She smiled a happy smile. “Yay, shopping. Is the driver still about?”
“We can call Henry and check, but I don't want to call Roni for this, let's just call a cab.”
“No honey. There are security issues. I think Roni would prefer us to call her. I'll do it.”
While Vee sorted out our transportation, I tried to find suitable clothes, nothing made me feel right though. Then we were off to the mall.
First, we got some panties and sports bras. It didn't seem worth getting measured. I still had quite a bit of growth to go in that department, so we got a series of sports bras in increasing sizes. I kept one on and took the tags to pay for it. Even that small adjustment made me feel better. We found a couple of skirts and a few tops. It was when we were trying to find a pair of shoes that were both comfortable and a little feminine that I noticed some discreet observation. If my eyesight wasn't as good, I don't think I would have picked it up, but I noticed him wearing a flesh coloured earpiece. He was about two shops over and pretending to window shop.
I sent the shop attendant after a different shoe, that I wasn't really interested in, just to get rid of her temporarily.
“Vee,” I whispered. “There is a suspicious man two shops down with an earpiece. While I pretend to consider the next pair of shoes, could you give Roni a call.”
“I'll call John directly. He gave me his emergency number in case we needed it,” she whispered back.
She pulled out her phone and started talking, while I tried walking in the heels that I had inadvertently asked the shop assistant to get for me. Thank goodness elves have a great sense of balance. Not falling over in my first few steps I considered a real achievement. I took my time, looking at them in a mirror, walking around, trying to inconspicuously glance around and see if there were any others watching us.
Vee gave me a subtle nod, so I took them off and got my not very feminine trainers back on.
“He suggested we head for the nearest ladies toilets and stay there, help would arrive shortly. My phone is on and has GPS so he knows exactly where we are,” she whispered to me.
So we left the shop and tried to casually walk towards the signs indicating toilets. It was a very nervous walk. We tried to continue talking about shoes, just to keep the pretence up, but knowing there is someone behind you and you can't just turn your head round to look for them and check how close they are, is nerve-racking. I did glance in the windows we were passing to see any reflections from behind us but didn't see him.
The toilet location wasn't ideal. We had to go down a corridor to get to them and that seemed an ideal ambush site. We both hurried our steps a bit down that passageway and breathed a sigh of relief when we reached our destination. Vee then lifted her phone and told John that we were in. I hadn't realised but she hadn't put the phone down, just kept it running. John then advised us to set it to video at the same time and point it towards the door, so that it would record anyone trying to enter and then pretend to fix our makeup at the sinks.
I wasn't wearing any and although Vee offered to apply some, I just wasn't in the mood. Instead, Vee stood there and did something to touch it up or at least look like she was trying to. The phone was next to her pointed towards the door, so I was behind her and to one side, so that I didn't block the view.
I figured the longer nothing happened the better. It meant our security guys were closer.
There was a knock on the door. Who on Earth knocks on the ladies' toilet door?
“Hello, this is Mall security. I'm coming in.” Some guy said through the door.
“No, you're not!” I shouted back. “This is the girls' toilet.”
“There have been reports of a guy going in here. I'm sorry, but I have to check it out.”
I looked at Vee. What do we do now? I don't think anyone saw us going in here and I don't think I look like a guy anymore. Only someone who had information on me already would make that presumption or that claim.
“There are no guys in here and you can't come in yet, we aren't decent,” Vee shouted. Clearly stalling, still, I wondered if guys really thought girls would be half naked in the toilet.
The door opened explosively and the same guy I had observed earlier fast walked inside and tried to reach for me. My immediate reaction was to block and attack back. I didn't think, it was just my natural response from all the training that we were doing. During practice, my following attack is then blocked, but he didn't expect my response or he wasn't quick enough so my strike under his arm hit him. I was so surprised, I didn't put the force behind it I should have. He grunted, his face turned angry and he went to hit me properly. Then Vee was beside me and he was flying back from an excellent front snap kick.
While he was struggling to breathe, we left in a hurry. There were another two guys in the corridor. I thought we were going to have to fight our way out, but security guys that I recognised from VDR approached them before we did and they whispered something that was enough for the corridor to clear and us to escape in the company of our guys. They had their own earpieces and reported to John that they had us and marched us to a car.
As I got in the back and started shaking again, I needed Vee's tight embrace to calm me down. We got taken back to the penthouse. John told us that he would investigate and get back to us later, in the meantime, the penthouse was a secure location and he would keep extra security there as a precaution. They took Vee's phone and followed instructions from the IT team to send the video footage to John.
◆◆◆
Brett's POV
Roni came into my office while I was on a phone call, so I knew something was up. I finished the call as quickly as possible.
“What's up?”
“John just received an emergency call from the girls. I thought you should know.”
I walked to John's office. I didn't want to interfere, but at the same time, I wanted to know what was going on. John's phone was on the desk, still connected to Vee, I think. I could hear the girls talking about shoes, but there was a nervousness to their voices. John was on his computer. He acknowledged me with a nod but didn't stop what he was doing. Then he spoke into another phone giving a more accurate location within the mall the girls were at, to one of his guys. Then he turned to me.
“My phone is on, but it's one way, they can't hear us at the moment.”
“I want a status report, but only when you don't need to be doing anything else.”
“Andi noticed someone following wearing an earpiece. I don't think that was a sign of incompetence, more how sharp Andi's eyes are. That is as much as we know at the moment. I am extracting them as quickly as I can. Hopefully, this is a false alarm.”
Then we heard Vee telling us that they had reached the toilets. John gave his instructions and then we were waiting. On John's screen, we could see where Vee was and the approaching extraction team. As they were getting closer to the girls, my tension began to dissipate. Before it could dissipate completely we heard a knocking and a male voice demanding entrance. Then the girls trying to put him off and then a loud bang, followed by grunts and sounds of a fight. My heart was in my mouth, but I couldn't say anything. This was John's show and he was the expert.
John spoke to his team with a code word, rush. What must have been a few seconds later, but I swear felt like an eternity, he heard back from his guys. The phone was to his ear, so I don't know what they said, but during it, John looked at me and mouthed the words 'safe'. I let out a sigh of relief and let him finish up.
When he didn't need to direct his team any more he was able to tell me more. The opposing team had three visible members, although he suspected there were others unseen. One was disabled by the girls and two stood down when our team arrived. We didn't know who they were, but their bearing was military. He was going to up the girl's security but he was honest and told me they could always overwhelm us with numbers. If they made a strong effort, we weren't going to be able to stop them. This needed to be solved in a different wa
y.
My plan wasn't ready yet, but I didn't know how much time we had. I had to make it ready. “How much time do you think we have?” I asked him.
“I think this was a fact-finding mission and only became more when they were spotted. Then it became a probe, not a serious effort. They are now looking for answers. If they are taking this seriously, we may not have long, but I don't know what their next tactic will be. There are too many unknowns.”
I needed two plans. A delaying plan and an end plan. “Thanks, John. Great job.” I left him to his job and began thinking furiously.
Chapter 29
Andi's POV
Katie was preparing food on the lowered island bench when we returned.
“Hi girls, I wasn't expecting you back this early.” I had mostly recovered by this point, but I obviously wasn't quite right since Katie's next question was, “Are you alright? Has something happened?”
We joined her at the bench. “We have some news for you. What do you want first, the good or the bad?” Vee asked.
“Err... I don't really like this game. The good I suppose.”
“We didn't have much to do at work so we came home early and decided to do a week in Lagbit's world. Would you believe Andi is a princess?”
I looked at Vee incredulously. “No Vee, at least, not until after the adoption ceremony. Anyway, that is not the good news.”
“That sounds like great news to me, please tell me more,” Katie said excitedly.
“It turns out the high priestess, who has been a surrogate mother to Andi, was the royal heir, except she lost her partner and so couldn't have any children. Transforming Andi into a copy of herself means she has gained a daughter who can replace her in the line of succession. A daughter who is bonded and can, therefore, have children. Well, Andi asked if she could bring any friends to the adoption and bonding celebrations. This is the real good news. They said yes, on the condition that they were transformed into elves before, as no humans are allowed.”
“You mean...”
“Tomorrow about twelve noon, you and Roni can come with us to Lagbit's world. The Royal couple, Mary and Kayla, have agreed to our transformation plans although they have put a couple of stipulations on them.”
“What are they?” she asked suspiciously. I think she had her hopes dashed a few times in her life and was expecting something terrible.
“Their main concerns were that the person to be transformed was willing and that they would not bring disrepute to the elves. The priestesses can cast spells, to our surprise, they worked on us, so they may work on everybody and that is what they have asked for. A truth spell so that they know you truly want this and a geas where you swear to obey the royal family and do nothing dishonourable,” Vee said.
“What is a geas?” Katie asked.
“How did Myra explain it, Andi?”
“She said it was a magically enforced oath. We don't know if that will have any consequences in the real world, but that is true for a lot of this experiment. You don't have to go through with this.”
“Are you kidding me? Why on Earth wouldn't I? Nothing you have said scares me in the least.”
“Onto the bad news. Vee can you tell her, I am going to have a shower, I am still feeling a bit shaky.”
I left them to it as I went to get clean and warm up under the hot water. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening cuddling up and, in my case, snacking frequently as well as a lovely vegetable curry prepared by Katie. I was really shaken up by the mall incident. The mall is a pretty public place and the idea that someone could think of grabbing us there worried the hell out of me. I felt reassured by the security provided by John, but VDR entertainment is not a security firm, so I didn't think they could really guarantee our protection. I didn't want to talk about it with Vee as there was nothing she could do and it would just stress us both. She is a clever girl and I suspect she had similar thoughts. I knew Brett was on the case and I was expecting him to come up with something.
I fell asleep with Vee's arms wrapped tightly around me. I woke up to the alarm, reminding me that we had another early appointment with Janice. As soon as my head cleared, I was very curious as to any further changes to my body. It was immediately obvious that I had proper breasts now. Nothing huge, but much more than I had when I went to sleep. Then I reached down to feel between my legs.
“Yes!” I think I woke Vee up with my squeal of joy.
“What, what?” She said, still half asleep.
“Can you check me, I can't see properly, but it feels great!”
“What? Oh. Oh!” She brought her head down to investigate. Then her hands gently urged my legs to part, so I spread them. Then I felt the most delicious sensation. I was fully female and Vee wanted to prove it to me, more than once.
We were almost late arriving at headquarters and had to hurry down to the examination room. It was now equipped with this table type thing with stirrups. I knew what it was but had never experienced one before. There was a computer with a large monitor that had these weird black and white images that I couldn't decipher. A couple of chairs with gowns on them. On the wall were artist representations of our body images.
First, we went through the normal examination, measurement and photograph session, then we were invited to sit so she could go through the MRIs.
“Congratulations on crossing to the light side, Andi. I think we can conclusively say, you are now fully female. By my calculations, it has taken you eleven days to change your gender. You still have a bit to go to complete your transformation, if those drawings are anything to go by. Very impressive. Was there any pain or discomfort involved?”
I thought about it. “No physical pain. Emotionally I suffered a bit when I travelled from VDR where I was fully female from day one to being male in the physical world. I suppose I felt an intense gender dysphoria.”
“Amazing. I think I can say, if you are able to repeat this 'accident', it could be the biggest breakthrough in medical science for decades. This could mean so much to the transgender community. Now there are a few anomalies that I need to go through. Cathy Ferguson was hired yesterday and we have been through your MRIs thoroughly. First, let's go through your ovaries, and I am talking about both of you.”
She pointed to her screen and these black and white pictures. “These do not look like ovaries should, but they are consistent with each side and each other, so I don't think it is an error, just something different than normal. We can rule out cancer or anything nasty, but they are far from ordinary. They appear to be something of a cross between an ovary and a testicle. Normally you are born with ovaries that have a set amount of eggs, these eggs then mature in a progression, creating a monthly cycle. You both appear to be creating eggs ready for release. What would trigger a release we do not know and why you are different, we do not know, but at least it is consistent. Your fallopian tubes are shorter and wider than normal. Again consistent but no explanation is available.”
“What do you think it means, doctor?” I asked.
She scratched her chin. “I don't think your reproductive system is the same as anybody else's. It might mean that the 'accident' has made you infertile, but I can't be sure of that. I suspect you won't get a monthly visitor and your hormones will be a lot more stable. The blood work came back relatively normal for a woman mid-cycle.”
“What about our wombs?” Vee asked.
“They appear to be in a state of constant readiness. We don't have enough data points to confirm that. At the moment, I am giving an opinion not a fact. If I could, I would have you in an MRI machine every day for a month and then I would know for sure. The other anomaly is your vaginas.”
“Is there something wrong with them?” I asked.
“When I say anomaly, what that means is outside of normal. Not good or bad, just different. Your vaginas appear to be lined with cilia on the front and back walls. Cilia are small projections that help to move fluids in one direction or another. It is normal to
have them in other places but not there. The front wall has the cilia in one direction and the back wall has them in another. Going in two different directions in one channel is unheard of and doesn't make sense. But it is not dangerous. Sperm are swimmers and don't get assistance in travelling. They almost have to fight against the odds to reach the egg. In your case, they would have an express route on one side and have to go against the current on the other. Puzzling.”
“So to sum up. Our reproductive system is different, but both of us are exactly the same?”
“Yes.”
“But nothing to worry about?”
“I don't think so.”
We left a happy but confused Janice and went to the cafeteria to have a better breakfast than the rushed version from earlier.
“So what do you think?” I asked Vee.
“I think it makes sense. I mean we know that men aren't involved in reproduction on Lagbit's world. Not that I have worked out exactly how it happens. I hate to say this, but I think you should talk to Myra about it. I know it will be embarrassing, but the alternative could be an unexpected pregnancy.”
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