A Simple Life Ch. 11-23

Opening my eyes I grin a beaming, bashful grin.

"Gorgeous." She says. Next comes the weird contraption that curls my lashes followed my mascara. I adored how careful and attentive she was as she made me look like my elf maiden character. Somehow, someway, Winona had just dropped the mother of all bombs by telling me about her private parts and yet...it didn't matter. It didn't matter one tiny bit. I didn't give a damn what was between her legs. I mean...it excited me, sure. But deep down it just didn't matter. She literally could have turned into a slavering werewolf on top of me and I would have just lay here continuing to soak up her attention. I don't know how she managed that. Maybe...maybe she was right. Maybe magic was real.

With a deft touch she applies highlighter at my inner eyes, down my slender nose, across my fine cheek bones, and around my brows. Then, at last, she finishes me off with a pretty pink lip gloss. After a close once over she gives a nod and sits up looking rather proud of the transformation she'd performed.

"Wow." She says as she clicks the cases closed and returns the caps to other things. "Wow! Now that is a 100 Charm."

"Wh-what's it look like?"

"A whole new you."

I giggle and for the first time begin to squirm impatiently. "C-C-Can I see?"

"You got it Sprout." Putting the cosmetics away she tosses the bag to the side. She gets up off of me and removes the pillow, a lingering of her eyes and a smirk at the side of her mouth telling me that my secret erection was not so secret anymore. She doesn't say a word though. Pulling me to my feet she gives me back my 'spell book' and straightens everything out. "Close your eyes." Needless to say I do so. Taking my hand in hers as if I were royalty she leads me across the room toward the washroom. "Walk like a lady. That's it. That's it! Good girl."

As I stride with a feminine flair, Winona holding my hand and guiding my steps, I am near ready to leap out of my skin with anticipation. Into the washroom we go and I hear the click of the light come on. She takes me by the shoulders and turns me to face the mirror above the sink. Standing behind me she leans down over my shoulder and whispers into my ear. "Okay Avery. Open your eyes."

***

Chapter 17

What I see when I open my eyes leaves me stunned. This...woman staring back at me was somebody I had never seen before and yet so familiar as to be etched into my permanent memory. I knew I was looking into a mirror yet to my disbelieving eyes I believed that I must have been looking at a screen displaying some long lost twin sister of mine. Despite the tiny, dingy washroom, despite the harsh white light, and despite the make shift nature of my outfit the maiden before me truly was something from out of a fantasy. It was then I realized that I had her before. In my dreams.

I was so pretty! My slender jaw and finely tapered chin that looked weak for a man looked elegant as a lady. My long neck, shallow chest, and narrow shoulders that made me look so wimpy as a man now looked delicate and refined. My slim waist and willowy limbs that showed my manly weakness My big, bright blue eyes that made me seem naive or even a simpleton as a man now shone with a charming innocence as a fair maiden. My wispy blond hair that came down to about my mid-neck now held back in a hair band was adorable. And, upon seeing myself with fresh eyes, for the very first time I now saw why people always made such a big deal about my smile. It really did light up a room just like Grandpa said it did. Even the little hints of my masculinity, the faint Adam's apple and the slight V taper from my pits down to my hips, somehow only worked to give me a hint of the mysterious.

And the makeup, wow! It didn't conceal or plaster, it simply smoothed and accentuated. My pale skin was flawless. The bones of my cheek were highlighted subtly and tastefully. The pink gloss made my pouting lips look oh so smoochable. And what she had done to my eyes was phenomenal! My lashes were darkened and longer, calling even more attention to my baby blues. And around them the sparkling green and gold eyeshadow truly gave my face a mystical appearance. I really liked the little flares at the corners of my eyes and at the tips of my eyebrows that made me look elvish.

I stood speechless. I had dreamed of this day but never had the bravery to do it myself. And what I saw exceeded even my dreams.

"You like it?"

I nod as I fight back my tears.

"Me too." She whispers. "You are very beautiful Avery."

My bottom lip begins to quiver as my eyes go glossy. The sniffles and snorts passing in and out of my nostrils were at odds with the beautiful lady that I was.

"It's okay." Wrapping her strong arms around me from behind she simultaneously pins my arms to my sides and my wrists to the book upon my chest. Had this been one of my brothers I would have panicked at being held helpless but in her arms it felt...nice. Gripping tightly she squeezes me hard. "It's okay Avery."

Struggling to speak I let out a gasp. "Th-This is the n-nicest...thing...anybody..."

"Hey. We're just having some fun here. Right?"

"Yeah." I nod.

She then laughs "Don't cry Avery, you'll mess up all of my hard work." Putting her cheek to mine, her chin resting on my shoulder, she smiles and hugs me hard. "I didn't realize what an effect this would have on you. You sure you're okay?"

I smile and nod. "I've always wanted...to do this." I whisper. "But I was too...a-a-afraid."

"Well you don't have to be afraid here my friend." She gives me a bolstering shake before letting me go. "You just be you Sprout. You just be you." She pats my back. "Besides, what does Johnny say?"

"Fuck the haters?"

"Ha! Atta girl." She nods proudly. "Fuck the haters."

My glimmering eyes dewy but not leaking I am somehow able to quell the upsurge in emotions enough to keep the happy tears at bay.

"Whose a pretty girl?"

I giggle uproariously and stand taller. "Me."

"Whose a sexy girl?"

"Me!" I waggle my hips back and forth. "Me!"

Stepping back and looking me up and down Winona nods approvingly. "Mmm. I'll say you are. Daddy like!"

"PFFFT!" I squeal. "Daddy!?"

She chuckles. "Would you prefer Mommy?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"I just want to tie you up in a pretty little bow and hide you in my sock drawer." She says. "God damn."

"He he he he!"

"Look at you." She says as she pulls me back to her side to look at the pair us through the mirror. "Look at us! The cosplay potential is off the charts! I am totally dragging you to a Con."

"A Con? C-Cosplay?"

"Yeah man. Comic Con, Gen Con, Dragon Con, something." She says. "Me as Urbosa, you as Link...yeah. Hell yeah! We'd be amazing."

"I don't know what any of that means." I laugh. "But I'm in!"

"Atta girl!"

"He he he!"

"Although..." Her eyes pan down to the boner pressing through the three layers of clothes. "...we'll have to lock that thing up or something. Down girl!"

I blush so hard it even comes through the makeup. "S-Sorry." I peep.

"Ha ha! Don't be Sprout." She shakes me. "I'm just busting your balls."

Carefully setting the book down on the toilet lid I stand and preen for the mirror, entranced both by my own beauty as well as this wonderful woman who brought it out. Winona just stands smiling, content to watch me take the moment in and feed off of my happy energy for a few minutes. I giggle and prance and pose and curtsie and make smoochie faces and do all of the cute things that girls got to do before finally spinning to face my tall friend. She looks down at me, her hands on her hips, and waits to hear what I had to say. Instead of talking though...I step forward and throw my arms around her. I rest my head on her chest and hug her as tightly as I could.

"Oh!" She says in surprise, her body tensing a moment. Soon though she relaxes and hugs me back.

My eyes squeezed shut I say with all of my heart. "Thank you!"

She strokes my back. "I'm glad you're happy Sprout."

After a moment the embrace parts leaving both a bit awkward at the premature display of affection.

"Ahem." She says, breaking the silence. "So, have you thought about a name?"

"Name?"

"For your character you nut!" She laughs. "We're building a character, remember?"

"Oh yeah." I chirp. "I almost forgot."

"What a guy." She shakes her head. "Here, look." She turns me back toward the mirror and points out toward it. "Use your imagination." I nod. "Imagine your ears pointed, your eyes a bit larger."

"Yes."

"You are a century old, maybe older. You live in a forest. You live high up among the trees. This is your home. You protect this forest and you protect your family." She says with that old gaming passion returning to her eyes. "Your grandma is the Grand Mage of the whole area and you are her apprentice. Can you see it?"

"Yes!"

"At your hip, the components to craft your potent magic. There on the pedestal, the spellbook that contains the secret incantations and formulas of your profession."

"Cool."

She comes around behind me, gripping my shoulders, and leans in so her head overs beside mine. "At your shoulder your trusty crow familiar. Can you see it?"

I nod enthusiastically. "Yes. I can!" With Winona's help I really could. My face was sharper in feature. The band on my head was a beautiful tiara. The ring on my finger had an elegant timelessness, the band on my forearm now glowed with magic. The robes I wore now a fine silk. And the light over top the mirror was now sunlight streaming in through a window in my treetop house which I could now see all around me. And on my shoulder a glossy black crow. A familiar. A wizard's best friend.

"Speak your name Mage." The Game Master says softly. "Look into the mirror and speak your name."

***

Chapter 18

I gaze into the pretty blue eyes of the woman staring back at me. "I am...Althea!"

"Althea. I like it." Says my Game Master at my shoulder. "She looks like an Althea."

"And you are Touka!"

"Me?"

"I mean, my familiar. That sits on this shoulder. Touka the crow."

"Althea and Touka." She nods. "Very nice."

With a big, bright smile I say impishly. "Thank you Daddy."

Whatever she was about to say catches in her throat as she stops dead and gives me a surprised look. "What did you call me?"

"He he he. Would you prefer Mommy?" I parrot back her quip.

"The nerve!"

"Ha ha ha! You called yourself that just a minute ago." I cover my face, careful not to mess up the make up, and blush. "I was just following your lead."

"YOU...are going to be trouble." She points at me through the mirror. "You might look all sweet and innocent, but you are trouble." She swats my ass. "The cute ones always are."

I sputter and burble with happy giggles.

Shaking her head yet again she chuckles along with me. "You are too much Avery."

She turns me around and holds me by the shoulders as she looks me over intently. Quietly I stare back at her with a lust like I had never felt before. I wanted her. I wanted her so bad! My shameful boner was more likely to tear through the layers of clothes than subside at this rate. What she does next does not help things!

She pushes me back until my butt hits the sink counter, moving with me as she does. Letting go of my left shoulder she reaches her hand up along side my neck. The skin of her fingertips does not actually touch mine though they are so close that they tickle at the short hairs at the back of my neck sending shivers down my spine. Her hand glides slowly back across the side of my neck, following the line of my jaw, her long fingers brushing my flesh more lightly than a feather. Held in place more from being mesmerized than by the firm grip on my right shoulder I stand perfectly still. Once at the front her hand very slowly snakes down my chest, her eyes following her hand as it goes. Her palm rubs along the soft fabric of the robe she had dressed me in. Her hand continues down past my chest and to my stomach and then continues on! Just past my belly button along the left side she pauses and gives a soft rub. If her hand had been on the other side she would have been rubbing my achingly hard cock.

I tremble. My tiny breaths coming fast and shallow. As the rain hammers the roof and the low music continues to play we stand like this for a long, quiet moment.

"My God you are beautiful." She says so quietly I wonder if they'd actually been spoken aloud as her eyes pan up and down and across my face.

"Oh!"

"I've forgotten something." She says in a voice like warmed honey. "The finishing touch."

"Wh-Wha-What?"

"Your perfume." She says. "You said Althea was perfumed."

"Oh..." I swallow. "...yeah."

Stepping into me she gets so close so that her breasts touched my chest. She leans in and for a second I thought I was bout to be kissed! At the very last instant though she veers off to the side. Her cheek alongside mine, her hot breath washing over my ear, she whispers. "Hold still."

Winona stands right where she is and reaches behind me, her arms to either side of me, and opens the medicine cabinet. The warmth of her larger body surrounds me. As she rustles through the cabinet to find the perfume I feel something else touching me. Another part of her body. Something long and thick and heavy resting directly over the full stretch of my erection. I flex my dick to push against it...and it doesn't even budge. Not only did Winona have a penis, she was big. She was really big! I could feel her smooth cheek move against mine it was so close. She was smiling.

She had a more neutral look to her as she steps back again though her hazel eyes still shone. Taking the little heart shaped perfume bottle she puts a dash on her pinky and dabs the floral scent on each side of my neck just below and behind my earlobes. She closes the bottle and sets it to the side. After wiping her pinky she leans in once more and sniffs.

"That's better." She says. "Not lilac. But we can use our imagination. Can't we?"

The moment her eyes meet mine I pull my gaze away. The feelings were just too intense for me to deal with. I give her a nervous nod.

"Look me in the eyes Avery."

I shake my head, afraid that I would break down if I did as she asked.

Her voice goes even softer. "Please?"

Slowly, tentatively, I raise my eyes until I am peering through the lenses of her glasses and into the beautiful hazel eyes beyond them.

"Thank you." She smiles.

My breath begins to quicken and unconsciously I begin to shuffle and fidget. It was too much. Too much connection all at once. I loved everything about what was happening right now but some bullied and battered instinct inside of me was sending out signals to flee.

Her gaze holding mine she says. "Don't look away. You're okay."

I nod as I fight back the anxiety. "S-S-S-Sorry..."

"Shhh." Laying a hand over my chest she says in a soft, soothing tone. "Calm. Calm. Calm. Breathe. It's okay Avery. Everything is okay."

Like some spell in this game of hers her words are a balm on anxious soul. Gradually my breath slows and my body goes still. Staring deeply into the dark depths of her eyes I stand in awe. A boom of thunder shakes the world and I barely even hear it.

"Better?" She asks.

I nod.

"Use your words."

I swallow and let out a shuddering breath. "I'm okay."

"Good girl." She smiles.

We continue to gaze and I continue to calm. The longer we stared, the longer eye to eye contact is held, the more I became comfortable with it. Two, maybe three, minutes later I am at peace.

"There we go." She says at last. "I knew you could do it."

"How?" I say in a hushed tone.

"My brother had anxiety. And he was shy like you." She pats my chest and pulls away. "Not as cute though."

I giggle.

"So?" She says. "What do you think? Of Althea?"

Turning around I look at myself again in the mirror. "I think she's wonderful."

"So do I." She says. "Do you...do you wanna play?"

"Play?"

"Fables of Fantasy." She says. "A little solo session. You could be my very first player."

I liked the sound of being her first anything. I nod. "Yeah! Sounds fun."

Winona turns and offers me her elbow. "Milady?" I laugh and take her arm like a fine lady accompanying her Prince Charming. "That's it. Move like her. Talk like her. Think like her."

I move with an exaggerated feminine gracefulness. Well as graceful as I could get sporting full wood at least. My voice raises an octave. "Like this?"

"Just like that." She says. "You're doing great Sprout."

I raise my nose with elvish haughtiness. "My name is Althea thank you very much."

"Begging your pardon boss." She cackles in a crow like squawk. "Caw!"

I laugh. This was so silly! I loved it.

She nuzzles against her shoulder like a bird preening it's feathers. "So what are we doin today boss?"

"Uh..." I look toward my character sheet.

"Don't worry about about the numbers or the rules." Winona whispers. "Just...go with the flow."

"Right." I say, then dip back into character. "Well Touka, I think today we travel."

"Caw!" Winona crows excitedly. "Finally! I get so bored inside our tower. Where are we going boss? To visit your Grandma? To explore the woods for danger? To shop in town? We could do anything."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Very well." I say. "Then there is someone I must see."

Winona gives me a look, curious where I was going with this improvisation. "Who?"

"You'll see."

"Keepin secrets from me boss?"

"Just this one." I say. Walking around the room I stop by the washroom to take up my spell book again and continue on.

"Tell me! Tell me!" Winona crows. "Where are we going? You can't keep secrets from your familiar. Where?"

"A castle."

"Which castle?"

"You'll see."

"Squaw!" Touka fluffs and shakes his head in frustration. "Who are we seeing boss? Who!? Who!?"

"You sound like an owl." I laugh.

"CAW!"

"Okay, okay. We are going to see..." I glance over at the Game Master from the corner of my eye. "...Lady Ara."

This stops Winona in her tracks. Standing tall she raises a brow. "Lady Ara? Of the Mayhems?"

"The one and only."

"Er...are you sure about that boss?"

"I wish to offer the lady my services." I say. "Her former mage hadn't the heart for adventure."

"You sure that's a good idea boss?" Winona as Touka says, seemingly genuinely concerned about me. "She is a dangerous woman."

"And a valuable ally." I reply. "Come along Touka. I think I know the way."

"Alriiight." Touka trills. "You're the boss."

***

Chapter 19

I stand alone out in the dark customer service area of the old garage. The boards over the big front windows had been removed that day and I could now look out into the sheer blackness of the night. The only thing I could see through the sheets of rain streaming over the windows is the glow of Haven Point spread out in the distance, though the occasional flash of lightning briefly lights everything up in split second glimpses. The worst of the storm had already passed over on its way to the mainland but it wasn't done with our little island quite yet.

I felt like at any moment this dream of a night was about to be snatched away from me. I wanted to savor every moment we had. So instead of using this quiet moment to reflect on the wonderful things that had just happened inside that suite this evening I instead try to get into character like Winona had told me to. We were about to play a Fables of Fantasy scene and I didn't want to mess it up, again.

Remembering well the instructions I'd been given I focus on inhabiting my role. I run my hands down my slender body and think about that pretty girl's face I had seen in the mirror. I was Althea. I was an elf. I was a mage. And I was a beautiful woman. I imagine myself with pointed ears and pert little breasts, which makes me smile. At my one hip were my components. On the other my spell book, the book held in a purse that Winona had lent me to act as my satchel. I, Althea, had found my way to the fearsome Lady Ara's secret castle and used a charm spell to get past the guards at her gate. My opening had been brief so I had been forced to leave my loyal crow familiar Touka behind in the dark forest that surrounded this place. Poor Touka. He must be worried sick about me. He had been warning me that this was a bad idea every step of our journey here but, for better or for worse, I was determined to meet this faceless warrior. Once inside I convinced the servant who greeted me to take a short letter that I had written pleading for an audience to his Lady. And now I stood outside the grand double doors of the hero's audience chamber waiting to see what the response would be.