I finished that single mug faster than I would have liked. However, with the room so warm and the ale so cold, I just couldn't help myself. With head thrown back, I drained the last gulp and slammed the mug down on the table with a movement that was perhaps a little too masculine for my outward appearance. The smiles of approval I got from the others said they didn't care. Wasn't it always a pleasure when you found a girl who could party just as hard as you could? Maybe it had endeared me to them more than I had intended but I could use that to my advantage as well.
"Excuse me, you fine gentlemen, but I really need to be taking a piss."
That was actually the honest truth. I'd been holding it all day just so I wouldn't have to handle anything down below as a woman. Hopefully I could find Master Oringel before it got too bad. As I stood, however, my eyes went wide and the world around me seemed to spin for a moment. I had to grab the edge of the table to keep from falling over completely.
What was wrong with me? I'd only had a single mug of beer. Usually I could down ten times that many before I felt this tipsy. I must have looked even worse than I felt because Geoff, the gentleman that he was, even reached out and grabbed me right under my breasts to help me keep my balance.
"I didn't think women ever pissed," Griffith laughed. "Don't you all just 'freshen up?'"
If he'd lived through the same day I just had, all those gentle, pretty, little women in the keep would have taken on a very different look entirely.
"You'd be surprised by the things that women do," I said, shaking a finger in his face.
Their eyes opened wide and they laughed knowingly. "Oh really?"
They certainly were awfully curious all of a sudden. And it probably wouldn't hurt to share a bit of the wisdom I'd gained today. "Well, for one thing, most of the women here are either just bitches or lesbians."
"And which are you?"
"I'm..." I paused and I laughed. If only they knew the truth. "I'm different."
"You are at that," Griffith said, slipping in around behind me and cradling my body against his as he sat against the edge of the table.
Part of me wanted to run screaming. After all this was one of my best friends. I wasn't attracted to him. The very thought of any man rubbing his hands across my hips the way he was doing made me want to die. On the other hand, something about being enclosed by those strong arms of his made me feel like a child again, safe and protected from that harsh outside world. After the day I'd had, it felt so good just to be able to relax like that.
I closed my eyes and leaned back against his muscular chest. Yes, I could go to sleep right there if I wanted to. His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me close. As one hand traveled over the fabric of my dress and pressed down between my legs, the other moved up to grope my breast. Like a spark, a growing tingle raced through my body. My nipples hardened instantly and I felt a growing warmth between my legs. Through my long blond hair, he nuzzled my neck. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.
Then, from behind, I felt a hardening stiffness press against my ass.
With a start my eyes snapped open and I pushed myself away from him. My alcohol-dulled senses made me even less coordinated than was becoming normal for this female body of mine, but with a crazy flailing of my arms I was somehow able to keep my balance.
I must have been losing my mind! I wasn't attracted to men. How could I have ever let myself go that far? It must have been the drink. It was affecting me differently than as a man. Master Oringel must have slipped a love charm into his transformation spell as well. I was going to kill him! I just had to contain my rage long enough for him to turn me back.
"I -- I really have to go!" I sputtered, tottering away from the three men.
"Well, we wouldn't want you to do it all over the floor!" one of them laughed.
I couldn't tell which one it had been but I blushed bright red all the same. As I spun away from them, I found myself falling right into the arms of someone in house livery.
"'ow 'bout a drink, love?" he said, his hands fumbling to grab hold of me as he swayed dangerously. The fumes from his mouth were nearly enough to send me to the ground as well.
"Yes, of course, I'll be right back," I said, spinning out of his grasp and hurrying for the door. Another drunkard presented himself right in my path but I sidestepped him before he could even finish his slurred greeting. That was it. I was now free to go track down that bastard...
"Master Oringel!" I heard someone shout from across the room. A little cheer rose up from the gathered revelers as Master Oringel, the Chamberlain, and Sir Ruvano all entered through the other door like triumphant champions freshly returned from war. Master Oringel's reputation as one who enjoyed a good party was well-known in these halls. He'd also just saved me the bother of having to find him.
The beer might have reduced my legs to jelly but my mind suddenly snapped into clear focus. Completely ignoring the groping hands and the drunken pleas for my attention, I pushed my way through the crowds toward the wizard.
"Master! Master Oringel!" I cried when the press of bodies became too much for me to overcome. He was busy greeting with some of his fellow card players and didn't seem to notice me at all. "Master Oringel!"
"Hey girl, I ain't no wizard, but I still know a little magic," some dirty old man more than twice my age said as he rubbed his beer drenched body up against mine.
"Get your dirty hands off me, you bastard!"
In my panicked flailing to escape him, my elbow somehow connected with his nose. He went to floor like a sack of wet laundry, a stream of bright red blood flowing down his face. A small circle opened up around us and silence dropped over those looking on. Regardless of how drunk anyone ever got in those rooms, there was always certain guidelines of proper behavior that no one ever crossed. There were sometimes fights during these parties, but usually just between men and other men, occasionally between two women, but never between a man and woman. By striking him like that when he hadn't first assaulted me, I'd just crossed over a line which, to my knowledge, had never been crossed before.
Elsewhere in the room, the party raged on unabated, but in that small corner, I stood there, the center of everyone's attention. A pair of women were tending to the fallen man and everyone else stared at me like some kind of pariah. What had I done? I could be flogged for this, maybe even shipped off to a labor camp. As a woman, how long would I hope to last in a place like that? All because of this stupid curse. Suddenly the crowds parted and Master Oringel stepped forward with the Spymaster and the Chamberlain close behind.
"And what have we here?" Master Oringel said in the most nonchalant way. "Just what are you getting up to now, my dear Stephanie?"
"I...It was an accident, I didn't mean to hit him..."
Master Oringel glanced at the fallen man. He was still squirming on the floor, just barely conscious. Maybe I'd killed him. I'd get the noose for sure.
"Hit him?" Sir Ruvano suddenly spoke up. "It's looks to me like the fool was so drunk he fell and struck his nose on the way down. Did anyone see differently?"
A chorus of murmurs rippled through the crowd but no one spoke up.
"Will he live?" The Chamberlain said, though it didn't sound as if he was particularly interested one way or the other.
"Oh yes, I don't even think it's actually broken," one of the women tending to him said. "He's just passed out from all the drink."
"Well, get him out of here and let him sleep it off then," the Chamberlain said.
"Yes," Sir Ruvano added. "Master Oringel assured me this was the best place in the entire castle to play cards and I would very much like to." He pulled a hefty bag of coins from his belt and tossed in the air so that everyone could hear it jingle. "Now who's up for a few hands?"
Suddenly the entire area descended back into the barely controlled chaos it had been moments before; the entire incident with the nearly broken nose seemingly forgotten. Men and women alike rushed forward to pit their luck against the spymaster. His reputation might have been fierce, but his gold was more impressive still. As it was decided who would participate first in the games, I caught sight of Sir Ruvano scanning the crowds more than once. Each time his eyes fell on me, he smiled. I did my best to ignore him and continued on to reach Master Oringel. The wizard was surrounded by a sizable crowd and seemed to rolling in the attention. If he'd yet noticed me, I couldn't tell.
I hadn't gotten too far when I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and tensed for yet another fight.
"He was such a dirty old man," a woman whispered in my ear. "Someone should have done that to him a long time ago. Good job I say." I turned to find a short, plump woman with hair of light yellow that was just starting to turn white. I'd never met her before that I could recall, but I found myself smiling all the same. She pressed a glass of rum into my hands, bowed her appreciation for what I'd done, and then vanished back into the crowds. Maybe all the women weren't bitches after all.
Turning back toward my quarry, I found that he had instead found me. Staring up at wizard, I could remember all the things I'd planned to say to him when I finally got the chance -- all the things I wanted to do to him. However, I instead found myself saying, "Oh, Master Oringel, please, you've got to turn me back."
"Back?" he said as he took a bite from a pretzel someone had given him. "What do you mean 'back'?"
"Back!" I said in a harsh whisper, casting a wary gaze at the people pressing in from all sides. "You know, use your wand, like you did this morning in the storeroom."
"Ah! You want me to use my magic wand on you?" he said, his voice suddenly low and conspiratorial.
Finally! I'd been waiting for this moment all day! "Yes, I want you to use your magic wand on me!"
"Did you hear that everyone?" He laughed loudly to the people surrounding us. "She says she wants me to use my magic wand on her!"
"If you'd like, I could use my magic wand on you," the Chamberlain said. I glanced in his direction but quickly turned away at the sight of his limp penis hanging from the front of his pants. "I'll even let you touch it if you want."
That got a loud chorus of laugher from everyone within earshot and caused me to turn a blazing shade of red yet again. Reigning in my burning desire to bury my head in the sand, I grabbed hold of the wizard's sleeve and pulled his ear close.
"Please, Master. Enough with the games. This morning you said that you'd set things right. Haven't I suffered enough? I just want this all to end."
"Ah yes, that little agreement we made." He said it as if he'd only just remembered -- like it would even be possible for him to forget. "Just a little longer, I think, and my payment will have been received in full. But now, the game is about to begin. Why don't you come along and see if you can't bring me some luck?"
He took a seat at the table where the rest of the card players were seated and patted his lap.
"You -- you want me to sit in your lap?"
His smile broadened. "Yes. It's just for a little while, my dear Stephanie. That is, if you want me to be satisfied."
If he was trying to embarrass me, he was doing a fine job of it. With all the guffaws and snickers from around the table, every last person there was taking a completely different meaning from his statements than the one I hoped he actually meant -- which was probably exactly what he intended. At least the flicker of rage helped to burn away some of the shame. That is, until I reluctantly settled down onto his knee. He instantly put his arm around my waist and pulled me in tight. I remained stiff as a board, just telling myself over and over that I just had to endure this a little longer and it would be over forever.