Mutatius Ch. 02

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Hello once again my wonderful readers! First of all, thank you all for reading the first chapter of my story. If you are here and you haven't read the first chapter, I'd highly recommend you do. However, I won't stop you if (for some reason) you want to read chapter 2 first.

Next, I'd like to thank those who gave feedback and support in the comments of chapter 1 for me to continue this series. I appreciate every comment and hope to continue this story for a while.

This next chapter should be, at least, of the same standard as my last one. However, I'm only human and might be blind to certain areas of writing. So I'm putting out the same humble request as before: please offer any feedback or constructive criticism that can help me make the story better. (And I'm not talking about making the story better by having some random guy get hit in the crotch by a football. I'll add something like that into the story on my own terms, thank you very much.)

Again, thank you all for reading. Seeing how much people enjoy my story makes me want to write more of it and get it out sooner. So without further ado, please enjoy chapter 2 of Mutatius.

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Today was shaping up to be one of the strangest days in Tom's life. In the span of a few hours after he woke up, he found himself naked in another world, met a fairy, ate a piece of fruit that gave him the physique of an Olympic athlete, had sex with said fairy, and was on his way to meet the fairy Queen of this forest. He felt like he was living some nerd's wildest fantasy.

"Nobody back home is ever gonna believe this," he muttered as he followed Gilly, the blue-skinned fairy.

Tom had come to find out she was not much of a conversationalist. Regardless, he felt it was best to try and get to know her better.

"So have you and Cee known each other long?" he asked, trying to get the conversation going again.

"Yes, all our lives," she stated flatly.

Tom waited, but Gilly didn't say anything else and just kept flying ahead of him. He sighed and looked at Cee, who just shrugged.

Cee drifted closer to his ear and lowered her voice so Gilly couldn't hear her, "Don't worry, this is just Gilly. When she's on a mission from the queen she's all business."

She got a far-off look on her face and thought for a moment before she continued, "Actually, she's always pretty much business now that I think about it. Ever since our first decade of knowing each other."

Tom wondered how two fairies could be so different. Since Cee was the first fairy he met, he automatically assumed that the general nature of fairies was fun and carefree with a dash of curiosity. Gilly put a stop to that line of thinking. She had no interest in talking with him and had the air of a woman on a mission.

If Tom had to sum things up in human terms, he would describe Cee as that social and friendly college girl that everyone knew. Her blonde hair only added to this impression in Tom's mind.

Gilly, however, was more like a strict businesswoman, not exactly harsh or mean, per se. She was just someone who seemed to put her work in her main line of sight and didn't see much point in being social. Tom had met people like her in the workplace before. Sometimes they were exactly what they seemed and a little boring out of work, but other times they could surprise you in the craziest of ways.

Tom couldn't place where Gilly landed on the scale, but finding out wasn't high on his priorities at the moment. He guessed that fairies just varied like humans, each with their own personality and traits.

"So Gilly," he started, "that's a lovely dress, I feel like I've seen that kind of leaf before, is it from a particular plant?"

"Yes, it's a lily pad leaf," she said without looking back at him.

Tom had to stifle a laugh which made Cee give him an odd look. He looked right back at Cee and nudged his head at Gilly. Cee's expression didn't change as she just kept looking at him. Tom sighed and shook his head. Maybe it was just him or maybe something with the language translation magic didn't make the words as funny in their language, but Gilly in a lily pad was at least worth a chuckle to him.

After a few more tries of getting to know the fairy a bit better, Tom shifted his next line of questions to the fairy queen.

"So when did Queen Shaylah know that I was in her forest?"

"Queen Shaylah knew the moment you appeared on the border of her domain. She is aware of everything that goes on in the forest."

"Wait, everything?" Tom asked, looking towards Cee.

"Yes, everything. It's helpful when people ignore the hunting limitations she's set or when someone gets lost here," Gilly stated.

If what Gilly said was true, did that mean the queen knew about everything that happened between him and Cee?

Tom looked over at the blonde fairy, whose expression hadn't changed in the slightest at Gilly's statement. She was either not putting two and two together or fairies didn't care about anybody knowing when they got nasty. If he had to guess, Tom would say fairies just didn't care about their privacy.

With that in mind, Tom started to imagine what the fairy queen would be like. Cee didn't seem to be worried that they were about to meet her so she couldn't be that bad. He imagined a fairy the same size as Cee and Gilly, but with a crown of wood on her head. He wondered if she would look the same age as the other two or if being literal centuries older would show on her face.

Tom decided to ask a little bit more about this Queen Shaylah. Since he now knew the queen could be listening in on the conversation, he kept the questions as respectable as he could.

"You've both mentioned your queen, but is there no king in fairy society?"

In all the fiction that Tom could remember, he did recall the famous fairy king Oberon. Was that not a thing at all in this world?

"Nope no kings, like I told you before, all fairy tribes only have a queen," Cee said.

That settled that question for Tom. King Oberon must have been a complete human creation.

"But how is a new queen decided? Or are fairies essentially immortal and the queen rules forever?"

Cee giggled at his questions. "No, we're not immortal, we just have a very long lifespan."

"When a queen dies the forest chooses the next one," Gilly added to the conversation.

"The forest?" Tom asked with a perplexed expression.

"Yes. After a queen dies and is laid to rest, a ceremony is held to pick the new one. The ceremony requests the spirits of the forest to choose from all the fairies in the domain. The spirits pick the wisest, most caring, and kindest fairy to lead us. The fairy is engulfed in a dazzling array of lights to signify the forest's choice," Gilly said before Tom saw her shoulders slump a bit.

Cee hovered back to Tom's ear and whispered, "Gilly loves ceremonies and wishes she could see this one. From what we are told, the sight is beautiful enough to make you cry."

Tom looked at Gilly, her shoulders still a little slumped. Even without Cee's explanation, Tom could tell that this was something important to Gilly, considering it was the longest string of sentences she had said to him. However, there wasn't anything he could do about the situation so he tried to distract her with another question.

"I'm sorry if this is rude, but do fairies come in all sorts of colors? You two are the only fairies I've met and I can't help but notice you aren't the same."

"Yes, fairies come in all the colors you can find in nature, from the red-orange of a sunset to the purple of a flower," Gilly said, straightening herself back up.

The human glanced over at Cee's dress of purple petals before continuing with his next question.

"So what determines your colors? Is it genetic or something?"

"No, it's all random, much like nature can be."

"That's...pretty interesting actually."

For Tom, it was fascinating to think about all the different colors of the rainbow that fairies could be. Hell, since rainbows were a part of nature, he doubted there was a color that a fairy couldn't be.

Tom thought about asking what color the fairy queen's skin was but dismissed the question before it could leave his lips. He wanted to be surprised when he meets the fairy queen. Besides, that kind of question danced dangerously close to what he thought was rude.

Nothing much happened the rest of the way, aside from something that looked like a squirrel, except it was green and had horns, running near Tom at one point. He was reluctant to ask more questions since they were primarily about the queen.

It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Gilly stopped to turn around and look at Tom in front of a long wall of trees that were so close together he couldn't see past them. Right behind Gilly, there was a small gap in the trees that Tom thought he could probably squeeze through. The gap was covered by a curtain of large leaves that he couldn't see past either.

"Stay here and wait for me to announce your coming. What did you say your world was called again?" Gilly asked.

"Uh, Earth," Tom said, wondering what exactly was behind the curtain.

"Very good then, Cee come with me please, he needs to come in alone."

"Ok," Cee said in a resigned tone. Before she left with Gilly, she gave Tom a quick peck on the cheek and flew off behind the curtain.

Tom waited for a couple of minutes before he started to hear the murmur of a crowd of people coming from behind the curtain. He wondered just how many fairies were part of this queen's court. Surely, it wouldn't be every fairy in the forest, probably just the higher-ups; the lords and ladies. Did the fairies even have lords and ladies, or was the queen the only nobility? He should've asked Gilly before she left.

The next thing he knew, Tom heard Gilly's voice yelling from behind the curtain.

"Announcing the presence of the other-world human: Tom of Earth."

"Let's do this," Tom said before he took a deep breath and walked up to the opening.

Tom had forgotten something on his way to the queen's court, he still had the considerable bulk from the purple fruit he ate. He didn't mind the extra height and muscle, far from it. However, he didn't account for his extra mass when he first saw the entrance. Without the extra height and bulk, he would've made it through ok, but now he was having a difficult time getting through.

After a few moments of struggling, he finally made it across the threshold in what was probably the most undignified way this court had ever seen. Tom fell to his knees as he made it through and got to his feet. He straightened his leaf skirt and brushed off any dirt that got on it during his fall.

Satisfied with his impromptu cleaning, he finally looked up at the Court of the Hunade forest. The area he made his way into was a vast opening in the forest that stretched out in front of him. The trees that made up the walls bent outward so that nothing obstructed his view of the sky.

At the end of the expanse of trees was an elegant throne comprised of vines and flowers. It struck Tom as odd that it looked almost big enough for a regular-sized human to sit in, but he ignored that for now.

Behind the throne, Tom saw several trees that grew up from the ground and then shifted to a drastic horizontal angle that created a row of steps. The tree steps led to another opening surrounded by more trees, like the one he just came through, except this one was larger and had a more grandiose appearance. It was lined with blooming flowers all along the edges and the long curtain of leaves seemed to glow. Tom thought he wouldn't have any difficulty going through that passageway.

Hovering on either side of the pathway that led to the throne, were rows and rows of fairies. Gilly wasn't lying when she said fairies came in all the colors of nature. Tom saw fairies that were bumblebee yellow, some were gray like a wolf's fur, others that were red like a rose, and those that had the green tone of some small snakes. Tom even noticed some had multiple colors and patterns like poison dart frogs.

Just like Cee and Gilly, all the fairy women were in dresses made out of different types of leaves and flowers. It looked like they tried to color coordinate with their skin as best as they could. The fairy men gravitated more towards simple pants and shirts made out of leaves and flowers as well.

Tom spotted Gilly at the other end of the court next to the throne. He couldn't be sure at this distance, but he thought he saw her glaring at him for a moment. It was probably because of the undignified way he entered, but it couldn't be helped.

"Tom the human, please approach the court," she announced, her face once again all business.

Tom walked towards the throne until Gilly gestured for him to stop in the middle of the area.

"Presenting her Royal Highness, Queen of the Hunade Forest, Chosen of the Spirits, and Protector of Fairies, Queen Shaylah," Gilly yelled with as much reverence as she could and gestured her hand up to the entrance behind the throne.

The fairy that appeared from behind the curtain was unlike any Tom saw before. Her skin was a vibrant shade of pink and her hair was as white as a cloud, it even seemed to float down to the middle of her back. Her heart-shaped face was kind and welcoming with her sky blue eyes offering all the sincerity in the world.

Queen Shaylah wore a magnificent silver gown that looked like it was made from spider silk. It had long sleeves down to her wrists and caught the light in the most magnificent way. The outfit didn't seem to accentuate her figure though. Tom couldn't tell much about the rest of her body since there didn't seem to be any cinching or tailoring of the fabric around her waist. It just floated down from her chest to her feet without giving anything away. Well, anything except the abundance of her breasts.

She didn't lose to Gilly or Cee in terms of beauty, but the way she carried herself as she approached the throne was very different. It was something you would expect of royalty out of some fantasy story. The queen didn't even need to use her wings to float down to the throne, it seemed like some other force slowly brought her to the throne without her having to move her wings at all. The wings she had were similar to the other fairies, insect-like, translucent, and fragile looking.

Tom was proud to say that he didn't gawk or stare at the queen like when he first met Cee. His mouth was not hanging open and he thought that deserved some recognition.

What Tom was not prepared for was the fact that the queen was substantially bigger than any of the other fairies. His eyes widened as his eyes darted from the queen to Gilly for half a moment.

Where Gilly, Cee, and the rest of the fairies varied around 6-inches to maybe a foot in height, the queen dwarfed all of them. Her height had to be in the vicinity of four feet, which explained the size of the throne she was currently sitting on.

"Greetings, Tom of Earth. Welcome to the Forest of Hunade," she said with a voice that carried the warmth of spring.

Not sure how he was supposed to respond or act, Tom decide to go with overly polite instead of under.

"My greetings to you as well, Queen Shaylah. I thank you for your welcome and hospitality," he said as he got down on one knee, placed one arm in front of his stomach, and bowed his head.

"Please, please, no need for that. You are the honored guest here, please rise."

Tom complied and saw Gilly give him an approving nod. He silently thanked all the medieval fantasy writers for the pomp and circumstance they included in their work, otherwise he wouldn't know what the hell he should've done or said.

"Now, I have come to understand that you have just arrived in this world, correct?"

"Yes, I woke up this morning on the hillside that Ce- uh, Cerene found me in with no memory of how I got there. Do you know how and why I was brought to this world?"

She looked at him with a sad expression that tugged on his heartstrings.

"Unfortunately, no. It has been many centuries since someone from another world appeared in my domain. It has happened before, but the phenomenon is not exclusive to this forest. We've heard news of other-worlders showing up in places all across the continent, but we fairies haven't done much research into the topic."

Tom's heart sank a little as he wasn't any closer to finding out why he was in this world, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Do you know who might be researching this matter? Maybe where other people in the same situation might've gone?"

"Hmm," she started, tapping a finger on her chin. "As far as I know the capital city of Sulinstra would be your best bet. It's the largest city in the kingdom and has the Sulinstra Academy for Mages. I'm sure one of the long-bearded old men there is well versed in your situation."

Tom kept himself from laughing at her words. It was comforting to know that the wise old man with a long beard cliche was alive and well in this world.

"Thank you, Queen Shaylah. Could I humbly request help from you and your court to reach this capital city?"

"Of course, but there is still much more to discuss. I think you are not quite aware of how people will view your presence in this world."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"It would be best to discuss that in a more private area. Plus, it's starting to get late. Before I dismiss my court I must have an oath from you, Tom."

Tom stared at her for a moment before he asked, "What exactly do you mean by, an oath?"

"An oath made in the sight of my court and the spirits of the forest. The oath will be magically bound and unbreakable until the end of time."

"And what exactly will I be swearing in this oath?" Tom said raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"You're smart to ask for specifics before making promises. You'll need that to make it in this world. It's nothing major, I assure you. I simply ask that you mean me and my people no harm, in exchange, we will help you on your journey."

Tom thought about it for a moment. It didn't seem like a bad idea. He would be getting help from the fairies and he just needed to swear not to harm them. However, the notion of being under an unbreakable oath wasn't very appealing to him. He didn't know what to expect from all the fairies and had no idea what they might be like in the future. Granted, they had only been kind to him so far, but what if that changed?

"How do I make this oath? You don't need my blood or anything, do you?" he asked.

The queen gave him a small chuckle. "No, nothing like that. We aren't demons. You just need to say, 'I, Tom of Earth, swear by the Hunade forest, in the sight of the fairy court and spirits, to mean no harm to its queen or subjects.' Then I will accept your oath and it will be done."

Tom ran the queen's words through his head a couple of times before he gave his answer.

"Alright, I'm ready to give the oath."

"Splendid!" the queen said with a clap of her hands. "Speak the words please."

Tom's heart ramped up a bit before he spoke. He hoped he wasn't making some sort of mistake.

"I, Tom of Earth, swear by the Hunade forest, in the sight of the fairy court and spirits, to mean no harm to its queen or subjects, so long as they mean me no harm as well."

There was a moment of silence following Tom's words before the queen gave him another chuckle.

"And I, Queen Shaylah of the Hunade Forest, Chosen of the Spirits, and Protector of Fairies, accept this oath for all to see."

There was suddenly a blinding light that engulfed Tom, the queen, and all the fairies in attendance. He had to shield his eyes until the light slowly faded away as if it never was there. Tom didn't feel any different from before, but he guessed that magic would only take effect if the situation called for it.