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

I'd been out of work for six months, and I wasn't really wearing anything you would call makeup in my line of work for 'Huguenot,' but three am still wasn't difficult for me. Most of my adult life had been spent on the sets of movies where I wore a lot of special effects makeup.

Three am wakeup calls are a normal part of that. They want a full day of shooting, which means the three to six hours of makeup has to start before a normal days work. Before anyone else arrive, Karl carefully removed my breasts. He'd hired a dermatologist for the next part, as he wanted a medical opinion of the effects of Permanence.

The dermatologist was a short swarthy man with a pronounced Spanish accent. Castilian due to the slight lisp. "Call me doctor Garza. Let us see. . .Dawn?"

"Yes, Dr. Garza"

"Well, let us have a look at your skin, yes?"

"Thank you, Dr. Garza."

He poked and prodded a bit. Then he took a scraping of my skin. He poked some more. Pinched me a little.

"I will do some tests upon this sample, okay? But seems good to me."

"Thank you for coming in, Dr. Garza," Karl said and Ilene showed him to the door.

"Well, I'm thinking that we might be able to get about five days before Permanence really starts breaking down. We need to touch up the edges after any serious time in the pool or a bath, but other than that. . ."

I began to smile a little smile, "second skin with new Permanence. The next best thing to reality."

"Yeah, now we just need to make commercials," Ilene said with a giggle as she returned.

Karl reapplied my breasts, and then we put the gaffe back on. Looking at me in my underwear Karl got a bit of a glazed over look.

"Ilene, honey, could you get me a dressing robe? I seem to have broken your husband. Sorry."

"No, it's not that. Um. I need another life cast of you, Dawn."

"Another? Don't we have enough as it is?"

"No, I have an idea for something that. . .I need to make some mockups, and then we need the life cast. No time right now, but I'll tell you when we do the life cast. If they give us time this evening, we'll get it them. Otherwise, you get to be patient. Don't really want to get your hopes up unless it really seems like it'll pan out."

I sighed, but I was truly happy. Well, not truly happy. It was a bitter sweet moment. I knew that my wife was dead. I mourned her loss. At the same time, I was able to move on with my life because I finally realized where my life should have been going all along.

I was sad that I couldn't share this with Aimee. Sad that we couldn't have worked something out. I was happy that I could show the world the woman I longed to be.

No, that's not quite right. Show them the woman I was.

The makeup and hair people descended upon me. Some of them I remembered from "Love's Sunset." Some of them were new to me. All of them loved what we were pulling over on the 'reality people.'

None of them knew I was physically male.

First it was my makeup and hair. They piled my hair up on top of my head, leaving a couple of locks to frame my face. They spent quite a while on my face.

"Dear, how did you get to this age without ever piercing your ears?"

I blushed, "I was in tomboy mode. Figured I'd get them caught on something."

"You could have always taken them out to play sports."

"Never thought to do that."

"Well, if they have us back in I'm bringing my gun."

"Okay. Sounds god to me."

After finishing with my face, they got my hands and feet. They did them both in ochre.

The sheathed me in my beautiful velvet dress, and slipped on the gloves. They helped me with the nylons and shoes. I could see my nails peeking out of the toe.

I caught view of myself in the full length mirror. I was a vision. I felt so sorry for everyone else in that moment. Not very sorry, but sorry none the less.

"Thank you all. We'll call you when we need you next." Karl said, and they filtered out.

That was at six am.

I spent the next hour trying to get used to walking in three inch heels. I was marginally successful. Which is to say I could walk about ten feet before I tripped over my own.

"Okay, dawn. You'll have to practice a bit later, cause for now, the two of us have to get to the studio."

"Thanks, Karl, for the vote of confidence, and while we're out, I'm Barbara."

He smiled at that. He helped me into the back seat again, and handed me the rest of my dress after I was seated. I felt so luxurious sitting there in that dress, and the feel of the fabric on my bare biceps was truly nice.

We pulled up at the studio and Karl helped me out of the car.

"Thank you, Karl."

"Welcome, Barbara. Knock 'em dead, dear. Break a leg."

"On these stilts? Very good possibility."

I was walking to the door and tripped over my own feet again. I felt an arm catch me before I could collide with the earth and break some of the work that we had gone through so much trouble to complete.

"You okay, miss?"

"Sorry, it's these stilts I'm in. I loved the dress, and just couldn't bring myself to take it in, so that meant I had to have these shoes."

I pulled up my dress a but so he could see my foot.

"Very pretty feet, miss."

"Barbara. And thank you so much for preventing me from making a bigger fool of myself than I already have."

"Sean. Can I offer you my arm, then? It will make it easier for me since I won't have to leap to your rescue again."

"Why thank you, kind sir. I much appreciate it. You have a slight accent. Where are you from?"

"Small country in Europe. We only regained out independence in the last twenty years, so you might not have heard of us."

"I hear a bit of. . .Polish, possibly another Slavic language."

"Serbian."

"Well, my Serbian friend, just get me in there in one piece and I shall be eternally grateful."

We were getting inside, and something occurred to me.

"Sean isn't a Serbian name."

He held the door for me, and I slipped inside, then he joined me and offered his arm to me again.

"No, my name is Sergei Anatoleyevich Mirov. Unfortunately my normal nickname is Sasha which is a girl's name in America. I decided that Sean was close enough."

"Sasha is a nickname for Sergei? That's. . ."

"Very Russian."

"That's an apt description for it."

He smiled at me and for a moment my heart stopped. He helped me into the studio and I took my place with the other girls. I showed them my engraved invitation, and the tech people smiled at me.

There were a number of men in the room with us as well.

"Okay, we're looking for beautiful people for this. First cuts are now, please smile if asked."

Two men and three women walked among us, examining our makeup and dresses. A number of girls and a few boys were asked to leave. The boys that were asked to leave were wearing two pant suits, or blazers. Basically they simply did not get the concept of dressing well.

Two of the girls have visible wrinkles through their makeup. Another had a skirt and blouse.

Then it was the hard decisions. Bad coordination of shoes and dress. Bad choice in makeup colors. Plastic nail extensions.

Then all five of them were hovering around me and I did the only thing I could do. I smiled.

They moved on after that, but one of the women hung back while the others walked on. "Get your ears pierced, dear. Your smile is the only thing that just saved you."

There were only thirty women and about a hundred men left after that.

"For this next part ladies, and gentlemen, we'd like you to mingle a bit."

So, we mingled. Sean latched onto me and lead me from group to group. He'd leave me there and go talk to other people, but he was my knight for the duration. Every time they called switch he was there with his arm.

I felt a couple of jealous stares from the other women, because Sean was quite handsome, but I ignored them.

I was getting much more adept at walking in the heels as the time wore on, even as my feet grew more sore.

Slowly they pared us down until there were only five women and five men left. The woman who'd worn the backless red dress on Wednesday was still with us. Sean had also made the cut.

"Thank you, ladies and gentleman. We'll have the ladies back here in four months time to make a final determination for our primary sixteen."

"Gentleman, we'll have you back a week after the ladies."

"We begin shooting in six months time. Ladies, Gentlemen, even if you aren't a primary, we'll need you to clear your schedules as you will be an alternate. Welcome to The Real Prince Charming."

I have to admit I squealed, but I wasn't the only one. there was general laughter and we broke up and went our separate ways. They gave us the date that we needed to be back for last looks as we say in the special effects business.

I was out to Karl's car before I knew it, and as soon a I was seated in back, I took off the torture devices that are jokingly called shoes.

"How'd it go?"

"Well, I need my ears pierced, and not having them so already almost cost me a spot."

"You're in?"

"We're in. Let's get back to Washed Out Bridge so we can plan."

"Well, I've done some of the sketches I needed while I waited, and I think I might actually be able to pull this off."

"Pull what off?"

He just smiled in his mirror at me while we drove back to the workshop.

When we got there, he started on a life cast, of my posterior of all things. It was cold, and really slimy. It was also one of the more uncomfortable experiences I'd been through. The claustrophobia of getting your face molded was the worst. This was just slightly less. And he wanted me to do two poses. One with my legs splayed, and one with my legs in a more classic mannequin position.

I was beginning to get an inkling of what he was planning, but like he said earlier, I really didn't want to get my hopes up.

It would probably beat a gaffe, anyway.

It took him two days to get the lifecast done. Then began the swearing as one after another appliances failed. Ilene and I spent a lot of time through this period bonding.

That means we were out of the workshop and shopping. More specifically she was shopping, and I was spending time with her. She had me try on lots of clothing, and we began to get a good idea of what looked good on me, and what didn't.

About a week after the lifecasts were made, we were just coming out of an American Eagle store when we ran into Julia.

"Ilene, I haven't seen you since the funeral. You've been busy I hear with a new production of some sort."

"Julia! You're looking good."

"Thank you, and you're avoiding the question."

"Well, that's because it's all very hush hush."

"Who is your new friend?"

"Hi, I'm Dawn."

"You look familiar to me."

"I was in a movie a couple of years ago. 'Love's Sunset?'"

"That was you? I wondered where you'd gotten off to. I thought that you were going places, and then you simply disappear for three years."

"I had someone near to me die and I wasn't ready to go back out into the world."

"Sorry to hear that, Dawn. Say, I'd love to introduce you around. . .what?"

"Dawn's part of that secret project we're working on. Don't want to let too much go, but she can't be seen by the normal crowd, if you know what I mean. Part of the whole nature of it requires that she be incognito."

"Not another one of those pseudo reality TV shows is it, where they get actors to pretend they're on a reality TV show?"

"None of those have been 100% confirmed. . ."

"Julia, I've heard some things about you, and one of them was that you keep a secret."

"How would you. . ."

"Well, not many people know this, but Donnie Leary is my brother. He sort of wanted to keep me out of the spotlight, but Aimee convinced me to try out for 'Love's Sunset.' It really pissed him off, and that's part of the reason I wasn't allowed to try out."

"I thought you said. . ."

"Ilene doesn't think I should mention Donnie. He's missing."

"Missing? Have you phoned the police?"

"Yes, but they told us that as he's an adult he probably just ran away from his life. It apparently happens."

And was one of the more popular bad script devices used in a lot of movies you've never heard of but I've read for. Adult male runs from his life only to be thrust into one of: A mystery, a horrible tragedy, an axe murderers path, and alternate dimension, some of the above or all of the above.

They invariably get relegated to episodes of mid-day soap operas.

"You don't think he might have. . ."

Crying on queue is an art form. I needed it as a child actor, and it didn't fail me now. Especially since while it was fake when I started, it wasn't by the time I was cried out. I finally mourned Aimee. I mourned Donnie as well.

Julia and Ilene helped me to a bench and I sat down as they surrounded me with love from both sides.

"Thank you both, but I really think I need to go fix my makeup now. I must look a complete mess."

We got into the bathroom, and my makeup was a complete write off. Luckily I'd been practicing regular makeup over the past week, so I was able to reapply my makeup without giving myself away to Julia.

Looking at me, Julia got a thoughtful expression. "I always thought that Donnie was an only child."

"Yeah, that's what his Bio said. He wanted to keep me out of the spotlight. Hogging it all to himself I think."

"Yeah, that sounds like Donnie to me."

"Also, you may have noticed I'm a better actor than he is."

"The term is actress, Dawn."

"The term actor is an accepted gender neutral term, with the term actress applied in situations where specific gender is required. In this case, as I was referring to people of mixed gender, using the more neutral of the two terms seemed more appropriate."

"Wow, there's something else you have that Donnie never did, Dawn."

"What's that, Julia?" I asked, genuinely curios how I was different from myself.

"Donnie wouldn't argue about anything. It used to really frustrate Aimee. She wanted him to take a stand and man up once in a while. You are more man than he was, it seems."

"Thanks, I think."

All three of us giggled at my response.

We finished up our war paint, and made our way back to the mall proper before Julia spoke again, beyond random banter.

"so, what was the big secret you want me to keep."

"Oh, I'm crashing the set of a reality TV show using a full makeup and wardrobe team. Consultants, the works."

"What?" her eyes shone, "Need any waxing for this? Other salon treatments?"

"We're actually opting for laser hair removal, or we would be happy to visit you."

"I swear I lose more business to that alone."

"Well, I'm sure that you're great at your job."

"Believe me, Dawn, she's one of the best."

'Well, if I have a relapse, hair wise, I know who to visit."

Julia smiled at this.

We visited the food court for some suitably fattening food after our workout in the cramped stalls of the changing rooms. I swear that you almost have to be a contortionist in some of these places to get changed.

We hugged after we ate.

"It's been nice meeting you, Dawn. We'll have to do this again sometime."

"I'd like that, Julia. Well, back to the grind stone."

"What are you working on?"

"Posture, diction, and makeup. A bit of self hair styling as well. I'm learning tips from some of the best."

"Well, if what you did today is any indication, then you're well on your way to being a pro. I've seen professionals do a worse job than this."

I blushed at her comment, "Thank you."

We did the air kisses and then Ilene and I were off to the workshop.

We came home to a triumphantly smiling Karl.

"I was over thinking it. I assumed that I'd have to keep the whole thing insanely thin to work, but when I did that, it became obvious that there was. . .something. . .behind it.

"The thing is, I didn't need to have it super thin, just blended."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Karl."

"Then let me try it on you, and we'll go from there."

"Okay. . ."

"I need you to strip from the waist down."

I did so.

"Ok, I need you to squat a bit. I made two of them, and we're going to try some more regular adhesive with both of them. See which one has a more natural look. I've never needed to do this before."

I won't go into all of the technical details, but needless to say there was a Texas catheter involved.

He glued everything down, and had me walk over to the mirror. There was something a little off about the whole thing, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Ilene came and stood next to me.

"I think you sculpted too much labia into this one, Karl."

"I was a bit afraid of that. It was the strange body position. I tried to compensate, but it looks like it was too much compensation."

He removed it. He had me lay down on the table to get the next one in place. It was much more snug. That's the only way I can describe it.

Individually punched hair. Perfect match to my flesh tone. It looked natural, and I could feel the pressure of my penis trying to push against the appliance. I didn't see any change outwardly to reflect this.

I had a vagina. A cosmetic one, sure, but a vagina none the less.

"Wow," was all Ilene could say.

"Ilene, could you see me in the office for a moment. Dawn, get dressed."

I giggled as the two of them walked off, but I got my clothing on anyway. I was able to forgo the gaffe.

I filled it out completely differently than I had even with the super gaffe that Ilene had used. It was. . .natural this look. I felt myself tearing up, so I quickly got my skirt back on and sat there waiting for the two lovebirds.

Of course now that I think on it, calling them love rabbits would be better if it didn't sound so corny.

While I was waiting, I began to realize that I had to use the restroom. Badly. From what he'd been telling me, this wasn't supposed to be a problem.

So, I went in and used the facilities. I don't know why I felt a sense of satisfaction that everything worked the way that Karl had planned, but wiping off the appliance gave me a sense of accomplishment for some reason.

When Karl came back, after a lot longer than I'd thought it would take him, I was less than patiently waiting to tell him the news.

"Well, it seems to be functional. Well, as functional as you wished to make it."

"Glad to hear. So, you ready to get it stuck into some Permanence?"

"Of course, and now comes the real test. Let's go with them until the bond fails so we have an actual time table. Just record, don't fix."

"Great idea, Dawn. About the same thing I was about to say. We have seven days 'til your next laser hair removal appointment, so we should just have enough time, provided that my calculations are anything resembling correct."

So, for the next five days, twelve hours, fifteen minutes and nine seconds I wore the pieces of my body that were second skin.

It was wonderful, for the first day and a half, when everything was perfectly in place. I was the woman I was beginning to see myself as. Beautiful, confident, poised.

Then I slowly began to fall apart.

The crotch section of my girdle, as Karl began to call it, came off first at 3 days and about eighteen hours. The rest of it went not much after that. Apparently the tube developed a pinhole puncture and the urine ate away at the glue.

Karl assured me it wouldn't happen again. It was VERY nasty.

The breasts hung on for a lot longer. I lost my left one only twenty minutes before the right one. The right was the one that lasted the full time quoted.

The next day was my LHR appointment, so we didn't reapply, and I really was feeling miserable. We had what little hair had grown back zapped, and I impatiently waited for us to get back to the workshop so I could get back to being me.

The next four months went like that in cycles. A week of fixing edges, and practice on speed for Karl, and then a week to allow the bond to fail on its own.

The longer I wore it, the better than Karl got at getting it applied. It is also possible that as my follicles began to seal up it provided a better surface for the appliance.

By the end, we had to stop fixing the edges nine days before my appointment, as it would take eight days before the bond failed.

Two days before the big event, I got a phone call from Joyce.

"Dawn, honey, there's been a slight change in plans. Nothing major. They'd just like everyone to come in a swim suit. There's been a rumor going around that. . .look I didn't tell anyone, but someone says that one of the contestants is a transvestite."

"Joyce, don't worry. I've got it covered. Literally."

"Well, wear a g string bikini then, as that was been requested of all the girls still interested in being in the contest."

"Well, Karl, looks like you are a genius."

"Why do you say that?"

"I have to wear a string bikini to this now. They heard a rumor that a transvestite will be trying to attend."

There was general laughter at this. Both of them knew that I wasn't, technically, a transvestite.

I just realized I forgot to tell you one of the more important parts of this story. I know, you're all thinking I'm ditzy at this point. Anyway. About two months before the phone call, I woke up happy and ready to go. I met a serious Ilene and Karl on the workshop floor.

"Dawn, honey, Karl and I have been talking."

"No, it's mostly me, so let me tell her. I did some reading on the internet, Dawn. Mostly on medical websites. Some not so clinical. Well, there are options for you to really have a body like I've given you, but not before the contest. However, that's not such a bad thing."

"You're botching it, Karl."

"Think you can do better?"

"Yes. Dawn, you really feel yourself to be a woman, right?"

I nodded.

"You want for society to see you as one as well, and potentially get Gender Reassignment Surgery, right?"

"Yes, I would like that."

"Ok, then to do that, you need to speak to a licensed therapist. We have an appointment for you for tomorrow morning."

"But, that's not enough time. . ."

"You can go how you feel comfortable."

A light was beginning to dawn on me. Get it? Dawn?

Anyway, I was going en femme.

I dressed casually, but feminine, and once again Karl drove me. I sat up front this time thought.

The office was small, but comfortable. I walked up calmly to the receptionists desk. "Donnie Leary. I have an appointment with the doctor."

"Miss Leary, I know it's how you feel. I know it's not really my place, but I've never seen a more feminine female patient come in here than you. You really don't strike me as the usual woman who feels she was born with the wrong body. I usually try to mention this to the ones who will have the hardest time. . .fitting in."

I blushed. "That's because I was born a man."

Her eyes grew wide, and she looked me up and down, looking for telltale signs. "I had no idea. . .wow. I just had a name here, and assumed when you walked in. I think that I've been doing people a disservice. If someone can be as pretty as you, and born a man, then maybe there's hope for each of those that I talked to. They all turned me down, of course which is part of the reason I likely still have a job. . .

"You've given me a lot to think about, Ms. Leary."

"And you finally realize why I do what I do, Grace."

"You've known, Doctor?"

"My patients talk to me, Grace. If you persisted after they told you 'no', then I'd have fired you fifteen years ago. As it is, I appreciate the effort. It saves me asking the same question."

"But I'm not qualified as. . ."

"No, but you are a qualified outside opinion. The road that is taken by these poor souls is not the easiest. This is not their choice, any more than it was yours to be a woman."

"But I love being a woman."

"So do I, Grace," I said joining the conversation, "Are you ready for me then?"

The doctor nodded and I followed him into the room.

"So, Dawn, that's what you're going by right now?"

"Yes, that or Barbara, but Barbara is a role I'm playing."

"Oh, yes, and actor. How do I know this isn't just an act."

"Do you watch horror films, doctor?"

"Some."

"How about 'Sorority House Murders III' or. . .no that's the one you can most readily tell it's me."

"That was a bad movie with really horrible. . ."' he looked at me appraisingly, "oh. You were a man in that movie I assume?"

"Yes. Did you by any chance see 'Huguenot?'"

"Oh, you're THAT Donnie Leary."

"I'm also THAT Dawn Leary."

"I don't follow."

"'Love's Sunset.'"

His mouth dropped open. He was flabbergasted. I never thought I'd actually see someone who was flabbergasted in person. It is so much greater than regular shock.

"You acted that beautifully. How did you. . ." He was becoming a bit red.

"A VERY tight pair of shorts."

"Ok, so apparently, you have a hard time acting as a man, but you believably act as a woman. That doesn't resolve the issue at hand."

"Doesn't it? A wise person once told me that when I get up on stage as Donnie, I first have to pretend to be a man, and then try to act out my role.

"As Dawn, I simply am myself, and then act a role."

"Is that the way it feels to you?"

"It was so much easier acting as Dawn. I just got up there and recited my lines how I felt them. I never once had the director trying to get me to be more gruff, or domineering, or any of a number of words that he was using to tell me to act like a man."

"So you've thought a lot about this?"

"Not really," I said with a smile, "I'm sort of making it up as I go along. Not the things they said, but my realizations of why they said them. That and the different experience I had on set for 'Love's Sunset'."

"So, would you take more roles as a woman if given the chance?"

"Oh, definitely. I would love to be on screen again. I'd love to. . .fit. . .into my role like that again. Well, I could live with another role like 'Transsexual Stalker' I suppose, but the more I realize who I am, the more that movie bothers me."

"Actually, I'd like to thank you for playing that role. I forgot that it had been you, and you did almost as well in it as for your romance."

"Thank me? Why?"

"That movie actually prompted a number of my clients to seek help. They were afraid of following the path of self loathing that your character in the film followed."

"But, it is so. . ."

"Harsh? Sometimes that is what it takes to convince us we need to change. Dawn, it was a movie. We all know it was a movie. What resonates is our fear of rejection. Your character was rejected not only by her peers, but by the medical community on whom she depended for support. True, they'd likely not deny her surgery for her specific psychopathy, but I wasn't her doctor."

I laughed at that. I couldn't help it.

"You have one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen Dawn. We need to get you smiling more."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Well, I have some specific questions to ask you. Try to be as truthful as possible. . ."

He went back and forth like that for about an hour, and then he came to the end of his questions.

"Well, I'd normally like to see you for a few more visits before I made a pronouncement like this, but I have more experience with you than a single visit, don't I."

I nodded demurely.

"I will not be prescribing hormones for you, as I was informed by Karl that for up to a year he'd like it if your figure didn't change too much."

"That would definitely help."

"Well, you have a nice enough figure as it is, even if parts of it are fake. Truth be told, I can't specifically tell which parts those are."

"Thank you." I blushed.

"So, if you agree, I'd like you to begin your real life experience as of today. That will mean that you would be presenting yourself as female full time. Can you handle that?"

"Yes, doctor, I can."

"Then I would like to see you once a week, at least until filming starts. Then, call me if possible during filming, or we'll just resume after filming if it's not possible."

And that was it. My RLE was confirmed as beginning.

Back to the pool party.

I wore a sea-foam bikini, and made sure it was the microest of micro g strings. It was barely decent, and just barely covered my female bits. Well, the appliance that simulated my female bits.

I wore a white skirt and blouse over my bikini for modesty sake.

Karl helped me out of the car, and I was really beginning to feel like Cinderella. No one knew who I was. I was whisked to and from the ball in a carriage of dubious origin, sorry Karl, but you know your car is dubious, and I lost my high heeled shoes at every opportunity I got.

I'd gotten my ears pierced so the dangles I had on tonight showed my femininity to the world.

Unlike some choices in accessory that one of the girls wore.

She'd tried a flesh toned gaffe, but it was painfully obvious to the rest of us and she was asked to leave.

That left nineteen of us to fill sixteen spots.

We stood in a long line in the studio, and they kept coming back to me.

I was beginning to get a bit worried.

No one had been tapped out yet, and I was worried I'd be the first.

"Beautiful choice of earrings." I think that was the woman who'd whispered to me last time.

"Daring choice in bikini."

I held my tongue. There'd been no direct question.

"Firm tits and buttocks." One of the male judges said.

"What's your name dear?"

The first thing that came to mind was Dawn Leary, but I altered my thinking even before I opened my mouth.

"Barbara Scott." I flashed my smile at them again. I was proud of my name and my body, and my smile said it all.

"Well, Barb, you don't mind Barb do you?"

I scrunched my nose and shook my head, "I don't mind it."

"Then Barb, welcome. You're the first contestant picked for The Real Prince Charming. Linda will have an information packet for you at the door. We need you here in two months. Good luck."

I'd made it. I was a contestant. I was accepted as a woman.

To be honest, I'm not even sure which of those thoughts made me happier even now.