By the time that we returned to my hotel room, it was close to seven in the morning and Megan was starting to stir on the couch. Since I figured that meant that my other bodyguards would be up soon, if they weren’t already, I had Daenyss call room service to arrange breakfast for all of us. She and Salem had already come up with a loose itinerary for the day.

Once Rei had once again placed a purification prayer on the food to be safe, we all discussed our plans for the day. Salem once again offered to stay and guard the hotel rooms with some of Lilith’s girls, but I decided to put my foot down. “No, Salem. You are not staying here all day while the rest of us are off having fun; I want to spend some time with all three of the girls I love today.”

Lilith nodded beside me. “Do not worry about the hotel rooms, some of my girls will stay inside and find some ways to entertain themselves while we are out. Another four will continue to keep watch from the roof, and the remaining six will follow us discreetly in case we encounter trouble while we are out. If that is satisfactory to you, my Goddess?”

“That sounds fine, Lilith, thank you. See, now you can come with us, little flower.” I told the diminutive Liyun’shael with a smile.

Salem couldn’t blush with that moss-like skin, at least not that we could see, but she did squirm cutely at the public use of the pet name. “W-what about transportation though? We can’t all fit in that SUV, even if Rei and Lilith fly.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” I said with a grin to those gathered around the table as I shared Wisp-sized portions of my breakfast with Willow. “We are going to publicly and brazenly use magick to get around. It’s not like there are any laws against it and people need to get used to magick existing. They won’t if we keep babying them by hiding it all of the time, or letting organizations like the DCA keep covering it up.”

“I guess that I won’t be needed then,” Megan said with a pensive look.

“No, Megan, you’re coming too,” I insisted. “According to the itinerary that Salem and Daenyss came up with for the day, we’re going shopping first. You don’t have many clothes that you can use right now, and you need clothes made from natural fibers. Today we’re going to be getting you a few things to last you until we can get you into a F.I.T, and a form that you’ll be happy with.”

“I dunno, Your Majesty, this stuff is a little fancy for me, and like super expensive,” Megan mumbled barely audibly as she stared wide-eyed at the price tag on a pink silk bra.

“Yeah, well, you need to wear natural fibers and most cotton undergarments are blends. Believe me, Nishalle and I have tried other stuff, silk won’t bother your allergy and it feels really nice on the skin. It’s not like I can’t afford it, and we’ll all be getting some, so it’s not like I’m just paying for yours either. Just find a few changes worth that fit properly and once we all have enough underwear to last a few days, we’ll move on to clothes.”

“We’ll try to get stuff that you’re comfortable with, but even with outer clothes, it’ll be probably be expensive,” Nishalle contributed with a frown. “I’ll help you out, don’t worry, we can at least dress casual, we don’t need to dress like royalty, like my sister.”

“Well, you’re not getting me in clothes,” Salem pouted. “I’m just fine with glamours and a heat spell. It’s like the only fire-related spell I’m any good at anyway.”

“You’re at least getting a nice warm coat and some boots,” Rei said as she gave both Salem and Daenyss stern looks. “You’re part plant, Salem, and it’s too damn cold and snowy out there to go without.”

Daenyss frowned at that, she looked like she was already uncomfortable enough wearing panties. Her period had started late the night before and she wasn’t happy about the necessity of wearing them to use proper sanitary products. At least she had been prepared by having all of her underwear stuffed in her summoning chest. She seemed to take it as a welcome distraction to explain to Megan, “Liyun’shael and Nymphs, like Salem and me, have the same allergies as other Fae, but we also get extremely uncomfortable mentally if we wear clothing, so we avoid it unless we absolutely have to.”

“And this is one of those times where you have to. Sorry, girls, I love you both but I’m agreeing with Rei here,” I stated firmly. “Coats and boots at the minimum so you don’t catch cold when we have to go outside, plus your heat spells. I’d rather be running around naked too, but I need to put my foot down here.”

The pair sighed, but Daenyss replied with, “Yes, Mistress,” and Salem grudgingly nodded once she saw that both Rei and I were serious about it.

I turned my attention back to my sister and Megan, who managed to find something in their sizes. “Normally, Megan, we would want something for you to wear while working too, but we can keep using glamours for that until my people can design and make some Fae appropriate uniforms for you. Not that we’ve ever had royal chauffeurs among the Fae before,” I pointed out with a shrug.

“Fae appropriate?” my new driver asked Nishalle as they headed for a pair of fitting rooms.

“You know, made from natural fibers, and usually not much of it. Fae prefer being naked, and our fashions tend to reflect that. The only time that the majority of us wear more than we absolutely have to is during combat or in weather like this,” Nishalle replied with a glance toward the windows and the snowstorm brewing outside.

Seeing that my sister had Megan well in hand, I turned my attention back to the others. Pete was staying as far away as he could manage from all of this and still be in the store and close enough to protect me if need be. Lissany had half-dragged poor Harley to a display of sexy bra and panty sets and I was pretty sure that the Unicorn Beastkin was bright red under her armor as the teen tried to find something nice for them both. At least Harley was still visible, so it seemed like she was getting some control over her disappearing act.

Uh oh, now Lilith was getting involved. Her mere presence, and that of my other protectors had already seemingly scared off the two saleswomen on duty. One had suddenly discovered that they needed something from the back and had yet to return, while the other was waiting behind the sales counter and watching us wide-eyed.

Lilith sauntered over to my two Guardians with a languid smile on her face. “Come now, Harley, young Lissany is right. Exploring new things will be good for you. You have a fine body, nothing to be ashamed of, and nobody needs to see such garments but you, or whoever you choose to become… intimate with. These are very well made and silk feels so… sensual when it caresses your most intimate places and you may find that you… enjoy wearing such nice things.”

Did she really have to make most of what she said there sound like an innuendo? Poor Harley was really getting some practice controlling that anti-perception field of hers. “No… I couldn’t… I’m not… I don’t,” the poor Unicorn Beastkin sputtered.

“She’s just teasing you, Harley,” Lissany pointed out. “She does make some good points though, you’re never going to find out what kind of girl you are, what you like and don’t like, if you don’t give new things a try. And it’s just underwear, it’s not like you’ll be required to get anything sexy or super-girly to wear over top. I’ve never tried wearing silk underthings before but everyone else has said that the feel nice, so I’m gonna try a set and see if they work for me since we’re here anyway and Her Majesty wants us all to get some spare clothes. You should give it a try too; it doesn’t need to be anything super sexy or anything.”

“If I get some… just to give them a try, will you both shut up about underwear and let me focus on my job?”

“We shall, Harley,” the Succubus matriarch agreed with a grin. “A word of advice to you though, from one warrior to another. Lissany has the right of it. Warriors do not hesitate, on anything. You never know when a battle might be your last, so do not hesitate, whether in battle or otherwise. Do not be afraid to explore yourself and pursue what you want. Your friends and allies will stand with you, including me.”

I had to cover up a little smile at seeing my High Priestess take my newest Guardian in hand like that. I had been trying to help her adjust to the whole gender swap thing, but there were some nuggets of knowledge that would be better for Harley if they didn’t come from me. Yes, I had been through this too, but I was also technically her boss and I didn’t want to make it sound like I was ordering her to take the steps that she wanted to take. I also didn’t want her to hold back on exploring who she was now because she was hyper-focused on being the best Guardian she could be.

Lilith though was new to our group and she was a mother, a warrior, and most importantly not me. She could give advice and encouragement and have it taken at face value. Just as Lissany could try to get her to realize that she could be a great Guardian and still have a life outside of it, and a sense of self other than her duty to me.

I was still smiling as I turned my attention once more to Rei, Salem, and Daenyss. The latter had chosen a few extra pairs of silk panties in turquoise and pink and seemed satisfied with her choices, but Salem wouldn’t be getting anything for herself. As for Rei, the Kitsune was in a very feminine mood today and was looking through some of the sexiest lingerie I had ever seen.

“Yeah, getting to spend quality time together is nice, but shopping was never my thing even before I couldn’t stand wearing clothes,” Salem mumbled as she looked around the store. “I’m not really sure why I needed to be here for this.”

I smiled as I pulled one out of Lilith’s book and sauntered over with a wiggle in my step to pull both the Moss Maiden and the Nymph toward Rei. As I guided them along, I spoke playfully in a tone just loud enough to carry to the two of them but no further. “Oh, you’re not here to shop for yourself, pretty little flower, you’re here to shop for me and Rei. I mean, sure, we could pick out our own things easy enough, but what would the two of you like to see us in?”

Salem was much more enthusiastic about that leg of the shopping trip after that and both Rei and I ended up not only with the bras and panties that we had come in for, but also a couple of very risqué items meant to be seen in rather than hidden beneath clothing. It was nice just doing something normal with them and I think that the others were trying to give us some space so we could enjoy it while still keeping one eye on us and the other out for trouble. They had all finished getting what they wanted long before the four of us were finished.

Even Harley and Lissany had gotten a few things, and once everything was paid for, we continued our shopping trip through Eaton Centre. We got a lot of strange looks from other shoppers in the iconic mall, but then, the only glamours that most of us were wearing were for clothing, and my loyal protectors were all fully armed and armored, with the exception of firearms. There were also the newshounds, and even some police, following us around at a ‘safe’ distance whenever we weren’t inside one of the mall’s stores.

My group appearing from a portal just inside one of the mall’s entrances caused a scene when we had first arrived and I guess someone must have made some calls about it. We weren’t hurting anyone though and were contributing to the local economy, so I guess that they were content to just watch and wait. Either that or someone had ordered them not to engage us. I was fairly sure that it was the latter, and that was seemingly confirmed not long before noon.

We had gotten the clothes that we all wanted and were mostly just browsing as we considered what to do for lunch. We were all starting to get a little tired of being gawked at and I was thinking that going back to Gino’s would be nice since the food was great, they had a great atmosphere, and had let us eat in peace. I nearly lost my appetite altogether though as a group of conspicuously green-skinned people in suits strode toward us from the mall exit with a purpose to their walk.

They seemed to be getting even more stares than us, which I found very amusing despite not looking forward to dealing with them. This was surprising though. There were seven of them, but only six had the green skin and sported shoulder angels of me. They all looked deadly serious but surprisingly, none of them drew their guns and they kept their distance while the lone woman of the group approached. Had they gotten smart and decided to send someone who wouldn’t be affected by my aura?

Had Pete not been graciously carrying my shopping bags, I probably would have dropped them in shock when the woman approached close enough to speak comfortably to our group and then bowed slightly. She was tall, fit, and had long black hair and a serious expression. “Your… umm… Imperial Majesty, I’m Agent Walters and…”

I couldn’t hold back a snort and giggle of amusement as she introduced herself. At least I had the good grace to blush about it and quickly apologize. “Sorry, it snuck out. For your sake, I hope your first name isn’t Jennifer.”

Walters grimaced, sighed, and then turned to look back at her companions, several of whom were sniggering at my reaction to her name. “Yes, unfortunately, that is my name, and I’ve got nothing but teasing about it from those jokers since your little prank hit our headquarters a few hours ago.”

“Ah yes, I see that the DCA has opened my little gift and since none of you have started shooting this time around, I assume that you’re here to talk?” I offered, trying not to giggle again and kill any progress that we might be making here.

The Agent snorted bitterly and nodded. “From what I have seen of your other battles, Your Majesty, you could have done far worse than knock out our electronics and teach us all a lesson that, frankly, most of those working with the DCA would do well to learn. You could have killed us all, just like you could have in past encounters with our agency, but you’ve gone out of your way to avoid violence with us unless in self-defense.”

“We’re not your enemy, we’re trying to save lives and help people when we can. We want to live peacefully with humankind, and we Fae value all life. Our only enemies are the monsters that disrupt the balance in the world,” I told her seriously.

“Most of the people working with us wouldn’t believe you,” she replied with a sad shake of her head. “They follow orders and they’re too afraid of what’s happening in the world and the way people are changing to accept reality. The seven of us haven’t liked where things have been going with the DCA. There’s too much focus on capturing or killing non-humans and not enough on trying to find out what’s causing them to appear in the first place.”

I looked her over for a moment thoughtfully before speaking. “That question is easy enough to answer. Magic and the Gods have returned to the world. Monsters long ago sealed are reappearing and ancient bloodlines are reawakening in people who thought that they were human. The Changed are like Humans, there are good ones and bad ones, but most mean no harm, in fact, they’re as scared about what’s happening to them as everyone else.”

“That… makes sense,” the green-skinned woman replied with a grimace, “at least to anyone who hasn’t got their head stuck in the sand. Or up their ass. Some of the things we’ve been seeing just can’t be explained any other way. And a lot of the Changed that we’re seeing are right out of myths and legends.”

“So, I guess we have you to thank for the police escort?” I asked, looking back to where the police were still keeping the reporters and some other people from getting too close.

“Right now, our office is still in chaos from your prank, so we took the opportunity to come and talk to you,” Agent Walters admitted. “We were going to go to your hotel, but Simmons wasn’t in the office when your prank hit, so his phone was still working and he was able to find out that you were here. He contacted the police and asked them not to make a big scene but to ensure that the reporters stayed off your backs and nobody bothered you until we could arrive.”

“So then, why did you come searching me out? If you’re going to ask me to dispel my little prank, I’m afraid that you’re out of luck because I have no intention of doing so,” I stated clearly.

“No! No, we weren’t going to ask that. You’re trying to teach a lesson, right?” she asked. When I nodded, so did she. “I thought so, and it’s a lesson that a lot of the people in the Agency should learn, so I can handle taking the She-Hulk jokes for a few days. We just want to know the truth, and we… might need your help.”

Nishalle stepped up to my side and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the woman, “Help with what?” Honestly, I couldn’t blame my sister for being suspicious, I wasn’t sure that I was ready to trust them yet either, but I thought that I should at least hear them out since so far this had gone far better than any of our other encounters with the DCA.

“Could we… uhh… talk about this somewhere more private?” Agent Walters asked, taking a look around at the reporters and cops. “As it is, we’re probably going to lose our jobs for this, and…”

“Sure, I know just the place,” I offered with a grin before she finished and then quickly cast a portal. It gave me the advantage to choose the location if they weren’t on the up and up and we had been about to go for lunch anyway. I didn’t even have to send Rei ahead to wait for us this time either since I knew where we were going. The best thing was that I was damn certain that if the DCA was tracking them, they wouldn’t be able to find them or eavesdrop there, even if they did have the means to do so after my EMP laid waste to the electronics in their local office. Besides, there I had the home-field advantage.

With the portal cast, Nishalle stepped through first. This was to prove to the agents that the magick was safe and that I wasn’t sending them into a trap. Well, I suppose that I could have been sending them right to Nishalle’s underworld but I didn’t see any reason to do that. Well, not yet anyway.

I gestured for the agents to follow my sister through the portal and then I followed with the rest of my group. I was just closing it behind Pete, who had been bringing up the rear when I saw the agents staring around in confusion and awe. Even Megan had this completely stunned expression on her face. “Mission successful,” I thought to myself with a grin.

I had set the portal to bring us to a spot that overlooked the construction efforts and had a breathtaking view of Lake Danu and the Moon Palace shining like a beacon in the night. “Where are we?” one of the agents asked in a barely audible voice.

I gestured broadly with a shit-eating grin on my face. “Welcome to Varüus’kiel, this is our capital city, or soon will be, I really need to decide on a name for it soon. As you can see, we have a fine view of the Moon Palace from here, isn’t it beautiful? I can guarantee you that your bosses will not be privy to anything said here.”

“It’s breathtaking,” Agent Walters half gasped and half spoke.

“This is amazing! I thought that you said we were in a city though, Your Highness,” Megan asked as she looked at the palace in the distance in awe.

“We’re standing on it,” Lissany offered playfully.

“Yup, we’re right on top of the hospital. Construction is going pretty quickly with magick to help, but we’ve still got a lot of homes to build if we’re going to be able to house all of the refugees that we’re bringing in. Careful as we move down the hill, I don’t want anyone getting hurt,” I cautioned as I led the way down the slope. “I figure that we can discuss your problems while we eat lunch. We have several places set up to offer meals until we can get people in their own homes and open up some restaurants and markets.”

When we got to the bottom of the hill, Megan squealed in delight at the large round entrance that was currently being fitted with proper doors. “It’s like a hobbit hole hospital! Is the whole city going to be like this?!”

Salem nodded and explained, “Yep, we wanted something appealing to the Fae love of nature and environmentally low-impact. Except for the Moon Palace, all of the buildings should be like this.”

Not bad for a few weeks' work, right?” I asked with a grin as I started leading the group through people working on homes and installing doors and windows toward the main camp for our people until they could start moving into homes. Then we were passing through people of all Races who were working, talking, and generally going about their business. They didn’t seem hostile to any of the people we passed, though I noticed that the men were following at a distance to try to keep out of range of my aura and Lilith’s.

The area with most of our Spring Court and Japanese people was still serving breakfast when we arrived and I encouraged our guests to each take a plate as I apologized, “Sorry for the lack of variety, but getting enough supplies to feed this many people has been tricky.”

“That’s okay, we’re… umm… fine with this. Thank you, Your Majesty,” Agent Walters said as she looked down at her plate. Then her gaze returned to me and she asked, “This is a test too, isn’t it?”

"Whatever do you mean?” I replied with a coy smile. This one was sharp, I kind of found myself liking her.

“You brought us to your home and you’re having us eat with refugees,” she said pensively as she looked down at her plate. “I think you’re seeing how sympathetic we are to your cause, and trying to get our honest reactions on being around so many Changed.”

I laughed and shrugged, “Guilty as charged, though you all seem to be either being honest, or you’re very good actors. Changed isn’t really an accurate term for all of us though, many of us were born as we are and were trapped inside the Veil for hundreds of years, not knowing how much time passed until they reappeared and people started throwing them in camps or black sites. Still, the term is better than non-human.”

“Inu’Mahair!” The shout, accompanied by over a dozen Sül’shael nearly dropping their recently emptied plates as they rushed over to greet me caused my lip to quirk upward in a smile, and I could see the same smile starting to form on both Daenyss and Salem as well. To their credit, Walters and the other agents didn’t completely freak out at the very excited Star Maidens, not even when the most excitable of all of them had her head and back burst briefly into flame.

“How are my girls today?” I asked with a grin. I recognized several of them from their work with Hadrick at the forge, including Risha, though I didn’t see Xixie anywhere at the moment. “Is Xixie not working at the forge with you? These are guests of mine from the outside world.”

Risha rapidly shook her head. “No, Inu’Mahair. Zera started birthing this morning and Xixie needs to help her.” I knew that there was one of the Sül’shael expecting soonish, but I hadn’t thought she was that far along. I would have to make time to see her and the baby. It was as I was considering it that Risha leaned in and stage whispered. “Why are your guests green, Inu’Mahair? Are they like the Liyun’Shael?”

I quickly covered a snort of amusement and explained, “No, Risha. I played a prank on them and some other people. They won’t be green anymore in a few days.”

“Oh! Pranks are fun! I once switched Ebbie’s favorite green sparklies with blue ones. She was so mad when she figured it out that she melted a hole in her hut,” the Star Maiden replied with a giggle. Then she looked right at Agent Walters and looked her over in keen interest before asking her. “Can you keep your skin green? You are very pretty that way. Would you like to get to know one another better?”

The green-skinned woman smiled politely and replied, “I would lo…”

I covered another snort of amusement and cut her off to gently tell Risha, “We have some important things to discuss right now. Perhaps later, Risha, if she is willing.” Considering that she wasn’t at all affected by my aura, I doubted that would happen. Then I gave each of the girls a hug and sent them to return their plates and head back to the forge.

Agent Walters had looked surprised and even a little upset when I interrupted her, so as soon as the girls had left I turned back to her. “Sorry for interrupting you, but the Sül’shael are Fae, even though they have lived their whole lives on this island. When a Fae wants to ‘get to know you better’ it’s a polite way of asking if you want to have sex. It is how Fae become closer to people that they like. We talk, get to know one another’s likes and dislikes, and reveal personal things while giving each other pleasure. I can tell that you aren’t interested in girls so I thought that I should save you from a potentially awkward situation.”

Her cheeks turned a blueish-purple color as her eyes widened. “I… thank you for that.”

I nodded and took a few bites of my meal before returning my gaze to her and the six agents who were looking very interested in that snippet of information but trying to play it cool. “Now, why don’t you tell me what you might need our help with and why we would be interested in doing so?”

Agent Walters began by giving us some background information. She and the other six agents who had come with her had been as confused and scared as everyone else was when the Veil fell and the world seemingly turned upside down. Five days into the chaos, they were recruited by the CSIS and transferred into the DCA.

They thought that they would be helping people by killing the monsters appearing, but they each discovered when they first encountered Changed that they were still people, and probably more scared by what was happening to them than those around them were. They quickly realized that the Department of Changed Affairs had no interest in helping the Changed though.

The DCA’s policy for Changed was to bring them into custody to be shipped off to secret locations, or killed on sight if they seemed remotely dangerous. It didn’t pass the smell test, especially combined with the far-fetched alien body snatchers narrative that the higher-ups were trying to pass off as fact. Things only got worse and less sensible as things went on with Pegasus Games being labeled a terrorist organization for seemingly no reason and the higher-ups compartmentalizing more and more, and keeping low-level agents like them in the dark except when they had direct orders for them.

When we released the information from the CSIS server, they found out the truth about the black sites and the false terrorism accusations. They had been told that it was all lies and falsified documents, but it hadn’t rung true and they started to look for other sympathetic agents and found one another. They had been hoping to change the organization from within, but the things that they had been hearing were only getting progressively worse, especially since we came to Toronto and the assassination attempt was made. My prank on their office had only made them more certain that they were on the wrong side.

Agent Walters informed me that the reason that we had encountered so many trigger-happy agents like Jonesy and company was only in part because many were intolerant and feared non-humans. Someone at the top of the DCA very much wanted me dead, and to make things miserable for the Changed in general. Ever since I had first appeared on the scene, there had been a shoot-to-kill order with my photo circulated to every damn branch of the DCA. I was the DCA bogeyman and for some reason, when she told me that, I got the distinct feeling that it wasn’t because I had thumbed my nose at Jonesy.

If those reporters at the mall had gotten any pictures of Walters talking to me, she and her friends were going to be in very deep shit once their bosses found out that they had an opportunity and didn’t take the shot. They might need my help more than they imagined. Or this could be an elaborate trap, though my gut said it wasn’t. However, none of this told me why they needed our help, so for the sake of brevity I pressed, “So, why risk yourselves by openly meeting me?”

Agent Walters sighed and looked down at her empty plate. “Well, the idea was to speak to you in your hotel room while the office was in chaos. We needed to risk it though; we’re not sure how much longer we can keep hiding this and it’s getting more difficult by the day to help them and keep them fed. You see, we’ve been hiding Changed people from the Agency.”