Felicity Finds Family

A Transgender Super Coming of Age Adventure

From the Super Heroine Universe

Chapter 11: Grandmother Tree:

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

What will Felicity and Lynn Archer do when they are urgently seeking a way to free the dryad trapped in the Grandmother Tree?

Copyright 2025 by Sasha Zarya Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Author's Note:

This novel, in it's entirety, is available on my Patreon. Patreon Free Members can read my new complete book by chapters, Things We Do for Love

The afternoon sun filtered through the canopy of ancient oaks and towering pines that surrounded Hotel Colorado's gardens, creating a dappled pattern of light and shadow across the carefully tended pathways. Felicity and Lynn walked together in comfortable silence, their footsteps muffled by the soft earth beneath their feet. The tesseract within Felicity's core hummed with quiet contentment, responding to the peaceful atmosphere and the growing bonds of their chosen family.

"It's so beautiful here," Lynn said softly, her movements more naturally fluid with each passing hour. The hotel's accepting environment was working its magic on her, allowing her true self to emerge in incremental but meaningful ways.

As they rounded a bend in the garden path, both women stopped abruptly. Before them stood a tree that defied every expectation of what a tree should be. The massive oak rose from the earth like a living cathedral, its trunk so wide that twenty people holding hands couldn't encircle it. Ancient beyond measure, its bark was deeply grooved with patterns that seemed to shift and change when viewed from different angles, and its canopy stretched so high that the uppermost branches disappeared into the mountain mist.

"Grandmother Tree," Felicity whispered, the name coming to her unbidden. Through her dimensional sight, she could see layers of history embedded in the oak's rings, centuries of stories held within its heartwood. But there was something else—a presence that pulsed with faint but desperate energy deep within the tree's core.

Lynn stepped closer, her hand reaching out instinctively toward the massive trunk. "There's something..." She paused, her weathered features creased with concern. "Something's wrong. Something needs help."

The maternal instincts that had been awakening within Lynn since her arrival at the hotel suddenly blazed to full intensity. Her entire being focused on the tree with protective urgency, responding to a distress she couldn't name but absolutely couldn't ignore.

"What do you see?" she asked Felicity, recognizing that her companion's abilities might reveal what normal perception could not.

Felicity pressed her palm against the ancient bark, letting her dimensional sight penetrate the tree's supernatural defenses. What she saw made her gasp. Deep within the heartwood, trapped in a prison of living wood and binding magic, was a being of extraordinary beauty and terrible anguish.

The dryad's form was translucent, her essence barely maintaining coherence after what must have been centuries of imprisonment. Her hair flowed like liquid leaves, her skin held the pattern of bark and moss, and her eyes—when they opened to meet Felicity's gaze across dimensional space—held depths of pain and desperate hope.

"She's trapped," Felicity breathed, her voice thick with emotion. "There's a dryad inside the tree—she's been imprisoned for so long she's barely holding on."

Lynn's gasp was audible, her maternal instincts surging even stronger. "We have to help her. We have to find a way to free her."

The tesseract within Felicity's core blazed with sudden intensity, its infinite energy responding to the trapped being's need. Power flowed through her in waves, but she could sense the complexity of the prison that held the dryad. This wasn't just physical confinement—it was a multidimensional binding that would require precise manipulation of space-time itself to unravel.

"Miss Archer? Mrs. Archer?" Miss Devereux's voice carried across the garden with its usual efficiency, but there was an underlying note of urgency that suggested she knew exactly what they had discovered.

The concierge approached with hurried steps, her clipboard forgotten as she took in the scene before her. Behind her came Lyra Boring, her unremarkable features sharp with concern, and Mr. Medici, his weathered hands already glowing with the tools of his trade.

"You can see her," Miss Devereux said, not quite a question. "The dryad within Grandmother Tree."

"How long has she been trapped?" Lynn asked, her voice tight with protective anger.

"Centuries," Mr. Medici replied grimly. "Bound by magic that predates the hotel itself. We've been trying to find a way to free her since the hotel was built around her, but the binding is too complex, too deeply woven into the tree's essence."

Lyra stepped forward, her forgettable appearance somehow conveying deep significance. "Until now. Your abilities, Felicity—they might be exactly what we need to unravel the dimensional components of her prison."

The tesseract pulsed with recognition at Lyra's words, its power resonating with the trapped dryad's essence. Felicity could feel the connection forming, a bridge of energy that spanned the dimensional barriers between them.

"It won't be easy," Miss Devereux warned, consulting notes that seemed to appear on her clipboard without her writing them. "The binding is anchored in multiple dimensions simultaneously. It will require precise manipulation of space-time, and there's risk involved."

"What kind of risk?" Lynn asked, moving protectively closer to Felicity.

"The kind that comes with using power you're still learning to control," Mr. Medici said seriously. "But also the kind that defines who you choose to become. We can provide infrastructure support, dimensional stabilization, but the actual freeing—that has to come from you."

Felicity looked up at the massive tree, feeling the dryad's presence pulsing weakly within its heartwood. Through her dimensional sight, she could see the binding magic—complex weaves of energy that held the nature spirit in cruel suspension. It would require every ounce of her growing abilities to unravel such ancient magic.

"I have to try," she said quietly. "I can't leave her trapped when I have the power to help."

Lynn's smile was radiant with pride and determination. "Then we'll do it together. I may not have your abilities, but I can provide whatever support you need."

The tesseract blazed with approval at their commitment, its infinite energy responding to the decision to use power in service of another's freedom. This was what the Goddess had meant about becoming who she was meant to be—not just developing abilities, but choosing to use them with courage and compassion.

"The hotel will support your efforts," Miss Devereux said with quiet conviction. "All our resources, all our expertise—whatever you need to free her."

"The dimensional stabilizers can be recalibrated to provide additional support," Mr. Medici added, his weathered hands already glowing with preparation. "I can create a safe space for the working."

"And I can provide guidance on the theoretical frameworks involved," Lyra offered, her unremarkable features filled with hope. "The mathematics of dimensional binding and release are extraordinarily complex."

As they spoke, Felicity felt something fundamental shift within her understanding of her place in the world. This wasn't just about finding sanctuary for herself—it was about using her gifts to provide sanctuary for others. The hotel wasn't just her home; it was a place where she could become part of something larger, a community dedicated to helping trapped souls find freedom.

"When do we begin?" she asked, her voice steady with newfound purpose.

"Now," Lynn said firmly, her maternal instincts fully engaged. "She's suffered long enough."

The tesseract hummed with deep satisfaction as Felicity felt the last of her reservations dissolve. This was more than just a rescue mission—it was a declaration of belonging, a commitment to the hotel as home, and a willingness to expand their chosen family to include every being who needed sanctuary.

The break into two was complete. No longer was she a wanderer seeking her place in the world. Now she was a protector, a healer, a member of a community that used their gifts to help others find their authentic selves. The dryad within Grandmother Tree would be the first of many they would help, but she would not be the last.

Around them, the hotel's supernatural residents began to gather, drawn by the sense of momentous change rippling through the gardens. All eyes turned to Felicity and Lynn, the newest members of their chosen family, as they prepared to undertake their first act of collective heroism.

The real adventure of becoming who they were meant to be had truly begun, and it would be measured not just in personal transformation, but in the lives, they touched and the freedom they helped others find.