I woke up early in the morning, as usual. Freya had turned over on her back, her noisy position, and was snoring. She would be snoring for even longer, considering how much she had drunk in the evening. But I had to admit that for once she had a good reason last night.

I put on the jacket and slipped out in silence, heading for the stables to show it to Larina. She was still dozing. So I went out the back door, added my share to the dunghill around the corner and watched the sun rise over the ridge. Just two fading, wind-blown, thin bands of clouds in the eastern sky. Another beautiful early summer day was dawning. There was a light breeze that kept the stench of the dunghill away and carried the smell of dry hay.

The low sun, the fresh air and the revealing jacket gave me goosebumps on my human belly. But the rest of my body was warm enough thanks to the fur. I ignored the chill and enjoyed the first weak rays of sunlight on my bare skin. The jacket had come just in time for summer.

After a while, hoofbeats announced Larina's arrival.

"Good morning, Larina."

"Good morning. Where did you get that jacket?"

I grinned and turned around. "From Dame Grendel."

I could hear her mental gears cracking and crumbling under the strain of matching this to the tiny, reserved lady. "She wore this?"

"No, no," I grinned as well, "No, from dancing animal."

"I doubt it looked as good as it does on you."

"Thank you." Praise from Larina meant a lot to me, even if the baseline was extremely low. But she soon raised it. "And you fill it out very well," she sighed, looking at her rather flat chest.

"I needing. Seeing Kiara in Hall of Mirrors. Not good. Not good like Larina."

She smiled again. "Lady Kiara, I don't want to hear that. We are both special. No competition, please. And that jacket is good for training. Shall we do some morning exercises?"

I nodded. Morning exercises were a good idea. Larina was soon back with the leather crops we used for fencing. Today I gave no pardon and we fought much more intensely. Occasionally my crop even landed on Larina's side.

"Very well," a new voice said.

We froze in mid-attack. It was the marshal. We both bowed.

"Dear Lady Kiara, it is good to see that you are indeed training. My offer to enlist you as an officer still stands."

"Sorry, easy words, please."

"Never mind," he paused, " easy, hmm. Can you come racing this afternoon?"

"Racing? Afternoon. Yes. Where?"

"Outside Krenburg. We leave after midday."

I grinned. That sounded like a totally unladylike and therefore fun activity. Since we didn't feel like training in front of the marshal and Larina was exhausted anyway, I just bowed "Sorry," and left them, walking through the stables to the courtyard to catch a servant. "Breakfast for two behind the stables, please."

I think they had a bowl of greens ready because breakfast came very soon after I rejoined Larina and the marshal. They were talking about the race that I could catch. But when I returned, they changed the subject. Instead, the marshal complimented me on the jacket and its general red colour scheme "like the army," before the servants brought the folding table, tablecloth, large bowl of some sort of cabbage salad, two plates and cutlery.

"See you racing," I bade the marshal goodbye.

"Not me, you will be racing this afternoon. I am looking forward to that too," the smiling marshal said, "enjoy your breakfast!"

Larina smiled but did not help me to understand his statement.

* * *

We ate slowly, enjoying the quiet morning and relaxing after the intense training earlier.

A servant had stayed behind to pour us tea and otherwise rested too.

Finally, a still sleepy Freya arrived, early even for her. She rather aspirated a "good morning".

The servant offered her his chair.

Larina was glad to have someone to talk to normally and explained that I had agreed to some races this afternoon, with a lot of extra information from the chat with the marshal which I did still not understand.

Freya shook her head. "Not a good idea," she muttered.

"But will be funny," I said.

Freya shook her head again.

"Dear Lady Kiara of Earth," the servant said, "I overheard that you are racing this afternoon?"

I just nodded.

"Can we watch too?"

Huh. "Yes, having fun too?"

He smiled and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lady Kiara of Earth."

If I can make people happy by looking at me, even beyond ogling my breasts, then I should certainly wield this talent.

* * *

The breakfast had turned into a brunch. We ordered some crispy fresh bread and got a few more small side dishes. Each time another servant came and stayed with us to serve us as if we were dining at a high table. And all of the servants were male. Serving three (mostly) women. I put it down to my new jacket.

Another servant came without food or drink. Instead, he asked for the lady, because the coat of arms was to be fixed above my door. So we followed him.

The coat of arms was much larger than I had thought, reaching almost to Freya's shoulders. Overcompensating for the small size of my room behind it...

The artist was there with a ladder, a hammer and some wooden pegs. I had to decide whether I wanted it at the top or at the side of the door. I was not too convinced about the idea of having this heavy wooden coat of arms hanging above my entrance on just one wooden peg. So I asked him to fix it to the side of the door. He looked for a crack in the stone and used a hammer to drive one of the pegs into the crack. The coat of arms did not immediately fall down, finished. Yes, the side had been the better choice.

Only then did I take a closer look. After seeing myself in the mirror, the artist had outdone himself. Assuming that perspective was still to be fully discovered. It was a glorified version of me, even holding a sword in my right hand and a golden sphere in my left. The ears were just slightly pointed, and a gentle smiling face befitting royalty. The robe was a white-green teardrop pattern, probably copied from some knight's clothing.

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I smiled at him. "Thank you. I liking it. More nice than me."

He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lady Kiara of Earth." And withdrew hastily, still bowing.

I continued to admire the crest so that he could leave normally, almost half expecting it to fall down and I would wake up from this strange dream.

* * *

Someone knocked on the door just after we had entered. Three maids stood there, bowing deeply. "Lady Kiara of Earth. We heard that the lady will be racing today."

It slowly dawned on me that this event might be much bigger than I had anticipated. By now the whole castle probably knew about it. "Yes, I racing."

"And the lady is our champion."

I blushed. "Thank you."

"We would like to ask if we can help the lady look her best. Perhaps the lady would like a haircut?"

All I understood was 'haircut'. But that was enough for a broad smile. After my encounter with the mirror, I did indeed need a haircut. Before Freya was at my side to translate, I said, "Yes, please, hair-cutting".

And then the youngest of the maids addressed Freya directly. "And dear Apprentice Healer Freya."

Freya froze in her tracks.

"Please come with me." The maid smiled. She was even younger than Freya. Otherwise, they could be siblings, same height and build, same blonde hair.

"You going, I fine," I encouraged her.

"It's 'you go' and 'I am fine'. And are you sure? What will" Freya looked at me.

"You go," I said, "I am fine. Please." And pushed her a little.

Freya saw my smile, sighed and followed the young maid. I was not sure what to expect, but I was sure it would be good for her.

"Please follow us outside, Lady Kiara," the eldest of the two asked.

Outside stood a folding screen next to a large basket containing various tools and a three-legged stool. I was gently led behind the screen where the younger and taller of the two stepped onto the stool. The other handed her a tool that reminded me more of a hedge trimmer with its two long, sharp, shiny blades. But she was adept with this heavy monstrosity and soon my hair was flying in the light breeze. I suddenly felt the breeze in my hair, a wonderful sensation. Behind the screen, I took off my jacket so that she could cut my mane as well. With a sign and a "shorter" I was able to persuade her to cut it down to short stubbles.

It didn't take long and I was handed a tiny mirror. What a haircut can do! Of course, the ears were now even more prominent, but beyond that I looked so much more civilised. And even with the mane trimmed, they had left enough hair at the back to make a short braid, if I understood their intentions. I folded my legs under me so they could both reach my hair. They even added green and white ribbons to the braid.

Next, I was asked if I wanted a fur trim. I hesitated as the groom had already brushed out much of the old fur. "Very little cutting," I suggested.

She only trimmed my fur a little, but it made a huge difference. I felt so much lighter, even though that little bit of fur on the ground should weigh next to nothing. Her brushing afterwards was less skilful than the grooms' but much gentler. They all blushed as I purred again.

"Dear Lady Kiara, what about the tail?"

Oh. No idea what to expect. But why not, it was summer and she was a master with those blades. "Yes, please. No tail braiding. Just little cutting."

This time I watched everything. She was even more careful not to cut too much fur. After trimming, the breeze in the tail was much more noticeable. That would certainly help later in the race. I shook it several times to shake out the hair and feel the breeze. My "thank you" was getting old.

Three more maids arrived. To dress me up, if I understood their intentions. I was curious to see how they would dress this undressable beast of a lady and gave them free rein.

They had an assortment of belts, leather straps and more white and green ribbons. I was asked to find comfortable positions for some of the belts. One was over the middle shoulders and the second was where the saddlebags would be. One of the smaller leather straps was for my neck. Then they attached a long white band and several shorter green and white ribbons. They did the same with the belts, attaching the long band to the first and second belts, loosely enough not to restrict my movement. After the second belt, the band was left free for another arm's length. The same was done with a long green band on my other side. Then they asked me if it would be all right if I wore leather straps around my wrists. I nodded and soon each of my six wrists had a leather band with short white and green ribbons floating with each movement. I was very excited and they were having fun too, even though I started to look like a decorated parade float.

They declared me ready. I stepped out from behind the screen. Quite a few spectators had gathered, more than thirty servants stood and cheered at the appearance of Lady Kiara of Earth. A smorgasbord had also been prepared, as it was already past midday. I was given cutlery and a plate to open it. But then everyone dug in. There was less reluctance to eat outside with the lady, and if I had been more fluent I might even have had the chance to chat with some of the servants instead of uttering two sentences and reaching my limit.

I wondered where Freya was.

* * *

During lunch, more and more servants arrived. Many of them wore green accessories, headbands, scarves and ribbons as wristbands, especially the women. But many also wore red.

Soon other guilds arrived, the healers, the clerics and others I could not yet identify.

When the smorgasbord was almost empty, a trumpet (or something close to it) announced the arrival of the marshal. The crowd in the courtyard formed an aisle to let him pass. He was wearing the same red uniform in which I had first met him, the representative one with many shiny brass buttons and medals. About 20 soldiers in similar shiny red uniforms followed, led by Major Nurant on a war horse. Behind them sat a young soldier on a very fine stallion, its mane and tail braided in red and white ribbons. I swallowed. This was obviously the one I was going to race against.

Just then Freya arrived. She had received similar attention as I had, certainly some hairdressing and braiding. Her braid had green and white ribbons like mine. And she was wearing new clothes, a white dress with green sleeves, a wide green waistband and a green scarf. She looked beautiful and smiled at the attention.

The announcer of the Noblemans' Hall shouted for everyone's attention. The noise died down quickly. "Today, on the 14th oldest fourthday of Igrim in the year 147 of the Kren Republic, everyone is invited to watch the race between Lady Kiara of Earth and Officer Prince John on horseback. The competition will take place at the South Gate of Krenburg".

This friendly race had gotten completely out of hand. I could see before my eyes the pages of the worn parchment of the Chronicles of Krenburg and the washed-out illustration, detailing The Race of the Beast Lady of Krenburg as the most notable event of the year 147.

Larina almost galloped through the crowd and snapped me out of my daydream. "Almost no ribbons in the whole castle," she panted.

"Thank you," I said. Despite her complaints, she had found enough for her tail and head hair.

Someone handed Larina a white and green flag on a pole.

Then a soldier in a white uniform came over and bowed. "Dear Lady Kiara of Earth. I will be your armiger."

"He will carry your coat of arms," Freya explained.

"No, Lady, please choose me," a woman shouted from the side. It took me a moment to recognise the cook from the first evening. She certainly looked strong enough to carry the heavy wooden coat of arms all the way. "Sorry," I said to the soldier, smiling at her. "Yes, please, armiger."

I think it was highly unusual to have a female armiger. But since all three of us (Larina, Freya and I) were women, I thought it was appropriate. Why not push the republic further towards progress for women? Moreover, she wore green and white, my colours. Apparently, my choice had other implications. I heard the word 'queen' mentioned several times in the murmur. I wondered what signal I had sent.

Unfazed, the cook took the coat of arms from the wall with little effort and walked ahead, bearing my coat of arms, the paint on which had barely dried. Next came Larina with 'my' flag, then myself, followed by Freya, who by now was somehow regarded by everyone as my entourage.

We walked side by side with the soldiers. Behind us came the nobility. I counted at least six carriages. I thought I saw Count Radel on a grey horse in the back behind the carriages. Behind the nobility, the rest of the castle's inhabitants followed in no discernible order. The procession wound once around the castle hill: The castle must be nearly empty by now.

Of course, the trek had been spotted from the town below. People lined the streets, curious to see what had brought us down. News of the race carried on ahead of us at the speed of young children running, challenging each other to spread the exciting news. As we passed the town square, the market was already packed up, either moving forward to the south gate or stashed away for the day. Soon people were sporting green or red ribbons, scarves and wristbands. Where they got them from, and on what basis they chose their colours, was a mystery to me. The green ones waved at me, there were even catcalls. I smiled and waved automatically, feeling like a queen. My rational processing capacity had been exceeded a while ago.

By the time we left Krenburg through its southern gate, a crowd had already gathered outside. Stalls were selling pastries and sweets as if it had been announced weeks in advance. There was even a stall selling coloured wristbands and scarves! A little further on there was dancing, which I would have liked to join. But I waved and smiled and trotted behind the cook-turned-armiger and Larina the flag-bearer.