ALL NOVEL 7
Miss Puffin was a sight to be seen. She wore entirely too much makeup and the black gown she wore was as eccentric as her hot pink hairstyle. But the oddest thing about her was that it all seemed like an attempt to hide her beauty, not amplify it. Even with it all, she was gorgeous. Her huge grey doe eyes and her hourglass shape were perfect. I couldn’t help but wonder what she looked like under all those layers of makeup.
She had gracefully waltzed into the room and unfolded her suitcases and the girls were now tearing through it with reckless abandon. I froze in a sort of primal fear. This was not what I had signed up for.
Our eyes met. She had the same look in her eyes as a wolf stalking her prey. She sashayed over to my desk as I attempted to break the eye contact. It didn’t work.
‘Who do we have here?’
‘Her name is Samantha Rye. She’s new.’
The green-haired student from earlier had looked up from her makeup kit just long enough to answer for me. I felt a lump in my throat as I attempted to speak.
‘S…Sam. Just Sam.’
I had gone toe to toe with the weapons teacher the previous period and done everything in my power to stomp on the Headmistress like a bug, but before this woman, I felt like a rat in a cage.
‘So, Just Sam. I can’t help but notice that while everyone is busy getting ready you are sitting here idly. Is my collection of products not good enough for your tastes?’
A million reasons raced through my mind. I don’t have a fairy to impress so I don’t need to. I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Are you saying I’m note cute as I am now? I even devolved into the juvenile excuse that I needed to use the restroom. But all that escaped my lips under that lupine gaze was a pathetic whimper.
‘I don’t wanna.’
‘Aww. Don’t worry. Inexperience is to be expected. You have a new body with different shapes and colors. I’ll guide you along the way.’
I managed to finally break eye contact and stare down at my desk. With her gaze broken I started to feel my confidence return. It wasn't immediate, but the crushing pressure to submit melted off like ice. I could do this. I’d get up and say that I didn’t need this class and walk out. I’d go hang out in the apple grove until lunch.
Then she put her hand on my shoulder and leaned forward putting her mouth close to my opposite ear. I could smell a certain floral scent like a mixture of jasmine and honeysuckle. The suffocating mantle returned with a vengeance wrapping my mind in a warm fog.
‘Don’t worry, child. I’ll take control as you follow me down this path. Relax.’
The closeness mixed with the scents and sound of her sultry voice sent my brain into overload. I felt a wave of relaxation and my mind went numb and my senses dulled. I remember muffled commands and actions but my mind was too dull to process any of the stimuli.
When my consciousness snapped back into focus I found myself standing before a full-length mirror at the back of the class. Miss Puffin was standing behind me looking over my shoulder at my reflection in satisfaction. It took a few seconds for the rest of the fog to lift from my mind.
‘I’m sure I could have done better if I had more time, but this will have to do. So Samantha, what do you think?’
My hair was significantly wavier and had been put up in partial pigtails with the remaining hair falling messily over my shoulders and back. She had surprisingly not gone overboard on the makeup. She had done a light peacock green and blue eyeshadow with some black eyeliner and mascara to darken my eyes. My lips were a darker shade of pink but not too far from the original. Overall I couldn’t feel any heaviness from the makeup or gunky buildup.
The most embarrassing part, however, was my new outfit. It was a sundress that stopped inches above my knees. It was white at the top and faded to a powder blue and finally to light green. I had light green flats for shoes and a blue and green lace choker. My ears, which I was pretty sure were not pierced before, had long dangling peacock feathers hanging from them.
I felt myself blush as I pulled the frills of the dress downward in an attempt to cover up my legs more. Miss Puffin smiled and placed her hands on my shoulders as I floundered in my new clothes. I felt a relaxing energy radiate out from her hands attempting to calm me.
‘Ah, the shy modest type. We will have to work on that. Get you to open up some.’
I peeled myself away from her grasp and hopped a few feet away. The motion caused a brief updraft and I grabbed my dress again to stabilize it but not before catching a glimpse of my reflection again. My underwear had been changed as well.
I felt completely defeated and embarrassed. I couldn’t even muster up any of the rage I had been feeling for the past day. This woman had some sort of power over me and I didn’t like it.
‘Alright. You’ve had your fun. Can I get my uniform back now please?’
‘No. In fact, this will be your uniform until class tomorrow. You need to learn to open yourself up and embrace your beauty. You’re a very attractive young lady Samantha. ’
‘So I’m just going to sleep and live in this costume until tomorrow, even through weapons practice?’
‘Sleep, no. The jewel in your choker will change your outfit into a nightgown. And as for weapons practice, yes. By what I’ve heard you could use a lesson in restraint and grace anyway. Now, if you could return to your desk we can begin the instructing part of the lesson. ’
She returned to the front of the classroom as the rest of the students took their seats. Blue, now dressed in a light blue blouse and a blue skirt with a print of a wave on the side, took a detour to walk up to me. I took extra precautions to sit while making sure nothing was showing.
‘You sure are taking this blue thing seriously, Blue.’
‘Believe it or not, it actually affects our bond to our fairies. Besides, I think you steal the show for best dressed today. Do you know how many girls here want a personal makeover from Miss Puffin?’
‘Don’t remind me. If I was sure I had a way to get back my clothes I’d have already hit the gong and been halfway to the bathroom to wash this crap off.’
‘The gong?’
I pointed at the bell on the wall. It was then that I noticed that my nails had been painted as well. I angrily pulled them in and inspected them. They were a pearlescent blue green purple. At least they were my original nails. I’d have popped a gasket if she had put acrylics on me. Sensing my frustration, Blue chuckled and walked back to her desk.
I sat patiently at my desk for the remainder of the class. I had trouble understanding most of what the teacher said. Half because of the steam coming out of my ears and half because it came across as psycho inner feelings mumbo jumbo mixed with sensing you inner fairies mood. I guess you’d have to have one to get it.
The bell rang and as everyone else changed back into their uniforms, I beelined to the bathroom. After several minutes of scrubbing it was clear that the makeup wasn’t coming off. It had felt so light because I was guessing it was some sort of magic. Even the hair ties were stuck tight in place. With my mood properly fouled I realized it was lunchtime. Hopefully, a trip to the workshop to see a girl about a weapon could lighten my mood.
The Workshop was on the far side of campus so I passed through my apple grove on my way to pick up some comfort food. The trees also buffeted any breeze that was present, so that was an added bonus.
I had no problem recognizing the Workshop from the surrounding buildings. It was a domed metal building with several smokestacks rising from the west side. Several mechanical fixtures moved in a jerky perpetual motion on top of the building making it feel like a building out of science fiction.
I entered and found that the inside was a large space full of machining tools and chemistry equipment. One side of the room had been set up like a medieval blacksmith while another contained a more modern looking lathe and sanding tools.
Small mechanical robots darted around the room using the different stations while forging different unidentifiable items. I waited around for someone to show up before a pile of weapons at the back piqued my curiosity. I moved to the pile and began to thumb through the various items.
I found a particular knife that sparked my interest that was made of black metal and had a deeply serrated blade and was a crescent shape. The handle had a trigger in the pointer finger position. I gripped it in my hand and pulled the trigger and was surprised when the teeth on the blade began to rotate around like a chainsaw.
This I had to try out. I found what I suspected to be a piece of spare wood and put the knife to work. It cut through like butter. Not satisfied there, I went back to the table and found the simplest sword and attempted to cut through the blade. Sparks began to fly but then the teeth caught the metal and stopped. The force backlashed into my hand and twisted.
I dropped the knife and shook my hand in pain. It wasn’t broken but there would definitely be some bruising tomorrow. I bit lightly on my finger to give a second stimulus for my brain to process and dull the pain.
‘I can't quite figure out how to get enough power into that size of a blade to get it to be useful for anything other than cutting through wood.’
The voice had come from a woman who I had not seen enter the room before. She looked like a woman in her late twenties and had hair that was an orange and red mix that fell down messily to her shoulders and waved like a roaring campfire. Her skin was dark tan and her eyes were red. Her left arm was a prosthetic completely made of intricate metals and wood.
I picked up the blade from the floor and eyed it, observing its size and shape. It was interesting but she was right. It wasn’t very practical in combat.
‘Maybe if you could have the blade vibrate instead of reciprocating. It would separate the particles instead of tearing them apart.’
‘Ho? That’s not a bad idea. And if I could get it to resonate with the struck material, it could shatter it like glass. I like where your head is! I’ve not seen you around here. I’m Cinder Flameking. Flameking sounds a bit pretentious so just call me Miss Cinder.’
‘It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cinder. My name is Sam Rye. I was told by Miss Wintry to stop by here during lunch.’
She chuckled when she heard my name. Apparently, the wordplay was not lost on her. She gave me a quick eye up and down and placed her hand on her chin.
‘I have to say, you look nothing like how Miss Wintry described you. I know kids these days like to get all gussied up but I thought that the uniform was mandatory these days.’
I shot her an exhausted look and pulled down on the dress again in sudden discomfort.
‘I can thank Miss Puffin for this. You don’t happen to have a spare uniform or jumpsuit I can put on instead?’
‘I’m sorry, doll, but if Miss Puffin put that on you then only Miss Puffin can take it off. Magic clothes are her specialty and I don’t think anyone else on campus could easily undo any curse that she sets.’
A wave of discouragement set in and I contemplated taking the knife to the dress. I probably would if I was certain I had other clothes I could change into. Miss Cider read the mood and decided to change the subject.
‘Anyway, so I hear you’re a fan of the katana! Wonderfully aggressive sword! I have a few I want you to look at. Come over this way and have a look.’
She led me to a set of three stands that each held a sheathed katana and motioned her hand to present them to me. I picked up the first one and held it at my side. It was lighter than normal and simple looking. It had no guard and the sheath and handle looked like one continuous piece.
When I unsheathed the blade I was surprised by what I saw, or in this case, didn’t see. I could barely see the transparent blade as I moved it around. Even holding it completely still I could barely see the blade.
‘I had no clue as to your fighting style, so I made three distinct katanas. This one is made from a titanium alloy that has been treated to be as transparent as glass. It is further cut to reduce light displacement to hide the blade. While its lack of weight pulls its punches a bit, its sharpness is guaranteed and it has been balanced for speed.’
My heart fluttered as I pictured attacking an opponent who could not read my movements, although if I was up against a skilled combatant they could tell by my hand movements. This blade was for cleanly dispatching large numbers of less-skilled warriors.
I picked up the second sword and immediately struggled with its weight. When I brought it to my side and shifted my stance a little the weight difference seemed to dissipate. I drew the sword and presented it forward. It wasn’t unwieldy, but it tended to carry its movements for a step further than intended.
As I swung the sword, I noticed that it didn’t like to turn more than thirty degrees while in motion. It was floaty and cumbersome but had a lot of momentum. I frowned as I moved it around.
‘Don’t be like that. It seems odd at first but that sword is made of a rare metal native to this world that multiplies its inertia to a degree by modulating its weight. Try hitting that dummy over there.’
I readied the blade and slashed at the target. The result shocked me as the weapon smashed and cut the dummy at the same time. All around the cut made from the blade were signs of a hammering impact. Blocking this weapon would be devastating.
‘Do all the students here have weapons like this?’
‘To some degree or another. But I’ve been told to prepare something special for you and I don’t like to hold back when I’m paying a debt to someone.’
‘I see…’
I sheathed the sword and placed it back on the rack and grabbed for the third one. It was very traditional in appearance. It had a standard grip made of ray skin with a white silk rope braided over it. The guard was a simple silver rectangle connecting to the sword by branching pieces of metal extending from the center point of each side. The scabbard was a dark brown color and was polished to a shine. The scabbard had a section in the middle replaced with an ivory looking material.
‘That blade is made of Fairyite steel and is a work of art if I do say so myself. It is perfectly balanced and weighted. The metal itself has magic imbued within it, so the blade is naturally keener and can cut through magic barriers with ease. The wielder’s fairy usually imbues the sword with its power, but you will have to make do without that for obvious reasons. ’
The weight was truly perfect. It had a feeling of familiarity as if I had used it before. The balance felt flawless and the weight distribution was everywhere that I wanted it to be. It was like meeting an old friend. I placed the sword by my side and stood in front of the dummy. I then drew the sword to strike in one motion. As the blade slid from its sheath, I heard the flutter of wings and the room faded to black.