Tabitha
"So this is the little punk who threatens my
administration?" Ryan watched as his jaw muscles flexed in
slight agitation. "You know, Davy, of all the things I ever
thought could bring us down it certainly wasn't some punk
kid who stuck his nose in somebody else's business."
"Yes, sir. What do you want to do with him?"
President Stephen Bolland, began pacing the floor puffing
on his cigar in thought, "Popping off a couple of Democrat
senators is one thing, they were bad men and I could handle
that. But I can't have the death of some kid on my
conscience." President Bolland turned to his wife, "What do
you think, hon?"
"Certainly can't let him go now, can we?" Ryan quietly
admired the youthful beauty of the First Lady as she
approached him. The First Lady gave the kid a once over,
because he was still prepubescent he had no facial hair and
his voice was still high pitched. "Can't kill him, so what
we need to do is put him into a situation where he will no
longer threaten us, but also where we can keep a really
tight eye on him."
"Get him up to Camp David and put him under lock and key,
Davy. Treat him well, but don't let him out of your sight.
You know how to handle this."
"Yes, sir." The Secret Service agent picked the kid up by
his collar and led him away.
Stephen turned to his wife and smiled, "I know that tone in
your voice, babe. What are you thinking of?"
She shrugged nonchalantly, "Oh nothing, just that I've
always wanted a daughter." Monica had a strange sparkle in
her eye. "Tell you what, you give him to me to do with as a
I please, and I'll promise you he'll never threaten us."
"Whatever it is remember that he's only twelve, so don't be
too harsh."
Monica smiled, "Now why would I hurt such youthful
innocence as that?"
Chapter One
"On your feet kid," a navy steward barked as he opened the
door. Ryan dropped the Play Station controller and stood
up. He'd been alone for the last two weeks, eating whatever
he wanted and enjoying the comforts he'd never had as a kid
growing up on the streets.
It hadn't been his fault that he was there, he had just
been looking for a warm place to sleep for the night, away
from the cold and the rain. Besides he was just a homeless
little kid - who was he going to tell and who was going to
believe him. "I saw the Secret Service kill three Senators
while the president watched!" Yeah right, like that was
going to happen. Ryan would have been perfectly content if
they had just given him a couple of dollars to get
something to eat and he wouldna said nuttin' to nobody.
But then, if this was they way they wanted to keep him
quiet, by bringing him up to this lavish place in the woods
where he had everything he wanted then it was okay by him.
Who was he to protest? He was beginning to think that he
had gotten the better end of this deal.
The First Lady came into the cabin, carrying two bags and a
Colgate smile. The door closed behind her and they were
alone. Monica Bolland was not a large woman, but she was
beautiful. But more than that, there was a presence about
her that dominated any room she was in. Ryan instantly got
a feeling of warmth from her and a feeling that she was not
to be trifled with.
Ryan stood silently as she moved around the rather large
room, making herself comfortable, "What's your name kid?"
Ryan didn't answer, he hadn't really said anything since
they had found him cowering beneath a pile of packing
blankets in that warehouse. Monica quickly grew agitated
and she stood before him. "Let's get one thing strait, I am
the one in charge, you are the one I'm in charge of. You
can make this really easy on yourself, or you can make it
really hard on yourself." Monica saw that he understood her
meaning. "Good, now once again, what's your name?"
"Ryan."
"Ryan, what?"
"I don't know, I don't really have a last name."
Monica arched an eyebrow, "Really? Don't you have a mom or
dad?"
"No, they died when I was ten."
This is going to almost be too easy to get away with, no
one to miss him means no one to come looking! Monica
thought to herself. Ryan was growing uncomfortable with
this line of questioning, Monica could see it the way he
was shifting back and forth on his feet. "Are you hungry,
Ryan?"
"No, they already gave me something." He pointed to the
half eaten pizza on the floor.
"That will certainly not do, how about a salad?" Ryan
shrugged. "Go back to your video game while I order us some
healthy food." To Ryan, food was food, healthy or not.
---
". . .the finger prints of a child no older than 12 or 13
have been found at the scene where Senators Wilson,
Stilburn, and Dorey were murdered two weeks ago.
Authorities believe the child to be homeless and will soon
began a systematic search of the homeless children in
Washington D.C., hoping that the child may have witnessed
the shooting."
President Bolland threw the paper across the Oval Office,
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Davy, but weren't you and your
boys supposed to have wiped the place clean with a white
glove?"
"Yes sir, but it would have been impossible to have gotten
everything, we have no clue where he might have been hiding
before we found him or even how long he might have been
there."
President Bolland leaned forward and pressed a com switch.
"Lucy, could you please get my wife on the line?"
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Hello?"
"The President is on the line for you ma'am, please hold."
Monica silently tapped her finger on the back of the phone
as she watched Ryan rubbing at the spot on his arm where he
had just received a shot.
"So how is our little project coming along?"
"Oh, just fine he just got his first set of shots, and he's
looking a lot healthier than before."
Ryan zoned out of the one sided conversation and stared out
the tinted window of the limo. No motorcade, just a
standard black limo. His image was reflected back at him
and he studied it for a short time. He was certainly a lot
cleaner than when they had found him. Where his long brown
hair had been stringy and in dire need of a good brushing,
it had quickly been shorn to just below his shoulders and
nursed back to health. But he thought the way he was
wearing it, held back on one side with a blue barrette was
really girly. He didn't like it, but he didn't want to make
waves either. She was being extremely nice to him.
According to Monica, they were now on their way to the
dentist for an exam.
". . .well there's nothing we can do about it now. All we
can do is just be careful of what she touches when we're
out and about." Ryan wondered who she was talking about,
but zoned out again, he figured it didn't have anything to
do with him if she was talking about a girl.
---
Monica quietly studied Tabitha from her desk across the
room, her hair had grown a bit, about an inch and half, her
facial features had softened a lot and through the
tightness of her undershirt, Monica could see the gentle
swell of budding breasts. A training bra would soon be
needed, which meant it was quickly becoming time. The poor
child didn't even know she had a new name yet.
Ryan bared his teeth again, looking down into the small
hand mirror only to see the shiny silver braces that seemed
to have taken over his mouth, he didn't like them, he
didn't want them. But what was he supposed to do, run away?
And leave all of this opulence behind? No.
"You don't like your braces, do you?" Ryan looked up
startled. She had been so quiet he'd forgotten she was in
the room. "Well?"
"No."
"Well they're necessary." Ryan got to his feet and came to
the desk she was sitting at.
"Why?" Monica looked at him. The braces made his lips pout
open partly and expose themselves. Which gave him a really
cute little girl look. With her hair back in the pony-tail
as it was, Tabitha was extremely convincing, so convincing
the Marines which guarded Camp David were constantly having
to remind themselves that she was a he, and to refer to him
as such until notified along with the entire staff.
"Because your teeth need to be straightened. You're going
to be our guest for a very long time, might as well have
you healthy too."
"You're never letting me go?" Monica heard the alarm in his
voice.
"We can't, you're too much of a liability."
"But I promised I wouldn't tell anyone!"
"Do not raise your voice to me, Ryan."
"But I was just trying to be warm, I didn't mean to see
anything." Tears had begun flowing down her cheeks.
"But you did, and that makes you dangerous. . ."
"But I'm only a little kid, who's going to believe me?"
Monica opened a drawer and pulled out an ink pad. "Give me
your hand." She took his pointer finger and pressed it on
the pad then on a sheet of paper. "That's a finger print,
and you left a bunch of them all over that place. The
police are looking for the owner of those fingerprints and
if they find you, we're in trouble."
"So I won't touch anything."
Monica gave a tolerant smile. "Why do you want to leave so
badly? Don't you like it here?"
"Yeah, but. . ."
"But what?"
"I heard two of the guys in suits talking about a girl
named Tabitha, except they were talking about me and. . ."
Ryan began to nervously play with the blotter on her desk,
she stilled his hands.
"And. . ."
He looked her in the eyes, "Is it true. . ." He choked on
his words. ". . . that you are turning me into a girl?"
"Yes."
Chapter Two
Ryan cowered in the corner of the room, tightly holding his
large towel to his chest, unknowingly hiding the a-cup
breasts that had formed and were still growing. The maid
stood on the other side of the room nursing a nasty scratch
on her arm she had received from Tabitha's long nails. She
had been forbidden from biting or cutting them.
She'd become extremely hard to deal with lately. Always
crying and pleading for Monica to stop the hormone
treatment, unaware of how much effect they were having on
his now seemingly over active emotions. Especially after
moving from Camp David to the Bolland private estate in
Delaware, because that was when the hammer came down, and
Ryan found himself in skirts and dresses and being called
Tabitha.
It had been a good three months since Ryan had discovered
what was really happening and about five months since he
was found hiding under a pile of packing blankets by the
Secret Service after he witnessed the President kill three
Senators with his own hand.
Monica silently entered the room and headed strait for
Tabitha who tried to get away but was abruptly caught by
her arm. Tabitha yelped in sudden pain as Monica steered
her across the room to stand in front of the maid.
"Apologize to her."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, miss. It must have been an accident, right?"
Tabitha didn't catch that the maid was trying to help her
out until it was too late.
"Don't try to cover for her Lacy, if you will excuse us
please I will see to it that she is dressed." Lacy looked
down at Tabitha to see the silent pleading for her to stay,
she hated being alone with Monica. "Now Lacy." The maid
quietly left the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Turning to Tabitha, Monica pointed to the bathroom. "Today
is too big of a day for both of us. I've already explained
to you what's going to happen, so then I shouldn't have to
tell you that everything needs to be perfect. Now will you
please cooperate and stop being a brat?"
It had taken a bit of coaxing to get Tabitha into the
presidential helicopter, wrapped in a trench coat to
protect her dress with her hair back in a ponytail until
after the ride, two SS agents had to manhandle her into a
seat and almost sit on her until the chopper left the
ground.
Now Tabitha was sitting rigid in the leather seat, and
clutching the armrests so tightly her knuckles had gone
white. Monica looked over at her and frowned, Tabitha
getting air sick would have to be remedied ASAP, the
Bolland family had a state dinner in Moscow in two weeks.
"Captain?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"Make this ride a bit smoother, or you're gonna have a mess
to clean up back here." The co-pilot turned to see
Tabitha's throat flexing as she gave a silent prayer and
clenched her eyes shut. Oh my god, the kid is petrified!
He tapped his buddy, "Slow it down man, kid's never flown
before."
Monica noticed a decline in air speed and the ride smoothed
out a bit. It didn't do much to help Tabitha, but she
didn't puke.
The rest of the ride was silent and before Tabitha knew it
she felt the helicopter settle down on the ground. She was
up and out of her seat before the door had even opened. She
hadn't a clue where they were (she'd refused to let herself
look out the window), but she didn't care. She just wanted
off the damn thing.
But Monica made her wait, reiterating that now it was
absolutely required that Tabitha be on her best behavior
and hinted the possibility of a reward if she was.
Soon the steps were lowered and Tabitha found herself being
led down the stairs and into the White House. There was a
gaggle of reporters with their cameras rolling, all of them
probably wondering who she was. None of them knew what was
about to be announced, the press conference alone had come
as a surprise to most of them. They quickly figured that
Tabitha had something to do with it because the First Lady
wasted no time in ushering her inside.
As soon as they were through the metal detector, she was
handed off to a large man in a dark suit with an ear piece.
"Take her to Cathy and Daria, bring her up to the Office
when they're through." Tabitha watched Monica slip into an
elevator and was a bit uneasy about being left alone with a
bunch of people she didn't know. But she quietly allowed
herself to be led down the hall and around a corner.
---
President Bolland looked up from the papers on his desk as
his wife came breezing into the Oval Office. She was
dressed smartly in one of her sexier business suits. But
the public liked that; she was young and beautiful. There
were neither jokes nor questions as to whether or not the
Bollands had a healthy sex life, Monica was proof of that.
"Hey, babe. Where's our new daughter?"
"Cathy and Daria needed to make some touch ups," Monica
said leaning in to give her husband a kiss.
"How is she coming along?" The President asked afterwards.
"She's still a bit resistant, someone certainly got it into
his head that boys should only be boys before you found
her. But we started the hormone treatment just in time, the
doctors say she'll develop normally as the Premarin kicked
in before all that nasty Testosterone flooded his system,"
she said this with a smirk.
"Oh, surely you don't mean that, what about me?"
"Oh, your just a naughty little boy."
"Oh really?" Monica gave him a smile that promised a
midnight romp in the woods.
A staffer knocked on the open door, "Mr. & Mrs. President,
your daughter is here."
A Secret Service agent ushered in a young girl of about
twelve years old. She wore a blue velvet dress with an
empire bodice, blue flats and white tights. Her dark brown
hair was slicked back into a curled pony tail that hung to
the middle of her shoulder blades. Her face was young, but
very cute. He could even see the meager beginnings of a
bust line.
Monica approached the girl, and took her hand, leading her
around the desk to stand before Stephen Bolland. The
President had a hard time recognizing Tabitha for who she
really was. . . a boy who could ruin him for the rest of
his life. A homeless boy that unknowingly held the
president's destiny in her tiny little hands.
Stephen could see that she was less than ecstatic to see
him, and was a bit resistant when Monica nudged her
forward. Understanding her caution, he spoke, "I won't hurt
you Tabitha, you're my daughter now. Why would I want to
hurt someone I just might learn to love as my own?"
Tabitha avoided his eyes. Here she was in the world's most
powerful office, about to be adopted by the world's most
powerful man, and all she could think about was how much
she wanted to take off the dress she was wearing.
The SS agent saved her, temporarily. "Sir, the press is
waiting."
"Ah yes, mustn't keep them waiting. Shall we?" He gave
Tabitha a beaming smile and took her hand, leading her out
of the Oval Office and into a new life.
The press room was actually the room that used to hold the
indoor swimming pool. President Bolland went in first and
made a few perfunctory comments about how he and his wife
had never gotten around to having children and a few
remarks about what his administration was doing about the
problem of homeless children. Then he called Monica's name.
Monica gave Tabitha's hand an encouraging squeeze and led
her in. As soon as the reporters saw Tabitha, there was an
uproar of questions and camera flashes. Tabitha wanted to
turn and run, but Monica held on to her hand fast. The
President gave his a wife a kiss on the cheek, and then
turned to the video cameras. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the
Untied States, I'd like you meet our new daughter. Her name
is Tabitha Alyson Bolland." Tabitha managed a small wave as
the cameras zoomed in on her face.
---
As soon as she felt the rear landing gear touch down on the
tarmac, Tabitha unfastened her seat belt and bolted across
the cabin into the bathroom. Sounds of vomiting could be
heard soon after as the nose gear of Air Force One touched
down in Moscow. She had sat in the overstuffed seat the
entire flight, never getting anywhere close to sleep.
The worst part about it, though, the fact that Tabitha had
almost forced Monica to stay awake the entire time. Every
time Monica had started to nod off, Tabitha would scream at
the top of her lungs to wake her back up. More then once
she had brought the Secret Service running.
Even now Monica was dozing off and was asleep by the time
Tabitha had cleaned up and come out of the bathroom. But
she was okay now, they were on the ground and the giant 747
was slowing down. Tabitha left the cabin in the nose and
decided to explore the plane.
She had found much that bored her, until she got to the
rear where she found a young boy. He was sitting on the
floor and had a pile of G.I. Joe men in front of him.
Tabitha remembered how badly she had wanted a Snake Eyes
for Christmas so long ago, but she'd never gotten it. Never
really had toys at all for that matter, just little
trinkets and other junk that Ryan had found on the street.
Once he had even found a Walkman, but his father pawned it
right away and bought dinner with the money.
"Hi."
The boy looked up, he was about the same age as Tabitha.
But had short blond hair and hazel eyes. Tabitha fought
back the urge to call him cute, but he was and she berated
herself for it. "Hey." He went back to his toys. Tabitha
took this as an invitation to join him and dropped to her
knees and sat on her heels.
"What's your name?"
"Eric Wilson." Tabitha reached for one of the toy men, but
Eric snatched it away from her. "No way, you're a girl.
You'd probably give them cooties and then I couldn't play
with them or something. Go play with your Barbies."
His remark was like a slap in the face. Fighting back the
tears that were suddenly flooding her eyes, Tabitha got up
and ran from the room, blindly plowing through the SS agent
that had come looking for her. . .
---
They sensed it before they saw her coming and quickly
cleared the path as Monica Bolland came down the hall. No
one knew why, but Tabitha had suddenly rebelled and it was
all they could do to even keep her looking like a girl.
Monica was at the point of having her sedated and sent back
to the plane if she didn't calm down soon.
The Secret Service saw her coming and opened the door.
Monica found Tabitha pacing the room in a pair of shorts
and a tank-top undershirt. "What are you doing?"
Streaks of tears glistened on the girls cheeks as she
turned to see a very irate Monica. "Where is your dress!?"
A shaking finger pointed to a torn and shredded satin
dress. Tabitha saw her coming, and turned to run bumping
headlong into her secret service agent. She tried to go
around, to reach the bathroom in time, but he grabbed her
arm and spun her around to face Monica. Tabitha struggled
to no avail and soon found herself face to face with her
adoptive mother.
"What is your problem, Tabitha?"
"I'm not a girl and I don't want to be one!"
"Leave us alone, please." The three agents in the room
quietly slipped out, leaving Tabitha alone, with no where
to run. "Understand something, Ryan. If I hadn't come
along, you would be dead by now, and no one would have ever
known, because they never would have found your body, do
you understand that?"
"But why do I have to-"
"Because I want a daughter, and turning you into one is
killing two birds with one stone. But I can see that you
aren't gonna make this easy."
They had argued more on the ride back to Air Force One,
things got only worse for Tabitha when the car stopped and
she tried to make a run for it. But the Secret Service just
appeared out of nowhere and pinned her before she got very
far. Before she knew it Monica was hauling her up the steps
by her arm that was held in a vice like grip. "You
obviously need to do some thinking by yourself for awhile,"
she was saying as they approached the conference room.
"Maybe flying home by yourself is what you need-"
Tabitha whined and tried to wrench her arm free, but Monica
held fast.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tabitha struggled. "Please don't
lock me in there!" Monica could see the horror in her eyes
and it almost stopped her, almost. But then she continued
towards the door and thrust Tabitha in, closing and
latching the door behind her.
Tabitha screamed and pounded on the door, but Monica
ignored her and turned to Tabitha's SS agent, "This door is
not to open for any reason. Do not talk to her, do not even
acknowledge her existence, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am."
---
The dining room was silent, except for the sounds of
silverware scraping against the plates. It had been a long
flight home. Tabitha had screamed and cried for most of the
eighteen hour flight and her voice and throat had suffered
for it. She looked extremely withdrawn and sullen, good.
Maybe now she'll behave herself, Monica thought.
"Tabitha?"
She looked up from her plate, she had a pensive look on her
face (Flying home alone had shaken Tabitha more than Monica
would ever be able to appreciate,) as if she was about to
burst into tears if Monica even pointed towards the sky.
"You'll be starting school tomorrow." Monica watched the
color drain from her face, Tabitha hadn't interacted with
other children for almost four years, she didn't even know
what grade she'd be in. "Now finish your dinner and go to
bed, we're leaving early tomorrow." She silently obeyed.
Tabitha didn't know what was worse, the fact that they all
knew who she was, or the fact that nobody liked her for it.
She had tried making friends in the first week but it was
kind of hard with a fairly large Secret Service agent
following her everywhere. Even standing post outside of the
girl's bathroom while she used it. But it was more than
that, Ryan had left school back in 3rd grade. He'd
forgotten how to interact with other kids.
He had missed so much of his childhood and had dealt with
so much, that in a lot of ways she was more mature, and yet
still more immature, than her peers. Then she was still
dealing with her frustrations of having to dress like a
girl and the fear that someone might find out, with that on
top of the fact that she felt utterly stupid in her seventh
grade classes.
How in the hell was she supposed to know what a consonant
was?
He had already decided to run away, but a quick glance
around at home told him there wasn't a chance in hell of
successfully getting out of the house, let alone off the
grounds. So his best bet was here at school. . .
But Tabitha was the First Kid now, which meant there was an
amazing array of forces mobilized only for her safety and
protection. All she saw was Marcus, the one who followed
her everywhere, but she never saw the other six to eight
agents that were in hiding until time of need. When she
ran, she didn't know it would be a hopeless effort that was
going to get her into a lot of trouble.
Marcus dutifully took his post next to the door as Tabitha
pushed open the door into the girl's bathroom. She smiled
at him sweetly and disappeared. He was about to push the
door open and call her name, the tardy bell had rang and
she was already late for class, when a eighth grade blond
girl stepped out and turned to him. "You're the Secret
Service for that girl the president adopted right?"
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Oh, nothing just that she just climbed out the back
window."
"You're kidding?"
"No. . ." He was down the hall and out the double doors
before Sarah could blink. She could here him talking
rapidly into his sleeve as he went. They had known this was
going to happen, just not when. Tabitha had a problem with
talking in her sleep.
By the time Marcus made it outside, Tabitha was running at
full speed across the large hockey field. "Tabitha!" He
watched her turn and look, but only ran faster. She knew
she was caught, it was only a matter of time now.
It was hard running in the one inch heels she was being
forced to wear, but she didn't dare stop to take them off.
Her back pack was heavy and so was her purse, but that was
because they were full of food and clothes. She didn't want
to go back, she was a boy and that was that.
"Tabitha!" She turned and looked over her shoulder to see
Marcus in hot pursuit. She ran faster.
Tabitha knew how to hide, if she could just get to a place
where she could hide. But the fields were wide open and
there were no trees or brush. She was just going past a
field house when two SS agents appeared from around the
corner. She stopped so fast that she slipped in the moist
grass and fell, but she got back up quickly and turned to
find that she was being quickly boxed in. A large white
Suburban appeared out of nowhere and she was thrown inside.
Tabitha looked up apprehensively as the large door opened,
it was Monica. She motioned to Marcus and he roughly picked
Tabitha out of her chair and forced her into the Oval
Office. Her little escapade had made the news and now the
reporters were pounding down the front door to find out why
she had tried to run away. The President was kind of
curious too. Except he was going to find out the truth.
"Do you have an explanation for yourself, young lady?"
Stephen stubbed out his cigar and leaned forward boring his
eyes into her own.
"I. . . I'm not a girl, and I don't want to be one. I
promised I wouldn't tell anyone."
Stephen smiled patiently as he stood up and walked from
behind his desk, "Yes. Yes you did promise. But we won't
take that chance, so we have to hold on to you."
"But why did you have to make me look like a girl!?" Monica
cuffed Tabitha across the back of the head.
"Don't yell at your father, Tabitha."
"We were hoping you would make this easy, but obviously you
aren't so we'll just have to take steps to insure that you
behave from now on."
Tabitha looked up at them both, suddenly growing very
afraid. "What do you mean? I promise I'll behave-"
"Too late for that."
"Yep, tomorrow you leave for an all girls school in
Ireland. They specialize in students just like you. And the
best part is that nobody really knows who you are over
there, so I only have to send Marcus with you."
Tabitha choked on her tears, they were making her fly
again. She hated flying, didn't they know that? "Please
don't make me go. I'll do what ever you want me to."
Monica sighed with growing annoyance, "We've already tried
that one, Tabitha. We aren't exactly happy about doing
this, but after today's fiasco, you haven't left us much of
choice. I obviously can't give you the instruction you need
and bring you to heel, but I'm pretty sure they can.
They've a very good track record at turning young boys into
proper young ladies."
"But I don't want to be a girl!" Tabitha recoiled from the
slap slowly, the force had caused her to stagger back a few
steps and bump into Marcus.
"Outbursts like that are the reason we're sending you. Take
her to her room, Marcus. Make sure she doesn't leave it for
any reason unless you hear rom me or my husband."
Marcus gently gripped Tabitha's arm and led her out of the
Oval Office.
---
She diddn't wake up until they were somewhere over the
North Atlantic, but that was okay. Marcus had another dose
of the sleeping agent in case she got testy when she woke
up. Monica wanted a low profile on this affair so she had
chartered a private jet for the trip. It was just going to
be Marcus and Tabitha the whole flight. God, I hope he can
handle being alone with her for fourteen hours.
Tabitha was wrapped up in a thick blanket to fight the cold
of the first winter's snow. She was still in her nightgown
and the tears of her struggle back at the White House had
streaked her cheeks. Monica looked down on her fondly and
gently kissed her on the forehead. She really didn't want
to do this, but it would do her husband's administration no
good if their adopted daughter was always chomping at the
bit and trying to run away.
She gave Marcus a cursory hug and wished him and Tabitha a
safe flight as he climbed the stairs into the Gulfstream
jet with Tabitha cradled in his arms. The pilot slipped the
brakes as soon as the door was closed, there was a blizzard
on its way in and he wanted to beat it out before it hit.
---
The rain had just stopped right before they had arrived,
but now the clouds were parting and she could see patches
of blue here and there. Tabitha was still feeling groggy,
she had slept almost all of the flight except for a few
minutes when she had woken up and had gone into fits when
she realized where she was. Marcus wasted no time in
putting her back to sleep with the drug he had been given.
Marcus carried her down the steps and placed her on the
ground at the bottom. About twenty yards away was a long
dark limo and a regular chaser car behind it with three
large men it. The chauffeur opened the passenger door when
he saw Tabitha and a severe looking woman climbed out and
stood like a statue.
Tabitha looked over her shoulder and up at Marcus, he
gently nudged her forward. She obeyed and shivered as her
bare feet arched off the cold and wet tarmac. Tabitha
walked annoyingly slowly, she was nervous and scared and
really didn't want to be here, on the other side of the
planet.
"Hurry up, child, I do not have all day. My time is not
yours to waste." Tabitha quickened her step and came to
stand in front of this tall woman. "Look up at me." She
obeyed. The woman wore a knee length black business suit,
she was thin with strong sharp features and high cheek
bones. Her salt and pepper hair was pulled back into a very
tight bun. "What is your name?"
"Ry-Tabitha." Marcus noticed how she was beginning to shift
on her bare feet, she was preparing to run. He placed a
restraining hand on her shoulder, and Tabitha understood.
She stood still.
"Tabitha what?"
"Tabitha B-Bolland."
"Very well Tabitha Bolland. My name is Mrs. Cumming, when I
give you an order or ask you a question you will always
respond with my name or Miss, do you understand?"
"Yes miss." Tabitha did not like where this was going. Mrs.
Cummings temporarily ignored Tabitha and looked up to
Marcus, who was standing directly behind her.
"You must be Mr. Marcus Talbot?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'm sorry you had to come all this way to protect your
charge. We'll try to make your stay as comfortable as
possible. If you do not mind, the child with ride with me.
You may ride with my security staff and get yourself
acquainted."
"Yes ma'am." He really hoped one of them had a cigarette.
Mrs. Cummings stepped to the side of the door to allow
Tabitha access, she hesitated too long and Marcus had to
give her a push of "encouragement" to get her moving.
The school was a very large and old manor, surround by
acres and acres of wide open rolling fields of dark green
with speckles of white rock outcroppings. In the distance
she could see a stone wall outlining the property.
There had been an hour and half of winding two lane roads
in dead silence. Tabitha had already decided she didn't
like this woman. Several times during the trip, she had
harped on Tabitha for the way she was sitting. "Back
strait, knees together, hands in lap." Conversation
amounted to a few questions and answers.
Two of the three men in the chaser car got out and stood
nearby as the chauffeur opened the door. In more than one
incident new arrivals had tried for a break at this moment,
and Tabitha was no exception. Her fear and apprehension had
been building since they left the airport. As soon as she
stepped out, she broke into a run. Going down the length of
the car to it's front and turning to head out into one of
the fields, but Marcus was already there. She tried to go
around him and he simply snatched her wrist as she went by,
causing her to come to an abrupt halt and whip around.
With her heart beating heavily in her ears, she tried to
make herself a dead weight, but he would have none of it.
Marcus slowly increased the grip on her tiny wrist until it
began to hurt and she understood that if she stood up it
would stop. She did, but continued trying to get away.
She was pleading with him, begging for him to let her go
but her cries were soon caught short when Mrs. Cumming
placed a cloth laced with something over her mouth. Tabitha
struggled to get away from it, but Marcus held the back of
her head firmly and soon Tabitha lost consciousness. "Take
her to her room, one of my guards will show you where it
is."
"Yes ma'am." Marcus scooped Tabitha up into his arms and
followed Liam up the front steps and into the building.
---
Tabitha slowly made her way towards Mrs. Cumming, trying to
get just close enough to snatch something off her plate.
Oh, she was so hungry and it smelled so good?
One of the guards hauled her back and turned her towards
the closet of dresses, skirts and blouses. "I told you,
Tabitha," Mrs. Cumming looked at her, "you don't eat until
you dress yourself from head to toe. This is no skin off of
my back. There are only twenty-two other girls here and
they're well past this stage in their development," she
paused for another fork full of food and chewed it. "But
only because each and every one of them were broken in this
room, and so will you. Starvation or put on a dress and
make-up?" She shrugged and took another bite, smiling as
Tabitha had to wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.
"To me it doesn't really seem to be a hard decision, oh
well. You're just not hungry enough yet."
With that Mrs. Cumming stood up from the small table tray
and stood quietly while one of the kitchen helpers removed
everything. Making sure that nothing had dropped on the
floor. "But you will, when your stomach starts knotting up
and giving you cramps because there's nothing in it. Just
wait until it gets so bad that it's all you can do to try
and stop yourself from vomiting and then all that comes up
is stomach acid." She smiled sweetly down at Tabitha, an
evil grin that had Tabitha wishing she had never even gone
into that damn warehouse, then turned and left her alone.
---
"Well I see that you got hungry enough, but tell me why did
you select this outfit?" Tabitha looked down at herself.
"First thing you need to understand is that every article
in a woman's wardrobe has a purpose. Nothing is simply to
just cover your body." Mrs. Cumming came around her desk
and sat in the chair next to Tabitha. "Now I see that you
chose the pink and gray jumper set your mother bought as an
adoption gift. Why did you pick it?"
The outfit was a pink cashmere sweater under a pinafore
style gray jumper that fell to her knees. Her legs were
bare with gray socks and patent leather pink Mary Jane's.
"Um. . . Because it's long and warm." All of her other
clothes showed a lot of leg, and Tabitha hated having to be
ever mindful that the slightest breeze could give everyone
a view.
"So you chose this outfit to hide an asset and keep
yourself warm?"
"Yeah. . .I guess."
Mrs. Cumming smiled and stood up, "Well that's a good thing
because today, after you eat, you have a doctor's
appointment in town." Tabitha became aware of a sentry
standing behind her, "This man will show you to the dining
room."
Tabitha quickly stood up at the mention of food, she was so
hungry she honestly thought she'd be able to eat a horse.
She turned to follow the man out of the office when Mrs.
Cumming spoke with a smug smile, "And by the way, Tabitha,
I've had students last a whole lot longer than you did. You
barely put up any resistance. You'll be a lot easier than
you make out." Tabitha fought back the surge of tears and
quietly left the office.
---
"What's the appointment for?" Mrs. Cumming looked up from
her papers.
"Well it seems your mother had some special hardware made
for you, she heard about your escape attempt when you
arrived three days ago."
"What is it?"
"I'm not exactly sure, Tabitha. In her phone call she only
assured me that it would do wonders for keeping you
obedient. She warned me about the tantrums you like to
throw every now and then, but from what I'm told I don't
think that'll be a problem." Mrs. Cumming could see that
Tabitha didn't like that idea one bit. Too bad, ecause if
this control system worked as well as it sounded, Mrs
Cumming just might have to have some made for some other
and future problem students.
"Well. . .will it hurt?"
"Only if you're disobedient, now be quiet and let me finish
my work."
---
Because of the sedative and local anesthetic, Tabitha
couldn't feel anything. But she could see what they were
doing in the monitor below her. She was laying face down on
the table, securely strapped down by her arms, legs and
neck.
On the monitor she could see that the doctor had already
opened up her back and set to installing the new device. It
was about the size of a AA battery with two leads coming
out of both ends. The doctor had already fed the leads into
her spinal cord and was now inserting the unit into a fold
of flesh so that it couldn't be felt or seen from outside
the skin.
Once finished with that the doctor turned and handed a
small remote to Mrs. Cumming and Marcus. The feeling in her
back was coming back and she was getting anxious to be
released, she was already pulling at her bonds and whining
to get free.
"Oh, be quiet, child."
All Tabitha could see were her shoes as Mrs. Cumming came
to stand right in front of her.
"Please, miss, may I get up now?"
"Not yet, we have to make sure my new little toy works
before you are completely released."
"But it'll hurt! Please I haven't done anything-"
Tabitha's voice caught in her throat as every muscle in her
body contracted and searing white hot pain spread out from
her spine gripping every nerve into a vice. . .
And then it was gone. Tabitha labored for breath as boiling
hot tears began to flow freely from her eyes. Mrs. Cumming
took a step back and felt a tear brewing in her left eye,
she hadn't expected that. But she wiped it away and resumed
her composure. In front of her Tabitha was inhaling air by
the gallon and crying a river of tears. "I'm sorry, miss.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. . ."
---
Mrs. Cumming watched silently from the observation window,
high above the floor of the dance gym. She was trying so
desperately, working so hard, doing any and everything
possible to avoid the pain she had suffered on that
operation table. She had become so well behaved it was
almost sickeningly sweet. Every teacher and dance
instructor she had loved her and the dedication she was
putting into her studies, except for the one problem.
She was so far behind the rest of the students that they
were constantly teasing her for it. The dedication she put
into her studies and dance was astounding and almost
staggering for the teachers who had keep up with her. Even
after class she would beg and plead for the teacher to
explain to her something she hadn't understood during class
and wouldn't leave until she did.
Which is what brought Mrs. Cumming to the dance gym at
11:30 at night. Madame L'Estelle lay exhausted on the
floor, while Tabitha struggled with a sequence of steps she
couldn't get down. Her face was red with frustration and as
Mrs. Cumming watched she could see that she was messing up
more and more. Tabitha was getting angry at herself, that
was never good.
Tabitha stopped and spun to see why the music had ceased.
Mrs. Cumming smiled at her and she quickly became nervous
and submissive. "Hello Tabitha." Tabitha stood stock still
waiting for her punishment to come, she was supposed have
gone to bed two and a half hours ago. "Don't you think it's
a little past your bedtime?"
"Yes, Mrs. Cumming, but. . ." Tabitha stayed her tongue,
not wanting to make it any worse than it already was.
"Yes?"
"Please don't punish me, I just wanted to learn the steps
so I could be in the recital, it would mean so much to my
mother. Please I promise I'll never do it again."
Mrs. Cumming realized why Tabitha looked so frightened, she
was afraid of being punished! "I understand, Tabitha. You
will not be punished for this minor infraction, but you
must go to bed now."
"Yes, miss. Thank you, miss." Tabitha quickly collected her
gym bag and towel and scurried from the gym.
---
Tabitha held back, trying to make herself as small as
possible. Her hair was piled high on her head, with
tendrils of large loose curls trailing down the nape of her
neck and in front of one eye. She had gotten good at make-
up and she had done hers to perfection. Her white dress was
strapless and flowed from her waist in a fury of taffeta
and lace. She easily beat any other "girl" there, and yet
she had an overwhelming desire to run away.
She had been tricked into coming, Mrs. Cumming merely
stated that it would effect her grades and she threw every
effort into making herself pretty. She had ridden in a
private car with Marcus to the hall so she wouldn't know
what was really happening until it was to late.
Mrs. Cumming watched her turn away another boy for a dance.
That was the third one so far. She had discovered Tabitha's
extreme aversion of boys by accident. Her teenage nephew
was working as a janitor and handyman for the summer and
had come to her office while she was speaking to Tabitha.
When she had attempted proper introductions, Tabitha
clammed up so tight a crowbar couldn't have gotten her
loose.
That was a problem that needed to be fixed. Thus, the
Debutante's Ball. But what's the point if Tabitha won't
play along?
Mrs. Cumming made her way across the dance hall and sat
next to Tabitha in one of the chairs lining the wall.
"Hello Tabitha." When Tabitha turned to her, she saw the
fear and trepidation in her eyes.
"Please miss, may I leave?"
"Absolutely not, you are the bell of the ball."
"But-"
"No. In fact, the next boy to ask you to dance you will
dance with, am I understood?"
"Yes miss, but-"
"Dance our be punished in front of all of these fine young
men." Tabitha swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded her
submission. "Good. Now I have business to attend to. Do not
forget yourself." Tabitha helplessly watched Mrs. Cumming
disappear into the sea of swirling skirts and tuxedos.
She was debating if it was safe enough to get up and go for
a cup of punch when Tabitha spied a young man in a white
tuxedo heading directly for her. Panicking, she quickly got
up and made her way to the refreshment table. After
collecting her cup and taking a sip, she turned to see him
standing directly behind her. Her heart leapt into her
throat and she almost choked on the mouthful of punch she
had.
"Would you like to dance?" He was smiling, very confident
of himself, he had seen her turn down others, but Peter was
determined to dance with this beauty in white. He watched
her eyes flicker across the room. She looked afraid.
Tabitha could feel her pulse quickening and as she quickly
glanced to the far side of the hall, she saw Mrs. Cumming
watching her intently, her right hand deep in her purse.
Tabitha knew her finger was hovering over the button on the
control. She quietly nodded her assent.
Peter took the cup from her hand and placed it on the
table, then took her hand and lead her out onto the floor.
. .
Marcus watched intently and made a mental note to have this
young man checked out. He was well aware who he was and how
he fit directly into Mrs. Cumming's plan for his charge.
But pure professionalism demanded he find out about his
family background. His father could be a terrorist for all
he knew; after all they were in Ireland.
---
Marcus came blowing through the doors at full steam and
vaulted the veranda railing, dropping the twelve feet to
the grass lawn below and quickly giving chase to the girl.
He had merely blinked and missed the whole exchange, the
next thing he knew Tabitha had plowed her way through the
other kids and bolted for the open door. Probably trying to
get out of range as quickly as possible and she had
succeeded.
Which is why Marcus was so angry, this was the second time
she had caught him slipping. It would not happen again, he
would see to it. He got within thirty meters and pressed
the button. Tabitha yelped as her body locked up and bowed
like someone had kicked her square in the back, she tripped
on her own feet and fell, plowing into the soft, wet grass.
Tabitha had known it was coming, but wasn't expecting the
pain. Her body had forgotten how much it hurt. It felt like
someone had driven a white hot poker right into her spine.
Now she lay in the grass, gasping for air and choking on
her tears. She knew she had messed up bad - and just when
things were going so well for her. Her scream of pain got
caught in her throat as she was punished again, but it
didn't stop. It went for a full ten seconds as Tabitha laid
in the grass, her body rigid with extreme pain, unable to
even plead for mercy.
It finally stopped and Tabitha felt herself slipping into
unconsciousness. Mrs. Cumming appeared above her before
everything went black. "And you were doing so well too. .
."
---
"When can I come home?"
"Is that all you have to say to me?" Tabitha nervously
twirled the phone cord around her finger. This might be her
only chance to get out of here and she didn't want to blow
it. "We have some things to discuss first. For instance,
what is this I hear about you ruining a seven hundred
dollar dress that I had to pay for? And trying to run away,
again, on your first day there?" Monica was righteously
irate.
"Please mom, I don't like it here." Tabitha might not have
realized it but that was the first time Tabitha had called
her mom. Monica Bolland smiled on the other end of the
line. "Nobody likes me because I'm stupid and I tried to be
good at dance so I could be in the recital, but none of the
other girls would dance with me and. . . and they put this
thing in my back that hurts so much. . .please."
Monica could hear the girl's voice beginning to fall apart
as her crying consumed her, she truly sounded miserable.
Her heart reached out for her, but Monica couldn't give in
yet. Tabitha wouldn't be complaining about the device in
her back if they weren't having to use it.
"Tabitha listen to me," Monica waited until her daughter's
sobbing subsided. "You are not stupid, Tabitha. When Mrs.
Cumming tells me that you are the perfectly charming young
woman I know you can be then you'll come home. By boat, so
you don't have to fly. Okay?"
"But-"
"No Tabitha, not a single second sooner." Monica sighed
into the phone. "We're running up the taxpayers phone bill
here so I gotta go. I love you Tabitha." Click. . .
Tabitha slowly hung up the phone and turned to head back to
her room when she bumped into one of the sentries that had
been standing there the entire time. "Unauthorized use of
the phone after hours is strictly forbidden." Her tears
renewed themselves as she slowly backed away from him,
every nerve in her body screaming out to be spared the pain
that was coming, but she had no such luck.
---
Tabitha looked across the table at Peter, he still had that
impish smile. "I'm glad that you could come today, Peter."
In her lap was a soggy crumpled up linen napkin, soggy from
her nervous and sweaty hands. "I-I wanted to apologize for
running out on you the other night." Her part was scripted
and the tiny microphone clipped to the inside of her blouse
made sure she didn't stray.
"I don't mind at all, Tabitha. In fact I wanted to
apologize for doing whatever I did to upset you-" There was
a sudden screech of pain from the table next to them. Both
turned to see Erica, a student quite like Tabitha, spasm
out of her strait back chair and arch her back into a bow
as she clawed at the lower back of her dress.
Erica was a bit more resistant than Tabitha was and a year
younger. She had been fitted with the same device as well,
but was having a harder time learning that one never got
used to the pain. Erica's tea-date watched on in slight
concern (not knowing why this had happened) as two men
entered the dining hall and carried her away. Oh God, is
that what I look like?
Tabitha felt her hands begin to shake, she knew she was on
the spot now, Mrs. Cumming had to be watching her. She
turned back to see Peter looking at her again with that
same smile. "Tea?"
"Yes, please." She had to past this test, she had to.
Tabitha reached to the low table between them and picked up
the tea pot. Her nerves so fried her shaking hands caused
the top of the pot to rattle as she struggled not to spill
any of the tea.
"One lump or two?"
"Two please." She prepared the tea the way he wanted it and
then passed it over to him. "Thank you, Tabitha. But like I
was saying before I don't know what I did to upset you, but
I am sorry."
"It was nothing you did Peter, I just felt violently ill
and didn't want to. . ." Markus appeared behind Peter and
Tabitha felt her blood running cold and she franticly
wracked her brain for what she had done wrong.
"Mrs. Cumming would like to see you, now."
"Ex-Excuse me Peter, I won't be a minute," Tabitha said as
she stood up from her seat.
Peter stood up as well and reached to shake her hand, "It's
okay, I need to be getting to my homework anyway. Good day,
Tabitha." With that he turned and left with Erica's tea-
date. Marcus pointed in the opposite direction and she
quietly obeyed, once again the linen napkin clutched in her
hands suffered her nervousness.
---
Tabitha gently knocked on the door and entered at the
behest of the voice inside. It took her less than a second
to recognize Monica Bolland standing in front of Mrs.
Cumming's desk. She ran to her and wrapped her arms in a
tight squeeze around the woman. "Mom, you've come to take
me home. Are you going to take that thing out of my back?"
Tabitha realized Mrs. Cumming was not in the room and
looked up at Monica.
"I'm going home, right?" The frown on her face told the
answer. "Please. I've been good, I swear I've been good.
Please, I want to go home. I won't cause anymore trouble,
just take me with you!" Tears boiled from the child's eyes.
"Calm down Tabitha. I came to visit and keep you company
while you were in the hospital."
"But I'm not sick."
"No, no you're not. But you're going to have a major
surgery these evening-"
"What kind?" Monica could see the fear brewing in Tabitha's
eyes. Damn. The kid was not gonna make this easy.
Monica looked up as three large men in white uniforms
entered the office without knocking. "It's time. Please
don't fight them Tabitha. I'll see you after the
operation."
Tabitha quietly followed one of them while the other two
trailed out of the office.
---
Tabitha sat in back of the van, knees hugging her chest to
fight off the coldness of the day outside. As the van went
over a bump in the road, a clipboard fell to the floor.
Tabitha saw her name at the top of the top sheet of paper
and reached through the bars to grab it. But she couldn't
reach it. So she tried to read it from there.
SRS? What's that and why are they doing it to me- Then it
clicked and a memory of hearing one of the older girls
talking about having it done. It's where they remove the
penis and replace it with a vagina. . .
Tabitha's blood ran cold as the large hand of one of the
escorts reached down and picked it up, she followed it with
her eyes until she was looking into his.
Liam silently cursed under his breath, she wasn't supposed
to know. "I have to go to the bathroom."
"Sorry."
"I'm hungry."
He shook his head.
"Please pull over, I need some fresh air."
"Sorry kid, you aren't allowed out until we get to the
clinic." Tears began flowing down her cheeks.
"Please, don't let them do that to me. I don't want to have
that surgery. Please. . ." With a said look in his eyes he
turned and drew the heavy curtains closed. "No. Please let
me out-"
"We were also told, that if you were difficult on the way
there to put you to sleep."
Tabitha fell silent and shuffled to the back of the van.
Feeling the slow and painful sensation of falling into
self-pity and depression.
---
Dr. McGreggor gently pushed a lock of unkempt hair out of
Tabitha's face and sank the plunger into the IV, injecting
her blood with a drug to bring her out of her induced coma.
He had decided to put her under for fear she might
intentionally hurt herself after the operation. So four
months later, completely healed and all stitches removed
Tabitha opened her eyes.
The gathered group of Monica Bolland, Mrs. Cumming, two
guards and Dr. McGreggor could quite plainly see that it
took her a few moments to realize where she was. But then
they watched the switch come on and the panic well up. She
tried to check but her hands were restrained above her
head. "Please. . ." Her voice hoarse and scratchy from lack
of use, "Please mother, tell me they didn't-"
Monica placed a finger over her lips, and looked down t her
true daughter. Tabitha saw the truth in her eyes and began
crying. "Why? I don't want to be a girl! Please change it
back!"
"You can't go back Tabitha, this is for the rest of your
life."
"No, I don't wanna be a girl!" Tabitha continued to scream
out at the top of her lungs until Dr. McGreggor managed to
get a sedative into the IV drip and she quickly dropped
off. Monica and Mrs. Cumming shared an uneasy look. This
was not going to be easy.
They had done more than just give Tabitha a vagina. Through
a new revolution of transplant surgery, she had been given
the reproductive organs of a girl the same age who had died
in a car accident. But she didn't know this, no one had
thought to tell her. She was had a deep loathing and fear
of all males. Ryan had witnessed more than one rape of a
woman while he was on the streets, the thought that that
could be done to him now was enough to make her piss her
panties in fear. She feared to go to one of the male
doctors kept on staff when she began to get very powerful
and painful cramps in her lower abdomen.
Tabitha had conveniently failed let anyone know about her
sudden phobia, she couldn't let them know. She knew Mrs.
Cumming would find a way to use it to control her, and
there's nothing worse than being controlled by fear.
---
"Tabitha, what are you doing?" Mrs. Cumming noticed to
quick change in stature and expression. "One of the girls
told me you went to her asking for pain medication,
aspirin. Is this true?"
Tabitha turned for the door she was getting ready to knock
on. If she told the truth, explained how much this pain she
had never had before really hurt, Mrs. Cumming was sure to
force Tabitha to go see one of the male doctors. . .who
might. . .
Her cramps got worse with the thought. "I just have a head
ache."
"Well I'll escort you to the infirmary then." The whole
staff was handling Tabitha with kid gloves, the
psychologist said she'd be mentally unstable for about
three months and just about anything could throw her
overboard.
"No!" Mrs. Cumming noticed the grimace, as if she was in
pain and the way Tabitha's hands moved towards her abdomen
and then away. "I just want some aspirin I don't need to
see a doctor?"
Tabitha's sentence got cut off by a spike of raw pain
traveling up her belly and causing her to drop to her hands
and knees in agony. A small whine escaped her lips. Mrs.
Cumming was already blowing hard on a her security whistle,
when Tabitha realized that she was about to be surrounded
by men and she would be helpless. This only made her cramps
worse but there wasn't much she could do. And she couldn't
understand where this constant pain was coming from.
Tabitha had managed to gain her feet by the time the two
guards and orderlies arrived. Tabitha shrieked at the top
of her lungs, repeatedly, to keep them away. All the while
her stomach was cramping in pain she had never known
existed. As the fought and struggled, Mrs. Dresin noticed
blood smearing across her inner thighs. Tabitha was
bleeding.
Mrs. Dresin looked at the way Tabitha was gripping her
stomach like she was having really bad menstrual cramps.
Then she couldn't remember if anyone had told her about the
special package she had been given. Tabitha had no clue
what was happening, just that her stomach was knotting up
something awful. Tabitha was having her first period and
cramping.
But there was something else going here as well, she
wouldn't let the guards or even Markus get near her. Every
time they approached she would screech or scream at the top
of her lungs, forcing them to back off when they saw how
terrified she was of them. Them . . .all males.
"Back off, go away," Mrs. Dresin said as she put herself
between Tabitha and them. Everyone but Markus left, he just
backed away. Then Mrs. Dresin turned to Tabitha who had
quickly quieted down and was now curled up on the floor.
She knelt down and smoothed hair out of Tabitha's face.
Tabitha looked up with watery bloodshot eyes. "Please make
it stop, I've been good?
To be continued.