A Whateley Academy Tale
Jade 6-k – Dreams and Awakening
By Babs Yerunkle
57: Improvements
Sunday, November 27, 10:15 AM
It was good that she finally got up to take a shower. She
wasn’t sure how much longer she could have slept without peeing. That was
something she might have to watch out for, if she continued to knock herself
out through excessive charging.
After Billie’s pep-talk she felt better. Not completely
recovered, but better. She didn’t feel like leaving her room, though, so she
started reading Sara’s book, Staying in Shape, Exercises for Shapeshifters.
She didn’t need much physical energy for that, so she had three of her charges
busy with cleaning and studying. The room was probably cleaner than it had
been since it was first constructed. But after everything Billie had done for
her, she had decided that it was just wrong for her roommate to have to do
menial work, so she was making sure that Billie wasn’t bothered by such
details. It had sometimes bothered Billie, so Jade tried to tale care of such
chores when Billie wasn’t actually around to see, like now.
There didn’t seem to be much point to putting on her
training bra. It wasn’t like she had anything to train (or ever would).
Likewise, she didn’t bother much with her appearance. A t-shirt and jeans was
good enough. She refused to even think about wearing boy’s underwear, though.
There was a knock on her door.
“Yeah?”
Billie’s voice came through, which was odd. Why didn’t she
just walk in?
“You decent? There’s someone here that I think you should
see.”
She sat up, dropping the book. A moment later, her energy
picked up as the charges put themselves away and returned to her. The instant
the energy was available, she charged Shroud, and then Jann-sensei, so she was
back to operating in enhanced mode, with more options for dealing with
potential threats. “Who is it?”
“Can I come in?” Billie asked.
“Okay,” she answered cautiously.
The door opened and Billie eyed Shroud, hovering there in
cloak-of-menace mode. She nodded approvingly. “It’s Thuban.”
“What? Tell him to get the hell out of here! If I see that
jerk before graduation, it’ll be too soon!”
“I had a little … conversation … with him,” Billie informed
her. “No, I didn’t go to Twain. He came here on his own. I’d planned to lean
on him a little, but I’m not sure it’s necessary. I think he’s come,” Billie’s
voice dropped to a whisper, “to apologize.”
“Thuban? Yeah, get real.”
“Just hear him out, okay?”
Jade growled. “The instant he steps out of line, I’m
throwing him out the window. I mean it, too! Exemplar or not, I’m chucking
him straight through the glass.”
Billie grinned. “That must be why we get along so well – because
of your sensible attitude.”
A moment later the door opened, and Thuban stepped through,
wearing lizard skin, white slacks, and a light blue polo shirt. As soon as the
door closed behind him, Thuban dropped to one knee.
“This… isn’t easy for me,” he began.
“Oh, you think I like being in here with you?” she shot
back. “Last time we talked, you made it pretty clear that you’d be happier if
I were in Hell, which couldn’t have been much worse than I was feeling at the
time.”
Thanks to Jann-sensei, she could see his emotions flitting
between shame, humiliation, and regret.
“I’m sorry.” He bowed his head even lower, then raised it
again to look her straight in the eye. “I’m sorry, Jade.”
“You aren’t going to call me … that other name?”
“Never,” he promised.
“Like it even matters.”
Thuban showed a hint of his normal self as he bloomed with
the crimson aura of anger. “This isn’t easy for me, you know!”
Jade allowed herself a slight smile. That was the dragon
she knew of old. “Then why are you forcing yourself to do it? Didn’t you tell
me there was some beautiful redhead throwing herself at you?”
“Well, yes. But there was another girl I knew, before
that. Intelligent, witty, interested in many of the same things I was. She was
enchanting, and I found myself missing her smile, her laugh, and her presence.
She accepted me, when at times I despair of being able to accept myself.
Accepted me and more – made me believe I could actually be something and
someone great.”
The words were flattering, but, “Sorry. That girl is dead
and gone. You won’t be seeing her again.”
“I’m here because I hope that I might.”
Jade felt a moment’s hope. Had there been another
breakthrough? But she crushed that out ruthlessly. “Sorry. She’s gone.”
“Look, can I get up now? This is hard enough without being
on my knees.”
“Suit yourself.”
She turned to look out the window, as if bored by him. Of
course, she kept close attention on him through Jann-sensei. There were major
advantages to being able to see in directions other than where your eyes were
looking. Right now Thuban was glowing with a fetching mix of shame and hope.
“That girl isn’t gone at all,” he insisted. “Somehow, she
saw past my skin. And to my shame, I was unable to see past hers. It was a
momentary lapse, I promise.” He drew a breath and began to explain. “As
you’ve no doubt noticed, I have a … thing … about being in control. It’s a
fault, but then, you were the one who told me that I wasn’t going far enough.
It’s a dragon trait. And you’re right, it’s part of me.
“And that evening, I was dealing with several blows. Tool
arrived, or Dominique, as she’s calling herself now. She’d suddenly gone
halfway around the bend, and stating her intentions to take over Faction Three,
as well as coming after me that I can only describe as predatory. And she was
claiming that you were dead, and that Hekate was casting spells on my people,
and then you arrived, suddenly having lost your new body image. And I… simply
wasn’t able to cope with so much going out of control so fast. I said terrible
things to you, but it was my frustration speaking.”
She still wasn’t ready to forgive him. “I’m a boy,” she
said, bluntly. “The girl – I’m not sure if there will ever be a girl.” She couldn’t
stop her voice from quavering over that last bit.
“Believe me,” he said, “the girl is here. Even in a boy’s
body, the girl is here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Billie forced you to say this, didn’t
she?”
He shook his large head. “Not at all. If anything, she
tried to stop me.”
“So what do you want? Forgiveness. Yeah, sure, granted.
Is that all?”
Thuban’s form melted, turning human as his muzzle shrunk
into a normal mouth and face. He reached out for her hand, and gently pulled
her up off the bed. “Jade…”
“I’m not Jade!” she yelled. “Don’t’ you get it? I
can’t be Jade! No matter how much I want to be! I promised Billie that I’d be
patient, and I said I’d keep hoping, but it’s too hard!”
Thuban’s face bent down to her and he kissed her gently on
the lips. As she stood there in stunned surprise, his arms gently wrapped
around her and he continued to press his lips against hers. Unconsciously, she
couldn’t help pressing against him, as he held her so gently, and so firmly. A
wonder grew in her that a boy was actually kissing her. Her! She felt faint,
and exhilarated, and exited, all at the same time.
As their lips parted, she stared into his sea-green eyes. The
color of Jade, she thought, incongruously. He had human eyes and pupils
like this, but she liked his normal eyes, too. But she was sure that this form
kissed better, since he didn’t really have lips in his normal shape.
“Uhhh…” she said, articulately.
“There,” he stated. “I have given you my first kiss. Will
that help my apology?”
“Uhhh… it’s my first kiss too. Unless you count the time
when I was possessing Tansy. But it wasn’t really my body. And anyway, I was
kissing another girl.” She half giggled, half snickered. “That doesn’t count,
does it? Anyway, she didn’t kiss nearly as well as you do, so this must be my
first time, too.”
Thuban gently stroked her cheek. “You see? I told you that
girl was still around.”
“I— but—”
“Let me take you out to dinner tonight?” he asked. “Berlin
again. Perhaps a steak house.”
She gulped. “But… what will I wear? I can’t go on a date
looking like … you know.”
Thuban gently let her go, then stepped back and bowed. “If
you’ll permit, perhaps as part of my apology, there is a rather unique dress
shop in Dunwich. I’ve phoned ahead for an appointment. And they have a salon
that’s acceptable, I’m told. The salon also had an appointment available.
Perhaps a few trappings will assist you in looking and feeling more to your
liking.”
Her heart was racing, her mind was whirling, and Jann wasn’t
giving her any help at all. “I couldn’t accept that!”
“Why not? Don’t I owe you that and more, for the way I
treated you? Isn’t it a girl’s right to be treated, on a date?”
She gulped. “But…”
“Please? For me? To help demonstrate my remorse?”
“I… What should I say?”
Jann and Thuban both spoke to her. “Say yes.”
“…yes…” she whispered.
“Meet me downstairs in one hour.” And with a final bow, he
was gone.
*****
She was still standing in that exact position when Billie
came in, followed by Chou, Nikki, and Toni.
“Are you okay?” Billie demanded. “He better not have hurt
you again! He said he was going to try to make it up to you, but I’ve always
wondered about that guy.”
She still hadn’t moved. She brought a hand up and touched her
lips, not entirely believing what had happened.
“He didn’t hit you, did he? Oh, when I get done with him
you won’t be able to find the pieces! I’ll rip him into such tiny
bits—”
“He kissed me,” she said, in wonder.
The other three girls stopped and stared at her. “WHAT?”
“He knows all about me,” she said. “I never told you what
my old name was, did it? It was Jared. Thuban knew. He knew everything. But
he kissed me. He said I was a girl, even if…”
“Then why’d he go tearing out of here?” Toni wondered.
“Date. Tonight. He offered to pay for a salon in Dunwich,
and some special dress shop.”
Chou laughed. “Now that sounds like an apology.”
“Oh my God!” Jade suddenly shouted. “I’ve got to meet him
in an hour! I have to take a shower! And get ready! Quick, Jinn, clothes!”
She reached out to charge some gloves. She needed to re-apply the plastic gaff
that kept her looking like a girl, not a boy. And what kind of makeup did you
wear, if you were about to go to a salon?
“See?” Billie said, confidently. “Told you there was
nothing to worry about. Honestly. You’re such a girl.”
“Yep.” “Got that right.” Chou and Toni agreed.
*****
With no nice outfits, she wore her school uniform AGAIN.
Again the limo pulled up on the access road, just behind
Poe. In Dunwich, their first destination was Rogers’ Fabric Boutique. It was
nothing special on the outside, but inside were racks of plastic-wrapped
outfits, all of them custom tailored, with names on little tags attached to
each outfit. There were bolts of cloth stacked along two walls to such a
height that it seemed like you’d need a forklift to get access to the fabric on
the bottom.
The door had set a small bell tinkling, and a young woman in
perhaps her mid-twenties came out. Dressed in a smart blue knit dress, with an
elegant silver necklace, she looked like a model who was temporarily assisting
the owner.
“Stephen! You know I always appreciate your business.” She
cast a grin toward Jade. “Expensive tastes and a thick wallet – that’s a
combination any girl can appreciate, eh?”
“Um,” Jade just shuffled her feet and blushed.
“Jade needs something appropriate for a date tonight.
Something flattering,” he stressed. “I’d also like you to keep her
measurements on file.”
“Of course. If you’ll follow me, young lady,” and the woman
set off toward the back of the shop.
In the back, out of sight of the front room, a large
changing room was set against the back wall.
“In there, dear. Follow the directions.”
Puzzled, Jade stepped inside the booth, then closed the
door. Instantly, a laser flashed on, shining a grid of laser light over her.
“Please disrobe completely,” a mechanical voice stated. At
the same time, a small drawer slid out from the back wall. “Clothes in the
container, please.” The instructions were then repeated in Spanish.
In addition to a small stool for sitting on, there was a
turntable in the center of the floor. Completely naked, Jade was glad that
she’d re-attached the plastic piece that gave her the appearance of being
female down below. She could wear it for several days. Perhaps with practice
she’d be able to wear it perpetually. If she couldn’t get rid of the boy
parts, at least she could hide them.
She stood at attention while the laser grid flashed over
her, and the turntable spun her about in a circle. Then the voice instructed
her to take the stool and sit naturally. She assumed other positions –
stretching her arms out sideways or overhead, touching her toes. Prompted for
poses that she might use, she gave some kicks nearly straight overhead,
demonstrating her flexibility. They weren’t modest, but there was no one to
see. Finally, the drawer opened again and Jade retrieved her clothes.
Only, they weren’t the same. The shoes and panties were the
same. But the bra was sheer, seamless, and ever so slightly padded.
Surprised, Jade quickly slipped into it, then looked at herself in the mirror
that lined one wall.
She had a bust! About triple-A, she thought, but it was
better than nothing. The bra was a front hook, with a small plastic clasp
between the two cups. There was no way to adjust the band or straps, but it
fit her perfectly. And with no loops or adjustments and fabric that seemed to
thin at the edges, the bra had no lines that might show under a blouse. It was
flesh tone, and a good match for her skin tone. It was the most perfect and
beautiful bra she’d ever owned.
She tried on the blouse next. It was also new. It was the
same cut and style as her standard uniform blouse, but this was of a much
higher quality. The fabric felt more sheer, but stronger and sturdier at the
same time. The stitching was nearly microscopic, and the fit was absolutely
perfect! It was snug enough to hug her torso, and yet it didn’t restrict her
freedom of movement.
The vest, pleated skirt, knee socks, and blazer were
similarly upgraded. And somehow, the items all emphasized her feminine
curves. Curves that she didn’t actually have. Fully dressed, she looked at
herself in the mirror, not quite believing what she saw.
There was a young girl there.
She almost stumbled, on her way out of the booth, she was so
distracted.
“It’s time for your salon appointment,” Thuban told her.
“Miss Rogers will have your dress done by the time you get back. I’ll drop you
off at the salon, then I have other affairs that need tending. The car will be
back for you before your appointment is finished, then you can pick up the
dress and we’ll head to Berlin. Does that sound acceptable?”
Jade nodded dumbly.
“Excellent. I’ll see you this afternoon, then.”
The chauffer escorted Jade out of the car and into “Macy’s
Makeovers.” Inside, the girls looked her over.
“Teresa?” the older blonde asked.
“Teresa,” the younger blonde agreed. “She’s, like, so good
with Asian hair.”
A Hispanic girl in her early twenties arrived and looked
over Jade. She was chewing gum and had a punk look to her, but was very
striking with the contrast between her dark hair and lighter skin. “Hey, first
timer, right? Looks like your boyfriend is springing for the works, huh?
Lucky kid.”
She led Jade over to some books. “We’ve got some good Asian
styles in this one. If you want, we could give you a bleach or dye job, but if
this is your first time, you might want to start slow, if you know what I
mean.”
Jade nodded, slowly looking through a book filled with
beautiful Japanese and Chinese models. She supposed that some of them might be
Korean. Sometimes it was easy to spot, other times it was very hard to tell.
She felt out of place; envious of the models and sad that she’d never look so
good.
“Kind of intimidating, isn’t it?” Teresa asks, as if she
could see moods as easily as Jade could. “Want some advice?”
Jade nodded. “Yes, please.”
“With your face and that skinny Tinker Bell build, you’d do
great with a pixie cut. I’d shag it out a bit – a lot of Japanese girls do
that. You’re Japanese, right?”
Jade nodded again.
“That’s what the guy said when he made the reservation. I
though ‘Jade Sinclair’ sounded more Hong Kong. Shows what I know, huh?
Anyway, that would do really nice for you, and it’s pretty easy to care for. A
little work in the morning to add some body, that’s about it. Then if you want
some fun, we could color it.”
Jade thought about it. “Maybe a little. Could I get a
streak that was really green?”
“Yeah, we could do that. Maybe off on one side or the
other, kind of an asymmetric thing. That would be cool. We can do your nails,
and hands and feet. You got a color you want, or should I match the hair?”
“Yeah, match it.”
“Right. Good choice. We’ll give you a bottle for
touch-ups, of course. We’ve got you in for a facial, maybe some shaping on the
eyebrows. You need any waxing? Whatever you want, it’s part of the full
package.”
“No,” Jade admitted. “I haven’t really started to grow any
hair yet. I’ve been like this for three years, just stuck, waiting for puberty
to start.”
“Hmm, poor kid. Hey, you’re from Whateley, aren’t you? The
uniform’s kind of a tip-off. As if we get any other out-of-town kids coming
through an armpit like Dunwich. So, you got any cool, freaky powers?”
“I’m learning how to build things. Little machines and
stuff, but I’m not very good yet.”
And so they chatted on. It seemed that Teresa was a local.
Her parents had moved into the area in the early seventies, when Whateley was
just starting up. Teresa had gone to school with the local kids, which was
really tough. The school wasn’t that large, and the kids were either wannabe
mall-rats who were dozens of miles from the nearest mall, or old-time locals,
who (according to Teresa) were a surly and inbred lot. Meanwhile, just a
couple of miles down the street was the absolutely coolest high school in the
country, and none of them were allowed into it.
“It does have its problems,” Jade admitted. “I’m just a
freshman; so I’ve only been here three months. But in that time, let’s see.
Someone opened an actual portal to hell and summoned a demon, trying to
sacrifice my friend.”
Teresa shrugged. “Yeah, we get that at our school. It’s
always the old-family kids.”
Jade was a bit taken aback by that, and thought the joke was
in poor taste. She’d been serious! “What else? I’ve had one kidnapping, a
couple of assaults, and an assassination attempt. And I’m flat broke and have
to work in the sewers for a couple of hours every day.”
“Ew, the sewers? Harsh!”
Jade was surprised how nice it was to just engage in girl
talk with a local girl who aspired to nothing greater than being on the cutting
edge of the latest grooming fashions. There were no plans to dominate the
world, or change society, or even to create a giant engine of destruction.
Just discussions of how some girl named Janice thought she was hot stuff
because she bought from Sax, or what a bitch Carol was when she was on her
period, or how all the boys were after Sue because they thought she was easy.
And when the makeover and discussion were both done, Jade
saw herself for the first time. The person looking back from the mirror wasn’t
just a girl, she was a pretty girl. The eyebrow plucking had been painful, but
well worth it. The effect was subtle, but looking at her face, she looked like
a girl. You knew that right away about her – she was a girl. Her eyes looked
just a bit more intense and appealing, her lips looked softer and more
vulnerable. The shaggy puff-ball of her hair showed her innocence, while the
bold green streak said that she might try something wild, just to see if she
liked it.
“You like?”
Jade could scarcely believe it. “That’s me?”
“I do pretty good work, don’t I?”
“How did you do the outlining, around the eyes?”
“The trick is to be super-subtle. Don’t want to be a
Tammy-Fay, which I guess was like this old lady who made her name by putting on
a hundred times too much mascara. But just the lightest touch, especially
here, and here.”
Then the car arrived to take her back to the boutique, as if
she couldn’t walk through a small town like Dunwich.
Miss Rogers was ready in back with several choices. The
store was empty, and Miss Rogers spoke frankly.
“You look beautiful. And with any of these outfits, I think
you’ll make a wonderful impression on your young man tonight. I’ve paid
particular attention to his suggesting for emphasizing a female figure.”
Jade must have let the shock show on her face, because Miss
Rogers patted her hand. “I’m an instructor at the academy, dear. I’ve got
access to your full record. Don’t worry, no one would guess, particularly
after I’m done dressing you. I’ve certainly helped many other young girls, who
needed far more help than you do. I had particular trouble with a young Zoe
Nesmith, back when she was a freshman. She’s still in Poe, too, isn’t she?”
Jade nodded blankly. “She’s a junior. She’s our cottage’s
‘fixer.’ She’s helped me a couple of times.”
Miss Rogers nodded. “And it’ll be up to you to help the girls
who follow after you, as well. Understand?”
Jade nodded again, feeling overwhelmed.
“Now, we have several choices. Young Stephen paid enough
for a couple of outfits, and I thought you might be able to use the variety.
He certainly went all out, paying for the deluxe package. First, all the
garments I’ve made for you today are interwoven with Zylor. That’s used—”
“In bulletproof vests?”
“That’s the stuff. They use Kevlar and Dyneema in the
cheaper vests, since Zylor is so expensive. But it’s nearly twice the strength
of Kevlar, and more resistant to fire and UV. I recommend it for all why
Whateley customers; you kids just seem to put such wear on clothes.”
“So these clothes are all like bulletproof vests?” Jade
asked.
“Hardly. They might spread the blow out a bit, depending on
the padding you’ve got underneath. And they’ll help a little against stabbing
or slashing attacks, unlike Kevlar. Mostly I add the Zylor for durability.
Which is another point – these outfits all come with the extended warranty.
I’ll provide you with mailer boxes you can use from your cottage. Just mail
the torn or ripped items back, and I’ll fix them to be as good as new. It’s
expensive, but considering where you go to school, I think it’s worth it in the
long run. Oh, and everything’s been treated with Hydrospell, to repel
moisture, spills, and stains. It also makes them much easier to clean. Grass
stains, dirt, ink, even blood – they all come right out.
“I left off some of the other options – some kids want
clothes that are weighted or stiff, to give them a constant workout. And you
don’t want the wiring or antenna-grid, or color shifting, or other options.
But I think these should do nicely for you.”
Since Jade had been living mostly on items she found in a
discard bin, this was a major change for her. She tried to imagine having fine
clothes that felt good, made her look good, and actually lasted longer than the
cheap stuff. If this was what a life of crime bought for you, she began to
understand the appeal.
The decision was tough, but she finally decided on a western
outfit. Black leather calf boots with three inch heels gave her some
much-needed height. A denim miniskirt with a green metallic belt that hung
diagonally across her hip like an old-fashioned gun belt brought attention to
her hips, and showed a flattering amount of leg. It wouldn’t be inappropriate,
if anyone pegged her as being eleven, but it suggested that she was both older
and better built than she actually was. Her top was a simple white
long-sleeved blouse, tailored to cling tightly to her midriff, while being
looser in the bustline. A fleece vest over that provided warmth in November’s
cool weather, and also emphasized her “figure” if she buttoned up the bottom
while leaving the top open.
“That should knock him dead,” Miss Rogers insisted. “I’ll
have the rest sent to your cottage.”
When the limo arrived, a few minutes later, Thuban (in human
guise) was indeed impressed. Jade got the warmest feeling, as Thuban’s eyes
roamed up and down her body. She’d heard girls complain about the “meat
market.” But this wasn’t like that. It was more like he was taking the time
to fully appreciate her, and enjoy her femininity. Which was all the more
impressive, since he knew the truth.
Thuban offered his hand, and she was delighted to be helped
into the limo. This time, she didn’t sit across from him, but sat beside him.
Close beside him. As the limo headed off through the covered bridge that led
out of town, he stroked her face, letting his human guise slip away.
Jade stared into his lizard eyes, with their alien-looking
iris, and thread-thin vertically slit pupil. “Can I call you Stephen?” she
asked. “When we’re in private, I mean?”
The elongated head nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“I – I can’t say.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“No, it’s not that.” It took her a moment to gather her
courage, then she said, “I was wondering how to kiss you, when you’re in your
real form. And whether I should kiss you. I mean, this is only our second
date. Should I kiss on the second date? And then there was this morning, when
you kissed me.”
“Did that bother you?” His voice sounded the slightest bit
worried, and his aura showed apprehension.
She shook her head quickly. “No, it didn’t bother me.”
More quietly, “I liked it.” And almost whispering, she admitted, “A lot.”
“But, I was wondering if you liked it,” she continued. “If
you liked kissing me. And how it would be kissing you like this, in your real
shape. And what kind of relationship we might have, if I was just going to be
thinking about kissing you all the time.”
His aura had moved over into amusement now. “Are you
thinking about that? All the time?”
“Well, only since this morning. But, uh, yeah, quite a bit since
then.”
“Why don’t you try it then?”
So she did. The limo was roomy enough that she slid over to
sit on his lap, facing him, with her legs spread on either side of him. A
miniskirt was good for that position, and if it was less than modest, she made
sure that his eyes were focused on her face, not her panties. So she took his
long muzzled face and kissed him lightly on the front of his closed mouth.
That didn’t do much for either of them, so she tried more kisses along the
length of his closed mouth. And then she waited for him to do the
front-to-back blink he did with his nictitating membrane, and kissed him gently
over his closed eye. That was better. Then she just settled into a pattern of
giving him little kisses along the velvet-soft scales of his face, while
stroking his eye ridges, and muzzle, and neck. And in the meantime, he was
stroking her back and kneading the flesh over her shoulder blades, and back,
and occasionally his hand would stray down to her behind.
His two large hands gently cradled her head and his thumbs
brushed over her cheeks.
“Are you crying?” he asked fearfully.
Jade tried to shake her head, but that only scattered the
tears, so she leaned forward and grabbed him around the body, pressing herself
tight against him so that he couldn’t see her face while she tried to sob
silently.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Is it something I did? Did I
hurt you?”
She shook her head again, but couldn’t speak.
“Jade, answer me! What’s wrong?”
She tried to speak but couldn’t. So she just clung to him
and cried, trying hard to keep it silent, but she knew he could feel it every
time she gasped, or hiccupped or shuddered. So she just clung to him.
After a while, Thuban gave up trying to do anything, and he
just held her, his arms wrapping around her and holding her as if she were the
child she appeared to be.
Finally she began to relax, and the fear began to ebb. She
slid off him to merely sit beside the much taller boy, pressed tight against
his side so that he couldn’t see her face. With her new haircut, it was harder
to hide behind her hair.
“Can you talk to me now?”
She admitted, “I’m sorry, I probably ruined my makeup. I
can touch it up when we get to the restaurant, but it won’t be as good. You
spent so much money to help me look like a girl, and I ruined it.”
“I didn’t help you look like a girl,” he said somewhat
testily, “you are a girl. I merely paid for a salon visit. And you can
do your touch-up work here, while I wait outside. There’s no reason you should
appear in Berlin looking like I’ve broken your heart.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. She knew she’d hurt
his feelings, but didn’t know how to deal with this, on top of everything
else. Instead, she admitted to part of what she’d been thinking about.
“I was so wrong about Monty. I need to apologize to him, at
the next meeting.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That bitch Tansy must have really done a number of him.
For the rest of his life, whenever he meets a girl, he’ll be wondering if
someday it will all suddenly twist, and she’ll call him an ugly monster and
start hating him or making fun of him or something. How long does it take
before you lose the fear that one day they’ll wake up and see you for what you
are? Something… something disgusting.”
Thuban said nothing, so she just clung to him, her face
pressed against his side.
After a minute, though, he suddenly jerked. “Wait a
minute. Are you talking about me rejecting you?”
“Of course,” she said in quiet misery. “It’ll probably
happen again, as soon as you really think about it. I’m probably the most
deliberately twisted person on campus, hiding in with the girls, pretending I’m
one of them. You know the truth, and pretty soon you’re going to think about
me, and that’s when you’ll start to hate me. Sharisha was right. She was
right all along.”
“I’ll make a deal with you,” he said. “So long as you don’t
see me as a monster or an animal, I promise to see you as the girl you really
are.”
“That’s different,” she told him. “You’re Thuban, the
dragon in the cave, the fixer and info-hoarder and puppetmaster, and once
people learn of it, the power behind all of Faction Three. How could anyone
see you as an animal? And as for being a monster? They’d have to be an idiot
not to be intimidated and impressed by you, but everyone knows about your
honor, don’t they?”
“Maybe I should let you attend the Faction Three meetings as
Jade,” he mused.
“Now I don’t get what you’re talking about.”
“We have the same problem, don’t you see?”
She sighed. “No. We don’t. You’re becoming something
better than a poor normal human. It’s easy to see why they’re threatened by
that. But me – I’m not changing at all. And I’m pretending and wishing, but
it’s all just a sick little perversion, isn’t it? I’m less than a normal
person, and I’ll never get any better.”
“I think you’re just looking for sympathy,” he told her
gently. “You are so much a girl that you’re a girl even in a boy’s body. Yes,
I know the truth, and I tell you that you’re still a girl. You can’t be
anything else.”
“I might never have breasts for you to touch,” she lamented.
“Why? Do you want me to touch you like that?” His voice
had a definite note of surprise to it.
“I wouldn’t let you. Not yet. But I’d want you to, even if
I wouldn’t let you. Eventually…” She was silent for a moment. “Before I got
in the car, you looked at me, and I felt so good. It’s just… I’m afraid that
some day you’ll look at me, and you’ll see the real me.”
“I do see the real you.”
“You were so angry yesterday,” she whispered. “What if that
happens again. If you called me a boy again—”
“I won’t. I promise. I promise you on my honor.”
“I have to make sure this is the real you,” she continued,
still in a whisper. “I like this person a lot.” Louder, “And not because you
buy me stuff. That’s sweet, but…”
“Yes?”
“Thuban? Stephen?” This was her quietest whisper yet.
“What is it?”
“Could you make me feel like a girl again?”
So he picked her up and held her in his lap, and while she
cried, he stroked her face, and touched her hair, and changed to a human form
and admired her, and then he leaned forward and kissed her, and while their
lips touched, she wished so much that she could be a girl, if only to do proper
honor to him.
“Utterly amazing,” he admitted, at one point. “A year and a
half here, making myself more powerful and feared and knowing all the while
that no girl would ever have me. And then two at once.”
Jade looked up, puzzled. “Two? You mean me and Jinn?”
“You and Demona.”
That made her lip start to quiver again. “You mean… I have
to compete against her? That’s not fair!”
Thuban spoke much more calmly than she was feeling. “You’re
the one who made her. It was only after your whole transformation spell that
she came to me. I told you that yesterday. Besides, I’m taking you on a date
first.”
She didn’t know what to make of that, but it hadn’t sent her
into tears yet.
Thuban continued, slipping back to draconic form. “Let’s
see, would that make you Betty, or Veronica?”
She sputtered for a moment. Then she realized that she was
indignant, but she felt feminine indignant. “So here I am, sharing my
soul with you, and you’re talking about dating another girl?”
He gave a smug lizard-smile. “The emotions and stuff – it
was getting a bit too girly for me. Sorry, it’s just a guy thing, I guess,
which is why you would never understand. But you know, I really can’t picture
a Betty-gargoyle. And you’ve got the pure-and-innocent bit down, so I’m
thinking that you’d have to be Betty to her Veronica.”
She had, of course, read Archie comics for years, and
naturally she’d always taken the side of the generous and innocent girl over
the vain, manipulative, and selfish one. She didn’t want to admit that it gave
her a tiny thrill to be identified as Betty.
“Doesn’t work,” she said aloud. “Betty and Veronica looked
identical, except for hair. And whatever else you might say about me and
Demona – we don’t look anything alike. Besides, I’m not sure I like the idea
of you two-timing me.”
“Do you want her to be unhappy? After all you’ve given
her?”
Jade thought about Tool’s bitterness, and how it had changed
as she achieved her dream. Jade knew exactly what that was like. She couldn’t
deny the other girl her chance at happiness.
“Well,” she weakened, “there is that. But it still isn’t
fair! She’s a real girl, and I’m just—”
“If you strive for greatness, you must take your own
strengths and build on them. Don’t envy others for their strengths, rather
reinforce your own.” He placed a hand under her chin and tilted her head up so
that she was forced to look him in the face. “Jade, don’t sell your own
advantages short. And don’t envy others without knowing the prices they have
paid and will pay.”
“Yeah, but…”
“You’re young, beautiful, intelligent, and powerful. Let
that be enough for the moment.”
They touched and talked and kissed for the rest of the
evening. Each time, it was apparent in Thuban’s eyes, in his hands, in
everything about him that he saw her as a girl. She saw his emotions, so she
knew he wasn’t lying. Gradually, she began to believe as well.
The odd thing was, he seemed to take similar comfort from
her regard, which honestly puzzled her.
At one point, she demanded, “Tell me why you were so angry,
yesterday. What drove you over the edge? And will it happen again?”
“I admit to being something of a control freak,” he began.
“I think I always will be. Today, tonight, my plans are going perfectly, and
I’m happy. Yesterday I had some great plans, and they completely fell apart.”
“Was yesterday better than today?” she asked him.
“The plans, or the reality? Ah, you mean, what I had
planned for. Yesterday, you were my agent, serving both to steer and control
Faction Three, and to serve as the living symbol of my lust. I admit it, I
designed Lazuli as my absolutely perfect fantasy girl.” He turned to stare at
her, and she felt the cold reptilian truth rolling off of him in a way that she
hadn’t felt yet today. It was more than a little disturbing to feel the
glacial currents flowing off a boy that she had been kissing, less than a
minute before.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever have a chance for a romantic – or
physical – relationship with Lazuli, but the possibility was there. And I had
the belief that since I created Lazuli, that I had perfect control over her.
She was not merely my tool, I owned every thought and gesture. Losing that was
the worst part. I never really had it, but sometimes losing a fantasy can be worse
than the harshest blow reality can give.
“Then there was Dominique – a strange human girl with a
stranger story. I’d never even seen her before, but she knew me, and Faction
Three, and you, and claimed you were dead, and things pretty much went to hell
at that point. I’d been planning and arranging for both Faction Three and
Lazuli for almost two months, at that point.”
Jade crawled up into his lap again, and stroked one hand
along his long muzzle. “Your future plans are going to fail sometimes, too.”
“I know that. Intellectually, I know that.”
“Try not to blow up at me, even when I am responsible for
wreaking them, okay?”
“I’ll try.”
“Hey, you haven’t done any hissing at all today.”
“I never used to speak like that,” he admitted. “I practiced
the affectation, because it helped reinforce my image. Now it slips in when
I’m angry.”
She lay her head against his chest and listened to the sound
of the powerful heart beating within his chest. “Lazuli was your ultimate
dream girl?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to feel the same way about Demona, and then
what will happen to me?”
Thuban didn’t reply to that.
She tried to shore up her sudden insecurities, and said, “At
least… if you do your best to keep your control-freak side under control, and
you don’t go nasty on me, I’ll try not to turn into a sadistic psycho-bitch
when Tool moves in on my boyfriend.”
Thuban laughed at that, which made an interesting sound if
you listened to his chest. “Jade, it’s pretty hard to imagine you as a
sadistic psycho-bitch.”
“You’d be surprised sometimes. Talk to Bloodwolf. And I
did a fair job of haunting Tansy, toward the end.”
“Did you say ‘boyfriend’?”
“Do you want to be?” She asked it so quietly that she
barely heard the words herself.
“Do you want me?”
She hugged him as hard as she could. “How can you ask
that? After what we’ve been doing?”
“Officially?”
She hugged him again. “Yeah. I want to brag to everyone
that I am officially your girlfriend.”
He sighed. “I want that. But Demona…”
Jade growled. “I am getting real tired of her, and I’ve
never even seen her yet! Not in her new form. That girl is going to cause me
so much trouble! Okay, I’ll talk to her during the next F3 meeting. But in
return, you are officially going out with me. And with Shroud. And, if you
have to, with Demona.”
“I have two girlfriends, at the same time? Three
girlfriends?” Then he had an even worse thought. “And two of them are sisters?”
“If people really need to know, you can tell them that we
share experiences when she comes back inside my head.” She stroked her hand on
his solid chest. “I imagine you know how to get proper value from a
revelation, or any piece of information.” She returned to selling her case. “But
you’ll like me as Jinn. For one thing, I can go to the F3 meetings. Although
I can’t actually see any of the movies, which makes them less interesting than
they’d normally be.” She thought. “As Jinn, or Shroud depending on the
costume, I’m a shapeshifter. It’s gone a little crazy lately, but I think I
can get things under control. I can become anything or anyone you want –
except for gargoyles. I don’t really feel anything, which is a bummer for me,
but to anyone touching me I can I feel completely like a real girl, which is a
positive for you.”
“I should remind you that I’m the control freak. I’m
used to arranging my own life. If I’d known that getting a girlfriend meant
that she’d try to take over my life—”
She was suddenly worried that she’d pushed too hard.
“Yeah?”
“…I guess I’d still do it,” he finished, glumly.
She was so relieved that she kissed his snout. “Don’t
worry. I’m only trying to take over part of your life. The
relationship part. Everything else is yours.” She hugged him in her relief.
“It’ll be good for Faction Three,” she promised. “I can be my real self, and I
can talk to girls about hot guys like you – without letting them think they
have a chance at you, of course – and we can start scheming about other boys
there. It’ll be great!”
“Why am I suddenly filled with grave doubts?”
“Tell you what!” she said. “I’ll let you decide our
position on public affection, okay?”
“It’s hard to be the cold, ruthless leader, when your
girlfriend is snogging you.”
“Well, that’s your business, isn’t it? Why don’t we … er … run
through some scenarios, right now?” She wrapped her arms around his neck and
gazed deep into his eyes.
“If you insist.” His lizard tongue flicked out of his mouth
and licked across the length of her neck.