A Walk in the Dark Chapter 3 by Maggie Finson

I managed to stave off the hysterics, barely.

“Oh, maaan.” I moaned, back sitting on the bed with my face in my hands and wishing I’d never opened my eyes that first time around. “This is not going to go over well with Carolyn.”

“I really think that’s the least of your problems right now, Dylan.” Sam, the new Sam, who seemed to draw my eye with every move he made quietly pointed out.

“Oh, I can see it now.” I muttered, ignoring him as best I could. “Hi, Carolyn, it’s me, Dylan. Of course now I’m this really gorgeous girl who probably isn’t even human. Oh, yeah, I’m black, too. Still want to get married?”

“Dylan! Get hold of yourself!” Sam urged in a slightly louder voice. Yeah that voice that stroked me like the best chocolate fix a girl could ever want. Now what made me think that? Worry about it later…

“Which parts?” I questioned and giggled. I mean I actually giggled and it really embarrassed me. “Oh, gawd, this can’t be happening.”

“It’s happening.” He insisted and I felt his hands — those strong hands — grip my shoulders and give them a little shake. I almost purred then shook myself out of it to look up at him. “Okay, okay. So now what?”

“I don’t have a clue.” He answered, moving away from me with an odd look on his face. “I do know we’re locked in, though. It’s still a cell, just fancier than the one we were in when we came here.”

“Well at least that’s consistent.” I let out a sigh and did my best to ignore just what that did to my chest. “Why did you wake up first? I know I got — changed before you did.”

“He told me my transformation wasn’t as extreme as yours was. So I never passed out completely.” Sam shrugged then grimaced. “And it wasn’t as painful as yours seemed to be.”

“Lucky you.” I groused. “Probably because you didn’t get the complimentary sex change with the trip.”

“Like it was my choice?” He asked, getting exasperated with me for a second then let out a heavy sigh. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you there, but instead of trading little barbs maybe we should start thinking about what we do next?”

“I’m open to ideas.” I spread my arms and gave a shrug, then a tentative smile. “Sorry, I’m not even used to being a girl yet and I’m already being a bitch. Okay, so what do you know since you’ve been awake longer than I have?”

“Not much, to be honest.” He answered tiredly. The rooms have windows, but they’re on a balcony that looks down into a really deep canyon or something. I couldn’t see any way to climb either up or down and believe me, I looked hard.”

Sam’s favorite hobby was rock climbing, so I took his word for that. “Okay, what else?”

“We seem to be in a castle of some kind, and it’s really high up on a mountain.”

“How could you tell that?”

“Clouds.” He said with a little shrug. “Below the balcony.”

“Oh, okay.” I nodded then got up and started to look around. “I’m going to check out our prison for now. Maybe that’ll give me an idea.”

“Go ahead.” Sam nodded and seated himself in a chair that looked way too decadent to be legal even if it did appear very comfortable. “I’ll just enjoy the view.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I glared at him.

“Well, you have to admit, I’m still very male, and you are, umm,” he at least had the grace to look a little embarrassed by the admission, “really nice to look at, after all.”

“Get this straight.” I told him. “I’m NOT, most definitely NOT your own personal eye candy, so forget whatever it is working its way through that mind of yours. Got it?”

“Yeah. Got it.” He nodded, but I could see a grin trying to escape his solemn expression.

With a sigh I decided to take what I could get and started looking around.

Wardrobes, one with male clothing the other filled with flimsy looking gowns, halter tops, and what seemed to be long loin cloths. Oh there were panties in a drawer at the bottom. Wonderful. I gave the delicate sandals a sneering glance. At least they didn’t have heels.

There was a table with a mirror on it that was covered with brushes, combs, cosmetics, and small bottles of what must be perfume. I couldn’t help myself, I just had to sniff at those.

Floral, nope. Spicy, again, nope. Then the third one just kind of grabbed my nose and insisted. It had a delicate floral scent mixed with a spice that smelled wonderful. Without thinking I dabbed some to my wrists and at the base of my throat then set the bottle down with a grimace. “I’m beginning to think this change isn’t just physical.”

“Makes you smell even nicer.” He offered.

“Don’t even go there, Sam.” I warned.

“Just saying...”

“Yeah, I know what you were saying.” I grumbled. “Just try and forget it, all right? It’s me, your old friend Dylan here and I’m not even close to ready to try out the new equipment, if you get my drift.”

“ A pity.” Another voice entered the conversation. I gave a startled yelp and spun around to see that creepy Fu Manchu guy standing in the room. “Especially since I took pains to make sure the two of you are a bonded pair.”

“I’m not even going to ask what that means.” I managed to answer while backing away from him until I was pressed against a wall and couldn’t get any further. “Now that you’ve had your fun, could you maybe change us back and we’ll all have a good laugh over beers about this?”

“Oh something so crude as beer, or ale, isn’t for you my lovely Dahlia.” He answered with a smile I didn’t like at all. “Fine wines would be more in keeping with your new self.”

“Who’s Dahlia?” I questioned with the sinking feeling I already knew the answer.

“Why you are, my dear.” He answered simply and let that sink in. “Just as your mate is now called Samthien. New names to celebrate your new lives.”

“Oh.” I answered intelligently.

“Now come, dear.” He went to a table and poured something from a pitcher into three fluted goblets. “Join me and your intended in a celebratory drink.”

“My intended?” I asked then what he had said about Sam finally penetrated. “Mate?”

“Indeed.” Fu Manchu, I couldn’t quite recall or even pronounce his name, nodded with a smile. “You two are bonded to each other as a male and female in the traditions of your new people.”

“Yeah, I do need a drink.” I answered and stalked forward to relieve the table of one goblet and took a deep drink. Grimacing, though the stuff actually did taste pretty good, I held it out for more. “Probably more than one.”

“You’re upset, lady.” He nodded understandingly. “Don’t fear, that will soon pass. Now that your physical selves are properly aligned with this world your mind will settle into your new reality soon enough.”

“I don’t know whether to look forward to that or fight it.” I admitted, wondering why I wasn’t cringing away from him any longer. “And just what are we now, by the way?”

“You and your mate,” I winced and really wished he would stop calling Sam that, “Are of the Dhro’aaa. Your people are offshoots of the High Elves, though the two branches of that race have diverged greatly since their beginnings.”

“Dhro’aaa.” I nodded then snapped my head up to stare at him. “Do you mean Drow?”

“So your kind are called in the world you came from.” He nodded.

“Cave dwelling, evil elves?”

“Precisely, lovely lady.” Kae’song, what a time to remember the guy’s name, agreed with a smirk. “Your kind is both feared and hated by just about every other race in the world.”

“Oh great.” I grumbled and shook my head. “Okay, I’ll bite. Just why did you decide to turn us into these Dhro’aaa?”

“Why that should be clear enough, Dahlia, my dear.” Kae’song shrugged. “I wish to gather more of your kind without the unpleasant baggage just taking some would entail. Your people are not the kind to offend lightly. Also, you will make a most impressive and daunting handmaiden for me when meeting with both allies and rivals.”

“Handmaiden.” I nodded then narrowed my eyes. “Hold on a minute here, just how do you plan on ‘acquiring’ more like us?”

“That should be reasonably clear, dear.” He shook his head. “You are clearly intelligent enough to work that out.”

I looked at Sam, then into the mirror, then back to the sorcerer, or whatever he was with a very sick, sinking sensation in my stomach. “You can’t possibly expect…”

“Ahh, that is precisely what I expect, dear, beautiful, Dahlia.” He smiled almost beneficently at me then gestured to Sam. “I fully expect you to breed.”

“Urk.” Was about all I could get out before things got kind of wavery then went away.