Annia’s Story

Before the written word, people shared stores by way of oral tradition. Sometimes these were fairy tales, or morality plays, but sometimes actual history was shared by one person telling another, passing the story down through time until some bright person finally writes it down. Many of those stories have sadly been lost, so it’s not impossible something like the tale I’m about to share really happened.

You young ones want to hear about Annia do you?

I’ll tell you but you have to promise to pass it on.

Promise?

All right then. This is the story my mother told me, and when the time comes, you will tell your children.

A long time ago, in the old country, a young lady had a serious problem. She’d gotten married to a young man who’d been her friend her whole life, but he couldn’t ... consummate the marriage.

So the newly wed couple ended up going to their villiage’s wise woman.

She told them, “ I believe I can help you, if both of you will take this honesty potion. The only way to solve your problems is by telling each other the truth.”

The two took the potion, and under its influence the husband revealed that his issues with sex were because he had always felt like a girl.

His bride was surprised that she really wasnt surprised, that she had felt the girl within her husband all along, but denied it consciously.

After the three confirmed for a while, the wise woman told the couple she would throw her support behind the husband becoming a woman, both with special herbs that would mold the body and with her protection from any negative reaction.

This was agreed to, and a transformation began.

The wise woman found some local plants that when consumed would slowly change a male body into a more feminine one, and also made sure the local villagers knew that the young woman to be was under her protection.

Not that there was much of a problem since it was well known that people like her have a special connection to the gods.

So she was renamed Annia, which means “precious one” in our language, and soon proved to be worthy of the name.

She quickly became an apprentice to the wise woman, and had a natural talent for herbs, and a compassion for any who needed them.

So good was she, that long before the herbs she took could finish transforming her body, her acceptance as a woman was nearly total.

As for Annia’s bride, she found a good man from a nearby village and when it was her time to give birth with her first it was Annia who assisted her.

The baby was named Portia and given to Annia to raise, since she could not have children of her own.

Time passed, and when the old wise woman died Annia replaced her, and Portia grew up.

And finally, Annia died, and was mourned by all.

During the mourning period, Portia who decided she wanted to preserve her mother’s story, and began the tradition of telling it to all the children in the village, making them promise to tell their children as well, so the story would not be lost.

So that’s what I’m doing today, and asking you to do the same when the time comes.

I have your promise now, so dont disappoint me, you hear?

End.