“It’s kind of weird that three of us are trans,” said Andra, between bites of pesto.

The party was sitting at a rooftop cafe, celebrating their recent victory. Andra was still desperately short on funding, but Fiona was teaching her how to budget and, according to Fiona, sometimes it was okay to splurge. Andra didn’t exactly consider cheap pasta splurging, but Fiona treated the lunch like a feast. In fact, she realized, Fiona always seemed excited to eat out with her friends, even if it was just at a dingy tavern.

Riven caught her napkin before it was carried away by a stray breeze. “It is weird. It’s just like back in Temple Station when I ran into all those trans women. I guess we have a way of finding each other.”

“I still don’t think I really count,” said Fiona. “I mean, my experience isn’t really like what trans women go through.”

“Your abusive dad tried to force you to go back to being a man,” Andra said sternly. “That’s exactly the kind of thing trans women go through.”

Riven nodded. “Seriously, you had it harder than I did. And anyway, difficulty of experience isn’t what makes you trans.”

Kaylen reached over with her fork and snagged a noodle from Riven’s plate. She popped it in her mouth and immediately yelped from the spiciness.

“What would really be shocking is if Kaylen turned out to be trans,” Andra said.

There was a pause while Kaylen guzzled down her water. When she had recovered she said, “That would be crazy. It’s impossible, though. As a priestess of Sanguis, I have a direct connection with the goddess. There’s no way I would be able to trick her into thinking I’m cis.”

Fiona and Andra nodded, but Riven cocked her head thoughtfully. “Technically there are beings who can trick gods. Obviously humans couldn’t do it. Even demons have never done it. But fairies have the right type of magic, and there are even some stories about it happening.”

Kaylen laughed a little too loudly. “Come on, that’s ridiculous. You’ve been trying to find a way back to the Fae Realms since you were a kid, Riven. What do you think the chances are that I found a fairy smart enough to trick a goddess?”

The other three stared silently at Kaylen.

“Kaylen,” Fiona began carefully, “did you find a fairy who helped you transition?”

“N-no, of course not.” Kaylen paused, trying to think of an excuse. “What would I even give in return for something like that?”

“You did! You totally did!” Andra said, laughing with delight.

Riven stared at Kaylen for a moment before her eyes widened. “Hey, maybe we should cool it. Fairy magic is powerful, but it’s often delicate. Some enchantments can be dispelled simply by—”

“Okay! Fine! When I was a kid, a fairy changed me into a girl!”

“—acknowledging them,” Riven finished.

There was another period of silence as the Kaylen’s allies stared at her again.

“Shit! Shit!” Kaylen shouted frantically, touching at her face. “Did I change back?”

Andra shook her head. “No, but you managed to get some sauce on your face.”

Kaylen breathed a sigh, then picked up her napkin and started wiping her face. However, since the napkin was already dirty, she only managed to get more sauce on it. “That’s a relief. You scared me for a second, there, Riven.”

Fiona passed her napkin over, which Kaylen used to finally clean her face. “Anyway, yes, a fairy helped me transition. Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a girl, and especially a priestess of Sanguis. My moms thought I just really looked up to them, they didn’t get that being a boy was actually distressing to me. One time I snuck away to the nearest city and I disguised myself as a girl and joined a group of student priestesses who were touring the temple. I was caught and they sent for my mama, who took me home.”

Kaylen stared down at her plate and her voice grew quiet. “Then when my moms weren’t looking I did… something bad. Something that got me hurt really badly, even worse than the time I had the blood transfusion. Mama couldn’t heal me because I had committed an act of blasphemy by entering the inner temple, so Sanguis wouldn’t permit me to be healed.”

Riven reached out and took Kaylen’s hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Mum stayed by my side and Mama went searching for someone who could help. I’m not sure how she did it, but she brought back a fairy. The fairy healed me and made me look like this.”

“Wow,” Fiona breathed.

“And you never told anyone?” Andra asked.

Kaylen shook her head. “Only my moms know. We moved right away so that the villagers wouldn’t find out.”

Riven stared at Kaylen, head cocked to one side. “In exchange for what?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Kaylen replied.

“The fairy healed you and changed you in exchange for what?”

Just then the sound of an explosion tore across the rooftop, shaking their table hard enough to send Fiona’s plate crashing to the floor. As one, the party rushed to the edge of the roof to search for the source of the noise.

“There,” said Fiona, pointing.

As the others followed her gaze they saw a demon, then another, then a dozen more, flying through the air, spreading outward from the rich district. They had fewer human features than the demons the party had encountered previously. They were winged and clawed and resembled huge, leathery gargoyles. One of them summoned a huge fireball that went crashing into a building with another explosion.

“Could be coming from House Prospero,” Fiona commented.

“There aren’t many of them,” said Andra. “The guard will be able to take them down easily once they can rally. What could they be doing?”

Riven shrugged. “Demon stuff, I guess. Burning down temples, kidnapping princesses, causing chaos.”

Andra considered this for a moment, then took off running, leaping over to the next rooftop while the confused party looked on.

“Wow, she’s actually really athletic,” said Kaylen. “Where do you think she’s going?”

“So are we at war now?” asked Fiona.

Riven nodded. “Probably.”

“Guess that means we’ll be on the front lines.”

Riven looked up at Fiona. “Not likely. I don’t do war.”

“It’s one of the Guild’s rules,” Fiona explained. “In the event of a war, the army takes command of all adventurers.”

“Wait, so we’re going to be expected to indiscriminately kill demons in big battles?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Riven continued to stare up at Fiona for a few seconds, then took off running, heading for the stairs instead of trying to leap across rooftops like Andra.

“And there she goes,” Kaylen said. “Do you think she’s going to skip town?”

“Do you think she’d do that?” Fiona asked.

Kaylen shrugged. “Who knows? Anyway, we should probably get down there and help out. The temples will be setting up healing stations for the wounded. I’m going to find one and help out.”

Fiona nodded. “That makes sense. What should I do?”

“I have no idea. What do warriors normally do in situations like this?”

Fiona just stared at Kaylen, desperation in her eyes.

Kaylen sighed. “Fine. You can come with me.”

The pair made their way downstairs and into the street. Kaylen led the way, weaving through the panicked crowds. Fiona’s large size and gentle nature left her struggling to keep up and Kaylen was forced to wait several times while she found a path against the flow of people. Eventually, Kaylen started selecting back streets and alleys, and the pair started moving more quickly.

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As they neared the religious district, they rounded a corner to discover one of the demons. He was in the midst of a fight with a warrior, slashing with his claws, tearing through the warrior’s armor like paper and splattering the wall with blood. In a flash, Fiona had drawn her weapon and morphed it into a javelin, which she flung at the demon, piercing his leg. The demon screamed in pain and took to the air, flying upward to escape the alley. Fiona sprang forward and grabbed hold of the javelin, pulling it from the demon’s leg as he fled.

Kaylen rushed to the wounded man’s side. The claw had made it through to his skin, and he had several red lines across his chest. Focusing, she held a hand to the wound and tried to draw in Sanguis’ power only to discover that it wasn’t there.

“Oh, Sanguis, please heal this man who fought to defend a city which houses your temple.” It was humiliating having to use a prayer for something as simple as healing, but there was no time for pride, or for wondering why she couldn’t channel the goddess’ power like normal.

Except that the prayer didn’t work, either. For a moment Kaylen wondered if the man were a blasphemer except, she realized, that she couldn’t sense Sanguis at all. The goddess had had a place in her head from the moment she first joined the priesthood. Her absence was like the feeling of forgetting a word. She knew it should be there, but it just wasn’t.

“I’ve lost my powers,” Kaylen said, trying to keep her voice level.

“What do you mean? You can’t heal?” Fiona asked frantically.

“It must have been when I told you about the fairy. Sanguis must have heard me, or saying it out loud broke the part of the spell that kept it hidden from her.”

“So your powers are gone? Just like that?”

Kaylen nodded. “That’s how it works with priestesses and priests. Break the wrong rule and your god removes their power. I’m no longer a priestess.”

Fiona looked frantically between Kaylen and the wounded man. “What are we going to do?”

Kaylen shook herself. There was no time to think about what she had just lost. They needed to help the wounded man.

“Pick him up. We’ll get him to the healing station.”

Fiona hesitated. “Are you sure? If we move him, can’t it make the wounds worse?”

“If the wounds get worse, they’ll heal him at the station.”

Fiona lifted the moaning man as gingerly as possible and followed Kaylen. They continued through the alleys and soon emerged into a square. The Sanguians had set up here and were already rushing about as more and more wounded arrived, healing them as quickly as possible.

One of the priestesses approached Kaylen and Fiona. “You’ve got one? Set him down over here.”

She indicated a blanket laid out on the square and Fiona carefully set him down.

The priestess looked at Kaylen’s vestments. “Don’t tell me you’re already worn out.”

Kaylen looked down at the ground. “Actually, I sort of just lost my powers.

The priestess sighed, more frustrated than sympathetic, and knelt down to heal the warrior. “Geez, what a day to piss off Sanguis. How’d you manage that?”

“It’s not important. How can I help out?”

The priestess frowned up at Kaylen. “I don’t really see how you can.”

Kaylen looked across the square at the priestesses rushing to help the wounded. She would never be able to do that again.

Fiona gave her a worried look. “So what do we do now?”

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Andra leapt across several rooftops before finding a quick and easy way down to the street. She continued running towards the center of the attack, coughing from the smoke and dodging people. At one point one of the attackers landed before her, but she ducked past without pausing and continued until she reached her goal, the castle.

At one time, the king’s home had been a fortress with impenetrable gates and few entrances. Over time, however, as magical techniques improved and new weapons had been invented, the thick walls and small windows had become an ineffective defense and, slowly, the castle had been converted to better serve the comfort of its inhabitants and now boasted many entrances.

Demons were everywhere, battling the guard. It seemed that they had been caught by surprise and hadn’t had time to organize. Through the increasingly thick smoke, it was hard to tell who was fighting who, but Andra held her breath and slipped into the fray. She dodged past slashing claws and stabbing pikes, taking a few new tears in her shirt but ultimately making it through unharmed.

When she reached the castle wall, she followed it around until she found a servants’ entrance. As she suspected, it had not been sealed and she was able to make it inside. She had been to Rampart City’s castle before her disastrous visit after the demon fight. As a teenager, her family had visited as guests of the royal family. Being a sex-obsessed teenager, she had learned the way to the princess’ quarters, just in case the two hit it off. Unfortunately, they had had little time to get acquainted and she never had the opportunity to actually visit the quarters, but she believed she still remembered how to get there.

The halls were surprisingly quiet. Andra had expected to find them swarming with demons, but perhaps the guard was doing a better job than she had expected. Or perhaps the demons simply weren’t entering on the lower floors. The castle’s denizens were in hiding if they were present at all, leaving no one to stop Andra from going where she pleased. She made her way upstairs and out of the servants’ halls into the main ones, the gradually clearing smoke making the castle’s opulent decorations visible.

Finally she reached the room she was looking for. She hoped that she had correctly guessed the attack’s purpose. She hoped that the princess hadn’t hidden elsewhere. She hoped that the guard had been foolish enough to leave her alone. There was a scream from behind the door. Andra flung open the door and nearly sighed with relief at the scene before her.

The princess was dragged towards the window by one of the demons.

Drawing her dagger, Andra recalled her trusty book on demon anatomy. This particular variety, she remembered, had incredibly powerful wings that could withstand an immense amount of punishment. However, the tendon at the base of the wing was near the surface and relatively easy to hit.

Andra charged forward, crossing the room in just a few quick steps. The demon, foolishly, had begun to cast a spell which was quickly interrupted by its screams when Andra sliced her dagger across the base of his wing. The demon would not be capturing the princess now.

The demon released the princess to try to slash at Andra with his claws, and she dodged to the side. The demon tried to turn to face her, but his large size made him less maneuverable in this small room and his tail became caught against the wall, giving Andra the time to plunge her dagger into his heart.

As the demon collapsed, Andra turned to face the princess. “Hi. I’m Andra.”

The princess hesitated for a moment, still wide-eyed and breathing heavily. “Uh… Genevieve.”

“I know. We actually met once before.”

Andra began to feel the exhaustion from her run and the fight catch up with her. She found she was breathing more heavily than the princess and the room was beginning to spin. She couldn’t recall a time when she had performed so much physical activity all at once. Spotting the princess’ bed, she collapsed onto it, trying to catch her breath.

“So,” she began between breaths. She wished she could muster up a little more dignity, but there was little time to make the pitch. “There are a number of reasons why I think it would be in your best interest to marry me.”

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The attack let up shortly afterwards and the demons began to flee. By the time the guards bothered to check on the princess, Andra had already convinced her that their marriage was a brilliant idea. Thankfully, the guards actually listened when the princess explained what had happened and Andra was spared another night in a cell. Instead, once things had calmed down a little, and thankfully she had been given some time to rest, she was brought before the king.

King Ulysses was not a man Andra respected. She had seen enough of his country to know that it was full of massively wealthy nobles and industrialists who worked hard to keep their prosperity well out of the hands of the starving lower classes. Couple that with needlessly oppressive laws limiting things like health care, and Andra saw little reason why he should be allowed to keep ruling. Of course, her own home country was little different, she realized, but at least Obelisk’s inequality had seen fit to benefit her.

He received her in a study where he was dressed in a modern suit instead of the traditional royal garments. He was just a little older than her father, his hair was graying and his face was wrinkled, but his perfect posture managed to create a sense of quiet strength. He bore little resemblance to his daughter, leading Andra to wonder if sterility was a common trait amongst the upper classes.

The two made their quick introductions and the king said, “Before we begin, I want to thank you for protecting my daughter.”

Andra smiled. “That’s what being an adventurer is all about.”

Ulysses offered a small smile back. “Indeed. And I realize that tradition has it that when an adventurer saves the life of a member of the royal family they are, shall we say, welcomed into that family.”

Andra nodded. “Of course, I’m of the belief that traditions like that are often built around treating women as possessions, but I talked things over with your daughter and we both agreed that in this case it makes the most sense to follow it.”

The king crossed the room to stand before Andra. “You understand that she isn’t the one who makes the choice in this matter?”

“I understand that. I just decided it was important to let her have one anyway.”

“You can’t marry her,” Ulysses said firmly.

Andra didn’t take her eyes off him and kept her voice level. “Why not?”

“For one thing, you’re a woman. I realize that in modern times it’s become popular for commoners of the same sex to marry each other, but Genevieve needs to be able to produce an heir.”

Andra grinned. “Oh, is that the only problem? Genevieve and I didn’t exactly get that far in our discussion, but if you’re concerned about my physical ability to impregnate her, I can assure you that that won’t be a problem.”

The king raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that I have the necessary anatomy.”

Ulysses paused for a moment to process this, then began to sputter. “I will not allow my daughter to be married to… one of those.”

Andra cleared her throat. It was time for the big pitch. “You’re about to go to war. A war which I tried to warn your generals about. They did nothing and as a result your capital was attacked and your heir nearly captured. I was the only one who tried to prevent the former and the only one who thought to prevent the latter. You need me. As commander of your armies, I will actually take the necessary action against the Demon King and put a stop to his invasion. I have studied military strategy, I’m connected with experts in the fields of demonology, magic, religion and alchemy. And as the princess’ consort I will tie your kingdom to the most powerful noble house in one of your country’s greatest rivals, because as it happens I am the daughter of Lord and Lady von Ekko.”

The king blinked. “You’re Andrew von Ekko?”

Andra nodded. “It’s Andra, actually.”

“And you say you tried to warn my generals about the attack?”

Andra groaned. “Did they not even tell you? I found a spy hiding out in a warehouse weeks ago. I’ve got to tell you, your commanders are completely worthless.”

Ulysses considered this for a long moment. “Very well. It’s clear that your instincts and intellect will be of value to the war effort, enough that I can forgive your… eccentricities. Your title and the exact nature of your role will be discussed at a future time. As will the subject of your courtship of my daughter.”

Andra clapped her hands together decisively. “Great. Now, first thing’s first. We need to plan a ball.”

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Riven stood on the rooftop of the Guild’s main building, waving her arms at the retreating demons.

“Hey! Mage over here! I’m valuable! You could totally kidnap me and use charm magic to force me to serve a sexy demon general lady!”

None of the demons noticed.