I woke up in a bedroom. That was surprising. Wait, no, it wasn’t. It was the same bedroom I went to sleep in last night. I was just so used to the nightmare of being in The Cage that I was confused when I first woke up. I stood up from my pile of blankets, stretched, curled my tail, and spread my wings. I don’t think I need to tell you, but just in case: I’m a dragon. A pretty blue dragoness named Princess, the pet of Tola the Mage. Or is it Magister Tola? I’d ask him, but he’d be upset at any title. “Just plain Tola, please.” Yeah, that sounds like Master. Even just thinking the word “Master” made me want to giggle to myself. I’m still new to the idea.

Tola had been studying the books in the library, slowly expanding the amount of magic he knows little by little. So now, he offers solutions to problems the townsfolk have as the Town Mage of Hammerfell. With a small but growing income, thanks to a small but growing ability with magic, it looks like we’ll be able to make payments on that debt after all, allowing us to keep our new home. Things were looking pretty good so far, and thinking about it had my tail wagging.

Such thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, however. I had been sitting next to Master with my head in his lap while he read a book, one hand idly petting between my horns. I lifted my head, and when Master stood up to answer the door, I followed behind him. When we first moved in, this place was a bit of a mess. Elimaio had ignored anything that was “beneath his concern”, or everything outside his work area, and after his death the Crown Guard had been selling off anything they could to raise money for his back taxes. Most of the furniture was either smashed or sold, a good portion of the library had gone to collectors eager to snap up books, and so had all but the most basic alchemy equipment. We had slowly been accumulating replacements, but it still meant we had to turn down a lot of jobs because they were outside our ability to handle. Hopefully this wouldn’t be another one of those.

Instead of one of the townsfolk, the person at the door was a nervous-looking kid, pushing a large cloth-wrapped bundle bound with string into Tola’s hands. “Here you go, sir. Boss says to let him know what you want next the usual way.”

“Boss? What I want?” Tola looked at the package with confusion.

“I don’t know nothin’, I keep my neck that way, I’m just the delivery guy. Guy that hired me told me to tell you that. Same as every year.” Before he could be asked anything else, he tipped his hat and turned to leave, breaking into a fast jog.

I sniffed at the package, something about it seeming familiar? It was nagging at the back of my mind. “So, what did you order?”

“Wasn’t me. He said ‘same as every year’... You don’t think this was meant for… him, do you?” The name wasn’t one we liked saying much, for obvious reasons. Tola didn’t go through as much as I did, but Elimaio did nearly murder him with magic during the fight. A near-death experience leaves a lingering mark, just as spending months in a cage with a shock collar does.

The question made the memory break through that void, making me remember where I had smelled that before. “I think it was. I know I’ve smelled some of these scents clinging to his robes. We should get this inside and take a look. Maybe we’ll find out what warranted such strange behavior for a simple delivery.

Setting the package on a table in the workshop, Tola cut through the cord with a small dagger, unwrapping the cloth. Inside were a set of pouches and boxes, along with a note that Master picked up and began to read out loud. “Esteemed Elimaio, the Brotherhood is pleased to hear of your planned experiments. The fruit of knowledge they bear could be most beneficial as well as profitable. We have heard your complaints about the price for some of these ingredients, and we wish to remind you that the convenience of such items more than makes up for any cost. If you truly wish to argue, the Guard could always be discreetly informed of your purchases. We recommend you either reconsider such unfounded complaints, or seek your own steady source of Dragon Scales and other goods. In the mean time, we expect payment for this shipment soon.”

“Wow, that doesn’t sound threatening or illegal at all, does it?” I couldn’t help my curiosity, placing my forepaws on the table as I sniffed at the packages. Most of them had a spicy, heady scent, and one of them made my nose tingle like it had gone numb, and I couldn’t smell anything at all for a moment. I avoided that one, it was a remarkably unpleasant sensation.

“I know, right? Well, I guess he was one step ahead on the dragon scales.” His hand reached down and patted my head, making me huff softly. It was a little uncomfortable to be reminded just how much of my body had market value. “Still, this is a pricey sum. It’s going to take a hefty chunk of what we’ve earned so far. Not to mention I’m not a big fan of giving money to people who are probably mistreating dragons or other animals…”

“Hm… It’s not our fault that they shipped a package to someone who didn’t order it. We could just keep it?”

Master shook his head. “I’m pretty sure people who send notes like these aren’t all that concerned with who they get their money from, so long as they get it. No, this is definitely something we will need to deal with, and the sooner the better. The first step, however, is going to be figuring out exactly what all this stuff even is.”

I pawed at one of the larger pouches, the tip of my tail flicking happily in my excitement to help. “This one’s dragon scales, definitely. At least I know that scent.”

He took the pouch and opened it, picking out a large, flat, green scale. I shivered at the sight. It wasn’t just the thought of seeing something that resembled part of my own body, though. I was pretty sure I’d met the beast that particular scale had come from, and it wasn’t the happiest of memories. Master, at least, didn’t notice the slight motion, having been looking it over. “I’d say you’re right. Good girl.” I blushed, because even though being a pet was my idea, I still wasn’t used to being praised and it always gave me such a warm feeling.

The package had definitely raised more questions than we were prepared for. Each of the items had been laid out on the workbench, each with a piece of paper used to note down anything Master had found in his books. A few of them had been easy to identify, they were fairly common materials we had seen before. Potion ingredients, powdered forms of herbs or roots. Others were complete mysteries, their pages having little more than a physical description. A couple of these, Master gathered to take with him into town. After all, when it came to ordering things, Shane the merchant would likely know more than us and he was someone we could trust. Well, we could trust him to keep a paying customer, anyway.

After the fateful encounter with the would-be mugger, I almost never let Master go alone. There wasn’t much point in me staying behind, and I didn’t want to risk anything happening again. Besides, I kinda liked playing the part of the vigilant guard animal. Maybe I’d have to start doing some kind of training, ask Master to set up an attack dummy, something like that. Maybe not, as the image of Elimaio flashed through my head. Better to be intimidating. Not many would call the bluff of a growling dragon, I hope.

Once in town, we stopped at the general store, run by Shane. He was a man who was quick to tell you how he’d have anything you could ever want, or if he didn’t have it, he’d be able to get it for you. He always claimed to have contacts in major towns all throughout the land, experts that could make anything for the right price, plus a small fee for the convenience of doing the legwork for you. A smaller town like Hammerfell needed someone like him, though. We had a few professions locally, a blacksmith and a carpenter and a few other craftsmen. Everything else had to come from elsewhere.

“Why, hello there, friend Tola! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Your groceries aren’t due for another two days, but perhaps you’ve a sudden craving? Something sweet, and you’ve heard I just got a shipment of candied fruits from Wintersbane?” He was already fetching one of his treats for me, and I was pretty sure they were meant for dogs, but I was happy enough with them not to complain.

“Ah, no, not at this time, Shane. Actually, I was looking to restock some of the ingredients my workshop could use. Naturally, you’re the first person I thought to ask, and my favorite.”

“Oh, you flatter me so! So much more than that nasty fellow who used to live in that tower ever did. Oh, sure, he was friendly enough when he first arrived, but as the one who had to deal with him the most, I got to see the decline of his civility first-hand. I do hope you aren’t going to follow in his footsteps.” Hm, Shane’s look at me was more… focused than his usual. Like he was inspecting me for something. Or appraising me. I didn’t care for it.

“Absolutely not. I may be studying magic from his library, but his only redeeming feature was being a model of how not to act. Now, I have to admit, I don’t actually know the names of these ingredients, so I brought along what I do know about them and hoped you could fill in the gaps. If I can’t get it from you, perhaps you can tell me what questions to ask.” Master looked at the first paper, frowning a little. “This one’s a sort of black powder, has a bit of a spicy scent to it, kind of like licorice? If you are familiar with that?”

“Oh dear, I’m afraid I don’t go around smelling most of my stock. Especially not anything that has to do with you mages, you never know when you’ll inhale too deeply and end up with some sort of dog nose or something.” This wasn’t like Shane, to just turn down a chance to make a sale. Normally he’d be suggesting something like bringing it in for him to see with his own eyes.

“Okay, well, I guess I can understand that.” Pages flipped, and another was pulled out. “This one was a type of herb, I drew a diagram as best I could. I suppose art isn’t my strongest suit.” He handed the page over to Shane, who looked at it with narrowing eyes.

“You say you have this one in stock? To be able to draw it yourself? I didn’t think the Guard would miss Retchweed… I certainly hope you’ve been careful in your handling of it, I’d hate to see any of the delicacies I sell go to waste because you can’t keep them down.”

“Oh, you’re familiar with that one?”

“Only in passing, I’d never be carrying poisons. Surely you know I’m an upstanding, law-abiding merchant.” Shane’s voice was definitely lacking the honey he usually put on his words. I wasn’t the only one to notice, if I was reading Master’s face correctly.

“Hm, at least with a name, I can read more about it. I doubt I’ll actually need to restock that one.” Tola flipped through his papers again, looking for one with more to work with than my description of the scent. Not finding one, he put them away. “One last question, it seems my… predecessor had been keeping a stock of dragon scales. I’m not sure why, and I’m not keen on taking any from Princess without knowing more about them. Can you tell me anything?”

“I’m not sure who’s putting you up to this. Did someone tell you I would trade in contraband? Because I most certainly will not.” Now his words had an almost knife-sharp edge to them. “All I know about them is that I’ve seen a few of my colleagues think they can make some easy money selling them to disgraced mages. They claim it ‘enhances’ their power, but once they give in to trying it, they’re soon back for more. Merchants who aren’t as ethical as myself find themselves flogged for trafficking in them, usually because it’s a matter of time before such mages feel the need to take too much and let that power go to their heads, becoming a very dangerous problem.” Those last few words were almost venomous.

However, since I had little to do while all this talking was going on, I took the liberty of poking my nose around, pawing at a rug behind the counter and exposing a trap door that had been hidden. One of the items from today’s bundle smelled very much like the scent coming from under these floorboards, after all.

“Hey! Shoo! Get away from that! Stupid beast!” Shane tried to wave his hands in my direction, to get me to move back, but I stood firm. One paw on the door to keep it from getting covered, I stared up at him defiantly. When he dared to bring his hands closer, as if he might actually strike me, I let out a deep growl. That sound definitely got Tola’s attention, as he knew I wouldn’t do that without a good reason.

“What’s this, Shane? Threatening my pet? Why would you do that? You’re not afraid of something, are you?” He moved around the counter to get a better look, and I pawed at the ring that let one open the trap door. Well, one with fingers. I could probably manage it, but it’d be tricky and I’d probably have to get my teeth involved, and there was so much dirt here that I didn’t plan to if I didn’t have to. I’m dainty like that.

The merchant backed up slightly at the growl, so I moved forward to match, which also let me stop keeping weight on the door. That way, I could move enough to the side for Master to open it.

“You should keep her under control! If she attacks me, the Guard will be after you both. As it is, you should be lucky the whole town doesn’t hear of this!”

“You mean, the whole town hearing of this?” Tola withdrew a jar from the cubby the trapdoor had covered, standing up and placing it on the counter. Inside the glass container were a bundle of Retchweed flowers exactly like he had drawn on one of the pages. “I thought ‘an upstanding, law-abiding merchant’ like yourself ‘would never be carrying poisons’.”

I’ll admit, it was satisfying to see the series of expressions on the merchant’s face. Surprise, that was expected. Blanching pale when he realized just which jar had been picked out. Turning beet red when his own words were twisted against him. Finally, the shrinking in defeat as he knew he had no way out of this. Beautiful.

“Ah, well… I… I have… certain clients, who… I mean, my profession demands quite a bit of discretion. It’s… exceedingly rare such an item needs to go from place to place, but I ASSURE you I never sell enough to cause any actual harm! Sometimes a healer needs a small amount to use in instruction, or… or someone wishes to play a bit of a prank on someone who’s wronged them, or… Well, I really don’t think there’s anyone who needs to hear about any of this, right?”

“This, or any of the other items in here, you mean? Ones that are likely to be very, very interesting to the Guard you wanted to call a moment ago?”

“Ah, please, forgive my outburst, I was… merely startled! By your, ah, quite intelligent and regal, ah, companion? Perhaps the both of us could… ever forget we spoke of such items, or saw them, or know anything about them?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I mean, I do have quite a lot of questions, and you’ve just revealed to me what an informed source you are.” Tola seemed to enjoy having a bit of leverage on the merchant. I can’t say I blame him, I’d probably be a lot less subtle in my gloating if I wasn’t still pretending I can’t talk.

“Questions? Look, I don’t know what I can answer, my sources… They’d be very upset with me if I told you anything.” Shane was definitely uneasy with this conversation.

“Sources? Perhaps, the Brotherhood?” Tola let the question linger a moment.

Shane shook his head. “The Brotherhood of Shadows? Goodness, no! Getting wrapped up with them would be… exceedingly foolish! Admittedly, their reach in this area is minimal. But they’re the ones that deal in illicit substances, handle thieves, even hire out assassins to those with enough coin in the larger kingdom cities.”

“This Brotherhood sent a package to my door, meant for Elimaio. However, I don’t know anything about it. What’s in it, what it’s for, or how much payment they’re expecting from me in return. All I know is that I’m suddenly in a very bad position, and I don’t like that at all. So help me out, and maybe I can help you out. Sound good?”

“Hm… Well, I know there’s some… friction, shall we say, between you and the Crown Guard nearby. If you could bring them information they could use to repel Brotherhood influence, they might be grateful… After all, that would make them look quite good to their superiors.”

“That would be a much better option, if I had enough information to bring them. So far, all I’ve got is that Elimaio was to deliver payment and place orders ‘the usual way’. Whatever agreement he had with them, I’m not privy to it.” Tola stared at the jar on the counter as if it would hold some answers instead of emetic.

“Oh, that is unfortunate. I don’t suppose the madman would have kept a record of his own, did he? I mean, I wouldn’t if I was him, but I doubt he expected he’d ever face a threat. Overconfidence leads one to make some sloppy mistakes, after all.” Shane said this more as if he was musing to himself, but I suspected he wanted the chance to brag about how clever he thought he was.

“Actually, you know, that might be something to look into. I hadn’t really wanted to get to know such a damaged mind, but I might have to actually delve into that. You might have actually proven to be more useful than I expected, Shane.”

“Always a pleasure to be of service. So, about my… other selection…?”

Tola gave a smile, and we both stepped back, letting Shane place the jar back into its hiding spot with the other packages, the trap door closing and once again covered by the gaudy rug. “Why, I have no idea what you could even be referring to. Your shelves have all the selection one could ever want.”

“I’m so glad we could come to an understanding. If there ever is something that you don’t see on my shelves, of course, perhaps I could find a way to get it to you…?”

“I doubt I’ll need to take you up on that, but I promise if it ever does happen, you’ll be the first I ask.” With that, we left the shop and began the trip back home.

To be on the safe side, the materials were safely stowed away. The last thing we needed was a visitor to see something they shouldn’t, while we had no way to explain their presence. Tola began tracking down any journals that might have been left behind, or notes that Elimaio took on his experiments, or anything else he’d have authored. He also continued to try to research the items themselves, and so the stack of books on the table in the study continued to grow. By the time he finished one book, three more were added to the pile because they were needed for reference.

“You know, perhaps I should have expected this, with magic and all. But there’s a number of books here about transformations. I think that’s what he was experimenting with, when he wasn’t torturing wanderers and accusing them of scheming against him.”

I raised my head at the sound of his voice. I hadn’t meant to, but I’d apparently dozed off at some point, since there wasn’t a whole lot for me to do during most of this research. “Eh? What’s going on?” A large yawn probably rendered most of my question impossible to understand, as I shook off the disorientation from my unexpected dragon-nap. It’s like a cat-nap, except cats are the ones copying dragons. That’s my story and I’ll stick to it.

“Oh, nothing, just thinking out loud. They talk a lot about the soul in this. I suppose if magic exists, it makes sense that souls might too…”

“You say that like magic existing is unusual.”

“I mean, it was certainly a surprise, the first time I saw it. I have to admit, I’m… not from around here. Where I’m from, it’s… more or less unheard of.”

“Says the master magician, to his talking dragon.” I yawned again. I can’t help it, I’m sassy when I’m sleepy.

“Yes, that’s my life NOW. Just… Oh, nevermind, Princess. I don’t even know if I could explain it.” He seemed grumpy for some reason. I didn’t mean to get that kind of reaction.

“It’s all right, I didn’t mean to… well, I’m not sure exactly what I did, but I didn’t mean to make you feel bad?” I pushed my nose into his hand lightly, looking up and hoping to convey how much I wanted to make it up to him. “You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to or don’t feel like you can.”

“I know, you’re a Good Girl.” He rubbed his hand over the top of my head and down the top part of my neck. I pushed in, a soft purr in my throat, and let my eyes drift closed a little. “It’s just surprising to me, the things I’ve learned since coming here. According to this, the spells are not actually all that hard to perform, either. And some of the things we got in that package are even ingredients used in such spells. I was thinking maybe that was the kind of ‘experiments’ the note talked about, is all.”

“That’s a good point. Any luck on finding out more about what he was doing?” My tail wagged a little. I had such a smart Master, I couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

“Not a lot. Most of his writings have been about paranoia that spies are everywhere, jealous of his brilliance. Brotherhood spies trying to steal secrets, Guild mages wanting to know how he got so powerful, thieves hoping for treasure. You name it, he imagined it. There is also some talk about being frustrated with a stubborn blue dragon… You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Who, me? Naaah, I’m a delight to be around. Not frustrating at all.” I swayed my tail happily, matching the sarcasm in his question with even more of my own.

“Oh, you sure are, when you’re around someone you like, I suppose.” His hand rubbed more, fingers curling at the base of my horns to scritch there lightly.

I might’ve tried to respond with more sarcasm, but I couldn’t resist purring deeply and leaning in, especially when he moved to scritch under my chin next. Clearly he’d been studying all my weak spots, I was completely disarmed, which was just fine by me.

“Anyway, it seems the stories of princes cursed to be frogs are made up. According to these books, the soul will eventually break through a spell that binds it into a different shape, reasserting its true form once again. How much time it takes depends on a number of things, like how different the form is, how much the subject dislikes it, how much power and skill went into the spell… There is talk about curses, where a spell is able to inflict a form repeatedly. That might be related to werewolves? It hasn’t really gone into detail on that yet, I’m afraid.”

“Oof, that all sounds pretty dry… How long is ‘eventually’, anyway?” I was a little more interested than I let on, I admit.

Master opened the book again, flipping back a handful of pages. “Hm, well, like I said, it depends on a number of things, but… It looks like an upper bound is… close to a month? If it’s a very powerful spell, on someone who’s barely fighting it. But even subconsciously, a soul will still erode the spell. And without the right soul, innate magic won’t work, which limits the usefulness.”

“Innate magic…? So, like, if you turned yourself into a dragon like me, you couldn’t fly?” This seemed to make no sense to me, why wouldn’t a dragon be able to fly?

“Fly? I mean, if it takes magic, yeah. But I wouldn’t be able to breathe fire, either. My soul wouldn’t produce the right… wavelength? of magic.” I must’ve been making a strange expression because he tried again. “The right flavor of magic. Or maybe color. The right type. It’d be like trying to, oh what’s a good way to put it? Push a rope instead of pulling. I wouldn’t be applying force in the correct direction. Or maybe it’d be like trying to push a round peg through a star-shaped hole. Well, whatever the metaphor is, it wouldn’t work. If I knew exactly how the magic worked, I might be able to use my own energy to fake it, but it would be very difficult.”

I was lost in thought as he rambled. It was kind of cute to listen to, even if I found myself a little distracted to really pay attention. Mostly I was wondering how accurate that book was.

“For example, if he was going to try to turn himself into a dragon and pluck himself clean for scales, they wouldn’t have the same properties as real ones. They’d be useless dud imitations. The book also mentions that some mages have tried turning their pets into human servants, but that doesn’t go well because it doesn’t confer a human mind. They just get a human that growls or barks and is very confused until the spell breaks.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Is it wrong that I almost want to see that? Or maybe I just want to see certain merchants with the mind of a dog for a day.” I couldn’t help but wag my tail a little at that.

“Oh, that would be something completely different. But maybe I’ll have him spend a day or two as a rat, since that suits him so well. Actually, when I was reading that, I had a… probably silly idea. If you’re up for it, and you’re completely allowed to say no, how would you like to see what it’s like to be a human yourself? Since you can talk, you wouldn’t have the same problem.”

“Wait, what? Me? A human? That’s something you can do?” I had to have heard that wrong! My heart was pounding! I didn’t even notice I already had my paws up on the table, looking over the pile of books.

“Hah, woah there, girl! It’d only be for a day or two, probably. I take it you’re curious?”

“I… Well… Wait, if I do that, though… What about, um, us?” A nameless dread started to build inside me. “I… can’t be your pet if I’m human, can I?”

“It’d only be for a couple days, I don’t see a reason you can’t still be my pet if you prefer. You’ll still be Princess, you’ll still be a dragon in soul.”

“Well, if… if that’s all right, then… then yeah. Yeah, I’d… like to try.”

“I’ll make the preparations. It might take a few attempts, so don’t worry if the first time doesn’t hold for long, okay?”

“I’ve said it before. I trust you, Master.” I wagged my tail and pushed in, rubbing my cheek against his chest.

It was a few days before preparations were complete. Since this was a larger spell than the usual ones Master had used, he had prepared a large circle on the floor of his workshop, with runic symbols drawn around the edges. I stepped carefully over the chalk lines, the last thing I wanted was to scratch one with a claw or brush it with my tail and ruin all the hard work that’s gone into this. I was nervous as I sat in the center, my tail curled tightly around myself and resting on my forepaws, my wings tucked tightly against my back. I couldn’t help but feel the urge to make myself as small and compact as possible.

Once I was in place, Master began his work. It took a lot more chanting than his usual, and I noticed a set of crystals that had been placed at regular spots on the circle had begun to glow. I worked on steadying my breathing, even as scary as it was. What if it didn’t work? What if it did?

Slowly, slow enough that I didn’t notice at first, I felt a tingle begin to build within my body. Starting from my paws up, working its way into my body, spreading into my wings and tail. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t comfortable either. It was accompanied with a dull ache as Master’s words grew louder, and I could tell it was starting to take more energy out of him. The crystals were acting as some kind of amplifier, or maybe storage, because I could feel the magic coming out of them as well.

The process started to reach a peak, and suddenly the tingle became a jolt. I gasped, a soft whimper escaping my throat, as it started to feel like I was being squeezed on all sides. Slowly my wings began to recede into my back, my tail shrinking, my shoulders and hips felt so stiff and sore. My paws felt like someone was pulling on each of the short digits, pulling them out over the claws as they shrank. My head throbbed as my face squished in, my horns pulled into my skull. One by one, scales shrank over my body, splitting apart into tiny hairs, revealing soft pink skin. I don’t know how long the process took, for all I could tell it was somewhere between the blink of an eye and an entire year.

I don’t know when it ended, just that I was dazed in the middle of the circle, on a cold stone floor. And wow, it was cold! I knew it wasn’t hot before, but I’d always just made myself warmer whenever I’d felt a chill. I couldn’t seem to do that now. Was that really part of being a dragon? I shook my head, hearing the bell on my collar jingle, and the sound was comforting. As was the feel of the collar around my neck. I focused on that, and felt my breathing slow down. I hadn’t realized how fast I’d been breathing, but it explains why I was feeling dizzy. I raised a paw to brush something out of my face, finding it to be hair. It was long and blue, the same color as my scales had been. And my paw wasn’t a paw, it was a hand, with fingers. Were all fingers this long? And with little tiny nails on the tips?

That was all the self-inspection I had time for before Master had caught his breath from the exertion and started asking questions. “My goodness…! Princess, are you… all right? How do you feel?”

I looked down at myself again, and found myself chuckling. It started as an almost silent thing, bubbling into laughter, building to an almost maniacally insane level before I calmed down. “Oh, wow, everything is so… different! Is it always like this?” I tried to stand up, but it was so strange without feeling my tail swing in the air, and my legs felt so strange. My forelegs were so short compared to my hind legs, my knees weren’t attached to my body at all, and… Oh, right, two legs, that’s a thing. Carefully I gathered my hind–my legs under me, lifting my hands off the floor and standing up. I felt so precarious, especially with how high up I was now! I was balancing, but walking would take some getting used to.

Master watched me rise up, but then quickly turned away with a blush. “And you’re naked. Oh boy.”

I raised a paw–I mean hand, to my collar. No, it was still there. What did he mean, then? I was about to ask when I realized the answer. “Oh, yeah, clothes. Well, I… could borrow some of yours, maybe? Would that work?”

He nodded, turning around again, still blushing deeply. He stepped over the circle to be at my side, offering his hand and shoulder for support. I hadn’t even said I’d need that, but I was glad for it. I let him lead me on those first shaky steps, and once I was clear of the chalk, I let myself try to be a bit more independent. He ran off to fetch something to cover myself with, and I waited in the workshop. My right leg bounced a little, twisting left and right as the ball of my foot rested on the floor.

When he came back, I couldn’t help but rush to him, placing my hands on his chest and rubbing my cheek against his chest between them. I was still a little shorter than him, the top of my head came to just under his chin, so I fit perfectly like this. He froze when I did that, though, and eventually he pushed me back gently, looking away as he offered me a long shirt and a loose pair of pants. Oh, right, the clothes thing. I guess Master’s just too much of a gentleman to be able to handle a naked human girl. Maybe I’ll tease him about that later.

It took a bit of doing to figure out how to get them on, but I did. I kind of regretted it, as it made that dull ache from the missing wings and tail so much worse, the way the fabric rubbed against skin and didn’t glide over hard scales. But if it made Master more comfortable, I’d handle it until I got used to it.

“Okay, so, that’s better. You’re probably more comfortable, less chilly. Interesting, how your hair turned out blue, and your eyes…”

“My eyes? What, is something wrong with them?” I was scared that something had gone wrong. I didn’t want to be some sort of misshapen human, or at least any more misshapen than I already felt. Why WAS everything so uncomfortable, anyway? I could ask, but I didn’t want to worry him. Or tell him I was more comfortable naked.

“Not wrong, just… how they always look.”

“That sounds like a weird thing to point out, then.”

“Well, they look how they did before your change. Which makes them stand out on a human face.” I must’ve been making a face, because he quickly added, “Which is fine! Really! They look good on you!”

“Well, I’d still like to see them for myself. There’s the mirror in our bedroom.” With that I started heading down the hall. Halfway there, I felt Master’s hand on my shoulder.

“Why are you walking like that?”

“Like what?” I was on two feet, what more did he want?

“Well, you’re walking on the balls of your feet, your heels aren’t touching the floor.”

I looked down, and he was right. I forced my heels down and stood the same way he was doing, taking a few steps. It was weird. If I thought about it, I could walk easily enough like this, but the moment I stopped paying attention, they were back in the air. Well, too bad, it’s my body and I’ll walk how I want to.

Once at the mirror, I was surprised by my reflection. The pink collar was still visible around my neck, which made me feel better about wearing these clothes. But my golden eyes, with their slit pupils, along with my vivid blue hair… That might cause issues talking to people. Then again, it might be kind of fun to see what they think.

“Well, how is it?” He was also looking at my reflection.

I flashed a grin. “Oh, not so bad, but I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting these bag-things.” I quickly pulled my shirt up and cupped at the breasts underneath with my hands, watching his face turn red as he looked away, almost sputtering as whatever he was about to say was lost to being flustered. I giggled softly and pulled the shirt back down. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just fun to see you react like that. Why do you react that way, Master?”

“It’s… well… I mean, you ARE in the shape of a rather pretty girl. I guess it translated well to your human shape. I left most of the details vague and let your soul fill them in, at least I think that’s how the magic works. So it’s sort of… probably how you would’ve looked if you were born a human instead of hatched a dragon?”

“I’m pretty? So you… are attracted to me?” I couldn’t resist the chance to tease, I never got to see Master like this. I leaned in with a smile, looking up at him.

“Wh– Ah, I mean… Not… ‘attracted’ attracted! It’s just… I was raised that you just don’t look at a girl when they’re undressed! It’s rude, it’s not right. Those parts are only shown to someone you… like.”

“But I like you, Master… You’re my Owner, you can see whatever parts of me you want.” My voice had a sort of sing-song tone to it, and they made his face turn so red, it was hilarious!

“A-are you…? I mean… You don’t mean… Y-you’re my pet, it’s… indecent!”

“I’m not serious. Maybe that was a little too far.” I tried to make up for it by lifting up onto my toes, hands on his chest for balance, and gave his cheek a happy lick. It was harder to do with such a short tongue. It wasn’t until his face went even redder that I remembered that humans don’t usually lick each others’ cheeks. Well, too late now.

“S-sorry, sorry. Habit. It’s… tricky. You’d think it’d be easier for me to remember, I’ve just… been a dragon for so long, I guess.” Now it was my turn to blush and turn away.

“It’s all right, Princess. It’s gonna take time. I won’t hold it against you if you slip. I am glad to know you’re just teasing, though. I was starting to get worried.” He took a breath as if he was trying to steady himself.

Something about the way he said it, I felt kind of… Should I have been offended? I mean, I should… like the idea of him liking the way I look, right? As two humans? Maybe that would come later, as I got used to this form. …Did I hope it would? I really had no idea what to think, or how to feel. This whole thing was so confusing. I needed a distraction. “Maybe… we should get something to eat?”

“Food doesn’t sound bad, yes. I’ll start cooking. You can stay here, if you like?” I thought about trying to offer help, but I wasn’t confident about how much help I’d actually be. Instead I only nodded. Maybe I’d go and join him in a minute, or maybe I’d poke around elsewhere.

I was about to wonder why I hadn’t smelled any cooking when I heard Master call out that he was done. Heading towards the study, since it doubled as a dining room, I found myself walking on the balls of my feet again. It was a little frustrating that I kept slipping on that. I had stopped, which meant my right foot felt free to lightly stomp the floor. Huh, I hadn’t meant to do that, it just sorta happened. Though, I suppose my tail normally would’ve done that instead, if I was frustrated enough. I got back on my way, though, because I was eager to eat.

I arrived, but my plate was up on the table instead. I guess that made sense. I pulled out the chair, but it just felt so wrong to sit on it the way Master did, my mind screaming at me that my tail would be in the way if I tried. I turned the chair sideways and sat that way, with the back of it to my side. It helped a little, but it still felt so weird to be looking at the table from above like this, after so long spent eating from a plate on the floor. The food smelled… good, but it was… so less strong than usual. If I got close enough it was fine, but I felt self-conscious with the way Master was looking at me. I picked up the fork and got to work, turning the utensil in my fingers between bites, marveling at the feeling of my fingers working in ways my paws couldn’t. It almost helped me not feel so weird about not having my claws.

I was worried about what the food would be, but it was the same ham and eggs that I had been able to eat before, something that would be okay for either a human or a dragon. Master didn’t know many dishes, but I didn’t mind, since this tasted just fine.

Most of the meal was spent with me trying to focus on the act of eating like a human, while Master was watching me intently, curious to see how I’d act. It made me want to curl my tail underneath myself from the feeling of awkwardness, even though I knew he wasn’t meaning to judge. And to top it off, my right leg seemed to be cramping up again. It had been doing that a lot. Finally, near the end of the meal, I set the fork down. “How did I do?” Maybe there was a little bitterness in my voice.

“You’re… doing just fine? I’m just glad there weren’t any problems, I suppose. Like, if swallowing worked differently or you choked or something. I know you don’t really chew the same way, normally.” I winced, I should’ve known he was only watching out of concern. Master’s always so caring, it made me feel even worse for feeling bad about all this. My right leg tensed even tighter. Really tight. I tried to unclench it, but it wasn’t reacting. The toes, the ankle, the calf, all of them were wound so tightly. Wait, was something going wrong? It shouldn’t feel like this, should it? The panic was starting to rise again, and I couldn’t keep it down.

I was standing, or trying to. I don’t remember standing up, just that I was using the back of the chair to hold myself up, as my right leg refused to straighten. I was whimpering. Master was already at my side, trying to lay a hand on my shoulder. I barely noticed, I was so focused on the damn leg! Did the spell go wrong? What else was wrong? Was I missing organs? Were my insides tied up in knots? Was I going to fall over dead any moment because of something bad? Master was asking something, I heard his voice, but I couldn’t pay attention to it. My leg started kicking, the same way my tail would if I– My tail. It couldn’t be that simple, could it?

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I tried to focus on my tail, the one I didn’t have. Get it under control. Straighten it out. Stop moving it. I felt my leg unclench finally, and I was able to lower it to the floor and stand on it. My breath came out in a sigh, and I felt both so smart and so stupid at the same time.

“Princess? Princess? Are you… are you better?” His eyes were so wide. I should’ve tried harder to respond to him, I shouldn’t have scared him like that.

“Y-yeah, I just… It’s… stupid. My leg, it… moves whenever, um, my mind tries to move my tail, I guess. It had been acting weird, but not enough to really do anything until now, and… and I got scared. I only figured it out just now, I can’t believe it took so long.”

“Hey, hey, it’s all right girl. I mean, this is an incredible experience, and it can’t be an easy one.”

“Hmph, it’s… it’s stupid. I mean, you do just fine without a tail, don’t you? Why am I having so much trouble? I’m so… stupid!” I couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes.

“I wasn’t born with one, you’ve had one all your life. It only makes sense you’d have trouble adjusting.”

“No, it’s… Ever since we did this, the whole time I’ve been like this, it’s… Everything feels so wrong! I can’t stop feeling like I’m going nuts! The clothes rub against my skin, I don’t have my wings, the ground is so far down, I’m gonna fall over–”

“Princess, it’s all right! Calm down, it’s just–”

“It’s not fine! I never felt like this before! I should be able to handle this! I used to be human, damn it!” I was so tired of being told this would all go away, I didn’t feel like it would. Every moment seemed to be getting worse!

“...What.” Master’s hand pulled away from my shoulder, and I looked up, blinking. Wait, did I just say…? “What do you mean, you used to be human?” Oh, crap, I did.

“I, uh… I… I didn’t mean to… say that…”

“You told me you didn’t have a name, though! But you did? Why did you tell me you didn’t have a name? What was it?” Master was mad. Or maybe just shocked, but at that time, it seemed like he was mad.

“I didn’t… I don’t… It’s not my name anymore! I’m not HIM anymore, all right?”

“Not ‘HIM’? Princess…?”

Oh, double crap.

“Okay, so, yeah, there’s… a lot I haven’t told you, about my past…” My eyes were glued to the floor. My leg was curled up again, still acting as a substitute for my missing tail.

“I kinda gathered.” Ouch, that was an ice-cold tone in his voice.

“I mean, when we first met, it didn’t come up or seem important. And then you asked about my name, and… it felt silly to try to say my old name. And I wanted to tell you, but I was scared you’d… not want me around anymore… I didn’t mean to hide it, I just… I didn’t know when to tell you, or how, or… yeah…” I wanted to shrink into myself and disappear.

Master– Maybe I should stop thinking of him like that. Tola was silent for what felt like hours. I counted breaths. When he moved, I flinched, but he put his hand on my shoulder gently. “I’m… surprised, yeah. But you’re still the Princess I’ve known all this time. If that’s who you feel is more ‘you’, then I’ll respect that, okay?”

I was finally able to look up at his face, and was relieved to see that warm smile he often had. “Really…? I mean… I don’t know what I’d do if you… didn’t want me around.” I was still scared, I could feel my heart fluttering.

“I’m fine with you staying. I’ll still be your Master, a pet owner’s responsibilities don’t go away just because they find out something new. But… you owe me a LOT of explanation, understood? Everything I’ve read says that it shouldn’t be possible, after all.”

“Nnh. Well, clearly it’s wrong about that. But I guess I should start with my first meeting with Elimaio.” I took a deep breath and readied myself. This was a part of my memory I really, really didn’t like dredging up. But Tola deserved to know the truth, if I was going to be asking him to keep me. And so, I began to tell my story.

I was a man, originally. My name was… not important. …I know you asked, I just… I can’t. It’s not mine anymore, I don’t want to say it. Anyway, I found myself in Hammerfell after having been wandering for some time. I had gotten lost, and had no clue how to make it back home. I also didn’t have a lot of, well, marketable skills for this area. Mostly the scholar type, you could say. I had tried to earn my keep taking on jobs around town, but I wasn’t working out well at any of them. I couldn’t keep up with blacksmithing. I couldn’t clean rooms at the inn fast enough. Shane refused to let anyone other than him run his shop. Any furniture I tried to make fell apart if you looked at it funny, and with how it was built, it looked funny enough as it was. You get the idea.

After having exhausted all the goodwill of the folk, I knew I was going to need to leave. I was nice, and they liked me well enough, but I was an extra mouth to feed and had nothing to bring to the table. So, I thought I’d try my luck with the next closest building, the tower. At the time, Elimaio wasn’t known to be as… antisocial as he was when you ran into him. He was somewhere between “eccentric” and “we’d kick him out of town but he already lives outside of town”. I figured if nothing else worked out, maybe I could be something of an assistant to someone who’d appreciate being able to read and write. Maybe even an apprentice! I was actually pretty hopeful!

When I met the wizard, though, he was pretty gruff. I managed to talk my way into at least getting a trial run, with the promise that if I wasn’t able to lighten his workload, I’d leave in a month. What I didn’t anticipate was that he had already been starting to get paranoid about strangers. I must’ve asked too many questions about his work or his books, because one day he exploded in anger, and I was thrown into a cage. He accused me of being sent by a rival to steal his secrets. He’d been kicked out of the Mages’ Guild, I found out. I don’t know the details, but he thought they had sent me to try to “keep an eye on him” and report back all the things he’d found out without their help or rules. Nothing I could say would convince him.

At some point, he got it in his head to start his experiments. He was convinced there was something hidden, and he had picked transformation magic as his area to explore. That was when he turned me into a dragon. Specifically, a female dragon. I don’t know if he did that simply because he thought it would be more humiliating, or it would break me faster, or something. Or maybe it was as much of a surprise to him as it was to me. But he liked to point out my smooth horns. Male dragons have spiraled horns, it’s how you can tell the difference.

I might not have been able to breathe fire at the time, but I could still give him a nasty set of cuts with the claws, and I had some pretty foul words for him too. So, that’s how I ended up with the collar you saw me with. He would ask me about how my body felt, he would poke and prod various parts and demand I explain the difference. He would try to force… Well, I guess he was trying to put that “flavor” of magic you were talking about into me, to see if he could get me to show abilities. I think he tried to drug me with powdered dragon scales. I don’t know everything, he didn’t usually tell me what he was doing.

Eventually, he grew more desperate. He… did things I don’t want to talk about. Maybe I’ll talk about them another time, but… not right now. Eventually, I found myself wishing I could do something. Anything. I hated him so much.

I’m not sure what triggered it, but one day, while I was… thinking about my new body, about being like this, I had decided that it wouldn’t be so bad. I had… a moment, and during that moment, I thought, “This is me. This is really me, I’m really a dragon.” The feelings hit me like a truck, I can’t even describe if they were good or bad, just… intense. It was like a dam burst inside me, and burning fire coursed through my entire body.

The next morning, when I went to drink water, I noticed my reflection was different. Up until then, I’d had the same blue eyes I had as a human. But now, they were what I have now. I stared at them, and I somehow knew that something really important had happened. Something deep. It was just a feeling I had, in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t until later that I noticed I didn’t have to think about my tail or my wings, I didn’t have to think about how I moved. I wasn’t moving my body like a puppetmaster tugs at strings, an indirect command sort of way. I just… was. The costume was gone, there wasn’t anything between me and my body anymore. I think… after what you’ve told me from the books… I think somehow my soul changed.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk to Elimaio when he came around with his usual demands for me to describe how I felt. I actually was growling before I even realized it, and hissed when he pointed it out. I got a shock for that, which made me even less willing to speak to him, and that’s when he said something that gave me an idea. He wondered to himself if my mind was even still in there. I realized I could throw off his research, the thing he cared the most about, by simply pretending I was a dumb animal like the other dragon he had, a green male. He lost a lot of interest, but he wanted to break me into being an obedient pet after that. He just had no idea how to go about doing it. He had enough trouble comprehending the viewpoint of another person, he couldn’t put himself in the shoes of something even more different at all. So I mostly languished in the cell, got a shock if I was too growly, and spent my time wondering how I could get back at him.

When you showed up, I was determined not to let someone else go through what I had. The fact that it would also really tick off Elimaio was just a bonus. I never expected you to come back for me, though. And… I’m really glad you did. I don’t know how much longer I would’ve lasted, whether he broke me or he forgot to feed me for long enough that I collapsed and died. It… I’m not… happy about what I did to him. But I’d be much less happy if I hadn’t. If I’d let him hurt you. And part of me regrets not getting more of a chance to rub it in exactly what I’d been doing the last month or so, how I had fooled him. Outsmarted, outwilled, whatever. Part of me wishes I had gotten the chance to make him really suffer, but that part of me kind of scares me. I don’t even know if that’s a human desire or a dragon one. Or either, or both.

Anyway, you know the rest of what happened to me. When you offered me the chance to be human, I thought maybe I could get back to my old form. I thought I could… I don’t know, will myself back to accepting it? Into making it stick? But now I… I don’t think it’s something I can do. I was never really happy as a human, but ever since I’ve been with you, I don’t want to go back. If I hadn’t been a dragon, I wouldn’t have been able to save you from Elimaio. Or the bandit. I couldn’t go back if it meant you might get hurt, or that I couldn’t stay with you. Maybe it’s silly, but… I just wouldn’t be able to handle it. There’s nothing that could be offered to me to make me accept it. My old name, that hasn’t been who I am for a long time. I’m Princess. I’m your Princess. And… I love you, Master.

“Oh, Princess…” He was at a loss for words, I suppose. The silence between the end of my story and his response was tense, but he hugged me close against his chest. I didn’t know what else to say, so I just let myself appreciate the embrace. His presence was comforting, it made me feel safe. I was already on the edge of tears, and the relief I felt pushed me over the edge. I simply cried, sniffling against his chest. Being this close, I could smell his scent again. I hadn’t realized how badly I missed its presence until now. His hand stroked my hair as he held me tightly. It took some minutes like this, but eventually the rush of emotions played themselves out, and I was able to breathe steadily and calmly again.

We sat down at the table to be more comfortable. “So, what happens now? With… the whole… I dunno, everything?” My hand raised to my collar, I couldn’t resist touching it to make sure it was still there. It was silly, but it was like having a rock to cling to in rushing waters that tried to pull me in every direction.

“I guess that depends on what you want to happen. In a couple days, most likely, you’ll be back to your scaly self. We can… try to pretend this whole thing didn’t happen. Or we can try to find a more permanent way to make you human. You said you didn’t want that, but maybe there’s a way you would, under other conditions. Or we could take a different path entirely.”

“I don’t think I want to pretend it didn’t happen. It’s… good to finally have told you. I was worried you’d be ashamed to even have me around, once you knew.” I idly fidgeted with a leftover fork from our meal earlier.

“Ashamed? No, never, Princess. We’re a team. Mage and dragon. Owner and pet. Tola and Princess. I wouldn’t have found Shane’s secret stash without you, and we never would’ve gotten the lead we did. We both have the things we’re good at, and together we can do much more than either of us can do alone.” He smiled at me, that warm sort of comforting smile that made me think he was saying that for as much his benefit as mine.

“Mmh. I don’t know what we’ll do with that lead yet, though. Maybe we should ask the Guard what they know. Maybe we can leave out specifics, and just say we’re being targeted. Or suspect we’re being targeted. Keep the items themselves hidden until we know more about how they’d react.”

“Agreed. The biggest thing we need is information. At this point, we know so little that we don’t even know what questions to ask or who to ask them of.” The mood was a bit grim. “But, how are you feeling? You said you were worried about physical problems, but the leg turned out to not be that. Anything else going on?”

“Um. Well, it’s still a little awkward figuring out what is… human instinct and what is dragon instinct? Like, am I supposed to be eating bread now? Is it supposed to smell good? Because it still doesn’t. Just about anything that I probably ‘should’ feel kind of isn’t happening.”

“Should feel? Things like eating bread, walking on two feet, that sort of thing?”

“Yeah. And I keep trying to growl or purr, but I can’t get it to work right with this throat.” We sat in silence a little more. My mind was back to the teasing that got towards accidental flirting. I mean, I’m a female, he’s a male, I should be… attracted, right? And maybe I kinda was, but if I thought about that, I started picturing him more… scaly. Ooh, a tail would be nice, seeing it sway behind him. I could– Okay, nope, enough of that thought.

“I see. Well, it could be interesting to try to document as much as we can, but… we don’t have to go into detail on anything you don’t want to.” Yeah, he saw me blushing. That only made my cheeks burn hotter.

“Honestly, it’s been… a hell of a day. Maybe we should go to bed early, and we can sort this out tomorrow.”

“I suppose it’s been pretty rough on you, yeah. It’s late enough, we can do that.”

Tomorrow would have plenty of craziness on its own, I’m sure. But that was something we could deal with when it came to it. Right now, I was just so drained that I was going to collapse on my feet. I curled up on my pile of bedding, but it was hard to get comfortable. I was still asleep before I knew it, though, with what were sure to be confusing and jumbled dreams.