May Flowers

Talea ran her hands over her chest, down her sides and her hips. Over and over again. She couldn't believe the gnome's magic had done that. For her. To her. In exchange for something she'd never wanted and had no real use for anyway. She didn't even want to know what the gnome would do with it. So long as she'd never get it back, it was all good in her book.

The only thing she hadn't considered were that her clothes wouldn't change with her body. So she was still in pants, shirt and vest, even though they now fit snugly around her hips and chest, while the shoulders of the once bespoke clothes were now far too wide. Before too long, she'd have to find something more suitable. Maybe even a dress. She'd never even considered actually wearing a dress, in front of people at that, no matter how much she wanted to. But now she finally could. Her heart was beating faster just thinking about it.

She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that there was somebody at the edge of the forest, fumbling with something on the ground. The young man looked up as she approached.

"Hello?" he said, looking slightly puzzled. "Do I know you?"

Even before he got up, worry gripped Talea. Her hand instinctively went to the dagger at her belt.

"Woah!" the man said holding his hands out in a gesture probably convey peacefulness. "Hey, I'm no danger to a cutie like you."

Talea blinked. The hell was he talking about.

"You see, at first I thought you look a lot like my friend ■■■■. But you're... well, you're definitely a girl and... uh... well. Cute?" He faltered under Talea's intense glare.

"Do you hit on every girl you meet, Meerten?" she growled, before she realized that she shouldn't rightly know his name.

He'd noticed, too. "Do I know you?"

Panicky, Talea took a step back. It didn't stop him from stalking closer. "Those clothes," he murmured. She did her best not to squirm under his scrutiny. "What's your name?"

"Talea," she snapped. She'd always liked that name.

He narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"I just heard yours before! From friends. You're a prince! All the girls swoon when one mentions your name!"

"But not you. Why?"

"Maybe I'm just not into blondes. Or your stupid blue eyes." She decided to finally stand her ground. It was that or stumble into a hawthorn bush. "Or maybe..." she added in a growl. "I just know how cruel you can be, your Highness. Animals don't like you. That's a dead giveaway in my book. And you always take unnecessary pleasure in hunting. Like today. You don't have to bloody your hands directly for a kill, but you enjoy taking a life with your hands."

Lightning fast, Talea grabbed him and turned them around, pushing him as she let go. She didn't stay to watch him get tangled in the brambles and showered by white petals. Instead she ran.

There was no way she could sneak back home now. No way to at least leave a letter for her mother and father. She just couldn't stay. Not around Meerten, not when he'd looked at her like that, with hunger in his eyes. She shuddered at the memory. No. She wouldn't stay anywhere near him. Not ever. He'd been bad before. Now, he was impossible to stand.

"What's wrong, Talea? You've been staring at the bushes for a while."

Talea looked across the campfire at Fabienne. Through the flames, she looked almost otherworldly in her beauty. A goddess of fire. Talea adored her so much her heart hurt. "I'm fine." She shook her head. "I was just thinking about the time I threw Meerten into one such bush."

Fabienne laughed. "Oh, please, do tell me about it. I'd have loved to see his face."

"You'd have him burnt to a crisp in my place," Talea grinned before she began to recount the story.