---

 

“Wake up, Cindy.”

The voice was familiar. It was Aunt Cecily.

The name she was calling, not so much.

Then it all started coming back.

The change, being a were coyote, and — oh, yeah, a girl all of a sudden. It was my Aunt Cecily was telling to wake up.

I blearily peered at the clock beside a bed I didn't remember getting into to see that it was 6:00 AM. With a groan and turned over and mumbled. “Just 'nother ten minutes, Aunt Cecily.”

As my eyes started to close I muzzily thought. 'At least I'm still morning impaired. That didn't change.'

“Cynthia Anne Harper!” My aunt's voice interrupted the planned trip back to the land of nod. As did the covers I was under being yanked away. “You wake up right now, young lady!”

“Young Lad... Yowp!” I finished as new parts of my anatomy attesting to the truth of that painfully bounced as I abruptly sat up. Then made the same mistake in reverse by flopping to my back on the bed.

“Well,” Aunt Cecily slowly said with a mix of sympathy and amusement. “I guess you're awake now, anyway.”

“Oh yeah.” I gasped while my breath returned. Once it had I, very carefully, sat up again and looked down at the offending things stuck to my chest. “Oh shit. It wasn't a bad dream was it?”

“I'm afraid not, honey.” My aunt replied quietly.

“Get me changed back!” I begged, then started shouting. “I'm NOT a girl, I don't want to be one, never wanted to be one, and I want to change back! I can't be a girl, I don't know how and don't want to know how!”

I carried on like that for awhile. I'm not too sure just how long I was at it, but by the end it really ruining my claims and I was bursting into tears then going into a crying jag just to finish things off. What was with the crying? I mean it wasn't just tears; I was sobbing, choking, and having trouble breathing at times. Aunt Cecily held me all through it, stroking my back and making soothing, wordless noises as my tantrum wound down.

I wasn't done crying, no matter how much that bothered the still male part of me, but now it was just tears and little sobs.

“It'll be okay, Cindy.” My aunt soothed, still stroking my back and just — holding me. I hadn't been held like that since I was five years old, and you know what? It felt good. Comforting, letting me share what I was trying to get out, and just letting me connect with someone else when I felt like I had the world had shattered and was falling on my head.

“That's another reason I got you up so early.” Aunt Cecily told me once I had run out of tears. “I knew you'd have some kind of nasty reaction once you woke up and allowed time for that to happen.”

“Thu — this has happened before?” I managed to get out without more than one sob.

“Not for a very long time.” She answered, “But I can imagine what you must be going through right now, even though I can't really know. Your whole world view has changed, and your self perceptions are all wrong at the moment. I don't really know what to do here other than let you scream, cry, and hit things. And be here for you.”

That was my Aunt Cecily. She welcomed me, my brother and sister into her home after our parents died, and held each one of us through our grief more than once while accepting us into her immediate family circle.

Mary Jane and Clarissa were her natural children, but she had never once let that stop her from loving us too. And bless them, even if Mary Jane and Clarissa had been pains for a lot of my life, they welcomed us in too.

As did Uncle Patrick. So I had a father, a mother, and two other sisters I wouldn't have without the tragedy that claimed my parents. One thing about the Harpers, we take care of our own and don't begrudge doing that for a minute.

But I still had that niggling thought that what had happened to me just might strain that more than a little bit.

“If we can't get you back to being a boy,” she softly told me, “Patrick, your sister and your cousins, along with me, will do all we can to help you understand being a girl isn't the end of the world at all. To be honest, it can be lots of fun if you approach it right, dear one.”

“How is Chris taking this?” I asked.

“He's kind of freaked out, but he still knows that you're family.” She shrugged. “You aren't the only one who has to adjust to what happened to you here, though you have more to deal with.

“But you have us here to help you do that.” She told me with that firmness of tone that let me know there was no argument that would change her mind. And I got it.

Whether I was a boy or a girl, I was still family and that wasn't going to change.

“So...” I shakily asked. “What now?”

“Just get used to who you are now, I guess.” She smiled at me. “You have always been the tough one in the family, honey. You never have let things beat you down. This isn't any different.”

“But I'm a — “

Girl right now, yes that's very clear.” She actually chuckled. “It doesn't mean that your old, familiar self, the important part of that which was inside of you, the part of you that took any challenge and faced it is gone does it?”

“I don't know?”

“It isn't.” She assured me while tightening the arm she had around me. “You had to have your meltdown and I'm sure there will be a few more before all this settles down for you, but you haven't given up. That tantrum showed that much.

“You didn't curl up into a ball and refuse to look at what is, you did yell, scream, cry, and all that, but you didn't just pull yourself into a little ball and die.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning,” She smiled at me and kissed the top of my head. “You'll find a way to deal with this, too.”

“I hope so.”

“You will.” She told me then pulled me to my feet. “Now let's get that face washed and you cleaned up a little here. You can't hide in here all day, you know.”

Wow, talk about a buzz kill.

“I don't have anything to wear?” I tried getting out of things that way and realized just how girly it sounded.

“Spoken like a true girl.” My aunt chuckled as she pulled some clothing out a drawer for me. “Some of us did a little shopping for you while you slept.”

“Oh.” I said in a small voice. “On Labor day weekend?”

“Having money does have its perks at times.” She grinned. “We got someone to open up for us last night so we could get you a few things.”

“Oh.” I said again wondering at my lack of vocabulary just then and hoping that what they got me wasn't too out there and femmy. “Those are not the kind of birthday presents I was expecting, you know.”

It turned out to be a pair of jeans, a grey sweater, socks and running shoes. That was a relief. Until I started getting dressed, anyway.

Panties felt a little odd with the way they hugged my hips, butt and front. But they were just underwear after all and not that much different from what I was used to wearing.

The bra on the other hand...

I almost choked when I read the size. 34B. I used to have a thirty-eight inch chest. Then I got the thing all tangled up when I tried putting it on. I mean completely tangled with my arms, hair, and I thought that maybe I'd just do without given the trouble I was having.

Aunt Cecily rescued me, not without a few chuckles.

“Umm, couldn't we just, you know, forget the bra this time?” I almost pleaded.

“Not a good idea, hon.” She answered while getting the harness in place on me properly. “If you show yourself on your first day with those hanging out loose, people will really get the wrong idea.”

So I ended up wearing a set of plain white panties and bra. At least they weren't all lacy or silky. Just simple cotton. “I do have to admit that the support feels good.”

“That, too, dear.” My aunt winked at me. “You really aren't all that big up there, it just looks that way because you're so slim.”

“Oh, that makes me feel sooo much better.” I grumbled then made the mistake of looking into the floor length mirror. “Urk.”

I was seeing a girl in her underwear, and even if it was plain white and cotton, did she ever look hot. I would have moved in on her if I hadn't been so shy as a guy. Only the girl was me.

“I'm sooo not ready for this.” I moaned.

Ten minutes later I was dressed. The jeans weren't what I'd expected, showing off all my lower curves. And the sweater... It really showed my new girls off even if they were safely contained in that torture device. That and the fact that the neckline was a little deeper than I cared for.

I took yet another look at the babe in the mirror, showing just a bit of her creamy cleavage, in skin hugging jeans, and simple running shoes. Yup, the sweater hugged my new shape just as snugly as those jeans.

I had brushed my hair, which seemed like a pretty monumental undertaking given just how much of I had now, but thankfully wasn't subjected to makeup or nail polish.

Though Aunt Cecily did insist on a light spray of feminine cologne. Oh well, can't win 'em all, right?

I gave the door a worried look and asked. “Do I have to do this now?”

“You'll have to face the family sooner or later.” She told me firmly then added. “Better sooner, then you can stop worrying about it.”

“Oh, great.” I grumbled. “The old 'rip that band aid off hair and all approach.”

She made a pretty good ripping noise in answer, and grinned at me.

“All right, let's do this.” I said with a heaviness that sounded as if I was headed for my execution.

“It won't be that bad.” She soothed. “Besides, everyone is waiting to meet you.”

“They've already met me.” I groused then grimaced. “Okay, maybe not. Like I said, let's get this over with before I chicken out and go hide under the bed.”

She gave my shoulder a gentle pat then opened the door.

I timidly followed her out, and was relieved to see not all that many people waiting right outside, though we were in the single female's wing.

Carly, Mary Jane, and Clarissa were right there and I felt kind of good about that, but there were others watching to. Some I knew, some I didn't. The Harper clan is a pretty big and spread out family after all.

“Looking good cuz.” Mary Jane winked at me, and I actually blushed.

“Wow.” Clarissa added simply.

“Oh ignore them, Sis.” Carly told me. “They're just jealous and are trying to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Well, it's working.” I said, then got enveloped in another group hug. Which was nice, but just didn't have the zing such a thing would have had for me the day before. Then getting hugged by four beautiful women would have had me in heaven. Now all it did was calm me down. Sheesh.

Some of the other females there didn't seem quite as welcoming.

They looked at me as if I was an interloper, didn't belong among them and to be honest, I kind of thought so myself just then.

“Probably went to that damned sorority house to become a girl before she changed.” One whispered. “I'll bet he wanted to be a girl all along.”

“What sorority house?” I questioned that one point blank, then gestured to myself. “I was quite happy being a guy, to let you know and would give whatever I have to offer so I could be one again. I was most definitely NOT looking for this when I first changed.”

“That remains to be seen.” The same woman sniffed in near disbelief.

“Lady Moon accepted her last night!” Carly jumped to my defense. “Would she do that with a poser, or someone who is trying to fool the rest of us?”

“Your opinion is of course, biased.” The bitch countered. “You are it's sister.”

Carly was suddenly, very suddenly, in the woman's face and wearing an expression I'd never seen on her before and one I hoped I never would if it was aimed at me. In that moment my happy, bubbly big sister looked menacing enough to daunt just about anyone or anything. “Do you deny my word, Sylvia? Are you calling me a liar here?”

“You aren't our Alpha.” Sylvia sputtered, but was backing away from my sister just the same.

“I don't need to be to handle a bitch like you.” Carly answered quite clearly. “Now shut up and get out of our way. We're going to introduce my sister to the rest of the family now. For your own good, you damn well better stay at least polite while that's happening.”

“Or what?” Sylvia nervously smoothed her bleached blonde hair while trying to look defiant.

“Or I'll eat your surgically enhanced face for lunch.” Carly promised, and somehow I knew she meant that.

“Are you going to allow this whelp to speak to me that way?” Sylvia demanded of Aunt Cecily.

“I will remind you that this 'whelp' is my second and I am Alpha, Sylvia. If she hadn't stepped in I would have handed you your ass on a platter with veggies to go with it.” My Aunt coldly replied. It was then I realized that my loving, gentle Aunt Cecily was a very scary lady. A side of her I'd only seen hints of when I'd been in trouble for some prank Chris and I had thought up. “Consider yourself lucky that she stepped in. I wouldn't have been nearly so polite about it.

“Besides, I didn't need to step in.” my aunt quietly went on. “Carly, or Cindy either one could take the likes of you apart without breaking a sweat or breathing hard. And that is the only warning you'll get, Sylvia.”

The woman paled, then bowed to first me, then Carly and Aunt Cecily. “I hear you, Alpha.”

“See that you do.” My aunt answered, then led me past the woman and her small entourage.

“Who was that?” I questioned once my tongue would work again.

“Sylvia Carstairs.” Carly told me with a shrug. “She's a vain, arrogant bitch who thinks she should be the one ruling the roost here, but any one of us here could take her down without even thinking about it. Forget about her. She isn't important and not many people in the family even like her. She's tolerated because she's Uncle Patrick's second cousin.”

“And that tolerance got uncomfortably thin just now.” Aunt Cecily added. “One more word out of her and I would have taken it as a challenge. But she doesn't have the courage, or the skills to openly confront any of us and knows it. Just watch your back around her, Cindy.”

Wow, my first real time out and about as a girl and I almost caused a cat fight. Or I suppose it would be called something else given what we were.

“I just don't want to cause any trouble.” I let out a sigh. “I have enough to deal with just now.”

“Oh, it wasn't you.” Aunt Cecily gave me the warm smile I was so familiar with. “That woman is trouble wherever she goes. It follows her around like some noxious cloud, or possibly the word should be obnoxious.”

“And you could have taken her yourself, little sis.” Carly grinned at me.

“Would you really have eaten her face?” I asked inanely.

“With all that silicon and Botox and whatever else she's put in it?” Carly grimaced. “Nah. I'd have just given it back to her once I'd ripped it off.”

You know, I was just beginning to understand that the females in my immediate family were definitely not someone you wanted to be on the bad side of.

And here I'd thought all along that they were just normal girls, except for Aunt Cecily who may as well have been my mom. What a revelation.

I pulled on the hem of my sweater, trying to get it down more, then realized that only made my breasts stand out more. I was turning red, or felt like it and was more than a little embarrassed as you've no doubt gathered from the first part there.

I hadn't gotten any more direct nastiness from anyone, but once we reached the uncomfortably full commons area I did get my share of curious and other kinds of stares from the gathering of family there.

And my sharper hearing didn't help a bit. I heard sympathetic whispers like, “Poor thing.” Derisive ones such as, “Bet the wimp wanted to be a girl all along, well now she'll know what it's really like.”

There were also neutral and even supportive comments floating around.

What I caught from the guys there was worse. “Man, she's hot. I might make a play for her myself even if she did used to be a guy.”

“They're staring.” I muttered when Carly asked what was wrong.

“Of course they are.” She soothed. “They're all curious about you.”

“No, I mean the guys.” I fiercely whispered back. “I feel like a loose pork chop in the dog pound right now.”

“Get used to it, little sister.” Carly hugged me and winked. “You're one really hot looking girl now and of course guys are going to look, and probably drool a little bit.”

“You aren't helping here.” I said weakly.

“Fact of life now, Cindy. First lesson in girl 101 especially in this family is that any available girl is going to be looked over, measured, and weighed as a potential mate by any of the single guys.” She went on much to my further discomfort but hugged me as she did. “And you little sister are not only considered available, like I said, you're a real looker.”

“I knew there was a reason I wanted to hide under the bed this morning.” I sighed.

“Cheer up.” She gave me an encouraging grin. “You're still you, just packaged a little differently.”

“Ya think?” I groused.

“Oh yeah, you're still a smart ass.” She chuckled. “Just follow your instincts, hon. You're already moving like a girl, and you're really graceful about it, too.”

“Great, just great.”

“It will get better, dear.” Aunt Cecily gently told me as we started moving through the crowd for the much dreaded meet and greet.

Which actually went a whole lot better than I'd thought it would given the circumstances.

Except for one notable exception.

“What's it like?” One of my distant girl cousins I vaguely recalled asked. “Suddenly turning into a girl like that?”

“Weird.” I answered while looking around for Carly, Aunt Cecily, or anyone in the immediate family. I'd somehow gotten separated from them in the semi controlled mayhem of the commons room and was feeling more than a little vulnerable. Not that Katherine, the cousin who had asked that question, or her companions were being nasty. They were genuinely curious.

“Uh, oh.” Kate, as my distant cousin preferred to be called glanced up then grimaced. “Trouble coming.”

I looked in the direction she was and my stomach nearly fell out of — well you know where. Ryan Carstairs was headed our way and that couldn't be good.

“Well lookie here.” The large boy smirked down at me. “Little Craig has grown up, but wait, you don't look much like a Craig any more. Are those real or fake?”

As he asked he was leering at my chest which made me even more uncomfortable and I didn't say a thing before he started in again. “How about I check them out? If they are real I'll bet you and I could have some fun even if you are still a little faggot.”

Oh, yeah, Ryan was at his best, or worst depending on which end of things you happened to occupy. He was bigger than everyone else in School, and gloried in intimidating, and even terrorizing people who couldn't really defend themselves effectively against him.

“Never happen, Ryan.” I managed to answer. “Now just leave me alone. I took you before remember.”

“But you're different now, aren't you?” He grinned and it wasn't a nice grin. “I'll bet you just need a big strong guy to take you in hand.”

With that he reached forward suddenly and gave one of my breasts a painful squeeze.

As I gasped in mixed pain and outrage, he smirked. “Well they feel real, I wonder what you have in those pants? Mom said you were strutting around like some little queen, and now I see she was right.”

Saying that, he reached for the front of my pants. That did it. I never had been one to suffer bullies or idiots with any grace at all, and Ryan sure qualified for those designations. Especially then.

Snapping out my right arm and locking the elbow, I planted the heel of my hand in his solar plexus, then followed that with a left handed strike to the side of his head, though I pulled that one a bit. Okay not much, I was angry, after all. Just for good measure, since he had managed not to go down with those two hits, I turned and rammed a hip into his crotch.

That worked. Without being too damaging, which had been the plan.

“My name is Cindy.” I calmly informed him as he kind of writhed on the floor. “And yeah, all this stuff you've been pawing or trying to touch without my permission is real. Oh, if you ever, ever try that on me again, I'll rip your dick off and feed it to you. Just because I'm a girl now doesn't mean I still can't or won't kick your nasty ass if I have to.

“Oh, enjoy the gathering.” I sweetly told him, then turned and walked away without another glance.

Until I heard a very familiar voice from behind me.

My brother Chris was glaring at Ryan with one of those expressions that had people getting it thinking of escape routes. “If she doesn't do it, shit head, I will. Don't you ever touch one of my sisters again, got it?”

He turned to look at me, surprise, curiosity, and something else on his face and in his eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded and lowered my eyes in yet more embarrassment. This was soo not how I had wanted to be reintroduced to my brother, not that I'd been looking forward to the moment at all.

“You did good, sis.” He smiled then wrapped me in tight hug. Okay, so this wasn't the traumatic thing I'd been expecting. “And you still kick ass.”

“And don't you forget it.” I actually smiled back at him with the first real smile I'd shown all day.

“Not likely.” He chuckled and I was shocked by how much bigger he was compared to me once it sunk in that I was being hugged. “You and I need to talk, Cindy.”

“Oh yeah.” I nodded as he released me. “At least now I know who to go to if some bully picks on me."

"Oh right, just a poor weak little girl, are you? Shoot, I'd come running to you for help not the other way around. You kicked that Idiot's butt good but without a lot of fuss. And you look good doing it, too.”

“I did? I do?”

“Oh yeah, the moves were good and the rest of you ain't all that bad either, sis.”

“About that last part.”

“Yeah, one of things we need to talk about.” He answered quietly. “But later. Go ahead and enjoy for now, if you can. At least everyone knows you can take care of yourself after that little show.”

Well, that was the truth.

Carly and Aunt Cecily, then Mary Jane and Clarissa all told me I'd looked like a dancer when I put the obnoxious asshole down, not at all like a guy doing it. Strange, how can you come across as feminine when you're beating on someone?

Oh, they meant female, which is different tha feminine, I was told.

Wonderful.

At least the meat market thing with the guys eased up after that. And a lot of the females were giving my approving looks and smiles.

Go figure.

All in all, it hadn't been a good morning for the Carstairs branch of the family.

Yet another ordeal to face. The day had actually gone reasonably well, other than all the comments about how lovely I was from the ladies and the still persistent, if more circumspect sizing up from the guys. But now I had to face the females of the clan in my very first female conclave. Where I would really be judged, and either be deemed fit to join them, or be at least socially cast out.

No pressure there, right?

Seeing my expression and able to feel my worry with that empathy thing females just seemed to use without thinking, Aunt Cecily chuckled and pulled me towards the bathroom. “Don't worry, your sister and cousins felt the same way their first time.”

“But...”

“No buts, dear.” She gently told me then added. “Lady Moon accepted you, that should be enough to even stop your own protests.”

Remembering that light touch in the moonlight and the feeling of warming love that went with it, I couldn't find an argument at all.

So I took another bath. Without getting my hair wet, then once again experienced the little bit of heaven that is having your hair brushed by someone else till it shone. I even let out a contented little sigh while Aunt Cecily was doing it.

Gah! It hadn't even been twenty four hours since my transformation and I was having girly feelings?

Oh yeah, I'm doomed.

Then I was given a robe, with a hood, and nothing else to wear.

“What?” I gave my aunt a worried look. “Why just the robe?”

“It is tradition, dear.” She informed me then kissed my cheek. “New females are — examined by the elders.”

At my look of impending panic she draped the robe over my nude form and gave me a hug. “We all went through this, Cindy, even the elders. They won't be cruel, just endure it this one time and I promise you that the question of you belonging among us will be put away for good.”

“What do I do?”

“Simply enter the chamber, stand there, and don't fight what comes after that no matter how much it embarrasses you. Remember that you are a woman, even nude, among other women and just stand to let them examine you.”

“What?” I was still getting my head around the not a boy any longer thing. Thinking of myself as a woman among others was the kind of a stretch my poor brain just wasn't quite up to accepting just then.

“Just go with all that happens.” My aunt told me. “If someone gets out of line I will step in.”

Aunt Cecily was one of those dreaded elders. Big surprise there, right?

I had let her pull the hood up covering my hair and shadowing my face, then was led down a hall in my bare feet until we reached a door that was actually guarded by two women. They simply nodded and opened it so we could enter.

This chamber was every bit as impressive as the grand hall. It was huge, with the same kind of nests scattered around the floor, yet another huge fireplace, and a stage-like kind of dais in the center of the room. That is where I was led and climbed the steps until I stood in its center.

Once there I had the very uncomfortable and unnerving sense that every eye in the place was centered on me. Which made sense, since they were. I was the center of attention just then.

“We welcome a new sister this day.” A voice I didn't recognize came from somewhere behind me. “Another who has been touched by Lady Moon comes to us for recognition.”

“But this one is a boy!” I heard from somewhere in the chamber.

“No longer.” The same voice answered then commanded. “Remove your robe Cynthia so all may see that you belong with us.”

I did that, not without some trepidation. It was bad enough that I was a girl now, but to have to show that in all my nude glory wasn't something I was all that happy about.

“Do you see a boy standing here?” That same voice questioned.

And for some reason, that doubt, even if I still wasn't all that sure how happy I was with things, pissed me off. I stood straight, with the robe pooled around my feet, and dared anyone there to say I was a boy.

Sheesh, what brought that on?

“Do any of you assembled her see a boy in this one?”

Evidently no one could, which was no surprise since I already knew what I looked like.

“It is her mind and soul, that doesn't fit.” That protesting voice responded, a bit smugly I thought. “This one may be female in appearance, but she was a boy just yesterday.”

“She has communed with Lady Moon!” Another voice that I recognized as Carly interrupted.

“You are her sister.” That other voice countered. “Of course you would stand up for this 'boy in a woman shape'”

“She called to Lady Moon and the Lady answered!” Carly shot back.

“Then let her prove it.” That unfamiliar voice answered. “Here and now.”

“The Lady doesn't show her face at this time of day.” Carly argued. “That is not a fair test.”

“Call to the Lady.” The other voice told me and I could hear the mocking in it. “If you truly are one she touched on your first night, she will answer no matter what the circumstances.”

Okay, I wasn't all that happy about being a girl, I admit it, but I knew I was one. And whoever belonged to that voice had just pissed me off big time.

“All right.” I answered, not loudly, but for some reason it carried to the whole chamber and I even heard echoes. “I will.”

For a few moments I just stood there, recalling that warm, loving feeling I'd gotten the night before. I didn't have to say a word because all of a sudden I was bathed in silvery light that held that same sense of well being and love. And it filled the chamber.

It was gone as fast as it had come, but the effect was kind of interesting.

I heard a gasp that seemed to come from the whole chamber.

Then that same voice, the one who had doubted, me softly said. “This one is truly blessed by the Lady.”

After that came the physical examination. I absolutely refuse to talk about that. It was embarrassing.

And thorough.

Blush. A gynecologist would have nothing at all on the ladies who were checking me.

Let me just say that physically, I was all girl and leave it at that, okay?

Sleep came easily that night, even though the next day's plans absolutely terrified me.

We were going shopping. For clothes. For me.

But it had been a really long, and trying day. I'd deal with immersion in Girl 101 somehow but was determined that I was not going to go over the top girly with anything regardless of threats or blandishments from my aunt, cousins, and sister.

Nope, not going to happen.

My sleep was restless. I was dreaming again, but this time it wasn't about the peaceful moonlit forest.

The first thing I became aware of was the blood. A lot of it. The sight and smell were nearly overwhelming and it was fresh.

There was an antique appearing sword on the floor amidst the blood and the sheen alone told me it was silver, and enchanted so it was doubly dangerous and deadly to my kind. Touching it was out of the question if I didn't want to get burned badly.

How did I know that? Well for one thing, The Harpers didn't have a fancy set of 'good silverware' that was used much at all, except for when we had company. So that old wive's tale is true, anyway.

And I could still hear the terrified, bereft screams of that infant.

“The Hunters come, little one.” A familiar voice came into my head. The same one I'd kind of heard the previous night in the forest. “Be careful, be vigilant, be ready.”

“What?”

But that was all She would say.

I woke up bathed in a cold sweat and frantically searched my room for any signs of either blood or that awful sword.

Thankfully, neither was present.

But it was some time before I managed to fall back into sleep.