Barbara Scott - Fairytale Princess
copyright 2011 Faeriemage
For Donnie, life was about to end. For Dawn life hadn't yet begun.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delay. I have not left the building, I am simply working through sa busy patch in RL. Enjoy.

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I mourned the loss of my clothing. Sure, I hadn't had it for very long, and some of it had been ruined, but I loved in none the less. Ilene and I had spend hours in the mall together. I'd really connected with her for the first time, learning who she was as a person.

More than just the woman who married Karl.

And every piece of clothing, and each cosmetic, was a memento of that bond.

Someone in this house had stolen it away from me, and in so doing had violated one of my most precious memories as a girl.

It took me almost twenty minutes to relax enough so that I didn't start in on everyone, accusing and ranting until someone found my clothing for me.

I was almost exactly in the middle of heights and weights of the remaining eight women. I alluded to the fact last night, and I just wanted to relate it again in more detail.

I was bigger in the bust and smaller in the behind than willow, but not by enough that it really mattered. Jane was a little bigger in the bust and considerably bigger in the caboose than I was. Before our little tussle in the pool I just didn't like how loose her bra's felt.

After? I wouldn't have taken her charity for anything.

The other women were significantly taller, or broader, or skinnier, or whatever, than I was. So, I figured if it was one of the women, it was likely Willow or Jane who took my clothing. It could be one of the others, I suppose, but I assumed someone stole it because they could use it.

I went downstairs to get some breakfast, and Felice was flirting with a couple of the remaining guys. I noted that she was wearing a pretty pale green ribbed tee shirt a lot like one that I'd lost, and then went on to thinking about other things, and trying to act just this side of surly, leavened with apparent attempt to be cheerful.

Then it struck me. The shirt wasn't just like my shirt, it was my shirt.

I'd gotten a bit too exuberant in removing the tag that first day, and the shirt had torn a bit at the back of the collar. I'd ignored it since I usually wore my hair in one version or another of 'down' so it would be covered up. Felice had an A-line and the back of her neck was completely visible.

That was my shirt, or a reasonable facsimile of it.

I excused myself and slipped back upstairs to the common room, and opened Felice's bags. there was my clothing. All of it. My dresses were still locked in the closet in the locked room. I'd moved them there as soon as I realized that the rest of my clothing was stolen.

I was ready to take all of my clothing back, when I realized something very sad. I had about ten times the clothing that Felice did. She had huge suitcases, but they were mostly empty. She'd been somehow giving the impression of having more than she did through the entire rest of the competition.

I left the dressing gown, and a good percentage of the rest of my clothing, and a small note. Then I moved all of the clothing I was going to keep to the locked room. I wouldn't be taken advantage of in the future.

I hid out and waited for Felice to come back upstairs. She opened her bag looking for something, and I could see her expression fall. She picked up the note and read it and then collapsed there beside her bags.

"Hi, Felice."

"Dawn!" She was startled and scared.

"So, you read my note, it seems."

"This was your note?"

"Yes, it's mine."

"But…"

"I took enough to get me by, Felice. Ask me next time, ok?"

She broke down and began to cry, so I put my arms around her and comforted her. We sat there like that for a while. Willow came in and began to move toward us. I just shook my head and she backed off. She took position by the door, guarding the moment.

"Thank you, Dawn. You had so many nice things."

"I know. I have some really nice friends."

"Huh?"

"I didn't buy a single item that you stole. Every piece of clothing was a gift. I currently have no money to my name."

"What?"

"Dead broke."

"But, you're famous."

"You can't spend fame, Felice."

She laughed at that, and she hugged me back.

"Thank you for that, Dawn."

"No, everyone needs to feel special. That's why I left you the robe."

"I could never wear that!"

"Maybe not here, but try it. You don't feel as naked as you are. You may want to wear some nice underwear, though."

She blushed and nodded her head.

I was still uncomfortable, and wanted to just crawl back into bed and hide until tonight, but that wasn't an option.

The contest for the day was hostess. We had to host a mock party, one at a time, and deal with the actors who had been brought in to give us problems. All of us did pretty well, we got to watch the others through a two way mirror. The scenarios stayed pretty much the same, but the people initiating and the timing changed. It was hectic while you were in the room, but funny when out of it.

It was pretty obvious to me by this point that the girls were the ones really being judged, and not the guys, so I'd stopped really paying attention to what they did. I watched who I wanted to. Mostly Sean. He was really cute that day, as he was helping elder couples at a retirement community. Keeping them entertained and so forth.

I hadn't been able to get together with him for a couple of days, since I kept placing low in the rankings. I was wondering what was going on, as I thought I did well, but it was likely a ratings thing.

I was second in the rankings that day, so I picked Sean, finally. He kissed me when he came over to stand next to me. That was the first time that he'd done that for any girl in the elimination ceremony, and I blushed to the roots of my hair. That didn't stop me from enjoying the kiss.

I had a goofy smile on my face, as the footage clearly showed, and I had to hold onto him to keep from collapsing into a pile of goo on the floor.

Jane was eliminated along with the guy she picked.

I wasn't shocked by that. It seems that she ran out of gossip to spill about the other contestants, and so her usefulness expired. I wondered when Angela would outlive her usefulness, but that was something for another day.

The fourteen people remaining in the house sat around the lounge that evening.

"So, Surge, that was some kiss," Carlos said

"Yeah, man, almost seemed as though you were marking your territory," continued one of the other guys

"Nah, just letting her know I missed her."

"You live in the same house."

"On opposite sides, and I missed you too, Sasha."

He kissed me again to wolf whistles and laughter.

We chatted about inconsequential things after that, just relaxing in each other's company. Things wound down around eleven, and I climbed into bed and waited for everyone to get to sleep. As soon as they were gone, I slipped quietly out of bed and went over the back wall.

"Hello, Beautiful."

"Hey, Karl. We have a problem today."

"What problem?"

I took off my top and bra, showing him that one of the breasts, my breasts, had come unattached.

"What happened?"

"Another girl tackled me and we wrestled in the pool."

He got a glazed look in his eye and absently said, "be more careful."

Ilene came in the back of the truck where we were sitting, and I felt my heart drop. I'd given away the clothing she gave me, and didn't even think to talk to her about it.

"What's wrong, Dawn?"

"Well, um, one of the other contestants stole my clothing. When I found out she only have five outfits total, I gave her a lot of the clothing she stole, and told her that she could keep it."

"Ok."

"But, you gave that to me…"

"Dawn, it's just clothing. The time spent was more important to me."

I shook my head and smiled.

"Thank you, Ilene. I never knew I could possibly have a friend like you."

"You're welcome, Dawn."

We hugged until Karl interrupted us.

"Hey, I need to fix Dawn up so she can get back to the competition."

"Yes, Master."

They laughed at this, and I just smiled. Karl took more care getting my breasts in place this time. I hardly moved at all, even though I was so ready to feel like myself again. I began to imagine what it would be like to simply be me, whole, without the need for this makeup to complete me.

I began to cry as I sat there, silently.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"I want to be Dawn."

"But you are Dawn," Ilene replied.

"Only when your husband performs magic. I'm not really Dawn."

"Dawn is who you are inside. It isn't these appliances I made, or the clothing you wear."

"Or don't wear," I told him.

"What?"

"I've kinda been running around the house basically naked."

Both of their jaws dropped.

"I know, I never told you what was going on. You know that dressing gown I have?"

"Yeah, the one designed to be used over sexy lingerie," Ilene said.

"Well, I've been wearing that."

"Ok," Karl said.

"Just that."

His eyes unfocused and his breathing became a bit shorter. Ilene slugged him.

"You sure aren't shy are you."

"That's the thing. I've never been that shy of my body. I never saw the reason. As Donnie, it never mattered much as women are usually too polite to say anything. As Dawn, on the other hand, I love the attention. It makes me feel wanted. I know every eye is on me, and that they are either jealous or lustful or both."

"Dawn!?"

"What? It's true. I like to be lusted after. I want to satisfy that lust, especially if it's with some guy I like…"

Their jaws dropped open again, and I realized what I'd said.

"I'm not gay, so what do you want me to do? Pretend I am? I just can't see getting with another woman."

"What about Aimee?"

I was silent for a bit, and then finally found the words to explain my reasoning.

"Aimee was always more of a guy than I was. She asked me out on our first date, initiated all of our intimate activities, and even was the one who asked me to marry her."

"Wait, all?"

I smiled at the two of them, "well, I did dress sexy for her sometimes, you know, things that would get her to notice, but I never touched her first. I needed that from her. It made me feel wanted and secure. She was my man, more than I was hers."

"But you didn't look like a woman…"

"Because I think she was trying to keep up appearances for her parents. Did I ever tell you about the times that I wore the breasts home from the set of 'Transsexual'?"

"No, you didn't"

"She attacked me as soon as I came through the door the first time. It was another time that I ended up reading for 'Love's Sunset'. I know I tell everyone I just forgot they were there, but I was aware of them every minute. I kept thinking of Aimee's eyes when she saw them straining to get out of my button shirt. She tore the first shirt I wore.

I think it's part of the reason I gave such a good performance on screen. I kept imagining what Aimee would do to me when I got home."

"Call the doctor, Dawn."

Karl and Ilene went to a different part of the truck to take care of business and I called the doctor.

"You call at the strangest hours, Dawn."

"You know why, doctor."

"Call me, Tom."

"Doctor, what are the chances that I would be able to have breasts of my own?"

"Well, now there's a weighted question. Chances are you would never have more than a b cup through hormone therapy alone."

"That big?"

"Most consider that to be small."

"Doctor, I use a 26b bra. I find it ample."

"Ok, well, then, you might get the size that you want. Might. We'll have to see when you start hormone therapy."

"How much short term change would there be? Can I start now?"

"No, since I'd have to refer you to an endocrinologist."

"But…"

"No buts, Dawn. This situation is already irregular enough. Let's get you through this competition and then we can talk about where we're going from here. Hormone therapy is not necessarily the solution you are looking for?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Look, you are suicidal, or at least was. There are indications that estrogen therapy can lead to depression. Why would I want to prescribe depressants to someone in your condition."

"But that wasn't, I mean it was just…"

"A phase, a moment, a onetime thing? We both know that isn't true. You tried to kill yourself more than once, and we both know you suffer from depression."

"But, I feel so much better now that…"

"That could be true, and it could be simply a self-delusion. We won't know without further observation, both yours and mine."

"But, I'm safe here."

"Dawn, I will want you under observation when I begin prescribing you HRT. And by observation I mean someone who actually knows what's happening. You willing to leave the competition, or tell someone there what is going on? That even assumes you could get out long enough to actually see a specialist."

"But…"

"No more on this subject, Dawn. Get used to who you are now, and then we can talk about changing things up. Give it some time. Impatience is the best way to tell me that this is more a fad than something that is really in you."

I was pissed off and really wanted to…do something permanent to the good doctor. It wasn't fair, but there was little in this life that I could really say was fair.

Aimee dying wasn't fair. Neither was the fact that I was in this competition. I'm not saying that the one balanced out the other, but I had to be realistic here. There was both good and bad in life. There were subjective and objective versions of both as well.

I simply needed to, well, woman up and get through it.

I climbed back over the wall and made my way into the house.

The sound of voices carried in the quiet house, and so I crept closer to the source of the noise. Someone was in the interview room, even though I thought that it would be empty at this time of night.

"I did everything that was asked of me, didn't I? I did it for you," Angela said.

There was a muffled male voice. I couldn't hear what he was saying, and couldn't even tell who he was. He could have been any of the guys in the competition, well almost. He could have been Mark at least. Or Sean. Carlos was a possibility as well.

"But, we made a deal, baby. You said I would be there with you at the end."

A short response.

"Well, let me show you what I can do for you."

I'm sure you have a good idea of the sorts of sounds that emanated from the room. And for a lot longer than I would have expected from any of the guys in this competition. Course it could just be that I was the only one here who wasn't getting any, but hey, a girl can hope, right?

"See? I can make the ending something special for you. It's your money after all, and you should get to choose the winner, not some high and mighty…"

Angry response.

"I didn't mean it that way, baby. Really."

A cold ball formed in my stomach. Mark? I'd thought of that just to toss it out, but Mark? How could he?

The thought of our kiss was still fresh in my mind. It had only been about a week since it had happened, sure, but I thought it meant something to him. And here he was screwing Angela in the dark when no one could see him.

I wasn't going to be devastated over that man. I wasn't going to let him ruin the rest of this competition for me. So what if Angela was trying to subvert this competition?

I hid out of sight and waited for Angela to slip out of the room. I slipped in behind her, hoping to catch him red…handed as it were. I wanted to confront him with my knowledge, but the far door was closing as I entered and I didn't see anyone there.

I looked around the room, at the camera, at the couches, looking for any evidence of the tryst that had happened right here in this room.

The camera was pointed at the couches like normal, it's red light shining into the darkness. The couches seemed in order, if just so. One of the pillows was on the ground where it had been knocked by the gymnastics that had gone on here shortly before. No clothing or anything else was left behind…

The red light was on.

The camera had been recording.

I Walked behind the camera, and began to really look at it for the first time. It was digital, like most cameras it seemed these days, and in addition to a data cable leading off into the bowels of the house, there was a memory card as well. I stopped the recording, and began the playback.

Angela was sitting there on the couch, waiting, and then her eyes lit up. The conversation began, and she was talking to someone off Camera. I fast forwarded through the conversation until the guy came into the frame. I couldn't see any of him, really. Or that is to say I couldn't see his face. I got to see a lot of him.

And I have to say that they were both very flexible.

It really seemed like he was aware of the camera, even if Angela wasn't. She looked so smug and satisfied when she was done and almost whispered something.

I replayed that moment over and over before it finally came through to me.

"Dawn, eat your heart out." She dressed and left.

There was a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. I sat down, barely able to see the screen. It couldn't possibly be…no. I wouldn't accept that it could be…

The man sat down and looked directly into the camera. "Well, there's another for the scrap book," he said with a smirk and that slight accent of his. He dialed a number on his phone, waiting for a moment or two for someone to pick up.

"Hey, Mark, yeah. Remember what we discussed the other day? Yeah. I have no problems with you removing Angela from the competition at this point." He waited as if listening, and then there was a sound from the direction of the door. He looked up startled and ran out of the frame.

Sean looked up startled.

I'd really thought that Sean was a good guy, but I'd been taken in by an actor of more skill than any I'd ever met before. He made my simple skills look amateur.

And I let him fool me. I let him make a fool of me. While I'd been trying to get further in this competition, he's simply been notching his shaft with the competitors that he could get with.

I had to know something.

I slipped into the guys room, and looked around for Carlos. He was right next to the door, and no one was near him. I put my hand over his mouth and nose. He woke up quickly, and so I moved my hand down a bit so he could breathe.

He focused his eyes on me, and I put a finger over my lips and then motioned for him to follow me.

I led him up to the sex room, I mean interview room.

"Carlos, did you know that Sean was banging the contestants?"

"Um..what?"

"Did you know that Sean was recording himself having sex with the other contestants?"

He blushed and refused to look at me.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"I couldn't tell you. I signed an agreement."

"If I'd had sex with him in the limo, would I still be in this competition?"

"He doesn't make the call. His pare…I mean."

"What's going on here?"

"I can't tell you, Dawn. Really. I've said too much as it is. Look, Sean's a real scumbag. Don't give anything up to him."

"Not after I saw that tape. I'm sure that Angela has no idea how…" I shuddered.

She was degraded, in my eyes. He used her for his personal gratification, and she asked him to do it.

"Are you ok, Dawn?"

"No, I'm not."

"Would you be offended if I offered to hold you?"

I slipped into his arms and cried. I stayed there for a long time, and then I dried my tears on his shirt.

"Ewe, snot stains."

I laughed at that, and he chuckled with me.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Win this competition."

"You know that includes a proposal from Sean, right?"

"Well, I have that covered."

"How?"

"Can you keep my secret? If it means getting back at Sean?"

I looked at me warily, and then slowly nodded.

"I'm physically male, Carlos."

"What!?"

He started to pull away, but then stopped. "This is a joke, right?"

"Next generation of movie makeup actually. I have a penis, Carlos."

"Ok, I'll just take your word on that. Are you gay, then?"

"Not any more than most of the other girls here."

"But you said."

"I said physically. I never said anything about mentally."

"Well, then, let me test something."

"What…"

I never finished the question. Carlos kissed me. I stiffened up until his arms went around me, and then for the briefest of moments I relaxed in his strong arms. Then I remembered where I was and what was happening. I turned my head away and tried to push back from him.

"Well, that answers the question for me. So, male, huh. Never would have guessed."

I took his hand and put it under my pajama top. I could feel his hand around the edges of my fake breast, but nothing on main bulk of it.

"You don't know how many fantasies you just ruined. I have wanted to caress those since that first day you came down nude to breakfast. And now that I have all the magic is gone."

"Well, I plan on getting real ones, so come back to me in a year or two and we can revisit this."

"You are such a tease, Dawn."

"I could…"

"No, thank you. I don't do the casual sex thing. Even if I would really like to right now."

"Neither have I. Only ever had sex with one person, and she is dead."

Carlos shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry about my casual reference to death."

"Not that, dawn. It is the thought of you with another woman. A lot of guys have lesbian fantasies."

I blushed.

"Look, I found out after that Sean did put Kevin up to it. He was the one supplying Kevin with the stuff. Don't trust him, ok?"

"Thank you, Carlos."

"I hope I'm still in the house so that I can watch what you tell him live."

"I'll pick you as much as I can, ok? If I make it that far, then I can protect you at least half the time, right?"

I kissed him lightly on the lips and then got up to go to bed. There was a visible spot of wetness on his pants. I just smiled to myself as I left the room. I swayed my hips. I liked to give a good show.

Tomorrow, the war would begin.