Author’s Note:Power is something that Dylan/Dahlia has never experienced and having any kind of power at all is something really new and scary. Plus she now has it two ways. In appearance, presence, and sexuality she still isn’t quite willing to admit to having and in abilities she is still discovering. She finds that frightening. Oh, things are still really weird and she really doesn’t have all that much power. Beyond her appearance, anyway.
 

“You did well, my Handmaiden.” Shae’song told me while he felt me up. I so wanted to kill him but couldn’t even move to try that.

“So I scared some assholes for you.” I moved away from his wandering hands. “So what?”

He allowed that with a smirk I so wanted to wipe off his face. “Your presence, and subservience to me has greatly increased my influence in matters that will change the world.”

“Good for you.” I said with a toneless answer that said I could care less at the time. This girl stuff was really getting waaay to easy, and that worried me but I didn’t have time to let that bother me too much just then.

“Just remember that you are pledge bound to me, my dear, lovely Dahlia.” He countered.

“I don’t know how you got that out of me, but yes, I am. Like it or not.” I agreed wondering how I just seemed to accept all this insanity as if it was something that happened all the time.

“That doesn’t matter, my dear.” Kae’song shrugged and gave me a smile that made me almost sick it was so possessive. “The point is, the pledge was given and you have no choice but to honor it.”

“Yeah.” I nodded with a sigh then changed tacks for a bit. “Why did you pick on us? Me and Sam, I mean? That hotel was full of people and you could have gotten a real couple without much more effort than it took you to get us.”

“Your essences fit my needs.” The mage responded simply. “I searched, looking for two spirits that would fit my requirements and the two of you met my needs. I did check others, but none resonated as you two did.”

“Oh.” I shrugged, ignoring the movement on my chest that caused, mostly because it was already starting to feel normal. “But why kidnap someone from another world? Couldn’t you have done this same thing to someone from here?”

“I could have.” He answered then gave me that really evil, pointy teeth grin. “But they would have already known the rules of existence here. I required someone I could manipulate before that knowledge worked its way into their minds.”

“Like the promise and pledge thing.” I grimaced, recalling the force of the feeling I’d gotten when Sam and I had made our promises to my maids.

“Exactly so.” Kae’song smiled. “I exacted the pledges I needed from you and your mate before either of you had settled in enough to begin to feel and understand what they meant.”

“You’re one evil, despicable bastard and when I can I’m going to do my best to kill you, Kae’song.” I told him in a matter of fact way as if I was discussing the weather. Hoo boy. This Dhro’aaa thing was as bad as the girl thing. I actually felt the seething hatred and resentment I had for him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Of course I am.” He nodded then shrugged. “As to the last part of your statement, it is no surprise. Your kind are not fond of being bound. But bound you are and you will obey until I release you.”

Part of my mind had already started plotting and scheming to find a way to trick him into releasing me, and Sam. Don’t ask. I still didn’t completely understand it either. I just knew I was doing it and didn’t argue about it.

“You were really scary out there.” Sam told me once I’d returned to our rooms and flopped down into a couch that was so comfortable it should have been illegal.

“Huh?” I looked at him and shook my head.

“In that meeting.” He went on. “I was there too, as a kind of guard, and wow! You looked like some pissed off queen and I got the feeling that you could just, you know, wave your hand and the people pissing you off would get hurt.”

“They were putzes.” I answered then took a little time to be shocked by that assessment of the gathering. I mean those creatures, people and whatever would have terrified me when I was Dylan. “Not a real power among them, just wannabes.”

“I noticed.” Sam nodded then got that perplexed expression I knew I’d had more than once over the past day or so.

“Don’t let it make you crazy, Sam.” I let out a sigh and accepted a chilled goblet of wine Brigid handed me without really thinking about it while nodding my thanks to the girl. “Evidently the ‘rules’ of existence on this world are still sinking in for us. I also think you and I are supposed to be some real bad asses.”

“I kind of noticed that.” Sam thoughtfully answered. “Those orcs cringe and edge away whenever I walk past them in the hall. How weird is that?”

“No weirder than me looking over a roomful of mages, monsters, and whatever and letting them know I didn’t think they were worth worrying about.” I answered. “This is sooo strange, Sam.”

“So what do we do now?” He asked.

“Damned if Iknow.” I shrugged and took a sip of the wine. “One thing for sure, we have to get out of here. We’re bound to obey Kae’song, but if we can’t hear his commands I think we don’t have to obey them. If that makes any sense.”

“Works for me.” Sam nodded while sipping his own wine. “But how do we manage to do that?”

“Working on it.” I told him. Oh, another thing to keep in mind here, too. Be very careful about making promises to people. It seems that if we make one, we have to honor it no matter what it was. Even an idle one could cause us a lot of trouble.”

“Oh, right.” Sam shuddered and took a long drink of his own wine. “I kind of understood that, but hadn’t really thought about all the problems the things could cause us.”

“Well, then.” I teased a little. “It’s a good thing I’m here to do the thinking for us, isn’t it?”

He gave me a funny look then actually chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose it is. You always were the one to think things through and worry about the consequences when we ran together all the time.”

Another odd thing, or maybe not so odd. It seems the female Dhro’aaa tend to be ‘the brains of the outfit’ when interacting with the males. Yeah, I know, human women will say the same thing, but this was kind of different.

I mean, I was a system administrator, which took some smarts back home. Here, I looked at things that would have had the old me working for awhile and they looked absurdly simple, as in something a child could do in like ten seconds. Was I really that much smarter than I’d been? Whoa.

Not that Sam was a dummy. Quite the contrary, actually. But an engineer looks at things as, well things, not at the personal interactions an IT professional routinely dealt with.

Also, as the sense of being part of this world began — how to say it? — penetrating? No, for reasons I’m not mentioning I don’t like that word just now. So try soaking in? Yeah that works. Soaking in the longer we were there.

Dhro’ aaa females were innate magic users. Either as mages or priestesses, most of them had magical abilities and were able to use those. Hmm, another thing to look into. And don’t ask how I knew that, read back a little and that will tell you.

Dhro’aaa males were warriors. Merciless, powerful, and skilled. Looking at Sam’s form I could understand that given the smooth play of muscle whenever he moved, and the grace those movements possessed, and the combination was really sexy.

Wait. None of that, Dylan. Okay, none of that, Dahlia. What was with me? Thinking my oldest, best friend was sexy? Gods save me. I am turning into a girl. Okay, technically I already did that, I know. But there’s more to being a girl than just outside appearances and I mean I was turning into a GIRL here.

And you wonder why I was having problems thinking things through?

Brain fart time here. Girl stuff, inappropriate sexual responses, appropriate sexual responses, sexual responses period…

“I need to get some air.” I announced, getting off the couch and heading for one of the balconies. After looking at Sam there, a cold shower would have helped a lot, too.

Why me? I moaned to myself as I left the room. Wisely, Sam didn’t follow. I’d either have tried to kill him or tripped him and beat him to the floor. Sheesh.

I stood out on that balcony, watching the clouds move like clouds do, below where I was watching, and just kind of phased out for awhile. There were faint lights in the distance, villages, isolated farmsteads, even a smallish town that I could see from my vantage. My eyesight was a lot more acute, too, and I could see things in conditions that the old me would have considered pitch black. I muttered, shook my head, and made sure I didn’t sit on my hair when I finally settled onto the stone bench. “Sweat the little stuff later, Dyl — Dahlia. Sam and you have bigger concerns just now.”

And yes, I was starting to call myself Dahlia. Well admit it, the name fit the present me a lot better than some guy name…

It was a little cold but I ignored that, just staring at the horizon, the surrounding mountains and trying to think about what had happened and how I was reacting to all that.

I knew he was there, walking out of our rooms to join me on the balcony, but I didn’t acknowledge his presence as I took in the view. Those mountains, the sky, the whole thing made anything I was going through seem trivial in comparison. Wow. Now, someone please slap me for getting philosophical here. Please.

I felt something being placed over my shoulders and fall to cover me down to my feet.

“It’s kind of cold out here, you know.” Sam told me.

“I know.” I answered, hugging the fur lined cloak around me and looking up at him. “I don’t feel the cold like I used to, you know.”

“Neither do I.” He said and just turned his head to look out at the view from our balcony.

Our balcony?!! Okay, another thing to put on that list of stuff to think about and work through later….

Beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked as I unconsciously leaned back into him.

“Yeah.” He answered then just let us relax and look at the horizon, the mountains, and whatever.

“Sam.” I told him, without moving out of his loose embrace. “You are the best friend I’ve ever had, I’m glad you’re here with me, even if this is all fucked up.”

“Friends help friends.” He answered and gave me a soft, really nice hug. And NO. I am NOT going there. I won’t . I won’t. I won’t.

“What the hell is happening to us, Sam?” I asked, and hated the plaintive, feminine note in the question.

“I don’t know any more than you do, Dahlia.” He answered and I did take note he used my girl name there. “We just need to work our way through it and out of the problems we’re having now. I just know that I’ll be there for you whatever happens.”

“I know.” I answered, feeling the same thing no matter how much I wanted to deny it. “I’ll be there for you too.”

“Then that’s all we need right now isn’t it?” He grinned down at me.

“Yeah.” I grinned, and actually gave him a peck to the cheek kind of kiss. “Thanks, Sam.”

The next few weeks were interesting. If irritating at times.

It was clear that Sam and I had abilities that were just, you know, things we could do. Not that we could just call those up and do them. Not that easy. We had to learn how to use them.

“Light the candle, m’lady.” The mage who had been commanded to teach me the ins and outs of magic told me while pointing at the damned thing.

I looked at the flaming brazier, the still unlit candle and looked at him. “Got a match?”

“No.” He answered then gestured to the blazing brazier and the unlit candle. “Look at the flame, m’lady. Feel it, know what it is, how it lives, what it does.”

“It burns.” I answered, kind of surprised that I’d felt that at all. “It lives to consume, but gives things so it can do that.”

“Yes, m’lady.” The mage answered, evidently pleased with what I’d said. “Now, feel the flame, take it into your mind, and put it on that candle wick.”

I looked at the candle, and felt it. The flame wanting to burn, to live, to be something other than nothing, and sent that feeling to the candle.

It lit.

“Wow,” I breathed while watching the candle I’d just lit without a match or even touching it.

“Now you know how magic works, m’lady.” He told me.

“Yes.” I answered almost absently. “Thank you.”

“I don’t think you will require more lessons, m’lady.” He told me.

“No, I don’t think I will.” I replied while taking in the enormity of what I’d just learned.

Wow.

I couldn’t do the really flashy stuff magically, though. You know the fireball, lightning bolt throwing kind of thing? Well, we all have to accept and work with our limitations. I just decided those kinds of magic were something I’d really have to study to learn and let it go for the time being. I was more than Sure Kae’song wouldn’t permit me to even start trying to learn things like that. With pretty good reason when I stopped to think about it.

there were some funny as in humorous, things that happened after that.

“Marisol.” I grumbled while glaring at the still stubbornly locked wardrobe. I was looking for some clothes that didn’t show more than they hid and knew there were some in that recalcitrant wardrobe. If I could just get the thing open… "Have you seen the key to this thing?"

“No, m’lady.” The maid answered calmly, used to me and my quirks by then. “I think you had it the last time I saw it.”

“Great.” I sighed. Locating misplaced objects wasn’t one of the new talents I’d acquired. I started thinking bad thoughts for the wardrobe’s future as a useful piece of furniture while staring at the stubborn lock. Then for some reason just reached out a finger, touched it and silently asked the danged thing to open.

With a sharp click it did. And I found myself looking at the contents I’d been after since the door had also quite obligingly opened, too. I looked at my finger, then back to the lock, then to Marisol who was watching me with a bemused expression and gave me a little shrug before going back to the dusting she’d been doing. “Wow.”

My eyes widened and I chuckled, which people were learning didn’t bode well for someone’s peace of mind most of the time. Not that I was really malicious or anything, just mischievous at times. “Oh, I’m going to have sooo much fun with this one.”

“I’m sure you will, m’lady.” Marisol imperturbably agreed, though I could see hints a smile teasing at the edges of her mouth as she did that.

“Lady Dahlia.” Kae’song gave me an exasperated, halfway amused sigh a few days later. “Would you mind not opening every lock you come across in the place? The dungeon guards just spent an hour chasing down one of my prisoners — again, and they’re starting to grumble.”

“I have to do something for fun around here.” I countered then shrugged in agreement. I wasn’t going to promise not to play with locks anymore, but he accepted that as an acknowledgement he could live with.

“I’ll arrange for you get some more training in other things, to occupy at least some of your time, then.” He told me.

I could live with that, I supposed.

“I wish, just once, that I could walk down the hall without everyone staring, drooling, and whatever.” I muttered after attending to Kae’song at another of his gatherings. Of course I’d had to wear a set of those too revealing clothes for it and was trying to hurry back to the chambers Sam and I shared.

Some of the looks I got were outright lustful, others were carefully neutral, and a few, some of the elves bound to service here actually glared at me with outright hatred. None of which was pleasant at all.

I thought about how nice a little invisibility spell would be just then, head still down and muttering about things in general again when a page literally ran into me. “Sheesh! Watch where you’re going!”

“I am sorry, Lady.” The guy, not much more than a kid, actually gave me a look of wide eyed fear and startlement. “Truly, I didn’t see you a moment ago. My apologies!”

He started edging away then almost ran to get away from me when I noticed something really odd. Not one person in the hallway was looking at me. I had to dodge around another minion who didn’t see me until the last minute either. Then I smiled to myself. Okay, it wasn’t exactly invisibility, but unless someone was really close, or I was making noise, people just seemed to not notice my presence. “Not bad.”

My voice and chuckle dispelled whatever I’d been doing and people started staring again, but that was all right. I’d just discovered another potentially very useful trick. I was actually in a good mood when I got back to our rooms. Which after serving His Whatever in one of his meetings was unusual enough that the maids thought I’d finally lost what little sanity I had managed to hang on to up till then.

“Ouch!” I was cutting a piece off a melon and the knife slipped a bit, cutting my finger enough that it was bleeding freely. After carefully setting the offending piece of cutlery down (me throwing things when I got angry tended to result in, well, lots more damage to things than I expected) and put the injured digit up to my mouth.

“Where’s a band aid when you really need one?” I grumped while looking at the cut. It was a little one, really, but given the state of medical arts in general around here if you didn’t have access to a healer, even a small cut could mean trouble later if you weren’t careful.

While I was staring my other hand got kind of warm, and I automatically reached with it to cradle the one I’d hurt. There was tingle, in both hands and the cut was gone. I mean gone as if it had never been there at all. Not even a mark on the offended digit to show it been hurt.

Huh. So I could heal, at least minor injuries. Hmmm. I did notice that I was little tired? Not quite that, but something in me had been taxed. I ate my melon and wondered about that for awhile.

Sam was going through his own training too. Like I said, we had innate abilities.

I watched him, unarmed, kick the crap out of an Ogre, and felt a rush of pride, and something else I just wasn’t ready to admit to just then. Okay, just why did I feel good when Sam did well?

I am sooo NOT going there. I did NOT get that warm feeling down there, or have my traitorous nips standing at attention when he beat that ogre. No way.

Sam was my friend. I was glad he did well. Yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

But I know I have my champion.

And despite all the protests, that feels kind of good.

“How do I use this?” I asked the arms master while examining the thin blade in my hand. “It doesn’t have a handle.”

“Hilt, it would be a hilt, m’lady.” The guy patiently explained. “It needs no hilt because this blade isn’t designed to be held, just thrown.”

“Oh.” I gave the blade another look and had to admit that it was really well balanced, though how I knew that I hadn’t a clue about. “So show me how it works, please.”

He nodded with a little smile. I’d learned that scary as I seemed to be for most people, if I was polite they usually responded well. “All right, m’lady. Watch me carefully.”

I did, as he gripped the blade between finger and thumb then sent it singing into the air with an almost negligent flick of his wrist. The blade, by the way, ended up firmly embedded in the bulls eye of the target twenty yards away.

I nodded and accepted another blade from him and let my hand get a feel for it. Again, I didn’t know how I had the knowledge, but the blade was beautifully crafted and perfect for what it had been made for.

I flicked my wrist and all of a sudden that blade was quivering in the target right beside the one he’d thrown.

Holy crap!

I nodded, smiled, and looked at the other blades, the target, and my ‘teacher’. “I see.”

“Indeed you do, Lady.” He nodded and bowed. We moved on to the care and feeding of daggers and other sundry items that all had wicked points and sharp edges.

Learning to use a sword was nowhere near as much fun as the throwing knives. It was hot, sweaty, and — just — kind of inelegant if that means anything to you. I knew beyond doubt that if I ever had to resort to using a sword, I was really in trouble. But then again, that was one of things Sam was around for. The other stuff I still resolutely did my best to not notice.

Learning to use a bow was interesting. Turns out I could use the recurved long bow, but was more comfortable with the short bow. After a little practice, I was just as good with a bow as I was with the throwing knives. Sheesh. People say that things just come naturally to some people but don’t really mean it that way. With me and the throwing knives and bow, they did. Once I picked the things up and tried them out, I just knew how to use them.

Oh, I had a new hobby, besides driving my male escorts to distractions of sexual fantasies. And yes, I admit it, I did that and it was actually kind of fun if I didn’t think much past the act itself.

No, the new hobby was because being able to open locks with a touch was boring. So I had someone teach me how to pick them. That I actually enjoyed, and had to work at learning how to do it.

“Hemlock, Maiden’s Ease, Bella Donna.” I identified the herbs laid out on the table and then explained the uses of each one. It seems I also had a good knowledge of herb lore and poisons, and how to make use of them. Hmmm, that has possibilities that I’m not going into just now.

“Remarkable, Lady.” My present teacher, an alchemist told me. “One would think that you had been born as you are and grew up learning these things.”

“Don’t ask me to explain it.” I shrugged. “For all practical purposes, on this world, I was born this way, and the attendant knowledge just seems to be something the magic is taking care of. All I need to do is try the things and there you go. Instant poisoner, or whatever.”

“So I see, Lady.” He answered and shrugged himself. “I don’t pretend to understand the higher magics. I am a simple herbalist and chemist.”

“Don’t feel all alone.” I told him with a grimace. “I don’t understand how all this works and to be honest it kind of scares me at times the way I pick things up like I do.”

“You need the skills to survive in this world, Lady.” He answered simply.

Yeah, I suppose he was right. Now if only I could get comparable skills regarding other things in my life…