Here I am with the next chapter in the series. Thanks to everyone who read, commented, or otherwise wrote in with friendly words. I might not have written it without you - feel proud!
I think that I am finally overcoming my feelings of shame and criticism in writing erotic fiction by well, writing MORE erotic fiction. It's been an interesting process, and continues to be one. Only fate will tell where I go from here.
I do actually have a rough guideline of where this story will end up, and rest assured I am not mentioning various plot points (the mysterious stranger etc) just for shits and giggles. It's not just ALL sex, folks. But even as the writer, in many ways I'm also just along for the ride. I'm not sure whether it will turn out exactly as I envisioned it, but... that's the whole fun of writing, isn't it? We will return to Daphnia eventually, if that was what you thought the second chapter would be about.
In any case, please enjoy the story. I did have fun writing it, and I do plan on finishing the series (eventually) I'm not sure when that will be, though.
Do write in with any comments that you might have, I like knowing the effect my work has on people. And if I get enough mails, I might be inspired to actually write faster! :) (shameless plug, yes, I know!)
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Gladia Altrisson stared at the mirror in trepidation, shaking and wishing she wouldn't. She knew that it was only a matter of time before Rampillion's troops came for her. The coup had happened overnight, and the royal family had been defenseless against it. It was only the last minute warning of her faithful maidservant that sent her to her chambers before the Crimson Mage's soldiers could seize her.
She hoped the rest of the family was ok, especially Daphnia. Her daughter was a skilled mage, but headstrong and often reckless in her actions. She had probably gone straight to the throne room to challenge the usurper...that is, if she hadn't been thrown in the dungeon already. As for everyone else - the queen shook her head. There was no time to think of them. She had to attend to herself first.
Gladia looked down at the glass bottle filled with amber liquid that her trembling fingers grasped. It was only to be used in emergencies, said the alchemist who had created it. She had no idea what it might do, or what might happen when she drank it. But the situation had left her with no choice. All the statecraft and knowledge she possessed would do her no good in these times. Swallowing her fear and apprehension, the queen lifted the contents of the bottle to her lips and drank.
Nothing happened.
She cursed, then cursed again, and then cursed once more for good measure. She knew that she shouldn't have trusted that smelly old man. She had only done so on the advice of her mother, who swore that he had always treated their family well and that she should commission at least one potion from him in case of emergencies. Acting against her own instinct, she had done so, and now she was going to pay the price for...
Wait. She felt something. A subtle heat had begun to radiate from her waist, and it slowly spread to every part of her body. The potion was working after all.
The queen had always been proud of her figure. What with the pressures of running a kingdom, raising children, it was difficult to maintain her youthful good looks that when she was younger had caught the eye of many a young suitor, but she tried her best. She eschewed the salt baths and questionable concoctions that her peers and friends recommended, but instead took great care with her diet and exercise. She took a certain pleasure in the fact that on occasion, soldiers and courtiers alike would glance at her a little more than necessary, then turn away quickly before she could catch them in the act. She wouldn't have reprimanded them in any case - a woman liked to feel appreciated.
But what was happening to her put all her efforts to shame. Gladia gasped as the potion began to do its work. First was her skin - previously pale white, it darkened to a golden bronze hue. Her hips flared out, and she could feel but not see her buttocks expand into firm pillows. Her eyes grew wide and slanted, her nose longer and more pert. Eyebrows that were nondescript thickened into sharp relief on her new face. Her legs lengthened, giving her two extra inches of height and her lips plumped out slightly and turned cherry red. Her hair grew midnight black and fell to the small of her back.
But the biggest change was her breasts. The queen had never been flat-chested - in fact, in her younger days she had been quite well-endowed indeed. But now her chest surged outwards like a living thing, popping the buttons on her hastily-done dress easily. Gladia stared at the mirror in horrified fascination, appalled yet unable to look away as her breasts grew into two enormous mounds of flesh that jutted proudly out in front of her. Her nipples changed color as well - from a pale coral pink to a rosy chestnut, and even her areolae widened to fit her new endowments.
When it was all over, Gladia stood in shock, looking at her new self in the mirror. She touched herself unbelievingly, noting how her skin was now soft as a baby's and almost as sensitive. Then she looked up into the mirror again in disbelief. She looked like, looked like...a slavegirl.
On her diplomatic tours to other countries, she had seen them - men and women turned into gross caricatures of their former selves, their organs swelled to strange proportions and the rest of their bodies made impossibly attractive. She had turned away from them, appalled at their appearance and wanton nature, but secretly she had been curious. Upon coming home she had asked her daughter about the magics needed to change them into what they were, and Daphnia had replied that yes, they did exist, but they had been forbidden in Erecia for as long as they could remember. She couldn't help but wonder what life was like for one of them...doomed to do nothing except couple day in and day out, to serve others in pleasure and have no choice in the matter.