A Midwinter Night's Dream free porn video

As usual this work would not be half so good without the intervention and able assistance of the far too modest Steve Zink. Editor, writer, and friend... Steve there are far too few like you in the world. A little something I have been thinking about lately. It was meant to be a comedy but doesn't seem to be developing that way at all. ~SIGH~ The best laid plans I guess. JDG A MIDWINTER NIGHT'S DREAM PART ONE: PUCK-er UP My life began in the year 5559, on January 11. At least if you go by the great calendar of Oberon, which is the only one anybody goes by here in the land of the Fey. Oberon, you see, measures time from when he ascended to the great throne. He feels that nothing before that matters. So it was that my life, as a Fey, began on that date. Seems like just yesterday. Probably because it was... here. There it was... ooohhhhh let me see... an hour is a day so... I guess it was about a month ago now. Maybe I had better start at the beginning, as it were. You see it was something like this... David sat at his workstation staring at his computer screen. It was another boring day, one in a long string of boring days. His whole world seemed one long stretched out period of boredom anymore. Oh, he had his wife and his four beautiful daughters. He had his hobbies that kept his 45 year old body in the kind of shape a 22 year old might envy, and he had his prestigious job at the bank. Still, he was bored. He yearned to travel to distant lands and have exotic adventures. Had he known what the day held for him he may have amended that dream a bit. At 5:00pm on the dot he closed down his computer and left his office. He drove home through the exceptionally warm January weather. Ohio was usually covered in ice and snow this time of year, but it was as mild as Spring. His thoughts wandered. He had to do his workout when he got home. Day 45 of his latest exercise regimen adjustment. He hadn't missed a day working out since he was in his late teens. Memories of the hurtful words he was often subjected to back then were all the incentive he needed. Plus he loved to see the looks on the faces of his former classmates when he showed up at the reunions. After his workout he had to take his youngest to her dance classes. She was remarkably skilled for one so young. Her next older sister had a flair for art and gymnastics. Then came the two oldest, Hockey Queens of the ice! David was proud of all his girls, but often wondered what life might have been like if he had a boy. He sighed. Dinner would be roast beef and potatoes with string beans and ice tea. It was Tuesday after all. Since it wasn't the weekend he would read a bit on the computer and then to bed. On weekends he and his lovely wife sometimes still engaged in marital relations. Though, anymore, even that seemed too much of an effort sometimes. Maybe after 20+ years of marriage they had just grown too used to each other. God knows she was still a beauty. She had kept her figure despite the 4 children. David pulled into his garage and went in to change for his workout. Two hours later he was showered and running his daughter to dance class. Then home for supper (his little one ate earlier), chat about the kid's day, and his lovely wife's. Off again to get his daughter and then to his computer. He loved to read the fantasy and science fiction stories on the net. He especially loved transformations stories. To be a mighty centaur, or a great dragon! Many wrote such things. Others wrote about being animals, Unicorns, children, robots, and even WOMEN! David had trouble believing any man could want to be a woman. It seemed, that past a certain age, they were always just starting, going through it, or just ending their period. Burrrr it gave him chills. Besides women were so soft and... well... weak. Physically anyway. David loved the fact that he could bench press 450lbs., for 10 repetitions. He loved knowing he could squat and dead lift well over a quarter ton for reps. He liked the look of admiration he received from men and women. Give all that up to be a woman? Those guys must be nuts. With these thoughts David fell fast asleep. "Wakey, wakey! Come on now sleepyhead!" The deep man's voice disturbed a delightful dream David was having. He was Batman and had just deliberately set off an alarm in Lex Luthor's hideaway to let him know he was there. Luthor was cowering and begging for mercy, and then this jerk had to start disturbing his sleep. David sat bolt upright in bed. What was a strange man doing in his bedroom?!! David was overwhelmed by a flood of sensory input... all of it wrong. He could smell a delicate scent of lilacs and body powder. He saw a huge four poster bed had somehow replaced his own bed. It was draped with silk hangings, and the sheets were silk as well. The mattress was as soft as down and caused the slickery material of his gown to slide under his expansive butt. Gown? Expansive butt? David had a hard muscular butt and didn't wear anything to bed, much less silky gowns. Then there was the room. It's walls were hung with tapestries of beautiful, verdant woods. Huge deer and other animals roamed in them. Unicorns could be seen in the background, and Nymphs played with Satyrs by the pool in the background. At the foot of the bed stood a handsome young man. He was dressed in flowing robes and wore his dark hair long. It hung in ringlets about his shoulders. His teeth were so white they looked false. He could have been 20 or 30. His age was indefinable somehow. He was slender in build, yet had an air of strength about him. David had to admit he was about the handsomest man he had ever seen. "Why, thank you... Princess." The young man sketched a courtly bow, as if he had read David's mind. David looked left and right for the Princess he referred to. All he saw was a mass of inky black hair. It hung about his own shoulders in whorls and ringlets. The shoulders it hung on were slender and encased in the finest silk. The front of the silk coverings he wore was tented magnificently from within. Raising one delicate hand to his face David marveled at the fine skin and delicate bone structure. The nails were an opalescent pink color, though it did not seem that they had a coating of nail varnish on them. "I'm dreaming." David said. "Of course, I was thinking about all those guys who want to be women when I went to sleep last night, and it made me have this dream." His voice was a breathy contralto. David moved to slide off the bed, marveling at the strange sensation of heavy breasts swaying slightly from his own chest. His hair, which he normally wore quite short, felt incredibly heavy. As he slid onto tiny feet, with toenails the same color as his fingernails, he felt so short. Everything seemed so big. Of course, having never been in this room before he had no idea of how big it was supposed to be. Dreams often made things seem disproportionate anyway. He glanced at the young man at the end of the bed. His eyes were a brilliant aquamarine color and seemed to hold barely contained mirth in them. "I wonder what made me dream you up?" David mused aloud. "Dream my Lady? As in 'A Midsummer Night's'?" David got the distinct impression he was being laughed at. He felt quite put out that his own fiction should be laughing at him. "Look you. This is an interesting dream and all but I really haven't time to dally. My dreams never last long. When they get interesting then they suddenly end! I haven't even seen what I look like in this dream yet." With a smile the enigmatic fellow gestured to a large mirror, free standing, in a gilt frame. David felt the air rush out of his lungs. Reflected before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She looked to be about medium height for a woman, say 5'6". Her features were delicate, with skin so fine he could not detect a single pore. Her lashes were long and thick. They were dark black like the heavy mass of hair that hung to her waist. Her brows were delicate and finely arched above beautiful aquamarine eyes that were wide with surprise. He stepped hesitantly toward the mirror and felt the strange sensation of the breasts moving again. What breasts they must be! They looked like they were slightly wider than the narrow chest he possessed in this dream form. His hands and feet were tiny. The rest of his form was hidden by the silk hangings that adorned him. Soft pastels of green and blue, were wrapped about him... her in this dream world. With a shaking hand David reached toward her crotch and, with a delicate finger, confirmed the female contours there. Definitely her. "This is so fuc*ing weird!" David breathed softly, in her high feminine voice. "Weirder than you know my Princess." Was the young man's enigmatic reply. "Why do you keep calling me Princess?" "For the simple fact that you currently wear the form of the Princess Celine. Daughter of Kind Oberon and Queen Titania." "Oh. Of course! I took Desi to see a Midsummer Night's Dream a couple of months back. That must explain it. I take it you, then, are Robin Goodfellow?" "Puck, to my friend's. Since I aided the Princess in this lark I trust you will count me as much a friend as she, while you wear her skin anyway." David felt a slight chill tickle her spine. This was awfully detailed for a dream. Usually she would have woken up by now. Besides the flagstone floor felt chilly against her bare feet. She wondered then, when she had started thinking of herself as a she? "Would you mind terribly, explaining what you mean?" She asked nervously. The air seemed too sweet. The colors too vivid. The sensations too real. David was rapidly starting to worry that this was no ordinary dream. Perhaps no dream at all. "Certainly. After all you are, currently, the Princess of the realm and heir to the throne of Oberon. You see Celine has long been fascinated by the world of mortals. She has made me recount, time and again, my adventures there in the olden days. Oberon has since forbidden any travels between the realms, too dangerous for the mortal folk. They are so frail, and tend to become fascinated by our land. Before you know it you have another Centaur, Satyr, Nymph, Dryad, Unicorn, or Pixie. Really it is just so bothersome having to substitute a changeling for those who become part of the fey. As you may have noted, things are more real here. You can feel it can't you? The very air vibrates with a power... with life!" David had to admit that she could feel it. It made her shudder all the more. She desperately wished to wake up. "Celine cast about for a proper receptacle. She wanted to be a doughty warrior. She has been female all these years after all, and never had the chance to be male yet. She also needed someone who was asleep, yearning for adventure and travel, and near a locus of magic. You happened to fit the bill nicely. Handsome, with a powerful body, and all the rest. So she "borrowed" your form while her Sire and Dam are away on the Great Hunt." David gulped loudly. "And... and just how long will they be away on this hunt?" "Oh they should return by tomorrow morning." David breathed a sigh of relief. If, as she was beginning to suspect, this really wasn't a dream at all she at least wouldn't have to endure it for long. "That is, of course, in Faerie time." "Faerie time?" She asked with a sinking feeling in her gut. "Yes. Time in the land of the mortals flicks by at an incredible pace. It must be why you burn your lives up so quickly." "How... how long does that translate to in mortal time?" "Ohhh roughly a month. An hour here is a day there. It used to be worse until Oberon instituted daylight savings time." David felt the world spin around her and blackness rushed up to engulf her. As she fell she felt two strong arms catch her and Puck's voice whispered in her ear, "Sleep now Sweet Princess. Loyal Puck will stand watch over you." Then she knew no more. PART TWO: WHAT FOOLS THESE MORTALS BE The faint didn't last long and David soon found herself awakening to her nightmare once again. The scent of lilacs filled her nostrils and the slick feel of her bed clothes gave notice to her awakening senses that she had not escaped through the realm of Morpheus. "Awake again I see." "Puck? Are you still here?" She could scarce credit the existence of such a being, much less his presence in her bed chamber. Of course the fact that it was HER bed chamber, at the moment, made other such shocks seem rather blas? by comparison. "I am, as ever, at the service of my Princess." Puck's smile was as saucy as the glint in his eye. David groaned. "I am not actually your Princess, as you well know." "True, but my loyalty is to the form of the Princess, not the spirit. For in the land of the Fey it is the form that is strong and the spirit that is weak." "What do you mean?" David had no idea how cute she was when she crinkled up her nose in consternation. "In the mortal world your flesh is weak and given to any number of diseases, injuries, and even the ravages of time. This is compensated by your spirits being very strong. Since the spirit is so strong, and the flesh so weak, you find it near impossible to shift from one form to another. We, on the other hand, have strong flesh. It is adamantine and unyielding. It rules and controls, so our spirits have no need for great strength. We never die, well rarely in any case, so our spirits don't need the power to exist for prolonged periods of time without a fleshy housing. Thus we can command our forms to flow and shift and our strong flesh will obey." "Wait a minute. You're saying that the Fey can shape shift?" "Absolutely!" Puck seemed genuinely surprised that she would find such a concept difficult to grasp. "Are not your *fairy tales* filled with such accounts?" "Well then, I can just shift to male until the Princess returns to claim her flesh!" David's excitement was short lived. Puck crushed her hopes with his next words. "No. You cannot, and for two reasons. One-you don't have any familiarity with that flesh, let alone it's magic. Two-as the daughter of Oberon and Titania you are not allowed to shift to ANY male form until after you have conceived and borne an heir to the Great Throne. It is Oberon's strictest rule. His word forbids it and prevents it, since here his word is literally the law." David felt a hot rush of tears behind her eyes. It was so unfair! Puck moved to a sitting position next to her and cradled her head to his shoulder. She was taken aback for a moment, but then yielded to the comfort his strong shoulder offered. As she did the floodgates burst and the tears rushed forth. "Oh I hate women who cry." David sobbed. "You cannot deny your body its privileges Princess. Your spirit is strong but it is contained in an envelope of flesh that is equally so. If you fight every instinct it will drive you mad. Though your stay is short, and not entirely of your own choosing, I would not see you suffer. Rather I would make this as pleasant as possible for you." Slowly David got control of her emotions. The tears slowed to a trickle from the corners and finally stopped. Sniffing she stared up into the chiseled features. Why did Puck have to be so damn handsome anyway?! Before she quite realized what she was doing she found her lips pressed against Puck's own. At his gentle urging her lips parted slightly and she felt his tongue flicker against hers. A hot rush of warmth coursed through her body and she squirmed where she sat. Suddenly realizing what she was doing David jerked back. 'My God!' She thought silently. 'What am I doing?! I was jut making out... with a guy!' The brush of Puck's fingers across her fevered cheek brought David's attention back to the handsome Fey. "It's alright Princess. It is just the confusion of your very female body warring with your masculine soul. Here you are surrounded by the trappings of the Princess Celine. You are, and will continue to be, treated as Celine while you are here. You must learn to let your body lead you. For all our sakes no one must suspect that you are not Celine, Princess of the Fey. It would be worth our very lives!" "Our lives! What do you mean our lives?" "Oberon forbid his daughter to experience masculinity before she was wed, bred, and mother to a new heir. He also forbids our traversing across the border to the mortal realm. If he discovers that she, with my help, found a way to circumvent his will..." He left the sentence unfinished. "Surely you're not suggesting that he would kill his own daughter!" "No. But he might force her to spend a few thousand years as a newt, or perhaps a she-ass. As for me... well he would certainly kill me. You also by the way." "Me!??! Why in the name of God would he want to kill me?!" "Because you are a part of this. You provided the Princess the vessel to pour her soul into, and you are now here masquerading as her." "But... but..." She was so flustered that for a moment she couldn't even speak. "I didn't willingly cooperate! I didn't deliberately set out to aid her in her plot! How can he blame me!??!" "Did you not yearn to travel to far off lands and have great adventures? Did you not yearn to experience transformation and with it great power? Your spirit called to her. It cooperated willingly in the exchange, even if you were not consciously aware of it. The spirit was willing even if the flesh was weak." "Oh God!" Her mind whirling with confusion and fear, David whimpered quietly to herself. "You must learn, and quickly, to stop calling on the mortal's God. We don't do that here. Since we are virtually immortal we have no need of God or demon's. You also need to stop thinking of yourself as David. You are not he, while you are here. You are the Princess Celine! Every time you think of yourself as the mortal David, your spirit flares and shines forth through your flesh. It will be a signal to any of high rank and power that you are not who you seem to be." "Well, then I'll just remain here in this room until the real Celine exchanges us back tomorrow. That way I don't have to worry about fooling anyone." "An admirable plan. Unfortunately it won't work." "What? Why not?" "As Princess you are expected to do certain things. More especially so with your parent's off on the Great Hunt. Your attendants will come soon to bathe and dress you for this afternoon." David... no! "Celine dammit!" Felt her heart thudding in her chest. She imagined she could feel her heavy breasts vibrating with each beat. "This afternoon?" "You are having an afternoon luncheon with some of the minor nobles who wish to introduce their heirs, in hopes that one may catch your eye and interest you in marriage." Puck's tone was so laconic that Celine almost missed the last part. "Marriage? Marriage!" "Don't worry. All you have to do is be politely distant to them all. Talk sweetly, nod demurely, and dance politely with each man in his turn, but make no selection. If you do then Celine will be obligated to marry that one upon her return." Inwardly Celine groaned. 'What else could go wrong?' A knock at the heavy oak door drew her attention. "Princess? Princess Celine? It is your handmaid, Jennifer. I have your bath drawn. Once you are in it I will bring you your breakfast. Are you quite ready Princess?" "No." Celine groused quietly. "The Princess is damn well not ready!" Raising her voice just loud enough to reach the Faerie woman on the other side she called, "In a moment Jennifer." "I'm sure glad she told me her name." "All will when you cannot see their faces. It is custom. I will stay by your side to whisper the names of those who come into the view of your royal eyes so that the deception will not be revealed by a slip of the tongue." Celine gently squeezed the hard bicep of his arm. "Thank you Puck. I hope Celine, the real Celine, appreciates what a friend she has in you." "My Lady. For the here and now YOU are the real Celine. Puck will remain ever your servant during your stay." Nodding her thanks Celine rose, for the second time, from her bed. As she walked toward the door she noticed things she had been too shocked to notice before. Her wider hips shifted as she walked, giving her gait a sensuous sway. Her heavy breasts moved in time with her hips. She hoped they had bra's here in Fairyland! With boobs this size she was going to need one. As she opened the door and greeted the timid Jennifer, Celine never noticed the sly smile on Puck's lips. "Yes Princess. Get fully absorbed in the role. Good friend Puck will stay by your side to guide you. And before the morrow comes, you shall be mine." With a dark chuckle he strode confidently after the faux Princess. PART THREE: MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH Celine lay back against the sheets panting. A sheen of sweat coated her muscular body. The experience of sex as a mortal, and as a man, had been beyond exhilarating. It had been more than she had ever imagined. The slow torturous build to that sudden rushing climax! Every synapse in her brain firing all at once! No wonder males had to rest after such an experience. Beside her the mortal's wife stirred sleepily. "David. What in the world ever got into you?" Then snuggling closer. "Never mind. Whatever it was I just hope it stays around for a while!" Celine smiled to herself. What got into him indeed. With a contented chuckle she reached one brawny arm around the golden haired lass at his side. The afterglow of the experience was fading and she felt unaccountably tired. Sleep would be most welcome. The experience had left her rather drained. Still it had taken her mind off of the pain. When Princess Celine first exchanged with the sleeping man's spirit she had been jarred by a veritable cacophony of pain! Her back, her right calf, a molar in the left rear of her jaw, her bladder, her face. Tiny aches and pains registered from everywhere. She had never experienced pain before. Fey flesh was much more resilient than mortal, and most things translated into pleasure... not pain. She lay gasping in his large and hairy body for a few moments, wondering how he could function with such constant nagging agony. It hadn't been long, though, before she discovered what every human knows. The body adjusts to pain and learns to ignore it for the most part. David had accumulated little aches and pains like everyone else over the years. If asked he would have said he had no pain. He was just too used to it. Like the hum of the tires on the highway just behind the house he grew up in. New comers noticed it constantly, but he never heard it. Celine had fidgeted in the bed until the male's wife had awoken. She had turned her face to him, a shaft of wan moonlight catching the gold in her hair and making it shine, as if with an inner luminescence. While she had experienced trysts with many males, and many females in the land of the Fey, Celine had never felt the powerful compulsion toward sex that a mortal male felt when confronted with a nubile female. Her lips had been as red as ripe pomegranates, and just as full. It had been instinct rather than thought that led Celine to press her lips against the woman's. Her thick muscular hand went, naturally, to the fullness of her breast. She had thumbed the nipple into awareness and kissed her way down the alabaster neck. A low moan had been her answer. Celine used every trick she knew to produce pleasure from the female form. She was sure that the man's wife had reached the crescendo of passion at least three times before Celine had finished once. But oh, that once! With that thought Celine faded to sleep, snuggled beside David's wife. Linda looked, lovingly, at her sleeping husband. He had been so tender, yet insistent. Passionate, yet caring. He had stimulated her in ways that she had never suspected she could be stimulated in. He had surprised her. She didn't think that after more than two decades of marriage he had any surprises left for her. She was happy to discover she was wrong. It was almost as if she were making love to someone else entirely. Yes that was what it had felt like. That delicious tingle one gets from a taste of forbidden fruit. Smiling contentedly Linda drifted off to slumber land also. An irritating noise was interrupting Celine's dream. In it she was a doughty warrior, dressed in fine armor, and battling an evil troll. She rode her magnificent stallion, Glover. But in the dream she wore the mortal's form and must needs think of herself henceforth as he. His blade flashed and Troll Cleo's head fell from her wart encrusted shoulder's. The fair maiden, who looked amazingly like the woman he had ravished only hours earlier, rushed into his arms. The stallion had vanished as had their clothes. Soon the two lovers lay entwined in a field of poppies. The warm sun and cool breezes caressed his flesh and then... then... that dam* noise simply would not let him finish the dream! Groaning Celine sat up in his bed. His wife lay beside him, smiling coyly at him. "Morning Stud." She giggled like a schoolgirl. "How would my manly man like some bacon and eggs for breakfast? I can fix while you shower and shave." Celine found focusing surprisingly difficult. Her head ached slightly and her thoughts were muzzy. Having never experienced dependency on anything, she could scarcely be expected to recognize a need for a morning cup of coffee. He nodded and rose from the bed. "You get your water running and I'll bring you a cup of mud." With that Linda pinched David on the butt before dancing down the stairs. 'Mud?' Celine wondered. 'Do they truly drink such a vile concoction here?' So caught up in her musings was Celine that he sat there until Linda returned with a steaming cup of coffee. "Better get a move on there big boy!" She smiled as she handed the cup to Celine. "The girls will be up soon and you know how fast the hot water goes when they start getting their showers!" Tentatively Celine brought the ceramic cup to her lips. The liquid inside was truly as dark as any mud he had ever seen. But the smell! The smell was heavenly. "In for a penny, in for a pound I suppose." Celine said as she took her first sip. "What did you say Dear?" "Mmfppgghhh. Nothing. This is the most delicious mud I ever tasted! Had I suspected that it could taste like this then I would have been drinking it all along!" "That's nice Dear." Linda called over her shoulder as she headed back downstairs. "Now you better hurry and get showered and ready. You have to leave for work in an hour." "Work?!!?" The shower was a unique experience. Nothing like bathing under the crystal falls. The water could be made to be hot or cold, and Celine seemed only able to make it too much of one or the other. Finally settling on too cold as the lesser of two evils she swabbed her body with soap and rinsed off. She couldn't believe the hair this body had. It seemed to be hairy like one of the ape people. But beneath the hair were hard rippling muscles. Surely this man was a warrior of some importance. Finishing her bath Celine was distressed at the lack of maidservants to dry and dress her. She finally managed and headed downstairs, only to be greeted by howls of laughter from Linda. "I guess last night must have really taken it out of you. Or is this your way of saying that you want to have an orgy?" Confused Celine glanced down at the garments she had draped about her form. It was a standard type of wrapping, a bit stiffer and less colorful than she was used to, but pretty normal. At least if you were a Faerie, or an ancient Roman. Sheets made into toga's just would not make it in modern day society. Linda shook her head. "Oh so that's the way you want to play it is it? Ok then my big snuggy wuggy babycums. Let Mommy take her big bear of a baby back upstairs and get you dressed. While we're at it I guess you want me to shave you also? Boy you certainly expect a lot for one little shag. Still..." Here she wrapped her arms about his muscular waist, "for one like last night I'd gladly bathe, shave, and dress you for a week." Taking the bewildered Celine by the hand she led him back upstairs. Shaving had been interesting. First Linda wet his face, and then smeared on some sort of sweet smelling cream. It had not tasted nearly as good as it smelled and looked. Then she had used an odd looking tool to scrape the foam, her facial whiskers, and -at least it felt like- the top two layers of his skin off. That had been nothing compared to the stinging blast the "aftershave" had given Celine. The mortal realm may be somewhat dull in it's smells, colors, and tastes, but it had it all over the Great Land in it's pain inducing rituals. Before Linda could lead the whimpering man to the bedroom to dress him David had stepped into the shower. Aiming his member at the drain he had let fly with a sigh of great relief. This was a truly unique experience for Celine. Peeing standing up! It was fun and she had begun to direct the stream all about the tiled shower stall floor, as a shocked Linda stood by with her mouth hanging open. Seeing such a convenient target Celine couldn't resist aiming the stream at Linda. The answering shriek had seemed loud enough to wake the dead. However no zombies or ghouls were in evidence so he figured it had not been loud enough after all. Sputtering and glaring at him Linda had taken the confused Celine back to the bedroom scolding him with a tongue that could cut leather. "Now look Mister! I am just as open minded as the next when it comes to sex and humor but that wasn't sexy and it certainly wasn't funny! If you are getting into kinky things like golden showers then you can just forget it!! Understood?" Celine was in shock. No one had ever dared speak to her that way. Well, no on besides her father, Oberon. She just stared open mouthed as the woman, who had seemed so loving and beautiful a moment before, was transformed into a shrewish Harpy. No, come to think of it, that was unfair to Harpies every where. Linda continued her diatribe even as she dressed Celine and then changed her own damp garments. Breakfast was a somber affair with the kids wondering what Mom was angry with Dad about now. After eating the fatty fried strips of pleasingly flavored meat and the embryonic birds Celine was ready to go to her first day of human work. She did so wish that she could have another cup of mud first, but was afraid to ask the mortal woman in case it set of another bout of angry recriminations. Celine wondered what exactly it was that this mortal did. Was he a general? He couldn't be a regular warrior his clothes were at once too restrictive of movement, and also too soft to be decent battle gear. The noose he wore about his neck as a decoration was particularly disadvantageous for battle. His wondering was interrupted by a set of metallic disks and odd shapes being thrust into his hand. "Here's your keys. Now you had better hurry or you'll be late for work." With that Linda kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry I blew up at you. I know you were just experimenting. Maybe tonight we can have a repeat of last night." With that she gave him a gentle push into another room. In it sat two metal objects. They looked something like wild beasts, and one said "Mustang" on the side. Yet it didn't look like any horse Celine had ever seen. Linda had gone back inside after pressing a button that caused the back wall to rise up just under the ceiling. This provided a method of egress from this cavern like room. Shrugging Celine began to walk down the smooth hard path to the road beyond. "David! Hey David!" It took Celine a moment to realize that the man was calling him. "Yes?" He was surprised every time he spoke at the depth and timbre of his voice. "Something wrong with the Ford? I warned you about those cars. Fix or repair daily I said. Do you want me to have a look at it and see if I can get it started for you?" "Ummm... sure?" Celine didn't know what this varlet was talking about, but it seemed best to humor him. At least until he could figure out what was going on. Striding over the big black man took the metal shapes from Celine's hand and walked back into the cavern. Striding up to the Mustang he inserted one of the oddly shaped pieces into a silver disk on the side and caused a part of it to swing out, allowing him to climb inside. 'Rather like a chariot.' Celine thought. The man then inserted the metal shape into another spot beside the wheel that sat inside the strange chariot. He twisted it to the right and the thing roared like a Griffin disturbed in it's slumber. "Seems ok now. Maybe you just flooded it." "Err... uhhh... yeah. I guess so." Celine walked back beside the Mustang and stood looking at the heavy Nubian sitting inside it. "Well I don't want to keep you. Tonight after work I'll bring my tools over and give it a good going over, okay?" "Okay." Celine replied, having no idea what the man was talking about. The man got out and left. Celine stood looking at the oddly purring Mustang and then tentatively climbed inside. As she did her foot caught on the hatch that had opened in the side and it shut behind her. For a moment she felt panic. Was she about to be eaten? But nothing happened. Celine began to wonder he was expected to do, when he noticed a stick on the floor beside him. It had a track it traveled down with letters beside each point. P was the letter it was in now. Then there was R, then D, then D2. Deciding that he had nothing to loose, Celine reached for the stick and moved it to R. PART FOUR: TO BE, OR NOT TO BE Celine followed Jennifer as she led her toward the royal bath. So caught up in her own inner musings was she that she scarcely noted the magnificence of the rooms through which she passes. Rare paintings and sculptures. Magnificent friezes and tapestries. Heavy, meticulously crafted furnishings, and everywhere gold and jewels. A thousand king's ransoms in just a few rooms. One thing, though, did catch her eye. Through one of the highly arched windows she noticed a shimmering tower. It appeared to be cut all from one piece of opalescent crystal. Celine knew that back in her world this would be impossible, yet here in the land of the Fey who could say? Stopping in her tracks she stared entranced at the shimmering edifice. "What is that?" Puck, ever at her elbow, answered. "That is the crystal tower. In it is imprisoned a half-breed. His Mother was a Faerie and his father was a mortal." The emphasis placed on each was noted by Celine. "You make the word mortal sound like what you're really saying is garden slug." "Forgive me Princess. I hadn't realized you thought so tenderly of those frail beings." Puck's eyes flashed a warning as they cut over toward Jennifer. Choosing to ignore the warning look Celine continued her line of inquiry. "Why is he imprisoned?" Jennifer was looking at her oddly. "My Lady... everyone knows the tale. He was advisor to the Once and Future King. He was tricked and imprisoned there until he is needed by his liege once again. Surely you cannot have forgotten this?" Realizing her error Celine sought to cover. "Forgive me Jennifer if I have worried you with my little jest. I sought merely to aggravate the boastful Puck." She tittered nervously. Puck's cheeks flamed for a moment, but he rapidly recovered and smoothly added to her deception. "Most excellently done Majesty. You had me going for a moment." Feeling rather like a rabbit caught in the gaze of the hungry fox Celine hurried on. "Well let's get to the bath shall we?" In the royal bath chamber Celine felt as if she would swoon. The floors were of the finest Venetian marble. The counter tops were of onyx and jade. The tub was cut whole from a gigantic pearl and sat in a solid gold frame encrusted, with rubies and diamonds. Jewel encrusted steps led up to it. Jennifer slipped her royal accouterments from her as she placed one dainty foot into the steaming mass of bubbles. Puck stood admiring the alabaster perfection of her arse. A perfect conjoining of two globular hemispheres. They twitched with a metronomic perfection with each step. The outer edges of her heavy breasts could be seen as they swayed to either side. Her hair spilled down her back in a midnight fall so black that it had blue highlights. She was perfection of all things feminine and she would be his. Jennifer glared at Puck, but dared not say anything. He may play the merry jester, but none could doubt Puck's power. Many believed that, if he chose, he could challenge Oberon himself. Still, it was not proper for him to gaze so lustfully at Oberon's only child. Celine, unaware of the effect she was having on Puck, settled herself into the warmth of the bath. The bubbles came up around her neck, effectively screening her flesh from sight. Sighing gratefully she lay her head back against the edge of the ornate tub and relaxed. With the water supporting her overly massive mammeries she could, for a moment, forget her change of station and gender. Signaling Jennifer to get on with bathing the Princess Puck retreated to a corner of the lavatory to observe. Jennifer took a soft cloth and began to carefully bath her Princesses face with it. Her touch was as light as a butterfly's wing. So gentle that Celine barely noticed it. Taking the princess by the hand Jennifer guided her upright and proceeded to bath her body. The soft soapy cloth traveled down her long, beautiful neck. Then over her shoulders and down her arms. The touch was warm and gentle. It began to have a noticeable effect on Celine. Before she quite knew what she was doing Celine invited Jennifer into her bath so that she could more easily bathe her. The young Fey blushed, but quickly divested herself of her garments. Her figure was glowingly beautiful, if somewhat more slender and less endowed than Celine's. Pulling Jennifer into an embrace Celine began to soap the young Faerie's back. Jennifer did the same, spending an inordinate amount of time on the perfect globes of her buttocks. The soft cloth traveled around and under, then up the divide between the cheeks. When her hand started down for perhaps the fourth or fifth time she went deeper into the juncture of her Princesses thighs. Celine gasped at the sudden sensation of having herself touched, there. Her mind was whirling with the sensation. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She rubbed her massive breasts against the slighter girl's smaller endowments and moaned softly. Jennifer moved her hands to the front and gently guided Celine to a sitting position. She spread the royal woman's legs and gently brought the cloth to bear on the fine petals thus revealed. Tracing it up and down her charges labia with exquisite gentleness and care she soon had the Princess panting with the explosion of passion she was experiencing. Her pink nipples were turgid and glistened with droplets of water. Her sparse pubic hair was a fairyland of soapsuds. Below her lips were swelling and flowering open with her passion. Jennifer seized the moment to apply another cleaning technique. She replaced the soft cloth with her tongue, running it from Celine's anus up to her clitoral hood. Tracing back down again she suddenly plunged her tongue inside the freely flowing opening. Celine gasped and thrust her hips up against the other woman's mouth. Never had she felt anything like this! Never had she imagined that it could feel this way for women! She wondered, for a moment, how any woman could ever stand to stop having sex, even to eat, if it felt this good. Then all thought was washed away on a tide of ecstasy. She screamed as she came in shuddering jolts that racked her body with a forceful passionate release that was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Finally, whimpering with the after glow of her passion, she allowed Jennifer to slowly slip her back beneath the bubbles. Puck watched the tableau with hidden glee. Contemplating how soon he would be the one who would be driving the Princess into mindless passion. Quietly he whispered to himself, "Soon my Princess. Oh yes, very soon indeed. You will be the Princess Celine in fact as well as in body... and you shall be mine!" PART FIVE: VIGNETTES -Good Thing The Dryad Wasn't Home- David sat shaking. Never had such a thing happened to him! The strange chariot, which the Nubian had called a car, had rushed backwards without regard for his royal commands to stop! If it hadn't been for the precipitous involvement of the oak tree adjacent to the stone path he traveled, then the car may never have stopped. The car continued to make the odd humming noise that had followed the twisting of the metal talisman which, David assumed, meant that it was prepared to continue on it's erratic path if allowed. Tentatively, he reached out and grasped the talisman. Nothing happened. Grasping it tightly, he commanded it again, "Cease!" Again, nothing happened. His face screwed up in consternation; David decided to try twisting the metal thing. As he twisted it to the right a noxious noise came from the front of the vehicle. A kind of grinding noise that did nothing to stop the constant hum. Not being one to give up easily, the masculinized Princess twisted the talisman in the opposite direction. Success! The hum stopped. Grasping the black stick, he shoved it back up by the "P". Shifting it from that place was what had started his pell-mell descent down the stone path in the first place. Satisfied with himself beyond all reason, he looked up, only to see the face of the mortal Linda staring at him in shock. 'Oh, I do hope she isn't going to start screeching at me again,' David thought. Out loud, he said, "Hello, dear. Do you think the Dryad will be angry?" -I am Woman- The bath had left Celine more confused than ever. She had never felt such sensations... never imagined what it was that women could feel. It was as if the orgasm had been spread throughout her entire body, waves beating against her mind, her consciousness. Afterwards, she had been like an automation as Jennifer dried, powdered, perfumed, and dressed her. She stared at the reflection in the mirror. A tall, elegant woman looked back at her. Beautiful and sensuous. But was it really her? What was the reality? The incredible woman, or the common man within? Her thoughts were troubled for another reason. In over twenty years of marriage, she had never been unfaithful to Linda. Oh, there had been temptations, but she had never given in. Yet, here she hadn't been a woman for more than a few hours, and she had engaged in a lesbian sexual encounter, in full view of the lasciviously grinning Puck! She was so confused. If only there was time to just sit and think. "Majesty?" Jennifer spoke quietly, as if afraid of disturbing her musings. "Yes?" "Your guests will be here within the hour. Do you wish to go and check the preparations within the dining hall now?" There was more than a hint of suggestion in Jennifer's voice that she should do so. "Of course. Just... just give me a moment. I need to speak with Good Sir Puck... alone." Jennifer curtsied her way out, closing the ponderous door behind her. "Puck? What's going on?" "What do you mean, my Princess?" His voice was soft, but with an undercurrent of raw sexuality that sent little thrill chills up and down her spine. Gooseflesh rose on her arms, bare from the shoulders down in the elegant gown she wore. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Why am I reacting this way? I seem to be losing myself in this flesh... in this identity." "Fey flesh has a strength and solidity that mortal's cannot conceive of. It is why we are so enduring. Years pass for us like weeks. Centuries like years. Your spirit is strong, but it battles the natural instincts of your flesh." "No! Not *my* flesh." Celine felt the tears threatening to come again. She turned to keep Puck from seeing this further sign of feminine weakness. "For now... it is your flesh. You must learn to accept this, or we are all undone." He seemed almost to be pleading with her now. "It will only be for a few more hours. Surely you are strong enough to endure for that long." "That's not what I'm worried about." "What then, Princess?" "I'm worried that I'm learning to like this flesh too well. That when the time comes, I won't want to leave it." With that, she hurried from the room, missing Puck's triumphant grin. -I Said I'm A Faerie, Not A Homosexual- David sat in his living room, a cold compress held to his forehead, where he had bumped it on the wheel of the car. Linda was on the phone to his master's, explaining that he would be unable to come in today. He saw no reason for this. His head hurt only a little. Surely not enough to keep a real warrior from battle! As Linda hung up the phone, she turned toward him. Her face had a grim cast to it. She strode toward him with a purpose that he recognized. His Mother used to stride purposefully like that when she was preparing for a battle of wills. "Okay, work has been notified that David is ill." David wondered at the inflection she put on his name. "Now, just who the hell are you, and what have you done with my husband?" David sat there with his mouth hanging open. How had she deduced the fact that he was not really her husband so quickly? Clearing his throat nervously, he replied, "My name is Celine. I am the daughter of King Oberon and Queen Titania. I am a Faerie Princess." "A fairy? Like in, a homosexual? David! Are you telling me that after over twenty years of marriage, and four children, that you are coming out and revealing that you're not straight?!" Linda was almost shrieking. "Not a fairy. A Faerie. One of the Fey. A supernatural being. Your husband dreamed of travel, strange lands, transformation, and adventure. I wanted to experience the mortal realm, against the wishes of my Father. I also yearned to experience masculinity, so I used his desire to swap places with him." Linda's laughter interrupted David before he could say more. He thought her mirth out of place, and sat with quiet dignity as Linda rolled about on the floor, gales of laughter pealing out of her mouth. "I fail to see what is so humorous about this." Barely getting herself under control, Linda explained. "I'm... hee... sorry. Haaaaaa! It's just that the story, on the face of it, is ridiculous, yet I find myself believing you. Then the idea of my super macho husband, as a woman, HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" The laughter drowned out anything else she might have meant to say. David soon discovered another truth from the mortal realm. Laughter is contagious. It wasn't long before he had joined his wife on the floor, laughing until tears ran from his eyes. His daughters stood in the doorway, watching their parents. "Personally," Desi said, "I think they're both loons." With that, she dragged her younger sisters off to get them ready for the bus. -You Can Dance, Every Dance With The Guy Who Gives You The Eye- The banquet hall was huge. A stone fireplace took up one entire wall, and was large enough to roast an entire herd of cattle. A table sat before the blaze, laden with delicacies of every type. Celine saw whole roast pigs, haunches of beef, peacocks tongues in honeyed cider, airy castles of crystallized sugar, candied fruits, cheeses, smoked meats, fish in wine sauce, eels in a rich milk broth, crab cakes, breads and pastries. She was shocked, though, at the sight of the stuffed rabbit. It was almost the size of a child. It made her think of her friend Phil for a moment. A chill ran through her at the thought. The guests were soon being announced. She and Puck stood just inside the door, greeting each as they arrived. Puck whispered the names to her as each entered. Baron Zink and his son Stephan; Lord Craft and his son Leo; and the Earl of Glover with his son Freddie. The names soon became a blur to Celine's ears. She was struck by the handsome Freddie, though. He was both rakishly handsome, and at the same time, darkly menacing. It was a look that had always repulsed her when she had been David, but now it caused her stomach to tighten, and she stood just a bit straighter, thrusting her breasts forward. The meal was sumptuous, and Celine found herself nibbling at things she would have never believed she would eat in a hundred years. Sheep's eyes and peacocks tongues would have never been her choice of canap? before. Still, she ate but very little, her body exhorting itself to enforce Celine's normal dietary habits. Celine found her eyes continually moving to the face of Freddie. She couldn't remember his last name, and Puck seemed oddly reticent to remind her of it. Chatter was kept light, and she managed it without embarrassment, or giving herself away. It was as Celine was talking to Leo Craft, laughing at some minor witticism he had made, that she felt a presence at her right shoulder. Looking up, she saw the darkly handsome Freddie standing there, his hand extended. Almost without realizing what she was doing, she raised her dainty hand and placed it in his much larger one. She was swept up into his embrace, and he danced her out into the middle of the room. Music had started up from somewhere. His breath reminded her of warm cinnamon and cloves. His eyes were dark and almost hypnotic. As he spun her across the room, she caught a glimpse of Puck's face. It was clouded dark with anger. Wondering what the problem could possibly be, she looked back up at the Earl's son, just as his lips descended and covered her own. His hand crept up and roughly handled her left breast. The pain of such effrontery shocked her out of the haze she seemed to have been caught up in. With a cry, Celine pushed Freddie back from her. Her arms, though, lacked the strength to force more than a few inches between them. The handsome man laughed, "You want it! You know you do!" With that, he grabbed for her breast again. Her reaction was entirely instinctive, and entirely feminine. She slapped him, hard across the face. Rearing back, the Fey held his hand to his stinging cheek. Then his face clouded with anger and he grabbed for her again with an inarticulate cry. Celine had gotten her center now, and fell back on the years of martial art's training she had. Kicking off the high heels, she spun into a defensive stance, right foot back, body bladed toward her foe. Her knees were flexed, and her hands were up defensively. As the young man grabbed for her tender breast again, she grabbed his wrist with her right hand. Her left hand came up, palm towards the sky, and struck him at the elbow. She spun in toward him, twisting his wrist and pushing up with her left palm against his elbow. He spilled forward, off balance. She trapped his hand between her cheek and her shoulder, maintaining her grip on his wrist. Lifting her left foot, she drove it into the back of his right knee. He tumbled towards the floor, his balance completely destroyed. She rode him to the floor, trapping his arm between her knees, with his wrist bent back toward his forearm. Her full weight landed on his back, driving the air from his lungs. Freddie's scream's were an inarticulate roaring of pain and humiliation. He kept trying to rise, despite repeated warnings from Celine to desist or be injured. When he threatened to sodomize her and then make her beg him to make love to her, she reached her breaking point. With a savage twist, accompanied by a dull popping sound, she tore his arm from the shoulder socket. Standing, she left him lying in his agony. His elbow was bent at an unnatural angle. His arm flopped bonelessly on the floor beside him. Celine was panting heavily with the adrenaline rush. She looked about, and found Puck standing over the Earl, Freddie's father. He lay unconscious on the floor, a sword in his hand. It was then that she felt the dam burst, and the tears came cascading through. Later, in her chambers, Puck explained, "The Earl can trace his lineage back to the original King of the Fey. The one that Oberon deposed. They had used a glamour on you. It as so subtle that even I didn't detect it at first. They couldn't make you fall in love with Freddie, but if they could have made you complacent to his advances, in the presence of others, then you would have been seen to have given consent to marry him. When you broke the glamour, they felt their best hope was to force the marriage, and consummation of that marriage, before Oberon returns." Shaking even now, in Puck's strong arms, Celine sobbed. "He... he w-wanted to... to... r-r-rape me." "You dissuaded him of that intent, Princess. You must have been a mighty warrior back in the world of mortals. Had I not been occupied in stopping his father from running me through, I would have been able to help. Still, it was apparent that you needed no help from me... or any man, for that matter." Celine felt such a rush of love and gratitude for Puck, what she said next only seemed natural. "Puck, will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." Puck should have been overjoyed. It was even better than he could have hoped. So why was he so torn? Because, he realized, that he had come to love this fiery mortal spirit within the flesh he had long wanted. What would he do? The plan called for him to seduce Celine, prior to Oberon's return on the morrow. But now he found he could not do it. When they came together, if they ever did, it would have to be because she wanted him, with full knowledge, and full control of her emotions. Not because she was frightened, confused, and so terribly alone. "Fear not, my Princess. Faithful Puck will sit guard beside your bed through out the long hours of the night. But for now, I must go and see that the Earl and his son are safely ensconced in the dungeon. I will return anon, and until then, Jennifer will stay with you." Celine was washed with a warm gratitude she had never felt for any man before. With it, though, was just a tinge of regret. He had not actually rejected her, but it was clear that he would not share her bed. Shaking off this confusing train of thought, she composed herself and prepared to receive Jennifer. PART SIX: INTERLUDE - To Sleep, Perhaps To Dream Celine swam through warm blackness, secure in the knowledge that her trial was almost at an end. A small cough intruded in her warm cocoon of darkness. Surely, no one would be boorish enough to disturb her royal slumber? Where the heck had that thought come from?! Her eyes snapped open. She found herself sitting in a field of daisies, white and yellow splotches of color as far as the eye could see. They rose in colorful swells across gently rolling hills. The sky was the washed out blue of summer. The softest hint of a breeze lifted her long black hair in a cloud about her face. She felt it's sensuous caress across her naked breasts. Like a lover's fingers, it trailed down her stomach onto her thighs. With a sigh, she opened her legs to it. It was a delicious tickle in that most secret of places. Then she heard the cough again. Languorously, she turned her head toward the sound. Sitting nearby, as naked as herself, was... herself. Rather, her old self. It was the mortal David. He smiled at her, a warm smile with slightly crooked teeth. There was a minor blemish on his cheek, and his beard had grown out to a five o'clock shadow. All the little details of imperfection that made him real... solid... mortal. "Hello, Celine." It had only been a few hours, surely, since she had spoken with those lips... with that voice. Yet it sounded so alien to her now. A deep rumble in place of the soft dulcet tones with which she spoke. She shook her head and sat up. Her breasts swayed with a gentle rhythm from the motion. "David?" The question hung, pregnant, in the air between them. He chose to ignore it. "Have you enjoyed your time in Faerie?" "You ask the wrong question." "I know. But it's your question to ask... not mine." "Are you here to switch back?" Was there just the hint of tremor in her voice, as of a powerful emotion repressed? She did want to switch back. Didn't she? "I'm meeting you here... in the realm of Morpheus, to talk. The Dreamer is an old friend, and won't begrudge me the misuse of his venue this once." Celine blinked back her surprise. Did her heart beat just a tiny fraction faster at the thought... but no. She wanted to be herself again. She wanted to be David again. She was almost sure of it. "So talk." "I was discovered very quickly by your wife, Linda. She is a most remarkable woman. She told me things... things which I don't think you were totally aware of." Celine was confused. What could Linda have told this imposter, after discovering that it was not her husband, that she would not have told the real David? "Like what?" "This is why I wanted to meet you here. The fabric of the realm of dreams is malleable, like clay. Here I can show you the conversation as it happened." ***** Linda stood looking at the amalgamation that sat before her. It was her husband's incredible body, with a gentle female spirit animating it. She smiled ruefully. "I should be angry at you. You possess my husband's body, casting his spirit into your female form in another where... another when. Then you seduce me, waking me from sleep with gentle touches and caresses. Loving me as only a woman can understand and know how." Linda's eyes suddenly filled with tears. David sat looking at his wife. She was never so beautiful as she was now. In her pain and vulnerability, she was transcendent. Her beauty outshone the sun, to his eyes, at that moment. "I'm... I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you." Linda laughed. A small strangled sound. "You never meant to hurt me? YOU NEVER MEANT TO HURT ME!??!" David stood and moved as if to take her into his arms, then thought better of it. Turning, he said, "I'll go. When sleep comes to my form in my land, I will switch back." There seemed to be nothing else to say. As David approached the door, he heard Linda's voice, so small, so gentle, that he barely heard her words at all. "Don't go." He turned toward her and suddenly she was filling his arms, her lips burning on his own. For a timeless moment, they were lost in each other's embrace. The gentle caress. The slow building to that peak of pleasure... of ecstasy. Afterwards, they lay in each other's arms. Their hair mussed, their bodies covered with a sheen of sweat. David looked at her. "I don't understand. I thought you would hate me. That you did hate me." Linda sat up. Her back was to David, her head hung down. "David never knew, but I'm bisexual. I have always loved the gentle caress of a woman. Her intimate knowledge of what felt right and proper to another female. Yet such pairings were always doomed. When I reach that point, you know the one I mean, I need to feel myself filled. I need that rod of flesh... hard as iron and soft as silk. But men never quite get it right. Oh, some listen and try. David was one such. But they have never experienced sex as a woman. They don't know what a spiritual experience it is for a woman. I knew you understood. I absolutely knew last night when we came together. I could feel your gentle feminine spirit calling to mine, even as your powerful male body filled me as never before. Now that I've tasted this... perfect love, I don't think I can bear to be without it. If you go... I shall die." Here she broke down with huge shuddering sobs. David cradled her in his strong arms, gently stroking her hair. He realized, in that moment, that he didn't want to go back either. He had finally found a true purpose in life. No longer being the pampered Princess. No longer the figurehead, the vessel for the next royal heir to come into the world. Until that moment, he had never realized just how much he had loathed his existence. "It'll be okay. I promise you. I'll make it okay... somehow." ***** Now Celine's heart was hammering in her chest. Linda? Bisexual? She had never realized it. Never suspected. What a fool she had been. She felt a tear crawl slowly down her cheek. "So where does that leave me?" "To exchange, both must be willing. When I swapped with you, your spirit yearned to go wandering. I merely provided the conduit by which it could." Celine savagely nodded her head. "I've already heard all that! Deep down inside I was a poofy-boy." Her words dripped venom. "No." David's simple one word response was like the opening of a gateway. Tear suddenly flooded Celine's eyes. "Damn it! It seems like all I ever do anymore is cry!" "It's one of the privileges of being a woman. You can cry with impunity, without others judging you for it. You were not a poofy-boy, as you put it. You had savagely repressed your feminine side, and this had created an imbalance in your spirit. This was why you yearned so to go to other places and times. Why you yearned so for adventure. You sought to fill the empty place in your soul. Now... you have." The answer seemed so simple and so obvious. Could it be as simple as that? Celine wanted so for it to be true. Maybe in becoming a woman, she had become a much better man. "So what do we do now?" "I've come to love Linda, just as you did. The kids are great, too. So bright, and talented, and full of life! Elizabeth took first honors in a local gymnastics meet the other day." David's sincerity was obvious. "I've also found that your computer language is very easy. Languages are a natural gift of all Fey. I mastered your job in just over a day." "Well, thanks a heap for denigrating the twenty years it took me to work my way into that position, and all the education that went with it." "I'm sorry. That was poorly done. I just wanted you to know that you needn't worry about Linda and the kids. We're all going to be just fine." A cold thrill raced up Celine's spine. "You talk as if this exchange is no longer temporary." David hung his head. "I'm sorry. I know you never asked for it. That this is not what you sought, but I can't give it up now. From now until the end of your life... I will be David Chaffin. You are now and forever more the Princess Celine of the royal house of Oberon." Celine's head spun with the revelation. "But... but what about when your Mother and Father return in the morning? They'll kill me!" David smiled at the distraught woman before him. "I think not. Believe me, in the land of the Faerie, things are rarely what they seem." With that, David began to fade from the dreamscape. "Wait!" Celine called desperately. "What about Puck? Is his concern for me true?" David's voice drifted back like a vagrant breeze. "It's as true as such creatures are capable of being. He loves you as he may." Then David was gone, and Celine found she was sitting up in her bedroom, back at the palace. David's last words were ringing in her ears. "Love?" PART SEVEN: TOMORROW WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF Celine sat in her bedchamber, her heart racing from the truths revealed to her in Morpheus' realm. For she had no doubt of the truth that was said there. She was now, and perhaps forever more, Celine of the House of Oberon, Royal Princess of the Shining Realm. But love? Puck? Shaking her head, she summoned her handmaiden Jennifer to draw her bath and bring in her breakfast. She never noticed how easily it came to her now to treat another as a servant. ***** "So...is my daughter now truly happy?" Puck knelt before his King and Lord, the being to whom he had sworn fealty. "I believe so, Sire. She has achieved that balance of flesh and spirit that she sought for so long. Already, her heart experiences the first swellings of true love, and the first stings of pain and guilt that must ever accompany it." "So it is done. You have my gratitude, good Puck. The strong spirit of the new Celine will reinvigorate the line of Oberon and, someday, grant our heirs the right to the world of man once again. We shall see our destiny fulfilled in her descendants. Magic shall again flourish in man's world, and we will be as gods to them. As it once was, so shall it be again and forever more!" Puck kept his head bowed. He could not let his liege lord see the faint traces of anguish that were the most extremes of emotion that any of the natural Fey could feel. Bowing his way out, he exited the royal presence and went off to find Celine. Celine. What did he truly feel for her? She was an enigma. Strong of spirit and body. A woman who could one day rival, and perhaps surpass, even her royal Sire's power. But love was too strong an emotion for any Fey. Their weak spirits could not support so all encompassing a force as true love. Could it? ***** Celine walked in the royal gardens. The blooms ran the gamut from mundane to wildly exotic. She saw gardenias and night blooming jasmine sid