said, instead, "I'll just start screaming and screaming and never stop, too terrified to move a muscle, and that seems, uh. Bad? For my chances?" Melissa smiled, faintly, like she was telling a joke instead of expressing how deep in the shit she felt she was. "So right now, I'm just going to eat, and take things one step at a time."

"So. Lonna. Could you tell me why dragons are so bad?"

Lonna didn't meet Melissa's eyes, instead looking into a dark corner. Melissa was struck by the image of Lonna growing the 'Freemen's Steak' mushrooms in that dank and lightless corner of the house, and smiled.

Lonna sighed. "...Because they used to rule the world."

Melissa's smile evaporated like an ice cube hit with a dragon's breath.

"So. Uh. Dragons. Ruled the world?" Mellissa said,frowning faintly. "And they did a bad job at it?"

"I'd say they did a pretty good job of enslaving everyone," Lonna replied. "They were merciless, and damn-near invincible. All the races had to band together to defeat them, back during the Burning. Thanks to that, the dragons had their powers stripped and they were enslaved in turn."

"The dragon's royal family was particularly hardy, and couldn't be killed no matter how many people tried. They were bound, instead, imprisoned under their own palace. They lived the rest of their lives in a gilded cage, surrounded by hedonistic luxury."

Lonna looked up at Melissa, eyes ablaze. "Until their daughter killed them."

"...Sorissa?" Melissa guessed.

"Close. Sorissa's wife, Arasitelle. The only dragon in existence who didn't take part in the oppression, because she hadn't even been born yet. The other races still bound her, though, even as a baby."

Lonna chuckled, without much humor to it. "Worked great, until Sorissa broke her out of the palace, undid her bindings, killed the royal family and the ruling council - Look."Lonna narrowed her gaze. "Do you really want a history lesson?"

"Uh. Yes?" Melissa nodded. "I love history, or I wouldn't have majored in it. And I think I have a right to know about the person you want me to ki- dethrone," she corrected at the last second.

Lonna frowned, golden eyes meeting Melissa's for a moment, before bowing her head. " Like I said, Sorissa freed Arasitelle of her bindings, then killed the royal family - something people had been trying to do for centuries. Sorissa then had Arasitelle legally annex this queendom of Resparan, from her throne, at the center of Auroras. Then she handed over the rest of the country to her army for loot and pillage and let things go to shit from there - these days, the only way you can tell the knights from the outlaws is by what's on their shields."

Melissa nodded, taking a moment to absorb this information with a deepening scowl. Unfortunately, this tracked with her lessons about the Anarchy in England.

"And the mountain we're supposed to climb? Is it in the gang lands, or…?"

"Everywhere on our itinerary is firmly in Sorissa's control. It's not great, I admit, but I won't have to sneak you over any borders, at least."

Melissa nodded, eating a bit more of the porridge. Now that she knew to mix the porridge with the pork, whenever possible, she was finding it much tastier. Hunger had a way of adding its own spice, anyway. "So, why this mountain?"

"Mount Drogone is where we find the Lunargent Scale. A magical suit of armor that covers its wearer from head to toe. It's capable of fitting any life form, and will protect its wearer from all harm. ...Well, maybe not against legendary class weapons, like the Quecaw, but anything short of that! It was armor used by the Dragons - most of it was destroyed, and the singular scale that remains is within that mountain."

"Alright, let me see if I understand the plan." Melissa replied. "The goal is to get me that suit of armor, so that I'm not instantly vaporized when Sorissa the Sorceress breathes on me. Which means magic bounces off of the Scale, right?"

"Sorissa the… source-eress? I'm not sure what that is. And she's not a dragon, or a… whatever that is? She's a dryad."

Lonna grinned, the brightest smile Melissa had seen on the other woman's face as of yet. "You're getting it, though, yeah! The scale should totally protect you against her. We just need to combine that with the power of the Quecaw, and you'll be able to defeat Sorissa!"

"Wait. A dryad? Like, a tree person? And the Que-what now? That's the second time you've mentioned it." It was Melissa's turn to look confused, the porridge spoon stopped halfway to her mouth.

"A cutting from her tree, actually, but yes. And I'm talking about the quecaw! The fabled weapon located at the heart of the Forest of Night - which draws the Breath out of whoever dares wield it. Half the reason we need the armor is just so you can grip that thing without asphyxiating."

Melissa's appetite suddenly vanished. "Good to know," she forced out, before making herself take the last spoonful of the leftover porridge. She scraped up what was left of the salted pork, and took what turned out to be her best bite of food yet.

Too bad it was like ash in her mouth.

"You should have the eggs," Melissa said, pushing the plate toward Lonna. On it, six small, vividly golden yolks were quivering atop a field of white.

Lonna frowned, though. "I'll eat mine, if you eat yours. Eggs are part of a healthy diet."

"Thanks, but I'm mostly out of appetite." Melissa poked one of the eggs with her spoon. "What sort of eggs are they, anyway?"

"Pidgeon," Lonna replied, taking the spoon from Melissa, and scooping one of the eggs into her mouth with the yolk still intact.

Lonna's eyes closed as she chewed, and she hummed in delight at the taste of the food. Whether she needed to eat for energy, or not, it was clear that Lonna enjoyed it. Melissa promised herself that she'd try to leave more food for Lonna, in the future.

Melissa waited until Lonna had popped another egg into her mouth before asking, "When do we leave?"

Lonna regarded Melissa through narrowed eyes, before popping a third yolk into her mouth, chewing, and swallowing. "I assume that means you're in?" She held out the spoon, as she spoke.

"Do I have a choice?" Melissa asked, rhetorically, taking the spoon and trying to scoop up an egg with it. It was harder than Lonna made it look, and she broke the first yolk when it fell off with a soft "plop."

"If I want to get home, I need to dethrone your evil queen, and you're the only one with a plan on how to do that. Right? Besides…"

Melissa scooped up the broken egg and stuffed it in her mouth. It was creamy, and delicious. She regretted not having started with it.

"Besides?" Lonna asked, impatient.

"Besides…" Melissa smiled faintly. "If I stay, maybe I'll hear more of your happy humming."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lonna demanded, voice slightly sour. "I'll have you know I'm only interested in women. I couldn't care less how gorgeously muscled your body is, if the one inside it is a man."

"...Noted." It wasn't a surprise, hearing that Lonna wasn't interested. Melissa had already decided not to hit on the girl, anyway, since she was Melissa's only line on a way to survive.

It still stung to hear out loud, though. Even if she understood: she wasn't really a woman, after all.

"I just meant…" Melissa gave a wry smile, trying to push her feelings aside. "...There's been nothing but misery, poverty, and chaos since I got here. So when I heard something happy… it was nice. I want more of that - we need more of that. That's all."

Lonna frowned, looking him over for a long minute, before shaking her head. "You're strange. Following me against Sorissa because you like my humming? But if that's what gets you to come with me, then fine. I'll hum you the ballad of Sorissa's defeat."

Melissa grinned, then rapidly scooped up the next two eggs, actually managing to get them both into her mouth, whole. Her appetite had just returned, and the creaminess of the egg yolks as they broke in her mouth was a delight.

"I don't suppose you have any more of those mushrooms?" she asked.

Suddenly the front door swung inward. Talith side-stepped into the kitchen and slammed a piece of vellum down on the table.

On it was an illustrated picture of a woman. The woman had soft, round cheeks, long flowing hair, a cute little nose, and surprisingly soft looking lips. Melissa didn't know who the drawing was of, but the artist clearly had talent to capture her looks.

There was writing at the bottom of the picture, for some reason. She couldn't guess as to what the characters meant, but she was pretty sure it was the local language.

"It says that this is a picture of the seditious, self-described Heroine," Lonna replied. "Reward, five hundred crowns for your capture, alive. Fifty for information leading to your arrest."

"These have been springing up like mushrooms in the corner across the entire town," Talith snarled.

"Then we need to get out of here." Lonna was already moving to the door, with Talith falling in behind.

Melissa moved to follow, but Talith held out a shield-sized hand to stop her. "Hold it. First thing first, before we officially say we're all allied and go to take on the queen or whatever… I need to hear it for myself.

Talith splayed his stony fingers and recited: "Through thick or thin, through rain or shine, through life or death, and may the Majesty Trees impale you with their roots should you lie - are you with us?"

Talith had no nose, and his mouth was little more than an opening in the clay, but he was still pulling off a dubious expression, as if he didn't really trust what Melissa had to say.

Melissa thought he could shove it up his - well, she wasn't sure the Lapsi had one, but still.

"I already told Lonna," Melissa responded, walking around Talith so that she could file out the door after Lonna. "But yeah. May God strike me down where I stand, God forbid, I'm in it for the long haul. Besides, it's not like I have a choice with that poster everywhere."

Talith paused, then nodded.

Melissa grinned. "Then let's haul ass before they catch us!" she said - and with that, she was out the door.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Chapter 5! Thank you, as always, for reading. This chapter introduces my favorite nickname for Sorissa - even though it makes no in-universe sense - Sorissa the Sorceress. She's uh. Fun? Cannot wait for you to meet her.